The Other

Thanks for the reviews everyone! Tomas' secret will be revealed, but not for a while yet I'm afraid.

There was a sharp sound of gun fire and a sudden agony. He looked down and saw blood. His blood. Someone had…shot him. But how? There was no one else there except his father. He collapsed to his knees trying to slow the warm blood gushing past his fingers. From the corner of his eye he saw his father confronting someone. A man. Who? Little blue sparks of magic were gathering at the blood. And then, they seemed to sense him, and they came…inside him! Pain flooded through him and a scream was ripped out of his throat. There was a strange sensation buried under the pain and he felt as though he was being ripped in two. Blackness took him for a moment…

And then he was awake again, but it felt as if someone else was sharing his body with him. Someone dark, and deadly, and…psychopathic. He was aware that he was on his feet again and walking unsteadily towards the man who had shot him. He managed to wonder how on earth he was doing this. The magic, he thought, it's done something to me.

The person that was him and yet not him was speaking now…no, growling almost.

"Why did you come here? Why did you do this?" He held up a bloody hand.

"I…I…I was looking for Laura…" the man spluttered.

Laura! That Jew he had once called a friend! The strange thing that was in control was a sea of hate and rage, but Karl couldn't seem to find himself hating that Jew. I'm a Nazi though. Why don't I care?

"Laura is dead! We killed her," the other him said. It was lying. She was upstairs, waiting for his father to return, to inflict more pain upon her. That thought seemed to be slightly disturbing for some reason.

"No!" the man cried. "No! My daughter can't be dead!"

"Another Jew!" the other him spat. "I've had enough of you and your kind!"

It/he reached into a pocket and put on the metal talons he had been carrying to use in the ceremony later. Then it/he lashed out and suddenly a fountain of blood sprayed up into his face. The other him liked their lips and then buried their face in the red torrent, drinking deep of the salty flood. Karl felt sick. The Other though, was enjoying it. What is this thing? He wailed to himself. Get it out of my head!

They turned to face their father, swaying slightly on their feet.

"Well…" Kroenen said. "This is interesting…"

The memory began to fade.

Kroenen's mind was a tumbling mass of confused thoughts and drug-induced madness. He knew he couldn't hold out much longer, soon he would tell everything, unless…His mind rebelled at the mere thought; he wanted to be in control; no telling what would happen if he let The Other take over. It was psychotic, bloodthirsty. But it looked as if it could be his only hope. He couldn't rely on Sheila and Felix; it would be almost impossible for them to find him. He should never have stopped off on his way home to eliminate that 'wolf.

He made his decision, and surrendered to the darkness. His thoughts cleared and melted into white-hot purity of purpose as The Other awakened. The strength of Ancient times began to flow through him. He exulted in the feeling, and a brutal grin began to spread across face. With an easy shrug he snapped the handcuffs holding him and stood up.

Mary Crimsonne looked up in surprise at Kroenen's sudden movement. She gasped when she saw the broken links of the cuffs and the expression on his face. He casually reached over and picked up his mask from where she had been examining it, and clipped it on. She leapt up and pulled out her revolver. He seemed not to notice, and reached for his baton swords.

"Stop!" she shouted at the Nazi, training the gun on him.

He paid her no attention as his fingers closed around the hilts of the weapons.

Almost panicking, Mary squeezed the trigger. Before she could blink the blades were up and the bullets ricocheted off, one hitting her in the arm. She dropped the gun.

Kroenen stood looking at her. She knew she was moments from death.

Joe writhed as the dark creature Kroenen had called The Other stood poised to kill the Sergeant. Its dark thoughts were filled with blood and death. Then a soft cool feeling swept across him. There was something outside his cell.

Footsteps echoed in the passage. Rochmann looked up, his pain gone, the myriad thoughts on longer assailing him.

"Who…who is there?"

Instead of words a calm feeling entered his mind. A friend, it said, just a friend.

He got up and went to stand by the thick metal door and peered through the barred opening.

At first he couldn't see anything, but then a figure came into view. He was Chinese, with long black hair slicked up in a mohawk. His skin had a faint blue tinge and his eyes had a faint green glow.

I'm here to get you out, he thought-said.

Why?

Because you're like me. And you tried to help Kroenen; he is one of us too.

Joe was astonished. The Chinese man smiled. He produced a key with a flourish, unlocked the door and pulled it open. Rochmann stepped out. Now he could get a better look at his rescuer. He was wearing a costume like a ninja's but with a long leather trench coat similar to Kroenen's over the top. The name 'Empaths' was emblazoned in flowing script on a pocket. He had several ear piercings and there was a slim gold chain around his neck.

Come this way, he thought-said gesturing for Joe to follow him.

They hurried through the narrow passages in this lowest part of the prison, heading for the dark presence of The Other.

The tip of the baton sword snaked out towards Mary's throat, but seconds before it could slice across the jugular vein, something caught Kroenen's attention. His head turned towards the door, and then he was gone. Crimsonne felt weak suddenly, and was conscious of something red and warm running down her neck. She slowly raised her hand to her throat and felt a gaping wound. He had cut her throat so quickly she had barely noticed. Darkness began to swirl around her and she fell to the floor. She could see nothing except some sort of red light ahead of her. She thought she could hear screams.

The two Empaths came upon Kroenen suddenly, as they turned a corner. They skidded to a stop and the three faced off.

The Other is in control, The Chinese thought-said, You must help me get Karl back in his right mind.

How?

The Chinese reached out with his mind and suddenly Joe knew exactly what to do.

Their minds joined and slid into the mind of The Other. It tried to drive them out with its own dark thoughts of blood and death, but combined the two were too strong. The creature howled in frustration as they began to drive it back, allowing Karl to resurface from his dark prison. As The Other was locked back under mental blocks, Karl's mind joined theirs, putting the finishing touches on the walls that would keep The Other in.

The two Empaths withdrew exhausted.

Thank you. came the mental voice of Karl.

It's nothing, the Chinese thought-said, but let's hurry. The guards are bound to notice something's wrong soon and I can only distract them so much.

Karl nodded.

"Where do we go now?" Joe asked.

Back home, thought-said the Chinese.

"But where is that?"

"Area 51," Karl said, with a certain satisfaction.

"I thought that was just a myth."

"No, it's real all right."

The Chinese man drove them there in his jeep, a Range Rover.

"You know, I never realised," Joe said, "but I never asked your name."

I'm Hai-Tsan.

Joe nodded, and for a while there was silence. Finally, his curiosity got the better of him, and he asked, "What's it like, being a Nazi in America?"

"Sometimes it reminds me a bit of Nazi Germany itself," Karl said, amused, "Especially since that act Bush passed against terrorism. You'd be surprised how much control the government has over people's everyday lives."

Joe couldn't think of anything to say to this, but it remained in his mind for the rest of the trip.

It took them the best part of a day to reach Area 51. It was a low concrete building; most of which he had been told was underground. They got out and made their way over the shifting sand to the door. Hai-Tsan pulled out a small pass-card, which he swiped through a slot.

"Welcome to Area 51," Karl said.

They stepped through the doors into a long hall, the walls painted a creamy white, the floor tiled in obsidian. There was a desk at the far end, with a high backed chair behind it which was turned away from them. Karl strode up to the desk and cleared his throat.

The chair swung around suddenly the muzzle of a huge gun was inches from Karl's mask. Holding it was a creature with brick-red skin, a tail, and two strange stumps on the top of his head.

"Hellboy!" the Nazi hissed.

"I've been waiting for you," the daemon replied.

Cliffhanger! Review people, reviewwwwwwwwww!