"Shit." Hellboy swore as he desperately cupped his massive right hand around the slightly damp cigarette pinched between his teeth. His smaller left hand struggled with an equally damp lighter, unable to produce a spark. He usually preferred cigars, but the clerk he spoke to in the convenience store they went to in Kapfenberg didn't know a lick of English, and, faced with the intimidating stare of the red half-demon, was only able to tumultuously proffer a small box of cigarettes.

Giving up and stowing the pitiful cigarette in the pocket of his trench coat, Hellboy glanced over to where the delighted Homunculus was standing just outside the protective cover of the large bridge he was resting underneath. Roger was gleefully staring upwards at the bleak nimbus clouds as what seemed to be a solid sheet of water poured down on top of him. He had both arms outstretched towards the sky, smiling as he blinked the water out of his eyes.

"There is so much!" He called back to his companion, laughing as a loud crack of thunder rumbled the ground beneath their feet. "It is raining so much!"

Hellboy smiled. "Get over here, you." Roger glanced over his shoulder, grinning widely. "I dunno if you can even catch a cold, but I don't wanna risk it." The Homunculus's warbled reply was lost by another clap of thunder, and he ambled across the muddy terrain to join Helloy under the bridge once more.

"I like Austria. This is a nice place," he chirped. Water sloughed off of him, making wet pattering noises as they made pools around his feet. He gingerly wiped at his face and licked at his lips. Hellboy grimaced as he felt icy droplets hitting one of his hooves.

"Sheesh, you'd think those scientists put some labrador retriever into you," he remarked, smiling.

Roger paused. "What is a laboratory retriever?" he asked, blinking rapidly as more water fell into his eyes.

"Labrador retriever. 'S a type of dog, loves water. Long hair," he replied, moving his hands to mimic luxurious, flowing locks pouring past his ears. He pouted inwardly as he remembered that he had always had very little hair, even as a young man.

Roger's face lit up with excitement. "I love dogs!" he shouted, his jubilant laughter echoing from underneath the cobblestone bridge. Hellboy couldn't help but laugh a bit, too. The large, grey man's hitching laugh was terribly contagious. Hellboy couldn't remember having ever seen Roger this happy before. It was as if there was nothing troubling the other man, whatsoever. His only care in the world was playing in the rain, and enjoying the crisp Austrian air. Hellboy reluctantly remembered that someone felt it appropriate to put a bomb into this happy sucker.

"Alright, alright. C'mon, rain's letting up and we should get moving," he said. He began to move out from under the bridge, and Roger quickly moved to follow him. They had left the folks at the BPRD three days ago, and had been roaming the countryside ever since. It was about time they found something to do.

"Where are we going to next, Hellboy?" Roger asked, trying to keep himself from getting distracted by all the little pretty flowers growing alongside the path.

"We're goin' on a mission , that's where we're going. Just the two of us, like I said." Hellboy retrieved the crumpled cigarette from his pocket, now confident he would be able to light it.

"A mission? Like the BPRD?" Roger replied. Man , there were flowers everywhere.

"Yeah, but not like the BPRD." He exhaled a cloud of smoke. "About a week an' a half ago, they got a cry for help from a little hamlet near here. Supposedly they got some kind of problem, some of the villagers have gone missing, dead livestock, yadda yadda . We're in the area, so let's go see what all the fuss is about," Hellboy explained. He remembered Manning complaining about this particular request, and the fact that it was from a foreign country and seemed to be inconsequential compared to the regular issues the BPRD faced every day. At the time of the request, seven individuals had disappeared and a slough of sheep. The homes of the unaccounted-for showed clear signs of forced entry and a violent exchange at the time of disappearance.

"Oh, okay. That sounds fun," Roger mused.

They walked together for a long time, admiring the beautiful landscape and the local flora (Roger especially.) After a time, they came upon a small body of water. The surface of the pond was relatively undisturbed and pristine, save for the occasional fish coming up to see who was about. Hellboy mused that the fish here looked quite a bit different than what was usually found back in Connecticut. Roger crouched next to the surface, and called out to Hellboy when half a dozen chub peered at him excitedly from under the water, almost as if they had come to see him. He's got some kind of energy about him , Hellboy wondered. Wildlife seem to like him, at least .

It was another two hours walk until they came upon the church that had initially sent the request for help. Hellboy scrounged around in one of his many pockets until he found the scrap piece of paper he had hastily scrawled the address onto. The ink was barely legible, as he had written with his right hand, but was able to conclude that this was the place. The church was in a meager state, and looked as though it were as old as the town it laid with. There were no electricals along the outside of the building, and no evidence that the church received power in any way. It's white cement walls were chiped and water stained, and the pointed roof was sagging dangerously on one side.

Visible just a kilometer to the east was the start of the hamlet; small wooden buildings mixed with more modern brick structures lined the cobblestone roads, and crisp, lively vegetation bloomed in every space possible. Bordering the north side was a large copse of trees, taller than any of the buildings within the village. Hellboy remarked that despite the fact that it was only 16:00 CEST, not a single person was seen walking amongst the streets.

"Jeez, I hope someone's home…" Hellboy grumbled, patting Roger on the shoulder before beginning to climb the front steps of the church. Roger followed, hanging behind the other as he reached the tall, wooden doors. Hellboy lifted his right hand, and gently tapped on the flaking entrance. Despite this, he still accidentally scraped a thumbnail-sized spot in the faded, white paint. " Shit, " he swore quietly. "You didn't see that, Roger."

"Didn't see what?" Roger responded, genuinely not having been paying attention.

"Good man," Hellboy whispered, smiling. A couple moments passed, and no activity could be heard from within the church. Hellboy's stomach dropped. I swear, if we came all this way for nothing… He was just about to knock again when he was able to hear a pair of very quick, hasty footsteps running up to the door. Hellboy quickly moved down a step, holding his arm outstretched against Roger to move him down also.

Another moment of silence passed, and then one of the doors was opened just wide enough for a single, quavering eye to peer through. Locking onto the slightly disconcerting visages of Hellboy and Roger, the owner of the eye cried, "ungöttliche Schrecken!" and quickly slammed the door. Hellboy coughed and waved his hand as a large cloud of dust descended on them. Roger tried to catch the particles in his hands.

"Alright, alright…" Hellboy grumbled, and ascended to the top-most step once again. Not giving much thought to the paint this time, he knocked on the door once more. "Listen, we're from the -" he broke off. "I mean, we're here to help. We heard about the missing people," he said to the door, hoping the one inside was able to hear him. After another moment, the eye appeared again, still quavering.

"You...you got my letter?" the person said, the eye flickering rapidly between Hellboy's glowing golden eyes and his filed-down twin horns. Hellboy nodded his head in confirmation, and Roger, leaning out from behind Hellboy's bulk, smiled and waved even though the eye never left the red half-demon's face.

The door was slowly pulled open to reveal a trembling woman. She stepped back quickly to allow the two others into the church, standing a full two heads shorter than Hellboy. Her hair was tied up neatly in a bun, and she wore a loose black dress with a cardigan draped over her shoulders. She must have been middle-aged, for her face was lined with wrinkles and her eyes, still slightly quavering, spoke of untold wisdom and knowledge.

"Hey, thanks," Hellboy said, closing the door once Roger had entered the building. He glanced at the insides of the dilapidated church. The main compartment was about half the size of a dining room, and resting in twin lines before the altar were small, wooden pews. The altar was draped with a frayed, white sheet and rested underneath a collection of decorative candles. Hanging on the wall behind the altar was an enormous painting, depicting Jesus Christ. Candles all throughout the foyer were placed and lit, casting an eerie glow in the rounded spectacles perched on the nose of the woman trembling before Hellboy.

"You have come to help us...oh, danke gott…" she said aloud to no one in particular. She looked so moved, she was almost close to tears. "You read letter? You know what is happening?"

"Uh...why don't you give us a refresher, lady?" Hellboy said coyly, scratching the back of his head. Roger absentmindedly began investigating the pews, dazzled by the light of the lit candles lining the walls.

"Please, call me Miriam," she said, laughing nervously. She adjusted her glasses. "You see, we have big problem in town. There is...there is something taking the people, taking them away," she explained. Hellboy saw that she looked very disturbed. "I pray to God, but this...this is work of devil, Mr…" she trailed off.

"Hellboy," he responded cooly. "And that's Roger." He lifted his right hand to point at the other, who was experimentally poking at the lit wick of one of the candles. This motion allowed Miriam to get a full glimpse of the supernatural nature of Hellboy's right hand.

"A-Ah, H... Hell boy...you are from...you are of hell ?" Her voice was trembling, along with the rest of her.

"It's complicated. Just finish your story," he said shortly. God, if he had a nickel for every time someone made a big deal about his name...Professor Bruttenholm had always been more of a literal kind of guy.

"Y-Yes, my apologies…" she composed herself. "The people, they are not taken by, by a wolf, or...or bear , they are taken by monsters . Some of them...some of them become monsters themselves…" she trailed off, seemingly remembering something of a disturbing nature. "I...I saw one...it came to me...it…"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa...they become monsters? What d'you mean by that?" Hellboy asked, waving his left hand as he spoke. He kept his right hand firmly at his side to avoid scaring the woman.

"One of them that I saw, he look...he look like Domi, who go missing...but he was different , he was not the little Domi who come to school on Sunday, not my little Domi…" she clasped her hands in front of her, fighting back tears. She took great, shuddering breaths.

"Different how?" said Hellboy. He was starting to get a little impatient. He wished he could just fast-forward to the punching part already.

"His...how you say, his…" she gestured at the front of her face.

"His mouth ?" Hellboy supplied.

"Yes! Yes, it was his mouth, it was...it was so big , like…" she held her palms open in front of her face, a good foot in front of her chin. "It drooped down like this . And his teeth ! And his shirt, it was covered in blood, oh...it was like monster from nightmare!" she cried, wrapping her arms around herself.

Hellboy scratched his chin thoughtfully. "Roger, you ever hear of somethin' like that?"

"Don't ask me, I was in a basement for five hundred years," he replied.

"Toucheé, " said Hellboy. "Yeah, that definitely sounds...horrible, alright. So, tell me...what did Domi do when you saw him? Did he attack you?" he asked.

"No, he...he was only looking. He look at me, but he didn't hurt me. I could see...it was like for second, he was looking like the old Domi, but then he was the monster again. And he left…" Miriam looked down at the weathered, partially-rotten floorboards beneath them. Roger slowly rejoined the two after completing his inspection, a sympathetic expression on his face.

"I'm sorry about Domi, Ms. Miriam," he said softly. He moved to put his hand on her shoulder, but she shrunk away from his touch. Grasping the fabric of her cardigan, she chuckled darkly.

"All this...reminds me of old tale my mutter used to tell to me, when I was a girl." She smiled wistfully. "About King with big mouth."

Hellboy's interest was immediately piqued. His tail twitched with anticipation. "A big mouth? You mean like he talked a lot, or like an actually big mouth?" Roger experimentally touched at his lips, and flexed his jaw.

"No, no, like he had big mouth, like Domi did. Here is how story goes…" She cleared her throat, and Hellboy and Roger came closer so as to hear her better. "The King, he make this Witch mad. In her anger, Witch curse him and give him a big, big mouth. He was so upset, he promise that his beautiful daughter will marry whatever man can cure him. So; peasant boy, Sepple, he is resting in the woods one day when the Witch appears to him, and tells him that if he brings King magic fish with five eyes, he will be cured and then Sepple will marry King's daughter. Sepple runs to pond, and catch fish! So he bring fish to King, King is cured, Sepple marries daughter. The end." She smiled as she finished.

Hellboy was silent. Roger said, "Wow, I'm glad it all worked out for Sepple in the end." Miriam nodded enthusiastically.

Hellboy said, "Miriam, do you know if any other folks in town have big mouths now? Aside from this Domi guy?" Hellboy had a sneaking suspicion, but he wasn't ready to connect the dots yet.

Miriam was silent as she pondered this question. "I have heard of two others who are seen with the big mouths, but I only know Domitri Malinowski. But they are taking the others, they become monsters and then they take five villagers so far." She wrung her hands in front of her. In that moment, she looked incredibly old and exhausted. She must know everyone in this town personally , Hellboy thought.

Roger stepped forward, and peered into the woman's face. "Don't worry," he said. "We will help you." She stared at him apprehensively, for he surely looked just as much a monster to her as Hellboy, but smiled and nodded.

Hellboy scuffed one of his hooves against the wood floor. "Alright Roger, I think we've heard enough. Let's get outta here," he said softly. Roger smiled again at the woman, before turning towards Hellboy.

Miriam said, "Yes, yes, you go now. Please help these people...may God watch over you." She wiped at her glistening eyes. Hellboy turned and waved over his shoulder at her. Together, Hellboy and Roger exited the church and began climbing down the worn steps to the courtyard.

"That poor woman…" said Roger, scratching one of his ears. "She must have been so scared."

Hellboy pursed his lips. "Yeah, I would be freaked out too." He sidestepped a tombstone. "Tell ya what, let's go into town and see if we can do some digging into this Domi guy." He looked sideways at Roger. "Something tells me this fairy tale isn't over."

After a short time of walking, Hellboy and Roger found their way to one of the main cobblestone paths that crossed through the hamlet. By now, it was closer to 18:00 CEST and the sun was beginning to set. Long shadows crisscrossed the walkway as Hellboy and Roger slowly made their way towards the centre of town, peering curiously into the windows they passed despite the fact that every single one had the curtains drawn.

"Where are we going now?" Roger asked. He struggled to keep pace with Hellboy and look closely at all the marvelous things they passed at the same time, such as broken-down wheelbarrows and crooked German directional signs.

"I wanna check out this Domi character a bit more. Town as small as this, they gotta have a family register somewhere, right?" Hellboy said. He dug in his pocket for another of his pitifully small cigarettes.

Roger had paused to pick up a shiny bottlecap, which he quickly stashed somewhere , despite the fact that he didn't normally wear clothes other than his old vest. After catching up to Hellboy, he asked, "what's a family register?"

Hellboy thought for a moment. "Uhh...let's see." He scratched at one of his horns, thinking of a way he could put it that Roger would understand with his limited exposure to the outside world. "It's kind of like a big list of everyone in a family, y'know, like all the relatives and stuff."

Roger smiled and nodded. They walked a little further down the street when Roger asked, "Hellboy, what's a family?"

Hellboy almost tripped over his own hooves, and quickly righted himself. Jeez, this poor guy… he thought. He doesn't know nothin'. "Uh, a family is like...y'know, the people you love. The people you're close to...they're you're family." He struggled to keep himself from getting wistful.

"Oh, okay…" Roger responded softly. "So you mean like Elizabeth and Abe? And everyone else back at the BPRD?" He peered sideways, trying to read the expression on Hellboy's face.

Hellboy was quiet for a bit. "Yeah…" he sniffed uncharacteristically. "Yeah, those guys are my family." He turned his head so he was looking more to the left, away from Roger and towards the beautiful hills lining the Austrian countryside. "And they're you're family too. You're part of our family."

Roger kept his gaze on the cobblestones in front of him. He clasped his hands in front of him, against his chest. He felt more warm in that moment than he had even when Liz had emptied her pyrokinesis into him, even when he had used that same ability to burn and melt his malevolent brother. "I have a family…" he said quietly.

Hellboy laughed and playfully knocked Roger on the left shoulder with his right hand. "C'mon man, I'm gettin' all misty over here. Let's just go see if this guy Sepple had any blood relatives or what."

Roger narrowed his eyes. "Blood relatives?"

"Yeah, like family members who have the same blood as you." Hellboy flicked his spent cigarette onto the cobbles and stepped on it as he walked.

Roger's eyebrows scrunched up together. "They have your blood? Like...in a bottle, or…?"

Hellboy laughed out loud, startling Roger. His laugh was very deep and guttural, like a bull's or a minotaur's. "No, for fuck's sake...just means you're related some way, like you have the same mom and dad or whatever." He started laughing again, and Roger's impassive face broke into a big smile and he began laughing as well.

They walked for another couple minutes until they came to a building taller than the rest, and seemingly older. It was primarily wooden, with a brick-and-mortar addition on the eastern side, complete with a chimney and side door. The building was surprisingly nice to look at. There were painted glass windows, and a wind chime hanging by the large front double doors. A table with several chairs was placed in the front courtyard, and the grass was neat and trimmed. A large sign displayed at the front of the stone walkway leading up to the doors read, "BIBLIOTHEK".

"This is the place, Rog'," said Hellboy, moving towards the doors. The few windows in the front of the building still showed there were lights on inside, and a flicker of movement in the western wing.

Hellboy didn't bother with the foolish social custom of knocking this time, and gently pushed on one of the doors. It swung open easily, and the two non-humans entered the library. The inside was densely crowded with all kinds of books, manuscripts, magazines, and etcetera. In the front foyer, there was a secretary's station with a lamp and an enormous catalogue. Towards the more modern eastern wing, there were several lines of thick bookshelves housing all sizes of material. Hellboy took a breath, and noisily cleared his throat. Seconds later, the sound of footsteps could be heard as the library custodian moved towards the foyer.

"Guten abend! Wie kann ich dir…" the custodian began, but dropped off suddenly after getting a good look at their two newest customers. Hellboy had already been through this all once before today, and he was eager to get to the point. He spoke clearly, and enunciated very carefully.

"Family...registry," he said, struggling to keep his impatience out of his tone.

The custodian struggled to find their voice for a moment. "F...familienbuch?" they stammered.

Hellboy snapped his fingers and pointed at the custodian. "Ya got it. Family book. Please and thanks." The custodian nodded vigorously, and held up their hands placatingly as they slowly moved their way to a section of very old, very large books. The custodian placed a trembling hand on a maroon cover, the word "familienbuch" written in small, gold letters down the spine. Bowing, their assistant quickly began to head back to the front.

"Thank you!" Roger called after them. They walked faster.

"Alrighty, let's take a peek at this place's dirty laundry…" Hellboy grunted as he hefted the large tome off of the wall.

"I can tell that that phrase is a metaphor of some kind but I have no idea what for in the slightest," said Roger.

"You'll learn, kid," Hellboy replied. "God, this thing weighs as much as Manning's ego…" Roger laughed loudly at that one. Hellboy dropped the book onto a nearby table and flipped to the Table of Contents. The book was in German, of course, but for the most part, the index just showed where to find last names starting with each letter. Letter "M" started halfway through page 117. "Alright, here we go…"

He gingerly leafed through the moth-eaten pages with his smaller left hand, while impatiently tapping the fingers of his right hand against the wood of the table. The sound could be heard throughout the library. Eventually, he came to page 117.

"I didn't think there would be so many people living here," said Roger.

"Most of these guys are dead, I'd guess," the other responded. "Okay, Abel Madrowich...Barbara Majel...okay, here he is, Domitri Malinowski." He poked at the name with his right hand, leaving a sizable dent in the thin pages. "Whoops."

"I saw that," said Roger. He was trying to contain his laughter.

"No you didn't, now keep your voice down… " Hellboy whispered, shooting the other man a withering look. "Okay, family tree on paaage...612." He began leafing through the pages again, eventually coming to a section of the tome where every page had a different family tree on it. "Bingo."

"Family trees , family registries ...families are kind of complicated," Roger said to himself, investigating some of the other tomes on the wall.

Hellboy arrived at the intended page, and looked closely at the faded, complex family tree. This family was extensive, dating back to over three-hundred years ago, the current generation having numerous members. Located at the bottom, alongside two other names, was Domi. "Okay, here's our guy. Looks like he's got siblings," Hellboy remarked. "Tamim Malinowski and Bart Malinowski." He started to move up the family tree, unable to understand the words denoting family relationship, but scanning the names. As he came closer to the top, he called out loudly in triumph. "See! Right here, there he is! 'Sepple Malinowski, deceased in 1671'. I fuckin' knew it ."

Roger was enjoying Hellboy's enthusiasm, and came over to join in his excitement. "So...they are in a family together? They have each other's blood?" he said.

"Yeah, you got it Rog'. This Domi guy is a descendent of ol' Seppie and that princess," Hellboy explained. He moved to retrieve a celebratory cigarette from his pocket, but then remembered that it was impolite to smoke in libraries that didn't belong to the BPRD. "Aw, shit...wait a minute. Miriam said there were three recorded monsters so far...so that could mean Domi, Tamim and Bart are all part of this mess," he said softly. "God, I hate family drama."

"It's like the King's curse has come back, but only for his descendents ," Roger remarked, trying out the new word. "But the King wasn't a monster. Not like what these people have seen."

Hellboy loudly shut the cover of the volume, and moved away from the table. "Somethin' stinks about all this," he grumbled. "Let's get outta here."

They made their way back towards the front of the library. Mid-step, Hellboy stopped completely, and Roger bumped into him from behind.

"What is it, Hellb-?" he began before being abruptly cut off by Hellboy's hand clamped around his arm. Peering over the other's shoulder, Roger saw that the foyer of the library was now completely dark. Previously, lights had illuminated almost every corner, but now the only light came from outside, pouring in through the ajar front doors. The previously organized and tidy secretary's desk was now in a state of chaos; papers were strewn over the surface, and an upended inkwell left a black, obsidian trail leaking down the side of the wood. The custodian was nowhere to be seen.

Hellboy turned his head slightly towards the man behind him. "Roger, get ready for a scuffle…" he whispered, as he retrieved his own handgun from his belt. Roger nodded, squaring his shoulders. They slowly moved through the foyer, keeping a close eye on the open front doors. "Hello…?" Hellboy said quietly. No response. They continued circling around until they were able to see out of the entrance, and into the courtyard beyond.

"Oh no…" Roger breathed, taking in the scene before them. Sprawled on top of the stone walkway was the custodian, spread eagled and staring lifelessly back at them. Their mouth opened and closed like a goldfish's, the last of their life-force draining out through a massive rend in their neck. Hellboy's gaze traveled up along the stringy muscles and tendons being excavated from the gash, into what appeared to be the gaping maw of a monster.

"Christ on a bicycle…" Hellboy cursed, feeling sweat break out on his forehead. The creature crouched above the desecrated custodian stared silently towards Hellboy and Roger, completely silent and completely unmoving. Similarly to Miriam's description, it looked like a regular human being save for it's mouth; the jaw was dislocated and distended down to the collarbone, and it's twin lips were swollen and inflamed, split cleanly down the middles. It's teeth had grown longer, barely fitting into the already-enlarged mouth and leaving long ragged gashes along it's own lips where they impacted the blood red, pulsating flesh.

Roger stared unwaveringly over Hellboy's shoulder, unable to take his eyes off of the gruesome scene before them. He stepped out from behind his companion, careful to move slowly. Joining Hellboy at his side, he forced himself to make eye contact with the beast. "T…" he said softly. "Tamim…?"

The creature flinched, dropping the unchewed viscera from it's enlarged mouth onto the wet, blood-laden soil. A low gurgling sound could be heard coming from its throat, and it broke eye contact with Roger. Looking down at the horrific landscape below it, it brought its hands up and scratched at its own face in frustration. Hellboy shifted his weight while he watched the conflicted monster.

"Tamim, if you're still in there…" he started to say. It didn't look as if the creature heard him. "We can help ya, alright? Just...give us a sign that-" before he could finish, the creature stood up and bolted away from the two, exiting the courtyard and running down the street. A low keening could be heard coming from the monster, becoming quieter as it moved further away.

Roger immediately ran forward, crouching down next to the defiled custodian. Gingerly, he placed his hands on either side of their face, sadly looking into their desolate, lifeless eyes. Blood no longer billowed from the fatal wound in their neck. "I'm sorry," he whispered. Using his fingers, he gently closed the custodian's eyelids. He removed his hands and stood up. Hellboy placed a sympathetic hand on the other's shoulder.

"We'll come back, okay Rog'?" he said. His tone was gentle. "We can bury them once we solve this."

Roger placed his own hand overtop of Hellboy's. "Okay."

Stepping around the mangled corpse before them, they moved towards the exit of the courtyard. Peering in the direction the monster had fled, it was clear that there was no sign of it. By now, it was 18:40, and the sky was a myriad of blue shades in the evening twilight. They stepped onto the cobbles, and watched as the last few lit windows in the houses nearby were extinguished.

"It's getting a little foggy out, Hellboy," Roger remarked, peering down the street towards an area shaded by an arch of thick trees and bushes. Hellboy turned and looked as well, and saw that it did look like there was a bit of fog hovering over the stones.

"Wait a minute…" Hellboy grumbled, taking a tentative step forward. The fog began to condense and thicken, much more quickly than any natural fog would be capable of. Hellboy moved to stand in front of Roger, watching closely as the translucent, grey cloud began to change shape into one that was vaguely humanoid. "That's no fog."

As they continued to watch, the fog completed it's transformation. Before them appeared a pearlescent, 5-foot column of wispy vapor. The vapor drifted towards them, and as it moved, two lightning bugs flew from the nearby bush. They embedded themselves at the top of the column, giving the appearance of two glowing eyes.

"Is that...a person?" Roger asked, struggling to move out from behind Hellboy.

"Given what I've seen already today, I wouldn't be surprised…" the other replied dryly. As they spoke, the vapor continued to move closer to them. Emanating from nowhere in particular, they could hear a voice like crinkling parchment paper.

"Du bist da… you have come in this town's time of needing…" it whispered. Despite the fact that the apparition's eyes were mere insects, Hellboy could feel it's piercing gaze upon him.

"Uh...yeah," he responded. "Are you…?"

The vapor stopped approaching them. " I am the smoke in wind...the moss in pond...I am the Witch of this valley…" she intoned. " And you are Anung un Rama. "

Hellboy flinched. "C'mon lady, all you witchey types know I don't like that." He ground his teeth in impatience. It had been, what , 4 days? And he still hadn't punched anything. Roger waved from behind Hellboy's back, but once again, he was paid no attention.

The vapor might have been doing something resembling chuckling, but to Hellboy, it only sounded like a breeze ruffling the leaves on a tree. " I have solution to your problem ."

Interest = piqued. Hellboy listened closely, allowing Roger to approach the being as well.

"You must destroy the Fünf Augen Fisch ...the Fish of Five Eyes… " she whispered. The lightning bugs embedded in the vapor began blinking their lights, giving the Witch the impression of winking.

Hellboy was slightly disappointed. "A fish? " He snorted derisively. "You're saying a dumb fish is causing all of this?"

"I like fish…" Roger said defensively.

The vapor made a sound like a deep breath of air. " Return to wasser beyond the church...there, you will find Him…he waits for you...Anung un Rama…" she finished, a clear sound of laughter emanating from all around them. With these parting words, she dispersed into the surrounding air. The insects returned to the brush.

"God, I hate that…" Hellboy grumbled, viciously kicking at a stone on the path. The pebble impacted an adjacent tree, stripping a sizeable chunk of bark off of the trunk.

"Hate what?" Roger asked, looking at his red companion. " Anung un-?"

"Don't say it," Hellboy barked, his body language full of anger and tension. Roger shrunk away from him slightly.

After a brief silence between them, Roger said, "what does it mean?"

Hellboy started walking back in the direction they had originally come, towards the church. "It's a long story. Just don't say it, okay?" he said softly. He felt bad for startling Roger. Roger nodded firmly. In that moment, he made a strong commitment to himself never to utter those words again. He understood nothing of the reasoning or the history, but he wouldn't forgive himself if he did something to hurt his friend.

It took them just over two-and-a-half hours to get back to the pond they had visited just before arriving at the church. By the time they arrived, both Hellboy and Roger were feeling exhausted and eager for this terribleness to end. He didn't know about Roger, but Hellboy was quite famished.

"Hey, Rog'...I got a question for ya," he asked the other.

"What's that?" Roger responded, sidestepping a large pit in the ground.

Hellboy made his way over a fallen log. "Do you even eat?" he asked exasperatedly. He had removed his jacket and was carrying it over one of his arms.

Roger accidentally stumbled over the root of a tree, and quickly righted himself. "I don't know. I've never eaten anything before. I suppose I could try it." He picked at a spot of caked-on mud on his shin.

What goes in, must come out though… Hellboy thought to himself. And I've never seen anything come outta that guy . He decided to end his line of questions. They had arrived once again at the glossy body of water, covered in sticks, mud, and the odd insect.

The pond was relatively unchanged from before. The surface was still completely undisturbed, and the water acted as a great mirror for the heavens, and in it's reflection could be seen the moon, almost completely full. Hellboy had a very odd feeling.

"Roger...do you hear that?" he whispered coarsely at the other. He monitored his surroundings very carefully.

Roger paused and listened for a moment. "Hear what?"

"Exactly . I can't hear a damn thing. Not a single cricket, or frog, or...anything." And it was true. The clearing, aside from the sounds of their own voices, was completely silent. If Roger's skin had been more supple, he was sure he would have gotten goosebumps.

Hellboy hooked his long coat on an outstretched branch, making sure his handgun was easily accessible on his person. Roger approached the pond once again, crouching next to the water just as before. This time, not a single chub came to greet him. It was as if this entire section of the countryside was devoid of animal life. He tentatively poked his pinky finger into the surface of the water.

"Hellboy, I don't think there's-" Before Roger could finish his sentence, a slimy, writhing appendage burst from the surface of the pristine, now turbulent pond, wrapping itself around Roger's right forearm. He called out in surprise as his arm was painfully constricted.

"Roger!" Hellboy screamed. He ran towards his companion, watching in shock as the Homunculus was lifted airborne, desperately clutching at the article wrapped around his entire arm. As he was lifted, the remainder of the beast that had constricted him was visible rising out of the pond, and Hellboy could not help but feel surprised that such a thing could fit into such a small body of water.

To describe the creature as a fish seemed grossly inaccurate to Hellboy in that moment. It was more like a wyvern. The creature's face, focused murderously on the writhing man it had caught in its grasp, was elongated and ended with a tapered snout. It's teeth stretched longer than Hellboy's forearm, and definitely not his left one. It's skin was a mottled grey, pockmarked with oozing sores and ulcers that leaked sticky yellow fluid back into the water from which it came. Patches of hard scales lined its body, and the wyrm's webbed ears flared atop its undulating head, reaching taller than the trees surrounding the clearing. The monster hissed territorially, the sound causing the surrounding trees and their leaves to shake.

Roger desperately kicked out his legs at the creature, but it held him at a length away from its body using one of several rapidly gesticulating tentacles. Assuring that its initial prey was not in a position to fight back, the wyrm trained its gaze on Hellboy instead. Looking back at the terrible beast, Hellboy could see that it had five piercing, red eyes along the apex of its skull. Hellboy shook his head and laughed incredulously.

"Fish, my ass!" he bellowed, launching himself towards the aquatic monster. The creature screamed in return, its high-pitched voice reverberating through what could have possibly been the entirety of Styria. "Oh, shut it!" Hellboy growled as he leapt at the creature. He wrapped both arms as tight as he could around its main body, struggling to find traction. The beast was so wet and slippery, he immediately started sliding down towards the water. The monster hooked its nose under Hellboy's chest and flicked him backwards, causing him to hit the ground brutally hard. He gasped in pain as he hit a large rock protruding from the ground, struggling to reorient himself.

"Hey!" Roger screamed at the beast. "Do not hurt my friend like that!" While the creature had been distracted with the other man, Roger had been gradually tearing at the supple flesh coiled around his arm and was able to break free from the monster's grasp. Swinging downwards, he landed on top of the creature's massive, swinging head, narrowly avoiding one of the many sharp spines running down its back. Gripping one hand firmly around a spine in order to hold him in place, Roger brutally swung his other fist down towards the many pulsating eyes lining the beast's head, punching the monster with his superhuman strength.

The wyrm screeched again, and shook its head as a wolf would with its prey. Roger held on steadfast, dutifully landing blow after blow on the bloodshot, watering eyes lying underneath him.

"Atta boy, Roger! Let 'im have it!" Hellboy yelled from the ground, having recovered from his earlier spill. He cocked his pistol, and took aim at the writhing, thrashing creature. He had never been a remotely skilled marksman, but considering the size of his target, he hoped he would at least be able to shoot it once. Taking several shots, he was able to puncture the slick, undulating flesh before him twice. The creature squealed, backing away from the edge of the pond as bright red blood bubbled from the wounds in its skin.

The wyrm shook its head again, finally dislodging the adamant Homunculus from its head. Roger slipped down the side of the beasts body, and with a smooth motion, the fish monster brought forward a large, multi-taloned claw from the water underneath it. As Roger slid closer to the surface of the pond, the creature caught the man in its grip once again and plunged his flailing body underneath the icy water.

"Oh, fuck!" Hellboy cursed. While the beast was preoccupied, Hellboy raced towards it once again, this time leaping higher and latching onto the wyrm's lower jaw. The weight of his body forced the monster's mouth open, and a distressed keening sound could be heard from within the beast's belly. "Sheesh, you got some bad breath, Slimy…" Hellboy growled, gripping onto the enormous teeth protruding from the monster's mouth. He could feel the body underneath him jerking and swaying, and realized with dread that it was the force of Roger's body thrashing underneath the beast's claw. He had to act fast.

"Just hold on, Roger!" he screamed down towards the pond, unsure if Roger was able to hear him. He didn't know how much time he had left, but he wasn't about to let this slimy asshole kill his friend. Keeping a firm grip with his left hand on one of the wyrm's hot, slick teeth, Hellboy swung his stone right hand upwards, and pounded on the adjacent fang. The creature snarled, and desperately tried to close its jaw in order to bite the man clinging to it, but Hellboy was too heavy.

He brought his right fist up again, once, twice, and for a third time. On the final impact, the tooth shattered against the force of his blow, leaving a spurting pit in its place. The creature snarled and shook its head, desperately trying to get a look at the adversary clinging to its jaw. Hellboy was about to swing again for the next tooth when he realized with a sickening lurch that the beast was no longer jerking. Roger had gone still.

"Aaargh!" Hellboy bellowed, his strength renewed by his fury. Swinging his body upwards, he hooked his right hoof in the monster's lip, using it to gain traction and pull himself farther up the wyrm's head. The creature gnashed its blood-spattered, yellowing teeth as it burped wetly from having swallowed so much blood. One of its teeth caught Hellboy in the pectoral, and left a long, burning tear down the line of his chest. Hellboy screamed again as he continued to scale the body of the beast. "I fucking loved this shirt!"

As the creature's strength continued to ebb along with the flow of its blood, Hellboy was able to grab on to one of the spines protruding from its head. Dragging himself upwards, he swung his right leg over and straddled the beast while keeping a firm grip onto the dangerously sharp spike waving in front of him. Yelling with bloodlust, he rhythmically brought his stone fist down over and over again onto the apex of the beast's head.

"Let...go...of...my...friend!" Hellboy growled as he repeatedly pummeled the now purpling flesh before him. His blows had completely crushed two of the monster's eyes, and the creature now thrashed around disorientedly, blinded by pain and fury. Slick ropes of blood were flung back and forth by Hellboy's swaying fist, the flesh broken and parted underneath his commendable strength. The monster keened and cried, still desperately trying to free itself of the half-demon stuck to its head, but to no avail. Hellboy's blows had driven down to the creature's skull, his repetitive strikes splintering the hard bone.

With a last, dying squeal, the creature pitched forward, the remainder of its strength spent. Falling through the air, the struggling wyrm crashed devastatingly into the waterfront, a thick wave of blood spattering the dirty sand as the beast's destroyed tooth continued to give off gouts of blood. With one last warbling note, the monster lay still, and continued to bleed out into the earth.

His breathing hard and ragged, Hellboy quickly leapt down from the now dead beast's head, and re-entered the water.

"Roger!" he called, panting with exhausting. Using his hands, he desperately forced himself faster into the pond, rushing to the spot where the beasts now limp leg floated. "Fuck, Roger, you better be alright…" He dove under the surface, kicking with his legs and propelling himself closer to the bottom of the pond.

Pinched between the muddy ground and the semi-buoyant claw, Roger lay motionless. He was face down towards the pond bottom, his arms floating limply in front of him. Hellboy truly felt the icy coldness of the water around him as his heart dropped into his stomach, and thrust his right hand forward. Drifting closer, he latched tightly onto Roger's outstretched hand, and dug his hooves into the slick mud underneath them. His lungs burned for air as he slowly dragged his friend out from under the heavily suspended claw, and began swimming for the surface.

Hellboy broke the surface of the water, his lungs burning as he struggled to fill them with air. He was dragged back underneath by Roger's weight, unable to bring the other man to the surface. He swam as fast as he could, digging his hooves into the mud and propelling himself with his free arm as he dragged Roger behind him. C'mon, Roger… Hellboy pleaded silently, to whom he wasn't sure.

What seemed like an eternity later, Hellboy reached the edge of the pond. His clothes were stained red by the pond water, now saturated with the spilt blood of the fish monster. He turned around, and grabbed Roger by the other hand and dragged him completely out of the pond. Bringing him a safe distance away from the murky, brackish water, he turned Roger onto his back and quickly knelt down beside him.

"Roger? Oh man, Roger, can you hear me?" Hellboy said shakily, looking down at the other man. His eyes were closed, his face expressionless. Dark brown blood dribbled from a wound in the side of his head. Groaning, Hellboy put his hands on Roger's chest and applied pressure. He had never learned what to do in the event of a drowning, but he had seen this in movies before. Despite his efforts, Roger continued to lay motionless.

Hellboy, becoming increasingly frustrated, had to stop himself from pounding his fists into Roger's chest and screaming. No, no, no… he thought. He couldn't believe that he had allowed this to happen. He was supposed to be the strong one, the protector, the tank. He had wanted to take Roger away from the BPRD to protect him, but with an increasingly dark feeling he realized he might have been putting Roger in more danger. He stopped his compressions, and morosely looked down at the wet, impassive man before him.

"I'm sorry, Roger... " he murmured quietly. His tail lay limp beside him. He felt the weight of the world on his shoulders, and he looked down at his scratched, pruned hand. All his life, he had just wanted to be the good guy instead of the freakin' harbinger of the apocalypse. He closed his eyes, and put his head in his hands.

He was startled from his cycle of self-deprecation by a coughing noise in front of him, and whipped his hands away to see Roger coming to.

"Roger!" Hellboy yelled, relief flooding through him like sunlight through a dark valley. He quickly put his right arm underneath Roger's back, bringing him up to a sitting position. Roger was disoriented for a brief moment, but afterwards was back to his usual self. He gingerly touched the wound on his head, and smiled up at Hellboy.

"Did we win?" he asked weakly, laughing as Hellboy's face broke into a wide grin.

"Yeah, man, we won. We turned that asshole into sushi," he laughed, letting Roger sit up on his own. "Jeez, Rog', I thought...I thought you had drowned," he coughed out, his intense sense of relief causing his voice to waver.

Roger frowned in confusion. "What do you mean? Hellboy, I don't even breathe air."

Hellboy stiffened. "But you...you were just floating there! You were freakin' unconscious, Rog'!" he yelled, incredulous.

"Yeah, I hit my head on a rock," he said matter of factly, touching the sore spot on his head again. "That monster was pretty mean."

Hellboy laughed out loud again, feeling foolish. His intense relief was not diminished, though. He was just glad his friend was okay.

"Whatever, as long as you're alright…" said Hellboy, standing up and helping Roger to his feet. They both spent a moment brushing themselves off, and Hellboy mourned the long tear in his black T-shirt. Bastard…

"So, now that the fish guy is dead...does that mean the curse is broken?" Roger asked, taking in the startlingly visceral scene before them. The skin of the monster was now incredibly pale, the majority of its blood having leaked into the surrounding environment.

Hellboy was about to answer, but was interrupted by a sudden wind that shook the trees around them. The air became frigid, and as Hellboy breathed, he could see his breath in front of him. He wrapped his arms around himself, suddenly cold. Roger, oblivious to the temperature, looked around him curiously as the cacophony of forest sounds returned. Crickets, birds, and woodland creatures could be heard once again in the distance.

"You have upheld your end of the bargain…" a disembodied voice whispered. Hellboy recognized it as the voice of the witch before. " And so shall I." Roger apprehensively peered into the trees around them, calling out in surprise as they saw three figures moving towards them out of the mist. Hellboy reflexively reached for his pistol, but remembered that he had used all his ammunition in the previous fight.

"Watch out, Roger…" Hellboy said. "I dunno how much I trust this witch."

As the beings came closer, Hellboy and Roger could see that they were the three transformed monsters; Tamim, Bart, and their brother Domi. Hellboy felt sweat prickling under his armpits as he saw that they still had their enlarged mouths, complete with razor sharp teeth and spatterings of blood.

"These descendents of King I knew once long ago shall be returned to rightful state… " the witch spoke. The three villagers stood motionless in front of Hellboy and Roger, and they watched with interest and disgust as all of their teeth fell from their lips, and their mouths slowly receded back into their faces. Once the transformation was complete, they collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

"Ah, jeez…" Hellboy sighed, feeling the tension in his shoulder muscles. He did not want to carry these guys back to the church, a brutal two-hour walk. The wind suddenly died, and the clearing was returned to stillness. Roger rushed forward and gingerly touched one of the prone adults.

"They look like they're okay…" Roger said, turning Domi over onto his back. He grimaced as he saw that the young man's mouth was devoid of any teeth. Hellboy sighed in exasperation, and swiped his left hand across his forehead.

"Alright, you grab Domi, I'll take the other two," he grumbled in defeat. Roger enthusiastically lifted Domi by the armpits, and hefted him over his broad shoulders in a fireman's carry. Hellboy approached the remaining two villagers, and draped them one after the other on his two shoulders. "Ooh, Roger- can you grab my coat? See, it's just there, hangin'..." he hissed, his muscles complaining against the weight of the two adults. Roger obliged, and the two slowly made their way out of the clearing.

Miriam was overjoyed when, two-and-a-half hours later, a couple of very tired, and very winded former BPRD agents knocked on the door to her church once more. She quickly ushered them inside, ecstatically praising God in German and profusely thanking Hellboy and Roger. The three villagers were still unconscious, and were placed restfully in the pews.

"Thank you, oh, thank you so much…" Miriam cried, wiping tears from her eyes. "You are angels, you two! You are sent to me from God!" Roger smiled warmly and blushed as deeply as a Homunculus was capable of when she gave him a short, gentle hug. She was about to hug Hellboy as well, but decided against it when she saw the blood caked onto his shirt.

"Don't mention it, ma'am. 'S our pleasure," Hellboy responded groggily, stifling a yawn.

"Yes, we are glad we could help you and your town," Roger added happily. He was quite proud of what he and his companion had been able to accomplish. Miriam smiled widely and looked at them both with tenderness. She glanced again at Hellboy's torn clothing.

"Ah, you're shirt, it is torn! You want new one? My late husband, I still have some shirts of his!" She said excitedly, gesturing to the massive tear in Hellboy's black cotton shirt. She gently pulled on his left hand, attempting to lead him towards the rear room of the church, but stopped when she saw just how exhausted the formidable half-demon was.

"Sorry, I'm comin'...I'm comin'..." he murmured, stumbling forward. Roger, feeling right as rain, put a hand on his shoulder to steady him.

"Oh, my poor things, you are exhausted! Komm jetzt, you sleep here for tonight, yes?" She looked up worryingly into Hellboy's slack face.

"Yes, Hellboy, maybe we should rest for a bit," Roger added. If he were to be honest with himself, he actually quite liked the church and didn't want to leave just yet.

"Mm…" the half-demon grunted, following Miriam towards the back of the church. Roger was close behind, careful not to bump into any of the pews carrying the sleeping villagers.

Their first solo mission together a great success, Roger and Hellboy acquiesced to rest for the remainder of the night, after being given new clothes and some medical attention. It took Hellboy a whopping three minutes to fall asleep after being introduced to the incredibly small guest bed located in the eastern wing of the church. He slept soundly, despite the fact that he had to dangle his hooves and calves over the end of the bed. Roger sat himself in a very comfortable loveseat in the corner of the room, looking peaceably out of the open window at the moonlit scenery beyond. He absentmindedly fingered the device embedded in the center of his chest; his artificial energy generator, the mechanism that Abe Sapien had designed in order to keep him alive. The same device also contained the incendiary bomb that could spell his end. Feeling at peace with himself, and hopeful for the future, he drifted off into a state of restfulness while pondering what adventures awaited him in the morning.