Me: Mue heh heh heh~ 8D
Tintin: ... -_-
Me: Oh, what's got your waffle in a twist, eh? :D
Tintin: ... just... you... -_-
Me: Ehh? Moi? :O
Tintin: ... why do you have people attack me all the time...? -_-
Me: Hee hee. Oh that. *waves hand dismissively* You're just Tintin; bad guys that want to kill you are just attracted to you~! :D
Tintin: A-attracted to me?! Wait, you mean... like the stuff you write about my good friend Arthur? Ō_Ō
Me: *chokes on milk I was drinking and spits it everywhere* AbwahahaWHAAAAT?! OoO''
Tintin: ... oh, I guess that wasn't what you meant. ^_^''
Me: *looks stupidly at Tintin with milk dribbling down my face* ... Ō_Ō''
Tintin: ... um... AkuRoku18 doesn't own The Adventures of Tintin... or myself... and... yeah... -_-''
Me: Right... go read fanfiction. ._. *thinking* HOW DID TINTIN FIND OUT WHAT YAOI ONE-SHOTS ARE?! HOW DO I EXPLAIN THIS TO HIM?! Q^Q
Chapter 4
September 16, 1940
Through the throng of people, Tintin blended in with the citizens of Lascaux. The beret covered his tuft of hair and he wore the trench coat's collar up. Snowy followed closely. "There must be some sort of festival going on or something… look at all these people," Tintin muttered. He looked around. There was a long line of people and some others wearing festive costumes. "Good thing I blend in, otherwise I fear the Nazis would find me quickly."
He walked further into town end eventually came to a small stone fountain with a stony lion in the center. "Great snakes! Look at this crowd, Snowy!" Snowy barked in agreement. Suddenly, someone grabbed his shoulder. He whipped around and asked fiercely, "What do you want?!" He raised his fists and the person behind him reeled back, tripped on a badly paved brick, and fell onto his back. Tintin immediately apologized, "Oh, sir! I'm so sorry! I…" Tintin offered his hand to help the man.
"Oh, please, don't worry yourself, Mr. Tintin…" the man said, taking the younger male's hand. He was pulled up and dusted his coat off. He was dressed all in black with a fancy dress shirt and ribbon. His hair was black with silver streaks and slicked back. His eyes were an icy blue, but had a hint of fear in them.
"How did you know my name?" Tintin asked after helping the person up. Snowy growled.
The man laughed nervously, "Heh heh… I'm Claude Augustin. I recognized you the moment I saw you. I-I didn't mean to startle you."
"Oh! You're Mr. Augustin! I'm terribly sorry," said Tintin, bowing his head in shame.
"Please, it's nothing. I shouldn't have come up behind you," Claude replied. He looked at the crowd of people. "Ah… this was my favorite festivals when I was a child…"
"What is it?"
"'Fête des rois et des guerriers.' It was a very popular tradition back in the day. I can't believe it's still going on…"
"Festival of kings and warriors? Hmm. Sound's interesting," Tintin commented. Snowy barked.
Claude turned back to Tintin and said, "I-I suppose we ought to start our report on the caves, eh?" He tugged on Tintin's sleeve and pointed to the edge of town. "The caves are over there."
"Ah. Let's go then," Tintin said. He followed Claude in the direction of the caves he worked so hard to get to. Snowy tailed him closely, keeping a watchful eye out for Germans.
A tank rolled up on a hill on the outskirts of Lascaux. The hatch opened and Axel von Gottfried came out, his eyes blazing with anger. He surveyed the town, monocle glinting in the sun. He shouted at the tank crew, "Ausziehen! Wir müssen ihn finden!" The tank jerked forward and slowly rolled down the hill...
Claude and Tintin had reached the famous caves. From a distance, it looked like a little hole in the ground surrounded by tall pinnacles of rock. Several police wagons were there, blocking off the cave from a swarm of reporters. Through the crowd, Tintin believed he saw the four boys that had recently discovered the cave. This must be hard on them, Tintin thought, This much popularity must be difficult to handle when you're that young. The gaggle of people were all talking loudly and obnoxiously.
"How did you manage to discover the cave?"
"Do you have any comments on the drawings that were found?"
"Boys, we want your dog Robot to be our new mascot for 'Dog's Paradise: Dog Chow.' We're willing to give you five hundred dollars…"
Claude inched closer to Tintin as if he were frightened. "Th-that's a lot of people…"
"Don't be so afraid. They won't hurt you," Tintin said. He tried to sound reassuring. Snowy whined and butted his head against Tintin's ankles. "Shh, Snowy. You're fine." He clapped Claude on the shoulder and said, "Come on! Let's get in there and ask what we came to ask." The older male nodded nervously and followed Tintin into the crowd.
People gasped and quickly got out of the way of the huge metal monster that clanked down the street, interrupting the merry festival occurring in the town square. Von Gottfried got out of the hatch and stood on the top of the tank as it came to a halt. "Citizens of Lascaux, hear me now! In your peaceful city there roams a criminal! A threat to the Nazi regime!" He pulled a picture out of his uniform and showed it to everyone. "This criminal's name is Tintin! Anyone who finds him will be greatly rewarded!" A murmur went through the crowd. "Anyone who has information on this man," Axel continued, "please step forward now! We wouldn't want any accidents, hmm?" He yelled into the tank's body, "Ziel ist in diesem gebäude!" The tank's main gun creaked into position, pointing at a residential home.
"Wait, wait!" someone shouted. A scrawny man pushed his way through the crowd. He stumbled forward. It was the desk attendant. "I saw him! I saw him!"
Von Gottfried smiled coldly and asked, "Where did you see this man?" He showed the picture to the citizens again.
"This morning! At the hotel! Some of your men were looking for him. He gave me a false name, but I knew it was him!" the desk attendant declared proudly. Von Gottfried's smile widened.
"Do you know where he went?"
The desk attendants face screwed up in concentration. "I… think… he probably went to the Caves of Lascaux. He's a reporter, right? All those fools go there!"
"Excellent, mein freund. The German army thanks you for your contribution." He turned back to the tank hatch and ordered, "Ausziehen!" The tank creaked forward, and the crowd parted to let the large steel beast go.
Eventually, most of the swarm of reporters, advertisers, and tourists had dissipated. Tintin and Claude were able to get their statements from the police and the boys who had discovered the caves. "Mr. Augustin, how about you interview the police, and I'll talk to the boys, alright?"
"U-um… okay… " Claude stuttered, fidgeting.
"What's up?" Tintin asked.
Claude glanced shiftily at the police. "I'm u-uncomfortable around the p-police…" the older male muttered.
Tintin sighed. He's stuttering more now… what did he do to the police? "Alright, then I'll interview the police. Don't worry about it."
"Th-thank you…" Claude pulled out a little notepad and pen and went off to talk to the boys.
Tintin sighed again. "I wonder what he did… ah… it'd be best not to poke my nose into other's business." He took a small notepad out of his pocket and strode slowly up to the police officers. "Good day, officers," he greeted.
"Ah, bonjour, monsieur. Are you another reporter?" one of them asked kindly. His companions looked annoyed that there was another reporter asking them questions.
"Yes I am. My name is Tintin and I'm a reporter from Le Petit Vingtieme. My companion's name is Claude Augustin," Tintin said, pointing to Claude. He was talking to the kids.
"I see. Well, what would you like to ask, Monsieur Tintin?" the officer asked.
Tintin clicked his pen and asked, "How have you been handling all of this publicity? I mean, obviously tourists and scientists are flocking from everywhere."
"Oui. That is true. A lot of scientists have been showing up… but we can't let people into the caves yet."
"Why not?"
"Those scientists from all over Europe are down there now, actually. They'll come out in a couple minutes, but they have to do all their analyzing and testing and whatnot. We can't allow citizens and tourists to go down there yet," the policeman said, turning his gaze into the cave. "That's the main reason why the police were called in; to keep the public out."
"I see." Tintin quickly wrote down the officer's words. "Next question: What do you think about these caves? Have you been inside?"
The police officer laughed and said, "What do I think about it? Well, it gets this policeman some attention and something to do!" His companions nodded and chuckled slightly. "No, but on a more serious note, I think these caves'll bring some life back to Lascaux. We're not exactly the most popular city in France, not like Paris or something."
"I see!"
"And, I haven't been into the caves yet… I'm sure I will once the caves are open to the public," the police man said. He adjusted his hat and asked, "Good answers, eh?"
"Yes, thank you. I'd like to interview one of the scientists when they come out," Tintin said. "Can I just get your name, sir?"
"Certainly! Raymond Vespasien! That's my name," Raymond said proudly. "These two are Victor and Yann." The other two waved slightly. "2nd division of the Lascaux Police Department."
"Very pleased to meet you, sir," said the young reporter. He wrote down the last words. "Well, I need to be getting back to my partner. Thank you for your time, sir!" He extended his hand.
Raymond took Tintin's hand and shook it. "Anytime, mon ami! Adieu!" Tintin walked away from the policemen to rejoin with Claude. But he wasn't there. Nor were the boys.
That's strange. Where did they go? He should have been right here… Snowy growled and barked loudly. Some shouts were heard followed by some gunshots inside the cave. "What's going on?!" The policemen drew their pistols and truncheons, yelling in French. Tintin and Snowy ran to the entrance of the cave and skidded down the side. "What's happening?!" Tintin shouted. He faced a horrific sight; about ten scientists in white lab coats staring in terror at their fallen friends. Two of them were on the ground, dead. The four boys who had originally found the caves had their backs pressed against the wall, staring in shock at the perpetrator. It was Claude.
"Privyet, Gospodin Tintin~" 'Claude' said happily. He turned the gun onto Tintin. "I'll have to ask you put your hands up, ser."
Tintin raised his hands and spat, "What do you think you're doing, Augustin?!"
"What's with that tone of voice? I tought we were fwends~" 'Claude' said in a mocking voice. He cackled, "I'm going to snuff you out. Along with those troublesome policemen behind you." The three officers slid down the wall of the cave.
"No! You three stay back!" shouted the young reporter. 'Claude' pointed the gun and Yann and pulled the trigger. The bullet pierced his heart, killing him instantly. Victor snarled and pointed the pistol in his hand at Yann's killer.
"Oh, come now. I don't want to have to kill you, too," said 'Claude,' tilting his head to one side and looking annoyed. He turned the gun back on the four terrified boys. "And I certainly don't want to have to kill them."
"Wait!" Tintin cried desperately. Snowy barked and snarled.
"Shut that dog up, Gospodin Tintin," hissed 'Claude.' "I don't want to kill your precious dog."
"Alright. Hush, Snowy! Be quiet!" Tintin whispered, kneeling to the dog and scratched his ears. Snowy huffed but remained silent. Tintin stood again and said, "There. Now, let all these people go."
"Why?"
Tintin gritted his teeth and shouted, "They don't have anything to do with this! You want me, don't you?! Let them go!"
"My, my. How angry. It's so unlike you to show much emotion, Gospodin Tintin. Did something happen to you?" 'Claude' asked in mock sympathy.
"That's none of your business," Tintin growled. "Just let them go, please! No one else has to die today."
"No one else, except you, perhaps~ Alright, fine. These fools can go free," agreed 'Claude.' His gun-wielding hand dropped to his side and he said, "You heard the man. All of you can go~" The scientists scrambled to the entrance, a couple of them picking up their felled companions. Raymond made something between a growling and a choking sound, but helped Victor carry the body of Yann and made their escape. The four boys ran to Tintin and immediately started asking questions.
"Will you be alright, Tintin?" one of them asked.
"Yes, don't worry, kids. You all get out of here," Tintin replied. Snowy barked at the other dog, presumably Robot. Robot barked back.
"A-are you sure? This guy is completely insane!" another said frantically.
Tintin chuckled. "I've dealt with worse. You four go on. I'll be out shortly." The four of them nodded solemnly and did as Tintin said. I'm sorry I've gotten you involved… Raymond… those kids…. the scientists… Once the four and the dog were gone, Tintin asked, "What do you want?"
"Haven't I told you nicely? I want to erase you. Smite you. Wipe you from the face of the earth~! Those all sound pretty poetic, nyet?" 'Claude' replied with a happy bounce in his voice.
"Why?"
"Why? What a silly question~" The older male fired a shot at Tintin's leg. The bullet grazed him, and he cried out in pain. 'Claude' giggled, "Because I can~! I'm a killer! I enjoy watching people beg me not to kill them! To watch them plead not to hurt they people they love~! It's so enthralling!" He laughed maniacally.
Gripping the wound on his leg, Tintin hissed, "You… enjoy making people suffer? You… you're sick!" 'Claude' quickly strode up to Tintin and struck him with the butt of his pistol in the temple. He collapsed to the ground.
"Sick? I'm a master of the art of killing! And now, people from far and wide will learn of the tragic death of the famous reporter Tintin~! How upsetting it will be! Everyone will remorse and I will be relishing in the glory! Glory that I, the Great Spirydon Sylvestre, killed Tintin!" He cackled and ran out of the cave. Snowy barked and started to chase after him, but decided to stay with his master. The little dog licked Tintin's face, hoping to wake him up. But he didn't. Snowy whimpered and heard something that sounded like a fuse.
What's that 'pssssh' noise? It sounds like… like a bomb! Oh no! I can't drag Tintin up that hill; it's too steep. Can I put the fuse out? Not with that Sylvestre guy out there… the only thing I can do is pull Tintin further into the cave. Then at least he might live… Snowy locked Tintin's collar in his jaws and started to pull him with all his strength. Why do humans have to weigh so much?! Snowy looked back at the entrance just as the bomb exploded. He threw himself over an unconscious Tintin and flattened his ears against his head. Splinters of rock showered everywhere, and the little bit of light in the cave was gone.