Me: HEY EVERYONE I'M BACK! :D

Tintin: Oh. I was getting used to the peace and quiet. :I

Me: Aw. That's not nice. :(

Tintin: At least I was clever and got away~ :D

Me: Atta boy! Always look on the bright side of life! :D

Tintin: Yeah! :D

Me: All right! Disclaimer time! As you know, I, AkuRoku18, do not own the Adventures of Tintin or the characters; I only own a few. :D

Tintin: Go read! :)

Chapter 7

September 19, 1940

Tintin sat in an uncomfortable chair in the general's tent as the general himself paced back and forth, glaring at him occasionally. He was tied up tight. Von Gottfried glanced at the reporter every now and again and muttered to himself in German. "I just can't believe it… he's sitting here again… need to talk to mein Führer… glory…"

"If you're quite done," Tintin growled, staring daggers at the German. "I'd like to know what you want with me."

"What I want? I want everything the world has to offer," von Gottfried said maniacally. He grabbed the arms of the chair and was inches away from Tintin's face. The young reporter could almost smell the gin on his breath. "And you're going to help me get what I want."

"I don't see how that will possibly work. I may be famous, but I'm not magical," Tintin snapped. "If you hand me over to Hitler, he won't care. I've never done anything to upset the Nazis and my name probably doesn't mean a thing in the Third Reich. Just accept that and get on with your life." Von Gottfried breathed heavily and went back to pacing back and forth. "Let me go and I won't report this. Nothing on how you disobeyed orders."

Von Gottfried stopped pacing suddenly and stared at Tintin, his ice cold blue eyes hard with fury. "I don't think you understand how hard it is not to shoot you dead here and now, Herr Tintin," the German general said in a deathly calm voice. "You think that's all? You're stupider than you look." He strode around the chair and put his hands on Tintin's shoulders. "I've always hated you," von Gottfried said slowly. His grip tightened as he continued, "From the minute I read about your heroics in the newspaper, I knew I wanted to beat you. I wanted to be better than the boy who saved his friends in the Himalayas. Better than the boy who went to the Moon and lived to tell the tale. I waited for the day when I could wipe the smile from your face and destroy you. And God has blessed me today." He kicks the chair from behind. Tintin hit the floor hard, cringing as his face collided with the ground.

"Ugh… s-sounds like a personal issue…" Tintin grumbled as he was pulled up again. He came face to face with the general again and snorted, "Using the German army for a personal vendetta? Now that's just wasteful." He tugged at his restraints. "Let me go and we can settle this like men, if you'd prefer." Von Gottfried laughed.

"How stupid." The German took out his pistol and pointed it directly at Tintin's forehead. The dim light glinted off his monocle. "Why sully my hands when I can finish you quickly?" he asked, chuckling darkly. "Oh, but then I would get blood on my uniform… what to do, what to do? So many ways, so little time!"

"You're insane," Tintin muttered, staring defiantly into von Gottfrieds eyes. Before the general could deliver the final blow, a soldier entered the tent, saluting and whispering something in von Gottfried's ear. He growled and put his gun back in the holster grudgingly.

"You will not move an inch from this spot until I get back. Then, I will kill you personally," von Gottfried hissed. He and the soldier marched out of the tent together.

Tintin breathed a sigh of relief. "I really thought I was going to die there…" he mumbled. He pulled at the rope binding him to the chair, only to have it cut into his wrists and chest. "That's not going to work… I don't have a knife or anything." He scooted about the tent on his chair. So much for not moving an inch… He spotted a broken bottle on the ground and thought, This is going to end poorly for my hands… Tintin fell back onto the broken glass, cutting his hands. He winced, grabbed a larger piece, and started to cut the rope. It broke free after a minute and he pushed himself up, rubbing his wrists and tearing off a part of his shirt to bandage his bleeding hands. "Now to get out of here before von Gottfried gets back… that won't be easy." The young reporter searched around the general's personal tent. Fortunately enough, there was a spare uniform in a nice mahogany cupboard. He threw it on quickly and walked out into the darkened Nazi camp.

Nobody seemed to stir. The clouds covered the stars and it smelled as if it were going to rain. Tintin put on the general's cap to cover his quiff. Sure somebody would notice it uncovered. He quickly started to walk towards the exit, but it was heavily guarded and he would be asked where he was headed, so he turned back. He'd just have to go over the fence again, no matter how painful it would be. A few more guards than Tintin's first visit patrolled the perimeter. It would look suspicious climbing over a fence. Tintin decided he'd have to take the more direct approach. A patrol of four walked up and the young reporter stepped in front of them. "Halt!" he said in German. The soldiers saluted.

"What is it, sir?" one of them asked, looking curiously at Tintin.

"I'm here to relieve you of duty," he replied. He saluted and said, "Direct orders from General von Gottfried."

"One soldier replacing four? I better speak to him about it," another soldier said uncertainly. But Tintin was prepared for this.

"You really want to question him now? Don't you know happy he is because he caught that reporter? If you interrupt him, he'll shoot all of you," Tintin said menacingly. This certainly instilled fear in the men and they saluted a final time, letting Tintin relieve them of duty. He chuckles slyly. "Perfect. Now I can get out of here." As soon as no one was looking, he leapt across the fence, rolling onto the ground. Tintin was just about out of the Nazi uniform when he heard alarms ring and a sudden mobilization of troops. "Great snakes! That was fast!" he muttered, "I guess the uniform will come in handy from now on… perfect." He begrudgingly put the light green coat back on and readjusted the sash. The swastika seemed to stare at him in the face. "Back to Corrèze. I need to find Snowy and Eloi." Rain started to fall as Tintin ran back to the town, evading the Nazis just barely.

September 20, 1940

Eloi paced around his room. Snowy sat by the door, whining occasionally. "I'm so sorry, Snowy… but I believe Tintin is gone… the Nazis will not be kind to him," Eloi said sadly. He knelt down and patted Snowy to comfort him. There was a sharp knock on the door, so Eloi answered by opening the door slowly. He was shocked and scared to see a Nazi soldier outside. "C-can I help you?" he asked. Snowy growled threateningly.

"May I come in?" Eloi swung open the door and Snowy barked. The soldier came in and removed his hat. "Thanks for your hospitality!" Tintin said cheerfully. Snowy yipped happily and leapt into Tintin's open arms. "Snowy, old boy! Eloi took care of you, I presume?"

Eloi threw his hat on the ground and practically tackled Tintin. "Mon ami! I thought you'd have been gassed by now! How did you escape? What happened to your hands? Are you really alright?"

"I'm fine! Really~" Tintin reassured the Frenchman, shoving him off. "After von Gottfried told me why he wanted to capture me so badly, he was called away. So, I stole his spare uniform and snuck out."

"He's going to come after you," Eloi said, narrowing his eyes. "He won't stop until he's captured you again. And who knows where Slyvestre is now. Mon dieu, I don't even want to think about him. If he learns that you're alive…"

"I'm not going to worry about him for now," Tintin said. Snowy barked. "If we cross paths again, I will turn him over to the police. He will pay for his crimes. For the time being, I need to get out of Vichy France. The longer I stay, the more danger I'm putting you and your town in. I don't want anyone else getting hurt on my behalf. Eloi, is there any way get past the De Marcation line without the Nazis noticing?"

Eloi screwed up his face in thought. "You can't get out by train. You'd have to walk. It's a long walk, though. Plus you'd have to avoid the patrols that come by there every now and again. It's not easy…"

"It'll have to do. I'm leaving tonight."