It was an ordinary day at the German bunker. The wind blew furiously as the dark clouds covered the serene blue skies. Sitting in his own quarters, the one-eyed general was busy strategizing, determined to secure victory in this global conflict. His gaze shifted towards the colossal portraits of himself adorning the walls as he started to wonder where his henchmen might have gone.
"They should have been back by now," he muttered to himself. "What's taking their patrol so long? What is delaying them from reporting to me at the right time?"
The general sighed.
"Maybe they're just being the lunatics that they are, I never expected much from them anyway."
Just then, he caught sight of two figures running down the long corridor. His loyal henchmen were returning.
"Ah, Cufflingk and Underlingk," General Von Talon walked towards them while speaking in a harsh accent. "Any sightings of pigeons who might be attempting to infiltrate our base?"
At that moment, the general noticed that Cufflingk was clutching a tiny wicker bassinet with a blue blanket covering its contents. He glared at it, not knowing what purpose it was supposed to serve. Could it be that his henchmen had brought him a present? That would be unlikely, as he knew that they didn't like him that much. His curiosity was about to reach its peak. He had to find out what was inside that bassinet.
"Cufflingk," the general muttered, "may I please know what is inside this basket that you have brought into the base? Could it be... a potential prisoner?"
"Uh, General..." Cufflingk stuttered, "I don't think you would like this, but..."
Cufflingk placed the bassinet on the ground in front of General Von Talon. Slowly, Cufflingk removed the blue blanket, and in it was a baby bird and a paper note. The baby bird was weak and was covered in white down, and it looked like it had just hatched not too long ago. It was sleeping soundly in the bassinet, unaware of its current whereabouts.
The general quickly noticed the note beside it, and grabbed it as swiftly as possible. He cleared his throat, then read it out loud:
"Dear General,
I hope this note finds you well. My body is getting weaker and weaker as I continue to fight in the war, and my wife, who used to work alongside me, sadly perished right after I started to write this note to you. I cannot handle the pressure of having to take care of a baby while fighting in a war, nor do I want to see her suffer. The safest place I can leave this baby is here, near the German base that is closest to me. Will you please take care of my little infant girl so she can grow up to be a better soldier and fight for her own country? I will be eternally grateful if you could be of assistance, as I have dedicated my entire life to you and your army.
Best regards,
Ekkehart Fluegel
Oberstleutnant of Falcon Division 37."
There was a moment of silence.
"Pathetic," the general muttered to his henchmen. "Should we keep her, or should we throw her out?"
"I think we should keep her," Underlingk replied. "Besides, I think we can all protect her-"
"Protect her? PROTECT HER?" Von Talon screeched at Underlingk. "Babies are putrid, annoying little things. They do NOT deserve to be protected!"
Just then, the baby woke up due to the commotion and started to wail.
"Herr General! Please reconsider!" Cufflingk replied. "This baby might just be our future! We are lacking new recruits lately, and with this baby by our side, we might just win the war!"
"Cufflingk, do you even think that this weakling will be of use in the future?" the general interrupted. "She's totally defenseless! I could never imagine this baby growing up to be useful to me."
"But... just imagine! Our army could expand with this baby by our side!" Cufflingk added.
"Nonsense!" General Von Talon scowled as he stared at the crying baby. "If I see any of you siding with this feeble being, I swear I will-"
The general paused.
"WILL YOU JUST SHUT UP?" he yelled at the infant. "Your cries annoy me!"
The infant, hearing that the general had raised his voice, cried even louder.
"You've... startled the baby, Herr General," Underlingk whispered.
"I know," Von Talon replied, walking closer to the bassinet, "I just want this ugly little child to die."
Cufflingk and Underlingk stared at the general. Even though they knew that he lacked compassion in all forms, they were still a bit shocked to know that he would treat this fragile baby bird like this.
The general slowly approached the baby and kept staring at her with his menacing right eye. The little one, with her eyes tightly shut, had no clue about the situation unfolding around her. All she could sense were the warm breaths of air from the general, embracing her delicate frame.
Just then, the infant stopped crying.
"Finally, some peace and quiet," Cufflingk told the general.
General Von Talon quickly turned his head away from the baby, still with a stern expression on his face.
"Weakling. The reason as to why she stopped crying is only due to how weak and exhausted she is. She has no fight left in her body. She-"
Von Talon abruptly stopped talking and sighed. The baby bird had managed to silence him. He couldn't help but feel ashamed of himself for his outburst and soft spot for her. He looked back at the baby, who was still in the process of calming down after her bout of crying. The general started to realize how pathetic he was. He never thought that such a tiny infant could affect him that much. He must not show anyone in this room his vulnerable side - not even the baby. The general slowly moved his head away from her.
The baby, lacking the warm air that the general had temporarily provided her with, began crying even more. She was cold without her blanket and was unable to keep herself warm without his help.
The general was infuriated by the baby's actions. The baby must be thinking that he was some weak, mothering bird, but he was obviously not. He was a ruthless predator who would easily tear his enemies apart, not a mother who cared for any abandoned child left on the doorstep!
However, a surge of warmth soon entered his body. The general felt a strong urge to step forward and console the sobbing infant, despite it potentially being a pathetic sight. He wanted to grab that child and comfort it as much as he could. But he wasn't capable of doing that. What would Cufflingk and Underlingk think of him? What would he think of himself? Being sympathetic towards the infant is something that he would never do. He had to uphold his ruthless persona.
Cufflingk picked up the baby and attempted to comfort it in his wings.
"There, there, child," he said to her, "Don't listen to him. We're not going to abandon you again."
The baby was still bawling in his wings. It seemed like she wanted something else other than Cufflingk's comfort.
"Underlingk, I have no idea what she wants!" Cufflingk whispered to Underlingk.
"Well... this may sound stupid, but what if she wants to be held by the General?" Underlingk whispered back.
"The baby? Wanting to be held by me? Are you two absurd?" Von Talon questioned his henchmen. It seemed that the general had overheard their little conversation.
"We won't know unless you try, Herr General..." Cufflingk stuttered.
The general appeared furious, but he was starting to feel warmer. This peculiar sensation of bliss was welling up inside him. Typically, he wouldn't find happiness in little things like this, but for some reason, this baby has ignited this unfamiliar emotion within his cold body. How can he ever admit that the thought of this baby had brought him such immense inner delight?
"Don't be ridiculous, Cufflingk, this baby would never want someone like me to hold her. She's clearly afraid of me. She..."
Cufflingk handed the fragile bundle to the general.
"...feels rather warm," the general completed his sentence. Though her cries continued to bother him, he was beginning to understand why she had to cry. She was not old enough to express her emotions and needs, and was just a weak little hatchling who deserved more love from her (non-existent) parents. Besides, she was not old enough to be involved in war and conflict yet, so why should he see her with hatred in his eye when she had done nothing wrong to him? Just then, the general's instincts started to kick in. He knew he had to do it. He knew he had to soothe this baby. He could not hold his unmanly feelings in anymore.
Finally ignoring how embarrassing this might look in front of his henchmen, he placed his left wing above the baby bird and rocked her back and forth with his other wing.
As he was comforting the baby, Cufflingk and Underlingk stared at the general. They had never seen Von Talon become so protective over a baby - and it wasn't even his baby. Why was this merciless, heartless falcon comforting this feeble infant? Should they be concerned?
As the baby quieted down, the hallway became silent. The baby was snuggling closer to the general's body as his henchmen were staring at him as he was too stunned to speak. He was gradually feeling weak and vulnerable because of his sensitivity. He couldn't believe that he was behaving this way in front of his henchmen. He couldn't believe his own mind. He felt a surge of tenderness just from this defenseless little bird. What was wrong with him? How could he even call himself a general when he was such a weakling at heart?
General Von Talon sighed loudly before finally speaking. He felt like a massive fool while he was trying to understand his feelings regarding this pitiful baby bird. He really wanted to spend more time with her in a secluded spot where it would be just the two of them so he wouldn't feel that embarrassed about himself revealing his soft side in front of this infant.
"Cufflingk, Underlingk... leave the baby with me. I will take care of her."
"General..." Cufflingk asked, "are you sure about this? Is this even a good idea?"
Von Talon was starting to get annoyed at Cufflingk as his order was not being followed by his henchmen. He was the general, after all.
"I am not asking! I AM ORDERING! Leave the baby bird with me!"
"Ja, Herr General!" Cufflingk and Underlingk responded before they moved away from the general, leaving him and the baby alone.
Von Talon walked back to his room, still holding the baby in his wings. Now that his henchmen were not around, he could finally admit to himself that he enjoyed caring for the little infant. She may be weak and defenseless to a general like him, but she was innocent and adorable as well. She was basically a little ball of white fluff.
"Oh, you're so precious," the general chuckled, stroking her white down on her head as she slowly fell asleep in his wings. This baby falcon was going to grow up to be as large and powerful as him in the future, but it was obvious that she still had far to go. He couldn't wait to take care of her and see who she will eventually become when she grows up.
The general leaned down and gave her a slight peck on her tiny head. The baby giggled with joy, attempting to give him a peck back at his face. As he felt the baby's innocent attempt to reciprocate his affection, a mix of emotions were swirling inside him. It was a feeling he had never encountered before in his entire life, as he had only known love and affection from his now deceased family until that very moment.
"I'll do my best to take care of you," he whispered to the baby, "for your survival and for my own country. Welcome to the world, Pauline."
Indeed, it was an ordinary day at the German bunker, but to Von Talon, this day was far from ordinary, thanks to the arrival of this little spark of life.
When I was writing this story, yes, I was aware that the Valiant (2005) fandom is basically dead at this point. The reason why I have written this fanfic is because no one talks about Valiant anymore and that I want to share with you all about my love for this movie. I also love the villains of this movie very much, even though their personalities still have room for improvement. Since there's not many fanfics focused on the villains, I have decided to write this fanfic because I just adore them. I hope you all will like this even though my writing is trash and that this is my first fanfic on here.