Little William; Part 1.

"Little William, what do you know of power..?"

The sun shone in scattered rays which pierced through the clouds above, bathing the charred earth below in pristine light, as if the wake of battle had made it somehow sacred. It was fitting, the young doctor thought, as he peered through a jaggedly-outlined hole blown into plaster on the blackened walls of a dilapidated building which still radiated heat and smelled pungent of carbon scoring. It was fitting for a baptism to initiate his latest creation into the world... His greatest creation. …Not yet, at least, but over time it would manifest into one of the most powerful tools of the Reich.

With a startled blink of his eyes, the young, white-labcoat clad man ran an idle hand through the short-cut brown hair atop his head, noting with pleasure that no sweat had tainted its cleanliness before turning his attention to that which had awoken him from his imaginative reverie. Standing below him atop the rubble which littered the floor was a small boy, dirty, black splotches smeared across his face, blue eyes filled with tears and fear. A pouty lip quivered, his small, skeletal frame tremoring as he struggled to continue to support the weight of the bulky assault rifle which he carried, its barrel smoking from the heat of excessive use.

The young man smiled upon the boy lovingly; with the sort of deep, unconditional love which would be bestowed by a father upon his own son. Kneeling down, the doctor withdrew a clean, bright yellow pad which would be commonplace in a laboratory and nowhere else; a stark contrast to the dingy browns, blacks, and greys of the surrounding destruction. With gentle strokes, he wiped away the sweat, grime, and tears from the boy's face, beaming with pride as he ran his free hand through the boy's tangled mat of hair. "Nothing yet, Little William… Nothing yet. ...But you've done well, today. Yes, you have. I couldn't be more proud of you, Little William. You have shown me just how much you love me, just as I love you." With a stiff nod of approval, the scientist ran his eyes in examination over the boy before he rose to his feet. He folded his arms at his chest and gave pause in reluctance before concluding with a final note... A note of farewell. "I'm going away now, Little William. You'll not see me for a long time now, but I want you to think of me when you hold your rifle... And so I never want you to put your rifle down. Every time you send a bullet piercing through the flesh of your enemies, I want you to remember that I'm watching over you. But most importantly, I want you to remember that the Reich loves you, and you must love it, above all else. Even when I am gone, the Reich will always be here for you... And you must be here for it."

Wheeling about with the agility and discipline of a soldier on the heels of his polished black shoes, the doctor withdrew a pair of flimsy spectacles from within the front pocket of his labcoat and placed them so that they would rest clumsily upon the bridge of his nose. It was but one of the many odd habits of the young, budding scientist, being insistent upon the continued use of a malfunctioning piece of equipment in spite of the fact that it could have been replaced or at the very least repaired at his whim. "Let's go." Almost daintily, the doctor carefully weaved his way through the rubble which littered the collapsed building's floor, making his way to the exit, where a group of ebon-clad officers bearing the glistening silver lightning-bolt Runic of the Schutzstaffel awaited him, taking up an escort formation around him the moment that he stepped through what remained of the door.

The little boy stood silent, watching the group of silhouettes glide across the smoldering, rocky terrain... Though one figure stood out above all... The white lab coat which fluttered in the wind.