He'd never been one for magic tricks. Even as a child he'd been more in favour of science and reason than visual trickery. For Edward Richtofen it was always simple: Einstein was pro, Houdini was no. The exhilarating feeling of creating his first electrical circuit far shadowed that of seeing any rabbit pulled out of a hat. Science was the proof and explanations behind life itself and just about everything, and magic, in his opinion, was better left to those with not much better to do than seek attention.

Until one day he learned to charm a snake.

He'd known her practically her whole short life. She was a bright, inquisitive child with something to say about everything. Always laughing, smiling, happy. Always carrying that teddy bear he bought her a few years ago, everywhere. She was the type of little girl who loved nothing better than to lie in the long grass in the fields by the factory of Der Riese, staring up at the clouds.

'Oh look Herr Richtofen! That cloud up there looks just like my teddy bear!'

Her voice rang loud and clear in his head, full of youth, and spirit and wonder. He grew a huge soft spot for her over time, and she came to love him unconditionally. He was always there when Daddy was gone – and when they were both busy, she'd spend her time playing with that dog her Dad bought for her birthday. Fluffy. Fluffy, fluffy, fluffy. A name the Nazi Doctor nowadays considered ironic, given the demonic nature of the creature that once was branded with a label that sounded so... cute.

But as the months went on, something happened inside Edward. His hatred of existence and people intensified by the day, his desires for death and destruction became almost a lust. He'd stare into space for almost days on end, trying to block the thoughts out.

Everyone is weak. People are pathetic. Please the voices. Kill them all.

He remembered his old mantra, repeating it to himself a couple times for memory's sake. He'd been caught saying it a couple of times under his breath, he recalled the small child peering round a door at him, staring on at him in wonderment.

'Herr Richtofen, are you okay? Who are you talking to?'

'No one, Samantha. I was only counting numbers. Now go on and play. Herr Richtofen is busy at the moment.'

'Can we play a game later, Herr Richtofen? I can't find Fluffy, I think she's busy right now. Please?'

'Maybe, maybe.'

Her big brown eyes faltered from their bright stare into a furrowed frown, she walked away, teddy bear in hand. Samantha felt lonely these days – Daddy was always too busy to play, Herr Richtofen was always too busy to play, Fluffy was having puppies and too tired to play. A few months prior, the Doctor would have watched the little girl walk away disheartened with a pang of remorse. But he stared on, nonplussed. The child was weak, and not deserving of his glorious attention.

After an experiment with the little girl's companion went wrong, the dog emerged from the teleporter on fire, snarling. The Doctor and Maxis had their work cut out – it chased them around the room, snapping, doing its utter best to bring the two scientists to their demise. There and then, something monstrous boiled up inside Richtofen.

'Try and calm it down, Maxis. I will fetch more personnel.'

He threw his lab coat on callously, ran down and down the corridors til he arrived at Samantha's room. He pulled out his magic flute - words.

'Ah! Samantha! Come here Frauline, I have something to show you!'

'Oh! I love surprises, what is it? Can I see?

'You have to come with me first, my dear. I promise, you'll love it!'

'Where is Fluffy? I want her to see too!'

'Fluffy is already in there with your father, Frauline.'

It was working like a charm. The snake ran with a spring in its step, dancing towards its basket. The more he said, the harder he played his flute, the more enticed the snake became, almost running towards its unknown demise. It was charmed, under the spell of the doctor. They got near to the teleport room, getting closer, closer...

Without hesitation, a swift kick of his skinny leg launched the small girl flying into the teleport, screaming as she did so. Her father, in a vain attempt to rescue his daughter, felt the same polished boot impact on his back, winding him. He fell face-first into the teleporter, and a horrible burning, snarling something ran towards them, hungry for their souls. The crazed Doctor locked the teleport, watching on in fascination as the dog tried to maul them both, until a flash of white light inside the machine consumed them and a large, bloodstained handprint was left on the wall next to a much smaller one.

The Doctor felt no emotion as he walked away in silence, turned off the lights and returned to his work.

Edward hadn't really thought much about life before that time; he ran a hand through mousey brown greying hair and sighed to himself. She was fun to have around, and Ludwig was once a good friend. It had been a long time, and even hindsight wasn't serving him well when trying to come up with a reason for his actions.

A single tear ran down his cheek as remorse flooded over him like a tidal wave, his breath catching in his throat. Staring down at the dirty, bloodstained floor of the dressing room in the Kino der Toten, head in his hands, Edward wondered what his life would have been like if he'd just been normal. After a few minutes, he looked up to see if the others were anywhere nearby. He turned to the table to check his hair, wipe his face and put on his Scary Richtofen persona. What he saw drained the colour from his face, and his stomach leap.

All Edward Richtofen could see in the mirror was a huge, fang-bearing cobra in place of himself.