He sat there, staring at the black top hat that once held meaning. for once, he felt ashamed of what he was doing, it felt wrong in every way and the feeling won't stop bothering him.

But it wasn't really his fault. he really had no control of what was happening within the airship. someone else was in charge and now, he is fighting to regain his control over the toppat clan again. where have the days of raiding museums and rich households have gone to?

Reginald sighs as he loosens his grip on the top hat, his eyes moving away from it. ever since he saw Sven, his mind haven't stopped racing. thoughts kept entering and exiting, causing a headache to grow. surely, if his mind is acting this way, he must be doing something wrong, right?

The opening of the door interrupted his train of thought and he looked over his should to see who it was. 

RHM stood in the doorway, with his bored expression changing so slightly after seeing Reginald. the man was feared by all in the toppat clan, he was quite strong and dangerous. however, the man had a bit of a soft spot for the people that he truly loved and cared.

"You alright, Reg?" the man closed the door behind him and walked up to Reginald, placing a robotic hand on his shoulder. Reginald sighed as he fixed the top hat on his head. "I'm not sure." he replied, placing the blank top hat on the table near him.

"I'm just thinkin' a lot." he admitted after a few seconds of silence passed. Right's hand remained on Reginald's shoulder. "thinkin'?" he repeated. "thinkin' about what?" he asked. Reginald wasn't sure how to answer, he opened his mouth but nothing came out.

Silence filled the dimly lit room, with Reginald still staring at the black top hat. too many thoughts. "..it's them, isn't it?" Right asked, breaking the silence in the room. Reginald gave another sigh and nodded, bringing his head down.

It was hard.

Reginald knew Sven, they were once very close. he saw Sven as family, as his own son. so, when he disappeared, he felt devastated. it turned out that both Burt and Sven had ran away from the clan, feeling crushed by their responsibilities.

Perhaps it was too much?  

Reginald so desperately wanted to understand why. he wanted to ask so many questions but he couldn't. according to Right, Sven was hostile. he was angry at them and Reginald didn't know why. he was just so confused.

But Burt, on the other hand..

"How's Burt?" Reginald asked, opening his eyes to face his Right Hand Man. He closed his eye, suddenly deep in thought. after a few moments of silence, Right replied. "..he's not as hostile as Sven. he speaks what's on his mind." Right said, letting go of Reginald's shoulder to cross his arms.

Reginald nodded. he might be able to get a few answers from Burt since he isn't as hostile as Sven. he sighed and sat down on a chair nearby. Right sighed, grabbing a chair across the room with his metallic arm and pulled it to him, taking a seat next to Reginald.

"..There's something that I want you to know." Right spoke up, easily getting Reginald's attention. 

"What is it, Right?"

Right sighed, crossing both his arms and legs. "..I overheard Sven and Burt conversing." Right started. Reginald leaned in a bit, listening. "they talked about this girl, named Soph. I assume that's their daughter or something." Right looked away, the expression on his face becoming unreadable. 

Reginald became quiet. too many questions.

He stood up, feeling Right's gaze follow him to the door. "where are ya going, Reg?" Right asked, standing up from his chair before Reginald stopped. "I'm going to have a talk with Burt. I have a few questions I wanna ask." Reginald explained before exiting the room.

Right plopped back onto the chair, sighing and pinching the bridge of his nose.

I'll never find out what he's thinkin' in that mind of his.

                                                         -----------------------------------

The sound of shoes tapping against the metallic floor bothered Reginald as he approached the once lonely cell. 

Once he arrived at the cell door, he took a deep breath and entered the cell, stopping once he saw both Sven and Burt sleeping, tangled in each other's arms. Reginald cursed under his breath and quietly went over to Burt's side, tapping his shoulder.

After a few tries, Burt woke up, his teal eyes looking so tired. he stared at Reginald for awhile before saying anything. the silence racked Reginald's nerves.

Suddenly, his tired face slightly turned into fear as he gazed into Reginald's golden eyes. "what are you doing here..?" he asked, feeling his hand slightly tremble. Reginald sighed through his nose, recollecting his thoughts. 

"I want to have a chat with you." Reginald started. he watched as Burt's expression completely turned into fear, his hands gripping onto the fabric of his jacket. "I just wanna have a small chat, Burt." Reginald kept his voice calm but panic slowly bubbled up in him. 

"you.. you just wanna chat? nothing else?" Burt asked and to which, Reginald replied with a nod. "I promise. I'll return you here right after." 

Burt looked over to Sven, who has surprisingly not woken up. he sighed and slowly got out of the swede's grip and gave him a kiss on his forehead. Burt looked over to Reginald. "lead the way, then." Burt said, stuffing his trembling hands into his pockets.

Reginald nodded and they both made their way out of the cell. the trip over to Reginald's office was silent, the only sound around with was the soft tapping of their shoes against the floor. once there, he opened the door to his office, letting Burt in before he closed the door.

"Would you like some tea?" Reginald asked, trying to ease the awkwardness between them. Burt shook his head. "no thank you.." he mumbled, chewing the inside the of his cheek. Reginald pulled a chair near his desk and prompted Burt sit down.

Burt hesitantly walked over to the chair and sat down near Reginald, who was already seated. after a few moments of silence, Reginald suddenly spoke up. "I wanted to ask you a few questions, if you don't mind." he looked over to Burt, who appeared nervous but nodded anyway.

Reginald put his hands together before he asked his first question. "why did you two run away?" he was too straightforward with this question but he couldn't help it. 

The question was in his mind forever.

"Uhm.." Burt scratched his head nervously and looked around the room. he looked everywhere but Reginald. "we just couldn't anymore. the danger was too high for me and Sven.." Burt paused, trying to figure out what else he should say.

"..Sven has his own reasons." his eyes looked at the floor, too afraid to look up. Reginald nodded, taking in this new information. "..but the toppat clan has always been dangerous, one way or another. I thought you were aware of this." Reginald commented. Burt sighed harshly through his nose.

"Well, I knew that but.." Burt trailed off, taking his hands out of his pockets to fiddle with his fingers. "..but it felt so overwhelming. it felt like death was breathing down my neck. I just couldn't take it anymore, sir. anymore of it and I'd go mad." Burt explained, still looking at the floor.

Reginald nodded. "I see. that makes much more sense now. what about Sven?" Reginald crossed his arms, waiting for a response. Burt inhaled through his nose. "like I said, he has his own reasons. he was the one to offer that we should run away." Burt explained but then paused and looked at Reginald, eyes filled with fear.

"I cannot belive I just told you that." Burt put his hands over his mouth and looked back at the floor.

"No, no, no! I won't tell anyone. what goes on in the office, stays in the office as I always say." Reginald chuckled. Burt squinted his eyes at him but shook it off. "fine. but I find out you told someone, I'll find a way to get out of this prison and get you back for it." Burt huffed. Reginald nodded in response. "that's fair. I promise I won't."

However, Reginald wasn't truly paying attention. it's true that he wouldn't tell anyone what Burt has just revealed, he always stays true to his words. however, he couldn't get it out of his head. 

Sven was the one who offered to run away? Reginald always thought that it was Burt who purposed it but it turns out he was wrong. Reginald swallowed hard and took a deep breath before asking another question.

"If I may, who is this Soph?" Reginald asked. Burt looked up again but this time in pure shock. "how- how do you about Soph?!" Burt raised his voice, fear pouring out onto it. Reginald quickly shushed him.

"Be quiet, please. I don't want anyone to know that I brought you out of your cell." Reginald spoke calmly, attempting to calm him down. Burt nodded and took a deep breath. "but how do you know about Soph?" Burt asked again, while it still has the same tone, Burt attempted to keep his voice down.

"I have my ways." Reginald decided to leave out that Right told him about Soph. "..does anyone else know?" Burt whispered and he let out a sigh of pure relief  once he saw Reginald shake his head. "I only know." Reginald lied.

"Now, it's time for you to answer my question." Reginald scooted his chair closer to Burt, causing his breathing to quiver a bit. "who's this Soph?" he asked once again. Burt sighed and bit his lip before answering.

"Soph is my daughter." Burt sighed, wiping the sweat off of his hands on his jeans. Reginald hummed in response.

Ah. so, Right guessed correctly. 

"I see." Reginald nodded, trying to piece the information together like a puzzle. "..how old is she?" he asked. Burt looked at him, confused. "she's 3." he responded. Reginald was able to tell the confused tone he had in his voice.

"So, is Sven mad because we took you guys away from a 3 year old or is it something else?" Reginald leaned back into his chair, twirling his mustache as he waited for a response. Burt shrugged. "perhaps. but isn't that expected?" Burt's nervousness suddenly disappeared and was replaced with a snarky tone. 

"Of course, he'd upset that you took him away from his daughter, who, I may add is only 3!" Burt raised his voice and crossed his arms. his anger was valid in this case. Reginald muttered under his breath and stood up from his chair, looking as calm as ever.

..As if he wasn't getting yelled at.

"I'm afraid that we ran out of time." Reginald claimed, walking away from his chair and a suddenly confused Burt. "I have to take you back to your cell." he opened the door and Burt stood up, going back to his nervous state.

Like the trip to the office, this one was also silent. soon enough, they were both at the cell's door and as it opened, Burt stepped inside. however, before it closed, Reginald stopped it from doing so.

"I'm sorry that our time together ended so abruptly." Reginald apologized. "it's just that I was afraid that if you were out of cell for a long time, someone might have thought you've escaped." he explained, once again twirling his mustache around his finger. Burt nodded and walked away from Reginald, he sat down next to Sven and held onto the swede's arm, closing his eyes.

Reginald stared at the pair for a while longer before walking, hearing the cell door close behind him. 

Once he arrived to his office, he collapsed onto the nearest chair and sighed. his questions got answered but why did it hurt? why did it hurt to know that it was Sven that suggested that they both should run away.

Perhaps Burt lied.

..But what would lying do in this scenario? it must be the truth. Reginald sighed harshly through his nose and dug his fingers in his hair, knocking the top hat from his head. he watched it fall onto the floor but he didn't even care picking it up.

He was too dazed. too distracted. he couldn't do anything. not right now, at least.

He has a lot of thinking to do.