"I'd say Pitch is making a tactical change in his plans."

Bunnymund.

x

Friday 12th December 2014

The Guardians were gathered in an impromptu meeting when the portal opened up in the Globe Room and the Bureau stalked out, Baron at the head. After much searching back at the Sanctuary, he had finally located a transporter crystal and set it up to take them to the North Pole – it hadn't taken as much time as Baron had been expecting, but it was still too long.

"I take it you've had no luck with Mother Nature." His words weren't a question, but a cold observation.

"No," Nicholas St. North admitted. "But we are searching everywhere." He spread his arms in a visualisation of how expansive their search was. "When Mother Nature shows her head, we shall find her!"

"Really?" The cat Creation strode straight up to the huge man, and Baron's stature was even less when in stark contrast with the spirit. "Then tell me why she was able to steal away a child from a human home," he growled. "Tell me what you're doing about that. Tell me how you had no idea that had gone on. Tell me how you will stop this from happening again."

'Tell me how you let this happen to Haru.'

He didn't know whether his last, unspoken question was to the Guardians, or to himself. To how he could have let his guard down enough for a child to be stolen from the very house Haru was in at the time. He had no delusions that she was enjoying her little stint at the police station.

"What?" Bunnymund said. "She's taken a child? When?"

"Wednesday evening," Baron hissed. "Now, tell me, why would she be interested in taking a single child from their home?" 'Tell me why it had to be the home that Haru was in. Why, out of all the homes all across the world, it was somewhere so close to home.'

"You have to believe us," Toothania said, flying over to the unmoving Creation. "We had no idea that this had happened or we would have never allowed it to–"

"I do believe you. But now it has happened, what are you going to do?" Baron demanded icily.

"More to the point," Muta grunted, "what is she going to do to the kid?"

"He's right. What would Mother Nature want with a child?"

The Guardians glanced between each other; North shrugged uselessly. "We do not know."

"Wait – maybe we do," Tooth said. She skittered back a wingbeat as her fellow Guardians all turned their attention strictly onto her. She glanced nervously between them. "I mean, Pitch took a child once before – several years ago... He was planning on making a... a..."

"A Winter Princess," North finished slowly.

"That blighter!"

"And, just for the rest of us who aren't familiar with this term," Jack added after a dubious moment, and gestured to the Bureau, "and I assume these guys aren't any the wiser, could you fill us in on that?" He chuckled uneasily, not entirely sure what to make of the turn of events. "What's a Winter Princess?"

"A Winter Princess – or Prince – is a person, often a child, who has been purposely infected with a fearling," Tooth explained. "There are plenty of other names – fearling princess, darkling princess, winter child... and it would result in a being who could control the shadows like Pitch – and now Mother Nature."

"So is Mother Nature a Winter Princess?"

"Technically," North said. "It is... grand term."

"Even Pitch could have been called a Winter Prince," Bunnymund said. "But no one really uses those titles. I think Pitch made up the name himself, really; it would have fitted the way he was so full of 'imself."

"So why take a child for this role?" Baron demanded. "What good does that do? Surely she would have benefited from turning one of you." Not a child. Not a defenceless little three-year-old child, who couldn't even tie his shoes or reach up to his father's waist yet.

"Winter Children are stronger when they take the fearling voluntarily," Tooth whispered. "A child would be much easier to trick into willingly accepting a fearling than any of us. However, any child that has come into contact with spirit – or Creation, I guess – magic could be a lot more powerful, I suppose, which narrows the selection process..."

"Haru has spent quite a lot of time around the Bureau," Toto noted. "She would have picked up a lot of wayward magic from coming into the Sanctuary; it's quite possible the boy had picked up some from being around her."

"So, what you're saying is that her time with us made all this possible," Baron murmured. For not the first time, he wondered whether it would have been wiser to shut the Bureau's doors to Haru. And, for not the first time, he could never imagine doing such a thing. But now he wondered whether it would have been better for all of them if he had.

"Is no one's fault," North reassured. "You had no way to know."

"But I should have been more careful."

"That's the hindsight talking, mate. It's a bugger."

"We will get the child back," Tooth said. "She won't have turned him just yet."

"And how do you know that?" Baron asked dryly.

The Guardians glanced to each other, and Baron saw the truth. They didn't. But then North chuckled uneasily and patted his stomach. "I can feel it in belly." And the other Guardians laughed awkwardly with the humour of habit and Baron felt no more the better for it. If they failed, Haru would never trust him again and – more importantly – they would lose an innocent child.

ooOoo

In the darkness of the night, Mother Nature floated gently in the winter cold and looked on. She was blackness against black; a shadow among shadows, so deep in the darkness that the Guardians had no way of seeing her. She smiled thinly at the gathering, and her father's steed watched uneasily beside her. He neighed and nudged at her side.

"Shush, Onyx. This is far too entertaining."

The nightmare chuffed nervously and nudged her again.

Mother Nature gave a short laugh at whatever words the creature had given. "Now, why ever would I do that? It takes far too much effort to make a Winter Prince – at least, it would for the sake of Prince so small as our Michi with so little Creation magic rubbed off on him. No... I'm going for a much better... prize."

She smiled and her teeth flashed eerily white in the blackness.

"All I'm doing right now is... setting up the pieces."

ooOoo

Haru couldn't really blame the police for their suspicions. After all, they only had her word for it that she hadn't been the one to take Michi – still, there were only so many times she could insist that Michi was gone by the time she had arrived, and there was precious little she could add. Not unless she wanted to be found not-guilty on account of insanity.

Even she wasn't entirely sure that Mother Nature had been the thief. A day later and the memories were a little fuzzy from over-analysis and tiredness.

But all the knowledge in the world that she was innocent was useless without proof. Until someone found a clue – until someone caught the kidnapper – until Michi was safely back in his mother's arms... Until then, she would be their main suspect. And, if indeed Mother Nature was the culprit, then who could tell when – or even if – Michi would be found.

If this dragged out for long enough and they found no evidence that she wasn't the guilty party, they would have to let her go, right?

And still she felt uneasy.

Worse still, she was beginning to grow afraid.

And fear had brought the fearlings to her doorstep – or, to be more precise, to her cellstep. As she lay on the bed in her cell, the shadows were flickering just beyond her bars. She tried not to look, trying to remind herself that they were only there to frighten – not harm. After all, Baron had told her that while fearlings loved to feed on childhood terrors, they weren't too picky as to not snack on the slightly sour fear of adults. Of course, adults couldn't see them, but they could sense them. They could still feel the drain on their energy and confidence, sucking on their fear and intensifying it.

She clenched her fists and rolled onto her side, putting her back to the creatures. She closed her eyes and blocked out the nervous thoughts skittering across her mind. And once sleep did come, it was fraught with nightmares. With monsters and fears and thoughts she thought she had boxed up long ago.

And then, like a light at the end of the tunnel, the nightmares began to lift. She exhaled and the dreamscape changed from the dark shadows to that of the warm Bureau.

She was still dreaming, but it was no longer a nightmare.

"Haru?"

The brunette turned, and her face split into a relieved smile when she saw the Creation. Even if it was only a dream, it was a break from the fears. "Baron." The grin widened. "I don't even care if I'm only dreaming; it's good to see you."

"You too, Haru." The Creation smiled back, but the expression was only half-hearted. "And, yes, it is me."

Haru opened her mouth to reply, and then paused. "Do you mean that as in you're a dream version saying that, or is this some kind of funny communication thing?" She approached him and prodded his chest curiously. "Are you real?"

"Technically, no," he answered. "But, yes, you are talking to the real Baron." He glanced down to where she was still absent-mindedly poking his vest. "Haru..."

"Ah! Sorry–!" She quickly stopped and backed away. But she continued to sneak slightly bewildered, slightly amazed looks in his direction. "So... um, how are you doing this? Not that I don't appreciate being able to talk and all, but..." She gave his chest another prod for good measure. "You have to understand that this is slightly creepy."

"Understood."

"Okay. Good." She raised an eyebrow at him. "Don't do this unless you need to in future, okay? I'm not sure how I feel about my dreams being invaded. Anyway – explanations."

"Well, do you remember how it was mentioned that Creations are linked to the Sandman?"

"The Guardian of Dreams, right – oh..."

"Yes. Well, that doesn't come without certain... perks." Baron smiled again, and then the smile disappeared. She saw nervousness enter his eyes instead. "Haru... the real reason I came tonight to talk like this is because we need to know what happened on Wednesday night." He paused. "The night the child was taken."

"You know about that?"

"We came to see why we hadn't seen you, and we overheard some of what happened at the police station in the process," Baron told her. He didn't tell her the whole story – perhaps he would admit their little detour to her home later on. When things were a little bit more under control. "We have a theory as to the events of that night, but we were hoping that you could..."

"Fill you in," Haru finished.

Baron gave her an apologetic look. "I'm sorry to bring up what must be a sensitive subject, but we need to know."

"Well, you can stop wondering. As far as I'm aware, it was Mother Nature."

She watched his expression as she dropped the bombshell and, although his face did fall, there was none of the shock she had been expecting. "You already knew, didn't you?"

"We had our theories."

"Then tell me why this happened," she demanded, and Baron was forcefully reminded of how he had reacted with the Guardians earlier. "Tell me why..." Her face crumpled, and where there had been anger in Baron, there was only sadness in Haru. "Why... she took Michi."

"We... only really have a theory," Baron mumbled.

"Then theorise!" Haru snapped. She caught the sudden break into anger – anger Baron hadn't seen coming – and reeled it in just as fast. "Sorry, but I'm... I'm tired, and scared, and I just want Michi to be home safe."

"I promise that I will do everything in my power–"

"To do what? As you said, Mother Nature is... far too powerful for any of us. Perhaps even the Guardians, if she takes them on individually." She closed her eyes, rubbing at her face. It was amazing how tired she could be in her own dreams. "Baron, what do we do? And why did she have to take Michi? I know that sounds awfully selfish of me, but I can't help it. He's like a son to me – out of all the children in the world, why did Mother Nature choose him?"

Her dark eyes stared stubbornly at Baron in such a way that indicated she had a suspicion she didn't want to entertain.

"Is it anything to do with me? Like, did she choose Michi just out of... spite? Because, otherwise, the chance that she would choose Michi out of all the children... Surely it's too much to simply be a coincidence?" She scowled. "Say something, Baron."

There was a silence – not so long, but long enough to the waiting Haru – and then, "Yes."

"Yes?" she echoed icily. "What does that mean?"

"It means... Mother Nature's choice wasn't entirely... random..." Baron admitted.

"Then give me a reason."

"Mother Nature... intends to make a Winter Prince, we believe. This involves... turning someone by intentionally infecting them with a fearling; the most powerful Winter Children are the ones turned willingly, and who have been exposed to Guardian magic. The latter... significantly narrows down her options."

"But Michi hasn't had anything to do with the Guardians – if anything, Kasumi's had more to do with them, so–"

"Creation magic is a variation of Guardian magic," Baron said.

Haru hesitated. Her face, despite the dream circumstances in which they were in, paled. "I've picked up a little magic from my time at the Bureau, haven't I?" she whispered. It wasn't usable magic to her, but it clung to her skin, her clothes, her hair; Toto had once commented that her form was so soaked in latent magic and humanity that she was unmistakable. "It's rubbed off onto Michi and Kasumi in my time with them, hasn't it?"

"It... is possible."

"It's not just possible," Haru snapped, a little harsher than intended. "That's what you think happened, isn't it? That's your theory."

The Creation could only nod.

"But I've... I've spent so much time teaching the other kids – are they in danger too? Have I put them all at risk?"

"We believe Mother Nature is only capable of turning one child; it takes far too much energy and magic to turn a child, and – regardless – the Guardians are now looking out for her more than ever."

"Not that it made any difference the first time," Haru muttered bitterly. "You know what, Baron? When I found the Bureau again after university and my teacher training, and you asked whether I wanted to help with cases..."

"And you thanked me, but said that your life was already busy enough," Baron said. "Yes, I remember."

"Well, that may not have been the truth. I mean, it was truthful, but... it wasn't the whole truth. I... rejected your offer because, yes, I didn't want the struggles of a double life, but also... I was afraid. Not for myself – but for those around me. I knew what kind of scraps the Bureau got into; I knew that you had picked up a few enemies along the way, and some of them wouldn't be below finding leverage in those closest to you..." In fact, there had been cases where the Bureau had shut off all communication with her entirely, to keep her safe. "And I knew I could never put my friends and family at risk like that. And now you're telling me that just seeing you was enough to put Michi into the hands of Mother Nature?"

"Haru, please; if I had had any idea that your presence would be enough to put those you care about at risk..."

What? What would they have done? Would Haru have walked away from the Bureau – forever? Maybe. She would have kept coming if it were only her own life on the line, but... she would never put others willingly at risk.

It was Haru who first broke the silence.

"You're... going to get Michi back, aren't you?" It was only just a question; the tone verged almost onto empty observation.

"We're going to do our best."

"Yes, well... when this is over..." Suddenly she wasn't looking at him anymore; suddenly she was staring out of the windows of the dream Bureau and she looked like her next words were going to cost her. "When this is over... I think we'd better call it a day."

"What... do you mean by that, Haru?"

She smiled weakly, but the smile didn't reach her dark eyes. "I've been lucky, Baron, to have had the chance to know you – and the whole Bureau – but it seems our luck has finally run out. If... leaving the Cat Bureau behind will enable me to have an ordinary life – and to spent it safely with those I love – then I guess that's what I'll have to do. I can't keep doing this – I can't keep putting others at risk for my sake. And I can't leave my human life behind."

"I understand, Miss Haru."

Her smile saddened as she noticed the unusual formality. The first sign of distancing. "Once we get Michi back – or once... you know, this is all over – then I suppose it'll be time for us to go our separate ways."

The edge of consciousness started to tug on the dream; sleep began to slip away as Haru felt the pull of wakefulness gain its grip on her. Before it could fully take her, however, she embraced her friend.

"Goodbye, Baron."

ooOoo

A/N: Every year I say I'm going to be more prepared for next year's Christmas special, and every year this happens. In fact, I think I'm getting worse... Anyhow, sorry about the delay - I have a plethora of excuses, not all of them excusable - and just know that I will never abandon any story... I just take my own sweet time writing it.

Thanks for all the patience, and Merry Christmas!

Cat.