Chapter Thirty Six: We'll Never Part

Though fate won't always do

What we desire-

Still we can set

The world on fire!

Give me your hand,

Give me your heart-

Swear to me we'll never part!

… You know who I am.

… This is who I am.

Take me as I am.

Take Me as I Am, Wildhorn's Jekyll and Hyde Musical

xxXxx

Baron's emotions had been on a roller coaster for over a day now. He had gone from ecstatically happy to despair, slight bit of hope to worse despair, and then back and forth between the last two feelings until Haru finally revealed her vocal talents.

Or lack thereof. He never thought that such an awful sound could be heaven-sent, but by now, he had grown used to surprises. Where Haru was concerned, they were inevitable.

But he was still surprised when the girl ran past them like the wind, her fur rapidly turning white as she high-kicked a familiar black cat in the face while tearing a spear out of his paws.

With a chill, he remembered the last time a spear had been involved. Lucy had also seen what was about to occur.

Thank heaven Haru had a different way of answering the situation.

Mephistopheles forgot about the duel completely; staring at Edna with horror as she casually broke the spear over her knee.

"Nah ah," she taunted, waving her paw in a 'no no' gesture at the duke. "If you wish to win the duel, do it on your own."

"Who… what…" he choked, looking at Baron accusingly. "What have you done to her? She is not the same person!"

The werecat laughed, and left a deep cut in one of his arms. "I could have told you that almost a year ago."

"My lord Baron," Edna said in a stranger tone than usual as she drew closer to him. It was strange, because although the tone was Edna, the way she said her pet name for him was all Haru.

Despite his better judgment, he couldn't help but stare at her as well. Her soft, glossy fur was rapidly changing from chocolate brown to snow white and back again, almost like a river flow. Even her expression was somehow caught between Haru's determination and Edna's wicked smirk. Strangest of all, there was not even a small bit of pain on her perfect features.

Something was happening to the woman he loved, and he wasn't quite sure what to make of it.

The last three steps she took were rather fast, grabbing his hands to make his sword deflect what would have been a fatal thrust from Mephistopheles. She slammed one fist into his face sharply to make him fall to the floor, although never taking her gaze away from Baron.

"Give us the sword, my lord. It's our turn."

"Now, this is my fight," he tried to protest, since he wasn't sure which personality he should address.

But she pressed a paw against his lips with a sad smile. "So was the fight between us and the slime bag. What goes around comes around, and this needs to come. Please, it's our turn."

He gave her a distressed look before sneaking a short glance at Mephistopheles, who was staring at Haru with open horror.

That was what made up his mind. That, and the fact that he'd never been good at denying her anything she wanted. "Make me proud," he told her as he handed over the weapon.

She smiled warmly at him, showing a bit more of Haru than Edna in the gesture. "We'll do our best. Stand with the others."

He nodded, and made a quick retreat to stand close to Lune and Muta.

"… Just what are you?" Mephistopheles choked as Edna began her deadly advance.

"You mean you didn't know?" she smirked, sharply slashing the sword as he rolled away. "We'd have thought that you'd have found that out before marrying us."

"Stop speaking in plurals; you're not a monarch!" he nearly screamed as he narrowly avoided each of her blows as he ran from her.

But Edna was enjoying herself now, laughing wickedly as she chased the panicked duke around his own hall. Her fur was still changing colors, like her body couldn't decide which personality should be in control.

Baron had to bite back a laugh as he watched. The situation was a little ironic, considering the fact that he had been chasing her less than an hour before in a similar fashion.

"We are not a royal, you idiot. We are karma, and it's time to pay your dues," Edna sneered, avoiding the soldiers with ease when Mephistopheles ordered them to subdue her.

"What is she going to do?" Lune whispered fearfully.

Baron had to laugh. "She's just giving him a taste of his own medicine."

Muta shook his head, watching his child jump over a few more persistent soldiers to attack the duke again. "This isn't going to end well. I can feel it."

"It will end better than it did last time," Baron asserted forcefully, although he wasn't all that certain.

Haru was bound to this kingdom, and to the blue-black cat she was currently running ragged. Her options were literally burn to death, or allow Mephistopheles to-

His blood boiled as he forcefully pushed the thought away. 'Over my dead body will he ever touch her again!'

"Please, I am your husband!" the duke screamed shrilly as Haru finally cornered him. He held his sword up to defend himself, one hand fishing around his pocket for another magical trinket.

Edna gave him a look of pure hatred, and used her own weapon to knock his several feet away. Then she held the tip of the blade to his wrist, forcing him to stop fishing around his pocket. Her fur had finally stopped changing; settling for a soft shade between light brunette and medium blonde.

Baron absently noted that the color suited her very well.

"Then what is our name?" Haru hissed angrily in her normal voice, now only bearing a trace of Edna's rage.

He stared at her with horror. His mouth opened and closed for a whole minute, before he was able to speak. "Louise?"

"Wrong," she whispered, swinging the sword one final time.

Baron stared in horror as the head of his worst enemy bounced on the marble tiles, sending blood over it to accent the rose petals already littering the floor.

All of the duke's servants gasped, and some even screamed in terror.

Slowly, Baron looked at a shaking Haru, crossing the huge hallway to get to her. Thankfully, no one tried to stop him this time.

She was staring at her paws, allowing the blade to fall from between them as Baron approached. The rope mark around her bare wrist darkened ominously to black, as if foretelling of her now-eminent demise.

"Haru? Are you all right?" he asked worriedly, gently touching one of her shoulders.

But she still wasn't looking at him. She was looking at her paws, which were lightly speckled with her husband's blood. Her scent was heavily laced with terrible fear and horror, much like it had been when she had tried to kill Kamui.

"Haru, please," he begged, turning her to face him while guiding her chin with one finger. "Say something."

She looked up at him with slightly dull eyes, and smiled weakly. "Between an innocent life and a wicked one, I'd rather the wicked one ended, don't you?"

"Absolutely," he assured her, kissing her brow like he usually did.

She gave him another weak smile, just before giving a heart-wrenching sob. She threw herself at him, and squeezed his middle desperately. "It was the only way, wasn't it?" she wept, clinging to him like a lifeline. "He was going to kill you and Dad and Lune and Yuki and-"

Baron hushed her soothingly, holding her close while running one hand through her soft light hair. "I know, Haru, I know. He would have killed a lot of people. You did everyone a favor, I promise."

"So why do I feel like a monster?" she whispered in a tiny voice, barely legible through her sobs.

"Because you're a better person than he is, love. He needed to die, or you would have met a fate worse than death," he reminded her; finally addressing the girl the way he had been wanting to for months.

She shuddered violently, and buried her face deeper into his chest.

"Haru… what happened just now?" he couldn't help but whisper softly into one of her ears.

She took a ragged breath before answering. "The cure for my condition is for Jekyll to agree with Hyde. We both like you alive. Oh, Baron… I just want to go home. Please? I… I want to say goodbye to everyone, before I burn."

Before she died.

He kissed her cheek fiercely before holding her head to his heart. But with his other hand, he pulled out his heirloom pocket watch to check the time. "Lune? Isn't there something you could arrange? We could still get her and Muta out of the kingdom on time, if we left right now."

"Baron… I can't," Lune tried to say without crying as he and Muta drew closer to them. "The ruler of Hades cannot leave the kingdom. No portals will work for you, and no magic can bend the law to suit you. It was made that way generations ago, to keep the duchy in check."

"What? But she's not the ruler of this place," Muta protested as he approached Baron and crossly poked his shoulder. "Do you mind? My daughter?" he reminded the lord with a strained voice.

With great reluctance, Baron passed the shaking girl to her father. Haru transferred her trembling arms from him to her father, and squeezed him like a teddy bear. But she did take the time to tear off the expensive rubies that were strung along her neck and arm, tossing them disdainfully at Mephistopheles' corpse.

As it usually did, Baron was strongly reminded of a china doll, whenever he saw the young woman in her father's arms. It reminded him of just how delicate she really was.

"Actually, she is the ruler of Hades," one of the soldiers said tentatively, genuflecting towards Haru. "Duke Mephistopheles had no ready heir, and she is his widow."

His comment was answered by numerable sounds of agreement from the other black cats in the room. Baron couldn't help but notice that not a single one of them looked remorseful about their master's death.

Instead, they looked and smelled relieved.

"I'll renounce all claims on it, then. I hate this cold dark place; I just want to go home!" Haru sobbed into her father's chest.

Lune was close to crying by now, too. "Even then, you're still a widow of a cat lord. Assembling the appropriate spell takes a week, and it'd be too late by then. The sun will rise over England in less than an hour, and you'll be burned to death by this time tomorrow."

"But surely there's something we can do," Baron begged desperately. He had already said goodbye to an amazing woman, and he had no intention of doing it again.

But Lune only shook his head. "I'm so sorry, Mother. If there was something I could do to save you, I'd do it in a heartbeat, but…" He looked down in shame, and wiped away his tears. "Baron, Muta; there's still time for both of you to get back to your world."

"I'm not going anywhere without Haru," Baron replied in a voice of iron, looking at the young woman as he said it.

She snuck a peak at him from around her father's huge arm; her face pale underneath the fur. "You don't have to do that, Baron. You could go back, if you wanted to."

He crossed his arms and looked at her. Perhaps he should have put a bit more sternness into the expression, but all he could manage was a sad smile, and a shake of the head. "Why would I want to without you? The manor would be awfully boring without you in it."

"Do you have to flirt with her right in front of me?" Muta demanded as a weak blush crossed her cheeks.

At least she didn't seem puzzled about why she was blushing anymore. He still held his hands up in surrender to pacify her father. But inside, he was slowly dying.

He had been waiting for months for her to realize her feelings for him. His nose had been telling him that she had feelings for him almost since she found out he was the 'mysterious night violinist'. He had thought that all he needed to do was keep her safe and let her figure out her feelings on her own. Only then would he come clean on how he felt for her, and the little misunderstanding about Lucy.

He should have known better than to think it would be that easy. Anything worthwhile was never so easy.

"Dad, I want you to go back, at least," Haru told her father firmly, holding his face between her delicate paws. "I know what it's like to grow up without a father, and I don't want Natsu to go through the same thing."

"We don't know if it's going to be a girl, Chicky, and you're my daughter, too," Muta grunted stubbornly.

Haru shook her head while fighting back tears. "What about Mom? Do you want her to go through raising another child on her own? Please, Dad; if you love me, go back to them. Natsu will need you more than I do, and so will Mom."

Baron shook his head while fighting back tears of his own.

This couldn't be the only option. She had so looked forward to becoming a big sister, and it wasn't right for her to be denied that opportunity. She had been denied so much, and he couldn't bear for her to be denied this as well.

Suddenly, he remembered something else that she had mentioned that fateful night almost a year ago. She had mentioned an orchestra, and a story that featured a Mephistopheles. He had looked up the music out of curiosity shortly afterward, but couldn't handle listening to it for too long. It had reminded him of Lucy's death too strongly. But, he was still reminded of…

"… A loophole," he whispered, hope returning to his voice.

Haru looked over at him curiously, cutting off the argument she was having with her father. "What loophole?"

"What if Haru went through Redimio Matrimonium again, but with a different groom; one with a strong tie to the Human Kingdom?" Baron asked Lune urgently. "Would that counter the magic long enough to get her home in time?"

Lune stared at him in shock. "… I… have absolutely no idea. No one's ever tried that before. Even if it worked, I don't know if the time limit would change to the second marriage."

"Well, then what do we have to lose?" Baron asked excitedly, turning his attention to Haru.

She looked completely shocked, but at least there was no trace of the disgust she had displayed for Mephistopheles.

He took a deep breath for courage. "Haru, I was planning on waiting a few more months before speaking to you about this, but-"

"Excuse me?" Muta bellowed indignantly. "You have no business whatsoever talking to her about that! What about the thing with-"

"Dad," Haru said in a soft voice, using one paw to cover his mouth. "Let me handle this, okay?"

He looked at her worriedly.

"I'm legally an adult now. I can answer for myself; please let me do so."

He looked at her with distress, but managed to pry his arms off her.

She patted his large paw comfortingly, although her gaze was locked on Baron. The lord wanted to say something to her as she drew closer; perhaps actually get up the nerve to 'pop the question', as her father had so put it earlier.

And it wasn't just because he was curious as to precisely how her mother answered her father, or to experience it.

"Baron," Haru said nervously, looking up at him. "Am I Lucy?"

He blinked twice in confusion. 'How can she still be worried about that?'

"Come on, you know the two of us better than anyone else could ever hope to. Am I her reincarnation?" she begged, clearly needing to know the truth.

Baron shook his head before laughing harshly. "Haru, I gave up on that almost a year ago."

She blinked in shock. "But… I… her… you…"

He sighed, and gently took her by the shoulders to kiss her right eyebrow. It had turned into a habit by now, even if there were no longer scars ruining her face. "Haru; if I saw you as Lucy, don't you think I'd have mistakenly addressed you as such by now, even once?"

She kept staring at him, her eyes wide and defenseless. "… Well, then, why didn't you ever mention that I look like her? That had to have crossed your mind a couple times."

"Perhaps, but your personality is different enough from hers to keep me from thinking about it too much. As to why I never told you, I had many reasons, Haru. For starters, it's hardly a decent conversation topic and I didn't want to scare you. I'll admit that I was looking for similarities between the two of you at first, but after a few weeks of studying you after you were healthy again, I had to give up."

Haru flinched. "I'm going to ignore how stalker-ish that sounded. Well, what made you give up?"

"Many things, most of them little. Lucy may have known her way around music, but she was a lost soul in the kitchen. She loved art, but she could barely draw stick people. She also loved talking; she could barely stay silent, and she had a different sense of humor than you do. I'll admit that she was a better dancer, but she had none of your acrobatic skills. You know what else, Haru? The number one thing that should have gained my attention?"

She shook her head slowly, unable to take her large eyes off of him.

"Your hero complex. I love Lucy dearly, always will, but she was not the bravest person off the stage. Even without Edna, you're much braver than she was, when it comes to emergencies. She wouldn't have run into a burning building, charged through a glass window, or jumped in front of a speeding vehicle for anything."

"What was that last one?" Muta demanded angrily.

Baron ignored him. "You're not only alive, but you killed Mephistopheles. That in itself is plenty of difference between you and her."

"She took the hit for you, though," Haru said softly.

"Yes. I never thought I'd see that side of her. But my point is that I love you for who you are, Haru. Lucy could never handle depressing talk, and there were certain things she refused to even acknowledge. But you? I can talk to you about literally anything and everything. You don't mind trying your hand at things that are normally not your style, and…"

Baron trailed off, looking to the ground as he kissed her delicate paws. Just to make sure that she understood how much he meant what he was about to say, he switched to Japanese.

"In many ways, I died when Lucy did."

A gasp escaped Haru's throat, as well as her father's.

"Wait, when did you-" she tried to ask in the same language, but he wasn't finished yet.

"Toto eventually managed to knock some sense into me, but I didn't really start feeling alive again until you came along. When I'm with you… I feel whole. Even before I met you, I could tell you needed someone to hang onto as much as I did. Still do, as a matter of fact." He gave a heavy sigh, and shook his head.

"It wasn't in the plan for me to fall in love with you, Haru. I'm twice your age after all, even if I don't look it, and you had such a bright future in store for you. My original plan was to watch over you and make sure that you lived a long and happy life with some deserving fellow a little closer to your own age."

Haru gave an indelicate snort. "Baron, you know what kind of guys around my age are like."

"They'll grow up in a few more years, though I'm not so sure about that Jirashi boy," he growled.

Then he suddenly shook his head to keep himself on the current subject. Now was not the appropriate time to think about that 'slime bag'.

"Not that they matter anymore. Haru, you challenge me in ways I never really gave thought to before. I taught myself sign language so that I could speak with you when I got the nerve, but I didn't know how I was going to incorporate myself into your personal life. Neither did I plan on you finding out about my curse so quickly, although I appreciate that you guarded the secret so well. I suppose it was for the best in the long run; perhaps I should have told you everything about Lucy the night you found out why I turned myself into a hermit. I apologize for not doing so."

Haru's eyes were a great deal softer now, but the way she was clinging to his hands said that she wanted him to keep talking.

He did so gladly. "I taught myself Japanese as well, because I love you enough to know you're worth it, and I wanted it to be a surprise for your birthday. I swear on everything I have ever held dear that today, when you were finally of age, I was going to tell you everything about Lucy." Then he flinched, remembering what he had done to Toto when he thought that the doctor was the one who had given her the album.

He made a quick mental note to apologize to his cousin at the earliest opportunity. "I would have told you about her in a far gentler manner than Mephistopheles, and I would have given you all the time you needed to adjust. Then I was going to ask you to marry me when you were ready, and do whatever it took to earn your parents' approval in the matter."

It was about then that he gained the courage to look at Muta, as he wrapped the girl into a warm embrace. Tears were on both of their faces, but he didn't care.

His favorite cook looked stunned beyond words. But at least he didn't seem as enraged as he had earlier.

Baron kissed her forehead and ran one gloved hand over her soft light fur as he tilted her head back to lock eyes with her. "Haru; no two people can be exactly alike or exactly opposite, even if that's what it seems like at first. You share a number of wonderful traits with Lucy, and you each have your own strengths and weaknesses. The question isn't if you are Lucy. The real question is; should it matter? Because it doesn't to me, and it never will. I love you; will you marry me?"

Haru was crying again, but his nose told him that there was a large amount of relief in the gesture. With one paw, she pulled on his neck enough to make him lean over. He did as she wished, ignoring the fact that she still had to stretch her body a bit to brush her lips over his. It was a gentle gesture, almost like a butterfly's wing.

But he was quite certain that it was not how her mother had answered her father. Too bad she hadn't slept in over a day; perhaps he'd be able to ask her about that when they had the time and energy.

"The Human Kingdom won't recognize the marriage," she whispered.

"Then I'll marry you again when we get back." Then he grimaced, remembering what day it was. "I'll change back into a human as soon as we enter our world again, and I know someone who can be bribed into helping us. He won't be able to keep his mouth shut, so I'm afraid that all of England will know of our union by this time next week."

"Wait, are you sure you want to do this, Chicky?" Muta asked worriedly. "I mean, you even said that you'd become a werecat too, if things got that serious."

"Wouldn't you rather have a weredaughter than a pile of ashes?" Haru asked tiredly, cuddling deep into Baron's arms. "Besides, he has the cutest purr I'll ever hear in my life!"

He beamed happily, and gave a demonstration of his vocal ability while holding her closer. 'If I had known she enjoyed my purr so much, I would have done it more often in front of her.'

"Not to be a bother, but there's less than fifteen minutes before your world's sunrise," Lune said nervously.

Haru gave him a brief, irritated glance before sighing. She wrapped her arms around Baron's chest, and gave him a bigger hug. "If this works, I guess we have a lifetime to work out the details."

"I'll never give you a reason to regret this, Haru," he promised as Lune ordered the priest to step out from behind a number of the servants.

She gave him a melting smile, and held his hand up to her cheek lovingly. "Good, because I don't think I can survive that kind of heartbreak twice. Ladies, would you mind fetching my things from the dressing room?" she asked a specific trio of black cats.

They nodded happily as one, and quickly scampered through one of the long black curtains.

"Just to show I have no ill will, all of you are invited to witness this second union," Lune proclaimed as he nearly dragged the priest by the elbow out to the middle of the room. "Provided, of course, that none of you try to interfere."

There were a few nervous chuckles, but no one dared to speak. The priest sighed, muttering to himself as he searched his robes for a second piece of rope. Baron led his red-gowned bride up to him, and respectfully offered one arm.

She clung to it with both of her own; squeezing his arm like it was the only solid thing in the world.

"Don't forget, boss; you break her heart, I break every bone in your body after force-feeding you chocolate," Muta threatened, although tears of pain were streaming down his face.

"I wouldn't have it any other way," Baron promised him with a smile, kissing Haru's fur again. His lips accidentally collided with one of the ruby clips, making his bride loosen one arm enough to pull them all out of her hair; tossing them over her shoulder as if they were worthless.

Baron watched her do it, his eyes glowing with pride. "Oh, and one more thing?" he asked out of the blue, just as the priest readied himself to repeat the ceremony.

Haru looked up at him with a raised eyebrow. "What is it?"

"Lucy absolutely adored pink. It was black that she wore under protest."

She beamed happily at that, and resumed her ownership of his arm with a vengeance as the priest began the ritual.