The Bureau Files: Series 3

by Catsafari

When magic is accidentally released upon the world, new Creations spring to life, causing chaos wherever they go. Now it's up to the Bureau to mend their mistakes before it's too late. But as the year comes to its end, time is running out for Haru Yoshioka. Cover art by Angie/drawerofdoodles.

4. The Living Gallery (Part 2)

The Bureau Files: Series 3

ooOoo

"If your mind suffers too much, you will soon start to hallucinate… And in the end, it will break apart. And, more worrying yet, is that you will not even be able to recognise that fact. "

Weiss Guertena; Ib

x

Episode 4: The Living Gallery (Part 2)

"Haru? Haru!"

"Ib? Mary? Are you okay?"

Haru threw a glance back to check on the two children. They seemed a little shaken from the abrupt dive across the hallway, but otherwise unharmed. "Yeah! We're okay! How about you?"

"We appear to be uninjured," Garry replied. There was a thud, which sounded like he was trying to beat the vines back. Haru's suspicions were confirmed a moment later with, "It's no good – these are solid stone."

"There were boxes in the next room," she recalled. "Perhaps there'll be something useful in one of them."

"Haru, are you quite certain it's wise to be wondering off like that?" Baron called. "We have no knowledge of what lies beyond that door." His voice was strained with the warning he dared not give. "We have no form of communicating once we separate."

Haru forced a grin, although Baron couldn't see it. The vines were so entangled, so thick, that not even the smaller members of the Bureau could squeeze through. "I know. But we won't be in there for long – we'll just check the next room and see if there's anything helpful. After all, what other choice do we have? I'll be careful. I promise. But you have to promise to do the same." A memory rose up through her mind, unbidden and unwelcome. "You haven't had the best of luck when separated either." The words came quietly as her mind was cast back to a briefly-human Baron. A Baron separated from the Bureau amidst a crowd of superstitious humans. A Baron who had almost fallen prey to their fear. "Please."

"I will, Haru. And, this time, I'm not alone."

Haru could hear the unspoken addition. But you are.

"Just... stay there until we get back," she said. "We'll find a way to break through."

She turned and now allowed Mary and Ib to start towards the next door. There was no real need to be worried for the others, she tried to tell herself. Baron had Muta and Toto with him. And what did she have? Two young girls to look after, and zero helpful magic. And potentially one of those girls was an imposter. She couldn't even rely on her portal magic. She mentally echoed Muta's statement from earlier: Fine lot of good her heritage was.

Upon stepping into the next room, the door swung behind all three individuals with a firm click. Haru tried the handle, to which it merely shuddered ineffectively but did not open. "Have... Have we just been locked in...?" she murmured. She tried again, harder this time, and found the door well and truly stuck in place. "Baron! The door's just locked us in!" she shouted. She paused, hoping that her voice could be heard past the door and vines. There was only silence. "BARON!"

"Perhaps they can't hear us," Ib offered.

Haru fought back the desire to snap back something sarcastic. The girl meant well, after all. "Perhaps," she said with a smile. "Well then, let's see if we can find a key or something in here. Perhaps there'll even be something to help break down those vines."

It soon became clear that the boxes contained a variety of artwork materials – drawing paper, paint, paint brushes – but no keys or other useful items. Ib found a palette knife in one. "Maybe we can cut through those vines with this?" Mary suggested.

"I doubt it," Ib murmured.

"She's right. This will never work against stone," Haru agreed. She took the palette knife and dropped it back into the box. "Are there any other boxes left? We still need a way out."

"There's the other door," Mary said.

"Yes, but that would require moving further away from the others," Haru said. "And I'm uneasy enough about this as it is. Ib? What do you think?"

"I'd rather not split up."

"Huh? Why not?" Mary asked. "We'll be back really quick!"

Haru suddenly found herself the centre of the attention from the two girls. With a lurch, she realised she was the responsible adult here. For the first time on a Bureau case, she wasn't just working alongside the Bureau. She wasn't even left alone to look after simply herself or other adults. She was left with children.

She sighed. "Alright. We'll try the next room. The others don't have anywhere to go, so I suppose it's up to us. But you'll need to listen to me. Do you understand?"

Ib nodded. Mary gave a half-hearted shrug and weaved her hand through Ib's. "As long as we can stay together, we'll be happy," she said with a laugh.

Haru smiled weakly and started towards the next door. She remembered what it was like to be that age; she and Hiromi had been nigh inseparable – and more than a little annoying at times. She opened up the door and started into the corridor beyond, allowing the two girls to follow a little way behind.

"Whoever was left to the interior design of this place needs to be fired," she murmured to herself. The walls and doors here were now orange; even the carpet was a muddied shade. The corridor twisted and turned, and the further they went, the more Haru became aware of the distance between her and the rest of the Bureau. She would just have to hope that they would find a way to reunite sooner rather than later...

ooOoo

"They're taking their time..." Garry muttered. He was beginning to pace as the silence from the other side slowly lengthened. "I wonder if something's happened? I shouldn't have let them go alone..."

"Eh, don't worry. Chicky's got things under control. So what do we do now? Just wait around until they get back?"

"I suppose we could investigate that room again..." the young man offered, "as much as I hate to go back there..."

"Given our limited options, that may be our best choice right now," Baron agreed. He maintained a watch on the lone human as they re-entered the room – a room which, although strange, was not what many would have described as 'creepy'. Along the edge of the room, lines of ornamental rabbits sat silently to attention.

Garry simply shuddered and made a point of not looking too closely at the inanimate objects. "No matter how I look at it, this is NOT 'cute'."

Muta merely pushed past, wrinkling his nose as he went. "Hey look, there's the bunnies Chicky was asking after. She should've stuck around with us."

"Bunnies?" Garry echoed. "Where did you get rabbits from?"

The Bureau paused and, as one, turned to look at the human.

"Garry, would you care to tell us exactly what you see here?"

He looked to them. "Why, dolls, of course. Just your average, creepy, dolls..." He paled. "Why? What do you see?"

"Dolls? Ya seeing dolls? Check yourself into a loony bin, 'cause–"

Toto swooped down and shoved the cat off his paws. "Are you still using that, you cavecat?"

"From where we stand," Baron said, studiously ignoring the rest of the Bureau, "the room appears to be filled with rabbit-shaped ornaments. Precisely what do these dolls look like?"

"They're... uh, they're blue rag dolls; black hair, red eyes, pink dress..."

"Sounds like a kid's toy," Muta commented, picking himself back up. He hissed at Toto, daring him to go at him again. "Creepy kid's doll."

"Why are you the only one to see them like that?" Baron wondered. "And which one is the true form?"

"Perhaps if we can find a way out, we might find some answers," Toto said.

"A way out? Birdbrain, the only way out is back through that door–"

There was a loud creak as the small bookcase Garry had leant against slid across the wall. Behind it was the first hint of a hole.

"Hey, would you look at that," Toto said with a beaky smirk. "A way out. How convenient."

"If you continue to push the bookcase, it might reveal a hole large enough to escape through," Baron said.

"I'm already on it." Garry heaved the bookcase to one side and, as Baron had predicted, there was a gap large enough to take him. The Bureau followed through after him into a hallway as purple as the room they had just exited. The only spot of alternative colour was the orange rose secured in a vase across from them.

"Again? Looks like some sucker still hasn't taken the bait," Muta snorted. "There must be another human about or something."

"Maybe," Baron said. "Let's keep moving. Look – there's a door over that way..."

"With another rabbit ornament," Toto added. They all, almost as one, glanced back to Garry. "Is it...?"

"It looks like a doll to me," he said. "There seems to be writing on the wall above it – what does it say?"

Baron leapt onto Toto and they flew over to the wall. Scribbled, almost childish, writing was scrawled above the rabbit/doll's head. "It says... 'Hello there, Garry... I don't like being alone... Take me with you...'"

"It knows your name, kid. Why does it know your name?"

"I think we should carry on moving," Garry muttered.

"Yeah, but why–?"

"It's nothing. Just another... Just another trick."

They continued along the corridor, but it wasn't too long before another rabbit/doll was spotted slumped against the wall. This time, the writing on the wall read, 'Hey, why aren't you taking me?'

And another.

'Why are you ignoring me? Do you hate me?'

And another.

'Hey, play with me! I know lots of fun things we can do...'

"Okay, now I'm picking up on the creepy vibe. Can't ya just pick up the dratted thing? Actually, don't. I don't think I want that thing tagging around with us."

"Is it the same one?" Toto asked. "Or are we passing multiple ones?"

"I wouldn't put it past either option," Baron said. "Garry, are you quite certain that you are unfamiliar with these creatures? They seem... quite insistent."

"I'm certain." Garry was beginning to sound frustrated with every doll they passed. Eventually, they came to the end of the corridor. The door opened up into a small room with only two items of note. Another rabbit/doll and an orange rose in a vase. There was a click behind them as they entered, and it quickly became clear that both doors had just locked them in.

Garry stormed over to the rabbit/doll slumped before the door. "How long are you going to follow me? Enough of this! I'm busy here, and I'm not going to be your buddy!"

He moved to kick it.

"Wait!"

"What?"

"I... I do not believe harming it would be a wise course of action here," Baron warned. "This place has a mind of its own – and it would not be wise to cross it. Meanwhile, we should look for a way out of here."

ooOoo

"Haru, you're best friends with those strange people, aren't you?"

Haru looked back to the little blonde as they progressed along the corridor. "Well… I'm not sure I can call them best friends. I have another friend who might object to that," she said with a chuckle. "But they are very close friends. In fact, my best friend and I were probably a lot like yourself and Ib."

Mary beamed at the comparison. "Okay, but if you had to choose a best friend from those three, who would you pick?"

Haru shrugged. "It's… not really that simple."

"You talk a lot with the fat cat."

"I think 'bicker' would be a better term," she replied with a laugh. "And I suppose I do. But Muta wouldn't be half as funny without Toto around, and neither would get anything done without Baron there to keep them in line. We all work together as a team."

"You're friends with them even though two of them aren't real?"

This time around, Haru paused in her step. A moment passed. "What makes you say that?"

"They're just figurines, aren't they?" Mary asked. "So they're not really real. They're just like everything else here."

"I… I'm not sure. But the Creations here seem to be hostile; Baron and Toto would never…"

A memory returned – a memory of the other side of Baron. Of the other-Creation who had called himself the Duke. A Baron born and abandoned in a world of war, who had torn away the side of him he was ashamed of and run from it… In a way, Duke and Baron were merely different sides of the same coin. Everything Duke was had originally taken form in Baron. Everything Duke did, Baron had once been capable of. And, perhaps, was still capable of.

"It's just different," she finished hollowly. "The Baron I know… would never harm anyone."

'Ah… but you don't really know him, do you?' her mind added treacherously. 'There are whole swathes of his history that you have only caught glimpses of…'

"It's what he is now that matters," Haru said stoically. "And who he is now is someone who would never turn his back on someone in need. That's who he is."

"You trust him, don't you?" Ib asked quietly.

Despite all her misgivings, despite all the questions that rose up when she least needed them, that was one answer she could give honestly. "Yes. Yes, with all my heart."

Mary giggled. "Do you love him?"

It was only the childish, sing-song tone of the question that prevented Haru from reacting with anything more than a start. She blushed a little and looked away. "It's complicated."

"I like to play 'loves me, loves me not'," Mary helpfully told her. "You should do that. And there's a way to make sure that you always end up on 'loves me'." Her attention returned to Ib. "Do you know it, Ib?"

The other girl silently shook her head.

"Well, if you get to the last petal and you're going to end with 'loves me not', you just count the stem too! That way, they always love you."

ooOoo

"And how are we gonna get outta here?" Muta demanded. "It ain't like there are any keys just lying about. Unless... we could try smashing the rabbit... Perhaps there's a key in there..."

"Or perhaps the message on the wall might help," Toto said flatly. He landed on the table with the vase and rose. With a wing, he pointed towards the letters written in dripping paint above the door. "TAKE ME.' Seems pretty clear to me."

"Yes," Baron agreed. "But which do we take?"

"Are ya kidding me? It must be the rabbit – what else? It's not like there's anything else that's been hanging arou... wait."

"Baron, you don't mean to say that you think the rose is yours?"

Baron didn't reply immediately to the questions of his Bureau companions, which was half an answer unto itself. "Haru spoke of experiencing a pull towards her rose; it would be... dishonest to deny that I sense a similar feeling towards the orange one."

"That would explain why it's been following us around!" Muta exclaimed. "So are ya gonna take it or what?"

"I believe this room presents us with an option," Baron said. "The words say 'take ME' not 'take US', so it may be that we only need to take one item to be allowed to proceed. Garry, this may be a good time for you to enlighten us on the nature of the doll, since that is the other option presented here."

"Can't ya just take the rose and be done with it? It's not like it's a big deal."

"It may not be, but there must be a reason for the doll's persistence. That may be a 'big deal' in itself." The Creation looked to the lone human. "I think you'll find that it isn't just anyone who can be pulled into a Creation world. Mostly it is restricted to children, those with open minds, or those with magic in their veins. Or… Creations. So... Garry, which are you? Who are you?"

'What are you?'

Garry dropped his gaze away. There was a faint, defeated smile on his face. "You've caught me. I'm not as… as ignorant to the world of Creations as I would first have you believe…"

"Ha! I knew it! I knew he was the one!" Muta gloated.

"You knew nothing of the sort, moron."

Garry frowned. "You… You knew I am Guertena's grandson?"

Baron answered for the rest of the suddenly-silent Bureau. "No, we didn't. So what is the doll?"

"It was my first attempt at making something." Garry laughed sadly. "I was only a child at the time, with little knowledge of my heritage, and so the Creation I made was not fully complete. My grandfather was so proud... There was another artisan in the family!" He scoffed quietly to himself, still not making eye contact with the Bureau. "But, truth be told, the doll began to scare me. It's one thing to imagine your toys are alive; it's quite another to see the badly-sewn stuffed toy you made twitch in the night. So, one night, I snuck down to my grandfather's studio and hid it in the painting he used to store all his Creations' magic."

"So you've known what this place was from the moment you entered," Baron said.

"Great. So, how do we get out, kid?"

"It... It isn't as simple as that. I haven't been in here in... years. After the creation of the doll, I decided against creating more. I still tried to create art, but it was always difficult to make something without accidentally bringing it alive." He shrugged half-heartedly. "I guess that's why I was never a very good artist. I've always been too afraid of throwing everything into a project."

"Yeah, yeah, but how do we get outta here?"

"As I said before, it's been many years since I last entered the Fabricated World. I've had nothing to do with my grandfather since I was quite young, and a lot of things have been added and changed since then. That said, I cannot believe my grandfather would have left the portal to this painting open..."

"Ah..." Toto said, "We... may have played a part in that."

Baron nodded. "The Creation magic we released must have re-awakened the painting. When we escape from this place, I can close it again with the use of the stone I brought with me."

"Doesn't Chicky have that in her bag?"

"She does. However, Muta, I have fully intend to escape with everyone included." He paused, and his next words were quieter, tainted with an unwanted realisation. "Even with the artisan blood in your veins, it doesn't explain the disruption of Creation magic… which means, I believe, that the imposter is either Ib or Mary…"

"What?" Garry demanded. "What do you mean by that?"

"What do you think he means, idiot?" Muta grunted. "One of the kids ain't who she says she is. Eh, don't worry, Baron; Chicky'll have this under control. We should probably get moving though – this place is making my fur stand on end. So, which are ya gonna take – the doll or the rose?"

"I can't take the doll," Garry said.

"Sure ya can. Just pick it up and let's get going–"

"No, I can't. Not unless someone stays behind."

Toto hopped over to the table's edge. "What do you mean?"

"A Creation living in this place cannot leave unless it takes the place of someone in the... real world."

"Does that mean Baron and Beaky are stuck here then?"

"No. Since they already have a place in the real world, they can leave. The doll... cannot. Not unless someone dies here and the doll steps through in their place."

"Right. So no creepy doll. Gotcha. So, unless we wanna spend the rest of our lives here, I guess you'd better take the rose, Baron."

Baron nodded. "It certainly seems that way." He stepped over to the vase and gripped the rose's thorny stem. It was almost taller than him. With some difficultly, he hoisted it out. There was a flash, a bang, and suddenly a human-sized Baron was standing in the room. The next door clicked and swung open to reveal a small library of sorts.

"Aw, really? Shape-changing magic again?"

"That... wasn't me," Baron said. "It seems that the world thinks it's better for me to play this game at a more... convenient size." He jumped a little when Toto flew onto his shoulder. "I suppose it would be ridiculous to carry around a flower almost larger than myself."

"Meh. Being tall is overrated." Muta scoffed and pushed the door fully open, stepping through into the room beyond. "Why did it want you, anyway? It's not like there ain't the birdbrain and me around."

Baron's eyes flickered down to the rose in his grasp. Evidently this was a mystery that had been causing him grief since first laying eyes on the orange blossom. "I… I'm not sure. Perhaps it'll become clearer as we progress further."

Muta scoffed. "Can we just keep moving? There ain't anything to see here 'cept for a load of musty old books." He looked back and groaned. "Baron, we haven't got time for some light reading–"

"I know, I know." All the same, he was skimming his eyes over the book titles filling the shelves, passing idle hands over their spines. "This seems like an odd place to locate a library, does it not? Perhaps something here may enlighten us as to the layout of this place."

"Yeah, yeah; sure someone's just gonna leave a map lying about..."

"There seems to be a book on Guertena's artworks," Garry said, browsing through one of the bookcases across from Baron. "Perhaps that will aid us." He shifted the pages round so that the Creation could now see. "Here are the Ladies... 'The women here become very troublesome when they acquire a desire for humans. They'll always stubbornly chase things until they're satisfied, it seems... Anywhere, everywhere, to the ends of the earth... But if they have one weakness, it's that they can't open doors on their own...'"

"Huh, that is actually rather useful," Toto said.

"Yeah. Too bad we've already worked that out."

"Yes, Muta, however we know very little on the other Creations here. Carry on, Garry. We've encountered stone statues and headless mannequins; perhaps there is something on those, since they seem to be quite active?"

"Let me see..."

Garry flipped through the pages until they came to the portrait of a very familiar individual.

A human individual.

Or so they had thought.

"What–?"

"It appears our confusion over the imposter has been cleared..." Baron started for the door beyond, past a painting of a twitching ear. "We have to keep going. We may be running out of time."

ooOoo

As they passed by the whispering painting of a pair of lips, Mary went suddenly quiet. She shuddered to a stop, dragging Ib to a halt also through their joined hands. Her bright blue eyes were wide with something akin to shock.

"Mary, what's wrong?" Ib asked.

"No…thing's… wrong… Nothing…" Mary began to giggle, which then grew into a laugh that shook her entire being. There were tears streaming down her eyes. "Ahaha… I don't like them… not one bit…"

"Who don't you like?" Haru prompted gently. The lively little girl had suddenly changed demeanours entirely… and the replacement was something that set all Haru's nerves on edge. She reached out to the blonde, but Mary stepped away, tugging Ib with her. Her hand dropped to her dress pocket, where her yellow rose lay hidden.

Ib tried to move away from her friend, but Mary's grip only tightened.

"Where… where are you going, Ib?" she demanded. "Don't you want to stay with me anymore?"

"Of course we do," Haru said. "We just–"

"I wasn't talking to you," Mary snapped. Her tone abruptly took on the petulant tone of a child on the edge of a tantrum. "I want Ib to stay with me. Ib's my friend. Aren't you, Ib?"

The little brunette squirmed as she tried to pull her hand free.

"You're not scared, are you, Ib? You're not scared of me?"

"Mary, please just let go of Ib. You're hurting her."

"I'm not."

Ib finally wriggled her wrist free and hurried over to Haru. Mary started to approach them, her hand slipping into her pocket and drawing out not the rose, but the palette knife Haru was sure they had left behind. Haru stepped between Ib and Mary.

Mary released a shrill squeal of childish frustration.

"Why do adults have to spoil everything?! First the others, and now you! It's just… It's just not fair!"

"The others?" Haru echoed. "Which others? Do you mean the Bureau and Garry?"

"You're all in my way!" Mary was past listening now. "In my way… In my way…" Her gaze fixed on the girl behind Haru and she tried to approach again. And, again, Haru stayed between them, keeping one hand on Ib to nudge her back.

"Where are you going, Ib? I thought you were my friend… Aren't you my best friend? Why don't you want to stay with me, Ib?" The knife was shaking at her side, quivering in her grip. "Why are you running away from me? Don't you want to stay with me forever?"

Along the corridor behind them came the pounding of running feet. Suddenly, Garry and Baron came racing around the corner; Baron grabbed Mary's hand with the knife and twisted it away. In the process, Mary lost her footing and fell. She smacked into the ground and didn't get up.

From behind Haru, Ib edged around her and went running to hug Garry. He froze for a moment, and then tentatively hugged her back.

"Haru, are you okay?" Baron asked.

"Fine. Just a little… shaken." She looked down to the unconscious girl, who had lost both the knife and her yellow rose in the process. Haru nudged the flower with her foot; now it was clear that the blossom was purely fake. "So… who exactly was she? Or should I be asking what?"

"She's Guertena's final painting," the Creation answered.

"I don't remember seeing her portrait back in the gallery."

"That's because my grandfather never showed her to anyone," Garry said. "Most of his artworks, he simply sealed away the magical potential away in the Fabricated World, but I believe he hid Mary's whole being away in this painting. This would explain why she seemed so… real. That is why there is only one of her here; all the others are scattered since only their magic potential resides here."

"Your… grandfa– wait, no. Never mind. Another time. So now what do we do?"

"We should proceed until we find an exit," Baron said. "The stone in your bag will enable us to close the painting – but only after we are back in the Human World."

"Oh, good. We do have a plan then." Haru glanced along the corridor and finally took note of the shrunken group. "Where… Where are Toto and Muta?"

"They're coming." Baron pointed behind him, and now Toto arrived around the corner, carrying an exhausted Muta in his talons. Muta waved his paws ineffectually in their direction.

"Faster, Birdbrain! Faster!"

"If you want faster, perhaps you should walk yourself, butterball!" Toto reached the group and, without any sort of warning, dropped the overweight cat onto the ground. "Fatso."

Muta hissed back at him. "Don't do that again, beaky!"

"Did… Did Muta forget how to walk or something?" Haru asked.

"These morons went running the moment they heard you kids were in trouble," Muta grunted. "Some of us ain't made for running, you know!"

"You seem to manage okay usually…"

Muta scowled and sat down heavily. "So now that's everyone's safe, can we take a breather? I've had enough excitement for one case today."

"I'm afraid not, Muta," Baron said. He turned back to Haru. "There was a staircase we passed in our haste to reach you which looks like it may offer a viable route onwards. I suggest we carry on before Mary wakes up."

"Agreed." As they started, Haru raised her eyebrow at the Creation who was now half a head taller than her. "While we walk, it might be a good idea for you to explain a few things… You didn't use your own magic again, did you? You know that's dangerous–"

Muta snorted. "Try again, Chicky." He started to plod down the stairs, following after Ib and Garry. "He's reached new levels of stupidity."

"What do you–" Haru now spotted the orange rose in Baron's hand and instinctively moved to reach for it. "Baron!"

Baron abruptly started down the stairs, two steps at a time to keep out of Haru's reach. "It was merely a tactical decision," he insisted. "We were given a limited choice in order to progress and this was the lesser of two evils!"

"You took a rose?" she demanded. She hurried after him, running around Ib and Garry to catch up. "After knowing how my rose affects me? What happens if it gets taken? Or lost? Are you an IDIOT?"

Garry watched them go with a faint air of despair. "And… these are who we're relying on to make it out?"

Muta sniggered. "Welcome to my life."

"Baron, slow down and talk to me!" Haru was shouting. They came to the bottom of the stairs and Baron halted – Haru almost swung straight past him, but he caught her and she staggered to a stop. "Thank you. But, really, Baron; what were you thinking?

"I was thinking that we needed to reach you and Ib before Mary turned on you," he said. "Only those who enter the painting can exit back into the Human World… and so those Creations who are stuck here can only escape if they take the place of one such person." His green eyes focused solely onto hers. "Such as yourself, or Ib."

"Oh." Haru was silent for a moment. "Okay."

Baron tilted his head curiously at Haru's changed tone. "What are you thinking, Haru?"

"It's just that… it's kind of unfair for them, isn't it? To be trapped inside this world…"

"Most of the Creations are too shattered – too disorientated from their magic being split from their physical forms – to have the cognitive ability to understand that. Only those which were stored, physically and magically, in this world will comprehend their trapped situation."

"Guertena wasn't a very nice artist, was he?" she asked quietly.

"No. He was a good artist, but not a kind one. It is cruel to split apart a Creation for the sake of rendering your artwork other-worldly, but… otherwise manageable. He desired the life of the Creations in his art without the responsibilities of new souls."

Haru's mind was cast back to her father. "It seems like there are many artisans who can't take that responsibility."

"For every one that can't, there will be those who can and do. Like Toto's artisan, for instance." Baron raised his hand and then, after a moment's tangible hesitance, rested it against Haru's cheek. She instinctively leant into the reassuring contact. "Your father's actions are not your burden, Haru. You are not responsible for the choices of my artisan."

"Doesn't help me feel any better about it," she mumbled. Her eyes were cast down, but a little of the weight lifted from her shoulders. "It's been a year and I still don't know how to feel about him. Where do you think he is now?"

"Who knows, Chicky?" Muta slinked over to them – or as best as he could – and pushed past them in what was probably meant to be a comforting manner. "Your old man never could stay still; he's probably off in some other dimension entirely by now. No good looking for him – it wasn't as if he went looking for you."

"Muta!"

"No, no, Baron; it's okay." She patted at his arm and broke the contact between them, nudging his hand away in the process. "Muta's just being honest. He's right, of course; my father was the one who ran away, even after…" She shook her head abruptly. "Look, this isn't the time or place to get distracted – we need to keep moving."

"Yeah, and get outta this creepy place. It just keeps on getting weirder and weirder…"

The fresh note of disgust for their surroundings prompted Haru to snap her attention away from Baron and to the new corridor.

Things had definitely changed.

Their surroundings were still pink – pink floor, pink walls – but now they had taken on a quite different quality. Where the stairs ended, the corridor beyond looked like something drawn out of a child's sketchbook. The floor was badly coloured in, and the walls gave way further ahead to a little house.

Haru glanced down to herself to make sure she hadn't changed into a child's drawing in stepping into this new region; it was never clear how much new worlds would affect them. To her relief, she was still very real.

"So now what do we do?" Garry asked, approaching the Bureau.

"There's only one thing we can," Baron said. "We investigate." He turned back to them with the kind of smile he reserved for clients who needed reassuring; that sort of smile didn't work on Haru anymore because she knew the furious improvising that went on behind it. "Change is good. Change means we have progressed along in the story."

"Yeah, but this looks an awful lot like a kid's drawing," Muta mumbled, pointing out the obvious. "So does this mean this is where the killer kid hangs out? 'Cause then we're gonna be in trouble. Also, that house looks a lot like a dead end."

Haru nudged Muta with her foot. Hard. "Who knows? Perhaps the painting back to our world is in there."

"Do you really think that?" Garry asked.

"Well, it has to be somewhere, right?"

"Yeah, but we came through a painting to get here," Muta pointed out. "And that's all the way back there." He loosely gestured back the way they had come.

"No, the portrait back is quite different," Garry said. "The painting into this world is a one-way system, while the painting back to our world should look like the gallery we originally came from." He looked down to the little brunette who was keeping a tight hold of his hand. "Don't worry, Ib; we'll get out of here."

"We will indeed," Baron promised. He started towards the house. "And now, I think, it's time to explore the route ahead."

The house in question was the very cliché of a child's drawing. A square house with a triangular roof, two windows and an uneven door slapped in the middle. A squiggle indicated a handle, which Baron reached for and, with some difficult, turned. The door swung inward to reveal an interior as hastily coloured as the outside. A grey abomination represented what was probably meant to be a table, with a vase of… something resting on top. Flowers, probably, but there was no way to tell. Given that they were red blobs of paint, they were probably meant to be roses.

There was another door of similar make drawn against the wall to their right.

"Does anyone else feel like we're being watched?" Toto asked. He landed on Baron's shoulder with an uneasy ruffling of his feathers.

"What's the matter, birdbrain? Getting scared?"

"Not now, you two," Baron warned. He started for the second door. "You may bicker all you wish once the case has been closed; for now, however, we need to focus."

"Focus? Focus on what?" Muta followed Baron into the next room. "All that's here is a load of scribbles. What are they gonna do? Colour me to death?"

Haru hung back to motion Garry and Ib inside. "Sorry about this. I'd say we're usually a much more unified team, but I'd be lying."

"You're as bad as me, Chicky! Don't deny it!"

Haru grinned. "Okay. Maybe. Hey… is this a dead end?"

"Told ya."

Baron began to inspect the small room they had entered. "Maybe… but I doubt it," he was mumbling. "We reached what appeared to be a dead end before, but we found a hidden passageway regardless. It doesn't make sense for the trail to end here…" He examined what was probably meant to be a bookcase, although none of the books would come free from their shelves. "There has to be a way to progress…"

Ib tugged her hand free from Garry's and wandered over to the large black… square object resting in the corner. With little hands, she started to push at the white line running horizontally along the item. Garry saw what she was attempting to do, and added his strength to the mix. Suddenly it swung open to reveal the white innards of a box.

"What… is this?"

With his query, the rest of the group gathered about the object.

"Are ya blind? It's a toybox," Muta grunted. "See?" He pointed to the word scrawled across the black. "But what good's a toybox gonna do?"

"Has it got anything in it?" Haru asked. She leant forward and dropped a hand inside; after reaching for a few mute seconds, she withdrew it but didn't move away. "I can't feel the bottom. How big do you think this is?"

"What's inside it?" Garry asked.

"Do you want to know?"

There was a laugh from behind them; a high-pitched, child's laugh, and suddenly they were being pushed into the box. The white sucked them inside, drawing them into its innards, where suddenly the white turned to grey, and then to black, and then everything went dark.

ooOoo

When Haru came to, she found she had fallen on something soft and cushiony. She groaned and pushed herself up while her eyes accustomed themselves to the low light. "Sorry, Muta. My bad."

She waited a moment for the onslaught of insults to be barraged her way.

"Hey… Muta? Are you okay? I don't think I've ever heard you be so quiet…"

She blinked and the world around her began to swim back into focus in dim monochrome. Whatever she had fallen on was not white nor furry, she was suddenly discovering. What she had fallen on was a huge, inanimate stuffed doll. She screeched and ineffectually rolled away from it.

"What the – where is–"

Her words were cut off into a terrified squeak as she saw that her new surroundings contained more of the artworks – such as the headless mannequins, and the paintings of the Ladies, and little blue dolls that she didn't recognise at all. All silent and still… for now. Her hands shot to her mouth to muffle the shocked screech that would surely wake them. The floor was black, save for the drawings that had been sketched out across it; they were of childish toys, but drawn with sharp hair and sharper teeth.

"Baron?" she whispered. The artworks still didn't stir. She dropped her hands and tried again. "Baron!"

Hands shot out from behind her and blocked off her mouth. She made to fight back until she noted the familiar white gloves covering those hands. She slowed and turned around to Baron.

"We have… to be… very… quiet…" he whispered.

She tugged his hand away. "Yes. I know."

He nodded, more to himself rather than to her, and his gaze started roaming the nightmarish room about them. A thought snapped to his mind and his eyes snapped, equally-fast, back to Haru. "Do you have your rose?"

"Of course. It's right…" Her voice trailed off as she reached for the strap on her shoulder… The strap that was no longer there. "My bag!" she hissed, as loudly as she dared. "It's gone! I must have dropped it–"

Baron's eyes widened and he was suddenly on his feet. Haru scrambled up, not quite as quick or silent as he had been. "Then we look for it," he said. "Along with the others."

"What about you? Do you have your rose?"

Baron showed her the orange blossom. "Right here."

"Oh, thank goodness."

A ball of white fur abruptly slammed into Haru's legs, nearly sending her flying in the process. Baron caught her shoulders before she fell, and spared a frown to his fellow feline. "Muta. What are you doing?"

"What does it look like?" he hissed back. "I'm gonna be sticking with you guys. Have you seen this place?"

"Where's Toto?" Baron asked, ignoring Muta's complaints.

"He ain't with you?"

"Why do you think we're asking?" Haru whispered. "Talking of which… where are Ib and Garry?"

"Oh heck. Don't say we have to go and rescue them."

"We only have to do that if they're in trouble," she reminded the fat cat. They began to search, as quietly as they could in the gloom-infested room, for their missing companions. The artworks continued to stare in their dormant, unseeing state, giving Haru hope that these were more inanimate than most.

Eventually they came into sight of the rest of their group, who had found one another and were gathering themselves with equal care in the silent room.

"Is everyone okay?" Haru asked. She tiptoed over to them. "Ib, Garry – have you got your roses?"

"Yes. We lost them upon falling, but we've found them again," Garry replied. "We also found this when we were searching." He picked up Haru's bag and offered it to the young woman. "Isn't it yours?"

She grabbed the bag and hugged it to her chest. "Yes. Thank you. Now, has anyone found a door in this place?" A hopeless thought clouded her mind and she added, "There… is a way out, isn't there? We're not just stuck in some child's half-drawn toy box for good now, are we?"

"No," Toto assured her. "There was an exit in that direction." He landed on Baron's shoulder and pointed into the darkness. Now if we can just make it out without waking the other Creations…"

The dim light, however weak it was already, began to flicker.

"That statue moved," Ib whispered, tugging on Garry's sleeve.

"Now, I'm sure it's just a trick of the–"

The light flickered again, and with the momentary darkness came the grinding, creaking sound of slowly-awakening Creations approaching. Garry yelped and skidded back. "No, it's not! Run, Ib!"

They turned tail and ran for the exit. With each flicker of the light, the artworks eased themselves more into life. The dry creaking changed into that of slow, uneasy footsteps and the dragging of portrait frames. The darkness, even when the feeble light was present, only granted them a yard's grace in seeing what was before them. More than once, Haru was pulled out of the reach of a Lady, or she had to hoist Baron away from the marauding mannequins.

But, they reached the door in the end.

Garry threw it open, and the whole group fled inside. Baron slammed the door shut behind them.

"Let's not repeat that experience again the future," the Creation said with an uneasy laugh. He pushed himself away from the door and looked about their new surroundings. They were still in the child-drawn section, save for a single, broken portrait at the far side.

There, an empty frame was left hanging on the wall, as real – or as real as anything was here – as any of the artworks. Except for the fact that the glass that had once protected the painting was shattered – broken as if something had smashed its way out from the inside.

"Is that… Is that what I think… it is?" Haru whispered.

"The original painting of Mary," Baron confirmed. "This must have been where Guertena placed her."

"That's right."

The group – almost as one – jumped and turned to face the newcomer. Mary stood between them and the door, the palette knife still in her hand and her other hand curled behind her back. The knife looked… sharper than it had earlier. Or was that merely a trick of the light?

"You're so clever," Mary crooned. "All so clever. Too clever. Why couldn't you have just left everything alone? Why did you have to be so nosy?"

"Mary, you understand that you cannot leave this world," Baron reasoned. "Only those who entered her from the world beyond can leave."

Mary simply shook her head. "No."

Baron paused. "No?" he echoed doubtfully.

"No. I can go into the real world. If I take someone's place." She smiled innocently, and for a moment she was the sweet, nine-year-old girl they had stumbled into at the very start. Sweet, save for the words she continued to spout. "I just want to be real. I just want friends. And if one of you stays here… forever… then I can." Her attention focused on Ib. "I thought we were friends, Ib. Don't you want that?"

"Perhaps we can find a way," Haru said. "We're the Bureau – we're here to help people. It's what we do. Perhaps we can find a way so that you–"

"I've already found a way." And Mary brought forward her other hand, and in it was clutched a delicate purple rose.

"No…" Haru froze, but her heart was beating a million miles a second. "Mary, please–"

"I don't need your help." The knife was dropped to the floor as, with her free hand, Mary plucked a single petal loose. "I can make my own way out."

Old scars ripped open across Haru's body like fire across dry wood. First it began as the small scratches and grazes, but as Mary plucked another petal free, they dug themselves deeper. Her ankle gave way as if reliving the many times she had sprained it.

"Don't get any closer, or I'll rip them all out," Mary warned them. "But, you know… I don't really like purple. I think I'd much rather have blue or orange…" Her eyes glimmered as they passed over Garry and Baron. Over the two rose-bearers who had discovered her little secret in the first place.

"Then take mine," Baron said. "Take my rose."

Garry stepped between them. "Are you crazy? You know what she'll do, don't you?"

"She's shown quite clearly what she'll do," the Creation returned. "She's already doing it to Haru." He moved past the young man and drew forward his rose. "Take it," he ordered, "but return Haru's rose."

Mary beamed. "That wasn't so hard, was it?" She snatched up the orange rose and skipped further away. She threw Haru's rose back, almost as an afterthought. "Perhaps it'll be better to take your place," she mused happily. "After all, you are like me."

"Yes. We are both Creations." He gently swept Haru's rose off the floor and returned to the brunette, kneeling before her to pass the simple flower back to her. "Here."

Haru, her legs buckled beneath her with no strength to stand, allowed the rose to be returned. "You… you idiot," she whispered. "You shouldn't have done that."

Baron gave that ever-familiar smile – the one he saved for the clients to reassure them everything was going to be okay. Even if he was afraid. Even when he wasn't sure he could save everyone. "I have to," he said. "Of course I have to."

Behind him, Mary could be seen to gleefully tear a petal out; old scars, like Haru's but far, far old, began to reappear. A wound ran across his face and blood began to ooze into his fur.

Garry removed his long coat and draped it over Haru's shoulders. She didn't have the energy to shrug it off or comment.

"You're not going to just… just give up," she insisted. "You can't. There has to be a way out of this. We can fight or something. We have to."

"If you come anywhere near me, I'll snap the rose," Mary warned again, in that same sing-song voice as before. "Hey, Haru! We could see whether he really does love you! Wouldn't you like that?"

"What do you–?"

Mary ripped another petal out. "He loves you…"

"No…" Haru finally found the strength to stand, grabbing Garry to her side and using him to drag herself onto her feet. The coat almost slipped off her shoulders, but she caught it before it could pool to the floor. "No… Don't you dare."

"It'll be fun," Mary laughed. She skipped further away across the room. Any attempt to retrieve the rose would result in her tearing it instantly. "Come on! It'll be a game! He loves you not–"

"We can find another way to do this," Haru pleaded. "We can find a way to make this right. What Guertena did to you… to all his Creations… it wasn't right. But, if you give us time–"

"He loves you…"

"JUST LISTEN TO ME!"

Mary paused in her game. "I don't want to wait," she said. "I want to play. I want to have friends. But Ib's afraid of me now. It'll only be okay if I go to the real world. Everything will be okay then. He loves you not."

"No… it won't. You'll have killed Baron – another Creation like yourself – just so you can escape!"

"Why does he get to live in the real world and not me?" Mary scowled. "It's not fair." Her eyes dropped back to the rose and she viciously plucked two petals out instead. "He loves you."

"Life isn't always fair, Mary," Haru said. "But you won't make it any fairer by doing this. Please… stop, and we'll be able to help. I promise–" To her side, Baron had stopped moving.

Mary snapped off another two petals. "He loves you not." She lifted the rose into the air and stifled a giggle. "Look – there are only two petals left now! It's going to end on he loves you not!" Her giggles turned abruptly into mock solemnness. "You know what that means, don't you? Remember, I told you that there's a way to cheat on this so you always get he loves you…"

Something inside Haru turned cold. "What do you think will happen after you kill Baron?" she asked. "Do you think we'll just let you join us after that? Do you think we'll forgive you?" Her hands balled into fists and, shakily, dropped into the pockets of Garry's coat. Her fingers brushed against something cold and metallic – Garry's lighter.

Wait… Mary's painting behind her…

"I don't want to be left behind!" Mary screamed. "If I let you go, I'll be left alone again! I don't…" Tears flushed themselves past her eyes. "I don't want to be alone again," she repeated, quieter this time.

Haru, who had been inching back towards Mary's empty painting, paused. The grip she had on the lighter loosened. "Mary?"

"That's why… That's why I have to do this!" She tore out another petal, leaving only a single one left on the once-vibrant rose. A single thread of life left for Baron to hang on to. A single chance remaining. "I have to get out!"

"STOP!" Haru flicked the lighter on and held the open flame to the vulnerable canvas of Mary's painting. To her relief, this seemed to have an effect. Mary froze and, for the first time, there was real fear in her bright blue eyes.

"Wait – no–"

"Did you wait when I asked you?" Haru retorted. "Did you listen when I begged you to stop?" She shook her head, tears of her own springing up. "Touch that final petal and I'll make sure you burn."

"You… You'll still be too late," Mary whispered.

Haru's eyes narrowed. "Not if I burn you first."

She slammed the lighter into the painting. The dry, open canvas burst into immediate flame, fire sweeping across the paint and reducing Guertena's last piece to ashes. Mary screamed. She made to snap the rose's stem in two, but her painting's demise caught up with her before she could; suddenly she had dissolved away to leave only the flower in her wake.

"Is… Is she gone?" Ib asked.

"Yes," Garry replied. "I think she is."

Haru dropped the lighter and stumbled over to the unmoving Baron, with Toto and Muta close on her tail. She dropped – almost collapsing in the movement – to his side and rolled him onto his back.

Scars – scars Haru didn't even know he had – were ripped across his body. His chest was barely moving, but there was the faintest flutter of breath escaping through his lips. He cracked one bloodshot eye open and attempted a weak smile. "There. I knew you could do it."

"You're an idiot who almost threw his life away," she retorted. "And for what?"

The smile turned tender. "For you, of course."

Haru choked back a furious laugh; the tears rolling down her cheeks were a mixture of joy and anger. "Let's just get your rose to a vase and get you healed up."

Toto flew over and picked up the rose, dropping it off with Haru. "The burnt portrait has revealed a corridor beyond it," he said. "It looks like the old gallery."

"Then we must be nearly out." Haru tried to help Baron up, but she could barely stand, let alone support another person. Garry came to her side and hoisted Baron to his feet. He kept an arm around Baron's shoulders to stop him slipping back down.

"I'll take him."

"Thank you."

Haru spared a single glance back to the remains of Mary and her painting before stepping through, Ib behind her and Garry (and Baron) bringing up the rear. Beyond the child-like surroundings, the door led them indeed to a room that looked very much like the gallery they had originated in. A vase atop a table sat in one corner, and Haru dropped Baron's ruined rose into its waters. The flower glowed and the petals blossomed back into full strength.

Baron groaned and dragged himself – and Garry – to a stop as the wounds began to close up again. He blinked, and when his eyes opened they were their usual glittering green. He blinked again and the corridor came into focus around him. "Oh, good. The world has stopped spinning."

"It tends to spin when you throw yourself at the mercy of a crazed Creation," Haru admonished him.

He grinned back and eased himself back onto his feet. "Thank you, Garry. It seems I was in no fit state to walk back there." He stepped forward and took stock of the huge landscape painting dominating the wall before them. While the original painting had been a fantastical world, full of swirling colours and dizzying images, this one mimicked the gallery they had originated in.

"Fabricated World," he read happily.

"There's more," Toto said. "It also says, 'Once you go in, there's no going back. All your time will be lost. Will you still jump in?'"

"How are we meant to jump into a painting?" Muta asked. "Ruddy riddles…"

Haru laughed. "Have you forgotten who you're with? Watch and learn…" She approached the painting and lifted a hand up to the frame. She could feel the portal magic swirling beneath her fingertips; potent and patient and merely awaiting travellers. Her fingers brushed against the glass and the picture began to ripple. "There. See, my magic is good for something."

"Could've done with it being a bit more helpful a bit earlier," he grumbled.

"I didn't see you opening our way home," she deadpanned. "Hey, Ib… Garry… You can go back now. It's safe, I promise. We'll be right behind you."

The two young humans nodded, and Garry took Ib's hand in his. "Come on, Ib. Let's go!"

The Bureau watched them leap back through the painting, disappearing back into the original gallery.

"Do you think they'll remember what happened?" Haru asked. "After all, people usually forget their times in other worlds so quickly and that warning… 'All your time will be lost.' Do you think they'll remember any of it? Will we?"

"'Course we will, kid. That sort of magic don't affect us that well. Not after the number of world-hopping we've done."

"As for Ib and Garry… it's difficult to say," Baron said. "Maybe. Maybe not. Only time will tell." He offered his hand to his companion. "Well, shall we?"

ooOoo

Upon jumping through the portal, Haru found herself standing suddenly back in the original gallery. Standing as if she had never been dragged into another world in the first place. She glanced into her bag – yes, Baron was still there. And Toto and Muta… were picking themselves off the floor. "Did… Did we make it?"

Baron pulled himself to the opening of Haru's bag. "I believe so." He fetched the stone he had shown Haru earlier that day. "And now… it's time to close the painting and withdraw that overdose of Creation magic, unless we want more people to stumble into that world."

He opened the stone up and the blue veins of lapis lazuli glimmered even in the weak gallery light. The painting began to bleed – no, it began to exhale fumes of magic at Baron's call. It swept out of the paint and settled itself into the stone between Baron's fingertips. The aura of magic surrounded the Creation, filling the air about them, and then it was suddenly drawn in. Baron snapped the rock shut, sealing away the power.

"Done."

"That was simple."

"Simple, my ass. Don't you remember anything from that crazy world, Chicky? What part of that was simple?"

Haru shrugged, and at the same time her phone gave a sudden buzz. She jumped – and so did Baron, who was standing right beside it in the bag – and hurriedly retrieved her mobile.

"Oh, snap! I completely forgot about the date – wait… it's still only quarter to four…"

"Some worlds run on a different time scale to ours," Baron reminded her.

"Well, I remember that now." She read the text from Michael, asking where they'd like to meet, since he was already outside. With a doubtful look, she glanced over to Toto and Muta, and was suddenly hit with a startling realisation. She shooed them into a corner and carefully stood in front of them to hide them from any casual gallery-goers; in the same motion she started to call Michael's number.

"Hello, Haru. Do you know where the gallery is? I can give you directions if you–"

"Actually, that won't be necessary. I'm… already here."

"Oh. Fantastic! Then I'll come and find you…" Michael trailed off, abruptly latching on to the guilty tone in Haru's voice. "What…? What is it?"

"Um… I'm going to need a favour…"

There was a long, long pause. "And if it was any ordinary sort of favour you would have already asked," Michael said slowly. "So… what is it?"

Haru laughed nervously down the line. "I'm going to need your help in smuggling out a cat and crow…"

And, as she began to recount their day's adventures, a familiar girl passed them by. She paused by a large rose sculpture and glanced at a young man in a scruffy coat, as if trying to recall a face from a dream upon awakening. Then there was the call of her mother, and Ib went running.

Garry raised his head and glanced in the direction of the disappearing girl, hit with the strange feeling of familiarity as he heard the name. He watched her for a few more seconds, and then returned his gaze to the rose sculpture, even as the eerie sensation of déjà vu began to fade.

Both found themselves smiling although, if asked, they would not have been able to explain.

"They'll be okay, won't they?" Haru asked. A plan now in the works, she pocketed her phone as she waited for Michael. She watched Garry pull out a sketchpad and start on a few rough drafts. "I mean, it seems so sad that they've forgotten everything…"

"They'll be fine," Baron said. There could be heard a soft smile in his words. "After all, the mind may forget, but the heart will always remember. Perhaps, in time, fate will reunite them again."

ooOoo

Inspired by: Ib, the game. Created by kouru.

Many thanks goes to dracocur for originally sparking my interest in this game and making this case possible. You really had no idea at the time how fitting it was for this series.

While this is a crossover of sorts with Ib, I have changed a few things around in order to translate it better from game to story and to better insert the Bureau into the situation. There is too much happening in the game to involve every aspect in this case.

If you are interested in playing the game, it is free and can be downloaded online; it is an indie-horror puzzle-solving game, and (personally) I would not recommend playing it in the evening. But, then again, I am a scaredy-cat.

ooOoo

Next story: A Cat and His Human

Teaser: She raised an eyebrow and leant away from the complicated calculations. "And… not to be a downer, but perhaps you should be careful. Your spells don't always go as planned." / The person was dark-skinned and well-dressed, with a sharp nose and sharper eyes. / Haru grinned, trying to hold back the laughter to regain what little dignity Baron retained. "You're… You're more kitten than cat. You're so fluffy," she whispered. / "The issue is... oh, I feel stupid even saying this... The issue is that I currently have a man locked up in the library office who claims he's a fictional knight from a book."