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.

14. The Refuge's Labyrinth (Part 2)

The Bureau Files: Series 3

ooOoo

Episode 14: The Refuge's Labyrinth (Part 2)

Michael picked himself up off the carpeted floor, his stomach plummeting upon seeing his new environment. There was no mistaking the silent hotel corridors, the dark moorland situated beyond the windows.

"Haru? Baron?" His call echoed off the walls, to no reply. He wasn't sure what he had been expecting. It was clear from the moment he arrived that he had come alone. He tried anyway. "Muta? Anyone?"

Green flickered across the far wall. A shadow moved where there should be none, sending shivers running up his spine. Something was out there. And it was watching.

ooOoo

"Time is ticking, my dear."

Growling, Haru stared down at the board, swallowing back the sickening nerves. A bishop was looming towards Michael's knight, while one of Louise's knights was dangerously close to Muta's bishop. Baron's knight and Toto's rook were in no immediate danger, but she didn't doubt that would soon change.

For now, she moved an empty bishop forward, keeping her companions out of harm's way for another turn.

ooOoo

"More empty corridors?" Muta grunted. He was starting to talk to himself in the silence of the hallways. If he had caught anyone else talking to themselves, he would have teased them endlessly, but there was something reassuring in the sound of one's own voice. Anything to escape the fact that he recognised these corridors.

True, it had been two years since he had walked along these floors, but the memory was yet to fade. Here, Haru had almost been changed permanently into a half-cat monstrosity. Here, a whole world had been locked away after their narrow escape.

"I would've hoped Louise would've come up with something a bit more imaginative," Muta muttered. He had grown to a more human-size in his arrival here, which somehow did not ease the nerves he would not admit he had. "Anyone could've created empty corridors."

There was a sudden echo of footsteps that were definitely not his own. He paused, abruptly regretting his careless words.

"I had to open my big fat mouth…"

The stranger was approaching from behind, their footsteps echoing along the pale corridors.

Muta didn't look back.

"This ain't possible," he murmured. "You're dead."

There was an unsettlingly-familiar laugh. "As you can see, that is clearly not the case."

Muta turned enough to see the strange outline of the newcomer step into the light. The silhouette was somewhat human-shaped, but not enough to dispel the uncanny valley aura. His form shimmered strangely as white scales along his skin caught the light, while his face was shadowed by the mane that flowed from his head and down his back. This was a chimera of creatures, bound together in the form of a human.

"You're dead," Muta echoed. "Prendick killed you. You can't be here, Doctor."

Doctor Moreau laughed, spreading out his arms to highlight his being. He stood as solidly as the first day Muta had seen him. "Does that really matter? This is a world of possibility. What difference does it make if I'm alive or not? I'm real here, right now."

"I guess not," Muta admitted. He turned, slowly, to face the man, if Doctor Moreau could even be called that. "Cause I'm still gonna kick the living snot outta you."

He swung a fat paw towards the Doctor's face, but the man hadn't acquired his animalistic qualities for nothing. Moreau twisted out of the way with feline ease, sidestepping the attack with both hands still tucked behind his back.

"Are you sure you want to be so hasty?" Moreau tutted and effortlessly avoided Muta's next punch. "After all, I have yet to send a single throw back at you." He caught Muta's paw as it came flying towards his face, his hand curling around Muta's fist. Claws dug into Muta's white fur until they drew blood. "We don't have to be enemies. Trust me, you do not wish me for a foe."

Muta's eyes widened just as he spotted the heavy punch that Moreau delivered into his gut. He doubled over, wrenching his paw out of the Doctor's grip, and fell a few steps back.

He slowly stood back to his full height, rubbing at his stomach gingerly. "And Birdbrain says that fat doesn't have any use," he chuckled. "I'd like to see him take a hit like that. Yeah, you heard that right!" he roared. "Is that all you've got? Come at me!"

Moreau's gaze was, at first, curious, and then that curiosity translated into a dangerous smile. "Come, come, Muta; there's really no need to fight. Why, perhaps I could even help you."

"Help me?" Muta echoed sceptically. "Yeah, right. How could a crackbrain like you help anyone?"

The Doctor fished a small vial out of his pocket and raised it for the white cat's inspection. "You remember this, don't you?"

Of course he did. But that vial was long gone – Baron had smashed it into a million pieces when Moreau had offered it to the Creation. The vial Moreau now held had to be nothing more than an illusion – much like the Doctor himself.

Muta scoffed. "Yeah, thanks but no thanks. This is just another trick, ain't it?"

"No tricks." Moreau smiled that same smile he had given Baron. It was a proud smile, confident that all his work, all his research had finally come to fruit "This is the real deal. This is your chance to become human."

"What makes ya think I wanna be human?"

"You were human once, were you not?"

Muta momentarily wondered how this Doctor Moreau knew of such facts, especially since the original had been – as far as he was aware – utterly oblivious to Muta's past. But the question was fleeting, quickly passed aside in favour of a smirk. "Yeah, and?"

"What?"

"Ya heard me. And? So what?"

"You were human once… Don't you want to be again?"

"And go back to that world of taxes and mortgages and boring, human jobs? Nah. I'm think I'm good. But thanks for thinking of me." Muta almost laughed at Moreau's expression of bafflement. "You've got the wrong cat. If you want to tempt humanity, you should talk to Baron instead. Perhaps you'll have better luck this time around."

"But… what about your family? Your friends? Don't you want to be a proper godfather – the one you promised Naoko you would be?"

ooOoo

Given Muta and Michael's sudden disappearances, Baron wasn't entirely surprised when his surroundings changed. What did surprise him, however, was the fact that Haru shifted locations alongside him.

Her grip on his hand tightened, and she edged closer towards him. "Where are we?"

Baron turned to examine the blue walls lining the corridor around them, and then his gaze dropped to an orange rose that he appeared to be holding. A quick glance to Haru told him that she was also holding a blossom – the same lilac flower from the Fabricated World.

"Oh dear."

ooOoo

At Moreau's words, Muta's form stilled.

Sensing the change, Moreau stepped forward, the vial still in his hand. "It's not too late, you know," he coaxed. "You can go back to your old life. There's still time to right the wrongs…" He trailed off as Muta's shoulders began to shake.

When Muta turned around, it was clear he was holding back laughter. "You… really know nothing, don't you?" The chuckle died away, but a dangerous humour filled his dark eyes. "I ain't the kind of cat you can guilt-trip, moron. Especially not over Chicky. Haven't ya seen the woman she's become? I couldn't be prouder of her – and now I'm back in her life. I wouldn't change a thing." He paused, and then smiled again. "'Cept maybe to give her old man a punch or two to make him buck up his ideas. But, since he ain't here, I guess you'll have to do."

ooOoo

Haru took Louise's knight with her bishop, momentarily seeing through Muta's eyes long enough to see the huge white cat knock out the late Doctor Moreau with a hefty blow. As Moreau slammed into the floor – and as his knight piece was taken – his form dissolved away until nothing remained of the Doctor.

She resisted the urge to punch the air with joy, and settled on smirking Louise's way instead.

"Your turn, I believe."

Louise looked unaffected by the loss. She simply moved her bishop towards Baron's piece. "Chess is all about sacrifice, my dear. One cannot play without some form of loss." Bright blue eyes glanced over at Haru, calm assurance heavy in her gaze. "The only real question is, who will you sacrifice in the end?"

"I told you to stop with the platitudes," Haru muttered. Her previous smugness had already been swept away by Louise's indifference. She brushed a nail by her queen, and again was granted a glimpse through the eyes of someone standing beside Baron. She had come to realise the identity of the queen a while back in the game, but disbelief had kept her questions in check.

"Louise, the queen…"

"Hm?"

"Who is it?"

"Who do you think it is?"

"It's me." She moved her hand away, as the sensation of looking through her own eyes – but not her eyes, not really – unsettled her. "I'm right, aren't I? But how can that be me? I can't be in two places at once."

"Can't you?" Louise asked. "My house. My rules," she repeated. "If I can create foes from your memories, what's to stop me there?"

"You mean… she's who I think I am?"

"Not quite." The Duke reappeared, coming over to inspect the gameplay so far. "I suspect a little of Louise's perceptions may have been mixed up in your creation."

"I couldn't have her developing a mind of her own," Louise muttered.

"No," the Duke agreed. "So, she's not your perfect double, but she's good enough to fool your Baron, apparently."

"He would recognise it wasn't me from the moment he saw her," Haru snapped.

"Why don't you look through his eyes and find out? Or, even better, look through your double's eyes and see the way he looks at her."

Glancing uneasily at the two Creations, she dropped a hand back down to her queen. To her own piece, apparently. The scene before her eyes changed to that of a familiar set of coloured walls, blurred as her double fled along them. Before her, Baron was running, his gloved hand curled around the other Haru's. A quick glance behind her showed that they were being pursued by the dragging portraits of Red Ladies.

Her other self looked back ahead, to see Baron glancing back to check she was still okay. The expression he bestowed upon her was one of worry and protectiveness. An expression she was familiar with on many a case.

She removed her hand, breaking the contact.

"You see?" the Duke prompted. "Do you see how easily he replaces you? You humans are all the same, after all."

"Are you saying that I should be jealous?" Haru murmured. She raised her gaze to the Creation and smiled. "Hurt? By what? I don't believe he's been fooled for a moment, but he's still there, still protecting her. Still helping. That was something I feared had been broken out of him by Cap," she whispered. "I'm glad to see that's not the case."

"You're glad to see he's protecting your double? Your imposter?" the Duke asked.

"Baron can't leave anyone to their fate," Haru replied, her smile growing. "That's just who he is. It's part of what I love about him. His heart."

The Duke scoffed and turned away. "Fine. We shall see how well his heart holds out in Louise's world. After all, his heart is what has almost killed him multiple times." His expression of disgust gave way to a smirk. "Slip up on your little game and perhaps it'll kill him for real this time."

"I won't let that happen."

"We'll see."

As the Duke turned away to head back out, Haru called, "What about the queen?"

"What about her?"

"If I lose her…"

He paused, and then turned back to face her. A Cheshire Cat grin threatened to swallow up his entire face. "Oh, that took more time than I thought. It's like you were told earlier – all fates are linked to their respective pieces. So what do you think happens if your queen – your piece – is taken?

"So I lose my body if I lose either my queen or my king?" Haru breathed.

"I'm afraid so. It makes things a little bit more interesting, don't you think? Oh, don't worry – Louise has the same disadvantage. Take her queen and you can end the game early. Of course," he added, "I never said that was going to be any easier."

He turned away, waving as he went.

"Farewell. I would stay, but I have an old friend to meet up with. Enjoy your little game."

ooOoo

Michael skidded through into the next room and slammed the doors behind him. The wide dining hall of Fenland House was set before him in the exact details he had last seen it. Large windows overlooked the haunting moorland, while the remains of a buffet was set out by the kitchens. Phantom food, probably. This whole place was like a phantom.

The puca, too, probably. But Michael was in no hurry to test out just how phantom that particular aspect was.

It had come running for him, briefly, but that had passed. It had drifted away as if it had lost interest, but, again, Michael was in no hurry to test that out. He pulled up a chair – he had done far too much running today – and fished out his phone from his pocket.

No signal. Obviously.

It had been worth a try. Not that he knew who he would have called, had he had signal. Haru, maybe? But he doubted that wherever she was in this maze of a world would allow signal, so that was null and void anyway. And it wasn't as if any of the rest of the Bureau had phones. Gramophones, he suspected, but not the more portable type.

What he really needed was to get back to the rest of the group. Asking to come along to help had seemed like a good idea when they were together, but he wasn't cut out for this like the Creations. Or even like Haru. He liked his shop and his mundane life, and being chased by shape-shifting monsters… again… was not what he had had planned for today.

Then again, getting dumped by Haru, and then losing Haru to the painting where Baron kept his apparently crazy ex-fiancée was also neither on that list.

Michael admitted defeat with his phone and stashed it back away into his pocket, rising from his chair in time to see a flurry of green mist squeeze its way beneath the dining hall door.

He froze.

It wasn't his best move – in fact it had all the tactical strategy of a rabbit halting mid-street with an oncoming 4-by-4 charging towards it – but, in his defence, he was still somewhat new to this world of monsters and magic.

The mist reconstituted and took on the form of Haru.

And stood across the room.

Watching.

ooOoo

"Careful, my dear. You're putting your queen-side knight into a risky situation." Louise's fingers danced over the bishop that was chasing after Michael's knight. "One false move could cost you your piece." She slid the bishop across the board, again threatening to take the knight in the next move. "Take your turn."

ooOoo

Michael was in no danger of mistaking the puca for Haru.

He was in plenty of other danger, but getting that creature mixed up with Haru was not one of them. For one, it made no effort to hide its fangs and, for another, it simply stood and stared from across the room.

Eventually, Michael's feet unglued themselves from the floor and he stumbled back, towards the other door out of the dining hall.

The moment he did so, something clicked in the puca's mind. Instinct – or something, anyway – whirred into action, and the creature sprung after him.

Its footsteps were closing in.

Another moment, and its breath was catching on his neck.

He skidded around a corner and nearly slipped. There was some windmilling of arms and abrupt curses, and he regained his balance just in time to avoid the clawed hand sweeping his way.

He didn't look back. Partly because he didn't want to see Haru's face torn in half by the killer smile, but mostly because looking back would probably involve tripping.

He spun round another corner and thought to mention it to Haru – if they both got out of this alive, anyway – how much running there was on these Bureau cases. He had taken it for granted, but never quite faced the reality so much as he was right now. No wonder she kept in shape.

A claw caught into his jacket. He pulled it away, wincing as he heard the tear rip across the coat, and nearly fell over his feet as he came across a set of stairs. He took the steps two – or three – at a time, half falling in his haste to outrun the puca. There was no telling whether its bite was still as deadly as it had been in Fenland House, but he wasn't standing around to find out.

Something told him that one could very easily die in this place.

He leapt down the last five steps, and promptly slammed into a door upon landing. He pulled it open and heaved it shut after him – seconds after the puca smashed into it. The door nearly buckled under the attack.

Michael turned to carry on running –

And found he was facing a wall.

A set of brooms and vacuum cleaners, to be exact.

He had just taken refuge in a cleaning cupboard.

Michael spun back around just in time to see Haru's morphed face dissipate away back into green mist.

Slowly, the fog began to roll in under the door.

ooOoo

Toto was not having a good day. First Michael had vanished, then the lardball, and now Baron and Haru had made a double-disappearance.

To reiterate the first point: Today was not a good day.

He flew across the imitation of the town, but his companions were nowhere to be seen. That didn't entirely surprise him – in fact, it would surprise him if it did turn out to be that easy. The strange thing was, no matter which way he flew, he couldn't find the Sanctuary. Every time he neared its familiar location, the world seemed to spin around him and set him back over the Crossroads. Evidently, Louise did not desire visitors.

But still, he continued to fly. There wasn't much else left for him to do.

Suddenly, his surroundings fell away and were replaced with the inner workings of a… cupboard?

He dropped out of the air and landed awkwardly on Michael's head before he could fly straight into the cupboard wall.

"Sorry, sorry–" He paused in his apologises long enough to register the Haru-like form that now stood before them, in all her too-wide-mouthed and fanged glory. "What is that?"

"Not friendly!" Michael was pushing himself as far back as the cleaning cupboard would allow, but found his path blocked by several brooms and, mainly, a wall. "Shape-shifting, fairy-monster thing. What are you doing here?"

"I wish I knew." Deciding he didn't like the way the fairy-creature was baring its fangs at them, Toto jumped off Michael's head and aimed his talons at the monster. He registered Michael cry something about its bite, but by that time Toto had already left scars across its face.

It howled and staggered back.

And then, for some reason, dissolved back into green mist.

There was a long silence between Toto and Michael as they regarded the puca's remains. Then: "In my defence, it was a lot harder to get rid of the first time around."

"I don't doubt it. I suspect Louise is only playing with us; if she wanted us dead, she would have had the chance long ago." Toto landed on Michael's shoulder and took another look at their surroundings. "So, where are we?"

"Somewhere that looks like Fenland House..."

"Ah, the puca. Of course." Toto nodded as he recalled Baron telling them of the incident Haru had faced without them over a year ago. "I was wondering why we are in a broom cupboard." There was a pause, and then Toto added, "Actually, I am still wondering why we are in a broom cupboard."

"Accident," Michael muttered, reddening a little. He would be the one to run into a dead end and require rescuing from a bird. "So, what do we do now?"

"Explore and hope we're reunited with the others," Toto said. "There's little else we can do, I'm afraid."

ooOoo

With a sigh, Haru removed her hand from Toto's rook. In a moment of luck, Louise had left her bishop open to an attack, which Haru had snagged. For now, at least, Michael's piece was safe. "Do we take tea breaks during this game?" she groaned.

"Tea brea- no! We're playing a game of life-or-death here! You cannot ask for a tea break!"

Haru rubbed at the headache that was slowly forming. Whether it was stress or the dim lighting, she didn't know. "I concentrate better with tea," she mumbled. "This is terrible service. 2 out of 10. Would not recommend."

"This is a hostage situation. We're not meant to have service," Louise growled. "Could you treat this game with a little bit more respect?"

"Fine. But if you're not going to make me tea, can I?" Already Haru was rising to her feet and moving over to where Baron usually kept the cups and a secret stash of store-bought tea that he would admit to no one. As Haru had hoped, Louise had replicated the Bureau perfectly.

"You can't just leave the game!"

"I'm coming back," Haru muttered. She set the kettle boiling and located a small jug of milk. "Look, I can hardly see straight, let alone play. Anyway, it's your turn now." In truth, Haru's head was spinning. The humour was barely enough to cover the desire to curl up and cry. Too many times already had she rescued a Bureau piece at the last moment. The Fenland House puca, Stapleton, Doctor Moreau… How many other enemies from their past would they encounter before the day was done?

Haru glanced back at Baron's piece. He had managed to stay out of the worst of the fray, but Haru wondered guiltily to herself whether that was a subconscious effort on her part.

Louise's gaze rested on the knight also. "I think our dear Baron has stayed safe on the edges for too long, don't you?" she murmured. Her bright blue eyes glimmered and she moved her remaining bishop towards the knight. "Your turn."

ooOoo

Although their surroundings didn't change, Baron felt something shift in the air. It was perhaps not unlike the feeling that ants might experience – if they could – when someone has just hovered a magnifying glass over their hill. He stopped, just about resisting the urge to shiver at the sensation.

"Brace yourself. Something's coming."

Haru edged closer to him, never letting go of his hand as they patrolled down the colourful corridors. In theory, the bright walls should have lessened the eerie atmosphere, but Baron remembered quite clearly their last visit into the Fabricated World.

Baron pushed a set of doors open and walked into a large room of indistinguishable size. The light was so dim that it was impossible to see the far walls, and that everything was cast into monochrome. But there was just enough visibility to see the large dolls and figurines that littered the hall before them.

He glanced down to his hand and, as he had been half-expecting, the rose had vanished from his grasp. A quick look showed the same to be true of Haru.

"No. Not again."

A childlike laugh echoed across the shadowed room, and Mary – Guertena's Creation – skipped across towards them. She was still dressed in her forest green smock, her blonde curls bouncing behind her as she bounced their way. She held a single bloom in each hand. One orange, one lilac.

"No," Baron breathed.

"Hello." Mary laughed, her rosy cheeks dimpled with a smile. "I want to play a game." She held out the roses into the air, spinning them round in her hands. "It's called, Which Flower Should I Pick?"

"No."

"No?" Mary's smile gave way to an exaggerated pout. "Come on. Play with me." She dug a finger into each bloom, and pressed until a petal gave way.

Baron heard Haru hiss in pain. He only dimly registered the sudden shoot of pain across his skin as old wounds opened up again.

"No."

"Well, you're no fun," Mary muttered. "Come on. This should be easy. You were so quick to make a decision last time." She grinned and waved Haru's lilac rose towards him. "How hard can it be? Your life… or hers…" She plucked another petal and Haru staggered.

Instinctively, Baron caught Haru before she could fall. As he stared down into those pained maple eyes, something began to give way inside him.

"Haru… please say something," he whispered. His gaze searched for something in his companion, but at her fearful silence, he conceded defeat. Gently, he lowered her to the ground and stepped away.

Her hand reached out for his, but he twisted out of Haru's grasp.

"Louise!" he roared. "I've had enough of your tricks and games! You've had your fun! Come out!"

Mary gaped at him. "But… Haru's life is in danger. How can you just…?"

"She's not Haru," Baron snarled. He looked down to the brunette and his fire faded. "You're not Haru," he whispered.

There was a slow clapping from across the room, and the Duke walked steadily into the light. "Oh, well done, Baron. How long have you known?"

"From the beginning," Baron rasped. He looked away from the Haru lookalike, his heart aching from the hurt in those eerily familiar eyes. "I don't know what you've done, but this isn't Haru. Where is she? Where is the real Haru?"

"With Louise." The Duke smiled and shrugged loosely. "I'm curious; how did you see past our little deception? She should be the spitting image of the real thing."

"I've seen many fakes in my time," Baron said. He looked to the Haru, and now there was a heavy sort of pity in his eyes. "I'm sorry, but you're not her. The Haru I know is not the damsel in distress you've been created to be. Her world does not revolve around me, as you seem to have the impression of. My Haru fights for those she cares for. She would be far more worried about Michael – she would probably be blaming herself for his situation right now. And yet, you… you did not even correct Muta when he called him 'kid'."

She slowly rose back to her feet and backed away. "Baron…"

"Please, don't make this more difficult than it has to be, Haru–" He winced as the name passed his lips. "I'm sure Louise created you to be as true to the real Haru as possible, but the truth is… you're not her." He broke eye contact again, his heart breaking with every moment he looked her way. When everything was said and done, Louise had done a very good job. "Duke, take me to Haru."

"Oh, but that is Haru." The Duke grinned, his cane twirling in his grip. "She may not be physically the same as the one you know, but she was given all the emotions that yours knows. She loves you as truly as your Haru. Perhaps you should take her and go." The Creation smirked. "You won't get another chance like this."

This time, the Haru was silent. There was no fight, no argument from her, as he would have expected from a creation of Louise's. Only resignation. The feeling of sickness rose up in his throat as he turned to her. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "But I can't leave her behind."

"Who would know the difference?" the Duke teased. "They're practically the same–"

"I would know," Baron growled. "I can't leave her. I'm sorry–" and the apology came again, falling from his lips automatically – "but I've met my share of doppelgängers and lookalikes. I have nothing against you, but I cannot leave Haru. I love her."

ooOoo

Haru dropped her hand away from Baron's piece. Her heart was hammering away inside her chest at a million miles an hour, or so it felt. Of course, she had known how he had felt, but hearing those words somehow made it… all too real.

A weak smile pulled at her lips as she passed a hand over her heart.

"Oh, this is just sickening," Louise growled. "It's time to bring this game to an end." She brought her queen out of the back row and into the fray. Into the middle, where it towered between the two knights. "Now it's time to make your decision. None of your pieces can take my queen, and you can only move one knight out of the way in time." She smiled. "So who are you going to save? Michael… or Baron?"

ooOoo

The world around Baron shifted again, and now the echo of the Fabricated World was replaced with the Crossroads. The fake Haru had been transported alongside him, and it appeared he had been reunited with the rest of the Bureau – and Michael. Everyone had been brought back together.

Except for the real Haru.

"Is everyone alright?" He paused by the lone human. "Michael?"

Michael nodded, although he looked pale. "Fine. A little shaken. Have we found a way out yet?"

"No. But I have a feeling that things are coming to a head."

"What makes ya so sure, Baron?"

The Creation glanced back to the Haru. He opened his mouth to reveal her doppelgänger identity, and then hesitated. Even knowing she was a fake could not dispel his protectiveness. He looked away and changed his answer. "Just a feeling."

"Uh-oh. Looks like we've got company." Toto landed on Baron's shoulder, and motioned over to a feline form standing across the Crossroads. "It seems Louise has finally decided to make an appearance."

"'Bout time," Muta snorted. "I've had enough of wild goose chases." He stepped forward, shaking a podgy fist. "Was Moreau the best you could do, ya nutcase? Why don't ya come and face us properly, or are ya just a scaredy cat?"

Michael took a nervous step back. "Uh, Muta? Are you sure that that's a good idea?"

"Who cares? I'm sick of this place. Anyway, what's she gonna do?" He snorted and turned back just in time to see Louise vanish and reappear, inches in front of him. He yelped and ungainly leapt away.

"A very good question," Louise said. Her smile was self-assured and collected, but there was cruel humour in her sky-blue eyes. "I suggest you recall who's controlling the world you're currently standing in, Renaldo Moon. Or perhaps you would rather I changed the furniture around…?"

As her words trailed off, the ground gave way beneath Muta's paws.

He hissed and fumbled backwards, moving just in time to avoid going down with the cobblestones.

"Okay! Okay! I get the picture! Back off!"

Louise smiled and, with an elegant wave of her hand, brought the ground back into its complete form. Cracks still ran along between the cobblestones of the Crossroads, growing even as the Bureau watched them.

"What do you want, Louise?" Baron asked. His voice was carefully even, as if afraid that any show of emotion would prompt the other Creation to do something rash.

"Want?" Louise echoed. "I want my freedom."

"I… I'm sorry, Louise–" He winced, barely covering the jump as the world around them crackled with thunder.

"Don't. Apologise," she hissed. "What good is 'sorry' going to do me?"

"I can't let you loose," Baron said. "You and the Duke… You would cause chaos."

"You cannot know that."

"I think you forget that I was once the Duke," he whispered. "I know what he's capable of. I know how the war you were left alone to live through has changed you. I know the anger, the desperation, the fear that you inherited from the humans around you during those first years. I don't blame you for giving in to the rage, but I do take responsibility for it. I can't let you hurt anyone."

"Let me?" Louise laughed. "What makes you think you're in any position to 'let me' do anything?" The sky blackened overhead, rolling with Louise's dark mood. Their surroundings began to ooze, as if the paint was running free from its canvas. "Don't you remember where you are? I control this tiny world you locked me away in. I've spent so many years here that it reacts to my slightest command. You can't save anyone any more than you could save your dear Haru."

Pain punctured his palm. His hands had curled into fists and his claws had dug into his skin, drawing blood. "Where is she?" he hissed. "Where is Haru?"

"Uh, Baron?" Muta said. "You okay? Chicky's right there."

"Yes, Baron. Why don't you tell them the truth?" Louise smirked. "You've lost your precious human, your Haru, and instead you've been left with nothing but a fake at your side." Louise turned her head to one side, smiling thinly. "And yet, despite all your claims to love Miss Haru, you still protect her imposter."

Baron became aware now that he had taken a stance between Louise and the Haru lookalike, despite no mental decision to do so. Meanwhile, his companions were taking in this new slew of information.

"Imposter?" Michael was the first to question. "What does she mean?"

"What do ya think, kid? We've been fooled." Muta narrowed his eyes, not at Louise but instead at Baron. "Oi. How long have you known?"

"Since the beginning," Louise said.

"I suspected something since the beginning," Baron amended with a growl. He looked away from his ex-fiancée, apologetically turning to Muta and the others. "I wasn't sure and I didn't want to cause any… additional stress. We are in a world of Louise's invention, filled with memories of our past; it wasn't so far-fetched to consider that she might have taken it upon herself to replace a companion."

"Where's Haru?" Michael demanded.

Louise tutted. "I don't believe I was talking to you, human." This said, she hesitated and took another look at the young man, coming to a latent realisation. "Oh. You're him – the human Miss Haru has such strong feelings for." She glanced to Baron, her eyes glittering with mirth. "How does it feel to have lost to a human, Humbert?"

"He didn't."

Louise glanced irritably back to Michael. "I wasn't talking to you."

"He didn't lose to me," Michael repeated. He swallowed back nervously, but pressed on. "Haru didn't choose me. She broke up with me," and now he was carefully not looking towards Baron. "She didn't choose either of us. She was going to give up working with the Bureau for a while, just to get some normality." He heard the sudden intake of breath from Baron. "This isn't a game of us winning or losing her. This is her life you're talking about."

When he looked back up, he saw that Louise was looking at him with a grudging kernel of respect. "Heavens above, it looks like she really did find two knights," she muttered. "It's sickening."

"Was Haru serious?" Baron asked.

"Does it matter?" Louise snapped. "Neither of you are ever going to see her again." She waved a hand and the air shimmered with unspoken potential. From the cracks rose up vines that twisted themselves around the legs of the rest, trapping them in place.

The vines around Toto and Muta merely immobilised them, but the plants twisting around Baron and Michael continued to writhe and tighten, swirling across their chests and up to their necks. Thorns broke out along the vines, threatening to draw blood at a moment's notice.

Louise stalked over to where Baron was caught, grabbing his chin to meet his gaze. "Haru, I know you're watching, so watch well. It's time to make your decision. Who will you save?"

ooOoo

Haru dropped her hand away from Baron's piece, through whose eyes she had been watching.

"I can't… I can't do this," she whispered. She looked up to the Louise who was seated across from her. The real Louise, she suspected. The other one had to be an echo, a representation of the chess piece she was. Much like Haru's lookalike was. "Please… don't make me."

"You knew it was going to come down to this, Miss Haru. What good is any game without a little sacrifice?"

"Not this," Haru hissed. "I won't do this."

"Would you rather make it a game of chance?" Louise asked, smiling thinly. "Move a stray pawn, an errant piece, and leave me to decide which knight to take. Take away the blame from yourself, if you like."

"No." Haru dropped her head into her hands, staring across at the board. "No, there has to be another way. I can't… I can't let them die..."

"Did you really think this was going to be a painless game? Did you think everyone was going to escape unscathed? How naïve…"

"Please. Stop…" She closed her eyes, but that couldn't control the nauseous feeling rising through her. It was always going to end up like this, she realised. If not today, then another day, another case. One day she would have eventually have to choose between her human life and her Bureau one. Between her blessed, safe normality, and her crazy other-life. Michael and Baron were two sides of a coin that she had managed to hold on to until now.

She had just hoped that that day was far from coming.

"So… which one do you love more?"

"It's not like that," Haru said. "They're both important to me–"

"In the end, you must choose one. So, which will it be?"

"I can't."

"Why not?" Louise demanded.

"Because I can't condemn anyone to death!"

The Creation smiled. "Oh, Duke told me quite a different story."

Haru recalled the gun she had held to the Duke's head, and abruptly looked away.

"That's not who I am," she murmured. "I'm not a killer."

'Liar,' her mind hissed.

She had become many things to protect those she loved. Some had been for the better – stronger, faster, braver – while others had left her colder so she could do what was needed. Because the Duke had been right about one thing at least; Baron's approach to cases had forced her to step up. She was only human, after all, and was prone to all sorts of fallacies, such as heartbreak and fierce affection.

And so, today, she would have to become something new to save those she held dear.

"Stupid, stupid things," Haru whispered, and pushed a single piece forward into the path of Louise's queen.

ooOoo

Before Baron, Louise's eyes widened. She stepped away, her head tilting curiously to one side. "Oh. So she's decided. Interesting…"

"Ain't ya going to fill us in?" Muta demanded, as best as he could from the restraints of the vines. "So where is Chicky? What's happening?" He scrunched up his nose. "I hate it when people just go 'interesting' and trail off. It's never good."

"Haven't you guessed it yet?" Louise teased. "She's been playing a game. A game of chess, to be precise. With yourselves as the pieces."

"How did you get her to agree to play?" Toto asked.

"A few threats. It was surprisingly easy. For a girl with such fire, she sure quietens down once those she cares for are in danger. It was sadly predictable, really. But now the game has come to an end." The Creation paused, and leant back towards Baron. "Just out of curiosity, who do you think she saved? You? The reckless figurine who left her in this lurch? Or the human she abandoned to run into the world of magic and mystery?"

Baron stared back, his eyes locked on Louise's. "Haru, I hope you can hear me. I hope you know I have faith in you. Because if I know you – and I like to think I do – then you'll have found another way. But, please… please, don't do anything too rash."

Louise smiled. "Too late."

ooOoo

Haru released her hold on her own queen. The piece stood firmly in the middle of the board, right in front of Louise's queen. "Take it," she pleaded.

Louise echoed the smile that her imitation had just flashed Baron. "With pleasure."

As her queen was struck down, Haru was given the momentary image of her echo's last few seconds. New vines rose up from the ground and wound their way tight around the fake human's body. Haru closed her eyes, but that only made the image shine brighter in her mind. She was seeing through the other Haru's eyes. She was feeling the air squeezed from her lungs, the vines constricting around her neck.

And then, her echo vanished.

"Game, set, and match," Louise said. She reached over and grabbed Haru's wrist. "And now, for the rewards…"

ooOoo

Even as Baron was recovering from seeing Haru's lookalike fade into dust, the world around him dissolved and reconstituted into the familiar form of the Bureau. The vines were gone. Louise was gone. Things seemed… almost normal.

Michael pushed himself off the carpet, taking a few moments to prod gingerly at some fresh cuts. Despite the Bureau surroundings, he was now at the same height as Baron, which perhaps was a mercy considering the size of the Bureau. "What happened? Where are we? Where's… Where's Haru?"

"This is probably another trick," Muta grunted.

"No…" Baron raised his head, inhaling the familiar air of the Sanctuary. There was a freshness to the air that Louise's world had lacked. He would recognise his Bureau anywhere. "I think this is the real Sanctuary."

"Baron, what about Haru…?" Toto gently prompted. "If that wasn't the real one, then where…?"

"Here!"

As one, they turned around to see Haru standing in the doorway of the Bureau. She tapped her toes nervously, grinning tiredly.

"Hello."

"Haru?" Before he knew what was happening, Baron was taking one step towards her. And then another. And then, as instinct overthrew caution, he ran the final few steps and brought her into a close embrace. He dropped his head against her shoulder and knew – this was the real Haru. There was something more solid, more genuine about her. This wasn't an echo created by Louise. This was her. "Haru…"

The brunette chuckled nervously, and then cautiously returned the hug. Her grip tightened a few seconds later, her eyes closing in content relief. "Hello, Baron."

ooOoo

When feeling finally returned to her bones, Haru knew something was wrong.

For one, she had definitely been sitting on the white side of the chess board.

For another, there was something eerily unsettling about the feel of her body. She glanced down and saw white fur covering her hands. As part of her began to realise the truth, she raised a numb hand to her face and her face felt… padded? Velvety?

No.

She jumped up to her feet, and then promptly stumbled sideways, unaccustomed to her new body as she was. She grabbed Baron's desk to right herself, and now stared down at the white-furred, fingered paw that constituted for a hand.

She had lost. She had thrown away her queen, and thrown away her true body and ring in the process. And now she was here for… who even knew how long. Perhaps forever. Baron would have to realise the truth, though. He would never be fooled by Louise.

The building around her shook, and this time Haru's new legs gave way. She collapsed, her knees hitting the carpeted floor with a dull thud.

This… This was bad.

So bad.

There was another quaver, and a handful of dust rained down from above. Haru's ears flickered back and she glanced upwards. She looked just in time to see a beam break loose from the ceiling – and jumped just in time to avoid being flattened by it.

"Is this not bad enough already?!" Haru snapped as she dragged herself under Baron's desk. Her hand flew to her mouth – the voice that had escaped her lips had been Louise's, not hers. And although it perhaps was not something that should have been wholly unexpected, the voice still caught her unawares.

"Okay. This is weird."

The desk groaned as a significantly larger beam broke loose from above and crashed down onto it. Haru crawled beneath the desk and stumbled out just as it collapsed from the weight.

Out.

She had to get out.

She went running for the Bureau doors, but they would not open. She heaved at the handles, but the doors didn't just resist as if locked – they stood as if they were nothing more than walls with extended handles. There was no give to the hinges.

"Oh, come on!"

"Haru."

Haru spun around in time to see a white-furred feline standing in the middle of the collapsing Bureau.

"Lo- Louise?"

The accusatory tone fell somewhat flat as doubt crawled into her mind. Despite the chaos reigning around them, Haru's mind focused on the fact that something wasn't right about this. The clothes she wore were different for one; instead of the green dress, she was wearing a ruffled red gown and a wide-brimmed blue hat.

But, even if she hadn't been wearing new clothes, there was something undeniably different about this Louise. Her eyes were kinder, more akin to Baron's, her smile sadder, and there was none of the victory that Haru had come to expect.

"I'm so sorry."

Haru opened her mouth, and then closed it. There didn't seem to be much to say to that, apart from a slew of fresh questions. However, all save one was put on immediate hold when a clattering of roof slates broke through and fell through the form of the Louise lookalike.

"Who are you?"

"Not who, but what," the apparition replied. "I am the Sanctuary."

Again, Haru did her best impression of a goldfish, her mouth flapping for several more seconds as the Bureau fell apart around them. "That's funny, because you look an awful lot like Louise…"

"I save what I can," the Sanctuary said. "Memories, people, cries for help…"

"I had always hoped that it could also save what little strands of goodness prevailed."

That was what Baron had said. What he had hoped. That the Sanctuary could save the Louise he had once known.

"I could not save the Creation known as Louise," the Sanctuary said. "I could only gather what little good was left within her, and the memories that she kept. I take this form because it is as good as any. Because she and I are Creations both."

"Creations? The Sanctuary is a Creation?"

The Sanctuary blinked as the Bureau groaned around them. "I do not believe that is important now. You must leave here before this place collapses."

"I'm trying, but the doors are stuck."

"Not the Bureau. The painting in which Louise once resided," the Sanctuary amended. "She remained here for so long that this miniature world became dependant on her. Upon her departure, it has begun to crumble."

"Like Doctor Moreau's world," Haru murmured. "The portals collapsed when he died…"

"Yes. Although this situation is far more dire; it isn't simply the portals but the world itself that is giving way."

"Well, you're the Sanctuary. You get me out of here."

"I cannot. I do not have the power."

Haru turned back to the locked doors – although now she was beginning to wonder whether the doors now marked the edge of the house's boundaries – and tugged at the handles again. No luck.

"Those doors will not open. This world is collapsing upon itself and so this room is all that remains for now."

"There has to be a way out!" Haru's gaze shot across the Bureau. The building had faithfully reproduced the Bureau, save for Louise's portrait. Here, the painting was replaced by a similar painting, but of Baron.

That was it.

That had to be the exit.

"The way back will not open for you," the Sanctuary said as Haru stumbled over to the portrait. "The Baron made it so that Louise – or, more accurately, Louise's body – would not be able to leave this house's world. I cannot undo that spell."

As Haru's hands reached the portrait, the painting emitted sharp sparks that sent her recoiling back. Of course. Louise had taken her magic. She could no more open the exit than she could stop this world from collapsing. And, in Louise's body, the painting would not allow her near anyway.

"Please," she pleaded. "There must be something you can do!"

As the fake Bureau groaned and cracked around her, Haru was afraid that the Sanctuary's impassive stance would remain unchanged. But then, the Louise lookalike nodded. "I can clear a window between this world and the Bureau," the Sanctuary said. A hand was waved before the portrait, and the paint dissolved away into a hazy glass – again, glass as if painted. But it allowed a faint image of the Bureau. The real Bureau.

Baron, Michael, Toto, Muta… They had all made it.

And… herself.

Or Louise in her body, anyway.

Through the window, Haru watched as Baron pulled her into a tight hug, his eyes closed in relief.

Haru hammered on the glass, ignoring the painful sparks it flashed at her as she called out to the Creation. Praying he could hear her. Praying he would see her. Praying he would recognise her.

Praying he could improvise one more ending where everybody lived.

ooOoo

Baron opened his eyes, and was not ashamed when unshed tears clouded his vision. "Haru…"

"It's okay, Baron. I'm here."

He blinked his eyes and his gaze rested on the once-peaceful portrait of Louise. Only now, something had changed. A window had been created between the Bureau and Louise's painting. He blinked again, and his vision cleared to reveal a desperate Louise slamming her fists against the barrier. Her mouth was moving in silent cries, and something unsettled inside him.

He released Haru, and stepped away.

"Haru… What happened back there?"

"It's… complicated. Why?"

He pointed to Louise in the window. Something wasn't right, but he couldn't understand what, precisely. All he knew was that something was hurting inside at seeing Louise there. Something that was more than just the pain of what might have been – what should have been – the snow-white Creation.

Louise's lips were repeating the same word.

'Baron.'

Without a thought, he took a step towards the window, only stopping when Haru took his hand.

"Humbert, leave her."

"She's… in pain," he said. "I can't…"

"Can't what? Abandon her? Like you did for the past how many years?" Haru asked. "I think you can."

Baron paused, and then, very deliberately, freed his hand from hers and stepped up to the painting's frame.

Louise's face broke into a tearful smile, and now Baron could see the background of the Bureau inside the house's world. It was tearing up, shattering into pieces like an earthquake was rendering it apart. Louise didn't seem to notice though. Her eyes remained trained on the other Creation, her fists slackening their frantic beat against the glass. His name was mouthed again.

Baron slowly raised his hand against the window, and his heart understood something that his mind had missed.

"Too late," he whispered.

"What?"

"Too late," he repeated. He looked back to the brunette. "That's what Louise said. 'Too late'. Why say that if she had lost?"

"Maybe she made a mistake," Haru offered. "Got overconfident."

"I don't think so."

Muta raised a paw. "Uh, hey? Could ya bring the rest of us up to speed? What's going on?"

Baron narrowed his eyes at Haru. "Why don't you explain… Louise?"

"Oh, already?" Haru – or, rather, Louise – pouted. "I was expecting a little bit more time before you noticed."

Baron grabbed her shoulders. "Get. Haru. Out. NOW," he snarled.

Louise smiled nastily. "Don't you remember? My body can never leave that world. You made quite sure of that, my dear."

"Baron, what's happening?" Michael demanded. "What's…? I mean, Haru…?"

"This isn't Haru," Baron growled. "Louise has stolen Haru's body and left Haru back in the house."

"You can get her back, right?"

The bleak look in Baron's eyes spoke volumes.

"Oh, isn't this a tragedy?" There was a fresh set of laughter, and the Duke arrived on the scene, leaning casually against the doorframe. "Afternoon, Louise," he said, tipping his hat. "Next time you try to drop me off, do attempt to at least drop me off where the action is. What have I missed?"

"Not much," Louise chuckled. "Merely a few unpleasant truths coming to light. But, then again, we knew that was going to happen sooner or later." Louise tried to pull herself free, but Baron caught her wrist and held tight. "Oh, now, Baron; that's hardly gentlemanly…"

"Reverse the spell," he ordered. "Return to your own body, Louise."

"And spend another eternity in that wretched miniature world? I don't think so." She started to laugh, but then a shiver rippled through her. A gasp was ripped from her lips and she collapsed down. Baron caught her before she could hit the ground.

"This would be sweet if I didn't know you were just doing this because it's her body," Louise rasped. She rolled her head towards the Duke. "What's going on?"

"Ah… A slight oversight, it would seem." The Duke shrugged noncommittally. "There was a chance that, upon your departure of your house, the world inside it would start to collapse. Well, that is unfortunate."

"Unfortunate?" Muta echoed. "Chicky's in there!"

The Duke grinned and looked directly at the fat cat. At the dangerous glimmer in the Duke's eyes, Muta decided against charging down the Creation. "I guess she is. Louise, if that body is failing, it must be because the soul originally attached to it is losing connection."

"Connection?" Toto asked. "You mean…?"

"Yes. Your friend's time is almost up. I'm surprised she lasted as long as this with the world she occupies currently collapsing around her. She's lucky." The Duke paused, and then added with a lopsided smile, "Relatively."

ooOoo

Haru kicked at the beam that had trapped her lower body, aware that every breath was beginning to hurt. She heaved at it, sparing a glare to the Sanctuary. "What good are you if you can't get me out of here?" she screamed.

"I cannot prevent this world from collapsing," the Sanctuary said. "Only the return of Louise will stop that. And I cannot make that happen. When this world collapses entirely, you and everything else in it will vanish."

"Then what can you do?"

The Sanctuary was silent. And then, "Your magic…"

"I don't have my magic!" The words came out as near sobs as she fought against the beam that gravity was calling down to crush her. A bubble of panic rose up in her chest, making it ache worse. "My magic is in my other body! My real body!" she screamed.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I–" Haru's mouth snapped shut. No. There was a glimmer of… something. A spark of her magic that had to have transferred with her soul.

"Magic is linked to one's very being," the Sanctuary told her. "It never truly leaves us."

The world shuddered around them, and the far end of the Bureau collapsed entirely. In its wake was left a wall of… nothingness. It was the smoke and haze that occupied the space between worlds. The place between dimensions.

Haru didn't want to drop through there. If it didn't kill her, then she could end up drifting through nothingness forever. That, or be abandoned on a world far, far from here. None of the options were inviting.

"I haven't got my ring!" Haru shouted. Her voice was sucked away by the nothingness void that was creeping towards her. "I can't create a portal out of nothing!"

The Sanctuary knelt down before her, and now there was fresh kindness in those sapphire eyes. "Not all hope is lost," the Sanctuary whispered, and it sounded like it came more from the original Louise than the Sanctuary itself. There was an echo of the character that Baron had become, a remnant of something sad and old. The Sanctuary raised a hand to Haru's forehead, brushing a bare finger against her head. "Magic will always protect its owner, in whatever way it can. I do not know how your magic will do that, but I can prompt it to, if you so wish."

Haru thought over her options. All three that regarded the swirling nothingness all had one thing in common – she would be leaving the Bureau behind. She would be leaving her friends for a long, long time, possibly for good. She would lose Baron.

And here was a final option. A wildcard.

A chance to be reunited.

"Save me."

ooOoo

Out in the courtyard, Haru's body rejected Louise's soul as the connection between the real body and soul was broken. Haru's body went limp and a wisp of something… silver escaped from her lips. It gathered at her mouth and then drifted over to the Duke, who took it almost reverently from the air.

"Well, I would so love to stay and chat, but I have a feeling you won't appreciate the company," he laughed. He tipped his hat and, while the Bureau was too stunned to react, he swiped the golden ring off Haru's lifeless hand and disappeared in a swirl of portal magic.

"Oi, Baron… ain't we gonna do something….?"

"Like what?" Baron whispered. He knelt down by the unmoving body of Haru, lifeless save for the flutter of a heart which hadn't been told that its soul had been lost. "She's gone…"

"Gone?" Michael echoed. "No. No, no, no – this isn't possible. What – What do you mean?"

"The world she was in collapsed," Toto softly explained. "Either the shock of being dropped between dimensions will have killed her instantly, or she'll be left floating in that space for ever. There's no way to bring back someone lost in the between-space."

"There has to be–"

"There isn't," Baron said. He gently lifted Haru's body into his arms. It was still living, still waiting for the return of a soul that would never come back. Still warm, but empty. He dropped his head against her shoulder, holding her carefully to him as silent sobs wracked through him. "I'm sorry," the whisper came. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have… I should never… This is my fault… I'm sorry, Haru. Please, come back to me… I'm sorry… I love you…"

ooOoo

A/N: How much do you hate me now?

Also, many thanks goes to to-become-wind (Tumblr account) for unintentionally giving me the idea to house Louise's prison in her painting, instead of one of the Sanctuary houses, which was my original concept.

Stick around for the Behind The Scenes chapter next week! ...Assuming I live that long.

Cat.