AN: Well folks, there's not much for me to say right here other than let's find out how the mystery will be solved and if Baron can save Haru from the fate in his visions.
Ch 5: Revelations Galore
Haru Yoshioka's rushing through the snow covered forest, no direction in mind due to her heartbreak. 'Baron wants to kick me out of the Bureau?! Why?! What did I do wrong?!' These questions consume her as she continues running. Eventually coming to a place without any trees in front of her, the brunette stops.
A large rock juts outward, more forests hundreds of feet below the cliff.
Haru steps back from the cliff, her back meeting a tree. The human woman sporting dog features collapses and cries. 'I thought I was helping. I thought they felt happy I was with them. I thought we were friends. A family. Was I just a burden to them this whole time? The tagalong human they had to put up with?'
"Haru!" comes Baron's distant voice.
The brunette feels her stomach clench. 'Why him? Why did I let myself fall for somebody who could never love me back? He'll stay loyal to Louise. Still, there were so many little things that made me hope he could love me. The way he smiled at me, all the wonderful words of praise and encouragement he'd say to me, and the times he'd have me dance with him. Baron's the only one I've ever been a good dancer with. Was he just humoring me because of his helpful nature? I could've lived with you never feeling the same way about me. I just wanted to help you and the Bureau whenever and for however long I could. Was I just…never good enough for any of you?'
Paws come out of nowhere to restrain Haru and cover her mouth.
"Tie her up and gag her," comes an unpleasant voice. "Don't want her using any of those commands of hers on us."
Haru's wrists and ankles are bound with ropes and a gag is stuffed into her mouth. She's eventually able to get a good look at her captors.
Three of them are unfamiliar. There's a Vizsla leering at her, a Chihuahua who's grinning at her with obvious bloodlust, and a black furred Retriever-Lab mix trying to avoid eye contact.
The leader of the group is General Ripper, the Boxer who tried to attack Muta. He smirks at Haru. "Horvath suspected your friends might've told you to stop the hunt. Ordered us to take care of you the first chance we got. Thanks for running off on your own. Made it easier for us."
Haru feels like a fool for letting this happen.
"Can't have you and your friends stopping our hunt now. With Ronan dead, Horvath will have Ruby like he always wanted and I'll be king instead of that damn high and mighty Husky."
The Chihuahua brings out two daggers, his tongue hanging from his mouth. "Can I slice her and dice her?"
"No. Can't risk getting her blood on us and have what we did sniffed out." Ripper looks over his shoulder. "Let's throw her off the cliff."
The chihuahua cackles. "Yay! I wanna see her go splat!"
General Ripper looks to the Retriever-Lab mix. "Carry the girl."
The black furred dog looks down at the ground and does nothing.
The Boxer growls. "That's an order, Logan!"
The one named Logan flinches. "Yes, Sir," he says in a quiet voice. He picks up Haru.
The brunette may be afraid for her life right now, but she still picked up on one important thing. 'Logan doesn't want to be part of this. He's being bullied into this by those who've likely bullied him around for so long, he's accepted it as his fate.'
The Vizsla keeps his eyes on Haru. "General, do we have to kill her? Can't we just stow the girl away somewhere until the hunt's over and that transformation becomes permanent? She looks like she'd make some real nice stress relief if you know what I mean."
Haru curls up in an attempt to cover herself.
"No," General Ripper says with a shake of his head. "We can't risk someone with power like hers being kept alive."
The Vizsla shrugs. "That's too bad." He smirks at Haru. "Guess we won't be having fun together."
The group walks to the edge of the cliff (the chihuahua excitedly saying "Splat" over and over).
Haru struggles to get free, but is unsuccessful.
At the edge, the Vizsla speaks up again. "General, before we throw her off, can I lick her once?"
"Go ahead," says Ripper.
The Vizsla grins and runs his tongue along his fangs before approaching Haru.
The brunette shivers. 'Please, no. Not that. I'd rather be thrown off now than have him touch me.' She thinks of her feline gentleman in that moment. 'Baron…help me.'
"HARU!" the feline Creation screams as he reaches the cliff from the trees. Seeing the group of dogs with the bound and gagged brunette, Baron figures out what's going on. "Release her now!"
"Not a chance, Cat Freak!" General Ripper shouts back.
"Then you forfeit your lives!" The tawny cat Creation pulls his sword from his cane and starts to approach.
General Ripper pushes the Vizsla up front. "Get rid of him!"
Though he feels annoyed at the Boxer for pushing him, the Vizsla takes out his sword and walks to meet Baron. "I get why you want to save the girl. She looks like a sweet piece of tail."
The Creation's emerald green eyes fill with fury as he growls.
"Still, you trying to take on all of us, what a joke." The Vizsla tries to stab his opponent.
Quick as a flash, Baron dodges the strike and drives his sword through the Vizsla's heart. He then pulls the sword back out and flicks it to get rid of some of the blood as the Vizsla's body drops. "I don't joke with Haru's life."
The partial dog girl stares at Baron as he gets closer to them. She has rarely ever seen the tawny furred, white suit wearing Creation draw blood. Haru mostly recalls him using that sword of his to knick his opponent's clothing, knock them out with its handle, or forcibly shave their fur like he did with the Cat King. Seeing Baron take a life lets her know just how angry and terrified for her safety he is.
The chihuahua certainly feels afraid. "I didn't sigh up for this. I'm out." He tries to run away, but General Ripper grabs him.
The Boxer brings the chihuahua face to face. "Coward. Then you splat!" He throws his subordinate off the cliff, the chihuahua screaming the whole way down.
Even Baron in his furious state pauses at that action.
"Logan!" the general barks at his last remaining subordinate.
The Retriever-Lab mix flinches.
"You either throw that girl from this cliff or I push both of you together. Make the choice now, Logan."
"NO!" Baron screams as he charges.
Ripper charges too and engages the feline Creation in a sword fight.
Haru looks up at Logan. 'He's at war with himself. His moral code versus his fear of the general.' The brunette taps the black furred dog's chest with her bound hands.
Logan looks down and locks eyes with the woman that he's holding onto. It fully dawns on him now what General Ripper has ordered him to do. 'He wants me to kill this girl, this sweet and innocent cat sized girl with dog features just to achieve an evil, selfish goal. I can't do that.' The Retriever-Lab mix sets Haru down on her feet, uses a knife to cut the ropes, and removes the gag. "Let's get you out of here."
"No. I'm staying to help Baron. You leave the first chance you get."
Logan has to do what she says since it was given to him as a command. When Baron and Ripper (completely focused on their fight) move to one side of the cliff, the black furred dog uses the opposite side to run.
Baron falls against a boulder, Ripper raising his sword to strike.
"STOP!" Haru screams at the boxer.
Ripper freezes, but his stance is so unsteady that he falls forward.
Baron gets out of the way before his opponent can fall on him.
Ripper falls, hits the boulder, and crumples to the ground.
The feline Creation checks on the Boxer. 'He must have hit his head just right to kill him instantly.' He looks over at Haru. Realizing (other than her canine features) that this is the exact image from his visions, Baron starts rushing over. "HARU!"
"Baron?" Haru asks feeling confused by this reaction. Just then, the brunette woman can hear and feel the edge beneath her give way. In that moment, time seems to slow down for Haru. She feels herself start to fall. As she descends, the human woman sees Baron's mouth is open in a scream as he reaches for her. When Haru closes her eyes, she suddenly feels herself stop. She looks up.
Baron's holding onto the brunette's hand. He holds out his other hand to her, which Haru grabs. The Creation pulls her up and wraps his arms around her. "You're alive," he breathes into the brunette's hair.
Suddenly angry, Haru pushes Baron away. "This just proves your point, doesn't it?!"
"What?"
"That all I do is get myself into trouble! You all have to keep an eye on the weak human! You think I don't have what it takes! That's why you want to kick me out of the Bureau!"
Realizing what this is about, Baron's ears flatten down out of guilt. "Haru—"
"Why did you guys drag this on for so long?! Why couldn't you have told me at the very beginning that I'm not cut out for this?! You let me think I belonged with everyone when you all were really thinking I shouldn't be involved! You played with my emotions! You should've told me from Day One that all I do is hold you back!"
Baron grabs the dog featured woman's shoulders. "That is not true! You've been part of the Bureau the moment you came into our lives! You helped those that the rest of us never could have because of your human empathy! Whenever we were in situations where we doubted if we could succeed, you kept us gong with your unflinching spirit! You are friend and family to all of us!"
"Then why send me away?!"
"I've had visions of you falling from that cliff for a week now! In those visions, I wasn't able to save you!" Then, Baron does something he never did before due to having been made of wood. He cries. "That's why. If you died, it would destroy me."
Haru's so taken aback by Baron crying and the words he just said, she can't respond. Her eyes focus on his clothes. "There's dog blood on your suit. That'll be a chore to wash off."
"It isn't all dog blood." Wincing, Baron rolls up a sleeve to reveal a cut on his arm…one that's bleeding.
"What?! But…you're a Creation! You're wood!"
"When Creations reach a point in which they no longer wish to be immortal, they're then made mortal. For me, continuing to exist as an immortal would be pain…without you." Baron's emerald green eyes meet Haru's soft brown ones. "Haru Yoshioka…I love you."
The brunette stares at the (former?) Creation in stunned silence. Then, she throws herself at him and kisses him on the lips.
Baron remains still for a moment because of how sudden the action was, but then his eyes close and he squeezes Haru tightly. He now realizes that kissing Louise while they were together felt manufactured. This feels passionate and natural, the ex Creation wishing they had started to do this sooner. He purrs as it goes on.
Haru had only dreamed of this happening. Now, with the kiss a reality and feeling Baron purr, the transformed human's new dog tail wags.
They eventually pull apart with smiles on their faces.
"I've hoped and dreamed of you saying that to me for years," Haru says to Baron. "Why hide it for so long?"
The tawny feline's smile falters. "Because you deserve to be with someone you can show to the Human World. I'd have to use magic to hide my true self in your world."
"Maybe to the general public, but not everyone who really matters to me. Hiromi and her fiancé, Tsuge, teased me about when they'd receive invitations to our wedding after meeting you. Mom said that while you're not what she ever would've expected, she'd gladly accept you as her son in law after experiencing how much of a gentleman you are."
"What about how dangerous a life with me would be?"
"I already knew there would be risks the moment I joined the Cat Bureau. As long as I'm by your side, I'm ready to face all of it."
"What about family? I'm not certain I would be able to provide that for you." Seeing the far off look on Haru's face, Baron fears he made a mistake mentioning this. "Forgive me! I now realize it was likely far too soon to bring up such a topic!"
"I think you can."
"What?"
Haru looks Baron in the eyes. "Just take the time to think about it. What do you believe a child of ours would look like?"
The tawny furred cat man takes a moment to imagine their child's appearance. It leads to a huge realization. "Of course. Why didn't I think of this before?"
Haru smirks. "Figured it out too?"
"BARON!" comes the distressed voice of Toto as he flies in. "They found him!"
Knowing what this means, the feline man in white rushes to the crow gargoyle with Haru beside him. "We need to hurry!"
Once the pair are on his back, Toto takes off. "Glad you're safe, Haru!"
"Thank you," says the brunette.
Meanwhile…
The hunting party has captured the large beast.
The creature is struggling against ropes that some of the dog soldiers are holding onto.
King Ronan is standing near the thing that killed his son, a sword in his paws.
Muta is struggling against two dogs restraining him and covering his mouth. 'Not hard to guess that these guys are in on Horvath's sick plan.'
William is being magically tied and silenced by Horvath. 'Toto was right about what was found out at the castle. This guy really is scum and he's doing everything to keep us from putting an end to this.'
The poodle is looking desperate and crazed right now. "I never trusted the outsiders, My King! They've revealed their true goals! They're in league with the monster! They wanted your son dead! Smite it while we deal with these conspirators!"
Ronan looks at the thing that took his son and approaches it.
"NO!" screams Logan as he comes out from the trees. "Don't kill him! That's—!"
A fearful and angry Horvath does a quick spell to restrain and gag the Retriever-Lab mix before he can finish what he was trying to say.
In the confusion, William gets his voice back and shouts at the king. "He's your—!"
Horvath silences the brown feline Creation yet again. "See! They've turned one of your own against you! Stop wasting time! KILL THAT THING!"
While King Ronan feels confusion at what's been going on, one look at the creature who killed his son makes all that irrelevant in his mind. 'You took my Milo from me. My little puppy. DIE!' He raises his sword to behead the struggling creature.
"STOP!" comes Haru's voice from the sky.
Ronan freezes with the sword raised above him.
"No!" Horvath shouts as he looks up.
Toto lands with Baron and Haru jumping off right after.
"Release them!" the brunette commands the dogs restraining everyone.
William, Muta, and Logan are all let go.
The Retriever-Lab mix rushes over to Ronan. "Forgive me, My King! I never wanted to be involved in this plot against you, but General Ripper and the others made me!"
"Ripper?!" asks the confused Siberian Husky. "What are you talking about?!"
"Don't listen to him!" shouts Horvath. "The outsiders have twisted his mind!"
Haru points at the poodle. "Quiet!"
Horvath goes silent, his eyes giving the dog featured woman a death glare.
William smiles at Baron and Haru. "I'm so glad you got here in time."
The tawny cat man smiles back. "As are we…William von Gikkingen."
The young Creation stares in complete shock at the smiling pair standing in front of him. "How…?"
"We figured it out together," Haru tells the son who shares her soft brown eyes. "We can discuss this later. We have more important things to deal with now." She turns to Baron. "How do we prove the creature didn't kill the king's son."
The feline man in white frowns. "That isn't just some creature, Haru. His true identity is proof of just how despicable Horvath truly is."
"How dare you say something like that?!" Ronan shouts at Baron. "Horvath has been my friend since we were pups! He'd never do anything to hurt me!"
"I'm afraid that's not true, Your Majesty. To prove it, we must wait for one more arrival."
Right on cue, there's a snap and a Yellow Lab appears nearby. "Am I too late?!"
"You're just in time, Benny," says Toto.
"Benjamin?" asks King Ronan. "What are you doing here?"
The Yellow Lab brings out a bottle. "I brought the antidote, My King."
"You stupid fool!" Horvath shouts at his apprentice. "You're playing into their hands!"
Benny glares at the seething poodle. "Better them than you! I can't believe I ever called you Master you heartless monster!"
"Don't give that concoction to those outsiders you traitor! I forbid it!"
Ignoring the poodle, Benny gives the bottle to Baron.
A desperate Horvath raises his paw to fire a magical blast to hopefully destroy the bottle.
"No magic!" Haru commands. When the poodle tries to charge, she just points. "SIT!"
Horvath has no choice but to obey. "No!"
Baron looks to the confused king. "Everything will be explained once the being you have been chasing and blaming for the death of your son drinks this." He walks over to the large beast to have it drink from the bottle. When it whimpers and leans away, Baron glances at the woman he loves. "Haru."
"Open your mouth," the brunette commands the creature.
With the being's mouth now open, Baron pours the contents of the bottle down its throat.
The creature chokes a little before clutching at its head and groaning in pain. It begins to shrink and change shape until it's the size of a small puppy.
Ronan gasps and drops his sword. "Milo?"
The dazed pup looks up at the Siberian Husky. "Dada?" He starts to collapse, but Ronan catches him.
The king cradles his son, overjoyed he's alive, but also confused. "I don't…understand."
Toto glares at the growling poodle. "Ask Horvath."
Ronan looks to the Wizard he'd known all his life. "Horvath?"
Baron approaches the poodle. "Talk you vile, treacherous snake."
Suspecting what really happened but having a hard time immediately accepting someone could sink so low, Haru points at Horvath. "Tell the truth!"
With that command, the evil poodle confesses. He tells how he forced young Prince Milo to drink a transformation potion to turn him into a monster, then accuse it of killing the pup. The plan had been to have Ronan slay "the monster", which would've turned back into the pup prince after the deed. With the Siberian Husky left devastated, Horvath and his followers were going to kill off the king and any soldiers who were loyal to him. They would have returned to the castle claiming that "the beast" had hypnotic powers and how they had no other choice but to put down the hypnotized king as well as those soldiers who didn't make it back. With nobody around who could contradict them, Ripper would've become king.
"How could you?!" a distressed Ronan asks. "We were friends!"
Horvath scoffs. "Friends?! You're nothing but a thief! You know Ruby was meant to be with me, but you stole her and turned her against me! I would have gotten what's rightfully mine if not for these outsiders! Why did your brat have to be immune to my magic?! Why couldn't he have died like the rest?!"
The king feels his stomach twist. "What does that mean?"
The poodle grins. "Ruby didn't get sick! That was my magic being used to get rid of the parasites you put in her! I might've missed one, but I got a small victory by snuffing out the rest before they could be born!" Horath devolves into mad cackling.
Ronan hands Milo to Haru (she gently pets the pup's head). Then, he charges at Horvath and punches him right in his face.
The wicked poodle flies back a few yards before landing unconscious on the ground.
The Dog King heaves with rage at this betrayal from someone he'd thought of as a friend.
Haru looks to the crowd. "All those loyal to the king, kneel!"
A good many kneel at the command. A third of them don't.
"The rest of you march to the castle dungeons and wait for the king's punishment!"
As those traitors march away, Ronan looks at two kneeling soldiers. "You two! Take that filth Horvath to the dungeons to await his execution!"
The pair grab the unconscious poodle and drag him away.
Ronan takes his son back from Haru, the pup not conscious for any of this. "I thank you, Cat Bureau. A horrible tragedy was avoided because of your efforts. You five are hereby friends of the Dog Kingdom and always welcome to visit. A banquet shall be held in your honor."
"Yes!" Muta cheers at the thought of food.
Baron's pocket watch goes off, reminding him of something very important. "I'm afraid we have to disappoint my eager friend here and reschedule that banquet for a later date. We must leave the kingdom before Haru's transformation becomes permanent."
"I understand completely," the king says with a nod. He tells the group where they'll find the portal to the Human World.
Baron, Haru, and William get onto Toto's back.
The crow gargoyle grabs Muta with his claws before he takes off, the fat cat complaining about missing out on the banquet the whole way.
AN: A few things I should probably talk about here. First, Horvath is a sick and twisted bastard. Some of you are probably asking why the poodle would do such despicable things. In his warped mind, Horvath believed that Ruby not wanting him romantically meant that she was against him and that Ronan was the cause. As for how he could kill off the other puppies in the womb, the poodle didn't see them as growing puppies inside Ruby, but an infection that Ronan gave to her. His horrifying plan that the Cat Bureau stopped, it was Horvath's way of, as he believed, punishing Ronan and taking away "his" Ruby. Yeah...that's f'ed up. As to why Milo was immune to Horvath's magic, maybe that could imply Milo has something special about him that will continue to show itself as he grows. Then again, he could've just been lucky. I'll leave that for you all to decide. General Ripper was a character I do feel should've gotten more development as a villain since he was the one who wanted to take Ronan's place as king and was willing to team up with Horvath knowing what was going on, but nothing would've fit into the story in any natural way. I guess I'll have to be satisfied with what I've provided here, that the Boxer was a rage filled monster who wanted to become ruler of the Dog Kingdom and would've been a tyrant who made the people fear him. The dog Logan who'd been bullied but then changed to the side of good, he's named after another current dog I have. On the subject of Baron and Haru, FINALLY! They're together now! Now, how many of you guessed that William was their future son with all the clues I provided throughout the story? We've only got one more chapter to go where all the loose ends will be tied up. See you on Wednesday for the conclusion to The Empath and the Mystery.
