I don’t know if you’re still taking prompts, but I came across this lyric “I would trade all my tomorrows for just one yesterday” and it looks perfect for immortal angst :)
I struggled with the prompt for longer than I should, then I suddenly found the sweet-spot for the type of ~feeling~ I wanted for this, and now we have angst! :D
Not quite Immortal Angst, but it’s on a level similar to it! This is a Bureau Files AU, inspired by The Bureau Files by @catsafarithewriter. These are actually parallel dimension versions of our Bureau! All inspired by a “what if?” I had after the end of “The Case of Three Barons”.
This is just after [spoilers] Haru disappears into the Wood Between Worlds. But the grief and loss remains~
Also, I usually try and incorporate the prompt, but I just couldn’t get it in. I’m sorry! DXBut I hope the feeling is close enough to the lyric to make up for it!
*****
It was quiet within the Sanctuary.
A place- 'a world much different from your own'- that carried and breathed its own life, that was filled to the brim with so much that it felt like it was overflowing-
It was quiet.
No snips, and arguments, though those had already been rare. Hard to strike a fight and carry it through when a special third party had more of a vested interest in the petty disagreements.
No, the Sanctuary stood silent and still, drained of its magic. Deprived of its greatest source of brightness. Lost to the-
Best not to linger within those sorrows.
However it happened, the world remained. Life did not. The Sanctuary stabled out its weakened and weary world, leaving behind beds to sleep in and no comfort to be found in the silence.
It was so damn quiet.
Cases came and went, as was the nature of time and the world surrounding them. Things carried on where there other, more important tasks to be taken. But one after another came forward, asking for help, begging for a solution. There was no life in the sanctuary, but it never found itself empty.
He worked, tirelessly, following any lead he could find. Chasing after a pair of cat-like beings and cleaning up the chaos and grief they left behind. They were taunting him, but he couldn’t find himself too bothered by it. He was looking for any they could have left behind.
“We know what happened to her, Baron,” Toto told him. When the files took priority, and Muta suddenly needed to be at the Crossroads to avoid the burden, that’s when he told Baron.
“We know she’s missing, old friend, and that’s not the same as what you’re implying,” he intoned, shuffling the papers. Hissed when a papercut came as a result of his restless hands.
Toto sighed, cocked his head, and looked at his oldest friend. Was it even the right one? He left and came back and was never the same. He’d be more worried over that, if it hadn’t left him free to pursue the best thing to happen in his long life.
And now she was gone and there was nothing left.
“We have to accept it, Baron,” light flashed, and a human Toto leapt down from the railing, “there’s not much else we can do.”
“We can keep looking. We can expand our search. We can call in old favors. We can do anything and everything possible, and I intend to.”
Baron had stood, paperwork crinkled in his hands, gaze unwavering towards Toto. He left no room for argument, voice desperate for anything to cling to. Hiding behind the facade of indifference and composure.
With no feathers to ruffle, Toto wore his anger clearly, channeling it through his stiff shoulders and tight grip. He cleared the space in fast strides, bracing against Baron’s desk, Baron having reseated himself.
“Why are you doing this Baron?” Toto asked, tone a little too level.
Baron met his eyes. Too much and not enough was said between them, accusing, hurting, begging. Baron looked away first.
“You know why, Toto,” he told him.
“No, I don’t. That’s the point of sharing with the class, Baron. Or this case, your best friend,” Toto seethed, leaning further across the desk. Baron pushed back, stood so fast his chair clattered back and scuffed the floor.
“Because I have feelings for her!”
Silence followed quick behind Baron’s confession. Wrapped around each occupant and swallowed them down to a place of fear and solitude. Toto breathed in deep, closing his eyes, counting back from ten. He straightened up and met Baron’s eye.
“No you don’t,” he told him. Simply, factually, like he was telling him about the weather, or mentioning a mulberry had gone bad.
Baron struggled to breathe.
“What do you mean, “no”? Are you suddenly privy to every single one of my thoughts?” Baron retorted, his turn now to lean over the desk, baring his incisors.
Toto crossed his arms. His shoulders relaxed, tension washed away as quickly as it had come before. Baron seethed at it, gripping the desk to keep him grounded.
“Do you not remember how you treated her? That’s not one who’s in love would treat someone.”
“I loved her more than-!”
Toto slammed his hands against the desk, Baron jolting back at the force. A beak sprouted on Toto’s face, feather’s spackling his face, hair, and arms. The crystal holding his human form gave a small whine, straining under the strength of Toto’s anger. Of his grief.
“I watched, for 4 years, you treat Haru like she wasn’t even worth half a damn,” feathers receding, but clawed nails digging trails into the desk, “I watched her strain for your approval, watched her desperately struggle against her feelings when she first came here.”
Baron flinched, took a half step forward, but receded when Toto sunk his nails deeper into the wood.
“And you knew!” Toto shouted. He shook his head, voice wavering under so much.
“You came back, and you must have met her, and you took it out on her. You hated her before she even came here for help.”
“Toto, you don’t know, if I could take it all back-”
“What’s her favorite color?”
Baron froze, blinking. His mouth flapped, searching for an answer. From either Haru.
“Her birthday? Her prized possession? Did you know she has a scar on her shoulder?” Toto questioned, frantic, creeping around the desk.
“I know her, Toto, I love her…” he tried again, pleading, begging.
“You can’t love someone if you’ve never even known them.”
Baron stopped. Toto stopped. A foot apart, but miles away from each other. Whatever their friendship, whatever their years together had left, smoldered between bad blood and grief. Stolen away by the one who took both their hearts.
“I loved her, Baron,” Toto said, voice cracking. “We all have our own grief. But you cannot claim to have the same as mine.”
Toto nodded to himself, yanking off the crystal. His hand slammed it onto the desk, wing taking its place just as his hand left it. He leapt to the balcony, taking off through the open doors and into the night.
“There’s no winning this, is there? Always the stubborn one, you are.” I feel like this could go either angsty or funny. Surprise me :)
Have some light Dark!Baron a.k.a “King” for all you Bureau File AU needs.Fun fact, this and all other TBF AU fics involve the same parallel universe Bureau.
Only when Duke and Baron came together, we got a King out of the mess. @catsafarithewriter I’m sorry it’s so short, but I’m slowly working into writing again ^^;
Enjooooyyyyy~~
*****
“There’s no winning this, is there? Always the stubborn one, you are.”
She didn’t respond, though that was a given, considering her circumstances. Toto and Muta were unconscious, bound to separate trees from her. She remained awake, but their captors had taken the time to gag her. A shame, a truly pity he believed, but it spared him the shouting match that’d get both of them killed.
“Always so stubborn,” he murmured, crossing the rest of the distance between them. She flinched away at his approach, a gesture he tried not to take too personally, and kicked when he was within range.
Stopping her attacks was easy enough, his mind elsewhere as he looked her over. No obvious injuries to mar her skin, though that didn’t stop the little niggling worry. Humans were fragile, and something inside could easily be as broken as a nail or some skin. He sighed, resting his chin in his palm.
Looks like the gag would have to come out.
She choked as he dislodged it, though she tried to stifle the coughing. Best not to alert her captors, after all. He matched her glare with a charming smile, but that effect had been lost long before he started using it on her.
“Any pain or aches somewhere I can’t see, Miss Haru?” he asked, brushing her bangs away from her face. The effort ruined when she jerked her head away.
“Go to hell,” came her clever response. It sent a small thrill down his spine, hearing her swear acting as an odd sort of treat.
“Not when an angel like you is around,” he purred, smirking as her eyes rolled.
Her glare was astoundingly fierce for one still bound to a tree. He really needed to learn her secrets, villainous smirking could only take you so far. Instead he sighed, taking a seat across from her.
“You told the Baribets we were coming.”
It wasn’t a question.
“Of course. I was hoping to get you alone and leave Muta and Toto captured. Didn’t expect for them to actually check the abandoned root cellar. I cleared that out specifically for you.”
She glared again, and the charm remained. He missed her smiles, though.
“Baron-” she hissed.
He loomed over her, having sprung from his seat. His hand slammed close to the right side of her head, his other hand loosely around her neck. She flinched, but gave him no other signs of being disturbed by the change in attitude. She knew the consequences of calling him that name.
“It’s King, now, Miss Haru, I shan’t keep reminding you,” he warned lightly, tracing a thumb of the curve of her jaw.
She jerked away from his touch. He frowned, standing and beginning to move away.
“No winning at all,” he murmured. “Right, well, if that’s all we’re going to be doing, then I’ll take my leave.”
He turned his back to her, intent on marching off into the woods, back to his elegant lurking and watching. He made it three steps before she called out, King freezing mid-stride.
“King, you can’t just leave us here!” she barked, struggling against the ropes. Chittering came from a far off corner, curious at the sound of her voice.
“Actually, I can, Miss Haru,” he called back, though he hadn’t moved. “Clearly, I’m not wanted.”
“Not after all the stunts you’ve pulled today, you’re not! But what happens when they kill me?”
She knew she fully had him when his ear flicked. His fist clenched at his side, but the look he had when he fully faced her again said nothing but bemused surprise that came from a surprise run in with an old friend.
Not the tense realization that death could very much be on the line.
“I beg your pardon?” he asked, head tilting.
She gave a grim smile.
“We’re here because these creatures have been eating villagers. The only reason we’re not dead yet is that they’re still deciding on seasoning for us.”
He was stomping back towards her, failing at attempts to make it seem elegant.
“Well, that won’t due at all. Whatever shall we do, Miss Haru?” he asked, stopping short of her. She tilted her head up, meeting his mismatched eyes. She grimaced as she realized he wasn’t going to do much past this until she stopped choking on her pride.
“Help us,” she demanded. When all she got was a tail flick, she quietly followed it with, “help me.”.
“Well, Miss Haru…”
A glint of steel and the ropes were severed clean. Blood rushed to her hands and feet, and she rubbed the light burns they had worn into her skin. King stood before her, a lovesick smile on his face.
I mean, I’m pretty sure you’ve already read this since you have the link to the word document, but I wanted to officially give this to you!
Inspired by your desire for a Bureau Files AU, The Case of the Three Barons, and Waltz Katzen Blut, we now have the beginnings of Toto x Haru
Also, Haru wonders if feathers technically count as “fur” in some communities. If I could do the eyes emoji, I would, but alas
Merry Christmas, my best friend, and I can’t wait to see you!
(oh fudge, tag you, @catsafarithewriter)
The mausoleum door didn’t creak open ominously. Didn’t open to a foreboding dark cavern to who-knows-what down below.
No, it opened to a well lit room. The door simply swung open, newly oiled and built into the walls of this tomb. Names were carved into the granite, but no bodies or ashes laid by them. Or anywhere in this portion of the mausoleum. It was just built ahead of time.
A head poked in, taking a glance around the room. She clicked off the flashlight and opened the door further, stepping out from the dark graveyard into the granite building.
“Looks empty,” she called out, “wait, scratch that, it’s completely empty.”
“Probably for the best, considering what we’re investigating,” a voice told her as they swooped by, the crow flapping into place by the bust of the youngest child.
“Are we sure we aren’t just looking for normal cats, Toto?” Haru whined again, swinging her arms to gesture around the mausoleum.
Toto gave a short laugh, tilting his head in her direction.
“Cats may be fast, but one disappearing before the groundskeeper’s eyes is a little much,” he replied, laughing again as Haru huffed.
“Honestly, I'm just willing to bet this whole thing is a wild cat chase.”
“Not goose?”
“Don’t be silly, geese are terrible enough without paranormal involvement.”
The pair shared a look, before breaking down into laughter, the sound echoing from the marble. Haru wiped a tear away from her face, walking a slow circle around the building.
“I mean, honestly, Toto, the things he tells us to go investigate,” Haru griped, lightly kicking a column that served absolutely no purpose.
“Haru…”
“I mean it! I mean, seriously, ghost cats? What’s next? Ghost turtles?”
“I hear they’re especially crafty.”
“Funny, but you’re not getting a laugh out of me, Mr. Funny Crow.”
Toto gave her a sheepish grin, one that sent a little ping through her heart. She turned away, running her fingers over the walls, looking for some sort of seam or hidden passage. She told herself that at least, to keep from arguing with herself over if feathers counted for…
The silence they fell into was comfortable, but primed. Toto knew her feelings, knew the anger and conflict she felt over their situation. Not their general one, but the one forcing them to investigate a clear deadend. A certain Cat Doll.
“Honestly, what did I even do to him? I just needed help,” she eventually told Toto, voice caught somewhere between angry and defeated. He didn’t like the sound of it.
“He… Changed, when he went missing, Haru. He told me a little bit, but I don’t know any more than you,” he said, apologetic.
She looked at him, their eyes meeting halfway and a million miles apart. She knew he knew more. He knew that. She wanted answers so badly, but knew the exact one. Knew the very obvious answer that frustrated her.
He had met her in that other world. And he walked away burned.
“What did I do?” she asked again, but to no one in particular.
Maybe to that cat sitting on the coffin that wasn’t there before.
“Holy sh-!”
“Watch out!”
The world slowed for seconds. Toto took off towards her. She threw her flashlight. The lights flickered, the cat’s head slowly cocking. Its flesh bubbled.
Toto transformed mid air, and pinned both of them to the floor as black ichor surged from the cat. Even as the air slowly stilled, and what he knew to be infected magic slunk away to hide, Toto didn’t stop covering Haru with his body. The uncut quartz nicked her cheek, the necklace it hung from now more visible against Toto’s human form.
“Well that,” she said as Toto leaned back to let her sit up, “was spooky as hell.”
“I think you’d prefer the ghost turtles now.”
“No thanks, I hear they’re especially crafty.”
They both go to laugh, but the tangled mess of emotions and life-or-death adrenaline catches in their throats and puts it at the bottom of their stomachs. They both stay on the floor, low and quiet, hoping maybe it’d keep whatever caught them from coming back.
“The one mission…” she mumbled angrily.
“The one damn mission he sends me on that’s supposed to be a cat-chase and it turns out it’s actually full of danger.”
“He’s always had that sort of luck and timing,” Toto offers, but this time neither offer even a twitch of the lips for that light jab. He drops the attempts at humor.
“What’s our plan?”
“Don’t get gooed by explosive ghost cats?” Haru offers hesitantly, shrugging at Toto’s side eye. “Leave me alone, this is the first time in a while doing a mission without some Cat Doll telling me I’m messing up.”
“No reason to be out of practice, Haru.”
“Okay, are we going to keep up this banter and flirting all night, or are you going to focus?”
They both laugh a brief second, Haru’s hand moving to cover her mouth before adjusting to scratching at her neck. Okay, she just said that. Toto laughed. She laughed. Jokes, funny, ha ha, right?
There was another cat.
“Fuck!”
She yanked Toto back, pulling him out of the line of fire. Her shoes scrambled against the marble floor, and they fell back against the mausoleum door. The explosion splattered across the sides of the coffins, shooting upwards rather than around.
Before the black magic could disappear, more cats appeared, heads cocking to the side.
One by the tallest window, one on each of coffins, and a final one sitting in front of them. The one before them lashed its tail, eyes two different colors. One a bit too human to be a cat’s eye.
The door behind them slammed into their backs, forcing them forward. They went to land on the cat, their bodies landing on marble flooring. All the cats disappeared, the black magic slinking into the shadows.
A tall, ginger man stepped into the building, looking between the two lying on the floor. His expression was impassive, offering a hand to Toto to help him up, his words only directed towards him.
“Are you alright, old friend? Looks like I found you in the knick of time,” he said, swiping at supposed dirt on Toto’s shoulder.
“I’m fine, too, Humbug,” Haru groaned, sitting up and rubbing the back of her head.
“Humbug” froze, giving Toto a moment to escape from his tight grasp and head towards Haru. He knelt down, pressing gently fingers around where Haru had touched. She winced, hissing in protest when he continued to search.
“You’re tough as nails, Haru, Baron and I knew you were fine,” Toto told her, shooting a warning glance at their third. He briefly held his hands up in surrender, glancing between the two.
Toto kept his eyes on Haru, searching for injury or any touch of black magic. Haru glanced between Toto and Baron, narrowing her eyes at the later. She seemed a little too preoccupied with the former, though.
Baron kept his eyes on the two of them.
Muta, entering after (as a cat, not a human), surveyed the situation, and caught what most wouldn’t see. Baron’s grip tightened on the cane. Throat bobbed nervously. Eyes followed the same path Toto’s hands took, double checking what he found.
Expression just barely hiding the concern and worry he had for the young woman on the floor.
“What did you guys find, anyways?” Haru suddenly asked, pushing Toto away. She grabbed the top of the coffin, hauling herself up to be at chin-level with the men around her. (A fact she was always a bit salty about).
“Bupkis,” Muta responded, watching Baron’s expression fall into unflappable cool. “The groundskeeper’s house had nothing, and the crypt we wandered into had actual dead people.”
“I’d take corpses over exploding cats at this point,” Haru responded, chills running up her spine at the thought.
“You would until their ghosts start yelling at you for trespassing,” Muta countered, nodding towards Baron. “In German, too.”
The others looked at the Cat Creation turned man. He at least allowed himself to turn pink in the ears.
“They were… Quite angry.”
“Great, so real ghosts, cat-ghosts, what else are we to expect from here?”
“Ghost turtles?” Toto prompted, nudging Haru. She gave a small grin. The joy melted off her face, replaced with horrified bewilderment.
“Oh my fucking-!”
A little turtle sat on the window sill across from her, eyeing the others. Its head cocked to the left.
"Listen, Baron's gonna come at Duke with that dance-off, and you KNOW Baron's gonna come at him with that waltzing, so Duke has GOT to come at him with that break-dancing to throw him off"
