Chapter Twenty-One

Haru shook her head to clear her thoughts and took a step closer to the red cat.

"If you're my son, you know what I want." He grinned happily.

"Yes, Mother." He wrapped her in a crushing hug while she purred. Even his embrace felt like Baron's. She managed to give a thumbs-up to her fiancé.

"Okay, he's ours." Baron was shaking his head, still disbelieving.

"Except…he can't be." Jonathan released his mother to smile at him.

"As things currently stand, I won't be unless you decide I can."

"Excuse me?" Jonathan glanced at Muta and Lune, who were standing a little farther away with the army, now wondering what to do.

"We never even got to use the glue bombs!" One of the soldiers complained.

"I wanted to see the army try to lick it off their fur!" Another one started pouting.

"Perhaps everyone would be more comfortable if we returned to the palace. I promise to explain what I can." Jonathan gestured toward the stone masterpiece, and all the cats marched toward it while the crows returned to the portal tower.

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When Yuki and Little Haru were led out of the shelter, they were surprised to find two Barons again.

"What did you do to your hair, Haru? Man, they really messed up this time. Even I can tell which one's the real Baron."

"Oh no Yuki; this is Jonathan. Mine and Baron's future son." The tiny princess looked up at the red cat, unable to take her eyes off him in shock and wonder.

"Now that everyone's comfortable, could you please explain what just happened?" The king was losing his patience.

"Of course Uncle Lune." He jumped at the new title as Jonathan placed his hat aside. "To start off with, the cat inside Artemis was a servant of a powerful enemy of mine. You don't need to know the details, since it isn't your fight. I can assure that he won't be bothering the Cat Kingdom for at least the two decades it will take me to grow into maturity." He glanced slyly at his parents, still holding hands. "I suppose it could be considered flattering that some cat hates me enough to try to prevent my parents getting together. Although I must admit to interfering a little."

"What do you mean?" Haru leaned forward slightly to devote her entire attention.

"I'm the one behind the China job." Muta burst out of his seat.

"You?!" His claws were coming out again, and the familiar glint was back in his eye.

"Please sit down, Grandfather. I had my reasons." Stunned at the new title, he did as instructed. "Thank you. You were right, Mother. If Father had been able to help you six years ago, you would be living an ordinary boring human life. You never would have seen Aunt Yuki again, and would have never met Sweet Pea." He glanced at the small kitten on the queen's lap, who widened her eyes at the idea. "Your real name's a good one, but Mother's name for you sticks a little too well. Good thing you've always been fond of it." Haru was still digesting this information.

"But if Baron had rescued me back then, I probably would have fallen for him before he said goodbye, being an innocent schoolgirl." Baron grinned and wrapped his arm around her. Jonathan nodded in agreement.

"He would have fallen for you too. But he wouldn't have said anything more about it than admiring a young woman that spoke from the heart." Baron nearly fell over in disbelief. That's seriously all he would have said to her? "After you would have gotten back, you would have set your life in order. You would have been on time for each class, not sleep in once, and even have Machida after you." The general slapped her forehead.

"That was the boy's name! I had forgotten what I ever saw in him."

"You know what's funnier? You wouldn't have cared by then. Mother, you never would have seen Father again, and you would have spent the rest of your life alone, since no human could ever compare to him." She smiled sadly and tightened her grip on her fiancé.

"I believe it. Would Dad have come clean?" Jonathan laughed.

"Not a chance. He was even gruff with you, so that you wouldn't suspect. He didn't want you to be ashamed of being the daughter of a fatso cat." She glared at her father, who looked a little too guilty to deny his grandson's words. "Father, you were never good at denying Mother something she truly wanted. You would have helped her, give an offer of assistance if she ever needed it again, and left her alone. You wanted her to be happy, so you never would have disturbed her again, since you thought her crush on you would fade with time. If you had been with her when she called, I never would have been able to manipulate her and the guards' speed so that she would come out just in time to keep exactly what she did without raising suspicion. Isn't the way things turned out now much preferable to what could have happened?" Baron grinned and gripped his son's shoulder.

"Much more. Thanks for interfering." Lune thought of something else.

"What about the rebellion?" Jonathan looked at him sadly.

"It still would have happened, but you would have been killed at your coronation from the assassin that Mother wouldn't have been around to stop. Artemis would have forced Aunt Yuki to marry him to solidify his claim to the throne, and gotten rid of Sweet Pea in an 'accident'." The horrified queen tightened her grip on her daughter as the king did the same to her. Haru remembered something.

"Jonathan, what was the stuff you injected into me?" He grinned at her.

"My blood." Her eyes widened again.

"Excuse me?"

"You want a future with Father, right? You even said that you would like to be a mother, and in the future I come from, you're deliriously happy with the way your life turned out." He faced his father. "I know the rules about Creations not being able to have offspring, but in order for it to happen; I had to inject my blood into Mother…and you." Baron gave him a weary look.

"Why is that?" Jonathan gave his father an intense look.

"Under ordinary circumstances, Creation blood can kill a mortal, since it's full of magical properties, but since I'm half mortal and already carry her DNA, it just made Mother part Creation. Think about it, Father; a mortal with a trace of Creation blood, and a Creation with a trace of mortal blood. That would provide the balance needed for you two to have children. There are some side-effects." He reached into his jacket and pulled out a small syringe, already filled with a dark red substance. "Mother's are a bit more obvious; she gains the ability to heal as quick as a Creation, can talk to them using telepathy, and will lengthen her lifespan by at least a century. I'm glad she learns to like the new hair style, because she stopped aging when my blood fully activated." Baron looked at Haru and grinned at her until she blushed. Jonathan just rolled his eyes and shook his head at the obvious flirting. "Even now…" The older cat doll shifted his gaze to his son.

"What will be my side effects?"

"Well, besides becoming a father, you'll have to get used to eating for energy instead of entertainment, you would have to sleep occasionally, and you will eventually die with Mother. I obviously won't force you to take the injection-" Baron was already unbuttoning a sleeve and rolling it up, Haru holding his jacket. He held out the bare arm to Jonathan and smiled sadly.

"Like I would feel like living forever after she's gone." His son smiled, and took a firm grip on the offered arm. Yuki buried her daughter's face against her fur as Baron winced once, the pain worth the future he now knew he had with Haru.

"You'll fall asleep while the dose is taking affect. To be honest, I wouldn't protest against you two getting married before someone else comes from the future and tries to kill one of you again." Baron was snoozing on his future wife's lap before their son had finished his sentence. She had a blissful smile on her face.

"Thank you, Jonathan. I'm proud of you already." He brightened at her words, and then became distracted by a paw tugging on his coattails. Looking down, he saw it was Princess Haru.

"Will I grow up like Big Sister?" He smiled fondly at her and placed her on his lap while Yuki and Lune watched, an unexplained fear in their hearts.

"You will have similarities with my mother, but you will be your own person. Your parents will not have to worry when you take the throne. You'll make everyone that loves you proud." She smiled happily and embraced his neck. He stiffened, obviously embarrassed at having memories of her older than him, and gently wrapped his arms around her while sending nervous smiles to her parents. Lune and Yuki looked on with a dawning horror. Muta started laughing his head off, realizing what was going on. Jonathan sheepishly unwrapped the princess from his neck and set her down. "I should probably head back. You tend to get irritated with me if I'm gone too long." Muta chuckled evilly.

"Gee, I wonder why." The king and queen glared at the white cat while Jonathan put his top hat back on.

"Two more things before you go, Jonathan." He turned to face his mother.

"You are aware that I can't give you many more details concerning the future, right?" She laughed.

"These couldn't hurt. If you have any complaints about your name, speak now or forever hold your peace." He grinned at her.

"I like my name, but thanks for the thought."

"Good. Earlier, you said you were our firstborn, so how many-" He cut her off by kissing her forehead.

"After all the surprises I've already spoiled for you and Father, I wouldn't dream of spoiling more." He stepped back from the furniture and raised one hand to his hat as he looked fondly at the group in front of him. "Until we meet again." He leaned down slightly, and jumped into the air, twirling as he disappeared. It was ten seconds after his departure before the next word was spoken.

"He's so cool." Little Haru had star lights in her eyes, and her parents looked worriedly at each other as Muta's laughter continued. Haru couldn't hear it; her attention focused on that of her future husband's sleeping face, and the bright future ahead of them.

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Lots of love to; Drifting One, Deerdryad, Watersoul the Head Star Walker, Wanderer D, EarthGuardian, Uplifted, Ellelome, KatchuuH, Lost-Remembrance, and Thundercat for their kind, thoughtful (and funny) reviews. I appreciate the pats on the back and encouragement. You guys rock!