Prelude

"NO!", shouted Dance. He had launched forwards and his gloved hand grabbed into thine air. Hyde, Olalla and Ravi had escaped. And they had the book! He had failed! His organs quivered in anger and for a brief moment the Captain could feel his blood boil. His anger wanted to break free, however the undead man forced a mask on his face.

He turned around and walked back into Prothero's office. Fedora, Silas and Prothero followed. The newspaper owner complained loudly: "I cannot believe it! He escaped! That bastard escaped! He locked me in the toilet! I demand justice! He has to pay me for the damage he caused! My pretty office... It is all ruined... How could he - ?"

Prothero stopped in his ramble when he spotted a small, slender figure standing by the mirror, Dance owned. It was a woman with pearl like skin, thin, long, black hair and steelegrey eyes. She just stood there, hands folded before her silvery evening gown. Her features reminded one of central Asia. Her gaze was cold and she seemed to be very angry, however her facial features showed none of that.

"How did she get here?", asked Silas in disbelief, only to be silenced by Fedora, who slapped him against his head. Keres spoke in a quiet and clear voice: "I would like to talk with my officer alone if you do not mind." Fedora looked at Dance. There was clear worry and concern in her face. He closed his eyes, defeated. "Do as she says", he whispered. It would not help if they angered Keres more then already was needed. She probably was already on the edge of killing somebody.

Fedora gave him a look, full of pity, concern and worry, before she walked out of the office. Prothero and Silas followed, surprisingly quiet and nervous. Dance heard the lift close and drive down. He remained in his frozen position, cap under his left arm and waited. He did not look forward to what was about to happen.

"You failed", Keres whispered, "Twice in a row!" Her voice hardly rose, however her eyes flashed in maddening rage. Dance responded: "I am sorry, Ma'am. Please, I can explain." He wanted to take a step forwards, however Keres' shrill and sharp shout cut him off: "I don't want your explanation, Dance, for I know it already!" Her teeth sharpened into fangs.

She launched forwards and for a brief moment Dance merely saw a flash of white and then an immense pain in his cheek. He screamed and buckled over. For a brief moment he was not sure if he had felt the claws or the sharp iron of a fruit knife... Pressing his palm against the left side of his face, feeling the blood tickle out of the wounds, he tried to readjust his footing, while he listened to Keres' explanation.

"You let your emotions take you over again", Keres hissed, "You let your grudge be in your way. I know, you hate Louis Hyde and I know you dislike his children, however this attitude ruined our plan! It ruined all of our plans! You feel too much, Dance, that is the problem! I will not tolerate something like this again."

Dance grunted. He removed his hand, revealing the three large gashes on his cheek. "I know, Keres." It hurt to speak. "I will make sure that this does not happen again." "I did not ask you to speak right now, did I?" He had never seen her this angry in all these years. And Dance knew Keres for a very long time.

Keres glowered at him. "I fear that you are making promises you can no longer keep. You are competent, that is true, however you think too much. I will not let our future missions be endangered by your actions."

Dance blinked. "What do you mean by this?", he asked. Keres explained: "You are no longer a senior officer for now, Dance. From now on, you are a soldier under my command until I decide otherwise. I will stay here for it seems if I do not supervise those missions myself, they are doomed to fail."

"Please, Keres!", Dance called, "No!" "Our organisation comes first, personal desires later." Keres removed his badge with a swift movement. She stored it away. "Maybe you have forgotten that rule. It is there for a reason. It is supposed to guarantee effective work."

Then the Death Spirit approached him again and laid a hand on his shoulder. Her expression softened and her voice became kinder. "You are a wonderful officer, Dance", Keres whispered, "And a very competent one. You are one of the best people I have, if not my favourite. I will not let your grudge or Louis ruin one of the best people I have. Let me held the reigns for a while and you go back to a life of servitude. Let me do the thinking and all the rest will follow."

Keres stepped back. She handed Dance a bottle with a red watery liquid. It was the same liquid he had bathed in when he had been shot dead. It could disinfect wounds and help his healing powers. "Now clean that wound of your face", Keres demanded, "I want you to be ready for your duties by morning."

~Jekyll & Hyde~

Garson goggled not badly when he opened the door to Robert, Olalla and Ravi. All three of them were covered in dirt and leaves stuck in their hair. "Don't ask", stated Robert when the old man opened his mouth to know why they were like this, "You don't want to know what happened. You really don't."

Olalla placed the book on the table. As she shed herself of her cloak, Garson approached her. Gesturing towards Robert's head, he hissed: "Does he know?" Olalla followed his gaze and noticed the subtle change in her brother's hair. "Not yet", she responded quietly, "I will tell him soon enough."

"Oh my god", called Ravi, "I need to use the bathroom!" It seemed that Robert and Olalla had had the same thought for the next thing that happened could probably one happen if you have siblings: All three raced towards the bathroom, yearning to be the first person to clear themselves off the leaves and dirts.

Ravi was the smallest and most agile, and thus reached the bathroom the fastest. After he had slipped between both twins, he opened the door and disappeared in the room, closing it behind himself. Olalla reached the door seconds afterwards. She hammered against it and called: "Do not take too long!"

Robert followed more slowly and leaned against the wall. "Calm down", he responded, "I am sure, Ravi will be quick. He has rather short hair." Olalla huffed. She turned around. Both siblings looked at each other. Leaves stuck in their hairs, together with small twigs. Their Hydes had healed their battle wounds, but they still looked worn out.

"I hope he does", responded Olalla, "Are you alright, Robert?" The Doctor sighed. "I am not sure", he admitted, "I feel shaken. As if my shock only now has come. Dance tried to murder me. And he almost succeed." He shuddered and turned his face away. "I cannot believe this. I risked so much to save you. I was not even aware of the risk. I...I thought, I could take Dance on. As Hyde...I thought, I was invincible. And now see who ended up saving whom."

Olalla reached forwards with a head and brushed a few leaves out of his hair. "Calm down, Robert", she whispered, "You are alive and that is all that matters right now. You saved me nonetheless. Maybe not in the way you planned to do, but you did it. That is all that counts. We are all alive and well." She tilted her head in a Hyde-like fashion and added with a smile: "Well, except for your hair."

"Hmm?" Robert gave her a confused look. "My hair?" Olalla tucked at a streak and responded: "Take a look in the mirror." At this moment the door opened and Ravi came outside. Robert called: "Ravi, you get yourself ready to go to bed. I want to switch off the lights once I am out of the bath." "Sure thing", the Indian boy said and disappeared in his room.

Robert raced into the bath and looked into the mirror. He now saw what Olalla had been referring to. A long, grey streak laid over his forehead. It had not been there before. Just like the feeling that his face looked older and edgier. How many years had Dance stolen from him? One? Two? Ten? Five? It was hard to tell.

Robert brushed the leaves out of his hair. Could he just cut the strand off? It felt like a nasty reminder of him almost dieing. The experience clearly was not something he wished to repeat. Robert had been terrified throughout the entire situation in the Daily Truth Building. Dance had had the trap orchestrated perfectly and Robert had not been able to do anything. He had feared for the lifes of Ravi and Olalla. In the fight with Dance he had feared for his own! It had never happened before that someone actually was a match for Hyde, except for Olalla. And this had proven to be a great danger for Robert as Dance clearly had been out to kill him.

With an angry shudder Robert decided not to dwell on this any longer. He would end up having sleepless nights because of the events anyway. Brushing the last leaves out of his hair, Robert moved out of the bathroom.

After he had brought Ravi to bed, he walked downstairs just in time to see Olalla slip into her long, dark blue, almost purple cloak again. "Where are you going?", asked the young Doctor as he stepped down at the end of the staircase. Olalla picked up the Jeziquel's family book. While she placed it under her arm, the blonde woman replied: "Back to Sufflox. I've left my position as a gatekeeper long enough. Besides this book needs to get back where it belongs." Robert replied fast: "Let me drive you."

~Jekyll & Hyde~

Renata Jeziquel's house looked like Robert remembered it. It laid at the edges of a forest, before it large fields and mist. The tree's branches were hanging low. The estate had been owned by the family for many, many years...according to Max, they had lived here since the dark ages. The house was large and dark, with small towers and black roofs.

Robert and Olalla slowly walked into the living room. Wooden floors, dark furniture and long, dark yellow and red carpets. They hung there. Before the windows, over the staircases and cupboards. Robert noticed that Olalla had not altered the place in any way. Maybe she had not yet find the time to change anything and make readjustments to make the place her own.

Olalla placed the book on the table. She sighed. "I really have to find a better hiding place for it. Or just secure it better." The Jeziquel's family book was usually hidden in a large box. Olalla opened that one and placed the book in it. Closing the cap, she mused: "I will probably need a stronger lock for the next time." She carefully wrapped the chains around the box and closed it with the lock and key. "Don't you think, Robert?"

He did not reply. "Robert?" Olalla rose and turned around. Her brother stood in the doorway and looked sad and worn down. "Are you alright?", asked his sister in worry. "I am sorry!", Robert's outburst came all off a sudden. It was as if he had bottled up all his shock, all his emotions inside him. "For how I acted. All this happened, because I was too stupid and small-minded to see what was going on in front of me. I feared Hyde and because of that, I brought everybody in terrible danger. Ravi and you almost died just because of me! I rejected everybody around. You only wanted to help. You all only wanted to help."

Robert felt tears run down his cheek as he kept stammering: "I have been a terrible friend and a horrible brother! And...and I hurt you. And you know what: You can hate me now if you want to. For my actions and stupidity. And it would be fine. Because you have been right all along: I cannot run away from who I am. I really am just the moron you claim me to be!"

Olalla sighed. "Robert..." There was a loop-sided grin on her lips. She approached her brother and softly took his hand. "You are not a moron", she whispered, "It just took you more time to learn who you are. Just because you are Hyde, does not mean you are no longer Robert. He is just another aspect of your personality. Try still to be yourself. Just sometimes – please – be the other one."

Robert whipped away his tears. "I promise, I will try", he murmured. "I cannot ask for more." Olalla smiled and threw her arms around Robert. She buried her face in his neck with a smile. "You made up for what you did. You saved me. As Hyde and as Jekyll. I love you very much, brother." Robert felt a short glimmer of cyan in his eyes and Hyde swung in his voice as he hugged her back and responded: "I love you too, little sister."