Prelude

Robert carefully placed a bottle of the green potion in his bag. He picked up the monocane sprayer and shook it, checking if enough was in it. It felt comfortably heavy in his grip and the thought that he still had six more glass bottles full of liquid monocane in his laboratory lightened his mood.

A few days had passed and Robert had kept experimenting with his grandfather's old potions but had not become any smarter. Maybe it was because the lab had such a dim light that it was hard to see things. If Robert could separate the substances that made these potions, it would be much easier.

Garson had already criticized him for working with the stuff. After all, he now had enough monocane to keep Hyde at bay for weeks at a time. Still, Robert's curiousity had gotten the better of him. He was thrilled by the idea of learning more about the potion and its workings. And maybe if he could not find them, someone else could.

Robert placed the sprayer in his pocket. Turning around, he faced himself in the mirror. A young man with green eyes, dark, curly hair and a smooth, nice face. Robert carefully fastened his tie and turned his sleeves inside out. Comfortable with the result, he took his bag when steps came down the stairs.

"Where are you going, Robert?" Ravi jumped down the last few steps. He was wearing a simple pullover and a trouser. His brown eyes sparkled with curiosity. Robert explained: "I go and visit Lily." His brother lifted a brow. "Are you sure this is wise? I mean, she works for MIO. You said it yourself. Can you trust her?"

Robert admitted: "I do not know whom I can trust anymore, Ravi. However I know that I need the help of another scientist. Lily has studied biochemistry so I guess that she is my best shot." You still love her, snarled Hyde inside of him, How can you love her? She is a traitor. Robert lowered his gaze. She differs from Bulstrode. And that is good enough for me.

Robert softly patted Ravi's shoulder. "Do not worry", he responded, "I will be careful." Placing his hat on his head, he walked towards the door. Smiling back at his little brother, he said: "I see you later, Ravi."

~Jekyll & Hyde~

The house in which Lily lived was white and large. It laid in a street with similar houses, all in a fancy and elegant style. An avenue of oak trees. Their leaves rustled in the wind. Robert cautiously strolled across the street towards Lily's house. As usual he had the feeling of being watched. Either MIO or Tenebrae. Probably MIO. Angrily dismissing the prickling nervousity in his neck, Robert rang the doorbell.

Lily opened the door and greeted him in the same blue velvet dress in which he had first met her. Her raven black hair was tied up and her cheeks had just the right tint of pink. Crimson red lips pulled into a smile, revealed her clean teeth. Robert still felt a shadow of his former love for Lily, but the reveal that she worked with MIO all the time had destroyed most of it.

"Robert!", called Lily in surprise, "I did not expect you to be here. But please, come in." Her surprise was not faked. Just like the joy in her eyes. She really seemed to be happy to see him. Robert felt a sharp sting of shame and pity in him as he entered the house.

Lily closed the door. "I did not thought I would see you again", she admitted and folded her hands, "Not after you-know-what." She dropped her head and sighted. Robert responded: "I hope you do not mind that I withdraw my proposal." "Not at all." He suspired in relief. "Then I can set my mind at rest", Robert said, "But we still can be friends, can't we?"

"Of course we can." Lily softly took his hand and guided him to the small living room. "However you understand that I will keep doing my job. Now no longer as a real spy but as a messenger." Robert sighted. Of course. He could not ask from Lily to stop what she was paid to do. It only reminded him that he had to be more careful and aware around her.

Taking a seat on the couch, Robert listened to Lily as she asked: "But what brings you here?" "I need your help", admitted the young Doctor, "You see, I have been trying to analyze my grandfather's potion to recreate it, but I failed sadly. You studied biochemistry so I thought if you take a look at it, maybe you will have more success then I do."

Lily smiled brightly. "You couldn't have asked for a better person, Robert", she responded and stood up. "Why?", asked Robert. The fair lady waved a finger. "Follow me. I'd like to show you something." Now what is this about? Standing up, Robert followed Lily. They left the living room and entered a lift.

It was encased in green and blue. Robert asked: "Where are we going? What are you plotting?" They both stood in this small lift, bodies only inches away from one another. Robert felt Hyde resurfacing in an attempt to either harm Lily or just kiss her. Shuddering he grabbed his sprayer and inhaled two deep gusts of monocane, relaxing when it took effort.

Lily softly laid a finger on his lips and whispered: "Schhh. I won't say. I don't want to ruin the surprise for you." The lift stopped and the grid opened. Lily stepped through it and Robert followed. He clutched his hat to his chest and looked around in awe. Lamps gave an orange light on a small hall. On tables stood several devices similar to those in his lab. People in white work coats walked around, holding bottles and cups, full of strange substances that fumed and bubbled.

On the opposite side of the room Robert spotted two large shelves that were filled with boxes, bottles and glasses, labeled with words like Sleeping Pills, Invisible Ink, Vampire Blood, Draught of Living Death and Swindslime. The workers looked up and stopped their work when Lily walked into the middle.

Turning around, the woman spread her arms. Another smile, proud like flower selling, presenting her best roses. "Robert", called Lily, "Welcome to the Chemistry Department of the MIO." He blinked. Robert had never expected that the MIO had sub departments. And leave alone that Lily worked in one of them. This girl really is full of surprises.

"Ehm, what exactly do you do?", asked Robert. Lily explained: "As Head of the Chemistry Department it is mine and Brannigan's task to analyze and create chemical wonder weapon, magic bullets if you say so." Her smile grew as she hold a hand. "If you give me the red and the green potion, I can help you extract what substances and ingredients were used in them."

Robert furrowed his brow. He reached into his pocket and took out the green and red potion. Looking at it, he whispered: "How can I know that you won't give your information to Bulstrode straight away?" Lily sighted. "I don't ask you as an agent, but as friend", she responded softly, "You need help. You said it yourself. Let me help you, Robert."

Reluctantly Robert gave her the bottles. "Thanks for trusting me", Lily whispered and kissed him briefly on the cheek, "I will inform you at once if I find something out."

~Jekyll & Hyde~

Robert woke up in the middle of the night. He did not know what had woken him. It could not be Hyde. The Doctor had used an extra dosis of monocane in the evening to prevent Hyde from interfering with his sleep in any way. So if Hyde had not woken him, what else could it have been?

Sitting there, he stared in the darkness, trying to figure out what had woken him up. The moon shone through his window and the curtain softly moved in the brief gust of wind. Robert did not see anything extraordinary. Maybe I am getting paranoid. Shaking his head, he laid down to get some sleep when a sudden noise woke him once again and he sat straight in bed.

A growl. He had not misheard himself. There was a low growl coming from underneath the floorboard. Robert slowly stood up and blinked. What is that? His bedroom laid straight over the laboratory, so whatever produced such a sound must be down there.

Cautiously Robert took a lantern and slowly climbed out of bed. Slipping into his cloak, lamp in hand, he made his way downstairs. The lab door was closed tight. What could be hiding behind it? And how did whatever it was got in there in the first place? The growl repeated itself. It sounded like the snark of an animal, the barking of a dog.

Robert immediately got reminded of Renata's inner demon. The Black Dog. A monstrous beast with sheer strength and power. Whatever was in his lab it definitely was not friendly. Looking around, Robert took Garson's walking stick with him. It was made out of heavy wood and be a good protection. And even if that thing attacked him, he still had Hyde as a backup although Robert hated to admit that.

Opening the door, Robert slowly entered the lab. It was dark and he could see the silhouettes of shelves and his instruments. The young Doctor heard something move down on the floor. Moving as silently as possible, Robert stepped forwards and turned on the lights. They came to live with a golden glimmer and Robert could see the intruder next to his experiment desk.

It was a...man dog? Dog man? Robert was not sure. The monster was walking on all fours, had a dense body with slender, muscular legs. Fur covered his back and the legs which ended in the paws of a dog. However its chest was naked skin just like neck and head. The head was that of a bald man with a flat nose, swollen lips and small, grey eyes.

The thing was moving near his experiment desk, sniffing. "Hey!", shouted Robert angrily. The monster would only damage things. He was very overprotective when it came to his experiments. Jerking its head around, the man dog glared at Robert and bared its teeth with a snarl. From his last encounters with monsters, Robert made only one assumption: The dog would pounce at him, trying to kill him.

Therefore the next situation confused the heck out of Robert. Crossing its front legs, the man dog lowered its head and bowed. "Greetings to you, man within a man", it snarled. What? Robert's jaw dropped and his brows wandered up. What the heck was this about? Not only did this monster bow to him, no it also talked in perfect English! Well, it might have a snarling undertone in its voice, but it was English nonetheless.

It took Robert five seconds to get over his confusion. Shaking his head, he asked: "You know what I am?" "Yes", responded the dog with a snarky smile, "I know what you are, all powerful one. And I know a lot more." Another weird title. Robert furrowed his brow in confusion. He overplayed it by asking: "Who are you and what are you doing in my lab?"

"I need your help, Doctor Jekyll." The dog moved sideways and now Robert saw that it was hobbling. No wonder it had not stroked yet! There was a large wound over his left hind leg. It could hardly stand on all three legs! Robert wondered what had caused the wound. Maybe a barbed wire? He knew they could create nasty gaps in flesh.

"I see", acknowledged Robert and nodded towards the wound, "But what do you mean by you know more?" The man dog hackled. It tried to disburden its bad leg. "I know the past, present and future", it barked, "I can give you some very important information, man within a man. If you help me in exchange."

This could be a trick! Robert remained cautious. He knew most monsters seaked to destroy him. Especially those who worked for Tenebrae. How did he know this was not a trap? "How can I say that you won't tear me apart once I helped you?", asked Robert, "Besides how can I tell that you do not just lie?"

The monster laughed. "I am a Harbinger!", it explained, "It is against my nature to lie. So, do you want these information or not? Besides I can assure you, I am not match towards Hyde's power." Robert responded: "If I cure you, you will tell me what you know and you won't harm me? Can you give me your word on that?"

The Harbinger bowed again. "You shall have my word, man within a man. I won't harm you and tell you what you desire to know. After you cured me." It stood up again and wiggled its tail. "So", the monster barked, "Do we got ourselves a deal?" Please, dear God, tell me that I won't regret this! Robert slowly placed the walking stick away. "We have got a deal", he responded.

Climbing down the stair, he ordered: "Get away from my experiment desk and lay down, so you are comfortable. This will take some time." The Harbinger hissed under its breath as it hopped away from the desk and laid down with a groan.

Robert slowly walked through his laboratory and gathered the things he would need to cure the monster. Bandages, swabs, syringe, needle, thread, a bucket of water and a rag. He stopped before the Harbinger who stretched its leg towards him. The wound was partly covered in dirt, dust and blood stuck in the fur.

Dipping the rag into the bucket, Robert started to clean the wound. He could see the Harbinger grimace in pain. "I am trying to be as gentle as I can", whispered Robert. No matter who was his patient, he would always be a doctor towards them first. Even if they happened to be a monster.

Silence drowned the lab as Robert kept cleaning the wound. He dropped the rag in the bucket. The water was red from the animal's blood. The Harbinger had gotten lucky. The wound made be long, but it was not very deep and it looked fresh enough to have happened within the six hour period in which sewing was allowed.

Here comes the fun part. Robert took the syringe and clicked against it with his finger. He knew most people hated syringes. Blimey, the children he had injected on his first day at work had shown discomfort towards the syringe. So it was clear the Harbinger would not be any different.

Bending forwards, the Doctor started to interject the wound. As soon as the needle touched the rare flesh, the Harbinger roared and kicked forwards. His paw hit the bucket which fell down and splashed the red water all over Robert's pants.

Gasping in shock and anger, the Doctor hissed: "You need to stay still! Unless you prefer feeling every stitch of the needle." Cyan glowed in his eyes briefly and the Harbinger ducked down. "I am sorry", he growled and allowed Robert to continue his work. During the remaining interjection and the sewing process he remained quiet, only flinched shortly from time to time.

Finally Robert placed two strings of sticky tape on the white bandage and stood up. The Harbinger's leg was covered in a white bandage that went up towards its hip. Standing up, the monster tested its leg, before it sniffed at the bandage in curiosity. "You will have to keep it on for at least two weeks. I hope the wound heals without any infection. I used self-disruptive threads. They will disappear once the wound has healed."

Robert crossed his arms. "Alright", he stated, "I did what you asked me to do. Now you tell me what you know." The Harbinger looked at Robert. It's snarling, bellowing voice filled the Doctor's ears as it recited: "Two become one. Desire becomes death. The daughter denies the father. And the family's curse will block the gate."

Robert lifted his brow in confusion. "What is that suppose to mean?", he stammered. The Harbinger laughed. "I am afraid, man within a man, it is not my permission to explain", it responded and slowly walked towards the sink which was pushed aside, showing the tunnel. Here it stopped and turned around. "Maybe you should just let the events unfold. They will explain everything." And before Robert could say anything, the creepy fore teller stormed through the tunnel with a bark and disappeared out of sight.