Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Oh, Bondman!” Princess Honey cried.

“Princess Honey!” Bondman and Princess Honey both went in for a hug.

At last, Bondman and Princess Honey had reunited! It was too bad, though, that their reunion took place in a cage that hung precariously above a pit of alligators in a mad scientist’s lab.

“I can’t believe you would fall for my trap, Bondman!” the evil Dr. Stine said with a cackle. “Perhaps your new friends are slowing you down, hmm?”

Bondman clutched the cage’s bars. “You’ll never catch them!”

“Oh, but I don’t have to! I’ve already got my number one target and his little girlfriend right in the palm of my hands!” Dr. Stine pressed a button on his remote, and the cage started to slowly descend into the pit of alligators. Princess Honey shrieked, but Bondman turned to her and winked, as if to say ‘I got this under control.’

“Bondman! Princess Honey!” Dr. Stine began. “I know you two have the secret location of the lost treasure! I suggest you tell me if you want to live.”

“I’ll never tell you! Besides, I’m the one you want. Princess Honey has nothing to do with this!” Bondman said.

Dr. Stine laughed. “It’s too late for that, Bondman! Since you refuse to talk, I suppose you’ll both take the secret to the grave!”

Bondman and Princess Honey held firm, the latter faithful in Bondman’s skills.

“You know, Dr. Stine, since I am about to die…” Bondman started. “How’s your mother been?” he asked gleefully.

“Huh?” both Dr. Stine and Princess Honey said at the same time.

“Why do you want to know about my mother?!” Dr. Stine yelled.

“Oh, well…” Bondman said innocently. “I know you’ve been trying to keep her out of this whole evil villain thing for her health, but I actually found her secret hiding place. And y’know, I had a little talk with her—”

“Wh-What?! Did you hurt my mother?! What kind of a spy are you?!” Dr. Stine was enraged. Sure, he was a proud supervillain but even he still loved his mother dearly, and he simply couldn’t believe a good man like Bondman would ever stoop that low!

Bondman went on, ignoring him. “And man, she is just such a sweet old lady, if a little stupid. I gotta say, little old Whatsherface Stine is really nothing like you.”

Dr. Stine snapped at hearing her disrespect his mother like that. He lost all composure as he yelled back. “SHOW HER SOME RESPECT! SHE IS NOT STUPID! AND HER NAME IS MARIA!”

‘Bingo,’ Bondman thought as the cage inched closer and closer to the pit… but he was already home free.

“Alright, alright! Her name is Maria… Her name… IS MARIA!” he yelled out.

Dr. Stine raised an eyebrow at this strange exclamation. “Yes…? Well thank you for respecting my mother’s name. I suppose I’ll quickly forgive you on account of you dying soon anyway. Do you have any actual last words?”

Bondman grinned. “Yes, I do!” He took a deep breath.

“FIRE IT UP, MR. LIGHTER!”

The door exploded, sending Dr. Stine face first into the ground as the cage stopped moving and the room’s myriad of high-tech devices simultaneously deactivated. As he tried to get up, a falling piece of debris landed right on his head, knocking him unconscious.

Soon after, a scrappy young man carrying several gadgets on his body emerged from the smoke. “Did somebody call me?” Mr. Lighter said with a playful smirk.

“Mr. Lighter!” Both Bondman and Princess Honey yelled. Bondman’s trusty new sidekick had finally arrived!

Mr. Lighter whipped out a mini-grappling hook gadget and shot at the lock of their cage, where the hook’s tendril shifted into a matching key and unlocked it instantly. Bondman and Princess Honey jumped out of the cage and passed over a knocked out Dr. Stine to greet Mr. Lighter.

“Took ya long enough, buddy!” Bondman said.

“Ahem!” a woman’s voice said from the smoke. They turned to see Lady Tangerine, the team’s new hacker who disabled Dr. Stine’s systems. “It wouldn’t have taken so long if you just got his mother’s name sooner!”

Bondman smiled. “Thank you, Lady Tangerine. And thank you, Mr. Lighter!”

“Yeah thanks a bunch, Felix!” Lady Tangerine said, lovingly invoking his first name before kissing him on the cheek, which made him blush.

“Yeah, that was amazing!” Princess Honey came over and hugged him. Bondman leered at Mr. Lighter for a moment, but he mouthed back [‘Don’t worry man, she’s all yours’] and Bondman just chuckled.

“Aww, don’t even mention it guys!” Mr. Lighter said humbly. “Just doin’ my job.”

“YAYYY, Mr. Lighter!! He’s the best!!!” This jubilant exclamation actually did not come from Anya, but from Franky, who had abandoned all pretense of being a serious adult after having been stapled to the edge of the Forger family’s living room couch watching a Spy Wars marathon with Anya.

“Mr. Lighter is so cool!” Anya said in agreement. Franky had had a much less passionate disposition mere hours before, when he opted to just put on the channel with Spy Wars and leave the babysitting at that. He even spent the first half hour pretending he was far more interested in a tabloid magazine. And yet, Anya didn’t even need her telepathy to sense his growing interest in the show.

She detected his fascination with all the gadgets from the start, but his investment had grown tenfold as soon as Bondman’s scrappy but reliable new companion named Felix Lighter (nickname: Mr. Lighter) showed up in one of the episodes. Nothing in Franky’s immediate conscious thoughts indicated he was aware of how much he identified with Mr. Lighter, but the sidekick clearly struck a chord with him.

“Scruffy, Mr. Lighter is just like you!” Anya began her compliment.

Franky was flattered. “Like me? Ah well, you know, I also see a bit of—”

“Except he has more girls at his side!”

Franky was utterly broken. She betrayed me! Why are kids so cruel?, he thought.

Anya snickered. She had once again succeeded in teasing Uncle Scruffy! Mission Success! She ate the last peanut in her pack to celebrate.

Franky was still reeling from the shock, but even in this state his ears were still attuned to the sounds coming from the hallway. Looks like Twilight is back. Quickly, he grabbed his magazine and leaned back on the couch, putting on a cool, almost poetically bored face. Can’t let Twilight know I actually care for this show.

Anya tilted her head, wondering why Franky would be afraid to tell Loid he likes Spy Wars. She knew that Loid himself was also warming up to the franchise. It’s true that he’s memorized every detail of it, but that’s just because he’s a world-class spy; she’s noticed that he actually really likes it, though internally and externally he was good at suppressing it. But every now and then she caught a stray thought where he cherishes the show.

Franky also noticed Yor’s voice speaking from the hallway. They must’ve reunited on the way back home, he thought. The door swung open.

“We’re back!” Loid said.

“And we have dinner!” Yor added, raising up a cellophane bag with several takeout boxes. Franky could tell from that alone that they were both exhausted.

Indeed, Loid was quite out of it. Two long missions in a row… dealing with a petty dispute in the day and investigating the Poulos crime family at night... Handler is gonna be the death of me. He was trying his best to look like he was still of sound mind, and it was mostly working.

At the dining room table, the Forgers and Franky feasted on the barbecue takeout like they had all just run a marathon. In Loid and Yor’s case, they basically did. In Franky and Anya’s case, they just loved the food.

Loid and Franky were familiar with the men behind the establishment, having recently determined it was a money laundering front for the Vian crime family.

Franky mentally noted how the food was incredibly good for a money laundering front, and they weren’t enough of a threat to national security for WISE to stop them. Besides, it was closing down soon after a recent fallout due to an assault from the rival Poulos family; all that meant to Franky was that he had to savor it.

Hearing Franky’s thoughts, Anya was astonished. I’m eating crime food from a money laundry!

“So, Yor,” a now half-refreshed Loid began. “How was your meeting with Melinda today?” I’d like to see where Plan C is going.

Yor smiled. “Oh, it was fun! They taught me how to play baseball and I hit six home runs! Apparently, it was some kind of record!”

“Wow, that’s amazing!” Loid said. Baseball has been in our history for centuries, but she just accomplished something very few Westalians and Ostanians have ever managed on the same day she learned how to play the game, he thought.

A more silently amazed Franky just shook his head. Yeah, that’s one way to put it, Twilight.

Anya was once again astonished. Mama’s so cool...

Yor continued. “After that, we had tea and on the ride back she told me that our first meeting inspired her to get a small gift for Damian. Apparently, he doesn’t want any big gifts so it was just a little—” She stopped herself. “Oh! I’m sorry, she trusted me to keep it a secret from Anya.”

Anya tilted her head, wondering what it could possibly be; Yor’s immediate thoughts didn’t allow her to find out. Although she was curious, Anya understood that she couldn’t compromise Yor, but it was very tempting… Anya’s friendship scheme was falling behind hers and she couldn’t afford to lose this fight, but did she want to play dirty?

“That’s wonderful! It sounds like you two are really close now!” Loid said. Hmm, I’m not expecting Plan C to move very quickly but it is interesting that Melinda trusts Yor enough to confide in her a small secret. Perhaps over time that could build into trusting her enough for a bigger secret related to Donovan, but that’s not easy. Does Operation Strix even have that much time? Plan C is designated Plan C because it’s practically a last resort when compared to Plan A and B, but I’m not sure how reliable those plans are at this stage.

Anya gasped internally at Loid’s thoughts. Harsh!! She worried that she was falling behind in the operation, but Loid’s mind just outright confirmed it. She resolved to make him feel more confident about Plan B.

“Don’t worry, Mama!” Anya assured her. “You don’t have to tell me! Sy-on boy is so close to me now that he tells me everything! And we are now the best of friends!”

She’s lying. Her tells are very easy, both Loid and Franky thought at the same time. Anya couldn’t believe it.

“Oh that’s wonderful, Anya!” Yor said innocently.

“Thank you,” Anya said politely, while also privately thinking …my rival.

However, as much as she was enjoying this competition, she really didn’t like being at odds with her Mama. Silently, she lamented her inability to tell anyone about her problem and get actual, informed help, lest she reveal her superpowers or Loid’s spy mission.

“How has your day been, Anya?” Yor asked, snapping her out of her brooding.

“School today was boring! But I had so much fun watching Spy Wars, and so did U—” she stopped as Franky looked at her and she realized she was about to reveal his secret. Franky crossed his fingers with an “x” sign, never mind the fact that his interest in Spy Wars was very obvious to Loid, and he didn’t need to be a world-class spy to tell.

She continued. “So did uhh, Mr. Chimera! Yes, I watched Spy Wars with Mr. Chimera and he loved it. I did not watch it with Uncle Scruffy, and he did not think that Mr. Lighter was the coolest character ever! Yep!” Franky internally wept at her sheer inability to lie properly. She had betrayed her again, but this time she hadn’t even meant to.

Loid turned to Franky. “Oh, so you like Spy Wars now?”

Anya was confused. “But I just said he didn’t watch it!”

Franky was a little embarrassed now, but he decided to own up to it. “Yes, I do! And actually I really do think Mr. Lighter is the coolest character ever!”

Yor perked up, recalling faint traces of what she knew about Spy Wars from Anya. “Oh, isn’t Mr. Lighter the smart one with all the little gadgets? He’s just like you, Franky!” She thought about the devices he used to help find the lost cat and silently admired his ingenuity.

He took the compliment in stride, especially since it didn’t come with a backhanded insult this time. “You bet he’s just like me! Bondman—” he winked at Loid. “—would be nothing without Mr. Lighter!”

Loid chuckled and went to refute this in a surprisingly impassioned speech. “Well, there have been five episodes where Mr. Lighter was out of commission because he did something unprofessional with his gadgets and Bondman had to bail him out.” He gave Franky a look then returned to his orator pose. “And over half of the first season went by fine without him.”

It’s not often that a bona fide spy can use his memorization skills to remember the details of a kids’ show for no reason; he knew so much about it that he could probably make his own Spy Wars episode. “You love the show too, don’t you?” Franky teased.

“I… uh…” For some reason, the world-class spy was tongue tied… He could easily deny it, and yet he didn’t. His earlier missions really had worn him down. He was losing his grip on what the Loid Forger affectation really meant.

“CHICHI LOVES SPY WARS!!!” Anya screamed, elated that he’s more or less fully admitted it. Yor applauded and set free a soft “Yayyy!” after seeing the sparkling glow in Anya’s eyes. Loid sighed but held onto his smile, for he couldn’t help but find himself enchanted by that glow as well. “Yeah, I suppose I do.”

“So you like a show that’s not in your regular demographic,” teased Franky. “Big deal!”

Loid narrowed his eyes. “And you’re one to talk, considering you just tried to hide your appreciation of the show.”

Franky remained firm. “Yes, but then I wised up and admitted it!”

“Why would someone be so scared to say they like a show they think is super cool?” Anya wondered aloud. Considering the gravity of actual, consequential secrets like her telepathy and her parents’ professions, keeping such innocuous things secret was alien to her.

“Some people need others to think they’re something they’re not, so they’ll hide even the most pointless things. Like boys trying to hide that they like girly shows so people see them as more of a man,” Franky said. Anya was too preoccupied to catch it, but Yor thought about the secret Melinda had told her.

“Chichi and Scruffy are still men no matter what they like!” Anya exclaimed, and then she turned to Loid. “Now gimme your favorite episode!”

Loid didn’t really know what to say — he was used to accumulating knowledge, not crowning subjective favorites. “Well...”

“He probably likes the one where he dates a bunch of ladies at once,” Franky teased.

Loid glared at him. He spoke to Franky while mouthing different words. “You’re sure that’s not your favorite?” [“I hated that one. No spy would let himself get attached to so many people.”]

Franky shook his head. “Mr. Lighter is more faithful and committed than Bondman will ever be.” [“And yet here you are, smiling and talking about a kids show with your family. And don’t give me that ‘for the mission’ crap.”] Loid had no response to either thread of the conversation, and Franky let it go as well.

After Anya was fast asleep and as Yor was washing the dishes, Loid and Franky had a private discussion on the couch, now silently mouthing words to one another so Yor couldn’t hear.

[“Any word on the Poulos family? Are you guys gonna arrest them yet?”] Franky asked him.

Loid nodded. [“We suspected it before but today I managed to confirm they’re a threat to national security. We’re setting up an operation to get them all arrested in four days.”]

Franky smiled. [“Now that’s what I like to see.”]

Loid glared at him. [“Don’t you only care about this because your favorite barbeque place is gone?”]

Franky huffed. [“Look, protecting national security is just a bonus to me. What really hurts is that the Poulos family are responsible for taking down the best barbeque joint in Ostania, which just so happened to be a money laundering front! C’mon, you know the food was great!”]

Loid couldn’t argue with him there. For a money laundering front, the food was miraculously good. And from his investigations of the place, it wasn’t because of any dirty tactics like stealing ingredients; the Vians and their hired hands are just excellent cooks. [“WISE likely won’t consider it a priority, but maybe we can help the remaining members of the Vian family find honest work in the restaurant industry. If you can figure out how that helps the stability of our country, be my guest.”]

Franky smiled. [“They really deserve it. The next time I catch your boss out in public, I’ll go through the private conversation procedure and ask her to try out the food.”] He then switched to speaking aloud. “Alright, I’m gonna head out now. Good night, Loid.”

“Good night, Franky,” [“Franky, please don’t do that,”] an irked Loid said as he got up in preparation to go to bed. Franky ignored his silent statement.

“Good night, Franky! Good night, Loid!” Yor said as she finished washing the dishes.

“Good night!”

As Franky closed the door of the Forger household, he turned serious, thinking about a request he had received the day before. Alright, time to prepare my hideout for tomorrow.

An exhausted Loid, who was a little worried about Franky but not enough to actually try and stop him, went for his bedroom door relieved that he could finally rest. As Yor headed to her room, the phone rang.

She went back and picked it up. “Hello?”

Shopkeeper’s voice was on the other end. “Good evening to you. Are you alone?” Yor’s eyes sharpened. She looked around and confirmed that Loid and Anya weren’t present. “Yes.”

“I have a new special task for you, Thorn Princess. Come tomorrow morning.”

The next morning, in the garden…

“We have another special job for you, Thorn Princess,” Shopkeeper said.

Her eyes caught a small glow. “Is this another protection job?” As unusual as her previous job on the cruise ship was, she treasured the memory of meeting Gretcher and her son as they embarked on a better life. She didn’t mind the bloodshed, but she was touched when she hugged Olka’s son and saw his smile; it was uncommon for her to meet someone who was directly protected by her work.

“You are half-correct. But your job tonight may also involve something you haven’t done in a while… coercion.”

“Coercion?” she asked, vaguely recalling the last time she had to do that.

Shopkeeper nodded and showed her pictures of a family.

“Are you familiar with the Vian family? Recently, their entire hierarchy has collapsed after one of their men closely befriended a man who turned out to be a mole from their rivals, the Poulos family. He had revealed to him a crucial secret known only to a few of the top brass. I know little of the details, but this revelation led to the assassinations of three of their patriarchs overnight, and now everyone is scrambling for safety as the Poulos are engaging in complete scorched earth.”

He showed her a picture of a young man and a young woman.

“I owed a personal debt to one of the victims, who left behind an adult son and daughter, both of whom he had confided a great secret regarding their family heritage. They are currently in one of our safehouses because the secret is apparently enough for them to be considered a target by their rivals despite having no ties to the family’s criminal activities. It is also the reason why we need you to coerce an asset, because they are not escaping by sea this time. They have specifically requested to escape to Nordria.”

“Nordria?” Yor was surprised. She was mostly unfamiliar with geopolitics beyond the friction between Westalis and Ostania, but even she knew that it was an unusual place to go given the state’s turmoil.

Shopkeeper nodded. “Helping Olka and her son escape was easy to set up because we had connections in her new country, but I’m afraid that we have minimal resources for securing homes and forging new documents with state seals in Nordria. We have exhausted our contacts in the underworld and have come across a valuable asset: an informant who has the skills and connections to disappear anywhere.”

He gave her a silver card bearing the asset’s relevant address and the initials “F.F.”

“As with any asset we deal with, however, there is a necessary degree of caution. Should they be friendly, we need you to cooperate with them. But should they be uncooperative, that is where coercive force may come into play. The asset is a very weak and unassuming man in terms of strength, but we do not take chances. Either way, you must follow and protect them, along with any additional assets you encounter; we expect some of them to potentially have targets on their backs. He is already aware that we’ve requested his services and that someone is coming to his place tonight, should you choose not to turn this down. We have another operative ready in case you cannot attend.”

“I accept!” Yor said, taking the card and the photo of the son and daughter.

Shopkeeper smiled. “Very well. Please report back here in exactly two days. I’m counting on you to help protect our friends in the Vian family, Thorn Princess.”

Yor put on a determined face. “I will do my best!”

Later that night...

Now dressed in her Thorn Princess wardrobe, Yor looked down at a staircase leading to a lone door. She thought it was funny, for it was not uncommon for her to perform her work at night in public buildings that would eventually need to be used once the day breaks, requiring a cleanup session immediately after her slaughter. In such a purposefully remote location as this, she wouldn’t have to worry about that, at least not immediately. What happens here could stay here, locked away like a vault.

But as her heels descended the stairs, she reminded herself of tonight’s unusual job: Cooperating with the asset, keeping them alive, and drawing out information. It wasn’t unfamiliar to her, but she still felt a little out of her element performing a task more fit for a spy than a hitman.

On the door, there was a button and below that a sign saying “Press Button for ‘Service.’” She ignored it and reached for the doorknob, at which point an object fell that she immediately sliced in half before it could even dream of hitting the ground. After the small collection of dust settled, she looked and saw… a small eraser.

What kind of person am I working with?

She entered the quarters, overcoming a series of progressively ridiculous traps before arriving upon a locked door with a code lock and a riddle: “I walk on four legs in the morning, two during the day, and three in the evening. What am I?”

Normally, she would just slice the door, but Yor stopped to think about this one for a moment because it was actually a little nostalgic. Hmm, didn’t Yuri give me this riddle once as a kid? I forgot what the answer was.

She visualized a cartoon blob with a question mark on their body and four protruding legs. So they had four legs in the morning, then two in the day? Somebody must have cut two of their legs off. Maybe they’re an evildoer being tortured and one leg is being cut off with each passing hour.

The cartoon blob in her mind was now bereft of two legs and profusely bleeding. But why would you do that in the daytime? In most locations in the daytime, you want a quick kill because it’s more likely for unwanted passersby to show up.

She shook her head and managed to get herself back on track, now thinking of a three-legged cartoon blob with stitches on the third leg. Okay, so they have three legs in the evening. That’s probably because the assassin got arrested for taking too long to kill the evildoer, and a doctor came to repair one of their legs. Then the doctor treats the evildoer and they send him to jail. But now the assassin and the evildoer are in jail together and—

She shook her head again. Okay, so the doctor came to repair… their legs. And who do doctors treat to fix their legs? They treat… humans… and humans have legs… The answer is human!

She then recalled the exact moment from her childhood when she realized the answer was “human” all along and Yuri congratulated her; she used the exact same rationale back then as well, though Yuri was blissfully unaware. Satisfied with her solve, she entered “Human” into the console and the door opened, revealing… yet another hallway.

She ran down and, after casually slicing the rolling boulder that appeared behind her, she finally came upon a plain door which looked to be the final one. Whoever this is, they better have a good explanation for this.

She opened the door and instantly, a masked man pointed a gun at her head. For a split second, you could hear him beginning to speak but he was stunned silent. The following set of events beyond this microscopic moment went by so quickly that you could be forgiven to think that it was merely because of Yor immediately disarming him, kicking the gun away, pinning him to the wall, and positioning one of her daggers in front of the man’s throat. Either way, the man’s night had taken a pretty bad turn.

Her eyes were cold and empty as she bore them into the mask. In the few coercive jobs she had taken, this was her first time threatening someone with the privilege of a veil. “You must be the asset, F.F., correct? If you refuse to cooperate, please remember that you will pay with your life instead. Understand?”

She slightly eased her dagger to give his head room to nod, and he did so stiffly. She released him from the faux-chokehold and ostensibly relaxed. Although she had set some tension free, the man remained silent and shaken. He walked over to a table and sat down in his chair, still trapped in a state of shock.

“I won’t force you to take that mask off, but are you okay to speak?” she asked with an ineffable mixture of politeness and menace.

After a few moments, the man finally took his mask off. Yor gasped.

“Franky?!”

Chapter Text

Having been an informant in the underworld for a very long time, Franky knew the importance of word of mouth in a setting where more flagrant advertising is virtually impossible. He knew that any time he interacted with a client, anything he said could travel far, perhaps with a few distortions along the way.

When he told Fiona Frost (codename: Nightfall) that even skilled agencies like WISE could never find him if he wanted to disappear, with “The Quill” as a witness, he knew those words would come back to him with a few small transformations.

He also knew that, like a parent’s estranged children coming back home, it might come back in a much more unexpected way. Just two days before Yor held a dagger to his throat, one of his primary trusted contacts approached him and told him that a special anonymous organization would like his services and provided a public rendezvous point where he could receive the request.

Meeting in a public location was crucial, for both parties are aware of the potential dangers of secluded spots, recognizing that the safety of being hidden in plain sight was more valuable as long as both parties were cognizant of prying eyes and ears. On a café patio, Franky sat across the table from someone who looked to everyone else like a harmless old man, but he knew this wasn’t an average client.

The old man spoke first. “We understand that you’re skilled enough that you could disappear anywhere without leaving a trace. Is this correct?”

Without leaving a trace, huh? The man’s appraisal made Franky sound like an actual magician, and he suspected that they had already achieved this exaggerated form by the time The Quill told somebody. I know he can be a pretty friendly guy, but he needs to rein it in. Regardless, he nodded. “Yes, it is.”

Before the man could ask anything else, Franky already knew he had leverage here. Based on the circumstances and their inclination to remain anonymous, he could tell the man hailed from a sophisticated organization with deep roots. Making someone disappear shouldn’t have been too difficult for them, but if they needed to resort to a distant third party that they’d only just now needed to contact, then it was clearly an unusual case where they’ve exhausted all their options. He kept this in mind when the man prodded him about his skill.

“Hypothetically, are you capable of forging the documents for someone to disappear to, say, Uspeau?” the man asked.

Franky found it a strange and near impossible place to send someone, but he hid his surprise to maintain the illusion. “I know a guy who knows a guy.”

Connections are everything, and somehow this group didn’t have them while he did. Or at least, he claimed he did. But in his mind, Franky really could think of a few guys who might know a guy that could send someone there, though there was a level of uncertainty to that “might” which he couldn’t let slip.

“I see,” the man said. He knew it wasn’t exactly a guarantee, but it was the best option they had. “We will be dispatching a very skilled operative to your quarters in two days. She will inform you of the specific instructions and you will help her contact any other assets. Remember that while you are an asset, she will not hesitate to kill you if you do not cooperate, or if you are lying about your capabilities. Understand?”

Way to threaten your last resort, Franky thought as he nodded. “Yes, I understand.”

The man gave him a copy of a card bearing the planned time of their meeting and the exact address of one of his hideouts; it was the same one he hid in when Fiona came to his doorstep. Wow, these guys are good.

He smiled, seemingly as if to show some admiration, and the man acknowledged it before he left. Thankfully, the man couldn’t have guessed that all along the smile was mostly fueled by one word…

“She.”

While sitting in the café, Franky envisioned a very beautiful, dominating, and single assassin in desperate need of a husband to mitigate suspicion from the Secret Police. And who could possibly say no to this dashing genius gadgeteer they worked with on a mission?

He thought about the first few weeks of their sordid affair: She’s mean to him at first, given that she’s a ruthless killer, but that would make her even hotter! Then as she gets to know more about him, she’ll sympathize with his struggles and fall deeper in love, revealing a gentler angel within. Then she’ll teach him how to use her weapons, so he can be just as strong as her! They could be partners in crime! And they know if the Secret Police ever closes in on either of them, they can escape together anywhere they want, all thanks to his connections.

Just like with Fiona, he set up the same exact routine by littering the entrance to his quarters with traps. And then he planned to hold them masked at gunpoint as they walked into his door, proving how tough and cool he is. The steps after this were a bit muddy in his head, but somehow it was definitely going to lead to love at first sight.

Deep inside, he knew this fantasy was absurd and that it would fall apart instantly. Though he never could’ve predicted the exact reason it would fall apart.

Here he was two days later in his dumb little mask, looking at the assassin: Yor Forger, a.k.a. Twilight’s wife. Although he was gracious enough to immediately accept that this meant his dreams of an assassin girlfriend were crushed, he didn’t have much time to mope about it as a myriad of other questions flooded his mind.

“I won’t force you to take that mask off, but are you okay to speak?” Yor asked with an ineffable mixture of politeness and menace, making Franky turn serious.

As insane as this entire situation was, he understood that he was still a professional and Yor was his client, and that he couldn’t help her while hiding behind a stupid veil. He took his mask off.

Yor gasped. “Franky?!”

Both Yor and Franky stared at one another in total shock. Even though Franky had a head start whilst wearing the mask, he was still having trouble summoning words now that they both shared a mutual feeling of surprise.

Yor was the first to make an attempt. “Franky... Y-You’re the asset?” Did I misread the address? Is F.F. really him?? ‘Weak and unassuming’??? She looked more closely at Franky’s body. ...Well, they weren’t exactly lying about that.

At last, Franky regained the will to speak. “A-And you’re the highly skilled assassin that was sent to work with me?!” Yor looked down in embarrassment.

He was careful with his words. “Yor, I’d really like to give you the benefit of the doubt. Did you marry Loid just so you wouldn’t be suspected by the Secret Police?” He already knew the answer, for Loid and Yor mutually agreed it was fake from the start, but she wouldn’t really know that he was aware of this.

“Yes, I did,” she said, and Franky recalled his words to Loid from long ago: “So you want a woman who’s okay with a child-raising divorcee, is elegant enough to seem upper-class, and is willing to legally marry you in the next 48 hours? If a goddess like that existed, I’d love to see her myself!” Suddenly, this entire arrangement made sense.

Franky nodded. “I see. And if you don’t mind me asking, what kind of people do you kill?” Please don’t be spies or underground informants, he thought.

Yor summoned a righteous, resolute expression. “I weed out evildoers only! I target terrorists and any other traitors to Ostania.”

“I see.” Franky was half-relieved. Knowing she came from a vigilante organization, or at least one that claims to be, was still better than one that killed anyone you wanted for some cash. And although “evildoers” and “traitors” certainly didn’t exclude spies in a country where they’re treated like devils, it was also still better than outright being the Secret Police under a different name.

After some silence, it was Yor’s turn; to her, the true nature of Franky’s relationship with Loid was now a little opaque. “And I have to ask you, Franky: Does Loid know you’re an informant?”

He paused, searching for a midpoint between the truth and a lie. It wasn’t as if “informant” was such a tainted job title on its own; some informants worked for the government, after all. “Yes, he knows. But he doesn’t know that it goes this deep. He thinks that I just tell the police about criminals.”

She nodded in understanding, and following this brief discussion of her husband, she thought of what she had just done to one of his friends and panicked, letting her daggers down. “Franky, I’m so sorry for threatening you earlier. I didn’t know it was you! I promise I don’t want to hurt you!”

Franky blinked, feeling as if he had managed to completely disarm her without even doing anything. “No no, it’s okay, Yor! I guess I didn’t come off as very friendly putting you at gunpoint immediately, hehe...”

Franky relaxed, albeit still acknowledging he couldn’t fully trust Yor just yet. Something still bugged him about her organization, especially the vaguely familiar phrase “weeds out,” but he pushed it down for now and reset his face to a more dignified expression. “Okay, Yor, I’m gonna be honest with you. I have a lot of questions for you, and I will ask them later. But we have a job to do in the meantime.”

Yor nodded. “I understand, but no matter what… please don’t tell Loid about this.”

“Of course not,” Franky said, looking entirely serious. “Considering I’m working with you as a freelancer, it would be unprofessional if I revealed anything that happens tonight.” Also, you guys would definitely kill me. That’s not even a question.

Yor regained her resolve. “Right.”

“So what exactly does your organization need?” Franky asked.

“Currently, we’re trying to help two friends of ours escape to a different country. However, escaping by sea isn’t an option. They’ve requested to escape to Nordria. They’ll require forged papers with state seals for their new identities,” Yor said.

He was surprised. “Nordria? Wow, that’s a tough one. That would be the last place I’d think to go if I wanted to disappear.” He thought about it for a moment, determining that this wasn’t even within The Quill’s skill set, so he couldn’t call him; thanks to Fiona, reaching him again was unlikely anyway.

Nordria was rife with internal political turmoil, and it’s notoriously stringent with immigration, so finding anyone with the ability to forge papers would be difficult. Now he understood why such a sophisticated criminal organization would end up at his doorstep. He wondered why the two would even want to go there in the first place, and with that he recalled a man who spent some time there himself.

Franky began. “Okay, bear with me here because this will require more than one connection and it isn’t guaranteed, but I actually know a guy who spent a long time working as an army doctor at Nordria. Right now, he treats criminals in the underground scene but he’s very skilled and takes in all kinds of clientele. And I’m very confident he knows someone who can get you the papers you need.”

Yor smiled. “That’s great, Franky! I’m curious… How do you have deeper connections than us?”

Franky grinned. “Trust. It’s all that matters in the underworld, and when you’re an informant you figure out how to earn it. It’s really not easy, but friendliness goes a long way even in a world full of ruthless killers. I’m sure your organization runs deep and they’ve gained a lot of trust, but there’s only so much you can do when you dispatch hitmen who introduce themselves by putting a dagger at your throat.”

“That’s not fair! You held me at gunpoint!” Yor protested. And you made me go through all those pointless traps.

“Okay, you’re right.” He thought about telling her the gun was harmless and just shot out a flower as an attempt to seduce pretty ladies, but he figured it was not important, and he wasn’t really in the mood to make a romantic joke for someone he had no intention of asking out.

“Anyway, if we want to get in touch with our first guy, I’ll need to call him to make a special appointment. He’s not fully in hiding, so the phone lines should be safe. Thankfully, I don’t think he’s very busy right now,” Franky said.

“Wonderful!” Yor said.

The Forgers really are something. Helping Twilight with a mission is one thing, but helping his wife who’s really an assassin? What a family, he thought. As Franky went to get the phone, he ran through many of the potential implications of this.

Ranking high on the list was the idea that Yor was dispatched a long time ago to eventually kill Twilight or disarm WISE by domesticating Twilight, but he thought it was more likely she had no idea that Loid was Twilight; she’s had many opportunities to dispose of him but still hasn’t. As for the latter, he liked WISE but he’d never pledged his loyalty to them.

And besides… Twilight really needed to lighten up anyway.

Earlier that day, at Eden Academy…

Class was about to start in a few minutes. Mr. Henderson entered the room and Anya turned to Becky. “Becky?”

Becky turned her head. “Yes, Anya?”

“I have something to tell you.”

“What is it?”

Anya took a deep breath and whispered into her ear. “I can read minds.”

Becky gasped and immediately raised her hand. “Mr. Henderson!! Anya can read minds!!!”

Mr. Henderson was appalled! “Miss Forger, you have been able to read our minds this entire time? That is most inelegant! I am going to summon the Secret Police!” He pressed a button on his desk labeled “SUMMON THE SECRET POLICE.”

Suddenly, a cage manifested around her and Yuri came bursting through the door. “It is I, the Secret Police! You are under arrest for telling a secret! Or whatever it is I do!”

And then Loid and Yor, eyes both heavy with tears, also came bursting through the door somehow.

Loid glared at her in disappointment. “Anya, you’re a telepath?! I’m disowning you! And also I am breaking up with Yor!”

Yor turned to Loid. “Wait, what?!”

Becky and Yuri rushed to Loid and Yor’s sides, respectively.

“MY DARLING LOID!!!”

“SIS!!!”

And then Judge Franky, wearing a large robe and a puffy white wig, inexplicably emerged from the ground. He slammed on the nearest table with his brown hammer thingy. “Anya, you are hereby sentenced to life in prison... with NO PEANUTS!”

“NOOOOOO!”

Anya had envisioned many nightmare scenarios that could play out if she told Becky her secret. She hadn’t really considered it an option until now, but if she was going to avoid being abandoned for not doing her part in Operation Strix, she had to consider desperate measures. Yet the possibility of being arrested by the Secret Police for telling a secret was too much to even risk it (She still didn’t really understand what the Secret Police does.)

At the moment, Anya was still waiting with Becky for class to start. Having just suffered through that fantasy, she got herself back on track and once again asked for Becky’s help in accelerating her friendship with Damian.

Becky’s eyes were glowing with the exact same pattern she had for her previous failed ideas, not that Anya really noticed. “Ooh, I know exactly what you need to do! I saw this on the newest arc of Berlint in Love! Lisa tried to win Tommy over by asking him to be her friend, but he kept ignoring her. In case you forgot, Tommy’s family is…”

Anya’s only known superpower was telepathy, but it was uncanny how well her ears were able to completely filter out all detailed information regarding Berlint in Love. She really wanted to listen to her friend’s passionate monologues, but they were practically indecipherable. She still didn’t know what the deal with Tommy’s family was, and any time Becky asked a question in the middle of her arcane gibberish, Anya just nodded and said “Yeah. Yeah.” Anya also knew that as soon as Becky said, “Anyway,” she would be finished with her info dump, and it was time for her ears to magically tune right back in.

“Anyway, Lisa overheard Tommy talking to his dad on the phone about the huge secret revealed two episodes ago. In case you forgot, this was an insane episode because it was revealed that his dad is actually…”

A wave of incomprehensible gibberish flooded Anya’s ears and drained out to the other end.

“...Anyway, she found out about this and Tommy made her keep his devastating secret! And because of this, Tommy learned that he could trust Lisa and now they’re in love!”

Anya nodded as if she understood. “Okay, so what you’re saying is… I should… I should…”

“You should get Damian to tell you a secret! Then you need to promise to keep it. And you should do what Lisa did and try to understand more about his secret so you can be the one to comfort him! He’ll be impressed by how trustworthy and smart you are and become friends with you instantly! And then you’ll be lovers!”

Anya, ignoring that closing statement, immediately panicked and looked around. “Tell me a secret?! But won’t Sy-on boy be arrested by the Secret Police?!” She turned to Henderson’s desk, looking frantically for the “SUMMON THE SECRET POLICE” button.

Becky raised an eyebrow. “The what? I don’t think that’s how the police work, Anya.”

“Really?” Anya breathed a sigh of relief. “So Sy-on boy is safe. Okay, so I just need to get him to tell me a secret. This will be easy.” For a moment, she was once again sad that she couldn’t tell Becky about her superpower. She’s already keeping so many of Damian’s secrets, but he doesn’t even know it! Still, she resolved to make him crack and tell her one of them publicly, perhaps even a new one she hasn’t heard before! She’ll take that mask of privacy right off!

She turned around and glanced at Damian with a sinister smirk. “Heh.”

Emile turned to him. “Boss-man, she’s doing it again.”

Damian remained stoic. “I know. I’m used to it already.”

Chapter Text

A tall, lanky man in a white coat walked into a small jewelry store carrying a black doctor’s bag. The jeweler at the counter checked his watch and scoffed.

“You know, Eric,” the jeweler said, “you’ve got a lot of nerve calling me right at 7:59 PM to ask if you can host another one of your appointments in my basement.”

Eric smiled and shrugged. “Hey, you told me that I can call you any time, and you stressed any time, before 8 PM. Besides, you can forgive one of your best customers, right?”

The jeweler grunted. “Just because you pay all your debts on time doesn’t mean I can’t lower your credit score for being annoying.”

Eric snickered as the jeweler caught a glimpse of his stained right sleeve.

“Let me guess, another really interesting customer…” he said flatly.

“Why yes!” Eric said triumphantly. “This one—”

“Save your stories,” the jeweler said, holding up his right hand. “I’ve heard them all already. I’m gonna guess: This one went rabid and tried to attack you after you cracked an awful joke but then you sedated them.”

Eric pouted. “It’s no fun when you put it like that.”

“Whatever,” the jeweler said before pulling out a stethoscope from underneath the counter. “By the way, here’s the stethoscope you ordered. High quality, but at a discount price: Only 50 dalc, which is generous given how much I had to barter for it.”

“I really don’t know what I’d do without you,” Eric said as he handed him his cash and took the stethoscope.

“Flattery’s not gonna decrease the price, but thanks,” the jeweler said. “Anyway, your patients are already downstairs. It was Franky and some chick in a black dress holding a pair of daggers. They looked so ridiculous together, but you’ve had stranger customers.”

“You bet I have!” Eric said proudly before heading for the door.

In the jeweler’s dimly lit downstairs basement...

“Eric!” Franky called out. “How’ve you been?”

“Pretty good! Been a pretty tough week due to the mob family unrest and all, but I’ve managed. And this is…?” He looked at the woman. Did Franky finally score a girl?

“This is a client of mine, and we need your help,” Franky said.

“Nice to meet you,” Yor greeted.

“Nice to meet you. And since Franky called for a medical appointment, I assume…”

“Oh no,” Franky clarified. “We actually need information.”

Eric kept his smile, but he was more than a little disappointed. “Really? Well that’s a shame.” His bag of medical supplies instantly felt like a bag of rocks; he quickly set it down.

Now feeling a little bad, Franky explained. “Look, I knew if I told you this wasn’t something medical, there’s a chance you might not have shown.”

Eric laughed. “Well, it’s true that I don’t just hand out information to anybody. But I thought you already knew you weren’t just anybody, Franky.” His smile waned a bit. “I’m actually a little hurt that a longtime friend would make a false appointment. You keep saying trust is important.”

Franky sighed. It wasn’t like him to do this; he’d been a little off his game since an hour ago, when he found out Twilight’s wife was a hitman. “Well, I—”

Franky blinked right when he said “Well”, and by the time he had opened them, Eric had thrusted an army knife towards the air beside his face, slightly grazing the right side of his cheek and giving him a small cut. In the same instant, Yor had swiftly moved a dagger before Eric’s neck.

“Don’t hurt him,” she threatened.

Eric chuckled as he put his knife away. “I don’t know if you’re a hitman or a bodyguard, but you’re good. I’m not gonna pretend like I could take you on, but rest assured, Franky is still a friend of mine, client lady. This was a necessary compensation and Franky knows it.”

Franky nodded in agreement, and Yor stepped back as Eric handed him a bandage from his pocket.

“As I said before, trust matters. Sorry, Eric,” Franky said.

“That’s okay, I’ll still help you out with information free of charge, and I’ll only charge you 80 dalc for that bandage!” he said with a concerning amount of glee. Gotta make up for that stethoscope price somehow!

Franky’s jaw dropped. “80 dalc for a bandage?!” He turned to Yor with an intense look. “Please tell me your guys are paying well for this.”

Yor nodded. Although Shopkeeper didn’t inform her of their compensation plan for this mission yet, she knew they paid handsomely for a job well done.

“That’s about as low as I would go for someone making a false appointment, and just so you know…” Eric narrowed his eyes. “The knife cut usually goes a little deeper than that.”

Franky shuddered. “Yeah yeah, I got it.” Yeah, right. You only did that ‘cause you know I won’t fight back.

Eric put away the knife, his only object that hadn’t practically turned into a rock. “So, what information do you need, exactly? I do believe in doctor-patient confidentiality, but depending on what you need, I might be able to push you in the right direction.” My clients are mostly smart enough to not talk to me anyway. They just pay me, say “Fix me up,” and then leave.

“We need someone who can forge documents for two people to escape to Nordria. New identities and new homes,” Franky explained.

Eric’s eyes lit up. “So that’s why you needed me. The thought of an Ostanian wanting to go there at all already amuses me, but willing to escape there and forge a new life? This really is a special case.” His smile was now a little less strained as he had an opportunity to reminisce. “I made a lot of good friends in Nordria during my time as an army medic, and some had the fortune of moving to Ostania in peacetime before the old government collapsed.” But of his rather proudly abundant list of people he’d share a drink with in a normal world, he was able to stop at the very first one to come into his head.

“There is a very regular patient of mine. She was a Nordrian government official, but she was forced into hiding when they decided she wasn’t needed any more. She now lives here in very deep cover, but she still has some friends in the government there who are incredibly cautious when they contact her. Just the fact that she’s keeping in contact with them at all is risky. But she had long ago decided that this tether to her home country was worth risking her life for.”

For a moment, Franky thought of his own situation, as well as Twilight’s. If there was even a small trace left of his past before the war took everything, would he or Twilight even dare to try and hold onto it? He didn’t have much time to chew on it as Eric continued.

“I don’t know where exactly she lives, but I treat her with checkups in planned remote locations on a regular basis. It’s to make sure she’s still healthy, of course, but we both know that it’s just a pleasure for her to see a friend. Someone she can confide in so all her secrets and worries don’t have to sleep alone in a bunker, safe but not sound.” Her words, not mine. “Anyway, she is exactly who you’re looking for. And you’re in luck because I have a checkup with her in two hours. We can meet her then.”

“That’s wonderful!” Yor said, smiling.

“Thank you so much, Eric,” Franky said.

“You’re welcome! You know, since we have time, I can tell you about a few patients I had recently that were really interesting,” Eric began.

Franky sighed, predicting Eric’s desire to tell a story from the start. He knew that if genuine peace ever came to Ostania and he could stop keeping a low profile, Eric wanted nothing more than to be the most interesting man in the bar.

“You cut my cheek earlier going on about trust and now you wanna give us your patients’ stories unsolicited? You dirty hypocrite! And I don’t think your stories are anywhere near as interesting as mine,” Franky boasted. If only I could tell him about the Forger family, but even without them I still have a lot of good material…

“Oh please,” Eric teased. “We may both get our sources secondhand, but I actually see the patients in the aftermath of their dangerous crimes. A few months ago, I treated two patients from opposing families on the same day of one of their turf wars! I even kept them in the same room together and they managed not to kill each other!”

Franky rolled his eyes. Sounds like you just sedated them really hard…

Hearing about some of his clientele made Yor wonder. “I’m curious, Eric,” she asked, “What kinds of people do you heal? Do you heal the… evildoers as well?”

“Evildoers?” He chuckled. “Well, I treat everyone regardless of their background. And I don’t usually ask what they’ve done, but I can tell some of them have done some pretty bad things.”

Yor nodded. “I see… I’m…” She paused. “I’m trying to rid Ostania of evildoers, and you’re saving them.” She felt a little betrayed, expecting this man to be more like the specialized doctors in Garden’s system.

For the first time since they had met, Eric frowned. “Ah, so you’re a hitman.” He looked down. “Well, what you said is true. I’m not always sure about it, but in my line of work I do end up helping out what you call ‘evil’ people.”

He stopped and looked her right in the eye. “But I also help out vigilantes like you. I became a doctor because everyone deserves to be as far from the grave as they can be. Everyone, even the people that normal hospitals would save and then execute anyway. Let’s face it: You and I and all these ‘evildoers’ are all the same dirty criminals in the eyes of the law. You say you rid the world of evildoers and that I save them. One could just as easily say that I give life and you take it away. And I don’t judge you for that. God knows I’ve seen worse things happen to better people.”

Eric put that aside and exhaled, his smile slowly returning. “But just think about it this way: Great hitmen are bad for my business. If people like you are worried about people like me, just do your job well and I won’t have to help ‘evil’ people.”

For a moment, Yor was stunned silent. Deep inside, she understood what he meant; both hitmen and doctors abided by a code, and she couldn’t blame him for adhering to a promise to protect something as precious as life itself. “I... I see what you mean. I’m sorry, Eric.”

Eric grinned. “Don’t be! I’m actually a little glad that I got to meet an assassin as lovely as you are. It’s not exactly a profession I associate with virtue.” Yor thought about the legion of hitmen on the cruise ship who were perfectly willing to kill a baby, and she silently agreed.

Meanwhile, Franky was also silently impressed. Of all the criminals Twilight could’ve found, he’s lucky it was her. He realized something with that thought.

“Y’know, Eric… this Nordrian official you’re talking about is clearly a high profile target in the eyes of the Nordrian government. Why did you trust me and Y—this woman you’ve never met before?” Franky asked.

Eric laughed. “Well, that’s because I know you very well, Franky. I highly doubt that you could even stand in the same room as a Nordrian hitman. Those guys are serious business, believe me. No offense, but I don’t see why the Nordrian government would ever cooperate with a weird-looking man in a cigarette stand named ‘Franky Franklin.’” Yor couldn’t help but chuckle at this, which hurt Franky.

“Besides,” he continued, turning to Yor. “You remind me of her. I think the two of you will get along just fine when you meet, which is good considering your demands. Forging papers with Nordrian state seals will be very risky.”

Yor nodded. “Thank you so much for this, Eric!”

“Don’t even mention it,” he said. “She might be wary at first, but she probably won’t show it. For a high profile fugitive, she’s surprisingly eager to see additional company.”

The three were ready to leave, but there was still some time left, so Franky summoned the best way (for better or worse) to kill the time with Eric. “Hey Eric, have any of your other patients actually treated you like a therapist?”

Predictably, Eric’s eyes glowed at the opportunity to finally tell them a good story. Given that there was a new woman in attendance, he opted for one of his classics. “Oh, of course! There was this one informant I knew who got roughed up real hard by this super strong blond guy…”

Earlier that day, at Eden Academy…

In the hallway, Damian once again experienced that feeling of being watched by a certain pest who just couldn’t seem to leave him alone.

Anya was well aware of this sensation, in fact she had even grown to sense his wariness of her from much longer distances. For more sinister plots, she may have used this to her advantage, but today’s plan required her to confront him face to face.

This is it, she thought as she stepped out and walked across the corridor. The ultimate mission for world peace: Get Sy-on boy to tell me a secret! Operation Sticks depends on this. I can’t let anything get in my way!

Moments after this thought, her attention was immediately ensnared by a shiny object on the ground. It was a golden button pin with a handsome man on it. Ooh, a pretty circle thingy! Maybe Sy-on boy would like this as a gift!

She shook her head. Don’t let yourself get distracted, Anya! She picked the pin up and continued marching towards Damian, whose back was turned but was already bracing for the worst. Anya’s routine was already so predictable that he could tell exactly when she was about to do something based on how close her steps sounded.

He counted down in his mind. 3… 2… 1…

“Sy-on boy!!”

After installing a deep scowl on his face, he turned around. “What do you want now?”

Anya closed her eyes and grinned. “Hehe… I want you…” She paused for effect as she raised her left finger in the air and then pointed it straight at him. “...TO TELL ME A SECRET!”

A pause.

“No.”

Anya gasped, her illusion of confidence instantly shattering. “WHY NOT?! I promise I’ll keep it!” I already keep so many of your other secrets!

Damian scowled. “Why would I ever tell you a secret? Are you trying to blackmail me or something?” How pathetic of a commoner to stoop this low.

Having no idea how to proceed after his flat refusal, Anya abandoned all pretense of trying to hide the nature of her plan. “No! You need to tell me a secret so you know you can trust me and we can be best friends!”

“That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard!” Damian yelled back. “And why would I tell you anything if you don’t tell me something yourself?!”

He had a point, so Anya thought about what she could say to make this a fair trade. After a few moments, she settled on that secret, the one she knew would anger Loid if he ever found out. “Okay, Sy-on boy. I have a very very big secret to tell you. Something I wouldn’t even tell my parents.” She closed her eyes and took on a very serious expression.

Damian raised an eyebrow. “Now hold on, I didn’t say if you told me anything that I would—”

“I…” Anya began, her lips quivering. Damian noticed this and actually started to wonder how bad it could be.

Here goes nothing…

“...forget to brush my teeth before going to bed sometimes.”

Damian blinked.

“That’s… a terrible secret. Why would anyone care about that?” He asked, now just a mixture of confused and frustrated. It’s fitting for a peasant, though.

Anya gasped once again. With no other contingency plan in mind, she just looked down in shame. Mission Failed…

Damian scoffed. “What a waste of my time.” He turned around and started to walk away. Pfft. Tell her a secret. He thought back to earlier that morning. I can’t even trust my mom with liking Berlint in Love.

Anya perked up. Without thinking, she made a last ditch effort to salvage the mission. “I know you’re secretly a fan of Berlint in Love!”

Damian froze on the spot. How…

He turned around and pointed back at her in anger. “H-How do you know that?!” She said that right after I thought about it. Can she read minds or something?!

Anya showed visible surprise at this thought, but thankfully for her, Damian didn’t notice because his eyes had darted over to her right hand, which was holding…

…the pin.

Even earlier that day, at Damian’s dorm…

It was almost time to go to class as Damian sat on the edge of his bed holding a small pink gift box. According to one of his servants, his mother had actually decided to send him a present for once. Was this because of that runt’s mom? His mother had been distant with him for so long, not even attending the family photo for incoming Eden students, and this is what inspires her to make a gesture?

He didn’t even want to open it, but he figured it would be harmless. He’s made it clear that he doesn’t want any big gifts, so it was likely just a little trinket he could stuff in his drawer and forget about. He opened it and his eyes widened.

It was a button pin made of solid gold, bearing the face of Vincent, Berlint in Love’s dashing lead character. …Seriously? THIS is the gift?

But despite his apparent confusion, he knew exactly why she decided to send this. Back in the days when they actually still interacted in the household, his mom used to watch Berlint in Love all the time. Although Damian was initially disinterested in such a girly adult drama, he found himself strangely enamored by Vincent’s character. As a toddler, he barely understood much of the plot, but nevertheless he enjoyed it enough to secretly try and watch it with her. He would always sit off to the side, pretending he was preoccupied with some other activity.

One night, though, she figured out his interest in the show and teased him relentlessly. After a rather pathetic phase where he denounced everything about it, they found themselves watching it together on a regular basis (never mind the fact that the show might’ve been a bit too inappropriate for him at times), but he made her promise not to let anyone else in the household find out. It was their little secret.

But to Damian, this was ancient history. This pin in his hands merely felt like a half-spirited attempt at nostalgia to try and undo a few years of neglect. She can’t even do small gestures correctly. This doesn’t make up for anything, Mom.

And what did she want, exactly? For him to wear it? She knew he would never let anyone know he likes such a girly show. Ever since his move to the dorms, trying to catch up with the show without letting any of the other kids know has been virtually impossible. And besides, he had more important things to worry about, like becoming an imperial scholar… though admittedly he did wonder how a few of the plotlines were going.

Then he briefly considered Becky Blackbell, a proud superfan of the show who would never stop teasing him if she ever found out about this. He shuddered at the mere thought.

He was about to go put the pin in his drawer when Emile and Ewen burst through the door. “Boss-man! It’s almost time to go!” Emile said.

In a panic, he rushed to put the pin in his pocket so they wouldn’t see it, but he struggled. Why do these pockets have to be so small?!

“I-I’m coming!” Damian yelled, and he rushed out the door with them.

Back in the present, Anya managed to glean a basic understanding of the situation from Damian’s thoughts, allowing her to instantly formulate a new plan. The mission is still alive!

“Ah, yes!” she said in a haughty tone as she held up the Vincent pin. “I saw you drop this button with the hot guy on it! I know you secretly like Berlint in Love, Sy-on boy!”

Damian was flustered. “Th-that doesn’t mean anything! It was just a stupid gift someone gave me! I don’t want it! I don’t li—”

Anya raised her left finger and grinned. “It’s too late, Damian! Your mom already told my mom about this gift and everything!” Sorry Mama… I had to throw you into the bus.

Damian was infuriated. Seriously? They’re already that close?! He growled. “You better not breathe a word of this to anyone, got it?!” If she tells her dumb friend…

Anya smiled, thinking about what Franky told her the other day. Boys have such dumb secrets, but if this is what counts as a secret then I will keep it!

“Don’t worry, Sy-on boy! Your secret’s safe with me! And my secret is safe with you!” she said with glee.

“Again, that’s a stupid secret! It won’t be that hard to keep!” he yelled.

“Ahh, but still! You promised! A secret is a secret! We are now secret keepers! And soon we will become best friends!” she chirped.

“That’s never gonna happen! And I didn’t promise anythi—”

But it was too late. Anya was already laughing and marching away in triumph, leaving a confused and irritated Damian standing alone in the hallway.

Chapter Text

Anya carried a smug expression as she marched through the halls of Eden Academy, still glowing from the success of her plan. Hehe, this will be a peace cake! I have Sy-on boy’s secret now! This is so easy! I keep secrets all the time! Like Chichi being a spy or Mama being a hitman!

She then briefly fantasized about what would happen next…

DAY 1

“Grrr I don’t trust you peasant but I will let you know I like a tellyvision show for girls,” a simplified cartoony version of Damian said.

“Your secret is safe with me, Sy-on boy!”

DAY 2

Damian was glowing. “Wow Anya, you have not told anybody you are such a trustwordy person! I think I can tell you anything!”

Anya’s mind was on fire. Sy-on boy is my friend now! Time to write down everything he says!

DAY 3

“Anya, I think dogs are better than cats!” Damian said.

Anya scribbled furiously. Information!!

DAY 4

“Anya, I think peanuts are very tasty!” Damian said.

Anya scribbled furiously. Information!!

DAY 5

“Anya, my favorite color is actually pink!” Damian said.

Anya scribbled furiously. Information!!

DAY 6

“Anya, I think Bondman is so cool!” Damian said.

Anya scribbled furiously. Information!!

DAY 7

“Anya, I have a crush on you!” Damian said.

Anya scribbled furiously. Information!!

DAY 8

“Anya, my mom likes sports, just like yours!” Damian said.

Anya scribbled furiously. Information!!

DAY 9

“Anya, my dad likes frogs, just like yours!” Damian said.

Anya scribbled even more furiously. Super duper information!!!

DAY 10

Loid stood in front of Donovan in his doorway. Behind Loid was a ginormous cage full of a million bajillion frogs.

“Hello Mr. Desmond, would you like my entire collection of frogs?” Boss lady paid a lot of money for these frogs…

“Why yes, I would!” a gleeful Donovan said. “I now have everything I would ever want in the world! I no longer feel like committing war!”

[WORLD PEACE ACHIEVED]

Anya could see victory in the palm of her hands; she didn’t even need Bond to confirm her hopes! But this was not the end… she tried to remember what Becky told her to do next.

“And you should do what Lisa did and try to understand more about his secret so you can be the one to comfort him! He’ll be impressed by how trustworthy and smart you are and become friends with you instantly! And then you’ll be lov—”

That’s right! Anya thought. I need to learn more about this show! And of course, there was only one other person she knew who knew everything about Berlint in Love.

In the Eden Academy cafeteria…

Anya arrived at the lunch table with the pin, a notebook, a pencil, and the same smug, triumphant expression she had plastered on her face since Damian’s reveal.

“So?! Did he tell you a secret?!” she asked, already knowing the answer.

Anya put her fists on her hips, closed her eyes, and looked up proudly. “Why yes, he did! But I’m not telling you what it is!”

Becky squealed and nodded. “Don’t worry! I promise not to ask!”

“Good!” Anya said, and then she turned serious as she opened her notebook and set the pin on the table face down. “Now, Becky. I need you to tell me everything you can about Berlint in Love!” She recalled that Becky’s monologues should have already told her everything. “I, uhh, need a reminder!”

Now Becky was excited for a different reason. “Oh my! Why the sudden interest, Anya?”

Anya fumbled for a bit. “Um… No reason! I just… need more lessons on how to… make Sy-on boy my friend!”

“I know exactly what you mean. After you become friends, you want to take your relationship to the next level, right?”

“Yeah, sure!” Anya had no idea what she was talking about, but she nodded anyway.

Becky once again squealed with joy. “Ok ok, so now I’m going to reteach you everything about Berlint in Love. Do you want the quick version or the long version?” Please pick the long version please pick the long version please pick the long version!!!

Anya was scared of what the “long version” entailed, and given that she needed to advance Operation Strix as soon as possible, she had no choice but to disappoint… “The quick version, please!”

Becky’s smile deflated a little bit, but she was still eager to talk to her friend about the show again. “As you wish!”

She cleared her throat as she prepared a monologue straight from the heart. “Today we shall go over Berlint in Love, in a nutshell.”

Ooooh nuts, Anya thought. She wrote “BERLINT IN LOVE NOTES” at the top of her notebook in big bold letters as she prepared for the whirlwind.

“First, we must start with Vincent…” Becky began.

For the first five minutes, Becky’s voice came to her in reverb. “...parents… cheated… inheritance… amnesia… cheated… brand new car… love triangle… evil twin… Valentine’s Day… another brand new car… dreams… cheated… several girlfriends… destroyed the car…”

Anya pushed back against her faux-power to translate the monologue into gibberish, desperate to jot down as much as she could about the show. After some recent practice, her handwriting was actually legible to people other than her for once, but Becky was too engrossed to see her notes.

Then suddenly, something happened. The haze went away, and every word became clear as day.

“... and that sets the stage for the butcher arc,” Becky said as she launched into another section.

Anya didn’t know how it happened, but her inhibiting faux-power was finally gone! For the next few minutes, she held onto every word and scribbled notes as vigorously as she could. The secrets of Berlint in Love, once hidden under a layer of confusion, were within her grasp. Now, she still couldn’t fully process every single plotline, but she was getting a basic understanding of the story with a few “lessons” along the way.

“And as we know from that episode, you can’t trust a man who sneezes too much. It means they’re hiding something!”

“You should never park your car near your ex’s driveway. Or by the side of one of their pools. Or in their bedroom”

“If a man only hugs you for less than five seconds, it means they don’t actually care for you!”

“Anya is a dummy!”

Surprised by this sudden tangent, Anya stopped writing for a moment. “Wait, what? Why did you say that?”

Becky’s eyes widened. “Hold on… you’re actually paying attention now?”

“Uhh, wh-what do you mean? I pay attention all the time!”

Becky laughed. “No, you don’t,” she said with a smile. “Anya, I’m not stupid. I know you’re not always listening. It’s actually really obvious.”

A few weeks earlier, in the cafeteria…

“...and the funny thing is that it never would’ve happened if he just knew how to parallel park. What do you think you would’ve done, Anya?” Becky asked.

“Yeah. Yeah.” Anya just stared ahead and nodded.

Becky blinked. “Um, Anya? I asked what you would’ve done?”

She nodded again. “Yeah. Yeah.”

Becky realized what was going on, and she developed a smug expression. Interesting…

A few days later in the Class 3 room, before class began…

While in the midst of one of her Berlint in Love monologues, Becky kicked off her scheme.

“Hey Anya, do you think Loid will marry me?”

Anya nodded blankly. “Yeah. Yeah.”

Becky nearly swooned before turning around to see Damian walk into the room. “Hey Anya, do you think Damian is kind of cute?” She said this a little louder to make sure he could hear.

Anya nodded. “Yeah. Yeah.”

A flustered Damian walked up to his seat, choosing not to acknowledge this, and Becky snickered. “Hey Anya, do you think I’m the smartest, prettiest girl in the entire school?”

Anya nodded. “Yeah. Yeah.”

“You’re so wise, Anya!” Becky said with pride. She just couldn’t contain her laughter, and neither could the kids sitting behind them.

Anya pointed at Becky. “You betrayed me!”

“That’s just payback for not listening to me, Anya!” Becky said, shrugging.

Although Becky was smiling, Anya was still worried she had offended her. “I’m sorry, Becky. I really wanted to listen but Berlint in Love is too comp lee cated and I can’t understand any of it! You talk just like my dad.”

Becky gasped. SHE JUST SAID I TALK LIKE MY DARLING LOID!!! This thought was so loud that Anya physically recoiled. Then Becky calmed down for a bit and let out a small laugh. “Don’t worry, Anya. One day you will be mature enough to understand the complexities of love!”

She paused for a moment.

“But thank you for trying, Anya. Even if you can’t understand half of it, it’s still fun to talk about things with you. I really appreciate it.”

“Don’t worry, Becky! You know, this is really interesting to me now…” She set her notebook down on the table and looked over her notes. “But I still don’t understand some of it.”

Becky scoffed. “Oh, that’s fine! We can go over more details in the next few lessons!”

Anya blinked. “The what?”

“The next few lessons!” Becky reiterated. “Lunch is almost over, so we can go over it again tomorrow. You’ll need to learn everything you can if you want to learn how to impress Damian!”

Anya was uncertain, but if it could help Operation Sticks… “Of course!”

Becky noticed the face-down button pin and reached over for it. “Ooh, what’s this new pin that you have, Anya?”

Anya’s eyes widened. “No, wait!” But Becky had already picked it up and turned it over to see a solid gold button pin with Vincent’s face on it.

Becky gasped. “No way! Is this…?”

“I-It’s not what you think!” Anya insisted.

Becky’s mind was on fire with possibilities. Could this be a gift for Damian? But wait, why would Damian want a Berlint in Love pin? And it’s made of solid gold… and Loid isn’t married to me yet so her family can’t possibly afford something like this… And Anya suddenly wanted to know more about the show… Hold on…

Anya panicked but couldn’t think of anything to derail Becky’s train of thought from barreling towards its conclusion.

Could it be that Damian… actually likes Berlint in Love?! Oh as much as I want to ask Anya, I can’t let her lose his trust!

The bell rang for everyone to leave the cafeteria, but Anya wasn’t paying any attention to that. She blanched, and while Becky wasn’t aware of her telepathy, she knew very well what Anya had just realized. “Don’t worry, Anya. It’s nothing!” She winked, and when she turned to head to class, her face went white. Damian was standing behind them.

He caught a glimpse of everything. A panicked Anya. A winking Becky holding the Vincent button pin. A notebook with the words “BERLINT IN LOVE NOTES” written at the top in big bold letters. He could only come to one conclusion.

“You told her, didn’t you?”

Becky’s eyes widened as she realized what she had done. Anya panicked, holding both of her hands up and shaking them. “No! I promise I didn’t!!”

“Wow. I can’t even trust you with something like this.” An angered Damian stormed off with the rest of the students who were leaving the lunchroom.

“No, wait!” Becky stood up and yelled as he left. She turned to a downtrodden Anya still stuck to her seat.

“I’m so so sorry, Anya. I promise I’ll make it up to you.” She ran off to confront Damian.

Later that day...

Eric opened the doors to an empty, abandoned warehouse. “Mira and I are always careful with where we meet, and we plan the locations months in advance. We also rarely use the same place twice in a year,” he explained to Franky and Yor.

Eric led them to a particular spot on the ground a few steps past the center of the warehouse, then he kneeled down and whistled a pattern of notes. To Franky and Yor’s surprise, a well-concealed trap door opened right in front of Eric. A blonde woman with disheveled hair emerged.

“Eric!” Mira greeted him with an incredible warmth.

Eric smiled. “Hey Mira! How has my favorite Nordrian fugitive been doing?” he said.

Mira scoffed as she climbed out of the trap door. “Don’t start with that joke again.” Before she could say anything more, she noticed the man and woman behind him. Despite Eric’s earlier statements, Franky and Yor were still surprised to find she really didn’t seem wary of them at all; in fact, she breathed a sigh of relief.

“Oh, thank goodness. You brought some new friends this time. I was starting to get bored of you, you know,” she teased.

Eric’s face had turned to shock. “Bored? Of me?! You take that back!” he whined, and Mira snickered.

“Hello miss,” Franky greeted. “I’m Eric’s friend, Franky. And this is a client of mine.”

Yor bowed in greeting. “Hello, I’m…” She paused for a few moments, recalling that she and Franky had been careful not to reveal her name up to this point. “I’m the client, and we need your help, miss.”

Mira’s eyes glowed a little. “Ah, a request that involves me somehow? This is already better than all of my past few checkups with Eric.”

“She doesn’t mean it!” Eric insisted.

Ignoring him, Mira crossed her arms. “Though I have to say, I am a little concerned that this client is holding a pair of daggers. If you came to make me do something by force…” She frowned and her eyes quickly turned menacing. “...I won’t back down easily.”

Even Yor was caught a little off guard by this, but she held her ground as she explained. “I was told that some of the people I would contact for this job may have a target on their back. These are to protect everyone in this room right now.”

Mira’s eyes softened. “I see. I don’t know the extent of your skill, but if you think you can take on Nordrian hitmen, be my guest.”

“Hopefully, it won’t have to come to that,” Yor said.

Mira nodded and her smile came back. “I hope you’re right. Anyway, what is it that you need?”

She showed her the picture of the son and daughter. “I need you to forge documents with state seals for a young man and woman to escape to Nordria. They need new identities and new homes. Eric told us you still have contacts in the government.”

Mira scanned the photo and turned serious. “I see. So you’ve come here through my doctor and you’re asking me to risk my life to make contact with my small circle of very cautious friends still lucky enough to be alive and still above suspicion in the Nordrian government, just to help whisk away two kids we don’t know.”

A pause.

Mira beamed and clapped. “That sounds amazing!”

Franky breathed a sigh of relief, and Yor did so too although internally; as a professional, she remained stoic through it all.

Eric looked more closely at the picture. “Hey, wait a minute. That’s the son and daughter of Victor Vian, isn’t it?” Franky perked up at the name.

Yor nodded, deciding it was now safe to disclose the circumstances. “The Vian family is collapsing after an attack from their rivals, the Poulos family. Victor died in the attack, leaving behind a son and daughter who are at risk. I’ve been tasked with finding someone to help them escape.”

Eric was angered. “I’ve treated some of the Vians before, including these two as regular civilians. They’re clean. They have no ties to the family’s crimes yet they’re still being targeted?”

“I find it interesting that they’re choosing to go to Nordria,” Mira said. “It’s not exactly an Ostanian’s ideal vacation spot. There must be something valuable there, an important secret that these two know and that the Poulos don’t. A massive inheritance, perhaps?”

“I’m not aware of the reasons,” Yor responded. “All I know is they need our help.”

Mira nodded. “Very well. I’m already scheduled to be in touch with my contact soon, so I will inform them then. We can contact each other later through Eric, but if you don’t mind, I’d like to have my checkup with him first.”

Yor smiles. “I understand. Thank you, Mira.”

“Anything for one of Eric’s friends,” she said. “About time he made some new ones.” Franky chuckled.

Eric huffed at this as he set his bag of supplies beside the open trapdoor. “Anyway, it’s time for your checkup, madam.”

“Alright alright,” she said as she sat down over the trapdoor, allowing her legs to swing freely. “You know we don’t get to meet very often, there’s no need to rush this.”

“I mean if my checkups aren’t interesting enough for you,” he bantered as he kneeled down and got out some of his equipment.

“Well this one certainly is. I’ve been wanting to see some fresh faces for once,” she countered. Mira looked over at Franky and Yor, who were now just relegated to standing there. “Don’t be shy! Just because you’re clients of mine doesn’t mean you can’t join in.”

Franky and Yor looked at each other for a moment before they walked over and sat by the trapdoor.

“Now that’s better,” Mira said. “It’s really not too often that Eric brings anyone over.”

Eric looked at her. I wonder why that is?

“You know,” Franky began. “Eric told us you’d be happy to see us, but we’re still a little surprised. I’d figure getting too attached to people is dangerous for you.” Considering how most spies followed the “trust nobody” philosophy, he figured actual wanted fugitives must have it much worse.

“Yes, I understand,” Mira said. “It’s dangerous for me to trust anyone given where I’m from. But I didn’t stay alive and escape just so I could do nothing but survive. If there’s nobody I can call a real friend, well…” She sighed. “I may as well be dead.”

“Wow, I finally invited some people over and you give ‘em a downer like that?” Eric chuckled. “Besides, that’s a bit selfish, isn’t it? You’re still trying to change Nordria from here, right?”

“Ahh, my Nordrian pals in the government will be just fine without me. Sometimes it feels like the only reason they’re keeping me around is for sentimentality. A little reminder of our childhoods. I’m really just preventing them from doing their job — logically, there’s no reason for them to keep me alive anymore,” Mira said.

“Don’t say that!” Yor said, and everyone turned in surprise to see an impassioned look on her face.

“You care for each other, don’t you? What other reason do you need?” She remembered a time when Yuri accidentally hurt himself and she bandaged his wounds while he apologized profusely. Through tears, he asked if he was just being a burden to her.

“I’ll never get hurt again!” Yuri declared. “I’ll become so strong and I won’t be a burden anymore!”

Yor smiled as she embraced him. “You’ll never be a burden to me, Yuri.”

“Besides,” Yor continued. “You’re a person in danger, and that’s all that matters. No reason is necessary. Who would have the heart to leave you like that?” She looked at Eric. “Eric told me something. He said he became a doctor so everyone could be as far from the grave as they could be.” She looked back at Mira. “Stay alive for him. I can tell he cares for you, too.”

Mira looked at a smiling Eric and turned back to Yor. “Thank you for telling me that,” Mira said. “You don’t know how much it means to me, the comfort of other people, people like you. Deep down I think I already knew all the things you said are true, but it’s good to have someone else to confirm it, right?”

She looked at both Franky and Yor. “Look, I know both of you must think that trust is a dangerous thing for me. My lifestyle isn’t exactly a dream, but let me tell you. When you spend your days adhering to this rulebook that says you can’t truly trust anyone, and that you can’t get too attached to anyone… it makes it a hell of a lot more satisfying when you find people who just throw that book right out the window.”

Franky and Yor pondered on this as Eric blushed. “I’m very flattered tonight, guys. Seriously, I am.”

Mira laughed. “Don’t get full of yourself. I still haven’t shown you where I live.”

“How many more check ups until I get knowledge-of-a-fugitive’s-hideout privileges?” he asked playfully.

“If you can bring me more like this one, then maybe I’ll consider it,” she said.

“I’ll try…” Eric said. But as he finally reached into his bag to start the checkup, Yor’s eyes sharpened.

“Wait,” Yor said. She looked behind them, where her senses had been alert enough to detect noises coming from behind the warehouse’s door.

“Somebody’s here.”

Chapter Text

One day earlier, in Melinda’s car…

“Again, I’m really sorry about the baseball equipment,” Yor said, embarrassed and apologetic for the fourth time that day. “I didn’t mean to break all those bats... or send those baseballs into space...”

Melinda laughed. “Please Yor, I told you it’s fine! It doesn’t cost much to replace them and besides, you were amazing out there! We haven’t had such a huge victory in so long.”

Yor’s frown turned into a smile. “Thank you, Melinda.”

“We should be thanking you, you know…” Melinda’s expression then hardened to a more neutral look. “Oh, by the way, I wanted to tell you that our meeting the other day actually inspired me to buy a little gift for Damian.”

Yor perked up. “Oh, that’s amazing! What did you get?”

“Oh, it’s nothing big. He doesn’t like grand gestures. I just asked a friend to make a solid gold button pin with Vincent on it.”

“Vincent?” Yor inquired. The name sounded vaguely familiar, but she couldn’t place it.

“He’s the main character of Berlint in Love. Back when my son was a toddler, he was oddly enamored by the show whenever I would watch it on the television. I don’t think he understood any of it, but we would watch it together all the time. It was our little secret, back when I still…” She paused for a moment and frowned as she turned to look out the window.

“Anyway, I simply thought he would like it,” she said coldly, but Yor couldn’t tell. “Try not to tell your daughter about it. I’d like him to find out before she does.”

“That sounds wonderful!” Yor cheered. “I wonder if Anya would like a Spy Wars pin...”

“Yor,” Melinda said sharply, making Yor flinch. Seemingly realizing the tone she had used, Melinda relaxed and put on a smile with her next question. “How is your daughter getting along with my son? Are they still friends?”

“Hmm, I think so! She still talks about him a lot!” Yor exclaimed.

“I see…” Melinda said. “Yor, if I may ask… does your daughter trust you?”

Yor tilted her head. “Does she trust me?”

“Yes,” Melinda said with an incredibly miniscule hint of frustration once again undetected by Yor. “Does she still tell you secrets? Does she confide in you?”

“Hmm…” She stopped to think for a moment. “Well, she is just a child, so I’m not sure what she has to hide. She tells me all about her favorite shows and what happens at school! I really hope she isn’t afraid to tell me secrets…”

“I see.” Melinda gazed out the window again. “At some point in their lives, our kids learn to stop being so open, even with their parents. They learn that you need to be careful who you trust, especially in a family like mine. If your child is already guarded at such a young age, then they’re not exactly having a normal childhood, are they?”

Yor didn’t know how to respond to that. Melinda looked at her. “Anyway, my son and your daughter...” She then gave her the exact same statement she ended their first meeting with: “I do hope they can stay friends…”

Back in the present, in the abandoned warehouse…

“Somebody’s here,” Yor said.

Franky, Eric, and Mira all glanced towards the warehouse entrance, where they heard the unwelcome shuffling of footsteps.

What the hell? Did the Nordrian hitmen find us? Eric thought, and both he and Franky looked in Mira’s direction. As if she could read his mind, Mira shook her head and mouthed something out very clearly: [“No… we would not have even heard them.”]

Mira signaled them all to descend into the trapdoor. Both Franky and Eric carefully went in, but Yor remained firm watching the entrance. The two women shared a silent nod before Mira went down and gently closed the trapdoor.

Underground, Mira turned on a small light so they could see each other’s faces and mouthed something: [“Are we fine communicating like this?”]

Franky nodded. [“Yes, I’m trained for this.”]

Eric sighed silently. [“Sure, I can try.”]

After a few seconds, they heard the entrance swing open. Above ground, Yor was greeted by the sight of five men in coats, led by one tall, wiry young man. Yor steeled herself for immediate hostility.

“Hello young lady,” the leader began, unfazed by her daggers. “You haven’t happened to see a doctor named Eric around here, have you?” Underground, Eric froze.

Yor didn’t budge. “Who are you?”

The leader sighed. “Ahh, not the direct type I see. Well, that’s a shame.”

“Who are you?” she repeated.

The other four grunted, but the leader raised their hand to calm them down.

He chuckled. “Look, seeing as she’s in our way and is about to die anyway, I suppose it wouldn’t hurt... I guess I’ve been pretending to be such a friendly guy for so long that it’s rubbed off on me.”

Underground, Eric’s eyes widened. Wait, it can’t be…

The leader turned back to Yor, grinning. “We are Poulos family men, and we’re looking for a shitty doctor who left one of our men to die… We think he may be lying somewhere in this warehouse. Are we mistaken?”

Franky grabbed Eric by the shoulders. [“Did you let us get followed?!”]

[“OF COURSE NOT!”]

Mira held a hand in front of them to signal them to look at her. [“We can discuss this later.”]

Above ground, the leader continued. “Look, full disclosure lady, I personally didn’t wanna come here just to hunt some wimp in a white coat. Why, I spent a year working my ass off pretending to be some guy’s friend and now they have me down here doing grunt work. It’s a little demeaning, y’know?”

Yor’s eyes widened as she remembered what Shopkeeper told her about the Vian family’s collapse.

“Recently, their entire hierarchy has collapsed after one of their men closely befriended a man who turned out to be a mole from their rivals, the Poulos family.”

“You…” Yor began. “You’re the mole. You’re the one who destroyed the Vian family!”

The leader laughed. “Ohh man, that’s amazing. So I’m a celebrity now, huh? I’m the big bad mole who took down the Vians. ‘Mole’ — it’s got a nice ring to it, but y’know, that title never really appealed to me. I personally prefer to be called an actor… really highlights my talents. I mean I spent a whole year in an elaborate friendship scheme… not everyone can do that.” Franky winced underground.

“Is it true?” Yor asked. “One year? You spent a year pretending to be someone’s friend just so you could stab them in the back?”

The leader just stared blankly. “...Uhh, yeah, that sounds about right. But let me tell ya, one year putting on an act... I don’t know how I was able to do it. Just six days in, I think I wanted to stab the guy. But hey, I got used to it eventually. I was lucky to have some stress relief in the form of—”

“Did you really not care for him? Did you really just see him as a tool that entire time? He must have trusted you.” Her voice was tinged with anger and melancholy.

The other men once again grumbled impatiently, but to their dismay, the leader ignored them. “Yes, that man was just a tool to me. I’m loyal to my family, not some sentimental idiot who was clearly never fit for a mob family in the first place. He would always confide in me about how out of place he felt, how being in the mafia is so hard, and I had to grit my teeth and be his shoulder to cry on.”

He chuckled. “He told me way too much, lady. He told me about his dreams to do something beyond the family business. He told me about his crushes and how he dreamed about running away with them.” He made a gagging face. “As it turns out, these losers are the easiest to sucker in because they’ll latch onto anyone who even remotely appears to be their friend.”

Underground, Mira was deeply frustrated though unable to voice her concerns. Thankfully, though, Yor was able to say it for her. “You’re disgusting.”

The leader laughed again. “You know, you can hate me all you want, but just know this: Just because he trusted me didn’t mean he had to tell me everything. There’s being trusting and there’s being naive. Lucky for me it was the latter.”

Yor no longer dignified him with a response, instead assuming a fighting position with her daggers raised. The men understood immediately. Finally, the other four thought in unison.

The leader gave a thumbs up and stood back as the other four men took out their guns.

Yor had faced situations far more dangerous than just four men with pistols; to have just so few men concentrated at the entryway was too easy for her. She rushed into the wall of bullets, dodging every single one with ease. Before the four men had time to spread out, she had already reached them, and with a deft pivot from left to right, she sliced their necks.

From the underground, Franky, Eric, and Mira heard nothing but gunfire and heavy thuds. At the fourth thud, the gunfire stopped completely, only to be replaced by the leader’s laugh.

“You’re good, lady,” the leader said, grinning. “I can’t believe I actually needed to take this out.” He took out a dagger of his own as he and Yor faced each other.

Yor immediately took the offensive as the leader held his ground. She took several rapid swings at the leader, who dodged and parried every single one, taking advantage of his nimble frame that allowed him to dance around her even as she engaged in a relentless onslaught. He kept leaping back to give himself more space to move, but Yor kept up with him each time.

“I’ve been running all my life, lady! Keep it coming!”

As Yor continued her rapid attack, she realized he hasn’t even tried to take a swing at her. He’s trying to exhaust me. It’s possible the only way to hit him is…

She continued swinging but progressively slowed down, teasing him with a more measured approach. At one point, however, she whiffed his dagger, permitting him an opportunity to cut… the hem of her dress. In return, she lightly grazed his leg as he immediately returned to his evasive routine. He didn’t try to hit me again… he really is trying to wear me down.

She conserved her energy by stopping her rapid-fire approach entirely, instead making a few labored, but powerful swings every second. The leader stopped moving around and skillfully parried each one as the fight concentrated itself in one corner of the warehouse. He sliced another hem of Yor’s dress, but in her counterattack she completely missed his leg. She parried his strike and leapt back in retreat, reverting them back to the previous parry routine.

You’re patient, Yor thought. Patient enough to spend a year faking your appreciation for a man. But when you see the end in sight, you get reckless, don’t you?

The man’s eyes were bloodshot, as if eager to finally finish this battle, this job that he insisted to her that he’s above doing. As the fight went on, Yor found herself taking the defensive routine against his wild swings. With one dagger against two, she still held an advantage, but she made it look as if she was getting worn down with each blow.

Eventually, the leader came close enough to almost slice her neck… and then she sliced his legs, summoning a brief shriek of pain. In this eternal few seconds where he couldn’t fight back, she smacked the dagger clean out of his hand and into the distance before he fell. His back fell on top of the outstretched arms of one of his slaughtered comrades.

Oh yeah, I forgot the corpses were there… Yor thought. Lying down on top of his fallen friend, he was now at her mercy. She often exterminated traitors to Ostania, but this was a different, arguably far worse kind of traitor.

“Traitorous scum… may I have the honor of taking your life?” Yor said.

The leader had enough dignity to know that it was over, but also enough dignity to desire one last thing. “I have a name.”

Yor remained silent. Given that this was a protective job, the details of her victims did not concern her nearly as much.

The leader closed his eyes and smiled. “My name is—”

He did not finish.

One week ago, in the Vian family home…

Arturo Vian’s room was a cluster of white, nursing an endless orphanage of papers strewn about the floor and haphazardly pinned on the wall. He was feverishly drafting up yet another one of his plans at his desk when he heard a knock on the door.

“It’s me!” a familiar voice yelled. It was none other than his best friend.

“Come in!” Arturo said.

His friend opened the door and greeted him with a big smile. “Hey man, where have you been? Your dad’s been waiting for you.” He glanced around the room. Somehow, this looks better than it did one week ago.

“Oh right!” Arturo stood up and smacked his forehead. “The party tonight! I’m sorry, but I don’t think I can make it. I’ve been coming up with plans to expand my business.”

His friend raised an eyebrow. “Really, you’re actually gonna try that?” He looked down for a moment. “I know I was the one who suggested it, but…”

Arturo shook his head like a dog shakes off fleas. “No, that was your greatest idea yet, if I must be honest. I mean, I know it’s technically just for the family business but everybody loves us! I even managed to hire a few friends outside of our family to help manage it for us. I think we can really expand our franchise into something big.”

“Our?” his friend asked.

Arturo laughed. “Of course, our! It would be dishonorable of me to not let you have some stake in the company!”

“Right,” his friend said as he nodded. “So I guess you’ll be too busy to come to your uncle’s party?”

Arturo sighed. “Yeah, I suppose. But Uncle Victor will live a long life; he’ll have more birthdays! I need to capitalize on this business as soon as I can! He and my father will understand.” He paused and turned forlorn. “Well, they won’t understand immediately. But in time, they’ll know this is what’s best for me.”

His friend looked down. “Well that’s a damn shame.” He suddenly turned cold as he took out a pistol with a silencer and pointed it right at Arturo.

“I guess I’ll have to kill you here then,” he said.

Arturo’s eyes widened. “What are you doing…” He spoke his friend’s name.

His friend shook his head and took on a tone of voice he hadn’t heard before. “That’s not my name. And I’m not your friend.”

“No!” a quivering Arturo said. “I don’t believe you!”

His friend laughed. “What, you need me to spell it out for you? Here’s the deal: Your uncle, your father, and your brothers are all dying tonight, and you’re going with them.”

“But… our business!”

“I don’t care about your damn business!” his friend yelled. “In case you couldn’t tell, I was pretending to be your friend. And you made it really damn hard, I have to say. This right now is the easy part.” Killing you here isn’t part of the plan, but damn it I’m tired of you. I don’t think my bosses’ll mind if I disobey their orders just a little bit.

Arturo stared into his eyes. “I… I don’t believe you. You really did help me… you helped me realize I was more than just my family name.”

“Well, you’re not. If the survivors can even arrange a funeral, they might just remember you last as the spineless runt who wasn’t fit for the family business and fell for some smooth talker like me. That’s all your name will ever amount to.”

Arturo remained stone-faced. “Listen... I’m going to die tonight, and that’s fine. I already trust the managers I recruited to take up the mantle for me... but I know you meant every word you said to me in all of our talks. I find it hard to believe that any of that was just an act.”

His friend turned indignant. “Well believe it! You’re in a family of gangsters, damn it! Didn’t they teach you that you need to be careful who you trust?”

“Of course they did,” Arturo responded. “But it doesn’t mean I have to treat everyone like they’re out to get me. And besides, I never would’ve started this amazing business without you.”

“And look where you are now. And just so you know, my real name is…”

At last, his friend told him his real name.

Arturo shook his head. “I don’t know that name… if my best friend isn’t really here, then you can kill me now.”

As darkly inviting as those words were, his friend knew those were pleading eyes. A last appeal to their supposed “friendship” to come and save him. He couldn’t believe he was still bargaining on something he was sure was never there in the first place.

“Gladly,” he said, and Arturo saw nothing but white.

One week later, when his friend closed his eyes to die at the hands of an assassin, his very last thoughts were those pleading eyes.

Back in the present day, in a WISE Safehouse…

“Hello, Agent Twilight… or should I say, good evening?” a seated Sylvia greeted Twilight. Behind her stood a bulletin board bearing several pictures of Poulos family members.

“Hi, Handler,” Twilight returned as he took a seat. “I suppose this is the briefing regarding the Poulos mission?”

Sylvia nodded. “Correct. We will be commencing our plan to arrest them in three days, so we need all agents on this case on the same page. Agent Nightfall just completed her final investigation.”

She crossed her arms. “But first…” Her eyes narrowed. “We need to talk about the barbeque place.”

Twilight sighed as he closed his eyes and looked down in embarrassment. “Did Franky really try to make a case with you earlier today?”

“Indeed he did,” she said flatly. “I have to admit, as much as I wanted to admonish him for pulling this stunt while not even being a WISE agent, I admired his audacity. And I was wondering what to eat at the time, so I tried the place out, after undergoing the necessary precautions to make sure it wasn’t a trap, of course. And I must say…”

She paused, and then she spoke in the most carefully professional tone possible while saying, “...it is imperative that we save this restaurant to preserve the stability of our country.”

Twilight’s jaw dropped. “...What?”

“You heard me right,” Sylvia continued in a firm, measured tone. “This food is simply too good. If such a beloved restaurant shuts down, many people will become disgruntled, and when people are disgruntled, there is a chance some of them may become terrorists. That is my assessment.”

Twilight wondered how she could possibly convince upper management with an argument like that, but yet Handler looked so gravely serious as usual that he didn’t dare challenge her. At this point, he was legitimately considering the possibility that they put some magic spell in the barbeque.

Sylvia continued. “That being said, your asset was correct in saying that we would need to help the Vians transition to honest work in the restaurant industry. It does us no good to endorse a criminal enterprise, even if they’re on their last legs right now anyway. On the bright side, though, it seems that the restaurant’s current upper management is mostly staffed by people previously unaffiliated with the family’s criminal activities anyway.”

Twilight nodded, though he was still disoriented. All this just for some really good barbeque? It’s truly your lucky day, Franky…

“By the way,” Sylvia said. “How are you getting along with your asset, Franky? Is he cooperating? Are you compensating him appropriately?”

Twilight grunted. “Franky can be a little agitating sometimes, but we’re cooperating just fine. He babysits my daughter frequently and I pay him well, as he constantly reminds me to.”

Sylvia nodded. “That’s good. Just remember, Twilight… he’s an asset. Be as friendly and cooperative as you need to be, but you should never get too close.”

“Of course.” Twilight easily understood, having been drilled into the importance of forgoing close attachments from the very start.

“You should know, by the way, that Agent Nightfall recently discovered how the Poulos family managed to take down the Vians. About a year ago, they planted a mole in their ranks who closely befriended some of the Vians. One of their men leaked a top secret, and with that information they were able to destroy their entire infrastructure overnight,” Sylvia said.

She pointed to a picture of a man on the board. “This is the mole, and according to our intel, he’s an orphan who escaped from an abusive home. He was scouted out by the Poulos family for this mission, where they trained him to be a very good actor. If not for them finding him first, we could’ve recruited him as a spy.”

Sylvia crossed her arms again. “Anyway, I’m sure you don’t need a reminder, but men like these are exactly why we must trust no one. Not your asset. Not even your family for Operation Strix. They may not be trying to betray you directly, but you never know who else they might be in contact with.”

At the mention of Strix, Twilight remembered Anya and her attachment to Damian. “By the way… after Operation Strix is over, what will become of the Desmond family exactly? I’m aware it’s for the mission, but my daughter seems to be attached to the second son. It is very likely that a consequence of Strix’s success will involve the entire Desmond family getting hurt. Do we have a plan to help them recover, like you’re currently formulating with the Vians?”

Sylvia thought for a moment. “Given that the stakes were as high as a potential war when we formulated Strix, we didn’t really think that far ahead. I’ll see what we can do, but it’s not a major priority, especially seeing as Strix isn’t even close to completion yet?” She picked up a menacing tone with those last words, making Twilight’s stoic expression waver a little.

“We are making progress, especially with the new potential avenue of attack unlocked through Melinda,” Twilight said.

“I see.” Sylvia wasn’t entirely satisfied, but she accepted the answer for now. “I suppose we should go over the attack plan for the Poulos… but I understand you’re probably tired from this investigation. If you would like, we can take a break for dinner.”

Twilight was once again shocked that the Fullmetal Lady was being so accommodating, but given that he really was exhausted after yet another day of missions, he certainly didn’t feel inclined to protest. Then he realized something. “Wait, dinner… Did you…?”

“Yes, I did,” Sylvia said. From beneath her desk, she brought out two pairs of utensils and two takeout boxes bearing the name of Franky’s (and now Sylvia’s) favorite barbeque place…

-Arturo’s BBQ-

“Of course,” Twilight said. He gladly took one box and a pair of utensils and dug in.

Before she opened her box, Sylvia spoke again. “Just know I don’t plan on doing this often. I merely noticed that everyone’s been a little overworked for the past few days.”

That is an understatement, Twilight thought, attributing her strange newfound hospitality to whatever magic charms they put in the barbeque. If these chefs could impress the Fullmetal Lady quite this much, then perhaps they really were necessary to preserve the stability of the country after all.

As he dug into the barbeque, he thought about Franky, acknowledging that he may be closer to Franky than he feels he should be. The man seemed oddly comfortable with the idea of trying to persuade his boss about a barbeque store of all things, almost as if his closeness with Twilight would’ve been a safety net. I certainly wouldn’t have helped him if he came crying with a head wound after trying to talk to Handler…

He started to wonder if he should’ve ever helped him with the Monica girl; that was clearly a lost cause from the very start. But Loid pondered on that moment in the bar following his probably horrific failure.

“Dammit, Loid! I am gonna get so drunk on your tab today!” Franky yelled.

“I’ll join you,” Loid said.

He knew he couldn’t get drunk, and logically speaking, going with Anya and Yor to the park as planned would’ve been more beneficial as a relationship building event for Operation Strix. And it’s not like his relationship with his asset, who had already agreed to do his next job free of charge, was in much danger. Should I really have sat with him that day?

He paused.

It was just a formality, he thought, and he left it at that.

Chapter Text

In the warehouse…

A deafening silence hit the warehouse’s underground bunker when Franky, Eric, and Mira heard the leader’s last breath and the thud of his body. They could hear Yor’s footsteps getting further away, presumably to check if there was anyone else to worry about.

Eric, who couldn’t really get the hang of mouthing words, elected to start whispering. “Franky… how are you working with a lady as strong as that?!”

“I’m just as surprised as you are, man,” Franky said. “That was my first time seeing… well, hearing her in action.”

Mira quietly chuckled. “Looks like my gut instinct was right. She didn’t need my help after all.” From underneath her clothes, she whipped out two guns, surprising Franky and Eric.

“You had those the entire time?!” Franky whisper-yelled.

“Did you think I was gonna walk around as a fugitive without weapons?” Mira scoffed. “Anyway, judging from all the slices we heard, there were five men. But she took them out so quickly that I’m guessing if I tried to help her, I might’ve actually gotten in her way.”

As she finished saying that, they heard her voice from above ground.

“There’s nobody else!” Yor called out. “You can come out now.”

Franky opened the trapdoor and they all climbed out to see a completely unscathed Yor standing beside five corpses collapsed on the ground. Despite the earlier incident where Yor threatened him with a dagger to his neck, Franky was still stunned to actually witness such a grisly scene caused by Yor Forger of all people.

“Are you guys alright?” she asked with the same exact warm hospitality he had come to expect from her, untainted by the dead nearby.

Franky and Eric barely squeaked out a “Yeah” as Mira nodded firmly.

She smiled. “Good… but this place is compromised now. We need to go somewhere else.”

Her professionalism quickly snapped Franky back to relative normalcy. “I know a safehouse nearby. We can go there to sort things out.”

“What about the bodies?” Eric asked.

“I can clean them up later. We should put them underground for now,” Yor said.

They nodded, although they hesitated as the thought of handling dead bodies wasn’t really the most appealing thing, but then Yor said something. “Step aside from the trapdoor.”

The three did as she said, a little confused… and then Yor just went over to each body and tossed them all the way into the open trapdoor as if they were footballs. It wasn’t exactly the usual job, so being professional wasn’t of the utmost importance to her right now. Despite being a melee fighter, she didn’t miss a single toss. Wow, my time with the Lady Patriots Society has really improved my aim!

Franky, Eric, and even Mira just blankly stared. After a period of silence, Eric turned to Franky and whispered, “Franky, I’m never cutting your cheek again.” She would absolutely kill me.

Nordrian hitmen might’ve actually lost… Mira thought.

Franky blinked. I really need to make sure she never meets Twilight in the wrong circumstances…

“Franky, can you lead us to the safehouse?” Yor asked innocuously as she closed the trapdoor.

Despite her soft tone, both Franky and Eric still scrambled as if a military officer just called them to attention. “U-um, yes ma’am!” Franky said as he started leading them out.

Yor was puzzled. Why is he calling me ma’am now?

Mira stifled a laugh.

In WISE Safehouse ██...

Franky welcomed the others into a WISE safehouse, though this one wasn’t as big and full of important private assets as their usual safehouse. It served as more of an emergency shelter just in case agents nearby needed it, so clearance wasn’t as strict and assets like Franky could use it. After going through an empty hallway, they entered a living room-esque space that was actually similar to a typical household; it almost resembled the Forger home, but significantly more austere.

Franky looked at Eric and Mira. “You guys can stay here to finish your checkup. There aren’t any cameras in this one, but just in case I’ll be here to make sure someone authorized is in here and my client...” He pointed to Yor. “...can keep us safe in case anything else happens.”

“Is there any way I can stay overnight?” Eric asked, and then he paused. “Or maybe even forever? I’m probably a number one target for the Poulos now.”

Franky thought about how to handle this. “Okay, here’s what we’ll do for tonight. Eric, Mira, and I will stay here for the night.”

Then Franky looked at Yor. “You need to get back home, and I think you know why.” Yor nodded.

“Hold on,” Mira said. “You’re all wonderful, but I assume this safehouse belongs to an organization, and I can’t think of many who would be very happy to harbor a Nordrian fugitive. I’ll be heading out to my own place after we’re done with the checkup. They’re out for Eric; they haven’t even seen Franky’s face or mine.”

“Will you be safe out there?” Eric asked.

Mira scoffed, gesturing at the guns she hid underneath. “Of course. And besides, I’d like to bring this lady along with me.” Both Yor and Eric were surprised. “After all, you do need me alive for your mission, right?”

“Don’t you keep your home a secret, even from Eric?” Yor asked as Eric tried his best to hide his jealousy.

“I’m not bringing you all the way there. But it may or may not be quite a distance from here and, well, I would like some company,” Mira said warmly.

Yor smiled. “I’d love to, Mira.”

Franky continued laying down the plan. “Alright, so I guess it’s just Eric and me here. I’ll try to call a friend of mine to keep us safe and explain the situation.” Nightfall had likely just finished her final investigation into the Poulos case and should be somewhere close by. Thinking about her reminded him of something.

“By the way, about staying here forever… you might not have to worry about that.” Franky knew his next words were quite confidential, but frankly there was nobody in the room he really distrusted at the moment. “The guys who own this place… they have a big plan to arrest the Poulos family in a few days. They can put you in witness protection until then.”

Eric was relieved. “Oh, that’s good to hear.”

“There’s something else I wanted to ask about,” Mira began in a tone quieter than usual as she turned to Eric. “You keep telling me in your little stories about how you’re the most reliable underground doctor around with a 100% success rate.” Her eyes narrowed. “Earlier, when that man said you left one of your patients to die… What was that about? Was it true?”

Eric gulped. “I mean… I may have exaggerated that 100% statistic a litt—”

“I’m serious,” Mira demanded. “I want to know.” Her eyes were a mix of anger and worry.

Eric sighed. “Ok, I’ll tell you.” He paused. “One night, one of the Poulos men got very badly injured by a sloppy hitman who let him get away. He was bleeding out fast and wasn’t close to the usual facilities, but he knew I was around. So I helped him out, but then he said something…”

“Thank you so much,” the horribly damaged man on the operating table fought to merely say, gasping between each word.

“Don’t mention it,” Eric said as he started to get his medical equipment out. “I’m here to help.”

“Thank you…” the man said again, a little weaker.

And then he said a name.

Eric’s eyes widened. “What did you just say?”

The man barely had much energy left to muster, but he had enough to smile. “I remember you. You’re the doctor who saved my life in the war. You look different, but… how could I forget your name?”

Eric explained all of this to Franky and Yor. “I told you guys I made a lot of good friends who moved here in peacetime. In truth, there was an attack on the medical camp near the end of the war that killed them all. I took advantage of it and changed my name before moving here. It was the best way to make sure the government wouldn’t come for me. Mira already knew the truth, but I couldn’t resist making myself sound better to you two.” Franky sighed. He knew Eric had a penchant for exaggeration, but he didn’t think it would be this bad.

He turned back to Mira. “When he said my former name, I…” He looked down in shame. “I panicked at the thought of one loose end that could possibly hurt us. I didn’t stab him or anything, but he was bleeding out very fast. Just a few seconds of paralyzed inaction on my part was enough to do it.”

Mira closed her eyes and shook her head. “You idiot,” she said with venom, but she did understand a little bit given what she was. Franky looked down, also empathizing a little given that his name was merely an alias as well. I don’t know what I’d do if someone who knew my old name came up to me out of the blue... he thought.

Eric continued. “If I just had more time I think I would’ve snapped myself out of it but… I didn’t.”

Yor, meanwhile, was very disappointed. “So all that you said earlier tonight about adhering to a code… you didn’t even do it yourself?”

For someone he only knew for a few hours, Eric was genuinely crushed by her question. “I’m really sorry, lady.”

Yor then realized how pointless it was to keep her name a secret anymore. “Yor,” she said. “My name is Yor.” Franky was surprised, but he didn’t protest.

Mira smiled. “Hello, Yor. It’s nice to meet you.”

While still a little hurt, Eric chuckled a bit. “Sorry, Yor.”

“Promise me something, Eric,” Yor began as she recalled his words from earlier. “From now on, keep your oath. Never turn anyone down. Even if it’s someone I fought who managed to get away. Do not hesitate ever again. Understand?” She picked up a steely menace with that last word.

Eric was once again stunned (and deeply afraid). “Yor, I promise I will never make a mistake like that ever again,” he said with resolve.

“Good,” Yor said, softening up.

“You better not,” Mira said. “You know it’ll be a pain in the ass finding another doctor.”

“Speaking of which… I guess we should get started with the checkup now. Are there any private rooms here?” Eric asked Franky.

“Oh yeah,” Franky said, pointing to the hallway. “You can go to any of the rooms there.”

“Thanks,” Eric said. “Will you come with me, my lady?”

“Don’t talk to me like that. You’re not off the hook just yet…” She turned to Yor. “Anyway, we can talk about this later, but just to remind you, I’ll be in touch with my contact in a few days so we can get your documents. I’ll make sure to fast-track it as much as I can… I owe you that much, Yor. Thank you for protecting us.”

Yor beamed, overwhelmed by a similar wash of pride to when she saved Olka Gretcher and her son. “Of course! It was my pleasure.”

They nodded and smiled at her once more before going to the hallway, leaving Franky and Yor in the faux-living room together.

Franky turned to Yor. “Remember when I said I had a lot of questions for you?”

Putting on a serious face, Yor nodded.

“I think it’s time for us to talk,” Franky said.

Earlier that day, at Eden Academy…

An indignant Damian stomped through the hallway. I can’t believe I ever thought that runt would be able to keep a secret! Now she’s told her stupid friend and now she’s gonna let the whole school know…

At this thought, Damian noticed Becky running behind him. Oh great, it’s her.

She stopped and pointed at him. “Hey! What is wrong with you?! You hurt Anya!”

Damian turned around to face her, and she witnessed a face more infuriated than usual. “What’s wrong with me?! That runt kept bugging me earlier to tell her a secret! But she can’t even do that! I just know she told you! And now you’re gonna tell the entire school, right?”

She could detect an actual degree of concern in his voice. “I promise I won’t! And I swear Anya didn’t tell me! I just figured it out myself!”

Damian scoffed. “As if I would believe you… but even if I did, it’s that idiot’s fault for letting you figure it out anyway. You saw the pin, right?”

“Yes I did,” Becky affirmed. “But it’s nothing to be ashamed of, Damian! It’s one of the greatest shows on television!” Suddenly, her concerned frown curled up into a smirk. “You know, I’ve been wanting to talk about the show with other fans for so long, and—”

“I don’t like that show!” a flushed Damian yelled. “I-It was just a stupid gift! Nothing more!”

“Oh believe me, I know a fan when I see one, Damian,” Becky said mischievously. “Let me guess… you’re interested in where the Lisa arc is going, right?”

Damian twitched. “SHUT UP! I DON’T CARE ABOUT ANY OF THAT!” I haven’t even caught up with the Lisa arc! Who even is Lisa?!

Becky raised her hands in a faux-surrender, still smirking. “Alright, I’ll wait until you’re finally done lying to yourself…” Then she turned firm as she raised up her right finger. “BUT. You need to apologize to Anya now!”

“NEVER!” Damian growled.

Suddenly, Master Henderson emerged from behind the corridor, having been unwillingly towed in by the truckload of excess noise. “What is happening here?”

Right away, Becky and Damian pointed at each other and started yelling over each other at the same time in an incomprehensive tornado of words.

“Damian is—”

“—her little runt friend—”

“—he won’t admit—”

“—told her everything—”

“—keeps calling her runt—”

“—a show that I DO NOT like—”

“ENOUGH!” Henderson shouted, silencing the two in an instant. He looked at the more composed Becky. “Miss Blackbell, please explain the situation.”

Damian seethed as Becky began her side. “Damian told Anya a secret and she promised she would keep it. Then she talked to me and she didn’t tell me anything at all, but I managed to figure it out myself. But then Damian found out and he insulted Anya and made her feel sad but she didn’t do anything! It was all my fault!”

“I see,” Henderson said. “Secrets are precious. They are not to be treated lightly... but it seems Miss Forger hasn’t truly broken her promise.”

“You’re lying!” Damian said. “She was writing about the show in her notebook and she showed you the pin and everything!”

“She just wanted to learn more about the show so she could understand your secret more!” Becky insisted. “You need to apologize to Anya!”

Henderson sighed as he realized what this “secret” really was. Is this what the younger generation considers to be worrisome these days? Liking some silly TV show?

“I’ll say it again: I am NOT apologizing to that runt!” Damian declared once more.

Becky was more irritated than ever by his name calling. “Hey, she has a name you know! It’s Anya!”

“She is correct, Mr. Desmond,” Henderson said. “Real names are a vital part of one’s identity. It is most inelegant to dismiss them.”

Angered, Damian raised a counterpoint. “If that’s true, then can she at least stop calling me ‘Sy-on boy’?!”

“There is a difference between mocking names and lovey-dovey nicknames!” Becky said.

For the briefest moment, Damian blushed at the phrase “lovey-dovey nicknames” but quickly turned spiteful again as he relented. “Fine! I am NOT apologizing to Anya! Are you happy now?!”

Becky crossed her arms. “No, because you’re not apologizing!”

“I’ve had enough of this!” Damian stormed off. Henderson started to speak, but Becky gestured at him to not do anything.

“Don’t worry, Mr. Henderson. He’ll come around,” she assured him.

Henderson couldn’t believe he was dealing with such a crass group of students all worked up over a television series of all things. But given the gravity (or lack thereof) of the situation, he thought it best for the kids to work it out themselves.

“Miss Blackbell, may I trust that you can handle this situation without causing further trouble?” he asked her.

Becky nodded “Yes, sir! But for now, I have to go to Anya. She needs me.” She walked off with resolve.

As he watched her walk off, Henderson was quietly impressed. Miss Blackbell, you are a most admirable student, attempting to bridge the gap between Ms. Forger and Mr. Desmond. I shall see where this goes next...

Chapter Text

In WISE Safehouse ██...

Franky and Yor seated themselves at a table similar to the one in the Forgers’ apartment. It was finally time for them to talk.

Given that Franky wasn’t even able to find any intel even remotely pointing to her assassin work, he was curious about just how deep the profession ran in her blood. “How long have you been… an assassin?”

“Since I was a child,” Yor said. “My brother Yuri and I were orphaned after… after our parents died in the war. We didn’t have much money, so I found a job as a hitman. I was very good at it and it paid well, so I took it.”

Franky was amazed but also a little infuriated, not at Yor but at the war he so vehemently opposed for forcing them into such a desperate situation; he suppressed his anger. “And you haven’t told anyone?” Not even Yuri?” he asked.

“Of course not! I…” She turned wistful. “I know he cares for me, but I have no idea what he would think. But there was one time…”

Many years ago…

A teenaged Yor had finally returned home after a very grueling and stressful coercion-based mission. That man was so unpleasant… I hate having to hear the scum talk more than they should…

As she closed the door, she was surprised to see a drowsy Yuri sitting on their new couch, seemingly having waited all night. “S-sis!” he said in a half-awake voice. “I wa… I wuz worried sick!!”

Yor put on a comforting smile. “It’s okay, Yuri! I just got lost in the mountains again!” It was the seventh time she used that excuse this month, but it’s not like Yuri believed it any less.

Yuri tried to show frustration and concern, but his exhaustion stifled every attempt. “Nawww… I keep… I keep tellin’ yuh… you gotta go… east… and don’t… don’t go near the water…”

Yor sat herself on the couch and propped him up. “Trust me. I’m fine, Yuri.” She then noticed he was holding a yellow-green children’s book called The Sounds of a Pet and picked it up.

“Did you want me to read this to you?” she asked.

“Mmmmmmmmm yuh…” Yuri slurred as he softly nodded.

“Okay,” she whispered. He tried saying something else, but Yor hushed him.

“Don’t talk...”

Yuri put his head on her shoulder as she opened the book. She was about to start reading, but something from her mission still nagged at her.

Coercion-based missions were always difficult for her because they involved allowing the subject to talk before killing them (usually), and the things they said were often meant to rile her up and cut her deep.

The man she killed tonight kept taunting her for being a teenaged murderer, for already having her purity tarnished by people who split the world so callously into heroes and villains. She wanted to silence him so badly, but she had to hold it in so he could give her a crucial bit of information to make sure his organization couldn’t continue causing harm.

It wasn’t until the very end that her fierce hatred culminated in a killing slice that was sloppier and more aggressive than usual, almost causing her to faint from the stress and anger. It was the first time she needed a checkup from one of Garden’s private doctors, the first time she talked to doctors in general about her job.

They weren’t exactly therapists, but they were surprisingly comforting for people working on the complete opposite side of her profession. They assured her that her work was invaluable, especially tonight, saying that if that terrorist was still allowed to live, many innocent people would’ve died at the hands of his organization.

She was cleared as soon as she was confirmed to be safe, leaving her a little delirious from the experience. In her delirium, she had a strange idea.

“Yuri… I need to tell you something,” she said.

“What… what is it, sis?” Yuri said softly.

Yor took a deep breath. “I’m an assassin, Yuri. I kill people. Evil, nasty people. But I do it so I can protect you. To protect everyone. I… I know it’s a dirty job. I-I know you’re probably scared of me now. But I promise that I just want to keep you safe, to make sure you keep smiling. Please…” Her eyes started to well up. “Please don’t ha—”

Yuri let out a loud snore. To Yor’s surprise, he had already been fast asleep before he could’ve heard anything. She breathed a sigh of relief. What had gotten into her? She knew she couldn’t tell anyone about her job, not even Yuri.

Smiling, she let him lie down and whispered in his ear. “Sleep tight, little Yuri.”

The next morning, he would tell Yor about last night’s dream where she saved him from an evil monster.

Back in the present…

“That was the closest I’d ever come to telling him, to telling anyone, about my job,” Yor concluded. Franky didn’t know what to say.

“Franky, are you… are you afraid of me?” I understand if you are.

After gathering himself for a few seconds, Franky finally spoke. “Well, I will admit that seeing you hold a knife to my throat later followed by five corpses you were responsible for did… unsettle me a little.”

Yor looked down, afraid he was about to announce his disdain for her. It’s not like she had a reference point for this, but it seemed like the most logical next step in her mind.

Franky’s face relaxed. “Honestly, I wasn’t sure I could trust you at first… but I can tell you meant all those things you said to me and Eric and Mira. I can tell you’re not pretending, that you really do believe in protecting us. And I can’t forget everything you’ve done for Anya and for Loid. You might be an assassin, but damn it you’re so much kinder than half the people I know.”

Yor beamed. She had feared what would happen if anybody found out about her job, and now it was not only happening, but it was turning out much better than she had ever expected. Her eyes welled up in tears. “Thank you, Franky. After all you’ve seen me do, you still believe in me. You don’t know how much that means to me.”

“Believe me,” Franky said. “I wish that half of the people I worked with were as nice as you are. As you can see…” He pointed at Eric’s bandage on his cheek. “They can be a little ruthless,” he joked.

Yor chuckled. “By the way… Loid told me something when we were first getting to know each other…” She reminisced out loud.

“To endure such a harsh job… for the sake of another, for the sake of something greater than oneself… I truly admire that,” Loid said with a proud smile. Later that night, Yor would guess he’s the only person who could accept her as she is now.

“I’m not ready to tell Loid, so please don’t tell him. But… I think you’ve known him for longer than I have. Do you really think he would understand?” she asked.

Franky wasn’t sure what to say. Given proper time and explanation, Loid Forger would definitely come to understand, but how about Twilight, who would logically see her as a potential risk to his mission? After some time for deliberation, he finally came up with an answer. “I think he would understand. Better than you’d think, really. But I understand if you don’t want to tell him, in fact I would wait, too.” I have no damn clue what WISE would make of this…

Yor nodded. “I get it. Besides, I would have to let my boss know before I can tell him, and I have a feeling he won’t be okay with it…”

At the reminder of Yor’s place of employment, Franky remembered something. “Oh yeah… There was a phrase that you used earlier, what was it? You said you ‘weed out’ evildoers, right?”

“Mhm,” Yor affirmed.

He paused as he considered the audacity of his next question, but he knew it made sense. The ‘weed out’ phrasing, the daggers, the black dress, the insane strength… it all had echoes of an infamous name.

“You’re Garden’s Thorn Princess, aren’t you?”

A chill ran down Yor’s spine. Although she was content with Franky knowing the basics of her secret, this strangely unsettled her, even if it was rather obvious.

“I…” she hesitated. “Yes, I am.”

Franky sighed. “I’m not mad, just… surprised. You guys are a real enigma, you know? I know a hell of a lot about the underworld, but even I have nothing on Garden. You’re still hardly anything more than a rumor. I don’t even know exactly what you are, a group of assassins or something greater?”

Yor remained silent; this was far beyond the scope of the mission, and if not for them already being friends, she might’ve threatened him to stop asking questions by now.

Franky expected that lack of an answer. “Alright, I get it. Overstepping my boundaries and all. But if I could just ask… can you promise me that you guys really investigate your enemies before you decide they have to die?” Some of my contacts died, supposedly thanks to you guys. I hope it’s nothing more than a rumor.

Yor nodded. “I always make sure to know as much as possible about my victims to avoid killing the wrong person. And to give them some dignity.”

“I see,” Franky said. Her statement wasn’t a total glimpse into the decision process, and it also suggested that she was basically just a foot soldier at most, but it was enough for now.

Now he knew he was throwing around his weight far too recklessly as a third party asset to WISE and now Garden, yet he also knew two things: that he needed to take this next risk for Loid’s sake, and that Yor of all people would be the likeliest to understand.

“I won’t press you any further, but you need to know something…” Franky began.

“You know the friends I mentioned earlier who are planning to arrest the Poulos soon? That’s an agency I work with. An agency of spies. And contrary to what everyone says, they’re actually trying to prevent war, to keep the peace. I know you said you weed out evildoers, but I’m afraid in a country as paranoid as this, that could very well include some perfectly innocent friends of mine. Anyway, I’m not saying we have to do it right now, but I think it would be beneficial for both of our groups if we could partner up, or at least acknowledge each other. To make sure neither of us accidentally hurt each other. Please.”

Franky thought of his fellow informants whose deaths were rumored to be at the hands of Garden, as well as a brief dark fantasy where he envisioned Twilight disguising himself as someone targeted by Garden. He also knew this would be the best gateway for making sure that if Loid and Yor ever find out about their secrets, it won’t be while they’re pointing weapons at each other.

Yor didn’t know what to say, shocked to see such a gravely concerned side of Franky. While she admired his audacity, she was nervous about Shopkeeper’s reaction, given that he’ll be very suspicious of a man who works with a spy agency claiming they need to work together. But in spite of the stigma surrounding spies, Yor believed Franky. She trusted him.

“I’ll try,” Yor finally said. “I promise.”

“Thank you.” Franky smiled, and then he came up with an idea. “By the way, if this mission is any evidence, you guys aren’t really on the side of the Poulos family, right? You know how I told you this organization is planning to arrest all the Poulos men in a few days? When your boss turns on the TV and sees all of them in handcuffs… tell ‘em a group called WISE was behind it. Just so you know we’re serious.”

There it was. The name. Sylvia would have him locked up if she ever found out about these past few minutes.

Yor understood immediately. “Got it.”

Franky was satisfied but also acutely aware of the specter of the mole they killed still hanging over them. “Yor, can I ask you something? I know this is insane to ask after everything I just said, but… why do you trust me? You just killed a man who spent a year pretending to be a guy’s friend. I’d think you’d be a little more paranoid.”

Yor sighed. “I don’t know what exactly that man did. All I know is you, Franky. You’re a good friend to Loid, and now you’re being such a good friend to me. You care for Bond like he’s also your pet. You care for Anya like she’s your niece. If I didn’t know any better, it was like you’re also part of the family. How can I not trust you?”

Franky was incredibly flattered. He didn’t want to admit it, but he really lost himself in the Forgers. “Don’t get attached,” he once warned Loid. What a goddamn hypocrite he was. Truth be told, he just wasn’t made for these times.

“Thank you, Yor. I… I can’t believe I got so invested in a fake family.” Instantly, his eyes widened. Wait.

“Hold on…” a shocked Yor began. “You knew about us being fake?”

He sighed as he accepted his gaffe. “Yeah, I knew. In fact, Loid probably told you about how he had connections to someone who could forge your marriage certificate, right? Guess who?”

Yor’s mouth opened in surprise. “That was you?”

He nodded. “You know me. I have a lot of connections,” Franky said. “By the way, I’m planning on coming over for dinner tomorrow. You know Arturo’s BBQ, that amazing barbeque you guys bought last night? That’s a Vian family establishment.”

Yor perked up. “Really?”

“Yep. And it was supposed to close this week, but, uhh, word on the street says it’s staying open, and the Forgers haven’t even tried some of the best items on the menu yet, so I’m buying a feast for the entire family! A celebration for tonight’s job, in honor of the Vians!” he said proudly. Garden’s paycheck has gotta be insane, so I’ll have a lot of leftover money for sure.

Yor beamed. “Oh, we would love that! Last night’s barbeque was so good!”

“I can tell Anya really enjoyed it as well,” Franky said.

At the mention of Anya, Yor remembered something. “Oh yeah, Franky, I wanted to ask you something… Melinda talked to me about Anya and said something weird.”

“Yor, if I may ask… does your daughter trust you?” Melinda asked.

Yor tilted her head. “Does she trust me?”

“Yes,” she said. “Does she still tell you secrets? Does she confide in you?”

“Do you think Anya’s hiding something? I never really thought about it until she asked me that,” Yor said.

Franky thought for a moment. “I don’t know, Yor. Kid’s an open book as far as I know.” She might have some had past trauma under her previous names, but Yor can’t know she’s adopted. “I do think she might be having some trouble with Damian at school.”

“Really?” Yor tilted her head. “But the other day, she said they were best friends and that he tells her everything.”

Franky quietly chuckled in disbelief. You’re surprisingly naive for a Garden assassin… “Well, they may be friends now, but even friends have some disagreements sometimes. She may be going through more trouble than we think,” he said.

“Oh, that’s awful!” Yor said in concern. “Should we help her?”

“I think we can trust her to tell us when she feels it’s right… but I really do hope she lets us know if she’s not okay,” Franky said, and then he looked down in shame. Wow, I really do sound like an uncle…

“I hope she knows she doesn’t have to hide anything…” Yor said wistfully. “I want her to trust me, even if I’m…” She looked at her daggers on the table. The thought of Anya knowing she was an assassin made her shudder.

Franky tried to assure her. “You know, this might be a long shot, but… considering her obsession with spy shows, she might actually think it’s cool that you’re a big strong assassin who wipes out the bad guys.”

Yor was repulsed by the mere thought. “I… I don’t know about that. I just want her to grow up with a normal childhood with a normal mother… I’ve been struggling with trying to understand what ‘normal’ means for so long. Loid and Melinda are helping me understand how it really works, but I’m still not sure I understand it.”

Franky chuckled. “Believe me, I know Loid. This may sound weird to you now, but I wouldn’t exactly call him the most normal guy. You two might be made for each other.”

Yor blushed as she thought about Loid. “Franky, please…” she said in embarrassment. If Yuri said something like this (though he never would), she would have smacked him by now.

Not realizing he had teased her, Franky continued. “And by the way, it doesn’t really matter how normal you are. Anya just deserves to have a great childhood, and I honestly think you and Loid are succeeding.” She’s certainly having an interesting childhood, at least.

Yor beamed once again. “Thank you so much. And don’t count yourself out, ‘Uncle Scruffy’.” She snickered.

He embraced the title proudly. “Why of course, Mrs. Forger,” he said regally.

Franky and Yor laughed together, radiating a warmth that practically transformed the Forger-esque room into a fully fledged second version of the Forger home.

Elsewhere in the safehouse…

“Have you had any surgeries in the past month?” a seated Eric playfully asked Mira, now about a quarter into their checkup.

Mira didn’t even entertain Eric’s ridiculous question with an unamused look. She just sat and stared at the wall while flatly saying, “No.”

Eric jotted down the words “No (Visible Amusement Score: 0/10 - sharp 4 point decrease from the last time I asked)” in his review sheet. He moved on to a question that wasn’t on the list. “Are you finding yourself unable to laugh at great jokes like you used to?”

He hoped for a quip like “You said great, so no” or something of the sort, but Mira simply responded with another flat “No.”

Eric grunted and jotted down the statement “No (Visible Amusement Score: 0/10 - potentially mad at me)” before daring to ask, “Are you willing to forgive your doctor or primary physician for any mistakes they’ve made in the past?”

Mira turned her head to Eric. “Do you really want to know the answer to that?”

Eric sighed and put his clipboard down on the floor. “Mira, I’m really sorry I didn’t tell you. I promise I would’ve saved him if I had more time. I just wanted to keep you safe.”

Mira finally turned her whole body to his. “Let’s just think about it for a moment. If you actually saved that man’s life, what’s the worst that could’ve happened? It’s not like he was threatening you. You could’ve found another person to confide in. He didn’t have to be a loose end.”

“It went by so fast,” Eric insisted. “I just wasn’t thinking rationally. I swear if he just had more time to live…”

“You worked in the army,” she interjected. “You know damn well that one second of hesitation is enough to end a life.”

Eric looked down and said nothing.

Mira sighed. “You know, I hated working as a lapdog for the Nordrian government. Especially during the war. We had nothing to gain by joining the conflict between Westalis and Ostania. They just needed a cudgel against the pacifistic opposing party. They sent so many kids out to die just for some political theater, and I sat back and let it happen.”

She put her hand on Eric’s knee. “I admire people like you, Eric. You army doctors and all the psychiatrists that are still helping veterans today. We messed up a bunch of children and told you guys to fix ‘em for us. You’re all better than me, that’s for sure.”

“Don’t say that!”

Ignoring him, she took her hand off and looked him in the eye. “Anyway, forgive me for being so frustrated that such an amazing doctor like you would let somebody die because of me. A lot of other young men died because of me, and now you’ve just told me about another one.”

“It’s not your fault, Mira. And I already told you and Yor: I’ll never let it happen again. I promise.”

“Truth be told…” Mira said. “I was thinking of asking Yor to keep an eye on you, to make sure you’re staying true to your word. And if you’re not, well…” She still looked solemn, but a hint of a playful smile briefly appeared.

“Please, anything but that,” Eric said, shuddering.

“You can calm down, anyway. It might be foolish of me, but I believe you. After all, you never would’ve faced that dilemma if not for us entering the war, which only happened because I sat by and let it happen like a coward. Even with this one man you allowed to die, you’re still a much bigger net positive on the world than I am.”

Eric frowned. “Please stop saying things like that. It was never your fault. The government was already too far gone to be swayed by anything. And besides, you can’t forget what Yor said. Your friends back home care about you. I care about you. You inspire them to keep trying to change the Nordrian government. You inspire me to keep saving lives. Even as a hidden fugitive, this world still turns thanks to you…” He looked up to the ceiling, starry-eyed. “You know, when the world finally stops being such a mess, my favorite story to tell everyone in the bar will be yours.”

Mira smiled. “Thanks, Eric. I really needed that. But there’s just one thing you should know: My struggle with an oppressive government isn’t a bar story, Eric.”

“I get what you’re saying, but… I just want to honor your memory. You deserve to have your story told,” Eric said.

“Yeah, maybe as a cautionary history lesson, not so you can impress a bunch of people who’ll forget half the details of your story the next morning. And besides, I think some stories are best kept as secrets between the people who experienced it. It’s more pure that way. All the detail and intimacy goes away when everyone else knows.”

Eric smiled. “Well, I will admit. I don’t imagine impressing a bunch of strangers will have anything on the time I spend just talking with you.”

Mira blushed. “Eric, please…”

Suddenly, they heard Franky and Yor’s distant laughter.

“Huh. Those two must be having fun out there,” Eric said. Within the same hour we saw five corpses, too…

“They seem like good friends,” Mira said with a light chuckle. “I don’t think I’ll ever meet a hitman as kind as that woman.”

Eric closed his eyes and raised his right finger. “Well, let me tell you about this one hitman I had as a patient...”

Mira grinned. “Ah, there’s the Eric I know.”

“Don’t tell me you’re tired of it now,” Eric said.

“Of course not,” Mira said as she looked up to reminisce. “It’s like when my parents would always be eager to tell me bedtime stories. I knew them all, but I never got tired of it.”

Eric’s eyes widened with joy. “Well, I’m honored to know I’m part of the family now.” He humbly put his hand on his chest.

Mira groaned. “Ugh, why do I keep boosting your ego? You can be so annoying sometimes.”

“I’m annoying, but you still care for me. I guess I really am family now.”

Mira smirked. “Well, I once played a game with my little brother where we’d see who’d go the longest without speaking. Can you try that?”

“I’ll lose every time and I’ll be proud of it.”

Mira and Eric laughed together, lighting up the cold room with a new warmth.

Earlier that day, at Eden Academy…

Anya sat on a bench by the library, looking down wistfully. How could her plan have collapsed this badly? It’s true that Anya had burned through many failed attempts to accelerate her potential friendship with Damian in the past month, but yet none of them stung quite as hard as this one, for he finally decided (well, kinda) to trust her with a secret and she still managed to mess it up.

A worried Becky emerged from the side. “Anya!”

“Oh. Hey Becky,” she said dismally.

Becky quickly seated herself on the bench. “I’m really really sorry about all this, Anya. I tried to get Damian to apologize but he kept being such a jerk!”

“It’s okay, Becky. It’s my fault,” Anya said, not even having considered Becky’s role until now. In her mind, it was her own responsibility for being so reckless as to leave the pin out or even ask Becky about Berlint in Love in the first place.

“No it is not!!” Becky insisted, finally realizing and admitting something. “I know that my ideas have been a little… messy, Anya, and I’m sorry for that. But I just can’t stand to see you struggling because you can’t be with your true love!”

Anya just blinked, still not sure why she keeps implying that she wants to date Damian. Eww…

“What do you see in Damian anyway? Why do you want him now?” Becky asked.

Anya closed her eyes, ruminating in search of a vague truth. “Because… it’s… for world peace!”

“How noble!” Becky said, albeit confused. I have no idea what she means by that but I’ll try to follow along for her sake.

Anya elected to clarify further. “I mean… after I punched Sy-on boy, my dad really wanted me to make it up to him. He keeps telling me friendship is important and I should try to make uh-mends with Sy-on boy and be his friend. I don’t want to upset him.”

As she expected, Becky gasped.

“YOU’RE DOING IT FOR MY DARLING LOID! THAT REALLY IS NOBLE!!!”

Though they were only sitting beside the library, the librarian still came out to hush her before angrily retreating back to her desk. Thanks to this, Becky was able to collect herself. “Okay, but I know my Loid. He is the kindest, most understanding man in the world! Why do you need to be so desperate? Surely he’ll understand.”

Anya was fresh out of explanations. “Because… world… peace…”

Still confused, Becky elected to steer the topic away. “You know what, let’s forget about Damian for now. He’ll come around eventually! It’s not like his secret was really anything to be embarrassed about in the first place.”

Anya thought deeply about the many secrets within her family and concocted another fantasy.

“Okay, let’s all say our secrets at the same time,” Anya said. “Got it?”

Loid, Yor, Franky, and Yuri all nodded.

Anya counted down. “3… 2… 1…”

“I’m a telly-path”

“I’m a super cool spy.”

“I’m an assassin.”

“I’m an inform-unt”

“I’m a Secret Police-person”

Then they all looked at each other and laughed.

“Wow,” Loid said. “We are all weird. That is so cool. We can be weird together! Hooray!”

“Hooray!” They all said, and then they all hugged and were best friends forever.

But Anya knew exactly why that couldn’t be, also acutely aware that none of the others were telepathic, leaving her as the superpowered freak.

“Becky… why can’t we just not have secrets? It would be so much nicer...”

Becky was at a bit of a loss; as a six year old, she had very limited life experience... but on the bright(?) side, what she did have was her knowledge of television!

“If everyone told each other their secrets, then the economy would come crashing down!” (This was just her theory of what would happen if somebody spilled all of the secrets from the newest arc of Berlint in Love.)

“I guess some secrets are okay to tell,” Becky continued. “Like if Brenda told Brad that she secretly liked him, that would be great for both of them! But if Brad told Brenda that he was responsible for her brother’s death, that would be awful! The problem with secrets is that when everyone keeps it to themself, they have nobody to tell them whether or not they should’ve kept it all along! There’s no mediator for secrets.”

“Mee-day-ter?” Anya asked.

“Yeah, mediator!” Becky confirmed. “It’s a word I heard in another one of my dramas! It’s like… when two people are having an argument, and then there’s this third person who comes in to find a middle ground and get the two to understand each other. It’s like that, but with two people who have secrets!”

“Huh… so that’s a mee-day-ter,” Anya said, trying to solidify the word in her mind.

“Mediator,” Becky corrected her once more. “Anyway, it’s a very big part of this one drama I watch. It’s about this really messed up family where everyone hates each other and hides all these secrets! But there’s this one guy who they don’t hate. He’s the youngest in the family so they’re trying their best to make sure they don’t ruin him and drag him into the drama. Do you see where I’m going? Just making sure you can still hear me.”

Anya nodded. “Yes, I can hear you! There’s a big messy family and one young guy nobody hates!”

“Right!” Becky said like a proud teacher. “Anyway, because nobody hates him and he’s trustworthy with secrets, everyone wants to tell him everything. And he ends up being like the ultimate secret keeper! And he’s resolved some of the family’s biggest conflicts by just being the mediator.”

“Huh,” Anya said, actually more or less processing what she meant for once. “So what you mean is… we all need a mee-day-ter.”

Becky gave up on trying to correct her. “Yeah, basically! But it’s not like everyone has a guy like that.”

Anya once again thought about telling Becky of her telepathy... But I need a mee-day-ter to tell me if I should do that… but I’ll need to tell that mee-day-ter about my secret first so they can do that… but then I’ll need a second mee-day-ter to tell me if I can tell the first mee-day-ter about my secret first… but then I’ll need a third…

Anya turned as dizzy as she did in a packed crowd, prompting Becky to lean over and hold her. “Anya, are you okay?”

“Sorry, I just got a little confused,” Anya assured her. “So where can I find these mee-day-ters? And who makes sure they’re trust-wordy?”

Becky chuckled. “I don’t know, Anya. Nobody does. But I mean… the guy in the show was just a part of the family. You can trust your family to keep your secrets, at least, right?”

“Sure…” Anya said, though she was lying. She wanted to accept that so badly, but she was still very sure that both Loid and Yor would disown her if she ever told them her secret. Bond knows, but he’s a dog so he can’t really provide much in the way of verbal advice…

She knew there was an answer in sight, but she didn’t have much time to keep thinking about it as the bell rang. She was still glad Becky could at least push her in the right direction.

“Thank you so much for helping me, Becky,” Anya said, restoring her own smile. “You’re so wise!”

Becky’s eyes glowed with warmth. “Awww, don’t even mention it, Anya!”

Becky and Anya hugged and laughed together, not noticing that Master Henderson, who heard echoes of their conversation beforehand, had walked into the scene right at that moment.

A true friendship… Henderson thought. How elegant.

Later that day, in the safe house…

“No,” Nightfall said flatly.

“What?!” Franky raised his arms in exasperation. He had just explained a slightly fabricated account of what happened tonight, minus mentioning the names of Yor or Mira, who had both left about an hour ago.

“I’m an agent, not a babysitter. And if you followed the proper procedures and made sure nobody followed you, you shouldn’t be worried about an attack here in the first place,” Nightfall said as she continued thinking about something “important.” I have now been working on the Poulos family case for eleven hours, seven minutes, and fifty two seconds without seeing Twilight.

Eric butted in. “If I may regale you with a few wonderful stories of mine to change your mi—”

“No,” Nightfall cut him off. “I’ve already determined your status from my investigations. You are an irrelevant, nondescript third party doctor who is simply one of many potential targets of the Poulos, as already mentioned. In relation to the Vians, you are not even part of the family. You are in danger, but you have nothing significant to contribute to our mission’s success.”

Eric was instantly crestfallen. “N-nondescript…” he said weakly. Both Franky and Eric were now depressively staring at the ground.

For once, Nightfall couldn’t help but feel something as she looked at them. Was this… pity, perhaps? She scoffed and looked at Franky.

“Just make sure he survives the night,” she said. “Starting tomorrow, we can bring him into protective custody.” I do not have time for this tonight.

Franky looked up and smiled. “Thank you so much, grumpy lady!”

Despite the insult, Nightfall’s face remained stoic as ever. “Bye,” she simply said before turning around to leave. Eleven hours, nine minutes, and fifteen seconds without seeing Twilight...

As she left, Franky quietly laughed. How did a Garden assassin and a foreign fugitive turn out to be nicer ladies than any of the women I know from WISE?

Chapter Text

“I changed my mind. We shouldn’t be doing this, Mr. Lighter,” Princess Honey said in a hushed voice.

“It’s okay,” Mr. Lighter whispered back as she touched her shoulder. “Bondman won’t find us. We still have time.”

She looked around the large pitch black room, the only nearby source of light being a glowing pin on Mr. Lighter’s chest. She couldn’t believe Mr. Lighter ever managed to convince her this was okay.

“What about Lady Tangerine?” Princess Honey asked.

Mr. Lighter rolled his eyes. “I don’t care for her anymore. You’re the only one that matters.”

Princess Honey looked down in shame. “Oh I’m so sorry, Bondman…”

“Sorry for what?” a familiar voice echoed in the dark.

Mr. Lighter and Princess Honey looked in the direction of the sound, where they saw…

“Bondman?!” Princess Honey said.

An unamused Bondman pointed his flashlight right at them. “Why are you so surprised? I’m a master spy. I know when you guys are trying to keep secrets from me.”

Princess Honey’s face turned flushed with panic as she raised her hands towards him. “I’m so sorry, Bondman! Mr. Lighter was—”

“Shut it, Princess Honey,” Bondman said sharply, making her gasp. “I don’t even know who you are anymore.” He then turned to his supposed friend. “I can’t believe you would do this to me, Mr. Lighter. You promised me you would never—”

“It was only a matter of time,” Mr. Lighter interrupted. “We both know Princess Honey wanted this all along.”

Bondman’s face contorted with anguish as he turned to Princess Honey. “Is this true?”

She managed a small nod.

Bondman looked down in anger. “Well, the jig’s up. I know everything. It took me a while, but I figured it out.”

“Yeah, well… we still consider it a win that you didn’t find out until right now.” Mr. Lighter smiled as he looked around the room. “Alright, you guys can come out now!”

In an instant, the lights turned on in the gymnasium and an entire crowd of Bondman’s allies were revealed lurking in the outer rim.

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY BONDMAN!!!”

Bondman looked around as he saw a bunch of his spy friends waving flags and cheering at him as if he had just won a marathon (as he has done several times because he is super cool like that). He saw tables set up across the entire outer rim with food and games. Suddenly, his face softened as he observed how much effort they put into this party. As frustrated as he was by this excess display, he couldn’t help but chuckle. “Look, this is great and all but I told you guys I never wanted a surprise party! And it’s not even my bir—”

“Who cares???” Mr. Lighter said as he grabbed his friend and dragged him over to a table. On it was a cake with eight candles and very sloppy icing that he could just barely decipher as saying: “HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! In celebration of arresting Dr. Clan D. Stine”

Bondman looked at Mr. Lighter and Princess Honey with an unamused face. “Who did this icing? Was it Lady Tangerine?”

Princess Honey nodded. “She was the only one who opposed the party… but we convinced her to at least do that part of the cake!”

Mr. Lighter scoffed. “Personally, I don’t care for her attitude anymore. It’s not every day us agents can just have fun! Princess Honey was the only one that mattered; she did the planning and everything!”

He then picked up a lighter beside the cake and eagerly turned towards Bondman. “Alright, now say the thing!”

Bondman raised an eyebrow. “What thing?”

Mr. Lighter pointed his lighter at the candles, making Bondman groan as he realized what he wanted.

“C’mon, say it!” Mr. Lighter said, his eyes sparkling with silhouettes of fire.

“Stop acting like you’re above it all, Bondman!” Princess Honey demanded.

Bondman sighed. “Alright, alright…” He paused, took a deep breath, and looked his friend straight in the eyes with the biggest smile as he yelled: “Fire it up, Mr. Lighter!”

The entire crowd cheered as Mr. Lighter lit up the candles.

“Bondman can get the first slice,” Princess Honey said as she picked up the knife beside the cake. “Happy birthday Bondman!”

“Happy birthday Bondman!!!” Anya cheered in front of the TV, raising her hands in the air in celebration.

On the couch, Yor just nodded. That is a very impressive knife!

Beside her, Loid shook his head. Gathering all of your allies in one place for a birthday party is risky. And Bondman is too skilled to have not figured out the surprise long beforehand. He also should’ve said ‘light it up’ instead of ‘fire it up’; this may very well teach children incorrect figures of speech. This episode is currently a 5 out of 10.

Anya internally pouted at Loid’s stray thoughts. He had convinced himself that rating and critiquing the show’s episodes in order to crown a “favorite” would be vital to relationship building for Operation Strix, but he’d been so critical that he’d yet to rate any episode above an 8.

Chichi is so unfun to watch this show with, Anya thought. I want Uncle Scruffy!

As if having summoned him herself, she heard a knock from the door and a familiar reedy voice. “Hey! It’s me!”

“I’ll get it!” Yor said as she went to open the door, welcoming a triumphant Franky into the Forger household.

“I brought the best food in Ostania!” he said, holding his bag up as if it was the holy grail.

Anya turned around and jumped in elation when she saw the -Arturo’s BBQ- logo. Money laundry food!!!

With one last takeout box of sausages loaded onto a plate, Franky finished organizing the Forgers’ dining room table, now adorned by a collection of plates displaying nearly every delicious item from Arturo’s BBQ.

On one plate was Yor’s favorite: the grilled turkey, tender as a mother’s love. It was a great complement to Loid’s personal favorite: the baby back ribs, coated in a holy nectar and boasting a powerful flavor. Beside it was Franky’s favorite: a series of long, thick, and utterly mouthwatering sausages. Neighboring them were endlessly savory slices of brisket, these incredible grill-smoked beauties, these mighty hunks of juicy meat, these tremendous slabs of sacred ambrosial bronze which previously brought the Fullmetal Lady to her knees! …And then there were some super awesome chicken wings that Anya liked.

“Tonight, we feast,” Franky began in his best regal voice. “In honor of the best BBQ in Ostania, dare I say the best dining establishment in the entire continent, staying open!” He raised a fist in triumph as the Forgers all softly applauded.

All thanks to Twilight’s boss! he thought.

“Hooray!!” Anya cheered. Thank you, Chichi’s boss lady!

Loid chuckled, having finally accepted Sylvia’s sudden barbecue-induced epiphany. I guess the food is just that good.

Yor smiled and let out a soft “yay!” For the Vian family!

They seated themselves with Loid and Franky on one side and Yor and Anya on the other. A mouth-watering Franky grabbed his utensils. “Dig in!”

As the Forger family coursed through the feast, Loid thought about the strange events of the day.

Earlier, Franky called Loid at his house to say that he was coming over with a whole feast’s worth of takeout from Arturo’s, all in celebration of the restaurant staying open thanks to Sylvia’s BBQ-induced epiphany. Knowing that Franky’s budget was probably stretched thin, Loid told him he didn’t have to do that, but then an overhearing Yor insisted.

He thought nothing of it, having assumed she just really liked the food, but then later in the day while walking near Franky’s cigarette stand, he noticed an odd sight: Franky appeared to actually be closely talking with a customer. Upon closer inspection, he realized it wasn’t just any customer. It was Yor, and they were both whispering to each other with a serious look on their faces. He wanted to look into it, but he couldn’t stay for long as he had to report to Handler.

At the table, he continued to wonder what she could’ve possibly been doing there acting so clandestine. Could it be that Yor has a secret smoking habit that she’s hidden from me since our fake marriage? Has Franky been asking for money from Yor? Did she just stop by because she happened to notice him? Are Franky and Yor planning a surprise party for me like Bondman?

He paused. No wait, Twilight, that’s stupid. Franky would sooner try to pull a prank on me than throw me a party. He looked at Franky for a moment. Also, why does he have a bandage on his cheek?

Anya was intrigued. Ooh, something’s going on with Scruffy and Mama! She turned and focused her powers on Franky and Yor as she bit into a chicken wing.

Although Yor was ostensibly enamored by the wonderful food, her thoughts were shrouded in worry. I really hope Franky’s advice on what to tell Shopkeeper works. He’s gonna have so many questions.

Anya blinked. Wait, what?

She focused on Franky’s thoughts, which were predictably filled with nothing but admiration for the food as usual, but...

Oh, their sausage is so good! I’m so glad I could buy this much. I need to get jobs from Garden more often. They pay so much better than Twilight. No wonder Yor became an assassin...

Anya stared in shock. U-Uncle Scruffy knows Mama is an assassin?!

Meanwhile, Loid thought of numerous ways to address the Yor & Franky situation, but given that Yor surely had nothing to hide, he decided to go the casual route by asking about her day. His working theory was simply that Yor was walking by and noticed Franky, so she just came to talk as she likely didn’t know he ran a cigarette stand until today. Given the apparent banality of city hall work, that probably would’ve been one of the more remarkable parts of her day and thus she would mention it.

“How was your day today, Yor?” he asked.

“Oh! It was nice! Not much really happened…” I talked with Franky about his likely Garden paycheck and what I should tell Shopkeeper, but Loid can’t know that…

“You know, I was walking out earlier and I thought I saw you at Franky’s cigarette stand,” Loid said.

“O-Oh yeah! Y-yeah, that was me,” Yor said nervously. “I forgot to mention I saw Franky earlier. I-I didn’t know he ran a cigarette stand!”

“Yeah,” Franky chimed in. “It’s not exactly the most remarkable job in the world, but it pays the bills. She was just surprised to see me.” C’mon, Yor... it shouldn’t be that hard to lie about this...

Loid then opted for a light joke that could potentially reveal what they might’ve done together. “Well, Yor, I hope you bought something. I know business has been a little slow for Franky lately.”

Gee, thanks Twilight, Franky thought sarcastically.

“Oh yeah! Of c-course I did!” Yor tried to remember what she saw at his stand, but her mind drew blanks apart from one thing: “I bought so many cigarettes!”

“...Oh!” Loid said, attempting to maintain his act. “I didn’t know you smoked?”

“Oh no, I don’t smoke!” Yor quickly clarified without thinking.

“So… why did you buy the cigarettes?” Loid asked.

Yor was now almost sweating. “Oh, did I say I bought cigarettes? No, I bought… I bought…”

She once again wracked her brain for what else she saw, and then she remembered something. It’s a cigarette stand… a cigarette stand… a cigarette…

“I bought a stand!”

“...”

“...”

Anya coughed.

“...You bought a stand?” Loid finally asked. Okay, there’s definitely something wrong.

Franky looked down and sighed. How has she managed to keep her job a secret for so long when she’s like this?

Yor looked around, frustrated that there wasn’t any alcohol (or “stands,” whatever she even meant by that) in sight. In a moment of clarity, she gave up and decided that Loid would understand even if she only gave him half the truth.

“Loid, I’m sorry…” she began. “I didn’t really buy a stand. I know this may seem odd, but… I’ve been getting some advice from Franky about something, but I just… I just can’t tell you what it is yet!” She thought about her previous attempts to hide her taking cooking lessons from him, though this was much different.

Anya tried to help. “It’s like the cooking!”

All the adults turned to her, and she clarified further. “It’s like when Mama hid her cooking lessons! But now she’s doing something like that with Uncle Scruffy!”

“Yes, it’s just like that! Thank you, Anya.” She turned back to Loid. “I’m sorry for lying. I’m just not ready to tell you…”

Franky turned apprehensive, aware that even for adaptable spies like Loid, just knowing there was a potential unknown, some unpredictable variable you couldn’t account for in your operation… that was anathema to them.

To everyone’s surprise, Loid just smiled. “It’s okay, Yor. I understand!”

“Really?” Yor asked.

Loid summoned his same words to Yor when she first told him about Melinda. “As I told you before, having kindred spirits you can talk to is a very important thing. Franky is a friend of mine as well. You don’t need to be afraid to talk to him about anything. I trust both of you,” he said.

Considering that Franky is seemingly just a normal civilian, Yor befriending him closely would help further her cover. And I have a feeling people won’t mistake him for being her husband, given his… appearance.

Ouch! Anya thought. She instinctively reached over to pat Franky on his arm in pity, which confused him.

Loid continued. And as for this secret… it can’t possibly be anything too significant to Operation Strix. And as long as my asset also knows it, he’ll know if it’s important enough to tell me.

Yor’s eyes glowed. “Thank you so much for understanding, Loid.”

“Of course,” he said. “Franky has been my confidant for a while now. There’s no reason he can’t be yours too.”

Wow, Anya thought. Uncle Scruffy is so trust-wordy. She then perked up as she thought about what Becky told her yesterday.

“Where can I find these mee-day-ters? And who makes sure they’re trust-wordy?”

Becky chuckled. “I don’t know, Anya. Nobody does. But, I mean… the guy in the show was just a part of the family. You can trust your family to keep your secrets, at least, right?”

She looked at Franky and realized something.

“Hey Chichi!” Anya said.

Loid turned to her. “Yes, Anya?”

Anya pointed at Uncle Scruffy. “Can Uncle Scruffy be my confi-dent as well? I have something to tell him!” Franky just blinked.

“Oh… of course!” Loid said. “You don’t have to ask, Anya. Also, it’s pronounced con-fuh-dahnt.”

Ignoring that correction, Anya turned to Franky with a surprisingly serious expression. “Uncle Scruffy, I need you to come with me.”

“Uh, sure kid.” What’s all this about?

Anya took his hand and dragged him to her room.

In Anya’s room...

Franky and Anya sat beside each other on the bed, with Anya twiddling her thumbs in apprehension.

“So what did you wanna tell me kid?” Franky asked.

Now at the precipice of revealing her secret, Anya was more worried than ever before, but she reminded herself of the stakes. This is for Operation Sticks, she thought. If Uncle Scruffy can keep Chichi and Mama’s secret, he can keep mine. He’ll be the mee-day-ter. He’ll be the confi-dent.

Picking up on her nervousness, Franky thought about what it could be. I wonder if this is about her issues with the Damian kid. I don’t want her to be scared to open up about him… He stopped himself. My god, I do sound like such an uncle… C’mon Franky, stop getting attached!

Scanning his thoughts, Anya could tell he cared for her. But would he still care for her once she knows about her superpowers?

“Scruffy,” she began. “Promise you won’t tell anybody! Not even Chichi! Okay?”

Franky nodded.

“A-and…” She closed her eyes. “Promise you won’t call me a freak. Promise you won’t call the Secret Police!”

How does she know about that? Franky thought. He cast that aside and turned serious. “I promise.” What could it possibly be that it would involve the Secret Police?

Anya couldn’t tell from those thoughts whether or not he was telling the truth, but it didn’t matter. She knew she had to take this risk, so she took a deep breath.

“...I can read minds.”

Franky blinked. Oh… she’s just playing a game with me. Well, okay…

“I’m not just playing a game with you! I promise!” she declared, her eyes starting to water.

“Wait,” Franky said, his expression becoming deathly serious. “How…”

“I-I know everything,” she began through tears. “I know you’re an inform-unt. I know Chichi is a spy named Twilight, and Mama is an assassin, and about Operation Sticks, and that the food we ate was from a money laundry, a-and…”

Breaking down in tears, Franky put her hands on her shoulder. “Anya, calm down!” He took a moment to collect himself. “Okay, this is a lot to process, but first of all… why are you crying?”

A sobbing Anya tried to answer. “Because... because I don’t want you to call the scientist men to take me away again. Please don’t tell them!”

“I will not,” he said firmly. “I promise.”

Anya’s tears dried up a little. “You promise?”

Franky nodded. “I promise. Okay, so… Where are you from? How long have you been able to…” …read minds? He closed his eyes to think further. The records on her… He opened his eyes again and looked at Anya. …er, you, had nothing about the scientists.

After calming herself down for a bit, Anya replied. “I was raised in a science lab. These bad men… they experimented on me… and I got these powers. They said it was for world peace, but… they hurt me and...” She started sobbing again.

Franky once again comforted her. “It’s okay. You don’t have to tell me everything.” From the sound of it, it seems like she escaped from some kind of top secret government project. No wonder I couldn’t find anything on her. Her previous names must have been… He looked at Anya again. Okay I keep forgetting you can hear me, sorry.

Anya chuckled a little. “It’s fine, Uncle Scruffy!”

He smiled for a moment and then turned serious again. Listen, Anya. I promise I will do anything in my power to make sure the men who did this to you will pay. I will go through everyone I know. Trust me, I have connections.

Anya smiled. “Thank you so much, Uncle Scruffy!” She went over and hugged him, and Franky returned the favor.

“Anything for you, kid,” he said, almost wanting to scold himself but giving up. Honestly, how can I not be attached?

As Anya let go, Franky prepared another question. “Alright, let’s go back… So you know about everything?” You know about Twilight, and Operation Strix, and about Yor being an assassin… which is now just the second craziest thing I’ve heard this week.

Anya nodded. “Chichi found me at an orphanage and I thought it was super cool to have a spy for a dad! Then later Chichi and I saw Mama at the place with the clothes, where I found out she was an assassin! And so I brought them together!” she said with glee.

“Huh,” Franky said. I have to hand it to you, kid. That’s some really good matchmaking.

“Yeah!” she said. In her mind, however, she imagined herself creating matches out of thin air.

“So why are you telling me now?” Franky asked.

“Because…” Anya looked down. “Because of Operation Sticks… I know Chichi wants me to be friends with Sy-on boy for world peace, but he doesn’t want to be friends back. A-and I know he’s trying this new Mommy Friendship Scheme with Mama and Sy-on boy’s Mom. I’m worried if I fall behind, I’ll get canned!”

Franky’s eyes widened. “Hold on… Has he really ever thought about disowning you just because you’re falling behind?”

Anya thought about it for a moment and looked down. “No… he hasn’t. But I know I’m not helping Operation Sticks at all! I know he’s worried because of me, and… I…”

Franky put his hands on both her shoulders, commanding her eyes to his. “Listen to my thoughts, Anya.” If Twilight ever hurts you because you didn’t help his little mission, I will make sure he gets arrested by the Secret Police right away. And THAT is a promise. Don’t underestimate informants.

He paused and let go of her. But I don’t think you’ll have to worry about that. Guy’s a total softie, he just won’t admit it.

Anya stared at Franky in amazement and joy. “You really think so?”

“Uh huh,” Franky said. “Even if it’s fake, you’re still family to him for now. Do your best with school and all, but Twilight will understand no matter what.” And besides, it’s so funny seeing him all stressed out! …Oh dam—err, dang it, I forgot you can hear that.

Anya snickered. “By the way, you should know something he thought about earlier.”

“Hm?”

“He said in his mind that people probably won’t mistake you for being Mama’s husband because of your... appearance!” She then immediately patted him on the arm again.

Franky frowned and his eyes narrowed. “Interesting,” he said menacingly. Next time he needs my help on a mission, I’ll be sure to mess with him. Thanks for telling me, kid.

Anya playfully saluted. “Anything for you, Scruffy! And I will do my best with school and my friendship scheme!”

The phrase ‘friendship scheme’ reminded Franky of the situation with the Poulos mole and the Vians. “By the way, Anya… do you really want to be friends with Damian? Forget about Operation Sticks.” He closed his eyes and shook his head. “I mean Operation Strix. Is this something you want?” Now that I think about it, Twilight is basically just taking advantage of a rich six-year old so he can attack his family, isn’t he?

Anya thought about it. “I… I don’t know. Sy-on boy’s such a meanie, but… I know he has problems with his dad, and...” She remembered the moment with Becky when she could suddenly hear her words. She initially chalked that up to the mission, but… Was that because Sy-on boy liked it too?

“...I’m not sure,” she finally declared.

“That’s okay,” Franky said. “Just remember. Don’t be friends with him unless you really want it yourself. The kid’s probably got a bunch of sycophants around him pretending to like him just because his family’s powerful. You don’t need to be another one of them.”

“Huh,” Anya said. “Sy-on boy has a bunch of sick elephants?”

Franky blinked. “No, it’s sycopha—You know what, nevermind. Just don’t feel like you have to be friends with him because of the mission. Twilight will find a way otherwise.”

“Got it,” Anya said. “Thanks, Uncle Scruffy!”

“Don’t mention it,” Franky said. “By the way... you’re really fine with your mom being an assassin? You’re not scared of her?”

Anya nodded. “I think it’s super cool how strong she is! And she only fights the big bad guys!” She paused. “And she’s a very kind mama. I’m so happy I chose her…”

Franky chuckled. Looks like I was right after all… “You know,” he said. “She’d be very happy to hear that.”

Anya gasped. “But you can’t tell her I know! You promised!”

Franky raised his hands up. “Of course I won’t! Not until you’re ready... but who knows if the Operation will still be going by then.”

Anya turned wistful at the mention of the Operation’s potential end. “Scruffy, is Chichi really gonna leave Mama and I when Operation Sticks is over?”

Franky bit his lip. “I’m sorry kid, I honestly can’t answer that. But… I do have a plan at least. I’m guessing you already know the organizations that your parents are from, right?”

Anya nodded. “WISE and Garden!”

“Right,” he said, still a little shocked that a toddler knows such top secret names. “Well, as it is right now, both of them aren’t really enemies, but they’re not exactly friends either. And it’s entirely possible that your parents could accidentally end up hurting one another.”

Anya gasped.

“Don’t worry,” Franky said. “My plan is to get them to work together, that way your parents won’t end up fighting. And just maybe… they might find out about each other’s jobs.”

“B-But they can’t know about each other’s jobs!”

“Let’s be honest, kid,” Franky said. “There’s no way all of this is just going to stay a secret. It’s all gonna come out eventually. I just want it to be peaceful when it does.”

Anya tilted her head. “Will this make it so Chichi doesn’t leave?”

Franky sighed. “Frankly, I don’t see why it would. But you love your dad, right?”

Anya nodded aggressively. “Uh-huh! He’s the coolest!” Most of the time!

Franky chuckled. “Let him know that. He loves you back, even if he won’t admit it.” As for Twilight’s boss, Sylvia… I may need to bust out my persuasive skills once again.

“Boss lady was so nice when I met her…”

Believe me, kid, you don’t know how she really is, Franky thought. She almost smacked me when I tried to get her to save the barbecue place. But she is more open to persuasion than Twilight would believe…

“I hope she lets us stay!”

“Me too, kid,” Franky said. “But I’ve got a lot to do before I can even think of asking her.”

“I really really hope you succeed, Uncle Scruffy!” Anya said, coming over to hug him once again. “I love you!”

Franky’s eyes watered as he returned her embrace. “Love ya too, kid…”

A spy, an assassin, and a telepath living together as a happy family under the same roof, he thought. You guys really are ridiculous.

Anya perked up. “Oh yeah! And Bond can see the future!”

“...”

“...”

“...What.”

A few minutes prior, in the Forger family’s living room…

Loid watched as Anya took his hand and dragged Franky to her room. For a very brief moment, he considered eavesdropping on them somehow, but he decided against it. Franky will likely notice if I try that, and if Anya finds out that I tried to eavesdrop on her then it would worsen our relationship… He paused. …and that would not be ideal for Operation Strix, of course. He was snapped out of his Twilight zone by Yor turning apologetic again.

“Again Loid, I’m really sorry. I want to tell you, but…”

“I said it’s okay, Yor,” a smiling Loid said. “You really don’t have to tell me if you’re not ready,” She’s very impassioned about this secret. I can’t dismiss the fact that it might be significant to Operation Strix, but as I said before, my asset will tell me if it is.

“Thank you so much, Loid,” Yor said as her eyes drifted towards Franky’s plate, which still possessed an uneaten sausage and baby back rib.

“I’m curious, Loid… How do you and Franky know each other?” she asked.

Loid was briefly taken aback as he searched for a midpoint between the truth and a lie. “Well… we met in university while studying the war. He was the first person I met who helped me realize the human cost of it. He’s actually the reason I became a psychiatrist. When he shared his philosophy on war, it made me realize my calling. That’s when I knew I wanted to help the veterans who are still psychologically suffering today, long after the war ended.”

Yor looked at him in amazement. “Wow… You and Franky are amazing...”

“We’ve been through a lot with each other. He’s a very good friend,” Loid said. …Asset, he thought as he reminded himself of Sylvia’s speech. Remember, Twilight. He’s just an asset.

Yor looked towards the hallway. “He’s a very good uncle, too. Anya seems to have a lot of fun with him. I can only imagine what crazy thing she’s telling him about now.” She turned back to Loid. “Oh, by the way, I forgot to tell you… When Melinda talked to me about Anya a few days ago, she told me something weird…”

“Yor, if I may ask… does your daughter trust you?” Melinda asked.

Yor tilted her head. “Does she trust me?”

“Yes,” she said. “Does she still tell you secrets? Does she confide in you?”

“Loid, do you think Anya’s hiding something? I never really thought about it until she asked me that,” Yor said.

Loid thought for a moment. “Well, I do think she might be having some trouble with Damian at school.”

That’s exactly what Franky said… Yor thought. “Maybe that’s what she’s talking to Franky about… but why wouldn’t she at least tell us too? We’re her parents, aren’t we?”

“I think it’s because we’re her parents that she doesn’t want to tell us,” Loid said. “I never told my parents everything right away. Whatever the secret is, she’s scared it’ll make us angry or disappointed with her. Franky is the third party who won’t judge her and can help her before she eventually tells us. He’s like a sort of mediator.”

“Huh… I get that, but… I don’t think I could ever be angry or disappointed with Anya,” Yor said. “Whatever it is she’s going through, I’ll try to understand. No matter what it is.” Her face turned resolute.

“I feel the same way, Yor,” Loid said. “But if this is what she wants, then I understand. Franky isn’t exactly a psychologist, but I think he can really help. Let’s just give them some time.”

Yor nodded.

If Franky can keep my secret, I’m sure he’ll keep Anya’s secret as well… both Loid and Yor thought at the same time.

Meanwhile, in a WISE Safehouse meeting room…

“Sylvia?” her boss asked.

“Yes, sir?”

“May I ask why you directed some of our funds toward a local barbecue restaurant?”

Sylvia, who was currently holding an -Arturo’s BBQ- takeout box that she very much wanted to dig into, looked right into her boss’ eyes and spoke very seriously. “This restaurant was on the edge of bankruptcy, but it is very popular and the food is high quality. If it were to go away, there may be enough civil unrest to breed a new group of terrorists.”

Her boss rubbed his temples in sheer disbelief. “This is unbelievable, Sylvia…”

“Here, try their brisket.” Sylvia took out another takeout box she had under the table.

Her boss shook his head. “There’s no way this brisket is good enough to justify—”

“Try. It,” she said firmly. “If you’re not satisfied, you are free to choke the funds.”

Her boss sighed as he took the box and opened it. “If you weren’t already such a reliable agent, you would be fired by now. Fine! I will try it. But it is simply not possible for a restaurant’s food to be that good.”

A few minutes later…

“We will continue funding the recovery of this restaurant,” her boss said.

“I’m glad you understand,” a smiling Sylvia said as she opened her second personal takeout box.

Her boss’ eyes darted between his empty takeout box and her newly opened box. “Hey, you think I can have just a little bit of your brisk—”

“No, you cannot.”

Chapter Text

The day after the Dinner…

Upon opening the doors, Yor was greeted by sunlight and the melodious sound of birds. Almost forgetting her worries, she briefly lost herself at the sight of Shopkeeper’s vibrant garden. As she stepped through the stone walkway, she looked down to admire a parade of butterflies pollinating the mosaic flower beds.

Shopkeeper stood by the central gazebo, observing a gorgeously intricate spider web in a nearby spindle tree.

Yor stopped in front of the gazebo and greeted Shopkeeper. “Good morning, Shopkeeper!”

“Ah, good morning, Thorn Princess,” Shopkeeper said. “You came just in time to see the butterflies pollinate.”

“They’re so beautiful!” she cheered, her eyes sparkling.

Shopkeeper nodded. “Indeed. I am thankful for the symbiotic relationship between butterflies and flowers. It is not only a great boon to a gardener, but an incredible beauty to behold as well. The world cannot remain a beautiful place without all its creatures working together.”

“You’ve done such a wonderful job maintaining the garden, Shopkeeper!” Yor beamed.

“I appreciate it, Thorn Princess...” His face then turned serious. “Now, tell me how the mission went. Were you able to secure a document forger?”

Yor nodded. “The asset linked me to a Nordrian fugitive in hiding with connections to the government. She agreed to my terms, and I convinced her to fast-track the job. I will receive the documents through the first asset in a week’s time, and then I can hand them off to you.”

“That’s good,” Shopkeeper said. “I admit I did not expect an immediate result. We were willing to wait for a month, if need be. But one week is a wonderful estimate. Good work, Thorn Princess.”

“Also, Poulos family members attacked one of the secondary assets, so I had to slay them.”

“We considered such a possibility. Did you clean up the bodies and cover your tracks?” Shopkeeper asked.

Yor nodded. “Yes.”

“Good,” Shopkeeper said. “And how was the first asset, F.F.? Was he cooperative?”

Yor almost bit her lip. “Yes, he was… but…”

“But?”

Yor took a breath before speaking. “He actually turned out to be a friend of mine. His name is Franky.”

Shopkeeper raised an eyebrow. “Is that so? How come I haven’t heard of him until now?”

Yor recalled what Franky told her yesterday.

“If he asks about my public job, tell him I’m a part-time babysitter,” Franky said.

“He’s a part-time babysitter that we hired for our daughter, Anya. We were just associates, so it slipped my mind to tell you about him. I’m sorry,” Yor said.

“I see. Are you confident that you can trust him?” Shopkeeper asked. A babysitter who has connections deeper than us... That is peculiar.

“Yes,” Yor said firmly. “He was very understanding. And he assured me as a professional, he is obliged not to leak secrets.”

Shopkeeper smiled. “That’s good. In fact, this situation sounds ideal. It’s not often that we need to consult third parties for help. It’s good that the asset is someone you know you can trust.”

Yor turned apprehensive. “Yes, I do trust him, but... you should know that he also figured out we’re Garden. And he also asked me to send a message to...” She gulped. “...my boss.”

“...Oh?” Shopkeeper’s smile turned into a sharp frown, deeply unsettling Yor.

Yor hesitated, but recalled Franky’s emphatic urging from yesterday.

“Look, Yor… I know I’m putting a lot on you. You’re the one that actually has to ask him, after all… but I promise you I wouldn’t be asking this if it wasn’t important.”

Yor took a deep breath. “He told me he works as an intelligence asset for a spy agency named WISE. He claims they’re trying to prevent war, just like us. He told me he wants us to partner up, so that we don’t accidentally harm each other. And he also told me to let you know that WISE plans to arrest the Poulos family men tomorrow because they pose a national security threat. In case you doubt them.”

Shopkeeper’s eyes narrowed sharply, making Yor flinch. “May I ask how you met F.F.? How did you hire him as a babysitter?”

“Well… he’s a friend of my husband, Loid.”

Shopkeeper blinked. “...Is that so?” That is even more peculiar.

Yor bowed. “I apologize for this request, Shopkeeper. I know it’s against protocol to even relay a third party asset’s message. It’s just... I trust Franky. He wouldn’t ask me something like this if it wasn’t important. And I think he’s telling the truth.”

Shopkeeper thought for a moment, almost wanting to reprimand her for even respecting such an unhinged request. But as naive as she could be, Thorn Princess was an immaculate operative who never stepped out of line. He decided to entertain her suggestion.

“We are aware of the foreign spy agencies in our country, including WISE. We are aware that they are working towards similar goals and we may cross paths violently, but that is merely collateral damage.” He turned his head to the spider web he observed earlier, now noticing a couple of flies trapped within. “As long as they really are trying to keep the peace as this man claims, it should be nothing more. Spy agencies know that their agents are ultimately expendable. Why does this man want us to partner up for their security? How do we benefit?”

As Yor looked down at two butterflies fluttering away from their pollinated flowers, she remembered what Franky told her and reminisced out loud.

“Your boss is probably going to ask what’s in it for them, and considering how much I’ve already leaked, there’s very little more I can say…” Franky paused. “You should just know that there’s a force in this country that very badly wants another war, and they are dangerously close to achieving it. And we need every anti-war faction working together to keep that from happening.”

Upon hearing this, Shopkeeper stopped to consider a few points: First of all, Yor’s husband is strangely interested in the war-hungry National Unity Party. Second of all, he is also friends with F.F., who just so happens to be a very skilled intelligence asset. Finally, F.F. claims to work for an agency that’s trying to keep the peace and is desperate enough to reach out for their help.

He determined two things: First, that Loid Forger is definitely not what he seems. Second, that WISE might just be an extremely valuable ally in preventing war.

He sighed internally, deciding to plant a little seed of trust in Thorn Princess’ remote garden of faith. “We will watch the Poulos situation closely, to make sure they follow up. And we will look into WISE over the next few weeks to ensure they’re reliable and that this is not a trap. We cannot snub any opportunity to preserve peace, but I can’t guarantee anything.” And I must continue looking into that husband of yours.

Yor smiles. “I understand. Thank you very much, Shopkeeper!” She bowed again. Phew… we did it, Franky.

Shopkeeper still remained uncertain, but he permitted himself a smile at Yor’s genuine passion for unity, a virtue she still proudly nurtured even after all this time. As a relieved Yor stepped back to continue admiring the pollinating butterflies, Shopkeeper walked over to the spider web by the tree. He deeply admired the handiwork that went into crafting such an intricate design so heavily dependent on connection; it was like a terrestrial constellation. He chuckled to himself. It’s as I said… the world cannot remain a beautiful place without all its creatures working together.

Meanwhile, in the Eden Academy library…

Anya wandered through the library, looking through multiple rows of bookshelves. Where did Becky tell me to go again? The tables near the… uh-straw-nomy section?

She eventually came upon a dark blue sign with the word “ASTRONOMY” printed in big, bright, yellow letters. Ooh, this must be it!

She stepped into a lounge area decorated with cardboard rockets, stars hanging from the ceiling, and dazzling galactic wallpapers. Almost forgetting her worries, Anya briefly spaced out at the intricate designs.

Damian sat at a table reading a large astronomy book called Meet the Constellations: The Wonders of Space! stood up in front of him. If not for his quiet muttering, Anya almost would’ve missed him.

“Sy-on boy!!” she shouted.

Damian looked up and his eyes widened. “Wh-what are you doing here?!” he shouted back.

“SHHHHHH!”

They flinched and turned to see an irritated librarian in the distance with her finger on her lips.

Damian turned back to Anya. “Wh-what are you doing here?!” he whisper-yelled.

Anya took a seat in front of him. “I just wanted to say I’m really sorry for giving away your secret, Sy-on boy. I didn’t mean to.”

“Whatever.” Damian scoffed. “I’m not surprised you couldn’t keep it anyway. At least your dumb friend hasn’t told anyone.”

“Her name is Becky!” she shouted with a scowl on her face.

“Fine!” he shouted back. “At least Becky hasn’t told anyone!”

“SHHHHHHHHH!”

They flinched again as Anya turned to the librarian. “SORRY FOR BEING LOUD!” she screamed at the top of her lungs. The librarian rolled her eyes.

She turned back to Damian. “I really hope we can still be the bestest of friends, even if I can’t keep your secret.”

Damian scoffed. “I already told you that’s not gonna happen. I’m not hanging out with a peasant like you.”

Anya offered him a sympathetic look. “It’s okay, Sy-on boy. I get it. I know you have a lot of sick elephants…”

Damian raised an eyebrow. What?

“...and I don’t know what it’s like to take care of elephants, but… you can teach me! I promise I’ll listen and take so many notes! I wasn’t sure about it, but I really really want to be your friend. You’re kinda cool and you...” She scoured her brain for Damian’s few redeeming traits she could come up with. “...make funny looking faces sometimes.”

Damian blinked. What kind of a compliment is that? “L-look, if you wanna be my friend so badly then do me a favor and leave me alone. Just let me have some space!”

Anya glanced at his astronomy book. “But you already have some space!”

Damian looked at the front of his book and back at Anya with an unamused look.

Anya perked up. “Ooh, I know! Let’s read the space book together, I wanna know more!” She stood up and quickly rushed over to his side.

Damian’s eyes widened. “N-No, don’t!”

Anya arrived by Damian’s side to see that he had an open notebook right between him and the astronomy book. “Ooh, are those notes about the space thingies?!” she said loudly.

Damian immediately covered up the notebook’s contents with his arms. “I-It’s none of your business!!” he shouted.

“SHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”

Having only subconsciously registered the librarian’s emphatic hush, Anya immediately tried to scan what she could see of the notebook’s contents and saw…

“Are those… Berlint in Love notes?!” she whisper-yelled.

Damian’s eyes darted between the notebook and back at her. He groaned and relented. “Yes, they are… Your dumb fr—I mean Becky gave it to me earlier.”

A few hours prior, in the Eden Academy hallway...

“Hey, Damian!” Becky shouted as she rushed towards him, making Damian stop in his tracks.

“Ugh, what do you want no—”

Becky shoved a purple composition notebook into his hands.

Damian looked down at the notebook and back at her. “What is this?”

“I can tell you’re really interested in Berlint in Love, and lucky for you, I’ve been writing down some of my lessons so I can teach Anya about the show. Catch up with the show using my color-coded notes!” Becky said with a big grin.

“What?! I don’t want this!”

Becky’s eyes narrowed as her smile stayed in place. “This is not a request, Damian. You’re taking it.”

“I am not—”

“I SAID THIS IS NOT A REQUEST, DAMIAN.”

Damian froze as Becky inched closer, exuding a menace he had never seen before.

“Oh! And here’s your fancy golden Vincent pin, too! Anya wanted me to give it back to you!” Becky took out the button pin and held it out. A flustered Damian immediately swiped it and put it in his pocket.

“If you want somewhere secret to read it, try one of the tables in the library’s astronomy section. Use one of the giant books to hide what you’re reading.” She winked.

Damian looked at the notebook and back at a terrifyingly stoic Becky. “Thanks…” he whispered.

“You’re welcome!” she chirped.

Damian examined the notebook, noticing that it was caked in glitter. “Why is there so much glitter on this?”

“I just asked my dad for a bunch of glitter! His company has so much of it!”

Damian raised an eyebrow. “I thought they made military weapons?”

“...Oops!” Becky snickered. “I said too much. Anyway, enjoy catching up!” She turned around and walked away with her head held high as Damian hugged the glitter-laden notebook tight so nobody else could see the front cover.

Back in the present…

Anya’s eyes sparkled as she admired Becky’s vibrant, colorful notes, her passion for the show writ large via detailed diagrams, sketches of her favorite characters, and even some detailed analyses of particular episodes.

“Ooh! This is so nice and pretty!” Anya cheered. I barely understand it!

Damian permitted himself a chuckle. “I’ll admit, it is good looking. It’s also very easy to understand.”

Anya blinked. “It is?”

Oh yeah, I forgot she’s stupid, Damian thought.

Anya quietly grunted but shook it off. “Sy-on boy… why do you want to keep this a secret so badly? You just think a show is super cool. I also have shows I think are super cool, like Spy Wars! But I don’t try to hide it.”

“You wouldn’t understand,” he said. “It’s a show for girls. It’s embarrassing!” And it feels shameful to be wasting time on this instead of working on being an imperial scholar for father… But Becky would probably kill me if I didn’t do this…

“Look, Sy-on boy. I have secrets so bad that I would be thrown in jail with no peanuts because of them! This is nothing to be embarrassed about!”

Damian scoffed. “Easy for you to say. You’re a walking train wreck. You got the first tonitrus bolt and everyone in the class was scared of you from the first day.”

“Well, I also got the first Stella Star too!” she boasted with a proud grin. For a sudden moment, she looked prettier in Damian’s eyes.

He shook the sight off and growled. “You know what? Why am I even still talking to you?”

“Because we need to be friends!!”

Damian slammed his notebook shut, stood up, and pointed a finger at her. “CAN YOU JUST LEAVE ME ALO—”

“AHEM.”

They flinched as they found themselves ensnared within a large shadow. They turned slowly to see the librarian giving them a nasty glare.

“AND STAY OUT!”

The library doors, which were sadly not of the dramatic slammable variety, slowly drifted to closure in front of Anya and Damian’s face, leaving them standing together in the middle of the hallway.

Anya turned to Damian and looked down in shame. “I’m sorry I got us kicked out of the library, Sy-on boy.”

“Whatever,” Damian said, looking down at the notebook he was holding. Guess I won’t be able to read this for now… “I’m out of here.” He turned around, but…

“Wait!”

Damian groaned. “What do you want now? Haven’t you wasted enough of my time?”

“Sy-on boy, I… I know you won’t trust me with another secret, but… I wanted to tell you something.”

Damian raised his eyebrow. “What is it now? Are you gonna say you also skip taking baths sometimes?”

Anya shook her head. “Of course not! No, this is serious.” She motioned for him to sit on the bench. “Please,” she said with pouting eyes that once again made her look cuter in Damian’s vision.

Damian’s eyes twitched, but he shook it off and sat down for her. She leapt onto the bench and considered how she could approach this without revealing too much.

“So what is it?” Damian asked.

“The truth is... I’m scared, Sy-on boy. I have two of the bolt thingies and the tests are so hard. I keep thinking my dad is gonna abandon me because I didn’t impress him enough.” …and because I’m not helping save world peace.

Damian’s stance softened.

“But... someone told me he’ll understand, no matter what. Family always understands.”

Damian looked down and pondered. “Why are you telling me this?”

Anya bit her lip, now coming upon something she really only knows because of her telepathy. “I… I can tell you’re trying to impress your dad as well.”

Damian flinched. How does she know that? Can she read minds or something?

Anya managed to ignore that as she put her hand on his shoulder. “I-it’s okay, Sy-on boy. I know you’re—”

“Look,” Damian said while brushing her hand off in anger. “The Desmond name is much bigger than yours, you peasant! You have no idea what I’m going through!”

Anya pouted as she compared the number of letters in ‘Desmond’ and in ‘Forger’. “Just because your name has more letters than mine doesn’t mean anything!”

“You don’t even know what I’m trying to say! And you’re trying to comfort me?!”

Anya looked down in shame and sniffled. “I’m sorry, Sy-on boy.”

Damian almost wanted to leave, but he strangely felt a pang of sympathy for her. He ignores me all the time, but I never thought Father wanted to disown me…

Damian sighed. “Why did your family even come to Eden in the first place?” How did her family even afford this place? Is her dad secretly a spy or something?

Anya searched for a midpoint between the truth and a lie. “Because… of world peace. They want me to grow up and save the world someday. So they brought me here.”

“Huh,” Damian responded. “That’s nice.” That’s not as stupid as I thought it would be.

Anya glowed as she realized he was finally softening up. “And I love it here! Eden Academy’s press-tea-just classes can help me grow up to be a super cool spy like Bondman! Then I can fight crime and save the world!”

Ah, there’s the stupid part, Damian thought, leaving her internally shocked.

“How about you, Sy-on boy? Do you wanna grow up to save the world too?” Anya asked.

Damian paused as he wondered if it was even worth telling her. “I wanna be a leader. A brave politician who leads his country through anything.” I want to make Father proud. He looked at a gaping Anya for a moment, waiting for her to say something stupid.

“That’s really cool, Sy-on boy!” she cheered. “I really hope you succeed!”

Damian refused to let himself smile, but he let out a small “Thanks.” He looked down at the notebook he was holding, now even more confused as to why he was reading it in the first place. Seriously, I can’t be a politician if I waste my time reading about girly shows.

Hearing that thought, Anya tried to reassure him. “Look, Sy-on boy. If you want to be a brave pol-uh-tish-un, you can’t be scared of things as small as liking some TV show! And even cool leaders have fun sometimes!” she said, thinking of Bondman’s “birthday” party.

Damian thought back to his wilderness trip with Emile, Ewen, and Mr. Green.

“Learn to shut down that brain of yours, and who knows? Maybe you’ll have those eight Stella stars before you know it,” Mr. Green said.

Damian looked off the side. “Yeah, I guess…” He looked back at Anya. “You know, Anya, as stupid as you are, I really hope you grow up to save the world.” A great politician inspires his people, even dolts like her.

Anya beamed. “Thank you so much, Sy-on boy!” She paused as she rewinded his sentence in her head. “Wait a minute… you said my name!”

In an instant, Damian’s eyes widened and his cheeks flushed. “Umm uhh… I-I-”

His futile attempts to deny this were interrupted by a faint squealing sound in the distance, which helped Anya catch a very loud thought…

OHMYGOODNESSDAMIANJUSTSAIDHERNAME AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!

Anya glanced at the end of the hallway, where she saw a hint of a pigtail sticking out from the wall. “B-Becky?!”

“Aw man!” Becky whined as she stepped into a clear view.

Damian’s eyes widened. “Wha—have you been listening this entire time?!”

Becky walked over to the bench and laughed. “Don’t worry, Damian. I’ve only been here since Anya talked about saving the world.” Now I kinda get what she was talking about… Kinda…

“You set this up, didn’t you?” Damian pointed at her. “You told her to go to the astronomy section because you knew I was there, right?!”

“Heh heh!” Becky snickered proudly. “What can I say? It’s a classic television plot! If you got to Chapter 9 of my notes, then you’ll know what I mean!”

There’s nine chapters?! Damian thought.

“Thanks, Becky!” Anya said. “Sy-on boy and I are friends now because of you!”

Damian furiously turned to her. “Wh-what?! I never said we were fr—”

“WE’RE BEST FRIENDS NOW!!!” Anya shouted as she hugged Damian, turning his face red in an instant. He didn’t hug back, but he didn’t push her away.

“YOU’RE SO CUTE TOGETHER AHHHHHH!!!” Becky screamed at the top of her lungs.

Suddenly, the librarian slammed the doors open.

“YOU THREE ARE BANNED FROM THIS BENCH!”

Later that day…

Anya and Becky walked happily together in the hallway. “It’s a shame he still thought he was too good to sit with us at lunch,” Becky said. “But that was some nice work, Anya!”

Anya smiled. “I couldn’t have done it without you, Becky! You really are so wise!”

Becky’s eyes watered a little. “Thank you so much, Anya!”

“Excuse me, Miss Blackbell?” The two girls turned to see Mr. Henderson. “Would you please come with me to the library?”

Anya and Becky shivered. “I promise we didn’t mean to be so loud, Mr. Henderson!” Becky insisted.

“Hm?” Henderson raised his eyebrow. “Oh, you don’t have to worry. This is not about that.” I still can’t believe she submitted a formal complaint to ban three kids from sitting on a bench...

Becky looked at Anya, who simply shrugged. “Umm, of course!” Becky said.

In the Eden Academy library…

Henderson brought Becky to the library’s astronomy section, where he pulled out a book called Meet the Constellations: The Wonders of Space! “Miss Blackbell, are you familiar with constellations?”

Becky looked up at the star-studded ceiling and pointed at it. “They’re the pretty-looking stars up in space, right?”

Henderson laughed. “That is not too far off.” He opened the book to an illustration of Canis Major and showed it to her. Behind the constellation, there was a faint silhouette of a dog. “When we look to the night sky, we often find groups of beautiful stars. Each one shines elegantly on their own, but we draw lines between them and they become a united, guiding shape more meaningful than the sum of its parts. We call these shapes constellations. They are the namesake for our academy’s coveted Stella Stars.”

“I didn’t know that!”

He looked at Becky. “Ms. Blackbell, I must say that I admire your attempts to connect the stars of Ms. Forger and Mr. Desmond. One of our institution’s most prized values is that of teamwork and interpersonal communication. Stars shine brighter together, after all.”

A starry-eyed Becky gasped. “Are you saying…?”

“Sadly, no.”

Becky frowned.

“A small domestic case such as this is not enough for a Stella Star on its own... However, some Stella Stars can be awarded for long-term commitments to certain values. I encourage you to keep up the good work, Miss Blackbell.”

Becky grinned. “Ohh, I know exactly what you mean, Mr. Henderson! I won’t let you down!”

“Excellent,” Henderson said. Now Miss Blackbell shall continue to grow her communication skills and become a model student who helps everyone!

Becky quietly squealed. He wants me to get Anya and Damian to fall in love and kiss now!!! Wow, you’re such an amazing teacher, Mr. Henderson! I won’t let you down!

They both walked out of the library together, happily oblivious to the other’s train of thought.

Meanwhile, in a WISE Safehouse...

“Hello, Agent Nightfall. What did you come to ask me?” a seated Sylvia asked Nightfall, who entered the room with her usual cold expression slightly contorted by traces of irritation.

“I came to discuss Eric, the doctor we brought into protective custody,” Nightfall said.

“Oh? Is he acting belligerent?”

Nightfall shook her head. “No. He claims to be a master storyteller, so I figured I could extract some valuable intel from him regarding some open cases. Admittedly, some of his stories are surprisingly very interesting, but he is not reporting anything of worth.”

Sylvia nodded. “I see. Well, he is a doctor who operates on criminals. If he were to rat any of them out, it would put him at risk and reduce his potential clientele. Besides, we’re merely sheltering him until the arrest tomorrow, so we don’t need to interrogate him. Is he at least satisfied with his quarters?”

“He actually asked if he could stay in an interrogation room. I said ‘No,’ but whenever I try to extract intel, I take him there. In fact, he is very aroused by interrogation rooms. He says they make his stories ‘come alive.’”

Sylvia blinks. “Huh… What a fascinating man.”

Nightfall’s eyes narrowed. “Don’t let him know you said that. I called one of his stories ‘intriguing’ and he got a nosebleed.”

“Noted,” Sylvia said. “By the way, have you tried the barbecue?”

“Yes, I have. I only tried the baby back ribs, but they were extremely good,” Nightfall said monotonously, in contrast to her thoughts... I hear those are Twilight’s favorite! Oh, he has such impeccable taste! ♥ I can’t wait for us to eat it together when we’re married! ♥♥♥

Thinking of Twilight gave her an idea. “Wait a minute. I have an idea for extracting intel from the doctor. I’m going to his interrogation room.”

Sylvia raised an eyebrow. “Is this something important? We don’t really need information from him.”

“Yes, it’s important.” She turns around, leaving a confused Sylvia in the room.

Nightfall sat opposite Eric at the interrogation table. “Eric... I need you to tell me everything you know about the legendary Twilight.”

Eric perked up. “Ooh, Twilight! Now, I’ve never met the man myself but man there are so many patients of mine who have spoken about the guy. Apparently, there was this one guy who started working at a penguin park who…”

Nightfall looked as emotionless as always as he went on about various rumors of Twilight, but internally…

Oh Twilight, you’re so popular! ♥ You’re the most interesting, most talked about, most amazing man in Ostania! ♥♥ You’re a star that shines brighter than all the constellations! ♥♥♥ This man’s stories are nothing compared to a few minutes working with you! ♥♥♥♥ Everyone knows mere shadows of the real you but I am one of the fortunate few who truly knows you! ♥♥♥♥♥ I love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love…

Meanwhile, at the Forgers’ apartment…

On the couch, Loid suddenly sneezed, startling Bond. After gathering himself, Loid continued going over tomorrow’s plan for the arrest operation in his mind, making sure he had all the details right.

As Bond walked over to rest, a vision overtook him. “Woof?!”

A frowning Loid said something to Franky that Bond couldn’t make out.

Franky slammed the table. “Are you serious, Twilight?!”

Bond couldn’t make out anything else, but he whimpered at the sight of Franky and Loid being angry at each other. A few seconds later, Loid and Bond heard a knock at the door.

Loid walked over and opened it to see Franky with a serious look on his face.

“We need to talk.”

Chapter Text

Franky and Loid sat on opposite sides of the Forgers’ dining room table.

“What did you come here for?” Loid asked. “If this is about the Poulos arrest, I assure you it’s still happening tomorrow. I’m preparing for it right now.”

“No, it’s not about that,” Franky said before putting his hands together. “I need to tell you about Garden.”

Loid raised an eyebrow. “What, the assassin group? They’re a myth, right?”

“I can assure you they’re not a myth, and whether or not they’re really a group of assassins is still up in the air. Anyway, I can’t divulge too many details, but… I was lucky enough to meet one of their members and live.”

“...Right.” Loid glanced at his cheek and pointed at it. “Is that why you’ve had that bandage on your cheek this whole time? To make your story more believable?” What kind of secret organization would just cut someone on the cheek and let them go?

Franky grunted. “Okay, the reason I have this bandage is... not relevant. Anyway, I’m serious, Twilight. I met a Garden operative.” You’ve met her as well, but it’s not like you know that...

“Okay, suppose I believe you. What do you want us to do? Wipe out a secret organization because you looked at them funny?”

Franky sighed. “No, that’s not it. In fact, I have an even crazier proposal… WISE needs to work with them.”

Loid blinked. “...What?”

“You heard me right.” Franky leaned in closer. “They’re just like us. They’re also trying to prevent war by any means necessary, and that includes wiping out traitors. They may be well-meaning, but that could include people like us. If WISE and Garden worked together, then—”

“Hold on,” Loid interjected. “You encountered a Garden operative, and you also somehow happened to figure out their ideology in the process?”

Franky looked up and sighed. “Alright, fine. I’ll tell you how I met them: They needed intelligence, and I was able to provide it for them. I did their job for them and long story short, we had a very insightful conversation. I can’t say anything more.”

Loid narrowed his eyes. “Why would such a secretive organization like Garden need an outsider like you?”

“Look, I could hardly believe it myself! It was one of the weirdest nights of my life, and that’s saying something. My point is: If WISE and Garden work together, we could make sure that we don’t accidentally hurt each other and combine our forces. Our intelligence, their strength.”

“Up until today, Garden was just a rumored wetworks organization to WISE. Now you want us to work with them? Why are you even telling me this?” Loid asked as he crossed his arms.

“This is gonna sound insane, but I’m doing this for your own good.” He pointed at himself, then at Loid. “Consider it a favor from me to you, free of charge.”

“Are you worried I’ll die because of Garden?” Loid asked. Didn’t think Franky would be so sentimental all of a sudden…

Franky laughed sardonically. “It’s more complicated than that, Loid. But I guess that’s one of the reasons. If you die…” He points at the Forger family portraits on the wall. “...your family isn’t going to be happy about it.”

Loid narrowed his eyes. “You mean my fake family? The one I’m going to leave once this mission is over? The one you warned me not to get attached to?” I was probably going to have to fake my death to leave them anyway.

“Honestly, I don’t think you’ve been heeding that warning.” God knows I haven’t. “And it’s not like you can control how much they care for you. I can’t tell you the secrets they told me, but just know… they love you back.”

Back? Loid thought. “What are you saying?”

“What, do you need me to say it clearer? You love them and they love you back. It’s clear… you want to keep them. And I want to help you.”

Loid closed his eyes and shook his head. “It’s all an act, Franky. I can’t love them even if I wanted to.” He groaned. “First, you come out of the blue to say we need WISE to work with Garden. Now you’re telling me to do something that will jeopardize my mission? You’re supposed to be my asset. What are you trying to do?”

“For once, I’m looking out for your own happiness here,” Franky said, pointing at him.

“I’m a spy, and you’re an asset,” Loid snapped back. “We sacrificed the comforts of a normal, happy life a long time ago. You of all people should understand. You know what I’ve been through.”

“And that’s why I want to help. I’m not speaking as your asset here, Loid. I’m speaking as the kind of person who does things for you unconditionally. You know what I’m talking about.”

Loid sighed as he remembered what Sylvia said about not getting too attached. “Franky... it was a mistake for me to ever work with you. Spies were never meant to be this close with their partners. We have too much history.”

Franky slammed the table. “Are you serious, Twilight?!”

Loid nodded. “You’re telling me you not only plan to get WISE and Garden to work together, but also that you want me to forgo my code just to be with a woman and child I’m not supposed to love? All of these things are at great risk to WISE. You’re a terrible asset. Worse than that. You’re a liability.”

“Alright, that’s a pretty nasty way to say ‘friend’, in case you couldn’t tell that’s what I was trying to say earlier, you MASTER SPY!” Franky shouted.

Loid remained stoic. “Spies don’t have friends. That was one of our lessons from the very start. Trust nobody. Any friendly relationship with an asset is just a formality. This isn’t like the cartoons or movies where spies randomly throw each other parties. We are expendable, Franky.”

“Really?” Franky looked down. “You know I was in the war, too. I know what it’s like to be expendable. It’s like they took away everyone we ever loved just so nobody could miss us, and then we just blindly followed orders. Sometimes I wonder what’s so different between being a soldier and being a spy.” He looked at Twilight again. “You know, I’m still glad I met you on the battlefield that day. Anybody else and I might not be sitting here today. But you found me, took pity on me, and heard me out. Sure, you almost killed me. But in a roundabout way, you ended up saving my life. Is it wrong of me to try and return the favor?”

Loid clenched, not sure what to say. When I told Yor he was the reason I became a psychologist, I guess that really was true.

Franky recalled Mira’s words. “Twilight, people care for you. That’s enough reason for you to stay alive. You keep saying you’re expendable, like a woman and a very adorable child aren’t gonna miss you. And even if you say you don’t care for them, rest assured that a certain ‘liability’ of yours isn’t gonna be happy when he sees your dead body either.”

Loid sighed as he mulled on his mission.

“Look,” Franky said. “I don’t know that much about being a spy, but I know a hell of a lot about trust. And a smart guy like you should know when someone is really worth trusting. What’s so wrong with treating your wife and daughter like an actual wife and daughter, even behind closed doors? It’ll certainly help the mission, at least,” Franky said, hoping to at least appeal to Twilight’s logical side.

“You don’t get it, Franky. I have to leave them when this mission is over. They know this is fake. They’ll understand,” Loid said, leaving a nigh-undetectable gap between the last two words that, to his dismay, only Franky could’ve noticed.

Franky shook his head. “They won’t, Loid. Not anymore. Your job was to create a family, but WISE should’ve known that you’re too damn good at your job.”

“Alright, so what do you even want me to do?” Loid asked, brushing aside the compliment. “Operation Strix is still going and I don’t think Sylvia’s going to put up with me asking her about either of the ideas you’ve proposed tonight.”

Franky grinned. “You don’t really need to do anything. I just asked because I wanted your approval, really. Trust me, I have plans.”

“Huh,” Loid said with an unamused look. “Put all my trust in you to pull these two schemes off on your own? That’s the most absurd thing you’ve told me today, and I’m still not sure of anything you said about Garden.”

“Well, if your wife and daughter can trust me with their secrets, surely you can trust me with this.” Franky proudly pointed his thumb at himself.

“Fake wife and fake daughter,” Loid corrected. “I’ll entertain your idea for now, but it still does me no good to get attached.”

Franky rolled his eyes. “Come on, Twilight!”

Suddenly, they heard Bond’s whimper as he came to approach Loid. He instinctively put his hand on Bond’s head to comfort him. “What’s wrong, Bond?”

“Bond’s clearly mad because we’ve been fighting for no reason…” Franky walked over and sat beside Loid to comfort Bond with him. “Don’t worry, Bond, your owner’s just having a little trouble admitting he’s a person with feelings.” Loid grunted.

Franky looked at him. “Now are you gonna say he’s your fake pet or something?” he asked mockingly.

“He’s a member of the Forger family first and foremost, but if we keep up our training, he could be a valuable asset in missions.”

Franky scoffed. “There you go again, calling us assets. Geez, it’s like we really are still in the damn military. Like I told you a while back, Bond went through some harsh military training in Project Apple. Maybe treat him like a normal dog for once?” A normal dog who can also tell the future, apparently... I still have a hard time believing that.

Loid looked at Bond, who nodded softly. He sighed in understanding.

“Look...” Franky began. “If you’re still not willing to call your wife and daughter what they are, then I get it. But for now, at least admit you’ve got us. An adorable pet and a so-called ‘liability.’”

Loid looked at them and allowed a brief glimpse of a smile. “You two really are the only ones I can really confide in about my spy work, huh?”

Franky and Bond’s eyes widened as they looked at each other. “Wow, we did it, Bond! We got Twilight all sentimental!” Bond barked back in mutual amazement.

Loid’s frown returned as he glared at both of them. “I already regret saying that.”

“Sorry, I couldn’t resist,” Franky said before laughing. His laughter suddenly reminded Loid of old times he thought he had managed to suppress...

In an old army storage depot…

“We’ve got you now, filthy Westalians!” a chubby kid shouted, raising his toy gun in the direction of two small boxes. “BLAM BLAM BLAM!” He turned to his partner. “We got them now, Major!”

Far to his right, his freckled partner was laying back beside a box, ready to aim as soon as their enemies could no longer hide. “They’re done for now, General!” he said. ‘If only you would let me do more, though...’

Behind the boxes were the two kids on the other side of the battle. A bespectacled kid took a few breaths to keep himself calm. ‘There’s no need to panic this time. Advisor will know what to do,’ he thought, but he looked to the side for a quick reminder of their side’s dilemma.

Advisor, his crafty blond partner, was usually the strategic brains who led the duo to victory every time. However, a few minutes ago their initial attack plan fell apart; General managed to outsmart Advisor and inflict him with “tear gas” [from a perfume bottle]. He was lucky enough to escape being shot, but as per the rules, he was forced to put on a blindfold as he was now “blinded.” Advisor’s partner, on the other hand, had his arms “blown off” by “shrapnel” [confetti], leaving him unable to use a weapon.

“Corporal,” Advisor said to his partner while raising his toy gun. “I need you to tell me where Major and General are, relative to my position. And if they’re standing straight or crouching.”

Corporal adjusted his glasses and peeked over the boxes as much as he could. “Both are standing up straight. Major’s at about 11 o’clock, General’s at about 3… sorry I can’t be more precise, Advisor.”

“It’s okay,” Advisor said. “Just let me know if there’s any changes.” Although it would be many years before Advisor would develop his skills as the WISE agent Twilight, he still knew he could win this battle blind. He was thankful for General’s emphatic BLAMs, for the sound allowed him to zero in right on where he was.

Advisor carefully touched the boxes to get a hold of his exact spot, then he leapt up and quickly shot a rubber band a few inches to the right of “3 o’clock” before going back down. In the distance, he heard just what he wanted.

“GENERAL!” Major shouted, signaling his defeat. As per the rules, General must be down and unable to move or speak now.

‘I got him,’ Advisor thought. ‘But now Major’s location is unpredictable. He might crouch, retreat, stay in his place, go over to General, or move around wildly. Regardless, he’ll be unpredictable.’ He gestured at his partner. “Where is Major now, Corporal?”

Corporal looked over and saw him running back. “He retreated behind the box at 11 o’clock, relative to you.”

‘Too many variables now,’ Advisor thought, so he decided to take a risk. “I’m going to walk over there.”

“What?!” Corporal whisper-yelled.

“Watch me. Once he comes out, yell. I can dodge him,” Advisor said as he loaded his gun with another rubber band.

“I don’t know about this, Advisor…” he said nervously.

“Without my eyes or your hands, we’ve got no choice but to take a gambit.” He stood up and made clicking noises with his mouth to get a sense of location, something he still had a novice grasp on but had practiced just in case he was “blinded” as he is now. He then went silent and carefully tiptoed towards the box at 11 o’clock. Given that General was unable to feed the overly dependent Major another plan, he was likely busy trying to come up with his own. However, he would at least be smart enough to eventually peek out into the—

“He’s out!” Corporal shouted.

Advisor swiftly sidestepped to the right and heard a toy bullet whiz by. The toy gun’s sound and the change in the air helped him detect roughly where it was coming from. He quickly determined that Major was likely shooting from behind that box, meaning he was currently in his line of fire thanks to his sidestep, and that he only had mere moments before he made an unpredictable movement anywhere else. He instantly took a methodical shot in the dark…

“Aw damn it!” Major yelled.

The four musketeers sat in a circle beside the box where Major “died.” General let out a loud groan. “Man, this was our worst loss yet! Even after we took out Advisor’s eyes and Corporal’s arms!”

“I really lost to a man in a blindfold…” Major lamented as he looked down in shame.

“That was such a great play, Advisor,” Corporal said as he patted him on the shoulder. “You really led us to victory.”

“Don’t count yourself out, Corporal,” Advisor said. “You were the eyes of the operation. I couldn’t have done it without you.”

Corporal smiled. “Honored to serve.”

General scoffed as he turned to Major. “Major, you and I really need to improve on our teamwork. I was the one who took out Advisor’s eyes and Corporal’s arms. What did you do?”

“I laid back because you told me to!” Major retorted. “You didn’t trust me! No offense, but you’re an awful leader!”

“How am I not supposed to take offense to that?!”

“Guys, stop fighting! This isn’t how soldiers act!” Advisor said.

General pointed at him. “You’re not even wearing any military gear, man! How would you know?”

Advisor sighed and looked down. “I keep telling you... My dad’s really strict about that...”

“Cut him some slack, General,” Corporal said.

“I’m starting to think the army might not be for you, Advisor,” Major said. “I didn’t even notice you stepped out of the trenches until I peeked out. You were really stealthy! And the way you managed to shoot me even while blindfolded? That’s not even like a soldier! You’re more like a… Hmm, what’s the word?”

“No way!” Advisor insisted. “I wanna join the army with you guys! We’ll defeat those Ostanian monsters together!”

General chuckled. “I know we will, Advisor. But we’ve still got a lot to do. Like learning how to work together.” He coughed emphatically, and Major rolled his eyes.

“Already one step ahead of you guys there,” Corporal said while snickering.

“I hope we get to fight together on the battlefield,” Advisor said. “Even if any of us get badly injured, I know we’ll protect each other.”

“Well, you were able to fight blind in our little war game, but I don’t think those Ostanian monsters are gonna be as dumb as General was,” Major said, and General growled.

Corporal looked down wistfully at his arms. “I don’t know what I’d do if I couldn’t hold a gun to fight. I would just be dead weight for all of us.” He turned to Advisor. “On a real battlefield, you might’ve just had to abandon me.”

Advisor touched his shoulder. “Don’t say that, Advisor! Injured or not, we’re a team. We don’t leave each other behind.”

General sighed. “I gotta admit, I wish I was as inspiring a leader as you, Advisor.”

“You just gotta believe in your men, General,” Advisor said with a humble smile. Corporal beamed.

Major playfully groaned. “Oh man, Advisor’s getting all sentimental again. You can’t be a military officer if you’re soft with your men, you know.”

“Maybe you were right then, Major,” General said. “The army might not be for him, after all.”

Advisor gasped. “Okay, fine then!” He turned to Corporal with a labored attempt at a harsh look. “Corporal, you were a mess out there! It was your fault you got your arms blown off! You didn’t follow my strategy correctly!”

“What?!” Corporal shouted. “W-well, it was your fault for having such a convoluted strategy! And it was your fault you got your eyes blown out! We’re both to blame here!”

General and Major laughed as they continued bickering.

“Turns out you two are as bad as we are, after all!” General said.

Advisor and Corporal, not wanting to stoop down to their level, grunted and mutually decided to stop arguing.

“Alright... We both made some mistakes,” Advisor said. “But overall, you did a great job, Corporal. Just tell me if you can’t understand me next time.”

Corporal nodded. “I hear you loud and clear, Advisor. We’ll do better in the next game.”

Many years later...

Twilight collapsed on his bed, worn down to the bone after another soul-crushing day of Sylvia’s spy training.

“This woman might just kill me,” he quietly said aloud.

“I wouldn’t mind that,” a familiar voice said. “We’d get to meet you sooner.”

Twilight’s eyes widened. He quickly sat up and saw... Major?! “Oh great,” Twilight said. “I’m so tired that I’m hallucinating dead people now.”

“Wow, Advisor,” Major said as he scanned his disheveled frame. “This is what it’s like being a spy? Somehow, it looks worse than military training.”

Twilight grunted. “You don’t know the half of it, Major. And it’s not Advisor any more. It’s Twilight.”

Beside Major, Corporal emerged from the ether. “Twilight? Wow, you really got a cool name now, Advisor! Er… I mean… Twilight?”

Earlier today, Sylvia had drilled into him lessons on suppressing emotions. But in his tired, near-delirious state, he was able to chuckle at this. “Just call me Twilight, guys.”

Finally, General arrived to complete the trio. “I don’t know, man. I can’t get used to that new name, especially if we’re all still military-themed. How about you come up with night-themed spy names for all of us?”

“Hmm…” Corporal said. “What about Midnight? Eventide? Nightfall?”

“Nah, none of those sound as cool as Twilight,” Major said.

General shrugged. “I still prefer Advisor, personally.”

“Guys!” Twilight said, and they all stopped to look at him. “You have to go. This isn’t doing me any good, hallucinating you guys.” He put his hand on his face. “I have to forget about you.”

Major tilted his head. “Now where in your spy training did they say that?”

“They told me I had to bury my emotions deep. A spy must never show their true feelings, after all.”

“Pfft,” General said. “That sounds stupid.”

“That doesn’t mean you have to forget us,” Major said.

Twilight shook his head. “I have to. Honestly, I want to.” He looked down. ‘I don’t really want to, though,’ he thought to himself.

General pointed at him. “Hey! You just said to yourself that you didn’t want to!”

Twilight looked up and blinked as he realized what just happened. “That’s not fair. You guys can read my mind.”

“We’re from your mind, dummy, of course we can,” General said.

Twilight groaned. ‘Why am I still talking to a bunch of imaginary apparitions?’ he thought.

“That’s rude!” General snapped back.

“We’re a spy’s worst enemy,” Corporal said as he snickered. “We can read his mind and see his true feelings!”

“And that’s why I have to bury them deep,” Twilight said harshly. “Why am I even letting you guys say these things to me?”

“Who knows, Advisor. Maybe you’ll meet someone who really can read your mind,” Major said. “Then you’ll be at their mercy. They’ll know your every weakness!”

Twilight scoffed. “Mind readers don’t exist. I won’t have to worry about that.” He looked down again. “Now please… leave me alone.”

The three men looked at each other before Corporal stepped forward and spoke. “Look, Twilight. You became a spy for a reason, didn’t you?”

Twilight let his thoughts go silent, refusing to answer even by accident.

Corporal continued as he took a seat beside Twilight. “No matter what they call you, you’ll always be one of the four musketeers. As my captain, you liked to give me orders, but now I have one for you: Do not forget about us. Keep us in the back of your mind. Can you do that... Advisor?”

Twilight continued his silence, but that didn’t stop them from knowing his answer.

“You know, Advisor,” Corporal said dryly. “Even when your mouth and your head are silent, I can still hear you loud and clear.”

Twilight closed his eyes as the three hugged him, and when he opened them, they were gone; all that remained was a tear that ran down his cheek. Desperately trying to remind himself of his earlier lessons, he chastised himself for even letting his eyes water in the first place.

He repeated to himself, “Bury your emotions deep.”

He laid down and fell into a dreamless sleep.

“Hey, Twilight! You there?” Franky asked as he vigorously waved his hand in front of Loid’s face.

Loid suddenly snapped back to the present. “Yes, I am,” he said so plainly as if he never spaced out in the first place.

“Something on your mind?”

Loid sighed. “Franky... Can you do me a favor?”

“Of course, Twilight. What is it?”

“Keep being a terrible asset... Just every now and then.” Whether Loid knew it or not, his face had let in a genuine smile.

Franky smiled back in complete understanding.

“I’d love to.”

Two weeks later…

Yor walked through the hallway of a train car. She no longer had her daggers, and she was pleased to say that her dress hadn’t even risked a stain in the first place. She stopped to talk with Director McMahon, who was standing outside of a passenger’s room.

“May I speak with him in private now?” Yor asked quietly.

Director McMahon nodded. “Miss, may I ask… why did you insist that he come along? We were able to safely deliver the Vian kids to Nordria just fine without him. He may have helped us secure the documents, but we had no further use for him.”

Yor stood firm. “Don’t forget he also researched every passenger on the train to make sure we were safe. Just because you kept him out of sight doesn’t mean he didn’t do his job... And besides, quit talking about him in terms of his usefulness. He’s my friend, too.”

“I see,” Director McMahon said, and he walked off.

Yor opened the door to see a drowsy Franky at his desk, seemingly attempting to read a book. Beside him was a half-finished -Arturo’s BBQ- takeout box with their new logo.

“Hello, Franky!” she called out as she closed the door behind her.

Franky was jolted awake. “Oh, hey Yor!” he said as he put the book down.

“I’m sorry they made you sit in one car for the entire mission. It must’ve gotten boring monitoring all the bugs,” Yor said as she took a seat on the chair beside him.

“Don’t worry, I didn’t mind. I even managed to entertain myself with some of the gossip I heard.” There was a guy on our train who apparently robbed eighteen speakeasies in one day… probably just a dumb rumor.

Yor chuckled. “I can’t thank you enough for coming with us. Hopefully, they trust you a little more now.”

“They better!” Franky said. “I meant to ask you earlier if there were any updates on Garden and WISE?”

“They’re still investigating, but they haven’t told me much. They were impressed by the success of the Poulos arrest operation, but my boss said they still have to be completely certain before they can trust them.”

“Figures,” Franky said. “Truth be told, I’m still amazed they even listened to my request.”

“Franky, I have to ask… is there someone in WISE you’re trying to protect? I know you told me you were doing this to make sure WISE and Garden didn’t hurt each other, but you’ve been really insistent about this. My boss told me he’s... ‘intrigued’ by that.”

Franky sighed, once again finding himself at the midpoint between the truth and a lie, but for once he wanted to inch closer in a single direction. “There is someone. Have you heard of Twilight?”

“Twilight...” Yor tilted her head as she tried to remember. “Oh, right! I remember now! Some of my targets said he’s an evil traitor to Ostania... but if he works for WISE I’m guessing that’s misleading. You know him, Franky?”

“Well...” He looked off to the side with a look of slight mischief. “Officially, I’m his asset but... you could say Twilight’s a friend of mine.”

“What’s Twilight like? Is he nice?” Yor asked.

“Hmm... Well, everybody knows Twilight as this tough invincible superspy who can deceive anyone. And for the most part, they’re not wrong about that. As an actual person, though... he’s just a softie who isn’t deceiving anybody, least of all me. He likes to pretend he’s some cold, purely logical person who fakes all his emotions, but I’ve known him for long enough to know he really cares for the people closest to him.” He certainly does now, at least. “He can be a real stick in the mud sometimes, but... I’m happy to know him.”

Yor smiled. “Twilight sounds like an amazing man.”

“I’ll say,” he said, suppressing a small chuckle. “I don’t know what’ll happen when Garden finally agrees to contact WISE, but... I hope you get to meet Twilight someday. I think you two will really get along.”

“Huh... I hope so, too. Now I really want to meet Twilight,” Yor said.

You already have, Franky thought but had to fight not to say out loud. “Oh yeah, another thing I wanted to ask... You got to see the Vian kids for this mission. I know this isn’t our business, but... did you ever find out why they wanted to go to Nordria? It’s just such a weird place to go. I just want to make sure we didn’t accidentally lead them into a trap or something.”

“They didn’t tell me anything during the trip. But I did talk to Mira about it a few days ago,” Yor said.

Franky blinked. “You managed to secure a private conversation with Mira?”

“She actually asked for the conversation herself. We did it near that safehouse we went to. Turns out she really likes me. She said she was willing to take that risk.”

“I guess that makes sense,” Franky said, shrugging. It is such a miracle she’s still alive. “So what did she say?”

Mira looked at Yor. “I feel bad for prying into their business, but given that we needed to forge identities for them, I was bound to find out the truth. I won’t tell you what exactly the secret is, but you know I have been into riddles lately. Mainly just to entertain Eric and I. Anyway, here’s the riddle: Contrary to what the Poulos family might’ve believed, this secret doesn’t shimmer, nor does it burn when you light a small fire at its feet. And it can’t be exchanged for anything. But when this secret is reunited with these two kids who kept it hidden for so long, it’ll cry in disbelief. And then it’ll laugh. And then it’ll smile. They’ve come back home.”

“Huh...” Yor said.

“I’ll admit,” Mira added. “That’s an easy one.”

“Oh y-yeah, it is! That’s... great!”

“Wow,” an amazed Franky said. “So that’s what it is.”

Yor looked down in embarrassment. “Honestly, I didn’t understand what she meant by that.”

Franky chuckled and smiled. “If I understand correctly, it sounds like they reunited with their mother.”

Yor’s eyes glowed. “Oh, that’s amazing!” she cheered.

“Now I’m really glad I was able to help these kids,” Franky said. “I know you’re mainly a contract killer, but I bet you enjoy jobs like these, don’t you?”

“Of course!” Yor said eagerly as she thought back to her experience with Olka Gretcher. “It feels great to see the people I’ve protected. It reminds me why I’m still doing this.”

“Spies and hitmen sacrifice a lot to do this kind of work. Thank yous don’t come very often... Sometimes we forget who we’re doing this for,” Franky said, thinking about Twilight.

“Why do you work as an informant, Franky?” Yor inquired.

“Well, I’ve told you what WISE is all about. War is hell, and I want to do anything I can to stop it from happening again. You know, Twilight has an even bigger goal. He told me he wants to create a world where children don’t have to cry.”

“Wow,” Yor said. “That’s really noble. Twilight reminds me of Loid…”

Franky flinched. “How so?”

“Loid said he became a psychiatrist because he wanted to help the veterans that are still suffering today. He told me it was because of you. I really admire you, Loid, and Twilight for being so committed to peace.” She developed a resolute look. “You know what? I want to adopt Twilight’s philosophy. I want to create a world where children don’t have to cry as well.” She thought about her experiences taking care of Yuri. I want them all to smile like Yuri did…

“Right there with you, Yor,” a smiling Franky said. “It would break my heart to see Anya crying.” At least Loid knows he isn’t just expendable anymore.

“Of course,” Yor said, then she perked up. “Oh, that reminds me! I actually got a gift for Anya.” She took out a solid gold button pin bearing the face of the trusty Bondman.

“That’s amazing!” Franky said as he picked it up to examine it. Doesn’t look like there’s any bugs on it... “How’d you get it? Did you use the money you got from the mission?”

“Oh no, I just asked Melinda for a favor. She told me she was happy to know that Damian’s been wearing the Vincent pin and she loved the idea of Anya having a matching Spy Wars pin.” She said it in a really weird way, though...

“She’s gonna love it, Yor. She’ll be really happy to find out you did all that!” Franky said as he handed it back to her. Assuming she hasn’t already read your mind about it…

“Yeah!” Yor cheered. “Franky, I don’t know what you said to Anya that night, but she’s been so much happier. She told me she’s gotten so much closer to Damian since then. She said they sat together at lunch a few days ago.”

Franky smiled. “I’m really glad to hear it, Yor. She really surprised me with her honesty that night. But I’m happy to know I actually helped her.”

Yor then turned wistful. “I know she told you a secret, and I respect that, but… I admit I’m still curious what it was that she couldn’t tell us. Loid told me...”

“I think it’s because we’re her parents that she doesn’t want to tell us,” Loid said. “I never told my parents everything right away. Whatever the secret is, she’s scared it’ll make us angry or disappointed with her.”

“...But I don’t think I could ever be angry or disappointed with Anya. Whatever it is, I just know I’ll understand.”

Franky bit his lip. “I really do think you’ll understand, but... it’s not my decision to make. It’s up to her when she wants to tell you. But I promise you, it won’t make you love each other any less. I can at least assure you one thing: She really loves you. And nothing else about you, assassin job included, has—I mean will change that. Seriously.”

“I…” She didn’t have her daggers right now, but she couldn’t stop herself from thinking about them in doubt. “...I really hope you’re right about that. I just can’t imagine her accepting this.”

“Trust me, Yor. She’s a lot more... open-minded than you’d think.”

Yor chuckled. “I have noticed she can be oddly insightful for a kid her age. Sometimes it’s like she can read my mind or something.”

“Well y-yeah, b-but it’s not like that’s-that’s possible or-or anything heh heh,” Franky stammered.

“Of course not...” Yor said, confused at his reaction. “But even if she could, I know I would still accept her. My only worry is I’d traumatize her with my assassin work.”

“Just try not to get too graphic with your thoughts,” Franky suggested. You probably have traumatized her a little bit by accident...

“I’ll try,” a resolute Yor said. ...Wait, why am I acting like she really can read minds?

“By the way...” Yor continued. “That’s not the only gift I asked Melinda to make.” She took out another solid gold button pin bearing the face of Bondman’s trusty sidekick, Mr. Lighter!

Franky gasped. “For me?!” He eagerly snatched the pin.

“Yep! Now you can match with Anya! And I also just wanted to thank you for being such a good friend and accepting me.”

Franky continued admiring the button pin, really seeing a little bit of himself where Mr. Lighter’s proud mug was. “It was my pleasure, Yor. I’m really glad Loid and I got to know you. Even if it’s all just fake, well...” He briefly thought about all he had lost in the war. “...you guys are the best family I could’ve hoped for.” Damn, now I’m getting all sentimental, too? This is unfair...

Yor’s eyes began to water. “Thank you, Franky,” she said as a distant announcement began.

“Attention, passengers. We will be arriving at the Ostanian station shortly. Please remember to…”

Yor glanced at the golden Bondman pin in her hand again as she drifted off and reminisced.

In the kitchen, a teenaged Yor was preparing a plate of ““breakfast”” (supposedly) when Yuri came into the room.

“Sis!” Yuri shouted. “You were in my dream last night!”

“Oh, that’s wonderful! What was it about?” Yor said, putting her hands together.

“There was this evil monster chasing me but then you came in with a bunch of knives and chopped him up for me! You got covered in blood and everything!” a gleeful Yuri said.

Yor gasped and put her hand on her mouth. “Oh my goodness, Yuri!” She hugged him tight. “I’m so sorry you had that nightmare!”

Yuri’s eyebrow raised. “What do you mean, sis? It wasn’t a nightmare! You saved me!”

Yor let go and wiped away a tear. “But… you-you must’ve been scared of me handling those knives, right? I-I promise I would n-nev—”

“It’s okay, sis. You protected me! You were so cool, I loved it! You were like…” Yuri made a series of swift blade-like motions with his hands. “Killer slice! Swish! Hiss!”

“Y-You really mean it?”

“Yeah!” Yuri cheered with his hands raised in the air.

Yor couldn’t help but leave her mouth gaping, but after a few moments of shock, she laughed. “That sounds like a wonderful dream, Yuri. I’m glad you weren’t scared of me.”

“I could never be scared of you, sis. I wanna be strong just like you! I love you.” Yuri went in to hug her.

Yor smiled and let her tears fall down. “I love you too, Yuri.”

She also remembered a more recent time when she saved Anya from a few kidnappers, after which Anya said she was “so strong and cool.”

“I wanna be like you, Ma!”

Anya’s words echoed in her mind like a pleasant song, making Yor smile as she held the Bondman pin tight to her heart. As the train stopped at the Ostanian station, Franky finished putting his Mr. Lighter pin right above his heart. He looked out the window.

“Looks like we’re home,” he said.

EPILOGUE

Two days later, in the Forger home…

“Pick a card,” Franky said, holding up three cards. “Any card. Just remember… don’t pick the Joker. Since it’s the final round, I’ll throw you a bone. Picking a non-Joker nets you three points!”

Anya tensed up, for Franky was 2 points ahead. If she picked the Joker, she would lose her pack of peanuts. But if she picked any other card, she would get to keep it as well as take Franky’s uneaten chicken wings.

Okay, Anya thought. I just need to focus on Scruffy’s mind.

Man, Franky thought. I really hope she doesn’t pick the Joker in the middle of my hand.

Hehe… sorry Scruffy. I can’t lose the peanuts and money laundry chicken wings. She reached for the card on Franky’s left side, but then she heard another thought.

Oh, I sure hope she isn’t breaking her promise at the start of the game by reading my mind now... or else she’d know the Joker’s really on the left side of my hand.

Anya hesitated and started to move her hand away from his left side.

Or is it on the right? He looked up innocently. Wow, I’m such an idiot. I forgot what the Joker looks like… Is it the guy with the crown in the middle of my hand? No, it’s gotta be the card with the “J” on it. The one that’s on my right side. Or is that her right side? My left? Her left? My middle? Her middle?

Oh no... Anya thought. H-He’s trying to trick me…

Franky’s eyes narrowed as a mischievous smile creeped onto his face. “What’s wrong, Anya? You’re not reading my mind, are you?”

“O-of c-course not!” Anya insisted as her hands continued to hover in uncertainty. What sh-should I do?! She decided to stop listening to his mind and tried to remember the optimal strategy he taught her at the start. I n-need to read his.. ‘p-p-poke her face’. She looked up at Franky, but to her dismay, he kept a consistently mischievous smile. He was probably hard at work setting up traps in his mind, unaware that she had tuned out.

She closed her eyes, calmed down, and tried to focus. She tried to use what little she retained from her math lessons to calculate the odds: Scruffy has one Joker in his hand and two other cards. I can pick either a Joker card or not a Joker, which means… I have a 50% chance of winning! This should be easy!

She took a “methodical” shot in the dark and reached for the right side of his hand. She turned it around and opened her eyes to reveal…

“King of Hearts!” she cheered.

On the dining room table, a defeated Franky sat opposite to Anya, who was victoriously munching on some chicken wings.

“You read my mind, didn’t you?” he asked.

“Nuh-uh!” Anya said.

Franky narrowed his eyes.

Feeling guilty, Anya confessed. “I read your mind at the start of the final round, but you confused me so much so I stopped and just relied on star-tis-sticks. I promise!!”

Franky sighed, at least appreciating her honesty. “Well, fair enough. You had a 66% chance of winning just by guessing anyway.”

“I did? I thought it was just 50%!”

“...You still have a lot to learn, Anya,” Franky said before looking at the window. “Wow, it’s getting really late. Your parents still aren’t back.”

“They’re doing missions, right?” Anya asked.

“Yep,” Franky said. “Yor’s out taking down some terrorist group and Twilight’s out with Nightfall to stop a drug smuggling ring. I checked and thankfully, they’re very far from one another dealing with entirely unrelated groups. They won’t meet by accident.”

Anya gasped. “Chichi’s out with that scary white-haired lady?”

Franky chuckled. “That’s a funny way to describe her, but yes, he’s out with Nightfall.”

“You have to make sure they don’t shack up!”

Suddenly taken aback, Franky stifled a laugh. “Okay, so first of all you need to stop letting Becky teach you those words. But why are you worried they’ll… uh… ‘shack up’?”

“I’ve been reading that lady’s mind! She’s super in love with Chichi and wants to marry him!”

Franky’s jaw dropped a little. “You’re… you’re kidding, right?”

Anya shook her head vigorously.

Franky paused for a moment and burst into raucous laughter. “AAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA”

“This is serious!” Anya said. “If she becomes my Mama, she’ll whip me! She’s scary!!”

Franky slowly, but surely managed to gather himself. “Alright, alright... you know Anya, I don’t think you’ll have to worry about this. I think Loid’s already taken, and Fiona’s not exactly the most endearing woman...”

“She’s like Becky,” Anya said. “She also wants Chichi to marry her.”

“Ha! Can’t believe Nightfall is just like a toddler... I want to make fun of her so bad for this next time she forces me to work with her.” She’s softened up to me enough not to kill me.

Anya narrowed her eyes at that thought. “Hmm…”

“Oh yeah, that reminds me. How’s Damian?” he asked, now proudly embracing his role as the Uncle. “Yor told me you guys sat at lunch the other day. You feel like it’s not just for the Operation anymore?”

“Yeah!” Anya cheered. “He keeps trying to be mean to me, but now it’s just funny! I showed him Mama’s Bondman pin and said we matched and his face got all red!”

Franky bit his lip. Geez, they’re only six and they’re already going through that? Twilight wouldn’t like to hear this... Oh wait, she can hear me.

Anya tilted her head. “What do you mean?”

“You know what, that’s not important,” he said as he tried thinking of unrelated things.

“Oh, Scruffy! I didn’t tell you this, but… I’m not six. I lied so Chichi would take me home.”

“Yeah...” Franky began. “I kind of already found out while looking into your background these past few weeks. It does explain a few things...”

“Please don’t tell Chichi!”

“C’mon, you literally told me you can read minds and I haven’t told him. Of course I’ll keep this secret, too.” Geez, I really gotta be the confidant for everything in this family now? “And about the guys who hurt you in that lab... I promise I’ve been making progress, but it’s been slow.”

Anya smiled. “It’s okay, Scruffy! I’m happy just having fun with you!”

Franky beamed. “Thanks, kid.”