A/N Did anyone happen to notice my cameo appearance in the last chapter? If not, I'm the number hog obsessed with 9s. Like, obsessed obsessed. Just ask my friends. XD

Not much to say, just a reminder that I've started school now and updates may be a little slow in coming. But Odd Todd is kind of forcing me to finish this story, so I won't abandon it. ;) Not that I want to. As I told Todd, I was a little apprehensive about this story idea at first, but it's turning out to be a fun project and exciting journey! Of course, it's even better to have all you readers along for the ride. :D

And finally, as you can see, the title of this chapter is "Be My Mirror, My Sword and Shield". Brownie points to anyone who can find the one sentence in this chapter that (practically) literally describes the title. ;) Let me know your answers in the reviews!

3 - Be My Mirror, My Sword and Shield

SHOPPING/COLLECTION LIST:

* Drum set

* Jar of pickle juice

* Footheld spoon

* Blue blob (with extra lemon flavor)

* Sandwichinator

* Multiple kinds of pie

I can't believe I'm actually doing this, Olive thought, shaking her head.

It was the next morning, and Olive was sitting at a park bench by herself (not counting the pigeons cooing and pecking at who-knows-what further down the sidewalk). For the first time in her entire career at Odd Squad, she'd actually skipped work.

After all, how else would she have had the time to collect and bring to the park with her all the things she knew Todd liked?

Olive looked at the spread lying on the sidewalk in front of her. Todd had said she knew how to find him, and he was right—although at that moment it might've been more accurate to say he knew how to find her. Hence Olive's grocery list. Most of it wasn't hard to get, though she didn't know how she found the nerve to buy all those pies at the Shmumber Market. She'd positioned them as far away from herself as she could, but still felt a twinge of fear in looking at them.

Twinge of fear? Hadn't it been the exact opposite in that warehouse with Otto?

Otto.

What was he going to think of all this?

Would he ever forgive her?

Why was she even wondering about Otto after what he'd said to her last night?

Olive was still coming up with answers to all four questions when she heard an all-too familiar cackle. There was a blurry riot of color at the edge of her vision, and suddenly there he was, running up to the bench and coming to a stop in front of her. "Well, well, well," Todd smirked. "If it isn't my old partner, skipping work to come pay her arch nemesis a visit. Now who could've ever seen that coming?"

"Cut the act, Todd," Olive retorted. Though she'd arranged the meeting, that didn't mean she was on his side. "We're here for business only."

"Are we, Scribbles?" He indicated the spread laid out on the ground between them. "Your gifts seem to suggest otherwise." Bending down, Todd inspected the items. "My, my, you don't disappoint. Let's see...blobs, good. Pickle juice, good. Pies, good. Appreciate the lemon meringue by the way, nice touch. Drum set, good. Foot spoon, good. And is this my Sandwichinator?" With this last remark, he picked up the gadget and hefted it. "Never thought I'd see it again. I believe you've even used it on a case or two, am I correct?"

Olive hid her surprise and gave him a pointed look instead. "What we do with our gadgets is none of your concern, Todd. Not anymore."

Todd rolled his eyes and stood up indignantly, kicking away a stray pigeon that had wandered too close to one of his pies. "How many times do I have to tell you? It's Odd Todd now!"

"You might as well stop trying to make me say that," Olive scoffed, enjoying watching him squirm. "I was never partnered with anyone named Odd Todd. My partner was known as Todd, and that's how he'll stay."

The words tumbled out before she realized what she was saying. Too late, she clapped a hand over her mouth as Todd raised an eyebrow. "Interesting. So that's what this is about. You really are having a change of heart, aren't you."

Now it was Olive's turn to squirm. "No! I mean, that's not what I meant, I-I-I...Otto. He's—I mean, you're not—my partner," she finished weakly.

Todd took a step closer. For the first time that Olive could remember, there wasn't a hint of humor or vanity in his face. "Are you sure about that, Olive? Are you really sure? Because it sounds an awful lot like you still think of me as your partner. Am I close to the mark yet?"

Olive flinched, immediately cursing herself for doing so. "I-I told you," she stammered. "We're here for business."

All seriousness faded from him, and Todd was his normal self once more. He gave her a wink that suggested he didn't completely believe, but was willing to oblige her for now. "Right-o, then. Business it is!" Plopping down on the park bench beside her, he went on, "So what's the first item on the agenda?"

Olive opened her mouth, then stopped. For the millionth time, she wondered what exactly she was doing: skipping work, sitting next to her old par—her arch nemesis in the middle of a park. Not to mention she seemed to have no control over her thoughts, words, or actions. It was very unnerving, all of it. "Well, to begin with, I'm not even sure why I contacted you in the first place," Olive sighed, voicing her thoughts. "I mean, you're right, we're archenemies and we're supposed to hate each other."

Todd waved a hand dismissively. "Oh, please. You forget we're meeting here under the white flag of truce. You did say in your email, 'All anger and hatred and past encounters aside'. Now please continue."

"Um..." Get a grip, Olive! Pull yourself together! "You read everything I wrote about in my email, then?"

"Duh, of course I did. Rough day, huh?"

Somewhere in the back of Olive's mind, a little part of her was laughing at how surreal this moment was. She and Todd were actually sharing a casual conversation for the first time in years. "Yeah, rough day. Rough month, even. Maybe longer. I dunno. But I do know you kinda went through the same thing back when we were still partners. I was sort of hoping you might have advice for me on what to do." Like he would, Olive thought scornfully. Everyone knows exactly what he did once he got bored.

Todd stroked his chin, and Olive could almost see the gears turning in his mind. "Hmm. Remember what I told you the day I was so epically awesome and released the pienado?"

Olive ignored the attitude. How could she ever forget Todd's words? "You're the one who should stop, Scribbles! Odd Squad g—get—got it all wrong! They should be making the world more odd, which is what I am going to do..." It made her shudder to think about it. "Yes, I remember."

"And the day I quit the squad so I could go do more epically awesome things?"

Ms. O had accused him of taking her and Olive to the wrong house on purpose. "That's right," Todd had said in a sinister tone, "because that is interesting! Instead of making the world all boring-bore-bore, which is what the Odd Squad always does..."

"Boring-bore-bore," Olive echoed quietly.

"Exactly!" Todd exclaimed. "See, that's what you're feeling now, isn't it? Everything's all boring-bore-bore, and suddenly oddness seems so much more fun!"

Olive shook her head vigorously. "No, no it doesn't!" she insisted, a little too quickly. "Nothing good ever comes out of being odd—"

"Nothing, like my Sandwichinator?"

"Huh?"

Todd held up the gadget. "I built this, remember? And I played that awesome practical joke on you with your sandwich!" He giggled at the memory, then cleared his throat when he saw that Olive wasn't laughing. "Come on, you and Otto later used this on a case, didn't you? Don't deny it."

Olive thought back to that day on the plane, when a woman's hands turned to sandwiches and she and Otto fixed it with...with the Sandwichinator. "Yes, we did," she admitted.

Todd smiled smugly. "I thought so. You solved a case with a gadget I made out of oddness. So the odd side can't be all that bad, huh? I mean, I wouldn't say we have cookies, sure. But come on, look what good comes out of oddness?"

Olive looked away, suddenly interested in the nearby pigeon flock. "I don't know..."

"Yes, you do." Todd leaned over and took her chin in his hand, turning her head until they locked eyes. He looked dead serious again. "I knew from the start that it would only be a matter of time before you followed in my pentagonal footsteps."

Olive shot him a look, not certain what to make of the statement.

"Pssh, don't worry about it," Todd said hurriedly, realising he was getting off track. "Anyhow, I knew you were an accomplished agent, one of the best, and before long you'd get bored. Admit it, you almost joined that one day at Polly's stand."

"Hold on, back up. Did you say accomplished?" Olive raised an eyebrow. "You're saying you knew that about me, after all those years of being selfish and calling me slow and putting me down like I was worth nothing? If I was such a smart agent, why didn't you let me work and show that?"

Todd's mouth tightened into a thin line. "That's my one regret. I do wish I had let you prove your worth, too, instead of overshadowing it. Then you might've joined me sooner."

"You're being selfish again."

"So are you. You are here, after all," Todd countered. "But hey, what's wrong with taking care of your own personal needs once in a while? Only the odd side can let you do that, you know."

Olive wasn't sure she liked where the conversation was going. "Speaking of my own personal problems," she said, getting up from the bench to stare down her nose at her old partner, "I think it's pretty clear what your advice to me is. You want me to quit my job and join the Todd Squad with you."

Todd grinned. "Pretty much!"

"And just why should I do that?" Olive asked, placing her hands on her hips and fighting to keep the tremor out of her voice.

"I already told you," Todd said with a shrug. "Good does come out of oddness, and you can relieve your boredom and serve your own needs." He likewise stood up so that he towered over her once again. "Besides," he said, his voice dropping to almost a hysteric whisper, "the Todd Squad doesn't have to be a one-man band. I want an assistant, a companion, a partner-in-crime. Someone to fight the boring, defend the odd, and reflect everything my squad stands for. Someone who, once my partner, always my partner. You. Olive, I need you."

You…you…you…you… The words echoed through Olive's mind, stirring up echoes of other memories. Mentally defending his position at the O Games. Almost joining him at Polly Graph's lemonade stand when he said the word 'together'. Searching '#oddsquad' on social media and getting nothing but fun-filled results. Losing her ability to focus on distracting cases. Sending all those emails in his absence.

All the times everyone at Odd Squad had doubted her and she'd lost their trust.

Her fights with Otto.

Olive squeezed her eyes shut and clutched her forehead, as if somehow trying to knead her memories right out of her brain. The scent of lemons (probably from the blobs and the pies) reached her nose, and she forced herself to clear her head. When she finally reopened her eyes, Todd was still standing there expectantly, curious pigeons hopping and fluttering all over the spread behind him.

Olive sighed. She had plenty of reasons to quit Odd Squad, that was for sure. But there was still one last problem. One last effort to resist him. "Okay, so fun, I get it. Self-interest, got it. Old partners, yep. But earlier, you said I was wrong when I thought that nothing good ever came out of oddness. I'm sorry, but you're gonna have to figure out a way to prove it to me before I'll even consider your offer. Name—no, show—me one good thing that can come out of being odd." Holding up her wrist, she looked at her watch. "You have ten...nine...eight..."

Todd paled. He was losing her. "Olive, wait—"

And that's when the pigeons attacked.

Triggered by some hidden lemony signal, the entire pigeon flock rose up off the ground and dive-bombed straight at Todd. Screaming in panic, he tried to bat them all away, but there were just too many. They were everywhere, pecking at his hair, clawing at his face, even pooping on his clothes. Olive instinctively jumped back and whipped out a gadget.

It was at that moment her awareness failed her. She didn't recall firing. She didn't recall the blinding beam of light. She certainly didn't recall the alarmed cries or the sensation of falling. But next thing she knew, Olive was lying on the sidewalk, heart pounding in her ears and drowning out everything else. Slowly she sat up, groaning and rubbing her head, but it didn't feel completely real to her. Less so when she saw what she'd done.

The pigeons were gone. Her gadget, the Puddinginator, was lying in the grass off to the side. And Todd, covered in a gross mixture of white guano and chocolate pudding, sat collapsed on the bench in front of her.

Olive scrambled to her feet. "What have I done?" she whispered.

A slow, incredulous smile spread across Todd's face. "I don't believe it. Your first odd deed. You actually did it. All those pigeons—Polly's pigeons, I guess, otherwise they wouldn't have recognized me—you turned them into pudding to save Odd Todd!" He broke into a huge maniacal laugh and circled the bench in sheer joy. Finally, he thought ecstatically. Finally I have the last piece of the puzzle! He felt the final component of his 500 piece puppy puzzle bouncing in his pocket, where it had been the entire time. And even better, I've secured Olive! "Well, there's no turning back now," he panted with a smirk, "because now you have to join me! Right?"

Olive sank to her knees. Shock. She was in shock. That couldn't have been her, Todd was wrong, she hadn't done that, there was no way, no way at all, she wasn't odd, no way…no way… no…

Something came over Olive just then. A sense of peace. And suddenly, everything was crystal clear. Why hadn't she realized it before?

"Alright," she managed. "Yes. I will join you."