I knocked on the door, and Alfred opened it up to gawk at me.

"Woah, you look hot!"

I blushed deeply and glared at him. "T-that's not the type of thing you say to a friend!"

I was secretly pleased, of course. I was wearing something that my mother had gotten me months ago for my birthday, and I never wore it because it looked too fancy and it always felt like people judged me when I walked by. I may have been a lawyer but I was still sensitive to the looks of strangers, ever since I was a teenager.

Alfred didn't look half-bad, either. In fact he looked, well…handsome. I had to admit that him wearing a blue collared shirt with jeans actually looked pretty good. The more I looked the more attractive he was. Goddammit stupid heart…

"You don't look half-bad either," I muttered, satisfied when I saw him look at me with surprise.

I swear I heard bouncing as Dia ran over to me, wearing a flattering but slutty strapless short dress. She embraced me, the chomping of gum filling my ears. I flinched a bit but hugged her back, glaring as Alfred glanced at me with amusement.

"So I can't like, cook and stuff so we just ordered pizza instead," Dia explained as she led me to the kichen. I saw the pizza boxes and imagined that between the both of them I'd probably get three slices, at the most.

Dia got out the plates, talking about this girl she worked with who was a complete 'skank' and 'ass-kisser'. I ignored most of it, never much one for gossip. Alfred and Dia dug in, eating their fill of five pizzas per person. Dia excused herself to use the ladies room, which she called the 'pisser', leaving me to listen to Alfred's ravenous eating.

As I ate my piece he stopped, gulping loudly. I looked at him and he said, "Dia's the only person who can eat more pieces than me."

I frowned at him. "What?"

"It's pretty amazing," He continued with a somber expression. "I never thought someone could beat the Hero."

"Where are you going with this?" I scoffed, still perplexed and slightly freaked out.

He didn't answer at first, the serious look in his eyes unwavering.

"I think I might marry her."

I spat out the water I was drinking, staring at him in shock.

"Your what now?" I breathed with disbelief. "You can't be serious, Alfred!"

"But I am," Alfred replied, "I'm in love with her."

I gazed at his expression, knowing full and well that was a lie. "You don't love her, Alfred. Why would you marry her?"

"It's none of your business," He responded passively, picking up his plate to put away. I glared at him in infuriation, getting up with my own plate.

"Bullshit, Alfred," I hissed angrily, "now tell me the real reason you're doing this."

"Ah, that feels so much better!" Dia announced as she came out of the bathroom, stretching out her arms in relaxation. Once seeing us she went over to me and pulled my arm towards the TV.

"Oh, I have to show you this new show! It's from my hometown!" Dia boasted as she picked up the TV remote and turned the screen on.

I broke away from her, saying, "Sorry, but I actually have something I need to do at home."

She looked disappointed but shrugged and kept watching her program. I cast a glance towards Alfred and felt my heart break when he kept his back to me.

"Alice, good to see you!" Watson called to me gleefully as I entered his office. I smiled at him, cleverly hiding back a scowl.

"Nice to see you too, Watson," I replied as he motioned for me to sit at the chair in front of him. I tucked in my skirt and did, feeling the strange power from him eminating over me.

He clasped his hands on his desk and grinned at me. "So I heard a strange rumor the other day."

I shifted my weight uneasily, scared that he knew my real identity.

"It turns out that-and I'm not lying here-a unit is getting married to a human!" Watson laughed at the last part and I followed along, already knowing who it was but not sure.

"Do you know who they are?" I inquired as he flashed the celebrity-quality smile.

He nodded, replying with a glint in his eyes, "An Alfred F. Jones unit and a Dia Fergison New Jersey girl."

My blood froze to ice. "Really?"

He handed me pictures and I saw with a mixture of surprise and dejection the engagement rings on the both of them, even Alfred proposing. It felt like one of my heart strings had been cut off.

"Heartbreaking, I know," Watson sighed, taking them from me and looking at them. "How someone can even consider even dating one of those creatures I have no idea. It's close to beastiality in some ways."

"Yeah…" I trailed off, lost in my thoughts. He actually went through with it. The bastard actually did it. I wasn't actually angry, though, just…sad.

"So what do you propose we do to separate the lovebirds?" Watson put quotations between lovebirds and I shrugged.

"I don't really know except to stop the wedding."

"I see…" Watson mused for a moment, looking thoughtful. Suddenly he clapped his hands together. "Alright then, I've got it!"

I leaned forward for him to tell me but he smirked at me. "Sorry, but I can't tell you yet."

"Ah, I see," I responded, going back. He held up a finger and closed both eyes.

"But I will tell you this; it'll make headlines!" On the last few words he opened his eyes, smiling at me friendly.

To me that smile was evil, not friendly.

"So he plans to hurt Alfred then…" Arthur mused, "did he say whether or not he'd kill him?"

"He just said that it would make headlines," I shrugged, trying to look nonchalant. He nodded and glared as Gaul!Francis tried to change the current news channel to the Playboy one.

Arthur snatched the remote away from him and Gaul!Francis sat next to me, pouting. I smirked a bit at his annoyed face. Arthur took another sip of his tea, recoiling after he drank.

"Blimey, I thought I told you to make better tea!" He complained, making disgusted faces at the innocent teacup.

I frowned at him. "If you don't like my tea then you should bring your own."

He waved it off and replied, "No no, too much of a hassle. I'll just make a fresh cup for myself."

Saying that, Arthur got up and went to make himself more tea, leaving Gaul!Francis and I together. I saw a strange aura form around him and he smiled ominously at me.

"If you plan on groping me," I declared seriously, "I will cut your hand off from your wrist."

His smile instantly disappeared and he said, "Why must you be so cruel, mademoiselle?"

"I'm afraid that's just how I am," I reponded as I watched Arthur prepare his 'better' tea.

Gaul!Francis scoffed and I glanced at him curiously.

"What is it?"

"Honestly, I cannot see what Alfred sees in you," He stated, causing my face to get red.

I put my hands in my lap. "He doesn't see anything in me, he's engaged to someone else." I responded firmly.

Gaul!Francis shook his head. "He still likes you, Erica. Why else do you think he's marrying that big-chested girl?"

"You aren't making any sense," I glared at him.

"Here's a question you need to ask yourself: Do you like him?" He inquired, catching me off guard.

I opened my mouth to reply but found that nothing came out. After a minute from Gaul!Francis staring at me expectantly I replied grudgingly, "I do. In fact, I'm in love with him."

Gaul!Francis chuckled, "I knew it! You two always were the most likely to be a couple."

I facepalmed, sighing, "That doesn't matter anymore, we're just friends and that's how it'll stay."

"But he feels the same way," Gaul!Francis pointed out, "But like you he doesn't want to ruin your friendship so that's why he's, as you would say, 'tying the knot'."

I was about to reply when Arthur interrupted our conversation, grabbing Gaul!Francis and hoisting him up. "I hate to leave so shortly but the force just called me and said there was a domestic disturbance, so I have to leave."

Gaul!Francis protested but walked away with him anyway, and I waved a quick farewell to them as they left. I went back to the kitchen to clean the mess Arthur probably made and found out that he had taken the teacup.

"No wonder he had to leave so shortly," I grumbled as I wiped away tomato stains on the cubboards and washed away excess cucumber juice on the floor. What kind of tea the Briton was hoping to make I had no idea, and I didn't really want to know.

"Feliciano? Mr. Vargas?" I called as I searched for the cheerful Italian. I hadn't seen him since this morning and I wasn't told that he was sick. I hated to admit it but I was kind of worried about him.

I still couldn't hear his 've~'s', causing me to become even more suspicious. Where was he? It was almost lunch break-

"Are you looking for Vargas-san?" Kiku's quiet and polite voice sounded from behind me and I turned around to see him.

I nodded, somewhat startled. "Yeah, I am. Have you seen him anywhere?"

"He and Amelia-senpai went out to lunch together," He informed me.

I couldn't help it: I smiled. So I was right all along about those two, I thought smugly.

"Thank you, Mr. Honda," I replied and he nodded. I was about to walk away when he called me back.

"Excuse me, Monroe-san, but I want to know something," He asked while darting his eyes back and forth weirdly. "Why does your friend Brittany-san keep following me?"

I laughed, which made him cringe. "Oh, you should ask her that yourself, Kiku!" I stopped midsentence and corrected myself, "Mr. Honda, I mean."

Kiku shook his head. "It's alright if you call me that. But I guess I must ask her then…"

He looked to the right of us and I could barely see Brittany's hair above one of the cabinets. I held back a laugh and Kiku walked away, looking back to make sure she wasn't stalking him. When he had gotten out of eyesight Brittany sprung from her hiding place and tackled me.

"Why did you do that?" She said frantically, freaking out, "I'm not ready to ask him out yet!"

"It's either that or he files for harassment," I pointed out, forcing her off me. She bent her head in sadness and I sighed. "Look, if he says no, he'll say no. It's not the end of the world."

"You don't know that…" She mumbled, but then added, "But you're right, it wouldn't be. But if I get rejected I'm blaming you!"

She pointed a finger at me for extra effect and I chuckled. "I know, you don't need to remind me."

She nodded seriously and stomped back to her desk, making me giggle a bit.

Sitting down at my own desk, I almost dismissed the call from my phone but then saw it was the Anti-Units group calling. Holding back a shudder I put it to my ear and hit talk.

"Alice, glad you picked up," The voice was undoubtedly Katrina's, "Watson wants us to work together today, so meet me at the usual place."

I dreaded what that would be but said, "Sure, I'll be there."

She automatically cut me off and I stared at the screen, stunned that the call had ended so quickly. Oh well, nothing I should really worry about. Right?

"Once again, I repeat," I muttered, "fuck my life."

I spotted Katrina's flying brown hair and waved to her, smiling when she smiled at me.

We shook hands and she said, "Are you ready for this? I know it's your first mission and all, but you don't need to be nervous."

"Oh I'll be fine," I responded curtly, slightly annoyed she was taking that tone with someone older, "I can handle myself."

"Good." She grabbed my hand and led me past a few streets, and soon the brightness of the afternoon darkened as we crept into darker allies. I saw homeless people near the walls coughing and begging for money and felt a rush of pity for them.

Katrina led me into a small shack outside and welcomed me in, saying, "This is where I live."

When I looked inside I saw that there was no walls, only a sink, a few mattresses, and a TV set. The walls surrouding it were made of recycled materials and there was a few people lying on a mattress watching a fuzzy TV screen. The scene pulled at my heartstrings and I turned towards Katrina, who was busy gluing back more of the walls.

"I've been living here for a year now," She explained as she patted down everything, "it all began when my father lost his job as a policeman and it was taken over by a clone. After that he couldn't get another one and we had to move here to the Hoover Villes, where I was forced to drop out of school."

"What happened to your mother?" I inquired, and soon regretted the question when Katrina's face became enraged.

"I don't talk about her, and neither does Watson," She growled. "She left us to be in show business and never talked to us again."

"Wait, Watson's your father?" I was shocked to hear this; the leader usually dressed so nicely, it was hard to believe he lived in something like this.

"Watson is my uncle," Katrina replied matter-of-factly, "my father died last year of pnemonia."

I flinched and watched as she fixed the make-shift home, not speaking at all. I put my hand in hers and squeezed it sympathetically.

"I'm sorry, Katrina," I muttered, and she turned around with tears in her eyes. She nodded silently and hugged me, crying softly. I patted her back, not caring if people noticed the scene or not. It wasn't right for her to have to live like this, it wasn't right at all.

But that wasn't a good reason to murder clones.

I sighed and sat down on the couch, flipping through channels with boredem. I wouldn't find out until tomorrow if Kiku said yes to Brittany and I couldn't interrogate Amelia over the phone about her relationship with Feliciano. The case I needed to do was dropped because Mickie D's settled, which was comforting because I wouldn't have to educate people on the structure of spines and how they developed over time.

My thoughts eventually drifted to the memories I had with Richard, and my heart ached. It had been weeks, months even, since his death and yet I still couldn't get the pain out of my heart. He wasn't my first love but he was the first man I was engaged to, and before his mission our future together looked brighter than the sun. Tradegy struck, though, and that kind and hopeful image we had together smashed to a thousand pieces. Would he approve of me joining a group that was against the very thing I had worked hardest to free? Would he be sad, supportive, or angry? My mind pointed to angry and I agreed with it; Richard was always overprotective with me, like a certain someone I knew…

No, can't think about that.

I turned off the TV and sighed when I saw it was only 9. Nevertheless I changed into my pajamas and got under the covers, hoping to dream of a time when life wasn't so complicated. I got a strange dream instead.

"Alfred, don't!" My panicking voice spread out as the scenery did, revealing the color of wedding bells and a chapel. Alfred turned around, a big grin on his face as he saw me.

"Oh hey dude!" He waved towards me.

I ran towards him and grabbed his tuxedo sleeve. "You can't do this, you can't! I love you and only you!"

"Sorry man, but it's too late," Alfred replied with a smile, "I've found someone else."

I looked to where he was gesturing and saw with horror it was a giant hamburger with a wedding veil.

"You can't marry a hamburger!" I screamed impatiently, "That's just weird!"

"Love conquers all, baby!" Alfred said while striking a pose. I gaped at him and found that I was getting farther and farther away from the strangeness, rolling back into darkness.

"No please, don't leave me!" I cried out, trying to run towards him. He didn't hear and I listened as the pastor said the vows.

"Do you, Alfred F. Jones, take this gigantic monstrosity of a hamburger as your wife?" The pastor asked seriously.

"Totally!" Alfred replied with excitement.

"Then you may kiss the bride/patty," The pastor went on, and Alfred took a bite of the bun.

"Why a hamburger?" I hollered as the scene fell away from me, "What can a hamburger do for you other than make you fat?"

I kept protesting but everything shifted and blurred in front of me, and the chapel finally disappeared.

I opened my eyes to the ceiling and found myself breathing hard. I held my head as I repeated to myself, It was only a dream, only a dream, only a dream. After calming down I hopped in the shower, got ready for work, and checked my phone. There was a missed call from Alfred.

Honestly I didn't want to pick it up, the remnants of the nightmare still following me, but I knew I would have to sometime. I called him back as I left the house and locked the door, hearing his phone ring as I jumped on the trolley.

"Hello? This is the Hero speaking!" I mouthed the words as he said them, satisfied I got them all right.

"Hey Alfred, it's me, Erica," I replied.

He took a moment before answering. "Oh, great! Yeah, I just wanted to invite you to Dia's bachelorette party since she doesn't have your number."

"Bachelorette party?" I repeated in disbelief. "You two are getting married already?"

"Yeah, well, love can't wait!" He laughed after that and I sensed that it was a fake one. "But anyway will you come?"

I considered it, being with the girl who was my secret crush's fiance and having to listen to her brag about him the whole time. I hated the idea down to the core of my heart but I said, "Yeah, sure. When is it?"

"It'll be tonight at this place called Ladies Night," He told me, and I could only imagine what kind of place that was.

"Okay, tell her I'll be there," I jotted down the address then hid it from the people next to me.

"All right, thanks for coming," He responded casually. A moment of silence passed and I looked at the screen to see if he'd ended it. The time was still going by.

"Alfred?"

"Yeah?"

"You okay?" I couldn't help but let worry into my voice and I imagined him shaking his head.

"Yeah…I'm…fine…" He trailed off distantly.

Finally he said, "I guess we wouldn't have worked out anyway, huh?"

I was shocked but what he said. My heart clenched and I replied, "Don't worry about it, Alfred. As long as you're happy I'm happy."

"You're really bad at lying, you know that?" He chuckled, making my eyes widen in surprise. "Well I've got to go, bye."

"Bye." I cut off the phone and then stared at his name on the screen.

"Wait, can you repeat that again?" My interrogation of Amelia had begun, and my partner was Brittany and her gossip friends. Amelia sat in a chair across from us, keeping a poker face.

"I said that there's nothing between me and Feliciano," She repeated plainly, making the girls around us groan in frustration. Although most of us were lawyers we had our moments. Needless to say this was one of them.

"I think you're lying," I replied, sliding across the table and staring intently into her eyes, "Now tell us the truth or I'll ask Feliciano."

She glared at me. "You wouldn't have the guts."

"Try me," I snarled menacingly.

She let go off her serious face and sighed, "Fine, we're going out."

Whoops and hollers were heard and people high-fived behind us. Brittany hugged Amelia, saying that now they could go on double dates with each other. Oh yeah, and Kiku did say yes to going out with Brittany. Whether he was afraid, intimidated, or simply interested I had no idea.

"So when are you gonna get a guy, Erica?" One of the girls from behind me, Natalie, asked inquisitively.

I glanced at Amelia and Brittany, who were now also waiting for my response. I replied, "I haven't found one yet."

"But what about that one cute guy who's always visiting you?" She went on, making me cringe.

"He's engaged," I said, hiding the sadness from my tone. I got up before she could push me any farther and went towards my office. Before I opened the glass doors I paused. I could still remember the day when Alfred had first come in here… I shook the memory away. Stop being so depressed already and move on! I thought angrily to myself.

Work went by like normal, and I got a kick out of Feliciano nervously saying that he was dating Amelia. Brittany had stopped stalking Kiku but notes were passed reguarly between them, I was told. For me, I was just… Forever Alone.

"Heeeeeey Erica!" Dia greeted me loudly as I came in the club. I nodded politely to her and she grabbed my arm. "Isn't this place, like, totally rad?"

I was hoping she was being sarcastic. The place, known as Ladies Night or Slutty Night to the locals, was dark, smelly, and a bit damp from a liquid I didn't want to identify. Neon lights flashed at random times and male strippers were seen on poles and on stages. Dia dragged me over to a seat and sat down with me.

"Isn't that guy hot?" She pointed to a guy on a pole and I instantly looked away. She didn't notice and kept speaking, "Not as hot as Alfred, of course. He's so hot he's flaming!"

"Is that so?" I replied, and she nodded enthusiastically.

"Yeah, there's this one thing that he can do with his arms-"

"Hey, is that guy giving free lapdances?" I interrupted, desperately trying to change the subject.

Dia squealed. "Oh my gosh he is!" And ran over to him, letting me escape to the bathroom. I leaned against the door and sighed heavily. It was torture going through this.

My phone vibrated and I picked it up. "Hello?"

"Erica?"

I blinked in surprise. "Watson?"

"Good job on infiltrating the girl's bachelorette party," Watson said to me, "I had no idea you were so good at these things."

"Yeah, thanks," I replied, forcing a smile on my lips.

"So what's the bride-to-be like?" Watson inquired.

I looked back out into the strip club and saw she was now dancing with the male strippers. "Very interesting."

"Nothing to worry about, right?"

I frowned at the strange question. "Yeah…sure."

"Okay, great," He replied, and I imagined him grinning. "Do you plan to go to the reception to?"

"Uh, yeah," I answered quickly as Dia motioned me over. "I've got to go, she's calling me."

"Okay then," Watson said brightly, "thanks for your help, without you we won't be able to do this."

"And exactly what are we doing again?"

"You'll find out." He hung up just in time for Dia to drag me over to a table with her friends. She opened presents that they got her and mine, which was a vibrator. What? I don't know how those girls dress, and besides it seemed like she'd really appreciate it…

A moment of silence followed the opening of my gift but then cheering ensued. Dia gave me a hug and told me I was a genius. When we finally got out I bashed my head on the wall outside in frustration when no one was looking.

I saw Dia outside with Alfred and he kissed her head affectionately, but instead of getting angry I saw her as the bride hamburger. When he saw me his smile faded into a sad one, and I looked away, my vision blurry.

"Damn hamburger…" I muttered as they left in his car, "always ruining everything…"

"Did you hear about the wedding?" One of the gossipers whispered to another as they passed by me in the hallway. "I hear it's the first human-clone marriage!"

"Yeah, I heard that too," The other girl replied eagerly, "Isn't that exciting? I wish I could go!"

I frowned at the two women as they walked ahead of me, making me remember the popular girls in high school who would always talk about things like that.

"Hey boss!" Feliciano called to me as I entered my office and I smiled at him in greeting.

"Oh, hello Feliciano," I replied, and he leaped over to me.

"Ciao~ Are you going to Alfred's wedding?" He asked happily, bouncing up and down.

I felt the urge to facepalm. "Yeah, I am. When's the reception again?"

"Tomorrow, ve~" Feliciano said, then grinned broadly, "Isn't it nice that this kind of thing can happen? The fact that we can now marry whoever we want is really nice compared to where we were two years ago."

I smiled softly at him. "Yeah, it is."

I gave him the papers he needed to copy and sent him off with Amelia for help, smiling as he held her hand. Budding romance was always a favorite of mine…

"Well, back to work," I sighed unhappily, looking down at the cases I needed to review.

I opened the door for Arthur to come in and was glad Gaul!Francis wasn't trudging behind him. The kid was nice and all but I was tired of stopping him from molesting me.

I poured him his tea like normal and he stopped me, bringing out a tea mug. "I brought my own this time," He stated, smirking at my frown.

We both sat down and began the normal conversation, how life was, if there was any worries other than the Anti-Units group, and then we got down to business.

"Watson said he's doing something at the reception tomorrow," I told Arthur as he drank his own tea.

He nodded and replied, "Did he say what it was or not?"

"He didn't," I shook my head, "he just said that he was glad I was with him on it and he'd say I would find out about it soon."

"Let's hope it isn't too late when you do…" Arthur trailed off, and I saw wariness in his eyes. From what I was told he had been working day and night to get the dirt on the Anti-Units, and sleep had turned from a hobby to a neccessity. "We've already postioned officers to protect the place inside at all times, but we can't have any outside."

"Where will you be?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

He shrugged. "Wherever I'm needed I guess."

I leaned back against the chair, sighing. The feeling of not knowing was aggravating, that was for sure. Even more infuriating was knowing that Alfred would be marrying a girl who thought vibrator's were the best gift ever.

"You're still in love with the git, aren't you?" Arthur suddenly inquried, startling me.

I stared at him in surprise but then glared. "Why do people keep asking me that?"

"Because you look so sad whenever it's mentioned," Arthur explained correctly. "If you like him so much then stop the bloody wedding, don't let him get married."

"Who am I to hurt people for my own amusement?" I wondered out loud, making Arthur frown at me in puzzlement. "If they're happy together than I have no right to interfere."

"From my position they're not." Arthur huffed, probably remembering the chaotic days of the couple living together.

"Let's just stop talking about this," I declared seriously, "it's already too late anyway and I have more things to worry about than that."

Arthur rolled his eyes but didn't say anymore.

I waited outside the reception place nervously, totting a long purse on my left side as I favored one leg. The dress I wore was a white dress with an ivory sash below the chest, the top part of the dress cutting down like a v. I had decided to put my hair down and wear contacts, something I wouldn't normally do at all. I chose not to wear the wig and planned to say when asked why not that it was a disguise. Time passed by as I just stood there, taking it all in.

Watson was planning something so dreadful that it would make headlines and the man I loved was getting married.

I would have to stop Watson, but I couldn't decide what I would do about Alfred. I wanted to tell him years after how I felt but I could barely contain it when I saw him. Saying it now would not only break our friendship but every other bond I had with the other units. But my self-control was breaking, I could feel it. All I had to do was not get into the situation where we were alone together.

The aid Watson put in my ear buzzed. "Testing, testing…do you hear me?"

"I hear you loud and clear," I responded. The group members had given it to me before I had gotten here, saying it was the upmost importantance that I kept it on.

"Okay then!" Watson's cheery voice either always made me happy or creeped me out. "Are you ready?"

"Sure, what's the plan?" I asked quietly as I started to go inside. Watson described it to me as I entered and the doors closed behind me.

"Simple: seduce the clone and then kill him."

I gaped and stopped abruptly. "Wait, what?"

"I know who you are, Alice." A locking sound was heard and I turned back and ran towards the doors, panicking when I found that they were locked.

"You can't escape Alice, or should I say Erica?" Watson chuckled darkly and I shivered.

"I don't know what you're talking about," I breathed.

He laughed loudly. "Come on! You don't think I would know the lawyer who had freed the clones? You may have fooled everyone else but you won't fool me."

I gulped but asked quietly, "What happens if I don't comply?"

"I bomb the whole building." He replied easily, and I held my hand over my mouth in shock. "The only thing standing between the equal rights for those abominations and the real rights for them is you, Erica. I want to ruin you, like you ruined me. Because of you I'm stuck raising some mopey teenager and having to kiss the asses of people I hate to keep my job. You may have thought you were doing justice, but to many of us it was injustice. I don't need to explain how they've affected the working community; you should already know. Why else would so many people try to sue big businesses like McDonald's? You either do what I say or I will kill everyone here."

"But there aren't just clones though," I said, "there are people too."

"So what if we lose a few? They were bound to die anyway." Watson replied dismissvely, and I balled my fists in rage.

"How would you know that I had had have sex with Alfred anyway?" I asked, letting in all my menace. "It's not like I have a sign around me announcing that."

"If the fiance is gone for more than fifteen mintues then people will get curious," Watson explained, "and when they find you two together you'll become nothing but scum to everyone. You might even lose your job, who knows? The possibilities are endless!"

His evil laughter echoed through me and I frowned and growled, "You're psychotic, I don't believe you."

"Oh really?" He laughed a bit more and I heard a beep as I got a text picture. I opened it up and saw a bomb detonator on the table of the interview room, displaying on the screen multiple places at the building where the bombs were.

"They can't be discharged," Watson pronounced proudly, "so you can't stop them. The places where you see them on the map change every few minutes, so don't think you know where they are either. If you try and tell the authorities what's happening my spies will see and tell me to set it off, and they'll escape by the escape routes I've provided for them."

I was too stunned to speak.

"So you'll comply then?" He went on, and I knew he was sneering at me.

I gulped and begrudginly agreed, "Yes, I will."

"Good. Now do it before I change my mind."

The threat pushed me forward and I stopped myself from hyperventilating. As I walked by I felt eyes on me from everywhere, from the ground all the way to the ceiling. No way, I told myself heatedly, you're just being paranoid again.

I bumped into someone and saw it was Alfred. He turned around and his eyes grew wide in surprise.

"Erica, is that really you?" He asked with disbelief while other guys peeked over to look at me.

His sincerity made me blush and I stuttered, "Y-yeah, it is…"

His eyes looked like deep pools as he set them into mine. I felt teary-eyed and shook my head, trying to avoid his gaze. This wasn't the time to be depressed.

"Listen, Alfred," I mumbled as I continued looking away from him, "I need to talk to you alone for a minute."

Alfred was startled by the question but answered cheerfully, "Yeah, sure!"

I walked with him and we went into another room as my heart beat fast and hard. Was I seriously about to do this? Christie had tried a bunch of times to teach me how to seduce someone, but I ignored her every time she tried.

Alfred closed the door behind us and I turned around to look at him. He looked back at me and we stared at each other for a moment, not knowing what to say. I summed up my courage and walked slowly towards him, the echo of my shoes on the wooden floor seemingly deafening. I reached him where I was only an inch away, our bodies almost touching.

"I'm so sorry," I whispered before I grabbed his hair and leaned his lips to mine, kissing him intensely. I felt shame but ignored it as I kissed him, feeling pleasure and self-hate at the same time.

I felt Alfred push me away, staring with shock at me.

"Did you really…just…kiss me?" He slowly murmured in disbelief.

I nodded, biting my lip to stop from crying. "I-I did…the truth is that I…"

"What?" He frowned at me, the questioning look on his face clear.

"I'm in an organization that wants to take away clone rights and they plan to bomb this place unless I have sex with you." I stated bluntly.

Alfred raised his eyebrows. "They want you to have sex…with me?"

"Yeah, to ruin your marriage and tarnish my reputation," I explained, "I joined the group at first to make sure they didn't commit any crimes, but if they bomb this place they'll achieve victory and might even get more supporters."

He sighed, scratching the back of his head. "So that's why, huh…what do you plan to do now since you're plan failed?"

I did have a back-up plan: it was sneaky and underdeveloped but it just might work. I smiled at the absurdity of it and said, "You'll find out."

Katrina had been 'hand-picked' to find out whether the supposed traitor Alice had done her mission. She scooted past security expertly and went to the room where they were supposed to be and leaned her ear against the wall. What she heard next made her asexual for years to come.

"Oh yes, Alfred, don't stop!" Alice's voice roared and smashing was heard. Katrina's eyes widened.

"You like that? Well how about this?" There was a loud groan from Alice and Katrina felt lightheaded. Was this what sex was like?

"Oh yes, keep going, keep going!" More yelling came through the door and Katrina felt like puking. Yep, this must definitely be sex.

There was more smashing and Katrina backed up from the door in fear, afraid the door would be smashed next. She touched the aid on her ear to get Watson.

"Sir, Alice-er, Erica-has completed the mission," She announced while holding back bile.

"Good, now go switch off the bombs." He responded and Katrina sighed with relief.

"You can stop now." Watson's business-like tone cut me away from all the fun and I hushed for Alfred to stop.

He grinned at me and I held back a laugh as Watson said, "My spy was pretty surprised at how loud you were…good luck not getting caught."

Watson's voice was filled with happy contempt and I giggled softly. Then, straightening my attitude, I responded, "You won't get away with this, you bastard."

Watson chuckled evilly. "We'll see about that. Good-bye for now, Ms. Monroe."

He clicked off and I grinned at Alfred, who was busy picking up the tables we had hit together to make it sound like we were having sex. We didn't, of course: instead Alfred and I made sex sounds while improvising crashing.

I walked over to him and shook his hand, saying, "Thanks for doing this with me, you just saved my virginity and hundreds of lives."

"I wouldn't say hundreds but yeah," Alfred joked, causing me to laugh. We stood there for a moment, looking over the empty room with far-off gazes.

"So this is it, huh?" I asked, the question floating around the room. "You're just gonna be tied down and I'll have to hire bodyguards."

"Kind of sad, isn't it?" He replied, smiling down at me with melancholy. "We never even got the chance to confess to each other."

I laughed bitterly. "Yeah, that would've been awkward."

He laughed too and I felt his hand slip into mine. I didn't let go.

"Hey Erica?" He asked while holding my hand.

I squeezed it tighter. "Uh-huh?"

"I love you."

I smiled and felt my heart hurt. "Yeah, I love you too."

"If I divorce that chick I'm coming straight for you, got it?" He promised. I felt my eyes water and I nodded. "So don't go and get engaged like last time."

"Whatever, I'll do what I want," I replied with the rebellious teenager inside me throwing a fit. Alfred laughed and I smirked.

Letting go of his hand, I slipped my hand on his cheek and kissed the other tenderly. I started to walk away and winked at him before leaving, grinning cleverly when he blushed.

"Be seeing you, Jones," I said, saluting off to him.

He copied me and replied jokingly, "And to you, Monroe."

I closed the door and walked out, holding back tears.

"I know pronounce you man and wife," The pastor declared, and I clapped along with an enthusiastic Natalie as Feliciano nervously kissed Amelia and Brittany made-out with Kiku. Kiku didn't seem to mind; in fact, I think he was enjoying the fangirl now…

"Isn't it beautiful?" Natalie cried, wiping her teary eyes with a hankerchief. "I just know they'll be so happy together!"

"Yeah…" I sputtered laughter as Ludwig got up and started yelling at Feliciano to stop being so affectionate. Feliciano glomped him and Amelia gave her usual short laugh, the poker face she usually wore replaced as a smile.

I excused myself from my place as a bridesmaid and went over to Brittany, who was busy fangirling over how she achieved every fangirl's dream.

Kiku looked dead serious into her eyes and announced, "I am going to have so much sex with you the heavens will cry."

An explosion of fangasm erupted and I hid behind a table to avoid the spray of nosebleed, containing my laughter while under it. When I got up I hid my eyes, forgetting it was really sunny today. While I put on my sunglasses I remembered what had happened only a year ago: Richard's death, getting Feliciano as an assistant (he was the boss of all of us now), going to court and convicting Watson of manslaughter, disbanding the Anti-Units group, reuniting Katrina with her mother (it turned out Watson had lied to her about her mother and her mother had thought she was dead), meeting my old units again, falling head over heels for Alfred (again), saying a sad farewell to him (again), and then pressuring Congress to make more jobs for people by investing in magic introduced by Negi Springfield of Mahou Sensei Negima?

All in all it was a good year despite the trauma I had suffered.

I felt someone bump into me and saw a handsome man with his hair combed back smile at me. "Why hello there, sweetie. You single?"

"Yes, but I'm not interested," I told him curtly, feeling a touch of annoyance. He wrapped an arm around my waist.

"How about you and I go and-"

I threw his hand off me and glared at him. "I said I'm not interested, creep."

He looked at me for another second but then shurgged and walked away, muttering 'bitch' as did. I ignored the insult and decided to take a stroll through the beautiful countryside.

I walked through the hills as they sloped up and down, looking in front of me to see a bright sun perched perfectly above the trees. Sights like this stunned me since I had been working nonstop since the disbandment of the Anti-Units group, and the more I looked at it the more thankful I was.

"Erica!"

I thought I heard Richard and I turned around to see him running towards me. I felt hope yet confusion as I saw his figure race towards me from the hills, but I soon realized it wasn't Richard at all but Alfred. My heart leaped with happiness, and I ran towards him while kicking up my dress, yelling his name as he said mine.

He embraced me and I laughed happily as I was lifted up into the air and spun around by him, the kind of thing you only saw in movies. He put me down and I kissed him before he could say anything, wrapping my arms around his neck.

He hugged me and we stood together with smiles on our faces, slowly rocking back and forth to the breeze. Finally we seperated and he kissed me before I could say anything. I kept trying to open my mouth to say something but he didn't stop, and I felt the butterflies in my stomach flutter.

"Stop, stop!" I laughed, holding him back. "We get it already!"

Alfred stopped and looked lovingly at me. "So are you single?"

I rolled my eyes. "No, actually, I got engaged to Naruto."

His eyes widened in alarm and he replied, "Seriously?"

"No not really," I said with a smirk. He rolled his eyes this time and I laughed. "I am single. Are you?"

"For now," He responded nonchalantly, "but I think I've found the girl of my dreams."

I blushed. "You're so cheesy," I teased, poking him in the stomach.

He laughed and asked, "So does that mean you want to go out with me?"

"Only if you promise not to cheat on me with a hamburger," I warned, and he rose an eyebrow in confusion.

"Uh, sure."

I grinned and looked back up to the sun. "This is what they call a happy ending, right?"

He held my hand and said, "Yeah."

I stared into his eyes, glad to see that there was happiness and joy in them rather than sadness and regret. He leaned down towards me, closing his eyes. I closed mine and felt him kiss me.

Needless to say that was the happiest day of my life.


And that's all, folks! Really it is -_-

I hope you enjoyed reading it...not exactly my best work but I try.