Loid returned home after another secret meeting with the Handler mainly on the process of Operation Sweet Tooth. Courage, of course, was also present since this was of grave importance concerning him as well. He dropped the small dog at the apartment complex before heading back out. Due to him handling the food due to Yor's food being potentially lethal, he decided to head to the grocery store to buy some items for meal preparation. After selecting the products, Loid paid for them and left the store.
It was getting around dark while he was transporting from the store to the apartment. Alone with his thoughts, Loid realized something. He had not heard from either Yor or Anya for the rest of the day. Sure, that was because the two had left for the mall earlier that day, but Yor would have considered contacting him from one of the public phones. Yet, he never heard from either of them. Loid tapped the driving wheel. "Maybe Yor just forgot to tell me they would be home late."
The spy wanted to believe that, but he could not shake the feeling that something was not adding up. He parked his car along the driving path and exited the vehicle still thinking about the two. The sun slowly disappeared behind the hill amplifying a sense of urgency in him. "Perhaps they are already home?"
Loid got inside the apartment complex and climbed into an elevator. The light above flittered temporarily robbing Loid of his sight. He punched in the coordinates of the floor he was intending to stop at and waited. Music played softly like a hymn. It was some classical symphony playing something he recognized but could never put his finger on.
The elevator's buttons lit up in a ping indicating for the Westalian spy to exit. Walking out, Loid trudged down the hall past his neighbors. Some waved to him; he reciprocated the gesture; thank God he was a trained spy who could flawlessly pull off most human social cues. Inside, however, Loid was becoming worried over Yor and Anya. As he approached his door, he saw something dangling from the doorknob. "Oh no..."
He stopped in front of his door and withdrew what was on the doorknob. It was a piece of paper tied with a blue string. A rainbow of colors and sprinkles were crudely decorated in random spaces. Loid's pupils shrank. His mouth opened, but no words came out. His trembling fingers crumpled the edges of the paper.
"GOOD EVENING, AGENT TWILIGHT. YOUR WIFE AND DAUGHTER ARE CURRENTLY IN MY
FACTORY UNDER MY CARE. IF YOU WISH TO SEE THEM IN ONE PIECE, ABANDON YOUR MISSION AND DO NOT INTERFERE. OTHERWISE, THERE WILL BE CONSEQUENCES. - K"
Loid looked over the paper with his thousand-yard stare. He skimmed the words until he could memorize the message without glaring at it. He rubbed his eyes as though he could still not comprehend what he was reading. This had to be some crude joke, right? He thought about it more. No, Yor would not be the type to be able to mastermind a practical joke. She already believes a number of lies he told her after all.
He opened the door anticipating on seeing the two. However, he was only greeted by Bond running over. He tilted his eye picking up on his master's distress. "Barf?"
"Yor?"
Loid walked to the kitchen hoping that Yor was cooking, or at least, not burning the kitchen down. No sign of her. Loid exited the kitchen not noticing Bond accompanying him. The floor creaked underneath him as he walked to Yor's room which was separate to his. Not wanting to intrude, Loid knocked the back of his hand on the wooden door. The knocking echoed through the hollow door but there was no response. He waited a bit before making sure she was actually gone by knocking again.
After waiting around 10 seconds, the blonde man went to his daughter's room next. Like with Yor's door he knocked on it. And like before, there was no answer. "Anya, are you in there?"
He figured that perhaps Anya was hiding in her room to avoid studying again. He opened the door lightly and turned on the lights. There was no sign of her. He checked under the bed sheets and even under the bed. He checked the closet and her toy collection. Nothing aside from the stitched-up penguin plushie greeted him. "If I know my daughter, where would I hide?"
Loid pondered on it for a few minutes before coming to a conclusion. As he knew, Anya had two things she loved: her spy show and peanuts. He remembered that he kept some under the cabinet in the kitchen. Anya was small enough to stow away in there. Hopeful, Loid ran back to the kitchen and got down on his knees.
He opened the door only to find some jars randomly scattered throughout alongside some half-empty packs of sugar and flour. He got down further on his knees and stretched his upper body to get a better look. Still no sign of her. Bond parked by his side whimpering. Loid carefully retracted himself and slowly collected himself. "There is no getting around this: the letter is real, Bond," he said solemnly. He rubbed Bond's head. All the big dog could do was lightly wave his bushy tail.
Loid stepped out of his apartment to gather his thoughts when he could see a flash of pink coming into view. Courage waved his arms back and forth in quick haste and babbled. "I assume your Muriel is also missing?"
Courage nodded his head. "Uh huh, uh huh!"
He introduced the small dog into his apartment and started preparing some sandwiches. "Sorry, Courage. Would have made something better, but I had not anticipated this."
Courage nodded in understanding. Loid prepared ham sandwiches for himself and Courage with a small spoonful of mayonnaise and lettuce. He got some tea for the two of them and set both plates on the table. He noticed that Courage stood by his chair but seemed to eye the table. "What is it, Courage?"
The dog tapped his fingers trying to say something to the spy. Loid looked at him comprehending what the dog was desiring to do. "Courage, it's completely fine for you to eat at the table."
Courage turned to look at him likely to receive additional confirmation. A simple nod of Loid's head was enough to convince the cowardly dog. Courage pulled the legs of the chair and climbed into it. Loid slid the plate and cup of tea toward the canine before eating his sandwich. While Courage ate his, he sensed Bond rubbing the leg. Why didn't he think of this before? He was too busy trying to enjoy his sandwich he neglected that Bond might have been hungry as well. Courage ripped off a chunk of the sandwich and held it to Bond's face. The dog sniffed it for a few seconds before accepting the piece.
Courage read over the paper Loid was given also becoming unsettled by it. Loid held his chin up with his fingers. "I assume the K is in reference to Katz?"
Courage shivered. Loid sighed. "I know it is in our best interest to stop Katz from enacting his plan, and we will, but we must carefully remove Muriel, Yor, and Anya."
The dog nodded. "The only option now is to give ourselves up."
Courage whimpered in concern. Loid smiled briefly. "Don't worry; since the computer is connected to the WISE database, we can send agents in once we had saved everyone."
After the two had finished their meal, they decided to decline for the night. Courage slept on the couch to keep Bond company.
"I am grateful that you came for Sir Damian's party," Jeeves, the butler for the Desmond family announced. He was at the door allowing students from Eden Academy inside with their parents. They all gathered in the living room. Balloons and ribbons decorated the curtains and the tables were covered with festival sheets. Each student had a gift in their hands which they left in a huge pile on a table. Another table housed Damian's birthday cake and plenty of candy from Jumping Jack Deen's Candy Emporium. The children were allowed to help themselves to the sweets to tide themselves over.
"Looks like half of the class came," Ewen noted.
He stood by Damian while Ewen pigged out on the candy. He noticed that his friend was frowning. Ewen scratched his head trying to figure out what to say. "So... where are your parents?"
"They had some important business meeting to attend to," Damian replied, "they could not be bothered to spend a few minutes at my birthday party."
"Damian, don't be like that," Ewen said in reassurance, "I'm sure they spent a lot of time getting all of this together."
"My butler was the one who organized the party. My parents contributed absolutely nothing to it."
Ewen's eyes darted as sweat beads formed on his forehead. "Oh... listen, Damian, I didn't mean -"
Damian held his hand up. "It's fine. Let's just focus on having a good time."
Ewen nodded. "Just know that if you need anything, I am here for you."
Damian slightly smiled at him in gratitude. "Thank you. How about we eat some candy?"
Ewen agreed and headed for the sweets table. Damian waited by the door for a few moments his eyes scanning the halls. His heart ached but he was unsure why that was the case. He clutched his chest feeling queasy. "So, she is not coming after all," he thought to himself.
"I am sorry to hear that Yor and Anya were kidnapped, Mr. Loid," the computer lamented, "I should have considered traveling with the two as I did for Anya at school."
"Don't beat yourself up, computer," Loid replied, "just remember that when we save them you will contact WISE to seize Katz and undo his operation."
"Yes sir," the computer replied, "with pleasure."
Courage prepared himself as well. He held a leash in his hands with Bond to his side. It felt weird having a fellow dog on a leash, but then again, Courage could walk on two legs. "Courage, you and Bond should attack anyone who tries to interfere with the removal."
Courage saluted Loid with Bond barking. Loid made it clear, however, that attacking Katz would only become a necessity should the villainous feline not honor his side of the deal. "Alright, guys, let's put Operation Sweet Tooth to bed!"
A knock rang from the door alerting the three. "That can't be Katz... certainly?"
Courage hid behind Bond, with the bigger dog finding no place to hide for himself. Loid shushed the two with his finger and cautiously walked towards the door. Another knock echoed through the hollow wood. The trained spy waited a few minutes to mentally prepare himself before opening the door.
Instead of the red cat, he was instead met by Eustace. However, something seemed off about the old man. He was keeling over and clutching his stomach. His veins pressed against the surface of his skin, but curiously they were a sickly green. The throbbing veins glowed extending from his cheeks and neck and then branching out all over his body. "H...help me..."
"Eustace? What the hell is wrong with you?" Loid asked. Courage ran behind Loid also appearing shocked. Eustace tried to withdraw something from his suspenders' pocket but fell on his knees again. The downward spiral uprooted some dollar bills from deep within and scattered them on the floor.
Courage and Loid carried the old man inside with little grace. They grabbed each of his arms and heaved him unbothered that he was being dragged on his face. Loid picks up the man and plants him on the chair. "Computer, analysis."
A blue light shot from the computer and scanned the cranky old man. The computer beeped and whirled completing the analysis. "Oh dear... looks like he had consumed a huge amount of candy from that factory. My sensors estimate that several nanobots clumped together in his stomach. They are upsetting his lining giving him discomfort."
"Candy? Wait a minute." Loid thought back to the money when Eustace rolled off the chair in a desperate attempt to gather his earned cash. "Eustace, were you selling candy bars?"
Eustace turned around in shock. "I-I have no idea what you're talking about."
Loid knelt and grappled around in Eustace's pockets. "Hey! Have some respect for your elders, you stupid man," Eustace yelled in protest. Loid ignored him and withdrew a chocolate bar with the brand name naked for the world to see. "I want to hear it from your own mouth."
"Okay, okay, so I sold maybe a few dozen of candies I stole from the factory, big whoop," Eustace replied. He would have said more had Loid not suddenly grabbed him by the scruff of his shirt collar. He brought the elderly man up to his face to get a good look at him. Eustace could sense the burning hatred raging behind the young man's eyes.
"You goddam bastard!"
Courage and Bond yelped in fear. Even Eustace whimpered at the sheer venom of Loid's words. "Those candy bars are dangerous! Now hundreds could die as a result of your stupid greed!"
He violently shook Eustace before dropping him to the ground. Courage and Bond stepped back a bit to allow Loid to collect himself. "Sorry, you two had to see that."
"Looks like Katz had activated the nanomachines," the computer stated, "we have to get to the factory without any more interruptions."
Loid nodded. "Yes. Come on, old man, you're coming with us."
The four men arrived at the candy factory. "Remember to be willing to attack should Katz backstab us."
Eustace walked into the establishment first or at least struggled to. He made it to the bell at the front desk and rang it. Courage, Bond, and Loid followed suit. They waited behind the counter as well expecting someone to arrive. However, Katz suddenly appeared from behind the counter and smoothly rose up in a way similar to a breaching whale. Not once did he blink nor break his stare at them. "Welcome to Katz's Kandy. I'm Katz."
Loid's eyebrows scrunched down into a scowl. "Enough with the cordial introductions. You know why we are here."
Katz stared at Eustace, then at Courage and Bond. "Hm. He must have eaten so much candy that he is already undergoing the process at a quicker speed."
Courage shook and whimpered. He was once again face-to-face with his sworn enemy. Katz must have either had a few more lives left to spare, or he somehow acquired some extra life. Whatever the case, he was not happy to see Katz again. Not one bit. The feelings were mutual as far as the red cat was concerned. The winged spider flies into the room and finds rest on his owner's shoulder. Courage grimaced when it shot its eight eyes at him.
"You know, my good Twilight," Katz responded now turning his gaze to the Westalian agent, "I was rather upset that you prevented some of my stock from getting to stores."
"Of course, I would try to stop you," Loid replied, "do you not realize that you are risking war by selling these dangerous candy bars?"
Katz chuckled for a brief moment. "War has been waged on this planet for millions of years. Some fight for land. Others may fight for religious beliefs. And then there are a seldom few who sit by on the sidelines and provide arms to whichever side offers the big bucks."
Loid growled out of hatred for people (or cats) like Katz. "What makes you think I won't backstab you and undo your whole operation?"
Katz got up from his seat. "Oh, I am confident that you will not give me any issues. Especially when you see what I have done to your wife and daughter."
As he laughed, Loid wanted to clobber him then and there, but doing so might be unwise. They followed the big cat to the heart of the factory. Muriel was still strapped to the chair and dangling over the scorching chocolate. Yor was in another chair holding Anya as they were both tied up. To their horror, they saw the same green veins all over their body. They were over a device that pulls strands of taffy. Courage yelped.
"Alright, we have heeded your threats, Katz," Loid said, "put them down now."
"Momma, Daddy's here!" Anya announced.
While Loid stared at his wife, he saw that she was wearing a black dress and fingerless gloves. "Yor?"
Yor looked up and saw her husband. "Agent Twilight... I mean, Mr. Loid?"
Loid widened his eyes. "Wait, Yor, you figured out my identity?"
Yor squinted her eyes and blinked a few times. She was at a loss for words. She wanted to say more, that all the times she was suspicious of Loid now suddenly made sense. If that were the case, who was she really "married" to? Agent Twilight or Loid Forger? Thinking about it, who was the one who kept encouraging her whenever she was worried, she was not being a good mother to Anya? Was everything that Loid ever told her to make her feel better because he cared about her, or was it all carefully planned out?
"Yor, I..."
"I'm sorry... I just don't think I know you at all."
Loid looked down dejected while Katz snickered again. "Oh, please, don't be too hard on Agent Twilight; after all, you have your own little secrets locked away, don't you?"
Loid stared at him. "What are you saying?"
"This is all so delicious. Both parents are united in ignorance of who the other is. I am sure that you are familiar with the Garden?"
Yor wanted to wave her hands in protest had they not been held back. "W-wait, please don't -"
"I have heard of the Garden, yes. Rumors of Ostania having a group of assassins carry out their nefarious misdeeds. But I had thought all this time they were nothing more than urban legends."
Katz smirked. "Did it ever occur to you that your wife had her own motivations for marrying you? Perhaps she wanted to have a relatively normal life because she is nothing more than a remorseless murderer who had sent thousands of people to their graves."
Loid stepped back a bit and looked up at Yor again for some confirmation. Yor's red eyes grew wider with hints of tears reflecting off her eyelids. "Is this true, Yor?"
Yor, with some tears already streaking from her eyes, nods. "What the cat is saying is true, but, believe me, all the people I had killed were criminal scum."
"I am sure that you only tell yourself that so you don't have to feel guilty about killing presumably innocent civilians," Katz retorted, "trying to say you kill for the greater good is so boring." He pretended to yawn to emphasize his point.
Yor looked down at Anya. "What he was saying is true; I did marry you because I thought I could have some second chance at life. I tried to be a good wife and a mother for our daughter, but maybe it was just a dream. He is right. I have been told frequently that my targets were criminals and I never considered that I was being lied to. I have blood on my hands no matter how many times I try to scrub it off."
Loid scratched his chin deep in thought. Courage and Bond whimpered while Eustace was clutching his stomach and rolling on the ground. He stared at Katz with intent. "It's okay, Yor. Don't ever say that you are not a good mother."
"Huh? But, Mr. Loid - "
"It was wrong for me to keep my true self hidden from you. While I had my own reasons for why I chose you, don't take that to mean I never actually cared about you or Anya. Living with you guys actually makes things interesting for me. But if you really think that you are a bad mother, would a bad mother try to get their daughter back when she realized she was missing?"
Yor started to light up. As she went to say something, she suddenly winced in pain. Anya did as well. Looks of excruciating anguish were on both of their faces. "Yor! Anya!"
"A heartwarming moment," Katz replied wiping his eye in faux amusement. "But, remember that I will only give them back once my plan comes to being."
"Courage! You have to stop Katz," Muriel shouted out. She stared at Eustace horrified at seeing him spasm on the ground. "Mr. Forger, isn't there anything you can do?"
Loid growled at Katz. "You will pay for what you have done."
Katz chuckled. "I beg to differ."
Katz withdrew another remote control and pressed a big button. Without warning, the factory began to shake on its foundation. Courage tried to keep himself up by holding onto Bond's side, but the bigger dog's legs gave way and sent him on his back. Loid attempted to hold onto something for leverage while Eustace was rocked back and forth. Every time he moved, he hit his head on the side of the wall until a huge bump erupted from his head. His eyes were also swollen shut. "Wh-where's the leak, ma'am?"
From outside the building, the walls gave way with columns collapsing. The grass and bushes rolled back from the upturning of the earth. The ground receded and broke away while something massive propelled the factory up. Loid and the two dogs were sent sliding as they felt the once-stable walls shift and disappear. While rolling, Loid saw Courage and Bond sliding towards him. He stretched out his body and grabbed Bond with his arms while catching Courage between his legs. "What is the meaning of this, Katz?"
"My main source of transportation, of course," Katz replied. The factory balanced itself on a huge orb. The sign fell off the front of the factory almost crushing some people who had gathered to hear the strange noise after feeling the tremors.
"Look at that!" one pedestrian yelled.
Now free from the ground, it was made clear what it was. A huge blimp. Not just a blimp; it was personally fashioned after Katz himself to resemble his face. WISE agents arrived at the scene and parked along the streets also witnessing the sight. Sylvia stepped out holding the computer.
"Anyway to intercept him, computer?" she asked.
"I am afraid not, Ms. Sherwood; I think during the lift-off, he severed his connection."
A white-haired woman walked up to the two. "I have completed my part of the mission, ma'am."
"Ah, fancy to see you, Agent Nightfall. I am sure you will hand the other truck drivers over to the Secret Police for further interrogation?"
She nodded. "How is Franky?"
"He seemed fine for the most part... but then his veins started glowing green and he was bedridden with stomach pain. Our best doctors are trying to stabilize him as we speak, but we need that antidote to eradicate the nanobots."
Nightfall looked up at the sky seeing the huge blimp. "Please be safe, Agent Twilight," she thought to herself.
The Katz blimp rose about several feet into the air enough to make people think the citizens below them were ants. Courage looked out a window and almost grew pale with fright. "Hm, high up, aren't we Courage?" Loid asked.
Katz walked over and stared out. "It is always a joy looking up from a height great as this and staring down at all those people. It is almost like a divine sensation. From up here, everyone looks like bugs that you can manipulate and crush if need be." Katz pinched his fingers together. "Well, let the show begin."
Damian kept looking at the door while his classmates were gathered around to celebrate his birthday. Jeeves started to light the candles with his two friends beside him. Emile was still cramming candy down his throat. Ewen looked at his friend concerned. "Wait, did you invite that commoner here?"
"I did."
"But why? You made it a big deal to mock her and say that she was not invited."
Damian didn't readily answer the scrawny boy. "I guess she does hate me after all."
The candles were lit with care and Jeeves stepped aside. "Happy birthday, Sir Damian."
The others start singing the "Happy Birthday" song to Damian as expected of them before allowing Damian to blow out the candles. After that is done, Jeeves returns and starts slicing into the cake. Deep in his thoughts, he did not realize that something was off. Green veins crawled on the surface of the partygoers' skins with them beginning to feel weaker and tired. Ewen took note but before he could say anything, he too started to feel sluggish. "Lord Damian..."
Crash.
The kids alerted and turned their glances at the head of the table seeing that Emile had collapsed. Damian and Ewen stand up shocked. "Emile? Are you okay?"
The two carefully rolled the heavier boy on his back and gasped. Green veins throbbed all over his body, but the most prominent was on his face. He tried to speak, but his stomach was killing him. "I don't feel so good..."
While the parents chatted with each other, more thuds rang out from the living room. They all ran inside seeing several of their children rolling in pain on the ground. Damian, feeling curious, carefully rolled Emile's shirt up and saw dark green glowing orbs clumping together along the side of his stomach. A weird series of rings came from the objects. "Jeeves, something's wrong!"
As he got up, Damian suddenly became weak and would have fallen on the floor had he not instinctively caught the side of the table. Jeeves runs over to him panicking. "Sir Damian! What's wrong!?"
Across the street, more of Ostania's citizens were complaining of stomachaches and clutched their midsections. Green veins crept on their bodies. The parents of the Eden Academy students gathered panicked and pointed their fingers accusing each other.
"Hey, wait, guys! The TV's on!"
They gather in front of the television. From his blimp, Katz was filming himself and interrupting televisions. "Don't try to adjust your sets my fair citizens, your regularly scheduled programming has been interrupted so that I could deliver a message that may interest you."
Every citizen across the capital paid attention to the talking cat. "I am Katz, owner of what you may know as Jumping Jack Deen's Candy Emporium. I hate to inform you all, but the candy I have distributed is laced with delightful, little nanomachines. If you are having abdominal issues, it is because I have activated the machines to line up in your digestive tracts. You are now feeling the sensations of the first symptom: severe abdominal pain. The second stage is those green veins that are making you feel weak. They are because they primarily target your bloodstream and nervous system. Once they poison your nervous system, you will be rendered paralyzed."
While talking, Katz shows off a cage containing a rat. He opens the cage and breaks off a small bit of a candy bar to feed the rat. The rat grabs it with its opposable thumbs and munches on it. "This rat, as you can see, has also been infected, but I had messed around with the formula to make it more effective."
Suddenly, the rat grew green veins all over its body and appeared to be suffering. "The final stage is simply to die for." Saying that the rat blows up startling all the watchers.
"So, to make things short and sweet, you are all now hostages under my organization of Westalian terrorists who felt wronged by the Ostanian government. Now I do have the cure for the nanomachines and will happily provide it. But first, you must accept allegiance to Westalis and provide us with everything you own. I am expecting that the bigwigs of the country will pay handsomely to save their little brats. In the meantime, I guess you can pray at your church or get your affairs in order. Because if you deny us, well... just remember the rat."
Katz laughed maniacally and ended his transmission returning all the televisions back to their scheduled programming. He looked at Loid, Courage, and Bond sensing their intense hatred for him pooling from every orifice of their bodies. Katz sat down in his chair and drank some tea before stroking his pet spider. "You know, I have considered something that is more fun."
He got up and walked towards Loid. He extended his hand to him and smirked.
"A little sport before dying, my good sir?"
