In the large building and up the stairs, Frank motioned toward the only open door along the long hallway. He stayed where he was as Mallory took a step towards the doorway and looked back.

"I'll be downstairs," Frank said quietly. Mallory silently acknowledged him and he disappeared down the steps, leaving the redhead alone in the hallway.

She took a deep, shaky breath and walked up to the doorway.

Wildwing looked anxious as he sat on the bed, obviously waiting for her arrival. He looked up quickly upon hearing her footsteps and stood up from where he'd been sitting on his bed.

A look of familiarity flashed across his eyes and Mallory's breath caught in her throat. But before she could say anything, he answered her unasked question.

"You're the one from my dreams," he stated, his voice slightly raspy.

Mallory's hope fell like a ton of lead bricks. Not knowing how to respond to his statement, she simply asked, "Can I come in?"

Wildwing realized she'd been standing in the doorway and quickly gestured to his bed. "Sure, sorry. Yeah, come in please."

Mallory stepped in, awkwardly sitting down on the bed and Wildwing following suit.

"Sorry I don't have chairs," Wildwing finally said, his voice laced with nervousness.

"It's okay," she lamely responded. Seeing her lifemate there made her want to embrace him and tell him how worried she'd been. But she knew better and held back, awkwardly fidgeting with her gloves. She looked up at him after seconds of silence and realized he was staring at her.

She couldn't resist asking, "Do I … do I look familiar to you?"

Wildwing, realizing he was staring, quickly looked down, embarrassed. "Aside from my dream, no … I'm sorry."

"Don't be," Mallory quickly replied. "Sorry, it was stupid of me to ask."

"I should know who you are," Wildwing said. "I wish I did."

"Well, I can answer any questions you might have, at least," Mallory offered in little more than a whisper.

"Nosedive—my brother—told me you were here with him and wanted to see me. Why didn't you come with him earlier?"

Mallory looked away, unable to keep eye contact with her lifemate for very long. Nosedive was right—it was like talking with a stranger. "Um, Frank told us you had dreamt of a redhead, and that you didn't know if you could trust her. We didn't want to scare you, I guess."

She looked back up at him and this time he looked away. "I see," he finally said. "Were you on the Strike Force too?"

"Yeah."

"So you went to Earth with us to fight Dragaunas?"

"Yes."

"What's your name?"

Wildwing anxiously turned the gold band on his left hand as he awaited her answer. Mallory realized by answering him he'd know exactly who she was because of the engraving on the inside of the ring. She faltered, unsure of how to proceed.

Wildwing saw her eyes drift to his ring and he stopped fidgeting.

Mallory looked up at him, back at the ground, and finally to her own hand. After a few more moments of silence she shakily pulled her glove off, showing him her own gold band with the small emerald jewel adorned to the top.

"I'm Mallory," she whispered.

Wildwing's eyes remained fixated on her ring. "You're … you're my lifemate."

Mallory, unable to respond, simply nodded. She stared at him as he stared at her hand.

"How can I not remember? How come I can't remember you?"

Mallory's quickly quelled her emotions, looking down at the ground to regain her composure. She cleared her throat and shook her head. "Nosedive … he told you how you got here?"

"Yeah. Old Ways Worshippers, whoever they are; they did it because we killed Dragaunas."

Finally getting her emotions in check Mallory looked back up at her lifemate. His eyes still remained on her hand.

"How long … how long have we been…?"

"Almost two years."

Wildwing sighed in frustration. "I just don't understand why I can remember things like the Invasion but not my brother and not my lifemate. I mean, how is that even possible?" He rubbed his face tiredly. "I didn't even remember my own name."

Mallory didn't know how to answer him. She wanted him to remember everything, but only that worshipper they'd caught could possibly help them reverse what had been done.

Mallory was sitting on the edge of the bed next to Wildwing, but she turned towards him now. "Do you believe us?"

Wildwing removed his hands from his face and looked at her. They locked eyes for the longest time that evening, neither saying anything. Wildwing finally looked away, back down to his hand with the gold band.

"I think so. As farfetched as the story sounds, it explains a lot about my dreams. And the ring … your ring…." Wildwing trailed off, glancing back at Mallory.

"Will you come back with us?" she asked, her voice soft.

Wildwing frowned. "Back? Back where?"

"To the government base in Metropolis."

"Metropolis? That's on the other side of the world!"

Mallory frowned at him. "I thought Nosedive told you how you got here?"

Wildwing shook his head. "He told me about the spell that sent me here, but he didn't say from where."

Mallory looked away this time. "Well, when we returned from Earth we told the Council. They kept us on the base while they prepared to tell the world about our return."

"The Strike Force: that's a big deal, right?"

Mallory nodded. "When we chased the Saurian Overlord—Dragaunas—into Dimensional Limbo, we essentially ended the war here. We're … well, we're heroes here."

Wildwing scoffed slightly, turning away from Mallory and staring at the ground. "I'm no hero."

Mallory let out a breathy laugh, tears slightly welling up in her eyes. Wildwing glanced at her when she laughed and did a double take when he thought she'd begun to cry. "Wait, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to—I—"

Mallory, still slightly smiling, waved him off with one hand while she looked to the ceiling. "No, it's okay," she said. She took a few moments to control her emotions, Wildwing watching on apprehensively.

She took a deep breath, her bitter smile disappearing as she moved her gaze to the floor. "I'm sorry, it's just … that was something Wildwing would say, memories or no memories."

"Oh." Wildwing's nervous expression faded and he smiled a little. "I guess that's a good sign then, right?"

Mallory, her eyes still slightly glazed, forced a smile and nodded. She cleared her throat again. "So will you come with us?"

Wildwing looked away as he thought over her question. He glanced down at his hand again, his thumb twirling the ring on his finger. "Okay," he finally answered.

Mallory let out a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding. Her smile was genuine this time. "Okay," she agreed.

Both fell into silence again.

"How long have I been gone?" Wildwing asked, breaking the quiet.

"Eight days."

"How'd you find me?"

"When you disappeared we waited to hear from you. After two days we convinced the Council to let us search. We figured that since we hadn't heard from you that meant you were somewhere where you couldn't communicate.

"So we figured to start searching in traditionalist cultures, since they don't like technology. We split up, three going north and Nosedive and I going south."

Wildwing looked back up at her. "I guess you weren't expecting the amnesia then."

Mallory shook her head. "I know this is a lot to take in."

"Yeah, it is."

They were quiet again, the silence still awkward and uneasy. Mallory stood up suddenly, Wildwing gazing up at her.

"I should go," she said.

"Wait, I didn't mean you had to leave," Wildwing hurriedly explained, standing up with her.

"I know you didn't."

"Don't go."

Mallory stopped in the doorway, turning back to look at him. "You want me to stay?" she asked uncertainly.

"Just a little while longer. Please," Wildwing insisted.

"But … why?"

Wildwing sighed. "I don't know. I know it's stupid, but you being here … it's like it feels right, but I don't know why. I'm so confused about everything, but I know it's hard for you and Nosedive, too. Just … please stay."

Mallory stayed in the doorway for a few seconds, but eventually walked back to the bed and sat down. Wildwing sat down with her.

"Thanks," he added.

She nodded. "Is there anything you want to talk about?"

Wildwing smiled a little. "When Nosedive was here he told me a couple stories of us growing up, hoping to jog my memory. Maybe you can tell me a little bit about us."

"What would you like to know?"

"Well, we met on the Strike Force, right?"

Mallory nodded.

"And then we went to Earth?" Mallory nodded again in response. "So during our stay on Earth we grew close and became lifemates?"

Mallory smiled. "Pretty much," she affirmed.

"Isn't that against the rules?"

"We kept it secret for a while. You weren't afraid to tell the others as much as I was, though."

"Why not? Wouldn't the captain have objected to it?"

Mallory's smile wavered as she realized the key bit of information they'd left out. "Wildwing, you were the team captain."

Wildwing looked at her incredulously. "I was the leader? Come on."

Mallory didn't respond.

Realizing she was serious, Wildwing shook his head in disbelief. "I can't lead a team. Nosedive said my best friend—Canard—that he brought the Strike Force together."

"He did."

"Then how did I become leader?"

Mallory hesitated, unsure of whether this topic of conversation would be wise. "He … sacrificed himself in Dimensional Limbo to save us, and gave you command."

"He … died?"

Mallory looked away. "He was taken by an electromagnetic worm, so we think he was teleported somewhere."

Wildwing became subdued as he thought over what Mallory told him. "He was my best friend," he said, though not in an emotional way.

It was like he was simply stating the facts.

"It was hard for you," Mallory agreed gently.

"He never came to Earth with us, then?"

"No, it was just six of us."

He was quiet again, his brow furrowed as he thought. His eyes remained fixated on the wall across from them but he was clearly looking through it, lost in thought. He sighed after a bit, uttering, "I just don't understand … I don't feel like I could've taken his place very easily."

"You didn't, Wildwing. Being a leader was a challenge you never felt qualified for, and at one point you left the team because you felt like you were letting us down. But I guarantee you none of the rest of us could lead like you did, not even Canard. You never believed in yourself, but the rest of us did."

"You're biased, though."

Mallory raised her eyebrows at him. "I'm certainly not."

"But you're my lifemate."

"I wasn't when you became leader. We didn't even start seeing each other until almost six months after we arrived on Earth."

"Were we sparring?"

Mallory tilted her head incredulously at him, the random question throwing her off-guard. "What?"

"When we … got together. Was there sparring involved?"

Mallory thought back to that moment, trying to remember the evening that they became more than teammates. "I think I might've been. Why do you ask?"

"That's what my dream is about with you. We're fighting, but it looks like it's for fun. Like we're practicing together or something."

Mallory frowned as she thought about it. "Well, that night you visited me while I was working out. You were seeing if I wanted to take a walk … but, you're right. I convinced you to do a little one-on-one before we left, to see if you could block a new move I'd been working on."

"Did I?"

"The first one I got you on your back. But—like a goalie—you caught on fast and blocked every move after that. I was so annoyed, too: I had worked all week on that stupid move."

Wildwing grinned at her. "I'm sure you were just being easy on me."

This time Mallory scoffed. "I wish."

"So for some reason my mind wants me to remember that night," Wildwing thoughtfully stated out loud.

Mallory reddened a little bit under the feathers; it was like discussing her personal life with a complete stranger. Nonetheless, she replied, "Well, that night changed everything between us."

"I wish I could remember it."

Mallory's cheeks reddened even more as she stared at the floor. "You will," she assured.

Wildwing didn't seem to realize how intimate the conversation had gone and simply stared at the wall in front of him as he spoke. "It's good to hear the stories from you and Nosedive, but it's so frustrating to feel like these are experiences that I should be able to talk about, too." Wildwing glanced over to Mallory, his facial expression almost becoming fearful. "What if I don't get back my memories?"

Mallory stared at him, unable to answer right away. The thought was something that'd been blazing through her mind since she found out about his amnesia. Everything that they'd experienced together—their time on Earth, their bonding—all of it would be gone.

Nosedive would no longer have a brother and Mallory would no longer have a lifemate.

"They'll come back, Wildwing."

"But you don't know that. I just … I know that this is hard to deal with, but you're okay with it because you believe I'll get better and wake up and remember everything." Wildwing turned to her, his back straightening up and his hands clenching into fists out of nervousness. "But what if, who I am now, is all there is anymore?"

Mallory was quiet as they looked at each other, fear lacing her own facial expression. She eventually took a deep breath and quietly voiced, "Then we take it one step at a time."

"I can't expect you to start from scratch, Mallory."

"I would."

Wildwing was quiet then as he watched her. "You shouldn't," he finally argued.

Mallory glanced to the ground, her anger beginning to rise. "Well, that's not your decision to make. Would it be difficult? Yes. But you're still Wildwing, whether or not you know it yet. And I love you."

The last three words caught Wildwing unprepared. His breath hitched as he realized it was something he most likely had said a thousand times to the female mallard next to him.

But now … now it was the first time, and he simply wasn't ready.

Mallory didn't seem to expect him to be, however. She stood up again, this time Wildwing not stopping her. "You'll get your memories back, Wildwing. And if you don't, Nosedive and I and the rest of our team will still be there for you. Unless you didn't want to be a part of our lives anymore, we'll always be there for you. It's as simple as that.

"I'm going to go, but we'll be leaving tomorrow. Get some rest, okay?"

Mallory walked to the door as Wildwing watched her. When she looked questioningly at him he nodded to her, affirming her request. She gave a brief, forced smile to him before disappearing down the hall.

With her gone Wildwing looked down at his ring and silently mouthed the words, "I love you."

How could three simple words feel like the truth and a lie at the same time?