When Yor woke, she woke up alone. A blanket she didn't remember having last night covered her still naked body. She looked around and saw Loid sitting at the computer. The file! Unease washed over her. Though last night it seemed they made a breakthrough opening up to each other the seeds of mistrust were not far from the surface. While everything Loid said or offered last night sounded like it came straight from a fairytale, it was going to take more than a night of pleasure—wonderful, wicked pleasure, to erase the foundation of lies they had built. Despite their false start, it did seem that Loid was genuinely trying to regain her trust. Wrapping the blanket around her for modesty, she rose to her feet.

She must have not been as quiet as she thought, when Loid turned in the chair, greeting her with one of his most charming smiles. "Good morning."

She smiled shyly. It was hard to overcome embarrassment when the person you were talking to was fully dressed and you were…not. She chanced a glance towards the computers hoping to sneak a look at what he was looking at without him noticing but of course he noticed.

"I didn't intend to look at the file without you, but I woke up a few hours ago. I was getting stir crazy thinking about it and it was getting late in the day. I thought about waking you but you looked so peaceful."

She felt her cheeks warm. "Late? What time is it?"

Loid smiled, "A little past two in the afternoon."

"Two?!" Yor turned on her heel and frantically began to search for her clothes. Where were the blasted things?! And how could she have slept in so late? They still had a mystery to unravel. There was no time for rest and relaxation! She heard a forced cough from behind her, and she turned back to Loid who was smiling sheepishly.

"I might have gotten carried away last night when I was…undressing you so I asked Madelyn for some spare clothes. She wasn't happy about it, but she gave me this." He grabbed at some folded clothes that were sitting on the desk.

Yor palmed her head in both her hands as if the world was swallowing her. How utterly embarrassing. "What did—What did you say to her to explain why my clothes ripped?"

His eyes narrowed and his smile grew.

"Oh god, if she didn't already hate me, she absolutely loathes me now."

Loid laughed and walked over to her, handing her the new set of clothes. "I'm kidding. I told her you were trying to make your way around the mess of equipment she has in here to reach the ladder, but that your dress must have gotten caught on either the tractor or perhaps a loose nail, and ripped in the process."

Yor bounced the explanation around in her mind for a minute before agreeing that Madelyn thinking her a clutz was infinitely better than her thinking she was some type of harlot. Her cheeks flushed a crimson red as scenes from the night suddenly strobed before her eyes. Loid's hands caressing every inch of her. His kisses leaving little flames of pleasurable sensation. A carnal hunger, that made her lose all self-control over her own body. She didn't even understand what had overcome her yesterday to roll Loid over and begin riding him like he was a beast in the wild. Her beast.

As if he could read her mind, she felt him lean in for a kiss. There it was. That carnal hunger again. Desirous, dangerous. The uncontrollable urge to lose herself to him for hours. She wanted nothing more than to feel his caresses, but they had questions that needed answers and time was not on their side. Grabbing the clothes, she asked him to turn around while she changed. He didn't argue or tease that they had both been naked just a handful of hours ago. Instead, he obliged and turned his back to her, as the gentleman he was.

Wanting to break the awkward silence as she changed, she mustered up the courage to ask what was on the file.

Loid was quiet for a few moments before answering. "I think it's better to show you."

Strange. What could that mean? Yor finished putting on the borrowed clothes and knew she looked a right mess. She wasn't sure if this outfit was given to Loid with the intention of making her look goofy or if this was simply the only thing Madelyn could offer that would fit her.

Yor walked over to Loid when she was done, who was failing miserably to stifle a laugh. He tried to explain that because of their size difference Madelyn's husband's clothes were the only thing she'd fit. Yor nodded, already coming to that very conclusion. She stood next to him in an oversized baggy sweater that read "Kiss the Chef" with equally as baggy sweatpants.

Yor crossed her arms. "Just show me what was on the file."

Loid nodded but not before sneaking a kiss from her lips. "Just doing what is ordered."

He smiled down at the shirt before turning to the computer. The irony of the fact that she couldn't cook to save her life was not lost on her. After some tapping on the keys, his face grew serious. Yor watched intensely as the picture of a file appeared. She held her breath not knowing what exactly she expected. Names perhaps of fellow assassins? Or a list of everyone the Garden has terminated? Instead, the only thing that came up was a single box with various numbers and letters inside of it. Every few seconds they would change into a new combination.

"What is this? Some type of coded message?"

Loid shook his head. "At first glance it's easy to assume this is some type of message, probably coded to protect something important, but I've seen this before."

He hit a few keys and isolated a sequence of letters and numbers, zooming in on it so that it was clear on the screen. "Here." He pointed and Yor stepped up closer. "While the rest of the box has numbers and letters constantly changing right here you see the word, CAT. It blinks when the rest of the sequence rotates but the letters remain the same. It would be nearly impossible to miss were it not for a few years ago we stumbled across this very thing. It's a tracking virus used by the SSS. CAT stands for Code Activated: Tracking. It runs the tracking file onto any system and from there, the host can pinpoint the virus's exact location.

Yor's face went white. "Turn it off! Someone will use this to locate us!"

Loid shook his head, "After discovering this we had all WISE systems installed with countermeasures to fight the virus just in case it was ever used against us. We're safe here, the virus is harmless."

She let out a sigh of relief, but it wasn't long before a sudden realization came over her. "I—I was originally going to bring this to the Garden. I would have handed our secret location to the enemy?" A hand flew to her mouth. How? How had she so easily become an asset used by the enemy? She shook away the embarrassment and glanced back at Loid who was still staring curiously at the virus.

"It doesn't make sense though. This intel was basically handed to you. Someone wanted you to find the file. Someone knows who you are or at the very least that you have some sort of connection to the Garden. But that would mean…" Loid turned to her then, a grim expression on his face. "Is it possible that perhaps Yuri does know of your secret life? I mean, he too has been hiding the truth from you for years. The virus is SSS, and it was during his interrogation of you that you found the file. Do you think he sat on this info and simply waited for the right moment so that you could lead him to your Shopkeeper?"

Yor tried to form a sentence, any word of a response but she couldn't. None of this made any sense. She had been so careful to hide who she was from Yuri. Years of lying to him…did he actually know all this time? She looked away from the monitors, away from Loid, recalling that night when she was first brought in for questioning. She remembered the look in her brother's eyes when she sat before him, genuine concern and worry for his sister. She remembered the pain it brought him to see her hurt when he revealed the truth about Loid. No, her sweet baby brother couldn't have been lying to her the whole time. Could he? Doubt crept over her like a looming shadow. Was it so impossible that he had been lying to her just as she had lied to him for so many years?

Loid's hand on her shoulders jolted her back to reality, his solemn face was gone and instead, a warm smile played at his lips. "I'm sorry. This must all be a lot especially after just waking up. Shall we go up for breakfast or I suppose…lunch before figuring out what our next steps should be? If your brother is behind this, then we need to come up with a plan." She couldn't think of anything to say, so she just nodded in agreement.

They walked the winding staircase in silence, the contents of the file heavy on their mind. Yor turned to Loid and watched as the shadows from the candle he was holding, danced across his face. She could see the cogs in his mind turning. His theory was that her own brother set this all up. That somehow, he had learned of both their secret identities and planned on taking out both birds with one stone. She looked down at her hands, clasped together in front of her. Could Yuri have known all this time? The question plagued her and with every minute that passed, she felt less and less confident with her answer. When they finally reached the surface, she stood to the side patiently, while Loid covered the trap door with hay once again.

Loid gave his hands a clap before dusting off any excess hay. With a gentle smile he tilted his head in the direction of the house. "We'll grab some food and then figure out what to do from there hmm?"

She smiled weakly. She wasn't hungry. There were too many questions, too many unknowns hanging over her head that it was keeping away any kind of appetite. When they entered the main house Yor was in for yet another shock that she wasn't quite ready for. Sitting there at the table next to Madelyn was…

"Yor! So nice to see you again. You look…" The woman flashed her a friendly smile that seemed painstakingly forced, as she eyed her. "…quite comfy." The woman lowered her coffee mug onto the table and motioned for them both to take a seat at the table. Lavender hair bounced slightly above her shoulders as the woman tilted her head with yet another one of her friendly, not-so-friendly smiles.

"Fiona?" Yor looked up at Loid confused. So…when they said they worked together…Fiona was also a spy? Loid, Anya, Franky, Fiona…Yor wanted to disappear. Was everyone in on the secret except for her?

Fiona's lips pouted, a small O forming on her lips. "Aww, you didn't tell her the truth about me? About us? After everything you've already shared with her. I'm so hurt Twilight."

Loid shrugged nonchalantly. "There's no us to tell." Yor turned just in time to see Fiona bite her lip. She didn't seem happy with his response.

Madelyn cleared her throat, changing the topic. "Yor, nice of you to join the living. We were beginning to think you might never wake up."

Yor's cheeks flushed but it was Loid that responded. "We were up late…discussing things."

She felt him glance at her, but she didn't meet his gaze and just nodded in response. She was too busy anyway caught in this staring contest Fiona had started with her, yet she couldn't turn away. There was something chilling behind those violet eyes of hers. They were a stunning color, beautiful even, but the look Fiona was sending her way, was anything but pretty. Yor was grateful when Fiona was the first to turn away and instead shifted her attention to Loid.

"Ah, yes. Let's break down that conversation, shall we?" The feigned smile quickly disappeared and instead a furious scowl crept along Fiona's face. "Who the hell do you think you are divulging confidential secrets, not only about you, but…" Fiona looked at Madelyn before waving her hand around the room. "And bringing her here? Have you gone absolutely mad?! Never mind that she's of no real importance. Just a regular boring civilian," Fiona's gaze returned to Yor, "No offense, of course." Her apology dripped with insincerity and Yor felt as she had just been slapped.

Fiona turned back to Loid, "But more so, her brother works for the SSS. You remember the SSS right Twilight? Our enemy? Unless…there's something you're not telling us? Something beneficial that makes telling this…this nobody, government secrets?"

Yor could feel her pulse racing. It hadn't occurred to her that just because she knew about them, that he would feel obliged to share her secret identity as a means of keeping the peace. She needed to intervene, needed to speak up. She was glad that he had been so open and honest with her about his life, but she wasn't quite ready for the rest of the world to know about hers. She was about to speak but Loid beat her to it.

"There's nothing to tell except for the fact that I was set up and the SSS believe that she is Twilight. While her brother was able to get her out of one situation, the fact still remains that there are high ranking officials that believe Yor to be me. And because of that, I felt that she was owed the truth. Furthermore, since it was a WISE mission that got her involved, it's WISE's responsibility to keep her protected until this matter is resolved. I will not let an innocent woman take the fall for my actions against the country."

Yor looked up at Loid in astonishment. When did he become her knight in shining armor? He was so incredibly calm, collected, confident. His answer seemed so sincere even she believed it. By God, lying was a second language to him. Perhaps even his first he was so damned good at it. She leaned back in her chair, relaxing. But then again…If he could lie so easily to his own comrades, how could she ever learn to trust him fully? There it was again. Those pesky seeds of doubts, sprouting their weeds.

Fiona's laugh brought her back to the conversation. "My. That is a valiant declaration Twilight, I never thought I'd see the day." Her eyes slid over to Yor once more. "Just as I never thought I would see you again after that day in the market. Funny how life just seems to throw people together hmm?" Fiona flashed her another smile and tilted her head. To anybody watching it seemed innocent enough, but Yor couldn't shake the feeling that she had crossed this woman somehow. Crossed her in such a way that she felt nothing but contempt towards her.

Yor tried to smile but she was already mentally exhausted, and her day only just began less than an hour ago. She excused herself to go check in on Franky. Madelyn nodded and pointed out the window. "He's in the gardens." Yor thanked her and left the table, walking a few steps she let out a heavy sigh of relief. What was wrong with that woman? Why was Fiona throwing daggers her way behind those icy glares? She thought back on their encounter at the market, perhaps she had said something to offend her? No, that couldn't have been it. Maybe the stress from the morning was causing her to misinterpret the woman. Perhaps she just had one of those "mean" faces, Yor thought as she opened the door.

She walked outside and took a moment to appreciate just how beautiful a day it was, warm even by Ostania's standards. Birds chirping in the trees around her, clouds drifting slowly without a care. She walked over to Franky who was relaxing under a huge oak tree reading a book. After the morning she had, she already needed a break.

Loid let out a deep breath and leaned back into his chair, returning Fiona's glare with her own. "Are you quite pleased with yourself? You could've tried being nicer you know."

Fiona rolled her eyes, "What, nice like you? We owe it to her for all she's been through, and to protect her until this is resolved." Fiona scowled as she mimicked him. "I almost threw up at the table."

Madelyn raised her arms and shushed them, as if she were calm children. "Enough. There's too much at stake here for petty banter. You remember our conversation yesterday, Twilight? Handler is not happy about the way you went about this but as her top agent she is willing to give you one final chance. And she wants both of you to resolve this once and for all."

Loid nodded grimly. How could he possibly forget? It was because of Madelyn that he had stopped his original pursuit of Yor last night. If he had been stalled for a minute longer, Yor would have been…he ground his teeth.

"Now tell us the plan once more." Madelyn directed, eyes focused on him.

He leaned back in the chair annoyed. He didn't understand why they had to go over it for a third time. "I convince Yor to get her brother to meet her alone. I'll tip off Fiona to our location where she'll grab him, take him to an undisclosed location where he will be interrogated on who his informant is. We find his informant, we find WISE's rat. Afterwards, I…" Loid reached into his pocket and slowly pulled out a small tube made of glass. The contents sloshed around as he held it between two fingers above his head. He stared at it with disdain before continuing.

"I get Yor to drink this. Her entire memory will be wiped. She'll wake up in a different city with no idea who she is, but at least she'll have a chance at a new life." He lowered his hand and slid the tube back into his pocket. He didn't need to look up to feel the two women studying him. He could practically feel their stares as they bore into him. He tried to fight Madelyn on this yesterday, arguing that a memory wipe like this was too extreme, that perhaps she could go into protective custody, witness protection. Anything other than this. She wouldn't tell a soul. But this was coming from the higher ups Madelyn had told him. His hands were tied, there was nothing he could do.

He brought his head up. His eyes were different now, glossed with a coldness that made both women shift in their seats uncomfortably. "Her brother will have gone missing, but she won't remember who he is or that he even existed at all. Everyone at Yor's work or the Academy already think she was lost in a car crash, and as far as the SSS go, they'll assume Yuri disappeared along with his sister. And that would be the end of loose ties here in Ostania. Did I miss anything?"

Fiona narrowed her eyes, studying him. "No, no. I'm just genuinely surprised that you are going along with this. Handler was mostly concerned that you would not agree to the memory wipe of Yor Briar."

He let out a low primal sound that was almost a growl and flashed her a murderous stare. His voice grave. "Do not think for a second that I condone this Fiona. But if this is the only way to secure her safety without ending her life then so be it. You know where I stand. The mission…"

The two women turned to each other before nodding, and the three of them finished the sentence as one. "…The mission always comes first."

…

…

Loid had never been so relieved to be outside and away from those two than he was at this exact moment. Both hands in his pockets, he stepped out into the garden, sucking in a deep breath of fresh air. Dirt, pine, and the gentle florals of fresh posies that were planted all around the porch filled his lungs. He took a second to take it all in, calming himself.

He felt his body ease, and his shoulders relaxed. Gotta admit, that was pretty damn good even by my standards. He looked up at the sky, giving himself a mental pat on the back. It was an arduous task he had set upon himself. Even for a man with his skill, the acting required to fool those two, had worn him out.

He had no intention of giving Yor this amnesia induced drug, but he had to play along for the sake of keeping face. He personally trained Fiona, and they had been partners both intimately as well as professionally for years. And Madelyn…she had been with WISE ever since Handler brought him in. The three of them shared a strong history together. They knew each other's tells, their tricks. The slightest mistake on his part and they would know he was lying to them. He had to play his angle just right if he wanted to fool either of them.

Of course, he wanted to tell Yor everything last night, to warn her what WISE had planned. He had just regained her trust, and that trust was skating on delicate fragile ice. If it were possible to let her in on his plans, he would have but…when it came down to it.

She is a godawful liar. He sighed crossing his arms in thought. How she was able to lie to her brother for all these years seemed an impossible notion from the start. No, he couldn't let Yor know he was lying to his own comrades. Fiona and Madelyn would have sniffed her out almost immediately were he to have told her anything. No, it was, unfortunately, better to keep Yor in the dark for the time being.

Bringing a hand to his chin he circled his thoughts back to her brother. All clues pointed back to Yuri. Perhaps in choosing Yor to act as his wife, it had brought unnecessary attention upon himself. Yuri must have found out he was Twilight that way. It didn't explain how he found out about Yor though, or if he knew this whole time, why choose to track down the Garden now?

Unfolding his arms, he let them fall to his sides with an exhausted sigh. There were still too many questions. The contents of his pocket lightly touched his fingertips reminding him of the dangerously thin line he was walking. What would happen after they got their answers from Yuri? He couldn't just let him go. He would continue to hunt Loid down until the end of time. And what of Yor? Even if he didn't wipe her mind there would be no way in hell she would ever forgive him for handing in her brother over to WISE. In fact, he was more than confident that she would run her blade right through his heart.

Damn it. There was no scenario he ran in his mind that gave him a win. Either way, Yor Briar would be lost to him. Forever. The thought of that pained him more than he'd like to admit.

He heard Yor's voice call out behind him, and he turned to see her and Franky walking towards him. She was absolutely radiant in the warm glows of the late afternoon sun. Smooth black hair glistened; her bangs framed her face forcing attention to her soft angelic features. His mind suddenly flashed to that perfect day at the carnival. Anya was sitting in his lap and he had looked up to see Yor basking in the sun, looking just as radiant as she was now.

Even then he thought Yor to be the most perfect woman he had ever set eyes upon. The only difference was back then he was fighting his feelings for her. Now…it seemed, he wanted to fight for her.

"L man! What's out next move?" Franky asked, slapping a hand on his back.

Loid smiled at him before turning his eyes to Yor. Drinking her in. That, is a very good question my dear friend. A very good question.