For the first time in a long while, Twilight didn't know how to start a conversation.

It had only been one hour since Nightfall had left his office with her orders, and the dossier of Mr. Roche's identified stalkers was still open on his desk beside some half-completed paperwork, even though the faces and biographies had long been memorized.

'A new patient here for a consultation'. That was what Nightfall had said when his door next opened, and the woman that sat across from him now may have sported a short blonde bob-cut and bright green eyes, but the calculated intensity behind her unblinking gaze as she waited for him to make the first move was all Fullmetal Lady. As much as he had wanted to speak to her, a part of him had bristled at her speedy response – she must have already been keeping a casual eye on him, to be close enough and prepared enough to answer his call within an hour. The small part of him that still didn't want to break Anya's promise had hoped it would take a day or two, so he had time to think through how he wanted this to go, but alas…

Practically, the situation had escalated far enough that it was perfectly within protocol to discuss all new information and possible future steps with his Handler, and she seemed to understand the gravity of things, given that she gave them enough time to talk under the pretense of her being a 'new patient' instead of slipping in disguised as a nurse for a short debrief, as she had done before. This was for STRIX – the most important mission he had ever undertaken.

He needed to tell her about Anya.

Still, as he sat across from her on the couch he used for sessions, his elbows on his knees and clasped hands under his chin, he had to fight to keep his throat from closing around the words that needed to be said.

"What can you tell me about Project Apple?" he eventually tried.

Handler blinked, "It was an Ostanian research project to artificially raise the intelligence of animals that could then be used for war, likely funded by Born Industries. It was shut down after its complete failure in producing results as well as the end of the war. Status: defunct," she raised an eyebrow, "How does it pertain to your current mission?"

Twilight took a deep breath, "What if it wasn't defunct?"

Her gaze sharpened, "Explain."

It was a realization he'd come to the night before, a shock to his senses like he'd been dunked in freezing water:

The war had ended a little over a decade ago. And Anya was six years old…

"I learned why Anya was targeted."

That was all he needed to say. His mentor was a smart woman. Her face remained completely still, but her hands twitched in her lap, "Is this war, then?"

Is STRIX compromised?

That was the question of the hour, wasn't it? Project Apple was now a ticking time bomb for them all. As it turns out, STRIX had gone into operation with a massive weak spot in its façade named ' the fucking Ostanian government' and keeping it from turning into a full-on fissure might be impossible. If anything happened to Anya, STRIX would fail, months of progress would be for naught, and Westalis might not be able to implement another plan before war broke out again. But if they were too obvious about protecting Anya as the mission's key asset, the government would become aware of the depth of WISE's presence in the country and consider that a declaration of war anyway. It should be a lose-lose situation.

But Twilight wanted a world where no child had to cry, and that included Anya.

She'd spilled enough tears.

Twilight shook his head, "Anya's safety is ensured if we act quickly to dispatch or redirect all pursuers. They're circling Roche because they don't actually know where she is currently, and Mr. Roche doesn't know anything anyway."

"They've found you, though. Nightfall briefed me on what you told her this morning."

"But you know they won't get me."

She did know. He was the best of the best, after all. But he could tell she was still dissatisfied with that answer, "I will make sure your request for agents to protect her and Mrs. Forger gets fast-tracked. If we can contact our moles within the SSS, we may also be able to learn more about Project Apple if records have not been destroyed. I'm sure you are working with your informant, Franklin, to follow leads in organized crime? I'll order Nightfall to check in with him about this. The nature of Project Apple, especially if human subjects were involved, is something the Ostanian government would want to keep its hands clean of in this day and age."

Twilight nodded curtly, "That wasn't all, though."

"Oh?" she raised an eyebrow.

He hesitated for a second, before – "…Project Apple was…successful."

Sylvia stiffened for a second, before her eyes narrowed and her tone grew sharp, "Have you confirmed this?"

Twilight nodded, "Yes."

"How?"

Twilight looked away for the first time, "Anya."

"Anya Forger's academic performance –"

"Is not an act, unfortunately" Twilight cut in, unable to help the wry smile that crossed his face, "Project Apple did not give her heightened intelligence, but it did give her…other mental abilities," he glanced over to judge her reaction. She remained still, waiting for him to take that final leap.

Twilight coughed, "I will admit that I failed to notice, or outright ignored, the signs of what seemed impossible, but Mr. Roche brought them to the forefront when we met and, when I returned home, Anya confirmed them. She can read minds. And Bond has…precognitive abilities."

"I see…" Handler said slowly. He imagined that she was thinking of the best way to ask if he had gone mad in the last week or so, "Strength of proof?"

"She was able to recite my own thoughts back to me and respond to them in real time in a way that cannot be chalked up to chance or intuition, and she knows all about STRIX, including details I have never voiced aloud."

"Range?"

"Unknown."

"Limits?"

"She can't focus if thoughts are fleeting, she can't focus on multiple people, and she can't hear thoughts at all on a new moon."

Sylvia nodded.

"And the dog?"

"Unconfirmed, but Anya swears that he has shown her visions of random future events."

"I see…" This time, there was less judgement in her tone. Only curiosity.

"There is a chance that there are other successful test subjects in Ostania and/or Westalis that could still be under the influence of the Ostanian government. WISE needs to be made aware of that possibility and its consequences."

"Hmm…You're right."

Twilight nodded, satisfied now that he had said everything he had meant to. Handler now knew. Agents would be put on Anya and Yor. They wouldn't be caught blindsided. End of conversation.

But Slyvia wasn't done. She tilted her head, studying him, "You're right," she repeated, "Which is why I'm not sure why you didn't notify me immediately when you found out this information."

Twilight pinched the bridge of his nose, "I needed to ascertain that the threat was as real as I had assumed, first."

"Yes," Sylvia clicked her tongue in a rare open sign of irritation, "I remember you saying 'it wasn't pertinent' when I asked you directly. These abilities seem very pertinent, Twilight."

Well, she did tell him that he would be getting reprimanded for this. He supposed he should just be glad it was here and now, instead of in a more official capacity.

"I didn't know about the extent of things then," he couldn't help but protest.

"I'm not talking about the threat of hypothetical Project Apple subjects. I'm talking about your knowledge of Anya Forger's abilities. The test subject that is already under your roof."

"She won't be a tool for WISE." Twilight burst.

Sylvia's eyes widened slightly, before her face softened, "I wasn't going to suggest that."

He was sure she was, but acknowledging the trap he had just fallen into would be worse than ignoring it.

"You're compromised."

It wasn't a question. Twilight stiffened, "Yes, I am aware that the details of STRIX are now in the hands of an overactive child – "

"That's not what I mean, and you know it," the soft, understanding look on his handler's face had not disappeared, and it was beginning to make Twilight uncomfortable, "You're emotionally compromised."

"I'm not," he spat back instinctively. It wasn't really a lie, either; he admired Yor and was amused by Anya, but he didn't care for them like a real husband and father would. He may have had fleeting moments of wishing that he could but that didn't mean that he actually did. How could he, when he didn't even know how?

That was fine with him, though. 'Emotionally compromised' equaled failure.

"You are," Sylvia said, finally standing to leave, a gleam in her eye, "But that might be exactly what we need right now. Thank you for the debrief, Twilight."

He watched her walk towards the door, confused. How could 'being attached' be a benefit when they both knew that it would be that much harder to let go once STRIX was over? Feelings led to weakness. Dullness. WISE didn't need dull weapons. But his handler only seemed to find his confusion amusing, since she turned to him one last time with that uncomfortably soft look before leaving the room.

"There really is nothing as undoing as a daughter, is there?"

As soon as she clicked the door shut behind her and left him in the silence of his office, Twilight walked over to the window. Maybe some fresh air would help relieve the sudden itch in his nerves.

XXX

The itch didn't leave him at all. Not even as he left the hospital for the day and immediately spotted his shadows.

The two men weren't even being subtle today. They sat, side by side, at the bottom of the steps of the building as casually as could be. Every time someone walked past them, they would quickly turn their heads to see who it was in case they needed to start following. If they had been here all day, Loid was surprised that an officer hadn't approached them yet for loitering or suspicious behavior.

As a test, he made sure to keep an eye on them as he raised his voice and bid a colleague goodbye. No reaction from either of them. So, they didn't recognize the sound of his voice. Good. That meant that disguises would definitely be the best way to go right by them and remain undetected. Unfortunately, that wouldn't be in the cards today. He had evaded them enough times in the last few days that he needed to dial it back to appear more normal. He walked right by them as if he didn't notice anything amiss.

The result was instantaneous. He saw both men jolt in recognition out of the corner of his eyes as he passed, and he felt their eyes remain on him as he headed down the street. The feeling of being watched only increased as he reached the end of the block and waited at the crossing. Given that the people following Roche were getting bolder, he kept his guard up and allowed a part of him to prepare for a confrontation.

He crossed the street with the evening crowd and, halfway across the road, he felt a jolt in his shoulder as one of them knocked into him. It wasn't enough to knock him forward or over, and they didn't acknowledge him in any other way. Loid's eyes narrowed.

They didn't interact with him again, but they followed him all the way to the Forger's fake address. A lower-ranked WISE agent was stationed as the doorman and, as Loid walked through the doors, the agent nodded in greeting and gave him an 'all clear' signal to enter the lobby's back office. The room was small – stocked to bursting with one small table and bookshelves stuffed with lease documents, resident records, and unsorted mail – but behind one bookshelf in the corner was a tunnel that led to the alley behind the building. Twilight figured it must have been used as a secret evacuation point during the war, but now it would be what allowed him to make his way to 128 Park Avenue unmolested. Before leaving, he made sure to take off his suit jacket, just in case the bump from earlier was because they slipped something on his person. The agent would find it and get it swept for bugs or other devices.

As he reached the Forger home, however, he found that he still couldn't relax.

It felt really silly that, while spending the morning talking about his fake daughter being a telepath, Loid had forgotten what that actually meant.

"You told!"

Anya's face, scrunched in anger and betrayal, was the first thing he saw when he opened the door. Because of course she could hear his thoughts through the door. Amusingly enough, she directed the expression towards Bond as the dog innocently bounded up beside her and ducked his head for pats. Loid put down his briefcase and gladly took the invitation to run his fingers through the animal's fur as he tried to think of how to calm the angry child before him.

"You promised you wouldn't!"

Loid's stomach flipped as he looked up and saw her eyes get glassy, "I can explain, Anya," he raised his hands in a placating gesture, "It's not as bad as you think."

"What's not as bad as she thinks?"

Loid startled as Yor stood up from the sofa and moved towards them. He had been so focused on Anya ambushing him that he hadn't even noticed the other presence in the room.

'How's that for 'compromised'?' he thought bitterly. Still in front of him, Anya frowned and bit her lip. He felt he should say something to apologize, but she stormed off to her room before he could say anything, Bond trailing behind her.

"Hi Yor," he greeted, ignoring the guilt churning in his stomach at the sight of Anya's nametag clattering against the slammed door, "Just something about work that she didn't want me to do. I'll sort things out when she calms down."

Normally, Yor would accept a simple answer like that, her little concerned frown would smooth out, and she would move on. But, as he watched her frown deepen instead, Loid was suddenly struck with the realization that things hadn't been normal with her for a while. Not since their conversation about Anya's adoption. Actually, if he thought about it, she had avoided moments like this – the two of them alone together – since that day.

The distance she had put between them in the past few days was suddenly terrifying.

"Loid," she said, consideringly, "Where's your jacket?"

"Ah, I forgot it at work," he said as casually as possible, scratching the back of his neck in faux embarrassment, "I didn't notice until I was halfway home," he watched her fingers clutch at the hem of her sweater, "Is something wrong?"

"I met Mr. Roche at lunch today."

Loid's thoughts immediately turned to static.

Compromised. Compromised. Compromised.

Where? How? No, why?! Why did this happen on the one day that Nightfall wasn't there to see that disastrous meeting and warn him? What about Roche's tails? Was it too much to hope that they weren't close enough to hear her identify herself or bring up anything that would confirm her connection to Anya? Was he too late in requesting WISE's assistance?

"I thought it would be nice to get to know your friend better, so I looked him up and called and he invited me to lunch," Yor said as Loid failed to respond, "…He's not your friend, is he?"

Loid swallowed heavily, "What do you –"

"You lied to me," she said, taking a deliberate step forward. Loid stepped back. Three more steps and she'd have him backed against the door behind him, "You said you don't think I'm stupid, but then you lied to me in the same breath, knowing that I'd believe you. Anya is not your daughter, yes, but you only took her in last year!"

"I didn't –"

"You just lied to me about losing your jacket too, as well as what Anya is mad at you about," she continued over him, "And I was told something strange at work on Monday…"

She trailed off, which only made Loid panic more. What had she heard about him?

"I like to think you are a good man," Yor finally said, quietly. To Loid's horror, he saw tears well up in her eyes.

How was he so good at making his girls cry?

Another man would respond with "I am!" but that would be a lie and exactly the opposite of what she was asking for. Loid knew he wasn't a good man in the slightest, even if he was roleplaying as one.

Yor seemed to be waiting for a response, but for the second time that day, Loid didn't trust his voice.

When ten seconds had passed in silence, with him drowning in the ruby red of her eyes as he tried to think of a way out of this new predicament, Yor sighed heavily. Her eyes darted to Anya's closed bedroom door before she spoke again, "What do you plan to do with her? With me?"

Her voice was calm, but Loid suddenly got the impression that he'd be dead if he didn't handle this carefully.

'I want to protect you.'

The thought came suddenly, clearly, and immediately. He felt nauseous, "With you?"

"Because if you intend to hurt either of us…"

"Mama!"

Anya's door flew open and both adults snapped their heads in her direction.

There was still a frown on her face but, while her brow had been lowered in anger before, now there was only determination.

"Mama," she said again, making sure she was heard, "Don't kill Papa."

'Oh, so that sense of danger wasn't my imagination,' was Loid's first thought at that.

'Oh my god, Yor was thinking about killing me,' was his second.

But what was Anya doing?

"I- I wasn't," Yor protested weakly, but Anya just looked over at Loid again.

"Papa, Anya's ready now."

Oh.

She was choosing now to tell Yor. Redirecting Yor's interrogation to…save him? Protect him?

What had he just thought about mere seconds ago? 'I want to protect you.'

He noticed her confidence waver, "Can Anya tell Mama now?"

"If Anya can't help Papa –"

"Only if you want to," he assured. Self-preservation (and mission preservation) was definitely his priority right now, but he would be damned if this child threw herself in before she was ready out of a misplaced sense of obligation.

Anya pursed her lips as that thought crossed his mind before shaking her head and turning back to Yor. She reached out and latched herself onto the older woman's left leg, as if afraid that she would actually run away at whatever she said next.

"Mama," she took a breath, "Anya heard you think stabby thoughts."

Yor froze, "W-what?"

"Papa isn't a bad man," Anya continued, "He keeps Anya away from bad men."

Loid tried to keep his face as neutral as possible as Yor looked between the girl clinging to her and him, "Maybe we should sit down for this."

"Loid, what is she talking about?" Yor asked, not moving, "I don't want any more –"

"Anya told Papa to lie," Anya said, voice raising, "Anya didn't want Mama to know about Old Papa."

"Old Papa…" Yor echoed, "'Old Papa ruined everything' – that's what you said before," she looked at Loid, confusion clear on her face now, "This is all about Roche? Anya, what do you mean you heard my…stabby thoughts?"

Anya hesitated. This clearly wasn't going as smoothly as she had wanted.

Loid decided to save her, "Anya wasn't lying when she said she heard your thoughts. She can hear me too. She can hear everyone. It scared Mr. Roche's family so he put her in the orphanage where I found her."

Yor sighed, "I don't know what thoughts you put in her head, but –"

"Mama has a second job!" Anya blurted.

Yor froze again, her eyes wide with what looked like fear.

'A second job? What is that about?'

"Think something right now, Mama!" Anya said. A pause, "Unkie Yuri is wrong."

Yor paled.

Okay, now Loid was concerned, "Yor?"

"Mama was thinking Unkie was right to be 'spicous of us."

'Well, not entirely,' Loid thought.

" Papa is wrong too," Anya said, glaring up at him, "Papa is not 'spicious or bad."

"This isn't happening," Yor whispered.

"Do you believe Anya?"

Yor nodded dumbly.

"Don't be mad at Papa," Anya implored.

"I'm…not…anymore," Yor said, blinking rapidly, "But I have questions…"

Well, that was better than how things were a few minutes ago. Loid raised his hands slowly, "Can we sit down to talk?"

Yor seemed to finally realize how close she had gotten to Loid in her anger, because she jumped back and turned crimson.

"Ah, sorry Loid! I didn't mean t-to –"

"Its fine, Yor," he said, letting a reassuring smile cross his face, "Let's just talk. No more lies, I promise. If you can't trust me, then Anya can do all the talking, how about that?"

Yor nodded and, with Anya still latched on to her, she left the entryway.

Loid finally felt like he could breathe.

"So," Yor began as she sat down heavily, "Why me?"

There was that guilt again, building in Loid's stomach, "I'm so sorry you got dragged into things, honestly. I wasn't lying when I told you all those months ago that I needed to get Anya into Eden and that she'd need a mother for the interview."

"Why Eden?"

"I…"

Now it was Loid's turn to hesitate. There it was, right in front of him, the opportunity to lie to her again. In fact, it was his duty; Yor was a civilian, so far out of the need-to-know about Operation STRIX that it wasn't even funny. But the guilt was still roiling, and the memory of her unshed tears was making it difficult to listen to protocol.

'Tell her.'

"For safety," Anya jumped in, "Bad men want to hurt Anya but they can't get into school because of the sec-rity."

"Security," Loid corrected as relief flowed through him.

'Thank you,' he thought, loud and clear. Anya beamed at him.

"Security," Yor nodded, "I guess that makes sense. But…who's after Anya?"

"We're not sure," Loid said, "But Anya was attacked while she was living with Mr. Roche. Did he tell you about that?"

"No," Yor's expression darkened, "But don't worry, Anya, I won't let anything happen to you."

Loid's relief only grew, but Anya's face paled, "Mama's thinking stabby thoughts again."

Yor gasped and shook her head as if that would physically expel whatever she had been thinking, "Oh, I'm sorry, Anya! I didn't mean to scare you. But I must scare you a lot if you're reading my mind all the time! I'm so sorry!"

Loid felt his heart flip at the flustered expression on her face. He was glad to hear Yor talk about Anya's telepathy so casually, so quickly. Maybe it hadn't quite sunk in yet, in the same way it took him a day to realize the implications of housing a telepathic child, but she at least wasn't pushing them away. It was nice to be proven right – that Yor was strong enough to not abandon them at the first sign of trouble. In fact, she immediately vowed to protect Anya from the danger she had just learned about. Loid had no doubt that she was strong enough, physically, to do so, but she was still a civilian. She shouldn't have to put herself in harm's way for this child. That was his job.

However… 'Were Yor's thoughts really that violent?' Anya was clearly hearing a lot, but Loid couldn't imagine it, looking at the woman beside him. He couldn't imagine that her kind nature would allow for such darkness.

Who was this woman, that he'd chosen on impulse?

He looked to Anya, but she merely shook her head and mimed zipping up her lips. Right, if she was keeping his secrets close to the chest, then it only made sense she would extend Yor the same courtesy.

He cleared his throat to regain Yor's attention, "I truly am sorry. I've been so focused on protecting Anya that it didn't occur to me until recently that you may be put in danger too."

Yor frowned at that, "Recently?"

"Yes. I noticed at the end of last week that some strange people have been following me. I'm afraid they may be trying to track Anya down since we last moved and, if they noticed you speaking with Mr. Roche today, they may try to harm you as well for information."

Loid expected Yor to react to that bombshell with trepidation, or an amount of fear. Some concern for herself. Anger at unwittingly being made a target. Concern for the safety of this family she clearly cared for. He expected more questions.

Instead, he saw her eyes widen with realization, and was hit with the sensation of having missed a stair, "Oh, that's why…"

"Why, what?"

Yor's face turns dark. The killing intent was back.

"I have a call to make."

XXX

Later that night, after dinner had been consumed, dishes cleared away, and the television turned off for the day, Loid took it upon himself to tuck Anya into bed.

"That wasn't as bad as you hoped, was it?" he asked, watching her get settled.

"No," she said, "But Anya's still mad at you for telling."

He huffed out a laugh, "I guess I deserve that."

Operation STRIX asset connections under investigation.

Threat Level: Moderate - High

Twilight really is in denial about the strength of his feelings for his family, but Handler can see right through him. Did anyone catch the Arcane reference? I really think it fits Twilight and Anya's father-daughter relationship.

Yes, Anya did decide to come to Loid's rescue because she heard him think, clear as day, that he had her best interests at heart. And he now knows and respects that she still wouldn't let her emotions override her expressed loyalty to him (since he was so afraid that she would be ruled by her feelings like most kids are). But of course she's still mad at him for breaking his promise.

Mama Bear Yor now knows her baby is in danger. Watch out! Also, Loid is right; in the moment, Yor is just accepting things as they are, but the seriousness of the full situation will take a little time to sink in. We'll see the result of that soon.