Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

Somewhere in Ostania. Inside an unknown, run-down orphanage. There were two children.

'Boooooooored.'

That was what a boy was thinking while lying down on the floor next to a little girl.

This boy was named Paul, a six year old orphan, with the little girl being his little sister named Anya, a four (and a half!) year old orphan.

He was a fairly attractive looking boy with blonde hair, freckles on the bridge of his nose, and eyes with a color reminiscent of green bottles. He was wearing a worn black shirt that was a size too large and shorts. Currently, he was lying down on the lap of his little sister with an arm over his forehead and another over his belly.

Anya was a little girl with shoulder-length light pink hair, two hair ornaments that resembled horns, and the same eyes as her older brother. She was wearing an oversized shirt that ended at her knees with a white bow. She was currently sitting down, letting her brother lay down on her lap, and playing with his hair, a toy chimera in her other hand.

'Hey, Anya, do you know any games we could play to pass the time?' Paul said in his mind, removing his arm over his eyes, and making eye contact with his little sister.

Anya hmphed. "Big bro should play the game of 'Stop laying down on Anya's lap because it's making her knees hurt and that they should play with Mr. Chimera because Anya is bored,'" she said poking his cheeks, motioning for him to get up.

Paul ignored her suggestion but did get up. "Hmm. Are you sure that guy isn't going to do anything at all?" He said, glancing at the door.

There is nobody nearby. Too far to be heard by anyone.

'Hmm, doesn't sound cool enough,' he griped.

No presence detected. Outside of hearing range.

'Better,' Paul smiled.

She rolled her eyes; he had asked this question about a million times now. "No big bro, Anya made sure to check thurohly. Anya followed him all day and found nothing suspicious," her face turned to a grimace. "A lot of insults, though."

"First, it's 'thoroughly.' Second, forget everything he said that I would consider bad. Third, are you absolutely sure?" He clarified, ordered, and questioned.

Anya nodded repeatedly. "Thoroughly. Forget everything he said. And 1000% sure!"

Paul looked around the room, noticing the table next to them with three chairs, and sat on one of the chairs surrounding the table. He saw a newspaper lying there and read through it.

Headline is supposed to be aggressive, targeted at someone. Target is likely to notice the message and counter back.
Country is currently in Cold War, Westalis and Ostania in a tense political situation. War is a likely possibility in near future.
News is sugarcoating problems, does not want the people panicking.
Eden Academy is now enrolling. Prestigious and upper crust school. Students are likely to be related to rich and/or powerful people. Treasure trove of information.
Wording of news is suspicious.
Some sort of organization controlling the press? Coded message in news, solving it might result in consequence of power use.
Recommended choice of action: Rest to recover from power usage before investigating.

Paul hummed, intrigued. "If you're sure, then I guess we can stay here for a bit more," said Paul, earning a 'yay!' from Anya. "But if nobody comes to adopt us in 3 days, then we're leaving and fending for ourselves."

Anya put her hands on her hips and puffed her chest in Paul's direction. "Someone will definitely adopt Anya and Big Bro! Believe it!" She gave him a thumbs up.

Paul groaned. "I don't know why, but I feel like something is wrong with that."

Anya grinned at him before suddenly tensing up. She stayed silent for a moment, making Paul glance at her when she brightened up.

"Big bro, there's someone here to adopt. Someone who can read and write," Anya informed him, vibrating from excitement.

Paul narrowed his eyes, putting down his newspaper, and fully turning to Anya. "What do they want?" He asked her. Nobody else in the orphanage can read and write, only them two can.

She moved to tell him before she suddenly got an idea. She smirked and chuckled in response. Paul looked annoyed, knowing what that meant.

"Anya won't tell." Anya told him after she stopped chuckling.

He expected that. Really, he did. It didn't feel any less annoying.

Amused; currently focused on something else, reading someone's mind.
Thinks the situation is exciting, is not afraid at all.
Dangerous? Potentially, no immediate danger.
Current course of action? Play along, wait for the subject, and analyze them.

Paul sighed. 'The things I have to do to make sure this troublesome child is happy.'

Anya stuck out her tongue. "You love Anya anyway."

'Doesn't make you any less annoying.' Paul cracked his neck, stood up, and stretched. 'Let us prepare for the worse,' he motioned for Anya to do as well. 'Come on, Anya, you know what to do.'

Anya grumbled but complied, standing up and copying her brother.

Loid wondered if this orphanage was where he would find the right child. 'It's true that the shadier the better, but this seems a bit much,' Loid thought. He didn't expect much, nor did he need a genius for a child (but it would be appreciated if he could acquire one). Even the bare minimum is enough.

As the door to the recommended child opened, he thought, 'If I can't find anything in these orphanages, then I might just go to a normal one.'

"Hey! Anya! Paul!"

Loid blinked. '2?' He looked inside the room. 'I didn't expect anymore than one.' He was not expecting more than one.

"Hah!" "Hah!"

Then again, he was not expecting them to be... practicing moves? Stretching? As well. He examined the two. 'Hmm. The girl looks too young, but the boy should be the correct age.'

The two noticed them and stop their activity. The girl was smiling excitedly while the boy was scanning him.

'The girl's reaction is expected, I am here to adopt. But…' Loid made eye contact with the boy. 'The boy's reaction isn't unusual, orphans would be wary of adults, but my instincts tell me there's something more to them.'

Focused on the boy, he didn't notice the girl's eyes widened as she interrupted his train of thought.

"My name is Anya! I'm 4 and a half!" She introduced herself.

'Look approachable and don't intimidate the children, Twilight.' Loid nodded at her and gave her a smile. 'Although, that goes the plan of enrolling the both of them in Eden.'

The girl, Anya, continued with her introduction, "And this is Big Bro! His name is Paul, and he's 6!"

Loid didn't react outwardly, but inwardly he was disappointed. 'Siblings. One child is troublesome enough, I don't think another is going to make anything better.'

He pondered in his mind. 'Although only one sibling can go to Eden, and I doubt they would want to be separated, maybe I can just enroll the other in a normal school? Then again, two children in Eden may be better. A backup if you will,' Loid pondered his current thought a bit more. 'Of course, unless we fake her age up to 6 or Eden suddenly gains kindergarten classes then that plan wouldn't even be feasible. Even then, a child her age wouldn't be able to keep up with the others, and having a child in kindergarten is pointless as Desmond's son won't even be able to meet her.'

The boy, Paul, has now stopped scanning him and now was shooting glances at his sister while looking at him. Anya turned around and grabbed the newspaper on the table behind them.

"Hm? The newspaper?" Loid looked at the page turned to him. "Wait, the crossword? Isn't that a bit too difficult for a child?"

Anya handed the crossword to Paul. He rolled his eyes but went to sit down and solve it.

'The boy? Can he solve this one?' Loid approached and sat down on a chair beside the boy. He pulled the chair closer to the boy until he can look over his shoulder. 'It's trivial for me, of course,' Loid thought to himself. '1 down "Homeostasis," 1 across is "Causal closure," and below that is "Symplectomorphic map…."'

Anya sat down across from Paul and played with her doll, humming along an unusual tune.

Paul hummed along in a different tune, glancing down at the crossword but mostly observing Anya playing. He looked to be in-thought when looking at her, nodding to himself a few times, then goes to answer the questions one by one.

After a few minutes, Paul presented the crossword to Loid.

"He got it?! Seriously?!" Loid couldn't help but exclaim loudly while thinking to himself, 'Where'd he learn this stuff? What terrifying genius!' Loid was amazed. 'With him, passing the entrance exam should be a child's play!'

"I'll take him!" He turned to the caretaker and proclaimed.

"Hold it!" Loid paused, he turned around and saw the boy smirking at him. Paul pointed to himself, then to Anya. "If you want to adopt me, then my little sister is coming with."

Loid nodded, to Paul and himself. Of course, that was to be expected. In the shock, he had forgotten they were siblings.

"Very well then, I'll adopt both of you." 'I don't know the chances of finding another child as smart as this one. I'm sure Handler wouldn't mind me having another child if it's for the mission,' Loid determined.

'Besides…'

Loid looked at the two, faces of smiles and excitement.

'There's nothing wrong with giving another child a reason to smile.' Loid smiled fondly, eyes flashing back to countless glimpses.

"Now, about the paperwork."

"Don't need none of that, just take them and skedaddle."

Loid nodded to the man, expecting as such. He turned to the siblings and lowered himself before them. "Is this alright with you two, though?"

Anya gave him a nod while the boy sent him a vulpine smile and a single "Yup."

Thus marks the formation of the most bizarre family in the world.

Loid Forger. Code name: Twilight. Occupation: Spy.

Known as The World's Greatest Spy, working for the Westalian organization known as WISE.

Currently on a mission to achieve world peace by getting a child to infiltrate and extract information from Eden Academy, where his target's son (and the target by extension) will be present.

Paul and Anya Forger. Known as subject 006 and 007. Esper children.

They were created by the experiments of a mysterious organization; they later escaped their facility.

Since then, they have moved from place to place, seeking shelter.

Paul was told to have the power to accurately glean, deduce, and conclude a massive amount of information from the most minuscule details. He needs some information about the target to start with and can let his enhanced intuition fill in the gaps in his knowledge. This allows him to guess passwords, make predictions about the most likely outcomes of a given situation, and essentially cold read and profile people around him.

Anya has been observed to have the power to read the minds of other people and animals of all shapes and sizes, with small invisible sparks indicating power use that can only be seen by people with enhanced perception and/or espers like her, like Paul.

With these three as a family, and future members, they make up quite an interesting dynamic.

"Listen up, the two of you," Loid addressed them, stopping in front of the building, which they just arrived at.

"It's Paul." "Anya!" The siblings informed their new father.

Loid nodded. "Okay, listen up, Paul, Anya," he rephrased.

"Starting today, you're my son and daughter. But to everyone else, you've always been my children. Got it?" He informed them.

"Got it." "Oui!" They responded.

"And you should call me "Father."" 'That sounds upper crust enough.'

"Dad." "Papa!"

"That works."

Loid entered the building, the children followed behind him, and they proceeded to walk until they arrived in front of their door. There, they encountered an old lady.

"Hello there," The old lady greeted. "Oh my, your children are so adorable," The old lady said.

Loid took off his hat in greeting. "Hello, we're the Forgers. We just moved in today," Loid replied.

"I'm Anya, and I-" "And I am Paul! Nice to meet you ma'am," Paul interrupted, guessing what Anya was going to say.

The old lady smiled. "My, how polite." She put her hand in her bag and presented two candies. "Here, have a treat," she offered.

Paul received them and offered one to Anya, getting the candy snatched, and gave the old lady a "Thank you."

'Good job children,' Loid thought. He turned to them. "Come on, Paul, Anya, let's head inside."

"Ehe," giggled Anya, smiling brightly.

Loid opened the door to their house, with Anya rushing in and Paul following along.

"My house?" "It's our house."

Loid nodded at them. "That's right."

Anya noticed the TV. "TV!" She said, rushing towards it.

"Feel free to turn it on."

Paul looked around the room, analyzing and taking in everything.

Traps? None: no dangerous chemicals are present, no bombs, no hidden presences.
Escape routes? Multiple, with no barricades, and other available routes.
An average room with no hidden devices.
Place is newly bought, no signs of living for an extended amount of time yet.

Paul looked at Loid.

Exasperated sigh. Reaction to the cartoon: annoyed, thinks it is ironic.
Body is fit, very observant. Moves with experience and caution.
Possibly a soldier? Likely. A retired soldier? Probable.
Inhaled for clarity of mind, planning next course of action. About to leave to prepare necessities.

Paul hummed once. 'Anya, Dad is about to leave to get some things outside. If you want to go with him then turn off the TV and ask him.'

Anya hummed thrice. She turned off the TV and ran towards Loid. "Adventure!"

"I'm- Wha-!" Loid looked down at his feet, seeing Anya clinging on his leg.

Paul sighed. "Anya, if you want to go outside then just ask. And don't hold on to someone's leg, they might trip and fall," he chided her.

Anya let go of Loid's leg. "Can Anya go outside?" She asked Loid, looking at him expectantly. Taking full advantage of her cuteness to give him puppy eyes and a cute pout.

"Well, if you want to. I might as well go shopping too." Loid turned to Paul. "Paul, do you want to come as well? Or would you like to stay here?"

Paul thought about the offer for a second before shaking his head in refusal. "Nah, I think I'll just stay here and explore or something," he went to lay down at the couch. "Or just sleep." 'Anya, I'm going to investigate a bit, okay? Stay with Loid and make sure not to do anything that'll give us away.'

Loid nodded at him. "Very well then. If you want anything to eat, I have some food stocked in the fridge and there is some fruit at the table," he turned to Anya. "Come on now." Anya and Loid left the room. Anya stopped to wave goodbye to her brother, before running to catch up with Loid.

Paul waved back at Anya before closing the door. He closed his eyes for a bit, taking a deep breath. After a few moments of breathing, he went to start his investigation.

The living room. Nothing. The kitchen. Nothing. Their bedrooms. Nothing. Loid's room. Belongings.

Bingo.

Paul proceeded to enter the room, blazing past the useless lock on the door, and scanned around.

Traps? None: place is recently bought; bed does not look used.
Cameras? None, room is clear of surveillance.
Alarms? None, multiple locations possible to be placed but none present.

Paul spotted something. 'What's that?'

Equipment. Gun: frequently used, maintained well, fully stocked with ammo. Disguise kit. Transmitter. Other such items. All for professional use.
Probability if tools are for profession; high.
Loid must be a soldier promoted or recruited for something. Profession is most likely military or some form of government organization.

Paul raised an eyebrow. 'What kind of profession?'

Loid moves with experience, has a keen eye and constant awareness of surroundings, fit and athletic body, has knowledge of gun maintenance, and uses military equipment.
Loid is an Ex-soldier. Loid is currently in a profession that uses weapons, disguises, and communication equipment.
Is he a detective? Has the skills for it, but most likely not.

Paul grinned. 'A dad with detective skills? Troublesome, but Awesome. With a capital A.'

Is he a hitman? Plausible, but not likely.
Is he an assassin? Similarly plausible, but not likely.

He released a breath he didn't know he was holding, hands pausing in their action. 'Oh good, I don't know what I would've done if that was the case,' he reversed his attempted sabotage. 'I'd rather not put in the effort of trying to get him killed by accident.'

Is he a secret agent? Possible. Highly likely but disguises are not commonly used by secret agents. Other more likely possibilities available.
Is he a spy? Possible. Highest chances of being correct. All previous observations support secret agent and spy. Disguises are more likely to be used by spies. Furthermore, reaction of Anya suggest this is the most likely possibility.
Loid is a spy.

He grinned. 'Man, I love my power.' He blinked. 'No wonder Anya was so excited. This is a dream come true for her,' he thought over what he discovered. 'What is a spy doing adopting children?'

Why would a spy adopt? Retirement? Unlikely: Loid is young and healthy; the country is currently in a tense political warfare on the verge of a war.
A mission? A spy in Ostania on a mission. Ostania and Westalis is currently in a tense political state on the verge of war.
Loid is a Westalian spy on a mission to infiltrate Ostania.

Paul whistled. 'Damn politics,' he rubbed his thumb on his chin. 'Are we just for cover? Because if that's so, I can abuse this opportunity to give Anya some luxuries.'

Why is a child needed for the mission? Cover? Unlikely: there are multiple single men in the country that a child is only a unnecessary risk.
Personal reason? Unlikely: Loid would not risk his position over personal wants, he is more likely to stay single and alone forever than abandon his job.

'Geez, harsh thought. Can't say that isn't dedication, alright.'

To use for the mission? Children could be used as a medium to connect with others.
What kind of location do you need a child to be allowed? A school.
What kind? A private school, where politicians and powerful people send their kids to be educated and brainwashed.

'That sounds familiar,' Paul thought, feeling like he's in the brink of a discovery and trying to remember. Suddenly he had a realization.

Eden Academy.
Loid's mission is to infiltrate Eden academy? No, its possible that the school is an excuse than the reason. The target of his mission must be a student or a guardian.
Loid's mission is to gain a child, so he has an excuse to make contact with the students and their guardians.

Paul nodded to himself. 'So a Westalis spy who's mission is to gain intel about the powerful and rich of Ostania,' he let out a long sigh. 'Classic.' He removed all his presence from Loid's room and proceeded to go and lay down on the couch.

"Well, at least we're being taken care of," mumbled Paul to himself.

Will Loid hurt us? Not likely, Loid has a soft spot for children. It's more likely we will be politely asked to be quiet if we discover anything. That, or threatened to be silenced with fake promises of harm.

"Well," Paul closed his eyes, tired. "If we were normal children, we would've never… noticed…" He dozed off.

He slept through the day, missing the return of Loid and Anya.

The next day.

"Study?" Paul said, taking a bite of an apple. It was his favorite fruit --even if it's the only fruit he regularly eats-- and breakfast was long digested.

Loid nodded. "I need to judge your academic abilities for the entrance exam," he explained.

Paul hummed. "You never told us where we're going to be enrolled." Crunch.

"You will be going to Eden academy. Anya will not be able to join you, as there is no preschool at Eden," Loid explained. "Also, that's your last apple. Anymore will be bad for you."

Paul raised an eyebrow. He looked at the fruit basket on the table, empty of apples. "Sure, whatever you say, Dad." Crunch. He finished his apple, throwing the core to the trash. "So, where is Anya going to study?"

"A preschool nearby. She should be able to walk to school, but since its on my way to work, I can walk her there," Loid said.

Paul looked at Anya, who was watching her cartoon, and nodded at Loid. "Okay, then gimme," he made grabbing motions to the papers.

Loid gave Paul the test.

Paul looked through the papers, raising an eyebrow a few moments later. 'Most prestigious school indeed. Normal 6 year olds don't know even half of these. Guess it makes sense rich kids populate this place, since they usually have private tutors to teach them in advance,' he proceeded to sit down at the kitchen table, after asking for something to write with from Loid, and silently answered the questions.

Loid similarly sat down at the table, quietly observing his son answer the Eden Academy entrance exam with swiftness and surety. 'It's only been a few minutes but he's already a quarter of the way done,' marveled Loid, still impressed of such genius.

Paul hummed in boredom. 'This would definitely be considered cheating, but I don't consider myself that stupid not to use what I can,' Paul thought, twirling his pen around his hand before answering another question.

Anya, hearing her brother hum, looked toward Paul, humming twice. 'Big bro, Anya wants some peanuts.'

Loid glanced at Anya, while Paul looked at her in question.

Hummed twice, wants to ask a question. Is currently thinking of food.
Is it peanuts? It's peanuts. Asking for peanuts.

Paul rolled his eyes, head tilting towards Loid's direction. 'We have a Dad now, ask him. That, and I'm busy right now. You also forgot to use your eyes again, I told you before that you need to remember to use them. Also, stop using our signals for now. It would look suspicious if we used our signals too much,' Paul thought, before blinking in realization.

'Then again, I doubt Loid hasn't already noticed our signals with our frequent use of them. What with his whole spy shtick going on.'

Loid, who had indeed noticed, narrowed his eyes. 'I've noticed their frequent humming, its obvious if you know to pay attention to it. At first I just thought that they have a habit of doing it,' he observed.

'But now, it might be some sort of code of some sort. Every time a sibling hums once, the other sibling either looks at their direction or suddenly tenses up. It must be their way to get each others attention. That or a question or sentence. Two hums could be a sentence or response. Three must be a confirmation of receiving a response. Though, how do they know what each other is saying with just two? A code that's based on reading ones hums and its pitches, tunes, and rhythms sound too complex for children their age,' noted Loid.

Anya looked sparkle-eyed at Loid's deduction. 'Ah! Papa is such a good detective.'

Anya realized what Loid's thoughts were. 'Ah! Papa is too good a detective!'

Paul noticed Anya's panic. 'He figured it out? Already? Were we that obvious?' Paul thought, using his power on Loid.

Was in deep thought. Has noticed signals but hasn't figured out powers, currently trying to make a conclusion.
Body has slightly relaxed. Made a rationalization: Anya and I are genius children and that making a complex secret code is possible with our intellect.
Thinks that doing such a thing is normal with our situation and abilities.

Paul blinked. 'Well, we're definitely smarter than children our age, but I don't know if we're that smart,' Paul 'eh-ed' his head sideways. 'Then again, without context, we ARE kind of like geniuses.'

Loid nodded to himself. 'However they communicate, it doesn't matter much. I had Frankie make a background check and to forge their papers,' he lamented, 'Besides, I don't doubt as orphans they would have never used them to escape a hostile party. A sketchy orphanage isn't usually visited by the most outstanding members of society.'

"Done!"

Loid blinked, his train of thought interrupted. He looked at the clock. "Its only been 12 minutes," he told Paul, taking the paper back from him and checking through it.

After a few minutes, he concluded that Paul isn't a genius. Nor is he a prodigy.

He's a prodigy considered a genius by other prodigies.

'A perfect score…' Loid was amazed. 'I knew he had smarts, but not to this extent,' he was pleasantly joyful of this situation. 'With this kind of intellect, not just the entrance exam, everything should be a breeze to him. If that's the case, there is almost a 100% guarantee that he's going to gain 8 stellar stars by 4 months.'

Loid was satisfied. 'Gaining a child was an amazing success. Now, I'll be taking care of everything else.' "Good job, Paul. A perfect score."

Paul twirled the pen between his fingers. "If that's the case, then can you buy me more apples?" Paul requested to Loid.

"And peanuts!" Anya shouted.

"And peanuts," Paul slid in.

Loid smiled. "Very well then. As a reward for a job well done, I'll get you some apples and peanuts." 'I did need to go and check up on Frankie to see if the papers are done.' He stood up to go. "Take care then, I'll be back in a moment."

Anya, wanting to come with, moved to do so.

'Anya, he's going to do some spy stuff. He's not going to be able to do that if you're with him.'

Anya pouted, but stayed. She waved goodbye with Paul. After Loid left and was no longer in hearing range, Paul laid down next to Anya.

"I know you're disappointed you couldn't see more spy stuff, but Dad isn't suppose to know that we know about him. Yet. I still haven't decided if we should tell him about us," Paul said to Anya, apologizing and reasoning his decision.

Anya hmphed. "No peanuts for you."

Paul rolled his eyes, hugging Anya from behind and laying his chin on her head. "Oh no, the horror. How can I live any longer without the graciousness and fantastic thing that is peanuts," he deadpanned.

Anya leaned on her brother's chest, and watched her cartoon. "Humu humu, praise peanuts and their amazingness more," she said, smirking in pride.

Paul just giggled at her response. He yawned, tired from power use. "Mmgh. Ate too much apples and used my power too much today. Gotta rest a bit," he informed Anya, letting go to lay down beside her.

"Don't do…. Anything……stupid..." He dozed off.

Anya huffed at him. She proceeded to poke his cheek a bit. "Anya is not stupid. Stupid Big bro," she continued to watch her cartoon.

After a few minutes she grew bored.

'Boring,' she stared at the ceiling, with Paul sleeping away near her. 'Spies aren't like I thought,' she thought. 'I wanna recover a bomb,' she grumbled in her mind.

Suddenly she remembered something.

She sparkled in excitement.

Paul turned on the couch, in deep sleep.

'This was a mistake,' thought Twilight, currently disguised as a goon. 'Taking a risk like this, even strolling into enemy territory,' he lamented his actions.

'I'm a disgrace as a spy.'

He tightened his hold on Anya and Paul, one on each arm. Seriously, its not easy carrying 2 children at the same time. Not even considering that one is in deep sleep.

Anya, finally being able to take in everything that happened, cried in Twilight's arms.

"Woah!" Exclaimed Twilight. "It's okay, I won't hurt you!" He tried to calm her.

Suddenly, Paul's eyes shot up with his body tensing and head turning around to analyze what is happening. He made eye contact with Anya, seeing her cry was ticking him off, and with Twilight, who was surprised at his sudden awakening.

'The home was invaded and that didn't wake him up. He was kidnapped, and that didn't wake him up,' Twilight thought. 'But the moment Anya cries, he seems ready to go on a massacre,' Twilight sweatdropped.

'What a brother.'

Twilight stopped in front of the building, putting down both siblings from his arms.

"Big bro!" Exclaimed Anya, extending her arms to Paul for a hug. Paul opened his arms to reciprocate, with Anya jumping on him and causing him to make a step back to steady himself.

"Anya! And…" He narrowed his eyes at Twilight, before he –without Twilight realizing– figured out who he was and deciding to focus instead on his sister. "Why are you crying?"

He blinked in realization, looking around his surrounding. "Actually, where are we?" He questioned. Anya responded with a wail.

"Waaaaahhhh!"

"Okay, okay. Big bro is here," Paul patted her back.

Twilight stood there awkwardly, before coughing to gain their attention. Both siblings focused on him.

"Now look here, kids," he addressed the siblings.

"Anya!" "Uh, Paul," they informed the definitely-not-father man.

Twilight nodded. "Now look here, Anya and Paul," he rephrased.

"We're actually a team of pro tag players. And when we find someone with talent, we like to challenge 'em to a surprise match," he 'explained.'

'Pa's a liar,' Anya thought.

'For a spy, Dad makes the most horrible of lies,' Paul thought.

Twilight pointed down the street. "Now listen up, if you head straight down this road, turn right, and keep walking, you'll find a police station," he then showed a piece of paper he wrote something while explaining. "If you can find a police officer there and hand them this, you win."

'When they see this, they should be able to find her a better orphanage,' thought Twilight. 'I'll rework the plan and come up with a method that doesn't rely on a kid,' he gave the paper to Paul. "Got it?"

Paul took the paper in confusion, his awareness slowly coming back as the sleepiness faded away. Anya silently looked at Twilight, before trying to say something.

"Pa-" "Now go!"

Anya ran of quickly while holding Paul's other hand, pulling him along.

"Quickly!" Twilight shouted at them. Twilight turned towards to go back.

'A disgrace of a spy? No. My mistake was getting children wrapped up in all this danger,' he scolded himself. 'Now I remember. I wanted to create a world…' He tore off his disguise.

Anya turned around to face Twilight's back, with Paul copying her.

'Where kids wouldn't have to cry,' Twilight readied himself, planning his attack.

'That's why I became a spy.'

Paul looked at Twilight's back, reading his thoughts and next moves, before Anya and him proceed to hide from view. Paul then steadied himself, finally having a rest of breath. His eyes closed for a bit, before focusing on Anya, with his eyes drilling for information.

"What happened when I was asleep, Anya?"

Anya told him everything, even reluctantly confessing her actions.

Paul remained focused on every bit of info coming out of Anya's mouth. After the retelling of what happened, he glared at Anya.

"Did I not tell you to not do anything stupid?" He reminded her.

Anya winced, looking down, playing with her feet, and putting her hands behind her back. "Anya is sorry…?"

Paul's eye twitched in irritation. He let out a deep sigh, before moving his arms randomly in the air. "Whatever! It happened, and it's not happening again!" He stared at Anya. "Right?"

Anya nodded. "Yes, Big bro."

Paul nodded at her response. "And I'm sorry I slept through all that. Seems like you couldn't wake me up the usual way, huh?" He apologized.

Anya pouted at him.

"Big bro needs to wake up better."

"Sorry. Sorry. I'll be making sure to eat less apples."

They talked with each other, silently agreeing to wait for their Father.

As Twilight walked away from the abandoned building, he noticed a presence hiding from sight.

"Anya?! Paul?!" Loid shouted, surprised to still see them here. "Why are you still- I mean, what are you doing outside the house?" He caught himself, before he outed himself.

Anya ran up to hug Loid's leg while Paul walked to him normally.

"Uh, I just happened to be shopping over there," he pointed to the abandoned 'Supermarket'. "But it looks like they went bankrupt!"

'Pa's a big fat liar,' thought Anya.

'Okay Dad, I really need to speak to you one day on how horrible you are on making lies on the spot when off guard,' Paul thought. 'It could even be a father-son bonding moment,' he mused.

"Anya was playing with some old men," Anya said.

Paul's eye twitched.

"And I was asleep for that." 'Annoyingly. Gah! No more apples until Anya is 100% safe.'

'That's dangerous,' Loid sweatdropped. "I..see. Did you have fun?"

"It was kind of scary," admitted Anya. Paul was still silently fuming at his inaction.

"Anya wants to go home. To our home," she asked Loid. Paul simply nodded, not knowing what else to say.

Loid looked down at them, unsure what to do. "Are you sure?" He asked them, giving both child a brief look.

"Anya will cry if you leave Anya behind," Anya tightened her hold on his leg. Her eyes water, on the verge of tears.

"If you leave us, I'm going to grow up and be president and I'm going to send every soldier, spy, and assassin to find and kill you for making Anya cry," threatened Paul, giving Loid a half-hearted glare.

Loid noted down that Paul might have the capability to do that in the future.

'They've been sent back from foster families four times. Williams, Levski, Rosche, Klein,' Loid remembered, before deciding on what to do.

"Okay, then," he patted Anya's head and gave Paul a smile. "Let's go home now."

Anya looked up at Loid, surprised at his decision, hopeful on what's next, and happy to stay.

Paul sighed at his words, happy he stayed, satisfied on Anya's expression, and calculating of the future.

"But that apartment is dangerous, so we're moving out," he said on the way back home to get his belongings packed. "I found a venomous snake yesterday there."

"Bleh, snakes," Paul stuck his tongue out, as to enforce Loid's reason. 'Wouldn't mind a pet snake, though. Next time?'

"Hate snakes," Anya copied Paul. 'Anya wants a pet snake!'

Transitioning to after they had packed up and left. 'Pa's a big fat liar,' thought Anya, looking out the window of the vehicle. 'But a cool one at that!'

"Anya wants to live in a castle!" 'Please, big bro!'

"I agree, a castle would be cool." 'Maybe in the future, when we have enough money.'

"If there's one for sale," Loid responded to the children. "When we've moved in to a new house, you will have to study for your school," he told Anya, gaining a 'Geh!' from her. "Paul, I know you can pass the entrance exam. But we will still study for it, okay?"

"Sure, whatever you say Dad," Paul said.

Loid nodded, before remembering something. "Oh, that's right. Eden Academy recently started having kindergarten classes. So you two will be going to the same school," he informed them.

Anya's eyes sparkled, hopping, and shaking in place. "Anya is going to the same school as big bro?! Waaah! So exciting!"

Paul grinned, glad to be able to be near his sister. "Cool, that was kind of convenient."

"Apparently, last year Eden's supporters have children that would've like to go to Eden early, too excited to wait anymore. So, they started to plan and create kindergarten classes to get their children ready for their future in Eden," Loid explained. "After it was discussed and allowed, they planned to add it next year. Which is today."

Paul nodded at that. 'Typical rich people things to do, I'm sure.'

'I first thought that an agent inside planned that, so I asked Handle about it. But it was actually just a coincidence it happened, a fortunate coincidence,' Loid mused at the lucky events.

Anya was still excited at the news, not realizing that she would need to study even harder than normal.

Poor Anya.

Paul saw Anya and Loid waiting for him as he exited the exam room. "How long have you been done?" He asked Anya.

Anya smirked at him. "Anya was done a long time ago! Big bro is too slow for Anya," she mocked.

"She just finished a few moments ago," informed Loid.

"Gahck!" Anya held her chest, feeling attacked.

Paul chuckled at her antics. "Well, Dad, Anya. We've still got to wait for the results to come out. Have any chocolate?" He said.

Loid shook his head. "I can buy you some later, but we don't have to wait that long. Eden is very fast in checking exams, so we're not going to be waiting long." 'According to my research, it should take no longer than 20 minutes.'

Paul hummed at that. 'Anya, do you have any idea how long the wait is going to be?' He made eye contact with Anya, pointedly not reading Loid to preserve energy.

Anya hummed thrice. 'Anya hasn't heard anything like that. But Papa thinks that it won't be any longer than 20 minutes,' she thought, moving her eyes in patterns.

Hummed thrice, a response. Eyes moving in practiced patterns.
Nothing. Similar. Mind. Dad. Guess. Minutes. 2. 0.
Have not heard of anything definite but knows an estimation from reading Dad's mind. About 20 minutes of waiting.

Paul nodded. 'I can handle 20 minutes of waiting. Good job, Anya. You're getting better at the patterns,' he praised her.

Anya beamed from the compliment, feeling a bit smug from her accomplishment.

"Hmm, you also use eye movement for you to use in your secret code?"

Paul and Anya tensed, looking at Loid observing their brief interaction.

Loid noticed their reaction, smiled at them warmly. "Don't worry, if you don't want me to know about then you have no need to tell me," he reassured them. "Still, it's impressive for children your age to have made something such as that," he praised.

'If they have no want to tell me of what they are discussing about, then I will respect that,' thought Loid. 'We are family, but we don't have enough trust to blurt out all our secrets to each other. Not speaking of my own, of course.'

Anya looked to Paul for help, moving her eyes to convey Loid's thoughts to him.

Moving eyes in patterns. Fast and panicky. Dad. Not. Need. Patterns. Respecting. Trust. Not. Enough. Understanding.
Dad knows that we do have a secret code, but is respecting our boundaries and understands that we do not have that kind of trust with each other yet.

Paul sighed, glad to know that they weren't in trouble.

Still…

"If you want to know, you're free to try and decode our code. When you do, that means that you would've already have our full trust with you," he said to Loid, surprising him.

Anya looked surprised, while Loid blinked in confusion. "Very well, then. But why would I have your full trust when I decode your secret?" He asked, Anya nodding along.

Paul gave Loid a vulpine grin, ignoring his assured 'when,' and said, "The day you figure it out, is the day we let you."

Anya let out a "Wahh! Big bro is so cool!" While Loid looked startled a bit before responding with his own grin.

"Very well then, challenge accepted."

"When you admit defeat, I want all the chocolate and apples I want," Paul stated.

"And peanuts!" Anya shouted.

"And peanuts," Paul slid in.

Loid chuckled at the both of them. "I'll make sure to remember."

"E-212, T-747…" Loid mumbled, searching for the children's examinee numbers.

Anya followed Loid's eyes while Paul smirked, already having seen the numbers and letting Loid search for them himself.

Loid searched for them for a couple more seconds before finally finding Anya's. "There it is!" He shouted. "Anya passed!"

Anya awed at her number. "I'm great!"

"Then, where is Paul's?" Loid moved to search again.

"Already found it, here," Paul pointed at his.

Loid looked proud and glad. "Both of you did it!" He proceeded to put Paul on his shoulders and carry Anya with his arms.

Paul was befuddled at Loid's actions. "What the- at least ask before doing that!" He shouted, unable to hide his smile and giddiness of being on Loid's shoulders.

Anya looked cheerful on Loid's arms. "I'm great!"

"You're great! Amazing!" He spun in place. "Ama...?" Suddenly, he dropped down.

"Woah!" Exclaimed Paul, jumping down Loid before hitting the ground.

"Papa!" Anya started shaking Loid's still body. "Don't leave me!" Her shaking continued, becoming more distressed. "Papa, Anya is crying now!"

Paul then helped Anya in shaking Loid. "Oi! Old man, if you want to die on us then don't do it in front of Anya! Go and die out of view!"

"Big bro!"

"What?"

"Wahhh! Anya, will be a good girl, so come back!" Anya cried, ticking Paul off even more.

"Get up old man! You could've at least waited until we got home for you to collapse," Paul said.

Thinking of an idea, Paul went to try to carry Loid on his back.

"Wahhh!" Pounce. Glomp. Thud.

"Oof! Anya, get off him! I'm being crushed!"

At their house, Loid was laying down on the couch, half dead.

"Papa died," Anya said.

Paul rolled his eyes. "He's not, just tired from your Anyaness."

"Hueuhg!?!" Anya onomatopoeiad, shocked at her brother's cruelness.

"Delivery!"

Both siblings are startled, staring at the door.

"I'll get it," said Paul, opening the door.

He was greeted by a smiling mailman. "Is this the Forger residence?" He asked.

Paul nodded. "Yes, I'm Paul Forger."

The mailman then handed Paul a letter. "Could you give this to you mom or dad then?"

Paul nodded, taking the letter from him. "Sure, thank you."

As Paul closed the door Anya snatched the letter away from Paul.

"Anya!"

Anya stuck out her tongue. "Bleh!"

She proceeded to run towards Loid's possibly dead body. "Papa! The mail came!" She patted the letter on his face. He doesn't wake up.

"Anya, that's rude."

Anya ignored him, looking at Loid's definitely dead body, then goes to lie down beside him.

"Anya, don't disturb the dead," Paul said.

Suddenly, Loid woke up with a jump. "Are you after my life?!"

"Nevermind, feel free to disturb him all you want."

Loid proceeded to grumble about sleeping in front of someone else, Paul and Anya being able to know from their own specific ways.

"Mail," Anya handed the letter Loid, who took it from her and tore off its side to open it.

"Mail? From Eden Academy?" He said, more to himself. After reading the letter, he froze from something.

Paul and Anya noticed.

"What's wrong, Pa?" Anya asked, while Paul raised an eyebrow in question.

Loid then proceeded to read aloud something that gave them despair. "The second screening will be an interview with the parents. The participant must bring both their parents to the school," Loid sweated. "No exceptions will be made."

Paul grimaced with a hiss.

Anya processed the information. "There is no Mama," she said, shocked and wondering what Papa will do.