Another tiring day, but yet another mission accomplished. Napoleon and Illya headed back to their hotel at Gomel after being congratulated by Waverly for finishing the three day job and saving the world once again. None of them were showing any signs of emotions on the walk back, not even one of Napoleon's annoyingly sarcastic drabbles that would make Illya think he should have killed him in Germany when he had the chance. But of course, deep in the russian's heart, he was glad he hadn't.

They got to the front door of the suite, but neither opened the door because they heard light shuffling and footsteps in the room. Impressively light, but still a bad job. The two just sigh and rolled their eyes.

"I think somebody is trying to rob us, peril." The American stated, recieving a cold glare from Illya before he opened the door slowly. It was followed by rushed steps and the spies entered the room giving an unsuspecting impression that they weren't just listening to the robber move around through the door.

"So... Cowboy.." Illya started, flipping the lights on When Napoleon looked at him he shook his head toward the maroon curtain at the right corner of the room; just by one of the lamps.

"-did you eat well?"he continued. Both slowly slipped their hands to retrieve their concealed weapons and split up on either side to make sure the thief was cornered in case of an attempted escape.

"In fact, I did, Peril. That beef stroganoff surely did it for me... but do you want to know what is not doing it for me right now?" While Napoleon held the gun to the form, his free one was reaching for the cloth to unveil the pest.

"What?" Illya asked, focus on the curtain where there's clearly a person behind.

"This right-" as Napoleon tried to grab the cloth, he was tackled down to the ground and all he felt was the cold blade of a knife against his throat and Illya stood there with a gun against the person's head.

Napoleon looked at the thing on top of him, disregarding the knife that could easily end him. He smirks at this, realizing that the burglar was awfully small. Like a kid.

"My, My.. if you wanted to get on top of me you should have just asked nicely." He deadpans but is ignored.

He hears his partner put down the gun and pat the person on the back.

"Mishka, let the idiot american go. He's my friend." Solo, confused and amused, looked at this 'little bear'. Who soon took of their mask revealing short, silver hair and a pale face with very defined facial structures for a woman.

"Illya!" She greeted rather too cheerfully with a thick russian accent almost matching Illya's and ran to the tall blonde who uncharacteristically smiled and hugged her when she threw her arms around his neck. Napoleon got up and dusted himself off and watched the scene unfold, pouring himself a glass of one of the many drinks on the side table.

"What are you doing here?"They both let go of each other and there was a long pause. The girl just looked at Illya guiltily and shook her head as she averted her eyes to the floor.

"I escaped, Illechka. I had to find you." She says quietly.

Illya's body language switched from glad to alarmed.

"Lapochka!" He whisper-yells, crossing his arms and Napoleon was still observing the two.

They look a bit a like... especially the eyes. He thought.

Illya started tapping on his arm and his jaw was clenched until the girl put her hand over his. Only then did he stop.

"I know... I am sorry. They told us you were dead. I didn't believe them. You're the only person I know."

"You know they will find you and and they will kill you. You are the last step of their plan..."

"I know... I didn't want to be... I had to find you"

Illya just looked down at her.

Napoleon set the glass down finally deciding to walk to them and speak to lighten the tension in the room.

"So, I'm Solo... I don't think Mother Russia here introduced you."

"Cowboy, this is Nallya. She's KGB. Nallechka, this is Napoleon Solo." Illya introduced, nodding to Nallya.

"You're too short for an agent." Napoleon stated.

"You're easily taken down for an american agent." Napoleon was taken aback with the retort and Illya chuckled on the way to his room.

"You don't have a last name?"

"I've been orphaned as an infant. I never had a name, much to a last name."

"Huh."

Illya walked out of his room with wide eyes and something as small as a quarter on his palm when he presented it.

"You have brought me my microdot."

"I thought I'd bring you back one of your stuff." She replied tilting her head slightly up to level with Illya's eyes.

"Thank you."

"How..do you .. do that? I've been working with this russian flag pole for a few years and never have I managed to get him to react with different emotions in one conversation."The taller russian glowered at his partner.

"Ah.. Da, but you never point that out because that would be like poking a bear.. a more aggressive and intelligent bear at that."

"You've got a point- but can I ask you question?"

"You just asked her one, Cowboy."

"I wasn't asking you, Peril." Napoleon just smiled and Nallya stared at him with mild and amused puzzlement.

"Okay. Why not." She answers. Mostly just curious about where the conversation might head.

"How did you and Illya meet? What's your story"

"The KGB.. he was in there way before me and they brought me in from the streets when I was 6."

-flashback-

Russia, 1949.

"Did you find the child?" A man in an easily recognizable Komitet gosudarstvennoy bezopasnosti uniform asked. Earlier in the week he gave a mission to a 19 year old Kuryakin to extract a little girl with silver hair in Saratov,Russia. It was about 1,000 km away from where the boy was stationed at and he was the closest to her location, why he was chosen for the mission; Aside from being the most deadliest and skilled spy of the organization. Illya handed off the child to the their chief and the child had a stony expression rather than being terrified. He goes on to dismiss the boy when he noticed he had scratches all over him.
"что случилось?" (What happened?) He asked. The boy looked at the girl who couldn't be any more taller than 3"5. "она не пошла без боя." (She did not go without a fight) Illya replied, the same expression on his face. In his head he wanted to throw the little girl into a lake and call it a day, but it was a mission; He could not fail missions. "хорошо." With that, Kuryakin was dismissed and the girl felt rather unsafe in the hands of these new people. "Your name is Nallya, is that correct?" "D-Da." "And Mrs.Rochev gave you that name, Da?" "da.." The little girl took a step back, but was nudged to straighten up.

"You are kgb property, little girl. You are going to be here until you are ready for your missions..." The man said. Though the girl could process very little of what he meant, the fear in the pit of her stomache knew it was a bad thing. A man grabbed her by the hand and started walking out. "Alexi, take her to the red room. We have some work to do."

Days passed by until the next encounter with Illya. He was stationed outside the disciplinary room where the younger agents were being trained, Nallya being the youngest one and the rest aging from 18-24. During the lecture the little girl would get sidetracked and her attention went to Illya, who was standing with his back against the wall across the only door of the room. Some of the scratches she gave him left him tiny scarrings on his face and as a child she could only feel sorry.

"Mishka, Turn around! We do not tolerate misbehaving in this room." The lecturer ordered. The males, which were 99.9% of the classroom including the man in front of the room, were glaring at her. After a moment of straightening, everbody's attention was at the lecturer and the lecturer only. He was babbling on something about control makes a man. Nallya found herself looking at Illya at exactly 3 minutes back into the lecture. In a moments notice, The man from the front of the room was now infront of her desk.

"What did I say about paying attention?" Nallya just looked up and bore into his eyes. For a 6 year old, she knew how to think and how things work. So she knew if he tried to do something, the tapping will start. "покажи руки..." (Show your hands) he said. She didn't budge. She spotted the wooden ruler in his hand. "покажи руки!" He ordered. She slowly put both her hands on the desk. SMACK. That's one. She flinches but didn't cry. SMACK. That's two hits and the tingling in her hands were starting to get into her nerves, her foot slowly tapping on the metal frame of the desk. Illya took notice of the tapping of her shoes and he knew exactly what was coming after. He watched. Her jaw was clenched and she was waiting for the next hit, but she didn't hold off until it hit her, she jumped on the professor as he brought down the ruler half way. It was a quick moment and she scratched his eye out and he started bleeding. The class stood up and ran for the professor who was bleeding on the floor and half of them went after the little girl who was walking away nonchalantly from the scene before an older man kicked her on the back and before she even hit the floor she was sure she heard bones crack. Not hers, but definitely somebody's bones.

Soon enough somebody picked her body up from the floor and held her against their chest and her chin on their shoulders as you would carrying a child that age. Nallya opens her eyes to the room she's leaving. It was so much more red than what she saw before she was kicked to the ground. The Agents limbs were bent in odd ways and they were bleeding all over the chairs and the ground. Illya noticed the child tense up on him.

"They should not have hit a little girl." He stated.

"-If anybody tries to or hurts you again, you tell me."

"Я прошу прощения......для шрамы .." (I am sorry... for the scars) she lifted her head off of his shoulder to get a good look of his face and traced the scabbing scars.

"Не беспокойтесь об этом..." (Do not worry about it) He mumbles.

It was at that moment that they formed a bond that everybody feared. A combination with inevitable outcome. One walking secret and the other one of the most deadliest men.

-flashback ends-

"He was sent after me for a simple extraction mission... well it was.. I tried to gouge his eyes out and kicked him in the-"

"Okay, That is enough story time."

"Oh, no no. Please do continue"

"Cowboy.."

"Loosen up, Peril. I want to hear what the lady has to say."

"Illya does not want me to."

"You say you did that when you were six?!" Much to Illya's dismay, Napoleon pressed on this subject for all the wrong reasons. One of them being black mail material.

"Yes. I was six."

"Look at her. She's like a tiny version of you. Except, much more fun." Napoleon taunted and all he recieves is the all too familiar Kuryakin bitchface that twisted into smugness.

"Not what you said last night, Cowboy." Nallya looked between the two with wide eyes and mouth forming an 'O' before laughing.

Illya winked and walked away from the scene with a speechless Napoleon, shocked and processing what just happened.