"Voyage!" Pegasus concentrated on a fixed point in space and punched his fist out, opening a portal into a simply-furnished apartment in Japan. As soon as the portal was open, two figures hopped through it and into the Agreste Mansion's entryway. Ronin looked around the room with interest. His eyes stopped on the life-sized Himura Kenshin statue at the top of the stairs and he stared at it for a long minute in shock. Bu-Geisha bowed demurely to Pegasus and Impératrice Pourpre. "Welcome to Paris," Pegasus greeted them, closing the portal and holding a hand out to Ronin.
"Thank you," answered Ronin, taking the offered hand.
Pegasus cocked his head, looking past them into the empty apartment. "Is Kamikaze not coming?"
"He will be here," Ronin assured them. "He is trying to track down those Odoshi-gumi who fought the Turtle with us the first time and ask them for assistance here."
Pegasus furrowed his brows. "Can we trust them?"
Ronin pursed his lips, sighing heavily. "In… some things," he allowed. "Some of the Odoshi-gumi are honorable. He thinks he can convince them that this is as much in the Yakuza's best interests as in everyone else's."
"I will have to consult with Ladybug and Cat Noir about the logistics of bringing a group of Yakuza… 'henchmen'… into our headquarters," Pegasus mused. "It is enough of a concern just having so many of our allies here, to say nothing of potential enemies. It could cause problems."
Bu-Geisha shuddered. "Especially since the Yakuza are forming an alliance with a French 'businessman,'" she muttered.
Pegasus' eyes widened. "What?"
"He calls himself the 'Frenchman,'" she explained, her mouth set in a thin line.
"While you are here, perhaps you can fill us in about him," Pegasus told her.
Bu-Geisha's breathing hitched.
Impératrice Pourpre took a slow breath and let it out. "You are among friends here," she told Bu-Geisha, her voice soothing. "He cannot hurt you."
She nodded. "I know… but thank you."
"I am glad you both came," Pegasus told them.
"After you helped us two weeks ago, I could never have refused," Bu-Geisha replied. "We would have stood no chance against the Turtle without your assistance." She bowed deeply again. "I do not know what I can do, but I will help however I may."
Impératrice Pourpre gave Bu-Geisha an encouraging smile. "You don't have to stand on ceremony here," she assured her. "We're all just friends."
Bu-Geisha relaxed and turned to look at the tapestries lining the walls. "Those are fascinating! So detailed!"
"Ladybug designed them," explained Impératrice Pourpre.
"I… recognize something in the style…" Bu-Geisha murmured, leaning forward to examine the closest one."
"Maybe you've seen something from the same designer." Impératrice Pourpre stifled a giggle. "I love your makeup and outfit, by the way!"
Bu-Geisha smiled. "Thank you!"
"Is Ryoku here?" asked Ronin, looking back up the stairs before turning for a glimpse of the group inside the dining room to the left of the front door.
Pegasus shook his head. "Most of the Heroes of Paris are on-site north of Paris, watching the Beasts." Ronin hummed. "I will let her know that you are here, however," Pegasus promised. "In the meantime, I believe that Sent-Bee has rooms marked out for everyone, though we do not have sufficient space for so many, so you will be sharing a room with someone else."
Ronin nodded. "Considering the time here compared to Tokyo, I would not mind a nap," he mused. "The sudden time zone change will take some getting used to."
As Ronin and Bu-Geisha made their way up the stairs and turned in the direction of the guest quarters, Impératrice Pourpre took Pegasus' hand in her own and gave it a squeeze. "With everyone who comes to help, our chances of winning go up, right?"
Feeling renewed energy run through him as the Butterfly Miraculous recharged his own, Pegasus smiled reassuringly. "Some change the odds more than others," he answered, his smile shifting into a grimace, "but everyone can potentially help." Glancing at the clock on the wall, he called, "Voyage!" and opened another portal, this time to an underground bunker in Panama.
Estrella stepped through first, looking Pegasus and Impératrice Pourpre down carefully before her teammates joined her. She shook hands with Pegasus and grinned. "I never thought we would actually be invited to the Heroes of Paris' Headquarters! It's a dream come true!"
Pegasus' mouth set in a line. "You understand that you can speak of none of this to anyone, correct? The only people who can know about our Headquarters are those who are currently here."
She nodded firmly. "Of course. You can count on us. Absolutely."
Draco gave Pegasus a deadpan look. "We're not stupid."
"We are placing a lot of trust in you by bringing you here," Pegasus warned them. "Were it not for the extreme need, we would have taken much greater precautions."
Halomá clapped Pegasus on the shoulder. "We understand," he assured him, a serious look in his eyes. "We are honored by your trust, and we do not take it lightly."
"We are here to help you out," Libertad added. "This is all we have wanted."
Impératrice Pourpre nodded and told him, "I believe you. And we appreciate your assistance with this."
"If you go up the stairs and take a right, you will find the guest quarters," Pegasus instructed them. "Look for the Heretic, and he can show you to your rooms." Estrella nodded in acknowledgement and led the rest of her teammates in the indicated direction. Once Los Héroes de Panamá had left, Pegasus turned to Impératrice Pourpre and frowned. "This is a lot of extra people running around our Headquarters."
She nodded ruefully. "It could cause issues, maybe. But I haven't felt anything concerning from any of them yet," she assured. "A lot of anxiety, a lot of excitement. The worst was probably the Nihon Hiro Chimu and Os Guardas, who've actually fought one of these things before."
"Only having observed from a distance, I do not think this is an experience I would want to repeat!" Pegasus observed wryly.
Impératrice Pourpre squeezed his hand and leaned into his side. "We can do it!"
He frowned. "I hope so…"
"Yes, yes, I can walk on my own…" a voice grumbled. Pegasus glanced behind them up the stairs as Emilie walked down them, supported on one side by the Gorilla. Although she was standing up, her face was still pale and drawn, with only a little more color in her cheeks than there had been the last time Pegasus had seen her. She clung to the railing tightly, moving down the steps one at a time with the Gorilla's assistance. He let out a low rumble, and she frowned. "I'm not an invalid, you know."
Impératrice Pourpre turned and gave Emilie a quick hug as she reached the bottom of the stairs. "It's great to see you up and moving around!"
"It's great to be up and moving around!" Emilie agreed with a smile. "Even if after so long in bed it takes at least twice as long to get anywhere." She pursed her lips. "Although I don't see why I have to be bundled off to the bakery just when you are going to need everyone the most."
Impératrice Pourpre gave her a reassuring smile. "I'm sure it's only because Adrien wants to keep you safe and keep the Mansion as ready as possible. We only just got you back, after all."
Emilie let out a breath, and Impératrice Pourpre arched an eyebrow at her knowingly. Emilie gave her a deadpan look. Pegasus folded his arms and frowned, his eyes drifting back and forth between them as they continued their silent conversation, before he looked up at Gorilla, who shrugged. Finally Emilie said, "Fine." Her expression softened. "I get it." Reaching up she started to undo her miraculous brooch, but Impératrice Pourpre covered her hand and stopped her. Emilie looked up in surprise. "This will do more good in your hands than mine for right now," she pointed out. "If you unify them, then you can use both miraculous for the fight."
Impératrice Pourpre shook her head with a grimace. "I still remember the last time I tried that… and anyways, I think we'll all feel better if you have the Peacock. That way if anything happens you can use a senti-guard to protect yourself and Marinette's parents."
"I have the Narwhal with me just in case," Emilie argued. "Dulling the Beasts' senses may keep them away from us – even better than having a senti-guard active. A senti-guard could drive it into the bakery as easily as away from it."
"Kheaa only just lost a holder, though," Impératrice Pourpre replied, her face falling. "And a Beast with dulled senses can rampage through the bakery as easily as one without dulled senses. I think the better option might be a senti-guard once they get too close."
"Yeah…" Emilie's shoulders slumped and she gave them a halfhearted glare. "It's infuriating when you kids are perfectly reasonable and I'm the one who's not," she observed wryly. With a sigh she pulled Impératrice Pourpre into a tight hug, which she returned. "Be safe," she whispered. "That goes for all of you," she added, looking Pegasus in the eye over Impératrice Pourpre's shoulder.
"We absolutely plan to be as safe as we can for this," he assured her as the Gorilla carried Emilie's bags out to the car with her in tow.
"I will hold you to that!" Emilie warned, just before the door shut behind her.
"I hope we are making the right decisions now," Pegasus muttered to Impératrice Pourpre, turning to her with a worried look.
She nodded, letting out a slow breath. "I know. I–I think we're doing the right thing… but I guess we won't know until we see how it all turns out. All we can really do is what's set in front of us."
Pegasus frowned. A glance at the clock showed that it was almost time to bring Las Heroínas de la Ciudad de México to the Mansion. He was just about to open the portal when a magnetic hum sounded from the office at the top of the stairs. He spun around, his horseshoe in hand, as Impératrice Pourpre turned and drew her cane. Pegasus' eyes narrowed in concentration, staring at the door, which shivered and shook. The office door swung inward, a pink-lavender light filling the doorway. Pegasus tightened his grip on his horseshoe.
Majestia stepped through the portal and looked around with some interest. "So this is the Heroes of Paris Headquarters?" she wondered. "Homey."
"They can certainly afford it," pointed out Knightowl, following her through.
"I apologize for my rudeness, but… how are you here?" called Pegasus. His horseshoe fell to his side.
"That would be me," answered Doorman, as Uncanny Valley, Sparrow, and a dozen other United Heroez appeared in the entryway. "I can open portals anywhere there's a door."
"I was already aware of that," Pegasus informed him drily. "But… why here?"
"The American Miraculous people said you needed help against these monsters," Majestia told him. "So here we are."
"And we are grateful," Impératrice Pourpre assured her, putting a hand on Pegasus' arm. "But that still doesn't answer the question. We weren't expecting you to show up here. How did you know?"
"Because I'm Knightowl."
Pegasus raised an eyebrow at Impératrice Pourpre and turned to Knightowl. "I would ask that you explain your methodology once this is over – we would like to keep our location as secret as possible. Along with the identities of our members."
"We won't tell anyone," promised Majestia.
Pegasus nodded. "We appreciate that."
"In the meantime, I think we still have some space available on that floor," Impératrice Pourpre told them. "Once you find her, Sent-Bee will find rooms for you."
As the door-portal closed, the door opened again, and the Knight and Valkyrie stepped out. Valkyrie grinned cheekily. "I wish I'd known sooner that you like your girls blindfolded…"
The Knight shook his head, groaning. "I'd rather not let anyone know where we live," he told her. "And anyways, you remember I have a girlfriend, right?"
"Yeah, yeah…" she muttered, rolling her eyes and following the United Heroez.
While bringing Las Heroínas to Paris, Pegasus let out a breath, trying to still his anxiety with the impending conflict. He could feel Impératrice Pourpre's hand finding his and squeezing gently. The edge of his anxiety eased, but only marginally. They had all of their friends here to help them. They had new friends. They were a team. It would all be enough.
Right?