Returning from Luanda with Nguruwe, Rugindo Leoa stood at the top of the cliff and stared at the teeming mass of refugees wandering around Miradouro da Lua, seemingly unaware of the temple built into one side of the canyon. When she had agreed to allow Pegasus to transport refugees to the valley outside her temple, she hadn't believed just how many there would be. She and Nguruwe had been busy tracking down the source of the mystical disturbances in Luanda; while the latest disturbance had stopped around the time she received his message, they were still no closer to understanding what was happening. The fear that these disturbances were causing had almost turned into a crisis in the capital.

But the mass hysteria crisis behind her paled in comparison to the humanitarian crisis in front of her.

"What the hell are we supposed to do now?" she whispered softly, blinking.

Nguruwe raised an eyebrow. "The same thing we always do: help out as best we can." Nodding across the valley, he indicated a deep cavern with what looked like a maze of stone walls in front of it. "Looks like Delwer already started on constructing some facilities for them."

Rugindo Leoa pursed her lips. "I hope Ladybug can put that back the way it was when this is all over…" She let out a breath, examining the new excavation carefully. Civilians, small due to the distance, began moving in the direction of the cave system, even as the majority remained in a tight cluster near the middle of Miradouro da Lua. Rugindo Leoa frowned, folding her arms. "It's not going to be enough, though. She could hollow out that entire bluff and it still wouldn't be enough space for all of them."

Nguruwe shrugged. "It's a start at least," he pointed out.

She nodded and started picking her way down the narrow trail that led down into Miradouro da Lua, Nguruwe following a few paces behind her. As she descended, she caught sight of other heroes she recognized intermingled with the civilians, along with a couple dozen people wearing the robes of the Dark Acolytes of the Mundane. "This is going to be a nightmare," she muttered darkly. Nguruwe hummed. She gave him a deadpan look. "Do a perimeter sweep, and then watch the path to make sure no one gets too close to the Temple. I don't like having these Dark Acolytes right outside my front door." He gave her a salute and jogged back up the way they had come before turning to follow the footpath leading around the valley close to the edge, carefully picking his way around the stones littering the path.

Reaching the valley floor, Rugindo Leoa's attention was immediately drawn by a trio of miraculous users standing near Isaac, the lead Guardian for the Angolan Temple. Striding purposefully in their direction, avoiding several clusters of refugees, she greeted Hakɛto, Tenedaw, and Amdeɣimal with a nod. They paused their conversation, and Hakɛto gave her a quick hug. "Thank you for coming so quickly," Rugindo Leoa told the Malian team without preamble.

"It was no trouble," Hakɛto assured her, holding her out at arm's length. She furrowed her brows, studying Rugindo Leoa's face. Her mouth set into a thin line, and she let out a breath through her nose. "But what would you ask of us, Lion?"

Rugindo Leoa quirked an eyebrow in surprise and glanced at the other two. "I just sent Nguruwe south on a perimeter sweep; Tenedaw: head north and do the same, then watch the pathway down into the valley until we send someone to relieve you. Amdeɣimal: check on Delwer and find out if she needs any assistance. Hakɛto: stay with me; I may require your assistance." As the other two dipped their heads and took their leave, Rugindo Leoa let out a relieved breath.

"Nicely handled so far," Isaac told her.

Rugindo Leoa raised an eyebrow. "You do not approve of my decision to welcome these refugees."

He shrugged. "What I think is immaterial; the fact is that they are here now and we must determine a course of action with them."

Hakɛto hummed. "Could we really have done anything else?" she asked rhetorically, giving Isaac a look. "The Heroes of Paris are our friends, and they needed our help."

"Unfortunately, it does create a lot of issues for us…" Rugindo Leoa mused. "Especially with these confounded Dark Acolytes added to the mix."

"I do wish you had refused them, at least," Isaac began, before she cut him off.

"I didn't exactly have much of a choice, Guardian," Rugindo Leoa interjected. "Pegasus was not going to discriminate, and I was not going to turn them away."

Hakɛto placed a hand on both their shoulders. "This is not a time for recriminations, but a time for cooperation. We can overcome those issues together."

"Thank you." Turning to Isaac, Rugindo Leoa asked, "Have the others arrived?"

"The teams from Egypt and Somalia are both here already, somewhere in the crowd," he reported. "Aline is seeing to Angel and his team up in the Temple."

"As soon as you can track them down, send Jueran Eazim, Maroodiga Cawlan, and Angel to me," Rugindo Leoa instructed. "And looking at the volume of refugees we are dealing with, there is no way we can handle this with miraculous holders alone."

"Initiates?" Hakɛto suggested.

Isaac frowned. "Are they ready for such activities? And if they are not, is now the right time to test them?"

Rugindo Leoa scoffed. "Is anyone ready for this?"

"True."

Rugindo Leoa tapped her chin. "Contact the other Temples and ask them to send a few additional Initiates to assist," she told him. "We need all the help we can get."

Isaac cleared his throat. "The Portal system is inoperative at the moment," he informed her. "The hub in Paris is offline and is no longer responding – it deactivated the moment the Malagasy team arrived."

Rugindo Leoa threw her head back and groaned. "Are you kidding me?" she demanded. "Fine. Then find Pegasus and tell him to fix it!"

Isaac nodded. "I wi–" he started, but Hakɛto interrupted him.

Hakɛto gasped. "Haven't you heard?"

"Heard what?" Rugindo Leoa retorted testily.

Hakɛto's face fell. "Pegasus is… dead. He and Águila Altíssimo both."

Rugindo Leoa's jaw dropped. "Damn." Her shoulders slumped. She hadn't really known the Heroes of Paris' tech wizard; he had only visited their temple a couple of times to install and repair the portal ring. But on their few meetings, she had found him intelligent and dedicated. And now he was gone. He wasn't the first teammate she had lost, nor would he be the last… but loss never came easy for her. Rugindo Leoa rubbed her face. "I guess… talk to Maroodiga Cawlan about it."

"Very well," Isaac agreed. "Each of the temples sent one or two of their Initiates to accompany their teams; we can begin to establish patrols with the holders and Initiates at our disposal."

As Isaac disappeared into the crowd, Rugindo Leoa felt whatever remained of her confident façade melt away. Being the Lion rarely meant leading on such a massive scale; ordinarily her only responsibility was to her own Temple! But suddenly everyone was looking to her for direction. Picking their way through the crowd, Rugindo Leoa gave Hakɛto a helpless look. "I have no idea what to do," she admitted.

Hakɛto smiled sympathetically. "Welcome to leadership, Mihaela," she replied. "I don't think any of us have really known what to do lately – not since Yousef met the Heroes of Paris! All we can do is muddle our way through as best we can and hope that our efforts will be enough."

Rugindo Leoa hummed doubtfully. "I hope you're right…"

The sound of a disturbance from farther along drew Rugindo Leoa's attention to several people standing near one of the tall stone pillars. One, a woman with yellow-blonde hair and huge sunglasses, poked a miraculous user in the chest, the corners of her lips curled up in a snarl. "I told you, I need a ladies' room!" she yelled. "Are you deaf? Or do you just not understand English?"

The boy, whom Rugindo Leoa finally recognized as Cadaabta Ey, put his hands up, his eyes wide, and stammered out, "I–I'm sorry, but we–"

"Buts, buts, buts," the woman shot back at him, scoffing. "If you can't stop making excuses – do you know who my husband is?"

"I–um…"

"Now, dear," the man next to her began, a worried look in his eyes, "I'm sure they are–"

"–going to stand around doing nothing until I wet myself!" the woman interrupted, planting her hands on her hips and scowling at her quivering husband. "Now are you going to do something about this or not, you useless waste?"

Rugindo Leoa raised an eyebrow at Hakɛto doubtfully. Something about this woman felt oddly familiar.

Hakɛto smiled in amusement. "Just muddle through…" she encouraged her, nudging her forward.

Rugindo Leoa stopped directly behind Cadaabta Ey, folded her arms, and cleared her throat, glaring at the back of the woman's head. "What's the problem here, senhora?" she asked, her mouth set in a thin line.

"Why don't you ask your stupid Dog Boy here what the problem is," the woman huffed, turning to face Rugindo Leoa, folding her own arms, and stomping her foot. "There isn't a single bathroom in this entire dump!"

Rugindo Leoa's eyes narrowed dangerously. "I apologize for the lack of facilities," Rugindo Leoa spat acidly. "Unfortunately, we haven't had time to set up anything permanent, given that until 15 minutes ago this 'dump,' as you call it, was one of my country's priceless scenic vistas. However, I believe my teammate has dug out a temporary bathroom near the cave over there," she added, pointing toward Delwer's expanding excavation.

The woman whipped her sunglasses off and glared at Rugindo Leoa, jabbing her in the chest with the sunglasses. "Do you really expect me to go to the bathroom in a cave? Utterly ridiculous!"

"Finding portable toilets is on my list," Rugindo Leoa answered. "But for now that's what we have."

"Completely unacceptable!"

Rugindo Leoa drew herself up to her full height, placing herself a couple centimeters above the woman and stared down at her. "If you would like to use a better restroom, perhaps you would prefer if I return you to Paris!" she retorted. "I'm sure you can find a bathroom there… as long as you don't mind the poisoned air and hell-beast!"

"Outrageous! Do you know who my husband is?"

"Now, Audrey," her husband began, holding his hands up in a placating gesture and glancing at Rugindo Leoa nervously, "just because I'm the Mayor of Paris doesn't mean I have any sort of authority here in… um…"

Rugindo Leoa cocked her head in surprise, staring at the man. "You're Andre Bourgeois?" she asked. "Chloe's father?" He nodded. "And that makes you…"

Audrey scoffed, raising an eyebrow in disbelief. "You know my good-for-nothing daughter?"

"Why am I not surprised?" Rugindo Leoa muttered under her breath. She rubbed her forehead and stared at Audrey. "If you think that your husband being the 'Mayor of Paris' means anything to me, you're mistaken," she informed her. "You're in my country now. And as for your 'good-for-nothing daughter'," she added, "she is the only reason I'm not sending you back to Paris right now. But you can be sure that Sent-Bee is going to hear about this, and next time I might not be so forgiving. Now I'm going to try to sort out this situation, and you are going to behave." Turning to Cadaabta Ey, she ordered, "Keep an eye on her. And if she starts making a scene, don't be afraid to use Fear-y on her."

Cadaabta Ey's jaw dropped. "You–you want me to–" He swallowed, blinking. "And to Sent-Bee's mother?"

"You heard me." Rugindo Leoa spun on her heel and stalked away.

Hakɛto hurried to keep up with her as she strode toward the large cave that Delwer had hollowed out. "I suppose that could have gone better…" She cocked her head. "Would you really have sent her back if she weren't Chloe's mother?"

Rugindo Leoa gave her a feral grin. "I'm tempted to do it because she's Chloe's mother! You haven't heard any of her stories, have you?" Hakɛto shook her head. "From what I know, what you saw is pretty much what you get. I think on some level, Chloe would actually thank me…"

Hakɛto raised an eyebrow. "I somehow doubt that," she noted.

Rugindo Leoa shrugged as four more people rushed up to meet them – Isaac, along with the other members of the African Miraculous Council. "Agree to disagree then." Turning to the newcomers she took Angel's hand and nodded. "Glad you made it."

"Sorry to see the state of things," he apologized. "How can we help?"

She shrugged noncommittally. "I'm open to any suggestions."

Jueran Eazim frowned. "I think it's a safe bet that your Temple's location is compromised now," he began, grimacing apologetically. Rugindo Leoa quirked an eyebrow. "Stating the obvious, I know, but it does bear mentioning."

"That could cause problems for all us," Maroodiga Cawlan warned. "Will you have to move?"

"Very likely," Isaac confirmed, giving Rugindo Leoa a look.

Rugindo Leoa cleared her throat. "That question is largely irrelevant at the moment; we need to do something about our new guests for now before we think about then."

Jueran Eazim hummed. "Yours is the largest temple… how many refugees could the temple fit comfortably?"

"Large enough to fit what looks like a couple million people?" Angel interjected dubiously.

"Certainly not." Isaac raised an eyebrow. "But even if the location is in jeopardy, we still have much sensitive information. It would not be wise to give civilians access to our temple – and especially when we could accidentally give such access to these Dark Acolytes."

Jueran Eazim nodded in concession. "That is true, but we could at least allow the miraculous heroes to stay in the Temple," he suggested. "We could even use the portal system to spread them out among all of our temples – many already have access to the temples simply because of the portal system."

Maroodiga Cawlan shook his head. "The portal system is connected through Paris, remember, so any such trip would have to go through the heart of the Tarasque's poison," he pointed out. "And even if we were so inclined, it is inactive currently."

"Can you adjust it to get the portal system back up?" demanded Rugindo Leoa.

"No." Maroodiga Cawlan frowned. "I do not have that ability. The best options would be Pegasus–" Hakɛto pursed her lips and shook her head. "–or else Onça Feroz or Iron Maiden, I think."

"That does make the decision quite simple," Hakɛto agreed. "But you can at least make room for some of the heroes in the Temple – Ladybug and Cat Noir, for example."

Rugindo Leoa hummed. "We have plenty of room for that."

"We do still need to talk about security," Angel pointed out. "There are a lot of people here – and some of them are actually criminals and super-villains."

"There are a lot of heroes, too," noted Maroodiga Cawlan. "Do we lean on them for aid?"

"After what they went through, I doubt they're in any shape to help us keep order," Hakɛto argued, shaking her head.

Jueran Eazim nodded. "I agree with Aïda. We can keep the people here safe while the others recuperate. We should set up shifts for our miraculous users and Initiates to patrol."

"I have a contact at the International Red Cross," added Hakɛto. "I will ask if he has any supplies to spare for us."