I'm back baby! A month or more of writer's block, specifically for this fanfic...A few days ago I was about to give up but inspiration finally struck again.

I'm going to finish this to the end.

Master Fu sighed. After dealing with the Latombe army, everyone thought it would be over. But it wasn't. Everyone, the heroes both old and new, and their civilian allies in the know had gathered at Fu's parlor. It was a bit crammed but they all needed to hear.

Fu was already old when the heroes met him, but the way he looked now, they finally realized how old he was. He seemed to have aged a decade when they told them about Mahamayuri. "I had thought her gone…I mourned her. But she…" he stammered. Marianne put a hand on his shoulder in comfort.

"You told me that the betrayal of one of your own in the Order led to the downfall." Marinette asked. "Was it because of her?"

Fu sighed. "Yes." He didn't say much. He was looking so heartbroken, he could hardly speak. However, Fu pressed on because the heroes needed to know. "It began when I was a little boy…"

FLASHBACK (Fu's POV)

We had nothing but each other and the clothes on our back. No family, no money, no place to call home aside the streets. And we did what we needed to survive.

"Halt, little thieves!" A young boy and girl, barely eight or nine, ran with satchels tied to their backs. "Get back here!" the voice said again, a portly man in expensive looking clothes for the time, red in anger. "When I get my hands on you I'll beat you like dogs!"

"For a chubby man, he can run." The boy said. "You sure this was a bright idea?"

"Oh come on, Fu! He had plenty of food for his party, who'd have thought he'd notice something missing?" the girl replied.

"That's what you said when we stole from that fruit merchant. He threatened to cut off our hands for an apple, Mei!" Fu said as they kept running. But the angry person hadn't stopped chasing them. "Well, he is tenacious."

"In here!" Mei said as they went down an alley. Which was a dead end. "Whoops."

"Now I got you, you little thieves. You dare to steal from me?" the rich chubby guy said.

"Oh come on, you have enough food to go around. We had none, we didn't think you'd miss it." Mei scoffed.

"I'm sorry sir but we were so hungry…" Fu said. "We are not all rich or have homes or family…"

"I don't care." The man said. "You have nowhere to go. You would have wished you'd have just starved to death instead of facing me."

"We never have nowhere to go." Fu said as he turned around, took a few steps back and ran up the fence for a bit, grabbing the edges and lifting himself up, while holding a hand out to Mei. "Grab my hand."

Mei did as was told as Fu lifted her up. She had dropped the satchel with food. "Crud…"

"Never mind that…" Fu said as he pulled Mei away just in time, out of reach of the portly man whom couldn't jump high. They dropped down on the other side of the fence and ran for it; They would be long gone before the fat rich idiot knew to go around the fence.

"Oof! We're safe…" Mei panted. "We're safe…so, what did you grab and can we share?"

"Oh, I got some dumplings and…oh no, there is a hole in bag." Fu said. "I only saved a bread roll."

"Just our luck!" Mei said as she stared at the single bread roll remaining in Fu's hand. "Well eat up. You're the youngest, you need it more."

"You eat it. I'm no more important then you. Last time you also neglected to eat." Fu said as he reached it out to her.

"No problem, I can endure a bit…" Mei said as she grabbed her stomach which grumbled real loud. "I can take it."

Fu broke the bread roll in half and shoved half of it in her hand. "We both eat."

"This will barely last us. Next time we try a stunt like that again, the fat slob-snob will be ready for us." Mei said.

"At least we'll be in it together." Fu said as he took a bite out of his bread. Mei gave in and at her half of the bread roll in three bites. "There has to be a better way than this."

"Hate to be the downer, but nothing's coming our way. We have only each other, no money, no one cares for us…we'll just have to endure." Mei said. "One good thing I can say, you are still my little brother." Mei took the slightly shorter Fu in an affectionate armlock.

"You're only a few months older then me!" Fu pouted.

"It counts!" Mei said with a grin. Now, let's get some rest and think our next move before the little bread is digested. After all, money is not just going to roll in our lap."

At that moment a coin rolled by, losing momentum and spinning a bit until it tilted onto the ground. Both of them stared. Fu walked closer and picked it up. He wiped it with his sleeve and nibbled on it. "It's real money."

"Whoa, who knew you could get anything by just asking for it. If I knew, I'd have wished for a buffet." Mei noted.

"Whose coin would it be?" Fu wondered.

"Who cares? With this we'll be able to eat again!" Mei noted.

Fu ignored her for a moment as he looked ahead, seeing an old man by a vegetable stand. The old man was patting his pockets and Fu could make out his voice. "Oh dear, I thought I still had some left…sigh. I guess there goes my dinner plans."

"It's the old man's…" Fu noted. "He's going to go hungry."

"So are we if we don't use that money." Mei said as Fu turned to her with a pleading look. "Oh no! I am not going to…come on, no one would have willingly given us money or a second glance, why should we…" Fu's eye grew dewy. "Fine! We'll return it like the upstanding kids we are." Mei's voice dripped with sarcasm.

Fu ran to the vegetable stand, Mei close behind as he approached the old man. "Sir! You dropped this." Fu held out the coin. "Here you go."

"It was his idea, not mine." Mei scoffed under her breath.

"Why, thank you, young man." The old man said with a warm smile as he took the coin back. "That was really nice of you. Your parents must be proud having raised such a fine young man."

Fu's face took on a sad look. "We don't have parents." He said softly.

"Oh…I am sorry." The old man said. "You know what? Let me make it up to you, repay you for your kindness." He handed the coin to the merchant, whom put some vegetables in his satchel. "I'm making a soup. Care to join an old man for dinner?"

"You know that sounds a bit creepy…" Mei noted.

"I think he means well. I can feel it." Fu noted.

"You and your 'feelings'…" Mei said as her stomach growled again. "Well, I can feel I'm hungry so I'm willing to risk it. You said soup?"

A few moments later, the two kids were joining the old man in his humble little home for dinner. They scarfed down the soup like it was the last food on Earth. It was also the best thing they ate in…probably best thing they ever remember eating. "Oh sweet little piece of Tian in my tummy. I can die happy." Mei said, close to entering a food coma.

"This was very good Mr…I'm sorry we forgot to ask your name." Fu noted.

"Call me Hahn." The old man said.

"Thank you for everything, Mr. Hahn. It was very nice of you." Fu said.

"It's the least I can do. If someone does good for you, you do good for them." Hahn said.

"Wish someone told basically everyone we met." Mei sighed. She looked around in the house of the old man and saw a few bits and trinkets. "You are doing better then us, but you could do better if you sold all this stuff."

"I could not do that. Each of these represent a moment in my life that shaped me, a good memory, an adventure, a milestone. Some things are worth more then gold." Hahn answered.

"Wish we had anything we could value as much, to hold on to…" Fu noted. "To have happy memories."

"Fate has not been kind to you kids, has it?" Hahn asked.

"What was the first clue, old man?" Mei said sarcastically.

"Don't be mad at Mr. Hahn, it is not his fault." Fu chastised.

"No, it is everyone else. No one looks at a couple of poor urchins. No one cares and those whom care don't have a lot themselves. The rich have enough but keep everything to themselves and they don't have enough." Mei sighed. "I'm sorry if I am…snippy, Mr. Hahn. I appreciate what you did. But you can barely get by yourself. We are a burden. Thank you for relieving it for one day."

Fu looked sad at his sister but she was right in a way. They couldn't stay and keep relying on this kind man's efforts. "Thanks for everything Mr. Hahn." Fu noted as he stood up and was about to leave.

"What if I said I know a place you can call home? Not with me, but a place where…well, all types of people can call it their home. Now, there is a lot of hard work, and a lot of responsibility involved. But you change your fates, and can be more." Master Hahn suggested.

Mei and Fu looked at each other and then at Hahn. Fu spoke up: "What is and where is this place?"

"You think he's serious?" Mei asked.

"I can't say yet. There is a little test I would like to do." The old man pulled out two coins. But they were smaller and less valuable then the one he lost earlier. These two coins on their own wouldn't buy anything. He put one in each hand and held them out. "I want you to try and catch them before I close my hand."

"Seriously? This game?" Mei wondered. "What are you up to?"

"There is more to it then it seems. Just try and I promise to make it clear afterwards." Hahn assured them. Fu just looked at the coin in his hand. Mei rolled her eyes and eventually prepared themselves.

Fu stared intensively at the coin. He could try to be faster than the old man. But this old man may have a few tricks up his sleeve. Was it a matter of being faster or having good reflexes? He turned aside to see Mei grabbing at the other coin, but Hahn was much faster. Faster then his age would suggest. For someone whom said she didn't care for games, she certainly was determined to get it, and getting more frustrated as she tried to grab it. A few times even tripping up and falling to the ground, grumbling and pouting.

Fu turned back to his own coin. He concentrated. He then swung his knee upwards, hitting Hahn's hand, flinging the coin out of his hand, and Fu caught it out of the air. Hahn blinked a few times and then he chuckled. "Very clever, young one."

"Gotcha!" Hahn was being so impressed by Fu he had let his attention slip and Mei now had her own coin. Her hair looked a bit more frazzled and she looked a bit manic. Hahn and Fu stared at her. "What?" she said as she put her hands with the coin behind her back and acting like nothing was wrong.

"Well, that one's my bad." Hahn noted. "Well Fu, you are inventive. And you Mei…you know how to exploit an opening when you see it."

"Thanks but going anywhere with this?" Mei asked.

Hahn let out a small smile. "I think that you are qualified to join the Order of the Guardians."

"The Order of the Guardians?" Fu's eyes widened and lit up.

"That old fairytale?" Mei asked.

"It is no fairytale, it is as real as the ground we stand upon. Protectors of humankind, wielding the power of magical artifacts to do so." Hahn replied. "You two whom have suffered so much hardships, you are given the chance to make something better of yourself. And the chance for you to help make a better world for the future."

"That sounds so…wonderful. But it also sounds like…a lot." Fu noted.

"It means it is hard to belief. A little proof would be nice?" Mei said.

"All right. Follow me." Hahn said as they went to the front door, back outside. Only they noticed something.

"This is not the place we came from." Fu noted. It was not the outskirts of town where the old man has guided them to his home. It was now on a mountain range, close to the entrance of a temple.

Mei blinked, looked around the house to see if they just hadn't taken the backdoor and the town was still there, then looking at the temple. "What was in that soup?"

"Follow me, young ones." He said as the kids followed him up the pass that connected his home to the temple. They followed closely, where another old man was standing at the entrance. "Good evening, Monk!"

"Good evening Hahn…you have guests I see." Monk noted.

"Possible recruits to be precise." Hahn noted.

"I see. Well have to warn you, Su-Han is not in a good mood and may not approve." Monk replied.

"That old goat would be sour if he is thrown in a sugar cane field." Hahn chuckled. "I'll handle him."

"Well, good luck to you Hahn…and good luck to you, young ones." Monk said as he struck a martial arts pose, thrusted his palms forward, glowed with chi and a burst of wind shot from his hands, opening the massive doors.

Both Mei and Fu looked on in awe. "You saw that? Without touching it!" Fu was excitable like the kid he was.

"I hope that's one of the first things we learn." Mei said.

They followed Hahn further inside. They went through the hall, and right into the courtyard of the large temple. It already seemed large on the outside, but it appeared to be even bigger on the inside. They saw something out of folktales. A spring, where someone meditated under the waterfall. A pair of young monks were banging gongs. An entire class was doing synchronized martial arts. Someone was even using meditation to levitate a few feet above the ground.

"Hahn!" a voice said. There was a hardiness to it. They saw another monk approach Hahn. They really understood Hahn's sour comment, he was permanently scowling. He glared at the two kids. "Another pair of strays?"

"Who are you calling a stray, eyebrows?" Mei growled.

"Mei, let's not anger him, he is a guardian too." Fu noted. "I'm sorry about my sister, sir. I'm sure you didn't mean it in a bad way."

Su-Han didn't reply and turned to Hahn. "New recruits I presume?"

"Why else would there be two kids with me? I don't have grandkids." Hahn replied jokingly.

"You couldn't have found someone of…different class?" Su-Han asked.

"You mean the rich and noble? I look for ability and potential, not for wealth and background. Sometimes those can go hand in hand, but if given the choice, it's the former." Hahn noted. "You do this every time I pick students, I would say you are too focused on mingling with the elite?"

"It would help to be well-connected. We are monks but even we have need for funding." Su-Han noted.

"We have enough resources for two more, and dozens more that may come in the future. I know you can sense it too Su-Han, they have potential." Hahn noted.

"I admit their auras are…adequate." Su-Han noted as he looked at the kids again, acknowledging the kids but not really talking to them. "Though the boy has manners, the girl has an attitude…"

"I'm sure that is something that can be worked on. I remember another kid with an attitude that once came through these halls a century or so ago…" Hahn said, playfully tapping his chin with his finger.

"I never was like that." Su-Han scoffed.

"Never said it was you." Hahn said with a smirk.

Su-Han tried to keep his face neutral. Or his scowl less scowl-y. He sighed. "I guess that they can be of use. But seriously, I don't mean it in a bad way Hahn, but you are a bit soft. Especially when it comes down to these strays."

"It is our job to look out for the less fortunate. We are Guardians. You may think yourself the big picture kind of guy. But I…look at the individuals. As anyone is unique with their own role…" Hahn noted.

"I get it, I don't have to hear that speech for the billionth time. Just…get them a room and brief them on what they can expect. Do not get their hopes up too much though." Hahn interrupted.

"They may surprise you one day, Su-Han." Hahn noted. "Good evening." He said as he guided Fu and Mei along.

"That man didn't seem so happy." Fu noted.

"You mean that he's a jerk." Mei sighed.

"I admit that Su-Han has a chip on his shoulder. But he is a good man, and we had each other's backs. He just takes himself way too seriously and he is not good with people." Hahn noted.

"I was bitten by stray dogs whom were friendlier then him." Mei added.

"You really mean it when you say you have high hopes for us? That we can be a part of…this?" Fu asked. "We are just a few kids."

"A kid with a good heart and a good head on his shoulder. And another kid, whom while rough around the edges, is driven and protective of what she values greatly." Hahn noted.

"That's me." Mei said with a smug grin at the praise. "That's us." She gave a playful noogie to Fu.

"I must say it will not be easy, it will be hard work. Harder then you can imagine. But for one willing to make the journey, they find it to be worthwhile." Hahn said.

"Things have never come easy for us." Fu noted. "We can do this."

"Beats sleeping on the streets. And we get to learn how to beat up people. Er, in the name of good that is." Mei said as she put her hands behind her head.

Hahn chuckled. "Now, let's get you settled in. And let's see what tomorrow will bring."

"It looks bright to me." Fu said with a smile. "You think so too Mei? Life may finally look up for us."

"I guess I feel a bit of…excitement. I'm just glad we are in this together. If you hadn't been there I wouldn't even have considered all this insanity." Mei noted.

"I wouldn't have accepted if you weren't part of it either." Fu assured her. "You're stuck with me."

Mei chuckled softly. "We can do this. On the streets together, as guardians together. Promise we'll always be together, little brother?"

"Promise! Always!" Fu said back with a smile.

In hindsight, I shouldn't have made promises I couldn't keep. If I knew beforehand what life had in store…

END FLASHBACK

"It was actually really touching." Adrien said. "If I didn't know beforehand what became of Mei, it would have made a beautiful tale. Now in hindsight it is sad."

"But what she has become…when I think of the story and I already imagine what would happen if Nora or the twins would…It's hard to understand how she became…that." Alya noted.

"That Su-Han seemed like a creep though. Wouldn't want to meet that guy." Marinette scoffed. "But Master Hahn, he seemed nice."

"He was…He was the closest thing I ever had to a father. He was to me what I like to imagine I am to you." Fu said with a soft smile. "I still miss him." The smile faded fast though. "I also missed the Mei I knew. But…it was not something that was sudden, it was something that went down over time. And I didn't see in time what would become…" Fu took a glass of water and drank a bit. "The next few parts of the tale, will not be as happy."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

At her hideout, once belonging to Latombe, Mahamayuri…no, Mei was sitting in a chair, looking at the tablet she snatched of her late partner. No, that wasn't the right word. Pawn was more like it. A means to an end. If anyone else had the skills she would definitely not have turned to him for help. But now things have changed and she no longer needed him.

She sighed though. She knew that now she had passed on her message she would come face to face with her brother soon enough. He would not be doing the fighting but he would be part of this. With him on her mind…She recalled simpler times. Just two kids on the street, then two kids whom were told the fairytales were real. She took something from her pocket, a memento she had kept from long ago. The coin that Su-Han gave them. She sighed as she stared at it and studied it. "Oh Fu…" she sighed softly.

She wished she didn't have to do this. But she had a mission, she had to complete it at any cost. It was a shame. But she has come too far…though at times she wished she hadn't. But sometimes you have to make the hard choices.

TO BE CONTINUED