Sleep came restlessly for Nicholas that night.
The Dupain-Chengs had dropped Nino off early, having heard what had happened on the news, but the elder brother hadn't been there to meet them. Instead, he'd holed himself up in his room for the rest of the day and nothing anyone, not even Lorr, could say would convince him to come out from underneath his burrow of blankets and misery. The effects of the miraculous had worn off shortly after his transformation and he had been left with nothing but a mountain of despair and anger and grief-some of which was directed at himself for not being able to do anything.
But Lorr had been right, just like he always was. It wasn't like he could have gotten to the airport soon enough to do anything to prevent the crash. Even if he had, no one would have listened to him. He was just a kid and he admittedly knew nothing about planes or mechanics. What could he have said? That somehow, without any hard evidence, he knew the plane was going to crash before it did? Or that his six-year-old brother had somehow predicted the impossible? That would have gotten him sent home or possibly even arrested for trespassing and thrown into an asylum for the rest of his life.
Plus, they all would have thought he was some crazy end-of-the-world fanatic because there was no way a sixteen-year-old kid should know the things he did unless he had somehow been involved in the crash.
No, it was much safer to remain where he lay, petrified and plastered to his pillow with his guilt. He ran no risk of revealing his identity or getting himself captured this way. In the solitude of his own walls, he was safe from the rest of the world. It was just right for him and it was where he should have stayed. Always.
Of course, fate-or rather, the big man upstairs-had other plans and once again hadn't thought it necessary to inform Nicholas of this.
At a quarter-after-six, the doorbell rang.
Nicholas started from his moping, arching up from underneath his mound of blankets and yanking an earbud from his ears as he spun toward the offending sound. Lying against him, awoken from his slumber, Nino's head also popped up at the sound and Nicholas averted his gaze to admire his watch. Their mom had just gone out to pick up a few groceries from the downtown market but it was way too soon for her to be back.
"Mommy?" Nino questioned, rubbing sleep and dried tears from his eyes as Nicholas groaned and heaved himself to his feet, forcing his brother to move off to the side to let him out.
"No, Akhi. I don't think so. Wait here for a second. I'll go see."
Lorr squeaked, diving around him and disappearing into the outer rim of his sweatshirt, but Nicholas ignored him, busy trying to tame his unkempt and wrinkled appearance. Who could be at the door at this time of day? Lorr wondered aloud.
No idea, Nicholas responded, hurrying across the threshold toward the door just as whoever was outside knocked a second time. Stay close.
The kwami instantly pressed himself closer against the teen. I am right here should you require me, Master.
Thanks, bud. Nicholas reached the door and carefully cracked it open. Two people stood on his stoop, a woman with long dark hair and a man who looked as though he could be her grandfather. "Uh...may I help you?" he tried, very aware of how disgruntled he must have appeared.
"Nicholas Lahiffe?" the woman spoke, glancing up from some kind of weird tablet-like device and giving him a frown deep enough to challenge the faults of California.
"Uh, that depends on who is asking."
The stone-face remained. "Are you alone right now?"
"I...don't think I should tell you that either."
The woman looked less than impressed at this. "Enough games," she demanded. "We have no time for stalling! Where is he?"
Nicholas froze, one hand still on the doorknob, and he immediately took half a step backward, bracing to slam the door once more in their faces. Lorr clucked quietly-disapprovingly-but Nicholas was too busy trying not to panic and retain his illusion of innocence to try and decipher what the sound meant. "Um...who do you mean? What 'he' are we referring to...exactly?"
"You don't have to lie to us, Nicholas," the elderly man spoke, his voice a lot deeper and a lot calmer than the woman's. It sounded-familiar-but he could not place where he had heard it before. He folded his hands neatly in front of him and smiled pleasantly up at the teen. "We are not here to harm you or your family. We have just come for the miraculous of Wisdom. Please return him to us and we will leave without a fuss."
Ice drenched his core and he immediately reached for the pendant (still tucked into his t-shirt), shuffling back another step. "No..." he croaked. His knees felt like lead but still, he forced them to respond over his splutter of, "I can't...I don't...I won't..."
Oh, yes, he hissed disapprovingly at his own stammering. Very brave. That'll tell them all right.
"It wasn't a question of 'can you'," the woman sniffed, lowering her tablet to finally glance up at him, hazel eyes burning fire, the glint of a thinly-wired bracelet flashing momentarily in the dim hall light. "You need to give Lorr to us. He is not safe with you. He was never supposed to be yours to begin with!"
"Kila," the man warned, gently taking her arm as she began to advance on the boy who shrunk back fearfully. "Easy. Remember, this boy is not our enemy."
She glared heatedly and Nicholas gulped, a hand moving unconsciously toward the bird pressing worriedly against his side. He could feel his heart pounding and he wasn't sure if he was breathing correctly or breathing at all for that matter. Lorr, sensing his fear, only held tighter, his talons digging into his skin. But Nicholas didn't even flinch, his determined (and terrified) gaze holding the two...
...who were they anyway?
They knew he had a miraculous. They knew about Lorr and had asked for him by name. So they couldn't have just been lucky bystanders who had accidentally seen him transform in some side street when he hadn't been paying attention. They knew exactly what they were after and what they were dealing with. But how had they found him so quickly and how did they already know his name?
"Nicholas," the elder went on, delicately pushing the woman back and positioning himself to take the brunt of the boy's fear. He wasn't extremely off-putting, standing there in a bright shirt that probably belonged in the 90s with a half-trimmed goatee that could have rivaled Mr. Miyagi's any day, but he was still there and it was apparent that he still wanted to take Lorr-the literal first and probably best friend Nicholas had ever, or would ever, have. "I know this is a lot to take in all at once. Perhaps we can talk about this in a different manner." He gave the woman a significant glance that she blatantly tried to ignore.
"What do you...mean by that...exactly?"
"Perhaps we should start by addressing the topic of why we are here in the first place," the man suggested. "And that begins with us introducing ourselves properly and in a way that does not warrant that door being slammed in our faces. My name is Wang Fu and this is Kila Custos. Long ago, we were acquaintances of your father."
What? Lorr squawked.
"What?" Nicholas blurted, wincing. "How...what...how..." He stopped here to inhale deeply through his nose and throw all of his panic and stammering together. "How did you know my father?"
"That is an excellent question, one that we can answer in good time. May we come in?" Unlike the woman, there was no anger or forceful nature about his words. He smiled once more and moved to rub a weird green pendant on his wrist. They both had some kind of bracelet, Nicholas noticed. He wondered if that had something to do with-
"Nickie?"
The smallest of small voices caught him off guard but he only spared half of a glance behind him, knowing Nino was standing there. He moved himself to shield the child, but at the same time, he lost his grip on the doorframe and Kila took advantage of this, pressing forwards and pushing him back into the apartment to the point at which she could close the door behind them and cut off Nicholas's only hope of escape.
Dozer barked a warning, appearing at Nino's side, fur and hackles raised to attack. Nino was holding him back for now, but Nicholas knew it wouldn't take much to trigger him to let go.
"It's all right, Nino," Nicholas assured him, still searching for his footing from the box rush. He could feel Lorr moving up his shirt to hide closer to his neck and he swallowed back the tremble in his words. "Why don't you take Dozer and go back to your room? I'll be there in a moment once I show our guests to the door."
Nino hesitated and Dozer growled. Nicholas kept his eyes on the intruders, warily bracing himself to transform and fight them if they took one more step into his home.
But he couldn't do that with his little brother standing right behind him. He had to get him out of the way. "Nino!" he pleaded. "Go on!"
"But," Nino began, an unsettling hitch in his tone. "I wanna see tur-"
"You should listen to him, young man," the man-Fu, did he say his name was?-spoke, giving the child half a glance before quickly looking away to continue restraining Kila from doing something drastic. "This is a conversation for adults. It would be nothing of interest to a child."
"I is big kid!" Nino protested indignantly. Dozer whined and pawed the carpet at his youngest owner's tone.
Fu and Kila chuckled, though what was so amusing to them was lost on both Lahiffes. "Okay, big kid," Fu went on, leaning against his cane perhaps a little too much to actually need it, in Nicholas's opinion. "Tell you what, I have a friend here with me. If you go up and play in your room like your brother asked you, I will let him come out and play until we have finished our business. Do we have a deal?"
Nino frowned and he looked to Nicholas for an answer. Nicholas swallowed hard and nodded, still poised to attack, though neither of the intruders appeared that keen to begin a fight. Perhaps they were wiser than he had given them credit for. "Go ahead, Akhi," the boy said sternly. "We won't be long. I promise."
Nino gulped, his grip on Dozer's collar tightening as he slowly turned and shuffled back toward the stairs, leaving the three standing awkwardly in the living room, Nicholas illuminated by the Christmas decorations lining the walls behind him. He really hoped he wasn't going to have to redecorate the house when this was all over.
"Now," Fu went on, waving a hand toward the couch. "Perhaps we should sit down so we can properly explain our reason for intruding so soon after-"
"Your father was one of us," Kila interrupted before anyone could do anything. "He was sworn to protect the miraculous no matter what the cost. But he failed and abandoned his duties and in doing so, he fated you to carry his mistakes for him. That necklace you wear-no, don't bother protesting, I can sense its presence with you now-contains much more power than you could ever realize. And there are people out there who will stop at nothing to take this power from you. They will not think twice about hurting you if it means they get what they are after. Do you understand what we are trying to warn you of? Your miraculous is not safe out here in the open for the world to see. If we found you, then you can bet that there will be others out there who will do the same and they will not stop until they do."
"Not the most tactful way to approach the subject, never the less, not any less accurate. We're trying to keep you and your family safe," Fu added with a sigh. "We tried to find you right after your first public transformation. But not to harm you. To warn you of the dangers you carry with you."
"I...don't understand," Nicholas interrupted. "You said that you knew my father. But who are you? And why do you know so much about Lorr?"
"Because you are not the only one to have a Miraculous, Nicholas." Fu gave another smile and lifted his wrist to reveal the emerald which Nicholas decided looked vaguely like the shell of a...
...turtle.
No way.
"It's you!" he gasped, jumping back into the backboard of his couch and pointing an accusing finger at the man. "You're the one who was on the train that day and at the park! You're the one that gave Nino the free ride and told Milo where to find me! That's why Nino kept saying he saw turtles everywhere! You tricked me!"
Fu smiled more boldly now and stroked his goatee thoughtfully. "I would prefer to think of it as less of a deception and more of a...helpful nudge in the right direction."
"I don't under-why? Why would you-"
"Because we are the Guardians of the Miraculous," Kila interjected once more. "It is our sacred duty to protect and defend the jewels and the kwami that reside inside and to make sure they never fall into the hands of the wicked. We felt the moment you bonded with Lorr as I am sure those who seek his power did as well. That is why we are here. To take you somewhere safe. They may have gotten to your father by mistake, but we will be certain that you do not meet the same fate."
"Whoa, hold on a minute! Go back! Rewind! Guardians? Miraculous? As in, plural? As in, more than just Lorr and Trekk? How many miraculouses are there?"
"One hundred and sixteen," Fu answered automatically at the same time that Kila blurted, "The kwami of Vengeance is active?"
"One...one hundred and...sixteen..." Nicholas repeated, suddenly feeling faint. "I think...I should...sit down." He started to move but an impatient huff from Kila cut him off.
"There's no time for that now!" she exclaimed. "We've told you who you are and why we are here so now it is time to hand over the miraculous!" She took a lunged step toward him and Nicholas nearly bent over backward to avoid her grabbing his shirt collar. At the same moment, Lorr phased through to hover beside his head, squeaking angry and choice words at the woman who immediately retreated, staring at the hippogriff in bewilderment.
"What..." she began.
Get back from him! Lorr yelled, you inconsiderate, prying being! You may be a member of the Guild but Nicholas is my master and I will stay with him so don't even think about taking my miraculous away to lock in some dusty old castle in the middle of nowhere!
"Ah," Fu remarked as he gazed at the small bird. "I take it this is him then? He seems very attached to you."
"He's my best friend," Nicholas agreed as Lorr circled around to settle on top of his cap pointedly, digging in his claws challengingly to glare heatedly at the two Guardians. "One of my only friends, actually."
Kila, in turn, scoffed and rolled her eyes. Nicholas spun on her once more and Lorr squeaked irritably in agreement. "What's so funny?" Nicholas demanded.
"Kila," Fu warned again. "I understand," he went on kindly to Nicholas. "My kwami is one of my dearest friends also. In a way, he is part of me. I could never imagine myself without him."
"So then you understand why I can't give him up," Nicholas went on, feeling the tightening in his chest finally begin to loosen. "Not now and not ever and certainly not to anyone."
The man chuckled softly, leaning even further into his cane and giving his accomplice a thoughtful stare. "I do."
Kila whipped around to face him so quickly that she almost fell. "What?" she exclaimed again. "But you can't just--"
"The miraculous is his, Kila," Fu cut her off. "He has formed a connection with Lorr and it would be wrong of us to try and separate them now. Besides, I agree with him. If those who are after this power do stumble upon them, the miraculous would be better protected in the hands of someone young enough to defend himself."
"I recall you having a very different opinion on the matter upon our arrival to this overrun madhouse of a city," Kila snapped. "And you know what the High Guardian will say about this! Ali may have chosen this child, but he is not Guild material! Not at all!"
"Yes, that is indeed the case," Fu admitted with a subtle nod in her direction. "However, that was before I understood the complexity of the situation and, upon assessing every possible scenario, I believe it may be more to our interests to leave the miraculous in the hands of someone who knows it better than we. And as for the High Guardian, I do not see why this boy cannot be trained in the ways of the Guild. Assuming that he agrees in return for retaining his kwami."
With that, the focus of the conversation once more turned on Nicholas who stiffened uncomfortably. Lorr phased into his cap with a chirp, leaving him to face the brunt of the attention and fiddling with the brim of his hat anxiously.
"Lorr...told me about you, " he mumbled. "About a group of people whose job it was to decide the fate of the kwami. I just...never expected to actually be confronted with them. And...you said...that my father is...was...one of you, but I...never knew that. Did he..." He cautiously lifted his eyes to peer tentatively at the two, somewhat dreading the answer. "Did he know about me...about Lorr?"
"Yes," Fu said and that's when the tears came, hot and fast, leaking down his cheeks before he could find the strength to stop them. He sniffed, wiping them off with his sleeve, feeling his kwami patting him gently on the head and clicking reassuringly.
"And now look what you've done," Kila remarked, sighing loudly. "You've broken him."
"Nicholas," Fu continued, not giving Kila another thought as he reached forward to gently rest a hand on his shoulder, drawing the teen's gaze downward to him. "Do you understand what we are asking of you? To choose this path, to be a miraculous wielder, is not a decision to be made lightly. Holders often spend years being trained on how to use their miraculouses and the best methods for utilizing their kwami's abilities. You have had none of that so far and would need to be brought up to speed as soon as possible. Meaning it would not be safe for you to stay here in Paris. You would need to come to Tibet with us to be properly trained as a Guardian. But that is ultimately your choice."
So, my choices are to stay here and lose my only chance of ever being a superhero and my best friend or leave everything I have ever known behind to travel to some very distant country to be trained as some kind of Snake Eyes? Fantastic options right there. I don't have any idea why my father would have tried to keep this from me. None whatsoever.
"We could leave right now," Wang Fu went on, clearly noting his hesitation. "We would be in Tibet by morning and you could begin your training immediately. Of course, that would mean that you would have to be willing to give up your life here in Paris. Your family could never know where you have gone. It would be too risky for them to know and could put them in a great deal of danger. We could take care of that. And then there's the matter of the other holder, the one of Vengeance. He would have to be persuaded to come also. For it would not be wise to leave one miraculous with so much the opposite power active alone in the city. Perhaps we would do well to have two Guardians if the others were to agree."
Nicholas swallowed hard, weighing his options. He didn't want to leave his life with his family behind. Not now. Not after he had just gone through all of the effort to make friends and tried to fit in with the other kids.
But at the same time, his curiosity was peaked. If what they were saying was true, then his father had been living a double life from right underneath their noses this entire time and no one had suspected a thing. It made him wonder just what else his father might have been keeping from him.
And there was only one way he was going to get the answers to those questions.
Master? Lorr chirped warily. I would air on the side of caution. The Guardians are honorable and trustworthy, but think of what you would be giving up if you agree to this deal.
I know, Lorr. I'm thinking about it. But I think I need to do this. My father was involved with these Guardians which means he probably was here for a reason. I want to know what that reason was.
"All right," he decided, the words only getting stuck in his throat for a split second. "I'll come with you. But only because I want to know more about my father and what he was working on. Do you promise that you will tell me that much?"
"We promise," Fu agreed. He flashed the woman a triumphant smile but she did not return it, her gaze fixed on the stairs leading to the second floor with enough intensity to melt steel. "We will tell you everything when the time is right."
Nicholas frowned but finally moved away from the back of the couch toward the stairs, arms folded.
"Collect your things, then," Kila spoke gruffly. "We must return to the temple before sunrise."
"Okay," Nicholas muttered, feeling his heart sink just a little as the realization of what he'd done washed over him. "I just..." He looked back upstairs where he could no longer hear the pitter-patter of anxious feet roaming the halls, "can I have a minute to...to say goodbye?"
Neither Guardian answered at first, but then Fu gave a slight nod and rubbed his bracelet pensively.
Nicholas turned and hurried up the stairs, barging into his room and immediately upending his backpack to stuff it full with as many items of clothing as he could fit as well as extra sets of earbuds and batteries for his phone. Nino, meanwhile, had apparently given up on him and had fallen asleep across the end of his bed, sprawled out at such an angle that he would most likely awaken with a kink in the neck.
But Nicholas wouldn't be there to see that.
Beside him, halfway buried in Nicholas's blankets, Dozer also snored contentedly, the louder breather of the two. Nicholas chuckled, zipping his bag shut and sneaking over to the mattress to scoop his brother into his arms and readjust him correctly onto the bed.
One last time.
Nino moaned and squirmed from his grasp. Nicholas pulled back as two sleepy pools of chocolate blinked up at him adoringly. "Nickie?" Nino breathed, reaching for another tight squeeze to which Nicholas complied.
"Hey, Akhi Alsaghir," the older brother said quietly, ruffling his little sibling's rat nest of dark hair. "I thought you were asleep."
"Hmmm..." Nino hummed as he closed his eyes once again, content to let Nicholas set him down on the mound of pillows beside his dog. "Not sleepy. Are...leaving again? When you coming back?"
Nicholas could physically feel his heart shattering in two as he gazed down at the innocent child, not knowing how to tell him the truth. "Soon, Nino. I promise. I'm just going out for a little while, all right? I'm going to find out what happened to Ab."
"Come with you?" Nino suggested, already sitting up in the haste to throw back the covers and run for his shoes.
"Not this time, buddy," Nicholas quickly derailed, moving to intercept and leading him back to bed. "This is something I have to do alone and it could be dangerous. Besides," he added, lifting Nino's chin and giving the child a fake attempt at a smile. "Mama needs you now. You have to watch out for her and...and Chris. All right? You're the man of the house now. You have to look after them until I get back. Can you do that for me?"
A blink. Possibly the realization that something was wrong. He nodded quickly and swallowed."Y-yes! But I...I want...to...to come with you!"
"I'm sorry, Akhi, but I can't take you with me." Nicholas gave him a forced smile and began to straighten up. Nino whimpered lunged to cling to the rim of his brother's pants, the tears rolling down his cheeks uncontrollably. "Oh, Nino..." Without thinking, Nicholas reached up and swiped his cap from his hair. Lorr, for once, did not protest, and instead glided placidly down to hover beside him, but Nino's eyes were transfixed on the bright red cap and the gently way Nicholas passed it over to him and set it softly onto his head. Nino wrinkled his nose but did not immediately throw it off, which made Nicholas wonder just how much more of the situation he was comprehending than he was letting on.
"Take care of this for me, N," he went on, fighting to keep his voice steady. "Keep it safe for me. I'll come back for it as soon...as soon as I can. Can you do that? Nino, can you do that for me?" I do not know how long I will be gone or how long it will take me to find out what happened to my father and why. It may be years before I return but I want to make sure that you have something to remember me by and to tell Chris when the time is right.
And to apologize to you both for what I am about to do.
The little boy nodded fervently, pulling up the brim to stare at his older brother in winder, missing the sparkle of tears in his sibling's eyes that Nicholas quickly tried to hide with a swipe of his sleeve. "Good boy." Nicholas smiled, hugging Nino tightly. "Now, come on," he went on, taking his quilt and throwing back over the child's head. "You've got school tomorrow. Don't want to be too tired for that, right?" He didn't have school tomorrow. Tomorrow was Sunday, but Nicholas didn't know how else to get him to bed without a fuss and a lot of questions.
"School!" Nino chirped, burrowing immediately into the blankets until only the very top of his head, plus the cap, was visible. "Painting! Numbers! Yay!"
Nicholas shook his head in disbelief, still unsure why the thought of school excited him so much. He glanced up at Lorr who shrugged his feathers, clearly not having any more idea than him, and Nicholas then smiled slightly at the soft snoring rising from the pillow beside him.
"Goodnight, Akhi," he whispered, slowly untangling himself from the mattress and stepping away from the bed. "Sweet dreams, Nino. And goodbye."
It is time to go, Master, Lorr whispered, fluttering closer to blink sadly at the small boy one last time as Nicholas slowly turned away and trudged out of the room, quietly shutting the door behind him.
I don't want to leave him here, Nicholas confessed.
I know, Master Nicholas. But you are right. It is for his own safety. A world with miraculouses is no place for a child. Perhaps when he is older, he may show enough potential that you could then select him as--
No, Nicholas decided right then and there as he descended the stairs one final time and spun on his heels to face the two Guardians determinedly. I may not know everything there is to know about miraculouses or magic or superheroes and jewelry, but I do know one thing and that is that I will never ever let Nino be forced into the role that I chose to play. I won't let him follow in my footsteps. I want him to have a normal life, away from all of this. Mark my words, if I become this...this High Guardian, I will make it very clear; Nino will never have to know what a miraculous is. I will protect him and shield him from this life, no matter what.
Fu and Kila both glanced up at the quiet squeak from the soles of his Converse and Fu carefully stood to meet him as he reentered the room, Lorr still at his side and miraculous in plain view now. There was pride on the elder's face as he looked up at the dark-skinned boy and Nicholas almost felt a bit like his father was looking back at him.
If his father was a ninety-some man with a flamboyant Hawaiian t-shirt and a cane that was literally doing nothing to support him.
"All right," he said, inhaling deeply through his nose and using the determination welling from his kwami to find the courage to form the most world-ending words of his life. Standing before them now, he knew there was no going back. His life was about to change forever.
"I'm ready."