Thank you to everyone that favorited and followed. And a special thanks (Loves, Kisses, OXO's, etc) to Amanda27A.g for leaving a review on the last two chapters!

To answer your request and questions (For anyone else that was wondering/asking for the same things): The issue of akumas will be very complicated. Like down to the soul, type of complicated (that part will make sense when we start thinking about how Ladybug's powers will function in this story). As of this moment, CN will not be sharing his dreams with his lady, but it is planned for down the line. As for Master Fu meeting the heroes and DGM group, Fu (in this story) has only officially met Marinette. So the timeline is like early to midseason 2. But there is a designated chapter in which Fu will meet the crew.

Again, thank you all for your support and I'd love to hear back from more of you. But without further ado,

In this chapter, we get to see the meeting take place between each of the sides. Finally, Exorcists(+Scientist) meet the Superheroes of Paris. Of course, I'm not going to explain everything to the children. That would be too boring.

Disclaimer: I do not own these fabulous shows/Manga.

Chapter 11: Common Ground

Ladybug and Chat Noir waited impatiently on top of one of the bell towers of Notre Dame. They had arrived only half an hour ago and the "exorcist" was still not there. Along with them was the heroine's new friend, Timcanpy. The thing, after it's meeting with Allen, refused to disclose any more information on him. Instead, he flapped around anxiously awaiting the boy's arrival. Ladybug sat on the edge of the bell tower while Chat Noir stood beside her, taking the view in as if he hadn't seen it before.

"It's getting late, maybe we should send Timcanpy to get them?" Chat suggested as he shifted from one leg to another.

She had been hesitant on sending Tim to fetch him. What if Tim was recording her this whole time and he showed it to them? Not only would her secret be out, but nearly everything about her life would be. Her diary and how to get it out of its trap box, her house, her family, her friends, her school, etc. Besides, she had to be completely sure of their intentions first. This didn't stop her from getting irritated at the fact that they were taking a while. Sure they didn't set a time—A mistake on her part—but patient people have their limit.

"Let's just wait for a few more minutes."

And so wait they did, however, thanks to her luck she spotted a flash of white in the distance. She instantly rose to her feet and focused her attention on the speck. It was moving fairly fast so it would be okay for her to assume that it was the "exorcist" and his friends, Right? She pulled her yo-yo out and flipped it open. It revealed a screen that zoomed in on the speck. Her assumption was corrected for once. It was him and he was with his friends. And a civilian. A very familiar civilian if she was being honest. She pursed her lips together and sighed. She was going to have to talk about that with them.

"They're here. Time to get this over with. Are you ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be!"

They didn't wait long for them to climb up to the bell tower. With amazing speed and ability, Ladybug and Chat soon found themselves facing the group. Allen placed the lone female down and Ladybug took a step forward, holding her hand out in a futile attempt to halt the action.

"I'm sorry, but I wasn't planning on any civilians being with us." Her eyes flickered to the girl and she used this time to fully notice her.

The woman seemed to be of Chinese descent. Just like her. She was the shortest than among the other supers or "exorcists". Her hair was in the same fashion as she had hers in. Yet, unlike herself, they were brown, long, and tied with white flower hair ties. Her eyes were brown yet reflected the night sky perfectly. Her eyes were framed by a pair of round glasses. Her outfit reminded Ladybug of a scientist of some sort. Since the lady wore a long white lab coat. Underneath was a nice, modest outfit. A white dress shirt with a blue vest and a matching blue skirt. It was cute and suited her.

After her examination of the civilian, Allen suddenly stepped into her vision. His arm raised to shield the petite girl. His expression was serious as he spoke. "She's with us. If you want to speak to us all, you're going to have to let her stay."

She was about to argue when she saw Timcanpy fly over to them. The creature snuggled into Allen's cheek, making the albino's expression lighten up. Then, Tim flew and did the same to the girl, which he rested on her head afterward. Ladybug took this moment to assess the situation more. Sure she could argue and make a fuss, but she, Chat, and all of Paris had wanted to know who these people were. And instead of making baseless theories, it would be beneficial to all to get the information straight from the horse's mouth.

With a reluctant sigh, she stood down. "Fine, she can stay."

The woman gave her a large smile and finally spoke up, "Thank you." She sounded as sweet as she looked.

"So, how shall we start off? By introducing ourselves?" The pirate piped up with a dorky grin on his face. Something told her that he and Chat would get along well.

"That is a meowvelous idea, considering that we still have a vague idea who you all are." Chat chimed. Ladybug sighed at her partner's pun, while the others—well some gave him a puzzled look. The pirate looked to be holding in his laughter.

"The fuck is meowvelous?" The Asian male grumbled in question.

After that, all the dams broke on the redhead. His laughter bubbled out of him. He laughed so hard that he had to hold his stomach as if it was threatening to fall out of him. The pirate's companions looked at him like he had grown two heads. From where she stood, she could feel her cat beaming.

"That...That was good!" He spoke between breaths.

"See, My Lady. My sense of humor isn't that bad!" God she knew wasn't going to hear the end of this.

She groaned and rolled her eyes. "Can we please just get started? Please? Just...introduce yourselves and we'll do the same."

"Alright—" Allen rose his hand up and pointed to himself. "—I'm Allen Walker and this is Lavi and Kanda." He pointed to the giggling redhead and the angry man.

"And I'm Lou Fa, it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance." The women, Lou Fa, introduced with a cheerful smile.

"Pleasure to meet you all as well, I'm Ladybug."

Chat took this time to introduce himself as well. "And I'm Chat Noir."

She smiled and continued with the introduction. "We're Partners and are the Protectors of Paris."

"I'm sure you've heard of us." Chat proudly stated.

The group looked at each other before looking right back at them. Allen grimaced a bit. It was as if he was trying to break something to them. "Sorry but...we've never heard of you two before."

Chat gasped in disbelief and even she had a hard time not doing the same. They hadn't heard of them. The superheroes of Paris. Ladybug had assumed that thanks to tourists and the news, they would be known worldwide. Hell, a girl she had never met from Italy even knew who they were. And claimed to be my best friend, but I don't want to think about that.

"W-What? But how? I assumed that—what?" Chat seemed shocked at the information.

"Sorry."

"But!" The women piped up. "We know of you now! And that's better than nothing." She did have a point.

"I guess so." He mumbled and pouted. Ladybug had to suppress her laugh at his expression. It had been too cute. No! Oh no no no. It's okay to think your partner is cute right? Yeah. Just a compliment. That doesn't have any underlining meaning.

She cleared her throat and successfully had them focus their attention back on her. "Anyway, I hope you don't mind but...we have some questions. Very pressing questions."

"Oh?"

"Yes! Many pressing questions. I even compiled a list." Chat pulled out a piece of paper from his suit pocket. Ladybug slide a couple of centimeters away to let the spotlight—or more accurately moonlight—on her partner. The cat cleared his throat and she held back a joke about hairballs. Now was not the time for that sort of thing. "Now...number...one! Who ar—no you already answered that...Number two! How can you do that thing...ya know with a sword?"

"You mean this?" Allen tugged on his arm and his sword slid out. Ladybug knew she was never going to get used to that.

"No, Moyashi. I think he's talking about Kanda's insects!" Lavi gestured to the Asian man. "Show'em Yuu!"

Kanda growl at the pirate and gripped his sword. The Chinese woman waved her arms and halted the action. As if sensing that it would escalate further than necessary. "Let's not show them! We don't want to scare them."

"Not my problem if they can't handle it." His tone was bitter but he did not try to bring out his "insects".

"By the way, I meant the sword/arm thing. What is that? How can you do that?" Chat cleared up the tiny misunderstanding while firing more questions to the group.

Allen slid his sword back into his arm and the cloak around his form fluttered away. "It's called Innocence." For some reason, she saw Chat stiffen at that. His face or the exposed parts of it grew pale. "Innocence is basically a crystal of immense power. By itself, it can do unexplainable things. Such as: Changing weather patterns at a drop of the hat, make a doll come to life, make a city replay a whole day, make a swordsman stay alive for a millennium, etc. When synchronized with a person of it's choosing, it gives them power."

"You said that it synchronizes with a person of it's choosing. May I ask how you came to get yours?" She noticed that the way he spoke of it made it seem like the thing had a conscious of its own.

"Ah, well. I've had my Innocence for as long as I can remember." She tried not to laugh at the sentence. She had fully expected her partner to jump all over that joke but instead, he stood like a statue. Something was wrong with him.

"You alright, Chat?" The cat seemed to snap back into the realm of reality and gave her a sheepish smile.

"I'm fine. Sorry." She wanted to push it but she decided to save that for when they're alone. The cat coughed and scratched the back of his neck. A move that looked oddly familiar to her. "So I can assume that you all have this...Innocence?"

Allen nodded at him. "For me, it's my arm. For Kanda, it's his sword. And Lavi, his hammer." He gestured to each of them. "Ms. Lou Fa, here does not one of her own. Not everyone gets to have Innocence."

"What I don't get is how you can purify Akumas like I can. How can you do that?" She questioned.

"Innocence was made to destroy Akumas." Lavi explained. "Akumas are created from dark matter and Innocence, being the opposite, purifies them. If you can do it, it's safe to say that you're an Accommodator." Dark matter? Is that what the butterflies are tainted with?

"What is an accommodator?"

This time it was Lou Fa, who stepped forward to explain it to her. "Accommodators are humans who have been chosen to wield a piece of Innocence. In the organization that we work for when an Accommodator joins they're given the title of Exorcist."

"How does Innocence choose people?" Chat questioned.

"In our research, we've found that Innocence is, to a level, sentient. It seems to be capable of recognizing those who are and who are not Accommodators."

Sentient? That means that it has a mind of its own right? So...kind of like a kwami? I mean Tikki does have a mind of her own. "Okay...So if I may ask, what is this organization that you work for?"

They glanced at each other as if silently debating something between them before Allen gave the girl a nod. Ladybug wasn't blind to that blush that appeared the girls face, but it seemed that Allen was. The heroine tried not to chuckle at the irony. "The organization we work for is...called the Black Order. Accommodators and regular humans make it up. Accommodators fight akumas while us humans back them up. Either as a Finder or a person who goes out and tries to find places where Innocence could potentially be or even a Scientist like me. Almost everything under the sun."

So...basically there is a whole organization that has been doing me and Chat's job. The idea was hard to imagine but the proof was somewhat right there. Matching uniforms. A symbol on all of them. It made sense that they belonged to an organization. But she pondered over what could be the reason for them showing up now after all this time. How could they, superheroes that are worldwide would just now attract the attention of a secret organization? Could it be that the group had lied about knowing them? It would make sense. Maybe this "black order" had their eye on the heroes for a while. But what would prompt them to come now? A horrible thought answered her burning question. It made her heartache. Despite her complaints, she adored being a superhero. The freedom to soar across rooftops and the thrill that saving the day it comes with. She couldn't imagine it ending.

Could it be...that they're here to replace us?

"How long has this Black Order been around?" Chat asked curiously. Ladybug took another glance at him and her eyebrows furrowed in worry and confusion. His face was still pale and his hands were shaky. What was wrong with her partner? Is he sick?

"Well...it's been active for..." The women trailed off. She held the elbow of her arm while tapping her chin in thought. "Over a century or so."

Ladybug and Chat gawked at the number. Not only was it an organization that did their job but also an organization that did it way longer than them. Meaning they were experienced. They had all the knowledge on the situation, making them the best fit to fight Hawkmoth and his Akumas.

Wait...did that mean that Hawkmoth is over a hundred years old?!

"Hawkmoth?" Oh, did I say that out loud?

"He's our arch-nemesis. He's the one creates akumas. It's our mission to stop him at all cost."

The group looked at each other then at them as if they had said something stupid. Kanda rose an eyebrow. "You mean the Millennium Earl?"

"No...Hawkmoth."

"The Millennium Earl."

Ladybug huffed while Chat crossed his arms and questioned them. "No, who is this Millennium Earl you speak of?"

They gave the duo a look that makes Ladybug feel slightly ashamed for not knowing who this Earl was. "He's the one who creates Akumas." They spoke with obvious conviction. It seemed to be common sense to them.

Lavi cupped his chin and looked up with a thoughtful expression. "Could this "Hawkmoth" be their name for him?" The question was directed towards his teammates.

"No, he introduced himself as that." Ladybug corrected.

Allen lifted one eyebrow and turned to Lavi. "Why would The Earl do that?"

"Maybe it's not him but another Noah." Lou Fa offered. What's a Noah?

Allen hummed at that. "It could be. But they said he makes the Akumas."

"I think it might be an Alias that the Earl goes by here. Think about it, what better thing to do than trick naive children by tell them your something as stupid as Hawkmoth?" Kanda grumbled.

"I don't know..."

"We are right here!" Ladybug and Chat shouted but were ignored by the theorizing group. The spotted heroine pinched the top of her nose, right in between her eyes. With a loud sigh, she exclaimed, "Alright! Alright! Let's just move on! Okay!?" The group finally focused their attention and nodded. Well almost all of them. Kanda made a clicking sound with his mouth and looked away. He looked as if he rather be anywhere else but here. Ladybug took a deep breath before starting up again.

"Alright...well, as much as I appreciate having more superheroes or Exorcists—as you call yourselves—that would be completely beneficial to me and Chat. I think I'm right to say that we have it all covered here." If they were here to replace the duo, Ladybug would not stand for it. They didn't need them. The duo was more than enough. Plus even when they had trouble, there was always Rena Rouge. With her occasional assistance, the City of Paris didn't need any more heroes. They could do perfectly fine on their own.

Kanda huffed, "Remind me again who covered you when you almost got your head chopped off?"

She growled but before she could give him a good comeback, Allen glared at the swordsman. "Kanda don't be rude." The albino glanced their way once more. "So, what are you saying?"

"I'm saying that WE don't need you here. We are perfectly capable of protecting this city."

"Ladybug..." Chat gave her a wary glance. "Maybe...it would be best to have them help. I mean we don't patrol every night and we can't prevent everything. And Rena only helps occasionally…so having three more people would-"

"No, can't you see?" she cut him off, "An organization that just now heard of US? An organization that just so happens to send three "Exorcists" here when we were facing a very dangerous akuma? It obvious to me that they're here to replace us."

"What—No! You have it all wrong! We weren't sent here." Allen hurriedly explained.

"Yeah, we kind of were on a search and rescue mission when our...boat crashed here," Lavi added with a sly smile. The way he had said boat made it seem like he knew something that they didn't. As if it was an inside joke between them.

The spotted girl placed her hands on her hips and cocked to the side. She gave him a challenging stare. "Boat? There hasn't been anything reported on a boat crash anywhere?"

The man didn't show any sign of backing down. Mimicking her, he placed a hand on his hip and stared down at her. His gaze was equally challenging. "We're part of a secret organization, what makes you think that any evidence of us would be left to the public?"

Shifting her body to lean to the other side, one of her gloved hands came off of her hip and clenched into a fist at her side. "Well, if that's the case, then don't you think that the big stunt that you did this week would be considered leaving evidence to the public?"

"Not if they think that we're like you." His wink—Or did he blink?—punctuated his sentence.

"A sword or arm or whatever wielding superhero isn't what I think if when I think of miraculous superheroes." Her teeth were now grinding against one another, her irritation was rising.

"Innocence can do miraculous things. It's probably the only reason you have those powers of yours. Those things Miraculous, as you called them, are probably nothing but Innocence. With that said, our power sources are pretty much the same. So, it's safe to say that we're just as super as you."

"The people are used to how We handle akumas! We don't swing swords around or have shape changing hammers!"

"So you paid attention to my weapon? I'm flattered." She strongly disliked this guy already. Couldn't he just back down and they all can leave? So that things can go back to normal? "How about this, we all work together temporarily. We have many things in common already. Same enemy, same power source—although that's just a theory—same mission. Not to mention we're more skilled and experienced than you two combined."

"I beg to differ!" as soon as she said that, she regrets it.

The wannabe pirate smirked and rose an eyebrow. She didn't like how his confidence started to ooze out of him. "Oh yeah?" He turned to the swordsman. "Yuu-chan! You've been in the order for a long time, right? I know that you and Lenalee have been there since childhood, right?" Childhood? He's been there since he was a kid?!

Yuu-chan or Kanda growled and glared at the pirate. "Yeah So?"

Lavi turned to Allen next, looking smug. "What about you Allen?"

"You already know that, Lavi." Allen sighed. It was obvious he did not want to be apart of this.

"I know but humor me."

"I've been training with Cross since I was...11 and I'm 16 going on 17 soon."

"So almost 6 years right?" The albino nodded his head. "As for me, I've been with the order for a while now." That made her suspicious.

"How long is a while?"

"That, doll, is classified." He punctuated with a wink/blink/who knows. She was tempted to throw her yo-yo at his big head. How dare this pirate call her doll? "But how about you? How long have you been fighting? By your height and stature, it's safe to say that you look fairly young."

The truth was that they've only been in this hero business for about three years now. But her pride wouldn't let her divulge that number to the smartass that was grinning like the cat who caught the canary. So she decided to play the same card that he played on her. "Sorry, doll. That's classified."

He hummed, "Throwing words back at me I see. Doesn't matter, the evidence doesn't lie. We're more experienced, so let us help you. Let's work together. Can't we all just get along?"

She was tempted to say No. She didn't like him at all. Not his smug look, his eyepatch or his horrible sense of humor. At first, she thought that he and Chat would get along well. Two guys who enjoy seemed to enjoy puns. But now the idea of working with him made her irritated. But before she could even declare her ruling. A hand was placed on her shoulder. Without even looking, she knew it was Chat. It was his subtle way of calming her down. She was clouding her thoughts with emotions.

How unfit for a hero.

She took a deep breath and thought about it. To speak lightly, their work would get cut in half, they could get a leg up on finding and ending Hawkmoth, akuma battles would go by much faster, way faster—like seriously, how many times has she missed a test because of an attack?—and Paris would be a lot more comfortable knowing that there were more heroes protecting it. Alya wouldn't need to be Rena Rouge anymore. She could be safe as a regular citizen again. So, could this be a good idea? Would it be wise to have their help? Of course, it would. Did that mean she wanted to though? No.

Do my wants really matter in the grand scheme? I have a duty and if this helps then...there's only one way to go about this.

She relaxed her shoulders and sighed, "Fine." she breathed out in defeat.

"Really!?" They all—excluding Kanda yelled in surprised.

"Yes, but only as long as you all follow by my rules!" She declared.

"Of course!"

"Alright, Rule number one: No more stabbing people with that large sword of yours, Allen Walker."

He looked at her like how she had seen Manon look when she told her to go to bed. "My sword only hurts Akumas and things possessed by dark matter. Promise! If I were to stab Lavi right now, it would be fine."

"Please don't," Lavi commented. She was tempted to have him demonstrate.

Ignoring the pirate, the exorcist continued on. "And besides, it's one of my powers I can't help it!"

Ladybug huffed and rolled her eyes, "Fine then, only when necessary. We don't want to hurt people. Now, Rule number two: Don't get in me and Chat Noirs way. Rule number three: Don't reveal your identities to the public nor ask for ours. Rule number four: Don't try to find out our identities at all. And Rule number five: try not to damage anything, my miraculous cure can fix everything but that's not an excuse to tear up the city."

"Yes Ma'am!"

She sighed and decided to move on. The heroine explained to them about another aspect of helping out the heroes. Patrol. It was something she and Chat did nearly every night. She explained to them that it would be beneficial if they had taken some days too. The six of them knocked their brains together to come up with a schedule. Allen had been too kind and assured them that he would be okay taking on an extra day once they ran out of people for each day. So he, her, and Chat ended up having two days. One for just her and Chat, another for her and another for Chat. So, in the end, it looked a little like this:

Sundays: Ladybug and Chat Noir

Mondays and Fridays: Allen Walker

Tuesdays: Chat Noir

Wednesdays: Lavi

Thursdays: Ladybug

Saturdays: Kanda

"Alright, see you all later." With that, she zipped away.

The rest of them turned away and started off to their own locations. While she swung in the air, she thought over how the meeting had gone. In the end, everything seemed to work out. She took charge and got everything straightens out. Well, almost everything. There were still some lingering questions. She'd have to ask them about it later. For now, her soft bed was calling to her and she would gladly answer.

Marinette (with Tikki's persistence) made an appointment to see Master Fu talk about the newbies. Maybe he knew more than she did about the Black Order and such? So, under the guise of taking a stroll, she made her way to the guardian's shop. She was forced to bring a heavier jacket due to the chilly breeze. Her mind was buzzing with the unanswered questions. Who or what was a Noah? They had mentioned it only once. She suspected that it may have been another type of enemy. Maybe another miraculous holder? A group? A cult? She wished she had asked. She assumed the Black Order had a leader. Who were they? She assumed it would be someone old, wise, strict maybe? Like some kind of hardened grandpa? She wondered if there were millions of exorcists. What if she walked passed one right now?

And dark matter? What even is that? She remembered from Physics that it was something in space. According to them, it was the opposite of innocence. The darkness to the crystal's light. They didn't explain anything more on it. Could it be they didn't know? Maybe this "Earl" or Hawkmoth go to space and obtained it? Nah, that sounds stupid. If she dares thought it, she thought it could possibly be something…Magical. Was Hawkmoth really this Earl they had spoken of? If that was the case then why did he become publicly active now? What was he doing in Paris anyway? What even is Timcanpy?

So many questions, little answers. Marinette sighed. Her head cast downwards. This caused her to miss the figure walking in front of her. She accidentally bumped into them. Embarrassed, she flew back and apologized profusely.

"It's quite already, young lady." From his accent, she suspected that he was a foreigner.

The man had light skin and a mole on his face. It reminded her of Alya. However, unlike the blogger, his was under his eye. His hair was surprisingly long and tied in a ponytail. That hung over his shoulder. He wore a gray vest over a white dress shirt that had the collar popped up. He wore a black tie and black dress pants. Along with some shiny dress shoes. A lone cigarette hung in his mouth. It's smoke danced in the breeze. He was dressed for business it seemed. His eyes were a haunting amber color. It made her flinch. Beads of sweat rolled down the side of her head as she kept eye contact. She felt frozen in fear. Why was she scared of this stranger? He didn't do anything wrong. That I know of. The businessman was flashing a toothy smile at her. It was friendly enough.

Next to him was a short girl with dyed blue hair. She wore a large white coat with frills on the sleeves and hem. Underneath, she had on a black dress with a wide skirt. It displayed white cats around it. Over her shoulder was a silky white purse. On it was black butterflies and a tiny pumpkin. In her hands was a dark-colored bouquet. She also had amber eyes like the man.

"I mean not to trouble you, but I'm new to Paris and I was hoping you knew the way to the nearest hospital."

She tilted her head in confusion. Why would he need to go to the hospital? Maybe they're visiting a relative. The girl is holding a bouquet. The designer turned and pointed off in the distance and gave them instructions to the local hospital. "It'll be the one on the left." she finished.

"Thank you, Mademoiselle." The man bowed his head lightly.

"Your hair is so pretty. Like that of a doll's." the girl commented.

With a shy blush, Marinette reached up and brushed her hand along her pigtails. "Thank you!" The girl giggled and hopped over to her. She shifted the bouquet into one hand and held out the other. Marinette quickly shook her hand.

"I'm Rhode* Kamelot."

"Marinette Dupain-Cheng." she introduced herself.

Rhode grinned, "I have a feeling we'll be seeing each other very soon." and with that, the girl turned and left with the man.

How odd.

They were a strange pair that was for sure. Marinette shrugged the uneasy feeling off and continued on her way. It didn't take her long to reach Master Fu's residence. The girl entered the building and walked up a door that had bamboos decorated on it. She reached up to knock when it swung open. Standing in front of her was the very short, Master Fu in his favorite red Hawaiian shirt.

"Ladybug, I've been expecting your visit." Of course, you have. He turned and walked further in. She followed behind her as the door closed shut. The Guardian walked over to the large mat and sat facing her. She respectfully sat on her knees on the floor. Her hands rested in her lap as Tikki hovered at her side.

"Master, we came about the new superheroes." Marinette started. She recited the information they gave her. Fu nodded and hummed along as she told her tale. She noted how Wayzz was out of sight. He must be resting.

"I see. Well, I'm sorry Ladybug. I'm afraid I do not know of this Black Order." her shoulders slouched. She was sure that if anyone had answered it would be him. "However, I have a little information on this Earl character." She snapped her head up.

"Really!? Who is he?"

"I do not know his real name." He turned and looked out the window, reminiscing on something. "I met him many years ago when he saved me…."

.

"I was still searching for the butterfly Miraculous then,"

.

.

"When he appeared…"

.

The rush of the cars along with the liveliness of the people of Paris never ceased to amaze Wang Fu. It was his first time in the city. His travels had taken him to this town. There was something about it. Was it the people? The music? The food—The smell of freshly baked bread reached his nose. It was definitely the food. Regardless, something about it seemed magical, energizing. He figured…this would be the perfect place to set up shop. Even the miraculous seemed to agree. They shimmered in the Paris sun.

When he met the man, it was a rainy afternoon. Fu was walking along the sidewalks with a black umbrella in hand. Wayzz sat carefully on his shoulder. They were looking for anything that could point them towards Nooroo. Suddenly, there was a loud shrill and a honk. He cursed his old bones for not moving fast enough. That's when a young man swept him away from the calamity.

He was a fairly tall man. He had dark, unruly hair and spiked up in certain areas. His skin was rather fair and his hair looked to have been dark brown. He dressed in the simplest of clothes. A white dress shirt with a vest, a faded red tie, and a large overcoat. Upon his hands rested white leather gloves. His eyes…they were the coldest. They were dark like a void. And yet he saved him.

"You need to be more careful where you walk, Old man." He had smirked.

"Thank you, I am in your debt." Fu politely bowed. His mind was racing. This man had saved him. He acted when no one else would. Did that make him qualified for a Miraculous? He thought back to those eyes of his and dismissed the idea.

"Alright…" His smirk turned into a happy grin. Yet something dark came over him. "Tell me all there is to know of this world." It was an odd request, but a simple one at that.

So Fu did. He retold the history of the earth they lived on. He only focused on the big things. Wars, formations of new countries, peace times, technology advancements. The young man listened dutifully. Fu had given him his umbrella to shield him from the rain in their short walk. They continued on until he arrived at his shop. Fu turned to the man and gave him a smile.

"I do believe that is all."

The man hummed, "Very informative. Thank you, good sir." he bowed his head and Fu return the gesture. "Say, Mr. Fu, do you believe in God?"

Master Fu thought back to how the kwamis came into existence and the rest of the history he knew. In the end, he shook his head. "I'm afraid I do not." The man grinned and nodded his head. As if he was expecting that answer. "Do you believe?"

"I do." Master Fu rose an eyebrow. Was this going to be one of those exchanges? Was this man going to try and turn him to Christianity? He had met those kinds of people before. Some were nice and backed off quickly. Others…not so much. "Though, he's a pretty stupid god if I say so." eh? That was surprising.

"How so?"

"He created the barbarous race that is Humankind. He tries so hard for them, but all they do is betray him. Over and Over. Sacrifices for these apes and gets nothing but curses in return. It's sad."

"You seemed to really hate humans then." Master Fu observed, "May I ask, why did you save me then?"

The man cupped his chin and seemed to think for a second. "Because I was sure you'd explain to me about your little friend there." He pointed at his vacant shoulder. Fu tensed and shifted his stance. "Now, Now are you…trying to attack me? How rude."

"How-?"

"Did I know?" He finished for him. "I have a knack for sensing those things. There's more of them inside right?" Wayzz flew into view next to Fu and they glared at the man. Wayzz seemed far more angry than he was.

"I'm not going to let you anywhere near the Miraculous," Fu growled.

"Miraculous? That's what you call them?" He rose an eyebrow before shrugging. "No matter, I don't want them. In fact, I feel glad they're here in this world. It would be a hassle of those humans got a hold of them."

"Then why are you here?"

"Sightseeing," he responded quickly. This answer caught Fu off guard. "Scoping the place out before I bring my…family here." he scowled at the word family.

"Are you all…moving here…to Paris?" He failed to see where this was going.

"Not me…they are…permanently. Of course, they don't know that yet."

Master Fu relaxed his stance and stared at the man in disbelief. "Who are you?"

The man's grin widens creepily as if he was waiting for him to ask. "I am the Millennium Earl." Lighting struck in the sky and his eyes flashed gold.

"Who—" the man ignored him and dug into his pocket. He pulled out a golden pocket watch. It was vintage. Like something from the 1800's. He flicked it open before closing it. The man stuffed it back in his pocket with a sigh.

"Well, I must depart. I have a friend waiting for me. I cannot be late. Thanks for the chat," He turned away before looking back. "and for the umbrella." the man walked into the busy street. Fu cried out for him to wait, but a large bus shielded his view of him. When it passed by, he was gone.

.

.

.

"And I never saw him again." Fu finished.

Marinette thought about the story for a moment. If Earl = Hawkmoth, then why did he become active now? Publicly in Paris? She was under the assumption that due to the fact that there was a whole ancient organization after him, then he had been in the shadows. Was he getting desperate? She knew that when combined they granted near godlike abilities. She just wished she knew why he wanted such power. Surely there was a reason? It doesn't really matter. She was more determined than ever to keep them from his grubby hands. One way or another!

*Rhode: I know her name is Road but for this story. I'm using both versions for this story.

That's it! Yay! They're working together! And they think that they're talking about the same Akumas. Hilarious. Also, hey the "Earl" finally showed up. Anyway, hope you enjoyed it so far!

Ciao-su~