Chapter 25: Eye of the Storm

"How can I depend on you to do a job you're not ready for?"

There was a sound of wind breaking as Chat Noir leaped through the air. The night sky hid him almost perfectly. The moon's glow caused his golden hair to shimmer in its light. It acted as a swift little beacon in the dreary night. The sight was a constant form of relief for the city's inhabitants. However had anyone the chance to look closer, they would be able to tell that their shining light was appearing rather dark.

"That's enough. This discussion is over."

Chat landed on an apartment roof with his fangs bared. The hero stopped his momentum and stood tall. His fists were clenched far too tight around his baton. The boy looked back with a burningly sharp anger in his eyes. The bakery was now further along in the distance. Its lights flickered out instantly and blended it between the other darkened buildings.

"If it'll appease you, I'll allow you to hunt down the innocence at least. But, leave the akuma fighting to the professionals, please."

In another burst of anger, the hero growls and roars. He pushed off the roof and soared freely. Another landing and he was gone in a flash. How dare he! The anger circulating in him caused his face to flush every second he spent remembering the prior conversation. The boy tumbled through the air as he drew close to a large mansion that was caged in by a wall and fencing. He propelled himself higher in the sky and vaulted through a tall open window. The cat hero rolled along the floor before bumping into a long white couch. He pressed his claws into the cushions and pushed himself up into a stand. Chat Noir fell without uttering a single word and revealed a furious Adrien Agreste. His kwami was quiet as he stormed around his large room.

"Allow me!?" he ruffled his hair and pulled at the golden locks. "Who does he think he is?! My Father?!" Allen's words had hit the boy far too close to home. Adrien could see both images of his father and Allen melting into one.

The boy walked to his desk and flopped into his spinning chair. He spun for a moment and looked up at the ceiling. "Not ready," he repeated with a scuff. He sat up and gestured to himself while focusing on Plagg. "Does he even know who I am?! What I've done? What me and Ladybug have had to face?"

"He doesn't." Plagg floated over to the furious boy.

"Exactly! I—" Plagg cut him off.

"As far as that boy, Allen is concerned, he only sees you as a liability."

"A liability!? I can hold my own!"

"Can you?" Plagg replied sharply. Adrien blinked wildly at the question before opening his mouth to answer the obvious. Plagg prevented him from defending himself by continuing. "How many times have you left Ladybug alone to battle?" Adrien felt cold. Sure he was a bit reckless, but they always managed to make it through. No, not we…Ladybug made it through. Plagg paused and sighed, "You're too reckless. I get that you fancy her and that you're only mentor on this feeble human-icky heart stuff is those picture books—"

"Manga" Adrien corrected.

"Right, manga. But continuously sacrificing yourself is only tormenting her."

"Torment—I'm not tormenting her! I'm protecting her!"

"No, you're causing her to get increasingly worried and pained by you. Then leaving her alone to deal with the Akuma. You're giving your ladybug more pressure." Adrien looked away. His stomach turned at the accusation. "And now this new akuma is on the loose and it's put baker girl—Baker girl!—in the hospital. The same girl who's stood up to akuma before. This akuma can't be taken lightly."

Adrien didn't understand why that fact seemed to put Plagg in a frenzy. There was no doubt that Marinette was amazing, but she was still a civilian at the end of the day. Adrien watched Plagg's expression carefully. There's something more to this story. Either Plagg had a mega soft spot for Marinette or he knew something about this new akuma. His grassy green eyes narrowed.

"Do…do you know something about this Akuma, Plagg?" the sprite halted.

"No, I don't know anything about this Akuma." Adrien caught the careful wording.

"You suspect something?"

"An unknown akuma that's been in the shadows this entire time, a large string of random disappearances, and the closeness towards the school those disappearances are getting." Plagg laid the facts out for him.

"This akuma—Hawkmoth, they're behind the people going missing?" It made sense. "But why? Allen suggested that it was attracted to Innocence. Could Hawkmoth want to obtain Innocence?" Adrien briefly remembered all the amazing things that Innocence was capable of. If Hawkmoth got his hands on just one piece…He wouldn't need to make akuma to get to our miraculous. A thought flashed through his mind.

"Marinette!" Plagg jumped a bit at the sudden shout.

"What about Marinette?"

"She—the next piece! It must be looking for Innocence. Maybe Marinette has a piece?" Could she be like the "exorcists"? His dream from long ago came to the forefront of his memory. He doubted a dream's accuracy in predicting the future, but…he dreamt she was attacked and then, she was. If any bit of its context was correct, then—"Give me the Innocence!"—that possibly happened.

"No," Plagg replied with certainty in his voice. "Impossible." He shot the theory down.

"What!? Why?!"

"You forget, Timcanpy was there." That was right…Tim was there, the RECORDING Timcanpy was present when…I need to see those recordings. "Timcanpy holds the innocence piece, remember?" Plagg's words went over the boy's head. But to see those recordings, he would have to continue to play nice with the guy who just benched him. If Marinette had Innocence…if she was like the "exorcists", then Hawkmoth is trying to sink his fangs into her to obtain it. And if that's the case…

To hell with being sidelined.

As morning broke outside of Adrien's large windows, the sun's rays bounced into his room and stirred him awake. The model opened his eyes and weakly glared at the windows. He groaned and turned face down. How dare he get awoken? Didn't the world know it was too early to be up? It was only Friday after—His eyes shot open at the realization. It's Friday! As if possessed, he wildly turned in his bed and tumbled out of it. His blankets were tightly coiled around his legs and resisted his escape. He tripped in a hurry and crashed to the floor with a loud thud.

"Hey!" he heard the high voice of Plagg followed by a long yawn. "Are you planning on waking the entire house up?"

Ignoring his companion, he fought his way out of the blanket's grasp and hurried across to the bathroom. In his mind, a timer was clocking down. He quickly turned on his sink and set the temperature to a high heat. Opening a drawer as the sink ran, he pulled out a folded washcloth and ran it under the water. He then pressed the heated rag to his forehead. Plagg flew into the room after him and considered him with tired eyes.

"And what are you doing?"

"Getting a fever," Adrien answered nonchalantly.

"Oh! Are you shirking out on your duties today? " Plagg purred in approval. "Great! I wanted to go to this magical store I heard about from that box thingy."

"TV." Adrien corrected as he repeated applying heat to his forehead.

"Yeah, yeah the tv box thing. Something about a Cheesecake factory? We can go and eat all the different types of Cheeses!"

"It doesn't actually sell cheese, Plagg." His words went through one ear and out the other as the other rattled on.

The model kept trying to fabricate a fever while Plagg waxed poetically about cheese. Adrien counted down towards Nathalie's arrival as he clumsily raced back to his bed. He ran and jumped onto the large mattress. He could hear the nob start to turn when he threw the blankets back over him. The secretary threw open the door and Adrien started a coughing fit before she could breathe a word.

"Adrien." her eyes softened a bit before bouncing back to normal.

"Mornin' Nathalie." he nasally greeted, "Is it time already?" She nodded in response with a sigh and walked over. As she stared down at him, he tried his best to look pathetically ill. Predictably, she used the back of her hand to check his temperature. By her defeated sigh, he could tell he got away with it.

"I'll go report to your father about this unfortunate development."

"I'm sorry." He opted to say. He had considered trying to make it seem as if he was still willing to go along with the day's schedule to look even more sad. History was an excellent teacher, however. The last time he tried that his father took him up on the offer.

"Please stay in bed for the remainder of the day. Tomorrow's shoot is too important to miss. At least we're lucky that this happened today." her heels loudly clacked behind her as she left him. For extra measure, he let loose a light string of coughs loud enough to be heard beyond his room.

He laid there for what seemed like an agonizingly long minute before popping back up. Plagg flew from his hiding spot. "I've seen better performances, but at least it passes." Adrien huffed and climbed out of bed, carefully this time. He began to walk towards his closet when he noticed a pigeon making its way towards his windows. He was about to ignore it when it violently slammed against the window pane and flew out of sight. He ran over and peered down. It seemed like the little guy had fallen all the way down to the ground. He waited to see if it would move and it did not.

"Ouch." He winced.

"Hmm…how unlucky." Plagg sighed.

"Very." He was silent for a moment before he walked away from the window and towards his closet to get dressed.

"Just so you're aware, I'll be needing at least 5 of all of that Factory's cheeses to be able to transform you." Plagg tried to convince him.

"They don't even sell cheese! Besides, if they did, we're not going there." He ignored plagg's cry of disapproval. "I promised to help with the investigation along with Ladybug. The situation is getting worse." Maybe if I had been involved earlier, then Marinette wouldn't have been attacked like that…The thought reminded him of his argument with the British Exorcist the other night. His saddened mood turned sour.

"Okay…Then after we go get more cheese." Plagg insisted. Adrien sighed and walked away to the bathroom once again. He threw open the tall window and twisted his ring.

"Time to roll. Plagg, Transform me!"

Chat Noir landed on top of the Police precinct and checked his baton for the time. Maybe I should call her and let her know I'm here. He could stroll in there, but it always looked better when the Famous Chat Noir is seen with the One and only Ladybug. He smiled as the picture of her popped up. He waited and for once, was sent to his lady's voicemail! Is she not transformed? He tried again and immediately she answered. Putting his baton to his ear, he grinned.

"Chat!" she sounded startled.

"Hey, bugaboo! I'm here at the station—and before you say anything, no I didn't do anything!"

"Ha ha, then what are you—oh wait." he heard a slight shuffling before she spoke again in a low voice, "It's Friday isn't it?"

"I'm surprised, My Lady! To think you forgot all about the meeting today." He genuinely couldn't believe that his partner—so on top of everything normally—would forget something like this. Something's wrong. This is not like her.

"I'm sorry," she sighed, "I hate to sound like I'm giving excuses, but a lot of things have happened in my…"Normal" life. I won't be able to make it."

"Is something wrong? Did something happen?"

"It's—I can't, you know the rules…" he could accurately imagine how she would shake her head and sigh. "I'll be unavailable for a least 6 weeks."

Chat jumped and shouted, "6 Weeks!? But—"

"I know, I know. Hawkmoth, but I can't avoid it or I'll make it worse—Oh! I mean—"

He whipped around to look at the city around him as if he were searching for her, "Are you hurt?!"

"I'm—" she paused, "I may have gotten a little roughed up by that Akuma when Allen and I saved Marinette." his heart rate spiked. That was something Allen did not inform him of.

"Where—!?"

"I'm fine! I just need time to heal from it. It was…that Akuma is dangerous, Chat. Even with Allen, I could barely handle it." Because you were practically alone. If I had been there, I could've…He swore under his breath. "That's why we have to let the Exorcists handle it." He glared down at the roof he stood on. Oh, Of course, they did.

"We could bring back the temporary heroes! I'm sure with a few extra hands, we could track it down and—"

"No!" she harshly cut him off. "Under no circumstances are we going to involve them. We cannot risk them."

"So what, we're leaving this for the newbies to handle!?"

"They have more experience with this monster." He blinked in surprise at her harsh tone and wording. The Ladybug he knew would Never refer to an akumatized victim that way. "Trust me."

"I do trust you LB, but you're not telling me the whole story." She was silent for a while. "Ladybug," he tried again, "You're doing it again. Keeping important things from me."

"Chat. You know that it's not up to me. He specifically—"

"Specifically said that he'll reveal himself to me at the right time. Yeah, yeah. I know. But this is not about the Guardian. This is about this akuma. I can't afford to be left in the dark if it's that dangerous. Please, I need to know!"

She sighed, "It's not like the other Akumas. This one, it's deadly. It's killing people, Chat. And I might not be able to reverse its effects." His blood ran cold as he connected the dots.

"The missing people."

"Most likely dead. I—Marinette was lucky that we were even there." He pressed his palm to his forehead as the information made his head spin. He felt sick. Marinette, his dearest friend, could have died. He would've never known. Allen's words suddenly made sense. The suffering that this, no—Hawkmoth has caused. He's gone too far. "Chat! Chat! Are you still there!?"

"Yeah! Yeah…"

"Okay.." she sounded relieved, "Listen to me, Do Not engage with it! Do you hear me? Do not try to fight it! If you encounter it, call me so I can get one of the exorcists immediately and get away as soon as possible!"

"You're telling me to just run away?"

"I'm telling you to live another day." he sighed and couldn't think of anything to refute her. "Look, I have to go. Promise me you'll stay away from it."

"I'll try."

"No, promise." she insisted.

He sighed and caved in, "I promise."

"Thank you," he could imagine her blinding smile and how it would melt him instantly, "I'll talk to you when I can. Goodbye."

"Good bye" and the call ended. He sighed and covered his face. The distressed boy sunk to the floor. The revelation of the situation slapped him in the face and spat on his shoes while it was at it. He squeezed his eyes tightly closed. Maybe if he kept them closed long enough then he could wake up from this dreadful nightmare. If only this was just some elaborate, elongated nightmare instead of reality. He could handle that. He can't handle a deadly Akuma roaming their city backed by a manipulative terrorist. One that decided to attack his dear friend.

"Why is this happening?" he mumbled brokenly. A dark thought drifted through his mind. Hawkmoth didn't get this murderous until those exorcists showed up. That bastard probably wouldn't have gone to such lengths had they not appeared and revealed that such a powerful object (rivaled by the Miraculous) existed. He must have switched his interests onto them to gain more power and finally defeat the Paris duo. He recalled how violently the exorcists fought and grimaced. I guess, he must think to fight fire with fire. Chat flopped onto his back with a loud sigh.

"Oh, how unlucky to cross paths with a black cat." he heard a familiar voice tease.

Chat snapped his eyes open and tilted his head back to look up at the culprit. He was greeted with a smirk of a redhead, who may or may not have winked at him. It was hard to tell. The man was in his identifying uniform jacket as usual. However, he wore it open with the sleeves rolled up. Underneath was a fitting green V-neck shirt and the scarf was nowhere in sight. A spark of jealousy ignited within him when he took note of the elder's arm size in comparison to his own. Lavi was leaning on his impossibly large hammer as he peered at the youth. Chat flipped onto his feet and turned to face him.

"What are you doing here?" the rude tone of the question would've been something that Adrien would have been scolded for.

Unphased by it, Lavi calmly replied, "I was expecting to see Miss Buggie for another date." the man grinned. Chat felt an impulse to lash out jealously. What did he mean date!? As if his lady would ever—his eyes were drawn to the other's arms yet again. Chat felt his face burn. He crossed his arms and subtly squeezed his own biceps in envy. Calm down.

"Ladybug is unable to take part in whatever you two had planned," he spoke through gritted teeth.

Lavi sighed dramatically, "A shame. So!" he slung his arm around the youth's shoulder, "Are you here to be my Watson today?"

"It's Dr. Watson to you." He resisted from smiling. "Though, I'm surprised they're letting a foreign civilian be involved in an investigation."

"I surpassed civilian status when my team showed you kiddos how to defeat an akuma." Lavi taunted. In a motion that would make Ladybug proud, Chat ignored the bait. The pirate continued, "But, no, as soon as I saw the nature of these attacks it became our duty to meddle in this affair."

"You mean our as in Me and Ladybug."

Lavi shook his head, "No. This is a far different monster than the kind you kids face." there was that word again. Monster. "Us, exorcists know exactly how to handle these kinds of things" It rubbed him the wrong way, but Ladybug had claimed the same.

"Why? What makes you lot so different?"

Lavi's reflective eye inspected the cat hero. "Stick around long enough and you'll see." The ginger walked away and went to the edge of the building. He expertly jumped down and left Chat alone on the rooftop to try and decipher his words. Chat clicked his tongue in annoyance before leaping down after him.

The odd pair strolled into the precinct. It wasn't lost on Chat between the different receptions the two had. A good chunk of the staff and officers glanced at Lavi with a mixture of emotions. Wary and distrust. Yet those same individuals would spot the cat hero by his side and brighten up. Some waved in joy. Despite all that, the air in the precinct was tense. Everyone was on edge and everyone was rushing about. Emerald eyes roamed the area before he spotted a woman walking with purpose towards them. Her hazel eyes were fixed on the ginger by him. Although, it was more of a glare she gave him than anything else.

The officer seemed…tired. Overworked yet determined. Hazel's eyes found his and she barely softened up,

Sticking her hand out towards the hero, she greeted Chat. "Chat Noir, thank you for coming. I'm Inspector Victoria-Françoise Vidocq. Ladybug informed me that you would be coming along. Yet," she looked behind him, "I don't see her present."

"She's out investigating a lead." he smoothly lied.

"We meet again, Inspector," Lavi spoke up. A smirk curled on his face. Victoria glared at him.

"Indeed," she spoke in a monotone voice. She stepped to the side and motioned in the direction she had walked in from. "Follow me, I'll get you caught up to speed on what we have so far."

The two glanced at each other before following her lead. She walked them through the department. Chat took his time taking in the surroundings. Everyone seemed to be buzzing around. Paper trails behind them. The beeping of computers and alarms ringing out at each interval. It was…a little bit overwhelming if he was honest. He noted a few people being escorted via handcuffs and couldn't help but stare. His curiosity earned him a glare from a few. They approached a bundle of desks with people hunched over, focused. These investigators were doing their best. It was clear as day the toll this mass missing case was taking on them. Victoria led them past her associates and into a hall with more doors. She stopped at one further down and opened it wide. Chat made a move to go in before she gave him a sharp glare. It had no malice or irritation. Just a simple command, Stop. He halted, confused by this. Lavi paid no mind. A simple thank you to the inspector and the ginger walked right in.

"Wait this looks like-" Before he could finish she slammed the door closed and locked it right behind him. "HEY! Not Fair, Madam Inspector!" Chat couldn't help but smile. Victoria shared the same smile with him before turning and walking to another door.

"After you, Chat Noir." She opened it. He walked in and took note of the metal plate next to the door, "Interrogation".

Inside was a small room with a large Mirror. He marveled at it all. It was like a scene out of a crime TV show. A nice room with computers and switches. Speakers set into the wall and a large 2-way mirror takes up the entire wall. On the other side, he could see Lavi standing with his arms crossed. The room over there seemed simple with only a table and 2 chairs. Lavi turned his eye to the mirror and stared directly at him. He would say they locked eyes, but surely he didn't see him through the glass. Just a coincidence. It had to have been. The exorcist sighed before sitting down and propping his feet on the table. Chat snorted at how quickly he made himself at home.

"First, I want to ask how much has Ladybug told about the investigation?" Victoria began.

He turned to her, "Not too much. I know she helped you interview the family of one of the missing persons." Chat tried not to show his hesitation upon saying missing. He knew that from Ladybug's call, those people…were gone. To tell the inspector that, however, wasn't something he wanted to do just yet.

"Ah yes, poor Jean." She sighed, "Family was heartbroken but at least they found closure." She winced a bit at the end.

Closure..huh. So is she aware of it already? He didn't want to assume, but maybe…"Yes it was a shame he was...found that way?" he carefully said.

"Yeah, I was planning to tell Ladybug but forensics came back on the pile of ashes at the scene and the blood samples. It was the oddest thing too. The blood and ash showed-this is going to sound strange, but it showed black stars in it."

"Stars?"

"Yes, dried in the blood and left behind wherever the ashes sat. From the results, that ash has a mixture of human DNA in it. From the surrounding evidence, we are nearly 100% certain that it's the remains of Jean. The question is, what are the stars and what did this killer use to turn a human into a fine ash powder?" She hummed.

"One would need an entire furnace to cremate a body like that, no?"

"Yes, Free fire wouldn't do that to a person. You'd need a specific environment for complete cremation. Even so, sometimes bone is left behind, but this…it was nothing but dust. Finely ground and all. I figured it was Hawkmoth's doing. The impossible nature of it convinced me so."

"Maybe," He noticed Lavi had closed his eye and seemed to be sleeping on the other side, "It was dumped there?" Victoria shook her head. It seemed she noticed Lavi's lax nature because she huffed next and glared through the glass.

"The scene and witness imply otherwise. It was like a warzone with holes from a cannon or something. According to Ladybug's statement, the witness even saw the boy get cornered by something supernatural."

"If that's the case, an akuma is a likely reason for it. I just don't understand why we haven't run into it."

"Exactly where my mind was heading," She looked back at him, "the pattern every akumatized person goes through is the same. They make a loud deconstructive scene, demand you and Ladybug to surrender your miraculous, and then are defeated."

Chat hummed and crossed his arms. That was the usual act that they all followed. Of course, Hawkmoth tries something new when the newbies appear. He had to admit though, it was indeed working better. Ladybug was out of commission for a few weeks. They were left scratching their heads and watching their backs. It was a shitshow in the city. People disappearing…dying. Crime seems to be rising. He thought back to the latest news he saw. Nurses murdering patients. He grimaced. Sometimes fighting Hawkmoth made him forget that some humans did beyond terrible things. He had always assumed that their enemy was the worst of them all, but some people take the cake a bit. Although, he's regaining his worse-than-worse title.

Chat glanced back over at the inspector and saw her studying Lavi. That exorcist was still relaxing. Although, his foot had started tapping. It seemed the man was getting impatient.

"Are you guys sure about the new…additions to your team?" she suddenly broke out.

The cat hero tensed a bit. Sure about them? Not completely. But…he thought at how they fought. They were violent but got to the heart of the situation quickly. They were combat-proficient. He was more concerned about their lack of empathy for akumatized victims.

"What are you trying to say?"

She scoffed a bit, "I mean before they arrived, it was the usual fanfare. Loud explosions, flashy monsters, Ladybug's magical fix it at the end of it all. But now, everything has gotten out of hand. We're havin' the scum of the earth come out and we're losing people."

"I don't want to say that I know 100% everything about the new additions to our crew." He sighed before continuing, "But I don't think they are responsible for this. It's untimely, but to blame them…I don't think that's completely fair." it upset him a bit to say. Considering Allen's "order" and Lavi's attitude, he didn't have much in terms of favoriting them. But he could tell that they wouldn't plot this type of thing out.

Victoria shifted uncomfortably, "I guess, but don't you find it strange at all?'

"I do, but as much as they annoy me, I can tell they aren't responsible." She sighed, her eyes flickered away towards the computers.

Suddenly Lavi's voice rang through the speakers, "Are you guys done or can we get started on work?" He leaned back in the chair and crossed his ankles.

The inspector rolled her eyes before turning to the computer in the small room, next to it was a file that she snatched up. Chat followed her lead as she stomped out of the observation room and over to interrogation. The keys jingled as she unlocked the door and the two walked in. Lavi cocked his head and smiled. He retracted his feet from the table and sat up. In a move that Chat only saw in those cop shows the inspector threw the file onto the table in front of Lavi. Lavi glanced down at it before looking back at her.

"That's everything we've collected on your little band." She pointy stated.

The man hummed and tapped the folder, "Seems a bit thin."

Victoria walked around the side of the table before taking a seat on top of it. She turned and leaned towards Lavi and the folder. Chat walked over to the free chair and leaned on the headrest. Chat felt like he was in a scene in a movie. Good cop, bad cop dynamics, and a race against time at the threat. It was a perfect recipe for a nice series. Alright stop it, got to be serious. He would be lying to himself if he didn't feel just a tiny bit cool. Victoria opened the file and moved the documents around. He could see pictures of Allen and their group. Each member had a single page dedicated to them. As expected, Lavi and Kanda had the least information written down. Allen's page looked to have the most images and front page snippets attached to it. A fact that checked out too, Alya's video of the first encounter did catch the boy's name, and the reporter had made a post about him as well. It was a short one covering his British background and the new hero name she coined. Chat nearly fell when he saw a magazine page with a familiar face on it. It was a bit difficult to spot at first without her glasses and the touch-ups that were done, but he recognized the woman as Lou Fa. The snippet was attached to a page on her as well. It seemed that hers was only a few paragraphs of information along with the photos.

"A British boy with no record of existing in England," Lavi looked up at her and seemed to say something, "Don't worry we checked." She smirked and continued, "A breakout Asian-presumed to be Chinese-model with only a name that could very well be a stage name, an Asian male that carries a sword that is spotted briefly, and lastly a pirate wannabe that is hardly ever seen under the name Lavi."

"That's us. Quite a team, no?" Lavi smiled brightly while she scowled.

"Now Mr. Chat Noir here told me that you people have nothing to do with the latest disappearances."

"Let me guess, you don't believe him, your hero?" Lavi folded his arms and leaned back. He seemed unbothered and bored.

"I just find it interesting that you were at the scene of a crime before it was called in by the officers," he said nothing in defense. "How'd you know to be there?"

"I was walking and came upon the scene." His tone didn't seem annoyed, just unimpressed. Chat looked between the two of them. It seemed Lavi had some expectations of Victoria that she was failing to meet. Victoria seemed to catch on to this as well because she stared hard at the documents in contemplation before looking back at Lavi.

"Anybody to confirm that?"

"Not anyone I can name at this time."

"And where did you say you were on the night of the incident?"

Lavi rolled his eye and leaned into his elbows. He looked past her and directly at Chat. "Are your inspectors really this dull?"

"Excuse me?!"

"Ms. Victoria, you are already aware of the victim's testimony on the incident. The boy was chased by a young girl who transformed and killed him. What is with the silly questioning? I thought you were serious about this case." he seemed to chastise her.

Victoria rolled her eyes and huffed. Chat noticed a small smile crack on her face. Her smile only lasted a millisecond as she became serious once again. The detective finally pulled the second chair out and took a seat. "Fine, I'll drop it. For now." She looked over at Chat and the boy took a seat as well. The real discussion was about to begin.

"So the facts are, Hawkmoth has created a villain that's taking people and turning them into dust. For some reason." Chat cut to the chase.

"The most dangerous and deadly Villain yet." Victoria sighed deeply, "I can't believe I miss the days of pigeons and weather girls." Lavi tilted his head but remained silent.

"The biggest problem is that this is also the most silent Villain yet. We have no idea where it even is!" He admitted.

Lavi hummed and leaned back, "It can be hunted down." They looked up at him confused. How can they find a villain that doesn't want to be found? Lavi sat back up and propped his elbows onto the table. "We're going to need a map. The biggest one you got."

She nodded her head and snapped her fingers. The detective looked back at the two-way mirror and spoke, "Get on it!"

Thanks to the sweat of an intern, a large map of Paris and files of each of the missing cases appeared. They had it spread out on the table as they circled like hawks. Thanks to Victoria and Chat's knowledge of their city, it was easy to put stars on the map for each victim. Lavi picked up their pen once they finished and began connecting the dots. It didn't necessarily create a real shape. More of a snake trail. It created a curve that was parallel to the long river. The only outliners were the clusters that were far out from the river.

"Quite big ground to cover," Chat commented.

"Indeed, but we can predict where the akuma is lurking about." he traced the long river. "It's most likely hiding within or around the river and emerging to hunt along the banks. Only going as far as over here-" He slid across the map to the outliner spots, "-it seems to pick this spot the most whenever it decides to venture further onto land."

"That's by the school!" Chat declared in horror. "Collège Françoise Dupont! That's where I-A lot of the past villains were created."

It was also in the same general area where Allen's new charge was attacked. Lavi looked towards the middle of the map. The bakery that she lived in seemed to have the most disappearances around it. Like it was trying to encircle her. Maybe, she was the intended target all along. The exorcist straightened up. It was good that Allen was at her side. It seemed like the Earl had a hit out. He looked at the route of the Akuma. He glanced at Chat. The cat boy may not want to disclose the route he and Ladybug took on their patrol route, but he was sure that they at least followed the river for a few spots. It seemed too obvious in his mind.

"I can have men set up along the river in rotating patrols." Chat nodded in approval.

I'll just head out there with Kanada and see if we can cover some ground ourselves. He looked at the map intently. Memorizing each curve, neighborhood, and alleyway.

"Ladybug and I already fly along the river in our patrols," Chat explained. And he just says it. Okay, so my theory has some weight to it. "We'll concentrate our efforts more in this area then. We'll have to count on you guys keeping watch on the other parts of the city while we patrol here more frequently."

He refrained from the sass that was bubbling up inside him, "We'll go along the river more so as well. More eyes the better." He could see Victoria pursing her lips. The obvious joke on the tip of her tongue. It seemed she was too polite to say it despite her disdain and distrust of him.

Chat nodded but seemed a bit bothered at the pushback. Odd.

With no more to speak on, they broke. Victoria had an officer escort them out of the building. Lavi stood on the sidewalk for a moment before he noticed a crowd forming. Nosy civilians are the same no matter where. Most of them were trying to get a conversation started with Chat. A boon if he ever saw one. As unnoticeable as a man of his good looks can try to be, he slipped from the crowd and made his way onto a quiet rooftop. His feet landed and he heard another pair behind him. It seems the boy was able to get away just as fast as he. Interesting. From what he's gathered of the two "heroes" Chat was the more talkative type to the civilians. Indulging them for each scenario. After all, he had more sightings and interviews than his partner.

"If I asked you this directly, would you be straight with me?" Chat suddenly spoke.

Lavi turned with a grin until he saw the lad's expression. He seemed bothered still. A conflict seemed to raging in his green eyes. Seeing the seriousness, Lavi relaxed himself and let go of his smile.

"It depends on what the question is."

"What do you exorcists know about this Akuma that we don't? Ladybug said you guys were more experienced with our foe."

"It's what we have been fighting against for our entire lives. You know somethings when you have the same opponent." Chat shook his head. Seems that wasn't enough for the curious bugger.

"I don't even know what this villain is or who it is behind it. Usually by now, we would know. But this.." he trailed off.

There was that word again. Villain. A thought rolled in the ginger's mind, "Why do refer to them as that?"

"As what?"

"Villains. They're Akuma. Villain might be a good term for the Earl, but not his creations." Chat raised an eyebrow at that. The boy smiled at him like he was foolish.

"That's what they are. They're people who are corrupted by Hawkmoth. It is a way to separate them." it seemed like he was about to start preaching to him. Great. "The Villains aren't the akuma. They're the result of the Akuma's influence. We do it to keep their humanity. It's not their fault that Hawkmoth is taking advantage of their feelings. We can't just tell people to not feel."

It was a similar sentiment that Allen shared about the souls. The souls aren't to blame for the Akuma's wrongs. Just a slave to a cruel master and a tragedy to a fate that's unkind. The two of them would get along very well with the belief that they share. However, there was still one more thing that bugged him. All the akuma they faced since they got here seemed to be cured. Like the soul was breaking free yet was still alive? Was that simply the result of how these kids defeated them or were they different types of Akuma? He remembered the conversation they had for the first time. Had he been wrong?

"Tell me, How does one become an Akuma?" Surely he would know.

Chat blinked at him as if he'd just asked him if pigeons fly. "Uh okay?" and then he began. Walking through how someone feels pained. Grief right?-"Either anger or sadness, just any negative emotion. Even jealousy can get someone turned into an Akuma." What, that's not…He began describing how Hawkmoth sends his Akuma to this person and corrupts them.

"Wait with a butterfly?"

"Yeah, ya know the black butterfly better known as the Akuma that turns them into Villains." A realization dawned on the poor exorcist's face. These are not the same. He continued with the explanation. Revealing that only by separating and purifying the butterfly/Akuma can the Villain be freed. The "Akuma" corrupts an object that's in proxy or important to the victim to gain control over them.

"And you call that Akuma?"

"Yeah."

Lavi sighed deeply. It seemed they were on their own. Not for the first time, of course, but still. There was no way that they could allow these kids to fight Real Akuma after hearing what they faced. He was positive in the beginning. They could all team up and work together to find a route home. Maybe knock the Earl down a few pegs along the way. He assumed this mission would end with two recruits. It's why he was ready to start giving them pointers before their generals were assigned. This would be completely different. If he was wrong about this, then maybe they didn't have the same-No that's impossible there's no other explanation, it must be Innocence. It has to be.

Chat tilted his head, "What's wrong?"

"I think…you should leave this case to the three of us." He saw the rage explode in the boy.

"No Way! That's the third time someone has said that to me about this." Lavi went to retort, but he blazed on. "I need to know what is so bad about this Villain! I mean I know what it's doing, But this is my city! My people, My friend's lives are in danger. And All you people say is to stay away! I can't take it! Be straight with me!" He stomped forward.

"Fine! But you're out of your element kid. This is far more dangerous than your Villains."

"Just please, Tell me what it is." He begged.

With another sigh, Lavi began. "Akuma aren't butterflies. They aren't corrupted victims. They're machines. Living weapons created by the Earl. He goes to people who are in grief from losing loved ones. He tricks them into trying to revive them. But instead, he places their loved one's soul under subjection. Controlling it to commit murders to increase its power. The person who called the soul back is the first casualty of this and they're used as a disguise for that Akuma to live and hunt amongst humans."

Chat's eyes were wide. Horrified. "What.."

"It's what this case is. Akuma can only be stopped by Innocence. However, they also hunt down Innocence and kill those around it." he could see his worldview starting to fracture a bit, but the cat boy had an air of disbelief about him. He wasn't buying his story.

"That's…unbelievable. It sounds like a monster from a bad Anime." the boy huffed.

"It's the truth." Lavi shrugged. If he didn't want to believe him, then so be it. "You believe in the Innocence don't you?" he knew of Allen's mission with the hero and what they recovered.

"I do because I saw it for myself. In you guys and when me and...Allen went to that house."

"Trust me when I say, you don't want to see a real Akuma."

Chat squeezed his eyes shut and clenched his head. Lavi kept silent. He only watched on as the boy seemed to be rattling some difficult thoughts around.

"Say, I believe you-

"You should."

Chat gave him a pointed look and continued, "How in the world do you tell what-who is one? You say they hide-hunt amongst humans."

He knew the answer he was about to give wouldn't satisfy the boy too much. Nevertheless, it was the truth. "Normal people can't tell until it's too late. Allen is the only one who can see Akuma for what they truly are."

The boy rolled his eyes hard, "Of Course, Allen can see them! Typical." Lavi noted the unusual hostility towards his buddy. A protectiveness overcame him. Allen was his friend. They've been through a lot together. Ride or die as they say. Safe to say, he didn't appreciate the attitude this brat was laying down.

"It's a gift. Okay?" gift? That was not how any of them felt about it. Convenient and a Godsend. But…knowing what he knew, it was no gift. But he wasn't about to explain the complexities of Allen's life to someone unrelated. That was Allen's choice to make not his. "The rest of us have to assume that everyone who approaches us are Akuma." He gestured to his chest to the rose cross that shielded his heart. "This is a symbol of our order. Akuma are aware of this symbol and approach us to kill us. It's better that way than a regular human being attacked."

"So you make yourselves the target." Chat paused. A thought seemed to roll across his eyes. "I still can't believe it. How do you know that this is your akuma? It could just be a villain that Hawkmoth has a very specific plan for. That man has recently shown just how far he's willing to go. I don't doubt he's behind this."

Lavi sighed deeply again. "You heard the inspector. That boy was turned into dust, no?" Chat nodded. "That's one of the ways akuma kills. By turning their victims into poisonous ash or "dust." There's no more I can say if you don't believe me. I can't exactly show you one."

The exorcist stepped forward and grabbed the boy's shoulders. He wanted to drive home this point even if the child didn't believe him at all. "If you want to live, I suggest you listen to what we've all been telling you. Stay away from this. This thing will kill you. There won't be a purified person at the end. There is no object to break. It'll either leave you mangled or turn you into dust like that boy was." Chat gasped. "There's a lot more to it than I've explained, but every part of it is deadly so unless you're a skilled accommodator like the three of us are. You will not survive."

"But this is my home. Is there nothing else I can-?"

Lavi smiled brightly at him, "Do not worry, we will solve this. Allen is already protecting Miss Marinette from the Bakery. I'm only going to advise you to keep a distance if you see it."

He reached up and undid one of his earrings. Thanks to the ark they all got better comms. Golems and finder phones were fine until they were without them. So the earrings they got were the best. Thankfully, each exorcist's comms still linked up with each other's in this new time. Lavi knew he could be without one of them, at least for a while.

"Take this. Contact us if you do see it or anything else like it. Even if you suspect, that's fine as well."

"Thanks. I just don't-" He sighed, "-I don't want to believe any of this if I'm being honest. But Ladybug seemed to view this as an Inhuman being too, so I think I might have to believe it."

"Yes, so please. Leave this to the professionals, kid."