Chapter 1

"Did you see that?"

Nathanael, Marinette's best friend, turned to look at what she was pointing at. His eyebrows furrowed, disappearing behind his rimmed glasses as he stared at the small alcove area. "See what?"

Marinette gave him an incredulous look. "You didn't see that kid with the blond hair carrying a knife?"

Instead of responding with caution, like she had been expecting from her overprotective friend, he only laughed. "I think you're just on edge, Mari. Sneaking out without your mom's permission always rattles your nerves."

"But I'm not joking," Marinette insisted. She pointed back in the direction the boy went. "There was a blonde boy with a knife, Nathan. What if someone gets murdered?"

He sighed and stopped dancing (more like swaying back and forth). "Marinette, I promise, everything is going to be fine. Besides, you love the Purrsian Club. You're supposed to be showing me around, remember?"

Marinette bit her lip, then sighed. "Fine, you're right. Maybe I am just overreacting."

He smiled, then patted her head. "That's the spirit."

The two of them went back to 'dancing'. Even though Nathanael had calmed her nerves a little bit, her curiosity still ate at her. She eyed the alcove the blond boy had disappeared into, and she couldn't help but wonder. How had he snuck in the knife without security noticing? Did anyone else see him? What if she was the only witness that saw the murderer before his attack?

After a song or two, she couldn't stand it any longer. Once one of Nathanael's favorite songs turned on, Marinette slipped away into the crowd. He would be fine. No one would want to do anything stupid with him anyway. His button-up shirt, sneakers, and glasses would keep people away without any help from her.

Marinette made her way into the alcove, only to discover a metal door that was open just a crack. The words Storage Room - Employees Only were painted in red across the top of it. Pushing the door open, Marinette peaked inside. Her eyes widened.

Among the stacks of boxes and cleaning supplies, four people were in the room. A girl, maybe sixteen or seventeen, stood in the center of the circle the other three teenagers created. Her hair was unnaturally colored, with black and lavender purple twisting intricately in her ponytails. The purple was also present in a huge swath across her bangs. She wore a dress with poofy sleeves that matched her hair.

Surrounding her were three teenagers, some of which appeared to be a year or two older than the girl. Closest to the door was a girl with blonde hair that was up in a high ponytail. She was dressed in a tight, black leather-looking dress. In one hand, she held a blazing whip while the other rested on her hip. Marinette couldn't see much of what she looked like, since her back was to her.

The next person in the room was taller than her, a girl. She also wore black and purple, but unlike the girl in the middle, she had long, raven colored hair tipped with dark purple. She wasn't dressed in tight clothes like the other girl, or even in a dress for that matter. Her top was a simple, black, and lace adorned while her jeans were a dark purple - almost like she tried to match the girl in the center. To finish off her outfit, she wore black, fingerless gloves.

The last person in the room was the boy. The boy. The one Marinette had seen. He was dressed in all black: a used, black leather jacket over a simple black t-shirt, with black skinny jeans and black combat boots. His blonde hair was side swept across his forehead, almost like it was an effortless, elegant touch. Underneath his hair, however, Marinette could see his startling green eyes. Against her better judgment, they took her breath away.

"Are there any more of your kind with you, akuma?" the dark haired girl asked.

The younger girl in the center of the circle clenched her fists. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Yes, you do," the other blonde chick said. "You do know what an akuma is, don't you?"

The blond boy turned his head away. "Akumas," he drawled, "the demonic beings that roam the mundane world for their own pleasure. Unwanted by society, left in the outreach corners of the-"

"That's enough, Adrien," the raven haired girl said.

"Juleka's right," the blonde girl agreed. "Nobody here needs a lesson in societal happenings - or akumanology."

These people are insane, Marinette thought. They're crazy.

The blonde boy, Adrien, looked up at the girl in the middle with a smile, like he was trying to prove a point. "Juleka says I talk too much." He slipped his hand to his waist, where out of nowhere, a knife was holstered. "Do you think I talk too much?"

The akuma girl shifted feet. "Look, I can give you information on Hawkmoth."

Juleka looked back at Adrien, who only shrugged. "Hawkmoth is six feet under," he said. He turned his attention to Juleka. "It's just paying with us."

The blonde girl scoffed. "Then kill it, Adrien."

"No, really! I'm not lying!" the akuma protested. "Hawkmoth is back - everyone knows it! I could take you to him and-"

"Shut it," Adrien snapped. "Every time we run into one of you akumas, you all say you know where he is. You're lying. Hawkmoth's in hell." He pulled the knife out of its hilt. It sparked with a green light. "Why don't you join him?"

Marinette couldn't take it. She flew open the door and held her ground. "Stop!" she shouted. "You can't do this!"

Adrien whirled around, so surprised that the knife slipped out of his hand and clattered on the concrete floor. Juleka and the blonde girl spun to look at her, each with the same expression of shock. Even the akuma's mouth hung open, gaping at Marinette.

"What's this?" Juleka asked.

"It's a girl," Adrien deadpanned. "You've seen one. Hell, you are one."

The blonde girl took a step toward Marinette, and now that she could see the front of her, Marinette was taken aback by her bright blue eyes. They bore into her, as if searching her soul for answers rather than just asking.

"She's a mundie," she finally said. "And she can see us."

"Did the spell wear off, Chloe?" Juleka asked.

"Not that I'm aware of."

"What's the big deal about me seeing you?" Marinette asked. "You're literally standing right in front of me. I'm not blind."

"Oh, but you are," Adrien said. "You just don't know it." He scooped up the knife that was on the floor and gripped it firmly in his hand. "You better leave, if you know what's good for you."

"I'm not moving," she stated firmly. "If I leave, you'll kill that girl."

Adrien smirked and fiddled with the knife. "That is true. But why would you care if I did or not?"

Marinette's mouth hung open as she stared at him. "B-because you can't just go around killing people."

"Ah, but that's the trick." He pointed at the girl. "That is not a person. She may look like a person, talk like one, walk like one, and even bleed like one, but she's not human. She's a monster."

"Adrien," Juleka hissed. "That's enough."

"You're crazy," Marinette said aloud, backing away. "All of you. You're bonkers! I've called the police, you know. They should be here any minute."

"She's lying," Chloe said, but seemed wary. She looked back at Adrien. "Adrien, do you-"

She never got to finish her thought. The akuma girl let out a high pitch shriek and dove at Adrien. The pair hit the ground, rolling around as they fought. Marinette backpedaled toward the door, her eyes wide and her hands trembling.

Adrien, on the other hand, seemed to have the situation under control, as well as the other two girls. Chloe cracked her whip, wrapping it around the girl's legs while Juleka pulled a bow off of her back and shot at the girl's back. While that was happening, Adrien easily slipped his arm around the akuma girl's neck and yanked her down. With a thud, he shoved her against the floor. A split second later, the knife he had was above his head. With speed unlike anything Marinette had ever seen, Adrien drove the knife into the girl.

The akuma let out a scream, but instead of bleeding out blood, purple and black bubbles erupted from the wound. After a moment or two, the bubbles encased her entire being and, when they disappeared, the girl was gone.

Marinette turned to run, but the next thing she knew, Chloe's whip wrapped around her wrist. Marinette cried out in pain, the magical whip stinging her skin.

"Stupid mundie, you could have gotten Adrien killed!"

"You're all insane!" Marinette shouted back. "I don't know what you guys are, but as soon as the police get here-" She was cut off by a cry, thanks to Chloe tightening the whip around her wrist.

She looked back at the others. "What should we do with her? If she can see us, she already knows too much."

"Let her go," Adrien said simply.

Chloe's eyes widened. "But that will only cause chaos."

"No one will believe her if she says anything," Juleka answered, slinging the bow around her back. "It's that, or we bring her back to the Institute."

"Oh, yeah, and I'm sure Fu would love that idea," Chloe mumbled sarcastically before saying, "There's no way we're bringing her to the Institute. She's a mundie."

"Or is she?" Adrien said softly. His words set Marinette on edge, her spine tingling. His tone scared her more than the sarcasm of Chloe or the deadly calm of Juleka. He took a step toward her, almost far enough that Marinette could touch him. "Have you ever encountered an akuma, little girl? Walked with the third degrees, had picnics with the first degrees? Have you-"

"My name is not little girl," Marinette interrupted. "And I have no idea what you're talking about. I don't believe in akumas, or magic, or anything of the sort. Whatever you guys are doing, you're going to-"

"Marinette?" That was Nathanael's voice. Marinette spun around just in time to see Nathan push open the storage room door. He appeared worried, like he had been looking for her for a while. "Are you okay? Don't tell me you went looking for the boy with the knife."

Marinette slowly turned her gaze from Nathanael to Adrien, Chloe, and Juleka, all of which were standing right behind her. In that moment, Chloe pulled her whip away and wrapped it around her arm. The pain from her wrist disappeared. Marinette rubbed it, then looked back at Nathanael.

"S-sorry, Nathan. I didn't mean to make you worry. And... and no, I didn't find anyone. I must have just saw something reflect in the lights." She paused, looking back at Adrien, who was smirking at her. She turned away immediately. "It... it was a mistake."

Behind her, she heard Chloe giggle.

* * *

"I can't believe they kicked us out," Nathanael complained, walking side by side with Marinette. "I mean, all I said to the bouncer was that there was a knife wielding maniac in the storage room."

"I'm sorry, Nathan. I didn't mean to ruin our night out."

Out of the corner of her eye, Marinette saw Nathan's expression soften. "It's okay, Marinette. The good news is that no one was hurt."

Not that you know of, Marinette thought bitterly.

"Yeah, you're right."

They walked in silence for a few minutes, then Nathan said, "You know, I don't think they'll ever let us back into the Purrisian club again."

"You never liked the Purrisian club," Marinette said.

"Still. It was the coolest place I've ever been invited to." He gave her a smile. "I want to thank you for that. I don't think I'll ever forget this night."

Though she heard his words, Marinette's mind was somewhere else. She stared down at the ground, the green eyes of a certain blond haired boy etched into her vision.

"Yeah... I don't think I will, either..."

---

Tada! Welcome to City of Miraculous, everyone! 

Now, as you can see, I am creating a brand new fanfic instead of continuing MiraculousTale. I'm sorry, I've just had such a block with that one. I have some stuff coming soon, but I figured I should post this for you guys now. 

I am currently in college now (it's so weird i am still going crazy), so updates probably won't be as frequent, but they should be reliable. 

I plan on having this story be one book, but if I need to, I may extend it into two. It just depends on how everything plays out. 

If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment or send me a direct message. :)

I plan on doing the favorite comment thing still, but since this is the first chapter, I don't have one to pick. Sad. 

Well, I think that's everything! 

And, as always, have a Miraculous day!