#the heads are in part nooroo pushing through

[clock-06]

Working on my Hawkmoth redesign

Want him to be spooky but he’s not quite at the horror level I want yet so there’s more tweaking to do

[yolowritter]

I was traumatized today...by the Ghost Emilie Au

Welp...@asukiess, you did it. You traumatized me. Renouned writer of angst and emotional damage dealer that I am, you destroyed me mentally. I don't even have a cheery intro for this post, my mind is utterly consumed by the thoughts of poltergeist Emilie Agreste. And I, of course, wrote something about it! Here it is and please enjoy! Also, for everyone else, this right here is where I got the inspiration. Yes I'm perfectly fine thank you! Being very normal about this! Anyway, here you all go! A scene where Emilie realizes she's dead for the first time! Enjoy while I go drive myself insane about what exactly she'd do to Gabriel and Nathalie afterwards!

(Adding a cut for those who want to scroll)

Emilie Agreste was cold. That she felt anything at all would’ve seemed a miracle, if the last shreds of her mind weren’t bogged down by a thick, blinding fog. Distantly, a tiny part of her brain—most likely a miniscule shred of sanity—perked up, gently reminding that she ought to be resting. But her deathbed was a warm, comfortable place. Gabriel had made sure to give her that much, at least when he wasn’t busy pacing ditches in the manor’s marble tiles, or tearing his hair out over the Grimoire’s untranslatable pages. Then, ever so gingerly, Emilie tried to move. Eyes still struggling to open, phantom dizziness plaguing her motor skills, and memories of raspy coughs all attempted to lay her low. She pushed past it, clumsily feeling for what must be a solid surface underneath her, even if its texture did not resemble the warm nest she’d made for herself on the bed she would depart this world from.

Then, out of nothing but pure reflex, her legs move, turn as she shifts the rest of her body, and Emilie Agreste manages to stand. It should be impossible, the logical part of her mind whispers, yet it’s drowned out by a cacophony of new sensations, all screaming inside her head. She’s standing up, with legs that haven’t been any use for months now. Quivers and aches dig into them like ice-cold knives; phantom pains she never had the heart to tell Gabriel about rip through Emilie’s skin all at once, and she almost topples over. Should have crumbled to…whatever floor there is underneath her, but the once-useless limbs don’t drag her down. Instead of dead weight, her whole body feels light as a feather, and the woman’s eyes finally snap open in full, from the sheer surprise of it all.

She’s…in the basement, Emilie notes. Standing on that little platform they’d erected for a butterfly garden, Gabriel’s small piece of paradise, filled with blooming flowers for Nooroo to zip through and give the Kwami some measure of comfort from his solitude. Very rarely did they use his Miraculous; there simply wasn’t a need to further mess with extraordinary powers after Adrien had been created. The steel catwalk looks just as she remembers, railings on either side and overhead lights bleeding a brilliant white that feels almost blinding to her still-adjusting eyes. Distantly, Emilie realizes she never fell down, is still standing no matter how impossible that should be. She looks down at her legs, sees them holding strong in a way she once struggled to remember. Gingerly, the woman takes a step across the catwalk, and then another, and another. Her heart skips every time her shoes make contact with the cold metal, but it slowly dawns that she can walk again.

Emilie is moving her whole body with nary a thought. It’s easy, almost miraculously so. As if the side effects of using the broken Peacock never marred her body…or there isn’t a body to afflict. She blinks at the invasive thought, almost laughs to herself at how ridiculous it sounds. Then, she pauses. A long, silent moment washes over Emilie, and she curiously taps her foot against the metal flooring. Not a sound. The familiar metallic clicks are gone, as if there isn’t anything there to make them. Surely that’s a mistake. Her ears must just be…wrong, is all! A tiny chuckle escapes through her mouth; she hears the laughter just fine as it fills the empty space, first low—almost inaudible—and by the end a deafening, manic sound that would rupture any human’s eardrums. Akin to nails being dragged along a chalkboard, Emilie Agreste cackles at the very idea; she’s probably just not used to being awake after…how long, exactly? The woman breathes, yet feels not the sensation of lungs pushing out along with her chest. Only the same, ever-present chill, which reminds her of a gentle breeze.

She pauses once more, before shaking her head and blinking the ridiculous notions away. Emilie forces herself to pace, focuses on miming deep breaths and pointedly ignores the way her legs feel weightless, as if autumn leaves would simply phase through, should she venture to the surface and then outside the manor. It’s cold in their little safe haven; a spot meant for keeping flowers year-round ought to be the opposite. Emilie looks down at herself again, sees the usual outfit on her person. By all means, the air shouldn’t be chilly…and yet.

The woman runs a hand through her blonde hair, mysteriously kept together without a strand out of place. She doesn’t bother questioning it, mind instead turning all attention to something else. Another, safer topic, one that doesn’t make the back of her brain writhe and wriggle whenever her thoughts stray towards its comprehension. Adrien. Her son, the perfect creation she and Gabriel had brought into the world. Emilie’s heart would sink whenever she thought of him, in her final hour. Or…what might have been, were she not awake and clearly conscious. She’d known that her husband, for all his love towards her, would be wracked by too much grief to properly care for him. But she’d trusted Nathalie to be there for them both, in a way that Emilie herself had simple become unable to.

She thinks to go upstairs, to see him again. Her mind still struggles to process that she’s awake at all—is being ravaged by hundreds of questions as to her current situation—and Emilie desperately needs a distraction. Something to hold onto, that’ll ground her until the air feels like it’s filling her lungs again, and the catwalk’s metal clanks against her soles. Maybe…maybe she’ll give him a flower. Another safe notion, to pick a flower out for her son. Something small, a dainty little thing like that daisy which had grown in their backyard years ago; later being gifted to her by the tiny boy she had made not even a decade ago. Emilie knows that this is a flower garden; there will be plenty to pick from here.

Every so slowly, she makes to turn around. The metal remains eerily silent; the air as cold as Tibet feels in her memories. Just as Emilie’s foot leaves the ground, a stinging breeze floods the open chamber…yet she doesn’t topple over. It’s odd; weightless as her legs appear to be, a light shove should send her tumbling down. She doesn’t sit on the thought, and gingerly completes the motion. With great care, the woman finally looks up from her feet…and sees an object she could swear has no place in the sanctuary. It's metallic; a plain, shimmering thing, without any of the exaggerated ornate designs she’d playfully chided Gabriel for adorning their new home with years ago, before Adrien’s existence had even been voiced as a vague idea. It’s shaped like a pod of sorts; the kind of thing people would step in for a few hours to quickly get a tan. There are two engraved sheets of metal at it’s front, looking like they slide open to reveal an interior. Emilie’s mind writhes as she curiously steps closer, starting to fiddle with the attached mechanism. What the hell had Gabriel put this here for? It was large enough to fit a person!

After another moment of fumbling with the thing in front of her, a sharp hiss sounds in the woman’s ears, almost coursing through her very soul. As if they’ve been used a thousand times, the metal sheets easily slide into the pod’s sides, revealing a glass case just beneath. Emilie takes a closer look; her eyes seem to dark everywhere but the interior, refusing to cooperate and sending incomprehensible sensations to her brain. She pushes through the mania; surely she’s just being paranoid! And with a shaky, miserably pathetic breath…Emilie Agreste raises her gaze, and looks at herself through the glass. Perfect. There’s no other way to accurately describe her look-alike. Resting in a peaceful, almost pristine slumber, hands gingerly placed atop one another at the waist. Had she still possessed the necessary organs, the blonde’s breath would have hitched. Her heart would stop beating from the shock alone, and she would have fainted, only to wake up in her bed and reveal this as nothing more than a fevered nightmare. Yet, the replica persists in its angelic existence. A wax statue in some morbid display case; it’s both everything and nothing like Emilie. Her fake’s smile lacks the slight mischievous curl of her lip which preceded a prank on Gabriel. Her eyes are sealed shut; windows to the soul forever closed. She looks as if someone recreated her visage from memory while never having met her. Maybe they were blind, a tiny voice echoes in the back of her head, electing a desperate giggle from the woman as she finally manages to take her eyes off it.

Then…the dreaded realization dawns on her at last. This…thing, it is her. Exactly what Emilie had always pretended to be. Perfect and untouchable, the best at even something as simple as existing. Desperately, she searches for a familiar warmth. A hint of her old smile. She leans forward to better see…but there is no reflection. Everything is gone, leaving behind only memories. A pristine, immaculately-kept statue for Gabriel to recall her by. White light washes over both the physical and spectral Emilies, blinding in its radiance. The chilling breeze persists, ruthless in its raging through the empty chamber. All sense of who the blonde truly was having vanished to the winds. She has no lungs. No flesh with which to breathe, no vocal cords to carry her voice. Yet, Emilie Agreste takes one final look at her encapsulated body, gingerly places her ethereal hand on the glass, and screams.

[ajwinter-is-a-nerd]

Le Chat Et Le Serpent - Chapter 28

Please note that the entirety of this story is a ****TRIGGER WARNING***** - mentions of child abuse, graphic violence, alcohol use, mental health, suicide, suicidal ideation, self-harm - basically a constant blow of pain towards the characters - as well as some "steamier" moments.

Chapter Summary:

Since this is the beginning of Part 3, we are reflecting on how the current holders were chosen. This scene would be the "part we didn't see" in the Origins episode. Master Fu just kicked out his massage client because of Wayzz's warning that he has felt an aura of someone using the Moth Miraculous for dark purposes.

Just a short 'teaser' before we jump back to story at hand!

Chapter 28: In Search of Balance Within Creation and Destruction

Master Fu sprung the Miraculous’ from their instrumental hiding place. He had hoped for more time before going forward with his decision, but he was no longer left with a choice. They were aware of the fact that someone may be using the Moth and Peacock Miraculous’, but there had not been a surge of power substantial enough to emit aura alerting Wayzz. Whoever was now using the Moth Miraculous was practised, and was prepared to wage chaos. 

Wayzz was fully aware of the consequences, but he was still nervous of the next steps nonetheless. Him and Master Fu had prepared years for this moment. Up until the interaction with Duusu years ago, they had been continuously on the lam. Master Fu took a risk by not only pushing down roots, but by doing it so near to where the love of his life resided in constant wait for him. Their relocation was a calculated move, but the risk of disaster constantly lingered over their heads. 

“Are you sure they are the best holders, Master?” Wayzz tentatively hovered over Master Fu’s hands as he placed the Ladybug and Cat Miraculous’ in his bag. 

“You know I do, Wayzz. It is the only way.” Master Fu hid his trembling from the Kwami. This move was unprecedented in the entire history of the Miraculous’; however, losing them at all was also a monumental first. Perhaps, this could finally lead to atonement for the mistakes he made when he was merely a student. 

“They’re naive, Master. The two you have selected are mere children.” In the past, the holders had already lived through their key barriers leading them to quickly pace through the growing pains of bearing the power. These children would likely take years before they gained additional abilities or a lengthening of time. 

“I have ensured to update the information in their communications for this reason. They will have the information required to specifically battle what Nooroo or Duusu’s power may bring.” And he would pray that they would be old enough should any other beasts begin to rear their heads. When that day comes, Tikki and Plagg will teach their owners of the horrors that constantly edge at the cracks between the worlds. These beasts, however, would be far more difficult than fighting off two Miraculous’ of a weaker calibre than creation and destruction; the dark beasts are much quicker to end lives. 

“Yes, but what if one of them is the offspring of the parents you fear so much? What if we are simply giving them their greatest desires on a silver plate?” Their searches for the adult holders had been fruitless, no dark power was visible upon the streets. Whatever they were using it was aptly hidden. It was likely only known to those who were in immediate contact within it. 

“We have already spoken much about this.” Master Fu was still in the process of gaining the courage to move forward himself; Wayzz’s doubts were not aiding in his own wavering confidence. When they were not able to locate the dark powers themselves, they considered what they knew about the holders. To afford the information required to find the Black Market from the other side of the world, they had to be decently wealthy. Therefore, Master Fu searched through the school districts, finding districts that would corroborate with higher incomes. They observed a few schools, but there were no two perfect holders within any building. It was imperative that the two went to school together. 

They found Marinette before they found Adrien. No one had quite fit the bill of Ladybug like Marinette. For Tikki, the holder needed to be motivated, bright, and have a deep drive to constantly create. She was imaginative and thoughtful. But it would always be better to find a replacement for Tikki than to force a fit with Plagg. 

Finding a holder for Plagg had forever been an erroneous task; they would need to harbour the darkness that could synchronise with Plagg’s destruction. Most children that age who carried such hurt were not able to easily hide it. They were quick to anger and vengeance, often found in petty squabbles. Even with adults, there had been countless holders in the past that wreaked destruction and became drunk with power. The Cat Kwami was the primary reason that a proper guardian structure was put in place. 

It was by mere chance that Master Fu learned Adrien Agreste would attend the same school as Marinette. Rumours had trickled through the streets about the acclaimed model enrolling in standardised education.

People who are given power are often never satisfied, there is always more, always something else. Adrien Agreste seemed to be the difference. Instead of using the power he already had, he put love into the world in a hope to receive it back. The determining factor, however, was that Adrien’s pain appeared to largely breed from isolation; his way of managing the pain was through seeking to positively make a place for himself within the world. This was extremely rare for someone who held the pain and destructive foundations that would coincide with Plagg. 

The Master’s answers had never satisfied Wayzz’s fears. Even if the holders were perfect, they could be liable to being pressured or forced by the authorities within their lives. He worked to further dissuade the man by reiterating his statement, highlighting the most hazardous issue at hand. “Master Fu, you are not fully considering the fact that the holders may not only be friends of the dark holder's offspring, but may actually be the child of the dark holder.” 

“Wayzz, that is exactly what I am considering. If we give it to an adult, we run the risk of passing Tikki or Plagg directly to them. However, if one of these two children happens to be the child of the Moth Miraculous holder, their Kwami can help to protect them from the darkness within their household. On the other hand, if the child is not related to the holder, it is important that they are familiar and within regular vicinity with the offspring in question. The Moth will always veer towards what they know, the odds of the Akuma’s being released near to their child is quite probable. This is the only option that, should we make a mistake, won’t cause immediate irreversible damage.” 

“It might be worth thinking a little longer, Master. Perhaps we can give the children you are so fond of a weaker set of jewels.” Wayzz pointed towards the Miraculous box. 

“You know as well as I do that it cannot be that easy. Tikki’s power is necessary to mend the disaster caused by dark deeds and she cannot properly function without destruction by her side. There must be balance.” Master Fu zipped up his bag, symbolically telling himself that he could no longer change his mind. 

“But we must enforce additional tests, our surveillance may not be enough. In the past, there have been rigorous sets of tests.” Wayzz appreciated the fact that Master Fu was diligent enough to consider Sass’s input on the holders, who agreed with his decisions, but they were still leaving too much to chance. 

“They never had to fight another Miraculous holder. Everyone who participated in the tests was, in one way or another, seeking power. We need someone who has no interest in wielding power over others.” Master Fu lifted his bag over his shoulder as he grabbed his cane. “Plus, I have one more test for each of them. If they do not pass, we will return to the drawing board. But tell me, Wayzz, how imminent does the threat seem to you?”

Master Fu pushed against his cane as he peered up towards the Kwami. Wayzz may be unsure with his Master’s decisions, but they both knew they were out of time and out of options. 

Ceding, Wayzz dropped his head, “Quite, sir.” 

“Please remind Plagg and Tikki that they cannot speak of the decisions that led to the finding of their holders, and that no practice aimed towards dark magic should begin until either the current threat has been neutralised or it is detrimentally necessary. I have faith that Tikki will remember and uphold it, but I can never fully trust that Plagg is listening to me when I speak.” 

Agreeing with Master Fu, Wayzz transambulated into the satchel to overview the guidelines before the jewels were distributed. 

Tapping his bag he set forth to see the children one last time before he would make a decision that would change their lives forever. He prayed that he had found the proper holders to balance the realms of light and dark. 

Author's Note:

Some of the aspects this chapter should have clarified:

1. The powers of the Kwamis work their best when they are matched with the holder. Marinette's creation and bubbly personality is what made her a good holder - therefore, her current dark spell has been what has affecting her powers. Tikki doesn't fully understand this, since she has only been with adult's that have already undergone their substantial development - there has never been a reason to regress.

2. It wouldn't make sense to me for Master Fu to just randomly throw out the jewels to kids who helped out when such a thing has never been done before, there had to be a reason.

3. The Miraculous' had to have purpose throughout the years, it would not make sense for them to exist if only one was missing - instead of training, Master Fu is just sending them into the game on Level One and hoping for the best.

4. Isn't it an interesting irony that the aspects they worried about with the Cat Miraculous are the things that are affecting Marinette?

5. I am sorry if I called Nooroo's Miraculous a Butterfly Miraculous, considering I naturally went to write that I feel like there's a possibility I did. It makes butterflies, it just makes sense! Gahhhhh!

If there are any additional questions related to how the rings work or the decision process in Adrien and Marinette, please ask! This chapter will be building on the information that is present, the basic history of the rings themselves and the choice of holders is the foundation that the part will be built on. This part will not have a heavy reliance on flashbacks - so if there are any questions let me know and I will either answer them or ensure that they will be found in the future.

***Completely unnecessary additional note, only here to demonstrate my own dorkiness**** To me, the colliding of the two greatest miraculous' is a symbolic representation of Lacan/Zizek's real (mainly Zizek, cause that's my hero). It is resembling the greatest power, true happiness, a solution to all problems - the concept of bringing them together would be the "Big Other". People constantly try to fill in the gap within them that cannot be explained, the prolonging feeling that something is missing. This is also referred to when those who have power constantly seek power, they believe that it will finally fill that space within them. However, whenever there is the collision of the Big Other, when someone reaches the concept, they realize that it is not what they imagined - there is a 'fall apart'. Such as, the world ending/being re-written.

The symbolic purposes is one of the reasons that I really clung to this show in the first place, so I love sharing these aspects. When there is a chapter labeled "the Real" (which is pretty likely) - you will know that you are about to get a big old Zizek summary.

--

To repeat myself, if you have any questions (on the story or my dorky sociological obsessions) please ask away! 

Thank you to everyone who has been reading!!!

Disclaimer * The characters and original plot were written and created by Thomas Astruc. This writing is merely an interpretation in a sad gay type of way.

[arty-shadow-morningstar]

Graveyard Siblings (12)

[Masterlist]

(Part 1) (Part 2) (Part 3) (Part 4) (Part 5) (Part 6) (Part 7) (Part 8) (Part 9) (Part 10) (Part 11) (Here)  (Part 13: The END)

-----

Gabriel sat and stared at the white walls of the interrogation room as the French police investigated the murder of one Maria Todd-Wayne.

MT’s personal assistant, Tam Fox, had received a distress signal from her employer that she had on her since she was from Gotham and had experience various dangerous situation.

Tam went to see what the situation was only to find a bloodied Gabriel Agreste laughing over Maria’s corpse.

According to the Police, evidence and the cameras in the mansion (although the footage was a little finicky like something else was interfering with it.) had shown Gabriel panicking after accidentally pushing his assistant, Natalie Sancouer down the stairs where she had hit her head hard and fell unconscious.

Maria, who had scheduled a meeting with Gabriel to negotiate selling his company to her (which he remembered turning it down after she revealed who she was), walked in on the man while he was trying to move the body elsewhere. He attacked her, thinking she witnessed the fall and to silence her so she wouldn’t report him.

Natalie is currently in a hospital but doctors are baffled and unable to wake her up from her coma.

Although he no longer has a team of lawyers working for him, he managed to hire one of them with what little fortune he had left who had straight out told him that pleading guilty would be the best option.

He had killed Maria Todd-Wayne, MT, one of the world’s greatest and beloved designers since Edna Mode, and one of Bruce Wayne’s children. She also had a lot of celebrity friends like Luka Couffaine, Jagged Stone, Kagami Tsurgi, Felix Culpa and a few superheros like the Bat clan of Gotham, Wonder Woman, Superman.

All of them were calling for his head on a pike, none more so than the Wayne family who were using every resource at their disposal to drag the Gabriel name through mud and destroy whatever is left of what he had dedicated his entire life to built.

So even if by some totally impossible miracle he manages to get off his sentence (through bribery), there will be mobs out for his blood. Jail is the safest option.

—---

It was not the end of it. The entirety of Paris rear its head when the police uncovered evidence of his time moonlighting as Hawkmoth.

(When in reality, Tim and Barbara dug up many deleted files of his activity as Hawkmoth and left many tracks for the police to follow. There was a few planted physical evidence that Nooroo helped make it look as authentic as possible. Everything Gabriel had tried to cover up, the Bats made sure every dirty laundry of his was there for everyone to see. They are the night. They are vengeance and all that.)

Someone leaked the fake ‘journals’ Gabriel had apparently kept to keep track of akumas and their progress against the heroes. The last page had a paragraph where ‘Hawkmoth’ revealed Ladybug’s identity as Marinette Dupain-Cheng, one of Adrien’s classmates.

(No one ever managed to figure out who had leaked it. Meanwhile, a rich blonde who smiled at her phone before muttering to herself about how ridiculous and utterly ridiculous that she had no black dress that was appropriate for a funeral.)

Paris was horrified to find out that Gabriel had managed to turn Chat Noir against Ladybug and kill her and later, making her death to be a suicide and covering up her death by bribing some officers so the truth wouldn’t be revealed.

The city of Love mourned for their fallen heroine, who fought for them and was finally receiving the justice she deserved a few years too late. But better late than never.

There were memorials for Marinette Dupain-Cheng and lots of people visit her grave to leave flowers and gifts.

Nobody seemed to connect the dots on how similar the long dead Marinette Dupain-Cheng and the recently deceased Maria Todd looked.

Of course, this wouldn’t be a salt fic if Lila and everyone else get dragged along for fun. In HM’s journals, he mentioned getting the help of Lila Rossi (lots of emphasis on the name and many details so there is no doubt that he is talking about another Lila Rossi) for his plan to akumatise Miss Dupain-Cheng which many people now know was Ladybug.

Gina decides it was a good time to drop (a pre-approved) ‘Diary of Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Everyday Ladybug’ containing entries from Marinette’s diaries with a few things redacted for her privacy (plus Miraculous secrets). And all proceeds from the sales of the books going to the Marinette Foundation to help teens in need (set up with help from Wayne Enterprises).

People paled in fear at how close their heroine nearly succumbed to akumatisation many times as she was bullied and isolated.

The book showed how Ladybug was, under her mask, just human. A normal girl with dreams and a crush who wanted to do good for the world. A girl who was also severely bullied and isolated and received no help from the adult figures in her life and only had a few friends who tried their best to support her.

Lila and the akuma class were glared at and everyone whispered of every horrible thing each of them did.

The akuma class’s parents cried and yelled about how their kids turned out like this, and that they had taught them how to be better as they waved Marinette’s book in their hands.

Lila was last seen by everyone to be dragged out of the school by police officers and to be put on trial for aiding Hawkmoth as an accomplice.

Francoise Dupont was investigated and authorities were horrified at how deep the corruption was. Caline Bustier was fired without question and same with M. Damocles. The entire school was reformed and policies were implemented so nothing like what Ladybug had gone through would happen again.

The Dupain-Cheng bakery shut down and moved away from Paris after how many people tried to ask them insensitive questions about Marinette forcefully or vandalising the place for how they had mistreated Marinette.

The lawyer Gabriel had hired quit, regardless of how much Gabriel offered. Which was not very much to be honest. He had nothing now.

Gabriel was charged with a lot of things, his actions as Hawkmoth were at the top of the list and the murder of Maria Todd was second.

He was sentenced to serving a lifetime in a maximum security prison, somewhere cold and where he would have to do a lot of labour.

Natalie will never again wake up from the coma but she was also charged with being an accomplice.

Meanwhile, Emilie moved to London to be closer to her sister after hiding in the States with Adrien as she waited for Gabriel to meet his doom. (Gotham was considered but dropped in favour of the less gloomy Metropolis.)

Adrien gets some backlash for his actions as Chat Noir and his inaction as Adrien to stop Lila from bullying her. If he ever steps into Paris again, people threaten to hunt him down with pitchforks.

A few wanted Emilie to also get arrested but many were sympathetic towards her as she was mostly unaware of how she became cured and she later revealed that she was trying to get away from Gabriel once she found out that he was Hawkmoth.

Chloe did get some haters for her bullying but most of Paris forgave her due to her redemption arc and being friends with Marinette near the end of her life.

It helped that she also had the many charities and non-profit organisations she set up over the years with a few of them in honour of Marinette.

—---

Across the globe, the Waynes buried another family in the Manor plot.

Jason had insisted on holding off burying the body for a month in case she gets resurrected again and with magic you can never tell so the rest of them complied with his request.

After the one month period ended, they finally held the funeral that Maria had planned.

Jason for a long time stood in front of the grave, desperately hoping for his little sister to dig herself off like she did many years ago when they first met.

After hours had passed and nothing happened, he finally let go and mourned.

The following week, Gotham noticed Red Hood being more violent than usual and that none of the other Bats restrained him.

—---

Someplace far away, where it is nowhere and everywhere, where the laws of the universe were made and none of them apply, Marinette opened her eyes.

—----

In Tibet, Guardians tend to their business when an unsettling feeling enters everyone.

Days ago, the Order had come knocking in Gotham for the Miraculouses under Maria’s care. The Bats had handed them over without much resistance except Batman warning them that they would take them back if they were ever found used for evil.

Su-Han went to check on the Miracle Box.

Kwamis’ powers were usually unpredictable especially when they are emotional, with Tikki’s chosen recently deceased, she had retreated into a shell of herself as she grieved. Many other kwamis were in a similar state but Tikki was understandably hit the hardest.

As soon as he got within a few feet of the Box however, it opened and a huge beam of light came out. From within, nineteen balls of lights in different colours emerged and took on an almost humanoid shape with their respective animal characteristics.

The Kwamis were freed.

Soon after, other Boxes in the Temple and all over the world opened with all of the kwamis being freed. Most of them didn’t hesitate to vanish into their home realm where they were from.

Back in the temple, after other kwamis had vanished, only Tikki and Plagg had remained.

“Guardian.” Plagg said the title with mockery. The only Guardian who was ever worthy of that title was Marinette and she had earned it with her kindness. “I think you are wondering what the hell is happening.”

“I demand that you tell me what you are doing right this instant.”

For the first time in a while, Tikki finally spoke.

She told them about how Marinette before she died had managed to find out about the origins of the Miraculous and how Kwamis were not meant to be tied down to the physical plane for this long. 

This was the other imbalance that the Universe brought her back to fix. She had performed the ritual using her blood and soul to slowly destroy the binds tying the kwamis to their Miraculous.

It also meant that Marinette gave up her chance at paradise or reincarnation to give the kwamis their freedom.

“Do not retaliate by attacking the Bats and their chosen city. They didn’t know nor took any part in it. Marinette made sure of that. There will be consequences if you touch them.”

With that, Tikki and Plagg left the mortal plane.

“Sugarcube, just to check. The ritual protection spell we set for Gotham is still in place, right? The one which we changed one of the conditions to as long as they set foot with no intent of harm.”

“Of course, Stinky Sock.”

“Cool, just checking. Because you conveniently left that part out.”

“I gave them a warning. It’s their wish if they choose to ignore it.”

“I think I am rubbing off on you.” Plagg cackled, just thinking about the chaos that would be unleashed if the Order tried to get to the Bats.

Tikki ignored him and instead went faster.

Plagg easily caught up to her, “Looks like someone is eager to see Pigtails again.” He tried to lighten up the tense atmosphere Tikki was giving off.

“It’s not that. I have a feeling that They have more plans for her.” Tikki replied worriedly.

“Pigtails can’t catch a break and such is the fate of the Marked. If it wasn’t for that ‘man’, ” Plagg spat the word out like it was a curse, “this would have never happened.”

“The ones with the Mark are bound to serve Them. Those are the rules. I can only hope that I can give her the peace she deserved with my testimony.”

“And mine too. It is partly my fault that she ended up this way. I should have done better.”

“Plagg, it’s not your fault. You know that.”

“If I had reined in my holder-”

“The blame lies on the man who chose our holders and the man who chose to abuse Nooroo for his selfish desire.”

—---

Marinette looked around her surroundings. Everything was dark but somehow she could still see.

And she sensed many presences surrounding her.

“Who are you?” She asked.

WE ARE THE ONES WHO GAVE YOU THE TASK OF RIGHTING THE WRONG.

The voice was disembodied like many voices speaking over each other and yet somewhat in harmony. It sounded like wind chimes and also the loudest roar of thunder. The voice did not speak nor was it heard. Instead it was like the words washed over her like an ocean wave.

“Okay. So what now?”

YOU WILL BE SENTENCE-

“Stop.” Two figures appeared in front of Marinette. Both of them shielded Marinette from the other presences. “We demand a re-trial.”

There was a slight familiarity from them. One was a tall woman who was all red, from her hair to her clothes to her skin. They were all a varying shade of red with black spots dotting her body. She also had translucent wings on her back which fluttered.

The other figure was of a man who was all black like the woman from his body to his clothes. Marinette could make out cat ears on the top of his head and a tail lazily poked out from his back. The only colour he had other than black was two neon green eyes that held a mischievous glint.

“Tikki? Plagg?” Marinette asked.

“Hiya, Pigtails.”

------

(Part 13: The END)

Note: This story is nearing its end. Thank you to everyone for being patient. I will try my best to give a satisfactory sent-off.

Taglist: @local-witch-of-mn, @ladyqnoirr, @lolieg, @istoleyourcookies, @pale-lady-dreamer, @ichigorose, @meow-now, @demonicbusiness, @unoriginalmess, @the-drokainian, @joejosyxd, @questionableboi

[ravennm84]

Serafina II

Part 1     Part 3

The 2nd installment of the “Marinette’s Haunted Doll” series. I was seriously shocked by how much response I got from part one, so I hope this lives up to your expectations. Blood, gore, and death are coming, along with some mental freak-outs. You have been warned. 

Part II

Despite wanting to stay with Marinette to comfort the girl after the tearful apologies by Mylene and Ivan, Serafina couldn’t return until her work was finished. There was still much to do and people to punish. 

She arrived early with Mylene, which allowed her to observe the others that entered the classroom. Kim had returned to school that day in a wheelchair. The cast on his leg went up to his waist and the one on his arm went up to his bicep. His face and exposed skin were covered in bruises and his right eye looked like it had blood in it. 

“How are you feeling, dude?” Nino asked him as he entered alongside Adrien.

“Really sore,” the boy admitted. “Doctors had to reset my leg at the knee and said that my arm was a three piece offset fracture, so they had to use screws to put it back in place. Other than that; had a concussion, a lot of bruises, and a couple cuts; but no internal bleeding or ruptured organs. They said after a few months and some physical therapy, I should be as good as new.”

Nino gave him a solemn nod. “Glad to hear you’re going to be okay, dude.”

Kim’s expression dropped a bit. “I heard about Alya, I’m really sorry, man.”

The boy lowered his head while Adrien patted his back. “I really… I can’t believe she’s gone because of some freak accident. It makes no sense!” Nino jumped to his feet and started pacing as more students filed in. “I mean, she wasn’t supposed to die like that! Getting caught up in an akuma battle, childhood disease, there would be a reason for that! But that was just pointless!”

Mme. Bustier did attempt to calm him down, but her kind words fell on deaf ears before he grabbed his bag and left the room. No one could blame him, and only Adrien followed to make sure he would be alright, and to make sure he wasn’t akumatized.

Lila came in not long after with a curious bag in her hands. Serafina watched the liar as she looked around the room. She had a feeling that the liar would try something after her last attempt to frame Marinette had failed. When the girl tried speaking to Mylene, the doll was proud to see the girl refuse to acknowledge her as she continued to speak with Rose and Juleka. When it was clear that she was being ignored, she tried speaking to Ivan, only for him to give her a harsh glare that had her shuffling backwards. With Max and Alix still at the hospital and Adrien not in the room, that left her with Sabrina. The redhead had been sitting alone at the front of the room since Chloe had transferred schools after the Miracle Queen incident.

“Hi Sabrina, how are you doing?”

The girl smiled up at the italian, glad to still have a friend. “I’m doing okay, at least a lot better than a lot of our class. I heard Max lost sight in his one eye from the chemicals and Alix might have to have cosmetic surgery to get her face back to normal. At least Kim might be back to normal in a few months after going through physical therapy. But Alya…”

Lila faked her tears at the mention of her lost follower. She was really more annoyed than sad, Alya was easily manipulated, went along with everything she said, and Lila had been able to use her blog to build up her popularity. And the girl had been a decent attack dog, just point her at someone and off she went. Now that she was dead, maybe she could turn Sabrina into her new lead follower, she was already partially trained and it wasn’t like the blonde bitch was around anymore.

“I know, it’s so terrible. She was my first friend when I moved here, it’ll be so hard without her,” she faked a few more tears. And just like that, Sabrina took her hand in comfort and said a bunch of soothing words while she continued to fake cry. 

After a moment, Lila placed the bag she’d been holding on the desk and pushed it away from her, making sure the action caught Sabrina’s attention. “What’s that?”

Lila fake sobbed even harder, hiding her face in her hands. “Ma-Marinette, she-she said it was m-my fault that Alya’s dead. She practically threw that bag at me and said to use it,” she said before breaking down in more fake sobs.

Carefully opening the bag, she gasped when she saw it was full of razor blades and a couple of kitchen knives. Sure, she knew that Marinette didn’t get along with Lila, but to actually give this to her and tell her to ‘use it’? How could she be so cruel?

Serafina scowled as the red head hugged the liar and promised her that she would take care of it. Her anger erupted as Sabrina stood from her desk with the bag in hand, and began walking towards Mme. Bustier’s desk. The girl didn't take two steps before tripping over nothing and falling onto her side. Luckily, she did not land on the bag. Unluckily, she gripped it too tight and the impact forced the knives and razors through the bag and deep into her hands.

The girl screamed and cried as blood rushed out of the wounds and down into her sleeves. She begged Lila to help her, but the italian backed away from the girl in shock. Mme. Bustier gripped her head between her hands and began saying “not again, not again” before running out of the room. The only ones that helped her were Juleka, Rose and Ivan; the smaller girl sprinting off to alert the nurse and the principal, while Juleka and Ivan got Sabrina to her feet. Ivan kept the girl upright and moving out the door while Juleka held the girl’s hands above the level of her heart to keep her from bleeding too much.

Those left in the classroom were in shock as they stared at either the door or at the blood staining the floor. No one said anything for a long time, not even Lila. She hadn’t thought anyone would get hurt. She just thought she would get Marinette suspended and everyone would be on her side again. Adrien returned before the others, completely shocked when he saw the blood and Kim explained to him what had happened. The blonde sent a scathing look at Lila but said nothing.

It was a while later before Rose, Ivan, and Juleka returned to class, along with M. Rupere. He informed them that their classes were cancelled for today. “After everything that has occurred this week, I’ve decided that all of you will be meeting with the counselor today. He will decide if more sessions are necessary and for who, but his door and mine are open if you need to talk. M. Deveraux will come to speak with you one at a time. Kim Le Chien, he had requested to speak with you first. Mlle. Rossi,” he looked sternly at the girl, “would you please follow me, we need to talk about the incident with Sabrina Raincomprix.”

Serafina smiled as the liar trudged out of the room after the man. She was satisfied with Sabrina’s punishment and doubted if Mme. Bustier would last another day before having a total mental breakdown. She also knew that Lila would be in even more trouble after M. Rupere looked into the girl a bit more. But just to make sure, Serafina touched her on the way out. To most people, that would do nothing; but to someone like Lila, it would cause her to become more and more unhinged until she did something drastic. Very soon, Lila would be out of the picture and those deserving of punishment will have paid their debts.

~oOo~

It was more difficult sneaking home with Adrien than she had expected, especially with the tiny god of Chaos and Destruction in his bag. Plagg was his name, and he was very defensive of his kitten and had threatened to cataclysm her. Serafina told him that she would not purposefully harm his ‘kitten’, but there was something she had to take care of at the Agreste Mansion. The doll had long suspected that Gabriel Agreste is Hawkmoth and she was going to find out tonight if it was true. Plagg was reluctant to agree since it would hurt Adrien; but if it was true, they had to put an end to it.

After arriving at the mansion, Plagg easily convinced the boy to sneak out and check on Nino. After he left, Serafina sensed something on Adrien’s desk. Being an enchanted/haunted object, she could sense other objects like herself… such as Miraculous jewels. And right there on the desk was a pin shaped like a peacock, one of the jewels that had been missing and used by Mayura. If there had been any doubts before about who had been terrorizing Marinette, they were gone. 

Tucking the pin into her small outfit, she began to search the building, starting with Gabriel’s office. She had expected the man to be present, but he was missing. And given that Hawkmoth was a very active user, she had no doubt that he kept his jewel on him at all times. So, she waited.

It was about an hour later that Gabriel Agrest entered the room, and not from the door Serafina had expected. The man had a secret entry in the floor in front of a portrait of a woman. He was muttering on knowing better than to use Bubbler again, but that the negative emotions had been too strong to ignore. She also saw the purple kwami hovering over his shoulder, but the creature stopped when it sensed her. Gabriel strode out of the room, barely noticing that Nooroo had stayed behind and flew over to the doll hiding behind the desk.

“What are you doing here? If the Master finds you, he will destroy you.” The kwami said with worry.

The doll conveyed that she knew that his master was Hawkmoth, just as her human was Ladybug. She was here to protect her and return the butterfly and peacock miraculous to their rightful place. Also knowing that Gabriel had become too corrupted for his miraculous.

“I’ve tried to tell him that the wish would be dangerous,” Nooroo told her with downcast eyes. “He wants to make a wish to revive his wife, but he doesn’t realize that the cost would be to put Adrien, someone he loves equally as much as Emilie, into the same state of death. She isn’t even truly alive anymore, her body only lives because of the machine she is in.”

An idea spawned in Serafina’s thoughts and she barely kept herself from smiling. She asked Nooroo to help her activate the secret passage so she could get to his wife, but the little kwami shook his head. “Even if I could get you down there, the motion sensors would trip and he would attack you.”

Smiling this time, Serafina promised the little god that Gabriel would not attack her. That she would make sure that Adrien would be safe and the two kwami’s would go to their rightful place. All he had to do was help her open the door. Although reluctant and slightly scared, the little god opened the door, hoping that the nightmare would finally end. 

Down in the lair, the doll saw the mechanical coffin placed in the center of the room and went to it. The motion sensors caught her quickly, but she had been planning on moving fast anyway. Opening the coffin, she settled herself into the woman’s arms. Nooroo had been right, Serafina could sense that the woman’s soul had departed from her body a while ago and it was only the machine that was keeping her body alive. With no other soul to contend with, this would make what she was about to do next all the easier.

Nathalie had called to alert him the moment the alarms went off in the lair while she and Simone were out on an errand. He was moving faster than he could remember with Nooroo following close behind. Gabriel transformed on the way down, prepared to attack whoever had stumbled in, but his breath caught in his throat halfway down when he got a good view of the room. 

The coffin was empty.

Rushing forward, he began frantically searching the room for his wife, calling her name. He turned to rush back upstairs and froze. Standing behind him, looking dazed, was his wife. Her eyes were unfocused and her arms were hugging her middle, but it was her. Dropping his transformation, Gabriel cautiously approached her and she flinched back from him. It took a few minutes and a lot of gentle coaxing before he was able to wrap an arm around her shoulders and lead her to the elevator. When they got to his office, he watched her carefully as she began walking around the room. He wanted her to sit down and rest, but he was still in shock that she was awake and standing in front of him.

Eventually, her green eyes met his. “Where’s Adrien?”

“I… I don’t know, he should be up in his room.”

Emilie’s head tilted slightly, her eyes searching his. “What have you done? Did you make the wish?”

“No, my love. I was going to when I got the jewels, but Ladybug and Chat Noir evaded me.”

Tears grew in her eyes as she continued to stare at him. “You tried to make the wish? Knowing that it would have cost our son’s life?” 

Gabriel froze. He hadn’t known that wishing Emilie to come back would cost Adrien’s… but Nooroo had tried to tell him. He remembered the kwami trying to tell him about the cost and he had forced him to not speak. “I’m sorry, Emilie. I didn’t-”

“You knew,” she interrupted, her voice lacking any emotion as she continued to stare at him. “You knew from the beginning that what you were doing was wrong, evil. You chose to ignore what it would cost.”

“Emilie, my love, please don’t say such things,” Gabriel begged as he rushed forward to wrap his arms around her. “All I have wanted since the day I lost you, was to hold you in my arms again and hear your voice. I was lost without you and was willing to go to the ends of the earth to bring you back. Is that so wrong?”

He had just barely met her eyes when he felt the twin pains in his arms. Jumping back, he looked down to see both wrists had been cut deeply with a pair of his fabric cutting scissors. Blood was draining from the wounds at an alarming rate. His hands were shaking and he was already feeling light headed as he grabbed a handful for fabric from his work table in an attempt to slow the blood. He wanted to call out for help, but they were alone. 

His eyes grew hazed as he looked to Emilie, surprised that she was staring at him with such contempt. “I know what you’ve been doing while I was in that coffin. Tormenting the city and people I love, isolating our son and treating him like a burden. If you had ever succeeded in getting the Cat and Ladybug miraculous, it would have destroyed Paris. But you didn’t care. As you said, all you cared about was hearing my voice and holding me in your arms. Congratulations, your wish came true, and you will be the one to pay the price. Not Adrien.”

His legs gave out from under him as the fabrics dripped from the excess blood. He couldn’t understand how this had happened, Emilie would have never done something like this… but was this really her? With his vision fading, he took a hard look at his wife, only now noticing the dullness of her eyes, the greying pallor of her skin, and the fact that she only seemed to breathe when she spoke… “Who are you?”

Her head tilted again, the corner of her mouth lifting slightly. “Serafina. Quite astute of you to figure that out in your state. Your wife’s soul passed on a long time ago, all you have been doing is preserving a corpse. And I was telling the truth; even if you had made the wish, it would have cost Adrien his life.” Her hand shot forward, removing the butterfly miraculous before he could stop her. “Your actions have hurt someone close to me and I could no longer stand back and allow it to happen.”

She stood, walking to his desk to pull out a piece of paper and writing something down before neatly folding it and leaving it on his desk.

“Wh… What…”

“You just wrote a letter to Adrien; admitting what happened to his mother, that you were Hawkmoth, and the reason why you did what you did.” She said calmly before looking back at him. “Whether he tells the rest of the world is up to him. As for the miraculous, I will give him a chance at redemption. Though if he should fail, you may be seeing him sooner rather than later. Either way, they will soon be back where they belong, with the guardian. And you, good sir, have just committed suicide after bringing your wife’s body upstairs, so you would be able to hold her in your arms as you died.”

Unable to sit upright anymore, Gabriel barely felt his body collapse to the floor. He was hardly aware of Emilie lifting one of his arms to tuck her body to his side. The last thing he was aware of was something that he swore would haunt him in the afterlife; a porcelain doll emerging from the folds of her clothes and standing beside them. It stood there on its own, watching him until he could no longer keep his eyes open and he took his final breath.

Taglist (even longer):

@themagicmistic​ @andromeda612​ @ramos123​ @t1dwarrior-of-earth​ @justanotherweirdo277​ @irisfox​ @thestrangestofthemall​ @plz-excuse-my-inner-ravenclaw​ @certainmuffinbagelcalzone​ @the-fandom-girl @wisecolorthing @mewwitch​ @luxurioushellgirl97​ @seraphichana @fantasiame​ @whydoexamsexist​ @wispyrainbow​ @legodetectivemalsblog​ @kindasoundslikealien​ @shadowangelreborn​ @kazedancer @unmaskedagain​ @7-sage-7​ @irontimetravelflower​ @ghostmaster83​ @izang​ @ulmban​ @plushbookworm​ @corabeth11​ @darkened-flame​ @caffeinetheory​ @iamablinkmarvelarmy​ @raiderofthelostbooks​ @cheshire5210 @chocolateherringtacofan​ @city-of-all-tunas​ @aadnrsstar​ @kitten12113​ @interobanginyourmom​ @pandacatxd​ @nerd-nowandforever​ @jesussavedevenme​ @zoiechance​ @the-smallest-kittenz @wonderbat91939​ @maskedpainter​ @tazer6787​ @that-girl-sakea @seesea22​ @with-forward-motion​ @ola-is-dead​ @thecrazyfantrollshasmoved @bayball​ @2confused-2doanything​ @queen-in-a-flower-crown​ @sabrina1414 @ceres-zephyr​ @if-you-give-a-chat-a-cookie​ @zalladane​ @tails-and-scales​ @rumbelle18​ @sam-spectra​ @collegefae​ @pale-lady-dreamer​ @animegirlweeb​ @evaraux @consumeconstantly​ @iz-bell-saiah​ @puspa-san​ @wishing-to-be-a-fictional-chara​ @sassakitty​ @miraculous-ninja​ @fandom-trapped-03​ @idontfuking​ @sillyfishrubberducky​ @anonymousreviewer-t​ @i-am-fallen-angel​ @zotinha456​ @throneoffirebreathingbitchqueen​ @chocolatecatstheron​ @crypticsabbat @startouchedqueen1318 @para-dox-normal​ @marinettepotterandplagg​ @incredulous-reader​ @professionalfangirl1738​ @fangirlnerd001​ @redscarlet95​ @sixtyeightdays​ @iamtotalfandomtrash​ @tazanna-blythe​ @animehime94​ @mysticsoulgirl​ @miraculouspenta​ @local-witch-of-mn​ @roseinbloom02​ @senpaiweird​ @iggy-of-fans​ @tropestropestropes​ @sleep-deprived-aroace​ @comteqfr @neromerp13​ @prudencerika​ @galaxylightmoon @c-s-stars @spartanxhunterx @shadowhex99 @abrx2002 @lunartaravlar @theymakeupfairies @myazael @wannajointhecrabcult @some-weird-multifandom-girl @marvel--unsolved @kuroko26 @mcheang @nach0ava @syrencall @mexicantttt @insomniac-nerd-posts-things @enchanted-nerd @actual-disaster-human @mashmallow619 @clumsy-owl-4178 @hollowwisteria @kanamexzeroyaoifangirl @fandom-trapped-03 @lunataravlar @lady-phoenix-of-tardis @tishwinchesterannabethjackson @mariposa-macaroon @starlightshield @255940g

[syndianites]

A Queen Serve and Protects

Chapter Six

First Chapter –> Last Chapter –> Current –> Next Chapter TBA! Summary:

Post-Style Queen, Pre-Queen Wasp.

Chloe finds the Bee Miraculous, but instead of finding an obliging, subservient Kwami, she finds the Kwami of Order and Subjugation, and Pollen is not about to let herself be used like Nooroo was.

Granted, the only danger in a teenage girl is the damage she poses to herself. Can Pollen shape Chloe into a hero? Or will she stubbornly refuse to change and remain the bitter, harsh person the city has long since known?

[My take on how Chloe’s character could have developed] ——————————————————————————————

Pollen tapped the tablet pen on the table. School had ended and the duo was officially home.

“Chloe,” Pollen began. “It has come to my attention that you don’t do your own work.”

“So?” Chloe nonchalantly replied, crossing one leg over the other from where she sat on the chaise in front of Pollen.

Pollen tried not to roll her eyes. “So, I want you to learn how to be self-sufficient.”

Chloe scoffed. “I am plenty self-sufficient.”

“Really?” Pollen had a sweet smile on her face. “Then prove it.”

:readmore:

Before Chloe could make any remark, Polle flew over to her school bag. It looked more like a purse, honestly, with how much makeup and accessories she had stashed away inside. Seriously, what did you need an extra pair of heels for?

Pollen shook off the thought and grabbed the binder Chloe used for class, as well as her homework folder. Brining both items back to the table, she flipped the folder open. She pulled out the first sheet of homework she saw- something math related- and waved a paw at it.

Chloe gave her a dumbfounded look. “You want me to do that? Sabrina normally does.”

Pollen raised an eyebrow.

“Ugh, fine, I get it.” Chloe grumbled. “What does doing my own work have to do with being self-sufficient anyway?”

“When was the last time you did your own school work.”

“Ughhhh!”

Letting out a little giggle, Pollen decided to make a compromise, “For every question you get correct, I’ll let you ask a question about the Bee miraculous and its powers. However!” Pollen held a paw up before Chloe could get too excited, “For each you get wrong, you have to listen to some history and background on the miraculous.”

“Ooo-kay? How is that a loss for me? I still get to know what I want to know,” Chloe replied.

If only the poor girl knew.

Pollen beamed. “I’m glad you asked! You know how much you love our ‘Bee Nice’ Sessions?”

Chloe groaned.

“Anything I tell you will come along with lessons. I will tell you tales that are important for a number of reasons. And you have to sit through all of them!”

Chloe’s eye twitched. That sounded excruciating. Buuuut, she did want to know more about what powers the Bee miraculous could give her. It was just a simple math worksheet. Surely, it couldn’t be that hard. So Chloe took out a blank sheet of paper and began working.

She was wrong. So, so wrong. Chloe was by no means a bad student. She got solid B’s and pleased her daddy enough with her grades to get by. Did she need to have a study session with Sabrina before each test or quiz to get the contents down? Yes.

But that was all pish-posh. She figured if she could pick up enough for a test or quiz a day before it, she could do homework with no problem. Apparently, she hadn’t been giving Sabrina enough credit. That girl made it so much easier than this.

It didn’t help that her notes were a total disaster. Half-finished sentences, unclear instructions, and a clear lack of interest in each page. For a moment Chloe cursed her own apathy. She wanted to know more, damnit! 

By the time she finished she felt exhausted. Pollen, ever chipper, hummed as she looked through each question. She procured a pen and started making marks. That was a lot of red. Oh GOD, there was so much red.

Pollen tapped the pen to her chin in thought. Giving a nod, she wrote a score at the top of her sheet.

6/15. 

That was just under half! And that meant she would have failed had it been a test. Chloe resisted the urge to hit her head on the table. She could not afford to be forced into tutoring. Again.

Despite Chloe’s despair, Pollen was excited. This was better than she was expecting! Sure, she had been hoping for closer to a 75% or 80%, but Chloe at least had the idea down.

Plus this meant she could drill some more lessons into her charge.

Rubbing her paws together, she addressed Chloe. “Alright. Since it is almost an even split, let’s go back and forth with questions and history. I’ll start with a history lesson first, since you missed more than you got correct. But since I’m feeling nice, I’ll give you a choice here: Would you rather hear some history about my previous holders first, or about all the miraculous as a whole?”

“Your past wielders, of course! I need to know who would be so lucky to use the same miraculous as moi.” Chloe flipped her hair back to accentuate her point.

Pollen huffed. Nonetheless, she thought back to her past holders, humming all the while. Who would be the best to start with to help Chloe learn? 

She smiled as someone came to mind. “Now, before we start, I should say that we aren’t always deployed to battle some great evil. Sometimes, we are let out into the world to help inspire something. For me, I either inspire Order and Control. Or, when that gets to be too much, I inspire freedom from Order and Control.”

“Wait,” Chloe interrupted. “Why would you go against your whole Order thing?”

“I thought you wanted to talk about past wielders first,” Pollen brought a paw up to her lips to hide a smile. “To get into that would mean I would have to talk about all the miraculous.”

“Ugh, fine, whatever. Tell me the basics about all the miraculous first. But! You better tell me about your past users after!” Chloe conceded, pouting at the little god.

Pollen started again. “Like I said, we don’t always need a great evil to fight. At their core, each miraculous is meant to balance out their respective aspects. Tikki- Ladybug’s kwami- is the kwami of Light and Creation, for example. She is largely put out into the world to inspire new ideas and innovation.”

Chloe scrunched her nose in confusion. “Didn’t you say you also get put out to stop Order and Control? Why would you ever want to stop Light and Creation?”

“Well,” Pollen looked off to the side. “You can’t endlessly create. Tikki works on a more individual scale. She inspires Light and Creation in people as individuals. I, however, inspire Order and Subj- Control in a much larger scheme. After all, a bee’s focus is on the hive, isn’t it?”

“In any case, sometimes people burn themselves out when creating too much or spreading too much light. If you give and give and give, what is left for you? Nothing. And those left with nothing often crumble and fall apart- or worse. Tikki, when she is needed to, can either help her holder ease off themselves or help their holder teach others to let go of such demanding responsibility.”

Chloe nodded slowly. That… sort of made sense. “So it’s like when Adr- a friend of mine kept being happy and smiling even after his mother died to help others stop being sad. Because he wanted others to feel ‘lighter’” She made finger quotes, “Despite the tragedy that happened?”

“Yes, that could be a good example,” Pollen agreed. “If your friend gave away all his light and such to others, it could burn him out and leave him feeling empty and cold. Though, in this case I would lean more into the Peacock- he worked to give good emotion to others to cover their grief. But we’ll get there in a moment.”

“Plagg, Chat Noir’s kwami, is Tikki’s counterpart. He is the kwami of Dark and Destruction.” Pollen stopped as Chloe seemed to ponder that.

“If he is all about dark and destruction, wouldn’t that make him more likely to be evil?” Chloe mused.

Pollen, for her part, wasn’t bothered by the question. “If I am all about order and control, wouldn’t I be more likely to use and abuse people?”

Chloe bit her lip, but shook her head no.

“Exactly. Just because that is what we represent it does not mean we are prone to be good or evil. In the balance of all things, there IS no good and evil. Really, it just comes down to what a certain group likes or dislikes, or how a person’s morals are aligned.”

“Okay, no, Hawkmoth is totally evil. There is no doubt about that. How could taking control of others and using their emotions to turn them into monsters be seen as a good thing?” Chloe didn’t like the idea of Hawkmoth being in the ‘right’ at all. It went against everything he had done to Paris.

“Well,” Polled offered, “Does Hawkmoth see himself as evil?”

Chloe sat back in her seat. If movies were anything to go by, he probably didn’t. She sighed and motioned Pollen to continue

Pollen pushed on. “In any case, Plagg is often put into the world to ruin things. Surprising, isn’t it? But sometimes the best things are made in the ashes of destruction. Growing from losing things is important for many people. Like how your friend lost his mom- he likely felt sad and lost. But if he grew from that? He could learn to see that others will have his back and he can lean on them. Even in the hard times.”

Chloe looked away from Pollen. She was right, sort of. When Adrien’s mom died, Chloe had been there trying her best to cheer him up. Did it really work? No. But she helped him escape the house and run around the city with her, and watch stupid cartoons and shows, and sometimes, just sometimes, get him to smile.

“But losing your mom isn’t a good thing!” Chloe snapped back. “That devastated my friend and his family.”

“I know, and I’m sorry I painted it as such. Loss is a horrible thing to endure. But I wanted to make a connection to something you mentioned.” Pollen bowed her head. “Destruction is rarely a happy thing. But, a more positive example would be something more metaphorical- the destruction of insecurities, or breaking a bad relationship, or- or bashing down a wall so you can open up a room to have more space!”

Sighing, Pollen shook her head. “It is far too easy to see Dark and Destruction as a bad thing. Darkness can be used to hide when you don’t feel safe. Or it can be used to tone down how bright something is when you feel blinded. It can also be used as a complement and give things more depth.”

“Of course, Plagg has also been put out to tame destruction. Have you ever heard the phrase ‘fighting fire with fire’? It’s the idea that you fight destruction with destruction. But he can also help people see their bad habits, or the things that hurt them, and get them to reign them in and stop themselves before it’s too late.”

“Okay, sure, that makes sense. But didn’t you just describe Tikki and Plagg as opposites anyway? Light and Dark, Creation and Destruction? Why do they need to get people to go against their aspect when the other IS the opposite?” Chloe butt in.

Pollen brightened. “That’s technically later in this lesson, but I can touch on it now. You’ve likely noticed that Ladybug and Chat Noir came together as a pair, correct?” At Chloe’s nod, she continued. “That is because they are like Yin and Yang- opposites that complete each other. While other kwamis do have opposites, none quite work the same as Tikki and Plagg. They were once a single being- one that was the kwami of Balance.”

“Well,” Pollen rubbed her cheek, “They weren’t a kwami, per se. But that is too much to explain for right now. You recall how Hawkmoth’s goal is to get the Ladybug and Black Cat miraculous?”

“Of course, that’s all he ever talks about when he akumatizes someone!”

“Well, that’s because when you combine the two into one you can have any wish granted.”

“What!” Chloe slammed her hands down on the coffee table, startling Pollen. “That’s horrible! I mean, the power is cool, but if Hawkmoth got his grubby hands on that wish who knows what he would wish for!” 

“Exactly! But there’s a catch with that- whatever you wish for will have an equal and opposite consequence. If you wished for someone to come back to life? Someone else must die. If you want to have all the power in the world? Everyone else must become powerless. These may sound simple, but the gravity is just as dire as the wish would be grand.”

Chloe fell back. “So, if I- well, if I wished for my mom to love me..?”

“It depends,” Pollen shrugged. “Maybe everyone else around you would hate you. Maybe your father would stop loving you. Or, in a more subtle fashion, she wouldn’t love the real you, just a facsimile of you. Whoever she thinks you are. Sure, there are ways to make a wish that has a mostly positive outcome- for the one making the wish- but the consequence will always hurt someone. Even if it has to be a lot of someones.”

The two fell into silence after that declaration. It was a heavy thought. What could drive someone to want to change something so badly they would be willing to suffer or let others suffer for it? How cold hearted must you be? 

The whole thing baffled Chloe. She could just ring her father and have what she wanted with no consequence. Could she imagine doing something so drastic as to ruin someone’s life to make hers better?

Instead of voicing any of this, Chloe leaned forward. “So tell me about the other miraculous…”

[cococookiedraws]

A Second Chance: Part 1 - A MLB Fic

Remember that Miraculous fic I was writing, where I shared the outline for the first part? So uh... here it is. Written. I hope you like it :)

[Part 1: Here] [Part 2] [Part 3] [Part 4] [Part 5]

_______________________________________________________

A group of butterflies hovered around the garden that surrounded Emilie’s coffin. Hawk Moth stood in front of his wife, holding two pieces of jewelry in his hands. A pair of red earrings with black spots, and a black ring. Mayura stood farther back, watching him.

“After all this time,” Hawk Moth said while putting on Ladybug’s earrings, “I can finally bring you back, Emilie.” He slid Cat Noir’s ring onto his finger.

Tikki and Plagg looked worriedly at one another, then turned to their owners with a sense of helplessness. It was game over.

Marinette Dupain-Cheng, formerly the superheroine Ladybug, had her arms wrapped around Adrien Agreste, who used to be Cat Noir. Adrien had just had so much trauma thrust upon him that he couldn’t hold back his endless stream of tears. Hawk Moth, the man who had been terrorizing Paris for the past year, was his father, and his deceased mother was being kept in their mansion’s basement.

Hawk Moth ignored his sobbing son. Of course he’s sad, he just found out that Emilie has been down here this whole time. Once his mother is revived, he’ll be happy again. “Tikki, Plagg,” he began the words to unify the Miraculous, to access the wish and bring back his wife. A mixture of red, black, and green sparks of light began to swirl around him.

Adrien grit his teeth and slowly stood to his feet. Marinette could see determination in his eyes. He began to sprint towards Hawk Moth. Marinette’s eyes widened with shock as she realized what he was about to do.

Mayura noticed a blur of motion to the side of her vision. Adrien was running toward Hawk Moth at full speed. Everything seemed to move in slow motion. She processed what was about to happen before she could move her body to intercept it. All she could do was extend her hand out in front of her.

“Unify-” Adrien jumped towards his father before he could finish.

It all happened so quickly, neither Adrien, Marinette, Hawk Moth, or Mayura could comprehend it. Hawk Moth was knocked to the ground with Adrien’s impact, and a flash of white light began an explosion.

Hawk Moth’s transformation disappeared as he slammed into the wall of the garden. Adrien flew the other way and Marinette ran to catch him.

Gabriel Agreste was lying on the floor, unmoving. Mayura de-transformed herself into Natahlie Sancoeur while running over to him. She felt her heart drop to the pit of her stomach. “Sir! Gabriel!” she cried out to him. But he couldn’t hear her. She tried to catch her breath, but her body refused to stay calm.

Adrien was lying on the ground, wincing and holding his head. Marinette was checking him for any injuries he sustained from the blast.

Nathalie felt tears forming in her eyes. She knelt over Gabriel for a minute, hoping that he could show even one sign of life, but he didn’t. Her emotions felt like they were in a chaotic battle for dominance, fear, pain, loneliness. After all they had been through, it couldn’t end like this. She had to do something.

She dried her tears and tried to stand up, but her limbs felt like they were being weighed down by an invisible force pushing her down. Nathalie looked up. She felt her conflicting emotions drain away, leaving a hole of emptiness inside her. She clenched her fists. Something new sparked inside her, a fiery rage. Adrien didn’t deserve to lose the last of his family. She didn’t deserve to lose her last friend. And it was all Ladybug’s fault.

“This is all your fault.” Nathalie said in a dead quiet tone, pointing at a startled Marinette. “If you hadn’t appeared when he created Stoneheart, none of this would have happened.” She let out a weak laugh. “He would have given up after his first try otherwise.”

“It’s because of you that Adrien became Cat Noir. If you hadn’t shown up,” her words were caught in her throat. “He would still be here,” her voice cracked and a tear rolled down her cheek.

Adrien shielded Marinette. He had just lost his father, but who was his father in the first place? He felt confused, and he didn’t know how to feel. “It’s not Marinette’s fault. If anyone is to blame, it’s me-”

“ADRIEN, NO.” Marinette interrupted him and moved to shield him instead. “We never meant for any of this to happen-” she protested.

This time Nathalie cut her off. “It doesn’t matter whose fault it is,” She took one last look at her boss, her friend, removed his butterfly brooch and placed it above the peacock brooch she already wore. “Because this will have never happened.” I won’t let Ladybug destroy this family. She paused for a moment to consider what she was about to do. Combining Miraculous was dangerous according to the grimoire, but she had no choice.

“Nooroo, Dusuu, unify.” Nathalie’s appearance changed. Her skin darkened into a blue tint, and her eyes became magenta. Her azure-coloured hair was tied back into a neat bun. A navy blue cardigan covered her purple dress that descended down into five feather-like points. The cane was now retractable and hung on her belt alongside her layered fan. Tiny butterfly wings hung from her boots.

Adrien began to slowly walk towards her with a bit of hesitation. “Nathalie, what are you doing?” he asked, trying to stay calm.

Nathalie didn’t answer as she formulated a complex plan in her head. The less he knew, the better, otherwise he would try to stop her. She snatched an unsuspecting butterfly fluttering in the air and infused it with energy to create an akuma, placing it on the peacock miraculous.

“I give myself, Sialga, the power to create portals to anywhere in Paris.” Nathalie said, giving herself a new name. Interestingly, unlike a normal akuma, her outfit didn’t change. Whipping out her fan, she pointed it directly in front of her to create a ring of glowing blue swirls.

Adrien ran toward her, reaching out his hand and simultaneously trying to reach out to her before she did anything she regretted. He remembered how she helped him face his father. She convinced his father to let him go to school, helped him with his studies, organized his schedule and did countless other things for him. She wasn’t like the man she worked for, she could be reasoned with. “NATHALIE, WAIT! There has to be another way!”

Sialga looked behind her shoulder as she stepped through the portal. “Don’t worry Adrien,” she told him. “I’ll fix everything.”

Ending note: This fanfic is going to explore Hawk Moth’s impact in the show. Btw Emilie wasn’t revived because the merging of the miraculous of creation and destruction backfired, since it was interrupted. The result was Gabriel’s death. Don’t worry, the rest of the comic isn’t gonna be as depressing as this. I think.

I planned this to be 5 parts.

[editorofeverything]

Day 6? of going through my drafts I never finished or posted because ✧Low Self-Esteem✧

Except I started going through my fanfic folder... and getting really into the plotlines I had going on there... and I may have started completing them all of a sudden?? I won’t question it because I’m afraid the will to write will suddenly go away so here is my now complete first part of my Daminette fic I wrote like a year ago?

So, without further ado, here is four times the Ladybug magic teleported Marinette to where she would be safest, and the one time she was already there—Part One.

~

When Tim Drake started his nightly shift in the Batcave with a pot of coffee in hand and a research project in the works, he didn’t expect a magical portal to spit out a ladybug themed superhero at the Batmobile with a cut off scream.

He froze as the swirling red portal disappeared and the hero that made a dent in the Batmobile stopped moving. He reached over and pushed the SOS button that would alert the others that something was wrong before grabbing his coffee mug as a weapon and heading over towards the girl.

She was small, was his first discovery. Probably shorter and younger than Damian, and yet she was wearing a bright red suit over her curled body and a mask over her closed eyes. She was hurt, and Tim didn’t know what to do. He hadn’t slept in over a week and the brain cells that were left were combusting at the sight of a child crumbled on the floor after playing the hero game.

He sucked in a breath and froze at the puddle of blood starting to pool under her head. The crashing of glass broke him out of his stupor and he barely noticed his favorite mug broken on the floor beside him before he threw himself at the girl’s side and eased her onto her back so he could look her over. All he could do was breathe a sigh of relief when he could feel her pulse beating weakly. He tried her mask first, and, after discovering that it wouldn’t budge from her skin, he realized that whatever magic she possessed would prevent him from checking her for injuries.

He brushed her hair out of her face and saw the bruises and scrapes all over before he checked her head. Her lips parted in a small cry when he touched a tender spot and he cursed at his red coated fingers when he pulled away.

“What the hell is it now, Drake? Do you even know what time it is?” Jason walked over with Alfred on his tail and rested his hand on Tim’s shoulder, startling him. “What’s up-? Who the fuck is that?”

“She teleported here. She’s… Jay, she’s hurt really bad and she’s some type of magic so I don’t even know how hurt she is and-” A beep interrupted his rant and they both looked for the source on her.

“Alfred, get the first aid kit and get the others in here.”

“Of course, Master Jason.”

~

“All I’m saying, Father, is that maybe if we put him through a rehab system, these ridiculous late night emergencies would decrease.”

“They’re not all hallucinations, Damian. We haven’t had an incident since last month.”

“Until now,” Damian huffed as he and his father ran into Alfred who was carrying a first aid kit, some blankets, and some towels.

“Was Tim injured, Alfred?”

“No, Master Bruce. There seems to be an intruder in the Batcave. I believe Master Tim and Master Jason are currently trying to assess her for injuries, but it seems she is of the magical variety and her suit is giving them some trouble.”

Damian was already sprinting to the cave while Bruce grabbed some of the items from Alfred and walked with him to the group of his kids kneeling around a small figure on the ground.

Damian saw the dent in the Batmobile before he saw the girl and actually stopped in surprise. “She did that?”

Bruce followed behind him and made a surprised noise as well before moving towards Tim and Jason’s side. “What happened?”

“A portal opened up and she was thrown into the Batmobile. She’s been unconscious the whole time. Her head is bleeding and I wouldn’t be surprised if she has a concussion. I can tell she’s hurt more, but we can’t take off her suit to check.”

Jason placed a towel under her head and she moaned at the movement, her eyes fluttering.

“She has these earrings that have been beeping for the past three minutes. I think they might be where she gets her powers from. They seem to be timing out.”

A final beeping noise echoed throughout the cave before a bright pink shine encased her body, revealing a small girl. She had blackish-blue hair tied in falling pigtails, pale skin that was speckled with bruises and lacerations. Her clothes looked impeccable, though the blood from her wounds was starting to soak into her red sundress.

“What the actual fuck is that?” Jason spotted a round, red figure moving on the girls collarbone.

The bat family took in the little red bug as it sat up and shook its head before seeming to notice the girl she was on.

“Marinette!” the thing spoke and Tim clutched Damian’s arm with an urgency that startled him.

“Please tell me you heard that thing talk.” Damian patted Tim’s hand lightly.

“You are not alone in hearing the kwami talk, Master Tim.” Alfred straightened up at the sight of the mystical being fretting over her charge’s unresponsive body.

“Kwami?” Bruce muttered under his breath, looking to Alfred for answers.

“Tikki, Goddess of Creation,” Alfred pressed his fist into his hand and bowed towards her, “how may we assist you?”

Tikki turned her wide eyes to Alfred and floated up to him. “Please help her! She’s more hurt than I can heal, and the fight is still waging on! Without Ladybug, the entire team will fail!”

Bruce straightened up at that and turned to his sons. “Jason, Tim, keep pressure on her head wound and wrap up any minor lacerations. She’s lost too much blood. Damian, come with me so we can get some more supplies for Miss Marinette.”

“Father, a word, please?” Bruce paused as soon as they exited the cave and were heading for the kitchen with a list of things Alfred told them to grab like water, cookies, and something light for Marinette when she would wake up. Damian had gotten better with being open and calm with his family for a while, but it still took time to unlearn years of life being taught one way for so long.

“What is it, Damian?”

“I… I know everyone’s concerned about the girl—I am too—but has anyone thought of what will happen if she wakes up? Will she recognize the Batcave? Will we reveal our identities to her, especially since she’s been forcefully revealed to us? What if she doesn’t wake up? How will we explain how a foreign girl ended up in Gotham?”

“These are all good questions, Damian, and I’m glad you’re able to share your concerns with me. In this matter, though… I believe we’ll just take Alfred’s que for right now. If at any point you feel uncomfortable with your identity being discovered when Miss Marinette wakes up, then you can leave and we’ll fill you in later.”

Damien’s silence carried into the kitchen as Bruce started handing things to him to take back.

“I’ll go back,” Damien finally said as Bruce pulled the cookie jar off the cabinet, planning on taking the whole thing. Who knew how much those kwamis could eat? Bruce certaintly didn’t, and the fact they were magic too didn’t help him any. “I think… Alfred usually knows best, and I trust his judgement… As well as the rest of the family’s. I want to make sure the girl is okay firsthand, and we can go from there.”

Bruce felt a wave of affection and pride towards his son, and wished Damian would look him in the eyes, but he would settle with placing a hand on his shoulder and giving it a reassuring squeeze. “Then, let’s go give them a hand, son.”

~

Bruce and Damian joined the group quickly enough to arrive just as Tikki and Alfred were starting their own conversation while Jason and Tim assisted the girl. Damian stood with his father, both with their guard up in case someone could possibly track Marinette and Tikki down. Magic, they agreed before they entered the room, is a fickle thing, and they didn’t want to take any chances of their family, or their sudden patient, to be caught off guard.

“You were a previous Miraculous holder, weren’t you? I can sense your bright soul. Who was your chosen?” Tikki asked, hovering just over Marinette’s collarbone. Alfred didn’t know if it was because she was protective of the girl or injured herself, but he felt it too rude to ask directly of the tiny god.

“Duusu, the Peafowl Miraculous of Emotion. We were separated after a year of us working together, and I never knew what happened to him or Nooroo, who was taken as well.” Alfred could tell Master Bruce and the boysr were listening intently on their conversation, but wouldn’t interrupt. Detectives they might be, but Alfred raised Master Bruce, and they, in turn, raised the boys to have manners. He could sense their questions piling up, but was confident they would save them for after they delt with Marinette’s most pressing wounds.

“Unfortunately, they ended up in the wrong hands. It’s why Ladybug and Chat Noir were called together in the first place. Marinette has made excellent work in finding and defeating Hawkmoth, but there has been too many obstacles in her way lately. She’s been through a lot…” Tikki turned on to face Marinette and Alfred was overcome at the overwhelming sense of sadness emanating from Tikki.

“We will do all we can for her,” he choked out, and shook his head at Jason and Tim, who paused at the catch in Alfred’s voice. “For such a young child to be a holder though…” Tikki sat on Alfred’s shoulder as Tim and Jason started wrapping Marinette’s head gently and patched up some larger cuts she had on her side. Her ribs were likely broken if the mottled bruised running down her side were anything to go by, and her ankle seemed to be sprained, if not broken as well.

“The previous Guardian made a rushed decision on who to choose for the Miraculous. It just so happens that Marinette is the one soul in this lifetime that resonates with mine. Despite her age, she has become one of the best Ladybugs I’ve had the honor of assisting, and she is now the Guardian of the Miraculous Box as well.”

“Guardian? She’s a Guardian as well? How could that be?”

“The previous Guardian’s identity was compromised by Hawkmoth, the villain with the butterfly miraculous. He’s been terrorizing Paris for almost three years now. Marinette had to step in as Guardian or the Miraculous Box would be lost.”

“Tikki…” The girl winced away from Jason and Tim’s hands and she whimpered.

“Tikki…” Bruce began in a steely tone, “how old is Miss Marinette?”

“She’s turning eighteen in a few months. I know she’s young, and I hate to put so much on her shoulders, but she’s the only one who can be Ladybug, and competent enough to be Guardian. She’s intelligent, strong emotionally and physically, and her heart is pure. She is the embodiment of what Ladybug is supposed to be.” After that speech, Damian took a breath and knelt down between Todd and Drake to assist. They still didn’t know everything, which could be dangerous for them, but Damian felt that if he were to take a chance on anyone, it would be this girl that was worthy of so much power and responsibility.

As soon as Damian brushed his fingers against her wrist to check for a break, however, the girl suddenly seized up and Damian jolted his hand away. Tikki gave him a strange look before floating over to her chosen.

“Tikki!” Marinette shot up, instantly collapsing with her head pressed into her knees with a groan. Tikki nudged Marinette cheek with her head reassuringly.

“It’s ok, Marinette. We’re safe for now. Please lie down or you’ll hurt yourself more.”

“Safe…? But where are we? School?”

“I believe that a Ladybug power was activated when Mayura cornered you. It teleported you to where you would be safest in the world.”

“Safest?” Marinette looked around and seemed to panic at the group of men surrounding her. “Oh my god, who are these people?! Did they see me transform? Tikki, you’re supposed to stay hidden!”

“Excuse me, Miss Marinette, but you can rest assured that you and Tikki are safe here.” Alfred rested a gentle hand on her arm, and she immediately relaxed. “I know first-hand the challenges of being a Miraculous holder, and we will do everything in our power to assist you if need be.”

For a moment, Marinette seemed paralyzed. She was looking at Alfred unfocusedly, as if she was seeing right through him. Suddenly, she met his eyes and started speaking a language only the three could understand.

“You have the soul of emotion and light. Touched by one who has been stolen and corrupted. You have my trust and thanks for your assistance, young Peafowl.” Marinette stated in an ancient, unfamiliar language before blinking out of her haze and nearly falling to one side if Damian hadn’t grabbed her and kept her propped up.

“Sorry,” she blinked slowly and focused on Alfred again, “I’m still getting used to that.”

“Your trust in me is an honor, my lady Guardian, but I doubt I can be considered very young anymore,” Alfred said with some humor in his voice. Marinette smiled warmly at him and, with the help of Damian, Jason, and Tim, eased back onto a few blankets and some towels to cushion her beating head.

“Damian, pass some water over,” Tim asked, still checking over Marinette’s head. Damian did so, being uncharacteristically silent during the entire conversation.

“My head is fine,” Marinette said in a thick accent. “I believe I hit it after I have been teleported, not during the battle.”

“You speak English very well, Miss,” Bruce praised, leading to Jason cooing at her blush.

“Ah, well, it’s important to be able to communicate with tourist during akuma attacks. I’m afraid I haven’t had much practice, though. And it’s definitely not as good as your French.” Marinette gave a shy, kind smile to Alfred.

“What did I hit my head on, anyways? I’ve been thrown before, but I’ve never hit anything so hard that I’ve passed out and detransformed.”

The resounding silence echoed throughout the room and Marinette took a breath before sitting up properly and keeping her gaze steady at the ground.

“Whatever it is, I don’t want to know. Don’t even tell me your names.”

“Miss?”

“I’m a superhero fighting an evil villain with magic jewelry, I know the awkward ‘I have a secret I can’t tell you’ silence. I haven’t exactly been on this side of the conversation much though. I understand. Just let me catch my breath and I’ll be out of your hair.”

“’Catch your breath?’ You have a concussion! And broken ribs! You can’t fight like this!” Jason was getting too worked up, but this was a child.

“Yes, I can. Just give me a minute. I’ve fought in worse conditions, and I’ll be better once I can reverse the damage.”

“Reverse the damage?” Damian said, and was almost disappointed when Marinette didn’t look at him directly. She wasn’t looking at any of them, except for Alfred, in the face. Deniability, most likely, but definitely not what he was initially expecting when he decided to stay with his family despite the chances of being recognized.

“Tikki?” Marinette said, and rested her head against the Batmobile while she started poking at her wounds.

“I give Marinette many powers. One of which is the power of the Miraculous Ladybug. It reverts ay damage done by a kwami instantaneously. In fact, the dent in your motorized vehicle should be back to normal as well once the battle is won.”

“Tikki, I need to know how the fight is going. Be stealthy and take a look, and grab Khalki. I’ll need him to teleport back to Paris. I don’t want to risk using whatever power got me here in the first place.”

“I’ll be right back!” Tikki turned towards Alfred and patted him gently on the cheek. “I leave my chosen in your hands, Alfred. Look after her, please.”

“Of course, Tikki.”

“Thank you, young Peafowl.” Alfred returned her smile instantly before Tikki disappeared through the floor.

~

“So, let’s play ‘Do I Have a Concussion 20 Questions!’” Jason announced after he and Tim propped her up between them, leaning against the dent in the Batmobile.

Damian sat in front of them while Bruce and Alfred had moved over to the Batcomputer to try and do some research into the Miraculous themselves.

Marinette giggled and focused herself from closing her eyes by chipping at her black nail polish.

“So question number one: what is your name?” Tim was holding the broken handle of his coffee mug in his fist and was talking into it like it was a microphone.

“Marinette, but you already knew that,” Marinette said in a teasing tone.

“True, but this is if you know your name, not for us, little lady,” Jason bumped her shoulder with his gently and she giggled again.

They went through a few questions that were vague enough not to uncover her identity completely, but still show that she had her wits about her. Where are you from? Paris, of course. Do you go to public, private, or home school? Public! I hate homeschooling. Do you live with your parents? Yeah… oh I left my phone with my stuff at school. They’re probably worried sick. Do you have a job?

“Oh!” Marinette suddenly exclaimed, jolting where she sat. “Maman and Papa are going to be so disappointed if I can’t get home in time to watch the bakery! They’re going on a date tonight, and we have three orders to fill… I wonder if I can get Chloe to push their reservation…”

Jason shared an apologetic look with Tim when they realized how much she just let out. Damian was alarmed. She didn’t even seem to notice how much she just gave away about herself during her rambling.

“Why are you telling us all of this?” Damian finally asked after a moment of silence. He didn’t understand this girl. She was in a strange place, surrounded by strangers, and willing to avoid looking at them or around to keep them comfortable with their secrets, and the she goes and basically tells them where she lives.

“I know it might not makes sense, but as Ladybug and Guardian, I can sense things most people can’t, and I’ve learned to trust myself above all. My powers brought me here because I’m safe, and I can sense that you all have pure souls. You two even have souls saturated in Destruction energy… The Black Cat’s energy. It balances my own soul out well… How did you come across a Lazurus pit?”

Jason and Damian jolt and look at each other. Bruce was at Damian’s side in the next moment. “How do you know about the Lazurus pits?” He asked in a cautious tone, though Marinette didn’t seem to notice. She was still picking at her nail polish and Damian had a moment of irritation at the flaky mess until he realized she was probably doing it to keep her focus off of them.

“I am Guardian, and Tikki’s chosen. I know everything there is to know about the Miraculous, though I only recall the information when I needs to be used. When the Ladybug and Cat’s miraculous are combined, the holder may make a wish. One of those wishes was to be immortal. The Lazurus pits were created out of that wish, but the price was heavy. To manipulate a soul into bearing life after one should die… it leaves a mark—mentally, physically, emotionally… Most of the Lazurus pits were destroyed to restore balance, but some still remain in this world to keep the balance of what was already taken as its price. If they were all to be destroyed, something else in the world would have to be as well to keep balance.”

The resounding silence in the room felt suffocating, but Marinette just smiled reassuringly and brushed her dress down. Damian suddenly noticed that he felt�� calmer in her presence than he usually would with someone he met barely twenty minutes ago.

Marinette’s voice brought him out of his thoughts once more. “Tikki is coming back.”

The kwami suddenly appeared a moment later with another one right behind her. Marinette smile and held out her hand.

“Hello, Khalki.”

“My Lady,” Khalki purred, floating around her hand.

“The fight is still going, Marinette. Chat Noir and Queen Bee are playing decoy and distraction. I informed them that you had been transported away for your safety and that we would be present for the fight soon. Hawkmoth and Mayura can’t end the fight and get what they want without Ladybug present, and Chat Noir and Queen Bee are smart enough not to let them leave or capture them while you’re gone. Both sides are playing it safe and waiting for your return.” During Tikki’s rundown, Marinette slowly but surely began to stand on her own, leaning against the Batmobile.

“Well, let’s give them an entrance they won’t forget. Are they all still at the Tower?”

“Yes. Chat Noir has followed your direction to keep them centered there well.”

“Good. Tikki, spots on. Khalki, Tikki, merge.” The family all stood and watched in amazement and shock as Marinette glowed that same pink hue before the red and black spotted heroine stood before them.

“Your injuries are still there.” Damian broke the silence to his family’s surprise. “You should be careful and finish your battle quickly to minimize your injuries until you can heal.”

Marinette seemed surprised, focusing on his shirt, the closest she’s gotten to looking his in the eyes the entire time she had been there. He almost… wanted her to. He wanted to look directly into her bright blue eyes and let her see him as he saw her… He shook himself out of that embarrassing train of thought just as Ladybug said something that caused a portal to appear.

“Thank you for your help…” Marinette nodded to them and looked one last time at Alfred. “I hope we meet again, young Peafowl.”

“As do I, my lady Guardian,” he bowed.

Ladybug turned and was suddenly gone. The only evidence of her being there was the broken remains of Tim’s broken mug and the huge dent in the Batmobile.

“Well, I’m going to sleep,” Tim announced to the room. “Someone else can take night shift tonight and someone can also tell me this wasn’t all some fever dream in the morning.”

Half an hour later, Damian, who had volunteered to stay up and finish the nightly watch in order to gather more information of the Miraculous and Marinette, noticed Tim’s mug appear sitting perfectly on the floor half full of the sludge he must’ve been drinking before it had broken and the dent in the Batmobile disappear in a wave of ladybugs.

Damian smirked at the knowledge that she and her team had won their battle, and that, if these items were fixed, then so were Marinette’s injuries. He ignored the part of him that felt… proud at the knowledge of her win, and happy knowing she was healed.

Damian grabbed the mug off the floor and took it with him to drop off in the kitchen while he searched for a snack. All his searching through all the bakeries in Paris was starting to make him hungry, especially the one he left on the Batcomputer. He would have to see if the Dupain-Cheng Bakery catered internationally, or if the woman posing with her husband in the owner’s bio passed down her black-blue hair to any daughters his age.

~

UPDATE: Here’s the link to the next part and the AO3 link for anyone who wants to continue!

Next - AO3 Link

[kibastray]

Let’s have fun with Maribat 2

Just like the first Let’s have fun this is just to be a fun, kind of off the top of my head, idea for Maribat. 

Hope you enjoy this bit of whimsy. (P.S. this is what happens when you don’t have a set, or good, sleep schedule btw)

This would be after Hawkmoth is dealt with. 

Marinette, now guardian, wants to travel the world and help fix the balance like how the order use to. 

She ends up traveling to the biggest place of unbalance in the world she can sense, Gotham. 

However, just like the rest of the world, she knows that Gotham is Batman’s terf. He tends to get possessive over his city and would stop any hero from stepping foot into his city. 

So she tries to figure out a way to heal Gotham’s spirit without drawing The Bat’s attention. 

Marinette knows that she can hide the fact that she is using magic to heal the city if she does it right. Which means she needs to to it slowly and over time.

On a whim, she decides to follow through with a crazy idea. Whether it was her own idea or influenced by Plagg she can’t remember. (Let’s be honest if Tikki is the angel on her shoulder and 60% of Marinette’s impulse control; then Plagg would defiantly be the devil on the other and push that 40% as far as he could)

The idea? Use Mullo’s powers to become a one woman army and start a... circus. “Everyone loves a good circus”, especially the big three ringed ones under the big a$$ tent. (that last bit was my own blurb)  She figures this can help heal the city in two ways. The first, is by actually using her magic on the people who come to her circus and help balance their spirits. The second, lifting their spirits, metaphorically, by putting on a good show and let the Gothamites leave with a smile on their face. 

As an adult and the guardian Marinette doesn’t need to shrink when using Mullo’s powers. Which makes the plan viable in the first place. 

She also decides to use the other miraculous for all the acts that she would need. For one, what is a circus without all the crazy acts and performances? and two, it also lets all the kwami be used easily and frequently. (Well all except Tikki and Plagg those costumes are to recognizable. She uses those two to set up everything before a show and take it down afterward)

She has different places she sets up her circus, all hot spots where the spirit of the city is the most off-balance. 

Marinette names this circus of hers something just as silly as the plan itself.

“Miraculous Circus”

(^title^ btw. I just didn’t want to spoil it. lol)

(oh FYI I am using each kwami’s name as a kind of stop-gap instead of saying things like “Tikki’s miraculous power is used for ‘blank’.” The kwami’s names are not the stage names Marinette uses either. e.g. Longg would be the ‘Dancing Dragon’)

Each Kwami has their own role that they specialize in. 

Kwami that we know the power of list: (all of these are the first thing that came to mind, so no hate for how simple the idea for their powers are)

Mullo 1: (main mullo): is the Ring Leader and host of the circus

Mullo 2: (extra mullo not being unified with other kwami) secondary helpers for other performers. 

Trixx: is the illusionist and wows the crowd with ‘stage magic’ 

Wayzz: The lion tamer (i got nothing more than that)

Longg: Sword dancer or lighting and effects?

Kaalki: Escape artist or a second magic act where they disappear and reappear all over the circus tent. 

Sass and Fluff: together would be the ‘medics’ to make sure nothing goes wrong (the magic of being able to go back in time is great when you are doing ALL the stunts yourself). individually...

Sass: one of the aerial acrobatics.

Fluff: stage performer or clown. (every now and then does fun reenactings  parts of ‘Alice and Wonder Land’ like reciting the ‘Jabberwoky’ without messing up)

Duusu and Nooroo: (these two deserve a special spot light) They are an act that brings audience members into their act to help ‘liven up’ the crowd. They would help the person they picked “change outfits” doing it comically behind a folding-changing-divider-thing (IDK what they are called) with fake cloths being tossed into the air as a way to try and get the best outfit ready. It gives everyone a good laugh over the arguing the two do while trying to pick out an outfit. (what they are really doing is they are making the person a temp champion) The pair have the audience member be/do crazy entertaining acts (like ultra juggling, being strong men, fire breathers, and other eye catching acts)

Xuppu: is another aerial acrobatics, because monkey

Pollen: I really couldn’t think of anything for her powers to be used, so... aerial acrobatic.

Kwami that we don’t know the power of list:

Stompp: Strong man... well, strong woman (actively competes with any other strongmen that Duusu or Nooroo to help with the fun of things)

Roaar: could be the ‘lion’ that needs to be tamed from Wayzz’s act (Trixx’s illusions make it look like a real animal. Duusu also makes sentimonster as other animals to tame as well.)

Ziggy: I... got nothing again. another for aerial acrobatics? (you can probably guess the ship by know)

Orikko, Barkk, and Daizzi: (From the fan wiki they all look like they are lively and colorful) They are a group of ground performers and possibly just a fun clown act. 

As news gets out about this new circus in town word spreads like wildfire and it gets lots of traffic.

Trixx’s illusions and stage magic are a hit with kids of all ages. Stompp is an incredible strongman(woman). Duusu and Nooroo’s act is an absolute riot. All the other acts are loved as well. 

But what gets the most attention are the acrobatics. Some news outlets even go so far as to say things like “Not sense the ‘Flying Graysons’ have we seen such amazing aerial stunts.” 

That statement heard from by one particular Bat Clan member as he passes by a TV/Radio (whatever) gets Dick Grayson’s attention. 

He somehow is able to drag all of the Bat Clan to this new circus. It is because of his puppy dog eyes and the sunshine personality of his that gets them to come along. But none of them will admit it to him out loud. 

Each of the Clan is wowed or awed by one thing or another from this (surprisingly) all female circus. No one not even Bruce suspects that there is real magic at play. 

Then the aerial acrobatics starts and Dick can’t take his eyes off of the performance. Which wows the rest of the Batfam by how much he is absolutely vibrating with excitement. 

The circus acts continues and the whole performance is done before Dick knows its over. 

All the Gothamites leave with a smile and a spring in their step.

Dick, however, holds back to talk with the new performers. He goes back in the tent but can’t find any of them. He does find one woman out of costume and can’t place which act she was in. ‘Strange’ he would think.

After a bit of a shock of someone popping back into the tent (this is the first time anyone has come back in after a show) she introduces herself as Marinette Dupain-Cheng. 

They talk for a bit. Mainly, Dick asking excitedly about all the circus stuff. (TBH he has missed preforming and tells her as much) Marinette gets a little caught up in his excitement and says she was part of of the aerial acrobatics team (his favorite part, of course). And she gets surprised by his enthusiasm toward the aerial stunts. They hit it off after that, trading circus stories. (The connect pretty well because they are both sunshine children) 

This ship would be platonic at first. Friends that share a common love of preforming. That is until Dick convinces Marinette to let him join in one of the acrobatic performances. 

She gets wowed by his abilities, because “He is doing all of this without magic.” And it sparks something more between the two. and it slowly turns romantic. 

Other notes:

People want to know more about the “Miraculous Circus” either how some of the ‘magic tricks’ work or just more about the performers themselves. Because no one sees them after a show. 

In the magician circles there is a standing reward for anyone who can figure out how Trixx’s ‘stage magic’ works. No one has figured it out yet. 

News outlets try and stick around after shows for interviews but can’t find a single performer except one woman (Marinette) that is the janitor and just cleans up after shows. The "miraculous circus" is a true mystery.

But what really gets people to talk and conspire among themselves is a rumor that MDC designs the outfits and is backing the “Miraculous Circus”

There are loads of conspiracies and theories about it too. People would say things like “Why would such a well known fashion designer care about a circus of all things?”

No one notices because it takes place over months and years but the spirit of Gotham is healing after each show bit by bit. 

It is slower way to heal the worlds balance in a place like Gotham but Marinette wouldn’t have it any other way at this point.

One, the kwami are happy to be out and used so much.

Two, The people of Gotham absolutely love the circus. (she even saw Bruce and Damian show up a few times on their own accord a few times)

Three, she met Dick and she loves that that he loves it. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~

special thanks to @miraculous786 for letting me bounce this idea of of them. Well... it wasn't so much as bounce but more just threw it at them at like 3-4ish in the morning. 

part 3

[2manyfandoms2count]

You can count on me (I will be there for you)

Aaaaand here we are with the final chapter of this story! A very cracky finale, with a surprising amount of fashion judgement and a lack of serious damage. I’ve made them suffer enough on their wedding day.

Thank you so, so much to everyone who’s read so far! It was a genuine pleasure to write this story, and the positive response has warmed my heart. Lots of love for everyone 💕 Hope you’ll enjoy this!!

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | AO3

---

Chapter 9

Max has conveniently chosen the room they’d all met up in earlier for their lift back, Ladybug notices as she steps out of the portal. Rena Rouge and Queen Bee are standing at the door, discreetly peeking at the reception on the other side. They turn around when they hear the portal’s low hum.

“How’s it going?” Ladybug asks, joining them in their stakeout.

“I think they’re starting to feel a little uncomfortable.” Alya nods towards the next room, and Marinette steals a look, not knowing if her friend is referring to their primary suspects, or Nino and Kagami.

A look inside answers her question. The four of them are standing in the middle of the room, and it’s quite clear from their body language that her friends are doing their best to look at ease, while their interlocutors are clearly desperate to go. They show it differently, though: whereas Gabriel is standing straighter than ever, eyes darting towards the nearest exit as Nino enthusiastically speaks to him about something involving large hand gestures and a lot of shoulder pats, Nathalie seems exhausted, shrunk on herself while Kagami talks about something technical, if Ladybug can trust her frowns as she explains.

“Well, as long as it’s them and not the guests, it should be alright. Wouldn’t want a mass akumatisation on our hands.” Ladybug straightens up and sighs.

“So, it’s really them?” Alya asks.

“I think saying ‘most probably’ would be an understatement.” She shakes her head.

“Poor Adrien,” Queen Bee mutters next to them. “This is honestly the last thing he needs.”

Marinette looks at Alya worriedly, and her friend squeezes her hand. “He’s up to speed, I think he’s hanging in there.”

“I’ll have a talk with him later.” Ladybug promises herself.

“Anyway, what’s the plan now?” Queen Bee turns towards her expectantly.

“Well, see, that’s my problem, I’m not entirely sure how to go about it-”

“I am.” Chat Noir walks straight past them, stormy eyes fixed on the two suspects, his tail slipping through Ladybug’s fingers, and he's out in the open before she can retain him. She hadn't heard the portal close behind him, nor his approaching footsteps.

She starts to run after him, we don’t have a plan, what is he doing, but Rena Rouge grips her arm before she can, yanking her back inside their honorary headquarters. Ladybug’s offended look melts as her friend delicately takes her veil out of her hair. She’d completely forgotten about it.

“Might not want to out yourself to them right now, since they probably don’t know who you are,” her friend says softly.

“Now go make sure your partner doesn’t get into too much trouble. Don’t worry, we’ve got your back. We’ll figure something out if anything happens, but you generally do pretty well without the B team.” Queen Bee pushes her out of the room with a wink.

Ladybug glances back one last time before she heads in; Max has come closer, and her three friends smile at her reassuringly as she does. She smiles back, hoping it expresses just how much she’s thankful for them being there, and not how worried she is about what might unfold.

---

Chat Noir barely hears the guests’ gasps as they make way for him. He strides purposefully into the room, his eyes trained on his father. Gabriel Agreste. Hawkmoth.

When he catches sight of the dark figure approaching him, the man tenses even more than he’d already been, which Chat hadn’t thought was possible. Yes, you can be worried, he thinks, nodding at Nino and Kagami to relieve them of their duties. Both stand aside, and start ushering people away from the newly formed trio.

“Chat Noir,” Gabriel greets coldly, eyes flickering to his right hand’s ring finger.

Even now, that’s all he can think about, Chat shakes his head, protectively balling his hand into a fist. He’s ready to seize the opportunity, even if it means disrupting his only son’s wedding. He hopes his scorn is visible as he looks at him.

“What a… pleasant surprise,” his father lets out without conviction, a hint of a smirk playing at his lips.

It takes all of Chat Noir’s willpower to not spit at his feet, and even more to not spit in his face.

“Mr. Agreste,” he says through gritted teeth. “I believe we need to talk.”

“Do we? Whatever about?” His eyebrows shoot up, and he looks around the room with fake amusement, as if trying to find an allied face in the crowd. Most people look away uneasily. He’s a powerful man, but his challenger is one of Paris’ most trusted protectors. Something must be up, and although it isn't clear what side it's best to be on, something tells them it's not Gabriel Agreste's.

To the untrained eye, Gabriel looks perplexed, almost hurt by the request. To Adrien Agreste, though, who has spent years scrutinising his father’s facial expressions, searching for any hint of pride, love, anything positive, there’s no mistake; he can read the fear in his eyes.

He takes a step forward.

“That’s a nice scarf you have today.” He nods towards his father’s neck, sporting his classic candy-cane Ascot. “A little… ten, fifteen-years ago, though, don’t you think? If it ever was in fashion.”

“It’s a signature look,” Gabriel scoffs, offended by the superhero’s words. “As Chanel once said, la mode se démode, le style, jamais.”

“Yet that implies that you actually have style, which is a statement I’m sure I’m not the only one to disagree with.” He takes a look around the room, pouting pensively. “Actually, you know what? I think the scarf should come off. It clashes with the wedding’s colour scheme. Unless it holds a higher meaning to you?” He asks innocently, but there’s no mistaking the threat in his eyes as he holds a hand out.

Gabriel shares a look with Nathalie, who nods uneasily. He takes off the tie, revealing a single, gleaming, amethyst underneath (bingpot, Chat thinks), and hands it over to Chat Noir. “Of course not. In fact, if this is a way of getting something of mine, you know, I would’ve given it to you for a lot less hostility. Would you like it signed?” He smirks again.

Chat is about to lunge at him when he feels a hand on his shoulder.

“Chat Noir, don’t you think we should take this some other place? Somewhere less public, perhaps?” Ladybug asks soothingly.

Chat’s eyes flicker to her for the briefest of instants. It’s enough for Gabriel to seize the opportunity.

“Nooroo, dark wings rise!” Gabriel makes the most of his opponent’s distraction, yanking Ladybug by the arm to hold her against him.

She yelps as she feels the cold metal of his cane against her neck, almost choking her. Her eyes dart wildly around, taking in the panic that washes over the room, and she tries to free herself, but Hawkmoth tightens his grip. People scream and push each other as they run for shelter. This is exactly what she’d wanted to avoid.

“There, you have what you want, don’t you?” Hawkmoth lets out a dry laugh. “A public reveal. Maybe you should’ve consulted with your girlfriend first, though.” Ladybug feels the cane start digging in her neck, and she gasps.

“She’s not my girlfriend anymore,” Chat Noir snarls, taking another step forward. He knows he can't go straight for his opponent with Ladybug trapped like she is. He'd run the risk of her getting severely injured.

Ladybug is thankful for his diversion; her captor’s attention is fully on him, rather than on the hundreds of agitated guests. Her mind whirrs as she tries to think of something to do that wouldn’t end in total carnage, but the lack of oxygen is making her mind fuzzy.

“Oh? What a shame. You know, I could help you get revenge for her breaking your heart. I’ll take her earrings as down payment, and you can give me your ring when you’re done.” His smile makes him look deranged. Chat Noir can feel the panic rising in his chest, but represses it.

“Who says she broke my heart?” He shoots him a look of disgust and opens his hand, ready to invoke his Cataclysm.

He doesn’t get that far - a portal opens behind Hawkmoth and out flies Carapace’s shield in a flash of green, hitting the villain straight in the head before falling at his side.

He grunts and loses his grip on Ladybug, who seizes the opportunity to take a deep breath and scramble to Chat’s side. Her partner steps in front of her, his arm extended protectively in front of her body, as Hawkmoth pushes himself up to reach for his cane.

He stumbles back down before it can fly back in his hand, yellow flashing out from the same portal and hitting him in the lower back. His knees buckle under him. Queen Bee and Carapace step out of the portal, the former rewinding her spinning top.

Chat Noir yanks Hawkmoth’s brooch off of his immobilised body, releasing his transformation. Kagami comes forwards, holding Nathalie with her arms pinned behind her back. The assistant had apparently tried to make a break for it when her accomplice had transformed. They are soon joined by the police special forces, advancing cautiously behind their shields to secure the perimeter.

As Gabriel and Nathalie are cufflinked and brought out of the room, Ladybug catches Adrien and an illusion of herself out of the corner of her eye. She doesn’t think she’d look as panicked and distraught as Alya is making her, were she a mere bystander, but then again, her expression matches Adrien’s. It probably isn’t as over the top as she thinks it is.

Carapace picks up his shield once the floor is cleared, dusting it a little before fastening it to his back.

“I know it’s not the first time I knocked Hawkmoth in the head, but man, it feels even better now that I know who he is.”

“He deserves all the worst.” Chloé looks at Nathalie and Gabriel’s backs the same way she’d looked at socks in sandals the previous summer - with complete and utter disdain. Ladybug is almost surprised that she doesn’t sprint after them to kick them or something.

Chat nods along, before his attention snaps to Ladybug. Worry wrinkles his forehead as he holds her at arms’ length, looking for any sign of injury. “Are you alright, my Lady?”

“Yeah, don’t worry about me.” She waves his concern away, even if her voice is hoarser than usual. She pushes him back slightly and cups his cheek.

He’s the one she’s worried about. An anger she’d never seen so potent on him had seemed to emanate from him as he talked to Gabriel Agreste. She needed to talk to him about it.

“Marinette?” Alya’s voice sounds in their ear, interrupting their fussing over each other. They wince a little at the volume.

“Yes?” She replies, keeping a hand on him.

“People are starting to fuss over you and Adrien, I think you should come and detransform. I’m not sure I can handle hugs.”

She glances at Chat Noir.

“Go, I’ll be fine.” He squeezes her shoulder. “I’m going to make sure they don’t escape their lift to jail. I promise no punching will be involved, even if I feel like I missed out earlier.” His smile is a little tense.

“Okay.” She lets go of him cautiously. “Come and find me after?”

“I purr-omise.” He kisses her forehead and watches her walk out of the room, barely sparing a glance at their doubles who start following her. She therefore misses fake-Adrien retaining fake-Marinette and whispering something in her ear. The latter nods, and he kisses her knuckles before leaving through another door. Fake Marinette blushes and gives him a small wave with a lovestruck smile. Alya really has us nailed down, hasn’t she, he shakes his head as he watches the scene unfold.

“Hey dude, how are you holding up?” Carapace drapes an arm around his shoulders. Queen Bee and Kagami move closer to them as well. From the concerned look on Chloé’s face, Adrien deduces that the others must have brought her up to speed on the situation. She’d never been a big fan of Chat Noir.

“It’s a lot.” He admits, raking a hand through his hair. “But I’m so thankful for you guys. I lost it earlier, and that almost lost us Hawkmoth and Ladybug.” He looks up at his three friends with a small smile.

“We’ll always have your back.” Chloé pats his arm. “Especially when it’s this satisfying.”

“Now, go and watch your progenitor get driven away. I hope you’ll find it enjoyable.” Kagami nudges him towards the exit.

He nods and takes his leave. He has one last card to play to make it truly fulfilling, and he’s definitely putting it down.

---

Chat Noir walks towards the van, feeling his anger boil again at the sight of his father’s profile through the back doors’ windows. He takes a moment to breathe in deeply and think happy thoughts. Now that Hawkmoth has been arrested, he’ll finally be able to reveal his identity to Marinette. He’ll do it before the end of the day, so they can make the most of their honeymoon. Maybe there is a silver lining to this, after all.

Having regained his cool, he strides up to the van, his step unusually heavy. Gabriel Agreste looks up at the sound of his footsteps on the gravel, and frowns.

“What do you want?” He asks dryly.

“See, I just thought our conversation earlier was cut a little short. What with you attacking Ladybug and everything.” His eyes shoot daggers.

“Why would you care, if you’re not together anymore?” His father scoots a little away from the van’s back doors as Chat Noir approaches.

“I never said we weren’t together anymore. And even if that were the case, I’ll remind you that we’ve been fighting evil, you, for over a decade. Nothing could break our bond at this point. But what I actually meant was that ‘girlfriend’ is no longer a suitable title for her. She’s now my wife.” He tells him, an almost manic glint in his eye. This is going to hurt you so much, and I'm going to enjoy every last minute of it. This is for hiding Maman from me.

“Are you expecting congratulations from me?” Gabriel all but rolls his eyes, his voice laced with sarcasm.

“Well, even if you didn’t exactly say it, I feel like you covered that part earlier.” Gabriel’s eyes are on the verge of reckoning. He would probably figure it out with a little mulling over during the drive, but Chat needs the satisfaction of seeing his expression at the exact moment he realises what he means. “She’s a bit busy at the moment, but I’m sure she’d join me in thanking you for coming to our wedding today… Father.”

Gabriel’s jaw drops and Chat enjoys watching the thousands of emotions that flicker through his eyes, distorting his face as the van starts to drive away. It’s perfect timing. He can see his father shouting, banging on the doors, but he’s out of earshot. He stands on the porch until the vehicle is out of sight, then heads back inside.

He’s almost tackled by Marinette as he does.

“Chaton, something just… doesn’t seem right,” she whispers as she hugs him. She’d thought about it while she reassured her parents and some other guests that she and Adrien were fine, although the latter's absence made her question his well being. Not wanting to worry too much about it, she’d dissected the events in her head, instead. “Everything seems to be sorted now, we uncovered Hawkmoth’s identity, but then who was blackmailing me? Who was blackmailing him? And why?”

Chat Noir notices people are looking at them a little pointedly, whispering. He untangles himself from her arms and reluctantly steps away. “We’ve got all the time in the world to discover that, Princess.” He nods towards their audience and she nods in understanding, although she looks a little disappointed. “It was an honour saving your wedding.”

“Yes, thank you for that.” She clears her throat.

“We can discuss it with Ladybug after your honeymoon.” He says, and she notices he’s a little tense, almost brooding as he stands before her.

“Speaking of which, I… I should go and find Adrien.” She looks around, hoping she’ll finally spot the familiar mop of blond hair in the crowds that have returned, slightly shaken. Alya told her that he’d gone to freshen up after the arrest, and she can’t help but wonder if he’s okay. It’s been a little while. “Want to come with?”

“I don’t think my presence is necessary. I’ll catch up with you later.” He feels a giddy smile spread on his lips, his thoughts clinging to his reveal. Marinette shoots him a quizzical look before heading off towards the stairs leading to the bedrooms.

He manages to beat her to his. He detransforms, and opens the door right as she’s about to knock.

“Oh, hey, Marinette.” He jumps back a little, pretending to be caught off-guard by her presence. “I was just about to join you downstairs. Is everything alright?”

“That’s my line.” She tries to joke, but his jumpiness concerns her a little. “Can we talk, just for a second?”

“Yeah, of course.” He opens the door wider for her and leads her inside the room, fidgeting with his ring. He invites her to sit at the foot of his bed.

Marinette opens her mouth, then closes it. She frowns as she tries to find a good opening question, comment, anything. She hasn’t been this tongue-tied since collège, and this has got to be the worst moment for it to strike again. She utters a couple of words, but backtracks again and again. None feel really right in these circumstances.

Adrien patiently listens as she tries to find the words. She doesn’t dare touch him, if her distance on the bed tells him anything. He wished she would though; he could do with a hug, their previous one having been interrupted. He knows hugging Adrien could make her feel uncomfortable, though, on account of the fact that she thinks he might have feelings for her, and that she doesn’t want to lead him on. Always so thoughtful, his Lady.

“How are you feeling, Adrien?” Marinette finally says, carefully taking his hands in hers and squeezing them. “You say the word, and everybody goes home. I’m really so sorry things turned out this way, had I known, I wouldn’t have done anything today…”

“Marinette,” Adrien squeezes her hands back and looks at her earnestly. “Trust me, you did the right thing. It would never have been a good time to learn about my father’s… activities anyway. At least you had everybody who matters with you, ready to help. It might have been more complicated to have that any day.” He smiles sadly. “Besides…” He starts, but hesitates.

“Adrien, I’m here for you. You can count on me to be there, to listen. Don’t hold back.” She leans forwards, encouraging him when his silence stretches.

Adrien’s smile strengthens, becoming almost hopeful as he shifts closer to her on the bed. This is it, he thinks. Now or… well, not never, but this is as good a time as any.

“Besides,” he clears his throat, “I’ve been meaning to tell you something for a while now, and I guess this is just a sign that we should have this conversation now. You said that we should wait, but-”

“Ah, there you two are!” Alix barges into the room without knocking, and Marinette would have flung herself at her to thank her for the interruption, had she not been afraid of hurting Adrien’s feelings. She carefully lets go of his hands and stands up, crossing her arms over her chest.

She hadn’t liked Adrien’s tender eyes just now. Like they were hoping for something she knew he knew she couldn’t give him. She didn’t feel like turning him down today, not after everything that had happened, after he’d basically lost his family. But she wouldn’t really have a choice if he tried again later.

Where are you, Chat Noir? she thinks. Having him around would probably keep Adrien at bay. She wonders what better things he could have to do at this moment, but nothing comes to mind.

She turns towards her friend. She’d have to do, for now.

“Alix?” The young woman had started slow clapping about halfway through her inner monologue, looking excessively smug.

“I’ve been looking for you two everywhere, I wanted to congratulate you in person.” She grins.

Marinette and Adrien look at her, slightly puzzled. Marinette wonders if she’s off somewhere, and just wanted to say goodbye. Clapping seems a little over the top, though.

“You solved my mystery!” She clarifies, prompting Adrien and Marinette to look at each other.

“Care to elaborate?” Adrien raises an eyebrow.

“She got us a sort of escape game as a wedding present,” Marinette starts explaining, although she’s failing to see how everything ties up together.

“Yeah, and you did really well! Not gonna lie, I was expecting more drama from today, but hey, it was probably for the best.” She sighs when she sees her dumbfounded friends’ faces. “See, both of you were just so cute together, it was honestly getting a little nauseating back in the burrow.” Alix sarcastically joins her hands near her cheek. “Everything was in order, no end of the world in sight” she shoots a pointed look at Marinette, “but that made you slow down on the Hawkmoth hunt, so I had to do something. I know I’m not supposed to meddle, but hey. Hawkmoth and Mayura were getting on my nerves, and I’d kept my mouth shut long enough. ” She shrugs. “And I thought the detective play was pretty fitting, remember Mylène’s Akumatisation, when we were trying to film that movie for a competition in collège? You guys played some agents or something, and I think it was the moment pretty much everyone started shipping you two together, if they hadn’t already been.”

“But, we're not..." Marinette starts before another thought goes through her mind, the first of many that prevent her from finishing her sentences. "And the envelopes…” She shakes her head, trying to organise her thoughts. Things don’t add up in what Alix is saying, but she’s too stunned to figure it out.

“Planted by me, for you and Hawkmoth. I thought it would speed things along, whoever made the first move. Sorry for freaking you out so much. I actually wasn’t expecting you guys to go through the fake wedding route, but it ended up making things a lot easier for me. Everybody was in the same place at the same time, so really, great job on that.” She nods to herself before looking up at them again. “It was even super easy to get Max to bring his equipment, just had to make a post on one of his usual forums saying a life-size hide and seek was a great wedding activity, especially if you had earpieces for the seekers, and voilà. You have a convinced man.” She gives them a satisfied smile. “I’ll get him to launch a game before the end of the day. He might be disappointed otherwise.” She adds pensively.

Her friends still look at her like she’s grown a second head. She rolls her eyes at the lack of response, but kind of understands.

“Anyway, I know there’s a lot to unpack, but just know that everything’s fixed now. I’ll leave you two to enjoy the honeymoon you so deserve. Ladynoir for the win!” She winks.

Turning around, she takes a couple of steps, hands digged in her suit pockets, mentally counting down for Marinette to connect the dots.

3, 2, 1…

“Wait, Alix?” Marinette calls out to her friend.

“Yes, boss?” Alix smirks as she turns around.

“What do you mean, Ladynoir?” She’s frowning, eyes darting between her and Adrien.

“It's a ship name, for Ladybug and Chat Noir?" Alix asks, angelically batting her eyelids. "Oh, no, don't tell me; you guys hadn’t reached that part of your discussion yet.” She snaps her fingers and shakes her head, her grin giving away how unrepentant she is. “Well, spoiler alert, then, I guess.”

Marinette turns towards Adrien, who’s smiling sheepishly at her.

“I was just about to tell you, Bugaboo,” he says and her eyes widen in response.

"I'll leave you two to it!" Alix smiles as she walks out of the room, whistling the wedding march tune. She doesn’t need to turn around to know Adrien has probably taken his bride’s hand in his and is probably kissing her knuckles, while Marinette is on the cusp of having a meltdown.

Her job here is done.

She slides the ‘do not disturb’ panel on the door handle; something tells her they might need it. So what if the first dance is even more delayed. She’s not in charge of the day’s schedule.

But she definitely won the best present award.

[infinitysgrace]

(1/3) Generally with Alya, when asked to justify their hatred of her canonically, salters will point to her 1. being pushy and "enabling" with Marinette about her crush, stating that she puts Marinette in uncomfortable situations in order to get her to confess 2. expecting Marinette to provide evidence for saying that Lila's lying, yet taking Lila at her word. She's commonly ragged on for this as being a "betrayal" of sorts, since she's Marinette's friend and should always believe her.

(2/3) 3. Because Alya isn't "called out" by the narrative much (this is also used to justify Adrien's relentless bashing), citing examples like Reflekdoll with Alya dismissing Juleka's panic attack, Oblivio with her posting that picture of Ladybug and Chat Noir kissing, or the NY special with her and Nino supposedly "encouraging Marinette and Adrien to cheat", along with the aforementioned "pushing Marinette into uncomfortable situations" bit.

So I got an error when I tried to submit the third part, so I dunno whether it went through. Anyway, if it didn't: Alya not being punished enough canonically is used as justification to punish her as much as possible in fanfics (the same reasoning is used with Adrien salt). Notably, none of this explains why Alya's commonly portrayed as being cruel and violent. I have seen no reasoning put forwards on that by Alya salters. (3/3)

*sigh* alright let’s go down the list.

1. ... there’s way too much to unpack there, moving on.

2. It’s been established that Lila is good enough at lying that trying to pick at her lies will get them turned back at you, but whatever I guess. revisit my point about people getting angry would have been expelled.

3. *sigh* Alya doesn’t have a Tikki or a Nooroo to spell it out all of her mistakes to the audience like Marinette does. Reflekdoll, Unless we’re making fun of Marinette for cataclysming a sentimonster, or making fun of Adrien for not seeing the opening on the back of the sentimonster even though he was looking right at it, I don’t wanna hear anything about Reflekdoll. Oblivio, ok she probably shouldn’t have posted the picture but um... that justifies making her violent and evil how? NY, the fact that her and nino were encouraging Marinette and Adrien to spend time together means THEY PROBABLY AREN’T IN RELATIONSHIPS, C’MON NOW USE YOUR HEADS PEOPLE. 

Part 3, revisit point one (also, on the point of Adrien salters... I’m just gonna stick to Alya rn, I don’t have the mental energy for that rn) Notably, of course they don’t explain, it’s because the reason is racism and they know they can’t say that.

[ajwinter-is-a-nerd]

Le Chat Et Le Serpent - Chapter 27

Please note that the entirety of this story is a ****TRIGGER WARNING***** - mentions of child abuse, graphic violence, alcohol use, mental health, suicide, suicidal ideation, self-harm - basically a constant blow of pain towards the characters - as well as some "steamy" moments.

Chapter Summary:

The final chapter in part 2!!

Lila and Felix have discovered a new edge to use against the miraculous footage. Emelie stands up to Gabriel. Adrien and Luka start work to complete an arduous task.

In the second part I couldn't get the song "Won't Back Down" out of my head (hence the title of the chapter) - the headings aren't thematic with the song, but the fact that everyone is pushing forward. Fighting for what they believe is the right thing to do.

Chapter 27: Won't Back Down

Preparing for Battle

Volpina sneered as she threw the mandarin ball towards a suited up Felix. It gently brushed his collar before diligently returning to her open hand. “Fetch.” 

The Butterfly Miraculous flew from Felix’s chest, dragging Nooroo through the air with it. 

“It worked!” No longer having Felix’s power to maintain Volpina, Lila stood wearing only the Dog suit. She fist bumped the air as she danced in a circle. 

Felix’s face was flat as he took the jewel back from her. “Good work, Lila. Now all we need to do is make sure we’re able to get it on our next target.” The orange glow from Lila’s detransformation highlighted his pensive state. 

“Which you’re of course going to make me do.” Lila’s face scrunched as if she had smelt rotten milk. 

Felix tsked towards her. “Of course. You bitch about my own capabilities, yet you can barely send out a butterfly. Do what you do best, find someone to piss off.” 

Lila rolled her eyes as she passed back the Dog Miraculous. “I don’t understand why we don’t just go after Luka, or Nino!” She jetted her hand towards the board. 

Felix repressed the urge to lash out against her. Clicking his jaw, he instead chose to stand before their detective work. “Because we aren’t certain if Adrien is Chat Noir, or who has the rings.” 

“Oh!” The mention of the rings triggered the memory of the photos she captured at the restaurant. “Look at these.” 

Lila made Felix’s skin crawl, but she continued to prove her usefulness times over. If she had left him to fend for himself, he likely would have been found, or know nothing of Adrien’s worsening reactions to the rings. Eagerly, he grabbed her burner phone to inspect the photos. The elation that coursed through him evaporated as the content of the pictures sunk in.  

Lila, or in her disguise at the time Liam, had lifted up the lid of the garbage can to get a proper view of the wreckage within. There were mounds of multi-shaded blood stains; dark chunks of clots rested on garnet and scarlett towels. Nooroo’s voluminous gasp alleviated Felix from the responsibility of formulating a response. 

“Ugh, you’re so dramatic, Nooroo!” Lila sighed at the horrified Kwami.

Ignoring Lila, Felix turned towards Nooroo. “Have you seen this before? Is it normal for there to be that much?” He purposefully evaded the key descriptive word, knowing that it would force him to reimagine the image that seared into his head. 

Nooroo drearily shook their head. “Bleeds like this were rare. A similar one ended with Adrien in the hospital.”

Biting his lip, Felix internally cursed the rings. There was no excuse for the Agreste’s to treat this amount of loss with a blasé attitude. “People lose less blood when they get shot. What caused this?”

“The most severe losses I saw were either from conflicting demands or when Adrien fought the order with all his might.” Nooroo informed Felix, to the maximum of their capabilities. 

“Hmmm…” Felix returned to a contemplative state. Still lacking the courage to see the gruesome stack of blood, he flipped a few photos back before looking at the phone again. There were several photos documenting the dinner outing. “Logically, the ring holder was at this table then?” 

Nooroo was silent; the fact that each patron was a holder inhibited them from saying nearly anything besides commenting on their surface appearance. If Nooroo confirmed or denied the possibility of one of them wearing the ring; any comment could lead Felix and Lila to focus on how the return of the Miraculous’ to the Guardian occurred, or worse, who was on each side of the transaction. 

Barkk peered at the picture, immediately recognizing the holders within the frame. She gave a distressed glance towards Nooroo, but Nooroo warned her with a stilled face. 

Felix took the Kawmi’s silence as confirmation, knowing that they could not provide information that may endanger Miraculous holders. Either Marinette or Luka holds the ring. And either Adrien is really fighting what they tell him… or someone is crossing over rules that Gabriel already left in place…

Felix connected the phone to their printer so they could add the photos to their recon board. He tacked their outing into the rings’ section of the board. If they can’t say anything, is it more likely that it’s Luka? Since he’s a Miraculous holder? Or have we not been looking close enough at Marinette Dupain-Cheng? His thoughts were projected as he pinned Marinette under the ‘possibly Ladybug’ section. 

“You don’t really think that rat could be Ladybug?” Lila scoffed as Felix underlined her photo. 

“I think… it’s a lead worth following.” Felix observed the Kwamis to see if they would provide any tells, but they were careful to stay stoic. “Lila, one of these two is wearing my family’s ring. I need you to figure out who.” 

“Do you think it’s Luka?” Lila didn’t work to mask her excitement. “Think about all the kinky stuff you could do wearing one of those rings!” 

This time, Felix did not refrain from lashing out against the girl. As he massaged his reddened hand, his eyes leered into her.  “They should never be used by anyone other than Adrien or I.” 

Assenting to his command, she meekly nodded. 

“Plus,” Felix continued, “it would be more convoluted if it was Luka. When you mix a Miraculous with the power of the rings things become more… difficult.” 

One Life for Another's

The dawn sun crept through the kitchen windows as Emelie timidly tapped her mug. With each step that echoed through the house, she took another sip. Considering the amount of staff signing in to begin their shifts, she was already on her third latte. Even with the triple dose of espresso her movements were languid, she hadn’t slept a wink. The bottom remnants of her drink dribbled against her tongue as the steps she dreaded made their way into the kitchen. 

“Why didn’t you come to bed, Emelie?” His voice was chilly as he poured himself coffee from the freshly filled pot. 

She normally despised that he wouldn’t face her while he scolded, but at this moment, it was easier to speak to his back than to his face. “I asked Adrien to leave with me last night.” 

His knuckles whitened as he set the pot back on the element. His growling voice met her before his seething glare did. “And what did he say?” 

Emelie watched the caramel flecks swimming in the droplets of milk that had not quite made it out of her mug. “He didn’t want to leave you. Said that it would hurt you too much.” 

Gabriel pushed her chin up, so that she was forced to face his intimidating stature. “How dare you ask him to do such a thing. I’ll make sure you never have that opportunity again.” The tapping of the ring against the marble indicated his intentions. 

“You can’t! That is not what the rings are meant for. They are to keep him safe, not for totalitarian control!” Emelie stood to convey that she would not back down. 

“How dare you speak to me in this way!” His elevated voice enlarged his presence. “I have given you everything a wife could ask for. Yet you stealth behind my back to attempt to steal  my own flesh and blood from me. He is more my son than yours!” 

Emelie’s face deepened into a crimson tone as fury built within her stomach. She may not have bore Adrien, but she was more of a parent to the boy than Gabriel had been for years. Instead of dwelling on the childish blow, she focused on her ‘gifted’ life. “Remember that you would not be here without my family’s fortune. Your name may be on the face of the company, but it was built by Graham De Vanily.” 

Gabriel’s hand raised in a warning. His abuse had only recently crossed the line of physical, at least in regards to herself. Emelie wanted to leave before those hands grew heavier. 

“I will give him my ring, the ring that he is destined to hold, and your orders will never control him again! The ones you’ve reinforced for years will start to weaken as soon as it slips around his finger.” Her stance stumbled as she threatened him. Her nostrils flared, in anger towards Gabriel, and to her own weakened state. 

Nathalie, who had been attending to the last minutes of the argument from around the corner, broke her halted position. Hastily, she fled upstairs to grab the Peacock Miraculous. Running her finger along the crack, she doubted her proposed actions. Should I stand in? Emelie is too weak to use this again. She already pushed herself too many times with it. But Emelie asked me to support Gabriel, to offer no indication of thwarted plans. Ugh…I’ll just bring it down and let her decide. 

With the Miraculous hidden within her fist, she furtively sprinted towards the scene. Pausing, she spied Gabriel as he confidently began his march towards Adrien’s room. Creeping around the corner into the kitchen, she found Emelie sobbing against the countertop, too powerless to intervene. 

“Emelie.” Nathalie’s voice was firm as she held out the Miraculous. “I might be able to stop him.” 

The waterfalls upon Emelie’s face dammed as she analysed the jewel in Nathalie’s hand. Using the counter's edge to guide her, she reached towards the brooch. “I know what to do.” 

Concerned over her state, Nathalie tried to refuse. “Please, just tell me, I will do it so you don’t have to.” 

Emelie’s fingers coiled around the Miraculous. “No, I have to do this. I need to fix what I’ve broken.” 

Nathalie mournfully agreed, it was Emelie’s choice. 

“Emelie! What are you doing? Are you okay?” Duusu was immediately perturbed by Emelie’s trembling state. 

“Duusu,” Emelie forced the words from her throat, “Spread my feathers.” 

Gabriel had reached the family portrait at the top of the stairs when something flickered before him. 

What are you up to Emelie? He tapped his own Miraculous in preparation. There were spots of scarlett along the floor, leading away from the direction of Adrien’s room. Gritting his teeth, he resumed his direction, but was thwarted by a familiar voice.

“Dad?” It was undoubtedly Adrien’s voice, but it carried a higher pitch than what the boy had grown into. Unable to fight the soft beckon, he followed it. 

A lime coloured helmet teetered along the floor as the blood trail grew thicker. A rhythmic spinning of a bicycle wheel echoed through the hall. “Dad?” The voice repeated.

Bile and tears fought to break free as Gabriel walked into the set that Emelie had created for him. A young Adrien lay on his back, his fingers spread towards Gabriel. His skull was exposed as it continued to ink towards the floor. Once Senti-Adrien saw Gabriel, he sat upright, his eyes glowing an unholy bright green. “Dad, I thought you said you would protect me?” 

Unable to resist, tears escaped from Gabriel’s face, his features softened. He was aware that he was witnessing an illusion, but he couldn’t resist reaching towards the boy. “I’m - I’m so sorry, son.” His touch quivered as he tried to prevent the flow of mystical blood. 

“Why didn’t you keep me safe?” Senti-Adrien’s voice was an uncanny melody. 

Before Gabriel could pull the illusion of his boy into his arms, he disappeared. Fuming at the psychological warfare, Gabriel stormed back to the kitchen to find Emelie. He didn’t walk far before he saw that she had dragged herself from the kitchen. Her body lay limp in the centre of the main hall, nearly the exact same place Adrien would lay nearly a decade later. 

Duusu was frantically circling Emelie. She had not called down the power, but no longer had the energy to wield it. “Emelie? Emelie!” 

Nooroo soared ahead of Gabriel to join Duusu. They had seen enough bodies to understand the state of Duusu’s holder. “Shh, Duusu, I’ve got you.” Nooroo held Duusu as he shook. 

“What happened?” Duusu sank further into Nooroo’s hold. 

“She has been weak for a long time.” Nooroo soothed the Kwami. 

“But… but she knew she couldn’t! Why did she use it?” 

Nooroo’s seething glare towards Gabriel answered for them. 

Gabriel was too preoccupied with his fallen wife to pay attention to the judgement cast upon him. “Go hide. You two cannot be seen.” He commanded as he pulled Emelie into his arms. It was the moment that he hadn’t got with Adrien’s Sentimonster, but the hold was unyieldingly futile, barren of warmth or closure. No matter how tight he held, she would never come back to him. 

Within the confines of the master bedroom, Duusu succumbed to his emotions. Between heaves he mumbled, “was your master always so cruel?” 

Nooroo ran their hand along Duusu’s face. “No, he used to be gentle and caring. The dark magic in the rings changed him.” 

“What will happen to the boy now? To the other ring?” The memories of a younger Adrien were still ungraspable to Duusu, but he always felt an invisible tie towards the boy. Everytime he heard the boy’s soft chuckle, it warmed his chest; heart or not, he knew the boy meant something to him. 

“I don’t know.” Nooroo tried to hide their fear, but their voice still quaked. “All I know is without Emelie’s ring being actively used, there will be no balance. All we can do is pray that our Guardian finds us.” 

The day drew long and wearisome in the Agreste home as they dealt with Emelie’s passing. From this day forward, Gabriel would always hold the weight of Emelie’s death, and Adrien would always believe it was caused by his refusal to leave. 

Standing at the Gates to Hell

“Are you sure you want to do this tonight?” Luka asked as he approached Adrien’s bed. Luka’s exhaustion carried through to his fingertips; highlighted through the trembling black boxes in his hands containing their day old tiramisus. This wasn’t the romantic situation he envisioned while they shared their creamy, caffeinated sweetness; but hopefully, it would at least soften the intensity of the moment. 

Adrien’s face was illuminated by the laptop that glowed in front of him. He didn’t break his robotic disposition as he responded to Luka. “I wanted to get it done yesterday, but…” 

His trailing sentence referred to the reason their tiramisu was not fresh. Their moment of serenity as they cat napped under the stars on a Parisian rooftop. 

Luka’s fingers pushed into the boxes as he wriggled himself around Adrien’s fixed position. His shins met the outsides of Adrien’s crossed legs. “Oh yeah, we’re basically famous now.” Delicately, Luka set Adrien’s treat against his ankles in the centre of his stance. 

Using his free hand, Adrien slightly repositioned the dessert. His glance stayed unmoved as he flatly acknowledged the comment. “Goodie, I’ve always wanted to be famous.” 

Adrien couldn’t see Luka’s smirk, but he could feel the amused tensing of Luka’s face against his neck. The corner of Adrien’s lips lifted microscopically, enough that the man behind him was blind to the warming effect he had created. 

Luka’s chin further pressed onto Adrien as he stretched to peek at the tilting confection in his Prettyboy’s lap. He decided that his own was too far, and stealing some of Adrien’s may encourage the Prettyboy to have a bite himself. Slithering his arm against Adrien’s side, he pushed the fork through the airy dessert. The aroma of vanilla coffee filled the air as he lifted it to his own mouth, astutely aware that he had underestimated the crumbly nature of the desert. The mess became easier to ignore once the velvety soft confection melted along his tongue. 

Drawn to the smell, Adrien finally diverted his gaze, searching for the fork within Luka’s hand. Registering the movement, Luka prepared a bite for Adrien. Holding once again only the reflection of his laptop within his jade eyes, he opened his mouth to the approaching delight. He pursed his lips as Luka retracted the fork, effectively cleaning off the cream remnants. The pleasure brought by the delicacy was intensified as Luka’s soft lips caressed his throat. Adrien allowed the screen to leave his sight for a moment as a light moan rumbled through him. 

Luka’s hold tightened around Adrien, his right hand laid firmly flat against his beating heart. Providing a last firm kiss unto Adrien, he broke their connection, bringing both of their attention back to the gruesome task at hand. “Where are we starting?” 

Sighing, Adrien resumed his slouched position before the black and white footage. “Thought we should start at the most important part, the day my father got hold of the Miraculous’.” 

The violin within Adrien tensed as he sped through the footage. It would be difficult to decipher anything from the quality of video, but it was better than nothing. Luka jolted at the mirrored figure of Adrien entering the corner of the screen. “There he is!” He nearly shouted as he pointed a finger, from his left hand, towards the skipping video. 

Adrien slammed the spacebar and started tapping back. Together, they watched from the moment Flairmidable entered the room. Immediately, the supervillain casually leaned into Gabriel’s throne. 

Wow, he just made himself at home. Adrien was astonished at the level of comfort Felix carried within Gabriel’s office; it was a sentiment he had never experienced himself. 

Gabriel entered the office in a huff, initially oblivious to Flairmidable spinning his ball upon the tip of his finger. Through grainy footage they could make out that the two were speaking, but most was left to the imagination. Flairmidable pointed towards the opposite edge of the office. 

“What’s he pointing at?” Luka scraped at his one memory of the inside of Gabriel’s office. Considering it was in ruins by the time he set foot in it, all he could imagine was the portrait of Emelie.

“Not sure. There’s a safe behind my mom’s painting, maybe that?” Adrien refocused on the silent discussion unfolding on the screen.

It appeared as if Flairmidable held a bargaining chip within his fingers, but it was too pixelated to differ between animated jest or a real artefact. 

Luka’s face pushed into the crease in Adrien’s neck, applying support he knew the boy would not ask for. Briefly separating from the mousepad, Adrien curled the tips of his fingers around Luka’s hand that steadied his chest. 

“Felix still has the ball in his hand, what do you think he traded?” Adrien rewound the footage again to see if a slower speed would help to clarify the space between Flairmidable’s fingers. 

“Self-worth?” Luka’s tone was thick with irony, but he still pulled in along with Adrien, to look closer at the screen. 

Again, there was nothing significant to be seen. 

Resuming the playback speed, Adrien’s heart rate picked up as a ball went flying into the air. Luka strengthened the pressure against Adrien’s chest. He felt Adrien’s appreciation as he relaxed within his grasp. 

Gabriel hunched over the desk, which Adrien assumed meant he was gawking over his new set of jewellery. The edge of the desk was just beyond the sight of the camera, but the timing would make the transaction undeniable. 

“If I show them… they… they’re all going to know.” The magnitude of the footage collided into Adrien. 

Assiduously, Luka moved the dessert from Adrien’s lap so he could completely surround the fretful man. Adrien’s teeth veered on chattering as he pressed his jaw against Luka’s temple. 

“You’re not forced to show them, you said so yourself.” Luka knew when Adrien had said these words that he didn’t understand the gravity of the situation, but hoped that it would help nevertheless. 

Adrien’s entire body began to shake. He would have to show them something or they would assume he knew all along. “I should have just told them right away, I just… I didn’t think they would need to know… he was… he was gone!” 

Luka pulled their entangled bodies towards the bed as he endlessly kissed wherever his lips would meet. “Alya knows, and I know, that you’re Chat Noir. We won’t let you down.” The additional edge began to slice Luka into reality, these videos had the power to take Adrien away from him. “We can’t let you down.” 

Yearning to topple his balance between pain and comfort, Adrien turned to face Luka. His lips would dull the agony of reality. 

Understanding Adrien’s pinning for distraction, Luka cupped Adrien’s cheek as he collided with his lips. The escape and ferocity of the movement incited a raspy purr to release from Adrien. 

Luka pushed Adrien to his back as his fingers ran through his hair. Placing his forearms below his model of perfection, Luka stiffened their connection. As Adrien’s fingers turned to claws against his back, Luka’s stomach clenched. A constant relay of reactions intensified each shared movement. 

One of Luka’s hands slid from Adrien’s back to seize the boy’s bucking hip. Adrien’s grasp on Luka compounded strength with each kiss. Burning sensations ran through Luka as he guided Adrien through thrusts. Steam continued to build as Luka focused control through his own hips and slid his hand up Adrien’s shirt. 

The connection of skin triggered Adrien to arch his back, absentmindedly dropping his arm that was nearest to the outside of the bed. His hand met a chilled pile of goo. Adrien groaned as his body stilled. 

Initially, the groan had fueled Luka, but the excitement was quick to drop when Adrien’s body stopped responding. “Are you okay?” His eyes shone heavily blue as he fretted over Adrien. 

Adrien’s face fell to a pout, but it was too akin to Chat’s for Luka to link it with true sadeness. This inclining was proved true as Adrien flashed a massively dorky grin. 

Mystified, Luka stretched back his head, attempting to comprehend the cause of Adrien’s reaction. “What?” His voice pitched high with amusement at the mischief growing within Adrien’s expression. 

“Oh nothing,” Adrien did a terrible impersonation of a cavalier tone. Unbeknownst to Luka, Adrien was only speaking to distract him from his incoming attack. “Just thinking about how much I love your nose.” 

The word of endearment was the first piece that rattled Luka, but it was seamlessly replaced by the mention of his nose. “My nose?” His stare of confusion was answered as Adrien’s finger met the tip of his nose. 

“BOOP!” Adrien giggled as he left a crumbly smear on Luka. 

“Oh, you’re gonna pay for that.” Luka warned as he dove into the crease of Adrien’s neck. 

The residual dessert tickled as it spread across Adrien. His squirms had no power against Luka’s confectionary revenge. “There, now we’re even.” Luka gleamed at his art upon Adrien’s neck. 

“Very impressive work.” Adrien agreed as he reached for another forkful of their neglected dessert. 

Luka shrank away from the fork, but Adrien had no intentions of wasting more of it. His fingers were still coated in cream as he brought the bite to his lips. “I think you made a very good choice, sir.” Adrien’s words were slightly hindered from the sugar within his mouth. 

“I agree.” The chromatic silver flashed through the blue within Luka’s irises. He tenderly lapped up the mess he had made against Adrien’s neck, enjoying the sweetness of both the dessert and Adrien’s gentle whimpers. Satisfied with his repurposing of the tiramisu, he raised himself to hover over Adrien’s face once again. 

Adrien sported a silly face as he maintained eye contact with Luka, stabbing blindly until the weight of the fork confirmed he had lifted another bite. Luka observed in amusement as the boy clumsily pushed the fork through his lips, leaving smears around his mouth. 

As Adrien’s hand shifted to replenish his fork again, Luka repeated his actions, kissing away the mess that was left. With a light hum, he held Adrien’s chin between his thumb and his index finger. “First, as much as I enjoy any excuse to kiss you,” he paused to deliver another peck, “I would actually like to eat some of the desemated dessert too. Second, you are going to choke if you keep trying to eat laying down.” 

Somehow, Adrien managed to sneak a third mouthful past Luka. “You know,” he swung the, now cleaned, fork in his hand, “I’ve heard I’ve got a pretty strong gag reflex.” 

Rolling his eyes, Luka stole the fork from Adrien to take his own bite. 

-

Luka’s snores echoed through the room once Adrien came out of the bathroom. He had a strong inclination that the man was not going to last through his night time care ritual; in fact, he wasn’t entirely convinced that Luka was coherent when he made the promise that he would ‘stay’ awake. 

Grabbing his laptop from the foot of the bed, Adrien slipped under the fresh covers beside Luka. Sensing the shift of weight in bed, Luka automatically pulled Adrien closer. Adrien snickered as he held the laptop above Luka while he coiled his grip against him. Once Luka was settled, Adrien started the playback from the secondary camera in Gabriel’s office. He wasn’t sure what he would be able to find, but it was cathartic for himself, in a self-torturesque fashion. 

Unsurprisingly, the desk wasn’t visible, but he continued to watch the seemingly still image. He pounced to pause the footage once Gabriel hit the screen. Slowing the playback speed, he watched as his father stood before his mother’s painting. In an odd way, it comforted him to see that even before the start of the final battle he was reminiscing about his mother. 

Gabriel peered suspiciously behind him before he pressed into the painting. 

I don’t remember there being a secondary security measure on the painting… it always just swung open for the safe. 

The floor fell out below Gabriel’s feet.

What the fuck? Where did he go? 

Adrien replayed the footage, squinting at the scene over and over. 

I have to see if that’s still there. 

His sense of motivation fueled him to firmly close the laptop, slightly rousing the man connected to him. He set the computer on the bedside table before he wriggled out of Luka’s hold. Luka was always a deep sleeper, but losing the warmth of Adrien abruptly woke him. 

Rubbing his face, Luka saw Adrien’s blonde hair cascading down his face as he pulled socks over his feet. 

“What’s going on?” Luka’s fatigued voice rumbled. 

Adrien’s emeralds shot towards Luka, surprised that the blue haired man had actually broken into consciousness. “Something weird on the video, I need to go investigate.” 

Luka nodded his head as he threw the covers off of him. Adrien crawled on the bed to set his hand on Luka’s bare chest. “It’s okay, I’ve got this.” Adrien assured him. 

Luka ascended to his knees to kiss Adrien’s jaw; it was his method to disregard Adrien’s words in a loving fashion. He slid one of his t-shirts, that hung in Adrien’s closet, over his head before he stumbled through slipping on his own socks and shoes. The laces from Luka’s converse loosely hung to the sides as he marched to follow Adrien, who was nearly at the bedroom door. 

The light in the main hall brought a dull sting to Luka’s vision as he stumbled behind Adrien. Using the railing for stability, he propelled himself down the stairs. Adrien was rapidly approaching Gabriel’s office door. 

Luka brushed his arms once he entered the office, as if he could simply wipe away the eeriness that ran over his skin. The office was neatly put back together after Adrien’s debacle, merely devoid of the furniture he broke. Most of the books had been returned, but there were obvious holes within the shelves. Adrien stood paralyzed before the monument to his mother. 

“Are you okay?” Luka guardedly stepped towards the statue of Adrien. 

Adrien remained silent as he peered closer at the painting. Luka stood beside him, trying to follow his gaze. Adrien’s fingers softly ran along the painting, searching for the uneven pieces. Before Luka could ask anything, one of his feet sunk into the floor. Panicked, he recoiled his other foot to stand beside Adrien on the descending platform. 

Author's Note:

Totally dorky note here - I haven't used the word uncanny for a very specific reason. In sociological terms, 'uncanny' is a Freudian reference - it is the "glimmer" that illuminates that something is not real; such as being too perfect, there's something in your gut that the situation is not what it seems. It relates to that deep feeling where language and symbols lose comprehension, but that's a lesson for a different day.

Not sure if you can tell, but I'm a big fan of tiramisu. It is the best.

-

I teetered back and forth on exactly where to slice this part, let me know what you think! If there are any things you're hoping to find out in the next part!

The next part is going to be a little bit roller coastery, but there will not be a time shift between parts this time.

Disclaimer * The characters and original plot were written and created by Thomas Astruc. This writing is merely an interpretation in a sad gay type of way.

[maribatshipper]

A dare to help everyone

Ladybug: Kim, I have a dare for you. Kim, grinning: I never back down from a dare! Ladybug: I dare you to find out Hawk Moth’s secret identity.

Gabriel Agreste was arrested the next day. 

Kim was a weird Jock. Taking dares left and right. Normal, right? Not when the superheroine of your city hears about it and dares you to find out the identity of her arch-nemesis.

It started normal enough for a Parisian day. With the Akuma attack near the school Kim goes to. What is different, though, is he was dared to get close to Ladybug and take a picture of her with an annoying face, then delete the picture, which happened. Imagine his shock when the blue-haired heroine asks him something.

“You’re Kim, right? That kid that is always dared to do something weird?” Ladybug asks.

Kim nods, “Yeah, that’s me.”

Ladybug smirks, “Kim, I have a dare for you.”

Kim grins. Dares are one thing, but dares from Ladybug, the superheroine of Paris? Hasn’t even been heard of.

“I never back down from a dare!” Kim grins.

“I dare you to find out Hawk Moth’s secret identity.” Ladybug smirks.

Kim blinks. It was genius. Why hasn’t anyone else dared him this? He agrees wholeheartedly.

***

After a few hours investigating possible suspects, he’s banging his head against his desk. He’s narrowed it down to Bob Roth, Alec Cataldi, Vincent whats-his-name that shoots Adrien’s photos, XY, and Gabriel Agreste. He picks up his phone and dials a number.

“Yes? I am busy, Kim.” A monotone voice announces.

Kim cuts to the chase, “I was dared by Ladybug to find out Hawk Moth’s identity and I need your help.”

“We’re on our way.”

Barely two minutes later, a knock is heard on Kim’s door. He opens it to reveal Max and Markov.

“We are ready to assist. Do you have any suspects?”

Kim nods, dragging Max over to his chart which you would normally see in a conspiracy theorists home.

“I’ve been working on this for hours. I’ve narrowed the list down to Adrien’s photographer, Alec the show host, Bob Roth, XY, and Adrien’s Dad.” Kim frowns.

Max frowns, “You can take XY off the list. He doesn’t have enough brains to even think of using that kind of power. Vincent has no motive and is normally angry when an Akuma interrupts the photoshoot. Alec is a risk-taker, but he has no motive and wouldn’t risk getting targeted so many times. Bob Roth and Gabriel Agreste are the most likely candidates. But I don’t believe Bob Roth is creative enough to create any Akuma costumes. Gabriel’s fashion line is going slowly downhill, like the Akuma designs, so I believe Gabriel Agreste is our most likely candidate.”

Just as Max, Kim, and Markov discuss who Hawk Moth might be, another Akuma attack happens. The boys exchange glances and run outside to the Akuma. After Ladybug purifies the Akuma, Kim runs after the purified butterfly, Max barely keeping up. Kim loses the butterfly around the Agreste mansion.

“I have an idea!” Kim exclaims.

***

The next day, Gabriel Agreste is being dragged out of his house by the police.

“What are you doing? I have my rights! I haven’t done anything!” Gabriel yells.

“You are under arrest for hiring an underage model illegally, forcing your son who is still under the legal age to work any kind of job to model for your industry, exceeding the strict working hours, terrorising the entire city, child abuse,…”

The cop drones on with the number of laws Gabriel broke. Adrien frowns at his father, anger just radiating off his body. Juleka’s talking with her brother about adopting Adrien into the family. Marinette walks up to Kim, Alya close on her heels.

“How’d you know it was Gabriel Agreste?” Marinette asks.

Kim and Max exchange a glance.

*flashback*

At 2300, Kim, who is dressed in black ninja clothes covering his face, with a small camera on the shirt, crawls through the window of Adrien’s room and sneaks through the mansion. He makes it to Gabriel’s room, where Gabriel Agreste is dead to the world.

“If only he were dead.” Kim thinks.

He walks towards the office Gabriel works in and walks up to the painting.

“Max?” He whispers.

In the earpiece he wears, Max responds, “There should be some trigger or something. Touch the painting until you find a crevice of some kind.”

“Eh?”

“Move your fingers around the painting until it makes a strange bump.”

Kim complies, moving his fingers around the painting, finding a few parts that shouldn’t feel like that. They feel kind of like buttons. He positions his fingers until just over them all and pushes them in, causing the floor to move beneath him, like an elevator. His eyes widen.

“I bet Adrien doesn’t know about this.” Kim frowns.

“Keep searching. If he truly is Hawk Moth, this would explain where he hides.” Max frowns.

Kim walks until he comes across a glass coffin and pales. But it’s not the coffin that sends fear up his spine. It’s what’s in the coffin.

“Max… Are you seeing this?”

“This is impossible… She’s been dead for more than a year already. How is her body still there, not even a sign of decay? Adrien can’t have known about this. We have to get this evidence to the police now.” Max orders.

Suddenly, there is a noise nearby. Kim hides behind a tree near the coffin. He watches as Gabriel Agreste walks towards the coffin. Two questions going through Kim’s mind is, “Why is he fully clothed? Why isn’t he in his pyjamas?” Then he notices a little butterfly creature floating next to him, who looks an awful lot like Xuppu.

“Emelie, soon I will have the Miraculous and be able to bring you back. I thought Adrien was Cat Noir. I was wrong, thankfully. Just a little longer and you will be back in my arms again.” Gabriel frowns.

Nooroo notices the boy in black but refuses to let his master know. While Gabriel is busy talking to Emelie’s body, he flies over to the boy.

“The Miraculous is his brooch. You have to stop him, please!” Nooroo whispers before flying back over to Gabriel before he notices he’s gone.

“Nooroo, Dark Wings Rise!” Gabriel exclaims, causing Nooroo to get sucked into the Miraculous, transforming Gabriel into Hawk Moth.

“That is enough proof, Kim. You have to get out of there! Now!” Max exclaims into the earpiece.

“Not until I get his Miraculous to give to Ladybug.” Kim whispers back.

Markov inputs, “I would not recommend staying. There is an 89% chance you will be captured if you do not escape.”

Kim waits for a few hours until Hawk Moth detransforms and goes back up into the house. He waits another ten minutes before walking out of his hiding place.

“I’m going up, guys.” Kim frowns.

He quickly runs towards the elevator and pushes the button to go up into the house. He then sneaks into Gabriel’s room, quickly running to the closet. Gabriel walks in, buttoning up his pyjama shirt. Gabriel places the Miraculous into a small box, making Nooroo disappear. Gabriel then lies down on the bed, falling asleep.

“Kim, I do not recommend moving from your spot for the next thirty minutes. If you make any noise, he will wake up. He has to enter REM before you can move.”

Kim doesn’t understand exactly but complies anyway. The nerd knows best, after all. After thirty minutes, Max tells Kim he can move, so he opens the door to the closet and takes the miraculous, running out of the room as fast as he can. He then opens the box and pins the Miraculous onto his shirt.

“What are you doing, Kim?”

“Hawk Moth has a helper. We need to get that Miraculous as well. I’m asking the Kwami to take me to it.”

Nooroo forms in front of Kim.

“Thank you, new Master.”

Kim asks, “Where’s the Peacock?”

Nooroo answers, “Follow me.”

Kim follows Nooroo to the painting of Emelie, who tries to pull the painting. Kim helps him, showing a safe.

“How do we get into the safe?”

“There are many possible combinations-”

Nooroo phases through the safe and opens it, showing a book, tickets to Tibet, and the peacock Miraculous. Nooroo tosses both the Miraculous and the book to Kim.

“You need to get this book to Ladybug’s hands. Can you do that?”

Kim nods and runs back to Adrien’s room, where he jumps out the window and runs.

*End Flashback*

“It was quite difficult. But long story short, you give me a dare, I follow it through.” Kim smirks.

Alya smirks, “I dare you to find out the identity of Ladybug!”

Kim and Max exchange amused looks.

“Already done. But we’re not telling you.”

Alya groans, “Why not?!”

Max answers, “I dared him to never tell anyone her identity.” giving Marinette a side glance.

***

Later that day, both Max and Kim are wearing the Miraculous, talking to the Kwamis, when there is a knock on the window. The boys turn around to see Ladybug. They open the window, pulling her in quickly. “Ladybug, we are so glad you’re here.” Kim smiles.

“You completed my dare. I’m impressed.”

Max smiles, “It was nothing, Marinette.”

Ladybug’s eyes widen in shock.

“What? I’m not Marinette.”

Kim scoffs, “Yeah you are. I noticed every time Ladybug appeared, Marinette was never around. Markov confirmed it. But we won’t tell anyone. Here. You have to keep the Miraculous out of the bad guy’s hands.”

He pulls the Moth Miraculous off his shirt and hands it to Ladybug, Nooroo flying into the Miraculous.

“If you ever need us, we’ll be here, ready to assist.” Max smiles, giving her the peacock, Duusu flying into it.

[itawonka-creates]

This Jewelry Will End Up Killing Me - Prologue

So guess who decided to make the first chapter to a Daminette Konosuba AU. I’m using the world and rules of it more so than the characters, but this would definitely be more comedic than my other two fan fictions. If I get good feedback, I might continue it. This is just the world set up. 

Damian stirred a bit and struggled to open his eyes. The light coming from below him made him flinch as he struggled to adjust to the brightness. “Oh good, you’re coming to.”

“Huh?” His vision began to focus a bit more and he noticed he was in a dark space with no one around but a lone woman. She sat in a throne and folded her hands over her lap. She smiled kindly at him, but her eyes were filled with pity. “What?”

“Do you know who you are?”

He thought for a moment and nodded, “My name is Damian Wayne.”

“Anything else?” He thought a bit more before she asked, “Do you remember how you died?”

“I died?” Suddenly memories came flooding back to him. He was with his family. They were on a mission. Something went wrong. Terribly, terribly wrong. He noted how he was still wearing his uniform but was surprised it was undamaged. He placed a hand over his abdomen and shuttered, “I don’t think my body was intact.”

“No, but you died quickly. It was merciful and for that I am thankful.” She placed her hand over her heart and sighed, “You left your world too soon. You have transformed so much. You’ve grown to be such a fine young man.” She frowned, “I’m so sorry for you and your family’s loss. They are still fighting, but they mourn.”

Damian tensed, “Wait! My family! They need me! I need to go back!”

“I cannot do that.” She held out her hand, “Damian, I am the goddess of creation. My name is Tikki. I am here to assist you in your passing.”

“My passing?”

“Yes.”

“I’m not ready to go yet!”

“I may reincarnate you, but you would not remember your past life. You will start anew.”

“I can’t do that either! I have to get back to them right now!”

She bit her lip, “There is one way, but I do not recommend it.”

“Tell me.”

She waved her hand and a book appeared before it floated down in front of her. The book opened and pages started flying out of the bindings. The pages flew around the two before lining up in front of him. “In another world, one very different from yours, we have had a problem with who we call Hawkmoth. The people of the world call him a demon who controls people through their emotions, but we gods and goddesses know the truth.” He noted how her fists clenched as she spoke of him, “The Demon King was like you, but bitter. The Demon King stole the powers of one of our own and now we can no longer stop him. We haven’t even been able to watch over him. Our information on the Demon King has been significantly restricted.”

“How restricted?”

“Our line of information and communication to Nooroo was severed 18 years ago.”

Damian grimaced, “What can I do?”

She bit her lip before proceeding, “Us deities have decided we would grant any wish to the hero who brings this man down. This is your only chance at resurrecting at the exact place and time when you died.”

“I’ll take it.”

“Damian-”

“I’ll take it. I’ve faced aliens, magic, and literal demons from hell. With my history, I can do it. I can’t leave my family.”

Tikki nodded and pointed at the pages between them, “You may take one thing with you to this new world. Along with this, you will continue to have your memories and will gain knowledge of the language to help you integrate better.”

He looked at the pages and noted how odd each of the items were, “What kind of world is this?”

“In your world, the best comparison is what your people call ‘Dungeons and Dragons’ or ‘RPGs’. This world is older, magic and monsters run amok, nobles and monarchy are the norm leadership, and leveling is the only way to power up in your classes.” She chuckled, “It may be an exciting world for you to learn new skills and magic you never would’ve in your world.”

“Magic? Monsters? Sounds like a bad videogame, but something I can work with.” He turned his attention back to the pages in front of him. He examined each one; a sword, a staff, a suit of special armor, and much more. Still, despite all the perks and charms, nothing seemed quite right. “I can’t use any of these.”

“Hm?”

“I can’t use any of these.” He pushed the pages away to look her in the eye, “If I’m going to take on someone using a deity’s power, I’m going to need a deity’s power too.” Damian sighed, “I need your power.”

Tikki smiled and hummed, “You were always a smart one. Always one to look at all the right angles.” She sighed and looked at her lap, “I cannot give you too much for obvious reasons but what I can give you is a tool made by my power.” She held out her hand and a glowing orb appeared in her palm. She placed her other hand over it and squeezed hard before opening her hands. She blew onto the orb and Damian watched as the orb faded away until what was left was a pair of earrings. “If you use this, you will be able to transform and use some of my power. However, if you find one of my direct decedents, they will be able to tap into my true powers and you will never fail.”

She hummed a sweet tune and the ground below him started glowing, “Damian Wayne, you will awaken in the town of crossroads where you will be guided by a fairy of my own essence. Keep her safe and she will guide you both to glory and to reliable party members. I will speak to the others. More tools of our own creation will fall before you as you continue your quest.”

He nodded and noticed how the floor below him began glowing. A wall of light circled him and he began levitating, “Tikki?”

“With the blessing directly from the goddess of creation, I send you off. Please, Damian, do not die.”

He nodded, “I’ll do my best. Watch over my family.”

“Of course.” The light became blinding and he felt his body fade away as he reincarnated. The last thing he heard was a simple “good luck” before he woke up on a bench. He looked around and Tikki was right, this really was a Dungeons and Dragons type of world. Horse-drawn carriages passed him by along with men and women all in medieval-looking armor and clothing. No real technology, but the world’s civilization seemed advanced enough for him to grasp the probable concepts and rules. He noticed how some people began crowding around him and whispering. He looked down and realized his clothing was probably making him stand out, “Right. Now, where do I go?”

He felt a tap on his side and opened up his cape slightly. A large red and black fairy hid behind the clothing but smiled. He was comforted by the company and began walking. “Okay. Where do I go fairy?”

He felt the creature travel up to his hoodie and it whispered in his ear, “You can call me Tikki. I am part of her after all.” He nodded and she peeked at the town around her, “Okay, you will want to go to the adventure’s guild. Receive your class and skillset and register yourself as an adventurer.”

“Should I hide my identity?”

She shook her head, “You do not need to hide your identity here. This is a new world and your real name will be on the registration card. Besides, with your standing and background, you may pass as some kind of noble. You could use that to your advantage as you work your way through this world and gain skill points.”

“Skill points? Are you serious?”

“Yes, it is the only way for us to gain enough strength and resources later.” He rolled his eyes and followed her directions while taking in the sights. The place came out of a storybook and it seemed the currency resembled gold. He’d need to ask Tikki how to get money. He felt someone staring at him and looked around before noticing a girl staring at him outside of a bakery. Once they locked eyes she visibly tensed. “I sense someone of great importance.”

“Huh? Where?”

“I don’t know.”

He scanned the area some more, but his sights kept locking back onto the girl staring at him. He could tell his fuse was getting short and it was obvious she wasn’t going to stop any time soon. He grumbled and finally stomped over. She flinched and stepped back while turning her attention anywhere else. “Hey! What do you want from me?”

“Eh? I wasn’t- I mean, I didn’t- I mean, what are you talking about?” She laughed nervously and rubbed the back of her neck, but he clearly wasn’t buying it. When she realized that wasn’t going to work she started apologizing profusely, “I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I don’t usually stare at strangers! I’m sorry!”

He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, “What do you want?”

“It’s just-”

“Spit it out!”

“I’ve never seen anyone with your clothes before and I’m a designer and-”

He snapped at her, “Then take a picture!”

She blinked, “A what?”

He flinched. A camera may not even be a concept in this world yet, “Ah, um, right. Never mind.”

She nodded and smiled, “May I draw it at least?”

Tikki tugged at his hoodie and he shook his head, “I need to register as an adventurer right away.”

She perked up, “Wait!” She stepped forward and leaned in, “You’re going to the adventure’s guild?” He stepped back but she continued to be persistent, “Can I come?”

“Now why would a little girl like you want to go?”

She puffed up her cheeks, “Hey! I bet we’re not even that far apart in age from each other! Just because I wear pigtails doesn’t mean I’m little!”

“I didn’t say anything about your pigtails.”

She blushed and pulled at them slightly, “Sorry. Everyone mentions them so it’s a habit.” She shook her head, “But, please! I want to look at the armor of the new adventurers! My lady-”

“MARINETTE!” The girl in front of him flinched. The two turned to see a blond girl strutting towards them. She was pulling another blonde behind her with a trail of servants. The girl next to him, presumably Marinette, hid behind him.

Her voice wavered, “Oh, hello Lady Bourgeois. Mister Agreste.”

The boy being pulled around laughed, “Sorry Marinette. I tried to hold her back.”

Lady Bourgeois stopped in front of him and seemed to size him up, “And who are you? Where are you from?”

If this was a noblewoman, to get anywhere with her he needed her to see him as an equal. Tikki continued to vibrate meaning the person of interest was extremely close. Right now, he needed to level with this girl. “I am the only blood son of the Wayne enterprises in a land called Gotham. I set out on my own to help my family. My name is Damian Wayne.” He bowed and silently thanked his father and mother for teaching him to speak as a nobleman. Business meetings and galas were incredible practice for this. The man seemed to buy it, but the lady seemed skeptical.

“I have never heard of Gotham.”

“Chloe, please. He seems genuine.”

“Adrikins-”

“Please don’t call me that.”

“I’m looking for the adventure’s guild. If you could, I would be grateful for any help.” He hated the helpless act but if these people were noble then they had money. He needed money.

“Gross, why go to a building filled with a bunch of sweaty filthy warriors?” She sighed, “But alright. Fine. Marinette!”

Marinette stood as stiff as a board, “Y-Yes?”

“You’ll be his guide.” Chloe snapped her fingers and a servant ran up to her with a small pouch in his hands. She pointed at him and the man presented the pouch with a bow, “As an offering between one noble to another. I hope to see you soon and out of those awful clothes. Honestly, my goddess would smite you down if you showed up at her temple like that.”

“I don’t know. I like them.” Adrien grinned and sent him a thumbs up, “Don’t you think, Marinette?”

As soon as he addressed her she jumped, “Y-Yeah! His awesome are clothes! I mean, his are awesome clothes! I mean-”

Damian closed his eyes and sighed, “Let’s go, Marinette.” She nodded and looked at him with complete gratitude. She mouthed a silent “thank you” and he nodded. This was easier for both of them. “Once I’ve registered I’ll find you. I’d be honored to learn more about this land from you all.”

Chloe seemed pleased by his manners and he turned away with a simple wave. Adrien sent him as salute and wink before turning back. Once they were fully departed, he relaxed a bit and sighed. “Marinette was it?”

She nodded, “Marinette Dupain-Cheng.”

“If you come with me to register and answer my questions I’ll let you measure, write, and draw every little detail of my uniform. Got it?”

She looked stunned at first, before grinning and nodding furiously. “Yes!”

“Then let’s go. I need to do this quickly.”

“Right!” Something told him this journey was going to be a long one.

[bugabash]

Cursed Past - Chapter 4- Chat Blanc

Chapter 4: Chat Blanc

Enjoy the chapter! I am currently so involved with my AOT au fic that it is lacking in this, but the next chapter in a few weeks will be a lot longer with back stories! Please enjoy!!!

AO3

Chapter 1

Alternate timeline

Thunder cracked in the sky, rain showering over the ruins that used to be Paris. An eerie silence hung over the city like a blanket, no one in sight, the water draining into the pipes brown from rubble and blood. The Eiffel tower was destroyed, a dark figure standing on the remains, lightning flashing around them. They closed their eyes, looking out at the masterpiece they had made, it was perfect, it was magnificent! It was… exactly what he was sent back to do.

“Master,” his eyes shot open and he slowly turned, eying the girl in front of him, “I can’t find them anywhere. I sent out my illusions and still nothing, it’s like they vanished off the face of the earth.”

This wasn’t possible, he had made sure they couldn’t leave, the city was secure, Volpina had eyes everywhere, unless… “Fucking Bunnix.” He cursed, his black eyes filling with anger, “You won’t find them here. Not in this timeline anyway. I should have killed that bitch when I had the chance, ripped her apart and hid the parts throughout time.” He growled, pulling out his sword and slicing through a piece of metal in anger, watching it fall and crashing into the piles of death and destruction below. “I need those fucking miraculouses. I don’t care if you have to kill all of them to get them, understand?” He growled at the young girl who nodded, a smirk on her face.

“Understood, wouldn’t have it any other way.” She suddenly jumped and disappeared. God he forgot how easy it was to convince her to kill. He turned back to the view, gripping onto the grip of his sabre. He needed this win, he wanted those miraculouses, he wanted that bitch and her pet dead.

He grunted and jumped off his stoop, jumping between the still structured roofs, heading towards his hideout, the only house that stood tall, undamaged, untouched.

His uncle’s house.

oOo

10 years ago

Ladybug and Chat Noir stood tall, they were bloody and bruised, but they had won. They pounded their fists and faced the man they had been fighting for years, he was on his back, his staff broken and a look of defeat on his face.

“Hawkmoth, your reign of terror has come to an end!” Ladybug exclaimed, “Hand over your miraculous.”

“Go to hell, you stupid teenagers.” He spat back, “I would rather die than willingly give up my miraculous to you.”

“I’m sure I can arrange that.” Chat murmured back with a disgusted snarl, his claws glowing green.

“Easy Chat.” She shifted and limped over to Hawkmoth, kneeling. “Last chance before I sic my kitty on you.” He glared at her before he actually did spit at her, recoiling back and wiping the spit from her face in disgust.

“That’s it.” Chat Noir boomed, walking over to the man and grabbing him by the tuft of his shirt, lifting him up with ease and snarling at him. “My turn, and I don’t ask nicely, I don’t ask at all actually.” Chat’s eyes glowed green, pupils in slits and full of rage.

Ladybug walked over and looked at the butterfly pendant, she had been after the missing miraculous for years, and there it was, right in her hand. “Time’s up, Hawkmoth.” And with that she pulled it off, purple light filling the room and Nooroo fell to the floor, eyes wide. The two superheroes blinked the brightness away before they both froze. Chat Noir dropped the man and took two huge steps back, his eyes wide and his face paling.

Infront of them lay Gabriel Agreste, his face bruised and his clothes filthy. He glared at the two of them, Ladybug stared in shock, eyes darting to Chat Noir in worry. Was he ok?

“G-Gabriel Agreste?” She stammered, blinking. Adrien… Poor Adrien, his father…

“How… How COULD YOU!” Chat Noir exploded, he looked more furious than she had ever seen, he looked like he was out for death. “How could you do this to your son?” He stormed over to Gabriel, punching him in the face.

“Chat!” Ladybug grabbed his arm and pushed him back, getting between the two. She placed her hands on his chest, looking up at him. His heart was thumping under her hands, tears glistening his eyes and his mouth was in a snarl. He looked like he was ready to kill Gabriel. “Calm down… Hey.” She placed a hand on his cheek and made him look down at her, their eyes met and his features softened. “I got this, call the police. Get them here.”

“No! Not here! They’ll take her away, Adrien should at least get to say goodbye to her.” Gabriel exclaimed, trying to sit up, coughing up the blood in his mouth. They turned and looked at him in confusion, following his eyesight to a glass coffin hidden in vines and butterflies.

They stood in silence, their minds racing. It was Chat who stepped towards it first, slowly. Ladybug watched him as he did, his face was full of fear as he walked painfully slow to the glass coffin. And then he gasped and covered his mouth, turning away and suddenly vomited. Ladybug ran over to him and pressed a hand against his back, her heart beating fast. He shook his head, puking again as his shoulders shook.

Ladybug turned to the coffin, her eyes widening. She knew that face… She was Adrien’s mother, she looked like she was asleep but… she was pale, almost grey. How long had she been down here? Marinette knew she had disappeared 4 or 5 years before, no traces, no leads, no death certificate and no body. And here she was… all this time.

“What… What did you do?” Ladybug asked in horror, turning to Gabriel and gripping onto Chat Noir who was still bent over, trembling more.

“I was trying to save her.” Gabriel replied, “but you two wouldn’t let me. So now she will die.” He glared at them, “now my son won’t have a mother.”

“He hasn’t had a mother for years…” Chat Noir groaned out before retching, “you’re a monster.”

“How am I a monster? I was trying to save the love of my life!” He snarled back.

“You can’t save her, if she is gone then you cannot bring her back, even with our miraculouses. The price-”

“I already had someone’s life to trade, don’t worry.” Gabriel coughed and leant against the bars. “Monster is a very loose term.” He laughed, “I would call your little feline a monster, even you a monster, some would call the police monsters, call teenage girls causing problems in school monsters. Everyone is a monster in their own way.”

“No! She wasn’t a monster, no one is as big a monster as you.” Chat straightened and glared at the man. Ladybug looked at him with worry, he looked like he aged years in a few minutes. “You will never see the outside world again, you will rot in jail. I will make sure of it.” Chat turned and called the police as Ladybug gulped and stroked Nooroo’s head as they rested on her shoulder.

“We will make sure you never leave your cell.” Ladybug said with a disgusted look.

Soon the police arrived, they arrested Gabriel and escorted him out, Ladybug watched as they took him, the feeling sweeping over her like cold water. It was over… They got him. They finally got him. So why did it feel like they lost?

She looked over at Chat Noir who was standing at the base of coffin, staring. Something was wrong with him, she didn’t know what it could be but she knew it had something to do with the person who hid behind his bravado and his black mask. She walked over to him and stood next to him, staring at Emilie.

“Why… why does it feel like it isn’t over?” She whispered, her expression sad, her body aching, and her heart sore. She looked up at her partner, seeing the pain on his face, tears wet on his cheeks. He didn’t say anything, just stared. She watched as blood slowly trickled from the cut on his eyebrow, mixing with the wetness. He looked… broken. She took his hand in hers, intertwining their fingers and rested her head on his shoulder, feeling him grip onto her hand and leant his head against hers. “We won… but… Their son, he…” She had her mouth open, but no words came out, a tear falling. “He just lost everything.” Chat’s grip tightened and he sniffed, wiping his nose with his free hand.

“He won’t be missing much with that piece of shit gone, I think seeing his mother will… that will be him losing a lot.” Chat murmured, his eyes dark.

“Chat… Are you okay?” She asked softly.

He didn’t say anything, letting go and walked to the coffin, pressing a button and watching it open. A smell of lavender filled the air, Ladybug sniffed and felt her lip tremble. Her heart broke, she couldn’t even imagine what Adrien will be like when he sees his mother like this. Ladybug watched Chat with worried eyes, walking next to him and then stared at the woman. She heard a voice in her head whispering something, telling her to take the comatose woman’s hand. So she did, walking to her side and took her hand.

Staring at her beautiful face, she looked so much like Adrien, she looked peaceful, a small smile on her face. Chat took her other hand, tears streaming now.

“I’m so sorry I couldn’t save you, Emilie.” Ladybug whispered, causing Chat Noir to gasp and look at her, eyes wide. She didn’t look up, eyes on the woman’s face. “You would have been so proud of your son,” Chat stared at her again, eyes wide, she didn’t see but she felt his gaze. “He is amazing, I haven’t seen anyone overcome what he has, and now with what I know I am even more amazed by him. He has become a man you would be so proud of and someone you would be so privileged to know. I feel privileged to know him.” She glanced up at Chat who had gone white, staring as his tears flowed more freely. “He is nothing like his father, I knew that before I knew who he was. Adrien overcame his father’s abuse and his neglect, and still has a heart of gold.” She reached over with her free hand, stroking her hair. “You can rest now, we will look after your son. I will look after him. I promise.”

“Ladybug…” Chat whispered softly.

“Thank you, Emilie. For giving us Adrien, and I am so sorry he has suffered and that he is about to suffer even more. And I am so,” her voice broke and she sobbed, “I am so sorry I didn’t find you sooner.” She dropped her head, her loose hair falling around her, it had fallen out in the fight. “I failed you, but I won’t fail your son. I swear to you, as the guardian, I will fix this. I will heal the hurt Gabriel Agreste has caused.”

Chat was about to speak when he gasped, Ladybug’s head snapping up as she stared at her partner. Then she saw it, what he was gasping over. His ring was glowing, but he was looking at her, she felt tingling in her lobes, and assumed hers were glowing too. They locked eyes for a second, something was happening, and she felt her heart start to race. It was like she was seeing him for the first time. Her body filled with love, warmth and… power.

That was when it happened, they both looked down at the woman and saw she slowly started to glow a golden glow. Chat’s eyes were wide, as were Ladybugs, and that’s when she felt it, the words slipping out of her mouth. “Miraculous Ladybug…” She whispered, her lucky charm across the room bursting into her magic ladybugs, swarming all around them, but they had a bright green aura around them. Marinette blinked and watched as they twiled around her and Chat, their hair blowing around, their wounds healing. Chat and Ladybug stared at each other, the world freezing. She saw him, his mask gone, as was her, but she didn’t see anyone but Chat, and she knew all he saw was Ladybug. She never saw a civilian, or recognised him, she saw the face she knew that was her kitty. And then time unfroze and the ladybugs swarmed around Emilie, both the heroes letting go and they were blown back, Chat somersaulted and landed on his feet, one hand on the floor. Ladybug landed on her back, coughing slightly as she did, still in shock.

She opened her eyes and saw the green and red ladybugs were swarming around Emilie and had lifted her into the air, they shone bright, so bright Ladybug had to shield her eyes, seeing chat standing and staring. And as quickly as they came, they were gone, Emilie slowly floating back down into her coffin. They ran to her side, and stared at her then each other. Their eyes snapped down as they heard her groan, Ladybug gasping and clasping her hands around her mouth.

“What… M’lady what happened?” Chat asked softly, staring at the woman.

“I… I think we just… our miraculouses, they healed her.” Ladybug said softly, stepping back and looking around for help. She saw two EMTs crouched by the now fixed entrance, “Help! She’s alive!” They ran over and were calling into their radios, soon they were pushed aside by the first responders, they got Emilie onto the gurney and they were gone. Ladybug watched, eyes wide and she took a deep breath, feeling like it was her first breath in years.

Then everything crashed internally, and her legs gave way, collapsing to her hands and knees, sobbing freely. Everything she had been through for four years, all the stress, the responsibility, only confiding in Alya, keeping secrets from Luka to the point they argue constantly, her sleepless nights, her injuries, the people who have suffered, the numerous battles, the numerous times she lost chat in a fight. Everything. It was over.

“Ladybug!” Chat cried out and ran to her, scooping her up and holding her to him, hugging her tight. “What is it? Are you hurt? Are you okay?” He asked frantically, pulling back and looking her over.

“I-I-I’m fine.” She blubbered, “it’s over,” she managed, “we did it, and we-we-we,” She sobbed, “we got him his mom back too!”

Chat sighed in relief, and laughed softly, “don’t scare me like me that!” He dropped his forehead to hers, closing his eyes and she sobbed, arms snaking around his neck and gripping on. “We did it, it’s over. You didn’t just save Paris tonight, you saved a woman who has been lost for years, you just saved that boy’s life too.”

“I should have found her sooner, I failed her and Adrien.” She sniffed and curled her fists up. She heard their beeps, panic setting in.

“It’s okay, hey, it’s okay. We can stay here as long as you like, just keep your eyes closed, okay?” He whispered, his soft breath warm against her face. She nodded and closed her eyes, resting her cheek against his, tears making their skin stick together more. Their transformations fell, and they clung to each other, their kwamis digging around between them to find their respective foods.

“Chat?” Marinette asked softly, nuzzling into her partners neck, Chat shifting under her and sitting Marinette on his lap, leaning against his shoulder, arms around her protectively.

“Yes, m’lady.” He answered, his voice different, softer, their disguises gone and their magic with it to keep their identities a secret. She recognised the voice but didn’t want to think like that. “You… sound different.” He spoke softly before she could talk, “your voice, its more… musical.”

She chuckled, “you sound different too.” She replied, “Chat, what do we do now?” She asked softly.

“What do you mean?” He asked, stroking her back gently.

“If it’s truly over… What do we do.” She opened her eyes, staring at the black colour of his shirt, seeing the blonde hair in the corner of her eye. “What do Chat Noir and Ladybug do?”

“Well, we patrol, we protect, and… we look after each other.” He responded with a sigh, kissing the top of her head.

“You won’t leave me?” She asked softly.

“What?” He exclaimed, “Never! I will never leave you!” He gripped her tightly, “I promise.”

Marinette sighed and snuggled into him, “Thank you.”

“No… Thank you. I can’t explain why, but you have… You have done so much today.” She closed her eyes, and smiled, not answering and breathing in his cologne.

"We did it... We... We did it." She sobbed a laugh, gripping his shirt.

"You did it."

oOo

Present Day – Younger Adrien POV

It had been three days now since the young adults came crashing into the future, they were both healed as much as possible. Adrien was sore, his eye still blood shot but finally open and the bruising was gone, his eye socket slightly brown. His burns were gone, leaving sensitive skin in their wake, his cut on his arm almost fully healed but he would have a scar and all other small cuts were fully gone. He noticed his scar on his arm was like his older self’s, except his was a lot neater and had scarring from a third-degree burn.

He looked up from his arm, eyes falling on his partner who was in the garden, the kwamis flying around her, a smile across her face as she spoke to them, the two Tikkis sitting on her shoulders. He chuckled watching her, she had sat with the older Marinette and made hats for all of them the night before while they were having some wine. He saw the other Marinette walking along behind, eagerly chatting away about who knows what.

She was radiant, her smile the same smile he saw for years, but now when he looked at her it was different. She had morphed from one person to two, suddenly he saw ladybug in her, and saw Marinette in ladybug. He had been in love with Ladybug for years, but suddenly Ladybug wasn’t an individual, wasn’t a mask anymore. She was everything. She was Marinette. And that… That was enough. He gazed at her, his green eyes sparkling, how was he so lucky that the most amazing person in his life was his most appreciated and admired person in his life. They were one. They were… the only person that ever mattered. No, shewas the only one who mattered.

They had been outside for quite some time now, chatting away, he had stayed inside, his older self wanted to check up on his wounds as he wouldn’t let his wife fully heal him. He was happy to comply, not wanting to hurt anyone. Adrien walked into the room on the phone, speaking to who he assumed was his assistant. She had called numerous times, she seemed to speak to Adrien more than Marinette while the sun was up, and he could tell his older self hated it from his constant facial expressions while on call. Marinette never seemed to mind, receiving emails constantly, they were both so busy.

Adrien hung up the phone and sunk into his recliner, covering his face as he leant back, his lanky legs stretching out, “god dammit.” He grumbled, rubbing his eyes.

“Everything okay?” Adrien asked his older self anxiously, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Yeah, don’t worry about it.” He replied and dropped his hands, eyes fastened on the ceiling. “You never realise that your teen years are the best time of your life.” He laughed, “now I run a company and I am always busy. I’ve taken leave and she still bugs me.”

“She likes to call you, huh?” The young man leant forward on his knees, looking over.

“Oh yeah,” Adrien laughed harder, looking at his younger self. “Marinette always jokes that my assistant has a crush, but I think she’s just overwhelmed by the Agreste name.” He sat up and ruffled his hair, “after I built it back up and rebuilt the company everyone loved it more than before, especially when I got some modelling photos from Chat Noir.” He smirked.

“Really? It must have been hard after… when it happened, and all came out.” Adrien gulped.

“Wasn’t easy, I’m not going to lie,” his face sombering, “I was lucky enough to turn eighteen very soon after, and Marinette never let me be alone, she showed up and clung to me, filled me with her bakery goods, made me numerous pieces of fluffy clothing. And this was all before she knew who I was. Her, Nino and Alya, they saved me.” He smiled small before clearing his throat. “You doing ok?”

“Yeah… I think so anyway. It’s all just… surreal. Last week I was doing a photoshoot and going out for drinks with my friends.” Adrien replied with a sigh, “now I have burns and scars, I know who my partner is, and I don’t know if anyone I know is alive.” He felt sad thinking of the home, his friends, and his father. “I… I saw Nino and he was ru nning away, I never saw him again. I hope he got out.”

His older self was examining his face, “I hope so too.” He replied softly before he pulled his phone out and stood up, walking over to the young man. Adrien eyed the fancy device, still adjusting to the new technology. “He’s my best friend still you know,” Adrien raised his brow, looking down at the photo, “Alya and him got married six years ago, they travelled the world, Alya chasing superheroes and their stories, Nino studying different types of music and styles. They sent us videos daily.” He laughed, flicking through the photos of their best friends smiling in different countries. They looked older, Nino had a beard in some of the photos, Alya’s hair different colours in most of the photos. “Now they have twin girls, Alya works from home and Nino is quite successful, he is the most top paid DJ in Paris now.” This made Adrien smile.

“Here they are now,” He showed a photo of a muscular Nino, perfectly trimmed thick beard, glasses, he was tall, and looked… Mature. Grownup. No more headphones, no more cap, instead he wore a dark blue slim fit t-shirt and a black open buttoned shirt with the sleeves rolled up. He had a huge sleeve on his right arm, a large goofy smile on his face and a laughing toddler clinging onto his arm. He looked so happy, he got everything he wanted.

Next to him stood Alya, she had her usual smirk on her face, her hair was long and curled, back to her normal colour he was used to in his time, she was dressed black pants, a red button up blouse and a huge ring on her finger, she looked like she had just got home from work or an interview, her makeup professional. She had another laughing toddler in her arms, this one hanging upside down. The twins were identical, long dark hair, the same heart shaped faces and both looked like Alya, both had light golden brown eyes. They looked like the perfect family, they fit together.

“Meet their three year old girls, Lucie and Simone.” Adrien was in awe as he looked at the children, he could almost hear the laughter through the phone.

“They look so happy.” The young man replied, “do they live close by?” He asked as he pulled on his t-shirt and trousers.

“Down the road, Alya is usually wherever Marinette is if I’m honest, they are inseparable, with Alya working from home she just sticks to her and the kids follow suit when they aren’t at nursery. Marinette is like a second mom to those girls.” Adrien said with a loving smile, “we will be bringing them into this most likely, Nino is still Carapace but since Alya had the girls she gave up her miraculous voluntarily. We will need all the help we can get though, so we might need to drag her out of retirement.”

“Nino is… Master Fu let them keep the miraculouses?” He sat down in the chair and looked up at his older self.

“Master Fu?” His older self asked in confusion, “ Master Fu isn’t the guardian, he hasn’t been for over 12, maybe 13 years now,” he pushed off to his feet, “Marinette is the guardian, so she makes the rules, and she is pretty good a t it.”

Adrien blinked, things were so different now. “Everything is so different, I-“ He jumped to his feet and turned to the windows, seeing the two women outside scream and jump back, the kwamis swarming inside.

The older Adrien moved as fast as lightning, freezing as he got outside.

oOo

“You’ll do great Marinette!” Tikki squeaked, flying around with her other self.

“Are you sure? I feel like I just have made things worse, you were injured and now our identities are-”

“Little kitty on a roof, all alone without his lady.” A soft voice sang behind them, a familiar voice causing them to scream and jump back, the kwamis fleeing.

Marinette pushed her younger self behind her protectively, staring at shock at the akumatised hero in front of them. He was sitting cross legged, head hung with his white hair falling over his face, tears falling. He was fully white, and they both knew who he was. Marinette’s head snapped over to the French doors as her husband burst out, he looked ready to kill.

Marinette lifted a hand and shook her head, stopping him, looking back to the white kitty. “Chat?” She asked softly, pushing the young girl from behind her towards her husband, she stumbled towards him and was grabbed by strong hands and was shoved back into the house. She saw in the corner of her eye Adrien grabbing the young girl inside and pulled her behind the couch, Alix walking out next to her husband. Marinette slowly stepped forward, “Chat, what happened?”

“You… you left me… that is what happened… m’lady.” He murmured, shaking his head, the white hair swaying. “I waited, you came to save me and then… you left me.” The way he spoke broke her heart all over again. She felt fifteen again, staring at her broken kitty who sat for months waiting for her to show up.

“Chat I am right here, I never left you, what are you talking about?” She asked softly, taking another slow step, looking back at her husband who looked as if he was about to puke, the worry on his face scaring her more than what could happen if she spooked Chat Blanc. “Kitty, I’m here.”

“NO!” He exploded, his head snapping up, causing her to gasp and fall back, clambering back slightly, her eyes wide and tears building. “You left ME!” He was older, deep claw marks scarred into his cheeks, dragging from his eyes to his jaws. His eyes were a mixture of blue and red, half his mask peeling off, the skin under it scarred, half his eyelid missing. His body looked odd, blood staining his suit, his belt gone and his baton had been sharpened on the one edge. He looked like he was froma horror movies, and she hated horror movies. Marinette felt bile building and her hair stood up all over her body, a cold sweat setting in. He looked the same age as they did, how long was he waiting?

“Marinette…” Adrien warned, he had stepped closer, glaring at Chat Blanc.

“I didn’t!” She exclaimed, pushing up and resting on her knees, “Please, kitty, I’m right here. Come here.” She held out a hand as she started to stand up, “Come here, kitty, I am here now. I didn’t know.” She eyed her own hand, gulping slightly, terror overriding her slowly. “Come on Kitty, Let her help you, you aren’t where you are meant to be.”

“Marinette, no! Get back!” Adrien yelled, Plagg flying next to his face.

“Adrien…” Plagg warned, looking nervous.

“Oh,” Chat Blanc suddenly smiled a very menacing yellow smile, his canines seemed to have grown into fangs, “I am right where I am meant to be!” He snarled like an animal before thrusting for her hand.

“NO!” She heard the booming yell that sent fear down her spine, snapping her hand away as she saw a flash of green in the corner of her eye and then black tackle white. Marinette was pulled back by white gloves, turning around and seeing Bunnix behind her, frustration on her face.

“I don’t understand…” She muttered, pulling Marinette up to standing.

She turned her attention to the two Chats who had landed separately, the white mask fully ripped off now, the skin ripping off with it. She covered her mouth, feeling sick at the ghastly site in front of her. Blood trickled from the fresh wound, she looked away, doubling over and throwing up.

“I am sick to death of seeing my face on anyone besides me!” Chat Noir exclaimed, pushing to his feet and grabbing his baton, “you aren’t well, clearly, you need some purrification.”

“I see, she replaced me with a copycat.” Chat Blanc hissed, an evil snarl on his face. how was he not reacting to the mask coming off? “Well, if I can’t have her… NO ONE CAN!” He jumped to his feet and raised his hand, calling his cataclysm, in return Chat Noir called his with a growl. They charged at each other, Marinette panicked and opened her mouth to call on her transformation but it was too late, their hands slammed together and caused an explosion that blew everyone back, Marinette hitting the wall of the small building in their garden, vines falling over her with a grunt, Chat landing next to her and dropping his baton as he landed on his face, Bunnix didn’t flinch, standing tall.

Marinette coughed and wheezed as she tried to sit up but someone grabbed her ankle and dragged her out, throwing her across the garden, hitting the grass hard and skidding to a halt, the air gone from her lungs as she rolled onto her back, staring up at the greying sky.

“MARINETTE!” She heard the yell, but faintly, she was coughing as she pushed up onto her elbow, wincing at her grazes, blinking the blurriness away. She looked up and saw Chat Blanc standing over her, his hand glowing. She gasped and felt her breath get faster as she stared at him. She needed to transform. Now! She watched as Chat Blanc was pulled back as he lifted his hand to attack, flung across the garden by Chat Noir, Bunnix jumping out of the way, still not making any moves to attack, her eyes watching closely before she disappeared into her burrow.

Marinette blinked and shook her head, “Spots on!” She called her transformation, power fulling her body, the pain going away and her eyes shot open. She ran over and threw her one yoyo, tangling Chat blanc in it and slamming him into the wall, landing next to her husband who growled at the akumatised man.

“How long has he been like this?” Chat asked, Bunnix stepped out of her burrow and next to them, shaking her head.

“Well, I pulled Ladybug to his reality… 11 years ago.” Bunnix said softly, “but… I don’t know what happened. If Ladybug didn’t save him then why are we here?” Bunnix looked sombre, “I don’t get it, he isn’t…”

“11 years?!” Chat cried, looking at his wife in shock who was just as shocked.

“Don’t look at me, kitty!” Ladybug answered, “you know I stopped him and he was chat noir when I left.” She stopped him talking again, “this isn’t our timeline, kitty, like I said, don’t look at me.”

“HAHAHA, of course! It’s never HER fault!” The villain stood up, blood streaking down his face from his torn skin, the muscle visible, his eyelid gone completely, his eye protruding out. A flap of skin hanging over his cheek, partially hanging over his grin. “But this… this will be.” Chat Blanc charged at them, hand raised as it glowed white.

Chat flew to her defence, but it wasn’t needed as a green shell like protection fell over them, they all blinked in surprise and then noticed Carapace crouching behind them. Ladybug looked at Chat Noir, biting her lip slightly, Chat sighed, knowing what was about to come. Carapace looked pissed.

“Anyone want to tell me what the hell is going on?” Carapace asked while he stood up, towering over Ladybug, just taller than chat Noir, a face of thunder. She knew he hated it when he was left out.

“Don’t ask.” Chat snarled, “Apparently our dimensions are mixing.”

“What? What does that even mean?” Carapace asked in confusion, holding a hand to the shield with no effort as Chat Blanc was scratching at the shield, screaming like an animal, spit, snot and blood spraying everywhere.

“A few nights ago, we had 18 and 17 year old chat noir and ladybug burst through into our room, all fucked up.” Chat Noir said begrudgingly. “Bled all over my couch.”

“Wait, your moms couch?” Carapace asked with a raised brow.

“Yeah.”

“Dude, that’s my couch!” He groaned with an annoyed look before frowing at Chat Blanc in annoyance as he screeched loudly and threw himself at the shield. Carapce’s shield was immune to cataclysm so they were safe.

“You can mourn the couch another time, can we please deal with this alter ego fucking freak!” Chat exclaimed, his claws glowing green, “I am sick of other people looking like me showing up. Drop it at my signal.” Carapace nodded, watching the superhero. “where is the akuma?”

“His bell.” Ladybug replied, “you can’t fight him alone! I won’t let you!”

“He is after you, I am not losing you to this horror looking cat.” He looked at Carapace who nodded, Chat looked at hands and sighed, he hated this power and Ladybug knew it, this power was meant to be used at the most crucial moment. “Cataclysm claws.” He whispered, his eyes shining bright and his claws glowed even brighter, lengthening into sharp like talons.

“No!” Ladybug exclaimed, grabbing her yoyo and reaching out for Chat Noir.

Carapace dropped the shield long enough for Chat Noir to escape, and the two starting to fight as the shield covered them, Ladybug hitting the shield as she tried to follow. Chat was leaving big gashes on the white cat, his eyes in slits.

“Let me out Carapace!” She demanded, fists hitting the shield.

“Are you serious?” He yelled back, wincing as a blast hit his shield, Chat Noir was slashing at the villain, missing each time now as Chat Blanc was getting more and more out of control.

“Yes! I’m serious!” She yelled back.

“Ladybug, he looks like something out of Pennywise’s wet dream! And he wants to kill you, my job is to protect you guys and I am protectingyou!” Carapace yelled back, his brows furrowed.

“I am Ladybug!” She yelled back, standing tall, staring him down. “I am the guardian and I will not let you tell me what to do!” She looked at Bunnix and huffed, “Bunnix, burrow!”

Bunnix nodded and created a portal under Ladybug who disappeared despite Carapce’s disagreements. Ladybug fell from the portal outside the shield, landing on Chat Blanc, wrapping him in her yoyo, wrapping her legs around his neck, twisting and slamming him back.

“Chat Noir! His Bell!” She yelled, fighting against the screeching Chat Blanc. Chat Noir ran towards her, his claws glowing and his face full of rage. As he reached the bell, Chat Blanc grabbed her thigh and bit down, causing her to scream and release him, rolling away and staring down at her bloody thigh, the bite mark was huge. “What the fuck!” She exclaimed, growling and clenching her fists. Chat Noir sliced at Chat Blanc, slicing his stomach, blood pouring everywhere as he missed the bell.

“Don’t fucking touch her!” Chat Noir screamed.

“Lucky charm!” She called out, a small mirror falling into her hands. She gripped it and frowned, looking around.

Carapace charged forward, hitting Chat Blanc back then throwing his shield at him, smacking him in the face, blood spraying as the shield flew back. “Eww, what the fuck dude!” He exclaimed and shook the blood off the shield, grimacing.

“Ladybug, move!” Chat boomed, charging at her and body slamming her out of the way of a cataclysm sent her way, the mirror falling out of her hands. They rolled and finally stopped, Chat’s arms around her as he lay above her, she winced and grabbed her thigh, causing Chat to frown. He growled and turned his attention back to the villain who was limping over to them, a large creepy smile on his tilted head, drool and blood dripping.

“Carapace, shield me,” She called out as she pushed Chat off and jumped to her feet, looking around for a resolution. A green shield formed around not only her but Chat as well. She looked at the mirror and then at the sun, then eyed Chat Blanc. She grinned and turned to Chat who was on his feet again, “Chat, I need you to keep him busy, Carapce keep him back.”

“Anything for you m’lady.” He replied and jumped to action, their batons clashing as they fought. She ran for the mirror, diving and grabbing it as Chat Noir yelped as the sharp end of Blanc’s baton stabbed him in the shoulder. Carapace watched from a distance, his eyes dark under his hood.

Ladybug waited for an opening before she charged in, jumping and landing on Chat Blanc’s shoulders with her feet, jumping up into the air, his attention on her now as she turned in the air and angled the mirror at the sun, shining in his eyes, causing him to wince and cover his eyes, dropping his baton. “Now!” A shield formed around her as a cataclysm was shot her way blindly, disappearing as Ladybug went down hard, landing on Chat Blanc’s shoulders and locking her legs under his arms, green locked going around his body, locking her arms there.

“Chat! NOW!” she screamed as the villain started screaming as he was still blinded, his head flying around, biting at Ladybug’s thighs again, Ladybug bit her lip at the pain, watching at Chat charged and slashed the bell, the butterfly flying out. Ladybug jumped from his shoulders, throwing her yoyo and capturing the akuma. She gasped as it fell to the floor after she de-evilised it, it was dead. Of course.

She glared and threw the compact mirror into the air, “Miraculous Ladybug!” She called, turning as the ladybugs swarmed around her, fixing everything but her injuries as was the usual now. Before her lay a now fixed Chat Noir, but he lay on the floor and didn’t move.

Carapace stared at the man on the floor, eyes darting back and forth from him and his friend. He gulped and sheathed his shield.

“Bunnix, what’s going on?” Chat asked as he stood back up, his face full of confusion.

“Stand back.” Bunnix said, stepping in front of them and frowning. “Burrow.” She whispered, a portal appearing under the man on the floor, they watched as he fell through and disappeared.

“What… Bunnix?” Ladybug asked in confusion.

“He… He was dead.” She said softly, “his timeline has disappeared now, don’t worry.” She sighed, her transformation falling. “Come on, let’s just… Let’s just get inside.”

Carapace looked at them, his jaw set. “I’m calling Alya, whatever you two have failed to tell us about is very serious. Like, very serious.” He said pointing at them as he dropped his transformation. He was dressed in ripped black jeans and a green shirt and a beanie. He pulled out his phone and stalked inside, flopping on the couch.

“What?” Ladybug whispered, turning her gaze from where the dead chat noir was and looking at Chat Noir who looked at her with worried eyes. He didn’t say anything, just walked over to her and enveloped her in a hug, lifting her off the ground and burying his face in her neck as both their transformations fell. He obviously felt her tense so he scooped her up, she wasn’t in any danger but she was sore. He looked at her with soft eyes, his brows furrowed.

“Never, and I mean never do that again.” He whispered as he walked across the garden and through the doors.

“Do what? Be Ladybug?” She questioned with a raised brow.

“Put yourself in danger like that, you know I hate it.” Adrien replied, his expression pained.

She examined him and sighed, stroking his cheek, “you can’t protect me from everything, Adrien. You can’t throw yourself in front of everything. I am Ladybug, I am the guardian and I will be in harms way, but you know I will be okay.” She smiled as he sat her on the couch, crouching in front of her. “I have you, so I will be okay.”

He sighed and kissed her knuckles, standing up and looked over at the pale teenagers who were staring at Nino with wide eyes as he was talking on the phone, his lanky body draped over the one couch Marinette had been laying on her death bed a few days prior. “Are you two okay?” Adrien asked as he walked over the bookcase, pulling out one of Marinette’s hidden first aids.

“Uh…” younger Adrien gulped, “how did… how did you deal with him… so, uh,” He looked at his partner and gulped again.

“How did you take him down so quickly?” She asked for him, looking at them, actively avoiding Nino’s frown as he examined him.

Marinette chuckled and started unbuckling her jeans, Alix walking in and grabbing the tablet, smacking Nino’s legs to move, glaring at him and slouched on the couch next to him as he bent his legs then casually draped one over her lap as she rolled her eyes and started typing on the fancy device.

The two teens watched as Adrien walked over and knelt infront of his wife, gently taking old of her jeans and started gently shimmying them off, averting their gaze instantly, the other adults not even flinching.

“Don’t worry, it’s ok.” Marinette assured them, wincing as her jeans were pulled over the bites. “You need to get used to seeing others in these situations, you will be in them when treating wounds.” Adrien removed the jeans completely, putting them aside and opening the first aid kit silenelty, starting his work on treating the bites all over Marinette’s legs, injecting her with a serum just for her to help heal her from battles.

“Don’t worry, dudes, I have seen almost everyone here almost naked, brings us all closer together.” Nino joked, as he grinned teasingly at the teens. He was surprisingly calm about the situation. “So, you two are from the past huh?” He asked with a raised brow, leaning on his fist and staring at his phone as he texted. “That’s wild, how old are you tow?”

“Uh, w-we are 18, o-or almost 18.” Marinette stuttered out, staring at Adrien wrapping Marinette’s legs.

“Wow, blast from the past wouldn’t you say.” He laughed, pulling his beanie over his eyebrows and chewing on the hem of the top of his shirt, staring at his phone. “Alya is-”

Before he could finish his sentence the front door slammed open, causing everyone to jump, Marinette groaning and covering her face. “GIRL!” A yelled echoed through, high heeled footsteps moving fast and confident towards the lounge. Alya stormed in, she must have come from an interview, she was in a pant suit, her fiery hair short and curled, makeup proper and a shoulder bag across her chest. “GIVE ME MY MIRACULOUS RIGHT NOW!” She demanded, stamping her foot, glaring at Adrien with a pouted lip, Adrien cowered under the stare and looking back at his wife’s thighs.

“Alya…” Marientte started, gulping.

“Chat BLANC shows up after young-” she stopped mid sentence as her eyes fell on the very pale, confiused teens. Her eyes widened and the reporter in her emerged. “No way!” She exclaimed and kicked off her high heels, running over to them and sitting on the coffee table, staring at them in amazement. Marinette chuckled and stroked her husband’s cheek, he looked up and smiled at her softly, the smile she fell in love with at 13. He smirked then and winked at her, standing up and grabbing a blanket and covered her, kissing her on top of her head, sitting on the arm of the chair.

“wow… You two look so young!” Alya exclaimed, “Okay, so anyone wanna explain what’s going on?” She asked eventually, standing up and walking over to her best friend, cupping her face and looking her over, frowning at the grazes on her arms. “you good, girl?” she asked.

“I’m good.” Marinette reassured her, smiling up at her. Alya had been so good to her for most of her life now, she couldn’t picture her life without Alya.

“Okay, now, we need to know what the hell is going on.” Nino said, swinging his long legs off of alix who glared at him, sitting up and pushing his beanie off, chucking it onto the table and ruffled his mess of hair.

Marinette explained what she knew, Alya and Nino hanging on every word, at the end of it they were staring at the silent teens who hadn’t said a word. Hell, they hadn’t even moved from their stiff postures.

“Okay… We need to know everything that happened, in your past.” Alya spoke up softly, she was sitting next to Nino now, cleaning her glasses calmly.

The two teens looked at each other and gulped, “Okay…”

oOo

“Pound it!” They fist bumped, beaming at each other. Mr Ramier sat sombre in front of them, “Are you okay, Mr Ramier?” Ladybug asked softly, kneeling beside him. He looked up and nodded, smiling small. He bought them their usual ice cream and disappeared off to probably find more rats.

They both sighed, resting against the rail of the lock lock bridge, “I am so sick of fighting that guy.” Chat said and dropped his head back, rubbing his eyes.

“I know, kitty, but we have to protect Paris, even with him constantly getting upset.” Ladybug replied, chuckling softly, looking at him. “Come on, we still have a bit until we transform, want to go for a swing?” She asked, chat plucking up and smiling at her brightly.

Twenty minutes later they were sitting on the Eiffel Tower, chatting away like usual. They had admitted it was their last year at school, discussing how they would work as Ladybug and Chat Noir once their lives changed. Chat was lying back with his arms behind his head, Ladybug resting against the bar behind her, her one leg on Chat Noir’s lap, playing with one of her miraculous ladybugs.

“I’m not sure what’s going to happen, Chat.” Ladybug replied to him, rolling her eyes, “how about we just keep our minds on whats happening now?”

“I guess, but you know things could change, I know the akumas are less frequent with the new villain that’s appeared, but what happens if you leave to university and there is an akuma attack?”

Ladybug sighed and was about to reply when an explosion went off, both of them jumping to their feet, looking around. “What’s going on?”

“Where is that coming from?”

“There!” Ladybug pointed, a huge fire blazed at the mayor’s hotel, screams filling around them. They stared at each other in shock before leaping to action. They arrived at the scene withing minutes, looking around for an akuma, but saw no one. Ladybug stood up, eyes darting, Chat crouched protectively. “Where… where is the akuma?” She asked in confusion. She jumped and spun around on the roof top they were on, a man standing behind them. He was tall, shoulder length blonde hair covering the one side of his face, a purple and black mask on his face. He had a cape over his one shoulder, his dark purple suit was formal and looked almost like a normal suit, but his giant sabre strapped to his back spoke other wise. He opened his eyes and his striking green eyes bore through their souls.

They backed off, staring at him with wide eyes. He looked… familiar? Why though? She looked at Chat Noir who looked just as confused. He was eyeing the man infront of them, eyes darting to Ladybug.

“Why hello.” The man spoke finally, his voice was very deep, almost silky, it made Ladybug uneasy how it almost travelled down her spine. “You may be wondering who I am and why I am here.” He stared right at Ladybug, causing Chat Noir to growl and step infront of her defensively. “Well, I’m someone you have never faced before, I am here for one thing and one thing only. I don’t want your miraculous per say, but…” He smirked, “I do want your heads hanging on my wall.” He chortled before lunging at them, releasing his sabre and swiping for them, both of them jumping back off the roof. They were in trouble, and they both knew it.

[ladylynse]

Chapter 12 [FF | AO3] of Whirlwind (SQ fic): Jake should be used to ominous predictions by now. Randy should know better than to blindly follow McFist. Adrien should think twice before sneaking away. And Danny should’ve expected something like this when he got that phone call.

Previous | Timeline post

-|-

7:46 PM

“Don’t come here,” Gabriel hissed. “If you’ve captured Chat Noir, simply take his Miraculous! I want that ring.”

“Bringing him to you while he wears his ring is the same as bringing his ring to you,” was her infuriatingly mild response. “Unless you care to revise the terms of our agreement and specify that you would like only his ring?”

Gabriel ground his teeth. He knew what she was trying to do. “Take his Miraculous,” he repeated. “I have no use for the boy. If you bring him here, his fate is on your head.”

He thought that would give her pause. Instead, she asked, “Are you so afraid of him?”

“I know you don’t like needless death, Dracona,” he snapped. “If you believe bringing him to me will save him, you are sorely mistaken.”

“You don’t want to know who he is?” she asked lightly. “For the next time he foils your plans?”

“There won’t be a next time if you give me his Miraculous this time.”

“How can you be so sure of that when he could face you using a different Miraculous?”

Gabriel stilled. How did she know that? He had never told her of the Miraculous beyond asking her to fetch Chat Noir’s, and he didn’t recall naming the ring as a Miraculous until now.

She must be guessing. She couldn’t know more.

He wasn’t willing to bet on that, though. She’d surprised him by having that blood magic of hers; he wasn’t about to assume she was ignorant of other magics. “We’ll meet on the rooftops, then. The former venue.” He didn’t want to make this concession, but she’d use a refusal against him. It was far better to meet her away from prying eyes than to have her find him where he stood now. Besides, he knew to be careful. She’d only captured Chat Noir; the other heroes he’d seen acting earlier were still out there, as was her son.

He suspected this was her new way of opposing him. She was still trying to bargain with him, trying to find loopholes in their agreement. Still thinking she could get the upper hand. No matter; he’d prove her wrong soon enough.

“No.”

“I beg your pardon?” He spoke slowly, letting his threat soak through the words at her audacity of trying to dictate more terms.

“Go to the roof of your hotel. I’ll find you.”

“I’m afraid—”

“You’re not from here, and this is hardly a residential district. You’re staying at a hotel nearby. Your first choice tells me that much.”

Gabriel let out a growl, and Dracona added, “Or would you prefer I come straight to your room?”

The cane in Gabriel’s grip trembled slightly, and he forced himself to relax. He didn’t want to let her know how much her insubordination irked him. “Very well.” Once he had Chat Noir’s ring, he could recall her akuma and be done with this. She may have inside knowledge of other magical artefacts that might be useful to him, but it was abundantly clear that she wouldn’t part with that knowledge if he didn’t have some leverage. He’d hoped Nooroo’s magic would be enough to keep her on a short leash, but if she could push back this much, he was better off declawing her.

Fortunately, while she wouldn’t remember the incident, he’d know everything she’d told him. That would have to be enough for him when he found his next target.

“Dark wings fall, Nooroo,” he said, letting the magic wash over him.

Nooroo appeared in front of him. “Is this wise, Master?”

“Are you questioning my judgement?”

“No, Master.”

“Then what more can you tell me of her magic? How she could possibly know about the Miraculous?”

Nooroo hesitated.

“Answer me.”

“These things are not meant to be spoken of, Master.”

“Consider this an exception.”

Nooroo swallowed. “Dragons believe themselves to be the protectors of the magical world. While the Order of the Guardians have striven for utmost secrecy themselves, it is likely the dragons are aware of the Miraculous.”

Dragons.

“And you did not think to mention this before?” Nooroo would have known that from the beginning. It was highly unlikely he’d known she possessed blood magic without recognizing its kind, especially after Dracona had unlocked her own power. Gabriel did not appreciate being taken for a fool, yet they all seemed intent to try it—though it did make Dracona’s protection of her family make so much more sense. Her son, especially; as she’d said he’d fought and won his own battles despite still learning, Gabriel had no doubt that her son also considered himself a protector of the magical world.

“You forbade me from speaking, Master.”

A convenient excuse but not likely the real reason. Nooroo’s reluctance to speak of this at all would have been obvious even if he had met Gabriel’s eyes. “Then speak now. What can you tell me about the others? The ghost, the ninja?”

“I do not know specifics,” Nooroo admitted in a whisper. “I believe the Ninja is using magical artefacts to achieve his powers—”

“Then we shall have to see if we can take those away from him.”

Nooroo flinched. “That would not be an easy thing to do, Master. I do not know what the artefacts might be or if they are connected and must be used together. I cannot even guess if they are bound by magic my own cannot unravel. I would have to see them to discern that, as was your plan for any other artefacts we find here.”

“Then we shall see if you can properly evaluate those artefacts once we crush the Ninja. What of this Phantom?”

“Spirits are not uncommon but rarely pose a serious threat to the living realm. They…. The strongest are capable of possession, but—”

“Possession?” That was not a threat that should have gone undisclosed. “Can you counter it?” When Nooroo didn’t answer, Gabriel repeated himself slowly, letting his anger at Nooroo’s delayed response simmer in every word. “Can you counter it?”

“It’s not the same as when my magic is used to overtake another Miraculous Holder. The spirit magic—”

“I don’t want an explanation. I want an answer. Can you counter it or not?”

“I-I don’t know, Master. I can try.”

He couldn’t afford to expose himself if Nooroo wasn’t certain. “You can shield me from other threats,” he said, keeping his voice deliberately mild. “You said it’s not the same as when other Miraculous Holders are overcome by your magic, but unlike Ladybug and Chat Noir, there are no constraints on how much of your power I can safely access. If you used all your power to fight a threat such as this, could you not protect me?”

“I don’t—”

“Could you not protect me?”

“I could,” Nooroo breathed, not meeting his eyes.

“Then I command you to do so. Protect me regardless of the cost to yourself.”

The kwami nodded and had the sense to hide in Gabriel’s breast pocket instead of arguing.

Gabriel reached up to touch his earpiece. “Nathalie, I’ll be delayed further. Relay to the security team that everyone is to stay off the rooftops for their own protection.” Enough people had seen Dracona that such an order wouldn’t be questioned, and with any luck, Dracona’s presence would be enough incentive for the other buildings where he had no influence to follow suit.

“Of course, sir. Would you like me to see if I can have a lockdown instituted?”

Gabriel considered the idea and then dismissed it; if worst came to worst, he’d need to blend into the crowd quickly—and that would require there to be a crowd in the first place. “Not within the building. I want people to be free to move about inside, but talk to security about getting the streets cleared. There’s no benefit in stalling that any longer.”

“I’ll see to it right away, sir.”

He didn’t need to ask how her negotiations were going. She would be doing an exemplary job; he didn’t pay her for anything less. She knew what he wanted and she’d find a way to get it—most likely while making others think they were doing precisely what they wanted.

As Adrien knew better than to leave his room, Gabriel had no need to check the adjoining suite to know that everything was in order.

Much as he hated letting Dracona choose their meeting ground, he wasn’t going to argue with results. With Chat Noir out of the picture, Ladybug would be easy enough to defeat in the future, even without any other magical artefacts.

-|-

7:47 PM

This was not going according to plan. Clearly, there was a reason that Ladybug was the one to come up with their plans. Adrien didn’t even have the room to squirm in Dracona’s talons. The suit protected him from being sliced to bits, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t feel the amount of pressure she was using to keep him in her grip.

The suit also protected him from the cold wind, and he hoped that wind wasn’t going to rip away his words. He needed Dracona to hear this. Even if he could only get her to hesitate, it would give the others time to catch up. “You’re worried about your family, aren’t you?” he asked, thinking that was a fair assumption when they were clearly involved in the magical world and Hawk Moth wanted something from that world enough to put in an appearance. “I’ve met your son. And your daughter. They love you very much.”

Dracona said nothing.

Maybe she couldn’t hear him; he wasn’t whispering, but he couldn’t draw enough breath to shout over the wind.

Or maybe she was just ignoring him.

“I’m someone’s son, too. And if you give my Miraculous to Hawk Moth, you’ll be endangering so many more kids just like your own. You’ll be endangering everyone. He won’t stop until he gets what he wants, and he doesn’t care who gets hurt in the process. It won’t just be your family or mine; it’ll be anyone who’s even remotely in his way.”

Everyone was insisting that Dracona was different because she was part of a family of dragons, but she was still akumatized. Most akumatized people couldn’t be reasoned with, but some of them— Some of them fought back. And from what he’d heard of the dragon earlier—of how no one had been hurt—he was pretty sure that she was one of those people who was fighting back.

She might be like Nathaniel had been as the Evillustrator. From what he’d seen and what he’d heard from Marinette, Nathaniel had tried to resist Hawk Moth more than once. If Susan could keep doing that….

“I heard what happened earlier at the fashion show,” he continued. If he hadn’t begged off shadowing Nathalie, chances were very good he’d have been caught in the middle of it. As it was, everyone seemed to have assumed that he’d never left his room. Perhaps they’d left a message for him and told him to remain there; he hadn’t looked in the brief time he’d been back there, too focused on other things, monitoring Plagg’s cheese consumption included. He could always claim to have been in the washroom when the message came, maybe say he’d needed a shower to wake up.

As it was, too much had happened for Adrien to feel tired. More likely than not, he’d crash once this was over. They had to get this sorted out tonight. Soon. Now. He couldn’t afford to give Hawk Moth more time to find what he was looking for, especially when he had a connection to someone who would know exactly where to procure what he wanted, providing he could convince her to do that.

“I know this night didn’t go like you’d hoped, and I can’t fix that—” Not like Ladybug could have, anyway. “—but that doesn’t mean we can’t begin to make it better now. And better includes keeping your family safe, doesn’t it? You might think that will happen if you give me over to Hawk Moth, but it won’t. Your son and I….” Adrien hesitated, not sure if he could call this a proper partnership, let alone a friendship, when he hadn’t told them his real name. “We’re working together. Sacrificing me—and sacrificing my Miraculous is sacrificing me—won’t make him give up; it’ll make him fight harder.”

“I know.”

Adrien blinked, not expecting to get a response. At least, he hadn’t been expecting that response. An argument, maybe, if not continued silence, but an acknowledgement? It was going to be a lot harder to sway her to his side if she already knew what he was going to say.

“Then why are you doing this?”

“It’s the only choice I have.”

His heart sank at her words, and as she banked towards the site of the gala, he thought it might have skipped a beat entirely. There was a figure on one of the rooftops—and unless he was completely disoriented, it was the rooftop of his hotel. Hawk Moth was staying at this hotel? Surely he wouldn’t have had time to go to a different one. But if it was this one, then if Plagg could get a look at the registry so Adrien could check names once he got back to Paris—

He could discover Hawk Moth’s identity. At the very least, he could narrow it down.

He just needed to get out of this first.

-|-

7:49 PM

“Why are you slowing down?” Randy asked. “They’re there! We can see them! We need to go!”

“Danny’s gotta get Chat Noir out of there before we completely lose the element of surprise,” Jake reminded him. “If he can do that without Hawk Moth realizing, all the better.”

“Yeah, that’s not gonna happen.”

“I like to be optimistic sometimes.”

“Really didn’t seem like that earlier.”

“I said sometimes. Besides, it’s better if I drop you here and we hit them from different angles.” He wheeled towards the same rooftop where he’d talked to Randy earlier that day. “I wanna check on Trixie and Spud, too. Make sure they caught up to Haley. If I tell you the number, can you call them for me?”

Randy snorted. “With what, my broken phone that you left in pieces somewhere? Or did you give them one of those earphone things?”

Oh. Right. Jake had used his cell phone as a dragon before, difficult as that was when it came to precise handling and not, well, accidentally gouging out buttons or scratching the screen or completely smashing it, but if he didn’t specifically try to keep the phone with him when he transformed, it stayed safely with his human clothes.

“Sorry,” Jake mumbled as he landed and crouched so Randy could slide off.

Randy flipped onto the rooftop instead, missing Jake’s transformation but turning back in time to watch him dig his cell phone out of his pocket. “You didn’t talk angles with Danny,” he said as Jake started dialling. “Shouldn’t you have done that if you wanted to hit them from all fronts? And, I mean, not to say I don’t have some pretty bruce moves, but is it wise to pretty much divide and conquer ourselves against someone we know is strong, especially when she’s with the shoob who’s manipulating her?”

“Now you’re questioning me? Really?”

“You decided to stop before fighting. That means I get to criticize, doesn’t it? Since I’m not doing anything else. I mean, I don’t usually get the luxury of a breather in a fight. You seriously do?”

Jake rolled his eyes and was about to retort when Spud picked up his phone. “Hello?”

That wasn’t Spud.

“Trixie? What’s going on? What happened to Spud?”

“He’s fine. We’re both fine. Don’t worry about us.”

Jake frowned and turned away from Randy, who had pulled off his mask in order to make increasingly silly faces at Jake in what was undoubtedly an attempt to get a reaction out of him. “Then you guys found Haley already? Have you dealt with Rotwood? And, um, McFist?”

“Not exactly.”

“What do you mean, ‘not exactly’? Where are you guys?”

“Cool it, Jakey. Spud had an idea. I’m helping.”

“Wh—? I need you here! Haley needs you here!”

“We’re trying to save your butt. And Haley’s. Let us do this.”

“Yo, do you have any idea how crazy you sound right now? Spud doesn’t have time to build another thermos if he can’t find the first one!”

Trixie let out a low whistle. “You would be surprised what ya boy can do under pressure.”

“But—”

“Just trust us. We got this. I think. And Haley can hold her own. Chill.”

Jake just groaned as Trixie hung up on him. He turned back to Randy, about to explain Trixie’s side of the conversation, and then realized that Randy wasn’t there. Jake spun and finally spotted a flash of Randy’s red scarf the next building over. He was steadily making his way towards the building—hotel, Jake realized—where Hawk Moth stood with Susan, who was still in her dragon form and using it to very effectively pin Nino to the rooftop.

Evidently, Randy’s suit had repaired itself just fine.

Jake hoped that wasn’t the only bit of luck they’d have tonight.

-|-

7:48 PM

“Magic exists,” Haley said. The words were a bitter betrayal. It didn’t matter that Rotwood already knew about the magical world or that McFist had to be aware of it if he fought the Ninja; the point was that she was never supposed to confirm that knowledge, and now she was.

“Of course magic exists,” sniffed Rotwood. “You are a dragon. I know you are a dragon. Therefore, magic exists.”

Haley glanced at McFist, who shrugged. “I work with a sorcerer. It’s not news to me.”

“Still,” she whispered, “that’s not the same. This magic isn’t like that.”

“We do not have time for games,” Rotwood said. “If you think we do, perhaps I should just phone one of the news channels?”

Ordinarily, Haley would think Rotwood had cried wolf too many times for that threat to hold any water, but after tonight?

She wasn’t willing to make that bet after tonight.

“You have to swear that you won’t tell anyone if I explain this,” she said. Jake and Rotwood had called truces in the past, so he might keep his word, but she had no idea about McFist. Frankly, she didn’t trust either of them as far as Fu could throw them. But, hopefully, if she made this sound important—and told them a little bit of what was important—they might not realize what she left out.

Or how much.

McFist frowned at her. “Any of this going to blow up in our faces?”

“Not if I tell you,” she said carefully, “so you’re warned.”

“Good enough for me.” McFist hesitated. “Except I don’t want to lie to my wife. I don’t lie to her. I’ll have to be able to tell her enough so she knows she can’t push me on this. You good with that?”

Haley blinked.

“And Viceroy sometimes just knows things. Man’s not a mind reader, but he’s good at tricking you into saying things. Not sure I can make any promises with him, either, and expect to keep them. But if you’re worried about this whole magic thing, he knows it’s real, too. Helps me help the Sorcerer. And I can’t keep anything from the Sorcerer. I think he really is a mind reader. Maybe. Hard to say. He hasn’t caught the Ninja yet, either. But he knows things. The existence of magic included, obviously. So you okay with me promising not to tell anyone but with the caveat that those people might find out?”

“You have our word,” Rotwood said. “He won’t intentionally tell anyone, and I won’t tell anyone who doesn’t already know—unless you try to trick us.”

She wasn’t going to get a better deal than that, and it was as much as she’d expected anyway. Rotwood has given himself the out he wanted—he could claim trickery and tell the media—and given McFist the out he’d wanted, and she was left with little more than she’d started with.

“Okay.” What was the best way for her to put this? “The dragon you saw earlier was created with magic.”

“How?” McFist demanded. “Can it be replicated?”

“Not by any of us. It’s not a magic I understand. The person doing this…. They’re not from here. And that dragon? She’s not much more than a distraction.” That wasn’t exactly true, but they wouldn’t know that. Besides, it wasn’t entirely a lie, either. Things would be simpler if it were. “If you—if anyone—kicks up a fuss over the dragon, you’ll be playing right into their hands.”

Rotwood frowned. “This other person, what game are they playing?”

Haley shrugged. “We figured it was better if we could cut them off before they could set any more rules.”

“So you, what, saw me talking to him and figured you had to get us out of there before we messed with your big plan?” McFist crossed his arms. “Gotta be more to it than that.”

“It’s my job to protect people from the magical world, including those who go poking their noses into trouble,” Haley shot back. Rotwood sniffed, maybe because he knew that was supposed to be more on Jake and Gramps and Sun than her at the moment, but she ignored him. “The Ninja’s heard of you,” she said, looking at McFist, “and what’s happening in Norrisville. He gave me some weaponry to help me, um, convince you to leave. If I can figure out how to use it to distract more than just you, all the better.”

“Wait, are you asking us to help you?”

She wasn’t, but Haley nodded anyway. If McFist was going to offer, she wasn’t going to turn him down. She didn’t have a plan—not anymore, anyway—and she doubted Jake had come up with anything yet.

“And what are we supposed to get in return? Are you willing to take me back to the Magus Bazaar?”

“The what?”

“Magical market,” Rotwood said to McFist. “Filled with magical creatures and magical things.”

“Could I get something to take down the Ninja there?”

“I can promise to ask if someone will take you,” Haley said, “and I can promise that you’ll remember this when it’s over.”

“Why wouldn’t we remember this once it’s over?” McFist asked.

Haley cocked her head. “Why do you think so many people don’t believe in magic anymore?”

“If you could do that, Jake would have already done this to me. To Brock. You are stretching the truth, little girl.”

“Ordinary humans aren’t supposed to know about the magical world,” Haley said. “You might know it exists and keep looking for solid proof to share with others, but that doesn’t mean you remember every encounter you’ve had with it. Even Jake knows how suspicious it would be if you suddenly stopped poking around until you saw something that made you suspect the truth again.”

“But…but your brother’s friends—!”

“I don’t know,” admitted Haley. “I think Jake defied direct orders and Gramps smoothed it over. You’ve met my family, Rotwood. If it were perfectly fine for humans to know about the magical world, don’t you think our lives would be easier?”

Rotwood opened his mouth but paused as her words sunk in. McFist raised his eyebrows at him, and Rotwood’s expression sunk into a glower. “It’s Professor Rotwood. But very well. I see your point. However, if you are not able to get me entrance to the Magus Bazaar again, you must do something else for me in the future. I am not going to give up on an opportunity like this without good reason. There is footage of a dragon out there now. Proof. Which means redemption for me as all those who have mocked me realize they were the ones who were wrong. You must think me a fool if you believe I would give this up for nothing.”

She did think him a fool, but she shook her head anyway. “I can’t make an open promise like that.”

“Then I will add the caveat that, whatever I decide, it will not directly endanger the magical world or your family. Or directly expose them. Is that satisfactory, Miss Long?”

Haley bit her lip. She knew this wasn’t what anyone had intended when they’d asked her to distract Rotwood and McFist. It might very well be the opposite of what had been intended. Still, they needed help. And Jake had struck deals with Rotwood before. She wasn’t sure about Randy and McFist, but….

“Okay. Yes. I agree. Help me protect the magical world now and don’t ever tell anyone the truth about what’s going on, and I’ll do something for you later if I can’t get you into the Magus Bazaar.” She looked at McFist, waiting to see what he’d ask for; he didn’t strike her as someone who would let Rotwood take a better deal than him.

“You don’t have anything that’ll grant me the superpower of my choice, do you?”

She shook her head. “There are some potions that grant temporary effects for something specific, but—”

“Like what?”

Haley swallowed. “Invisibility. Flight. Shapeshifting. There are a lot of—”

“Could you get me a bottle of something?”

She wanted to say no. Giving magic to a human, especially one with questionable intentions, was just asking for another situation like they one they were already facing. And if McFist intended to misuse magic and she gave him the opportunity to do so, chances were good Randy would pay the price for her decision later. Still, if she warned Randy and gave him something to allow him to counter whatever she gave McFist, then maybe—?

“No, wait— Have you got anything that will stop magic from affecting me?”

“You’re worried about that sorcerer you mentioned?” she guessed. “I might—”

“No, he’s going to give me a superpower when I destroy the Ninja for him,” McFist said, “and if you can’t give me one, too, then I want something that’ll stop swamp magic in case Booray gets any ideas.”

“Swamp magic?”

“It’s, y’know, swamp magic,” McFist said, waving his hands in vague motions as if that made his point any clearer. “Little pouches of mind-controlly stuff. Freaky. Don’t want it anywhere near me.”

A protection spell, then, or something that would cancel out this other magic. Gramps and Fu would have an idea of what would be best, but she was sure there was something. “All right.”

“And you have to tell me about the NYC Ninja.”

Haley agreed to that condition immediately. If McFist had just said the Ninja, she would’ve had more trouble justifying that grey area, but as he’d specified, she felt no qualms about agreeing at all. It was hardly her fault that he wanted to know about a Ninja that didn’t exist—at least, not to her knowledge.

She wasn’t going to tell him that until he asked, though.

McFist grinned and stuck out his hand. She shook it, then shook Rotwood’s. “You want us to find a way to convince everyone that things are not as they seem, yes?” he asked. “That this new dragon is a hoax? As everyone has always believed of my proof?”

McFist grunted. “People were already muttering about it being some kind of publicity stunt. Better to lean into that. I can even sponsor something if I need to.” He glanced at the bulging pocket of her hoodie again and said, “Let’s have a look at what the Ninja gave you first and see what we can come up with.”

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