Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Alya looked around as she walked to school. It was hard to think that just yesterday that the most dangerous akuma had rampaged through the streets of Paris. But what was harder to think about was that Cheshire had taken her miraculous.

Yeah, Alya could understand the reasoning. If one of her friends was injured then of course she would want to see them. So the reporter still had a little hope that she could still live her dream of being a hero. Yeah she wasn’t as powerful as her childhood self pictured but she was strong enough to hold her own.

“Hey dudette you okay?” Nino questioned her. Looking over she saw the boy looking at her in concern. The reporter knew she shouldn’t be upset with the cap wearing boy but part of her was still mad at him for what happened with Marinette.

“It’s none of your concern!” She spat out while marching to the locker room.

“It is when it's bugging you.” Nino followed her.

“That would be true if we were friends, but we are not friends!” Alya snapped while turning around to jab her finger at the boy.

“I don’t need to be your friend to be concerned about you.” Nino finally said after a while of silence. “If you need to talk to someone I’m willing to listen.”

Alya faltered a bit at that but she was quick to turn around and walk towards her locker. Opening it the reporter started putting her things away only to stop as something caught her eyes. There sitting on the bottom of her locker was a black box with a green cat’s paw. The paw print was very familiar to anyone who had spent more than five minutes on her blog.

Looking around Alya quickly took the box out of her locker and put it into her bag. Slinking out she made her way to a rarely used bathroom. After doing a quick peek around to make sure nobody was around Alya brought the box out of her bag. Looking at the box Alya took a breath and opened it up. Once it had opened an orange ball of light announced the return of Trixx.

“Ahh, got to admit that was definitely more comfortable than the Order’s boxes.” The fox said aloud while stretching.

“Order?” Alya questioned with a smile. The reporter had shoved the box back in her bag then put the necklace on.

“Sorry I literally can’t tell you. Well maybe I could but Bread would have to change some rules.” Trixx replied before leaning back.

“You can’t just tease me with juicy info.” The redheaded girl already felt herself relaxing as she bantered with the kwami.

“I knew it! I knew it!” A third voice intruded. Turning white Alya spun around and saw a bouncing Rose with Juleka. The small blonde had her hand wrapped around Juleka’s wrist meaning that she had dragged the larger girl around with her. “This means that you are Purple Tigress!”

“Oh now how do you figure that?” Trixx didn’t seem concerned about the bouncing pink girl having figured out her identity. In fact he seemed more intrigued. “Hey Roaar, is it just me or does she remind you of Daizzi?”

“I wasn’t going to say anything. But yeah she does.” The purple jungle cat poked their head out of Juleka’s hair.

“Oh my gosh! You two are so cute!” Rose gasped with a large smile. “I overheard the call yesterday when you called Juleka.”

“The call…” Alya mumbled before seeming to remember just what Rose had ment.

“Trixx did you feel the change?” Roaar questioned with sadness.

“You mean when Fu lost the title of guardian?” Trixx got a nod in reply. “Yeah, I felt it.” The orange kwami responded while they dropped a bit.

“What is going on?” Alya questioned with her brows scrunched again.

“Don’t bother, me and m… I questioned my kwami but they didn’t respond.” Juleka mumbled while rubbing her arm. Alya nodded, barely noticing the stumble. Trixx however…

The bell rang causing the girls to jump a bit in shock. “We’ll talk more later.” The three nodded and headed into the classroom. The classroom had a few missing students, one of which being Chloe. Alya was grateful for that as she sat down. Looking down at her fanny pack the girl took comfort in the fact that Cheshire had seen fit to return her miraculous. Remembering the reason that the cat took her miraculous in the first place Alya made a mental note to ask Trixx how Kaalki was.

“Dude, are you sure you’re alright?” Nino questioned as he walked in with a very out of sorts Adrien.

“Yeah, I just had a rough night sleeping.” Blondie muttered, waving off his friend.

The aspiring DJ chewed on his lip as he no doubt tried to think of something. Glancing around the room his eyes settled first on Marinette then on Alya. With a smile he took his seat in front of her. “Hey, Alya, is it true that the zoo finally got that panther exhibit in?”

“Yeah, it should open today?” Alya pondered what Nino was getting at with this.

“Why don’t we all go and check it out! We could invite some others to go with us!” Adrien seemed to perk up at his friend’s suggestion. The model looked behind him and seemed to perk up. No doubt he would be disappointed when he found out that Chloe wasn’t here.

“That sounds like a great idea!” Adrien nodded his head before turning to Alya. “Any chance you could invite Marinette?” Alya felt her insides roll at that. She knew that Sunshine had no plan to bully her BFF but Nino. She couldn’t trust him, Adrien however asked her to do something and as Chloe’s BFF she couldn’t deny him.

“Sure I’ll ask for you.” Alya muttered at least taking comfort in knowing she could talk to her BFF again.

~~~~~

Marinette buried her head in her arms as she laid on her desk. The dark haired girl kept waking up to check on Kaalki so her sleep schedule was shot. Plus she was still worried about Longg and how he would settle in so she had brought the red kwami to talk to during lunch. That wasn’t even mentioning how sore her body felt from having to Unify and wear so many miraculous yesterday.

“You should have just stayed home Bread. I can tell you're still worried about Kaalki.” Plagg whispered to her from where he was laying curled up near her.

“I needed to drop off Trixx for Alya.” The girl mumbled in response.

“As much as it revolts me to agree with Plagg I must.” Longg offered his opinion from her other side.

“What if an akuma shows up?” She muttered while moving her head so she could look at her friend. “I don’t want to lose her or make her feel unimportant.” The girl knew what it was like to feel like no one cared, that no one needed you. Nobody should feel that way.

“Bread… You are amazing. You know that right.” Plagg patted her cheek and Marinette tried to hold onto the compliment because she knew Plagg meant it. But another part was already tearing into it. Letting out a sigh she instead focused on class and deciding when to visit Alix about Kaalki.

Class came and went so with lunch beginning she made to leave as usual only to find Alya in front of her. “Hey girl, you still like cats right?”

“Um, yes?” Marinette questioned while drawing a bit into herself.

“Have you seen this beauty?” Alya pulled out her phone with a smile. Marinette looked and saw a picture of a black panther. “Soooo, what do you think? My dad just got them for the zoo!”

“They are really pretty.” Marinette muttered while giving her friend a small smile.

“So you want to come see them after school? To celebrate right before the winter break.” Alya happily questioned her former BFF. Marinette’s eyes went wide and her eyes started shooting around. Placing a comforting hand on her shoulder Alya smiled down at her. “Hey don’t worry I’ll be with you.”

“You promise?”

“I promise, I’ll stay beside you.” Alya promised Marinette with a smile. “We’ll meet up after school okay?” Getting a nod Alya was about to head out only to be stopped by Juleka, Rose, and Alix.

“You said your dad got a new animal at the zoo?” Seeing that her sticking around might lead to problems for the reporter, Marinette left the classroom barely noticing Chloe’s friend and Nino watching her. She didn’t put too much thought into it, no doubt Alya already had a plan to help her. Maybe that was why she invited her to the zoo?

“We’re back. How is Kaalki?” Marinette questioned the kwami in the room. Mullo looked at her for a moment with wide eyes. With quick motions she hid the web browser she was on.

“Good, she is very good. Well not good right now but she is getting color back!” A slightly flustered Mullo informed her.

“What’s up mouse? Rewatching some of your streams?” Plagg teased the mouse who just looked away.

“Leave her alone Plagg, you should just be happy she isn’t eating more of your cheese.” The guardian of the new order lightly chastised her kwami. Walking over to the dollhouse Marinette gave a light smile to the still sleeping kwami.

“Ah, Kaalki, to think she went through so much.” Longg muttered while she flew around the other kwami. “She more than deserves her rest.”

“Yeah, she really does.” Letting out a sigh, Marinette's mind started tearing at her. How she could have prevented this if she had been stronger. If only she had been faster! If she hadn’t lent out her miraculous then this wouldn’t have happened! That this was all her fault! “So, what happened between you and Plagg?”

“I thought it would be obvious,” Longg let out a sad sigh, “Plagg was the reason dragons went extinct.”

“Oh yeah he did mention something like that.” Marinette muttered as she thought back to after she fought Fu for the first time. But knowing the kwami in question… “Hey Plagg, why did you cause the dragons to go extinct?”

“Oh, that.” Plagg’s ears and tail dropped in sadness. “I didn’t intend for it to happen but it just did.”

“How do you not intend to cause genocide!” Longg shouted while raising a bit off the ground. Marinette placed a comforting hand on his head trying to help him calm down.

Plagg was quiet for a while before letting out a sigh. “It wasn’t my proudest moment. Though not all the blame lies with me.” Longg looked ready to argue the last point but Marinette stopped her. She knew how hard it could be for Plagg to open up. “It all started when one of my wielders got full of the power I granted and decided to keep testing how far they could push it. Always wanting bigger and better fights. It came to the point that there were only two things that ‘Challenged’ him anymore.”

“Oh, yes, him!” Pollen spat out seeming to have become curious about what they were talking about. “He hunted down other miraculous users just to fight them.”

“Bastard had the chance to take my miraculous but threw it to one of Golden’s followers.” Liiri muttered with heat. Seeing the confused look on Marinette’s expression he continued. “He wanted a chance to fight another ‘stronger bird’.”

“Yeah, he was so bad that I tried to forget his name.” Plagg mumbled before looking at the other kwamis. “Glad I’m not the only one to do so. But back to the question. Well as Liiri already demonstrated the asshole loved the whole revenge thing. Said it would force the others to grow stronger so his next ‘hunt’ would be more fun!” Plagg hissed the last bit.

“One of my queens barley survived and lost both an arm and leg to that bastard!” Pollen hissed while fluttering down to Marinette who cupped the yellow kwami. Bringing the shaking kwami she let her cling close to her. “The only reason she survived was so she could teach the next holder to be stronger. Not to mention what he did to Tikki’s bug at the time.”

“This has to do with the dragons, how?” Longg pushed with a bit of irritation. “Don’t get me wrong I have quite a few complaints about other past wielders of yours. But you were the one who killed the last dragon!”

“I was getting to it.” Plagg mumbled. “The thing that led to the eventual end of the dragons was during one of the ‘hunts’. It was after he went out and couldn’t find any other miraculous users to fight he came across a family of dragons. So to take out his anger at being unable to find a proper fight he ‘hunted’ them.” After finishing the sentence the black kwami took a second to steady himself. “The man laughed about how he so easily took out the ‘mighty’ dragons and left the younglings to ‘grow stronger’. It became a tradition of his after that that if he couldn’t find another user to fight he would hunt down families of dragons to fight. Repeating his cycle of only killing the parents and leaving the kids.”

“I wondered what the murder was doing after the Order pulled back all miraculous.” Mullo mumbled to themselves.

“Yeah we figured you were pulled away. Too bad the bastard got bored with the dragons and decided to continue his ‘hunt’. It was actually about two years into tracking you down that he was murdered in his sleep. The assassin took my ring as proof.”

“The great huntsman murdered in his sleep.” Pollen seemed to take some slight pleasure in this.

“Yeah, I actually saw it happening.” Plagg let out a humorless chuckle. “Anyway the assassin offered the ring but the king thought it better to make his assassin stronger. So with that I was all set to be attached to yet another killer.”

“Oh so that is how Claw got your miraculous.” Mullo mumbled to herself.

“Yeah well anyway it was when Claw was out that the first dragon attack happened. Turns out that word had spread about what my last wielder did and the dragons had come for revenge. Claw killed the dragon but things escalated from there. I was passed back and forth between her and another knight as the king ordered that all dragons in his kingdom be killed. So as things go the war escalates and the king goes mad and orders both Claw and the black knight to go out and kill all dragons or anything that resembles dragons.”

“So Claw was the one who killed the last of the dragons?” Longg questioned and Plagg gave a sad shake of his head.

“No, I killed the last one.” The black cat admitted with a sigh. “It started with the wielder after Claw. I was with a pirate crew at the time. The dragon came and killed the man before he could transform. The crew fled leaving me alone with Grougaloragran, the last dragon.” The name seemed to resonate with Longg who gasped in shock. “It was kinda awkward at first because he wanted to fight. After learning what my unbound power could do he settled on just taking my ring and keeping it out of others hands. It was actually a pretty good time all things considered. Grougaloragram wasn’t much for conversation but it was nice not having to go around killing and fighting other miraculous users.”

“So when you disappeared for a while you were with…?” Longg questioned.

“Yeah I was with the black dragon. That is until somebody came to the cave seeking my ring. It was one of the king's basterds. He tracked down my ring and was intending to use its power to seize control of the kingdom. They were going to take it through force.” This got a few gasps from the other kwami along with them clinging to Marinette. “Grougaloragram was already an old dragon and the bastard had poisoned the sheep in the areas where he liked to eat. So there was no way for him to fight back. This left the two of us only one choice. I used my Cataclysm and blew the mountain we were in. My miraculous was spared because Grougaloragram protected it but it was the last act of the draconian race. Protecting the miraculous of their killer.”

After telling his story Plagg looked so tired. As he floated down Marinette caught him and put him in his favorite spot. Curled up by her neck. “So that is what happened? The last dragon sacrificed himself to save you and prevent another evil user from taking the ring?” Longg questioned with sadness.

“Yeah, it sucks that all it took was three evil wielders and a bastard to wipe out a race.” Plagg nodded as Marinette picked up Longg. The guardian didn’t say anything but did let the two sit in comfort of each other. The other kwamis all huddled around each other.

Marinette really hoped that with this dirty laundry aired out they could work together better. Yeah things were looking up from here. They had made a definitive improvement with each other. Taking a second she looked over each and every one of her precious kwami. Plagg, Kaalki, Pollen, Mullo, Liiri, Longg, and… For a second her heart froze in terror at Trixx missing. It was after a moment that she remembered that she had given Trixx’s miraculous away to somebody else. Somebody who Trixx liked more than her. The fox had jumped at the chance to have another user, who wasn’t her.

But it was okay, he was happy now. Paris had another hero to protect them. That was what mattered. Right?

Chapter Text

Adrien had gone home for lunch. Normally this only put him in a slightly bad mood but those previous times didn’t come with a reminder that yet another person had left him. “Adrien he is not dead, he didn’t leave you.” Tikki comforted her bug.

“But he doesn’t remember me.” Adrien mumbled as he reached to where the miraculous box was hidden only to blink in shock at the change that had happened to it. “What the?” The box now resembles more of an egg. It was also red with black spots. There were also slots for the miraculous with symbols representing them on the box.

“Oh!” Tikki gasped as she stared at the box in shock. It seemed the kwami didn’t quite know what to make of the change that happened to the box either. “I wonder if the inside has changed?”

“We can consider that later. For now we are just here for Wayzz.” It had been a rather simple conclusion for him to reach. Cheshire had always gone out with more than one miraculous so why shouldn’t he? Plus he already knew Wayzz and Tikki’s unified weapon. Opening up one of the slots near the top Adrien reached into what seemed to be a glowing orb and pulled out Wayzz’s miraculous. With a flash the turtle appeared. “Hey Wayzz, have you ever been to a zoo?”

“Master Fu and I went twice.” The green kwami replied though he did look sad.

“Well we’re going to the zoo with Alya, Nino, Marinette, and Trixx.” Adrien informed the turtle who gasped.

“Trixx is going? But how?”

“Well Alya does have his miraculous.” Adrien replied while putting the bracelet on. “You and Tikki can go into Alya’s pack to talk to him.”

“When did you discover her identity?” Wayzz mumbled as Tikki gestured to the bag.

“I’ll explain everything. Adrien you only have a few minutes before class starts again.” The little goddess looked at her owner with a smile. Giving her a nod Adrien started making his way toward his driver/bodyguard. Tikki and Wayzz were quick to duck into the bag. The boy could faintly hear them conversing but he had other things to focus on. He dreaded the day that Chloe came in and he confronted his first friend. But for now he had to focus on not wasting the chance Alya had, hopefully, given him.

Adrien was pretty sure that if anything happened it wouldn’t be Cheshire or Hawkmoth who defeated the last guardian it would be Rena Rouge. So to protect himself the Agreste hair would make sure that everything went just right. That is if Alya could get Marinette to come with them. Plus it was the perfect chance for the kwami to talk with Trixx.

Arriving at school Adrien gave a smile and wave to his classmates. Adrien liked to think he was friends or working towards being friends with most of them. Nino returned the wave while Alya seemed busy talking to Juleka, Rose, and Alix. “So do you think Alya got Marinette to come with?”

“I saw them talking earlier.” Nino informed his friend. Adrien gave a nod at that as he sat down in his seat. Turning he saw Alya finishing her conversation with the others and returning to her seat. “Hey dudette, what's the word on Nette?”

Alya glared at Nino. “Never call my girl that again! You have no right to call her by any nicknames!” Though Adrien wasn’t the intended target of the glare he still shrunk a bit. “But for your two’s information, yes, she is coming.” At hearing this Adrien perks up with a smile. This was great news! Hearing the door open Adrien turned towards the front where the teacher had just walked in.

Seeing the opportunity Tikki nodded to Wayzz as the two flew towards the pack where Trixx was. Arriving in the bag the two kwami saw Trixx eating a piece of jerky. “Hmm, just the right amount of pepper.” The orange kwami hummed in delight.

“And here Master and I were worrying about you.” Wayzz let out a happy sigh at seeing his friend in great health. Trixx’s eyes opened and took in both Tikki along with Wayzz.

“Oh hey turtle how is it going?” The fox questioned with a smile.

“I’m,” Wayzz stopped for a moment and rubbed one his arms against the other, “okay.”

“Wayzz.” Trixx huffed and flew up and hugged the green kwami. “It is alright, we all miss him.”

“I’m sorry that you didn’t get to say goodbye.” Tikki joined the hug and felt Trixx freeze up for an instance.

“Wayzz was the one who spent more time with him.” Letting go Trixx floated down into the bag with a slight frown. “So I’m guessing you came here to catch up?”

“Yeah, there are a few things you should know.” Tikki nodded before also settling down. “Somehow the box changed.”

“I’m assuming that it happened when your bug was made the guardian?” Trixx questioned with a hum. Getting a nod, Trixx seemed to think for a moment.

“How did that happen? The box has never changed before.” Wayzz blinked in shock. It seemed that the kwami hadn’t noticed the change.

“I’m not sure. It just happened!” Tikki mumbled while seeming to think.

“Perhaps it had something to do with Master Fu’s phrasing.” Trixx offered as he tapped his chin. “The title of guardian was not given to your bug Tikki but to Misterbug.” The other two kwami seemed to think about what the orange one had suggested.

“You think that the box might have been influenced by Tikki’s miraculous?” Wayzz questioned while thinking of the suggestion.

“Misterbug…” Tikki muttered while seeming to now think about something else. “Trixx, how is Plagg?” Wayzz gasped in shock at hearing the dreaded name.

“Plagg?” Trixx even began to blink in shock before a smile grew. “He is concerned about the kit of course.”

“By kit you mean Cheshire correct?” Tikki questioned to which Trixx nodded. “Did something happen to her?”

“Yeah, she was up and down all night checking on Kaalki.” Trixx let out a sigh as he remembered her constantly getting up disterping him and the other kwamis rest. He perfectly understood why. The girl was concerned about the poor brown kwami. Trixx really understood but he really didn’t enjoy being awoken multiple times. While he could sleep in the Cube the kwami had started to remember just how much he enjoyed sleeping next to humans. Plus Marinette smelled really good so that was a bonus.

“They’re okay?” Wayzz questioned deciding to ask the important question first.

“For now, I’m sure that when she wakes up the kit will smother her.” Trixx could already picture Marinette wrapping blankets and giving her all the food she could ever want.

“So, they are harmless?” Tikki whispered, looking down with a frown. “What about Plagg?”

“Plagg is a meenie! He eats all of my cheese!” A new voice announced with a huff. Turning around they saw Mullo hovering before settling down. “I looked away for a second and he just took it! Said it was his ‘emotional support cheese’.”

“What did he need ‘emotional support cheese’ for?” Tikki asked one of the obvious questions.

“Well *Burp* wanted to settle things between Longg and Plagg. Longg wanted to know why Plagg killed all the dragons so he opened up about it.” Mullo barely even noticed when she burped out the gray bubbles. The other three kwamis looked between each other. Every Kwami had felt when the dragons had gone extinct. Longg had, of course, been the most upset about it. So for them to learn why Plagg had done it. “Oh! Hi Tikki!” Seeming to notice who she was talking to, Mullo waved to her. “Have you seen my streams? What do you think of my clothes?”

“Oh, um, they looked nice.” Tikki blinked in shock at the sudden questions. “So who made them? Pollen?”

“No, Bread made all of them for us.” Mullo rolled her eyes. She had answered this question multiple times on stream. Guess this means that Tikki never watched the streams. “So what are we all doing here? Should I get Plagg?”

“No!” Trixx waved his hands frantically trying not to get Mullo to tell Plagg. If Plagg found out he would no doubt talk Marinette into taking his miraculous. All of his efforts at getting to be with Alya useless. He had just managed to convince her to take down her akuma plan.

“No need to yell.” Mullo shook her hand to try and calm the kwami down. “We don’t want to attract attention.”

Things became quite for a moment before Tikki grabbed Wayzz. “We’ll see you later Trixx.” With that the two flew back to Adrien’s bag.

Time passed quietly in the bag. “Tikki, are you alright?” Wayzz questioned in concern.

She remembered yesterday when somehow Liiri’s power had flown through her. Misterbug had been affected by the power and now knew that the box had been affected by her power as well. So it was very possible that the reverse could happen. Meaning her thoughts had somehow been freed from preconceptions. During the time after the transformation when she felt the power effecting her Tikki had been so conflicted.

Thoughts of how her other half could have been forced to do everything by his holders had flooded her brain. The Order, back when it was around, had stomped that thought out of any kwami who had brought it up. They had said that it was Plagg who was corrupting his users. It had made sense at the time. After all, as the saying went: ‘twice is a coquindence, three's a pattern’. The pattern had held so the kwami started believing the Guardians about Plagg having somehow been turned evil.

Tikki had believed it. After all it was easy believing that than Plagg’s luck being so bad that he found nothing but bad holders. Well, bad holders until now apparently. Trixx and Mullo had no reason to lie to her. Heck Tikki doubted Mullo knew how to deceive people. This just Tikki with one question.

“Why?” Tikki let out a sniff. “Why couldn’t he have found a good cat earlier! Why now! Why!” Wayzz felt his heart break a little for the little red goddess. Grabbing her he hugged her tight. Tikki shook as she thought about all of the bugs she had lost to Plagg’s users. So why now? When the Order was gone and they were ready to fight the cat. Why when she was ready to avenge all of her past bugs!

~~~~~~

Marinette bit her lip as she packed her bag. Plagg watched her, which put some of Marinette’s nerves at ease. She could do this, Alya would be there. Taking a breath she looked in the bag again to see Mullo back in her bag with a smile on her face. The smile lasted until she saw Alya standing next to Nino and Chloe’s friend. “Hey girl, are you ready?” Her friend questioned while reaching out to pull her into a hug.

Marinette flinched back involuntarily. It was just so ingrained at this point. It didn’t stop the brief flash of hurt from crossing Alya’s face though. “Yup, I’m ready to see the zoo!” The raven haired girl gave a small smile.

“Alright follow me!” Alya walked beside the shorter girl as they made their way to the zoo. The pigtailed girl noticed both Nino and Adrien following right behind them. Huddling in on herself, Marinette slightly dug into her coat. The December cold had been settling in for a while and Marinette was happy to note that while see had bonded with Pollon well the bee’s hibernation nature hadn’t come up.

“Wonder what that says about Misterbug?”

“What was that girl?” Alya questioned with a raised eyebrow.

“Oh, um,” Marinette’s mind went crazy as she thought of an excuse, “well Cheshire mentioned to me that sometimes the chosen of Miraculous will have side effects due to their miraculous.”

“Really?” Adrien questioned her. The girl let out a squeak and jumped.

“Really?” Alya gave the blonde a flat look as the bullied girl clung onto her. Adrien gave a slight laugh as he rubbed the back of his head. “So you met Cheshire?”

“Yes, she stopped by to get some food.” Marinette never let go of Alya, the girl promised to protect her. “Anyway, she mentioned that it was possible for the chosen to share some of the kwami’s traits. Like she likes bathing in the sunbeam and can see better in the dark.”

“Wait, so she sunbathes?” Nino questioned with a raised eyebrow.

“That’s what she said.” Marinette gave a nod while slowly letting her death grip go. Alya seemed to appreciate having blood flow going through her arm again.

“I see and this relates to Misterbug how?” Adrien questioned making sure that not to surprise Marinette this time.

“Well one of the biggest characteristics of the ladybug is hibernating during winter.” That got a nod from everyone. “So isn’t it weird that throughout this entire winter he hasn’t shown any signs of hibernation?”

“Huh, do you think it could be caused by him not having the miraculous as long as her?” Adrien proposed, sounding a little concerned Alya gave a light nod at that.

“From what I understand, time is only part of the facter. The main factor is how much you trust your kwami and how much they trust you.”

“Oh, I think I heard Cheshire mention something about trust!” Alya announced while clapping her hands. “Wait, I thought that was just for power?”

“It works for both, I guess you could say the side effects are caused by having more power.” Marinette tapped her chin as Alya let out an noise of understanding.

“So Rena will start burrowing?”

“And when she wants to confess her love the fox will scream.” Marinette’s statement brought a laugh from Nino while Alya looked horrified. Chloe’s friend just looked to be in deep thought. Probably trying to figure out how to defend his and Chloe’s hero. The conversation was drawn to an end by them arriving at the zoo. Hopefully things will look up from here for her.

Things had gone normal for the first part of the trip. They had gotten a discount for Alya’s father working at the zoo. Alya had dragged them around the zoo sharing stories her father told her family about the different animals. When they came to the birds Marinette looked at the eagles with a bit of interest. They also seemed to regard her with the same interest. The male members of the group had occasionally tried to pull her into conversation. Marinette, not trusting either of them, had only given the barest of responses. This seemed to have upset the blonde.

“Hey Alya, how about we go over here!” Nino suddenly said out loud before grabbing Alya and pulling her away. Marinette met Alya’s eyes as they disappeared around the corner. Marinette blinked in shock as she felt some of muscles lock up. What was this? Alya promised that she would be there to protect her so why would she leave? It had to be unwillingly right? Feeling her panic rising, Marinette looked around trying to calm down. Seeing green cat eyes, Marinette sprinted towards it and saw the large cat they came to see. It’s black fur seemed to shine in the light.

The blonde was beside her trying to talk to her but Marinette ignored it. Glancing to the side she saw Kim and Max nearby causing her nerves to increase. It was a relief when the akuma and amok attacked.

Chapter Text

Otis Cesaire had been having a rather difficult time with work. The mayor had approved his proposal for the new animals and had even put in charge. This gave him a new title and even a raise! His family had celebrated at the same restaurant they had gone to for his wifes raise.

The project had been rough though that was mainly due to his jealous coworkers. He heard his coworkers talk. They would mutter to each other saying that he only got the project and raise due to his daughter being friends with Chloe. Due to the resentment he found getting help harder than normal. His workload had increased as well but that was just petty office politics.

But for the most part it was over now, the enclosures were built. Just in time for the Christmas tourists to! Heck one of his precious daughters was even bringing her friends to check out his work! As soon as he had gotten the texts Otis had gone to his coworkers and told them to check on the animals, make sure they were seen. They had rolled their eyes at him and he even heard another mutter some type of joke. He had to do the feedings and animal care by himself.

So it was after hours of work that he made his way into the new enclosure. The panther was laid out taking a nice nap. Well it was until someone started talking loudly. Looking up he saw someone in a red jacket talking to another kid wearing glasses. He ignored them, he couldn’t risk them setting off his already shortened fuse. He ignored them as best he could, he needed to keep his attention on his work.

The panther seemed to have woken up and started walking towards him. Bracing himself to get ready to run the man watched in shock as it walked past him to look at one of the visitors. Looking over he saw that it’s eyes had locked onto the blue eyes of his daughter's friend. However this seemed to draw the attention of the others.

Otis remembered Alya mentioning how the poor girl was being bullied and seeing glasses and jacket moving toward her and the blond who seemed to be trying to talk to her. Seeing this set off the fuse and left him defenseless against the butterfly and peacock feather.

~~~~~

Alya gritted her teeth as she was pulled behind Nino. If this ruined her relationship with Marinette! “What are you doing?” The reporter questioned the DJ.

Nino flinched while stopping and looking back at their friends. “Sorry, I just wanted to get Adrien alone with Marinette for at least a minute.”

“Just a minute?” Alya questioned with a raised eyebrow. Nino seemed to debate something with himself before slumping into the bench and giving a nod.

“Alright, one maybe two minutes then we can go back.” The red cap boy said while glancing over to where his friend was. He saw how Marinette bolted to the black cat and kept her eyes on it. “Yeah, one minute.”

“Ouch, hope Agreste doesn’t take it too seriously.” Despite her words Alya did not sound remorseful. The girl already had her phone out and no doubt had a timer going. The cap wearing boy hung his head in defeat. Glancing back over at the two Nino watched as his bro attempted to talk only for the girl to keep her eyes on the cat. “Thirty seconds left.”

“Maybe we should just call it off.” Nino mumbled as he looked at Mari. He honestly missed hanging out with the girl. She was such a bright happy girl that would go out of her way to help anyone. Each day had been a joy. But then Chloe had changed and demanded that everyone stop being friends with her. He had been young and easily influenced with money back then. The boy had figured that it would only be for a day or two but things had escalated. Chloe had gotten clever and started using more than just money to keep people in line. The girl was a master of the carrot and stick.

Screams drew him out of his trip down memory lane. Snapping his head up, Nino was only partially shocked to see the familiar purple and blue that signaled the beginning of an akuma and amok. “Oh, crap! Marinette!” Alya shouted running forward. Said girl seemed to have taken the chance to run. Nino saw Alya about to run towards the akuma and was quick to grab her.

“Where are you going?” Nino exclaimed in shock.

“To save my friend!” Alya shouted right at him.

“What are you animals doing out of your cage!” An unfamiliar voice shouted as what looked like a stereotypical werewolf wearing a zookeeper uniform. The wolf shot forward and grabbed the two stunned teenagers. “There you two go!” With that they were thrown into a cage that was then locked shut. Alya gritted her teeth as she watched the amok, because there was no way her father wouldn’t recognize her, nod and then leave.

Looking down she unzipped her pack enough for Trixx to look out. The orange kwami seemed to know what they wanted and flew out. “Is there something in your pack?” Nino questioned having heard the zipper.

“Just some snacks.” Alya muttered while grabbing one of the meat sticks. “Figured I might as well get ready for the long hall just in case we are in here for longer than an hour.” With that she sat down and brought out her phone.

“Yeah, I guess that is a good idea.” Nino muttered while nodding. “I have some food in my pack too but it is still by the bench.”

“Well, it sucks to be you.” Alya sat down and looked over to see if she could spot Trixx only to not see him. She really hoped that meant he was working on a way to get them out.

“Yeah it really sucks.” Nino muttered while sitting a few feet away from her. “I wonder if Nette-” A growl from Alya had him back peddling. “Marinette and Adrien are stuck together.”

“First of all I really hope not. Second, why the hell do you keep using a nickname for my girl? I’m pretty sure you lost all rights to do that!” The glare the girl gave him while saying that made a shiver go down his spine.

“I guess I was just feeling nostalgic today.” Nino offered weekly, the glare continued. “Fine, I was hoping that if this worked out I could work on becoming her friend again.”

“If you wanted to be her friend again why not work on taking down Chloe?”

“You don’t think I’ve tried? That Rose, Juleka, or one of our past classmates haven’t tried?” Nino muttered with a huff. They had lost many classmates because of the blond girl. “Chloe isn’t stupid, heck she propably has plans for whatever you have planned.” Seeing the girl tense up Nino rolled his eyes. “Dudette, Chloe has done this before. Heck, it is pretty obvious that you won’t go down easy.” Alya let out a tisk. It’s not like Chloe knowing changed that many of her plans. “Honestly I wish I was more like you.”

Alya stayed quiet as she heard Nino compliment her. The boy sounded truthful, heck he didn’t have a reason to lie to her. So with a sigh she leaned back and saw Trixx sadly shake his head. Well if she was going to be stuck in here might as well patch things up with her ‘friend’. “So anything else you like about me?” Alya teased only to watch as Nino’s cheeks heated up.

~~~~~

Marinette ran away from the akuma and amok. She felt a little bad about leaving Adrien, Kim, and Max behind but knew that Marinette wouldn’t be helpful. Honestly Marinette wasn’t really helpful to anyone. So it wasn’t any shock that the girl took the chance to become Cheshire. With everyone running or being captured by the amok it was not that surprising that she was easily able to find a hidden spot. “Plagg you ready?”

The black cat looked out with a raised eyebrow. “Are you? Honestly you are running on what I can only assume is spite and willpower!”

“Perhaps leave it to Misterbug?” Mullo suggested siding with Plagg.

“And he’ll deal with it just like he did all the other akumas?” Marinette shot back.

Plagg and Mullo looked at each other for a moment. “Well he has Tigress and Viperion. Plus Rena can help out too.”

“Tigress and Viperion are too far away. Alya also might have been captured!” Marinette countered while doing a mental evaluation of herself. “I should be fine as long as I don’t use Unify.” While it was true that her body wasn’t at its peak, the Cure Misterbug had used on her during yesterday's akuma attack had gotten her to a point that she could at least stand today. The two kwami still looked unimpressed at her statement though.

“And if you feel Unify is necessary?” Plagg pressed with narrowed eyes.

“Then…” Then what? She couldn’t lie to Plagg, she could never lie to him.

“Exactly! You are too tired to do anything. Hell, I think using Catastrophe will knock you out for a week!” Plagg shouted into her face. Marinette flinched back in the face of his anger.

“I can’t sit this out! What would people say if they saw Cheshire sit out a fight? What would Hawkmoth think?” Marinette tried to return with the same pasion only for it to fall short. She really didn’t like fighting with Plagg.

“The pup does have a point.” Mullo muttered letting the point stand.

Plagg seemed to mull it over for a few moments before speaking. “Fine, you can transform but make it quick. We both know that you are barely standing. What do you think Hawkmoth would do if he found that out?”

“Just a few minutes.” Marinette conceded with a nod. A compromise was better than nothing. “Plagg Claws Out!” Feeling the magic wash over her Cheshire felt a smile bloom on her face. It was so much better like this. “Shall we head out?”

“If you're sure.” Mullo sounded concerned.

“Let’s go!” With a smile Cheshire put Mullo in her hair before shooting off. Clearing the buildings, Paris's hero followed the sounds of fighting and found Misterbug trying to protect Kim. “Looks like we're protecting our former enemy.”

“No, remember your promise. Just get in and get him out so Misterbug can focus on the amok and akuma!” Mullo reprimanded the girl.

“Alright, alright.” Cheshire gave a roll of her eyes but still kept a slight smile on her face. Crouching down she kept an eye on the fight waiting for an opportunity. Watching Misterbug fight the akuma and amok Cheshire felt a little bad for what she was going to do until she came up with a plan. “Let’s go!” Jumping down Cheshire used her baton to vault over to Kim. “Mind if I borrow your former teammate?”

“Cheshire?” Misterbug questioned only for the girl to give him a wink and with Kim thrown over her shoulder vault off.

“Where are you taking me?” Kim questioned as they went over a few more buildings.

“I’m thinking of either dropping you off at a school or at the police station.” Cheshire informed him by looking around.

“Oh, good I have to see Ondine soon so if you could drop me off near the pool that would be great.” Rolling her eyes Cheshire moved a little toward the pool. “Oh, you might want to hurry up. The Zookeeper is catching up.” Speeding up the cat timed her last jump to land near the police station.

“Go!” Shoving him off the female hero turned to face the amok and felt her stomach drop a little as an eagle transformed into a rhino that landed near it. “Oh, this is not good.”

“Don’t worry we got this.” Misterbug moved to pat her shoulder only for the girl to move out of his way. “Guess we’re not on that level yet.”

“I don’t even think we’re friends.” Cheshire moved a bit trying to settle herself. Misterbug flinched at that while the amok and akuma seemed a bit irritated at being ignored. Zookeeper let out a howl before pointing at Misterbug. A beam flew from his finger right at the red clad hero. As the beam flew toward the ladybug Cheshire felt time slow down. Multiple thoughts raced through her mind as she saw the beam come closer to them. She could easily dodge it, heck the beam wasn’t even aimed at her so it wouldn’t even be hard. But her body was already strained and tired so it would only be a matter of time before she did get hit. Decision made she slammed the other out of the way and felt the magic invade her thoughts and body.

~~~~~

Misterbug had barely turned in time to see the beam approaching. He knew he didn’t have enough time to get out of the way, his body still in the motion of turning, when he felt somebody slam into him. As he fell down he saw the girl in black take the hit. The beam had enough force to send them into the wall. “Ouch.” Misterbug muttered not really feeling as much pain as he expected. “You okay Ches.” Looking down he saw the girl blink a few times before letting out a hiss. “What?” Then just like that the girl shot into an alleyway.

“Stupid girl.” Wolfkeeper snickered while the rhino stomped their foot.

“To think the biggest threat would sacrifice themself for some worthless hero.” Animan walked toward Misterbug who gritted his teeth.

“Well if she wanted to dress as an animal then she should act like one.” The amok snickered at what they did. Misterbug glanced around and saw that Kim was gone and Cheshire wasn’t anywhere to be found. “Let’s send the little bug to hibernate!” Another beam shot out but knowing how dangerous it was he moved out of the way and then jumped to avoid the charging Animan. Animan shifted again into his panther form while Wolfkeeper watched Misterbug land on a roof before disappearing.

Misterbug quieted himself as he heard the two villains talk between themselves. The two ran off no doubt to try and find Kim who was under police protection now. But that did leave the question of how he was supposed to deal with these two. “Hey, how’s it going?” Viperion questioned as he landed near the red bug hero.

“Not good, Cheshire got hit by the amok and now…”

A loud hiss stopped the conversation and it was followed by Tigress’s yelling in shock. “I’m sorry she’s not herself!” A third voice was heard. Running to the source of the noise they saw Cheshire on all fours with her belt tail thrashing behind her while her back was arched. The black girl’s cat ears were pinned back while she glared at the shocked girl before turning that glare on the newcomers. “It’s okay bread it's okay, they’re not here to hurt you.” Mullo comforted the girl while stroking her hair.

“Yeah, I don't think Cheshire is going to help us.”

Chapter Text

Mullo flew around Bread trying to keep her calm. The mouse had held her breath when she had seen her pup had been hit. After Cheshire had run into the alleyway and hid behind the dumpster. Mullo had flown out to try and check on the girl only to get tackled by the cat. Mullo had been concerned for a moment but soon found herself being nuzzled by the girl while she purred.

It took a bit of work to get her to the roof but when she did Cheshire had gone stiff. It wasn’t until Purple Tigress had tried to approach that Mullo had understood. Now with three other heroes present the gray kwami was having to work really hard on keeping her pup from doing anything.

“Anyone have any idea where Rena is?” Viperion questioned while occasionally glancing at Cheshire.

“She said that she was going to the zoo earlier today.” Tigress mumbled while watching the black cat who seemed to have settled down somewhat. “From what the news is saying the amok was seen throwing people into cages.”

“Plus if she was caught with someone it is likely she wouldn’t be able to transform.” Misterbug nodded along as if he didn’t know Alya wasn’t at the zoo. Part of him wondered if the girl was stuck in a cage with Nino. Hopefully Marinette was somewhere safe.

“What is the akuma after?” Viperion questioned while it looked like he was about to start pacing. But the moment he moved towards Bread she was back on all fours and hissing at him.

“It’s alright, It’s alright.” Mullo soothed while stroking the girl’s cheek.

“You said the amok did this right?” Viperion questioned while pointing toward Cheshire. “Kwami, her heart song is messed up.”

“First the akuma is after Kim, no idea why.” Adrien only partly lied on this. He knew Kim was saying something about how he could defeat the panther. But he also didn’t want to believe something so pathetic could set Alya’s father off. “Also yeah, she did get hit by the beam. It seems that whoever is hit by them is made to behave as an animal.”

“So Cheshire is stuck as a cat?” Juleka questioned with furrowed eyes. Said girl of discussion met the look and held it. Not liking the feeling coming from meeting the eyes for so long. The cat girl seemed pleased by this though they stayed on guard. “How did they get hit anyway? Ches is more than fast and strong enough to avoid most attacks.”

Misterbug looked away at that while one of his hands went to rub the back of his neck. “Well she might have taken a hit meant for me.” The snake and tiger user looked at him with flat stares.

“Why would someone evil save you?” Viperion questioned with a flat voice. Obviously despite his and their kwamis warnings neither of them really believed Cheshire to be evil.

“Bread is not evil!” Mullo shouted which sent Cheshire off. The changed hero let out a hiss while going stiff. Their eyes darted between each other before Misterbug coughed into his fist.

“Alright, let’s get down to business.” Nodding his head the red clad hero looked over the city. “So to start with we need to track down the akuma. He is likely to be around where Kim is but we don’t know where he is.”

“He mentioned something about a pool.” Mullo informed them while lowering themself to scratch Chesher’s ear. This seemed to put the girl more at ease. Now that he thought about it the girl seemed to obey the kwami.

“Any chance you could get Cheshire to help us?” The kwami looked at him for a few moments before shaking their head.

“Sorry I doubt I can get the pup to do anything like that.” Mullo was only partly lying about that. She was sure that the pup would follow her but getting her to help is another thing entirely. Mainly due to her being in such bad shape. Oh that gave her a story idea.

“I see…” Misterbug nodded before looking out towards the city again. “Alright team, let's move out!” With that they jumped off the roof leaving her alone with Bread. Said girl had watched them leave and only when she couldn’t see them anymore did the girl relax. Cheshire seemed to finally give in to the ear scratches and collapsed against the roof. Her purr came out though Mullo couldn’t tell if that was due to her being happy or from stress.

“Oh, pup, are you sure you don’t want to head home?” There was no response from her just continuing her purr. Her eyes closed as she fully relaxed. “Oh going to take a nap? Good idea, I’ll keep an eye out for anyone!” A slow purr continued before it died down as she fully went to sleep. The mouse kwami sat down on her head to keep an eye out. She wasn’t used to being the responsible one, yet here she was being forced to act like a responsible kwami. Was this how Tikki felt?

As they relaxed Mullo waited for the stream of ladybugs to flow around the city and heal her pup. But time passed and nothing came though she could feel time reset a few times. Bread moved a little under her which prompted Mullo to scratch her cat ears and settle down. This was definitely for the best, Marinette was exhausted as it was so it was for the best to let her sleep.

“Cheshire, wake up!” Viperion shouted as he landed with a roll. A beep was heard as he stood up and ran towards them.

“What is going on?” Mullo shouted in shock. The question was answered as a howl was heard. “Why did you bring the amok here!”

“I promise to explain later! Just let me recharge first!” Viperion shouted back as he ran past them. Cheshire had woken up from all the yelling and snapped up ready to run only to stop as the amok landed near them.

“Well you look at this.” Zookeeper huffed a laugh as he looked down at them. “You have something we need.” With that the werewolf started stomping toward them. Bread hissed and made herself look as big as possible.

“Leave us alone!” Mullo shouted at the amok. Why did everyone go after them? Bread was already exhausted as it is. The amok didn’t even bother with her as they just smacked her out of the way.

This set Cheshire off. Within a moment the girl was lashing out with claws and trying to bite. The amok met them blow for blow. It was just unfortunate that the cat’s main weapons weren’t the claws. A loud hiss and meows of pains were torn out of her throat as the claws tore into her.

“Pathetic!” Zookeeper shouted at her as her pup let out a hiss. Once more they lunged at the amok who met it and bit down on her arm. In typical dog fashion they thrashed her around and flung the girl at a wall. “To think everyone was so scared of such a pathetic girl.

“PUP!” Mullo cried in horror as she flew around her poor injured chosen. Once more they stood up and glared at the amok before they started coughing and a single word came from their lips.

~~~~~~

Marinette’s mind and body was a mess but she refused to give up. She fought against the corruption just to be able to see what was going on outside. The girl was made to watch as she hissed at the other heroes, and Misterbug. Thankfully Mullo was taking care of her and Marinette felt herself somewhat relax. That is until Viperion and the amok showed up.

The amok had smacked Mullo away and she had lost it. Noone hit her kwamis! But despite her trying to help, the girl couldn’t get her body to work with her. Once more Marinette was made to endure but knew she was going to lose.

That couldn’t happen! If she lost then she would lose both Mullo and Plagg! Plans flew through her head but were discarded none of her powers were useful or could be used by her current self. Or was there?

Without another thought she plunged into the power flowing through her. She could see everything Cheshire could do. Some she knew, like Cataclysm, others she didn’t, a Black Hole that would swallow anything. But none her current self could use until she saw it. A power so strong that it would burn through the five minutes but will let her easily fight off the amok.

It was a power that let her channel Plagg’s power more directly. She would become a-

~~~~~

Luka had been desperate when he had made his decision. While their team had been strong it wasn’t strong enough to take on both the akuma and amok. The two villains weren’t the strongest but they worked very well together and while the amok wasn’t fast enough to avoid her power the akuma was. The Lucky Charm was meant to be used on the akuma but the amok wouldn’t let them get close enough to use it. Heck Purple Tigress and Misterbug had both got hit by the animal beam during their attempts to use the Lucky Charm.

So to give his sister and… um, partner(?), a chance to use their power uninterrupted he needed to get the amok away. So after the sixth reset Luka informed the other two of the plan and then got the amok to follow him. It barely took any effort to get Zookeeper to follow him. It was after two resets that Viperion came across the sleeping Cheshire. It wasn’t his proudest moment but when the need arises.

So he led the amok right to the black cat and then dropped off the roof to detransfom. Landing on a fire escape Sass emerged looking a little dizzy but Luka caught him. “Hey, we should be good for a while.”

“Yess, Missterbug sshould have the fight wrapped up ssoon.” Sass nodded their head as the guitarist passed him a boiled egg. The kwami didn’t even bother taking bites out of the egg but much like his animal counterpart swallowed his food whole. It had taken a bit of time to get to the site but the boy believed he was used to it by now.

A loud yowl followed by cries of pain from above drew his attention. Looking at Sass he saw that they were still digesting his food so wanting to know what was going on Luka slowly crept up to look at the roof and what he saw made him gasp. Cheshire, looking beat up, slowly stood up and glared at the amok before speaking.

“Catalyst!” The word came out right as a storm of black energy sprung out of her ring and quickly enveloped her body. The amok, a little alarmed, charged at her only for the girl to flow around his attack easily and land a claw swipe that tore through the clothes of Zookeeper. The wolf man slowly backed up in shock while touching the part that had been injured.

“What power iss thiss?” Sass questioned with concern as the black energy came off the girl. As the energy faded it revealed a complete change to the girl beneath. Her hair was now longer and flowing free while the ears no longer looked fake but real. Her green cat eyes glared out from a mask that now covered the upper part of her face and her teeth were now fanged. The belt tale much like the ears was now also real and lashing out. Cheshire’s black and green suit was now more detailed with black fur incorporated into it and her claws now also looked sharp and very dangerous. Luka couldn’t see the baton on her but he had a feeling that it was still there.

“You think you scare me!” The amok shouted only for his charge to be met by Cheshire’s own, which sent the poor villain flying off the roof and soaring over the next one. Luka blinked as Cheshire moved her hair leaving a black trail behind her. The black cat appeared above Zookeeper and sent him crashing down.

“I would be scared.” Luka muttered as he saw the crater formed from the attack as Cheshire landed near the amok with a hiss. Zookeeper looked at the hero before tucking their tail between their legs. With yips made up of pain and fear the amok ran off. Cheshire preened at the display and within a second she was back on the roof and looking right into Luka’s eyes.

The guitarist slowly walked backwards as his heart hammered in his chest. The girl’s eyes though we're not on him though, they were on Sass and Mullo. Looking he saw that Sass was holding Mullo back. “Let me go Sass, Bread needs me!” The gray kwami shouted as she tried to get out of the grip.

Luka looked between the kwamis and the hero who’s heart song was blaring about danger. The boy felt sweat forming on him as the girl stalked toward them with a hiss. The girl hissed at him as Luka audibly gulped. Looking at the ring the boy saw the ring down to three paw pads. The fact this power used up so much time was of little consequence seeing as he wasn’t likely to last a minute against her. Heck he had a good feeling that he wouldn’t even be able to get the transformation words out.

As if to prove that thought true Cheshire was suddenly in front of him pinning him to the ground. Luka’s heart was pounding in his chest while the kwamis were shouting something. Thankfully a swarm of red ladybugs swept through the area and more importantly around Cheshire. “Huh? What is going on?” The black cat questioned while sitting up. Luka felt a tug on one of his wrists but his attention was more focused on Cheshire’s heart song. The normally suppressed heart song was now a bit louder. Luka could barley make it out and the girl quickly suppressed it almost on instinct.

“Cheshire, are you okay?” What was he saying? She was differentially not okay if she was suppressing her song. Before either could say anything a beep was heard. Looking down the girl sucked in a breath at seeing only two pads left.

“Sorry to make this abrupt but I gotta go! I promise to talk later!” With barely a moment's notice Luka finally found himself in a princess cary, a movement to grab Mullo, and than carried over the city. The buildings flew by in a blur as they arrived in front of the other two heroes who were comforting, who he believed to be, the akuma victim. “Oh purr-fect you two are here.” Cheshire placed down Luka before glancing down at her ring. “Damn, I need to go!” Just as quick as she came, the superhero left at insane speeds.

“Did she eat one of the powerup potions?” Misterbug questioned with wide eyes. Shaking his head the boy looked at Purple Tigress. “You mind taking the boy home? I need to take Otis here back to work.”

“Um, sure,” Tigress mumbles while walking toward Luka. Unwinding their tail weapon she used it to bring her and her twin up to a nearby roof. “Alright I think you can make it the rest of the way.”

“Yeah, you ready Sass?” Looking around Luka waited for his kwami to respond but upon hearing nothing the boy glanced down at his wrist. “We may have a problem.” Lifting up his wrist Luka gave his sister an awkward smile. “Any chance you could ask your superhero best friend to return my miraculous?”

Chapter Text

Adrien held his breath as Tigress used Clout to smash the road in front of her. They only had one shot at this due to Viperion having to get the amok to follow him. But things had worked out and Misterbug had managed to get the akuma and amok. Breathing out a sigh of relief the boy tossed his Lucky Charm in the air to unleash the Cure. After seeing the Cure start Misterbug walked towards the man who was looking around confused. “Are you alright sir?”

“I was akumatized wasn’t I?” The man questioned and then let out a sigh when they nodded. Letting a mirthless chuckle he hung his head. “I’m actually kinda shocked it took this long. But I just got so mad at seeing what was happening to my daughter's friend!”

Misterbug took a bit of a closer look at the man and could already see some similarities to Alya. So following that chain of logic the ladybug user felt like kicking himself for not noticing Kim getting close to Marinette. Then again Adrien couldn’t have imagined Kim being capable of bullying. That is until the boy fighting Cheshire as King Monkey popped up in his head.

“It is good that you were willing to protect your daughter’s friend.” Tigress said a little more confidently than when she first became a hero. Before anyone could say anything Cheshire, or who Misterbug assumed was Cheshire, arrived. She had dropped off Luka and then disappeared in a blur. Was that the effect of a power-up potion? After telling Tigress to take Luka home the blonde turned to regard Otis.

“So do you want me to drop you off at your house or somewhere off.”

“I would prefer being dropped off at work.” Nodding his head Misterbug picked up the man and after a bit of rearranging the two were off. While he wouldn’t say anything Adrien was relieved to know that he would be close enough to immediately get back to the hangout.

After dropping off Alya’s father near the main office Misterbug found an empty alleyway to drop his transformation. “Good job today Adrien!” Tikki praised the boy with a smile.

“Indeed you handled that akuma rather well.” Wayzz joined in with a smile. Adrien preened under the praise.

“Thanks you guys. Sorry Wayzz, I didn’t think about using your miraculous.” While saying this Adrien reached into his bag and pulled out a small baggie of cookies.

“Oh that is very understandable young guardian.” Wayzz waved him off with a smile as Tikki happily grabbed a cookie to start eating. “You are used to having only one miraculous plus it is good to know when an Unification is needed and when it is not.”

“Yeah no need to pull an ace out on every akuma.” Adrien nodded while also thinking about how his body was still a bit stiff and he hadn’t been Unified for that long or used much of the power offered by Unification.

“Adrien, Marinette!” Alya shouted from nearby. Looking out of his hiding spot Adrien saw Alya and Nino looking for him and the blackhaired girl. Giving one last look at the kwamis Adrien saw them nod then fly into his bag.

“I’m here, I’m here.” The secret hero ran out of his spot and waved to his friends.

“Adrien!” Nino happily yelled and rushed to greet his best friend. “So were you also locked up in a cage or something?”

“No, I just hid.” Adrien admitted while rubbing the back of his head hoping that they would buy the lie.

“Must have been a good hiding spot if you didn’t notice the Cure.” Alya muttered while looking around. “You wouldn’t happen to know where Marinette is?”

“No, we got separated during the stampede. I just assumed she was with you.” Adrien also started looking around.

“Hey Alya, how about trying to call her?” Nino suggested while trying to calm down the girl.

“I can’t!” Alya shouted at Nino while bringing up Marinette’s contact on her phone. “In case you forgot Chloe had Max block me from calling her!”

“I could do it!” Adrien suggests, failing to keep the excitement out of his voice. This was his chance to get Marinette’s number!

Alya glared at him for a while before shaking her head. “No.” Adrien and Nino looked at her in confusion. “You two already had me break some of Mari’s trust in me by dragging me away from her. I promised I would stay by her side and YOU made me break that promise!” At this Alya jabbed a finger into Nino’s chest. “Now I can’t even apologize because who knows where she is!” Looking down Alya swapped to another contact. “Hopefully Nadja can get in contact with her!”

“Nadja the reporter?” Adrien questioned trying to figure out how the two are connected.

“Oh, don’t even try!” Alya snapped at him before looking at her phone and muttering. “Who knows how much trust this little stunt burned! I’m not risking upsetting my girl anymore! It could ruin my plans for her birthday.” Adrien could barely hear the last sentence the reporter said but it shot a bit of adrenaline into his bloodstream.

“You know when her birthday is?” All Alya did to respond to his question was a flat stare. Upon hearing a beep from her phone Alya looked down, nodded and relaxed. Adrien took that to mean that Marinette was somewhere safe.

“I’ll see you two later.” Alya waved them off but stopped and looked at Nino. “I will say this. You aren’t as bad as I thought you were so I’m willing to try to be your friend.” Left unsaid was that she wasn’t extending the friendship to Adrien or how thin of ice the DJ was on.

“Thank you for giving me a chance.” Nino gave the girl a smile. With that Alya left leaving the two boys behind. “Well that went… it went.” Adrien nodded at Nino. Before either could say anything more Adrien’s phone let out a beep. Pulling out his phone Adrien saw that it was his driver informing him that he was in front of the zoo.

“I have to go. We can catch up later.” Adrien informed his best friend who nodded. Walking out of the zoo it was easy to see the car. With one last wave goodbye to Nino the blonde ran to the car which took him home. The boy could only hope that Marinette was okay.

~~~~~

Cheshire arrived at her house just as the typical green flash announced the end of the transformation but black energy also crackled around her. “Ah!” Crashing to the ground Marinette felt some of that black energy still coursing through her. Unlike with Catastrophe, which burned as the energy built up, this felt like burning electricity that was trying to change her body before it left.

“Bread!” Plagg shouted as he came out of the ring. “Bread what did you do!” The black kwami asked, looking scared. Marinette went to respond only to let out a moan of pain.

“Hey it's alright pup.” Mullo comforted the girl. “Let’s just put you to bed then we can let the miraculous to start healing you. Sounds good?” Getting a nod, Mullo watched as the girl slowly started crawling towards the hatch. The kwami gasped a bit as when her pup moved she left behind a green bracelet. Looking at a shocked Plagg Mullo hovered over and grabbed the bracelet just as Liiri and Pollen flew up in panic.

“What happened to the Queen!” Pollen questioned in panic.

“I don’t know!” Plagg shouted before turning to Mullo who had picked up the snake miraculous. “Mullo, what happened!”

“Oh, um, can we talk about this later? I need to drop this off and talk to Sass.” Mullo hefted the miraculous.

“Mullo dear, we need to know what happened to our chosen.” Pollen lightly pressed as Mullo flew into Marinette’s room.

“Well, um, we, um, should make sure that the miraculous are hidden away.” Mullo mumbled while looking away. The other three kwami looked between each other with confusion. Something was happening and Mullo didn’t want to say anything.

Plagg was about to say something only for his stomach to rumble in hunger. “This isn’t over. I’ll find out what is going on, one way or another!” The cat swore as he dove for the minifridge where his cheese was stored.

Pollen and Liiri looked between the two for a moment. “If you wish I can go talk to Plagg and you can go talk with Mullo and Sass.” Pollen suggested to the bird kwami who nodded.

“Yes, that sounds reasonable.” Liiri sighed as he looked towards the Cube. “Hopefully Longg is doing okay.”

“I’m pretty sure she found someplace to form a den.” Pollen let out a sigh as she thought about the red female kwami. After Plagg’s story Longg had requested time to reflect on the information and Marinette being Marinette had allowed them time. The rest of the kwami had also given Longg the time she had requested and thankfully Hyrule was open enough to give them that space. Back in the mother box that wouldn’t have been possible. “Well best of luck to you Liiri.”

“If Tikki and the others were with us we wouldn’t be in this position.” Liiri informed the other kwami who let out a sigh before both floated away.

“Plagg, Plagg?” Pollen questioned as she looked for the black cat kwami. It seemed that while she had been talking to the eagle kwami the cat had left to do something.

“This is Nadja with your post akuma attack break down.” The TV downstairs announced informing the bee of where Plagg was. Flying down the kwami saw Plagg firmly watching the tv with narrowed eyes while next to him was a nice pile of cheese along with Marinette’s phone.

“Plagg?”

“Shh!” The black kwami quieted the other kwami as he seemed to focus on something happening on the screen while downing a piece of cheese. Knowing that trying to engage with the other kwami at this moment wouldn’t happen, Pollen sat down near him. The two sat watching the newscaster talking about the akuma attack.

“And it seems we might have arrived at a turning point in the relationship between Cheshire and Misterbug!” Nadja commented while showing a clip of Misterbug being pushed out of the way and Cheshire taking the hit.

“Bread!” Plagg gritted out as his eyes narrowed more.

“What is the matter Plagg?” Pollen questioned a little shock at seeing the anger on the other kwami.

“Shhh!” Plagg hissed at the other kwami again, never turning away from the tv. Pollen flinched a little at his anger. The bee could understand a little bit of his anger. Marinette was special to him so seeing her taking a hit wasn’t pleasant. But there seemed to be more to it than that. Turning back to the TV she watched as Nadja informed that nobody was able to get footage of Viperion or the amok after they left. But then the second shock came. Something had happened to Cheshire that completely changed her look. “What is that!” Plagg spat out in shock as his eyes went wide.

“It’s your power? Shouldn’t you know!” Pollen returned the question which sent the other kwami into deep thought.

“It was deep down… Could it be…” Plagg muttered as he thought about the power on display. “I, I really don’t know. She just pulled it out and I have no idea.” Hopefully Liiri was doing better.

~~~~~

“Mullo?” Liiri questioned as he watched the mouse pulling Sass around.

“Oh perfect Liiri you're here!” Mullo turned to the bird with a wide smile. “You can help show Sass how great the pup is so he can join our Order!”

“We are already a part of the sssame Order Mullo.” Sass commented while looking around in shock. He had woken up here about a minute or so ago and had Mullo jump on him. “Greeting Liiri it is a nice surprise to see you here.”

“Yes, it was quite a shock to see you again too.” Liiri returned the greeting.

“No, we aren’t part of the same Order! Tell him Liiri, tell him how great Bread’s Order is!” Mullo shouted while waving her arms around. “There are a whole bunch of benefits to joining!”

“The cat formed a new Order!” Sass questioned intrigued.

“Yes, and it is great! We have movie nights and tea parties and games and…” Mullo kept listing things off her fur and tears were starting to prickle at the corners of her eyes.

“Mullo it is okay.” Liiri tried to comfort the mouse.

“NO, it is not okay!” The gray kwami cried out. “Bread is out there getting hurt and using dangerous powers that hurt her!” Tears were now running down her cheeks as she was on the verge of a full breakdown. “How many more times can she use Catastrophe? How many more times can she do Unification. What if this new power is the *hic* what if it is the one?” Mullo finally broke down into full sobs while dropping onto the grass.

“Oh, Mullo.” Sass floated down and pulled the other kwami closer. It was a bit shocking to see the usually carefree kwami so broken down and crying.

“Could it be?” Liiri questioned thinking about the warning they had received from the rabbit user. But that was for later for now though he had a crying friend to take care of.

“I, I just want my pup to be happy and safe.” Mullo muttered while still huddled in on herself. While the two kwami were huddled trying to console the crying kwami, a fourth red kwami watched them.

Longg felt conflict brewing inside of herself at what she was seeing. Mullo was crying over her holder. No, the mouse had called the girl ‘her Pup’ so Marinette was one of Mullo’s Chosen. If there was any doubt left in the drakes mind about the black cat being evil they withered and died. “I suppose it is best to let the past rest and move to the future.

Chapter Text

Adrien walked into his room after yet another lonely dinner. This one was especially bad due to Nathalie having stayed with his father. But now wasn’t the time to focus on that. It was late but Adrien had one last thing to do. Leaning down he took out the Miraculous Box and opened up the main compartment to put Wayzz back in the box. However before he could put it away an orange kwami shot out of the box. “Whoa, what happened to the roof?” Barkk questioned looking around.

“Barkk, where did you go!” Daizzi questioned as she also flew out of the box. “Oh, wow!”

“A button that freely lets the kwami out.” Wayzz mumbled as he watched a few more kwami poke their heads out of the box. Adrien watched stunned as the remaining kwami started exploring his room before letting out a chuckle.

“I bet Cheshire doesn’t have a way to let her kwami out.” Adrien looked at Tikki with a bit of mirth. Tikki didn’t initially respond before thinking about what Adrien had said.

“What makes you think she has a box? The only people with a miraculous box were the guardians.” Wayzz questioned. His question seemed to gather the attention of all the other kwami.

“The cat has a box? Oh, I bet it is a void as black as her soul!” Ziggy seemed to shake at the thought.

“Oh, we need to get them back as soon as possible!” Barkk snarled a little as she imagined what her fellow kwami could be going through.

“Did Master Fu not show you the streams?” Adrien questioned the kwamis to which he was met with confused looks.

“What do rivers have to do with anything?” Daizzi questioned from over by his dresser. Looking around the room Adrien saw the other kwami exploring his room.

“Dear Guardian, I don’t mean to misspeak but I think someone might have scammed you on these mirrors.” Orikko called from over by his computers.

“Those are computers Orikko.” Tikki explained to the rooster. “Oh, Adrien, perhaps you can show them what you mean!” Adrien pondered her idea before nodding his head. “Maybe some of the other kwami might know how they pulled it off.”

“Yeah I really didn’t get to ask Master Fu his thoughts.” The new guardian flinched a little as he remembered his former mentor.

“Thoughts on what?” Wayzz questioned as he and a few other kwami watched Adrien working the computer.

“Wow, so this is a computer!” Daizzi said in awe as she watched. A few other kwami started joining around them. All of them gasped though as Mullo, Liiri, and Pollen appeared on screen. The clip was one of the last Subnatica streams and had the two kwami entering the lair of the Sea Emperor Leviathan. “Whoa, what is this!”

“According to what Trixx and the others have said on these ‘streams’ Cheshire made them this box.” Tikki informed the other kwami as the clip showed Mullo, Liiri, and Pollen first encountered the legendary creature.

“This is a box?” Wayzz motioned to the screen. “How is this even possible?”

“As far as I understand it involves a mix of magic and modern technology.” Adrien tapped his fingers against his desk as he watched what was happening.

“How is Liiri even there?” Stompp questioned while watching the eagle kwami.

“I don’t know, just that he showed up around the same time as Cheshire got Pollen.” The guardian informed them as he looked at the recommended clips.

“But why would the evil cat do something like this?” Ziggy questioned as she seemed to try and understand what was happening. Adrien flinched at the question of the kwami as he caught sight of the news clip of Cheshire sacrificing herself for him.

“Hey Tikki? I know I asked this before, but…” Adrien began only to trail off at all the kwami looking at him. Swallowing his doubts, Adrien started again. “Is there any chance that Cheshire might not be evil?” The kwamis gasped at his question.

“I, I don’t know anymore.” Tikki seemed to deflate at the admission. This drew even more gasps from every kwami except Wayzz. “I thought I did but then I started talking to Trixx and the things he said. He wasn’t trying to trick me or something like that. He just kept pushing the idea that Cheshire was good enough to be his kit! But the girl is a cat! How can a cat be worthy of being chosen by any other kwami!” What started weak slowly started to build up more and more.

“Trixx called her a kit?” Daizzi questioned with curiosity.

“He did.” Wayzz confirmed for the panting Tikki.

“But if Cheshire isn’t evil then what about Plagg?” Barkk pounded while letting out a hum of thought. It was quiet for a good long moment before Tikki broke it.

“I want to talk to him.” The little red ladybug spoke up with determination. Left unsaid was her needing to know why so many of her bugs needed to suffer before Plagg found a good cat.

“I can see two ways of going about this.” Adrien aired his thoughts as he moved his mouse around the computer. The boy wanted to check out the various news clips from today. “First is that we put our plan of recording you into action and see if we can get into contact with them that way.” Tikki had always been of the opinion that he should review his actions post battle. So with that he clicked on one of the news clips that was in the recommended tab. “The other is the straightforward approach. We ask Cheshire to speak to Plagg.”

The kwamis looked between each other at the suggestions. “I would prefer the second option.” Tikki mumbled while nodding her head. “I want to talk to him in person.”

“Plus it will give me the chance to talk to Cheshire.” Adrien nodded. “If she is good then it would be best if we try to settle our differences.” As he said this Adrien saw that someone had posted a new video on the Wonderblog. Clicking on it the guardian and kwami watched the video that started out simple enough. It was right after Misterbug caught the akuma and he was going to comfort the victim.

“Wait, pause the video.” Barkk ordered while looking hard at the screen.

“What’s up dog?” Adrien questioned with his best American accent.

“What is up with Cheshire’s costume?” The orange kwami questioned with narrowed eyes. “Those are real cat ears and a real tail!”

“Wait really!” The other kwamis let their shock be known and crowded around the screen to see.

“What does this mean?” Questioned Adrien leaning back into his plush chair. The kwamis looked between each other before Tikki sighed.

“Just like Catastrophe I don’t know. I don’t think this is a power-up potion.” The red kwami responded with a shake of her head.

“This is way too much for just a potion.” Wayzz agreed with the goddess of creation.

“Maybe if Cheshire agrees to meet up we can question her about it.” Adrien nodded thought about plans for the future. “Or maybe Marinette might know something.” A few kwami looked between each other. Maybe Fu hadn’t informed the other kwami of the girl. Oh well he would just tell them about her.

~~~~~~~

Plagg sat on the cat pillow watching his Bread as she slept. So far he had not seen any hints of her being transformed but it might be subtle. Despite the rabbit checking out the girl’s hand it might not have started there. The rabbit, despite having the power of time travel, wasn't omnipotent and didn’t know everything. So Plagg would keep her safe.

“Um, hey Plagg.” Mullo’s voice came from the edge of the bed. Glancing over he saw the mouse at the edge of the bed. The black cat then shot his eyes back toward the pigtailed girl. “Yeah, I can understand.” Plagg didn’t respond as Mullo sat down near him. “So um… I suppose I should tell you and the others about what happened.”

“That would be appreciated dear.” Pollen responded from her doll house which was hanging near the bed. Plagg didn’t show any sign of responding to Pollen being so near. He didn’t notice her and that slightly bugged him.

“How much do you know about the akuma attack?” Mullo questioned as Plagg took his eyes off of the girl to take a quick glance around. He saw that Mullo had settled down into one of Marinette’s hands. One of the girl’s fingers seemed to twitch and brushed against the gray kwami every so often.

“We saw the news report on it.” Pollen responded as Plagg spotted Liiri who flew up and landed on the dollhouse near the bee.

“Then you know about how the beam affected the pup?” Mullo questioned while grabbing the finger that had been petting her. Seeing the others shake their head Mullo seemed to steady herself. Spotting movement Plagg spotted Longg near Marinette’s legg. Seeing that she was spotted, the dragon settled down there. “When the beam hit it caused Cheshire to act like a cat.” Plagg narrowed his eyes at that.

“Why did she take the hit?” Plagg questioned though he most likely knew that Mullo had no idea why.

“I don’t know why, she just did.” Mullo shook her head and then hugged the finger. “But what mattered is that after getting hit the pup started hissing at anyone who got close.” That made sense to Plagg. Any cat would lash out after everything Bread has been through. “I managed to get her away from others and to an isolated rooftop. Or what should have been an isolated roof.”

“Ssso that wasss how Viperion knew where the girl wasss.” Sass commented from way too close by for Plagg’s comfort. Spinning he saw the snake right by Longg. “So this is the girl under the mask?” Plagg wanted to hiss and put the snake back into the Cube so there would be no chance for the snake to use his kitten’s kindness to return to his Chosen where they would then report to Misterbug her identity.

“Yeah, but don’t think I will forgive you for bringing the amok to my pup!” Mullo yelled at the snake. She instantly toned it down though as said pup stirred a bit. “So after the amok came it started fighting Bread. She was being beaten up pretty badly.” Plagg let out a hiss at hearing this. Sass, who had been moving to get a better look at Marinette, flinched and darted toward Pollen’s doll house. “When it seemed like the amok was about to win though she did something.”

“Something?” Longg questioned with obvious confusion. The red dragon had moved into a bit more comfortable position.

“I haven’t seen anything like it.” Mullo shivered a bit as dropped the finger she was holding to move closer to Marinette. “It was called ‘Catalyst’.” The word came out with a shiver. The other kwami looked between each other as they heard the name of the power. “It summoned a wave of black energy that swept over her. It changed her in ways no potion ever could.”

“It alssso increased her power to an incredible level.” Sass commented having settled down. “Ssshe was able to throw the amok over multiple buildingsss. Her clawsss were able to tear through the amok’sss defenssssesss.”

“It made the Queen that much stronger?” Pollen questioned in shock as she tried to imagine it. The bee glanced down at the girl who was still deep asleep.

“It did. Her speed was even greater than that of Knightmare.” Mullo confirmed while snuggling into the cat’s hair. At the mention of the girl’s horse, all of Marinette’s kwami glance over to the spot where Kaalki still slept. Sass followed their line of sight to the black and green house. The snake felt a temptation to head over and check on the brown kwami but wanted to see where the rest of this conversation went.

“Plagg, do you think it is possible that this ‘Catalyst’ somehow destroyed whatever limits the power a user gets?” Liiri questioned as they tried to puzzle out the situation.

“A power to destroy limitations?” Plagg questioned as he went over it in his head. “It is possible.”

“Wouldn’t that alssso destroy whatever sssafty featuresss there are?” Sass thought out loud to the group. This caused the group to go quiet as what he said sunk in.

“Mullo, do you think this is possible with what you saw?” Pollen questioned while looking towards the mouse. Said mouse had made a nice bed out of Marinette’s hair and was now asleep. “I guess today was tiring.”

Plagg could understand, he was feeling pretty tired himself. But he couldn’t let himself sleep, he had to keep watch. “I think I shall join her.” Longg stated before starting to make themselves comfortable. All the other kwami gave various agreements to that statement. All except two that is.

Plagg and Sass sat and watched as the other kwami flew and settled themself around Marinette. It took about an hour or so but the kwami settled down and fell asleep. “Aren’t you going to sleep?” Sass questioned turning toward Plagg.

“And let you fly off so you can lead the ‘heroes’ here?” Plagg returned with heat. Sass looked down at the girl in question and all the kwami around her.

“I get the feeling that you don’t trust me.” Sass flatly said while looking toward Plagg. Sass would be lying if he said he wasn’t intimidated by the black kwami. The kwami had been built up in all kwamis minds since he had been lost to the order. Two of his young serpents had been brutally killed by past cats and some of those feelings had been put onto Plagg. So to soothe himself the snake let out a sigh and flew up a bit. “I’m going back to the Cube, there's much for me to think of.” Plagg didn’t say anything as the green kwami did as he said. He was a guard cat and he would watch over his charge. Plus like Sass he had a lot to think about.

It was thanks to him still being awake that Plagg was able to hear the door open from below. Acting quick he tossed a blanket over Marinette and flew around to make sure everything was hidden. With that done Plagg flew down to see who it was that came into the bakery.

~~~~~

“Of course, I’m checking on her right now!” Nadja informed Sabine as she reached the bakery. Alya had texted her earlier asking her to check in on Marinette. Thankfully she had a few seconds before the broadcast and was able to reassure the girl that after work she would check on the girl. So the second she could, the woman had told her serpiours that something had come up and thankfully they let her go. While on her way there Nadja had decided to inform her friend about what had happened. It might even get the woman to come home soon.

“Thank you so much Nadja!” Sabine thanked the woman with much relief. “I have to go now. But please let me know how she is doing.” Walking in Nadja saw that the apartment was clean.

Nadja rolled her eyes. On one hand it was very good that Tom and Sabine had become famous but on the other the two needed to learn how to say no. “I will.”

“Can you also let her know we are on our way home.” Now that was a pleasant surprise.

“Will do.” With that Nadja hung up and entered the young girl’s room. Despite it still being around six or so the black haired girl was in her bed soundly asleep. “Marinette?” Lightly touching the girl Nadja was relieved to feel her breathing. Chewing on her lip a bit the woman debated between waking up the girl or letting her sleep. A beep from her phone made the decision. Walking over to the girl’s desk Nadja wrote down a note asking for her to call when she woke up.

After all, at the end of the day she was a single mom and needed the work. Hopefully the station would approve of her idea of trying to get both Cheshire and Misterbug in at the same time. That would be a big enough event that the paycheck would be big enough that she could take some days off. Maybe if Manon wanted she could invite Marinette to one of their outings along with those twins she mentioned from time to time.

It was about an hour later that Marinette texted her that she was okay but was just tired from running away from both the amok and akuma. Combine that with what Alya had texted and it was more than enough for the journalist to put together why the poor girl was so exhausted. Arriving back at the studio Nadja decided to make this turd shine enough to get Sabine home early. It was close enough to Christmas so it was for the best.

Chapter Text

Marinette woke up slowly. It took almost three minutes after waking up for her brain to even register that she was in her bed. Then another minute for her brain to register that she was still fully dressed. “Wha, *yawn*, what happened?” Marinette questioned while looking around. The sun had just started to rise showing that it was decently early. The girl tried to move so she could check her phone only to be stopped by Pollen, who had fallen asleep in her hand, to whine. “Sorry Pollen.”

“Do I get an apology?” Plagg questioned with a bit of heat. Marinette’s head snapped in the direction of her kwami’s voice. Was Plagg angry at her? Why was Plagg mad at her? How could she get Plagg to stop being mad at her?

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry!” Marinette apologized for what she didn’t know but nonetheless she did. Plagg narrowed his eyes at her and opened his mouth only to get interrupted.

“What’s with all the noise?” Mullo mumbled from in her hair. The little gray kwami blinked awake before gasping in shock. “Bread is awake!” With that Mullo tackled Marinette with a happy noise.

“Oh, is it true?” Pollen questioned with interest.

“Hatchling, are you alright?” Liiri questioned with concern. Longg didn’t say anything but she did watch. Marinette saw the concern clearly displayed and wanted to reassure them.

“I’m fine.” Marinette reassured them with a smile. Liiri, Longg, and Pollen let out gasps while Plagg just hissed.

“What? Is something wrong!” Mullo questioned from her spot nuzzled against Marinette’s neck.

“Bread has fangs now.” Plagg flatly stated with narrowed eyes. Marinette blinked at that statement. She had fangs? Wanting to see what Plagg was talking about, Marinette got up and walked towards her mirror. Her body was a little slow but nothing compared to Catastrophe or one of the early times she used Unify. Arriving at the mirror, after flicking the lights on, Marinette pulled her lips back so she could see just what the kwami were talking about.

“Yup, those are fangs.” Mullo mumbled in disbelief.

“How did this happen!” Marinette questioned as her mind went over everything she knew about the miraculous. Nothing she had read could even hint at a change like this to the user!

“What, *yawn*, what is going on?” Kaalki questioned as she woke up. Marinette knew she should be ecstatic that the brown kwami was awake but between Plagg being mad at her and now the fangs the girl was understandably overwhelmed.

“Bee, go talk to Kaalki. I need to talk to Bread.” The black cat stated never taking his eyes off of his kitten. Pollen looked between Marinette, Plagg, and Kaalki.

“Perhapsss, it would be bessst if you asssk Kaalki for her opinion.” Sass offered. Marinette looked at the kwami in shock. What the heck was the snake kwami doing here?

“I, I think I would like to stick around.” The brown kwami looked between everyone present. The questions she had were still present but the kwami deemed this more important.

“Well I have some questions.” Marinette tried only to shrink upon herself Plagg sent a glare at her.

“Same here.” Plagg sent back at her. “Like why you thought it was a good idea to take a hit for that stupid bug!” All throughout Plagg’s shouting Marinette shrunk more and more in on herself. At this point the girl was underneath her desk and back against the wall. “Were you even thinking or were you exhausted from the Multiple Unifications you had to do the day before!”

Marinette realized Plagg had gone quite waiting for her to answer. “I mean I was pretty tired from all the Unification.”

“Yes, we already knew that.” Plagg flatly said, causing Marinette to flinch. “We had a talk about this before the akuma attack.” Mullo gave a nod to show that they did. “What I was asking is why you decided to take the hit for the bug?”

“Well he was going to get hit and I wasn’t going to be of use so I decided to take the hit.” Maritte began to explain.

“Did you know what the beam was going to do?” Plagg cut in. “When you decided to ‘take the hit’ did you know it would make you act like an animal?”

“There was no way I could know.” Marinette mumbled as the other kwami looked between each other.

“So the beam could have put you under the amok’s control?” Plagg’s question made a few kwamis gasp in shock.

“If Cheshire fell under the control of a villain.” Kaalki shivered in fear.

“Plagg your scaring Kaalki.” Marinette’s voice came out weak. One of her hands shook a bit as she grabbed the brown kwami. Kaalki offered no resistance as Marinette pulled her into a hug. Seeing that it was hug time Mullo was quick to get in on the hug.

“You scared me!” Plagg snapped at her. “Do you know what it was like to see you get hit! What if Hawkmoth ordered you to hand over ALL of your miraculous!” Marinette flinched under Plagg’s shout. “But that is ignoring the biggest problem of all!”

“What would that be, Plagg?” Sass questioned.

“Bread was left helpless against that stupid bug and his teammates!” Plagg spun on the snake. “I bet you were chomping at the bit to take advantage of her in her weakened state!”

“Sass, you wouldn’t.” Kaalki looked horrified at the thought. Sass looked like he was going to deny only to be cut off.

“His chosen did.” Plagg spat out. “Leading the amok right to her! He was probably hoping that the amok would defeat her so he could take her miraculous easily!”

“He would never do sssomething like that!” Sass hissed at the cat.

“Yet he did.” Plagg returned with heat. “Perhaps you don’t know your snake as well as you thought.”

“None of us know what Viperion was thinking.” Pollen interjected while flying between them. “So instead of arguing about things we don’t know how about we focus on what we can.” Plagg kept his glare for a bit longer but decided that the bee was right.

“Filly I must ask why you decided to rely on Misterbug.” Kaalki questioned with a frown. “I remember many times in the past when Misterbug took any chance to try and steal your miraculous any chance he would get.” Left unasked was if anything had changed since she was asleep.

“I, I,” Marinette began only to stop. What had she been thinking?

“Do you remember that during the previous akuma attack that Misterbug attempted to steal your miraculous?” Liiri questioned though it was more rhetorical than anything. Of course Marinette remembered when she had been so exhausted from the fight that she had closed her eyes for a few moments only to fall asleep. It had barely been a minute later that she woke up to Misterbug hovering his hand over Pollen’s miraculous.

“I was trusting that he would honor the akuma truce.” Marinette whispered, not meeting any of the kwamis eyes. The explanation sounded so weak. The ‘Akuma Truce’ between Misterbug and Cheshire was about as weak as a blanket in the wind and so full of holes Plagg might mistake it for swiss cheese.

“You mean the ‘truce’ that the bug only agrees to when he can benefit from it?” Plagg questioned with heat. Marinette couldn’t respond to that. “You have a brain Bread, why aren’t you using it?”

“I was! I knew I wouldn’t be useful so I took the hit!”

“And the beam put you in even more danger. But we have already been over that so instead I’ll just ask a different question.” Clearing his throat Plagg met his kitten’s eyes. It hurt a little to see the fear and worry in her eyes but he needed to do this. “Why didn’t you push Misterbug out of the way with our baton?”

“I, I,” Marinette stuttered as she thought about what Plagg had said. It seemed obvious in hindsight so why had she missed it? She could have pushed Misterbug out of the way. There was no need for Cheshire to take the hit. Marinette broke eye contact with her kwami in shame. “I didn’t think about it.” Was Plagg disappointed in her? Would he leave her like Trixx did?

“You didn’t think about it because you won’t let yourself rest!” Plagg stressed the last word. Marinette whined at hearing that and curled in on herself even more.

“Hatchling, Plagg isn’t mad at you he is just worried.” Liiri comforted the small girl who was trying to make herself smaller. “We all are.” This statement got rounds of nods from all the kwamis.

“I can’t let myself rest.” Marinette muttered into her arms. “Hawkmoth keeps putting Paris in danger.”

“Let the bug and his team deal with one or two of the akumas!” Plagg snapped with a huff. “You clearly trusted him enough to take a hit for him.” But she didn’t trust him. How could she trust somebody who would take advantage of her in a weakened state. Heck Misterbug was a lot like Adrien, neither ever saw fit to apologize to her.

Before Marinette could say anything else she heard commotion from down below. Freezing up the girl glanced at the kwamis who glanced at each other. Soon though she heard tapping on her trap door. “Marinette, dear? Are you awake?” The voice of her mother came through the floor shocking her.

“Mom?” Marinette questioned crawling over to the door. Stopping for a moment she turned to see the kwami all flying toward the Cube. Seeing that it was safe the black haired girl opened the trapdoor to see her mother looking at her with some worry.

“Oh, Marinette, what happened.” Sabine gave a sigh as she hugged her daughter. “You can tell me.” Marinette didn’t respond but just relaxed into the hug. It had been so long since she had seen her parents. She just wanted to enjoy the moment.

~~~~~

Tom had just got done unloading his and his wife’s luggage. His wife had left to check on their daughter. Nadja had said that she was alright but Sabine had been worried ever since she had heard that Marinette had been caught up in the latest akuma attack.

The two of them hadn’t known much about the situation in Paris, just that the akuma attacks had continued after Stoneheart. Marinette had informed them that she had managed to stay far enough away from the attacks. Except for this one. It was only thanks to Otis that they knew. It hurt a bit that Marinette didn’t tell them or Nadja about her being so close to the danger.

The big man could understand that his beloved daughter might hold some resentment over how often they had to leave for work. It would be just like her to pretend everything was alright and hide her true feelings. Perhaps it would have been best to have left her with one of their relatives. Sabine’s brother had offered more than once.

Thankfully the two parents had decided to turn down a large christmas event. They would be spending this holiday together! As he was thinking this though his phone started ringing. Looking down the baker saw that it was one of his newer contacts. “Hey Olympia, did you and your family get settled down in the hotel?” It had been a bit of a surprise when the woman from the conference had apparently decided to bring her family with her to Paris.

“Yes and thank you for the recommendation. The hotel is just as good as you said it would be.” The voice of the woman replied.

“That’s good, did your family find who you were looking for?” Tom questioned, remembering vaguely what the woman had told them on the plane.

“Not yet but we are certain things will work out.” With that the call ended. Tom hoped things worked out for the family. He would make sure things would work out for his family.

Chapter Text

Marinette slowly walked back up to her room after having a nice dinner with her parents. During the dinner the three of them had caught up with each other. Marinette had pretended to be shocked when her parents mentioned the villain's attack. The girl vaguely remembers seeing her parents but most of her focus had been on Evilnator. Which she felt was justified given who had been floating there.

Marinette had been a bit surprised to learn that they had turned down another catering job offered just to be with her for christmas. It helped warm her heart a bit. In exchange though the daughter informed them that Chloe had been elected as class president again. They inquired about the akumas but Marinette reassured them that she had kept far away from them as promised. Which in a way was true after all Marinette could never be Cheshire.

This led to where she was now. Feeling a bit better, the girl walked into her room. “Welcome back bread!” Mullo happily greeted the girl as she walked in.

“Yes, welcome back filly.” Kaalki greeted her with a smile.

“Oh, Kaalki.” Lighting up Marinette grabbed the horse and pulled her close. “I’m so happy you are alright.” Pulling her to her cheek the black haired girl sighed as she rubbed the horse against her cheek. “You are alright right?”

“Yes I am feeling a lot better.” The brown kwami reassured the girl.

“That isss good.” Sass commented with a nod. “Roaar and I were quite worried about you.”

“Oh, um, hello? Sass right?” Marinette messed with her hands as she looked toward the snake kwami.

“Indeed I am the kwami of Intuition: Sass.” The kwami gave a bow to the young girl.

“It is very nice to meet you.” Marinette returned the bow with one of her own. “My name is-”

“Don’t give him your name Bread.” Plagg commented with a flat look. “I wouldn’t put it past him to fly off and out you to the stinkbug.” Marinette stopped at that as her mind thought over what Plagg had said. Sass knew where she lived, what she looked like, and no doubt would find out her name soon enough.

“Why should it matter if I learn her name?” The snake questioned while not seeming to be affected by Plagg’s comments. “Surely the others have told you about how we can not speak the names of miraculous users.”

“Oh don’t act like you haven’t thought of a dozen ways around that stupid little rule.” Plagg rolled his eyes at the comment. “Pigtails actually has a list of ways to get around that stupid rule if we should get either Dussu or Nooroo’s miraculous.”

That comment made Marinette’s eyes widen in horror and turn towards Kaalki. “Kaalki how-”

“Do not worry my little filly, that horrible sniveling monster did not even think to ask me any questions about you.” Kaalki lightly patted her, trying to calm her down. Marinette took a few deep breaths calming down as best she could. Before turning back to Sass and Plagg. She still needed to deal with what to do about the snake.

Plagg was right about how loose and flimsy the rule regarding identities was. Both her and the kwamis had tested the limits of the identity rule using Fu’s and previous users. After confirming how easy it was to get around the protection, Plagg theorized that the Order was formed of egotistical idiots. It really said something that the other kwami didn’t rise to defend them.

So with that knowledge it would only make sense to keep Sass with her. While she had given Trixx to Alya the girl had trusted the fox enough to not sell her out. But now, now, she had a kwami who wasn’t loyal to her that would sell herself out in a second. Marinette let out a breath as she came to a decision. “I’m sorry Sass but I can’t let you go.”

“Yes!” Plagg screamed with glee. Sass just let out a sigh.

“I understand your decision.” The snake camly said. “While I had hoped to return to the boy I was with, I hope that we can come to an understanding.”

“I hope so too.” Marinette replied with a smile back. An idea came to her. “How about we go for a patrol together? I need to get used to your miraculous.”

Plagg narrowed his eyes at her before glancing at Sass. “Hey Kaalki why don’t you take the snake and go check on Mullo.” Kaalki and Sass looked at each other before glancing at Marinette.

“Come along Sass, I want to see what the inside of the miraculous Cube looks like now.” Kaalki explained to the snake while flying towards said Cube. The snake seemed to hesitate a second before flying after the brown kwami. After the two kwami have left, Plagg turns back to Marinette and holds eye contact. The silence dragged on for a bit causing Marinette to fidget a bit. “Is, is this about me going for patrol?”

“You are not doing patrol tonight.” Plagg’s voice came out hard and firm. Marinette opened her mouth to protest only for the black cat to keep going. “I will activate the security system on the Cube after putting my ring and Mullo’s necklace in their slots.” Marinette’s eyes flew open and her hand flew to clutch the ring. Plagg could see the panic in her eyes as she started panicking. “I won’t though-”

“I agree!” Marinette cut him off. Whatever he wanted she would give. Plagg knew this and it both warmed his heart yet terrified him. Taking a breath Plagg countiend on.

“I won’t though if you don’t patrol tonight.” Plagg finished with a sigh. Marinette fidgeted for a bit as her mind fought with herself. Plagg really didn’t want to press but he knew he needed to if he wanted the stupid heroic streak. “Well what will it be?” Marinette took only a second to respond.

~~~~~~

Alya loved patrol, well to be more specific she loved jumping from rooftop to rooftop as Rena Rouge. The feeling of the wind flowing through her hair, her blood pumping as she pulled off superhuman feats. Landing on another roof Rena took a moment to catch her breath.

As she stood on one of the taller roofs overlooking Paris Alya’s mind decided that now was the perfect chance to go over all the events of today. “And what a day it was.” She mumbled to herself as she sat down on the ledge of the roof. First she had been reunited with Trixx only to find out that Rose had figured out her secret identity. It hurt that within the first month of her having a secret identity someone had figured it out because she was careless. Yeah it was for a good reason but still, she was careless.

Her blog had suffered a little from her now having to also perform her superhero duties thus not being able to be on site to record. Most people had accepted her excuse of her parents not letting her chase akumas anymore but she still needed to put out articles. Thankfully she was able to convince people that she was working on getting an interview with one of the heroes. Said hero was most likely going to be Rena Rouge to help clear up why she didn’t show up for the latest akuma attack. Plus by having Alya interview Rena using Mirage, which through experimentation by both her, Trixx, and Cheshire, she knew for a fact that cameras could record the illusion.

Part of her wondered why the cat hero had tested if cameras could record Mirage but Trixx wouldn’t say. When Alya tried to press Trixx told her that Cheshire had secrets and that was that.

“Hey Rena, nice to see you.” Purple called as she arrived at the agreed upon meeting area. The purple superhero gave an awkward smile as she awkwardly rubbed her arm. “Um, is Cheshire around?”

“Not that I can tell.” Rena Rouge responded while looking around. A beep came from both her flute and Tigress’s weapon. Bringing the flute out Alya activated the communication function of the flute which caused a holographic screen to pop up. Looking at the message Alya raised an eyebrow. “Huh, looks like she isn’t coming.”

“I hope she is alright.” Juleka mumbled while putting her weapon away. Rena decided to look up the name of the weapon later. “I don’t think Cheshire has ever missed a patrol.” Rena just gave a nod as she tried to think about what would cause something like this.

“Well, do you want to split up the patrol route or go together?” Rena decided to question. Might as well focus on what is in front of her first. After a bit of discussion the two decided to split the route so both of them could get home sooner.

As Juleka left she sent a call to Misterbug. Both her and Misterbug hadn’t wanted to inform their ‘leader’ about losing the snake miraculous but after a talk they agreed that it would be best to at least let him know what had happened, tomorrow. After all, if she could fix it without any troubles then there would be no need for him to know. But now with Cheshire calling in sick for who knows how long. Bringing out her weapon again the tiger looked back over her shoulder to double check Rena was a good enough distance away. Seeing that the fox was long gone the ‘double’ agent placed the call to Misterbug. Better to explain this to him rather than use text.

It took a minute for Misterbug to reply but after he greeted her she got down to business. “Cheshire has Sass’s miraculous.”

“WHAT!” The blonde’s green eyes flew open as her words sunk in. “When? How?” Letting out a sigh the girl started retelling what had happened to Luka and that when she had gone to ask the cat for the miraculous back Cheshire was a now show. Misterbug remained quiet as he thought over what the second hand story told to him.

“Thanks for informing me about this.” The red clad hero gave a nod as the call was cut. Purple Tigress let out a sigh as she relaxed her muscles. She still had a patrol to do, hopefully it would help calm her down. It wasn’t like anything else could go wrong.

~~~~~~~

Sparrow watched as one of Paris’s ‘heroes’ continued on her way. “Good thing we decided to keep watching her.” The young sidekick made sure to keep her voice low just in case they could be overheard.

“Indeed, it would be best to inform Cheshire about this when we see her.” Knightowl responded before reaching for her communicator. “Majestia, anything on your side?”

“Aeon has confirmed that she can see past whatever is keeping us from identifying them.” Majestia responded with a bit of interest.

“Yes I believe I have positively identified both of the heroes here.” Aeon commented through the radio.

“We went over their files on the way here. How did you not recognize them while looking at their pictures?” Sparrow questioned as her eyebrows furrowed. They had prepared for this trip ever since Cheshire had helped them take down the sudden attack of villains. InfoWar had spent many hours gathering every last bit of information she could. The packets she gave them when she had finished border on being thicker than a textbook. Turns out that Paris was trying to keep things as quiet as possible and since the damage was always repaired nobody outside of the city seemed to take it seriously.

But after a bit of digging the heroes of United Heroes were horrified to find out that Cheshire was fighting against both Hawkmoth, his partner Mayura, their akumas and amoks that ranged in power along with abilities. This wasn’t even bringing up the ever rotating members that ‘Misterbug’ brought with him.

“Still can’t believe someone actually took the name ‘Misterbug’.” Sparrow muttered to herself. How could anyone take that name and expect to be taken seriously?

“I believe that whatever power they use to hide their identity works through pictures and other mediums especially well. Thus it is only now that I see them in person that I can fully identify them.” Aeon replied with a hum.

“Does that mean that you could identify Cheshire if you see her?” Knightowl questioned with interest.

“There is a possibility but due to her seeming to change her eye color with each form it might be a bit harder.” Aeon let out a hum. Sparrow let out her own hum as she thought about how most of Cheshire’s transformations changed her eye color. Cheshire/Knightmare: green, Kitsune: violet, while her ‘Unified’ states seemed to mix the colors. “These two heroes didn’t seem to change their eye color. It made identifying them much easier.”

“Let us reconvene at the hotel.” Knightowl stated while looking over at Sparrow who nodded. “It seems our hero of interest isn’t showing up tonight.” With that the heroes left in silence. That is until they got to the hotel they were renting.

“Olympia can you check in with Victory?” Barbara looked over to her wife who was heading to their room.

“Will do.” Olympia replied back with a smile. Arriving in the room Olympia started changing out of her stealth costume and into something a bit more comfortable. While doing this Olympia did a double check of the room making sure there were no recording devices. Nodding her head the superhero pulled out the special communicator to connect to the UH. As the secure call went through Olympia felt her mind go back to how this all started.

The heroes were in rough shape after the all out attack of the villains. Worse was that Evilinator was nowhere to be seen. The man had made it obvious that he was the one leading the charge and yet no one had seen him. It had both her and Knightowl concerned. That concern only grew when Sparrow and Aeon arrived in panicked states. She remembered what they had said perfically. “We can’t find Cheshire anywhere.”

It took a few minutes for Majestia and Knightowl awhile to calm their girls down and get the full story. To say they were shocked would be an understatement.

An unknown hero from France had appeared, helped both Sparrow and Aeon defeat Red Beam, sped up the capture process, then followed them to help take down more villains. Now said girl was missing. Sending out the information along with a picture provided by her daughter the family waited with the others for information to come in. A ding from their communicators snapped everyone to look at the devices.

“How did she get back to Paris so quickly?” Knightowl questioned while tapping the side of their helmet.

“They must have somehow regained their ability to teleport.” Sparrow supplied with a hum. “I wonder if it had something to do with that little creature.” From there it was mostly them going over everything they could find in the ‘Wonderblog’. To say the UH was shocked at the state of Paris would be an understatement.

“How come we have not heard a single thing about this!” Victory questioned while tapping on the table.

“I don’t know but we will find out soon.” Majestia gave a firm nod while staring at a screen showing the girl standing off against Evilinator. “Get me everything we can on her.”

“Majestia, you there?” The voice on the other end of the secure line questioned pulling her back to the present.

“Sorry, I just got lost in thoughts.” The hero blushed a bit at the admittance. “Anyway, is the city still standing?”

A laugh came through the other end. “You can reassure Barbara that everything is fine here. So far nobody has questioned the cover story.”

“Thank you, let me know if anything changes.” With that she cut the connection and let out a sigh. It took a lot of work to do this as safely as they were doing this but they needed to. If the villains found out that Majestia and Knightowl were no longer helping to protect New York the crime rates might spike beyond what the others could deal with. So a cover story about how they were doing undercover work around the city would have to be good enough for now and it would hopefully hold long enough for them to complete their job.

Chapter Text

Adrien walked to his room with a hum as his mind worked over the list of things that had happened. He had just finished the last photoshoot for the year. The photoshoot was a small thing for Christmas and thankfully only took part of the day. So that left him the rest of the day to do as he ‘pleases’. Well he was supposed to have it off but knowing his father there was no doubt he wanted Adrien to practice playing the piano.

However Adrien had other work to do. Hero work. Mainly one last task/suggestion Master Fu had given. Not only would it no doubt help him in hero work but it would also get his mind off of his conflicting emotions of Cheshire. The user of the black cat had taken a hit for him, she had sacrificed herself so he could keep fighting. That added on to all of his previous doubts that had been building, causing him to rethink a lot of things.

That wasn’t even beginning to touch on how when he had tried to talk to Tikki about it the little red kwami’s reply had shaken him. So now Adrien was going to find someone his age in order to confide in them. Because he really needed somebody else his age to talk this out with. Maybe they would also know how to repair bridges too. Taking a breath the boy made sure that his door was firmly closed before bringing out the Miraculous box/egg(?).

“Hey Tikki, is this more of a box or an egg?” Adrien questioned as he stared at the red and black container for the miraculous.

“I suppose it does look more like an egg.” The ladybug kwami mused aloud as she tapped her chin. Shrugging it off the teenage boy tapped the button on the top allowing the kwami to come out. It barely took a second for the first kwami, Barkk, to appear.

“Oh, your back.” Barkk replied before floating out of the box barely a second before the typical kwami herd nearly ran him over.

“Welcome back guardian.” Wayzz greeted with a bow. “How was your photoshoot?”

“It was the same as most of my photoshoots.” Adrien responded while shrugging his shoulders.

“Most?” One of the kwami questioned.

“Some of my photoshoots are more fun than others.” Adrien responded honestly. “Though to be sadly honest most often it is boring and a few times boring.”

“I’m sorry to hear that, you should be allowed to have fun while working.” Wayzz lightly consoled the boy.

“Thanks, but I came to you guys to get some advice.” Adrien decided to cut right to the point. Seeming to get their attention the new guardian took in a deep breath. “I was wondering if any of you had an idea for who I should choose to confide in.”

“Ah, I suppose it is wise for you to find someone to help you with the responsibilities of the guardian.” Wayzz nodded as he hummed.

“Oh you mean like M. Lenoir was for Fu?” Dazzi questioned with a bit of a hum. Adrien gave the pig a look of confusion. He had no idea who Lenoir was or what her relationship to his departed mentor was.

“Yes, something like that.” Tikki replied with a smile. It was nice that someone knew what the others were talking about.

“Do you have anyone in mind?” Wayzz questioned the new guardian.

“I actually have three.” The model admitted as he sat down on his couch. “My first pick is Marinette.” Both Tikki and Wayzz nodded at this one. “She already has knowledge about the miraculous and also knows how to make power up potions.” While saying this he glanced over at where the power ups were hidden in his drawer.

“I hope Master Fu managed to talk her around.” Tikki mumbled to herself. Adrien let out a sigh as he thought about that little hiccup. Little in comparison to the other problem.

“Don’t forget that she also thinks that Adrien is one of her bullies alongside the rest of our class.” It hurt admitting what the girl he liked thought of him but it was the truth. There was no point denying it anymore, just like there was no point in thinking Chloe was still the nice sweet girl like he remembered. He really needed to do something about his former friend.

“Yeah, so unless we deal with that it would be suspicious for her to be helping Adrien out or even hanging out with him.” Wayzz pointed out with a hum.

“What about one of your current teammates?” Xuppu questioned with a hum. “Your old ‘teammates’ are obviously out. Especially him…”

“Juleka is a good choice but I don’t know her well, same for Luka.” Adrien rubbed his chin in thought.

“If we go with who you trust the most, then shouldn’t we go with your best friend?” Dazzi innocently questioned. Adrien flinched a bit because his ‘best friend’ was Chloe. Well she was once upon a time but now…

“Nino is a good choice.” Tikki agreed with a nod.

As if he could hear his friend talking about him, Adrien's phone played his ringtone. Grabbing it Adrien happily answered. “Hey Nino, what’s up?” Adrien could faintly hear Nino chuckling.

“So I picked up Chris from school along with Alya.” Nino began with a smile in his voice. “I like to think we were getting somewhere when her sisters ran up to her crying.”

“Oh no, did something happen at school?”

“Yeah, apparently the kids were concerned that Santa wasn’t going to come to Paris due to Hawkmoth. This got Alya wondering if Santa was somehow related to the miraculous.”

“Huh, that’s an interesting theory.” Adrien calmly stated while turning towards the kwami. Was it possible for the origin of the myth of Santa Clause to be related to the miraculous? Well if Liiri came from a different box than maybe there was one…

“Yeah but their comments got to Chris. Apparently my parents did to good of a job hiding the presents this year and he was worried there wouldn’t be any.” Nino continued his story. “Thankfully Alya was able to come up with a story about how Santa was in contact with ‘The nicest person in Paris’ and how they were vouching for them.”

“Oh, and who is this ‘nicest person in Paris’?” Adrien questioned already having a feeling about who it was.

“Come on dude it’s Alya. Of course she was talking about Cheshire.” Yeah, of course Alya, the owner of the Wonderblog, would say that Cheshire was the ‘nicest person in Paris’. Though it was a bit surprising that she didn’t include Rena on the list. “Dudette convinced them that the hero was putting a good word in for us so they didn’t need to worry.”

“Well that’s good.” Adrien replied with a smile in his voice.

“Yeah, though Chris is still a bit agitated. I’m thinking about talking to my parents about giving my little bro an early gift so he can calm down.” Adrien bit his lip as he tried to think of something to say to his (possibly only) human best friends. “But that’s enough about me, how was your day?”

“Well not much happened but my father is in a good mood.”

“Oh I almost don’t want to know what would make him happy.”

“He’s in the closing stages of a deal with some company from Japan.” Adrien explained, rolling his eyes.

~~~~~~~~

“So we both agree not to use that plan right?” Trixx pressed with a deep frown. Honestly Alya swung between genius to down right insane in the plans she made.

“Yeah I can no longer risk becoming an akuma if I have a miraculous.” Alya nodded with a sigh. Looking at her computer she deleted the plan from her collection.

“The other ones too.” Trixx sternly told her with a frown. Watching as Alya deleted the other plans involving her becoming an akuma the fox kwami let out a sigh. Honestly it was surprising how long it took him just to convince the girl that one of her plans wasn’t viable. “Alright, now if you want my suggestion on a plan I could give you one.”

“Why now?” Alya questioned with a raised eyebrow.

“How long did it take for you to listen to me about one of your plans problems?”

“Fair.” Alya mumbled with a sigh.

“Alright so I noticed that most of your plans have you being the one to fully expose Chloe. I get it though you want to be the one to take her down.” Trixx let out a sigh and Alya felt a pit form in her stomach. “But if you remember what Nino told you Chloe is expecting you to do something. Not only is she probably watching you but she is probably having other people watching you.” Alya gave a nod along with a sigh. “So the best option is to get someone else to help you take Chloe down.”

“Somebody else?” Alya mumbled in thought as she thought over what Trixx said. Honestly it should have been obvious but rage and anger at the two dimensional rich blonde jerk might have given her tunnel vision.

“Yeah but there is one other thing I think you forgot to consider.” Trixx layed one of his paws on her hand. Once he was sure he had her full attention the kwami continued. “What is going to be the fall out?” Seeing the confused look Alya gave him Trixx continued. “When Chloe is exposed what is going to happen to all the favors and perks people, yourself included, enjoy?”

Alya went silent as she thought over what the kwami pointed out. Her mother had not only got a pay raise but also a promotion. That didn’t even begin to cover the upgrades to the zoo and her father’s own pay raise and promotion. So far nothing nice hasn’t ‘happened’ to Nora but the reporter was sure that Chloe would upgrade her gym or something else if she fulfilled an upcoming request.

What would happen after Chloe was exposed? Would her mother be fired? What about her father or the zoo? Heck what about the Mayor? How involved was he in everything? What about the others in her class? No, it wasn’t just her class, her research proved that others in the school enjoyed Chloe’s ‘generosity’.

“This is too much.” Alya mumbled into her hands.

“Too much for you alone.” Trixx interjected with a bit of force. “Come on kid, you have a brain on you. Think about your classmates, I know for a fact that there are two members of your class you can convince to help you.” Alya’s mind went into overdrive as she thought over who Trixx meant only to stop as her head started pounding.

“Argh! This is too much for right now.” Between this mess and having to come up with a story to calm down the kiddies she was stretching her brain. “I need a break.”

“Well I suppose this is a decent stopping point.” Trixx mumbled with a sigh.

Looking at the kwami Alya hummed as she came to a decision. “You think Ches would be upset if we do a patrol?” Getting a bit of encouragement from the kwami it shouldn’t have shocked anyone when Rena Rouge soon was bounding across the rooftops. A grin spread across her face as the wind blew through her hair as she once more fulfilled her childhood dream, well one of them. Slowing down a bit the journalist wondered if Cheshire would be willing to lend her the eagle miraculous so she could fly.

Stopping at hearing some noise nearby the fox hero turned to see Marinette watering some flowers. Watching her for a bit the hero felt a smile form on her face as an idea came to mind. After all, Cheshire would probably appreciate another good team member.

Rena was about to jump down only to stop as heard a ding from her flute. Pressing a button on her weapon a small hologram appeared before her. A notification appeared before her showing that she only had ten minutes to get back to her house before her mother would check on her. A sigh escaped from the fox hero as she was forced to turn around so her parents wouldn’t notice she was gone. “Tomorrow, I’ll talk to her tomorrow.”

~~~~~

Gabriel drummed his fingers against his desk. “Hmm, I’m sensing quite the powerful negative emotion.”

“Are you sure this is wise master?” Nooroo questioned with a bit of a shiver. It was clear that the kwami was still scared from Nathalie’s description of the cat’s power.

“Of course, if I’m to defeat the black cat or any other miraculous holder then I must know what they are capable of.” Gabriel retorted with a look of deep concentration. Honestly many things he had seen of the black cat just didn’t add up. First was her power to fix the damages done by his akumas, next was how she somehow lost to a first time miraculous holder, and now was this new power that seemed to have come from nowhere. There was one option that the man could think of and it was quite an interesting thought.

“But master this new power could be dangerous!”

“Yes but is it more dangerous for me or for her?” There had to be a reason why the previous users didn’t use these abilities and the only thing Gabriel could think of was that the powers drawbacks outweigh their positives. It would go a ways to explain why the miraculous holder giving him the most trouble would lose to such a new holder or why she ran away so quickly after using this new ability. “I must know, this could be the beginning of the end for her.” Gabriel ignored the flinch from the kwami.

“Sir, I have a plan I believe will work with the emotions from the child you sensed.” Mayura commented from his phone. “Hopefully this won’t interfere with the meeting we scheduled with the Tsurugi.”

“Very well then let us get to work. Nooroo, Dark Wings Rise!”

Chapter Text

Jessica rolled her shoulders as she woke up. Hopefully with it being her first full day in Paris they will be able to make progress on finding Cheshire. While they had teamed up only once the girl had proven herself a competent hero. If they could get her to join it would help them finally set up the more international team the UH wanted. They already had some heroes from Germany and the UK but Cheshire would be the first hero from France. Arriving at the balcony Jessica looked over the city and had to blink a few times. “MOM! I think there is an akuma!”

“Squad A take that street! Squad B move down the other street! We will capture Santa or his helpers by the end of the day!” A toy soldier commander shouted his orders.

Barbara and Olympia stumbled out to the balcony and gazed out at the city that was being overrun by toys. “Well it seems that you were right.” Barbara nodded with a frown. “Alright everyone suit up and remember to stick to our plan. Aeon, are you ready!”

“I am battle ready!” Aeon replied with gusto.

“Not unless absolutely necessary!” Majestia shot back with force. “Remember to stick to the plan!”

“Yeah, the two of us search for both Cheshire and information on the akuma.” Sparrow responded before making a jump off the balcony.

“Don’t forget the civilians.” Aeon reported as she flew near the other sidekick. “We want to show Cheshire the heroes are here to help.” Nodding her head, Sparrow turned in time to see the toys were shoving past people almost uncaring of them. However the only people they did care about…

“Officer spotted!” A T-rex shouted while pointing at an officer. Within a second a group of stereotypical ninjas appeared from nowhere and dove to capture the poor man in blue.

“Nin-nin!” The ninjas called out in shock at having their target captured before they captured him. Turning the ninja saw the police officer staring in shock and awe at the hero who saved them. Many other civilians had turned as well at the commotion and felt their jaws falling open.

“No need to fear we are here to help!” Sparrow shouted visibly, relieving the people around her.

“It’ll be good to have some actual help with this akuma.” A voice called out as Rena jumped down to stop another ninja from sneaking up on her and Aeon. Sparrow blinked while taking in the other hero again. Now knowing who was under the mask she could see a bit more through the ‘quantum masking’ as Aeon dubbed it. “To think I would be teaming up with the legendary sidekicks.” Normally Sparrow would feel a bit angry about being referred to as a sidekick but Rena was showing so much excitement that it felt like a compliment.

“The heroes are here nin-nin!” One of the ninjas called out. With a move another ninja threw a smoke bomb. Rena was quick to cover her mouth while Sparrow felt her mask’s filters kick on. Aeon simply flew up in order to avoid the smoke only to have to dodge a barrage of shuriken and kuni.

“Looks like we will each have an opponent.” A voice called out as the smoke cleared. Sparrow had to blink to make sure her vision wasn’t being affected.

“Sparrow, are those the…” Aeon questioned while also seeming to not believe what she was seeing. The three green beings before them seemed to be a mix between turtles and humans. Each also wore a different coloured eye mask.

“The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.” Rena answered before narrowing her eyes. “Leonardo, Raphael, Michelangelo, and…” Rena stopped as she spun to look around. “Where's the last one!”

“Ah!” Tigress shouted as she crashed right between the three of them.

“Here!” Another turtle shouted out as he appeared on top of a roof. “Sorry for the wait but she was giving me some trouble.”

Clicking her tongue, Sparrow surveyed the scene they had found themselves in. “Any chance Cheshire or somebody else will be coming to help.”

“Knowing my luck,” Tigress mumbled while getting up, “it will be Misterbug.” Sparrow stayed quiet while glancing at Aeon. The two exchanged a silent conversation. It had to be quick though due to them being surrounded by opponents.

“Come on brothers, we need to catch them so we can get back to finding Santa and his helper!” Leonardo shouted out while his brothers cheered. Rena blinked in shock as that sounded familiar. However before she could think on it more Michelangelo was on her. Hopefully they will be getting help soon.

~~~~~

Marinette felt a bit annoyed about having her parents back. On one hand she is very, very happy to have them back home but… “It seems that the akuma is using the toys it brought to life in order to find Santa and his helpers!” Nadja reported from the television. A toy was beside her waving a sign. The sign demanded that Santa surrender.

Turning to look around the bakery, Marinette is happy her parents went to inform the mayor in person that they were not doing anymore jobs until after the new year. But this also showed the problem of having them back here in Paris.

“We will have to be more careful in the future.” The black haired girl mumbled before turning to the kwamis. “Don’t want my parents finding out about you.”

“If that isss what you want.” Sass nodded to her along with the others. The kwamis were a bit saddened that they were having less time outside of the Cube but it was what Marinette wanted. That and Sass would admit that the Cube was a lot more fun to be in than the Miraculous Box. To think it would only take a day for him to turn on his old home. “Ssso which of usss do you wisssh to take along with you?”

“If it’s alright than I would prefer to take Longg with me.” Marinette responded while looking at the dragon kwami. “That is if she is fine with it.”

Longg blinked before responding, “Well I will be more than happy to aid in protecting the people of this city.” Getting Longg’s permission Marinette was quick to make her way upstairs and grab the miraculous from the Cube.

“Bread, remember that retreat is always an option.” Plagg gave her a firm look. The other kwamis gave a nod to show they agreed with him.

“My queen, your health is important.” Pollen added as Marinette let out a breath and gave them a smile.

“I understand, now let us go save Paris.” Stopping for a second the girl placed a santa hat on her head. “Plagg Claws Out.” With a flash of green light Cheshire lept towards the battle. Longg clung tightly to the hero as moved across the city.

“Cheshire!” Stopping at hearing the voice the girl stopped and turned to see Misterbug arriving alongside Wayzz. The two stood in quiet for a few moments before the black cat turned to look at the streets.

“I’m not giving Sass back.”

“Sass? When did you?” Shaking his head, Misterbug took a moment to get his head back on track. “What do we know about the akuma and amok?”

“If I had to guess then one or both are probably in that sleigh up there.” Cheshire motioned to the sleigh that was floating near the Eiffel Tower that was being decorated by flying catfish, fairies, and even a dragon that seemed to be guarding the shiny gold star and other precious ornaments. However hovering over the famous landmark was a large red and gold sleigh with a large brown sack.

“Why are they looking for Santa if they already have his sleigh?” Misterbug questioned while rubbing his chin. Cheshire let out a hum as she watched the sleigh as a few colorful dots fell from the sleigh. “Hey weird question… but now knowing that the whole magic thing is real, well do you think Santa could be real?”

The black haired girl bit her inside lip as her breath caught in her throat. It hadn’t been often but more than once Chloe and Andre managed to get Tom and Sabine out of the city for Christmas. Those lonely days where she woke up to no presents under a tree that she had to put up herself were stuck in her head. It was during those times that her faith in Santa slowly died. Shaking her head while letting out a sad breath the girl looked back at the sleigh. “I can’t say.”

Misterbug watched her, noticing how long it had taken her to respond. What Luka had said about her heart song fluttered through her head for a moment. Was her heart song something more tragic? Shaking his head the ladybug user pushed the thoughts to the back of his head. Those thoughts were thoughts for after the akuma battle. “Right, I suppose that is a discussion for after saving Paris!”

“I think that is the smartest thing you ever said.” Cheshire felt a smirk form on her face feeling her superhero mask slide back into place. Any doubts or sadness was something Marinette could deal with. “Come on, we need to save the victim.” Planting her staff she shot forward towards the sleigh. As she was shooting through the air though one of her ears twitched and the girl grimenced. Maneuvering herself the cat hero shot her staff at a nearby building to move herself out of the way of whatever was heading towards her. Landing on a building the cat stayed in motion by diving towards the street which she hit with a roll.

“Ahh!” Misterbug screamed having also been attacked in midair. The ‘hero’ had managed to avoid the attack but he obviously hadn’t trained a way to recover. Rolling her eyes Cheshire squared her footing while sticking her arms out. Not a moment later Misterbug landed. The girl didn’t say anything but she did give him a raised eyebrow. “Ah, thanks?” The boy in red rubbed the back of his head while giving a weak laugh.

Once more her ear twitched as she jumped back from yet another attack. “On your feet Buggaboy!” While saying this Cheshire jumped away from her spot while tossing Misterbug. Listening to her the boy was in motion grabbing his yoyo which he tossed and then used to pull himself away from the attack. As the two landed they looked and felt their breath catch in their throats as they saw their opponents.

“Well, it looked like we both missed.” The figure in blue with a red cape said to the all black masked man beside them.

“That is not that big of a shock considering their experience.” Batman responded in his normal tone.

“True,” Superman responded with a nod before sighing, “any chance of you two surrendering?”

“Sorry but we have an akuma victim to save.” Misterbug moved closer towards Cheshire ready for a fight if need be.

“Which miraculous do you have?” The black cat whispered while getting themself ready. “I have Longg with me.”

“Orikko.” Misterbug responded back while looking at his thumb where the disguised miraculous was. Cheshire gave a nod while looking over toward the flying catfish and others that had been decorating the tower. Had being the keywords because they were now walking/floating towards them.

“Alright if that is the way it must be.” The man of steel responded with a sigh. “We’ll try to make this quick.” With that Superman rushed forward. Cheshire braced herself only to have a white and red blur land in front of her. A loud bang was heard as the two powerhouses crashed into each other.

“To think that akuma’s could be this dangerous.” Majestia ground off as her feet dug into the road that had been partly destroyed from the two flying bricks collision. Batman, seeing his partner having trouble, threw some batarangs which were intercepted by Owldarts.

“I should have expected Knightowl to be here if you were here too.” Batman replied as Majestia pushed Superman back.

“Cheshire go deal with the akuma.” Knightowl began in a stern voice. “Majestia and I shall deal with these two.”

Cheshire felt like she wanted to protest or at least to find out what these two were doing in her city but they were right. “Right, good luck!” With that the two of them were off.

“Hopefully, Aeon and Sparrow are alright.” Majestia let out a puff of air as she kept an eye on her two opponents.

“Well shall we begin on the count of three?” Superman questioned as he rolled his shoulders.

“Sounds good to me.” Majestia glanced at Knightowl who gave a nod of acceptance.

~~~~~~~

Manon held tight onto her Ducky Momo doll while sitting in the crowd. Her mother was still a few feet away being forced to keep the camera rolling. One of the tourists moved a bit while grabbing her bag. Manon grabbed her sweater causing the black haired girl to look back at her. The girl seemed to know what the younger girl was saying.

“Don’t worry.” The other girl said as her vermillion eyes shone with courage and confidence. Reaching into her bag the Japanese girl slowly brought out her saber. As it was almost out of the bag through a metal foot slammed down on the thin blade breaking it.

“Beep, what were you trying, meatbag, boop.” The robot questioned in monotone as it lifted her up by her neck. Manon squeaked as she crawled backwards. The swordswoman squirmed and attempted to strike at the metal arm holding her throat and cutting off her airflow. “Beep, cease your struggle, boop.” The robot didn’t seem fazed as the other robots kept everyone else, mainly the adults, from interfering.

Manon felt her eyes water as tears of fear prickled at her vision. People were screaming and yelling at the robot to stop but to the girl none of that reached her as her vision started to blur. As things were starting to feel truly hopeless a yellow blur shot through the robots destroying them. Right as the being that seemed to be made of electricity came near her it transformed into a girl.

Jabberwock reformed just in time to not electrocute the girl being choked. With quick movements the whiskered dragon cut the arms off the machine and then kicked the body away. Turning towards the girl Jabberwock saw the machine’s arms were still wrapped around the tourists throat. With force the Unified hero tore the hands away.

With gasping breaths oxygen once more entered the other dark haired opened her eyes to look at her savior. “You could have left something for me to do.” With that the ladybug user landed with his Unified also activated. They’re typical red and black suit now had bits or orange mixed in and feathers in his hair. A roar alerted them to the fact that the dragon was still there.

“So you managed to get past my guards?” A voice called out from beside the dragon. Looking over they saw a young boy right next to a fantasy elf, Lord of the Ring fantasy not stop motion animation. “Well now that you’re here Cheshire I suppose it will be easy for you to call Santa for me!”

“Wait, what?” The girl blinked in confusion before turning to see an equally confused Misterbug, or whatever this new form was called.

“Shocked at me knowing?” The victim seemed to mistake her shock. “I got the information from a reliable source!”

“Yes, so you shall tell us where he is so that I may work for him!” The elf demanded as he gathered snow up to form a toy. Leaning down the elf passed the toy to the boy who brought it to life. The toy grew and expanded to become a real life pikachu. Jabberwock felt herself gulp a little as the dragon behind the two moved and prepared itself to fight.

“Well, this is going to be fun.” Misterbug responded as he fished out his yoyo leaving the fountain pen on his belt. Jabberwock just gave a nod of the head as she looked around to check to see if there was anyone in direct danger. While looking around she saw the few citizens gathered around along with tourists backing away. The girl who she had saved had backed away while Manon clung onto her mother. The cameraman was also nearby, no doubt filming everything. They would have to be careful to make sure that nothing spread out and endangered them.

Chapter Text

Kagami couldn’t believe what she was seeing. When she had come to Paris yesterday the short black haired girl couldn’t have guessed the situation she would find herself in. When she had gone out to train, the excuse/reason she had given her mother in order to get out of the house, it had only taken a few moments for her to be overrun and captured by the robots that had appeared from nowhere. Then after seeing her chance the fencer had attempted to grab her weapon only to have it broken then almost strangled to death. Now after being saved by a hero she watched as said hero with the lengthening blade fight off with great skill fought off against the great horned dragon.

“I could use some help over here!” The red, black, and orange hero yelled as he fought off against the horde of yellow rodents.

“Haven’t you combined your weapons yet?” The black and red hero shouted back while dodging out of the way of a speedy tail sweep. The dragon was deceptively fast for a being its size. Not only that but…

A loud clang was heard as her sword bounced off the hardened scales of the beast. It was clear that her weapon, even when combined as they were, was not sharp or strong enough to get through the dragon's defenses.

“How do you combine a pen and yoyo?” The other hero shouted as he jumped back from a lightning bolt. Feeling something at his back as he landed the boy turned to see Jabberwock behind him. The girl’s eyes were wide as she looked at him, then the horde of pikachus, and finally back towards the dragon who was taking a deep breath.

“Get us out of here!” Jabberwock shouted but it wasn’t really needed as the other hero was already in motion. Grabbing around her waist Misterbug sent them flying as the beam of flame shot through where they were. Jabberwock sent a kick flying to the pikachu that almost caught them. The two landed a good distance away and Jabberwock was quick to put distance between her and the ladybug user. “We need a plan or at least to try something new.”

“To start with, how about finding out how to combine these.” Misterbug held out his yoyo along with the fountain pen. “I can keep the others off you for a while.” Looking at the two weapons Cheshire passed over her weapon. She didn’t need to worry about him using it on her since the dragon was already on them.

“Have fun!” Jabberwock shouted while dodging out of the way of the attack. Misterbug kept dodging as he was now in the deep of it. The girl looked down at her two weapons and felt her mind blank at how to unify these two.

“Having trouble?” Christmaster patronizingly questioned. “How about calling for help from the big man?” Jabberwock bit her lip as her mind tried to work. Was this what Plagg had meant by her overworking herself and being able to think clearly? Glancing over at the red hero and seeing him barely managing to keep up with the dragon along with the famous pokemon. Her gut turned as she felt helpless standing here failing to combine these two. Was she going to fail Paris and everyone here because her mind refused to work!

Feeling one of her ears twitch, the girl leapt out of the way of a brown missile. Turning she saw a brown beaver like creature that her mind instantly recognized. Yet another pokemon had been created and the whiskered dragon finally felt the gears of her mind moving. Dropping the yoyo Jabberwock traced the pen along the string. As she did the pen turned into orange particles which transferred over to the string along with the yoyo.

Feeling her ears twitch again, the girl jumped into the air while letting the yoyo spin through the air. As the yoyo flew through the air it left behind an orange trail. The pokemon slammed into the newly created orange wall. The wall disappeared when the yoyo returned to her hand. Jabberwock was quick to toss up a wall preventing the pikachu’s attack from hitting Misterbug. Said hero had just blocked an attack from the dragon that resulted in him landing near her.

“Did you turn my yoyo into a Tron bike?” The blonde asked with a bit of confusion.

“I was going more for a styler from Ranger.” Jabberwock replied back with a shrug before grabbing her sword and tossing the yoyo back to its holder. While there was little proof to the thought something told that miraculous weapons would do better in their holders hands. Daring to take a glance behind her Jabberwock saw the black haired girl was helping to evacuate some of the civilians. A loud roar drew attention towards the large beast and the horde of pokemon. A new heavy sound joined the gathering revealing that a new player had joined the game.

“Where are Rena and the Purple?” Boldbug, yeah that sounds good (Jabberwock would have to run the name by him later), questioned. The black dragon watched as the heavy footsteps revealed itself to be a large robot. “We could definitely use their help.”

Jabberwock glared at the assembled group before her. They need to take care of this quickly before things get more out of hand. The more time they gave the akuma and amok the more one sided this would become. Trying to figure out an idea she shot her gaze around searching for an idea. As she was looking the girl saw Boldbug summoned his Lucky Charm. The unified weapon shot into the air with an orange streak. Her eyes narrowed as her mind went back to what it usually did, there had to be more to Unification.

Almost on its own her mind dredged up the moment when she first activated Catalyst. Reaching into the abyss of Plagg’s power she found what she was looking for. The black storm was what she needed but it would use up most of her precious kwami’s time. However the power did have a downside in its range. It would at most spread out one to two feet in front of her and be very dispersed so usually it wouldn’t be useful in this situation. Usually, however, her mind was already in motion and a small part of her worried about the possible consequences of what she was thinking about.

“What am I supposed to do with this?” Boldbug questioned while holding a snowglobe. The snow globe had the traditional ladybug print on the bottom while the inside of the snowglobe had black and red snow while the figure in the middle caused the female superhero to let out a sigh.

“I think I have a solution, so get ready. I don’t know how long I can keep up what I’m about to do.” Jabberwock solemnly told Boldbug. The boy blinked at her for a moment wondering what she had in mind. “Remember your Lucky Charm is straightforward so the object is probably related to your Charm.”

“Oh, are you going to call Santa?” Christmaster questioned with eagerness. The elf beside him stopped gathering snow and also looked in interest at what the heroes were doing.

The hero of Paris didn’t respond and instead took a calming breath. Focusing her gaze on the beings the amok creationted Jabberwock spoke. “Black Storm Dragon!”

~~~~~~~~

Knightowl blocked another hit from Batman as they continued their battle. So far the two had gone through several different martial arts forms after both had determined that they were equal in terms of weaponry. After another quick trade of blows the two broke off as Majestia slammed Superman down near them.

The kryptonian coughed up some of the dust from his crash landing. “Wow, that was a strong punch.”

“Thank you, it’s nice being able to test myself against another flying brick.” Majestia smirked as she landed. “How’s it going with you Knightowl?”

“Oh, Batman and I have put together a good working theory on how the child was akumatized.” Knightowl responded back while her opponent nodded.

“Oh, and I was thinking you two were fighting.” Superman jokes while floating up out of the crater. Batman just gave a huff while shrugging a shoulder.

“I can multitask.” Was his curt response. “As far as we can determine Christmaster was informed by his older brother's friend that Cheshire was somehow in contact with Santa.”

“Said friend was Alya Cesaire, the girl who runs the Wonderblog.” Knightowl picked up where the other left off. “No doubt the girl based her story on the fact that according to, verified, stories from orphans and various orphanage employees of said hero dropping off wrapped presents for the children.”

“Aw, how cute.” Majestia hummed with a small smile.

“Yes, well this leads to the child getting upset due to rumors about Santa not coming to Paris due to Hawkmoth.” Batman continued on. “Which leads us to now, with Christmaster demanding that Cheshire, or whatever form she has taken.”

“Yeah that makes sense.” Superman nodded before sighing. “Well that doesn’t really change the situation. We have our orders and have no choice but to follow.” Mejestia just nodded to that while rolling her shoulders.

“It is interesting that you talk as if you have no choice yet here you two still are.” Knightowl commented while bringing up an arm to rub their chin. “It might not be intentional yet you two are doing very little to try and go after Cheshire.” The two male heroes looked at each other before the red caped one shrugged.

“Mind controlled or not, we are still heroes. We don’t want to hinder her helping the city.” Superman responded back with a shake of his head. The two heroes of NY didn’t reply but Mejestia did roll her shoulder to prepare for another round. As the two got into range to fight though a loud noise was heard. They watched as the dragon became partly visible over the rooftops. The western style was roaring in anger and pain. The reason for this became obvious as a black eastren style dragon dodged a claw strike before biting down on the neck of the legendary beast. The dragon let out another roar as its scales started to fall off the beast spreading out from the bite.

“Well that’s not something you see everyday.” Majestia watched with a bit of shock. An army of robots of various sizes flew up and started launching attacks at the black dragon. This caused the black dragon to disengage from the dragon and dodge the attacks. The battle between the group started moving towards a less crowded part of the city.

A loud clang was heard near her. Turning around she saw Knightowl had blocked some thrown batarangs. “Sorry,” Batman responded when he saw the other heroes looking at him, “we have our orders.” With that the fighting began again.

~~~~~~~

Rena stood back to back with Purple as the two fought against their opponents. To say that things were going badly was an understatement. The turtles were skilled opponents and their teamwork was impeccable. Whereas Rena and Purple were not as skilled due to only having their miraculous for a couple of weeks. Then added onto it the four of them had just met so they had no teamwork to speak of. Glancing over towards Sparrow she saw the famous sidekick doing slightly better than her but it was obvious that he was starting to tire out. Uncanny Valley was trying to help support the three of them only to be blocked or distracted by one of the ninjas that were still hanging around.

“I’m open to suggestions.” Purple muttered while rubbing her ribs. Sparrow disengaged from Leonardo and jumped back to land near them.

“Can either of you use your ability to assist?” The UH hero questioned while their head swivel back and forth no doubt trying to keep track of all the black clad ninjas along with the turtles.

“I can create illusions and-” Rena began only to be cut off by Purple.

“I can gather a large amount of energy into my fist then unleash it.” The other miraculous user stated with a bit of pride. Seeing Rena and a few others giving her curious looks she shifted uncomfortably. “My kwami wants me to be more assertive.” Rena let out an understanding noise while nodding her head in understanding.

“Kwami are-” Uncanny Valley began to question what a kwami was only to be cut off by some thrown kuni.

“Stay focused.” One of the turtles, Rena thought it might have been Raphial, shouted a moment before the four mutants charged forward. It was obvious that the four were aiming to defeat them quickly. The heroes tensed ready for another round of fighting however something unexpected happened.

A western style dragon slammed down on top of two of the turtles. The beast was worse for wear and the four robots fell down on it. Looking up Rena was treated to the sight of a black eastern dragon swimming through the air tearing through more bots. A bump from her shoulder drew her attention back to Sparrow. “Stay focused, we still have the regular ninjas and the other two turtles to deal with.” Having said her piece the UH member ran towards Uncanny Valley who was still fighting. Taking one last look up Rena let out a breath before her and Purple went to help the other heroes.

Donatello brought out a remote that summoned the vehicle giving Purple the perfect target. “Rena I need cover!” Remembering

“On it! Mirage!” The fox was quick to activate her power Tigress couldn’t tell what she did but the turtles looked around in confusion.

“Clout!” Energy started pooling in her fist as she neared her objective as it started firing in random directions. As she ran though the girl saw the others taking advantage of the turtles not being able to see. The black dragon was fighting the bots while also occasionally destroying the ninjas that came near.

Arriving at the vehicle Tigress jumped up and raised her fist back. The truck met her head on but it didn’t last long. The entire thing started crumbling around where she struck. The punch was strong enough that when it was over the machine was flattened into the road. Turning around feeling a bit proud she saw that the others had taken down two of the turtles. The other two seemed to have worked out some way to see past the Mirage. Of course it was all for not when a wave of red swept past. After it swept past all the damage disappeared as usual.

“Huh, that was truly something to see.” Sparrow mumbled with a bit of awe.

“Yes I would like to see the differences between this ‘Miraculous Ladybug’ and Cheshire’s ‘Catastrophe’.” UV pondered while looking around in interest. Any further conversations were cut off as the black dragon let out a roar before flying off.

~~~~~~~

Misterbug, he really needed to think of a unified name, watched what happened with a hanging jaw. “What the heck was that!” The akuma screened in shock, seeming to agree with him. However unfortunately for him this knocked Misterbug out of his shock. The ladybug user moved to take down Christmaster. The amok seemed to jolt as they noticed the ladybug user rushing toward him. “Friend, we must focus!” While saying this the elf went down on his hands and knees to start gathering up snow.

“Huh?” The akuma questioned before noticing Misterbug charging forward “Wah!” Looking around Christmaster searched for a toy to turn real. Misterbug narrowed his eyes when he saw a shadow darting out toward him. Throwing his yoyo forward the blonde created a wall of orange light that the black snake slammed into. Swinging his yoyo again the boy trapped the snake in an orange light prison. Seeing movement Tikki’s chosen used the container to jump out of the way. Looking down Adrien saw a group of toy soldiers while his earings let out a beep.

Looking back to his Lucky Charm then around Misterbug felt his mind speeding around itself. The toy soldiers weren’t in the best shape. It is obvious that they were quickly made and he needed to take advantage of it. Starting to feel himself slipping off the wall Misterbug jumped off while a plan finally formed in his head. Landing closer to the akuma Misterbug felt the rooster’s power activate. “Sublimation! The indestructible Lucky Charm will strike everything I aim at then return to me!” With that Misterbug threw the Lucky Charm which left his hand quickly. Even as he threw it though the boy stayed in motion knowing that by putting more soldiers in his way the more the Lucky Charm would destroy.

“Hurry, Hurry, Hurry!” Christmaster shouted while looking towards the amok who was trying to form the snow sculpture needed to make a toy. Not wanting to give them any more time the blonde rushed forward dodging out of the way of another strike while his earrings blinked again.

“I am!” Misterbug shouted while throwing his yoyo. The duo barely dodged out of the way. As he caught the yoyo the ladybug user felt the Lucky Charm land in his hand. Glancing backward he saw most of the toys destroyed while the cage containing the snake started dissolving. Throwing the Charm again at the captain, Misterbug burst into motion again.

Throwing his yoyo again Misterbug managed to destroy a snowglobe and small charm attached to it. From the destroyed items came out the amok and akuma. “That’s enough evil doing from you!” Catching the infected butterfly and feather the red hero caught the Lucky Charm. “Bye, Bye little butterfly and feather.” Releasing them the boy then sent out the Cure letting everything turn back to normal. The Cure swept through the city turning some of the toys back into snow while others were swept away, no doubt heading towards the boy's home. Speaking of the boy, Adrien turned around to try and comfort him only to be beaten to the punch by Nino.

“Chris, are you alright Chris?” Walking forward Misterbug felt a smile form on his face as he watched his friend comforting his brother. A beep from his miraculous drew his attention reminding him that he needed to head out soon. Maybe he could just pull a Cheshire and visit later? A roar drew his and everyone else's attention. Jabberwock’s black dragon form flew into the air before slowly disappearing. Using this distraction to his advantage the ladybug user left to head home. He needed to talk to the kwami about what the black cat did. After all there was never a mention anywhere about combining powers like she did.

It was as he was swinging around that the female’s superheroes words from earlier bounced to the front of his brain. What did she mean by ‘... how long I can keep what I’m about to do.’ Hopefully one of the kwami knew what was going on.

Chapter Text

Rena watched the dragon leave with interest. The fact that it didn’t disappear when the cure was cast meant that the beast was made through the powers of a miraculous. But which miraculous had the power to turn into a dragon?

“Uncanny, Sparrow!” A voice from above drew everyone's attention. Looking up, the fox hero had to hold in a squeal. Majestia landed gracefully and ran up to the two sidekicks. “Are you two alright?” Rena tuned out most of their conversation as the holder of the fox miraculous tried to calm herself.

“You doing good?” Purple Tigress questioned with a chuckle. Rena shot her a look before sticking her tongue out. “Well you better get her autograph before we run out of time.” As if to punctuate the statement both of their miraculous started beeping.

Taking a deep breath Rena reached behind her and grabbed a notebook along with a pen. It had been quite interesting to learn about the hammerspace where the items she had on her when transformed were placed into. Walking up to the three Rena thought about waiting until she could politely cut into the conversation but as Purple pointed out they were both on a time limit. So with that in mind the young hero coughed into her fist to get their attention. As the three turned towards her the red head held out her notebook. “If it’s alright?”

Mejestia looked between her and the notebook for a second before giving a soft smile. “Sure thing.” Gently taking the notebook her favorite hero scrawled her signature. When she tried to pass it back Rena looked towards the two sidekicks behind her. “You two had better come over here and sign really quick.” Within moments Rena smiled at the three before frowning at hearing the beep of her miraculous.

“Well I had better head out.” Rena gave an awkward smile.

“Hopefully we can meet up later.” Sparrow commented while stepping forward. “We wanted to discuss something with you and Cheshire.” Rena’s ears twitched at hearing that. Her mind was already coming up with reasons why the heroes would want to meet up with them. But being on a tight schedule the fox hero ran off home noticing that Juleka had already left.

Alya arrived at her home a few moments before her transformation dropped. “Food, oh I’m shriveling away without food.” Trixx whined while giving a dramatic performance.

“Really?” Alya questioned while rolling her eyes.

“Eh, it works for Plagg.” Trixx commented as Alya opened up the snack drawer she had made for him.

“Plagg is Cheshire’s kwami, right?” The reporter questioned with a bit of interest in her voice all while turning her computer on.

“Yeah, he's totally obsessed with cheese.” Trixx informed her while floating above the drawer eating some chips. “He gets dramatic when hungry because he learned that Bread will give him whatever he wants.”

“Sounds like a typical cat.” Alya chuckled a little bit. While she never had a cat before it didn’t mean she didn’t know what the furry monsters acted like. Seeing that her computer was ready to go, the reporter was quick to bring up her shortcut to the Wonderblog.

“I guess that is true.” The fox hummed while watching Alya work. The girl was scrolling/watching clips when they came across a very interesting clip. “What the hell is that!”

“I didn’t know the dragon had a power like that.” Alya mumbled while replaying the clip again.

“Longg doesnt! Before you ask, neither does Plagg!” Trixx watched the clip with a knot forming in his stomach.

“Huh, maybe she combined powers somehow.” Alya thought out loud while restarting the clip. Honestly the reporter doubted it if Trixx was freaking out this much.

“Combining?” Trixx seemed to think on it for a second before shaking his head. “No, no, that’s not possible! It shouldn’t be possible!” The kwami seemed to be freaking out for a bit before taking a moment to calm themself down. “I need to talk to Bread.”

“Why do you need to talk to ‘bread’?” Alya really hoped he didn’t mean talking to a loaf of bread. That would raise, no pun intended, so many questions.

“Bread is Cheshire’s civilian identity’s nickname.” Trixx explained than shook his head when he saw Alya was going to question the name. The reporter huffed but after a moment let it go.

“So how do you plan to talk with her?”

“I was thinking maybe you could temporarily use a different miraculous for a while.” Trixx informed her with a slightly saddened expression. Alya also felt a bit saddened at no longer being able to discuss her plans with Trixx but it was clear that the fox kwami wanted, no, needed to talk with the girl. Hopefully whatever they were worrying about was unfounded.

~~~~~~

Jabberwock felt like she was being torn apart as she tried to keep herself in the Black Storm form. This form felt similar to the few moments of her being in the Catalyst form in just how powerful it felt. But it was also similar in how the power was coursing through her. It was unbelievably painful but she needed to keep it up. She needed to get away from everyone and make sure her stupid decision to combine power didn’t negatively affect her precious kwami. She would never be able to live with herself if she did something that hurt Plagg or any of the others.

The girl was near the bakery when a wave of pain swept through her entire body. Blacking out for a second both the technique and her transformations. The only good thing to come of this was that when everything came undone she only fell a short distance onto a roof. Unfortunately that meant she wasn’t at her house and was now exhausted along with in pain. Holy crap speaking of the pain it was almost in another league.

“Bread!” Plagg exclaimed with worry as he zoomed around her. Marinette let out from her position letting him know that she was awake. Well mostly awake, she was staying awake due to sheer force of will.

“Are you alright little one?” Longg questioned with her own concern apparent. The girl tried to get to shaking knees only for her to collapse back down. As if to add insult to injury one of her arms started searing in pain. “I’ll take that as a no.”

“Did you use Catalyst!” Plagg questioned and received a shake of the head as an answear.

“I can assure you that she did not use that power.” A kindly male voice responded, causing Marinette to break out in a cold sweat. Someone had seen her transformed, she had failed her kwami.

“You…” Longg trailed off in slight shock. Marinette payed it no mind though as she attempted to run away.

“Now no need for that.” The man spoke as someone started to lift her up. Marinette protested and struggled like a limp noodle. “I see that you are definitely bonded with Plagg.”

“If you hurt so much as a hair on her head.” Plagg threatened while Marinette forced her tired eyes opened.

“Come now Plagg you should know that I can’t injure a child.” The elderly man dressed in red told the kwami. Marinette felt, rather distantly, that she should recognize him but nothing was coming up. The girl kept up her struggles until Plagg landed on her shoulder and patted her head. Though he kept starring at the man. Said man took them over to where a small slay was hooked up to two reindeer. The reindeer neighed and seemed to throw a fit at their approach. “Now, now none of that.”

“I see that us kwami aren’t the only ones to still hold a grudge.” Longg commented as she too landed on Marinette who was being carefully placed in the sled.

“Yes, it is quite unfortunate but there are very few who don’t want every black cat gone.” The man commented while making sure Marinette was secured in place. “I might have been the same if she didn’t come along.” While saying that the man moved himself to the empty spot beside her. “Now come on, we need to get her home and rested up.” Grabbing the reins he was quick to send them off. Only distantly did the girl realise that they were on a roof now heading for the edge.

However, contrary to what she expected the reindeer continued on. They were now running on the air pulling the sled with them. Marinette only gave a tired blink at this but her mind was too tired to think more about it. It barely took more than ten seconds for them to arrive at her house. A moment later Marinette was in her bed. “There we go.” The girl let out a whine as a jolt of pain traveled through her. Plagg was already looking her over.

“What is going on?” Kaalki questioned while coming out of the Cube. “Fillie!” The brown kwami gasped with shock.

“What is going on?” Mullo questioned as she along with other kwami started coming out of the same Cube.

“Oh, now what is this?” The man questioned as Marinette attempted to lunge forward to prevent the man from getting anywhere near her friend's home. The girl restrained a scream as she fell from her bed.

“Bread what the hell!” Plagg shouted while flying down to check on her.

“You can’t take them from me!” Marinette’s voice came out way weaker than she wanted.

“I’m not going to take them from you.” The man reassured while watching the girl attempt to crawl to the Cube.

“You need to rest little one.” Liiri patted the girl on her head. “We know him, he can be trusted.” Marinette looked at the kwami before looking at Mullo who was intently studying her. Pollen floated down to pat her hair.

“I’m shocked and concerned that you don’t recognize him.” The bee kwami flew in front of her eyes and studied them. “I remember seeing on the TV that he has become quite popular.” The girl let out a moan and closed her eyes while trying to figure out what they were talking about.

“Perhapsss it would be best if you come back later.” Sass recommended to the red coated man.

“Yes, that would be for the best.” The old man sighed before he once more tried to help the girl to her bed however Plagg flew in between the two. The black cat didn’t say anything because the shake of his head was enough. So with a sigh the man left, leaving the kwamis to watch over the girl who seemed to lose all of her energy when the only other human left.

“Well, how are we going to get the young one into bed now?” Sass questioned as said girl seemed to fall into a deep sleep. Kaalki, Plagg, Liiri and Pollen seemed to look between them before glancing back at the snake. Said kwami let out a huff before glancing at the only two kwami who had been oddly silent. “What about you Mullo? Longg?”

Longg peaked their head out of the fruit basket where she was eating her fill. “I’m sorry but I was rather hungry.” As if in response Plagg’s own stomach growled. “I believe this is the result of the technique used by the new holder.”

“So it was Catalyst.” Mullo’s sad and distant voice drew everyone’s to her. Plagg and the others flew over to see what had the mouse so upset only for them to freeze. Upon arriving near her they saw the skin around her hand darkening.

“No, she somehow managed to combine powers.” Longg commented with a hum.

“That shouldn’t be possible!” Liiri shouted in shock. Sass didn’t comment right away though he seemed to have fallen deep in thought.

“Perhapsss the two are connected in sssome way.” The snake voiced the thought aloud. This caused the other kwami to look amoungst themselves in shock at the idea. “Catalyst wasss the power to destroy limitsss, if we were correct in our guesss. With the power having left changes on her physical appearance but perhaps there was more damage underneath the sssurface.”

“Oh, kitten.” Plagg whined as he lowered himself to pat her cheek.

Chapter Text

Adrien watched the various kwamis under his protection fly into a frenzy at the news he had just dropped. Apparently the ability to combine powers should not be possible. Keyword should be. “The cat must have done something to Longg!” Barkk stated with conviction. The other kwamis started nodding, showing their agreement.

“No, I don’t think that is the case.” Wayzz shook his head. “Young guardian could you, Tikki, and Oorako please walk us through this one more time please.” So with that the three started recounting what happened.

“Wait, why were you shocked at Cheshire having Sass?” Dazzi questioned interrupting the story.

“I was distracted at the time, you know, a whole bunch of other thoughts and things going on.” Adrien weakly defended himself. All the kwami gave him a flat look causing the blonde to sigh. “I promise it won’t happen again.”

“We get it Adrien, you are still young and inexperienced.” Tikki comforted the boy. “I wish you had time to grow into the role and responsibilities of being a guardian but that isn’t how things played out.” Adrien gave the red kwami a warm smile as he relaxed.

“Take your time young one, we will be with you every step of the way.” Wayzz joined in while patting the boy on his head. Feeling slightly better Adrien continued on with the story eventually getting to the part where Cheshire used Black Storm Dragon. Wanting to show proof Adrien went online and found a clip of the girl using the power. The kwamis all watched with slacked jaws.

“That, that can’t be possible!” Ziggy seemed on the brink of tears. “Was, was Barkk right? Did she do something to Longg?” With that Ziggy broke down into tears.

“No, I don’t think Cheshire would ever do anything to harm a kwami.” Tikki informed the other kwami with great seriousness. All the other kwami and Adrien looked over at the red kwami with interest. “Trixx called her his kit and even Mullo seemed to like her alot.” The kwami looked at each other with interest at this information except for Wayzz who hummed.

“I was there when Trixx told us his feelings about the girl.” Everyone turned toward the green kwami now. “But that now leaves the question of what happened to cause this.”

“Honestly the only way to really figure this out would be to just ask Cheshire.” Adrien sighed as he thought out loud. “Plus it would give Tikki the chance to talk to Plagg.” Of course this would be easier to do if they could set up a time somehow. Tigress would be an option but Adrien didn’t want to put her in such an awkward situation.

“If you want that to be your Christmas present then I suppose I could help.” A new voice said from behind him. Adrien spun around as adrenaline filled his veins. However when the module turned around he was left speechless.

“Santa?” Adrien questioned the mythical figure.

“Greetings new guardian.” Santa greeted with a wide and golly smile. Adrien tried to say something only to come up empty. The kwamis flew into excited chatter while flying around the man. “I was quite shocked to learn that you were made guardian.”

“How, what, when?” The new guardian questioned.

“Adrien, Santa made a deal with the Order long ago.” Tikki informed her bug with a smile. “He knew the second you became guardian.”

“What deal?” Adrien questioned with furrowed brows as his mind raced in thought.

“Not to go into too much detail but let’s just say that your little charges help me complete my task.” The man in red told the model. Seeing Adrien still a bit confused, the jolly old elf decided to explain. “If you want an example, Wayzz provides protection for when I’m moving at high speeds and from any weather conditions. Daizzi helps with knowing what kids want for christmas, so on and so on.”

“Well that does explain quite a bit.” Adrien nodded his head in understanding.

“I assume you came here to redo the blessings?” Wayzz questioned before letting out a sad sigh. “Sadly as you no doubt know Cheshire has taken some of the miraculous.”

“Yes, that is part of the reason why I’m willing to help you meet up with Cheshire.”

“That is good and all but just how are you going to set up this little meeting?” Xuppu questioned while scratching his head. “Last I remember your naughty and nice list doesn’t tell who has a miraculous. That is even if she is young enough to be on the list.”

“I won’t say too much right now due to not wanting to break her trust but let's just say I got lucky when I arrived.” With that the man started getting up. “Well I better get going, I am still a busy man.”

“Wait, I still have so many questions” Adrien attempted to stop the man only for his hand to go through them as they turned into snow. The snow easily flew out the cracks in his window and away. “Do you think any of you could explain just a little bit more?” Looking back towards the kwamis he saw them look between each other before nodding.

“As the guardian of the mother box it makes since that you should know.” Wayzz mumbled before flying towards one of the books Fu had given him. “Most of the information should be in this book.” Adrien grabbed the book while his mind wandered to just what the other heroes were doing in the city.

~~~~~~~

“This was an opportunity wasted.” Barbra muttered while watching the TV showing the akuma attack from today. Olympia sat near her wife and turned to give them a look. “Sorry, I’m just upset that none of us were able to break away to assist Cheshire against the akuma.”

“To be fair I doubt any of us could have prepared for this.” Olympia pointed at the screen which showed Sparrow and Aeon’s fight against the turtles.

“I know, it still was a shame.” Barbra leaned back against the coach. “No doubt Hawkmoth will head to ground until he knows for sure we are out of town.”

“That is assuming that he is smart.” Jess spoke up from a chair as she scrolled on her phone. “Or that he doesn’t have his own ace.”

“It could also be possible that he might attempt to akumatize one of us.” Aeon hummed in thought.

“We will have to watch each other to spot for butterflies or feathers.” Olympia hummed in thought. “It would be very dangerous for any of us to be turned.”

“Still can’t believe Cheshire is willing to work with someone like Misterbug.” Jess mumbled while putting down her phone. “The second someone tried to pull what he did in NY they would have been taken down.”

“It is actually somewhat understandable.” Barbra voiced her thoughts while leaning back into her seat. “The reason we can be more strict is due to the overabundance of heroes in the city but…”

“But Cheshire is all alone in this city.” Jess finished with a sigh. “Well she was alone until she gave up some of her power jewelry thing.”

“I believe they are called miraculous.” Aeon jumped into the conversation. “There is also Misterbugs ability to cast the ‘Miraculous Cure’.” Barbra hummed as she thought about that particular power/ability. Both of the main heroes in the city had shown the ability to restore the city back to pristine contidtion. If either of them could cast the cure without the need for capturing an akuma or amok then they would be in high demand. Honestly it was quite a shock that the government never contacted any of the heroes.

“Alright that’s enough about that.” Olympia ended the discussion while standing up. “Christmas is coming up soon and we are celebrating it in Paris so let’s have some fun.” Letting out a sigh Barbra decided that it would be for the best if she listened to her wife. Nothing would get done by running her thoughts in circles after all.

“Could we stop by Tom and Sabine’s? I want some more of their sweets.” Jess had a slight smile remembering the treats the two had made.

“Ofcourse.” Olympia agreed, no doubt wanting some of the treats for herself. “We can go tomorrow. I hear that they have a daughter around your age.”

“Alright.” Jess mumbled hoping her mom didn’t try and have her and Aeon make friends with the baker’s daughter. They had a mission and couldn’t risk being distracted. Who knew what else was happening.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Plagg sighed as his kitten stayed asleep. Some of the kwami had tried to wake her up so she wouldn’t sleep on the floor. However none of them had any success in even getting more than a little mumbling out of her. So here he was eating cheese slices and trying to decide who he really trusted to watch over pigtails so that he could get some sleep. So far the only kwamis on his list were Mullo, Kaalki, and maybe Lirri.

“Where are her parentsss at?” Speaking of kwami he didn’t trust.

“According to the texts they sent the Mayor managed to get them to come to his hotel and bake some treats for his guests.” Pollen let out a sad sigh while shaking her head.

“Of course, why would they change now?” Plagg muttered with heat.

“Plagg, why don’t you go to sleep.” Liiri recommended with concern. “You are no doubt just as tired as Longg.” The eagle kwami looked over towards the cube where the dragon had retired after eating some bloody meat.

“And leave HIM,” Plagg glanced at Sass, “alone with Pigtails? Not happening.” Lirri and Pollen looked at each other. It was obvious just how tired the black cat truly was.

“What if we didn’t leave him alone with her?” Kaalki jumped in with an idea. “I could go grab Mullo to help.” Plagg stayed silent considering it but a yawn being forced out made the decision for him.

“Fine, go grab the mouse.” With that Kaalki flew over to the new hanging dollhouse to retrieve the gray kwami. Sass watched this happen and let his thoughts wonder. He could understand why Plagg didn’t trust him but this seemed excessive. What did he think Sass was going to do? There was no way for him to contact Adrien at the moment and he wouldn’t even think about hurting her.

“We’re back.” Kaalki announced with a slightly sleepy Mullo following behind her. Plagg seemed to start rethinking changing the guard duty but he could tell that he was already about to fall asleep. So with concern still in his heart Plagg decided to compromise with himself.

“Alright wake me up if anything happens.” Having said his piece, Plagg flew near his chosen’s head and started making himself comfortable in her hair. Within a few moments the black cat was asleep.

The other kwamis waited a few more moments before speaking. “Sass, you wouldn’t happen to have any plans?”

“Plans? What type of plans?” Sass questioned while his mind searched went over the wide variety of plans he had. Honestly while Trixx was the trickster of the group Sass was the strategist of the group. Had to be if he didn’t want to overuse his power.

“Plans to get Misterbug to join our Order?” Mullo asked while tilting her head.

“Ssshe set up her own Order?” Sass questioned with a bit of interest. The kwami nodded and Sass felt like asking more questions but decided to hold off for now. “Well at the moment the biggest obstacle in the way of Misterbug joining your ‘Order’ is the lack of trust between him and Cheshire. So with that in mind the best thing to do would be to try and get them to talk it out.”

“Easier said than done sadly.” Kaalki shook her head sadly. When the other kwamis turned to look at the brown kwami she elaborated. “Cheshire tried to talk with him before at the request of Trixx. Misterbug attempted to capture Trixx and fought against her claiming that Bread corrupted Trixx.”

“Ah, ssso ssshe might be reluctant to try again?” Sass hummed before going quiet. “So any meeting between the two will be rather difficult due to the first meeting.”

“That might be a problem.” A new voice joined the conversation. Though the kwamis didn’t act shocked, after all he said he would be back. “Misterbug wants a chance for him and Tikki to talk with her and Plagg.”

“Is this true?” Pollen questioned with hope. Santa gave her a smile while also nodding. This would be huge if they could pull it off.

“But if Bread already tried then she is much less likely to want to try again.” Mullo pointed out with a bit of nervousness.

“She would do it if we asked.” Kaalki mumbled while keeping her eyes couldn’t meet with anyones. “Remember, she said that she would do anything for us.”

“Is that so?” Santa questioned with interest. “That is slightly concerning.” Sass nodded in agreement. The kwami stayed silent before Pollen spoke.

“I think we should encourage her to go to the meeting but not push it.” The bee kwami recommended. With the plan set in place Santa left a letter for Marinette telling her where to meet up if she wanted to. As he left Mullo looked down at the pup hoping that just once the world wouldn’t screw her over.

Chapter Text

It was a process waking up for Marinette. It sort of reminded her of the time after using Catalyst but this time it felt different. Like something had changed that she couldn’t put into words. However that feeling passed as she realized that she wasn’t on her bed but some hard surface. Panic flooded her as tried to remember how she got to where she was now. Memories were slow to come to her mind. She started remembering the akuma and amok that had attacked but at a certain point things just started getting blurry.

What had happened? Had she been knocked unconscious? As the thoughts raced through her mind her heartbeat did the same. Panic flooded through her as she thought of how Hawkmoth or Misterbug must have captured her.

She could vaguely hear what sounded like talking but she didn’t/couldn’t focus on them as she kept her eyes closed. She really didn’t want to open them and see Plagg gone. She didn’t want to see him disappointed. As those thoughts swam through her head a slow purr pierced through everything. It was a purr that she had rarely heard but it was one she would never forget. It took a while but the purr slowly put her at ease. It was while she was calming down that Marinette realized that at some point she had started purring. Stopping the purr and calmed down, Marinette decided to open her eyes with just a bit of hope.

Much to her relief what she saw when she opened her eyes was greeted with the calming pink walls of her room. As more and more of her room came into focus so did the kwamis who were hovering around. Pollen was the first one to approach. “Is it alright to hug you?” Not saying anything Marinette gave a nod. With that all the kwamis besides Sass flew forward and hugged her. A minute or so later Marinette moved one of her hands towards where she felt the purring coming from. Feeling the fine soft fur helped ease her heart more.

“Plagg?” Marinette called out to her kwami.

“Yeah?” Plagg responded back as the purring died down a small bit.

“What happened?” The question caused all the kwamis to freeze up. A silent conversation seemed to pass between them confusing and worrying the girl slightly. “Plagg?”

“Let it go for now.” Plagg told the girl as he patted her on the head. “There is nothing for you to worry about right now.”

“Um, actually…” Mullo awkwardly cut into the conversation. Plagg and Marinette looked at each other before looking back at the mouse. Said kwami just looked over to the desk. Walking over to the desk Marinette was shocked to see a letter. With shaking hands the holder of the cat opened it up.

The letter was pretty simple, it simply said to meet up with the writer and Misterbug at a certain place and time. Marinette had a hard time believing anything that was going on was real. “No, no, this is fake. Ha! Nice joke guys!” The kwamis gave confused/concerned looks between each other.

“What makes you think this is a joke?” Kaalki questioned the girl who’s fists tightened on the paper.

“Because, because this letter was supposedly dropped off by Santa.” Another laugh escaped her lips as she almost tore the paper in half due to how hard she was gripping the paper. “Santa, Kris Kringle, whatever, isn’t real!” Heat entered her voice as the paper started tearing.

“But he is real!” Mullo told her a bit concerned. It was obvious that the girl was breaking.

“No!” Stomping her foot she turned to glare at the kwami as the paper tore in two. “There is no way he is real! Because if he is then, then…” Marinette felt her whole body tremble as she tried to figure out how to voice out her reasons for not believing in Santa because her true reason felt so selfish. Heck just thinking of it made her feel childish.

Sass flew in front of her to draw her attention. He didn’t say anything but his sudden appearance did startle her out of her thoughts. “You never got anything from him did you?” Longg questioned with sadness.

“Yeah well, the dragon is right.” Plagg broke in with a bit of heat. “Heck I thought he was hiding just like the Order due to him not showing up.” Marinette bit her lip as she looked away from the kwamis. Were they going to judge her now that they knew her reason?

“That’s impossible!” Kaalki cried out in shock.

“Yeah Bread is a good girl! She should be getting a lot of presents!” Mullo shouted out in shock. Marinette didn’t let her guard down, still waiting for one of them to criticize her. Lecture her about being the bigger person.

Sass watched her not moving but also not saying anything. However before any more could be said Plagg vibrated a bit. “Bread got a call incoming.” Seeing a chance to change the subject, Marinette took the chance.

“Have them leave a message.” Marinette moved quickly over to her desk and dug around a bit. With a cheer she pulled out a hand sized silver disk that had glass in the center. Bringing it over to Plagg Marinette held it out to him. “Alright Plagg you know what to do.”

“Oh, what is this?” Mullo questioned with a tilt of her head. Plagg spit a wad of neon green onto the glass part of the disk. Marinette pressed a part of the metal ring. The neon green wad was absorbed by the glass and silver disk.

“This is something I’ve been working on for a while on and off.” Marinette hummed as she spun the ring and pressed on another button. “Chevron one engaged.” Muttering the last part under her breath the glass lit up showing Rena’s confused face.

“Wait, we have voicemail?” The fox hero questioned before coughing into her fist. “Hey cool cat I, well Trixx, have a kinda strange request. Trixx says they need to talk to you and suggests that you swap my miraculous for another.” Marinette felt part of herself hurt hearing Alya call Trixx’s miraculous hers. Was it bad enough that the second kwami she knew preferred someone else over her? “Let me know when you want to meet up. See you.” With that the video ended and silence settled over the room.

“I say we tell the orange fur ball tough.” Plagg offered his opinion.

“But he’s obviously worried!” Liiri shot back with a bit of sadness. He felt a bit of sympathy for the other kwami. The thoughts that must be going through Trixx’s head. Marinette flinched at the bit of guilt trip.

“So who is going with Alya?” Pollen questioned causing Marinette to freeze up a bit. Did Pollen like Alya more than her too? The black haired girl shook her head trying to rationalize that the yellow kwami hadn’t even met Alya. Looking around Marinette glanced at each kwami. They were talking amongst themselves no doubt about who would go to Alya’s. Well there were two exceptions. Plagg and Sass were both looking at her, one with a look that mixed sadness and pity while the snake and unreadable expression. Seeing that something needed to be said the pigtailed girl spoke up.

“Well, I suppose we could pick out who can goto Alya’s.” If it was what the kwami wanted she would give them what they wanted. Plagg let out a sigh and shook his head.

“Fine, let's choose who to send to the reporter.” The black cat spoke with a bit of heat.

Sass watched in silence as the group fell into discussion about who should swap with Trixx. Honestly as he spent more time with Marinette the more he began to question almost everything about the legend of the ‘evil’ black cat. Looking at the small black haired girl who seemed to shrink as the kwamis talked. Part of him wanted to see how she would react if he recommended Plagg be the one swapped. However unlike his user Sass couldn’t rewind time to avoid consequences. It would be nice talking his thoughts out with Trixx. Sass

“Alright it's decided then, Mullo shall be the one to go.” Liirii announced the end of the discussion. “Great, now we have that settled, let's discuss the other matter.”

“You mean the backstabber wanting to meet up?” Plagg gritted out the kwami looked over to where his chosen was. Looking back to the others Plagg continued on. “We are not discussing that or anything else today.”

“But we need to inform them of our decision.” Kaalki pointed out.

“No we don’t. They are asking us to meet up so we can decide when, where, and anything else!”

Seeing that things were going to keep going like this Sass decided to get things going. “I agree with Plagg. We can anssswer Misterssbug and Sssanta later. For now we need to get Trixx.” With his peace said, Sass also glanced over to the only human in the room. She had curled in on herself making herself small. “Do you want to do thisss today or would you rather wait for tomorrow?”

The other kwami had fallen silent as they seemed to notice the state of the girl. “We’ll do it today.” While saying this Marinette slowly stood up and walked over to the Cube.

“Are you sure?” Pollen questioned with concern. The pigtailed didn’t say anything as she pulled out Mullo’s miraculous.

“Plagg Claws Out.” The kwamis really hoped things would calm down.

~~~~~~

Gabriel rewound the video for what had to be the hundredth time. “There is no other way to interpret it sir.” Nathalie’s voice cut through the man’s thoughts.

“I agree.” Gabriel nodded as he put down the tablet. Turning towards the two kwami he eyed them with interest. “It seems that there is a way to combine two miraculous powers.”

“We told you master, it shouldn’t be possible!” Nooroo protested as Duusu added in their agreement.

“Yet the proof to the contrary is in front of us.” Gabriel motioned towards the tablet which was paused on the form of the ‘Black Wind Dragon’. “And if it can be done once than it can be done again.”

“We must be cautious going forward.” Nathalie offered up a warning. “I believe it would be best if we take some time off from this project.”

“That does seem to be the best.” Gabriel let out a chuckle as he imagined the heroes reaction to Hawkmoth’s disappearance.

“Good because we have some upcoming projects.” Nathalie was quick to send him some files. “Miss Tsurugi has got you the translation application we asked for.” Gabriel felt like laughing at the good news but it seemed like Fate wasn’t done smiling on him as a notification popped up on his tablet. Looking down he saw that it came from the museum which was informing select members about the upcoming exhibit. An exhibit he had been rather interested in for a while. Especially since Nooroo’s tale of it.

“Nathalie please have Duusu confirm whether or not this is the amok they mentioned.” Sending the link to his assistant Gabriel leaned back in his chair. Things were taking an interesting turn. How else would things change in the future?

Chapter Text

Aeon hummed to herself as she watched over Paris. The secret sidekick knew that there was a high chance of Cheshire coming out to check up on the victim. So not needing to sleep or rest the android watched for any sign of the hero.

As she watched the city her thoughts began to wander. After teaming up with the foreign hero a lot of thoughts had been going through her mind. First had been the invisible being who gave her power. The one she could not see. When the fighting had died down Uncanny Valley had asked her sister about what it was and was shocked to learn about the being. It was beyond shocking to her that there was something she, the most advanced Android, couldn't see.

However, it was even more shocking to her that only a few days after meeting the cat hero that these magical beings started streaming. Streams that she could watch. It was incredible to finally be able to see the kwamis that her sister had described to her. But it was also while watching the streams that Aeon can to a rather startling yet obvious retaliation. Cheshire had somehow found a way to record magic. The ability to use magic was beyond rare but not unheard of and in the few encounters Uncanny has had to face her inability to see magic has always been a major hindrance. But now there was a way to fix that weakness along with getting a recruit.

As she scanned the rooftops her background processors had finished going through searching for Cheshire’s civilian identity. While she had seen the girl only once Aeon had made sure to record her appearance. The search results can back negative, again. This confused the android greatly. It had taken less than a few minutes for her to find Rena and Purple’s identities. Yet here she was in Paris accessing their servers yet nothing was coming up. Either Cheshire’s civilian identity had no social media presence or Aeon was under the effects of a stronger quantum masking.

The stronger masking effect could be chalked up due to the cat-themed hero wielding three miraculous during when she encountered her. That then brought out the question of how many miraculous did it take before her ability to see through the masking effect of them. Would she be able to see through Misterbug’s masking seeing as he had started wearing two miraculous recently?

As these thoughts were going through her head Aeon’s eyes were able to pick up movement. Returning her attention to her task the foreign hero followed the figure from above. The superhero was quick to figure out that the figure they were tracking was Cheshire who was carrying a bag. Taking a second to double-check and confirm that it was the French cat hero Aeon contacted the others to let them know that she had found the cat. Putting the chatter of her family on the back burner the android noticed Cheshire stop on a roof.

Wondering why the hero stopped Uncanny approached slowly. Just as the American hero was about to announce her presence only to stop and watched as Rena appeared on the roof as well.

~~~~~~~

“Thanks for responding so quickly, Trixx was freaking out.” The silver fox hero said as they landed on the roof. Alya had been shocked when Cheshire had responded not even thirty minutes later.

“No problem,” Cheshire responded with a smile. “The kwami talked among themselves after we got your message and they came to a decision.” While saying this the black cat moved her hand behind her back and pulled out a black box with a green paw print on it. “This is the miraculous of the mouse. Please take good care of them.”

“I will,” Rena reassured as she took the box. Opening the box she watched as a small gray ball flew out of it before forming into a mouse-like being.

“Hi Rena, I’m Mullo. It is very nice to meet you!” The mouse greeted her with a big smile.

“It’s nice to meet you too.” Rena greeted back with a smile. She moved to place the pendent on only to be stopped by Cheshire.

“You are not ready to wear two miraculous yet.” Lowering the pendent the redhead nodded with a sigh. “Go behind the air conditioner, it should let you be unseen.” Doing as instructed Rena de-transformed back into Alya.

“Hey, Trixx, how are you doing?” Mullo greeted Trixx happily.

“Oh, Mullo you're the one trading places with me?” The orange fox questioned with interest. Mullo gave an affirmative answer before looking back toward Alya. Knowing what the kwami was saying Alya took the necklace off.

“See you later Trixx.” Alya gave the fox a somewhat sad smile.

“Don’t worry Alya it shouldn’t be too long.” Trixx smiled at the reporter. “I’ll be back before you know it.” Nodding in agreement the girl placed the fox miraculous inside the box that formerly held the Mouse. With the closing of the box, Trixx turned into an orange ball that flew inside the box. Placing the mouse on she was quick to transform after getting the transformation phrase. Not putting much thought into her suit the reporter just let it form.

Stepping out from behind where she was hiding Mouse blinked when she saw the blank look on the other hero’s face. It was as if she was trying to hide something. She should know, she had seen it constantly on her best friend’s face. “Alright well here is her bag.” With that, the black cat handed over a bag that she had been caring for and also cut off Alya’s thoughts.

“Oh, um, thanks.” Mouse took the bag while regretting not bringing Trixx’s bag to return. She wanted to question the other hero about the look on her face but also felt like she shouldn’t ask. After all, this was the hero of Paris! Surely if she were having a problem then the girl would tell her.

“Excuse me but is something wrong?” Mouse blinked and for a moment had to wonder if she voiced out loud her question. However, it was cleared up when Uncanny Valley landed not far away. Cheshire had frozen up for a brief moment before sliding into an easy relaxed stance.

“Oh nothing really, we were just swapping miraculous.” Cheshire waved the sidekick off with a bright smile.

“Oh, why were you doing that?” Mouse spun to face the new voice and almost let out a shriek at seeing Majestia descend. Meeting her idol twice in one day, she had to be dreaming!

Cheshire felt like screaming but was quick to push that emotion down for Marinette to deal with later. What were these two doing here? Why now? Was today not taxing enough? “Trixx, the fox kwami, needed to talk to me.” The hero explained while trying to keep herself from showing any weakness. She had no idea why the American heroes were here but her mind was quick to come up with some of the worst reasons. The reasons ranged from them somehow knowing her identity thus rightly deeming her incompetent to finding out the history of the black cat so they decided that she must be just as evil as all the others.

“What a coincidence, we wanted to talk to you too.” Uncanny hummed while walking closer. The black cat had to put a bit of work into keeping a relaxed appearance up. Her eyes flew between the two other heroes trying to keep an eye on both of them. The silver-clad hero stopped and tilted her head in slight confusion. “Are you sure everything is alright?”

The black-haired girl froze for a bit. Was she letting too much of her anxiety show? Part of her wanted to relax and show that she was alright but after being stabbed in the back so many times there was no way she would or could do that. Thoughts raced through her head but before she could say anything yet another voice interrupted.

“Oh, Cheshire! It’s good to see…” The one who interrupted had a jolly voice while revealing himself as a man pretending to be Santa. He wore the stereotypical red coat, a white bushy beard, and a slightly big belly. “Is it a bad time?” The faker let out a chuckle that shook his whole body.

“Who are you?” Majestia questioned while lifting slightly off the ground.

“I would have thought that was obvious.” The old man replied with a smile. Cheshire saw some movement and her eyes darted to it and saw Uncanny Valley moving closer to the wannabe mall Santa. Darting her eyes to the last member of the group the cat saw Mouse tilting her head. “Or did you not like the firefighter Barbie I gave you on your fifth Christmas?” That seemed to take the adult hero off guard. Uncanny finally made it to the man. “Can I help you?”

Not paying attention to him, UV poked the red-suited man’s belly. “You are real!” the girl muttered in shock while backing up. Spinning the sidekick ran to the hero. “My optical sensor is having a hard time looking at him. I do not believe him to be human yet my emotions are telling me that he is harmless.” The sidekick was saying this so quietly that Cheshire was sure that if she didn't have super hearing then she wouldn't have heard what the girl had said.

Majestia took the information in with a frown. “So Santa, can I call you that?” Getting a nod from the man she continued. “So Santa what can we do for you?”

“Oh, well I came to ask Cheshire something.” The white-bearded man replied with a light chuckle. Turning towards said hero he met her eyes. “Will you agree to meet up with Misterbug?”

Cheshire tried to hide her reaction but inside she was screaming and stomping her foot. Why, why in front of the other heroes? Why in front of Mouse? Why now when she just wanted to lie down and cuddle with the kwamis. Feeling one of said kwami patting her from where they were hidden in her hair Cheshire came to a decision. “Pollen can we trust him.”

“Of course, he has worked alongside us kwami for a long time.” The bee kwami poked out of her hair. The other heroes blinked in shock at the sudden appearance of the kwmai.

“What is everyone looking at?” Well most of them did. It seemed for some reason Uncanny couldn’t see the kwami.

“If anybody could help you settle things between you and Misterbug then it has to be him!” Pollen continued making Cheshire’s stomach drop. Why did she keep talking, why did Pollen have to inform everyone?

“Thank you for the vote of confidence.” ‘Santa’ let out a laugh while the others on the roof seemed to process her words.

“Wait, ‘settle things between you and Misterbug’?” Mouse muttered with wide eyes. Majestia informed UV about what Pollen had said. “Is this happening?”

“Can you confirm that Plagg will have a chance to talk to Tikki?” Not wanting to deal with everyone questioning her Cheshire cut to chase.

“I will make sure it happens.” The man impersonating Kris Kringle gave her a nod. “When do you want to meet up with them?”

Why was he making her decide? Before her mind could spiral anymore Cheshire shoved it all down for Marinette to take care of. But seeing that she would need to answer the holder of the black cat came to a decision. “Two days from now.”

“Oh, right after Christmas? Thank you for still letting me work.” Ignoring the poor attempt at humor Cheshire turned back toward Mouse.

“I’m going to the orphanages tomorrow. You don’t have to come but call me if you want to help.” Having said her peace Cheshire ignored the American heroes as she left because she just couldn’t right now. Right now she just wanted to get home so Marinette could deal with everything Cheshire had been shoving down.

Chapter Text

Adrien took a deep breath to steady himself. “So what I’m trying to say is that I’m sorry.” Green eyes met green cat eyes and Adrien let out a sigh. “So can you forgive me?”

“Of course, Misterbug here are all the miraculous I've stolen. You can have them back.” The voice can from a little behind where Cheshire was but Adrien sighed all the same.

“You guys are supposed to give me constructive criticism, not play-act.” Dazzie flew from where she was hiding behind the paper cut out of the feline hero.

“Well if you wouldn’t mind a bit of criticism.” Wayzz offered with a bit of a chuckle in his voice. Adrien gave the kwami a nod to which the green kwami flew over to where he had set up a camera to record his apology. Following Wayzz, Adrien watched him rewind it to the beginning of his apology. It took only a small amount of time for Adrien to realize what he had done wrong.

The model watched himself seem to stutter and not talk before delivering his last line. With a whine, the blonde-haired boy slumped to the ground. “Don’t give up Adrien, maybe we should try another way,” Tikki suggested while patting him on his shoulder.

“What other way?” He asked with a somewhat dull voice. “I tried writing a script, tried typing it out, and now it appears I can’t even try to speak from the heart!” It had been after a bit of studying a random thought came to him. What would he say to Cheshire when they met up? So with that in mind, he tried to figure out what to say to her. The key word is ‘try’. At first, the model had sat down in front of the computer for nearly an hour staring at the blank document with nothing coming to mind. Not getting any progress on that front he had gotten out a pen and paper to write down his apology. After another hour with still nothing the kwamis recommended just speaking from the heart. Which lead to the situation he was in now.

“You could always base your apology around previous expenses!” Ziggy recommended eager to appear helpful. The remaining kwami and guardian looked at the goat in confusion. “I mean you must have apologized before.” At this, the other kwami looked at their guardian who looked off to the side awkwardly.

“Well, not really… My father told me that Agrestes should never apologize because: ‘Agrestes are never wrong’. Mostly though I think he doesn’t want to appear weak.” Heck looking back on it Adrien could easily see how his father kept him out of positions that would have put him in a position where he could have gotten into controversy.

“What about Marinette?” Orikko questioned. “Didn’t you apologize to her about your teammates?” At that comment, Adrien flopped forward and let out a long drawn-out moan.

“I take it that you haven’t apologized yet,” Barkk commented.

“I haven’t apologized to her about a lot of things.” The boy’s reply was muttered into the floor.

“Well, at least you apologized to her about the gum incident.” Tikki attempted to comfort him.

“Tikki,” Looking up from the floor the chosen of Tikki looked at the blue-eyed kwami with sad green eyes, “was that a good apology?” The ladybug kwami was slow to answer making his heart plummet. “Please, Tikki I need to know what I did wrong.” Tikki let out a sad sound before turning to the other kwami who gave her a nod.

“Well… it came off more like you were justifying yourself and Adrien you didn’t even say you were sorry.” Tikki started off sounding unsure but grew in confidence as she spoke. “Heck, you didn’t even go out of your way to approach her. Add on to that when Chloe came out and humiliated her you didn’t stand up for her! She ran away crying and all you did was stand there!” A touch on her shoulder drew the red kwami out of her thoughts.

“I think the guardian gets the idea,” Wayzz told the other kwami who looked back toward a very defeated Adrien.

“You let her leave while crying?” Daizzi questioned with sadness. “I thought you liked her.”

“I do,” The model whined from where he was laying.

“Why?” Xuppu asked while tilting his head. “It sounds like you two haven’t been able to interact.”

Adrien paused to think over his feelings for Marinette. “Well if I’m being honest then I guess I’m attracted to her strength and kindness.” Seeing the confusion on the kwamis faces Adrien continued. “Tikki already told you about how she was the one to approach me right?” Letting a small smile appear on his face Adrien continued. “She didn’t have to approach me, heck knowing what I do now I wouldn’t blame her if she never approached me. But she did and she let me explain myself! She also lent me the umbrella that she spent time designing!” While saying this he glanced over to where the umbrella was being kept. “Then on my birthday, she was one of the two people to personally give me a present. Which is extra shocking considering Chloe came out and started yelling at her.”

“Oh, who was the other?” Xuppu questioned curiosity clear in their voice and seemingly ignoring the last sentence.

“My father made me a scarf,” Adrien replied with pride. Seeing no harm Adrien moved over towards his closet where it hung. The other kwamis flew around examining the scarf. “I hadn’t been at school for that long yet she still made me those treats.” A smile found its way onto his face at remembering the event and the treats.

“How did you thank her?” Orikko questioned while looking at one part of the scarf in particular. Hearing a noise the kwamies turned to see that their guardian had fallen onto his face.

“You didn’t did you?” Xuppu questioned sounding slightly disappointed.

“I didn’t, Chloe came by and tried to throw the present out,” Adrien said with a tired voice.

“You also didn’t thank her for lending her umbrella to you?” Xuppu added on causing Adrien to try to sink further into the floor. Seeing that as answer enough the monkey shook their head. “Here I was thinking you were better than Kim.” Upon hearing this Adrien looked up slightly offended.

“How am I as bad as Kim!?” Adrien questioned as his mind went over the conversation he had been having. Just thinking about the other boy got Adrien’s mind to go over what he knew/saw from the athletic boy. As King Monkey he was always quick to fight to fight with Cheshire. Even back when Misterbug wanted to fight the cat he could admit that KM chose some of the worst times to fight her. Heck, he even attacked her during an akuma attack! Honestly, he didn’t know if KM was dedicated to fighting the cat to retrieve Max’s miraculous or trying to impress Chloe who Kim knew was Queen Bee.

Speaking of Queen Bee, it reminded Adrien that Kim had not only known Chloe wasn’t chosen for that miraculous but helped in the stealing of it. Adrien had done no doubt Kim also took part in the bullying of Marinette! It made him doubt if Marinette actually dropped out of the UMS competition! Now Xuppu was saying he was as bad as him.

“Well, to start with you let Chloe bully the girl right after she was kind enough to lend you her umbrella.” Xuppu started listing things off. “From the sounds of it, you didn’t stand up for her while Chloe bullied her right in front of you.”

“I was shocked due to how she was acting?” Adrien weakly tried to defend himself.

“What did you do after getting over your shock?” Dazzie questioned innocently. “Did you run after the girl to comfort her?” Not getting a response from the boy the pink kwami looked at him in disappointment.

“Did you at least confront Chloe?” Ziggy hesitantly questioned sounding slightly unsure of herself.

“I,” Adrien felt like a part of himself was rocked to the core by this conversation. Guilt started welling up as he thought over everything. Why hadn’t he confronted Chloe after that first time? Heck, why didn’t he confront her about any of the other times?! Wait no he did confront her once after she took Alix’s watch. Does that even count? A small part of himself questioned. After all, all he did was shout at her. He didn't even reprimand her afterward.

“Uh, young guardian, I am a bit confused by your father’s gift.” The rooster spoke up while flying around the scarf.

“What is confusing about it?” Wayzz questioned flying over to the other kwami.

“Well, I was just wondering where his father’s signature is.” At the orange kwamis comment, Adrien felt a bit of confusion. His father’s signature was a butterfly design that was always promptly displayed. After a second he had to blink at not seeing it. “I mean there is this but I don’t think that is his father’s signature.” While saying this the rooster drew everyone’s attention to a design on the scarf. It was so beautifully woven that it was only now that it was pointed out that he could see it. See the flower design that was in no way related to his father.

“That isn't his signature.” Tikki pointed out to the other kwamis as Adrien felt more of his worldview rocked. After all, if this wasn’t his father’s then who did it belong to, and why did they let his father take the credit for the gift? With a few steps, he soon arrived at his bed where he then fell back onto his bed. What the heck was going on? So many things had suddenly appeared on his plate that Adrien felt a headache forming.

“Alright so first I need to apologize to Cheshire, for basically everything.” Deciding to start listing the things that needed to be done Adrien started with the most pressing.

“I do not think the Cheshire situation is as pressing as you are making it.” Wayzz cut in trying to soothe the guardian. “I’m sure that it will take some time for the meeting to be set up and even then I’m sure Cheshire will choose to give herself a few weeks to also prepare herself for the meeting.” Nodding at the logic Adrien felt himself relax a little. “However, the situation with Marinette…”

With that single sentence, the guilt came crawling back. It felt like the guilt had razor-sharp claws formed up of each one of the incindents he had with the girl. What are we doing with Marinette? That question from his Librated self also came forward to help the guilt in tormenting him.

“Maybe we could instead focus on figuring out who gave you the scarf?” One of the kwamis questioned.

“What’s this about a scarf?” A new familiar voice questioned. Turning his head Adrien was only slightly shocked to see Santa. “I’m sorry if now is a bad time but I need to talk with you.” Now curious Adrien turned to look at the white bearded man. “I met with Cheshire and she has agreed to meet in two days.” The guilt that had been tearing into him was suddenly crushed by a dump truck of anxiety.

Adrien felt himself go completely stiff. Two days? Two days! How was he supposed to figure out his apology in just two days?! A hand on his shoulder drew his attention to Santa who gave him a sad look. “Do not worry, I will be there to help.” While this did relieve some of the anxiety it did not relieve all of it. Heck, why did she choose the day after Christmas? “I also have to inform you that Majestia, Knightowl, Sparrow, Aeon, and Rena will also be there.” With that more anxiety was added on to his already growing pit. It took close to half an hour for Santa to calm him down. Sadly the man couldn’t stick around for too long due to needing to deliver presents. With that, he was gone.

Adrien lay on his bed feeling numb as he processed everything. “Um, guardian?” Turning the green-eyed boy saw the kwami staring back at him. “Who are the others that Nicholas mentioned?” While looking at them Adrien wondered what Cheshire was thinking inviting so many people. No, that didn’t seem like her. From what he knew the girl was paranoid and didn’t seem to trust easily. Meaning it was likely that the other heroes invited themself along.

It might not have been obvious at first but it became so when he thinks about her handing out the miraculous under her control. It made sense when she had only two miraculous but after getting Kaalki’s miraculous she had the chance to get a teammate. Cheshire eventually gave the horse miraculous to Alix but the fact it took her weeks to do so said something about the cat’s trust issues. Trust issues that he as Misterbug played a part in. Ignoring the guilt that quickly came back even stronger than before Adrien tried to keep his thoughts in line but failed miserably.

“Tikki can you use the computer to show the others who the UH heroes are? I think I need some sleep.” The red kwami gave him an affirmative answer and flew off to take care of informing the others about the superheroes. Laying on the bed Adrien tried his best to relax but the guilt along with anxiety regarding Marinette warred with the guilt and anxiety of Cheshire. So it wasn’t very shocking that his sleep that night was horrible.

Chapter Text

Trixx let out a yawn as he woke up. Shaking off some cobwebs the fox opened his eyes to see himself in an old abandoned building. “What the?” The fox questioned while looking around the city wondering what program Bread had running. The small room he was in had two doors, multiple monitors, a metal fan, and an old-looking phone.

“Hello, hello, can you hear me?” A prerecorded voice that Trixx recognized spoke out of the phone. “Listen I don’t know how you got there but you need to listen if you want to get out safe.”

“I’m going to need to talk to Mullo about her revenge plans.” Trixx muttered as he flew out of the office. “Sorry mouse but I got a kit to talk to.” While rounding the corner he came across a purple anthropomorphic rabbit. “Um, hi?” Within a few seconds, Trixx remembered why Mullo was arguably the second-best strategist among the mother box. It took him over half an hour to get past everything that Mullo had set up. The orange kwami hoped that the recording app wasn’t set up because some of his losses were embarrassing.

Oh, who was he kidding Mullo no doubt had the recording set up. That mouse could be vindictive when she wanted to be. It was obvious that she was still holding a grudge from when she first arrived.

Oh well, it was still worth it. Only regret was not recording it to laugh about later.

“Ah, Trixx I sssee you have made it through Mullo’sss game.” Sass’s voice startled the fox kwami.

“Sass? When did you get here?” Going through his memory the orange kwami tried to figure out when Marinette got ahold of the miraculous.

“A little after the Zookeeper amok.” The snake replied with a calm voice. “If you have sssome time I would like to get your thoughtsss regarding sssome quessstionsss I’ve been having.”

Part of Trixx wanted to hear what the snake had questions about but his concerns regarding Marinette rose back up at the reminder of Zookeeper. “Sorry, snake I need to check on the kit.” He flew out of The Cube and into his kit’s room. Looking around Trixx’s stomach dropped at not instantly seeing the girl. It continued to fall when he heard a retching noise from the bathroom. Flying as fast he could the kwami came to a halt when he saw Marinette lying down on the bathroom floor curled into a tight ball while a stuttering purr came out of her. “What happened?” The fox’s question came out with a heavy amount of fear.

“Just another stupid old man pushing what he wants.” Plagg sneered from the countertop where he was watching the girl. Looking at him Trixx figured the cat would have preferred being in direct contact with the girl.

“I’m sure Santa just wants the best for her.” Pollen commented from where she was hovering near the girl.

“Santa?” Trixx questioned looking around for some type of explanation.

“Yes, Santa came into contact with the girl and has orchestrated a meeting between Cheshire and Misterbug.” Longg explained from where she was sitting near Marinette. Trixx floated in stunned silence for a long moment. Looking toward Kaalki and Liiri for confirmation the two offered their agreement.

“Sadly the young queen felt pressured by him confronting her.” Pollen let out a sigh while looking down. “I do not know if it was due to her poor health or the mental strain but she agreed to meet up in two days.”

“Two days!” Trixx yelped in shock. How could something like this happen?! When did this happen?!

“I’m shocked you're not bouncing off the walls in joy.” Plagg spat at the fox. “Bread is going to meet up with the guardian! Isn't this what you wanted!” While saying this Plagg’s voice continued to rise. He would have no doubt continued if not for Liiri flying between the two.

“Plagg you must calm down.” Liiri pleaded to the black cat. “We must keep our voices down or risk disturbing the hatchling.” While a bit unhappy Plagg did back off a bit.

“If it isss alright then would you two mind talking to me?” Sass questioned from near the group of three. “I feel like what I have thought of to be talked about.” Trixx went quiet at that. Sass rarely pressed on a topic so if he was pressing on this…

“Alright, I suppose I need to wait for the kit to wake up before I can talk to her.” Trixx tried to act casual but between his worry for the girl and now Sass pressing on some mystery topic had him twitching. Turning the fox saw Plagg not being as good at hiding his worry. The black cat’s tail was lashing out while he looked around the room.

“Plagg,” Kaalki lightly spoke to him, “she will be okay. The rest of us shall watch her.” The rest of the kwami in the room gave their nods of agreement. While he didn’t verbally respond Plagg did nod to Sass. With the acknowledgment given Sass flew out of the room and lead the others into The Cube.

“Do not worry I have already turned off any recording feature ssso we ssshould be good,” Sass informed the two other kwami.

“So what do you want to talk about?” Trixx questioned with interest.

“Wel,l asss I wasss watching the girl a thought came to me.” Sass began while floating down so he could be sat on a chair. “How many other cats have been just like her? How many were heroes that the Order demeaned as evil?”

“None,” Plagg responded with a flat tone. At the look, the other two kwami gave him Plagg gave them a flat look. “None of them were innocent.”

“But did any of them ssstart good?” Sass pressed much to Trixx’s confusion.

It took a few moments for Plagg to respond. “There might have been a few.“ Sass gave him a look asking for more information. With a sigh, Plagg took another moment to think. “I can’t remember too much. While a few of them might have started good it at most lasted one, maybe one and a half months at most. Even then I barely got any food or care of me.”

After a long moment of silence, Trixx pressed since Sass wanted to know something. “So what caused them to turn evil?”

After another moment of thought Plagg started again. “About half got drunk on the power I gave them. They indulged in their desires and got drunk on them.” Plagg took a bit longer on the next part. “The other half were beaten down by life and so they just decided to lash out and get revenge on those who wronged them.”

“I sssee.” Sass nodded while seeming deep in thought.

“What are you thinking snake?” Trixx questioned while he felt his worry twist and turn.

“I have recently began questioning the caussse of the Legacy of the Black Cat.” Sass began while taking his typical thinking position. “After ssseeing Marinette I began questioning about past holdersss of Plagg and if any of them might have been good or misssunderstood. However it ssseemsss that while I was partly right sssomething elssse has been going on.”

“Going on?” Trixx questioned while tilting his head. “What do you mean ‘going on’?”

“Come now Trixx you must have realized sssomething was going on.” The snake kwami turnedd to the fox. “Plagg hasss had nothing but evil usssersss and now we have learned that the few good onesss he had haven become drunk on power or ssstruck back at the world that wronged them.” Looking towards Plagg Sass saw him give a nod conferming what they said. “Which makesss them not that different then Marinette.” At that last sentence Plagg felt like he was hit in the guts.

“How dare you say that!” Plagg hissed out as he felt the hit to his gut turn to anger.

“He’s not wrong though.” Trixx muttered not sounding happy. Plagg turned to Trixx and falttered for a moment at seeing a confused/conflicted look on the fox’s faces. “Think about it Plagg, the evil blonde brat has made her life hell.”

“Yesss, I had asssked about the life of the girl in the posssesssion of my miraculous and what I learned was quiet ssshocking.” Sass muttered as he tapped his chin. “The extent to which the former folder of Pollen has tortured her hasss given the girl more then enough reassson’s to lasssh out.” A silence fell over the group as what he said sunk in. “Ssspeaking of which do either of you happen to know why ssshe hasn’t lassshed out.”

After another momont of silience Trixx looked over toward Plagg. “Did you say anthing to her?” At the question the other two kwami gave him a look. “Don’t give me that look, you know the kit would do anything to please you.”

Plagg blinked but grumbled under his breath. “I never told her not to lash out or get revenge. Heck I would be cheering her on if she decided to show that brat her place.” Tapping his chin Plagg thought back trying to think of anything only for one thing to pop up. “Well there was that time I finally told her about the miraculous.”

“What do you mean ‘finally told her’?” Trixx questioned tilting his head in confusion.

“I didn’t intially tell her about the powers of the miraculous.” Plagg clarified while his tail twitched in agitation. He wasn’t mad at Trixx, no he was mad at his paranoid past self. “I was concerned about her being corrupted just like the others.” Taking a few seconds to reign himself in Plagg contunied. “Anyway as I was telling her about the miraculous I told her that the miraculous is supposed to protect humanity.”

“I sssee,” Sass mumbled while nodding. “That has shed some light on why she is so devoted to being a hero.”

“You think she is a hero because I told her about the purpose of the miraculous?” Plagg questioned, sounding very doubtful.

“I believe that it played a sssmall part in her development into being a hero.” Sass elaborated on his original statement.

“So what is with all these questions?” Trixx asked, hoping to get Sass to say why he had dragged them away from the kit.

“Like I sssaid I began questioning the Legacy of the Black Cat not only if some of them were good but alssso why all of them were evil and enimes of the Order.” Sass took a moment so his next sentence would have the impact he wanted. “But now with the extra information we know that the unverssse was out to force the Black Cat into that role.” Plagg and Trixx were stunned quiet as there thoughts clashed against each other.

“But, what,” Trixx finally spoke out before taking a deep breath, “alright let me work through this.”

“That might be hard for you to do sssince you are still part of the old Order.” Sass pointed out much to the fox kwamies confusion. “That was yet another reason as to why I became so doubtful about the Legacy. Becuase I couldn’t have any of these thoughts until I joined the new order that the girl made.” Trixx seemed to stare off into space as his mind went over what Sass had just said.

“When did you join Bread’s order?” Plagg questioned.

“It wasn’t that long after Mullo informed me about the girl making her own order. Being curious about such a thing I decided to join it and see what had Mullo so dedicated to this girl.”

Trixx took in this information with a hum as things started clicking in place only for something to stop the picture from forming. “Yup, definitely noticing it now.”

“This raisssesss the question of what isss happening.”

“I think it is rather obvious,” Trixx responded before a glow of color swept over him. Plagg blinked before realizing what happened. Thanks to the open invitation given to the kwamies they could join his kitten’s order whenever they wanted. “If we can’t blame poor luck and it is clear that Plagg isn’t corrupting his users then it has to be something strong enough to alter fate and effect even us kwami. As far as I know there is only one thing that is that strong. The Wish.”

At Trixx’s announcement Sass and Plagg went quiet. “The Wish, I can vaguely remember it.” Plagg mumbled as he tapped on his chin. “The Order Wished for more miraculous and prosperity.”

“Yeah that sounds about right.” Trixx nodded along with what Plagg said.

“That would mean that as payment for The Wish wasss Plagg and for whoever picked up the ring to alwaysss be enemiesss of the Order,” Sass concluded with a nod.

“I wonder if that is why we were able to believe that Plagg was corrupted and affecting anyone who held his ring. The Universe itself was causing it.” Trixx nodded along as he thought back to the times when the kwamies would spend hours debating among themselfves about weather or not Plagg was evil and corrupting his users as the Order decalered was the truth. Tikki was the most firdent about her other halfs innocence and Trixx gave her credit for holding out as long as she did. However with the death of each holder and chossen the kwami found it easier to believe. Even Tikki eventually broke after loosing so many of her bugs along with a few cats making her watch as they killed the ones Tikki cared about the most.

However to chalk it all up to just the consequences of The Wish, it made everything feel so shallow…

“Thossse are quessstionss for another time becuassse we have a presssing issue.” Sass broke through Trixx’s thoughts with a firm voice. “If what beleive is true then the consiquencesss of The Wish would never allow for Plagg’s holder or chosssen to work with the Order.” At that statement everything went quiet. Trixx didn’t know how much time passed in silence as all three of them thought over what could happen in the near future. The near futuere of two days…

Chapter Text

Plagg wanted to hiss and yowl at the universe. After the conversation with Sass and Trixx, he and the fox went to work and immediately informed the other kwami about what they had found out. To say that the others were shocked would be an understatement. It took over an hour to fully inform the others and get them to calm down. Part of Plagg was very happy that they were upset on his kitten's behalf. However, that wasn’t the problem.

The problem was that telling Bread was probably going to be more challenging than expected. For starters, Sass had brought up just not telling her. He argued that even if she knew it wouldn't change anything or perhaps the universe would attempt to make things worse. After all, the universe wanted a fight and it would get one.

A groan from the girl interrupted any further debate. The kwami looked at each other while blue eyes blinked open. “What?” Marinette’s raspy voice questioned. Exactly what she was asking had the kwami had no idea.

“Marinette,” Kaalki flew forward in concern, “fillie we need to talk.” Marinette blinked at her before closing her eyes to think. The brown kwami was content to wait until she had the girl’s attention. When she opened her eyes the horse kwami moved to speak only to be interrupted.

“Right, I need to talk to Alix.” Marinette nodded with a sigh. “I, I just didn’t.” The black-haired girl tried to speak only to stutter as she tried to get her thoughts out. “I know I need to console her and you probably want to talk to her. I just haven’t had much time I mean you woke up not that long ago then everything else happened. Plus now we have this meeting with Misterbug that we need to prepare for. So I have to push the meeting back even though she is probably going to hate me for not visiting her.” The kwamies watched as the girl kept spiraling out of control.

Pollen and Liiri slowly flew toward her and when they had gotten close enough they began trying to calm the girl down. It took a while for them to get her to a reasonable state. The other kwami looked at each other before Longg moved forward. “Bread there is something we would like to discuss…”

In the middle of Longg’s words, Marinette’s phone rang drawing everyone’s attention. “Who is calling?” The black-haired girl questioned while moving towards her phone. Looking at her phone screen Marinette didn’t see a contact and only a number. “Hello?”

“Lady Noire I need your help!” A somewhat familiar voice called from the other end.

“Lady Noire?” The teenage girl questioned while her mind tried to figure out what was going on.

“Come on Lady this is no time for spacing out! Me and Penny have a major problem!”

“Penny?” The name slowly sparked something in her mind. “Jagged?”

“Yeah,” The rockstar confirmed, “now listen because this is an emergency!” Nodding her head Marinette focused on the conversation.

“Well looks like you were right eggs,” Plagg muttered to Sass.

“I am just asss dissspleasssed asss you about thisss outcome.” The green kwami sighed while shaking his head.

“What do we do now?” Pollen questioned while looking a bit sad. “If we can’t warn her then how is she going to plan for the upcoming confrontation!”

“Well if she can’t plan for anything then we will have to in her place!” Trixx announced with determination.

“Would that be possible?” Longg questioned with a hum. “Any plans we make will be countered and perhaps make it even worse.” Plagg let out a hiss while the others turned to Sass. Sass seemed to think for a moment before nodding his head.

“I’m going to my house,” Plagg muttered before shooting upstairs. None of the kwami questioned him running off. A noise from Marinette drew their attention.

“What is happening hatchling?” Liiri questioned the black-haired girl.

“Jagged and Bob are disagreeing about his new album,” Marinette muttered in a low voice. “He wants me to design the new album.” They heard the excitement in the girl’s voice but the biggest emotion they heard was fear.

“When does he want it done?” Pollen questioned with fear.

“Three days from now,” Marinette admitted while seeming to swallow down something bitter.

“Did you agree?” Longg questioned her. The girl didn’t say anything but did nod.

“Why would you do this to yourself, kit?” Marinette flinched at the sadness in the fox’s voice. The girl’s mind tried to engage and figure out why the orange kwami was upset. However she was just so tired, everything had caught up and now she could barely get a thought out.

“I’m sorry,” Marinette muttered while curling into herself. Trixx opened his mouth to say something only to come up short as he looked at the child in front of him.

“Why don’t we head back up to bed?” Pollen brought up with a smile trying to hide her concern.

“But I have so much to do!” The head of the new order protested. “I need to plan for the meeting with Misterbug, I need to contact Alix to make sure she is doing good, I don't even have any ideas for Jagged’s album design!” album! Plus what if something else comes up?” The kwamies watched as she started spiraling.

“Pollen, Liiri, Kaalki pleassse take care of the girl.” Sass looked at the three kwami who nodded and proceeded to try and calm Marinette down. Sass had to stop Trixx from also following, “Come along Longg we will talk to Plagg.” With that the snake dragged the reluctant fox along with him. Trixx tried to protest but thankfully Longg was quick to help him with dragging the orange kwami.

“What the heck Sass!” Trixx hissed toward the kwami who gave him an understanding look. “The kit is down there suffering and you drag me away!”

“Your presence at the moment might just make things worse.” Sass sadly informed the upset kwami. “Come along, we need to talk with Plagg.” Trixx muttered under his breath but did follow after the other kwami. “Hopefully Plagg has a technique that we can use to calm her down.”

“Maybe he could also explain why the kit seemed to flinch away from me.” Trixx muttered to themselves. He had an idea but the thought that Marinette felt abandoned by him hurt something deep in the kwami.

~~~~~~~~~

“... And that is where I am with planning Chloe’s downfall.” Alya explained to the grey kwami who nodded along. “The only part I’m having trouble with is how I’m supposed to implement my plans without it backfiring on me and my family.”

“I can see why you would be concerned.” Mullo added while continuing her nod. It hadn’t been long after they had gotten to Alya’s home that Mullohad noticed the open document. When she asked about it Alya was more than happy to explain everything. “Do you have any ideas to get around it?”

“Trixx said there were two people I could use to help me with Chloe’s downfall,” Alya admitted with a huff. “The first person is rather obvious but I would rather not involve him.”

“Him?” Mullo questioned with a hum as she tapped her chin. After two seconds a metaphorical lightbulb went off over the kwami’s head. “Oh, do you mean Adrien Agreste?”

Alya let out a growl of irritation at the name. “Yeah, him.” Mullo blinked at the mixed emotions in the red-haired girl's voice. The girl’s voice held disappointment, tiredness, and a bit of anger. The mouse kwami thought back to everything she knew about the boy to try and figure out why he would get this type of reaction. “I suppose I should explain.” Alya said while letting out a sigh. With that, the reporter took to telling her everything she knew about Adrien. The kwami listened to everything though she was a bit shocked to learn about the model’s crush on her pup. “... I admit I had a plan or two to try and get them together but after observing him for a bit I decided that it just wasn’t worth it. If he won’t stand up for her then I don’t want him anywhere near her!”

“I agree,” Mullo agreed while patting the human trying to help her calm down. The two remained quiet for a few moments before deciding to change the topic. “So do you know where we are meeting up with Santa? You know to discuss the whole Misterbug thing?”

“Yeah the ‘Misterbug thing’.” Alya muttered with a huff. Honestly part of her was beyond interested in the meeting as both a hero of Paris and as a reporter. As a hero of Paris it would be nice to not have to worry about Misterbug during Akuma attacks or when out on patrols. As a reporter, it was a major event that could change the status quo in Paris making it one of the biggest stories of the month. “I think we are meeting up on one of the rooftops. Neutral ground and all that.”

Nodding to that Mullo hummed in acknowledgment before a random thought popped into her mind. “Oh, who is the second person Trixx said you could use to take down Chloe?”

“I have no idea. All of my other classmates are firmly under the brat’s control.” Alya muttered with heat.

“All of them?” Mullo tilted her head as she started going through the list. “Huh guess you would need to wait for someone new to come in.”

“Someone new?” Alya questioned as things turned in her head.

“Yeah, someone new so Chloe doesn’t have blackmail on them or hope they have some type of protection.” Mullo elaborated while taking a thinking position.

“Like a diplomat’s daughter.” Alya slowly found a smile working its way onto her face. New plans were formed with some being discarded. “She did make up a whole bunch of lies just for attention.” Yeah, this could definitely work. She needed to write some of these down before she forgot.

The gray kwami watched her new holder make plans for a bit before deciding to explore the room. As she flew around thoughts came and went from her head. But the main one is worried about her pup and the upcoming meeting.

Chapter Text

Adrien tried to keep his breathing calm while he paced around his room. It had been a full day since the model had gotten the news about the meeting and everything entitled. For once, Adrien was relieved about his father being a workaholic because even though it was Christmas, the blonde hadn’t even seen his father.

Stopping at the thought, the guardian collapsed onto his couch with a groan. That was a lie. He was upset about his father not being here for him. This was their first Christmas without his mom and his father wouldn’t spend time with him. It hurt, it really hurt that his father would rather work than spend time with him.

As he lay there his mind went through various events from the past days. “What am I going to do?”

“About what?” Dazzie questioned. The guardian remained quiet at the question while looking at the ceiling hoping for some divine revelation.

“I believe the real question to be answered is what do you want?” Wayzz questioned the guardian. At the question, Adrien let out a groan while glaring at the ceiling. Wayzz stayed within his eyesight patient as ever.

Seeing that he needs to answer the Agreste hair thought over Wayzz’s question. What did he want? As the guardian, he should want the miraculous back but personally… he didn’t know what he wanted. Whenever he tried to think about it Adrien felt his mind fog up more than it normally was. No doubt due to his conflicted feelings. “I have no idea.” He finally returned to the green kwami.

“That’s alright,” Wayzz soothed the conflicted boy.

“No!” The green-eyed boy shouted at the kwami. “I have to have this somewhat figured out! If I don’t know what I want them how am I supposed to work toward achieving it!?” After that statement, the room went quiet while Adrien went through his thoughts once again. As he went through his thoughts Adrian’s mind finally came across the only clear thought he had. “That’s not quite true now that I think about it…” Adrian’s voice drew the few remaining kwami’s attention back to him. Taking a second to get his thoughts together the young guardian let what was in his mind flow out. “I know as the guardian of the miraculous I’m supposed to want Cheshire to hand over all the miraculous that she has taken.”

“But?” Wayzz questions the boy.

“Adrian?” Tikki had some concern in her voice. Whether it was a concern for him or for the fact of what he was thinking the Guardian couldn’t know.

“But is that what the kwami under her protection want?” Adrien questioned with a sigh while looking at Tikki. “You’ve seen their streams.”

Tikki stopped for a moment to think over what Adrian had said. The kwamis under Cheshire’s protection all to seem to have fun while playing. The ladybug slumped in defeat due to the memory of the videos she had seen. She didn’t want to admit it but part of her wanted to play and have fun with the others in the Cube Cheshire made! “I understand what you are saying.”

“Plus there is Cheshire herself.” Adrien muttered while looking at his hands. “If she truly is a good person then how could I even begin to make it up to her?” Honestly, it felt like he was going around in circles. At not hearing anything Adrien felt like his house was more empty than ever before. Speaking off, “... I still haven’t figured out any type of an apology.”

“Perhaps it would be best to go out for a bit and see if that will clear your head.” Ziggy gave the recommendation after a few awkward moments of silence. “I mean isn’t that what you said you did whenever you were conflicted?” The goat kwami tried to clarify when the others turned to him.

Adrian sat there for a moment before standing up. “Yeah, that's a good idea.” The model didn't want to be in this empty silent house anymore. Looking at the gathered kwami the Guardian asked a question to them. “Who wants to come with me?”

~~~~~~~~~~

Marinette sat in the middle of her room watching the kwami under her protection fly around as they got more and more excited. The girl was really happy that the kwami enjoyed the gifts she had gotten them. “Bread, you shouldn’t have gotten me something so expensive,” Plagg whined as he held a decorated box meant to hold his cheese.

“It wasn’t expensive, I made it by hand.” The black-haired girl reassured her kwami. Then again at this point, it was a tradition between them. Marinette would make Plagg a gift and Plagg would complain about it being expensive.

“Did you make mine by hand too?” Pollen excitedly questioned while showing off some blankets. With a smile and nod, Marinette confirmed the bee’s idea. “Thank you!” With that, she ran forward and hugged her cheek. Looking toward the other kwami Marinette saw them enjoying the presents she made for them.

A smile came to her face as the young girl’s mind wandered back to past Christmas when it was only her and Plagg. While the memories were a bit bittersweet they were still precious memories of hers. But now those somewhat lonely memories were being overshadowed by this celebration. Marinette didn’t know whether to be pleased or not by this.

Sass watched the girl with interest and hummed. The hum drew her attention towards him and she gave a slight frown. “Do you not like your present?” Sass stared at the girl as he considered something.

“No, I am very pleased with the gift.” The snake kwami shook their head while glancing towards the blanket in his color.

“Are you sure? I didn’t have much time to make it so I would understand if you didn’t like it.” Marinette questioned the kwami while some of her worries began to show.

“It is more than good enough,” Sass confirmed trying to ease the girl’s worry.

“Yeah, this has to be one of the funniest Christmas parties I’ve ever been to.” Pollen commented with a slightly bitter smile. Marinette could understand the bee kwamis unhappiness due to reading her ancestor's journal. From what she had read the Order hadn’t really had any parties and if they did then most often the kwamis were stuck inside their boxes. It had upset Marinette that despite the Order never allowing the kwamis out of their Boxes even during the rare parties.

Looking around a small pit formed in her stomach when she realized that Mullo isn’t here with them. Last night when she had gone out to deliver the presents to the orphanages Rena, or Mouse as she was going by for now, had only been able to show up for a few moments so she was at least able to give Rena the presents for both the redhead and the kwami she was temporarily taking care of. The plan had been to swap miraculous that day but Trixx had apparently wanted to stick around for some reason.

As her thoughts brushed over Mullo Marinette briefly wondered how to make it up to the grey kwami for her not being able to come to the party. Lightly shaking her head the black-haired girl was quick to cast those thoughts aside. No doubt Mullo was having fun with Alya. ‘Yeah, so much fun that she’ll no longer want anything to do with you.’ A dark bitter voice cut in through her thoughts almost draining all of her energy.

“Is there something wrong?” Liiri questioned the girl with concern.

“Nope,” Marinette quickly scolded her face, “I’m good.” The other kwamis gave her a look and the black-haired girl tried her best to try to appear fine. The moment seemed to stretch on for a long moment making the blue-eyed girl worry that the kwamis might see through her. Would they no longer see her as worthy? She couldn’t blame them though, Trixx would no doubt tell them how great Alya was. The kwamis watched her in silence and as the moment went on, she felt her heart start beating louder along with her breathing grow erratic. Her thoughts went from one worst cause to another.

Seeing Plagg look like he was about to speak Marinette couldn’t hear anything due to how loud her heart was beating. Feeling like it was getting harder to breathe Marinette moved to try and find some room to breathe. She felt like her vision was starting to narrow down as the edges became blurred. So focused on getting out to her balcony the twin-tailed girl stumbled over herself multiple times as blurs of color flew around her.

Arriving on her balcony the sting of cold air helped cool her down a bit but not enough. Her breathing was still a bit unsteady but her vision didn’t seem to be getting better. “Hey, are you alright?” A voice questioned from nearby startling her.

Shooting her head up Marinette saw the green eyes of Misterbug as he landed on the other end of her balcony. The secret black cat user tried to get some words out but her earlier panic and now the added jolt of surprise made it difficult to do anything. Misterbug watched her in concern for a moment before moving a bit backward. “Okay, you’re panicking I should… I should…” The blonde started to mutter to himself before looking at the girl. “Hey, do you know that one anime where they deal with panic attacks?”

The question threw Marinette for a loop. “W, What?” Her voice came out horse and stuttering.

“I guess I phrased it wrong.” Misterbug muttered seemingly to himself. “There was only one panic attack but it was relatively well-known. Shame we don’t have an abandoned dog.”

“What?” Marinette questioned while narrowing her eyes. Her mind was trying to figure out what anime the holder of Tikki was talking about. Abandoned dog? What was he talking about?

“Yeah, the movie about a cat having to deal with death.”

Pieces snapped into place as the girl blinked rapidly. “Wait, are you talking about Puss in Boots?” Getting a nod of affirmation she couldn’t help but give him a flat look. “You said it was an anime.”

“It is!” Misterbug proclaimed with a smile. “Next you’ll be telling me you don’t think Avatar is an anime!”

“It depends which one you are talking about.” The black-haired girl shot back with a huff.

“Obsivly I mean the Last Airbender and not the blue cat one.” Staring at him a second longer Marinette gave a nod along with agreeing. After that, the two sat in silence for a bit the red hero spoke again. “You should probably get back inside.”

“Really?” The black-haired girl questioned with suspicion. “Not going to vent at me? Not going to ask me about something the Order?” The young girl didn’t know where this was coming from but it felt like it had been building up for some time.

“No,” Misterbug looked exhausted at hearing her accusations, “I just thought you would want to go back to whatever party your family has going on.” While Marinette tried to hide her flinch her face must have given something away. “Oh…” The holder of Tikki muttered while looking down at his hands.

Not wanting to focus on that can of worms or for the boy across from her to get suspicious Marinette hurried to change the topic. “What are you doing? Shouldn’t you be having a party with your forming Order?”

Misterbug hesitated as he thought over what to say. Part of him wanted to vent to the one person who he felt could really understand him but the guardian didn’t want to overstep again. “At the moment the Order is only me at the moment. So any party I would have would just be me, myself and I.” Misterbug patted himself on the back at that answer. It was true, short, and let him vent a little too.

“What about the kwami?” Marinette questioned while narrowing her eyes at him. “I guess you are following in the footsteps of those before you and are just treating them as tools!”

Green eyes blinked at the normally withdrawn girl’s angry tone. Then what she said hit him and had the hero groaning. “I didn’t even think about having a party with them.” Why didn’t he even think about having a party with the kwami! Why did it always feel like something was preventing him from thinking of things like this!

“Things like this?” Marinette questioned while sounding confused. Adrien flinched at realizing that he had spoken aloud. Bitting his bottom lip the hero the ladybug hero’s thoughts went into a spiral as he tried to figure out what to do. Once again he was given the chance to vent but this time he didn’t want to do to not really knowing his own feelings about the matter.

But wasn’t this his best chance to try and sort his feelings out? Marinette was similar enough to him so maybe she could help him sort out his feelings? However, that means that he would be venting at her and that would cross the lines he set for himself. But he had been stuck on this problem for about two days now and the meeting was tomorrow! More and more his mind was thrown into a spiral that didn’t seem to be coming to an end. So into his spiraling thoughts that he didn’t notice fog that had been plagging him for a while now was in full force as it started flooding his mind.

A hand gently placed on his shoulder drew his attention and managed to break him out of his spiral. “I’m sorry for touching you without permission but you wouldn’t respond.” Marinette kept her voice quiet and calm while maintaining eye contact.

The blonde relaxed as he felt his mind slowly clear up. “Thank you, I got stuck in my own thoughts.” Letting out a mirthless chuckle he leaned back against a wall Misterbug continued. “I’ve been doing that way too much recently.”

“What have you been thinking about?”

“I have a meeting with Cheshire coming up.” Marinette perked up slightly at this. While it felt wrong to take advantage of him in the state he was in she needed every advantage she could.

“Oh, what’s your plan?” The secret cat hero questioned while moving to sit down near him. “Planning some type of sneak attack? Maybe recruit some more holders so you all can gang up on her?”

Blinking in surprise Misterbug looked at her for a moment before groaning. “Cheshire probably thinks that’s what I’m planning.” Now Marinette blinked at him in surprise. “No, that is not at all what I have planned.”

“Oh?” The girl questioned as her mind went into full throttle trying to figure out what he might have planned. However just as she was starting to pick up speed her mind halted itself as her senses picked up something.

“I know you probably won’t believe me but I want,” Whatever else the hero was going to say was lost as Marinette jolted up from where she was sitting and started looking around in panic. Seeing her reaction the red clad hero also looked around trying to find what spooked the girl. The two looked around before Marinette stopped as she spotted a dark figure on a nearby roof. She couldn’t make anything out so there was no way to tell if it was the fake saint or one of the heroes. “Who is that?”

The black-haired girl shuddered a bit at the sound of Misterbug’s voice. She had completely forgotten about him. “I don’t know.” Before anything else could happen the figure disappeared. “He vanished.”

“No, I don’t think they fully left.” Misterbug muttered while glaring out. Marinette knew that was likely true but couldn’t say anything due to needing to pretend to be a regular citizen. She was a regular civilian as far as most people were concerned. So then why were people watching her balcony? “Why were they watching me?”

“I think they were watching me.” The hero pointed out with a bit of heat. Bitting back a curse the girl felt a bit of heat come up. How could she forget about the ‘hero’ right beside her? “I should get going. I don’t want to drag you into anything.”

“Thank you for your concern.” Marinette replied with some gratefulness. “Maybe you could get that Christmas party going with the kwami?”

“Yeah, that sounds like a good idea.” The blonde muttered before hesitating near her. “Please, stay safe. I…” Hesitating more the red hero seemed to be trying to figure out what to say. “I have a lot to make up to you. So please stay safe.” With that he left leaving behind a somewhat confused Marinette. The girl tried to figure out what the Order had to make up to her for. Before she could focus on it anymore something interrupted her.

“Finally! I thought that annoying bug would never leave!” A gravily voice cheered as Plagg phased through the floor.

“Stay down!” Marinette cried while grabbing the kwami. Taking a look around to try and find anyone. “Come on let’s go back inside.” With that the two went inside but as they did Plagg thinks over what he had seen.

The moment Pigtails had fled her room Plagg was quick to follow but he had to stay hidden due to the red bug showing up. The kwami had been forced to listen but while he had been listening the black cat had been thinking. The red bug had obvisly done some thinking but had been coming into conflict with The Wish. The Wish had decided that the two needed to be in conflict so that would happen. Thinking back on the conversation Plagg had a good feeling that he wanted to make peace with the girl. However to the girl who fraying at the seams and looking/preparing for the worst…

“Can’t even go a day without something going wrong.” Plagg mainly muttered to himself with a sigh.

“It ssseemsss that The Wisssh doesss not want any sssort of peace.” Sass commented with a deep frown.

“Well too bad because we are getting that peace.” Plagg hissed back before taking a deep breath to calm down. “Now we just need to make a plan.”

“Well, the first step is pretty obvious.” Trixx commented while wearing one of his new costumes. The costume was made to look like a tux with a nice top hat. “We inform Tikki and get her on board.”

“Can we?” Pollen questioned with a hum. “So far any attempt to inform the girl has ended badly.”

“Yes, but that only happens when we try to inform any human.” Trixx pointed out with a smile. “We were able to inform each other after all.”

“That is true.” Plagg nodded before sighing. “But can we even get Tikki to believe us?”

“I believe that between you and me, we ssshould be able to convince Tikki just like the othersss.” Sass responded with a deep frown as the snake kwami started thinking over how to get Plagg’s counterpart to believe them. “It will be harder due to her not having really gotten to know the girl.” While Tikki had met Marinette twice both were for less than an hour.

“If both of you are needed to talk Tikki then which miraculous will the queen wear?” Pollen questioned seeming nervous. Plagg understood the concern since this would require at least THREE miraculous. Plagg furrowed his brow and thought over something important but something that would need to be addressed.

“It will probably be either the bee, bird, or horse due to her probably wanting to return Trixx back to the reporter.” Plagg commented with disapproval.

“Wait, what!” Trixx questioned with shock. Even Sass appeared surprised.

“What did you expect to happen when you happily abandoned someone with abandonment issues?” Plagg questioned shocking Trixx who blinked a few times in shock. “What you haven’t noticed the distance between the two of you?” Trixx stayed silent for a longer moment before flying away. “Come on Sass we need to figure out how to inform Tikki.” As Plagg left Sass remained silent as he thought over what Plagg had said about which miraculous the girl would choose. His mind went to just how frayed the chosen of the black cat was and how she liked to overprepare…

“I don’t think it will be just three or four miraculous she will wear.” Sass sadly proposed as thoughts and possibilities went through his head. No doubt she would bring all the miraculous with her to be as prepared as possible. “This will not be good, not good at all.”

Chapter Text

Marinette would like to say the day of the big meeting snuck up on her but that would have been the biggest lie ever. She had prepared for this day, had made plans, and had even made backup plans. But it seemed as though this day had come out of nowhere and her stomach felt like a raging storm. Then again that feeling in her stomach could also be due to her wearing so many miraculous.

“Young Queen this seems quite dangerous.” Pollen commented while flying around Marinette who had just put on the comb miraculous.

“It is alright,” the black-haired girl mumbled, “I have to be ready. For anything.”

“Kit, are you sure? It is dangerous to wear that many.” Trixx commented with great concern. The girl looked at the fox for a few seconds before blinking.

“Right, you probably want to get back to Alya.” Nodding to herself the blue eyed girl grabbed the box and placed Trixx’s necklace inside.

“Kit, wait!” The orange kwami attempted to call out only to be cut off when she closed the box. The girl blinked her eyes and moved to open the box back up only to stop as Plagg appeared before her.

“Just relax pigtails.” The black cat said while patting hand. “Focus on our plan.” Meeting his eyes she hesitated momentarily before closing her eyes and giving a hesitant nod. “Hey, it's going to be okay. Just stick to the plan alright.”

With an audible swallow she shakingly met the kwami’s gaze. “Ten minutes?” Plagg seemed to hesitate before taking a breath and meeting her gaze.

“Just ten minutes.” The kwami of destruction reassured the girl with a firm voice. Marinette looked at him a bit longer before giving a weak nod. “I will be beside you the entire time.”

“...Okay. Liiri wings of Liberty.” With that power covered her in a suit and gave her some comfort. “Okay, let’s get this going.” With that, the girl was about to go through her skylight and head out to the meeting spot only to stop as she started remembering the person who was watching her balcony. With that in mind the girl snuck out of the bakery’s backdoor. From there she proceeded to take a few back alleyways before taking to the roofs. She could never be too careful, never.

~~~~

Misterbug tried to stay still and appear calm, he NEEDED to be on his A-game for this. This could, no it would be the end of any conflicts between him and Cheshire. Anything less than his A-game and this could very well blow up in his face. To make things worse is that if this blew up it would probably be the end of him.

“You are rather stiff.” Sparrow commented from the other end of the roof. Adrien envied how relaxed the sidekick looked. Then again they didn't mess up so badly it took the intervention of Santa to even have a hope of fixing it.

“He should be.” The former Rena commented with a scowl that his father would be jealous of. A quiet mumble from Purple who was near the other girl showed that she was siding with the other girl. That or she was pretending to be on their side what with the whole double agent thing… Oh right, that would probably need to be addressed.

Like addressed before it screwed him over. Because the blonde knew, he knew to his bones that if he gave an inch then Karma would knock him on his but and tramble over him with a marching band.

“Come now we shouldn’t be harsh on somebody who is trying to make amends.” Uncanny Valley commented with an upbeat tone.

“That is only if he is being honest.” Sparrow shot back while looking towards the other sidekick.

“If he is planning on using this meeting for something other than begging for forgiveness then I will have to reevaluate how dumb he is.” The secret reporter commented as her eyes darted over to where the two adult superheroes were talking to Santa. Following her eyes Misterbug could see them talking about something and flinched slightly as Knightowl met his gaze with their intemitading helmet.

Trying not to show how nervous he was the green-eyed boy glanced towards Purple who hid more behind Rena. Trying not to swallow too loudly he instead glanced down to his wrist where the turtle miraculous sat. It had taken him a few moments to decide which miraculous to take with him but had decided on just bringing Wayzz with him. At the moment the kwami was with Santa so he wouldn’t be helping him.

Before anyone could say anything else a figure dropped down near the edge of the roof. Misterbug studied the black eagle girl who seemed to take the whole situation in with eagle grey eyes. When the two met eyes for a moment Adrien felt a part of himself shake at how intense the look she had was. He had very little to no doubt that she had everything figured out for this meeting. As he was looking at her eyes though the boy had to blink when he noticed the glasses on her face.

“Harpie!” Mouse happily called out to the heroine who met her gaze. She only looked at them for a second before her eyes went back to studying the roof.

She's looking for danger. He realized with only a little shock. After all most people who were present were on her side or at least would side with her. So why was she looking for danger, did she not trust the UH heroes?

“It seems that I’m the last one to arrive.” The eagle kwami empowered girl stated before reaching behind herself. “Mouse here you go.” With that, she brought out a black box with a green paw print on it. The other miraculous user gave a smile and thanked her not seeming to notice how tense the other girl was.

“It seems that you made a correct guess about everyone showing up early.” Longg spoke as she appeared near the girl’s head.

“The Queen is very rarely wrong.” Pollen happily proclaimed as they popped up from behind the human girl’s shoulder. Misterbug felt his stomach freeze up as the second kwami appeared.

“Well I can assure you that this will work out.” Santa commented while slowly walking towards them. He stopped walking though when Harpie’s eyes snapped toward him. “I see you are also wearing Kaalki’s miraculous.”

“I came fully prepared.” Harpie told the old man with intense eyes.

“A bit over prepared if you asssk me.” Sass commented as he also appeared from behind the girl.

“Nah, I agree with pigtails.” A gravelly voice commented as he flew up and rested on the girl’s shoulder. Misterbug studied the small black kwami that was no doubt Plagg. “Considering who is present…” Although Plagg was looking around when he said that the green-eyed boy felt like it was directed towards him.

“Hey now,” Majestia calmly interjected, “no need for hostility.” The famous superhero flew forward a bit before stopping at noticing the black-haired girl’s body tense. “We came here to talk things out.”

“Oh yes,” Harpie drawled out as she walked a bit further away from the group, “just like we tried to ‘work things out’ a little before Horrificator?”

Misterbug flinches at the reminder of that incident. “I… um,” The holder of the ladybug miraculous tried to defend himself while also trying to get back on script he had been practicing for the past day.

“Wait, you mean when you two were fighting in the park?” Sparrow questioned while sounding confused. “How was that working things out.”

Before Misterbug could say anything in hopes of salvaging this situation Harpie spoke. “Before we were fighting the two of us had met up on a roof. While I was preparing to fight against him Trixx, the fox kwami, suggested we try starting over.” For a moment she met his green eyes with her own. “You know how that went.”

“So when previously given the chance Misterbug-” Uncanny began only to be interrupted by the other sidekick.

“Such a dumb name.” Sparrow commented with a shake of her head.

“He used the chance to try and defeat you.” They finished as if the jab at his name never happened.

“I can understand why you would not trust him.” Knightowl calmly stated bringing attention to themself. “But I think it is important to remember that not everyone is here to…” The hero trailed off trying to think of the best way to phrase the next part.

“We’re not here to try and screw you over, unlike some people.” Sparrow finished for the hero while shooting another look towards Misterbug.

Knightowl let out a sigh but did agree with their sidekick. “Yes, we are here to help you.”

“Now, now,” The icon of Christmas reminded everyone of his presence, “everyone here is here to work out problems.”

“Problems?” Mouse questioned with a huff. “Honestly the only problem here is how little we can trust Misterbug.” Harpie looked over to the girl and kept her face in her stern mask as the hero’s mind questioned why they hadn’t changed back to Rena and returned Mullo.

The blonde hero opened his mouth to respond only for Plagg to interrupted. “Hey blonde, swap over to the turtle.” Everyone, besides Uncanny, turned toward the quiet turtle who was still hanging around the red-coated man. “I was promised I could talk to Tikki, so either swap over to the turtle or find somewhere to hide so I can talk to her.”

Adrien looked toward Wayzz and Santa who approached the young guardian. “Young guardian I could provide you with a way to hide your identity.” Taking a breath Misterbug felt the fog start crawling in but with some effort he beat it back.

“I have some robes underneath this but you can never be too safe.” Nodding to him the white bearded man reached into his ever-present sack and pulled out what seemed to be a white tarp. Tossing it over the child it was only a second later that a dim pink light was seen underneath for a moment as the tarp faded away to show Misterbug now wearing a long white hooded cloak along with a mask.

The small red goddess formed and took a moment to take in her surroundings. It was just as Santa had told them to expect. It was as she was looking around that her blue eyes met familiar green eyes. It was she looked into those eyes, the eyes that she only now reliased how much she missed, that she watched them go through a rush of emotions. A rush of emotions that she also went through. The two stared at each as a connection, a connection so fadded that it was almost forgotten, was slowly reformed.

“Tikki,” Plagg’s voice was so drenched in emotion that the other kwamies couldn’t decipher.

“Plagg,” But Tikki understood because she had the same emotions coursing through her. The two continued to lock eyes with the other talking in the way only two so connected could.

“While it is nice to ssseee you two reconnecting we do have matters to discusss.” Sass commented, breaking the two from their trance.

“Right,” Plagg breathed out before glancing towards Harpie who was looking toward him with a bit of concern. “This won’t take long.” Turning back to Tikki he didn’t meet her eyes not wanting to be lost in her gaze again. “Tikki Wayzz we need to talk in private.”

“Is it really necessary?” Wayzz questioned while looking around at the others. The tension was clear to see to the turtle.

“It isss very necesssary.” Sass gave a firm response somewhat shocking the green kwami.

“This is a conversation that only us KWAMIES can have.” Plagg made sure to look into Wayzz eye’s when he said this.

“If it is really necessary.” Tikki sighed while giving a look toward Wayzz who aggreeded with the red goddess. With that Tikki turned to give her bug a reassuring smile that he returned. Looking back towards Plagg the ladybug kwami saw him staring into Harpie’s eyes. An entire conversation seemed to pass between the two which ended with the girl seeming to deflate a little before nodding. Blinking at the interaction the goddess put up little resistance when Wayzz dragged her off with him. The four of them flew a good distance away before flying behind an AC unit a good distance away..

“Is it really needed for us to go this far away?” Tikki questioned the other two.

“Yesss, if anyone besssidesss a kwami were to over here usss then disssassster will befall everyone presssent.” Sass quietly informed the other two. Tikki froze at how serious the snake kwami was being while Wayzz thought over the implications of what was said.

“Both of you listen carefully and don’t interrupt,” Plagg interjected with a firm tone. “I don’t know how long we have before things start going downhill.” With that, the black cat kwami began what he and Sass had discovered. Sass would occasionally chime in to help strengthen what the kwami of destruction was saying. Tikki and Wayzz listened a pit formed in both kwamies stomachs while their minds formed a horrifying picture. If what the two was saying was true then Plagg and his current holder was suffering from the effects of the wish.

“No, no,” Tikki murmured as she tried to deny what was being told to her. “Trixx! Cheshire managed to steal his miraculous! This goes against your argument about the curse!” It was a weak argument but it was the best she could give.

“Because it wasn’t good luck.” Plagg delivered in his most dry voice. Having everyone’s attention the green eyed kwami continued. “From what I understand the Faker is, or I guess was, a coward.” Tikki flinched a bit at how rude was being to the previous guardian. Glancing toward Wayzz the red kwami saw the turtle held a deep frown on his face. “I’m sure that if Ma-, *Cough*, Cheshire hadn’t taken the Miraculous from the old man then he would have either ran away or made excuses as to not send out any miraculous. Heck the old man might have tried to let Hawkmoth and Cheshire fight it out and tire themselves out before he swooped in.” Plagg paused for a minute to presently calm himself down. “But when Br- Cheshire was able to steal something that shouldn’t have been able to steal it made it so that the Faker was made to act.”

Wayzz opened his mouth to say something only to stop and sigh. “There is much I wish to say but we have been away for long enough.”

“That isss true.” Sass nodded with a solemn voice. “Now that you two are aware of what isss happening we can all work together to fix this matter.”

“Yes because that will be so simple.” Plagg drawled with a roll of his eyes. The other three fell silent at those words. The three exchanged looks silently trying to form some sort of plan that would work. “If you can excuse me I need to go check and make sure nothing horrifing has happened while we are gone.” With that Plagg shot off to head back to where the humans and other kwami were.

Sass sighed and shook his head. “Plagg… Come on you two, he is right about how much danger the others could be in.” With that, the snake kwami flew off. Tikki looked toward Wayzz who was taking deep calming breaths.

The turtle kwami met Tikki’s eyes and with one final breath to calm them down. “I’m good now, let’s go back.” With that the two flew back towards the meeting area hoping for the best.

Chapter Text

Harpy watched the group of kwami leave with mixed feelings. She knew that she be happy for Plagg to get a chance to fix things up with Tikki but not having him with her made her nervous. However she couldn’t let that show, she couldn’t let any weakness show. Looking around at all the gathered people she felt a bit anxious at seeing everyone’s eyes on her.

Pushing back everything Harpy shifted to a confident stance while raising an eyebrow. “Is there something you wished to say to me?”

Misterbug opened his mouth to say something only to be trampled over as Majestia spoke over him. “Well, I believe that if we want to start right then it would be best to start with something important.” Floating up a bit to gather everyone’s attention the hero turned towards Puprle Tigress who froze under the hero’s look. “Somebody here has been playing double agent.”

“WHAT!/HOW!” Mouse and Misterbug shouted while Tigress had gone white as a sheet.

Harpy stayed quiet for a moment before sighing. “Fine, I suppose we can talk about that.” This got everyone to look at the girl with some shock.

“You knew?” Purple was the first to bring up the question.

“Yes, almost from the start.” Harpy replied back while giving the girl a flat look. This wasn’t due to any negative feelings regarding the other girl but more that if she let anything show or tried to change her expression then her mask would break. “No offense but your story had one too many holes in it.”

“Yeah, plus I guess I’m not the best actor.” Purple mumbled while looking down. It was obvious to everyone that the girl was down in the pits.

“No, no, you were very good.” Mouse attempted to reassure the girl.

“Plus you were very helpful.” Misterbug added on only to stop at a few looks shot his way. “Right, um, I’m sorry, it seemed like a good idea at the time.” The hero attempted to laugh at the situation only to fall at how awkward it was. Thankfully everyone turned towards Harpy a moment later. The girl didn’t speak for a moment until she shook her head.

“I don’t see a reason to continue this. Purple Tigress made a decision and whatever else has happened she has been a good ally and dedicated hero.” At Harpy’s words, Tigress perked up a little. “Unlike other people present.” Misterbug felt like the last jab was unneeded and let it pass over him.

“So the double agent was putting more work into being a hero than you?” Sparrow questioned while giving the Ladybug chosen a side-eye.

“Now, I’m sure he has very good reasons as to why he isn’t out patrolling as often as he would no doubt love to.” Longg surprised many by coming to the male hero's rescue. “However as it appears that this double agent business is not going to be a problem, at the moment, it would be best if we moved on to other topics.” Mouse looked like she wanted to argue the point but held back.

“I do agree with Longg.” Kaalki chipped in. “Perhaps we should move onto a different topic.” Pollen didn’t say anything but the yellow kwami stayed close to her to give her some comfort.

Once again Misterbug opened his mouth only to be once again overrun by the UH group. This time it was Uncanny who had taken the chance to approach the girl. “I would like to thank you for your help a while back.” The sidekick stopped approaching the girl though upon seeming to notice something.

“You did both us and America a great service that day.” Knightowl took over for the girl while walking to stand near them.

“I was just doing the right thing.” Harpie commented while her muscles tensed to run.

“My what a fantastic answer.” Majestia cheered with a smile on her face. “I can see why my daughter respects you so much.”

“Yes, that event along with your deeds here in Paris have proven that you are indeed a true hero.” Knightowl’s voice carried approval and Harpie felt a bit of warmth in her chest. Misterbug stood to the side listening in to the conversation while a bit worried. This conversation was starting to sound like a recruitment pitch and the boy wasn’t sure sure if Paris could survive if the main hero of Paris left.

Shaking himself a bit Adrien forced his mind from selfish thoughts the boy took a breath. If the girl wanted to leave Paris and join the UH then that is her right. Still, he doubted that the girl would leave Paris. As has been pointed out many times Chesire, no matter what form she was in, was a true hero. Why had it taken him so long to realize this? It was so easy to work around in circles and convince himself that everything the girl did was evil. Those heavy thoughts weighed on his shoulders and caused them to droop a bit. Honestly, it wasn’t that much of a shock that everyone kept talking over him. They probably thought he had nothing important to say. Well, that was expected due to how his head felt with the fog coming back.

“Majestia, Knightowl.” Santa approached the two UH heroes while occasionally looking toward Harpie along with the other female heroes. “I believe that perhaps we should talk before you continue this conversation.”

Harpy watched this interaction with a blank mask but behind it, the girl was cursing and screaming. Was the man going to out her identity? Was this the entire plan? To put her identity in front of everyone, to show everyone just how pathetic she is? A firm press against her cheek had Harpie looking over to see Kaalki. The horse kwami locked eyes with the young girl. “I’ll keep watch of the conversation.”

With that, the kwami flew over to where the three adults had moved to. Misterbug watched this happen before turning to the girl who was now standing alone. Seeing a chance he took a few deep breaths and made to talk to the other hero. “Harpie.”

At the call, the current eagle user turned toward the young male. The girl narrowed her eyes while preparing for whatever Misterbug had planned only to fall short. Blinking for a moment Harpie narrowed her gaze again just to double-check. There surrounding the ladybug user was a purple almost rolling fog that seemed to be attached to the boy. For a moment she remembered last night when the boy had grabbed his head in pain. Was this cloud the cause? What was this cloud, and why was it visible only now that she was Harpie?

The green-eyed boy flinched under her gaze and faltered. After stopping he seemed to debate with himself before remeeting her eyes. “I want to start this-” Whatever else he was going to say was cut off as the fog condense around Misterbug. With interest Harpie watched Misterbug rub his head.

“Are you alright?” Harpie was almost shocked at realizing that she had walked toward the boy along with asking her question.

“I, I just want to say-” Again the boy almost seemed to coil in on himself with a groan as the fog condensed around him.

“Hey, are you alright bug?” Mouse questioned with almost no concern only confusion in her voice.

“What is going on?” Misterbug questioned while rubbing his head.

“Built-up guilt coming to the surface?” Sparrow proposed with a bit of humor.

“I, I-” Again the green-eyed boy tried to say something only to let out another groan. Harpie watched the fog almost seeming to choke the boy who was almost doubled over in pain. The eagle user could not understand what was going on at all. What was with this fog? What was the fog? How is it hurting the boy in front of her?

“Harpie, something is not right here.” Longg whispered to her before flying forward to check the boy. “If you are not feeling well you could do this another day.” The dragon kwami proposed with a bit of concern. Pollen also came out of hidding and was quick to try to help the suffering boy.

“No, I need to-” With that the boy fully fell on his hands and knees. Harpie was on him in an instant with her hand reaching for the boy. The fog was almost tangible to her hand.

“I don’t think he is faking this,” Uncanny informed the other three while studying the boy with interest.

“Harpie you should keep your distance from Misterbug.” Sparrow commented while approaching.

“Wh- what is going on?” The male hero questioned while trying to ease the pain in his head. Majestia, Knightowl, and Santa finally seemed to notice what was going on. As the voices started flooding in Harpie tuned them out so she could at least try and focus on whatever this fog was. Tuning her senses more to the eagle miraculous Harpie attempted to figure out what the heck was going on. While focusing on the insticts of the Eagle she noticed something nearby. Something coming in quickly. “Everyone run!” After shouting the warning the girl followed her insticts.

~~~~~~~

Plagg was hurrying as quick as he could back to the meeting point. While Bread had other kwami with her incase something went wrong the black kwami had a sinking worry about just what Fate would do to prevent a peaceful resolution. As he flew over the ledge of the building all of his worst fears were confirmed as he spotted missles fly right toward the roof where the meeting was being held. Not even a second later a loud explosion was heard as the area exploded.

A loud horrified gasp was heard as Tikki arrived. The red kwami attempted to say her chossens name only for bubles to come out. Thankfully Sass and Wayzz were more focused so they were able to spot something. “I see them!” The turtle called out while pointing to a smoke trail.

Not wasting another second Plagg shot toward where the trail was decending. Tikki was right beside him proublably just as worried. The two descended and found Harpie holding Tikki’s chossen in a protective hold. The girl looked up and instantly locked onto Plagg.

“Oh, my poor bug!” Tikki cried as she flew to the boy who was curled up in the girl’s hold. The red goddess could also see Longg clinging onto the boy.

“Tikki?” The blond boy muttered pained.

“Plagg, your here!” Harpie called out in relief.

“Yeah, I’m here.” Plagg reassured her while slowly blinking.

“What isss wrong with the young guardian?” Sass questioned while studying the blonde.

“Huh?” The black hawk blinked before turning and giving a surprised blink toward the other three kwami. “Oh, Sass your back, and you two must be Tikki along with Wayzz! It is very nice to meet you properly!”

Tikki blinked at the girl who only now seemed to realize that they were there. From the corner of her eye, she spotted Plagg give out a sigh while shaking his head. “Yes, it is very nice to meet you.” Wayzz calmly greeted the cat user, or was she chosen? Plagg did seem rather attached to the girl. “Could you please inform us about what is wrong with Misterbug?”

“Can you not see the cloud around him?” Harpie questioned while looking down at the boy who was trying to talk. The grey-eyed girl’s statement drew a round of confused looks from the kwami. “There is some type of cloud surrounding Misterbug and is harming him.”

Tikki gasped and turned to look at the other kwami who all seemed to realize that somehow the fog she was seeing was the universes attempt at seperating the Order from working with the cat. “Oh my poor bug.” The red kwami flew down to her chosen landing near Longg.

“My queen can you effect the fog?” Pollen questioned the eagle user from her hair. Harpie placed him down the boy before focusing on her powers. She could feel the power coursing through her body. The power was different from Plagg’s plus she couldn’t as easily feel it as with Plagg. Was that due to her bond not being as strong or her not knowing the kwami for as long? Either way the truth was clear.

“No, whatever this power is it is too strong for me to affect.”

“That is to be expected.” Longg muttered with a shake of her head. Harpie heard the disappointment from the dragon kwami and frowned. Was there really nothing she could do? An idea nagged at the back of her head but the girl didn’t fully entertain the idea due to how it went last time.

“I’m sorry Tikki.” Plagg called out to the sorrowful black spotted kwami. Blinking at her kwami the young girl watched the kwami and saw that the cat was truely upset. The idea that at first was rejected took root and started to form itself. However before more could be done the group started to hear the sound of combat.

“We need to get somewhere safe.” Harpie decided and was quick to pick up the boy along with the two kwami who were resting on him. Turning to look at the other kwami she saw them hovering nearby. “Do you want a lift?” With that question the others were quick to land on either her or the boy. With that the girl headed to where she knew an empty building was nearby. Rushing forward the girl took a chance to glance at Plagg who had landed on her shoulder. “Hey Plagg, you really want to help Tikki right?”

“Of course!” Plagg exclaimed before glancing down at the boy. “Do you think my power can do anything though?” Harpie kept quiet so as to not give away what she was thinking. “Bread?” Ignoring the concerned kwami the girl shifted a bit so she could safely land in the building. Landing carefully the girl put down the boy who seemed to be getting worse. “Bread?” Again Plagg pressed with more concern.

“Don’t worry Plagg this should help Tikki’s bug.” Harpie reassured the kwami to which she owed so much. Honestly the hero was glad she could at least make an effort to repay him if even a little. “Plagg, Lirri, UNIFY!” As Griffin breathed out the girl lifted her hand to her hair. “Pollen I’m going to need some space for this. That goes for the rest of you.” Looking around the girl saw the other kwami start to give them distance and her stomach sunk a bit. She hoped that Kaalki was alright but at the moment she couldn’t do anything. However, once this was over, no matter how it turned out for her, she WOULD rescue her friend.

“My queen, are planning on mixing powers again?” Pollen questioned with concern.

“Hatchling, don’t you remember how dangerous it was last time you did that?” Longg questioned with great concern.

“I know but Plagg wants to help them so I will help.” As she spoke the girl dove into the currents of powers flowing through her. Plagg’s was familiar and was so easy for her to use. Lirri’s was inviting but as she started mixing them together the girl realized that it still wouldn’t be enough. She needed more power.

“I appreciate what you are doing for my bug.” Tikki said to Griffin as she started nervously fidgeting. “However I don’t want you hurting yourself.” The unified hero took this chance to look back at the boy who seemed to have gone limp. The fog seemed to have lightened up a little letting him relax a bit. As she met his green eyes that tried to hide the pain that he had experienced along with Tikki’s sad blue eyes her resolve firmed.

Pulling on Plagg’s power while mixing in Liiri’s the girl firmed her stance. “Catalyst: Wings Of Liberation!” with that black energy flowed out of her and enveloped her in a mist of the two kwamis power. Griffin hoped Marinette could deal with the consequences of whatever would come out of this.

Chapter Text

Tonight was not going at all how Adrien had planned. Between being constantly interrupted and having his head flooded by the fog his speech was nothing but dust in the ruins. Then just as the hero thought things couldn’t get worse the meeting was attacked but thankfully Harpie had saved him. As the two escaped the kwamies who had left came back and having Tikki nearby alleviated the pain somewhat allowing him to start thinking again.

Harpie talked a bit with the kwami and seemed to come to some sort of resolution and landed in what he could only assume was an empty building. After putting him down the girl proceeded to unify into Griffin. The hero seemed to fall deep in thought while talking to the other kwami that Adrien could vaguely make out. The thing that his pained head could make out was them mentioning something about mixing or combining powers. A bit of hope swelled up in him until he noticed how concerned the kwami were.

Was there something dangerous about mixing power? Why would the girl go so far as endangering herself for him? Noticing the girl looking at him the guardian attempted to show that he was alright but it was obvious that the attempt failed as she took a breath before making an announcement. “Catalyst: Wings of Liberation!”

All breath was robbed from him as a wave of pitch-black smoke exploded out of Griffin. The boy watched as the black energy was infected by thin lines of greyish blue. As the lines moved and weaved through the smoke the smoke seemed to solidify into a solid form. Blinking at the display Adrien narrowed his eyes as he examined the solid form that was now wrapped around the girl. As he stared at part of it something clicked in his head as he started to make out the feathers.

As if to confirm his thoughts the wings snapped open sending out powerful gusts of wind. As the wind went past him Adrien felt his mind clear up and all the pain leave him. Blinking in shock the boy took in the appearance of the now transformed cat hero. The girl’s hair was now loose with a few feathers placed within the strands while what could only be real cat ears sat atop Griffin’s head. Her green eyes now were mixed with the gray-blue specs while her mask had expanded to cover the entire up part of her face and seemed to combine the aspects of both a cat and a bird of prey to bring forth something that could only be described as an apex predator.

Forcing his eyes away from her face the young guardian saw the rest of the transformation. Griffin’s suit was still skin-tight and mixed in bits of fur with a few feathers. It all together enhanced the aesthetics. Adrien could see the almost bestial beauty of the suit but what was truly taking all of his attention was what he could only describe as the sheer Presence of the hero before the guardian permeated. The boy didn’t know how to describe the Presence just that it existed. Hearing some commotion the guardian turned to see the kwamis going through their own reaction.

The kwami stared at the sight before them with various reactions. Longg and Pollen felt dread at the sight before them. They worried about what such a transformation would do to the girl they had grown to care about. If a regular Catalyst had hurt their charge so badly last time then whatever she just did might kill her or at the least deal server damage that would have her laid out for a few days. Sass meanwhile stared with narrowed eyes as he compared this transformation to the first one he had seen and could easily tell just how much more powerful this form was compared to the first time he had seen it. The snake kwami wondered if the large growth in power was due to it being a unified existence.

Wayzz shook from where he was floating near Longg. The green kwami could feel more than the other kwami could. He could feel and see every part of the transformation as it happened and it left him terrified. In the beginning, Wayzz could feel the sheer terror that came naturally when one saw pure Destruction. But then the Destruction was given purpose as Freedom helped to form it into what he could see now. “This, this shouldn’t be possible.” The turtle muttered while still shaking. While shaking he bumped into Tikki who almost seemed frozen in place.

The red kwami of Creation could only stare at what happened. Much like Wayzz she could see what happened but to her it was different. As the other half of Plagg Tikki knew his power better than any other kwami. So she knew that such an ability shouldn’t have been possible yet here it was. So then how was she seeing this? How had the girl done this, this, whatever this was? How had she created a power like this?

At the last thought her mind felt like it hit a bump in her train of thought that stopped everything. The girl created a technique. No, she had created multiple techniques and had fused iteams/weapons together. Tikki felt her stomach twist a bit at those thoughts. Was Cheshire truly a cat?

“Do you truly want freedom?” Griffin questioned drawing everyone's attention back to her. The girl, or whatever it was she had transformed into, held eye contact with Adrien. The model remained silent at the question for a moment before answering.

“Freedom? I thought you did this to take care of the fog or whatever was affecting me?”

“Oh yes, I did,” Griffin confirmed with a nod and a smile forming which showed off many sharp fangs. “But to free you from that which curses you I must free you from everything that affects you.” The girl made sure that she had his full attention as she continued. “I will destroy every curse that has ever harmed you. But I will also destroy every blessing that has been gifted to you.” While saying this the girl made sure to convey how serious the situation was. Part of Adrien wondered how Griffin knew how this power worked despite it being the first time using it but quickly disregarded the question.

The problem that Griffin presented was what he chose to focus on. He wanted freedom but was the cost too much? At the thought, he felt the fog again try to creep up only to be blown away by a flap of Griffin’s beautiful wings. As the wind generated by the wings passed over him memories came with them. Memories of being restricted by his schedule. Of having every second decided for him and how he wasn’t even allowed to complain. Not being able to live a normal life because it wasn’t in his father’s prepared plan for him. Finally, though a memory of finding Tikki’s earring came to his mind. The freedom that came from being Misterbug. Every accomplishment and every mistake was his own. Not decided for him which means that the responsibility to fix them was his. He would take any opportunity given to him!

All of this passed him in a moment and thus with his decision made Adrien met the eyes of Griffin and gave his answer. “Yes, I want freedom!” The freedom to apologize and make up for all the mistakes that he had made! To become a better person than he was!

“Then let this be the day of your Liberation!” Spreading her wings wide the hero let all of her power flow as she reached out toward him. As her hands gently landed on the boy felt her power flow through him. Oddly he felt no pain as the power flowed through him. Meanwhile, the kwamies saw more. All of them could now see the fog that was no doubt the consequence of The Wish. As the power of Liberation flowed over the guardian the kwamies watched the battle between the forces begin. While it only lasted at most a few moments the group of small gods could only be amazed as they watched the unified power tear through fog. While it was destroying the fog they could also occasionally smaller specs being destroyed. As the process was nearing its end they watched as the fog tried to fight back only for it to seem to shatter as the mark of the Order appeared for a moment only for it to burn in black mist.

For a moment Tikki worried that her bug would lose his memories only for the fear to pass due to how quickly it was destroyed. But as that thought passed through her the little red goddess felt what could only be described as an explosion of power. With the destruction of the symbol, all the kwami could feel the end of the Order.

With that, Griffin stood up and nodded. “It is done, you are free.” Pollen flew near her queen as soon as Griffin had spoken.

“Wonderful job my queen, you deserve a break after doing such a service!” The bee kwami praised the girl.

“Yes, after such a great feat you deserve a break.” Longg agreed with the other kwami as they flew near. “That and you don’t have much time left.” At hearing that the girl brought her hand up to see that the ring had lost three of its paw pads. Tikki blinked as she thought over what she was seeing. The red kwami knew that it hadn’t been long enough for both miraculous, yes she had checked the eagle miraculous, to go down that much. Was this due to the power of Catalyst? Some kinda safety feature?

If it was then Griffin ignored it by forcing some power through the ring which restored the paw pads. Grabbing the eagle miraculous the girl repeated the process to restore its energy. “There, good as new.”

“Is that safe?” Adrien questioned with concern as he stood up.

“Not for ones as young as you and her.” Longg informed with a deep frown. “Why would you do something like this? I thought you knew better than to recklessly do things like this.”

“We need to save Kaalki! I refuse to leave her alone or let her be captured again!” Griffin declared with resolve. “I left her in the hands of Hawkmoth for three weeks! I won’t let her think I abandoned her again!” With that, she walked toward the window and prepared to head out only stopping for a moment to grab both Longg and Pollen. The kwamies seeing what was happening clung onto her.

“Wait!” Adrien shouted attempting to stop the girl but it was too late. After jumping out the window Griffin fully utilized her wings to fly away. “Damn it!” Cursing a bit he let out a sigh upon seeing how far she had gone. “She is really worried about Kaalki.”

“Yes, she worried for her dear friend.” Wayzz confirmed with a nod.

“Adrien?” Tikki questioned with concern. “Adrien, are you alright?” Turning towards the small red kwami the boy considered the question. Was he alright? He didn’t feel much different. But then again he also felt a bit more. More free, more like himself?

“I think so?” The model responded with a bit of confusion. “I feel good at least.” With that Adrien took a moment to really check over his condition. “I believe I’m good enough to head out. How about you two?” The two kwami gave reassuring words so after that Adrien transformed and attempted to follow after the girl. Hopefully, things would look up now that he was Liberated.

~~~~~~

Alix sighed as she watched her father and brother work along with some other people. “Jeez, could you act any sadder?” Her brother questioned trying to lighten the mood.

“I easily can.” Alix shot back angrier than intended. It really shouldn’t have shocked her but to her it was understandable. After all, it had been weeks since she lost her miraculous. The miraculous her hero Cheshire had entrusted to her! The hero had given her an anti-akuma charm to keep her safe but after that, the cat hero seemed to avoid her. Not that Alix couldn’t understand. But it hurt. It hurt to have the hero that she respected so much avoid her out of either anger or pity.

“Jali, don’t pester your sister.” Her father calmly stated while giving the teenager a sympathetic look. He might not have understood what she was going through but he knew that it likely had something to do with Cheshire. “Come on we need to finish checking the inventory.” With that, the two went back to work.

Alix let out another sigh as she once again tried to get her mind off of her failures. Bringing out her watch the skater ran her fingers over the edges. It was as she was doing this that the girl felt the watch vibrate. “What?” It was as she was holding the watch trying to figure out watch was happening that a loud cracking and rumbling noise was heard.

Looking up in alarm the shorter girl followed everyone’s gaze to a box that was now shaking. “NOPE!” One of the workers shouted and with that, he ran out of the room. As if waiting for that moment everyone started following the man as they started running out of the room. Alix and her family were quick to follow after the group as they heard the sound of crashing artifacts followed by a scream.

“Miraculous!”

At the scream, Alix felt a bit of concern about what would be coming next. But it also gave her a bit of hope. After all, it had to do with the miraculous then maybe she would get one more chance to see her best friend and apologize for losing the miraculous entrusted to her.

~~~~~~~~

Gabriel was sleeping peacefully, that was until he felt his miraculous start shaking followed by Nooroo letting out a yell as they woke up. After questioning the butterfly kwami about what was happening the business owner ran to check on Natalie who had also woken up. His assistant had then informed him that in addition to the anomaly Nooroo had felt Duusuu had also detected the awakening of an old amok.

“It seems that our vacation has ended earlier than expected.” Gabriel stated with a nod only to be interrupted by a distant explosion. “Lock down the house then meet me up above!” Not wasting another second he transformed into Hawkmoth and rushed to his lair followed shortly after by Mayura. “I don’t know what is going on but hopefully it will be to our advantage!” With that, he expanded his senses to start looking for any potential victims. Feeling a strong negitave emotion he picked up one of the butterflies. “Fly away my little akuma and give power to the helpless.”

“Go my amok and give them a sidekick of their own.” Mayura added on while releasing the corrupted feather. After making sure they were gone the two turned towards each other. “I will go check on the reawakened amok to see if it is the one we were waiting for.” With that the peacock user left to check on the situation.

Hawkmoth was vaguely aware of the house sealing itself to protect both him and Adrian. But everything was focused on the target of his Akuma. After all, it wasn't every day he had a chance such as this. “Hello, Thunderbird I am Hawkmoth and I shall give you the power to prove that you are more than ready to step out of that foolish old bird's shadow.”

Chapter Text

Sparrow gritted her teeth as she clung to UV. How had things ended up this bad? The meeting had been progressing just as her mother and Majestia had predicted only for the entity claiming to be Santa Claus to pull them aside for some kind of secret talk. After they were pulled away Misterbug attempted to use the chance to apologize only for something to happen. That something is some type of headache. Sparrow really couldn’t tell if it was being caused by guilt or something else.

But it was as Cheshire, or whatever she was called, moved to help him that the girl suddenly grabbed the blonde. The blackbird shouted a warning before jumping away just as Sparrow heard the familiar sound of a missile. So with that, everyone had scattered in different directions, well everyone except Sparrow because she didn’t have any powers and didn’t have time to get her gear. So now here she was clinging onto her sister after about a minute or two of flying.

“Well, looks like I get the easy fight.” A condescending voice stated right before UV dodged out of the way of a red beam. The two dodged and landed on the ground where they saw their attacker. “Now with no interference shall we see how you two sidekicks far.”

“Red Beam, I see someone broke you out of prison!” Sparrow commented with heat.

“Yes, I was given a chance to prove that without an actual hero around you two would never have beaten me!” Red Beam shouted as he started powering up his lazers.

“This sounds like you took that loss pretty personally,” Uncanny noted with interest.

“Of course, I took it personally!” Red shouted as he started moving toward the two. “Do you know how much of a laughing stock I became after it was found out that I was defeated by two sidekicks and some newbie hero!” Sparrow slowly moved her hands to attempt to grab something only to freeze as glowing bands bind her hands.

“Really now Red?” Psycho commented with mirth. “So quick to anger that you didn’t notice them preparing for combat?” Faintly the girl could hear another explosion in the backround.

“Screw you!” Red shouted as Sparrow turned to see UV just as bound as her. “I had this handled!”

“Sure you did.” The other villain chided before forcing Sparrow to face him. “Hello little bird, you wouldn’t happen to know where Knight Owl is. I would like to have an actual challenge instead of having to play with baby heroes.” Sparrow felt her blood boil at the insults being directed at her. Yeah, she was a sidekick but after the massive villain invasion, the girl expected a bit more respect!

“Who cares about that stupid old bird!” Red shouted as sparks flew from his hands. “I say we go after that stupid cat! That little feline has some karma coming her way!” In an instant the villain raised his hand and shot a beam that hit Uncanny right in the shoulder. “These two are just the distractions to buy time for the real heroes to arrive.”

Jessica felt her entire being shake in anger. Not only at how these two were poking at her anger at still being seen as a weak sidekick but now they had hurt her sister! Add on to the fact that they were also threatening someone who had helped them and her emotions were raging. It was thanks to those raging emotions that the young teenagers didn’t notice as a purple butterfly infected her belt along with a feather going into her googles.

“Yeah, they may be distractions but they still kicked your but.” Psycho laughed while waving his hands. “Now get your revenge so we can go meet up with the others. Just remember that you can’t murder either of them.”

“Yeah, but we both know how big of a stretch between alive and dead is.” Red chuckled with malicious intent.

Uncanny had been silent due to attempting to contact any of the other heroes only to not receive anything. Staring to worry the android attempted to try and power up one of her attacks only to stop as she saw a mass of bubbling rolling purple energy. After totally covering her sister the energy solidifies and revival a new costume.

Unlike her old costume that hid everything her new costume was skin-tight yellowish gold that had a mix of black and white to give it more volume. The costume had a pair of somewhat mechanical sharp wings that had the same yellow and black colors as the costume. She wore some war paint on her now exposed face along with a war bonnet that held glowing gold feathers with black highlights that gave the akumatized hero a menacing appearance.

“Well isn’t this,” Psycho started their newest taunt only to fall silent as with almost no effort the sidekick tore through the band. “Oh, this isn’t good.” Red just let out a yell and shot out a beam at her. Or he attempted only for a burnt orange and black blur to shoot past them and land a direct hit on the villain.

“I don’t think so!” A young voice shouted as Uncanny was able to get a good look at the girl who had landed a direct hit on Red Beam’s head. The girl wore a tailcoat that was burnt orange in color while underneath she wore a black vest, brown pants, and armored boots. After landing a hit the girl displayed an amazing amount of dexterity by kicking off the face of Red Beam then with a flip in the air she landed near the changed Sparrow.

“Good job, Galaren.” The akumatized hero praised the other girl who beamed at them.

“Yeah I got them good Thunderbird.” The red and black-haired girl cheered with pride in her voice. As she moved her hand UV was able to see that the girl's hands were covered in black padded fingerless gloves. Looking at the girl’s face Uncanny saw that Galaren wore a bird-themed mask.

Physco didn’t say anything but attempted to run away only for Thunderbird to shoot out a bolt of electricity that hit the American villain. The villain shook as the electricity traveled up and down his body before like a doll with its string cut they just collapsed. “That’s two,” Thunderbird’s voice was dry as she turned toward the sky, “out of who knows how many.”

“Don’t worry boss! We got this!” Galaren cheered while patting the other girl's back. Meanwhile, Uncanny stood up having been freed from Physco, and gave a concerned look toward her sister. While the paint along with the akumatization would help to hide her identity it did destroy her Sparrow identity due to having been exposed as a woman.

But before all that, there was a concern that needed to be addressed. “Are you okay?”

“I feel better than I ever.” Thunderbird replied as she looked down at her hand that sparked with electricity.

“You look great too!” The red and black haired girl patted the black haired girl on the back. The corrupted hero gave the girl a beaming smile in return.

“Um, who are you?” Aeon questioned the other girl who blinked at Uncanny before giving a cheerful smile showing off perfect teeth.

“I’m the electric fighter and sidekick of the great Thunderbird, Galaren!” The now-identified girl was introduced while striking a pose.

“Sidekick,” Thunderbird hummed while rubbing her chin, “no, I don’t like that term.” Turning to face the smiling girl Thunderbird gave her a serious look. “Partners, I think that is a better term.”

“Really?” Galaren questioned with a bit of hope. “We can be partners?” Thunderbird gave a nod which caused the now-promoted ‘hero’ to cheer. Before more could be said an explosion happened nearby.

“I suppose we better get to our hero work.” Thunderbird gave a frown before a purple mask outline appeared hovering over the girl’s face. “Relax Hawkmoth I remember our deal. I will get you the Cat and Ladybug miraculous.” With that, the mask disappeared as the wings on her back started to move allowing her to start ascending. “Uncanny, you should head out. You received damage early so if you are not feeling well you should head out.”

“Thank you for your concern but I am still good to go,” Uncanny commented as she watched the two.

“If you’re sure.” Thunderbird gave them a nod.

“Between the three of us, the villains don’t stand a chance!” Galaren gave a thumbs-up to the other two heroes. Aeon didn’t say anything as she double-checked to make sure her recording software was still running along with the distress signal. The android had sent out the signal and started recording after being freed from her binds. However, much to her worry, neither of her mothers had responded to the signal. So until she had gotten other orders the girl would stick close to her sister and keep her eye on them.

Hopefully, things would resolve themselves without Aeon having to betray Jessica or this, no doubt, Amok. While the American hero hadn’t known them for long she could safely say that she liked Galaren and the redhead’s chipper attitude. Though given how past battles went Aeon knew that the amok wouldn’t survive if, no when, Cheshire won. While a bit sad it was needed so Jessica could return to her right state of mind.

~~~~~~

Barbara glared at the red-coated man who pulled them to the side. Her wife had been in the middle of their prepared pitch to Cheshire when this entity claiming to be Santa had interrupted them. After pulling the two of them to the side the heroes had of course questioned the possible nonhuman why he had pulled them to the side.

“Well, I just want to check to see if you were going to invite Cheshire into your Hero program?”

“Of course,” Majestia nodded her head while narrowing her eyes.

“I see,” the white-bearded man nodded his head. “Just to double check you have to be older than eighteen years old to join right?”

That question shook Barbara as the woman could see why the older man had pulled them to the side. “How do you know how old she is?” Knightowl questioned while trying to figure out how the man knew something that Aeon didn’t. The android had been able to see past whatever masking system these miraculous used to hide people's identities. That is except for Misterbug and Cheshire. The two were known to wear multiple miraculous which increased the masking power and thus prevented Aeon from finding out who they were.

“That is between me and her,” Santa responded back. “The important thing to know is that she isn't old enough to join the Hero program.”

“How old is she then?” Majestia questioned with a bit of heat. Sparing a quick look Knightowl could easily see that ‘Santa’s’ statement had gotten under the heroin’s skin. “She has been operating for YEARS and yet you are telling me that she is still to young to join the Heroes program!” Barbara let out a silent sigh as she was reminded just how much her wife hated young children being put into dangrous situation. Olympia was barly okay with their daughters being sidekicks and the two of them were sixteen having started a year ago. So to find out that a girl who might be younger than eighteen had been working alone in a city out to get her was pushing her protective buttons.

“I really can’t say,” Santa attempted to start to say only for Barara to cut in.

“Is she older than sixteen?” Knightowl cut in with her intergation voice. The woman watched the man’s face go through a varity of emotions that told her everything. “Fifteen? Fourteen? Jesus Crist is she THIRTEEN?” Seeing the flinch told her everything.

Majestia shook with furry that very few had ever seen. “THIRTEEN?” The woman growled only for whatever else she was about to be said cut off by a shout. Time slowed down for both heroes as they saw a missle flying toward the building as everyone fled the roof. Majestia grabbed ‘Santa’ by the front of his red coat. As she turned flew backwards the powerhouse saw her wife jump off the edge of the roof before lauching a grabbling hook.

As the group landed on the ground nearby Knightowl glanced to Majestia who roughly dropped the old man she had saved. “Majestia you need to calm down.” Knightowl placed a comforting hand on the woman’s shoulder. “Remember we can’t risk any of us being akumatized.” Knodding her head Majestia started to go through the processes of calming down only to stop part of the way through.

“God, is this what everyone in Paris has to go through?” The blonde questioned only to not get an answear from the others present. After a few more seconds Majestia stood back up. “Alright no time for a pity party we have a city to save!”

“Right,” Knightowl agreed as they reached up to tap part of their helmet. “I’m getting a large amount of police chatter on the radio. It would be best if we split up.”

“Yeah, we need to spread out and find the rest of the group.” Majestia nodded at the other two before stopping and looking toward the white-bearded man. “I don’t know what you are planning on doing but try to stay safe.”

“I know I’m known to be a kind man but…” With that, the man drew out two swords. “Let’s just say that Rise of the Guardians might have been right about me.”

“Oh good I would hate to face someone unable to defend themselves.” An angry voice spoke and shouted at the same time as someone approached them. Turning they spotted a tall burly man that looked like he had a computer and other cybernetic parts built into him. “Now Knightowl and Mr Claus would you two be so kind as to hand over your tech.” Mike Rochip aka, Techno-Pirate demanded.

“Screw the tech!” Another voice announced the presence of a skeletal figure who wore ragged tattered robes. “The power of the miraculous is the only treasure of note!” Withered spoke in a raspy dry tone. Withered was a villain that was rarely seen around but during the few times they were seen were spoken of in fearful tones. “Now, tell me where the brats wielding the legendary powers of the kwami are!”

“You will not be touching them!” Santa moved to attack the skelaten who chuckled as their robes moved around.

“Fine then, I shall fight you and take your magic from you!” Withered challanged as their robes blasted towards the white bearded man. However Majestia couldn’t focus due to Techno shooting the cables wrapped around him toward them.

“Majestia go find the others I can handle this guy!” Knightowl informed her wife who nodded. After dodging the latest rush of wires the woman flew upwards trying to get away from the fighting. Just as the herion started to try to find her daughters only to hear an explosion in the distantice. Turning the woman saw the bank destroyed as groups of people started rushing in.

“I hope the girls show up!” With that, the hero shot off to start saving civilians.

Chapter Text

Misterbug swung through Paris barely able to keep track of Griffin. The girl was blasting forward using whatever magic allowed her to fly while he had a slow start and had to swing with his yoyo. Thankfully the boy had been able to find the girl when she shot back up to the sky after helping two officers take down some sort of criminal. Blinking in shock at seeing the bound up criminal Adrien felt something click in his head.

“The meeting wasn’t attacked by Hawkmoth.” The green eyed boy muttered as, thanks to being friends adjacent to Alya Adrien could vaguely recognize the villain.

“Seems that way.” Said reporter commented as she dropped down near the red and black spotted hero. Purple Tigress wasn’t far behind in her arrival though she did look frazzled.

“Mouse, Tigress, are you two good?” Griffin questioned with concern. The two other heroes turned to the girl and both went silent as they took in her transformation.

“Kit, your…” Trixx flew out from behind the red head sounding excited only to trail off as he finally took in her state.

“Oh, fillie,” Kaalki also made her presence known as she also flew toward the girl, “what happened to you.”

“Nothing to be concerned about.” Griffin attempted to lie. Only to be contradicted by the kwami near her shaking their head. Longg and Pollen were quick to fly over to the other two kwami to have a discussion with them. “Now we need to get down to work. It seems that not only american villains but also villains from all over the world have decided to have a party in our city.”

“So they are attacking the whole city?” Misterbug questioned with concern before nodding. “Alright, I suggest that we let Mouse and Tigress go to check up on their families.” Griffin looked at him for a few moments before turning her eyes over towards the other two heroes. Watching her eyes the boy glanced towards Mouse to see the two miraculous hanging of the girl’s neck. Trying to figure out what the other hero might have been thinking Adrien closed his eyes before getting an idea.

“Wayzz, do you mind going with Tigress?” Misterbug questioned the floating turtle who seemed startled by the question. Not noticing the others turn towards him the green eyed boy watched the turtle who looked between him and Tigress.

“What about you?” Wayzz questioned with concern.

“I’ll grab a different miraculous.” Adrien reassured the kwami who gave him a nod. With that he took off the miraculous before offering it to Tigress. “Here you go Purple, make sure you take care of yourself and Wayzz.”

“Oh, um, thank you.” Tigress mumbled her thanks to the two as she put the miraculous on.

“Don’t worry about it.” Adrien waved it off before turning to his yo-yo.

“Is it safe for her to wear multiple miraculous?” Mouse questioned with concern.

“Wearing two miraculous isn’t that much of a problem now that she built up part a bit of strength.” Griffin lectured as Misterbug opened up his yoyo. “The problem is if she attempts to Unify without any training.”

“Where did you get your training from?” Misterbug questioned as he reached into his yoyo to retrieve a miraculous only for his weapon to shake suddenly and his hand to shoot out. “What the!” Stumbling back a bit the boy shut the yoyo but not before it spat out two miraculous.

“What happened!” Trixx questioned as he flew near them. Griffin was quick to appear near him and studied the yoyo for a moment.

“You seem unharmed,” Griffin commented much to Misterbug’s discomfort for having the girl so close. The fact that she also was concerned about him was another nail in his decision.

“Thank you for the concern.” Misterbug smiled at the girl who didn’t seem to notice as she had fallen into thought. Taking the chance the boy moved to pick up the miraculous that were dropped. Picking up the two miraculous the boy eyed the collar and watched as the dog along with the rabbit appeared.

“Aha! I knew something was happening!” Barkk shouted out as she appeared.

“Yes, something strange has happened.” Fluff agreed while still looking forward before blinking. “I suppose that that thing has something to do with what we felt earlier.”

“Thing? What thin…” Barkk began only to follow Fluff’s gaze to see some creature with pitch-black wings. “Wah, wah, AHH!”

“That’s hurtful,” Griffin commented hiding the actual hurt that came from having a kwami call her a thing along with another screaming at her appearance. “I think I figured out what happened.”

“That’s good but we don’t have time,” Misturbug commented while putting on the dog's miraculous.

“Yeah, um, we do have a lot to do,” Mouse commented from where she was watching.

“I should probably-” Tigress was cut off by a large crashing sound.

“Oh what now!” Griffin shouted as they all turned to see a large creature getting up from where it had crashed into a storefront.

“MIraculous!” The amok shouted out. The eyeless creature seemed to focus on the large group.

“Mouse, Purple run!” Griffin shouted as the creature started its running charge.

“What is that thing!” Misterbug questioned as the kwami flew around in worry.

“Not the time!” Griffin shouted as she moved out of the way just in time to avoid the charge and land a kick on the side of the body. As the kick landed black and brown energy formed into a taloned foot that sent the beast blasting a good few feet away. Taking a glance back the girl saw the three other miraculous users watching her. “What are you doing? Move!”

That got both Mouse and Tigress to shoot off in different while Misterbug stood still. “Tikki, Barkk, Unify!” With that done the hero now stood with his changed costume and ran up to stand near her. “Do we have a plan for this?”

Plan? What did he expect? She formed a plan in literal seconds and could figure out where the object was. Who did he think she was? As if to answer that question the girl caught sight of her new wings from the corner of her eye. That’s right, she was a hero. A hero whom Paris needed right now. So she pushed everything down and straightened herself.

“First we need to find the amoks object.” Griffin declared with narrowed eyes as she reached behind herself. Feeling herself grabbing an object She brought it around to find that her weapon had changed, what should have been a baton or even an energy scythe was now turned into a wicked evil-looking scythe.

“It would be easier if we knew who or where the akuma was.” Bugbite commented while seeing the beast get up. Well, that was what Griffin was going to this unified state.

“Miraculous!” It angrily growled while getting up.

“That is not of Mayura’s making,” Longg informed them as the creature prepared for another charge. “This was made by the past guardian.”

“So this is Feast?” Griffin commented letting Misterbug know that she had some knowledge about the amok. Misterbug opened his mouth to ask a question only to be grabbed by the girl who shot up and out of the way of a lunging amok. “It seems that it has gotten stronger and faster.” With a flap the girl flew out of the way of a jump.

“That’s annoying,” The boy muttered while bringing out the yoyo and ball. Griffin landed on a roof. “Trade, I’ll hold this beast off.” The girl rolled her eyes before handing over the scythe and taking the two weapons. “This has to be the evil looking real weapon I’ve seen.”

“Hmm,” The girl didn’t comment no doubt thinking that Adrien was calling her evil due to how her weapon looked.

“I mean it looks very nice, very cool.” The unified user attempted to course correct.

“Thanks,” The girl mumbled before she pressed a button on the yoyo causing his yoyo to open up with pink wings. Gently placing the ball into the center the two combined together to form a tougher shell around the now humming and vibrating device.

“Miraculous!” Feast shouted as they started making its way up toward them.

“Perfect test.” Waiting for a shot the girl threw the armored yoyo which flew straight into the amoks mouth. Adrien was about to complain only to fall short as the weapon flew back into her hand.

“Good job,” Misterbug complimented as he saw the girl reach into the yoyo and pull out a book.

“This isn’t it.” Griffin huffed as she tossed it aside.

“How?” The red, black, and orange hero questioned as the amok screamed and ran toward them.

“The ball protects the yoyo which helps catch the objects. Kinda like the Beetle from Skyward Sword.” The girl explained as she dodged out of the way of a tongue lash.

“Sounds good,” The boy nodded as he spun the scythe sending the amok's grabbing hand away. “So, you keep fishing until we find the object while I protect you?”

“I’m the stronger one so I should-” The black-winged hero began to talk only for one of her wings to bend around her and block a lightning bolt.

“Look’s like I found you.” The yellow possible akuma flew down to look at her opponent.

“Hey, looks like one of you need.” A red and black haired girl commented as she landed on part of the roof they were using. “Oh, and there is the other one.”

“How fortunate for us.” The electric-powered villain muttered with a smirk.

“Just what we need, more villains,” Misterbug commented with narrowed eyes as he saw something. Moving quickly the boy intercepted yet another tongue attack, this time towards a distracted Griffin.

“We aren’t villains, unlike you!” The red and black girl shouted outraged. “Thunderbird and I, Galarian, are the greatest heroes this world will ever know!”

“I’m not included?” Another voice questioned as Uncanny flew near the two.

“No, no of course you-” Galarian began only to be cut off by Feast screaming once again but this time it seemed to be throwing a tantrum. The roof they were on began to form cracks.

“Dangit we need to run before it crushes the roof!” Griffin shouted while grabbing her temporary partner. “Hang on, Bugbite!” With that the girl once again shot off.

“Where do you think you are going?” Thunderbird shouted as she flew after them.

Griffin flapped her wings as she scanned around the area. They needed to find a somewhat open area if they were going to engage in a wide area combat. Only a few places came to mind, so she sped up towards the Eiffel Tower with narrowed eyes. “We got a train coming after us Grif! Also Bugbite?” Her passenger questioned from where she was holding him.

“You got a better one? Misterdog?” With that girl glanced towards the side to give him a side eye.

“Bugbite works,” the named Bugbite sighed before glancing behind them. “Dodge!” Not hesitating, the girl tucked her wings around them and spun out of the way.

Adrien held his breath as he felt the lightning attack pass by followed by Griffin unfolding her wings again. It took a second for her to regain her balance and continue forward. “We need to take out the,” interrupting her, Bugbite gave another shout that had the girl shooting straight up. Galarian shot through where they had been a second before. Not even a second later Bugbite felt his breath catch as a long tongue shot towards them. The girl carrying him flapped her wings and started flickering with black energy. Tightening her grip on the boy she pulled her wings in tight and began to spin out of the way.

As she did so the black energy that surrounded her wings created a sparking barrier around them. The tongue attempted to grab them but the second it got near them the black energy tore into the amok’s tongue. The frog-like beast let out a screaming shout as the now-wounded and bleeding tongue retracted back into its mouth. Bug Bite barely had a second to take all this in as Griffin snapped her wings out sending out a wave of energy that made the other two pressures back off.

Seeing that they were close to the ground Bugbite rolled out of the girl’s arms and started spinning his weapon around to generate a shield. A shield that was put to use as he was forced to block a lightning bolt. “These guys are not letting up!”

“Why would we?” Galarian questioned with a smirk. “We have you right where we want you!”

“Hand over the cat and bug miraculous, they are the only ones we are after,” Thunderbird informed them as she gracefully landed right beside her partner. Feast let out a noise of disagreement from where it was across from the group. Uncanny hovered nearby ready to intervene if necessary. To help her teammate or them was left up to debate.

“I know it is kinda obvious but I’m going to say it,” Bugbite whined while looking at all the opponents. “Tonight sucks, it really sucks.”

“That’s an understatement.” Griffin muttered while glancing around, somehow this was worse than anything she could have predicted.

Chapter Text

Alix rushed forward following the trail of destruction caused by the beast. The small girl maintained her breathing as she attempted to spot any indication of any type of battle going on. However, it was as she ran that the girl noticed lots of different noises coming from different directions. Looking around the girl slowed down as she started taking in the destruction around her. “Wh-what is going on?” The skater questioned as her mind tried to figure out how that one monster could have caused any of this.

“ALIX!” A voice called out from above. Spinning around the young girl spotted her father rushing toward her. “Alix, what are you doing? We need to get somewhere safe!”

“Dad, I need,” The young girl began to say something only to fall silent as her mind tried to figure out what she wanted. She wanted to see her best friend again, in person. She wanted to be of use and not be remembered for her failure. She needed to get rid of this horrible feeling that had been plaguing her for the past three weeks. All of this passed through her mind in a few seconds as the father and daughter looked at each other.

Before anything more could be said a loud noise drew both of their attention. Turning the two saw a costumed man land near them. The man wore only black pants with heavy-duty boots while he had chains wrapped around his body. The skater girl couldn’t take in any more before she and her dad were forced to dodge due to the chain user started tossing around the chains causing lots of damage to anything nearby.

The father and daughter rushed past him and attempted to move somewhere safe only to once again stop as another person dropped near them. This person was one that Alix could somewhat recognize. “Rena!” The currently mouse-themed hero spun around to face the girl with a look of shock.

“Alix, what are you doing out here!” The female superhero questioned while looking around. Alix could probably guess as to what she is looking for.

“The chain guy is back over there!” Her father informed the hero who looked relieved for a moment before they heard a scream coming from the main road.

“Dad you need to get out of here!” Alix told her dad while pushing him toward an exit and glancing toward Rena. A question in her eyes as she met the eyes of her former, no her teammate.

“Right no time to delay,” Her dad agreed with determination as he charged forward into the back streets. Alix followed for a bit before doubling back. When she came back towards Alya the skater saw the girl holding out her hands with an aggravated kwami floating in front of her.

“You’re sure I can’t even try?” Alya questioned the fox kwami who let out a huff.

“Yes, I’m sure,” Trixx responded flatly.

“What’s going on?” Alix drew the two’s attention to her.

“I was trying to find out how to do the Unify thing but Trixx won’t tell me how to,” Alya muttered with a sigh. “He says that I couldn’t even attempt it even if I did know the process.”

“Why were you asking about it anyway?” Alix questioned with concern. The small skater girl remembered how Cheshire had on multiple occasions mentioned how Unify was a dangerous technique so for Alya to be considering it must be scared. Seeming to hear something the current mouse-themed hero pulled Alix over to a slightly covered area while covering her mouth. Trixx flew with them to the cover and settled down on the red-haired’s head.

As she did so Alix could hear a whistling and crunching noise. Turning slightly, the pink-haired girl saw the man from earlier walk by as he swung his chains at high speed, causing the noise she had heard. The man didn’t say anything as he passed by the alleyway but Alix could feel Alya shaking. Grabbing the other girl’s arm Alix met the report's eyes with her resolved ones. Alya seemed to understand what Alix was suggesting as she took off the mouse miraculous. “Trixx, Let’s Pounce.” Whispering the words the two waited to see if the villain noticed the lightshow.

“I take it the meeting isn’t going well?” Mullo questioned, after Alix put on the miraculous, only to receive a shush from the two girls. “Oh, we're hiding I get it. Well, the transformation words are, Get Squecky.”

Nodding along Alix repeated the words and donned a black and grey suit with only a little pink to highlight her mask. “Alright let’s meet up with Cheshire and we can work on solving this crisis from there.” The skater whispered her suggestion to which Alya shook her head.

“Cheshire said to check on our families first. Plus,” Stopping for a bit Rena pulled Alix with her as she dodged out of the way of a missile that had blasted into the alleyway.

“What the heck!” Alix shouted as the two landed in a roll. The two looked to see Knightowl fighting some mechanical being who was bringing mechanical creations near him. “How many villains are there!”

“I have no idea!” Alya replied while getting up and looking around. “They just keep coming out of the woodwork!” As if in response to that sentence the chain villain came back with a wicked-looking grin. The giant of a man let out a chuckle as he charged forward toward them. Neither of them said anything as they moved to flee. Alix grabbed the rope around her waist and was quicker to fling it away and use it to pull herself away from the man. Rena in the meantime had jumped up to a roof. One in the opposite direction of Alix.

The now-alone girl cursed herself at noticing that she had landed near the fight between the robot guy and Knightowl. The robot guy had spotted her and seemed to debate with himself about who to go after before refocusing on Knightowl. While part of her was upset about being ignored she decided to instead focus on her self-assigned task of finding Cheshire.

Rushing forward the short girl maneuvered over the roofs of Paris as she looked for any sign of her friend. As she ran the girl missed the horse miraculous and the speed that came with it. The mouse miraculous was nowhere near as fast and it felt like it was taking longer and longer to get where she was going. Not that she knew where she was going.

As she ran though the girl would occasionally spot a few police officers trying to deal with the villains that were running around. Cursing to herself Alix jumped off the roof to assist the police with the current crisis. Cheshire would understand, heck she would approve of what she was doing. Alix just hoped that her best friend was doing okay.

~~~~~~

Griffin gritted her teeth and narrowed her eyes as she looked around at the situation she was in. This situation was getting worse and worse with no sign of stopping. Bugbite moved closer to her as he kept track of the enemies behind them. “Hand over the miraculous!” Thunderbird demanded as sparks flew off of her. “We only need the Cat and Bug, you can keep the rest.”

“Miraculous!” Feast shouted while stomping on the ground. Like a giant toddler.

“Why do we only need the Black Cat and Ladybug miraculous?” Uncanny questioned Thunderbird who didn’t respond as they kept an eye on Bugbite and Griffin. Galarian didn’t say anything but did shrug to show that she didn’t know.

“Lucky Charm!” Bugbite shouted out as he used the break in all the running and fighting to use his power in a swirl of red and black the item formed and fell right into his hands. The girl caught a glimpse of the item but wasn’t able to figure out what it was before it fell into waiting hands. Griffin wasn’t able to focus on it much longer due to Thunderbird launching a bolt at her. Swinging her staff the girl deflected the large mandatory of the magic attack only to have to dodge a follow-up attack by the red amok.

As she dodged the attacks though Bugbite also moved and grabbed her waist before pulling them away from Feast’s tongue that shot at where they were. “Alright, my Lucky Charm is a Disney Hydra toy with a red and black stick stuck in it. I’m open to interpretation.” Griffin let out a hum as she thought over everything only to have to use her wings to move out of the way of yet another bolt. It was irritating how she didn’t have a long-range attack, or did she? Pouring a bit of energy into the scythe she swung the weapon which sent out a wave of black-grey energy in the form of a large bird that scared off Thunderbird and Galarian. “All I can think of is how the hydra was killed in the movie relating to defeating one of the amoks.”

Letting out a hum Griffin glanced towards Feast who was repositioning himself to get a better shot at them. Repositioning Misterbug the girl grabbed onto him tight as she shot another energy eagle out toward the Akuma and their sidekick. “Hold on tight and don’t drop anything!” With that, the girl flew right at Feast who had just opened their mouth.

Misterbug gripped onto her tight as they flew into the void that was Feast’s stomach. “Looks like a Kirby situation with everything in here.”

“Keep your eyes open for the staff.” Griffin lightly reprimanded as she evaded around the random assortment inside the amok. “Guys if you can help.”

“Don’t worry we will help my Queen!” Pollen called out as she and the other kwami flew out from where they were hiding.

“Fluff, you got anything?” Bugbit questioned the rabbit kwami. At not receiving an answer right away he worried about having lost the miraculous.

“This place is more interesting than the box,” Fluff commented from somewhere relieving the hero.

“Of course, it is more interesting than a white void,” Griffin muttered with a bit of heat.

“It’s a white void?” Bugbite questioned as he glanced around.

“It is, though I do like my collection in the box.” Longg through in, “But yes it is indeed a white void.”

“No wonder all the kwamis seem to like whatever you made,” Bugbite mumbled aloud. “What is that anyway? I think I heard Mullo-”

“Over there young ones,” Sass said while pointing towards a staff.

“Got it!” Griffin shouted while flying towards the staff. Getting close Bugbite through his armored yoyo flew forward and snatched the staff.

“Do we break it now or wait?” Bugbite questioned as he brought the staff closer. Before Griffin could say anything a lightning bolt struck her in the back. Griffin felt her muscles spasm as she started falling through the void banging into a few objects. “Griffin!” Bugbite shouted as he clung onto her as they fell. Griffin focused as best she could and forced her body to move and try to straighten her fall. Bugbite looked behind him and spun his yoyo to block the next bolt. “Looks like only the Zapdos parody came in.”

“Really?” Thunderbird commented with a huff. “At least I’m a hero unlike you.” Griffin wanted to say something but the electricity coursing through hadn’t fully stopped. “Now hand over the” The akuma stopped mid-speech as she caught sight of something. Following her gaze, the two miraculous users saw a pocket watch hovering in the void. Flying forward Thunderbird aimed to grab the miraculous only for the armored yoyo to capture it in the ball.

“Breaking it!” Bugbite shouted while breaking the staff and releasing the purified feather. The boy was quick to grab the feather in his yoyo. The entire void shook before it exploded sending everyone flying. Reacting on instinct Griffin wrapped the both of them in her wings to protect them somewhat. It wasn’t very effective but it did soften the landing as they were thrown out of the void and back onto the streets along with everything else that was in Feast’s stomach. After coming to a stop the girl unfurled her wings to find herself under the Eiffel Tower.

“My Queen!” Pollen shouted in concern as the girl let out a groan before closing her eyes. A beep drew from nearby made her open them again to see Bugbite’s earing down to two spots. “Are you alright? Please tell me you are alright?”

“We need to get out of here,” Bugbite said as he slowly made to get up placing his hands carefully on the concrete where her wings weren’t. Getting up the boy was about to stand up only to receive a kick from Galaren. As the girl landed she planted her foot right on Griffin.

“Sorry, but you two aren’t going anywhere!” The electric fighter shouted at them while pressing down more on the girl who let out a gasp. Bugbite flew for a bit before landing with a stumble. Glaring at the amok who was smirking while standing on his… the girl whom he owed so much to. Thinking through things the boy glanced at the other miraculous user and seeing her look at him he twitched the hand that was holding the Lucky Charm. The girl gave a nod and tensed her muscles.

“Miraculous Misterbug!” Throwing the toy in the air he watched it break apart as the bugs swept around the area.

“Ahh!” Galarian cried as the swarm swept around and over her. Griffin used the chance to grab her ankle quickly and push power through the amok. The power of Liberation and Destruction flowed into the amok who was screaming before with strength they flung Galarian away. Stumbling up they started to move as Bugbite grabbed her.

“Come on let’s go,” Helping her to stand up he blinked as his earrings blinked letting him know he was at his last minute with the Ladybug.

“What did you do!” Thunderbird shouted at the two while Uncanny landed near the twitching Galarian. “What did you do to Galarian!” Not even given a chance to respond the Akuma sent large bolts of electricity toward the two. Bugbite spun his armored yoyo blocking the damage but it did cause some flash damage to his eyes. Blinking away the damage to his eyes the male hero attempted to block whatever would come next. However, he didn’t expect Griffin to launch them to the side as a yellow beam blasted above them. Looking to the side he saw that Thunderbird had flanked them with her wings.

Landing he kept his eyes on the akumatized hero. Getting himself and Griffin back up the girl swung her scythe and sent out an energy that was breaking on the edges. Thunderbird shot out of the way as Bugbite prepared to throw his weapon. However, that was when his luck ran out as with a pink light Bugbite was no more. To make matters worse, as the Unity ended the Rabbit miraculous dropped from where his yoyo had been.

Everything seemed to stop as everyone looked at each other as Fluff formed above her miraculous. Griffin felt her mind work itself over with what little she had left after taking so much damage to both her body and will. Bugbite had been in the middle of having thrown the yoyo so the miraculous was now sitting in the middle of the group. She could attempt to fly forward attempting to outspeed the others present.

As if to remind her that she wouldn’t outspeed the others her body flared with great pain as she moved a little bit. As she realized that wasn’t an option the girl remembered a passage in her ancestor’s journal. A last resort but one that might just be needed at the moment. It might cause a bit of a problem later but it was needed. So with a deep breath, the girl did what was needed.

“Fluff as the Head of my Order I plead with you to Collapse this entrance to the Burrow!” Griffin shouted as quickly as she could. The rabbit looked at her as Thunderbird neared the miraculous with an outstretched hand.

“Okay.” With that, the kwami flew into the miraculous which started to shake. The miraculous’s bright colors started to fade before they went dull right as Thunderbird grabbed it. Griffin though didn’t stick around for much longer. Grabbing the other miraculous user the girl forced her wings to work as they shot away.

The boy held on tight to both the girl and Tikki as they took off faster than before. “What did you do?” The current dog user questioned.

“Collapsing the Burrow is a last-ditch power of the rabbit,” Tikki announced as Griffin was focused on flying. The girl was taking the back roads and other paths to throw off any attempt to follow them. “The power allows for Fluff to dive into the Burrow and deactivate her currently active miraculous. From there one of her other miraculous can become active.”

“She has multiple miraculous?”

“Yesss, due to how powerful and dangerousss it would be for her miraculous to fall into evil hands it wasss decided that Fluff would have multiple miraculoussss.” Sass elaborated on what Tikki had said. “Due to the nature of how it works only the head of orders are allowed to give the command.”

“Interesting,” Adrien muttered with a hum. The boy started to wonder how Griffin knew of the technique only to fall silent as they suddenly plummeted and crashed into trash cans. “What happened?” Getting out of the trash pile he turned towards Griffin to see her seeming to be out cold. “Griffin!”

“Wha-?” The hero questioned as she opened her eyes slightly.

“My Queen!” Pollen flew out to check on the girl. “My Queen you need to rest,” Kaalki added her agreement to the statement as she flew around the struggling girl.

“Pollen speaks the truth,” Longg agreed with the yellow kwami. “You need to rest little one.” Tikki flew nearby to help check on her and could see why they were so worried.

“We need to get you sssomewhere sssafe.” Sass pressed with clear concern.

“I’m getting up,” Griffin mumbled to seemingly nobody as she slowly got up.

“The kwami are right. You need to rest,” Adrian neared the girl and was about to put a hand on the girl’s shoulder only to stop. They weren’t that close, she might think he was attempting to steal a miraculous.

“The city is still in danger. I, I need to,” Griffin mumbled as she attempted to get up. Adrien watched this happen with his gut twisting. How had he ever thought that this girl was in any way shape or form evil? How many hoops had he jumped through to arrive at that conclusion?

“You need to rest little one.” Longg attempted to press but the girl didn’t seem to notice. Adrien felt his mind start running around in circles as he tried to figure out a way to get the girl to rest. Turning slightly to look at Tikki the boy saw some concern in her eyes. However, it was while looking at her that an idea came to his mind. An idea that the old him would have never considered.

“Hey, you should probably go check on Plagg and Liiri.” The boy calmly suggested to the girl who’s head shot up to look at him. “You have been using their powers a lot so they might need to recharge.” The girl’s eyes conveyed a large internal debate.

“You should go somewhere safe to feed them.” Tikki kindly recommended as the girl looked down.

“That is a great idea Filly,” Kaalki added on to the red kwami’s statement.

“But people are in danger. Plagg said I need to use the miraculous to protect people.” Griffin muttered as she seemed disappointed in herself. “But, I also need to take care of Plagg and Liiri.”

“Don’t worry I’ll take care of protecting the people.” The blonde attempted to reassure the girl who shook her head.

“No, no, I can’t trust you!” Griffin shook her head in denial. Adrian felt a bit hurt but understood why she wouldn’t trust him.

“I understand, but you could leave for at least a few minutes right?” At the question, the girl hesitated. “You could go somewhere safe, check on Plagg, Liiri, and the other kwami then come back?” At that, the conflict seemed to settle down in her eyes.

“Okay, yeah, I can do that.” Griffin agreed with a nod. “I can go recharge then I’ll be back.”

Knodding his head the unnamed dog hero leaned over to Sass. “See if you and Plagg can convince her to rest.” The snake kwami gave the nod to his whispered instructions. Griffin didn’t seem to notice the byplay thankfully as she finally got to her feet.

“Come on guys let’s go.” Griffin informed her kwami who instantly flew onto her. It took a few flaps of the girl’s wings for her to take off. Within moments the girl was gone and the boy turned towards Tikki.

“I don’t think she is going to come back.” The blonde told the kwami who gave her own slow knod.

“I hope she is okay, we both owe her much.” The red kwami echoed his thoughts though she had her reason. Griffin was creative and was able to create techniques along with powers almost on the spot. This along with Cheshire having power-up potions was leading her thoughts down a trail of thoughts. Thoughts the red goddess wouldn’t share with Adrien. After all, if she was right and the cat was who she thought they were then it would destroy him. “Here Tikki, eat up we have a city to save.” Breaking the kwami from her thoughts her bug handed her a small cookie. “I think Griffin took Galarian out but we can’t be sure. Either way, we have our work cut out for us.” That felt like an understatement. Though as she munched on her cookie Tikki wondered where Fluff wound up at.

Chapter Text

Juleaka rushed through the streets as her heart pounded in her chest. This was supposed to be easy, well easy for her. She had shown up at Misterbug’s request for moral support and after consulting with her brother the teenager had agreed to support the ‘hero’. The two siblings and one kwami had been trying to figure out a way for Purple Tigress to show up to the meeting only for the solution to present itself.

The solution in question was Alya calling. The red-haired girl had been so excited when Juleka had answered that it had taken around four minutes to get a full sentence that didn’t dissolve into rapid squeals of excitement. “Majestia will be there and she said she would bring her team with!”

“Wow, it sounds like an exciting meeting.” Juleka began nervously hoping not to give too much away. “Would it be alright for me to come with you?”

“You totally should!” The goth could imagine the reporter bouncing on the other side of the phone. “I’ll pick you up! Anyway, I gotta go, talk to you later!” With that, the conversation ended. It was two days later, after a rather nice Christmas, that she found herself in a meeting with other heroes. For the most part, Juleka stayed off to the side, she had promised Roarr to be more assertive but this was too delicate for her to even think about ruining it.

Purple Tigress suffered a bit of a heart attack though when Majestia outed her as a double agent. Purple had frozen up only to get another shock as Cheshire knew the whole time that she was a double agent. From there things seemed to go downhill fast. The magical being said to be Santa had drawn the two adult heroes to the side and then Misterbug had collapsed not that long afterward due to pain. From there the meeting was attacked which sent her and Alya flying.

After avoiding villains the two female heroes had found a transformed Griffin along with Misterbug. Juleka hung back as she remembered her brother talking about the transformation Cheshire had undergone during her fight with Zookeeper. Misterbug had given her Wayzz’s miraculous. From there everyone had split up to check up on their families, which led to where she was now.

Running through the streets of Paris trying to get home as quickly as possible. Juleka was focused on getting home and making sure that everyone was safe and her home was safe. Getting near Purple felt her heart start pounding louder at hearing the sound of chaos. Flashes of light were seen as she arrived to see the police attempting to hold back the villains and not having much success. The police were doing their best but it was obvious that they weren’t prepared to deal with this on such short notice.

Ignoring the conflict Tigress stuck to the sides but froze up as noticed that she would have to cross a wide-open area. Looking at the shootout Juleka felt herself completely freeze up. The guns were loud the yelling was loud, everything was so loud.

“It is alright.” Wayzz’s comforting voice drew her out of her thoughts. “You are young and haven’t been exposed to this intense fighting.” The young girl looked at the green kwami who seemed to know what she wanted. “There is a way to get by them, you have seen the others activate other powers.”

Nodding her head the girl closed her eyes and focused as best she could. It was very faint but she could feel it. Pulling on it Juleka felt three ways to use it. First was the punch but that wouldn’t be useful. So she tried using the energy to hide, to conceal herself. To hide herself.

The energy slowly coated around her. As it did so the holder of the miraculous could almost feel the description of the power flow into her as well. This power wasn’t invisibility persay but it was close. It made her harder to notice and made it easier to blend into her surroundings. This power was the secondary power of Roarr, Cloak.

Using this power allowed her to slowly and carefully make her way across the battlefield. It took two minutes for her to cross the stretch of road and arrive home. Her home was being defended by her mom who, along with a few neighbors, was using the canons along with anything else to attempt to keep the houseboat safe. It would be a bit difficult making her way on the houseboat but if Misterbug could do it so could she. So with determination, the young girl eventually made her way to her brother's room. It took about a minute for to finally get to the window and see her brother Luka looking out the window, thankfully alone.

Tapping on the window the guitarist jumped in shock. “Luka, it's me,” Juleka whispered while letting the power slowly fade.

“Purple?” Rushing to the window Luka opened it up letting her in. “Are you okay? You didn’t get hurt?”

“I’m good,” Juleka reassured while finally getting in. After detransforming the sister collapsed onto the bed. “Just tired.”

“Alright, just rest.” Luka pattered her shoulder before looking back out the window. “We can’t head out anyway.”

“We might need to anyway.” Roarr pointed out while motioning to her miraculous. “There are people in danger.”

“Roarr is right.” Wayzz agreed. “There are too many enemies for the police or the others to deal with.” Juleka folded a bit into herself as she remembered all the fights she had passed. Could she rest knowing how much danger was out there? But what could she offer? Juleka wasn’t brave and had almost no fighting experience. The young girl curled up more as her mind started going down a darker path.

Thankfully before it could go on too far her brother’s hand landed on her shoulder. “We can do it together.” Luka’s voice came out calm and strong. “You don’t have to do this alone.”

“Of course, even tigers know when to rely on others.” Roarr agreed with a smile. Luka kept an eye on his sister who understood what he wanted. With no words exchanged between them, she handed over the turtle miraculous.

“Alright,” Luka turned to look at the turtle who looked back at him, “Can you give me a rundown on your basics?”

“Of course,” Wayzz agreed and with that, the two humans and two kwami prepared themselves for what was to come.

~~~~~

Adrien moved around the streets of Paris while looking for one specific location. “I can’t believe we forgot to grab more food.” The chosen Tikki reprimanded himself.

“We had more than enough food, we just burnt through it with all the transformations.” Tikki reminded the boy. While the boy didn’t respond his shoulders relaxed a bit. Moving near the end of the alley the boy thought over his decisions. It had started a little after Cheshire had left, Adrien had soon made his way out from where he was hiding and up to the rooftops.

From there he and Tikki discovered that he didn’t have any food left to recharge her. While that meant that he was down her power Adrien had thought he would have been okay due to still having the dog miraculous active. It was barely a minute later that he was proven wrong when he encountered a group of villains who were robbing a store.

Fighting against the two had shown the boy that the current miraculous wasn’t a direct combat miraculous. It had taken him longer and more effort than he would have liked to take down those two so it was decided by him and Tikki to go get some food to recharge her. Sadly Adrien, who really needed to think of a dog hero name, could only think of two places he would be able to sneak into and get the needed treats. However, Chloe’s hotel was bound to be more busy so with as much stealth as he could the hero worked his way to the bakery owned by Marinette’s parents.

He really hated having to do this but this was the quickest way to get Tikki the treat she needed to get back in shape. “I’ll make it up to her…” Adrien muttered to both him and his kwami as they arrived at the back door. Testing the door he was slightly shocked to find it unlocked. Walking inside the boy attempted not to make a noise only to fail as he tripped on a jar. He tried to regain his balance only to knock a few things over.

“Who’s, yawn, who’s there?” A sleepy voice questioned as Marinette appeared holding a bat. Blinking when he saw her Adrien took in her appearance. Her pigtails were messy and her hair seemed to have lost some of its shine, large bags had formed under her eyes, and her breath seemed to come uneven. She looked seconds away from collapsing. Was she sick? What had happened, Marinette had been okay when he had stopped by a few days ago. First thing was first.

“Relax, relax Marinette its me, Misterbug.” The current dog hero reassured her while motioning to Tikki.

“It is us Marinette.” The red kwami agreed while floating forward. Marinette blinked at her before lowering the bat.

“I’m sorry to barge in but I ran out of food to recharge Tikki with. Would it be possible if we could get some cookies for her?” Marinette took a few seconds to seem to process his request.

“You need food for Tikki?”

“Yes, we ran out of food and need more,” Tikki confirmed causing Marinette to blink a bit before moving more into the bakery. The kwami and her chosen looked at each other before the two followed the girl.

“Dog hero, dog hero,” They heard the girl mutter as she moved around opening cupboards. “Underdog, Scooby, no doesn’t fit. Definitely not Courage.”

“Are you trying to think of a name for this form?” The dog user questioned as he saw the black-haired girl pull out a bag. Seeing her teetering the boy rushed forward to catch her in case she were to fall. However, she caught herself before the intervention was needed.

“Yeah, names are import-” Whatever else she was going to say was lost as she fell into a coughing fit. His heart felt like it froze as he watched her entire body be wracked as each cough tore out of her. Adrien wanted to comfort her but he also didn’t want to touch her without permission. Thankfully the coughing only lasted about thirty seconds before she was able to regain control. “Sorry, I’m not at a hundred percent.”

“It’s alright,” Barkk’s user reassured Marinette while keeping an eye on her. Tikki was going to voice her concern but Marinette beat her to it by placing the tray of cookies in front of her.

“Thank you Marinette!” The red kwami made sure to give her best thanks and brightest smile. “Why don’t you go back to bed?”

Again it seemed to take a good while for said blue-eyed girl to process the words of the kwami. “But I can’t sleep, I need to wait.”

“Wait, wait for what?” Adrien questioned while trying to figure out what Marinette was talking about. All the girl did was repeat that she needed to wait. Turning toward Tikki, who was eating one of the cookies, the blonde decided that he would need to get her to rest before he could leave. “Well if you’re going to wait shouldn’t you get comfortable?”

Beautiful blue eyes looked at him with a somewhat glazed expression that showed how out it Marinette was. Once more she mumbled about needing to wait to which he agreed before lightly touching her and helping to guide the exhausted girl up towards the living area. Thankfully he was able to remember the layout of the house from back when he had played videogames with her. Tikki followed close to them as she continued eating.

It was as the group was heading upstairs that Adrien started figuring out who his classmate was waiting for. Despite how much noise had been made nobody else had come to investigate. Meaning her parents weren’t home. An ugly pit formed in his stomach as he thought over the implications of Marinette’s parents not being home. They weren’t home and Marinette was here, all alone.

Conflicting feelings were growing in him. Anger at her parents for not being here when she needed them, guilt at her most likely being sick due to her being outside on a cold night with him, and finally sadness that he couldn’t stay with her.

He couldn’t stay with her because he needed to go save Paris. To prove not only to Cheshire that he was a hero but also to himself. To prove that now that he was Liberated he could be an even better hero than before. Shaking those thoughts off in time to catch a stumbling Marinette, who had tripped on one of the steps.

“Hey, we’re almost at the Living area.” Adrien reassured her while helping her stand a bit straighter. The girl mumbled something and moved forward up the last few steps, but as she did the boy remembered that Marinette’s room was in the attic. There was no way Marinette was making it up there. How she had made it into the Bakery was both a mystery and a miracle. “Why don’t we rest on the couch? It is the best place to wait for people.”

“Yeah, I need to wait.” The out-of-it girl mumbled with a nod and almost fell over again if not for the dog user. “I need to wait, they said it wouldn’t be long.” Helping to guide the girl he helped her to the couch where she collapsed.

“Yup, you don’t need to wait long.” Reassuring her he scanned around before grabbing a blanket and was quick to put it on her. The girl let out a yawn before seeming to immediately fall asleep. “Tikki?”

“I’m ready.” The red kwami reassured as she finished her second cookie. With that confirmation the boy once more became Bugbite. Stopping for a second the boy grabbed a few more treats since he might need them later. “I’ll show you, I promise to prove that I can be a hero.” Leaving the hero didn’t notice the kwamis who was hovering near the ceiling. The kwami waited until a minute after the boy left before coming down.

“It seems that he has already improved,” Sass stated as he flew down. Pollen and Kaalki didn’t seem to hear him though as they fretted over the girl. Letting out a sigh the snake kwami moved to sit on the sleeping girl. Looking up Sass wondered if Longg or Plagg would be coming down or if they had also fallen asleep. Either way it seemed that the girl would not be going back out. The snake hummed before wondering if he could turn the television on so he could know how things were going outside. But he didn’t really want risk waking up the overworked girl.

~~~~~~~

Evilnator hummed to himself as he watched the chaos down bellow. The villain laid down on one of Le Grand Paris’s lavish pool chairs. “It is amazing how fast things have gotten out of hand.”

“I don’t believe you.” Majestia flatly commented from nearby. The female superhero knew that if the villain was showing himself this confidently it meant that he was sure of his defences. So rather than waste energy trying to fight him it would be better to try and get information out of him. “You knew what you were doing when you brought this many villains to Paris.”

“You think I brought this many with me?” The man questioned with mock offense. “Me? The most attention-seeking villain? Do you think I would bring this many with me? So many villains that you only now just found me?” The heroine had to agree to this point. Evilnator loved being the center of attention.

“If you didn’t bring them then who did?”

“Well, I told a few people that I was going to come here to get revenge on that Paine knockoff,” Evilnator admitted offhandedly while gesturing with one hand. “That got a few others up in arms because apparently, it was thanks to her that Sparrow and UV were able to arrive as backup so the news started to spread. Apparently, Whither heard and recognized the source of her power and from there, everyone decided they had to get in if he was getting in on it.” With a sigh, he leaned back again. “Now I might not get my chance to monologue at her and deliver my killer lines that I’ve been preparing.”

“You have prepared lines?” Majestia questioned in slight shock.

“Of course I do.” The dark helmeted villain instantly replied still reclined. “Now I’m grateful you let me bitch and all but do you have time to stand here? I mean there is a whole city under attack.”

“Don’t act like you don’t know why I came up here besides to confront you.” Majestia shot back while putting her hero phone away.

“Yeah I think Techno focuses so much on Knighty that he forgets that everyone else has phones,” Evilnator muttered with a shake of his head. “Well I’m sure the Doorman delivery service will be here soon but I’m still looking forward to the upcoming drama.”

“I’m sure there won’t be much drama. The other heroes will sweep everyone else up.”

“I’m not talking about those street thugs with a gimmick. I’m talking about the little bird that got herself infected with a darkerfly.” Evilnator laughed at the look on Majestia’s face as she realized what he had said. Pointing in a certain direction the hero spun to see what he was talking about. “I’m looking forward to not only the confrontation but also the fallout.” While it was too far away to see the strongest woman knew her archenemy enough to know he wouldn’t lie to her about something like this. “You should probably go take care of that. Don’t worry about me, I think Cheshire should get my message even if I can’t talk to her, and if not then I’ll just post a video on the Wonderblog later.” Evilnator didn’t seem to care as Majestia flew off while he was talking. The woman always was a family person. Shrugging he went back to enjoying the night sky occasionally being lit up by the battle between the various heroes, and villains, and rarely he could catch a glimpse of the magic of Santa going against Wither. “Mess with me and I’ll mess with you, hope you enjoyed my late present to you Cheshy.” Lifting up the drink by him the villain toasted to himself. “Maybe now you will reconsider my offer.”

Chapter Text

Alya bit her lip as she moved through the alleyways nearing her home. Her heart pounded loudly as worse-case scenarios ran through her mind. Getting near the location of her home the redhead almost felt her heart stop at hearing the commotion ahead of her.

Racing forward the girl found a scene that stopped her in her tracks. In front of her was her older sister trying to fight the villains who were running rampant. The boxer was losing and it was obvious that the villains were playing with her sister. Gripping the flute tighter Rena rushed forward to aid her sister in her fight.

Arriving at the site of the fight the fox hero was able to get to the first villain before they could react. Swinging the flute the girl took the first villain out and turned to take the next one out only to have to block as the second had swung at her. Rena sadly hadn’t been able to get her arms up in time and thus the power gauntlet met her head. Thankfully her miraculous prevented most of the damage but it still rang her bell very well.

Stumbling back the fox hero barely managed to move out of the way of the follow-up punch. As she moved out of the way Rena received a reminder that there were more villains as one of them sent out a stream of fire. Letting out a panicked yelp the fox felt the heat of flames lick over her as she tried to jump away.

“Hey don’t forget about me,” Nora shouted as she threw a punch at the gauntlet-wearing villain. The villain was in the middle of throwing another punch at Rena so he was unable to block the boxer's punch. Sadly the punch didn’t hurt the other person as much as either the fox or Nora would like.

“Decent punch, now let me show you what a real one looks like.” Smash Fist drily said while grabbing Nora’s shirt to prevent her from moving as he reared his other back. Rena tried to aid her sister only to stumble backwards as another stream of fire almost hit her. The girl could feel the flames lick her skin. Damnit how could this be happening? Why was Nora out here in the first place! The flames swept toward her making Alya back up and fall down onto the ground as she lost her footing.

“What a pathetic hero.” Hothand tutted as he grew a cruel smile. The fire villain drew it out as he moved his stream of fire toward the fox hero who was crawling back.

“What was that about a hero.” A female voice questioned as a freezing stream of energy struck down near Hothand. The fire user let out a curse as a blue streak flew by him.

“Because if it's a hero you need.” A female voice announced as the stream formed into the form of a girl wearing a blue suit. The woman held the arm of Smashfist and gave the shocked villain a cocky smile.

“Then we are here!” A third voice called out as a third girl who wore a yellow suit flew down while landing a kick on the physical villain’s face. Alya felt her breath catch as the third female landed near her two partners.

“Oh, my god,” Rena muttered over and over again as she stared at the three multicolor heroes. Nora who had been freed from Smash’s grip looked down at her with furrowed brows, as if she was thinking over something. “You’re the TriForces!”

“It’s nice to be recognized,” Agent Blue chuckled as the three heroines began tying up the three villains. “Though I must question why you are out here when it is so dangerous?” The question was asked to Nora who let out a sigh.

“The explosions woke up both me and my family. After a check, we found out that one of my younger sisters was missing.” Rena gulped at hearing that her family had noticed that her family noticed her missing. Seeing Nora side-eying her made the worry increase. “So, I decided to head out and find my hero and danger-obsessed sister.”

“Alright, then we will keep an eye out for her.” Agent Red commented with a stern voice. “But you need to go home! We can’t have civilians running around.” Seeing her chance Rena jumped in even though her head was still spinning a bit.

“Nora you should head home. I’m sure o- your family is worried about you.” Nora took a long moment to replay causing Alya to start freaking out.

“You're right I should head home, I’m sure my sister, Alya, will be coming home soon.” The boxer flatly commented before moving home. Rena attempted to keep her face calm despite freaking out inside. Did Nora know, but her sister at least suspected which was bad enough! Her mind was going in circles as she tried to figure out what to do next.

“You should probably head home.” Agent Yellow kindly recommended. “I saw that you got hit pretty hard.”

“Well, um, yes, thanks.” Rena stumbled in her words trying to multitask. If she headed home then Nora would probably figure her out. If she didn’t then her family would be more worried and Nora’s suspicion would grow.

“Sorry, but I need you to stick around,” A new voice called out as a girl wearing a yellow and black bird-themed suit descended from the sky. “After all I need a miraculous user to get that cowardly cat and bug to come out of hiding.”

The fox user looked at the girl trying to figure out who this girl was. Alya liked to consider herself as well informed so to not recognize someone, especially someone who knew about the miraculous, could only mean one thing. “Akuma.” Just what they needed, an akuma during all of this. The only thing worse would be…

“Thunderbird, are you sure we have time for this?” A red-headed girl wearing burnt orange and black clothes questioned. “I mean there are so many criminals running around that the citizens are in danger.”

“We have to repay Hawkmoth for the powerup.” The confirmed akuma stated while electricity danced around her form. “Now prepare yourself Galaren we have work to do!” Despite saying this the possible amok seemed unsure and didn’t move from her spot. The TriForce had started to move only to have to scatter as Thunderbird launched a dome of electricity.

Thunderbird didn’t say anything more as she charged forward towards Rena. The fox was forced to dodge a quick jab and started putting distance between herself and the akuma. Sadly the akuma was a skilled fighter or something as they pressed their attack. The silver fox relied on the instincts granted by the miraculous to avoid the lightning-charged fists and kicks barely. The TriForces moved to help but were forced to back off as Galaren moved in between them and the akuma. “Please stay back I don’t want to fight other heroes.” The amok pleaded with an unsure look on her face.

Rena had sadly looked over at the noise and was instantly punished by Thunderbird. The akuma had landed a solid punch on the fox user who felt a light tingle of the electricity try to get past her miraculous's defenses. Her muscles twitched a bit before relaxing but the force sent her flying a good distance. Landing on the street Alya attempted to get up only to feel her muscles still twitching. The only good thing about this was that the miraculous prevented her from feeling the pain.

“Well, you definitely are a newbie,” Thunder muttered as she strutted towards the downed hero. A bit more desperately the red-head attempted to move but with very little success. “Don’t worry though I’m sure that we will put your miraculous to good use.”

“Pounce!” Purple shouted as she appeared from seemingly nowhere. The tiger user charged forward with amazing speed as a thin layer of energy covered her. Thunderbird moved one of her wings to block the attack while starting to coat and generate layers of electricity to help protect herself. The miraculous user crashed into the akuma and the energy exploded against the electricity.

“Thunder!” Galaren cried in worry as she broke off from fighting the TriForces to rush towards her partner.

“I’m okay,” Thunder confirmed as she slowly got back to her feet. The akumatized girl checked her body over and found that nothing was hurting to bad. After getting up she saw that Purple was starting to pick up Rena while the TriForces began to move towards them. Clicking her tongue Thunder sent out blasts of lightning that hit the TriForces; however , a green figure dropped down to protect the two girls. The blast of magic lightning hit the shield dead on and lit the night up.

After the light died down and the corrupted hero could see again she noticed that the miraculous users had left. Clicking her tongue Thunderbird turned her head towards Galaren who gave her a conflicted expression. “Come on Galaren we are leaving!” Taking to the air the american used her slightly enhanced vision.

“What are you doing!” Galaren shouted at her partner. “You attacked the TriForces! You had me fight them! Aren’t we heroes?”

Thunderbird stopped for a moment as she thought over what she had done. She had done all of that, she had attacked other heroes. The former sidekick had ordered her partner to fight against the group of heroes. Sensing her growing doubts Hawkmoth contacted her. The mask formed on her face as she listened to the Parisian vallian. “Yeah, you're right! We need to prove that we’re worthy to be heroes!”

“But you were already a hero.” Uncanny commented as she came into view. The other hero had been busy taking a few street thugs down.

“NO, I was a sidekick! I was the distraction for Knightowl!” Thunderbird shot back with heat. “This is our chance Uncanny! This is our chance to show everyone what we can do.”

“How would you show them?” Uncanny questioned with a bit of heat. “By defeating Cheshire and stealing her miraculous?”

Thunderbird clenched her fists in anger. “I’m just going to take her cat miraculous! She has others all I’m doing is taking just one!”

“One she is very attached to.” Uncanny countered. Galarian watched the back-and-forth between the two as she didn’t know what to say. She saw the a look came over Thunder’s face as she seemed to think over something before a smirk came over her face. “You saw how fiercely she fought to protect it. That was back when you had an other Amok to help you out.”

“Your right, your right. What if we traded something else of value to keep this power.” The mask reformed showing that Hawkmoth was listening. “I got some information that is certainly worthwhile.” Galaren gulped while glancing at Uncanny seemed to process what was happening before attempting to attack Thunder. The akuma scowled as she sent out a weak burst of lightning that shocked the android. The electricity hit her faster than she could avoid jolting the sidekick. “Sorry sis but I will not be staying in somebody elses shadow!”

“Uncany!” Galaren screamed while running to the other girl.

“Don’t worry that shock should only knock her down for a short bit.” Thunder reassured the akuma. “Now back to our talk. Hawkmoth how would you like to know some of the miraculous user's identities?” Before anything else could be said a loud crash was heard as Majestia landed on the roof.

“What have you done Sparrow?” The powerful heroin questioned with a very serious frown on her face.

“What I need to do.” She responded back. “Galaren take care of her, I need to talk to Hawkmoth.” Galaren slowly stood up before glaring at Thunderbird.

“No,” The amok firmly said as energy started building up around her. “No, you have gone too far!”

“What?” Thunderbird huffed with heat. “Too far?” The heat in her voice grew. “I’m going too far? What about all…” Stopping herself Thunder shook her head. “No, I can’t monologue now!”

“Indeed,” A new voice agreed as a blue woman appeared beside her. “Tell us those identities, I will take care of your unruly sidekick.” Galaren flinched but held her ground.

“We need to take care of this quickly, Uncanny has the ability to see through the protection of miraculous.” Thunderbird informed the Parisian villain who gave an understanding nod.

“Very well then let this begin.” Mayura calmly rose a hand and prepared to end Galarian’s existence as the others prepared for an intense battle.

~~~~~~~~~~

Adrien, or Bugbite as he had accepted calling this form, swung through the streets shocked yet pleased by what he was seeing. The heroes of UH, whom he reconized thanks to Alya’s long talks about them, were running through the streets breaking up fights and taking down criminals.

As he swung his combined weapon began to vibrate and buzz letting him know that someone was trying to contact him. Landing on a roof the young hero opened up his armored yoyo. The yoyo opened up and a projection popped out somewhat shocking the boy. Normally his Bugaphone would have formed by his yoyo sliding apart kinda like a flipphone. However he guessed it should have been obvious that when his weapon changed so did the phone application. This did him curious about the users with odder weapons like Purple Tigress and Harpy.

“Misterbug, glad I could get ahold of you.” A somewhat unfamiliar miraculous user knocked the boy from his thoughts. Looking at Bugbite was actually able to notice that the other male user had the turtle miraculous which he had given to Juleka. Added onto that he could somewhat recognize the other miraculous user.

“Vipe is that you?” The unified user questioned with disbelief. He hadn’t planned for Juleka to give Wayzz to Luka but thinking back on it, it should have been obvious in hindsight.

“Yeah it's me.” The other agreed with a serious look. “Purple lent me the miraculous you lent her. But that isn’t important, we have a problem.”

“Problem? What is the matter?” Bugbite’s heart rate picked up. What had happened?

“There is a powerful akuma and amok running around. They took out Rena and managed to get a good hit on Purple before we managed to pull out.” Luka informed Bugbite who let out a curse. “We also haven’t been able to contact Cheshire.” The boy wasn’t shocked at the last part put knew he would have to explain what had happened.

“Yeah, I know about Thunderbird and Galaren. Griffin and I had an encounter with them.” Bugbite informed the boy, “We managed to take out a different amok and I think Griffin managed to injure Galaren.”

“Griffin is the name of Cheshire combining both the cat and eagle miraculous right?” The musician questioned as he tried to remember. Adrien was about to answer only to hear something offscreen. No doubt it was Alya, who had a running list of the girl’s names on her Wonderblog. “Right, thanks, anyway we still need to get in contact with her if we hope to take down those two.”

“About that, I don’t think Cheshire will be showing back up today,” Bugbite awkwardly commented while rubbing the back of his head. On the screen, he saw Luka giving him a flat look. Part of the ladybug’s chosen was offended at the former snake user probably thinking that he had something to do with the hero’s disappearance. Only for the rest of him to remind that part that the skepticism was warranted due to all of his past actions. “The girl overexerted herself and like I said she also took out an akuma and injured another.” Seeing Luka begin to accept his explanation Bugbite continued. “We will need to defeat these two by ourself.”

“Well, aren’t we feeling cocky?” A new, female, voice called out as someone landed near him on the roof. “I would have more faith in you if you had defeated any akumas.” Looking to the side Bugbite saw a mouse-themed miraculous user land near him.

“Do not forget, at least according to Xuupu and Tikki, that he defeated you when you were an akuma.” Fluff commented from right beside her. This caused Adrien to blink. The only akuma he defeated himself was…

“So, War Mouse, I take it that you are here to help us take down the akuma and amok.” Bugbite questioned causing Alix’s eyes to widen slightly at being outed. “But before that, I’m going to need you to give me Fluff’s miraculous.” Looking at the kwami Adrien wondered how the skater girl had wound up with them. Sass had said that Collapsing the Burrow sent Fluff into a random copy of her miraculous. So that meant that Alix had a copy of said miraculous and somehow had gotten lucky enough for that copy to be made into Fluff’s new miraculous.

“Like heck I’m going to give you a miraculous able to time travel!” The shorter girl retorted with a snarl. “Besides from what I’ve heard the place you keep kwami isn’t that great!”

A cough drew the two’s attention back towards the call where Luka was giving a somewhat amused look. “We should focus on the current crisis.” The two others agreed with a mutter. “Great, well both Rena and Tigresses are down so I suggest we meet up so we can take care of this akuma. Sound good?”

“Sounds good, see you soon.” Hanging up the call he turned to face the current user of Mullo. “Well, shall we head out?”

“I guess we shall,” Alix muttered with a huff. Heading out the two began heading towards where the turtle user had last been. The tension between them was tense, to say the least. Bugbite could only guess that the reason she hadn’t attacked was due to Cheshire having told her not to back during the Volpina incident. Hopefully, the two could work together… “You better not even think of stealing any of my miraculous Trator bug.” Letting the jab slide he decided to focus on the upcoming battle. Well he attempted to let it slid but part of him grumbled and hoped he could get Cheshire to be able/willing to talk to Alix and get her to give up the rabbit miraculous.

Chapter Text

Mayura looked at her two opponents and immediately decided to take down one. Snatching the amok item from Thunderbird who grumbled a little before taking to the air to avoid Majestia. Galarian attempted to kick her but the woman moved easily out of the way. Pouring power into the object the peacock user spoke. “Amok you shall aid me in taking down Majestia.” The delivery was cold and stern.

The amok shook a bit as a bit of electricity sparked off her form. The amok shook before gritting her teeth. Mayura raised an eyebrow at viewing this. She had never seen something like this happen before. Usually, the amok would just follow whatever was ordered of them. As the dolls they were. However, this one seemed to attempt to resist the order. “Obay!” Mayura ordered with more force. The energy flowed with more power around the girl who grabbed her head.

“NO, NO, NO!” Galarian shouted while shaking. Clicking her tongue in annoyance Mayura decided to just end this. Rolling her eyes at the drama the peacock user raised a hand prepared to snap the pitiful failure out of existence.

Instincts blared in her as she jumped back avoiding the attack from a grey costumed girl. No, not just another costumed girl. The mouse miraculous user. Another dodge prevented her from being attacked by a shield. A male turtle user landed near the amok who was on her hands and knees gasping for air.

“Mayura, you're outnumbered!” The annoying new turtle voiced with a glare. Mayura felt a bit miffed at not being able to beat Bixi for ruining one of their better akumas.

“And you are out-skilled. But I will even the odds.” Mayura commented while bringing out a toy she had prepared beforehand. Taking a feather out she prepared to make an amok only to dodge as the two began to attack her in an attempt to force her to give up making an amok. However Mayura had prepared for this type of situation ever since her first encounter with Cheshire.

Moving the toy to the same hand she had infused the magic into the feather and began the process of creating an amok all while defending from the two other miraculous users. The two were frenzied as they attempted to stop her but the peacock user had not only the advantage of being fully grown but also having an up-close weapon unlike the two in front of her who had obviously never used their weapons.

The amok was quick to form into a mannequin that seemed to hover around her. Barely a second into its creation and the amok was already doing its job. The faceless blanck doll swept around her knocking the annoying children away. “Performing just as expected, unlike others.”

Speaking of failed creations Galarien seemed to have caught her breath. The girl was slowly getting to her feet as sparks of electricity jumped around the young girl. Seeing the heroes distracted Mayura was quick to break away and move to assist the akuma. She didn’t know what she would be able to do against the superhero but they only needed a little distraction in order to get the information needed.

Spotting the lightning blasts the peacock user made her way over and was shocked to see how far the fight had gotten away from its starting point. Moving faster the woman threw the fan at the other adult who had just dodged a lightning blast from Thunderbird and wasn’t able to due anything but block.

The arm that had been able to easily hold against up entire buildings and endure strikes from a variety of attacks was raised to block the spinning fan. The fan easily spun through her arm leaving a deep gash. Majestia screamed as she flew back and instantly put pressure on the wound.

Looking over she saw Thunderbird with a shocked expression. “Get to telling the info.” This seemed to knock the akuma back on track.

“Right, well Rena’s identity is Alya Ce-” An armored yoyo flew right at Thunderbird who easily dodged.

“Really? Revealing people's identity? Really?” Misterbug, who was Unified with the dog miraculous, questioned.

“Well my sister was able to see past your little tricks so I figured I might as well use the information.” Thunderbird click her tounge before launching a blast of electricity. The male hero user spun his weapon and blocked the attack.

“So Uncanny has the ability to see past the protections granted by the miraculous.” Mayura questioned while glancing at the downed sidekick. For yet another time her instincts told her to move so she did. As she dodged back to avoid the Owl Darts. Clicking her tongue she turned to see Knightowl land near Majestia, who had torn her cape to tie it around her injured arm.

“So her royal greatness finally decided to show themselves.” Thunderbird sneered as the legacy hero looked at them.

“Sparrow?” The question came out airy and somewhat disbelieving.

“It’s Thunderbird now.” She sneered as Bugbite attempted to summon his Lucky Charm. “No!” The akuma threw a bolt out which had the miraculous user dodging. “See, see how strong I am now!” Screaming this she launched more electricity around at the three heroes.

“You have always been strong!” Majestia shouted at the akuma before having to dodge as Mayura’s fan almost cut her again.

“Thunder remember the deal!” The peacock shouted before having to dodge as Knightowl closed in on her. The woman could tell that the possible, female hero was very angry. However, while her opponent was more skilled they were also tired, no doubt from fighting the stream of villains, while she was fresh-faced and had enhanced reflexes. So the gap wasn’t as big as it should have been. But it was something Mayura didn’t have time for.

She couldn’t stick around because if it was true that Uncanny had the ability to see through the protection then she was at risk.

“Juleka Couffaine is Purpl-,” Thunderbird began speaking again only to have to dodge as Misterdog got in close. The unified user had kept his defense up and was able to get close enough to attempt to grab the corrupted iteam. “Stay back!” The akuma shouted while attempting to shoot him with lightning.

“Sorry but I’m a hero!” Seeing all the electricity flowing into the armored yoyo gave him an idea. “But I’ll give you back some of what you gave.” With a quick flick of his wrist, the yoyo flew towards the akuma who blocked with her wings but the fused yoyo still hit hard. Seeing a chance Bugbite threw his weapon up. “Lucky Charm!”

Seeing this Mayura let out a hiss and knew that this akuma wasn’t going to last much longer. Oh well, at least they have two identities. During the next exchange, Mayura jumped away while recalling the amoks. The mannequin was quick to rush back to her however Galarian, along with the other miraculous users, landed a few feet from her. “Galarian, turn on the other miraculous users!”

“NO!” Galarian shouted as once more the blue power sparked around her. Seeing as how useless this creation was Mayura decided to just cut her losses. Avoiding the drama this time she ordered the Manaquene to protect her. Bringing out Galarian’s item the villain made sure to make eye contact before crushing the item and releasing the feather. Not sticking around to see the amok wither away Mayura dropped off the rooftop and was quick to put distance in between the original sight of the fighting and herself.

After making sure she was safe Mayura raised her hand and snapped the amoks out of existence before de-transforming. Putting the small toy mannequin away Nathalie called Gabriel to inform him that she was safe. “Good, make your way back to the mansion. We will think of how to use the information we gained from today.”

“Yes, sir.” With that she made her way back towards the mansion. It was a shame to loose two amuks but at least she was able to erase the failure.

~~~~~~~~~

Adrien felt like things were finally going well. After calling his Lucky Charm, which were a pair of rubber gloves, he knew what to do. Well not instantly but he figured it out after taking a few seconds to think. “Majestia!” Throwing the gloves to the hero Bugbite prepared for his next move.

Swinging his yoyo around he took the lead blocking all the blasts sent their way. Thunderbird attempted to take to the air but Bugbite was prepared. “Fetch!” With that, a flash went off and the wing he had hit earlier fell from the weapon. This caused the akuma to fumble as she wasn’t stable anymore. Seeing her chance Majestia blasted forward and with her rubber gloves grabbed Thunderbird pinning them to ground.

Not wasting the chance Bugbite threw his weapon which sailed true and smashed the corrupted item. “No more evil doing for you little akuma!” Opening the armored yoyo he threw it and caught the fleeing butterfly. “Got it.” With that, he caught the yoyo as it came back to him. “Alright one more to go!” Turning he saw the group that had been confronted Mayura gathered around the amok who seemed to be unconscious. Looking around he spotted a broken Sparrow arrow with a blackened but still familiar feather. Walking over he saw that parts of it were slowly falling apart he attempted to pick it up so he could put it in his yoyo to purify it however the second he touched it the whole thing came undone.

A slight uncomfortable noise came from Galarien as the last of the feather was lost to the winds. Adrien’s mind ran over how this could have happened. Eventually though his mind came back to when Griffin had pushed the amok off of her.

“Hey are you okay?” Luka questioned the amok who seemed down for the count. This really caught him off guard, how was she still here if the feather was gone? His miraculous beeped breaking him from his thoughts.

“Hey, Majestia I need those gloves back.” Bugbite called to the hero who shrugged before handing the red and black rubber gloves over. “Thanks, now get this cleaned up. But first, bye bye butterfly.” Making sure to release the now purified butterfly Bugbite then grabbed the gloves before tossing them into the air. “Miraculous Misterbug!”

With that the purifying wave swept through the city. As it swept over the roof a small group of the bugs gathered around the downed Galaren and Uncanny. After the group pasted over the two downed heroes they completely covered them before leaving.

“Wha?” Uncanny blinked herself awake while taking in her surroundings. The sidekick slowly started to stand up before Majestia appeared near her.

“Take it easy girl,” Majestia confronted them while preventing them from completely standing up. Turning Adrien looked to see Knightowl talking to their sidekick. With one last glance around showed, to his shock, that Galarein was now asleep. Going near the girl he saw that she was fully asleep and still existing. His mind ran itself around in circles. How was an amok existing without their feather?

He shook off those thoughts when hearing the twin beeps from his miraculous. “Turtle, War, I need to go.” Turning he looked to the other heroes. “I’m going to head out I’m sorry I can’t stick around.”

“Is it alright if we ask one question before you leave?” Knightowl moved a bit forward drawing his attention. “The amok…?”

“I think she was called Galarien,” Looking at the others he saw Luka who nodded to him. “But sorry I can’t answer any of your questions due to lack of my own knowledge. The only person I can think of who would-” Cutting himself before volunteering any more information or putting anything on Marinette. He already owed her so much and she was already being put through so much. He didn’t want to put her anymore. Any more than he already has.

“I see,” The owl hummed and they seemed to fall into thought.

“Fluff, anything you could add?” War Mouse questioned the rabbit kwami who hummed before shrugging.

“I think it would be best for her to stick close to a miraculous or a miraculous holder. She is a creation of magic and will most likely be unstable, I think.” As the white rabbit spoke Adrien’s mind once more went to Marinette. She would have the knowledge and he could finally give her a miraculous. But for right now she was exhausted and hopefully still asleep. He would maybe bring it up with her tomorrow if she was feeling better but for now it was a hard no.

“So she would need to go with one of you.” Majestia hummed while unwrapping her arm to check on the healed injury. After checking Majestia looked down at the sleeping girl. “I doubt you could give us one nor could we take her with us due to it exposing our identity.”

“Your right it would suck if your identity was exposed!” War Mouse shot back with a glare. Misterbug would have offered his own words only for his miraculous to beep again. Cursing under his breath Adrien looked to Luka and rubbed his head. As much as he didn’t want to take away Juleka’s miraculous her identity was exposed so he had no choice.

“Turtle please take Galarian to Purple. I have someone who might be able to help but I don’t want to drop this on them.” Bugbite looked and Luka exchanged a silent conversation with each other and the boy seemed to understand. “War can you please go check on Rena and let her know what has happened here?”

The girl grunted but nodded before heading out. Followed soon after by the Turlte who was carrying Galarien. With that, it left Adrien alone with the UH heroes. Clearing his throat the boy waved goodbye and left without saying another word. He needed to get home before anyone noticed or before he ran out of time. As he swung through the city a few thoughts came to his mind. Where was Santa? How were they going to proceed now that it was just Cheshire and him? What about War Mouse and Turtle, should they let them keep the miraculous just so they can have allies? What about Marinette, how should he approach her about Gallarian without making it seem like he’s using her?

“Damn it tonight sucks so much.” Honestly, it felt like it had landed months. He couldn’t wait for it to be over.

Chapter Text

The sun came through bits of the window and the beams managed to hit the face of the young girl asleep on the couch. The girl grumbled a bit before digging into her blankets and trying to go back to sleep. The kwami around her let out a sigh happy that the girl wasn’t waking up. The group turned to look at the TV and saw the recap of what had happened last night.

“Those drones really came in handy for the news,” Plagg muttered to no one in particular.

“Along with everyone having their own camerasss,” Sass added on with a hum while tapping his chin.

“The information coming out…” Longg trailed off as she had her eyes closed. Meditating on everything she was hearing. “We will have to confirm everything that is being said.” Liiri and Pollen said nothing as the two watched over the girl. Plagg sat on the girl’s shoulder. He refused to be more than five feet away from her.

Marinette let out another groan while moving a bit disrupting the kwami who were on her. The kwami watched her roll over and bury her face into a cushion. Pollen flew over to the window and moved to close the curtain. The now darkened room seemed to calm down the pigtailed girl. Seeing that she was no longer tossing and turning the kwami settled back onto her. “Any news regarding her parents?” Pollen questioned.

Longg hummed before looking at the phone they had brought down with them. “There have been no updates as far as I could tell.” The dragon looked at the others who shook their heads. What had happened to the parents had been discussed by the kwami but nothing had come out of it. Moving on, the red dragon kwami moved to examine the girl. “Has anyone noticed any changes to her yet?”

“I have noticed something.” Pollen had everyone’s attention in an instant. The bee moved towards the girl’s hair and started moving till they noticed what the bee had noticed. There in the girl’s hair were black feathers growing with the hair. Looking closer they could see the shaft seeming to grow with the hair.

“She has feathers now,” Plagg flatly muttered obviously trying to process what he was seeing. A cough drew their attention towards Liiri who gestured towards one of Marinette’s wrists. Turning it slightly it showed that some of the girl’s veins had blackened. What this could mean was a variety of things but none would be apparent until Marinette woke up. Plagg really hoped it wouldn’t be hours until now.

Unfortunately, as the universe was want to do, it decided to screw over his kitten. The girl’s phone started ringing incessantly as someone attempted to reach her. The ringing jolted the girl awake and caused her to fumble off of the coach. “AWW!” She screeched as she landed while also nocking the various kwami off of her. “Ow,” The mass of blankets muttered as the girl slowly made her way out of it. More noises came from her as she fished around the table trying to find her phone. However, when she finally found the phone the call had gone to voice mail.

It was as her blurry eyes were staring at the phone that Plagg was able to notice that her eyes hadn’t changed much to his relief. He didn’t know how she would have been able to hide something like that. The girl grumbled a bit as she fumbled a bit with her phone. The small girl didn’t seem to be fully awake but that changed the second the recording started playing.

“Hey, Lady Noire I’m just checking in on you. I know we were going to meet up later today but I just wanted to check in on you. Last night was beyond crazy so please give me a call back. Or well nevermind me and Pen will drop by later like planned. So the meeting is still a go, just as a reminder.” Jagged’s voice came from the small device while Marinette blinked slowly as she seemed to process what was being said.

“Last night?” The blue-eyed girl questioned as she looked out the window. “Wait, what?” Rushing towards the window Marinette looked like she was trying to process what she was seeing. “It’s morning? But how? I, I,” Grasping the side of her head the girl didn’t seem to fully believe she was awake. “Ow!” Flinging her hand away from her scalp the girl then stared at the hand in shock.

“Bread?” Plagg questioned as he flew over to her along with the other kwami. As they neared they noticed what had the girl so in shock. In the girl’s hand sat one of the black feathers, freshly plucked and with a bit of blood dripping from the end.

“What? How?” As if not fully believing what was happening Marinette felt around before tracing around before finding another hidden among her hair.

“Bread!” Plagg shouted this time which caused her to focus on the small black kwami. “We can deal with this latter. Right now we need to deal with this upcoming meeting with Leathers.” Marinette relaxed and seemed to relax more as some of the other kwami landed around her. Marinette calmed down enough that a slow purr came out.

“If I may make a suggestion, I suggest you take a shower while we take care of printing off your album cover,” Longg suggested to the girl who after a few moments nodded.

“Thank you, guys,” Marinette muttered her voice full of gratitude. With that, she went to take a shower. Longg and Pollen flew off to her room to print off the project while Plagg turned towards Sass.

“I haven’t seen anything other than the feathers,” Plagg noted as Sass hummed. “Does that mean something is going on beneath the surface?”

“That doesss seem to be the most likely cassse.” Sass nodded before turning towards Liiri who had been watching everything go down. “Thankfully the feathers can be sssomewhat dismissed as fassshion accessseriorysss.”

“Small mercies,” Liiri added before turning back towards the muted TV. “I hope things are calm today.” Nobody said anything, after all, they knew that things were rarely ever calm. Especially with what happened last night. Plagg huffed before flying off towards the kitchen to see if he could get something simple ready for breakfast. The black cat really hoped that Tikki’s bug appreciated what his kitten did for him.

~~~~~~~~

Adrien slowly ate his breakfast as he waited for either his father or Nathalie to show up. The food the chef had prepared was of course just as delicious as always but his mind was so far away that he barely even noticed that his food was gone until he heard the sound of the fork hitting the empty plate. Blinking Adrien sighed before getting up and making his way towards his room. The young blonde's mind was still rolling over so many thoughts that he couldn’t seem to focus on just one. “Adrien, I need to inform you about your schedule.” An intern walked towards him carrying a tablet. The green-eyed boy was so distracted that he didn’t even notice them approaching until they were right next to him.

“Tell my father that I will spend as much doing the things he wants me to do equel to amount of time he has spent with me.” The reply came out cold and shocked both Adrien and the intern. Yeah he was upset about his father not spending time with him but that didn’t mean he should be rude to someone uninvolved. But Nathalie on the other hand… Shaking off those thoughts he gave an awkward smile to the intern. “Um, what I mean is that I am tired and do not feel up to doing some photoshoots or anything like that.”

The intern let out a sigh before giving an understanding smile. “I understand completely. Last night was beyond crazy so take your time.” With that the intern walked off leaving the blonde to stand in front of his door slightly stunned. He had never had anybody let him off his schedule before. Maybe it was due to the person his father having sent an intern but Adrien would take this day off. Part of him though wanted to keep to his word though and take more days off if his father kept being absent.

Entering his room he let Tikki out who instantly flew up to him and gave him her typical cheek hug. “I’m so proud of you Adrien, you stood up for yourself!” The red kwami praised her blonde bug with a big smile. The model felt part of himself relax at the praise and smiled a bit.

“Thanks Tikki, I guess we better make full use of this day!” Walking forward he pulled out the miraculous egg and frowned a bit. The egg looked, well for lack of a better word, duller. Tapping on the top of the egg he waited for it to open only for it to do nothing. “What is going on?” Not hearing anything from Tikki the boy opened one of the slots and pulled out the miraculous. Putting the hair clip in his hair he saw Ziggy form and felt a bit of relief at knowing that whatever had happened to the egg also hadn’t happened to the miraculous within.

“Good morning Guardian.” The goat kwami cheered before blinking. The black and white kwami seemed to think about something but Adrien pressed on.

“Ziggy can you tell me what happened last night?” The guardian questioned. The kwami blinked and started to grow misty eyes before Adrien remembered who he was dealing with. “Please?”

This seemed to cause the kwami to calm down and think about what was asked of her. “Well, I was playing with Dazzi and Stompp when things started growing a bit dark and things started flickering.” The goat seemed to grow a bit scared. “Then, then Fluff and Barkk disappeared. Then it started getting darker and… Well I don’t know, I fell asleep for some reason. It was like I was pulled out of the egg.” Ziggy started out growing panic but then quickly grew confused. “I mean I was really scared but I still fell asleep. It was really weird.”

Tikki and Adrien looked at each other in confusion as they tried to figure out what was going on before Adrien sighed. “This is way beyond me.”

“Then why don’t you find someone?” Ziggy questioned innocently causing the guardian to sigh.

“Becuase the only person I know who could do something about this I already have a huge favor to ask of.” Rubbing his temples as he thought about what he needed to ask of Marinette. Marinette who admitted that she felt people only wanted her to use her. It made his skin crawl just thinking that he would have to do. But what else could he do? Galarien needed help and the only one who knew enough was Marinette. Stopping and thinking about that topic Adrien remembered that a miraculous would need to stay close to help the amok. Meaning he would need to give the girl a miraculous, but which one?

Thinking over what he knew about the girl the blonde compared it to what few miraculous he had left. Pollen or Longg was the most obvious choice but Cheshire had both of those and Adrien was positive that even asking the cat to hand either of those over would destroy any progress he had made in earning her trust. She might hand one over if he was able to explain but that too much risk to make it worth it.

“Why don’t you ask anyway?” Ziggy questioned drawing attention back to her. “The worst she could do is say no, right?” Humming in thought the boy looked at the black and white kwami as he remembered all of the drawings and projects he had seen in the girl’s room. He sadly knew very little about the girl he had fallen in love with, something he intended to correct. But the point still stood that he could tell that Marinette was creative, so maybe he did have a kwami she could borrow. “Are we going?”

Humming for a bit Adrien then shook his head. “Not right now, I want to give her time to rest. She didn’t look like she was doing well the last time we saw her.”

“I hope she is doing better,” Tikki muttered while seeming to think about last night.

“So what will we be doing while we're waiting?” Ziggy questioned. Adrien’s mind instantly pulled up his list. Everything from studying the books given to him by Fu, practicing his piano, and the other languages his father wanted him to learn, and finally catching up with some of the anime he liked. “OH, how about meeting up with your friends? I always wanted to see your friends!”

Ziggy probably didn’t intend to upset the boy but at the words friends the blonde felt like he had the air punched out of his gut. This was due to the fact that for the longest of times the only friend, that wasn’t related to him, was Chloe. Chloe who was bullying Marinette and was most likely the person who got in between the black-haired girl’s friendship with Alya. As he thought more about the blonde-haired girl his mind started pulling up memories. The memories of his past playdates with Chloe were something he once looked fondly back on but now they no longer shone with nostalgia. Having seen other friends he started noticing how, well, one-sided his friendship with Chloe was.

Every time they hung out they did what she wanted. Every time they talked it was about her. Her life, what she liked, what she was doing. It was never about him. The very few times he would talk about things he liked he would notice how Chloe seemed to zone out and not pay attention. It hurt to have something precious ruined like that but it was good to know that he wouldn’t be losing much when he cut ties with her.

But when should he do it? Part of him wanted to do it in front of the whole school to put Chloe through just a little bit of what Marinette had gone through but that would have been entirely counterproductive. He was sure that if he did it in public then everyone would be sure that it was just an act and it would have been humiliating for Chloe. So it would be best if he did it in private. No theatrics, no drama, just him and her talking.

He had been putting this off for way longer than he should have. You let her suffer for weeks because you were scared to confront a fake friend! An angry part of his mind shouted that made him feel punched. Taking in a breath Adrien looked towards Tikki and gave a smile to her. “I think it's time we have that talk with Chloe.”

“Are you sure Adrien?” The little red goddess questioned. He had said the same thing over and over again but had never actually acted on it. He had never had to do anything like this before and had kept putting it off in the hope that Chloe would change. That she would realize how wrong she had been acting and change on her own. That she would prove that she was just like the girl in his memories. Only now looking back he could see that Chloe hadn’t changed. He just had finally had his blinders forcefully removed by Griffin.

“I’m sure. This is the start of my life.” Clenching his fist Adrien took a deep breath. “Griffin used Liberation, putting herself through something painful to give me this chance. I am not letting this go to waste.” Seeing how resolved her bug had become the red goddess felt so proud of him. However, the mention of Liberation had her mind going over towards the girl underneath the costume. Was she right? Could Cheshire be? “We will be visiting Marinette afterward. Come on let’s go find the Gorrila.”

Chapter Text

Marinette let out a sigh as she finished getting dressed. The girl hummed as she tried to keep herself calm. While her decision to not have any nice clothes made sense due to her not wanting them to get ruined by her classmates it made moments like this worse. Then again she never even considered this kinda situation in the first place. After all, why would ‘Poor Talentless Marinette’ ever meet up with international rock star Jagged Stone?

So here she was wearing some of her ‘nicer’ clothes. That meant clothes that weren’t torn or had anything else splashed on them. “I’m going to get thrown out the second they see me,” Marinette muttered while rubbing arm. Looking at herself in the mirror the black haired girl flinched at seeing herself. Dark bags had formed under her eyes while the rest of her face had paled a bit. This caused the bags to stand out more. Marinette had thought about using makeup but she didn’t have time. So she was going to meet her favorite celebrity looking like crap.

Letting out a sigh the girl started to make her way out only to stumble as one of her thigh muscles screamed. Oh, that was another thing. Her entire body felt like one big bruise and to make matters worse she knew that she would need to walk not only to the hotel but also then up the stairs. But there wasn’t anything she could do, she had agreed to meet up with Jagged.

“Are you sure you are alright my Queen? Perhaps Jagged would be okay to come here,” Pollen offered while she and Liiri held up a folder.

“But what if he gets mad at me? What if he gets so mad that he decides he never wants to work with me again? Then he’ll tell everyone about how awful I was to work with! This will mean that I couldn’t even work in the one creative field that Chloe or her family don’t have control over! I will have to find a cheap minimum-wage job where I can barely make rent and I’ll have to budget everything! Then I won’t be able to get you guys the food you want so you will grow to resent me!” As she was speaking Marinette felt her breathing increase while her vision narrowed. Already she could start seeing where this was going but her mouth opened to continue.

“Alright, that’s enough of that.” Plagg cut through with a firm voice. Marinette stopped to look at him. “We will talk about this after your little meetup but just know that none of us will ever think bad about you.” The girl wanted to say something about how most of the kwami had thought negatively of her but decided that Plagg was right like he always was. So grabbing the folder she put it into the most safe spot she could in her backpack. The girl took a second to consider the other miraculous she would take before deciding on Kaalki. The horse kwami gave her a look before flying into her backpack followed by Plagg. The other kwami flew back upstairs letting Marinette open the door without having to worry about anyone seeing anything they shouldn’t see.

The girl started walking down exiting her house only to blink as a car pulled up next to her house. Her heart pounded in her chest but she relaxed as the back window rolled down to reveal Penny. “Good, it seems that you are ready to go.” The assistant stated before getting out and gesturing to the door. “Get in we will take you to the meeting.” Not looking a gift horse in the mouth Marinette got into the car while Penny seemed to wait for something.

The assistant looked at her home for a moment before getting into the cab. The two drove a bit in silence, Penny had pulled out her phone and started working on something. Marinette didn’t know what to do so she just there quietly while holding her backpack close. It was somewhere along the drive that Marinette jumped when Penny moved and shut the divider making the back silenced. “I take it that your parents weren’t home?”

“Oh, um, no, no they weren’t.” Marinette stuttered overherself a bit at the question. Penny stared at her, blinked then seemed to reexamine her. “I hope they’re alright.” The last part came out before she could stop herself. Penny gave her a look that had Marinette’s gut rolling. She didn’t need someone’s pity.

Stopping at the thought Marinette thought over why she didn’t want people’s pity. The memories of the pitying looks other gave her flashed through her mind. People would give her those looks but noone would help her. Well expect for her… Shaking her head the girl tried to forget the memories that remembering Socqueline brought up. She didn’t want to start crying in front of Penny.

“I understand,” The assistant gave a nod while going back to her phone. Marinette relaxed a bit and moved around trying to get comfortable again. This caused some of her muscles to scream at being jostled but having some experience the girl didn’t make a sound. It was only a minute later that the two’s ride arrived at the hotel. After getting out the assistant started leading her charge towards the elevator only to stop at hearing her phone ringing. “I’m sorry, do you mind waiting?”

“Sure,” Marinette nodded as Penny walked a little ways off. The assistant answered the call as the black haired girl looked around a bit. It was as she was looking around that she spotted Chloe and Chloe was already making her way towards her. Her blood slowly started to freeze the closer Chloe, Sabrina, and slightly shockingly the new brown haired girl came closer to her.

“What the heck are you doing here?” Chloe snapped while jabbing towards the girl. Marinette made to open her mouth only for Sabrina to step in.

“Maybe she came to see her parents?” The new girl questioned trying to help the blonde. Marinette could easly see how this new girl had fallen in step. Clearly there was little to no resistance in her falling into line. “Your father did make sure that those important guests were composisated with some really good food. It was such a shame that the only halfway decent pastry chiefs were her parents.”

Chloe liked this answer and turned to Sabrina. The other girl seemed to be looking for something before zeroing in on the bag clutched in her hands. “Chloe, look she has something in her hands!” At having her bag being pointed out Marinette pulled it closer to her. The frozen blood in her veins now burned as her heart pounded violently in her chest.

“What did you sneak into my hotel?” Chloe hissed while leaning close. Marinette backed up but her back hit the wall.

“*Gasp* Do you think she has something illegal in that bag?” The orange-wearing girl questioned loudly drawing eyes towards her. “Chloe, we need to check what's in that bag!”

“That’s a good idea, Lila. Sabrina grab the bag!” With that Sabrina lunged forward to grab the bag. Sabrina attempted to pull away her backpack Marinette clung on as tight as she could. Sadly the girl had managed to pull part of it way before her sleepy mind could react.

“What is going on here?” A new, somewhat familiar, voice questioned with hints of anger. The sudden voice had both her and Sabrina jumped at it. This caused the beat-up bag to rip and the few items in it to be sent flying. Marinette took a second to react, stunned at her backpack breaking like it had. Quickly letting go the girl got to her hands and knees so she could start picking up all of her scattered supplies. Something was going on around her but Marinette wasn’t paying attention as she looked around to try and spot the kwami.

A pat on her stomach reassured her that the two kwami had escaped and were now hidden. Feeling a tap on her shoulder the girl spun to face the person who had attempted to get her attention. Pressing her back against the wall the girl clutched onto some of her items while looking at Penny who had a stern frown on her face. Marinette attempted to explain or say something but it came out as just babbles.

“Wait in the elevator I will be there shortly.” The assistant informed the girl. Marinette slowly started to get up while attempting to get herself under control.

“My, my, the folder with, with the work.” Marinette managed to get out to witch Penny gave a firm nod.

“I’ll retrieve it for you.” Not saying anything else the girl got into the elevator and put herself into a corner so she could attempt to get her breathing under control. Penny came back a bit later holding onto the folder. The assistant pressed the button before leaning back against the wall. “So that is why you didn’t show up to the concert.” Marinette opened her mouth but she couldn’t say anything due to her breath being unsteady. Penny turned to look at her and let out a sigh. “I’m not at you, you did nothing wrong.” This caused the girl to relax slightly but the two kwami holding close to her also helped.

The elevator opened and the two made their way toward the hotel room where they could hear some scrapping of nails. Opening the door Marinette had to blink at seeing Jagged happily playing with Fang. The rockstar looked up after hearing the door open. “Penny, it is so good to see you!” The crocodile let his own happiness show by doing a little dance before making his way towards the two. Jagged smiled at Marinette. “Well, if isn’t the Lady,” whatever else was going to be said died when he saw the state the young girl was in.

Marinette huddled into herself a bit self-conscious while shifting to try and figure out how to divert his attention. “I’m sorry I don’t have better clothes. But um,” seeing the folder in Penny’s grip she made to gesture to it only to drop some of the art supplies she had. “Oh, shoot I’m so sorry.” The pigtailed girl was quick to lean down and start picking up the dropped material. While the girl was doing this Jagged gave a look to Penny who let out a sigh.

“Here,” The assistant gave the folder she was holding to her employer before also leaning over to start helping the girl. “Sorry for the late arrival we ran into some trouble in the lobby.” Without waiting the assistant began recounting what had happened in the lobby from her perspective. Marinette didn’t pay attention as Fang, having seen her around his height had started trying to get her to play with him.

The rockstar frowned as he heard the story, “I see, we will deal with that later.” Part of him wondered what was going on down below but decided he didn’t care about what happened to the blondes. So for now he decided that he had some designs to look at.

~~~~~~~~

Adrien tapped his foot trying to burn some energy before the car pulled up to the hotel. The blonde boy had gone over the conversation he would have with Chloe dozens of times. It would be easy to get Chloe alone, he would just ask to talk to her alone or make an excuse like wanting to see her shoe collection. It didn’t matter as long as he was able to get the other blonde alone so they could have a private conversation.

After having thought it over he had decided that it needed to be a private conversation because the chances that voices weren’t going to be raised were sadly low. He didn’t want to yell at his former friend but…

Letting out a drawn-out breath the boy tried to calm his nerves. His leg slowed its bouncing and it seemed just in time as they pulled up to the door. Giving the Gorilla a smile and thanks he exited out door. Taking a few deep breaths he waved towards the doorman and entered the lobby. Looking around the room he saw that everyone seemed to be focusing on something. It only took a second to spot what everyone was looking at.

Marinette was clutching tight onto her pink backpack while Sabrina was attempting to pull it away. Anger flooded his system and all plans were thrown out. “What is going on here!” His voice came out harsh but it didn’t matter. He was angry and he wanted Chloe to know it.

However, his sudden interruption caused the two girls to jump apart, and this caused the beat-up and old backpack to tear. Items went flying everywhere and Adrien’s stomach dropped at realizing that he was partly to blame. It took a bit before his brain fully caught up but when it did he was quick to start picking up as many things as he could. He started making a pile grabbing everything he could. Grabbing a folder he started to pull it towards him only for two other people to grab it. One was Lila while the other was an older woman who gave the two of them a glare. “Unhand this folder this instant.”

Looking at the woman it took him a moment to recognize the woman as the assistant to Jagged Stone. Unhanding the folder he looked towards Lila and was about to say something only for Chloe to get everyone’s attention. “Adrikins what are you doing here?” The voice came out sickeningly sweet and it rubbed at the boy.

“Chloe,” His voice came out with a slight growl, “how many times have I asked for you to stop calling me that?”

“This again Adrikins?” Chloe huffed while rolling her eyes. Once more the name that normally just poked at him now felt like sandpaper rubbing on his skin. Before he could put more thought into it or say something they were interrupted by the clearing of a throught. Turning they say Penny giving a look to the four children.

“I will make this quick and clear.” The assistant projected her voice to make sure she was heard. “I want this cleaned up and everything returned to the wronged party. I would also like presses charged for destruction of property along with harassment. You should hope that nothing in this folder is ruined otherwise things will get worse.” Not saying anything else or sticking around the assistant went right to the elevator that closed behind her.

“Ugh, drama much?” Chloe questioned flipping her hair before walking off. The crowd muttered around them but Adrien had slowly started growing dark as his mind focused on what his ‘friend’ had said. Drama? She had just destroyed Marinette’s backpack, scattered her supplies everywhere, and humiliated her in front of everyone! Yet she is the one to complain about drama!

“What is wrong with you!” He questioned while stomping his foot. “Why would you do something like this?”

Chloe was about to say something only for Lila to stop her. The two looked at each other before they nodded and Lila gave him a smile. The smile was probably supposed to put him at ease but all it did was agitate him more. “Adrien I know that you have a very kind heart but you have to understand that we were just trying to protect the hotel. We saw the troublemaker from the school clutching a backpack. We were just trying to protect everyone.”

The answer sounded reasonable and Lila sounded so kind and compassionate that part of him had almost started believing her. That part was crushed as the memory of the library played in his head. What calm could have come from her words turned into more anger. His hands clenched harder as he tried to take a deep breath to calm himself but it didn’t work. “That’s what your going with? That’s why you attacked Marinette?”

“Oh Adrikins,” Chloe cooed as she leaned forward. “I know you think your ‘in love’ with her.” The girl spat the two words as if they were something disgusting. “But let's be real, you can’t be in love with her.” Adrien felt his anger stop at that as his mind shifted to what the blonde in front of him had just said. She said he wasn’t in love with Marinette, Chloe had no way of knowing his feelings! “I can see you trying to figure out what I just said so let me tell you something really important. Something you forgot.” Sabrina and Lila moved around him, both with serious look on their faces. “In order to truly love someone you have to know them, and I doubt that you know anything of note about that pathetic girl.”

Once more anger flared in him. Part of him, a large part of him really wanted to hit Chloe for she just said. But what made Adrien was most mad about was how right his former friend was. As much as he wanted to get to know the girl that was precious to him Adrien never got the chance. He shook in both anger at himself for never approaching the girl he was crushing on and at Chloe who always got in the way whenever he tried to approach her. He felt like he was about to hit her but thankfully his bodyguard had come up behind him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

Looking at the large man he saw them give him a look before starting to lead the young boy towards the door. Adrien at first put up a bit of resistance, wanting his confrontation with Chloe. He wanted to put her through a bit of what she had put Marinette through! But his bodyguard used a bit more force to lead him out. “I will see you again Adrien when you come back to your senses!” Chloe called out to his retreating back. The words shot him and shattered what was left of his patience.

“I did come to my senses!” He shouted back as his bodyguard grabbed him preventing him from moving to conforting Chloe. “I just realized how horrible you were!” Not giving him any more of a chance the Gorrila forced him out the door. The last thing he saw was Chloe’s stunned face. He wanted to say more, he wanted to make her realize how bad of a person she was, but most of all a growing part of him wanted to hit her.

Wait, what? That wasn’t a normal thought for him. Adrien always prided himself on his self-control that came so normally to him. What was going on? The blonde wondered as he was led back to the car.

Chapter Text

Marinette finally managed to get Fang off of her after a few minutes of ‘playing’. Well, it was a bit of fun but she was worried about the kwami in her bag. Plagg and Kaalki had been thrown around then had a Gator tackle her to the ground. Patting herself down she felt one of the kwami patting her, again. A thought briefly passed through her mind, she only felt one kwami patting her.

Before the thought could fully form in her head Penny got her attention. “This is an interesting album cover.” Looking over Marinette made her way over and felt her heart drop.

“No, no, I’m so sorry,” Marinette babbled as she moved to try and get the design out of the assistant’s hands. “I know these weren’t approved and I wasn’t allowed to make them,” The girl would have continued to go on if not for Jagged holding up his hand. Her heart pounded in her chest sure he would chew her out.

“What do you mean by ‘not approved’ and ‘not allowed’?” Jagged questioned with a slightly hard voice. Not having the strength to speak the girl dug around in the file and was relieved to see the emails between her and Jagged’s producer. After handing over the emails the girl started digging around to find the approved design Not finding anything the girl started panicking.

The kwami hiding in her clothes gave her another reassuring pat that broke Marinette out of her panic. The girl slowly started taking breaths to help herself down. A hand on her shoulder broke her from her thoughts. Looking she saw Penny giving her a concerned look. “I take it that you lost one of the designs?” Not being able to say anything due to focusing on her breathing Marinette just gave a nod. She needed to calm down.

“That, that, ARGH!” Jagged huffed as he sprung up from his seat. “I told him not to contact you! How did he even get her email address!” Fang started going towards his distressed master. “He crossed the line this time!” Clearly, there was history between the two and now Marinette was stuck in the middle of it.

“I will begin looking into-” Penny began only for Jagged to interrupt.

“We have already been over this! Remember when his son took some of MY music to make his crappy music!” The rockstar angrily cried out. “We set boundaries, we had a contract written, heck we did everything short of smoke signals to inform him of what not to due and he always pole-vaulted over it.” Penny didn’t say anything as her shoulders dropped. Fang had finally made it over to his owner and rubbed against them. The weight of the crock broke him partly out of his mood and Jagged just gave his assistant a look before going toward his room.

The assistant just let out a sigh before leaning forward to start picking up the various papers. “I’m so sorry,” The young girl curled in on herself. “I shouldn’t have..” what could she apologize for? If she apologized for Chloe and what happened in the lobby then she would have to explain why they were picking on her. No doubt it was one of them who stole the approved design.

The assistant placed a hand on her shoulder and made her look at the woman. The woman seemed to examine her before sighing. “You really do feel guilty.” Did Penny think she was pretending to feel guilty? Why would she think that?

“Why shouldn’t I?” Marinette questioned while quick to get out of the assistance’s hold. Nothing, well very few good things came from people touching her.

“Because-” Whatever was going to be said was cut off as a bubbling purple mass took over a large chunk of the room. Both girls looked at the two new figures. One was an akumatized Jagged who now looked like he had come out of an 80’s heavy metal video while the larger akuma was an enlarged winged Fang.

“Come along Penny we are having a meeting with Bob right now!” With that Jagged played a few strings which had Fang perking up and running toward the wall which he smashed. The now draconian-looking croc looked back to his owner who patted the large lizard on the side. “Good boy!” With that, he was quick to get on Fang’s back before looking towards Penny. “Come on Pen,” The rockstar gave his assistant a smile.

“Um, Jagged?” Penny questioned while seeming to look for an out. Her eyes darted around the room before settling on Marinette. The girl felt her blood burn a bit as Penny moved closer to her. “Do you intend to leave Marinette her by herself?”

“That’s a good point.” The akuma hummed while nodding. Something seemed to click in his mind before he gave a smile. “Don’t worry though I got an awesome idea though! Fang pickup!” The akuma moved towards Marinette who backed up against the wall as the giant croc approached her. With surprising gentleness the akuma grabbed the young girl in its mouth. “Good boy, good boy.” The akuma praised his croc while making sure to give him scratches. Marinette couldn’t see the other two but she assumed Penny was with Jagged based on what the akuma said next. “Alright off to Anarka then Bob!” With that the group flew out the giant hole and started flying over the city. Marinette really hoped things would turn okay and she could get away so that she could save Jagged from the akumatization that was her fault.

But until she could Marinette would have to relay on Misterbug. Well him and maybe the american heroes if they were still here. A thought suddenly came to her as heart beat rabitly in her chest. ‘Please let the kwami not with me be okay.’

~~~~~~

Plagg really, really, really hated the universe and the Order who made that stupid Wish that was still screwing over his kitten. The black kwami really would have thought it would be over after everything that happened last night but no, it decided to keep on kicking. If he ever got the chance Plagg would gladly tear the Order apart for their overwhelming stupidity. Since all that was left of the Order was Misterbug it would also take care of half of Bread’s problems so it would be for the best.

The only problem with it would be how upset Tikki might be but honestly, that only took a second priority. His first was his chosen and making sure that she would actually be okay. No on second thought he wanted Bread to be better than okay. Would more miraculous make her feel better?

That would just add more responsibilities for her and as the only human, it fall on to her to take care of all of them. He could already see how taking care of the kwami she did have was consuming her time. Though from what Plagg could understand Bread was going above and beyond to care for the kwami she had under her. He was sure that if the black-haired girl got more than whatever little free time he forced her to take for herself would vanish as she gave it all to the kwamies.

His grumblings had been somewhat interrupted when the backpack that had endured years of bullying was finally destroyed and its contents sent everywhere. Having been somewhat used to this Plagg flew and quickly entered the sleeve of the approaching hand. Flying down the sleeve the cat kwami looked for the bag that Bread usually had hidden in case something like this happened. Plagg had thought the girl was paranoid but just like with most instances like this Bread had been proven correct.

Finding the bag he flew in and found a pile of small fabrics that he had happily dove into. Settling in Plagg calmed down with his usual routine of imaging the various ways he or the other kwami could torture the brats who were cruel to Bread. An undetermined amount of time later he hadn't fully managed to calm himself but he had at least calmed down so he wouldn't destroy half of Paris. It was as he was finally settled down that he heard talking.

“I’m telling you Tikki I felt how passionate that girl was!” A vaguely familiar voice addressed someone who had all of Plagg’s attention.

“I believe you Ziggy,” A voice that had Plagg’s heart beating loudy in his chest.

“But if she is this passionate about torturing the girl than why hasn’t the guardian done anything about it?” Ziggy questioned with some horror.

“That, that is complicated.” Tikki sounded so sad and defeated that it made Plagg feel a bit of pity for the bug. “I have a theory but there is nothing I can prove, yet.” Plagg started pocking his head out a bit and felt his breath hitch a bit at seeing both Tikki and Ziggy near him. If these two were here then that meant he wasn’t with Bread but instead, debatitly the third most annoying blonde. Part of him worried about how Bread would react when she discovered him missing while another saw this as a perfect instance to discover the annoying stink bug’s identity.

“It seems that the guardian has stopped moving. Would it be okay for us to talk to him?” Ziggy questioned providing Plagg with a perfect opertunity. Now to make full use of it before returning before Bread freaked out and being away from his miraculous got uncomfortable. Waiting for the two to leave Plagg flew out of the bag and found himself in a Park close to the hotel. Staying close to the ground Plagg saw who Tikki was talking to.

“Adrien you did the right thing.” Tikki attempted to comfort Misterbug’s identity. An identity that had Plagg beyond pissed.

“I lost my temper at her.” The model muttered while looking at his folded hands. “I should have been better at controlling myself. But all my self control seemed to have left me.”

“I wonder if it has something to do with that demon transformation Tikki told us about? From what I heard they used that form to infect you!” The little goat kwami shook as they thought about what Tikki had told her about what had happened last night. Plagg had to hold himself back

“Infected?” Adrien questioned with narrowed eyes. “Could that have-” The question was cut off as Plagg could no longer hold himself back.

“Oh, so the demon girl ruined your self-control?” Plagg mocked with heat. The boy and two female kwami spun to face the new voice. Adrien felt his heart beat rapidly in his chest as he looked at the small floating black cat. Cheshire’s kwami was here, was the girl here too? “Poor you, the poor little bug who was suffering from some weird magical fog to the point that he couldn’t even move due to pain.” He remembered the pain vividly and it had him folding a bit in on himself. “But noooo, that evil villain demon girl went above and beyond to help you! She even used a dangerous technique to help you! But let us just say that Bread ‘infected’ you instead of defending her against the screaming tin can chewing goat!”

Adrian felt each word hit him right in the gut. Cheshire did do all of that and he hadn’t even had the certosiy of defending her verbally. Turning to Ziggy the new guardian was about to say something to them only to find the goat kwami had seemingly locked up in fear and was now laying on the bench near him. “What do you mean dangerous?” Tikki questioned with some apprehension. “There shouldn’t be any dangerous techniques” The guardian’s body froze up a bit at hearing what Tikki had said. How had he not noticed what Plagg had said?

Plagg looked at his other half for a moment before seeming to start thinking over something. Seeing movement Adrien was quick to grab Ziggy and motioned to the hidden bag he had snuck under his jacket. Did he steal the idea from Alya, yes but it was for the kwami so he was sure the reporter would understand. The gorilla arrived a few seconds later with some frozen yogurt.

The large bodyguard had taken Adrien out of the hotel and into the park and put him on the bench while he had gone off. Thankfully this had given him time to talk to the kwami, well more like getting yelled at by Plagg. Part of him felt like it was deserved. After all the girl had gone above what anybody else would have done for a potential enemy.

Oh, yeah he was still her enemy. He never got the chance to apologize, attempt to work things out, or even show in the slightest way how sorry he was. Instead, he was now massively in debt to her. No, he had already been indebted to her for helping to save him multiple times during akuma attacks and how did he repay her? The same way he repaid Marinette. Tears of anger and frustration were building up in his eyes. The anger and frustration were mostly at himself, at himself who didn’t seem to be able to do anything right! He didn’t even attempt to defend Cheshire a moment ago! He was supposed to be taking control of his life! Taking responsibility, correcting his mistakes and not letting people/kwami insult the person who helped him so much! That wasn’t even touching on what had happened with Marinette and Chloe!

Was Ziggy right? Was he Liberated of his Self Control? Were there other effects? Was this really worth being free?

Yes, a part of him screamed. A part of him he wanted to believe but just couldn’t fully believe. It was he was going through this that the Gorrila grunted and pulled him out. The bodyguard gave him a concerned look that the model couldn’t fully meet and thus looked down to see that his yogurt was gone and he hadn’t even been tasting the frozen treat that he had eaten.

The comforting presence of his bodyguard made him somewhat at ease. He worried that his loosened self-control would have him revealing something, like his secret identity. It was during his newest concerns growing that a large crashing sound was heard. Everyone turned to see rubble falling from the hotel and crashing onto the street bellow. Blinking Adrien began backing up a bit ready to run so he can find a somewhat hidden spot to transform. It was barely a few moments later a purple dragon flew out of the hole confirming that it was an akuma. The last thing he needed confirm Adrien ran to a back alley before opening the bag the kwami were in. The three kwami flew out though Ziggy kept a good distance from Plagg.

“I don’t think we can expect Cheshire to assist?” Adrien questioned the black kwami who huffed.

“Honestly, if the girl is thinking clearly then no. The girl needs to rest.” While shaking his head Plagg continued on. “Sadly, the girl will most likely show up.”

“I see,” Glancing toward Tikki the two locked eyes. The red kwami was concerned but Adrien could only guess what the kwami was upset about. “Tikki, Spots On!” There was an akuma to defeat so the two would talk about it later. A throat clearing had him looking to see the two kwami looking at him. “Um, is something wrong?”

“Yeah, I need to get back to Bread.” Plagg flatly replied. “It is rather uncomfortable being this far away from my miraculous.” Blinking the blonde remembered Fu saying something about kwami and what would happen if they were away from their miraculous. Though that did bring up a question. “Before you ask I’m not saying how I got away from her.” The black cat cut off the question before it could take form in his head.

“Alright, but how am I going to find her,” Misterbug questioned.

“Just get me close then I’ll let you know,” Plagg waved it off before seeming to think of something. “Or she will use Kaalki to start searching. So whatever happens first we will see.”

“Okay,” Nodding and slightly worried at what Plagg was saying the boy decided it was good to start moving. “Well hold on, we need to get moving.” With that, the two kwami flew to hold onto him. Throwing out the yoyo the boy began swinging wondering just what Cheshire, or Bread as Plagg referred to her, was doing. Hopefully, she was sleeping or resting in some form.

Chapter Text

Marinette clung to akumatized crocodile who gently held her in its mouth. How was she supposed to get out of this? This akuma was her fault and now the others had to clean up her mess. The girl wanted to curl up as guilt built up in her. This also made her body flare up in pain but she didn’t want to show it so Marinette closed her eyes. It helped to also protect her eyes from the blowing wind.

The girl embraced the darkness while she went through various plans. But before she could do anything her stomach dropped due to the akuma starting to make a landing. Taking a few deep breaths Marinette waited until she didn’t feel the wind buffering her face. But before she could open her eyes voices reached her ears. “What is going on out here?”

“Anarka, it is great to see you again!” Jagged called out with cheer. Opening her eyes Marinette saw that they were now hovering near a house boat. “Listen I don’t have much time and I need a favor from you.” With that the akumatized rock star landed on the boat with Penny in his arms. The crocodile started lowering itself again but not before spitting out his charge onto the deck.

“You think you can just show up here and ask for some favor?” The woman who no doubt owned the boat questioned before looking at her. Marinette shook a bit due to the cold wind mixed with the drool from the croc’s mouth. “And who is that girl? Did you have a brat and decide to drop her here while you go do whatever you want to?” Marinette attempted to start moving towards the railing so she could attempt to escape.

“I’m going to have a meeting with Bob.” Jagged informed the woman before moving towards Marinette. The girl froze upon being approached although all the akuma did was place a gentle hand on her shoulder. “As for this young lady, we got some business to attend to after I’m done with Bob.”

“Mom? What is hap-” A familiar voice questioned from within the boat. Juleka began to make her way out only to freeze upon noticing the obvious akuma. Said akuma turned to her only to freeze as a familiar mask appeared upon his face. Jagged turned towards Anarka with a great amount of rage.

“YOU LET OUR DAUGHTER RUN AROUND FIGHTING VILLIANS!” The akuma screamed with fury. Marinette blinked in shock as she tried to process everything that one sentence revealed.

“YOUR DAUGHTER!” Anarka questioned deciding to focus on one part. “Since when has she been YOUR daughter? What you think just sending some money allows you to make decision regarding what she does!” Marinette felt Jagged let go of her as he walked forward. Seeming to sense his owner’s anger Fang lowered himself till his wingbeats were sending out blasts of wind that blew down on them.

“Yeah, Jagged was too scared to really be a father.” The akuma slowly started to strum his guitar. A glowing ball flew out of his guitar and started to pulse beside the akuma. “But Guitar Villian will make sure to be the parent that cares!” The beat picked up and with that the now named Guitar Villian turned towards Juleka. “Now little missy hand over that miraculous before you are grounded!”

Juleka looked back at the akuma before running while transforming. “Roarr Stips On!” With that, the transformation started to take place only for multiple musical staff to flow around her body bounding her arms and legs.

“You are not going anywhere, you are grounded!” Guitar Villian declared while walking towards them. “So let's get that miraculous.” Marinette began to move to stop this in some way or form, she couldn’t let another miraculous fall into Hawkmoth’s hands. Only for her body to almost entirely give up the moment she began to move. Tears welled up in her eyes as she waited for the inevitable. There was no way for Misterbug or the others to arrive in time.

Anarka attempted to get closer only for the glowing balls to move and shoot off music notes to get her to back up. Jagged only gave her a look before lowinging down to grab the miraculous. “Thunderous Kick!” A voice called out as a red and black blur shot towards the akuma. Said akuma looked up in shock but it was to late. The kick landed with the sound of a loud thunderclap. GV was sent flying bak a few steps as a few sparks of electricity sparked around him. The two flying balls flew towards him while they seemed to dim down a bit before remerging to form one.

“Galarian!” Purple Tigress called out in relief. Marinette blinked as her mind tried to recognize the person. The girl looked familiar, so frustratingly familiar. It was like it was on the tip of her tongue but Marinette just couldn’t get it.

“Come on we need to get going!” The superhuman shouted while grabbing the bound miraculous user. “Thank you Mrs. Couffaine, I hope this will pay you back!” The short girl said this while starting to run with Purple Tigress over her shoulder.

“Where do you think you're going!” GV shouted before whistling. “Fang, fetch!” The mutated croc let out a noise that rattled Marinette’s bones. The girl backed up as she watched the akuma, who had jumped onto his pet, chase after the miraculous user. “Wait here, Lady I’ll be back. I need to go get my daughter.”

“You get back here!” Anarka shouted as she ran to the edge of her ship. “You have no right to punish MY daughter!” Seeing that he hadn’t stopped the woman stomped her food before turning around. Marinette backed up against the railing as she felt the anger from the woman.

“Mom, is it true?” A voice questioned drawing the attention of everyone. Luka now stood in the entrance looking so confused and seeming not to be able to understand. “Is he, is Jagged, are they my dad?”

“Yes, Jagged Stone is your dad,” Penny replied while taking a step forward getting all attention on her. “I can assure you that he has never missed sending you a birthday present or other holiday present.”

“Don’t lie,” Anarka shot back with heat. “That man didn’t recognize his son and had no idea how to interact with him.” The assistant looked to the side.

“I will admit that Jagged isn’t as in touch as he should be. But he has always tried to send gifts it's just that he doesn’t know how to moderate. Some of the gifts he has attempted to give were a bit… over the top.” The assistant explained while trying to calm down the situation. Anarka though didn’t want to calm down.

“Oh, so he can’t take care of the children he had with me but is willing to take care of some random person’s child. What did he have a child with someone else?” The woman attempted to look at said girl only to blink as they were no longer there. “Where is she!” Anger turned to panic. There was no way the girl could have left through the plank/exit so that left only one way for them to have left.

“MARINETTE!” Penny seemed to have had the same thought as she ran to the edge and seemed to search the water for the girl. Anarka and Luka ran to the edge before also looking for the girl. “Marinette where are you?!” The assistant questioned with panic before seeming about to jump in the water herself. Luka stopped her as he let out a sigh.

“I’ll go look for her,” The boy looked and then sighed. “I was going to give it back anyway, Wayzz Shell On!” With that, the young boy transformed into an armored green costume. “Her name is Marinette right?” Penny nodded her head while staring with wide eyes. “Alright, I’ll be right back.” With that Luka took off diving into the water.

“Who is that girl anyway?” Anarka questioned the assistant while staring at her son who was looking around before seeming to notice something and swimming in a direction. Penny let out a sigh before explaining the encounter she had with Marinette. As she began to talk the shorter woman began frowning. What neither noticed was a small hovering ball behind Penny.

~~~~~~

Marinette surfaced onto the edge of the river while coughing. The black-haired girl took a while to fully get herself together and let her body rest. She felt the wet clothes cling to her body while the contaminated water sloshed in her shoes. “Sorry, I’m so sorry.”

“It’s alright, everything is alright.” Kaalki attempted to reassure the girl as Marinette attempted to rest her mind and body. Part of Marinette rolled over at seeing only seeing the small brown kwami but the rest of her was just so tired. “Move just a bit more onto shore okay?” Nodding the girl attempted to stand only to not have the strength. Instead, the girl crawled towards a somewhat deserted alleyway. “You are doing so good, Fillie.”

“Marinette!” A voice called out. Said girl was quick to move behind some trash and waited holding her breath. Why would anybody be looking for her? Kaalki flew into a hiding spot while the two waited. Turning the girl saw a green armored miraculous user looking around. Marinette held her breath, not so much to hide but more out of reflex but more to stay hidden. She didn’t reconize the other user and was worried. Did Mister Bug lose Wayzz’s miraculous? No, he had given it to Purple Tigress so the girl had done something with it. Her head throbbed in pain so she had just dropped the subject. “Marinette?” Marinette blinked as she finally realized that he was the one looking for her.

A brief thought tried to form only for her head to throb again. Leaving it for later the girl just laid there for a moment just trying to exist. Taking measured breaths a rumbling purr came out as she attempted to recover. Hearing some motion she saw Turtle pull out his shield and watched with some interest as the pannels moved to project a hologram. An image of Misterbug appeared and the new user spoke before the ladybug chosen could say anything. “We have a problem, one of the people the akuma is looking for has disappeared.”

“One of? I’m sorry but I’m still in route so I don’t even know who the akuma is. Well beside that they are riding around on a dragon.”

“Alright let’s meet up and we can catch up. I’m just going to look around a bit more for Marinette before heading out.” Turtle informed the other before cutting communication. “Marinette if you can hear me please come out. I don’t mean you any harm.” The boy looked around and waited for a moment before sighing. “Alright, just stay hidden. I’m sorry but I need to go and deal with the akuma.” With that, he looked around one more time, sighed then left.

“He seems very nice,” Kaalki pointed out with a smile. Marinette hummed as she kept purring. The purr actually helped her feel better. She started feeling good enough that her mind started to realize something. “Marinette, I need to tell you something. Something really important about my power.” This drew her attention and stopped a thought that had almost formed. “My power of Voyage has another part of it. A part that is very rarely used due to how specific it is. A failsafe.” Waiting for Kallki the girl attempted to figure out why Kaalki would bring something like this. “You see the guardians were worried about us kwami getting separated from our miraculous so they added a little bit extra to my miraculous. You see Voyage has the power to either allow you to either use a kwami or the kwami’s linked miraculous to telport yourself to the one of the two.”

Marinette blinked a bit in shock as she heard this. The explanation wasn’t the best but the girl think she somewhat understood. “That is interesting, but what made you bring it up?”

“Okay, well just remember what I brought up,” Kaalki softly and slowly spoke to her fillie. Marinette locked onto the kwami worried now. What was wrong? “Okay, when you transform, focus on Plagg’s miraculous then you can use it to get to him.”

That sentence caused Marinette to freeze. Plagg, Plagg was missing? Plagg had left her? “No, no Plagg said he would never me,” The girl muttered as she held her head.

“He didn’t, he is just a little lost. We just need to go and get him,” Kaalki attempted to reassure but the girl grasped onto with everything she had.

“Kaalki, Full Gallop!” With that Marinette was pushed back and Knightmare took over. “Alright let’s get rescue our friend!” Closing her eyes Knightmare was about to head out only to pause for a second. Part of her wanted to recheck her appearance, out of a slight concern about what transforming had done to appearance. But she couldn’t wait or hesitate, they needed to get Plagg. Now. “Voy-” Part of the way through casting the ability her entire body froze. The power shifted around her in an almost uncontrolled manner. Her mind realed and shook as tried to figure out what was happening.

Was something wrong with Kaalki? Did she do something wrong when trying to activate her power. It didn’t matter though because she needed to get it under control. So doing what came naturally Knightmare reached out to grab the out of control power. The girl attempted to force the power to obey her but it only seemed to freak out more.

Knightmare fell to her knees as she felt the energy get more out of control but forced herself not to panic. Panicing would be the worst decision so Knightmare tried to think of someway to regain control of the power that was running wild.

Running wild, that gave her an idea.

This time when she grabbed the power she didn’t attempt to force control but instead started to soothe it. Slowly but surely it started to calm down enough for her to be able to move. Taking a slow and steady breath Knightmare started walking to get her blood flowing. “I will need to ask the kwamis about what had just happened. After about two minutes of walking, running and jumping Knightmare felt reassured enough to use Kaalki’s power. “Voyage!” Doing just as the brown kwami had instructed the girl focused on her most precious iteam. The usual ring of energy formed but this time it was tinged with a bit of familiar green colour.

As the portal spun into existence the girl prepared to go through only to freeze in shock as the portal opened to show a group of wide eyed miraculous users. They were in midmotion so they couldn’t stop and thus went through the portal. Misterbug was first and fell right onto her followed by Galaren who was carrying Purple then came Turtle, Rena and a mouse user.

Knocked down the girl lost control of the portal and was then stuck under the pile. Her mind took a second to comprehend what had happened. She briefly wondered why she wasn’t feeling any pressure from the mass of bodies. Looking at Misterbug the answer became somewhat clear. The boy had braced himself and was in a plank position to keep as much weight off of the girl. Looking toward the ladybug user the girl found herself less than an inch from his face. The boy started to grow a bit red at their situation.

“Guys can you please get off of me?” Misterbug questioned with some strain. “Please, you are all heavy,” A bit of sweat started forming on face. Various noises came from the pile as they started rolling off put one noise drew her attention.

“What the heck happened? That looked like a Voyage portal.” Plagg’s voice was like a cool balm to her. “But that would mean…”

“Plagg!” Her entire focus shifted to her kwami as a smile grew on her face.

“Bread,” Plagg’s voice came out with a bit of a sad tinge. Normally Marinette would worry about why he was upset but she was just so happy to see him again. “You were supposed be resting.”

Chapter Text

Adrien blinked in shock as he tried to figure out what had happened. Just earlier this day he had fought with Chloe and then got chewed out by Plagg. The chewing out from the black cat kwami was justified and he had earned it for letting someone talk badly of the girl who had sacrificed so much for him. She had gone above and beyond for someone who had only ever hurt her. By kwami why was being a hero so difficult?

It shouldn’t be difficult, after all for the most part he just needed to be a good person, yet he had failed. It made him sick to his stomach.

So to attempt to make up for his failure Misterbug left to attempt to be a better hero. Or in the eyes of Paris, he would be turning from a villain and become a hero. It hurt that they had seen him as a villain but it was impossible to defend himself. After all, he had done nothing to prove that he wasn’t an incompetent buffoon.

It was as he swung through the city that he had met up with Rena and Mouse. To say things were tense would be an understatement. Mouse was more than ready to tear him apart but thankfully Plagg was able to reassure the miraculous user that he wasn’t stolen.

“Yeah I guess I was jumping to conclusions,” Mouse gave a sheepish laugh before shaking her head. “I mean there is no way you could ever defeat Chesh.”

“Wait, then how did you get your hands on Plagg?” Rena questioned to which Misterbug only shrugged.

“I thought I smelled something delicious,” Plagg responded with a shrug. “Turns out it was Tikki’s cookies.”

“Wow, you are such a cat,” Misterbug rolled his eyes while wondering when Plagg had snuck into his bag.

“Of course he is,” Mouse responded with glee. “I remember several stories from Chesh about some of the antics he got up to.” Plagg just huffed in response but rolled his eyes in good humor.

“You know I bet if anyone would have good stories about Cheshire…” Rena trailed off in good humor while looking toward Plagg who huffed while rolling his eyes..

“She got my permission to tell those tales,” Plagg gave a glare to the group. “You are not getting anything from me.”

“Wow, such a stand-up girl,” Rena hummed before leaning in. “You sure there is nothing?” Plagg gave a flat stare that said everything it needed to. Looking at the black kwami Misterbug felt like something clicked into place. Plagg cared for Cheshire, he cared for her a lot. “Can you at least tell us if the cat hero will be here soon?”

“She shouldn’t be out heroing, the girl needs her rest,” Plagg muttered while shaking his head. The three looked at each other. It was more like Misterbug looked towards the two girls while they glared at him. Thankfully the growing atmosphere was broken up by the yoyo ringing.

Opening the device the boy was slightly surprised to see Turtle. The two had exchanged words with each other but it was during that exchange that he felt his heart stop.

“Alright let’s meet up and we can catch up. I’m just going to look around a bit more for Marinette before heading out.” The call cut out and the roof fell silent.

“Marinette?” Alya questioned with a bit of panic. “Why is the akuma after her?”

“Who cares?” The mouse hero scoffed while rolling her eyes. “We just need to take care of the villain before anything else happens.” Adrien looked at her and felt himself twitch. How could this girl be a hero?

The same way Pegasus, King Monkey, and Queen Bee were. A part of his mind poked causing the boy to sigh. That was fair, but it also brought up if Cheshire knew if Alix was also a bully out of the suit. Part of him doubted she knew, after all, why would she call him out on it but then give another bully a miraculous? That was something he couldn’t imagine the girl doing.

“Let’s get going!” Rena shouted while not even waiting for a second. Adrien followed her example as he started swinging toward the akuma. It was while they were doing this that they came across a rather shocking site. A bound Purple Tigress being carried by Gallaren. The amok looked out of breath and it turned into relief when she spotted them.

“Get back here!” The akuma that was closing in shouted at them. The rockstar-looking akuma rode on top of the dragon that seemed to be enjoying the chase. Underneath he spotted Turtle who was staying in the blind spot. Seeing the situation Misterbug swung around and tackled the two girls into a nearby alleyway. This seemed to shock the akuma who overshot the group. Turtle and the others landed near them.

“We need to keep going! Can you move?” Looking at Galarien he saw her taking deep mesured breaths. The girl shook her head before letting out a shocked breath as Rena picked her up. Looking over he saw Turtle had grabbed his sister before giving them a nod. They couldn’t wait too long. There was little to no doubt that the akuma would turn around soon and come back for them.

Not wasting another second the group started running. “Not to be rude but this would be easier if you freed me,” Purple spoke up from where she was being carried.

“Ziggy, have a look at those strings,” The goat kwami, and a bit surprisingly Plagg flew to check on what was binding Juleka. The group didn’t run in a straight line instead ducking and weaving around the back alleys. The group stopped for a few moments though when they thought themselves free.

“Thanks for the lift,” Galaren whispered before getting off Rena’s back. The amok moved closer to a wall and while she didn’t seem to have fully recovered they at least looked better. “I don’t get what happened. I was moving around faster and for longer yesterday yet I didn’t feel tired!”

“Perhaps you ran out of energy?” Rena questioned while tapping her chin.

“That would make sense,” Misterbug hummed while Galaren blinked. “You survived having your amok destroyed which would have also destroyed your connection to the peacock and its energy source.”

“So do I need to find some other way to get energy?” She questioned while blinking.

“Would make sense,” Plagg agreed while shrugging his shoulders. “Any input from you Miss Fluffybut?”

“These are unusual times with unusual situations never seen before.” Fluff spoke up from near Mouse causing everyone to look at the kwami who stared off in front of her. That was yet another thing Adrien needed to talk to Cheshire about. Getting the rabbit back from Alix.

“Still as cryptic as I remember,” Plagg muttered while shaking his head. “Good to see you haven’t changed.”

“It is pleasant to see you are also unchanged and not corrupted like was believed,” Fluff spoke while giving him a crooked smile.

“Yes good things all around,” Rena muttered while shaking her head. “And we will address everything you said after dealing with the akuma!”

“Right, Plagg what did you and Ziggy figure out about the binds?” Misterbug questioned getting things back on track.

“Nope,” Plagg shook his head. “It is magically made from the combined power of both an akuma and amuk. Nothing short of the power of destruction could destroy it.” Adrien narrowed his eyes at that. He knew the danger of Kwami using their power so that option was out. Because the only other option was…

“Are you sure that is the only option?” Misterbug questioned because the only other option would be to use the Black Cat miraculous. Something very unlikely due to how Plagg talked about the condition Cheshire was in.

“I agree with Plagg,” Ziggy seconded while flying towards Misterbug. “Unfortunately there are very powers that could counter something made so strong.” Before more could be said they heard the sound of the akuma. With little left to do, they began to head out only to freeze when they noticed a floating sphere that seemed to pulse.

“Do we have any idea about the akuma?” Rena questioned as they made their way up to roofs as the orb followed them.

“The amok amplifies the ability of the akuma,” Purple commented while she was carried. “Also the akuma is Jagged Stone and his pet Fang. He is going by Guitar Villian.”

“Really?” Misterbug questioned feeling a bit of shock that his favorite musician had been akumatized. But he could focus on that later, right now they had to get Galaren and PT somewhere safe.

“But why is he after Marinette?” Alya questioned while taking a thinking position. “The only time I remember them interacting was when she was a gofor during the work hotel thing.” Misterbug couldn’t say anything due to needing to protect his identity.

“Who cares, we can figure it out later,” Mouse waved it off with a huff.

“Hopefully, she isn’t another one of his kids,” Juleka probably meant that remark to be quieter then intended. That one single sentence implied so much and he really, really, really didn’t know how to handle every single part of this. Having no option the boy put everything on to some corner of his mind that would be addressed… at some point… when no idea.

“Now what is this about my kids?” A familiar voice questioned shocking close. The group were quick to get back to back and look around for any sign of the akuma. Remembering that the akuma could fly he looked up to see the akuma in the sky a distance away. His brows furrowed as he attempted to figure out how he could hear the akuma despite them being so far away.

“The amuk is surrounding us!” Turtle shouted alerting Misterbug. The red hero looked and saw the glowing orbs slowly moving towards them. There were about thirty or so with none of them being bigger than a golf ball. It seemed that in the process of splitting they had shrunken enough that they became possible for them to sneak up on the group.

“I’ll try not to hit you Juleka but you know it is live fire.” With that an uptempo song began playing and music notes began shooting out at same pace of the song GV played. Spinning his yoyo the male hero started blocking the incoming attack.

“Rena let’s-” Beginning to speak his plan to retreat Mouse instead attempted to attack the akuma while letting out a war cry. However, when she got near a solid wall of sound knocked her back towards the others. Fang wasn’t idle during this and bagan to swoop in. “Trick!” Seeming to understand what was asked the fox hero let used her power to cover everything in an illusion.

Nobody spoke as they picked up their downed companions before rushing away. Mouse lightly complained but stopped only a minute into running. “RUN FASTER!” Not doubting her the group sped up. The boy prayed that the Libiration hadn’t destroyed his luck. As if to answer that prayer a portal opened in front of him. On the other side, Knightmare blinked a bit in shock. Not being able to stop he bowled right into the hero followed by the rest of the group. Thankfully he was able to brace himself before the others crashed down.

As the weight pressed on him, the boy looked down to see Knightmare. The girl’s face was paler then he remembered and her green eyes seemed to take time to even focus on what was going on around her. With him being so close he could also see some of the sweat forming making the girl look more sick. It only just drove more home what the girl went through to help him. Seeing her now looking at him the boy felt embarrassment start to grow along with his muscles starting to strain due to all the weight.

“Guys, can you please get off of me?” Sweat started to form on his brows. He really hoped this wouldn’t end in some type of anime situation. “Please, you are all heavy.” Various noises came from above him and thankfully everyone started to roll off of him.

“What the heck happened? That looked like a Voyage portal,” Plagg’s voice came out confused and also made Adrien confused as well. How had Knightmare used a Voyage when she had no way of knowing where they were? Looking down he saw the girl’s eyes had zeroed in on the kwami. “But that would mean…”

“Plagg!” Knightmare’s voice came out with such genuine joy that it was a bit shocking. He got her being concerned about Plagg and relieved to have him back but this seemed like more than that.

“Bread,” In return the kwami let out a long-suffering sigh that Misterbug felt it in his bones. “You were supposed to be resting.”

Misterbug watched this interaction with some interest before remembering that he was still above the girl. Standing up quickly he made sure not to touch Knightmare. The girl didn’t move but just lay there watching the small black kwami.

“So, she really was sick,” Rena muttered while looking at the out of hero.

“Hey Chesh, you okay?” Mouse questioned drawing Knightmare’s attention.

“War?” The horse hero questioned while getting up. It was as she was doing this that Misterbug noticed her flinch a bit while standing. “How did you get Mullo’s miraculous?”

“I got it yesterday,” War commented while seeming to loose energy. It seems that seeing her hero in such a state was having an affect on her. “Are you okay Chesh?”

“Of course!” The girl responded with a smile that nobody seemed to believe. A beep from the horse miraculous drew the attention of the group. “Oh, I need to head out. Come on Plagg we need to go.”

“Go as in to transform or go back to sleep?” Plagg questioned to which the girl just blinked while seeming to try and respond. It was during this exchange that Adrien looked towards the still bound Purple Tigress. Was she in a good enough shape to help before going back to rest? He hated having to ask but they would need all the help they could get for this fight.

“Before you go is there any chance you could use Cataclysm?” Misterbug questioned while gesturing towards Juleka. The black horse hero blinked before opening her mouth to respond.

“She is in no condition to do anything.” Plagg firmly stated while turning to look at Adrien. “Besides, YOU are in no position to ask anything of her.”

Sighing at the, at this point, unneeded jab the spotted hero took a breath before deciding to argue his case. “Look, right now we need every hand on deck and right now we are down three people. Both Purple and Galaren can’t fight right now and we will need to leave someone to protect the two of them.” Beginning his explanation Misterbug made sure to be as clear as possible. “I know you are not in the best condition so perhaps we could come to some sort of compromise?” He needed her help and was willing to do what was needed to get it. Another beep from the horse miraculous reminded him he was on a time limit.

“What would you suggest?” Plagg questioned with a raised eyebrow. “The only other way for you to free her would be for someone to use my miraculous.” This caused Knightmare to freeze up and Misterbug knew that both Mouse and Rena were probably glaring at him now.

“Knightmare could choose who could use the miraculous! She could let anyone use it and then they would return it to her!” Knightmare didn’t seem to fully understand what was going on around her but was putting on a good act. He was pretty sure that it was only due to him having spent so much time with her.

“You want to give Plagg’s miraculous to an untrained person?” She questioned while Luka came a bit closer. “Besides how am I supposed to trust that you will return Plagg?” A feeling came from his miraculous that somehow Adrien could understand.

“Tikki says she is willing to let you hold onto her miraculous while you lend out Plagg’s.” The girl narrowed her eyes in thought before looking towards Plagg. The black cat hummed before yet another beep was heard. Down to one minute.

“If he does anything then we outnumber him.” Turtle pointed out to which Plagg sighed.

“Bread, I can’t believe I’m saying this but please give my miraculous-”

“No, I’ll just do it! Plagg Claws Out!” With that Plagg was sucked into the ring just as Knightmare’s transformation swapped over to being Cheshire. The superhero stood before them before she started walking towards PT. Misterbug watched with his breath held.

He felt something was wrong like something wasn’t right with what was happening. Looking around it didn’t seem like anybody else had noticed. But what was obvious was that the suit had changed. Actual cat ears sat on top of her head and they twitched every so often, her belt tail had also become real while fur was added to accentuate parts of it. It was as if parts of her Catalsit power had become a part of her regular suit. What that meant he had no idea, but it scared him.

With a whispered word the girl summoned her power and tapped a finger on the bindings that instantly turned into dust. Giving a nod the girl stood up before offering a hand to the other female hero. “Um, Chesh are you sure you are alright?” War questioned while walking up to them.

“I’m good, why do you ask?” Cheshire questioned while giving a smile. Misterbug did not believe her at all. He doubted anybody believed her and now he was questioning just how okay she was out of the suit. The girl was very attached to Plagg.

Chapter Text

Cheshire felt good like all the tiredness had vanished. Her muscles no longer felt like they were screaming in pain and ready to leave her body. Heck even her bones felt like they were broken multiple times before being welded back together. Enjoying the feeling for a bit longer the hero prepared to head out. She had to feed Kaalki and Plagg along with printing out the correct album cover. Hopefully Jagged would accept her apology and not be too mad with her.

“Cheshire?” Misterbug’s voice drew her out of her thoughts. His tone confused her, he sounded concerned and a bit scared. But why would he be concerned about her? They were enemies after all. Yeah there was the akuma truce and everything but she knew that he would use any chance he could to get the miraculous back into that blank void prison of a box. “Are you alright?” The fake concern seems to grow in his voice.

What could he have been concerned about? Looking around the girl saw Kaalki floating nearby also looking a bit out of it. Connecting the dots the girl came to the conclusion that he might have been concerned about. “Don’t worry the technique I used only allows me to find missing kwami or miraculous as long as I have the other half. So I can’t just teleport as I please.”

“That, that,” Misterbug looked towards Turtle who was leaning over to talk to the now freed Tigress. “That is something interesting but, um, are you feeling okay?”

“I’m good don’t worry about me.” Cheshire waved off his concern. The girl took another look before spotting War. “Al-, War is that you?”

“Yeah, it is me Chesh,” War confirmed while looking to Rena who returned it. The two seemed to exchange a conversation before she looked towards Fluff. The white kwami didn’t look at anything as usual. “Um, are you,” The short girl was about to ask a question but cut herself off. “Actually, could I ask you a question about the Rabbit miraculous?” Getting a nod as an answer she continued forward. “I think something is wrong with Fluff.” This got everyone’s attention on the kwami.

“It is as I explained,” Fluff spoke with a shake of her head. “I am unable to access most of my powers due to emergency measures taken by the head of an Order.”

“And you haven’t explained past that.” War huffed before looking to Cheshire who hummed. In truth, she was trying to remember what happened to the rabbit miraculous. Various pieces from last night floated around her head. She was concerned about how hard it was for her to even recall things from a day ago but didn’t let it show. What was wrong with her? Was this her punishment for overstepping?

“I believe Fluff is talking about us needing her to Collapse the Burrow. Or Something like that.” Misterbug spoke while looking at Cheshire out of the corner of his eyes. The black cat user blinked before her mind sorted itself out around that one fact. She had asked Fluff to Collapse the Burrow and Fluff had done it? Plus the rabbit kwami had called her the head of an Order.

Yeah, she had been working on trying to make an Order but a part of her had always thought it impossible. After all, she was just one small insignificant girl. But Fluff had acknowledged her Order to Collapse the Burrow. It felt like she achieved something but at the same time, she really couldn't believe that she had actually created an Order.

“-hire? Cheshire?” Blinking the hero shook herself from her thoughts. Glancing towards Misterbug, who had a concerned look Cheshire blinked as she tried to figure out how she had gotten so lost in thoughts. Was this because of-

Bitting the inside of her cheeks to stop any more loose thoughts. She couldn’t afford that in front of her enemy. The boy opened his mouth to no doubt mock her but she cut him off. “Collapsing the Burrow is a last resort for a reason. It not only destroys the current miraculous Fluff is using but also the Burrow, the main power of the rabbit.”

“Sounds like a desperate technique,” Rena commented while taking a step forward.

“It is,” Cheshire nodded while her mind felt like it wanted to wander but she forced it to focus. Who knew how much time she had wasted just standing around like an idiot? No doubt Misterbug was kicking himself for not taking advantage of her being out of it. “It is a last resort for a reason.”

“How long will it take to regain access to the Burrow?” War questioned with interest.

“The only one who could answer that would be Fluff.” Shaking her head the girl also raised her arms to shrug hoping to subtly get a glance at her miraculous. Looking at the miraculous she saw that three paw prints had vanished. How had it been three minutes! She needed to leave! Why were they trying to keep her here when she was getting so low on time!

“Fluff could you-” War began to question only for the kwami to stop her.

“The only one who can ask is a head guardian.” Fluff responded while still looking away. Cheshire meanwhile was trying to figure out a way to flee without drawing attention to her poor condition. Glancing around she spotted Kaalki near her talking to another kwami. The kwami was giving her a look, no doubt upset with her for not feeding her. She had lost her twice and was now not feeding her. She was no doubt telling the other goat looking kwami about how horrible she was.

Wait a goat-looking kwami, that meant it was… That meant it was Ziggy? Ziggy was the goat kwami, right? Or was it Stompp? Why couldn’t she fully remember? Was this her punishment for going against the Order? Was Chloe right that she was an unimportant girl?

No, she had said that about Marinette and Cheshire was way better than Marinette. Everyone agreed about that, even Alix preferred Cheshire rather than the pathetic good for nothing Marinette. A beep had realizing that time was almost up. She had used up her time trying to explain something to Alix and the others. Was this what they wanted? Did they want her completely helpless? Had Alix learned who she was and decided that anybody would be a better cat hero then her?

Further thoughts were cut off as a large amount of heavy fabric landed on her. The girl blinked and was about to say something only for her transformation to fall and all her strength to fade in an instant and underneath the weight she collapsed.

~~~~~~~

Misterbug felt his breath catch when he saw Cheshire get lost in her thoughts again. Even when he attempted to call and get her attention like before it didn’t work. A beep from her miraculous showed that she didn’t have much time left before de-transforming. Turning to the others he saw them all talking to themselves with Alix the most animated. Ziggy and Kalkki were talking to each other while Fluff didn’t seem to notice anything. He needed to do something. He didn’t, couldn’t betray her like this. Not when he wanted to make things right with her!

“Tikki, Ziggy, Unify!” Not wasting time the now unified hero grabbed the brush and prepared to use the power he hadn’t practiced with. “Genesis!” Going with the simplest thing he could the artistically challenged boy went with the simplest thing he could. Which was a large heavy mass of black and white fabric. The fabric fell onto the girl who remained standing, standing until a flash of green light announced the end of her transformation. After the green flash the girl went limp as whatever strength was keeping her standing left.

Holding his breath the boy waited to see if anything would happen but all that happened was a small lump moving under the fabric. The lump popped up revealing the black cat kwami. “I take it things didn’t go well?”

“That is an understatement.” Misterbug sighed before turning to the others. The small group had stopped talking as they stared at the mess. “I tried to get her to head home but I don’t think she heard me.”

“Sure you did,” Plagg huffed while shaking his head.

“Actually we both did,” Turtle confirmed as he separated from the group. “War thought it would be best to keep her here.”

“She needs help!” Alix countered while gesturing to the downed girl. “My friend is suffering and you want me to just let her go in that condition!” The mouse user gestured to the downed hero who was laying unmoving.

“I don’t want to agree but I can’t disagree,” Plagg muttered before looking to Kaalki. “Go and eat up, hopefully, we can use your miraculous or something.”

“She can’t move right now! We need to help her; the only way to do that is to know who she is!” War attempted to reaffirm her point. Plagg sighed as he shook his head. He had no doubt that the girl thought she was helping, but it would do more damage in the long term. But her point still stood, Bread needed to get home and get some rest.

Misterbug shook his head with a sigh. He understood War, he really did but he knew that if he peeked at her then any chance of having a somewhat good relationship would vanish completely. That and Plagg would probably erase his existence. “You don’t get to make that decision.”

“And you do!? What gives you the right to decide? You are probably over the moon that she is so sick! Probably overjoyed to be able to able to get all the miraculous back!”

“I’m not deciding anything! I’m just respecting her wishes!” The boy yelled back while his heart started beating faster. He really hoped this didn’t break into a fight. They couldn’t afford to fight each other at this point. War looked back towards the others and Rena confidently came forward to stand next to the mouse user while Purple slunk backwards. Turtle stood next to the bug user while Galaren sat on the sidelines looking between everyone. The girl was probably concerned about being caught in the crossfire or the heroes not living up to her expectations.

“Looks like I’m finally on time!” A new voice broke everything up and had the group turned to see a woman starting to bundle up the fabric with Cheshire in the center. The girl didn’t seem to be struggling too much but the bundle was slowly squirming. “Stop that kitten or you might hurt yourself.” The black-suited hero attempted to soothe the girl.

“Bread calm down it's Long Ears,” Plagg spoke up with some relief.

“Sounds like you are happy to see me for once.” The black rabbit user chuckled as she moved the bundle so Cheshire would be more comfortable. Misterbug looked between her and the floating kwami hovering nearby. This woman was a rabbit miraculous user and if War held onto the miraculous then that would mean.

“He is probably just happy that you are saving his chosen.” A familiar voice commented as Santa landed nearby. “Good to see you are still in good health young Guardian.”

“It’s good to see you are okay after last night,” Misterbug responded back while looking between the two.

“You can thank the rabbit for my safety. I was having a rough fight against Withered but thanks to her interference the two of us turned the tables on that old wizard.” The old saint let out a laugh before shaking his head. “But just like all old wizards in the past, he was able to flee when things started looking bad.”

“Santa, that is Santa!” Galaren muttered while staring with wide eyes at the icon of Christmas. “Santa is real? Santa Clause is real?” The red-haired girl looked around at the other people on the roof. War seemed to be in the same condition as the amuk. The mouse turned towards Rena who blinked at the looks before shrugging.

“I saw him the night Cheshire needed to swap miraculous with me.” The fox responded with a hum.

“That and she was more focused on meeting her heroes.” Purple Tigress added on.

“You, are you me?” War questioned ignoring the by play happening near her. The older rabbit looked at her younger version and Adrien had to blink as he saw a variety of emotions pass across her face. He couldn’t keep track of all of them but when her face finally settled he saw her looking at her younger self with tiredness and he wanted to say disappointment, anger?

“Unfortunately I am you.” The older Alix responded while shaking her head. “Now if you can excuse me I have a sick kitten to take care of.”

“But I have so many questions,” Rena spoke up but the rabbit shook her head.

“Unfortantly for you I am running on borrowed time.” The rabbit responded before shooting off. The two kwami clinging onto the blanket. “Any further questions you have can be given to the poor excuse of a gift giver!” With that the unnamed hero disappeared and the group turned to white-bearded man who sighed.

“I will answer your questions after we have dealt with the akuma.” Santa responded back while looking back over the city. “After that, I hate to rush this but we need to perform the Gifting soon. I need to be heading back as soon as we can.” Adrien nodded at that having read up on the Gifiting ceremony. It was the name of the ritual that would bestow Santa and through him his helpers.

“Alright,” Misterbug nodded before looking back towards the group who were whispering among themselves. “Come on guys we have a rockstar to save from being akumatized.”

The group looked between themselves before Turtle sighed. “I’m sure we could work something out. But he is right, we do need to work together.”

“Chesh says that the people always do come first,” War grumbled before letting out a sigh. “I suppose you are just going to use the Akuma Truce?” Misterbug didn’t reply but turned towards where he could faintly see the Akuma. “Fine, I guess this will let me show Chesh my skills.”

“Um, I still can’t do much,” Galarian spoke up from where she was still resting. Misterbug wanted to bang his head against something. Wasn’t he just telling Cheshire about how they needed to leave someone behind?

“I suggest we leave Tigress behind to guard her.” Turtle suggested to which Misterbug nodded. That would make the most sense. Looking at the girl he saw her already moving to stand near the redhead. “Let’s get going.” First defeat the akuma then somehow convince everyone to hand over their miraculous to him. He was sure he could get Juleka and Luka to hand over theirs but Alya along with Alix? Hopefully, Santa or that future rabbit will be able to help him. Speaking of the future rabbit, hopefully, she can get the other miraculous to perform the ritual. They only needed them long enough to perform the ritual so maybe if he promised to return the miraculous to Alix?

Chapter Text

Misterbug sighed as his group finally managed to defeat the Akuma and Amok. The battle had been a long and hard one. They had located the Akuma while he hunted down Bob Roth. The akumatized rock star had been shouting accusations. The boy had tuned it out needing to focus on the fight and what a fight it was. Even outnumbered Guitar Villian, TwoBeat (the Amok), and Fang fought well together. The battle dragged on but through the use of his Lucky Charm, Multitude, and a Mirage the group had managed to win.

“Miraculous Misterbug!” The red and black hero shouted as he threw up the charm casting the cure. As the cure swept over the city Adrien watched as Jagged and Fang were returned to normal. The rockstar and croc blinked as they woke up.

“What the heck happened?” The man questioned as he rubbed his head.

“You were akumatized.” Purple Tigress informed him while laying her hand on his shoulder.

“I was?” Reaching up he rubbed his head. “I remember being so mad…”

“Am I going to get an apology?” Bob questioned with an angry look on his face. Jagged responded with his own angry look.

“Hey Turtle can you handle things here?” Misterbug questioned with a look towards the fight about to break out. He winced as he heard a beep. “I need to get going before my timer runs out. Plus I want to start looking for our missing person.”

The turtle hero blinked before nodding to them. “I’ll take care of this as best I can.” Nodding Misterbug was quick to leave. He barely got a few buildings away before his transformation dropped. Tikki flew out and panted a bit before grabbing the offered cookie.

“Think you will be ready soon Tikki or should I use Ziggy’s miraculous. With her permission of course.” Adrien quickly added when he saw the goat kwami looking like she was about to cry.

“I think it would be best for you to work alongside Ziggy. I already know Marinette so she will probably feel better with a familiar face.” Both the human and kwami nodded at that reasoning. Turning to Ziggy he waited until she agreed to let him transform through the black and white kwami let him know that he should say please next time. The boy agreed before using the transformation to become yet another new hero.

“I wonder if Cheshire has a running list of various names for the miraculous? Not that I’m any better.” Angora chuckled before beginning to head to Marinette’s house. It was unlikely for her to have managed to make it back to her house but it would be better to double-check than spend hours looking only for her to be somewhere obvious.

“I wonder who she got to help her make the list?” Tikki questioned as she fondly remembered Adrien and her making said list. However, they didn’t get every miraculous such as the dog, ox, tiger, or snake. “Probably Trixx or Mullo.”

Giving a hum Angora nodded as he started moving towards the bakery. It took him a minute to arrive but when he did it wasn’t the easy landing he was hoping for. The boy accidentally knocked over a potted plant. “I am way too used to using the yoyo.” Waiting a bit to see if the noise of the crashing pot brought the girl out. Not seeing anything for a few moments the boy looked to the kwami. “Should I knock on the skylight?” If Marinette was asleep he didn’t want to risk waking her up. If she was as sick as he believed her to be and given the day she had… He really didn’t want to wake her or intrude into her room.

“I’ll go in, she might even have food for me,” Tikki suggested while giving a smile. Nodding the boy looked around the balcony and thought about sitting down on the pink chair but decided against it. This was a secure safe space for the girl and he had already done some damage to it by breaking a pot. So with some careful maneuvering, the boy moved to a spot under the roof where he could rest without risking damaging anything. Settling in the boy brought out the brush and began spinning it while trying to figure out how to activate its phone mode. It didn’t matter though as his mind was rolling through what had happened today. Not only had he begun to realize what being freed meant but also just how much he had been lacking.

“Is this what the freed version of me meant?” He had always wondered about what his freed version had meant about Marinette but now it seemed obvious. It irked him to admit that Chloe was right but she was right. He didn’t know Marinette as much as he would like. Part of him wanted to blame Chloe for the fact that he never got the chance to spend any time with the girl. Every time he had attempted to get close Chloe or one of her friends had gotten in the way.

It should have been obvious, especially after he had figured out the rather obvious bullying. “I really should have done something sooner.” He knew that Chloe had been a bully, that she and his other classmates had been bullying Marinette so why hadn’t he done SOMETHING? Remembering back to those times he felt like a fog or something like a mist had been redirecting his thoughts. Scratching his head he dropped his brush. “What the hell was I doing?” With a huff, he slumped against the wall. “Why did it feel like I was trying to fight against life to do something nice for the girl? Even when he had done so it went wrong! The pictures were stolen before he could even give them to her!

Part of him was hoping that the photographer was able to get him more of the test shots but he knew that it was foolish. Maybe he could ask Tikki if she could tell him some of her interests. Then again he should have been able to figure out something based on what he did know about her. So with that, he settled into thinking about what he did know about his classmate. After all, she had given him so many gifts that it would only make sense for him to give her a few gifts.

After a few moments, his pen started blinking while making noise. This drew him out of his thoughts and he looked at the brush. Once more the question of how to answer a brush. An idea came to him and he waved the brush creating a screen in front of him that had the image of Turtle. “Hey shell-head how is it going?”

“Good, I helped Jagged come to his senses and promised the reporters more information at a later date.” The green hero informed before a frown appeared on his face. “Did you find the girl? Jagged was pretty concerned about her.”

“I have Tikki checking in on her, I will let you know,” Misterbug informed but saw that the other male still had a frown on his face. “Is something else the matter?”

“Jagged had a big fight with his producer,” Turtle sighed as he shook his head. “It sounds like a big lawsuit is coming.” Angora hummed while nodding. It must have been a shock to see such a huge fight but the blonde didn’t get what that had to do with Luka. The boy rambled for a bit and the goat holder listened and was somewhat shocked to learn that Luka had just learned that Jagged was his father. It seemed that Bob Roth had some kinda contract with Jagged that Turtle didn’t understand. But the point was that Jagged was his father.

“That is quite the story,” Angora hummed while nodding. “I don’t know what to say, sorry.” The blonde shook his head to which Turtle gave a response.

“Honestly I think I just needed to vent,” The musician responded while he seemed to finally relax.

“How is Ju- Purple taking it?”

“She is talking to Roaar about it,” Turtle informed but let the rest of what he was saying hang.

“I’m sorry but Hawkmoth knows her identity,” Misterbug gave his best sympathetic look. He unnderstood, he really did. At this point he couldn’t imagine being separated from Tikki. Speaking of the kwami she was taking a while in the room.

“What about Rena and War?” Turtle questioned while the current goat holder shook his head.

“That is up to Cheshire but I’m pretty sure she will be willing to at least hear me out about why she will need to take their miraculous back.” His mind rolled over various things but the big one was a question. Cheshire had said she wanted to be better so there was no way she would let a bully like Alix keep her miraculous, right? A noise on the other side had Luka sighing.

“I have to go now, see you later?” With that the call disconnected leaving Misterbug alone again to think his various thoughts.

Meanwhile, Tikki had flown into the young girl's room and felt her breath catch. Marinette was asleep on her bed tucked in. The girl didn’t look peaceful but she did look relaxed. Looking around the room the small red kwami didn’t see anything too out of the norm. But her suspicions still hung in her mind and so she flew around looking for something, anything to confirm or deny her thoughts. “Plagg, Plagg? Are you here?” The small red goddess called out not knowing if she wanted to see him or not.

“Tikki? What are you doing here?” A familiar voice called out. Sucking in a breath she turned to see Sass. A growling noise was heard to which the snake kwami looked back towards the bed. “Do not worry Plagg, I do not see Misterbug nearby.” A black head popped out from under the pillow and Tikki felt like her stomach was punched.

Between Sass and Plagg there was no way she could deny that Marinette was Cheshire. But there was still one other thing she needed to confirm. Swallowing the kwami prepared herself for the worst. “Sass do you know if… Is it possible that she is…”

The snake kwami seemed to know what the red kwami was asking and hummed. “I believe that is possible that ssshe is a dessscendent of one of your bugsss.” Tikki thought back towards the end of the original order. During that time she had become close to one of the heads of the order who was rather kind to both the kwami and the children that the order had taken in. They were one of her sweetest bugs. “Sssadly we have no way to confirm if ssshe is a dessscendent.” Plagg muttered something that had the other two looking at him. The cat kwami looked between the two before seeming to deflate.

“Fine, over this way.” Plagg muttered before flying over to the desk. Pulling one of the drawers open, he flew down and revealed a hidden journal after pulling a string. Looking at it Tikki felt her mouth dry up as she recognized the journal and handwriting. “I see that this answered your question.” It answered so many of her questions along with confirming everything Sass and Plagg had explained about the wish.

“Tikki could you perhaps tell us about the one who wrote this journal?” Pollen questioned from nearby. Turning she saw the other kwami under Cheshire’s, no Marinette’s care.

“Do you not remember them?” Tikki questioned before beginning to remind them of her previous bug. Plagg floated nearby as the kwami talked about some unimportant and dead person. Well they were somewhat important due to the fact that they were his kitten’s ancestor. As he listened he noted some similarities such as the ancestor going out of their way to make food the kwamis liked and making sure to take time out of their day to play with them.

Rolling his eyes Plagg moved to check on Bread. The girl had sprawled out and Plagg let out a sad sigh at hearing a low purring coming from the human. It wasn’t just a side-effect as he could feel the magical energy traveling through her body. It was obviously the effect of the Catalyst. But if what it was doing was good or bad he had no idea. All he did know was that long ears had taken one look let out a chocked laugh/sob and then left saying she would make some food.

“Plagg?” Tikki questioned as she flew up. “You left part of the way-”

“I saw no point listening,” Plagg interrupted, he didn’t want to listen. Like he said there was no point in listening. Tikki flinched for a second before seeming to realize something.

“The day the Order fell something came up. One of the storehouses found out that they were critically low on some supplies and thus due to the urgency it was determined to send one of the heads. My bug was chosen due to them being the lowest ranking of the heads.” Tikki began her tale seemingly out of nowhere. Plagg’s tail twitched as he flew towards the pillow so he could lie down. Tikki followed. “They made sure to let me know that they were leaving. I never thought too much about it. Things happen but now looking back I can see that this was the effect and will of The Wish.”

Plagg didn’t respond verbially but he knew what his other half meant. He could somewhat see the plan of the universe. What was left of the Order would have discovered Bread’s identity along with who her ancestor was and it would be the final nail in Tikki’s opinion of him. Meanwhile, , Plagg would have finally become the monster everyone described him as due to the Order taking the one good kitten he had.

“It is good to have finally sssolved that mystery,” Sass spoke from nearbyby. The other kwami all murmured their agreement with Kaalki trying to figure out how to let Trixx and Mullo know. “So what do we do now?”

“Tikki needs to head back to her bug,” Plagg felt like he had lost more energy in the past few seconds then any time after detransforming. Tikki looked at him for a bit longer before she looked around the room before her gaze feel onto Marinette with intensity.

“Plagg… I don’t think she is a cat,” The red kwami voiced the thought that had been plaguing her ever since that night. Plagg didn’t say anything as he tried to figure out what Tikki meant. A foggy memory slowly came to his mind. It was back during the old days, back before the Order had formed and when they were first figuring out how to work alongside humans. The kwami had noted that some humans adapted to their miraculous quicker than others. Not only that but those humans also got along/worked better with certan kwami. These people were born already choosen/destened to be paired with a kwami. If Plagg remembered right Neko was one such individual having been born a…

“That is absurd!” Plagg scoffed with a huff. “She is of course a cat!” How could she not be a cat? The girl was such a powerful chosen and to top it off the two of them got along the best!

“Plagg,” Kaalki calmly interjected with a deep frown, “she isn’t destructive nor does she lash out when wronged.” Plagg flinched at that while trying to figure out just how to counter those points.

“She also created multiple techniques,” Tikki added on though she didn’t look pleased. Plagg didn’t say anything and was grateful the others left it at that. “Can we talk more later?”

Just giving the nod to Tikki helped reassure the red kwami. With that the kwami left the room to meet up with her current bug. Plagg watched her with flat eyes while he tried to understand what his other half had meant. Was his kitten really not a cat? That wasn’t possible right?

Chapter Text

Jagged let out a frustrated sigh as he finally managed to get away from Bob Roth and the media. Right now he was being escorted back to Penny by both Purple Tigress and Galarian. As they walked he started sorting through the footage. “Are you okay si-da-um, Jagged?” Purple Tigress questioned the rock star who just looked confused at the hero who was escorting him towards Penny. Thankfully the other heroes were willing to take Fang back to the hotel room.

“I’m okay just having to deal with some pains.” Jagged informed the girl while smiling at her. “Unfortunately this akumatizing stuff has made me confront Bob about all of the crap he’s been pulling in a way more public manner than I would have preferred.”

“You two did have a five-minute screaming match in the streets,” Galarien added from his side. The poor red looked tired but unfortunately she and Purple were the only ones available to walk him to the houseboat where he left Penny and Marinette. Said houseboat that was owned by the mother of his children.

“Not my best moment but I’m sure it will get the point across to Bob.” The rockstar let out a huff while shaking his head. “Hopefully I didn’t do anything while akumatized.” The two female heroes shared a look while seeming to talk over something. “Oh god, what did I do?” The singer muttered while shaking his head.

“When you dropped off the people with my mo- um, with the pirate lady you mentioned that her kids were yours.” The holder of the tiger miraculous muttered out. Jagged let out a sigh as he shook his head.

“Of course, I did,” Rubbing his head the man muttered while thinking about how to handle the situation best. “How many other people heard that little revelation?”

“Only the people on the houseboat.” The electric hero informed while patting him on the back.

“Alright so nobody will spread it too far.”

“Are you ashamed of them?” Purple asked with a hurt tone hidden in her voice.

“WHA- NO!” Jagged sputtered shocked. “I- me and Anarka have had some talks.” The man seemed to deflate. “I’m not a good role model and I sure as heck would be a worse father. Those kids deserve better than having me involved with their life. ”

“Shouldn’t they get to decide?” Galarien questioned.

“That is another thing I’m leaving Anarka to decide, she knows those kids better than I ever could. I trust her judgment.” Jagged informed the two with a huff.

“So was it her idea or yours to not inform them about you being their father.” Purple questioned. Jagged wondered why the two were so interested but his mind told him not to worry.

“I think it was hers. I can’t really remember, between the heated exchange and my career finally taking off. It was all so hectec.” Waving it off the man was relieved to see the houseboat come into view. Getting on the boat the man smiled at seeing Penny and Anarka. The smile was quick to fall though at noticing that only those two were present.

As if sensing his question Penny looked like she was about to explain only for Anarka to storm forward. The woman looked like she wanted to rip the hero beside him a new one but stopped herself before turning to Jagged. “The girl you arrived with ran off. I’m sorry it is partly my fault I’ll addmit.”

Blinking at that the man was a bit taken back by one of the most prideful people he knew of apoligizing. Then what she was apoligizing for caught up to him. “You let her run away! Penny!” Turning to his assistant the man saw her let out a sad sigh before nodding.

“She escaped during a confratation between Anarka and I.” The woman informed the who felt his insides turn.

“Did you find her? How did she escape!”

“She jumped into the water,” Ankara informed while shaking her head. Jagged shot a paniked look towards Penny who once more nodded.

“Where is she? Is she safe?” Jagged questioned while his heart started pounding in his chest.

“Is this the same girl you were talking about earlier?” Galarien questioned as she stepped forward. “The one you and Bob were yelling about?”

“Yeah and now a sick girl apparently dove into the water!” His mind started going over all of the worst-case scenarios.

“I just got confirmation that she is home safe.” A male voice spoke up as Luka walked onto the deck. “Misterbug checked in on her.” Jagged calmed down at hearing that news. Part of him wondered how his son had gotten into contact with Misterbug but that was overshadowed by the relief of knowing the girl was safe.

“Thank you Luka,” Ankara thanked her son with a plastered smile. Jagged could tell that she was holding something back. No doubt she was going to have a serious talk with them soon and was just waiting for him to leave.

“Well um, I guess I’ll see you soon,” Jagged muttered while rubbing the back of his head. Turning to look towards his son the man rubbed the back of his head. “I guess I’ll um talk to you later? OH, here!” Grabbing a notepad from in his jacket the rock star wrote down his personal number and gave it to his son. “Here for you and Juleka just in case you want to meet up with me later or something.”

“Thanks,” Luka awkwardly returned while looking at the numbers. Jagged and Anarka exchanged one more look before he and Penny left. The rebel watched the two walk away before turning towards the two heroes.

“Gallarien you are free to stay,” The mother began with a smile. The red haired amok gave her thanks before Luka placed a hand on her shoulder to help steady the girl. “Now as for you miss!” Ankara shifted and glared at her daughter. The girl was so caught off guard that she de-transformed from the shock. “I heard a rather interesting story and you are going to answer me! Now tell me what you know about a girl named Marinette being bullied.” Juleka swallowed as she looked to Roarr who looked confused before seeming to understand what was being talked about. To say the kwami was upset about the situation regarding Marinette would be an understatement. While Roarr hadn’t seen much what they had seen/heard was the main reason why the tiger kwami hadn’t considered the girl more than a holder.

She refused to have someone who wouldn’t stand up for others as a chosen. No matter what reasons she gave the kwami didn’t care. Now she would have to explain things to her mother.

No, she couldn’t explain. She would hate to make her mom feel guilty. But then what could she do? How could she explain that she was doing this so her mother wouldn’t be locked up due to all of her crimes? Forcing herself not to cry Juleka instead just swallowed some saliva buildup. “No, I have never met her personally. I only heard rumors about her.” The lie came out naturally. After all, this wasn’t the first time someone had tried to look in on the situation.

Her mother and brother both gave her a look but Luka stopped the woman slightly shocking both the girls. Gallarien didn’t seem to fully follow the situation and thus just sat to the side and focused on trying to regain some energy. A silent conversation between mother and son before they nodded to each other. “Fine but keep an eye on her alright? I don’t want to hear about a girl committing suicide due to bullying.”

That sentence was like an ice bucket dumped on her head. Sure Marinette was getting bullied but it wasn’t that bad. Right? Marinette wouldn’t? Her head spun in denial. “Yeah, I’ll,” the words came out quiet and more mumbled than usual. “I’m heading to bed. Long day.”

“Before you go I’m going to have to ask for your miraculous.” Luka informed with a sad look. “We also need to let Alya know so she can post it on the Ladyblog.” Juleka knew it was coming ever since the akuma outed her. It didn’t make it hurt any less.

“I guess this is goodbye, maybe for a little while.” Roarr flew in front of her with a comforting look. “You have great potential, I know you have so much to say and want to say it so do it. Maybe start with confessing to that dear more than a friend friend.” Seeing Juleka’s face going red the purple kwami chuckled with the others joining in. “It was a good time and I will definitely be watching that band your girl ‘friend’ was thinking about.” With that the two exchanged one more look before Juleka removed the miraculous causing the kwami to vanish.

“I’m really sorry,” Luka repeated with a frown. Juleka nodded before turning and leaving. The two other family members and their guest waited a few minutes to make sure she had fully left before speaking. “She lied to us.”

“She lied right to our face,” Ankara confirmed with gritted teeth. “Does that mean she is part of the bullying?”

“She wouldn’t, Juleka isn’t that type of person,” Luka said to her and to himself. There is no way his sweet sister would ever bully someone!

“She lied to us Luka!” Anarka spat while clenching her fists. She didn’t raise a bully! She didn’t raise someone who would injustice like this happen! “Why would she lie if she didn’t have something to hide!”

“I don’t know but please let me find out before we jump to any conclusions.” Luka pleaded to which Anarka huffed before turning away. “You know that if we try to press her she will clam up. Please let me just try and investigate.” His mother didn’t say anything and just huffed before turning around and walking away. Luka let out his own sigh before walking towards the nearest place to sit down.

“You alright?” Galarien questioned as he sat down near her. Luka turned to look at the concerned girl who he somewhat regretted having a fight in front of. The girl's heart-song was a… it wasn’t fully formed, to put it mildly. It made sense though, the girl was an amuk who had only been alive for less than a week. The heart-song that had formed was one of upbeat determination but it had started to grow unsteady. It wasn’t hard to figure out. After all, she was an amuk who was created to be a hero but now she was just a normal human. Well, maybe a somewhat altered human but still human.

“I’m just having trouble figuring out how to investigate this situation,” Luka admitted with a sigh. “What about you? Did you have any success?” The red-haired girl’s sour look said all it needed to. “Nothing?”

“Not nothing. Just, not enough,” Looking down at her hands the former amuk clenched and unclenched her hands. Luka guessed she was coursing her power. “I can feel some energy coming back but it is so slow.” Her hands clenched into fists. Luka noted her knuckles going white. Luka didn’t say anything as he waited to see if she was going to say more. He hadn’t known the amuk for long but what he did know told him he wouldn’t need to pry to get the information of what was bothering her. “I don’t like how it feels. It feels like I have this big empty pit in me that is slowly being filled in with drips of water!” Galarien’s fists clenched tighter and Luka worried that she might draw blood. He didn’t know if she should let her continue or cut her off.

“I wish there was something I could do to help,” Luka decided to cut her off before she could risk hurting herself. A small smile and chuckle came out as she slightly unclenched her hands.

“How am I supposed to be a hero like this?” Galarien questioned and her heart-song wavered. Luka opened his mouth to say something but stopped. “I know, I know, I should try and figure out who I am past being a hero but I don’t have anything else but that!” Once more her hands clenched tight and this time drew blood. “I was litterly MADE to be a HERO! I was meant to fight villains and save people!” Luka wanted to point out that she could still be a hero without powers. But he could see that wasn’t really bugging her. Something else was bugging her that he had no idea about.

“I’ll help you as best as I can,” Luka promised as he slowly extended his hand towards her. He made sure it was obvious so Galarien could stop him if she didn’t want to be touched. The girl didn’t stop him so he gently placed his hand on her shoulder. “How about we start with getting you something to eat,” Luka suggested with a smile that grew a bit at hearing the girl’s stomach growl.

The girl laughed a bit while rubbing the back of her head. “Yeah, I hope you don’t mind making me something to eat. Apparently Mayura thought cooking wasn’t a needed skill.” Luka didn’t say anything as he walked into the houseboat. As he started gathering some supplies to start cooking the amuk felt her mind start to wonder. Various thoughts flittered through but one kept coming up. She wasn’t made to be a hero, no she was made to be a sidekick. A sidekick to Thunderbird.

But while Thunderbird was now purified the girl had left. Aeon had left. They had both left her without saying goodbye. Now she might never see them again. They had left for New York and didn’t even seem to have cared about her. Now here she was possibly down her powers and with no knowledge of the outside world having to be dependent on the kindness of the family she was with. She briefly wondered how the meeting between the heroes would go down and what it would mean for her.

~~~~~~~

Santa used his magic to enter the home unseen and frowned at what he saw. The future rabbit user had moved Marinette onto her chaise and was working on trying to feed the girl. The kwami flew around in concern while Plagg seemed to have spotted him and glared with immense hatred. “Oh great it's you.” The venom dripped off each word and had the man flinching. “What do you want, no wait let me guess. You want the barely functioning girl to wear all the miraculous so they can do that weird ceremony and give you the magic. Am I close?”

The white-bearded man flinched before holding his hands out trying to calm the kwami down. “No, I can clearly see that she is in no condition to do anything.” This didn’t calm down the small kwami who just glared at him. The Spirit of Christmas looked to the rabbit who didn’t even look at him but responded by raising a middle finger on a hand that seemed to be fading in and out of existence. “I see that you are not able to help me either.”

“Nor do I paticalerly want to.” Alix commented as she went back to trying to feed the stubborn sleepy cat. The woman was obviously frustrated but the man knew that it wasn’t due to her task. “If you need the miraculous you know where they are.”

“But the Cube is locked.” Pollen commented out loud while looking concerned. “He couldn’t get our miraculous out of it.”

“Well it sucks to suck,” Plagg huffed before rolling his eyes. “Does he need the kwami or the miraculous?”

“The kwami are needed.”

“Then just take the cube with you. The battery should last way longer you should need.” Plagg waved it off while the other kwami agreed to the idea.

“Are all the miraculous in the cube?” Santa questioned as he walked over to the hidden box.

“All except Plagg’s,” Alix responded as she finally managed to get Marinette to eat some food. “Don’t even try to take it.” Nodding the man began unplugging the Cube as the kwami flew around it. “Also keep the Cube hidden, don’t let anyone see it.”

“Right,” Making sure to carefully put the Cube in his bag he was about to head out only to stop at seeing Alix’s arm begin to fade. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah I’m okay, I got a few minutes left before I need to leave.” The rabbit responded before seeming to remember something. “Oh to get Mullo back just remind the past me how much Chesh hates bullies.” With that she turned back before groaning. “Wake up kitten you need to finish eating!” With that the only human male left to meet up with the other miraculous holders.

Chapter Text

Luka checked the time on his shield as he waited for Misterbug to show up at the meeting spot. “Sorry if I’m late.” Said miraculous user called out as he landed on the Eilfle tower near him. “I had to grab the miraculous box and do some double checking.”

“I understand,” Luka nodded as he attempted to hand over his miraculous only for the blonde to stop him.

“Hold on to that we are going to need the kwami,” Misterbug informed him before sighing. “In fact I’m going to need you to keep both Galarien and one of the miraculous. That is if you and your family are able to.”

Luka blinked as he lowered his hand and readjusted Wayyz’s miraculous. “I would have to talk to my mom and sister but I don’t think it would be too much of an issue. But didn’t you have someone in mind?”

“I did but…” The hero in front of her seemed to deflate right in front of him. Placing the dim egg-shaped down he looked at for a bit as his face went through some emotions. “I’m going to need to ask them for a huge favor and I don’t want ask them for another.” Luka nodded to that logic. Misterbug sat down as he seemed to focus himself. “Hey Lu-Turtle can you explain something to me? How was Roarr talking to her holder if Purple was walking Jagged home?”

Flinching at the question Luka coughed into his fist and decided to tell the truth. “I was hoping that you would let J- Purple keep the kwami. She was really helping them speak up more and get out of her shell.”

“I’m sorry but that isn’t happening,” Misterbug reaffirmed with a frown.

“I know but I had to try,” The blonde looked at the egg, again, and shook his head. “I promise I won’t lie again.”

“Thanks,” Misterbug muttered as he felt his mind roll over what to do next. Honestly the fact that Luka had lied to him wasn’t what really was bugging him. After all it was like his father and his mother used to tell him, lies never really hurt anyone.

No what was bugging him was how he should approach Marinette about fixing the box. To start with he wondered if he should stop by her home again and see if she was feeling better. He wouldn’t ask her today but he would need to soon. He wasn’t sure how it worked, due to magic, but he knew that the kwami had gathered a large amount of stuff that was stored in the box. He was very worried about about what would happen should the box loose whatever magic is keeping all those iteams contained in such a small box? His mind brought up the worst case serinio where it acted like a grenade and would just explode and send everything flying with massive force.

Seeing as it would need to be a rushed job he knew he would need to compensate Marinette for it but that brought up how he should compensate her? How much Euroes should he give her as a downpayment? How much should he pay her per hour? Obsily he would pay for all the materials but after that how do they procced?

“Is something wrong young guardian?” Santa questioned as he silently landed with his sled. The reindeers who pulled the sled neighed a little but he settled them down. Not wanting to say more he gestured to the miraculous box. The man looked at the box before sucking in a breath. “How?”

“No idea,” Misterbug muttered with a sigh. Luka was confused but didn’t say anything as the red coated man walked over and checked over the box with a hum.

“Sorry I wish I could help but the secrets of how to make these things is a secret only the head’s of the Order knows of…” The man trailed off before humming while scratching his beard. “How did…” Putting down his bag the man brought out a wrapped present and opened the box. Out of the box fly a heard of kwami. Misterbug had to blink as the kwami that flew out were the kwami that should be with Cheshire. They should be in the.. Cube.

“How did?” Adrien questioned at the fact that not only did the man have the Cube but it now raised the question of how Cheshire made such a thing. Then again she somehow also made power-up potions.

“It isss good to sssee you again young bard.” Sass greeted Luka with a large snake smile.

“It is good to see you again as well Sass.” Luka returned the smile with one of his own.

“How did you get your hands on the Chesh’s kwami?” War questioned as she landed. The girl had a light glare but was ready to fight if she didn’t like the answear.

“Young lady,” Kaalki huffed as she flew in front of the mouse holder. “I can assure you that Kris has done nothing to hurt the fillie.” War looked at the brown horse kwami with emotions running through her. Kaalki held her look and didn’t show anything as the human kept cycling through emotions.

“So he really does know who is behind the cat mask?” Rena questioned as she landed. The fox hero looked uncomfortable and seemed to grow more uncomfortable due to not seeing Purple.

“I do indeed know who she is,” He confirmed before clearing his throat. “I know you are all concerned about her but I will only tell you that she is okay and is being taken care of by the rabbit user.”

“Good to know the older me is taking care of her.” Alix huffed while keeping an eye on Kaalki.

“Yes she was doing a decent job before we left.” Longg added though she looked concerned. “Though her time limit does seem to be coming up.”

“I thought adults didn’t have a time limit?” Misterbug questioned as he went over the lessons Master Fu had given him.

“They don’t but the rabbit’s destroyed burrow has a time limit. Why I could not say with confidence.” Santa informed with a sigh. Alix muttered how Cheshire would know before turning to Fluff.

“Do you want to add anything?”

“I am the kwami of evolution not time.” Was all they said before going back to staring at seemingly nothing.

“Anybody know what is going on with her?” Alix questioned to which most just shrugged while a few kwami muttered amongst themselves.

“Is it alright if we hurry this up? My sister somehow figured out I was a hero and now I have a forced bedtime.” Alya jumped in with a sigh.

“Alright, then. We will need the kwami so everyone detrasform.” Misterbug took charge with a clap. “The box is out of power so we will need someone to hold…” Looking around the boy let out a huff. “This is going to be a process. Might as weel work through this.”

“Starting with how we can trust you not to stab us in the back.” Alix huffed with glaring eyes.

“Tikki Spots Off,” Detransforming Adrien felt the cloak and mask of hiding settle around him as Tikki flew out of the miraculous. “Does that relieve your worries.” While asking this he held out a treat to the red kwami. Luka was quick to follow along with Alya.

“Only a bit,” Even while saying that the girl muttered the de-transformation phrase. Mullo came out of the miraculous and after doing so let out a gasp as she took in the scene.

“Is this a kwami party?” The mouse questioned in excitement. Her excitement fell though when she noticed someone missing. “Pollen, where is Bread?”

“The queen is not here.” The bee kwami gave the mouse kwami a look that spoke volumes. Alix watched this interaction and rubbed the miraculous around her neck.

“Alright so Luka puts on Roaar’s miraculous, Alya here you can hold Xuppu, and Alix… you already have two miraculous.” After handing over the monkey miraculous the green-eyed boy had to stop at noticing that everyone else is holding the safest amount of miraculous they could hold. Turning towards Santa the man shook his head.

“I’m not allowed to hold a miraculous.” Clicking his tongue the blonde pulled out Ziggy’s miraculous.

“I think I could hold maybe one more miraculous but that still leaves two,” Looking at the remaining two miraculous Misterbug tried to figure out how best to handle this situation.

“What is the danger of holding to many miraculous? We’ve seen Cheshire holding multiple miraculous,” Alix questioned as Misterbug rubbed his chin in thought.

“Ssshe ssshouldn’t be doing that,” Sass stated with a sigh. “The only reassson ssshe is capable of doing it isss due to having Plagg for a long time.”

“So she has a large mana pool built up that lets her hold a lot of magical iteams?” Alya nodded along with her explanation.

“There is a bit more to it then that but for the most part that is correct.” Trixx flew around as if trying to burn off some energy. Alya had noticed that the fox seemed a bit… anxious ever since she had gotten him back.

“Alright I think I have something figured out,” Misterbug broke out of his mutterings and looked at Alya and Alix. “Alright if you two put Trixx’s and Mullo’s miraculous back then I’ll give you the last miraculous in the box.”

“Well I needed to hand it back anyway.” Alya muttered as she walked toward the present.

“If it’s alright I will take your miraculous.” Santa stepped in front of the reporter who gave him a confused look. “Sorry but just a precaution, the Cube is rather… distinct looking so we can’t risk anyone reconizing it.” That caught the all of the human’s attention. But knowing it wasn’t important and Alya was still on a time limit Adrien made sure to loudly clear his throught. Alya jumped a bit but handed over the fox’s miraculous. Santa was quick to move over to the gift box and his hunched large frame hid what he was doing.

“Alright here is Stompp’s miraculous,” Misterbug handed over the miraculous while looking at Alix who was looking at the mouse miraculous. The short girl looked at the mouse kwami before huffing.

“I’m still not giving Fluff’s miraculous.” Taking off the mouse she tossed it towards Santa who caught it.

“Please don’t throw magical artifacts,” Misterbug muttered as Santa placed the miraculous in the box. With careful grace he handed over another miraculous. “Here is Barkk, please be nice to them.” Taking the miraculous she was quick to bring it out. Looking around Adrien saw the other kwami coming out. “Alright so I will grab Orikko and with that we should have the situation sorted.”

“Mostly,” Liiri interjected with a bit of hesitation. “We still lack Nooroo and Duusuu.” The statement hung in the air as it was a reminder that they were gone, at least for now. “I will give a gift of some of my power to try and strengthen what remains of their gift. As the kwami of Freedom I am a bit more free then others.”

“Thank you, Liiri.” Giving a smile the red coated man walked over to the sled. From the sled he pulled out an old rug that when unrolled displayed an intricate circle design that gave off a faint magical feeling. “Shall we begin?” With that the kwami flew around and began to preform some sort of dance along with a song in some ancient laungage that Adrien had no hope of identifying.

Keeping an eye on the ritual Adrien sat down and pulled the miraculous box into his lap. Looking around the blonde looked at both Alya and Alix who watched the ritual with clear fascination. The red haired girl had even pulled out her phone, no wait she probably had it out earier, point being she was recording the ritual.

‘Wonder how well the Gifting well record?’ He questioned in his head. As the thought passed through his head an idea also formed. Gifting, the miraculous box/egg, Marinette. All those thoughts slowly connected in his head. ‘Plus this will give me a chance to pay her back. If even just a little.’ With that he looked around at the others and saw the kwami continuing their ritual. He really hoped that the others would return the miraculous he had lent them. Or should he let them keep the miraculous so the kwami weren’t in a type of sleeping state for however long it takes to get the egg working again.

It was as he was thinking over this that the kwami slowled down from their dance. Santa now stood looking refreshed. “Thank you once again.” The white bearded man thanked the kwami who gave off various responses though they looked a bit tired.

“I always forget how tiring the Gifting is.” Trixx muttered while taking a breath.

“It is indeed,” Wayzz nodded along as Luka walked towards them and offered some food to the turtle kwami who gratefully took it. “Thank you young one.” Watching the interaction he turned to see the gift giver moving the gift box back onto the sled. Well looks like time was up, he needed to decide.

“Well I need to get this back to where it belongs,” Santa picked up the gift holding the Cube. “Come along, we will get your back to your Bread,” With a gasp of excitement Mullo grabbed various other kwami and dove into the gift box. “Does anyone need a ride back home?” Turning to look over the others the group started talking with each other.

“She must of really miss the girl.” Adrien stated as he fished around and brought out a cookie. “Sorry guys I didn’t think the ritual would be that tiring. I only brought cookies.”

“That will be alright,” Ziggy gladly took a cookie as the others of Cheshire’s kwami returned to their Cube. Looking at Tikki the boy began explaning what he was thinking. Tikki took in the explanation and nodded.

“I think giving them the option would be the best.” So with the advice he turned to the others and cleared his throat to get everyone’s attention. “I hope it is alright if I ask you a slight favor.” The group listened came to their decisions and within minutes they left to their homes. The kids had of course accepted the opportunity to travel on the magical sled.

Chapter Text

Marinette woke up and blinked a bit in confusion. What was she doing on her chaise? Did she fall asleep sunbathing again? “Plagg?” Her voice sounded a bit raspy from sleep, or at least that is what she assumed. “Plagg?” This time she got her voice a bit louder and had the small black kwami zoomed over to her.

“Bread,” Plagg fluttered around her checking the girl over. Letting out a relieved sigh Marinette made to get up only to feel her entire shake from the simple movement.

“Hey, don’t move little kitten,” A new but weirdly familiar voice spoke as someone gently pushed her down. Turning she saw a women wearing a black rabit themed suit. “Your still a bit sore.”

“Long ears,” Marinette muttered while some pieces in her mind rolled around. It was something she spotted in the background that helped her put a few pieces together. “You left me presents?” While saying this Marinette moved to get up again.

“Hey now,” The adult muttered while pushing her down again. “I said to rest.”

“She wants you to have the presents she made for you,” Plagg informed the black rabbit who let out a sigh and went to face palm only to find her hand having faded, again. “You should probably head out soon.”

“I guess,” The black hare muttered as she looked at her friend. “Try not to… who am I kidding? You will be up and trying to do more hero work tomorrow,” Shaking her head they quickly pulled the girl into a hug. “I know you won’t believe me, especially after everything I did to you, but you Marinette are my best friend and my hero. I can never thank you enough.” Marinette blinked as she tried to understand what the woman was saying. Marinette was her hero, that couldn’t be right. Marinette wasn’t a hero, Cheshire was the hero everybody loved. Before she could say anything more long ears let go of and gave her a sad look. “You don’t believe me. I’m so sorry I’m part of the reason you don’t.”

With that, the woman stood up as her hand and arm started to fade. With a mumbled word a hole in the Burrow formed and they were about to walk in when a noise drew the rabbit’s attention. Turning they saw Plagg facepalming while Marinette had fallen from the chaise. “I told you to grab the presents…” Letting out a sigh Alix turned and helped move Marinette back before going to where the young girl stored her presents. Digging around the various presents for the kwami the girl pulled out a white-wrapped present addressed to her. “There are a few others. You might want to store them in your umbrella.” With a sigh and shake of her head, they pulled a few more out while storing them.

“Great and here I was thinking I was paying her back,” Standing up the woman once more made to leave.

“Why wouldn’t she make presents for a mysterious person who was kind enough to get her presents on her birthday?” Plagg questioned just in time. Alix walked through the portal and once in the Burrow she felt her arm slowly restore itself. Walking into the center of the time center the girl collapsed. Looking around she saw the familiar sight of the Burrow still forming around her while also patching cracks.

“Still not good enough,” Alix huffed before leaving towards her current time. As she walked the woman felt her shoulders start to be weighed down. She had failed to prevent Cheshire from using Catalyst and any attempt to interfere with past events to attempt to defeat the pathetic butterfly or stupid peacock early had also failed or resulted in her needing to instantly retreat back into the Burrow. Alix watched through various windows of her failures and felt her emotions bubbled and rolled over themselves. But one window caught her attention the most.

It was a scene of her younger self having pulled a prank on Marinette and Marinette, her dear and precious friend, crying.

The scene had the woman clenching her hands and storming towards the exit. She hated how she hadn’t gotten a chance to straighten out her younger self! Teeth gritting the woman ignored the portals that shifted around to show other moments. “Stupid burrow!” Not wanting to be tormented like this, she exited the burrow to return to her time.

~~~~~~~~

Jess shuffled as she lay on the couch and tried to ignore what was going on around her. “Jess?” Aeon attempted to get her attention. “I brought you some food.” Not really looking Jess moved one hand and felt around before grabbing the food and bringing it to her mouth. “Mom and mother left a little while ago.” Jess still didn’t say anything as she ate.

The sidekick could barely taste the food. Her emotions were to negative and her mind was dragged down by too many thoughts. “Mother says that you shouldn’t blame yourself,” Aeon attempted to speak to her sister only to once more get no response. The android frowned as she thought about how to get her sister out of her negative mood. Her memories went through just what had caused this. After they had arrived back from Paris thanks to Doorman they then took Jess to a specialized hospital to make sure she was in good health.

They were relieved that their daughter was in good health, at least phsically. After Jess had woken up she had immediately asked about what had happened in Paris only for them to try and give her the basics. But having been raised by Knightowl Jess was able to put the pieces together. She had been akumatized and had aided Hawkmoth, a terrorist. After that it had taken her only ten to twenty minutes of questioning for her to put the pieces together.

After realizing just how bad the meeting had gone down Jess had become sullen and hadn’t spoken since. Aeon was becoming more and more as time passed. “Jess we don’t blame you for getting akumatized or anything that happened.” Aeon attempted to comfort her precious sibling. Gently the android placed their hand on Jess’s shoulder to comfort them. Her words barley got a response so Aeon continued. “Honestly mom has been in a temper for the whole day. From what I can understand she is raising a stink due to all, well all the ones we know for sure, the heroes of Paris being younger than seventeen.” The girl decided to just ramble and see if she could get some sort of reaction. “Mother is also upset but she has it better under control, mostly. She is drowning under paperwork right now though due to the number of arrests.”

It was true. Ever since getting back Olympia had been attempting to get a hold of the EU division of the UH to see why nobody had done anything or even look into the hero running around Paris. Barbra was working overtime even with the brought-in help it was still probably going to take a few days. A ding was heard and Jess was quick to grab her phone. Aeon had a moment to wonder just what had her previously lethargic sister moving so fast only to get her answear as a news alart popped up in her HUD. “Another Akuma? Does Hawkmoth not take a break?” The question slipped out and unfortunately that finally got a response.

“Why would he? It would be a waste not to use the knowledge of the secret identities I gave to him.” Jess hissed out while curling in on herself.

“I was the one who learned and told you their identities,” Aeon attempted to take the blame but Jess just curled in more.

“You weren’t the one akumatized, you weren’t the one who gave a terrorist what he wanted, you weren’t the one who betrayed the hero's code!” Jess shook as she started to open the floodgates. Everything she had attempted to keep in was slowly starting to come out. “I ruined everything all because I couldn’t control myself!” The girl threw the phone as it dinged a few more times. “I doubt that Cheshire or her team will want anything to do with us ever again!” Aeon didn’t say anything but did shift so that she could partly hug her sister. “I would never forgive me if I was her or her teammates.” Aeon didn’t say anything.

It should have been obvious in hindsight, the Owls always regarded the rules of secret identities as some of the most important rules to follow. In the hero world there written and unwritten rules that those with powers generally followed. The rules were generally there as to attempt to prevent escallation and attempt to prevent certain methods from being used again. But among the rules was the ones about identities. They were simple and straightforward, but that was the point. They were simple and straightforward as to prevent any wiggle room.

They broke down as such: Don’t go out of your way to learn others identities. If you learn someone’s identity don’t spread it around without permission, and definitely don’t learn or spread the identity of young heroes/sidekicks. They had broken all of the rules.

The plan had it gone off without any complications would have at least let them inform Cheshire and her team of how they discovered the identities they did and how to prevent others from using those methodes. But The plan was derailed due to the interface of the entity claiming to be Santa and the attack of the villians. Aeon knew that their was nothing she could say to make any this better. Nothing could undue what was done.

The two sat in quiet that was until the door to the apartment opened and Olympia stormed in with a scowl. “Those idiots! How can they act so ignorant!” Aeon frowned as it seemed that things had not gone well in the follow up meeting with the EU division. Looking to her sister she saw Jess had returned to looking at the back of the coach. “They are denying anything has been happening in Paris!” Blinking the android attempted to understand just what her mom was talking about.

Olympia let out a huff as she marched over to the fridge. “Are they trying to make sure Paris remains a tourrest destination?” Aeon questioned while staying near her sister.

“Probably,” Her mother huffed while grabbing a drink. “Has Barbra come home yet?” Only getting shakes of the head the powerful hero muttered about people overworking themselves and not knowing when to take a break. Aeon hoped that Cheshire was having better luck then them.

~~~~~~~

The second time Marinette woke up she actually felt better. It was interesting, in the sense that it had only been about two hours after the previous time. Or at least that was what her clock was showing. Moving the girl felt her stomach rumbles a bit reminding her that it was a bit past time for lunch. “What do you guys want for lunch?” Marinette questioned while standing up. At not hearing any response the girl felt her start beating a bit faster.

“Cheese or melted cheese,” Plagg’s voice soothed her nerves and had her relaxing. “Now let’s wake up the others.”

“Oh, are they sleeping?” That made sense, after all, it had been an exhausting two days. Looking around the girl didn’t see the Cube anywhere but in its spot was a beautifully wrapped box. Did someone give her a present? Where was the Cube?

“Returning something doesn’t count as a present,” Plagg huffed as he started pulling on one of the strings, having a feeling Marinette joined in with Plagg in opening the gift. Once the bow was off Marinette flipped open the lid and revealed the Cube inside. Once exposed the kwami were quick to fly out, including Mullo and Trixx. “This doesn’t make up for anything you old fart!” Marinette didn’t care though, her friends were back.

Chapter Text

Angora paced back and forth as he occasionally glanced at the nearby empty bakery. “Her light is on, but what if she is still feeling sick?”

“I could go check,” Tikki offered to which Angora stopped for a bit before giving a thankful nod. With that Tikki flew over to the bakery with a little apprehension. This would be the first time she would talk to Marinette while knowing that she is Cheshire. So with a little apprehension the goddess of creation approached the small room.

Entering the room Tikki saw kwami flying around in good cheer. “There are so many flavors of cheesecakes!” Mullo cheered as she watched the young girl scrolling through a website.

“Why is there Chocolate cheesecake!” Plagg sputtered with the most affronted look on his face. Seeing him so upset about something like that brought back memories of early days. Days before the Order and before The Wish. The sight, along with all the kwami around made Tikki start to relax.

“Oh, a strawberry cheesecake!” Mullo cheered with excitement.

“That sounds delicious,” At that affirmative Marinette froze her scrolling.

“I know right!” Mullo cheered before turning to Plagg. “That's two yes votes,” The mouse cheered before turning to Trixx. “You agree with me right?” When Trixx didn’t respond Mullo turned to look at who spoke. “Tikki did you make the others mad?”

“Yes, she did,” Plagg growled as his heckles raised. The kwami had landed on Marinette’s head in an attempt to keep her calm. “Did you-”

“I haven’t told Misterbug anything,” Tikki reassured her other half along with the human. “I promise on my name that I haven’t told him anything nor given him any hints of who you are.” That greatly relieved the two in front of her.

“I would not worry about her exposing anything to her bug,” Trixx offered up while floating near the girl’s neck. “They would never break nor even think of bending the rules.” Tikki looked over to Plagg who had a flat look on his face. The red goddess wondered if Plagg had told Marinette Misterbug’s identity but that could wait, for a little bit.

“My bug was wondering if he could stop by to talk to you,” Tikki looked to Marinette who hadn’t spoken yet. Looking at the girl she saw a bit of tiredness in the girl’s eyes.

“What does he want?” Marinette questioned with a straight voice.

“That is something I would leave for him to talk about.” Tikki attempted to be vague only for them to stop at hearing clattering up above. The group looked at each other before Marinette started making her way toward her balcony. As they approached the girl started hearing voices and so she had the kwami go hide. “Who is Misterbug talking to?” Quietly raising the hatch to her balcony the two got her answer.

“-what are you doing here?” A goat hero that Marinette guessed was Misterbug questioned a wide-eyed female hero dressed in blue and white. The girl had bull horns poking out of a wide-brimmed while she was dressed in cowboy/cowgirl outfit. But what was interesting was the ring attached to the mask on the girl’s face.

“I’ll um, I could,” The blue white tipped haired girl mumbled while looking towards her side. Following the gaze Marinette found her eyes widden at seeing Roarr.

“Sorry, it looks like we got ahead of ourselves,” The purple kwami let out a laugh. The kwami might have said more but unfortunately, Marinette readjusted her hold and the latch decided to remind her that it needed maintenance in the form of a loud squeak.

Everyone turned their attention to her and Marinette stared back. “Uh, do you two want to come in?” Three minutes later the black-haired girl found herself in her room with the two heroes. “So, why are you two here, and who are you?” The blue hero blinked before straightening themselves.

“I’m the bull hero Bella Blue!” With a flourish, the now-named Bella Blue introduced herself. Marinette felt her nerves twitch a bit at the new hero using the name of the former peacock miraculous user. The first miraculous user to be nice to her! But there was no way for this miraculous user to have known about the woman who had only appeared twice.

“Oh, it is nice to meet you,” Marinette greeted with an awkward smile that the hero returned with a smile of her own. “Soooo what are you two doing here?” The two begun to speak at the same time. This began an awkward dance where they tried to figure out who should go first.

“Why don’t you go first, Bella? Angora will take some time to get through what he needs.” Tikki suggested while Roaar hovered nearby watching what was happening.

“Well I know that you were recently involved with an akuma attack so I decided to take a page out of Cheshire’s playbook and come to check on you,” Bella proudly informed Marinette.

“You are going with that?” Angora muttered under his breath quiet enough that Marinette could barely make it out.

“Now tell me how are you feeling?” Bella questioned with a smile on her face. This took Marinette back for a bit, after all when was the last time someone had been concerned about her?

Marinette tried working her jaw and find her voice. “I’m okay,” She attempted to say in a convincing manner but even she didn’t believe the words.

“It’s okay to not be okay,” Bella squated down to make herself even with the girl sitting on the chaise. The bull hero seemed to start leaning in to give a hug only for Marinette to flinch back. It wasn’t intentional just conditioned into her. Seeing the hurt look on Bella’s face had Marinette scrambling to try and say something.

“Sorry, I’m not comfortable being touched,” The girl attempted to explain. “Sorry.”

“You don’t need to apologize,” Angora was quick to reassure while Bella agreed. “With what you, um, what you could have gone on with the bullying you mentioned it is understandable.”

“Right I told you about that,” Curling into herself Marinette made herself as small as possible. She felt so pathetic, “Yeah the bullying thing has me not liking being touched.” Not wanting to say more the girl left the rest unsaid. Bella just gave a sad look before sighing making Marinette repeat her sorry.

“It is okay, I understand,” Bella messed with her hat while standing up. “I would never blame you.” Something about what she said scratch at the back of her head. “But I want you to know that if you need to talk I will be there to listen.” Her words stung at Marinette’s heart and made her give a small true smile.

“That is too precious,” Angora muttered under his breath but not as quietly as he intended as both girl’s spun to look at him. “Oh, um, sorry,” Giving an awkward chuckle while rubbing the back of his blonde head. “I also promise to also be open if you need someone to talk to,” With that he gave his, somewhat, secret crush his best smile.

“You can add me into that group,” Tikki added while holding Roarr who seemed to want to poke around the room.

Tears picked at the corners of Marinette’s eyes as she attempted to remind herself that nothing good happens to her. The three who promised to be nice to her would no doubt leave her, just like everyone but Plagg. “Thank you,” Still no need to point out how pathetic she is. “So why did you come here?” Marinette was quick to try and change the subject.

“Me?” Angora questioned before getting two flat looks, though he swore he felt more stares from somewhere. “Well, I really, realllyyyy, hate to do this but I need your help.” Marinette felt part of herself let out a huff at being used again and despite her best attempt to keep a blank face something must have shown because Angora was quick to continue. “I swear if there was any other way to solve this situation then I would take care of it myself.”

“And what is this ‘situation’?” Bella huffed as she shot a look to Angora who pulled out his brush and drew a black square into the air. From the black area, he pulled out a red and black egg-shaped box. Bella looked at the familiar box with some interest.

“Is that?” Marinette questioned as she reached out before stopping. Angora slowly held it out and Marinette hoped she didn’t seem too eager to take it.

“This is the, or I guess was, the miraculous box,” The goat hero informed with a sad sigh. “I won’t go into in too much details but after a series of events where Cheshire or well I guess Griffin did a huge favor for me. It seems it had the unfortunate side effect of de-powering the miraculous box.”

“De-powered?” Bella grabbed Marinette’s computer chair and sat in it.

“The box normally has the ability to give the kwami stored within it a place to play.” Angora attempted to explain while Bella just hummed.

“So it is just like that Cube Trixx and the other mention?”

“Yes,” Angora agreed while Roarr looked confused.

“Cube,” The tiger kwami questioned while thinking about something.

“Didn’t Juleka show you the streams?” Tikki questioned to which the other kwami perked up.

“Oh man those looked amazing!” Roarr cheered while flying around. The kwami began recounting some of her favorite clips before turning to Marinette. “Can you add something like the Cube’s features? Something to change the scenery?” Marinette gave a hum as she moved the box around while examining bits of the egg shaped box. The girl started moving to grab some stuff off her desk.

“So what makes you think that my, *Cough*, that… she can fix this?” Bella questioned while Marinette started moving the various things around her desk, seeming to look for something.

Angora gave the bull hero a flat look at the two almost slip-ups. The boy looked towards Marinette who had pulled out a magnifying glass with symbols carved into it. “Marinette, Marinette,” The girl eventually turned to look at him. “Marinette is it alright if Bella knows?”

“Knows?” The girl blinked as she seemed to try and figure out what was being talked about. Angora felt a bit of worry about her health return as he could see her tiredness slowly returning. He felt guilty about intruding when he already knew she was sick and tired.

“About your secret and I feel that you should know that Cheshire trusts Bella.” Marinette had to blink at that. Cheshire trusted Bella? “Bella used to be Renna Rouge,” The explanation had Marinette turning and taking in the girl again.

Bella sat there but suddenly Marinette could see her former best friend. Her friend that she could trust. “Alright, I trust her,” She can trust Alya.

“Okay, but I will only tell her part of it,” Angora looked to Tikki who gave a nod. They didn’t want to reveal too many of her secrets, especially when she seemed only partially aware. “Marinette here is a descendent of one of the high-ranking Order members, I think. We never really got any confirmation.” Tikki bit her tongue as she didn’t want to say anything. It wasn’t the right time, besides it would be best to let Marinette know first. “Anyway due to that she knows a lot about their secrets and interworkings.”

“Really,” Bella questioned with excitement while Roarr let out a gasp.

“She is the one that Wayzz was talking about?!” The purple kwami questioned while turning to Tikki.

“It doesn’t matter, I doubt I would be any good in any form of leadership,” Marinette waved off as she now examined the egg with the magnifying glass which lightly glowed. “Hmm,” With her unoccupied hand, the girl started trying to reach for something. Both Angora and Bella both acted reaching and giving her a pen along with paper. Marinette barely acknowledged them as she started writing down in hasty scribbles. Angora mussed in his head that if his father ever saw the writing then he would loose his head.

“Nah, I think you would be a great leader!” Bella commented while watching her with a fond smile.

“So do you think you could fix it?” Angora questioned while looking to Tikki who was making sure to keep Roarr contained.

“Maybe,” Marinette muttered before stopping as she let out a big yawn. “Sorry, I can’t say anything for sure. My brain isn’t working as it should right now.”

“Alright, I’ll just leave it here then if that is alright,” Angora questioned. “It isn’t that important, well it is important but it doesn’t need to be rushed.”

“What about the kwami? I don’t want them upset or stuck having to sleep in their miraculous!” Marinette turned to look at Angora who gave a smile before gesturing towards Bella.

“Don’t worry about the kwami, there are no miraculous left within the box,” Angora informed the girl while Bella continued.

“Yeah he gave the miraculous out so the kwami wouldn’t be stuck,” Marinette blinked while looking toward Angora. When did he become considerate towards the kwami? Shaking the egg the girl didn’t hear anything from the box.

“Oh, speaking of having Stompp you should properly let the wonderblogger know that Rena is no longer out and about,” Angora suggested to which Bella huffed.

“Already did,” The bull hero shook her head while Marinette placed the confirmed empty egg down.

“Good,” Nodding he turned to Marinette who gave another jaw-cracking yawn. “Is it alright if I come by tomorrow? I know you probably need some supplies and access to the magic book. So I can swing by tomorrow with it,” Angora questioned while Marinette blinked.

“Oh, yeah I’m going to need the spellbook,” Marinette nodded as Bella blinked.

“There is a spellbook?” Turning to look the girl blinked before shaking her head. “Why wouldn’t there be a spellbook? So is there anything else can I think someone needs to get to bed,” Gesturing to Marinette the two saw the girl release another yawn while putting the egg away under her desk. She stopped before grabbing it and moving to put it away somewhere else. Blinking at the looks she was getting the girl’s face turned red and she was quick to open a chest full of clothing.

Angora felt his blood freeze as they looked at a familiar scarf that was pulled out for a few moments to be wrapped around the egg. After putting it inside the goat hero looked to Tikki who met his gaze before nodding. They would bring it up tomorrow. “Yeah, it would be best for us to head out.” With that, the two of them started making their way out of the room. “See you tomorrow Mari.” The nickname was something he decided to try and Bella gave her a flat look.

“See you tomorrow girl,” Bella tipped her hat and gave a smile. With that Marinette was left alone.

“You could stay and watch a movie,” Marinette got out after they were gone. The girl didn’t know if she was craving human contact or if she just wanted to spend more time with Alya in some way. But it didn’t matter, the two were gone and she was alone. Either way, she retrieved the egg and ran her hands over it.

“So this is the miraculous box?” Plagg’s voice was so very welcome. She was so glad that he would never leave her. “Hey, why don’t you go back to bed? We will keep an eye on everything, you are going to have a big day tomorrow.” Listening to her kwami Marinette put the egg back in the chest before going to her bed.

Chapter Text

Marinette hummed as she poked at the Miraculous Egg. It was kinda odd to realize that yesterday wasn’t a dream. To know that Misterbug had handed out all of his miraculous and was now down to just the Ladybug and Goat. “Why did he give Stompp and Roarr to Alya? Who did he give the others to?” The questions came out while she poked at the different pockets of the Egg.

“Maybe he finally grew a conscience and started to care about the kwami,” Plagg gave his mocking answer while he sat nearby. “Though that seems like a longshot.”

“Anything is possible!” Mullo flew out from nearby and landed on the Egg.

“The guardian chose him for a reason,” Pollon added as she flew nearby. The bee kwami flew around while examining the Egg. “It is very different from how I remember it, I wonder if the inside is just as different?”

“I hope not,” Longg landed on Marrinette’s shoulder with a sigh. “All of my horde is still inside of it.”

“I’m sure your pile of treasures is fine,” Trixx patted the other kwami with a smug smile. Longg gave the orange a flat look to which the fox just kept smiling.

“Any idea what is wrong with the Miraculous egg?” Liirii’s voice came from their perch. The perch was one of the hanging doll houses that Marinette had made for the various kwami.

“I have a theory,” Marinette muttered while opening one of the slots that had Trixx’s symbol on it. “I can’t confirm anything but it would make sense.” The various kwami looked at her with interest as Marinette brought out a magnifying glass to examine some of the details. “I’m going to have to ask Misterbug a few questions but this might be a result of Catalyst. Most of the Egg is built on the Order and when I used Wings of Liberation to free him it destroyed the Order.”

“There might be a bit more to it but that does seem logical,” Kaalki hummed while the other kwami muttered between themselves. “When did Misterbug say he would be over?” Marinette didn’t answer and looked at the other kwami hoping someone would know.

“He didn’t give a time,” Plagg informed with a roll of his eyes. “I doubt the blonde even thought of giving a time.”

“It is not like I have anything else to do,” Marinette closed the slot while moving to check another part of the box.

“I can think of a few things,” Plagg flew so he was right where Marinette looking. “First would be working on an anti-Akuma charm for YOURSELF.” The black cat continued upon having her attention. “Second would be working on some of those clothes you have been working on. Third would be clearing the backlog of shows you wanted to watch.”

“Fourth, playing some of those games you have building up,” Trixx added on flying away from Longg.

“Oh, are we thinking of activities?” Mullo perked up while looking interested. “What about making one of those mechanical trap boxes? She looked like she had fun making those!”

“Or she could go,” Kaalki began before stopping and thinking things over. “No, the filly isn’t in good enough shape to go for a patrol.”

“But she could do some cooking!” Liirii pointed out with cheer. “We could help her make some good Lunch!”

“Lunch?” Marinette questioned before realizing she hadn’t eaten yet. Add on that she usually fed the kwami when she ate, “Oh, I’m sorry I’ll get on making lunch right away!” With that she stood up and began making her way downstairs while talking with a few kwami about what to make.

Plagg watched this with relief as Bread finally headed out of her room. After she left he looked at the Egg that the stink bug had left. “So this is the Miraculous Box you guys kept talking about?”

“It is different than I remember but, yes it is the one we were talking about.” Trixx landed on one of the strings holding up one of hanging doll houses. “Tikki actually told me about it changing like this and even gave a theory about why it changed the way it did.” Plagg narrowed his eyes at the orange kwami before huffing.

“You're with Bread now, what happened with the reporter doesn’t matter,” Taking a closer look Plagg didn’t see his symbol on the top and felt his emotions bubble at wondering if the Order had given up on taking his miraculous. On the one hand, he was finally with a good holder on the other he really missed Tikki. “Speaking of being back with Bread, have you talked to her about how YOU DIDN’T ABONDEN HER?”

“I really haven’t had time,” Trixx muttered while rubbing his head. “I will have a heart-to-heart with her.”

“You aren’t used to having to explain about not abandoning people?” Plagg questioned to which Trixx shook his head. “Don’t take too long. Nothing good will come from letting it fester.” Trixx agreed before the two decided to head down for some breakfast. Arriving down they saw the usual chaos of Bread making breakfast. The various kwami flying around trying to help the Guardian of the… still need to be named Order. That could be something to add to the list of things she could do instead of helping the dung beetle.

Time passed as the food was served and the various kwami dug into their food while Marinette ate her own food under the watchful eyes of Plagg, Longg, and Liirii. It was just as Marinette was cleaning up and packaging her leftovers that a knock came at her door. “Who would be knocking?” Looking at the various kwami she gestured and Pollon flew over to have a look. The kwami flew through the wall as Marinette finished packing up the food.

“It is Jagged’s assistant!” Pollon informed her as some more knocking/the doorbell was heard.

“Penny? What is she doing here?” Marinette wondered aloud as she neared the door. Deciding to find out the young girl opened the door and greeted the assistant.

“Marinette it is good to see you in good health,” Penny returned the greeting. “Jagged and I were concerned when you didn’t answer your phone.”

“My phone?” Marinette thought on what was being said. Now that she thought about it her phone was missing. “Sorry, I don’t know where my phone is. I think I lost it somewhere yesterday.” She should probably double-check her room. “Um, I’m sorry for worrying you.” It was weird that someone was worried about her. Maybe they felt responsible for since they were in a meeting when Jagged got Akumatized. Which was her fault.

Penny looked at the younge thirteen year old girl. She let out a very tired sigh. The state the girl was in and she was aplogizing to her? “I’m relieved that you are alright. If it is possible then Jagged and I would like to pick up the conversation where we left off yesterday.” Penny could see panic starting to take hold of the girl and could somewhat guess what conclusions she was coming to. “You are not in trouble. I promise.” Marinette didn’t seem to fully believe her but settled down. “I understand if you aren’t ready to go right now. I could wait until you are ready.”

“I’ll, I will make it quick,” Marinette reassured and was about to run off before swallowing and opening the door more. “Come in.” Leaving the door open the pigtailed girl ran inside.

“Are you actually going to the meeting?” Plagg questioned after the girl got into her room.

“If yelling or venting at me prevents him from getting Akumatized again I can at least do that.” Marinette was quick to hide the Egg again and move to grab some art supplies which she made to put in her backpack but stopped at not finding it. “Plagg, where is my backpack?”

Plagg gave her a look before sighing. “It was destroyed yesterday, remember?” Marinette blinked before remembering what happened in the lobby of the hotel taking a second to think of what she could do Marinette put the supplies in one of the better-looking reusable bags before grabbing a blank sheet of paper.

“Alright, I better leave a note in case Misterbug stops by,” Marinette began to write a note to apologize for having to head out and not letting him know. Plagg grumbled as he watched this while coughing could be heard.

“If it isss alright I would like to requessst heading out with you,” Sass spoke up from nearby. “While I appreciate the Cube I would still like some fresh air.” Marinette bit the inside of he cheek as she thought over what was being asked. She could feel for Sass and while thinking of it there was little concern of him exposing her identity. Especially if both Plagg and her kept an eye on him.

“Okay, get ready to go. Don’t forget to pack a snack for yourself,” Plagg growled at Bread’s response and gave the snake kwami a look to let him know that he was watching. “Plagg don’t forget your cheese.” After that, she stuck the note outside using one of the pots to keep it from blowing away. Coming back down Marinette put the bracelet on before taking it off and instantly hid it away next to Plagg’s ring.

Heading downstairs she saw Penny looking around and felt a bit of concern. Did she forget to clean something? The kwami had been helping but Penny didn’t know that. “I am ready to go.”

Penny jumped a little at being caught looking around but was quick to settle down. “Thank you for being quick,” The assistant was quick to recompose herself. “Let us go, I will let Jagged know we are on our way.” Swallowing Marinette followed hoping Jagged wasn’t too mad about her getting him Akumatized.

~~~~~~~

Adrien sat at his piano as he finished practicing. Looking to his tutor the old man simply gave a nod. “Good job today,” the older man stood up with the help of a cane. “I will see you next week. Make sure you have mastered the song we learned today by then.”

“Yes, sir, thank you, sir,” Adrien said in his usual manner, to which he only received a nod. After the man left, the blonde let out a sigh, hoping that was it for today. He had met with his new Chinese instructor and his piano instructor, so he was hoping that would be it today.

“Adrien you will have an hour to eat lunch before going over to visit Chloe,” Nathalie informed the blonde who let out a groan. Inside a very large part of him wanted to use this chance to lay into Chloe for everything she had done but a small part of him didn’t want to do it so soon. Even after months, even after Master Fu had helped him come to some sort of understanding a part of him refused to believe that his childhood best/only friend could do something so horrible.

The vindictive part, the part that he linked to Cheshire’s gift to him, was quick to replay the memories of his childhood. The ones of Chloe always deciding what they should do and never caring what he wanted. Even with those playing a small part of him still attempted to defend her but Adrien focused on Nathalie who was giving him a look that showed nothing. “Thank you for letting me know,” The young boy gave her one of his best ‘Everything is Alright’ smiles.

“Good, your prepared meal will be here shortly,” With that the woman left.

‘Yeah just leave, it's not like I would like the company,’ Adrien thought before giving a huff.

“Are you okay Gardien?” Ziggy’s question and the concern in her voice relaxed him. The answer that he was fine almost came out but he stopped upon seeing the concern in the goat kwami’s eyes.

“I’m upset that I’m being left alone,” Adrien admitted with a sigh.

“That is part of it but there is something else.” Tikki flew out from her hiding spot to give him a look. The look carried so much love and care that it put him at ease.

“I’m,” The model began to speak only to pause before leaning forward to play a few notes, “I’m not sure what to do about Chloe.”

“You mean that horrible blonde that enjoyed torturing the black-haired girl!” Ziggy shouted as they worked themself up. When laid out like that it was simple. Maybe it was simple and he as letting his emotions make it complicated. “You shouldn’t want anything to do with her!” Looking towards Tikki he silently asked for her opinion. The red goddess gave him a look before speaking.

“How honest do you want me to be,” Tikki’s question caught him off guard. Why would she ask that? “I have some, strong… thoughts regarding her.”

“Why?”

“Marinette,” Tikki began before stopping and taking a deep breath. “I also care about Marinette and how Chloe has treated both her and Pollon has left a sour taste in my mouth.”

With that Adrien didn’t need Tikki to say anymore. “I guess that I need to end things with her.” How could he be friends with someone like Chloe? After everything she did as both herself and Queen Bee? How could he make any more excuses for her? “Alright after lunch we will deal with Chloe.”

“Good on you Adrien,” Ziggy patted the boy while giving him a smile. “Sometimes you have to do something painful in order to follow your passion.” Nodding to kwami Adrien didn’t get a chance to speak to them again before one of the servants brought his lunch. Giving his thanks Adrien was still mad about his Father not wanting to eat with him and thus his food would be eaten in his room.

“Hopefully things go somewhat well,” With a sigh, Adrien dug into his lunch hoping things would go well during his meeting with Chloe.

Chapter Text

Marinette followed Penny into the hotel ready for another Chloe encounter. Hopefully, the blonde would be too busy with something and couldn’t be bothered with someone like her. Still she didn’t want to risk it and stuck close to the secretary. The woman gave her a look but turned to look forward. “Jagged will be having guests over so I hope you don’t mind waiting.”

“I don’t, thank you” Marinette got out in a quiet voice. Penny didn’t say anything as she led them to the elevator. The attendants didn’t do anything to stop them and the two were soon near the elevator. As she waited for the elevator Marinette turned and felt her stomach drop at seeing Chloe and her two lackeys sitting in the lobby. The new brown-haired lackey noticed her and pointed it out to Chloe who shot her a look. Penny walked in after a moment and gave her a look that had Marinette feeling smaller. The older woman didn’t say anything as she stepped into the elevator while also scanning the area. Her eyes caught sight of the three and a frown formed on her face. But before anything else could be done the elevator door shut and a moment later it begun ascending. The two stood in silence and Marinette shifted uncombterble while trying to figure out if she should break the atmosphere. Thankfully after about a minute or so the elevator opened up and let the two out.

Following Penny Marinette attempted to figure out how to present herself. She hadn’t really had time to prepare and still didn’t know what this meeting was for. So it was with some hesitation that the two woman entered into the room and Marinette felt her breath catch in her throat at seeing who Jagged had brought in. Luka and Juleka sat on the couch both looking at her as entered. “Hey, sorry about having your meeting right now but things came up,” The rockstar gave a disarming smile.

“Yeah we wanted to meet our dad,” Juleka muttered quietly, so quietly that most couldn’t hear. Marinette pretended not to hear it but her desire to run grew. Luka just watched her with wide eyes.

“No problems. We can reschedule if you want. I mean thats only if your not busy, I wouldn’t want to impose,” Marinette rambled out in a hurried rush while backing up. No doubt Juleka was telling her dad every horrible thing her and the others thought of. “I won’t bother you again I promise.” She needed to get out before she did something to offend Jagged which resulted in her getting sued and then winding up broke forced to work dead end jobs for the rest of her life becuase nobody would ever want to hire the girl who was sued by the rock star Jagged Stone.

“There is no problem I can assure you,” Penny assured Marinette while giving a look towards Juleka and Luka. “Jagged I will be discussing reimbursement of the lost ticket with the girl.”

“You do that,” Jagged commented as a frown formmed on his face. “I’ll stop by later. I have a feeling that this meeting might be a bit longer then expected.”

Marinette wanted to say something else but a gentle hand on her back had her moving. “Don’t worry about food, we have something ordered,” With that the two went into Jagged’s room where Fang gave the two humans a look. “Take a seat anywhere.”

Giving a noise Marinette ran and sat down on a chair. Before turning to Penny. “About the ticket…”

“That was partly an excuse,” Penny waved off anything that was going to be said. “Jagged and I suspect that you don’t want it coming out that you work for him.” The younge girl gave a nod to which Penny also nodded. “We thought so, now let us continue where we left off,” While saying this the assistant pulled out some sheets that Marinette reconized.

“You still have those?”

“Jagged liked some of these designs,” Penny pointed to certain pieces of paper. Marinette flushed at the praise while looking at the papers. “We just have a few more things to deal with but we should have this wrapped up in an hour.” Marinette didn’t say anything as she she gave a nod.

From there it was mostly the two, mostly Penny, talking and going over some paperwork. Everything went smoothly until one important part came up. She needed her parents signature to finish the paperwork. Marinette’s mind worked over itself as she tried to figure out if she could get ahold of her parents, if they were even still in Paris.

They should still be in Paris, or at least they hadn’t told her about leaving. Maybe they had texted earlier and she just didn’t get it? Could she check? Would it be rude to pull her phone out? “Could I text my parents?”

“That won’t be needed Miss Dupain-Cheng,” Penny reassured the girl with a somewhat knowing smile. Almost as if it was planned a knock on the door gave them a second as Jagged lead her parents into the room.

“Food is here!” Jagged announced as took one of the seats.

“Marinette? What are you doing here?” Tom questioned as he set down the tray of food. “Though it does explain why we were asked to bring the food and treats.” Marinette stumbled over her answers as she attempted to figure out how to explain what she was doing.

“We commissioned your daughter to design Mr Stone’s next album cover.” Penny explained while gesturing for them to sit down.

“When did this happen?” Sabine questioned as sat near her daughter who moved over to give them room.

“Three or so days ago,” Jagged revealed while giving the two a look. “Though you wouldn’t have known given how much work you have doing here.” A slight question was hidden in the statement. Tom and Sabine had been home multiple times since she got the commissions but the two of them had either been asleep or busy when she had tried to talk to them. “So if you could sign right here we can get into the discussion of payment.”

“Wait, what?” Tom questioned as he attempted to understand what was going on.

“Excuse me Mr Stone but I would like to talk about how you got into contact with our daughter?” Sabine questioned while sitting a bit straighter.

“It was during my day here at the hotel,” Jagged responded with a shrug of his shoulders. “They were assigned to be my gopher and got me some really sweet sunglasses.”

“Sunglasses that she designed and created for Jagged to use for his concert,” Penny elaborated while Marinette’s cheeks grew a bit red at the praise. “She also showed talent designing some outfits that we are planning on using in future shows.” Tom beamed while giving Marinette a look showing how proud he was of her.

“That is great!” The baker beamed before frowning. “Though if that happened when you first arrived why is she only getting paid now?”

Penny and Jagged looked at each other before Jagged turned to look at the two bakers. “Keep this on the down low but we hired your daughter to dessign my next album cover. However to avoid drawing attention to her she is doing it under the name of Lady Noire.”

“We hope you understand why we want to keep this quiet,” Penny added with a serious look.

“We do and thank you for being so considerate,” Sabine gave a nod while laying a hand on her daughters shoulder.

“No problem,” Jagged shrugged before gesturing to the papers. “Now if you would be so kind as to sign those papers we can get to getting your daughter paid for her rock and roll work.” Tom seemed to happily agree while Sabine took the paper and began reading it over.

“Thank you for giving our daughter this opportunity. Though I wish you had approached us about this earlier,” Sabine commented while reading over the paper. Jagged looked like he was about to say something only for Penny to stop him by giving the rockstar a look. It was while the two adults were about to sign that the building shook.

“What was that?” Tom called out as everyone scrambled as the building shook.

“Give me a second,” Penny walked over and grabbed the phone before calling the main desk. She stood there waiting but everyone was once again distracted as their phones went off. Pulling the devices out they were only slightly shocked to see the akuma alert. “We had better get to a safe zone.”

“That would be for the best,” Sabine nodded while turning to help escort her daughter only to find the space empty. “Marinette!”

Startled the group looked around trying to find the missing young girl only to find the area empty. “Where did Lady go?” Jagged questioned as he looked around.

“Marinette? Where are you?” Tom bellowed out before running to the door looking around and still not seeing anything.

“She has probably headed to the safe area,” Penny cut in trying to calm everyone down. “No doubt she has gone through these situations and drills before.”

“Right,” Sabine let out a breath of air calming herself down. “Let’s go catch up with everyone.” With that the group left, Jagged making sure Fang followed them. None noticing as a bit after they left Marinette looking in from outside the windows.

Marinette felt a bit sorry for running off like this but knew that she was needed as Cheshire. “Ready Plagg?”

“I don’t think you are ready, but…” Giving a sigh the kwami nodded. “Sass keep an eye on her please?”

“Don’t worry I will make sure she stays safe,” The other kwami reassured as best they could. Plagg didn’t look fully convinced but he was willing to accept things for now. Getting the go ahead Marinette didn’t waste a moment longer.

“Plagg, claws out!” With that Cheshire headed out descending from the ledge she was on and heading towards where the dust was being kicked up.

~~~~~~~

Adrien walked into the hotel and made sure to keep himself calm. He couldn’t blow up like he did last time. Looking around he found Chloe sitting in the restaurant area of the hotel. Nodding to his bodyguard Adrien began walking towards where the other blonde sat with two others.

“Adrikins!” Chloe called out when she saw him heading towards her.

“Chloe,” Adrien greeted his voice coming out flat while siting as far away from her as he could.

“Really are you still ‘upset’ about yesterday?” Chloe questioned with a huff of annoyance.

“Yes I am upset.”

Chloe let out a sigh while shaking her head. “Really Adrikins you have to get over your weird little ‘crush’ on Dupain-Cheng.”

“This has nothing to do with me having a crush on Marinette,” Adrien felt his stomach turn as he braced himself for what came next. “This is about how you treat her and others.”

“What about it? I am just helping our classmates while helping the little br- Dupain-Cheng remember her place.” Chloe informed her naive friend. “Take Lila for example.”

“Chloe was kind enough to put me contact with people I have wanted to meet for awhile,” The brown haired girl picked up with ease that could only have come from practice. The fact that they had this practiced set something off in Adrien. So rather then go with the flow he decided to try going with Chloe’s topic.

“That was really nice of Chloe to do for you,” Adrien smiled at Lila before turning towards Chloe as his face shifted to one of confusion. “Why did you never do something like that for me?” Chloe looked confused before seeming to relize what was asked. But before she could speak he continued wanting to get it all out before Chloe or one of her ‘friends’ could say anything. “You have forgotten my birthday on multiple occasions. When we hang out you decide what we do, we have never done one single thing I like.”

“Adrien, I am sure that if you had told Chloe what you wanted-” Lila attempted to but in only for Adrien to keep going.

“I have told her, multiple times! But she never listened or cared.” Adrien firmly stated while turning to Chloe. “I thought that was what it was like to have friends. To have to bend over backwards to make them happy. That the friendships I saw in media weren’t real. Turns out that it was just that you weren’t a good friend to me.” Having finished Adrien looked at Chloe before turning around. “I can’t believe it took me this long to confront you about this but I guess I was just so badly didn’t want to loose one of my friends.”

“If this is about Dupain-” Chloe cut in with heat before Adrien stood up with a glare that would have impressed his father.

“I will admit that what you have said about me not knowing enough about Marinette to be in love with her is true but I can for sure say this. The little I do know about her is more than enough to say that she is a way better person then you could ever be.” With that he turned and began walking away. “I’m sorry Chloe but I don’t want anything more to do with someone who would so willingly hurt another for no reason all while treat their ‘childhood friend’ like you have treated me.” With that he walked past his bodyguard who followed him out of the restaurant.

Said restaurant fell into an awkward silence as Chloe sat shaking in her seat. “No reason? He thought I had?” The blonde haired girl muttered while clutching at her utensils.

“He just doesn’t understand like me and Sabrina do,” Lila reassured her with a sweet voice.

“Yeah, I’m sure that if you could just speak to him, that he would understand,” Sabine said for the first time in a while. Chloe nodded before seeming to realize that people were watching them and glared at the other people around them.

“What are you looking at!” With that everyone went back to their meals all while Chloe stood up with a huff. How could she get that stupid stubborn boy to understand, he didn’t understand the industry like her and her mother did. Even Lila only understood a small part of it. Thankfully as she was walking out of the restaurant and pace around the lobby a kind butterfly along with a soothing peacock helped to give her the insight she needed.

Yes, she would not only help Adrien but also show Misterbug why he should never have even thought about giving such a pathetic girl like Marinette a miraculous.

Chapter Text

Adrien shook a bit as he walked out of the hotel. His body shook as he tried to hold himself together. This was just like yesterday but now he could fully feel his emotions running rampant and somewhat enjoy it. To know that he stood up for himself, mostly, on his own, and ended a toxic relationship he had been stuck in.

He needed to do something with all this energy. He didn’t know what to do but he needed to do something. It was at that moment that a hand landed on his shoulder. Turning he saw his bodyguard giving him a look. The large man helped to guide him to a bench where the two sat. “Did I do the right thing?” Adrien questioned to which his only reply was a grunt and a shrug of the shoulders. “Yeah, you're right. I can only do what I think is best.” While this did help him calm down, he still felt energy bouncing around. The guard made a breathing motion and Adrien attempted to do some breathing exercises that Gorrila and others had shown him.

BOOM!

An explosion from nearby sent the two spinning around to see that the hotel's doors had been blasted off. “Oh Adrikins!” A voice sang out as smoke slowly blew out of the lobby. Not waiting even a second Adrien ducked behind the bench while his bodyguard rushed towards the car. “Oh my where do you think you are going?” Grayish globs shot out of the lobby shooting towards the Gorrila. Thankfully he dodged the blobs and got into the car that he then started to drive away. “Tch, of course, Gabriel had to hire someone competent. Doesn’t matter,”

Walking out of the hotel, Adrien saw an akumatazied Chloe. The girl wore a regal, colorful toga with a primary yellow theme. She wore a headdress that allowed her hair to flow behind her like a river. In her hands, she held a spear and shield. The entire look nagged at the boy, but the relatability came when a snake-haired snake woman slithered out alongside Chloe. “Shall we continue the hunt, oh great one?”

“Of course,” With that, she slammed her spear onto the ground which caused a chariot to form out of the concrete and bits of the nearby nature. “Come along Med we have a poor little boy to educate.”

“Of course oh great one,” The snake woman bowed and followed onto the chariot. Without another sound, the two were off through the air. After about a minute and being sure the two were gone Adrien crawled a bit backward into the bushes making sure no one could see him.

“Tikki Spots On!” After successfully becoming Misterbug the hero crawled back out of his hiding spot. “You ready Ziggy? We have to fight an akuma again.”

“I’m ready!” The goat kwami gave a firm nod to which the ladybug user nodded and pulled out his yoyo. With that two flew toward where he had last seen Chloe's head. “Oh, over there!” Ziggy called out while pointing at a nearby figure vaulting over roofs. Narrowing his eyes they flew open a second later as he recognized who it was.

“Cheshire!” The black cat stopped on a roof letting him catch up. The girl’s green cat eyes watched him with clear suspicion.

“Misterbug, Ziggy” The greeting came out cold to the human while she gave a warm greeting to the kwami as Sass flew out from where he was hiding.

“Young guardian, Ziggy. It is nice to sssee both of you in good health,” The snake greeted the human and kwami.

“SASS!” The goat kwami cried out while rushing forward to hug the other kwami. “It is so good to see you healthy! I was so worried!” Misterbug looked toward Cheshire as this was happening and saw her giving a small smile as she watched the two kwami interact. While a part of him was relieved to see her up and moving around the other part took a second to look her over. Just like yesterday her costume still had changes. True fur accented parts of her as a tail swung behind her all while real ears sat on her head.

Seeming to feel her gaze on them Cheshire’s eyes snapped onto him while her smile faded so fast Misterbug almost doubted that it was ever there. “Have you seen the akuma? I haven’t been able to see them.”

“The person akumatized was Chloe Bourgeois,” At the statement he thought he saw a reaction but it was quickly covered up. “I don’t know her akumatized name though she seems to be based on Athena or something similar. The amok is a gorgon esc creation.” Misterbug reported as best he could. The cat hero nodded along making him somewhat relaxed that things were somewhat peaceful between the two. Should he thank her now? No, he needed to wait for a better moment. A moment where they could fully work through everything.

But there were still a few things to get through. “We should also contact the others and see about setting up a meeting point.”

“Others? I assumed Rena was no longer in the field seeing as how Trixx’s and Mullo’s miraculous are both in the cube. That would only leave Purple unless you took her miraculous back for being outed as a double agent.” Hearing that made him flinch at just how out of the loop the Hero of Paris was about what was going on. “Wait is the faker still in the city? Or the other heroes?”

“Faker?” Ziggy questioned looking confused.

“That man pretending to be the patient saint of repentant thieves,” Cheshire rolled her eyes as if it should have been obvious. Misterbug felt like there was a lot to dig into but now wasn’t the time or place.

“The Gifting happened so he is now heading back to his workshop,” It felt so odd to Adrien to be more informed than Cheshire for once in his entire career. “I haven’t seen or heard anything from the UH since after the villain attack on Paris. As for the people I was referring to I handed out the rest of the miraculous due to circumstances.”

“Oh so when I don’t have any allies you get a whole bunch and now you want me to wait for them to arrive? I might be curious but I’m not stupid,” Cheshire said with a bit of heat while her ears slowly moved to lower themselves. Misterbug also noticed with both concern/interest that the fur on her costume and her tail had puffed up.

Raising his hands the spotted hero attempted to figure out just how to play this. “I gave them to people we could both trust. Both Rena and War got some of the remaining miraculous,” Through effort, he managed to keep his voice calm. He knew how little trust Cheshire had in him was entirely his fault, well some of it could also be put on his teammates. Add on to the fact that he still needed to make peace with her and he had no right to even think about being frustrated with her.

“You gave some of YOUR miraculous to both Rena and War?” Cheshire sounded both unbelieving and curious.

“Yes,” Misterbug assured while changing his yoyo to bugaphone mode. Making sure to keep the screen visible he called Bella. “Hey Bella me and Cheshire are on our way to fight the akuma.”

“The cat is out?” Bella questioned with concern. Turning it slightly so Cheshire was in the frame.

“Any way you could let her know that you are Rena?” The hero questioned the girl.

“Oh, that is easy. When she dropped off Trixx Cheshire left a Nintendo DS for him to play with,” Bella continued to explain but Adrien slightly turned out. Trixx had a DS? The little kwami played video games? It felt like it should have been obvious after seeing the streams the kwami had.

“So you really did give Rena two of your miraculous?” Cheshire questioned sounding confused.

“Yeah, I also, well I technically gave War one. She also has Fluff.” Misterbug explained as best he could. Cheshire just nodded her face still not showing what she was feeling.

“So where are we meeting up?” Bella questioned getting everyone’s attention back on her. From there it took only a few moments to decide on a meeting location. After deciding that Misterbug sent out a text before both he and Cheshire went to the location. The cat girl seemed to have gained even more grace as she was able to easily move while also checking on her cat phone.

“It seems that the akuma has been seen following a car though it has been seen following a car. Though they have stopped every so often to trap people in cement while Chloe or as she has been calling herself ‘Minerva’ has been seen tapping them with her spear on people’s heads.” Cheshire informed while putting her staff back behind her back. “No idea what her spear tapping is doing but I can only assume that it is not going to be good.”

“‘Minerva’?” Misterbug questioned as he rolled the name around before it came to him. “Right, the Roman name for Athena,” Cheshire just hummed while moving around in a manner that would have made many a hero jealous. Add on how natural it was had him very confused, after all, she should have never done something like this before with the cat miraculous. Well, it wouldn’t hurt to ask right? “How are you moving like that?”

“What do you mean?” Cheshire questioned while easily keeping up with him. The two landed on the meeting roof/area.

“You kept up with me despite not using your staff,” Misterbug pointed out causing Cheshire to look at him blankly. They were going through everything in their head.

“No, I was using my staff,” The black cat attempted to think back to a little bit ago when she was traveling.

“How could you use your ssstaf for travel when you were usssing it to look up newsss on the akuma?” Sass questioned causing Cheshires’s pupils to shrink. Misterbug could almost hear her mind lock up.

“Cheshire?” Misterbug questioned the girl who was so stiff that when a stiff breeze started to push at her. When she started to rock a bit due to the breeze Misterbug moved attempting to catch her if she would fall. The girl stumbled back a bit right into his arms. Cheshire almost seemed to start relaxing but a feeling of danger had the ladybug grabbing the black cat and moving out of the way of the attack. The two rolled and both were quick to grab their weapons.

“Canigirl! What the hell?” Bella questioned as she landed next to a dog miraculous user who caught the thrown ball.

“I was just making sure he wasn’t attempting to do anything to Chesh,” Canigirl explained while giving the only male present a dirty look. “You can’t trust people like him.”

“Well, I don’t fully agree but I think we can at least hope he won’t try to steal Cheshire’s miraculous during an akuma attack,” Bella attempted to defend him unintentionally bringing up one of his worst moments. As if knowing what he was thinking Cheshire shot him a look. Misterbug didn’t react though he started to feel a bit hot under the collar.

“Alright we just need to wait for-,” Misterbug began only for a brightly colored superhero with western-styled music to get up. The suit/outfit was primarily orange colored with other colors mixed into it.

“We’re here,” The Roster hero announced while Xuppu waved hello. Cheshire looked at him for a moment before glancing around.

“Where is Dazzi?” The question came out with less accusation than he expected.

“She is with, um,” Turning to the newly arrived hero he waited for them to say their name. The other male just gave an awkward smile while rubbing the back of his head making it obvious that he had not thought about his name.

“They are with my sister,” The unnamed hero informed while coughing into his fist. “As for my name, I haven’t thought of one yet.”

“Have you thought about Bach?” Cheshire questioned while getting up from her defensive stance. The roster hero seemed to think over the name before shaking his head. “Well, Talon is also a decent name.”

“Sounds like a decent name,” The roster hero nodded his head while Xuppu just floated while nodding along.

“Maybe you should ask her to help come up with a name for your monkey form,” The brown kwami suggested with some mirth.

“As much fun as it would be I think we need to focus on the Akuma,” Cheshire laughed towards the monkey kwami but cut her smile off and instead nodded. “We don’t have time to monkey around.”

“Exactly, we have work to do!” Misterbug agreed though he did like the joke.

“I agree with Chesh, we have a brat to fight,” Bella agreed with a smile. Misterbug felt like Alya was going to enjoy fighting Chloe, though a part of Adrien was going to enjoy it as well. Hmm, now he was kinda disappointed that they couldn’t give Marinette a miraculous. She deserved a chance to punch the person who was ruining her life.

“We are at a turning point in history,” Fluff suddenly spoke from where she sat on Alix’s shoulder.

“You brought Fluff with you?” Cheshire questioned as she motioned for everyone to follow.

“I don’t think she can be left alone right now,” Caligirl spoke while she followed the group as best she could. “They keep looking off into space for long moments and just not moving.”

Misterbug swung nearby and tried to figure out if something was wrong with the rabbit kwami. “Fluff isss sssomthing wrong?” Sass questioned from where he held onto Cheshire.

“The Burrow is broken and now fixes itself. Watching it mend is a novel experience,” Fluff informed them before seeming to disappear under Canigirl’s hat.

“Okay~” Bella commented with a raised eyebrow.

“She was like this the few times that they Collapsed the Burrow,” Roaar hummed while she rode on the brim of her hat.

“Hopefully she will still be able to help,” Talon commented as they started to near the area where the akuma was last seen.

“She should still have one power to her available,” Cheshire hummed as she seemed to have trouble remembering something.

“It’s not important, we can work on it later,” Misterbug spoke up as he could spot chaos up ahead. People were shouting at each other while unable to move due to having their legs or other body parts cemented in place.

“Well, this well certainly is on brand for Akumas,” Talon muttered while looking around. “Hopefully this won’t be as bad as some of the others.” Adrien hoped this wouldn’t be as bad and instead a nice easy fight. But knowing how things went he knew that this wasn’t going to be an easy fight.

Chapter Text

Minerva stood proudly in her chariot. The bodyguard of her Adrikin had managed to escape from her but it didn’t matter. There were very few places where the man could or would have taken the poor misguided boy. “My great goddess, I have trapped more people for you.” Turning slightly she looked at Med who had indeed trapped some more people. Getting a good look at them Minerva felt a smile on her face at her ever-eager amok. If only Sabrina were this useful.

Walking towards the trapped people, two people she recognized. “Oh if it isn’t Ivan and Mylene.” The two looked horrified at both her and her loyal followers. Minerva rolled her eyes at the two fears. What did they have to fear from her? She approached them and questioned what type of enlightenment to give them. She could either show them the truth of a situation, swap their perspective with someone else's, or even draw out a memory from someone to reveal the truth to a question. Speaking of telling the truth. “Everyone knows how you two got together but I doubt you came up with the idea on your own. So who helped you come up with your little song plan?”

Ivan looked like he was going to respond but Minerva’s spear tip glowing stopped him as a fog formed. From the fog came the image of Ivan sitting alone in the locker room. The video played out showing him being approached by Alya and… Dupain-Cheng! Gritting her teeth Minerva swung her spear and destroyed the cloud of memories. “You took advice from HER!” Mylene flinched at the Akuma’s shout. The enlightened one looked towards her with narrowed eyes. “You were never fully on board, perhaps I will help you. After all your boy toy has done this should be a good reward for his work.” The spear advanced towards the girl’s head while giving a smile. The power gathered at the spear point before it sunk into them. “Have fun you two.”

With that, she went back onto her chariot along with Med. “Is something bothering you, my goddess?”

“Just being reminded of the girl who caused this situation is upsetting,” Minerva admitted while her lips tightened. “What Adrikins, as foolish as he is, could even see in her is beyond my understanding.” She remembered the conversation that had started this situation and could only shake her head. Adrikins was truly a foolish boy calling her a bad friend. Her? She who had been kind enough to be his only friend! She would show him and teach him just how great she was and how pathetic that pathetic little girl was!

“My goddess we near the Agreste Mansion!” Med informed her as she pointed to the mansion. Minerva relaxed knowing that it wouldn’t be much longer now until she could fix this whole situation and show her little Adrikins the truth. After all, it wasn’t his fault that Gabriel had sheltered him from the truths of the world. Plus this would be the best chance she could get to have her revenge against both Misterbug and Cheshire for not returning her miraculous. Yes, it was all coming together.

~~~~~~~

Cheshire maneuvered around the streets of Paris while the others followed along. Thankfully the Akuma was rather easy to follow with the trail of screaming people along with the ones trapped in stone. “Is that?” Bella questioned at seeing two individuals. The bull hero moved down to the street landing near Ivan and Mylene. Ivan had a frown on his face while Mylene was shouting at him. “-to think you would take advice from Marinette! The girl who has never had anyone even like her! She even made Alya leave her!”

Cheshire frowned as she heard that comment. She was quick to hide it. After all, why would the great hero Cheshire care or have even heard about Marinette? A faint noise drew her attention to Misterbug who was gripping his yoyo tighter. Seeing how upset reminded her that Marinette had no purpose outside of the miraculous knowledge. “Hey let’s calm down here.” Bella walked forward a bit while holding her hands up. “Could you explain what happened?”

“What happened is that I learned that my boyfriend took advice from the last person he should have!” Mylene shouted while glaring at the boy who seemed to be shrinking into himself. “To think I needed the help of a goddess to see it! She showed me the memory and gave me the perspective I needed to understand why what he did was so bad!”

“Is it really that bad? What did this Marinette girl do that was so bad?” Talon questioned as Canigirl just sighed.

“That is a whole explanation that we don’t have time for,” The dog user waved it off while Bella just attempted to hide her annoyance.

A loud noise alerted them to Cheshire breaking part of the concrete near Ivan. “So it is just somewhat strengthened concrete?” The girl hit the edge again and more cracks spread around loosening it enough for Ivan to get out. “Bella test your hammer and free Mylene.”

“Why would I want or need help from someone who would work alongside a walking disaster like her!” Mylene shouted while Bella drew her hammer out. “Did you give up on fighting Cheshire? Why would you give up on fighting such a horrible villain? She is destruction!” Bella used this chance to get out some of her aggression. Slamming her hammer into the concrete near the Akuma. The slam did crack some of the concrete though Misterbug noted that it didn’t do as much as Cheshire. It took Bella two more hits but while she did Misterbug kept an eye on Mylene. How she was acting seemed so similar to that of Chloe with only a little difference.

“Is this how everyone has been affected?” Misterbug questioned the others while Mylene was finished being freed. The girl looked like she was going to complain about how concrete was still clinging to her. “Come on we still need to take down the Akuma,” With that the group of four left. Misterbug looked to see Cheshire, who seemed to be thinking of something. He was about to ask what she was thinking of but the girl spoke for herself.

“As far as I can tell Minerva has the ability to show ‘truths’ or at least her version of the truth. This somehow includes the ability to show people’s memories,” Cheshire voiced her thoughts out loud to the others.

“Which is especially bad for us because she could either turn us against each other or reveal our secret identities to Hawkmoth.” Bella summarized the danger of the situation. “Add on to it how the amok can trap people in concrete and it makes for a dangerous combination.”

“I wonder if Stompp’s power can prevent the amok's power from affecting you?” Misterbug questioned while looking at Bella. Bella blinked and hummed in thought for a bit.

“I believe that I could ignore it but depending on how they do it I could be slowed down.” Bella’s voice came out a bit uncertain with a bit of a hum. “Like if it is a stare then I could easily power through it but if she shoots globs then it could build up and slow me down just from clinging on to my protection.”

“So we should avoid it,” Canigirl huffed out while glancing towards Misterbug who looked back at her with a flat look.

“I’m not going to be hit.”

“You say that,” Bella lightly teased with a smirk. “But I still have yet to see you properly dodge a single attack,” Misterbug grumbled but stopped as Cheshire halted in her tracks then held out her hand. The others stopped and looked at her questioningly. The girl’s tail twitched as she looked in a certain direction.

“I should have guessed that she would have gone to Agreste Mansion.” Looking off in the direction Misterbug felt his heart freeze at seeing where they were looking. He should have known that his bodyguard would have retreated to his home. It was one of the better-defended locations in Paris after all. “Prepare yourself, Minerva is probably expecting us.” The others looked at each other before all of them nodded.

“Looks like we’re good to go,” Canigirl commented with a smirk. Misterbug could tell though that she was tense. It made sense to him though. She was worried, after all her previous fights hadn’t gone well and now she was using a miraculous that she wasn’t well practiced in. Anyone would be nervous in her situation. As if knowing just what was they were thinking Cheshire put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

“Leave most of it to Misterbug and Me.” The black cat said in her most soothing voice. “We can handle the Akuma and amok. Only step in if you see a chance to do so safely.” She looked at everyone while saying this getting nods.

“Remember to put in your earpieces,” Misterbug added while taking out one of the said earpieces. Cheshire looked confused along with Bella and Canigirl. The ladybug user felt a bit of pride as he tapped one of the black dots on his yoyo. The others were quick to follow his lead and get their earpieces out.

“How did you not know about this?” Talon questioned the others who just gave shrugs.

“Never really had allies or anyone to call so I never really checked on the phone functions.” Cheshire didn’t seem to notice as she spoke aloud. The girl put the earpiece in before turning back to the mansion. “Let’s get going.” Not waiting on the others the black cat moved to the mansion. The others looked at each other before following the cat.

The group of five maneuvered around the pot marks in the ground along with the few pieces of odd statues lying around the yard. Misterbug attempted not to think of just what those statues were and instead focused on the two villains who were a bit ahead of them. Minerva seemed to know they were there and made a show of turning around while the amok spun around with a hiss as the snakes that composed her hair seemed to watch them.

“Look who it is Med. The so-called ‘Heroes of Paris’ and they brought their sidekicks.” Minerva spat her words at them as the now-named Med rose a bit higher with the use of her tail.

“I’m pretty sure we are heroes,” Bella stood her ground while pulling out her hammer.

“I wonder if you are lying to me or yourselves,” Minerva shook her head with exasperation.

“They are nothing but fools my goddess!” Med hissed with heat.

“As true as that might be I shall give those two the enlightenment they need!” Minerva glared at Misterbug and Cheshire before glancing at the other heroes. “Though I might give a special enlightenment to you.” The Akuma’s voice came out sugary sweet as her eyes fell onto Talon. The user of the roster miraculous felt some sweat form on the back of his neck.

“Sorry but that will not be happening,” Misterbug already started spinning his yoyo making his shield.

“You won’t be getting your meow-ment,” Cheshire also stepped forward while Med slithered in front of Minerva. The group was quick to jump away as the snakes on her head opened their mouths and started spitting out grey globs. The grey globs flew around the area and spattered around the area. Cheshire narrowed her eyes as it became obvious that they were being separated. She and Misterbug were on one side while the other three were on the other side. The amok kept up her barrage as she slithered towards the group of three.

Cheshire started looking around trying to find the akuma who had disappeared. One of her ears twitched as she heard the sound of footsteps but a glance showed nobody there. Now having a better idea of just what was happening the cat hero moved closer to Misterbug who seemed to notice her getting close. Shifting a bit the two were back to back allowing Cheshire to somewhat keep an eye on where she had heard the Akuma. Said Akuma didn’t seem to know that they had been discovered as she walked closer. The black cat was made to keep up with the belief that she did not know where the Akuma was by scanning the area.

“Where is she?” Misterbug questioned as he moved to block one of the stray attacks of the amok. “If she doesn’t show up then we need to help the others with the amok!” Cheshire didn’t respond and Misterbug was about to ask what was wrong only for her to grab him and move to the side. The reason for the move became obvious when a bright white light passed through where they had been. The beam was bright enough that it burnt his eyes for a moment and had him closing his eyes as he attempted to stop seeing spots.

“How did you know where I was?” Minerva questioned with heat as Misterbug kept his eyes shut.

“I’m not saying anything!” Cheshire questioned while Misterbug heard some noises. He guessed the two were fighting but without his eyesight, he couldn’t say for sure. As soon as some spots started fading he attempted to squint to at least be able to see something. “Bug dodge!” His body moved on instinct but still, the flash of light stung his eyes. Landing in a roll the boy hoped that the miraculous would fix his eyes soon. Not being able to see was a huge problem and unlike a few other miraculous he didn’t have other enhanced senses to rely on. Cheshire wasn’t didn’t seem to be having any problems.

No doubt Plagg’s chosen never had this issue. The black cat kwami themselves was most likely also super nice. He had never once heard the girl say anything negative about Plagg. The few posts he had seen on the Wonderblog that talked about the kwami showed how much fun Plagg was to be around. Tikki was nice but she was also strict just like Nathalie. It felt like all the people in his life just wanted to control him and make rules for Adrien to follow. Did they not trust him to be responsible? To be free?

Getting up the boy rubbed at his head while attempting to get his thoughts under control. Why was he thinking things like that? Wasn’t Tikki supportive of him? She would also watch movies with him. Before more could happen he attempted to shove those thoughts to the back of his mind and squinted to see if he could see something. The boy felt himself grabbed and moved out of the way. “I got you bug. Shield left!” Cheshire spoke up and trusting her the boy spun his yoyo to the left. Something hit it and spattered while Cheshire moved them in a different direction.

“Med we are leaving! It is clear that my foolish little Adrikins isn’t here!” Misterbug heard Minerva call to her amok. “We shall go check another location!”

“Yes, my goddess!” The amok called out before more sounds came around him as something slammed into his yoyo again. Cheshire also let out a grunt as he heard the clanging of steel. Another flash of light burned his eyes again. Keeping his eyes shut the boy moved his free hand to attempt and cover his eyes. Not lowering his guard Misterbug kept his guard up. He wouldn’t be made a fool of again. A few more sounds were heard followed by silence. Still, he kept his guard up while he waited for his eyes to stop stinging.

“They’re gone,” Cheshire informed him while placing a hand on his shoulder. Misterbug slowed down his yoyo while attempting to squint so he could at least see something but he could still only see blurs and floating blobs.

“Is it thanks to Plagg that you can still see?” Misterbug questioned with only a hint of jealousy in his voice.

“Yeah,” Came the curt reply before he heard a faint groan come from her. “Bella, Talon, Cani are you three good?”

“Yeah we’re good,” Bella responded but a silence engulfed the area as Misterbug’s vision slowly returned. He could start to see the damage to the yard along with the three other miraculous users. They stood there with bits of gray blobs stuck to them that were quickly hardening into stone. “Okay, so we aren’t at a hundred percent but we can still fight.”

“Nothing a quick change can’t fix,” Canigirl reassured with confidence to which Cheshire hummed before flinching and reaching up to rub at her head. Turning Misterbug looked toward the black cat girl who had a look of intense pain on her face.

“Hey, are you okay?” The ladybug hero questioned Cheshire, who quickly covered up what had happened.

“I am perfectly fine. We need to start following the Akuma,” Cheshire attempted to wave it off but a quick look towards the others proved that no one believed what she said. Not noticing the exchange Cheshire moved using her baton to get out of the area quickly. The others promptly followed keeping up with the girl.

Getting back onto the rooftops the five started trying to find where Minerva had gone. Cheshire looked like she was about to say something only for it to come out as a groan and to rub her head again. “What did the Akuma do? I thought for sure that Plagg would be able to defend you from anything the Akuma could do to you.”

“That’s rich coming from you. Shouldn’t the luck Tikki gives you be enough to protect you or is your bond so weak that you don’t even have that ability?” Something about what the other hero said seemed to dig deeper than expected.

“My bond? You don’t even know what it’s like having to deal with Tikki! She constantly holds you to high standards then gets mad when you can’t live up to them!” The words came out before he could even think to stop them.

“Like living with Plagg is better? Telling me to-” Cheshire looked like she was about to say more only for what looked like an intense pain to sweep through her for a second. Her hands flew to her head while green eyes flew wide open. Cheshire’s mouth opened in a silent scream while her knees collapsed from under her. The others looked on in horror/shock. The moment passed and Cheshire fell forward but caught herself before anyone else could even move. “What is going on?”

“It ssseemsss that the Akuma attempted to alter both you and Misssterbug’sss mindsss but didn’t fully sssucceed,” Sass spoke up as he appeared a look of sympathy sat on his face. “I can’t say how just that it ssseeemsss to have altered the view the two of you had of your kwami.”

“So Minerva turned them against Plagg and Tikki?” Talon questioned while Bella and Canigirl looked at each other.

“Seems like it,” Cheshire gritted out while attempting to stand only to stop and rub her head again. The group turned to look at Misterbug who blinked in confusion at how he wasn’t being as crippled in pain as the girl in front of him.

“Perhaps the reason why the young guardian isn’t being as affected is due to the luck Tikki gifted him with? Like he was blinded but that somewhat protected his mind?” Ziggy offered as she also made her appearance. Misterbug blinked and was about to joke about Tikki’s luck finally helping him only for a spike of pain to almost split his head open. “Young guardian!”

“So how do we fix this? We need either the Cure or black wave to put everything right,” Bella spoke up with a deep frown.

“The fix is obvious,” Cheshire slowly got up on shaking legs. “If neither Misterbug nor I can use Plagg or Tikki then we just need to *ugh* swap.” The idea spoke greatly to the blonde who nodded and voiced his agreement though he could somehow tell that despite being the one who suggested it Cheshire somehow didn’t seem to be fully on board. However, that seemed to change within moments before she rubbed at her head again while closing one of her eyes.

“Are you sure? Wouldn’t it be better if you sit this one out?” Bella questioned with some worry.

“We can’t sit it out,” Misterbug sighed as he attempted to figure out where to do the swap. “As proven with this fight you three are still too untrained and Hawkmoth along with Mayura are getting too good at making opponents.”

“Right,” Cheshire agreed while leaning more on the staff she planted into the ground. “We also need to do it soon. This pain is starting to become for even me to handle.” Misterbug was about to comment only for his own headache to remind him that he was also in the same position. “You three go keep an eye on the two we will catch up.” The other three miraculous users looked like they were going to object but Misterbug cut them off.

“The two of us need to keep our identity secret and I don’t think either I or Cheshire can move much. It shouldn’t take long and we will catch up.”

“If you’re sure?” Bella looked at the other two. Canigirl looked torn but Cheshire just gave her a smile that seemed to somewhat put her at ease. “Alright let's get going!” Within moments the others left leaving the cat and bug alone.

“Alright let’s get this swap over with,” Cheshire gritted out as she flopped over towards a hidden alcove. “I’ll take one side you take the other. If you even think of looking-”

“I won’t, I promise,” Misterbug attempted to reassure the girl only for her to scoff.

“Your words are meaningless. After all the actions you have performed, I can barely trust the breath that comes out of your lungs.” Those words hit closer than he could have ever expected. He still needed to apologize to her but before he could do anything they needed to defeat the Akumatized Chloe.

Chapter Text

Plagg reformed and almost let out a sigh. He didn’t want to think about it, but lately, whenever he had come out of the ring the situation had gotten worse. So now he was just waiting to see what had happened. Looking towards Bread and was somehow both accepting and disappointed in the state of the girl in front of him. Marinette was cradling her head as her eyes were holding back tears. Turning to Sass he addressed the other kwami. “Alright, I’m going to take a shot in the dark and assume something awful happened and Bread isn’t in a state to tell me what happened.”

“That would be correct,” Sass nodded with a resigned voice. Marinette opened her mouth, no doubt to apologize only for a pitiful noise to come out. “The poor girl has been affected by the Akuma and thus can no longer wield your miraculous.”

“So she is swapping to your miraculous?” Plagg questioned as a pit started forming in his stomach. A bit of rustling was heard but Plagg didn’t turn around. “So have you two decided on a name yet?”

“Misterbug was also affected and thus can no longer use Tikki,” Sass continued, causing the pit to deepen into a hole. “Thus it was decided that-”

“Don’t finish, whatever it is that-” Plagg cut off the other kwami but was also cut off.

“I’m sorry, I failed you,” Bread’s voice came out weak, hurting Plagg’s heart. Turning to look at the girl he saw her covering her eyes with one hand while the other held out his ring for him to take along with a piece of cheese. “I’m so sorry, I failed you. I hope Misterbug treats you better than I could.” Plagg could see tears freely falling from underneath her hand. No doubt she would have said more but her body seemed to contract in pain.

“I doubt he could even come close,” Plagg reassured his Bread while picking up the cheese and eating it in one bite before taking his miraculous. The girl seemed to realize that the ring was gone and seemed to freeze up. No doubt hundreds of emotions passed through her but another wave of pain seemed to pass through her. Sass waved him to start moving. The black cat started flying away and saw Tikki holding her miraculous flying nearby.

“Plagg,” The red kwami greeted her other half who had to hold himself back from snapping at her. He wouldn’t/couldn’t blame her. Still, though he couldn’t bring himself to talk to her. Not at this moment. Flying past Tikki he flew around the corner and came face to face with his second least favorite blonde and Ziggy.

“Plagg?” Ziggy questioned in a bit of fear while flying a bit behind the boy. “Are you mad at us?” Adrien frowned from where he sat against the wall. The boy was slowly recovering from his headache and his green eyes locked onto Plaggs with a bit of sadness.

“At you no,” Plagg admitted with a huff. “At the situation, yes.”

“You're worried about her aren’t you?” Adrien questioned while maintaining eye contact with the small black kwami. “You care about Cheshire a lot don’t you.”

“Of course, I care about her,” Plagg commented while trying to get his emotions under control. Adrien didn’t say anything but the cat kwami felt as if the boy had come to some conclusion. “Well, I had better tell you about how to use my miraculous…” With that Plagg began explaining everything about his miraculous though Adrien at least knew most of it by this point. Still, though he listened to the kwami knowing that Plagg was a kind caring kwami. It was evident how much he was worried about Cheshire.

Once Plagg had finished explaining, Adrien gave his thanks with a thankful smile. The black cat Kwami just gave him a look as if trying to figure out how honest he was being which Adrien understood. After everything he had done to Cheshire, it showed just how great Plagg was. He was willing to work with and even help him. The blonde held out his hand allowing Plagg to place the ring in it. Ziggy floated nearby and watched as the young guardian placed the ring on his finger. “Alright, I hope you're ready, Plagg!” The kwami didn’t say anything and just gave a nod to the boy who took it as a sign to continue. “Plagg Claws Out!” With that, the transformation took place within moments. Feeling the power flowing through him the boy now knew for certain Cheshire was lucky to have Plagg.

“Young guardian?” Ziggy questioned the holder of her miraculous. The goat kwami was a bit concerned about the boy being corrupted by the ring of the black cat.

“Call me Chat Noir!” The now-named Chat Noir gave the kwami a smile that relieved the small kwami. “All right let's go!” With that, he stepped out of the alcove.

~~~~~~~~~

Tikki watched Plagg go with a frown. The small red kwami felt her frayed emotions war with themselves. She felt hurt about him not responding to her but she also understood. She understood just how hurt Plagg was. How much she, Plagg’s other half, had hurt him. But it wasn’t something that she could focus on or do anything about at the moment. So pushing the guilt down Tikki flew around the corner and saw Marinette almost curled up in a ball while gripping her head. “Marinette are you alright?”

“I’m, I’ll be okay,” The raven-haired girl said while trying to force herself to breathe. “Please tell me about your miraculous. Please.” Tikki took in the girl again and could so easily see another sitting in her place. She was so much like her that it hurt a bit.

“Okay…” With that Tikki began telling the girl everything she needed to know about her miraculous. While the red kwami was explaining she looked towards Sass who gave her a look of worry that had her wondering just what was going on with the girl in front of her.

Marinette focused as best she could on the small red kwami. The red kwami was so nice, she was so kind. The way she was taking her time to explain everything to her. The fact that she could use Tikki’s power right away and didn’t have to wait and gain her trust like with Plagg. A spike of pain pounded on her head as a part of her shouted that Plagg was her friend. That he was abused and it of course would take time to earn his trust.

“Are you okay dear?” Tikki questioned drawing the girl out of the spiral of thoughts that were attempting to draw her in.

“I,” Marinette felt the lie on the tip of her tongue. She was ready to just say that was okay but stopped herself. This was Tikki, the kwami who her ancestor trusted the most so Marinette decided to trust the red kwami. “I’m not. My brain feels like it's being split in two.”

“Oh, you poor dear.” Tikki fluttered up and lightly touched the side of her head. Just from that small touch, Marinette felt some of her pain lessen. Marinette attempted to lean more into the touch enjoying the contact. Plagg so rarely ever gave contact that she took every chance she could to enjoy what she could. Why couldn’t she have found Tikki that day instead of Plagg?

Another wave of pain attempted to assault her mind but it was greatly diminished thanks to Tikki. She needed to repay this kindness. “Did you remember to eat?” Reaching beside herself the girl pulled out one of the cookies that Tikki loved. The red goddess gave a smile that put the girl at ease and helped clear her mind.

“Thank you,” Tikki gladly took the treat while putting her miraculous in the same hand. Marinette took the miraculous and was about to put them on only to stop. Her ears weren’t pierced but she had to use the miraculous. So with a quick breath, she braced herself before piercing her ears.

“Marinette!” Sass cried out as he saw some blood coming from the pierced location. Not pausing the girl was quick to pierce her other ear earning a sputtering cough from Tikki.

“Why did you do that?”

“The miraculous are made to protect people and I will not let you guys down,” Marinette responded while trying to ignore the pain from her ears. “I hope we can work well together.” Turning towards Tikki she gave the best smile she could.

Once again the goddess felt like she was looking at another and her heart hurt. “I’m sure we will work together perfectly.” The words came out before she could even think of stopping them. Tikki blamed the situation, she blamed the memories she couldn’t stop, but most of all Tikki blamed the blood dripping from her miraculous and the girl’s ears. The words once said to the girl’s ancestor had the same reaction with her smile somehow growing a bit brighter and more earnest.

“Alright, then Tikki Spots On!” With that, the transformation took place sealing/healing up the holes in ears. “Ready to go Sass?” The girl questioned the snake kwami.

Sass had watched the interaction with both fondness and sadness. He remembered Tikki talking about a new guardian in training. He and the others had enjoyed the ladybug’s retellings of the day's events. It gave them a view of what was going on outside of the box. It was also good to see Tikki bonding so well with someone after what Plagg’s holders had done to her previous choices… Now to see events play out just as she had described her interactions with that same guardian in training believed to be Marinette’s ancestor. He could understand why Tikki reacted the way she did.

“I’m good,” Sass responded as he flew towards the holder of his miraculous. Seeing the girl’s concerned look he continued. “I wasss jussst lossst in thoughtsss. Sssome memoriesss from long ago came up and I wasss dissstracted.”

“Oh, well I hope they are pleasant memories,” The new ladybug holder commented. Sass gave a nod before flying over to the girl who just gave a small smile to the snake kwami. With that, she walked out of her hiding spot. As she walked the new hero attempted to think of a hero name for herself. Her first thought was Red Queen but she quickly discarded the name. There was no way she would name herself after someone so awful.

“Hey, looks like we finished up around the same time!” A voice came out from nearby and when she turned around she came face to face with Misterbug’s new form. A bit of her rolled in anger at seeing him using Plagg’s ring but that part was quickly pushed away. The needs of the people were more important than her stupid needy feelings. “So what do you think of Paris’s new hero? I think I’m the cat’s pajamas!” The boy took a stance as if showing off. “You can call me Chat Noir!” Chat’s costume was rather simple with a padded almost biker-like jacket over skin-tight black leather while he also had somewhat padded pants. Heavy boots were worn on his feet while a tailed belt waving behind him. The boy’s green cat-like eyes sparkled with mischief and to finish it off a silver bell hung near his neck.

“Really?” The girl questioned as she gave him a flat look. “Chat Noir?”

“Oh, how you hurt me!” Chat mocked with exaggerated hurt. “I suppose you came up with something fitting Red Queen?”

“Please do not associate me with someone that awful.”

“Woah, I wasn’t talking about the Queen of Hearts!” Chat quickly defended with raised hands. “I just meant that you are wearing Red and you have a somewhat royal or regal appearance. You know like a queen or a lady?”

“How am I supposed to know what I look like?” The girl questioned while resting her hand on her hip. However, something he said rubbed at her mind and gave her an idea.

“Fair,” Chat commented with a nod.

“Besides we don’t have time for this we need to catch up with the others.” The female hero put them both back on track. “As for what to call me I think Lady Bug shall do.” Lady made sure to note the separation of the name.

“Oh so a Lady huh,” Chat questioned with some interest. Lady Bug just hummed with a smirk. “It fits.” With that, the two of them pulled out their respective weapons and began traveling through Paris to catch up to the others. As they traveled Marinette felt a bit of joy as she swung through the streets.

It was freeing in a way that was hard to describe, even to herself. Lady felt it so natural swinging with the yoyo in a way that didn’t with the baton. With the baton, it took time for her to learn how to properly maneuver, plant, and swing off of it. She remembered a few times when as Cheshire she had planted firmly on her face. It was quite fortunate that she had months of practice when her first fight against Turtle came around or the guardian would have defeated her. Yet now she moving around with ease. All the other miraculous took a bit but with the yoyo felt natural.

While she was swinging Lady could feel her mind turning over everything. From the notes in her ancestor’s journal to what Tikki had told her and finally what she had experienced in the various battles against the Akumas. It all flowed together in a mass of ideas and other such concepts. It was almost relaxing, swinging and letting the ideas flow. It was so nice.

A clattering of noise drew the attention of both miraculous holders. “Looks like the fight has moved.” Chat mentioned as the two pivoted and moved towards where the noise was coming from. “You ready Lady?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be,” Lady commented as the two started getting close. The two arrived just in time to see the three miraculous users somewhat holding their own. The three were using a basic strategy of using Bella Blue as a somewhat human shield to block the liquid cement while Minerva was talking with trapped civilians. The two exchanged glances with each other. Without needing to take any more time the two of them flew into action.

Using her yoyo the girl swung in a curved swing and kicked the amok from an angle Med couldn’t see. The amok staggered back and almost collapsed as Lady used her as a kickboard to jump back. Med, using her tail, managed to quickly refocus on the new arrival and launched the grey goop. It was at that moment that Chat landed in front of them and with a few swings he caught the goop on the staff and sent it back towards Med who attempted to maneuver out of the way. Some of it still splattered onto the amok who cursed out loud gaining the attention of the Akuma who turned from her work on the civilians to see what was happening.

“Oh, so you two swapped miraculous?” Minerva questioned with a bit of irritation. “Here I was hoping you two would just give up on the whole ‘hero’ thing. But no, you just had to pull a Dupain-Chang and not learn your place.” Chat narrowed his eyes at the amount of spite packed into the name. “Though I will at least say that despite your previous atrocious attire you have managed to pull off the bug look.”

“Really?” Lady questioned with a hum while looking at Bella and Canigirl.

“You look amazing girl!”

“Yeah way better than the other bugs!”

“Well thank you,” Lady nodded to the Akuma who huffed while walking over towards her amok.

“At least you know how to properly receive praise,” Minerva commented as she got into position. “Though you are still a fool. Letting me get into position.”

“Honestly, we are just buying time for BELLA to swap her miraculous along with anyone else who used their powers,” Chat called out which got Bella to stumble before she and Talon left in a hurry. “That and you aren’t that much of a threat.”

“Say that after you manage to accomplish something beyond getting on my nerves,” Minerva commented while tapping the lower part of her staff on the ground. “Now last chance, hand over the miraculous, or else I will make our last fight look easy.”

“Funny I was about to say: hand over your objects or else get ready for a catfight for the ages,” Chat Noir countered while planting his baton on the ground. With that, the two sides were ready for the next fight, and Chat intended to use this chance to get everything out of his system.

Chapter Text

Chat Noir was quick to dodge out of the way of the grey globs that were sent flying towards him. The globs were sent flying faster than the first time around along with aiming for various parts of him. Following the instincts that came with the miraculous the boy easily swung his baton in sweeping arcs to catch the blobs. Once again he flung them right back to the sender who hissed at him and was quick to start moving her body out of the way of his attacks.

This felt so easy, so natural, that it shocked him. The baton was easy to use and felt natural. He wondered if this was why Cheshire was able to beat both him and whoever was helping him at the time. Taking a glance out of the side of his eyes he saw Lady Bug easily dodging around the spear strikes while using her yoyo to attack the Akuma. Seeing the girl in action had him nearly swallowing his tongue but he was thankfully able to distract himself thanks to his senses informing him about Med attempting to attack him.

Jumping out of the way he flowed around the attacks with ease while launching the baton into the stomach of the amok. He remembers being on the receiving end of such an attack and it not being pleasant. The amok was sent flying back a good few feet until it could use its tail to attach to a signpost it passed by. “I can take things from here,” Talon said as he landed right by him followed by Bella. Canigirl had been hanging out nearby waiting for a chance to act.

“Alright, I’ll go assist Lady.”

“Not that she needs it,” Canigirl commented while throwing her ball right into the face of Med who was slithering back towards them as fast as she could. Chat just ignored the jab as he looked over to the fight and had to keep himself focused on the fight.

The reason for his distraction? Lady Bug. When he told her she looked like royalty he was underplaying it. The black-haired girl looked like a living fairy tale character. Her costume was a somewhat modified dress to make it more battle-worthy while her hair was held back in a ponytail that flowed behind her like a liquid. But what caught his attention the most was her blue eyes, which burned with an inner fire. ‘How have I never noticed how beautiful she was? Even Cheshire looks amazing.’ Where had that thought come from?

Shaking himself from those thoughts, Chat watched the fight between the two girls waiting for a chance. As if knowing he was there Lady jumped back out of the way of Minerva swinging her spear in a wide arc. Getting his chance, Chat jumped into the fight, expanding his baton and using it to launch into a flying kick. The kick landed satisfyingly right on her face. The boy would deny feeling satisfied as he watched his former friend being launched into the side of a building from the force of his kick. The boy felt part of himself cheer at seeing Chloe get part of what she deserved yet another part scolded it. It reminded him of the times that Chloe was their friend. That part was quickly tossed aside by all the memories of Chloe tearing into what he liked. So Chat Noir took a firm stance while giving a smile. “Chat at your service.”

“Good to see you,” Lady nodded to them as she walked forward with a smile. It did something to him. “Now let us defeat the Akuma.”

“You think I will be defeated so easily?” Minerva questioned with a hiss. Slamming her spear down another flash of light happened. This time though Chat was ready and closed his eyes the moment before the slam happened. As his eyes closed though Chat felt his other senses heighten to levels he was slightly surprised by. He always knew that Cheshire had better sense than him but never expected it to be this good. “Behold the power of the enlightened one.

“Was waiting for this,” Lady muttered before she held out her hands. “Cover for me, chaton.” Chat didn’t know if she was messing with him or… No, she was messing with him. They were nowhere near friendly. Especially because everyone seemed to intend to get into his way of making peace with the girl. “Tikki, Sass, Unify!” A much more calming flash of light came from behind while Chat heard something moving towards them. “Second Chance!” With that Chat felt his heart thump as this meant that Lady was going all out. The girl grabbed him and moved easily as they moved out of the way.

Chat heard the swish of air and muttered curse from nearby so the black cat used his baton to aim for where the noise came from. A solid thunk was heard from where the noise came from. “Left, shield!” Lady called out as she moved them. Spinning his baton the cat felt blobs impact against his baton. The boy wanted to throw them at someone but without being able to see he didn’t feel comfortable throwing them. Well, maybe he could take a chance. Cracking open his eyes Chat saw Canigirl had taken to getting in close so that she could attempt to start punching the amok instead of using her ball. Feeling movement from his… damn he couldn’t think of a proper way to describe their relationship at the moment! Tossing those matters to the side he instead focused on the present and had to take a moment for Lady’s new appearance. Her former battle dress now had mixes of green scale armor making her look like more of a member of the courts who came to end all conflict.

“Stay still you fools!” Minerva demanded as she charged towards them. Lady swung her yoyo and to Chat’s surprise she wrapped it around her arm before she charged forward.

“Gambit!” A beep came from the girl’s miraculous as wings came out of the yoyo. The wings began spinning forming a small shield she used to bash into Minerva. The Akuma spit out a wad of saliva while her grip lessened on her spear. “Lucky Charm!” With that, the shield spun up faster while traditional fanfare came from the shield the girl reached forward to grab the Charm. The girl didn’t even take a moment to look at the Charm, she must have done it in a reset, before sending it flying towards Bella. “Bella, prepare to use Roarr! Chat Unify Ziggy!”

“Plagg, Ziggy, Unify!” With that, the Unify took place while Bella looked at the red and black mirrored shield. “Alright, what do we need?”

“Talon, take over! You can figure out the plan!” Lady rushed forward and began seriously fighting Minerva who was lashing out with her spear. The temporary holder of the ladybug miraculous reached behind her and grabbed the lyre from where it was attached to her back. Thanks to the previous resets the girl knew just how to combine these to change this weapon. Grabbing the lyre by one of the arms and giving it a shake. What she didn’t notice though was a red and green spark travel across her arm and into the lyre. The lyre shook before the arms snapped open while the strings bent and moved into that of a composite bow.

“A bow at this range?” Minerva questioned while scoffing. Blocking the next hit Lady maneuvered around the spear and swung her bow right at the Akuma’s face. The look of surprise on the blonde’s face never got old but Lady would never admit to having enjoyed it. Not getting distracted, this time, the girl finished the swing and kicked Minerva in the side. The Akuma was sent back as her heels dug into the road.

The beeping of her miraculous had the girl slightly cursing. She needed to finish this up soon. Lady knew that with this Akuma she couldn’t give them a chance to activate their powers even once otherwise Minerva could easily change anyone’s perception around. The one time Minerva had managed to alter Canigirl’s perspective to her former perspective. The dog holder had seemed to blank out for a moment before vomiting and starting to cry. Talon had looked beyond horrified while Bella had backed up and looked concerned. So she had reset the timeline while listening to the cackling laughter of Minerva all while Chat opened his mouth to no doubt point out how pathetic she was. So after that reset Lady Bug had pressed, never even giving Minerva a chance to show how weak she, the hero of Paris, was.

Bringing her shield up the red hero let Gambit go and brought up the yoyo to the bow. The yoyo once more unfolded and flowed around the bow. Red and black energy filled in the gaps of the bow and as she pulled back on the string a pink arrow formed on the string. “Left knee!” The Unified hero was beyond glad that the miraculous weapons felt so easy and natural to use.

Minerva sneered and moved to block her left knee only for the arrow to slam into the Akuma’s shoulder. The arrow didn't pierce the area and exploded into fragments of light. “You dirty little!” The wannabe goddess shouted as she grabbed the injured area. Angered, the blonde rushed forward with a war cry. “Accept your punishment little bug!”

While the Akuma charged forward Lady Bug dodged backward while shooting arrows. ‘Almost there,’ The black-haired girl thought while preparing for the next part.

“Lady!” Chat shouted, giving the other miraculous user the cue she needed. Lady Bug jumped up and over the amok who was sent flying back.

“Fetch!” Canigirl shouted as she jumped over the two with a giant smile. From her ball came a black and white heavy net. Not that it was needed as Med laid limply on top of Minerva.

“Get off!” Minerva shouted while trying to push the amok and net off of her. Chat ran forward and grabbed the Akuma’s spear.

“You need to use Cataclysm!” Lady shouted as she prepared her next arrow. Taking in the words the black cat used his power to destroy the item while Bella, now using the tiger miraculous, walked towards them. Her red hair now contained a few strips of purple while the body suit looked like something from a Power Rangers set. Having been through this song and dance a few times the girl knew this form's name.

“Thanks for the shield,” Durga commented while the spear broke letting the Akuma fly free. With that Lady let her arrow loose. The arrow flew true while a tail of black followed behind. As the arrow passed by the corrupted butterfly part of it opened up and captured the insect. Lady pulled on the black string reeling the arrow back in. “Now let’s find that amok charm.”

“It’s the broch,” Lady told them while Chat didn’t hesitate to break the elaborate broch. A feather fluttered out and was quickly captured by another arrow.

“Let’s wrap this up,” Lady commented while reeling in her arrow again. The girl aimed at the sky and let loose her arrow which exploded into shards releasing a purified butterfly and feather. “I guess I should say it. Bye, bye butterfly and feather.”

“Hey!” Chat shouted out with mock indignity.

“Oh hush up,” Canigirl waved him off with a smile. “She said it better than you ever could.”

“You might be a bit biased,” Durga commented with a sigh. The tiger hero passed the shield to Lady who gave them a nod.

“Well let’s finish this up. Chat get ready to go I don’t have much longer before I detransform,” Lady informed while her miraculous blinked. “Miraculous Lady Bug!” After casting the Cure the hero was quick to say goodbye to the others and let Chat know she would be waiting where they had swapped miraculous. So with one last look at Chloe, give her a quick ‘keep positive’ before running off.

Lady moved as fast as she could to get back to the rooftop. She would launch one arrow and then swing away on the conjured rope. The Unified hero did everything she could to focus on being the hero of Paris. After all, she was the great hero and not the pathetic black-haired girl who didn’t even have one friend. Lady Bug wished she could have used the Cure a bit later but other people needed help. So she used the miraculous just as Plagg had instructed. Marinette didn’t matter. So with as much force as she could, the hero forced them into a corner of her mind.

Arriving at her destination she fell into the corner without any time to spare as the transformation ended. Tikki and Sass formed both breathing a bit intensely. Marinette fumbled for her purse and brought out another macaroon along with a gummy mouse. “Thank you young one,” Sass nodded while Tikki took the macaroon.

“Thank you Marinette,” Tikki said while she gave a smile before frowning. Marinette was curled up into a ball while clutching her head in a tight grip. “Are you alright dear?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Marinette muttered while trying to appear fine. The girl looked towards Tikki and gave her best smile. “Don’t worry about me.” The red goddess felt her heart hurt as she watched the girl attempting to hide her pain. Just like her other bugs had after battles. It hurt so much that they thought they couldn’t come to her about what was wrong. The girl seemed to force herself to focus on breathing while her fingers dug into her scalp.

“I believe I am available to transform,” Sass informed the two causing Tikki to blink. How would her transformation fix anything?

“Sass Scales Slither,” Marinette wasted no time and transformed. The second the transformation was done the girl let out a sigh. Tikki took the girl in with a more focused vision. The new snake user wore a scaled black suit with hints of green to give it a slightly armored appearance. The suit also included a hood that framed her face while Marinette’s braided hair came out the side of it. Looking at the hair though Tikki could make out blueish-green hair mixed into the hair. Moving onto her face Tikki saw the somewhat typical mask while her eyes were almost a copy of Sass’s eyes. Something about the suit chewed at the red goddess. “Let's see what am I going to call this form?” The snake usser questioned as almost all the tension left her. “Should I go on something from mythology or a breed?”

With the tone of her voice, it clicked. Marinette was using the mask to hide. ‘But what is she trying to hide from?’ Tikki questioned in her mind while trying to figure out what to say aloud. This didn’t feel right, it didn’t feel right that someone who was a descendant of one of the bravest and kindest Bug’s would hide behind a mask. How bad was her life? Well, she had a good guess due to being close to Adrien but they have only seen the surface level. “Tikki? Is something wrong?” The still unnamed black snake questioned in concern. “Oh right! You probably want these back right!” The girl braced herself as she took the earrings out. As if waiting for this to happen two ladybugs quickly crawl over her ears repairing the holes in her ears.

“Oh, thank you,” Taking the miraculous Tikki watched the girl who seemed to withdraw a bit into herself. She could only guess that the girl thought she had done something wrong. “I like your suit! It looks very pretty.” So Tikki decided to try praising her.

It seemed to work as she brightened up and gave a smile. From there the two fell into a conversation about the designs of suits. Throughout the conversation, Tikki still felt like this wasn’t right. It felt like the snake girl was just going through it. She was just doing it so she wouldn’t have to think about what was wrong. So what could be wrong? As far as Tikki could tell the girl in front of her had done fantastic against the akuma. A part, a small quiet part, of her pointed out how much better the girl did than Adrien. Yet none of that seemed to matter to her.

Even as they talked the surety that she was looking at a Bug firmed in her mind a part of her rolled in nervous worries. Because something was wrong with Marinette, more than she could have ever predicted. How would Adrien react if, no, when he finds out? How had Plagg let things get this bad? Did the other Kwami not see what was happening? She needed to talk to them. Hopefully, Adrien would be willing to visit Marinette soon so she could talk to the other kwami.

Chapter Text

Chat let go of the Unification as he looked around. The ladybugs flew around fixing everything one of them flew around his head and Chat felt like a fog was lifted from his head. The cat hero already felt himself relax while taking a chance to look at his suit. The black hex leather still felt comfortable and right. Chat felt a smile grow on his face before turning to look at where the Akuma had been. Med had vanished and the last of the purple mess on her had vanished allowing him to see Chloe.

Seeing her had his smile dropping but Chat still had his hero responsibilities. So even though he still felt hurt and mad at her Chat walked forward. “Hey, are you okay?”

“Oh god! What are you wearing?” Chloe screamed while pushing away from Chat. “That better not be you Misterbug! I thought you had better taste than to wear something like that!”

“It seems you are well Ms Bourgeois,” Chat smiled while ignoring the insult with very, very practiced ease. “I hope that this experience wasn’t too bad?”

Chloe glared at him before glaring at Bella and Canigirl. She did seem to stop on Talon for a bit while as if thinking of something before letting out a huff. “No, the thing before is what was bad! Ugh, I can’t believe how bad Gabriel messed up my dear Adrikins!”

“What do you mean by that?” Bella questioned with a bit of confusion. Chat felt his hair raise a bit in irritation. Yeah, his father wasn’t the best but he was all Adrien had left. Plus Adrien didn’t didn’t think he was the one ‘messed up’. Though if Chloe thought he was messed up that might be a good thing.

“You wouldn’t understand!” Chloe hissed while getting up. “Idiots like you wouldn’t understand!” Standing up the girl glared at them. “Unless you took down that good-for-nothing cat-,”

“Good for nothing?!” Canigirl hissed and made to lunge only for Talon to put his hand on her.

“Yes, good for nothing,” Chloe returned with a deep frown. “She is than that. That pretender is also a thief! She didn’t return MY miraculous, you haven’t attempted to return MY miraculous either! Paris deserves a real hero not fakes like you!”

Chat took a breath in through his nose while looking at Chloe. “Queen Bee’s identity was exposed we couldn’t give you your miraculous back.”

“Nice excuse,” Chloe huffed while giving a huff. “Tons of heroes have public identities! Come talk when you either have my Miraculous or a better explanation!” With that Chloe stormed off leaving the heroes by themselves.

“Nice to see she hasn’t changed,” Bella muttered while Talon let go of Canigirl who let out a huff.

“She usually isn’t that bad,” The dog hero muttered with a huff. Talon didn’t say anything but the beeping of the various miraculous had everyone looking at each other. “I guess we are going to need to meet up during patrol…” The girl left her sentence hanging but Chat shook his head.

“None of you are going to follow me,” The blonde informed them as he shook his head. Canigirl just gave him a look while Chat matched. “We are exchanging miraculous. I doubt that she would want anybody else there.”

“You don’t know for sure,” The black and orange dog muttered before letting out a huff.

“And you know her,” Talon said while he walked near her.

“...I do,” The short girl responded, letting out a huff. Feeling everyone looking at her Canigirl continued. “And I know that Chesh values her secret identity. So she wouldn’t want people to follow her.” Chat preened a bit at being proven correct. “Doesn’t mean I like it nor that I trust you! If I even hear one single thing I am coming for you!”

“Noted,” Chat gave a firm nod. “I promise I won’t-”

“I don’t think you could even think of hurting her! So don’t say you promise not to hurt her?” Deciding not to say anything else the boy brought out his baton deciding instead to prepare to leave.

“Well, I guess I’ll see you all for patrol later?” Bella cut in with a forced smile. She attempted to put an end to the tension. “I’m sure that Cheshire is waiting for him and we shouldn’t keep him for much longer.”

“Good idea I’ll be heading out,” Chat used his baton to head right towards the roofs. “Man things were getting awkward back there.”

“Alix is protective of her hero,” Ziggy commented as they hung onto him.

“Yeah, I’m just curious as to why,” Chat made sure he was taking the wrong way just in case someone was following.

“Um, sorry I don’t know much about humans,” The black and white kwami let out a sad sigh. It was one thing she always felt bad about, she was so rarely used and barely interacted with humans. They liked this new setup. Ziggy liked being able to interact with more humans and seeing all the new things they had made.

“It’s alright, I was just curious,” Chat got out focusing more on traveling. “Maybe Cheshire might know. I could ask for an opinion on it. She might know something.” Ziggy didn’t say anything and instead moved to a more comfortable spot. The rest of the journey was spent in quiet as Chat took a more scenic route. It took a few minutes for them to arrive but once they did Chat made sure to come in at an angle.

“- have you seen any other Studio Ghibli movies?” Cheshire’s voice came from the other side of the wall.

“Well Misterbug showed me My Neighbor Totoro about a week ago,” Tikki spoke up.

“I remember you still thought that Spirited Away was better,” Chat spoke up letting to two know that he was there.

“Hello again Chat Noir.” Cheshire greeted in a somewhat flat voice. Tikki also gave her greeting while pocking her head around to smile at him. The green-eyed boy gave his smile while letting his transformation go with a muttered word. Plagg reformed with a flat look that grew into a smirk as the girl spoke again. “So how disappointed were you that I was transformed?”

“I didn’t know you were transformed,” Adrien responded with sincerity. It hurt that she had so little faith in him. Plagg continued to give him a smirk while leaning back.

“I don’t believe you,” The response came with a flat response. It came so fast that it left little doubt about the truth of her statement.

“As you should Bread,” Plagg continued to give him a smirk while Tikki slowly approached.

“Have I not earned even a little trust from you?” He questioned with a little hurt.

“What have you done to earn it?”

“... I lent out the miraculous in the Cube to people you trust.” Adrien hated how long it took him to come up with a reason beyond the Akuma truce.

“You mean you leaned out the miraculous to people we both can trust so that we have a better chance of fighting Akuma’s?” Cheshire’s voice snapped out with a bit of heat.

“I bet you wish you could give one to Kim,” Plagg added his two cents. “King Dumb was your most dedicated teammate.” Adrien wanted to retort but decided to let his actions speak for himself by handing Plagg back his miraculous. Plagg took it while Tikki flew forward and dropped her earrings off. The blonde felt himself relax a bit as he put the earrings back in.

“So you trusted me enough to give Tikki her miraculous?”

“No, I trusted Tikki,” Cheshire retorted. Plagg looked at his other half who looked at him.

“So do you still have doubts?” The black kwami asked. Tikki didn’t respond to whatever question was asked though that seemed enough for the kwami of destruction. Plagg looked at Adrien one more time and seemed to come to a decision. “Well, I guess you aren’t as bad as your best friend. So congrats on walking over the low bar.”

Adrien flinched at that comment but couldn’t say anything back because Plagg left by that point. Not that he felt like he could say anything. “Well, Tikki, are you ready?”

“Yup, Cheshire gave me some cookies!” Tikki explained with a smile. One flash of pink later and Misterbug walked out of the hiding spot. Cheshire walked out of her spot and the bug-themed hero felt his mind stutter for a second. He didn’t know if it was due to a leftover effect of the Akuma or something but seeing her again made his heart beat in a way that was both pleasant yet scared him. There was little doubt that Cheshire was beautiful but he had always known that in some intellectual way but now, it was like he was seeing just how beautiful she was.

“Well, this wasn't the worst Akuma experience but not the best. Well, I better head out,” Cheshire huffed before turning around to leave. Seeing her about to leave had Misterbug panicking. If she left then how much longer would this tension exist between them? How much longer would it take for them to sort things out? His first attempt had ended in failure but he needed to try again.

“Wait, we never got our chance to talk! The meeting was interrupted!” Misterbug rushed his words out trying to… do something. “Can we talk, now?”

“No,” Cheshire firmly stated but she didn’t leave which Misterbug took as a good sign. “I was in the middle of something and I need to get back.”

“Then how about tonight, during patrol?” Misterbug questioned with a bit of hope.

“I will let you know.”

“Thank,” Before he could get his words out the girl left moving quickly. “She must need to get back to what she was doing,” Throwing his yoyo Misterbug also headed out needing to get back to the Gorrila. Hopefully, things will go well for her.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Cheshire moved around the hotel looking for a spot to land and fake hide in. Seeing a somewhat decent spot Cheshire landed in roll and de-transformed. Plagg gave her a look before flying into her purse. Marinette took a moment to enjoy having her kwami back. After that moment passed Marinette made a quick check on her phone to make sure that the all-clear was sent out.

With the confirmation that everyone knew the Akuma was defeated, Marinette made her way out of her hiding spot. As she drifted out of the spot the black-haired girl clamped her hands around her purse as she merged with the group that was also returning. As she walked with the group Marinette heard snippets of conversations.

“-the Akuma was-” “-heard that it was-” Marinette attempted to tune them out and focus on making sure nobody attempted to steal any of her possessions. The crowd dispersed as they entered the lobby letting Marinette make her way into a corner. Pulling out her phone Marinette glanced around to make sure no one was nearby before calling her parents.

The phone rang and rang. Marinette heard the voicemail start and instantly hung up her phone. Worry started growing in her but her logic attempted to reassure her that nothing could have happened to her parents. Still, it nagged at her as she texted them asking where they were. “Oh look at who I found,” A voice Marinette faintly recognized spoke near her. Looking up Marinette found Lila giving her a wide smile.

“It’s a good thing I found you. I mean someone should tell you,” The brown-haired girl spoke with joy as she stayed a good distance from the other girl. After a moment and figuring that the other girl wouldn’t talk, Lila continued. “You see, the mayor was so upset about his daughter being Akumatized that he hired the best bakers to make Chloe her favorite foods. It is a good thing that they were so close by. Though they will probably be busy for the rest of the day…” Seeing where this was going Marinette let out a sigh and started to head for the doors so she could leave. No doubt her parents let Jagged know and thus canceled the meeting. “Wow, Chloe and the others did a real number on you. There is nothing left to break, is there?”

Marinette didn’t say anything as she knew that it was true. Whatever Marinette was broken and there was no point in trying to fix it. Lila thought both looked and sounded impressed. “I have to thank you though. If not for you then Chloe would have ruined all my lies before I had even gotten through the door. But now she is helping me make connections and my life couldn’t be better. To think all I would have to do is help ‘put you in your place’,” Lila followed close to the other girl so she could continue talking to her. “Honestly even I don’t get why she is so dedicated to this whole thing. You must have done something truly awful to make her this dedicated.” Lila let out a hum while they got near the door. Seeing that they were nearing the end she decided to make one last push. She wanted to attempt to get a reaction from the girl. “Looking at you I have to wonder what someone like Adrien sees in you. Maybe he is into sad broken girls who he can ‘fix’? Or maybe he is interested in you due to all of the rumors of how easy you are?” Marinette still didn’t react and walked out the door.

“You really shouldn’t have mentioned that last part,” Sabrina spoke up from nearby to which Lila waved off. The lap dog could say whatever she wanted but Lila knew Chloe wouldn't say anything. After all, the blonde didn’t believe that Adrien had a crush on the girl. It was a reasonable belief but it didn’t mean that the boy’s feelings didn’t exist, even if they were shallow.

“Come on, let’s go wait for Chloe then enjoy those pastries.” Lila turned around and walked towards the dining area. As she did the girl felt a smile grow on her face. Who knew getting caught would turn out so well? It was so easy to appease Chloe and get rewards that Lila was able to live the life she wanted at the school without having to keep track of all of her lies or having to deal with those annoying do-gooders. That didn’t mean that she was content, not quite the opposite. She, Lila, was meant to rule the school and she most definitely was not going to be some ‘Mean Girl’ lackey.

It was a nice challenge because despite being in Chloe’s good graces the blonde wasn’t dumb. She needed to be careful but it would be so worth it when she won. Just seeing the brat’s face when Lila wins would make everything so worth it.

“Alright, I’ll make sure to grab Chloe’s favorites,” Sabrina ran ahead leaving Lila behind to enjoy the view of the girl. Perhaps she should do some work on the girl. Get the lap dog to be just as loyal to her? With a little hum, Lila walked into the room while hoping that whatever the Dupain-Chengs were doing was somewhat important. That woman looked like some business person so Lila was expecting a little blowback. It didn’t matter though, even a little blow would slowly start destroying Chloe’s little world. Small placed blows in well-placed locations and it will be so beautiful to see.

~~~~~~

Jagged sat on his couch waiting. The rockstar had been waiting for a while, definitely more than ten minutes. He had been waiting ever since the Akuma alert had given the all-clear. Jagged had expected that it would take a few minutes at most for them to come back or at least contact him. “Penny?”

“I have attempted to contact Miss Dupain-Cheng and was sent to voicemail,” His assistant informed him to which Jagged let out a growl of anger. “I will attempt to contact Mar- I mean Lady Noire.”

Jagged gave a nod while lowering himself onto the floor so he could pet a very unhappy Fang. “I know boy, I hope they just got held up.”

“Hello?” Marinette’s voice came out from Penny’s phone.

“Lady Noire, it is good to hear from you. I hope you are in good health,” Penny spoke to the phone while taking Jagged’s former spot.

“Yeah, I um… I have experience running away. From Akumas! I have experience running away from Akumas!” Jagged shot Penny a look. His manager returned it. “Did you need something? I mean it is nice that you called to check in on me but I thought you and my parents cancelled the meeting. Was that not true? I-”

“Cancelled the meeting? Where did you hear that?” Penny interrupted Marinette’s rambling words. Jagged gave her a look that spoke of suspicions. The girl on the phone started rambling again but through it, Penny and Jagged were able to put the story together. “Thank you for letting us know. We will talk to your parents about the rest of the paperwork.”

“No, no, they are going to be busy! I’ll take care of whatever-”

“The paperwork needs your legal guardians' signatures to properly file. Once we have those issues sorted I will help you with what is left tomorrow.” More was discussed but Jagged tunned it out as he slowly started stroking Fang.

‘Maybe I should check out some of the other hotels. It seems that this one has a brat infestation.’ Jagged thought to himself with a deep frown. Hopefully, Penny had some thoughts on how to deal with this because at the moment his only thoughts were either sicking Fang on the blonde, brunette, and redhead or just making a diss track. You know what? That is a good idea. He needed to burn off some energy and writing a diss track will not only burn some energy off but also help him sort through his thoughts on this situation. Grabbing a pen and paper, Jagged got to work while trusting Penny to take care of the other problems.

Chapter Text

Adrien lay on his bed while looking up at his ceiling. The boy was passing time waiting for patrol. Normally he would pass the time by watching some of his anime or random stuff on YouTube. At this moment though his mind was working over the past few days. From Cheshire’s new look to his gaining feelings for her. It all went through his mind and left him so confused. Needing to talk he looked over to see Tikki and Ziggy testing various desserts. “Hey Tikki,” Making sure he had the red kwami’s attention he asked his question. “Did Cheshire seem okay?”

Ziggy tilted her head in confusion while Tikki seemed to fall into deep thought. “She seemed to be fine?” Ziggy questioned while eating a cookie.

“No, no she wasn’t fine,” Tikki shook her head. “I couldn’t say for sure what is wrong. Not without talking to Plagg, but something was wrong with her.”

“Yeah, I got the same feeling,” Adrien admitted while going back to looking at the ceiling. “Though I still have no idea just what is wrong. I, I feel like I need to help but can’t. I mean how can I help her if I don’t know what’s wrong.”

“Why do you need to help?” Ziggy questioned as she flew near him.

“She helped me so I need to return the favor. Plus it’s the right thing to do.” Adrien spoke aloud while raising one of his hands to let the black and white kwami land on it. “I’m supposed to be a hero and that means helping those in need.”

“You have a good heart,” Tikki complimented as she gave a sincere smile.

“I like to think so,” Adrien commented with a hum before it fell flat. “Though after what I did to her…”

“I was the one that led you astray.” Tikki was quick to take the blame while deciding if she should attempt to inform him of the Wish. The others made it sound as if attempting to inform humans would cause something bad to happen. Still, though she wanted to try for herself. Spreading out her senses Tikki began hoping for the best. “Though Plagg told Wayyz and me about a theory of his.”

“Oh, what theory?”

“You see he believed that-” A loud knock at the door was the only warning the kwami got. They were quick to fly into hiding spots as Nathalie entered his room as usual. Tikki only half listened to the secretary as she went over what she felt. There was a moment there, a slight ripple in the world, right when she went to inform Adrien about the Wish. She wouldn’t have even noticed if she hadn’t been looking for it. He was right.

“What was that about?” Ziggy questioned as she flew closer to Tikki. The red kwami thought about informing the other kwami before deciding to wait. The revelation was heavy and either Ziggy would shout from the shock or Tikki might get carried away when talking about it. Then again how could she not get carried away? All of her suffering, all of the kwamis suffering, all of her dead chosen and users? Even thinking about it made her mad. Someone like Ziggy who cried for days at the death of chosen?

Maybe she should get Mullo to help break the news to her.

“Well tell him to come down and tell me himself or send his lawyer down so I can get a halfway decent contract!” Adrien shouted drawing the kwamis attention.

“Adrien we need to get this photoshoot done.” Nathalie retorted while tapping away at her tablet. “So you need-”

“I told you no, I am not doing a ‘last minute photoshoot’!” Adrien pressed with growing anger in his voice. “I am not doing any more photoshoots that I don’t agree to ahead of time. There is nothing in my contract that says that I need to do last-minute photoshoots.”

“Adrien your father needs you to-”

“He doesn’t need me to do it! He has plenty of photos of me in this season's clothing at those times! Tell him to use the literal hundreds of photos he has!”

Nathalie took a breath as she looked at the boy in front of her. She felt like this was a long time coming, knowing that even the most patient person would lose it after a while and given what Adrien has been through. “I understand and will tell him.” Waiting a moment the secretary lowered down onto a knee and placed a hand on his shoulder. “I hope you know that there will be some blowback for this discussion.”

“What is he going to threaten me? Not let me go to school?” Adrien muttered with heat in his voice. Nathalie didn’t say anything as she got up and walked away. “Oh and tell him to get me an actual birthday present and not to steal someone elses.”

The secretary left the room leaving Adrien alone again. After a moment the two kwami flew down to check on the boy. “Adrien, are you okay?”

“Yes, no?” The young model spoke aloud while looking at his shaking hand. “I know my father is a perfectionist but that doesn’t give him the right to force me to redo an entire photoshoot!”

“I’m proud of you young guardian,” Ziggy patted Adrien while Tikki let her mind wander. There was little doubt that the last-minute photoshoot was the attempt of the Wish to intervene and prevent the meeting by forcing Adrien to have to sleep early. But due to his recent change in attitude, that attempt was ruined. Did that mean that the Wish would try something else? There was just so much that she didn’t know.

“Tikki? Tikki?” Adrien called out drawing her from her thoughts. Seeing that he had her attention Adrien spoke to her. “What were you saying earlier about a theory?”

Tikki had to suppress a shiver as just from getting back onto the topic she felt the Wish slowly preparing for something. She had to cut this off, now. “It was just a passing thought. Something I would need to talk more about with Sass or Plagg. I promise to tell you when I have more information.”

“Okay, as long as you promise to tell me,” Adrien smiled towards Tikki. “It isn’t good to keep such things to yourself. I can tell it is weighing on you.”

“I promise,” Tikki nodded while she attempted to get her mind off of the Wish. It wouldn’t do anyone good to poke at the embers of the Wish and risk it becoming a fire. She hoped that it wasn’t already too late. She hoped the Wish wasn’t already moving now that its first attempt had failed. However, that line of thought brought something to her attention. “Are you ready for patrol later?”

“Not at all,” Her bug said with a sigh. “I wish I had more time but it would be best to just rip the bandage and just get it over with. I will just have to talk from the heart.” After saying that Adrien fell into silence for a bit before his eyes narrowed. “Hey Tikki? Does wearing your miraculous have weird effects?” Tikki made noises of confusion so Adrien elaborated. “You see it was after I used Plagg’s miraculous to transform I walked out and saw Cheshire, or well Lady Bug. My heart beat faster and, well, I had a hard time keeping my eyes off of her eyes were just this captivating shade of blue. Her voice sounded melodic like a song. Her hair even looked better!” Cutting himself off Adrien looked to Tikki who looked contemplative. The red kwami tried to figure out what was happening.

“Did the Cure fix it?”

“Yes, no? After the Cure was cast and I saw Cheshire the feelings were there just not as much. If that makes any sense?”

Tikki tapped her chin in thought. Was it the Wish attempting to cause some type of conflict or was it the result of the Akuma messing with Adrien’s head? Perhaps it was a combination of both? Or was there some third thing that she hadn’t thought about? Still though Adrien was looking at her expecting an answer. “I think it might have been the Akuma and it just hasn’t fully worn off.”

“Hasn’t fully worn off? Shouldn’t the Cure have fixed everything?” Adrien questioned to which the two kwami just shrugged.

“The Cure isn’t a fix-all. Well, it is most of the time but it is better at fixing physical damages while the mind is a much more delicate matter,” Tikki attempted to explain one of her theories. Tikki slightly doubted this theory due to how strong Marinette was. But it was still an option. “Some of the Akuma’s magic could have lingered after the Cure.”

Adrien nodded along while Ziggy offered up their thoughts. “If the Cure worked and you still had feelings then it could have been the magic just woke up the feelings you already had.”

“My own feelings? I can’t have feelings for Cheshire! I’m in love with…” The blond protested only to trail off as he remembered his meeting with Chloe earlier. “I have feelings for someone else.”

“Feelings don’t care,” Ziggy responded with certainty. Adrien didn’t respond he just laid on his back. What Ziggy said had just opened up was a whole can of worms that he would need to deal with at some point. Or hopefully, Tikki was right and it would just fade away on its own and that would be the end of it. He hoped that Tikki was right. Oh and while he was hoping he might as well hope that patrol would go well tonight.

As his mind swirled with thoughts he wondered if Cheshire had to deal with things like this. Heck, how did she spend her time? Was she as worried about the upcoming meeting as he was? Speaking of meetings why did he feel like he was forgetting something? Trying to think Adrien attempted to think of who else he had to meet. It wasn’t a long list due to his small social circle. Looking around Adrien attempted to get some type of clue only to stop at seeing the two kwami. “Oh, crap! Tikki, we need to go deliver the books to Marinette!”

“Please use Ziggy again. I am still a bit tired from earlier.”

“You okay with that, Ziggy?”

“Yes, I am good. As long as it helps get the Mother Box fixed.”

“Ziggy Bleat it!” With that Angora put the books into storage before heading out of his room to complete a delivery.

~~~~~~~~

Marinette sat at her desk going over various notes from her ancestor's journal while checking the Box. “Hey, Sass?”

“We have all the preparationsss done,” Sass responded with a controlled voice. The snake gestured to the bag he was sitting on which had various macaroons in it.

“Just like the last few times you have asked,” Plagg drawled as he relaxed on top of his house. Marinette flinched slightly from the reprimand and attempted to cover for herself.

“I, I, was just going to ask, um,” Searching for a topic the black-haired girl settled on the Box. “I was going to ask when the last time the Box was updated or maintained.” Marinette hated how much she stumbled over the words but she managed to get them out.

“Updated?” Longg questioned while turning to Mullo for an exclamation.

“You will have to elaborate,” Sass also looked to Mullo. The mouse was on one of the hanging doll houses.

“I don’t think it has ever been updated,” Mullo commented with a hum.

Marinette blinked at that while looking towards the grey kwami. “Really? It was never updated?”

“Nope, they never saw a reason to update it. It worked and that was enough for them,” Mullo gave a shrug while the other kwami started catching on to what was being said.

“So a white empty void was good enough? What did they think you could pass the years by just sleeping?” Plagg questioned with mocking curiosity. “Did they at least give you books or toys to play with?”

Mullo let out a long hum as she worked her mind over Plagg’s question. Turning to look at the other kwami who were out she saw them also seeming to think it over before Longg seemed to light up as she looked at Marinette. “Ah yes, I do remember this one head guardian who made toys for us!”

The mention along with who he was looking at had the others understand just who they were talking about. Seeing this Plagg decided to change the subject. “So when are we meeting up with Leather or his secretary?”

Marinette blinked at the change in subject and after a few moments of thinking she answered. “They didn’t give me a date just said we would meet up when they had the paperwork.” The only human in the house leaned back in her chair before blinking. “I wonder if Mama and Papa are staying over at the hotel tonight?” Plagg bit back his response and instead got up and flew over to his Bread and sat himself on her shoulder right next to her neck. The contact was good for both of them and it wasn’t long before Mullo claimed her other side while the other two kwami contented themselves with just being near her. “Thanks.” The word was simple but Marinette was so incredibly thankful to have others in the house with her. Having them here with her helped to ease her in ways that were hard to describe.

The girl closed her eyes and focused on just breathing as her eyes stung. Settling down she opened them and looked at the second journal that sat nearby filled with notes and thoughts. Turning to the Cube Marinette looked at hoping to gain some sort of inspiration only to come up short. There was just so much to making the Miraculous Boxes and Marinette didn’t even know where to start on trying to repair one this damaged.

“Do you think the books will be able to help?” Marinette questioned aloud while poking at the Box half heartily.

“I have no clue,” Sass responded honestly. “We kwami are not aware nor can we know what is written in those books.”

“I can somewhat understand that,” Plagg muttered as he thought a few dark thoughts. “I would hate to think what some of my past users would do if they knew even half of what Bread knows.” The other kwami didn’t say anything but that alone was enough for Marinette to know how bad it was. “Well now that we know that there isn’t anything we can do with the paperweight how about we do something enjoyable?”

“Enjoyable?” Marinette questioned as she blinked. While she didn’t enjoy working on the Box it was a decent distraction from everything else. Especially with how badly she had messed up with Jagged and Penny. No doubt they would give her a bad review and nobody would ever want to work with her again.

“Yeah, you know designing clothes and accessories!” Plagg made sure to pitch his voice higher drawing Marinette out of her thoughts.

“Or we could play some games together!” Mullo cheered while flying in front of her. “I could even grab Trixx!” Marinette gave some thought to what to do next and of course, she went with what she normally did.

“What do you guys want to do?” Plagg gave her a frown at her question to which Marinette blinked. What was wrong with her question? She always checked with the kwami on what they wanted to do. They were more important after all.

“I asked what YOU wanted.” Plagg pressed to which she blinked. Once more she opened her mouth only to be interrupted by Longg.

“Hatchling when was the last time you did something you wanted?” Her mind went blank as she attempted to answer the question of the kwami. Her mind kept crawling backward as she attempted to answer the question somehow. When was the last time she had done something for herself? Why would anyone want to do anything for Marinette? Thankfully she was saved from having to think more about it when a knock came from her skylight.

Springing up Marinette sprinted to let in whoever was outside in. Right as she was about to open the skylight she looked around to make sure the kwami were all hiding. Seeing that the kwami were safe she opened the skylight and saw Angora looking down on her. “Hey Marinette I brought the books like I promised!”

“Thank you,” Marinette moved aside to let him in. The goat miraculous user came inside while pulling out his pen. The two humans didn’t say much as they got comfortable. Or well Marinette attempted to get comfortable while Angora, after getting permission, took her chair.

“Here you go,” Angora brought some books out of his storage. Looking at them Marinette held her voice but knew that she needed to say something. She could also get his view of what happened during Catalyst.

Chapter Text

Angora looked at Marinette, who seemed to be trying to say something. “Is there something you need?”

“Ah!” The girl jumped a bit before looking towards him. “Well, I need to be honest. There is something really wrong with the miraculous box. I mean, there are a few things wrong with the box. But at the same time, there is something really wrong that I don’t know if I can fix.” As she started to speak, the words just started to come out. Angora’s frown had her almost freezing up. The words came faster as her heart beat louder. “I can still try to fix it! I just don’t want to get your hopes up! It’s just that the box is malfunctioning, and I think it is due to what you mentioned when you dropped the box off. I know I shouldn’t presume, but it would make the most sense!”

“Marinette,” Angora slowly approached as he continued to try and get her attention. “Marinette!” Raising his voice the miraculous user for a moment wondered where Tikki was. Getting close the boy thought if he should touch her shoulder or clap his hands. “Marinette!”

Thankfully, the last call got her attention fully. “What? Was I rambling again? I’m sorry I do that when I’m nervous and I get nervous easily. Well, I think I do. I haven’t really talked to people that often. Oh god, have I also mixed up my words?”

“Marinette!” Angora called one more time, and this time when he got her attention he spoke quickly. “What is wrong with the box?”

“I tried everything, and like I said it might be fixable but I don’t want to get your hopes up.” Marinette started again while Angora raised his hand and moved it slowly towards her. He stopped though, when she flinched back and instead moved it in front of him.

“Just take a second to breathe, okay? I’m not going to leave. I’ll wait for you,” He attempted to reassure her. Marinette seemed to take a moment to breathe while Adrien wondered where Tikki was. He needed her help! It seemed to take a few moments before Marinette seemed ready to talk.

“Well, I noticed that the magic of the box is tied into the Order. Like the existence of the Order gives it power. It seems, though, that when Cheshire did whatever she did, it affected the box's connection to the Order.”

“How?” Angora questioned as he tapped his leg.

“I don’t know. Did she, Cheshire, say something? Like, did she explain the curse or something that she put on you?”

“It wasn’t a curse.” Saying that was a painful reminder of his interaction with Plagg. He would never do that again, he would never insult the girl who had helped him. Not again, but that did remind him of something. “Almost the opposite but not? She said it would remove all curses and blessings from me.”

“Removes all curses and blessings?” Marinette questioned as she blinked at him. “Yeah, that possibly will do it. I’m guessing that when she did that it destroyed the ‘blessing’ of Guardianship that you had. Thus, the box lost its connection to the Order.”

“Shouldn’t I have lost memories if I lost the guardianship title?”

“No? I’m no expert, but I think part of the Guardian title is magic. I mean of course, it is magic, but part of the magic is used to erase people’s memories. Well, maybe not erase but instead store or something else. Anyway, whatever Cheshire did, it completely destroyed the Guardianship?” Marinette’s voice came out a bit unsure while Angora seemed to blink.

“Stored? I thought the memories weren’t destroyed?” Did that mean Fu could still have his memories? Could what Cheshire have done have brought the memories back? Looking at the girl in front of him, he asked her. Marinette seemed to hesitate and squirm in thought.

“Maybe? I don’t, I can’t know for certain. I mean, nothing like this has ever happened. Plus, add on to it just how weird what she did was. From what I can get from the box, it almost seems like the whole Order is gone!” Marinette attempted to get her thoughts out while her breathing grew more and more frantic! “I mean if it was stored, it could be like the box where it is somewhat working or just weakened. I mean if he has his memories, why has he contacted you?”

“Right, he would have contacted us.” Angora nodded as he felt some of his hope die down. It didn’t completely die down, but it was dulled. Marinette though looked shocked and stared at him with wide blue eyes.

“US? Why would he contact me? I am a nobody! Why would he go out of his way for me? I haven’t done anything worth notice!” Marinette cried out while she curled in on herself. Looking at her, Angora wondered just how badly Chloe had messed up the girl in front of him. It made him want to punch his used-to-be best friend. Pushing that aside, Angora thought over everything Marinette said and thought about what it all meant. He was no longer the guardian? That felt right, he didn’t want to be the guardian. He just wanted some freedom, not more responsibilities! So with a breath, he accepted what had happened and felt grateful for it. He didn’t have to worry about one day losing his memories and the responsibilities of being the guardian. It felt like a weight he hadn’t known he was carrying had finally been lifted from him. “What was that?”

Marinette’s panicked voice forced him to alertness. The small girl was looking around as her hair buffed out. For a moment he thought she looked like a scared cat but cut that thought off. Marinette was scared and he was lucky that her parents hadn’t come to check on her due to all of the yelling. “What was what?” Angora asked, keeping his voice calm while he started looking around the room.

“I thought I felt something,” Marinette brought her legs up to hug. “I guess that I was just imagining things.”

“Okay,” The goat miraculous user muttered while he looked towards the clock. He had time until patrol so what should he do?

“So I guess your plan didn’t work? You know your plan to trap Cheshire during your meeting? It was interrupted by the villains from America. I mean, I assume that your meeting was the thing that was interrupted. The timeline kinda matchs up.”

Letting out a groan, Adrien leaned back into his chair and started sliding down. “That wasn’t my plan in any way shape or form! I was just trying to sort things out with her.”

“‘Work things out with her’? Like get her to hand over the miraculous? Get the UA heroes on your side to back you up in taking down the ‘evil’ cat?”

“Oh, kwami no!” Angora shook his head frantically. “‘Work things out’! You know, like get on the same page?” Seeing Marinette still looking at him confused, the boy groaned while burying his head in his hands.

“So you would make her join the Order?”

“I wasn’t going to force her to do anything.” Angora muttered, only to see her not believing him at all. Before more could be said, a beeping alarm went off.

“Oh, it's time for dinner.” Marinette commented as she stood up.

“Well, I better go. You have fun with your family.” Angora awkwardly stood up while his stomach twisted. He wanted to fully explain himself but didn’t want to interrupt her time with her family.

“My parents aren’t here,” Marinette seemed to admit it out of reflex.

“Your parents aren’t here?” Angora questioned with a frown. Marinette seemed to decide that it was better to just head downstairs. The goat user waited a moment before deciding to follow Marinette down. “So, what is the plan for dinner?”

“Uhm, I guess I’ll just see what is in the kitchen,” Marinette muttered as she checked the fridge. “Hmm, getting low on some food.” Still, she got some food out before stopping and going over to check some of the cabinets. “Yeah, going to have to go shopping soon. I haven’t had much time to go shopping.” Angora didn’t know if she was talking to him or just talking.

“Do you need any help?” He didn’t know how to cook, but maybe he could help in some other way. If Marinette heard him she didn’t respond and instead went about preparing dinner. Adrien brought out his brush and double-checked the time. He had more than enough time. Watching the girl in front of him the blonde knew he needed to help. The memory of Marinette being completely exhausted two days popped into his mind.

Should she be up? Speaking of being up and moving, Cheshire definitely shouldn’t be up or moving. He wondered how she was able to move after the condition he had seen her in yesterday. Shaking his head, Adrien forced his mind back on track. He didn’t know how to cook, but maybe he could try cleaning up? He might not be the best but he could help out at least a little. He wondered where Tikki was though. What could she be doing right now?

“Is it alright if I join you?” Tikki questioned as she flew through the ceiling. Adrien was thrilled to see her. No doubt she would make things easier. Though he wondered just what she had been doing earlier.

~~~~~~~

Tikki flew away from Adrien and towards the dollhouse. She needed to find Plagg and the others! They needed to talk! She went to the dollhouse hoping to use it to hide for a little bit. She hadn’t expected to find such a beautiful little house with fabrics laid around the area. “What the?” Tikki questioned as she looked around the small room.

It felt… comfortable. It felt like a tiny room made just for her.

The red Kwami floated up to one of the fabrics and felt the wonderfully soft fabrics. The bug could just imagine wrapping up in this soft fabric during one of the colder days. It was while she was doing this that Sass poked his head out from one of the piles. The two looked at each other for a few moments before Sass slowly got out of his little blanket pile. “Tikki, it isss good to see you in good health.”

“Sass! Is this your room?” Tikki attempted to keep her voice down so Adrien wouldn’t hear her. She couldn’t risk exposing Marinette’s identity especially with how delicate the situation was. Plagg would never forgive her if she did anything to endanger his first good user. Tikki wouldn’t betray him. Not now, not when they finally had a chance to reconnect. After so many years they could finally be together and without any dark thoughts that had tainted the bond they once had.

“At the moment yes. This room is shared between myself, Trixx, and Mullo.” The lime green Kwami explained. “We Kwami that like to burrow share this room. The younger one has made multiple blankets and other such comforts for us. Though they are not as good as some of the blankets in Plagg’s room.”

“I’m sure the others would be jealous of your room. We didn’t have anything like this back in the Box.”

“No, the closest we got were a few items,” Sass confirmed while he petted the blankets. The snake seemed to have found something he enjoyed. Tikki was a bit jealous. Adrien was a good bug and no doubt would do the same if she asked. But the Kwami didn’t want to impose so she had never even thought to impose. “I assume your bug needed something?”

“We came over to drop the last of the books off so that she could figure out what is wrong with the Box,” Tikki informed Sass, who nodded before shaking his head.

“I have been around Plagg too much if my first inssstinct was to asssume that you came here to use the younge one.” Tikki blinked at that before looking around.

“Where is he? I was hoping to talk to Plagg.”

“Is this about the Wisssh?” Tikki could only nod, to which Sass returned with an understanding look.

“I can’t deny it, not after everything these past two days.”

“Very well, will you please follow me?” Sass guestered and the two flew out of the doll house but stayed low to not be seen by the two humans. Tikki watched as Sass flew towards a glowing green cube. A cube? Was it the Cube? “Ssstick close Tikki. You could get lost.” With that Sass grabbed her paw and led the two of them INTO the Cube.

The red kwami felt her breath catch as she beheld a small room with decorations while a TV hung on a wall. “What is this?” Tikki questioned while Sass let go of her paw and flew over to press a button.

“This is a room with no recording equipment or way to view it from the outside. From my understanding, it was made so usss Kwami could have a private room within the Cube.” Sass explained as he pressed the button. After doing that he flew to one of the cushions and calmly sat on it. “While I appreciate the thought I think it is a bit redundant due to her also respecting our rooms in the dollhouses.”

“Well, that is kind of her.” Tikki flew around the room finding some food left around. Cookies, strawberries, and even pieces of watermelon were left around in a few locations.

“Yes, ssshe is very kind.” Sass looked at Tikki who lowered herself onto a bean bag. The red Kwami adjusted herself a bit before seeming to find a comfortable position. “Although you should already be aware given that you two talked earlier today.”

“Yeah,” Tikki mumbled as her mind went over the events of earlier. “Sass? I think she might be a bug.” Sass didn’t react and instead just gave a nod. She wondered if the snake knew.

“Sure she is.” A drawl came Plagg as he flew into the room followed by Mullo. “And I’m a dog kwami.”

“Plagg,” Tikki greeted the black cat who just huffed. Not seeing a reason to dance around the issue, Tikki got right to the problem. “You were right. The Wish has been interfering.”

“Really?” The black cat questioned with a mocking tone.

“Plagg,” Mullo chidded the cat. “You know that part of the Wish makes it hard to realize its existence. Especially when one is still part of the Order.” Plagg just grumbled as he went over to a fridge. Seeing that Plagg would be busy, the mouse turned to the red Kwami. “Tikki! It is so good to see you again!”

“Mullo, I’m happy to see you again as well.” Tikki greeted him with a sad smile before returning to Plagg. “So the reason no Kwami never figured out this situation was due to the Wish preventing anyone from figuring it out?”

“We explained this to you,” Plagg muttered before eating his cheese. Mullo moved closer, and Plagg 'graciously’ moved out of the way. “If you want to have this conversation, then ditch the baggage.”

“By baggage, do you mean the Order?” Tikki questioned as she felt her heart start beating a bit faster. Could she leave the Order? The Order that one of her bugs helped to start?

“Not that there is much left at this point,” Plagg muttered with mirth. “I mean, what is really left? Sass, Mullo, and a few others have already left the Order. Add on Bread’s little theory that she destroyed the Guardian title and all the things that go with it.”

“She did. I saw it.” Tikki remembered back to that moment. That moment when her bug was Liberated. How could she forget anything about that moment? About seeing THAT? “What was that? What did Marinette do? What did you give her!”

“I didn’t give her anything! If anything, THAT technique is Sass’s user's fault!” Plagg shouted back while pointing towards Sass who shook his head.

“While I admit that Viperion did put your kitten,” Plagg grumbled something, but it was ignored, “in the sssituation that caused the discovery of that technique. I can say for certain that I don’t believe that the bard would have not done it if there was another option.”

“You tell yourself that,” Plagg muttered before swapping the topic. “So Tikki, sugarcube, are you ready to drop the baggage?”

Tikki initially didn’t want to answer. How could she just ‘drop’ the Order? Something so important to her? Something she had put so much time and effort in? The red Kwami didn’t know how much time had passed but the choice was taken from her. The last threads were broken, and the connection was gone. Tikki didn’t know how to feel. It was over…

“It’s gone, isn’t it?” Sass said with a sad tone in his voice.

“Good riddance!” Plagg spat, to which Mullo reprimanded him. Tikki didn’t respond as she felt a bit empty. “Fine~” Plagg drawled in a long-suffering sigh. “I’m sorry for your loss, Sugercube. I know you have a lot of pleasant memories from the Order, but I have nothing. The only real interaction I have had with the Order besides you fighting my evil users is all of the recent events. You know the events where you and the rest of the Order decided to try and kill my, I mean Bread!”

“It’s alright to claim her, you know?” Mullo questioned as she gave him a confused look. Plagg didn’t meet her look and instead looked anywhere but at the other Kwami. Turning to the still down Tikki Mullo attempted to cheer up the other kwami. “Hey, it’s okay Tikki. I’m sad that the Order is gone too now but that doesn’t mean it’s all bad. The pup created her own Order, and you can join it!”

“She created her own Order?” Tikki questioned, to which the other three Kwmai had different reactions. Plagg hissed with a deep frown, Mullo gave a happy yes while nodding, and Sass mearly nodded. “She has made so much.”

“Yes, she has,” Sass confirmed as he floated toward her. “I think you have been through enough. Why don’t you go and take a break? We can talk more later.”

Tikki wanted to object but decided that it might be for the best. She made to move when Plagg mentioned that she should join the others for Dinner. Looking towards the grumpy cat, she saw his tail lashing around him. It was obvious that he also needed to relax, so she thanked him for the advice and left. Just like Plagg had said, Marinette was getting dinner ready. Angora hovered nearby, looking ready to help at any moment. So she let them know that she was there. Tikki hoped things would start getting better. Because as things were going they were looking worse and worse.

Chapter Text

Marinette slowly ate her food as she watched Misterbug and Tikki eat the food she gave them. What was he planning? What did he hope to gain during the upcoming patrol? Could she ask? He seemed to want to tell her earlier. So maybe she should ask. “So um, what was your plan? I mean your Cheshire plan? Your plan for Cheshire?”

“My plan for Cheshire?” Misterbug questioned as he finished his bite. “OH! Right, I was trying to tell you. I guess this would be my best chance to talk to someone else about it. Maybe you could even help me.” Marinette shifted a bit as she attempted to hide her frustration. To ask her to help plan a way to defeat herself? Why did this keep happening? Still, it would be good to know what was to come.

“I’ll help as best as I can.”

“Thanks, thank you so much,” Misterbug looked so grateful that it hurt a bit. Why was one of the few people who was nice to Marinette her enemy? “Alright so as I said I am going to be meeting with Cheshire and the others later.”

“The others? You mean like Bella Blue and the other two miraculous users? The people you lent the other miraculous to?”

“Yeah, their names are Talon and Canigirl. Much like Bella, they are the former Viperion and War Horse.”

“Well, I guess my first step would be to take the miraculous away from them. You don’t want Cheshire to have any allies. Unless you turned them, in which case you could easily set a trap.”

At Marinette’s recommendation, Angora once more let out a groan. “I am not going to fight her.”

“But then how are you going to force her into the Order?” Marinette questioned with great confusion.

“There is no more Order,” Tikki spoke for the first time. Everyone’s attention turned to her. “I felt it earlier, the last bit of the Order was destroyed.”

“Oh, well I guess that will make it easier.” Angora said as he leaned back into his seat. Marinette blinked as she kept trying to figure out just how this made things easier. Shouldn’t this be really bad? As if knowing what she was wondering, Misterbug explained. “Once we let Cheshire know that the Order is gone then she will know that there is no more reason for us to fight.”

The thirteen year old girl felt her mind stutter a bit in shock as she tried to figure out his plan. “No more reason for you to fight?”

“Yeah that was one of the things I wanted to apologize to you for,” Angora slumped in his seat while he slowly moved what was left of his food around the plate. Tikki fluttered over and placed a hand on his. The blonde goat user gave his Kwami a smile before raising his head up to give Marinette a sad smile. “Unless Cheshire is kind enough to lend me Pollen I won’t be able to get her back for you. I don’t, I can’t fight Cheshire anymore. I am so sorry that you might not get your chance to see her again.”

“I,I,” Marinette stuttered out a mess of words as her mind tripped over itself. Was this a trick? Did Tikki tell Angora that she was Cheshire? Was this all an act? Was this the trap? She couldn’t tell.

“Marinette?” Tikki drew the attention of the girl and with careful slowness flew towards her. “I know that it is hard to trust. After everything you have been through it is understandable that you won’t believe us or think that we are trying to trick you but we are telling the truth. There is nothing more to it.”

“Nothing more?” Marinette questioned.

“I can promise you that Angora isn’t tricking you. The order is gone and we are just trying to figure out the best way to figure out how to apologize to Cheshire.” Marinette took in the words of the red Kwami and attempted to figure out just how truthful she was being. The answer came immediately. Yes, she could trust Tikki. It scared her how quickly she knew she could trust Tikki. It reminded her of earlier and how natural the ladybug miraculous felt to use. She didn’t want to think of what that meant. So she focused back on the conversation.

“Okay,” Marinette felt the word come out and tore her gaze away from Tikki to look towards the other human. “So if you don’t fight then meeting purpose? Ack! I mean if you don’t want to fight then why are you meeting with her?” Marinette hated how her voice cracked and how hard it was to keep her sentences straight. After being bullied for years about this, why couldn’t she keep it under control? At least she was doing it now and not making Cheshire look pathetic.

“Well besides trying to borrow Pollen so you can apologize to her I need to say sorry to her.” Marinette blinked at that and against her control her eyes darted towards Tikki. The red Kwami gave a nod confirming what was just said.

“You want to… apologize to Cheshire?” Her words came out slowly as Marinette forced herself to speak clearly.

“Yeah, I know it is shocking. Even coming to this decision was a journey in itself. I was so stuck on her being bad that I worked myself in circles.” Angora shook his head in exasperation. “Heck I even went to Alya and the girl laid out to me just why I sucked as a hero and why Cheshire was a true hero. You think that would have been obvious but no. I was convinced that Cheshire was trying to turn the public to her side. That she was some type of villain that was hiding her evil nature behind a bunch of good publicity.”

“I didn’t help matters,” Tikki said with a frown. “I completely agreed with him on all matters. I thought that it was impossible for her to be good, much less a hero.”

“Wow, um,” Marinette chewed on her lip as she looked at the two. The black haired girl once more glanced between Tikki and Angora. “So, um, what type of plan do you need?”

“Well as embarrassing as it sounds I recently had it pointed out that I kinda suck at apologies.” Angora mumbled as he picked up his fork and pushed what little remained of his food around.

“Well, I guess the first thing to do is to finish eating. You do need a full stomach.” Marinette suggested as she tried to think this whole situation over. They wanted to apologize?

“I guess that is a good starting point.” Angora agreed as he went back to eating. As he ate Marinette looked at her own food and ate what little remained. She needed a way out. Marinette didn’t have it in her to deal with this. “So what time is this meeting?”

“It is during patrol,” Misterbug said after finishing the bite of food.

“When is that?”

“Um, well based on the Wonderblog I was guessing around eight or nine?”

“Oh, so you need to leave soon? I mean you probably want to get her some sort of gift? I hear that it is a great start. Or at least that is what I would do.”

“That is a good idea. I will do that.” With that he was quick to start eating his food.

“Slow down, you don’t want to choke.” Marinette cautioned the boy who did slow down. “The most important thing is to focus on being honest. Just be open.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Angora mumbled before looking towards her. “I’ll ask about Pollen but Cheshire seems attached to her miraculous so I don’t know if I can get her for you. Then again she did lend out the fox and horse.”

“I appreciate you at least trying,” Marinette spoke as she watched him finish his food before running towards her room. No doubt to head out through the skylight. “Good luck,” her room. No doubt to leave through the skylight. Marinette was grateful for his foresight. She really didn’t need people asking around. After waving him out Marinette collapsed in her chair and not even a second later Plagg, Sass, and Mullo flew out of hiding. “Oh by you. How badly did I mess up?”

“‘By you?’” Mullo questioned while Plagg tried to hide his cackles. “I think that is a new one.”

“Indeed, I have not heard sssomeone sssay anything close to that,” Sass added on which broke Plagg’s resolve and he finally broke down laughing.

“Oh, that is great Bread,” Plagg said as he calmed down. “I think that is the second time you said something like that.” Sass looked like he wanted to say more but decided to focus on what Marinette asked.

“I can not sssay for sssure due to not being presssent but I do not believe you would or could have done anything to negative.”

“Yeah, I know you are great and no doubt did great!” Mullo attempted to cheer the girl up.

“Ah, just forget about that stupid bug. He hasn’t done anything good for anyone,” Plagg spoke up as he attempted to make light of the situation.

“He wants to apologize to Cheshire,” Marinette informed the kwami.

“Misterbug wants to apologize to you?” Mullo questioned while Plagg gaped.

“He told you that?” Sass questioned to which Marinette nodded. “That isss very interesting.”

“Yeah, but I don’t have time to think about it. We need to get started on patrol.” Marinette whispered as she felt her body protest. She was so tired. “I usually start by now. We can’t have people asking questions.”

“Not this again!” Plagg whined. “Are you going to be bringing all the miraculous with you too?” Marinette gave a small nod not wanting to try and defend herself. “Are you kidding me? You do remember how you passed out two days ago? Are you really going to try and tell me that this is some sort of crisis where you need to use all the miraculous? Especially after a draining Akuma battle?”

“But I need to be ready for the worse case scenario!” Marinette pulled on one of her pigtails. “What if Tikki told him about who I was and this whole thing is just a trap?”

“I can assure you that Tikki would never break the rulesss like that.”

“But what if Misterbug made her? What if he did all of this as some sort of last ditch effort?”

“I don’t think you fully believe that,” Mullo commented as she flew up and nuzzled her face. “You know he wouldn’t do something like that.”

Marinette didn’t say anything but she did choose a new course. “What if something like the last meeting happens? It was supposed to be a simple meeting but it was attacked by a bunch of villains.” The three Kwami looked at each other before Plagg let out a huff.

“I think that should be considered the exception and not the norm. I mean all of the villains have been captured and you shouldn’t be expecting something like that happening again?” Plagg attempted to hand wave it away. This didn’t fully work.

“But what if something even worse happens?” Marinette shouted as her mind no doubt started making worse and worse situations. Plagg knew by this point that it was best to just let her tire herself out a bit before interrupting. As she was in the middle of making up some sort of scenario where a group of Akumas and Amoks fused together to form some type of invincible being that only grew stronger the longer you fought it when her phone alarm went off. “Time for patrol! Plagg Claws Out!” Plagg would have had many words but unfortunately he didn’t have a chance to say anything as was sucked into the ring!

Cheshire was quick to push Marinette to the back of her mind. To make extra sure that the girl wouldn’t case any troubles Cheshire even put a mental wall up. She was the Hero of Paris and could deal with this problem unlike Marinette. “Alright let’s grab the other. If Misterbug is honest there shouldn’t be a problem but if he is up to something…” As she said this the girl pressed a button on the side of the Cube changing the color. This was to alert the Kwami inside about her taking their miraculous soon. It would give them a chance to finish up whatever they were doing.

“But pup, aren’t you still tired?” Mullo questioned while Sass sat in silence. The snake Kwami looked at her and seemed to study the girl.

“Marinette can sleep it off,” Cheshire waved it off as she started pulling out miraculous. The black cat made sure to only take the miraculous from the ones where the compartments were glowing red. “I should have more then enough energy to deal with anything that should pop up.”

“What’s going on?” Trixx questioned as he and the rest of the Kwami started appearing around Cheshire. Sass took to explaining while Cheshire was about to make her way to the balcony only to stop. She needed another way to get around and looking around she saw an option.

“Let’s grab some food for everyone.” Within a moment, she was storing food within her baton. “Alright, let’s get going. Plagg, Kaalki Unify!” With that, the girl let out a breath as she felt the Unify start draining her. Trixx flew forward, but before the fox said anything, the unified hero spoke. “I just need to use Voyage then I’ll let the Unify go.”

The power of the horse was still unruly but she was able to use it. Throwing her fist forward the portal showed an abandoned rooftop. The human and Kwami were quick to travel through the portal. Once they were through the portal Cheshire let the Unify end. Kaalki appeared and thankfully took the food from her. “Alright kit that is the only Unify you are allowed.”

“Trixx, we both know that I can’t promise not to Unify. We might need the power later.” Cheshire shook her head while Kaalki finished eating. “Now, let's get to work. I’m guessing that the others are going to be heading out soon.”

“It would not due for us to be late.” Longg commented and with that the kwami settled around her and Cheshire ran along the roofs towards where she had a feeling the others would be meeting up. A cry from an alley had her stopping. The others would understand if she was a bit late due to her stopping crimes. Sass watched this happen and wondered to himself what was to come next. After all the Order was gone so the Wish should be gone with it. So did that mean that this meeting would go peacefully or would something happen to interrupt it?

~~~~~~

Evilnator hummed to himself as he played around on his phone. “You better show up tonight cat or I’m going to have to go home invading. Then again I did put all that effort into making that video…” The American raised his hand to rub the bottom of his helmet. A ping came from his phone and the villain pulled up a call log from Paris’s police department. It was actually kinda sad how easy it was to bug the various networks around Paris but it worked for the black clad man.

The report came from a women who was saved from a potential rapist/mugger by none other then “Cheshire, finally!” Pumping his fist in the air he was about to sit up only to remember where he was. “Whoops, better not to let the Cesaires know I was hanging outside their home.” Readjusting himself, Evilnator began crawling to a more hidden area. It was as he was doing this that he saw the window near him open up and one of the new heroes of Paris about to jump up.

“I’ll talk to her I promise.” The cowgirl looking hero talked to someone behind her.

“You better sis or I’m going to be having a talk with ma and pa about your activities.” A voice from inside spoke to the girl.

“Okay, okay! I’ll talk to her about lending you a miraculous or something!”

“No something about it. Either I get a miraculous and start being able to protect you or I tell our parents about you fighting Akumas.”

“I get it, I’ll talk to her!” With that the girl, who was probably Alya, left her house.

“Your sister cares about you.” A purple cat mascot looking creature spoke as it flew by her.

“I know I just wish she wouldn’t have found out.” The red haired girl muttered as she jumped right over the villain. The villain just watched with interest before turning back to the apartment.

“Well now, this just got more interesting. I must be hecka lucky. Still not going to buy a lottery ticket though.” Humming, he finished getting up as he thought of the various ways he could use this. Oh, the possibilities.

Chapter Text

Luka sat on his bed while tuning his guitar. The two Kwami in his room had made themselves comfortable on his bed. A knock drew him from his meditation and had him looking up to see his mother at his door. “Is it almost time?” Both Orikko and Xuppu looked up at that while his mom nodded. “Is Galarian ready?”

“Yeah?” Galarian’s unsure voice came from behind his mom.

“The girl has been pacing nonstop,” Anarka informed as she walked more into the room, followed by the Amok.

“I can understand her concerns. She will be meeting with Cheshire for the first time. While I trust Trixx, they are still a black cat!” Wayzz spoke from where he floated beside Galarian.

“Wayzz!” Xuppu called out as he flew up. “Have you figured out what happened earlier?”

“No, I have no idea what happened,” Wayzz shook his head while letting out a sigh. “I am hoping that Tikki or another Kwami will know.”

“I’m sure that despite your misgivings Cheshire will be more than willing to help. From when I interacted with her I got the feeling that she is giving her best to be a hero,” Luka found himself remembering back onto the first time he had heard her heart song.

“Sounds like a good girl, why don’t you try asking her out?” His mother questioned with a look. Luka’s strumming stuttered a little which caused Anarka to smile at his embarrassment. “I mean you haven’t had a serious girlfriend yet? You did just say that she is a good girl so why wait and miss your chance?”

“Mom!” Luka called out as he put his guitar down. “We need to get going. I will think about your ‘recommendation’. Orikko Sunrise!”

“You do that. I still want grandchildren at some point!” Watching Talon opening his window Anarka turned to Galarian who seemed to be trying to concentrate. “Not enough power?”

“I can feel it but it is slow,” Galarian admitted with a hurt tone lacing her voice.

“Why not just use me for a bit until you get your power back under control,” Wayzz recommended as he floated closer to the Amok.

“I guess,” Galarian muttered with a shrug. “Wayzz Shell On.”

“I’m sure Cheshire will have an idea of how to help,” Talon explained while he leaned against the wall. The new turtle hero merely nodded.

“Remember to ask about that Marinette girl. We need to get a better idea of what is happening,” Talon gave a nod to that before jumping out the window. Anarka watched her son leave and felt some pride swell up.

“Did Luka already leave?” Juleka questioned as came up from near her. Looking at her daughter the former rock star felt the pride die down a bit. The mother loved her daughter, she was proud of how the quiet little girl had started growing into her own. That was why it hurt to when Juleka lied. Lied right to her face about a girl who was being bullied.

“Yeah, him and Galarian left,” Anarka attempted to keep her voice calm but something must have shown.

“Oh, um, that is good?” Watching her daughter withdraw into herself Anarka felt her stomach twist a bit.

“Don’t worry Juleka! I’m sure that nothing bad will happen to your brother.” Daizzi lightly patted her current holder. Looking at the small pig Kwami memories started coming to her mind. She remembered how Juleka had received the pig miraculous and had slowly bonded with the Kwami who had reminded her of Rose. The mention her daughter's not yet girlfriend had made her wonder if the small little blonde had also been a part of the bullying. Anarka had to bite her tongue so as to not ask the question. It was an absurd question, or it should have been but than again the thought that Juleka would be a bully had also been absurd.

“Yeah, I mean you hung out with the hero so you should know.” Anarka tried to keep her anger for her daughter under control. She didn’t want to judge or jump to conclusions, not until Luka got more information.

“I only hung out with her twice,” Juleka mumbled before seeming to realize that she was mumbling again. Daizzi gave her an encouraging look. Taking a breath she spoke again, this time making sure to speak a bit stronger. “But she was very nice both times. I enjoyed hanging out with everyone.”

“Good job, Juleka!” The pink Kwami praised while Anarka gave her own praise.

“Well I got to get ready for bed,” The adult spoke as she stretched. “I have a few assignments to finish. Those promotions were both a blessing and a curse. More money but more work.”

“Uh, yeah,” Juleka shifted and if this was before, before she had her suspicions, Anarka wouldn’t have put much thought into her daughter's reaction. Now though she filed away the reaction. What could it mean? She had no idea but something told her she wouldn’t like it.

~~~~~~~

Cheshire arrived at the meetup point. Or, well, the unofficial meet-up point. It was a random rooftop, one that she used to meet up with the others. “Time to prepare!” With that, the hero got down to work. She needed to set up traps and other such things in order to properly prepare for the meeting.

“Is that necessary? You said he wanted to apologize to you? Wanted to get on the same side?” Trixx questioned as Cheshire darted around making sure to patch up any damage. She couldn’t have any trip hazards.

“First of all Cheshire isn’t supposed to know that,” The cat hero responded while starting to bring string out. “Second, I have no reason to trust him. Not after everything that has happened.” The various Kwami mumbled between each other. Most of them understood her mistrust, while Kaalki even commented on Misterbug’s choice of partners/teammates. “Third, even if Misterbug is being honest, something else could happen. Just like the meeting we had with the UH and the counterfeit Father Christmas.”

“We ssshould probably talk about that,” Sass spoke while looking towards Longg. The dragon Kwami gave a nod of her own.

“Young hatchling?” Longg flew a bit closer to the human who moving the string along the ground. “I hope it is no trouble to if I ask you a few questions?”

“Of course not,” Cheshire gave a bright smile to the red dragon Kwami. The dragon looked towards the others. Mullo and Kaalki flew closer giving there support to Longg. “I was just wondering why you don’t believe in Santa?” Cheshire froze up for a bit while Longg continued talking. “I know that you said you never received presents, but is there something else?”

Cheshire went back to work. Mullo looked like she was about to talk only for Liiri to stop her. They waited but Cheshire didn’t want to think about the reason. There was no other reason. Well, there was kinda another reason. He never responded to her letters. She hadn’t even asked for much. All she wanted was to spend Christmas with her parents. She just didn’t want to be alone anymore.

Shaking her head and blinking back tears, Cheshire forced herself to breathe normally. Deep slow breaths. She couldn’t show weakness, not now. Not when the others could show up at any moment. Besides, what did it matter if her parents never showed up? She had Plagg! She even had other Kwami now! She was happy! She didn’t need to beg some old stupid FAKE legend to just get a chance to see them on Christmas! Marinette was a big girl, not some needy child!

“Fillie are you okay?” Kaalki questioned drawing her from her thoughts. Blinking back more tears Cheshire forced everything back. Those shouldn’t be her thoughts, those weren’t her concerns. That childish reasoning was Marinette’s. Something as childish as being ignored and forgotten wasn’t fit for a hero. No doubt he had better things to do. Just like her mama and papa did

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just thinking on how to properly answer your question.” Cheshire responded and forced her hands to stop shaking. She wasn’t Marinette, she was Cheshire. “And the answer is that I don’t have a good reason not to believe in his existence. I was being petty and unheroic. I will work on being better in the future.” Cheshire finished setting up the wire. Finishing setting up at least one trap. As she spoke the black cat didn’t see the Kwami looking at each other.

“Fledgling,” Liiri spoke up as he floated down towards his chosen, “I’m sure your reason is just as valid as any other. So please tell us.”

Cheshire bit the inside of her cheek. Why were they pressing? Why did they care? She knew that Kwami were kind but it felt different to receive such kindness. Why now though? Why when she need all of her strength to keep the facade up? She was so tired but she couldn’t let it show. Not now.

“Tell you what?” A female voice questioned as a red and black haired girl landed on the roof. Turning to fully look at the girl and felt herself tense. The person in front of her wore a green suit with armored bits of darker green. It was rather plain but it was no doubt the turtle miraculous.

“I take it you are Wayzz’s new holder?” Cheshire questioned while standing up. The black cat didn’t want to give a hint to the trap she had set up.

“Oh um yeah, Luk- I mean Talon said I need to keep it close.” The turtle girl looked around her. She relaxed when Talon landed beside her. Looking at her Cheshire attempted to figure out just who stood before her. The black cat somewhat doubted that it was Juleka but then who else could it be? They knew who Talon was under the mask so they had to be someone close to the boy.

“No, it was Wayzz who made the recommendation of keeping a miraculous near you.” Talon responded as he found a comfortable place to sit down. “Hey Chesh, it is good to see you. I hope you have been well.” An awkward pause came over the roof while he waited for the cat to respond.

The black cat hero cursed slightly at having little human social skills. “I am doing okay.” Giving a shrug Cheshire extended her baton and leaned slightly on it. Ready to defend herself at a moment's notice. Still the turtle user’s identity had her confused so she decided to just ask. “So why is it so important that she keep a miraculous on her? Also, what do I call you?”

“You don’t recognize me?” The turtle questioned confused.

“Even if I knew you the magic of the miraculous would prevent me from connecting the dots.”

“Oh yeah,” Talon nodded as he seemed to remember something. “Xuppu gave the example of Jagged Stone having a miraculous and nobody would be able to recognize him on sight alone. Unless he did something to recognizable or something.”

“Oh, um, thanks for the knowledge? As for a hero name I guess you could me… Well I was based on a Pokémon so I guess I might as well stick with it. So please call me Drednaw.” The black haired girl gave a nod while wondering just what they were talking about. Based on a Pokémon? How could someone be based on a Pokémon? Not unless they were an Akuma or Amok? But as far as she was aware all of the Amoks were taken down. Right?

“Even with that hint you still don’t recognize her?” Talon questioned while Cheshire felt like she failed somehow. But how had she failed? How was she supposed to recognize someone using a miraculous?

“I’m sorry but it seems that the power of miraculous is getting in the way. I really don’t remember you.” Cheshire admitted as she attempted to wave off her mistake. “I’m sorry Drednaw.”

“It’s okay. We really only met once and it wasn’t even for that long.” Drednaw shake her hands in front of her. “Plus it wasn’t the best introduction. I mean I was helping Thunderbird attack you!” That sparked a memory. A memory of the night when her and Misterbug fought against the akumatized Sparrow and two Amoks. One of which was a red and black haired human girl…

“Oh, your Galarian right?” Cheshire questioned as she took another look. Looking she could somewhat see the girl she encountered from back then. Which of course raised the question. “Not to sound rube but…?” How was she alive? Why did Misterbug trust someone who Mayura could take control of in a second or even just snap out of existence with a miraculous?

“You really don’t remember?” Drednaw looked troubled while Talon placed a hand on her shoulder.

“Remember? Drednaw, Cheshire wasn’t there for the last battle?” Talon calmly stated while looking Drednaw in the eyes. Drednaw didn’t maintain eye contact for long and looked off to the side. The turtle girl mumbled a bit but Cheshire only caught a part of the apology.

“Last battle? Which battle are we talking about?” Canidog questioned as she landed on the roof as well. Bella wasn’t far behind her and landed a bit closer to the black cat hero.

“I’m guessing the battle against Thunderbird and Mayura,” The bull hero suggested while looking around the roof. “So who is the new turtle? They don’t look like Juleka.”

“You can call her Drednaw,” Cheshire informed the two new arrivals. “You will have to get the rest of the information yourself. Misterbug should be here soon. He said he wanted to ‘talk’ to me about something.”

“Ugh, really?” Canigirl questioned with a tired tone. “What does that annoying bug want to talk about? He better not try to take your miraculous or something else stupid!”

“Come on Cani,” Bella patted the shorter girl on the shoulder. “I doubt he is that DUMB.” Emphasizing the word to drive it home.

“The young guardian has his head on straight! Right Sass!” Roaar popped out from behind Bella.

“Indeed, I believe that thisss meeting isss to facilitate peace.” The green Kwami spoke while the other Kwami burst into talks among themselves.

“Peace with a cat?” Xuppu questioned while shooting close to Sass. “Is that even possible?

“I hope he doesn’t mind if we go first.” Talon took a look at Galarian who took a breath after speaking. “I mean he isn’t here so-”

“I’m sorry I’m late!” Misterbug’s voice called out as he arrived. Cheshire braced herself for whatever he had planned. “I had to get a few things… Did I go overboard?” The ladybug-themed hero questioned as he took in everyone’s looks. The blond shifted a bit as he attempted to keep the various items he brought balanced.

“You brought a balloon?” Bella questioned as she rubbed her head right under her hat.

“Forget the balloon! He brought a bouquet of flowers!” Canigirl gestured to the the bundle of white, pink, and blue flowers.

“Um, yes?” Misterbug awkwardly responded before his green eyes landed on Cheshire. “Here, for you! I mean they are all for you but um… Ziggy help!” The small goat Kwami peeked out from one of the bags. Seeing all the eyes on her though had the goat locking up and falling back into the bag.

“Oh, poor dear.” Kaalki cooed as she flew into the bag. Drednaw watched this happen and backed up to be once more near Talon taking comfort in his presence.

“I guess I’ll wait. This feels like the kinda thing that can’t wait.” The girl muttered to the boy who just nodded. Not that far away someone agreed though he didn’t voice it out loud. After all what villain wouldn’t love a good shitshow.

‘I’m so glad I brought snacks!’ Evilnator thought to himself. While bringing out some food to eat. Now how should he interrupt this little get-together? Ah, he’ll wait for a moment then improvise from there.

Chapter Text

Cheshire kept her face as calm as she could. Misterbug might have thrown her off with the balloon and little gift bags, but she wouldn’t be fooled. So with a determined mindset, the cat hero used her baton to rest on and hummed with a look. “So what did you do that you need a balloon and little gifts? What did you fall while swinging with your yoyo and land on someone's meal?”

“Nah, I would have definitely heard about something like that,” Bella waved it off with a smirk. “That kinda story would be front and center on the Wonderblog.”

“Plus the flowers,” Canigirl smirked at the blonde boy. “Did you ruin something with your girlfriend?”

“What? No to both of those things!” Misterbug looked aghast. “None of the flowers are romantic!”

“It’s true!” Pollen spoke up as she flew near the flowers floating around them. “White Tulips mean new beginnings and forgiveness. Blue hydrangeas mean a deep sense of remorse and a want to make amends. Last, a pink rose?” The bee kwami gave the boy a confused look at his last flower choice.

Misterbug laughed while he made to rub the back of his neck only to stop as some of his bags shifted. “I know, a bit odd, but I kinda wanted to show how grateful I was at being given this chance,” Pollen nodded to this while Cheshire just blinked. Was he serious? He couldn’t be right?

“So, who did you get this for?” Canigirl questioned with suspicion.

“I thought it would have been obvious,” Talon motioned towards Chehsire who moved her baton a bit.

“Wait really!” Bella looked excited and concerned. Mullo looked at Sass, who sat with Longg and Liiri near the edge of the group.

“Seems that way,” Trixx spoke up from on top of Cheshire’s head. “It will be interesting to see you beg and plead for forgiveness. I mean, how many times now has Cheshire offered you an olive branch only for you to spit on it?”

“Whose side are you on?” Roaar questioned with some fondness in her tone.

“I thought that was obvious,” Trixx smirked while pointing towards the one he was on top of. “I’m on my kit’s team.” This relaxed the girl somewhat but it was obvious that she was still ready for a fight.

“But what about the Order? Shouldn’t you side with us?” Xuppu questioned a bit offended at the thought of betrayal.

“I suppose that is a place to start.” Misterbug pulled everyone’s attention by clearing his throat. “Well, I suppose I should start with thanking you for what you did a few days ago. You know, with that whole Cat-something Wings of Liberation?” The ladybug user felt his nerves start getting to him.

“It was Catalyst,” Cheshire informed him with a straight face, giving away nothing.

“Yeah that. Well you know how you told me that it would destroy all curses and blessings?” Once more he waited for a response. But he never got one. “Well, one of the things you destroyed was my guardianship.”

“Your guardianship?” Drednaw questioned while looking towards Talon hoping that he would know something. Talon shook his head showing that he was as lost as her.

“She destroyed the guardianship?!” Roaar questioned in shock and slight horror. Trixx felt Cheshire stiffin a bit under him and was quick to float slightly to the side. Once he could touch her face the fox rubbed her face. Pollen was quick to do the same on her other side.

Seeing this Misterbug decided to push ahead. “Well, due to me being the last guardian, well… Since there were no more guardians the Order is no more.”

“There is no more Order?” Kaalki questioned as she poked her head out of one of the bags along with Ziggy. All the kwami except Sass and Mullo looked shocked by this news.

“Indeed, did you not feel it earlier?” Sass questioned which had the other kwami stopping for a second before breaking into more hushed talking.

“So that is what was felt earlier?” Longg questioned with a hum.

“Um, yeah, I guess?” Misterbug shrugged before coughing into his fist. “I just wanted to let you know that the Order is gone.”

“Well thank you?” Bella shook her head while letting Roaar fly off to start talking with the other kwami. “So what does this mean for us? Like are there going to be any negative consequences for the kwami or us?”

“Um, not that I know?” Misterbug once more went to rub his head, only to almost hit his face with the flowers. “Oh, right! Well these are for you!” Reaching out, Misterbug moved to give the flowers to Cheshire, only for her not to move. The girl just looked at him with narrowed eyes.

“Sorry but I am not going to be taking those.” The black cat hero scoffed. Who did he think she was? A fool? If she took those flowers then she would have to hold them and be down one hand. Meaning that when Misterbug and his allies attacked her she would be at a disadvantage.

Misterbug looked shocked at her not falling for his trick only for Longg to come between them. “If I may?” Both of them looked at the kwami who hummed. “Young miss, you are not taking them due to not wanting to hold them?”

“You don’t want to hold them?” Talon questioned while trying to think of the reason.

“It makes sense. If a battle were to break out then she would be down a hand.” Drednaw explained, to which the others nodded. Misterbug took a step back in shock.

“You didn’t mean harm, correct young sir?” Longg cut in before anyone could say anything else.

“NO!” Misterbug denied as much as he could. “I really do want to apologize!”

“Of course you do,” Canigirl drawled while looking towards Fluff who just seemed to be watching from where she was floating. “With there being no more Order you realized you wouldn’t be getting any backup so now you wanted to join the winning team.” The dog let out a small chuckle while smirking.

“What? No!” Misterbug once more attempted to deny the accusation. Cheshire didn’t say anything and just let things continue.

“Now, now, we need to discuss this in a calm manner,” Longg advised the two. Though it was mostly aimed towards Misterbug. Said hero took deep calm breaths. “Hatchling, you should take the flowers.” Cheshire shot a betrayed look towards the dragon kwami who gave him a small soft look.

“Kit, you just need to take the flowers not hold them.” Trixx pointed out while gesturing slightly towards her baton. Cheshire now understood what the kwami were saying. Turning slightly the girl looked at Misterbug.

“You can put the flowers down, I'll take them.”

“Put them down?” Misterbug questioned slightly but still moved forward and gently placed the flowers on the roof. After putting them down, he backed up slightly just as Cheshire’s baton shot out and stopped near the flowers. One end opened up and like a vacuum sucked up the flowers into the baton. Even though the bouquet looked like it would get stuck it was sucked into the baton. “Well, that was a bit unexpected.”

“I’ll say,” Bella muttered while Misterbug just looked towards the green-eyed girl who retracted the baton and once more leaned on it. “So what do you have in the rest of the bags?”

“Oh, right! The rest of the gifts!” Kneeling, Misterbug put the bags down. He hesitated for a moment before reaching into a bag and pulled out some books. “Sorry I just have some of the simple books and well…” With that he brought out a folder. “These are copies and pictures of a journal from one of the members of the old Order.”

Having some suspicions about what was in the folder Cheshire looked inside. “You got this from Marinette, didn’t you?” Sure enough, in the folder were the photocopies and pictures that Marinette had given to Fu.

“How did you know?” Misterbug questioned while everyone’s head seemed to snap towards her.

“I recognize them from the times I checked up on the girl,” Cheshire waved it off, while Trixx decided to add on to the story.

“Yup, I even got to meet the girl. She is without a doubt one of the sweetest girls I’ve met,” Trixx spoke up and Cheshire had to push Marinette back as the girl preened at the praise. Mullo, Kaalki, Liiri, and Longg were quick to jump in while Pollen decided to add more to it.

“She was supposed to be my original user!” The bee kwami informed the others with a glowing smile. “Oh, the two of us would have no doubt accomplished great things together!”

“Oh, without a doubt!” Mullo cheered with an excited nod.

“Um, Marinette?” Canigirl questioned with some hesitation.

“Oh yeah,” Bella smirked as she watched the dog girl squirm a bit. The bull hero was all for talking up her friend. Adding the chance to rub it in one of her bullies' faces only added to the experience. “In fact Misterbug here dropped off the miraculous box with her!”

“Is this Marinette, somewhat short with black hair and blue eyes?” Talon questioned as he walked a bit forward.

“Oh, you met her?” Bella questioned while Canigirl looked between everyone.

“Marinette Dupain Cheng? You guys are talking about that Marinette?” Canigirl questioned in shock.

“Yeah, I met her during the Jagged Akuma attack.”

“Oh yeah, I remember you were looking for her.”

“She let you look at her ancestor’s journal?” Misterbug questioned in a bit of shock.

“Yeah, it was a good thing she did. After all I wouldn’t be able to have deciphered the spell book Bella shared with me.”

“You have a spell book!” Canigirl questioned with confusion.

“No?” Bella Blue questioned with confusion.

“Wait, you chose Bella Blue as a name?” Cheshire blinked while looking towards the bull hero. “Well I guess it is alright? The Bella Blue I knew was the former peacock hero. I met her when she came looking for me to help her decipher the spell book.” The black haired girl explained while moving one of her hands around. “Thanks to having met with Marinette I recognized the symbols.”

“Wait, you and Marinette already translated the spell book?” Misterbug questioned while blinking towards the other hero.

“Yes, Marinette and I were able to translate the book. Sadly I wasn’t able to give the full translation to Bella.” Cheshire let out a somewhat sad sigh. Seeing the others giving her a look the girl explained. “I gave her a partial translation, and before you ask. No, I don’t know if Hawkmoth and Mayura were the ones to take her down. For all I know she could have died due to whatever sickness she was fighting at the time.”

“She was sick?” Misterbug questioned as he seemed to stumble a bit.

“Yeah, she had this really nasty cough,” Cheshire hummed while trying to figure out what had upset the boy. Wasn’t he just a moment ago trying to ‘apologize’? Why was he latched onto the former peacock user? Although as she remembered the former peacock user, Cheshire started to remember them. Bella’s flowing blonde hair, about the same shade of Misterbug’s hair, and her striking green eyes, just like Misterbug’s…

“I, it’s, it could,” Misterbug stuttered over himself while he raised a somewhat shaking hand. “When?”

“The last time I saw her was around the beginning of July,” Cheshire answered while she attempted to keep her emotions in check. Could Misterbug be…

“OH SHIT DID HE JUST GET PINK DIAMOND!” Someone called out with some excitement. Everyone’s head spun in the direction of the voice only for Cheshire to feel herself somewhat lock up. Sitting there on the ledge of the roof with a bag of trail mix was Evilnator. “Please tell me this is a Pink Diamond reveal!” The villain almost seemed to shake in anticipation before seeming to realize that everyone was looking at him. “Aw shit did I say those last bits out loud?”

“Evilnator!” Drednaw shouted while grabbing her shield. Talon was quick to move beside her while Canigirl and Bella stumbled a bit, grabbing their weapons. Cheshire was quick to launch herself at the man, having been ready for a fight.

“Whoa! Whoa!” The black villain raised his hands in a gesture of peace. “I didn’t come here to fight!” While he said this he didn’t move. Just like back in New York an invisible barrier stopped the cat hero from hitting the leader of the League of Evil.

“Then what are you doing here?” Cheshire demanded while she withdrew her baton and began pacing near his barrier.

“And what do you mean by Pink Diamond?” Talon questioned as he and Drednaw walked a bit behind Cheshire. Ready to support her at a moment's notice.

“I mean that his mom was the artist formerly known as the former Bella Blue,” Evilnator spoke as he put his trail mix away in a pocket. Despite being surrounded, the man appeared unconcerned. “Tell me I’m wrong.”

“It matches up.” Misterbug quietly spoke while trying to use his yo-yo. Unfortunately, his hands were shaking too much to properly use it. “But that would mean…”

“That Mayura and Hawkmoth most likely attacked your mom and stole her spell book?” Pollen questioned as she attempted to comfort the boy.

“That Hawkmoth might be my father.” Everyone turned to look at the chosen of Tikki who looked down at his hands.

“Well, aren’t you just a landmine of references?” Evilnator joked while his shoulder shook in suppressed laughter. “I mean here I was thinking that I would come here and be the biggest reveal, but you just come out here with the parent reveals!”

“And just what are you doing here?” Bella demanded while she pointed her somewhat shaking warhammer at him.

“I mean is now really the time? I mean, it looks like the boy over there is having a breakdown.” Evilnator pointed out, while Misterbug took in a deep breath before clenching his fists. “You really shouldn’t do that. Pushing things down will make things worse in the long term.”

“What do you want?” Misterbug added to the questions which got the group of miraculous users a huff.

“Fine, fine, I suppose we can talk. Children really,” Evilnator moved a bit readjusting so that he was sitting somewhat straighter. “I suppose I should start this with a somewhat simple question. Are any of you older than sixteen?” Most of the miraculous users shifted while Canigirl and Talon tightened up. “So only two of you, nice to know.”

“I mean I think I might be older than sixteen,” Drednaw muttered out loud while shifting a bit.

“Weren’t you created like less than five days ago?” Bella questioned while Talon glanced back towards the senti-being.

“ANYWAY, I just wanted to confirm that all of you are kids and I really don’t want the reputation of fighting kids,” Evilnator called the attention back onto him.

“You say that yet if anyone could have brought all the villains here, it could only have been you!” Bella shouted out with both fear and… excitement? Cheshire could somewhat understand her friend's excitement. After all Evilnator was sometimes considered to be Majestia’s arch-enemy.

“True, and it is also true I may have brought a few of them with me. But you can trust me when I say that things got way out of hand.” Cheshire cast a quick look at Talon and Drednaw.

“I can somewhat believe that,” Drednaw spoke as she somewhat took the lead. “You are known for your… dramatics and yet throughout that whole ordeal you didn’t make one appearance.”

“Well, you caught on quicker than Majestia,” The man spoke while chuckling. “Now there seems to be a LOT to go over so how about we form some type of order to go in?”

“You're willing to wait your turn?” Cheshire questioned while Canigirl took the spot left by Drednaw.

“I was rather enjoying the entertainment. So yes I am willing to wait.” Evilnator shrugged before bringing his trail mix back out. “Now, back to your guy's little soap opera. Unless you would rather tackle what is wrong with miss copyright infringement.” The group of miraculous holders looked at each other before Misterbug coughed into his fist.

“So, do I finish?” The blonde questioned while looking towards the others.

“I suppose we should finish that before moving to the next topic.” Cheshire moved a bit more back while glancing towards Trixx, who was on her shoulder. “Trixx, can you please keep an eye on Mr Evil. Make sure he isn’t doing anything.”

“Sure thing, kit!” With that the fox flew a bit before gesturing towards Xuppu. “Come on monkey. Between the two of us we should be able to keep this guy under control.” With that the miraculous holder looked back towards Misterbug. Said boy seemed to be trying to gather himself so he could speak again.

Cheshire attempted to give him her full attention, but it was rather hard. Still though she would try her best. The hero felt her stomach turn as this whole situation attempted to sink in. But she couldn’t let anything hinder her, not now. So with a deep breath, she refocused back onto Misterbug’s ‘apology’.