What if all of the Sapotis didn't fall for the illusion of an amusement park?
Sapotis are Suspicious
Chapter 1: Sapotiland
"Hear ye, hear ye!" said Ladybug, riding around on a rickshaw and shouting through a traffic cone as a megaphone. "Sapotiland, the amusement of the future is about to open! Mischief of all kinds are committed in Sapotiland! All-you-can-eat dessert! Fountains of orange juice! Big-kids movies and video games!"
"All right, Rena Rouge! Time to use your power!" said Chat Noir.
Rena stood up from where she had been taping small rakes to a unicycle wheel, part of the elaborate trap Ladybug had planned.
"I've never tried it. I hope it works," said Rena Rouge. She was nervous on her first adventure, afraid of messing up and never getting an amazing chance like this again.
"Just think of the illusion you want to create," said Chat. "Stay focused!"
Rena Rouge played her flute and a ball of energy formed at the tip. She flung the ball into the distance and shouted, "Mirage!"
A realistic illusion of a giant amusement park formed, just as Rena had pictured it in her mind.
"Awesome!" said Rena Rouge. She gasped when she heard a beep from her Miraculous. "My necklace is flashing. Um, that's mean I'm going to change back soon, right?"
"Yeah," said Chat. "But it's okay if I see who you are. I can keep a secret."
"Naughty kitty. You know very well that our identities must be remain secret," said Rena Rouge.
"Good job. You're a fast learner," said Chat Noir.
Rena Rouge did a secret handshake with Chat. "If you need any superhero tips, you know where to come."
Chat Noir said, "Mmm hmm."
Ladybug said to the Sapotis, "Follow me, and I'll take you to Sapotis Land! Where there's no bedtime! Where everything goes!"
"Sapotiland!" shouted the Sapotis in unison.
The rickshaw got stuck in an alley between two buildings. Ladybug left it and charged ahead.
"Sapotiland!" shouted the Sapotis again, climbing around the rickshaw.
Hawk Moth sent through his mental link, "No! Wait! Don't go there! Ladybug is trying to trap you!"
The Sapotis weren't listening. He would have to be more subtle.
Hawk Moth sent, "Some of you hold back so you can see if it's a trap. If nothing bad happens, you can go on and enjoy Sapotiland."
This message had the strongest effect on the two original Sapotis, Ella and Etta. They decided to take heed, and wait for a minute before joining the others in the alley, just to be sure.
"Phase two, Cat Noir! Now!" said Ladybug.
Chat Noir put his baton into the unicycle to form an axle.
"Step right up! Step right up! The Sapotis get in for free!" said Ladybug.
"All the Sapotis are in the alley! Phase three!" said Chat Noir.
(He missed the two Sapotis that didn't join the others.)
Rena Rouge asked, "Is this really going to work?"
Chat Noir said, "Oh, don't worry. Sometimes it's more absurd than this!"
He jumped down and put the unicycle into the alley, bracing it with his baton at just the right height.
"Your turn, Ladybug!"
Ladybug braced her legs against the alley wall and used her yo-yo to spin the unicycle wheel. As the Sapotis rand under it, the rakes hit the beanies of the little monsters and flipped them up into the air, where Chat Noir and Rena Rouge caught them and dumped them into a large trash bin.
Rena's illusion timed out and vanished. The Sapotis blinked and stared in surprise.
"We got all the hats, Ladybug!" called Rena Rouge.
"Cataclysm!" said Chat Noir.
He destroyed the trash bin and all the hats inside. Every Sapoti in the alley vanished.
"What?" said Ladybug. "Where are the two originals?"
From the distance came the shrill laughter of a couple of Sapotis running off.
"They avoided the trap!" said Rena Rouge. "My sis- my system of super-heroic adventuring has gone wrong! Now I'm about to time out and I won't be able to help you anymore."
Chat Noir said, "I am too, since I used my major power."
Ladybug leaped up to the roof to join them. "I'm timing out, too. We just have to take a break and feed our kwamis."
"But what does my... kwami... eat?" asked Rena Rouge.
"I'm sure she'll tell you, rather loudly, when you detransform," said Chat. "Mine eats cheese, and Camembert is his favorite."
"Mine likes chocolate chip cookies," said Ladybug. "But we have to hurry and get off this roof before time's up. We'll meet back here when our kwamis are recharged."
Alya talked to Trixx about her eating habits after she detransformed in a secure place.
"I love fruit, especially grapes," said Trixx. "But not sour grapes... foxes hate those!"
"But... I ran out without any money, and we're pretty far from home."
"Don't worry, just take me to a market and I'll steal something."
"What if someone sees you?"
"Foxes are experts at stealing without getting caught."
Alya found a nearby Monoprix. (This was a chain store with food, fashions, and other goods, the French equivalent of a Target). She wandered nervously in the produce section while Trixx fed.
There was a commotion on a nearby aisle that offered honey and jam.
"What is that?" said Alya to herself.
Hordes of Sapotis came swarming out. They spread out through the food section, eating and doubling as they went. Some headed to the fashion section to play dress-up. Others damaged the merchandise in mischievous play.
Alya fled with Trixx. She was tempted to transform again, but she knew she would be quickly overwhelmed and stripped of her borrowed Miraculous if she didn't work with the others.
"Are you ready, Trixx?"
"I could have used more of the red seedless, but I have enough energy for you now," said Trixx.
"Trixx, let's pounce!" said Alya. (She still didn't know the phrase to detransform – she had simply timed out.)
Rena Rouge bounded back to join the others. At the rate the Sapotis were eating and reproducing, there might soon be no food left in Paris... nothing for the people to eat and no way for the kwamis to recharge.