Chapter 1: Mysterious notes
Author's note: For those who don't know who the Quantic kids are, I'll explain as best as I can but you should look it up for yourself, it wouldn't take you long. The Quantic kids were part of the original concept of Miraculous Ladybug where there was an entire team of heroes and Chat Noir was a boy named Felix instead of Adrien, the other heroes were Melody, Mercury and Sparrow, who was later changed to Kid Mime when the creators like the idea of Mr. Mime, but the other three heroes were eventually scrapped and Felix was replaced by Adrien because he didn't have a good personality. Anyway, looking at some of the original concept art of the Quantic team, myself and a few others have noticed that Melody and Mercury might have been the inspiration for Chloe and Nino in some way, and though Kid Mime doesn't seem to have a counter part in the show, I ask some people and his place has been taken by Nathanael.
The story will also borrow heavily from the cartoon, Code Lyoko, but I'll try my best to explain everything, so you don't have to have watched it to read this story. Though you should watch Code Lyoko if you haven't.
This is only going to be a tester chapter to see how people respond to the story and whether I can write chapters on a constant basis. So, don't expect any updates for a while.
Marinette lay asleep in her bed, tossing and turning slightly from the disjointed dream she was having.
In her dream, she was running, running across an impossible landscape even though she wasn't able to tell what the landscape was. She was running alongside some other figures but she couldn't tell who they were or what they looked like.
"We're almost to the tower." A familiar voice came from one of the figures, but she couldn't put the voice to a face.
Everything then suddenly changed and she was suddenly in a different yet similar landscape, fighting something that was blasting lasers at her, but she knew that it wasn't because she was Ladybug, and she was using the blade in her hand to block the lasers, she then threw her blade and it lodged in the thing firing at her which then exploded into something.
"Come on!" She heard herself shout in the same tone she used for Ladybug.
Everything then changed again, and she was somewhere else, the college.
"Look out!" She heard herself shout.
She dove at someone and knocked them out the way of an incoming desk. She then got to her feet, pulling the person with her, and they ran as another desk came at them.
"We need to get to the…" The person she had saved said, the last part being left out of her dream.
Then she was running again, the person right behind her, through a place she knew was still Paris. didn't quite recognise it.
But there was something behind them, something which was gaining fast. They both dove in different directions to avoid getting hit.
"Marinette!" The other person shouted at her.
"…!" She heard herself shout a name in return, but she couldn't make it out.
She then looked up to see something looming over her. It was just an ordinary person, but something was wrong with them.
"Marinette!" The person shouted again.
All of them seemed wrong, but it was the eyes in particular that were wrong.
"Marinette!"
In the eyes, instead of the pupil and iris, there was a black symbol.
"Marinette!"
A symbol that sort of looked like an eye.
"Marinette!"
Marinette cried as she shot awake, her heart beating quickly from her abrupt awakening.
Above her, Tikki sighed in relief as she finally managed to wake Marinette up.
"Tikki?" Marinette questioned once she got her bearing. "What's wrong?"
"You were tossing and turning a lot in your sleep." Tikki explained. "What were you dreaming about?"
Marinette tried to recall her dream, but it had already faded from her memory.
"I can't remember." She said.
Marinette then looked at her phone and her eyes widened at the time.
"Ah! I'm going to be late!" She shouted as she sprung from her bed, almost falling down the ladder.
"Yeah, that why I tried to get you up in the first place." Tikki said.
Marinette hurriedly pulled on her day clothes, brushed her hair into her usual pigtails, ignoring the small nag that they should be longer for some reason, made sure she had everything, and then ran downstairs. As she ran through the kitchen, her mother held up a plate with a slice of buttered toast on it, not looking up from the paper she was reading, and Marinette snatched the toast off the plate as she ran past.
"Thanks, mama!" She called behind her.
Marinette then raced out the door with the toast in her mouth as she made her way to college. Thankfully, for her, the bakery was right next door to the college.
As she ran through the front entrance, a person watched her go, a strange look in their eye. Once she was gone from sight, they then turned and walked off.
By the time class was close to ending, Marinette was struggling not to fall asleep and she struggled through her work.
"Rough night, huh?" Alya asked.
Marinette quietly moaned in response.
"Nightmares?" Ayla asked.
Marinette shrugged.
"I can't remember." She replied. "But whatever it was, it didn't allow me much rest."
"Well, at least you're not the only one looking like death warmed over. A good chunk of the class looks ready to fall asleep." Alya said. "Nino looked like he got as much sleep as you."
Marinette looked over at Nino, she couldn't see much from her position but she did see he was slouched over with his head occasionally dipping.
"I think Adrien mentioned a photo shoot that kept him up late last night to Nino."
Marinette did remember Adrien looking a bit tired when she walked past him.
"And Miss Beauty Queen looks like she's wearing more make-up than her usual case-full to hide the bags under her eyes." Alya pointed out.
Marinette looked over at Chloe and saw the blond was wearing more make-up than usual and was slouched as well.
"And if you look behind us, I think Nathanael is officially dead to the world." Alya indicated behind her with her thumb to where Nathanael was sleeping with his head on his desk, taking advantage of Ivan's large form to not get spotted by the teacher.
'Strange.' Marinette thought.
The bell eventually rang and Marinette sighed in relief.
"I am spending my lunch asleep at home." She expressed her plans to Alya as they walked out the college.
"Just try not to oversleep and be late again." Alya teased.
"I will." Marinette answered back.
Then, someone barged passed Marinette, knocking her to the side.
"Hey!" Marinette shouted back at the person, but they continued on as if they hadn't heard. "Rude." She said.
The person, wearing a hoody that hid their face, also knocked into Chloe, Nathanael and Nino, still not stopping.
"I'll get you for this!" Chloe promised her wrath. "Sabrina find out who that person is and get them charged for assault." She told her lackey.
Nathanael said nothing, picking up the sketchbook he had dropped when he'd been shoved into.
"Dude, there's plenty of pavement!" Nino said as he was knocked into.
But the person kept walking and disappeared around the corner, and when Sabrina tried to find them to carry out Chloe's order he was nowhere to be found.
Marinette sighed when she made it to her room, intent on climbing up to her bed and having a nap.
"Marinette, wait!" Tikki said, flying out of her purse.
"What?" Marinette asked.
"Someone dropped this in here." Tikki brought out a small letter from the purse.
"When?" Marinette asked as she took the letter.
"When you got shoved into." Tikki said.
"That explains why the guy was shoving past people when there was plenty of room." Marinette mumbled to herself.
Marinette opened the letter and read it.
'You've been having dreams lately, of an impossible world that you can't quite remember and fighting alongside others like you. But the explanation remains out of your grasp, you're being forced to constantly forget.'
Marinette's eyes widened, suddenly remembering parts of her dream, and that she'd been having these dreams for nearly a week without even remembering. But how did this person know?
'I can offer you an explanation, allow you to remember what was, but no longer is. Come to the abandoned factory on Abel Street at 5:30PM, and don't tell anyone. I realise you have no reason to trust me, Arachne, but you know you can.
Gardien'
"Gardien? Why does that name sound so familiar?" Marinette asked herself. "And did they call me Arachne, as in spider?"
Marinette moaned in frustration, everything felt like it was making sense, but she couldn't understand why. She felt like she knew this Gardien, and being called Arachne felt right, but she didn't know why.
"I need to go and get answers." Marinette said. "Why'd the time have to be so far off?"
"Are you sure you want to go?" Tikki asked. "What if they're someone dangerous?"
"I can't tell why Tikki, but I know it will be alright." Marinette said.
The following hours were agony for Marinette as she waited for the time specified in the letter, she could barely pay attention during afternoon classes because her mind was still trying to make sense of everything and she had to constantly reassure Alya that she was fine. After college had let out for the day she busied herself with designing, but each of her designs kept coming out weird, looking like they could belong on an Akuma, and they also gave her a sense of familiarity that she couldn't explain.
Then, finally, it was 5:15 and Marinette set out to find the abandoned factory mentioned in the letter.
It was weird. Marinette didn't know any specific factories, let alone abandoned factories, in the area, and she hadn't looked any up on the internet, at yet it felt like she knew exactly where she was going, like going to the Eiffel tower without having to think about it. After fifteen minutes of walking, and no wrong turns or backtracking, Marinette arrived at a decrepit factory on an island in the Seine, a bridge leading over the water to where the factory lay.
Near the start of the bridge there was a man-hole cover that led to the sewers, and for some absurd reason Marinette felt like she should be arriving through that instead of walking her way through the streets of Paris.
Marinette walked across the bridge and into the factory through the, surprisingly, open doors, awash with the feeling of familiarity. Inside, there was a small platform inside with stairs to the side leading down to the factory floor, but there were also long chains in front of the platform that led from the ceiling to the factory floor, and despite the stairs being the safer option Marinette grabbed one of the chains and slid down it.
Marinette grinned when she reached the floor, feeling adrenaline similar to when she swung around Paris as Ladybug.
"Hello?" Marinette called out as she looked around for the mysterious 'Gardien'.
The factory was bare, the only thing of note was a lift in the middle of the room that didn't work when Marinette pressed the button, which was to be expected since the factory was abandoned.
"Hello?" She called again.
"Marinette, is that you?"
Marinette turned to see Nino, walking towards her from the depths of the factory.
"Nino? Why are you here?" Marinette asked.
"I got a note." Nino answered.
"So did I." Marinette said. "From a person calling themselves 'Gardien'?"
"Yeah." Nino answered. "I arrived a few minutes ago and went exploring, but I couldn't find anything or anyone."
"What are you two doing here?"
Marinette and Nino looked up to see Chloe standing at the entrance to the factory, looking very unhappy to be in such a dirty place with people she didn't like.
"I'm guessing you got a note too." Marinette guessed.
"Why would the same person who wanted to talk to me, want to talk to you?" Chloe said rudely.
Chloe looked like she wanted to take the chain down to the floor like Marinette had, but took the stairs instead. As she walked, Chloe got one last glimpse out of the factory door, and caught sight of someone else walking down the bridge.
"Or him for that matter." She said, continuing down the steps to the floor, pointing at the door.
Marinette and Nino looked up to the door and a few seconds later they spotted Nathanael coming through it.
"Oh, sorry." Nathanael apologised when he saw them. "I got a note telling me to come here."
"Relax, dude." Nino told him. "We all got notes too."
Nino and Marinette took out their notes and showed them for effect.
Like Chloe, Nathanael looked tempted to take the chain to the floor, but ultimately took the steps.
"Well, this is an odd gathering." Marinette commented as she took in who was there. "Do you think anyone else is coming?"
"No." Nathanael answered, he then faltered. "Yes…I'm confused."
"We all are." Nino said.
"Whoever called me here better show up right now and have a good explanation, or I'm calling my daddy." Chloe complained.
"You know, I'd forgotten how bad you were before." A voice said. "Actually, I think you're worse."
The four of them turned to see a boy, slightly older looking than them, suddenly standing near the lift. At the sight of him, three of them were overcome with the feeling that they knew this boy despite knowing they'd never seen him before, while the other person really did know him.
"Felix?" Chloe asked, looking the boy up and down.
"Who?" Marinette asked.
"I thought you knew everything about Adrien." Chloe gave her a teasing sneer. "This is his cousin."
Marinette, Nino and Nathanael looked at Felix again, they could see the similarities to Adrien, but also the many differences.
"So, Felix." Marinette said unsurely. "Are you the one who sent the notes?"
"I am." Felix said, a strange look in his eye when he looked at Marinette.
"Why?" Nino asked. "We don't even know you."
"You don't now, but you did once." Felix answered, slightly wistful. "In a time that no longer exists."
Everyone gave him confused looks. And Felix gave them a small, knowing smile in return.
"You've been getting these feelings lately, of déjà vu. Probably on your way to this very factory." Felix didn't phrase it like a question, he knew what they had been feeling. "Perhaps even dreams that appear vague and nonsensical."
The four classmates looked to each other with confusion, realising Felix had been talking to all of them and that they had all been experiencing the same thing.
"How…" Chloe and Marinette started, and then trailed off when they didn't know how to phrase their question.
"I admit, it has been partly my fault." Felix continued. "I managed to remember, and that seemed to get your memories to start surfacing as well, but at too slow a rate."
"What are you talking about?" Chloe demanded. "You're making no sense, Felix!"
"It's hard to explain, but you've all forgotten an entire year, reliving it differently than you did." Felix said, making no sense.
"That's it, I'm leaving." Chloe said, frustrated with Felix's, seemingly, nonsensical rambles.
Chloe then turned to leave.
"Maybe this will help you understand." Felix said. "Sparrow."
Nathanael's head shot up.
"Mercury."
Nino's eyes widened.
"Melodie."
Chloe whipped around to look at Felix.
"Arachne."
Marinette was startled by the familiar name.
"The Quantic is ready for its warriors." Felix finished.
At first nothing happened, leaving the four classmates confused. But then was the feeling of something shifting and falling free in their minds, and the memories came flooding in. The sudden memories were so intense, that they all fell to the ground gripping their heads, their senses overwhelmed.
"Ah! Make it stop!" Nathanael cried in pain.
Marinette, Chloe and Nino gave similar cries of pain.
"Don't fight them, let the memories wash over you." They barely registered Felix's advice.
Marinette got a last look at Felix walking over to them before it all finally became too much as she blacked out, the others seconds behind her.
Author's note: And there you go, the first tester chapter. Please tell me what I can improve and change to make it better for what I start writing this on a regular basis.
The story is going to follow that of Code Lyoko with these characters and a few changes. I already know what the first half of the backstory will be, but I don't know what I should do for the second half, which is where XANA escapes the supercomputer.
The first idea is to continue following the plot of Code Lyoko, where the warriors battle XANA in the real world in upgraded forms, but on a far more public scale. And the second idea is that when XANA escapes the supercomputer, Hawkmoth emerges not long after, and then XANA finds Hawkmoth and takes him over for a host body, using the Butterfly Miraculous on top of its own power to cause destruction, and to fight the XANA-fied Hawkmoth, Master Fu gives out all of the Miraculous to the warriors.
And no matter which idea I choose, it will end in a 'return to the past' so powerful, that time goes back over a year and even the warrior's memories are wiped clean, leaving them not remembering the supercomputer and resetting them back to how they were before discovering it.
