Chapter Two

Alya froze, staring at her dull-eyed best friend, shocked by the simple implication in her words - an implication that was only confirmed as the little black kwami's - Plagg's - luminous green eyes filled with tears. "My brave, idiotic boy," he mumbled, quickly brushing them away.

"So hang on. Hawkmoth is Gabriel Agreste. And Chat Noir… is Adrien?" she asked weakly.

Plagg nodded miserably. "Now you see why Hawkmoth thought he could turn him, huh."

"Yeah, but Adrien is Chat Noir?! Marinette, how are you not freaking out right now!?"

The sharp, bitter bark of laughter that exploded from Marinette's mouth startled the young reporter into silence. "Both the boys I love turn out to be the same person and also happen to be on the run from a maniacal supervillain who also happens to be his father? Do you really think this is the best time for me to freak out?" she spat.

Alya blinked at her BFF. Opened her mouth to speak, closed it, and tried again. "Both the boys you love? Since when… have you had feelings for Chat Noir?"

Marinette blinked back at her, eyes widening as she seemed to realize what she'd said for the first time. Then her gaze dropped to an even wider-eyed Plagg, staring up at her with his mouth hanging open and managed a weak smile. "I'm sorry," she whispered, tears trembling in the corners of her eyes. "I wanted to tell them - him - but I… I was still so confused. How could I feel so strongly about two different people? But I guess it all makes sense now."

Alya's heart felt like it was in a vice. All that pain in her BFF's eyes… She almost didn't even care that she hadn't told her about her feelings for Chat Noir.

Almost. But that could be addressed later.

Without a word, she dropped onto her knees in front of her friend and wrapped her arms around her, pulling her into a tight embrace. Marinette stiffened for just a second, then she broke down sobbing, clutching at Alya's shirt with her free hand, sliding from her chair and hitting her knees roughly on the wooden floor. Alya was vaguely aware that Plagg had also flown from Marinette's hand and was now nuzzling her cheek much like a regular house cat, and that she had also raised her hand to cup her palm around him, holding him close, giving each other comfort to the best of their ability.

Alya didn't know how long they remained there - Minutes? Hours? - but eventually Marinette drew away, her blue eyes bright and almost flinty with a newfound determination.

"Mari?" Alya frowned as the ravenette rose shakily to her feet and walked with a purposeful stride to her bed, climbing up to rip Adrien's - Chat's - note out of her sketchbook and to grab the black Miraculous box and Camembert wheel. Then she paused, staring at a third item lying where her pillow had been. Plagg floated up to join her, his head cocked curiously to one side.

"He left that, too? I don't think I've seen him without it since you gave it to him. Not even once," Plagg murmured, obviously surprised as he floated over to the object. "I guess he didn't want to risk having anything on him that might connect you to him."

"I see," Marinette choked back, gathering up the item in one fist and pressing that fist to her lips. She managed a deep, shuddering breath, then turned back towards a bemused Alya, tucking it into her pocket before she could see it.

The journalist wanted to ask her what the item was, but somehow, it just didn't feel right.

"Grab your stuff. We're leaving," Marinette managed briskly, shoving the gifts into her backpack and striding to her closet, where she rummaged around for a while.

"Leaving? Leaving to where?" Alya frowned, snatching up her backpack as Marinette walked out clutching a length of leather cord, probably leftover from an old sewing project.

"To see a friend."

Alya watched curiously as Marinette strung Chat Noir's ring onto the piece of leather, then tied the ends and slipped the impromptu necklace over her head, tucking her new, very special pendant underneath her shirt. "Okay, what kind of friend?"

"Plagg, you can hide in my purse, okay?"

"Yeah, sure," he nodded, zipping into the open clutch. Alya frowned when she heard a surprised little mew from the cat-kwami, but Marinette snapped her purse closed before she could guess why.

"Marinette? You haven't answered my question."

"I can't tell you that here. Come on," she beckoned, heading to her trapdoor.

"Okay…" Alya frowned, but followed. What had she meant by that?

"Hm? Where are you girls off to now?" Marinette's mother frowned as the two girls slipped around the counter once again.

Before Alya could even open her mouth, Marinette spun back towards her mother with a bright smile that didn't reach her eyes and declared, "To the library, Maman. We forgot some materials that we need for our literature class."

"Oh dear," Mme. Cheng clicked her tongue. "You've been so forgetful these days! Do hurry back, dear. And try to stay dry!"

"No promises!" Marinette smiled back, snatching her raincoat from the rack and her umbrella from the corner.

"Uh. We'll see you later, Sabine!" Alya called, hurrying to follow suit. Since when had Marinette been such a little actress?

"Alya, can you do me a favor?" Marinette called through the rain, pulling her phone out of her purse and beginning to type something that she couldn't see.

"Sure, what do you need?" Alya replied, hurrying to keep up with her, bewildered by the calm, calculating look in her friend's eyes.

"Text Chloe this address and ask her to meet you there as soon as possible. If she asks, tell her that Adrien's in trouble, and if she still asks, tell her it's a request from Ladybug. She'll believe you before she believes me."

"Say what?"

"Just do it!"

A strange sense of unease began to settle in Alya's chest as Marinette forged ahead through the rain, dodging other pedestrians scrambling to get indoors. Was Marinette really this desperate to save Chat? Adrien, rather? Actually given that little detail, that was kind of a no-brainer. But why would she want Chloe? Could it have to do with her known connections to Ladybug as Queen Bee? In that case, it was extremely tempting to just tell Marinette that she was in fact Rena Rouge. If anyone could find Ladybug, she could.

Her brow furrowed as Marinette handed her phone back for Alya to see what she'd written in another text to Nino of all people. In it was a quick message requesting that he meet them at an address she'd never seen before as soon as possible, and that it was about Adrien. She hadn't mentioned anything about him being in trouble, but then again, Nino probably didn't need any extra motivation.

But… Nino was Carapace. She was Rena Rouge. And Chloe was Queen Bee. Of course everyone knew about Chloe, but only she, Ladybug, and Nino knew who bore the Turtle and Fox Miraculouses. Could it really just be sheer coincidence that Marinette was gathering the three of them now?

Hesitantly, Alya copied the address into a new message on her own phone and sent it to Chloe, along with the bit about Adrien being in trouble. She got a response surprisingly quickly, promising that the spoiled mayor's daughter would be there in fifteen. About the same time, Marinette's phone buzzed with a response from Nino, predicting a similar ETA.

Within about five minutes, Marinette and Alya had reached their destination themselves: what appeared to be a little home medicine shop decorated with Chinese lanterns and characters. Marinette marched inside without the slightest hesitation, closed her umbrella, tossed it aside, and threw open the sliding door that led to what Alya could only assume was the main office.

"Master Fu!" she called, kicking off her shoes. "Master Fu, there's an emergency!"

"Marinette!" Alya hissed after her, scrambling into the room as well after hastily setting aside her own things. "What are you doing, nobody can know -"

"Marinette?" a wizened voice called curiously, as an old Chinese man stepped out of a back room, his shoulders slightly hunched, tugging at a gray goatee, his brows creased with concern. Alya blinked at him, a little bewildered. After all, how many old Chinese medicine men wore cherry red Hawaiian shirts? "Oh! I see you've brought a friend!"

"Master, I'm sorry, but I think it's time," Marinette said quietly.

"Oh? Time for what, Marinette?"

"Time to tell the team about everything. Chat Noir has been compromised, but he was able to leave us one last message," she explained, putting down her backpack and pulling out Chat Noir's note.

Alya stared, flabbergasted, as her evidently insane BFF handed the piece of paper off to the old man, which he accepted with a deep frown. As he read it, his eyes widened sharply.

"Well, this is most certainly an unexpected turn of events," he murmured, stroking his beard. "Under the circumstances, Marinette, I think that you are right. Can you contact the others?"

"I already have. They should be here any minute."

"Okay, can someone please explain to me what's going on?" Alya snapped, unable to ignore her reporter's need for information any longer.

Marinette and 'Master Fu' exchanged glances, then the latter of the two shrugged, smiling slightly. Marinette sighed, then reached down and snapped open her purse. "Alright you two. Come out."

Two?

Plagg shot out of the purse almost instantly, flying straight to Master Fu and begging to know if there was a plan in the works to save his boy. That in and of itself was shocking, but Alya's attention was seized by a second pair of luminous eyes - blue this time - peeking out of Marinette's clutch, followed by a cherry red body with black spots.

Or rather, a ladybug red body.

The kwami smiled sadly at her, perching on Marinette's shoulder as she went. "Hello, Alya," she murmured in a soft, almost squeaky voice. "I'm sorry that we have to meet this way, but it is nice to finally talk to you."

Alya stared at the undeniably ladybug-themed kwami for about ten seconds.

Then she screamed bloody murder.