"You're very mistaken if you think that arranging grey tones in a classy fashion is an easy feat," Félix said and crossed his arms. It had just rained and the lingering humidity made him uncomfortable, though it was no use, as Adrien had still not returned. During that same rain shower, an Akuma attack had taken place and even though Marinette had stumbled into the chemistry lab ten minutes before the class ended, his brother had yet to return. If he had to guess, he'd say that Plagg was being a pain again when it came to eating Camembert.
Nino had agreed to wait with him for Adrien and for some reason, that had kickstarted a discussion about Félix's personal clothing habits.
"I'm just saying, dude. You're not helping your doom and gloom act any if you also dress like it."
A heavy sigh tore itself from his lips and nothing more. There was no reason to try and convince Nino that 'doom and gloom', as he had called it, was a quite suitable look for him.
"Hey guys!" That voice clearly belonged to his brother. And not just that, but Adrien was making quite a show of being out of breath after a sprint.
"Too late, dude. School's out already," Nino said and Adrien straightened again.
"Oh, damn it," he said and ran a hand through his hair. He opened his mouth, probably to explain his absence, when he was interrupted by Marinette who, in typical Marinette-fashion, tripped over something on the stairs and fell directly into Adrien's arms. Now, that was some development. Although probably an unintentional one.
Ever since the 'Ladrien incident', as Plagg had dubbed it, there had been some very subtle flirtation from her part. Sadly, it was too subtle, so it flew right over Adrien's head. He understood that she might not be brave enough to outright flirt with him in public, but at this rate it would take at least a decade until anything changed between them. Watching her try and fail was even more painful than watching them both be oblivious.
In any case, Marinette looked quite nervous.
"Everything okay? Nothing broken?" Adrien joked though he seemed a little flustered himself.
"Yeah…I'm fine," Marinette said as she was pulled up to her legs again.
"Hey Nette, can you solve a dispute for us?"
"A dispute?" Adrien and Marinette asked at the same time.
"Jinxed," Alya, who had just joined them, snickered.
"Yeah. Félix here thinks that grey tones are fashionable."
Félix couldn't help but stare at Nino in disbelief. "I wasn't aware that our conversation was actually a dispute."
"Uh, well, they are fashionable when put together correctly," Marinette stammered and only now did Félix notice that she was not only nervous, but also seemed to be distracted.
"I'm sorry, but I, uh, have to go. There's…uh…something I need to do. See you!"
And with that she was off.
Something wasn't right, and one look at Adrien confirmed that he had noticed it too. This wasn't just nervous anxiety. Félix smelled fear.
What was wrong? The Akuma attack was already over, so there currently shouldn't be any life-threatening dangers that she was aware of. Unless…
Félix witnessed an own short moment of fear when the possibility that Marinette could have found out about the Court ran through his head.
"What's this?" As soon as the fear struck, it dissipated again and was replaced with a whole other kind of terror. There, not three metres away from him, Chloé was in the process of climbing into her limo while she held a small…red…creature…
He sensed Marinette's fear spike too and a short glance told him that she had just noticed that her purse was empty.
If there had ever been a code red, then this was it. He couldn't just go up to Chloé and demand Tikki back without alarming Marinette. And he also couldn't let Marinette go forward to do the same because that would let Chloé draw a connection between Marinette and this obviously magical creature.
What do?
At that moment, several things happened at once. One, Marinette saw that Chloé had Tikki. Two, a crying Rose ran away—oh right, he had heard a commotion with Chloé a few minutes ago but hadn't paid it any attention. Three, the limo started rolling. Four, Adrien looked seconds away from pouncing through its open window.
Félix decided to prevent the most likely catastrophe by quickly grabbing Adrien's arm and holding him back. That, however, meant that he wasn't quick enough to stop catastrophe number two from happening.
"Chloé, wait up! That's my…my…" Marinette suddenly called and ran after the limo. Félix accidentally dug his claws into Adrien's arm when he tensed, making his brother hiss at him quietly.
"Not anymore. Finders keepers," Chloé tauntingly called back before the limo was too far away.
"See you later, Nino!" Adrien suddenly said and dragged Félix, who had still not let go of him, away from the scene and down the street. He eventually made a sharp turn into an alley and didn't waste a second to round on him.
"First off, ow!" Adrien said and accusingly pointed at the bloody scratch marks on his arm. "Second, why the hell did you stop me?! I could have—"
"You could have what?" Félix interrupted him. "Jumped into the limo and demanded Tikki back? In front of Marinette?"
Adrien bit his lip and glared at the ground.
"She's a goddess, I'm sure she can take care of herself," he added.
"Not this time," Plagg suddenly cut in, a stern look on his face. "Her aura is weak, which isn't surprising. With all the wards she has to keep up for Marinette, it was just a question of time until she'd eventually overexert herself. And now a fight in the rain? No wonder she got sick."
"Tikki is sick?! I didn't know gods could get sick." Adrien said and suddenly looked even more worried than before.
"Oh, we very much can. Just like fae, our sickness is always magic-related though and it happens when we're very weakened." Plagg suddenly glared at both of them. "Now, let's get my Sugarcube back. I don't like how close to the Court's core she is right now."
"Alright, we're in. What now?" Adrien asked as they sneaked into the hallway out of the empty room whose window they had entered by. They usually would have shifted back to a human form by now, but as long as there was the possibility that Marinette would show up, they couldn't take that risk. As a result, they just needed to be more stealthy than usual, as two black cats in a hotel would no doubt garner some attention.
"Sniff Chloé out and don't be seen," Plagg replied from where he sat on Adrien's back.
"She will probably be somewhere on the upper floors rather than the regular hallways," Félix said while he already made his way to the stairs.
"I heard her say something about a prince earlier, before the attack. Did she mean that literally or was that code for Court stuff?" Plagg supplied.
"I think she meant that one literally. A prince from Achu is coming to Paris and is most likely staying here." Félix glanced up the stairs. The ballroom was on the top floor and it would be the best place to welcome a prince at. He glared at the stairs. "We should have taken a window further up," he muttered in irritation.
It had been hard but not impossible to enter the ballroom from the staircase door unnoticed. Luckily everyone's attention was on the prince so Adrien and Félix could hide behind the bar thoroughly unnoticed.
"Okay, there are at least twenty journalists. We can't exactly get past them and near the prince without causing a scene," Adrien whispered.
"Some bad luck might help," Félix mused aloud.
"No, not while Chloé is there. She might notice," Adrien argued.
The sound of silent steps made both of them freeze and Adrien had just enough time to dart behind a bucket when a person with a bike helmet and a very unfashionable pink…scarf—was that a blanket?—snuck behind the bar. It took Félix only a second to realise that it was Marinette…in disguise. He pressed himself against the black bar and hoped that his fur would blend in with it.
But Marinette didn't seem to pay attention to the ground at all anyway, as she was thoroughly focused on the other side of the room. For inexplicable reasons, she seemed to find it a good idea to then climb over the bar and fall to the ground on the other side with an audible "ack!" when she hit the ground. So much for stealth.
With her gone from their hiding spot, Félix dared to peek around the bar counter. The prince was currently putting Tikki into the breast pocket of his blazer, which raised a lot of questions. Why had Chloé given Tikki to him? Why did no one notice that Tikki was a living creature? And where was the rest of the Court to notice this spectacle? Sure, fae were twilight creatures and it was the middle of the day, but certainly the visit of an actual prince would pique the interest of at least a few of them? Well, the less of them were present, the better.
Adrien, meanwhile, let out a silent growl from beside him, which Félix connected to Tikki's perilous situation, until he was nudged.
"Why now?" He whispered quietly enough for Marinette to not hear, who was, by the way, still crouching behind a stage that had been set up in the middle of the room. In any case, Félix's eyes were drawn to the elevator where a green-skinned figure surrounded by pink smoke emerged. From the skin colour alone and the swirly designs below her eyes he would have mistaken her for a fair one, if it wouldn't have been for her absolutely horrendous outfit. No fae with any self-respect would be caught dead wearing something like that.
She had what looked like a perfume bottle hanging from her braid and she didn't waste time using it…as a gun. Her target was Chloé—well, that wasn't surprising at least—and at first it seemed to not do anything. At least not until the smell reached them and Félix flattened his ears in disgust.
"Go," Félix hissed quietly at his brother who for some reason seemed unsure of what to do. "I'll handle Tikki, you handle the Akuma."
"Be careful," Adrien whispered back and then was gone.
"At your service, Princess Fragrance," the horde of reporters suddenly said and bowed before the Akuma. Oh no, he hated it when it was mind control. The last time that happened had been on Valentine's day and neither him nor Adrien liked to be reminded of that specific disaster.
"Who…who are you?" the prince said, which prompted the Akuma to introduce herself in a high, annoying voice. He knew that voice.
Oh dear, Juleka will not like this, he thought.
"Oh no, this is bad," he heard Marinette whisper to herself and jump on the stage to mess with the DJ table, or whatever it was, that was set up there. He hadn't known that confetti cannons were involved in the entire thing and he jumped as high as the bar counter when they were suddenly set off.
The distraction it offered, allowed the mayor, Chloé, the prince as well as his chaperon to escape into the stairwell and Félix didn't waste a second to follow them.
Fleeing from the Akuma and pursuing Chloé and the prince was difficult without being seen. Well, actually it was impossible. He could be as sneaky as he wanted, but Chloé's eyes still immediately wandered to him when he slid into the room shortly before the door closed. He glared at her in return and gave an offended sniff since that horrible stench still surrounded her.
"We'll be safe in here. This is a reinforced door," the mayor said and Félix couldn't help but roll his eyes while ducking behind a chair. Even the strongest door wouldn't guarantee anyone's safety when faced with magic.
With a frown, Félix watched the scene from his hiding place. He couldn't just get close to the prince and snatch Tikki away, since Chloé would then know his intention. He needed to separate the two of them first.
Chloé kept watching him and threw him a questioning frown. He wasn't interested in holding a silent conversation with her though and therefore fixated the door with a piercing glance. With perked ears he listened for the Akuma's approach.
What is Adrien waiting for?
He heard the Akuma on the other side of the door where she was singing for some reason. Really, what was up with the atrocious smell and the singing? Was this Akuma specifically made to offend his senses?
Félix slowly retreated to the windows when a pink cloud started to spread from beneath the door. He might plan to get Tikki back, but if he'd get hit with the Akuma's powers, that would all be for naught. If the incident on Valentine's day was anything to go by, then neither he nor Chloé should be hit if they wanted to prevent going…well, not crazy but still something along its lines.
At least the blonde was smart enough to retreat to the very back of the room as well, even when the cloud of magic perfume receded again soon afterwards.
A screech of "Who are you?!" was heard from beyond the door. For some reason that prompted the mayor, the prince and his chaperone to approach the door once more.
"What are you doing here?" Chloé hissed quietly.
"Following Adrien who's being an idiot. Lost sight of him though," Félix explained. By the way Chloé's eyes narrowed, she didn't seem to believe him though.
"You're lying."
"What's it to you?"
He wouldn't get an answer to his question though, as the mayor's panicked voice interrupted them.
"Oh no, there are two of them now. Run!"
Félix hadn't been aware that Chloé could run this fast until now. He went to follow, but the Akuma stopped right in front of the door: his preferred exit. He internally swore and turned right around, heading for the windows instead. While he didn't know where the four of them would go, he suspected he would eventually catch sight of them again. So, up he climbed, away from the stupid magic fog.
"You seem to be in a pawsivitely unfurtunate situation."
"Are you kidding me? Where the hell have you been in the last five minutes?!" Félix hissed when Chat Noir grabbed him around the middle and sent both of them to the roof with his baton.
"Those were two minutes at most. And believe it or not, but finding an empty room without security cameras in this hotel while an Akuma is running around is actually incredibly difficult."
"I hope you're aware about the consequences if you get hit," Félix said and strained his ears to pick up sounds from the floors below them.
"I'm not gonna get hit," Chat Noir said defensively. Félix was about to reply to enforce the utmost importance of the matter, but Chat Noir's ears twitched and he already walked to the edge of the roof.
"They're one floor below," he said and then was gone. Félix hissed as he scrambled to get to the restaurant. Unfortunately, he didn't have a baton like his brother did, nor opposable thumbs, which made the climb one floor down along the hotel front a much too slow process. Claws digging into the wall, he eventually managed to land on the sill of an open window. Just in time to see Chat Noir jump out a window on the opposite side of the room, with the Akuma quickly following.
Félix crossed the room and jumped up to the sill of the window they had just disappeared through, only to see a silver car drive away. He hissed in frustration. Couldn't his brother inconspicuously have snatched Tikki and left her here for Marinette or him to find?! Well, now it was too late anyway. He needed to follow that car before the Akuma caught up to them.
"Tikki, please be okay..."
Startled, Félix's fur bristled and he whirled around to see Marinette stand right beside him to look after the quickly disappearing car as well. That was, until she turned around to look at him. He was frozen for a second and then promptly jumped out the window before there could be any speck of recognition from her side. She made a startled/scared noise, but he couldn't pay that any mind as he landed on his paws on the pavement and promptly took off in the direction the car had disappeared into.
On second thought, he probably should have climbed back to the roof, as a chase would be much easier when he didn't have to dodge the legs of several people or traffic. Due to having to step where feet didn't go, he landed in several puddles left from the rain earlier. He hissed in displeasure at the entirety of the situation. Why did Hawkmoth need to send out a second Akuma anyway?! That had never happened before and the timing now couldn't be worse, with Tikki and therefore Ladybug, down for the count.
Speaking of: Félix finally caught up to the car, only to find it crashed in the middle of an intersection. Damn it, he had missed them again! He still ran up to it, hoping to find a clue to their new location. He found quite a bit more than just that.
"Finally," he sighed and carefully nudged the sick kwami with a paw. She frowned at him, though the expression lacked the strength and severity it had held on their previous encounter.
"What are you doing here?"
"I thought it would be obvious," he said and moved forward to pick her up as best as he could manage it as a cat. At least that had been his intention until Tikki hissed at him.
"I don't trust you."
Félix was aware that she was the goddess of creation and therefore a being with unfathomable power, but desperate times called for desperate measures. Under different circumstances he'd have never dared to say something so audacious to her.
"You will just have to, unless you want another fae to find you."
"I'll…wait for Marinette."
"And then risk letting a fae see her walking away with you during an Akuma attack while you're too weak to even move? You might be willing to take that risk, but I'm not."
Without asking for permission, Félix carefully took Tikki's tail fin between his teeth and then he ran. Just in time to avoid Marinette who just arrived on a scooter.
"No, bring me to…her. She can take me…to a healer," Tikki weakly said but Félix didn't listen. He wouldn't put Marinette into unnecessary danger now by drawing a connection between her and him and Tikki.
"I can bwing you to a healer," Félix said muffled. "Jusht tell me where to find them."
"I can't tell that to a Sidhe," Tikki said, her voice full of distrust, while Félix walked through a deserted alley.
"My brother hath a Miwaculous in case you have forgotten. And you need help, so shtop being shtubborn."
Tikki didn't reply.
"Think about it: The longer you shtay like this, the longer Mawinette ish in danger. We have a common intuhresht here."
"Fine," Tikki hissed and let out a cough. "But only because Chat Noir got hit and I'm worried she'll go after him."
That particular piece of information was news to Félix.
"That idiot," he muttered, now even more eager to get Tikki back to Marinette as soon as possible. So much for not getting hit.
"Turn right," Tikki suddenly said and Félix tore himself away from imagining just how much hell he'd have to give his brother later for his stupidity. Instead, he followed Tikki's directions and with worry noted that her voice became weaker with every word and that the coughs became more violent.
The place they ended up at was not very impressive with how ordinary it looked, but that was good. The more it stood out, the more attention it would garner. And if Tikki's utmost reluctance to tell him of it was any indication, then there were secrets inside that the fae Courts were under no circumstances supposed to know about.
He walked into the alley beside the building, set Tikki down and shifted. When he picked the kwami back up, he did so with an apologetic smile.
"I'm sorry that you had to reveal this to me under these circumstances. In any case, I promise to not tell anyone about who- and whatever is inside here. Well, except for Plagg, I guess."
"Not even Adrien?" Tikki asked in disbelief. Félix shook his head.
"If he's reckless enough to get hit during an Akuma attack after I warned him about it, then he isn't ready to be trusted with such a secret."
He knocked on the door and kept Tikki hidden from view by cupping one palm over the other. It only took a few seconds until it was opened.
Félix wasn't sure what he had expected—perhaps a mysterious hooded figure, or someone similar to Mélusine where you had to doubt if you could really lay your trust in them—but a friendly smile and a polite greeting from a small, elderly Asian man had not really been it.
"Hello, young man. Please, come in."
Félix closed the door behind him and followed the man through a short hallway and up a set of stairs.
"I don't think you have an appointment, but that's where you're in luck, as I'm free this afternoon."
"Appointment?"
The old man turned around to him. "Are you not here for a massage?"
Félix blinked. Perhaps Tikki had mistaken the place, which left him in a thoroughly awkward situation.
"Oh, my apologies. I think there has been a mistake. I was looking for a healer, not a masseur," he said, hoping to get the polite pleasantries out of the way fast so he could go looking for his actual destination. The old man chuckled and there was something in his eyes that Félix didn't like. It almost seemed as if he was making fun of him.
"I am a healer as well. Follow me, please," he said and led Félix into a room with a mattress on the ground—probably for the aforementioned massages. A small table with a steaming cup of tea sat in the corner and the decorations were thoroughly Chinese.
"Please, have a seat. Do you want some tea? I have Oolong, it will help calm your spirit."
Calm his spirit? If he meant his soul then Félix wasn't sure if he even had one—probably not. Besides, they were in the middle of a crisis, so this definitely wasn't the time for tea! …Coffee, maybe.
"That's not necessary," Félix said and frowned at his hands from where Tikki was tapping his fingers. She had been quite sure that this was the right person to go to and it wasn't like he was gonna doubt a eons-old being. Well, except for her irrational stubbornness when it came to Marinette and therefore initially not bringing him here in the first place. He was sure, however, that her distrust towards him wouldn't go as far as to put herself and with that also Marinette at risk, by leading Félix to the wrong person.
While he refused the tea, he still sat down.
"Now," the old man said and sat down on the other side of the mattress across from Félix. "Will you show me my patient?"
Tikki's tapping became more insistent and he knew that he should just go ahead and give her to this mysterious person, but something in him refused. She was a secret. A pretty important and also dangerous secret and a part of him said that he should keep it that way. But he also knew that he couldn't heal her.
"Nearby water does not put out a distant fire," the old man said and somehow managed to keep his calm demeanour and still lay insistence into his expression.
Félix sighed. "Alright, but please heal her as quickly as you can. We're in a crisis," he said and gentle lay Tikki's small form down on the mattress.
"A crisis is an opportunity riding the dangerous wind."
Chinese proverbs were no help either, but Félix forced himself to swallow a comment and just sit still while the old man performed what looked like a ritual. A gong and hand gestures were involved and it might have looked ridiculous to an ordinary person, but Félix knew better.
Tikki's sickness stemmed from magic, so in order for her to get better, the magic in her needed strengthening. What the old man did was to redirect the flow of natural energies all around them and let them flow into the kwami.
The method wasn't what baffled Félix, but rather the fact that a human was performing it. He had not been aware that this was possible. It was not an easy task to control magic that wasn't one's own. While he and Adrien used outside magic for shifting, it wasn't like they met a resistance when they did so. Shifting for them was natural and the universe gladly allowed the things that were meant to be. It was entirely different from taking this outside magic and bending it to one's will for something unnatural like drawing strength from it.
Then again, the universe might allow it for the goddess of creation. She was an exception to lots of things after all.
The old man used the gong a few more times and eventually ceased his hand gestures that redirected the energies.
"Her health has been restored," he said in the same moment as Tikki opened her eyes. Her complexion wasn't pale anymore and her eyes brimmed with life, much different from how she had trouble keeping them open just mere minutes before.
"How did you do that?" Félix asked and couldn't help to let a bit of awe slip into his voice.
"Old Chinese secret."
Félix frowned.
"I suggest you stay here until the attack is over," Tikki then said as she lifted herself into the air, now with no effort at all.
"I won't stay anywhere while my brother is running around out there like a lunatic with midsummer madness!"
"There's nothing you can do about that. And don't underestimate Plagg. Now that he knows what he's dealing with, he'll probably be able to intervene."
Félix grit his teeth in frustration and was very glad that the glamour prevented his tail from being corporeal in this reality, otherwise it would have knocked over several things on the shelf beside him with its lashing. He knew Tikki was right, but this just set him back to ground zero of being a helpless bystander. They had already established that it was his task to keep the fair folk away from Akuma attacks. If he couldn't do even that, he had nothing.
Tikki seemed to guess his thoughts as her expression changed to a sympathetic smile.
"I know you want to help, but the risk isn't worth it this time. If you get hit, then you won't have a Miraculous to protect your sanity and we won't know what you'll do then. Don't worry, Ladybug can handle herself and I'm sure your brother will be fine as well." She glanced to the window and then bowed. "Thank you, Master. See you later, Félix."
Tikki left behind an awkward silence after phasing through the window and Félix slowly turned around to the supposed 'Master'.
"This outcome really is quite fascinating," the old man said and stood up to walk over to the tea table. Félix followed him and watched how he poured another cup of tea, offering it to him.
"How so?" He couldn't help but be wary in the same way he was wary whenever he was mingling with the Court. The ability to lie or not was irrelevant when you could just as easily deceive with the truth. The easiest way to go about it was to trust no one. This old man might be a trusted ally of the kwamis, but that didn't mean that Félix could trust him.
"Well," the old man said and sat down, taking a sip of his tea. "It's been quite a while since I last got to speak with a fair one, and I can't really say that that encounter has been a pleasant one."
Félix narrowed his eyes at the man and then hesitantly sat down. "Affability is a thing for humans."
"Yes, I suppose that's true. And waywardness is not always easy to deal with for us."
Don't I know it.
"Though tell me," the man said, "would you consider what you did affable?"
Well, did he? His ulterior motive had been to keep Marinette safe and the best way to do that was to return Tikki to her in a healthy state. Then again, another fae or even halfling probably would only have helped in return for a favour from Danu. It was a tempting thing to consider, he admitted. However, that the thought hadn't even crossed his mind before now made him knit his brow.
"I won't answer this," Félix said.
"Pity," the man said and took another sip of his tea. When his eyes met Félix's again, he recognized the emotion behind them: curiosity. He didn't like how it made him feel like a rare probe under a microscope. "In any case, introductions are in order. You may call me Monsieur Chan for now."
His familiarity with the fair folk's customs was showing in the way he worded his introduction. No 'my name is' or 'I am', which meant he could call himself whatever he wanted without lying and therefore without offending a fae.
"I'm going to guess that's not your real name, but considering the situation, that's only appropriate. Thanks to a certain goddess you already know my name, I suppose."
M. Chan nodded. "It's a pleasure to finally make your acquaintance, Félix."
"Is it really? Usually people who know what I am would prefer to keep their distance."
"You mean the fair folk do," M. Chan said calmly. "Their opinion on Cat Sidhe is somewhat biased and riddled with jealousy."
"Jealousy?"
Félix hadn't heard something this absurd in ages. And he lived in Akuma-infested Paris!
"The fair folk are Tikki's and Plagg's creation, but Cat Sidhe are solely Plagg's fault, if you can call it that. Instead of being the result of a wish, your kind is the result of the concentrated magic of a god. If you so wanted, you could wield more magic than any Court chief. It's all a question of practice and opportunities."
There were several things that went through Félix mind that that moment. First and foremost: Was this true? And if it was, then why hadn't he known about it?! Secondly: the fair folk were Tikki's and Plagg's creation? Sure, Plagg had dropped comments here and there about being responsible for this and that, concerning the fae, mostly in regards to the Unseelie and curses, but he had never thought that this meant that Plagg had created those things.
"What do you mean with the fair folk being the result of a wish?"
M. Chan chuckled. "Interesting, so Plagg didn't tell you."
"Obviously he didn't," Félix muttered and mentally made a note that his familiarity with the god of destruction was no surprise to the old man.
"Very well then. You see, the Miraculous are very old tools, made by the kwamis themselves ten-thousands of years ago. All kwamis exist ever since their concept first showed up. Tikki, therefore, is the oldest of them all, with Plagg having come into existence soon after her. When those concepts, and with that their gods, were bound to the Miraculous, it was done so humans could use them to protect themselves from dangers that threatened their existence. They could drive off floods, dig out entire villages that were buried by a landslide and put out forest fires. Their purpose was to do good and to help humanity whenever their help was most needed.
"But humans are greedy. Around two thousand years ago, when a village chief of settlers wielded both the Ladybug and the Black Cat, she decided that the safety of her people wasn't enough. They had successfully fought off attackers with the Miraculous and could have looked forward to a life in peace. A guardian, such as myself, was sent to retrieve the magic jewels and keep them safe until they were needed once more.
"Now, you need to know of the power the Ladybug and the Black Cat possess when put together. Tikki has the power to create a universe and Plagg has the power to destroy one. When put together, both of those powers are on equal par with each other. You know magic, so can you guess where this is going?"
Félix actually had trouble to comprehend such an immense power. It was beyond anything he could ever imagine. But, theoretically, he knew what would happen. "The magic would be able to bend the universe. This is the wish part, isn't it?"
M. Chan nodded and gave him a smile not unlike a teacher who was happy with a student's answer.
"Exactly. The village chief had seen the power a kwami possessed and instead of being awed by it, she wanted such power for herself and her people. She wished for them all to become gods and to live in a paradise so beautiful that others, upon arriving there, would never want to leave.
"A wish voiced with the Ladybug and the Black Cat miraculous is a dangerous thing though. Balance has to be maintained, so as Tikki's power gives the wisher what they want, Plagg's power takes something of equal value from them. Those people might have gotten magic powers and their paradise, but they lost their humanity and their world in return. The utopia they wanted to live in is what your folk calls Tír na nÓg, or the Otherworld.
"In any case, the Tuatha Dé Danann, or the folk of the goddess Danu, as they called themselves, never found a way to escape the Otherworld. They did find a way to create flawed and twisted creatures in their own image, though. These beings found a way out of the Otherworld and into this world on certain days of the year. That's how the fair folk came to be."
Félix was rendered speechless, which was a rare feat to accomplish. He'd have to verify this story with Plagg and maybe even Tikki later, but at least it sounded true.
"That…would make sense," Félix eventually admitted. "It also explains why Cat Sidhe rank among the royal fae, when our magic can be as powerful as you suggested." He would absolutely grill Plagg about this later. How dare that little gremlin keep something crucial like this from him and Adrien?!
"I heard that the most powerful Cat Sidhe were also the wickedest of fae. Remember: the more magic you possess, the less human you become," the old man said, the smile on his face gone. Instead, he looked at Félix with a somewhat grim expression.
Félix closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. In and out. How could he have forgotten? Well, not forgotten. He would never forget his most damning mistake, but he still preferred to shove it to the very back of his mind to prevent the images of a flickering will-o'-the-wisp from coming back. At least that explained why Plagg never said anything.
Rule number one of magic was that it always came with a price. There were no exceptions, shortcuts or loopholes. Just like M. Chan had said: balance needed to be maintained.
"I know," Félix said, his voice quieter than before. Feeling his incoming panic grip him, he thought it wise to take the offered tea after all. The hot beverage was a welcome comfort and it didn't even taste half as bad. A comfortable silence followed in which Félix collected his thoughts.
"You mentioned that you are a guardian that keeps the Miraculous safe when they are not needed. Am I right in the assumption that you gave out the active Miraculous this time as well?"
M. Chan smiled. "You are very attentive," he commented. "And while I do admit to giving out the Ladybug and the Black Cat this time, the Butterfly was out of my control. It got lost a long time ago and I tracked its trail down to Paris. I hoped to find it before it would get into the wrong hands, but as you can see, I was too late."
"And then you thought that giving the Miraculous of the two oldest gods to children would be a good idea?!" Calming Oolong tea or not, Félix couldn't help getting angry at that. How utterly irresponsible!
"A kwami sensed the Butterfly's aura on the morning before the first attack happened. I wasn't sure when and how this dark wielder would attack, so I couldn't go through the luxury of carefully weighing my options. I set out tests that would bring forth the qualities of a Ladybug wielder and a Black Cat wielder respectively if such candidates happened to be around. Both passed the test, even though I was rather surprised by the latter. The Black Cat is characterized by selflessness and kindness, and I expected neither of those from a fae, not even a halfling."
Félix's eyes widened and then narrowed when a specific memory replayed before his mind's eye.
"You were the old man that my brother helped up so we missed our first day of school."
M. Chan nodded. "Yes, that is true. Adrien was willing to sacrifice something dear to him in order to help someone else."
"So, let me get this straight: You chose my brother for the Miraculous of the god of destruction. The god who claims to have founded the Unseelie Court and the one responsible for Adrien's and my entire existence. You chose a halfling that you fully know is connected to the Unseelie Court and entrusted him with the power of ultimate destruction?!" Plagg's exact words of their first encounter ran through his mind. "Plagg was right, you really must have lost your marbles."
M. Chan chuckled. "Is that what he said? I admit to have taken a gamble there, but I'm more than glad to see how it has worked out."
"You are indeed very lucky," Félix sneered. "But have you ever thought about Marinette in all of this?! The Unseelie Court thinks she is Danu and she knows nothing of all of this! You are putting her life at danger just because you took a stupid gamble!"
For the first time, something akin to surprise flashed across M. Chan's face. "I should have guessed that you knew her identity as you've brought Tikki to me."
Félix snorted dismissively. "Well, you took a gamble and here's how it fails. The Miraculous doesn't quite work on Adrien so he could see through the glamour since the beginning. To say that Tikki wasn't happy about it would be an understatement."
M. Chan stroked his beard in thought. "Interesting. I expected Tikki not to tell her chosen about the fair folk, so to have someone who was in the know as Ladybug's other half seemed like the best course of action. I didn't predict this outcome though. Now she is the only one completely out of the loop."
"And she is not happy about it. Do you have any idea how hard it is to keep her away from the fair folk all the time? Especially when the entire Court worships her as their goddess?!"
"I can imagine the struggle, yes," M. Chan said and looked down in thought. Félix decided to let the old man brood for a bit and instead took another sip of tea.
"Perhaps," he eventually said, "it would be best for you all to leave Paris for a bit. Summer vacation is starting tomorrow if I'm not mistaken, so it would be a good chance for you all to catch a break and occupy your minds with other things. Get some distance from the Court."
"You say that as if it would be easy. Ladybug and Chat Noir are needed if there's another Akuma attack. They can't just take a break whenever they feel like it," Félix threw in.
"There won't be another Akuma attack for a few weeks at least, so you have time."
Wait what?
"How can you know that for sure?"
"You said your brother has been hit by the Akuma in this attack, right?"
Félix nodded. "And Chloé probably too. Danu knows what that will result in."
"Even better."
Félix failed to see how two out of control halflings could possibly improve this situation.
"The Miraculous are made for humans, the Butterfly most especially. If they are hit with resistance due to magic other than their own, Nooro will be immensely drained from it."
"Nooro?"
"The kwami of the Butterfly Miraculous. Remember how there weren't any Akumas for three weeks after the Akuma on Valentine's Day where Chat Noir has been hit?"
Félix did, indeed, remember. If it wouldn't have been for his brother's lamenting, those would have been quite relaxing three weeks of peace.
"And there also was a break of almost a month after Sabrina has been akumatised."
M. Chan nodded. "Not only is Nooro's magic indirectly connected to two rather strong halflings, but this is also the second Akuma of the day. He will be very worn out after this and unable to transform Hawkmoth for a little while. I suggest you make the most of that time as long as it lasts."