By the time the team had exited the Palace, it was pretty late in Japan, so the Tokies had to call it a night but promised to contact them the next day to discuss what they found out.
School was absolutely hellish the next day.
No, none of the Parisian Phantom Thieves got in any sort of trouble. Even so, they quickly realized that they had to work harder on being subtle and calm out in reality. Especially when the person they were targeting happened to be their homeroom teacher.
They didn't call during lunch, so Marinette took the extra time to work a little on Jagged's commission. The Parisian Music Awards was still about a month away, granted, but for large commissions like this, the sooner they were done, the better just in case any last minute adjustments needed to be made.
"Would anyone like to explain these lines from Hamlet, please?" Mme. Bustier asked from the front of the class, making Kim, Nino, Alix and Marinette all jump at once.
After being called upon, Max answered, "Hamlet is saying we fear death because we don't know what happens to us after we die."
"Very good, Max," Bustier praised, "Now, let's continue reading…"
The words became a blur as Marinette only stared at the book; even the comfort of Nino sitting next to her (they changed seats again shortly after what they called the Party Discussion) didn't help. She nearly missed Nino finishing his line, but her childhood friend quickly helped her find the page and line to save her the embarrassment.
When school was over for the day, Marinette couldn't have left the room faster. Worried for Marinette, her fellow Phantom Thieves went after her.
"Sorry…" she muttered when they caught up, "I just… it's crazy to think that we never really knew her…"
"I think we're all still reeling from that," Alix agreed.
"I'm still wondering what she meant when Lila had potential at first… but why didn't she say that Chloe did too?" Nino asked, "She was always fawning over her before she left."
"Yeah! Wasn't she always saying stuff like 'the power of love can change everyone!'" Kim mimicked, but he wasn't smiling. He also pretended not to notice the strange and even envious looks he was getting from some of the rest of the class as he walked off with them; this was a relatively new development, after all. "By the way, is it safe for me to be around you guys like this all of a sudden? I mean…"
"It's fine, Kim," Marinette reassured quickly, "They'll just have to get used to it."
"Oh, yeah… you still haven't talked to Alya, have you?" Kim asked Nino offhandedly, "She hasn't tried to approach you again, has she?"
"No…" Nino sighed, "I love that girl, but she's too stubborn for her own good sometimes."
"And Lila only made that worse," Alix muttered, "Now that I look back on it, Lila always seemed to bring out the worst in everyone, didn't she? Not sure if that was intentional on her part or not, but…"
"She made Alya more stubborn and aggressive - not to mention making her more obsessed with how many views her blog got rather than providing correct information - blackmailed Adrien to stay passive no matter the situation, fed Max's ego to the point where common sense became a foreign concept for him… I don't think I need to go on," Luka said, him and Kagami walking up to them as they exited the school.
"I think we've had enough of that brat…" Kagami sighed. "If you all haven't checked your phones yet, the… Tokies are waiting."
Once they were at the park, they pulled their phones out to check the messages. Sure enough, Futaba had left them a simple thumbs-up emoji.
"Everyone ready?" Marinette asked. There were no qualms from the others; with that said, they headed to Marinette's room.
"Okay, let's take this from the top," Akira began once everyone was situated, "Bustier has not only a PA system but most likely a security system as well. I think next time we go there, we should look for a control center for those things."
"Agreed on that," Ann piped in, "The sooner we do that, the better. Any objections?"
When no one spoke up, she nodded and continued.
"Now, to what we found out. While she treats her students like dolls, she obviously favors some over the other," Makoto said, "Some she sees becoming successful, while others she labels as 'failures'... but what you've told us, something doesn't add up, especially with her entire good example and forgiveness policies she implements. So why consider Chloe a failure?"
"You'd think Chloe would be in her good graces, really," Alix started, "Rich, mayor's daughter, a superheroine… ol' Miracle Queen should have been a star student!"
"Maybe it was because of Miracle Queen?" Nino pointed out. "She's at that boarding school now, right? Maybe when she was taken away, that changed. After all, Mme. Bustier isn't her teacher anymore…"
"Wouldn't that other girl from a few years ago be there too if that was the case? The baker chick?" Ryuji asked, "What was her name again? Cecile?"
"Yeah…" Marinette confirmed. "I think she doesn't care about them anymore - after all, if she looked back on all of her students all the time, there would be way more dolls in that room… probably one of M. Garçon, too."
"Maybe graduation is like when the prisoners are put on parole or are released there," Futaba theorized, "I wonder if she's aware of how many of them have fallen from grace now… no offense."
"Wait…" Kagami said quietly; she'd been silent for the whole discussion. "What if Chloe was the complete opposite of a recent failure?"
"What do you mean?" Luka asked. The tension in the room could be cut with a knife.
"What I mean is… what if Mme. Bustier saw Chloe as a failure from day one?"
"Huh?!" Ryuji gasped, "What do you mean? I don't get it. Then where does all of the good example bullshit come from if she thought blondie was a lost cause?"
"Well, as we've previously discussed, she doesn't take responsibility but instead dumps it on another student. This could simply be another way of avoiding responsibility. Think of it like tossing a rabid dog a bone to chew until someone finally comes along to shoot it, but she refuses to do it even though she is holding a rifle."
"So, you're saying she was just going to tolerate Chloe until she was to graduate?" Makoto whispered, "How horrible!"
"I guess I'm that bone, then…" Marinette sighed, pressing fingers to her temple.
"Not only that, but this practice proves that even Bustier herself doesn't believe in her good example policies. Having Marinette take the brunt of Chloe's bullying and not lifting a finger to stop it was simply the easiest way to deal with her," Morgana hissed.
"And it looks like the moment she sees you as a failure; you stay there," Ann added.
"I hope whoever we take on after this doesn't have a strong negative effect on me like this," Marinette grumbled.
"One thing at a time, melody," Luka said calmly, putting his hand on his girlfriend's shoulder.
"Oh, before I forget," Alix said, waving up her phone, "Marinette, that text I sent you?"
"Oh, right!" she nodded before sending a screenshot of it to the group chat.
Once they'd read it over with looks of decent worry appearing on their faces, it was Yusuke who spoke for them. "Do you know how long he's been researching this?" he asked.
"I honestly don't pay too much attention to what my brother does. Most of his theories are too crazy to make sense. I only found out about it a couple days ago when my dad was akumatized," Alix answered.
"You don't think Jalil is in trouble, do you?" Kim asked nervously.
"The odds are in his favor," Yusuke said, "But what we're worried about is the Black Mask."
"You mentioned someone like that, didn't you?" Kagami recalled. "A person who misuses the Metaverse for their own personal gain…"
"Yes, but we have yet to personally run into him," Morgana noted.
"Despite this, however, he hasn't seemed to have gone after anyone in France yet," Futaba said, "So count that as a win."
"Either way, Alix, it would be safer if you try to dissuade your brother from researching any further. He may find something that… certain people don't want to know about," Akira said, "Even if you have to go as far as sabotaging it, it's better this way."
"I agree with that…" Makoto muttered, "If, hypothetically, the Black Mask is connected somehow to the government or police, and we get caught… not only is it a Japan problem but given that we targeted Lila, someone from out of the country…"
"...that would lead to an international incident, wouldn't it?" Nino breathed out. "Maybe even war, God forbid…"
"That may be why the Black Mask won't attack anyone in Paris," Makoto clarified. "I'm sure going to war is the last thing they want if they are working in the government. Should they frame us for a crime like that here, they'd be in serious trouble too."
"It helps… albeit not by much," Luka said honestly.
"I shudder at the thought of things going wrong like that…" Kagami admitted.
"Even so, we can't afford to get sloppy. Taking targets out of the country has been to our advantage so far," Morgana said. "It at least takes suspicion off of us for now. However, I would recommend we consider targets back here in Japan soon. It could be another way to throw the police off our trail again. At the very least, it will make them think we're operating as two separate groups, unconnected to each other."
"So only start panicking when the United Nations starts hunting us down?" Kim snarked nervously.
"Hopefully, it doesn't get that crazy," Ann laughed uneasily. "You're gonna jinx it, at any rate."
Suddenly, Nino asked, "...If the Phantom Thieves are ever caught, would our identities as Miraculous holders be exposed too?"
"Not necessarily…" Marinette muttered. "The Miraculous automatically shield our identities when we transform. The only way someone can know for sure is if we tell them ourselves or they see us actually activate or deactivate them. "
"Could that be a possible advantage for us, then?" Luka speculated. "If they find out that members of the Phantom Thieves are also the heroes that have been openly fighting a known terrorist…"
"... but on the other hand, the public might lose its trust in us," Yusuke also pointed out.
"Ugh! I feel like we're stuck between a rock and a hard place here!" Ryuji moaned.
"It's more likely that they'll support us," Marinette said. "Ladybug's been fighting longer than the Phantom Thieves, after all."
"It seems like it's a necessary risk," Makoto said decidedly. "Thankfully, this is all hypothetical right now. Now, then… shall we go after that security system?"
With no objections made, the team activated the Nav and disappeared into the Palace.
"The rain's awfully light this time around, isn't it?" Joker remarked. He wasn't wrong - the waves were as rough as they'd always been, but the rain did not fall as heavy upon the Phantom Thieves of Hearts as it had in the past.
"Did anyone notice if Mme. Bustier was in a better mood than usual?" Viper asked.
"Maybe?" Chance shrugged. "We were reading Hamlet in class, and I remember her mentioning that it was one of her favorite Shakespeare plays."
"I bet her Shadow's feeling smug right about now, given how our last meeting went…" Beat pointed out. "Maybe it's that?"
Oracle then noticed Queen staring at her. It wasn't anything fear-inducing such as the Niijima Glare™, but rather more of a thoughtful look directed at her.
"What's up?" she asked curiously.
"Oracle, is it possible for you to hack into this Palace and find a map?" Queen asked.
"C'mon! What do you take me for?!" Oracle gasped with a smirk before summoning Necronomicon, flying inside and beginning to do her thing.
"Whoa…" King muttered, seeing the UFO-like persona for the first time. "If Max could see this, he'd flip…"
"You can't tell him a thing, remember?" Panther sternly reminded him.
"I know, " King appeased, cringing. "I'm just saying…"
"Well, I don't have a map I can give you," Oracle called up from inside Necronomicon, her digging finished, "but I do have a location of their security system. I think there might be a map there, too, but I'm not sure…"
"Fantastic work, Oracle!" Fox praised. "Would you mind leading the way?"
"I can't do that, as it would alert the guards on the ground," Oracle answered. "But I can tell you where to go. It's in the opposite direction of the ways we've usually taken, so we'll have some new surprises. Unfortunately, there's a Shadow in the way of the building entrance, but…"
"We can take 'em!" Skull laughed, "Let's go!"
Nodding, the Phantom Thieves made their way down the other path as Oracle had advised. As with before, they avoided the assorted Shadow guards and canines below them while sneaking their way to the entrance.
Eventually, Oracle stopped them. "Okay, it's this one to the right," she proclaimed.
Looking in the direction she'd indicated, there was indeed another entrance. Sure enough, a lone Shadow guarded their way in.
"Let's do this!" Joker grinned, before lunging forward and slashing at the Shadow. It dissolved into a quartet of chimeric creatures in romantic colors; they seemed to be mostly like a man in the upper half and mostly birdlike in the lower half, but they possessed a few equine features as well.
"This is a new one!" Mona noted, raising an eyebrow. "Zorro, Magarula!" Unfortunately, the Wind spell seemed to do little to the Undying Romantics.
"Damn!" Mona growled, before leaping out of the way as Skull charged in, bringing his club down on one of them. Thankfully, that did more damage than Mona had, but it wasn't enough to knock down the Undying Romantic.
"Not bad, Skull!" Mona commended.
"Alright, my turn!" Chance called. "Mulan! Kouga!"
Sadly, the Bless spell dissipated upon contact with the weakest Undying Romantic. "Aww…" she groaned.
"Well, at least we know what not to do now!" Queen said. She swept closer, defeating the weakened Shadow using a flurry of gauntlet strikes.
"Alright…" Joker said thoughtfully before his mask seemed to catch blue fire. With a cry of "Okuninushi!" a pale-skinned warrior came into being at Joker's command.
"Mapsio!" the leader cried. Psychic spells struck all four Shadows, knocking them off their feet.
"Everyone up for an All-Out Attack?" Joker asked.
"I'm in!" Jack cried. With no other objections, the team ripped the Undying Romantics to shreds.
With the Shadow gone, the entrance was wide open for the Thieves; they quickly slipped inside.
This entrance contained a long hallway; when the Thieves had finished traversing it, they saw a fork near the end. There was one large door in front of each entrance.
"So… which way?" Skull wondered.
"Perhaps this will tell us…" Viper murmured, squinting at an inscription in the middle of the intersection.
If 4x =38, what is 2.5x?
Door L is great than 25, Door R less than 25.
"What the shit?" Skull groaned. "I thought we got through all this math crap with Kaneshiro…"
"Math is one of Mme. Bustier's subjects…" Beat grumbled.
"Maybe bringing Max wouldn't be a bad idea after all…" King suggested half-sarcastically, "Even Markov would work! Wait… can robots function in the Metaverse?"
"In that rain?" Panther pointed out, her gesture to the exit punctuated by a clap of thunder.
"...touche. Maybe another time, then…"
"I think I got it…" Queen murmured, catching the team's attention. "It should make 23.75, which is less than 25… I think we should take the right door."
"Well done, Queen!" Joker praised, walking up to the right door and putting his hand on the knob. "Shall we go?"
The rest of them nodded, greenlighting Joker to open the door. There was a treasure chest on the other side of this, not a Shadow to be seen. There was also another door on the other side of the small room.
"Care to do your thing, guys?" Chance asked Tikki & Sass, who had flown out of her and Viper's pockets.
"Of course!" Tikki smiled, her and the Snake kwami phasing into the chest and opening it from the inside. Looking in it, the team saw a few healing items, a Goho-M and a Sardonyx jewel.
"Sweet!" Skull cheered as Joker stored them in his coat. "I bet if we can keep getting these puzzles right that we'll keep being reworded!"
"Rewarded, Skull…" Mona sighed.
"That's what I said!" the blond exclaimed.
"...but what will happen if we get an answer wrong?" Ryuko suddenly said.
"I bet Shadows are waiting for us if that happens," Jack wagered, "or maybe some sort of deathtrap?"
The team shuddered at the thought. "Let's…" Oracle eventually said, "let's move on."
"Right, right," said King, opening the other door. There was another hallway that the Thieves quickly moved down; once again, no Shadows bothered them as they progressed.
Sure enough, another question was inscribed in the middle.
To find what all of us strive for, deduce the anagrams, and open the proper door. Door L = CESCUSS, Door R = LERUAFI.
"Anna-what-now?" Skull said, scratching his head.
"An anagram," Fox answered, "is a word with its letters moved around."
"That makes sense," Skull noted, nodding along. Squinting at the letters on the right, he began, "Okay, I see the letters in FAIL in there…"
The Tokies could only stare dumbfoundedly as Skull only took a few seconds to declare, "This one says FAILURE!"
"...well done, Skull," Queen said, impressed.
"Those study sessions are paying off," Joker remarked.
"Wait, you were actually studying?" Panther gawked. "I thought you two were just making out!"
Joker blushed a bright red. "...t-that too," he eventually sputtered out. Skull only placed his head in his hands, equally tomato-colored.
The team enjoyed a laugh at the two boyfriends' expense.
"Well, while you guys were being all gross," Oracle grinned, "I figured out the left one means SUCCESS!"
After a few seconds of mental math, Queen confirmed it. They opened the left door and found a room full of desks and computers behind it.
The team immediately split up to look for the computer. It didn't take them long to find the computer that they were looking for, and it took even less for Oracle to disable not only the intercoms but Shadow Bustier's communication with the guards. The hacker also managed to prevent any guards from reactivating it while they were gone.
"Well done, everyone," Ryuko smiled happily as they exited the computer room. "Now what do we do?"
"Perhaps you would take an interest in what the Lady Warden has to say," a Shadow's voice growled from in front of them.
It looked like an average Shadow guard, but when he tapped something on his wrist, a hologram of Shadow Bustier's head appeared from it.
"Clever, Phantom Thieves…" the Shadow Self frowned, "but you've already interfered with me too much to live."
"Just say you're going to send a goon to kill us and fuck off, already," Viper snarled.
"Accursed rebels!" Shadow Bustier growled. A near-sadistic grin then overtook her face.
"If you really want to fight that bad, I've got a special surprise, I think you'll despise," she sneered. "Guard, initiate protocol 1343."
"Certainly, Lady Warden!" the Shadow saluted with his other hand before tapping on his wrist again. As he and the hologram disappeared, a splash of dark goop shot up, creating a replica of Marinette. It couldn't be the doll they'd seen earlier - she wasn't chipped in the slightest!
Shadow Bustier sneered. "End them, Marinette."
The replica's dull-golden eyes flashed open, a determined grin overtaking her face as she assumed a fighting pose. It somewhat reminded the Parisians of Ladybug's I-have-a-plan-face, causing them to cringe slightly.
Recovering quickly, Viper slowly made his way forwards. When he was between his fellow Phantom Thieves and Cognitive Marinette, he snarled out four simple words.
"You are not Marinette."
Clearly angered by this, Cognitive Marinette transformed into a black-masked Asian woman dressed in pink pirate's robes. She had a cutlass in one hand, and a pistol in the other, and a feathered hat rested atop her head.
"She can animate the dolls?!" Queen gasped.
"It changes nothing, in the end," Fox growled, sensing Chance's unease at the sight of the Rebellious Smuggler Lass, "we will make quick work of this impostor."
"Ravage her…" Joker commanded, pointing with his dagger and summoning a muscular Persona holding up a large boulder with both of his hands, "Sisyphus!"
Sisyphus blasted the Rebellious Smuggler Lass with an Eigaon, causing her to recoil in evident pain and fall to the ground, her cutlass sticking into the ground.
"That was fast!" Panther remarked. "Wanna finish 'em, Joker?"
"Let's see how much damage we can do…" Joker grinned, nodding back.
In a flurry of movement, the team dealt a heavy hand of damage upon the Rebellious Smuggler Lass. However, she managed to survive, getting up slowly.
"Well, now we know it's weak to Curse attacks," Beat grinned, ripping off his headphones, "Shaka Zulu! Hit 'em with another Eigaon!"
With a swing of his spear, Shaka Zulu blasted the Shadow hard, and just like after Joker's attack, the Shadow fell to her knees. Even then, she still struggled to get to her feet.
"Stubborn as always, huh?" King asked aloud.
Chance was still standing behind everyone, her mind flashing back to the day she was expelled and had to fight a sentimonster version of herself as Ladybug. Back then, Sentibug had no choice but to follow orders, but Shadows… they existed to serve the owners of Palaces. If she needed any more proof of being seen as a lapdog, this was it.
"Uh, dudes?" Beat called out to the rest of them. "Chance isn't looking too good!"
"One more shot should do the trick!" Oracle informed, "It's on its last legs!"
"Krotos!" Viper cried, all too eager to finish the fight, "Garudyne!"
The mighty Wind spell tore the Rebellious Smuggler Lass into pieces.
"She knows we're here…" Joker sighed, "Let's get out of here. We've turned the security off. That should do for now."
"I agree. Shall we go?" Ryuko nodded. With that, Joker pulled out the Goho-M from earlier. The Phantom Thieves weren't in the Palace for much longer afterward.
AN: So, here's the next couple of chapters. I hope you all enjoyed and let me know if you have any questions! R&R and stay tuned!
