Their afternoon class began with a slam open of the classroom door, their magic instructor, Professor Trixx entering the room with a large box in hand. Adrien quickly jumped up to help their wizarding teacher bring the box over to the podium.
"Thank you so much Adrien. Now let me see if everyone's here."
As Adrien took his seat, Professor Trixx waved her staff over the students, the beacon on top briefly flashing an orange light.
"All hero energies present. Now let's get started with the day's lesson!"
Using her staff again, she lifted the lid of the box, leaning it against the podium.
"Alright, now all mages stand in a line in front of me. Lila and Nino, you can also take one even though you are bard and a shapeshifter. Luckily we have at least two mages for every group, so everyone can show what I'm about to give to your group."
The selected students stood in a line down the center aisle, Professor Trixx passing out small items. Marinette and Adrien both nearly jumped on Alya and Nino when they returned to their benches.
Inside their hands were small crystals, a couple inches in length. They were opaque in color, similar to the crystal ball at the guild hall.
"What you have are Magi-stones. Now, not all worlds use Magi-stones, or have different names for them, but they are a good tool to know. This world uses them primarily to increase magic or read magic. Like when I take roll before class, it detects the magic energies of heroes."
Adrien immediately raised his hand.
"Yes?"
"Are all heroes then capable of magic?"
"Technically yes, but that magic manifests itself in different forms. For example you Adrien, are not a wizard, but your hero magic allows faster than human reflex and strength when fighting."
Adrien nodded jotting the note in his notebook.
Chloe raised her hand immediately after. "Can warriors then use magi-stones to amplify their power to use magic like a wizard?"
Professor Trixx grimaced, " Some worlds work like that, but not this world. A magic stone on a non-wizarding tool in this world could be dangerous, possibly deadly if misused."
Chloe nodded, pursing her lips as she looked over at her teammate's magi-stones.
"Any other questions?"
The class remained silent, waiting for the teacher to continue.
"Now, as I mentioned with Chloe's question, the magi-stone needs to be housed in a wizarding tool. As I have here, mine is in my staff, but some wizards put them in jewelry to wear. For bards, it is tricky to find someone, but they can imbed the magi-stone into your instrument."
Nino nodded, glancing between his mandolin and his magi-stone.
"Now, for the rest of class we are going to visit the jeweler and our weapon's smith. For mages, your upgrade will be covered by the school much like our warriors' weapons were."
With a wave of her staff, the lid covered the empty box as the students packed their things. As they were about to leave, Professor Tikki ran over to the room followed by a group of students.
"Oh, Professor Trixx. Is Plagg on campus?"
"Professor Plagg?" She waved her wand again, the magi-stone flashing orange. "No demon presence on campus, Plagg or otherwise. Doesn't he have class now?"
Tikki looked like she wanted to panic, but put on a brave face.
"Yes, I found his students in their classroom. I could just send them to town to work on quests, but with a missing teacher…"
"I'll escort them out, we were going to visit the jeweler and weapon smith."
Tikki's shoulders sagged in relief, "Thank you so much. Alright T1, follow Professor Trixx out to town and take a mission for the day."
The other students nodded, Professor Trixx leaving T2's classroom so class T1 could follow.
Team B brought up the rear, watching as Tikki ran off in a panic.
"Well, that's definitely suspicious," commented Nino, the others nodding.
Marinette bit the corner of her lip, Adrien immediately noticing, "Everything alright Marinette?"
Marinette alternated biting the sides of her lip as she debated telling them.
"It's something, the siren said to me."
Rather than interrupt or try to brush off her fears like last time, Adrien waited for Marinette to continue.
"The siren said she was cursed by a demon lord. He was crying and she wanted to comfort him, but he cursed her thinking she was trying to drown him."
"Can siren's drown demon lords," asked Alya, looking between Marinette and Adrien. Adrien had read the book on demon lords several times over while she had caught Marinette reading a book on sirens after their beach excursion.
"I don't think so. Demon Lords have power equivalent to a queen siren or a sea witch, so a young siren, even of noble birth wouldn't be able to affect a demon lord," said Adrien.
"As far as we know, Plagg doesn't have any cursing abilities, so it might not be him," guessed Marinette.
"But is there even another demon lord in the area? Wouldn't there be a request at the guild or something?" Nino looked around the group, no one having an answer as they left the school building.
"You think his absence today has something to do with that," asked Alya?
Marinette looked to Adrien, then looked back down.
"It's possible. Plagg might not be able to show us all his skills because we're at a school."
"And he killed us both before. It didn't say how, but a curse could be possible," added Adrien, Marinette nodded. The group kept thinking as they walked to the gates, Class T1 heading towards the guild while Class T2 waited for instructions.
"Those who need to go to the jeweler, follow me. The rest of you, Chloe will lead you to the weapon smith!"
Nino followed after the professor, the rest of Team B following after Chloe.
Marinette suddenly shook her head and slapped her cheeks.
Alya snorted, "What was that."
"Banishing all negative thoughts. I need to have the right mindset when visiting the weapon smith."
Alya smiled, tapping Marinette on the head with her staff.
"Bad thoughts, be gone."
Adrien immediately leaned over, Alya performing the ritual on him as well while Marinette giggled.
They walked into the smithy's shop, Adrien immediately stepping back in awe he almost crashed onto Marinette. He let out a slight squeal before dashing to a particular light suit of armor. It was a pearlly white armor set with vambraces and greaves. For a lightweight hero, the armor was perfect. Marinette followed, giggling at his find.
"It's purfect," he whispered, reaching for someone to hold onto, eventually finding Marinette's shoulder and squeezing it.
"Well, how much is it?"
Adrien looked down at the price tag, then his coin pouch.
"Not enough," he grimaced.
"Then we'll go on a quest this weekend, test Alya and Nino's gear and get you enough money for your set."
"You mean, an actual S quest," asked Alya, excited at the prospect of actually making money. The job quests Marinette picked were usually either no class or E class. E was the lowest number. In a town made of adventurers and heroes, the E class quests were plentiful, which meant plenty of work, but little pay. Darn their team leader and her big heart.
"I didn't notice any S class requests at the start of the week, but an A class should be enough." Adrien and Alya squealed, hugging Marinette.
"Any other wizards needing to have their magi-stones fitted," called out the weapon smith. Alya waved her friends goodbye and headed to the counter. She set the stone down on the table, along with her staff.
It was a cherry wood red staff with several branches bent in a curved shape. Each branch was in a loop smaller than the one before, creating a perfect pocket for her new magi-stone.
"Now let's see what we have here." The weapon smith, a man named Armand, inspected her staff, then the gem with gloved hands.
"It won't quite fit into the space we have here, but I can make a setting around it or you can go to the jeweler to put it inside of a more decorative case."
"I guess, just go with the setting. If I want to upgrade my staff later, we can fancy it up then."
The quill thin man smiled, adding Alya's staff to his list of weapons to adjust, "I'll have yours ready by week's end."
Alya nodded, returning to her friends. Adrien was still admiring the armor set, Marinette finding a dark leather corset with silver décor and a matching set of bracers on display near Adrien's armor set.
Alya moved her hands under their chins, snapping them back up to keep them from drooling.
"A class quest," she hummed in their ears, Adrien and Marinette perking up.
"Right! This weekend, we'll take an A class quest," announced Marinette, sounding more forced as if she panicked being caught staring at the armor.
"Right, A class quest." Adrien too looked a little panicked by his obsessive display.
They both fist pumped the air before marching out of the smith's shop, not daring to look back at the armor. Alya just smiled and followed after her friends.
Team B met at the guildhall Saturday, ready to take on the world. Alya with her modified staff, Nino with his new bracelet, Marinette and Adrien eager to earn money for their desired armor sets.
Only for the guild board to be fresh out of S and A class quests.
Adrien and Marinette smacked their heads against a table, positioned near the board for their other members to read the quests.
"We can still do B quests. Or Nino and I could just do training at the school," offered Alya.
Marinette and Adrien grunted, neither moving from their spot. Alya started poking their heads when they refused to move. "Come on, we all could use a little more training. After your match against Plagg and the sirens, we could all use the practice."
"Or we could train against fighting smaller demons," offered Nino.
Adrien and Marinette lifted their heads as Nino leaned on the table, blocking the board from view.
"Let's be honest dudes, you both went from 0-100 really fast on this take down the Demon Lord thing. Which is why you lost the last two battles."
"We tied with Plagg," grumbled Adrien.
"I wouldn't really call the Siren Queen a battle," added Marinette.
"Still not a total victory. And Siren Queen totally counts. But aside from that, like any good Hero, you gotta start small, with the small demons, before you work your way up to a demon lord. Like anything in life, you gotta climb the ladder to reach the top."
Marinette and Adrien both sat up, looking at each other.
"We have been jumping the gun a little with fighting Plagg," started Marinette.
"We're practically still starters trying to fight a boss with hundreds of years of experience," finished Adrien. Nino snapped his fingers to point at them.
"Exactly, which is why I present the perfect quest."
He stepped back, gesturing to a poster on the board. The group moved forward to read.
"Wanted: Heroes to Exterminate Demons Stealing My Valuables" Then the request went to list the reward, location, and name of the client. Marinette and Adrien both reached for the paper, tearing it off the board. As then read more of the details, their smiles grew. They ran over to Caline to get approval, leaving their mages behind.
"They are really easy to please," teased Alya, Nino smiling and shrugging.
"They're your stealing pidgieroos," asked Marinette? As if to make a point, Adrien sneezed, taking a step back from the feathered man and his pets.
They had seen the smaller bird commonly known as pigeons roosting in the village. Pidgieroos looked similar except they almost reached the same height as Marinette's waist, with their legs and feet covered in feathered pants and curled feathers around their neck.
The client made his six pidgieroos their own dormitory in his backyard, some of the birds wandering around the yard while others napped in their designated nest. Unlike their client's falling apart house, the pidgieroos looked well cared for.
"My pidgieroos! The nerve! If the demon stole my pidgieroos I would have made it an A class quest," yelled Xavier, the owner of said pidgieroos. "No this demon is after my pidgieroos' eggs!"
He opened the door to one of the nests, the pidgieroo allowing him to take an egg that was the size of his palm.
"The demon is stealing our livelihood! How would I be able to take care of my precious girls without their eggs?"
The group all blinked him, trying hard not to look at each other. Until Adrien sneezed again, taking another step away.
"And you're sure they are demons," asked Marinette?
Xavier leaned in close to the group.
"I saw it. A dark monster with glowing eyes and sharp fangs. A multi-tailed creature of the night."
The group looked at each other, trying to contain their excitement of fighting an actual demon.
"Leave it to us, Mr. Xavier," said Marinette, the rest of the team nodding in agreement. "We'll set up a stake out tonight and get rid of the demon for sure."
Adrien sneezed for the umpteenth time since they agreed to the job. The group had hidden in different spots around the pidgieroo yard, Nino playing them a song of vigilance as he sat in a tree in order to keep the group awake. Alya was hiding behind a tree, maintaining illusions of pidgieroos in the dormitory while the actual pidgieroos slept with Xavier. Marinette and Adrien were assigned to circle the perimeter.
"Are you sure you can do this," whispered Marinette, passing by Adrien.
"I'm fine, something about these pidgieroos is irritating my nose. So long as I keep my distance, I'll be good."
Marinette smiled patting his shoulder before moving on, Adrien continuing his direction. Only for Adrien to pull her arm and hide them behind the fence. Marinette looked to Adrien, who motioned her to be quiet then pointed to the pidgieroo house. Marinette made the same gestures to Nino and Alya, Nino stopping his music and Alya focusing on her illusion. Some leaves crackles underneath what sounded like small feet. Marinette leaned over to see if the demon was approaching from the other side of the fence, only to see a black shadow leap from some bushes and into the yard. Marinette sharply turned to see where the demon landed, only to see some of its tails disappear into the birdhouse.
Adrien was already back inside the fence, creeping towards the bird house when he suddenly stopped, his nose twitching as he tried to stall his own sneeze. Marinette jumped towards him, managing to halt the incoming sneeze with a finger under his nose. Adrien relaxed as the sneeze passed, as did the rest of the group. Marinette looked to Alya who confirmed the demon was going after her illusionary eggs.
Only for Adrien to suddenly sneeze.
Marinette quickly aimed her crossbow after the bandit as it fled the pidgieroo nest, only for her shot to scratch its hind leg.
"Alya a barrier!"
Their mage aimed a barrier box at the demon, the creature jumping up and over the obstacle with grace.
Marinette and Adrien crawled over the fence and gave chase, Nino and Alya coming up behind.
"Nino! Light!"
Nino obliged, strumming his instrument.
"Let my music shine," he sang, his bracelet glowing as did his music notes a little brighter until it burst in a brilliant light. Marinette saw three of the tails disappear behind a bush as Nino's light dimmed. She stopped the group, everyone running into her outstretched arms.
"Sorry, still getting used to the magi-stone," called out Nino.
"And why'd we stop," asked Adrien.
"Did you not see that?"
"The demon?"
Marinette looked back to the direction the monster had gone, tiptoeing through the bushes.
"Little demon, if you can, we would like to talk."
"Talk, to a demon," scolded Adrien, only for Marinette to shush him.
"It's alright little one," she holstered her empty bow and raised her hands to show she meant no harm.
They heard a whimper, Adrien jumping to attack the injured beast, only for Marinette to tackle him.
"Will you think with your head for once!"
"I am thinking, it's a demon and it's stealing!"
"It's a baby!"
The whimpering continued, Marinette leaning over to pull over the bushes to reveal a small three tailed fox.
"See, a baby nine tails."
Adrien sat up, blinking as he watched the creature cowering at the roots of a tree.
"Um, there's more than one," commented Alya, several curious eyes blinking from underneath the tangled roots.
Marinette crawled off Adrien and towards the small fox, extending her hand for the creature to sniff.
It leaned forward, giving a couple sniffs before retreating into the hole in the roots.
"Wait, I want to ask you something!"
The small head appeared out of the hole, its long ears on alert.
"Why are you stealing?"
"Not all demon creatures can talk-" started Adrien, only to be interrupted as the dog-like creature started to whine, sounding like it was trying to say something until it let out a distinctive bark, "Ma, ma!"
The group searched the eyes of the other kits, none of them big enough to be a mother nine tails.
"It's stealing to feed its siblings," concluded Alya, kneeling beside Marinette.
"So if they had their mother, they wouldn't need to steal," asked Nino.
Marinette slapped her fist to her palm, eyes wide in realization.
"That's why it's stealing the eggs rather than the pidgieroos. They're still too you for meat so this little guy was bringing them the egg yolk to eat."
"So we find the mom and they stop stealing," asked Alya, the group looking at the baby nine tails.
"Or at least what happened to her. If she didn't survive, we should probably relocate them to somewhere they can grow up without having to steal to survive," said Marinette, the other two solemnly nodding.
"Are you hearing yourselves right now," asked Adrien, the group turning to other fighter.
"We found the bandits, let's just relocate them now. They're demons, we don't need to bother helping them find their mother."
Marinette glared at Adrien, "If you want to let Mr. Xavier know we found the bandit, be my guest. I'm going to help the kits find their mother."
Marinette turned back to the baby nine tails.
"Could you show us which way your mother went."
The little fox whined limping out of the root entrance.
"Oh wait, I have something that could help. Sorry about that by the way."
Marinette reached for her pouch, the baby scrambling back into the hole, but with its head out to watch as Marinette pulled out a jar. She opened the container, smelling strongly like plants.
"Nino, know any animal sleeping songs?"
"Just lullabies, nothing specific for animals. But I probably wouldn't have to play long for babies."
Marinette nodded her consent, Nino playing a song.
The babies quickly grew drowsy, Marinette pulling the eldest out of the cave entrance and into her lap.
"Alya, can you put a barrier around her mouth, I don't want her to snap in case the cream gets painful."
Alya nodded, creating a muzzle around the kit.
Marinette scooped some of the cream on her fingers, applying it to the nine tail's hind leg.
Adrien watched as the group finished their task, the song finishing and the baby fox awaking. Alya removed the muzzle when it didn't start biting them. The kit sniffed its hind leg, then rolled onto its back, squirming in the dirt. The other little nine tails left their cave, joining the eldest in playing.
They yipped and pranced around Marinette and Alya, the girls giggling and reaching out to pet the small creatures, only for the foxes to jump away, like a game.
"You're still here," asked Marinette, noticing Adrien standing besides Nino.
Adrien sighed, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Well, like you said, heroes look out for the little guys."
Marinette smiled, slowly standing so the little ones slid off her lap.
"Then little nine tails!" The elder fox turned to Marinette, wagging its three tails. "Let's find your mother!"
Adrien had to give the little fox credit, it was a good tracker to follow as it led them to the mother ninetails as the sun began peaking over the mountains.
"Ma! Ma!"
A white haired woman at the gate turned, her nine tails trailing after her, and pointed fox like ears perking at the barking. She smiled as she dropped to the ground, transforming into a large fox as the sun touched her skin, embracing her kit.
"You have brought my little one to me! Thank you heroes," said the mother.
"Unfortunately she was in a bit of trouble while you were out, but now that we found you hopefully we can resolve everyone's problems," announced Alya with a proud smile. The group looked to their team leader for confirmation, only for Marinette to step forward, reaching her hand out for the nine tail's throat. She lifted up the fur to reveal a collar made of vines, the vines reaching back towards a wall of ivy.
"You couldn't come home," said Marinette, petting the nine tails cheek. The nine tails closed her eyes, leaning into the pets.
"I wanted to, but while hunting I trespassed onto the guardian dryad's garden. Now I must protect it as punishment."
"We could bring your kits here, so you could all at least live together," offered Adrien, the nine tails smiling.
"That would be very kind of you, but I do not know how my master will take it. She provides enough nutrients to sustain myself, but to help me feed my kits as they grow, would be too much." The nine tails shook her head, "It would be best if you bring them to the school. The gods and goddesses would know where they could safely grow up."
"No."
The group turned to Marinette, her fists clenching the mother nine tail's fur.
"Families need to stick together. We'll talk to the dryad, and either free you from your sentence or get her to accept your children as well."
"Please hero, do not offer us such hope. I must pay for my carelessness."
"Did you hurt or kill anyone when you trespassed?"
"I may have stepped on some plants. And a guardian dryad's job is to take care of the spirits of said plants."
Marinette frowned crossing her arms, "Well, the dryad clearly wants you here to guard something instead of cursing you. If we could convince her she needs more guards for her garden, then she'll have to accept your children."
Marinette marched over to the ivy wall looking for a way through.
"Please do be careful heroes."
Marinette reached out to touch the ivy, only to be sucked into the wall.
"Marinette!" Adrien, Alya and Nino ran to the wall, all sucked in the same way as Marinette. The four found themselves in the middle of a circular garden divided between edible plants, herbal plants, and flowers. At the center of the garden was a willow tree. A wind began blowing through the garden, the willow leaves and branches twisting until the tree's trunk took on a human like appearance.
"Who dares enter MY garden!"
The team scrambled to their feet, combat ready.
"We are Team B of Class T2 of the school for heroes," announced Adrien.
"Heroes! In MY garden! Stepping on my azaleas!"
They looked down to see the squished flowers. Suddenly the injured azaleas burst to life, extending their foliage to grab the heroes and start pulling them down into the dirt.
"This will teach thieves from stepping in my garden."
"But we aren't here to steal," yelled Marinette. The tugging stopped as the branches extended towards them, the dryad's head visible within the leaves.
"And what pray tell are you here for?"
"The nine tails. She's a mother whose kits need her badly. Please can we bring them to stay here with her?"
The dryad scowled, "I care not for the mammals that walk the earth. They hurt my charges without a care, thinking their kind are worth more than mine."
"They're like your children," asked Adrien?
"So you are in your own way a mother," continued Marinette.
A branch extended to one of the azalea buds, caressing its forming petals.
"It would hurt to be separated from them," added Marinette.
"Much like the nine tails is separated from her own children," finished Adrien.
The willow branches withdrew, the azalea vines sinking back into the dirt and creating a space around the heroes.
"I know the nine tails meant no harm, and I should have let her go. But my precious fauna."
A branch extended towards another part of the garden, in the herbs section where several types of plants had been sloppily cut.
Nino groaned, "More thieves?"
"More," questioned the dryad?
"Because the nine tails mother was missing, the baby nine tails were stealing pidgieroo eggs to survive. We accepted the thief quest first, which led us to you," explained Alya.
"If we help you catch the thief, would you let the nine tails go," asked Marinette, only to be turned by Adrien.
"We have school tomorrow, we don't have time to catch another thief."
"Then I'll stay behind and deal with the thief. Or we could do it in turns: Some of us stay the first night and some stay on the second night."
"Or we could just have the baby nine tails help us track the thief rather than wasting a whole day waiting for night fall. Again," suggested Alya.
Adrien and Marinette looked to Alya, both dumbfounded.
"What, I can have good ideas too."
The duo snorted, Nino and Alya joining in on the laughter.
"I think we're all a little sleep deprived," giggled Marinette.
"Do you need to rest before you watch the garden," asked the dryad.
"Depends on the kit. Or maybe the mother nine tails could help," suggested Nino.
"No, the mother would need to stay in case the thief comes back. If the baby is ready to go, then we can go," concluded Marinette.
The dryad nodded, the ivy opening a hole in the wall to reveal the mother nine tails cleaning her kit.
"Have you been listening," asked the dryad, the nine tails confirming.
"How do you feel little one," asked the mother, the baby yawning as it stretched, jumping into the garden. Marinette opened her arms to allow the kit inside, walking her over to the cut plants and careful to watch their step.
"These are all healing plants," commented Marinette, looking back at the dryad.
"Correct. I fear my wrathful reputation in this forest may have been my downfall. The thief seems inexperienced as he takes random plants but is in desperate need."
"Like the baby nine tails?"
The dryad nodded.
The kit suddenly barked, scrambling to get out of Marinette's arms. She loosened her grip as the three tailed fox ran towards the wall, trampling several plants in the process before pawing at the wall.
"Sorry about her," apologized Marinette as she followed the nine tails, carefully avoiding the plants.
The dryad smiled, the plants not gravely injured springing back to life with a whisper of the wind. The ivy parted for Team B and kit to leave the garden, Marinette waving goodbye as they chased after the fox.
"We'll let you know what we find!" Marinette called out!
The dryad nodded before disappearing back into her tree, closing the ivy wall.
"Only you," groaned Nino as the remaining members of the team caught up to Marinette and the nine tails.
"Only me what?"
"Only you would have the heart to help every single demon on a quest that asked to get rid of the demons."
Marinette giggled, Nino smiling at his jest as Alya rolled her eyes. Adrien frowned, bringing up the last in the group.
Why would a king's hero be so willing to help demons?
The baby nine tails led the team to a small log cabin in a cleared out portion of the woods.
"Can we keep her, because this tracking would be great with A class quests," asked Alya?
"She may be the oldest, but she's still too young to leave her mother," whispered Marinette.
The group sat behind some bushes, watching the house for any activity. The house looked poorly kept, wooden doors blocking any form of light from leaking in.
"So either the cabin is a hide out for bandits or vampires," asked Nino, looking to Marinette.
"A young vampire with no medicinal knowledge or bandits who injured themselves and need a healer," Marinette confirmed.
"And I take it either way we are helping them," sighed Adrien?
"Yep."
Marinette stood up and walked to the door. Adrien groaned as he and the rest of the group followed after her, the kit waiting in the shadows.
Marinette knocked on the door, the team visibly wincing as she called out for the occupant.
"Hello, does someone live here?" she turned to their illusion mage and whispered, "Alya, barrier please."
Their illusion mage raised an eyebrow, but did as Marinette requested. Not a moment too soon as the door opened, revealing a red skinned child with bone white horns poking out of his curly dark hair. He looked around, unable to see anyone. As he shut the door, Marinette stuck her boot between the door.
"Gah!"
"It's ok, it's ok," Marinette stepped in front of the illusion, bending down to meet the frightened demon child.
"It's ok, there's only four of us here. We want to help you."
The child stopped blubbering to look at the heroes.
"Weally?"
Marinette nodded, smiling at the child as she reached out and ruffled his hair.
"Can you tell us what's wrong?"
The boy nodded, giggling as he grabbed Marinette's hand and led her to the another room. Alya followed, leaving Nino and Adrien in the main room and on guard.
In the back room was a larger version of the small child, but the elder demon had a fully grown beard and his incisor teeth poking out of his mouth.
"Papa is vewwy vewwy sick," explained the boy, Marinette inching close to the demon's side. He was sweating and had a giant gash in his thigh that wasn't healing properly, dark and white puss leaking from the injury.
"Anything you can do Marinette?"
"Possibly, but it looks like he wasn't cut by some normal blade. The dryad might have something to fix him. Can dryads leave their trees?"
Marinette looked back to Alya who shrugged.
"Yes, if their tree dies, they can move to a new tree so long as it is vacant. They just can't leave their tree's forest," called out Adrien.
Marinette turned to the little boy, "I'm going to get someone who can help your papa. But I'm going to leave my friends with you, ok?"
The small demon nodded, grabbing his father's hand.
Marinette nodded to Alya, the wizard following their team leader to the door. Marinette stopped before she left, placing a hand on Alya's shoulder.
"I don't think that injury was an accident, so be on your guard for whoever comes to the door. I trust you guys to protect them."
Alya nodded, Marinette slightly smiling before leaving the group.
Adrien sighed as he leaned against the wall.
"You ok," asked Alya, nodding to Nino to move to shut the door to the second room.
"Just confused. I like Marinette, her bravery and selflessness. It's just," he looked at the bedroom door, "something isn't adding up in this world compared to the last one."
Adrien took a breath, his companions waiting for him to continue.
"We're supposed to fight demons at least according to our old world. And my mind having a hard time wrapping around the demons of this world. And helping them."
"Well, this world is in-between-world, so we're going to get used to all kinds of weirdness."
Alya looked over to Nino when Adrien didn't respond, "Nothing is really normal in this world, you understand that, right," asked Alya?
Adrien looked up to his friends.
"We have gods as teachers, humans who died from our heroic misdeeds, and a demon lord teaching us how to be heroes. This world isn't going to be like other worlds," explained Alya.
"It's ironic really, they put us in the weirdest other world before putting us in a normal one, kind like a test run," added Nino.
"So not all demons are bad here, we just have to roll with it. Just like we roll with Marinette wanting to help out everyone we meet."
Adrien smiled, "Maybe she was like that in our world, trying to help demons too?"
Alya shrugged, "probably. That would explain the initial trust issues if she kept trying to help the demons in your world and they kept betraying her."
Adrien nodded, biting the inside of his cheek as he thought, "I just have to be there beside her and help her out of whatever dark place she came from, if she let's me."
"That's the spirit sunshine."
"Um guys," the two teens looked over to Nino, the demon child holding his pant leg.
"The bad lady is coming."
"Bad -" Alya looked to Adrien, who looked just as confused as her.
"Should I put a barrier around the house," asked Alya?
Before anyone could answer there was a knock at the door, the child hiding behind Nino.
"What do we do," mouthed Alya.
"I don't know, I'm not good at planning these things," answered Nino.
"I'm a support, my job is to listen to plans," added Adrien.
The boys looked to Alya as the knocking continued.
"Fine, I might have something."
She marched over to Nino, opening the back door to better see the injured demon.
Alya turned towards the front door, waving her staff as she put together the pieces of a clone of the demon, and a bandage covering the injury.
"Nino, lend me your voice," whispered Alya as she made her demon move to the door.
Nino opened his mouth several times trying to protest when Alya's demon opened the door.
"What do you want," Nino growled, trying to sound deeper.
There was no noise on the other side, Adrien skimming along the wall to peak at the slight crack on the window doors.
Outside was another demon with the torso of a woman and the abdomen of a spider, the beast taller than the doorway of the cabin. Covering her face was a full mask.
Adrien looked back to his companions and grimaced.
"Well," asked Nino in his gruff voice.
"You're doing well I see." He voice was thick with lust, her s sounding more like a hiss.
"Yes, I am, now if that's all you came for, please leave, I need to make my son lunch."
Adrien and Alya gave Nino a thumbs up at his clever line. Then they heard the demon cackle.
"Lunch, oh darling, you don't have time for lunch."
The spider woman launched herself at the illusion, Alya dispersing it so she fell through the door.
The demon looked up as she struggled to stand on her legs.
"Heroes, oh the master will be quite pleased."
Adrien immediately charged at the monster, hitting her ribs with the but end of his staff, but only bouncing off.
"Exoskeleton," Adrien grimaced as he retreated beside Alya as the demon stood, only for the illusion of the demon man to reappear, this time with a giant cleaver in hand. The illusion swung, the spider woman scrambling away as the cleaver scratched her.
"Your illusions do damage," yelled Nino!
"With my magi-stone it does!"
Her magi-stone continued to glow as a second red demon appeared behind the spider woman, slashing at her abdomen, the first illusion striking at her front. The cleaver in the back lodged into her rear. The first demon drew the cleaver up so it slashed up her front, breaking the demon's mask as it cut through.
Suddenly the spider woman vanished, standing in its place a fox with five tails, pieces of the other four on the ground and a deep gash up her face. The cleaver from before clattered to the ground next to the dismembered tails.
A sudden arrow whizzed past, the fox turning as Marinette, the dryad and baby nine tails approached. With a growl, the fox jumped away into the woods.
"What, what happened," huffed Marinette as the trio approached the cabin.
"Shapeshifter, I guess, she was a spider woman at first, and I would have gotten her if not for her shifting into nine tails," explained Alya.
The dryad glared at the direction the demon had run off to, "As far as I know, there are no natural shape shifting demons in these woods. Closer to the mountains, perhaps, but not this far out."
Marinette escorted the leafy woman inside, the others watching for any sign of the returning intruder. Instead, the remaining tails disappeared and a rough breeze.
"Like I said, this is the weirdest world," said Nino, the baby nine tails running inside as Nino closed the door.
"I can't thank you all enough." The demon, the dryad clarifying as an oni demon stretched his repaired arm, only for his son to jump and swing on it.
"As the dryad of this forest, it is my job to protect its creatures, even mammals." The dryad, made up of various leaves and wildflowers, looked back to Marinette and winked.
"Well, if there is anyway I repay you, just name it. My life and my son's life are in your hands."
He dropped his son beside his leg, resting his hands on his knees to bow.
"Um, I think we have a way that can benefit everyone and repay your debt," announced Marinette.
The dryad and the demon looked at each other, then to Marinette.
"He can be your new guard! You do pretty well protecting it during the day, but you sir like the dark right?"
"Yes, most of my kind function better at night."
"There, Mr. Oni and his son can be your night guards."
Marinette looked between the two adults, the oni extending his hand, which the dryad slowly accepted. The child placed his hands on their joined ones.
"I'll then see you tonight then. It's been a busy day and we need to prepare for a busy night."
The oni smiled which the dryad returned with a nod, leaving the bedroom.
"Thanks kids, I really owe you big time now, getting me a new job and all."
"New job? Is your old job how you got hurt," asked Adrien?
The oni grimaced, "It wasn't really a job so much a weird recruitment. There's a demon lord recruiting all sorts of demons and teaching them how to steal magic from heroes. I didn't like it so I left before I learned anything, but he still sent the shapeshifter after me."
The group looked at each other, then Marinette who was biting her lip.
"Thanks for the information. And good luck with your new job," said Adrien, urging Marinette out. The oni waved as his son escorted them out, the dryad still waiting by the tree line with the baby nine tails.
"Do you know anything about a demon lord in the area," asked Marinette the moment they started walking with the dryad and the door was shut to the cabin.
"I have heard rumors, demons and monsters gathering in the mountains for a new demon lord. He has not extended his reach into my forest, so I know little more than that."
Marinette pouted, Adrien putting a comforting arm around her.
"You did well assisting me with healing. If you wish to learn more so you may one day face this demon lord, you may visit me at my garden."
Marinette's countenance immediately lit up at the dryad's offer.
"Thank you! Thank you so much!"
The dryad suddenly stopped as they met a small stream, "Follow this back to the village. And follow the left side to find my garden."
The group nodded, bidding the dryad and kit their goodbyes as their paths diverged.
"Do you think Manon might like a pet nine tails instead of a cat," asked Adrien, glancing back at the forest dwellers?
"Dude!" Nino whacked him upside the head.
"Half!" Team B looked at the reward from Caline from their original request. She looked embarrassed for them as she handed over a piece of paper with the coin bag.
"And a complaint."
"For disturbing my girls' sleep. For howling and barking all hours of the night. For five demons found sleeping in my pidgieroo house."
The group looked at each other, accepting the money bag and leaving the guild.
"You two want our share for your armor," offered Alya.
"It's fine, I'm getting lessons from Willow anyway."
"Willow, she has a name," asked Adrien?
Marinette shrugged, "She told me to call her that over Ms. Dryad."
An obnoxious snort interrupted Adrien's response. "Ms. Dryad."
They looked over at the newcomer to see Plagg as a human walking towards the gates of the school.
"Well, excuse me, we aren't exactly taught demon name etiquette in school," accused Marinette.
"They're the same as anyone else. You ask them."
Marinette was about to retort when someone placed a hand on her shoulder, turning to see Adrien shaking his head as Plagg walked farther away.
"What was that for?"
"Didn't you notice? Plagg's appearance?"
Marinette looked back at the demon lord, his jacket scuffed up with dirt and rocky debris, leaves tangled in his hair.
What was Plagg doing in the forest?
Guess who got distracted playing Monster Hunter Rise this week? Yep, totally me. And Marinette has converted my weapon of choice to light bow gun.
My inspiration for the pidgieroos were fancy pigeons, just a little bigger.
This chapter was a little more difficult to write than the others, as I knew I wanted a never ending fetch quest, but what they fetched was the difficult thing to decide. Instead we fetched more insight into Marinette and Adrien's characteristics prior to the story. *wink wink*