"Thanks to the generosity of Mr. Bourgeois, we're able to have our work experience field trip today at the Grand Paris luxury hotel. Each of you will get hands-on experience with one of the many jobs here at the hotel. You'll be graded on your effort, which will affect whether you pass or fail the class."
"So why have the three of us been excluded from this?"
Ella whispered to Marinette and Alya as they stood off to the side while the rest of the class got their assignments.
"Do you have Marinette, Alya and Ella on your list, Mr. Bourgeois?"
"It doesn't look like it."
"I bet I know who helped Daddy make the assignments." Alya whispered to the pair, jabbing her thumb over to the front desk, where Chloé was currently draping herself all over Adrien.
"Of course, she gets to spent her entire day with Adrien... Ugh! This is gonna be the worst day ever!" Marinette groaned, throwing her hands up in disbelief. Ella sighed, tucking her hair behind her ear. Her eyes traveled over the hotel lobby, as she waited to hear what her assignment was while Alya comforted Marinette. Eventually her gaze moved to the front desk- Chloé was scribbling something down on a piece of paper (probably Ella and the other two's assignments of torture from the blonde girl), and Adrien... was staring right back at Ella.
The pairs eyes met, blushes creeping up onto their cheeks. Ella gently smiled and waved at the boy, Adrien mimicking her gestures, until Chloé re-attached herself to Adrien's side.
"Daddy!" The girl sang, holding out the paper for her father.
"Thank you, sweetie. Oh yes! Alya, you're going to be... sorting trash at the main dumpster."
"Now that sucks major..." Ella whispered, patting Alya on the shoulder.
"Marinette will be..."
The hotel door slid open... and in walked Jagged Stone, the famous rock and roll star. Ella paled at the crocodile walking in behind the man.
"Wow!"
"Hey! That's..."
"Excuse me, but this is a luxury hotel, not a..." Mr. Bourgeois flinched back as the crocodile growled at him, as Chloé grabbed her father.
"Daddy! That's Jagged Stone, the rockstar. He's sold millions of albums, he's very famous and is very, very rich."
"Mr. Stone, welcome to the Grand Paris Hotel! I am Mayor Bourgeois, the owner of this luxury establishment, in fact, the most luxurious in all of Paris. How might we serve you?" The Mayor changed his tune quick at the mention of the rock star's wealth, making Ella roll her eyes.
"How'd you think? I didn't just come here to admire your lobby."
"Jagged would like to check into your most luxurious suite." The woman behind Jagged spoke, smiling at the girls.
"And Fang better get a real bathtub, not a tiny water hole like the one in that hotel across the street."
"We have everything you need, Ms. Fang. Even a state-of-the-art entertainment center!"
"Fang's my crocodile."
"Of course it is..." Ella whispered, making Marinette and Alya giggle.
"Mr. Stone, we have everything you require for your... Fang. Would he, um... enjoy a bubble bath?"
"Crocodiles don't like bubble baths. That dries their scales out!"
"This guy's spent too many hours with an amp blasting in his ears..." Ella mumbled, her eyes moving from the rock star... to the man sneaking in the lobby doors. She watched him sneak behind the counter, his camera snapping photos of Jagged- while not seeing the crocodile traipsing up to him. Ella nudged her friends, secretly pointing to the event going on behind the adults. The girls watched, as the crocodile poked its head around the counter, making the paparazzi man squeak and jump into the middle of the lobby.
"Oh, no. Not him again."
"Remember me, Mr. Stone? Vincent Aza! Just one photo to show everyone in the world that we're best buds! Come on, please! I'm your biggest fan!"
"I know, you've been to my last 36 shows. But we are not friends." Jagged groaned, rubbing his forehead. Vincent ran up, wrapping his arm around Jagged's shoulders and pointing his camera at them selfie style.
"There! Now look into the lens!"
"This guy really doesn't take a hint..." Ella couldn't help but sigh. Nothing was more irritating than someone clinging to another after repeated times not to... and the teen couldn't help but glance over at Chloé hanging off Adrien: a prime example.
"Didn't you hear Mr. Stone? You still haven't got it, have you? No photos!" Jagged's assistant shoved the fan out the hotel door, restoring the somewhat peace of the lobby.
"Mr. Bourgeois, you haven't told Marinette what job she'll be doing."
"Ah, yes. Of course, Marinette. Gopher. I've got a job for you already, Marinette."
"Gopher? What's that?"
"I'm guessing it's about as bad as trash duty."
Ella and Marinette followed Ms. Bustier and Mr. Bourgeois up to the high-end suite, entering the room after Jagged and his assistant, Penny.
"Mr. Stone is going to need a new pair of shades for tonight's gig. Red, white and blue with two large Eiffel Towers on them. Can you get that for him?"
"Of course we can! Marinette here is our gopher. She'll take care of that for you."
"Huh?"
"A gopher is an employee who goes for anything a customer needs. Anything at all. So go ahead. Goph!" The mayor whispered to the teen, leaving her behind in the room.
"What about Ella, sir?" Ms. Bustier asked, leaving the girl waiting beside Marinette. And Ella really didn't mind waiting for something to do- the more time they fretted over it, the less time Ella actually had to deal with it. Slowly zoning out, Ella began humming the song she had been working on for a bit- even more so since she was akumatized.
As she hummed, she pulled out her journal, sitting down on the floor. She tuned out the world, scribbling music notes down and lyrics alike. And in the almost silence of the room, everyone could hear the girls voice as it changed from humming to words, the melody dancing through the air.
Marinette sighed, not knowing how she was gonna do this job. She turned to Ella, but saw the girl had vanished.
"Ella?" Looking around, Marinette found the girl sitting criss-cross on the carpet next to her legs; her journal in her lap. Her friend was gone, off in her own little world; Marinette couldn't help but smile.
"Ella." Marinette crouched down, keeping her hands away from the girl. The slow movement and the call of her name caught the noirette's attention- barely startling her, Ella reacting with a light jump.
"Mari?"
"I gotta go start my assignment. Wanna go back down to the lobby and find Ms. Bustier?"
"Mm. Might as well."
Ella packed her journal away and followed Marinette out to the elevator.
"...actually, I'm gonna take the stairs. See you later, Mari!" The blunette nodded, remembering Ella's claustrophobia, as the teen crossed the hall to the stairwell.
"Good luck with whatever assignment you get!"
"You too!"
Ella took her time heading back down to the lobby, scrolling through her phone for some new music to listen to.
"What kind of job do you think Chloé assigned you to?"
"Probably something horrible since she thinks I'm coming between her and Adrien."
"In a way, but it's not like she's ever have a shot with him anyways."
"Wow- harsh, Kiisy." Ella giggled, the kwami zooming up to sit on her wielder's shoulder.
"Imagine if Chloé had been your chosen holder."
"I'd take one look and go back in the box!"
Ella burst out laughing, gripping the hand rail to keep herself up.
"I'm-I'm gl-glad you think so highly of me, Kiis!" Ella gasped out smiling wide, trying to catch her breath.
"Of course! You've been the best holder I've ever had!"
The teen couldn't help but tear up at her kwami's comment, nuzzling her cheek against the feathered head.
"Thanks Kiisy- that means a lot."
"You're welcome, Elly-bean. Now you might as well go find out your assignment if you wanna get a good grade for this."
"I guess I should."
Ella exited the stairwell, pocketing her phone and heading towards the lobby chairs looking for her teacher. But her gaze was directed back in front of her, as she accidentally ran into someone.
"Oh, I'm so sorry!"
"The fault is mine, miss. May I take your photo in apology? Look into the lens..."
Ella's eyes shot up, widening in horror at the villain. Her body reacted too late, barely turning away as the man pressed a button on his head set...
Adrien was still looking around, trying to figure a way out of this new villains ability (and ignoring Chloé behind him), when a flash of blue pixels announced the arrival of someone new to the space.
"Ella!" Adrien yelled, recognizing the black tights, skirt and purple/blue striped long sleeve. Said girl looked up at his shout, picking herself off the ground.
"Adrien!"
He ran over to her, wrapping her arms around her waist while her own went around his neck.
"Are you okay?" Adrien asked after a moment, pulling away just enough to look at Ella's face.
"I think so... what is this place?"
"I think it's like a memory card for a camera- a place for Pixelator to store all the people he can capture."
"Pixelator? That's who I bumped into?"
"Had to be, if you're here." Adrien pulled away a bit more, to take another glance around the white space.
"Finding a way out may be difficult but we don't know if there is an end to this place."
"Then we should get looking."
Once the pair separated, Adrien had to hold in the groan for both the loss of Ella's warmth and for Chloé immediately plastering herself to him, her eyes glaring at Ella.
"Chloé, get off. Why don't you try calling your father again?" That did the trick. Chloé pulled out her phone again as Adrien led the way through the space, Ella following just behind.
"Daddy! Daddy!"
"Plagg, I gotta find some way to transform." Adrien whispered to his kwami, making sure Ella couldn't hear him.
"Come on, what's the rush? You're here almost alone with the girl of your dreams! Why not lay on the charm and ask her out?" Adrien glared at him.
"Not the time or place, Plagg."
"Fine. If you insist, at least find me some cheese."
"Kiisy- you okay?"
Ella whispered to her kwami as she walked behind Adrien, careful to keep her voice low.
"I'm okay, Ella. But isn't this cute? You're almost basically alone with the boy you're fate-tied to!"
"Not the time or place for that, Kiis!"
"Ella, let's go see if there's a way out down there. Chloé- don't go anywhere. Could be dangerous."
"Dangerous?"
"You're not scared, are you?"
"Scared, moi? As if! No way!"
Adrien chuckled, taking Ella's hand and started running to find a way out by leaving Chloé behind. But the pair barely got anywhere as she screamed and jumped onto Adrien's shoulders, pointing at Jagged Stone's crocodile who had appeared behind her. Ella darted behind him as well, peeking her head out just enough to watch where the creature went. Adrien gulped, not fond of the animal maybe ten feet from him, but he didn't wanna show Ella he was scared!
Meanwhile in the real world, Ladybug landed in Vincent Aza's room. On the walls, she sees a lot of photos of Jagged Stone.
"Oh, this isn't creepy at all." She scanned the wall, looking for anything to help her figure this out. And right in the middle of the room, are a bunch of white photos... all containing people she recognizes- including her classmates.
"Ahhhh!"
"Ladybug?"
"Thank god!"
"What are you three doing there?"
"Ladybug! Remember me? Your biggest fan? Please, please get us out of here. It's terrible in here! I mean, it's only terrible when you're not around." Chloé complained, aiming the last part at Adrien.
"Not the time, Chloé!"
"Shut up, Maunt!"
Ladybug sighed at the two arguing, moving her head to answer another person calling her name. Finding out the villain was last capturing people at the Champs-Élysées, she sighed, standing straight.
"I sure hope Cat Noir and Raven are there already!" Ladybug groaned, vanishing from above the photos.
"So we're literally trapped in a photograph- no wonder there's no way out." Ella spoke, her hand moving to grip Adrien's tight.
"Hey- we'll be fine. Ladybug and the others will get us out." Adrien reassured, smiling down at the noirette.
"Hey! I'm scared too, Adri-kins!" Chloé whined, wrapping her arms around the teen and pushing Ella away.
"Chloé!" Adrien scolded, trying to shrug her off. He reached his hand out to Ella again, but his eyes widened as his limb turned into blue pixels.
"Ella!"
"Adr-"
The girl's call was cut off as Adrien and Chloé returned to the real world.
"No!" Adrien panicked, running to the TV at the lobby desk. Ignoring Nino, the boy took in the location of the villain, determined to beat him and free Ella.
"Fill-in for me, will you Nino?!"
Adrien took off outside, finding a sign pillar and transforming quick.
Ella stared at the spot Adrien had vanished from, her hand still reaching out.
The limb dropping, Ella looked around, realizing she was completely alone- minus Kiismet in her hair.
"Breathe, Ella!"
The kwami's order refocused Ella's thoughts enough for the girl to notice she was well on her way to a panic attack. She dropped down, her knees to her chest and her hands in her hair, gripping tight in a grounding attempt; Kiismet was already plastered against her neck humming an old tune.
Cat snuck up behind the villain, aiming for the glasses Ladybug pointed out verbally. But behind him, her heard someone move before...
"Yeah! Go Cat Noir!"
'Are you kidding me?!' Cat screamed at the guy in his head, grappling with Pixelator. The villain knocked him down, grabbed his ankles and tossed him over to Ladybug.
"Thanks for dropping in." She offered her hand but Cat's went right through.
"Not very handy, I see. We gotta make this fast."
"Huh? Why?"
"What about our deal!?" Pixelator yelled, cutting Cat off. The villain seethed, pushing the camera button to capture the two heroes. Ladybug's attack attempt failed, but as Cat jumped and swung his staff, one pixel zap caught him. In a flash, he landed back in the white space.
"This works too. Ella! Ella!"
It took him but a minute to find the girl, and his heart broke at the sight. She was curled up in a ball, her arms around her knees but her hands wrenching at her hair- the grip taut. Cat could tell she was panicking, but by her breathing, it looked as though she was on her way down.
"Ella!"
Cat skid on his knees in front of her, his hands immediately pulled her own out of her hair. Ella startled at the contact, but when she saw who was touching her, Cat reacted quick to her flinging herself into his arms.
"It's okay, you're safe now..."
"A-A-Adrien... was he-here too... bu-but he g-got out..! I-I was al-al-alone!"
Ella sobbed into Cat's chest, the hero wrapping his arms tight around the girl.
"Well you're not alone now, nor will you ever be again. Now let's get you out of here."
As he got her to stand (though she had a death grip on his left arm), Cat got an idea.
"Cataclysm!" He slammed his powered hand to the ground, making black fissures appear, and to his delight, blue pixels formed around him and Ella- returning them to reality.
"Come on, open your eyes." Pixelator coaxed Jagged, leaving Ladybug to scramble with her Lucky Vision. All around her, blue pixels erupted, revealing more people who had been captured- including Cat Noir and... Ella?
Cat narrowed his eyes at the villain, before turning to Ella.
"Go hide but stay where I can see you, got it?" He phrased it like a question, but he knew it sounded like an order; one Ella didn't seem to mind. She darted over to an abandoned car and hid, her black hair just peeking out enough for Cat to see.
In her Lucky Vision, Ladybug saw Cat Noir's staff and the compact. Realizing what needed to happen, she wound up and chucked the open compact at Cat Noir.
"Batter up!"
Cat Noir hit the compact with his staff, and it reflected Pixelator's beam, zapping him instead of Jagged. The villain vanished minus his glasses, sent to his own white photograph.
"Miraculous Ladybug!" She threw the Lucky Charm into the air, turning everything back to normal- including her arm and leg. She crushed Pixelator's glasses, freeing the akuma.
"No more evildoing for you, little akuma. Time to de-evilize! Gotcha! Bye bye, little butterfly."
Pixelator re-appeared in the street, turning back into Vincent.
"Huh? What happened? Where am I?"
"Pound it!" The heroes fist-bumped, but Cat quickly turned and ran over to a car, Ladybug quizzically following. Then she saw Ella's head pop up, those grey eyes searching and finding Cat Noir. The pair embraced, Ladybug watching on. Her mind tried to understand what was going on, and how Cat Noir and Ella got so close... especially since Cat Noir had a huge crush on Raven.
"You okay to go home?" Cat asked Ella, loosening his hold just a bit.
"I'm okay- but I gotta go back to the Grand Paris for work experience day."
"Alright. I'll come check on you tonight?"
"You really don't have to... fine." Ella caved at the look Cat sent her.
"Right answer, ma belle."
The teen rolled her eyes, smiling before she waved and headed off towards the hotel.
"What did I miss between you two?" Cat turned to Ladybug, who gave him her own look.
"I'm just looking out for her."
"Don't let Raven see you two getting chummy like that." At those words, Cat paled- Ladybug sighed, patting his shoulder.
"I'm sure Raven will get it. I doubt her love for you will crumble at your attachment to Ella. Now as long as you don't starting seeing them both-"
"That's not gonna happen!"
"I'm teasing, kitty." Ladybug giggled at Cat's flushed expression.
"But I do know you'd better not promise Ella anything you can't keep."
"Of course not. I would never hurt her." Cat Noir frowned, his eyes moving to the direction Ella went... and then his ring beeped.
"Better get going before we change back. See you later, Cat Noir. Bug out!" Ladybug smiled, whipping her yo-yo to the rooftops and swinging away.
Ella ran into the lobby, panting with her eyes wide for the blond teen. She only had to go a few steps before the stairwell door creaked open and Adrien popped out.
"Adrien!" Ella yelled, her voice cracking in relief. The pair ran for each other, colliding in the middle of the room- despite eyes staring at them- and hugged each other tight.
"Are you okay? Oh god Ella..!" Adrien couldn't even form a coherent sentence. Then again, it worked since he wasn't supposed to know what happened after he got zapped back to reality.
"I'm okay, I'm okay...! Cat Noir got me out!" The noirette reassured, her face pressed against the teen's shoulder, making goosebumps erupt over his skin.
"I'll have to thank him then for making sure you're safe."
Ella just nodded into the fabric of his shirt, her grip tightening around his neck. It hurt Adrien to know she had panicked bad in that empty space, probably sending her a few steps back behind her wall, but she was here now, in his arms... and he didn't plan on letting go anytime soon.
"Class! Our work experience day has ended- please gather by the lobby doors." Ms. Bustier's voice echoed over the hotel intercom system, drawing the pair out of their reverie and back to the public attention they had drawn. Ella instantly retreated in on herself, extracting herself from Adrien's arms under the glare of various girls in their classes. Adrien frowned, his heart aching at the loss of her touch but he knew if he tried to reach back out and pull her back, she'd react badly. So he let her retreat, moving with the rest of the class to stand in a group by the doors.
"Thank you very much for this work experience day, Mr. Bourgeois. I'm sure we'll all remember it for a long time to come."
"So do I. Oh, wait, I almost forgot. Jagged Stone's giving a concert tonight, so, I'm giving tickets to the students who demonstrated the greatest effort today."
Jagged's assistant Penny stepped forward and handed tickets to Marinette, Alya, Nino and Adrien. Chloé lost her mind at being snubbed.
"Ridiculous! Utterly ridiculous!"
As the girl stormed away and the class broke up to chat or head home, Adrien couldn't help but glance over at Ella. She just finished collecting her stuff and was heading out the door, her head still tucked against her chest as whispers followed her.
The teen looked at the little slip in his hand. He didn't want Ella to feel left out, but his thoughts reminded him that Ella wouldn't enjoy the confined space and all the people.
"Dude! Free concert- how awesome is that!?" Nino cheered, wrapping an arm around Adrien's shoulders.
"Cool..." Nino followed his friend's gaze out the door.
"Did something happen between you and your girl, dude?" Adrien ignored the end of that sentence, shaking this head however.
"We both got zapped by Pixelator, but I somehow got out while she was stuck in there. Cat Noir got her out but I think something happened while she was alone in that space..." The teen spoke in a half-truth, pretending to not know about the panic attack or acknowledging the glares and whispers that followed Ella after they separated from their hug.
"Well, if something happened, I'm sure she'll tell you. You two are closer than most couples and you aren't even a couple yet!"
Adrien blushed, nudging Nino with his elbow. The teen just smirked at the blond's embarrassment before leading the way out the door. Following his friend, Adrien pulled out his phone and texted Ella.
A few hours later, the concert began at the TV studio for broadcasting. Adrien stood beside Marinette as he watched in absolute awe.
"Good evening, Paris!" Jagged called from the stage, making the crowd cheer
"It's my first live concert, ever! It's amazing!" He smiled, though he wished Ella was there too. The girl had answered his text after almost an hour (making the blond almost sick with worry), saying she was fine and to enjoy the concert. But even as Jagged started playing a song dedicated to Ladybug, Adrien couldn't help but be eager for the event to be over so he could transform and go to Ella. But for now, he'd honor her request and enjoy his first concert.