Chapter 12: Quite the Conundrum
The rest of the afternoon went swimmingly well for Marinette. She and Adrien did not go to the movies, but they had a lovely time, just walking around and talking to one another. Both believed that the best dates were the ones where they did not need to waste a single dime. But that did not mean they did not spend a dime, on something special, that afternoon. They decided to get some ice cream from the famous André Glacier's ice cream cart, and then sat on the Pont Alexandre III eating them, while watching the sunset. At dinner, when telling her parents how her afternoon went, they did not resist, and asked her about the cosplayer, whose house she had visited. She told them that it the meeting went okay, and that she was happy to have met her, while also being excited to work on the commission she asked her. She was such in a good mood, while talking about it, that she nearly revealed that the cosplayer was Miss Bustier. Fortunately, her good sense prevailed, and she stopped herself from telling her parents about it. Instead, she said that her true identity was not important, and all that mattered was that she was quite friendly.
After dinner, Marinette head to her bedroom, where she began to work on Miss Bustier's commission. Before anything else, she was going to study the design patterns that her teacher had done for Nebula's jacket. Spreading them all over the floor, she tried to get a good look at them, while imagining how she was going to create that jacket.
"I noticed that you almost told your parents about Miss Bustier, at dinner." -Tikki commented, as she landed in front of Marinette.
"I know. Thank God I managed to avoid telling them about her secret, just in the nick of time." -Marinette said, as she studied the –"Still, I hate to lie to my parents, Tikki." -she admitted. –"It makes me feel bad about myself. Just like it makes me feel bad, about not being able to tell them that I'm secretly Ladybug. I know that I can't do it, for their own good. But it still hurts to do it, because I hate lying to those, I love the most."
"I know that, Marinette. But remember, Miss Bustier gave you permission to tell the rest of the class. And that doesn't include telling your parents, or anyone else." -Tikki reminded her. –"So, you can't do it, or otherwise, you'll break the promise you made her." -she said.
"You're right, again." -Marinette sighed. –"But changing the subject, I'm actually impressed with the details on these design patterns." -she said. –"I usually add this kind of details to the patterns, until a little bit later, when I'm already in the next stage."
Just looking at the design patters, Marinette knew she was going to give all she had to make that jacket. This was not one of the usual commissions she received, where she had partial control over things, because the customer had given her free will to do as she saw fit. This was a commission that had to look exactly as the customer needed it to be. There was no space for detours or artistic licenses. Nebula's jacket needed to be exactly as it looked in the movies.
"One of the issues with cosplays, is that they must look exactly like the outfits the characters wear. There's no room for improvisation, Tikki. I'll have to watch all the movies where Nebula shows up, again, to get a good look at the jacket she wears, and point out all the details in it, so I won't forget any." -Marinette told Tikki, who noticed she looked a little nervous, while looking at the design patterns.
"It's okay for you to feel nervous, Marinette." -Tikki told her. –"As a seamstress, making this for Miss Bustier is going to be your toughest challenge yet. But I know that you have the talent to do it. If you hadn't, your teacher would've never asked you to do it." -she smiled. –"Also, I've seen this happening, and you tend to do your best work, when you're under pressure."
There was one thing that all kwamis were professionals, due to their age and due to their knowledge and wisdom. And that was giving encouraging speeches. And Tikki was what many would call a master. She always knew what to say, and when to say it. The words that that came out of her mouth, produced a variety of feelings and emotions on those they were for. And right then, she had once more managed to boost Marinette's spirits, as well as her self-confidence.
"Thanks for continuing to believe in me, Tikki." -Marinette smiled at her kwami. –"I know that everyone believes in me and in my talent. But sometimes, my nerves make me forget that." -she admitted. –"You give out the best speeches, you know that?"
"I've been told that, yes." -Tikki said. –"Besides, it's my way to thank you for being such a great friend to me, and to help pay the rent and the cookies that you give me." -she joked.
"Well, then feel free to continue to help me pay the rent and the cookies, with more of those great motivational speeches of yours." -Marinette joked back, when she heard her cell phone ringing. –"Could you check who it is? I've got my hands full." -she told Tikki.
Flying to the desk, where Marinette's cell phone was, Tikki quickly pressed the screen to see who had tried to contact her.
"It's a text from Max, and it says "GoA. 112. Code Black." -Tikki told her, reading the text. –"What does that mean?" -she asked her.
"It means there's a huge emergency and that we need to get to the Garden of the Ancients, right now, Tikki." -Marinette said, as she dropped what she was doing, and quickly got up. –"Didn't you pay attention to the emergency codes, as were coming up with them?" -she asked the scarlet kwami.
"I'm sorry, but you guys have so many codes for emergencies, that it's hard to keep up with all of them." -Tikki stated. –"You really should just have one or two codes, not twenty of them." -she pointed out
"Can't argue with her, on that point. It's not easy remembering every single one of the cods we came up for emergencies." -Marinette thought to herself. –"Maybe. But right now, we've got to go, Tikki." -she said. –"This particular code is not to be used, unless it's a really huge emergency. And I'm even afraid of what it might be."
Teleporting herself to the Garden of the Ancients, Marinette was not the first one to arrive. But she was not last one to arrive either. That honour belonged to Nino, who had trouble teleporting, because he had to make sure his little brother was busy watching cartoons, so as to not notice he was missing. And when he and Wayzz got to the garden, they made their way to the temple. Once they entered the building, they both noticed everyone has already arrived, and that the conversation was quite heated. Hearing what was going on, and asking the others what they had lost, it took them a couple of seconds to understand what the emergency was. And it took them even less, to understand that they might be in a pickle.
The Guang Baohu Temple, or Temple of the Protective Light, which was usually such a happy place, filled with an unmistakable joyous atmosphere, had a different atmosphere to it, this time. Instead of joy, the place reeked of tribulation and despair, and all because of what Max had told the old master, along with his friends and the kwamis.
Master Fu was trying his best to calm everyone down, as he believed that yelling and squabbling would not get anyone anywhere. But unlike what many would think, it was the kwamis who were not making it easier, and not the teenagers, who compared to their kwamis, looked relatively calm, even if one could see that they too looked a bit nervous. The little magical creatures, for the most part, were behaving in a way that none of them had ever seen. They looked scared and alarmed by what was going on. And on top of that, they were all attacking Ari, the spider kwami, as if he was the one to blame for what was happening.
"And you didn't remember to share this with the rest of us?!" -Muria asked Ari. –"I mean, this is big! Like, really big!" -he exclaimed.
"He's right. What's the use of being able to always be in touch with one another, via psychic link, if you don't use it, to tell us something as big as this?!" -Plagg asked.
"I only kept it to myself for a couple of minutes!" -Ari told them. –"It was only the time for Max and I to get here and talk to the master, and then calling everyone." -he explained. –"You can hardly call it keeping it a secret from you all."
"That's not the point, Ari!" -Imp told him. –"Once you found out about this, you should've shared it with all of us, the second you found out about it!" -he said.
"He's right. This isn't something that should be taken lightly, like who ate the last cookie in the jar!" -Trixx exclaimed. –"This is about our secrecy and survival!" -she said, upset.
"If you were photographed, then that means that we can also be!" -Flint told him. –"That's a really big deal!" -he exclaimed.
"Like I said before, I only kept that to myself for only a couple of minutes!" -Ari yelled at them. –"You know that even I don't know how this happened, and I'm the most intelligent kwami. So, if you guys are feeling the way you are, how do you think I'm feeling about this?!" -he shot at them.
"Since when are you the most intelligent of us all?!" –Mulan asked him, feeling irritated about that statement.
"We all have the same level of intelligence!" -Tikki pointed out. –"None of us is more intelligent, than the other, Ari!" -she told him.
The teenagers were shocked by what they had heard had happened. But they were more shocked by their kwamis attitudes. They had never seen them behaving like that, and to them it was almost surreal, to see them behaving that way. They were used to seeing them behaving as the opposite of what they were behaving right then. And when Master Fu failed to calm them down, Marinette decided to try and calm them, hoping she would have better luck, than the old master had.
"Hey, guys, guys, please!" -Marinette called them out. –"Calm down, please!" -she asked them, trying to calm them. –"Yelling never solved anything, please… if you could just try and calm down for a little bit, maybe we could… oh, WOULD YOU ALL JUST SHUT UP FOR A MINUTE, I CAN'T EVEN HEAR MYSELF THINKING!"
Marinette did not know what came over her, to yell at the kwamis from the top of her lungs. She was not a person that liked, or even enjoyed to yell at others. She believed that yelling should never be the answer to any problem. And when she yelled at the kwamis, trying to make them stop arguing at one another, she was just as shocked, as everyone else.
"I-I-I am sorry, guys." -Marinette apologized to the kwamis. –"I don't know what came over me." -she said. –"Please, forgive me."
Taking advantage of what happened, Alya decided herself to try and calm down the kwamis, hoping that if they calmed down, it would be easier for them all to discuss what had happened, and get to the bottom of the matter.
"Well, I don't know what came over you either, girl, but I have to agree with what you said before. Yelling never solved anything." -Alya said, before looking at the kwamis. –"It's true, the situation seems bad, but we shouldn't begin to stress and yell at each other." -Alya declared, as she looked the kwamis in the eyes. –"It's okay to be afraid of what we don't understand, guys."
"We're also afraid of what this might mean to us all." –Rose admitted, with a smile on her face.
"But that doesn't mean we need to start freaking out about it." -Nathaniel said.
"Especially, when we haven't even analysed the problem as a whole." -Sabrina said.
Usually, it was the teenagers who needed reassurance and encouragement, and the kwamis would be more than happy to give them that, so they would feel better about something bad that happened to them. But this time, it was the opposite. The kwamis were the ones needed reassurance and encouragement, and their holders were there for them. To reassure them that things were going to be alright. And when this happened, the small magical creatures could not help but to feel a little embarrassed over what was going on. In their minds, they were all thinking the same thing: "We're the ones who are supposed to do the reassuring and the encouragement. But it's them who are doing it now."
With that in mind, they all calmed down and tried to think thing rationally, like they all used to tell their holders, when they started to freak about something that was happening, or that was yet to happen. For once, it was them who had to prevent them from freaking out, and it was a strange feeling. Strange, yet good.
"Thank you." -Tikki smiled at them. –"I can't believe that I've reacted like this." -she thought to herself, feeling awful about herself, and about how she had allowed her fear to get the best of her.
"Guess we got a little nervous there." -Plagg said. –"After this, I'm going to need a huge chunk of Camembert, to calm my nerves, that's for sure." -he thought to himself.
"I believe we have allowed our nerves, to get the best of us." -Daria said.
"I think I speak for us all, when I say that we did not want things to get this way. Our sincerest apologies for the way we acted." -Tamara declared.
"Oh, come on, you don't need to be so polite about it." -Alix said. –"We all know what it is to lose our cool, from time to time." -she said.
"Just from time to time? Don't you mean all the time, when it comes to you?" -Kim joked, teasing Alix.
"I'm going to let that one slide, Kim, because we've got bigger fish to fry. But don't press your luck, okay?" -Alix warned Kim, as she did her best to forget about what he had told her.
"You guys are always doing this for us." -Rose smiled at them. –"We don't mind doing it for you, from time to time." -she said, as Flint flew towards her, sating on her left shoulder.
"It's what people call a mutual partnership." -Max declared. –"We must be there for one another, all the time. That's how all partnerships ought to be." -he said, as Ari hovered towards him.
Little by little, things began to calm down, to the point that Wayzz decided to ask the old master, for something that had become a ritual to them all.
"Perhaps some tea would be in order, before we proceed further with the conversation, master?" -Wayzz asked Master Fu.
"I agree." -Master Fu told the turtle kwami. –"I should've put a kettle on the stove, before they all arrived. Maybe if I had, the tea would've calmed them down, and we wouldn't have" -he thought to himself. –"And I think that we're going to need something extra strong to calm ourselves, before we resume talking."
It did not take long for the old master to come back with the tea and some biscuits, which he knew everyone loved. And as he poured the tea into the teacups, the atmosphere changed to one closer to the one that was usual to that place. He did not know if it was the fact that everyone, including the kwamis were calmer, or if it was the aroma from the tea, that made the atmosphere change, but he did not care. All that mattered was for things to be a little better, even if the problem they had in their hands was not going away, any time sooner.
Serving the teacups, they all sipped the still hot tea, allowing the hot liquid to calm their bodies and their minds. Even after knowing just how tea had that effect on them all, it still amazed them how fast it worked. As always, while drinking the tea, there was little talk between them, and that helped to serene what
"Now that we are all a little calmer, I think we can continue the conversation that we were having." -Master Fu said. –"Max, would you like to explain what happened, but this time without anyone
Max quickly told them what had happened, and did his best to not forget any details. And everyone heard him; this time, without interrupting him. Only when he finished talking, did they begin to throw questions and commentaries on the situation.
"So, Ari was photographed in your mom's lab, even though that should be impossible." -Adrien said.
"That is correct." -Max said. –"Oh, and I even brought the photo to prove that I'm not kidding… not that I would ever kid about this kind of stuff." -he said, as he pulled the polaroid from his pocket and showed it to them.
The polaroid showed a rather distorted image of a purple creature. At first glance, it was hard to identify what it was. but if one squinted its eyes a little, they could see that it was the spider kwami on it. Seeing it, they were all reminded of the gravity of the situation they were in.
"Well, that's bad. I mean, we already said this before, but I'm going to say it one more time. This is really bad." -Alix said. –"It's a bit hard to see it's clearly Ari on that photo, but…"
"But it means that we have a serious problem in our hands." -Daria finished her holder's sentence.
"Hum… I don't see you on camera." -Chloe said, as she pointed her cell phone at Pollen. –"I'm flipping through the different settings and filters, and I've got nothing." -she said. –"I think I can say that whatever happened that made Max's kwami, getting photographed, isn't happening with you, Pollen."
"Let me try it, too." -Nathaniel said, as he mimicked the heiress, and pointed his cell phone's camera at his kwami. –"No, I can't see you on camera either, Mulan." -he said.
"Did you change the filters?" -Mulan asked him.
"I'm doing it, right now." -Nathaniel told him. –"I don't see you, or any of the other kwamis." -he said, as he pointed the camera at Flint and Tamara.
One by one, the whole gang did the same with their cell phones. But just like it happened with Chloe and Nathaniel, they just could not see any of the kwamis. They also pointed their cell phones at Ari, but this one did not show up on the cell's screen either, as they expected it would happen.
"It's strange. None of them are showing up, when we point the cameras at them." -
"Just because we're not showing up on the cameras, doesn't mean we won't begin to, like Ari." -Mika said, as he sat on Sabrina's lap.
"Yeah, but now even I don't show up on the camera." -Ari said.
"Could his magical aura have been affected somehow, before the photo was taken?" -Pin asked.
The question the deer kwami asked was a good one. At least, for the whole team it was, as they did not know how the kwamis' magical auras truly worked.
"I don't know. This has never happened before." -Master Fu answered. –"The last time the miraculouses were activated, there were no technological devices that would allow one to capture the kwamis' image." -he said. –"But you being magical creatures, who possess an aura, means that that aura can be affected in numerous ways."
"How exactly can they be affected, master?" -Marinette asked him.
"Well, most of the times, it happens when the kwamis are subjected to the influence of a powerful magical object, or when their energies aren't properly channelled." -Master Fu answered her.
"But we haven't been subjected to the influence of anything magical, and you aligned our energies and chakras not long ago, master." -Tamara said. –"There must be another explanation." -she said.
"And there might… what kind of camera photographed Ari?" -Alya asked. –"Maybe the reason why we can't see or photograph our kwamis, is because whatever photographed Ari, isn't a regular camera." -she said. –"Maybe whatever photographed him, is able to photograph the kwamis' aura?"
And then it hit Max. Ari was photographed by an experimental device, and not an ordinary camera. The shock of seeing his kwami's image on a polaroid, had upset him and his nerves, blocking most of his rational thought, and making it harder for him to piece things together, in a rational and calm way, like he always did.
"I'm so stupid… Of course! I mean, the thing that photographed Ari is an experimental piece of equipment that my mom is testing, to make sure it operates properly, before being used in outer space." -Max answered him. –"I can't believe I overlooked such a crucial thing!" -he said, blaming himself.
"Don't beat yourself up, because of it." -Ari told him. –"You panicked. It happens." -he said.
"So, you mean that that piece of equipment is what took a picture of Ari, and not an ordinary camera?!" –Kim asked him. –"Bro, that's one of those things that one must not forget to mention, even when nervous." -he said.
"Dude, sorry to tell you this, but I have to agree with Kim on this one." -Nino commented. –"If you had mentioned that tiny detail, this conversation would perhaps been a lot shorter." -he pointed out.
"That's beside the point, Nino." -Alya told her boyfriend. –"What matters now is to know what kind of equipment photographed your kwami." -she told Max. –"Do you know what exactly was the thing that photographed Ari?"
"Y-Yeah. According to my mom, what captured an image of him was a quantum spectrum camera." -Max answered her.
"A quantum what?" -Chloe asked, not understanding what he was talking about.
"A quantum spectrum camera, Chloe It's a kind of camera similar to the ones used in space telescopes to photograph nebulas, comets and other kinds of things in deep space." -Max explained it to her. –"The one my mom has in her laboratory is a miniature of a larger one, that will be deployed into orbit, early next year." -he said.
"Then, the lens of that thing must be really powerful." -Sabrina said. –"Powerful enough to even capture the image of a kwami, who are supposed to be invisible to " -she added.
"What if one of those cameras ends up being sold? Imagine it… cameras that have the power to capture our kwamis on film!" -Rose exclaimed, as she imagined the whole thing in her mind.
"That is a scary idea." -Imp said. –"We would have to be even more careful, than we are now, so as to not be seen by anyone." -he admitted.
"Not only that, but if any photo or image of us was leaked, anyone would know about our existence, and they would know how we look like, and eventually, Hawk Moth would find where we are, and by default, who you guys are, where you live, and you would be in serious trouble." -Trixx said. –"Just imagining it, it's giving me the creeps, and you all know that I hate when that happens." -she added.
"That is a very scary thought, but that won't happen. This isn't the kind of camera that is created to be commercialized. And the same thing could be said about the rest of the stuff that my mom has in the laboratory." -Max said.
"Maybe not. But that leaves a question to be answered." -Marinette said. –"If the lens from that camera, can actually capture images from our kwamis, who's to say that aren't other things in your mom's lab that can also capture the images of our kwamis?" -she asked.
"You said that everything in your mom's lab is experimental, so, it's possible that there might be other things that can capture the images of the kwamis." -Adrien said.
"Well, yeah." -Max said.
"I know you said that the things in your mom's lab aren't likely to be commercialized, but…" -Alix said.
"I know where you're going with that line of thought. You're afraid that someone might get their hands on them, and we risk someone accidentally finding out about our kwamis." -Max said. –"But like I said, the odds of any of those machines ever being mass-marketed are basically zero. I mean, those things are going to be used in outer space and places that none of us, nor our kwamis will ever be near." -he stated. –"You don't have to worry about it, Alix."
"That's true. but still… we need to find out if there are more gadgets and gizmos in that lab, that can somehow capture images of our kwamis." -Adrien told Max.
"But then what?" If we do find out anything else that can capture images of our kwamis, what can we do about it?" -Mylene asked. –"I mean, the right thing to do would be to destroy them. But we can't just do that. If we do that, Max will get into trouble, and so will his mom." -she said.
"And that wouldn't do us any good, because if we broke them, whoever created them would just make others and send them to somewhere we don't know, and the danger wouldn't disappear." -Sabrina said.
"She's right, we've got to think this through, before we try anything." -Alya said.
"Well, like you all said, the first thing we need to do, is to find out what else we're dealing with." -Ivan pointed out. –"We need to find out
"And there's only one person who can do that, and that's you, Max." -Chloe said. –"You need to get inside your mom's laboratory and find out everything
"M-Me?! But I'm not even allowed inside it. Also, my mom will definitely boost up security, by turning all the alarms there is." -Max explained. –"Trying to go inside that laboratory, unnoticed, it's a suicide mission, trust me." -he said.
"And aren't you our resident nerd? Can't you think of a way to trick her security system and enter the lab, without her finding out?!" -Chloe asked him.
"Just because I'm a nerd, doesn't mean I know how to disable and trick complex security systems. This isn't one of those movies or series, where the nerd knows all the answers to this kind of problems, Chloe." -Max told her.
It was clear to them what it had to be done first. What was not so clear, was how they were going to do it. They all knew that they had to get inside Max's mom laboratory and see what else was inside that could jeopardize the secrecy of the kwamis' existence. But in doing it so, they could not let anyone know that they had been inside the laboratory. It did not take long for all of them to start throwing ideas into the air, hoping that one of such ideas. The problem was that all the ideas, both teenagers and kwamis threw into the air, were either unfeasible or too crazy to work.
"May I offer a solution to such a conundrum?" -Master Fu asked them.
"Whatever you got, master, we'll take it." -Nathaniel sighed, after hearing so many ideas and having discarded all of them.
"We do nothing." -Master Fu declared in a calm voice.
"W-What?!" -they all exclaimed, as they looked at the old master, who calmly sipped from his teacup.
"We do nothing." -Master Fu said. –"Right now, none of us can come up with a plan, and that is because we're still a little nervous about all this. So, instead of going ahead and do something rash, that would most likely get us into trouble, I advise that we all go home, sleep on the matter, and then do something." -he declared. –"From what Max told us, his mother thinks the camera took a photo of one of his toys, and not of a magical creature. So, there's no need for us to go and do something about it, right away. Tomorrow is a new day, and with it, we'll have another opportunity to deal with this matter… Sometimes, the best course of action is to take our time to deal with an issue."
Once more, it was hard to argue with Master Fu's logic. Not counting the kwamis, he was the eldest and wisest being Marinette and the others knew, and more than once, the wisdom he had was telling them to not rush things. They had all learned to listen to the older master's words, and right then, they all felt that was the best course of action.
"I guess you're right, master." -Alya said.
"We'll do as you say, master." -Marinette smiled, as she looked at Tikki. –"Tomorrow's a new day." -she said
You have to truly forgive me for taking so long to update. But work has been chaotic and because of it, I don't have much time to write. Regarding this chapter, there isn't much to talk about it, really. Still, it was a fun chapter to write.
As always, feel free to comment, fav and leave your suggestions to improve this fic, or future sequels.
P.S. Recently I have also commissioned a few more illustrations, which I think you're going to love. Be on the lookout for them, alright?