Author's note: It has officially been a month of writing this story and we just wanted to thank everyone who has read, commented, and favorited this story! It's been a wild ride so far and we are excited to continue to write Miraculous Tails as well as some of our other new projects. One of these projects is actually the first Miraculous crossover with the indie video game CrossCode, and the second CrossCode fic on the site overall! We were going to announce when you could read it, but we preferred just letting you read it for yourself... right now! It's called "A CrossWorlds: A Miraculous Short Story." Thanks again everyone, and now, back to your regularly scheduled programming.

Summary: Marinette and friends enlist in what is supposed to be a cool bootcamp that turns into a frightening maze when the instructor becomes the akuma Labyrinthe, testing the heroes' skills and alliance like never before.

At the tail end of summer, the sun was beating down on the pavement. School was finally back in session and all the students were leisurely slipping back into the school routine.

All except for one.

Seline's plot was a simple one. Openly flirt with Marinette's love interest? Check. Befriend Marinette's worst enemy? Check. Make Marinette jealous enough to embarrass herself? Still a work in progress… but not for long.

At school, all of the students were making their way through the halls, socializing with friends. Seline couldn't help but hear everyone talking about extracurricular activities. She also heard Adrien talking to Timothée from across the hall.

"Have you been thinking about joining any teams, Timothée?" said Adrien.

"Actually, I've been thinking about joining the soccer team," replied Timothée, giving Seline a secret nod signal to make sure she was listening. Seline returned the gesture.

"Soccer?" chuckled Adrien. "You mean football?"

"I forgot that's what we call it here," said Timothée, blushing. "I just heard that word a lot when I was studying abroad in America."

"That's fine," said Adrien, giving Timothée a pat on the shoulder. "I just think it's funny Americans call it that. Oh, look."

Adrien spotted Seline standing in front of the bulletin board as she was reading intently. Timothée took the cue and walked over to Seline. Her attention was solely on Adrien with his hair perfectly coiffed and eyes as green as emeralds.

"Hey, cuz," said Timothée. "Have you been thinking about joining a team, like cheerleading?"

"Cheerleading?" scoffed Seline. "You know I would never do something like that—oh, hi, Adrien."

"Hi," said Adrien with a nervous chuckle. "Uh, if you're looking for a club to join I know that Marinette is the head of the dance team. You could talk to her to learn more about it."

"Really?" said Seline, trying to suppress a smile. "In that case, maybe I'm more into those kinds of sports than I thought. I'm in."

"I could take you to the gymnasium," offered Adrien, with that signature innocent charm.

"You would be my hero," said Seline, playfully intertwining arms with Adrien.

"Am I invisible?" said Timothée.

"You can come along if you want," said Adrien.

"Nah," said Timothée. "I was just kidding. I have something to do right now anyway."

"Great," said Seline. "We'll see you later."

At the gymnasium were Marinette, Alya and Gérard seated behind a cafeteria table that doubled as a judges' table. Before them was Sabrina performing a clumsily choreographed number to "Oops!...I Did It Again" by Britney Spears, complete with a shiny, red jumpsuit. She performed a split come the last chord of the song.

"I, uh," started Marinette.

"W-We don't," stammered Alya.

"It's a no from me," said Gérard plainly. Marinette and Alya shot him a scolding look. "Sorry. We're trying to make a troupe with the best dancers in the school and that was… not exactly the type of talent we want."

"It's okay," said Sabrina, trying to hide her disappointment. "Thanks for the opportunity, guys!"

Sabrina picked herself up off the floor, defeated. She started walking off, adjusting her uncomfortable jumpsuit.

"We'll keep in touch!" said Marinette, trying to cheer her up.

"You're too nice, Marinette," said Gérard. "The dance world can be a little harsh sometimes but it's only because we deserve the very best. I learned that from Robin Antin."

"There's nothing wrong with being a little polite," replied Marinette.

"Oh," said Alya, diverting the attention onto Seline making her way to the main floor. "Hi, Seline!"

Seline waved goodbye to Adrien before strutting towards the judges' table. Marinette noticed the way Adrien looked at Seline. Have they always been so friendly?

"Nice to see you," said Seline, giving Alya a genuine smile. "It looks like you guys have seen Gérard's moves already."

"Yeah," said Alya. "He's pretty great for someone who's never had any lessons before."

"It's all simple muscle memory," explained Gérard. "Actually, Seline taught me how to do this next dance."

"All right then," remarked Marinette. "Show us what you got, Seline!"

"Hey, Google," commanded Seline of the small Google Home resting on the judges' table. "Play 'DDU-DU DDU-DU' by Blackpink."

The second the music came on, Seline lit up the floor. The first couple of bars blared through the speakers. Seline was completely in sync with every snap, every move, and every intricacy that the song demanded. By the end of the song, Seline struck a victorious pose.

Alya's and Marinette's jaws dropped as they turned their heads toward Gérard who merely shrugged.

"I told you she was good," he told them.

"That was amazing!" exclaimed Alya. "We have to do that song for the performance. Who sings it, again?"

"They're a K-pop girl group named Blackpink," said Seline. "But yeah, I've learned the choreo for every member, so if I join this dance troupe I'll teach you guys in no time."

"That's great," said Marinette. "I guess there's room for more than just one captain."

"Oh, don't worry, Marinette," smirked Seline. "There's no competition here."

Marinette's eyes narrowed, annoyed by Seline's brazen arrogance. Was that an insult she just said?

"Hellooooo!" said Chloé in a singsong voice as she ceremoniously burst through the doors. "I heard there was an opening for a new member on the dance team. Where do I apply?"

"Sorry, Chloé," said Marinette. "We just found our newest member."

"Who would—oh!" replied Chloé. "It's you, Seline?"

"Yup," she said.

"Well, in that case," said Chloé, walking up to Seline and doing their own secret handshake. "I'll be your number one fan!"

Marinette tilted her head. Did Chloé just say something… nice?

"We'll start practice on Wednesday, everybody," said Alya. "Can't wait to see you then!"

Alya and Gérard began to leave the room together, trying to stifle their mischievous laughter.

"Did you see the look on Marinette's face?" asked Gérard.

"I know," chuckled Alya. "It looked like she was about to have a heart attack when she heard Chloé being anything other than a monster."

Later in the afternoon, Seline giddily recounted her audition with a group of friends in the hallway.

Marinette watched this happening from several lockers away. Tikki zipped out of her bag and into her locker.

"Why did that girl become so popular all of a sudden?" asked Tikki.

"I don't know," said Marinette. "Maybe she's just really good at talking to people, but it's weird how so few people have anything bad to say about her, especially Chloé."

"That just isn't normal," responded Tikki.

"What is it about her?" wondered Marinette. "I feel like she's competing against me."

"Well, I think she can—" started Tikki before Marinette slammed her locker door closed, trapping the kwami inside.

"Oh, hi, Adrien!" said Marinette.

She tried acting as cool as she could considering her kwami was almost seen. Adrien walked up to Marinette with Timothée by his side.

"Hey, Marinette," said Adrien. "You know my friend Timothée, right?"

"Yup," she replied, giving Timothée a friendly smile. "We hung out at bowling. How have you been?"

"I've been good," said Timothée. "Even better after hearing Seline got into the dance team."

"Oh," said Marinette, trying to hide her disappointment. "Yeah. Great."

"So," interjected Adrien. "Timothée and I were invited to this fundraiser that'll be held at this cool bootcamp and I thought that all of us could go as a group."

"That sounds great," said Marinette. "When will it be?"

"It'll be today actually," informed Timothée.

"Well, I'll see if Alya and Gérard want to go," said Marinette.

"Uh… would it be okay if..." stammered Adrien.

"What is it, Adrien?" asked Marinette with a confused frown.

"Chloé's father is hosting the fundraiser," explained Adrien reluctantly. "So that means..."

"Don't worry about it," lied Marinette. "I get it. We can all get along."

"Great," said Adrien. "I'll text you the details and we'll see you there. Don't forget your sneakers!"

"I won't," said Marinette, waving Adrien and Timothée goodbye. She quickly opened her locker. "Sorry about that, Tikki."

"It's fine," said the adorable little kwami. "I guess you have to get ready for this bootcamp thing, right?"

"Yup," said Marinette. "You can go back in my bag. We'll talk about this later."

"Okay," said Tikki, hopping into Marinette's bag as told.

Marinette felt a pit in her stomach. Seline and Chloé being friends made her incredibly uneasy, more than she thought could be possible. What is Seline trying to get at with all these mind games?

The sound of a very loud whistle stirred Marinette out of her thoughts. Marinette came back down to earth to see she was already at the bootcamp fundraiser.

"Hey, girl," said Alya. "Are you okay?"

Marinette looked to see that the bootcamp was conducted in waves. Several friend groups would go on an obstacle course—a winding road consisting of tire drills, mud pits, training walls with ropes, and more—to see who could complete the course the fastest. The current group consisted of two teams: the veterans (Marinette, Adrien, Alya and Nino) and the rookies (Seline, Timothée, Gérard and Chloé).

Yves, the bootcamp instructor, was a man wearing compression gear. He was the one blowing the whistle.

"Listen up," said Yves, beginning to speak very quickly. "All bets are off. This is a fight to the finish. The group to get to the end of the finish line wins! Got it?"

"If we're in groups, then we should have team names," said Nino.

"That's a great idea," said Marinette. "We should call ourselves… Team Miraculous!"

"Where'd you come up with that name?" asked Alya.

"Oh, you know," explained Marinette nervously. "It's because we're so good that we can make miracles happen."

"It's going to take a miracle for you to win," said Seline. "Anyway, we have a team name, too—Team Panthera!"

"And why did you choose that name?" asked Marinette. "It seems like you already had that in mind."

"Cheetah print, duh," said Chloé.

"It's also because we love big cats," added Seline. "Especially the powerful and majestic tiger."

"I actually prefer lions," said Gérard. "You know, the king of the jungle."

"I think leopards are highly underappreciated myself," said Timothée.

"Enough talking," interrupted Yves. "Get into position already!"

"Actually," started Chloé. "I didn't know that it would be so hot today, and… are we going to have to go into that stinking mud pit?! I just got my hair done!"

"This bootcamp isn't for sissies," barked Yves. "It's for charity!"

"But, like, I can't give to charity looking like a swamp monster!" complained Chloé.

"It's fine," said Adrien. "You look beautiful no matter what, Chloé."

Marinette and Alya rolled their eyes. Adrien took Chloé's hands into his, tenderly offering support. He knew exactly how to stop Chloé from making a scene. Seline giggled softly to herself, seeing through his tricks.

"My Adrikins," swooned Chloé. "I… I just don't know if I can do this."

"If you're not gonna do the obstacle course, then leave!" yelled Yves.

"Excuse me?!" retorted Chloé. "My father is the one who coordinated this whole thing. You will treat me with respect, Monsieur!"

"Poor little rich girl can't get her hands dirty?" mocked Yves. "Then leave! We don't need your kind around here."

"That's it!" said Chloé, throwing her hands in the air. "I can't do this. I'm gonna tell my dad!"

Chloé started running away. Adrien and Seline followed after her. Marinette, Alya, Timothée, Gérard and Nino shook their heads in unison.

"Why is it always drama with this girl?" asked Nino.

"This is for charity!" said Gérard.

"I wanted to tell you guys," started Marinette. "Chloé is too high maintenance to ever do something like this."

Far away in a mysterious room, light beams burst through the window of a lair hidden away in darkness. White butterflies rose from the ground, circling the lanky body of Papillon.

"A man's job is never done," said Papillon, his insignia emblazoned upon Yves' face. "I sense something inside you, something more powerful than the rest. I bestow upon you, Labyrinthe, the power to entrap those who dare to disrespect you! In return, go get me Ladybug and Chat Noir's Miraculouses!"

"Sir, yes, sir, Papillon!" said Yves, beginning his transformation. He turned into the akuma Labyrinthe, a monster with a gold-plated costume and giant cube upon his head. Just then, something unexpected started to happen.

Master Fu was seated on the floor of his massage shop, deep in meditation when he heard the box of Miraculouses begin to shake.

"What's happening?" said Master Fu. At that moment, three kwamis flew out of the boxes leaving behind orange, green and yellow trails of light. "Oh, no! They've escaped!"

The three kwamis travelled all the way to the bootcamp which has now turned into a gigantic stone wall maze. Two groups were situated on opposite sides of one another: on one side were Ladybug accompanied by Chat Noir, Rena Rouge and Carapace. Team Miraculous rose from the ground.

"Oh, my head," said Ladybug. She noticed the other Miraculouses beside her. "Chat Noir, and you guys, too! How did we end up here?"

"I… don't know," said Rena Rouge, sizing up the walls of the maze they were now trapped in. The sky above them was clouded with a sinister, purple haze. "Where are we?"

"I don't know," said Carapace. "But I sure don't want to find out. We need to get out of here."

"We can't just start walking without a plan," said Chat Noir.

On the other side were the other group of Miraculouses: Tigresse Blanche, Léopard, Lion and Queen Bee.

"How did we get here?!" asked Lion.

"I have no idea," said Tigresse Blanche. "An akuma must have planted us here. I hope Marinette and her friends are okay somewhere."

"Oh, really," chuckled Léopard. "Last time I checked, you were trying to ruin her life."

"That doesn't mean I want any harm to come to Marinette or anyone else for that matter," protested Tigresse Blanche. "Hey, who's that?"

She was a blonde girl in a yellow suit with black stripes got up from the floor. It was Chloé as Queen Bee.

"What happened?" said a dizzy Queen Bee. "And who are you?"

"We asked you first," said Léopard.

"Calm down," said Tigresse Blanche. "Don't be so hostile. I like her style."

"Why, thank you," said Queen Bee. "You'd be surprised how hard it is to find people with good taste in France."

"Hello?" said Léopard. "Does anyone remember that we're currently trapped?"

"Right, I say we go through here," said Lion, pointing towards an opening to their right. "And we should hurry. We're probably being timed."

"Precisely," boomed a sinister voice through the walls, startling Team Panthera. "I'm Labyrinthe, and I've trapped all eight of you inside this maze! Whoever makes it out alive… well, I guess I just spoiled the ending."

Labyrinthe cackled maniacally, purple lightning striking down from above his head.

"Oh, gosh," said Ladybug. "Did you hear that?"

"What did he mean by 'all eight of you,'" asked Rena Rouge. "Do you think there are more people than just us?"

"Maybe," said Ladybug. "Let's go."

Ladybug led the way, Team Miraculous trailing closely behind her. They constantly reached dead ends, forcing them to backtrack. They narrowly escaped booby traps like vines coming up from the dirt to grab ahold of them and nets hidden beneath leaves. They continued like this until they finally reached a rock climbing wall. It was as tall as a two-story building.

"We have to climb up that?!" said Rena Rouge

"Come on," said Carapace, locking arms with Ladybug in a square. "You can jump on our arms to reach up there."

Ladybug and Carapace used their arms as a launchpad, Rena Rouge propelling herself up and over the wall.

"Your turn, Chat Noir," said Carapace.

"No," he declined. "You can go next, Carapace."

"All right," said Carapace.

Chat Noir and Carapace switched spots and Carapace jumped over the wall. Ladybug wrapped her yo-yo around one of the highest rocks on the rock climbing wall and pulled herself up to the top, joining Rena Rouge and Carapace. Chat Noir easily scaled the wall with his nails.

"It pays not to get a manicure," said Chat Noir with a cheeky smile.

"You're such a goofball," said Ladybug. "Even now!"

"Oh," said Chat Noir, referring to something over Marinette's shoulder. "It's you guys."

Ladybug turned around to see Chat Noir was talking about Team Panthera.

"Queen Bee?" said Ladybug, shocked. "What are you doing with them?"

"How should I know?" said Queen Bee. "I just kind of… showed up."

"Anyway, fancy meeting you here," said Léopard. "Did this Labyrinthe guy get a 'two for one' superhero team deal at Akumas R Us?"

"Watch out!" said Carapace, contorting as he dodged an attack from Labyrinthe.

"Give up already, Labyrinthe," said Tigresse Blanche. "You can't possibly win with all of us here!"

"Just watch me!" yelled Labyrinthe.

All of the superheroes charged at him—he swatted Ladybug's yo-yo away, he tackled Chat Noir to the ground, he levitated and kicked Tigresse Blanche and her cousins over their heads. Labyrinthe continued to spar with all of them effortlessly. Carapace tried to perform a sneak attack but Labyrinthe caught on and twisted his arm behind his back.

"Are these the all-powerful Miraculouses that everyone has been talking about?" said Labyrinthe, his voice thundering through the open air. "They lay before me, weak and defeated! Wait… where's the other one?"

"Right here!" said Queen Bee, jumping on top of Labyrinthe, forcefully restraining him on the ground. "This ends now. Ladybug, hurry!"

"I'm on it," said Ladybug. "Time to de-evilize!"

Ladybug ripped the whistle from Labyrinthe's neck. She broke it in half and a small butterfly started fluttering away. She rolled her yo-yo around her body and captured the butterfly with it.

"Je t'ai eu!" said Ladybug. She opened her yo-yo to see the purified butterfly take flight. "Bye-bye, petit papillon."

"I..." mumbled Queen Bee. "I don't feel well."

Before Queen Bee lost consciousness, she heard someone shout, "Miraculous Ladybug!" All of the Miraculouses de-transformed as Labyrinthe's maze collapsed to the ground.

"Chloé! Chloé!"

Yves shook Chloé who was unconscious on the ground.

"W-What?" said Chloé. "What happened?"

"It looks like all of you kids passed out from exhaustion," said Yves. "The good news is you all completed the obstacle course together!"

"Really?" said Chloé groggily. "We all helped the charity?"

"Yes!" said Yves.

"And it's all thanks to you, Chloé," said Marinette, still a little dizzy herself.

"Yeah," said Adrien. "We couldn't have done it without you."

"Wow," said Chloé, seeing Nino, Alya, Seline and her cousins nodding in appreciation. "Thank you, guys."

"No problem, Chloé," said Marinette, being met with a disarming scowl from the groggy blonde.

"This doesn't mean we're friends, Marinette," said Chloé.

"That's fine," said Marinette, defensively raising her hands. "I get it."

"Let's give it up for the hero of the day," said Seline.

They all chanted Chloé's name who shamelessly basked in the glory of her victory.

Later that evening, Marinette finally arrived at her home completely exhausted from the day's heroics.

"Hi, Marinette," said Sabine, Marinette's mother.

"Hey, mom," said Marinette.

"How was your day?" asked Sabine.

"I don't even remember," said Marinette, slugging her way up the stairs. "I'm so tired!"

"Well, have a good night!" said Marinette's mother.

"You too, mom," said Marinette.

She opened the door to her room and belly-flopped onto her bed, snoring immediately when her head touched her pillow. Tikki flew out of her bag.

"That was such a weird thing that happened," whispered Tikki. "We'll just talk about it tomorrow. Goodnight, Marinette."

"Goodnight, Tikki," yawned Marinette, half-asleep.

As Marinette drifted off into dreamland, Tikki had more important things to do. Using the night sky as a veil of secrecy, she flew out the window and to Master Fu's shop. As she entered the Miracle box, the other kwamis were already huddled in a discussion.

"We were ripped from our box like some common plaything!" said Pollen the bee kwami.

"And we were forced to transform," said Trixx the fox kwami. "That's never happened before."

"This means Papillon is more powerful than we thought," said Wayzz the turtle kwami. "This changes everything."

"Everyone calm down," said Tikki. "We already knew that Papillon was incredibly powerful. Now, we know a little more of what he's capable of."

"Sugarcube is right," said Plagg.

"I told you not to call me that," said Tikki.

"All this means is that we have to be on our toes next time," said Plagg, ignoring Tikki.

"But it's more than just that," added Taag the tiger kwami. "If he can call us on command, then he can reveal our owners' identities by transforming them in public."

"If he had the power to do that, he would have done it already," chimed in Kimba the lion kwami. "I think only his akumatized villains can do that. It was only after that bootcamp instructor was akumatized that we transformed."

"I just remembered," said Trixx. "This is our first time seeing you three again after you left. How was Japan?"

"It could have been worse and it could have been better," mused Monsieur Pussycat the leopard kwami. "All I know is that my troublemaker Timothée didn't allow me to appreciate the culture."

"Listen!" said Tikki, gaining all the kwamis' attention. "Our mission just became much more challenging. We need to save Nooroo before Papillon can take full advantage of this new ability."

All the kwamis nodded in agreement. After saying their goodbyes, they all returned to their homes, apprehensive of what the future held.