It was another late night for Marinette. As much as she wanted to heed Tikki's advice and get more sleep, some matters simply could not be handled where anyone might see her. Right now, she was on the floor of her bedroom, carefully inspecting a full-rounded red capsule with exactly nineteen black spots spread across its surface. The Miracle Box.

As much as she was pained by the mere fact that the box was sitting in front of her, for many reasons, she knew that she couldn't simply hide it away and hope that everything would work itself out. Hawk Moth would only continue to grow stronger, so she had no choice but to use everything at her disposal to stop him. With the Box under her care, obtaining miraculouses for distribution was no longer a risk to anyone but herself, so long as she could continue to keep everything about her civilian and superhero lives far away from each other.

Nothing out of the ordinary for Marinette, really. She hated it, she absolutely hated it, but she knew no other way to do it. It was all her fault anyway for making the mistakes that allowed Hawk Moth to find Master Fu, empower Miracle Queen, and get all of her friends' identities exposed.

A nuzzle from Tikki reminded her that she was here to complete a task and not fall into another pit of despair like had happened so frequently since she obtained the Miracle Box. Sometimes, she thought the real miracle was that Hawk Moth hadn't akumatized her for it yet. It would be everything he ever wanted placed in the palm in his hand.

Focus on the positives, she told herself. Both she and Chat Noir had grown strong enough to Unite the powers of multiple miraculouses and stay sane to tell the tale afterward, so the abilities of the exposed miraculous holders were still available to them. There were still six miraculouses that had yet to be distributed, plus the Rabbit Miraculous which remained dormant in the hands of Alix Kubdel.

That was another indecision floating around in Marinette's brain right now. As the new Guardian, she would be technically within her rights to demand the miraculous back for safekeeping until the time was right. The best-kept secret is one never told, and she needed to have as much control over the knowledge/use of miraculouses as possible to keep them out of Hawk Moth's sights, right? That's what Master Fu and Tikki have been emphasizing this whole time. That was why she had been only loaning the others their miraculouses to begin with, so that they would be safe in case of a brainwashing situation. Miracle Queen's summons would have been worthless if Hawk Moth hadn't already obtained the Miracle Box at the time.

There was also the matter of exactly who had been revealed, because that made it much riskier to hand out new miraculouses. Assuming Chloé hadn't outright told him, Marinette was certain that it wouldn't take Hawk Moth much time to piece together that everyone she had chosen was part of a singular friend group, most of whom attended Collége Françoise Dupont where he had successfully activated over twenty akumas. She needed people she could trust, but if anyone else got exposed, it would only further whittle down the possibilities on which individual was the mastermind with the Miracle Box and Ladybug Miraculous. She know that whatever magic covered up many of the connections people could/did make between their civilian and super identities wasn't perfect: Alya had almost immediately figured out that Nino was Carapace, plus there was that crazy alternate future where Adrien figured out she was Ladybug due to her signing a gift.

On the other hand… this was keeping all of her eggs in one basket. Another mistake could cost her the box the same way it had cost Master Fu, and there wasn't anyone else she could entrust with it. She didn't really trust herself with it, which in a roundabout way was actually a reason to share the miraculouses – it shared the responsibility. There would be less pressure on her, tactically and emotionally, if the miraculouses were spread out rather than all being within the Box.

Plus, there was already concrete evidence in favor of this approach. Chat Noir obviously kept his miraculous safe with no oversight on her part, and having seen Bunnyx's Burrow, it was clear that she held onto her miraculous full-time too… a decision that Ladybug herself would make at some point in the future. Who's to say the other miraculouses aren't the same way?

Although, the reason for that was probably that the Burrow was a pocket dimension completely safe from anyone and anything unless she was actively using a portal in that area. Bunnyx also didn't have to worry about de-transforming after using her power. Was the wise choice to wait until everyone was an adult? That would be… a long time, and she expected there was more to it than "turn 18" because miraculouses didn't have to follow the simple societal definition of an adult.

In any case, one task was clear to her: She was going to need to familiarize herself with each and every miraculous in the box. Master Fu had explained them to her on a surface-level, and only gone into more detail on each one when she had chosen it for use. Unfortunately, it appeared that Hawk Moth had stolen the translated grimoire, so until she was able to get it back, her only sources of information would be the limited knowledge of the kwami themselves, or taking the risk of letting someone use a miraculous in the field.

She figured it would be a good start to talk with all of the kwami and let them see more of the modern world, since it had been so long since most of them had been deployed. Conversely, she wanted to separate her duties as Ladybug and as the Guardian, so Tikki was currently inside of the box socializing with the others.

The design the Miracle Box decided to take under her ownership was intriguing, to say the least. Instead of the "main" miraculouses being together and the twelve Chinese zodiac ones in an outer ring, every miraculous was stored in one of the black dots which served as compartments, labelled by their symbol only when the box was in use. Her own miraculous had its place on the very top, and the other eighteen were in two alternating rings of spots around the middle, with seemingly no particular order.

Marinette ran her fingers over each compartment as she identified each one by its symbol:

The Miraculouses of the Fox and Turtle needed no recollection, for Rena Rouge, Carapace, and Master Fu himself had put them to great use.

Miraculous of the Bee, a hair pin inhabited by the kwami Pollen, embodying the concept of domination. Its power, Command, grants a single-use sting that enthralls whatever gets stabbed to obey the wielder's orders.

Miraculous of the Snake, a bangle inhabited by the kwami Sass, embodying the concept of perfection. Its power, Second Chance, allows the wielder to set a point in time and travel back to that point as many times as they wish, so that they can achieve the perfect result. It was probably the most dangerous of the miraculouses and definitely one of the hardest to use, so she was inclined to hide it away. Chat Noir used it well as Snake Noir, so would it be worth considering letting him keep it as a failsafe if something were to happen to her? For all of the responsibilities she felt she had to put on herself, one that wasn't debatable was her being needed to purify the akumas. A backup could be essential.

Miraculous of the Dragon, a choker inhabited by the kwami Longg, embodying the concept of religion. It grants the powers of Wind Dragon, Water Dragon, and Lightning Dragon, which transform the wielder in a sentient storm of the chosen element, each able to be used before transforming back. She didn't understand the relationship between religion and the miraculouses at first; she wasn't particularly religious herself, but this miraculous business would have befuddled any belief systems she had due to their extraordinary powers. Master Fu told her that was exactly the premise. "The unifying factor between religion, mythology, and folklore is belief in the supernatural," he had said. "They all give form, whether it be as a human, god, monster, or something else, to forces beyond human understanding. Is that not how the miraculouses function, calling upon fundamental elements of the universe into the form of cute, floating animals that grant people powers and silly costumes?" He added that because of this, the Dragon Miraculous was the strongest of all, besides the Ladybug and Black Cat of course, in terms of raw power. The elements it granted reign over were those associated with the beings of greatest strength and human influence, such as Zeus, Enki, and Fūjin.

Miraculous of the Rabbit, a pocket watch inhabited by the kwami Fluff, embodying the concept of time. Its power, Burrow… well, she had just thought about that, hadn't she? The miraculous wasn't even in the box, Alix had it as her family heirloom, and it had been established that it was only to be activated as a trump card, when all else had failed.

Miraculous of the Horse, a pair of glasses inhabited by the kwami Kaalki, embodying the concept of space. Its power, Voyage, forms portals between any two points in space. It would very useful if it wasn't limited to a single use on anyone she would give it to (herself included), but as it is, it might be better to let it rest for a bit.

Miraculous of the Monkey, a circlet inhabited by the kwami Xuppu, embodying the concept of contradiction. Its power, Uproar, summoned a toy that would neutralize miraculous-based powers of whomever it first made contact with. This made it one of the most interesting of the miraculouses; Master Fu was the one who made the decision to grant it the one time it had been used, and in all of three minutes it had curbstomped the akuma that had outplayed and trapped the entire rest of the heroes' side. Marinette wasn't sure why Fu kept it as a last resort, because she loved the idea of being able to mop up the floor with akumas like that. She supposed that was a wiser choice now, since Hawk Moth knew what it could do and would prioritize its retrieval almost as much as the Ladybug and Black Cat he wanted so badly.

Miraculous of the Mouse, a necklace inhabited by the kwami Mullo, embodying the concept of replication. Its power, Multitude, divides the wielder up into twenty-some-odd copies of him/herself. She had used it once to great effect in pulling off a plan – after all, if you want something done right, do it yourself, and twenty herselves made a great team. It would be a useful Unite, but she could potentially find another wielder for it if she wanted to Unite with something else. Going triple wasn't in the cards right now.

The ones after this were the ones she hadn't learned about in-depth:

Miraculous of the Ox, a nose ring inhabited by the kwami Stompp, embodying the concept of action. It obviously specialized in strength of some kind, but the specific term action suggested to her that there was something more to it.

Miraculous of the Tiger, a panjas inhabited by the kwami Roaar, embodying the concept of ego. Not egotism, but the Latin term ego, meaning self. Definitely a concept debated in philosophy a lot, but she had no clue what sort of power it would manifest.

Miraculous of the Goat, a pair of hair clips inhabited by the kwami Ziggy, embodying the concept of sacrifice. She was not in any rush for anyone to equip this one; sacrifice sounded like a scary and, if not used correctly, harmful power to receive.

Miraculous of the Dog, a collar necklace inhabited by the kwami Barkk, embodying the concept of loyalty. Definitely one to give out; obviously, a worthy wielder of this one wouldn't betray her, and its power probably relied on being used in a group.

Miraculous of the Pig, a pearl anklet inhabited by the kwami Daizzi, embodying the concept of prohibition. It sounded quite interesting, and she figured she would know when the right time to use it was, like many of the miraculouses she handed out in the past.

Lastly, the Miraculous of the Rooster, a thumb ring inhabited by the kwami Orikko, embodying the concept of causation. It was hard to wrap her head around the idea, because actions having consequences was just common sense, right? Master Fu explained that this was exactly why the miraculous was especially critical. Causation wasn't just important to human decision-making: decisions wouldn't exist without it. Logic wouldn't exist, so neither would math or engineering, and even the physical interactions those things exploit rely on cause and effect.

Before she got adventurous, she needed to have a discussion with a specific kwami about recent events. Tonight, she was going to wear the Bee Miraculous. As she adorned the hair comb, a sparkling yellow light appeared and transformed into the bee-like kwami Pollen.

"At your service, Guardian," she said with a bow.

"Pollen. I have an important question for you."

"I tried to warn Chloé about misusing the miraculous, My Lady."

"How…"

"Did I know? It's the exact question I would ask after a situation like this. She violated the principles of the miraculous, her worth to the cause must be judged."

"It sounds so… harsh, when you say it like that." Saying the words caused Marinette to realize why. "Do you feel hurt, Pollen?"

"I'm fine, My Lady," she responded, with little heart behind her words. "Do not worry about me."

"First, please don't call me that. A certain superpowered kitty cat loves to use it and… it's a sensitive topic. Second, of course I'm going to worry about you. It was my mistake that allowed her to use you to begin with, and then it was my decision to give her the miraculous to use after that. Or should I say, it was another mistake to do that."

Pollen flew closer to Marinette's face. "You shouldn't be so hard on yourself, My La– great Guardian. It was not a mistake to attempt the betterment of someone you know when the opportunity arose. If I may be so forward, speaking as the one whom she wielded, I would not say it was a mistake to have faith in Chloé Bourgeois specifically."

"You don't? You heard the things she said after transforming back! She sold out to Hawk Moth to get her hands on the miraculous!" she responded with expressive arm motions.

The kwami reacted little to the gesture. "Speaking also as a several-thousand-year-old being whose domain includes any and all uses of power to manipulate others, Chloé's intentions are not as malicious as her actions may paint her to be, and far from the worst that history has seen. Miss Bourgeois is a girl who has always gotten what she wants. Thanks to her money and her parents' influence, her wishes are the commands of many others, and that makes her feel entitled to the fulfillment of her desires. She simply has no concept of earning, or of deserving. Only having.

"I know of only two times in her life where she lost something that she already had: When Audrey Bourgeois left her behind to live in New York City, and when Ladybug began refusing her the Bee Miraculous. My understanding is that her mother has returned to a place in her life now."

"…of course," Marinette realized, slumping her shoulders. "Everything she did since her mother left was to try and impress her and be acknowledged, and eventually it paid off. Because of me, ironically, and not even as Ladybug. Because of that, she likely still believed that when the time was right, I would give the Bee Miraculous back. That time would have been when her parents were akumatized."

"An astute observation, great Guardian. She is experiencing now the same feeling of loss that traumatized her as a child, and she believes you are in control of that loss, thanks to Hawk Moth's machinations. He appeared in-person in her time of greatest weakness to manipulate her into accepting his akuma; it is no surprise that he would succeed, since the Butterfly Miraculous rules over communication of ideas."

Marinette didn't respond immediately, as she processed Pollen's words with a frown on her face. "I understand what you're saying, but I'm not sure I'm seeing the bigger picture here. None of this changes the fact that Chloé is not responsible enough to hold the power of a miraculous, and that her actions have caused irreparable harm to myself and all of my allies in the fight against Hawk Moth."

"I never claimed otherwise, great Guardian. My point was that even now, I do not see Miss Bourgeois as irredeemable. In fact, her story really is quite tragic, in the classical sense. She is the cause of her own demise, for her very attributes that turn people away will not themselves disappear without people nearby to help her. She may well be an exceptional user of my power, if only she could overcome this demon. That is why I am sad."

Again, the teenager was silent. As much as her parents and Tikki and Alya and Adrien told her that she had such a big heart and always knew the best way to help people, how could she believe that when she was clueless on the biggest problems of all? When she had inadvertently caused most of them?

"My Lady?"

Now it was Marinette's turn to have the look of hurt. Her head rose to face the kwami, but she still didn't say anything.

"I believe it is time for you to retire for the night. I shall fetch Tikki at once."

With that, she removed the miraculous and returned it to the Miracle Box. Soon, the black spot on top opened up, and her own kwami flew out of the container.

"Marinette, what's wrong?"

"I don't think I can do this, Tikki. How is a teenage girl supposed to match the wisdom of a 186-year-old sage?"

"By being the greatest teenage girl I've ever known?"

This brought pink to the face of the blue-haired one. "No… don't say that. That can't possibly be true."

"I don't think Master Fu told you this, but what you did against Kwamibuster was unprecedented. No miraculous wielder has ever actively transformed with three miraculouses and wielded every other miraculous in the box at the same time! Most Guardians wouldn't trust their chosen even to attempt such a thing, but you pulled it off with panache! Marinette, when you set your mind to a task, you become unstoppable."

"But isn't that part of the problem? I put my mind to a task that I shouldn't have. Master Fu warned me about giving the Bee Miraculous to Chloé, but I didn't think anything of it. Pollen said that she could be a great wielder if she had any support to help her mature… but she doesn't, so she isn't. I should have been able to see that."

Tikki refrained from letting any frustration appear on her face. If only Marinette's stubbornness didn't extend to her habit of blaming herself for everything. Especially when she was hurting.

"You had no way of knowing she would do what she did. She was a great Queen Bee against Malediktator and on Heroes' Day. She returned the miraculous afterward. And… I think, maybe, you were biased. Hopeful that the girl who's caused you so much trouble was finally turning over a new leaf."

Marinette shifted uncomfortably. Evidently that idea hit really close to home in a way that she wasn't expecting. "I… maybe. All the more reason why I'm not ready, I guess. A worthy Guardian can't be biased."

"If that is true, then there is no worthy Guardian. Every human has bias, because every human has their own perspective. Even us kwami, for all of our power, are still limited in what we see and what we think. I mean, you've met Plagg, right? Does he seem like a responsible, level-headed individual to you?"

That finally brought a smile to the girl's face. "You've got me there."

"One beauty of being both Ladybug and the Guardian is that you'll have the direct support of everyone you choose to give a miraculous to. You don't have to keep them in the dark like you did when you were protecting Master Fu. And you always have Chat Noir. I know your civilian identities must remain a secret, but he's there for you in any way he can be."

"Sure, I'll ask him for emotional support, and then he'll get all fussy about why we're not dating again."

"He's going to have to put his personal feelings aside, then. You don't have the choice to let your emotions get the better of you, and that makes it his responsibility as your partner to help you manage." Tikki actually giggled. "So I guess you'll just have to tell that boy to be a man about it!"

"We'll see," she said with exasperation. "He is finally slowing down with the over-affectionate nicknames. To be honest, it's actually kind of weird. I guess I can only hope for the best."

"Never lose hope, Marinette! Now, you should probably get to bed. This went later than we expected, I think."