MIRACULOUS

Chapter 22

Land Of Make Believe

New York… 8 years ago…

Gabriel and Emilie were sitting on a gorse wagon in central park with a 7-year-old Adrien who was looking around innocently, enjoying the scenery. The couple was at its happiest than they were in years. They had spent the day as a family and both seemed to have had a good time, at least for Adrien's sake.

However, that night in their loft, Gabriel was going through old files and documents while Emilie was showering. A blank folder caught his attention and took a peek into it and there were drawings and outlines of ancient miraculous as well as old pictures of the old monasteries where the miraculous were kept. There were also notes where there were dates that were written. The last one was last week… He heard her voice from behind.

"Gabriel?"

Turning to see her on her bathrobe, clearly exasperated of what she saw. Gabriel's expressed in kind.

"I would've never imagined… You're still doing this…" Gabriel sneered. "I thought you have let it go. Why?"

"I should ask you why aren't you backing me on this?"

"Don't even think about turning this on me!" Gabriel shot back. "I have told you, we don't know what this can lead us! You saw that power yourself, we don't even know if it's going to work!"

"If it exists then it may give us back what is rightfully ours!"

"Emilie, please, reconsider…"

"How can you ask me that? It's our daughter we're talking about!"

"She's gone…" Gabriel was cut off by a slap in the face.

"Don't even think about finishing that sentence!" Emilie threatened. Undeterred, Gabriel pushed back.

"Stop this, please, while you still can! For Adrien's sake!"

"I'm doing this for Adrien, too! Why are you so cold? Why do you want to leave Emma all alone in the beyond?"

"There's nothing we can do! Please, don't you risk losing Adrien if you continue down this path?"

Emilie was taken aback and was about to follow it up with another burst of anger until the discussion came to a screeching halt by Adrien's innocent voice.

"Mom, Dad?" he asked. "What's going on?" the couple turned to see a frightened Adrien hugging his blanket…

Tiger's Lair… Present-day…

"Our discussion was cut short that night and we didn't discuss it further for Adrien's sake," Gabriel said from Marinette's tablet. "I suppose you learned quite a bit about what I have mentioned.

"Yes, about the miraculous, the civil war that caused the collapse, about the arcane Chinese alchemy that created me as well as the white plague… Over half of China was killed by it," Marinette confirmed. "Are you telling me your wife's family was behind it?" she asked. Gabriel nodded.

"I have reasons to believe that's how she got her hands on the peacock and butterfly miraculous."

"I see, so her family may have indeed be tied up with the Blue Mustang," Marinette observed.

"I ask you to look further into it," Gabriel pleaded. "I need to know what my wife could hope to achieve by unleashing such a deadly substance." He paused then lowered his eyes for a second.

"I know what you're thinking," Marinette observed. "Cat Noir told me everything and I would like you to know that I have no ill will towards you. Now anymore, at least." She admitted, and actually smiled at him.

"Really? After everything I've done?" Gabriel raised an eyebrow and looked at her from his screen and he could tell she was being sincere.

"It's what Adrien would've wanted. I knew he would," Marinette said as she put her hand in her chest. A small grin came in Gabriel's face and shook his head.

"Yes, he would," Gabriel agreed, remembering his last conversations with Adrien as well as the fact that he still views his as his father.

Later…

Marinette was looking into the hidden files where she had been studying the civil war that caused the temple's collapse as well as the forbidden arts as to how she came to be. Even now she's extremely apprehensive about that topic and always soldered her way through whenever she ran into the topic.

When she encountered the topic of the white plague she was constantly ridiculed by the file keeper. But she was always assured by to of the elder monks who hang out in the archive chamber.

She went on and on and read pretty much what was expected about the consequences of such widespread situations. She went further ahead instead of back where she could find more of the plague's origins and found a lead… After the plague was finally contained, many Chinese elders have resorted to black arts that were long forbidden. Arcane Chinese alchemy, the practice was rediscovered and practiced again in a desperate attempt to repopulate. So that is what caused them to create people via forbidden arts. It made Marinette cringe since she's still hasn't fully wrapped her head around how she came to be. A lot of this knowledge is believed to be dated back even before the stone age…

"Wait 'before the stone age?'" she raised an eyebrow. "That doesn't make sense…" she thought. "How could there be forbidden practices when there weren't any people at all…"

"Marinette, if you can't accept and embrace the circumstances of your birth, they will haunt you forever," Snow had assured her. Marinette snapped out of her train of thought and stared at the source of the voice. He was sitting on another one of the tables. "Furthermore, you will never get to the bottom of this mystery!"

"She'll never reach that point," an old monk countered. "She's not crazy enough!" he spouted as he pointed his temple.

"People out there can't get that it takes crazy to know crazy!" Snow nodded, grinning at her.

"That's the sanest thing I've heard in a while," Marinette agreed.

"Haha, sane?" the monk cackled. "Young lady, you need to think outside the box and put the pieces together if you wanna figure out this crap," he said. "Forget what you thought you knew, maybe even your kwami didn't even know," he suggested. And with that, they got up and left the archives at her disposal.

Marinette stared back at them cockeyed. She turned back at her document and continued her search.

She then read on about the origins of the white plague and Gabriel was right about originating from Europe. The earliest case was actually traced down to Graham de Vanily house…. Gabriel's fears have been confirmed and Adrien just kept coming back to her mind.

"Damn it," she growled, gritting her teeth. "Why does this keep coming back to him? Hasn't he suffered enough?" She quickly wiped a tear that threatened to fall and put a bookmark on it, not willing to deal with it now.

She looked elsewhere for any new abilities she could use. She found something familiar. It reminded her when she and Cat noir had once used a giant robot. But she found some new information in regards to much larger threats. Intrigued, she quickly whipped out her tablet and took notes.

Meanwhile… Back in Paris…

Cat squatted on Max Kante's furniture as Max worked on his desk.

"I appreciate you're doing this for me, Max. I can only stay as Cat Noir out there for so long," Cat admitted.

"I should thank you, Cat Noir. Not only you and Ladybug gave me the opportunity to save my mother on that train, but also to work on my electronic skills," Max said as he continued working on his project. "To be honest this is child's play in comparison to my previous creation. I'm sure you remember Markov," he pointed out.

"Who?" Cat blurted, raising an eyebrow.

"It is I!" a small floating robot appeared behind Cat out of nowhere.

"Wha…!" Cat spouted as he fell off the furniture, startled by the little droid.

"Yes, don't recall? He was akumatized as the villain, I believe he was called…"

"Robostus!" Cat cut Max off, getting back on his feet. "I remember now, you were actually akumatized by Hawk Moth and actually became a supervillain," Cat pointed out.

"Markov is currently one of the most advanced androids of our time, which already granted me a scholarship to UTC," Max said.

"The University of Technology in Compiegne?" Cat asked. "That's amazing!"

"Max's has already proven himself capable of the most complex technological advancements in the last half of century with solely my creation," Markov boasted.

"Markov, you're making me blush," Max muttered. Fascinated, Cat got back on his feet and approached the floating robot.

"Yeah, that's right. You're not human…" he muttered.

"Did you have to point that out?" Markov asked with a cynical voice.

"No, no, no, I mean, you have quite a bit of human emotion and you got akumatized."

"In the past, there has been the creation of high tech supercomputers given the ability to communicate via speech. However, the computers began to talk sassy and grow personalities; this started a massive panic among the engineers so they limited their vocabulary. Thus I believe Markov's creation was essential to prove if any form of life outside humans may become self-aware," Max spoke quickly. Cat actually caught up.

"Interesting…" Cat muttered. "I wonder…"

"Cat Noir?" Max asked. Cat turned to face him.

"Nah, never mind, I was just thinking of something. Anyway, I'll get back to you to see if it's done."

"I appreciate it Cat Noir. I must test it on long term use," Max affirmed. Cat the made his way out the window.

"I should get going, there's somewhere I need to be," Cat stated.

"I won't waste your time," Max said. With that, Cat took off.

Master Fu's apartment…

"How is he doing, master?" Wayzz asked as the guardian attended an ailing Sass.

"The overuse of the snake bracelet has indeed taken a toll on him," Master Fu confirmed as he checked him with a stethoscope. "As of now, I cannot tell his condition at this time. I have not seen such a strain like that in decades."

"Master Fu," he heard a voice greeting him. He turned and sat Adrien to enter the room. "You wanted to see me?"

"Yes Adrien, I did not thank you for bringing the snake bracelet back to me. It is inexcusable that I had a false bracelet for all this time."

"Fluff and the others were very distraught when Sass suddenly disappeared from the box," Wayzz explained. "Sass still has an opportunity for survival, thanks to your efforts. I cannot be more grateful," he said, bowing.

"Don't mention it. I overheard what you said about Sass. I just hope he's ok," Adrien inquired, waving it away.

"He's so exhausted it even hurt to move. He is asleep right now but full recovery will take time indeed. Such the overuse of a miraculous' natural effect. I must admit, miraculous had perished before suffering such strain. Sass had been strong to have survived such abuse," Master Fu concluded.

"Wow, I had imagined such a thing happening but it's really something else when you confirm it," Adrien admitted.

"I cannot fathom that the snake bracelet I had for so long was not the authentic one…"

"This does make me wonder…" Adrien said.

"Yes?" the guardian asked.

"I can't help but wonder what was even the point of that other fake bracelet? Something about that still bothers me. We didn't even get close the Palais Garnier," Cat wondered. "Something doesn't add up, why did he hang up a fake bracelet out there when the trap was right at that warehouse?"

'That is a valid observation indeed," the guardian agreed.

"His actions were inconsistent, even for the Coon. If he wanted to set a trap, he would've put it right in the warehouse where the fight went down. But if he wanted to ambush us then there would be no reason for a fake bracelet at all," Adrien concluded. The master stroked his beard and contemplated Adrien's words.

"Your deduction is sound indeed. It is suspicious that such a diversion was in place yet none came off of it."

"Could it be more timelines?" Fluff suggested. Both Adrien and the Guardian stopped and stared at Fluff.

"It may further explain Sass' exhaustion. Maybe he was abused more than we originally thought…"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, time out!" Adrien cut Fluff off making the American 'time out' hand gesture. "Are you saying that we fought the Coon more times that it seemed?"

"It appears you have had your share of battles in the old theater after all," the master observed. Adrien was deep in thought.

"Hmmm, maybe I should squeeze the info from a certain fatty," Adrien wondered, then got to his feet and began to pace around.

"Is there something more on your mind, Adrien?" the master asked.

"Something about that vault still bothers me. I mean, that Tsurugi symbol was really out of place. Could it all be connected? That's the only explanation I can think of.

"It may be a lead," the master elaborated.

"Welp, I'm off. The Coon has to be well enough to be interrogated. I have also notified Skips about him and said he would get in contact with the miraculous holders in Colorado."

"Hold on, Adrien!" the guardian stopped him.

"Huh?" Adrien muttered tuning back at the guardian.

"You must take the others with you."

"Huh?"

"I believe you may have not seen the last of this situation. This man may have an 'ace in the hole.' I suggest being prepared." The master then opened the miracle box and took out a smaller box. "And speaking of being prepared," he teased. He gave the box to Adrien, who then opened it. His eyes widened.

"Hey, isn't that?"

"Yes, this is indeed the Raccoon belt buckle," master Fu confirmed. "I believe Tanuki would like an owner who would give them a better purpose. You have chosen wisely with the new miraculous holders. I believe you will do as well with him," he said giving Adrien the raccoon belt buckle.

"Tanuki huh?" Adrien suggested.

"That is what he called himself, a curious one indeed," the master boasted. Adrien stared the belt buckle for a moment, then closed it to a fist and grinned.

"I know a guy," he said.

Meanwhile… In an apartment Complex…

"All right, Bean Burrito, I'll give you one last chance to take back what you said about my mom!" Rigby threatened, pointing a doll of a wrestling figure. When the inanimate object naturally just laid there he shouted. "I'll kill you!" He slammed his body onto the doll and played pretend while motioning the doll that it was hitting him.

"Tag up, tag up!" Mordecai said, offering his hand. Rigby pretended to struggle as he reached and tag up his hand and played with the doll himself. Mordecai eventually picked Rigby up."

"Oh, you want me to put the hurt on you? He wants me to put the hurt on him?" he asked Mordecai.

"I think he wants to put the hurt on him," he agreed.

"You think he wants me to put the hurt on him?"

"Yes, I do!"

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH"

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH" they both yelled as Mordecai threw Rigby a the trampoline bounce off to land a body slam at the doll, causing a body slam, causing the furniture to crumble, causing a ruckus in the complex.

"AWWWWW YEAH!" Rigby shouted as he flipped the trash can off his head. "Did you see that?"

"HAHA! Yay yeah I did," Mordecai replied then they clapped their palms. The two had a good laugh. After a few minutes of laughing the joy died down and the tone got serious for a bit.

"Hey, you think Adrien is all right?" Rigby asked. Mordecai gave him a weary smile and placed his arm around him.

"Come on, Rigby," Mordecai assured. "He's a tough kid. I know he's got it in him to do what it takes…" he said. Rigby then ribbed the back of his head.

"We really bit off more than we could chew, huh?" he said.

"Hey, we wanted to be part of something bigger, huh?" Mordecai said. "Skips warned us, huh? So all we can do now is trust him."

Later… At Paris Police Department…

Officer Raincomprix, paced around the observation room staring constantly at the one-way window to the interrogation room where Cartman was being held. Then, the six heroes entered.

"So, what's the sitch?" Queen Bee asked, punching her fists together.

"Easy, Kim Possible," Carapace said, rolling his eyes. Cat simply shrugged while Ryuko and Rena simply crossed their arms.

"Anyway, what do we have here?" Cat asked.

"His name is Eric Cartman, born and raised in South Park, a small town in America. This kid's got a criminal record the size of my arm," Raincomprix stated. "You were right about him being from Colorado, but…"

"Why don't come over nyah!" Cartman shouted at the window, knowing they were watching him.

"Right on cue," Cat said, as of Cartman knew he was there. "You guys wait here. I have a feeling things may get out of hand, be prepared," he said as he walked in. Cat grabbed a chair and sat on the inversed chair. "You wanted to see me?"

"So, you finally manned up, huh?" Cartman taunted. "Was that 'Summertime Lovin'' incident finally gave that wakeup call?"

Cat heard some snickering from the mirror, most likely Rena and Bee. He merely shook his head and continued.

"If you think you're gonna drill into my head, you're wasting your time," Cat countered.

"And what do you think you'll get from me?"

"Nathalie Sanceur, I know you're in cahoots with her," Cat interrogated.

"So, you figured it out…" Cartman concluded.

"That's not all, I also noticed a fake snake bracelet hanging on that statue at the theater," Cat added. "Now why would you leave something like that there when it was never your intention to lure us there?"

"Eh, you figured that too? I should've gotten rid of that fake bracelet," he muttered.

"So you were trying to hide it," Cat realized. "Care to elaborate on why?"

"Heh, you think is gonna be that easy?" Cartman asked. Cat rolled his eyes.

"You're just a hired merc aren't you?" Cat asked, "I know you're just in it for the money."

"The money's just a bonus, I would throw everything at Sanceur's face just for the giggles," Cartman admitted.

"So you would tell us?" Cat raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, I would just because I would love to see your reaction," Cartman taunted. Cat began to close his fist.

"What do you mean?"

"All the times I used the second chance, I have told you the truth more than once. The reaction, the look on your faces, heheheh, I couldn't get enough of the drama," Cartman admitted. Cat gulped as he tries to quickly come up with a retort.

"What's wrong? Not liking where this is going?" he taunted. Cat wasn't going to show him weakness.

"Cut the chatter! You will tell me where she is and who she's really working for," he threatened.

"Oh please, you got nothing to threaten me with!"

"I can think of a few things," Cat motioned his hand with his index finger making it look like a hook.

"Have you felt what is like to use my destructive power against a person?"

"No?"

"Well I have, and let me tell you it wasn't fun in the slightest," Cat threatened.

"Oh, and then you wouldn't know about the mole Gabriel Agreste sent to snoop around Ladybug's identity," Cartman revealed. "How is little Sass, anyway?"

"So, Agreste hired you as well, did you double-crossed him?" Cat asked. Cartman shrugged.

"Not exactly," Cartman shrugged, I have my own reasons for aiding Gabriel the way I did. And before you ask, no I did not take the miracle box from the guardian, but I knew from the start that it was the Sanceur who took the miracle box and hide the guardian's identity from Gabriel."

"Why would you do that?"

"Simply put, Sanceur beat me to the punch. After all, the miracle bow was just a smokescreen to lure out Ladybug and you because they knew they wanted the most powerful miraculous. The Ladybug, the Black cat, the snake, and the rabbit, but as you know none of them were in the box at that point and the bracelet and the stopwatch were fakes. That Rossi girl went crazy and took the box, minor setback. They're probably now tracking the guardian down as we speak, now that he has the real bracelet and watch," he revealed. Cat's eyes widened and was about to get up.

"Why are you telling me this?"

"As I said, I'm just a hired criminal who doesn't give a rat's ass about the 'stang,'" Cat raised an eyebrow.

"Is that all?" he asked, Cartman grinned again. "How is it that you knew so much about the miraculous? I highly doubt they would just tell you…"

"Oh you mean like a certain aspiring reporter is telling all their findings on the internet?" he asked then looked to his right in the mirror. "Isn't that right, Alya Cesaire?"

Rena Rouge freaked out and tripped back and landing on her but. Cat then jumped and grabbed him where the mouth is and slammed him to the ground, causing him to growl while his mouth was sealed shut.

"I would pick words carefully if I were you!" Cat warned. Officer Raincomprix staggered.

"Hey, aren't you in Sabrina's class?" he asked. Queen Bee scoffed.

"You? Ugh, why would Ladybug pick the likes of you?"

"This is not the time, Bourgeois!" Ryuko tried to stop her.

"Yeah, and you're wondering about the Tsurugi symbol back in the vault, huh?" Cartman taunted.

That caught Ryuko's attention. She immediately approached the window.

"Ryuko, please, do not let this manipulate you," Pegasus pleaded. Ryuko just pushed him off and approached the window.

"Yeah, the Ladyblog was a pretty good source to grab you by the neck," Cartman continued. "Watching the videos repeatedly and carefully? I swear, these stupid teenagers posting that stuff on the internet. They don't think things through," He concluded. Causing Rena's heart to race as she began blabbering her way out of the spot she unwittingly led herself to. Before the situation could escalate further the mirror window broke. And saw it was Ryuko who broke it.

"Ma'am? Ma'am! I'm afraid I have to ask you to…" Officer Raincomprix was cut off when Ryuko pushed him away as well, landing on top of Pegasus.

"Ack! Officer, could you get off?" Pegasus asked. Ryuko hopped into the interrogation room and approached Cartman. Cat tried to stop her.

"Ryuko? Ryuko, get a hold of yourself," he begged but she just ignored him. She grabbed Cartman by the neck and punched him.

"That stone has been a missing family relic that disappeared from our clan!" Ryuko growled. "How could you have possibly known about it?" she asked. Cartman merely whistled and grinned.

"Let me guess, you're Kagami, the clan leader's daughter?" he said. Ryuko gasped and was taken aback. "Why else would you have such an outburst about a secret family relic?"

"YOU IDIOT!" Queen Bee yelled.

"Coming from miss vanity who showed their identity out in the open from the get-go!" Rena retorted.

"I had nothing to lose!" Queen Bee justified. "Unlike her!"

"I should've been more careful…" Ryuko lamented. Cat was completely speechless of the situation has escalated so quickly.

Meanwhile… In Gordes...

"Emotions are escalating so high," Mayura said as she felt everything. Emilie hugged her from behind.

"You know what must be done."

"Yes mistress," Mayura conceded. She then pulled a feather from her fan and darkened with her energy and began to float away. A brief white light flashed behind her. "Fly away my beautiful amok and manifest her anguish!" she prompted. Then a portal opened to what appeared to be the Banque de France within vault 22. The black feather emerged from the portal within the vault and submerged into the large stone with the Tsurugi symbol.

Back in Paris police department…

"You're going to tell me where it is, RIGHT NOW!" Ryuko yelled. Then a neon mask that surrounded her eyes suddenly appeared. Cat was lying helplessly on the floor. Holding his face painfully when he saw the neon mask around Ryuko's eyes.

"Nathalie…" Cat growled as he struggled to get on his feet.

"Greetings, little Kagami. I am Mayura." She heard a voice. "I have found your weakness!"

"The relic! You didn't!" she threatened.

"Oh, but I did, and it is my masterpiece and I have full control of it!" Mayura boasted.

"Where is it?"

"That's for me to know," Mayura replied and giggled, as the neon mask faded away.

"Wait, come back!" Ryuko shouted, looking around. She then turned to Cat Noir and grabbed him by the collar. "Did you know about this?"

*BOOOOOOOOM*

Before Cat could respond, a loud explosion could be heard throughout the building, causing the room and furniture to shake, the computer monitor fell off the table. Everyone had seized their bickering as they took looked around as they noticed the unsettling commotion outside.

"Everybody out!" Cat shouted as they scrambled out of the police station.

Once outside, they saw people running and screaming in the same direction and looked up and saw what was causing such panic.

"Run!"

"Move it!"

The team heard the people screaming and running in panic. They all began to run towards the source of the mist, trying to make out what was behind the mist.

"Anyone see anything?" Pegasus asked.

As if on cue, a massive hairy chunk emerged from the mist before going back into the mist.

"*Gasp* What was that?" Queen Bee wailed as she stepped back slightly behind Ryuko.

Then the head of a gray and brown Asian dragon emerged roaring from the mist.

"Holy protons!" Pegasus shouted, raising his arms defensively. Carapace looked at him, raising an eyebrow.

"Who says 'holy protons,' dude?" he asked.

"Is that important, right now?" Pegasus retorted. Ryuko looked down in shame.

"This is my fault, I should not have let my anger get the better of me," she lamented. Rena then rubbed her back.

"Hey, we all have our moments of weakness," he reassured her. Cat Noir made a fist and stepped in.

"It must be heading to the vault. Ryuko, I believe the Tsurugi emblem is what we saw in the vault at the bank. It will no doubt go after the guardian while finding a way to guard the vault," Cat suggested and growled. "I hate to leave you guys behind I need to head off before joining you guys," he cringed as he said that.

"What!?" Queen Bee shouted. "Are you seriously going to leave us alone with that?"

"I need you guys to head to the bank and try to get to the vault. Carapace and Rena should know where it is!"

"What are you going to do?" Pegasus asked.

"I need to get other miraculous to safety and another errand. I'll be back for you I promise!" he said. After a brief moment of silence, Rena smiled and stepped in.

"I trust you, Cat Noir," she said. A smile crept in Cat's lips and began to feel relief.

"You do?" he asked and Carapace nodded.

"Hey, she probably you and Ladybug's number 1 fan, and you hardly let us down before, we trust you. Right, Pegasus?" he said turning to him.

"Of course," Pegasus affirmed, giving a thumbs up.

"Ugh… Like a have a choice," Queen Bee conceded. Ryuko finally broke her silence.

"Cat Noir?" she stepped in. "Please forgive my childish behavior. I am the one who led to this," she admitted and bowed to him. Cat put his hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, you acted what you believed in. And how you act to those who get in the way," he said rubbing his chin. Everyone had a brief laugh before another blast interrupted the moment. They all looked at the source and realized they have to act now.

"I gotta go…" he said as he took off. He whipped his staff which had a phone. He contacted the guardian as he ran.

"Cat Noir!" the guardian greeted.

"Master Fu, you saw what's out there. It's after the miraculous. They know that you now have the real bunny and snake miraculous you gotta move out and hide somewhere!"

"Do not worry, I have anticipated this when you gave me the bracelet. I have had my apartment cleared out by this point. I'm already in a new spot!"

"All right, no doubt the dragon sentimonster is after you so make sure to stay put. I have a city to save Cat Noir out!" he said as he hung up. "Plagg, claws in!" he turned back to his civilian persona while he ran.

"WOW! Talk about quick escalation," Plagg said, noticing the commotion around him.

"We have to split, for now, Plagg. This is a job for Mister Bug!"

Meanwhile… Tiger's Lair…

Marinette read on the old archives, digging as much as she could about the white plague, while Snow did his best to translate for her. While she found all that she could about the creation of the miraculous, the arcane alchemy that created her and the civil war in the high temple that destroyed itself. She had taken notes and now keeps in her notebook for future uses. But her focus now is on what the Graham de Vanily family.

"The white plague, another creation from alchemy that created the miraculous, to accumulate life-force," Snow read out loud while Marinette took notes. "It is unknown how the Europeans got the information, however, they appeared to have mastered an uncanny ability to control a deadly plague. According to our reporter, it appears that it had been designed to be what the Europeans had referred to it as 'pre-payment,'" he translated.

"Pre-payment?" Marinette repeated. "That sounds a little modern."

"It's kinda I would've worded it but it basically means that this is like paying your price before making your wish…"

"Wait, are you saying those behind it have not made their wish?"

"Seems that way," Snow lamented. Marinette then massaged her temples and then grabbed the sides of her head and shook it like a dog drying itself.

"So, are you saying that the people who die of the white plague are part of the payment?" She realized. She then got to her feet, frightened. "Cat Noir has to know about this!" she dashed out of the archives room and made her way to her guest room. She unplugged her tablet from its charger. "Come on, Cat…" there was no answer. "Damn," she muttered as she contacted Gabriel. And she was greeted by a woman with pale blonde hair. "Whoa!" she was frightened that she felt she was punched in the face and fell on her back. The woman giggled.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you," the woman assured. "You must be Marinette. Gabriel has told me about you," she said, while Marinette got back up and looked back at the screen and she was clearly apprehended.

"Aren't you…?"

"My name is Amelie, I'm Emilie's sister if that's what you're thinking," she reassured. Marinette raised an eyebrow.

"Where's Gabriel?" she simply asked. Amelie started to get nervous.

"You know Gabriel, always focused on what's in front of him," she said.

"Marinette?" Gabriel's voice asked. "Please let me speak to her," he asked as he grabbed the tablet from Amelie. "Marinette? What did you find?" he asked. Marinette finally realized what she was about to say…

"You're not going to like it…"

Author's Note: Hope you enjoyed that little callback to Regular Show's first episode. XD

But seriously, last chapter I may have made it appear that Mayura would be featured more predominantly in this chapter than she did. As Cat deals with the immediate threat in Paris, Marinette is realizing that something bigger is on the horizon.

Not much more to say this time around, though I may remember later and it's too late and I remember way after posting this chapter.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Constructive criticism is appreciated.