MIRACULOUS
CH. 23
RED SKIES
Adrien rushed to his storage, now his home, as people continued to run for their lives, scrambling around. These people don't appear to take a certain direction. Since going underground, he has, ironically, seen more of the outside world and saw more of how people in panic lose all their sense of control and run around aimlessly, it's a really scary thing the more he thought about it. Upon reaching his storage, he quickly made sure he wasn't followed before shutting the storage gate.
"All right, Plagg," he said right before removing his ring. "I'll see you soon."
"Good luck, kid," Plagg said before disappearing into the ring after Adrien removed it from his finger. He put it back into the small jewelry box and opened the thin drawer. There was another small jewelry box… and an Eiffel Tower keychain. He stopped for a second to gaze at the keychain and his adrenaline spiked as a tear escaped from his eye.
"Nathalie…" he growled as he quickly wiped the tear from his face and grabbed the other box while putting his original box away. He put the earrings on and the familiar red kwami emerged. She opened her eyes and looked up at Adrien knowingly.
"We actually haven't talked since you went underground," Tikki said.
"Considering you know who I am, I guess we should've talked about it," Adrien admitted. "But now is not the time."
"Has Mayura made her move?"
"Goes without saying," he replied.
"Ready to go anytime!" she affirmed.
"TIKKI, SPOTS ON!"
Meanwhile… In Tiger's Lair…
"Just as I feared…" Gabriel said, he took off his glasses and massaged his eyes as Marinette spoke to him on her tablet. "Emilie's is unleashing the white plague and take as many lives as she can so that no further consequences would surge after making her wish."
"Gabriel, is your wife really behind this? If so, I think it's the best time to let me in on it," Marinette prompted. Gabriel sighed.
"I suppose there is no avoiding this," he conceded, putting his glasses back on. "Adrien had a twin sister…"
*GASP*
Marinette's heart nearly stopped and inhaled a lot of air by the sudden info bomb she just heard.
"Emilie and I were so excited that she was pregnant with twins. Her family had quite a history of twins. The room Adrien had was meant to be shared when we originally going to commission our manor in New York. When the day came, Adrien was born perfectly healthy, but Emma wasn't so lucky. Our daughter was stillborn."
"Emma…" Marinette breathed, almost a whisper. "Seemed like a nice name…" she said quietly.
"She was never the same when it happened. The fact that her baby girl died in her womb tore her up on the inside… She had changed… Something broke…" he hesitated.
"Gabriel…" Amelie was heard in the background.
"She then broke into her family's forbidden library where hidden truths from around the world had been gathered by her family for millennia. You could find everything there, the miraculous, alchemy, records we didn't even know were possible to exist, as well as the white plague, what it does though we had a little record of its purpose. Once she tracked down the guardian she changed the commission of our manor in Paris, most likely to avoid arousing suspicion. She became obsessed with finding the Ladybug and Cat Noir miraculous to bring back Emma." Gabriel then scoffed. "Ironic, when I believed she was gone I spiraled down that very path I desperately tried to talk her out off…"
"Mr. Agreste…"
"It is difficult to believe I was once in Nooroo's position…"
"But is what you're saying is true," Marinette suggested. "With Adrien gone…"
"Yes, the scope of her plan has increased twofold and is now intending to bring both of them back. Even now I have no clue how many sacrifices are required to pull this off."
"That madwoman must be stopped!"
"We must find Mayura! She's undeniably in cahoots with her. I will inform Cat Noir, though I believe you should check the news in Paris at this moment. She must know the truth before the plague it's unleashed!"
"All right I'll dig deeper," Marinette promised. Gabriel nodded.
"In the meantime, I will begin preparations for your return in Paris, I will see you soon," he said, but before Marinette could log off. "Oh, one more thing," he interjected.
"Yes?" she asked. Gabriel gave her a sincere smile.
"Thank you," he said.
"For what?"
"For stopping me from making the biggest mistake of my life," he revealed. There was a brief silence and she smiled back
"And I'm sorry… about your family… Emma… and Adrien…" she said, stopping herself from breaking again. "You know, the whole Meloe thing made me realize that I would've done the same thing if I were in your spot, given the chance," she admitted while placing her hand in her chest. Another silence followed and Gabriel spoke up.
"I'll see you," he said.
"Yes sir," Marinette said, having some odd affection for him now, considering. There was a knock in her room door. Upon answering she was surprised by her visitor. It was the monk in the archives earlier…
Meanwhile… Back in Paris…
Carapace, Rena Rouge, Ryuko, Queen Bee, and Pegasus were looking up with confused looks on their faces…
"Errr… Why were we afraid again?" Carapace asked.
"I have no idea anymore," Rena said, not sure how to feel, Ryuko had an annoyed and insulted look on her face.
The team finally saw what was within the clouds. The dragon was indeed big but the colors on its fur were… lively and its tail had a long flag with a vibrant variety of colors. It also had edges made of stone like it was some sort of an ancient manmade structure fused with a giant creature, they glitter when it is hit by the sun. It had red-colored lips like it was…lipstick…
"Sheesh, flamboyant, much?" Queen Bee said making her usual sassy gestures.
"This must be a jest or an insult if this in any way reflects my inner desires," Ryuko growled. "How dare you represent me like this, Mayura!" she ran off.
"Wait, Ryuko!" Rena shouted, running to stop her.
"Wait! Weren't we supposed to get to the bank?" Pegasus asked the others. By then, everyone went after the girls. "Cat Noir will be furious," he said as he summoned a portal beneath himself and fell through.
"Exactly as I predicted," Mayura said as she observed the event.
"WIND DRAGON!" Ryuko shouted as she turned into the wind and went after the dragon.
"RYUKO!" Rena shouted. "Damn it!" she said and then played her flute. "Pegasus!"
"Right ahead of you!" a portal appeared with Pegasus to greet her.
"Come on, we gotta stop her before she does something stupid!" she said as they teleported.
Ryuko, greeted her teeth as she went after the dragon. A few Rena Rouge clones suddenly popped in her way.
"What do you think you're doing?" the clones all shouted in unison. But Ryuko wordlessly sliced through them.
"Was that it?" Carapace asked, cocking an eyebrow.
"Hey, I never tried to fight in midair like that before," Rena countered.
"No choice we gotta wing it!" Carapace urged. Pegasus takes us to the dragon," he commanded. Pegasus adjusted his sunglasses and cleared his throat.
"Carapace, I suppose you have thought of what is your course of action once we are up there," Pegasus stated.
"Hello, does the term 'wing it' mean anything to you?" Queen Bee stepped in. "I say we drag her cute butt back down here." She suggested, Rena stared at her cockeyed. "What?"
Meanwhile, Mister Bug swung from rooftop to rooftop as he was still getting the hang of the Ladybug's abilities and accessories.
"Whoo, okay," he muttered nervously as he panted while was sweating bullets getting the managed the yoyo. "Okay, just, need, to, get, to, the, bank…" he said steadily.
"I see a he-Ladybug!" he heard Carapace's voice gradually yet quickly getting louder.
"Huh?" Mister Bug muttered as he looked up to the source of the sound. It was Carapace plummeting towards his position. "AAAAAAAAHHHH!" Carapace landed on top of Mister Bug and tangled with the yoyo string. "Carapace, what the hell?"
"Hehehe… Things just got a little out of hand…" Carapace began to sweat.
"What's going on?"
"Yeah, you're not gonna be pleased…"
Meanwhile…
"AAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" Queen Bee plummeted down from the skies. A vertical portal appeared below and Pegasus emerged appeared and both went through another portal on the other said. They both landed on a rooftop closer to the ground. They both got to their feet and dusted themselves off. "Meh, I had it under control," she said.
"Sure you did," he said, adjusting his sunglasses.
As if on cue, thunder clapped. They all looked up and saw Ryuko with her sword out in a dive to strike the sentimonster dragon on the head. Mister Bug rolled his eyes.
"UGH!" Mister Bug groaned. "Brilliant!"
Meanwhile… at the Paris police station…
Cartman was struggling with his bounds behind his chair, taking the chance due to the cops evacuated the area. Knowing they would be back any minute did wiggle his way out.
"Finally crawling out of your hole, eh Sanceur?" he muttered.
"Hey, who's twisting and turning in there?" An officer ran into the interrogation room. "You were you trying to break out?" he threatened approaching Cartman.
"Ehhhh…. AAAAAAAHHHH!" Cartman dashed into the officer, tackling him.
Meanwhile… At the Parisian skies…
"KAGAMI STOP!" Mister Bug commanded. "This isn't you!" He yelled as he threw his yoyo towards the dragon and pulled himself up to where she was, on top of the dragon's head. He then used his phone, "Rena, Carapace, Queen Bee, Get to the bank and try to destroy that totem, I'll deal with Ryuko! Pegasus, follow me," he commanded. Ryuko has likely taken note of that.
"NO!" Ryuko tries to stab the creature with her sword.
"What do you think you're doing?"
Meanwhile… at the Banque de France…
"Okay, this should be no sweat," Carapace assured as he Rena and Bee made their way to the bank when all of a sudden a large trash disposal was thrown at them. When they dodged it saw that normal citizens were attacking them.
"Guess that would've been too easy," Rena said, taking on a fighting stance.
"Wait to get a taste of my venom," Queen Bee boasted smugly. Carapace raised his hand to halt them.
"Hey, hear that?" Carapace asked. They looked around.
"Kinda sounds like… music," he observed.
"It may be the source," Rena suggested.
"So, there's three of us and no leader?" Carapace raised an eyebrow and looked at Rena, who grinned back. "All right, here we go," he asked and readied his shield. "SHEEL-TER!"
Back up the skies…
"What's has gotten into you?" Mister Bug asked as he tried to apprehend Ryuko.
"I cannot allow you or anyone near our family relic!"
"Is that really the only reason?" Mister Bug, not fully convinced. "You know it'll be put back together when I use the miraculous cure. Tell me the real reason," he said. But Ryuko elbowed him in the stomach and flipped him over her shoulder.
"Stay out of this Adrien!" Ryuko ordered. Mister Bug grabbed her arm and pinned her down the dragon's head.
"So, you figured it out," Mister Bug conceded.
"Was not difficult," she boasted, grinning. "And I refuse to accept this atrocity has any representation of my inner feelings!" she kicked him off her.
"Ummm," Mister Bug put two and two together and scratched the back of his head. "I don't think that a valid reason to… AAAAAAAHHHHH!" he began to scream when Ryuko began to force the dragon to a nosedive on land. "Are you insane?"
"I will destroy atrocity along with the relic!"
"Wait what?"
"My family caused nothing but pain and if they discover this is how I feel!" She shouted. Mister Bug has a vague idea, based on how the dragon looked like. The dragon now started to try shaking them off. "AAAAHHHHHH!"
"AAAAAAHHHHH!" they both screamed as the hung on to its fur. "What the HELL?" Mister Bug berated at Ryuko.
"I did not want to believe it! I did NOT!" she growled trying to take control of the dragon again.
"Get a hold of yourself!" he yelled, tackling her.
"Why has such cruel fate been bestowed to me?" she began to cry as she struggled to break free from Mister Bug's grip.
"What the heck are you even talking about?" he asked, amidst of their struggle, they failed to notice that the dragon had stopped twitching and floated idly as if nothing was bothering it.
Mayura's hideout…
"Strange, a wave of emotions just emerged from Ryuko," Mayura explained. Emilie walking behind her walked closer to her. She wore all white attire with gold markings around the edges. With a grin, she stood beside Mayura and smirked.
"Definitively wasn't expecting that. That girl's emotions are much more chaotic than anticipated… Perfect," she conceded. "Now I am curious about that relic…"
"My lady?" Mayura waited. Emilie's smirk remained.
"Push this further, let's see what it can do," she said.
Paris… Banque de France…
Rena knocked a security guard out with her flute, Queen Bee threw another on him.
"UGH, I sure hope Cat Noir has found a way to stop these guards," Queen Bee shouted in frustration. Just then, all of a sudden, the music became much clearer.
"Waltz of the Flowers" by Peter Tchaikovsky plays.
"Wait… hear that?" Carapace asked. Before anyone could answer, everyone started to feel lighter on their feet.
"Hey, I feel like… Whoa!" Rena and Queen Bee began floating uncontrollably, along with everyone else.
"What is this, Space Odyssey?" Carapace asked out loud. The building is about to crack open and he could've sworn he saw the sky change to different colors in a very lively brightness. The brainwashed security guards still went after the then team as they tried to grab and apprehend them. "Look out!" he shouted, trying to 'swim' away from them. The guard grabbed Carapace by the foot. "Hey, lay off, pal!" he threatened, trying to kick him off.
"UGH, where have these hands of yours been?" Queen Bee yelled as she tried to free herself from a security guard trying to choke her.
"BEE!" Rena called out as she slammed her flute at the guard's face. "They're clearly out of it," she said.
"Thank you, lady, obvious!" Queen Bee said as she tried to get the hang of the situation.
"Hey, come on, we gotta get to that relic!" Carapace commanded as he 'swam' towards the vault. "All this for a big ass boulder?" he muttered.
Above the Paris skyline…
Both Mister Bug and Ryuko struggled to control themselves from drifting off from ground zero. Mister Bug was struggling to untangle his yoyo…
"Come on, come on, come on," he growled. "I fell like a cat in a knitting yarn ball," Mister Bug suddenly gave himself a chuckle. He then hit his back with a house chimney causing him top snap by the pain. He shook his head and focused. " *Groans*… seriously, how does Ladybug do this?" He eventually straightened his yoyo and began spinning it. "Okay…" he whispered.
He then caught on a chimney, breaking his momentum and began to make his way back to ground zero. He tugged his way into the rooftop then with the chimney he propelled himself back to the bank.
"AAAAAHHH," Mister Bug heard Ryuko being knocked out of the area and was flying off as well.
"RYUKO!" he called out, grabbing her with his yoyo. "Hang On!" he shouted as he pulled her towards him. She herself attempts to pull herself in return.
"Mister Bug!"
"Just keep…." He commanded but saw a floating car coming towards her from behind. "Ryuko!"
"AHH!" Ryuko yelled painfully as she was swept away toward the dragon's location, pulling Mister Bug with her. He lost his grip on the rooftop and the momentum started to pull him towards the dragon. Just then, Pegasus suddenly appeared and grabbed Ryuko.
"Fellas! Don't let go!" he shouted as he got a good grip on Ryuko.
"Hey, HEADS UP!" Mister Bug yelled as he realized they were floating towards the dragon's mouth.
"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!" they all screamed right before Pegasus summed a portal to safety. They emerged into the vaults inside the bank. Mister Bug was about to complement Pegasus but saw that they were still out of the vaults.
"Oh, right, you still don't know where it is… Wait. They're not here yet? Seriously, where are the others?"
Back upstairs…
As the music went on they still struggled with the lack of gravity while fighting off the brainwashed security guards.
"It's hopeless! At this rate, we'll never make it down the vaults!" Rena said as her head clashed into Carapace's. "OW!" sending them both rolling uncontrollably.
"UGH!" Queen Bee groaned. "Seriously we gotta get to the vaults before that beast knows were…" she was cut off when she saw the dragon's eyes peeking into the window. "Too late…" she muttered before the dragon roared and attacked. It then rammed its head into the building, turning it into rubble. Carapace's bracelet began its warning alarm.
"Oh, man, I'm gonna have to back off…"
Music stops…
Back down the vaults…
*BOOOM*
"Now what?" Mister Bug muttered, crossing his arms and the dragon's head came into the hall. "Holy crap!"
As the beast dashed into the halls in an attempt to devour him, Mister Bug summoned his yoyo and swing his way to the way and ran to the corner and jumped, barely missing him. The momentum was taking him closer to the targeted vault. Pegasus suddenly appeared and grabbed him into a hug.
"Pegasus, have you found the vault?"
"Affirmative, in fact, I'm teleporting you there now," Pegasus confirmed as he summoned a portal to the vault. "I believe we are in the right vault?" he asked.
"Oh, man! Millennia worth of human history is in the air!" Mister Bug shouted, rubbing his head with both hands.
"Both figuratively…" Pegasus agreed as they saw all the items and objects floating around due to the lack of gravity as well. "… and literally…" he concluded.
"Pegasus the portal!" He warned as brainwashed security guards made their way into the portal.
"Argh!" Pegasus choked as he was grabbed by the neck from behind. By the time he closed the portal, it was too late as too many have made through and came at them like droves. Before Adrien could defend himself, the giant boulder, which was the Tsurugi relic floated above him.
"AAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" Mister Bug screamed at the notion of being crushed by the boulder. Another guard grabbed him by the neck as he began to choke him as the boulder floated towards them. "OH, Man…" he choked. "I could really use my 'cataclysm' right about now," he struggled to break free from his opponent's grip. He finally kicked him off then jumped out of the way after kicking the guard out of its way as well. He landed on the wall in a squat and gripped his yoyo to his chest. "Oh man, oh man, please have mercy on this poor soul… LUCKY CHARM!"
His yoyo then summoned what appeared to be a can with a half-length handle…
"A flash grenade?" he questioned. He whipped out his yoyo and called. He how's everyone's end?"
"Bad," Queen Bee answered. "I can't hold them off much longer. If you're going to do something you better do it quickly!" she shouted as she kicked off the guards from the now vulnerable Alya and Nino. He then saw his end and saw Pegasus fighting off the guards to portals. Then there was a big bang on the vault entrance, ramming its way in.
"Ok, ok, don't panic…" he muttered to himself. "I have to be just as capable as Marinette at this. I may not be created by alchemy but every Ladybug had to earn her worthiness to bear this mantle… focus…" he closed his eyes and remembered his experiences as well as what Marinette and the master have said.
"It was not entirely Marinette who came up with the solution, it is the miraculous' power who give the boost her perception. After all, Tikki represents creation…"
He opened his eyes and his vision became black and white as the objects of interest flashed red with black spots. The flash grenade, Pegasus, the Tsurugi family symbol on the relic, and the vault entrance.
"I got it! Pegasus go back and bring Ryuko in!"
"Are you sure?"
"Trust me!" Mister Bug shouted. Pegasus then teleported out. Mister Bug jumped off the wall and rammed the boulder with his shoulder stopping it from drifting from the door any further. "OW!" he rubbed his shoulder. "That's gonna bug me in the morning!" he backed away and jumped off and rammed the boulder again, fracturing his shoulder. "ACK!"
The boulder the slightly floated to the center of the vault. He allowed himself to float away as another ram from the dragons was heard from the entrance, trying to get in.
"Not very original, eh, Nathalie?" he muttered as he waited. A new portal opened and with one final ram, the dragon broke into the vault and attacked Mister Bug, right away. "Let there be light," he quirked as he threw the flash grenade on its face, blinding it. The dragons shook its head violently as if trying to shake its blindness away. "Open wide!" he shouted as he kicked the boulder to its mouth, unwittingly biting it, damaging it dramatically.
"FIRE DRAGON!" Ryuko shouted from the portal as she emerged from the portal and charged into the dragon. Nailing her sword into the boulder, destroying it, releasing the black feather.
"No more evil doings for you little amok," he said as he opened his yoyo and began spinning it. "Time to de-evilize!" His yoyo caught the feather and pulled his yoyo back to his hand. "Gotcha! Bye-bye little feather," he said as he opened his yoyo again and saw the now white feather fly away. "MIRACULOUS MISTER BUG!" he threwthe grenade safety up in the air. Naturally, it blew in a shiny red light with an aura fixing all the damages caused by the incident.
Ryuko was on her knees panting. She had dropped her sword and gritted her teeth and was sweating.
"Curse you mother… CURSE YOU!" She screamed at the top of her lungs. Unable to get up she abruptly fell into unconsciousness. The security guards who were attacking the team earlier came to their senses with no memory of what just happened. Pegasus was rubbing his arm and approached Mister Bug.
"Mister Bug?"
*sigh* "Round up the others, I'll meet you upstairs," Mister Bug ordered, as he approached an unconscious and detransformed Kagami with an exhausted Longg panting by her side. He flipped her face up and grabbed the dragon's pendant. "Are you all right, Longg?"
"I do not understand," Longg wondered amidst their exhaustion. "Kagami is so level headed. To give in to the anger in that manner…"
"Don't worry, I'll deal with her, rest," Mister Bug said. The dragon kwami disappeared into the pendant. He then looked down on the unconscious Kagami "What was that all about? Why did…?" he was cut off by an elderly lady's voice.
"Your confusion is justified," she said. Mister Bug stared at the source. It was Tomoe Tsurugi where the vault door was open.
"Errr… How did you get here so fast?"
"I've got my ways," she replied, casually as she approached them. "I believe my daughter has caused you grief. That much is clear when I heard the dragon's description. It was a 'sentimonster' I presume?"
"Guess I shouldn't be surprised you know about all that. I suppose father talked to you about it."
"We go further back than you realize, young man," Tomoe revealed. She kneeled beside her daughter. "I am not surprised she proved to be a disappointment for you and you revoked her pendant."
"That goes without saying," Mister Bug confirmed. Tomoe then summoned what seemed to be a kwami. Seemed like a little brown owl with one wing.
"Fukuro, oblivio," she commanded.
"Yes mistress," the Fukuro said with a male voice, he floated and flew in a circle over Kagami's head and then quickly, her expression turned into a smile.
"Arigato, Fukuro," Tomoe said as the little kwami got into her pocket.
"Err… what was that?" Mister Bug asked. Tomoe got up to her feet and approached.
"Mister Bug, I must implore you to allow my daughter to be Ryuko," she said. Mister Bug took a step back and shook his head.
"What?" He asked, clearly not expecting such a request. Tomoe even bowed with her head. I beg you otherwise she will question why and she will remember this incident.
"Hold on," Mister Bug backed away, waving his hands. "You wiped out her memories? And you want me to pretend this didn't happen? What's going on?"
"My daughter's fate… has been sealed…"
"Wha…?"
"For her entire life, she has been cursed with an inevitable fate. A destiny she cannot escape from…"
"So what, she can live any life she wants to strive for she will never let some destiny decide where she will go…"
"You do not understand! She must follow through and accept that fate! The fate of humanity depends on it! She must have seen that what will eventually come to her is inevitable and she curses that fate."
"What? What is this destiny you keep saying?"
"I will reveal it to you in due time, but now it is not the time, it is the reason why I let my daughter remain permanently situated to the class she desired because I wish for her happiness before the inevitable. It is why I erased her memories of today's events, hence why I beg you to let her be Ryuko and not mention today. I wish for her to live in this blissful ignorance for a little longer." She implored. Mister Bug looked to his side and made a fist.
"All right," he reluctantly agreed. Tomoe bowed to him.
"You have my sincerest thanks," she said, bowing to him yet again and turned to leave.
"Hey wait," Mister Bug called out. "You're gonna leave Kagami here?" he asked, kneeling beside her. Tomoe turned back at him.
"If she sees me here, she'll question me and will suspect something. She will persist, I know her too well. It would be best for her not to know about our conversation."
"Fine," he conceded and bowed. She bowed back and walked away without another word. He then kneeled down to her and caressed her cheek, he couldn't help but wonder what is that fate that she cursed so much and what was it about that dragon that set her off so much. He got up and contacted a nervous-looking Queen Bee.
"Mister Bug, hey I actually checked the police station and…" she trailed off and began to sweat.
"Let me guess, Cartman got away…" he guessed, Queen Bee scratched her temple.
"hehe… that obvious, huh?" she said, nervously. Mister Bug let out a sigh.
""I didn't even get to ask him about the theatre… I'll look into it, in the meantime I need you to play dumb and head to your homes, I'll take care of everything." He commended almost apathetically. He was clearly not surprised that Cartman escaped, and was too tired to deal with it right now.
"Ummm… right…" she affirmed, not knowing how to respond to the situation and hung up. He then contacted Marinette.
"Cat Noir?" She greeted. "Oh, Mister Bug," she corrected herself.
"Hey, My lady," he greeted with his usual Cat Noir demeanor.
"Hey, Bugaboy," she greeted with a sheepish smile even though Marinette had a black eye, a scarred nose, and a busted lip. "I have spoken with Gabriel Agreste and I found out quite a few things I'd like to go with you."
"Been a while since we spoke, sorry I couldn't answer you sooner," he said.
"I can see you've been busy," Marinette said with a smile. Only then Mister Bug noticed her injuries.
"What the, what happened, who did this to you?"
"Oh, well, I hope you have time to sit down cause it's kind of a long story…"
Author's note: Whew, that was pretty rough. I'm gonna be honest this chapter was completely made up as I wrote.
On top of that, the direction I'm taking Kagami's character has changed and I had to start building up to it which is why her behavior in this chapter may seem abrupt.
I really have a soft spot for Kagami and to spare you the disappointment I will not be shipping her with Luka (I have other plans for him).
As you may expect the next chapter with being parallel to this one from Marinette's perspective. I assure you, it's going down…
I hope you enjoyed, constructive criticism is appreciated.