MIRACULOUS

Ch. 27

Lost You Somewhere Part I

Paris…

"I know where she is…"

"You do?" Adrien asked. "Where?"

"There was a small, humble inn where your mother and I spent our honeymoon," Gabriel said, adjusting his glasses. "I have made my research and I discovered that the inn has been abandoned years ago. Perfect for any shady machinations without raising suspicion."

"I'm surprised you would pick such a place."

"I wasn't always this wealthy, believe it or not," Gabriel said with a grin. "Anyway, make the necessary preparations, I suggest you make haste."

Later…

"WHAT!?" Rena Rouge shrieked.

"DUDE!"

"Why did you not reveal this information before?" Ryuko asked

"You'd think we would be informed of something like this," Pegasus observed.

"Look, I was in denial. I didn't want to believe that Mayura and her boss are planning such a thing until it was confirmed."

"In denial?" Carapace repeated. "Why?"

"I can't tell you," Mister Bug said bluntly. Queen Bee crossed her arms, leaned her back to her side, and looked at him cockeyed.

"Why not?" Rena asked.

"I just can't. Look I'm in no place to force you guys into this so if you're scared and want to back out, I understand," he said, offering his hand for their miraculous. They all looked at each other, there was clearly some hesitation going on. Surprisingly, Queen Bee was the first to step in.

"You know, ever since I first saw Ladybug I wanted to be her so badly that I showed myself to everyone when I became Queen Bee."

"That was a given," Rena said, rolling her eyes.

"And now?" Ryuko asked.

"Well, without getting all mushy, I wanted to prove her wrong and show her that I can change and earn the right to fight by her side," she said. Ryujo wasn't convinced.

"What makes you believe you actually care for others and not for the attention?" she asked.

"It was at first…" Chloe admitted, rubbing her shoulder. "But, the more I did all those recon missions with you guys…" she made a pouty face. Mister Bug sighed with a smile. He put a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry, I know," he said.

"You do?" Rena, Carapace, and Ryuko asked in unison.

"Why else do you think I gave her the miraculous again against Ladybug's wishes?" Mister Bug asked. "I believe in you, Chloe, I know you have the heart to do what's right," he said, turning back to her. Queen Bee looked up at her with a small tear in her eye. Without a second thought, she hugged him. He hugged back. "Anyone else?" he turned to the others. Ryuko lowered her arms and stepped in.

"If you think I would dishonor myself by backing out of a situation with people in need, then you do not know me very well."

"Same here," Pegasus added. "We were given this gift for the greater good... I suppose it was a matter of time to put that to the test."

Carapace and Rena held hands and nodded. Mister Bug and Queen Bee broke the hug and the former smiled and nodded.

"All right, let's do this!" Mister Bug inspired. "Pegasus?"

"Where to?"

"Gordes."

After Mister Bug specifically explained where Pegasus opened the portal and quickly entered. Once that happened, Bunnyx was actually watching them from a rooftop. She didn't seem pleased.

"I was too late," she sneered and disappeared into a portal of her own,

Present-day… Gordes…

Mister Bug was unusually silent and the others quickly noticed. He just stood there and stared at the white-clad woman. He inhaled and held his breath and his heartbeat accelerated.

"So, you found me," Emilie said nonchalantly.

"Heh, he proved himself quite the leader if you asked me," Rena Rouge stepped in, leaning her arm on his shoulder.

"From where I stand, I'd say he lost his nerve," Emilie said, closing in. Mister Bug began to sweat. "What's wrong? No snarky remark?"

"Why shouldn't I be serious?" Mister Bug finally spoke.

"Took you long enough," Queen Bee muttered to herself, as she too was uneasy by Mister Bug's silence.

"Ah so it speaks," she said. Mister Bug gritted his teeth and cracked his knuckles.

"Out with it!" Mister Bug said. "I know about the white Plague, so where is it!"

"Gabriel!" Mayura said.

"I see, Gabriel must've spilled his guts," Emilie pondered.

"Enough stalling!" Queen Bee stepped in. "Who are you?"

"Me?" Emilie motioned her hand with her fingers pointing to her chest. "Just a woman who merely wants what was taken from her."

"What do you mean?"

"I think I know," Mister Bug said. "You're basically using Paris as your sacrificial lambs for your wish, huh?"

"Seriously, do you really think you're going to get your daughter back? By killing thousands?"

"And that affects me how?" she asked nonchalantly. Mister Bug was silent again. He couldn't believe what he just heard. A million images and questions raced through his mind. The woman he wanted to throw himself into her arms for so long has become something he didn't even recognize.

"The audacity of that question…" Ryuko sneered.

"Enough of this!" Queen Bee charged. "VENOM!"

"Queen Bee, NO!" Rena shouted. Emilie quickly countered her attack and held her hostage.

"Oh, Chloe," Emilie lamented. "You have no idea how much I wanted you to be Adrien's. But Gabriel was an idiot to not protect him as he should."

"He was saving people…"

"He was an idiot!" Emilie cut her off. "Superheroes? You are so naïve… Just like Adrien was."

"How do you know Adrien, or me for that matter? Who are you?"

"I am Lux," she answered. She then grabbed her arm and stung her top on Queen Bee, paralyzing her. "That is all I need to explain to you dullards." She said and teleported and punched Mister Bug in the chin, sending him flying. Rena tended to him.

"Mister Bug! Come on, snap out of it!" she urged, shaking him.

"Mayura?"

"Oh, no you don't!" Carapace charged, throwing his shield at Emilie. She easily deflected his shield back at him, knocking him out.

"On it!" Mayura said but was quickly tackled by Pegasus…

"FIRE DRAGON!" Kagami shoutedas flames began to engulf her. She readies her sword. Lux opened a portal that took her to the ocean. Ryuko struggled amongst the waves as she didn't know how to swim.

Meanwhile… Back in Paris… Tsurugi residence…

With her chopsticks, future Chloe took a bite of the tempura crab sushi roll and almost cried as she chewed in bliss.

"Mmmmm, how I missed this!" she said with glee. Lady Tsurugi kneeled from the other side of the small table as she listened to Chloe munching. "Mmmmm, shame this is really going to be my last time eating sushi."

"That may not be the case, Chloe-san," she said with a grin. "If the information on the island library is so advanced you may devise a way to make sushi of your own. I believe the island has the necessary ingredients."

"Discovering how to make sushi from scratch?" Chloe guessed what she was implying. "It'll take me years."

"You have nothing but time now…"

Before Chloe could take another bite, she put her chopsticks down and looked out the window with a forlorn look on her face.

"At first I wanted nothing but to be back," she said. "But I know now that my place is on the island."

"It is the burden you were given," Tomoe said.

"Yes," Chloe confirmed. "It's the path Cat Noir sent me to. I have to go back quick. My younger self can't see me, she'll never bear it."

"Do you feel any resentment?"

Chloe simply looked back at her.

Meanwhile… Unknown Location…

On a stormy night in the middle of the ocean, Ryuko had completely lost all sense of composure and forgotten about any potential abilities she had at her disposal as she fathomed amongst the dark waves, and struggled to keep her head above water.

Before she could cough the water she inhaled, another massive wave threatened to consume her.

"Father, help me," she wailed and awaited her fate.

Before she even realized it, another portal appeared beneath her and fell to the ground.

"Good thing I recognized the harsh Australian waves," Pegasus said.

"Much obliged," Ryuko said, coughing off some water as she got on her feet. She looked around and saw no one. "Where is everyone?"

"Oh, snap!" he said. "They must be back in Paris!" he opened another portal there.

"What? How long was I gone?"

"Too long, I'm afraid. Come on!" He opened another portal to Paris and what they saw next was nothing what they expected. It was a giant sentimoster. They seem to be two floating fetuses inside a sphere with a shining light between them. Shooting light pulse beams at the city.

"What the?" Pegasus mouthed.

"Could you tell me how long you were looking for me?"

"Around three hours," he said.

"But it was only seconds for me!" Ryuko said, exasperated by Pegasus' answer.

"Mister Bug immediately ordered me to follow you! I couldn't find you! Do you know how many times I have to teleport to land just to avoid being drowned by the waves?"

"GRR, Never mind about that!" Ryuko retorted. "Let's go!"

Back in Paris…

Mister Bug spun his yoyo, deflecting the beams. While the others try to save the people around them as the city is torn apart.

"Damn it," Mister Bug said. "If I use my power now, I may not be able to figure it out on time…"

"You've done it before," Alya prompted. "Why are you hesitating now?"

"Good question," he admitted to himself. "Why am I being so careless?" But deep inside, he knew the answer. This was worse than when he found out his father was Hawk Moth. The hatred and emptiness in her eyes and the venom in her voice made it clear this was not the woman he knew, his own mother was a stranger to him now. After all this time, the woman he wanted to throw his arms around and hug with all of him was now almost like a demon he would avoid like the plague. He struggled to get up when he usually would like it was child's play from a hit like that.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Rena started to get frustrated. Of course, he couldn't tell her so he thought of something quick. "No choice, we need backup."

"Let me guess, you need us to hold it in!" Carapace said, blocking the beams, also hesitant to use his power. "Whatever it is you have in mind, you better do it quickly!"

"Queen Bee is back there recovering, Pegasus is looking for Ryuko, there's no way we can keep up!" Rena panicked.

"We're already here!" They heard Pegasus say. They all looked back and were accompanied by Ryuko.

"Took you long enough!" Rena shouted. Carapace lightly jabbed her in the arm. "I know, I know, I'm just…"

"On edge?" he said cutting her off. "I get it! But no need to get cynical!"

"I know, I know," Alya said rubbing her arm. The group had gathered as Mister Bug has spoken up.

"All right, listen," he said. "All you can do now is go around and save as many civilians as you can. I'll be back with back up and then I'll use my power," he then looked up at the sentiminster. "Something tells me we're gonna need all the help we can get."

"It worked the last time," Pegasus stated.

"All right," Rena conceded. "But hurry back."

"I will!" she shouted swinging off.

"All right, you heard the man, save as many people as we can!" Carapace prompted before scattering.

The burning skies made it clear that there was no time to mess around. He whipped out his yoyo and called.

"Come on, Mordecai…" he silently urged.

"Uhh, hello?"

"Mordecai, where are you?" he asked.

"Kid? I don't know it's the best time… Shouldn't you be with…" Mordecai was caught off by Mister Bug.

"Please, this is important!" he urged. "Meet me at the park STAT!"

"Ok, we're nearby, hold on!" He hung up and Mister Bug hurried.

Meanwhile…

Mordecai and Rigby made their way to the park. They were clearly concerned for their safety and were clearly unwilling to go there as they really wish to get to safety as intended.

"I wonder what the kid would want," Rigby asked.

"I'd like to know that myself," Mordecai replied. The two then saw Mister Bug swinging towards their destination. Noticing them, he saw it was no use to delay to he landed right in front of them. "Kid!"

"I just saw you guys!" Mister Bug said, whipping out the jewelry box as he approached them. "I'll need your help, Mor…"

"LOOK OUT!" Rigby shouted as a beam was shot at them. They all jumped out of the way but Mordecai was the one who took the most impact. He was pushed back by the blast rendering him out cold.

"AAAAHHH!"

"Mordecai?" Mister Bug called. He ran to him and turned him upward. "Mordecai! Come on, snap out of it!"

"It's coming this way!" Rigby yelled, pointing towards the creature. Mister Bug carried Mordecai and they ran off to the alley.

"MORDECAI!" Rigby called out as he tapped his cheek. "Speak to me!"

"No, no, no, this is bad…" Mister Bug said, messing up his own hair. "Who am I gonna trust this miraculous to…"

"Hellooooo!" Rigby said, pointing to himself. Mister Bug looked back and forth.

"Rigby, I need you to take Mordecai…" He was cut off when he felt a hand harshly pulling him to face him.

"All right, SPILL IT, ADRIEN!"

"Wha…" He was cut off when Rigby bitch slapped him.

"Why won't you want to trust me with the miraculous?" Rigby demanded an answer. Mister Bug hesitated.

"I…Uhhh…" Mister Bug was cut off again when Rigby slapped him in the back of his head.

"Now is not the time to look down on me!" he shouted, waving around his arms. "I'm clearly the only one left yet you still won't trust me with the miraculous! Are you really that doubtful of me? You know I'm the only one left!" he berated. Mister Bug gritted his teeth.

"Yes, I am!" He admitted. "I never intended for you to get the miraculous! I just don't think you have what it takes! You're always so impulsive and… And…"

"Hotheaded?"

"Yeah! I just don't know how it's going to work," he said.

"What about Chloe?"

"Huh?"

"You know Chloe is still kind of a hag to anyone who isn't her, right?" Rigby pointed. "Yet you still trusted her. You still believed in her and remember your reaction when you found Ladybug Wasn't going to let her be Queen Bee anymore?"

"That's different," he countered, weakly.

"Is it?"

"I had been your shrink since you got to Paris and you won't give me the time of day?" After a moment of silence, he continued. "Do you want to prove yourself to Marinette?"

"Huh? What does she have to do with…?"

"Do you love her?" Rigby asked.

"YES!"

"Do you want to prove yourself to her?"

"YES!"

"Then you've got to follow your own advice!" Rigby said. "If you can trust a bully then you have to trust the last man standing to do the right thing!"

With that, memories began to flash as he images of when he did he believed was right as well as the other times Ladybug didn't trust his judgment and all the time she had berated him for his mistakes.

"Use that head of yours!" Lady Noir hit him on the head with the staff.

"Are you still planning to tell them?" he asked Marinette, stopping her from approaching Lila.

"Can't you do anything right?" Lady Noir berated after she slapped him.

"I thought the master told you not to let her be Queen Bee anymore," she scolded.

"I believed in her… Was I wrong?"

"It is now your turn to choose…"

Mister Bug snapped back to reality and saw that Rigby was staring back at him. Right now he wished he could look at himself in the mirror. He turned to Rigby again and smiled and stood straight face to face with each other.

"Rigby Rogers, I give you the Raccoon Belt Buckle, which holds the power of illusion," Mister Bug said, showing him the small jewelry box. Rigby opened the box and from the buckle, a small kwami emerged. The little kwami looked a bit startled.

"Oh, hello," the kwami greeted wearingly. "My name is Tanuki…"

"Hey, hey," Rigby soothed. "It's all right, there's no Cartman this time."

"Yes, and I am grateful for that…" Tanuki hesitated. "But…"

"You cared for him, huh?" Rigby said, noticing his hesitation. The kwami nodded. "I understand."

"It can wait!" Mister Bug urged, causing both Rigby and Tanuki to snap back.

"You heard the kid," Rigby said. "TANUKI, LET'S ROCK!"

Meanwhile…

Rena had already summed as many clones as she could with her flute. Spreading out as much she could to save the people still running around in panic and the city was being blown up. Carapace couldn't afford to use his power so he shielded the people as best as he could through his limited range. Of course, Pegasus had the least trouble due to his teleportation abilities. Ryuko on the other hand could not get her mind off what had happened earlier. Her moment of weakness was still flashing on her mind, thus she not really watching where she was going. She was wandering the halls in the apartment complex. The red sun made it seem like the building is on fire. Before she knew it, there was a sudden kick of the door.

"Hey, anyone still out there?" someone asked. Ryuko recognized the voice.

"Bourgeois!" Ryuko muttered.

"Hey, Tsurugi," Queen Bee greeted with a grin.

"Stop grinning like a fool!" Ryuko sneered, running off.

"Hey, you're the one who came into this building when I already evacuated the place!" Queen Bee shouted, following her.

As soon as they exited the building it seemed this area has already been evacuated.

"Should we regroup?" Ryuko asked.

"You sound disappointed," Queen Bee said, raising an eyebrow.

"It is none of your concern!"

"Fine."

Then a bean targeted them and hit the pavement between them, pushing them apart. The two quickly got on their feet and made a break for it.

"You were about regrouping?" Queen Bee asked while running.

"Shut it!"

Before either of the two could argue even further, the two were swiped away by an unseen force. Both landed on their knees and looked around and saw an alley. They looked at each other.

"Errr… What was that?" Queen Bee asked.

"I was hoping I wouldn't run into you, Chloe!" Another voice said, Someone, standing in the distance at watch.

"Who are you?" Kyuko asked. The figure did not turn to them.

"What if I told you that if I show my face will haunt you forever?" she said. Queen Bee then noticed that her apparel is exactly like her own.

"Are you another Queen Bee?" she asked, getting on her feet. The older Queen Bee shuddered.

"Sheesh, is that how I sounded like?" she muttered to herself.

"Answer!" Ryuko stepped in. "What is your connection with Bourgois?" she asked, pointing her sword at her.

"Oh, I don't know, maybe because we are the same person?" the older Queen Bee asked, finally showing her face. Queen Bee stared at her with an eyebrow raised. She could have sworn she was looking at a mirror, though she was clearly older and her hair is all down with some leaves on her hair which actually helped to amplify her beauty.

"Uhhhh…"

"Oh, come on! You know what I'm getting at here!" Older Queen Bee said, but the whole conversation was cut off when the sentimonster shot another beam nearby, causing another explosion. "It can wait!" they then scattered.

Meanwhile… Location Unknown…

Marinette woke up and saw she was still on Gabriel's private jet. She felt a little dizzy as she got up on her feet.

"Hey, what just happened?" she asked the cockpit but there was no response. "Hello?" she banged on the cockpit door, still no response. Only then when she looked out the window and saw the night sky had bright blue, purple, even almost punk clouds. The colors entranced her and slowly made her way to the window for a better view. She could see vague clouds which implied that the jet was still moving. She saw what was below and it was nothing but ocean. There was no vast ocean between Tibet and Paris so she knew something wasn't quite right. After a few minutes she began noticing what appeared to be an island, despite the darkness, she could make out the piece of land to little resemblance to anywhere she heard of before. Then all of a sudden, someone came floating right into her window. She was wearing Ryuko's costume; only her hair was considerably longer, she looked older too.

"Kagami?" Marinette asked.

The older Kagami mouthed something but Marinette couldn't hear her, she shook her head while pointing her ear. She then began tapping the window. She did so in a very specific manner. Marinette leaned closer as she tried to figure out what she was doing, and then it hit her.

"Morse code," she said as she went to grab her cell phone and started recording. "Could you please start over?" The long-haired Ryuko nodded and began tapping again. After a few minutes, she stopped. "Is that it?" she asked. Ryuko nodded with a smile and pushed away, floating off. Her vision faded to white and opened her eyes and saw where she was lying just now.

"Hey, are you ok?" she heard Gorilla say in the intercom.

Author's note: I'm gonna leave it there.

Boy oh boy, things have been hectic! Both the story as well as my life. This was originally one chapter but with so much going on process has been slow and then I realized this may have become a 10,000 word chapter.

Due to lack of "Miraculous" content due to the pandemic, has waned the interest in the series, especially when the show's refusal to break from the initial status quo and lack of adversity and growth from Marinette and regression of Chloe has placed a dent on the show for many. Also, the series creator burying his head on the sand is not helping at all. Though he has lied on Twitter before to avoid spoilers, his recent treatment of Chloe and the leads have created quite of bit of skepticism. This is why I took it upon to write this story.

Please leave a comment, need the feedback.