All rights to Miraculous Ladybug belong to Zagtoon, Method Animation, Thomas Astruc, and Disney. All rights to Persona 5 go to Atlus and Sega. This is my own creative work.

In times of doubt, heroes were seen keeping vigil from the rooftops. Sure enough, that was where people found Ladybug.

In fact, any random passerby could say they had seen her three times or so in that evening alone. She'd hopped along the buildings so often her footprints were wearing into the concrete and tile. The heroine would swing between buildings and swerve her head with near whiplash before she was onto the next. She gave a confident grin and a pose to match when locking eyes with any civilian who cheered her name in the streets.

She'd been at it for hours. Ladybug had hardly noticed how the sun crept away from her obsessive focus to duty and the first stars for the night had snick in. Letting out a puff of breath, the heroine shrugged and made the long vault home. She'd take the scenic route for one last scan and-

She made a deal with the Phantom Thieves.

The lights of their second-floor house and the smell of the day's last batch of holiday cookies guided her. The combination was a healing pulse for her after a long day's patrol. She could sneak in a few cookies before dinner without her mom seeing if she-

She made a deal with the Phantom Thieves.

"…Spots off." She released the words and magic at once. In a flurry of sparkles, Ladybug reverted to plain old Marinette. The normal girl with a surface-level normal life. A normal girl who did normal girl things and had a normal girl family and normal girl troubles who-

She made a deal with the Phantom Thieves.

Tikki emerged from the last sparkle in her earrings. The kwami's last twirl brought them face to face. "Marinette, you seem to be a bit distressed."

"What? You're imagining things, Tikki." Marinette never broke eye contact as she backpedaled to the hatch door. "I am as fit as a fiddle. In fact, I'm even more energetic than ever. Must be that holiday spirit catching on!"

Tikki hovered over her every step of the way down, as if examining her down to her pores, unsettlingly enough. "It's just that you've been patrolling like this every day since the other night." Marinette's hop on the bed earned a startled yelp from her kwami. "Normally I would be proud of how seriously you're taking your duties, but I can't help but think this is all to avoid something else."

"Avoid?" Marinette scoffed. She must have shrugged for the umpteenth time and it was making her shoulders ache. "Come on, Tikki. As if I'd be avoiding coming home. Dinner doesn't eat itself."

"I'm not talking about your home."

"Good, because you know what they say. Home is where the heart is!"

Heart. Hearts, as in.

"I'm talking about what happened with the Phantom Thieves!"

Marinette spun so quick a whirlwind might as well have formed. "Ha! Right! The Phantom Thieves! The guys everyone's talking about these days. I'm sure the buzz'll fade after a little while!" She must have been talking about twenty decibels higher than she normally would. Hopefully her parents didn't hear, she thought inwardly flinching.

"Marinette, I know you don't like it but the fact is you made a deal-"

She made a deal.

A deal. She made one. A deal between people. Individuals, or groups. An agreement. She made one.

"You know, I think there's a part of town I didn't cover!" Her hand slapped her face and stayed glued on. There was no rapidly growing twitch in her left eye for anyone to see. "Let me just grab something from the fridge and another macaroon and we can head back out. Out, like a stakeout! A stakeout sounds good, like in police dramas!"

Her thoughts were screaming, on megaphones tied to fifty-foot-tall speakers. Her mind was on pure meltdown mode. She made a deal with the Phantom Thieves. She made a deal with the Phantom Thieves.

She made. A deal. With the Phantom Thieves.

Instead of the hatch to the living room, the girl about faced and returned to her bed's ladder making for the rooftop. "You know what, who needs to eat? I need to watch my figure anyway. What say we get out of here and get back to work? Who knows when evil will strike again?" She spewed in a speedy flamethrower of words. It only ended with a yelp as her foot near slipped on the metal at the pace she was moving.

"Marinette, you're doing that freak out thing you usually do."

"Nope, no I'm not! I'm as cool as a cucumber, or as snow! Winter's got nothin' on me!"

"I think you should sit down…"

"Totally cool! Dry ice! Liquid nitrogen! Icebergs!" She reached the bed.

"You should really settle your thoughts before doing anything."

"Subzero! Antarctica! Polar bears!" She made it to the rooftop. "To patrol!"

The gears in her head were going haywire. Whatever part of her that could still make a claim for sanity knew the consequences of recklessly playing hero. Tikki was her confidant, the one who'd reboot her head and bring that sane part to the forefront. They'd talk, she'd comfort her, remind her she was doing her best, but take it one step at a time. It had been forever since they'd been able to have that dynamic.

But the machine had to carry on. Danger was calculated and hope needed manufacturing. The people were still gossiping over Pernet's change of heart, and Marinette couldn't overlook the anxiety she was seeing day in and day out. Demand outweighed the supply. There was no rest for Ladybug, the symbol of Paris's hope.

Pernet was a fraud, a fallen angel in the world of fashion. Her defacing had cost the campaign hours of production work, withdrawal of a handful of sponsors, and overall scandal. The choir of social media was screaming with comments. It would be a miracle if the campaign would be allowed to continue.

And yet, Gabriel was the most excited he had been in a long while.

Nathalie chanced at a glance from her tablet. The fashion mogul had never lost his smile the entire limo ride from the next shoot location. It was a testament to either his patience in work or his cunning that he sported it after hours of reviewing the damages done to the schedule from irate cameramen and screeching amateur models calling for their managers. She'd worked with him long enough to know just what it was that pleased him so.

"I assume you're smiling over the incident." She spoke after twenty minutes of professional silence. "Does it have to do with the Phantom Thieves."

The question came just as the limo pulled into the front gate of his estate. Moments later, the Gorilla opened the door, pinching the handle between his fingers. Gabriel's stride had almost a giddy zip to it as he marched to the door.

"Yes. Quite the coincidence, don't you think?"

"Coincidence, sir?"

"That such notable figures would appear now." He had his phone, scrolling through the Ladyblog. "When the public has begun to talk of them. When they had supposedly disappeared, never to be seen again."

"Coincidence, indeed." Nathalie nodded.

By now they had made the trip back to his office. He had switched from the phone to his computer screen and the Ladyblog had made way for international articles. Headlines roared the appearance of calling cards and a massive public announcement, similar to the one used to announce the group's arrival in Paris. "We have been presented with a rare opportunity. It would be foolish to waste it."

"Sir, are you planning on using the Phantom Thieves? I highly advise against it." The pinch to her throat was undeniable. She was his closest ally in his war against Paris's heroes. Far be it from her to clip his determined wings. "There is too much we don't know about this situation."

Gabriel's fingers paused. "A valid point. We cannot deny their powers may not even stem from a Miraculous."

True enough. Nathalie had only seen a glimpse of a page from the tome Gabriel had poured his soul into and from which poured both his dream and career. Even with the deciphered version obtained from the former Guardian, no mention of any magic that could so forcefully alter a person existed. If such a power was among the Miraculous, he would be clutching the jewels of Ladybug and Cat Noir ages ago and trading them for the hand of his wife.

"However, there is another matter to consider."

"And what would that be, sir?"

"The circumstances surrounding their appearance." His finger swiped another article away, revealing something more familiar to the secretary's eyes. "Antonio Silva, the model I was able to Akumatize repeatedly over the course of this ordeal. Though Archangel was formidable, the fact such a thing was even possible strikes me as odd."

"And then there's the fact that Pernet was targeted, rather than him." Nathalie approached his side, witnessing with robotic analytical agility the switching of articles. "Regardless, his negativity completely vanished."

"What is the connection, then?" Gabriel grinned again. "Something lured them here. Triggered their revival."

Nathalie hummed. "You still have the show to attend to, sir. Shall I investigate?"

"No, the repairs to the Peacock Miraculous are not yet complete. We will keep an eye on the situation to see how it unfolds." At that, Gabriel turned to the pixelated image of his wife behind him. Pressing his fingers into the hidden triangles. The floor beneath him huffed and descended, taking him with it. Nathalie watched as he sank into the hidden room.

"Besides." Gabriel gave a dark smile, the most emotion he usually showed. "I have not given up on my dream."

The internet was both a blessing and a curse. If it came from the mouth of their resident hacker, Akira could say it might as well have been gospel.

Akira squinted to spot her red head past the stacks of room service and instant ramen Ryuji insisted on. She and Makoto had been sitting there pouring through hours and hours of "oh, wow" and "gee wiz" articles regarding what was not called the "Pernet faux pas" incident. Futaba had even let her gremlin giggle slip somewhere back in time, indicating her digital nose was sticking in places it probably shouldn't. Makoto's grimace said as much as well.

Four hours of typing, burning what was left of daylight, and nothing. It was blasphemous to teenagers like him that the web didn't have all the answers. But Futaba let out an anguished groan, signaling she was throwing in the proverbial towel.

The hacker's head flopped. "I concede. Thou hast smited me, social media."

"Seriously, nothing?" Akira asked.

"Nada. Even with custom search tools and everything. No one's got a clue."

"Check her phone data? Emails?" Invasion of personal privacy was like dropping litter at this point. Didn't care, so long as the main objective got done.

"Only thing out of the ordinary was that new MakeLove app." Futaba spoke as she continued to scroll through articles. "It's a dating app so it's no big whoop. Other than that it's all business calls and the occasional game of Solitaire. And on Silva's end, its nothing but spam-level texts."

"That level of communication doesn't seem normal, even for a relationship." Makoto spoke. Her area at the table where they worked was more business-proper with pencils aligned and notepads filled with legible notes. "I don't think we can erase the possibility he was altered in some way."

Akira hummed. No offense to their resident strategist, but the intelligent had a way of spouting the obvious.

"The police turn up anything new?" He felt dumb for asking.

"Nothing. All Pernet claims to remember is messaging Silva and then starting a relationship immediately after." Makoto pinched the bridge of her nose. "Apparently, he just asked to go out with her, out of the blue."

The loud slurp of noodles caught their attention. Ryuji, the obvious culprit was lounging on the rotunda sofa with chopsticks dipped in what was his fifth cup, Akira assumed. Yusuke and Haru were at his sides, with Morgana lounging on the table. Sweat came through his the gym shirt he had packed, to the confusion of the others, as the result of an afternoon marathon around the hotel.

"Yo," he said with a jaw half-full of noodles. "Why don't we just ask those heroes for help?"

"Ladybug and Cat Noir?"

"Yeah. I mean, they were throwin' down with that model guy, right? Shouldn't they have spotted something?"

"After all the times they 'threw down', I'd say that's unlikely." Morgana noted, tail twitching. "And do you have to talk with you mouth full? You're so vulgar."

Ryuji swallowed. "The hell? Why'd we even team up, then?"

"Because it's the most efficient way of dealing with this matter."

"How do we even know something else is gonna happen?"

"You mean, you think it might be over?" Haru asked.

"Yeah. For all we know this was a one-time thing."

"We shouldn't assume that." Morgana spoke again. "There's too many questions here to just call it case closed."

With a sigh, Akira stood and headed out to the balcony. The garden of lights and holiday carols on the chilly winter air drowned out what was sure to be the latest round in the Ryuji and Mona insult fest. He'd closed in on the balcony to lean and take in evening Paris's song, but caught sight of the table beside the window.

There sat a girl who Akira noted bore a striking resemblance to the same one who sat with her head down at the Big Bang Burger. The one with hands clenched, eyes watering, feeling like the world was out to get her. The Ann Takamaki here was about the same, ignoring the cold though it had cast itself on a now-forgotten cup of hot chocolate.

Akira dragged the chair scraping the tile and sat across. In these times, he said what he said best. Nothing.

If she had anything to say, she'd say it.

For a good minute she toyed with the cup before speaking. "Are we sure… this was a good idea?"

She looked away, frowning, staring at nothing in particular. Embers still glowed in her eyes, unruly. The slightest spark could set them off into an inferno. Silence was the smartest move here to be sure.

"What is that girl's deal?" She spat, clenching the cup.

"Maybe you misunderstood her."

"Oh, I understood well enough." Ann turned to glare, apparently taking his words as a challenge. "I understand she thinks she's sticking to some noble path. But I also understand the world's not as clear cut as it is to her."

"She can't be everywhere, every time."

Akira watched her face twitch with a pang. The sentiment echoed upon the air to their whole group. As kids, they'd always watched superheroes with starry eyes and vivid imaginations. They'd believe heroes would be there to save them in their darkest days. Then they grew up and those darkest days came, and all there was in the sky was rain to hide the tears broken hearts evoked.

Heroes flew high above – they never saw the problems back down on earth. Abuse, manipulation, trauma, things superpowers couldn't fight or erase. Heroes could stop running trains and falling buildings, but could never heal the scars they left behind. No hero ever came for Ann with Kamoshida, a real villain. That was what their group was for.

And heroes, well… Akira guessed they were still important. In some way.

"Lady Ann, we understand your feelings." Morgana, quick to comfort his lady, arrived on the scene. "Nonetheless, this is a delicate situation. Teamwork is essential here."

"…Fine. I make no promises about getting along, though."

"Of course."

"Though I might behave better… in exchange for a few extra-large parfaits?"

"For you, Lady Ann, anything!"

"Uh, how are you gonna get her a parfait, you stupid cat?" Ryuji asked.

"That's where you come in. You can pay for me."

"Uh, no!"

The others laughed. Yusuke, who had been slurping ramen with teary-eyes up until then, finally chimed in. "Well, seeing as our investigation has not produced any promising leads, we may as well take this opportunity to unwind."

"That's right. We haven't started panning our vacation" Futaba moaned. "What doooo?"

Haru released a giggle. "Well, I noticed in the lobby that the hotel staff are offering tours. We had also talked about that earlier, didn't we?"

Ann was back on her feet and walked in, thoughts of sweets restarting that bright smile of hers. "In that case, why don't we invite that other kid from the shoot? You know, Monsieur Agreste's son."

"Wait, the model kid?" Ryuji cocked a brow. "Why?"

"No big deal. We're working together, and I wanted to get to know him a little better."

"A little vacation time does sound good." Makoto conceded. She swiped the papers aside for more vacation-friendly brochures. "Alright, let's get some rest and start thinking about tours in the morning."

"If you're all going to go out on a tour, then I'll take a stroll around the city." Morgana spoke.

Akira turned to the non-cat. "Does this have to do with you knowing Ladybug's identity?"

"Seeing me with the rest of you could be a link. From what I've seen, this girl is no amateur."

"Tikki, spots-"

"Marinette!"

The girl growled. "Tikki, spots-"

"Just listen for a second!"

The kwami's defiance was making her want to yank out her pigtails. Tikki never said no to a night of protecting the people. Frankly, she needed a transfusion of evening air to clear her head. Why did she have to be so stubborn now?

If forcing it wouldn't help, then-

At once, Marinette bolted for the hatch on her balcony. She'd bounced off her bed and down the twin sets of ladders to the living room past her baffled parents. The girl desperately avoided eye contact to spare herself their questions. But just as she headed out the door, her father's large frame was blocking the entry.

"Honey, is everything okay?"

"Yeahsuredadgottagooutbebacksoon!"

Though risking severe injury she leapt onto the railing of the staircase into the pool of darkness below sliding down the stairs to the bakery and out the side door to the back of the building. Tikki, with her ever handy ability to go through walls, would be out soon. Out of breath, and with stones in her gut, Marinette lied in wait.

A red zip appeared, and she inhaled. "TIKKI, SPOTS-"

But that same zip was quick enough to collide into her face. A tiny digit buttoned her lip. "What are you doing!? We're in public!"

She gasped, eyes wide, before sliding to the ground. At once, it felt like someone kicked the pile of defunct junk that her brain seemed to be now. She just risked an audience to her flashy transformation out of pure desperation. Any hero worth their mask would slap her in the face and snatch her Miraculous right out. Master Fu, in all his understanding, certainly would.

The once sharp mind and creativity she'd leaned on as her greatest weapon had dulled, malfunctioned. Her deal with international criminals was just the final glitch needed to make her go haywire. Could she do anything right anymore?

Tikki floated down in understanding to her eye level. "Marinette, I understand what you must be going through. But you shouldn't let the pressure get to you."

"Tikki, I don't even know what I'm doing here. I just made the dumbest move in superhero history!"

"Being so harsh on yourself isn't really helping." Her digit moved to wipe a tear Marinette didn't see forming. Of course she'd be blind to her own feelings on top of everything. "And for all your doubts about the Phantom Thieves, I believe there is a kind of justice in their actions."

"Y-You think so?"

"Think about it. If they hadn't done anything, Silva might still be running amuck as Archangel."

Marinette couldn't be sure that was the case. The man's emotional state was caught in an endless cycle, akumatized and reverted over and over again. If the Phantom Thieves could make evil people good, making sane people crazy wasn't as out of left field as most would think. Not to mention they were fans of theatrics, if that announcement proved anything.

Then there was Pernet. Just adding even her into the mix and her mental malfunction turned into a meltdown. "I don't know, Tikki. I just don't know. There's so little we understand about any of this."

"Try to understand. Try to see things from their point of view." Tikki smiled.

Understand… of course!

The girl's head shot up. "That's it, Tikki!"

"You're going to work with them?"

"Of course not!" Her legs were now burning with adrenaline. She jumped up to the shock of her kwami. "I'm going to solve this case myself! And I can investigate the Phantom Thieves in the process! I'll sniff out all their secrets!"

"Wait, no! That's not what I was saying at all!"

"Thanks for the pep talk. Tikki, SPOTS ON!"

"Waaait!"

Tikki was sucked in her earrings, her complaints dragging on until the last. The girl turned Ladybug gave a quick scan, and as soon as the coast was clear, shout her yoyo towards the moon. Too many secrets hung in the air along with the stars, but she'd get to the bottom of everything. She wouldn't fail Paris this time around.

Thank you all very much for your patience, everyone.

I'm sorry this chapter took such a long time to write. Aside from posting in all the other stories, I was going through a bit of a writer's burnout phase. I had ideas to write, but no motivation. A variety of issues were involved with this – personal dissatisfaction, issues in real life, negative comments here on the site, etc. A bit of reading and distancing myself from my work has helped out with that, though. I can power through and start updating again.

I remember there were a lot of issues regarding the last chapter. People know about the issues there, but to wrap it up, let's just say the interpretation of Ladybug's famous saying is the version that suits this story the best. As one user on AO3 put it, Ladybug and Cat Noir's methods are more reactive in nature, while the PTs take a more proactive approach. Besides, I think it's better from a discipline standpoint that I treat each post like there's no takebacks.

And regarding my last author's note – I want to say first and foremost that no one needs to panic yet. This was just a warning that I won't tolerate any rude behavior or insults to my person. I'm not going to just rip this off the site and be done. Everyone here can treat everyone else with respect, or at the very least, I hope so.

Anyway, I'll call it here.

As always, review, favorite, follow.