AN: This chapter is a helluva mess. It is chaos incarnate. It was a bugger to write. One day, I may look back on this chapter and say "what the hell was I on that day?" Regardless, this is what I have to offer.

Please accept my condolences!

Kapel85, Agiani, BrokenUniverse92, and K: Thank you guys for commenting, and thank anyone who's favorited and followed this story. You guys give me the motivation to continue posting here. 3

K, to answer your question, I'm trying my best to keep a weekly update schedule, posting on Saturday/Sunday. :)


Emma awoke to the sound of her cell phone ringing. She groaned, blearily groping a hand across the covers for the device while she rubbed her face into the warm pillow. Her fingers touched it, ghosting across the screen and inadvertently answering the call. With one watery eye, she glanced at the screen, then rubbed her eyes with a hand and tried again. Louis was on the line, and the call timer was active.

"Emma? Emma, you there?" Louis's voice issued weakly from the phone while she stared at it, still processing.

The blond girl had never been a graceful sleeper and an even less graceful waker. Her brother called her name a few more times before her brain kicked in that she was supposed to be doing something with this. She finally put the phone to her ear and replied, "H'lo?"

"Emma, thank god! Are you okay?" Louis implored. Why did he sound so worried? As her brain rebooted, she remembered. The cat miraculous, the box, and the shadows. Was she okay?

"I'm okay," she decided and assured her twin, at least physically, but she still sniffled as the tears started to well up again. "I think I messed up big time, though." She really wished her twin brother was here, right now, instead of on the phone. She needed a hug.

Louis's sigh of relief was audible over the phone. "I'm glad you're alright. I'll be there soon. Is mom still with you?"

She shrugged, then remembered that he couldn't see it. "I dunno. Probably. I'm at Bà's right now."

The line was silent for a moment. "I vaguely remember where that is. Can you send me the address?"

"Sure." She slid from the bed and stretched, reaching over for her book bag. After a bit of rummaging, she pulled out last week's travel itinerary from Uncle Felix and read the address off to Louis.

"Okay, I got it." The line was quiet for a few moments while he pulled up the instructions. "I'm close enough that I'm just going to stay out of costume for a while. Nooroo brought up a good point. The less I'm sighted in uniform, the better."

She kicked her feet against the side of the bed. "Yeah, that is probably for the best," she grumbled.

"So talk to me while I'm walking. I'm in a big city by myself for the first time walking the streets. Keep me company."

She knew what he was really asking, and she appreciated it. She did want to talk about it, just the two of them. When he got here, they'd have to talk about it with their parents and she wasn't ready to face that music.

"So, I went to go get Bà's miraculous." She started slowly. She waited for him to start yelling in indignation or something, but when that didn't happen, she went on to explain the rest of the situation to her twin. He walked and made the occasional confirming noise, listening intently without interrupting her.

He did ask clarifying questions though. He paused at the end of her story and asked, "How do you know the shadow followed you?"

She picked at her hem. "Why else would the shadow have been there? No one knows about Mama being the guardian except for our family."

He scoffed on the other end. "Yeah, except for a whole temple somewhere in Tibet, probably," Louis pointed out. "We can't rule it out as a possibility that the shadow was just waiting for someone to show it where the box was." He was quiet for a few moments. "You said it didn't attack until after you had the ring, right?"

She nodded, even though he couldn't see it, and verbally responded, "Yeah."

"Okay, that tells me it was either waiting to see a miraculous, or it was had just gotten there. Otherwise, why wouldn't the shadow have attacked the moment you pulled out the box?" She thought about it. His reasoning wasn't bad. Still...

"Either way, that means it still might be my fault. If I hadn't gone after the ring, the shadow might not have found the box." Her brain worked through the possible consequences, suddenly remembering something her mother had told their father on the first night they'd met up in Paris. Her heart caught in her chest and her voice trembled a bit as she asked, "Louis, what if Mama has to give up being the guardian after this? Because the shadow villain knows who Mama is? What if losing the box is all it takes? If Mama forgets us, it's going to be all my fault!"

"We aren't going to let that happen, Emma," Louis was quick to assure her. The resolve in his voice was contagious. "We are going to find that box. We just need to put the clues together and get the box back. Calm down and help me think of the clues."

She took a deep breath and took out a notebook and pen. "Okay, I'm taking notes." She couldn't let Mama forget them. Louis was right. She wouldn't admit it to his face, but he usually was. He always knew what to say to make her feel better. "Let's do this."

"Oh, wow, this is a nice neighborhood," he said distractedly. "Alright, first clue: the villain is shadow-based."

"Got it," Emma said, jotting it down. "I'm adding a note that we need to look up villains with shadow powers, or possible sources of shadow powers."

"Sounds good." Louis was quiet for a few moments. "Nooroo says that our akumas or amoks are able, but we are ruled out." He was quiet again. "He says to 'ask Plagg', but to not expect much. Not sure what that's about."

Wasn't Plagg their father's kwami? Weird. "Okay, next clue," Emma supplied, "The villain may know who Mama is. Alternatively, they know enough about me to follow me." In hindsight, now that she thought about it, it was more likely that the villain knew their mother. This had been her first time out and about as Juno, and she could count on one hand the number of people who knew she was even in Paris. She put a star next to the first option.

"Or spotted you out and about and followed," Louis supplied. "Can't be ruled out yet."

And that brought it back to being her fault. She frowned. "But how would the villain have known that I would be leading them to the box? Seems too coincidental."

"Maybe the shadow is like a magpie and just grabbed the first shiny thing you showed it." Emma could mentally see Louis shrugging as he said that. It was obvious from the tone of his voice that wasn't the bet he was taking. "Okay, third clue. I followed the shadow after Mama rescued you."

"What?!" Emma exclaimed. "How? Where did it go?"

"Once you were gone, the shadows all condensed into the form of a cat. It went to the Agreste Manor and vanished into a wall."

Emma remembered that house from when her father had given her the tour of his Paris. "Grandpere's house? But isn't it under renovation or something?"

"Okay give me a second. This is a really steep hill." She waited patiently. "Yeah, that's the one. Only it wasn't under reno when I got there. I actually played a nice game of chess with Grandpere Gabriel."

She almost dropped the phone in shock. "But he's not supposed to be in Paris!"

"I know. Imagine my shock. Don't worry, I stayed in costume and only spoke Mandarin." His voice sounded amused. "It was… interesting."

Emma rolled her eyes. Her brother would find it interesting to play chess with their potentially villainous grandfather. "So, clue three is may or may not be connected to Gabriel Agreste?"

"Or the Agreste Manor. He wasn't the only one there."

She jotted this down. "Who else?"

"Grandmere Emilie, though I didn't see her, and Uncle Felix." Emma wrote that down but was surprised by that. If Felix was going to be in town now, why had he sent Emma ahead on her own with a note instead of just bringing her himself? Weird. Then again, Uncle Felix didn't seem like the nicest person.

"What did you think of him?" she ventured to ask.

"Who Felix?" Louis was quiet for a moment. "Nooroo and I are in agreement. He sucks." Emma let out an unexpected laugh at how blunt that was, not that she disagreed. She was without a doubt relieved to learn that he wasn't actually her father. Great Aunt Amelie was much better. Louis continued his analysis of their uncle. "Grandpere Gabriel had been weird, too, don't get me wrong. But where Grandpere Gabriel had a tight rein on his emotions, Uncle Felix was all over the place. Like he had inner emotions and outer emotions and fake emotions all laid over each other until you couldn't tell what was what."

"He's two-faced and fake," she translated.

"Yeah, that works." He paused for a moment. "I think I'm in front of the house now. I haven't seen it from this angle before."

"Coming on in?" Emma asked.

"Yeah, but one last thing before I do. I think our Lead Suspect is Gabriel Agreste. He has means and the opportunity, from what I can tell. The question is the motive. Why would he even want the box now? He and Grandmere have been traveling the world happily for years."

"Power for the sake of power?" Emma suggested.

Louis did not answer right away. "I'm not so sure about that." He was quiet for a moment. "Nooroo isn't sure it's a good idea, but he offered to teach me. If I take him up on it, I might be able to figure out his motives. Maybe even find the box."

Emma frowned. "I think I'm with Nooroo on this one, Louis."

"Either way, I'm here. See you in a few." He hung up. She looked at the dead call for a moment, lips pursed in contemplation, before shrugging and sliding from the bed, leaving the room ready to face the music.


Seated on the couch once more, Marinette's recounting of her temple years was coming to end. She was leaning against Adrien now, comforted by his presence, while he absently rubbed the knuckles of her hand and listened. She was now at the part that she dreaded talking about the most.

"… and then when I heard that you were going to introduce someone else to your parents, my plans sort of changed…" Marinette trailed off quietly, frowning slightly as she thought about it. "Actually, what happened with that? I expected you to be married by now." She really didn't want to hear about that other woman, but what if she was still in the picture? What if Adrien wasn't actually single and this bubble of happiness was about to burst? She held her breath and waited for his reply, anxiously.

Adrien, however, looked back at her, eyes widened in surprise. "Marinette, seriously?" The amount of indignant shock in his voice surprised her.

"What?" she replied, brow furrowing in confusion.

He didn't answer right away, but stared at her, his expression dancing between abject horror, consternation, and then finally settling on indignation. "I was talking about you!"

Her eyes widened to the size of saucers, and when she replied, her voice was two octaves higher than normal. "Me?!"

"Yes!" He shook his head at her, and she could hear him mumble, "of all the conclusions to jump to…". He then rapped a knuckle on her head. "Wow, you really bugged out on that one, didn't you?"

They stared at each other for several moments, allowing this new information to sink in with both of them. The mutual pining, the missed opportunities, the wasted time, the assumptions, and misunderstandings. Bluebell eyes locked on vibrant green, each allowing these thoughts to play across their faces. Marinette didn't know whether to laugh or cry. The corner of Adrien's lips twitched upwards once, twice, and she let out a little nervous giggle at his pun. She really had 'bugged out', hadn't she?

The next moment they were both cackling, then a moment after that, the emotional inertia of it all lead to laughing until their sides mutually hurt, if for no other reason than to keep from crying at the ridiculousness of the whole situation. "You mean," Marinette gasped between fits, "You mean all this time," more laughter, muddled with tears of mixed joy. "All this time?"

He nodded, pulling her into a hug while his entire chest still rumbled with laughter. He buried his head in the crook of her neck, hunching over to do so because of the height difference. She could feel his smile on her shoulder. "God, you sweet, infuriating, oblivious woman…"

She pushed him off, playfully but not too gently. "Pot, calling kettle?" she wiped her eyes and laughed once more. "I wasn't the only oblivious one. This is…" she shook her head and poked his nose. "This is high school all over again. We, Adrien Agreste, have been dancing around each other in one never-ending series of misunderstandings and missed opportunities since middle school."

The poke on the nose helped Adrien rein in his laughter at the reminder. She had done that so often when they were in costume, especially when he was being flirtatious. He remembered another confession so long ago. "Chat Noir liked Ladybug, while…" Misunderstandings… "Cute, blushing, shy Marinette liked Adrien." It all suddenly made way too much sense. So he'd been a bit oblivious, as well.

"I always was afraid that you'd reject plain, normal me," she admitted.

"How dare you call my fiance plain and normal!" He responded in mock-offense, reveling in the joy of calling her that. If that's how she really thought, then he had to make it his life's mission to prove her wrong. And since there was no time like the present, he cleared his throat. "Have I ever told you, M'Lady," he leaned in closer as if for a kiss, his voice going husky, "that you think too much?"

"Hmm," she answered with a coy Ladybug smile and a Marinette blush. When she replied, she whispered it against his lips, he was so close. "I'd promise not to do it again, but thinking too much is sort of my thing."

His lips ghosted across hers and changed target, tracing her cheek and landing on the spot right below her ear. "Maybe I just need to help you forget how to do that for a while."

Grown-up Adrien was dangerous for Marinette's health, she decided. "I, uh… yeah. I mean, sure! No!" He laughed as he kissed her neck. She settled on, "Please kill me and put me out of my misery."

"As m'lady wishes," he insinuated playfully. His phone, however, chose that moment to ring, spilling the chorus of 'Stray Cat Strut' into the air and popping whatever bubble of tension there was.

Marinette quirked an eyebrow at his ring tone in amusement. "Really, Chaton?"

He groaned and pulled away, grabbing the phone off the table and checking the caller ID. "Okay, probably put that thought on hold for now." Speak of the devil… He answered the phone. "Hello, Mother," he said a bit louder than necessary. Marinette sat up, leaning in closer to hear the conversation at Adrien's invitation.

"We got your message and hurried back to Paris as soon as possible! We're at the house now. Felix did such a good job on the renovations! You can come see when you visit for dinner. You are coming for dinner, aren't you?"

Adrien looked at Marinette, who felt like she was about to explode. It was too soon! She wasn't ready to see Gabriel and Emilie out of the mask just yet. She and Adrien were just now reconnecting! They hadn't discussed this yet!

He could obviously see the panic on her face. "Well, let me check…" before he could ask her what was wrong and get her opinion, her phone also started ringing. So naturally, Adrien's lips quirked up at her as she frantically tried to silence "Style" by Taylor Swift. She noticed that it was Alya calling as she denied the call, silently apologizing to her friend and promising to call back later. "Yeah, Mother, sorry, I just have company."

Marinette's phone immediately started ringing again. She was quicker in sending it to voice mail this time, mouthing "sorry" to Adrien while she did.

"No, it's okay. I do have some pretty big news that I need to give you and Father in person," Adrien noted to his mother. Marinette had missed what Emilie had said before that. Her phone dinged with a text.

A: GIRL! CALL ME ASAP!

She frowned. "I'll be right back," she whispered and stepped away, ringing Alya.

Adrien nodded, then sighed into the phone. "Yes, Mother, my friend is a woman…" How good was that woman's hearing?

Alya picked up on the first ring. "Girl! The internet is blowing up! My inbox is exploding!"

"Women can be friends, too, Mother," Adrien said defensively to the phone.

"Who was the girl chasing the mini Totoro cat-bus? Was that your daughter?" Alya asked excitedly over the phone. Oh, so this was a business call, Marinette thought wryly.

"She is. And yes, I'll give you the full rundown later," Marinette went ahead and confirmed for her friend. Adrien gave her a questioning look. She raised a finger to him and promised "Later" to him in a whisper.

"Really can't wait." Alya pressed relentlessly.

"I really don't need you to set me up with anyone…" Adrien told his mother. The look he sent Marinette's way begged for rescue. "I'm sure she's a nice girl…"

She would have laughed if Alya wasn't actively giving her things to worry about. "Does that have something to do with why Zhuangzi was spotted in the area of the Place du Châtelet today? There's already speculation that either the peacock girl or the bus was an Akuma made by Zhuangzi. People are worried and don't know if this is a good thing or a bad thing. Do we have a new villain?"

"Look I'm… okay, just wait a moment please?" Adrien asked his mother, muting his end of the line. "Marinette, I know this is sudden, but how do you feel about dinner with my parents this evening?"

"Was that ADRIEN?" Alya could be heard excitedly asking through the speaker.

"Yes, that was… wait, back up. Zhuangzi was what?!" She said a bit louder than she intended into the phone. While Alya repeated what she just said, another call started beeping in. Her parents.

"Mari, what's wrong?" Adrien worriedly asked.

"Alya, stop, I can't… I have another line beeping in…"

"But Mari-"

She put the call on hold and answered her parents, holding a finger up for Adrien to give her a moment. "Hello?"

"Marinette, is Louis with you? It's getting dark and he isn't anywhere in the house or the bakery," her mother asked worriedly over the phone.

Adrien unmuted his own phone, apparently having heard her own mother's worried voice over the line. "Mother, I'm going to have to call you back. Love you, bye," he stated quickly then hung up without waiting for her answer.

"Okay, Mama, don't worry," Marinette assured Sabine on her end. "I think I know where he might be. Adrien and I will go look for him. Stay home and call me if he shows up, please?"

Sabine was quiet for a moment. "If you and Adrien are looking, then I can do that." The way she emphasized Adrien's name was telling."Tom is looking around the neighborhood as we speak."

They said their goodbyes, and Marinette hung up. The next second her phone rang, reminding her of the call on hold. She picked it up. "Alya, sorry about that. Do you know where Zhuangzi was last spotted? My parents just called to tell me he was missing."

"Shit, girl. Yeah." The journalist was silent for a moment, then came back on the line. "Okay, he was last spotted two blocks away from leaving the Agreste Manor about a half an hour ago, headed southwest. No sightings since then."

"Thanks, Alya. Keep an eye out and call me if there is another sighting. I promise to fill you in once I have all the information."

"Sure thing. Good luck." Alya hung up.

Marinette looked to Adrien, wondering if all this chaos was making him just as tired.

Emma came down the stairs, carrying a notebook with her. At the same time, there was a knock on the door. Emma walked right past them and answered the door.

"Yeah, so, before you ground me," the dark-haired boy started, "I really need to talk to you guys."


Phone calls were made, and search parties were called off. Marinette promised to talk to her parents about it later but told them she'd been staying at Adrien's with Louis. After speaking it over with Marinette, Adrien called his mother back and scheduled a dinner date for the next evening.

"I'm making an executive decision," Marinette stated after her own call-back with her best friend, "and Alya is on her way over." Adrien listened while Marinette filled him in on the conversation she'd had with Alya during their morning brunch.

He shook his head with a wry smile. "I should have figured it would be Rena who sussed us out," he commented, not at all surprised. He then shared a meaningful look at his fiance. "See, Lovebug? If only Rena had known that I was Chat Noir." He sighed dramatically and shook his head.

"Technically, the Guardian is now the holder of the Horse Miraculous. Therefore, Ladybug-related puns no longer apply," Kaalki spoke up.

"But Horse puns are foal," Adrien shot back at Kaalki while Plagg laughed at the horse kwami's indignant expression.


During the wait, Adrien sat down next to Louis. "So. Athan. Nice name you got there." He made sure Marinette was looking at him as he said this. He winked at her.

"Uh, yeah, about that…" the boy started to say, but Adrien waved him off.

"No, no, I get it," Adrien teased. "I can't even begin to tell you how flattered I was that your mother gave you my fifth name."

Marinette blushed and suddenly found a spot on the far wall to be interested in.

"See, why can't I have five names?" Louis shook his head dramatically.

"We can always steal another of Bà's names," Emma pointed out helpfully.

"Oh, and escape the hyphen curse? Sounds great! How does 'Louis Athanase Dupain Cheng Agreste' sound?"

"About as good as 'Emma Alexandria Dupain Cheng Agreste'," his twin sister shrugged.

Adrien beamed. "Mari, you named BOTH of them after me?"

Marinette's ears reddened, but she smiled and winked at him. "What can I say? I like your names. I might take one for myself." She looked at Emma and Louis. "What do you think? Does 'Marinette Dupain Cheng Agreste' sound okay, or is it too much?"

Emma and Louis shared a wide-eyed look, twin expressions becoming a slow glowing sunshine joy. "You mean it?" Emma ventured.

"If you'll have me," Adrien answered, already knowing the answer.

Each of the kids launched themselves at a parent, hugging them tightly. It amused both Marinette and Adrien when Louis held out a fist to Emma and she met it with her own.

"Mission Accomplished," they said in unison.


They ordered pizza. It arrived around the same time as Alya. Adrien paid the delivery guy and greeted Alya with a kiss on each cheek, inviting her in.

"Hello again, Mme Alya!" Emma waved at her from the couch, where she was currently stomping Louis at Mecha Strike.

The auburn-haired woman smiled at the kids. At first, it was interesting to see Marinette's son interacting with Adrien's daughter. "Hello, Emma, Athan." Adrien's daughter that he didn't know about until earlier this week.

"You can just call me 'Louis', Aunt Alya." Kinda like how Marinette hadn't told Chat about the twins yet.

"So, I'm 'Aunt Alya' now? Do we know each other that well already, kid?" She teased. While looking at the kids side by side just a little more closely.

"I like that. I'm going to call you 'Aunt Alya', too," Emma declared.

Alya smiled toothily. "You do that, kid." She winked at the two of them then walked over to Marinette, who was finding Adrien's plates. She waited for the notoriously clumsy bluenette to put the plates down before punching her in the arm. She then looked at Adrien. "So, we are gathered here for a Chat and pizza, is it?"

He winked at her. "Welcome to the club, Rena." The journalist smirked at the confirmation.

"Okay, you two, turn it off and come eat," Marinette told the kids, rubbing her arm. Yep, she deserved that. "How's Miles?" she asked Alya.

The journalist took her seat at the table. "Good. He's excited to spend the night with my parents tonight. Dad promised to take him to the zoo tomorrow."

Emma grabbed the napkin holder and moved it from the counter to the table while Adrien poured everyone drinks. Alya watched them as they moved around with nervous domestic energy. There was a charged excitement underneath it all that had nothing to do with food. Once everyone was seated, they exchanged glances. They had planned something.

Adrien nodded at Marinette and she exhaled, smiling at Alya. "Okay, so, before we eat, we wanted to finish introductions. Before we start, I wanted to let you know that I," she looked at Adrien, "no, We trust you a hundred percent with everything." Alya sat up a bit straighter. Whatever her friend was about to share, this was going to be big, she could tell. "As you know, I used to be Ladybug. But I'm also Epona. And this is Kaalki."

The horse kwami came out of hiding. The auburn-haired woman made an effort not to squeal in excitement. "'Tis a true pleasure to meet you, Alya. My Guardian has assured me that you are most fabulous."

"Why thank you," Alya replied with a grin at the horse kwami. It was so different from Trixx!

Louis stood up. In Mandarin, he said, "I am Zhuangzi," with a martial bow, one fist in the palm of his other hand. Alya didn't speak Mandarin, but she knew an introduction when she heard one. And boy did she love when her suspicions were confirmed! "But I'm fairly sure you already know that." He straightened up. "And this is Nooroo," He introduced, while a purple butterfly kwami flew out of his shirt and sat in his hand.

"Hello, Mme. Alya," the butterfly greeted simply.

"Oh, you were Hawkmoth's Kwami!" Alya made the connection, then when she realized the faux pas she may have just made, she added, "Oh, sorry! Didn't mean to bring up bad memories or anything."

The wings fluttered and Nooroo smiled. "That's quite alright! I'm with Louis now, and he's wonderful." The journalist smiled and agreed. They were letting her in on all of their identities and introducing kwamis? This wasn't big. It was massive!

It was apparently Emma's turn. "This is my friend, Duusu," she said, introducing a blue peacock kwami who did not hesitate to fly right to Alya and spin happily in the air in front of her.

"Oh, my goodness! I'm so, so, so happy to meet you! Is that your natural hair color? It's lovely!" So Emma had been the girl chasing the cat-bus-creature. That made sense, and also explained the creature, which had probably been a sentimonster, now that Alya thought about it.

"Who cares?" Groused a little black cat. "Can we just get this over with? There is a five-cheese pizza here with my name expressly written on it and you are keeping me from it!"

"Plagg, you are so mean!" Duusu cried.

"We had a plan, Plagg!" Kaalki chastised.

"Why are you like this?" Nooroo despaired.

Alya looked at Adrien, amused by this last 'introduction'. "So, this little joy is yours, Chat?"

Adrien sighed heavily. "Yeah, that's Plagg, alright."


Dinner was a social affair, with much teasing and storytelling. On the surface level, everyone seemed genuinely happy to be spending this time together, but Alya was observant enough to notice that there was an undercurrent of something less pleasant in the edges of their smiles and trailing at the end of their laughs. Once everyone, human and kwami, had their fill, they'd cleaned up and sat back down around the table and the real conversation began. Emma, who finally introduced herself as Juno, filled everyone in about the run-in with the Shadow creature, aided in small part by Marinette. Everyone listened carefully, each processing it differently.

With a practiced eye, Alya noted the thoughtful frowns of the parents' faces, but also the lack of one on Louis's face. He'd heard this before, she surmised. Instead, he looked thoughtful in a different way.

"You look like you have something to add, Louis," she noted.

The boy didn't deny it. In fact, he nodded. "Yeah. Sorry for worrying everyone, but I felt how scared Emma was and I had to help. I wasn't fast enough, but I did see something interesting." He twirled a napkin in his fingers, telling them about his misadventure to the Agreste estate.

Alya narrowed her eyes at the table while she listened, resisting the urge to look meaningfully at Adrien. While she did, she noticed Marinette's hand holding his, giving it a reassuring squeeze.

"Gabriel Agreste can't be the one controlling the shadows," Marinette declared, cutting through everyone's suspicions.

All eyes fell on the dark-haired woman. "Why not?" Adrien asked.

"Because he's been helping me for years. Well, helping Epona."

Louis nodded. "That would make sense. He specifically told me to tell you about our meeting. I think he wants you to meet with him."

"He may have information about what's going on," she guessed.

Alya nodded. "He has always been extraordinarily connected. In the meantime, what do we do about the public?"

"What do you mean?" Adrien asked.

The journalist opened her phone and showed them the sheer volume of comments and messages that she'd received that day. "The Ladyblog seems to be alive and well once more. Right now, it's a bunch of speculation, but that speculation is starting to devolve into fear-mongering and conspiracy theory. People are getting nervous about new superheroes showing up and nothing to show for it. They want explanations."

Marinette nodded. "Truth be told, I'm worried about what this Kage copycat may do. If it is like the old Kage, people will be in danger and need to be forewarned."

Alya couldn't help but agree. The Kage of Shanghai had been international news for a reason. The journalist drummed her nails on the table as she thought. Then looked up at Adrien. At Chat Noir.

"Of course," she realized, having an Idea(TM). "Chat Noir can hold a press conference, introducing the visiting heroes, and explaining what they know of the situation."

"But we won't have Ladybug. That's going to raise questions," Adrien brought up.

The twins exchanged a glance, that Marinette caught and recognized. "No, you aren't making a Senti-bug," she vehemently refused before they even got the chance to propose it. They each slouched in their chairs.

"Something like that might not be a bad idea, though," Alya brought up.

"I don't want to lie to everyone and make them think Ladybug is here when she isn't. If something goes wrong and people expect a Miraculous Cure that never comes, that would be… It would be awful. We aren't doing that," Marinette reiterated. A determination settled in her stance, and she sat up a little taller. Alya wondered if she did it on purpose or if it was subconscious. "We hold the press conference. Chat Noir will announce his temporary return from retirement. He'll insinuate that Ladybug cannot because she is 'indisposed'. Let people think she's pregnant or something. People will expect that by now, at least," she grinned at Alya, who knew it was true. "In the meantime, he'll introduce Epona and her students, Zhuangzi and Juno, a visiting master from China, at Ladybug's request."

That was an even better idea. In fact, it was even mostly true.

Alya realized that this would serve another purpose as well. They were going to do what Hawkmoth had done all those years ago. Make themselves visible to draw out their enemy.

"Okay, so that sounds like our good reaction plan. Now, what do we do about the actual problem?"

Marinette looked at her watch with its erratically spinning gauge. "Every Guardian gets a compass that can pinpoint the miracle box. Most have theirs put in a staff, but mine… Well, as you can see, it isn't working right now. That could mean several things, but I'm not sure which one it is. I'd like to ask someone else about it."

"Someone else?" Adrien questioned.

Marinette nodded. "I'm not the only trained Guardian in Paris right now. I want to speak with him," her gaze wandered, and she added absently, "about several things."

"Okay, the compass is a bust for now," Alya noted. "What other tricks do we have up our sleeves for finding the miracle box?"

Emma raised her hand happily. "Old fashioned investigation!" she pushed her notebook towards the journalist, showing off her surprisingly well-organized notes. "Louis and I actually talked some of this out earlier."

Alya and Marinette looked over the notes together. "So it looks like Gabriel really is our only lead so far," Marinette noted.

"I'll do some research and see if I can learn anything else about Kage or similar villains. See if we can figure out the source of his powers," Alya offered. She noticed Emma's note from earlier. "Ask Plagg?" She looked at the black cat kwami, whose ears had perked up at hearing his name. When she saw him look up, she asked. "Hey, Plagg, know anything about villains or items that give control over shadows?"

The little black cat's hackles raised. "Nope, don't know nothin'." And off he shot.

"Plagg!" Adrien yelled after him with a frown. He looked back at Alya. "Yeah, he knows something, alright. I dunno what's up with him, though." He sighed. "So I guess that will be my job. Getting what Plagg knows out of him." He started doing tallies in his head about how much expensive cheese he could afford to bribe the gluttonous kwami with.

Kaalki tapped her chin. "Good luck. This is something quite personal to Plagg, more-so than any of us."

"Can't you tell us?" Emma asked.

Kaalki opened her mouth and a series of bubbles spilled out. She shook her head with a shrug. "It is like that."

Marinette looked thoughtfully at her Kwami. "I see. So this is a secret that only Plagg has the ability to speak about."

The Kwami's all nodded. "Traitors," a muffled Plagg could be heard from somewhere hidden in the room.

"I may be able to get him to talk later when we're alone," Adrien offered.

"Okay then," Alya moved on. "Anything else?"

"I'd like to take Grandpere up on his offer," Louis spoke up. "About learning from him, I mean." Three out of the four people at the table looked at him as if he'd just grown a second head. The only reason Emma didn't was because she'd already heard it.

Marinette frowned. "While I don't disagree that both and you and Emma could use guidance, especially being as young as you are, I don't think Gabriel would be the best choice. Your father or I could train you just as well."

"Yeah, but you haven't actively held this miraculous for any significant time before."

Nooroo spoke up. "It's a little scary, but I trust Louis. He won't let Gabriel hurt either of us. And I don't think he would, anyway." The butterfly kwami added that last bit as a quieter afterthought.

Adrien looked at his son, contemplating the request. He noticed Ladybug's determination and his recklessness at the same time in the boy. He knew without a doubt that the boy was going to do what he thought was right, regardless of what anyone else thought. "I say we let him."

"Adrien…" Marinette started to object.

"Hear me out, Buginette," he defended, holding up a hand. "I lived the man at his most villainous. Admittedly, he won't be winning any father of the year medals anytime soon, but he did show affection in his own weird, overbearing, antisocial way. He doesn't have a miraculous anymore, and if he decided he wanted to give beating up teenagers a go again, I think Louis could take him."

Alya (and Plagg from his hiding spot) laughed.

Marinette sighed. "Okay," she caved. "But only after I talk with him as Epona!"

"Yes! Thanks, Mama!" He moved quickly around the table to give his mother a tight hug.

"I don't know why you are thanking me for this," she groused, though her heart wasn't really in it. "For all you know, I might have just signed you up for the worst experience of your life."

"You're the best!" he said instead as if he hadn't just heard her.

She sighed. "Well, I guess that's our plan." She patted her son's head. She had to reach up to do that. He really needed to stop growing so fast. "We'll do the press conference when you can schedule it, Alya." She looked at Adrien. "And I guess we have dinner with your parents tomorrow night. I want to meet with Gabriel as Epona before I introduce him to Emma and Louis to him as Marinette. If I think it's too risky, then… well… we'll cross that bridge when we get there."

"Fair enough," Adrien agreed.

Marinette sighed deeply. "I'm going to have to come clean to my parents, aren't I," she realized. "That's the only way this is all going to work.

Alya let out a small chuckle, propping her chin on his fist. "Mari-girl, if your parents don't already suspect something, I'll eat my hat."

"You don't wear a hat."

"Nino's hat, then."


It was ten in the morning on a Monday. The bakery was closed. Marinette stood in front of her parents, reintroducing them to Adrien and his children. Also known as her children.

"So… 'camp trip' is the new euphemism for 'running away to meet your dad'," Marinette explained.

Tom and Sabine took the news with grace. It wasn't until Tom held out his hand and Sabine slipped some money into it did Marinette realize she really shouldn't have been worried.