Marinette was old enough to stop asking for five more minutes in the morning. She knew her mother would never allow it. Her hand slammed over her alarm clock and rolled out of bed.
"Good morning!" Tikki chirped from Marinette's design table. "I almost thought you weren't going to wake up after last yesterday!"
"Stop talking," Marinette commanded, stumbling to her closet. She checked the weather. Chilly and windy. A warmer outfit with layers would be appropriate. She picked the articles of clothing for the day. The cream sweater would work wonderfully with the rich brown skirt and leggings. A purple scarf, perhaps? Oh, and she definitely had to pair it with her new black shoes.
"I think you should go with the olive green skirt," Tikki said, munching on a cookie. Marinette looked at the outfit in her hands and grinned at the kwami.
"You're right. I believe I've taught you well." Marinette hung up the brown skirt again and pulled out the olive green corduroy skirt. Tikki zipped through the air.
"You didn't teach me anything," the kwami asserted. "I've always had the superior fashion sense out of the two of us."
Marinette rubbed her kwami's cheek and wandered to her bathroom, where she washed her face, brushed her teeth, and applied a light but effective coat of concealer beneath her eyes. Then she changed into her new outfit for the day before she made her way downstairs.
Her mom was waiting for her. Cereal was on the table with a glass of soy milk.
"Tom is making sourdough and baguettes this morning. Do you know how to help with those, or are you manning the front?"
"I'm a Dupain, Mom," Marinette complained. "Of course I can help Dad with baguettes and sourdough."
"Alright, alright," Sabine said, tying an apron around herself, and throwing one at her daughter. "No need to bite my head off, I was just asking a question."
"Sorry," Marinette mumbled as she left the table and went to join her dad in the kitchen. She shivered. The sun wasn't up yet, but all the bakers in town were. She stood by her dad's side, saw what he was doing, and immediately started helping him knead the dough. Her arms were stiff with pain, but she didn't want to worry him. She would be fine, and she didn't want him to cry over a few bruises. The two of them worked in silence for a long while. One of the few traits Marinette had inherited from her dad was her silence in the mornings. Neither of them were morning people, and they liked their silence when they woke up.
"Marinette," Her mom poked her head into the kitchen, holding a large thermos of coffee and a brown bag of food for lunch. "You need to get going now, or you'll be late for school."
She took off her apron, kissed her dad on the cheek, and went to her mom. Sabine smiled at the girl.
"Oh, cheer up. I don't understand why you're so tired. You're a student! You're living the best, most carefree days of your life! Enjoy them!"
Marinette snorted. Carefree her ass. Still, she mumbled something about trying to enjoy her day, kissed her mom on the cheek before she grabbed the coffee and food, and then she headed out the door.
The day to follow wasn't out of the ordinary for Marinette. Honestly, it was a little too mundane. She sat through class, passing notes with Alya when the boredom became too much. The pop quiz in history was easy enough to pass with Tikki there to guide her towards less incorrect answers. Math was simple and straightforward, as always. Chloe and Lila both kept their mouths shut for the day, and Mrs. Bustier didn't cry or go to the bathroom once. School was, in a word: boring. That was to be expected, so Marinette didn't mind it much.
She walked back home with Alix and Kim. a couple of her childhood friends. They planned to go roller skating later that afternoon, but only after finishing any homework due the next day. The three of them strolled into Marinette's bakery.
"Hi, Sabine," Alix greeted as Kim stepped behind the counter. He used a plastic glove to pick out an apple tart and almond cookie-his and Alix's favorites. Tom playfully shook his head at him, but Kim had known Tom too long to really be worried by the mock disapproving look on his face.
"How was school?" Marinette's mom asked them. The three of them spoke at once for a few moments, recalling certain events, recalling stories of what Chloe had said a week ago, or what Mrs. Bustier had cried about last. Marinette's mom shook her head.
"Marinette," She scolded lightly, not sounding too upset. "Try not to torment the poor woman. I've met her. She's very fragile."
"I don't do anything!" Marinette defended. Alix, Kim, and Sabine stared at her. Her mother even raised an eyebrow. "Fine," She grumbled. "I'll try and be nice."
"Oh, yeah!" Alix piped up. "Marinette's been nice to this guy in class,"
"A guy?" Sabine and Tom were both extremely interested in this new topic.
"What's his name?" Sabine asked.
"Tell me everything about him, and how exactly has our little girl been nice?" Tom demanded. Alix and Kim gladly told them everything. Marinette rolled her eyes and pulled out her French literature homework. She could still hear them as she tried to concentrate on her work.
His name was Adrien Agreste. Yes, like Gabriel Agreste. He was Gabriel's son. No, she wasn't nice to him because of his connections. Actually, she had seemed to hate him until Nino asked her to be nice to him. The two of them got along, apparently, and Nino didn't want Marinette to be mean to Adrien. How did he look? He was like an angel-blonde hair, green eyes, tall, stylish. He was so nice, kind to a fault, and he didn't cry or look away when Marinette glared at him.
"It's a miracle!" Tom cried. He turned to Marinette and grabbed her hands.
"Dad," she frowned. "You ruined my homework."
"Please, Marinette, this is serious," he said. Sabine shook her head and sighed behind him. Alix and Kim grinned at her like the dorks they were. "Marry this boy."
"What?!" Marinette exclaimed. "No!"
"Marinette!" Tom pleaded. "Do you know how long your mother and I have been waiting for a boy who can survive your temper and still stand being near you?" Marinette looked pointedly at Kim. Tom rolled his eyes. "A straight boy!"
"Dad, we have homework to finish. You know, so I can graduate high school?"
Tom let go of her hands and waved her off. "Fine. But please, think about it?"
She didn't even bother looking back as she ran up the stairs to her bedroom. Tikki flew out of her purse and hid under her bed. Kim and Alix followed.
"Woah," Alix ran forward, running her hands over a garment Marinette was working on. Marinette tried not to wince as Alix dislodged a few pins. She could fix that later. "This is gorgeous!"
"Thanks," Marinette sat on her spinning chair. "I was going to submit it to a Clarence competition. They usually pay good money, and not many people enter them, so it's pretty easy to win."
"So, are you going to listen to what your dad said?" Kim giggled as he plopped down on her bed. "Are you going to marry Adrien Agreste?"
Marinette made a face at him. "There's a higher chance of you actually passing math class without my help."
"Hey," Kim objected lightly, but he couldn't say much. He knew it was true.
"Did you get the answer for number twelve?" Alix asked, pulling out her work. Kim covered his face in a pillow and screamed. Marinette walked over to Alix and walked her through the steps of the problem. Kim stayed on the bed for the next forty minutes, whining about homework and how useless it was. Eventually, it got to be too much for Marinette.
"Yeah, yeah, it's useless," Marinette snapped. "But everyone has to do it. Now, either quit whining and join us, or get the hell out of my house."
"Fine, fine, I'll stay," he sighed dramatically. Then he turned to Alix and held out a hand. "I believe you owe me twenty euros." Alix grumbled, but handed over the money. Marinette raised a questioning eyebrow. Alix went back to her math homework, but Kim was all too happy to explain: "Alix and I made a bet before coming over. She thought that if I complained non-stop and didn't work, it would take you half an hour for you to lose your patience. I said half an hour was too short, and it would take at least forty minutes. Thank god you snapped at exactly the forty minute mark, or I wouldn't have been able to afford the sweatshirt I've been wanting!"
"You guys are assholes," Marinette laughed. She dragged Kim down next to her and they continued working on homework for the next hour. Eventually, Kim claimed his brain was about to explode, and he wanted to go home and take a nap. Alix's dad called her, and she had to leave as well-some sort of family emergency. Marinette didn't pry.
"Your friends are gone?" Sabine asked, packing a basket. Marinette nodded.
"Mom, what are you doing?"
"Yesterday's Makara attack was a surprise for everyone. Usually they attack in the first or last week of the month, you know. Everyone's just being extra cautious in case there's another surprise attack. Yesterday we were stuck underground for quite some time. We missed dinner, and your father was quite upset about that."
Marinette grabbed an apple and bit into it. She pulled out her phone and started checking any updates on the Ladyblog. They were silent for a few moments, and her mom continued to pack the basket. Marinette yawned, then winced as pain stabbed down her back. Sabine paused while setting some water bottles in the basket and studied her daughter.
"You look stiff," she noted. Marinette tensed and looked at her mom.
"I'm fine,"
"You know what, I haven't seen you practice your martial arts in a long time. Come on, we don't want to be embarrassed in front of your uncles when you next see them."
"No," Marinette whined. She was so tired, and she didn't want to spar with her. Sabine never let her win. "I don't want to!"
"Marinette, stop complaining. Did you have anything better to do right now?" Sabine was using her 'no nonsense mother' voice. Marinette knew it was futile to argue. It didn't stop her from trying.
"I'm tired," she said. "I just want to be on my phone and do nothing."
"You'll have plenty of time to do nothing when you can't move your body. And besides, exercise will wake you right up if you're tired."
There was just no arguing with the woman, she wouldn't take no for an answer. Marinette tossed away her apple core and went to her room to change into exercise wear. By the time she was ready and walking down the stairs, Sabine was already waiting for her at the front door. The two of them walked to the park. Marinette listened dutifully as her mother complained about all the stupid decisions her Uncle Delun had been making lately.
"I left the gang in their care," her mother reiterated for the fourth or fifth time. "And they're running it to the ground!" They continued walking. Marinette studied the city around her. Since the Makara attacks, it hadn't been as lively of a city as it once had been, neither was it as beautiful. People stopped tending to their gardens. Usually they saw no point in doing so since it could be destroyed at any time. Today, though, Paris was like a ghost town. Only a few people were out, and Sabine seemed to be the only carefree one. Marinette and her mom stepped over a pile of rubble, and Marinette stumbled over a loose stone. They continued walking, and Marinette continued pretending to listen to Sabine's complaints. The park was vacant, not a soul in sight. The two of them stopped where Sabine thought they would have stable footing. "Alright, into your stance."
Marinette bent her knees, brought her arms up, and shifted her weight so she would be able to more quickly. Sabine came at her as fast as a viper. That had been her nickname, back when she was still active in the gang. The Viper. Sabine Cheng had been known throughout the greater Paris area, and no one had dared cross her or her gang while she had been leader. Then, she met Tom Dupain, and fell in love. She'd left the gang to live a relatively normal life with him, leaving the gang in charge of her brothers. They did alright as leaders, but they weren't as ruthless as Sabine had been, and the Cheng gang no longer inspired the same fear as it once did. Marinette knew her mom didn't miss her old days in the gang, but she sure liked to complain about what an awful job her brothers were doing.
"We should do this more often," Sabine frowned, landing another hit on Marinette's leg. Marinette knew her mom was holding back and wasn't hitting as hard as she could, but damn did it still hurt.
"Mom! That hurt!"
"You'll be fine," Sabine landed a combination of punches near her daughter's face. None of them landed, but Marinette could feel the air from her mom's fists. She managed to dodge one. "That was good," her mom praised before swiping Marinette's feet out from under her. "That was not good. Be more vigilant, Marinette. You'll never know when you'll be fighting someone for real."
Oh, Marinette had a pretty good idea when she would be needing these skills in the future. She really didn't want to be here, but she needed to keep her skills sharp. She jumped up, ignoring the blisters on the balls of her feet. She readied herself and attacked her mother first. Sabine easily dodged and counter-striked everything Marinette threw at her. She couldn't land even one kick.
"You damn Viper," Marinette panted, leaning on her knees. Sabine pulled her up.
"You need to stand up straight after working so hard. It'll allow your lungs to expand and take in more air." she advised, getting ready to head back home. "You did alright. We'll have to work more on your stance and movements. You're getting sloppy."
"Yeah, yeah," Marinette stretched as the two of them walked through the destroyed streets of Paris. A young family rode by on a pedicab. They seemed to be heading to Bunker Q. It wasn't abnormal for cautious families to camp out in bunkers. Sometimes, on the news, people predicted when there was going to be a Makara attack, and citizens tended to hide themselves away during the expected days. Other times, young families got nervous and decided to hide out in bunkers, just to be on the safe side. No one walked around after a Makara attack. The city's buildings were usually still too unstable to trust their structural integrity, and it was too early to know about any side effects from the Akuma.
"This sucks," Marinette grumbled, cutting off whatever her mom was talking about. "I can't believe how stupid this is. Why the hell are the Makara targeting Paris? And when can we go back to normal? I hate this."
It was nice to just complain to her mom without thinking about how this was her responsibility. Paris would be left alone as soon as she figured out where the Makara were coming from, and how to defeat whoever was making them.
"I'm sorry, Dear," Sabine linked her arm with Marinette's. "It'll be ok. Things are moving, shifting towards the better, always. I promise, this won't last forever."
"I wish it would end now."
They continued to walk, both silent. Then, they both paused. Sometimes, there was just a feeling of danger in the air. Not everyone could always feel it, but at that moment, Marinette felt it, and she would have bet all her money that her mom felt it, too. It was like a small snake, slithering up her back-a sort of warning for something bigger about to occur. The air grew humid, and Sabine pushed Marinette down the street. The alarms started.
"Marinette, run towards the bunker," Sabine barked, running towards their bakery. "I'll get your father."
"No!" Marinette grabbed her mom's arm. "What if you get hurt?"
"Marinette, now!" Sabine ran off, leaving Marinette on the sidewalk. This was wrong. Why was there another Makara so soon? When they had first appeared, it took at least a month before another showed up. Lately, they had been coming every dozen days or so, but never more than once a week. Two days in a row? It didn't make sense. She swallowed down any fear and ran into the nearest building.
"Spots on!" She closed her eyes for the flash of light, and then ran out into the street. A mob of people were running towards the bunkers. She reached forward and grabbed someone at random. "Give me your phone!"
The man fumbled with his pockets, gave her his phone, told her the password, and ran out back into the crowd. She opened it and went to check the Ladyblog. No new post yet. She had no way to tell if the Makara was advanced or not. She looked around, searching for her parents. The alarm continued to ring throughout the streets, ringing in her ears. She couldn't see them. It didn't matter if it was advanced or not, she needed to go to the Makara, to keep it away from these people. She threw her yo-yo around a flagpole and swung herself through the city. Her muscles trembled as they struggled to keep her up.
"Tikki, can you tell if the Makara is strong, like before?"
"Yes." Tikki said immediately. Marinette could feel the Makara's footsteps. They made the ground rumble, and she could feel the vibrations through her yo-yo, like a spiderweb.
"Yes, you can tell, or yes it is?" Marinette did her best to keep from losing her temper with the little kwami. Honestly, she tried so hard. The kwami made it so difficult sometimes.
"Both!"
Great. Fantastic. Just what she needed. She looked ahead, where a mountain-like shape loomed. It was a bright day, not a cloud in the sky. Yet, there seemed to be a curtain of mist surrounding the Makara. All she could make out was a silhouette. She slowed as she got closer to the Makara. The light reflected off of something on the Makara's back. It looked like liquid. Dread pooled in her stomach, and a feeling of emptiness flowed through her body. She knew what this Makara would do to her. To her right, an Akuma flew by, heading straight towards the Makara. Marinette didn't try to stop it. For some reason, the Akuma weren't affected by the advanced Makara.
Ladybug touched down next to the police. In their hands were canisters of liquid nitrogen. Not a single one of them looked as they usually did. The gray mist surrounded them, and puddles of silvery liquid dripped from the Makara onto the street. The Akuma fluttered over the top of the Makara, and soon it was out of sight. Marinette fought through the crippling sense of sadness and turned to the nearest officer.
"Have you found a mouth, or eyes?"
It took a second for the officer to register her question, but when he did, all the officer did was shake his head. He sighed and his head drooped. Marinette fought the urge to follow his lead and give up the fight without even trying. It wasn't in her to allow defeat without trying to win. She clenched her fists and looked at the Makara. It was walking past her, and some of the liquid dripped from its back onto her head. The dreariness almost overwhelmed her, and she swayed on her feet.
"Here," she handed the officer the phone she had borrowed. "Make sure this gets to its rightful owner after the attack." The officer limply grabbed the phone and trotted off.
"Any eyes or a mouth?" Cat Noir dropped down next to her, sounding exhausted. She shook her head. His shoulder slumped. "I was afraid of that."
Marinette gathered all her energy and followed the Makara, stumbling as it stepped. It was huge. Streams of silver liquid trailed after it, and she did her best not to step in those. She knew from experience: the less contact she made with the liquid, the better.
The Makara was odd. It didn't seem like an animal. Instead, it seemed to be a moving mountain. Four turtle legs held up a flat disk, and on top of that was a mound of scales, shaped like a hill. Somewhere from on top there must have been a spout, because liquid continually flowed from the creature's back. Marinette couldn't see a head or a tail. It walked slowly, not seeming to have a purpose. It was so wide that with every step it ran into the buildings on either side of the street.
Marinette cast her yo-yo, wrapping it around the creature's legs, tangling them with the rope. The Makara was big, but slow, and not very strong. It pulled lightly against the restraints, not understanding why it couldn't move forward anymore. It let out a despaired wail which echoed through the streets. It reverberated in her chest, and she wanted to cry.
"Let it go!" Cat Noir ran to her, trying to snatch the yo-yo from her hands. He had tears in his eyes. "Can't you hear it? Let it go!"
"Get away!" she twisted away from him. "It's a trick! The Makara is advanced, and it's forcing you to be sad!"
"I'm sorry, but I just can't-" Cat Noir lunged for her yo-yo but she curled up, keeping him from getting it.
"Lucky Charm!" If Cat Noir hit her Lucky Charm out of her hands again, she'd be pissed. Her hands glowed, and she had to let go of her yo-yo to grab onto the item she created. The Makara made another noise, and Cat Noir backed up from her, pressing his hands over his ears. The Makara continued to wail, and it sent shivers up Marinette's spine. No, she couldn't succumb to it. She needed to protect her parents, and all the other people relying on her. She started running after the Makara, but something stopped her. She froze, and turned back. Cat Noir was standing frozen, like he'd seen the most horrific scene of his life.
"Cat Noir," she called. He turned away from her, hunching his back. Marinette didn't have time for this, but she knew what he was feeling; she couldn't leave him alone like this. The Makara continued wandering through the streets, dragging her yo-yo behind it.
"Make sure you get that back," Tikki said. "If it's lost, it won't appear the next time you transform."
"Cat Noir!" She grabbed his shoulder and turned him to face her. "You have to snap out of it!"
He shook his head. "I can't-it's too much."
"You're my partner, damnit!" She growled. "You don't have a choice. This isn't about you, or me. It's about the people underground right now, people we care about, who don't even have the choice of defending themselves. We have to be strong for them."
He looked at her, finally. His eyes were so desolate, Marinette knew it wasn't just the Makara's influence which was making him act like this. There was something more. She wanted him to tell her, to rely on her. She wanted to be there for him and fight anything that made him unhappy or sad. She couldn't. She had a job to do, and so did he. She hefted up the object in her arms.
"Can you carry me and this sledgehammer?" She asked. He didn't move for a second, and Marinette could literally hear the time ticking away. She only had so long to remain. And, they still needed to defeat the Akuma and purify it. Nine minutes left. This would be impossible. No. She mentally shook her head. Impossible was only a word for losers. She would not lose-she couldn't afford to. "Cat Noir!" she snapped, and he seemed to shake free of whatever was haunting his mind. He nodded, grabbed her around the waist, and extended the staff.
They sailed through the streets of Paris, quickly catching up to the Makara. Marinette forced her eyes open and watched for the Akuma.
"Get us higher," she said. "We need to see what the Akuma can do." He did as she ordered, and the staff curved beneath them. That was neat. She wrapped her legs around the staff, stabilizing herself. Her fingers were starting to cramp from holding onto the sledgehammer for so long.
"There," He pointed. His voice wasn't as strong as it usually was, but at least he was speaking. "It looks like it's...drinking?"
That was exactly what it looked like. Oddly enough, the Akuma seemed to be fashioned after a butterfly. With the moth-like qualities all Akuma tended to have anyway, it looked quite odd. The wings were larger than normal, and colorful. Its body was as hairy as all over the Akuma, but it had strange clothes on top, with layers upon layers of butterflies on the fabric. There was a signature red glow on the Akuma's face, but the nose was more like a curled ribbon than a human nose.
Marinette watched as the long nose unfurled and sunk into the thick silvery liquid the Makara was secreting. Wherever the nose touched, the liquid disappeared, almost like it evaporated. The Akuma's stomach seemed to inflate as it drank, until the Akuma was almost completely spherical. Then, the nose retreated, and the Akuma deflated, releasing a hissing sound. It was the strangest thing.
"Get us right over that dry spot," Marinette said. Seven minutes left. "I'll use the sledgehammer to crack the shell."
"Do you think that'll work?"
"I can't think of anything else, and you seem fresh out of ideas."
"Can't argue with you there," he looked down at the Makara. They were right next to the Akuma, which was looking at them, almost expectantly. Marinette swung the hammer down. The end got bigger as it got closer to her intended target, and it made a cracking sound as the metal met the scale mound. More liquid poured over that spot, and Marinette felt such extreme sadness that she was exhausted. It was like feeling this emotion was physically draining her energy, just like a long run. "I'm going to have to drop you on the shell," Cat Noir said.
"No!" Marinette couldn't keep the horror from her voice. She remembered what it was like to be wading in the liquid. It was like all her fight had left her, everything which made her her. The feelings had entered her conscious without her knowledge or permission, and they had lingered in her heart for days afterwards.
"The staff is straining too hard. I'll get your yo-yo while I'm down on street level." He knew the limitations of his staff more than she did, she really couldn't argue with him about this. The Akuma sucked more liquid into his nose, and Marinette swung the sledgehammer down with incredible force. Her body vibrated and her teeth clacked together. She didn't want to step in the silvery liquid again. She really didn't want to. "It's not about us, remember? We don't have a choice," Cat Noir said, silently but assuredly. Damn him, she couldn't very well argue against her own words.
"Don't leave me here for too long." A part of her wondered if he would come back. She hadn't been very nice to him, and he already seemed very reluctant to battle the Makara at all. The idea of being stuck in the liquid, in a literal pool of misery, had her hair standing on edge. She braced herself. He was her partner, and she was just going to have to trust him.
He dropped her onto the Makara's back, and her feet landed in the silvery liquid.
When Marinette was young, her family had gone to the beach. She had been obsessed with the idea of making a sandcastle, and made dozens of them that day. The last one she'd made was right in front of the water. She'd had her back to it, determined to surprise the ocean with her beautiful sandcastle. A wave had come from nowhere and crashed over her head. It had scared her so badly that she wouldn't stop crying until her father bought her an icecream cone. Stepping into the liquid was like being surprised by that wave again. The despair covered her so completely, she was convinced it was a physical drape on top of her. All the colors around her dulled, and her knees gave out underneath her. She hated this feeling. She couldn't survive this feeling.
The Akuma hissed at her, and Marinette stared at it. Its nose dove into the Makara's back once again, drinking from the Makara's back. Marinette scooped out a handful of the liquid. It wasn't as thin as water, and it shone like metal. It was almost like a slime. The Akuma hissed at her again, completely round. She stood up on shaky knees and lifted the hammer. Was it always this heavy? She trudged through the thick goop, raised the hammer above her head, and slammed it down on the shell with as much force as she could muster. It wasn't a very strong hit. The Akuma didn't change facial expressions, but she could feel it glaring at her. Just as well. She felt like glaring at herself. She was sad, tired, and cold to the bone. There didn't seem to be an end to this fight, and her earrings had just beeped in her ears. Five minutes.
She raised the sledgehammer again. The shell didn't break, but it cracked. A small flame of hope lit in her chest. She could do this. She raised the hammer and strained her back as she brought it down. It clanged, and the ringing momentarily blocked out the Makara's never-ending wail. Again, the Akuma sucked up the liquid, and Marinette swung down the hammer. The end of the hammer grew so large, it was almost comical, but it worked. The shell cracked, and the Makara screamed. Liquid poured out of the shell, and the Makara seemed to shrink. Her earrings beeped. Four minutes.
"Ladybug, here!" Cat Noir called, holding out a hand to her. He was hope-a way to get out of this swamp of despair. She reached for him desperately, leaving the hammer behind. He handed her her yo-yo. "This was a lot harder to find than you might've thought."
Her earrings beeped again. She couldn't stay, though she wanted to. "I need to leave," she told him. The liquid clung to her legs, and it felt like lead. How long had it been since her body didn't ache? "Try and get the Akuma to suck up as much of this silver stuff as it can. When you Cataclysm its weak point, keep the butterfly in a jar, I'll get to it later."
Cat Noir nodded, and she swung away. She might not have wanted him when he first showed up, but having a partner really was convenient sometimes.
Adrien watched Ladybug swing away. He wished he could leave with her. Lately, she had been leaving all the time-consuming tasks to him. It felt like a senior employee pushing their paperwork onto an underpaid intern or something. He landed on the ground, watching as the Makara shriveled away. So far, they'd faced this kind of Makara twice, and both times, they wouldn't have been able to defeat it without the help of an Akuma.
Adrien sighed in relief as the putrid smell of the Makara made way for a pleasant spray of water. Liquid pooled in the city, and the Akuma got to work drinking it all up. Adrien felt himself panting. He hadn't even done very much, but his entire body felt drained. He followed the Akuma as it quickly made its way through the street, cleaning up all the liquid it could find. The Akuma seemed to love the stuff, but Adrien couldn't stand it.
It was thick, like a milkshake, and it almost seemed to pull him into it. Every time he tried to lift his foot out of a puddle, he was slightly afraid he wouldn't be able to. Not to mention, it was so cold. Just looking at the liquid froze his bones and made his teeth chatter. The cold was usually accompanied by a numbness which completely enveloped him. It wrapped around his lungs until it was hard to breathe, and he felt almost compelled to curl up in a circle and sleep his life away.
The last time he had faced this type of Makara with Ladybug, he had been terrified out of his mind. Now, he was so sad he could cry himself to sleep. He made a note of that. The Makara's powers seemed to evolve and change, depending on how the victim was feeling.
"Come on, kid, the Akuma's about to lose it. Best Cataclysm it now," Plagg advised. Adrien went through the motions of destroying the weak point of the Akuma. He told the officers to capture the butterfly and post where they planned to keep it on the Ladyblog. Ladybug would purify it when she had the chance. All the officers seemed as tired as he was, and they didn't do more than wave at him as he left. If there was one thread of a silver lining to this type of Makara, it was that it kept the police from yelling at him.
Adrien went home, de-transforming before he got to his house. He entered the code to get in, waved to his frantic bodyguard, and trudged to his room. He flopped on his bed and listened. There was no noise. Everything was silent. No one was running around, beside themselves with worry. No one barged into his room to ask him where he had been. It seemed that no one, especially not his father, had noticed he had been missing for the entire Makara attack. It wasn't like his father was in a bunker. For whatever reason, Gabriel Agreste was almost nonchalant about the Makara and Akuma attacks. It would have been disturbing, if Adrien wasn't more busy focusing on the fact that Gabriel was even more nonchalant about his son's safety.
That numbness came back over him, and he shivered. Adrien stood up. He needed a shower. That would cheer him up. He passed by Plagg as he gathered a pair of comfortable sweats.
"Would talking about it help?" Plagg's tail twitched when Adrien didn't respond. "I can easily add a bell and collar to the suit, you know." It was a threat to get Adrien to respond. It worked.
"Yeah," he mumbled, moving towards the bathroom. "I think it would." Adrien left the door open and he got prepared for his shower. He picked out a citrus scented shampoo and conditioner set and stepped into the shower. It almost boiled his skin off, but that was what Adrien needed.
The warmth slowly seeped through him, and his teeth gradually stopped chattering. Plagg sat patiently on Adrien's sinktop, liking his paw and rubbing that paw along his face. If he didn't know any better, Adrien would have thought he was a real cat.
"I can't believe he didn't notice I was gone," Adrien mumbled, running the shampoo through his hair. Steam clouded the glass doors of the shower. "I know mom's gone. He's not the only one missing her. She was my family, too. Don't I matter? Why doesn't he care about me as much as he cares about mom?"
Plagg said nothing. Adrien stood under the shower for a moment, silent. There were so many thoughts buzzing around his head, so many things to worry about, it didn't seem fair. His mom hadn't been very present in his life, but apparently, she had been the glue which kept their family together. He missed her, of course he did, but it seemed like his father was obsessed with her disappearance. Lately, he had seen less and less of his father as the anniversary of his mother's disappearance approached. In a few weeks, it would be two years since anyone had seen her.
His mother's disappearance was sudden and jarring. It had left him feeling paranoid and helpless, and completely vulnerable. His father's disappearance had been more gradual. And, it was his own choice to leave Adrien. Maybe that was why it hurt so much. His father and him had been so close, once upon a time. Now, when Gabriel looked at him, it was like he was staring at a stranger. No matter how much Adrien tried to convince himself that it didn't hurt anymore, that he was numb to the disappointment and pain of it all, it was a lie. It hurt every time he remembered how his father used to be, and how long it had been since he'd seen him enjoy life like he used to.
Ladybug's words echoed in his head. He didn't have a choice. He was a superhero, and he couldn't afford to be weak.
"Don't go internalizing again," Plagg moaned dramatically. "I'm here, aren't I? Speak!"
"I'm not strong enough to do this," Adrien said. The water ran over his shoulders and back. It was so humid in the shower it was getting hard to breathe, but he didn't want to make the water any colder. "Ladybug is so competent, she doesn't need me. She kept telling me to leave. Maybe I should listen to her. I have enough going on in my life as it is. I can't be like her; I can't be strong enough to carry Paris. I need to give up the Miraculous, and let someone else take over."
Adrien grabbed a loofah and started scrubbing his skin. Plagg stretched and arched his back.
"Maybe you're right," Plagg said. "Maybe you're not as strong as Ladybug, and maybe you can't carry Paris on your shoulders. Maybe you get overwhelmed sometimes, and maybe she would be better off without you. Does that really matter, though? She might be able to do better with another partner, but would you be able to live with yourself if you gave up being Cat Noir?"
"Wow, that is just about the worst pep-talk I've ever heard."
"If you give up the Miraculous, you can never get it back." Plagg said. "Is that really what you want?"
He conditioned his hair slowly, thinking. If he gave up the Miraculous, life would go back to normal. He'd pretend to be happy in front of Chloe and go to school. He'd go to his tutors and piano lessons and fencing classes. He'd listen obediently when Natalie told him when and where his next photo shoot would be. He'd dress exactly as the photographer or designer demanded, and then he'd come back home to an empty house and have dinner alone.
The Miraculous and the powers that came with it were a burden, and added extra responsibility to his life. Sometimes it felt like he'd taken too much onto his plate, and it was life was spiraling out of control. But he'd fallen in love with Cat Noir for the freedom it gave him. He was constantly told what to do, and how to do it. When he was Cat Noir, he didn't have that pressure on him. Sure, Ladybug ordered him around, but it was out of a concern for Paris's safety, not from a desire to dictate his every move.
He loved being a superhero, and being a part of the reason Paris was safe for another day. He craved the feeling of wind rushing through his hair and into his face, and the stress which came with the job. Giving up the Miraculous meant he would lose it for forever. Did he want that?
The water was getting too hot, and he wasn't sure if it was water or sweat on his face. Adrien adjusted the temperature. The steam started to clear.
"I don't want that," Adrien admitted, shutting off the water. The bathroom was full of steam, and it felt refreshing, like stepping into a cleansing sauna after a day full of work. "Thanks, Plagg."
"No problem. Now, in exchange, give me real food and quit stuffing those disgusting Twinkies in my mouth."
"Impossible," Adrien said, pulling on his sweatpants and walking back into his room. "I already bought 100 boxes-it's always cheaper to buy in bulk. No one else can eat them but you." He shrugged sympathetically at Plagg's flabbergasted face. "Come on, we have some work to do."
He sat down in front of his computer, and turned it on. His fingers were typing in a few keywords when someone knocked at his door. He sighed, and Plagg frowned. It had to be Natalie. No one else ever knocked at his door.
"You're late," she said sans preamble. Natalie started walking away, heels clicking on the hard tile floor.
"Late for what?" he asked. Natalie paused and turned to him, as expressionless as ever, yet exuding a sense of exasperation.
"Your piano lesson," she said, checking the time. "It's 6:07. Really, Adrien, you must keep track of the time. I checked your sleep cycle for the last week. You've barely been getting seven and a half hours of sleep. You're a model, your face-"
"-Is my life," Adrien pursed his lips. "Yeah, I know."
"This is unacceptable," Natalie continued, unbothered by his interruption. "If you ruin your sleep cycle, your skin will suffer. We can't have that."
Adrien nodded. She practically galloped down the hall, probably heading to his father's room. Adrien made a face. He couldn't believe she liked him. Even more unbelievably, his father didn't notice.
"If you stop by the kitchen, I'm in the mood for broccoli."
"How on earth is broccoli chaotic?" Adrien mumbled, pulling on a shirt.
"I don't owe you an explanation," Plagg huffed. Adrien nodded distractedly, rushing to leave the room and head to his piano lesson. He might not like playing, but he didn't want to waste his tutor's time. He closed the door softly behind him.
Plagg sighed as the kid left the room. He was gone so often, and there wasn't much in his room for a kwami to do. He stretched and strutted around the room. One hundred steps to the right. Three hundred to the left. One hundred. Three hundred. Plagg couldn't count how many times he'd walked the perimeter of the room. He sighed and curled up on his partner's bed. It was so comfortable it actually took effort to stay awake on it. Plagg didn't care to do anything like that. He closed his eyes and dozed off.
He wasn't sure when, but eventually the kid came back. He seemed tired and not in the mood to talk. Plagg yawned and hopped out of the bed, following him around.
"Did you go to the kitchen?"
"Fresh out of broccoli," Adrien apologized. He fumbled with something in his hands, and Plagg's stomach turned with the familiar sound of crinkling plastic. "I figured you'd still be hungry, though, and brought your favorite snack."
"That's not funny!" Plagg hissed. "I act like your therapist for almost twenty minutes and this is how you repay me? I change my mind-give up the Miraculous, I don't care."
Adrien laughed and disappeared into the bathroom for his 'nighttime routine.' Plagg flopped onto the carpet. He closed his eyes and rested.
"Don't you do anything but sleep?" Adrien asked, climbing into his own bed.
"I would if there were anything better to do. It's just so boring around here," Plagg grumbled. He sat up and looked at his partner. "I'm going out. See you tomorrow!"
"Where could you possibly be going?" Adrien frowned.
"Unlike you, I have a social life." Plagg jumped up a few bookshelves and exited through a window in the kid's room. He didn't look back and check, but he knew Adrien. The kid probably shrugged, put on his sleep mask, and went to bed.
Plagg wandered through the city. He knew where he was going, but his legs were so small, sometimes it took him an hour to get there. He sniffed the air. Ah, he loved the smell of decay in the air. He continued to strut through the rubble and over the half destroyed buildings. Sure, it was sad that the city was being attacked by the Makara, but it wasn't that bad. Plagg was thousands of years old. He had seen true devastation. This? It was an inconvenience. The people would repopulate and get over it. In about fifteen years, they wouldn't even remember the Makara attacks.
A pink blur flew over him.
"Plagg!"
"It's so unfair that you can fly," he complained, lifting his arms up so she would carry him. "I'm stuck on the ground."
Tikki giggled. "You're just as grumpy as ever,"
"You would be, too, if you had to live with my partner."
"You don't like him"
"Nah, he's great. It's just that his house is boring. There's nothing to do, and he forces me to eat twinkies all day."
"It's a good choice," Tikki mused. "They are the most chaotic of all foods."
"Stop that," Plagg snapped. "You sound just like him."
Tikki giggled again, spinning in the air and giving Plagg motion sickness. "I've been having a great time," she told him. "My girl is a fashion designer, and her family owns a bakery! I get all the leftover cookies and cakes they haven't sold!"
"Do they have bread?" Plagg asked longingly. It was nowhere near the level of chaos cheese had, but bread was plenty chaotic in its own way.
"Of course," Tikki sniffed haughtily. "Tom, my partner's dad, likes to say that Dupains learn to bake before they learn to read."
"Wow, he sounds lame."
"No, he's a sweetheart," Tikki defended. "The lamest one in the whole family is my partner. All she does is work all day. Just watching her is exhausting. As I was leaving, she was working a shift at the bakery."
"Wow. Sounds exhausting." Plagg deadpanned. "Meanwhile my kid has his day full from morning till dusk; he's got school and tutors and piano lessons and Chinese lessons and fencing lessons,"
"That sounds really boring. My girl is fun!" Tikki frowned, almost dropping Plagg. "Well, sometimes. When she's not in a bad mood." Plagg ignored her.
"And he has to get eight hours of sleep a day for his modeling job." Tikki started steering them to the right, towards Master Fu's apartment. "His mom went missing or something and his dad's been ignoring him ever since."
"Well my girl's family runs a gang!" Tikki sang proudly. Plagg was pretty sure she got that wrong, so he didn't bother commenting on it. He loved his counterpart, but he had to admit she was an airhead. They reached Master Fu's apartment and phased through the door. Plagg took a deep breath and sighed in content. The smell of week-old beer and pathetic old men never got old.
"Tikki, Plagg!" Wayzz cried from in front of the television. "I haven't had the chance to clean up yet!"
"Where's Master Fu?" Tikki chirped, dropping Plagg. Like all cats, he landed on his feet.
"In the bathroom, I think. Or maybe he's in bed? I don't know; today's been a bad day."
"What more could you expect?" Plagg wandered through the apartment, unearthing all the bottles of alcohol he could. Oh, he loved the smell of that. "You tricked him into becoming the guardian of the Miraculous without telling him everything that came with the title. Of course he'd drown himself in alcohol. I'm just surprised it took this long."
"I didn't trick him into anything!" That was one of the weird things about Wayzz. He was always so adamant that he'd done nothing wrong and that Fu was just a terrible person. Who was he trying to fool? Plagg had been there when Fu had first become the guardian, and had watched his decline ever since. Even Tikki, who wasn't the brightest bulb in the hardware store, knew the truth.
"Well, you sort of did," Tikki landed in front of the television. "Oh, do you mind if I change the channel? I think Project Runway is on."
"No, that show got cancelled years ago, remember?" Plagg reminded her. He only remembered because Tikki had cried for days after the announcement. "Just leave the game on, you might like it." Tikki pouted but sat down and started watching the match. The doorbell rang. Fu stumbled through his bedroom door. His hands were filled with empty bottles. He shuffled forward and dropped them on the kitchen floor. Somehow, Wayzz didn't seem surprised by this. He actually flew between the bottles and caught them all before they hit the ground and shattered. Then, classic Wayzz, he started to rinse them in the kitchen sink before dumping them in the recycle container.
"That'll be twenty euros," a tired adolescent voice said from the doorway.
"Justin!" Fu cried happily. "Where have you been! I haven't seen you in years!"
"Twenty euros," Justin sounded like he was pleading. "Please, I have more stops on my route tonight."
"Justin, come in!" Fu started to weep. "I've missed you. The last time I saw you, you were still a young child."
"I saw you last week, sir," Justin sounded uncomfortable, and patted the old man's shoulder.
"Come in, please. I'll get your money, but stay for a while. Please?"
Justin sighed and entered. Tikki and Plagg watched from the sofa. Wayzz sat next to them.
"That's the pizza guy," he said. "He reminds Fu of his nephew, and he gets pretty emotional about it."
"Oh, hey, Wayzz," Justin greeted as he sat in front of the TV. He noticed Plagg and Tikki. "Are you guys kwamis, too?" The black cat and ladybug gaped at him. Wayzz sighed and answered.
"Yes. This is the black cat, Plagg, the kwami of Cat Noir. This is Tikki, the ladybug kwami."
"Why does he know about us!" Plagg demanded. "This has to be against the rules or something!" Wayzz shrugged pathetically.
"Hi, Justin," Tikki greeted. She lifted her arms and showed off a small t-shirt Plagg hadn't noticed before. "Do you like my shirt? My girl made it for me. I think it's ugly but I didn't tell her because I think she thought it was cute."
"Yeah, it's nice," Justin nodded, then opened the pizza box in his lap. "Do either of you eat pizza?"
"Cheese and bread? Yes!"
"One day, Peizhi got really drunk," Wayzz explained as Plagg grabbed a slice of pizza. "He ordered pizza, and Justin came by. For whatever reason, the master decided it was a good idea to tell Justin all of our secrets. Now, he knows almost as much as I do."
"To be honest," Justin admitted while craning his neck to search for Fu, "I didn't believe the guy until I saw Wayzz for myself. Since then, he's forced me to be the only one to come deliver pizza. Something about it being bad if more people found out or something."
"Master Fu said that?" Tikki questioned. Justin shook his head.
"Nope, Wayzz did." He turned and yelled into the dark apartment. "Fu! I've got more pizza to deliver! If I don't leave now, I'll be over forty minutes, and we'll have to pay for their delivery cost!"
Fu sobbed as he entered the room with some crumpled bills in his hand. "My only nephew, and he can't even bother to spend a few minutes with me." He turned and glared at Wayzz. "This wouldn't be happening if it weren't for you!"
"I told you," Wayzz said tiredly. "I didn't force you to do anything."
"You didn't t-t-tell me the truth!" Fu was swaying on his feet and stumbling over his words
Justin crept up to Fu, took the money out of his hand, and exited the apartment. Plagg and Tikki remained silent and watched from the couch.
"I told you everything you needed to know," Wayzz placated. "Why don't you go to bed? You're getting a little worked up."
"You bastard," Fu slurred. His body listened to Wayzz, though, and he started wobbling to his bedroom. "I lost my family, I lost my life. I've lost everything, and now I can't even die!" He started crying again. His wrinkles were like rivers carved out by the paths of his tears. "I just live and continue to watch horror after horror. I just want peace. I just want peace."
Fu kept wailing about his lost life and how Wayzz had killed him. Plagg looked at Tikki, relieved that she seemed just as willing to leave as he was.
"It's been fun," Tikki said, floating towards the door. Wayzz watched them leave. "But I think I need to leave now."
"Yeah," Plagg agreed. "My kid has a photo shoot tomorrow and I need to go home."
Tikki lifted Plagg again and they headed towards the door. Wayzz stopped them with a question.
"You don't blame me, do you?"
Plagg wished Tikki wouldn't turn around. She did. They faced their friend, basically their brother. He lowered himself to the ground, head bowed. His arms were crossed in front of him, and Plagg couldn't remember a time when he had seen the calm, composed, finicky kwami look so beaten down.
"I do." Tikki said. Plagg wanted to strangle her for a second. Didn't she see that Wayzz already felt bad enough? Plagg opened his mouth to say something, but his voice stopped. He couldn't say he did-that would just be hurtful. Still, he couldn't say he didn't blame him. Kwamis weren't able to lie.
"Sometimes, I wonder if I should blame myself." Wayzz looked up and smiled at them sadly. "Good night. I hope you stop by again. Maybe next time you'll stay for the whole game?"
"Sure," Plagg promised, and Tikki agreed. Then, they headed out into the cool Parisian night.
Tikki hummed as she floated back to her partner's home. It had been a long time since her Ladybug lived in such a comfortable situation. The bed was soft, the house was heated, and there were always snacks lying around for Tikki to much on!
"Hey, Marinette," Tikki greeted, entering through the room's skylight. "Shouldn't you be asleep?"
"What?" Marinette looked up from her sewing machine. "Where have you been?"
"I was spending time with the black cat's kwami." Tikki floated down and headed to a pile of fashion magazines. Marinette made a point to buy every fashion magazine she came across. Whenever she was done looking through it, Tikki was free to browse them. A lot of them had missing pages. Marinette had the habit of ripping out designs she liked and taping them on her walls. "Oh, and with the master. He wasn't doing very well."
Marinette faced her and rubbed her eyes, red from sleep deprivation.
"You know, if you go to sleep now, you'll get two hours of sleep before you have to wake up tomorrow."
Marinette mumbled something before stumbling to the bathroom in the hall. Tikki floated behind her. Unlike humans, kwamis didn't need to sleep, so Tikki was just as energetic as she had been at noon. Her partner brushed her teeth, then swayed back to her bed. Tikki turned the lights off for her. Then, she grabbed as many magazines as her little arms could carry, and flew out to the balcony attached to Marinette's room. She flipped through the pages, ooh-ing and ah-ing at the different designs.
Then, she got to an Agreste magazine. She flipped through the pages, largely unimpressed by the designs. Then, her breath caught. On page four, was a unique summer dress. The credited designer was some girl named Simone B. Tikki shook. She knew that dress. She'd seen Marinette sweat over it for weeks before finally thinking it finished and polished enough to submit for the Agreste Industries competition. Tikki had seen her partner agonize over submitting the dress; she knew how much Marinette loved it and wanted the credit for it. She'd watched as the emotions had flicked through Marinette's face while she was making the decision to submit this summer dress. She'd dreaded it. Tikki knew her partner, and even though she'd get a few hundred euros from the competition, it wouldn't satiate the ambitious designer inside of her. In face, it would probably only hurt her. Tikki looked back at the magazine. This was Marinette's design. And no one knew it.
