This chapter contains no warnings.
—
Master Fu was a simple man these days. He drank his tea without milk or sugar. He took evening strolls through the park. And he always, always watched the six o'clock news.
Today, he closed his clinic the second there was an Akuma attack, just as he always did. And he had yet to reopen. Due to the nature of the akuma, he had stayed as far away as possible, keeping with reports online.
Now, at a quarter to six, he sat watching the TV with rapt attention.
Well, not really. There was some sitcom on. The news was next, and he was eagerly waiting for it.
"Still no word on the akuma?"
"No." Fu answered, glancing at the police blotter. "This is very suspicious. If they defeated it and nothing healed, then Marinette should have come to me for help by now."
"You don't think…that the akuma won, do you?"
Master Fu was quiet, not wanting to admit it, but knowing that that was the most likely scenario.
"What do we do?"
"I would like to see what is being reported. If there hasn't been anymore news, we will go to Alya Cesaire, Nino Lahiffe, and Chloe Bourgeois."
"Do you think that's a good idea? If Ladybug and Chat Noir weren't able to stop this akuma, should the others, who are more inexperienced join the fray?"
"We don't have a choice. I can't allow Hawkmoth to get ahold of their Miraculous."
The show ended, and on came the TVi news logo. All of the facts that Fu already knew were rehashed again, and Fu was forced to wait longer still, knowing his hesitation could mean the difference between victory and defeat.
Finally, they cut over to Nadja on the scene of the Arc De Triomphe. "This was the last location the Akuma was spotted, and the damage to the structure still remains. The Akuma spawned at the renovation site of Notre Dame, where witnesses say a construction worker was akumatized after accidentally collapsing a scaffolding. No casualties have been reported, luckily. According to the Ladyblog, the official new source for all things Ladybug, Ladybug and Chat Noir were spotted on their way to intercept the akuma, though reporter Alya Cesaire was asked to leave by Ladybug, for her own safety. No one else has seen or heard from the heroes since. Which begs the question:
"Has Hawkmoth finally won?"
Master Fu stood. "That's it, I'm recruiting the others."
He went to the Miracle box, opening it and taking out the Fox necklace and the Bee comb.
He gathered some other necessary items, and just when he was about to go out the door, the TV turned to static.
"Good evening Paris." A woman in black appeared, with reflective sunglasses on her face. "Please excuse me for interrupting whatever pointless drivel you were consumed with. My name is Salo. I'm not an akuma, but you'll soon wish I was. I have succeeded where all the others have failed." She stepped back to show Ladybug and Chat Noir, bound and gagged.
Master Fu dropped everything in his arms and ran to the Tv, holding the sides to get a better look. "Oh no...no no no...this can't be happening..."
"I have captured the so called heroes of Paris. In ten minutes, I will be revealing their identities on 'make ladybug suffer dot com.' Be sure to tune in, you won't want to miss it." Her mouth quirked up in a malicious smile, and the picture went to static, the news coming back on without a pause.
Master Fu scrambled to grab his phone and pulled up the explorer. The website loaded slowly, but the live feed turned on just in time for him to see Chat Noir's arm get dislocated.
Master Fu had seen some hard things in his long life as a guardian. But he had become so fond of Marinette and Adrien that the thought of them suffering brought pain to his heart.
He knew the risks. They knew the risks. But that didn't make this any easier.
While the video was still playing, he gathered the Miraculous and headed outside.
Paris was at a standstill. Even traffic had ground to a halt, as people everywhere were staring at their phones in various stages of shock.
Master Fu hurried to find Alya and Nino, not knowing where they'd be. Home, perhaps? Not at the school, not at this time of night. Though, Alya ran the Ladyblog and was often out chasing akuma. They could be anywhere!
"Well well well. A famous model and a superhero! How intriguing! Adrien Agreste…I bet your father would pay a pretty penny to have you home safe and sound, don't you think?"
Master Fu winced. There was one. Adrien was no longer safe. Especially since he was a celebrity and everyone knew where he lived.
He walked faster.
Maybe Alya and Nino were looking for them? Maybe they'd run into each other. Gah! He was wasting time! Where, where, where!?
"I'll try the bakery. It's nearby and…maybe they are there waiting for Marinette."
"And who the heck are you?" Salo snorted. "We lucked out with Mr. Whiskers, but who knew Ladybug was just a nobody?" She leaned in closer. "Oh wait, I recognize you…yeah, you're a friend of the Ladyblogger, in some of her videos. Mmmm….Marinette, right? Yeah. How sad! You'd think the person most dedicated to finding out Ladybug's identity would have seen her sitting in front of her! You must either be too pathetic in your real life, or totally unimportant to the Ladyblogger."
Master Fu swore under his breath. Now Ladybug was compromised. Strangers gasped in shock all around him, as they cried out 'oh no she's just a kid!'
A kid with the burden of the world on her shoulders.
Master Fu stopped, leaning against a building to catch his breath. He was too old for this job. He heard Salo demanding Marinette to strip and turned off his phone. He'd give her the privacy of at least one person.
"What are we going to do?" He whispered. "This is all my fault…"
Wayzz, ever faithful and wise, asked, "how is it your fault?"
"I gave them the Miraculous. I entrusted them, two children, with magic stones to fight crime!"
"Yes, but you wouldn't have if Hawkmoth hadn't come out of hiding."
That was a very true point. One that eased the burden of guilt ever so slightly.
"Still…"
"And you never told them to fight crime outside of akumas. They did that on their own."
"Well of course they were going to do that!" Master Fu chastised. "There's no way they would sit by and let things happen. You know that."
"Of course. But I'd venture to say that this woman is responsible for this. If you had picked anyone else, I'd wager that this would have still happened. It's not fair to blame yourself."
"I can't…I can't help it. They were my chosen."
"All may not be lost yet." Wayzz reminded gently. "This woman isn't an akuma. Hawkmoth will be searching for them, and his akuma are hard to miss."
Master Fu straightened up at that. "You're right! Let's hurry then."
When they reached the bakery, they found the lobby door was open, but no one was in the first floor.
"I'll peek upstairs." Wayzz suggested, floating towards the stairs.
There was some shouting from the living room, and Wayzz returned quickly. "Alya and Nino are up there, but so are the rest of their classmates, and Adrien's guardians."
Fu frowned. "Alright. It would be best for them to keep their secret identities. We will wait until they leave to announce our presence."
So Master Fu and Wayzz left the bakery and waited across the street. He pulled out his phone, only to see that the stream had ended, a message stating that more would happened in the morning. He didn't know if he even wanted to know what happened when he wasn't watching.
Soon enough, he saw two classmates come bolting out of the bakery and down the street.
Finally, the bodyguard that was always around Adrien exited with a bag over his shoulder and a heavy tote in his hands. He placed it in the car and went back inside.
"Ah, I see."
"What?" Asked Wayzz.
"I believe the Dupain-Cheng's are relocating, now that the world knows who Ladybug is. Smart. Very smart."
He continued to wait as the other classmates trickled out. Sabine and Tom came out, more luggage on them, and got in the car. Then, Alya and Nino left together, hand in hand.
"Alright, that's our cue."
He followed them at a healthy distance for a block or so, before catching up to them and announcing his presence. "Nino Lahiffe? Alya Cesaire?"
They spun around, very obviously on edge, as Nino pulled Alya behind him. "Who wants to know?"
He smiled at them softly. "You have every right to be on edge right now, and I'm glad you are." He glanced around, checking to see how safe it was to talk in the open. There weren't very many people out, since the stream had made everyone nervous and retreat to their homes. Though there was no one immediately near them, he still walked a few slow steps forward.
The teens didn't budge, but kept a wary eye on the man.
"I must apologize. You two are going through a great deal right now, but I must ask a favor of you."
Alya and Nino shared a look, and then she said, "who are you again?"
"You may call me Master Fu. I am the guardian of the miraculous."
At the reveal, Wayzz appeared from his pocket, and waved to Nino. The two teens sighed in relief and relaxed.
"Surely you've seen the website?" Master Fu asked.
"Yeah…" Alya breathed. "It's…the worst thing I've ever seen."
"You would be in good company with most of Paris. That is why I have called on you." He took out the box with the Fox Miraculous. "Alya Cesaire, this is the Miraculous of the Fox, you will use it for good."
She nodded fiercely and held her hand out to accept it.
Trixx came alive once the lid was opened. "Hey pretty girl! How's it going?"
"I've been better." Alya admitted with a sad smile, as she hooked the necklace on.
Then Master Fu removed the bracelet from his arm. "Nino Lahiffe, this is the Miraculous of the Turtle. You will use it for good."
"Of course dude—er, Master." He took the bracelet and slipped it on, Wayzz reappearing.
"In your care, I will also leave the Bee Miraculous. It will be up to you to decide if Chloe Bourgeois is worthy of being a hero once more. Marinette had mentioned that she was not on good terms with her. This may hinder Chloe's potential as an ally. Either way, it is up to you."
"Thank you Master," they both said with a bow.
"Now, I must state again, the enemy you face is not an akuma. She is not a Miraculous user. This is a matter that should be left up to the police, but I can't sit by and left Hawkmoth have an opening to take the Miraculous. There is no Miraculous Cure to fix any damages. These people don't have beams or magic swords. They have guns and no hesitation. Don't do anything too rashly."
"Yes Master," they agreed.
"When do you want us to return these?" Alya asked, with good reason.
"I don't have an answer for that." Fu said, "I would say…at least when the Ladybug and Chat Noir Miraculous are safe. If…Marinette and Adrien can still be saved when that happens, then…"
The insinuation was not lost on the other two, though it was a fate they were not ready to accept.
"We'll save them," said Alya, resolutely. "We'll save both of them. And the Miraculous."
Master Fu smiled at them, a proud look in his eyes. "Marinette choose well. I've always thought so." Then he sobered. "It is important that you continue to hide your identities, and I suggest you don't bring any attention to yourselves as heroes. I don't know how this 'Salo' woman captured them so easily, but I would venture they'd get you too if you step out of line. Keep under the radar."
"We'll be careful." Nino assured.
"I know you will do your best…I'm just…I don't want anyone else to get hurt. I can't help but feel that…this is my fault, for giving them the Miraculous. Wayzz assures me that anyone could have been taken by these people. But…just promise me that you'll stay safe? That I won't regret this decision."
Alya held up a pinky. "It may be juvenile, but I pinky swear."
Master Fu smiled at her, and hooked his finger with hers. He did the same with Nino. "There, you've made an oath with the guardian. It's unbreakable."
Alya smirked. "You said something that made a lot of sense. This is an opening for Hawkmoth to retrieve the Miraculous. He'll have an akuma out looking soon enough. We just need to follow it."
"Clever girl. Those were my thoughts exactly." He glanced at his watch. "We've been talking for much too long. As tempting as it sounds, don't begin your search just yet. Go home, and reassure your parents. They are probably already worried."
"Yes Master!"
"I'll see you again," he nodded sagely, and departed.
With Wayzz gone, the walk home was quiet, and he was left with his thoughts. Several times he found himself turning around to take the Miraculous back, but ultimately he let it go. What other choice did he have?
—
It was now 10 pm. Ten hours since Adrien and Marinette went missing. And four hours since their fate became known to the world.
Nino and Alya arrived at the Agreste residence, by car driven by the Gorilla. They both had large duffle bags with them. Enough clothes and necessities to last them two weeks. Alya doubted she'd get through all of it, because surely, they'd find a way to save Marinette and Adrien within the week. Surely.
Tom and Sabine met them at the door, readily embracing the kids. Four hours was a long enough time to worry about another missing pair.
Gabriel stood off to the side, watching, his hand over his mouth. He dared not to say anything, lest he out himself as incapable of making decisions that were in the best interest of everyone. Someone had to keep a level head.
Once everyone had calmed down again, Nathalie approached the teens. "I will show you to your rooms."
Nino spoke up. "Could we…could we stay in Adrien's room?"
Nathalie looked at Gabriel who only nodded. It was an innocent request, and he could understand it.
In Adrien's room, Alya and Nino set their bags on the ground and just stood there. The room was huge, and full of stuff…but it felt so empty. Empty, lonely, and cold.
The duffle of Marinette's stuff that Alya had packed sat behind the couch. An odd place for it, but convenient for tonight.
Nino took off his hat. "Do you want me to take the couch?"
Alya shook her head. "No…I want you close."
He nodded in understanding.
They made themselves comfortable, knowing that's what Adrien would want. They explored a little, without prying.
"Alya, look at this." Nino said with a fond little hum.
"Ew, is that…cheese?"
"I bet it's for his kwami."
Alya laughed then too. "You know, every once in a while, I'd get a whiff of cheese from him. I didn't think it was actually him, but…now I know."
It was late and they were exhausted. They took turns in the bathroom, getting ready for bed. Then they fumbled for the lights, and crawled into Adrien's bed. Alya had a shirt in her arms.
"What's that?" Nino asked.
"It's Marinette's." She answered, giving it a little sniff. "It smells like her."
"Babe, we're going to find them. We're going to save them."
"Absolutely."
"There is one blessing in all of this."
"And that is?"
"They're together. They aren't suffering alone. And as long as they have each other…I think they'll make it."
Alya nodded, reaching her hand out. "I think you're right."
He grasped her hand back, lacing their fingers together.
Neither slept well, not only from worry, but anxious for what awaited their friends in the morning.