Light awoke the tired teens as the sun peeked over the horizon. Cat Noir awoke first with a slight groan. His green on green eyes widened as he took in a sandy beach and the green grass and palm trees that they all slept on.
"Good morning?" he called out to the other four teens. It had taken a lot of work and they had almost lost one or another of the heroes on their swim last night.
"Five more minutes, mama," the red and black figure called out as she lay on her stomach with her face on the grass. "Why is my pillow so scratchy?" Bleary blue eyes blinked open to see the shore of a tropical island.
"Man, you sound like my best friend. That girl is no morning person," Rena Rouge said as she sat up and stretched.
"Marinette's been that way for years," Nino offered as he got to his feet and looked around. "Man, I'm thirsty."
Chloe carefully brushed the sand out of her ponytail of her transformed hairdo. "Yeah, that's the most important thing about survival is getting water. We'll need to find some in the next day or so."
Everyone gave her an odd look at that.
"What? Sabrina and I went to a summer camp last year and took a few survival classes. Well, like the first one," Chloe said to them.
Ladybug rolled her eyes at that. Her expression turned to worry as she pulled out her yo-yo again and opened it up to try and figure out where they were. Still no GPS signal. She raised an eyebrow at the fact that she could call everyone else here, but even calling her home phone number in Paris got a no connection message.
"Still nothing?" Alya asked with a sinking feeling.
She shook her head in reply and looked out over the water. Even the Lucky Charm compass used as Miraculous Ladybug had not fixed everything. "I- I think we might be trapped."
"Obviously these magic doodads don't work with regular networks," Chloe retorted. "Um, Buzz Off!" Her transformation faded and she pulled out her cell phone. "No signal? What do you mean no signal? Daddy paid for an international plan, just in case!"
"Trixx, Let's Rest," Alya said and de-transformed. "Hello, Trixx. Nice to, uh, really meet you."
"Shell Off!" her boyfriend said. "Hey, dude! Can you, er, maybe explain why we can't call anyone or even figure out where on Earth we are?"
Wayzz nodded. "If we were banished to the Bermuda Triangle, we are no longer on Earth but a sort of pocket dimension used as a prison. We kwami are not allowed to go near it unless it is a dire emergency."
Pollen and Trixx zoomed over in orange and yellow blurs.
"Are you saying we are trapped?" Pollen asked in a near shout.
"What about Master Fu?" Trixx called out.
"Can we get out, Wayzz?" Ladybug asked the kwami seriously.
"Not by any means we know of. Only a few people have ever escaped and not many of them even talked about their adventures," the turtle kwami said.
"I've screwed up so bad this time. I'm a failure," Ladybug said as she held her head in a panic.
"No!" and "Not at all," came from Chloe and Cat Noir said at the same time.
Ladybug looked over at him. "We can't stay transformed all the time. So we won't be allowed to keep our Miraculouses."
Cat Noir looked horrified and then off to the sea as the realization sunk in. "Oh. Right."
"What do you mean?" Alya demanded. "That doesn't make any sense."
"Our secret identities are our most important secret we have. Not even Cat Noir knows who I am, because it could be used against us by Hawkmoth. Tikki... my kwami explained that if we expose our secret identities that we would have to give up our Miraculouses." Ladybug almost sobbed. She clenched a fist and took a deep breath and clenched a fist.
"That's too unfair! You are an awesome hero!" Chloe shouted as she started to get mad and stamp her feet into the sand.
She gave Chloe a half smile and then said, "Tikki, Spots Off."
"Plagg, Claws In," her partner said as he felt elated to learn her identity and horror at what the penalty would be when they got back.
The other three looked on in shock. "Marinette?" "Adrien?" came the hurried shouts.
Chloe stared at her school arch enemy. "No! It can't be! You can't be Ladybug! I like Ladybug!"
Tikki and Plagg looked around in confusion and quickly went over to huddle in the air with the other kwamis.
"And I even called you our everyday Ladybug," Adrien said with a snort of depressed laughter.
"You! I Adrien love really of? I mean, made puns worst liked that me for?" Marinette said in a panicked gibberish.
Adrien looked confused and shot a glance over to the stunned Alya and bemused Nino. "Um, I don't understand?"
Alya burst out laughing and collapsed onto her butt. "I can't believe she was all so cool and in control and then the moment she finds out Cat Noir is Adrien she falls into crush-gibberish!"
Nino started chuckling and slapped his hands on his jean clad knees. "Only you, Marinette."
Chloe kept looking on in shock with her mouth open.
"Marinette has a crush? On me?" Adrien asked for clarification.
Plagg did a quick loop-de-loop. "Not like it wasn't totally obvious or anything, lover boy," he cackled in his nasal way.
"Quit picking on my wielder, Plagg," Tikki called out in frustration as the other kwami all laughed.
Marinette and Chloe both collapsed to the ground in a faint.
A few minutes later, they both came awake at the nudging of their friends.
"Come on, girl, you need to pull it together," Alya said to her friend as she patted her cheeks to help wake her as she knelt on the sand.
Marinette looked up from where her head lay on Alya's lap. "Please tell me I didn't make a total fool of myself in front of Adrien. Who is actually Cat Noir. I've been turning him down because he's such a dork and he's the love of my life that I'm going to not marry and have three kids and a hamster -mumph!"
Her friend held her hand over her mouth. "Stop that. It isn't the end of the world."
"But it is! Dupain-Cheng is Ladybug! My worst enemy! And Adrikins is the super-annoying Cat Noir that nearly gets me killed every other akuma!" Chloe wailed as she woke up and put her hands on her forehead as if to stave off a headache.
"I'm not that bad!" Adrien protested.
Marinette blinked and then finally responded. "Actually, you were worse. And the puns. The horrible puns."
"Adrien does puns?" Nino asked. "Dude! You've been holding out on me!"
"Nooo! Don't get him started! I finally got him to stop punning around me last year!" Chloe cried out as she shot to her bare feet.
Alya looked over at him with appraising eyes. "I think you've been out voted, Agreste," she said in a playful manner.
He rolled his eyes at that. "I guess. So now what?"
Marinette stood up and looked around. "Let's search for water and a place to shelter. That sun is going to get hot later. And some of us are going to get sunburnt."
"Sounds like work," Plagg complained as he floated over to the group of kwami. "I'd rather have some camembert!"
"Plagg!" Tikki and Wayzz yelled at him. Pollen and Trixx just shook their heads at his antics.
"What? I'm just telling the truth!"
Marinette slapped her forehead. "I feel silly. Tikki, could you go up and check to see if there is anyone else on this island? And if this is an island?"
"Of course, Marinette! That's very good idea. We can look for anything that might help," the red and black-spotted kwami said happily.
"Keep an eye out for drinkable water," Wayzz called out as the kwami shot up into the air.
"Well, I guess we can walk along this beach until they catch up," Adrien said as he shrugged his shoulders.
"At least we ended up in a pretty place," Chloe said as she looked around with a glare.
"It really is." Marinette looked at her and her other friend's feet. "That might be a problem eventually. I might have to make shoes for everyone."
Alya nodded. "Yeah, I kicked off my shoes in the swimming pool. And this really reminds me of home back in Martinique!"
"That's right, you're from the Caribbean aren't you, dudette? Teach us, oh pirate sensei!"
"I'm not a pirate, Nino. Though I do know how to sail a boat," his girlfriend replied with a smile.
"Is that-?" Adrien said as he gestured down the beach.
"The end of the island considering I can see the beach through the trees? Yes, Adrikins!" Chloe pulled out her phone again to check for signal. She then pulled a brush out of her purse and started to fix her hair.
"Let's go the entire way and around the bend," their unofficial leader said as she looked around in interest.
Around the bend they saw the beach stretch out another mile before it stopped. Rocky cliffs jutted out down the way. They walked halfway before the kwami returned.
"Guess what?" Plagg said as he hovered in front of Adrien.
"Where on a deserted island?" he replied with a grin.
"With a pirate shipwreck, too!" the black kwami of destruction said in a chortle. "It's just past those cliffs."
"We're pretty close then. What's the easiest way through, Plagg?"
"Flying, of course," he responded instantly.
"And for those of us that can't fly?" Chloe demanded with a stamp of her feet in indignation.
"Probably through the jungle instead of climbing the rocks that block the water inlet, my queen," Pollen said.
"At least someone is trying to be helpful."
Alya rubbed Trixx's head to the kwami's delight. "Shall we?"
"Yeah!" the fox kwami exclaimed.
The stopped about eighty feet in when they found a patch of berries and fruits.
"Breakfast!" Marinette exclaimed happily as she pulled her little swiss army knife out of her purse.
The five kwami checked the fruit.
"It shouldn't kill you," Plagg announced so the kids can start eating breakfast.
"Plagg! What is with you today?" Tikki asked with aggravation.
"I'm just preparing in case we need to destroy this prison," he countered.
Wayzz sighed. "Let us not go too far down that path, Plagg."
A piercing whistle cut through the chatter. Marinette pulled her fingers from her mouth. "Plagg, can you explain what you mean?" She then ate a handful of the odd berries.
"This isn't like Atlantis, is it?" Adrien asked with suspicion as he wiped his mouth.
"Noooo-"
"Yes," the other four kwami shouted.
Plagg huffed angrily.
Chloe looked confused while realization dawned on the other three.
"You sank Atlantis?" Marinette asked in confirmation, so Plagg nodded. "No. You are not destroying the Bermuda Triangle until we find out we have to."
Alya, Nino and Chloe stared at Marinette in confusion.
"What?" Marinette asked in befuddlement.
"They aren't used to your more destructive tactics, milady," Adrien noted with a quirky grin. "Like enraging an akuma enough to chop the Eiffel Tower down on top of us all."
"That did work! And- and-" Marinette palmed her face with both hands. "That was rather crazy and over the top, even if Miraculous Ladybug fixed the damage afterwards."
The other three looked shocked at the turn of the conversation.
Adrien coughed into his fist politely. "So, how about we continue on to that wreck?"
"Cat Noir!" she wailed in despair.
They trudged out of the jungle twenty minutes later. Alya stepped up to the edge of the water and knelt down to scoop up a handful of water to taste it. "Ocean water," she muttered in distaste.
"Whoa, it's so clear," Nino said as they looked at the small galleon tipped over and just barely under water. "How did it get here? There's no outlet!"
"Someone knocked over a sea stack to block the inlet," Wayzz explained as he pointed a flipper at a huge pile boulders.
"Ooh, pirate treasure! My camembert!" Plagg called out as he started to zip around and fly through things like trees and boulders.
"Adrien?" Marinette asked in confusion.
"Plagg's only real love is camembert cheese, which I doubt is any pirate's treasure. But I suppose there could be a buried treasure chest. At least that could explain the hidden and then sunk ship." The blond gave them a shrug.
"Found it!" the black cat kwami shouted as he popped out of the sand near the jungle.
Five minutes later, the kids finished digging out an old wooden chest.
"Hmm." Marinette studied the lock carefully. She then picked up a rock right there on the ground and smashed it six times with great force. "That worked!"
Chloe, Alya and Nino all relaxed from their startled and shocked stances after a moment.
"Dude! Is this normal?" Nino asked his best friend.
"I don't know? Maybe?" Adrien replied.
"Girl is mad competitive at video games, too."
Chloe just stared with a look of stupefaction. "Where have you been for the last five years? I would have sworn that you would never hurt a fly!"
Marinette looked between her friends, the lock and then the rock. "I just thought it would be the best idea and not make anyone have to transform. I only have five cookies for Tikki-"
"-four-" the kwami corrected her.
"-four cookies for Tikki and we don't even have any food for your kwami." Marinette opened the chest and unwrapped a cloth wrapped bundle on top. "Hmm. Three custlasses." She drew one of the weapons. "A little rusty." She sheathed it and checked the rest of the chest. "Gold and silver coins of a few sizes. A tusk and a small bag of gems. And a pirate's hat!"
"Well, at least we aren't totally broke," Alya said while in deep thought. "Let's salvage what we can and start to make a raft to get off this island. That even includes you, Chloe. Heroes doesn't slack off!"
"What!?" the blonde girl squeaked out in shock.
Luckily, they found a small muddy spring in the middle of the island.
In the end, Marinette and Adrien designed their raft. It ended up being lens shaped and longer than wide. Even so, they made sure to add pontoons that went out wide for stability made of the three sealed casks. They salvaged the mast from the pirate wreck but had to do with a small sail woven from fern fronds. Alya had them add a deep keel and rudder.
Five days later, they readied themselves to leave.
"So what should we name our overgrown raft?" Alya asked the group.
"The Parisian?" Chloe said as she thought of home and examined her poor abused hands.
"The Little Miraculous," Marinette offered. "Because we are team Miraculous, after all!"
"Better than my idea for Liberty or something," Adrien said.
"I like Marinette's idea. No offense, Chloe. Your's is good, but I think her's works better, dudette!" the oldest of the group said as he fidgeted with his earphones that no longer worked.
Chloe looked upset and then slumped forward. "I thought I'd come up with a good one."
"It's not bad, but I think we've decided on The Little Miraculous. Hmm." Alya looked between her friends and Chloe. "So we've agreed that Marinette is captain, right?"
"Only because you all voted for her," the blonde girl sniped back in a bitter tone.
Pollen flew down to rub cheeks with her wielder. "My queen."
Chloe pet her head in response. At least her kwami had voted for her.
Marinette tilted her head and nodded at Alya.
The older girl sighed and walked over to Chloe. "We're ready to launch it. I made some fruit juice and one of the bottles from the wreck. Would you dedicate the ship, Chloe?"
"Um, why- No, nevermind." Chloe took control of her composure and let her bitchiness show a bit. She took the bottle filled with a deep red juice. "Everyone ready?"
"You bet, dudette!" Nino gave her two thumbs up.
"Don't call me dudette! Really!" Chloe snapped out. She stood up taller. "By the powers invested in me -mumble-mumble- I hereby name this ship the Little Miraculous." She swung and smashed the bottle on the rough log that made up the front of the ship.
"Come on, Chloe! It's going to take us all to push it into the water," Adrien called out as he started to put his back into it.
"I hate-hate this. My nail, my skin and my poor muscles!" she cried out even as she pulled on one of the cross-beam keeping the oddly shaped raft held together.
The Little Miraculous finally floated out onto the gentle waves of the sea. They moored it to a sturdy stump by the primitive rope made of vines. Then they moved to put their meager store of fruits, berries and dried fish. Lastly they put three precious barrels of fresh water to tie mast.
Marinette hissed in pain as her shirt's collar shifted on her sunburnt neck. She glared at the menacing fireball in the sky. She grabbed the old pirate's hat from the chest and settled it on her head.