Marinette awakened on Friday morning to a strangely familiar smell coming from the kitchen. Getting out of bed, she made her way downstairs to find her mother fretting as she sampled something hot from the stovetop.
"You're up early! Great, I really need your help. Here, stir this," she said, passing a wooden spoon to Marinette and indicating the pot on the stove.
"Of course, Mom! What's the matter? You look upset."
"I just got a call from the Chinese community center. There's going to be a wake tomorrow at four, and they've asked us to help prepare a small meal afterwards. Your father has a couple of special cakes he needs to get out the door today, so we are stretched very thin. That's where you come in," Sabine rattled off.
"Sure, I'm happy to help out! Do you know who died?"
"Yes, one of our semi-regulars at the Center. His name was Wang Chan. I'm not sure if you've met him - he was in the bakery a couple of times and would get a fruit tart for his pet turtle. Kind of eccentric, if you ask me. Short... grey moustache and goatee... always wore a bright red Hawaiian shirt... I think he owned a massage therapy studio - Marinette, you have to keep stirring!"
The spoon had fallen from her hand as loud alarm bells sounded in her head. "Sorry, Mom," she said, picking the spoon back up and robotically stirring the hot mixture. How do I figure out if it was him? I wonder if Tikki can check with Wayzz. The name was different, but she pretty much described him to a T. Oh! Wayzz! How do I get him back? She blinked back tears and wiped at her eyes. "What is this I'm stirring?" Maybe getting my mind off of things will keep me from completely falling apart until I can confirm it was him… just gotta stay positive in the meantime.
"This is called jai, and I'm absolutely horrible at making it. I'm practicing before the wake tomorrow. Oh! This is your first traditional Chinese wake. Normally there would be a large amount of food, but since our Chinese community is very small and Mr. Chan didn't have a family, we're only doing jai. We'll share it among the ten or so people who will be there as a family meal. Afterwards…"
Sabine's words faded to background noise as Marinette focused on stirring the jai. No family… I wonder if Marianne knows. I'll have to go back to that park bench and see if she shows up today. I'll have to let Kitty know… right? But how would Ladybug and Chat Noir show up at a wake in costume? That would completely blow his cover… and if we show up there out of costume, it would blow ours… at least, to each other. Not that I know who he is. Great work, Marinette! You're the Guardian of the Miraculous and you've got two Miraculous out there where you don't know the owners, a third, rogue Miraculous… and you have to get the Turtle Miraculous back from… somewhere. Way to start off on the right foot!
"OK, Marinette, thanks. I can take over from here. But stay close… I might need you to help make sure we have everything on hand to make this tomorrow. You can go back to bed," Sabine teased.
"Thanks, Mom," Marinette said, giving Sabine a kiss on the cheek before heading back upstairs.
"Tikki!" Marinette hissed as she closed the door behind her.
"I heard, Marinette," Tikki said sadly. "We need to send a kwami out to do reconnaissance. Normally, it would be me, but I should probably stay here with you. Who should we send out?"
"Who knows where to look? You and Plagg know where Master Fu's apartment is, but do any of the other kwamis?"
"It won't matter… I can just tell them where to go."
"If it's reconnaissance, we'll need someone sneaky." Marinette considered her options. "Sneaky like… a fox."
"Excellent choice, Marinette! Trixx will do well."
Marinette walked over to the gramophone and accessed the Miracle Box. "Umm… Tikki? How do I get Trixx to appear if she doesn't have a Miraculous holder? Do I have to put the necklace on?"
"You don't, Marinette. Master Fu would give you small wooden boxes to put the Miraculous in, right? And when you opened the box, the kwami would appear. Those small boxes are more than meets the eye."
"Oh! I should have guessed." Marinette opened the drawer below the gramophone and took out one of the boxes Fu had given her. Opening it, she placed the Fox Miraculous inside, then closed it again. I hope this works, she thought, before opening the small box again. Yellow light shone from the Miraculous and became a ball that danced around before resolving into Trixx.
"How may I serve you, Guardian?" Trixx asked.
"I need you to fly to Master Fu's apartment and tell me what you see. Do not let anyone see you, and gather as much information as you can. This is urgent, Trixx. I'll be here waiting for your report."
"At your command, Guardian," Trixx intoned solemnly.
Tikki whispered something to Trixx, then the fox kwami phased through Marinette's window and disappeared.
"She'll do good, Marinette. You don't have anything to worry about."
"At least, not in that regard, Tikki. And now… we wait." Marinette walked over and picked up Luka's outfit for the battle of the bands. "I'll keep myself busy in the meantime."
An hour later, Marinette slumped to the ground, shoulders shaking. Trixx's report had confirmed her worst fears: Master Fu's apartment was empty, and the Chinese community center was already decorated with a picture of him in his younger days. Tikki was floating near Marinette, patting her on the head. Trixx had gone back to the Miracle Box to inform the other kwamis of the passing of their beloved Guardian, and Marinette replaced the Fox Miraculous.
"Tikki, what am I going to do?" Marinette sobbed. "He always knew exactly what to say… how to make me feel better or stronger as Ladybug… I'm going to be lost without him!" She wiped her nose with her sleeve.
"I know, Marinette. Master Fu was important to all of us. He has given you a fine legacy to carry on - the legacy of the Guardians."
"Is… is he going to be able to guide me as a spirit or something like that?"
"Sorry, Marinette. That only happens in stories like Star Wars."
Marinette laughed, startled. "Tikki! How do you know about Star Wars?"
"Master Fu would keep us up to date on things like that. He didn't tell you? One of the main duties of the Guardian is to treat the kwamis to a movie night once a month." Tikki smiled. "Relax, Marinette, I'm teasing. Master Fu gave you everything you need to know to be a great Guardian of the Miraculous. The rest will come from inside you."
Marinette nodded and sniffled again. "I… I should tell Chat. He deserves to know." She pulled her flip phone from her purse.
[LB] Hey Kitty… got your ears on?
[CN] Not yet… I'm at the groomer. What's new, Bugaboo? =^.^=
[LB] I have news… not the good kind. Can you meet?
[CN] Name the time and place and I'll be there. Everything OK?
[LB] 15 minutes at the Tower? Tell you then.
[CN] You got it, Bug. See you soon
[LB] /(%)\
She flipped the phone closed, sighed, and wiped her eyes again. Standing up, she mumbled "Spots on", and climbed out her bedroom skylight to meet her partner.
As was his custom, Chat Noir was waiting for Ladybug on a beam near the top of the Eiffel Tower. "My Lady…" he paused at the look on her face, then immediately went over and put his hand on her shoulder. "Sit down. What's the matter?" His worried green eyes met her red-stained ones.
"Master Fu died," Ladybug whispered. She sat down on the beam, and Chat Noir sat next to her, his arm around her shaking shoulders.
"What? No! It can't be… Bug, I'm so sorry… I know how close you two were." He gave her a small squeeze, and she put her head on his shoulder. "How… how did… um… sorry," he said sheepishly, "I've got a lot of questions, and I don't know if you have any of the answers. Why don't you just tell me about what's going through your mind, and we'll sort things out from there."
Ladybug sniffled and wiped at her eyes. "He knew his time was short… I think I told you about that already, right?" Chat Noir nodded. "Anyway… these past couple of weeks, he had been giving me special lessons to prepare me to be the next Guardian. Just two nights ago, he actually gave me the Miracle Box and called me the Guardian! Kitty… I'm not… I'm not ready."
"Wow… Ladybug… you must be feeling overwhelmed." He started rubbing a comforting circle on her back.
"You have no idea… I'm responsible for all the Miraculous, Serket is out there doing who-knows-what… the Peacock Miraculous is still missing… and what's worse, I feel like there's nobody out there I can talk to about this!"
"That's not entirely true, you know… you're talking to me about this right now."
She giggled around a sniffle. "Ha ha, Kitty… I mean… if I want to talk to you, we have to transform and meet and get away… or text each other, which was an amazing idea that I still need to properly thank you for… it's just… oh, I don't know… it's a lot to handle right now."
"I understand, Bug. I'm here for you if you ever need to vent or need someone to hold a pillow to scream into. You told me that you'd drop everything for me, and you need to know that the feeling is mutual."
"Thanks, Kitty." She lifted her head off of his shoulder and giggled again at the pouting face he made. "Speaking of… how are you doing with… all that? You never really told me what set you off. Do you want to talk about it?"
"Oh, that? Um… let's just say that I've had a weight on my shoulders for a while, and it was ripped off. Kind of like ripping a bandage off of a wound. You know?"
"I think so. You're mixing metaphors, though, Kitty," she teased.
"I know. I'm still wrapping my head around it, and I don't have anybody I can talk to, really."
An grin split Ladybug's face as she echoed, "That's not entirely true, you know… you're talking to me about this right now."
Chat Noir sighed. "I left myself wide open for that one." He chuckled. "Let me put it this way: The person who's been making my life miserable for the past few years showed up in a very unexpected place when I wasn't ready at all."
"And are you doing OK, yet?"
"Still getting there, Bug. I'm finding out a lot about myself in the meantime."
"Well, I'm here for you as much as you need me. Just say the word, Kitty."
"I appreciate that. Oh, before I forget… when is Master Fu's… funeral?"
Ladybug said sternly, "Kitty, you can't go! He was living here under an assumed name. If a superhero shows up, it would cause too much attention…" She stopped herself and took a deep breath. "Sorry. That's not being helpful. There's a Chinese community center in the 21st arrondissement. His wake will be there at four."
"I'll be thinking about him, then. And you, too, Bug. I mean it… just reach out if you need me."
She smiled warmly at him. "Thanks, Kitty. I'll be sure to take you up on that."
The heroes stood up and made as if to hug each other, then awkwardly backed off. Chat Noir rubbed the back of his neck and smiled. "See you around, Bug." He extended his baton and vaulted into the Paris afternoon.
That helped, Ladybug thought. I'm so glad I have him. Now to visit a certain park bench.
Ladybug landed near the park and de-transformed. Marinette found her way to the park bench where she knew Marianne would wait for Master Fu. She sat down. People came and went, but none of them were the woman Marinette was waiting for. After two hours of waiting, Marinette sighed and started for home.
Marinette entered her house by way of the bakery. Sabine was at the front counter talking to Mr. Chou. "Will you be able to come?" she asked him.
"Of course. I am always willing to support my community. Four o'clock, you said?"
"That's correct."
"It will be an honor to attend. Thank you so much for thinking of me, Mrs. Cheng."
"You're very welcome, Mr. Chou."
He bowed slightly, took the bag with his peach tart in it, and left.
"Hi, Mom!" Marinette said. "Can I help out down here?"
"Marinette! I didn't see you come in. You know I won't say no, honey. Watch the counter here while I get some stuff out of the back to restock for the pre-dinner rush."
Marinette spent the rest of the day Friday helping out around the bakery and around the house. Staying busy has kept my mind off of other things. Good thing Mom asked me to help out at the wake… I'll at least get some closure. It's a shame Kitty won't be able to make it, though. He wasn't that close to Master Fu, but I know Fu had made an effort to reach out to him.
At the end of the day, she fell into a fitful sleep, full of dreams of scorpions, snakes, and black cats.