After returning from his mother's chamber, Adrien was guided back to his room by a very concerned Ladybug. As she listened to Adrien mumble through the evening's events, she set him up in his bed and made sure he was comfortable. Adrien's eyes grew heavy and Ladybug turned to go. "Wait... Ladybug? Before I forget… Kagami wanted to meet with you. Please, take her number." With a promise to visit her first thing in the morning, Ladybug left Adrien to rest.
He spent the night in a fitful sleep. The next morning, Adrien woke up, showered, and got dressed in one of the outfits he picked up at the vintage clothing store. He went downstairs for breakfast and was surprised to see his father and Mrs. Tsurugi already sitting at the table. "Hello, Adrien," Gabriel said by way of greeting. "I was just finishing up an early business meeting with Tomoe."
"Hello, Mrs. Tsurugi," Adrien said, forcing his most polite smile on his face. "It's good to see you again." If what I heard is true, the last time we met you were Stinging me in the side… but let's not bring that up just yet.
"Hello, Adrien, likewise," Mrs. Tsurugi returned. "Gabriel, I should be going. Thank you for accommodating me at an early hour on short notice. I believe that we should be fine moving forward with this proposal; I just wanted to make sure that we were on the same page regarding how you wanted to approach the market."
"You know you have my absolute trust in this matter. Thank you for considering me, however, you should not feel obligated to do so going forward." He inclined his head, and the family bodyguard led Mrs. Tsurugi to the front door where her driver was waiting.
"Take me home, quickly, please. We have a deadline to meet."
Marinette and Tikki were enjoying a pain au chocolat that the Agreste chef had left on a tray outside her door. Not as good as Mom and Dad's, but breakfast is breakfast. I have a feeling today's going to be a very busy day. She pulled out her flip phone and noted the number Adrien had sent her last night. Composing a new message, she sent
[Ladybug] Adrien Agreste tells me you want to meet up. Name the time and place. /(%)\
[Kagami] If this is who I think it is, then yes. Ten minutes at the Arc de Triomphe. See you there.
Okay then, Marinette thought. She hasn't changed a bit! Direct and to the point as always. She got dressed in a pink t-shirt and blue jeans, then called for her transformation and headed out to the Arc de Triomphe.
Trying to remain discreet while wearing the costume of one of Paris' beloved superheroes was a hard task for Ladybug that morning. After waving to what felt like the thousandth admirer, she noticed a girl in a baseball cap, dark sunglasses, a black hoodie, and dark jeans beckoning to her. Ladybug swooped down and landed next to her.
"Sorry for picking such a public place, Ladybug," Kagami said. "Usually the landmarks aren't this busy. Let's find a place where we can talk uninterrupted." She grabbed Ladybug's hand and pulled her off toward a secluded alleyway. Kagami led Ladybug through a maze of winding passages for the next five minutes and then finally stopped. Catching her breath, she said, "Sorry. I can't risk being followed. It was already too much being seen with you."
Ladybug bent over to catch her breath. "I think we're good now. What do you want?"
"I have information for you. I know who Serket and Le Faisan are."
"How did you find that out?"
"You'll know, once I tell you. Serket is… my mother. Le Faisan is her houseguest, a man by the name of Chou."
Ladybug winced as if she had been slapped. He ate dinner at my house! He's been at my bakery daily for the past couple of weeks! And… he just *burned it down* like it was nothing… like it didn't matter to him!
"Ladybug, are you okay?" Kagami asked, reaching out toward the superhero. "You look like you could rip someone's head off with your bare hands."
"Huh? Sorry. No. I'm OK. I mean, I'm not OK. But thank you. For the information, and for asking if I'm OK. How are you doing? Are you safe?"
"Don't worry about me, Ladybug… I can take care of myself. I don't know why Mother and her friend are doing what they're doing… but I know you can stop them. Good luck, Ladybug." She remained where she was and fixed Ladybug with a glare.
Ladybug stared back and asked, "Is there something else, Kagami?"
"There is, actually; this is more personal than professional. Adrien and I have been becoming better friends over the past couple of weeks. I don't know what your relationship is with him, but look… he's a good friend of mine. I don't want to see him get hurt."
Ladybug gave Kagami a confused look, but said nothing. What is this about? Did he tell her that he was Aspik? I can't see him doing that… but if he did, that's breaking all sorts of secret identity rules! He should know better!
Kagami continued, "So when he told me that he was still interested in you, even though you broke his heart once… I was kind of mad at you. I may have told him that I would hit you if you broke his heart again." She grinned wickedly.
"Wait, hold up!" Ladybug interjected. "Me, break Adrien's heart? When on Earth did I do that?" I'll leave the "hitting me" part out of it for now.
"Apparently right before we went to the ice rink. He asked me out, completely out of the blue, but when we got there he only had eyes for one girl. But she was skating with a completely different boy. I honestly thought Adrien was interested in that girl - Marinette - and even told her that she needed to lock down Adrien before I did. Then later on he confesses that it wasn't her, but you that had broken his heart! I swear, that boy's life is confusing. But anyway… if you're going to go after him, great. He mentioned something about a breakthrough with you two days ago, and I couldn't be happier for him. But so help me, if you mess with him again, I will smack him for being stupid with his heart, and I will smack you for toying with my friend's feelings." She turned on her heel and marched away, leaving Ladybug standing there, mouth agape.
"We have to act quickly, Chou! I felt the presence of more Miraculous at the Agreste mansion! I tell you, the Guardian is there!"
"Now, now," Chou said in an attempt to pacify Serket, "You have already been there, and you retrieved a Miraculous - a broken one, at that. We still have yet to find the woman from Fu's funeral; let us not waste our time revisiting places you have already been!"
"You don't know! You weren't there! It was a strong feeling - as if multiple Miraculous were still in that house. I tell you - my senses have been heightened to levels they have never been before!"
Chou whirled on Serket and jabbed a finger at her. "You also told me to search the bakery - my friends' bakery! I destroyed it on your word, even though you were unable to find any Miraculous there! Every place you have told me to search we have come away with nothing! If you want me to act quickly, then you must give me reliable information!"
Serket paced the drawing room floor. After a moment, she swung her was-sceptre wide, smashing photos and artifacts. Chou reached forward and caught the sceptre, preventing Serket from destroying more of the Tsurugi house.
"Fine… if you want it to be this way, then so be it! But neither of us have much time at this point, and I would prefer we finish chasing down our current leads before they slip through our fingers. No - don't argue - you wouldn't be able to do this without my help, and you forget who is in charge here! We will pursue the woman today, and if we do not find her, then we will search the Agreste mansion tomorrow. Now - what have we learned about the woman so far?"
Ladybug stood there for a couple of minutes after Kagami left, processing what she said. Me, break *Adrien's* heart? But that's impossible! All the times I've been near Adrien as Ladybug… I can't think of anything that would have broken his heart! And right before he and Kagami went to the ice rink… that was the Frozer incident and the less said about that, the better. Besides, he asked *me* about advice asking out a girl then… and that wasn't even Ladybug-me, that was Marinette-me! I honestly have no idea what Kagami could have been talking about… and I honestly have no idea how to get out of here, either. Good thing I can just go up… she took out her yo-yo and swung to the top of the nearest roof. She got her bearings from the Eiffel Tower, and swung off in what she knew was the direction of her house. I've gotta make a stop before anything else happens.
She landed on a building and surveyed the nearby burned-out husk of the Dupain-Cheng Boulangerie Patisserie. This will never happen again - not on my watch. She swung over to the vacant-for-the-summer Collège Françoise Dupont and entered a disused custodial closet. Moving mops and buckets of chemicals aside, she located the gramophone she had stashed there the other day.
She opened the gramophone to reveal the Miracle Box, and carefully looked over the Miraculous that were contained within. Let's see… I'll need the Snake for sure… the Turtle so Wayzz can help, and… yes, this one will do nicely. She put the Turtle Miraculous on her wrist and the other two Miraculous in her yo-yo, along with two small rune-covered boxes. She replaced the Miracle Box in the gramophone and re-concealed it amongst the custodial supplies. She exited the closet and yo-yo'ed her way to the Agreste mansion.
Adrien was practicing his fencing when his phone buzzed.
[Ladybug] Are you around? I need to drop something off for you.
[Adrien] Sure. Swing by whenever, I'll be here
He picked his foil back up and resumed targeting a dodging Plagg. "I'll get you yet, Plagg!" Plagg darted down low and under Adrien's desk right before a light thump was heard at the window. Adrien walked over and let Ladybug in. "Productive morning so far?" he asked as she alighted in his room.
"You could say that," she answered. "I have something for you. Hang on," She turned her back to Adrien and fiddled with her yo-yo and something on her wrist, then turned around and grinned. "Ready to be a hero again? Chat Noir and I are going to draw Serket out, and you're going to be our secret weapon." She extended a runed box to Adrien.
"Secret weapon, huh?" Adrien chuckled. If only she knew… but maybe she does! There's no telling if she's opened that envelope yet, and maybe she's just seeing how I'll react. Better play it cool just in case, since I haven't opened my envelope yet. "What's that other runed box for?"
"Oh, this? This one is for me. I figured if we're going to have a Miraculous opening party, I shouldn't be left out." She opened the other runed box, revealing the Turtle Miraculous. Wayzz materialized out of a ball of orange light.
"Greetings, Guardian. How may I be of service?"
Ladybug put the Turtle Miraculous on her wrist. "Wayzz, I'm going to need you to be watchful and feel for Miraculous energy. You knew when Serket initially activated her Miraculous; now with another Miraculous holder on the loose, we're going to need all the warning we can get. This is where you come in."
"I see, Guardian. And… him?" The kwami gestured toward Adrien.
"Wayzz, meet our new partner: Aspik. When Chat Noir was out of commission, Adrien stepped up and got us close to defeating Serket. We're going to need him again… and with the three of us together… and with a few other surprises up our sleeves… we are going to be unstoppable!"
"I… see. Of course, Guardian." Wayzz's face gave nothing away, but the hesitance in his voice made Ladybug take notice.
"Don't worry, Wayzz… even if it doesn't work, we've got to stay optimistic. We'll get Serket and Le Faisan. Now, before I forget: Adrien Agreste. This is the Miraculous of the Snake. You will use it for the greater good… that is, if you want to."
Adrien reached out tentatively and took the box, biting his lip. "Ladybug… I'm honored that you would choose me again."
"You still want to, right? I mean, I know Viperion turned me down but you and I were really successful together, and I wouldn't want you to miss this opportunity. I'll understand if you say no, just tell me now so I can go find someone else to do this."
"Relax!" Adrien opened the box before taking the bangle and clipping it on his left wrist. "Of course I'm willing to help you, Ladybug. You can count on me." He shot her what he hoped was a winning smile and gave a thumbs-up.
"Oh, thank goodness! After what Kagami said this morning, I thought things would be really weird between us and I don't think I could handle that right now, you've been so nice to me and accommodating and I'd hate to think I was taking advantage of you being such a nice person, and -"
"Whoa! Hold up, Ladybug! You're getting… ramble-y. Take a deep breath and back up a bit. What did Kagami say this morning?"
Ladybug pinked and looked at the ground for a few moments. When she looked up, she said simply, "She confirmed who Serket and Le Faisan were."
"...And?" Adrien prompted. "I can't see you getting bent out of shape over that - I mean, I thought that was old news. Right?"
"It was, yes."
"So… what's the big deal?"
"That's not all she told me. She told me that you, um, liked me. And that somewhere along the way, I broke your heart pretty bad. I have no idea how that happened, but, Adrien, I'm sorry. I honestly didn't mean to. Can you forgive me?" She looked at him, eyes wide and with a hint of tears in them, and bit her lip.
Adrien met Ladybug's gaze. He stepped forward and took her hands, green eyes searching blue. "I do, Ladybug. I'll always be yours, if you'll have me." And me being Chat Noir, which I'm guessing you still don't know yet, is the big *if* in that sentence. What I wouldn't do to kiss her right now! But… if she doesn't want Chat, I don't want to make it feel like I'm tricking her. I'll be patient… but I hope she doesn't make me wait too long.
A smile flickered across Ladybug's face. "I… I need to go. There's more to do if we want to get ready for Serket and Le Faisan. Thanks for being willing to help out. Stay close." Without another word, she leaped out the window and swung over the the guest room, Wayzz following close behind.