CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE:

JUSTIFICATIONS

This was the third time in her life that Marinette had been arrested by the palace guards.

The first two times had been on Volpina's orders (and both had nearly gotten Marinette killed). This time, the order had come directly from Marinette's future father-in-law.

She wasn't exactly on trial, but she certainly felt like it, standing in the presence of the King of Agreste on the grand balcony.

Gabriel had his back to her as he stared over the sleeping city before him. He said nothing while Marinette told him the details about what she had done, but she could practically feel the negative thoughts radiating off of him.

Lieutenant Roger stood beside the king, looking pretty proud of himself for being the one to bring Marinette in when she had surrendered to his men at the city gates.

Despite their rough history, the blunette couldn't find it in her heart to be mad at the stout soldier. He was just a man doing his job. And Marinette had robbed him of his greatest prisoner.

Adrien stayed by her side the whole time, his hand clasped with hers and his eyes locked on his father. His presence and support made Marinette feel braver.

Meanwhile, her parents stood anxiously by the marble pillars with Alya, Nino, Master Fu, and the four kwamis. All of them were fidgeting with their hands. Well, everyone except the Great Guardian, of course.

When Marinette finished speaking, Gabriel took in a long breath and let it out slowly. Then, he turned to face his son's bride-to-be.

"Frankly, my dear," he said with unflinching seriousness, "your actions were most disappointing. As good as your intentions were, you still aided in the escape of a wanted criminal."

Marinette swallowed a hard lump, but she nodded. "I know," she said.

"Yet you returned here, knowing full well of the consequences you would face."

"I did."

Roger let out feigned sigh. "It is tragic, Your Majesty, but the street rat has obviously followed in her sister's footsteps," he said with a sly gleam at Marinette.

Adrien shot him a dirty look, and Alya growled from behind.

Sabine took one step forward, her silver eyes colder than steel. "Watch what you say about my daughter, lieutenant," she said lowly.

Roger huffed. "With all due respect, Madam, the evidence against your daughter cannot hide the truth of who she is." He gazed over at Marinette once again. "A criminal."

Tom's face contorted with rage.

Master Fu drummed his fingers on the top of his cane.

"Objection, Your Honour!" Tikki shouted, zooming up to King Gabriel's face. She was wearing what looked like a lawyer's business suit.

Plagg flew beside her, wearing similar clothes and carrying a miniature, black suitcase.

Tikki lifted her chin haughtily. "I object to that outrageous statement!" she declared.

Her partner flew over to the baffled Roger. "And I object to a tertiary character having any lines during our big courtroom scene." Plagg grinned mischievously and tossed the tiny suitcase to the guard. "Here – take this to a higher court. Ciao!"

Plagg snapped his paw, and Roger suddenly shot into the air on a pillar of green fire.

The poor man let out a girlish scream as he went flying over the palace and out of sight.

Adrien was fighting the urge to laugh, as were the others. Only Marinette and the king remained impassive, the former shooting Tikki a concerned glance.

The ladybug kwami returned to her normal self and bowed to the king. "Your Honour, if I may enter a plea of insanity?" she suggested... before flying over and grasping Marinette's cheek in a painful hug. "Because I'm crazy about this girl!" she giggled brightly.

Marinette pushed her little friend away. "Tikki..." she said firmly. "I can handle this myself."

Tikki cringed and waddled back, her antennae drooping.

With a deep breath, Marinette let go of Adrien's hand and walked over to Gabriel, who regarded her wearily now.

"Your Majesty," the blunette began, "I convinced Bridgette to come here. It was my fault." She lowered her gaze to the floor and rubbed her arms as though she had a sudden chill. "I would have been better off if I had never known her."

Tom's shoulder's sagged. Sabine's hitched up in a wince.

Then, Marinette felt a warm hand intertwine with hers.

"Milady," Adrien said, lifting her chin to look up at him. His emerald eyes were proud and sincere. "You found your long-lost sister; a sister who risked her freedom to see your wedding, even if it was for the wrong intentions." He smiled. "And you had every reason to leave Bridgette behind bars, but instead you risked everything to help her." The prince now looked at his father. "Just like my family went to extreme lengths to help me."

Gabriel's eyebrows shot up, no doubt reeling from the memory of the final battle with Volpina and Darkblade. The king shook his head gently. "Adrien, that was a matter of life and death," he insisted.

"So was this," Master Fu said calmly as he stepped forward. "Bridgette was sentenced to a life of imprisonment. How could her own family live with something like that while they enjoyed the comforts of luxury?"

The king opened his mouth to say something... but then stopped. His brow furrowed and he made that low humming noise he always did when contemplating a problem.

Marinette smiled at Master Fu with gratitude, but she knew this wasn't over just yet.

Sure enough, Gabriel cleared his throat and straightened up. "Marinette, you know I cannot overlook your sister's crimes. If she were to ever set foot in Agreste again..."

"I understand," Marinette said solemnly.

The king nodded and lifted a finger. "Now, concerning what you have done..."

Adrien held Marinette closer to him.

Master Fu quirked an eyebrow, as did Wayzz. Tom and Sabine held their breaths. Tikki covered her eyes. Plagg chewed on his claws like they were corn on the cob. Trixx twisted her tail in her paws. Nino squeezed Alya's shoulder, and she squeezed his hand back with a look of apprehension.

King Gabriel's mouth curled at the end. "For what it's worth," he said more kindly, "you helped your sister out of love. Not only that, but you came back to take responsibility for your actions." He seemed to roll his eyes to the heavens before stating, "Let us put this whole matter behind us."

Marinette's smile brightened, as did Adrien's.

The others sighed with great relief, their bodies hunching over. Plagg spat out nail shavings, and Trixx frowned at her scrunched tail. Master Fu just smiled with satisfaction.

The king looked over at Marinette's parents with a hint of amusement. "And I do believe we have postponed the wedding long enough, wouldn't you say?" he asked.

Sabine inhaled with excitement, and Tom's mustache lifted up into a grin. "Yes! I do say we have!" the baker declared.

Marinette suddenly felt herself being lifted into her prince's loving arms, and he kissed her on the cheek. She laughed and returned the gesture.

"YAY!" the four kwamis cheered in unison, sending tiny fireworks into the air.

"Good call!" Alya cheered, giving a thumbs-up.

"Okay! Let's get this party started!" Nino whooped, waving his fist around in circles.

Marinette's heart roared with joy. Fate, it seemed, could never keep her and Adrien apart, no matter what obstacles fell in their path. So much for Duusu's silly prophecy, the blunette thought.

She placed her hands on her prince's face. "I agree, Kitty. Let's get married right now. Tonight."

Adrien raised an eyebrow. "Now? It's past midnight, Milady."

"But I don't want to wait anymore!" Marinette groaned playfully. "I want to get married before any more crazy stuff happens."

"HELP!"

Everyone snapped around to the source of the scream, which came from below the balcony.

Her blood freezing over, Marinette rushed over to the railing and looked down.

She gasped at what she saw... or rather, who she saw.

"Alix?!"

The little speedster was dangling from the edge, her legs kicking out as she struggled to heave herself up.

"What the heck did your bug friend put in these things?!" Alix shrieked, eyeballing her new wheeled shoes, which were glowing with red and yellow light. "I almost ran all the way to the moon!"

Marinette frowned at Tikki, who blinked in surprise before frowning at Plagg.

"What?" the black-cat kwami asked with a fanged grin. "I just thought a little speed boost might make things more interesting."

Tikki rolled her eyes. "Paws off my spells, Stinkysock," she grumbled.

"Wayzz, would you...?" Nino began.

The turtle kwami nodded and hovered over to Alix.

Before long, the pink-haired girl was floating up and onto the balcony in a protective field of green. She collapsed to her knees, pale-faced and gasping for breath.

As Nino and Marinette went over to her, King Gabriel's brow furrowed. "What is she doing here?" he demanded thunderously.

Alix held up a protective hand. "Please...! Friends...! Hawk...!" she panted.

"Father, let her speak," Adrien urged.

"Deep breaths, little dudette," Nino said, patting Alix on the back. "In and out. That's it. There you go."

Alix's breathing slowed, and she finally looked up at Marinette with fearful eyes. "I came... as fast as I could," she said, licking her lips. "It's... Bridgette."

Marinette blinked.

"Bridgette?" Sabine ran over with the look of a mother's dread. "What about her? Is she all right?"

Alix shook her head. "No... It's... Hawkmoth."

Marinette's hand flew to her cold cheek. "What?!" she rasped.

"Hawkmoth?" Adrien asked, glancing at his fiancée. "Isn't that the man who gave you that cut on your arm?"

Marinette unconsciously reached for the spot where the silver sword had sliced her. Tikki had long sense healed it without so much as a scar, but the memory of the pain could never be erased.

"What cut?" Tom asked. "Who's this Moth... whatever?"

"Hold on," Alya broke in. "I thought Mari beat him."

Alix shook her head more rigorously. "He's not beat – he's back!" she cried. "He took my friends captive, including Bridgette! He's taking them to the Vanishing Isle!"

Plagg gasped, his oblong pupils thinning. "He's going for the Hand of Midas!"

"The Hand of what?" Gabriel asked, his face going slack with overwhelming confusion. "What is going here?"

"All right, all right – everyone calm down," Adrien stated, waving his hands. "We need to take a step back and come up with a plan."

Marinette clenched her fists. "There is no plan," she said.

Silence fell everywhere, save for the distant sound of crickets in the gardens.

All eyes turned to the bitter blunette, all of them wide with surprise.

"This is Bridgette's problem, not ours," Marinette said coldly, walking over to the railing. "She chose to go back to that life, and I told her that I didn't want any part in it anymore."

Tom and Sabine looked as though they were staring at someone other than their daughter.

Alya was instantly beside her best friend, resting a hand on her shoulder. "Mari, I know your sister made a lot of bad choices," she said in that Chief Advisor tone, "but that doesn't mean that you have to."

Marinette barely glanced over her shoulder, her gaze softening.

Plagg practically flew into her face. "You saw what Skull-Face did to you. Can you imagine what he'll do to Bridgette?" he asked worryingly.

"He's got the rest of the Seven too," Alix added. "Once he gets the Hand, Mothball will kill them all just to tie-up loose ends. Ladybug..." She reverted back to that earnest tone. "You're the only one who can save my family now."

Marinette reeled at that word: Family.

That's right. Bridgette was all Alix had left. Her, and those other people who had briefly befriended Marinette at Mount Sesame. Kim, little Max, that girl with the copper eye...

Marinette had accused Bridgette of running away from her family... but the younger blunette never considered that her sister had become part of another family.

Marinette bit her lip, and she ran her fingers over her arm again. All of a sudden, she felt unbearably ashamed.

If Hawkmoth truly was alive, he wouldn't hesitate to exact his revenge on the Queen of Thieves, who had tricked him into facing her sister in the Challenge. I barely survived against him on my own, Marinette thought with a shiver.

Adrien noticed the fear and guilt in his lady's eyes. "She's your sister, Marinette," he said gingerly. "How can you do anything else?"

Marinette turned to look at her true love. Then her parents. Then Alya and Nino. Then the kwamis. Finally, she caught Master Fu's thoughtful gaze.

"It's your choice, Marinette," the Guardian said. "But remember what I told you long ago, on that frozen mountain: while our hearts can sometimes lead us astray..."

"... we always find a way back on the right path." Marinette finished for him, her bluebell eyes gleaming with realization.

Master Fu smiled and dipped his head.

Marinette stared at seemingly nothing for a good, long minute.

Bridgette might have chosen to steal the Miraculous, but it was Marinette who had tried to change her on the hope that she could erase her sister's past and give her clean slate. Marinette had made some bad choices in the past too, but she fought to make things right again in the end.

Maybe... I'm the one who needs to make things right with my sister.

She could never change who Bridgette was, she knew that now. But that didn't mean Marinette couldn't accept it; learn to live with it. Maybe even love it.

The young blunette brushed her midnight ponytails behind her ears, and she snorted with amusement. "I guess we're more alike than I thought," she said aloud. "We're both equally stubborn."

She could sense everyone's curious gazes on her back.

Then, Marinette turned to smile at Alix. "Show me the way!" she said with unwavering yet cocky resolve.

Adrien bore his Cat Noir grin.

Alix beamed and nearly feinted from exhaustion.

Tom and Sabine smiled proudly at their daughter.

The others cheered and pounded their fists into the air.

King Gabriel just took the calm shrug Master Fu gave him and rubbed his temples. "I'm getting too old for this," the king moaned.

"Wait a minute," Alix suddenly broke in, her senses reawakening. "The ship's halfway across the sea by now. We'll need a ship that's ten-times faster in order to reach them!"

Marinette looked over considerately at Alya.

Her best friend grinned, her amber eyes glowing. "Who says we're taking a ship?" she asked deviously, patting the bright, fox-tail pendant at her throat.

Marinette looked at Adrien, who nodded with determination. I'll follow you to the ends of the earth, those bold, green eyes told her.

Despite the initial fear of dragging her beloved into danger again, Marinette knew it was the right decision. We'll face it together – all of us.

One last adventure to add to our story.

Marinette hoped it would still have a happy ending.