Disclaimer: I do not own any characters or elements relating to Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir.

Miraculous: Borderline

Chapter 19: Turmoil

Plagg returned to Adrien half an hour later with his ring, phasing through the wall of his room and appearing in front of him.

"Who did you pick to be me?" Adrien asked as he put on the ring.

Plagg shrugged as he flew over to the plate of Camembert cheese. "Your best friend."

"Oh!" Adrien thought for a moment then grinned. "That was a great choice."

Plagg rolled his eyes. "Of course it was! I'm me, after all."

Plagg launched an entire slice of cheese into his mouth and promptly burped.

Adrien's smile faded. "Plagg, how does Marinette fit into any of this?"

Plagg sighed dramatically. "Aw, not this again!"

Adrien sat up in the chair. "Because Marinette transformed into Ladybug right in front of my eyes tonight, yet in the end, she gave her miraculous to Chloe!"

Plagg frowned. "Chloe? That annoying girl who always hangs onto your arm?"

Adrien waved his comment aside. "Yeah, well, I don't know what's going on, but I do know that Marinette and Chloe never get along—which is why I doubt that Marinette is Ladybug."

Plagg didn't blink an eye. Instead, he stuffed another piece of cheese into his face.

"Why?" Plagg mumbled around the cheese in his mouth.

"Because," Adrien said. "If Marinette is Ladybug, and she doesn't get along well with Chloe, then why would Marinette give Chloe a miraculous in the first place? Marinette's always saying that Chloe doesn't have enough of a sense of responsibility to do her class homework, let alone be in charge of a miraculous."

Plagg gulped down another piece of cheese. "Then it's not her. End of story."

Plagg gave an enormous yawn. "Now, can we talk about something else? All this serious stuff is making me really tired."

Adrien didn't say anything but he turned to look out the window. Paris looked really beautiful at night, with the Eiffel Tower lit up with soft lights and the residential areas glowing with their own golden lights.

Yet inside, Adrien couldn't feel happy.

It surprised him to realize that the thought that Marinette wasn't Ladybug made him sad. He felt disappointed somehow. It was almost as if he'd been hoping that it'd been her this whole time, and now that he'd found out the truth, he felt devastated.

Tikki and Marinette giggled together as Marinette showed Tikki her newest jacket design. There wasn't really anything to laugh about, but being reunited with Tikki was enough to make Marinette laugh at nearly everything.

Marinette's room felt brighter and happier than it had in a long time, despite the long shadows of night that crept in as the moon rose in the sky.

After having given Chloe her Ladybug miraculous, Marinette had met up with Chloe at the Grand Paris hotel and exchanged miraculouses. Chloe got back Pollen and Marinette got back Tikki.

All was right with the world.

Chloe and Marinette hadn't needed to say anything. No explanation was offered. Both of them were glad to get back their rightful miraculous, and even Chloe had no snide comment. It seemed as if their petty rivalry had happened years ago, for as Marinette and Chloe parted, they hugged each other and with that, sealed their mutual friendship.

Now, all Marinette had to do left was talk with Master Fu on everything that happened. It was time to tell him the truth.

It was a beautiful morning in Paris. The birds were whistling outside the window and the city was starting to stir with its murmur of conversation and rush of cars commuting from and to the city.

Master Fu set some tea cups on the table and raised his head as he heard someone knock.

"Master Fu?" said the timid voice.

"Come in, Marinette," Master Fu replied with a smile.

Marinette came in and shut the screen door softly. "Uh, Master Fu? I...have to tell you something."

Master Fu nodded slowly. "I know what you're going to say, Marinette, and I don't blame you. You and Tikki have an inseparable relationship, and I believe that it was the right thing to do to save the miraculous of creation." Master Fu frowned. "But I do know that these kinds of wishes take a terrible toll."

Master Fu turned and started entering the password to the Miracle Box. "Look at this."

The Miracle Box opened and Marinette leaned over to stare at its contents. "What—"

Marinette suddenly gasped. "Oh no! The Fox miraculous is gone!"

Master Fu nodded. "It disappeared as soon as the Ladybug miraculous was restored."

Master Fu looked at Tikki, who hovered over Marinette's shoulders. "What you did, telling Cat Noir to use his cataclysm to destroy the Ladybug earrings, was a very risky move."

Tikki nodded. "Yes, Master, but I felt as if I had no choice."

Master Fu sighed. "Just be careful, both of you. These powers are not to be taken lightly. And it could've been worse. The miraculous of destruction, the ultimate balance to the Ladybug miraculous, could've been destroyed."

Marinette and Tikki both bowed their heads.

"Now," Master Fu said. "Was there something else you wanted to ask me?"

Marinette hesitated. Should she tell him about Gabriel Agreste? What would Master Fu say?

"Master Fu—" Marinette began when an explosion rocked the streets.

Marinette ran over to the window. "Oh no!"

Stoneheart was smashing the streets, halting traffic and driving cars into nearby buildings.

Marinette looked over at Master Fu, and he smiled and nodded at her. "Go, Marinette," he encouraged.

Marinette smiled. "Thank you, Master Fu, for everything."

She ran out of the room with Tikki in tow.

Master Fu smiled. "What do you think, Wayzz?"

Wayzz zipped over to Master Fu's shoulder. "I guess you weren't wrong about her."

Master Fu looked out the window to see Marinette sprinting down the streets.

He sighed. "Let's just hope that she'll be enough to stop Hawk Moth once and for all."

End of Chapter 19: Turmoil