Chapter 13: Dungeon Master
Inspired by the success with Snow, Ladybug contacts Cat Noir and reminds him they have to try again to talk with Fumikage Tokoyami. Cat Noir insists on knowing if everything is okay and what the whole mysterious akuma person was about. Ladybug, however, remembering Giselle's feelings for Cat Noir, says that Cat Noir shouldn't worry—it all went fine, and she can't give any more details. She tells him a time to meet and talk to Fumikage and then hangs up. Ladybug then wonders if she should try to push Giselle and Cat Noir together. After all, Giselle is a nice girl who really cares about Cat Noir, and if Cat Noir fell in love with Snow, it would get him off Ladybug's case. Then she wouldn't have to worry about breaking his heart because she loves Adrien Agreste. Tikki tries to discourage this line of thought; however, she can't say the real reason (because Adrien is Cat Noir).
Before this can happen, they need to get through a day at school. Marinette sees Giselle and almost approaches her to ask if she's okay (after all, she did give up her late mother's bracelet). However, she realizes she can't say anything because Marinette doesn't know about that—only Ladybug does.
Also at school, one of the students from Ms. Mendeleiev's class, Viktor Vasiliev, is hanging up signs for a new DnD club he wishes to start. He's fairly reserved and soft spoken (with Russian ancestry), so he's hoping this will help him make friends. Max Kante and Fumikage both express interest in the club; however, Chloe Bourgeois mocks it mercilessly as a nerd hobby. Nathaniel Kurtzberg and Marc Anciel turn it down as they're busy working on a comic for "the best manga producer in Japan" as Lila Rossi promised. Viktor tries to work up the nerve to ask his crush, Mireille Caquet, if she'd like to join, but he is just to shy to even approach her. (If you'd like to see which background character I selected to be Victor, you can find the labeled image (( photos . app . goo . gl / cgLSrNi71rxfep9e8 ))(remove the spaces).)
That afternoon, Viktor starts to set up in a spare room. However, Chloe kicks him out, insisting she has priority for the room (as she and Sabrina are filming a "Ladybug and Me" webisode featuring Chloe as both Queen Bee and Ladybug to toot her own horn.) Viktor Vasiliev packs up his things and heads to the art room; however, it's full as well. Yet a third time, Viktor goes to find a place for the DnD club to meet. He asks to use Miss Bustier's classroom; however, she has to refuse him due to a parent-teacher conference.
Frustrated, Viktor sits down on the steps in the courtyard. He's holding it together up until this point, but when Principal Damocles comes by and tells him to spend his time on practical stuff, such as homework, instead of wasting it on games, Viktor crosses the negative emotion horizon. Hawk Moth sends him akuma, turning Viktor into Dungeon Master, who in turn turns the entire school into his game board. This includes turning everyone who was left on campus getting turned into NPCs. To further add salt to the wound, it's the moment Fumikage approaches him to play DnD that Viktor is transformed. Just a few more seconds would have calmed him. Fumikage winds up being witness to the transformation and ducks out of sight just before the entire school becomes a game. This sparks Fumikage's transformation into Tsukuyomi.
From just outside of the school, Alya Cesaire and Nino Lahiffe notice the entire building transformation, so they send out an Akuma Alert. This allows the area to be safely evacuated before any more people get roped into the game. Tsuyu Asui happened to be one of the people outside as she was on her way to swim practice. However, she gets the alert and realizes that Fumikage is still inside as she knows he was going to join the DnD club. She turns and runs back, sneaking in through a window. Instead of getting caught and being turned into an NPC, her goggles transform her into Froppy. (Also note, Tsuyu and Fumikage are borrowed from My Hero Academia.)
Ladybug and Cat Noir arrive fairly quickly. They briefly talk to Nino and Alya and then head in. However, as soon as they hit the courtyard, they're thrown into the game world that involves rolling the dice to determine monster spawns and strengths, secret passages, mysterious treasure chests (there HAS to be a mimic encounter), and all kinds of other DnD lore. (Maybe call it by a generic name like how My Little Pony has Ogres and Oubliettes and Subeta has Mahars and Mazes. Lord of the Labyrinth? Gorges and Goblins?)
There's also all the funny-ness of the roles the stranded cast get. Like maybe Chloe is an NPC waitress, forced to explain DnD alliances. Principal Damocles might be a guard while Miss Bustier is a lore-spewing minstrel or something.
The game mechanics are REALLY throwing Ladybug and Cat Noir for a loop. Both are very experienced at video games, but not so much the dice-roll based DnD. Some bad roles wind up with a ton of enemies spawning on top of them not wanting to hurt the innocent people who are also present. That's when Tsukuyomi and Froppy swing in and, for all intents and purposes, join their party. It helps having Tsukuyomi around as he at least knows DnD basics. However, Ladybug and Cat Noir keep on calling him Crow-man by accident. Tsukuyomi has much better control of his abilities this appearance as it's not that pitch black—this is something all of the other three characters notice.
The four of them make their way to the "throne room" and challenge Dungeon Master. It's a battle of dice and RNG. Fortunately, Ladybug represents good luck, allowing the RNG in her favor. Poor Cat Noir who represents bad luck on an RNG dependent encounter…
They're able to de-evilize Viktor Vasiliev and restore the school. After the obligatory purify the akuma, world-healing wave and "Pound It," Froppy and Tsukuyomi go to leave. However, Ladybug and Cat Noir see their chance to talk to both of them—especially Tsukuyomi, who they both know is Fumikage (though they are respectful enough of secret identities not to reveal it.)
Tsukuyomi says he still doesn't really trust them. They attacked him last time, which sent his powers berserk, without even talking to him. Ladybug does apology for that and again asks to talk with them. Tsukuyomi says he'll answer three questions. Ladybug and Cat Noir exchange a look—they know they need to make these questions count.
Ladybug recalls what she learned from Giselle and what she saw in Chloe, so the first question she asks is where Tsukuyomi and Froppy got their miraculous from. Both are willing to reveal they bought them like normal purchases in normal stores (though they won't say which stores as that might give away their identities.) Ladybug mentally notes that that's different from Giselle, who got hers from her mother, but it does match with Chloe. She does wonder why and how a normal store would be selling magical items, but she can't ask that now.
Cat Noir asks the next question (but remember he hasn't heard the conversation with Giselle). His approach is that he does thank them for their help, but he reminds them that being a superhero is very dangerous. They can't just do it for glory or ego—and they have to be extremely careful that Hawk Moth won't use them and be sure he isn't already using them already. Tsukuyomi tells him to get to the point. So Cat Noir asks what it will take for Tsukuyomi and Froppy to trust him and Ladybug—and to let them deal with Hawk Moth so that they and their families (Tsukuyomi and Froppy) won't get hurt.
Tsukuyomi isn't very happy with this one, and he counters with "Are you sure you're not the one doing heroics for glory and ego?" Froppy winds up talking both guys down and points out that Ladybug and Cat Noir's transformation timers are about to run out. Froppy also points out that all she and Tsukuyomi genuinely want to do is help people.
Ladybug asks one more question—do you know what a kwami is? Both of them give her a blank look. Ladybug thanks them and she and Cat Noir have to depart. They detransform with only a small barrier between them. Adrien asks through the divide what Ladybug thinks about the whole situation and why did she ask about kwamis? Marinette explains that she talked to Snow Leopard and learned her miraculous doesn't have a kwami, so she thought it might be the same for Crow-man and Froppy. She also points out Chloe as Queen Bee never had a kwami either. But as to what it means? She has no idea. Adrien wonders aloud if it really is a bad thing to have help. Marinette points out that it risks more people's families as well as adding more miraculous into circulation that could fall into Hawk Moth's hands (as she doesn't think Hawk Moth is connected to these new miraculous). That's why Rena Rouge and Carapace and Kamaitachi aren't allowed to keep their miraculous on a permanent basis. Adrien does point out that for those three, their miraculous are clearly loans from Master Fu. However, with Crow-man and the others, it sounds like they legitimately bought them, making these new miraculous their possessions. If he and Ladybug tried to take them, it'd be stealing.
Marinette points out that that's something they should look into—who is selling miraculous? How were they made or where were they found? And does this mystery seller have good intentions? Or something else entirely? Are they looking at a new ally? Or is this the work of a new enemy who is using people like Fumikage and Chloe?
Adrien admits he doesn't have answer, but they have a place to start. Fumikage and Chloe are both students at this school, so there's only so many places they could have shopped to buy buttons and a hair comb. If they can retrace those purchases, maybe they'll find out answers. Marinette agrees that's a good idea, and she'll look into things too. They part ways. Adrien feels a massive temptation to peek at Ladybug's identity, but he holds himself back.
Fumikage, now detransformed, approaches Viktor, who is about to put away his DnD stuff. Fumikage expresses an interest in playing, which perks Viktor up. This is the start of a friendship.
To be continued in Chapter 14: Catalyst/Mayura…