School was boring, it turned out. Marinette studied each night and did everything she needed to do, but it flew by quickly. The class didn't have school over the summer, but Tikki and Plagg's tutoring sessions were sporadically every week. No hint of summer except for minimal changes in clothes and tans, or in Plagg's case sunburns. That meant that their school was way ahead of most people's schedule.
Marinette's study sessions each night were partially for studying, but also trying to figure it out. Tikki had visited a week ago, and since then Marinette hadn't figured out to trigger her supposed powers. She tried magic words, thought out intentions, even a failed attempt at making a magical wand. Nothing helped her in the quest for the unimaginable.
Tonight, she sat in the chair on her balcony simply thinking of what would happen if she did have powers. Would she use them as Tikki instructed? She could make her own ways in life and be herself.
The dusk was pretty. It always was, each night for the past week. She had sat in this chair every night to watch the sunset and practice whatever it is she might possibly believe in one day. Tikki was crazy to keep her in that cage for so long. The tutoring that was going on with Fox was a much better idea. The methods they used were unorthodox, and quite frankly ruined any type of trust between them. But Tikki didn't have to be trustworthy to teach her about magic.
She sipped on a protein packed smoothie to soothe the hunger that Tikki warned about. Marinette hated that she was right. If Tikki had gone through the same thing when she was her age, she should have had more sympathy. Grumbling, she continued to stare blankly at Paris.
A whisper of air tickled her neck, and she turned. Tikki sat in the other chair, pouring herself a cup of tea out of the plastic set. She smiled at the nonexistent tea before putting it down and looking at Marinette.
"I know you're struggling with the whole magic thing. Honestly, if you didn't want me to watch the despair, you should have at least tried the wand inside." Tikki laughed, but it was detached.
"You were watching? I was alone!"
"No, you were out in the open, somewhere I shouldn't be right now. Inside, shall we?"
"You are not coming into my house. Not in a million years. My parents will hear and then I'll be in trouble for having someone over, then I'll have to explain that you're my kidnapper who has shown up twice but every time I go to call the police I either don't have my phone or you disappear," Marinette said angrily.
"I never knew a Ladybug who so easily fell into that kind of anger. So can I come in? It's a bit cold up here and I won't give any answers until I'm warm."
Marinette crawled into her room and down from her bed. Sulking, she sat on the chaise. Tikki followed, silently.
"I'll do the talking. Most people don't understand what or who I am. After more or less becoming Tikki, I lose transparency. Not to you or anyone who knew I was Ladybug or friends and family. Others who don't know won't be able to comprehend me by now. I'm a ghost of Ladybug. My Tikki didn't disappear to me. Not until the day I met you. That was the day I became Tikki, and the day I failed to recognize you as what you were.
"You were the only person who noticed me that day. I would walk through Paris with Plagg and wave to the occasional person. Not a single person waved back, to me or Plagg. I was in the park, and you came up and hugged me. I figured it out when I couldn't find my dear Tikki. She was gone because I was Tikki now. That was the day your blood began to ready itself for magic. While mine lost the ability to conjure my favorite charms, you began to find new things in odd places. A new doll among the others. A five year old wouldn't have noticed, but I did because I studied you. I saw the doll appear and your happiness. I began to despise you, taking my power.
"I never came to terms with losing my power, I know you wonder. I watched you for a year, until I accepted you were the next Ladybug and Plagg had become Plagg. We took you both on the same day, but drugged you so you weren't dealt with for another week. Two six year olds were in our workshop, and that never changed. I became colder, and Plagg became more relaxed. We almost divorced, Plagg thought we were too harsh and I thought that it was worse than it could ever be. I never told him how I felt about your treatment. I only became colder and made him more entangled in my web.
"And you. It was the easiest thing I have done in my life, kidnap a child. Each time I let you notice me, you would just hug me if you were alone. You ran into my arms that day and I simply kept you."
Marinette thought she would be taught magic, not the reasons behind the nine years of hatred and malice. It lifted something off of Tikki, and Marinette felt anger.
"You kept us in a cage that Chat couldn't lay down in because you just didn't like that I got something you didn't? That isn't how trust is built. You can teach me magic, but I will never let you be sympathized be me," Marinette said in a low voice, tears being held back by an expert.
"I have to be clear minded to teach you how to use magic. There is very little magic left in me, and I can only use it to instruct you. It was on my mind, now I can begin. A young user like you could be reading a book, kneading dough, and performing a dance while doing the most difficult spell you knew. Now, there is a reason we call you Ladybug while in that place. Only Ladybug can perform magic, and Marinette is a separated person for good reason." Tikki adjusted how she sat.
"Why am I two personalities, if only one can do magic?"
"Because if you stayed only Marinette, the magic would have never listened. It would have eaten you from the soul out. Even your appearing doll trick was sapping away control. You wouldn't like to be sitting in class and stand up to find yourself on the tip of Mount Everest, would you? No, you wouldn't, especially in those shoes," Tikki was exasperated, explaining this was hard enough, but to teach the idiot girl all of the magic?
"Fine, but what do I do first, after Ladybug?"
"Yes, you must make the spell. Not quite out of thin air, but out of thin air. You must wish for it from the bottom of your heart, cheesy but functional, and then speak whatever comes out of your mind. The first spell is always different, but there are some which need different words and equal intentions," Tikki was encouraging her.
Ladybug closed her eyes and thought about what she wanted to do. It took her a moment, but she realized what she wanted to do. Opening her eyes, she focused on the metal dress form. She studied it for another moment, then whispered the first thing she thought of.
"Dress yourself," she whispered. The fabric next to the form lifted before falling back to the floor. Ladybug frowned as Tikki looked unsurprised.
"Mean it, truly. Dress yourself," Tikki commanded at the form. The fabric lifted and wrapped itself around the form. It fell down after she lost concentration. "You see, don't whisper. Tell it, take control. It is your magic and much more powerful than my remains."
Ladybug sighed before continuing, "Dress yourself, form." The fabric lifted a bit higher.
This continued for over half an hour. Each time, the fabric would rise and fall at different heights, to Ladybug's frustration.
"You're doing the magic, but it's not a full spell. Try doing something else. If you get a full spell, I'll leave for tonight and we'll meet somewhere else because of the fact that Ladybug's specialized spells involve a lot of shouting," Tikki said.
"Unfold," Ladybug simply looked at her nicely made bed. The comforter flew back and bunched at the foot of the bed. Falling on the floor, Ladybug was ready to fall asleep.
"Side effect. Practicing your magic will help you build stamina, but every time you use the Lucky Charm you will be drained in a few minutes. It's something you have to adjust to. Also I'll teach you how to not accidentally fall into Ladybug and do unintentional magic in school," Tikki listed off these things as she climbed up to the trapdoor to the balcony. "Goodbye, whichever girl is there. I'll see you tomorrow, at the park?"
Marinette was already asleep on the floor. Tikki climbed back down and laid her comforter over her.
Marinette woke up on her floor the next morning, later than when she normally would. Her mother was the person waking her up, and she felt groggy and her neck ached.
"Marinette, why are you on the floor? Get up! School starts in half an hour," Sabine said. Marinette only caught the last sentence but jumped up from the floor. "You're still in your clothes from yesterday? Hurry!"
She jumped up and grabbed some clothes before taking her hair down to brush it and put it back up into her pigtails she had adopted. Running through her house, she picked up her backpack and grabbed the first food she found in the kitchen. She went back up to her room to grab her history book.
Passing through the bakery, her father shouted words of encouragement at her for being ready so fast. Luck was on her side, with school only a block away it would be so easy to be there on time. Until a clumsy fall landed her on the ground with her random pastry uneaten and crushed under her. Her white shirt was covered in, maybe apricot jam.
Running back to the store, she grabbed a normal croissant and changed her shirt quickly. Running back down the street, she avoided falling and ran through the school doors. The bell tang halfway up the stairs and she burst into the room a minute after the bell.
"I'm sorry," she said and slipped to her seat. Alya gave her an extra paper that had been passed out and pointed to the question they were supposed to skip. Marinette quickly flew through the questions and looked at the one they were supposed to skip. She knew the answer, and wrote it anyway.
Looking around, Alya was only halfway done but Adrien was looking around like her. She wondered whether they went the same pace or he was just bored. She guessed the former, from his homeschooling.
Mademoiselle Bustier came up a few minutes later to review the answers to this warm up. She ignored Marinette's wandering eyes but instructed Adrien to keep his eyes on the board or his paper. Again, she wondered why Adrien could do things as fast as her and let his eyes observe things during teachings. Homeschooling must have been very educational, she decided.
Thinking about homeschooling, Marinette actually forgot to pay attention to the day's teachings for a while. Blinking a few times, she listened to Mademoiselle Bustier much closer. The teacher noticed her abnormal attentiveness to the lesson and made less of a point to make sure she was truly listening today.
School passed much like her days as Ladybug did. Ladybug would wake up and get herself together and slowly mouth her repeated mantra before Chat woke, but then she would let herself loose time to the lightbulb above them before doing whatever Tikki or Plagg wanted, talked with Chat, or blink until she fell back asleep. Marinette simply sat in a desk and let the time pass and listen, moving and doing whatever her friend or schedule directed her to next.
The best part of the day was always a tie between her lunch with Alya or the park each afternoon. Her parents didn't exactly enjoy her obsession about the park she was abducted in, but they allowed her to be there for roughly an hour every day. At least they knew Alya wasn't an obsession.
The lunch that day was very bland, Marinette studying Alya's notes that she missed from her time in thought. Alya chatted with Nino and Adrien shyly read a book next to him. Chloé came singing Adrien's name and insulted the other three at the table. After that, Marinette continued studying her notes that were still very vague after she started listening.
The park, that afternoon, was much more interesting. Tikki was waiting where she normally started her route and was smiling at her. Tikki had almost never smiled, even the night before at the first successful attempt at a spell by Ladybug was met with her normal facial expressions.
"Today's the day! We are going, to maybe a gym a few miles away. We can take the Metro, and if you hold onto my arm or hand. Once nobody who saw you grab onto me initially is out of sight, we will have disappeared completely," Tikki grinned like a madman as they started walking.
"Why are we going to a gym? What are you smiling for? I've probably never seen you smile," Marinette said as she lightly held on to Tikki's arm.
"It's simple. This gym is where we kwamis meet most days. I go there almost every day. At least every other day. So, it's basically a place for me to teach you magic with no limits. You can't do the spells you want to for the first time without shouting them. Also it's where we keep the items for both starting your pathway to being a kwami and also how to contain your powers," Tikki was rapidly naming these things off, and Marinette was finding it hard to keep up. "Also, Plagg runs the place so I have very good access to making sure no one comes into our practice room before you are meant to meet them."
"Isn't it a bad thing to tell me where the man who helped kidnap me works?" Marinette mentioned the thing Tikki had let slip through her stream of words.
"Oh," Tikki's mouth was a very small o, "I guess I shouldn't have. But, hey, you won't tell at this point, not until we teach you the magic you need to control your Ladybug side. Honestly, if you slipped into Ladybug at school today, pencils might have started floating. So, the gym is called Miraculous, which is a magical pun. Stemming from Ladybug's main spell, Miraculous Ladybug. Funny, right? Cat boys love puns, I've learned time and time again."
Tikki was so loud, Marinette looked at the other passengers on the train car they had walked into. None of them seemed to be able to listen. Tikki continued to talk about Plagg and what was going on in their personal lives, but Marinette tuned her out. Her voice turned to white noise and she let the rattling of a moving train spread throughout her mind.
Tikki's cold ring hit her cheek, but left no mark. Blinking, Marinette looked around at frightened passengers. Being lightly slapped worked her out of the trance, but Tikki looked furious.
"What was that? Were you even in Ladybug form? Honestly, how are we going to control that power if you enjoy tormenting innocent people on a Metro train?" Tikki's voice got louder, but had started out extremely muted.
"What did I do? I was just focusing on the clacking of the train," Marinette thought she had done nothing.
"You, intolerant child, just made those clacking noises a lot louder than I could shout and terrified everyone, probably even the driver of this metal can." The explanation cut through her like a blade.
"I didn't mean to, I was just trying to focus on something very constant." She felt so horrible about it, and the train would probably now be called in for repairs and maintenance even though it was just her.
"Don't focus on anything so intensely until your magic is under control, okay?"
"Yeah, I won't. That probably explains why I couldn't listen to a teacher during a lesson and think at the same time today. Also probably why Alya complained that the same teacher got so much louder after I started actually paying attention in school," Marinette said before sighing.
"Don't worry, this is our stop here, and you will absolutely love our gym," Tikki smiled knowingly at the statement, but Marinette had not seen much of Paris since she came back.
The gym was not a typical gym where people go to workout and do their weekly classes of pilates and cycling. It was a boxing gym, in the center was a square platform with the familiar ring on the ground and ropes around the outside. There was a collection of punching bags, gear, and a variety of weight machines and some different styles of treadmills behind the ring, but the ring was most definitely the main attraction.
"I'm not going in that thing." Marinette said the first thing that came into her mind. Tikki walked in and went straight to the only person Marinette would have recognized. Plagg, pasty as ever, was standing there and explaining how to properly use a weight machine.
Tikki said her greetings with Marinette simmering in the background. If any person in this single gym knew what those two people had done to her and Chat for so long, they would never have come here in the first place.
"Come on, Mari. We have a specialized room for this today," Tikki grabbed her by the arm and dragged her through a door to the back of the gym. Inside it was dark and gray with black shapes indicating furniture. A few people sat in chairs and one of them was smoking a cigarette.
"Tikki, one-day-Tikki," the man with the cigarette calls from across the room. Marinette wondered if he meant her by "one-day-Tikki."
She was dragged through yet another door and into a bright room. She looked at the worn wooden floor and row of mirrors on one wall. There was a faded line of wooden poles piled up in the corner. Tikki sat down in the middle of the floor, in a painted white symbol.
A circle split in two, surrounded by a larger octagon that was split into five more sections, each section of the symbol had a different symbol in it. The white lines were clean, straight edged around the turns as if it had been painted with a stencil. Tikki simply sat on one side of the circle and Plagg came in shortly after to sit on the other side.
Marinette didn't know what to do, so she stood in the same place that she had stopped at. Tikki told her to sit on her side of the circle, and so she did. Silently.
"It is an old dance studio that we added on to. I know you were wondering, and that's not what we should be focusing on. First, to separate Marinette and Ladybug, magically speaking, you need to do this spell on your first try. Then, I will hopefully get to teach you the other spell I was talking about earlier," Tikki moved over to make more room for Marinette. "Now, to make sure you can be using magic right now, lift those old poles over there."
"Sure," Ladybug came forth from the depths of Marinette's mind and Marinette went to those depths. Focusing on the poles, she thought the word Lift and each one floated above them. She focused them back to where they initially stood.
"Now, the spell you need to survive the rest of your life is quite easy. Shout it, and I mean shout it. Spots on!" Tikki called out and a pink flash bathed the room. "That's what it will look like, and it will keep you from doing what you did in the Metro.
Ladybug repeated the words Tikki had told her and the room flashed the same hue once again. No trace of Marinette was there. Two minds were not fighting inside her head for the first time in nine years. Tikki was smiling happily, a bit translucent. The magic Ladybug performed had taken its toll on both of them, Tikki caught up in the past and Ladybug in the new red suit she was wearing.
"Where did this spandex come from?"
"It's called perks. Now this next spell can be quite tricky, but I'm sure you'll get it soon. It's called Miraculous Ladybug." Tikki's eyes were glazed thick with memories.