"This is crazy," Alya whispered as she stared at her best friend's motionless body. Her eyes rose and met Nino's, who sat across from her next to Adrien. The old man stood between the beds, waving around his hands and muttering things under his breath.
"Yo, Mr. Fu dude, they're gonna be okay, right?" Nino asked, staring at the old man desperately.
"I'm not entirely sure," Master Fu snapped. Nino shrank away and bowed his head. Tikki, Plagg, and Wayzz watched from the doorway. Tikki flinched at Master Fu's tone.
"What's wrong with him?" she asked Wayzz. The green kwami sighed.
"The battle against Hawk Moth wasn't exactly an easy one. Master Fu is angry that Marinette and Adrien let their guards down and you two had to pay for it."
"But what about when they brought us back to life?" Plagg argued. "They sacrificed themselves for us!"
"Maybe Master Fu doesn't see it like that." Plagg shot him a glare while Tikki watched the ritual with worry. She had already blocked out the boys when Plagg began to argue. Her only focus now was Marinette. Even Plagg had to admit he felt a bit of worry for Adrien.
Master Fu took a deep breath and stepped away from the beds. "I've done all that I can. The rest is up to them." He clasped his hands behind his back and watched each kid carefully. The kwamis flew across the room and hovered over both beds. Nino and Alya hesitantly stood next to their best friends. The room was silent and filled with tension. Alya could feel tears well up in her eyes. Nino took a few deep breaths to keep himself calm. Even the kwamis were beginning to get anxious. They should've woken up by now. Why haven't they?
"C'mon bro," Nino pleaded softly, grabbing Adrien's shoulder.
"Marinette," Alya choked out, taking her best friend's hand. "Mari, you have to wake up. You were my first friend at Françoise Dupont. Without you, who's going to be around to help me ward off Chloe?"
Nino smirked. "Think of all the pretty ladies you're gonna be disappointing back home." That made Alya giggle and wipe away her tears.
"You two are good friends," Master Fu observed. "You were friends before you found out they were Chat Noir and Ladybug, correct?"
Alya nodded. "We all became friends on the first day of school." Master Fu hummed, but didn't say anything more.
Suddenly, there was a jerk in Adrien's body and the boy sat up gasping for air. Everybody in the room jumped in surprise. A moment later, Marinette slowly rose into a sitting position while holding her head in her hands.
"What happened?" Adrien asked, looking around at his friends and Master Fu. More tears slid down Alya's cheeks, but she didn't care. She threw her arms around Marinette and pulled her best friend close.
"Marinette!" she cried. "You're okay!"
Nino couldn't stop himself from grinning from ear to ear. He caught Adrien's tired hand and pulled the boy into a tight bro hug. When he pulled away, Nino wiped pretend sweat from his forehead and laughed, "You really had us worried there, bro!" He looked over to Marinette, who was laughing as Alya hugged her to death. "You both did."
Marinette looked to Adrien and he looked back. They reached across the space between them, joined hands, and smiled.
"Mari!" Tikki cried, nuzzling her small head against Marinette's chin. Adrien's eyes lit up when he saw his kwami grinning up at him.
"Tikki, Plagg!" Marinette cheered, grinning so big her cheeks began to hurt.
"I'm so glad you two are alright," Adrien breathed in relief.
Plagg smirked. "Can't get rid of us that easily!"
"Although it is heartwarming to see you kids reuniting with everyone, we do still have a very serious matter to discuss," Master Fu stated, his voice tight with seriousness and, maybe, a hint of anger.
Adrien and Marinette turned to face the old man, along with their friends and kwamis. Master Fu reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out three small accessories for everyone to see.
Marinette's eyes widened. "They're fixed." Laying in his hand was not pieces of broken miraculouses, but a complete set of black earrings with a full ring sitting next to them. It was like they were never destroyed in the first place.
"It's quite extraordinary, actually. I've watched over miraculouses and their kwamis for some time now, yet I've never seen a miraculous actually break, nor have I seen it be fixed. I never dreamed a couple of children would be capable of fusing the power of the miraculouses back together again." Master Fu forced a small smile. "You two are special, that's for sure."
Adrien and Marinette exchanged proud smiles. "However!" Master Fu snapped, drawing their attention back to them. "The behavior you both showed in that final battle was simply unacceptable. You put the lives of yourselves, your kwamis, and all of Paris in danger."
"But we couldn't do anything-" Marinette tried to defend.
"You can always do something," Master Fu scolded, shooting her a disapproving look.
"I'm sorry, sir, but that's not true," Adrien stated. Master Fu looked at him in surprise. "We were trapped beneath metal bars and couldn't move, sure, but Hawk Moth planned for my power specifically. I had a metal glove over my right hand and using my Cataclysm would've been completely useless to everyone. We were helpless."
Master Fu tsked. "Then maybe I should give these miraculouses to a team who aren't so easily helpless."
"What?" Tikki gasped. Plagg flew to Master Fu.
"Master Fu, please think about this," the black kwami begged.
"I have thought about this. I've been thinking about it ever since we brought these two back here. Maybe it was my mistake in the first place, trusting such a huge responsibility to a couple of kids."
"No!" Marinette cried. She slammed a fist into the bed and shook her head. "No, you didn't make a mistake! Adrien and I can handle this job. We've been handling it for a year now! We might've gotten stuck a few times, but we always, always found a way. I know we messed up big this time, but we literally gave everything we had to try and fix it."
"Yeah," Adrien agreed. "We don't want anybody hurt. We always take our job seriously, even if it might seem like we don't sometimes…" He thought about all of the jokes and puns he's made on the job. "This has never been a game for us, Master Fu. It's never been just for fun. We understand the lives that are at stake and that we're protecting all of Paris. We understand it all. Please, please rethink your decision. Give us another chance."
Wayzz stared at the kids in surprise. In a low whisper, he told the old man, "They make a pretty good argument. Don't forget how old you were when we first met."
Master Fu waved him away. His mind was set and the decision was final. He would find new holders and protectors in the morning.
But a voice in his head told him he actually was making a mistake. These two have shown to be quite the team on numerous occasions. Even when they were just starting out and had to fight with an akuma invasion, they managed to save the day. They're both quick on their feet and obviously care about each other and the people around them a lot. And the power they hold is simply unfathomable.
The old man took a deep breath. "Fine, I'll give you one last chance. But this is it, you understand? One more slip up like this and you're done."
Smiles broke out across all the kids' faces. Adrien and Marinette eagerly grabbed their miraculouses and put them back on. Adrien turned the ring around his finger and sighed happily at the familiar feel. Marinette clicked her earrings back in her ears and suddenly felt complete again.
Outside, people screamed about some kid terrorizing the city. Adrien and Marinette slid off the tables and turned to each other. With a grin, they called to their kwamis and transformed.
"My best friend is a superhero!" Alya cried.
"So cool," Nino said, grinning.
Chat Noir took Ladybug's hand and smirked. "Shall we, my lady?"
Ladybug squeezed his hand. "Let's go get ourselves a butterfly."