A/N - Hey, welcome back to the story! This chapter has got just a hint of Adrienette (Adrien/Marinette) in it... but don't worry, that will be explored further a little ways down the road.
Eeveecat1248 - Haha, I'm glad you think so! I was hesitant to change the lions to the respective Miraculous animals because I thought it would be completely ridiculous (of course it's a little ridiculous), but I'm glad you like it!
Anyway, I hope you enjoy the chapter!
"Oh no," Nino groaned.
"They're gaining on us." Alya warned Chloe, who was focused on piloting the bee. She frowned.
"It's strange. They aren't trying to shoot us anymore. They're just chasing us." She commented.
"Okay, seriously, now we think having aliens follow us is good?" Nino asked, clearly fed up. "I am not on board with this new direction, dudes."
Everyone ignored him.
"Where are we?" Adrien asked.
"Edge of the solar system." Marinette replied, looking out the window. "There's Kerberos."
Her chest tightened as she looked upon the planet. That was where she had been captured. She squeezed her eyes shut and tried to push down the feelings of fear and panic.
She felt a hand take hers.
Adrien.
Marinette opened her eyes to see him offer her an encouraging smile. Suddenly, she remembered why she had been so head over heels for this boy. Maybe-
"It takes months for our ships to get out this far," Alya commented, breaking Marinette out of her trance. Adrien's hand slipped out of hers. "We got out here in five seconds."
A burst of blue light drew their attention back to the front window.
"What is that?" Nino asked nervously. It looked to be some sort of portal… and the bee was headed straight towards it.
"Uh, this may seem crazy, but I think the bee wants us to go through there." Chloe told them. They were silent for a moment.
"Where does it go?" Alya asked hesitantly.
"I-I don't know." She admitted. Swallowing her pride, she turned to Marinette. "Marinette, you're the senior officer here. What should we do?"
Marinette looked surprised at Chloe's question, and considered it for a moment.
"Whatever's happening, the bee knows more than we do. I say we trust it, but we're a team now. We should decide together." She replied. After exchanging a few quick glances with the rest of the team, the answer became clear. Alya even placed a hand on Chloe's shoulder, giving the other girl an encouraging smile.
"Alright," Chloe said with a smile. "Guess we're all ditching class tomorrow."
Closing her eyes, she guided the bee into the portal.
"Ugh," Nino groaned as they emerged from the portal.
"Again, Nino?" Chloe scolded him. The smell of vomit was already spreading throughout the cockpit.
"I'm just surprised it took this long." Alya remarked.
"I don't recognize any of these constellations." Marinette said, gazing out of the window at the unfamiliar territory. "We must be a long, long way from Earth."
Chloe's eyes remained focused on the screen in front of her, and she found that the bee was guiding her towards an Earth-like planet.
"The bee seems to want to go to this planet. I think… I think it's going home." She told the team. They entered the planet's atmosphere and began to descend to the surface below. Chloe could feel the bee heating up as the became encased in flames.
She could also feel the entire group clinging to her as the emerged into a blue sky.
"Hey losers, personal space please? Nino, your breath is killing me." They sheepishly pulled back, and Chloe smirked.
"Um, is it just me, or is anyone having second thoughts about flying through a mysterious wormhole? Why are we even listening to a robotic bee anyway?" Nino asked nervously.
"It got us away from that alien warship, didn't it?" Chloe shot back.
"To be fair, Chloe, we're in an alien warship." Marinette pointed out. Chloe smirked.
"Oh, are you scared?" She asked. Marinette bristled. Just like that, their previous comradery was gone.
"With you at the helm? Terrified." She responded.
"Guys, knock it off." Adrien said quietly. "We have more important things to worry about."
Marinette looked embarrassed.
"You're right, Adrien. I'm sorry." She apologized. Chloe just rolled her eyes.
"So, what do we do?" Alya asked. Marinette snapped back into leader mode.
"First, we need to figure out where we're going. Chloe?"
"I… don't know." She admitted. She could feel the disapproving looks of the group. "The bee's not talking to me anymore. But if I had to take a guess, it would be that castle up ahead."
Everyone's heads snapped up, and sure enough, the bee was slowly descending upon a beautiful castle. The bee's eyes began to glow, and the spires of the castle lit up to match as they landed in the courtyard, in front of a large door.
The bee's mouth opened to allow them to exit, but Marinette stopped them.
"Remember to keep your guard up." She warned them. Alya frowned.
"Is something wrong?" She asked her. Marinette hesitated.
"My crew was captured by aliens once," She said quietly. "I'm not going to let it happen again." With that, they filed out of the cockpit.
As soon as they were outside, the bee reared up and let a loud buzz. The door glowed and slid open for them. After quickly exchanging glances, the group headed inside.
"Hello?" Nino called out. His voice echoed down the empty hall. The others glared at him, but he just shrugged. They came to a stop in front of a grand staircase. Alya's eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
"From the size of the bee, I expected these steps to be bigger." She commented.
They all gasped as the ceiling lit up, and a curtain of blue light surrounded them.
"Hold for identity scan." Came a robotic female voice.
"Why are we here?" Marinette called out as the computer scanned them. "What do you want with us?"
Instead of a response, lamps lit up on their own, illuminating the castle. In particular, illuminating a previously darkened hallway, leading straight back into the heart of the castle. Alya gulped.
"I guess we're going that way."
They continued to follow the path the lights made for them in silence, which was only punctured by the sound of Nino calling out in greeting every so often. Eventually, they found themselves at another large door which opened to reveal-
"It's some sort of control room." Alya told them. She strolled into the center of the room, where she found a control panel. Before she even touched it, it lit up. Hearing a noise come from behind them, the group spun around, and found some sort of pod emerging from the ground.
A moment later, a second one slid up to their right. They could barely make out the figures of… people?
"Are these guys… dead?" Nino asked from where he hid behind the control panel.
Suddenly, the first pod slid open to reveal… a girl.
Flaming red hair fell in waves over her shoulders, extending down to her waist. Her skin was pale as moonlight, with freckles splashed across her nose and cheeks. This coupled with her serene smile as she slept made her the most beautiful girl any of them had ever seen.
Suddenly, her eyes opened and she gasped.
"Father!" She cried, falling forward. Chloe instinctively darted forward and caught her, struggling to keep both of them from falling to the floor. The girl looked at her with confusion.
"Who are you? Where am I?" She asked, looking around at the room.
"I'm Chloe." She replied dumbly, staring at the girl. The girl turned back to her, sky blue eyes drifting to the side of her face.
"Your… ears."
"Uh, yeah?" Chloe asked.
"They're hideous. What's wrong with them?" The girl asked, looking disgusted. Chloe noticed for the first time that the girl had almost elf-like ears, very different from her own. Her face grew red in anger and embarrassment.
"Nothing's wrong with them!" She argued defensively. "They heard exactly what you said about them!" The girl's eyes narrowed. In a flash, she twisted Chloe's arm behind her back and slammed her into the ground.
"Who are you? Where is Master Fu? What are you doing in my castle?" She demanded. Chloe let out a cry of pain.
"A giant bee brought us here! That's all we know!"
The girl released Chloe, seemingly startled.
"How do you have the bee? What happened to its paladin? What are you all doing here? Unless… how long has it been?" She asked them. They all stared at her in silence for a moment.
"We don't know what you're talking about." Marinette told her. "Why don't you tell us who you are? Maybe we can help." The girl's shoulders slumped and she sighed.
"I am Princess Tikki of planet Altea." She told them, strolling towards the control panel. "I've got to find out where we are and how long we've been asleep." She placed her hands on part of the panel and it lit up, much to Alya's fascination.
"Okay, so that's how that works." She remarked.
Suddenly, the other pod opened up to reveal a boy. He seemed to be about the same age as Tikki, if not a bit older, but he was her opposite in terms of appearance. He had messy, dark hair that looked as though he'd just gotten out of bed, and olive skin. When he opened his eyes, they were a bright shade of green.
He stumbled forward, but no one was there to catch him and he fell in a heap on the floor. Struggling to his feet, his eyes widened.
"Enemy combatants!" He declared, and leapt towards Nino, who quickly dodged out of the way.
"They're not enemies, Plagg." Tikki called absently. Plagg had the decency to look embarrassed.
"Oh. Uh, sorry about that." He apologized to Nino, who just stared at him. His gaze was focused on Plagg's ears, which were also pointed. They both turned back to the group as the computer beeped and Tikki inhaled sharply.
"It can't be." She whispered to herself.
"What is it, Tikki?" Plagg asked. She raised her head.
"We've been asleep for 10,000 years!"
10,000 years ago…
Tikki stared at the destruction surrounding them. Through the windows she watched as ship after ship was struck down.
Ships piloted by her own people.
The screen in front of them crackled to life. Her blood burned as her eyes fell upon their greatest enemy.
"Hawkmoth." Master Fu growled.
"Your fleet has been destroyed, Master Fu. I will be there shortly to claim Miraculous." That was all he said before the screen cut out.
The Akuma fleet in front of them began firing on the castle. Tikki turned to Master Fu.
"Father, we must form Miraculous and fight before it's too late!" She insisted. He closed his eyes.
"It's already too late." He replied. He stared down at the bracelet on his wrist sadly. "We must send the mechas and the Miraculouses away. We can't risk them falling into Hawkmoth's hands."
"We can't give up hope!" Tikki cried. She turned to Plagg for support, but he remained silent, casting his eyes towards the ground.
"I am sorry, my daughter." Fu apologized, bringing a hand up to her face. "If all goes well, I will see you again soon. I love you."
She felt a zap against her neck, and her eyes began to close of her own accord. With her last ounce of strength, she reached out.
"Father!"
A/N - I hope you liked this chapter of Miraculous: Legendary Defenders!
Resa - Congratulations, you guessed it! Tikki and Plagg are this fic's versions of Allura and Coran. I hope you like it!
Anyway, please leave a review with your thoughts, predictions, and suggestions, and I'll see you in the next chapter!
