Marinette settled sleepily at the table. Grabbing a croissant, she glanced over at the headline on the paper. Mayor Bourgeois had been re-elected yet another time. Even the writers at the newspaper, trying their hardest to create exciting and interesting news, seemed to struggle a little bit. The polls had suggested this; the public had expected this. Marinette sighed- Chloe would be insufferable today in school. Hopefully this wouldn't give her an edge in the election for class representative! The student body had a few days to let this wash over them anyways.

Marinette turned the page to see what else the reporters had scrounged up. Her eyes softened when she read the next headline. "D'Argencourt loses by wide margin!"

She could only imagine how the gym teacher was feeling- probably a prime target for akumazation now. The polls and surveys shown almost daily on television had foretold this, and it had been clear the entire time that the current mayor was heavily favored, but the teacher had refused to give up hope. Even though polls suggested he would win a tenth of votes in a best-case scenario, he had kept campaigning.

Unless he didn't know yet? Marinette knew that he often taught fencing early in the mornings. Maybe he left his house before the newspapers were delivered or the results of the election were released to the news stations. Snatching up her things and swiping the newspaper, Marinette headed off to school early. If she knew Chloe, the blonde girl had a few tricks up her sleeve. But if she could tell Mr. D'Argencourt in a less hurtful way…

In her desperation to arrive before Chloe could, Marinette completely ignored the stuff that she had left strewn about her room. Including her diary, sitting in the open box on her desk.

Panting slightly once she arrived at the school, Marinette flew through the nearly empty hallways. Aside from a few students hanging around the lockers, and a big group frantically trying to complete homework in the library, the school was not nearly as busy as it had been the previous day. Hoping beyond hopes that Chloe wasn't there, Marinette peeked into the gym. Her eyes widened when she noticed Adrien.

Her mind tumbled into her own fairytale, where Adrien was her knight in shining armor. He had excellent swordwork, moving to block and feint almost faster than Marinette could keep track of. The moment didn't last nearly long enough- Mr. D'Argencourt broke through his guard and landed a strike on his student's torso.

"Good work today, Adrien. Watch your right side more, though. You are dismissed."

Adrien pulled his helmet off and shook his hair back into place. Marinette's heart skipped a beat. Regaining her focus as Adrien left the room, Marinette tiptoed into the gym. Setting down the newspaper, she looked up as the fencing instructor turned around, eyes curious and demanding an explanation.

"I just thought you better know before everyone shows up." With a squeak, Marinette turned and fled the room without looking back, not stopping until she had reached the crowds in the library.

So swift was she that she missed the crushed look on her teacher's face.

Adrien didn't miss the look of anger. "Sir?" he tried to question, only to be rebuffed by the other man's stormy expression. "Are you alright?"

Mr. D'Argencourt stalked from the room. The boy made to follow, but knew that he wasn't going to be able to help the man. Adrien felt a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. They were long overdue for an akuma, but that didn't make him like the peace any less.

The day progressed normally, defying his expectations. Maybe Mr. D'Argencourt was fine after all. He knew differently when they gathered in the cafeteria for lunch. An unusual buzz filled the room, and the teachers looked anxious.

Adrien turned to Nino.

"Hey man, what's going on?"

"Alya told me that a crazy guy is calling himself Darkblade, going around the city trying to take it over. It's some scary stuff."

A shock of realization went through Adrien. If that was who he thought it was…

"Oh, wow. I'm just gonna head to the bathroom."

With that, Adrien was on his way. The city needed its heroes, after all. He just had to hope that he arrived on time.

It turns out he didn't need to worry about being late after all. He took a few seconds to stare in horror as Darkblade "knighted" suddenly fanatic disciples. Chat coughed.

"Look who's late meow…"

The dark look that Ladybug gave him convinced him that this battle might not be the best place for puns. With that, Chat sobered and pounced from the building, landing in the middle of the confusion below. About to enter the fray, he looked to his left, noting the conspicuous absence of Ladybug, Where could she have gone, anyways?

He darted into an alley to have a better view, and was surprised to note some familiar faces in the crowd. Something tickled at the back of his mind. Oh! Chloe had said she would let everyone meet Jagged Heart if they would vote for her! It would seem that she had shifted her schedule forward by a few hours because classes weren't going to happen the rest of the day.

Well, no one had ever accused Chloe of being a brilliant strategist. Despite Jagged Heart being a tantalizing incentive for any teenage, she had completely ignored how the crisis in the city would affect her. Honestly- bringing people to the mayor's office when it was pretty clear that danger was coming towards it? Scampering back up a fire escape, Chat ran as fast as he could. Maybe he would reach the building in time to help.

Inside, everyone was beginning to panic. Why had they thought that it would be a good time to listen to Chloe? Sure, Jagged Heart was pretty cool, but they appreciated him a little less when he started running around like the rest of them. Marinette watched with growing annoyance. She was a huge fan of the singer, which was the only reason she had gone into the building. Chat could handle himself well enough, and it couldn't hurt to give the civilians a little more protection, even if they didn't know it.

It was bad luck, though unfortunately all too common, that the akumatized villain was coming nearby. Screaming and running were useless. It certainly couldn't help them! She looked over at Chloe to see if the other girl would try to help them out of the situation she had gotten them in.

Instead, the blonde was distracted by Sabrina waving her hand around. A hand, Marinette noticed, shut in a rather familiar box. The box for her diary? Confused, Marinette made her way over to the pair.

"Why does Sabrina have her hand shut in the box for my diary?"

The two girls looked suddenly nervous as all eyes in the room turned to them.