I haven't forgotten about you guys, don't worry! Here's a Christmas treat for my patient readers. Joyeux Noël!
Marinette squinted amidst the bright lights surrounding her. "Tikki?" She groaned.
"I'm here, Marinette!" The girl could hear her kwami's voice, but her vision was still obscured by the blinding lights.
"Where are we? What happened to Hawkmoth? Where's Adrien?" Marinette rambled, blinked rapidly. Her eyesight was slowly returning. They were in some sort of… void… full of pink, red, and white orbs, bumping into each other as they floated about a thick mist. Tikki hovered just above her head, searching the void for something. "What are you looking for, Tikki?"
"She's looking for us." A new voice emerged from the mist. Tikki squealed before darting over to the figure. As more figures came forward, Tikki flew to each new form.
"And who are you, exactly?" Marinette rubbed her arms. This void wasn't cold, but try telling that to her goosebumps.
"Marinette, these are the past Ladybugs!" Tikki flew back to her chosen in order to drag her to the cluster of women now forming. "This is Piáo Chóng, La Déesse Coccinelle, Hippolyta, Tentomushi, Micazoyolin, Jeanne d'Arc, Mudekudeku, La Coccinelle, La Mariquita, and Bo Rúa." Each woman dipped their head in acknowledgement as they were introduced. Marinette was grateful that she was hovering in a void instead of solid ground at this moment, for she would have surely fallen flat on her face by now in the presence of such Masters.
Hippolyta stepped forward. "While some of us still retain our given names from life, here within the Council of the Bijou de Dame, we are all 'Ladybug'." She gestured to Marinette. "Do not think we haven't been observing you, Mikró Sfálma. You are so young, and yet have graciously carried such a large responsibility as the safety of the world. And still, you surprise us."
La Déesse Coccinelle approached Marinette to take her hand. "Eaziziun, you have unlocked one of the most difficult powers of the aqruat alkhunfusa." She winced as Mudekudeku smacked the back of her head.
"Not all of us speak Arabic, Dessie." Mudekudeku muttered. "Give the girl a chance to understand what she's accomplished." La Déesse Coccinelle withdrew with a scoff.
"Then maybe a fellow Frenchwoman should explain," La Coccinelle smirked, flicking the brim of her cavalier. "Like 'Goddess' over there was trying to say, you've unlocked a power within the Miraculous no one has seen in centuries. I think the last one to use it was…"
"Micazoyolin." Piáo Chóng stated, almost not paying attention as she created figures out of a piece pf string. "He was a great warrior, able to unite civilians and Miraculous wielders alike towards a common goal."
"The tower…" Marinette muttered. "My team -my friends- they believed in me and we all started glowing…"
"That's right." La Coccinelle threw an arm around the girl's shoulder. "And since you've been the first one to do it in so long at such a young age along with all of the other incroyable stuff we've seen you do, the Council has decided that YOU are worthy to become Guardian!"
"Guardian?" Marinette stammered. "What about Master Fu? I thought he would choose the next-"
"Well, he's not technically a Guardian…" La Mariquita pulled at one of her gloves. "I had already returned my Miraculous to the previous Guardian and had lost my memory of being a Ladybug, but I still remember hearing about a temple in Tibet going up in flames. It was only when my spirit arrived here that I learned of what had transpired. I believe that we would have better say in who the next Guardian should be…"
La Mariquita continued to rant about how irresponsible and unprepared Fu was to choose a new Guardian, but Marinette tuned her out. She had gotten better at managing her anxiety but being pulled from an emotionally jarring battle into a void full of powerful previous Miraculous wielders to be informed that she would be the next Guardian was enough to send her over the edge.
Tikki was enjoying a head scratch from Bo Rúa, her one of her more recent chosen ones before Marinette, when she saw the look on the girl's face. "Marinette?" She whispered as she flew to her chosen's side. Bo Rúa followed. "Are you alright?" Marinette was struggling to breathe in more than just short gasps.
"It's alright, lỗi nhỏ. Just breathe." Bo Rúa coaxed, her hands holding Marinette's face. "Breathe in for four seconds, hold it for four seconds, release for four seconds. Are you counting?" Marinette nodded as she breathed in and out. Bo Rúa turned to the other Ladybugs. "Guys, what if she's not ready?"
"Of course, she's ready," Jeanne d'Arc scoffed, leaning on her sword. "Not only is she a Ladybug, she's French. There's nothing she can't do."
"The girl can do nothing if she's not prepared." Everyone whirled at the new voice.
"Master…" Marinette breathed before collapsing into Bo Rúa's arms.
"Fu." La Mariquita crossed her arms.
"La Mariquita." Fu replied, a bit warmer than the reception she had given him. "Sending another of my Miraculous wielders into hysterics?" He turned to Bo Rúa. "Is she alright?"
The woman nodded. "I assume she's drained from the battle earlier and our discussion." She glared at her fellow Ladybugs. "I told them they should have waited…"
"I agree with you all that Marinette Dupain-Cheng should be the next Guardian, I disagree with your method of bringing her here so soon after battle." Fu strode to stand amongst the Council of the Bijou de Dame.
"She unlocked Ultimate Creation." Tentomushi argued. "She needed to be informed of her new role at once."
"Like I said, she will become the next Guardian. Just not at this moment. As you pointed out, she is young. Younger even than you, Mudekudeku, when you received the Earrings." Fu gestured to the woman as she sniffed. "Until Marinette is prepared to claim the full title in her own time, I will train her to become the new Guardian."
"M-master Fu?" Marinette struggled in Bo Rúa's embrace at the sound of her name. Fu placed a calming hand on her forehead.
The Council of the Bijou de Dame discussed the issue amongst themselves before Jeanne stepped forward. "Marinette Dupain-Cheng, do you accept to train under Wang Fu until you are prepared to carry the mantle of Guardian of the Miraculous?"
Taking a deep breath, Marinette was able to push herself into a standing position. "I know I'm not ready yet, but I am honored. I will continue to train under Master Fu until I'm ready to fully embrace the role of the Guardian. I know I can do anything when I have my friends and my team by my side." She smiled as her tiny kwami nuzzled her chin.
Hippolyta slammed her staff. "Then we accept these terms as well. Wang Fu, you may continue in your current role as Guardian of the Miraculous-" La Mariquita made a noise of displeasure. "-while training the current Ladybug to become the new Guardian."
Bo Rúa stroked Tikki once more before raising her hands. "It is now time to return you to your friends."
"Will I ever see you guys again?" Marinette asked. While some of the past Ladybug wielders seemed a bit gruff, she certainly could learn from them about how to be a better Ladybug…
Piáo Chóng looked up from her game of string. "We will be here guiding you, but it is your master whom you will learn most from. It was good to see you again, Tikki." The woman smiled. "Farewell, Marinette Dupain-Cheng."
Bo Rúa placed a finger on Marinette's and Fu's foreheads. Neither of them saw anything else as the void dissolved in a bright flash of white.