A/N: At this point I don't even know which chapter of the original story we're on. I'm tempted to say chapter four because the plot was very fast-paced in the first version. It lacked the drawn-out quality this fic seems to have.

Anyway, thanks to everyone who's favourited or followed this rewrite as well as those who have reviewed! It honestly means a lot that people take the time to read the mess I type up in my free time.

Till next time,

D.L.D


Chapter Seven: The Master


The Kwamis

Half-hidden in the gloom, their voices dropped to low whispers, the three kwamis were conducting a meeting on the shelves. Due to them not needing as much sleep as humans do, the mystical creatures had decided to dedicate a few hours toward preventing catastrophe - which was well on its way it appeared. Therefore they had a lot of work to do, a lot of things to discuss - and, most importantly, a vital decision to make.

"Perhaps we should contact Wayzz about this first," Tikki sighed as she paced the shelf, occasionally glancing at the gloomy bedroom floor below. For the past few minutes they had gone over quick ideas, just as swiftly shooting them down as they were too flawed to ever yield a good enough success. All sorts of ideas, from finding the Order of Guardians, to confronting the sender of the texts themselves had been considered. So far, all of them had been shot down. Each and every one.

"If we do that we risk losing some valuable time," Plagg shook his head, folding his tiny arms in protest. For once he wasn't gorging on his prized stinky cheese. "And need I remind you, Sugarcube, time is something we don't have."

"So what do you suggest Mr 'I'm-So-Wise-and-Powerful'?" Trixx raised a brow, invading Plagg's personal space. Tiny brows pinched as the fox kwami shook his head. "According to all of us, Tikki and I have come up with all the smart ideas! Not you. So unless you have something useful to pitch in, stay out buddy."

At the confrontation, something flickered on the black cat's face. Something unreadable and unintelligible passed over his features before Plagg rolled his eyes and took a big bite out of a fresh wedge Camembert (sourced from his nearby stash), pouting as he did so.

"Whatever," Plagg scoffed, mouth filled with cheese. A glare was directed at Trixx, not at all hidden in its meaning as the kwami of destruction floated off to his own little corner of the shelf. "It's not like you guys understand the world how I do. My efforts are wasted with you both."

Fighting between themselves was the last thing the kwamis needed - especially with how quickly the dominoes were falling. There wasn't enough time to go back and forth between each other, to yell and panic and scream at each other, about the catastrophe swiftly rearing its head into Paris' semi-peaceful streets. No, there simply wasn't the time for fighting. Tikki knew that. Always a logic-driven kwami, someone who relied on logic and reason to prevail over evil, Tikki knew that time was of the essence.

Therefore, silly spats over relevance and importance were a waste of their resources right now. Personal disagreements could be sorted out later - when the world wasn't in danger.

Sighing, Tikki shook her head, "Don't be so over dramatic Plagg," The kwami drifted over to her counterpart, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. Plagg huffed, jerking away from her touch with a slight sniff. "Please, Stinky Sock?"

Petulant silence washed over the kwami of destruction, Plagg never being one to easily give up. No, he was a stubborn little thing, a greedy, selfish prig that would always put his own benefit above others. Even so, Tikki knew that Plagg was not a completely self-serving being. Hundreds, dozens, of previous holders of the black cat miraculous were evidence of the standoffish Plagg's ability to have sympathy and empathy toward another living being.

Even as Plagg frowned, neon green eyes narrowed into a sharp glare, Tikki knew that he would be on board. Reluctantly - yes, reluctantly, Plagg would agree to help. (But secretly he really was doing it because he truly wanted to).

"Ugh!" Plagg groaned, his pout soon stretching into a grudging grin as he rolled his emerald eyes. "Fine. But only because you'd both be clueless without my insight."

"Of course," Tikki nodded, laughing at her friend's sourpuss attitude. "I wouldn't expect any other reason."

"Well at least we're getting somewhere now," Trixx chuckled, now lounging along the edge of the shelf. Teasingly, the kwami of illusion stuck his tongue out at his friends, purple eyes glimmering with mischief as his sly grin grew. "I felt like we were all gonna turn to dust in time it took to get here."

"Well, Sugarcube and I were always the perfect team," Plagg countered, ignoring Trixx's snide comment. Instead he grinned as he swallowed a large chunk of cheese, gulping it down in one solid go as he eyed the cheeky fox kwami. "You were the only problem here, Foxy."

"I told you to stop calling me that!" Tikki huffed, looking rather annoyed as she shot a tiny glare at the cackling glutton.

"You called me Stinky Sock, so I can can call you Sugarcube," Plagg retorted smoothly, grinning as he invaded her personal space bubble. Just like a certain superhero whenever he teased his beloved partner. "Sugarcube."

"Plagg," Tikki groused, frowning as she bat the kwami away. Yep, she was annoyed now, creating distance as she floated toward the shelf's edge, joining the lounging and amused Trixx.

There wasn't time for this constant back and forth - just like how there wasn't time for them to be fighting between each other. Danger was looming in the not-so-distant future, ugly, flaring danger that came in the form of mass catastrophe and doom for the citizens of Paris. As kwamis, as those with the power to combat this danger, they had a duty to uphold in order to prevent this dreary, horrible future. They had to do all they could to combat the threat Hawkmoth held.

"Well aren't you guys cute?" Trixx joined Plagg on the teasing train, his own grin a little smug as he crunched his way through a tasty-looking cookie. Melty marshmallows squashed between his jaws, mixed with crumbly cookie. "The spitting image of your holders."

"We aren't!"

"Whatever you both say," Trixx chuckled, amused by the sight of Tikki and Plagg both glaring at him with pure fury. Oh yes, they certainly were reminiscent of a certain cat and bug; tens and hundreds of cats and bugs that had come before them also followed similar paths and dynamics. Raising a brow, Trixx continued, "Speaking of talking, what if we told the Master about this? Surely he'd know what to do."

"Master Fu?" Tikki blinked, frowning as she appeared to ponder the suggestion. "I don't know. We don't want to worry him too much."

"It is part of his job though," Plagg chipped in, also appearing to be trapped within a thoughtful spell. Only for it to be broken by a cheeky grin as he nudged his precious Sugarcube. "AND we'll get to see everyone again."

Hesitation flickered upon the ladybug kwami's face. Clear hesitation, crystal clear like a glass ball in a fortune teller's booth, swam within Tikki's blue eyes. Telling the Master about all this would certainly complicate things further. Huge problems, gigantic problems that could fill an entire valley, were often brought up to the guardian of the miraculous. Only they - someone with the knowledge of the kwamis and their miraculous - could tackle such drastic issues.

But was this impending danger really that huge? Did they need to involve the Master?

Unknowingly, Tikki's gaze flickered to the pair of sleeping superheroes. Peaceful, relaxed, content, they enjoyed the easy sway of the midnight hour and their hazy dreams. When they woke up, plagued by the problems of reality, it definitely wouldn't put their minds at ease to know about what was coming next. No. Marinette always was an over-thinker and naturally Adrien would worry after her - always the one to look out for her own well being.

Telling the pair about this issue - well it would only make things worse. But telling the Master, someone who might be able to quietly solve this without the heroes' help, might be a tiny bit better.

"Alright," Tikki answered, a large gust of air leaving her tiny body. She'd been holding her breath and didn't even know it. "We'll go to the Master to ask for permission to tell our holders about the history of the miraculous. Does that sound fair?"

"Perfectly!" Trixx grinned, appearing excited.

"I'm doing whatever you're doing," Plagg shrugged, nonchalance being his main facade. "Like I have a choice in the matter."

"Ok," Tikki nodded, pleased with the final agreement. "So it's settled. Tomorrow we see Master Fu."


Marinette

For once Marinette woke up early - five in the morning to be exact. Automatic, almost as if her body knew her mind's intention to talk to Tikki privately, she awoke with the early bird calls of Paris, the sun just about glinting through the glass of her windows. Beside her Adrien was still knocked out cold, golden hair fluffy as a baby duckling and empty arms grasping weakly at the once Marinette-occupied space next to him.

Part of her wanted to go back into his arms - wanted to soak in the wonderful sensation of Adrien Agreste freaking cuddling her - but Marinette knew she had to get down to business. There wouldn't be a lot of time for her to talk with Tikki - not when her parents were such early risers due to the bakery. So Adrien Agreste and his snugly, warm cuddles would have to wait till later. Even if they were extremely tempting.

"Tikki. I need to talk to you," Marinette called out into the semi-gloom of her room. Even though the sun was rising everything was still cast with shadows, masking the silhouettes of her furniture and possessions. On a normal day it would be tricky to spot Tikki, the tiny creature often choosing the most obscure corners to catch a decent sleep. Today, however, she was quite easy to spot, a bright red bundle smiling as she greeted her holder.

"Good morning Marinette," Tikki giggled, amused by the surprise on Marinette's face. Zipping over to the girl, she raised a brow as she floated beside her, "What do you want to ask?"

"Well, I wanted to ask about what's going on," Marinette admitted, her voice lowered to almost a whisper so as not to disturb the other resting in the room. Sinking onto her chaise lounge, she frowned as she continued, "It's just really weird that someone could figure out my identity so easily. I'd always thought that I was being extremely careful as Ladybug, but apparently I wasn't careful enough."

"It's not your mistake Marinette," Tikki shook her head, the wise creature's face contorting with disagreement. "None of this is anyone's fault aside from Lila and Hawkmoth themselves."

"No, I have to take some blame here," Marinette shook her head now, her frown turning into a grimace as her fingers twisted around each other. "If I had been more careful as Ladybug then no-one would have been able to find out my identity. Not even Adrien. That would have prevented this from happening - even if this is part of the deal that comes with knowing who Chat Noir is."

"Yes but," Tikki began, her own sigh escaping as she peered at her holder. Marinette - poor Marinette thinking and stressing and tearing herself apart over this all. She didn't deserve what was coming next; she didn't deserve to follow the fate that so many of Tikki's previous holders had also had to face. No, it wasn't fair. At all. But life also wasn't fair. Life enjoyed kicking people down even when they didn't deserve it. "There's a dark secret lurking around the enemy."

"A dark secret?" Marinette echoed, blinking as she swallowed. Thickly. "Are you sure Tikki?"

"Positive," The kwami nodded, humming her affirmation. Now rather nervous, the kwami began to circle in her flight pattern, almost pacing in the air. "And if our assumptions are correct, it may link back to Hawkmoth himself."

"What?!"

"H-huh! Who's there?" Adrien immediately rose from the violent squawk that left Marinette's lips, sleepy eyes wide and body tense as he scanned the room. Instantly he relaxed once he realised that it was only Marinette and Tikki, the pair both glancing at him with sheepish expressions. Blinking, he asked, "Marinette? What are you doing up so early?"

"I was talking to Tikki," Marinette explained, feeling sheepish as making such a ruckus. Glancing at the kwami, she felt her cheeks redden as continued in a quiet murmur. "And she kinda... well she told me about something super big. Apparently Hawkmoth might have a dark secret we know about."

"No way," Adrien, now alert and wide awake, found his place by her side, inquisitive gaze cast at the kwami of creation. "Really?"

"As real as it gets kid," Plagg confirmed from his corner, his lackadaisical tail swishing through the air. "Now quiet down some of us are trying to sleep."

"Morning kiddos!" Alya burst into the room (much to Plagg's chagrin), wide grin on display as she boasted a generous haul of tasty-smelling breakfast foods. In both hands, enclosed within two paper bags, were what Marinette could only assume to be her parents' handiwork - no doubt requested by Alya and explaining the delay in her father's lighting of the bakery's ovens downstairs. If the sudden arrival and food was no indicator to her plans, then Marinette didn't know what else was. Alya was up to something.

"Alya!" Marinette frowned at the sight of her friend, carefully taking the bags from her. Even though she was elated with the unexpected arrival, she couldn't mask her confusion - nor her certain skepticism. "What are you doing here?"

"Just wanted to check up on my favourite cuties," Alya answered simply, swiftly closing the trap door behind herself. Privacy was of the most urgent priority in this household - especially since Marinette was harbouring a handsome blonde model in her room. "Plus Trixx said Tikki had something important to spill, so naturally I had to race my ass over here to know the deets firsthand."

"Well you didn't miss much," Adrien shrugged, already sneaking a cheeky pastry into his mouth.

"Yeah, I could tell," Alya chuckled, knowing how much he cherished Marinette's parents' baked goods. Whenever he got the chance, he would be all over their croissants like melted butter and jam. No, scratch that, he was like the icing on their cakes! Speaking of icing... "Although don't think I've forgotten about last night. Oh no, you two owe me a lot of details."

Both members of the cat and bug duo grimaced at Alya's words, knowing her to be relentless in her grilling. No doubt she would want to know more - much more than even reality had to offer - in order to satiate her curious thirst. If they were lucky, they could avoid Alya going full reporter on them for around a full school day; if they played their tactics right they could stretch it for a full three, using excuses and random errands.

"Can we get on with the story telling?" Trixx frowned, looking rather agitated as he balanced on Marinette's computer screen. "Unlike your human business, this stuff involves... well the whole world."

"Of course," Alya nodded, seeming to understand the urgency as for once she placed her own reporter instincts to the side. Placing her hands in the air, she flopped down onto the floor, cross-legged. "Just wanted to clear the air."

"Good," Trixx hummed, appearing satisfied as he zipped up to Tikki, joining her in raiding the bag of food for some tasty macaroons. "Because we worked hard on this plan, right guys?"

"Yes," Tikki agreed, pensive as she nibbled on her cookie. "Speaking of, we need to visit the Master."

"Master Fu?" Marinette frowned, pausing in her own deconstruction of the bag's contents to raise a brow at her kwami. Even without confirmation, she could feel her gut churning at the possibility of having to confront the guardian with her recent reckless decisions and mistakes. "Do we really need to?"

"You mean the old man who protects the miraculous?" Adrien raised a brow, glad to finally be up to speed on everything. If there was one thing that had constantly bugged him it was the evasiveness of Ladybug and how she never seemed to let Chat Noir know anything of value. Even though they both knew who Master Fu was - at least what purpose he served - Ladybug never let him know anything more than that. He was always kept outside of the loop.

Marinette was aware of that - she had been the one to keep him on the outskirts of the loop. Therefore she couldn't help but feel somewhat uneasy as she revealed the truth.

"Yes, that old man," Marinette groused, pouting as she took a bite from a pain au chocolate. From the taste of it, they were leftover from yesterday - no doubt from the batch baked at the very end of the day, just before closing.

"And you said not to worry about him," Adrien teased, a grin inching its way onto his face as he laced his hand with hers.

"Cool it Sunshine," Alya warned, frowning at the pair as she flicked a chocolate chip at them. Now she was hyper-focused on their kwamis, the information they had to share. "The kwamis are giving important info."

"Sorry," Adrien smiled a little, his voice a touch quieter.

"It's fine," Tikki smiled in return, understanding as she always was. However, as she always was, the kwami had been quite presumptious in terms of how everything could work that day. "If anything you all just need to know that Plagg and I arranged for the Master to see us this morning."

Silence filled the room. Enough silence to hear a pin drop on the floor - so much so that it felt like an entire assault on the ears.

"This morning?" Marinette echoed, swallowing the solid lump that was once her pain au chocolate. Nothing but cold dread swum in her stomach, heavy like lead in the ocean.

"Yep," Plagg yawned, stretching as he emerged from his sleeping spot. Blinking, he peered at the clock on her desk, feline eyes narrowed at the digital numbers. "In fact it's in half an hour."


Master Fu

Rather spry and alert for an old man, Master Fu gazed at the three teenagers in front of him with pensive and serious eyes. Filled with nerves - perhaps even some awe buried deep within there too - the three teenagers peered back, somewhat sleepy and bedraggled from their mad dash across the city to make it here on time. If he had to guess, the ancient man would say that they had all been caught up in recent events to remember his existence. That or their kwamis had simply been kwamis and forgotten the easily distracted minds of humans.

His bet was on the second option.

"Well," Master Fu began, taking a long sip from his tea. A herbal blend - specially gifted to him by an old friend for his birthday. "This is rather surprising, considering that you know each other's identities."

"Yes, it wasn't planned," Marinette spoke, cringing as her face filled with a slight blush. A sign that she was nervous, one she'd always displayed around the guardian ever since she'd received her miraculous. "But that's not why we came here today."

"Yes, the master is very aware of that," Wayzz chimed in, carefully hovering with the teapot in his tiny hands. His voice left in a soothing tone, soft and wise like the tortoise was said to be. "In fact he has been expecting a visit since yesterday."

"Oh," All three teenagers blinked, taken aback by how much the master truly did seem to know. A lot, apparently, was what he knew. So much, almost everything, seemed to be contained within his pensive mind.

Nothing less was to be expected of a guardian, however. Anything connecting to the miraculous had to be known by him - even if Master Fu was someone who had not gone through all of the training necessary to be a caretaker of so many miraculous - in particular the Ladybug and Black Cat miraculous. Nevertheless, he still had some tricks up his sleeve; one could always pick up things in their life, even at his old age.

"The kwamis told us that we'd learn more about the miraculous if we had your permission," Adrien decided to break the quiet, aware that Marinette wasn't exactly functioning as of right now. A habit Chat Noir was known to do when Ladybug lost her cool - spiraling into panic because everything just wasn't panning out how it should.

"Yes," Master Fu nodded, setting his teacup aside. Clearly today was more than Marinette's usual call to his apartment. Yes, there was something in the air - something that unsettled all of the other kwamis in the miracle box. Something sinister was afoot in Paris. "I had a feeling that not everything was settling in the city. Unfortunately, my suspicions have been proven correct by your visit this morning."

"Can we just get on with the story telling!" Plagg whined, appearing agitated as he flitted about the place, cheese wedged into his hands as he glared at a certain kwami. His cheese-stealing box mate who loved to take sneaky bites out of his precious Camembert.

"Plagg," Adrien groaned, never done short by his excellent kwami.

"No, he's right," Master Fu chuckled, getting up from his seat on the matted floor and shuffling over to his bookcase. Carefully, the elderly man stretched to reach the top of his bookcase, smoothly using his fingertips to nudge down a book with golden designs traced over the aged leather binding. The Grimoire - the book that held all the spells and secrets related to the kwamis and their miraculous. "I'll tell you now."

Curious gazes watched as the master sat back down, opening the book up and spreading its pages for all three teenagers to see.

"The history of the miraculous is long and complicated," Master Fu began, gesturing at the coded language of the page. Beside it were illustrations of past holders of the Ladybug and Black Cat miraculous - examples of the powers and skills one could gain from them. "Since time has existed the kwamis of Creation and Destruction have been around. They are like the balance scales of this world - the age old concept of Yin and Yang. Together they balance each other out, give as much as the other takes. They help keep the world equal."

"However, kwamis were causing quite the stir in the ancient world. Right Plagg?" Master Fu raised a brow at the sheepish kwami, who was busying himself with munching on his cheese. "After an incident with the kwami of Destruction an ancient Chinese mage found a way to limit their individual power and instead make them vessel it through humans. That way they could communicate with us and we could see them."

"So they made the miraculous?" Alya questioned, keen and perceptive as she seemed to be jotting this all down within her eager brain.

"Yes, they made the miraculous," Master Fu nodded. "However they could not limit the power of the two most powerful kwami. As a result, the wielders of the Ladybug and Black Cat miraculous were always carefully selected - especially since they were bonded together by not only fate, but their own souls."

As Master Fu delivered this information, he caught the bashfulness sneaking its way onto both Marinette and Adrien's faces. No doubt they were infatuated with each other - just as many of the past miraculous owners were. Time and time again, lifetime after lifetime, century after century they found each other, in different faces, in different times, in different countries, yet always the same. Always bonded through the magical jewelry.

"I knew it!" Alya whooped, startling the pair. Giddy she fist-bumped Trixx, smug as she grinned at the pair. "There's no escaping it you too. Adrienette lives on!"

"Enough with the ship name Alya," Marinette grumbled, face burning with a furious pink blush. "It's a thing and that's just how it is. Please don't name it..."

"I'll name it what I damn want," Alya scoffed, rolling her eyes. Nudging her friend, she chuckled. "I am it's longest advocate, after all."

"Alyaaa," Marinette mumbled, very much embarrassed. Who wouldn't be in her situation?

"Um guys?" Adrien cut through to them, looking just as flustered as Marinette as he nodded toward the waiting old man. "I think there's more to it than that. Plus we don't have much time before school."

"Oh yeah," Alya nodded, chuckling as she went to apologise to the master. "Sorry. I tend to get carried away."

"Carried away is an understatement," Marinette sighed, shaking her head as she attempted to refresh herself. Right now she needed to pay attention, to learn as much as she could before the storm hit at full force.

"As I was saying," The Master gave a kinda smile, well aware that there was still excitement swimming in the air. How could it not with all the recent discoveries made by the heroes? "The Ladybug and Black Cat miraculous are extremely powerful. The most powerful set. After that they made the next five miraculous, not as powerful as the first two but still more powerful than the rest. The final set for the box I have was made for the twelve zodiac animals. They are the weaker of the collection I have but still equally important."

"What makes the miraculous so dangerous, regardless of power, is their combined power," Master Fu warned, his tone taking on a grave edge. "If the miraculous fell into the wrong hands, like in Hawkmoth's case, and forced a kwami to do as they bid..." A shiver passed down the old man's spine at the idea of it all. Oh the world would definitely burn. "It would not end well. But we shall not dwell on such grave matters," Snapping the book shut, he placed it back on its shelf. "I just wanted to make you all aware of the Grimoire and the fact that it holds all the information you need. Just visit me anytime and I shall be happy to oblige any requests."

"We definitely will," Alya nodded vigourously, roping Adrien into her antics with a sly arm thrown over his shoulder. "We're both left in the dark when Marinette learns anything cool."

"Tell me about it," Adrien agreed, relieved that for once he could actually know more. A lot more. "Speaking of, do you know anything about Hawkmoth?"

"Other than his miraculous?" Master Fu offered, raising a brow as he took a sip from his cooling tea. He hated that he had to deflate the hopeful look on Adrien's face - especially when it was such a rare feat. "I'm afraid not. So far Nooroo had been quite distressed and unable to communicate with the other kwami. No doubt he is nothing more than a captive in Hawkmoth's hands."

"That's just horrible," Adrien murmured, well aware of what it felt like to be held captive, hostage, by someone. But to think that a kwami, something so fantastical and powerful could be contained by a human being? The thought sickened him to his stomach. Whoever Hawkmoth was, he was most definitely a monster. There could be no trace of compassion within a heart like his.

"It is simply how a villain thinks," Master Fu sighed, shuffling past the teens to open his front door. "Hearts wrapped up in grief and greed often lose sight of what is important to them - even if it lies right in front of their eyes."

Those were the old man's parting words as the teens grabbed their bags and left his apartment, weighed with more questions than the actual answers they had originally sought out.