After Learning that Molly knew her Identity, Marinette invited her over for a sleepover with Alya and then the next morning, the three explained about Marinette's recent love epiphany.
"So, you're in love with Paris Super Knight black leather." Molly summed up.
"Yeah, that sounds about right." Marinette nodded.
"What do you mean you're in love with Cat Noir?" Alya questioned, still trying to get her head around.
"I don't see what's weird about it," Marinette said with a shrug.
Alya and Molly looked at each other with bored expressions before turning back to Marinette. "It's weird because you were in love with Adrien just, like, yesterday?" Alya reminded her.
"And not to mention you still have the Adrien pictures on your wall side of the bed," Molly added while gesturing to the board where the pictures of Adrien outnumbered the other people.
Marinette saw this and covered the board with her body, "Adrien? Yeah, but being in love with Adrien was not a good idea." She told them.
"And why is that, Guardian bug?" Molly asked with a brow.
Marinette then explained, "Because of my feelings for Adrien, Shadow stole 15 miraculous from me!" She reminded.
"Four of which, you already recovered." Alya pointed out.
"Yeah, but to make sure my emotions didn't get the better of me again, loving Cat Noir is a good idea," Marinette added with a smile. "Cat Noir is cute, very handsome, super confident, doesn't put pressure on me anymore, and turns out, he's cool. And on top of that, he's in love with me, so it's perfect." She said happily.
Molly then raised a brow, "Hold your horses, Juliet. I thought Cat Noir was in love with Ladybug?" She asked.
"And we all know that means the same thing," Marinette added while gesturing to herself.
"But he doesn't. And you can't tell him." Alya reminded her as Marinette slumped down in realization.
Molly smiled, "Marinette, you find yourself a new, unavailable crush just when Adrien seems interested in you now. Don't tell us that's a coincidence." She said.
"Yeah, aren't you running away from your feelings a little?" Alya asked as Tikki came up to them.
"Not at all! I have no idea what I'd be running away from." Marinette insisted. "I've got nothing to run from, and it's time to go to school anyway." She said as she crawled away before she screamed when she fell to the edge of her bed and landed in a thud.
"It's not even past Seven AM yet," Molly noted.
"Exactly," Marinette said as she started packing her school stuff into her backpack. "7 a.m. is the right time if you don't want to be late." She said as she walked up to her door. "See? New love, new habits. Just goes to show I'm right to love Cat Noir!" She declared before she left the room.
The two girls and Tikki smiled, "She forgot to change out of her Pajamas." Alya said in amusement.
Molly chuckled before she turned to Alya and Tikki, "Anyway, it's nice to know you were looking out for your friend, Alya. Especially you, Tikki, it's nice to meet you, Kwami of Ladybug." She said to the Kwami of creation.
"It's nice to meet you too, Molly," Tikki said while floating up to her. "I'm still surprised that you figured out who Ladybug was with just a look of the earrings,"
"Well, at first when Marinette was just an ordinary strange girl at first, I didn't question it," Molly started with a smile. "But on recent events, it was pretty obvious."
Alya then glanced, "So, you know who Cat Noir is too?" She asked.
"Yes," Molly answered simply with a smile, which made Alya go wide-eyed in surprise. "Actually it was the same day I found out Marinette's identity."
"Well, I know I'm not supposed to know, but I gotta know, you know?" Alya said with a slightly desperate look.
Molly smiled at Alya before looking at Tikki, who was not sure if she could say anything as Molly turned back to Alya with a smile. "I understand. But this secret doesn't leave this room and Marinette can only find out on her own. Got it?" She asked.
"I swear as a former Miraculous holder of the fox, I won't tell a single person," Alya swore while raising her hand and placing another in her chest.
"Okay, but first, here's my secret," Molly said with a smile.
Just then, Nan Fang appeared from behind her right pigtail, "Greetings, Holder of the Fox Miraculous." Nan Fang greeted herself.
Alya gasped in shock as she got closer to Nan Fang. "No way, you have a Kwami too?!" She asked in shock.
"Yep. This is Nan Fang, Kwami of the Vermilion Bird of the South." Molly introduce.
"Wait, that sounds familiar," Alya said, thinking for a moment before she gasped. "You're the Zodiac member, Southern Phoenix!"
"Yeah, that's me. How'd you think Phoenix is so truthful?" Molly asked with a chuckle.
Alya leaned closer, "So, who is Cat Noir?"
Molly gave a sheepish look while scratching her head. "Uh, yeah, that's where you get a kick out of this." She said with an awkward look.
"Oh yeah?" Alya asked while waiting eagerly for Molly to reveal the truth.
After a moment of silence, it was broken by a loud sound across the street. "ADRIEN IS CA-?!" Alya yelled before she was cut off.
Back in Marinette's room, Molly covered her mouth and shushed harshly, "Could you say that a little louder? I don't think Monarch heard you!" She said sarcastically.
Alya nodded in understanding as Molly let go of her mouth before she spoke while feeling frantic. "Holly molly. This is big! This means even if Marinette refuses Adrien and confesses to Cat Noir, she'll still get the same guy! And when that happens, Doomsday!" She panicked, remembering how Marinette told her about the time she traveled to the Cat Blanc future before grabbing Molly's shoulders, "What are we gonna do?!" She asked.
Moly then slapped Alya in the face to snap her out of it. "Keep it together, girl! We'll find a loophole to this whole relationship thing. But for now, we find a way to get them together. And also, where are Marinette's notes and the Miracle box?" She asked.
"What?" Alya asked in surprise.
"You already told me that you were helping Marinette with some notes when she still had the Miraculous, so, does she still keep the notes of the Miraculous spellbook?" Molly asked.
"Uh yeah?" Alya answered as she showed them to Molly at Marinette's desk.
"Good, then we need to do some research," Molly said as she took the notes. "I think I found a way to lighten Marinette's burden of Guardianship." She said with a smile as Alya looked confused.
At the Agreste Manor, Adrien just rushed out of the kitchen to get his school bag as Nathalie and Gabriel watched him go before Nathalie grabbed Gabriel by the arm and pinned him to the table as he dropped his spatula.
"Don't ever do that again!" Nathalie growled to Gabriel. "I came to this house to hunt magical artifacts for you and Emilie. I became your bodyguard, you're right-hand woman, your friend, and even more. But this is all over. You used to do this out of love for Emilie and Adrien, but now you only doing it out of madness and the only reason I'm here is to protect Adrien from you!" She snarled, tightening her grip.
"But everything I do is for Adrien's happiness!" Gabriel argued.
"The only thing Adrien needs in order to be happy is his father," Nathalie said as she let go of Gabriel. "You'll never bring Emilie back, and the Zodiac Team will hunt you down and stop you, it's time to accept that. She accepted herself." She firmly said.
Gabriel stood up and rubbed his pan from the grip Nathalie had on him. "No!" He denied.
"Stop kidding yourself." Nathalie scolded. "You saw the recordings she left just as I did."
"Emilie deserved more than t what she wanted, that's why I made you destroy those recordings." Gabriel firmly said before giving a solemn look. "I-I couldn't bear them." He said before looking at his arm. "It's too late anyway. I can't give up now." He said as he rolled up his sleeve to reveal his Cataclysm poison, which has spread more.
"No," Nathalie gasped in horrible realization.
"I've already lost the Miraculous of the Rabbit, Pig, Rooster, and Ox, but I managed to copy off their powers so I still have access to those abilities." Gabriel started.
"You've lost four Miraculous? How?" Nathalie asked in shock.
"I underestimate the Zodiac Team. They have the power to extract a Miraculous power and restore them and give them back to their owners." Gabriel said while still giving a serious look. "And for some reason, I can't remember the previous holders of the Miraculous identities."
"Wait, you can't remember the previous holders?" Nathalie asked in surprise.
"Yes, and if this keeps up, Ladybug will have all of her team again,". And with the Zodiac team with them, they'll be unstoppable." Gabriel added while Nathalie looked in dread. "If we don't do something, Adrien will be left all alone." He said while looking down as Nathalie looked worried.
A little bit later, Molly and Alya walked up to where Daniel and the others were waiting, "Hey, girls. You two took your time." Daniel commented.
"Sorry to keep you all waiting, but me and Alya were doing a bit of last-minute research," Molly said.
Alya came up to them while having a wide smile. "And also, I now know that you all are the Zodiac team." She said cheerfully.
The others were wide eyes before they all turned to Molly, who shrugged. "Sorry, but as Alya said, she is the holder of the fox, she has the right to know if we knew her identity and Marinette and Adrien." She said in defense.
"Okay, that is true," Jacob said with a sigh before turning to Alya. "And yes, Alya. We are the Zodiac team, but make sure you don't blab it out. Because the less people know of our identities the better unless it's a Miraculous holder, and right now, we're still working on some things to stop Monarch and get the other Miraculous back."
"Right, right got it." Alya nodded in understanding while still rubbing her head. "I'm still a bit shaken up that Adrien is Cat Noir, and that things just got more complicated for those two."
"Yeah, it's like the universe is playing with them and their love." Sam sarcastically said.
"We've been trying to find a way to get those two together the safe way without causing the end of the world," Kara said with a finger on her chin. "And for them to know each other."
"But so far, we got nothing," Daniel said while shaking his head. "If Marinette could just get her heart to Adrien, things would've been more easy."
"Speaking of which, where are those two lovesquare-warbirds?" Sam asked as they looked around.
Molly then spotted Marinette standing in front of the school while looking at some notes, while also in her casual clothes. "There's Marinette." She pointed.
"Huh, Marinette is early, that's new," Jacob commented.
Then, they saw Adrien's car driving up before stopping Adrien got out and the car drove away before he bumped into Marinette, which caused Marinette to drop her notes as she turned and saw Adrien.
"And Adrien is here too," Kara said as they watched the two heroes making a conversation, but it was more of an awkward moment for Marinette when they heard her babbling nervously. "Sheesh, how is it that when she's Ladybug, she's she can stare down to the face of a villain while also facing a volcano during the Stormy Weather thing, but as Marinette, she worse than a gibbering Baboon?" She questioned with a brow.
"Even I'm still trying to figure her out," Alya said in agreement.
Then they heard Marinette gasp as they turned to them. "Adrien. Is something wrong." She asked the boy.
Adrien gave a slightly sad look. "No, no, everything's fine." He said to her without looking before he faced her. "No, everything's not fine. Not fine at all. Somebody I care about is sick and there's nothing I can do. I feel completely hopeless."
The others all looked shocked and sympathetic for Adrien when he said that, feeling bad about what he was going through, they were about to go up to give him comfort before Marinette spoke.
"You know, even when there's nothing you can physically do for the people you love, sometimes just being there for them is enough," Marinette assured him with a supportive smile.
"Oh, you're right!" Adrien said with a smile. "It's like with you, Marinette. Just you being here makes me feel better already. You- You always find the right words. You're really special, Marinette. I…" He was cut off when Marinette started panicking again.
"Eek! Me? Oh, no, no, I'm not special at all." Marinette said quickly as she grabbed her papers she and Adrien stood up. "I talk nonsense and do silly things. Look, I'm doing something silly now!" She then walked around and tossed her papers before pumping into someone. "I'm sorry-!" She started before realizing it was actually Chloe she bumped into, "Oh boy." She whispered in worry.
The others cringed, "Oh no, here it comes." Alya feared, knowing Chloe was gonna blow.
However, instead of an insult, Chloe just raised a brow. "Marinette, are you okay? You seemed a lot more awkward than usual today." She noted in a nice tone before she offered her hand.
Marinette blinked in surprise as she eyed Chloe's hand, looking at her skeptically. But when Chloe gave a reassuring smile, Marinette took the plunge and grabbed her hand as Chloe helped her up.
"Is this some kind of trick to get close to Adrien, Chloe?" Marinette asked with a brow.
"Not really. Just helping a student." Chloe honestly said. "But seriously, you're acting stranger than you usually do today. What's up?" She asked.
Marinette looked at Chloe in surprise and slight suspicion before she slowly walked away"Just you're typical Marinette walking to school. Nothing new here." She said as she entered the building.
"Well, okay. See you in class." Chloe said to Marinette as she entered the school.
The five and Alya, sin Daniel, were surprised by Chloe's sudden mood since they were expecting that. "Uh, what's just happened?" Alya asked in surprise.
As Chloe passed them, she glanced at Daniel as he winked and she winked back at him before she entered the school.
"Did Chloe just…" Kara asked in surprise, hoping she wasn't hallucinating.
Sam looked to them, "First Marinette starts crushing on Cat Noir and now Chloe is being nice?" Sam asked before putting a hand to head, "Maybe the world really is coming to an end."
"I think Monarch must've akumatized someone to warp all of reality," Jacob said in surprise.
"I think Chloe was just bluffing," Alya said with her arms crossed.
"No, I can tell that she was being honest," Molly spoke while feeling surprised herself. "Looks like Chloe is being nice."
"Yeah, looks like Chloe is starting somewhere," Daniel said with a proud smile that Chloe was actually trying to be nice for real.
The others look at look at Daniel in confusion. "Alright, Daniel, what did you do?" Molly asked curious with a brow.
"I'll explain to you guys later, right now, we got class. We don't want to be late." Daniel said as they all nodded and walked into the school to their classes.
A little bit later, the five Zodiacs are in math class while doing some assignments as they sit close.
"Wait, so you talked to Chloe about being a good guy?" Jacob asked Daniel in surprise.
"And she knows that you are Dragold?!" Kara called out quietly.
"Hey, that wasn't my idea either," Daniel said in defense. "But due to me being angry at first and giving her small talk and some wisdom on being nice, I kinda forgot about my time limit." He said while scratching his head sheepishly.
Kara sighed and rubbed her head, "Well, considering Chloe hasn't blackmailed you yet or it's on the news who Dragold is, I guess she's taking your words to heart." She muttered.
"Like I said, it's working. So far, she's off to a good start." Daniel said while solving an equation.
"Dude, why would you go talk to Chloe? We know that she's the one who nearly gave the Miraculous to Monarch when he was Hawk Moth and revealed half of the Miraculous Team in the first place." Sam asked with a brow.
Daniel gave him a firm look, "Because I couldn't let her go on talking down on people and crushing their dreams just to hurt Ladybug, I knew that would only destroy her later on. I had a chance to save her from that and she's already starting to make progress." He told them.
The others all sigh, knowing that Daniel is known to help people, and the first sign of a stray, he springs into action. "Well, it's looking great so far, let's hope Chloe doesn't blow this chance," Molly said to them.
"I give her a week. No, two days, before she goes back to her snotty self." Sam said dully.
"Hey, Sam, can you at least give me some hope," Daniel said with a dull expression. "Just give Chloe a chance. I know she'll turn around. And the more people with fewer attitudes or negativity, the less Monarch will akumatize someone."
Jacob looked at Daniel, "Dan, why are you cutting her so much slack? I know you say she can change but even you know what she's done." He told their leader.
"I know, and I still don't like that at the time. But you guys weren't there, when I snapped at her with an unexpected roar, Chloe somehow poured out everything to me, how after losing her miraculous and failing to impress her mother, being the bad girl was all she had left and she hated it." Daniel explained while the others were surprised by what he said. "Yeah, I know, it surprised me too. But when I encouraged her to try being the good guy again and put actually effort into it, I saw in those blue eyes that she took my words to heart and Huánglóng even told me himself that Chloe had the potential to be more. So if Huánglóng trusts her then so do I."
"Even your Kwami agrees?" Jacob asked in surprise before he sighed. "Well, then I won't argue with it if both you and Huánglóng agree on the same thing."
Molly looked at Daniel, and she could see that he wasn't just doing this because of his moral code. It seemed he cared deeply for Chloe, but she wouldn't question it now since they were in class, then the alarms of the Alliance rang and their phones went off.
"Megakuma alert! Megakuma alert!" The alliance ring all called out as they showed a video, which was revealed to be Timetagger.
"Zodiacs, Ladybug, Cat Noir, and all you heroes, hand your jewels over to me, or I'll blast these monuments all over time like dust in the wind!" Timetagger rapped while blasting tags everywhere.
"Class, please exit the building in a calm and orderly fashion!" The teacher said as they all filed out of the room.
The Zodiacs then ducked into an abandoned classroom, "Timetagger?! That villain from the future?" Molly asked in surprise.
"Is this the same Timetagger or has he been reakumatized?" Sam wondered since Timetagger could travel through time, he could very well be from Ladybug and Cat Noir's first battle with him.
"That's hard to tell with the whole time travel thing," Jacob commented while giving a thoughtful look. "Where's Alix when we need her?"
"If she knows, I'm sure she'll show up soon, Let's transform and get after that free-spraying freak!" Daniel said, "Huánglóng, Heaven's Ascend!"
"Báihǔ, Earth Rise!"
"Nán Fāng, Fire it up!"
"Qīnglóng, Wind Rage!"
"Xuan Wu, Water's Flow!"
They transformed and jumped away to find Timetagger, not realizing they were being lured into a trap.
The Zodiac Team then regrouped with the other heroes as they searched for Timetagger, "How do catch a guy who can pop up at literally any time?" Rooster Bold asked.
"Don't look at me, I'm not the one with the Time Miraculous!" Hydrake said before they saw Timetagger appear, "There he is!"
"Grab 'em!" Ladybug said as they all jumped at Timetagger, but he disappeared.
"Dang it! He jumped through time!" Caspian exclaimed before they saw him appear again and they chased after him. As they kept following the villain from the future, Caspian turned to Ladybug and Cat Noir. "Ladybug, Cat Noir, you two beat him before, how do we stop a guy who can travel through time?"
Ladybug frowned, "We need the Miraculous of the Rabbit but Bunnyx has it and she can't leave the Burrow of Time." She said.
"Well, unless you have a time machine in that Lucky Charm of yours so we could travel into the future to prevent Timetagger's akumatization, we're gonna have to do this the old-fashioned way," Dragold said as they kept chasing Timetagger.
They eventually reached an alley before he disappeared again. "Dang it! I'm starting to hate time-traveling villains." Minotaurox commented tiredly.
Ladybug brought her Yo-yo, "Keep your guard up, he can, literally, pop up at any time!" She said as the heroes stood back to back, waiting for Timetagger to show up.
"Or he's figured out he's not gonna get anywhere with all of us, and he's gone back to his own time." Cat Noir joked.
Ladybug stopped her yo-yo when she gave a thought. "You're probably right, Kitty. And you know what? Why don't we make the most of it by seeing a movie together?" She suggested with a smile.
Minotaurox, Rooster Bold, and Pigella looked at Ladybug in surprise, as she thought Cat Noir was serious. The Zodiac team however knew better as Dragold facepalmed, "Oh brother." Dragold groaned.
"Are you serious? A movie together?" Cat Noir asked in surprise.
Ladybug realizes what she said and realizes that Cat Noir was joking. "Uh, a movie?! Did I say that? Me? No, I didn't!" She started tittering nervously before she turned and placed her hands over her head. "Oh, what's happening to me?" She questioned before she was hit by something, like an arrow, which made her frozen in place.
"Ladybug!/Milady!" The heroes called out as they saw another one heading straight for Cat Noir.
"Cat Noir, watch out!" Phoenix yelled out.
Cat Noir turned in time as he raised his hand. "Cataclysm!" He called out, destroying the yellow arrow.
"What was that?!" Pigella asked in worried.
Phoenix looked to her friends, "I don't think Timetagger was the Akuma the alert was talking about." She said in worry.
Just then, more yellow arrows coming at the heroes. "Resistance!" Minotaurox called out, setting himself in front of his team while acting like a human shield with his powers protecting him from being frozen. "We gotta go!"
"Yeah, Cat Noir, grab Ladybug, and let's retreat!" Dragold said as Cat Noir picked up Ladybug and carried her off as they started running.
They all ran through the city, but the arrows were following them and their every move as they did their best to dodge them. "They're locked on us!" Terrapin called out.
"We gotta lose them somehow because my power won't last forever!" Minotuarox exclaimed as he felt his miraculous beeping. "I'm going to switch back soon! We need to hurry."
A bus was about to hit them, but they either jumped or rolled while Cat Noir tossed Ladybug in the air and caught her on the other side as they kept running. "So sorry!" He apologizes to the paralyzed Ladybug.
"Any ideas? Because I don't think we will…" Phoenix was cut off when an arrow hit her from behind, making her paralyzed as well and she fell from the sky.
"Phoenix!" Hydrake explained before he jumped up and caught her as they kept going. "These things are relentless! How can we lose something like this?!"
"Okay, those bolts only after us. Is it in love with us or something?" Cat Noir asked them with a joke. "Leave us alone, bolts!" He called out as they all jumped ahead. "My heart is already taken you know?" He added.
They all hid behind statues of Ladybug and Cat Noir as well as the Zodiac Teams as they all ducked and covered behind them while Minotuarox stood there.
"You've got the wrong guy! I really don't see us ever working out!" Cat Noir exclaimed.
"Brace yourselves!" Dragold called out, but some of the arrows either landed on Minotuarox or the statues, while the Cat Noir one from the butt.
"Glad we have stunt doubles for this one." Cat Noir joked.
"What the heck was those anyway?" Caspian questioned before they heard a thud before Minotaurox hid behind with the others before he was spotted as they saw an akumatized villain, who was wearing a red and black military jacket and hunter gear, "That must be the real Akumatized Villain." he said.
"But who is she?" Pigella asked.
"Nathalie?" Cat Noir whispered, recognizing her.
"Venom, search," Nathalie said as she aimed her crossbow in the air and fired multiple venom arrows while on Nathalie's wrist was a device that seemed to be a tracking device.
"The Akuma must be in her bow, we gotta move." Dragold said before they saw the arrows coming at them, "And fast!" He exclaimed as they all ran.
"I will save you, Nathalie." Cat Noir muttered before he followed after the heroes.
A little bit later, they were all in the sewers while trying not to get hit by venom arrows Cat Noir carries Ladybug while Hydrake carries Phoenix. "We gotta lose these things! But how!?" Terrapin cried out.
No matter where the heroes go, they all get cornered by them as they run. Cat Noir and Minotaurox Miraculous then started beeping, signifying that their time was almost up.
"Oh, no, no, this isn't the time!" Cat Noir muttered.
"Cat Noir, Minotaurox, you're both out of time!" Dragold said before looking to the bolts, "And so are we!" He exclaimed.
"If Ladybug was here, I'm sure she'd have a brilliant idea like always, but I'm just a foolish kitty about to transform back!" Cat Noir cried.
"We're cut off!" Caspian called out as they saw they hit the center of the sewer tunnels as they looked around. "Great, trapped between a Venom and a hard place!" He griped.
"We can't touch these things or we're toast!" Hydrake exclaimed.
"Uh, Rooster, can't you use your powers for something? Like how about a wall around us or something?" Pigella asked.
"I can't copy another Miraculous's power." Rooster Bold said as the Bolts almost reached them.
Dragold then got an idea, a very crazy idea, "Detransform!" He called out.
"What?!" The other heroes exclaimed.
"Trust me!" Dragold ordered.
The others nodded as they each took a section of the tunnels, boys on the left, girls on the right.
"Claws in!/Way Back!/Calm Down!/Sunset!/Heavens Descend!/Water Calm!/Wind Silenced!/Earth Crumble Down!" The heroes all exclaimed as they turned back into their normal forms, the bolts stopped midsection on them and flew off.
"Haha! It worked!" Daniel yelled out as he sighed in relief. "Any second and we would've been statues." He commented and leaned against the tunnel.
Ivan and Marc looked at Adrien in shock, "Adrien?!" they gasped.
Adrien realized that he transformed in front of his friends as he gave a sheepish look while scratching his head. "Heh, hey Ivan, Hey Marc." He said.
Ivan looked shocked before smiling, "Wow, so I'm friends with a superhero in both worlds!" He declared,
"Dude, now it all makes sense. You are even more awesome!" Marc exclaimed with a smile as Adrien laughed.
Plagg, Stompp, Haunglong, Baihu, Orikkio, and Qinglong floated before them, "You took quite the risk asking the heroes to expose themselves, young master." Haunglong said.
"It was either this or we risk getting frozen and our Miraculous stolen, pal!" Daniel exclaimed. "Besides, Adrien and Ivan were about to detransform anyway, what was the point?"
Plagg then laid back, "Well at least it gives us a chance to relax and eat some cheese." He said gobbling up some cheese he grabbed from Adrien's jacket.
Sam crossed his arms, "Well now what do we do?" He asked.
"Well, we can't transform back, or that hunter will track us with those Venom arrows," Daniel said in thought. "And Ladybug and Phoenix are still frozen, and the moment I transform again to use Dominate, those bolts are gonna come right back."
Adrien then had an idea, "Wait, those bolts were only after the Miraculous Heroes, right?" He asked.
Marc caught on, "You think if we remove their miraculous they'll be free?" He asked.
Adrien nodded, "Yeah, and I think I know how we can mess with Nathelie," He said with a smirk, "Girls, I need Ladybug's earrings."
"What? But wouldn't that…" Kara started before she realized Adrien was right and turned to Rose, "Try not to freak out, Cat Noir and Ladybug can't find out who they are, at least not yet." She told her.
Rose nodded as Kara first removed Phoenix's ring and she turned back to Molly and then moved to Ladybug and sighed, "Forgive me, Ladybug." She said before pulling off the earring as Marinette was revealed.
Rose gasped and covered her mouth, trying not to say Marinette's name out loud, "Oh my…" She said quietly as Kara passed Sam the earrings and he passed them to Adrien.
Molly snapped out of it first as she shook her head. "Huh, what happened?" She asked before she looked at Rose and then Marinette and realized, "Oh crud."
Marinette then snapped out of it next as she looked at the three. "Wha, Kara, Rose, Molly? What-?" She stopped when she noticed her bare hands and revealed she was detransformed, "AAAAHHHH!" She screamed while waving around.
"Ladybug, Ladybug, calm down!" Kara tried to keep Marinette calm while trying to not say her name to the boys.
"I'm detransformed! In front of you three!" Marinette cried out in panic as she felt her ears, "My earrings! Where are my-"
"Don't worry! I have them." Adrien called from the other side.
"Cat Noir?" Marinette asked through the wall.
"Sorry, Ladybug. But we had no choice but to detransform in front of our team." Daniel told her, "Don't worry, Cat Noir didn't see the real you, only the boys know him while the girls know you you." He assured her.
Marinette then turned to Rose trying to think of a good answer, before giving up and rubbing the back of her head, "Sorry to keep this a secret for so long." She said sheepishly.
"It's okay, Ladybug. Now I understand why you said what you said that day," Rose said, remembering what Marinette said, during the Gang of Secrets incident.
Marinette looked guilty, "I never should've said that to you." She said solemnly.
"But we are still friends," Rose said with a smile. "If you had told us, we would've understood. But you were only doing that to keep us safe," She then walked up to Marinette, raising her pinky finger, "No more secrets though, okay?"
Marinette smiled as she raised her pinky as well as the two locked pinkies. "I promise. And I'll explain everything to you when this is over." She promised before Rose hugged and she hugged back.
Kara and Molly looked at them with warm smiles, "If this is what is like to not keep secrets from other holders, we should start trusting our identities more often than not." Molly commented.
"Now I get why our Kwamis said that we shouldn't hide who we are from our own partners," Kara added.
Daniel then spoke up. "Talk later. Right now, we have an Akumatize archer to deal with. And from what we can tell, she only managed to track our Miraculous forms, not our normal selves." He stated.
"So when we transformed, then those Venom bolts would hit us!" Molly exclaimed, getting what Daniel was saying.
"So how do we face a villain like that?" Marc questioned. "We can't stop her as ourselves or transform and risk getting paralyzed." He pointed out.
Marinette thought for a moment, "She can find Miraculous heroes like Ladybug and Cat Noir, but not Lady Noire." She smirked.
"Or Misterbug!" Adrien added as he turned to the others, "If we can take her crossbow, it should be safe for the rest of you to join in on the fun." He told him.
"So what you two are saying, is that if you both switch Miraculous, then that archer won't be able to track your signatures since you're different heroes!" Jacob exclaimed brightly.
"And with her busy, we can sneak up from behind and help you!" Daniel finished with a smile. "Cat Noir, Ladybug, you're both geniuses!"
"Thank you," Marinette said while leaning on the wall and placing a finger on her cheeks. "We really are on the same page, kitten. Don't you think?" She asked before she realized what she said as she blushed and whimpered.
Rose looked at Marinette with a brow while Molly and Kara sighed from them. "She's crushing on Cat Noir hard," Molly muttered.
Adrien was about to pick up the earrings, but he stopped as he remembered that Nathalie was sick and looked at the two Miraculous in thought. "M'Lady, since our two Miraculous combined can grant any wish, why don't we make one ourselves?" He suggested.
The others all turned to him in surprise while Marinette was worried as Adrien continued. "We could fix everything wrong with the world. We'd put an end to Monarch, wars, injustice, disease. We could finally stop fighting and be happy. Right?" He asked.
The others, except for the Zodiac group and Marinette, were surprised by what Adrien just said. "Wait, you mean that the Ladybug and Cat Noir Miraculous together have the power to grant wishes?" Marc asked in shock.
"Is this why Monarch is so desperate to get them?" Rose asked Marinette in wonder.
Haunglong then floated in front of Adrien, "I'm afraid it's not that simple young man, the power of Destruction and Creation combined can create wonderful things but, it can also take something else away." He explained with a serious look, "For every life returned another must die, for a sick person you cured another will be ill. For every action, there must be a consequence. That is the law of the universal balance."
"He's right, Cat Noir. I'm sorry, but we can't take the risk," Marinette said solemnly.
Daniel placed a hand on Adrien's shoulder, "Sorry man, but rules are rules. Which is why your Miraculous must never be used together," He said.
Adrien looked at the two Miraculous solemnly, knowing they were right, that he'd be no better than Monarch, "Alright, let's trade our Miraculous." He said while Plagg and Marinette sighed in relief.
"Give us the all clear when you draw her out. We don't wanna go out to be statues. And remember, you need to let us up so I can extract the Kwami and the Miraculous from the hunter." Daniel reminded them.
"Which one do you think it is this time?" Ivan wondered.
"Not sure, so far, she used Mirage to create that fake Timetagger and those bolts were definitely Venom, hard to say," Daniel said, rubbing his chin.
"Maybe you and the other Zodiacs switch Miraculous so you could join us," Adrien suggested.
"Sorry, kitty. Our Miraculous don't work like the others, they're mystically designed so that only one specific person can use them." Sam explained, "If someone else were to use them, then things could get messy."
"How messy?" Marc asked with a brow.
"'Kawmi shows their true form and gives you a nasty surprise' kind of messy," Molly answered.
The group all shuddered at the thought of that as Adrien and Marinette then wore each other Miraculous.
"Tikki, spots on!" Adrien called out transformed into Mister Bug.
"Plagg, claws out!" Marinette shouted as well as she transformed into Lady Noire.
"Okay, you two are transformed, let's see if it works," Daniel said as they all looked around, waiting for any bolts to come at the two heroes but none did, "Okay, looks like Mister Bug and Lady Noire are safe."
"Now get out of here and tell us when to come up," Sam said as Mister Bug nodded before he and Lady Noire ran off
They all walked out of the tunnels as they watched the two heroes go as they all turned to each other, while Marc, Ivan, and Rose were still surprised at what they saw before they smiled. "I always knew they were great heroes." The three all said before they turned to each other and laughed.
Jacob then turned to his friends, "So, what do we do?" He asked.
"Uh, chill?" Sam asked.
Marc brought out some cards, "Anyone for Go Fish?" He suggested while the others nodded, finding some way to pass the time.
A little bit later, the group all sat in the tunnels, looking extremely dull, "I'm bored." Rose sighed as Daizzi rested on her head.
"Got any eights, Ivan?" Sam asked.
"Go Fish," Ivan said dully.
Daniel got so bored that he just tossed his cards. "Okay, I give up. I swear if we don't get an okay soon, I'm gonna-!" He was cut off when his phone rang, "Oh, finally!" He answered his phone quickly. "Hello?"
"Dragold, I figured out where the Megakuma is! It's not on Safari, it's back at the Agreste Manor." Mister Bug explained, "Go there, head for Nathalie Sancoeur's room, and look for a Mannequin in a display case,"
"Right, on our way." Daniel nodded before he hung up. "Looks like we're off to the Agreste Manor, Huánglóng, Heaven's Ascend!" He called.
"Báihǔ, Earth Rise!"
"Nán Fāng, Fire it up!"
"Qīnglóng, Wind Rage!"
"Xuan Wu, Water's Flow!"
"Daizzi, Rejoice!"
"Orikko, Sunrise!"
"Stomp, Make Way!"
They all transformed back into their Miraculous form as they all got out of the sewers and leaped towards Agrest Manor.
Hydrake pointed to a window, "There! That's Nathelie's room!" He called out.
"Let's sneak in and grab the Akuma!" Rooster Bold said as they jumped through the Window. He then saw the jet-black mannequin and realized it was the Akumatized object, "There it is!"
"Wait!" Dragold called out before Rooster Bold could destroy. "We can't destroy it yet." He pointed out.
"Why not?" Rooster Bold asked.
"I need to extract the Kawmi first," Dragold explained as he opened the case and got in his stance, "Miraculous Extraction!" He called thrusting his hands to the mannequin and started drawing the Miraculous out of it.
In Monarch's Lair, he felt the Extraction happening again and fell to his knees, "No, no! Not again!" He exclaimed while seeing the ring for the Miraculous of the Goat flickering as Ziggy in her cage started glowing.
"Alright! Thank you, Great Ones!" Zipp called out as she disappeared.
While on the rooftops, Safari, which Nathalie calls herself, felt a bit of her energy drained a bit as she clutched her stomach.
Safari then realized what was happening. "Dragold!" She growled before she saw the Agreste Manor ahead while Lady Noire and Mister Bug were closing in as she chased after them more quickly.
In Nathalie's room, Dragold saw silver energy coming out of the mannequin as a light of the same color shot out and flew into his hands, the glow faded and revealed Ziggy and her hair clips, "Ziggy, the Goat Kawmi?" Dragold asked.
"Yes." Ziggy moaned.
"Tired and hungry?" Dragold guessed as Ziggy nodded. "Don't worry, I know someone who will be happy to see you."
Rooster Bold took Ziggy and her Miraculous, "Don't worry, I know her holder, I'll get her to them." He said.
"Be sure to tell him to remove their Alliance Ring too," Phoenix said.
Rooster Bold nodded as he summons his power. "Sublimation! Power of Flight!" He exclaimed as he ran out the window and flew off.
"That's another Miraculous and Kwami rescued. But where's Lady Noire and Mister Bug?" Terrapin questioned.
"Right here!" Mister Bug called out as they turned and saw him coming to the window as he wrapped his yo-yo around the mannequin.
Safari only made it just in time to see them. "No!" She exclaimed.
Mister Bug smirked as he yanked his yo-yo, destroying the mannequin as the Megakuma flew out and then he opened his yo-yo and twirled it around. "Play time's over, little Akuma. Time to de-evilize!" He tossed the yo-yo and caught the Akuma. "Gotcha. Bye-bye, little butterfly." He said as the butterfly flew away.
Mister Bug then held the bottle of perfume, which is the lucky charm, and tossed it up. "Miraculous Mister Bug!" He exclaimed as the magical ladybugs restored all the damage Safari did.
Safari turned back into Nathalie as she fell on her knees. "Watch out, Nat- ma'am." Mister Bug said to her as he caught her before Lady Noire came in with a smile.
The other heroes walked up to her and gently guided Nathalie to the bed. "Are you alright, ma'am?" Dragold asked.
"Yes," Nathalie answered tiredly.
Just then, Gabriel came rushing in. "Nathalie? What's going on?" He asked as he rushed up to her.
"She was akumatize by Monarch." Lady Noire explained as Gabriel noted her ring.
"She had the power of the Goat, to make any weapon she wanted," Pigella added.
"And been using them to hunt us like animals, which sorta fitting for us," Caspian said while gesturing to their costumes.
"Forcing such a fragile person to carry out his twisted plans." Mister Bug said with a rageful look while the others looked in surprise. "Monarch's a monster! He'll pay for this!" He exclaimed.
Dragold frowned and put a hand on his shoulder, "Justice, not Vengeance." He reminded Mister Bug that they do not kill.
Mister Bug sighed as he took a deep breath. "Justice, not Vengeance." He repeated before Lady Noire and Mister Bug's Miraculous started beeping. "We've gotta go. Will you be okay?" He asked Nathalie.
"Yes. Thank you." Nathalie said with a tired smile.
"We give you a magical charm, but Mister Bug isn't the guardian while Miraculous are switched," Phoenix said while gesturing to the two switch holders. "So, just try thinking happy thoughts from now on."
Nathalie nodded as the heroes rushed out through the window and into the city.
Shortly after, the heroes all pounded their fists together. "Pound it!" They all exclaimed.
The Zodiac and the other heroes all went separate ways while leaving Mister Bug and Lady Noire alone so they could switch their Miraculous back.
At Nathaniel's House, Nathaniel was just finishing up a picture of him, as Caprikid, with the other heroes together, facing off against Monarch.
He smiled, "Just wait, Ziggy. Once the heroes rescue you and the others, this picture won't just be a fantasy." He said to himself.
A knock on his door was heard as he got up, went over to the door, and opened it to reveal Marc, "Marc? Shouldn't you and the others be facing Timetagger?" Nathaniel asked as he and Marc revealed their identities during their comic writing.
"Timetagger was just a fake. But don't worry, the real villain is defeated and," Marc then pulled a Miracle Box, "I got you a little something to replace your Alliance ring."
Nathaniel was shocked by the sight of the box as he took and opened it, revealing the Goat Miraculous before a silver glow circled around him, revealing Ziggy. "Hi, Nathaniel." She said to him weakly.
"Ziggy!" Nathaniel exclaimed in joy before he caught Ziggy and saw her tired expression. "Oh man, are you okay?" He asked.
"Just a snack would be great," Zippy said with a weak smile.
Nathaniel nodded as he put on the hair clips and looked at his Alliance ring, "You know, this thing doesn't make drawing easier." He commented as he took it off.
"Too small to see the images and hard to trace?" Marc asked in amusement.
"Yeah, that. I didn't like this thing anyway." Nathaniel said and took off his alliance ring. "Wanna stay for lunch?" He asked.
"Yeah, Orikko could also use a bite too," Marc said while gesturing to his tired rooster Kwami who waved.
Nathaniel laughed as he and Marc walked downstairs, looking forward to fighting alongside each other again.
"And then?" Alya asked when she, Marinette, Molly, and now Rose and Kara, were in her room when they explained everything to Alya.
"Well, then we gave our Miraculous back to each other and that was that." Marinette finished.
"Come on. You know that's not what I'm getting at." Alya urged. "I wanna know how things went with Cat Noir- I mean, Mister Bug."
"Same here. Most of us were out from the fight for a while." Molly added since she, Rose, Kara, and the others were left out in all the fight when they went and got the Goat Miraculous back.
"You should've seen him. He was so…" Marinette said dreamingly as she gave a lovesick cat growl. "...in his cute red suit with black spots. Can you girls believe it? I asked him out to the movies and I didn't even stammer. True, the timing was bad, but still…"
The girls and Kwamis all sighed while Rose was surprised by Marinette's reaction as said girl leaned back on her bed. "Everything is so easy with Cat Noir. I can tell him everything I never had the courage to tell Adrien." Marinette finished.
"Now you know how he felt," Molly said while rubbing her head. "And what about Adrien? What did he have to say?"
"Nothing. Can you believe it?" Marinette asked as she sat back up. "He's so in love with me that he's willing to hide how much he cares for me. It's so romantic." She swooned.
"Isn't that the same way you did with Cat Noir when you first met?" Kara asked with a brow.
"I know, that's probably how he fell for me the first time." Marinette with a lovesick smile.
Rose, Tikki, and Daizzi giggled while Alya, Molly, Kara, Nan Fang, and Xuan Wu sighed or facepalmed. Alya looked at the other girls with their Kwamis and looked away solemnly.
Marinette snapped out of her lovesickness and saw her best friend's expression, "Alya, are you okay?" She asked.
Alya looked back at Marinette and gave a sad smile, "Yeah girl it's just, seeing you girls and your Kawmis it just got me…" She trailed off.
Molly understood and looked at Alya sympathetically, "Thinking about Trixx?" She guessed.
"Yeah. I just miss her so much." Alya said sadly while placing a hand on her neck where the Fox Miraculous should be.
Marinette gave a guilty look at Alya, "Yeah, I miss her too. If I had just let you keep the Fox Miraculous after Strikeback, at least she'd be safe." She said solemnly, knowing it was her fault that Alya's cover was blown for taking such a huge risk that she had to return the Miraculous.
"Why did you make Alya hide in the shadows, Marinette?" Kara asked. "I mean, didn't you realize that Monarch never leaves his lair? How could she find a clue or path back to his lair? You know how clever Monarch is, he's impossible to track."
Marinette wilted, knowing it to be true. Alya smiled as she held Marinette's hand, "But you're even more clever. Which is why I know you'll get Trixx and the other Kawmis back from that creep." Alya said.
"And right now, we got back the Goat Miraculous. Meaning that there's only 10 left." Molly said with a smile.
"Meaning that maybe next time, Trixx might be the next Kwami we take back," Rose said with a cheerful smile.
"And with us and the boys knowing Cat Noir's identity, and us knowing yours, meaning that we got your back, girl," Alya said with a smile. "And this might encourage you to tell the other heroes too, including Cat Noir?"
"And who knows, maybe you and Cat Noir will someday reveal who you are behind the masks," Molly said. "And just remember, you're not in this alone. As long as you have friends looking out, being the Guardian will always be easier."
Marinette smiled at them in gratitude, "Thanks girls, you're the best." She said as the girls hugged. Marinette was still unsure about revealing herself to Cat Noir, but knew someday she would.