(The day after Pixelator)
After Ladybug and Chat Noir's visit to Stone Arc the previous night, the next day finally came and things were pretty quiet for the most part. There was however a teachers meeting that canceled classes for the day, leaving everyone an unexpected day off to either catch up with schoolwork or anything else they could think of. But things were taking an interesting turn at Le Grand Paris, where Jagged Stone was performing a song on his guitar for his manager, Bob Roth, Penny, and Fang.
"Miraculous!" Jagged Stone sang at the end of his jam session, wearing the shades from the concert the previous night as he slid on the floor with his knees. Off to the side, Penny was applauding the performance while Bob stood next to her with crossed arms, Fang curled up around their feet behind them.
"So, what do you think of the first single of my next album? Can you feel it, Bob? Isn't it killer?" the rockstar asked Bob as he got up to his feet, walked up to his audience and handed his guitar to Penny so she could put it back in its case.
"Not bad, Jagged, not bad." Bob complimented. "But if you really want to be making something killer, let's talk about this duet with Mr. XY." the sleazy manager brought up, changing the subject as he lifted up a CD of the alleged XY's latest album.
"No way. He's not a rocker, he's a baby! I bet he doesn't even shave yet." Jagged Stone denied, wanting nothing to do with the so called 'latest in music' trend while Penny joined back up with the conversing pair.
"Well, this "baby" just pushed you out of the number one sales spot." Bob pointed out, bringing up a major problem for both him and Jagged… even if that major problem was Bob's own son.
"And? Doesn't make him a true musician like me." Jagged Stone argued. "Penny thinks everything I'm doing is rockstar material. She thinks I'm killer." the rockstar added, causing a small blush to appear on said woman's cheeks at the praise.
"Penny might be your agent, but I'm your real boss." Bob reminded his client with annoyance, having had enough of Jagged's defiance. "Listen. Bottom line is that Bob Roth Records cannot afford to be number two in sales! Or rep a number two rock star!" the record label owner revealed.
"Get real, Jagged!" Bob exclaimed. "You're going to have to modernize your music. Change the way you look. Get a whole new style!" the manager elaborated, telling instead of offering ideas for Jagged to rise in popularity.
"You want to talk about real? I'm a genuine rock 'n' roller, Bob, not some pop star in diapers. I'm a real artist. Real talent! Even my hair is real. And that's what people love about me." Jagged Stone argued with Bob, going around the room and posing as he talked himself up, even going as far as grabbing his guitar from its case and sliding across the floor till he was leaning against Fang. "Isn't that right, Fang? Yeah." the rockstar spoke to Fang before getting back onto his feet and looking back at Bob.
"And the artwork you came up with for my album is a waste of my time!" Jagged Stone exclaimed, gesturing to the mock ups of said art as it sat against the wall to his right. "Seriously, Bob, what is this trash? It looks like a perfume ad!" the rockstar griped, not at all happy with what his manager had come up with.
"And that's what people want these days!" Bob rebutted, pointing a finger into Jagged's chest as he spoke, trying to get his client to see things his way.
"Well, I don't. My album covers are raw to the bone, exuding the smell of sweat and leather!" Jagged Stone proclaimed, not wanting his vision to be tainted by what Bob had in mind.
"You do know, don't you, that if your next album doesn't rate #1 on the charts, it'll be the last one you ever do with Bob Roth records." Bob threatened, in hopes of getting Jagged to relent.
"I'd rather put out nothing at all than sing some pathetic duet with a baby-faced nobody." Jagged Stone replied, happy to quit from Bob's record label if it meant he could be true to himself. But at the sight of the escalating conflict, Penny decided to step in.
"Bob, Jagged and I had an idea." Penny began, pulling the record label owner's attention onto her. "Its concept is modern, but it also respects Jagged's own...rugged style." the agent/assistant explained, allowing Jagged to take the floor so he could explain the idea.
"The schoolgirl who made these glasses has some real talent. She totally gets my style." Jagged Stone elaborated as he took off the glasses and showed them to Bob. "She's gonna design the cover of my new album." the rockstar announced, thinking back to how happy he was when he received them yesterday.
"A schoolgirl?" Bob questioned, truly thinking that his client was joking.
"Miss Dupain-Cheng may be only a teenager, but she's got enough talent to get recognition from Gabriel Agreste. She's the one whose design was chosen for his next event." Penny informed the manager.
"Not only that, but she's the same age as the target audience." she continued, defending Jagged's choice before she held out a piece of paper to Bob "Here's her address." the agent added, causing Bob to fold arms and growl at the idea of having to do more work… that is until Fang growled at him in return, causing Bob to jump away from the crocodile in alarm. Having no other choice, Bod took the piece of paper from Penny.
"Okay! But just think about that duet with Mr. XY." Bob said as he began to leave the room, not happy to be on errand duty.
"Find that girl, Bob!" Jagged Stone called out before he went back to jamming. One way or another, he would have an album cover that suited him, whether Bob liked it or not.
Thanks to the address Penny had given him, it didn't take long for Bob to find Tom & Sabine Boulangerie Patisserie so he could offer Marinette the chance to create Jagged's new album cover. No sooner than he did, Bob managed to catch the family as they worked in the bakery and made the offer to Marinette in front of her parents.
"So, are you interested?" Bob questioned the designer, much to her shock and surprise.
"Uh...wait, wait, wait. Let me get this straight." Marinette said, placing the cake she was holding into a display case so she wouldn't drop it in during the conversation. "You want...me to design the album cover for Jagged Stone?! My...all-time favorite singer?!" the pigtailed girl squealed as she took in Bob's words, excited with the opportunity.
"That's right! Requested by Jagged Stone himself." Bob confirmed, right before he pulled out an XY album. " I brought a few visuals so you can get a sense of what we're going for." the record label owner added as he gave Marinette the CD.
"This doesn't seem like Jagged Stone material. More like...a perfume ad!" Marinette remarked as she looked at album design in her hands, her parents stopping their work to stand near their daughter.
"This is the direction of his new image. More modern, current!" Bob explained, taking the opportunity to impose his own vision for Jagged's new album.
"...really? Wow." Marinette exclaimed, not expecting the supposed new direction at all. "I was thinking more along the lines of–" the girl began, her designer instincts coming to the surface as she started to offer ideas of her own.
"Don't think! This is what is selling these days." Bob interrupted, stopping any original ideas Marinette had in mind.
"Uh...sure." Marinette replied, unsure of Bob's demands and how Jagged would feel about the strong influence Bob was suggesting.
"And one last thing, Marinette. We're in a hurry!" Bob revealed. "We need your proposal by the end of the day. You up to it?" the manager questioned, causing Marinette to look over at her parents for reassurance. As if reading her mind, they both nodded, easing some of her worries.
"Uh, yeah! Okay." Marinette agreed, happy to have such a great opportunity in her reach.
"See you later, then!" Bob called out as he exited the bakery, leaving the family to take in the good news.
"My daughter, a famous album cover designer." Tom proudly recited to Marinette. "You're going to kill it! Marinette style. Boo-yah!" the big teddy bear of a man cheered before he and Marinette high five, leading to the two of them and Sabine sharing a hug in their joy.
With her new task, Marinette headed up to her room and started drawing an album cover on her tablet while listening to XY's music with Tikki watching as she floated in front of her holder. About halfway into drawing the album, Jim had called, giving Marinette a much needed break from drawing the album cover that went against her own sense of self as a designer and personal preferences.
"Hey, Jim!" Marinette greeted her Trollhunter brother, placing her phone against her stereo system.
"Hey Mari, what's up?!" Jim replied back, waving to her in greeting as he spoke.
"Eh, school got canceled today, and I'm kind of working on something at the moment." Marinette admitted, adding some color swatches next to the sketch she had just finished finalizing. "But what about you? Have a good time at Claire's?" the designer asked as she sorted through the colors she picked out to decide on the best ones.
"I did! And for the most part, it went really well!" Jim regaled as he stretched his back, ridding it of any soreness while Marinette's eyes lit up at his confession.
"Jim, that's great! I'm so proud of you!" Marinette cheered, momentarily forgetting her project only to fully take in his words. "Wait… 'for the most part'? What happened?" the designer questioned, now concerned that something bad had happened.
"Well other than her bringing up the letter I wrote to her before my duel with Draal, nothing too nerve wracking had happened during our study session." Jim explained, making Marinette's face erupt into shock.
"You wrote her a letter, too!? WHAT WERE YOU THINKING!?" Marinette shouted, genuinely wondering if her brother was such a bonehead.
"I was thinking that if I had died in that arena, I wanted to go out with no regrets." Jim replied, explaining himself and his choices. "That included anything regarding Claire." the Trollhunter added, which seemed to calm his sister down from her rising panic.
"Fair enough." Marinette said, seeing the logic behind Jim's previous thought process. "So how did it go when she brought it up?" the designer asked, now curious to the girl's reaction to what she assumed was a tell-all that Jim had given her.
"She thinks that when I wrote about fighting monsters, I was being metaphorical. Which I'm glad that she does, 'cause I had no idea how I was going to explain the truth to her in a way that didn't make me sound like I belong in a looney bin." Jim admitted, a relieved look on his face.
"I'm honestly not sure of the answer to that query myself." Marinette teased, making Jim glare at her in annoyance.
"Seriously, Mari?" Jim groaned, not finding this the time for her jabs at him.
"Don't look at me like that! It's your fault for making so many decisions that make me question your sanity!" Marinette argued, to which Jim was about to retort until he realized that she had a point.
"Touche, sis. Touche." Jim fondly relented, making Marinette smirk at him when he did so.
"In any case, you said 'nothing too nerve wracking had happened during our study session'. Did something happen after it?" Marinette asked, redirecting the conversation to continue their catch up. At the sound of his sister's question, Jim couldn't help the wince that appeared on his face when asked.
"Since you asked… We found a Changeling." Jim reported, shocking his sister even further.
"WHAT! How'd you manage that!?" Marinette exclaimed, causing Tikki to float down to her shoulder and sit on it to hear Jim's recount of the events.
"It was all Toby. He was at the dentist's office and Dr. Muelas's assistant turned out to be a Changeling." Jim said, beginning to tell the girl and kwami what had happened.
"How did he find out?" Marinette questioned, wondering how Toby had managed to discover that new tibet.
"Well… Toby had tried to see if Dr. Muelas was a Changeling-" Jim started to explain.
"Why am I not surprised?" Marinette groaned, interrupting Jim when hearing about Toby's shenanigans.
"I know, right!?" Jim agreed, himself finding Toby's attempt unsurprising too. "Anyway, Toby said that she recognised the Gaggletack and had paralyzed Toby during the appointment so that she could have a chance to interrogate him." the Trollhunter continued, to which once again shocked Marinette to her core.
"WHAT!? IS HE OKAY!?" Marinette yelled, her protective sisterly instincts kicking in the more she heard about what happened.
"He's okay, don't worry! Blinky and Aaarrrgghh! had decided to keep close to make sure we didn't run into the wrong Changeling, and kept her from hurting Toby till they got a hold of me." Jim assured Marinette, easing some of her worries with his explanation. "Plus they were also curious." the blue-eyed boy added, causing a confused look to appear on Marinette's face.
"Curious about what?" Marinette asked, her own curiosity growing about the news on Blinky and Aaarrrgghh!.
"Apparently, Troll's don't understand the concept of oral hygiene." Jim explained.
"EW!" Marinette recoiled, immediately understanding the implications in Jim's words. "But in any case, what happened after they contacted you?" the pigtailed girl questioned, wanting to know what happened next.
"Well, I was in the middle of a conversation with Claire. So when I found out what was going on, I raced over to the dentist and defeated the Changeling." Jim said, finishing off his retailing of the dentist office incident.
"And by 'defeated her', you mean…" Marinette trailed off, miming the beheading gesture instead of actually saying it.
"Unfortunately, yes." Jim confirmed, a grim look on his face. "But it was out of self defense! She would have killed us otherwise." the Trollhunter quickly added, hoping to assure Marinette that he didn't kill the Changeling out of cold blood.
"No, I'm not judging you at all!" Marinette exclaimed, holding her hands up in surrender as she spoke. "I'm sure if I was in your situation, I'd do the same thing to protect you guys." the designer admitted, making Jim sigh out in relief.
"Thanks for understanding, sis." Jim breathed out, glad that she didn't think less of him after his recent deed.
"You're welcome." Marinette replied, a small smile on her lips at his relief. "At least now we know that the Gaggletack works." the pigtailed girl remarked, bringing up a new main point of focus in their conversation.
"Yep! Does this mean that you'll have a bit more faith in Blinky?" Jim asked, a smirk on his lips.
"I have plenty of faith in him. It's just the idea of a horseshoe being able to do such a crazy thing that caught me off guard." Marinette explained, stretching her back muscles as she spoke and causing Tikki to fly off of her shoulder and float in front of her again.
"Fair point." Jim replied. "Are you going to tell Chat Noir and Master Fu about this?" the blue-eyed questioned, watching Marinette start back onto her current project.
"Going to have to tell them now that you proved that it's legit. I'll catch them up on the Gaggletacks when Chat and I have patrol next." Marinette responded, finishing up the base work for the album cover. "Maybe we can even check if we can get any from Stone Arc." the designer added, pulling up her drawing app's color scale.
"You going to see if Styx has any?" Jim asked, wondering if his sister would get help from her new go-to in Stone Arc.
"Obviously!" Marinette replied. "She helped me so much when I met her, and she's known for getting hard to find things! How could I not think of going to her?" the red-tipped haired girl rhetorically questioned, knowing that it was her best option to find a Gaggletack.
"Good point." Jim said, seeing the logic in her thought process after she stated her reasons.
"But what happens for you guys, now? Without a Changeling to prove our claims, Vendel will never believe you!" Marinette questioned as she picked out a few colors for the album's color palette, worried that her brothers were still in a tight spot with the elder of Heartstone.
"You mean us. You're a part of this whether I like it or not." Jim remarked, drawing a small smile to Marinette's face at the inclusion. "If there was another besides the curator, then there has to be more. We just have to be patient. In the meantime, my night time routine will now be filled with training sessions down in Trollmarket." the Trollhunter explained with a yawn, settling back into his chair as he covered his mouth in an attempt to hide his tiredness.
"Well I'd hope so. You need all the help you can get if you are going to find another Changeling." Marinette replied, a lopsided smile on her lips. "And not kill them next time around." she teased with a giggle, making Jim's good mood come down a bit at her jab at him.
"Ha ha, very funny." Jim sarcastically chanted, finding his sister's joke not very amusing. But regardless of his bruised pride, his smile soon returned in full as he tried to see what she was working on. "So, what are you up to with school being canceled?" the Trollhunter asked, tilting his head around to get a peak at Marinette's current project.
"Well, you know how I made Jagged Stone those shades for his concert yesterday?" Marinette questioned, the conversation pulling her away from choosing the color palette for the album before making the final design.
"Uh, yeah, why?" Jim replied, not seeing what his sister's favorite rockstar had to do with her work at the moment.
"Well, his manager, Bob Roth, came by the bakery and said that Jagged Stone wants me to design his new album cover!" Marinette exclaimed, her eyes becoming alight with a figurative shine as a suddenly shocked Jim took in her words.
"Seriously!? That's amazing, sis! I'm so proud of you!" Jim cheered, his voice filled with a mix of pride and joy at his sister's soon-to-be accomplishment.
"Thanks Jim, that means a lot!" Marinette happily replied, only for her happy mood to come down when she glanced at her current project. "But I wish that I was enjoying this more than I am." the designer sighed out as she slumped over herself as she spoke, much to Jim's sudden confusion.
"What do you mean? This is right up your alley!" Jim exclaimed, throwing his hands out towards his computer as he spoke
"Well, Bob Roth gave me some… very specific guidelines to follow. And this is because he said Jagged Stone is trying to go in a more modern direction." Marinette explained, picking up the XY CD to show it to Jim so he'd get an idea of what was asked of her. "He said that Jagged is looking to be more like XY." the designer added, causing a look of slight disgust to appear on Jim's face
"You mean that weird haired teen that released the worst album ever?" Jim asked, appalled by the idea of Jagged Stone taking inspiration from such a talentless hack.
"The very same." Marinette confirmed as she opened the CD and placed the disc into her stereo system. "Check out what his music sounds like." the designer said before she played the music on her speakers, the ear grating sounds that XY claimed was music blasting into the room.
"God, that is so annoying!" Jim exclaimed, squinting his eyes as he covered his ears to stop hearing the horrible noise.
"Oh, why does Jagged Stone want to change his style?" Marinette exclaimed as she covered her own ears, reaching over to her stereo and stopping the music. "XY's music is so cold and lifeless, repetitive, mundane, the total opposite of Jagged's!" the pigtailed girl ranted, leaning back into her chair as she spoke.
"And what I've just done here is...ugh...is so not my style either." Marinette sighed as she straightened up and looked down at the album cover she was making, unhappy with how it looked.
"So why are you doing it, then?" Tikki and Jim asked at the same time, not understanding why Marinette was not being true to herself with this offer.
"Because that's what I was asked to do." Marinette replied, going back to working on the album cover.
"Maybe you should follow your gut feeling. Do something that's really you!" Tikki suggested, flying over to Marinette to float above her shoulder.
"But Tikki, you heard what Mr. Roth said!" Marinette argued, looking away from the album cover she was working on so she could look at her kwami. "This is what's selling these days." the designer recited, imitating how Bob Roth sounded as she reminded her kwami of what was asked of her.
"Maybe you need to just be true to yourself, and not listen to what this Bob Roth guy told you to do." Jim spoke up, hoping to offer his sister some advice on this subject.
"Jim's right! Jagged Stone wanted you because of your style!" Tikki agreed, glad that she wasn't the only one there to give her holder advice. But it didn't seem to work very well if Marinette's conflicted expression was anything to go off on.
"Augh, the pressure! I can't deal with it!" Marinette exclaimed, pulling her attention away from the in progress album cover to place her hands onto her face to soothe an oncoming headache.
"Marinette, superhero of France, defender of the innocent, fighter of all the rights and honestly the best little sister in the world, can't deal with the pressure?" Jim teased with a fond smirk, pulling Marinette out of her current position of defeat and focusing her attention onto him and Tikki.
"You've dealt with far worse than this, Marinette. You can do this!" Tikki encouraged, bringing a smile to Marinette's face as she softly chuckled at the praise she received. But after a few seconds of contemplation, the designer reached a decision.
"Thanks you guys, but I think it's better safe than sorry if I just do what was asked of me." Marinette announced, turning XY's music back on before she resumed her drawing. Considering it was a project that she had very little interest in, Marinette soon finished drawing the cover just as the clock turned 3pm… taking her 5 hours to finish instead of at least a good 8-10 when she usually worked on things.
"There, it's done." the designer proclaimed, picking up her tablet to show the finished product to Jim and Tikki. "What do you guys think?" Marinette asked, even though the tense look on their faces was proof enough that they didn't like it.
"Well… it's definitely what you described what Bob Roth outlined." Jim remarked, not having any other words for his sister's latest project. Granted it was great, but it certainly wasn't true to what her usual style of work was.
"It'll certainly please him." Tikki added, giving her own two-cents to the feedback, much to Marinette's slight happiness.
"Thanks guys. I just hope Jagged likes it too." Marinette thanked, only to check the time and see that it was nearing the end of the day… her deadline! "Speaking of which, I have to get going if I'm going to make the deadline!" the pigtailed girl exclaimed before she pressed a button on the side of the screen and started printing the album cover.
"Good luck, sis. Hope it goes over well." Jim encouraged, watching Marinette cut the excess paper surrounding the newly printed cover and sliding it into an empty CD case to show it to Jagged Stone.
"Thanks, Jimbro. And I hope school goes well tomorrow for you and Tobes." Marinette replied as she got ready to leave, also grabbing some packages from her chaise before picking up her phone from its spot against her stereo. "Say 'hi to Toby for me!" the designer added, waving 'bye' to Jim.
"Will do. Bye!" Jim farewelled, waving back at Marinette as she walked to her trapdoor.
"Bye!" Marinette responded, quickly hanging up the call and exiting her room to head to Le Grand Paris to make her deadline, Tikki diving into her holder's purse just as the trapdoor closed behind them.
After Marinette left her house, she raced over to Le Grand Paris in order to make it in time to show Jagged Stone her album cover. Granted, she did take the time to stop at the post office to mail Jim, Toby, Aunt Barbara and Nana Domsalski original designs that she made them for Christmas, but she still had plenty of time to reach the hotel. However, as she stood in front of Jagged Stone Bob and Penny when presenting her design to the rockstar, her nerves went up when she saw the less than pleased face Jagged had.
"What happened to the raw, impulsive artistry that made this?" Jagged Stone questioned Marinette, Fang curled up behind the chair the rockstar was sitting on as he dropped the design onto the floor in disappointment.
"Yeah, about that, Mr. Roth told me–" Marinette began as she meekly scratched the back of her head, taking a step towards Jagged as she spoke.
"Marinette's young, Jag!" Bob exclaimed, interrupting Marinette before she could unknowingly rat him out. "She represents our target audience. She's come up with a modern concept that's exactly what you need." the sleazy manager continued, using Jagged and Penny's own idea to his advantage.
"Doesn't it look a lot like the cover of that YZ guy?" Jagged Stone pointed out, putting his manager on the spot.
"Oh, uh-" Bob began, only to come up empty for a response.
"Marinette, don't listen to Bob. Could you do another one? You know, Jagged style?" Jagged Stone asked Marinette, completely ignoring Bob in favor of the designer he hired.
"Yeah, sure!" Marinette hesitantly replied, only for Bob to put a threatening hand on her shoulder. "But I don't know if–" the pigtailed girl trailed off, not liking how Bob was acting at the moment.
"You're a talented girl, Marinette. Remember: raw, impulsive artistry." Jagged Stone encouraged, holding Marinette's hands as he spoke and leaving her starstruck, but not so much that she wasn't able to nod in confirmation to Jagged's request. "I think we're all done here, Bob." the rockstar concluded, letting Marientte's hands as she glanced over to his now angry manager.
"No! We are not!" Bob objected, placing a hand on Marinette's shoulder again after he got too close into Jagged's personal space. But Bob's angry rant was interrupted when Fang angrily growled at the manager, making Bob draw back out of fear and allowing Marinette to slip out from under his arm so Penny could walk over to her.
"Come with me, Marinette." Penny said as she began leading Marinette away from the angry record label owner, which the designer was all too eager to comply with. "Don't worry! Just do your best, okay?" the agent encouraged as she and Marinette walked to the suite door, much to Bob's rising frustration.
"We aren't–" Bob began, just to once again be interrupted again when Fang growled at him, much to his chardgin. "Aah!" the manager exclaimed, once again jumping back in fear of what the unleashed crocodile would do to him if he kept angering it. Jagged could only smile at the man's misfortune, confident that things would finally go his way.
When Bob finally left and Penny went out to run some errands, Jagged Stone decided to pass the wait time by watching his tablet. But as if the universe was against him, Jagged ended up watching Nadja Chamack as she interviewed Mr. XY himself, still sitting right where he was when Marinette had made her pitch earlier.
"Why am I number one? Simple. It's not about music, it's about technology." XY replied to a question Nadja had asked him during the interview, Jagged watching as he drank out of a glass of water before placing it down on the ledge behind the couch he was on. "This computer is programmed to produce music and lyrics people will like. It's guaranteed success." the rude 'musician' bragged before he took a sip from his drink, totally unaware of Jagged dragging his hand down his face with a growl of annoyance as he glared at the tablet.
"You knocked Jagged Stone off the #1 spot. What do you think of him?" Nadja asked in the interview, causing XY's face to contort in disgust.
"Bleah! Jagged Stone, the hero of rock 'n' roll? Try 'Ragged Stone'." XY trash talked through the tablet, throwing his drink aside as he spoke. "That guy's old school, a has-been. His guitar solo is so ten minutes ago." the cocky teenager continued, his words causing Jagged Stone's grip on the tablet to shake with his rising anger.
"Me? Old-school? A has-been?!" Jagged Stone exclaimed at the tablet, acting as if XY and Nadja could hear him through the screen.
"He's had his career, but it's over now. He'll never be number one again while XY is here." XY boasted in the interview, readjusting himself on the interview couch to take up a more… relaxing position.
"WHY, YOU LITTLE PERFUME AD!" Jagged Stone yelled, his anger rising to devastating heights the more he watched the interview.
"My music is killer." XY smugly proclaimed through the screen, once again shifting around the interview couch so he was sitting on the top of the backrest.
"HE'S STEALING MY CATCHPHRASES, TOO!" Jagged Stone exclaimed when he heard the familiar string of words, kicking his feet in the air out of anger before the screen cut to just Nadja as she continued her report.
"Tonight, Mr. XY will be giving a very special one-time concert from the top of the Eiffel Tower, to celebrate his album's success, and thank his awesome fans." Nadja announced on the tablet screen, the feed cutting to a crowd of XY's fans cheering for him at the foot of the mentioned monument. A second after the reporter finished speaking, the feed cut to XY as he stood in front of his bodyguards.
"Hey Ragged, if you wanna know what today's music sounds like, come to my concert." XY taunted through the feed, causing Jagged Stone to claw the tablet screen in fury. "I'll reserve you a front-row seat, old man, you know—in case your hearing's going." the talentless hack mocked, much to Jagged's continued fury.
"He can't talk about me like that! This guy's an insult to rock...and me!" Jagged Stone ranted out of rage, breaking the glass on the tablet in fury, destroying it. With the offending device now done for, the rockstar tossed it to Fang, who ate it whole before going to sleep while Jagged grabbed his guitar and started to angrily play it.
Below the city, Hawkmoth stood in the middle of his base of operations as the lair window opened up, sensing Jagged Stone's frustration and negative emotions. As light poured into the space, it disturbed the resting butterflies to start fluttering around the lair and their master as he looked out at the city he held hostage on the daily.
"I feel a disharmonious soul, an angry discord. Ideal prey for my evil akumas." the resident supervillain observed to himself before he transformed one of the white butterflies into an Akuma, allowing it to flutter free from his grasp after its transformation.
"Go find that Jagged Stone, and rock his world!" Hawkmoth exclaimed as he watched the akuma flutter through the lair window, targeting the angry rockstar.
Like the previous day with Pixelator, the akuma soon reached Le Grand Paris, entering Jagged's room through an open window while the rockstar was still angrily playing his guitar. Seeing its target preoccupied, the akuma fluttered towards Jagged Stone, narrowly avoiding Fang when he tried to bite it as the corrupted butterfly entered Jagged's guitar, halting the angry jam session that second.
"Guitar Villain, I am Hawkmoth. I'm giving you and your vicious crocodile the power to show the whole world that you are the number one rocker!" the psychopath offered to Jagged Stone through the newly created psychic link between them. "Just make sure you get me Ladybug and Cat Noir's Miraculous in return." Hawkmoth outlined, laying out his newest akuma's part of the agreement.
"Yeah! Let's rock!" Jagged Stone agreed, him and Fang quickly turning into their akumatized selves with the deal made.
Meanwhile in the ground floor of Le Grand Paris, Marinette was walking towards the front entrance while looking down at the cover of XY's album in her hands. But Marinette was so caught up in her own thoughts on how to make a new album cover, that she failed to see Adrien's limo pulling up on her left as she left the building, the model himself spotting her as he got out of the car.
"Hey. Marinette! Hey, hi!" Adrien called to the designer with a wave, pulling her attention away from the album in her hands while Gorilla closed the car door behind his charge.
"Hey! Oh, uh… what's doing on?" Marinette stuttered out when she saw Adrien, putting the album into her back pocket as she spoke. "I mean, how's up? I mean, oh, uh…" the pigtailed girl rambled on, only ending up slapping herself in the face when she realized how stupid she must have sounded to her crush.
"Well, uh…" Adrien began.
"Hi, Adrikins! There you are." A voice behind Marinette cried out, causing the girl to miss Chloé as she ran out hotel doors, which ended with the heiress pushing Marinette aside so she could reach Adrien and hug him tightly. "Amazing Chloé has got a surprise for you! She knows you're a fan of Jagged Stone's." Chloé cheered to her childhood friend, piquing Marinette's interests with the sudden reveal of the conversation topic.
"Uh, I am!" Adrien confirmed, a little uncomfortable with how Chloé was clinging to him.
"Sooo, you get a private meeting with your favorite star. He's staying right here in Daddy's hotel!" Chloé exclaimed, right before she took Adrien by the arm and led him to the front entrance. "Is Chloé the best, or is Chloé the best?" the blonde brat rhetorically questioned as she leaned her head onto Adrien's shoulder as they walked past Marinette, Chloé making sure that the boy's attention was kept onto her and her alone. But once they were gone, Marinette finally had enough focus to recall the conversation shared between the retreating teens.
"Did you hear that?" Marinette asked Tikki, bringing her bag up to her face so she could look at Tikki while she spoke to her
"Chloé speaking in the third person? Totally annoying!" Tikki ranted in an annoyed tone, poking her head out of her holder's purse.
"No! The part where Adrien likes Jagged just like me!" Marinette exclaimed in a hushed voice, hoping to keep her conversation with her kwami on the down-low. "Now I definitely can't mess up the artwork." the designer declared, much to Tikki's immediate curiosity.
"So, now what?" Tikki asked, raising a questioning eyebrow at her holder.
"I'm going to design Jagged Stone's next album my way, and no one else's." Marinette announced, feeling her confidence soaring to new heights as she made her decision.
"Way to go, Marinette! Follow your instinct!" Tikki cheered, only for her voice to catch the attention of Adrien's bodyguard, prompting Marinette to close her purse to hide her kwami from the beefy man.
"Uh, talking bag! New technology! Imported from Japan!" Marinette fibbed, showing off the alleged bag before walking away in the direction of her house, eager to start back on the album cover. Only this time, she would be true to herself.
Inside Le Grand Paris, Chloé and Adrien had reached the elevator and were waiting for the elevator to come down to the ground floor.
"You and I both like the same kind of music. Isn't that awesome?" Chloé excitedly questioned as she pressed the elevator button, bouncing on the balls of her feet while Adrien stood next to her in a more composed manner.
"I… thought you liked Mr. XY." Adrien remarked, suddenly pulling Chloé out of her giddy behavior.
"Of course I do! Don't you?" Chloé rebutted, defending her true taste in music and hoping that she and Adrien would have that in common too.
"Not really, no." Adrien replied, considering he himself found XY's music void of any feeling and talent… not that he would say that out loud of course.
"Uh… well, neither do I. See? We have the same great taste!" Chloé cheered, willing to play the 'Agree with Whatever They Say' card in order to appease Adrien.
Unbeknownst to either teen, off to their right, Bob was sitting in the waiting area of the lobby while having an interview about his plan for Jagged Stone and XY.
"A duet with Mr. XY would show everyone that Jagged's still got it, and—" Bob told the interviewer, only to be interrupted by a roar at the top of the grand staircase. Both Bob and the interviewer, plus Adrien and Chloé, looked to see where the roar came from, and were greeted by the sight of Guitar Villain standing at the top of the stairs, with a dragonised Fang standing on the level above his master.
"From now on, you can call him Guitar Villain. And he'll never do a duet with Mr. XY!" Guitar Villain proclaimed from his perch, ready to cause some chaos. "In fact, soon, there won't even be a Mr. XY!" the akumatized rocker added, right before he started shredding his guitar.
"Rockin' Riff, baby!" Guitar Villain exclaimed as he rapidly head banged during his shredding, a beam of purple energy from his guitar heading towards Bob and the interviewer. Once the beam passed, the two adults started dancing uncontrollably, making a mess of the sitting area as they did so. "Soon, there'll be nothing but Guitar Villain fans, the one and only rocker on Earth." the akuma announced from his spot on the stairs, eager to carry out his plan.
To say that Hawkmoth was pleased to hear Guitar Villain's proclamation from his side of the link between them, would be a gross understatement. He was very excited to see what his latest akuma had to offer.
"Such a symphony to my ears!" Hawkmoth crowed from the center of his lair. "It won't be long before Ladybug and Chat Noir show up to meet their doom!" the resident supervillain observed, all too glad to watch the ensuing chaos about to happen… yet again.
Back at Le Grand Paris, after seeing the akumatized Jagged Stone's display of his powers, Adrien's hero instincts took over and he stood in front of Chloé in a means to protect her if Guitar Villain should look their way. Thankfully for them, he hadn't yet, but it still left Adrien with the problem of transforming into his alter ego without anyone seeing it.
'If only I could find a way to leave Chloé and hide so I can start kicking this akuma's butt!' Adrien griped in his thoughts. 'But it's not like the opportunity is going to present itself to me in the next five seconds.'
"Hurry, Adrien, get me out of here!" Chloé exclaimed, much to Adrien's surprise as the elevator door finally opened behind them.
'That was convenient.' Adrien remarked in his thoughts before he picked Chloé up and placed her in the elevator, the doors closing between them a second later. With his childhood friend out of danger and the coast clear, Adrien ran over to a large flower pot that flanked the main staircase just as Guitar Villain started walking down it, DragonFang flying next to him.
"Yeah! Guitar Villain! Wooh!" Guitar Villain cheered as he and DragonFang left the hotel, right before Adrien decided to take the opportunity to hide so he could transform. Once he was alone, Plagg flew out of his shirt in preparation of being sucked back into the ring.
"Time to transform Plagg." Adrien said to his kwami, the little cat already looked tired despite not even doing anything yet as he floated in front of his holder while the boy finally called out… "Plagg, claws out!" the model proclaimed before he transformed, turning into his alter ego.
Now clad in his super suit, Chat Noir went off to battle against the latest akuma just in time to see DragonFang flying out of the hotel and past the doorman to cause chaos in the streets in front of the hotel. Next thing either the doorman or Chat Noir knew, Guitar Villain had exited the building after his pet and appeared right next to the doorman.
"Rockin' Riff, baby!" Guitar Villain exclaimed with a head bang, shooting the doorman with the corresponding purple energy, causing the poor man to start dancing.
With another victim to his powers, Guitar Villain then proceeded to walk out from the hotel and do the same with several cars, pigeons, and people, causing them all to dance without any means of stopping themselves. But his fun was all about to come to an abrupt halt when Chat Noir managed to avoid the akuma's attacks and perch himself on the Fontaine du Palmier.
"Hey, Jagged! C'mon! Why don't you try to rock my world?" Chat Noir taunted from his perch, drawing Guitar Villain's attention right onto him.
"The name's Guitar Villain, pussycat." Guitar Villain replied back, aiming his guitar at the feline hero as he prepared to attack. "Awesome Solo!" the akuma exclaimed, headbanging as he shredded his guitar and fired orange energy at Chat Noir, causing the hero in black to jump off the fountain as the energy knocked it down. With the fountian knocked down, Chat Noir still had to dodge more shots of the orange energy, while DragonFang flew overhead and breathed a cloud of green fire at the feline hero just as he was about to attack his master. Thanks to DragonFang, Chat Noir tumbled to the ground and picked himself up just in time to dodge yet another stream of green fire aimed at him.
"Awesome Solo!" Guitar Villain shouted, once again shredding on his guitar and hitting the retreating Chat Noir with orange energy, pinning him against a building wall. "Welcome to my fan club, baby!" the akumatized rockstar announced as he kept hitting Chat Noir with the orange energy, soon letting the hero in black fall to the ground.
A little ways away from the occurring clash between Chat Noir and Guitar Villain, Marinette was walking home when she overheard the fight a block behind her. Just when she turned around to see what was going on, she caught a glimpse of DragonFang as he flew overhead of the battle.
"Do you see what I see, Tikki?" Marinette questioned her kwami, in shock of what she had just seen… even if it was the second dragon she had seen that month.
"If you see a dragon, then yes I do." Tikki replied after she flew out of Marinette's purse, floating next to her holder as she confirmed that Marinette wasn't seeing things.
"I've gotta transform!" Marinette voiced, soon spotting a tree to hide behind so she could do as such. With a look around to make sure no one was around, the pigtailed girl pulled out her runestone necklace and clasped her hand over it, activating her Ladybug disguise. Once the disguise had taken full effect, she finally called out…
"Tikki, spots on!" the designer exclaimed, triggering her transformation into Ladybug. When she was finished turning into her alter ego, she left her hiding place and went out to join Chat Noir in battling the latest akuma.
Just when she got there, she was in time to see Chat Noir hit by a car thrown by one of Guitar Villain's blasts and knocked into a lamppost, followed by DragonFang firing at him again. Seeing the danger her partner was in, Ladybug jumped into the fray and blocked DragonFang's attack with her yo-yo, saving Chat Noir from the blast.
"Chat Noir, you okay?" Ladybug asked with a glance over her shoulder, checking up on her partner as he recovered from his earlier bump on the head.
"Good to see you, My lady." Chat Noir greeted, only for their moment to be interrupted when they heard DragonFang circling overhead, preparing to attack again.
"Chat Noir, your stick!" Ladybug exclaimed as she threw her yo-yo to wrap it around Chat Noir's ankle and yeeted him towards DragonFang.
While he was surprised by the sudden action from his partner, Chat Noir quickly realized Ladybug's plan and extended his baton right in DragonFang's mouth, pinning it open. But after he had done as he was asked, Chat Noir was thrown off of DragonFang, followed by the reptile closing his mouth to make the baton pop out. Using the momentum of his fall, Chat Noir managed to propel himself to a building wall and pushed himself off of it to head towards the ground, catching his weapon in the process. But while he was happy to have his baton back, Chat Noir failed to see the path ahead of him and crashed into a traffic light, leading him to fall to the ground as he nursed the point of impact to soothe the pain.
"You're wasting my time." Guitar Villain shouted to the two heroes, standing on DragonFang's back while Ladybug met back up with her partner. "I've got a concert to get to!" the akuma proclaimed before flying off, leaving Ladybug and Chat Noir behind on the ground.
"Come on, we gotta follow them!" Ladybug exclaimed, running over to a building and used her yo-yo to pull herself onto a roof, Chat Noir following behind before they landed on the rooftop. "His power comes from playing his guitar. We've got to keep him from performing." the spotted heroine observed, her and Chat Noir watching Guitar Villain as he made his way to the Eiffel Tower.
"Well, you know I won't let you do this solo, M'Lady." Chat Noir added, knowing full well that he would stop at nothing to help her. With the words of encouragement having been spoken, Ladybug smiled at her partner before the two of them began to follow after Guitar Villain, ready to defeat the latest akuma.