Very sorry for the late update these past few weeks and for any slow responses to all your lovely comments. My story is getting ready for inventory and it's been exhausting. It's just about over though.

I normally edit my chapters a few times but I was in a bit of a rush and this is already late. Please forgive any mistakes. I plan to go back and fix them later. Other than that please enjoy. I had some fun with this one.

Content warning: Non consensual drug use, lying, forced confessions, and minor injuries.

Chapter 12

Truth and Cookies

Adrien wasn't sure if he should be worried or not. Varian hadn't been down for breakfast the last few mornings and even with Nathalie's assurance that he was fine, it wouldn't be the first time they had lied about something like that. So he was a little surprised to see him running back and forth to the kitchen and his basement lab just after finishing his breakfast.

"Ah, good morning Varian." he must have been distracted to jump as high as he did. "Sorry didn't mean to startle you." Varian waved him off and smiled.

"It's fine, I was just trying to time these right since I had to adjust the original recipe." He held out a large tray of purple cookies steaming hot fresh out of the oven.

"Wow, those look good. Mine if I-" but Varian pulled the tray away.

"Careful, they're still hot and they're not finished. These are Pfeffernuss, a German spiced cookie. They're usually brown but I added some bimberries to the recipe."

"What's a bimberry?" Varian cringed for a moment but quickly covered his tracks.

"Sorry, mistranslation, I meant blueberries. I still have to coat these in powdered sugar before I take them to the festival today."

"Ah, I meant to tell you about that but I haven't seen you for a few days."

"Yeah, sorry I couldn't make breakfast, I was under the weather the last few days." Not entirely untrue, his ribs needed some time to heal after all. "Max told me about when we were texting the other day." Just then he heard Gorilla honk the horn reminding him it was time to go.

"I've got to get to school, see you at the festival!" Varian waved goodbye as he rushed back to the basement to get something. Adrien was about to leave when he glanced at the tray of warm cookies again.

One of the photographers had made a snide comment about him snacking on some of the treats Marinette had brought for the class. As a result his father was implementing a new healthy eating regimen for him.

'And yet Varian is allowed to eat whatever he wants. It wasn't fair, why was he getting special treatment?' Spitefully he took a cookie from the tray. 'He won't mind if I just take one.' he thought, taking a single cookie for the road. It was pretty tasty but oddly didn't taste much like blueberry.

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

Most of Marinette's classmates headed right to the festival after school since it was so close. Her parents were already there setting up and selling a wide variety of dishes and advertising their bakery. There was so much to do there: games, vendors, music and plenty of food. She'd be helping her parents most of the day but they did promise she could have a little fun. Kitty Section was playing later and she wanted to go and support her friends.

It was a nice distraction from the Celestial Guardian incident. Shadow Moth had attacked a few times since then but Tanuki was suspiciously absent. She wanted to confront him about what happened or get his side of the story but that was going to have to wait.

After the set up was complete she started making the rounds. A few people were still setting up since the Ice truck driver was still delivering to most of the stalls but the festival was already in full swing. Alya's big sister was selling tickets for her next match as well offering classes for anyone who wanted to learn. André the Ice cream man already had a line. And she saw Alex's brother Jalil who was supposed to be handing out flyers for the new exhibitions at the Louvre but he seemed to be talking about some kind of conspiracy theory about ghosts from the moon.

She finally made it over to the area where most of her school mates had booths for their clubs. Kim and Alix were selling homemade power bars and smoothies for some of the after school sports. The art club was auctioning off some of the student's paintings and Kitty Section had their own booth where they could sell their CDs and advertise their show later that evening. And that was just the tip of the iceberg.

She also noticed a large group gathering around the science club booth. Curious, she headed over there to see what was going on. Of all the booths this was the most lively one. Ms. Mendeleiev was running it while Max was there with Markov on full display. There were also a lot of interactive displays like the types she remembered from Science museums as a child. There was also a large pile of purple cookies they were selling and they seemed to be going fast. They were also giving some away to people who could answer a science question. They were very popular indeed.

"OK next question." She looked up recognizing that voice. She almost didn't see Varian in the crowd as he held up a cookie offering it as a prize. "What is the difference between flammable and inflammable?" That was a tricky one but a girl in the back raised her hand.

"I know! They both mean the same thing. Something that can easily catch fire."

"And the lady gets a prize." Varian said as the girl came up to claim her prize as the crowd cheered. "That's it for now folks but we'll have more science trivia in a half hour. Can't wait? We still have some for sale." Marinette was impressed with Varian's ability to draw a crowd but then again science was his passion.

But there was something about the way he spoke that reminded her a little of…No that couldn't be right. He showed up a month after Tanuki came through the portal Adrien said so himself. But then she remembered his speech to her and their friends saying how Gabriel Agreste had been helping him. It almost implied he was being helped beforehand but Gabriel was away before he brought Varian back. Although Tanuki had disappeared for a month before their first confrontation…

She sighed. She couldn't just accuse him based on such flimsy evidence and if he was Tanuki Gabriel would almost have to be involved. But she knew that wasn't true since he's been akumatized more than once. Max spotted her and waved.

"Greetings Marinette." She waved back and went up to take a better look at their stand. Several kids were still playing with the tornado in a jar and a few people were eyeing Markov with interest.

"Looks like you guys went all out." She said, smiling at the curious children. "Who made the cookies?"

"That would be Varian." Max said as the boy was digging something out of his bag.

"It's just a little recipe from home. We usually eat them around Christmas time but I figured they'd be good for the booth." He dropped a box onto the table and carefully pulled out a figure of a knight and set it down gently. From the Sport Club booth next to them Alix craned her neck to get a better look.

"Is that?"

"I believe it is the automaton Varian said he was working on." Max started eyeing the figure.

"Oh cool!" She handed her flyers to Kim. "Cover me for a few would you?" and ran off before he could answer. Kim was not very happy that not only was the science club getting all the attention, no one had wanted any of his health smoothies and now Alex was ditching him for the new kid. He should be happy for Max, he knew that, but ever since Varian came to town he had been seeing less and less of him. And he didn't like it one bit.

"Why is he even here? Your booth is for the Science Club. He doesn't even go to our school." Varian looked hurt for a moment but then turned back to the figure while Max shot him a disapproving look.

"That was uncalled for Kim, you know we have trouble getting people interested in our club. Varian just offered to help." Varian rubbed his arms, still not looking at Kim.

"It-it's fine. I-I suppose it is a little weird being here." Ms. Mendeleiev put her hand on his shoulder.

"Nonsense. Science is the study of the world and understanding how it works! We can't deny someone a chance to learn and explore the endless possibilities!" While her students groaned, used to her over the top excitement, Varian seemed to be hanging onto her every word.

"I wish I was in your class, it sounds like so much fun!" Ms. Mendeleiev beamed while the others looked at him like he was a little crazy. Marinette had no doubt he'd be a Teacher's pet if he was in their class.

"From what I heard about your test scores I'm not sure if there's much I could teach you." He actually looked a little sad hearing that.

"Still, to study in a lab with other like minded students with a teacher who can answer questions and give advice!" He kept rambling but as he did Kim was becoming more and more agitated. So much so that he wasn't paying attention when he was cutting up the kale for his smoothies and the knife sliced his hand.

"Ahh!" His cries of pain allerted the others and Ms. Mendeleiev jumped into action. First aid was essential in her class. She was used to dealing with accidents so she quickly washed the area with bottled water and wrapt it until he could get to the medical station.

"Kim are you OK?" Max freeted as their teacher tended to his wound.

"I'm fine, it's just a nic nothing serious." He seemed relieved until Marinette spotted Varian turned away covering his mouth looking like he was going to pass out.

"Varian, are you OK?" He nodded but still wasn't turning around.

"Sorry it just…I'm not great with…" Ms. Mendeleiev's attention was now on him.

"You seem to be suffering from hemophobia." She said giving him room in case he vomited.

Kim looked on incredulously. He was the one hurt but all the attention was back on the Basement Dweller?

"Hemophobia? You're afraid of…guys?" Everyone turned and looked at him like he was an idiot.

"No," Marinette said gently. "It means he's afraid of blood." Varian nodded slowly, turning around.

"Yeah, I get really lightheaded and I've been known to pass out if I see or smell…" he covered his mouth again fighting nausea as well. Ms. Mendeleiev handed him a bottle of water from the ice chest. Varian hesitated for a moment but then accepted it with his gloved hand.

Marinette thought for a moment thinking about the attack of Su-Han. Judging from the wounds there must have been a lot of blood. She doubted Varian would be capable of something like that if a little cut was affecting him so much. Once the drama was over Varian went back to showing Alix and Max the automaton. He had just started it but was discussing how they could give it a series of complicated movements. She was about to leave when Varian stopped her.

"Hang on Marinette, you almost left without your prize." He held up one of his purple cookies offering it to her.

"But, I didn't answer a science question." He just smiled.

"You knew the definition of Hemophobia, we'll call it extra credit." She took one with a smile but then saw Kim scowling behind him. Not wanting a fight, or a random Akuma possession, she went over to Kim's stall.

"With all this junk food I'll undoubtedly be eating, I think I'll take a health smoothie as well." Kim instantly perked up and replaced his cutting board to make her a fresh one. One whiff told her that Varian might not be the only reason his stall wasn't doing so well. Thankfully she didn't drink it in front of him because she nearly spit it out when she did. The boy must have an iron clad stomach to drink this. She thought as she discreetly tossed the drink and ate the cookie to cleans her pallet. She got a strawberry smoothie from another stall as well as some snacks from a few others before making her way to the Kitty Section booth, pleased to see it was busy as well. One of their CDs was playing in the background as the band members signed autographics for anyone who wanted them.

"Marinette!" Rose shouted, waving at her. "Glad you could make it." she said, taking a sip from her raspberry lemonade.

"I see you're pretty popular." Marinette said, looking at the line. "You guys go on stage at 7:00 right?" the petite blond girl nodded.

"Yep and guess what, Adrien is going to be playing with us tonight." Marinette felt her heart speed up and her brain going fuzzy.

"A-Adrien's here!"

"Hello Marinette." The boy in question greeted as Ivan was trying to adjust the volume on the speaker.

"Hi!" she said a little too loudly. "H-how are you enjoying the festival?"

"Great, wish I could enjoy some of the food but my Father has me on this new Healthy diet." He huffed. "Wish he would have waited until after the festival at least." He said, eyeing the box of purple cookies Luka had bought for the band. "Maybe he'll let me have one of Kim's heath smoothies at least." he looked at his bodyguard hoping he'd give in.

"Oh, I wouldn't recommend them. They taste like dirty socks." As soon as the word's left her mouth she cringed. 'Why did I say that? Kim's already having a bad enough night as it is.' Adrien laughed thinking she was making a joke.

"So did I hear right? Rose said you were going to be playing with the band tonight." She said quickly changing topics.

"It's been a lot of fun and I'm so glad I get to perform tonight with my friends. Thanks for asking Rose." She nodded nibbling on one of the Science Club's cookies.

"No problem, Varian said he was busy with the Science Club booth and wouldn't have time." She squeaked and covered her mouth as Adrien looked at her with a hurt expression.

"Rose!" Marinette scolded.

"I'm sorry, I don't know why I said that. But Varian's not kept locked up as much and have you heard his playing? He great!" Rose cover her mouth again. Adrien, now thurley insulted, picked up his bag.

"Well if that's how you feel, see if he's smart enough to clone himself so he can be in two places at once!" he said bitterly and was about to storm off.

"Wait!" Rose cried out. "I'm so sorry. You're really great too Adrian, but Varian looks like a lost little puppy half the time and we wanted him to feel included." Adrien stopped, maybe he was being petty. After all, everyone went out of their way to make him feel welcome when he first came to school.

"I'm sorry too, must be the hunger pains." As soon as he said that, Gorilla handed him a bag of dried fruit. "Thanks." he said miserably.

"Don't worry, I'll sneak you some macaroons later when your bodyguard isn't around." Marinett offered but Gorilla immediately turned to her and folded his arms in a threatening manner.

"Ah! Why did I say that out loud?" She had been getting better at talking to Adrien lately, why did it seem like she was reverting.

"Well the sentiment is appreciated." she let out a tiny laugh.

"That's good because I've had this monster crush on you for the longest time and any compliment you give me feels like honey in my brain." The music stopped and everyone in the booth was staring at her in disbelief. Did Miranette just confess to Adrien after all this time?

"You…you have?" Adrien asked, the second most shocked of all. The first was obviously Marinette who had no idea how or why she just confessed the way she did. She had to backtrack to make him think he'd misheard.

"Of course I have. Everyone's figured out ages ago that I'm in love with you. Why do you think I keep getting tongue tied whenever you're around?" 'AAAAHHHHHHHH!' She mentally screamed. This was not happening, this can't be happening!

"So…you've really liked me all this time and I've really never noticed?"

'Oh no! Now I've made him feel bad. I have to fix this.'

"I wanted to tell you so many times but I could never get the words out. Then you said you were in love with someone who loved someone else and I realized I'd probably missed my chance."

'Make it STOP!'

She couldn't keep herself from spilling everything she'd kept inside for the longest time. Adrien had no idea how to react. Sure people had confessed their love for him but they were just fans. Had he heard those hollow confession so many times he'd gone numb to the real ones?

"Marinette, I-"

"Before you say anything I'm going to run away because hearing you reject my feelings would be absolutely soul crushing. So…Bye!" and with that she ran off her face beet red from embellishment. Leaving everyone behind in a stunned silence.

Of all people Juleka was the first person to speak up even if only Rose heard her.

"Juleka, how can you say that!?" She whispered something back. "I know but…" Rose glanced at Adrien with a sad expression. Ivan was adjusting the speakers again trying to ignore the tension in the booth.

"I can't believe Marinette confessed." Luka said looking depressed but then turned to Adrien. "And how do you feel about her now that she has?" Adrien felt extremely uncomfortable, like he was being tested.

"Honestly I'm not sure. She's a great friend that's for sure but…"

"But you're in love with someone else right?" That was definitely accusatory.

"I am but she's in love with someone else too." he said sadly thinking about how Ladybug rejected him.

"Whatever you do, you better not hurt her. I love her too much to let that happen." Luka's eyes went wide realizing what he had just said. "Somethings wrong here. I didn't mean to say that last part." Rose agreed.

"I know, I was trying to make everyone happy but my voice wouldn't stop." Adrien looked up hearing an argument in one of the other booths.

"What do you mean she's prettier than me?" and another in the crowd. "Yes I love Mr. Whiskers more than you." and another. "You take that back or so help me!" Within a matter of minutes the crowd descended into chaos. Adrien slipped away. If this was an Akuma attack he'd be ready.

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

Marinette wasn't sure if she wanted to scream or cry or lock herself in her room for the rest of her life. Why had she just confessed to Adrien that she was in love with him? It was like she had no control and couldn't stop. Then she heard the yelling. It was coming from everywhere with people saying hurtful things, confessions, and admissions no one seemed to be able to control.

"I've been stealing from her for years and she's never noticed."

"I don't care that you two are married, I'm in love with you both!"

"I could have been a better person, why do I keep sabotaging myself?"

"The ghost of the Moon is real! Why won't someone believe me?"

"I like to act tough but sometimes I just want to be pretty but I'm too afraid to be seen as weak."

It had to be an Akuma Attack. Something was making everyone tell the truth. She slipped away to transform. 'Thank God!' she thought. 'I just need to defeat the Akuma and everything will go back to normal and Adreian won't remember a thing.

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

Shadow Moth was in his layer when he felt it. A surge of negative emotions larger than he had ever seen before.

"I knew Tanuki was up to something big but this was way more than I expected." He wasted no time picking out one of the strongest emotions he could control and choose his victim. But at the same time he wondered why the boy didn't tell him what he was up to.

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

The Science Club Booth was in chaos with Ms. Mendeleiev correcting everyone who made even the tiniest mistake people were getting ready to punch her. While at the sports booth Kim had to be held back because so many people were calling him an idiot and telling him his Health shakes tasted like dirt and his protein bars looked like hamster food. Varian used the chaos to slip away.

"I think you might have gone a little too far." Ruddiger whispered. "Aren't these people your friends?" Varian sighed.

"I have no choice. More people will get hurt the longer this war goes on. This experiment could be crucial." He triple checked to make sure he was alone and no one followed him this time. "Beside everyone leaves me in the end even if I did see them as a friend." He could see Ruddiger's sad expression just before he transformed.

"Let's see if I was right." He said as an Akuma started attacking. "Better get into character."

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

Lady bug was very confused. The Akuma Attacking was one big ball of rage so how was this connected with all the people forced to tell the truth. She had to have a gag she could shove into her mouth to keep herself from spilling her identity but the giant monster was more interested in squishing her than getting her to confess.

Right now Chat Noir was distracting him while she came up with a plan.

"Nice night for an Akuma attack." She turned around and standing right behind her was the villous raccoon himself. "Wouldn't you agree, Ladybug?" The words came out before she could stop them.

"No actually I was having a nice night until I suddenly couldn't stop telling the truth." She cupped her hands over her mouth but the boy was already smirking.

"Enjoying the festival I see." Her eyes narrowed.

"How did you know?"

'"Well it's where I dosed the crowd with my truth serum so it's safe to assume you were there not too long ago." She scowled at him. "Let's test it out. What's your true identity?" but she was ready for him this time. She shoved the gag into her mouth muffling her response. That annoying smirk didn't leave his lips though.

"That's alright I've already narrowed it down to Collège Françoise Dupont." Her eyes widened around the gag that was thankfully covering up her response. "If you're asking how I know I think I'll just keep that bit of info to myself for now." She took the gag away but kept it ready.

"I see you're not dosed yourself." He shrugged.

"My secrets are mine to keep."

"What happened with the Celestial Guardian? Why did you attack him." And instantly his smirk fell.

"You've got that backward Ladybug. He attacked me!"

"He's the one who's currently in a coma."

"He tried to take my kwami away. He's the only thing I have left in this strange world of yours." He said clenching his fists. "Everyone is so quick to judge even it wasn't my fault." he said under his breath but Ladybug still heard it.

"He tried to use your Miraculous didn't he?" He paused for a moment before laughing sadly.

"We did warn him." He looked at her seriously. "No one else has to get hurt, Ladybug."

"If you're about to say, 'As long as you give up your Miraculous.' it's not going to happen." She tried to surprise him by ensnaring him with her yoyo but to her surprise it went right through him.

"What the?"

"You'll forgive me for not being here myself, I really am more of a strategist than a fighter." He said even as his image flickered in and out. "It's funny really, our powers are pretty similar. But while both are difficult to master, mine can make whatever I want and yours gives you exactly what you need." She figured he must be using his bag of tricks to communicate with her from a distance. That explains why he wasn't trying to force her to reveal her identity, he couldn't physically restrain her.

"Afraid of facing me one on one?" He just laughed.

"I'd rather avoid another psychotic monk for a while, not to mention your foxy little spy?" She gasped and shoved the rag back in her mouth not wanting Alya's identity to be compromised.

"So it's true then. I admit it was just an educated guess on my part. Thanks for clearing that up." She scowled. He was distracting her and she needed to take care of this Akuma first.

"Lucky charm!" she shouted but when she turned around Tanuki was gone. She'd have to worry about that later though as she quickly used her charm to defeat the Akuma and set everything back to normal. She breathed a sigh of relief as Chat Noir came to join her.

"All's well that ends well Milady." she nodded.

"Thank goodness, I was afraid I'd tell you that I actually like your jokes." He laughed but Ladybug's eyes shot open. She was still telling the truth!

"I…I don't understand! Why didn't it go away?" Chat was looking at her confused.

"Milady? What's wrong?" she looked back at him terrified.

"I don't know how he did it but Tanuki doses me and a lot of other people with truth serum but the lucky charm didn't fix it!" Chat looked shocked as well, that had never happened before.

"We're about to turn back, maybe you should lay low for a while." she shook her head.

"I need to know what he did. Recharge your kwami and meet me back at the festival."

"The festival?"

"It's where he attacked."

"That would explain why it didn't affect me, I wasn't at the festival." He hated lying to her but with everything going on keeping their identities a secret was more important than ever.

Quick as a flash the two heroes returned to the confused but more mellow crowd. It seems that the truth serum was wearing off a little. While people still had to tell the truth they could now choose not to answer.

"Alright everyone I need to know who was affected and who wasn't. It would also be very helpful to know what everyone ate or drank so we can figure out the source." There were some inconsistencies but after interviewing about a dozen people there was one thing they all had in common. They all had the purple cookies. She made her way over to the science booth.

"Varian I need to know, were you approached by anyone or were your cookies left unattended?" The boy's eyes widened.

"What? You think I did this?"

"I don't want to accuse you but you're smart enough to create something like that and everyone I asked so far ate some of your cookies." For a moment there was a flash of anger in his eyes but he took a breath and pushed it down.

"And I've been eating them all day and I've had no problem holding my tongue."

"You could have made the antidote and taken it ahead of time." Max stated and then cringed. "My apologies, Varian." The other boy didn't seem too upset with him though.

"It's OK, I just want to get to the bottom of this as well." He turned to a girl in the crowd who happened to be the queen of liars herself. "Here Lira, you said you weren't affected." He held up the surgery concoction. "Try one.'' He couldn't hide the little smirk when he said it and it sent shivers down the girl's spine.

"Oh I believe you Varian but my doctor told me to cut back on sweets." she said, obviously lying. "Why don't you have it?" she challenged. In response Varian took a huge bite out of it.

"Your loss." Seeing all this Kim slammed his hands against the table.

"Leave her alone!" he marched up to the other boy. "Who knows what you put in those things. I wish you were guilty just so I didn't have to see your scrawny butt again." Max gasped. He knew Kim and Varian weren't quite getting along but this? Varian scowled at him but for some reason didn't look surprised.

"Good to know how you really feel about me." he said bitterly. "At least I don't have to worry about you pretending to care before stabbing me in the back." This only upset Max more as he looked back and forth between two of his friends.

"This is so unlike you Kim, what has he done to make you hate him so much?" At this point Kim could have kept quiet but everything was out in the open and he needed to vent.

"Ever since he showed up, everyone's been pushing me to the side because Varian is so smart and talented. While I'm just the dumb jock who can't hold a candle to him. But what's worse is that now you're spending all your time with him and have completely forgotten about me!" Max was so stunned he didn't know what to say. Varian on the other hand…"

"So you pretty much hate me for existing and making a friend. Is that right?"

"I hate you because you're always showing off." Varian laughed incredulously.

"Me! Who's always flexing their mussels in public like a big dumb peacock?" Kim reached forward and grabbed Varian by the front of his shirt.

"You calling me dumb!?" At this point Chat Noir and Ladybug had to step in and break up the fight.

"Calm down you two." Chat Noir said to the pair. "We don't need any more Akuma's popping up." He then turned to Kim. "What did you mean earlier when you said you wished Varian did it? Do you know something?" Adrien knew it wasn't the cookies since he had one earlier and it had no effect but he couldn't admit to that if he wanted to keep his identity a secret. Kim turned away keeping quiet this time but Ladybug also turned to him.

"Please Kim, it's important." At first it looked like he was going to refuse but in the end he relented.

"It couldn't have been Varian because I never ate any of the cookies and I still can't lie." And with that Varian gathered up what was left of the cookies as well as the rest of his belongings.

"Well, unless anyone else wants to falsely accuse me of anything I'll be leaving." Max ran up to him while Alix was pulling him aside.

"Varian wait," Varian paused but didn't turn around. "Kim's not usually like this, he's just…"

"Dosed with truth serum?" Varian sigh. "Look I know everyone's operating without a filter right now but he's not the first person to say they hated me to my face. It's better if I just leave."

"But if you two just talked you could-" but Varian cut him off.

"And I'm not interested in being friends with someone who clearly hates me!" he said a little louder than he expected. "Sorry, but I've been down this road before. I'm done bending over backwards for people like that." Max watched sadly as his new friend walked away and his old friend sitting on the curb with his head in his hands. How had things gotten so out of hand so quickly?

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

Varian appreciated the irony of being falsely accused while being the actual perpetrator. The truth was he had set it up so that he was likely to be accused just so he could be proven innocent to avert suspicion. He was convinced Ladybug was some in that school and possible within Adrien's circle of friends. So it wasn't a surprise that Ladybug found him suspicious, he had planned for it.

What he didn't plan on was Kim's downright hatred of him for him just being himself. It hurt but it was a reminder, as fun as it was to hang out with kids his own age in the end no one would have his back when it really counted. It was dangerous to get too close and a lesson he was constantly having to relearn.

But now he could focus on the task at hand. His test was a success and he couldn't wait to see Gabriel's face when he learned what it meant.

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

Marinette collapsed onto her bed utterly exhausted. It had been one hell of a night. After Varian was cleared they continued asking everyone affected what they ate or drank and got absolutely nowhere. Everyone had something different and nothing was consistent. Even some of the people who didn't eat anything were still affected but not everyone was. It frustrated her that she couldn't find a pattern. She even entertained the idea multiple areas were dosed but she still couldn't narrow down the source.

What bothered her more was the fact that Tanuki had managed to drug half the town and the Lucky Charm was unable to fix it. Luckily the serum had worn off about an hour after the battle but when the authorities tried to test for it whatever it was vanished as well as the symptoms.

Her phone went off and she was relieved to see Alya had gotten back to her.

"Hey Alya, any luck with those videos?" As Ladybug she asked if anyone had footage of that night to see if they could spot anyone suspicious.

"Sorry I had Nino help but neither of us saw anything useful." Marinette sighed.

"It was worth a shot. It's possible he drugged the food beforehand." Alya nodded.

"But the food and drinks came from all over. Someone would have seen someone messing it at least once." Marinette pinched the bridge of her nose feeling she was missing something right in front of her. But for the life of her she couldn't see it. The Lucky Charm usually gave her a hint for something like this. Speaking of which…

"What worries me is that Tanuki might have found a way around the Lucky Charm. I thought this whole situation was weird but now that I think about it it feels like one big test. Only I don't know what he found."

"And now he's got a truth serum as a weapon." she groaned wondering if she was too young to develop an ulcer.

"Which he used to confirm I've given the Fox Miraculous to someone again." Alya looked scared for a moment until Marinette reassured her. "Oh, don't worry. He still thinks it's a new holder, I was able to keep your secret.

"That's a relief."

"That's the only one we had tonight. The bottom line is we may have defeated Shadow Moth tonight but we lost to Tanuki." Alya nodded in agreement.

"We're going to have to play smarter, that's all." Marinette agreed, she'd start first thing in the morning. Right now she needed some sleep and noting not even worrying about Tanuki was going to keep her up tonight.

"Before you go Marinette, could you just tell me one thing?" Miranette yawned.

"Sure what?"

"Did you really confess to Adrien tonight?" Marinette's eyes widened in panic and screamed into her pillow.

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

Shadow Moth was more than a little disappointed. He had a virtual sea of victims thanks to Varian but the one he chose was defeated just as easily as any other. He didn't even help in the battle. What was that boy playing at?

"Well that was certainly a very fruitful night." Came a voice from within the shadows. Shadow Moth turned to find Varian sitting in the corner, his feet on the desk and eating one of those purple cookies with a smug look on his face.

"And what, pray tell, was that all about?" Varian finished his snack and sat up resting his chin in his hands.

"That, my esteemed partner, was a very successful experiment."

"And what exactly did we gain from that? My Akuma still lost and your truth serum failed to tell us Ladybug and Chat Noir's secret identities." If possible Varian's smirk became even wider.

"What we gained was a valuable piece of information." He turned around pulling up a file on the computer he was in front of.

"Our biggest problem in this war is not Ladybug herself but her Lucky Charm. It's not an easy weapon to use but she happens to be very good at it. It's pretty much an instant win card as long as she can solve its riddle." Shadow Moth rolled his eyes.

"We know all this already. How was your little stunt going to help with that?" Varian found the file he was looking for and pulled up Optigami's information.

"I've been going over all your old battle logs and I found this one to be very interesting." On the screen was an image of the Sentimonster hiding in the turtle Miraculous. "Gotta admit, this was one of your better plans. Using a setimonster to try and learn Ladybug's identity? Brilliant! Shame you didn't try a variation of this instead of…I don't know, Akumatizing Mr. Pigeon 72 times."

"Get to the point." Shadow Moth was quickly losing his patiences. Varian pointed to Lucky Charm.

"In every other case the Lucky Charm has given her the answer to defeat your Akuma attack, but not this time. Can you guess why?" Gabriel thought for a moment.

"Because the attack was only a diversion."

"BINGO! However Ladybug didn't know that at the time…but the Lucky Charm did." He pulled up the scene after the battle where she caught something in the mirror telling her that this Nino was a fake.

"The Lucky Charm was aware of what the real threat was and gave her the solution to the bigger threat. But that's what got me thinking. What if there were two threats and both of them were real?" Realization was now dawning on Gabriel.

"Like a full on Akuma attack or Ladybug's identity being compromised?" he said, starting to see where this was going.

"Would it be able to deal with both attacks or just one? The answer…" Varian held out a single finger. Gabriel frowned.

"But she was able to keep her identity a secret so she only needed the lucky charm for the attack."

"That's not the point." Varian argued. "She never found out where the truth serum was hidden, leaving her valuable to another attack. This was a problem she couldn't solve without the lucky charm and she didn't. The potion was still in effect after the Lucky charm set everything back to normal" Gabriel now understood what the young genius was getting at.

"If you're right then the Lucky charm can only solve one problem at a time. If there's a second it must choose which one to solve."

"Which is why I couldn't tell you everything I was working on. Don't get me wrong, I still think we're stronger when we're working together and on the same page. But there will be times when I try a little something different on the side." Gabriel smiled.

"So when can you brew up another batch of that truth potion? I already have an idea how we could use it." Varian shook his head.

"Unfortunately one of the key ingredients is nearly extinct in this world. I was lucky to get a hold of a single plant." This was disappointing news, without the need of an Akuma to cause trouble it another batch would have proven invaluable.

"That is a shame."

"But don't worry I saved a few of the seeds and have started cultivating them in the garden down below. It'll take some time but soon enough I'll have another batch ready. In the meantime let's let her stew over the fact that I have a weapon I can use against her. And she has no way of knowing when or where I'll strike again." Gabriel let out a dark chuckle. This may have been a loss but it seems they've opened a path to victory.

"Out of curiosity, where did you put the truth serum in? It obviously wasn't in the cookies." Varian drew a delighted grin on his face.

"It was in the ice cubes! I modified the formula so it could be ingested or absorbed thru the skin. So even If someone took a bottle from an ice chest but didn't drink it it would still work. And on a hot day with all that cross contamination good luck finding the origin."

"I do hope you were careful at least."

"Don't worry, after being attacked by that monk I took more precautions. Tanuki was the one who switched the ice bags back at the delivery truck before it even got to the festival, and I was careful not to be seen. Besides, the serum wears off after a few hours leaving no trace behind."

The mood had certainly turned in the room. What felt like another frustrating defeat now felt like they had gained something valuable. Varian held up the last of his cookie stash.

"Last chance." Gabriel's first instant would be to refuse in the off chance Varian did lace the sweet with the truth potion, but as a show of good faith he accepted it. It was pretty tasty after all.

To be continued…

Next time: Varian and Kim are not on speaking terms right now. Monkey King is not helping. On the pulse side Varian gets to meet Max's Mom.