Marin stepped carefully, not wanting to trip over anything, causing a chain reaction that would- let's face it- sink the boat if his luck was any indication. While he was so focused on his feet he accidentally bumped into someone. "Oops! Sorry Mylène." He apologized as his friends were decorating the boat. She brushed him off with a smile, not minding, as she returned to what she was doing.
"Ah, Rose." Marin called out, handing her the microphone that she was looking for. "I think this is yours, Rose."
"Thanks!" She said setting up her equipment. "Do you realize? It's our very first concert! It's going to be awesome."
Marin chuckled dryly, "Ha...yeah, an eardrum-shattering performance on a messy boat where somehow you guys have convinced me wearing a life vest is, unnecessarily. But this is fine, I'm fine." Marin said completely fine, but filling with anxiety he looked up towards Nino who was on a ladder that Alya was holding. "Hey, Nino, did you hear from Adrien, by any chance?" He asked needed an outlet for his anxiety.
"He had something to do with his old man, but he said that he'll come right after." Nino informed.
"Captain Anarka speaking to ya'!" Juleka's mother announced walking up to them. "So how's it comin' along me young pirates? Ready to celebrate the-" Anarka's attention was focused on him."Whatcha up to, there, matey?
Marin bowed his head slightly, having met the woman for the first time. "Uh, hello ma'am. I'm, uh, tidying up, wouldn't want anyone tripping over anything."
Anarka laughed, "We never pick up in this house! Didn't me daughter tell you? We like the lived-in look. We have no rules on The Liberty! Out of chaos comes creation! Messiness is life."
Marin stood there stunned at Anarka was throwing around paper along with anything else that was in the box that was filled with miscellaneous items that were returned to the ground. Almost immediately Marin turned to Alya.
"I need a life vest."
Adrien's playing echoed through the room quickly filling with tension. His father was sitting nearby with his eyes closed next to Natalie. As he played, Adrien tried to recall every key in his head, but still slipped up which triggered an off-key performance. He lowered his head as his father gestured for him to stop playing.
"I've heard enough. Are you sure you're practicing, Adrien?"
"I'm...I'm just doing the same exercises over and over again. I think I could make better progress if I could just play with other musicians. After all, music's meant to be shared with other people, don't you think?" Adrien suggested but his father wasn't having it.
"Adrien, we Agrestes are soloists not mere group members. I suggest you rehearse your piece some more. You'll play it for me again later today." He said sternly.
"But father, you promised that I could attend my friends' concert-" Adrien tried to argue but was silenced as his father turned his back to him.
"Not after that performance you've just given. You need to practice, Adrien, not waste your time on frivolous pastimes." He said as Natalie followed him out of the room.
Adrien sighed heavily, turning back to his piano and took out his phone.
Nino turned towards Marin and Alya who were arguing about safety on a boat until they noticed Nino's disappointed expression. All three of them were standing in the cockpit of the boat, Marin was picking up items off the ground."Bad news guys." He said holding out his phone.
"Well it's not exactly the first time his dad's kept him from hanging out with us." Alya sighed, leaning back against the counter.
"Come on, it's still early, maybe he'll show up later on." He said trying to be positive as he placed a statue near the wheel.
"Whoa, sailor!" Anarka said suddenly walking in, she picked up the statue, holding it near the compass again as they noticed it was spinning out of control. "Never place a metal object next to a compass, ya hear lad? Metal attracts the needle, just like a magnet, which is why you can't get them anywhere near each other."
"Uh- yes ma'am!" Marin abruptly said, bowing his head apologetically, but Anarka waved his worries away.
"Since you're free from cleaning duties would you mind getting a few instruments downstairs? They should be in Juleka and Luka's room." She suggested.
Marin simply nodded, "Sure."
He wasn't familiar with this houseboat as he usually met up with Juleka at school or somewhere on dry land. Eventually, he walked into a room that he assumed was her bedroom. He couldn't help but smile as he noticed she had hug a few of the photos they had taken together during their photoshoot. One prominent one was of her, Rose, and himself as they smile together. He then noticed the bass guitar sitting on the bed which he assumed was what he was suppose to get. But nearby he saw a classical guitar, sitting on its stand. His heart beat slightly faster at the mere sight of it, it had been a while since he had actually seen one, let alone have the chance to hold one.
For a moment he hesitated, it wasn't his, instruments were extremely personal; especially one that was personalized to this extent...but holding it for a moment wouldn't hurt, it's not like anyone would notice he was missing for a bit. He pushed back uncertainly for a moment, picking up the instrument and sitting down in the chair nearby. He strummed a few cords, tunning the stings to the key he was familiar with. As he strummed once more, a wave of bittersweet nostalgia took over as he could instinctively recall the notes, humming the melancholic song in its entirety. He was off by a few cords, but the soul of the tune was still present as a smile grew on his face, his confidence lifting as he sang the last few words.
"And life will always be, la vie en rose..."
Marin sighed heavily for a moment, placing the guitar back as he suddenly froze, hearing clapping behind him. He turned with a scarlet red face to see a boy, Julek's older brother Luka he assumed, sitting on the other bed sitting at the wall a spot the would have been out of sight to where he had walked in. The person was sitting crossed legged with a gentle smile on his face.
"Your playing is beautiful, it's so sincere and loving-"
"AH!" Marin yelped at an unnaturally high pitch, taking a step back as he was overcome with embarrassment. "I-I'm so sorry!" He said putting together that the guitar belonged to him, folding his hands together as he bowed his head apologetically. "I-I have to- the guitar-" He stumbled over his words as he remembered that he actually had a job to do. He quickly placed the bass in the box, about to walk out shamefully.
"Wait." Luka asked for a moment as Marin stopped walking. He shyly glanced at Luka who held his electric guitar in his hands, "Would you mind staying for a moment?" He asked.
"Your uh, mom, the guitar-"
"Just a moment?" He asked sweetly, slightly reminding him of how Tikki would talk in a different tone if she wanted a treat; but this felt different. He sighed, carefully placing Juleka's guitar away. As he sat down on the ground, his back resting to Luka's bed, pulling his knees to his chest as Luka sat against the edge. "It's strange...but it seems you have something like this in your heart." He murmured as he began strumming a few notes, each striking a chord within Marin's heart as they turned into a makeshift melody.
If Luka though that he played sincerely, he thought that Luka's music was light; something that could lift up someone's spirits.
Marin glanced up towards him, "How do you do that?"
Luka smiled, adjusting his strap to place his guitar on his back. "Music is often simpler than words."
Marin chuckled to himself, knowing how true the feeling was. He then noticed the Jagged Stone poster. "You like Jagged Stone's music too?"
Luka nodded, sitting down next to Marin. "He's my favorite singer."
"Mine too, he's so passionate, it's hard not to be blown away by how much he cares about his music," Marin said, messing with his hairpins as Luka nodded in agreement.
"My thoughts exactly." He said standing up, "I'm Luka." He remarked, introduced himself properly, holding out his hand.
"Marinus," Marin responded, placing his hairpins in his pocket as Luka helped him to his feet.
"I know." Luka smiled, internally thinking how pretty his name was. "I've actually been wanting to meet you for a while." He said as Marin looked up at him curiously, noticing that Luka was slightly taller than himself, give or take a few inches. "Juleka and Rose talk about you all the time, I'm grateful for you always being kind to them." He said placing his other hand over Marin's.
"Huh? Oh, it's nothing." Marin insisted as he averted his gaze, butterflies rapidly growing in his stomach. "They're good friends after all."
Luka nodded glancing at the photo that Marin was looked at earlier, the one of himself, Rose, and Jukeka. "Even so," Luke said with a smile as he took a step back, dropping their grip. "It's cool to meet the person who made the art for my favorite Jagged Stone album." He remarked picking up the bass that Marin was sent down to get in the first place.
"Oh- I can carry that." Marin offered, "That's why I was supposed to come down here to begin with." He explained.
However, Luka shook his head. "It's alright, I've been slacking off anyway." He remarked as he stepped to the graciously, allowing Marin to walk ahead of him as they walked back up to the deck together.
"This is likely to be the most incredible music festival since the first one was held, right here in Paris, in 1982! I'm Nadja Chamack. Tune in here, to hear more tunes." Nadja announced on the news as Plagg was watching. He turned around to see his partner still sitting in the same spot for about an hour.
"Come on, now. Don't be so down in the dumps. Look at the bright side. Now you can enjoy all of the concerts without leaving the comfort of your own room!" Plagg said trying to cheer him.
Adrien turned towards his Kwami, "I just wanted to go to my friend's concert, Plagg!"
"Then why didn't you say so? As your friend, I'm going to give you a private concert you'll never forget! Ahem!" Plagg cleared his throat and began screeching off-key. "Camembert! You're the cheese of my dreams! Camembert! You make life better than it seems!
Adrien smiled, "Thanks Plagg. Best concert ever." He said honestly, as Plagg flew over, sitting on the piano as Adrien began to practice again. Noticing his sad expression.
"You okay cutie?" Alya asked as Marin seemed to look frazzled, more so than usual. Marin simply flashed her a nervous smile, pushing back a stray lock of hair behind his ear as Alya stared at him suspiciously noticing that he was missing a few pink polka-dotted bobby pins.
She hummed for a moment. "Something happen with Luka?" She guessed as Marin shrugged his shoulders, letting out a serious of gesturing noises that seemed to suggest, probably.
"Oh hoy, sailors! Let's give them a show! Whenever your ready, Luka!"
Mylène held out a pair of earplugs. "You're going to need these, believe me." She said as Marin and Alya exchanged a worried glance, placing them in their ears. As soon as Luka shredded a cord that China probably hear, they were immediately surrounded by the police.
Anarka began arguing with the cop which immediately turned into a scream fest as the officer started dishing out tickets. Resulting in Anarka angrily stomping off into the captain's quarters as everyone else stood around looking worried.
"Shouldn't we just turn down the volume?" Marin suggested, taking out his earplugs.
"No can do." Rose remarked as Juleka stood next to her.
"Mom's not one for...authority," Luka explained.
"Well, at least it can't get any worse-" Nino was about to say as someone then jumped up onto the top of the boat.
"Raise the mainsail me deck hands let's get swashbuckling around here!" A new akumatized villain yelled out.
"Mom?" Juleka asked in concern.
Luka took a step forward as Marin glanced towards the exit. "What's going on?"
"Your mom has weighed anchor, me lad, I'm Captain Hardrock and today Paris's timbers are about to be shivered by my cannons. Westward ho, Liberty next stop, Jagged Stone at the Eiffel Tower. Soon, there will only be one concert in Paris only one Music Festival. We will destroy all the others. Now, get to your instruments and rock those decibels!" Captain Hardrock ordered as she brandished her sword.
"Mom please, you can't ruin the Music Festival." Luka pleaded as Ivan stepped forward.
"No way we're playing like this!" He remarked as Mylene stood behind him nervously.
"Mutiny? On my ship? Liberty, seize these scallywags and throw them down into the hold!" Captain Hardrock ordered as suddenly everyone was chained up. Marin was attached to Luka back to back just before all of them feel into the brig together.
Adrien stopped playing as there was a breaking news update.
"Paris is yet again under attack, a new villain is destroying all the music festival concerts one by one. Please take shelter as soon as possible!" Nadja remarked as she then ducked for cover as a stage behind her was destroyed.
" I may be grounded Plagg, but they're playing my song." Adrien remarked, standing up as he placed his phone in his speakers, playing the song he was supposed to be practicing.
Plagg sighed heavily, knowing what was going to come next. "Yeah, I know it by heart."
"Plagg, claws out!"
Below deck of the Liberty almost everyone stopped struggling as Marin successfully unlocked the lock. The chains fell as he and Luka stood up.
"Wow, how'd you do that?" Luka asked in amazement.
Marin chuckled nervously."It's uh...complicated." Thinking that was better than, my Nonna has weird hobbies that I picked up from.
"You're amazing. A real magician Marin." Luka complimented as Marin smiled graciously before turning towards the others. Just as he was about to try and free Alya and Nino his best friend spoke up. "Don't worry about us, you two just get help." She insisted.
"Alya, are you sure?" He asked as everyone nodded.
"Yeah, don't worry! I'm sure Ladybug and Chat Noir are going to come for us real soon!" Rose remarked confidently.
"So long as we haven't left the port yet, we should be good-" Marin remarked as the boat shifted under their feet. Marin and Luka exchanged a concerned expression, both of them heading towards the deck. Luka crouched down as he used the debris on the boat for cover. In this situation, it was probably good that Marin gave up cleaning up. As Luka took point, Marin lingered behind, making sure that Captain Hardrock wasn't around.
He gasped slightly as Tikki popped out of his bag. "What are you doing?"
"You have to transform before it's too late!" She warned.
"I can't do it now, Luka's here." Marin responded as he overheard his voice.
"Oh no."
Marin turned towards Luka, spotting the reason for his worry as they were already sailing down the river. Both of them were crouched near the side.
"Do we swim for it?" Luka asked as Marin grew nervous.
"Funny story about that-" He was about to explain that he would probably sink like a stone as his clothes weren't exactly the most buoyant as a loud bang distracted them for a moment. Marin opened his eyes seeing Captain Hardrock shout something out as both of them were still recovering from the sound. He pushed Luka out of the way, but couldn't escape the chains as he slipped backward, falling off the boat still bound into the cold river.
Chat Noir, ran across the rooftops, spotting the ship in the distance. As soon as they spotted him, he smiled in amusement as he used the cannonballs that were being thrown at him to jump onto the ship.
"NO!" Someone yelled out as Chat Noir noticed Juleka's brother Luka was bound with chains looking towards the water.
"What's going on?" Chat Noir asked as Luka glanced at him, in grave worry.
"Chat Noir, my friend was knocked overboard!" Luka said, which made Chat Noir tense up.
"Uh, don't worry!" Chat Noir said as he tried to reassure both himself and Luka. "I know Ladybug will be able to save your friend!"
"The only one who will need savin' is you Chat Noir!" The new akumatized villain said with a victorious grin as she jumped down from above sword in hand. Chat Noir easily evaded, taking out his staff as the two duked it out. Captain Hardrock smirked for a moment as she then kicked Chat Noir to the mast, binding him in chains as he struggled against it. She walked up to him, sheathing her weapon. "My treasure will be your Miraculous kitty cat."
"Sorry, but only one person is allowed to call me that." Chat Noir remarked, abruptly, trying to cover the panic that was slowly ensuing. He moved his hands around but felt that he wouldn't be able to reach the chains with his Cataclysm.
As soon as Marin his the water he felt a sudden rush of cold, his vision blurred due to the water. He struggled against the chains knowing that he needed to act fast before he sank too deep. Suddenly he saw a speck of red as the chains no longer bound him. Grabbing onto the end of one, within the water it was easy for Tikki to pill him close to the shore, enough so that he could step onto dry land.
Marin coughed up some water, noticing that Tikki seemed relatively fine save for the worried expression on her face. Immediately she hugged his cheek as he smiled, "I'm okay sugar cube. But I have some friends to save." He said as Tikki nodded. "Tikki, spots on!"
As Captain Hardrock was about to take Chat Noir's Miraculous he narrowed his eyes, ready to activate his power, but a sudden shout drew the captain's attention.
"I command you to stop in the name of the law!" The policeman ordered as he with the rest of the police force tried to arrest Captain Hardrock, but was unable to as she blew them out of the water with her canons. Chat Noir could only watch in fear as the boats and the officers fell towards the mainland, but at the last second were saved via a makeshift net. Chat Noir sighed in relief as Ladybug jumped onto the ship after the officers were secure. He landed near him looking towards him in surprise.
"Well?" Chat Noir asked, "What are you waiting for-"
"Chain got your tongue?" Ladybug said with a hopeful smile as Chat Noir stared at him.
"Just..please stop trying." He remarked as Ladybug pouted, then freeing him and then Luka.
"Ladybug, my friend he-" Luka tried to explain as Ladybug helped him to his feet.
"Your friend is safe." Ladybug said as both Luka and Chat Noir sighed in relief. "Head down, this fight could get ugly." He ordered as Luka nodded, running down under as Chat Noir and Ladybug faced up towards Captain Hardrock weapons drawn.
"Any idea where the akuma is?" Chat Noir asked.
Ladybug narrowed his eyes. "It's gotta be on the ship somewhere." He reasoned, feeling negativity throughout the boat.
"In that case a Cataclysm will settle this." Chat Noir remarked, holding up his hand, but Ladybug pushed it back down.
"There are still people on the boat kitty, they might down if it just goes down." Ladybug warned, he then threw his yo-yo up in the air. "Lucky Charm!" then received a bicycle chain in his hand.
"A little redundant don't you think?" Chat Noir remarked as Ladybug narrowed his eyes, looking around at Captain Hardrock stepped forward.
"If you refuse to give me your Miraculous, my next target will be Major Bourgeois and his land lover-in Orchestra. Liberty, next stop City Hall!" She announced as Ladybug widened his eyes in realization, handing on end of the chain to Chat Noir who nodded, picking up on the plan. As Captain Hardrock jumped towards them, sword drawn, the two heroes did the same, trapping her to the navigator. The iron from the chain ruined the polarity surrounding the compass, sending them towards an island in the middle of the river.
For a few moments they were flying in the air as Chat Noir and Ladybug had to hold onto the chain that bound the villain. The ship then crashed to the ground, tilting onto it's side as both Chat Noir and Ladybug jumped onto the ground.
"Cataclysm!" Chat Noir yelled out, activating his power. He placed his hand against the ship, destroying it entirely as the Akuma was released and all of their friends were looking around in confusion.
"No more mischief from you little Akuma. Time to purify!" Ladybug said as he swung his yo-yo towards the possessed Akuma, capturing it in one motion. Then opening it once more, watching the newly purified Akuma fly away. "Bye-bye, little butterfly. Miraculous Ladybug!" Ladybug called out, throwing up the lucky charm as everything turned back to normal. The two heroes were standing on the boat together as they bumped fists victoriously.
Anarka grumbled to herself as she was turned back to normal on the deck of the ship. "What happened?" She asked as everyone else ran up from below. Luka and Juleka immediately hugged their mother as Alya hugged Ladybug in greeting.
"Thanks so much for saving us, could I maybe get that intervie-" She was about to ask pulling her phone, but was surprised as Ladybug suddenly sneezed."Bless you." Just as his Miraculous beeped.
"Excuse me," He said quickly leaving as Chat Noir left in the other direction.
Adrien sat before his piano, looking down at his has as he instinctively rubbed the lucky charm on his wrist as he glanced towards his father. "Would you like to play this piece with me father, as a duet?" He asked.
Gabriel looked taken aback, "I... I don't think-"
"Please father, if I'm not allowed to go to my friends concert, at least grant me this." Adrien asked, clutching his charm. His heart raced as his father stood up and sat next to him.
He couldn't hold back his smile as he was able to play alongside his father, feeling happy as didn't feel any pressure. The notes came naturally as before he knew it the end of the piece came, no note out of place.
"You can go to your friends concert if that's what you really want." His father said, then immediately was surprised as his son hugged him tightly.
"Thank you father!" He said happily then glanced at Natalie expectantly, "Can we go now?"
Adrien passed by a police officer as he walked onto the boat. "Hi everyone-" He greeted as he then tripped over something, falling to the ground as everyone.
"Adrien are you okay buddy?" Nino asked walking up to him.
"Nah it's all good, I-" He noticed the case he tripped over, opening it up as his eyes widened in amazement. "Whoa, an original ZX20.4, I love the sound of this instrument!"
"Aww, that old thing, no one knows how to play it." Anarka said walking up to the second floor.
"I know how to play it." Adrien remarked as Luka held a hand out towards him.
"Great, welcome to the band Adrien." He said as Adrien was pulled to his feet. "You can set up over there."
"Thanks, uhh."
"Luka."
Adrien nodded, "Thanks Luka." he said as he picked up the keyboard. As he set up he noticed Luka talking to his mother, then he looked around. "Hey, wasn't Marin suppose to be here?" He asked.
"Oh, he fell in the river earlier. So now he's sleeping downstairs so he won't get too sick." Nino said as he handed him a pair of earplugs.
Adrien stared at him for a moment as the information washed over him. "WHA- is he okay?!"
"Yeah dude, I just told you." Nino reminded. "He'll be fine, you know how much of a deep sleeper he is. Don't worry he's in his natural habitat right now." He said patting his shoulder before he then sat next to Alya, placing an arm around her shoulder.
"Evening everyone, our name is Kitty Section!" Rose announced as Luka plugged his guitar in standing nearby as he gave Adrien a supportive grin which Adrien returned.
One, two, three. I love unicorns, I love unicorns, and cute little fluffy cats!" Rose sang aggressively as Adrien happily played along.
Marin groaned as he opened his eyes to a partially darkened room. He closed his eyes for a moment, then widened them in shock as he realized that he wasn't his bed nor in his room as he could smell the salty air. He pushed himself up off the bed as he then remembered, he was staying over at Julekas' place because he wasn't feeling well, also borrowing some sleepwear as he had slept through the entire music festival.
"Hey."
Marin flinched as he looked down towards the ground where Luka was sleeping in a sleeping bag. He was on his stomach, holding a phone in his hand.
"Sorry, did I wake you up?" Marin asked guiltily as he hugged the pillow, covered in a blanket.
"Nah, I was just reading stuff on his phone." Luka remarked, "It's just past midnight." He informed.
"Ugh." Marin groaned feeling bad that he missed his friend's performance. But his eyes widened. "Uh, where's my bag?" He asked hastily.
"It's at the end of the bed." Luka pointed out as Marin picked it up, he sighed in relief as he saw Tikki curled up inside, sleeping soundly. "So...did you guys have fun?" He asked.
"Yeah, it was really fun, your friend Adrien plays really well." Luka remarked as Marin's eyes widened.
"Adrien showed up?" He asked.
"Yeah." Luka said as Marin groaned in his pillow. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing." Marin sighed, "Sorry I missed out, I was looking forward to seeing you guys perform."
Luka smiled, moving onto his back as he placed his hands behind his head. "You can come by anything to hear us practice." He offered with a smile as Marin suddenly realized.
"Are we going to wake up your sister?" He asked now worried.
"Nah, Jules and Mom are sleeping on the deck, they like sleeping under the stars on warm evenings." He informed.
"Oh, then why are you sleeping on the ground?" Marin asked then sitting up, wrapping himself in the blanket.
"Eh, Jules and I kinda have this unspoken rule not to enter each other's side of the room. She probably wouldn't mind, but, you know." He said shrugging his shoulders.
"You can take your bed back, I don't mind taking the sleeping bag." Marin remarked.
"It's okay, it was kinda my fault that you fell into the river." Luka said, "I at least deserve this."
"No way, " Marin immediately said, " It was a really bad situation. That's not on you."
"Still." Luka simply remarked as he closed his eyes.
Marin hummed for a moment. "Alright." He said then sitting down next to him on the ground, removing the blanket and placing the hood over his from the borrowed Jagged Stone hoodie. "I'll just sit here next to you then."
A chuckle escaped Luka's lips. "You're funny Marin." He said as he rested his back against the bed next to him. He was wearing a simple white shirt and grey sweat pants. "How's the jacket fit?"
"The hoodie and pants are pretty loose, but nothing ever really fits me unless I tailor it myself. I think I could honestly fit into kids clothes if I tried." Marin remarked as he had to fold up the sleeves.
"Do you do Juleka's nails or does she do yours?"
"We do each other, sometimes I even do Rose when she comes over. I'm pretty confident in my printing skills." Luka said with a smile as he held up his hand. "I can do yours if you want some time."
"Sure," Marin said, but then sheepishly shook his head. "Actually I can't. I work a lot in my parents' bakery, and you're not supposed to wear jewelry, wear perfumes or colognes, have long nails, or wear nail polish." Marin recalled. "And it's a given but you're not supposed to have any injuries either."
"Do you bake a lot?"
"Yeah, almost every day, come by sometime-" Marin was about to saw but he sneezed again, rubbing his hands together as he began to get drowsy again.
"Are you alright?" Luka as Marin breathed into his hands. Luka hesitated for a moment before then toughing Marins' hand. "You're icy cold!" He said in surprise, not realizing how ill Marin had apparently gotten despite the rest he had gotten in the past few hours.
"I'm find, calm down." Marin slightly slurred, now feeling dizzy. He grumbled as he realized this feeling all too well.
"Right." Luka helped his friend to his feet. Marin didn't fight back being placed back into bed, and reflexively curling up in the sheets. He swiftly fell asleep as the comfort took hold, not even realizing he was still holding onto Luka's hand who saw on his bed, allowing the moment to last for a little while as he down fondly at his friend.