Magical Ladybugs flew over the city, restoring the damages to how they originally were and returning peace to the citizens of Paris. Chat Noir looked over the city in excitement as his chest swelled with pride.
"Wow, we were finished in record time! You're on fire today!" Chat Noir turned to his partner but saw that he was just about to leave as he already has his yo-yo out. "Bugaboo? Is something wrong?"
Ladybug turned back for a brief moment as he shot Chat Noir an annoyed expression. "WHAT? Do you need something else?"
Chat Noir's ears flattened as he lowered his arm, placing it behind his back. "N-no, I guess not. A-are you doing okay?"
"FINE. Everything is just peachy-keen." Ladybug spoke with a sharp tongue as he rubbed the temples of his head, seemingly having a headache just from this simple interaction.
"Sure sure. But uh, you know there's this moving that's playing right now. And if you're not doing anything then as a cheer me up maybe we could-" Chat Noir asked as he just noticed that Ladybug had already left just as he turned around."...Ah." He took out his staff at the sound of his miraculous beeping. His ears were flattened at the interaction with his partner, leaving him with a bitter feeling- but then they twitch again at the sound of feet meeting the gravel.
Just as Chat Noir turned around he saw Ladybug again holding his yo-yo with a guilty expression on his face. "I'm sorry, that was uncalled for." Ladybug said briefly before leaving without another work. Chat Noir stood there with his mouth open for a few seconds as he reflexively scratched the back of his head- left with the feeling of tonal whiplash after the odd interaction with his partner.
Alya was standing in her room, surrounded by her female classmates- save for Chloe and Sabrina- and her Boyfriend as she opened up an image of Adrien and Kagami together, hand in hand.
"Something is going on with Marin and I'm absolutely certain that it's about Adrien!" Alya proclaimed as all of her friends looked at her in confusion.
"What makes you say that?"
Alya took out her tablet and pulled up photos of her two close friends. "Fact: Marin and Adrien are best friends. Fact: They're so close that they even accidentally vacationed together in Shanghai this last break." She pulled up a selfie photo of Adrien and Marin in front of Marin's uncle's restaurant with a parrot between them. "However! Since they came back they're been distant- why?" A photo of Adrien and Kagami holding hands popped on screen- it was a shot that was taken from a newspaper article proclaiming the two as a couple.
"IT'S BECAUSE ADRIEN GOT A GIRLFRIEND!"
Gasps erupted in the room as Alix was the only one looking on in confusion. "So? We knew Adrien had a girlfriend. He told us. Heck, Marin said that he was just going to be busy for a while that's why he hasn't been hanging out with us."
"You may think that-" Alya began to say as she adjusted her glasses. "But I'm sure Marin must be feeling isolated now that all of his friends are coupled off."
"Or-" Lila spoke up as all eyes were on her. "Maybe there's something more to it."
"Huh?" Alya's mouth was agape at the prospect of another possibility she hadn't thought of.
"Couldn't it be possible that your friend is just jealous?" Lila said curiously as stood up next to Alya. "It makes sense, doesn't it? After all, you said to yourself that Marin and Adrien were best friends for a while. Now that Adrien is focused on something else Marin must be feeling pretty envious of Kagami effectively replacing him."
"But then why would he avoid the rest of us?" Mylene chimed in, raising her hand straight up.
"It's obvious. He's clearly very upset, to the point where he doesn't even want to be around his own friends." Lila said sadly, placing her hands on Alya's shoulders sympathetically. "I mean if he hasn't even talked to his best friend about what's going on then it has to be something very personal right?"
There were murmurs of agreement until another voice spoke up.
"I agree that not telling Alya is pretty weird but Marin's a guy and sometimes guys are just weird like that. " Alix pointed out.
"OO OO-" Rose shot her arm up excitedly. "If all Marin needs is someone to date we should totally set him up with Luka! They're already so cute together!"
"I think you guys are all missing the point!" Alya said aloud taking charge of the room. "The real issue that that Marin is being distant altogether- we have to remind him that he has friends that he can talk to!"
Alix then raised his hand. "But he already knows that? I think that dude is just being sincere in that- he doesn't want to be around people right now. I've known him the longest in this room and it's pretty in character for him.
But Alix was readily ignored as Alya proclaimed. "What he needs is to be reminded that his friends are there for him. I say we invite him for an outing." She said but had already hit the speed dial option on her phone.
The tone rang a few times before a familiar voice was heard.
"Hello."
"Marin-" Alya said cheerfully before her smile fell.
"This is Marin Dupain-Chengue, please leave a message. Alya frowned sadly before holding the phone back up to her ear. "Hey Cutie Pie. Your girl here, we're all just wondering when we can hang out again. It's been a while so…" She couldn't bring herself to say anything else before sighing heavily and hanging up, unable to even look at her friends as she stood there in defeat.
"Trixx!" Ladybug exclaimed as he jumped down back into a room that was full of chaos. The first Kwami that caught his eye was the fox Kwami blatantly reading a familiar pink spotted book. "What did I say about reading my diary?!"
"But I've already read all the books!" Trixx complained as Ladybug took back his book, tossing it aside as he tried to count more than a dozen balls of energy bouncing around the room.
As far as he could see; Daizzi was bouncing on his lamp shouting gleefully "Night" and "Day"; Mullo was messing around in his box of handmade jewelry; Ziggy was messing around with his cell phone, having turned on classical music that added to the noise pollution in the room; and the rest were making more of a mess. One Kwami, in particular, caught his attention as she was hovering far too close to the window.
"KALLKI NO!" Marin transformed back just as he jumped off of his bed just in time to grab the horse Kwami flying out of the window. He threw the wrapping paper-covered window open just in time to grab the small horse before she could go any further.
"Look at all the carriages that aren't drawn by horses!" The horse Kwami exclaimed at the vehicles passing by them.
Marin sighed heavily but then froze as he heard another voice.
"Look mommy!" He slowly looked down to see a child pointing directly up at them as his mother did the same.
"Ahhh- HA, CAUGHT MY HAMSTER! SAFE AND SOUND NO NEED TO WORRY!" Marin exclaimed, waving down to them before pulling Kalki back in and then locking the window. Marin turned back to see the room still in chaos as he sighed heavily. The current guardian took a few seconds to gather his emotions before shrilly whistling at everyone in the room to gain their attention. Numerous pairs of eyes were on him as all the Kwamis hovered before him, looking at him with pure innocence.
Marin pinched the bridge of his nose while also thinking about what his mother said about making too many weird faces that would lead to wrinkles. Though quite frankly, he would just have to accept reality at this point.
"I leave for half an hour and this is how I find you all acting?" Marin began to say calmly, placing a hand on his hip as he released Kalki from his grip. "You all need to start being more careful. My parents may spend all their time in the bakery but that doesn't mean they won't be suspicious if they hear noises coming from my room when they know I'm not there."
"But Guardian! There's so much to do now that we're outside the box!" Barkk said excitedly as her tail wagged.
"Yeah! There are so many pretty colors just in your room alone!" Daizzi added as she was covered in wrapping paper. Marin looked over to his present box and saw them all were ripped to shreds.
"Daizzi- everyone, you can't be acting so chaotic. Moreover, even though this is your new home now it's still my room. I can't replace everything that you all tear through…" His words faded as he counted and then quickly realized. "Where is Sass?"
"He said something about wanting a snack?" Ziggy pondered as Marin immediately knew where the snake Kwami hovered off to. Just before opening the door, he turned to all the other Kwamis, more annoyed.
"YOU'RE ALL GROUNDED! By the time I get back with your brother I want you all back in the box!"
The order was met with an eruption of sullen awws and displeasure. "NOW." Marin saw the Kwamis flying back towards the box as he opened the door leading down the stairs. He have time for steps however as he jumped down the entire flight and then turned into the kitchen. A quick scan showed that Sass was nowhere in sight. But then all the blood drained from his face as a thought occurred.
"Oh he wouldn't…" Marin murmured under his breath. With a sinking feeling, he raced down towards the bakery and peered into the baking area where his father was in the middle of removing a large tray of fruit tarts and his mother was helping customers. He scanned the room and then saw the culprit near a basket of eggs. The Kwami of Intuition was swallowing the eggs whole as he had polished off quite a few already.
Marin acted quickly as he scooped up the basket entirely, dropping a few eggs in the process.
"Little Moon!"
Marin cringed at the sound of his father spotting him but still turned towards him. He forced a smile on his face as he prayed to whatever god was in the vicinity that the Kwami in his hand would not be spotted.
"Hi…dad." He said, noticing that his father was looking at the basket in his hands.
"I'm still using the eggs, Little Moon." Tom pointed out.
"Oh- yeah, yeah I know. I was just…thinking it looked a little light so I was going to refill it for you!" Marin exclaimed, partially lying through his teeth as his father chuckled.
"You're so helpful Mio Piccolo Principle! But those are all the eggs we have left."
"...Oh. Then can I just take one?"
"Of course! But just one." Tom smiled as he turned back to his backing while Marin turned his back to the basket, blocking it from any eyes. He pushed away eggs until he saw a familiar shade of green and immediately scooped up the now-plump Kwami into his hands.
"SASS!" Marin harshly whispered as he held the now egg-shaped Kwami in his hands and ran to safety, back up the stairs, and into the living room. He took a second to catch his breath and then looked down at the Kwami who had a guilty expression on his face.
"My…my apologies Guardian. I lost focus."
Marin groaned aloud, slapping his forehead. "Sass you're supposed to be the good one. What were you thinking?"
"The fault was my own Guardian. I couldn't help myself when I smelled those eggs." Sass's mouth began to water at the thought of the eggs once more. "Those were the freshest eggs I've smelled in a long time. High quality and just as good as eggs that were newly lain."
"Gross." Marin cringed as Sass only licked his lips.
"When I smelled them I couldn't help myself. I had only intended to simply look but when I did…well-" Sass shrugged his shoulders and then promptly plopped forward, unable to gain his balance as he was completely full.
Marin merely sighed again as he carried Sass back upstairs into his room that was free of Kwami's- though Marin knew that the second he left they would pop out again. He walked over to a cardboard doll house that he had slapped together using a cardboard box, a saw, and multiple paper crafting tools and took out the Miracle box.
It was a far cry from the original design, as it had apparently taken a new shape now that there was a new Guardian. For a moment Master Fu's image flashed in his mind as he placed Sass next to the box. While doing so Tikki popped out of her cookie jar and laughed at her brother's form.
"It's been a while since I've seen that sight!" She cackled while Sass sheepishly smiled.
While the two Kwami's bantered back and forth Marin's eyes were trained on the cubby that held the Miraculous of Protection. He gently grazed the emblem but held back.
Ever since he had become guardian, Wayzz had remained unresponsive for the most part. It was rare for him to step outside of his miraculous now altogether. It wasn't hard to understand why, as the Kwami of Protection- in contrast to the others- had always remained at Master Fu's side; and now the Master lost all connection to his oldest friend.
"You could talk to him yourself you know." Sass pointed out as he wobbled over to his Guardian.
Marin remained silent for a few seconds before pulling his hand back and slumping down on his chair. "When he's ready he'll come out. He needs time to grieve." Marin said decidedly before turning to Sass who cocked his round head curiously at him.
"Sass."
"Yes Guardian?"
"You're grounded too."
"Aw."
Marin kept tapping his pen on his desk as he stared at the tablet before him. It was opened to a page regarding the Miracle box and how it looked originally to the shape it had now. He had studied the grimoire thoroughly, knowing full well that despite the box's small stature, it held an entire universe inside of it; meaning that he didn't have to worry about the Kwami's being uncomfortable in a small space. Moreover, he recalled that Master Fu never allowed the Kwamis' outside the box unless they were with a holder meaning that having more than one out at once was ill-advised.
"The box will change to suit each new Guardian," Marin murmured aloud just as his phone rang, snapping him out of the trance he was in. He scrambled to grab it but then his heart sank as he saw that Alya was trying to reach him again. Guilt bubbled to the surface as he thought about one of his closest friends constantly being rejected.
"Why don't you pick up the phone?" Tikki inquired, hovering nearby while holding a small butter cookie in her hands.
Marin fell silent as he searched for any good reason or explanation to justify avoiding Alya. He couldn't even allow himself to look directly at his Kwami. "As long as I'm the Guardian I need to keep my priorities in order."
"What do you mean?" Tikki asked as she now grew worried for her holder. She took notice of the torn expression he had on his face.
"You and the Kwami's are always going to be my first priority Sugarcube. I don't have time to be distracted by anything else right now. At any second my parents could even come up here and catch us off guard. If they see you all then I'd have to go back in time or something to make sure they could never find out about you guys!" He pointed out, feeling more anxious at the mere thought of using the Miraculous of Recollection. Previous experience had taught him that it was only to be used as a last resort. "I'm not going to repeat my mistakes, not again."
"But you could talk to someone at least- what about Alya or even Adrien?!"
Before Marin could respond the sound of footsteps hitting wood echoed and he quickly realized that someone was coming.
"Tikki!" Marin whispered harshly as she already knew what to do. Marin grabbed the Miracle Box and ran to throw it up to his bed where Tikki then covered it with multiple blankets and pillows before hiding herself in the cozy pile. Just in time the door opened and Marin's heart sank to see so many people in his room. All of whom were his female friends from class with smiles.
"Hey Cutie Pie! Long time no see!" Alya said aloud, holding out her arms to receive a hug.
"Wha-What are you all doing here?" Marin rasped out. His anxiety shot up all the more as more people entered the room; effectively raising the chances of the Miracle box being found out.
Alya frowned at the sound of his tone, quickly causing her smile to fade as her arms fell. "We're just checkin' in on you."
Mylene popped up excitedly. "We brought you this gift to show our support!" Mylene held up towards Marin who looked down to get a closer look. It was a petit pink glass bead that had hand-painted tiny white spots on it. From one glace he could see that it was hand-crafted exactly for him in mind as it mirrored his favorite pattern.
"I read in a magazine that an Ancient South American Tribe created charms that were meant to represent everlasting friendship. So we made one together!" Mylene handed it over to him and though the gesture was very sweet Marin couldn't help but feel repulsed with himself. Here his friends were taking efforts to reach out to him, but all he wanted was for them to leave as soon as possible.
"Of course, it's loosely based. But this charm is special, once you put it on it'll act as a symbol of our everlasting friendship!" Rose exclaimed happily.
"Ugh- you guys…" Marin rasped out. Thought as he looked around at all of them he could only hand his head. He clutched the bead in his hand and then handed it back to Mylene as all of them looked at him in confusion. "I can't accept this."
The girls looked at him more confused than ever as Alix spoke up. "We helped make this for you, especially Bread Boy. To be honest you've been acting really weird lately and we're all worried about you."
"Guys- please leave," Marin asked in the most polite way he could considering the circumstances. He didn't want to even look at them at that moment as he was afraid of what would happen with all the anxiety building up in the room.
Alya then placed her hand on his shoulder, trying to be supportive. However, as he was already tense from the events from that morning he reflexively stepped away. Alya was stunned at her friend but pushed past it. "We just want to let you know that you can talk to us about anything and everything. I know what you're going through may seem rough
Marin knew. He knew that Alya was talking about something else entirely. There was no way she could know what was going on with him. With his responsibilities, with how he had to be prepared at all times for calamities or people being Akumatized or now he was turning into someone else now. With all these feelings bubbling up and the added stress of people in his room so close next to the Miraculous he took a moment to calm himself down.
"YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT I'M GOING THROUGH!" He suddenly snapped, raising his voice. "I'm asked you to just do one thing- please leave me alone!"
" Okay Marin, there's clearly something wrong and we're not leaving you like this till you tell us what it is." Alya said placing her foot down out of concern for her friend. However, Marin glared at her angrily at his friend's reluctance to leave.
"The only thing that's wrong right now is you guys still hanging out in my room, which is not okay!" He snapped as he felt his head start to hurt.
Alya: If we're really your friends, you can confide anything in us."
Rose: Real friends don't ever let each other down."
" You're letting me down right now, PLEASE JUST LEAVE!" Marin turned away from them, not wanting to see the look in their faces as they left. He remained that way until he heard the door shutting close and then he fell back on the ground. His hands covered his face, gritting his teeth together to keep the tears back. Over and over he took deep breaths to quell his negativity. The last thing he needed was to get akumatized.
"Marin?"
Tikki's voice was close to his ear as she hovered nearby.
"I had to say something Tikki. They're better off without me. Now they won't have someone constantly lying to them."
"But…" Tikki faltered as she tried to think of something to say. Ultimately she chose to rest on his chest, cuddling him as Marin was strewn out on his bedroom floor.
At the park, Alya and the rest of the gang sat in a circle, downtrodden since their plan failed miserably. Alya clutched it in her hand while the rest of her friends shared her pain.
"I've never heard Marin yell like that, we were so in the wrong." Alix said, breaking the silence while her friends looked towards her.
"But we didn't mean to do anything wrong!" Rose cried out, the most visually upset as she sobbed against Juleka. "I feel awful that we made our friend feel awful!"
Alya kept her eyes on the bead as it clicked in her head.
"Did I just lose my best friend?" She asked aloud before a familiar voice echoed through her mind as a butterfly entered the bead.
"Gang of Secrets, I am Shadow Moth. Your friend won't open up to? I will give you all the powers you need to force him to accept your help! All that I want in exchange are Ladybug and Chat Noir's Miraculous."
"I am the worst." Marin said to himself as he sat on his bed with his phone open- looking through all the photos he took with his friends. He then shut his eyes tightly as the turned off his phone, not wanting to react to anything else for the rest of the day. But then promptly remembered- "I still have to do my homeworkkk-" Marin groaned to himself, dipping himself over and hugging the Miracle box close to him as if it were a pillow.
Alongside him, Tikki was sitting on his head while Trixx and Daizzi popped out of their rooms with concerned expressions on their faces.
"Why does our Guardian look so upset?" Trixx inquired to Tikki.
"Are you so sad about us messing up the room Guardian?! We're sorry we'll never do it again!" Daizzi exclaimed as she hugged Marin's face, crying on his face.
"He's upset because he can't talk to anyone about his troubles. Now he's pushed away his friends." Tikki promptly explained while Trixx's ears perked up.
"Why?"
"Because if he talks to anyone else about being Ladybug then they'll be in danger as well."
"Why?"
"Because if Hawkmoth ever found out that Ladybug has allies who don't have a Miraculous then he can take advantage of them."
"But then why doesn't he just give the Miraculous to an ally he can trust then?" Trixx asked as he boldly floated out of the box. "Master Fu did it with you and Plagg, why not us?"
Tikki frowned at her brother, placing her tiny Kwami hands on her hips. "Because there are already 4 Miraculous out in the world and there's chaos, adding more wouldn't help the situation."
"But it would help our Guardian, right?" Trixx then asked as Tikki was stumped for an answer. She looked to her owner, but he still had a depressed aura around him, especially with Daizzi crying atop his head.
"Your friends are here for you Marin." Marin's eyes widened immediately as he tossed the phone away but the voice still rang out. "You will tell us all your secrets and feel much better!"
"TRIXX- Cover me!" Marin ordered as the Kwami of illusion did as he was told, creating an illusion of Marin just as Lady Wifi appeared in the room. Marin held the Miracle box close to him as an illusion of himself appeared just in time for a Lady Wifi to make her reappearance.
Her eyes were solely trained on the illusion of himself as she approached him. However, the illusion managed to evade her and then escaped downstairs while Lady Wifi tried to stop him.
"You can't run away from all of your friends Marin!" Lady Wifi exclaimed, following suit while more butterflies started to flutter in Marin's stomach. As soon as Lady Wifi disappeared Marin turned towards his Kwami's.
"She said, "Friends", plural- right?" He asked as they all nodded. But then a massive roar was heard along with the familiar laughter of previous villains.
"Figures." Marin sighed to himself. "Tikki, Spots on!"
Ladybug hid the Miracle Box under his mattress in a secret compartment before grabbing his cell phone- believing it would come in handy. However just before he was about to leave through the roof he turned back to Trixx and Dazzi.
"When a Kwami uses their power without a holder to channel the energy it will lead to chaos. So what exactly happened when you activated your power this time?" He inquired while Trixx shrugged his shoulders.
"Who knows? But my power is an Illusion so nothing will be damaged."
Ladybug hummed to himself as he stared down the Kwami of illusions for a few seconds. "Trixx, Daizzi, you both are still grounded from earlier."
Both Kwami groaned together.
"Awww- but I helped out!" Trixx pointed out however Ladybug wouldn't budge.
"We'll discuss this later. For now, you both need to get back into the box. Do I make myself clear?" Ladybug asked directly, placing both hands on his hips.
"Yes, Guardian." Both Kwami's responded as Ladybug left through the roof to chase down the Akumatized villains. However, as soon as he left Daizzi turned to Trixx who had a sheepish expression on his face.
"Don't look at me like that. His Miraculous Ladybug spell will turn everything back to normal…hopefully."
Adrien was studying in his bedroom when he heard the news interrupting Plagg's documentary on the History of Cheesemongering.
"A strange phenomenon has just hit the Eiffel Tower. We advise all Parisians to stay home-"e
"Psha- boring." Plagg rolled his eyes as he flipped back to his documentary.
"Wait a second Plagg that looked important!" Adrien pointed out as he walked over to his Kwami. Now certain that something strange was going on. "There's probably someone who's been akumatized!"
"Chill out Puddy-Tat. It's just Trixx."
"Trixx?" Adrien questioned, recognizing the name.
"Yeah you know, the Kwami of Illusion. The one Rena Rouge uses." Plagg explained briefly as he gobbled down another slice of camembert. "Sometimes he likes to play practical jokes and this must be one of them."
"Regardless everyone's going to be freaking out when they see the Eiffel tower moving around like that. Plagg-"
"WAIT, MY SHOW!" Plagg cried out as he tried to stuff as much cheese as he could into his mouth before being sucked in by the ring.
"Claws out!"
Ladybug looked on at the sight of the Eiffel tower twisting and turning unbefitting a historical monument.
"Trixx…" He muttered under his breath before returning his attention to the situation at hand. Namely all of his friends harassing the citizens of Paris in order to track down his alter ego. He didn't turn around as he could hear Chat Noir arriving on the scene as well. His partner looked on at the street and whistled at the sight before them.
"Good evening Bugaboo, looks like someone decided to have a supervillain party and forgot our invitations."
" They're looking for Marinus Dupain-Cheng, one of their classmates." Ladybug said briefly as Chat Noir looked at him in surprise before curling his lip into a sly smile.
"That guy should have a bodyguard at this point. He's always finding ways to grab my attention."
Ladybug blushed in embarrassment, recalling the number of times that Chat Noir specifically had to save him in his civilian form. It was a good reminder of why he should never willingly reveal his identity to his partner; as Marin was certain that someone like Chat Noir would never let him forget.
"From what I've gathered it looks like your buddy managed to alienate his friends." Ladybug said, trying not to think about what happened earlier today.
"You okay?" Chat Noir inquired, placing a hand on his shoulder. For a split second LAdybug was surprised that he didn't reflexively recoil back- but then thought about how Chat Noir was someone anyone could feel comfortable around.
"It's just hard to get a read on where the Akuma is. With five villains it's not going to be easy finding the object that has the akuma."
Chat Noir smiled at him, resting his hands and head atop his staff, flashing his friend a playful smile. "But I bet you already have a plan on how to figure out what the akumatized item is, who has it, and how you're going to get it from them, all while not even breaking a sweat."
"I have no idea where the possessed item is beyond hunches. We're going to have to search through each villain one by one. Once we confirm a villain doesn't have it then move on to the next one before we're overpowered."
Ladybug zeroed in on the villain trying to discern who would have the item that was most likely the bead. The last person who had it was Mylene, but the safest person it could be with would be Timetagger. However getting in the middle of a villain with the power of mind control, nearby another who could instantly change their form- wasn't going to be safe. T
"Can't you just sense where the Akuma could be?" Chat Noir pointed out but after asking his ears flattened, quickly realizing that he asked something insensitive.
Ladybug was snapped out of his thoughts after hearing Chat Noir's question. "I...I can't really. Not after..." He couldn't bring himself to say the words as the image of Master Fu's unconscious body flashed in his mind. Anytime after he was akumatized something always instinctively stopped him from pushing through. He couldn't even explain it as he had no idea what his issue was exactly.
"No matter, we'll have to go back to basics. The first thing we'll need to do is get them to an area where we can dispel the most villains. A place where we can get them one by one..." Ladybug said to himself as he threw up his yo-yo in the air. "Lucky Charm!"
From the spell, a small string fell into Ladybug's hand.
"Are we going to have to fish for the item?" Chat Noir asked as Ladybug tied the Lucky charm around his wrist. He eyed the lucky charm on his wrist and the gears in his head started to turn. There was only one thing that such a thing could be used for, and it made Ladybug's stomach sink with guilt.
"I'll figure out how to use it later. For now, we need to divide and conquer. " Ladybug directed as Chat Noir nodded in support.
Ladybug and Chat Noir jumped down to either side of the bridge, not having to wait long to grab the Gang of Secrets' attention.
"There!" Princess Fragrance pointed out to Chat Noir who was waving back at them.
"Timetagger, Reflecta stop Ladybug in his tracks! Princess Fragrance, Horrificator overpower Chat Noir!" Lady Wifi ordered as the villains divided into two groups.
Reflecta and Timetagger both headed for Ladybug as he waited for them to come to him. Timetagger grinned, jumping off the bridge while Reflecta aimed her mirror directly at him.
"Doesn't your boss want my Miraculous?" Ladybug pointed out as he avoided Reflecta's first beam. "How are you going to take it if I look exactly like you?" He questioned while evading her attacks.
Reflecta smirked at the hero's inquiry as she continued blasting. "Just because you're going to look like me doesn't mean your power will weaken." The villain said while Timetagger circled around and grabbed Ladybug's scarf- holding it tight.
"Touching you will give me all the power I need to back in time Ladybug!" Timetagger said gleefully as Ladybug avoided her attempts, never allowing the villain to bridge the space between them. Reflecta aimed her mirror at him but in one swift move Ladybug grabbed Timebreaker's arm and redirected her touch to Reflecta just as she fired her beam. Now Timebreaker's powers were void while Reflecta was stuck in place. With the two villains down Ladybug quickly checked and saw that neither had the bead on them.
Over on Chat Noirs' side, he was avoiding Princess Fragrance's perfume by staying above it while dodging Horrificator swipes toward him. He backflipped onto a nearby lamp and smiled cheekily. "Now now ladies, I know I'm famous but you'll have to control yourselves."
"Scram you mangy cat!" Princess Fragrance snapped. "Once you're under my control you Miraculous is mine!"
"Doubt it." Chat Noir laughed aloud, jumping once more to avoid Horrificator who shrunk at the hero's lack of fear towards her. Chat Noir balanced on the bridge where Ladybug was standing idly by.
"Are you done already?!" The Cat themed hero demanded as he looked at Timebreaker and Reflecta who were already taken out.
"Would you like any assistance?" Ladybug offered while Chat Noir stuck his tongue out.
"Noo- I'm a grown-up Chat Noir. I can fight two villains on my own thank you very much." Chat Noir shot back. He then took out his staff and held it like a pool stick, aiming it directly toward Princess Fragrance. While she aimed her perfume cloud directly at them, Chat Noir extended it quickly. His weapon knocked Princess Fragrance's weapon into the river while her fog dispersed.
"NOOO!" She exclaimed, trying to grab the perfume bottle but then was unprepared as she was then bound to a smaller Horrificator and the two were promptly knocked out. Chat Noir hopped over and checked both villains.
"None of them have the Akumatized item." Chat Noir informed. "What do we do next?"
"It just narrows it down to Lady Wifi." Ladybug responded as he looked around the area for the villain in question "But I have a feeling she's going to lay low now that her partners in crime are down for the count."
"Then how are we going to find her?"
Ladybug narrowed his eyes as he looked down at the Lucky Charm. He could feel that familiar guilt from earlier bubbling up. "I think I know what to do. Can you make sure the rest of these troublemakers aren't going to cause us any more trouble?"
"Of course, I'm a professional. But how are you going to catch Lady Wifi?" Chat Noir inquired.
Ladybug looked in the direction of a nearby alleyway, quickly laying out his plan as he turned back to Chat Noir. "By giving her a taste of her own medicine."
The trap was sprung the second Lady Wifi answered the call that came directly from Marin's cellphone.
"CAUGHT YOU MARIN-" Lady Wifi exclaimed while she was then promptly roped up by Ladybug's wire and hovered above the ground- unable to use her phone. She struggled against the wire while Ladybug walked towards her.
"I know you have the Akumatized bead Lady Wifi." He said while the villain smiled at him smugly.
"Yeah? Well, you're going to have to come closer to grab it- and the second you do- I'm stealing your Miraculous!"
Ladybug sighed heavily. He was certain that he could take the bead from Alya and end this whole affair altogether. But he had a feeling that wasn't the way he was supposed to do this.
"Alya, from what I understand, you've been having some issues with your best friend."
Lady Wifi narrowed her eyes at him, gritting her teeth aggressively.
"I don't know exactly what happened between the two of you, but I wanna tell you about a friend of mine. She's a superhero. You know Rena Rouge right?" Ladybug said, with a smile.
"She was the first person I trusted with a Miraculous and is an invaluable member of my team. But even though I trust her to fight alongside and hold a Miraculous, there are secrets I can never reveal to her. Not because I think she couldn't help, but because not all my problems have to be hers as well." Ladybug said gently. "I have a feeling that you and your friend are in a similar boat. You think that because your friend chooses not to reveal his secrets, it means he doesn't trust you."
"That-" Lady Wifi shot back for a second before shutting her mouth. "You don't know anything! I'm trying to help my friend! Once he reveals his secret, then we can help him, and he can be happy again!"
"And forcing him against his will, using Hawkmoth's power is the way to do that?" Ladybug asked, untangling Lady Wifi from his yo-yo string.
"YES!" Lady Wifi yelled out, but as soon as she said it- her sudden burst of energy immediately drained. "No...because if I did, I would be the villain." Lady Wifi's eyes widened as she realized the weight of her own words. "From then on he would only see me as the selfish villain that pushed him too far." As she said those words, however, a familiar butterfly emblem started to glow on her face; a clear sign that Hawkmoth was speaking to her directly.
"Alya- you don't need his power, you can reject his control!" Ladybug prompted, placing a hand on his best friend's shoulder.
Don't listen to her Lady Wifi. If you do that, you'll never know your friend's secrets! Or Ladybugs!
Lady Wifi opened her palm to reveal the Akumatized item in her hand. She gripped it tightly in her hand, clutching it close. "I don't want your power. I don't need it anymore. Because I don't want my best friend's secret- I WANT MY BEST FRIEND!" She exclaimed aloud, shattering the emblem around her face and Hawkmoth's control over her. Just before she collapsed to the ground Ladybug caught her in a hug, letting her rest on the ground before catching the Akuma in his yo-yo.
"You actually rejected his power...you're incredible." Ladybug said earnestly while Alya smiled.
"It's only because you're an amazing friend, Ladybug." She said, hugging the hero again while he returned the hug. "I know now what me and friends did- it was childish. All we did was try to help, we never even tried to listen."
Ladybug hugged his friend a little tightly at the sound her words. "Maybe...there's blame to share in this situation."
"Huh?" Alya looked at Ladybug curiously as he then handed Marin's cell phone back to his best friend. She looked at the hero for an explanation. "Did Marin give this to you?"
Ladybug averted his gaze as he clutched his yo-yo in hand, not wanting to lie to his friend again today. "Let's just say...I think he's ready to listen to whatever you guys had to say." Ladybug patted Alya's shoulder before using his yo-yo to jump onto the rooftops; fully intending on purifying the akuma and returning everything back to normal.
Marin hung his head as he sat surrounded by his female friends. "You guys, I'm really sorry about what went down. It was wrong of me to snap at you- I am really, really sorry. The truth is…" He hesitated for a second but before he was about to speak up he felt two people touching both of his shoulders at the same time.
"We never came in here to pry into your life dude." Alix informed with a supportive smile on her face.
"Yeah, we just wanted to make sure you were okay, and that you knew that we're here to support you at any time." Alya added, hugging her close friend while Marin sat there- stunned at hearing those words aloud.
"It's okay to take time for yourself, we should have respected your wishes." Mylene informed as she placed a pink glass bead into his hand and closed his grip.
"Take your time. Whatever's going on we'll always be here when you decide to hang out again." Rose said cheerfully with Juleka saying something under her breath.
"Yeah, whenever you feel better about Adrien just make sure you tell us so we can help you with a sick new plan to win over-" Alix started to say before her mouth was immediately covered up with the rest of his friends laughing nervously- dragging Alix out of the room and leaving Marin alone with Alya.
A chuckle escaped at the sight of his friend's shenanigans but as soon as the door closed behind them the anxiety of solitude bubbled up once more. He couldn't bring himself to look at Alya, lesser so to even say a word.
In turn, Alya sighed while still keeping her arm around her friend. "Call it the Journalist instinct, but something tells me this isn't just about Adrien. I'll always be here for you Cutie Pie." She said, kissing him on his cheek before standing up to leave. For what seemed like an eternity Marin watched her leave the second his eyes trailed down to the door he couldn't help but think that if she left then everything would change forever.
Before he even knew what he was doing, Marin grabbed Alya's hand holding on for dear life while still unable to look at her. "Alya wait- there's…there's something else." The words came out choked like his entire being was trying to prevent him from speaking. Marin was fully aware that he was exhausted, that he was growing more and more desperate with each passing day. If he lost Alya…
Marin shut his eyes tightly, forcing back the tears as he felt Alya's hand covering his. She didn't say anything as he looked her in the eye. "It's not that I don't want to tell you. I can't tell you, because if I did- "
"Marin it's okay." Alya cut in. "You don't need to explain yourself. I can see that you're trying to be a good friend. But if this is something that involves someone else then I don't want you to feel guilty over something that's out of your control."
"But what if it's all in my control?! I'm so tired and so overworked and nothing has changed! I keep secrets, I lie all the time! I lie to my friends, to my parents, to everyone and the worst thing is, I can't do it any other way! And it's all because I…I'm…" Marin's voice rose as the desperation started to creep in. He bore into Alya's eyes, feeling the weight of the world on his shoulder, feeling like there was only one thing to be done as he opened his mouth. For a few fleeting moments, he wondered what could be if everything wasn't weighing him down all at once. He trusted Alya. His best friend, his confidant, was the one person who would support him more than anyone else. Being vulnerable for once was willing to open his world to another person.
But then was reminded what being in his world entailed.
A third presence suddenly entered the space. One that was unfamiliar, but he already knew who it could be. Marin reflexively looked up towards the roof of his room still holding Alya's hands. As he looked back at his close friend whatever desperation to cling to his friend faded away. Looking at her now a wave of protectiveness washed over him. Alya had her own life to live, she had her boyfriend, her best friends, and her dreams that were all ahead of her.
Marin shut his eyes tightly before stepping forward and hugging her tightly. "I love you so much Cupcake."
Alya chuckled and turned his embrace, squeezing him as tight as she could, the two of them clinging to each other longer than what would entail a normal hug.
"I love you too."
When Alya stepped back it was with a supportive smile. "I'll see you tomorrow." She said cheerfully but Marin had an inking that both of them knew that it would be a while before they could interact as friends again. Whatever happiness he could feel faded when Alya closed the door behind her. Marin stood in his room. Alone. He took a few seconds to gather himself, taking a deep breath as a new feeling filled the desperation he now no longer chose to prioritize.
Tikki flew out of her hiding place as the rest of the Kwami's followed her example. They all hovered around Marin, their Guardian, with concerned expressions on their faces.
"That was so sad!" Daizzi cried and was the first to hug her Guardian. The rest followed suit as the Kwami's crowded around him. Though they were inherently mischievous in nature that didn't take away that they could love just as strongly as anyone else.
However, what should have been a bittersweet embrace turned into something tenser as someone dropped down from the top of the roof and into his room. All of the Kwami's immediately scattered behind their Guardian while Marin stood in place, gripping the bead from his friends tightly. He looked up at the man who jumped down, standing tall before him. Out of respect, Marin bowed his head slightly, covering a hand over his fist in greeting. Master Fu had told him about many things before he moved away. One of them being about his own master, the one who originally held the Miraculous Box.
The man was dressed as a monk would, though his robes had an element of authority about them, though they were clearly worn out from travel- as evidenced by his tattered shoes on the brink of falling off his feet. His expression was hardened, giving off a more withdrawn feel about him. It was far cry from Master Fu's warmth and gentle nature.
"Celestial Guardian, you honor me with your arrival," Marin said respectfully, placing a hand over his fist in greeting while the man before him scowled at him. It was clear that the Celestial Guardian had much to say, and moreso Marin had a feeling that his role as Guardian just became all the more difficult.
Notes:
Hey I'm back. :3
- We're starting off with PAIN, and it's going to get worse from here ya'll for both Mar and Adrien.
- Marin is a single parent now of more than a dozen balls of energy and is full of stress
- Su-Han is going to be a more consistent presence throughout the season and is trouble