Author's note: I apologize for deleting this story so suddenly, but after watching a little of Season 5 Miraculous Ladybug, I felt guilty for transforming Adrien, Alya and several other characters as rotten, mindless, violent scumbags. However, everyone's behavior enabling Chloe, enamored by Lila's deceit and mistreating Marinette is something I cannot forgive, so I do want to bash them a bit and let them suffer karma. I've been stuck on whether to keep this story or get rid of it. I truly do want to keep on writing and working on other stories, but I've been torn on wanting to give Marinette and Adrien the justice they deserve (they won't be a couple in this story because I find their romance a bit like an obsession with each other, and all of a sudden they become tragic star-crossed lovers, it just doesn't make sense to me), along with wanting to keep on doing my old Persona 5 story.

Like I mentioned before, a lot has been going on in reality. The death of my old cat because of a tumor growing in her head, the passing of my beloved grandmother, and now my old dog visiting the vet a few times because she's sick. I did manage to have a good Christmas with my family though.

As a reminder, I have been inspired by Raise Your Voice Against Liars to write this story. Only this time, Marinette shall first meet the Phantom Thieves during the Hawaii trip. As for the Quantic Kids, I like them so much that I wanted to keep them, but they're not friends with Marinette right now. I want to solely focus on Marinette's loneliness and distancing herself from the people who betrayed her.

Story takes place after Futaba's palace and during ML Season 4. Felix won't be able to betray Ladybug's miraculous to Gabriel, Alya will not know Ladybug's identity (although she will find out on her own, but she will continue to blindly believe Lila), Marinette still suffers because of Chloe's bullying and Lila's lies and gets unfairly expelled for it later on, however she will have the Phantom Thieves and a few friends on her side to protect her.

I don't own the characters of Persona 5 and Miraculous Ladybug. OCs are mine.

Enjoy!

After recalling the events of changing Futaba's heart and defeating Medjed for good, Ren shook his head and took a break to take a deep breath and exhaled softly, mostly because he had been talking for quite a while. The drugs were slowly wearing off, but not fast enough. Although his mind was becoming more clearer than ever, remembering every single situation or event which occurred that lead up to his situation right now.

Sae Niijima, his interrogator and the elder sister of Makoto, his teammate, was beginning to grow more lenient too. He knew that he was telling the truth and judging by the look she currently had, she knew that was also the case. And yet, he understood it confused her. She determined to get a grip on the whole story, but with such an incredible tale about the Metaverse and Persona-users... along with the upcoming details about Parisian superheroes... he had to think twice about some of the things he said because they do sound like nonsense.

"So the Phantom Thieves only stole the heart of Futaba Sakura? And Medjed was in turn defeated by her real-world hacker abilities?" Sae surmised everything from what the leader of the Phantom Thieves had told her. "This does correlate to the facts as we know them..." She muttered aloud to herself. "If he's telling the truth, then Wakaba Isshiki didn't commit suicide. Did a third party target her life with the goal of destroying her research?"

"Yes, they did." Ren slowly nodded in response.

"Wakaba's death was two years ago... That also coincides with when the incidents started occurring..." Why didn't Sae see it sooner? Dr. Isshiki was the first mental shutdown victim, and yet people said it was suicide as a result of raising an ungrateful child who was nothing but a nuisance to her... but that was all a lie. "Does this other Metaverse user that Madarame and Kaneshiro mentioned really exist?"

"He does."

The prosecutor turned her attention back to him. "Earlier, I briefly mentioned about those psychotic breakdown incidents that have alarmed the public. All of a sudden, people will lose consciousness or become violent. A situation as incomprehensible as that can't be explained away as 'troubled social conditions.' I suspect that these cases are all connected to a larger, man-made plot. The method involved always muddled the explication, but your story has virtually confirmed its viability. Although, I wouldn't have expected a new criminal to come to light from your testimony. What did your group think of this other Metaverse user?"

"We suspected that he was the true culprit."

"How self-centered of you," Sae didn't hold back a scoff. "The Phantom Thieves tamper with people's hearts without asking consent. How is that different?"

"Even though those people caused more harm than good?"

She said nothing. This kid is aware of what he's been doing wasn't the pure justice he envisioned. Except the people he and his group had targeted in the past really did do horrible crimes that are truly unforgiveable, but she didn't say this out loud. Well, it doesn't matter. Sae determined to get to the truth of it. "Are those incidents because of you or someone else? Either way, I will get to the bottom of this. Now, let's move on to your next crime."

Sae turned the page of the large leather case file to reveal the picture of a teenage girl. Green eyes shone with sadistic cruelty, long brown hair with two shorter strands of hair tied. An orange jacket with over a sleeveless, dark grey, short pant-legged jumpsuit. No sooner did Ren laid eyes on the girl's photo, his expression grew stormy and dark like thunder clouds. What this girl had done was unforgivable.

"Lila Rossi, daughter of a former diplomat... or so she claimed to be. She also goes by the names of several aliases - Cerise Bianca, Iris Verdis, Daphne Azzurri, etc. For someone so young, she was definitely a con artist..." Among other things, this Sae withheld from saying out loud. "But I'm sure you understand why your testimony regarding this incident will be taken seriously because you targeted a child."

Even though he was impressively calm, Ren's anger was visibly clear. "Most of Paris refused to believe what a monster Lila was! No one cared to do anything to stop her because the whole city was run by either cowardly or ignorant authority figures who'd be dumb enough to believe a fake disease that makes people lie, or everything she does was just harmless teenage drama! My team and I were aware of her being an underage teenage and we had doubts about changing their heart, until after we did a little detective work of our own and discovered her crimes."

Sae had jumped in her seat, mildly taken aback by the boy's eerily calm fury. Studying his expression, he hated this 'child' with a passion and with an understandable loathing. She flipped a page to examine Lila's files, detailing a list of crimes she had committed in the past with the assistance of Chloe Bourgeois, daughter of ex-Mayor Andre Bourgeois, and the infamous terrorist, Hawk Moth aka Gabriel Agreste. No competent investigator or adult figured these brats out as a result of sheer stupidity... or perhaps, someone in the former mayor's pocket willingly covered it up to shield them.

"I understand your anger..." Sae replied. "Still, as I said before, you understand why your testimony will be taken seriously." She watched him nod before she continued. "Although, I do agree with you about some things. First, the way the administration of College Francois Dupont enabled the behavior of Miss Rossi and Miss Bourgeois was not only unprofessional and incompetent, but also criminal. Second, the parents of the current victims whom those brats had bullied or framed were no better, disregarding their children for circumstantial evidence over crimes they never committed was disgusting..." she gripped her nails on the edge of the table, amazingly holding back her own rage.

"It seems we do agree on something," Ren let out a weak chuckle.

Sae couldn't help but show a small smile in return. "Well, this is the first report of the Phantom Thieves targeting someone outside of Japan. Not only is she your first foreign target, but also close to your age, no matter how young she is. How did you come to find out about Lila Rossi?"

Despite the grogginess of the drugs or his injuries affecting him, Ren still managed a grin. "We met one of her victims by chance... and befriended her when we realized she was suffering badly..."

"Marinette, wake up! It's time to go!" Tikki's shouting proved to be much louder than an ordinary alarm clock.

As Marinette Dupain-Cheng found out sooner when she awoke with a cry of "Aaah!" And tumbled out of the bed. Fortunately, she wasn't hurt but she glared at her Kwami for waking her this early. "Ugh, Tikki... did you have to yell in my ears?"

"Sorry for that, but need I remind you that you need to get ready for the school trip." The little Kwami floated toward the calendar, pointing at a big red marker circled on the very day her Chosen has to leave for a trip to Hawaii.

Seeing this, Marinette's eyes practically bulge out of her head. "Oh, mon dieu! I almost forgot!" In a flash, she threw herself out of bed to brush her hair, put on a fresh change of clothes, and doubly check to make sure she has everything she needs for the trip.

She didn't want to leave Paris in danger if an akuma incident happens in her absence. Chat Noir had told her during one of their nightly patrols that he would be out of town for a while due to personal matters in his civilian life. Thank goodness she has Zoe and Pollen to safeguard the city while she's gone.

Marinette had made a new confidant, someone whom she can rely on in her time of misery. Zoe Lee, a transfer student from America and Chloe's half-sister. She was quite the opposite of Chloe, kinder and friendlier. At first, she originally believed if she behaved like her sister, her family would love her. However, Marinette convinced her she can be who she wants to be and doesn't need to be nasty to be accepted.

Ever since then, she and Zoe have been inseparable. And ever since then, Chloe began to torture her own sister as well. However, the friendship between Marinette and Zoe grew stronger when the blonde found out her secret double life as a superhero and became a reliable ally in and out of the mask, entrusted with the bee miraculous and becoming the hero, Vesperia, she is today.

The thought of Hawk Moth seizing his chance to strike had left Marinette a nervous wreck upon first hearing of the surprise school trip weeks ago when Miss Bustier announced it to the class. She was so relieved to have Zoe know her secret identity, someone to confide in and ease her anxieties.

Zoe had volunteered to look after the Miraculous box when Marinette left it in her care a few days ago. Only Kaalki was picked to go, just so her guardian can teleport back to Paris and take care of the akuma as quickly as possible. Marinette knew it would be a strange to explain to a security guard or to her teacher why she's bringing a big box of jewelry on the trip, not to mention she couldn't risk Chloe or Lila going after the box themselves.

Her parents were definitely surprised to see their daughter up this early when Marinette came down the staircase, carrying her suitcase to the door. "Good morning, Maman! Good morning, Papa!" she greeted, instantly seated at the table where breakfast is waiting.

"Good morning, sweetie," her mother, Sabine, greeted her back from the counter, busy flipping another batch of pancakes on the griddle.

"You're up early," her father, Tom, remarked good-naturedly as he squirted some syrup on his pancakes. "I was worried for a second that you might sleep past the scheduled time your bus will come. If you did, you'd get to stay at home and play video games with me!" That was a joke on his part.

Marinette giggled, shoving a sliced piece of pancake in her mouth "Yeah, well I can't miss this trip for the world. It's my first time in Hawaii."

"Remember to bring back souvenirs!"

"I will, Papa!"

Honestly, it felt really nice to have moments like these with her parents. Marinette really missed their affectionate smiles or playful jokes whenever there were family bonding times. Things had gotten sour when Lila came along... it's as if the horrid witch had cast a spell on them when she turned them against their own daughter on that day when she got expelled, then acted like they always believed in their daughter when she got reinstated.

These days, Marinette never interacted with her parents on lively moments like this. She would keep her distance from them, going out on patrols or trying to come up with a plan to catch Hawk Moth. Her parents raised her their whole lives and doubted her based on the word of a stranger they barely know. If they truly cared about their daughter, they should've at least tried to help her. But no, parents truly believed their child was guilty that day and whenever Lila visited the bakery just to 'buy something delicious' or 'say hello' (or from what Marinette learned, throw away the baked good she bought or continue to damage her relationship with her parents), they would scold Marinette for behaving rudely and holding onto a petty grudge over a silly misunderstanding. So, Marinette barely spent any time with her parents and made excuses to avoid them as well.

And when Chloe had gone back to her evil old ways since the Miracle Queen stunt, things had gotten worse at school. That spoiled brat continued to bully or torture her peers. The principal and the teachers refused to punish her because her father is the mayor, so she can do whatever she wants and always get away with everything she does. Even the parents refused to do anything to stop her, either out of fear of losing their jobs or brushing it off as harmless drama.

Marinette shook her head, banishing these dreadful memories before they could fester. Don't think of Lila or Chloe. A trip to Hawaii is what Marinette needs to relax and take a break from akuma battles, something which Zoe had told her. Hawaii is supposed to be fun. Nothing and no one is going to ruin it.

Breakfast finished early and Marinette rushed to the bathroom to brush her teeth, then packed her toothbrush and scampered back to the living room to grab her suitcase. Tikki and Kaalki situated in her purse, safe and secure. It was time to leave as Marinette said goodbye to her parents (not allowing them to give her an affectionate hug or kiss farewell) when she departed for school.

Fortunately, there were no incidents or disruptions when Marinette arrived at Dupont. Miss Bustier stood in the courtyard, doing a head count and called out the names of her students to make sure everybody is present. Dr. Helene Kurtzberg, Nathaniel's mother, was coming along as well, simply to chaperone and provide medical care.

While she waited, Marinette noticed Zoe had come scampering over to her with a smile and a wave. "Oh, hi Zoe!"

"Hi, Marinette! I just came to see you off. Are you excited for the trip?" Zoe asked.

"You bet I am! I can hardly wait!"

"I hope you have a good time," the blonde stole a brief, sharp glance at two particular devils, "and don't let Liar-la and my sister try to ruin it." Chloe hasn't said a word ever since she had been depraved of the bee miraculous, keeping to herself and not socializing with anyone, not even Sabrina. Lila was milking in the attention of the girl squad, obviously telling another one of her fairy tales.

Despite the pain in her heart watching her friends flock to Lila and never once spared her a glance when she first arrived, Marinette nodded firmly. "I'll keep my eyes and ears open for whatever schemes those two witches are plotting." Hopefully, just this once, neither Chloe nor Lila will concoct devious schemes to ruin this trip. But when it comes to those brats, you never know what to expect.

Zoe made sure nobody was close to them so she can lean in and whisper in her best friend's ear. "And I'll keep you updated on the events in Paris. Keep the Paris news app and akuma alert on at all times."

"I shall. Thanks, Zoe. I truly appreciate this."

"All right, children!" Miss Bustier called from the entrance. "The bus is here! It's time to go!" The entire class grabbed their suitcases or belongings and scrambled to their teacher, whilst Dr. Kurtzberg told them to walk carefully so nobody would trip and fall in their hurry.

Marinette gave her friend a brief yet affectionate embrace. "I have to go. I'll text you when we land in Tokyo and Hawaii later on."

"I'll miss you..." Zoe whispered in her shoulder, then her eyes widened in confusion and pulled back. "Wait, Tokyo? Why?"

"Apparently, this flight is nonstop," Marinette explained. "We're going to stay one night in Tokyo so the plane can refuel and we're going to stay one night at a hotel."

"Well, I hope you bring back souvenirs from both Tokyo and Hawaii! Be safe!"

"I will, same to you."

The ride to the airport has been pleasant. Going through security with no problems whatsoever. The students kept themselves amused whilst waiting at the departure lounge; making jokes, eating snacks, playing with their iPhones, or creating plans on what to do when they get to Hawaii. Miss Bustier and Dr. Kurtzberg kept a close watch on everyone, drinking cups of coffee and starting up a conversation with each other.

Marinette remained by herself, texting Zoe to let her know she's at the airport and eating a sandwich to keep the hunger at bay. Not once did she make an attempt to spark up a conversation with her classmates when they got here. Everybody was fixated on their personal plans, or just absorbed in Lila's story regarding how she saved the hotel manager and her mother in Hawaii from a burglary, and in gratitude, the manager allowed the girl and her mother to stay for free.

As usual, her classmates praised Lila for her 'bravery' and Alya published the fabricated story on the Ladyblog. Geez, doesn't she ever fact check before she posts false stories online? Apparently, not Alya. If she wants to become a journalist, she needs to do a background check on Lila's tales. Much less investigate Lila's accusations when that lying vixen got her expelled. Alya may not have believed in Marinette's alleged crimes, but she should've believed her when she tried telling her that Lila is the guilty party.

The events of that expulsion deeply affected Marinette, to the point of completely avoiding everyone who turned their backs on her. And why would she not? Lila proved that she was sufficiently gifted in her manipulations to ruin the bluenette's reputation among her peers, her teachers and her parents. Even though Lila had 'apologized' to Marinette because she has a 'disease' that makes her say or do things without meaning to, Marinette avoided her like the plague.

From then on, she would go home for lunch, even on days when Adrien stuck around for lunch. She would never go out with the girl squad because Lila started hanging out with them, constantly making excuses to skip out. Whenever Alya or one of the girls would talk to her, Marinette would stop talking in mid-sentence whenever Lila showed up and stayed quiet till the liar left. Then, resume like nothing had happened and act like Lila never approached them.

It was Alya who impressively kept things calm and neutral between Marinette and the others. She had been trying desperately to relieve some of the tension between her best friend and her new Italian friend in the hopes the two will finally bury the hatchet and become great friends. But no matter how badly Marinette tried to convince her to question Lila's word, she still refused to believe her.

Marinette didn't even want to talk about Adrien anymore; no more plans to confess, no nothing. He abandoned her to protect Lila and allowed her to model beside him on photoshoots, as though he rewarded her for her bad behavior. Adrien knew the true nature of that witch, and he still remained silent and let her do as she pleased. Just like how he always allowed Chloe to do whatever she wants, no consequences involved. He cares more about the feelings of bullies, and Marinette didn't really want to hang out with him. These traits of enabling such awful behavior shattered her vision of love for him as Marinette felt her heart breaking.

And here Marinette had been swooning over a clueless idiot when she could've been with Luka, the sweet and kind-hearted musician who actually cared for her. But with her duties as a hero and a newly appointed guardian of the Miraculous box, Marinette can't have a relationship with Luka. She used to date him after the events of Miracle Queen. However, the stress of being a superhero and making excuses to leave forced Marinette to end their relationship. And because of that, he got akumatized. She blamed herself for what happened and stopped talking to Luka, even avoided him. Meeting him would just make things awkward.

Speaking of akumas, whenever Marinette suffered under stress or harassment, Tikki had to warn her of akumas coming for her. Last week, it was the twentieth one in the past few months. The Kwamis had been doing their best to keep Marinette from being akumatized, but due to the toxic environment Marinette was in, it was only a matter of time before she was actually akumatized.

If Master Fu's memories hadn't been erased, Marinette would've given him the ladybug miraculous to keep it safe if she succumbs to akumazation. It still hurt to no longer call him master, but at least Fu is spending the rest of his days in happy bliss with his beloved sweetheart, Marianne Lenoir.

"It's time to board the plane!" Dr. Kurtzberg called from the boarding gate.

Glad to hear this, Marinette grabbed her stuff and followed her classmates as everybody boarded the plane. She found her seat, right next to Sabrina. To her surprise, the police lieutenant's daughter didn't seem bothered sitting next to her. Marinette noticed at the corner of her eye a little distant behind her where Lila had taken her place next to Chloe. From what Sabrina told her, the mayor's daughter totally lost it after Sabrina accidently spilled her orange juice on Chloe's shirt and the spoiled brat 'banished' her to sit with the peasants. Nobody wanted to sit with Chloe's lapdog, as they called her, so she took her chance with Marinette, much to her relief.

Kaalki and Tikki discreetly poked their tiny heads out of their Chosen's purse, making sure they are still there and to let her know they're fine. It wasn't long before the flight attendant started giving everyone the safety instructions. Several minutes afterward, the two girls watched from the window seat the plane taking off from the tarmac.

Goodbye Paris, hello field trip.