Chapter 11:

The history teacher's needlessly wordy lecture finally ended ten minutes after the bell rang to signal lunch break. When he asked if anybody had extra questions, there was a resounding round of 'no thank you's" from the class and he finally dismissed them.

Marinette hastily stashed her notes into her bag, her mind buzzing from this morning. One loose page caught her attention. It was chart comparing Blair and Lila.

While she knows very well that Lila isn't the new cat, her little act earlier made Marinette realize what was it about Blair that she found unnerving. Blair looks different enough from Lila for Marinette not to see it at first glance, but the more she thought about it, the more she saw the resemblance.

As Bunnix confirmed, Blair isn't a descendant of either her or Alya.

But what if she's a descendant of Lila's?

Blair mentioned she's half-Italian. She's frighteningly good at persuading people to go along with what she wants, even those as stuck in their ways as Su Han. She's a smug confident show off, much like Volpina. If the class saw some resemblance between Lila and Calico, they'd see the resemblance gets stronger without the mask.

It was disconcerting to say the least.

Everyone made their way out of class, but none were in as much of a hurry as Adrien. The perfect model looked frazzled, the natural warm glow of his sun-kissed skin was paling and his hands were shaking. He hurriedly said his good-byes to Nino as he speed-walked out of the classroom.

Worried, Marinette decided to follow him.

Adrien went out of the school, but his limousine wasn't waiting for him. Instead, he crossed the street to her family's bakery and continued down the sidewalk. When he turned a corner, he vanished.

That was strange. What could've gotten Adrien to go all the way here? There wasn't a clinic or a drugstore nearby.

Marinette was about to leave it be when she saw red from the corner of her eye.

Blair was leaning with her back against the wall, color draining from her tanned skin and breathing heavily. Plagg and Trixx were fretting over her, but the older girl waved them off. She fished out a tin container from her jacket pocket, popped it open to reveal these weird glowing blue gel pills.

As Marinette got closer, she started picking up some parts of their conversation.

"I'll be fine. A little qi deficiency isn't gonna kill me," Blair reassured as she popped a pill into her mouth.

"Blair, how old are you? I thought you were at least eighteen for you to break past the timer limit," asked Trixx.

"I'm seventeen."

"As of a week ago in our time," Plagg added worriedly.

Blair made a face at Plagg while Trixx looked at Blair with alarm.

"You know those limits were placed there for a reason! If I knew how young you were-"

"Chill, Trixx," Blair held up one hand while the other pocketed the tin case. Blair stood up straighter and breathed easily, flipping her hair as if to show off how much healthier she looks now. "Yes, I know about the baby locks. I also know those limiters start getting looser as the wielder ages into adulthood. Certain… events… could speed up the process. Master Hisui once said the age of the soul is determined by experience rather than the physical body."

"That's not concerning at all," Trixx said sarcastically.

Like a switch was flipped, Blair's carefree, confident demeanor was replaced with a more serious, colder look. Blair shot the kwamis a hard gaze, her mouth a thin line.

"The show must go on and we can't have a show without the main star. Remember what we're doing this for."

"Blair."

Marinette decided now was the time to interrupt and called for their attention. She gave the not-actually-that-much-older girl a once over. It's like she bounced back from that level of fatigue instantly, but Marinette couldn't be too sure anymore after what she'd seen.

Blair needed help. Marinette couldn't ignore that.

Matching Blair's serious look with one of her own, Marinette put her hands on her hips and took a commanding stance.

"You're coming with me."

0-0-0-0-0

Marinette had Blair sneak into her room through her balcony. Seeing Blair is a time traveler, Marinette would rather play it safe and not let Blair meet her parents if it could be helped - she knew from experience how tricky time travel could be so it's best to keep things under wraps. Blair was impressed and understood the young guardian's thoroughness.

Once they were in their room, Marinette examined Blair like a doctor; making her stand up straight in the middle of the room, raise her arms to a T-pose, hop in place, do a ballerina twirl... Not that Marinette actually knew what to look out for. Marinette surmises she'll know it when she sees it.

"This place is… lively," Blair tried to start up some small talk as the kwamis flew around Marinette's room, now awake and curious to see the new girl. She awkwardly waved at them. Some of the kwamis copied her gesture and waved back.

Having a good look at Blair under the daylight, there's definitely a resemblance to Lila. But there are notable differences too. Her crimson hair was redder than Lila's auburn for one thing. For another, her eyes are definitely not like Lila's. Perhaps it's from the probably non-Lila-related side of her family.

Trixx was shooting a concerned gaze at Blair on one of Blair's shoulders. Plagg stewed in worry on the other. For Blair to have them both fretting over her like this, especially Trixx who's only known her for a day…

Marinette shook her head. This isn't the time to be suspicious just because she's as good at winning people over to her side as Lila! She's supposed to be making sure Blair is totally fine.

"Marinette, I swear I am totally fine."

Blair's stomach protested by growling embarrassingly loudly, which flustered the redhead.

Marinette raised a brow at her. "You were saying?"

"Nothing food can't fix," Blair said, a bit sheepish at first before bouncing back to her usual confident self. "Think of me like a kwami. They get hungry after using their powers. Get them something to eat, and they'll be good as new. Lunch is all I need."

Failing to find anything else that contradicts Blair's statement, Marinette decides to take Blair's word for it. She promised herself earlier this morning she'd do anything she could to support the new cat on her mission, and that's exactly what she's gonna do.

Marinette flashed Blair a confident determined smile.

"That, I can help you with."

0-0-0-0-0

Blair was treated to an assortment of baked goods: breads, cakes, pies, cookies, and everything in between. You name it, Tom and Sabine's Boulangerie has it. She was hesitant at first but Marinette insisted. The bakery only sells things fresh and these goods were a day past fresh but still safe to eat. They were gonna be thrown away anyway, so her parents won't miss them.

Blair gobbled everything up… much to the morbid fascination of Marinette.

"Is this how I was like when I got possessed by Tikki on her galettes craze?" Marinette stage whispered to the other kwamis in the room.

"Hey!" Tikki pipped up indignantly.

"Where is she stashing away all that food?" Marinette waved her hands at Blair's direction.

Blair ignored the young guardian's blatant judgement with practiced ease and finished her meal.

"That hit the spot," Blair sat back on the chaise, patting her ever-so-flat stomach contentedly. She eyed the plate of cookies and asked, "Mind if I have these to go?"

"… Sure," Marinette made a face that practically says, 'after all that you're still hungry?!' as she gingerly picked up the plate of cookies.

As Marinette packed away the cookies, Blair snuck a peek at Adrien's phone and couldn't help but smirk. The Gorilla bought her excuse and Nathalie gave her stamp of approval with a small memo to watch what she eats. This morning may have been off to a rough start, but lunch break is going smoothly. And soon, the rest of the week will come smoothly now that she's come up with counter-measures to make up for everything Adrien could do that Blair could not.

"What are you doing all the way here? Wouldn't anyone be looking for Chaton?"

Blair quickly hid Adrien's phone into her pocket, out of Marinette's sight.

"Ah, see, I've made excuses. I'll be having lunch here for the rest of the week if that's okay with you."

Literature had a group project that's due next week. Blair was grouped with Ivan and Nathanael who were both totally cool with doing everything online. This allowed Blair to lie about needing to meet up with them every lunch break. That way, the Gorilla won't pick her up and she's allowed to get a proper lunch at Marinette's.

"Don't Chat Noir's family provide him with lunch?" Marinette asked, worriedly.

"Yes. But it's not enough for me," Blair scratched the back of her head eyeing all her empty plates, feigning sheepishness. She made a show of pigging out, but it wasn't a complete farce. "I could always use a little extra energy for the act."

Heaven help Blair, she needs at least one filling meal to get through the day. Adrien's breakfast of one wholewheat toast and a celery stick wouldn't cut it. Detransforming to feed Trixx helped mitigate the worst of it. On top of that, Blair's already taken three Qi Potion Pills just to get through so far - this is just the first time Blair missed her timing because that teacher prattled on for way too long. Blair wonders where Adrien gets the energy to do all his tasks while on a diet. She doesn't know about 2015 Paris, but her time had laws prohibiting child celebrities under eighteen from dieting like this.

"So you don't end up like you did earlier?" Marinette asked with narrowed eyes.

"That was minor miscalculation on my part. It won't happen again," Blair waved her off with conviction. She smirked, radiating a dissonant aura of calm. "I got this. Trust me.~"

Plagg facepalmed with his stubby little arms, muttering about his dumb kittens just loudly enough for Blair to hear.

"You mentioned something about qi deficiency. What is it?"

Oh, crud. She heard that. If Marinette hasn't heard of qi from Mrs. Cheng's side of the family, surely, she would've heard of it from Master Fu. Add in a troubling word like deficiency, and she's understandably worried.

"It's not a big deal. Ever played a fantasy RPG? You have this stat bar called an MP, which allows you to do stuff in exchange for draining that bar. My MP was simply running low from disguising myself as another cat and eating helps refill that bar."

That's the simpler explanation Blair remembered from her mother when she came home dead exhausted one day. The explanation Master Hisui told her came with a side of philosophy about vital life energy and how it flows within everyone's body and once you break the one-use timer the Miraculous starts using up some qi from the wielders in addition to the kwamis and…

"… Does qi deficiency also happen when you unify too many Miraculous?"

"Yes! Because then, there would be more than one Miraculous that would drain your mp that the limiters don't account for and…" Blair's eyes widen. "Wait, you don't know all this stuff, do you?"

The two girls took a moment to internally panic. They're not sure if an advanced health lesson was forbidden knowledge. Seeing as Bunnix didn't pop out of nowhere to TVA them, it could be fine… Or time was too wonky for her to come here and fix their mistake.

"You know what? Let's just not talk about anything Miraculous-related ever again. Okay? Okay," Marinette said with a nervous smile and a twitching eye. "Eat as much as you need. Take a cat nap. Just don't talk to me!"

"… Yes, Lady," Blair solemnly agreed.

0-0-0-0-0

As soon as Alya opened the latch into Marinette's room, Trixx immediately flew to her nuzzling her cheek.

"I missed you too, Trixx," Alya said.

Alya was glad to know she can still have lunch breaks with Trixx. As she let Trixx perch at the top of her head, Alya took a look around the room. Blair was lying on the lounge chair, soaking in the sun with a tower of empty plates next to her. Under the loft, Marinette was keeping herself busy at her sewing machine, which feels like a sight Alya hasn't seen in a while.

"Finished!" Marinette cheered, holding up a newly made purse.

It was mainly black, save for the embroidered white B that was styled in a way that makes it look like the outline of a cat: ears at the top, whiskers on the right with the bottom elongated to appear like a tail. The cord was a golden colored chain with a matching golden clasp with a paw print insignia.

Marinette stuffed it full with some plastic-wrapped cookies. As she spun around her chair she spotted Alya coming into her room and welcomed her in.

"Whatcha got there?" Alya asked.

"It's a purse for Blair to carry extra food. She needs it if she's gonna keep her energy up for her illusions," Marinette said.

Alya eyed the tower of plates once again. "She ate all that?"

"Yes," Blair groggily replied. "Please don't judge me."

The time lost cat got up from the chaise and did a few stretches, showing off how fit she still is. Marinette gave her the purse. Blair's jaw dropped as she held it up like it's made of glass.

"A Marinette Original…" Blair whispered breathlessly as her eyes sparkled with joy. She hugged the purse to her chest. "I will cherish this forever!"

Marinette flustered at the compliment. "I only made that on short notice with extra materials lying around. It's not that valuable-"

"Hush!" Blair held up a hand as she slipped the purse on. She checked herself out on the full body mirror and did a few poses like a professional model. "You've taken my outfit into account and made the purse go with it. Cheap or not, it's a work of art!"

"Yeah Marinette," Alya sidled up to her best friend and put an arm over her shoulder. "Only you could turn throwaway cloth into something fashionable."

Marinette relaxed by her side, which in turn also relaxed Alya. What lingering doubts she had about this cat's character has been silenced for now.

Blair asked if she could borrow Marinette's guardian tools again to make another Translation Charm - she says Chat Noir is taking a foreign language class and this is the only way Blair is gonna learn a new language overnight.

"That dork," Marinette shrugged off that little tidbit. "He knows a lot of random stuff like morse code, and…"

Alya was not blind to the small smile nor was she deaf to the affection in her voice as Marinette prattled on about her Chaton. Nor was Blair, who muttered a low amused "clownbug" as she tinkered.

It was an interesting process to watch. Then, poof! When the smoke cleared, there was a coin shaped stone, similar to the one already strung on her necklace - the one that wasn't the Fox Miraculous. She slipped the charm on the opposite side of the other Translation Charm, surrounding the lone locket on the golden chain.

Curiosity got the better of Alya once again.

"How's your guardian training going along?" Alya asked in what she hoped was a safe topic.

"Alya!" Marinette chided.

"I'm not asking for technical details…" Alya amended. "If boy talk is fine, then talking about your other relationships shouldn't be a big deal for us to know."

"Guardian training?" Blair raised a brow.

"Yeah? Why else would you know how to make magical charms…?" Alya asked.

"As amazing as I am, I don't think Master Hisui would choose me to be the next guardian," Blair chuckled at Alya's misconception. Once she's done, she said, "Master Hisui taught both me and Bugsy a lot of things ever since we officially met a month ago. Before that, she was all mysterious; using Plagg and Tikki to relay messages from her and leaving reference books for us to study. I got a book about mastering Cataclysm. Ladybug got one about the basics of Mirakung-fu. She must've been observing us to know which topics would we take to."

"Must be nice," Marinette said tersely.

Alya felt bad for Marinette. She's helping Marinette figure out all the notes Master Fu left behind while Blair and the other bug has a mentor to hold their hands and guide them. It's unfair. Then again, there is an optimistic spin to this.

"This means we succeeded in decoding Master Fu's notes, Marinette! The next generation got to reap the fruits of our labor. Isn't that great?" Alya said.

Both Marinette and Blair gawked at her. Marinette was frantically shaking her head making a cross with her arms, rambling about the dangers of knowing too much. Blair got over her shock and smirked at Alya.

"Trixx always said he appreciates inquisitiveness in his foxes, but maybe tone it down a bit?"

"Right," Alya nodded, chastised. "No talking about the future that directly relates to us. Got it."

Satisfied, Blair decided to continue talking about her life like it's a reward for Alya. To be fair, it kinda is. Alya's getting juicy information on how Miraculous Wielders operate in the future.

"Please note that guardians adjust how they do things depending on the situation. How Master Hisui does things isn't a blue print for how every guardian does it in the future. Alright?"

There goes the disclaimer. What she hears from Blair may never be significant within her lifetime, but it's still fun to know.

"As part of a test of character, Master Hisui didn't show up to us immediately. Me and my bug… Well… Things didn't go smoothly between us at first. It's no wonder the guardian took so long to show up and share more information with the both of us."

"You two didn't get along?" Marinette asked, super distressed.

"I can't imagine," Alya said sarcastically.

Alya was there when it all started. Marinette with her Chaton clicked from the word go - it's part of why she shipped LadyNoir. If even the Ladybug and Chat Noir from her generation could get into a rough patch, Alya had no problem imagining other pairs stumbling too.

"Between his bullheadedness and my pride, we were destined to clash," Blair explained with a shrug. "Bugsy and I had our own way of doing things. He gets too emotional; I was too pragmatic…"

"Not to mention how jealous you were of him," Plagg piped up with a teasing grin. "Your ego couldn't handle your bug being more important than you."

"Water under the bridge," Blair glared at Plagg, who blew a raspberry at her in response, before she calmed down. "But yeah. I used to resent my Ladybug for it, even though it wasn't his fault he was given the more useful Miraculous. I couldn't return anyone back to normal. I couldn't fix anything… I felt useless."

As much as Marinette insisted that she and her partner are equals, Alya could see where Blair came from. When Chat Noir couldn't make it, Marinette simply called on everyone else. When Marinette couldn't make it, she needed to appoint Alya to temporarily step up and be Scarabella. If Chat Noir is gone, it's a minor inconvenience. If Ladybug is gone, it's a disaster.

"You're not useless! You're important too! I'm sure your bug thinks so," Marinette insisted.

Alya raised a brow at how invested Marinette was in Blair's relationship with her bug.

"Thanks. Bugsy's gotten better at expressing it," Blair said with that same soft smile she makes whenever she talks about the future bug. "We got over it eventually, don't worry. We learned to compromise. We learned to appreciate what the other brought to the table. We learned to function as a proper team."

"I'm glad you're getting along now. Please, don't let anything get in between your wonderful partnership," Marinette sighed in relief, wiping away a tear.

… Girl, how hard were you projecting? Alya wanted to ask but tactfully kept it to herself.

"We won't. We're partners. I'd do whatever I can to protect him just as I know he would for me. When there's something important going on, we make sure we're both in on it. I would never pull anything behind his back and betray his trust!"

Guilt was written all over Marinette's face at Blair's declaration.

Yet Blair's gaze was directed at Alya.

Plagg, who was sitting on Blair's shoulder, was face palming.

What did she do now?!

0-0-0-0-0

Soon, it was time to go back to school.

Blair went out a little earlier than them. She transformed into Calico and jumped out of Marinette's balcony.

Marinette was going to stay behind a bit to put away the plates into the dishwasher. There were a lot. Alya would've helped but Marinette seemed down about what Blair said. She knew better than to push so soon, so she left her alone for now.

Once Alya closed the door to Marinette's home behind her, she was pulled to the side by none other than Blair.

"Mind if I cat-ch you for a quick interview?"

0-0-0-0-0

They sat on a secluded bench in the park by Marinette's home. Blair sat down next to her. Turns out, Blair somehow found out about Nino.

"No, Nino didn't snitch. He told me nothing."

Something about the wording made Alya raise a brow.

"Then how-"

"Not important."

This time, it was Alya's lips that fell into a frown. The older girl has the audacity to ask more questions as if it was Alya who owed her answers.

"Can you tell me who knows what in your class?"

"Why do you need to know?" Alya asked.

Blair looked askance before answering in a whisper, "In case of a security breach."

Alya crossed her arms at the accusation.

"Look, just because I told Nino about me, doesn't mean I told anyone else. It's just him, and he hasn't told anyone about Rena Furtive."

"What about Rena Rouge?"

"Chill. It's something of an open secret between seven of us ever since the Miracle Queen incident," Alya rolled her eyes. "Me being Rena Rouge, Nino being Carapace, Max being Pegasus, Kim being King Monkey, Luka being Viperion, Kagami being Ryuko and Chloe once being Queen Bee… Thankfully, the media didn't pick up on any of that and we all had this unspoken agreement not to spread it any further. Well, other than Chloe already did with hers."

They all saw how invasive the media could be towards an exposed hero. Chloe and Kagami are rich enough to afford security from those pesky paparazzi but the rest of them commoners wouldn't be so lucky.

"They know? How?" Blair asked, genuinely surprised.

"Miracle Queen got us all with her mind control bugs and ordered us to expose ourselves. By the time Ladybug and Chat Noir pulled through and freed us, we were all less than a minute away from detransforming. In our panic with Hawkmoth and Mayura still around, we ended up sticking together until our timers ran out. We figured it didn't matter anymore now that Hawkmoth knew," Alya answered. She thought with Blair being from the future, she would already know this… She guesses not everything was written down in history to prop them up. History is written by the winners after all.

"Shadowmoth knows who you guys are?! Why are most of you still active?! Isn't that dangerous?!"

Blair was practically shaking, her jaw set and her brows scrunched. Alya realizes then that Blair wasn't asking her because she was suspicious of her or was judging her. She's only asking out of concern. Blair was afraid for them. Alya rubbed circles on the redhead's back to help her relax, but Alya remained at arm's length.

"Honestly? I don't know," Alya shrugged. "But Marinette needed people she could trust. If she asks for our help, she can count on us."

Blair studied her with pensive green eyes.

"Even if it's dangerous?"

Alya thought back to everything that's happened to her all because her identity got exposed: the fake Nino who tricked her, Sentibubbler sending all her loved ones to the sky, Shadowmoth trying to turn her against Ladybug…

"Even if it's dangerous," Alya reaffirmed. "She needs us. Paris needs us. If there's something we could do, who are we to turn away their call?"

Blair puts a shaky hand over her locket. For centuries, lockets are traditionally used as sentimental keepsakes containing memories of someone you cherish… Who could Blair be thinking of?

"Danger follows those who wield the Miraculous…" Blair's hold on her locket tightened. Her emerald green eyes shined with respect she directed at Alya. "It takes a true hero to keep going anyway."

That was a sucker punch to the heart for Alya. As if that wasn't enough, Blair started a phrase she knew too well.

"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil…"

"… Is that good people do nothing," Alya finished, conviction stronger than ever.

"So it was you she was talking about," Blair said with wonder.

Alya didn't have to ask her who 'she' is. She remembered the day she met Marinette. It's incredible to think this girl she helped out would turn out to be the superheroine of Paris.

Ever since she was a little girl, Alya's always looked up to heroes. It was a dream come true when Ladybug first offered her the Fox Miraculous. But reality hit and it turns out being a superhero wasn't as glamorous as she initially thought. It was a duty first and foremost, as well as a burden they must carry. She has her share of fans, true, but it's not like she could go around parading how awesome she is. This only gets truer now as Rena Furtive as no one but Ladybug is supposed to know about her.

It's nice to know her efforts are appreciated, both in the present and in the future.

0-0-0-0-0

It was easier to answer Blair's questions after that. Knowing her intentions helped a lot.

"Who else knows?"

"Well, Nino confessed some time ago that he told Adrien about him being Carapace and me being Rena Rouge and both of us being aware of it. It isn't that big of a deal as long as he doesn't tell anyone about Rena Furtive. I'm not sure about the others. Telling anyone else in the class wouldn't put them in significantly more danger than not knowing. Shadowmoth already knows half of the Miraculous team are in the same class. If anything, knowing would give the person they told a heads up."

Blair had a hand cupping her chin in a thinking pose, eyes focused and her mouth a thin line.

"Does Marinette know?"

Alya almost didn't want to answer. They were having a moment! She doesn't want to ruin it! But by now, Alya has seen the harm secrets and lies could do…

"I haven't told her. Not about Nino, even less about Adrien. With the way she's stressing about all that guardian stuff, I'm not even sure if she noticed the class's open secret."

Not even when Lila was blatantly taking advantage of it this morning. Marinette had every right to tell Alya 'I told you so' when it came to Lila's tall tales. Though, it seemed legit that she does have a rare disease that makes her lose control of what she says. It's hard to judge how much of what she says are outright lies or simply embellished truths. Either way, she never tore anyone down with what she says, not like Chloe. Lila only ever propped herself up. If she wanted attention so badly, how bad would it be to just give it to her? The best thing about this class is how accommodating they are to people in need, never asking for anything in return.

It's why Marinette would entrust the same people with the Miraculous rather than some stranger she had no way of truly testing. The power of the Miraculous shouldn't be handed to just anyone. Alya guesses this is why she would still entrust her and the others who were exposed during the Miracle Queen incident.

She knew all the risks with continuing to trust them. After fighting Hawkmoth - now Shadowmoth - for so long, she knew the risks surrounding him too. But strangers? Those people are wild cards.

It's what Marinette considers Blair to be.

There are no parameters to guess how she would react. There is no way to prepare for the worst. Alya can only brace herself and hope she doesn't ruin the awesome image Blair has of this generation's heroes.

Blair patted Alya on the shoulder.

"Then tell her. Preferably soon. I'm sure she'd rather hear it from you now than have all of this blow up in her face at the wrong time."

After all that guilt slinging Blair did, preaching about how much she and her bug trusted each other… Alya expected a bigger reaction.

"… I basically betrayed her trust… Aren't you mad?"

"You told Nino because you cracked under the pressure of keeping it a secret from him. Am I right?"

Alya nodded. Blair got up from the bench and continued to speak, no longer looking at Alya.

"You did what you had to do to keep your head afloat. With the kind of enemy you have, this is not the worst-case scenario," Blair twirled the locket between her fingers, looking down at it wistfully. "Believe me… You're not there yet."

"What do you mean?"

"The worst-case scenario was for you to get akumatized and let your evil butterfly know what you know. It would be a betrayal where you won't get a choice."

That was when the school bell rang.

"I suggest you make your choice while you can."

Blair ran off to wherever Chat Noir needed to be, leaving Alya alone on the bench with her thoughts.

0-0-0-0-0

Adrien was supposed to have fencing classes at one in the afternoon. But Monsieur D'Argencourt is one of the many unfortunate victims of the time warp. His students are free to do as they please for today. Classes will resume tomorrow, with their assigned substitute ready to take over.

It's a good thing Bunnix informed her of this earlier on. It's how they were able to intercept a call that was supposed to be for Nathalie with their superhero equipment. Magic can override technology if you will it hard enough. Using the Fox to imitate Nathalie's voice, Blair excused Adrien and claimed to have a photo shoot. Meanwhile, Nathalie is none the wiser about Monsieur D'Argencourt's disappearance causing a free day. Blair forged an email informing Nathalie of the substitution. For all she knows, Adrien is busy at fencing this afternoon and should not be disturbed.

For now, Blair's immediate concern is that Geography test. See, she flunked it so hard, Blair is sure Gabriel will use it as a clause to punish Adrien - and thus, punish Blair. She is not looking forward to that.

So that's why Blair is here, transformed into Calico to sneak into the faculty room from the window and change her answers. She'll make it a combination of Max's and Sabrina's to make it less obvious.

Her conscience that sounded an awful lot like her nagbug tells her this is so wrong. Cheating is wrong. But the logical part of her brain argues, this isn't for her own self-interest. This is for Adrien! For the greater good! And therefore, this is morally correct! Hush now, Bugsy. It's not like she boosts her own grades like this.

Blair has moral standards - they are just more flexible than Bugsy's.

"Awfully suspicious of you trying to break into my school like this."

… From the looks of it, this Ladybug's moral standards are as flexible as Bugsy's.

Ladybug stood above Calico on the fire exit, glaring down at her.

"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be playing your part?"

"Uh… How did you find me?"

Ladybug pointed to something to her left - her family bakery.

"I could see you from my bedroom window."

Oh crud.

0-0-0-0-0

Qi Potion Pills

A temporary cure for qi deficiency, helping boost the body's overall qi for a few hours. This works by using an outside source to supplement the qi the body lacks. Over time, the consumed qi from the potion becomes part of your body's flow, no different from the qi that's already in your body.

However, it's still better for the body to regain qi the natural way, through eating and resting.

While Qi Potion Pills can help add to the amount in one's body, the qi is not your own. To consume so much Qi Potion in one go… there's only so much foreign qi the body can accept before it starts corrupting one's soul. Which is why they came in pills. Controlled amounts one should only take every few hours. No overlaps.

It also can't be used to perform Miraculous feats far beyond the human body could handle. It's only meant to mitigate fatigue from overusing a Miraculous and not fall into a Miraculous-induced coma.

0-0-0-0-0

BONUS SCENE:

"Hey, Bugsy!"

Chat Noire landed gracefully on the roof her bug was sitting on and sat by his side. There was something shiny and silver in the yoyo holster on his belt.

"Whatcha got there?" Chat Noire tilted her head in curiosity.

Swift as a python, Ladybug shoved the tin container towards Chat Noire.

"For you!"

Chat Noire took the container out of his hands, excited to see what it is… Only to be disappointed to see what it is. She raised a brow at her partner.

"Breath mints," she mock-pouted. "Is there something you want to say to me, Bug? I swear I brush my teeth after every meal.~"

"That's not what I meant!" Ladybug flustered at her teasing. "It's the only container I got that's just the right size, and easy to carry, and…"

Chat Noire giggled at his over-the-top attempts to explain he didn't mean to insult her. Honestly, ever since that disastrous day, it felt like Chat Noire didn't have a lot to laugh about.

"Chillax, Bug. I'm only pulling your leg," Chat Noire said to appease the jitterbug.

She opened the box to find glowing blue gel pills – like the latest potions Master Hisui has taught them to make. Not that Chat Noire was very good at making potions. Chat Noire gently picked one up between her claws, careful not to pop it.

"Qi Potions in a gel pill?"

"Yes! In safe amounts you could take every few hours. I figured you and your brother could use them, in case you need a little boost," Bug explained.

Chat Noire smiled at the thoughtful gentlebug. She carefully tucked the potion pills into her suit pocket.

"These would be a big help. I appreciate them."

"Good!" Bug said, tense shoulders relaxing. "That's… That's good."

Noticing the dip in her partner's mood, Chat Noire asked him, "What's wrong?"

"I wish I could be of more help," Bug looked down in shame. "To be there with you… To have your back in case Hawkmoth finds you."

"You know why you can't."

"I know."

His secret identity. He can't afford to compromise that. Chat Noire made him promise to never expose himself to anyone, not even her. In the event that Hawkmoth does catch her and take her Miraculous, Ladybug would be the only one standing between Helios and certain doom.

"And who said anything about not having my back?"

This bug argued against Master Hisui – the leading authority on the Miraculous for this city – to let her keep her Miraculous. Every akuma fight, she can always expect him to come to the rescue. Every plan, he knew just how to dance along and add his own steps into it. Even back when he hated her, he would never let her down.

Softly, she said, "After everything we've been through, you've always had my back."

Ladybug looked to her, still unsure but ready to follow her anyway.

Better not get used to it.

Someday, it would be Chat Noire and the rest of the team who'd be following him as the new guardian. Master Hisui may not say it, but Chat Noire could connect the dots. The Mirakung-fu, the talent in potions and charms and other subjects that don't require a Miraculous… skills one would expect from a traditional guardian.

Chat Noire got up. She tagged him, flashed him a confident grin, and vaulted ahead.

"Have fun staring at it as I beat you to Aurelio Castle!"

From the corner of her eye she could see the bug has decided to play along.

Things are changing quickly and it won't slow down. For a carefree moment, the two teens laughed and played, not caring for the rainstorm that's sure to come.

0-0-0-0-0

Notes:

Here's a long one to make up for skipping last week! Since my chapters are growing longer and I have no control, I'm thinking of switching to a "once every two weeks" update schedule. Same day, but I'm posting this a little early from my usual day because there's a storm coming up and I don't know when the power will come back… Anyway, thank you to everyone who faved and followed this. I hope you enjoyed the extra long chapter.