Chapter 17:
Gamer 3.0 taunted the heroes from behind the shelter as Midorikame continued to fight Calico one-on-one. He was a relentless attacker, not giving Calico any space to think beyond defending herself.
Seeing Calico is struggling, Ryuko ran back to help with a thrust of her sword aimed at Midorikame's back. A green forcefield prevented her from landing a blow.
"You think you could pull a fast one on me? Petty tricks like that won't work. I'll see it coming thanks to all of you wielding Miraculo-"
Midorikame let out a violent cough. Glowing blue veins crawled up to the sides of his face. His skin took on a deathly pallor, emphasizing dark circles around his glaring brown eyes.
That was two powers in a row yet his MP bar is still full… no, it's stretching beyond full capacity. While a chunk of his HP bar was taken out even though they have yet to successfully hit him. Calico looked horrified as she saw a new icon above Midorikame's health bar. It was a blue potion icon labelled "Qi Poisoning". A status effect.
In real life, it's what happens when someone chugs a whole bottle of Qi Potion in one sitting to forcibly break past the Miraculous' one-use limit for children. Shizuke pushed himself beyond his limits to protect her and paid a hefty price for it.
"No… No, no, no, no, no…"
Bugsy stood up for her against the guardian to let her keep her Miraculous. She's supposed to prove herself a strong and capable hero. Yet this happened. Danger follows those who wield the Miraculous… She didn't mean for him to get caught up in it. He wouldn't have been targeted if it weren't for her. The Liungs wouldn't have to go through all this crud if it weren't for her. Blake wouldn't have to relive his trauma from losing their parents if it weren't for her.
They are all suffering because of her.
Midorikame calmed himself before Calico got over her shock. He took her by the wrist and slammed her against the wall of his Shellter, holding her wrists above her head. He leaned down to glare at her, stone brown to emerald green.
"Give up your Miraculous while I'm still asking nicely."
0-0-0-0-0
Soon, Ladybug and Carapace also noticed Calico wasn't doing too well against the turtle boy. He had her pinned against the Shellter around him – another shield besides the one protecting Gamer 3.0.
"Not only could he outfight Calico, he even had his one-use limit broken. But he's not a permanent holder? Just who is this guy?!" Ladybug wondered out loud.
"Her boyfriend?" Carapace suggested upon seeing the way the turtle boy had Calico pinned. It earned him a glare from Ladybug, to which he was quick to get defensive. "She didn't have a problem fighting her other team mates before…"
Ryuko was hopelessly banging against Shellter with her sword. Ladybug caught her attention with a signal. It's time to use that.
"Lightning Dragon!"
In a flash of blinding light, Ryuko turned herself into live lightning. She couldn't break past Shellter, but it was enough to blind the future turtle boy and get him off Calico. The assault on his eyes also made him drop his Shellter.
Ladybug took this chance to lasso Calico away, who was also covering her eyes in pain.
The lightning dragon charged forward to attack the turtle boy with a roar of thunder. Turtle boy wasn't able to do anything but to raise his shield, edges glinting with green.
The light show ended with the two at the center of it still standing.
Turtle boy's suit was charred, turning it mostly black. His HP bar was now in the red, but his MP is still holding strong.
While Ryuko was back to her civilian self.
"Calico, why is she-" Ladybug's question was cut off when she noticed Calico was still out of it.
Calico's eyes were still locked onto the partially charred turtle boy, mouth agape, her face struck with horror. After seeing her have no problem fighting her team mates, one being her brother and the other her trusty partner… Just who is the boy for his condition to elicit such a reaction out of the calm and ever-so-smug Calico? Maybe Carapace was right about this being her boyfriend after all.
Instead of demanding answers, Ladybug changed tactics. She shook Calico by the shoulders.
"Snap out of it! He's not real!"
Gamer 3.0 transformed into Princess Honey, avoided Carapace as he ran towards the turtle boy. He placed his hand over turtle boy's shoulder.
"Honey Cure!"
And just like that, the turtle boy's back to normal. No more status symbol chipping away at his HP. No more MP bars breaking far past its limit. No more concerning blue veins on his face.
"Thanks," turtle boy said. He picked up his shield, the corners of it lighting up with green energy. "I can take it from here."
He threw his shield at Ladybug's direction. But Ladybug didn't move away. The bug heroine stood between Calico and Midorikame. She had to stand strong for Calico, who's not coping well behind her.
"Ladybug, get away!" Kagami yelled, but it was too late.
The shield hit Ladybug's yoyo. It got redirected before flying back to the turtle boy, who clicked his tongue. Gamer 3.0 was grinning.
"It's okay, Midorikame. You've crippled her. It'll be easier to get her next time."
Ladybug blinked in confusion. Kagami ran towards her, pulling at her to get away. Not sure what else to do, they all just went with it while their enemies were hot on their heels. Ladybug checked on herself to see if there's anything different. There's this green status symbol next to her HP and MP bars. It's the same with Kagami's. And upon closer look around Kagami's neck, there was something off about her Miraculous
"He got you with the Jade Seal," Calico choked out after finally pulling herself together. She was eyeing Ladybug's yoyo with concern.
Just like the Dragon Miraculous, Ladybug's yoyo was covered in a sheen of turtle shell patterns.
0-0-0-0-0
The four heroes did their best to put some distance between themselves and the floor bosses. They had no choice but to keep moving as there aren't any hiding places in this floor.
"Why won't you work?!" Ladybug got a minor panic attack when her yoyo refused to fly to trip up Gamer 3.0 like she willed it to. She's been pulling at the strings to no avail.
"I'm sorry," Calico said, sheepishly, as she threw her baton at the enemies' feet to trip them instead. "My… My distraction cost you."
"You've had the perfect chance to strike him down while he was distracted with his own ailment yet you didn't. Why did you hesitate?" Kagami bluntly said with a critical frown.
It made Calico wince. Kagami made no move to apologize because she's right. She knew it all too well. She had to watch the whole thing behind Midorikame's Shellter, unable to save this stupid cat.
Calico internally cursed at herself for letting this happen. She knew it wasn't really Shizuke but seeing his double suffer like that, knowing too well the real thing would've done the same for her, it does bad things to Calico's heart. She doesn't know what to do with herself. It's pathetic! To think her Ladybug vouched for her against the guardian to let her keep her Miraculous… This is all her fault! She doesn't deserve–
A hand on her shoulder gently patted her, grounding her back to reality.
"We're not mad," Ladybug reassured. "Just tell me, what's with his powers? You called it the Jade Seal?"
Right. Focus on the mission.
"It's an advanced power from the Turtle Miraculous which is used to disarm or shackle an aggressive opponent to protect the wielder and everyone with them. Which means, your yoyo stops acting as a weapon or as a conduit for your powers and has become as harmless as decoration. Indestructible decoration, but… Yeah, that means no Lucky Charm or Miraculous Ladybug is coming out of that thing," Calico awkwardly explained. Towards Kagami, she added, "Since he hit your Miraculous, I'm afraid you can't transform for a while. Use this to protect yourself in the meantime."
Calico split her silver staff into two and passed one to Kagami, who nodded in thanks.
"Got that. Now how do we unseal it?" Ladybug asked impatiently, uncomfortable with her power limited like this.
"A precise Cataclysm to remove the seal without destroying the object could do the trick. But I've only got one shot. And of course…" with a pointed look aimed at Ladybug, Calico said, "A ladybug's miraculous cure. Think you could still use your prize from Bugsy?"
Ladybug took out the prize she got from defeating the last floor boss – thank goodness she could still use it. It was a Lucky Charm, a toy replica of her magic yoyo. Except, reading the flavor text for this item, it's labelled as "Miraculous Ladybug". It's a two for one deal, with the item itself already being a Lucky Charm.
"I'll save it for now, in case anybody else gets their powers sealed. I can still use my yoyo to shield us," Ladybug took the limited string out of her fake yoyo and tied it to her real one. After a practice swing, she decided, "This'll have to do."
Calico was worried over nothing. A small setback like this isn't going to be enough to beat a legendary hero like Ladybug. If Pavonis could cope with only his suit's physical boosts, then Ladybug can do better with a little more than that.
"Heads up, they're gaining on you," Rena Furtive warned from her and Ladybug's comms.
Just in time. It allowed Ladybug to react fast enough to block an incoming Jade Seal.
"Team, let's regroup!"
0-0-0-0-0
One down, one crippled, and only two fully functioning heroes to go.
Taking the form of the future Ladybug, Gamer 3.0 was untouchable. Every move Ladybug and the two new heroes made, he's always two steps ahead. His body automatically made adjustments to meet them blow for blow. He's stronger than he could ever dream to be. They can't surprise him nor can they overwhelm him. And this was just one of the floor boss forms he could take.
It was Gamer 3.0's insistence they scanned Calico rather than Ladybug. She's from the future, so it only made sense her teammates would be stronger than anything the present Ladybug can throw at them. Use the progress the future Ladybug most likely pioneered against the current her. Shadowmoth – even though he's still just lame old Hawkmoth in this akuma's mind – wouldn't understand strategy if it hit him in the face.
But Shadowmoth wasn't content to leave him be and insisted he comb through all the data he gathered if there's a hint of who the current Ladybug and Chat Noir are. It was a fruitless endeavor. Gamer 3.0 was never interested in the plot of a game. This is why his favorite games tend to be PvPs. All he downloaded are data relevant to building competent floor bosses. It was just enough information to form the playable characters he wanted, each with their own unique playstyle. It would take too long to extract all that data that is Calico's entire life story. What little he kept of their stories are just there as meaningless flavor text.
Midorikame was the perfect choice to be his assistant boss. That "Qi Poisoning" status is a double-edged sword, breaking the one-use limiter to give him unlimited MP in exchange for depleting his health, but that can be fixed with Princess Honey's Honey Cure. It'll come back after using his powers twice. With this, he has more MP than Renard Rouge. He's got Shellter and Jade Seal, making him an effective tank and debuffer. He's got Ladybug's superb stats and Mirakung-fu skills, enabling him as a damage dealer. And his AI is as aggressive as it is protective. He's perfect! With him by his side, they are unbeatable!
Gamer 3.0 got whacked so hard he dropped his Ladybug boy form and went rolling across the floor.
A Japanese girl in a white blazer stood firm, wielding a silver staff like a sword.
Ah. Ryuko's technically not out yet, her HP and MP bars aren't completely depleted. She's just sealed. Mirakung-fu couldn't track civilians. Sealing the Dragon Miraculous had its pros and cons.
Midorikame ran through the heroes like a juggernaut, picked up Gamer 3.0 bridal style and ran to the other end of the room nagging all the way asking if they hurt him anywhere. What an overbearing mother hen. That and he's completely stopped attacking Ryuko just because she's sealed.
"We had them right where we wanted them! I can tank a hit! Why didn't you continued attacking?!"
"But Mrs. Liung is a civilian now. She'll get hurt if I attack her as she is. Shouldn't you be more worried they're still controlling your foster mom somehow?"
It turns out, except for Pavonis, all their enemies were Calico's family being controlled by their enemies. Their safety mattered to him because they're her family. Because he loves her.
Gamer 3.0 face palmed. He should've read those flavor texts more carefully. He's starting to regret making these floor bosses an accurate portrayal of who they were based on. Such a noob mistake.
0-0-0-0-0
All it took was a simple change of roles and the team was back on track. Ladybug is now at the front, using her yoyo to shield them from getting their powers sealed and Carapace covering for everything else. Kagami, stuck as a civilian, is now pulling sneak attacks as the only one the floor bosses' Mirakung-fu couldn't detect.
And Calico, well, she's mostly left to the side. Not that she blames Ladybug after that pathetic display just cause she got to relive seeing her crush go through hell for her… Calico wouldn't trust herself either.
Gamer 3.0 did his best to counter them, but he's just not as good as the original wielders when it came to their powers. Ren's illusions aren't as convincing. Bugsy's counterattacks aren't as fluid. The hero team have become somewhat used to Calico's team mates that even they can feel the difference. The only one getting an upgrade under his manual control was Princess Honey, whom he kept using to heal Midorikame before his own negative status knocked himself out.
A plan formed in Ladybug's brilliant mind. She whispered through the comms for Calico to use Volpino's Mirage as she instructed. Carapace and Kagami got significantly less detailed commands. A quick melody and then there was a fog of smoke covering the arena.
"A little smoke won't be enough to hide from me," Midorikame said.
As soon as he spotted Calico, he dashed towards her, shield powered up to Jade Seal her. His shield met the hard surface of a green force field. Shellter.
"That's alright. We only needed a few seconds to set this up," Ladybug bragged from behind him, swinging her sealed yoyo menacingly.
Midorikame reactivated Jade Seal once again. He stifled a groan as glowing blue veins crawled up the upper half of his face. Qi Poisoning has kicked in.
The smoke cleared just enough to reveal she had them separated into two groups. Trapped in the Shellter were Ladybug and Midorikame. On the other side of the field was Gamer 3.0 fighting off Kagami, Calico and Carapace – whose Miraculous beeped.
"I see he hasn't broken the baby locks. I just have to hold you off until she comes over to back me up… that is, assuming I haven't stopped you by then."
"Or I can stay out of your reach until your HP bar drains away," Ladybug said with a confident smile.
Midorikame grunted in pain. "We'll see which will happen first."
0-0-0-0-0
With Gamer 3.0 taking Bugsy's form, it feels like they're back on the last floor all over again. This is his best fighting form, after all. And so long as Shellter's up, he can't go running to Honey Cure Midorikame. They just gotta keep him preoccupied until Ladybug gives Calico the say so, keep him from noticing anything else is off in this fog. The wait is killing Calico.
This isn't like how it is back in Helios… It's her who people wait for to have a plan. Contrary to her initial fears when she was assigned the Black Cat Miraculous, her partner looked to her for direction. Hah. And look where she led them.
But things are different here. There's a better heroine in town. As much as it stings to play second fiddle, she'll just have to follow along.
She'd rather not mess things up even more than she already has.
0-0-0-0-0
Ladybug has been taunting Midorikame, making him waste Jade Seals on her. The shield ricocheted within the Shellter, which Ladybug carefully countered with her sealed yoyo. Every attack takes out a chunk of Midorikame's HP bar. It was when his HP was in the red that Midorikame changed tactics from attacking to negotiating.
"I am so sorry," Midorikame said in between heavy breaths. "Pavonis shouldn't have made you. Not for a purpose like this."
"What do you mean?"
"You deserve to know… you're not the real Hudie Zan. Pavonis is only using you."
It finally dawned onto Ladybug what Midorikame is talking about. If "Pavonis" is a reference to peacocks, then someone who couldn't be the real "Hudie Zan" must be…
"A Sentimonster," Ladybug muttered to herself. Remembering Midorikame is still observing her like she's this SentiHudie, she quickly claimed, "I-I knew that!"
Midorikame looked at her with pity. He dropped his fighting stance, attaching his shield to his back with his hands raised. This made Ladybug ease her guard on reflex.
"You may be made from Pavonis' emotions, but you don't have to follow him. You can grow beyond what you were created for. That's why I won't hold anything you've done against you. If you surrender now and free Vincent, I'll let you go."
It was unnerving how realistic he felt… Is this how the real Midorikame is like?
Ladybug was expecting him to fight his hardest as that's how she thought he was programmed. To think he'd try to negotiate with her, even if he sees her as a sentimonster. It's a kind hearted sentiment… But ultimately, a futile one.
"I'm sorry. Pavonis has my amok. He has it so he can control me... even if you retrieve it, Pavonis would release me from existence if I go against him. It's impossible for me, even if I wanted to."
Being from the future where the Butterfly and the Peacock Miraculous are being used for evil again, Ladybug thought everyone from there should've known how pointless it is to talk down a sentimonster. They've seen how they are like from this era. There is no way to free them from the Peacock holder.
Yet this left Midorikame aghast at her explanation. The sickly blue veins covered more of his face, growing with his fury. If looks could kill, Calico, whom he sees as "Pavonis", would be dead by now.
"That sick monster," Midorikame spat. "It's bad enough he gave you that face to get to the Liungs… The way he's treating you is beyond despicable!"
Ladybug's never seen anyone get so angry over a sentimonster before. While it was upsetting to watch Sentibug go, she understood there was no other way… It sucks but that's just how things are.
"If only I knew how-"
"If you wanna stop me, you're gonna have to seal all of me," Ladybug said with open arms like she's surrendering.
"B-but if I do that, the person you've used your powers on – the one you're still connected to will be sealed too!"
"Being sealed means we'll remain safe for now, won't we? It won't be for forever. So seal me! I promise I won't move. I'll fight Pavonis' control until you could."
Midorikame looked at her skeptically. Sensing her next move truly was to stay still like she said she would, he relaxed. With some hesitation, he raised his shield, powered up to seal her.
"You should get comfortable. You'll be stuck this way for who knows how long until it's safe to free you. I'm sorry it has to be this way."
Perfect.
Out of the mirage came Kagami, who struck Midorikame from behind. That one hit was strong enough to take out the last of his HP. The turtle boy froze as he faded away into numbers and pixels. As a civilian, he was not able to sense Kagami coming, just like how Furious Fu didn't saw Marianne coming. He let out one last frustrated yell before the last trace of him disappeared.
Without missing a beat, Ladybug used her prize from the last boss and called out Miraculous Ladybug. It unsealed everyone, even healed them a little. Kagami turned back into Ryuko the second her Jade Seal was removed. Ladybug was able to open her yoyo again.
"Now all that's left is Gamer 3.0."
Ladybug summoned her Lucky Charm.
It's time to end this dungeon run.
0-0-0-0-0
The civilian Ryuko was an illusion all along.
"That's cheating!" Gamer 3.0 pointed an angry finger at a smirking Calico.
Calico twirled the orange striped whistle around her fingers as it disappeared into data. Its purpose was complete and the smoke screen has cleared up.
"Sorry, Gamer 3.0. You wrote the rules, we followed it to the letter. We beat you fair and square."
Ladybug and Ryuko joined the fray surrounding Gamer 3.0. Carapace still has two minutes left.
"This is so unfair… I just wanted to go home!"
A butterfly mask appeared over his face, whispering a new command from Shadowmoth.
"You're right… It's my tower… My game, my rules! And just like most games nowadays, I should have some post-game content!"
As he said this, data gathered into four figures, shaping up into Calico's four teammates. In a matter of seconds, they were a hundred percent uploaded, ready for another round.
"I'll do whatever it takes to win so I can go back home!"
"Not so fast!" Ladybug presented a spotted red book. "Before you start this round, I have something of a power up for my own team… The original Grimoire!"
Gamer 3.0 remained unthreatened. "Hah! Like that would be enough to stop me!"
"You think you have us all figured out," Ladybug smirked. "Until you recognize us as people and not just characters to move around your game, you will never beat us!"
Gamer 3.0 ordered his team to attack. They were all focused on Ladybug, fighting over the grimoire Lucky Charm. It's as Ladybug predicted. With their dire circumstances, they'd want every scrap of power they could get. Knowledge is power – its a lesson that Calico has been demonstrating to her all day.
A small, glowing, green buckler shield materialized on Ryuko's arm and was sent flying at Gamer 3.0's glasses. In an instant, the whole tower was covered in glowing tortoise shell patterns. The copies of Calico's teammates were all sealed in place.
All it took was a momentary distraction for Ladybug to win it all.
Calico calmly approached the sealed Gamer 3.0, snatched up his sealed glasses and Cataclysmed it in her claws. A butterfly fluttered out from the broken glass which Ladybug caught.
"Bye-bye little butterfly," Ladybug hefted up her Lucky Charm, threw it in the air. "Miraculous Ladybug!"
0-0-0-0-0
Everything was put back to the way they were. The time lost Max was back to normal. Unlike the relief or confusion most akumas behave with after getting purified, Max was looking at everything still horrified. To him, the nightmare hasn't ended. He's still stuck in a time he doesn't belong.
Ladybug was the first to approach him. Sympathy was written all over her face.
At the sight of the spotted red heroine, Max began to calm down. With a quick swipe of her yoyo, Ladybug pulled out an Anti-Akuma Charm for him.
"While you're here, lost and afraid, keep this with you," Ladybug placed the charm into his hand.
Calico whistled. She makes it look so easy compared to her bug. He has yet to make one that doesn't fall apart at the slightest breeze.
"I can't promise you this charm can protect you from Shadowmoth. But I promise you, once time is fixed, I will send you home. Until then, just hang on and let this charm be a reminder of my promise."
"Ah. You're using the placebo effect to help us resist akumatization nowadays? That's ingenious!"
Ladybug gave him a small unsure smile. "Yeah, something like that."
Wait, it doesn't work? But it looks fine…
Carapace's Miraculous urgently beeped, signaling it was time for everyone to leave. The heroes split up, with Calico heading back up to Rena Furtive.
0-0-0-0-0
The way back with Rena Furtive was awkward for Calico. Being mission control means she'd hear what's going on through someone even if Calico turned off her comms.
They ducked into a secluded spot near the school so Alya can detransform. Oh, Alya. She's been quiet the whole trip. Calico can't tell if it's out of bottled curiosity or out of overflowing concern. Calico can't decide which is worse.
To her relief, Alya showed neither.
With an easy smile, Alya handed over her Miraculous back to Calico and said, "Thanks for what you did back there."
"Oh, uh, yeah? I mean," Calico awkwardly tucked the Miraculous into her pocket. "It's not like I'm using the Fox Miraculous when I'm fighting akumas. There's no reason for you not to join."
"Not that. I gathered something happened between you and Marinette before you came to the tower."
Before Calico could make up an excuse, Alya cuts through.
"You guys were getting along fine at lunch. Yet at the start of the akuma fight, Marinette was, well, the furthest thing from chill. Especially around you."
Calico laughed awkwardly, because yeah. That sums it up.
"Was it about me?"
Calico let out a sigh. "Trixx, you sure know how to pick 'em. Inquisitive to a fault."
Alya took that as a compliment. "Thanks anyway. For not telling Marinette."
Of course. If Blair and Marinette are fighting with Alya in between and the target of her anger is Blair… Alya caught that.
"It's only because I believed you would tell her yourself. You said you wanted to help Marinette."
Knowing what Blair's been through, she should understand now where Blair was coming from when she confronted Alya earlier.
"A security leak left unchecked can lead up to a flood of disaster," Alya said, mirthlessly. In a hushed tone, she added, "I'll talk to her tonight."
Calico smiled with pride at Alya. She's glad she chose to trust her.
They went their separate ways, Alya having to go back to class while Calico has to wait at the entrance for the Gorilla to fetch her as Adrien. The locker room was fortunately empty when Calico entered to detransform. Before she could, her comms buzzed to life as it picked up a signal from another set of comms – Ladybug must be nearby. Oh. Right. They still had those on.
"Hey, Ladybug," Nino nervously cleared his throat before asking, "Would it be cool if I ask you for a favor?"
"Sure. Just make it quick," Ladybug sounded antsy. Her timer must be running out.
"After Chat Noir returns, and Carapace is ever called on, could he be the one to take my Miraculous back? I, uh, I need to talk to the dude," a quick pause before he hastily added. "It's important!"
Calico muffled her giggles. His awkwardness reminded her of Shizuke, it's kinda cute. She and Alya must share the same taste for adorkable turtle guys with glasses. She mentally cheered him on.
"He can't."
Say what?
"It's safer this way."
"How? If it's a secret identity thing, Hawkmoth already knows who I am anyway…"
Ladybug's earrings let out a beep. She has no time to further argue, she needed to go now. She ignored Nino's further questions and left. It wasn't until it was completely silent on Ladybug's end that Calico detransformed.
"Plagg, Trixx, what the heck."
"… I'm guessing you've made like a fox and stuck your nose where it doesn't belong again, haven't you?" Plagg said, accusingly. But that's not important.
"Oh, excuse me. I got the feeling Chat Noir was left out of the loop since this morning but holy cow… I didn't expect it was this bad."
"Marinette is only doing this cause she believed it was the safest way," Trixx defended. "Just as Master Fu taught her. You have to understand, things just got a little out of hand..."
"A littlte? Flipping Papa-llon knows half of the team, but it's too dangerous for her "trusted" partner to fetch their Miraculous because…?" Blair raised a brow at Trixx, challenging him to give her an acceptable explanation.
Trixx could only groan as Blair huffed at her point hitting its mark.
"Sounds like she doesn't trust him much if their enemy knows more than he does."
"Marinette trusts him. Really…" Trixx weakly argued, but Blair wasn't convinced.
"She cares for him. There's a difference."
It was clear to everyone that Ladybug cared about Chat Noir and his loss, even if it was only for a week, was a huge blow to her. Even Blair, as insensitive as she is, could see that… But looking at her actions, Trixx had to admit, it doesn't feel like Marinette trusted Chat Noir much. Blair knows all too well that care and trust are not a package deal – more often than not, they are sold separately.
Plagg's face pinched like he sucked a lemon. "In her defense, not even I understood what's really going on with Adrien. All I could tell Marinette as an explanation for Adrien being upset with this is that he's still hung up on getting dumped. I mean, he was, but looking back, I think it may have been more than that."
"You think, Plagg? This whole miscommunication sitch happened because you- wait, you? Why are you the one to talk to her? Why can't Adrien tell her himself?"
Plagg winced as if the memory itself was cutting open an old wound.
"He… He gave up his Miraculous."
Blair threw her hands up in the air.
"That's not alarming at all," Blair's sarcasm was so thick, one could bash someone's head with it. "I thought he'd like to stay as Chat Noir for as long as possible."
Waking up at the crack of dawn. An endlessly packed schedule of things he didn't choose. Eating a measly dietitian approved breakfast alone in a large dining room. Apparently, to have a meal with Gabriel requires an appointment. No grades should dip below an A, lest father dearest grounds him for life… No, actually, he's always grounded by normal standards. He'll just get mega-grounded or something. Blair is no expert, but she's pretty sure all of this is grounds for child abuse.
"I've only been Adrien for half a day and I'm already looking for excuses to get away from it. It's better to be Chat Noir than to be Gabriel's perfect son… And yet he quit. How bad is it that he'd choose being stuck with his suffocating father than to keep escaping as Chat Noir?"
Earlier this morning, Blair was afraid to ask how much Adrien is not allowed to know. It turned out to be a lot less than she initially thought. What the heck?! Why?! Why oh why oh why-
"Blair, I know it's upsetting, but don't," Plagg warned, prying open her hand. Trixx hovered close by in concern.
Blair was clenching her fist so hard her nails broke the skin on her palm. She took a deep breath and counted to ten. She did it twice more for good measure.
"This is none of my business," Blair said, more to herself than to Plagg.
"Right," Plagg said.
"You've meddled enough with Alya," Trixx reminded her.
"And just like with that dilemma, this is for them to resolve amongst themselves," Blair reminded herself.
Between Adrien's hesitance to talk and Marinette's stubbornness to follow through what she believes is the safest way, will they really?
0-0-0-0-0
Soon enough, the increasingly familiar white limousine rolled by. It's time to go back to the ivory tower as prince charming.
The Gorilla grunts. Huh? Did he notice "Adrien's" sour mood? She's getting sloppy. Better up the act.
"I'm fine," Blair serenely smiled.
Smile like she didn't fail Adrien's Geography class. Smile like she didn't earn her idol's wrath for meddling. Smile like she didn't just saw her crush getting hurt for her sake all over again. Smile like the heroes didn't just saw a pitiful side to her. Smile like she didn't just learned how badly Chat Noir is being kept in the dark. Smile like she isn't tired from the longest day of her life.
"Everything's fine."
Just smile like she had everything under control.
It's all she could do.
And it seems it's all Adrien could do too.
How could he put up with such a farce?
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Qi Poisoning
It happens when one drinks too much Qi Potion in one go. Like any other medicine, overdosing on Qi Potion becomes poisonous to the body – which is a fearfully apt comparison to what it does to the body. The body, especially that of a child's, is not prepared to handle the sudden influx of qi causing it to break down. One clear sign of the body's deterioration are the blueish black veins appearing all over the body like cracks, spreading like poison.
It's the same thing that happens when children break the limiters prematurely. It's not the malicious intents alone that's hurting them for using the Miraculous a certain way, but their bodies are simply not ready to host such power. This is why malicious adults don't suffer from the backlash unless they do something more extreme, like using multiple Miraculous at once or perform feats beyond their limits (i.e. creating sentient children or entire functional island cities).
The safest way to restore qi is through Honey Cure, but even that has its limits. A fully realized bee who can use Honey Cure could theoretically force a child to keep using their powers, but the child's body is still getting stressed from their life force getting pulled around so much. It is not advisable to mess with the body's flow of qi for prolonged periods no matter what the method. It can lead to permanent disability, such as paralysis or send the person into a coma.