Her face was cloaked in a darkness as she spoke. She had been debating on this for a year or so now, it would be a big change.
It was a choice that would change the world, and if done wrong, could end it.
She hesitated as she spoke,"Honey. I think it's time." She turned to her husband and he nodded, knowing what she meant.
Their friends were getting tired of it, as were they. The two had been dealing with it for three decades. He fiddled with the ring and she, her earrings. They hadn't taken them off since the two were fourteen.
"But who?"
"They've already chosen kitty, they chose 16 years ago." She smiled softly, a small red paw held her hand before Adrien and Marinette took off their miraculous, handing them to their Kwamis.
"I'm going to miss him." Adrien whispered.
"You won't have to minou. We won't let them do it alone like we did. You'll mentor your successor like I will mine. You'll see him as much as you do now." She hummed. "Now. Tikki, Plagg, go find them. When you do, bring them to us."
The two Kwami's flew off, already knowing the young girls who would take up the roles of Ladybug and Chat noir.
—-
Emma sang along to the music playing from her phone under her breath, she danced around her room hearing the soft clinking of her bracelets and feeling the long edge of her skirt brush against her legs as she spun. She kicked piles of clothes out of the way, she would have to clean her room later that night.
She sat down on her chaise with a light thud and pulled her sketchbook out from the small drawer. She began to sketch the hero she looked up to so much, it wasn't much of a surprise when she saw her father transform into the chat noir a few years ago. They were both so heroically reckless and cared deeply about their partner. She had pieced together that her mother was Ladybug shortly after, but they were getting old.
She heard them chatting about wanting to settle down, to focus on their family and respective jobs as a fashion designer and baker. She lost herself in thought, drawing mindlessly and humming to the songs that were still emitting from her phone.
By the time she had finished, an hour or so had passed and it was nearing dinner time.
She began to walk to her parents room, wanting to show her father and compare the sketched smile with the real one that emitted an unmatched amount of sincere warmth and light. She stepped down from her ladder, walking into the spacious kitchen that led to her Parents room..
In their house there were a multitude of bedrooms and an attic. Regardless of the many bigger rooms, she took the attic and its small balcony. She had seen pictures of her mothers room when she was a teen and ,wanting to be just like her, snatched it up without hesitation. She stumbled, her hair falling in front of her face as she fell to the floor. She blew the blue-ish black and blonde streaks out of her face with a tired humph.
What had she even tripped over?
Emma looked back, spotting her dad's ring on the floor. Its silver, chunky form was unmistakably that of his hidden miraculous.
How did he manage to lose the single most important piece of jewelry he owned. He was worse than maman ever was.
As she picked it up, Plagg peeked out from her parents room, big green eyes peering about. He motioned for her to come in, so she did.
"Dad, you dropped your ring." She rolled her eyes, the older man was sitting in his chair wearing a stupid cat pun shirt, clearly merch of himself that her mother had made, and some obnoxious, ladybug themed pajama trousers. His hair was in a wrecked braid and had strands flying out of it. "Terrible shirt by the way." She finished as they tossed the sketchbook onto his bed and sat down beside it. He clearly had something important to say.
"You sound just like your mother, Em." he stood up "I didn't drop my ring, little eclipse." Her father took a deep breath, walking over to her slowly."Me and Mari. Well, we've been talking. As we're getting older, we want normal lives. Well not normal per say, we still want to mentor our successors but we don't want to be ladybug and Chat noir anymore. However, we can't leave Paris without protection against Atticus." He stood next to them now, furrowing his eyebrows, as if reluctant. "We need new holders. Plagg was particularly insistent about it being you."
"I don't trust anyone else. I don't want anyone's grubby hands on my ring." Plagg interjected, his whiskers twitched as he grumbled something about 'keeping it in the family he trusts'.
"And, although I was hesitant at first, and frankly still am, he made some good points." her papa sat down beside her, ruffling her hair. "Like the fact you've kept me and Marinette's identity a secret for a few years now, how you're dedicated to what you need to do and well, you're probably Chat Noir's biggest fan. Even Mari has admitted that, albeit sourly." He added onto the end with a chuckle that could warm even the coldest of hearts. "He was right, you're the best candidate and with my expertise I want to mentor you. You won't be just thrown into It like I was." A darker look crossed his face temporarily, clearly bitter about the forced responsibility that was shoved onto his shoulders as a fourteen year old boy. It passed as quickly as it had appeared though, leaving an encouraging smile to lace his warm face. "But, for everyone's safety, even your mother cannot know who you are." He took her hand and slipped the ring onto her middle finger, it made a small noise that could only be described as a 'whooshing' of sorts as it changed shape to leave a small, thin, silver band that looked like a more subtle variation of what her fathers had been.
"Why can't maman know? Isn't she the guardian?" Emma asked, looking down and spinning the ring around on her finger anxiously. Emma felt a hand on her shoulder and she looked away from the ring.
"It would be unfair for her to know who you both are while being the guardian." He explained, "at least while I can help." He patted her head.
"Ok-" she began to speak but her voice was quickly cut off by the wailing of an Akuma alert.
"Do your best, little Eclipse." Her father leant over to turn the alarm off. "If you need me, the baton acts as a phone too."
Before she knew it, a wave of warm green had washed over her and she was vaulting off her balcony into Paris
—-
Anthea woke up,
She put her clothes on, she brushed through her hair and she put a simple, red ribbon into it.
She went downstairs and she ate her breakfast.
She listened to her maman tear up at how old she was getting and heard her papas encouraging talk on doing her best at school this year.
"I'll be fine, it's just another day at school." She had replied, scarfing down the pancakes her mother had made.
She had gone to school, talked to her friends and put everything she would need into her locker.
She had practically begged Alei to switch lockers so she could be next to her best friend since diapers.
Emma.
With their parents being a close knit group, it was only expected that the two girls would end up so close.
Anthea couldn;t remember a single birthday, year of school or important event in which she hadn't been glued at the hip to Emma.
She liked it that way.
If she were to hope one day they could be more than friends, that was for her to know.
She had gone to Miss Bustiers class, she had gone to Mr Tsurugis class.
She had smiled and laughed and ate lunch as she settled back into the everyday routine of school.
This is what she did every first day of school.
What she didn't do every first day of school was follow a red ladybug creature-thing to her best friend's house and meet the ladybug herself.
When Adalia had woken up, she hadn't expected to inherit magical earrings. Albeit, she also hadn't expected to pass English last year so it seemed as if life was always surprising her.
She had gotten home after school, showered and sat at her desk, ready to continue the code she had been working on for the entire summer.
Sadly, while she was sat in the Dupain-Cheng's house, her code was left at her house.
When she had sat down, she noticed a red flickering behind her screen and reached behind it, screaming when her fingers brushed against something moving.
The 'something moving' was Tikki.
Ladybugs, well no, her Kwami. She would give Anthea the power to transform into a ladybug themed hero.
It sounded kind of ridiculous if you hadn't heard of Ladybug and Chat noir, the heros who had been dutifully protecting Paris for the past thirty years.
"Anthea. I've been expecting you. Come, sit." The voice on the other side of the door was wise and familiar.
She opened it timidly, relaxing when she saw the short woman sitting in the middle of the room
"Don't be afraid, It's just me." Her eyes twinkled and Anthea walked over, settling herself beside Marinette.
"The time has come, Anthea, and Tikki has chosen well." She began, slipping a pair of silver earrings into Antheas hand. "I'm getting old, ladybug can't keep saving Paris."
"Hold up, ladybug?" Anthea was in a state of shock, the only reason her calm demeanor hadn't shattered to leave a confused and (probably) freaked out girl, was because she was too shocked to react with any ounce of normality. She wasn't freaking out, she was slowly putting puzzle pieces together in her head.
"yes, ladybug. Or at least I was. Now you are." She replied. "I am now just the guardian and a mentor to you, if you choose to take my extended hand of help." She continued, smiling and revealing two dimples, one on either side of her rounded face. Her hair fell around her face and curved around her jaw, she looked youthful but intelligent beyond her years. She was dressed in a more modern adaptation of a traditional Chinese dress and held a rounded box in her hands. It had 19 small slots and almost radiated importance.
She tried to continue but a blaring akuma alert cut the woman off.
"Anthea, I will explain more later but for now you have to go. Save Paris my apprentice and meet me back here afterwards. If you need any assistance, do not hesitate to call me using your yo-yo, although I feel as if you're capable enough to handle it with your partner.
—-
They had met by bumping into each other.
Quite literally.
One moment, Feyline was vaulting through the air, feeling a small chill under her unzipped jacket, the loose fabric underneath doing a terrible job at keeping her warm.
The next she was colliding with a girl her age, dressed in a similar but different suit to her own. Her jacket was puffier and red with black spots, the sleeves rolled further down than her own. It was made of a smooth fabric, different to the leather that she wore. Her suit was hard to see as her jacket was closed but appeared to be a sheer black. Her braided hair was pulled into a ponytail, a near black shade of brown that faded to the same bright red that her earrings gleamed with. She had two small, red antennae coming from her scalp and a pair of fluttering blue, partially translucent wings dressed her back.
She was pretty, Anthea level pretty.
"Oh my god I am so sorry, this yo-yo seems to be temperamental at times!" She stuttered, waving her hands around in a frantic apology. She picked herself up, reaching a partly hand out for the girl she had just crashed into. "I am so sorry, uhm. Sorry, what's your name?" She sheepishly asked.
"The name's Feyline, Fey' for short!" She took the offered hand, pressed a friendly kiss onto the knuckle and quickly regained her composure and balance before bowing down dramatically with a courteous smile adorning her face, looking at her new partner. "Has anyone ever told you that you look wonderful in red, miss.. Uh" She trailed off, prompting the girl in front of her to continue for them as she stood up
"Adalia. And no, I don't wear much red except a ribbon my best friend gave me years and years ago," She shook her head, preventing herself from rambling too much about her personal life. I'm more of a blue and yellow girl myself. What about you?" The girl, now identifiable as Adalia, unclipped the yo-yo from her belt and launched it at a lamppost, swinging upwards. Her sentence may have sounded short, but her tone was warm and welcoming, matching the smile that danced around on her features.
Blue and yellow? Feyline thought Like Anthea! She was glad Anthea was at home safe. It wasn't unlike her to run headfirst into Akuma battles, usually being picked up and carried away by Rena or Carapace.
Feyline followed suit, using the baton that was attached to her waist to propel themself in the same direction as the ladybug themed superhero.
"I quite like green. I know, shocking." She drawled in a successful attempt at a sarcastic type of humor, earning a muffled chuckle from Adalia. She smiled at the joy twinkling in their partners eyes, landing beside Adalia with a gentle thud, the thick soles of her boots protecting her from the pain of the heavy impact . She waved her hands as she leant backwards before peering out at the city. "Seems like our Akuma and I share a brain." They joked, resting their hands on the top of the baton, and her chin on top of those. She glanced out at the city again, an akuma seemingly made of emerald was attacking the city, crystallizing whatever its god forsaken beam hit.
"More like a brain cell." She scoffed playfully in return, throwing her Yoyo up and down as she thought. It was useful to know the Akuma was green though. It seemed like while using her earrings she couldn't see color. At least now she knew that the Akuma was a shiny green gem. The texture was similar to what Marinette was using earlier that day, sewing as she talked Anthea through being ladybug.
"Meow-ch, I see this bug bites." Feyline smiled, leaning back and throwing her clawed hand over her heart, feigning a hurt expression.
Adalia chucked, about to flick Feyline in the nose before a loud crash caused her to jump.
"And here I thought Cats were the skittish ones, little bug!" She shot Adalia a shit eating grin before throwing herself towards the akuma, far too eager to live up to the previous holder's legacy.
"WAIT-" Adalia tried to stop her but it was to no avail. "For god's sake." She muttered.
Adalia threw her yo-yo towards the sky.
"BLESSING!" She called out, flinching as a chest landed beside her with a loud thump.
She lent down, opening it with a creak to reveal an abundance of gold and jewels.
"Jeeeeeesus. What am I supposed to do with this?" Adalia ran her hand through the gold as she thought. She glanced back at the Akuma, noticing how Feyline lit up in a red and black polka dot pattern, the first color she had seen since she had transformed.
"Huh. I think I have an idea." She grabbed the chest, propping it against her hip as she swung down to set up her trap.
She slunk behind a building, hearing the noises of Fey fighting the emerald beast. If she was inferring her lucky charm right then this clunky, tacky beast liked shiny treasures.
She peered round the wall, noting how a brooch lit up in an identical way to how Fey and the chest in her hands did.
She took a deep breath. Was she really about to do this?
Was she, one of the most timid girls in her entire school (at least to anyone not in her close circle of friends), about to do this?
Apparently so.
Adalia launched herself to the roof, landing by the edge.
"HEY! SHINY ASSFACE!" She yelled out as she waved her arms erratically. "COME LOOK AT THIS!" She continued as she held the chest in her hands, pushing it above her head so the Akuma would see it.
She felt her heart drop as the Akuma snapped its head one hundred and eighty degrees to face her.
She placed it down as the Akuma began to walk towards her, still blasting streaks of green everywhere.
"This was not a smart idea-" Adalia
Adalia jumped off the roof, gliding down with the small blue wings on her back spread out and fluttering, landing beside her partner.
"Took you long enough, little bug! I was beginning to think you got cold feet. Do ladybirds have feet?" Feyline teased before blocking a blow from the Akuma, spinning her Baton around with agility.
"Stop calling me little bug. I'm not that short!" Adalia hit Feyline on the head with her yo-yo, grumbling about being average height.
"Whatever you say petit cul!" Feyline teased, snickering joyfully.
Adalia just rolled her eyes, clearly her partner was having fun and she was at least glad for that.
"Hey, Fey? How do you feel about a game of break the brooch?" She said as she remembered the large, emerald clad villain heading towards their only hope at fixing this mess.
"I'd say that's a marvelous idea, little bug." She responded, blocking another hit as Adalia grinned back at her, the cheshire cat-esc smile mirroring her own.
"It's on her chest. Think you can get to it if I throw you?" Adalia blocked the next hit, swinging her yo-yo around in front of her.
"I'd say that's a challenge." Fey extended her baton upwards with herself attached to the top. "And I love a good challenge." Fey dropped from her Baton.
"Good. I've been told I've got exceptional aim." Adalia giggled, catching Feyline's ankle and launching her towards the akuma in one swift motion.
"CATALYST!" Feyline bellowed out as she flew towards the monster, it turned around to face the noise as Fey made contact with the brooch, turning it to dust and releasing the dark purple butterfly. She caught the woman, using her baton to slide down and land.
Adalia opened her Yo-yo with a slide of her finger and spun it around before throwing it towards the Akuma.
"Not so fast papillon! You're not going anywhere." She called out, catching the butterfly. The yo-yo slid shut with a click before opening again like a ladybug spreading its wings to fly.
A pure white butterfly flew out and Adalia smiled fondly at the little beauty.
"What happened?" The girl in Feylines arms asked. "Chat noir?"
"Not quite! I'm Feyline, the new holder. The old chat wanted to focus on his family a bit more." She replied "You were akumatized, do you know what happened?"
"My brooch, it broke. My grandma's favorite brooch, it had the most gorgeous emerald in the middle. I felt so guilty." She rubbed her head with one hand, the other held the shattered brooch tightly.
"Well I can fix that!" Adalia comforted her by patting her shoulder before leaping back to where she had placed the chest, hauling it into her hands and launching it into the air.
"MIRACULOUS ADALIA!" she called out, a swarm of small ladybirds washed over Paris, fixing the damage caused and the brooch in the victim's hand.
"Oh thank you Feyline! Thank you Adalia! I owe you so much!" She teared up, clutching the brooch to her chest.
"You don't owe us anything, just do your best not to let this happen again!" Feyline returned, Adalia stood beside her.
"Yeah! Just do your best!" Adalia encouraged. She jumped into the air, however on her way down she tumbled.
Fey caught her, a warm smile crossed her face.
"Be careful, little bug. You've already fixed everything with your blessing. We won't be able to fix your leg if it breaks." They helped her to her feet.
Adalia felt her cheeks flush at the beaming face that twinkled at her.
"Uh- uhm- yeah!-" she was cut off by the earrings beeping, saving her from an awkward and humiliating conversation. "Uh! I should, uhm I should go!" She stumbled over her words, turning away quickly.
"I look forward to working with you again, little bug!" Feyline replied, flicking her index and middle finger away from her forehead in a sort of salute before vaulting away.
Adalia went a separate direction, landing in an isolated alleyway.
She felt her transformation drop and she groaned, slunking to the ground.
"Tikki, I sounded so lame. And I tripped! How did I mess it up that bad!" She covered her face with both hands.
"You're just like Marinette, and she married her partner!" Tikki encouraged gently, "there's hope!"
"I suppose." Adalia sighed, opening her bag for Tikki to hide in as she began to walk back to the Dupain-Cheng residence to continue her talk with Marinette.
Tikki shook her head, they truly were just like their predecessors. One hopelessly pining for the other, the other hopelessly pining for their alter ego.
But they were made for eachother, a love engraved into the stars and it would work out in the end.
—-
Feyline bundled into her bedroom, collapsing on her bed as Plagg appeared and her costume faded.
"Papa said he'd leave cheese in the mini fridge, you can go have one while I go talk to him. If I come back and there's less than there should be, I'm not giving you camembert for a year." Emma warned before getting up again, walking to her fathers room.
This wasn't exactly how she had planned her first day of the new school year going.