Just what was that mysterious figure at the beginning of the fic...?
"Don't panic!" Tikki ordered, fixing a blazing blue gaze on her chosen.
Marinette's heart pounded against her ribcage, wide eyes staring down a translucent yellow (practically golden) blob that shimmered in the light. Attempting another choked squeal only sounded like she was trying to play a trumpet through Jell-O.
Something about it felt strange, uncanny - the way it moved was markedly alien and yet the swiftness that it dove for her mouth (not to mention the invisible eyes she could feel staring her down) felt almost too human to be real.
One tense second passed. Two.
As her breathing began to calm, the being slowly released its blobby appendage from her face. She could still feel its stare, practically demanding her not to scream.
"T- Tikki," she choked instead, "what- wh- what the hell-?!"
"...I didn't think you would have to encounter this yet," said the little god. Her tone was too even for the situation, Marinette decided, as she shot the Kwami an incredulous look.
"What... is this... thing?" She pleaded, gesturing vaguely at the blob.
"This... 'thing' is what's known as a Sentimonster." Tikki's sharp cerulean eyes bore into the creature, slowly approaching it with a paw outstretched. "But that's the least of your worries right now. The real question is... why is it here? And why now?"
"What do you mean?"
The ladybug was quiet for a few moments. Her eyes glowed in a brilliant light, blue fading to a bright white that shone against the being for but a moment before she hovered away. For its credit, the creature hardly moved, instead focusing its invisible gaze on the Kwami in an almost curiosity. It was surreal to see its 'head' tilt, much like a cat.
"This one is safe," she declared, before wearily coming to rest atop the flowerpot.
"Okay, soooooo... it's not gonna kill me in my sleep or report me to Hawkmoth, right?" Marinette shifted from foot to foot nervously, gaze darting from her Kwami to the Sentibeing and back.
Tikki made a hum deep in her throat. "Correct. This Sentibeing was not made with malicious intentions. But... that still doesn't mean it should be here."
"What do you mean, shouldn't be here? Where else would it be?" The pigtailed girl finally looked at the blobby being with intrigue, noting how it remained still in its spot. Its gelatinous limbs jiggled as it moved, perplexingly, to sit on the lounge chair.
"By now I've informed you on the history of our Items, as well as the nature of our powers and what should happen if you misuse them." Tikki paused for dramatic effect. "So far I've tried to shelter you from those consequences. I suppose now is as good a time as any to teach you about misusing them on accident."
"... Accident?"
"Yes." The ladybug smiled gently. "For as well-made as our items are, sometimes circumstances lead to them becoming unstable or fractured. Most often, that occurs when a user tries to use too much power in too short a window of time - such as a Ladybug attempting to use too much of their good luck, or a Cat trying to cause too much destruction at once. There's a reason there's a limit on the time you have to use them - and it's not just because we want to be mean or limit you for our own amusement. You, for example, are still very young and getting used to wielding the immensity of Creation and good luck. If you were just a few years older, the time limit you have would increase and increase until, eventually, you would be so acclimated to my power that you could maintain your Ladybug identity indefinitely."
Marinette stared at her as she explained, beads of sweat breaking out on the back of her neck. Was it from fear? Excitement? "So if I keep doing this... if- if Hawkmoth isn't defeated, eventually I could...?"
"While I hate to think of that possibility, yes. You could become so powerful you could even outmatch him. Remember that I said you're still growing; you and Cat both. Hawkmoth is an adult man with many years on you, but he's not wielded the Butterfly for very long. I'd say..." clucking her tongue, the ladybug Kwami guessed, "... perhaps around thirteen, fourteen years?"
"But that's..." the girl slumped a bit. She flinched when the blob patted her on the back. "That's longer than I've even been alive! How can I outwit someone with that kind of experience?"
"The secret here is that you're using my powers completely selflessly." A secretive smile spread across her face. "Hawkmoth may be a man, but he's a selfish one. Kwami can sense each other's emotional states given our linked souls - I may not be able to track where Nooroo, the Kwami of the Butterfly, is, but I know they're suffering. I know it's trite, but pureness of heart and selfless ambitions really do win against selfishness in the end."
Guilt tugged at her heartstrings, and she couldn't help but frown. "I... didn't realize Kwami could actually be abused like that... why can't they leave?"
"Once you make a deal with the Kwami, that Kwami is bound to you for as long as you have the Item. Unless someone manages to steal it from you, your Kwami is forced to give you their power... well, that is, until certain measures are taken." Tikki's eyes darkened, and a shiver went through her Chosen's body at the intensity behind those deep, deep blues. "Nooroo has never been very strong-willed, either; if Hawkmoth had stolen, say, the Cat Miraculous, I doubt Plagg would have been so eager to let him boss him around. That mangy old cat has never been one to take orders with a smile. We wouldn't have even had a Hawkmoth in that case."
"And..." the teenager swallowed, timidly, "... and you?"
Tikki suddenly seemed to realize her shaking shoulders, the delicate fingers pressed into her jeans, the sudden pallor of her face.
"Oh, Marinette..." The little god's face softened, and she shook her head. "You don't need to worry about any of that. In any case, even Nooroo will not let this go on should Hawkmoth do something despicable; I can only imagine the hell they'd raise if he attacked, say, his own child." She gave a wry little chuckle, one that made the blob's previously-gentle weight harden some. Marinette tilted her head at the ladybug, but she shook her head in amusement.
"Back to, uh, this," the teenager gestured to the blob who had taken to fiddling with her pigtails. "If it's not mean, why did it come to me? Did it sense that I was Ladybug?"
"Perhaps," Tikki mused, cupping her chin with one paw. "I do have my suspicions as to who made it, but for now all I can say is that I have no issue with it staying here." Then she paused, giving the girl a stern wag of a finger. "But you'd better keep it hidden from your parents! Especially if you want to keep your secret identity safe. Somehow I don't think your poor mother would do well to having a sentient blob of... this, in your room."
"I guess so!" She shook her head, glancing down at her room through the skylight nervously. "I mean, it seems harmless, but what's it made of?"
"Sentibeings can be anything you want them to be. I've seen Peacock users wish for them to be sentient food, or copies of another person, or even giant monsters akin to... oh, what's that thing you humans like so much? Godzilla? King Kong?"
"Really? So if I had the Peacock, I could just... make whatever I wanted?" Her voice was breathy, pitched up with excitement.
"Within reason, of course. You're still young, so you'd be limited to one Sentibeing during your time limit."
Ideas swirled around her head, and she couldn't help but grin at the possibilities. Anything she wanted? She could make an intelligent mannequin able to alter its shape and size for whatever she wanted to design, or she could make an assistant to help her through the long hours of sewing and cutting and pasting, or even a body double to go to school for her and bring back her homework! Heck, she could even make a patrol helper to help her make rounds through Paris faster, and defeat akumas when one or both of them had to be out of commission, just like in her favorite shows!
"That's incredible!" She beamed at her Kwami, and the Kwami giggled back. "Oh, I wish we could find the Peacock faster. Do you think I could use the Miraculous?"
"I have no doubt that you would make a wonderful Peacock." Then the ladybug folded her little arms and pouted. "But I personally think you'd be a better Ladybug."
Marinette laughed, her Kwami's tinkling bells following close behind. It even seemed like the blob was laughing, as it shook merrily in a pantomime.
"So wait, wait," Marinette slightly turned to look at the blob. "Have you ever seen anyone make this shape before? If you can make anything you want, then what does this represent? Can you tell?"
"Of course I can. I'm the Kwami of Creation - making Sentibeings falls under that description." Puffing up her chest with pride, she nodded. "Sentibeings reflect the emotional state and wishes of the creator as they're made - for example, if you were really upset at a friend, your Sentimonster would probably seek out that friend to take revenge on them." She awkwardly coughed. "Or try to destroy Paris."
"That's... really horrifying, actually." The noirette frowned. "So if every creation has a meaning and a purpose... then what is this one's?"
The ladybug Kwami cast a look at the blob behind her, contemplative, concerned. "I believe this is the result of someone's misuse of the Peacock."
Marinette's blood ran to ice.
Slowly, she turned to stare at the blob. The blob seemed to stare back, its limbs still engulfing the ends of her pigtails. It shimmered in the light like flakes of liquid gold, casting a yellow glow on the side of her face. For a brief, fleeting moment, the Sentibeing seemed to morph a face of its own, yet it wasn't one that Marinette recognized. It was gone before she could even begin to ponder just who it could be.
"Marinette," the Kwami said, barely grabbing her attention again, "you're looking at the soul of the former Peacock holder."
"Remember, boys, Gabriel has allowed you only half an hour of visitation today." Nathalie clicked her pen as she stepped out of the room.
Both Felix and Adrien turned as one, going towards the bed by the wall. Soft beeping filled the empty air, and Adrien took a seat next to the bed and reached for a pale, limp hand.
"Hi, Mom," he greeted softly, an indescribable expression filling his face as he searched his mother's. She looked peaceful as usual, as if she were only napping. "We brought you some flowers... um, sorry that Father couldn't make it. He was busy with his latest collection pieces." He swallowed harshly. "Again."
Then a desperate, hopeful smile spread across his face as he gestured to his cousin. "But I brought Felix! And Aunt Amelie said to tell you she wishes she could've come in to see you, but Father's pushed a lot of work onto her lately... she'll probably come in this weekend."
Felix could hardly stand to look at the comatose woman, a spitting image of his own mother back in that prison of a mansion.
What would she say, had she come with them? Even now he couldn't predict how she would feel, what she would say to the hull of a woman hooked up to all of these machines. Amelie Graham de Vanily prided herself on using her talents as an actress, even with her own son - but that did not erase the nights he remembered, flashes of memory in the back of his brain, of the woman's hiccupping sobs in her quarters once everyone else had fallen asleep. He hadn't heard her cry that hard since his father had died just a little before his aunt had fallen into the coma.
The mystery of it all was more unnerving than actually seeing her motionless in bed. Nobody truly knew what had happened to Emilie Agreste, not even her own son. He'd asked Nathalie about her once, but it had only succeeded in making her curtly forbid both of them from ever asking again. The crestfallen downturn to Adrien's mouth had gripped his heart, and he had cursed the spineless woman for all he had.
He felt for her, he truly did. Emilie was a gentle soul, the yin to his mother's yang. Yet he couldn't deny the stubborn snarking voice in the back of his head, wondering just what in the hell she'd ever seen in a man like Gabriel Agreste, a man who pulled himself up from nothing into something - even if that 'something' devoured everything he might've once held dear.
He spared a glance at the woman, and his heart ached for an aunt he could only faintly recall.
Adrien's desolate frown remained for but an instant before it smoothed over into a blank slate, and he squeezed her hand and rested his forehead atop his arm.
Would it be worth it? Was hurting his only son worth the suffering caused?
"I feel bad for the poor kid," he could practically hear the nurses whisper. "First his mom falls into a coma, now his father won't even look at her? I'm starting to wonder..."
His gaze hardened, and as he slipped a hand into Emilie's empty one, he caught Adrien's watery smile and the flash of his silvery ring in the lights. For a moment, he wished he had the ability to command her to wake, if but only to make Adrien truly smile again. He wished Emilie would open her eyes, if only to expose the man for how cruel and corrupt he was.
"...What kind of man is Gabriel Agreste?"
Unease churned in his gut like a sour tang, and he gripped the woman's limp hand and clenched his eyes shut.
What kind of monster abandons the son he so desperately wanted?
A/N: Tikki: "Imagine if Hawkmoth attacked his own kid! Nooroo would raise hell, haha"
The entire audience: (A very harsh side-eye)
Jokes aside, I have fun with lore chapters. I hope you do too. Two plot twists in one, muahahahahaha. I know it's kind of an internal reveal, considering we've all seen the twist with Emilie, but I like it because of the twist itself. (C'mon, we all kind of knew Emilie had something to do with the Peacock, but it was really fun seeing the theories range from "Emilie is the Peacock" to "Nathalie did something with the Peacock".)
I also like the idea that she has more of an effect over everything that she was written to...
Anyway, please tell me what you thought!