The birds were singing, the sun was shining and Xia-Bing was losing her goddamn mind.
She had searched everywhere.
In the closet, the cabinet, the dressing table— not even the Chest and the boxes stacked in the corner were spared, but no matter how thoroughly she looked, she just couldn't find it.
It was like a curse!
How could one lose an entire dress on the day of their twentieth wedding anniversary?
Her moon calendar didn't say anything about that!
And to make matters worse, the taxi that would take them to the restaurant was to arrive in less than two hours!
So here she was, staring at her open closet with disdain in her eyes as she cursed her past self for not making sure that everything was where it should be instead of relying on pure luck.
What was previously a well-organised, season and occasion-sorted row of garments had now become something that strongly resembled her daughter's room on a good day (not a compliment) with numerous dresses, suits and casual clothing hanging there without any sense or reason.
This would be such a pain to clean up once she returned... Xia-Bing could feel a headache coming at the mere thought of it.
At this point, she wondered if it wasn't better to just settle on one of her less pretty dresses and save herself the struggle.
Their time together wouldn't be any less enjoyable even if she couldn't wear her favourite one.
Mulling this over in her head, she didn't notice the footsteps that came closer and closer to her room until all of a sudden, the sound of knocking startled her from her thoughts.
"Mom? Is everything alright?"
Marinette asked as she leaned against the doorway and looked at her with questioning eyes.
Since it was the weekend, Marinette was still dressed in her pyjamas—despite this late hour—and had a towel swung around her neck that caught the water droplets falling from her hair.
Strange... Marinette never showered on weekends... but that was hardly something she could question right now.
Gesturing loosely to the room, Xia-Bing let the mess speak for itself.
"As you can see, I was looking for my qipao, the one that your granduncle gifted me."
"Oh, you mean the red and gold one?"
Fighting down a smile at the excited question, the mother nodded.
"Yes, have you seen it anywhere?"
"Hmm... did you check the box beneath the bed?"
"Oh."
Xia-Bing slapped her hand on her forehead. 'Why didn't I think of that sooner!?'
Having her first proper lead in hours, Xia-Bing wasted no time and immediately knelt next to the bed and pulled out the old wooden box from beneath it; placing it onto her lap.
The box itself could only be described as a masterpiece.
The legs of the box were shaped like lion paws whose coiling fur faded into the spiralling clouds at the bottom, while the cover depicted elegant mountains dotted with trees that stood amidst the clouds with a mighty dragon coiled around them that vanished in the sun on the horizon.
And in the middle of it all, filled with gold lettering, stood "永" to symbolise a love that lasts for eternity.
Running her fingers across the aged wood, tiny flecks of paint clung to her fingers until they reached the tiny jade scales of the dragon and followed the path until it ended in the middle.
This was one of the few possessions she had left from her parents and had been gifted to her by her Uncle on her wedding day.
She would never forget the joy and sorrow she had felt that day, nor would she ever stop being grateful for all he had done for her in such difficult times.
Unknowingly, a watery smile appeared on her lips as she finally tore her eyes away from the cover and unlocked the box with nimble fingers before finally revealing what lay inside.
And as expected, right at the top was her beloved red and gold Qipao that sat neatly in the middle, surrounded by lots of tasteful accessories such as rings, necklaces and hairpins, that were all made from or decorated by different materials like gold, wood, jade or pearls; laying right atop several Yuan bills that were sent by her Uncle on lunar new year.
"Oh, thank your ancestors; you're a lifesaver, Marinette!" Xia-Bing gasped with relief and clasped her hands together to send a quick prayer to the heavens before carefully pulling out the dress and laying it on the bed.
The dress itself was made from silk; light and flowing like a river and embroidered with golden threads that depicted several blooming peonies sprouting around the edges while a dazzling phoenix flew into the sky all the way up to the collar.
Nodding to herself, Xia-Bing picked out several of her accessories and hurried over to the cosmetic table to get herself ready.
"Breakfast is on the table, dear," she said once she sat down, "I made some congee, and there are still a few steamed buns left, so eat without worries."
Fully aware of how stressed her mom was right now, Marinette quickly thanked her and left the room to beeline for the kitchen; beyond glad that she didn't have to cook anything for herself after being on patrol for the past three hours.
Sitting down on the sunlit counter, she pulled the bowl of congee closer and sprinkled the dish with brown sugar to sweeten it up while placing the steamed buns on a separate plate, promising herself to save some for later in case she got hungry while studying again.
The morning remained blissfully quiet as she ate; her thoughts drifted languidly from topic to topic without any rush, and she could almost say that she was at peace.
At least, until a loud bang interrupted her.
Clambering inside like an elephant in a porcelain store, her father Tom, barged into the kitchen and stopped right in front of her, completely out of breath and covered in flour.
"Marinette have you seen my suit? I need to change quickly!" He panted as he looked at her with pleading eyes, his chest heaving so loudly that she thought his lungs might pop.
"In the bedroom."
Marinette answered in between chewing and pointed in the direction with her chopsticks from where the muffled Chinese curses were coming from.
Thanking her in a hurry, her father soon vanished and left her to finish her breakfast without interruptions.
No sooner that Marinette had put her bowl into the sink, did her parents reemerge from upstairs and she had the pleasure to be the first one to see how they looked in their fancy attire.
Clad in an elegant dark blue suit that almost faded to black, her father had slicked back his hair, trimmed his moustache and looked way too stylish for such a simple man. Not that that was a bad thing.
Walking down behind him was her mother who was, in her eyes, the epitome of beauty. The dress that flowed along her body perfectly complimented her masterfully styled hair that was held up by a bright red hairpin, while a pair of jade earrings dangled from her ears and jingled with every step she took.
"So, how do we look?"
Tom asked with slightly worried eyes; tugging at his collar incessantly once they arrived at the front door.
And like any good daughter would, Marinette put her hands on her hips and declared proudly with a bright grin on her face,
"You look perfect."
"...and don't forget to water the plants. Oh, and please take care of the dishes, alright? It would be best if you cleaned up your room too while you're at it, it was time for that anyway!"
Marinette slowly began to regret, wanting to escort them to the Taxi.
Don't get her wrong. She understood why her parents were nervous. After all, it wasn't every day that one would go to a high-end restaurant.
But why would they always end up fretting over her?
She didn't know how it was for other families but every time, without fail, she would somehow end up as the main subject of the rant and not in the 'we're worried about leaving you alone at home, please don't do anything stupid' way but in the 'why are you just sitting there? Stop being on that phone all day and clean your room, just look how messy it is!' Way, although the wording was a bit softer.
Marinette was already doing her best to refrain from rolling her eyes in front of her mother, what more could one want?
Tuning her out as best as she could in a way that wasn't noticeable, she and her parents finally arrived at the bakery where Félice and Blanche had taken over the business for the day.
Usually Saturdays and Sundays were the busiest days of the week, but given the special circumstances and the hefty sale they had managed to do on Friday, it was no problem at all to close earlier, which also meant more free time for the very happy employees.
Since most of the customers had already been served around seven and eight o'clock, the bakery was relatively quiet and only housed a few customers or curious tourists who soon left the establishment.
Sticking out like a Raven in a candy shop, Blanche stood at the cash register in her stark black attire and typed away on her phone, her nail polish glinting in the light as her expression changed minimally based on whatever showed up on her screen.
Félice, who hauled the big box for the ordered cake onto the counter right behind her, wiped off the sweat from his brow and rolled the sleeves up to his elbow, giving everyone a perfect view of the tattoos that wound up his arms.
The only one out of the three who was absent was Sorrel, but judging from the music and the steady hum of the oven that came from the back, they most likely took care of the actual baking and wouldn't be showing their face until the work was finished.
Good. One less person to chatter her ears away.
Hearing the swishing sound of clothing, the two turned around simultaneously and watched as Marinette stepped inside the store.
Waving at her, Félice was about to step forward to greet her properly when his eyes fell on something behind her, and he stopped. His eyebrows steadily rose higher and higher once her parents came into view.
Unable to stop himself, he let out an impressed whistle as he looked them up and down.
"Wow, Monsieur Dupain, you and your wife look dashing, what's the occasion?"
Smiling bashfully, Tom replied,
"It's our twentieth wedding anniversary today. We'll be celebrating at Le Grand Paris."
"Ah is that why we were told to take over today? Well, congratulations then, I wish the two of you a nice day." Shaking his hand, Félice gave them both a broad smile before leaving to fetch a cloth so that he could wipe the oily fingerprints off of the display windows.
Blanche also smiled at them and gave them a hearty thumbs up from her seat, content to let her actions speak for her rather than her words.
Focusing on his daughter once they stopped at the front door, Tom cleared his throat and placed his hand on her shoulder.
"So Marinette, don't forget, Madame Chamack will be coming by to pick up the Eiffel Tower cake in 30 minutes. So make sure not to distract yourself with something else before she arrives, alright?"
"Don't worry dad, this is a piece of cake; I'll handle it."
She replied airily and grinned at her father, who narrowed his eyes at her smile.
Staring at her long enough that sweat started to pour down her forehead, Marinette couldn't help but feel a bit nervous, especially because of the ever-growing feeling that she had forgotten something important.
Thank god for Félice, who had returned at that moment and saw what was going on. Otherwise, they might've never ended that stalemate.
Stopping right behind her, the young man dropped his hand onto her other shoulder and gave the Baker a reassuring smile.
"Monsieur Dupain, don't worry, we'll make sure that she doesn't forget."
Visibly relaxing at his words, Tom backed away, very much satisfied and gave him a grateful smile.
"Alright. I'm counting on you."
And with that, the married couple exited the store and entered the Taxi that was waiting for them on the side of the street, while the two youngsters waved them goodbye until the car disappeared behind the horizon.
"Hey Marinette,"
Félice began as they walked back inside.
"Did you manage to finish the banner for the bet?"
Marinette paused.
"...the bet?"
"Yeah, the bet. The one between Alix and Kim that you told us about." He continued unperturbed, his hands moving in circular motions across the glass, leaving a trail of quickly drying window cleaner behind.
Glancing up when she didn't answer, he almost snorted but instead settled for a bemused sigh when he saw the shaky smile on her face.
"You forgot didn't you?"
Marinette didn't deign him with an answer, preferring to stay silent instead of proving him right.
Her phone, however, had other ideas as it rudely interrupted her silent treatment and brought an embarrassed blush to her cheeks, forcing her to pull it out of her pocket and accept the call without looking at who it was.
"Hey girl~ where are you? The bet will start soon!"
Alya's excited voice sounded from the speakers, though she could barely hear her over the roaring wind.
Torn between answering and keeping silent, Marinette stared at the screen with growing panic when a hand plucked it right from her fingers and answered in her stead.
"Hello Alya, it's me Félice," the thief said and winked at her, "Marinette is already on her way, she just forgot her phone with us, you know how it is... mhm... alright, tell us who won when you come over... ok bye!"
Grinning at her stupefied expression, Félice ended the call and handed her her phone back.
"There. Done."
"B-but, why did you-"
Marinette stammered, her eyes jumping back and forth between the phone and his serene face.
"Nuh uh. You little lady, are halfway to the meeting spot by now and left us with the super important task of handing over a cake. And just like I said beforehand, we'll take care of everything. Now get those legs moving and tell Alix I'm rooting for her."
Marinette could cry from joy. What did she do to deserve such wonderful friends?
Unable to contain herself, she hugged Felice as tight as she could, mumbling her thanks into his apron before rushing off to pack her things and setting off to the meeting spot as fast as her legs could take her.
The music in the establishment was soft and unobtrusive, yet despite its low volume, it could still be heard in the entire room thanks to the heavy satin curtains that covered the windows and muffled the sounds of the outside.
The band of the week performed on a stage in the middle of the room, surrounded by countless tables, that stood on polished marble tiles and were draped in pure white tablecloths.
In such a fancy environment, it was no surprise that most of the guests looked like they were born with a silver spoon in their mouths and therefore also acted as such, with minimalistic movements, hushed whispers and barely any emotion on their faces—the exception being the few commoners that managed to save up enough money to reserve some seats.
And among those countless people sat a father-daughter pair, not too far from a certain married couple and ate their meal in silence as they celebrated the birthday of Alix.
The girl didn't fit in at all, dressed as she was in ripped-up black clothes that were lined with neon colours and her startling pink hair—a sight that pulled many judging looks from the surrounding guests.
Just like her appearance, her manners also didn't match with high society, as she sat slouched in her seat with one arm thrown over the back of the seat while her utensils were haphazardly strewn across the plate and the napkin laid crumpled in the middle; but neither she nor her father cared.
They were not here for the opinions of others.
Placing down the fork and knife horizontally onto the plate, Monsieur Kubdel dapped his mouth with the napkin and placed it on the table before locking eyes with his daughter.
During their meal, it became painfully obvious that she wasn't fully... there so to speak.
Every time her phone pinged, she'd immediately stop what she was doing to check the screen, which was not only rude but also very disheartening.
As it was, this phenomenon repeated itself once again, moments after the waiter had collected the dishes. Alix, of course, immediately cast her gaze on the little device and moved to turn it on, but just like the other bazillion times, all she got from it was a look of disappointment and a dejected sigh.
Displeased by her behaviour, though he did his best not to let it show, Kubdel discreetly cleared his throat and finally gained her attention.
"Alix, this is a special day, couldn't you live at least one second without looking at your phone?"
"Hm? Oh, sorry dad it's just that I'm waiting for Max to tell me once Kim leaves."
She replied and, much to his relief, put away that blasted device by stuffing it into her pocket.
"Ah," he exclaimed after a bit of pondering, "is this about that bet that you two made?"
"Yes, but it can wait. Even if he gets there early there is no way he can beat me in a race!"
The confidence she had in her abilities never failed to put a smile on his face and he was glad that she had such a natural gift for the arts and sport.
Ah yes, speaking of which...
"Well," he started, his hand slowly moving towards the surprise, "since you are so excited about this bet, I'm sure that your present will give you the same amount of joy."
Hearing those words, Alix immediately sat up straighter and leaned onto her elbows; her eagerness bared for all to see.
Not wanting to make her wait any longer, he swiftly took it out from his pocket and presented to her, in all its glory, an intricate silver watch that shimmered in a blueish colour under the fluorescent lights.
"This family heirloom was made by one of our ancestors many, many years ago. It's been passed down from one generation to the next, on their 15th birthday. And today, it's your turn to inherit it."
He spoke and watched how her interest dimmed a little yet she still held up her smile.
"That's... pretty sweet dad, but I've already got one, see? It's even synced up to my smartphone."
Why yes, that high-tech watch fit nicely around her wrist, but he was sure that she would change her mind quite quickly once she knew what made it so special in the first place.
Giving her a smile, he gently tapped the watch, delighted by the crystal clear ring it emitted as a subtle shimmer crossed its surface before fading away at the edges again.
"Don't be so hasty with your opinions Alix; this watch is one of a kind. Not only is it made from a type of metal that no longer exists in this world but it is also very light and therefore very delicate.
And if this doesn't convince you then let's just say that our ancestor was… ahead of his time."
Opening the watch, the father was pleased to see that it had the desired effect, as Alix was gaping at it in disbelief that slowly morphed into awe.
The watch didn't just display the time like a normal one, but instead in the form of a slowly spinning hologram that depicted their ancestor who was holding the watch, on which the hands slowly ticked forward.
"Of course," Monsieur Kubdel closed the watch abruptly, "I'd understand if you'd rather have me buy you a new pair of rollerblades..."
Launching forward so quickly that the table beneath them rattled, Alix snatched the watch out of his hands and cradled it close to her chest.
"No, no Dad!" She denied vehemently, "I'm stoked to have it. It's awesome, thank you!"
Sadly for the two of them, their wholesome moment was quickly broken by the ping of her phone, making her visibly cringe.
"I imagine that was Max?"
Her father asked with a soft and accepting smile.
"Yeah, but it's fine. I don't wanna bail on you, they can wait a bit more."
"No, no, go ahead. I'd hate to have you miss such a spectacle. Once you're done, tell me all about it, alright? And take good care of that watch."
Flashing him one last grin, his daughter stood up from her seat with a cloud of joy surrounding her and hurried towards the exit.
And once she was gone, he looked up to the ceiling and whispered with a voice full of devotion,
"May the Witness of fated history watch over you and turn the tides in your favour."
Unaware of her father's blessing, Alix skated towards the Trocadéro with her headphones on and amused herself with the sight of children falling down on sidewalks.
With one hand in her pocket and the other out for balance, she kept the watch from jostling too much in her grasp as it hummed against her fingers and noted absently that the colour blue was unusually bright today.
A bit further down the road, Alix suddenly spotted a small figure in the distance that seemed suspiciously familiar to her the closer she got. Pulling one headphone out of her ear, she sped up and soon realised that this figure was, in fact, Marinette, who carried a surprisingly large banner underneath her arm.
"Hey! Marinette! Wait up!"
She yelled repeatedly until the other girl finally came to a halt, visibly exhausted from dragging the banner through the streets for so long.
The distance between the Trocadéro and her house wasn't exactly little.
"Hey there, do you need any help?"
Alix asked as she rolled up beside her.
After all, what kind of friend would she be if she let her carry that thing all by herself?
Taking a few moments to regain her breath, Marinette finally looked up at her and politely declined, "Thank you for the offer, but you don't have to; I can manage this on my own."
Alix almost snorted at her answer. What kind of nonsense was that? "Well, too bad, because I will help you anyway. Now give me that thing."
"What?! But I can't let you carry that! You need your strength for the bet!"
Marinette protested; pulling the banner closer when she reached out to grab it.
Scoffing at her, Alix crossed her arms and stared her down— for once glad for the small height difference her roller blades provided. "If I was so weak that a little banner could knock me off my feet, I wouldn't hold a competition with that athletics freak Kim."
Without waiting for an answer, she ripped the roll of cloth from the girls' arms and threw it over her shoulder, never once averting her eyes to make sure that Marinette saw how serious she was about it.
And miraculously, the message got across as she let out a defeated sigh and mumbled quietly, "Well if it's not a bother..." before falling into step with her and continuing their journey in peace.
"Hey! You finally made it!"
Alya exclaimed when she spotted the two of them walk down the stairs and waved them over to the small crowd that had gathered to watch the spectacle.
Alix, upon seeing her, handed the banner back to Marinette, quickly skated away to Max to ask if she could borrow his backpack and left her companion to her own devices.
"Hello, guys; I hope we're not too late."
Marinette smiled sheepishly as she approached the crowd who all chattered excitedly amongst one another.
"Oh, you're actually a couple of minutes early!" Alya replied cheerfully, "We had to take some extra measures in case you forgot, so we told you the wrong time to make sure that you wouldn't miss out on anything."
Marinette blinked at her, unsure of what to say to that, but Alya didn't seem to notice as she quickly changed the topic by pointing at her cargo.
"So what's that big thing in your arms? Is that the banner?"
"Yes." The young designer answered with a grin, "Handmade, just like I promised!"
Positioning it in front of her, she let the fabric drop to her feet and proudly presented them the finished product.
The banner was a bright orange cloth shaped like a star with a white base underneath. On the left side, a chibi caricature of Alix was woven onto the fabric with a Rollerblade below, while the right side belonged to Kim and the sneaker beneath him; and as the cherry on top, right in the middle of the two competitors sat a shiny golden trophy—the only thing not embroidered into the banner— and a lightning bolt.
Ooohing and Aaahhing to the point of making her blush, the class took in the artwork with wide, admiring eyes until, all of a sudden, a harsh scoff was heard behind her.
"What is this?! Get that giant washcloth out of my face!" Chloe spat, having never sounded more like an old witch from the woods than now, as she tapped her foot on the ground and waited to be let through.
Rolling her eyes, Marinette reluctantly folded her creation away and walked closer to the racetrack, where Max clapped thrice to gather them all so that the competition could begin.
Unlike Kim, who was already doing warm-ups, Alix still had one last thing to do before she could start.
Making sure to hurry, she knelt next to Max's backpack and slipped her watch into the small pocket at the bottom before returning to her assigned spot. Unaware of a pair of blue eyes that saw her every move.
Settling side by side on the track, Max stepped in between the competitors and adjusted his glasses before laying out the ground rules for the bet.
"Two laps around the fountains; approximately 500 yards. The first one over the line is declared the victor! If Kim triumphs, Alix will relinquish her rollerblades to him. If Alix triumphs, Kim will be prohibited from making another dare for the rest of the school year."
Hearing those words, the class broke out into cheers and cries, all of which supported Alix wholeheartedly since the majority had had enough of Kim's ridiculous dares and jokes and general clownery.
It wasn't funny anymore, just annoying.
Seeing Max raise his hand, the two athletes tensed in anticipation, their competitive spirits growing stronger by the second when they saw the banner made in their honour hanging on the side.
"On your marks,
get set,
go!"
And off they went; racing toe to toe along the path, each trying to outrun the other and leave them in the dust.
In the meantime, a certain blonde girl sneaked around the back, unnoticed by the howling crowd around her and got closer and closer to the checkered backpack that leaned against a stone wall, completely unsupervised.
Kneeling beside it, she quietly zipped the lower pocket open and pulled out the silvery object of that racer girl, so that she may inspect it.
Originally, she had planned to just steal a quick glance at it and— if she liked it—take it for herself; pinning the blame on that nerd for not looking after it or claiming that a passing thief stole it.
Those plans, however, were quickly dashed when she saw Max turn in her direction and, in a flight of panic, rushed back to her spot in the crowd before he could catch sight of her.
How annoying that Sabrina wasn't here to do it for her, she grumbled quietly to herself and raised her hand close to her chest.
Making sure that no one was looking, Chloe slowly opened her palm and decided right then and there that this incredibly beautiful watch had no place in a commoner's hand.
How did she get her hands on such a thing anyway?
Chloe wondered as she inspected the glossy silver surface and intricate carvings on the sides.
Given how light it was, one might think of it as a cheap replica from some flea market, but she had spent enough time in luxurious jewellery shops and other establishments that dealt with high-quality products to know when something was worth the money.
Unfortunately, given how sparkly the watch was and the slight tremors she still had from her incident with that robot freak, it just so happened that in that moment, one such tremor reached her hand and tilted the watch just enough to cast a ray of light right onto the eyes of her greatest nuisance.
"Hey, where did you get that?"
Said Nuisance promptly asked before she could hide the watch in her pocket.
How cumbersome that she stood right behind Marinette, but at least she was held back by her enormous washcloth that she was holding with some other classmate of theirs.
Raising an eyebrow, Chloe wondered for a second if she should pretend to be deaf, but decided against it.
It would be much more fun this way.
Suppressing a smile, Chloe donned a mask of indifference and opened her mouth to talk but was rudely interrupted by her toy, who gasped in shock once she recognised the watch in her hand.
"Hey, that's from Alix! Did you steal it from her backpack?" She exclaimed, though luckily the crowd around them was loud enough to drown her out, lest she'd get them both in trouble. Sending her a hateful look, Chloe turned her nose skywards and asked in return, "Why do you care if I have it or not?"
"Chloe don't be so difficult, just give it back." Marinette all but demanded as she was jostled around by another round of cheers; which gave Chloe a brilliant idea.
Letting a smile appear on her lips, she glanced back at the girl and raised the watch high into the air, relishing in the disbelief that mirrored on her toy's face.
"C'mon be a good doggy," she taunted and wiggled the watch in her hand, "catch!"
A tremor rushed through her body; that loosened the hold she had on the watch.
And maybe it was karma or some other form of divine retribution that, in that exact moment, some fool collided with her back.
All of her amusement vanished in an instant as she observed how the watch fell from her hand and flew in a wide arc towards the ground.
Marinette let go of the banner instantly as she dropped to her knees and dove after the watch in hopes of catching it between the legs of her classmates.
A few millimetres.
Just a few and she'd touch it.
And then it was gone.
The watch bursting into a million pieces beneath the wheels of its owner.
Oblivious to the tragedy that just occurred, Alix crossed the finish line with a blinding grin on her face while the cheers of her peers echoed in her ears like a never-ending symphony.
High on the rush of victory, she paid no mind to Kim when he came to a stop beside her and demanded a rematch, nor did she notice how the cheering gradually died down until all that was left were fearful whispers and shocked gasps.
Confused, she turned around, unsure of what could warrant such a reaction, when her gaze fell onto scattered remains of something silver on the ground. Barely recognizable — if it weren't for the familiar gears and the blue shimmer, her watch laid there, broken into pieces and strewn far and wide like debris after a car crash.
Her smile vanished.
Wordlessly she approached her former present, the look in her eyes cold enough to spook Kim into silence, before they landed on the outstretched hand of Marinette.
Immediately, her gaze sharpened, hot anger sizzling within her as she stared at the panicked girl.
"Did you do this?"
Alix's voice quivered with the effort to not snap at her "friend".
"No of course not!" Marinette denied as she scrambled onto her feet and pointed at the real culprit. "It was Chloe! I saw her steal it from the bag with my own eyes!"
"Me?!" Chloe held a hand over her heart as if offended, "Why would I ever go near such a worthless thing?"
Her eyes snapped towards the gold-haired bitch.
"How dare you call it worthless!" She cried. "My old man gave me this for my birthday! This watch is a family heirloom!"
But those without a heart cannot feel for other people, and thus Chloe's face remained blank.
"Hmph," she said, all her attention on her manicured nails. "you can't care that much about it if you leave it unattended like that; who knows what scoundrel might've snatched it away! And besides, if this is what happens in your care, maybe he should've just never given it to you in the first place?"
No one said anything. Some didn't even breathe as they watched Alix whose tears had finally spilled over.
Her face—if one looked closer—went through a myriad of expressions, going from angry to hurt to sad and in the end, all that remained was a quiet look of resignation.
And without another word, Alix turned around and left. Her lone silhouette growing smaller and smaller as the class exploded in volume again.
Marinette, paid no mind to the surrounding conflict as she pushed the people away who threatened to trample her banner. Folding it as small as she could, she tucked it underneath her arm and rushed after Alix before she could disappear from her view.
Falling into step with her, Marinette kept quiet; giving her time to get accustomed to another's presence, 'til, at last, the tension left her shoulders.
"It's not your fault you know."
She started, her voice low and careful as if talking to a wild animal. "No one could've known that Chloe would go and steal it."
Alix huffed out a dry laugh.
"Hah, oh really? And what if it wasn't my fault? The watch is still completely trashed, and there is no way to fix it unless you know how to travel back in time."
Her voice was full of bitterness as she spat those words into the air, refusing to meet her eyes as she did so.
But Marinette refused to give up.
"Ah, no surely there is a way—"
She tried again, reaching out to touch her shoulder in the hopes that she would listen, yet her attempted encouragement only aggravated her further.
Jerking away from her touch, Alix turned towards her with bloodshot eyes and glared as if she were the devil himself.
"No Marinette." She spoke, her tone frigidly cold. "This watch is one of a kind. Even if you walked back, kneeled on the floor and picked up all those tiny pieces, no one on this entire fucking planet would know what to do because the only one who could is gone!"
Speechless, Marinette remained frozen in place and stayed that way even when Alix resumed her skating.
Never before had someone refused her goodwill in such a manner. Not even after she finally managed to become a bit more confident in herself with the hero gig.
Was this a sign perhaps? That she really wasn't cut out for this after all? Did that mean that she was right from the beginning? Maybe she should start looking for alternatives after all...
All those thoughts rushed through her mind, age-old wounds bleeding slightly and tinting her fragile mind red once more, yet before she could lose herself to those treacherous thoughts, a deep black butterfly flew past her and ripped her back into reality.
Shaking her head for good measure, Marinette turned her focus solely on the now and ran after it as fast as she could.
But the butterfly magically outflew her—how that was possible, she would never understand—and landed pointedly on the black-pink rollerblades of Alix, bringing her to a halt.
Dark wisps of something, accompanied by a gloomy aura, rose around the pink-haired girl, urging Marinette to go even faster, but by the time she reached her, it was already too late.
"Alix? Alix, can you hear me? Don't listen to him please!" Marinette cried, her hands reaching for her shoulders, yet as soon as her fingertips made contact with her, bright violet lighting erupted from her frame and threw Marinette back by several meters, leaving her to helplessly watch as the transformation came to an end.
Back at the race track, the class was in disarray, throwing profanities and arguments and stones back and forth as the situation slowly but surely escalated for the worse.
The reason for this was simple.
They were French.
They all disliked Chloe.
And now they had a reason to fight with her.
The only ones who did not participate in this rather heated conflict—excluding the few who wanted everyone to just calm down—were Adrien and Nino, who noticeably distanced themselves by standing closer to the wall.
Adrien himself was doing just fine; it was Nino who was having a crisis and let's be honest, who wouldn't if your friend looked like a forlorn wife whose husband left for war at sea? It was sickening to look at. Despicable. Disgusting. Whatever other word could describe what he was feeling.
For all the academic smarts he had, Adrien was an absolute idiot, because what kind of person would claim, for weeks on end, that he was also friends with Marinette, yet he never interacted with her like normal friends do.
Heck, he didn't even treat her like a proper classmate despite sitting right in front of her. All he ever did was say "good morning" or "hi" and that was the bare minimum.
Did he really not know how to make friends or how to maintain a friendship? What if Marinette didn't even know that Adrien saw her as a friend?
Did he even have her number?
No matter how hard Nino tried to find a way to help him, it all ever ended with more questions than answers so why did he even bother?
And sadly, that was the only thing he actually knew the answer to.
He did it because he was his friend.
Shoving his frustrations into some random corner of his mind, Nino brushed a hand over his face and let out a deep deep sigh.
"Adrien, bro, what are you doing?" He asked, his hand laying heavy on the jacket of the boy, "Go after her goddamnit, it's been like two minutes, you can still catch up!"
Adrien seemed a bit perplexed. Did he really think that his inner turmoil wouldn't be noticed? Hah, as if it would take a genius to figure out what was going on in his brain when he wore his feelings on his sleeve.
Seeing the unspoken question in his eyes, Nino continued.
"I thought you were friends with her; go on, do some normal people bonding or something; you already proved to her that you're not an asshole; now the least you could do is help her out."
A faint glimmer of determination lit in those summer green eyes and Nino could not be prouder of himself. Finally, he would be free from this torment and quietly go home while the others fought it out between them.
And then that joy died with Marinette's return, who loudly yelled and waved her hands, telling them to get out of there as soon as possible with a very panicked face.
Of course.
Of fucking course.
Nino cursed in his head as he dragged Adrien upstairs without waiting to see what was happening.
The gods hated him.
He was sure of it.
This counted as proof.
The one time that Mr. Blonde for Brains listened to his advice and actually considered taking it, the source of the problem showed up and ruined everything.
'See? See Adrien?' He thought grimly to himself, 'You could've prevented that by being less of a dumbass! You could've just gone after her and none of this would've happened. Heck, you could've just listened to me earlier. But what did you do? Exactly. Nothing! Congratulations on winning the useless award.'
But Nino should feel lucky that he even got to complain, since shortly after Marinette shouted that warning, a dark green flash rushed through the panicking crowd and got its first victim.
Kim looked as if he was frozen in time; the outlines of his body slowly fading away and turning into light whisps of smoke that scattered in the breeze.
Stopping not too far from him, the villain looked down at the energy bar on her rollerblades and grinned at the 30 seconds she had gained from that. Each year of a person's life would give her thirty seconds, so the more people she got, the further she could travel back in time.
"Alix! What are you doing?! Why is he fading?"
Marinette asked as she stopped near the former race track, her banner still neatly folded underneath her arm while the others ran for cover.
"The name's Timebreaker now and if you had some brain cells left, you'd know what I am after. All of you are just precious seconds to me until I have enough to go back." Timebreaker taunted, most of her face hidden by an olive green helmet while the rest of her body was clad in an ugly racing suit.
"What? To go back? You mean like time travel?"
Marinette inquired, hoping to distract her with more questions to buy time for the others, but luck was not on her side today.
"Well, since you are so smart, I don't need to explain anything to you, do I?" Timebreaker smirked, using the momentum to skate towards her, gaining more speed with each stride.
Marinette—God bless her reflexes—managed to dodge at the last second and ran towards the stairs while unfolding her banner once more, knowing full well that she could not outrun her.
Waiting for the right moment, she let the banner go and broke into a full sprint, not wasting any time to check if it had actually hit her target or not.
And thus she escaped, leaving behind a tangled-up villain on the floor, who quietly watched her retreat before standing up again with a crooked grin.
She'd let her go this once.
But there would certainly be no next time.
Speeding rounds and rounds around the Trocadéro, Timebreaker had many a chance to touch the unsuspecting civilians who each gave her a different amount of time.
The elderly had the least; adults and teens ranged between thirty and forty seconds, while children gave her almost entire minutes.
It was fun to chase after them, playing the hunter in an abundance of prey when they didn't even notice the danger they were in and the few that did... Well, they didn't get very far.
A small smile tugged on her lips as she spotted Mylene in the distance, who ran like a hamster in a hamster wheel—always moving but never getting far. Thinking it an easy catch, she sped up and was just about to touch her when suddenly something grabbed her ankle and slammed her on the surprisingly soft ground.
"Hah, nice try but you won't be able to stop me from where I'm going!" Timebreaker spat triumphantly as she pushed herself off of the quickly fading Mylene who so generously cushioned her fall and gazed at the heroes with calculating eyes.
Because unbeknownst to them, she was in quite a conundrum.
To travel back in time, she needed the exact amount of time between now and the moment she wanted to return to. Alongside that, she also needed a huge amount of energy and speed that she gained through the stolen time of her victims.
So, to gain both time and speed, she needed to catch more people, yet doing so also required time, and she really couldn't afford to waste what she had gotten by fighting off those matching freaks.
The heroes meanwhile, only saw her frozen form and waited. For something. Anything.
"Whatever you do, don't let her touch you!" Ladybug warned quietly with her eyes locked onto the villain. "From what I've gathered she's collecting time from all the people she touched to time travel."
"Yeah, I've figured." Chat Noir replied, tensing when Timebreaker bent her legs to charge forward, yet against all their expectations, the villain changed course.
Perplexed, they followed after her to see what caught her attention, only to see the fading form of Alya, who was soon followed by Chloe, who was hiding behind a Bush.
"Well, she wastes no time, does she?"
Chat Noir bit out in an attempt for a joke but even he couldn't bring himself to laugh about it when he saw the miserable expression on their faces as they gave the years of their lives to a useless cause.
Spotting her not too far away as she was about to steal the time of Ivan, Ladybug launched her Yo-Yo straight at her and wrapped it around her arm, yanking her out of the air towards the ground once more.
This move gave Ivan enough time to escape, but Ladybug did not account for the fact that her Yo-Yo was still tied around the villain's wrist, who took this to her full advantage.
"Man you're so stupid," Timebreaker barked, grinning with her teeth fully on display and yanked at the string as hard as she could.
Unprepared Ladybug lost her footing and got dragged across the earth, stones and dust coating and ripping her clothes until she stopped right at Timebreakers feet.
The heroine, despite the pain that she was in, took this opportunity and reached out to grab the villain's ankle and throw her off her feet.
Inch by inch her arm stretched on.
Almost there. Almost there.
She chanted in her mind.
But Timebreaker was faster.
Leaning down, the villain found it laughably easy as her fingertips came closer and closer, mere millimetres away from touching the back of her hoodie.
Something black barreled into her and threw her off of her feet.
Timebreaker landed hard, her helmet clucking against the ground from the whiplash and making her see stars, which cleared just enough to see her assailant.
Standing right above her, still frozen in the pushing motion was Chat Noir, who wore a fearless and determined look in his eyes.
No less shocked than her enemy, Timebreaker shook her head again to clear her vision and stared wide-eyed at the cat-themed hero before bursting into wild and deranged laughter.
"Hahahaha! I was right! You are idiots! Who in their right mind would do something this stupid?"
She cackled, the sound attracting the attention of several passerby's who quickly turned away when they saw what was happening.
Ladybug couldn't believe it as she slowly stood up, her legs shaking like a newborn deer and circled her partner.
She didn't feel anything in this moment.
The shock numbing it all perhaps.
Only something cold, a bit similar to dread that settled deep within her stomach like a rock.
Reaching up with a trembling hand she touched his face, flinching back lightly when she felt the skin give away beneath her fingertips like smoke.
Her eyes stung, and her lips wobbled, but she ignored it all.
Letting her hand fall beside her, she did her best to suppress the sheer panic in her chest and slowly turned towards the still-laughing villain with the only thing she had left.
Cold, hard fury.
How dare she.
How dare she laugh after killing the people around her so freely?
Was this all just some joke to her?
Without noticing the danger she was in, Timebreakers eyes fell onto her rollerblades once she calmed down and noted with surprise that they were full.
"Oh, wow, six minutes in one go! Must have been those nine lives." She exclaimed happily and winked at the frozen heroine. "Gotta go! The past is waiting."
Narrowing her eyes at her, Ladybug scoffed and threw out her Yo-Yo that encircled the villain's waist.
Ladybug refused to let her leave this easily.
However, by then, Timebreaker had already become too fast and simply dragged her with her, unhindered by any and all obstacles as she even jumped up the stairs of the Trocadéro.
Arriving at the top, she had gained so much speed that pale green flashes of light zipped around her boots until she felt a low pull in her midsection and vanished with a yell; taking Ladybug with her and to another time.
Pure silence encompassed her as Ladybug cranked her eyes open.
It felt as if they were still moving yet she felt no wind at all. In fact, she barely felt anything around her.
At first glance all she saw was the colour blue. Endless blue everywhere with blurry streaks of white.
Blinking again until her eyes gained clarity, Ladybug took another look around and her mouth ran dry.
Timebreaker was still in front of her, trapped in the same moment that she had entered this place as they floated across a bright white string and towards a swirling portal.
Yet this string was not the only one of his kind as more and more appeared around them from seemingly nowhere.
Each string, despite looking identical, had something unique about it that she couldn't put her finger on.
Some branched out in the distance, some merged with other strings, some looked like they were fading or growing thicker, and some were so thin that one could barely see them any more.
Yet they all had something in common with one another. Each and every string led to the shining beacon in the middle of this void, that resembled a knot and tied them all together.
Looking around, the light from the beacon faintly outlined enormous shapes that curled in the space above and below it; shapes that vaguely reminded her of hands.
As she cast her gaze to what she suspected to be the top, the vast space only stretched onward, up and up and up into an endless blue that grew darker in the distance.
Yet somewhere in the darkened blue, faint and barely noticeable, was another shape.
As if feeling her gaze, a bright blue slit appeared on that shape, slowly growing bigger and bigger in a way that could only be described as an opening eye.
And then, their eyes met.
A sudden, loud and ringing pain pierced through her head, causing her eyes to water and her hand to curl around her forehead as she forcefully averted her gaze. It was as if something was trying to invade her mind, punishing her for being here. Yet underneath all that suffering, five words rang through her head with frightening clarity.
"Something is looking at you"
A blinding flash appeared at the Trocadéro, from which two figures emerged and skitted to a halt not too far from the stairs.
Having gotten thrown off by Timebreakers forceful halt, Ladybug was extremely lucky that she hadn't broken any of her bones with that fall and slowly sat up to take a breather while the pain in her head subsided.
"What the fuck was that?!" She murmured after a while, unsure if she had just unlocked a new form of hallucination or not and carefully stood up to not make herself dizzier than she already was.
Stumbling towards the railing where Timebreaker stood, she looked down and gasped in shock when she saw the exact same scene play out that she had lived through fifteen minutes ago.
More judging than shocked, Timebreaker put her focus on her mission and carefully observed the crowd until her eyes landed on the fragile thing in Chloe's hand.
Snarling to herself, she jumped down on impulse and landed right behind Chloe with a loud thump, scaring the living daylight out of the blonde girl, which caused her to drop the watch a second time.
Meanwhile, in another place at the same time, a man clad in a deep indigo suit gaped in shock at the sight before him, his cane clattering onto the ground and causing the butterflies around him to scatter.
He had just sent out his intended Akuma when all of a sudden his vision split, connecting him to a villain he hadn't even created.
Perplexed, he stared at the scene before his mind's eye, the surroundings and the downtrodden girl he had been encouraged to target, only for a slow sense of joy to take hold of his heart.
'My my what an interesting turn. I did not expect something like this to happen.'
Smirking to himself, he closed his eyes, wondering what new possibilities this could open for him to gain what he so desperately desired.
Still standing at the top of the wall, Ladybug was just about to jump down and finally deal with Timebreaker before everything could go to shit again when she got interrupted by none other than herself.
"Who in the world are you?!"
The younger version of her demanded viciously, her face pulled into a grimace as she looked her up and down.
Ok wow. That was weird.
Awkwardly clearing her throat, Ladybug approached her like one would approach a rabid animal and stopped at a safe distance; her hands raised in the air as a gesture of peace.
"Uhh, I don't really have time to explain right now, but I'm you from just a few minutes in the future."
Her younger self raised an eyebrow, scepticism bleeding from her without a pause.
"Seriously? You're expecting me to believe this crapp?"
"She's right Marinette," Tikki barged in from within her purse, "I can feel that she's you, though I have no idea how they have allowed her to get through their domain..."
Despite trailing off at the end, her words seemed to calm younger Marinette down enough that Ladybug could speak to her without being assaulted.
"Ok so Listen. I know it seems unbelievable, but trust me, I mean, trust...yourself? Anyway, I want you to make sure that most civilians are gone while I try to calm Alix down." She instructed sternly as she turned away and reached for her Yo-Yo.
"Oh! And stay away from Timebreaker; if she touches you, you're a goner."
Nodding, the younger Marinette ran away to transform in secret, and Ladybug approached the edge once again to finally do her job when she was once again interrupted by a cheeky voice behind her.
"Well, well, well, what trouble have we gotten ourselves into this time?" Chat Noir asked as he approached her languidly, his carefree attitude sending pangs of hurt through her heart.
Unsure if her face betrayed her emotions or not, she pulled up her face mask that rarely graced her face and replied without meeting his eyes,
"Chat Noir, I can't explain now, but we've got to capture Timebreaker's Akuma!"
"Why the grave tone? It's not like anyone died today."
His tone was humorous at best, yet it still managed to loosen her grip on her emotions.
"Don't joke about that! Please! This is serious!"
She exclaimed, the words bursting out of her before she could stop them.
An awkward silence settled on the two, one born out of shame while the other wasn't sure what warranted such a strong reaction.
Unwilling to aggravate her further in this situation, Chat Noir placed his hand above his heart and promised quietly with as much sincerity as he could,
"Alright. I won't anymore."
Though he was sure to bring it up some time in the future.
Focusing on the matter at hand, the heroes jumped down only for their eyes to widen when they saw the butterfly merge with the rollerblades on Alix' feet and transform her into an exact copy of the villain that stood before her.
The second they landed, the heroes catapulted themselves out of reach, landing right on the opposite side of the villainous duo.
"I'm not hallucinating am I?"
Chat Noir asked perplexed, his eyes jumping back and forth from the identical villains.
"No, sadly you aren't." Ladybug replied, her heart a bit lighter now that she had other things to focus on.
"Time travel is weird you know?"
"You're... you're joking right?"
Chat Noir looked at her funny, but his answer would be far from normal.
"Hey guys, sorry I'm late," a sudden voice chimed in behind them and landed on Chat Noir's left revealing herself to be a second Ladybug. "I cleared most of the people around the park and said some warnings but I doubt that will hold them for long. Some didn't even try to listen to me."
"We did what we could; now, we just need enough time to defeat them." The older comforted and sent a grin towards the younger while Chat Noir was having a crisis in between the two; but he wouldn't have to worry about that for long, as the twin villains finally took action and officially started the fight.
Like a game of tag, each side refused to give up, their strengths evenly balanced and they were smart enough to realise it too.
Stopping once more, the villains looked at one another and simultaneously shook their heads.
"We aren't fast enough yet." The older grumbled and her counterpart could only agree.
"Then let's go, get more time from those extras over there." The younger pointed towards a small class of students on their way to a field trip.
Within the next few minutes, the once bustling park was filled with countless people, children with their faces frozen in terror and horrified mothers and teachers who could do nothing but stare in silence at the fading bodies of the ones they cared for.
It was almost like a graveyard at this point, without anyone who would remember them and nothing left to bury.
Skating through the masses, the villains were unfazed by it all, leaving all the heavy emotions to the heroes that were chasing them and delighted in the fact that they had collected enough time to finally be able to deal with them all.
And what way to do this all without any effort, than to simply travel back in time again?
Speeding up even more, the heroes now had little to no chance to catch up to them without getting caught for sure and stopped nearby to catch their breaths.
"We can't go on like this. They're just too fast now."
The older Ladybug panted, keeping an eye on the villains that slowly began to generate that pale green energy around their rollerblades.
Suddenly, she perked up, her eyes brightening as she looked to the side and saw the same expression on her counterpart's face.
"You're thinking what I'm thinking?"
She asked with a grin.
"You bet."
Together they threw their Yo-Yos into the air and shouted the magic words, causing their lucky charms to manifest.
The older one received a bike lock while the younger got a traffic cone.
Knowing full well that they needed time for whatever they were planning, Chat Noir voluntarily excused himself from this insanity and ran off to slow the villains down.
Running towards a large stone pillar that the duo was approaching, Chat Noir summoned his Cataclysm and touched the sandstone, causing it to crumble in an instant and fall into their path, effectively cutting off their way.
Having no other choice but to turn around, the villains changed course and skated full speed towards Ladybug who appeared behind them as if waiting to be caught.
Foolishly thinking of her as easy prey, they reached out to grab her when she suddenly ducked down and locked something around their legs, tying them both together.
Unable to stop anymore and speeding without aim or reason, the twin villains panicked when they saw the ramp before them that the second Ladybug had built and launched into the air.
Two Yo-Yos sprang forth, coiling themselves around each ankle as they pulled off the roller blades.
In a wide arc, the akumatized objects landed straight in the heroes hands, who immediately smashed them to pieces and released the poor creatures that were stuck inside.
Catching and purifying the animals, they now had only one thing left to do and threw the lucky charms into the air, where they dispersed into hundreds of ladybugs that quickly took care of all the damage and brought back the people lost to time.
Sitting on the ground, now once more her own person, Alix groaned and looked around, irritated and confused as Ladybug approached her.
Extending her hand, she reached towards the girl and smiled at her. "Here," she said, "I think this belongs to you," and gave her her beloved watch back that shimmered in the sunlight with a faint blueish hue.
Alix was overjoyed as she grabbed the watch and inspected it from all sides; unable to find a single blemish. "Oh my god thank you! How did you fix it?"
She asked, staring up at the young heroine with glittering eyes.
"Ah, just some magic involved, nothing big. And you really shouldn't leave such important things unsupervised." Ladybug chided gently as she helped Alix up again.
"Yeah, I know... I'll be more careful next time, thanks again."
Watching her leave, Ladybug let out a relieved sigh and let herself relax. If this was what it felt like then she was sure that whoever decided to take on her mantle would never want to give it up again.
"Sooo... when were you gonna explain to me the whole time travel thing?" Chat Noir asked from the side after Alix left, though he knew very well that he most likely wouldn't receive an explanation.
And he was right when Ladybug cheerfully replied,
"Well, that's gonna have to wait until next time, Chat Noir, and don't forget to reply to my messages, ok?"
Watching her swing away, he let out a long sigh and scratched the back of his head with a helpless smile.
"If only I knew how..."
By the time her parents returned from their anniversary date, the sun had long set and the moon was shining brightly in the sky, illuminating the steel rooftops and the cars dotting the streets.
The two tired adults sat on the sofa, their feet propped up on the coffee table and wrapped in each other's embrace as they watched some old Italian romance movie.
Marinettes eyes curled into crescents from the force of her smile and she approached them as quietly as possible with the application letter in her hand, but something made her hesitate.
She knew how worried her mother was when she had first told her about those classes and despite her obvious trust and support in that matter, it did not hide the doubt that she felt even after Marinette assured her that she knew what she was doing.
If she were to go there now and tell them all about her plan, she didn't know how it would end nor how her father would react; and she couldn't risk the chance of ruining their evening with silly proposals.
Frowning at the paper in her hand, she folded it again and tucked it away.
Marinette would ask another time.
A better time than now.
Somewhere in between the forests and mountains, a gentle rain fell in droplets from the night sky that just began to clear up after a heavy downpour.
Every person on the busy market street hid somehow from the rain. Most carried a bamboo umbrella, while others hid beneath woven straw hats or at the food stalls on the sides.
Packed as the street was with people draped in silk and cotton, the crowd was indistinguishable from one another as they all tried to buy and sell all sorts of goods at the nightmarket whose lanterns lit the street up in warm hues.
Only one of them stood out from the masses as the figure pushed its way through, the paper on the bamboo reflecting the light the lanterns cast upon it.
This umbrella, unlike the others, was dyed in a deep blue and depicted the crescent moon on the top. Like a mirror of the real moon high above in the skies.
Suddenly the figure stopped, their white and blue robes swishing around them until they came to a halt, mere inches away from touching the wet dirt of the road.
Curiously, as if they felt a tug, the figure looked up at the moon and tilted their head to the side in wonder; their face hidden by an ornate mask, painted and decorated in the resemblance of a rabbit.
"Is it time already?"
They mumbled under their breath as the first rays of the moon broke through the thick clouds for the first time in hours.
Reaching into their sleeve, the figure pulled out a silvery watch and held it into the light.
Underneath the gentle beams, the metal gleamed the brightest, its brilliance only growing when its owner pressed the button in the middle of the watch.
A bright flash of light encompassed the wandering soul for a split second, and just like that, they vanished, the crowd around them continuing as if nothing ever happened.