Here it is, the fifty-fifth full chapter of Miraculous Quirks released early because I am still ahead in my draft and this way the last cliffhanger isn't lasting too long for y'all. This is the second in the confirmed 3 chapter original arc I am doing between the move in and the preparing for the provisional license arcs and as you know by now this is the Momo finds out arc. Anyway, that is all the administrative stuff I have for now and as there are no review questions to answer or guest reviews to respond to I will end this note here. Do keep the reviews coming as I enjoy hearing from y'all. Now, though, it is time to sit back, relax, and enjoy the 55th full chapter of Miraculous Quirks.
Disclaimer: I do not own either of these great works of fiction.
Chapter 55: Unbelievable Truths
Marinette was working her sowing machine, humming along to the song she was listening to while Tikki, Longg and Kaalki watched her work and the other female kwamis did their own things around the room be it play, relax, read, or try and fail to work the computer in Barkk's case. It had been a long day what with the move in, room contest, and baking so Marinette was going to turn in soon to get some sleep before whatever Mr. Aizawa had in store for them in tomorrow's training.
First though she wanted to finish at a good spot with her latest creation that she was making for Adrien. He was going to look so good in it but then again he looked good in anything to her.
As she worked she had her headphones in and was listening to one of her favorite Clara Nightingale songs on her phone. She had to listen with headphones, and as she was humming she had created a special noise generator to prevent Jiro from accidently hearing her if she was training her Earphone Jack Quirk, because the song was technically considered lost.
No one these days knew of Clara, Jagged Stone, Mr. XY, or any of the other musicians from her day as all their records and history had been lost in the Quirk Wars with only a few trace fragments, enough to identify it as lost music, remaining these days. So much culture had been lost that it was effectively a reset when the wars finally died down. Sure, plenty of families and their small businesses survived but actually cultural things like films, tv shows, books, music, and big corporations didn't.
As such Marinette, who had access to it thanks to her phone still being the one from before and the Guardians preserving things though they refused to reintroduce anything that didn't survive back into humanity due to the restrictions upon them, had to be careful when she listened to it. She knew of them, and other than Mr. XY they were some of her favorites, so she could but if it got out then there would be a lot of questions she couldn't answer without revealing the truth as to her past and few would be able to comprehend that.
It was as she was thinking of this that she noticed Tikki was waving to get her attention. Pausing her music and her work, Marinette took her headphones out to address her kwami.
"What's up Tikki?" Marinette asked.
"Someone's knocking on your door." Tikki said and Marinette noticed that all the other kwamis were now hidden and her computer was off. "You couldn't hear it with your headphones on."
"Right thanks, hide now." Marinette said as she turned her chair knowing Tikki was hiding and heard the person on the other side.
"Marinette, are you still up?" Momo asked through her door. "Sorry to bother you but I'd like to ask you a few things."
"I'm up, come on in." Marinette called out and Momo opened the door to let herself in and quickly closed it, she was still in her clothes from earlier which was odd as Marinette was now in her pajamas but whatever she must have had some work to do and didn't change before doing it. "Take a seat, and tell me what's up?"
"Thanks." Momo said as she sat on Marinette's chaise long and put her hands in her lap unsure how to start this conversation now that she was here.
Momo was certain of what she'd learned moments ago but she had to confirm and find out just how it all happened and how, if true, Marinette had a Quirk and a full backstory that seemed to pass scrutiny. She trusted her friend, knew that she was a hero through and through, she just wanted to know if she was right about her theory and what she could do to help her friend out if it was true. That said how do you ask your friend if she's actually over 200 years old and from the pre-Quirk era.
"Momo?" Marinette asked snapping her out of her thoughts causing her to realize that her silence had become a little awkward. "You came here to ask me something so what's on your mind?"
"Right, sorry, just trying to figure out how to start this." Momo said in French as they spoke Marinette's native language when alone so that Momo could get better with it while Marinette was confused at the delay as she finally settled on how to go about it, it was the same way she found out so that was where she'd start it. "I was just in my room thinking about something that didn't make sense to me, so I came here for clarification. Your Japanese friend back in Paris, do you know what her family does?"
"Kagami?" Marinette asked now confused as to why Momo would bring this up after already asking about Kagami during the best room contest, but she was more than willing to talk about it, well what was the cover story at least, as it was good to talk about her old friends. "I know that she's a great fencer and her family has some history in the art but that's it, sorry. We don't really talk about her family. Her mother is rather strict and controlling so with me she just wants to have fun and been a teenager you know."
"I do, that is very Japanese of her mother to be like that, I'm glad my own isn't stereotypical in that sense." Momo said. "But, um, do you know anything about the Tsurugi family here?"
"Not really." Marinette said still wondering where this was going but starting to feel a little wary all of a sudden with this line of questioning. "I'm sure there are some here, maybe more as I'm not sure how common the family name is."
"There are other Tsurugi families but only one that is notable in the art of the sword and who focuses on western fencing." Momo said. "They date back to before the advent of Quirks, at least to sometime in the late shogunate era if their records to be believed, and they are one of the wealthiest in all of Japan though rather reclusive since two of their branches that got created in the wake of advent have died out."
"Ok and this has something to do with Kagami?" Marinette asked still not sure why Momo was asking her about this. "As far as I know it's just her and her mother as I've never asked her about her family in Japan. Even after I knew I was coming here I didn't because of the whole secrecy rules we agreed to when we got into Francois Dupont's hero course. She didn't find out that I was Ladybug until the Sports Festival, and she was more amazed at my success in it than wanting to talk about her Japanese roots."
"It does have something to do with her because there shouldn't be a Tsurugi in France." Momo said looking at Marinette to see her reaction to her words. "The only ones left with the sword skills you mention, and yes they are all still top-class fencers, are the current patriarch and his two kids who aren't high school age."
Momo was looking at Marinette to see her reaction to it and she didn't miss it. It was only a moment, but she saw it in Marinette's bluebell eyes. It was just a flash, a hardening in them that showed Momo that she was on the right path as she'd triggered an impulsive, negative emotion in her friend. It also made her glad that Marinette was a hero and a good person because for a second she saw just how dangerous her friend could be.
She knew Marinette's speed and strength well, she'd felt it first hand when they sparred that one time, so she knew that if there was a fight she'd not win. However, Marinette wasn't like that and as soon as it was there it was gone though uncertainty was still in her face and Momo knew that Marinette was going to try and talk her way out of it.
Marinette for her part had led her anger show briefly but not at Momo, rather at the situation itself. It appeared that Mage or someone associated with him had made a mistake and missed Kagami. She wasn't sure what Momo knew and she was still going to try and talk her way out of this if she could, she was a decent liar, but it was clear that the taller girl knew, or at least suspected, something about her past.
"Huh you don't say." Marinette said after a pause that was just a shade shorter than what would have been awkward. "Then I guess Kagami is using a fake name and didn't tell me or Adrien. It wouldn't surprise me with Francois Dupont's secrecy level, I'm sure some of my friends don't use their real names at all to add another level of security. I was actually surprised that both Adrien and Chloe used their real names."
"Perhaps but, well, I've learned that there was a Kagami Tsurugi in the family who was a gifted a fencer and who lived in Paris at one time." Momo said automatically putting Marinette on guard with that, but she was now keeping her emotions in check as Momo continued. "She lived there for a few years before the advent, sometime around the late 2010s before returning to Japan just before the 2020 Tokyo Olympics back when those were still a big deal."
"Really, I'm surprised that records can survive that long what with how the Quirk Wars ravaged the world in the wake of the advent." Marinette said showing surprise as best she could but piecing it together and if Kagami left that soon after her disappearance in 2019 when the Guardians were still dealing with that and what to do about Ladybug and Cat Noir, as well as how few knew how close Kagami actually was to them, then it could explain a few things. "Didn't most get destroyed during the wars? I'll admit I don't know about Japan, but I know that very little survived in France."
"A lot was, and we lost tech and culture for sure." Momo said. "But families here have a good history of keeping records of their matriarchs and patriarchs, especially the wealthy ones and especially when one of their matriarchs is responsible for a lot of honor coming to the family."
"Ah cultural differences then, we aren't as good as you at honoring our ancestors like that." Marinette said. "So, this other Kagami was noted then? I assume you mean her, right?"
"She was." Momo said with a nod. "She was one of the first advocates for a hero system and a system to regulate Quirks, well Meta Abilities as they were known as back then, after her three grandsons, triplets, were born with Quirks. They were some of the first to appear in a pure Japanese family so I've been told, and she spent her last 20 or so years advocating for it, she even used examples from her time in Paris for how the system should work."
"Well, if she did live there back then then it makes sense." Marinette said as she was thinking how to spin this to keep her secret. "That was around the time of the legendary heroes that we know little about were allegedly active, so she'd have known of them and used them as a base."
"It certainly appears that she did." Momo said. "And in the end the Tsurugi family succeeded. The three boys with Quirks formed the three branches of the family as each had a different power so each was seen as equal."
"Three you say." Marinette said as she got a sinking feeling in her gut as the implication of that finally hit her. "What were they, do you know?"
"Yes, one could become water, one wind, and one lightning for short periods of time." Momo said and Marinette had to clench her fist to make sure she didn't let her jaw drop at that given that those were the triplet power of the Dragon Miraculous, the very Miraculous that Marinette had once briefly lent Kagami when she needed her as an ally. "So, each became a branch, but both the water and lighting have since died out."
"Well, the Kagami I know could be from one of those branches then." Marinette said seeing a potential avenue to explain this away. "You know families do leave homelands, maybe one branch came to Paris again after leaving Japan for some reason."
"Possibly but I just spoke with the patriarch." Momo said and at that Marinette knew that she was going to have to pull out all the stops to convince Momo that whatever she was thinking wasn't true. "And he was adamant that they died out when they did."
"I'm surprised he spoke with you." Marinette said.
"Our families have the same social status and honor dictates that he do so and that I return the favor when it is called in." Momo said making Marinette realize that only Momo could have done this, which didn't alleviate her at all. "He told me all he knew about his ancestor Kagami. Then he found the box they have that keeps some records and teachings from her in it, most families like that do so that they can learn from their ancestors' wisdom while preparing their own for future generations. I am pretty sure my family does this as well."
"Where are you going with this Momo?" Marinette asked trying to play it off as unsure, but she knew that she was failing at that. "And why are you telling me all this?"
"Because I don't know how to say what I learned next, so I'll just say it." Momo said as she finally got to what she wanted to talk to Marinette about. "In the box was a diary of Kagami's from her time in Paris so written mostly in French. In that diary was a picture…"
Marinette knew her eyes had widened slightly at that as she saw that she'd given something away in Momo's face. Still, she was shocked that Kagami had kept it in such a way to preserve it for so long. She'd given her a copy when she'd had hers made to commemorate them becoming friends after the debacle that was Friendship Day 2019, but she didn't know that it had survived, how could she or anyone have known. Still, she had to try to talk her way out of it.
"Must be a surprise for a picture to survive that long." Marinette said. "Good find for the patriarch, especially if it predates the advent."
"It was but what was more was the picture, apparently Kagami's only from Paris, and what it showed." Momo said. "I asked him to describe it and you know what Marinette? It was of Kagami with anther girl taking a selfie of them having drinks outside of Notre Dame cathedral. A girl, who by the way, was described as having black hair done in a set of pigtails and blue eyes."
"What a coincidence." Marinette said knowing that there was almost no way out now but still trying. "Though that is a great area to take photos so not a surprise."
"Marinette, we're friends, please don't insult my intelligence and lie to me at this point." Momo said a little sternly. "I came here because all this makes little sense as that photo is the same as the one you have and the girl in it is you, it's a perfect description of everything. What's more Kagami wrote a note in French on the back. I don't know what some of it refers to but it's about that day and she refers to the other girl as MD-C and then as Marinette. Your initials Marinette. The thing is, that photo is dated in 2019, so I asked more about and learned that Kagami's two friends, Marinette and the boy she liked called Adrien, went missing shortly afterward that photo was taken. So, Marinette, what the hell is the truth?"
That was it, Marinette knew there was no way out of this now, and she looked to the side where Tikki was hiding under her desk for confirmation. Tikki nodded before flying away no doubt to inform Mage that this had happened and that he'd need to get the girls to further help because Momo at least knew part of the truth. She deserved the full truth now, in part because none of this would make sense without it, and Marinette was going to need help on that, but she could at least give her confirmation and a bit of an overview now.
"The truth." Marinette said as she exhaled and felt a weight she didn't know she had lift from her chest though she didn't look at Momo as she spoke but rather kept her eyes on her lap. "There's a lot to the truth. Everyone lies, there's no escaping it, and we all have our own reasons for why we do so, but I guess this was bound to be found out by someone if they found the right clues that could have been out there. I'll say this, you don't have everything Momo and trust me when I say that what you know is but the tip and least unbelievable part of this iceberg but if you're asking for confirmation then yes, that will be me in that picture that Kagami kept."
"It is you?" Momo asked, she knew she'd thought it was true but to hear Marinette say it aloud was still stunning. "How? How is any of this even possible, especially before the advent of Quirks?"
"The how we'll get to because that will take a bit, but I can prove part of it, but as you can see it did happened." Marinette said as she did her best to control herself as she spoke. "Because it happened to me and I can tell you have already guessed about Adrien as well, he's like me, we, we aren't from this era. A fair bit of our records and backstory is true albeit out of date, the best lies are shrouded in truth, and thanks to outside influences they managed to make it work when we returned but we weren't born in 2234 as our records would indicate. We were born in 2004 and when we were 15 the supervillain we were dealing with managed to blast us from the timeline until it caught up 230 years later in Japan."
"Um so that means…" Momo said as she tried to piece it all together.
"That Adrien and I are from the pre-Quirk era." Marinette said. "And yes, we were the legendary heroes of Paris that are only known of as legends these days and yes our current hero names are the ones we used back then. Ladybug and Cat Noir, they were the great heroes of Paris whose names were lost to history just as they were. How we had powers, well it wasn't tech as people believed but we'll get to that in a moment, and as for our Quirks, well they are real and tied to our old powers."
"Wait so you do have actual Quirks?" Momo asked now confused. "That's the part that really confuses me."
"Correct." Marinette said with a nod. "Our DNA is the same as everyone else's here and our powers are Quirks in every sense of the word. They are the powers we once had through other means granted to us when we arrived. It's, It's hard to explain."
"Try me." Momo said. "I'm already convinced that you are from then Marinette and that doesn't matter so much as to how you got here of all places and are now my classmate in U.A.'s Hero Course."
"Thanks Momo." Marinette said as she felt tears in her eyes at the acceptance. "It's, it's not been easy having to always lie to all of you though Adrien and I were used to it back in the day but still. This is our new life, our new friends, and we couldn't say because it's just so hard to believe and the how is, well, not something that should be known by many people. Everyone has secrets and these are ours."
As Marinette spoke Momo looked around and something more hit her, what she remembered in her room when she'd learned the truth but had suppressed while confirming her theory was true. Marinette and Agreste were from 230 years ago so all these pictures, these people with Marinette her friends, her family, they weren't here anymore and hadn't been alive for over a century.
Momo knew what to do next and she stood up and walked to Marinette and just pulled her in for a hug holding her to her chest to show that she cared for her friend and was her for it. Marinette realized it and finally just let it out as all she'd held back with lying, with having to pretend that her friends in France were still around, everything came out and Momo just held her. Well at least until she ruined the moment as Marinette was starting to suffocate against her ample bosom due to their positioning.
"Momo, can't breathe." Marinette said causing Momo to back up embarrassed, and Marinette gasped turned in her chair to grab a tissue to dab her eyes a bit from the moment and the near suffocation by impressive breasts, which was no doubt how Mineta wanted to go out, before turning back to Momo. "Thank you."
"It's ok, when I thought I knew it hit me just what you'd have to have gone through." Momo said ignoring the wetness on her shirt. "I still don't understand how though."
"How any of this is possible?" Marinette asked as she recovered, and Momo nodded. "Well as hard as it is to believe, magic."
"Magic?" Momo asked incredulous. "As in those cheap tricks and what not."
"No actual, real, magic." Marinette said looking around and seeing that her machine was no more which meant that her Quirk had timed out at some point. "Ok before I prove it, and I can, you're going to need to make a noise machine. Mine's vanished in this time and I haven't recharged. While I trust Kyoka you never know if she's practicing and this, well this needs to remain secret. French covers us but you're about to be shocked again and there's going to be more than 2 voices which would raise a lot of suspicion."
"Um ok I can do that." Momo said confused but making a machine that made a noise that would prevent Jiro from overhearing them, something she understood as this was Marinette's secret that she'd found out, so she had to protect it. "Now what?"
"Well, we will soon be transported to the person responsible for saving us when we arrived and turning what were once our powers into our Quirks, he'll explain more as there is so much more to be explained from his end but for now I can at least show you proof of magic." Marinette said looking around the room. "Alright kwamis, you can come out now."
Momo didn't know what that meant before she gasped as, well, 8 small creatures no more than 4 centimeters tall or so and looking like animals crossed with a bug flew out from all over the room where they'd been hiding and proceeded to hover between the girls. Momo recognized that they were supposed to look like a rabbit, bee, horse, mouse, tiger that was red for some reason, goat, dog and of all things a dragon if she had to guess though that was the one that she wasn't sure about. They also all looked like the plushies she'd seen in Adrien's room which brought a question to her lips.
"The things in Agreste's room…" Momo began.
"Were the male kwamis that are living with him being risky and annoying for some reason." Marinette grumbled. "These are 8 of the 9 female ones, well female personality as they're apparently genderless. The one I know best is call Tikki, she's the ladybug kwami that was tied to me before the incident that sent Adrien and me her, and she's gone to inform Mage of the situation. He's the one who saved us and had everything ready for when we returned. You're going to want to be ready for that. Also, before you ask Nezu knows all of this, and we are only here because of his approval and intervention."
"I guess that makes sense." Momo said understanding more if the Principal was supporting the French duo as she continued to stare wide eyed at the kwamis, at least that's what she thought Marinette had called them, trying to figure them out. "These creatures, they're real?"
"We most certainly are miss." The horse said in French in a rather posh sounding feminine voice. "We are kwamis and we are thousands of years old."
"They can talk!" Momo exclaimed shocked not expecting that at all.
"They are kwamis and we all have names." The horse said sounding indignant. "I'm called Kaalki, and I am a noble steed."
"The others are called Pollen, Mullo, Longg, Ziggy, Fluff, Barkk, and Roarr." Marinette said gesturing to the bee, mouse, dragon, goat, rabbit, dog, and tiger kwamis in turn as she mentioned their names. "And in case you are confused, Longg is the Dragon Kwami."
"Oh, er sorry." Momo said not sure what else to say as she looked around at the creatures. "Um, what are kwamis?"
"Kwamis are magical creatures that come into being when a certain concept is created by mankind that we embody." Kaalki said. "We are divine spirit like beings but until Mage found a way to bind us to this earth through the creation of Miraculous, an item made from pure magic that is usually an accessory of some sorts, that allows us to take a physical form in this world the way you see."
"An item?" Momo asked trying to follow the talking horse, kwami, thing.
"Yes it is called a Miraculous, mine just happens to be a pair of sunglasses." Kaalki said. "If a human puts on our Miraculous they can, with an activation phrase, transform into a superhuman with enhanced attributes, the general ones like strength, speed, agility, and stamina, and for some of us like Plagg specific sense depending on our animal, and our human can use a power that is tied to the attribute we are. For me, I am the Kwami of Teleportation and I grant my human the ability to make a portal to another location so long as they can picture that location. Also, while we can use our powers without a human bonded to us, in all cases but mine they tend to have some rather strange side effects."
"Kaalki, you know that's not true." Marinette said to the rather full of herself kwami. "But thankfully, because your powers are magic, I can use Tikki's power to rectify it back to normal but the questions that would be asked would be too hard to answer."
"I have no idea what you are saying Marinette." Kaalki said folding her hooves and looking away. "I'm perfect."
"I am so lost." Momo said glad she was sitting as she was unable to process all that was going on around her though one thing did strike her hard and she had to ask about it which stopped Marinette's discussion with Kaalki." Wait did you say Mage? As in the guy who is yours and Agreste's legal guardian and a pro hero? How did he create something that is, if you kwamis are to be believed, thousands of years old"
"Yup he's a lot more than he seems as he is the one who created the Miraculouses, but I'll leave that to him." Marinette said and Momo just decided to trust Marinette on that one. "And you better get ready because this is just the beginning."
"Ok, er, beginning of what?" Momo asked.
"My story." Marinette said with a smile. "This was just to give you an overview of the kwamis as they are tied to all of this. Now I'll tell you how Adrien and I got here and by then it should be time for Mage to take us away, but you have to swear on your honor to keep this a secret."
"I will." Momo said nodding at this. "I, I can barely believe this myself, but I just want to know what is going on, so I do swear on my own honor and that of the Yaoyorozu family and its ancestors to keep this a secret. I can understand why you need to keep it a secret and I'll do just that for you."
"Thank you, I'm putting a lot of trust and faith in you Momo, so this means a lot." Marinette said glad to finally get the truth out to one of her new friends. "All this began for what feels like 2 years ago for me but in reality was a lot longer as it was back in 2017 when my life changed forever. Back then I was just 13 and starting the high school part of Francois Dupont. In fact, it was the first day of the semester."
"So, you were normal back then?" Momo asked. "For that era that is?"
"Perfectly, I was what you'd call an ordinary, extremely clumsy, Quirkless girl." Marinette said remembering those days before she got her Miraculous as if they were a few lifetimes ago, which in part they kinda were. "And it was my first day with all my friends and a new classmate in Adrien Agreste and I'll address him in time."
"Ok I do have questions there as well." Momo said.
"Most of our love and how we couldn't act on it because of the love square we were in is true but again in time." Marinette said. "Because all this started when I was about to cross a road near my home and an old man fell onto the road as he was crossing and looked like he'd be run over. I don't know why but my body moved on it's own accord and I save him though all but one of the macarons I'd made for my class on the first day were ruined. He thanked me, ate the macaron that was still good and went on his way."
"That is a good thing to do." Momo said seeing where Marinette's heroic heart came from. "And I take it that it is important."
"It is because that man was the Great Guardian of the Miracle Box, that's what the thing that normally holds the Miraculouses and kwamis is called, at the time." Marinette said. "He was looking for the right people to give two Miraculouses two because one of the two missing Miraculouses, the Moth Miraculous, had resurfaced in Paris where he was as well so he decided to find holders for the most powerful ones as he was too old by that point to fight. They are the Ladybug and Black Cat Miraculouses, the Miraculouses of Creation and Destruction that also symbolize yin and yang, and that's how he tested people to find holders for them."
"Creation and Destruction." Momo said her eyes wide as she realized what that meant. "Your powers."
"Correct I got the Ladybug and Adrien the Black Cat." Marinette said with a nod. "I was surprised at first and even thought of rejecting it as I didn't feel worthy after the first villain fight that the holder of the Moth Miraculous sent at us as he had the power to make a person into a villain if their emotions were negative enough which is actually a perversion of his power. He would send butterflies infused with his power to akumatized them into akumas that were superpowered villains based on what made them negative. He would grant them the power they craved to meet their emotional state in exchange for getting mine and Adrien's Miraculouses that he was acter at the time."
"Huh that is actually quite fitting." Momo said for once glad to hear a word that she recognized. "And based in Japanese folklore."
"It is?" Marinette asked confused.
"Yes, akumas are malevolent fire spirits in our folklore." Momo said. "And they are said to bring afflictions onto humans so that part at least is based in our mythology."
"Huh that is fitting and basically what happened by turning them into a supervillain." Marinette said. "Anyway, when they were turned they had an item that held the akuma, which is actually the powered-up butterfly, in it. We had to destroy the item to beat them and so I'd usually use my Lucky Charm to create an item to accomplish that goal and then figure out how to use what I got. When it became my Quirk the activation changed to an item to accomplish a goal in general, which I could actually do with before, but it could be seen as an abuse of my power, rather than to destroy the akumatized item. Cataclysm is the same as it was only grown a bit with Adrien though it may have worked in flesh before."
"I see so you'd have to face this villain in combat, beat them, and then what, you won?" Momo asked deciding not to dwell on what Agreste's power could be if it affected organic things as well as inorganic. "I mean if you saw real combat it explains a hell of a lot about you Marinette. It certainly explains away your experience if nothing else."
"Pretty much though I also had to purify the akuma of the negative power." Marinette said. "That's something I don't have to do anymore."
"Purify it?" Momo asked confused.
"It was a mistake I made once, the first time in fact because I didn't listen to Tikki fully." Marinette said. "When the item holding the akuma is broken the person goes back to normal but that's it, the damage they did remains as does the akuma itself. To purify it I catch it in my yo-yo, which is magical and all Miraculouses have a magical tool with them, and then release it as an ordinary butterfly. Afterwards I'd throw my charm into the air where the magic in it would break and restore all damage done by magic in that conflict and restore things to normal. That part of my power couldn't be converted into a Quirk as it was too closely tied to the magic to converted I believe, so I don't have it."
"It's hard to imagine your power as both not a Quirk and as more than what it already is." Momo admitted. "And you always did this?"
"The first time I didn't and had to clean up the mess which is basically the akuma can multiply and affect more people if not purified so I have to find the original again, which would akumatized the same person again, and do so." Marinette said. "It was during that second encounter that I found the resolve to be the hero Paris needed when we learned we were facing a villain called Hawk Moth, and it was when Adrien fell for me as Ladybug while he was Cat Noir at the time. Over the next 2 or so years we would face about 50 or so akumatized people, including all of my friends, some multiple times, and family members. That's where I get my experience and leadership from."
"Ok I am slowly getting this." Momo said rubbing her head as she tried to follow everything that Marinette was saying. "But I need a few more details I guess, before we get to the whole how you are here thing."
"Ask and I will answer." Marinette said. "And I'll answer honestly no matter how unbelievable they might be."
"Alright first off, you said you got a Miraculous." Momo said. "Do you still have it on you? I am a little confused on what they actually are."
"Yup and you've already seen it a fair few times as they hide in plain sight." Marinette said pulling up her shirt just enough to reveal that her original navel piercing was back it. "What do you think this is? This is my Miraculous. Adrien's is his ring that he always wears."
"Oh." Momo said but she was still confused as Marinette lowered her shirt. "But it works like one of Technus's costumes? How can it be a Miraculous as you claim."
"That is part of our cover." Marinette explained. "Technus and Mage are both Guardians and the former helped the latter for our cover. He developed an actual nanotech version of a Miraculous that could be operated with a fingerprint and does actually have costume contracts with all the top schools in Europe. When we arrived and agreed to continue being heroes only having to go through proper channels for it as if we were today what we once were we'd be vigilantes, Mage changed our Miraculouses to work like that to explain them away though they are still magical and do enhance our attributes even more. Mine is identical to the one I wore in Paris minus the mask while Adrien's is slightly altered to be less cat-like. Also, mine was changed."
"Changed?" Momo asked. "It wasn't always a navel piercing?"
"Originally they were earrings." Marinette said gesturing to her earlobes where she wore a simple pair of studs at all times as again she was just used to them. "But with how the costume would have to work it had to be different. Mage could change it, but it had to remain as a piercing and, well, my navel was the best place for it to go hence why I have a piercing there despite it not really being my thing."
"I'm just going to have to take your word on it though it does make some sense." Momo said before picking up on something else that Marinette had said. "But wait, if your costume is the same as Paris then, um, how did you keep your identity a secret."
"Magic." Marinette said. "That or sheer stupidity from everyone who knew me are the only explanations for how it worked. No one knew who held the Miraculouses when they were used hence why I didn't know Adrien was Cat Noir who loved Ladybug and while I as Marinette loved Adrien not knowing he returned it. All that is actually true, we spent 2 years in a frustrating love square that was only answered when we got to the future and found out when our transformations fell after being active for 230 years. Also, though I hadn't used it before the incident, which is a reason why we couldn't return, once a power is used a holder has 5 minutes before changing back and the kwami has to eat to recharge before you can transform again, that was incorporated into our Quirks."
"Um ok I guess I can see that as an explanation and the whole love square has always made sense, so I don't need to visualize that at all." Momo said. "So, moving on, who is this Hawk Moth?"
"We don't know he actually is and when he has the Miraculous powered up he does have a full mask, so we had no hope of finding out." Marinette said. "We only saw him three times in battle and failed to beat him the first two times while the third was the incident that I'll get to. The first was in a mass fight where he'd powered himself up somehow and that we needed help with so 3 temporary holders were used and the second was when he had an ally in the field who needed rescuing as we were about to beat her. She was another villain using the power of the other missing Miraculous, the Peacock Miraculous, to try and get our Miraculouses for Hawk Moth."
"Why?" Momo asked, it was the first of a few questions that she had after that. "Why did he want them?"
"Because two Miraculouses can be fused together to power them up but only two at once should be done due to the power." Marinette said. "And never the most powerful ones in mine and Adrien's as that can grant a wish but at a cost of something of equal value and never with the Rabbit Miraculous but again I'll address that in time as it is important for the incident. I've only done it once when my identity was threatened, and I used the Mouse Miraculous and its multiply power to combine a few others as I rescued the kwamis from that villain that could actually capture them. That way I could pretend to be one of the helpers and not Ladybug thus preserving my identity."
"Again, I'll take your word for it though if I could see a transform I 'd understand more I think." Momo said. "But first, um, the helpers? What are they? Other holders?"
"They are temporary allies, all friends of mine, entrusted with a Miraculous by me to finish a tough villain that required additional help to defeat." Marinette said. "I would know we needed one when my Lucky Charm created an item that was in the Great Guardian's apartment who I knew by then and I'd know I needed to see him in order to get an ally. It had to be someone who would work well with us, would be useful against the villain we were facing, and using a Miraculous that had the power needed to win."
"Oh, I see." Momo said getting it she though. "And you did this a few times?"
"It wasn't until my second year as Ladybug but yes I did it a handful of times." Marinette said with a nod. "In my time, I've temporarily assigned the Fox Miraculous which gives the power of Illusion, the Bee Miraculous which gives the power of Subjection, the Turtle Miraculous which gives the power of Protection, the Horse that you already know about, the Snake Miraculous which gives the power of Intuition, and the Dragon Miraculous which gives the power of Perfection in situations in which they were required."
"That seems like a fair few." Momo said.
"Other than the Fox most were once or twice total." Marinette said. "Plus, I've also used the Mouse Miraculous which gives the power of Multiplication, in conjunction with some others, myself while the Great Guardian has temporarily assigned the Monkey Miraculous which gives the power of Derision and seen the Rabbit in action due to a strange akuma I fought once. In total I've seen 13 of the 19 in action with only the Goat, Pig, Tiger, Ox, Dog, and Rooster still unused in my time. Also, yes, 12 of them seemed to be based of the Chinese zodiac though why goat and not ram I don't know, while are the 5 elements of Chinese mythology, and two are yin and yang as all were made in Tibet."
"Ah that does explain it a lot." Momo said deciding that all this had to have some Chinese myth roots though how they ended up in France was a mystery and one that not even Marinette knew the full story on. "And Kagami was entrusted with the Dragon one, right? She said as much and now the whole Dragon Miraculous and akumatization stuff in her note on that picture makes sense."
"Correct I entrusted it with her on that very day we became friends, which is as I said it was a paired scavenger hunt day event where I was paired with Kagami." Marinette said. "During the day, her mother was akumatized because of her rage at Kagami defying her by partaking in the event and not training and she couldn't be brought down by me and Adrien alone. My Lucky Charm then told me that I had to call in help. I realized that she was the best for it and that given the situation, enemy, and Kagami's personality that the Dragon Miraculous, so Longg's, made sense."
"That's me." Longg said helpfully. "My Miraculous is a choker necklace and Kagami was my human the one time I was used. She took the name Ryuko as her hero name and we helped save her mother."
"A fitting name as that can mean dragon in Japanese." Momo said. "In fact, the number 9, or maybe unofficial 8 now that All Might has retired, hero is the Dragoon Hero: Ryukyu can turn into a large western dragon with her Dragon Quirk."
"Huh that does explain Kagami's choice in name." Marinette said. "But, um, the Quirks her grandchildren had."
"What about them?" Momo asked.
"Well, they, er, kinda match the powers that Longg gives when she's bonded with a human." Marinette said. "The Dragon Miraculous's tool is a sword, and the power is a trifold power. The wielder can turn into water, wind, and lighting once each when powered up and then has to power down to recharge Longg once all 3 have been used."
"Oh." Momo said her eyes wide.
"Yup it's, um, a big coincidence that Mage will want to know about." Marinette said as she got up and looked at the kwamis to show a demonstration that Momo had asked for. "But you wanted to see a transformation, right?"
"Huh, oh yeah." Momo said with a nod. "It will help me understand this a lot more. Consider it visual proof of what you claim."
"Very well, Mullo can you bring me your Miraculous." Marinette said looking at the floating mouse kwami. "I'll use yours as I've used it before and Tikki isn't here."
"Right Marinette." Mullo said with a squeak as she flew off to the sowing box, vanished through it and then returned a moment later with a pendant showing that the Miraculouses were hidden there.
The pendant was a circular, dark gray, disk with 5 lighter gray markings and 5 pink mice in a circle on the front hanging from a light pink string that was attached to it via a similarly colored bead. She gave it to Marinette who put it on, and it turned into a dark grayish Chinese style coin on a bluish black string.
"Um what happened?" Momo asked confused at the sudden change that had no explanation for it other than, well, magic. "Why did it change?"
"Camouflage mode to fit the user's style." Marinette said. "It's so that a Miraculous can be worn openly without being seen. Adrien's ring when active is black with a cat's pawprint in green on it but when not it's a simple gray one. Anyway, Mullo, Get Squeaky."
Momo gasped as Mullo let out a joyous squeak and was sucked into the pendant turning in a spinning fashion, turning it back to how it was originally in the process. Marinette just smiled as she transformed in a flash of pink light, the skin tight costume seeming to replace her clothing as her hair changed and a pink jump rope with black handles appeared out of nowhere that Marinette grabbed and used a few times before tying it around her waist to complete the transformation.
All the Japanese girl could do was gape at the transformation. Marinette now stood before her in a similar skintight costume to her normal one only this was all light gray with black sleeves from her hands to mid biceps and same with the black leggings from feet to mid-thigh before a pink band at the top of the black and then the gray that covered Marinette's chest, waist, upper arms and upper thighs. She also had a black neck covering with a pink V before the gray chest and the pendant now on the costume at the bottom of the V.
In addition, Marinette also now had a gray mask over her eyes though the bottom part was pink with black borders. Lastly her hair had changed to be two buns held with pink string.
"See, this is a transformation with the Miraculous." Marinette said showing it off with a twirl. "As you saw me transform you know it's me but no one else would. Well other than Adrien as he, as Cat Noir, saw me transform out of this though that was part of a ruse to avoid Cat Noir learning who I was at the time and a bit of a longer story that I'll tell you some other time."
"Yeah I can tell it's you but for some reason I only know that because you showed me." Momo said still amazed at what she was seeing as this was proof of at least the magic part. "This certainly helps but how'd your hair change?"
"Yeah we aren't sure how that one works but your hair can change when you use a Miraculous." Marinette said with a shrug. "Happens when it's not the Ladybug Miraculous and it's happened to some of my friends when they've used a Miraculous. The one time I used Adrien's due to a mix up problem thanks to a fashion shoot we were doing my hair became a braid that came down to my knees when I used the Black Cat Miraculous."
"That I can't imagine." Momo said shaking her head. "I'm so used to your hair as it is that I can't visualize it long."
"It was a sight for sure now let me show you the power that this gives me." Marinette said. "Multitude!"
Momo again gasped as Marinette shrunk and cloned herself multiple times, shrinking with each change until many tiny Marinette's were running around the room doing various things around it as if all had their own agendas, which they did. She kept this up for a few minutes before reforming into her full form. Once she did there was a beeping sound and a flash from the pendant and Marinette let the transformation fall so that she was normal again.
"And that is how one works." Marinette said as she went to her fridge and pulled out some cheese she had in it just in case Plagg came around and gave it to a grateful Mullo. "Now Mullo is recharging so she can be used to transform again. Before you ask, I don't know much about how they were used after the advent of Quirks though Mage once said that worthy Quirkless people were given them so that they could be heroes as well."
"Oh ok." Momo said as she processed what she'd just seen that had really backed up what Marinette had said while Marinette took off the pendant and handed it back to Mullo to put away. "So that just leaves me with one remaining question. How did you get here?"
"That, that was unexpected and when we learned what had happened and that we couldn't go back, well it was an adjustment for sure." Marinette admitted as they got to the toughest part, and she sat down. "Honestly, it's hard to explain what happened."
"You don't have to if you don't want to." Momo said.
"No, it's the last thing I have to tell." Marinette said. "Though first I should explain the thing that caused all this, the Rabbit Miraculous."
"Marinette, you know I am sorry for all this." Fluff said flying over to her. "I've tried to see if I can use Burrow to let you see them, but time isn't allowing me, and you know it's problematic for me to use my power without a human."
"It's ok Fluff." Marinette said cupping her hands to hold the kwami. "I don't blame you at all, you were like Nooroo and Duusu, used for evil by a supervillain for his own ends. You didn't have choice in the matter. Don't worry, I'm in the future and seeing them again would be too tough knowing that it would be temporary if it was possible, they wanted me to move on to be myself because they knew in their hearts that I was ok, same with Adrien, and that's all that counts. The past is in the past, it is time to move on into the future, to evolve with the times we are now in. You are the Kwami of Evolution, you understand."
"I do but I won't stop trying to make it up to you." Fluff said before flying off still looking sad.
"Sorry." Marinette said looking at Momo who was just smiling at the touching moment. "Fluff, Nooroo and Duusu, those are the Moth and Peacock kwamis respectively who were used by Hawk Moth until he relinquished them after the incident for some reason, still feel bad but we are all getting over it together."
"I can't imagine." Momo admitted. "Any of this."
"It's too hard to and if it didn't happen to me I couldn't either." Marinette said. "As for what happened, well it all comes down to the Rabbit Miraculous which is a stopwatch. That Miraculous is known as the Miraculous of last resort because its power, Burrow, allows you to burrow through time and space."
"Um what?" Momo asked. "That sounds insanely powerful."
"It is and very dangerous, arguably the most dangerous Miraculous on its own." Marinette said. "Hence why it is the last resort one. However, it is also the only Miraculous that can exist in two places at once because of its nature. There is one in the Miraculous Box and another in the hands of the family charged with guarding it, which turned out to be my friend Alix's. She had the other one. The power of time is too great to be properly messed with and has a lot of checks on it apparently to prevent serious misuse. One of those checks is that it can't be fused with another Miraculous lest the result be permanent."
"I guess that makes some sense." Momo said thinking on it. "A wise check on the power."
"It is and it had never been violated." Marinette said. "Hell, I only once encountered the Miraculous in use and that was due to a time traveling akumatized victim and it was used to counter it with an adult, very punk, Alix using it, again story for another time. Anyway, somehow Hawk Moth got his hands on it and fused it with his own Moth Miraculous which grants the power of Transmission. For whatever reason that not even Mage could understand as it had never been done, when it was used against us as Hawk Moth came personally, the third time we saw him, to beat us as he thought he had the power to win now, it didn't work as intended. What it did was blast Adrien and me out of the timeline and into some place in the distant future."
"You were blasted out of the timeline?" Momo asked confused.
"Yup." Marinette said as she thought about how Mage had described it to them to describe to Momo. "Think of time as a linear line, we were sent from where we were in 2019 out of it and thrown forward to a point in the future. The only way for us to return to the timeline, a check on the time powers of the Rabbit Miraculous it seems, was for time to catch up with us and no one knew what country we were going to be in until about a year before when apparently. Turned out we'd reappear in Japan, Tokyo to be precise, and the year was 2248 when they learned this so 2249 when we came back. That's when time caught up with us and Adrien and I returned."
"So, what were you doing for 230 years?" Momo asked still trying to process it, she'd have to draw it out later to see it visually if she could as that might be the best way to visualize it.
"No idea." Marinette said surprising her. "We were basically frozen in some sort of stasis out of time and space but parallel to some point in the future. We came back when the timeline reached where we were. To us it just felt like seconds, one moment we were hit by the unknown fusion at the time, the next we are on a rooftop in Tokyo at night and on the brink of a panic attack as it's the future, I don't have a charm to correct it, we now know who the other is, oh and people have these weird mutations."
"Oh, that must have been jarring." Momo said realizing that mutant Quirks would have been an especially shocking revelation to them beyond the normal Quirk stuff.
"It was but thankfully Mage had been preparing and waiting for this moment." Marinette said. "So, he was there right after we appeared, helped calm us down, took us in, explained everything, used his powers to alter our DNA by tapping into our exposure to the Miraculouses we used and their magic to turn their transformation and base power into our Quirks, and had prepared the full backstory they'd been working on since it became clear that no one we knew would be alive when we returned. The advent of Quirks was 10 or so years after we disappeared and they used that, the devastation of the Quirk Wars, and the rise of the Hero Society that came from it to their advantage."
"They did?" Momo asked. "How?"
"That we will find out soon." Marinette said. "Should be…"
Before Marinette could finish both girls suddenly vanished leaving just the kwamis there who knew what had happened and acted as if nothing was going on as they returned to what they were doing before. The girls had been teleported away with magic to where they needed to be, Tikki no doubt was there and sorting it out and Mage was just waiting for the right moment. It was time for Momo to talk to Mage and learn even more unbelievable truths. The night for the girls was far from over as the talks continued.
Sorry, this time I actually didn't mean to leave on a sorta cliffhanger, but this chapter turned out to be a lot longer than I anticipated and the next one is already 9k with a completed draft so will be around the 12k length when all is said and done so between the two chapters it would have easily been 20k and unless I can't split up a chapter (or need to get a lot into one) I try to avoid hitting that high a word count. As such I broke the chapter up into two, as I've done with the first chapter in the return to the canon stuff after this, to be a bit more manageable by my standards and bring this original arc to 3 chapters in length. Anyway, the only thing I really have to say about this chapter is that I chose Mullo for the demonstration because that's the one Marinette has used so I could use a canon visual for it. Remember, the incident occurred during season 3, towards the end so a few episodes like the final two and Cat Blanc at least didn't occur, so Kagami only ever used a Miraculous once and Marinette's only fusion was when she used the Mouse Miraculous in Kwamibuster. That's all I have for now though so I will leave this chapter off here. If you like it or have any questions please let me know in reviews or PMs, I will try to answer them as best I could and post any questions asked between uploads at the start of the next chapter and do follow and favorite this, so you are alerted to future uploads. Do keep the reviews coming as I like hearing from y'all as you enjoy my work, it motivates me to keep producing the best work I can for y'all to enjoy. Until next time.
Stringdog
