When you live forever...

Seeing something old is sometimes better then seeing something new.

'Writer's block. That is my only excuse. I apologize.'

-Writer

———————

Adrian

I detransformed on top of a rooftop, once I made sure the roof was clear. Panting, I laid down, enjoying the cool air.

Mime wasn't even hard to defeat, but he ran around like crazy. It had tired me out more than I thought it would.

The sound of Mari's yo-yo made me crack an eye open. She usually had cheese in her purse, and Plagg was mewling on my stomach either way. She sat indian style next to me, tapping my shoulder before handing a cheese square to Plagg. She had sat next to a machine of some sort, and now she was leaning against it, tired as well.

"Wasn't… that fun?" I panted.

"Extra." Mari murmured, closing her eyes. "I love chasing invisible cars around a city full of pedestrians."

The door to the roof flew open, and Alya walked through, phone on but tucked away. Upon seeing us, she turned it off. "They've disappeared again! Thanks for watching, and make sure to tune in next time on the LC Blog, the best blog for your superhero needs! Bye!"

I waited for her to walk over before speaking. "How'd you get up here? I'm pretty sure half of those floors are locked."

Alya grinned. "Ever since I saw Mari do her gymnastics tricks, I started practicing them… all of these Paris buildings are surprisingly climbable. Went window to window, inside and out."

Mari placed her hand on her head. "Don't do that again. Please."

"No promises." Alya looked both of them over. "You both look like actual crap. How much sleep did-"

She never finished. I turned to look at her, before scrambling up, surprised. Mari made a sound next to be, jumping up as well. Alya was no longer there, but a knight stood in her spot, another one behind her. "Youth of today!" The other knight announced. "Come take your spot next to your new ruler, Darkblade!"

X.

We were tired- the kwami barely had a chance to gain energy back and we weren't prepared. The only thing that helped us get away was Tikki distracting the man, tickling him on accident.

As I ran towards the rooftop door, behind Mari, he spoke again. "Adrian, my most prized apprentice! Take your place by my side!"

Apprentice? I've never seen the man before-

"Oh no." I breathed.

"What?" Mari asked, shouldering a door open and closing it behind us. "What, oh no?"

"That's Mr. D'Argencourt, my fencing teacher." I explained.

"You take fencing?" Mari asked, surprised.

"Is this really the time?!"

We jumped down the staircases, reaching the bottom in a few minutes. Running out the backdoor, we ran into the subway, leaning onto a pillar as he passed by, searching. Mari let out a breath, wiping her face, which shined with a thin layer of sweat. "This is bad. This is bad. I don't think the kwami can have another fight right afterwards like this-"

"Hey, hey." I put a hand under her chin, lifting her face up to me. She was beat red, gasping as she inhaled and exhaled. "It's okay. It's going to be okay. We'll beat this akuma just like the last ones. The kwami are eating now."

As if to prove it, Tikki floated up to rub her cheek against Mari's, eliciting a smile from the girl. "We'll be fine, Marinette."

"Speak for yourself." Plagg complained in a mewl. "I'm so faint right now…"

"Over dramatic." I snorted. "Just please, Transform me."

X.

Finding him had been easy- he was marching his entire army of knights to town hall, flag raised in the air. I landed on the side of the roof, holding on with a single hand as I surveyed the damage. "I don't see any casualties. No injured."

Mari breathed out a sigh of relief as she flew past on her yo-yo, landing closer to the top of the building. "What is he planning on doing?"

I squinted to look at him better, before calling out. "Hey, Tin can! That army of yours is lookin' preeeetty tiny!"

Darkblade looked up, fixing his eyes on us. "Acrobats? In skin suits? Are you my new entertainers? You must get better jokes!"

"Hey!" I squawked indignantly. "Well excuuuse me! My jokes are purrfectly pawsome!" I turned to shake my head at Mari. "I am offended."

Mari groaned.

"You shame the jester name with your mess of a joke!" Darkblade roared, suddenly quite mad. Because of a pun? Damn. Tough crowd. He pulled his sword out, "Come at thee! And face your punishment!"

I blinked. "Pun-ishment? Seriously?" I turned to Mari. "And you thought I was pawful!"

I gave a chuckle to the glare she gave me, before yowling like a cat when a wooden board sailed a few inches over my head. The knights were throwing stuff at us with a makeshift catapult. I don't even know how to explain the catapults themselves, but hey, I guess if it works…

It happened almost faster then I was ready for.

At one moment, Darkblade stood intimidatingly in front of an army of brainwashed Paris citizens, the next he was on the ground, squawking at a large furry dog licking his face. What?

Two more dogs joined the first, and they all dived at the man, attacking him with nose nudges, face licks, and, worst of all, slobber. I didn't know whether to be scared or laughing.

One of the dogs nudged the man, taking something between its teeth and running up to us. Darkblade slumped to the floor as the dog dropped the akuma into my hands. I blinked at both the akuma and the dog, gingerly breaking the akuma as the dog turned and trotted away.

Ladybug looked at me with a grin as she waited for me to finish my part of our job. "What?" I asked.

She only smiled larger. "Don't you recognize it?" She said softly. "That was Mason's power."

X.

I was a little pessimistic.

Yes, Mason was great at sneaking around, hiding when need be- but she never did that to us, only to those she didn't like. She would've showed herself by now, especially if that was her helping us.

I was pondering this as I huddled farther into my light jacket. It was cold, and I hadn't put on a heavier jacket when I transformed. Mari grabbed my hands, warming them with her own gloved fingers as we walked home. "What are you thinking about?"

Even though it was just a question to get my mind off of my freezing body, I still answered it truthfully. "I'm thinking-" I murmured. "About what you said. Where is she, if she's here?"

Mari looked up, sad. "What do you think she's doing?"

I paused, her words dawning on me. "Gabe."

She was hunting him. If she found him, there was no way she wasn't aiming to kill. The thought sent shivers down my spine. As a child, Mason had to mature, but she was always the innocent one. Thousands of years... years of turmoil... it sucked that out of her.

I looked up, people watching as we passed through a park. There was a couple that caught my attention. They were playing as snow dusted the ground. The girl wore a fashionable outfit, and her grey beanie reminded me of someone. She was laughing, joy high in her voice as she jumped on the man's back playfully. They both fell to the ground, giggling.

They were both so happy. They looked familiar for some reason but I could only focus on the fact that I wish the girl didn't remind me so much of what Mason use to be. I haven't seen her smile like that girl did for centuries.

"Excuse me." A voice said behind us. We turned to see a man with a low hat, a stick in hand. "But staring isn't polite."

"Sorry." I murmured, embarrassment reddening my cheeks. "I didn't realize."

"You can make it up to me with some of Netta's croissants."

I froze.

The guy grinned, taking off his hat and oh my Paris it was Fred. The couple walked over, still smiling and oh wait- "You're getting unobservant in your old age."

I scoffed. "We haven't seen you guys for centuries- and you grew your hair out!"

Mason smiled, and it reminded me of times long forgotten to the world. "That's how easy it is to fool you?"

X.

Marinette

Alya still had her phone out by the time we got to our apartment. She turned it off without a huff before following us to our door.

"It'll be crowded." Adrian said with a knowing smirk. "We have old company."

"Cool." Alya said, before blinking. "Wait, old as in five years ago or old as in you're immortal?"

I just smiled as Adrian opened the door, swinging it wide. On the couch, Mason and George seemed to be wrestling, Mason shouting something about stolen ice cream as Fred watched from the other side of the couch, back towards the door and completely relaxed. Their three kwami flew around the fight as if playing tag, Tikki and Plagg watching from the table.

At the sound of Alya's gasp, Mason's head shot over, tense and alert before calming. George -from his position under Mason, hands holding back her wrists as they playfully tried to wack him- had to tilt his head back from where he almost completely laid on the couch. His eyes twinkled when they caught Alya's. "Oh, Freddie boy…"

That was when Fred finally turned around, giving Alya the first clear view of either the twins faces. Her hand flew to her mouth, eyes widening, and for a second, i thought she might lose her balance.

Fred then smiled. "Allo, Alya. Why, I haven't seen you since you were a baby."