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imthepunchlord · 9 months

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Possibly How It Should Have Been

Gosh, I've just thought about it sometimes, as I'm largely trying to turn my creative focus onto something more enjoyable than ML (hence less writing for ML fics), but sometimes I just can't help but focus on it. Cause it's a great concept and it's butchered and that bothers me so much.

And there's SO MUCH that could've been done to improve it. Some of which could be easy tweaks. Some of which needs massive overhauling. Some of it is just picking a lane, staying in that lane, and you follow the road to progress.

It's a great concept with a LOT of possibilities and ways it could've been done. I've actually thought about possible ML Rewrites a few times, I even reached out to a friend to try and help develop a Rewrite that we could've collabed on cause I was struggling to much to decide, and we both just got stuck cause there's so many options for characters and what could possibly be done as we could see so many pros for each option.

And of course, part of the pondering that came to my mind was seeing promising improvement with kwami swaps.

Like, Marinette and Adrien may have developed better if they had each other's miraculous. Plagg could've been the ideal foil to Marinette as he's the opposite of her in every way, addressing her overworking herself, prioritizing others over herself, and caring so much about her responsibilities that it just weighs and stresses her out. And with Adrien and Tikki, she could've helped him develop as an actual, step up in responsibility, learn to take on duty, to care about others over himself. She also would've helped him get the plot rolling, as Adrien is a stagnant character but Tikki is not. She's going to get him involved into the Agreste plot whether he wants it or not, and in turn, he's going to get Tikki to learn to be more attentive and considerate of her holders cause things can go south for Adrien very quickly if she pushes too much.

Gosh, another great kwami swap that could've been done that could've improved a lot was switching up who are the leads. I always wondered if Tikki and Plagg TRULY would've picked Marinette and Adrien, also if they were even the right picks now that we know that Fu doesn't know everything and is running on limited knowledge. As far as we know, they ARE the wrong picks for these two. And considering there was an ep of Tikki and Plagg picking their own users, I now wonder if Alya and Nino should've been our actual leads.

How Alya was initially as Scarabella screams to me that it would've better served in the Origins as a starting hero. Alya also has promising potential arcs as a starting hero, especially as being a superhero is her living her dream:

There's the struggle of balancing her civilian and hero life, she can learn that the civilian life is just as important.

She can learn that being a hero isn't all glory and isn't always easy.

She can learn the importance of secrecy, and what happens if she exposes herself to the public or to a friend (probably Marinette).

And a lot of the lessons Tikki is involved with would make more sense with Alya, who does get tunnel vision and isn't good at listening to others and isn't so considerate and can be very pushy with her own agenda. Alya naturally aims for the leadership position and Tikki wants her Ladybugs to be leaders, so Tikki can help guide Alya to improve as a leader. Lastly, Alya will challenge Tikki on her call outs, which could at certain points help established that Tikki isn't always right and is open to learn and adapt too. And Alya could busy herself looking into HM, making her theories and being nosy about his identity, which Tikki would readily be apart of and encourage. Which Alya should've done in the show than recklessly trying to expose the heroes identity to the public and help HM win. Which, if Adrien wasn't a hero, maybe that should have been his role instead, which Gabriel could encourage and Adrien is even more excited cause he thinks his father is taking an interest in what he does which can be some later Adrien angst for you.

With Nino and Plagg, the BIGGEST plus is that it would actually give Nino SOMETHING outside Alya and Adrien. It would've prompt him to get more focus, and based on what's seen, he's 2nd to Marinette in having the most friends, meaning he can be more engaging and present with what happens to his classmates. Plagg also could bring some needed chaos to his life. You can even expand upon what's seen in Horrificatr where Nino can be controlling, strict, and harsh so Plagg can work on that. Nino does have some similarities to Marinette where he does care a lot for his friends and is hardworking, so there's something there to make Plagg a bit of a foil to him. To expand on Nino's role as Alya embraces being the big hero and savior, could even do the fandom popular idea of him getting Guardian training.

With those two taken, this nicely opens up others getting the Five.

Marinette can work with either Bee or Fox. If you want to work off Chloe vs Marinette, it works best if Marinette has the Bee. Though I think Pollen's personality should be overhauled, but if not, at least there's a perk that yes man Pollen going to force Marinette to take initiative and decide things for herself instead of seeking advise from her kwami. And with Fox, that can work off Marinette being a meddler, schemer, being creative, and her more inclined to work from the shadows. There could also be a fun twist to explore with Marinette not liking liars and she has a miraculous tied to deception, plus her and Trixx could've been an interesting pair to see interact, especially if working off what's seen in Sapotis where Trixx is very observant and manipulative, but also a bit of a chaotic gambler (from what I've seen, later seasons seem to ruin Trixx as a character). And of course, Marinette having Fox could work off her vs Lila, you could even dabble in her vs Felix.

Arguably, Chloe MAY grow as Alya and Nino would NOT have been so tolerant of her unlike Marinette and Adrien, so Chloe could've gotten the Bee and actually be a good hero and character for it. But that can also come down to preference and how you want Chloe to go.

Adrien could've gotten the Turtle, which I think could've been one of the best miraculous he could've gotten as he naturally likes to be a protector, and this miraculous works off that while also giving him protection. Wayzz also could've maybe addressed Adrien readily sacrificing himself, help him learn to be more cautious instead of rushing in, or at least think and be smart about how you go forward. There's even a possibility of Adrien having Turtle full time, as Nino could share his suspicions with Fu about Gabriel, so Wayzz could be there as a spy to check things out, which would have Adrien eventually get involved in his own plot, but still allow things to be at a slower pace. And as Wayzz, ideally, seems to be serious and dedicated but also playful and open minded, I think he would be very engaging with Adrien, which in turn could mean that when Adrien needs a call out, he would listen to what Wayzz had to say more (as most of the time Adrien ignores what Plagg says).

As for the leads, both would have an equal neutral involvement in the plot that can explain why things don't resolve quickly (looking at you Adrien who won't even ask questions about the suspicious book your father has). Alya would be a hero and lead for glory and self-righteousness, Nino would be to genuinely help others. Neither would have a super close tie to Gabriel, allowing him to sit under their noses for a while.

Also, gosh, you even could've had a lot of fun with color coded rivals/foils/personal antagonists for Alya and Nino.

If you really wanted to do Alya vs Lila, let Lila actually have the Fox or maybe she bought the Fox in Volpina, and this has Alya and Lila having the miraculous the other is color coded for. She could work off being a hero initially for the wrong reasons, just like Alya who starts for the glory too, as well as integrity vs deception.

Something could also be done between Nino vs Felix, with Nino really color coded for Peacock while Felix is color coded for Cat. Could play off both being ambitious to a fault and being selfish and nosy, but Nino cares more for others vs Felix is more exclusive.

And if expanding to others...

Of course could do Marinette vs Chloe if Marinette has the Bee, Chloe could have the Mouse, which could be funny to see Chloe deal with herself. That might humble her.

As for Adrien... could do him and Max being foils, work off Max getting Horse while largely wearing green, and I think Adrien is most color coded for Horse. Could work off both being perfectionist and could delve into the shared interest of gaming, with Max trying to bring out the competitiveness in Adrien. Could be thinking vs action.

Either way, ML is frustrating cause it's a show with potential and great concepts and it's irritating that it got butchered so. And the most frustrating thing is that there is just so many options to how it could've been done better. And kwami swap wise, these are my top two picks that would've been better.

Thank you for coming to my TED talks.

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lea-panthera · 2 years

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And here's the sixth part!

Chapter 15: The First Sentidemon

“You really don’t need to help, Marieta. I’ve got this.”

Marinette rolls her eyes and threads her needle with white thread. “I want to, Kit. You’ve done so much for us.”

Queenie comes into the living room with a platter of freshly baked macarons. Pollen sits on her shoulder, watching them with a prim but soft expression on her tiny face.

“Yes, you have,” Queenie says firmly, setting the platter on the carpet. She gently takes the needle and fabric from Kit’s hands. “And you’re going to relax now while Mari and I finish the outfits.”

Kit smiles tiredly and sits down on the ground. The kwamis land on her shoulders, head, lap, and neck, nuzzling her as they eat their macarons. Marinette grabs a macaron and passes another one to Queenie, careful to not get any on the fabrics.

"Are those cookies I smell?" Ajax's voice floats in from the kitchen.

Kit giggles. "Over here, Ajax!"

He walks in and promptly sits down beside Kit. He grabs multiple macarons and leans his head on Kit's shoulder as Plagg gulps down the rest of his cheese and lands beside Tikki on the arm of Marinette's chair.

"Avis and Philip are in the Multiverse Burrow," Ajax informs them. "They're trying to track the sentidemons that aren't in Sector 21."

"I wonder how Roi Paon managed to travel and export sentidemons between universes without the Horse or the Rabbit miraculouses," Kit muses aloud, running her fingers through Ajax's neon green hair. He hums, satisfied.

"He probably created a sentidemon to do so," Marinette says.

Suddenly, a portal opens up in the living room, and Chevalapin jumps out, startling everyone there. Queenie shrieks, Kit scrambles back, and Ajax and Marinette automatically jump up and assume fighting positions. They relax at seeing who it is, but then tense again at the panicked expression on his face.

"There's a sentidemon attacking the Paris in Queenie's universe," he says, and Queenie's eyes widen.

Marinette exchanges a glance with Kit. "This is going to be our first battle with a sentidemon," she says, turning to the now pale Queenie, "but I think we can handle it. This is like...an experiment. We'll try over and over again with this one and find what works for us. We can do this."

Queenie takes a deep breath, then nods, standing up. "You're right. Let's do this."

"Where's Zara?" asks Chevalapin.

"Napping in the bedroom," replies Kit, getting up.

"We'll get her. Get Avis out of the Multiverse Burrow and recharge your kwamis, Philip. We'll meet you back here," Marinette says, grabbing Queenie's hand and following Kit to the girls' bedroom.

"Please hurry!" Chevalapin calls after them.

Chapter 16: Brothers And Sisters

The two Adriens watch the three go, then Chevalapin enters the portal and comes back out with Avis, who’s dressed in an indigo tank top with silver cherry blossoms along the neckline and white capris.

“We’re going to battle that sentidemon,” Ajax tells her. “The other girls are changing in the bedroom.”

Avis gives him a nod and heads off in that direction.

Chevalapin closes the portal and detransforms. “You guys need to recharge and get ready for battle,” Philip tells the kwamis. They fly off to the kitchen.

Ajax notices that Philip’s hands are shaking.

“Phil,” he says, “you good?”

Philip shudders and covers his eyes with a hand. “This is going to be my first time battling a sentidemon after…after what happened,” he replies quietly.

Ajax places a hand on Philip’s shoulder. “It’s going to be okay this time around. Besides, we aren’t facing the entire army right now. Just one. We’ll be okay, Philip.”

Philip just shakes his head. "How will we be okay, Ajax? Only Zara and I have fought them before, and they defeated us with little effort. Everything we’ve practiced, everything we’ve done so far…it’s all theory. The real thing requires experience.”

“But we won’t gain experience if we don’t fight one ourselves, Phil,” Ajax cuts in. “Think about it: this one is on its own. We fight it, most likely defeat it, and then we can reflect and come up with a better game plan. If Mari can look through the grimoire and find something that can help upgrade our powers by then, then great! We’ll be much closer to defeating Roi Paon himself!”

Philip hesitates. “I just don’t want to see any of you get hurt. I dragged you into this. If I had just recognized who Roi Paon was-“

“You’re not the cause of this, Philip,” Ajax says sharply. “Don’t forget, I lived under the roof of my archnemesis, too. In fact, it was only after you and Zara revealed his identity to us that I realized that it was him.”

Philip says nothing.

“Phil, we’re ready to fight by your side. Zara loves you more than the sun and moon, and the other Marinettes consider you to be their brother. And so do I.” Ajax pulls Philip into a side hug. “We signed up for this ourselves, and we’re not backing down.”

Philip grins. “Okay, then. If you say so.”

Ajax grins back and holds out a fist. “L’Espoir…”

“Unite!” Philip cheers, bumping it with his own. The two laugh.

…

Marinette ties her hair back into a high ponytail with a red ribbon. Excitement and nervousness bubble up in her stomach.

Queenie has already changed into her combat suit and is pacing the length of the room, muttering under her breath in a mixture of panic and anger.

“I can’t believe this. The audacity he has to attack my universe and steal the Ladybug-OH NO! THE LADYBUG MIRACULOUS IS WITH CHLOÉ! Oh, this is bad, this is so, so bad! And Adrien’s there too! Oh, if the sentidemon so much as touches him, I’ll send Roi Paon to hell!”

Marinette gives Queenie a hug from behind, trying to stay optimistic. “Whoa, whoa, calm down there, bee. It’s going to be just fine. We’ll kick this sentidemon’s butt, and then Roi Paon’s. Got it?”

Queenie giggles.

Avis dangles upside-down from her bunk. “And you get to see Tortue~.”

Queenie blushes hard as Marinette and Avis roar with laughter. Kit comes in from the bathroom wearing her combat suit and looks at them.

Avis jumps down from her bunk, bounds over to Kit, and throws an arm around her shoulders. “Sing along with me, Kit. Queenie and Tortue, sitting in a tree…”

Kit smirks and joins in. “K-I-S-S-I-N-G!”

Marinette clutches her stomach, wheezing as she tries to control her giggling.

Once they all calm down(and Queenie’s face no longer resembles a tomato), Kit says, “We should probably wake Zara up.”

They somber up as they remember the task at hand.

Marinette strides over to Zara’s bunk and sits at the edge. She places a hand on the sleeping girl’s hip and shakes her slightly. “Zara?”

Zara moans into her pillow. “What?”

“We need to go fight a sentidemon.”

Zara bolts upright. “What?”

“A sentidemon managed to travel to Queenie’s universe,” says Avis. “We’re going out to fight it.”

Zara trembles. Marinette places a hand on her shoulder, concerned. “Zara?” she asks gently. “You don’t need to come if you don’t want to.”

“We understand,” Queenie says softly.

“No! I mean, no, I-I’ll come,” Zara replies. “It’s just that…” She places a hand over Marinette’s and squeezes it. “…I don’t want any of you to get hurt.”

Kit’s lip quirks up. “It’s fine if we get hurt. We’re superheroes. It’s kind of an occupational hazard.”

Zara shoots her a glare. “You’ve been spending way too much time with Ajax.”

Avis snorts, then walks over and hugs Zara. “Don’t worry about us, Zara. We can take care of ourselves.”

All of the Marinettes crowd in for a group hug, Zara crying tears of gratitude. When they part, she wipes her tears and stands up, a determined glint in her eyes. She looks at the four girls, all identical to her, standing in front of her.

Her alternate versions. Her sisters.

“Alright, girls,” Zara says. She winks. “Let’s go kick some sentidemon butt.”

Chapter 17: The Skirmish

L'Espoir stand in a circle in the living room, their kwamis sitting on their shoulders.

"So, once we enter the universe," debriefs Marinette, "Zara will act as bait while the rest of us try to find the amok gem. Once we find it, we'll regroup in the alley behind the bakery and come up with a plan."

"What do we do about Tortue and Red Lady?" asks Zara.

"Avis, Queenie, do you guys mind explaining everything to Tortue? It's likely he won't believe us completely, but just let him know that we're there to help," Marinette says. The pair nods their assent, and Marinette turns to the rest of the group. "I'll handle Red Lady."

"What about Hawkmoth? Are we going to go after him?" Queenie asks.

Zara, Philip, Ajax, and Kit look at each other, then Zara sighs. "I'll take care of him. We know his secret identity because it's the same , so I should be able to catch his civilian self unawares and steal the miraculous from him."

Avis crosses her arms. "You know the identity of Roi Paon, and you didn't tell us? Don't you think we should know?"

"Hey!" Roaar exclaims from his holder's shoulder. "Don't scold Zara!"

“I think we have a right to know,” says Queenie, hurt.

Marinette bites her lip. She feels just as affronted as Avis and Queenie, but she can understand why keeping it a secret might be necessary.

She herself knew all about secrets.

She sighs. "Let's not go into this now. There's not time to waste. But we will want answers later."

Zara nods, then transforms into Tigris. Philip transforms into Chevalapin and Ajax transforms into Chat Nuit. Kit transforms into Vixen and looks at the remaining three Marinettes expectantly.

Avis transforms into a peacock-themed superhero. Her wavy bob becomes longer and dark blue, fading to purple at the tips. The scleras of her eyes become purple, and the irises magenta. Her skin becomes a light shade of blue. Kohl lines her eyes, and the mask around her eyes is dark blue with small pink beads on the rim and silver lace on the exterior. She wears a dress similar to Mayura's, minus the fluff around the neck and wrists. Instead, her hands and forearms are magenta, giving the illusion of long gloves. The material on her legs is also magenta, but the short high-heeled boots she wears are the same dark blue as her dress. The rim of her boots are decorated with magenta and silver swirls.

"I am now Bluebird," she says.

There's a flash of yellow light as Queenie transforms. Her suit is similar to Marinette's in that it's simple and tightly fit. It's highlighter yellow, with black fuzz around the ankles, wrists, and neck. The area around her hips is black, with diagonal yellow stripes. She sports two black stripes on her biceps, forearms, forelegs, and abdomen. The ones on her abdomen meet at her middle, forming two V's, one on top of the other. Her hair forms a ponytail that looks like a stinger with its black and yellow stripes and curled tip. Her mask is black with three gold stripes running through it horizontally.

"I'm Honeybee," she says.

Marinette transforms and says, "And I'm Ladybug. Let's go!"

"Is everyone's earpieces still on?" Kit asks, tapping her ear. There are sounds of assent from around the circle.

Chevalapin opens the portal to the Multiverse Burrow. They all go through the portal to find Chevalapin holding the globe of light that represents Queenie's universe.

"Is everyone ready?" he asks.

Ladybug looks around and nods.

Chevalapin says, "Paris," and lets go of the ball of light as it shows them a vision of a destructive sentidemon ravaging their city. Ignoring the horrified gasps of his comrades, Chevalapin makes the ball bigger by pulling on it and dives into it. The others follow suit.

The next thing they know, they're hurtling out of the sky toward the sentidemon. Ladybug wraps her yo-yo around a statue and her arm around Bluebird's waist and swings the two of them to a nearby rooftop.

"Thanks," Bluebird mutters. "See the amok gem yet?"

Ladybug scans the scene. The destructor is wreaking havoc on the once peaceful city. People are running around, screaming, and many buildings have been crushed.

The destructor itself is about the same height of the Eiffel Tower and is an inky black humanoid, hulking figure with enlarged fists that are out of proportion with its body. It has two glowing red eyes on its face. There's no gem in sight.

"No sign of it," replies Ladybug. She turns to Bluebird, whose attention is directed elsewhere.

"Look, it's Tortue and Red Lady," she responds, gesturing to their right with her chin.

Ladybug turns there to see the heroes standing a few rooftops away. Tortue is doubled over and panting with exhaustion, while Red Lady is yelling at him.

"We need to separate them," Ladybug says, her lucky vision highlighting the Eiffel Tower. "Tortue may hate Red Lady, but he'll probably view a threat to her as a threat to him, too."

"I'll talk with Tortue." Honeybee's voice comes out of Ladybug and Bluebird's earpieces with startling clarity. "I'll try to explain as much as I can to him with the time we have."

"Okay, great," Ladybug replies. "Vixen, we need a distraction."

"On it."

"Chat Nuit, I need you and Chevalier to examine the destructor up close and find the amok gem. Has he recharged yet?"

“I’m ready to go,” says Chevalier.

“Perfect. Tigris, I assume you’re on Hawkmoth’s tail already?”

“Tracking him down as we speak.”

“Okay, let us know when you get his Miraculous. I’ll take care of Red Lady,” says Ladybug, muting the microphone on her earpiece. She sees Honeybee land beside Tortue and smiles as Tortue immediately embraces the bee heroine.

“Bluebird, keep an eye on the fight. Chat Nuit and Chevalier might need help,” Ladybug tells the heroine crouching beside her.

Bluebird gives her a nod. "Got it. Good luck with Red Lady."

Ladybug smirks. "I don't think it'll be necessary."

She swings towards where Red Lady is yelling at Honeybee. Standing between them, arms crossed and glaring at Red Lady, is a defensive Tortue.

Without saying a word, Ladybug picks Red Lady up, slings her over her shoulder, and swings toward the Eiffel Tower.

"HEY!" Red Lady screeches. "PUT ME DOWN, YOU DISGUSTING WANNABE! WHO ARE YOU ANYWAY!?"

Ladybug reaches the highest platform in the Tower and deposits Red Lady on the ground. Before Red Lady can react, Ladybug pulls off her earrings. In a flash of pink light, Tikki flies out, staring at Ladybug, confused, and Red Lady detransforms into Chloé Bourgeois.

"HOW DARE YOU!" The girl yells, getting up and stomping her foot angrily. "WAIT TILL MY DADDY HEARS ABOUT THIS!"

She tries to charge at Ladybug, who dodges her quite easily.

Ladybug wraps her yo-yo around Chloé and stares at her impassively. "Till your daddy finds out that his daughter has been frolicking around Paris in a skin-tight spandex suit, you mean? I bet he doesn't know that yet."

"You're ridiculous," says Chloé. She narrows her eyes at Ladybug. "Utterly ridiculous."

The superheroine rolls her eyes. “Glad to see that you haven’t changed one bit,” she deadpans. “Now, you are going to stay right here while we defeat the sentidemon.”

“And why should I listen to you?”

“Let me put it this way.” Ladybug lets go of Chloé and spins her yo-yo, getting ready to swing away. “If you stay put, then you get your miraculous back. If not, then you can kiss your days of being Red Lady goodbye.”

“HOW DARE YOU-“

“Think about it.” Ladybug wraps her yo-yo around a distant chimney and throws Chloé a mischievous wink that would’ve made Cat Noir proud. “Bug out!”

She smirks as she swings away, Chloé’s incessant yells fading behind her. That smirk, however, quickly disappears when she sees the rest of L’Espoir minus Tigris struggling to battle the sentidemon.

Ladybug turns her muted earpiece back on. “Guys,” she says frantically, “I’ve taken care of Chloé. What’s going on with the sentidemon?”

“Oh, thank the kwamis,” she hears Vixen mutter.

“Ladybug, we need your lucky charm,” says Honeybee, her voice fearful. “We’ve checked everywhere, but there’s no amok gem!”

“What?” Ladybug breathes. “But how is it being controlled, then?”

“I don’t know, bug,” replies Chat Nuit, his voice tense, “but we need to figure that out as fast as we can.”

"Guys, I've dropped off the Butterfly and Peacock miraculouses with Master Fu," says Tigris. "I'm heading over to the scene now. What's the situation?"

"There's no amok gem, apparently," Ladybug replies, trying not to panic.

"What?!?" Tigris shrieks. Ladybug winces at the shrill sound coming through her earpiece. "Can Roi Paon control them from other universes?!?"

"Not possible," Chevalier replies. "There's a range limit as to how far a sentimonster or sentidemon can go before the owner loses control of it. Even if Roi Paon's range limit has increased, it most likely can't go as far as another universe."

"Let's search for it one more time," Ladybug says, "and then I'll use my Lucky Charm."

She hears their assent and turns to Tikki, who has been watching her silently.

"Tikki, take the earrings and hide. Get back to Chloé once the sentidemon's been taken care of."

The red kwami nods and takes the offered earrings. Ladybug watches her fly away, and then determinedly swings into the chaotic battle.

…

Ladybug breathes out heavily, wincing as she stands up and limps toward her fallen yo-yo.

They had been fighting the sentidemon for hours, trying to find the amok gem while attempting to reduce the destruction caused by the sentidemon. They had so far failed to do both.

"Ladybug...do...do the lucky charm." Chat Nuit's weak voice filters in through her earpiece. She spots him leaning heavily on Vixen and clutching his stomach. He looks up and makes eye contact with Ladybug.

"Chat Nuit's right. There's nothing we can lose at this point," Chevalier says gently.

"We can't keep looking for the amok gem, Ladybug, please," Honeybee urges.

Ladybug is too exhausted to argue.

"Lucky Charm!" she cries. She stumbles back in shock when a large red-and-black-spotted sword falls and lodges, blade first, into the ground beside her. She stares at it, then looks at the sentidemon terrorizing civilians in the distance. She can only see one solution, and her eyes widen in horror.

"Tikki wants me to...cut…the sentidemon," she says, her voice shaking.

There's a moment of silence, and then Honeybee yells, "WHAT?!?"

"Do it."

Tigris's voice is quiet, but it reverberates in everyone's ears.

"Not doing the deed will cause the loss of more civilians, Ladybug," she continues. "It must be done."

Ladybug looks out at the carnage around her. Dozens of civilians are dying, crying out for their loved ones. She swallows hard.

"Ladybug, this is Tortue."

Tortue's voice is a softer version of her own Adrien's. Ladybug holds back tears.

"I don't know if my words will carry any meaning to you, but Honeybee's given me the rundown of what's going on, and...I believe in you. You can do this. It'll be hard, but if you really are another version of Honeybee, then I trust you to save my city. Our city."

Ladybug stiffens.

This wasn't her Paris.

Or...was it?

It had the same people, but with different personalities, and fate had guided them in different directions.

A voice in her head speaks, unbidden.

But what if it was your Paris? Wouldn't you defend it with your life?

Wouldn't you defend it, even if it meant the loss of the guilty?

Forcing her hands to remain steady, Ladybug grips the handle of the sword and yanks it out with a grunt. It feels heavy, and she has to struggle to swing over to the sentidemon with it in her hands.

With a war cry, she bounds over to the nearest rooftop, attaches her yo-yo to her hip, and propels herself off, raising the sword high above her head. The sentidemon looks up at her, fiery eyes widening, and raises an arm in defense.

Time seems to slow down as the sword slices through the sentidemon's arm.

The sentidemon bellows, the weight of its other enlarged arm causing it to lean precariously on one side. Its foot suddenly slips, and the giant sentidemon crashes to the ground, causing the earth to shake.

Ladybug lands on her feet and stares at the gaping wound. Dense black smoke oozes from it, sinking to the ground in gaseous curls. Lying on the ground is a small blue sapphire that sparkles in the light. Ladybug picks it up and examines it. An amok is trapped inside.

"He's found a way to hide the amok gem inside the sentidemon," she murmurs in shock.

"What?" Bluebird says. Ladybug had forgotten her earpiece was still on.

Chevalier nimbly lands beside Ladybug. "He's made the sentidemon hollow and put the gem inside it," he says over his earpiece, his voice grim.

"So he's adapting," Tigris's voice is a low growl.

Ladybug looks at the sentidemon's pained expression as it tries to get up. Its remaining hand flails and smashes a couple of buildings. Chevalier nudges her, having already crushed the gem under his foot and released the amok within. Ladybug instantly captures it in her yo-yo and purifies it.

Instead of disappearing into dark blue bubbles, however, the sentidemon screams as it slowly disintegrates into black dust.

Ladybug gasps in horror and stumbles back, pressing her hands to her mouth. The others, save for Tigris and Chevalier, seem to be in the same state of shock as they approach Chevalier and Ladybug.

"Is that… is that supposed to happen?" Honeybee asks faintly.

"Yes," Tigris says grimly, looking like she wants to throw up. "It happens every single time."

Swallowing the dark emotions swirling inside her, Ladybug picks the sword up from where it had fallen and flings it into the air, shouting, "Miraculous Ladybug!"

The magic ladybugs fly through the practically flattened city, fixing all damage caused by the sentidemon, but Ladybug can see that it hasn’t fixed the injured civilians. It exhausts her more than usual, and she detransforms almost immediately. A winded Tikki hovers in front of her. Marinette hands her a cookie, which Tikki takes and nibbles on, watching the girl in concern.

“Are you feeling alright, Mari?” the kwami asks quietly.

The lights of the others’ detransformations dance across Marinette’s haunted face.

“This…doesn’t feel right, Tikki…” she whispers, wrapping her arms around herself. “This shouldn’t have had to happen…I shouldn’t have had to…” Her voice breaks.

Queenie hugs Marinette hard. “You did what you needed to do to save us, Marieta,” she says softly. “Don’t feel guilty.”

L’Espoir crowds in around her, a wave of concerned voices crashing over each other. It’s too much for Marinette. Too much sound, too many people, too much, too much, too much…

“STOP!” she yells. Everyone stares at her.

“Please,” she chokes out, “I need some time. Alone.”

She pushes past them and begins to run aimlessly. She keeps running, wiping tears from her eyes.

For how long she runs, she doesn’t know. Once she finally runs out of breath, she finds herself in an unfamiliar, narrow alley that ends in a dead end.

Marinette crumples against the wall, buries her face in her hands, and begins to sob. Huge, shuddering wails erupt from her throat as she lets out all of her emotions. No matter how much she cries, however, the image of the crumbling sentimonster and the sound of its dying scream are imprinted in her brain.

I did it. I killed it.

“Ma-Marinette?”

Marinette looks up to see Tikki hovering next to her. She sniffs and wipes her nose, looking away. “Go away, Tikki.”

There’s a small pause, and then Marinette feels a small warmth on the crook of her neck. She looks down to see Tikki hugging her neck and glowing softly.

“I’m so sorry, Marinette. I didn’t realize…I didn’t realize what effect this might have on you. I just found a solution and went along with it.”

Marinette’s heart melts. She lifts a hand and strokes Tikki’s small head with a pinky finger. “I don’t blame you, Tikki. It’s important that we defeat the sentidemon. It’s just…”

She sighs. “Sentidemons are beings, too, aren’t they? We don’t know much about them, but what if they have thoughts? Feelings? Just thinking about how I…I slayed the sentidemon makes me feel so…heartless.”

“Marinette, look at me.” Tikki floats up to look Marinette in the eye. “Feeling these emotions about what you just saw proves that you have a heart. Many see sentimonsters and sentidemons as things and not sentient beings. But you don’t. So no, you aren’t heartless. You regret the sentidemon’s death, which is okay. Someone had to do the deed, and it just so happened to be you. You just saved Paris…again!”

Marinette smiles tearfully. “I guess we did, hmm?”

Tikki giggles. “Yep!”

“Oh, how cute. A holder and her kwami, having a bonding moment,” a new voice says sarcastically.

Marinette and Tikki freeze and look toward the shadowed figure standing at the alley’s entrance.

“It would be a pity,” the voice drawls, “if someone interrupted it.”

Chapter 18: The Encounter

Marinette scrambles up. "Who are you?"

"Mari, behind you!" Tikki shrieks.

Marinette hears the low whistle of something approaching at high speed and manages to grab the staff and whip around before it connects with her head.

Her attacker is a woman in an orange suit with a light orange underbelly. The hands are blood red, and so are the lower legs. The mask the woman wears is also blood red, with orange along the border. Her cold blue eyes glitter dangerously behind it. Her pixie cut is red with orange tips. The thumb ring of the Rooster Miraculous shines on her right hand.

Marinette and the woman exchange punches and jabs until the woman manages to pin Marinette down. She makes a grab for her earrings, but Marinette manages to kick the woman off of her. Getting up and facing the two, she backs up against the end of the alley and removes her earrings.

"Mari?" Tikki queries, alarmed.

"Take the earrings to the team," Marinette instructs her. She clutches the earrings in her fist and dodges as the Rooster Miraculous holder takes another punch at her. Grunting, she delivers a powerful blow to the holder's jaw, knocking her out. She holds the earrings towards Tikki as the other figure advances. "Please, Tikki, there's no time!"

Tikki darts forward, grabs the earrings, and flies away, just as the other figure steps into the light. It's a tall man dressed in a blue suit with a dark blue cape. The bottom of the cape is shaped like peacock plumes. The suit itself is armored and fades to purple near the feet. Exquisite silver embroidery decorates the entire suit, giving off a regal air to the man himself. The Peacock miraculous's fan is attached to the silver belt around his waist. The miraculous itself is attached over his heart. His mask is plain dark blue, his magenta irises and light pink sceleras flashing evilly behind them. His skin is light blue, and his hair gleaming white.

"It's been a while, Miss Dupain-Cheng," the man grins. "You know what I want from you."

"Actually, I don't," Marinette growls, clenching her fists. That's only partially true: she'd easily bet any amount of money that this stranger was also after the Ladybug miraculous.

"Miss Dupain-Cheng, please think rationally."

"Think rationally? Fine, I'll think rationally! Let's see…you and your psycho girlfriend have just jumped me while I'm untransformed and tried to take my miraculous. Rationally, I think you and I are enemies."

"I'm doing it for Adrien, you insolent child! I'm doing this so I can bring back his mother and mend our family, so we can rule the multiverse together! Don't you want him to be happy?"

Marinette freezes. "Wh-what did you say?"

"If you really loved my son, you'd help me!"

She chokes. "You! Y-you're Gabriel Agreste!"

The man throws his head back and laughs as Marinette reels from the shock. "Quit the act of innocence, Miss Dupain-Cheng. This is the last chance I'm giving you. Join me. Help me bring my wife back. Help me bring the multiverse under my rule. My son shall be my heir, and you his consort!"

"You're insane," Marinette says, backing away. "I can't believe I ever idolized you."

A manic grin lights Mr. Agreste's face. "You'll regret this, Tigris. Don't forget, Roi Paon always wins. Scarlet Dawn, get her."

Marinette cries out in surprise when the rooster villain pins her to the ground. Fear courses through her.

This was Roi Paon. Roi Paon, who's the reason she had left behind her family and friends to live in a different universe. Roi Paon, who's the reason Zara screams in her sleep and Philip sometimes stares off into space, gripping whatever he's holding hard enough for his knuckles to go white.

Roi Paon, who has the capability to destroy her entire world and kill her friends and family.

Marinette frantically struggles against Scarlet Dawn's hold, but the villain is too strong. Roi Paon crouches over her.

"Turn her head to the side," he commands. Scarlet Dawn obeys. Roi Paon leans down to whisper in Marinette's ear. "I warned you, little girl, that if you stepped in my way then there would be grave consequences. Did you not learn your lesson the first time? I suppose I must get rid of you now."

He sits back up and plucks a razor-sharp feather from his fan. Its tip glows, red-hot. Tucking the fan back into his belt, he regards the defiant girl with a sneer.

"It wouldn't hurt to play with my prey a bit, would it? Any last words?"

Scarlet Dawn permits Marinette to move her head. Marinette looks up at the peacock villain and, to the best of her ability, spits on his feet. Roi Paon's lip curls in disgust.

"Fine," he snaps, lowering the tip of the feather to Marinette's cheek. "Let the fun begin."

…

"This is all my fault," Zara moans, pacing back and forth. She covers her face with her hands. "I shouldn't have brought you guys into this…this mess. I shouldn't have endangered you guys like this."

"Zara, it's okay," Queenie says softly. Her Adrien holds her around the waist, and she leans on his chest. "It's just… we're not used to seeing something like this. Usually fighting sentimonsters doesn't require the violence we just saw. Mari's just in shock."

"We're going to need some time to adapt," adds Avis, twirling a strand of hair around her finger, "but we'll be okay in the end." She strokes Duusu's head as the kwami chows down on an éclair.

Philip hugs Zara. "See? They're with us."

Before Zara can reply, a frantic Tikki zooms over.

"It's Roi Paon! He's here!" she cries, clutching the ladybug earrings to her petite body. "He's got Mari cornered in an alley!"

Zara pales. "What did you say?" she gasps.

Queenie squeezes Tortue's hand fearfully. Ajax and Kit stare wide-eyed at the ladybug kwami. Avis stops petting Duusu and gapes. Philip and Zara look at each other. Their expressions can only be described as "oh no".

"This is my fault," Zara says, shrinking into herself.

"No," Kit says sharply. She transforms into Vixen. "You couldn't have known that Roi Paon would be here, nor that he would ambush Mari. All that matters is that we find her and fight him."

Suddenly, a bloodcurdling scream pierces the air. Civilians look around, startled and confused.

Ajax jumps up from his seat on a park bench. "We need to go help her. Now!"

Vixen turns to Tikki, her mouth pressed into a firm line. "Lead us to Mari."

Tikki zips away, the others transforming and following her. Avis transforms into Bluebird and rests a hand on both Philip and Zara's shoulders.

"You two stay behind. No, please," she cuts them off when they begin to protest, "neither of you are in the right mindset to fight Roi Paon right now. Let us handle it. Please take some rest."

Zara looks like she's about to argue, but Philip entwines their hands, and she looks up at him. Understanding flows between them, then Zara turns back to Bluebird. "Okay. Be careful."

Bluebird hugs her. "We will."

…

Marinette can no longer sense what's going on. In fact, from the moment the burning hot feather touches her face, she has felt nothing but blinding pain. She’s pretty sure she’s screaming, and her eyes are squeezed shut and leaking tears. She fights against her restraints, but Scarlet Dawn has her pinned down well.

She feels the feather lift off of her cheek and opens her eyes. Her vision’s blurred by her watery eyes, and spots appear because of the pain.

“Good.” Roi Paon’s voice seems far away. “Let that be a message to my son.” He spits out the last word as if it were a curse.

Marinette cries out as he grabs her by the hair and lifts her head off the ground. He presses the tip of the feather to her neck.

“And so the great Tigris fell at the hands of Roi Paon,” Roi Paon sneers, “alone, defeated, and pathetic.”

This is it, Marinette thinks. This is how I die.

She closes her eyes.

Suddenly, something whooshes over her, and she hears Roi Paon shout in surprise. Her eyes shoot open, and she winces as the muscles in her throbbing cheek move.

Through her flawed vision, she sees Chat Nuit standing in a defensive stance between her and a fallen Roi Paon, his baton extended.

"Stay away from her," Chat Nuit hisses.

Roi Paon just smiles sinisterly and gets back up, swiftly grabbing a feather from his fan and creating a sentimonster shaped like a saber-toothed tiger. It growls and leaps at Chat Nuit, who braces for impact, but is knocked aside by another sentimonster, this one in the form of a hydra. Marinette can just make out Bluebird's outline from behind Roi Paon.

There's a yell of "Venom!" and a yellow blur flies out of nowhere and just misses Roi Paon. The green shield of the Turtle Miraculous's power appears around Marinette. She quickly turns her head around to see Tortue looking at her in concern, but instantly regrets it as her head pounds and spots appear in her vision.

"It's okay, Marinette," Tortue murmurs as he leans over and picks her up carefully. "I've got you."

Marinette manages to give him a faint smile before everything goes black.

-End part 6

#miraculous au #miraculous ladybug #mlb fanfic #multiverse au #adrien agreste #marinette dupain cheng #fox!marinette #tiger!marinette #bee!marinette #peacock!marinette #horse!adrien #turtle!adrien

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