#darkblade

"A... Kwami?" Marinette questions as she tries to register the word, along with the fact that the small being was talking to her.

"That's right. Now, can you please let me explain what's happening?" She pleads, causing Marinette to nod slowly.

-------------------

Meanwhile, Adrien is sitting in his room, if it can be called a bedroom. The room is massive. There is a skateramp, arcade games, shelves filled with books, DVDs, and games, three different televisions on the first and second floors of the room, and a computer with three monitors.

But Adrien isn't interested in anything in his room. Instead, the teenage boy is lying in his bed with a depressing expression that mirrors his sense of hopelessness.

After his failed attempt to go to school, Nathalie immediately sent him to his room and informed him that she'd be telling his father about this. Hearing that caused the boy to feel dread, as he knew his father would have some very stern words for Adrien.

"If only he would give me another chance." He mutters to himself in frustration.

As he does, he can't help but feel a sense of anger toward the people who ruined his first time getting to attend school. Then, that anger shifts to why the event happened. With that, he grabs his pillow and screams.

"Ugh, if only I weren't famous! I don't even want to do those stupid shoots!" He shouts in frustration with a muffled tone.

Eventually, his wallowing ends when his phone suddenly rings. Reluctantly, Adrien picks it up and answers it without even looking at the screen.

"Hello?" He asks hollowly while staring at the ceiling with a dead expression.

"Adrien. Are you still in the mansion?!" Nathalie's voice asks him frantically on the other end of the line, causing Adrien to grow slightly curious but also annoyed.

"Yes, I'm still here. I haven't tried to leave again." He tells her in a tired voice after he sighs to get out his frustration.

"Good. Stay inside and lock your door. The city is in chaos right now, and it's not safe. I'm locking down the mansion right now." Nathalie tells him in a relieved but urgent tone before hanging up.

Adrien blinks at his phone for a moment, wondering what's freaking Nathalie out so much, before deciding to go online to see what she's talking about.

It's only then that Adrien learns about the knights attacking the city. His eyes widen as he sees pictures and videos of the knights from different aerial views.

"What the heck is going on?" He questions as he abruptly sits up in surprise.

He begins messing with his phone more and watches as Darkblade turns people into knights.

"Is there some kind of city-wide movie going on?" Adrien questions in surprise as he continues to watch this.

Deciding he needed something bigger to observe this, Adrien gets up and heads for his computer desk. However, he has to pause as he sees something strange in front of his monitors. It's a box just like the one Marinette had in her hoodie pocket.

"Where did this come from?" Adrien questions, wondering if it was something Nathalie or his father left for him since he didn't leave it there.

He picks the box up and inspects the strange symbol for a moment before opening it. Only for his eyes to widen in surprise and for him to fall backward onto the ground with his chair as a sudden bright green light shines after he opens it. In the confusion, he drops the box and causes it to bounce away from him while instinctively covering his eyes.

After a moment, Adrien moves his hands to see if the light's still shining. However, he doesn't see anything and is now looking around in confusion, wondering if someone somehow snuck into the mansion to do a prank.

He pulls himself off the ground and puts his chair back up before looking for the box to see what was inside it. He soon finds it and picks it up to reveal a black ring with a bright green paw print on the ornament.

"What's this? A new line of rings?" Adrien questions in disappointment.

"Nope. That's one of a kind, kid." A nasally male voice says behind Adrien, causing the teen's eyes to widen and for him to jump in surprise for the second time in less than five minutes.

He swiftly turns around and is met with the sight of a Kwami with pitch-black fur covering its body. They have slanted eyes with bright green sclera and slanted, cat-like pupils. They also have cat ears on their head and a cat tail. On the top of their head is a single antenna with two more on the cheeks of the Kwami.

Adrien's eyes widen in surprise while the Kwami grins mischievously, revealing tiny fangs. The Kwami is waiting for another freak out, but is surprised when Adrien suddenly gains an excited grin.

"No way. Are you like a genie in the lamp?!" He asks excitedly as he leans toward the Kwami to get a better look at them.

While momentarily caught off guard by the boy's excitement, the Kwami decides to roll with it.

"I met him once. So he grants wishes, big deal." The Kwami says while waving his stubby arm dismissively.

"I'm way more personable! Plagg. Nice to meet you." The Kwami says proudly, before holding out a stubby arm to Adrien.

Before the teen can take it, though, Plagg already loses interest and looks around the room with slightly amazed eyes.

"Ooh, swanky," Plagg says with a grin as he begins flying around and exploring the room, touching whatever he wants.

"Wha-, hey! Don't touch that!" Adrien shouts in alarm before chasing the Kwami toward his arcade machines.

"Can you eat this?" Plagg questions before biting into a joystick.

He then stops and sticks his tongue out in disgust.

"Ugh, no, you can't." He says, disappointedly.

Before he can fly off, though, Adrien manages to grab him.

"Can you please stop. I don't even know what you're doing here." Adrien begs desperately, causing Plagg to let out an annoyed groan.

"Fine." He says before phasing through Adrien's hand and turning to him.

"Look, I'm a Kwami. I grant powers. Yours is the power of destruction, got it?" He asks in annoyance, seemingly not wanting to have to work.

"Uh-uh." Adrien shakes his head no while staring at the Kwami in confusion.

Plagg doesn't seem to care, though. Instead, he looks around the room again.

"Good. Now, do you have anything to eat?" Plagg asks while doing a few sniffs to see if he can smell food.

As the Kwami continues looking for food while still trapped in Adrien's hands, the teen begins to feel like this is a prank again.

"My dad's pranking me, right?" He asks himself before immediately shaking his head.

"No way. He doesn't have a sense of humor." He tells himself.

But his words have an unexpected effect. Plagg suddenly flies out of Adrien's hands and looks the boy in the eyes with a stern expression and crossed arms.

"Your father must never know that I exist." He tells Adrien urgently while glaring at him, surprising Adrien with the sudden tone change.

-------------------

So, you're the embodiment of creation, and you want me to use you to stop the knight and whoever created him?" Marinette asks in shock as she stares at Tikki.

"That's right," Tikki says with a smile, glad Marinette gets it.

Only to immediately lose it as Marinette rapidly shakes her head.

"No way! I can't be a superhero! The only superpowers I have are super awkwardness and super mess things up." Marinette rapidly shakes her head in refusal before pointing at Sensei Wu.

"Why don't you pick him instead. He can make a golden tornado to attack people. And he already knows my identity. Didn't you say no one should know?" She asks desperately.

"Oh, Sensei Wu is an exception. He's actually a very good friend of mine." Tikki explains with a smile before looking to Sensei Wu.

"It's good to see you again as well, Tikki." Sensei Wu says with his own smile, one hidden behind his beard.

"Then why can't it be someone else? Like a cop? Or maybe even my old friend Alya. She loved superheroes. Why does it have to be me?" Marinette demands, desperately trying to avoid whatever is happening.

"Because you're the chosen one, Marinette," Tikki explains calmly, shocking Marinette.

-------------------

Meanwhile, the man who gave Marinette and Adrien their Miraculous is back at his massage parlor, closing the box filled with Miraculous while his Kwami seems to have doubts.

"Do you think they'll be up to the challenge?" Wayzz asks worriedly as he watches the man close the record player over the box.

"I was only wrong once, Wayzz. And that will never happen again." The man tells his Kwami with determination.

However, that determination soon wanes as worry enters his heart. He looks at the record player with a slightly nervous shine in his eyes as he grimaces.

"At least, I hope not." He finally tells his Kwami in a much quieter and unsure tone.

-------------------

"I can't be the chosen one. I'm literally the worst choice you could make for this. I've already made so many mistakes. I had a restraining order on me. I'm not a good person." Marinette argues back desperately.

Hearing that seems to surprise the two for a moment. Though, in Tikki's case, it's because she doesn't really know what a 'restraining order' is.

"But you're sorry about it, right?" Tikki asks her gently as she looks at Marinette in worry.

"Of course I am. I ruined so much. My parents lost their business, we had to move, my friends got into trouble, and I ruined Adrien's chance at having a normal life. So much went wrong." Marinette groans as she puts her face into her hands while remembering everything that happened.

Hearing her words makes Sensei Wu and Tikki look at her with some pity. Finally, Sensei Wu steps toward her and begins speaking in a wise tone.

"Mistakes are like stones. You can gather them to increase your burden. Or you can use them as stepping stones to improve yourself in the end."

Marinette looks up Sensei Wu in confusion as he continues.

"We can only be defined by our mistakes if we allow them to continue to bind us." He continues before tapping her on the head with his staff.

"What's important is that you rise from them. Are you going to let your parents remain controlled by the knight?" He suddenly asks Marinette.

Marinette doesn't say anything for a moment before slowly shaking her head.

"Of course, I don't want them to be stuck like that," Marinette tells him, but she still looks unwilling to accept this responsibility despite her worry for her parents.

"Then you must rise above your worries and do something about it. One can't simply keep wishing for something to happen. Sometimes, they must put the work in to change it. Like you must." He emphasizes that last part by tapping her head again.

"Ow. Do you think I should, though. I just told you that I basically have a criminal record. That's not exactly heroic?" She asks while rubbing her head where Master Fu smacked her.

"Not all stories are the same. Sometimes, what's needed is something unconventional. You might not have the best past. But that doesn't mean you can't be a good person in the future." Sensei Wu tells her sternly, causing Marinette to look down.

Finally, the girl seems somewhat determined as she reaches for the box, which carries a pair of circular ladybug-themed earrings inside.

-------------------

"Becoming a hero sounds awesome. But I'm stuck here. I can't even go to school anymore. What good is a superhero who can't leave their house? It's not like I'm good with computers." Adrien tells Plagg disappointedly as he throws his arms out toward his room for emphasis and shifts deeper onto his couch.

But the Kwami isn't near him. Adrien lost the energy to stop his Kwami from messing with his room after Plagg kept phasing through his grip. Now, the Kwami is in his private bathroom, messing with a roll of toilet paper.

"I don't know what a computer is. But I can already tell you no good." Plagg calls out from the bathroom before flying back to Adrien and grinning mischievously.

"That's why it's all going to change soon. If you're willing to change, that is?" Plagg asks as he suddenly looks at Adrien with a raised eyebrow.

Luckily for Plagg, Adrien has a lot of pent-up resentment about his confinement, especially since he misses going out and enjoying time with his friends.

With an excited grin, Adrien rapidly nods.

"Yeah. I'm totally up for a change. Just tell me what I have to do." Adrien says as he takes the ring and places it on his right ring finger.

"Good. I'll tell you how to take down that knight guy." Plagg nods.

-------------------

"Okay, so all I have to do is break the object where the... Akuma is hiding?" Marinette cautiously asks, needing to pause at the name since she was struggling to keep up with all the new, strange information.

"Yes. But you have to capture it." Tikki adds again, causing Marinette to nod with an uneasy look.

"Capture it. Got it. But what about this charm?" She asks in confusion.

"The Lucky Charm is your first power. And you'll use it in dangerous situations." Tikki adds in a slightly rushed manner before Sensei Wu sighs.

"You're going too quickly, Tikki. She already has a lot she needs to process." Sensei Wu informs the Kwami, causing her to turn to him.

"Then can you handle the explanation?" She requests hopefully, causing Sensei Wu to nod with a smile.

"Of course. I'll teach her what I must, but first, we'll need to find the wielder of destruction." Sensei Wu nods.

"Wait, there's another person?" Marinette asks in confusion, wondering if she missed something in Tikki's earlier explanation.

"Yes. The Miraculous of Creation and Destruction are often in use at the same time." Sensei Wu explains.

"Well, at least I won't have to do this by myself." Marinette can't help but mutter under her breath before looking up at Sensei Wu.

"So, do you know where they are, like you did with me?" Marinette asks curiously, but Sensei Wu shakes his head.

"I'm afraid not. I have a specific connection with Tikki here. But the same can't be said with Plagg and his Miraculous." Sensei Wu explains while pointing at Tikki with his staff.

"We'll have to find them the old-fashioned way or wait for them to appear and fight the knights." He adds as he lifts his staff away from Tikki and points forward.

"And how long will that take?" Marinette asks worriedly.

While she still has her doubts about this, that doesn't mean she wants to leave her parents trapped as magical knights for long because someone who's supposed to help takes too long to show up.

"It will take the time it takes. All we can do is wait and prepare." Sensei Wu explains, causing Tikki to nod in agreement.

"He's right. Now, be sure to trust yourself, Marinette. And say spots on." Tikki advises with a smile.

"Spots on?" Marinette asks in confusion before the earrings she put on create a magical red glow, and it seems like Tikki is dragged inside.

"Whoa! What is happening?!" Marinette asks in alarm as she watches Tikki fly into her earrings and can feel a strange energy envelop and surround her body.

-------------------

"You just say claws out to transform with me," Plagg explains while pointing at Adrien's ring.

"Got it," Adrien says with an excited grin before standing up and doing a pose.

He throws his arm forward confidently and smirks.

"Plagg, claws out!" He commands, causing the ring to glow and for Plagg to fly inside.

"No wait! I haven't finished-" Plagg screams before getting dragged into the ring.

As the Kwami does, Adiren brings his hand close to his face and opens it while closing his eyes and smiling. When the ring dings to signal Plagg is inside, he throws his arm out as bright green magic envelops it and begins forming a costume for him.

When the light vanishes, it reveals Adrien now in a much different look. Instead of his previous clothes, he's now wearing primarily black clothing. He has a black and grey jacket with padded, lined shoulder pads and light green highlights on the zipper and pockets. Under it, Adrien wears a form-fitting, padded black and grey, long-sleeved shirt with bright green claw marks running along it. He also wears matching form-fitting black pants with the claw marks running along the front of his legs. And his formerly bare feet now have black boots with light green lining to make the ends look slightly like paws. On the bottom of the soles are paw prints.

But that's not all. Adrien also has a black visor with light green glass that's shaped almost like a domino mask, shrinking in the middle. Atop his head are two cat ears, and around his waist is a black belt that almost seems like a cat tail. Within his belt, there's a silver baton with a green paw print on one of the ends.

"Too cool!" Adrien says excitedly as he stares at his new clothes before looking at himself in a mirror.

-------------------

While Adrien is having fun with his new appearance, Marinette is staring at her new clothes in shock.

If Adrien's new clothes had a heroic flair to them, then Marinette's clothing is much more subdued. The primary reason for that is a large cloak that covers most of her body.

The cloak in question is a two-layered black cloak. The smaller upper layer lacks an opening, while the large lower layer has an opening on the right side instead of the middle, and it seems to fall diagonally before breaking off into two ends, opening part of its front, and exposing Marinette's legs. The cloak has a high collar that covers Marinette's mouth but not her nose and hides her long hair. Going vertically down the collar to the end of the cloak's first layer is a line of dark red spots that might be difficult to see at a glance. Similar spots are along the ends of the second layer of the cloak.

The only other parts of Marinette's costume that others can see are a bright red domino mask with black spots running across it and matching ladybug-themed boots with a black rim at the top.

"I-Isn't this too much?" Marinette asks nervously as she stares at her new clothing in shock.

"No, it is sufficient. We must get moving now. We've wasted enough time as it is." Sensei Wu orders, causing Marinette to nod with uneasy eyes.

"A-Alright. Where should we go?" Marinette asks nervously.

"First, we'll observe the knights and see if we can't find Plagg's wielder." Sensei Wu announces before spinning into a tornado again and jumping onto a light post, then using that to jump onto a roof.

Marinette stares at him with some shock for a moment before deciding to try that too. She does a quick spin but can't seem to build the same momentum that Sensei Wu appears to create. Instead, she soon trips over her own feet and falls on her face.

"Ow." She groans while holding her nose, before blinking in surprise.

"Wait, that didn't really hurt." She mutters in surprise as she stares at her hand, which now has a form-fitting black glove with red spots on the back and palm.

Meanwhile, Sensei Wu observes her from above with a calm, analytical eye.

"It looks like we have a lot to work on." Sensei Wu says while shaking his head, but doesn't make any move to help her.

Instead, he wants to observe her more to see whether she can figure things out on her own.

Back below, Marinette looks over herself for a moment, wondering if it's the cloak that's preventing her from using the tornado ability Sensei Wu uses. She shifts around in it slightly for a moment before finding something inside. She pulls it out to see that it's a ladybug-themed yo-yo.

"A yo-yo?" She questions in confusion.

She grabs the string and moves to spin it like a regular yo-yo, only to reveal that the string is far longer than she expected, causing it to hit and roll across the ground for a few seconds.

"Whoa, that's long," Marinette says in surprise before trying to pull it back.

The yo-yo seems to fly back into her hand with ease. Marinette blinks at it for a few moments before deciding to test something.

She quickly begins spinning the yo-yo and watches how it moves. She then tries throwing it and manages to hook onto a ledge. She then pulls on it and finds herself dragged toward where the yo-yo wraps like a grappling hook.

Unfortunately, she's still not used to all this.

"Whoaaaa!" She screams in surprise as she's about to slam into the building before feeling something tug on her cloak.

Sensei Wu moved toward where Marinette was flying and put his staff in her cloak before pulling her to safety. He then tosses her in the middle of the rooftop as the yo-yo unwraps itself and returns to Marinette.

"I suppose that was a good first try. We'll have to work on it, though." Sensei Wu states as he walks toward Marinette, as the girl holds her head.

"Right." Marinette groans before standing up.

"You won't be able to do what I do. That's not a part of the Miraculous. It's known as Spinjitzu." Sensei Wu explains.

"You couldn't have mentioned that earlier?" Marinette questions with an embarrassed expression.

"You didn't ask." Sensei Wu shrugs before walking toward the edge of the rooftop.

"Now, try to keep up." Sensei Wu orders before forming his golden tornado again and speeding off.

Marinette watches him go for a moment before sprinting toward the edge of the roof. But she ends up losing her nerves as the fall grows closer and stops to look down to see how high up she is. The girl takes a deep breath before jumping with surprising strength, landing on the next roof with ease.

She stares at herself in surprise for a moment before something builds in her chest. With more confidence, she runs toward the next roof, her cloak not seeming to get in her way, before she jumps and lands across another one.

Seeing that she's getting the hang of things, Marinette begins to smile as she continues to chase after Sensei Wu. But she notes that he's still pretty far away and decides to try something else. She throws her yo-yo toward a decently far-off roof ridge ornament. It wraps around the ornament, and Marinette pulls on her string to swing her toward the ornament, managing to skip two buildings to close the distance between her and Sensei Wu.

Their movements continue like this for a few moments. And with each attempt, Marinette gets more used to her new abilities. She's only a few feet behind Sensei Wu now instead of entire rooftops. Eventually, though, they both come to a complete stop when they arrive at the bulk of the army.

"What are they doing?" Marinette asks worriedly as she and Sensei Wu watch the army seemingly leaving Ninjago City.

"Heading for their true objective now that they have enough forces." Sensei Wu reveals.

"Their true objective? But I thought the knight guy wanted to take over the city. Why are they leaving?" Marinette questions in worry and confusion.

"While it may be what he wants, it's not what the people behind him want." Sensei Wu says solemnly as he realizes what he suspected was right.

"The people behind him? Do you mean the other Miraculous user?" Marinette asks in confusion.

"Yes, and likely someone else. Someone far more dangerous." Sensei Wu states, causing Marinette's worries to return anew.

"So, what do we do?" Marinette asks.

"We could always try to sneak up on them." A male voice that Marinette thinks sounds somewhat familiar, but she can't place why, suddenly pipes up.

The two turn around, and Marinette's eyes widen in surprise when she sees the other hero's attire.

"Hi. Uh, I guess you can call me Cat Noir." He says with an awkward, boyish smile that shows all his perfectly white, sharp canines.

"I see that you've arrived. Good. We don't have to waste more time searching for you." Sensei Wu nods.

"You were looking for me?" Cat Noir blinks in surprise while pointing at himself.

"Yes. Now that we have both of you, we can collect our last member." Sensei Wu explains.

"There's another person?" Marinette questions in confusion, but Sensei Wu doesn't say anything.

Instead, he uses Spinjitzu to form his golden tornado before snatching the two teens.

"Whoa!" Cat Noir screams in alarm and continues screaming as the three move at Sensei Wu's pace to get ahead of the knights.

-------------------

Eventually, Sensei Wu finally stops the spinning. When he does, the two teens fall to the ground with groans as their worlds continue to spin.

"What was that?" Cat Noir questions as he stares at the spinning sky.

"...Spinjitzu." Marinette answers him after a moment.

"We will make the rest of the journey on foot." Sensei Wu states before walking past the two recovering teens.

"How is he not dizzy?" Cat Noir demands in shock as he stares at the walking Sensei Wu with an astonished expression.

"I honestly don't know." Marinette groans as she stands up, hunching over while gripping her uneasy stomach with a green expression.

Soon, the two teens feel their sense of balance return and realize they're pretty far from the city and are now somewhere in the open countryside.

"Man, we traveled far." Cat Noir says in surprise and amazement as he stares at all the lush greenery and hills.

Meanwhile, Marinette looks up to the sky to see if she can guess the time and realizes they might have to camp out.

"Are you sure this is okay? It's already the afternoon. If we don't hurry, we might be stuck outside at night." Marinette comments worriedly as she looks at Sensei Wu's retreating back.

Hearing that causes Adrien's eyes to widen, and he looks up. When he sees that the sun is descending, he instantly becomes worried about what Nathalie and his father will think.

"Uh. I don't know if I should be out this late." Adrien suddenly laughs nervously, his bravado and excitement about the outside world suddenly washing away as he imagines the punishment he might face.

"Then we should hurry to our destination. The sooner we arrive. The sooner you can both go home." Sensei Wu states without batting an eye as he continues moving forward at a slow, steady pace.

The two teens look at each other in uncertainty before deciding to do as told. Slowly, they trail behind Sensei Wu while enjoying the fresh air of the countryside. Despite his earlier nerves, the air is enough to put Adrien at some ease, and he decides to strike up a conversation.

"Sooooo, how did you find your Miraculous?" He says in a somewhat awkward manner as he turns to Marinette.

He takes a brief moment to observe her and can't help but find her cool. He feels the cloak gives her an assassin or ninja-like mystique. It makes him all the more curious about what she's like. Meanwhile, Marinette glances back at him and hesitantly decides to accept the conversation.

"I found it after Sensei Wu saved me. Apparently, it was in my pocket, and I never noticed." Marinette reveals quietly.

"Seriously? That's kind of funny." Cat Noir says with his best grin.

"You think so?" Marinette questions.

"Yeah. I found mine in my room, but I don't know how it got there or how whoever put it there managed to sneak in. My house is pretty secure." Cat Noir continues to ramble.

"...Maybe they used magic." Marinette finally says after a moment.

"Probably. So, how long have you known Sensei Wu? You must have known him for a while if you're calling him sensei, right?" Cat Noir asks again, seemingly happy to finally have someone who seems around his age to talk to, and doing his best to keep the conversation going.

"I actually only met him today when he saved me. He just told me that's what he's called." Marinette shrugs, getting a nod from Cat Noir.

"Cool. So, what's your superhero name? Like I said, I'm Cat Noir. So, what should I call you?" He asks while looking her up and down to see if he might be able to guess it.

"It's Mari- I mean, I haven't really thought about it." Marinette starts to say her name, but stops herself, having the feeling that giving her name is a bad idea, and does her best to cover up her previous answer.

"Were you about to tell me your real name? Is it Marie?" Cat Noir jokes as his grin turns more playful.

"No," Marinette says while picking up her pace a little bit, causing Cat Noir to panic.

"Wait, I'm sorry. This is the first time in a while that I've been out on my own. I'm sorry if I offended you." He tells her in a slightly desperate manner as he quickens his own pace to keep up.

"It's fine," Marinette says awkwardly, but can hear how sincere Cat Noir seems to be trying to be, and slows back down, much to his relief.

"So, do you want a superhero name. We can probably kill some time trying to come up with one." Cat Noir suggests.

Marinette thinks about it for a moment and decides that it's not the worst way to kill time, even if she's feeling awkward about how chatty Cat Noir is.

"Sure. Do you have any in mind?" Marinette asks.

Cat Noir hums while placing a hand to his chin and squinting at her in a dramatic thinking manner.

"What about Lady Assassin? You look a bit like a ladybug, and dressed like an assassin." He suggests, raising a finger with a grin.

Marinette winces at that and is suddenly feeling self-conscious about how she's dressed.

"No thanks." She shakes her head, causing Cat Noir to snap his fingers.

"Dang."

"Oh! What about Scarlet Noir! We could match." He suggests with a grin, causing Marinette to look down at herself and consider it.

"That one's not bad." She can't help but agree.

"Awesome." Cat Noir says happily.

"If I may." Sensei Wu suddenly pipes up, causing the two to turn to him in surprise.

"The wielder of the Ladybug Miraculous is often called some form of Ladybug." He reveals without turning around.

Hearing that, Cat Noir gains another thoughtful look.

"Maybe Lady Noir then?" He suggests, causing Marinette to shake her head.

"No thanks. That sounds like a ship name." She tells her, causing him to chuckle.

"I guess you're right. Maybe we should just stick with Ladybug." He agrees.

"I'm okay with that." The now-named Ladybug agrees.

"Great. Glad to work with you, Ladybug." Cat Noir says before holding a hand out to Ladybug with a chipper smile.

Hesitantly, Marinette takes the hand and gives it a light shake. Eventually, though, she does smile at him.

"Same here." She says, causing Cat Noir to beam.

Everything goes quiet again after that. Cat Noir tries to figure out what else to say while the other two keep quiet. Finally, the cat-themed hero turns to Sensei Wu and asks a question that's been on both of the teens' minds.

"So, Sensei Wu. Where are we going?" He asks, dropping his grin and looking at the older man curiously.

"To our destination." Sensei Wu says plainly.

"And that's?" Cat Noir asks somewhat awkwardly.

"Where we'll find what we need." Sensei Wu states.

"What do we need?" Ladybug pipes up curiously.

"You'll see once we get there. For now, save your strength. We'll need to set camp soon." Sensei Wu states, causing the two teens' eyes to widen.

"Set camp!" Cat Noir exclaims in a panic.

"Yes. There's no way for us to arrive there tonight. We'll need another day's travel." Sensei Wu explains.

"But my family's going to be worried about me being gone." Cat Noir says in worry.

"I'm afraid there's nothing I can do." Sensei Wu shakes his head.

Cat Noir groans and holds his head in his hands. He then looks to Ladybug with a desperate expression.

"Hey, you don't want to do this, too, right? Your family is probably worried too, right?" He asks anxiously, causing Ladybug to look down sadly.

"Umm... my parents... might be part of the knights," Ladybug reveals, causing Cat Noir's eyes to widen in horror.

"Oh! I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to bring that up." He says nervously.

"It's fine. You didn't know." Marinette sighs, but her eyes fill with sadness and worry as she thinks about what her parents might be going through.

"You don't have to worry. Your parents are safe. The Miraculous shouldn't harm them while under its spell. They're likely in a form of stasis right now." Sensei Wu promises Marinette as he turns around to give her a promising look.

Hearing that eases some of the feelings stirring inside of her. However, she's still anxious to know if they're okay.

"By the way, who are you? How do you know so much about all this?" Cat Noir asks Sensei Wu curiously, but is still worried about when Nathalie calls.

"All will be revealed in time." Sensei Wu states, causing the teens to look at each other worriedly.

"On that note, I suggest you two prepare to de-transform before we go to sleep. While your transformations can last for quite a while if you don't use your powers, the Kwami will still need a chance to rest outside of them." Sensei Wu states.

"Are you sure that's a good idea. I thought we weren't supposed to reveal our identities?" Ladybug asks nervously.

"Ah, come on. It's not going to hurt for us to know each other's identities since we'll be working together." Cat Noir argues with her, wanting to know more about his new friend.

Ladybug looks unsure, something about Cat Noir still making her nervous, but Sensei Wu's following words make her reluctantly agree.

"It's best to get to know your allies. It will help us in the long run to save your parents." Sensei Wu states, causing Ladybug's shoulders to sag.

"...Alright." She reluctantly agrees.

"Good. Now, let's continue. It will take us longer to get there if we don't pick up the pace." Sensei Wu states, causing the two teens to nod before they all speed up.

-------------------

It's now night, and the group has made camp atop one of the hills. Well, they did the best they could. Neither Ladybug nor Cat Noir knows anything about making a camp. So, it was up to Sensei Wu to help them. Or more specifically, guide them.

"Ladybug." Sensei Wu suddenly pipes up, causing the girl to turn from their makeshift fire toward him.

"Yes, sir?" She asks worriedly.

"I believe now would be the best time to use your ability." He announces, causing Ladybug to blink in confusion.

"My... ability?" She questions, trying to recall what Sensei Wu is talking about.

"Your Lucky Charm." He reminds her, causing Ladybug's eyes to widen.

"Oh, right! Lucky Charm!" She shouts, causing the yo-yo in her cloak to glow before a ladybug-themed tent falls out.

The two teens blink in surprise before Ladybug begins to blush in embarrassment.

"Next time, I'd recommend having your yo-yo out before saying the name. You never know what you'll receive with the Lucky Charm. You could get hurt if you release it close to your body." Sensei Wu warns her, causing Ladybug to nod.

"Right, sorry." She apologizes, causing Sensei Wu to shake his head.

"It's alright. You are both still learning. But I must warn you, because you're still young and inexperienced, you can only use the power once. Then, you'll have five minutes left." Sensei Wu instructs.

As if to emphasize his point, the teens hear Ladybug's earrings let out a warning beep, causing her to clasp them in shock.

"Oh, cool. I guess that means we don't have to stay like this then." Cat Noir says as he looks down at himself.

"Yes. But while you're transformed still, would you mind going to get some fish from the stream? We need dinner, and your enhanced senses make it easier for you to get it." Sensei Wu tells him, causing Cat Noir to grin.

"Because I'm a cat, right?" He jokes.

"Yes. Now, off you go." Sensei Wu orders.

"On it." Cat Noir nods before running off.

After watching him go, Sensei Wu turns his attention to Ladybug as he stares at her with wide, worried eyes.

"Would you please set up the tent. I must check something." Sensei Wu states as he stands up.

Ladybug watches his retreat with a nervous expression as she continues to hold her earrings. At this point, it's not just her identity she's worried about. She's scared about what might happen without her powers. She's wondering how far away the knights are from them, too.

"Do they even need to sleep?" She can't help but think to herself as she looks toward where they came from.

Her thoughts are interrupted by more beeps. She glances to the side as she listens to her earrings and bites her lower lip. But there's nothing she can do. With a sigh, she gets to work on the tent while waiting for the transformation to end.

It doesn't take long. Before Marinette can even figure out how to start the tent, a red glow suddenly surrounds her, and she finds herself back in her old clothes while Tikki falls out of her earrings and to the ground.

"Are you okay?" Marinette asks in worry as she quickly scoops the Kwami up in concern.

Tikki groans slightly in her hands before looking up with a tired smile.

"I'm alright. It's just been a while since someone has stayed transformed that long and then used Lucky Charm. I'll be alright after some rest." Tikki promises in a soft, kind voice to try to ease Marinette's worries.

"Are you sure?" She asks worriedly as she puts Tikki closer to her face.

"Yes. I could use some food, though." Tikki groans tiredly.

"Cat Noir will be back with some fish soon. Is that alright?" She asks.

Tikki's face scrunches for a moment before she sighs.

"It'll work, thank you." Tikki nods.

Wanting to get back to work on the tent but not wanting to leave Tikki alone like this, Marinette looks around for somewhere to put her. Unfortunately, she doesn't see anywhere comfortable. Finally, Marinette decides to place her in her hoodie pocket.

"You'll be safe and warm in here," Marinette promises as she places the tired Kwami inside.

She can feel Tikki make herself comfortable inside and realizes that she now has her backpack again. Marinette quickly takes it off and pulls out the lunch her parents packed for her to see if it's any good. To her surprise, it looks perfect.

"Great. If the fish aren't good, at least we'll have something else to eat." She says with a relieved smile before grabbing one of the cookies inside.

"Here, Tikki, this'll give you energy." She promises the Kwami as she puts it in her hoodie pocket.

"Thank you," Tikki says in relief as she hugs the cookie.

Marinette soon hears her eating it and smiles before setting the food back in her bag and moving it off to the side so she can get back to work.

-------------------

Meanwhile, Cat Noir is looking at the swimming fish in the river with green-tinted night vision. The cat-themed young superhero is grinning at how cool this is and is excited for tonight, since it's his first time sleeping under the stars.

But worry is still in his heart. He discovered that his staff is linked to his phone because it rings like a phone; a section of the tip opens like a flip phone to display Nathalie's caller ID whenever he checks it. The first time Adrien saw it, he made a hasty decision to block the number.

So now, he can't help but glance at it nervously every once in a while.

"You seem unfocused." Sensei Wu's voice suddenly fills the area along with the sound of the river.

Cat Noir jumps and turns around to see Sensei Wu sitting on another stone in the center of the river, like him.

"How did he get behind me?" Cat Noir can't help but wonder as he looks at Sensei Wu with shocked eyes.

Cat Noir noticed that the costume came with enhanced senses, including hearing. So, he can't help but wonder how Sensei Wu got so close and on that rock without making a sound. Plus, how he didn't get wet.

"Is something wrong?" Sensei Wu asks calmly, looking at him with a nonchalant expression, as if this meeting might not seem strange.

"Oh, uh, no. Everything's cool. I'm just enjoying the fresh air. I'll get us dinner soon. I've just never done this before." Cat Noir promises with an awkward smile as he stares at Sensei Wu.

"I see." Sensei Wu nods before taking a sip of a cup of tea that Cat Noir didn't see before and is sure he didn't have when they met.

"Did you want to help? Or do you need me to do something else?" Cat Noir asks curiously, rubbing the back of his head.

"No, I simply wished to talk." Sensei Wu states.

"Oh, cool. What did you want to talk about?" Cat Noir asks with a more at ease smile.

"May I ask why you decided to join us?" Sensei Wu asks, surprising Cat Noir.

Before he can say anything, though, Sensei Wu continues while pouring himself some tea from a teapot Cat Noir knows he didn't have before.

"Ladybug wishes to help because she wants to save her parents. So, I'm curious if the same can be said for you." He explains before taking a sip of his new cup of tea.

"You mean if my parents were turned into knights, too?" Cat Noir asks in confusion while pointing at himself with wide eyes.

"Or any loved ones. It doesn't have to be only your parents." Sensei Wu explains with a nod.

"Well, I don't think any of them did. At least, I hope not." Cat Noir says while looking down in thought.

Then, his face turns to one of sadness as he looks down in disappointment.

"But, I am worried about how they'll react when they find out that I'm not still in my room." He tells Sensei Wu, causing the man to nod in understanding.

"I'm sorry you were placed in this situation, then." He apologizes, causing Cat Noir to smile sadly.

"Honestly, it's fine. I'm kind of happy about this?" He says, surprising Sensei Wu slightly.

"Is your home life harsh?" Sensei Wu decides to ask.

"I-I wouldn't say it's bad. But my father is so protective. He doesn't let me leave my room much. I'm not even allowed to go to school anymore." Cat Noir chuckles while taking a seat.

"I see." Sensei Wu nods before waiting for him to continue.

Not getting the queue for a few moments, Cat Noir eventually realizes what Sensei Wu wants him to do.

"I guess, I really wanted to do this to be free again, you know." He says in a slightly uncomfortable manner, as if he's worried Sensei Wu won't be happy with such a selfish reason.

He honestly didn't expect to meet someone like this so early. He thought he'd have a chance to do more by himself and enjoy it a bit more.

Sensei Wu seems to sense his feelings and decides to say something.

"Wishing for freedom is not a bad thing. All birds wish to fly free. It's what you do with that freedom that matters." He promises Cat Noir, causing Cat Noir's eyes to widen since he was expecting some form of a reprimand.

"Tell me, why did you decide to follow Ladybug and me? You could have chosen not to." He adds.

"Well, because I wanted to. You said it would help stop the knights, right?" Cat Noir asks in confusion.

"I did." Sensei Wu nods.

"But you didn't have to listen to me. You chose to do so because you wanted to help people. That's how you've chosen to use your freedom." Sensei Wu acknowledges before standing up.

"I won't keep you any longer. Please continue collecting dinner." Sensei Wu tells him before hopping across the stones on the river in an impressively silent manner.

Cat Noir watches him go with a surprised expression.

"Okay, note to self. Don't get on the ninja master's bad side." He decides as he realizes how scary Sensei Wu might be.

-------------------

Later, Cat Noir is carrying a stack of fish back to camp, much to his discomfort. Feeling the fish in his arms is a very new sensation for him, and it's not exactly pleasant yet.

"I guess actually grabbing them from the river is a lot different than eating them." He can't help but chuckle as he feels them through his suit.

Once he gets back, he's surprised to see someone with a hoodie still setting up camp, their back turned to him. They have their hood over their head, so Cat Noir can't make out anything about them. However, he still knows it's Ladybug.

"Oh, I guess I should de-transform too." He thinks to himself before looking down at the fish in his arms.

With a grimace, Cat Noir first sets the fish near the fire, but soon realizes an issue: he doesn't know how to transform back.

"You would only have to say, Plagg, claws in." Sensei Wu's voice suddenly says behind him, causing both him and Marinette to jump at his voice.

The two turn around, preventing Cat Noir from seeing Marinette's face still, and see Sensei Wu sitting by the fire, picking up and examining a fish.

"To deactivate your Miraculous. You only need to say, "Claws in." Sensei Wu repeats nonchalantly.

"Oh, uh." Cat Noir fumbles before looking at his ring.

"Claws in." He says, causing his transformation to vanish, and Plagg flies out of it and onto the ground with a groan.

"Man, I didn't expect the first transformation to be so long. I need some cheese. Anyone got any camembert?" He asks tiredly in his nasally voice.

"Plagg, we're in the forest." Sensei Wu bluntly reminds the Kwami, causing him to groan in frustration.

"But I don't want to eat fish! That's profiling of all cat kind." He argues back.

Sensei Wu sighs, and Adrien gets the distinct feeling that he's been through all this before. Meanwhile, Marinette stares at Adrien's back with eyes of recognition and dread.

"No, no, no, no." She begins pleading in her mind, already having a bad feeling.

She immediately starts backing away while Tikki flies out of her hoodie pocket with an annoyed expression.

"Will you stop whining. You do this every time." She glares in annoyance.

"But I'm tired, Sugar Cube." Plagg whines, causing Tikki's glare to harden.

"I said to quit calling me that, Stinky Sock!" She shouts at him.

Adrien chuckles as he observes this, wondering how beings so old can be so childish. He then remembers that Ladybug isn't transformed anymore and turns to her, only to blink in confusion as he realizes she's not where she was before.

The girl in question is hiding behind the tent, crouching behind it while pulling on her hoodie strings to tighten it and help obscure her face. All while screaming in her mind.

"Why is he here!? Why is he, of all people, my partner!?" She screams to herself in terror as she puts her covered head in her hands.

The girl slides onto her butt and hugs her legs as tears of fear and sorrow build in her eyes. She doesn't understand why any of this is happening.

Different scenarios begin building in her mind. Adrien finds out it's her and calls his father, ruining her family's life all over again, one where he throws her into danger, another where he takes her Miraculous and throws her off a cliff, and even one where Adrien sides with the knights to prevent her from getting her parents back.

"I don't want anything to do with him anymore. I learned from my mistakes. I just want it all to go away so my parents can live happily. So, why is this happening?" She mentally demands as the tears fall, wondering what she did now to cause all this to happen to her.

Poor Marinette. I do feel bad about what I'm doing to her here. Hope everyone is enjoying the story so far. I'm happy to try and answer any questions you might have.