#turtle!alya

“Why so scared, Marinette? What are you hiding from me?” Clueseau calls after them. They round a corner – when had they gotten inside? Alya really needs to focus – with Clueseau hot on their heels. The back of Alya’s neck prickles for no discernible reason, and it’s a sixth sense more than anything that tells her to dive to the side and bring Marinette with her. A beam of blue light shoots down the hallway right where they’d been two seconds ago and hits a group of people.

“Oh,” Alya says blankly as literal thought bubbles appear above the people’s heads, broadcasting words and images for the world around them to see. “That’s how that works.” She gasps and scrambles back with Marinette as Clueseau advances on them, holding his magnifying glass out, eyes gleaming, and – oh. That’s the wall. Alya’s hit the wall. There’s nowhere else for her to go from here.

“Now,” Clueseau says with a wide grin, “show me your secrets, Al – gah!” He topples forward, stumbling and windmilling his arms as he tries to keep himself upright. What happened? A flash of silver attracts Alya’s eyes to their saviour.

“Ooh, are we solving a mystery?” Chat Noir says brightly, twirling his staff. “Does that mean I get dibs on Mr Green?”

“I think you’d work better as the victim!” Clueseau shoots a beam at Chat Noir, who leaps out of the way and uses his staff to deflect the next beam. “Now, show me who you really are!”

“I suggest you ladies vacate the premises,” Chat Noir says before bounding in and engaging Clueseau. As they battle, staff to magnifying glass to foot to hand, Alya and Marinette creep along the hallway wall until they’re far enough from the scuffle that they can stumble to their feet and bolt.

“In here!” Marinette yanks Alya into an empty classroom and slams the door shut.

“Marinette, give me my Miraculous,” Alya says immediately. “I have to get out there – I have to save Nino –”

Marinette’s eyes crinkle. “Are you sure that’s a good idea?” she says. “I don’t think you’re in any kind of headspace to focus on the battle. And Nino knows you’re Rena Rouge, so it’s not like you can hide Alya from him behind a mask –”

“If you make me sit this out when I could be saving my boyfriend,” Alya says shakily, “I’ll never forgive you.”

Marinette’s expression hardens. Alya gulps in a deep breath to apologise, to say sorry for crossing the line and talking to Ladybug like that, but then there’s a pink flash of light and Ladybug is standing before her in place of her best friend. Ladybug immediately unslings her yo-yo, swipes it open, and dips her hand inside.

“I don’t think you’re fit to be Rena Rouge right now.” Instead of the familiar orange fox tail necklace, an equally familiar hexagonal green bracelet sits in Ladybug’s palm. “But I do think that we need someone to have our backs. Someone Shadowmoth won’t have any idea about.”

“I’m in.” Alya snatches the bracelet and slips it onto her wrist. “Anything to save Nino.”

“Hello, Ni – huh?” Wayzz blinks and stares between Ladybug and Alya after he materialises in his usual flash of green light. “Why does Alya have my Miraculous?”

“Nino’s not here right now.” Alya clenches her fists and squares her shoulders. “But I’m gonna save him, just like all the times he’s saved me. I’m gonna bring him back. Wayzz, shell on!”

Alya hadn’t considered how different it might feel to transform with another Miraculous. Transforming with Trixx is light, airy, like dancing in the wind and trying to touch smoke. It’s familiar. With Wayzz, it’s like something settles over Alya’s shoulders, grounding her, keeping her solidly planted in the mud to protect the people she needs to protect. It’s not bad, for sure, but Alya finds herself missing the familiarity of Trixx’s transformation, even as the green light fades and leaves her in her new suit.

“You ready?” Ladybug says. Alya looks down at herself. Her Rena Rouge costume is light and flowy, perfect for jumping around and keeping her enemies on their toes. Her Turtle costume is almost exactly the opposite: hexagonal armour across her chest and shoulders, down her hips and thighs, with chunky combat boots instead of slim, thigh-high ones. No tail to get in the way. No fox ears for someone to grab. A practical braid instead of her bushy ponytail. And from what she can feel, goggles instead of a mask. Just like Carapace.

Just like her Nino.

No more dancing.

“I’m ready,” Alya growls and unslings her shield. “Call me Sentinelle.”

Chat Noir and Clueseau are long gone by the time Ladybug and Sentinelle make it back to the scene of the battle. But the walls and floor are scorched, cratered, blown apart, and whoever had lost this first battle, they hadn’t gone down without a fight.

“Ladybug!” One of the people who’d been hit when Alya and Marinette had dodged comes running up to them. The thought bubble above his head shows him kissing a blonde girl – Aurore, Sentinelle recognises her – the answers to some Maths quiz, and it takes a great effort for Sentinelle to rip her eyes away so that she doesn’t get lost forever in thoughts that she shouldn’t even know. That she has no right to know.

“Jean! What is it?”

Jean Duparc skids to a halt. “Chat Noir and Clueseau! They went that way!” He points back the way that Alya and Marinette had originally run when trying to escape Clueseau. “Chat Noir didn’t look too good!”

“He wasn’t hit, was he?” Ladybug says immediately. Her shoulders slump when Jean shakes his head. “Good. Okay. Get somewhere safe. Sentinelle and I will take care of it.”

“Whoa…” Jean stares at Sentinelle. “There’s a new Turtle?”

“Temporary,” Sentinelle says shortly. “Let’s go, Ladybug.”

The fight has moved to the courtyard by the time Ladybug and Sentinelle catch up with Chat Noir. When they burst out through the double doors, the courtyard is in chaos, with everyone screaming and trying to cover or bat away their thought bubbles or just outright get out of there. But Sentinelle only has eyes for one person.

So does Ladybug.

“No!” Ladybug’s voice cracks. “Chat Noir!”

Clueseau grins down at them from where he’s perched on the railing of the balcony above. Chat Noir’s beside him, pinned to one of the posts by Clueseau’s foot on his chest and the white hoodie that’s tying his hands behind his back to the pole, and the sharpened end of Clueseau’s magnifying glass against his throat seems to be the only thing keeping him upright. There’s blood all over his face and in his hair, staining it strawberry blond. What in the world had Clueseau done to him? Even Sentinelle can’t quite believe just how badly Clueseau had torn into Chat Noir.

“Ladybug!” Clueseau sings. “Give me your Miraculous and I won’t hurt your kitty more than I already have!”

“You don’t need to hurt him anymore!” Ladybug says frantically, approaching Clueseau with her hands up. “I’ll give you my Miraculous! Just don’t hurt him again!”

“Ladybug…don’t you dare…” Chat Noir groans. He hisses when Clueseau digs the point of the magnifying glass harder into his throat, forcing his head further back against the pole.

“Why don’t you just reveal Chat Noir’s secrets?” Sentinelle calls from behind Ladybug, trying to give her traumatised best friend the time to collect herself mentally and stop her freakout or flashback – Sentinelle can’t tell which – at the sight of Chat Noir being hurt. “Why go to all this trouble to tie him up and threaten him?”

“So, I find out his secrets,” Clueseau says. “So, I figure out his identity. I get his ring. Where does that leave me? I still have to deal with Ladybug and her band of merry friends. But Shadowmoth told me that Ladybug would do anything if her kitty was in dang…er…” He trails off as Sentinelle emerges into full view, shield on her arm. “Who the hell are you? And why do you have my Miraculous?”

“Y-Your Miraculous?” Chat Noir’s eyes bulge and he strains against his bonds. “Nino? You’re Carapace?”

“Well, you’re clearly not using it,” Sentinelle says. “I thought I’d borrow it.”

“Who are you?”

“No one you know. Ladybug grabbed me off the street.”

Clueseau snorts. “Yeah, that sounds about right, handing out Miraculouses like free candy.”

“Hey!” Ladybug stamps her foot. “That’s not true – and that’s not the point! Give me back my kitty!”

“Then give me your Miraculous,” Clueseau shoots back.

“Don’t even think about it,” Sentinelle says after Ladybug hesitates for a split second too long. Her quick mind, honed by her experience as Rena Rouge, has already taken in the situation before her and summarised the information she needs to adapt to her surroundings. “You can’t shoot us. Not without taking your magnifying glass away from Chat Noir. And the minute you do that, Ladybug’s gonna kill you. We all know not to make her angry by now, and Chat Noir’s always been her button.”

“Yeah,” Chat Noir quips, keeping up his usual brave face despite being battered and an inch from death by skewering. “You should’ve been there for Psycomedian.”

“Smart.” Clueseau taps the metal railing with his free hand in a clear mockery of a slow clap. “Then you know that you can’t do anything to me before I kill Chat Noir. And we both know that Ladybug would never let that happen.”

“Lucky Charm!” A flash of pink light later and Ladybug’s holding a baseball bat. Clueseau snorts.

“Okay,” he says. “I’ll bite. What convoluted plan are we going with this time?”

Ladybug’s silent for a long moment. Then she says, “Sentinelle, protect Chat Noir,” and leaps up to the balcony, brandishing her baseball bat with a bellow. Clueseau takes his magnifying glass away from Chat Noir’s throat for a fraction of a second, to instinctively try and fend off the enraged superhero, and Sentinelle acts.

“Shellter!” A green bubble encases Clueseau’s hand, trapping his magnifying glass when he tries to stab it back at Chat Noir.

“Oh, come on!” is all he has time to say before Ladybug’s on him, tackling him off the railing and onto the balcony, furiously beating at him with her yo-yo and baseball bat together. With his weapon trapped, Clueseau is defenceless against Ladybug’s onslaught, but it can’t last forever. Not if they want to get to the akuma, which is almost certainly in the magnifying glass.

“Well, hello there,” Chat Noir says when Sentinelle leaps up to tear his hoodie bonds away and scoop him up. “Good thing milady has someone to keep her head on for her.”

“Trust me, I should get paid for it,” Sentinelle says as she jumps down to the ground and deposits Chat Noir on his feet. Her head whips around for a plan, for some way to defeat Clueseau and save Nino, because Chat Noir might be safe now but Ladybug’s still advancing on Clueseau with her weapons. And as much as that’s not Nino, it still is Nino, and Sentinelle will be damned if she lets anyone hurt him, even her best friend.

“So, what’s the plan?” Chat Noir shakes his staff to extend it, wincing and stumbling in the process. Sentinelle does him a favour and pretends not to notice it, because he’s about as likely to sit this out as she is. “What did bugaboo come up with this time?”

Sentinelle snorts and points at the bloody battle between Ladybug and Clueseau, who’s taking advantage of his arm no longer being trapped in a green dome to beat Ladybug back with beams of blue light. Chat Noir blanches.

“Ah,” he says. “It’s one of those, then. Just like Psycomedian.”

“One of these days, you’re gonna tell me what that means,” Sentinelle murmurs, continuing to look around for an idea of how to help Ladybug. Her bracelet beeps shrilly, reminding her that she has only minutes to save Nino. “Any ideas?”

“Apart from beating the hell out of him?” Chat Noir says.

“You’ll do no such thing!”

“Okay, okay!” Chat Noir holds his hands up. “I’m just going off the Lucky Charm!”

“Hmm.” Sentinelle narrows her eyes at the battle above. Her eyes land on the bat, then on Ladybug and Clueseau’s feet, and then they’re drawn to herself and Chat Noir. “I got it! If we can get him off-balance for just a second –”

“– then we can strike him out!” Chat Noir’s eyes shine. “I knew I liked you, Sentinelle. Pity you’re just temporary.”

“Thank you, thank you, I try.” Sentinelle waves an airy hand at Chat Noir, then braces herself, tensing her muscles in preparation for the jump. “You ready?”

Chat Noir’s fingers tighten around his staff. “Always.”

Sentinelle takes a deep breath, then flings her shield like a frisbee. It whizzes between Ladybug and Clueseau, making them yelp and jump apart as it slams and embeds itself in the brick wall next to them, and Sentinelle’s up and on them in an instant, grabbing for Clueseau’s hand.

“Ah, ah!” Clueseau holds his magnifying glass above his head. “No touchy!”

“Cataclysm!”

The balcony ground beneath their feet rumbles. Sentinelle yanks her shield out of the wall and jumps out of the way of the massive hole that appears under Clueseau’s feet, sending him toppling through. With a surprised cry, his arms shoot up to grab desperately at the bars of the metal railing, to keep himself from splattering on the ground below, and Ladybug swiftly seizes the opportunity.

“Give me that!” She slams her bat down on Clueseau’s hand so hard that the loud crack makes Sentinelle wince and set a mental reminder to have words with her best friend later. Clueseau has no chance to react to losing his grip on his magnifying glass, since he’s busy clinging to the railing with his other hand for dear life and howling in agony.

“Got it!” Chat Noir calls from below. A moment later, an evil purple and black butterfly wings its way up through the hole, past Clueseau. While Ladybug goes through her usual purifying spiel, Sentinelle grabs Clueseau by his tacky detective’s coat and hauls him up and out of the hole, then kneels next to him.

“Miraculous Ladybug!” The healing ladybugs swarm through the school, setting everything to rights again. When a dark, bubbling mass encases Clueseau and fades away to reveal Nino, who’s blinking and staring around in bewilderment, Sentinelle’s not ashamed to admit that she sheds a tear or two.

“What the heck am I doing here?” Nino says. “Oof!”

“It’s okay,” Sentinelle murmurs, squeezing him as tight as she can. “You’re safe now.”

“Nino Lahiffe.” Ladybug helps Nino to his feet and presses a royal blue charm into his hand. A weight lifts from Sentinelle’s shoulders that she hadn’t even realised was there until now as she stands up to join them. “Keep this magical charm to protect you from Shadowmoth. He’ll never get to you again.”

“Thanks, Ladybug.” Nino scratches the back of his head. “Have you seen Alya? I gotta apologise to her –”

“Trust me, you’re not the one who owes an apology,” Sentinelle says, praying that no one notices the way her voice cracks. Nino looks over his shoulder, spots her, and his eyes widen.

“Dude. There’s a new Turtle?”

“Nah. I’m just a temp.” Sentinelle shoots Ladybug a look. Once Ladybug smiles and nods back at her, Sentinelle hugs Nino again and whispers into his ear, “Can’t wait to see you in my colours one day.”

“What –” Nino’s eyes bulge out of his head. He looks at Ladybug, then Sentinelle, then back at Ladybug, and he finally decides to lean against the railing and stare at Sentinelle. Are those stars in his eyes? “Dude.”

Sentinelle can’t help but preen under the praise. She’s only human, after all.

“Did I miss something?” Chat Noir says from where he’s perched on his staff, now free of blood. Ladybug gasps and drags him over the railing and onto the balcony.

“Don’t you ever do that again, you stupid cat!” she cries, wrapping her arms around his neck.

“Uh, I’ll try not to?” Chat Noir shoots Sentinelle a pleading look but she just smirks back. Nope. He’s on his own for this one.

“I could’ve lost you!”

“But you didn’t. This cat hasn’t lost all his nine lives just yet.”

“Not “just yet”! Never! If you get yourself killed, I’ll kill you myself!”

“I don’t know how that’ll work but okay?”

Maybe Sentinelle should remind Ladybug that she has a boyfriend and it’s not Chat Noir.

“Stupid cat,” Ladybug repeats. Chat Noir’s neck and Sentinelle’s sanity are saved by the beeping of Ladybug’s earrings, reminding her that they’re on a time limit, and she waits a moment longer before releasing Chat Noir, who exhales explosively once he’s free. “Get out of here before I tie you up and never let you out again.”

“Me-ow,” Chat Noir grins. But Ladybug gives him a Look, so he salutes and leaps over the balcony.

“We have to go,” Ladybug says. “But you’ll get Alya back soon enough.”

Sentinelle grins at a starstruck Nino and then follows Ladybug through the closest door, down the hallway until they come across a storage closet, since the classrooms are starting to fill with students returning to class now that the excitement is over. Sentinelle’s bracelet gives its final, desperate beep just as the closet door slams shut behind them, and then she’s encased in green light and the solid weight of the Turtle dissipates off her.

“Thank you, Marinette,” Alya says, handing the bracelet back to Marinette, who’d detransformed just seconds before her.

“No. Thank you, Alya. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

“And I don’t know what I’d do without you. Let’s just agree that we keep each other’s heads on.”

Marinette giggles. After a moment, just as Alya’s about to push open the closet door, she sighs.

“Look,” Marinette says. “Obviously, I don’t want my drama spread everywhere. But…I never considered what I’d be doing to you, relying on you that heavily. I know you don’t mind!” she adds before Alya can open her mouth. “But, well…if you’re my support then who’s yours?”

“I’ll be fine, Marinette. You just let me worry about you.”

“No! Alya, you shouldn’t have to shoulder this by yourself! So…” Marinette takes a deep breath. “If you want to talk to Nino…if you want to tell him that you’re supporting Ladybug and you’ll keep him in the loop even if you can’t tell him the specifics…if you want to tell him that I was attacked by an akuma and you’re helping me deal with it and that’s why I’m spacey…”

“Are you sure?” Alya says, although she prays that Marinette doesn’t take it back because this is huge. If she can lean on Nino, just like Marinette leans on her…maybe this chain of leaning on each other will work out, will keep them stronger than ever.