Chapter Text
It started off, as most things do, with barely a whisper of what was to come. But then the distant rumbles of thunder would erupt, and the rain would pour down. Paris lay unaware of what was to come, that for a day their Guardian Angel would turn against them, overworked and overwhelmed…
Marinette screamed as she tried to rip her homework to shreds with her teeth, beyond exhausted. As ever, Hawk Moth didn’t seem to believe in days off; it seemed like there was a new Akuma every day now.
“Time to take out the trash, Milady!” Cat hollered as his partner dove and slid under thrown garbage. The latest akuma had spawned from an unsatisfied sanitation worker, fired for ‘unsatisfactory work’ from what the two could make out.
“Once Paris is covered in garbage,” the Akuma laughed. “They will see just how hard it is for us! Day in, day out, we put in the work and are never appreciated! Who’s laughing now huh?”
“Yeah yeah, can we just skip the cliche motive rant,” Cat asked, spinning his baton to deflect the foul-smelling ammo. “I’ve got more important things to do than listen to how you got canned good sir! As happy as I usually am with the trash talk today’s just not my day! In fact, I refuse !”
“Really Cat?” Ladybug sighed, hot and sweaty in her suit. It stuck to her skin like glue. She grabbed two trash can lids, using them as shields. Garbage Man, -such an unoriginal name by the way, Hawk Moth wasn’t at his best- was unloading more trash from his pack, which now that she thought about it looked more like the rear end of a garbage truck.
Trash battering her makeshift shields, Ladybug slipped backwards before Cat pogo-sticked over her head -Scrooge McDuck style- and drove his baton into the akuma’s head. Garbage Man staggered about in a daze, and Ladybug seized her chance. Slamming the lids into either side of his head like crashing cymbals in a cartoon, she flipped upwards, nailing him smack in the jaw with her foot.
Landing beside her partner, she watched as the now furious Akuma charged her like a bull.
“...and I had to be wearing red!”
“You know my Lady, I always wanted to be a garbage man,” said Cat, completely chill as ever extending his baton so that it covered either side of the street. He smirked as the akuma tripped, and went flying. “They always know how to take out the trash!”
Ladybug suppressed a groan, and the battle continued…
She’d staggered back to her house that day, and even out of her suit she still smelled terrible. Hastily thinking up a lie about how she’d fallen into a trash can, Marinette wondered if all the showers in the world would ever make her feel clean ever again.
“...Calculus!” Marinette groaned slamming her head on the table. “...this isn’t schoolwork, this is torture! Torture, I tell you!”
“Relax, deep breaths Marinette,” Tikki soothed, nuzzling into her neck reassuringly. “You battle akumatized villains day in and day out, you can handle a bit of homework.”
“...if you say so…” said her holder, not really sure if she could believe the little god. Bags were under her eyes, evidence that she hadn’t been sleeping well lately. “...it’s just, god I’m so overworked. Between this, akuma attacks and my commissions I feel like I’m drowning sometimes…”
She sounded like she had the whole weight of the world on her shoulders, and in a way Tikki mused sadly, she did. Sometimes, the little god wondered, was it really such a good idea to involve children this young in their battles? She had faith in Master Fu, but all the same… The little god let out a sigh. She just had to help her charge the best she could.
“It just isn’t right,” Tikki mused to herself with a small shake of the head as she floated off. Hopefully, cookies would make her feel better. “She’s a teenage girl, if Hawk Moth hadn’t stolen poor Nooroo and Duusu’s miraculous she wouldn’t even be fighting these battles. She should be worrying about getting to school on time, boyfriends, baking! Not about saving the world!”
Too often, Tikki remembered, she’d seen her charges burn out way too soon from the pressure placed upon them. The little god knew this was a mistake, but there was no turning back now. All she could do was help her charge through this the best she could. Nibbling on her cookies, Tikki looked out over the Parisian skyline in quiet contemplation.
Her charge had been awfully overworked as of late, and it made her worry. Tikki shuddered as a foul, loathsome thought passed through her. Marinette was usually upbeat, too upbeat to get Akumatized. Lately however… She remembered her charge crying into her pillow the night she returned from the Paris Wax Museum.
Marinette slowly took down her posters of Adrien, looking at each one with forlorn longing. “You heard him. Adrien's in love with another girl, and me? I'm just a friend.”
She sounded heartbroken, her tone one of someone just barely trying to hold back tears.
“...oh well, I doubt Adrien would want me anyways, given how often I screw up,” Marinette laughed bitterly. “I mean, it’s not like I can ever get a word out around him anyways!”
“Oh, I'm sure life has many surprises in store for you, Marinette!” Tikki tried to calm her, rubbing her hand supportively. “Who knows, it may not turn out the way you think?”
Too late, she realized that might have been the wrong thing to say as she heard her charge choke back a sob. Tikki facepalmed, realizing at times she may not have been always helpful with her crush.
“...yeah, maybe you’re right,” Marinette sighed sourly, shaking her head. Her eyes sparkled with glistening tears that she was trying desperately to hide. Probably in an attempt to save face in front of the little god. “That would've been one very silly first kiss, anyways.”
She fell into her chaise, placing her head into a pillow to muffle her sobs. A photo, one taken earlier that day lay on her bedside table, depicting when all was right in her world...
It had been the first time in a while that Tikki had honestly worried there was a risk of Marinette getting Akumatized. In a fit of panic, she’d hidden the earrings, just in case. It was better for Paris to face an akumatized Marinette than an Akumatized Ladybug.
...as if either option was ‘better’ than the other, Tikki sighed. The light was fading from a tiring day, and soon sleep would claim her chosen. Maybe for a few hours, she’d find a sort of peace. Then school would call again, and Marinette would only be able to turn in some half-finished work.
“...she wants good grades, but at the way things are progressing she might have to repeat the year…” Tikki thought, floating back in through the rooftop door. Already, her chosen was fast asleep at her desk, hopefully dreaming peacefully. Drool was dripping onto the paper. “...okay, oh well. Maybe just this once. A little bit of extra help can’t hurt! Besides, what Ms. Bustier doesn’t know won’t hurt her. I doubt there’s any rule for having your kwami lend a hand is there?”
With that, she began filling in the remaining questions. What was thousands of years worth of knowledge if you didn’t get a chance to put it to the test anyways? It was time to see if Mr. Newton really did take her inspirations to heart!
-----
A new day dawned, the sun slowly rising over Paris. Marinette pulled herself awake with a groan. Then it hit her, her homework! Looking down with a small shriek, her eyes soon sparkled with tears as she realized what had happened. She spotted Tikki curled up nearby and gently snoring. Kissing her kwami’s forehead, she whispered: “Thanks…”
Dressing herself, she raced out the door for school. She had to be on time, she just had to be!
Little did she know just what was in store today for her…
-----
Far away, Hawk Moth sensed the emotions of a rampant soul, one on the verge of collapse. He smiled, almost manically, as he realized just who he could akumatize if she was pushed any further. Marinette Dupain-Cheng, one of the only members of that class that he’d failed to Akumatize. There had been a few close calls, but always they’d failed as she was so infuriatingly postive..
But little by little, it seemed, the cracks were beginning to show. A smirk slowly slid across his face. He just needed to wait a little longer, it seemed. Then, finally, perhaps his most powerful Akuma may be born.
He was a patient man. If not today, maybe tomorrow. If not tomorrow, the day after. Soon however, his greatest creation would spread her wings!
-----
Marinette was relieved when lunch break came. The classroom seemed more suffocating than normal that day. It was like her very soul was being sapped out every moment she spent in that small room. She loved Ms. Bustier, she really did, but sometimes her class was… well, exhausting.
Especially when it came to one person…
“Well well, I don’t believe it. Dupain-Cheng, you actually can be on time!” Chloe snorted, barely looking up from doing her nails. “...honestly, it’s so shameful that our class president can’t be bothered to show up on time! She’s supposed to represent our school, be amongst the best and brightest! And here she is, constantly showing up late~!”
“...be quiet Chloe,” Marinette snapped, in no mood for her today. “...I don’t want to argue with you today.”
“Oh, so you do agree?” Chloe sneered.
“Well-” Marinette started, but wasn’t given a chance to finish.
“Oh, so you do! I say I should run for class president again,” Chloe grinned coming around to Marinette’s desk. “I mean, I’m me! What could possibly go wrong? I could buy the best desks, the best stationary, the best everything for this class. Daddy wants his daug… I mean you all to succeed after all…”
“Being class president is about more than buying your way to victory,” said Marinette, trying not to look at her. Don’t meet her eyes, don’t acknowledge her, she told herself. “You are representing the school.”
“And who better to do so? I’m a superhero, and the class star!” proclaimed Chloe, eyes apparently sparkling as she preened. Looking around the classroom, she asked: “Riiiiiiiiiighhhhhht?”
She was seemingly daring them to say differently. A few mutters of agreement, at least on the superhero front seemed to satisfy her.
“See?” Chloe asked. “They agree!”
“Hmmmm, maybe,” Lila mused, trying to feign disinterest as she walked past. Marinette fought back a groan; blood was in the water so of course the sharks would come. “...but if I remember right, the only reason you became a superhero is because you found a dropped Miraculous! You did nearly cause a subway wreck, right? Or do I remember differently?”
What a weird day it was, Marinette mused, as here she was agreeing with Lila of all people.
There were again murmurs of agreement.
“I think you should just give your Miraculous back to Ladybug, if you want my opinion,” Lila went on. “You’re an okay hero, but you’re also a wildcard. It’s too dangerous for you to continue, if you want my honest opinion. Hawk Moth knows who you are.”
It was even weirder when Marinette continued to agree, as she herself had these exact same thoughts at times.
“Yeah, well if he comes around I’d kick his butt!” Chloe continued to preen, striking a pose. “I’d be known as the one who defeated him and saved Paris! Awards, accolades! Fame forever lasting!”
….Maybe Chloe should have gotten the Ox Miraculous instead, Marinette pondered wearily. She was certainly as stubborn as one!
Again, Marinette welcomed the chance for an escape. Maybe now she could think in peace, no Lila or no Chloe to bother her. With a little audible groan, she let her head slam into the table, a small whine escaping her.
“...Marinette, are you alright?” Adrien’s warm voice asked her.
“...depends,” she grumbled. “...god, I’m not even out of school yet and today’s already exhausting. I was agreeing with Lila today. Lila!”
“Oh well, even a broken clock is right twice a day, I suppose?” Adrien offered a joke and a smile, which Marinette graciously accepted. Her soul felt a bit lighter, and then a bit wearier remembering what was and could never be.
“T-Thanks…” Marinette laughed a little before quickly silencing herself. “...it’s just… god, everything’s so hard nowadays. Between schoolwork and my other responsibilities, I don’t have time for myself anymore.”
There were papers in front of her, instructions on how to learn Chinese. A whole new hurdle for her.
“You’re learning Chinese?” Adrien asked curiously, sitting down beside her.
“Yeah, my uncle -you remember him right?- is coming to town again soon and… and I just don’t want to embarass myself again, that’s all. God knows I do that plenty enough already!” Another bitter laugh. “Besides, I have to get in touch with my heritage eventually, right?”
“It’s just… well, you shouldn’t overwork yourself Marinette, that’s all,” Adrien said, concerned. “Take it from someone who has an already hectic schedule. You need time for yourself.”
“Isn’t getting in touch with my heritage considered time for myself?” Marinette asked, far more snappishly and waspishly than she probably would have liked. She noticed her crush take a few nervous steps back, and then the guilt washed over her like a tidal wave. “...I’m sorry.”
“It’s… it’s okay,” Adrien apologized, somewhat nervously as that guilt wave became a tsunami. “I’ll… I’ll just leave you alone for a bit, okay? Just be… just be careful okay?”
Whoopee her, she’d scared her crush away and probably driven him further into Kagami’s arms. She wasn’t blind, she’d noticed how close the two were apparently getting lately. She liked Kagami, she really did. It was just… It was just that she wanted Adrien, and god she knew how entitled that sounded but he was just so perfect.
“...not like he’ll ever have me, I blew my chance with him at the Wax Museum,” Marinette mused. Shame and guilt and humiliation washed over her. She hiccuped back a sob. “I made such a fool of myself back then… of course, that’s really what I’m good, at aren’t I? Me, Marinette the Mess-Up. Lucky me.”
She laughed bitterly again For someone gifted with the embodiment of luck it sure didn’t seem like it at times, did it? Marinette wondered if there was a kwami embodying the concept of Irony. It sure wouldn’t have surprised her if that was the case really…
How she longed for the simple days before everything got so… complicated. When it was just Hawk Moth and his akumas that she worried and fretted over. When she wasn’t so heartsick for a boy she knew she’d probably never have. “Oh god. Have. ...here I go again, making him sound like he’s a prize to be won. I’m such an idiot.”
So she worked, trying to fight off her own humiliation...
In his lair, Hawk Moth could sense the rising emotions of one Marinette Dupain-Cheng. She’d been a former Miraculous holder, now that he thought about it. For a time, however brief, she carried the powers of the Mouse. Interesting.
He’d been on the verge of success before she stepped in and somehow saved the day. He had to give her credit. A fashion designer, great friend, and hero. If he wasn’t so dead set on turning her into his greatest creation… well, he’d actually hire her for the company when she got old enough. Maybe he would in another life, once his dear Emile was safely returned to him. This was just a test run, after all. If she proved her worth now… well, he’d make up his mind on hiring her later.
All he had to do was sit and wait. It was only a matter of time now. She was frayed, ready to snap. Teenagers were a mess of emotions; that was why they always made the best Akumas. It sounded almost predatory, he knew but the truth of the matter was that Francois Dupont was the perfect recipe for disaster. It was a stew, and both his spy and the Bourgeois girl seemed intent on stirring up trouble!
The recipe was almost done, the dinner bell ready to chime. Before the day was out, Marinette Dupain-Cheng would be a du pain to all of Paris!
“Marinette, hurry up!” Alya’s voice came, soft and loving and feeling like a ray of sun in an otherwise dreary day. “...if you don’t hurry, you’re going to be late for class. You’re going to miss Adrien, hmmm? Girl, I know you don’t want to do that!”
But what if she did?
“.....oohhhhh, look at you,” Alya said worriedly, fretting over her best friend. “God, you look exhausted. You haven’t been sleeping well, have you? Don’t tell me Ladybug’s words got to you? That you're thinking you failed as a hero by having your identity revealed?”
If it were only that!
“Well, let me tell you. In this instance, Ladybug was wrong!” Alya said and oh wow she must have been really steamed if she was willing to badmouth her idol. ...who, hilariously, was right in front of her this whole time, oh the irony there! “There are worse heroes, like…. Oh, Chloe. Just… Chloe. Why she got to use a Miraculous again is beyond me. I like Ladybug, I do, but some of her decisions…”
Yep, some of her decisions. She really needed to talk to Chloe about her Miraculous one of these days.
“...did… did you even eat breakfast this morning?” Alya badgered, stammering out worriedly as she worked herself up into full speed. “Please tell me you did, otherwise I’m going to shove a million croissants down your throat!”
“....noooo?” Marinette admitted, awkwardly. Pressing her fingers together in an antsy way, she continued, “I just wanted to make it to school on time, that’s all…”
“Right, that settles it,” Alya proclaimed, putting her foot down. Reaching into her shoulder bag, she pulled out a spare croissant she kept in a zip-lock baggie. “...I keep this for just such an emergency.”
Practically shoving it in Marinette’s mouth, Alya didn’t let go until she was satisfied Marinette had eaten it. With a smug little nod, hands on her hips, she then said: “I worry about you girl, I really do. You’ve been… well, acting really odd these last few days, you’re kinda starting to scare me you know.”
“...well, I…”
It was then Alya spotted the pages on the table, the pages Marinette had desperately been trying to hide under her bookbag. “...what is… Oh Marinette, you’re going to overwork yourself girl. I know your uncle is coming to town, and you want to respect your heritage but when you starve yourself doing that…”
“You’re just like Adrien…” Marinette muttered. “He said the same thing.”
“Ever stop to think he may have had a point?” Alya asked, drawing Marinette strangely silent.
The day went on, Marinette hoping there would be no more shenanigans. She just wanted to go home, flop in her bed and maybe take Alya’s advice and gorge herself on croissants. Of course, her life being the way it was, Fate had something else in mind.
“...Uh, Ms. Bustier?” Lila said in an annoyingly sweet but so obviously fake tone of voice. She raised her hand high and oooooooooh how Marinette wanted to set that ugly orange jumper of hers on fire. It was such a crime against fashion.
“Yes, Lila?” Ms. Bustier responded.
“Are you really sure that Marinette should be continuing as Class President?” Lila asked, going right for the jugular. “...I mean, just look at her!”
The whole class, as if in unison directed their gaze to Marinette’s desk which had one too many things on it and oooooooh yeah it did look bad didn’t it? Crap, she swore softly to herself.
“She looks so overwhelmed, and it’s obvious that she won’t be able to continue as Class President. At least not in this capacity…” Lila went on before wrapping an arm around her enemy. Softly, but obviously not sweetly, she said: “It’s okay, let someone else take over. Nobody will fault you for it…”
“...Marinette?” Ms. Bustier asked, coming over. “Do you want someone else to take over?”
She was caught between a rock and a hard place, she knew it. And the trouble was, she was severely tempted to say yes. Being Class President was important, true, but… as much as she hated to admit it, even Lila had a point. She hadn’t slept well in days, and thanks to Hawk Moth she probably wouldn’t be doing that anytime soon. Not to mention she was overwhelmed with everything else. Just last week Jagged Stone had called her with a new commission! She’d barely gotten started on it!
Sometimes, Marinette felt like she was on the end of her rope and she just wanted to… let… go… The words came out of her, before she could stop them. “Yes.”
“...well, that settles that!” Lila said, looking awfully triumphant.
“It’s okay,” Ms. Bustier said kindly. “Don’t worry, I’m sure we can find an apt replacement. You just get some rest okay? You want me to send you home early? You don’t look well…”
On any other day, Marinette would be inclined to agree. But she was too paralyzed with fear to respond. Here was Lila, actually gaining another foothold in her class. Her class! The one she had worked so hard to pull together and keep safe and now that manipulative little witch, that liar liar ugly orange jacket on fire HAD a new foothold! The fox was in the henhouse, and she showed no signs of leaving.
“Marinette, are you alright?” Alya asked, watching her best friend look to be paralyzed with… what was that? It couldn’t have been fear, could it? By instinct by now, she was keeping an eye on the sky… “Girl, is something wrong? Breathe, it’s okay! Whoever replaces you, I’m sure they’ll do a good job! There’s no need to be jealous…”
In hindsight, Alya mused, that might have been the wrong thing to say.
“I’m not jealous…” Marinette mumbled, and Alya missed the snicker a certain false fox let out.
“Sure you’re not,” Lila said before helping her up. “You don’t look well, I really should get you to the nurse’s office.”
“No no,” Alya said. “I’ll do it, come on Adrien, let’s get my girl out of here.”
Lila let out a low growl, again missed by Alya.
“Yeah, that… uh, might be best,” said Adrien, nodding in agreement before throwing a watchful look at Lila for some reason. “Let’s go.”
“So,” Ms. Bustier said, looking at her favorite student with a bit of worry. “Does anyone want to run as Marinette’s replacement? Alya?”
A brief flicker of hope, yes of course!
“...sorry Ms. Bustier, between the Ladyblog and everything else in my life, I’m swamped.”
“Oh, I see,” Ms. Bustier said as Alya threw her best friend an apologetic look. “...anyone else?”
Embarrassment, rage, humiliation rushed through Marinette like an inferno. On a better day and in a more rational state of mind, she might have realized that Ms. Bustier didn’t have it out for her specifically. That she was just doing her job. But today was not a good day for her, really. Too late, as Adrien and Alya helped her to the nurse’s office did she realize what was coming for her.
A little purple moth, flapping it’s way to her and by the shriek that rose up from Alya’s throat, she must have seen it.
“Oh god,” Alya whispered. “Deep breathes Marinette, remember those anti-akuma exercises we all went to. Think nice thoughts, happy thoughts!”
Marinette’s breath caught in her throat, her panic rising even higher with each passing moment. Nonononononononononono! It couldn’t be, no not her! Please, anyone but her! Just… just go to someone else! She tried to break away, run from what she knew was coming. But it was too late now. Nononono, she couldn’t let this happen. Not to her! She had to fight this off, and fast! For Paris.
“Marinette Dupain-Cheng, a Princess toppled from her throne. You’re overworked and overwhelmed, and someone stole your crown from you,” Hawk Moth’s voice seeped into her mind, sounding almost sympathetic. She couldn’t let her archenemy win this, she couldn’t let him in! She just couldn’t! Marinette was fighting hard, trying so hard to fight off the power that was rapidly starting to consume her. “I can help you get it back, all you have to do in return is get me Ladybug and Cat Noir’s Miraculous. What say you, Princess Justice?”
By now, the whole class had come out to see what was the matter.
Her court was at hand. Good.
Everyone could only watch, in stupefied horror as Marinette mentally fought, the dark cocoon wrapping itself all around her. Hawk Moth's ugly purple mask had slid over her face. Marinette’s eyes were closed tightly as she fought against herself, trying not to give in.
Again and again, she whispered these words: “No, no, no…”
“You gotta fight it girl,” Alya shouted, shaking her. “You’re stronger than this, come on! You’re the strongest person I know!”
The court jester tried to reach her.
“Come on Dupain-Cheng, don’t tell me this is what it takes! Just one bad day for you?”
And the sorceress stood watching, with an evil glint in her eye.
“Perfect….”
The perfect Princess, in a dress of topaz. Always upbeat and never giving in.
“Come on Marinette, you can do it! We believe in you!”
The loyal knight in shining armor, strong and brave but like a gentle flower.
“Marinette… no…”
The Master of Games, the dancing monkey!
“If this is what it takes to stop you, Marinette, I dare you to pull yourself out of this!”
And the bard, ready to sing songs to cheer everyone up on a rainy day.
“You can do this dudette, fight him!”
Finally, with hot, salty, humiliated tears running down her face, she gave in, and let out a little whisper, saying something that made Adrien freeze. A cold chill ran down his spine.
“Tikki, I order you to take the earrings and run!”
A little pinkish-red sprite rushed out of her bag, and then finally the dark energy coated her before the cocoon burst open. But a beautiful butterfly wasn’t what came out of it, no. But a devil, a dark twisted parody of a magical girl that didn’t want to bring joy but devastation.
Covered in frills and lace, her costume a deep gothic black with red supplements, a thorny crown rested upon her head. Twin permanent tear stains ran down her face, like the world’s ugliest makeup. In one hand was the Scales of Justice. In the other, a royal rapier. The one who was once known as Marinette was ready to judge her court, and all would pay a horrific price for crossing her.
-----
In his lair, Hawk Moth laughed. Finally! Marinette Dupain-Cheng was his!
-----
Alya ran, realizing just how totally screwed they were. Paris needed Ladybug to save them. Only thing was… Ladybug wasn’t coming. Not this time.
Diving into a classroom, she hoped Princess Ju… no, Marinette hadn’t seen her. She just had to believe that her girl was somewhere deep down in there. “...thought doubtfully, I don’t think she’d be able to hear me, not this time. Damn it, Akumas never listen to anyone! Not when they’re like this! Fuck…”
Her best friend was Ladybug. Of course she was! She should have seen it. Some reporter she was…
“Now what do I do?” Alya wondered, hiding behind a desk and trying to block out the screams. “There’s… there’s just got to be something! Anything!”
It was then she spotted her, a bright beacon of hope in the darkness. “...oh dear, I was always afraid this would happen but I never wished to see the day! Oh Marinette…”
The little fairy sounded like she was near tears.
“Yeah, you and me both,” Alya said sourly. “Tikki right?”
“...Alya,” Tikki said politely. “It’s so nice to finally, really meet you. If only it were under…”
“Better circumstances?” Alya finished. “Yeah, I know. I have a lot of questions to ask you, but now isn’t the time. If we get out of this, I gotta hit you and my girl up for an interview!”
“I’ll make sure you get it,” Tikki smiled weakly, with a little nod. “But you know what you have to do now, right?”
She was holding out The Earrings. Alya knew what was being asked of her.
“....oh oh god, are you sure?” Alya asked, a frayed mess of nerves. “...like, isn’t there anyone else? I want to be a superhero again, yeah, but not like this!”
“You have to!” Tikki pleaded.
“No way, these are Marinette’s! And Marinette’s alone!”
“Except…” Tikki trailed off, casting a glance outside.
“Yeah, you’re right,” Alya said as burning fire began to fill her. Call it rage against Hawk Moth for turning her best friend into that monster, call it a need for justice. Call it love for her friend. Call it whatever you wanted. But it fueled her, and this fox right now needed to don some spots! Paris was in peril, and while it’s usual guardian wasn’t rushing to the rescue right now… It would still be saved. Just by someone else this time.
“You know the words, right?” Tikki asked.
“I’ve been kept up nights thinking about them, something I am not embarrassed to admit!” Alya answered, hesitantly taking the earrings. “...I just wished there was a different time other than now to say them.”
She took a deep breath. No more hesitation, no more fear. Paris needed her. “Tikki… SPOTS ON!”
And Alya felt the warm light of creation rush over her.