Scars were going to become more and more abundant on Adrien's body, he already knew that. The burns from Evillustrator may have been magically healed by Ladybug's power, but their scars remained. Hopefully they could heal over time, but he was terrified that they would put his whole career and civilian life in jeopardy. He was a young model after all–not that it was something he really wanted to do–having scars on his face would damage his image. It would risk his identity being revealed.

There was only so much makeup could do. He would only be able to hide this for so long, and could only hope they'd heal and disappear with time.

In his bathroom, Adrien put the finishing blending touches on his makeup, fixing it to match his skin tone seamlessly. No one could know about this, not his photographers, makeup artists, assistants... no one. Especially his father.

Plagg didn't seem too worried by this. He didn't quite understand the concept of being a model. Then again, Plagg was almost as old as all of humanity, and his view of the world was drastically different than Adrien's. According to Plagg, the last he had had a holder was in the late Ming dynasty in the 1630s. He'd somehow been the cause of a terrible plague in the Shanxi Province which killed more than 200,000 people and led to the dynasty's collapse. It was no wonder the other kwamis refused to let his miraculous be used again. So why now?

That thought constantly ate up Adrien's thoughts. Why now? Why release Plagg into the world now? Why pick Adrien? Discluding Ladybug's jewel and the two that had been stolen, there were about fifteen other miraculous he could have been given instead. If Plagg was so dangerous, why put the risk out there?

"Hey Plagg?" Adrien was putting away his makeup kits, his thoughts finally getting the better of him. He needed answers.

"Yeah kid?"

"Why... Why did the other kwamis choose to send you out here? I thought you were like... really dangerous or something?"

"Oh, trust me, they didn't," Plagg said and chuckled. He was nibbling on a block of cheese Adrien had requested that morning.

"Then... How are you here?"

"The guardian thought it would be best, and only Tikki would dare argue with the guardian," Plagg answered.

"Ok but... Why didn't they send any of the other miraculous?"

"Jeez, tired of me already?"

"No, no! That's not it!" Adrien said, "It's just that I'm sorta confused. There's so many other miraculous, and you said it yourself, you're too dangerous to have a wielder anymore."

"Well... You're absolutely right. But Master Fu was getting desperate. Missing the miraculous of the moth and peacock is taking a toll on him, which would be why he jumped to Tikki and I as soon as Wayzz sensed the presence of Nooroo," Plagg explained. "Besides, if he had picked any of the other kwamis, you may have not become a superhero."

"Huh? I thought you said I was worthy or something. Like... a connection?"

"Yeah. A connection." Plagg nodded. "Between you and I. I felt something pulling me to you, meaning you were fitting enough to come close to putting that ring on your finger. It could easily kill anyone else if they're not worthy of it."

"And... so I could use any other miraculous?"

"I mean, maybe?" Plagg shrugged, "The likelihood of being a match with more than one is incredibly rare. Like, for instance, if you tried to use the earrings of the ladybug, it could absolutely destroy you with no way of undoing it."

"Huh?!" Adrien's eyes widened.

"Don't think too hard about it. Your assistants are probably waiting on you, you should get going."

"Right... Right..." Adrien nodded, picking up his backpack and heading out his bedroom door. Plagg tucked himself into one of the bag's pockets, concealing himself from view.

***

"Mrs. Bustier? May I go to the bathroom?" Marinette raised her hand. It had been a few days since Evillustrator had appeared, and it was now the start of a new week.

"Yes Marinette, but make it quick. We're starting our reading of Macbeth soon." Mrs. Bustier gave her a nod of approval. Marinette quickly got up and rushed to the bathroom.

"Is something wrong or do you actually have to pee?" Tikki deadpanned, the second Marinette burst into the girl's restrooms. No one was there, so it was safe for Tikki to come out.

"It's definitely an emergency!" Marinette said, practically slamming her purse into the ground in a state of panic. She dragged herself into a stall and began searching through her purse. Tikki remained on the other side of the door.

"Umm..."

"No! No! No!" Marinette exclaimed, emptying the contents of her purse.

"Are you ok in there?"

"I don't have a pad!" Marinette whisper screamed.

"A... what?"

"A pad!" Marinette hissed, "My period came early!"

"Oh... gross... humans are weird."

"Are you telling me that kwamis don't have periods?!" Marinette seethed.

"Um... no. We don't. I don't have genitals," Tikki said, awkwardly.

"You what?!"

"We don't have a biological sex, we don't need to. Now here," Tikki tossed a pad into Marinette's stall.

"Where'd you get this?!" Marinette asked, flushed with embarrassment.

"I made it. I'm the kwami of creation, or did you forget?"

"Of course I didn't forget!" Marinette said, her embarrassment getting even worse.

"Yeah, basically, kwamis don't procreate so-"

"I do NOT need to know! Thank you!" Marinette said from the other side of the stall door. "... doesn't that make you biologically nonbinary?"

"Think about what you just said, and know that you are wrong." Marinette could practically feel Tikki's annoyance.

"Alright but-" Marinette opened the stall door once she was done and headed towards the sinks- "How are you a girl?"

"Cause I just felt like it," Tikki said sarcastically. "Hurry up, your teacher is waiting on you."

Tikki flew back into Marinette's purse as Marinette finished washing her hands. Marinette hurried out of the bathroom and rushed to Mrs. Bustier's class. As she threw the door open, she stumbled on her own two feet and came crashing to the ground as if she'd been shot in the leg.

"GWAH!" Marinette fell with a hard thud, straight onto the floor.

"Marinette, are you alright?" Mrs. Bustier asked.

"Ouch... I'm fine..." Marinette groaned, picking herself up. She could hear Chloe and Sabrina snickering from where they sat. Marinette ignored them and made her way back to her own seat where the book of Macbeth, translated to French, sat there waiting for her.

"What kind of doll is this?" Chloe scoffed. Marinette did her best to ignore her. "I didn't know Marinette still played with toys." Marinette's eyes fluttered down to Chloe where her stomach instantly did a flip. Tikki was there. Tikki was in Chloe's hands. "Maybe I can give it to Prince Ali at the toy drive today."

"It's Marinette's though," Sabrina squeaked.

"She won't miss it."

"Did you say Prince Ali?!" Rose practically jumped from her seat in the back of the class.

"Not to you," Chloe sneered.

"Prince Ali is staying at Chloe's dad's hotel," Sabrina said.

"Prince Ali, fabulous he, Ali Ababwa!" Kim sang.

"Ugh, not that Prince Ali." Chloe rolled her eyes. "But yes, Rose, if you must know, I'll be meeting the prince tonight at the charity event."

"C-could you give him a special letter from me?!" Rose asked sweetly, passing a letter to Kim, who sat in front of her, who then gave it to Mylene to give to Chloe at the front.

"Hm," Chloe suppressed a laugh, "No prob," she mocked.

"Thank you so much Chloe! It means the world to me!" Rose said with the giddiest smile.

"Refocus everyone, please," Mrs. Bustier interrupted the obviously super important conversation. Chloe had set Tikki down on her desk at that point. Marinette could feel her insides churning, and it wasn't from her cramps. "Now, as we start reading, I want you all to take notes. We'll be having a quiz on this each Wednesday."

"Hey, Rose," Chloe looked to the back of the class as Mrs. Bustier began her instructions even further. When Chloe got the bubbly girl's attention, she held up the letter meant for Prince Ali, and ripped it in half. Rose's expression instantly changed from one of happiness to one of utter shock. She looked like she was on the verge of tears. Chloe couldn't have cared less, of course. "What? You think you could magically swoon the prince with a letter? Ew, did you even spray perfume on it?"

Rose buried her face in her hands, sinking to her desk to hide herself. Juleka, who sat next to her, looked unsure of what to do to help the situation. Rose didn't talk for the rest of the class period. She was wallowing in misery. That letter had to have been incredibly important to her.

Once the bell rang, Marinette tried to confront Chloe. Not about the Rose situation, but for Tikki.

"Hey uh... Chloe?" Marinette chased her down the hall. The girl could walk surprisingly fast.

"What is it, Marinette?" Chloe asked with incredible annoyance.

"That uh... doll... it's mine."

"Yeah. I know." Chloe stuffed Tikki into her own white purse which looked rather expensive.

"Please give it back?"

"Wouldn't you rather it go to the kid's donation with the Prince?" Chloe asked, "He's giving toys to kids in hospitals so that they feel less lonely. Surely someone of the appropriate age would appreciate this more than you."

"It's... sentimental," Marinette said.

"So?"

"So give it back!"

"Why'd you bring it to school if it means so much to you?" Chloe scoffed.

"Because..."

Chloe's phone rang and of course, she answered it to avoid talking with Marinette any longer, "Yes dad, I'll be down in a sec. Thank you! Yeah... mhm! Of course!" She then hung up. "Sorry Marinette, but I gotta go. But I promise you, if the Prince doesn't want this ... doll... I will definitely give it back to you!"

Chloe spun back around and hurried down the stairs to the main courtyard. "Chloe, wait!" Marinette tried stopping her but to no avail. Chloe was on a mission of her own, and Marinette was stranded without her kwami.

As soon as school was over, Marinette rushed home and begged her parents to drive her to Chloe's dad's hotel. She had to get Tikki back, and if she had to break into Chloe's room to do that, then so be it. It took a lot of convincing but eventually, her dad gave in.

It was fantastic. She was a superhero that fought incredible evils with superpowers, looking over her city as a new heroine. And she couldn't drive a car. There was a slight imbalance there.

Chloe's family owned a prestigious hotel. It was the type that would cost a fortune just to spend one night in. No normal person could ordinarily get a room, it was designed for celebrities, or people of great power with money to their name. Therefore, it was protected. A baggage man stood up front, whose job was to assist people with luggage but also keep unwanted guests away.

"H-hi!" Marinette walked up to the man posted at the front doors to the lobby, "I'm M-marinette, I'm in Chloe's class and I kind of need to see her right now..?"

"Are you a friend of hers?" the man asked sternly.

"No- yes- we're in the same class! I've known her for years!" Marinette said. "So uh... yeah, we're friends."

"Alright then, I suppose. You know where her room is?"

"Definitely!" Marinette lied. The man opened the door to the lobby for her and Marinette casually walked inside, trying to suppress her anxiety over the situation. Never before had she been in the Bourgeois hotel, it was lavished with an expensive decorum, which made Marinette feel incredibly out of place.

Marinette didn't even know where to begin searching. Chloe likely had her room on the top floor, as her family did in fact live in the luxurious hotel. But she couldn't be certain Chloe would even be there. The esteemed young Prince Ali was here, it was likely that she was with him.

Aimlessly, Marinette chose to try the elevator. She went all the way to the top floor, panic consuming her mind. When she got there, she found a second, more spacious lobby of sorts. It had doors that led to other bedrooms, offices, meeting rooms, kitchens, and so on. It had to be where Chloe's family lived, and to no surprise, Prince Ali was there.

An abundance of people surrounded the young prince who looked quite nervous. He stood near a series of grand tall windows, next to the Mayor, Mr. Bourgeois. At the mayor's side was his daughter, Chloe.

"Prince Ali," Mr. Bourgeois grabbed the prince's attention, "Allow me to introduce you to my daughter, Chloe."

"Y-yes, hi," Chloe said nervously, pulling Tikki out of her bag, "I erm... I brought a toy for you to give to the children on your... uh... campaign."

"Oh... Wow!" the prince said, taking Tikki from her hands. Marinette was frozen in terror. How was she supposed to steal Tikki back from the prince of all people? He was a dashing young man, just slightly older than Marinette and Chloe. He wasn't from France, he came from the regions of Egypt, actually. He looked nervous, but still, Marinette wouldn't let her guard down. "Is it Chinese?"

"Um... yes!" Chloe nodded.

"It looks almost antique, but brand new! It's incredible, thank you Cleo!"

"It's... Chloe..." Chloe corrected. The prince placed Tikki in the front pocket of his jacket. Tikki was frozen stiff.

A sudden waft of pink smoke came flooding out one of the elevators as it opened, a little bell chiming as soon as it had reached the floor. Marinette had herself hidden behind a bar counter, but the look of that smoke worried her. If it was an akuma, she was screwed.

And that's exactly what it was.

Stepping from the plumes of smoke came a feminine figure. She had short, choppy pink hair with a large cord-like tube emerging from the back which draped to her ankles, attached to what looked like a fat perfume bottle. She wore a green mask that covered the lower half of her face, and a pair of goggles colored pink and green. She wore a steampunk corset and skirt, decorated with a variety of belts up her torso. Her arms carried little slits in the skin, looking almost like a vent. A similar vent was carved into her open back.

"Who is-" the prince began to say but stopped, taken aback by the sudden pink plumes of smoke slithering out the vents of the girl's right arm. The smoke quickly spread to the crowd of people around the prince, intoxicating the air as it went. Those who inhaled it went numb, their expressions becoming dull as they turned to face the akuma victim, getting on one knee and bowing their heads to her.

"I'm Princess Fragrance and I've come here just for you!" the akuma victim declared, giddily walking up to the prince. The prince's bodyguards stepped between her and Ali protectively.

"Shit..." Marinette cursed under her breath, "Shit, shit, shit!"

She recognized Princess Fragrance's voice. It was, without a doubt, the adored little Rose of her class. Princess Fragrance emitted more of that pink toxin into the air, and the body guards went blank.

"You're going to give me Prince Ali now," she demanded. They stepped aside, giving her access to him.

"NOPE!" the prince yelled and made a run for it. The Mayor had fallen victim to the chemicals, but Chloe remained unscathed.

"Rose?!" Chloe exclaimed. "What happened to you?!"

"It's Princess Fragrance! And I'm like this because of you!" Princess Fragrance said, raising her left arm which emitted a green vapor from its slits. Chloe's eyes widened, trying not to inhale it, but it was inevitable. Everyone looked at her with sudden hate, as she reeked of a scent that couldn't be smelled. Even from across the room, Marinette fell under the control of the invisible scent, the urge to harm Chloe suddenly overcoming her. "Now, where's the prince?"

She ran in the direction the prince had disappeared to. Marinette had no choice but to follow. The once sweet Rose was now a villain, morally corrupt and under the control of Hawkmoth. After the events with Evillustrator, Marinette knew that even if she managed to get Rose to come to her senses, Hawkmoth still had control over her. She'd become his puppet, therefore, Marinette had to get Tikki back to fight her. There was no other option.

But she'd magically disappeared, as had the prince. Marinette had no idea where to even start looking, the hotel was absolutely enormous.

A trail of pink vapor had materialized about the halls, so Marinette chose to follow it. Wherever Princess Fragrance had gone, the prince was sure to be. The only problem was trying not to inhale the plumes.

"Come into my arms my sweet prince," she heard Princess Fragrance say with a sing-song tone of voice. Marinette kept her nose plugged, not daring to so much as breath as she looked into the room where the voice had come from.

"Yeah, can we get a little bit of fresh air in here?" Chat Noir appeared in one of the windows. They stood in a grand dining hall a few stories over the ground.

"You little... rat!" Princess Fragrance grit her teeth. She raised her left arm and sprayed a plume of green vapor from it. It coated Chat Noir, though he tried not to inhale it. Against his control, it overcame his senses, and the senses of others. Yet again, just like with Chloe, Marinette felt an uncontrollable urge to violently hurt him.

"I'm a cat, actually!" Chat Noir said, striking her with his baton. She then went barreling backwards into the kitchen, disappearing behind its doors momentarily.

"Chat Noir!" Marinette exclaimed, "You need to get Prince Ali out of here!"

"Oh hey Marinette, long time no see," Chat grinned.

"You can't take away my prince!" Princess Fragrance growled, throwing open the kitchen doors.

"Mmm, watch me," Chat Noir grabbed Ali by the wrist and dragged him to the window he'd previously come in through.

"Let me go, you filthy stray!" Prince Ali shouted, tugging himself out of Chat Noir's grip.

"I'm trying to help you! She's after you!"

"I don't care! I'm not going anywhere with you!"

"You don't even know me!"

"He doesn't need to," Princess Fragrance giggled. "You see, my green perfume makes anyone who inhales it absolutely hateable. Everyone will be against you now, Chat Noir!"

"Hey you!" Marinette grabbed Princess Fragrance by the chord that emerged from her head, tugging her back.

"Touch me again, I dare you!" Princess Fragrance hissed, releasing a plume of green smoke from the vents in her back. Marinette instantly let go, staggering away as fast as she could. Prince Ali had decided to start giving Chat Noir a hard time, refusing to let the vigilante do so much as touch him. Whatever that green vapor had enchanted Chat Noir with, it had caused the world to turn its back on him. Prince Ali put as much ground between him and Chat Noir as possible. In fact, he now stood at the opposite end of the great dining hall, for fear of the akuma victim and hate for Chat Noir.

"Oh, my dearest prince, how I've longed to meet you!" Princess Fragrance spread out her arms, slowly clicking her heels to the other end of the dining hall.

"I don't even know who you are!" the prince said, grabbing a knife from one of the tables. It was at this moment that Marinette realized Tikki was no longer in his pocket. She had to have fallen out, or perhaps escaped. Whatever the case, she wasn't in the dining hall with them. Marinette had lost her yet again.

"I've already introduced myself, or did you forget?" She was unphased by the knife he held in his hands, continuing to hauntingly approach him. Chat Noir was missing, Marinette hadn't even noticed his absence until that very moment. She was on her own, without the use of her powers or the help of her partner. Her hate for him swelled, though she had to remind herself that it was the doing of the akuma placing her under such a trance.

Princess Fragrance placed a finger under the prince's chin, tilting his head to inspect him. She was slightly taller in this version of herself, where normally, Rose was a rather short girl. Prince Ali was frozen in terror, his knife hand trembling. She leaned in closer, releasing a pink vapor from her back and right arm ever so slowly. It trickled and swelled around the prince, creeping like it was only thinking about possessing him. The prince dropped the knife against his will, leaning as far away from her as he could. Marinette felt utterly useless.

"You're mine now," she whispered into his ear, his senses becoming intoxicated by the chemicals surrounding him.

Marinette watched, not knowing what to do. She'd lost. Rose had gotten exactly what she wanted, which was the prince. In defeat, she took out her earrings, her only hope left being that Tikki could swoop in and save her. The life from Ali's eyes dissipated, his human will vanishing as he succumbed to hers. Princess Fragrance began to laugh. It started as a slow chuckle, evolving into that of a maniac's.

"Look who's laughing now Chloe!" she cackled, spinning around and throwing her arms into the air. "LOOK WHO'S LAUGHING!" she said to herself, her laughter becoming more and more demonic and shrill.

"I am," came a voice Marinette could only recognize to be Tikki's. She'd appeared in the room, her feet floating well off the ground, her arms spread at her sides, glowing with magic Marinette had never seen before. And behind her was Chat Noir. Tikki chuckled to herself, imitating the laughter which had now seized from Princess Fragrance. Immediately, food utensils and plates came to life, rising into the air from around the room and flying at full force for Princess Fragrance.

"What in the-" Marinette tried to say but Chat Noir had showed up at her side to interrupt her.

"I'm getting you out of here," he said. The sense of hate and urge to hurt him suddenly came back to Marinette and she slapped him across the face.

"Gah! I'm so not sorry! Wait- now I mean I'm really not sorry and you deserve to die!" She slapped him again, "Why do I keep doing that?!"

"It's alright," Chat assured, "it's the toxin she placed on me. I'm sorry for this," he said and scooped her up off the ground.

"Let me go you mangy cat!" Marinette shrieked, though of course, she hadn't intended to. Chat silently took her to a window and leapt out, guiding himself as well as Marinette safely to the ground. He set her on the sidewalk.

"Will you be ok?"

"Why should you care? Fuck off," she clasped a hand over her mouth.

"I'll take that as a yes. Now hurry and get as far away from here as you can, alright?" he instructed. Rather than risk insulting him again, Marinette just nodded. "Good," he said and jumped back up into the air, climbing up a few stories to where the dining hall lay in the massive hotel.

"Yeah... about that..." Marinette jogged around to the front of the hotel and busted back in. Now that she knew Tikki was safe and well, she had to get back to her.

"Hey you!" Tikki appeared behind her.

"Tikki?!" Marinette exclaimed right as the tall woman grabbed her by the collar of her jean jacket and dragged her into an elevator so as not to be seen. No one was in the lobby, which raised Marinette's suspicion. But the privacy was well needed nonetheless.

"Shut your purse next time you decide to throw it across a classroom, alright?!" Tikki sounded slightly irritated.

"Sorry about that! What's going on?! Is Chat Noir ok?"

"He's fine. The akuma victim has run off though. I'd lost her by the time he came back to the dining hall," Tikki informed. She clicked a button and the elevator began to make its way upward. "Now hurry on and get those earrings back on, we need Ladybug!"

"Right," Marnette said, pulling the earrings back from her pocket and putting them back on. Just as Tikki had shrunk down to a chibi size, Marinette said the transformation words and in a flash of light, she became the one and only Ladybug.

As the elevator doors opened, Ladybug ran out as fast as she could. She was already lost, not remembering how she'd gotten to the dining hall the first time. She ran about the halls in search of it, finding each room and hall to be suspiciously deserted. Perhaps people had been smart enough to evacuate on their own. At least, that's what she told herself. She knew it was only hope. Something was terribly wrong.

"Ladybug! Thank God!" Chat Noir rounded a corner and spotted her.

"Sorry I'm late, I lost my kwami,"

"I know, I went and found her wandering the halls here. She said you were in the area, probably looking for her. And then she became full size and we knew something had gone wrong and..."

"Yeah yeah don't worry, I'm fine," Ladybug assured, "I took out my earrings, hoping she could help somehow."

"Well, you were right. That was the first time I've ever seen a kwami use their powers. Well, my kwami sorta floated in full form once but that's about it. It was so cool!" Chat Noir enthused. That sense of hate Marinette had felt for him had vanished as Ladybug. "The akuma victim is missing though, I've been trying to find her but this place is so... big."

"No kidding. Where is everybody?" Ladybug asked.

"They definitely haven't evacuated. I think she's gained control of most of everybody in this hotel with her powers," Chat explained, "Tikki said she got hurt real bad before running off. Your kwami is insane Ladybug! She literally put knives up the akuma victim's arm vent things and like, ripped them. It was really gross but at the same time super cool!"

"Yeah that's not really good," Ladybug sighed, "there might be a consequence for that. She said that sometimes, she makes things and they become sentient-" Just as she said this a knife zipped by, soaring through the air with a mind of its own- "like that. That's not good."

"We better hurry. Who knows where Princess Fragrance must've gone." Chat looked down the hall with a dark look on his face. A shriek echoed through the halls, alerting them of a threat. The two instantly got ready, prepared for a fight coming in any direction. The shriek morphed into laughter, echoing around them with no direct source to pinpoint it to. There was no telling where it came from.

"You... you finally came... Ladybug..." the voice cackled. A vent from above their heads came crashing to the floor. Both heroes immediately looked up to the ceiling above, greeted by Princess Fragrance staring down at them. The ski mask she wore was now slightly torn, likely from Tikki's attack, revealing a portion of her mouth which was curled into the smile of a maniac.

"Yeah, I had a few complications to deal with first," Ladybug grit her teeth, spinning her yoyo at her side, ready to fight.

"And I had some wounds to deal with," Princess Fragrance said, sticking her arm out from the ceiling vent, revealing that the slits on her right arm had been stretched and mauled grotesquely, dripping with blood. It was clear that the power of chemicals in that arm would be of no use to her anymore. But she still had her left arm, and the vents on her back.

"Get down from there and fight you coward!" Chat Noir said with a cocky smile.

"Oh, am I the coward?" Princess Fragrance grinned, "You must be real brave then, if I'm a coward, huh?" She cocked her head to the side.

"Get down here!" Chat Noir said more sternly.

"No," she said, pulling her arm back into the ceiling vent.

"Chat-"

"I'll destroy the ceiling if I have to!"

"Then by all means, go ahead," Princess Fragrance said with a cruel smile.

"Chat wait-"

"Cataclysm!" Chat hollered, leaping up to touch the ceiling with his destructive hand. The ceiling began to crack and Princess Fragrance began laughing once again, fully pleased by his action. The destruction spread down the hall, the ceiling now falling apart. Princess Fragrance had grabbed a hold of one of the pipelines to keep herself suspended over them, meanwhile the entirety of the ceiling came crashing to the ground.

As well as hundreds of human bodies.

A/N
Miraculous, except I made it a horror novel for some reason...