While Despair Bear was being akumatized, the rose petal spell Artemis cast had faded away and the partygoers had started dancing again after Nino went back to manning the DJ booth. As such, no one had seen Despair Bear leaving the kitchen to search for a victim to taunt Chloé, his gaze falling onto Sabrina before he attached himself to her leg, her eyes now bright green due to her being controlled. Seconds later, Sabrina is under the akuma's mind control power and forced to walk around looking for Chloé, quickly finding Artemis and Chloé while they are talking off to the side.

"What you just did was out of line, Chloé! Armand was just trying to help you." Artemis yelled at her honorary niece, her eyes filled with thinly veiled rage.

"But he humiliated me in front of everyone! How are you okay with that?!" Chloé cried, not believing that Artemis was taking Armnad's side in this.

"Look, while I'm not a fan of his techniques and he could have chosen a different way to encourage you to continue being nice, you didn't need to fire him." Artemis sighed, placing her hand on her forehead out of frustration. "Not to mention you brought that one upon yourself when trying to break Adrien and that girl apart." the Changeling added with a raised eyebrow at Chloé, neither seeing the mind-controlled Sabrina coming towards them.

"Easy for you to say, Auntie Arty, you're not the one in my shoes." Chloé replied as she looked down at the ground, actually having a good point for once. "Either way, now I don't have to be worried about being embarrassed anymore!" the heiress exclaimed, looking back up at her aunt just as Sabrina got close enough to the discussing females, the redhead pulling out a hairbrush from her purse.

"Come here, Chloé." the mind-controlled Sabrina said as she held up the brush towards Chloé, drawing both female's attention to her and leaving them unsettled by her request.

"Sabrina? What's gotten into you?" Chloé wondered aloud, her concern bleeding into her voice before she took a few steps back from the suddenly approaching Sabrina.

"Let me brush your hair! I promise I won't hurt you!" Sabrina urged, her vacant stare giving away that she wasn't in her right mind before she lunged at Chloé.

"Ahh! Somebody stop her!" Chloé shouted, holding Sabrina away from her while Artemis grabbed ahold of her as well, this being the second time that she needed to keep the redhead away from her niece.

"Sabrina, snap out of it!" Artemis pleaded with Sabrina as she kept a hold of her while Chloé ran away, only for the bespeckled girl to break free from her hold on her and start chasing Chloé.

As the bewitched Sabrina chased after Chloé, they ended up running in between Marinette and Adrien as they kept dancing, drawing their attention to the two girls. Just as Artemis was approaching the two previously dancing teens, Chloé had found Kim and hid behind him, causing the jock to spot the controlled Sabrina coming towards them. Say what you want about Kim's intelligence, but he was smart enough to know that something was up.

"If you touch one hair on Chloé's head, you'll have to answer to me." Kim threatened Sabrina, blocking the redhead from getting any closer to the blonde brat. But unknown to him, Kim's courage had caught Despair Bear's attention.

"Oh, what a gentleman. Despair Bear praises a knight in shining armor." Despair Bear cooed evilly, followed by him controlling his bear puppet to grab onto Kim's leg to gain control of the jock, all while Artemis Adrien and Marinette had witnessed the deed.

'Oh great. Just great!' Artemis thought to herself before walking towards Chloé and Kim, hoping to find a way to help distract the akuma so that Adrien and Marinette could have some time to transform. Thankfully, she didn't have to wait any longer for the two secret heroes to get their butts in gear.

"Uh, I just remembered that I promised I'd do a favor for my brother." Marinette fibbed, turning to face Adrien as she made an excuse to hide and transform.

"No problem. I have something to do, anyway." Adrien replied, using the opening Marinette had unknowingly given him to do the same thing. " But... save me the last dance when you're done?" the green-eyed model asked, causing Marinette's cheeks to turn red as she stared at him in awe.

"Abosutely." Marinette managed to get out, only to then remember the new akuma was still in the way of that happening. "Um... bye!" the red-tipped-haired girl yelped, both she and Adrien discreetly left the dining hall to find places to transform into their respective alter egos. As they did, Sabrina shook off the lingering presence of her being controlled and found herself in the middle of the dance floor and in front of Kim and a cowering Chloé.

"Chloé?" Sabrina questioned, confused as to why she was not standing off to the side of the party anymore.

"Don't you come near me!" Chloé cried, still hiding behind Kim and having no idea that he was under Despair Bear's spell.

"Why? What's going on?" Sabrina inquired, further confused by Chloé's sudden fear of her as she tried to take a step forward.

"Kim, do something!" Chloé demanded, stopping Sabrina in her tracks.

"Would you like to dance, Chloé?" Kim creepily asked the blonde brat, slowly turning his head to reveal his newly green-colored eyes and causing Chloé to whimper at the sight of them. She was in deep trouble for sure.

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While Kim had been taken control of, Marinette had reached the stairwell and let Tikki out of her purse so that she could transform. Never in her life had she wanted to defeat an akuma so quickly... especially since she had a dance with Adrien afterwards.

"I... I've gotta transform, Tikki." Marinette stammered after she closed the door behind her, hoping to take care of the akuma as soon as possible. "Too bad I had to stop dancing with Adrien. It felt like I was dancing on a little cloud! An out-of-body experience! It was like..." the designer gushed, her thoughts now focusing on the greatest interaction between her and Adrien to date... which made it even harder for Tikki to snap her holder out of her joy.

"Marinette, focus." Tikki interrupted, bringing Marinette out of her love-sick rambling just in time to hear people screaming just beyond the stairwell door.

"Okay, back down to Earth." Marinette stated after slapping her cheeks, her thoughts now clear before she pulled out her runestone necklace and activated her Ladybug disguise. Right after the spell had taken effect, she said... "Tikki, spots on!" the pigtailed girl shouted, her words echoing through the empty stairwell as she transformed into Ladybug. Immediately after turning into her alter ego, the red heroine ran out of the stairwell and jumped back into the fray.

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After Marinette had transformed and went back to the dining hall, she was greeted by the sight of the possessed Kim twirling Chloé around the dance. That is if you can call being roughly thrown around while lively music played twirling, which is what Kim was being controlled to do while Artemis tried to catch him.

"Kim, stop! You're going to hurt her at this rate!" Artemis shouted as she tried to grab ahold of PossessedKim and get Chloé away from him, only for him to sidestep away from her and spin Chloé away from him. Surprised by the sudden move, Artemis had to catch herself from falling to the floor just as PossessedKim pulled Chloé back to him with a twirl before dipping her.

"Let go, you evil derp! You're messing up my hair!" Chloé shrieked while trying to pull herself away from Kim, greatly pleasing Despair Bear as he watched from Kim's eyes through his bear puppet.

"I hope you're having fun, Chloékins!" Despair Bear taunted before pulling some of the rungs controlling his puppet, forcing PossessedKim to toss Chloé into the air above him

"CHLOÉ!!" Artemis cried out as the screaming blonde brat spun in the air, worried for the girl's safety. Thankfully for Chloé, Ladybug had used everyone's collective distractedness to race over to the ball pit and used her yo-yo to grab Chloé's leg, quickly pulling her into the pit before she could touch the ground.

"About time, what took you so long?" Chloé interrogated the heroine in red after she recovered from her descent into the ball pit, spitting a ball out of her mouth before she spoke.

Upon seeing Chloé being saved, PossessedKim immediately began to run towards the heiress to continue tormenting her. But in doing so, he failed to see Chat Noir arriving before he used his baton to trip the mind-controlled jock, sending him into the ball pit and flinging Despair Bear onto a nearby wall.

"That's a very slippery dance floor!" Chat Noir quipped as he spun his staff around himself, trying to lighten the mood.

After her partner's little joke, Ladybug then tried to use her yo-yo to capture Despair Bear, only for the akumatized butler to keep evading her attempts as he moved around the room. Just as Chat Noir started chasing after the stuffed toy, some of the party-goers started screaming in fear at the sight of Despair Bear, only to back himself into a corner near a group of frightened teens.

"Move aside. All of you!" Ladybug shouted at the teens as she and Chat Noir held their weapons at the ready, prompting Artemis to race over to help guide the kids away.

"You heard the lady in red, clear the floor!" Artemis exclaimed, leading the teens away from the area and towards the back of the dining hall while Ladybug and Chat Noir looked for Despair Bear. But when they finally had no one blocking their view, the two heroes came up empty as they searched the corner of the room for their foe, leaving them puzzled. That is until...

"Look out!" Chat Noir yelled before pulling Ladybug to the floor, just in time for the chair that the feline had spotted in the corner of his eye to fly over their heads. Looking at where the chair had come from, both heroes were stunned to see that Despair Bear had taken control of Max as the resident genius was now standing on top of the bar with another chair in his grasp.

"How about a little game of flying chairs?" PossessedMax tauntingly questioned the two heroes as they crouched on the ground, ready to throw a second chair.

Wasting no time, Ladybug quickly tied her yo-yo around PossesedMax's leg in an attempt to catch Despair Bear as he latched onto it, mere seconds before the akuma leapt from his victim's leg to avoid capture. But he had done his retreat so quickly that Ladybug couldn't stop her yo-yo from wrapping around Max before pulling him off his feet, soon realizing that Despair Bear had moved on. Unfortunately, this delay in reaction was just long enough for Despair Bear to latch onto Artemis's ankle, forcing her to run over and try to roundhouse kick Chat Noir in the gut. Fortunately for Chat Noir, he saw her hit coming and managed to block it, only for his mood to drop even further when seeing her now green-colored eyes.

"Oh come on! Out of all the people he could have taken control of, why her!?" Chat Noir whined, followed by PossessedArtemis putting her foot down before trying to punch him, which he managed to block once again.

"Can you blame him? She's a beast!" Ladybug remarked before throwing her already retrieved yo-yo at Artemis, quickly trapping the Changeling in disguise with the weapon before she could attack Chat Noir again. But when his latest puppet was captured, Despair Bear released Artemis from his control and went to find a new one while Artemis snapped out of his control.

"What the..." Artemis began, only to look around and see her current predicament. "Uh, could you let me go, please?" the older woman asked Ladybug, sending an unamused glance to the spotted heroine upon realizing what must have happened.

"Sorry." Ladybug bashfully apologized, letting the Changeling go before she was suddenly grabbed from behind by a now mind-controlled Alya. Thinking quickly, Ladybug pulled herself out of Alya's arms and grabbed a hold of the reporter instead, keeping her from attacking. Unfortunately, before she could do anything more, Despair Bear abandoned his grip on Alya's ankle and escaped again.

"Huh? Ladybug, what happened?" Alya wondered after she gained control of herself again, leaving Ladybug and Chat Noir miffed at the sudden change before they started searching the room for the stuffed toy puppet.

After a few seconds of looking, they had just caught sight of the akuma right before he latched onto Ivan's leg, trapping the beefy boy in Despair Bear's control.

With the husky teen under his spell, the akumatized stuffed toy puppet had Ivan prepare to throw a coffee table at the two heroes. But thanks to Chat Noir's quick reaction, he ran over to PossessedIvan and stopped him from throwing the table by slicing it in half with his staff, followed by pinning him to the wall seconds afterwards. Unfortunately, Despair Bear abandoned his puppet and released Ivan from his control, leaving the poor boy in confusion.

"Huh, Chat Noir?" Ivan breathed out, wondering why he suddenly found himself at Chat Noir's staff point.

"Where'd he go?" Chat Noir wondered aloud, looking back at Ladybug and prompting her to start looking around the room for Despair Bear.

But when she turned her back to Chat Noir, everyone suddenly gasped at something from behind her. While it caused Ladybug to file it away for the moment, it prevented her from turning around before she felt her partner grab her arm, surprising her from her search.

"Uh, what are you doing?" Ladybug tensely questioned Chat Noir, turning to face him as she spoke. But when she faced her partner, Ladybug couldn't stop the gasp that escaped her when she saw the telltale green color of Despair Bear's control in Chat Noir's eyes. "Oh, no!" the spotted heroine exclaimed, shocked that her partner was under the akuma's control while Artemis facepalmed herself in frustration.

'Marone! Can this kid not get either killed or controlled by an akuma just once!?!?!' Artemis complained in her thoughts, dragging her hand down her face in her frustration just as Hawkmoth decided to step into the action and speak to Despair Bear.

"Despair Bear, if you want to continue playing this game, give me Ladybug's Miraculous!" Hawkmoth said to Despair Bear as he remained within his puppet, greatly pleasing the akumatized butler before he cut off communications again.

"Oh, pretty earrings." Despair Bear cooed before he started pulling on the ropes controlling his teddy bear puppet, forcing Chat Noir to strike and try to take Ladybug's earrings.

Considering Ladybug was looking right at PossesedChat Noir, she managed to lean out of the way before the feline could even touch her earring. But after the failed first attempt, the mind-controlled hero kept swiping at Ladybug, forcing her to move out of his reach whilst still having her arm held in PossesedChat Noir's iron grip.

"Chat Noir, it's me! Stop it!" Ladybug pleaded to her partner, still dancing around him to avoid his grabbing strikes.

Having had enough of the game of 'Chat and Mouse', Ladybug finally used his grip on her arm to twist Chat Noir's arm the other way, making him wince in pain. Using her new hold on PossesedChat Noir, Ladybug whipped him around and forced him to bend over in front of her, keeping his arm behind his back to prevent him from escaping. But that didn't stop him from being able to use his main powers, seeing as she only had a hold of his non-ring hand.

"Cataclysm!" PossesedChat Noir exclaimed, summoning his main power before he tried swiping at Ladybug to use the destructive energy on her, causing everyone in the room to gasp in shock.

As he did, everything seemed to go in slow motion as PossesedChat Noir's hand grew closer and closer to a surprised Ladybug's face. Fortunately for her, once Chloé had seen PossesedChat Noir call upon his go-to move, she ran over to the two heroes and grabbed ahold of the feline's tail.

"Paws off, kitty!" Chloé yelled as she yanked on PossesedChat Noir's tail, pulling him away from Ladybug just seconds before he could touch her.

When she did, PossesedChat Noir had been thrown off balance and tried to keep himself from falling, only to fail and land on a nearby couch. Upon landing on the couch, his Cataclysm hand had also landed on the piece of furniture and destroyed it by accident, wasting his power while Chloé and Ladybug watched the scene in shock. Neither of them could have predicted Chloé being the one to help save Ladybug from a certainly fatal blow.

"Thank you!" Ladybug breathed out in relief, turning her gaze over to a still stunned Chloé. At hearing her idol's words, Chloé immediately snapped out of her shock and felt pride swelling within her.

"Hey, I was nice, just then. Did you see it?" Chloé asked the crowd, only to be responded by everyone except Artemis fainting out of shock and relief. "You're all so lame." the heiress complained, followed by Ladybug calling on her...

"Lucky Charm!" Ladybug shouted, calling on her own powers and receiving... "A fork?" the spotted heroine remarked in confusion, the object landing in her hand just as Artemis approached her and Chloé.

"Not exactly the best thing to defend yourself with now is it." Artemis pointed out, feeling bad that Ladybug had gotten such an obscure item.

"You little brat!" Despair Bear yelled at Ladybug through PossesedChat Noir, prompting them to engage in a chase that had Ladybug going up the stairs to the roof with her mind-controlled partner hot on her heels. As they left, both Artemis and Chloé watched as the two heroes disappeared up the stairs, left with the gut feeling that Ladybug would need an assist this time.

"She's crazy to think she's ever going to make it without us. We've got to help her!" Chloé declared, turning her gaze to her aunt in the hopes that she had the same idea.

"For once I'm going to have to agree with you, Chloé." Artemis admitted, an amused smile appearing on her face before cracking her knuckles. "Come on!" the older woman shouted, the two of them racing up the stairs after Ladybug and PossesedChat Noir.

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Up on the roof of Le Grand Paris, night had already come as PossesedChat Noir had arrived at the top of the stairs and ran onto the pool deck of the roof as he continued chasing Ladybug. But upon arriving, he soon saw that Ladybug was nowhere to be found on the deck area, completely missing the spotted heroine as she perched herself at the top of the stairwell entrance. With PossesedChat Noir still looking for her, Ladybug used the opportunity to look around for clues to figure out a plan on how to defeat Despair Bear. Her efforts were rewarded when she spotted a deck umbrella, Despair Bear's puppet clutching onto her partner's ankle and the fork in her hands lit up in her mind's eye, helping her settle on her plan.

"Got it!" Ladybug cheered to herself, followed by her jumping off of her perch and zooming towards PossesedChat Noir, throwing her yo-yo at him while his back was turned.

After she threw her weapon at him, PossesedChat Noir heard the sound of the yo-yo zipping through the air and turned around just in time to pull out his staff and block the blow. But even with her first attack being thwarted, Ladybug spun through the air as she hurtled to PossesedChat Noir, quickly maneuvering herself to try and kick him instead. The move had forced PossesedChat Noir to block the hit with his arm, pushing Ladybug to land on the deck and continue their fight. However, while being locked in a dance of trading blows, neither hero had seen Chloé and Artemis arriving on the roof as well. That was quickly changed when Chat Noir threw his staff and Ladybug, causing her to evade the weapon spinning towards her and let it head towards the new arrivals.

"Hey, stop!" Chloé shrieked at the two heroes, only for Artemis to tackle them both to the ground before PossesedChat Noir's baton hit the wall beside them, followed by it bouncing back to the feline.

When he caught his weapon, PossesedChat Noir started trying to hit Ladybug with it once again, the heroes continuing their fighting before Ladybug leapt over her mind-controlled partner. As she flew above her possessed partner, Ladybug used the fork on Despair Bear's puppet's head, grabbing a loose thread and tying it around the prongs as she backflips to the other end of the deck.

"Naughty, naughty, Ladybug!" Despair Bear taunted through PossesedChat Noir, using his puppeteer controls within the teddy bear to force the feline hero to turn and face Ladybug once again.

Unfortunately for the akuma, it left his victim open for Artemis to get off of Chloé to sneak up behind PossesedChat Noir and grab him from behind.

"Figured you'd need a hand." Artemis said to Ladybug, keeping ahold of the controlled hero to give Ladybug some time to enact her plan.

"Thanks, Miss Queen." Ladybug thanked the Changeling in disguise before throwing the fork to attach to the deck umbrella she spotted earlier. "Chloé, would you be so kind?" the heroine in red requested, causing the blond brat to pop out of her hiding place behind the umbrella before PossesedChat Noir broke free from Artemis's hold. Now freed from his captor, the mind-controlled feline started attacking not just Ladybug, but Artemis as well, completely ignoring Chloé as she finally caught onto what Ladybug needed.

"Okay, Ladybug!" Chloé replied with a salute as she rose to her feet, followed by her spinning the umbrella with the string attached to the teddy bear puppet's head to unravel the doll.

Thankfully, Ladybug's plan was working like a dream while she and Artemis kept fighting PossesedChat Noir, still evading the hero in black's advances. But just as Artemis was about to sweep kick the feline, PossesedChat Noir managed to counter by kicking Artemis back towards the door she and Chloé exited from. The blow had left her stunned long enough for him to strike at Ladybug with his staff, forcing her to grab it with her hands while waiting for Despair Bear to fully unravel. She didn't have to wait long, because that last move PossesedChat Noir had caused the last of the Despair Bear's puppet to unravel, letting the head fall to the floor.

"No! Stop! What's happening?" Despair Bear shouted from within his puppet's head, now tangled up in the puppeteer rigging as he found himself detached from Chat Noir's leg, freeing the hero from his control. This is what happened seconds later when the bright green of Despair Bear's control had faded from Chat Noir's eyes.

"Ladybug? What are you doing?" Chat Noir uttered in confusion when he found himself holding her at staff point, immediately abandoning the attack.

"Oh, nothing. Just saving your skin with the help of our new helpers." Ladybug cheerfully explained as she pointed to Artemis and Chloé, happy to have her partner back to normal. Upon being mentioned by the red heroine, Artemis gave them a two-fingered salute while Chloé playfully bounced her hair just as Chat Noir had turned to see who his partner was referring to.

"Give me your Miraculous! You haven't defeated me yet!" a nearly quiet squeaky voice demanded, causing everyone to look around to find the source of it until Ladybug looked down at Chat Noir's foot and found the real Despair Bear.

"You might want to watch your step, Chat Noir." Ladybug playfully said to her partner, a smug smile on her lips as she pointed at the tiny akuma as he kicked at Chat Noir's boot. Following Ladybug's pointing finger, it didn't take long for the rest of the occupants of the roof to see Despair Bear either, drawing a few giggles from Artemis and Chloé.

"I've got this guy under control." Chat Noir assured before he reached down to pick up Despair Bear, prompting the akuma to yell at them in protest while Ladybug reached down to grab the remainder of Despair Bear's puppet. A quick yank from the spotted heroine had then detached the string from the villain's puppet's head, causing the akuma to fly out of the toy and up into the air above them.

"No more evildoing for you, little akuma." the spotted heroine exclaimed as she opened her yo-yo to reveal the sparkling pool of cleansing energy inside of it. "Time to de-evilize!" the heroine in red shouted before she threw her yo-yo toward the akuma, catching it in her yo-yo.

"Gotcha!" Ladybug cheered when the yo-yo was back in her hands. A second later, she released the purified akuma, setting the white butterfly free.

"Bye, bye little butterfly," the spotted heroine said as the butterfly flew away, right before throwing the Lucky Charm up into the air. "Miraculous Ladybug!" Ladybug cried out, summoning the cleansing cure and the magic ladybugs. Immediately, the damage done to the hotel thanks to Despair Bear had been restored and he was turned back into Armand. Unfortunately, Chat Noir still had a hold on him and it caused both him and the butler to topple to the ground when he grew to his normal size. The cure also restored Mr Cuddly to his former glory, which Ladybug picked up from the ground and held out to Chloé as the heiress approached her.

"Thanks for helping me out there. That was very nice of you." Ladybug said to Chloé, grateful for the proper help she had given this time around.

"I know, wasn't it?" Chloé remarked as she grabbed Mr Cuddly from Ladybug, preening with the compliment from her idol while Artemis rolled her eyes as she stood behind her niece. But before the older woman could say anything, Armand had taken the floor.

"Mademoiselle, I must confess. I don't remember anything!" Armand admitted, walking over to his superiors in hopes of finding out what had happened.

"Probably a good thing, Armand..." Artemis began, prompting everyone else to turn and see her frowning at Chloé as she leaned against the stairwell entrance. "...considering Chloé is the reason you were turned into an akuma in the first place." the Changeling finished, followed by Chloé shrinking in on herself at the remark.

"Auntie Arty-" Chloé started, hoping to alleviate some of her punishment.

"Don't you think you have something to say to Armand, young lady?" Artemis interrupted, a raised eyebrow directed at Chloé to help encourage her to do the right thing.

"Yeah. I do." Chloé realized with a sigh, Artemis's tactic working like a charm as the blonde brat turned towards Armand. "Jean-Luc, I'm sor... I'm sooriiiee." the heiress stammered out, not used to saying the word 'sorry'. But after taking a deep breath, she was determined to try again.

"I'm... sorry!" Chloé finally managed to spew out, now starting a chain reaction to her apology. " I'm sorry for firing you and causing you to get akumatized. So consider yourself re-hired and a raise to boot. I hope you can forgive me." the blonde girl concluded, leaving nearly everyone on the roof flabbergasted at her words.

"Mademoiselle is so kind! Thank you!" Armand exclaimed, happy that Chloé was being so generous before the girl in question smiled at him and turned back to Artemis.

"And I'm sorry to you, Auntie Arty. You've only been trying to help me, and I haven't been making it easy on you tonight." Chloé continued, making Artemis raise an eyebrow at her in intrigue before she kept on going. "But I'll try to be more open to your help from here on out." the heiress promised, causing Artemis to sigh in relent as she gestured for her honorary niece to walk over to her. Immediately, Chloé perked up and went over to her aunt before Artemis pulled her in for a hug.

"Admittedly, you can be a right little brat at the best of times. But you're a work in progress and still figuring things out." Artemis reflected, a small smile appearing on her face as she looked down at the teen in her arms. "As long as you keep trying to change... that'll be enough of an apology to me." the older woman conceded, bringing a smile to Chloé's lips.

"Thank you, Aunty!" Chloé squealed, hugging her aunt tighter before Ladybug and Chat Noir's respective miraculous beeped in a warning.

"Gotta get going!" Chat Noir exclaimed.

"Yeah, me too!" Ladybug replied, followed by the two of them leaving just as Artemis and Chloé pulled away from their hug and watched them go.

"Now... I think that having an akuma at my party would have left everyone in a less-than-pleasant mood. What do you say to having a special guest come in to rectify that, Auntie Arty?" Chloé asked as she placed herself right next to Artemis, looking up at her for approval as she held Mr Cuddly in her arms.

"Depending on the guest, I think that's a wonderful idea." Artemis responded, a pride-filled smile appearing on her lips.

"Wonderful!" Chloé cheered, quickly turning to face Armand. "Don't let the guests go away, Jean-Baptiste. They mustn't miss what's coming up next!" the blonde girl squealed as she pulled out her phone and quickly dialed a new up number.

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Down in Hawkmoth's lair, let's just say that the resident supervillain was left infuriated with his latest defeat, now sulking in the dim light the night sky had given his lair.

"Ladybug, Chat Noir, if you haven't been helped, defeating you would have been child's play!" Hawkmoth vented to his remaining butterflies, once again using them as a therapy device to cope with his consent failure. "So you better watch out. Your day of devastation is coming soon!" the evil version of One Punch Man proclaimed before his lair window closed, plunging him into total darkness.

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Shortly after Chloé had made her call, Tom Dupain arrived at Le Grand Paris and was able to finish his earlier lesson on how to make macaroons. Needless to say, the students of Collège Françoise Dupont were happy with the second opportunity to learn from Tom.

"Great job, kids. You've done some really good work." Tom congratulated after tasting the student's finished product, causing everyone to cheer in accomplishment. As they did, Adrien had taken to standing off to the side with Chloé, Artemis and Armand, happily watching his classmates enjoy themselves.

"It was a great idea to invite Marinette's dad!" Adrien said to Chloé, glad that she had come up with the idea all on her own out of the goodness of her heart.

"I know! This way, I can make up for calling the fire department, and the disaster that happened earlier." Chloé proudly elaborated, a smile beaming across her lips as she stood next to Adrien. "I'm nice now, did you notice, Adrikins?" the blonde asked her childhood friend, hoping that he was happy with her progress.

"I did, and I'm proud of you, Chloé. I think you've proven that you're capable of making an effort to be nicer to everyone." Adrien replied, happy that Chloé was trying to change for the better.

"Aww, Adrikins!" Chloé gushed. "So we'll always be best friends forever, right? Pinky swear?" the heiress inquired, holding her pinky towards Adrien.

"Pinky swear!" Adrien happily replied before wrapping his pinky around Chloé's to seal their pact, unaware of Artemis shaking her head at them in exhaustion.

'Wrong move, kid.' Artemis thought to herself just as Chloé exhaled in relief and sauntered off towards the other students to judge their macarons.

Her criticism had gotten a mix of reactions, from Kim sighing in disappointment while hunching in on himself, to Mylène crying and fainting. But with her criticism 'Urgh. Too disgusting to comment' for Marinette before moving on to Rose, Adrien could only sigh to himself in acceptance as he walked over to Marinette.

"Well, it's a start, but I don't think she'll fully change her ways just yet." Adrien mussed aloud while Marinette made faces behind Chloé as she walked away, only to turn around with a nervous giggle when hearing her crush behind her. "May I?" the model asked Marinette, leaning close to her and triggering her to start blushing again.

"Yeah! Sure! I mean... Uh, what?" Marinette stuttered, not quite sure what he was referring to.

"Have a macaron!" Adrien replied, clearing any misunderstanding.

"Yes, of course." Marinette replied, grabbing one of the plates of macarons before her shaky hands caused her to accidentally drop the treats on the floor. But thankfully for Adrien, he managed to catch one. "Oh, sorry, I'm so clumsy!" the designer apologized, embarrassment flooding her thoughts after her blunder.

"It's okay." Adrien assured his friend, followed by him eating the macaron in his hand. "Wow, this is really good. Your baking is as good as your dancing." the green-eyed boy exclaimed, delighted by the treat before departing to mingle with the other students. Once he was gone, Marinette sighed to herself in joy, falling back into her usual Adrien-centric La La Land in these types of situations. She might not have had another dance with Adrien, but his complementing of her baking skills was even better. But before she could go any deeper, Marinette was snapped out of her daydreaming by someone chuckling next to her.

"I remember being madly in love many years ago. You will never forget that feeling." the voice remarked, causing Marinette to look over her shoulder and see Artemis, which made her stare at the older woman in worry. "Don't bother trying to hide it... it's written all over your face that you have feelings for that boy." Artemis said in amusement, which had the designer blushing.

"I'm that obvious?" Marinette asked, bashfully scratching the back of her head while looking at the floor.

"Painfully." Artemis stated, prompting Marinette to groan and slouch in on herself in embarrassment. "But don't worry, your secret is safe with me." the Changeling assured Marinette, who immediately perked up at her words.

"Thank you..." Marinette replied in a happier tone, only to realize that while Ladybug knew her name... her civilian self didn't. "I'm sorry, but I don't think I got your name." the pigtailed girl said, greatly amusing Artemis since she knew that the girl already did. But she decided to go with the bit anyway, for identity's sake.

"Artemis. Artemis Queen." Artemis responded, using every bit of her self-control to not start giggling. "And you are?" the older woman asked, keeping up with the charade.

"Marinette. It's nice to meet you." Marinette replied as she held out her hand for Artemis to shake.

"Likewise." Artemis said, followed by her shaking Marinette's hand.

"So... how did you and Chloé end up being so close?" Marinette asked Artemis as they let go of their hands, going on in pretending to be clueless about the older woman's connection to the Bourgeois Family.

"Friend of the family." Artemis explained, following Marinette's example before pointing to the second plate of macarons in front of them. "May I? I have a huge sweet tooth." the Changeling requested, bringing a smile to Marinette's face.

"Of course." Marinette replied with a nod, leading to Artemis taking one of the macarons "When did you meet Chloé's parents?" the red-tipped-haired girl questioned, hoping to learn a bit more about this mysterious woman.

"I met André nearly 30 years ago, and we've been close friends ever since. His wife, however, is a whole nother story." Artemis explained, her voice turning more tired towards the end before she bit into the treat, quickly being greeted by the explosion of flavors. "Oh my goodness! This is amazing!" the older woman squealed in joy, her eyes lighting up before she popped the rest of the macaron into her mouth.

"Thank you!" Marinette replied, a wide smile appearing from the praise as she placed the plate of treats back on the table. "So, you don't like Chloé's mom?" the designer asked, causing a look of disgust to show up on Artemis's face.

"Absolutely not!! She's a total pain in my behind!" Artemis growled, turning her gaze to the side as she seethed in place. But she took a breath and calmed down enough to turn her attention back to Marinette. "Do you mind if I take another macaron? If I'm going to be talking about her, I need more sweets." the older woman inquired.

"Take as many as you like." Marinette said, causing Artemis's expression to perk up immediately.

"Thank you." Artemis responded before taking a few more macarons from the plate.

"Why do you and Chloé's mom not get along?" Marinette asked, still hoping to learn more about Artemis's joint past with Chloé's family.

"Let's just say that we don't ever intend to become friends." Artemis elaborated, a tired look on her face as she lifted a hand to her forehead to soothe a new headache before she tossed one of the macarons in her hand into her mouth, tensely chewing it.

"I know the feeling. Chloé seems to take a lot after her mother in that regard." Marinette said, now relating to Artemis when learning about that new information. "She's been bullying me for years and it's only gotten better this year." the pigtailed girl vented, leaving an unsettled feeling in Artemis with her testimony.

"I'm aware of Chloé's behavior at school. It had gotten worse last year since I wasn't around as much as I used to be." Artemis explained, knowing of Chloé's past deeds and finding that they hit a little too close to home with her.

"Thinking back, she definitely was at her worst last year." Marinette reflected, her lips pursed as she thought back on the previous year. "You two are close enough that your absence would have affected her so much?" the red-tipped-haired girl asked, intrigued by Artemis's statement.

"I might not be her aunt by blood, but she's always considered me family. Especially when her mother left." Artemis replied with a soft smile as she reminisced on her past interactions with Chloé, only for it to drop when thinking about Audrey. "But that's no excuse for what she's done, and I intend to help her improve her ways as soon as possible." she declared, changing the subject from Audrey for the sake of her sanity.

"For me and my classmates's sake, I hope you're successful." Marinette said, crossing her arms over her chest as she spoke.

"I've had to raise my highly spirited 8-year-old for a while now. I think I'll be fine." Artemis assured the teen, followed by her popping another macaron into her mouth.

"You have a child?" Marinette questioned while Artemis finished chewing her treat.

"My ward, Rayla." Artemis replied after finishing her macaron. "She's highly intelligent for her age, and is constantly trying my patience with how many times she's snuck out of the house." the Changeling regaled, a tired expression appearing on her face while Marinette was left unsettled.

"Sounds like she's..." Marinette trailed off, her mind thinking back to what Jim had told her earlier about the Changelings but held her tongue. "... A handful." the designer nervously finished, finally finding the right words that wouldn't out TrollKind.

"She is, but I wouldn't have her be any other way. Life's more exciting thanks to her rambunctiousness." Artemis admitted, a fond smile appearing as she thought about her ward. "However, that doesn't mean it makes finding her a permanent babysitter easy." the Changeling sighed, her earlier happiness fading a bit.

"A permanent babysitter?" Marinette wondered aloud.

"Rayla tends to make her babysitters quit just after I hire them. It's honestly very frustrating." Artemis explained, venting some of her frustrations in their conversation as well. "Especially when I have to go out of town for business." she added, followed by her eating the last macaron in her hand to soothe the edge of her nerves. But after hearing her predicament, Marinette got an idea.

"You know..." Marinette began, causing Artemis to turn her gaze back onto Marinette. "I often babysit my mom's friend's kids. I could babysit your ward if you want." the pigtailed girl offered, shocking Artemis.

"Um... you did hear what I just said, right?" Artemis asked with an eyebrow raised at a nodding Marinette. "Are you sure you'd be able to look after my ward?" the older woman inquired, hoping that the teenager had a good idea of what she was getting herself into.

"I'm sure. Otherwise, I wouldn't have offered my services." Marinette replied, which seemed to settle some of Artemis's skepticism.

"Alright... if you're sure." Artemis said, confirming their agreement. "In that case, we should exchange contact info so that I can tell you when I need you." the Changeling brought up, pulling out her phone from her canvas bag.

"Sounds good." Marinette responded, followed by the two females exchanging their contact info.

"It was nice to meet you, Marinette. Thank you for the macarons, the conversation and your offer." Artemis thanked as she put her phone back into her bag, glad to have had such a successful night.

"You're welcome, Miss Queen. I hope to meet your ward soon." Marinette happily said, despite the underlying feelings of suspicion and anticipation in her gut for her first interaction with Artemis's ward.

"Speaking of my ward, I have to pick her up from my friend." Artemis remarked, now realizing how late it was getting. "I hope to see you again soon." the older woman said, glad to have had such a nice talk with Marinette.

"Likewise. I hope you have a good night." Marinette replied with a smile.

"You too, Marinette." Artemis stated, sharing the sentiment before she walked away from the table towards the dining hall exit. As she did, she turned her gaze back over to Marinette just as Alya joined up with her best friend, which had her distracted long enough to accidentally bump into Adrien.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" Adrien exclaimed, the two of them stumbling back from each other before they caught themselves from falling.

"It's okay. I was the one who wasn't looking where I was going. My apologies." Artemis apologized, assuring Adrien that he wasn't to blame for their stumble.

"Let's just call it even. Sounds good, uh...." Adrien trailed off, realizing the same thing Marinette did earlier and needing to act like he didn't already know her name.

"Artemis Queen." Artemis replied, holding her hand out to the boy in front of her. "And that sounds perfect to me, kid." the Changeling said just as Adrien took her hand and shook it, followed by Artemis narrowing her eyes at him as she inspected his features, unsettling him.

"Um... is something wrong, ma'am?" Adrien asked, feeling like a fly on a wall all of a sudden.

"Oh, sorry for staring. It's just..." Artemis began, quickly sighing in amusement before leaning closer to Adrien's face. "The resemblance is truly uncanny. You look just like her." the older woman remarked, a fond smile erupting on her face.

"Like who?" Adrien questioned, now curious as to who Artemis was talking about.

"Your mother. A spitting image of her if she was a male." Artemis replied, which left the boy speechless and wide-eyed. "And I bet you inherited her temper as well." the Changeling slyly commented, her fond smile turning into a look of reminiscing as she crossed her arms over her chest and softly shook her head in remembrance.

"You knew my mother?" Adrien asked, finding this new information quite shocking since his mom never mentioned her before.

"Indeed. I was an old friend of hers before she passed away. She and I were very close." Artemis revealed, causing Adrien to gape at her.

"Then how come I never met you before now?" Adrien questioned, wanting to know the reason why she was kept a secret from him.

"Several reasons, Adrien. But both your mother and I agreed that things would be easier if you didn't know me." Artemis admitted, her arms going back to her sides as she spoke.

"You know my name?" Adrien inquired, further shocked by Artemis's confession before she smirked at him.

"Don't be so surprised. Just because you don't know me... doesn't mean I didn't get to know you when you were a baby." Artemis said, a soft chuckle escaping her at Adrien's cluelessness about the possibility. "Plus, I was there with Emilie the day you were born. Perks of being her closest friend." the older woman added, leaving Adrien's head spinning with all that he had learned in a few short minutes.

"And speaking of old friends..." Artemis started, followed by her leaning in towards Adrien once again. "I hope that poor cheese-obsessed glutton of yours isn't too exhausted after dealing with Despair Bear." she whispered to the model, causing Adrien's eyes to widen ever further and his pulse to skyrocket.

"Wait... what!?" Adrien stammered, only for a smirking Artemis to start walking away before he could ask if she was referring to what he thought she was referring to.

"See you around, kid." Artemis farewelled, making her way to exit the dining hall while Adrien quickly found a corner to talk to Plagg about what could be a potentially dangerous situation.

"Plagg, you heard what she said, right?" Adrien worriedly inquired of his kwami, the flying black cat poking his head out of Adrien's shirt as he looked out of his hiding spot to watch as Artemis said goodbye to Chloé before leaving.

"I did. You might want to find out how she knows your Chat Noir as soon as possible." Plagg suggested as he watched Artemis alongside his holder, unsettled by this woman too. "Otherwise this might get uglier than the idea of me eating...ugh... American cheese!" the black kwami exclaimed, gagging in the middle of his remark.

"My thoughts exactly, Plagg." Adrien replied as he gently pushed his kwami back into his shirt and walked out of his hiding place to follow after Artemis, hoping to get to the bottom of this.

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After exiting Le Grand Paris in his tailing on Artemis, Adrien found an empty alley to transform into Chat Noir and quickly continued to follow her from the rooftops. The chase soon led to him watching Artemis entering an alleyway a few buildings away from the hotel, where she stopped in front of a tarp-covered object. But instead of reaching for the tarp, Artemis took a step back and stood right in the middle of the alley.

"I know you're up there, kid. Come on down." Artemis called out without turning around, leaving Chat Noir shocked that he was discovered. However, he still climbed down into the alley and landed behind her.

"How did you know I was there?" Chat Noir asked, impressed by her discovering his presence.

"You don't live for as long as I do without learning how to keep an ear out for people sneaking up on you." Artemis explained in a playfully sly voice, turning around to face the feline hero. "Not to mention I knew you would be too curious for your own good, Adrien." the older woman added as she crossed her arms over her chest, a smirk on her lips as she leaned her back against the tarp-covered object.

"So you do know who I am." Chat Noir said, now having full confirmation that Artemis knew his identity.

"I literally just referenced Plagg to you a few minutes ago." Artemis deadpanned, staring at him with a tired look that had Chat Noir wincing.

"Good point." Chat Noir muttered, seeing that she was right. "So... how and when did you find out my identity?" the hero in black questioned, hoping to find out if he had been so careless without realizing it.

"I've been watching over you since your mother passed away, so I've known since the beginning." Artemis revealed, assuring the boy that he didn't do anything wrong. "Plus, you gave yourself away when you used the name of the hero in the bedtime stories Emilie told you when you were a kid." the Changeling teased, a smirk reappearing on her face just as Chat Noir's face turned red in embarrassment.

"How the heck do you know that!?" Chat Noir exclaimed, his eyes wide in mortification.

"I already told you, your mom and I were good friends." Artemis said as she had to stop herself from giggling at the poor boy, her smirk turning into a wide smile.

"Such good friends, that she told you such private things but never told me about you? Kind of suspicious if you ask me." Chat Noir remarked, pouting as he crossed his arms over his chest and looked down at the ground at his feet.

"Glad to see you're skeptical. It's a good quality to have as a Black Cat Miraculous holder." Artemis observed, giving him a look of thoughtfulness as she smiled at how cautious Chat Noir was being.

"And another thing... How do you know about the Miraculous? I was under the assumption that there weren't any holders for the past 200 years." Chat Noir brought up, hoping to find out how she knew about Plagg and subsequently the Miraculous.

"You're correct. There hasn't been a Miraculous Holder until you, Ladybug and Hawkmoth." Artemis confirmed, glad that the boy was asking the big questions instead of leaving things alone. "But as to my knowledge and connection to the Miraculous, I'd rather leave that a mystery." the Changeling continued, staying adamant about keeping those details about her a secret, much to Chat Noir's slight frustration.

"Oookay..." Chat Noir drawled out, skeptical of Artemis's response before shaking it off. "So... are you going to tell anyone that I'm Chat Noir?" the feline hero asked, hoping that his secret would still be as such.

"Of course not. Telling people who you are goes against my promise to your mother." Artemis replied, intent on assuring the hero in black that he didn't have to worry about his identity being outed by her.

"Whew, good." Chat Noir breathed out in relief, only to think Artemis's words through more thoroughly. "Wait, what promise did you make to my mother?" the feline asked, focusing on the new information.

"When she fell ill and before I left to find a cure for her sickness, she asked me to keep you safe. While Emilie trusted Placide to do that well enough, she knew I'd be more discreet about it." Artemis responded, leaving Chat Noir in more confusion than he had been a few seconds ago.

"Why would she trust you to do that?" Chat Noir questioned, wondering why his mother was so secretive about her supposed friend and yet still trusted her with his safety.

"It's... complicated." Artemis admitted, looking off to the side as she spoke. "One of these days, I'll tell you everything. But now is not the time." the older woman stated, reverting her gaze to Chat Noir as she uncrossed her arms from her chest and took a step over to him.

"When will be the right time?" Chat Noir inquired, starting to get a little fed up with Artemis's crypticness.

"I know you're a curious kitty, kid, but you need to have some patience. All will be revealed in time." Artemis assured as she placed a hand on Chat Noir's shoulder, hoping that it would pacify him for now. Thankfully for Artemis, it seemed to work if Chat Noir's sigh of reluctant acceptance was anything to go off of.

"Fine, I'll wait." Chat Noir relented, pouting at the thought of needing to wait to find out more. "But you will keep my identity a secret, right?" the hero in black asked, hoping to confirm it before the conversation was over.

"I'm no snitch. Your secret is safe with me." Artemis assured him before walking back over to the tarp-covered object, quickly grabbing the tarp and pulling it off the object.

Once the tarp was removed, it revealed the object to be a black Kawasaki Ninja 250/300 motorcycle with sea green and neon green lotus flower pinstriping all over it. Upon seeing the vehicle, it had caused Chat Noir to look at it in awe and a dropped jaw.

"Whoa! Sweet ride!" Chat Noir exclaimed, prompting Artemis to turn and face him as she folded up the tarp.

"This old thing? Thank you." Artemis said as she put the tarp away in her motorcycle's side pouch, followed by her walking it to the edge of the ally before stopping short. "I hope you stay safe out there, kid. Hawkmoth is getting more desperate as of late." the Changeling added, voicing her concerns as she looked at Chat Noir over her shoulder.

"I'll do my best." Chat Noir assured, only to suddenly be left unsettled by her choice of words. "But you're not going to stop me from fighting akumas? I thought you said that Mother asked you to protect me." he asked, wondering why she wasn't demanding that he give up his ring for his safety.

"She did, but you chose to become Chat Noir. Who am I to take that away from you?" Artemis rhetorically questioned, a smirk on her lips as she nonchalantly shrugged her shoulders. "Especially when you're doing a pretty good job for a beginner, aside from your tendency to get hit by the akumas." the older woman added with a raised eyebrow, once again teasing the poor boy as she kept her grip on her motorcycle's handles while turning her body towards him.

"No need to bring it up." Chat Noir mumbled, now feeling a little embarrassed at the remark again.

"Either way, I know you'll do great. So keep up the good work." Artemis encouraged, a soft smile replacing her smirk and leaving Chat Noir more at ease.

"Thank you for the compliment. It means a lot." Chat Noir thanked Artemis, followed by her nodding in response before taking her black helmet out of the motorcycle's side bag. "Will we ever cross paths again?" the feline asked, wondering if this was a one-time interaction or the first of many.

"Like I said, I promised your mother the last time I saw her that I'd look out for you. You better believe that we will." Artemis replied, confirming that they would talk again before putting her helmet on and starting up her motorcycle. "See you around, kid!" the Changeling yelled over the engine as she swung her leg over to sit on the saddle seat, followed by her revving the engine and driving out of the alleyway.

Once she was out of the alley and in the middle of the street, Chat Noir watched as Artemis did a quick doughnut to adjust her path before zooming down the road, leaving him behind. Poking his head out of the alley, Chat Noir kept an eye on Artemis as she continued to escape his line of sight, soon sighing to himself in thought as he leaned his back against the alley wall.

"Claws In." Chat Noir breathed out as he sank to the ground, turning back into Adrien before an uncomfortable-looking Plagg popped out of his ring and floated next to him.

"You okay, kid?" Plagg asked, his eyes filled with an uncharacteristic amount of concern from the kwami that Adrien hadn't seen before, but was grateful for nonetheless.

"Not really." Adrien admitted, his thoughts still swarming as he took in all that he learned. "If they were such good friends, why would Mother not tell me about Artemis? And if her past is so sorted, why would my mom be friends with her?" the model wondered, starting to spiral down into a cyclone of 'what ifs' and uncertainty.

"Easy kid. You have plenty of time to figure this out." Plagg promised, trying to snap Adrien from his spiraling. "At least we know that she won't tell anyone your identity." the cheese-obsessed imp remarked in a tense voice, bringing his holder some semblance of calm with the assurance. But it wasn't a lot.

"How do you know we can trust her? You didn't even see or talk to her!" Adrien nearly yelled, still worried that Artemis keeping his secret was too good to be true.

"Something about her seems... eerily familiar." Plagg explained, his ears lowering a bit as he looked off to the side and trailed off a bit as he thought of the right analogy. "In any case, I think we'll be fine." the black kwami said, deciding to ignore his uncomfortableness and calming Adrien down from his panicking.

"If you say so." Adrien sighed, his heart rate finally lowering to a steady pace. "But that still doesn't explain the logic behind all of this. And if she was such good friends with my Mother, why hasn't Father or Nathile talked about her?" the boy wondered aloud, still trying to wrap his head around all of this before Plagg flew up to his eye level.

"Looks like that's something we have to figure out together." Plagg stated as he placed his small appendage onto the side of Adrien's nose, patting it as he reassured Adrien that he wasn't alone. The small display of affection was enough to bring a smile to Adrien's face.

"Thanks Plagg. You're the best." Adrien thanked his kwami, petting his little friend's head with his finger and earning a purr from Plagg. "Come on, let's go home. It's been a long day." the blonde Adonis announced, rising to his feet so that they could make their way back.

"Sounds good to me." Plagg agreed, flying back into Adrien's overshirt before the model walked out of the alley and headed back to the hotel, meeting up with his driver to head back to his house. But while he looked out the window of his car, both Plagg and Adrien couldn't help the nagging feeling in the back of their minds that Artemis might not be as helpful as she seemed to be.

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(Time Skip)

A while after Adrien's conversation with Artemis, Chloé's party was finally over and everyone went home after the long night. In the time after that, Marinette called her brothers during their lunch break and told them about what happened at the party, especially the parts when Marinette got to dance with Adrien. While they were both happy for her, Jim had a bit of a hard time voicing it since he still disapproved of the idea entailing Adrien and her dating. But he was happy for her nonetheless and both boys were intrigued by the new information she found out about Artemis, especially in regards to her ward. With that being said, the siblings decided to leave a pin in that tidbit until Marinette got the Gaggletacks from Styx, which she would check on in a few days. Things for them had been improving a lot lately since the release of Jagged Stone's latest album when it was revealed that Marinette had designed it.

Being related to her had earned Jim and Toby a bit of popularity amongst their peers who were aware of their relation to the designer. Even Steve backed off a bit after the announcement on the news. Unfortunately, the news Jim had received the previous day had soured the feeling of pride he felt on his sister's behalf, which had hung over him like a dark cloud for the whole day. So after their daily video call, with Jim and Toby's school day nearing an end, they went over to their lockers to grab their books for the next period in hopes of distracting themselves for a bit. But when Jim had opened his bag to put his textbooks inside, the stuffed bunny that he had found had dropped onto the school floor, letting out a squeak and grabbing his attention.

"Ugh! You're still carrying that germ-infested thing around?" Toby questioned with a groan, watching as Jim picked it up from the floor.

"I am going to find out who it belongs to, and when I do..." Jim declared as he knelt on the floor.

"Maybe you didn't see what you thought you saw." Toby interrupted, hanging his weight on his locker door. "You've been spending so much time in Trollmarket, that maybe your mind is starting to play tricks on you." the rounded boy theorized, watching as Jim looked down at the toy while silently doubting himself.

"Maybe you're right." Jim spoke, starting to think that Toby was right while they both closed their respective locker doors.

"You have Suzy Snooze?" a voice suddenly chimed in, causing Jim to turn around to find out who had spoken, quickly spotting Claire behind him. "My brother's bunny! I've been looking all over for him." Claire exclaimed, surprised to find the stuffed toy in Jim's possession.

"You've been looking for this? " Jim asked in a surprised tone as he handed the bunny to Claire, who quickly took it from him.

"Yeah. He's been acting so weird without it." Claire replied, unintentionally causing unrest in the two boys. "Where did you get it?" the girl asked.

"What do you mean, he hasn't been himself? Exactly how has he been acting?" Jim interrogated in a ramble, not bothering to notice a nervous-looking Toby walking up to his friend's side.

"Easy, Jim!" Toby exclaimed, tensely chuckling as he put his hand on Jim's shoulder before the boy glanced at him with a surprised look. "Always concerned about the children." the geology nerd remarked, hoping to ease the awkwardness Jim had most likely caused before turning his attention back to Claire.

"But just for clarification, are you super sure this is his? I mean, you could probably pick this up at, like, any store." Toby questioned the Hispanic girl, looking to see if Jim's suspicions were indeed valid.

"I think I'd know the stuffed bunny I grew up with." Claire replied, sending Toby's hopes down the drain just as Mary ran up to Claire, pushing herself into the conversation.

"Claire, I'm so sorry, but I can't babysit tonight. I can't. I really can't!" Mary wailed, forcing Claire to turn her attention away from the two boys and face Mary with a mix of emotions written on her face.

"You promised! My parents have a work thing and the Papa Skull concert is tonight! Papa Skull! I, like, live in their shirt every day!" Claire exclaimed, finding Mary's sudden unavailableness a major inconvenience for her evening plans.

"Sorry, but Hank invited me to ice cream! 'Tight jeans' Hank, Claire!" Mary squealed, revealing what was so important that she couldn't help out her friend. "And you know I've already got the perfect dress ready to go!" the girl cheerfully added, posing many times as she declared her love before she suddenly got a text.

"Now Dean is inviting me to a movie! And it's before my date with 'Tight Jeans' Hank!" Mary exclaimed after pulling her phone from her pocket to see who had texted her. "Now I really can't babysit tonight!" she loudly added, causing Clarie's mood to further drop.

"Really, Mary!?" Claire nearly growled as she sent a glare Mary's way.

"I'm sorry Claire! Love just can't decide!" Mary cried, feeling bad for bailing on Claire but not bad enough to cancel her dates. However, while the two girls were talking amongst themselves, they had missed Jim and Toby's inquisitive stares on them.

"Do you believe this?" Jim whispered to Toby in shock, keeping his stare on the two girls.

"I know. Mary Wang's a player?" Toby remarked in intrigue, following Jim's example and keeping them from making eye contact with one another.

"No!" Jim exclaimed, appalled that that was what Toby was focusing on at the moment. "She doesn't know her brother's gone because Claire's brother is a changeling!" the Trollhunter griped to Toby, realizing what was going on now that he had all the evidence. In light of the epiphany, Jim suddenly had a crazy idea.

"Claire, I can babysit!" Jim yelled out, quickly throwing himself back into the conversation between Claire and Mary to make his offer.

"Tonight? Really? You would?" Claire asked excitedly, quickly turning to face the boy in her joy. "Wait, have you ever babysat before?" the Hispanic girl questioned, realizing that she needed to make sure her baby brother would be in good hands.

"Uh, yeah, totally! They call me Jim the Baby-handed." Jim replied, using the name Bagdwella had called him for added credibility. But at the sight of Claire's unamused face, he decided to try a different tactic. "Plus, my sister's babysat plenty of kids before. She's taught me everything she knows." the blue-eyed boy added, causing Claire's face to light up at his claim.

"Wait, I think I saw a girl that looked like your sister on the news when they talked about Jagged Stone's new album. They said that she designed the cover." Claire recalled, holding the stuffed bunny close to her chest as she thought back on the matter. "Was that girl your sister, or someone similar looking?" she asked, bringing an amused smile to Jim's lips.

"Yep, that's her. She got commissioned for it by the rockstar himself." Jim admitted, which Claire suddenly squealed in response.

"Oh, my gosh! I can't believe your sister is a famous album cover designer! That's so cool!!" Claire exclaimed, nearly jumping up and down at the news. "You must be so proud of her!" the Hispanic girl remarked, clutching the stuffed bunny closer to her chest in her excitement.

"You have no idea." Jim muttered in pride, sending a knowing glance at Toby before turning his attention back to Claire."Trust me, your little brother will be in good hands." the Trollhunter assured his secret crush, causing her expression to light up even further.

"You are a lifesaver, Jim! I could kiss you!" Claire squealed, quickly planting a kiss upon Jim's rosy cheeks in her gratitude. "Just come by my house at six, no sooner. Thank you, Jim. Thank you!" she exclaimed as she walked back over to Mary, not seeing Jim pressing his fingers against the spot Claire's tender lips had pressed against. But as Claire and Mary left, Toby finally turned in the direction of his best friend to address the elephant in the room.

"He's not a changeling, Jim." Toby stated to his best friend, still thinking that Jim was wrong for making the assumption.

"Only one way to find out." Jim stated before leaving a dumbfounded Toby behind, who stood in place as he watched his best friend leave, his lips parted in confusion. One way or another, the truth would be discovered that night.

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When classes had let out for the day, Toby and Jim had raced back home to prepare for their respective evening plans. But while Jim's plans included learning all he could about taking care of a baby, Toby had to prepare his house to welcome Aaarrrgghh!!! since he was moving in that night. Which had Toby leaving his house a little bit before to pick Aaarrrgghh!!! after it was ready, hoping to sneak him in while his nana was still out. Due to Toby's excitement to have a roommate, they thankfully arrived at his house rather quickly.

"Nana, I'm home! It's your Toby-Pie!" Toby excitedly shouted as he pushed the kitchen door wide open, soon falling quiet when he didn't hear his guardian respond. "I have a giant troll with me!" the rounded boy exclaimed, double-checking if his nana was really out of the house. Upon receiving nothing but silence even after screaming the truth, Toby ducked behind the door to look at Aaarrrgghh standing behind him.

"Alright, big guy. Coast is clear. Let's go." Toby cheered before stepping into the kitchen, leaving the door open for Aaarrrgghh!!! to slowly appear in the doorway.

"Nana?" Aaarrrgghh!!! wondered out loud, cautiously watching as Toby pulled open the fridge door and rummaged through it in search of food.

"Don't worry, big guy. You'll love her. As long as she never sees you, which she won't. She's legally blind." Toby assured, slamming the fridge door shut with his foot while his pudgy arms had been occupied with an assortment of food. Once the fridge was closed, Toby continued to lead the way through the house, the two soon arriving at the stairs leading to the second level.

"Also, Nana's not big on stairs. She maybe comes up once a month to clean. The entire upper floor is pretty much ours." the geology nerd stated as he started climbing up the set of stairs to his room, Aaarrrgghh!!! slowly following behind while Toby tossed him an apple. But they quickly hit a snag when Toby reached the top of the stairs and Aaarrrgghh!!! tried to follow, finding that he couldn't fit through the stairwell.

"Oh! Sorry." Aaarrrgghh!!! apologized, his already unsettled nerves feeling bad for the disadvantage his size had brought to the small house. But Toby wasn't phased at all due to his excitement and didn't worry about it.

"Blinky was totally right. I do need a troll bodyguard. A troll-guard!" Toby exclaimed just as Aaarrrgghh!!! continued to squeeze his way through the small space he was unfortunately given, but was able to climb up to the top of the stairs. "And this is my-Excuse me- our room." the rounded boy said as he and Aaarrrgghh stepped into his room, showing the vast troll where he was going to stay.

"We got everything. Rock collection, video games, and movies." Toby excitedly rambled as he started showing off all the items that he possessed, unaware of Aaarrrgghh!!! hearing soft humming. Curious, the large troll leaned down and peeked into the doll house across from Toby's bed, finding that it was Gnome Chompsky who was humming as he danced with his girlfriend-Toby's doll.

"Hmm?" Aaarrrgghh!!! muttered in questioning, watching as the gnome weirdly danced away from his line of sight before turning his attention back to Toby. As he did, Aaarrrgghh!!! was greeted by the sight of Toby holding a box with a hat stacked on top of it in his hands.

"And this is where the magic happens." Toby mysteriously announced, waving his free hand around his magic kit. "I got the vanishing coin, classic rope trick, and the floating ball!" the geology nerd excitedly prattled on, listing the close-up magic tricks he had before finishing off his demonstration by reaching into the hat and pulling out the said floating ball.

"Ladies love the floating ball." Toby stated as the ball instantly lifted from his hand and hummed in the air, leaving Aaarrrgghh!!! perplexed.

"Huh?" Aaarrrgghh!!! said, dropping one of his stoned eyebrows as he looked at the floating ball in bemusement before Toby stood professionally and flung his hand towards the troll. Immediately, the ball flew right at the giant troll before stopping short; since it could only reach so far. But thinking that the ball would hit him, Aaarrrgghh!!! jumped back away from it.

"Oh!" Aaarrrgghh!!! cried after his back hit the front corner of the room, which also resulted in him knocking into the Gnome residence and causing the house to shake. "Mm, blood magic?" the large Troll questioned Toby, holding the dollhouse under his arm while Gnome Chompsky angrily chattered at Aaarrrgghh!!! from inside his house.

"No, no. It's just a trick, see? For fun." Toby explained as he walked to the other side of the room, followed by Gnome Chompsky opening his patio door to angrily chatter at Aaarrrgghh!!! with a raised fist. After his angry yelling, Chompsky went back inside his house, only for Aaarrrgghh!!! to drop the house back to how it had been before, knocking the Gnome around again.

"I know it's a little cozy, but that's part of the charm." Toby supplied, hoping to further convince Aaarrrgghh!!! that they could make their new arrangement work while the gnome continued to chatter away. "So, what do you think, roomie?" the rounded boy hopefully asked while Chompsky settled down, only for the mountainous troll to look around the small room before trying to sit up to his full height and hit his head on the ceiling. As Aaarrrgghh!!! groaned in pain, Toby's excitement had immediately dropped.

"I get it. This place cramps your style." Toby sighed before placing his magic kit onto his bed, hopping on the edge of it afterwards. "It's just been me and Nana here for a while and with both MariFairy and Jimbo getting roommates in Tikki and Draal... I guess I was just excited to have a roomie too, you know?" the geology nerd sadly admitted, causing Aaarrrgghh!!! to gasp at the small story.

Admittedly, Aaarrrgghh!!! felt out of his element when inside the small house, despite being warmly welcomed by Toby. But seeing Toby's earlier excitement fade a bit because of his hesitancy on their new living situation, made him feel bad for not being more accommodating to his friend's wishes. So with that in mind, Aaarrrgghh!!! decided to show he was willing to make things work before stepping over to the chubby teen with a moan.

Once he was standing next to Toby, Aaarrrgghh!!! smiled at him as he sniffed the hat, causing the ball within it to levitate and catch Toby's attention. Lost for words, Toby kept watching the large troll perform the trick before his large take of breath had ended, causing the ball to drop back into the hat.

"More magic?" Aaarrrgghh!!! asked, which had Toby lightening up at the question.

"Thought you'd never ask!" Toby said with a chuckle, happy to show off his skills.

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Time had quickly passed after Aaarrrgghh!!! made his request to Toby, and the day soon turned into early night when Jim began making his way to Claire's house. As he did, Claire had started to give her baby brother his dinner while waiting for Enrique's sitter to arrive, hoping to have him settled before she left. Fortunately for Claire, it didn't take Jim long to reach the Nuñez residence with help from his bike, if the sound of a knock on the door was any indication.

"Hey, Claire!" Jim called from outside, alerting Claire to his presence as she was about to feed her baby brother another spoonful of food.

"Jim! Come on in." Claire happily replied, to which Jim responded by opening the door and walking inside while she kept her focus on Enrique. "I put his routine up on the fridge. After playtime, you just have to put him down. He's a good sleeper." the Hispanic girl explained as she cleaned up her brother's face, followed by giving him the last of the mushed food in the bowl she had in her hands. With her brother well-fed, Claire finally took her attention off of Enrique and turned to face Jim as he walked towards her.

"On the fridge. No problemo." Jim assured her before Claire lifted a sheet of paper from her purse.

"Phone numbers are here for emergencies. Whatever you do... do not call my parents first!" Claire stressed while standing up, a serious look in her eyes as she glared at Jim to convey her point.

"Oh, because they don't know you're going to the concert, do they?" Jim questioned with a small grin, pointing his finger accusingly at Claire.

"You're not the only one hiding a secret." Claire remarked before she handed the slip of paper and the bowl to Jim, eager to get going. "So, if your secret is eating babies, now is the time to tell me." the brown-eyed girl joked, letting out a pity laugh at the weird look he gave her before he mimicked her awkward laugh, neither of them seeing a Vespa stopping in front of the house.

"Hm, good enough for me." Claire decided, eager to go to the concert before her eyes trailed out to the window, spotting the Vespa outside. "Oh, there's my ride." she exclaimed, followed by her making her way to the front door.

"Don't worry. He's buckled in well. Besides, he'd rather play with his food than eat it." Claire began to explain to Jim as she walked past him, not noticing the boy's eyes turned to watch Enrique jumping around in his bouncing chair. "My parents are at some kind of fundraiser, so they won't be back until 'late' late. I'll be two or three hours max." the Hispanic girl assured while she fixed her hair in the hallway mirror, hoping to go over the basics before leaving.

"What else am I forgetting? What else?" Claire wondered after finishing her hair, trying to think of more things to help Jim out if needed. "He also loves games. Peek-a-boo, hide-and-seek... things like that." she went on, finally recalling the thing she was trying to remember while Jim walked up to her with an assuring smile on his face.

"I've got this. Enjoy the concert." Jim encouraged, opening the door for her and settling Claire's worries since she knew her brother would be in good hands.

"And help yourself to anything in the fridge." Claire warmly said, grateful for the favor Jim was doing for her whilst they stared at one another, sharing a tender moment. But it was quickly interrupted when a pitchy horn sounded from the front of the house. 'Stupid Steve.' the girl groaned in her thoughts, not happy with how impatient he was being.

"I'm coming! Shish-kebab!" Claire exclaimed before walking out the front door with Jim walking her out, heading down the stairs to Steve as he sat on his Vespa and looked ready to go.

"What?" Jim exclaimed from behind her, causing Claire to turn her gaze around to see his suddenly appalled expression when he caught sight of Steve.

"What's up, my Juliet?" Steve greeted Claire, speaking with the lisp as he waved at her from his Vespa.

"You're going with him?" Jim nearly whined with shock, immediately making Claire feel bad about her choice of dates for the concert.

"He, um, bought the last tickets." Claire meekly explained as she headed to the back of the Vespa, lifting the helmet that was on the back before sliding it on her head.

"Like my ride, buttsnack? Last on the showroom floor. Handles like a dream. No big deal." Steve taunted Jim, letting out a laugh while waiting for Claire to sit down.

"Thanks again, Jim! You're my hero!" Claire called to Jim, wrapping her arms around Steve's waist for safety before he started his engine and sped off.

"Buttsnack!" Steve insulted as he drove off, causing Clarie to send a dirty glare at the blonde olf who was mocking the guy doing her a major personal favor.

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After the Vespa carrying Claire and Steve had left his line of sight, Jim walked back into the house and closed the door with his elbow with a scowl. The last thing he expected to happen was Steve taking Claire to the concert, and his rotten luck had been all too eager to make it come true. But when he was inside, he walked back over to Enrique while the baby had been sucking on a spoon, soon cooing and reaching for Jim. In response, the Trollhunter knelt on the floor near Claire's baby brother and stared at Enrique with a calculating look on his face.

"I'll give you this much. You seem a little too adorable and drooly to be a changeling." Jim admitted in reluctance, still thinking he was right. "Hey, are you now, or have you ever been a shape-shifting troll creature?" the blue-eyed boy interrogated Enrique, waving his finger in front of the baby before he abandoned his spoon to suck on the boy's finger. At the adorable move, Jim couldn't help the warm-hearted laugh escaping him before pulling away his finger from the baby.

"Oh, man, what was I thinking? You're no monster." Jim wondered out loud, now thinking he was going crazy like Toby had said. Regardless, he had brought the Gaggletack with him... he might as well make sure he had nothing to worry about. "But just in case..." the Trollhunter began, reaching for his bag off to the side.

"...want to play the horseshoe game?" Jim asked the baby in front of him as he dug into his backpack, only to find the Gaggletack missing. "Huh. That's weird. It was just here." the blue-eyed boy said as he looked into his bag, perplexed by the disappearance of the artifact before looking back at Enrique as he lifted his gaze off the backpack as Jim did. However, Jim's eyes quickly fell onto the buckle hanging on the sides of the bouncing chair, noticing that it was suddenly no longer clipped together.

"Wait a minute. You were buckled in a minute ago. This is supposed to be childproof." Jim observed, his suspicions quickly reignited with the new evidence presented to him. "Where did you hide it? Speak." the Trollhunter questioned the baby, witnessing Enrique's eyes seeming to almost pop out of his head before he regained himself and giggled.

"Oh, you want to play games, do you? Then let's play." Jim declared, happy to accept Enrique's silent challenge and unknowingly getting himself into a load of hurt shortly.

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Back over at the Domzalski household, after Toby had shown Aaarrrgghh!!! his magic kit, he decided to continue his roommate bonding with the large Troll with video games. However, Toby's choice of War Dudes seemed to be a less than ideal one as he picked the Two Players option, followed by the loading screen as blood splattered onto the letters. The choice was further proved to be poor when the game shouted 'Fire at will!' to signal Toby and Aaarrrgghh!! to start playing the game, where Aaarrrgghh quickly found it difficult to play.

"Eat a grenade, scuzzweed! Ba-boom!" Toby insulted the game, playing the console with ease as he mimicked the sound effects. "Oh, no! I'm drawing enemy fire! Go get the laser sword! Now, Aaarrrgghh!!! - Where are you, wingman?" the rounded boy pressured the large Troll, oblivious to his struggle.

"Wingman?"Aaarrrgghh!!! repeated as he glanced over at Toby, unfamiliar with the term.

"My partner, my comrade, my comrade in virtual arms." Toby explained, taking his attention off of the game to define the term. "We've got to work together, wingman..."the geology nerd further elaborated before his attention turned back to the screen to keep playing the game.

"To kill the cyber ninjas!" Toby darkly exclaimed, his face reshaping into a grin as he kept his eyes on the screen while fiercely clicking the buttons.

"Kill?" Aaarrrgghh!!! breathed out in dread, the vast Troll's eyes widening at Toby before glancing at the chubby child's fingers.

As Toby kept playing the game, it gradually got more and more violent as NPCs shouted commands and orders for even more violent actions. Needless to say, this alongside Toby's chanting of 'Kill them all!' was leaving Aaarrrgghh!!! more and more uncomfortable. It wasn't until Aaarrrgghh's attention moved towards the screen when it showed two guns and drawn-out people getting shot down, that things took a turn for the worse. As if things seemed to go in slow motion, Aaarrrgghh's mind had become focused on nothing in particular, overwhelmed by a sudden feeling he hadn't felt in a long time. The large Troll's green eyes suddenly shrunk and the world seemed to spin around him as he began to pant as growls ran out from his throat.

Seconds later, Aaarrrgghh!!!'s eyes closed for a mere second before they opened, revealing his green-friendly eyes to now be nothing but a black abyss with a speck of neon green blending in with them. Alongside his eyes, the carvings in his skin had adopted the glowing green as well just as Aaarrrgghh!!! looked down at the controller in his hand, quickly crushing it into nothing with his other fist. Following his destruction of the controller, the ancient troll panted in anger while his carvings still glowed green as he started to settle down. But unknown to Aaarrrgghh!!!, Toby had seen the whole thing and slowly appeared beside him, his mouth agape as he stared at the large troll.

"Okay, we can pause it." Toby said, clicking the button and watching Aaarrrgghh as he transformed back into his old, loving self. His eyes quickly twisted into the small window of the dollhouse, just to see Chompsky hide in the corner as he cowered away with his doll. Needless to say, the whole room was now filled with a tense atmosphere.

"Wow. When you get into a game, man, you really, um... commit." the rounded boy remarked, hoping to break the tension as he glanced at the broken controller in the pacifist's hands, prompting Aaarrrgghh!!! to look at it as well.

"I'm sorry." Aaarrrgghh!!! apologized, followed by him quickly hiding his face in his hands in shame. "Pacifist, pacifist, pacifist." he mumbled to himself, remembering who he was and who he wanted to stay before letting out a heartbreaking moan that left Toby shocked to see Aaarrrgghh!!! so distraught.

"No, hey, hey! It's cool, dude. Is something wrong?" " Toby assured his friend, standing up to step towards the pacifist and tapping his small hand against Aaarrrgghh!!!'s rocky shoulder. But his hopes of consulting the large Troll have dashed away when Aaarrrgghh!!! said nothing in response.

"Come on, I'm your wingman. Look, I get it. You get angry. Everybody gets angry." the rounded boy said in trying to get Aaarrrgghh!!! to open up to him, only to see that it wasn't working. "Is that why you're a pacifist?" Toby asked Aaarrrgghh!!!, trying to get to the bottom of his sudden behavior before he suddenly stood up.

"I should go." Aaarrrgghh!!! stated, turning to leave. Toby, however, disagreed about the soon absence and quickly stood in front of him, blocking Aaarrrgghh!!!'s path.

"You know what I think? This game's lame. How about we play something else?" the geology nerd suggested, hoping to convince Aaarrrgghh!!! to stay.

It was then that Toby realized that in his excitement, he had failed to take in how Aaarrrgghh!!! was possibly feeling too. Lord knows how often he felt like that, so he'd be darned if his new roommate had felt like that because of him. With that in mind, Toby skipped over to the T.V. set and started sifting through his collection of games for a better one to play.

"I've got Bubble Buddies, or maybe Go-Go Sushi?" Toby offered, holding up the respective games before settling on Go-Go Sushi. "You have to dodge sushi as you're serving hungry tourists. It's awesome!" the rounded boy explained, reminiscing on the times he, Marinette and Jim had played the game over the years and thoroughly enjoyed playing it.

"And the best part is, we're on the same team." Toby exclaimed, now recalling that it was the one game Marinette couldn't beat him and Toby in since it required teams to play. But that didn't stop her from earning the top score in the end.

Nevertheless, as soon as Toby put the game into the player, Traditional Japanese music started playing in the background as Aaarrrgghh!! kindly smiled at Toby before joining him in playing. Shortly after joining the game, Aaarrrgghh!!! and Toby were once again sitting in front of the television and playing the game. However, this time, Aaarrrgghh!! had a great smile on his face as he learned the controls of the game, having a much easier time than with the war game.

"Oh, no! I'm drawing spicy tuna fire! You gotta ask for tips, wingman! Ask for tips!" Toby exclaimed as the game picked up, the screen showing two cats carrying bowls as they dodged incoming sushi before Aaarrrgghh!!! let out a laugh

"Sushi." Aaarrrgghh!!! cheered as they shared a fist bump, now enjoying himself with the new game. "Shrimp." the large Troll mumbled as they turned to face the screen again, only for Toby's phone to begin ringing as they played. With practiced ease, Toby picked up the device and wedged it between his shoulder and ear after seeing who was calling him.

"What's up, Jimbo? Everything okay with Enrique?" Toby greeted his best friend, still not taking his eyes off the screen.

"I kind of just lost the Gaggletack." Jim admitted from beyond the phone, his voice echoing and causing Toby to instantly freeze in place after hearing the news.

"What do you mean, you lost it?" Toby questioned, finally taking his focus off of the game and placing his hand onto his phone to keep it from falling to the floor after abandoning his playing.

"No! What in the world?" Jim yelled from his end of the phone, forcing Toby to pull his phone away from his ear and look up at Aaarrrgghh!!! in worry.

"You don't happen to have another Gaggletack, do you?" Toby nervously asked Aaarrrgghh!!!, wincing at the look his new roommate was now giving him.