Nino's POV

"What do I do now?" I asked in a hard, robotic voice. 

Wayzz shrugged, "Well naturally, you would start putting your feet in front of each other and start a physical exercise called 'walking to school', but I'm completely fine with gawking in the middle of the street." 

"Okay," I breathed heavily and put a foot in front of my other foot. 

Wayzz stared at me and added, "Repeat." 

"Okay," I breathed once more as I started walking. It was more like the hybrid mix of skipping and limping but at least I was trudging forward. 

"Nino!" Adrien's voice pierced me. Then he stopped, looking at me. "Hi, awkward-robot-that-replaced-Nino." His eyebrow was arched. 

"See!" I cried at Wayzz. "Even Adrien thinks I'm awkward! If Adrien thinks I'm awkward, I'm basically a turtle, one that's really awkward!" 

Wayzz evenly retorted, "Turtles are not awkward, they are a wonderful species that have a strong sense of individuality that helps them survive the harsh—" 

"We get it," Patrick and I snapped at the same time. 

"Is that where the awkward turtle came from?" Adrien mused to himself. 

"It's the girls," Wayzz warned me. Then he slid behind me, sinking into my shadows like he always did when Trixx was around. He was a master in camouflage and disappearing, almost as if he had been running away his whole life. 

Marinette was immediately inseparable next to Adrien and Tyler ran off to Patrick, which left me awkward between two girls; my crush and my bestfriend's nemesis. 

"Hi," Trixie said dryly. Her eyes were sharp with a glimmering edge. "How do you do, Jade Turtle?" 

Alya flinched noticeably. 

"I'm not Jade Turtle," I defended, my face turning pink. 

Trixie looked between me and Alya, shrugging nonchalantly. "Oops," she said. "My bad, I was just confused for a second." Then she muttered something that made Patrick roll his eyes. 

It was just awkward. 

"Keep walking!" Wayzz reminded behind me. "Remember, one foot at a time." 

Knowing that Wayzz was analyzing my every movement was even more awkward now. I took a deep breath. "Oh-um, hi V-Alya," I stuttered, my eyes glued to my shoes. 

"Valya?" Trixie chirped. "That's a cool nickname." 

"Oh, hi too, good m-morning," Alya mumbled beside me. Was she thinking about how Jade Turtle rejected her last night? I was regretting that so bad right now. 

"I think I'm going to be late for school," I muttered as I broke into a sprint.

Behind me, Patrick yelled, "We go to the same school moron!" 

#

Alya's POV

"I can't do it!" I whined. 

"Why not?" Trixx palmed her forehead. "It's quite easy; just go up to him and tell him that you know he's Jade Turtle. Start your lovey-dovey dating process and get married and have kids! Everyone knows the equation!" 

I blushed bright pink. "It's not that easy, Trixx." 

Trixx rolled her eyes. "Puhleeze, I've gone through this process a million times with Plagg. He has this issue with his soon-to-be girlfriend. I had to repeat this formula at least forty million times to get it in his brain." 

"Plagg?" I knitted my eyebrows. 

Trixx waved her hand dismissively. "It doesn't matter who Plagg is, all you have to know is that a same formula always has the same result if you don't change the independent variable. You always keep the control variables same and only change the independent to get a result out of the dependant variable! Where were you Chesmitry?" 

"I don't need science lessons! You don't know anything about love, Trixx!" I protested. "Gosh, you don't even have a boyfriend!" 

Trixx froze. Then she awkwardly said, "Um, of course I do. I have a boyfriend." Then she said in again, a little bit more determinedly. "I have a boyfriend." 

"Really?" I crossed my arms. 

"Um, yeah, of course," Trixx scoffed. "Um . . . my boyfriend's name is . . . Wayzz." 

"No, he's the Kwami that you always bicker with," I corrected her. "Don't just put random people's names in the 'boyfriend' title. You can't just do that." 

"Well, Wayzz is . . . a male, last time I checked . . . and he isㅡno nevermindㅡwas, my friend so it should count!" Trixx argued back. "I have a friend that's a boy! Boyfriend!" 

"You can fool the world but you can't fool me," Alya said. "That's not a boyfriend. So what? Adrien's my boyfriend?" 

"He's taken!" Trixx hissed. 

"I know that! And that's exactly why I win this argument," I crossed my arms with finality. "And I thought Kwamis didn't love." 

"Go tell that to Plagg," Trixx mumbled under her breath. Then her eyes lit up. "That explains everything then! I am psychologically unable to love someone. If I could've, I would've dated Nino alread!" 

"Shhh!" I furiously said. "And excuse me? 'Psychologically unable to love someone'? What kind of excuse is that?" 

"My kind!" Trixx argued back. "And it's possible. It's from being such an amazing lady friend from birth that you don't even see the only male on earth as a man!" 

"Well you gotta if you're planning on reproducing the whole earth with the only male on earth," I muttered. "But that's not the point. I want to do this right. It's like my only chance! If Jade Turtle doesn't like, what are the chances that Nino's going to like me?" 

"A hundred percent!" Trixx answered. "Now just go and kiss him!" 

"Trixx!" I protested but she was already gone, huffing and puffing. 

Ugh. Did I have to be the man? 

#

Trixx's POV

Moron. Moron. Moron. 

"He's over there," Plagg offered, pointing at the shadows, catching my expression. "You're talking about Wayzz, right?" 

"Don't say the w-word in front of me!" I snapped as she marched into the shadows and yanked Wayzz off the dark. 

"Oh, hi, there," Wayzz smiled cheekily. 

"Are you hiding from me?" I roared. "What do you have to hide? The fact that you're a monster or that you're a piece of scarecrow that doesn't have any emotions?" 

"You caught me," Wayzz shrugged. "What do you want?" 

I released him and wiped my hand on my jeans. "I have a favor to ask," I started. 

"Because after trying to bury me alive and skin me, I am definitely in the mood of granting favors," Wayzz mumbled but I ignored that part. 

"Please, please, please don't mess around with Nino," I asked. "I want Alya to be happy and she can't when Nino's trapped in your trance. I want him to be free." 

For a second, Wayzz simply stared into my eyes. "Fine," he said, to my surprise. I thought he would argue back, I even prepared a three minute dissing speech for him. "I won't pull him into me." 

"Good," I sharply said, narrowing my eyes on him. 

"And . . ." Wayzz took a sharp intake of breath. "I'm sorry." 

I blinked. Oh my plague. 

"Did you just apologize to me?" I asked, my eyes wide. "Wayzz apologizing? This is something worth remembering. This is the first time you apologized to anyone! Are you alright? You're not sick or anything?" 

Wayzz kept his eyes neutral. "Well . . . I'm still sorry," he smirked. 

"Good," I chirped. "When this doesn't mean I forgive you or anything!" Then I skipped away happily, imagining Alya and Nino's wedding already. 

Little did I know. 

#

Wayzz's POV

I didn't have a lot of time. I had to make the most of my existence. It was long past since school ended. It was long past since my day ended. 

"Are you sure?" Master Fu asked. "No one knows about it yet." 

"One of these days, Trixx will figure out," I smirked. "She's got the nose of a dog." 

"But do you have to do all this?" Master Fu asked me once more. 

"I can't be the perfect wise Wayzz anymore," I explained. "I can't. I just can't. And it's my duty to keep it that way. If I can't, then I'll still have to keep it that way, this way or that." 

"But is this necessary?" Master Fu questioned. 

I nodded my head. "It's now or never. I have to save them or let them suffer. I'm slightly sorry for Nino since I won't be there to be his physical Kwami, but I'm sure the charm works with or without my figure. It's magic, after all," I reassured him. "And . . . if anyone asks, tell them I'm sorry." 

Once I got the word out, the rest of the fluid, it just came out. 

"What about Trixx?" Master Fu asked. 

"You can cut away our bondage. She doesn't need me to be safe," I replied bittersweetly. "I just needed her for me to be safe. I can't keep taking advantage of her. She's stronger than she looks, she'll be better than me." 

"That's not what I was asking," Master Fu quietly said. 

I stayed still for a few moments before I took a deep breath. This wasn't the best decision, but it was the most logical I could make out of my confused mind at the moment. 

"She doesn't need to know," I whispered weakly. "She doesn't need to be punished. She's had enough." 

Master Fu stayed silent. 

"She's already been inflicted with too much pain; her best friend was not her best friend. She doesn't need to know that her best friend isn't who he is looks like either," I said, each word a hard arduous work. 

"But theㅡ" 

"The truth is too hard for her!" I yelled in frustration, slamming my fist on the table, leaving a crack. "I want to protect her from me. I want her to stay safe and happy. She doesn't need to be dragged into the mess I was born into!" My eyes were flashing dangerously. 

This is the real me. 

Master Fu sighed, "If you say so, Wayzz. But remember, I can't keep her away forever." 

"She won't come to me," I snarled. 

#

Nino's POV

I decided to do it. I decided to confront and tell her that I know that she's Volpina. Or tell her that I know she's Alya. Depending on where and when I find her. 

I tried to look to Wayzz for advice but he was nowhere to be seen. 

"Shells on," I whispered, touching my bracelet. The jade symbol glowed momentarily before little sparks of green light jumped out of it, enveloping me in the magical mess. 

Hi, my name's Jade Turtle, the awkward turtle. 

I stepped out to the roof, touching my costume, brushing my hand here and there. For some reason, there seemed to be a different. Something small yet so effective. 

Then it hit me. 

I couldn't feel Wayzz stifling the life out of me. I smiled in surprise, so he did take my request after all. It was as if I had gotten twenty pounds lighter. Woo hoo, my workout has worked. 

I jumped off the roof, heading swiftly for the Eiffel Tower. 

"Hi." 

I looked up at the metal railings and saw Alya flinging her arms around furiously, waving at me. I uncertainly waved, worried. What if she fell from there? 

"What are you doing there?" I asked as I climbed up the construction. 

"I don't know, just thinking," Alya said, swinging her legs around. "I just needed to clear my mind a bit." She glanced me with a reluctant look. "You?" 

"Same here, I guess," I scratched the back of my head. "I feel like I'm so overwhelmed. My life just seem so strange and confusing and more confusion tumble into my life." 

What do I say now? Help! 

"Isn't that cool, same thing happened to me," Alya smiled. Gosh, she was adorable. 

"Uh huh," I nodded. I took a deep breath. Do something idiot! My mind completely froze, turning white. I waited for some moments as the pulsing of my blood slowed down. I took a sharp inhale of the lacking oxygen in my brain. Then I opened my mouthㅡ

"I know you're Nino," Alya blurted out. 

I closed my mouth. Then I opened it again just to make sure my jaw was working. Then I clamped it shut, determined to not look like a idiot. My brain was running around like crazy. How did she know? Of course she knew, if I figured it out, she probably did too. 

"Um, nice, Volpina," I manage to choke out. "I mean, A-A-Alya. But does it matter?" I looked meaningfully into her eyes. 

Alya jaw-dropped. "You knew? How did you figure it out? I mean, you're dense!" 

I couldn't do anything except gawk like a goldfish. My fingers were trembling from the nervousness around. And I couldn't do anything straight. 

"You alright?" Alya asked, placing a hand on my shoulder. 

I jumped up in surprise, unable to contain the energy inside. "I-I-I just have no i-i-idea what to say. I-I-I mean I-I-I just confronted you and I-I-Iㅡ" 

"Okay," Alya breathed, her face turning pink. "Chill, Lahiffe. I'm not going to kill you." 

"YES YOU ARE!" I screamed. 

"STOP FREAKING ME OUT!" Alya yelled back. "Stop pacing around you're making me nervous. Like I did something wrong. Like I did something wrong! Was I supposed to ignore it? Of course I was supposed to. Why did I not notice this? Of course you're going to freakㅡ" 

"Will you shut up?" I shouted at her. "You're going to make me deaf! And of course it's going to be awkward since you've declared your everlasting love for in lunch to everyone in the worldㅡ" 

Alya blushed bright pink. I blinked, realizing what I said and turned my head away in shame. "I mean I totally get it since I was Jade Turtle, gosh nevermind I'm still Jade Turtle but it's different because Wayzz isn't around meㅡugh, whatever! It's just different!" 

"N-N-No it's not," Alya said as she put a hand on my shoulder. "You're the same you, both inside and out, both masked or not." 

"You don't get it!" I yelled frustration. "I'm not like you, my life was tied with my Kwami when I'm the hero. You didn't fall in love with me." 

"Yes I did!" Alya argued. "And talk to a therapist about your self esteem, I'm serious." 

"You know any good therapists?" I rolled my eyes. 

"Chat noir!" Alya said a duh-voice. "Um, Ladybug? She was in depression like you. Oh, oh, oh, how about my Kwami? She's amazing on dissing people's self-esteemㅡokay, that's not going to helpㅡ" 

"But she's different!" I screamed. "They're all different. Like when I'm Jade Turtle, it's like I'm chained down to being a hero, I can't do anything else besides it. I have to follow the perfect regulations and the perfect rules or else . . . I'm doomed! That's what I feel every time Wayzz is in meㅡ" 

Alya grabbed my collar and pulled me closer. She closed her eyes and leaned forward. 

Then we kissed. 

She tasted wonderful. 

"Now will you calm down?" Alya asked, pulling away with a smile tugging on her lips. "Well, I can't really say you're a great kisser but at least you've stopped talking." 

I blinked down at her, unable to say anything. 

"Listen, Nino, Jade Turtle," Alya said. "I love both of your sides very, very much. Even if you're not yourself in your hero form, it's still a part of you. And I love that part of you as well. I love it when you're Nino. I love it when you're Jade Turtle." 

"Alright," I whispered. 

"And thanks to you, I'm not a whole lot more confident than I was," Alya continued, her eyes smiling at me. "And I am really, really thankful for that." 

"Your welcome," I choked, tears welling up on my eyes for some reason. 

"See? This is why I love you; you just kicked your ego away," Alya said as she wrapped her arms around my neck. "And I will forever be in love with you . . . until the galaxy expands." 

"You learned that from Tyler, right?" 

"Uh huh." 

"I knew it." 

YES YES YES YES YES

Oh and don't mind all those confusing leads in Wayzz. It'll be solved . . . within this book perhaps. ;))

Jue