Marinette Dupain- Cheng against the world

Chapter 3

Tom and Sabine Dupain- Cheng had come to a mutual understanding that their little girl was, in short, not a little girl any more. At the age of 15, Marinette had proven that she no longer needed her parent's constant protection. Kind of. Not really. As parents, they were always worried about their daughter, especially with her tendency to get herself into the very worst situations possible. It didn't help that she seemed to come home after akuma attacks so exceptionally exhausted. So when they received a call from Lycee Carnot's school nurse, they had every right to feel terrified. And they were right to be so.

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Y/N sighed as she closed the attic door to her bedroom. Marinette's parents had grilled her for a solid hour and a half, fretting about her head wound, asking if she was alright- it wasn't that it was annoying, it was the fact that they were worrying about their actual daughter. Who was now dead. She stretched as she fingered the black spotted, red earrings she wore. "Tikki?" She tried calling. Tikki was the kwami that Marinette had owned. She was the one who allowed Marinette to transform into Ladybug, her superhero counterpart. And she was also the only viable source of help at the moment, since she couldn't physically call Paimon on this particular mission.

As if on cue, a red blur burst out from the depths of her purse, pausing in front of her face. Tikki crossed her arms and stared at her accusingly. "Marinette!" She scolded. "How could you have been so reckless?" Y/N stared at the kawmi. She had encountered mythical beings in her missions before, but never one so... cute. Usually they tried to kill her. Or eat her. Same thing.

"Alright." Y/N said, cutting of Tikki's rambling. She turned towards her, seemingly surprised. "Let's get one thing straight. Marinette is dead."

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"So let me get this straight," Tikki said, rubbing her minuscule hands on her forehead. "Marinette...my previous owner... was killed. And now you, Y/N, inhabit her body?"She nodded. She felt slightly regretful hitting Tikki with the news right away, but it was probably for the best. For one thing, it saved her the work of having to deal with it later. And one thing she knew was that revenge was the best motivator.

"I can't believe it..." Tikki floated down into Y/N's lap. "I don't want to believe it..." She stared down at the kwami. "I really am sorry. But that's the truth." Tikki rolled onto her back, her wide eyes staring up at her from below. "So... are you some kind of goddess? You want my help?" Y/N raised her eyebrows. "Well... you could put it like that..." Tikki quieted. Then, with a sudden burst of energy, she shot up from her lap. "I'll do it!" She said, pumping her fists. She blinked. "Wait... really?" She hadn't expected the kwami to agree so easily. Worst case scenario... she didn't want to think about what she might have had to do. She might have failed the mission before it actually started.

"Yes," Tikki said, nodding determinedly. "Anything for Marinette." Y/N sat back on her heels, feeling a grin spread across her face. "It's settled then," she decided. "No turning back now!"

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She wanted to turn back. She really did. "Why isn't it working?" Y/N grumbled as she kicked a crumpled sheet of paper into a trash bin. No matter how many ways she had yelled, "Tikki, spots on!" the miraculous transformation had never been activated. She couldn't figure out why. Technically, she was still Marinette Dupain-Cheng, but somehow, the Miraculous picked up the new soul. Which meant that she was no longer it's holder. 

"This ruins everything," She said. Becoming Ladybug was part of her plan to deface Lila Rossi. But how was she supposed to do that if she wasn't ladybug? More importantly, how was she supposed to face Chat Noir? The guy was head over heels in love with his partner, who now didn't even exist.

Tikki flew over and sat herself on her shoulder. "I'm sorry Y/N-" She said, patting her on the shoulder. "I didn't know that this would happen... you should still be able to transform into Ladybug..." Y/N groaned. Ugh. Don't remind me, she thought. Yet another reason her mission was starting to go downhill. But... but- what if it didn't have to be ladybug? She sat up. "Tikki... would it be possible to get a new miraculous? Could I even do that?" 

Tikki blinked, and frowned. She rubbed her chin thoughtfully as she answered, "I'm not sure- there's not many cases where a holder had more than one miraculous in one lifetime- and even then, it was always only temporary..." Y/N stood up, brushing cookie crumbs off her pants. "What about the Guardian of the Miraculous?" She offered. "Master Fu, right? He would probably be the best person to ask..." Yes, that's right. The supposedly wise old man in a Hawaiian print shirt was her best chance of acing this mission. What had her life become...