Masked Permanently

A Protector's Service

"Could it have been a dream? This might've been an attempt at contact, or maybe just stress from being unable to help the current hero with the development... She said she had Felix with her. I didn't see him."

"Master?" Wayzz spoke, seeing as the elderly man was pacing back and forth anxiously.

"I never got to learn much about this development. The big accident happened during this lesson, and I never learned more. I wonder if Marinette truly did disappear," Master Fu told his kwami.

"Would you like to take a walk out by the schools so we can ask her friends about Ladybug?" The kwami asked as an attempt to offer a solution.

"I wouldn't want to upset them in that manner just in case the development really did cause her to disappear. Maybe we can ask our old Lady Luck," Master Fu decided, taking the kwami along as he began making his way out.

* * *

Once she took a horribly saddened Adrien to school for the day, Nathalie sat in the car beside Felix's older brother. "Ladybug's earrings are with another girl, and she still hasn't returned them like I asked," she told Gorilla, her fingers pressed into her scalp stressfully.

"I should've dealt with the akuma myself. This would've never happened if I didn't feel lazy that day! You know, I was telling myself that Adrien needed a new partner, but I was just too lazy to deal with that angry akuma," Nathalie explained, gaining a sympathetic glance from Gorilla.

"Why am I such a moron? Gosh, I wish Felix would've been the lucky one and I would've been the one to disappear. At least he would've made sure to give the Miraculous to a trustworthy person, and now it's probably lost with the girl Marinette thought was trustworthy."

Once they got back to the mansion, Nathalie noticed Master Fu wandering around the area and wondered what he was doing. "Oh uhmm, how can I help you?" She asked, dusting her jacket off.

"Hello Nathalie, I was hoping to see how Ladybug was doing. I haven't heard much about her, and I was thinking it might've been good news," the older man tested, causing one of Nathalie's hands to fly up to her chin nervously. The other was clutching her clipboard tightly.

"Uh— about that... I've been meaning to tell you, but I thought Tikki or Adrien would've done it already, but umm... Marinette disappeared too," she told him, her shoulders hunched in shame.

"Oh no... this is what I've feared. I believe she's reached out to contact me in a dream, but I'm not completely sure of this. In my training, I've learned up to a certain extent about this knowledge, and if I'm correct, there's one more person in Shanghai who still may be knowledgeable about this situation," Master Fu spoke, rubbing his chin. He couldn't just give up. Especially after the contact he made with Marinette, he found a hope that he may be able to set free those who were preserved.

"If there's at least a single chance there's a person who could help free Felix and Marinette, let's take it," Nathalie begged.

"We can make an attempt, and do our best. We mustn't let this information come to those like Adrien and Marinette's friends just yet. False hope will only crush them further," Master Fu warned her.

"I won't mention a word of this," she promised the elderly man.

As the two departed with polite farewells, Nathalie made her way to the mansion by herself. Once she opened the doors, the clipboard fell from her arms in horror as she stood face-to-face with the villain of Paris.

* * *

"Class, I have horrible news, as some of you may have heard. Your missing classmate, Marinette Dupain-Cheng, has passed away," Miss Bustier announced tearfully.