337/Banana Kabama

Banana Kabama
Date of Scene:	31 August 2023
Location:	Ice Cream Parlor
Synopsis:	Hawk Moth unleashes his magic, turning Cho into an akuma! Can the sparkle skirts save the day? Probably, it'd be silly if the series ended so quickly.
Cast of Characters:	Gabriel Agreste, Cho Konishi, Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Adrien Agreste, Coco Kiumi, Amanda Faust

---

Gabriel Agreste has posed:
It was a relatively normal, hot summer day. So it was a great day for ICE CREAM. Today's special was 'a supreme banana split' and it came with three flavors of fudge sauces and three bananas and was huge. It was today's hot seller and there was a line, but plenty of seating available.

Meanwhile.

A man in a silver mask stood in repose in a place, a secret place somewhere near the penthouse area of Obsidian tower. He was surrounded by butterflies that fluttered about him, as he listened to thoughts and feels from the city below.

'I wish my mom would listen to me...'

'...Those dumb sparkleskirts...!'

'...I wish I could do better in math class...'

No.. no. None of these would do right now. He needed something more substantial!'.

Cho Konishi has posed:
Cho Konishi was eating by herself this time. She'd gotten one of the banana splits but well... Normally, she would have been with Coco. But she, honestly, felt stupid. Useless. Pathetic.

She felt like a bad friend. Coco was doing so much to help her, despite all of her flaws and weaknesses. Despite knowing her secret...

Yet Cho had literally done nothing to help HER. Wuwu had FINALLY given her the answer. But how in the blazes was she supposed to get to the fairy heaven? This so-called celestial realm? She DIDN'T KNOW! And now she was so scared her best friend was going to end up dying because she couldn't do ONE STUPID JOB! It was going to be entirely her fault. Because she wasn't good enough. Because she kept trying to be something she wasn't. Wuwu was no help, as usual.

She didn't deserve to be Cure Wukong. She didn't deserve to be anything but what she had been. A useless, ignored nobody. At least then people wouldn't get hurt because of her uselessness. Maybe then someone who could actually help Coco would be her roommate.

Her miserable mood was... expressed through her sundae. Namely, in that she had only taken a single bite of it and it was instead half melted.

The best, only, bit of advice Wuwu had truly given her was useless. 'Believe in yourself. You're Wukong now. And Wukong always finds a way.'

A solution wasn't going to just magically appear in front of her because she believed it would. Life didn't work that way. Even if, one time, it had...

Marinette Dupain-Cheng has posed:
Out and about, a certain blue haired girl was feeling a bit homesick. Marinette kinda missed Paris. It was home for her all her life. She had only rarely gotten to go outside of the City. While Tokyo seemed cool, it wasn't home. Not yet anyway. If only there was something to make her feel a bit more at home.

That's when she came upon the ice cream shop. She got in line and was ready to get a nice cold treat. Her mind wondered to Andre and his ice cream cart. How he would matchmake people using his ice cream. of course She hadn't been match made herself. She didn't get to go to Andre with the one she loved most. Still this would do.

While she waits in line, she looks at the various types of ice cream and the ways it was sold. A few different flavors stood out to her. Especially ones that she had never considered before. Matcha being the biggest and perhaps most intriguing. That was the type she was going to try. After all, when in Rome... or Tokyo in this case. A Matcha Ice cream cone would be very nice for this warm day.

Adrien Agreste has posed:
Icecream. It wasn't as good as what he'd gotten from Andre in Paris no doubt, but it was still a warm August day and Adrien felt like a little treat might be good. Even if he didn't go for the triple banana split. That was a *bit* much for someone his size to eat.

"Maybe they have special toppings! Like ... Feta crumbles, or-or Brie drizzle!" Plagg daydreams near Adrien's ear with a longing sigh. Adrien can only grin to the side as he approaches the line. His hand drops to the bag slung at his hip to open it up, "Doubtful, Plagg, but I'll keep an eye out. Come on before someone sees you."

"All right, all right, but you *better* get me some cheese later!" Plagg zips down into the bag tucking himself away safely out of sight. Just in time for Adrien to approach the rear of the line taking a place there.

He leans to the side to peer up along the length of the line seeing exactly how many were in line before him. Much to his surprise he spots the familiar blue pigtails of--

"Marinette! Hi!" Adrien waves toward his friend from a few people behind, and sheepishly looks toward them in apology. "Oh, sorry, not jumping line I just saw someone I know. Sorry to disturb."

Grinning again he calls out, "See you once we're through this line!"

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Coco is walking around Tokyo heading towards Penguin Park most specifically. She had heard its Ice Cream Parlor was having a special promotion about the supreme banana split, and so she had decided to enter the Ice Cream Parlor there to have a try. She doesn't think she was going to eat it all based on what she had heard about it, but she could always give the other half to Cho. She just needs to ask to ask for it to her to bring it out as a takeaway.

The blue sky put her on a good mood, and she is humming to herself as she walks to the park. 'There it is', she thinks spotting the parlor. That is not the only thing she spots however, familiar pink hair catching her attention. 'That's Cho, we can share the banana split right here!', she thinks all excited.

"Hey, Cho, hi!" Coco says hurrying towards her great friend. "What brings you here?" she smiles at her. The jovial tone vanishes rapidly as she notices the dark clouds surrounding the pinkette. "Cho, is something wrong?" she asks worried, looking at her straight in the eyes. "Do you want to sit to that bench over there and talk with me?" she asks with apprehension, alarm bells ringing loudly in her head about Cho's dejected state.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy heard some kids at school raving about how good this ice cream shop is, and decided to check it out.

    It's weird. She always hated going out before, but now... something is different. Yeah, the couple of times she went out in her yukata and got looks it was too much, but right now, she blends into the crowd, just another exchange student. People see just some pretty girl, not the ugly nerd who has been forced to leave the safety of his computer cave to forage for food and necessities or dragged somewhere by family or friends.

    It's a bit like running around in an MMO, isn't it? All sorts of people but none stick out unless they *want* to, everyone is just on their way to their next quest or to meet friends or whatever. ...Is Outside just an MMO for normies?

    Amy shakes her head. Oh god if anyone else at school knew she had thoughts like this they'd-- well. There are so many problems she doesn't know where to begin. He's faking everything. Being a teenager is apparently a requirement for joining the fight against darkness, and of course, being a girl is a requirement for being a magical girl. So it's just part of what he has to do... but it's a little messed up to enjoy it... but then, what else can he do? He can't go live the life of an adult, looking like this...

    Amy shivers. That life was so boring. He was just waiting for something. A future to come where technology or magic would free him from being an ugly guy...

    And hey, it happened, didn't it?

    That brings a smile to her face. And so does a familiar face! "Cho! Coco!" She waves and runs up. "Oh no, your ice cream is melting..." She glances over at the line, and back at Cho as a thought forms in her head. It's selfish, but... they are both so much smaller than he used to be, so maybe one whole banana split IS a bit much:

    "...Do you need some help finishing it?"

    She can't help grinning hopefully.

    Besides, eating a whole one... ugh... she doesn't want to get fat and become an *ugly* girl... she probably shouldn't have this at all, but dammit, a treat should be fine once in awhile, and surely running around fighting monsters burns calories, right??

    Wait, what was Coco saying? "Something's wrong? Huh?"

Gabriel Agreste has posed:
'I don't deserve to be Cure Wukong'

Ah, a magical girl!? a lovely target.

Drawing a butterfly into his grasp, he charged it with evil energy and then let it go, through the open window of the elaborate office space he'd claimed at the top of Obsidian Tower.

"Go my little Akuma! Go and evilize that fragile heart!" he commanded as the negatively charged butterfly flew across the city...

The butterfly would find it's way being winded into the doorway, low and under a customer's legs as they left, flapping over to Cho until the butterfly would find purchase on her sundae spoon... and enter it.

*phoom*

A stylized, winged moth symbol would appear in front of Cho's face. Other magical folks could see it could see it, but only Cho could hear the voice in her head. "Banana Kabama....!" said the voice. "I. Am Hawk Moth. You don't believe you deserve to be who you are! So be someone else! I Give you the power to turn anything and anyone into a banana! But in return, you're going to cause enough chaos to draw out Ladybug and Cat Noir! Go Now! and Bring me their Miraculous!" he commands as a dark energy surge would pick up and start surrounding Cho...!

Cho Konishi has posed:
Cho Konishi blinked and looked up... oh no. Coco. Don't... she gave a soft sigh. Then forced a smile. "Oh! It's nothing, here, go ahead and join me. I just made a mistake. I ordered this thing and there's no possible way I could finish it," she said with a laugh. A fake laugh, ruffling her hair.

And then Amy. She snickered, giving a small nod. "Yeah. I think I over estimated my capabilities this time. Just because uhhhh... you know who could eat a mountain, doesn't mean I could. Help yourself, you two." Right, eating a mountain was totally a Wukong story, right? Wait, no. It...

Then... suddenly... dark energy. "W-what?" she asked, staring at the... moth? What....

Dark energy enveloped her and then, slowly... she began to raise up, enveloped in the dark energy. Becoming....

Banana Kabama! A... a big monkey themed girl. With a hammer.

"Hee hee hee!" she yelled. "Of course, nobody can get hurt, then!" she yelled before SWINGING said hammer, striking three of the customers...

And turning them into bananas.

Welp. This was going well. But hey, free half melted banana splt.

Marinette Dupain-Cheng has posed:
"ADRIEN! Oh Umm.. HI! How are you?" She exclaims as she waves a hand to Adrien and does her best not to flail around. She blushes bright as she considers what to say. "Oh I was going to go... for a walk! Yep! Getting an Ice Cream Cone! So I can go for a walk!"She stammers through the words as she tries to find a means to get away from Adrien.

Then the excuse appeared. Her eyes go wide and she quickly backs out of line. She races off towards an empty alleyway. "Tikki! I don't believe it but Hawk Moth is HERE! In Tokyo! He's akumatized someone!" She frowns and shakes her head.

""At least you know Paris is safe." Tikki comments matter-of-factly."

"It also means that no one is safe here. So, Tikki, Spots On! Yeah!" Immediately the little creature is sucked into her earrings, 5 black spots appearing on the now red miraculous. Magic washes over her form, leaving her in a skin tight ladybug spotted outfit. She does a little pose and the transformation is done.

Ladybug throws her yo-yo and swings out of the alleyway and into the street. She comes down and rushes into the ice cream parlor. "Hey how about you pick on someone your own size!" She swings her yo-yo around to her side looking like a formidable girl... with a yo-yo!

Amanda Faust has posed:
    No way she could finish it? YES, free ice cream with friends! Amy grins-- But she can barely sit down and have even a spoonfull before... a magic moth? What?

    An episode of Samurai Pizza Cats that didn't air in America, which she downloaded as a 33MB realmedia file back in the day, comes to mind--

    *No*, brain. My life is not that silly! But still, Amy cocks her head. What *is* that? "Hey guys? Do you see-- Cho!" She stands up from the table in alarm.

    Cho has been turned into... a large monkey-girl that turns people into *bananas*. What. *What*. She thought her life was not that silly!

    And then a barrier separating real life from imagined scenarios comes down in her head. People have been turned into inanimate objects. If Hawk Moth is reading minds he now gets to see one who considers this a *familiar circumstance she's seen dozens of times*.

    Maybe hundreds?

    Not bananas specifically, but the issues of an inanimate object (mental images of statues breaking or eroding, clothes lost or forgotten or damaged, water that goes down a storm drain and gets treated and into the water supply and you'll *never get all those molecules together again* -- there's a very specific mental image of a comic of a hard-boiled investigator superhero and his young ward checking a device connected to a pipe that has only managed to get 99% or so of the person he hopes to save)... in this case a frail, easily breakable, accidentally edible, might-get-picked-up-and-walked-off-with-by-a-child-or-animal, quickly-rotting object are immediately apparent and now people are RUNNING AND SCREAMING OH GOD NO!

    Amy's first thought is to scurry over, pick up all the banana-people before they get stepped on in the rush, and try to find somewhere safe for them. "COCO! Don't let her hit you!"

    Oh hell where can she even put them that's safe. If they're out of sight they might get hurt or walked off with and inside the ice cream shop they might get... used. She can't leave them out of her sight, but she needs to fight not-Cho and put a stop to this too!

    "Uhh, any idea where I can safely leave them???" She calls out to Coco, her mind too distracted by nightmare scenarios to think clearly.

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Coco can see that Cho is hiding whatever is troubling her (she is guilty of trying that move herself), so the pinkette's reassurance doesn't do much to put her at ease. "Ok, we can eat that banana split", she smiles nervously, having no inclination about leaving her like this. For now it's a good think that Cho isn't refusing her presence, but if she can get her to be distracted just enough to start talking about what's troubling her, maybe she can fix this. She isn't going to let anything happen to Cho.

Then Amy comes forward, talking about ice cream and asking about what's going on once she realises something is amiss. Maybe having two friends here can help Cho even more? Not like there is anything else she can do, she really needs to find a way this time. "Hey, Amy, this is a perfect day right?" Coco starts telling the redhead with a urgent undertone. "It would be great to enjoy the banana split, just the three of us!" She is about to push her towards the bench when something weird flies to Cho just outside of Coco's field of view.

A surge of dark energy envelopes her friend and Coco feels her heart skip a beat from the nefarious premonition. "Cho...?" she whispers, not quite acknowledging what's happening. "CHO!" she shouts jumping towards the energy enveloping her friend, before this pushes her outwards as her friend has finished changing form.

She is all bigger now, and for some reason is carrying around a sledgehammer... Her mind refuses to process what is going on, only somewhat reacting when Cho starts turning people into bananas. Not in the wisest way however, as Coco runs towards her without transforming or anything else. "Cho, why are you doing this? Please stop, we can talk! We can deal with whatever is going on together!" she yells at the gorilla girl. Coco isn't going to acknowledge anything else for now, not even Amy's sensible request to help to help with the banana-people.

Adrien Agreste has posed:
The little Akuma flies low to the ground, between legs of patrons, as it approaches Cho. If Adrien hadn't been toward the back of the line he may have missed it entirely. He doesn't though. He freezes in place with his breath caught in his throat.

Hawkmoth was here.

That did indeed mean Paris was safe, but...

Hawkmoth. Was. HERE.

A quick glance is cast over the line looking for Marinette only to not see her. Maybe she'd already moved off to make her purchase. There really wasn't any time to see if he could get his friend to safety, or warn others, though. Instead he turns quickly with a mutter of apology to anyone behind him as he dips outside the shop once more. Thank goodness for long lines.

Running across the street to a nook between shops, his hand reaches down to his bag tugging it open to free Plagg while his gaze whips around back to the sidewalk to make sure no one is watching.

"Plagg, Hawkmoth is here! And Marinette's inside along with a bunch of others, this is bad!"

"You're telling me! We didn't even get to see if there was any cheese there yet!" Plagg whines. "Who wants bananas? Yuck!"

"Not the time! Plagg, claws out!"

The silver ring that Adrien wears turns black as Plagg returns to his place inside the Miraculous. His mask appears first followed by the ears atop his head, and then the black form fitting suit and long 'tail' of his belt. Reaching back he pulls free the extendable staff kept tucked at the small of his back to snap it to full length.

Much to his glee he spots a familiar red and black figure swing down to enter the shop before him. It puts an extra bounce in his step when he pole-vaults back to the shop, skidding into the door just behind her to come up beside her. "My Ladybug! I didn't know you were here as well!"

He stops the reunion abruptly when Amy rushes by to scoop up a banana-ized person. "Ah--Talk later?"

Without waiting for a response he lunges forward swinging the staff out toward the sledgehammer weilding Cho. "Hey, let's quit monkeying around with the nice people here."

Gabriel Agreste has posed:
Hawk Moth tapped his cane against the floor, sending butterflies scattering around him. He threw up a balled fist. "Ladybug and Cat Noir! Quickly! Turn them into bananas, then their miraculous will be free for the taking!" he commanded to Banana Kabama.

"Go!" he said as he threw his hand forward, not that he could be seen in his penthouse office.

"Do it now!" he commanded!

Cho Konishi has posed:
Banana Kabama lifted her giant gorilla hammer. "Banana?" she asked. "KABLAMA!" And then slammed the hammer down again. This time, turning parts of the ice creams to bananas! In this case, catching the cheese cake batch. Nooo. The cheeeeese! Was now a banana!

And then she looked down. Coco was...

Coco was...

Coco was in danger. Wasn't she? Yes. She had to protect her. A massive hand reached out to grab Coco. Big Gorilla hand... But not hurt her. Instead just... intending to pick her up. Then stops. Her gaze turns towards the yoyo girl and the staff kitty. "Hey. HEY! That's..." Then trailed off. A little dark glow to her eyes...

And then the cat swung a staff at him! And... And a big, meaty, gorilla hand caught it. She stared at it for a moment. Then, slowly... grinned. "Monkey... Bullshit..." she said.

Somewhere, Wuwu had a bad idea.

Before the gorilla lifted the staff, and likely cat with it. Swinging it around and then trying to chuck the cat at Ladybug! Before running at them, mario-hammer style, flailing both staff AND hammer now. "Banana Kabama!"

Marinette Dupain-Cheng has posed:
"Cat Noir! You're here too? Did everyone come to Paris?" She asks curiously. Ladybug glances at Amy who is trying to protect the bananas. "Hey, don't worry about them. They will be turned back and safe once we capture the akuma!" She smiles to the girl before turning back to Banana Kabama. "You don't have to do this. You can fight it!"

Then Cat Noir attacks. "Watch out for her hammer, Cat Noir! It could really hurt! And I think it might turn you into a banana." She exclaims but... the bad puns come to a grinding halt as Cat Noir gets flung across the ice cream shop. Ladybug moves quick to catch her partner. Its a quick catch, one that prevents Cat Noir from going through the glass sneeze guards in front of a bunch of ice cream. "Don't get too comfy, my Kitty, Here she comes!"

Ladybug quickly twirls her yo-yo making a nice magical shield to block the inbound hammer. "You can fight off Hawk Moth! You can do it!" She tries to encourage Cho not really knowing the person underneath the ape akuma.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy rushes into the ice cream shop, looking for a safe place. Visions immediately fill her head of the gorilla-girl smashing in, the place falling down, and the bananas getting--

    Amy could just set them down a little ways away, around a corner or in another building -- no then they would be UNATTENDED BANANAS. Someone might... who knows?! She could leave a note explaining the bananas are actually people, but she has nothing to write with! Uuurgh, she suddenly misses her old cargo pants with the giant pockets suitable for carrying both a novel *and* a pad and pen!

    BANANA KABAMA, roars the beast Cho has become in the distance. She has to do something! She has to help her friends!

    She runs up to a bystander insight of the monkey, who thus knows what's going on. "Hey, I need you to take these banana-people and--" "AAAAAAAAH"

    Eventually, Amy finds one that doesn't run away. "I need you to take these banana-people and keep them safe until we can turn them back." The bystander stares at her, apparent fellow bystander. "...Oh right."

    Anyone looking at her would see an ovoid of flame-colored light growing from ger gem to surround her, enveloping her, lifting into the air with her unclothed silhouette curled up inside, long hair floating as if she's under water, before the light cracks and shatters and Amy, now covered in flames as if from an explosion, snaps back, and the flames fade to leave her new outfit in place. The viewers, were this an anime, would see a long, extended sequence highlighting each step of the transformation, and the flames disappearing from each part of her body in turn to leave that part of her magical girl outfit, but for any observers here, it's all over in a few seconds, ending with the red Puella landing on her feet as the last of the flames dissipate from her outfit.

    "I'm a magical girl. I'll handle it, but I need you to WATCH THE BANANAS. Okay??"

    The shocked bystander nods.

    Puella Red runs back to the scene. She spins, her weapon suddenly appearing in her hands with full momentum as she tries to use the rocket launcher as a club to knock the hammer out of Banana Kabama's fist! ...It might be a better idea if she wasn't fighting a super-strong gorilla-woman, but she had to do *something*.

    "Cho! Please tell me you're still in there! You have to stop! You have to fight this! We believe you, we're here for you, we'll make it right again!"

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Oh the girl dressed like a ladybug has dealt with this before? "Huh? Akuma? What? But what if they get squished before then?? Also, what's a Hawk Moth?? Do you know anything about -- do you know something about what's going on???"

Adrien Agreste has posed:
Oh no. Cat Noir finds his staff grabbed and holds on tight! It might have been better to let go, but at least while he's clashing with Banana Kabama she's not attacking other bystanders. It would hopefully give Ladybug time to figure out where the Akuma had gone so they could deal with it. Even so, he's shaken loose and flies through the air-- "WOAH!"

Right into Ladybug's catch. "Guess this means I'm the catch of the day." He quips only to hup back up to his feet again.

The arrival of other magical girls, as well as the girls apparent friends trying to talk to her earn a quick nod. "Yeah, sorry, this is one of ours. Hawkmoth takes over people when their negative emotions get the best of them. We just need to find what he posessed on them, and can free her!"

"Keep trying to talk to your friend, it can help!" He calls out as well to Coco who was doing just that. Taking up his staff again he steps out to the side trying to approach from another angle while Ladybug whirls her yoyo around. There's a quick attempt at sweeping Kambama off her feet with the staff.

"What's the plan, Bugaboo?"

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Coco doesn't get it. This just makes no sense. What is happening with Cho? Who did this to her? Why? She looks onwards at the giant hand reaching down to her, as if there was nothing she needed to do. This was what needed to happen wasn't it?

Words she hadn't turned much attention to crossed her mind, words she had heard three weeks ago and she didn't even remember up until now. "She might be doubting her choices and watching the water right now, thinking of you." Those are Naru's words that the girl told her when she was dejected, after the Circus Witch's music reminded her of the Dark Lovers and how she was given over to them by Sara.

"Yes, just because she did that, it doesn't mean that the person she is disappeared. Sorry for getting disheartened so easily, Cho", she tells Banana Kablama. "Yellow Pearl Voice!" she yells, awakening the power of her pearl, the indomitable energy that lets them go on even with the adversities. A keidoscope of colours covers Coco's her clothes as those change into her yellow gloves and boots with flowy extensions, as well as a yellow blouse with a yellow skirt, while her pearl expands into her trusty E-Pitch microphone, its blue shape settling comfily into her hand, the jewel nestled safely in the head's center. Sara's song swells inside her as she looks at Cho, as she looks at the friend that has always been there for her. "It's alright, Cho", she smiles at him. "We can get over this. Absolute Love: Pichi Pichi Voice, Live Start!"The Live Stage forms around her as she brings her E-Pitch to her mouth and floats upwards.



It will change

With love I will succeed

At quenching the evil that's here

That can no longer divide us



Yellow Pearl Voice rings out with renewed motivation, the realisation that for long rested under the cold snow blossoming out and reaching out to Cho.



And the lies

That sometimes I'll hear

I will turn them into jewels

Of purity and loyalty



She looks at Banana Kabama, her melodious voice puring everything into Sara's song.



Sea, you

Enchant me like the blue sky

Your princesses struggle

Never forsake them

You guide us

And our dream will come

On the star of destiny

Justice will return



The song that gave her the realisation of what was important, right here, right now. The friend that has been at her side as if they knew each other for a lifetime, despite only meeting the last month.



An absolute love can

Warm a cold wind

Overcoming the difficulties

That in life it will meet

Rekindle every heart that

For too long now had been extinguished



The melodious notes spread around everywhere, infusing everyone's heart with joy and wonder.



Hold me

And fear will pass

Let's look at the friendly stars that

Smile on us up there

Sea, you

Severe and sweet father of mine

Soothe the hurricane

Of justice that's here


    he musical magic talks to Banana Kabama, seeking to help her throw off the shackles that currently bind.



An absolute love can

Warm a cold wind

Overcoming the difficulties

That in life it will meet

It rekindles every heart that

For too long had been extinguished

It clears up every ambiguity

Translates everything into truth

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Dark energy is attacked by Coco's faith in her friend, as she gives it her all to reach Cho, with trust and confidence she will be back in no time.



An absolute love can

Change the connotations of the world

Erase your toil

Filling with poetry a new day

Gabriel Agreste has posed:
Hawk Moth swings his cane in the air like he's fencing. He moves forward, sending more butterflies scattering around his office. They rest on various surfaces. "That's good, Banana Kabama!" he says. "Now ignore the singing and get me those miraculous!" he says.

He grips his cane and commmands. "Now!" he says as he leans forward into the nothingness in front of him, talking to Cho and Cho alone here!

It's possible to get to Cho inside the Akumaization. Hawk Moth's control is not absolute!

Cho Konishi has posed:
Banana Kabama was almost on Ladybug! The hammer up, it came down across the shield. Then the staff followed! BAM! BAM! BAM! Again and again it crashed on the hammer. She wouldn't... She couldn't. She didn't know HOW! How was she supposed to get to fairy heaven?!

The hammer crashed once more, finally shattering through the barrier, the hammer lifted and... and then the music.

Banana Kabama froze in mid swing. Staring down at her. Cat Noir's staff fell from her other hand, her gaze softening. "I just... I... want... to help her..." Holding the hammer, she resisted, the light managing to hold back the darkness for the moment. "I'm not... the one... who needs help to... I..." Her gorilla form shaking.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Please

    *Please*

    If magical girls are real, she can get her comrade back, right?!

    Amy looks up at gorilla-chan desperately as Yellow Pearl Voice's song rings through the air.

    And... it seems to be working? At least, monster-Cho is given pause and talking to herself. Amy strikes swiftly -- her weapon shrinks down to a tiny rocket-pistol, she spins, shifts it BACK to a big long rocket launcher at the end of her spin, and again tries to club the hammer out of Banana Kabama's hands!

    "You do need help! It's okay! It's not your fault you got whammied by a monster! We're here for you! You'd say the same to us if it happened to any of us, right???"

Marinette Dupain-Cheng has posed:
Ladybug withstands bash after bash. She withstands as much as she can until... Crash! Her yoyo shield breaks. She puts up her arm and prepares to brace herself for a nasty strike and the very real possibility of bananafication. But the Akumatized Cho stops. The bug quickly gets out of the way.

"The plan?" She smiles and calls out, "LUCKY CHARM!!!" She calls out and an object forms. This object happens to be... "A bag of Glitter?" She questions as she looks curiously at the glitter and then around the room. Everything goes gray as she looks around. A truss holding up the ceiling lights up to her. The hammer lights up, and finally Cat Noir lights up. She smiles and quickly ties her yoyo to the pack of glitter. She throws both over the truss allowing it to hang at just the right height. "Cat Noir, Hit it at her!"

Adrien Agreste has posed:
Cat Noir hops back when his staff is released looking from Kabama to the singing Coco--That *was* Coco, right? He'd seen her when she was first grabbed before the transformation. A matter to consider for later, really, since the situation was still at the point it could tip either way.

"It's okay to need help," he adds in with a rather soft, understanding voice in spite of all his bad jokes prior. "I know how easy it is to want to be everything for every one but... No one can do that. That's why we have friends who can support us just as much as we support them."

He understood wanting to protect someone and not feeling adequate, though not to the extent that Cho/Kabama had apparently gone through. She really must be hurting.

Ladybug calls out Lucky Charm earning a grin from him anew. "It's okay, we'll get things put back lickety-split!"

He MAY not have meant that pun. Maybe.

Without hesitation he does as Ladybug commands, leaping into the air to haul back and WHAM the bag with his staff letting loose the--

"Glitter!?"

Cat Noir lands again looking very dashing and SPARKLY, coughing a time or two from the barrage of glittery dust. "A warning next time, My Lady."

Though the dust of glitter might add a bit of further glamor to Yellow Pearl's concert stage!

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Coco can't interrupt the song now that's working, but she puts an hand on Cho's face as she keeps singing, wanting to make her understand that's fine to care about her, but that doesn't mean the other girl should keep all of her problems inside her.

She uses the song to transmit those emotions to her, she has become a great friend of hers and they can share everything they are going through. She doesn't have to take all burdens on herself, because Coco worries and cares a lot about her too.

Gabriel Agreste has posed:
Hawk Moth can see the action through Cho's eyes and feelings. He can feel the conflict and he's unhappy "No! Ignore them!" he says. "Defeat Ladybug and Cat Noir!" he says as he balls his fists forward and speaks more commandly. "I Command this! Don't you care about your new, different powers so you don't need to be... Cure Wukong!?" he says, throwing a small, tiny tantrum about it as he nearly tips over a glass of water on his desk with his cane. Tink!

"Do it!" he says.

Cho Konishi has posed:
Banana Kabama stared at Coco. Her song... it was just... Cho didn't have a lot of friends. Well. Now she did. But she only had ONE friend who knew her secret. Only one who was her best friend. Only one who was a whole magical princess girl... And... and she needed help. She really did. Amy was right. This wasn't her fault. She wanted to be Cure Wukong! No. SHE WANTED TO BE BETTER! THIS WASN'T BETTER! THIS WAS--

GAHHHH! GLITTER! OH GODS IT WAS EVERYWHERE! HER HAIR! HER FACE! HER NOSE! IT WAS UP HER NOSE! GAHHHHH! She stumbled back, flailing wildly, her hammer going wild, hitting the lights up above, causing it to break off the truss and fall down, crasing on her back. This caused the hammer to fall from her hands, flying through the air as Banana Kabama was buried under light fixture, eyes swirling.

Adrien Agreste has posed:
When that hammer smashes into the light above, and it falls on Kabama, it earns a wince of sympathy from Glitter Noir. That would cause an owie even if only for a few minutes. At least they were certain that Hawkmoth couldn't take over again for the moment. Really, they'd never run across anyone that had managed to defy the Akuma's influence before. Cho had come very close to being the first before... Glitter. Everywhere.

The hammer was down though and that meant it was time to end this.

"On it!" Yells Glitter Noir as he hauls back his hand calling out, "Cataclysm!"

Diving past the damage, past bananas and other magical girls, he darts in low taking care not to hit anything ELSE with his suddenly glowing clawed hand as he reaches out to snag hold of the hammer.

Black miasma roils around it sending cracks through the length of the handle up to the heavy smashing end. With a burst of destructive magic it shatters into peices that end up on the floor suddenly now a broken spoon. The Akuma butterfly flaps free of it's 'host' to try and escape. It was out of his claws now.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Monster-Cho is disarmed! They're no longer in danger of being turned into inanimate objects, what a relief!

    Look it might not be a fear most people have ever considered but Amy finds it pretty chilling, okay?

    Her eyes briefly follow the hammer

                 I wonder if it does anything besides bananas?                  

    but Cho is hurt, even if she's a monster now! Puella Magi Amanda runs up to hold gorilla-chan's hand, or hug her if the wreckage isn't in the way. "Are you alright?! Please, hang in there. Um, can you talk? If you can let us know how you're doing... what you're feeling... maybe that can help us... if not, just, hang in there and resist, and we'll work out a way to help you, alright?" She looks into Banana Kabama's eyes with the concern of a friend.

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Coco winces and interrupts the song when Banama Kabana falls unconscious. She is already at her friend's side, so she starts talking to her. "Cho, are you alright?" She starts shaking her slightly for good measure, though it probably wouldn't do much besides annoy her if that were able to wake up? She doesn't know, but she tries anyway.

She looks towards Ladybug and Cat Noir, wondering if the two of them knew something she didn't given the familiarity they demonstrated during the fight. "She is my friend. How do we fix this? Do you two know a way?" she asks. "I mean, it seemed like you two knew what was going on, so you must be prepared for these kind of situations, I think."

Marinette Dupain-Cheng has posed:
"No more Evil doing for you Little Akuma!" She drops her yoyo and then flourishes it around her body in a rather epic display of yoyoing. She catches the black and purple butterfly Then she withdraws the yo-yo. A pure white butterfly is released. "Bye bye little butterfly."

She walks over to the remnants of the glitter pouch. She picks it up and throws it upward into the air. "MIRACULOUS LADYBUG!" Thousands of little ladybugs form out of the former lucky charm and they all begin repairing, healing, and returning everything to the way it was. The bananas become people again. All the glitter is cleaned up. Every sign that anything happened whatsoever is cleared up.

Ladybug backs up and smiles to Cat Noir. Raising a fist up she speaks up, "Pound it!"

"I wish I could stick around and explain everything but I am going to turn back to my unmagical self in a minute or two." With that she rushes out the door. She makes her way to the abandoned alleyway and powers down. Immediately she gives Tikki a macaron and then returns to the ice cream shop as Marinette.

Gabriel Agreste has posed:
Hawk Moth would break his cane over his knee if it also didn't contain a sword in it. Instead he curses the air, scattering ALL the butterflies around him. "Don't underestimate me, fools, your miraculous' will be mine!" he commands as he yells up at the ceiling.

"Dark Wings, Fall!" he commands, magic washing over him as he turns back into Gabriel.

"No matter." he says. "I'll just try again." he says. "Later." he says.

For now. He has other work to attend to, that doesn't involve magic. Always the busy one. From one mess. Perhaps. Into another, more mundane one.

Cho Konishi has posed:
Cho Konishi groaned when she finally began to shrink down back to herself. Covered in glitter. Oh. Oh she was SO giving Wuwu a hug later. He'll deserve it. Lil bastard. She gave Amy a small smile. "H-hey, it's fine. I didn't die this time, you know? So that's good. Considering my track record, that's pretty good. Though I wasn't Wukong, so like... maybe it's good I didn't..." she said sheepishly.

Then she looked up at Yellow Pearl and froze. "I... I..." And then... then she started to cry.

And then she HUGGED Yellow. "I-I'm so sorry!" she cried. "I-I just got really anxious! All of this is so dangerous for you! You're not immortal like me when I fight, y-you can get hurt and die and really, really beat up a-and it's not fair a-and now that I finally know HOW to make you tougher I-I don't know how to even GET to fairy heaven to g-get the stupid immortality peach!"

... Wut.

As she just hugged her friend. "A-and I just keep panicking because I imagine you getting cut or burned or electrified or someone finding out you're a mermaid on accident and then you being turned into sea foam and losing my best friend!" she practically wailed. Then... opened her eyes.

And stared at Ladybug. Cat Noir. Puella Magi. Glitter Pearl Voice. Then... "W-wait, magic sea foam curse thing, it doesn't count! I told them, not her!" she said quickly. Then gave Yellow a light squeeze... before cringing. "S-sorry. I... I ummm.. I... I didn't mean to... I guess... but hey. That's... that's more people who you won't die to if they find out, right?" she asked with a nervous chuckle.

And... well... Then she was unglitterfied! Oh. No hugs for Wuwu. Annnnnd there went the ladybug. Wih her... bug... healing... things. Huh. Neat. Weird. She was just...

Gonna hug Yellow again. "I don't want my best friend to die, okay?! I don't know many princesses and I don't have a lot of princess friends so if I ever find out who decided to make you go through all this I am going to KICK THEIR ASS!" she probably shouldn't... yell that.

Adrien Agreste has posed:
"My Lady, wait!" Cat Noir calls out reaching toward her when she dashes off. It's too late though. He knew she had only a few minutes before she would change back, and his own miraculous was ticking down to his time. Since he called on Cataclysm more recently than she had with Lucky Charm he had an extra few minutes though.

His outstretched hand drops back down to his side as his head droops with ears flattening. Even if they weren't *real* ears they do seem to flatten back looking a bit forlorn over Ladybug's disapearance. So much for taking a moment to quickly greet her and perhaps set a time to meet later.

Cat Noir puts on a smile as he looks back to the gaggle of girls consoling one another, green eyes blinking behind his mask. "Sorry about all that. Our powers run out once we use them to their full extent. I can't stay long, either," he explains while already taking a few steps toward the door. They deserved a *little* explanation though! Especially since they were also 'in the biz' it seemed like.

"Hawkmoth controls those butterflies to take over people. If you see one try to avoid letting it touch you, and do what you can to change how you're feeling. That's... Not the best advice, I know, I'm sorry. Maybe we can meet again sometime?" A little hopeful note from the friendly cat.

A little beep comes from his hand causing him to look down at his ring. "Aaand that's my cue to exit stage left. Take care of your friend!"

Just like that he's out the door leaping away to the rooftops and off to who-knows-where.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    The hammer is destroyed. It's for the best. It probably only did bananas.

> You must be prepared for these kinds of situations
    "Huh? W-why would I be prepared for people turning into bananas?!" Amy gives Yellow a nervous look.

    And then the dark... butterfly thing, moth thing? Is snagged by the polkadot-girl's yoyo and purified.

    Amy has so much to learn about magical girls.

    And then there are ladybugs everywhere. Repairing everything. Huh. Well, they also turn the people back to normal, which saves her from going on a tedious quest to like, track down missing bananas and change them back, thank goodness! Also the cat dude has a little advice about the butterflies, she can only nod to him.

> I didn't die this time
    "THIS TIME?!" Amy shouts in alarm. "...Oh, right." She smiles and hugs Cho. "I was worried for you! It must have been so scary... Being turned into something else must be so disorienting for most people... I mean for people." Smooth. "And you had to fight against whatever was controlling you... losing control of your own body and mind sounds so scary, I'm glad you're okay!"

    She plows through all this while Cho is hugging Yellow, making it a group hug!

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Coco hugs Cho back as tightly she could. She too was worried about her friend, immensely so. "You dork!", Coco shouts as she hugs Cho, her eyes humid over the whole thing. "You didn't have to smile and hide everything back then", she tells her.

"I know I am not exactly clean in this matter, so let's agree to never hide if we are troubled ever again, alright!?" She looks for a second at the purified butterfly fluttering away, wondering who could have sent such a thing and why. "I was really worried when I felt like everything was going to happen again as it did when dark energy swallowed you just as it did Sara. I am so glad yours isn't permanent!"

She still hugs her tightly. "I really appreciate all that you have done with me, alright? You are already a great friend, way better that I have any right to after how I failed Sara, so I don't mind if this fairy heaven deal of yours takes you weeks or months, it's not worth compromising your health over it. I am still in one piece and we got through things together just fine didn't we?"

She releases the hug to look at Cho straight in the face. "Thank you for everything, Cho, you are honestly irreplaceable. If you ever feel down, I don't mind how many times I have to remind you, because it's the truth."

"I am Yellow Pearl Voice, and as Cho said, I am a mermaid from the South Pacific Ocean. It's nice to meet you all", she tells the Ladybug and Marinette before they go away. She skips over the whole "I'm a princess and bad guys are after my pearl" for now. She adds some thanks to Cat Noir for the explanation about Hawkmoth, even if she really would have liked to know what he needed all this for before he went away. Guess she will have to wait for another time.

She then looks at Amy and smiles. "I guess I can now be honest around you too. I am glad I don't have to watch my words anymore for fear of turning into foam."

Ladybug and Cat Noir are gone and the previously bananified people are busy worrying about themselves, so she doesn't mind detransforming right there and then. They are probably going back soon anyway, and crossing the street in her everyday get up is more convenient.

Cho Konishi has posed:
Cho Konishi gave a shrug. "Yeah... gotta be weird for all the weird stuff. Our lives are weird," she said with a small, teary eyed smile. "And... and that's okay." She'd give Cat Noir a wave good bye. Their enemies were weird, but so were hers. "Yeah.... but... honestly? Cure Wukong," she said to Amy with a sheepish smile. "I swear half of what I do feels like someone else is taking over my body anyway. Losing my mind... that... that was weird. I did not like that. Do not recommend. But uhhh... being... other... thing? That... that was... weird. I'd like to avoid that if I could," she said softly. Oh, she had, once again, more suspicions that the cute new girl was more than she let on...

She smiled up at Coco. "I-I'm just bad at like... expressing myself, okay? And telling people my worries. So... I'll... try to be better about it... okay?" she said sheepishly.

"Besides, nobody could keep me all like. Evil and stuff for long. I'd make them regret it. I can be incredibly annoying, you know." Still, the affectionate, kind words from Coco made her smile none the less. "You know... if you don't wanna worry about that, I could jsut tell everyone that you're a mermaid. I will print it in the newspapers and screams it from the roof tops if it keeps you safe," she said affectionately. "How about we get a banana split and like... you can tell Amy about the whole... thing. And I can plot how to get into heaven."

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Wait, did Cho say Coco's a mermaid?

> I am a mermaid from the South Pacific Ocean. It's nice to meet you all
    Amy just stares at Coco. "...Mermaids are REAL?!"

> Besides, nobody could keep me all like. Evil and stuff for long. I'd make them regret it. I can be incredibly annoying, you know.
    Yeah, Amy can imagine Cho as the sort where the badguys kidnap her and then come back all like TAKE HER AWAY FROM US. She smiles at the mental image as she de-transforms.

    Waitwait. Get into heaven? What?

    "Alright, hang on, before going off on this eschatological expedition, you need to explain that to me, too. Man, our lives really *are* crazy. Are you both even really teenage girls?" She shakes her head. "No, sorry, that's, that probably sounds silly."

    She looks over Coco. "So you're really a mermaid? What's that like? Or I guess I should ask, what's being a human like? Are you part fish, or part--" She holds her hands to her mouth. "Oh gosh I'm sorry all of that must be incredibly rude I'm just curious sorry."

Coco Kiumi has posed:
"That's ok, Cho" Coco smiles once the other girl tells her of her problems with opening up. "If you feel like you struggle, I don't mind being told, yes, I have a problem and I can't talk about it right now. Just no sweeping it under the rug, ok?" That wouldn't stop her from worrying, but she understands this is a matter of giving space, so she has no problem complying.

Coco starts pondering at Cho's offer. "Hmm, it would be good if I could avoid those risks, but since people are after me, it would probably be better to limit it to those who are magically sensitive." She gives Cho another hug to really show her appreciation.

"Yes, I guess we should talk about the whole thing. Amy, the truth is I am part of a group of seven princesses who rule over the seven oceans. One of us, Sara, seven fell to the darkness and got me captured by the King of Deep Seas." She takes a breath since this is going into some painful memories. "We knew each other for very long and I trusted her unconditionally, that's how it happened. Thankfully, the Guardian Hyppocampus could miracuously find me and rescue me, though he lost the means to do so again."

She looks at the redhead. "The King, Gaito, is part of the Panthalassa clan that got sealed away 2 to 3 centuries ago by Aqua Regina, the goddess of the seas and the one from whom our seven pearls originated. Gaito plans to gather all seven pearls so that he could use them to overthrow Aqua Regina and with his own dark Panthalassa powers rule the world. He already has Noel from the Artic Ocean captured and Sara from the Indian Ocean is at his side. Now he will sends his 4 servants, the Dark Lovers, and 2 mercenaries, the Black Beauty Sisters, to catch the rest of us."

Cho Konishi has posed:
Cho Konishi cocked an eye at Amy. She then shrugged. "The Monkey King is whatever she desires to be and, as such, she is a teenage girl. Just like you and Coco. Coco is just a mermaid princess on top of it. Cause... stuff," she said with a shrug. "And, and um, I need to steal a thing, I mean, retrieve a thing from fairy heaven so Coco doesn't die in battle. It's a thing. I'm still working out the how, though. It's not like. Heaven heaven. It's fairy heaven. From myths and stuff. And wow our lives are weird," she said suddenly.

"... I'd probably be more worried about telling you, but honestly? I'm kind of tired of being stressed after all of... that. I kind of just want to take a nap," she said before leaning against Coco. "So. Pretty pretty mermaid princess. Who we're gonna get a magic heaven peach for so she never, ever gets hurt again. Then beat up some weird other king, then rescue the other girl. Though, the dark lovers sound kind of hot so...."

Blink. Blush. Close her eyes and pretend she's sleeping on Coco's shoulder. Yup. That's her story and she's sticking to it.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy listens to Coco's tale with fascination. "I'm sorry to hear about your friend. That's... worse than anything I can imagine." When she finishes, Amy adds, "What can we do? Are they chasing you here? Or this more of a... we need to figure out how to take the fight to them, underwater?"
> The Monkey King is whatever she desires to be and, as such, is a teenage girl. Just like you and Coco.

    Amanda's poker face is *terrible*. Coco may not be the only one who has a secret she's uneasy about.

    "Fairy heaven? Like Tir'na'nog?"

    She takes a bite of ice cream and gets to researching on her phone. Myths probably have a kernel of truth to them, right?

    When she glances up, Cho is sleeping on Coco's shoulder. D'awwwwwwwww. She smiles and looks back down to her phone.

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Coco playfully taps Cho's nose with a finger while she smiles, but besides that, she lets her be, even if she isn't fooling anybody.

She turns to Amy, to back Cho up. "We are both teenage girls, but I suppose that you wanna know that in my case, I was born a girl, though I suppose you might find my birth weird, since the Yellow Pearl is responsible for generating me, no parents involved."

She gives her a glance since she isn't talking about what Amy confided her, instead opting to continue the explanation. "It's impossible to bring the fight underwater. Gaito's palace is constantly moving and cloaked against unwanted observers. No, they will try to drive us out of hiding themselves. Gaito bounces around several favourites, but his current one is Isuru, who manipulates water, often giving it the shape of dragon."

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Well now Mallory just feels extra awkward, like he's intruding. "I, um wha? N-no I didn't mean if you're trans I-I don't care I... uh... I meant... look you already know I'm older..." she sighs. If Coco answered that way, she must suspect. "*Dammit*." But hey wait there's something else interesting: "Wait, really? Were you... raised by anyone?" She cocks her head to one side. "Does that mean you don't have a belly button?"

    She slumps a bit. "This Gaito sounds like... This King of the Sea is a problem. He's got an invisible, unfindable base and he can harass us infinitely? We *have* to find a way to turn that situation around!"

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Coco shrugs. "Princesses get raised at the palace under the tutorage of everyone there. It's not unusual to have a main caretaker, if that's what you care about." As for the bellybutton question, Coco nods. "I do have one, probably because we aren't meant to stand out among other merfolk and humans, but it wouldn't be necessary in my case."

"I agree it would be a pretty big stroke of luck. We need to recover the Key of Sealing, since that's what can track the palace. The problem is Sara has it, since she used it to unseal the palace in the first place."

Amanda Faust has posed:
    "Care... about?" Amy feels Wrong. She has insinuated something Bad and she's not sure what the full ramifications of that are. "N-no I, I'm not insinuating you're... I'm not insinuating you're weird or anything!" She puts her hands down at the table and bows her head. "And I'm so sorry if it came across that way. You don't, you don't owe any proof of, like, being normal human or anything! I just... it was a careless comment. I'm sorry. Y-you... shouldn't have to feel you're weird or anything. Like you can't fit in. I'd never want to make someone feel like that. Especially on my account..."

    (Wow now if only you'd listen to yourself there. --Ed)

    "It's just... y'know..." She lifts her head again. "I'm a fake teenager, so... I don't know. I guess I'd... like other people to talk to, in my situation? B-but I didn't really mean you two are... I'm sorry."

    "...So she has the key and she's working with Gaito, probably *in* the Palace. That's a non-starter, unless..." She shakes her head. "No, we need to find another way."

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Coco blinks before realising how Amy took her words (and her shrug probably didn't help matters). "No, I... Uhm... I am sorry, I didn't get offended. Everything is alright. I mean that like if that was the point of your question."

Coco smile at Amy, trying to fix her misstep and put her back at ease. "I understand: finding someone that shares your experiences, that gets you can be really invigorating. 'Probably wouldn't be useful to send merfolk at her since she wants someone to get her"?'

She can probably try to push a scene in that direction, though that's probably too apartment which feels like a mysterious palace. "I will try to think up of something, Coco deciding she can help probably isn't going to solve that simply.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy looks away awkwardly, and then back at Coco. "Well... even if you don't share my experiences... in that way, we've still fought monsters together and helped eachother, and you're my friend. So I like talking to you anyway." A smile creeps back onto her face and turns into a grin. "And hearing about merfolk and what it's like to be a human from your perspective really *would* be fascinating!"

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Coco smiles when the redhead addresses her as a friend. "Thank you for being my friend, I am glad about that."She looks at Amy quizzically.

"Hmmm, what's being a human from my perspective?" she ponders her question. "Probably the main thing is that I feel like I need to go back to my mermaid form after. It's not really a true physical need, I would compare it to being forced to sit at a table for several hours in a row."

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy smiles back. "Thank you for being my friend, too. I knew nothing about this magical world just a couple months ago, and would have been lost without you and the other girls' help."

    And she listens with rapt attention. "Huh. So it wasn't like, hard to get used to legs and walking? Or breathing in air instead of using gills? That's a shame that you're not really able to be in mermaid form-- oh wait I guess you could like, change back in the bathtub for a bit, huh? Interesting.

    Amy looks thoughtful. "I don't really feel a need to go back to my old form, not that I could anyway, but like... I mean, it's the same *species*, so it's probably not at all the same, but I guess being in a different body doesn't really bother me? I'd be fine continuing my life if, uh, there weren't obvious problems with records and that... y'know... people would be *weird* about... me suddenly becoming..." she points at herself, "me." She looks away. "I mean, it's not my fault, I was offered the chance to become a magical girl, and if anything it should be good that I chose to fight monsters... but... people aren't able to know about that, and even if they were..."

    She looks down at the table. "...I was willing to become-- well, I didn't know exactly what would happen, but... I'm okay being a *teenage girl* to save the world? You know there's people who would say that was... weird."

    She blinks. "Oh!" She lifts her head. "Sorry, I was... I didn't mean to make it about me. Oh hey, do you have any questions about being human no one else has been able to answer? Maybe my experience as an adult might have an answer, y'know?"

Coco Kiumi has posed:
"Getting used to having legs?" Coco ponders a bit. "I suppose in ordinary circumstances it would have been. But Aqua Regina gave us a tutorial of land life by making us live as humans for a time, without any of our memories. So, I suppose it worked if it reduced the difficulties to a point that I only feel the need to turn back to my mermaid form and move around a bit to reduce the uneasiness."

She touches her neck as Amy mentions gills. "That's where they would be right? We merfolk don't have gills, our lungs can naturally breathe underwater as we do with air."

Coco laughs at the mental image. "Sorry, I just imagined how amusing it would have been people many times older acting all deferential to a kid that's their superior in a workplace."

She goes back to a smile. "I get the feeling that's unusual here, and the age thing it may actually be since I suppose sometimes it makes you out of touch? Mostly because sometimes you talk about things a person growing up nowadays wouldn't have heard about, unless they went out of their way to."

She looks away in the distance, roughly to where the sea would be. "You know how summing up all colours gives white light, right! Underwater we have pure white merfolk that are unaligned with any of the seven kingdoms. They can choose their allegiance as they mentally mature, and their bodies change around too, settling down into a body that suits them once they are old enough."

Amanda Faust has posed:
    You had to live as humans with *no memories*?! Isn't that kinda even more messed up, like, waking up one day with no idea who you are?" She wants to give Coco a hug... well, she can, so she gets up from her seat and offers one.

    When they continue, Amy stares for a moment. "What??? That's not how--" she starts to protest, but then stops, as she is, after all, talking to a real live shapeshifting mermaid. She rests her forehead against her hand, elbow on the table. "--Right. Magic."

    She gives a curious look at the laughter, and then chuckles a bit as the mental image is shared. "Haha, yeah! Like that one Stargate episode where Jack's turned into a teenager, and then it turns out he's a clone..."

    She probably talks about things kids haven't heard of? "Ah... yeah. Honestly, mostly I feel old when like, I talk about videogames and someone's like, and I mean someone who's clearly an avid gamer, is like 'Chrono Trigger? What's that, I've never heard of it.' She sighs. "You know, I wandered by the videogame club the other day and someone was playing that new Final Fantasy game where you play Jack Garland? And like... he was talking like he had no idea of where the story was going or what was going on. And so I was like, you know, Garland is sent back into the past by the four fiends when you defeat him, so that in the past he can summon the four fiends and become Chaos. After defeating the fiends in the present, you go back to the past to kill him as Chaos, creating a new timeline where the fiends are never summoned... And he's like, wow, you explained more about what's going on in this game in five minutes than I learned in fourteen hours of playing this game. And I'm like, well yeah, the game doesn't explain it because you already know, it's a *prequel*!"

    She looks at Coco, eyes meeting, in the middle of recounting the story. "And the boy sitting next to him watching him play speaks up, 'A prequel to what?' And I'm like, Final Fantasy I? It's a prequel to *Final Fantasy I*. And he's like, 'wow I never heard of that.' The *first one*, the *first Final Fantasy*! How have today's gamers not heard of..."

    She holds her hand to her forehead again and sighs.

    She lifts her gaze to look at Coco. "...I don't expect you to know what I'm talking about, you're not a gamer. But... I felt... old." She gesticulates as she rants, "It'd be like if I went to anime club and they'd never seen the original Gundam oh god they probably haven't. I mean, admittedly, I only saw the first several episodes and then just watched the compliation movies but I actually watched all of Zeta!"

    Her gaze meets Coco's again. "...Right, sorry. Anyway my point is I suddenly felt very old. You'll... you'll know what I mean in about twenty years when the teenage merfolk have no idea about the cultural touchstones of your time."

    "Assuming we, y'know, live that long and don't get killed by monsters first."

> You know how summing up all colors gives white light, right?
    "I mean, I *thought so*, but at this point I'm not *assuming*, as it seems my knowledge of physics is *all wrong*, or at least, it's a model that works until magic enters the picture, like trying to apply Newtonian physics near black holes or at almost the speed of light. You need special relativity for that and oh my god Hannah's a magic space princess maybe she can teach me *real* physics?"

    The redhead looks excited at that prospect. "Uh, anyway, carry on."

    At the rest of the explanation, "Their body... suits them? Huh. Like how can they tell, is it something they just feel? What does that even mean...?"

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Coco happily accepts the hug from Amy. "The bad part was after the memory loss is undone, when you realise that everything you did was a well-crafted lie, but we had people looking after us, so we were happy as humans. I mostly adapted well when my memories returned - I had to, since I had awakened in a precarious situation - but Sara didn't since the true identity she didn't remember was the cause for having been left by her love of her life, and you know the result..." She says the last part, still regretting what happened there.

Coco realises that's probably a sore point for Amy and renewes the hug. "Yes, I don't really get what you are talking about, but that's not really all that good for you, right? Are you alright?"

"I really hope we get to live that long. I have so many things to do still..." she shudders at the thought.

Coco nods at the assertion that Hannah could teach her. "She probably could, yeah, her people as a whole seem very oriented towards mixing science and magic."

Coco pauses for a minute to recall what it was described like. "The way they describe it is like an internal push towards a particular direction, like not realising realising you have been fumbling around in the dark until you see the light."

Amanda Faust has posed:
> You realize everything you did was a lie.
    Amy squeezes extra hard at that. "Were the human caretakers in on it, at least?"

    Amy giggles at Coco's concern after she rambled on about Final Fantasy. "It's fine. You shouldn't feel bad for me because of some game. Although I guess I am... like I said, a little lonely. ...Apparently at least some of the school employees, including Inai-san the guidance counselor, and Meiou-san the nurse, know about magic so perhaps I can talk to them as an adult... although, Inai-san seems very busy."

    Amy *beams* at the thought of learning even a little bit of magic physics. Like yeah the Prime Directive apparently means there's a lot she can't be told, but maybe there's *something*...

    "A... push?" She huhs. "It's hard to imagine what that's like. I look at a character creation screen in a game and it takes me forever just to make up a name, let alone decide on what they should look like."

    "About what Sara went through... I'm afraid I don't really know much about love, no one was... No one was interested in me before, and that I get interest now is like... who I am didn't change, so I know those boys are just projecting some imagined idea onto this... this cute face." She points at herself, cheeks pink, eyes unable to meet Coco's for a moment. "...If Hannah weren't blind, I'd think she must be the same... I don't understand it, but... she makes me feel wonderful... and really lucky to get to experience this..."

    Amy sighs, slumping in her seat a bit before taking a breath and straightening up. "Alright, topics keep kind of dancing around it, and you told me-- err, well, Cho told me I guess, but my point is, I know *your* secret about being a mermaid, and we risk our lives together," She looks Coco in the eyes, "so it's only fair you know mine. I'm a g...guy. That's why..." She looks away again. "That's why I joked about maybe other magical girls are... in a similar situation. I'm an ugly, old man... snuck in among you teenage girls and I, like, I swear I'm a good guy and a perfect gentleman, I guess you've seen that, fighting alongside me. Kyubey offered me the chance to be a magical *girl*, and like... if that's part of what it takes to fight monsters, and help people, and finally... finally get to do something that *matters*, I don't mind. But I worry most people wouldn't understand, even if they knew about magic."

    "They'd think I'm weird, y'know? Living in the girls' dorm, not that you could put me in the guy's dorm instead, there isn't really a... life, I can have, aside from pretending to be what I look like." She holds out her hands in a 'stop' gesture and rotates them back and forth slightly as she looks at Coco again. "N-not that it's bad! Friendship is friendship, not based on age, and we're comrades in battle."

    Amy lowers her hands back to the table. If anything I think that really, I'm a kinda lucky guy to get to see what life is like from this perspective. It could really help understand people, right? Not many get to actually see life from both side, y'know?" She smiles a bit awkwardly.

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Coco looks up, as if recalling something from years back. "There were in on it, yes. They were transformed merfolk like me. They ensured we had everything we needed, while we had forgotten who we were. But you know, I still feel some resentment at them." She grimaces a bit at this point.

"I haven't really had the time to meet them again, things have been happening too fast, but I am not sure I would want to talk with them again if we were to cross each other in the corridors of the South Pacific palace. That's not really their fault, though. They were just taking care of us, and it's Aqua Regina who mandated it."

"What do you mean, Kyouka-sensei and Nurse Meiou know about magic?" She looks agape at Amy. "That's just... But I mean..." She takes a pause to recollect herself. "Looking back, that makes a lot of sense, based on what they were acting like around me. Kyouka-sensei acted like the lesson I had to skip due to the deal with Blue and Mio would be especially useful for someone in my position, while Nurse Meiou was acting like she knew the burns I had on my body weren't due to some mundane accident. But yes, I guess they don't really have the time to talk to you."

"Sounds like you have something precious with her. You should cherish it, so it doesn't get spoiled", she comments, going back to look up in reminescence. She doesn't really have anything more to say than that, though, since she never fell in love (rather ironic for someone intent on pushing lovers together), but that much she can tell.

Coco reacts calmly. This was no surprise to her, after all. "Honestly yes, the age deal could be problematic, but it's like you say. I got to know you and you are a good person. And you know... You say who you are hasn't changed, and I don't think you are wrong, but I think your ability to express that self has changed, and for the better." She looks seriously at Amy.

"With what I have seen from you, you are much like a white merfolk, just without the ability to match the outside with the inside. But I want you to consider this question seriously: if I gave you the chance to go back to your old life while keeping your powers. Not just that, but removing your dependency on that jewel", Coco adds with a grimace, still not liking how that particular detail has been developing, "would you take it? Everything that you had done would stay, just attributed to your previous life."

Amanda Faust has posed:
    "You wouldn't want to see them again? Because they were part of the lie, or because of something that happened during your, uh, 'practice life'?"

    "Inai-san definitely knows. She said that there's something that keeps adults from becoming magical girls or boys, or knowing about magic, but she's got some kind of loophole that allows her to know about magic and advise us even if she can't turn into a magical girl anymore. ...No idea why I'm an exception. Maybe it's that becoming young again when I became a magical girl got me around it, but if that was the case shouldn't we be seeing a lot of magical girls and boys that are actually adults?" She shrugs.

    "She mentioned Meiou-san but I didn't ask the details. Inai-san can sense magic, but I guess nurse Meiou can't, she didn't say anything when I went to the nurse's office awhile back for... anyway. I haven't talked to her again yet since finding out."

    Back to the matter of Hannah. Amy blushes and can't help smiling. "Y-yeah... I... I treasure this experience, even if I don't really understand it."

> You say who you are hasn't changed, and I don't think you are wrong, but I think your ability to express that self has changed, and for the better.
    Amy cocks her head to one side. A thought begins to come together in her head, along the lines of 'but why would I better be able to express who I am now? Lack of adult responsibility?'

> If I gave you the chance to go back to your old life
    Amy's nails scratch against the table. She looks afraid, although relieved when Coco continues that in this thought experiment she-- err, he, would keep his powers. He immediately wonders whether he still turns into a girl to fight or not, but that's clearly not part of the point of the question. Presumably if he stays a guy he gets a gender-appropriate outfit.

    She takes a breath, and considers, staring a little off to the side and into the distance.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    The red-eyed redhead thinks about this for awhile.

    "...Setting aside various details like whether I can get my apartment back and whatnot... Or whether I still have to fight in a skirt..." he winces at that, but then, even picturing himself in some sort of... heroic costume that includes pants, surrounded by teenage girls, *also feels pretty awkward.* "I mean, if I *did* have to wear the same uniform, that's ugh, no. Unless I change back and forth to fight..." Okay, that's less repulsive to picture. She relaxes slightly.

    "I mean... hmm. So now I'm older the rest of the time. And have to manage paying bills, but I guess that's kind of a wash with classes. Although," She holds a hand to the back of her head, "Honestly that'd be kinda lonely? Like, being in classes with you helps us bond as friends... I didn't really... I don't really have any close adult friends. So I guess I'd prefer being able to spend that time together to 'working', even if being on-call in IT mostly meant goofing off until I was needed for something. What good is it if I can't talk to my friends during it?" She smiles at Coco.

    Amy takes a breath."Now, what else is there..." Oh.

    She has a horrible realization.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    (Editor's note: I really didn't think through where Amy thinking about this was going to go when I started writing about it.) "Hannah. We'd have to break up. Or, maybe not, but like... I mean... how does it look if I... I can't go out on dates with my teenage girlfriend. And..." She blushes and lowers her head to the table, covering it with her hands. "She wouldn't... I mean... she just... she couldn't treat me the same... It wouldn't be the same..."

    She takes a breath. Okay, Mallory, c'mon. That's no way for a man to think. Hannah would deserve an amazing boyfriend so you should be able to BE that boyfriend. Setting aside age for a moment...

    Mallory tries to picture that future. Some future Mallory that's stepped up to the plate, smiling down at-- wait no, she's really tall, smiling up at Hannah smiling back at him as he leads her in some dance. Giving her some jewelry that's perfectly picked out and she's so happy to receive because it shows how well he knows her -- huh, some time as a girl should make him better at that, right? Think back to yukata shopping and imagine coordinating jewelry with Hannah's outfits -- oh. He'd never be able to see what else looks good on this body. But, that's normal for boys. He can just... be glad to see Hannah looking beautiful instead. -- This is what he was *supposed* to do years ago. Get a girlfriend, settle down. He's pictured that before, and this feels much the same, just the girlfriend has a specific face now. A still image comes together, but there's still no feeling there. But it's what he's supposed to do, and Hannah deserves the best. And he doesn't know her as well as he could *yet*, but he *will*, for instance, he has a suspicion she'd probably prefer some other gift to jewelry-- oh wait but she's literally an alien princess who *is* used to the finer things. Um.

    Wait, so does he become prince-consort if she ever defeats her evil Uncle and takes back the throne? Oh god imagine how much he'd stick out at court functions. What are *her* planets norms on dating ages?! Okay okay, set that aside. You literally know nothing about that future, but this was a thought experiment anyway. What about the hypothetical *Earth* future you could have?

    A *future*. That means settling down and starting a family. Ephemeral images half-form in mind, like unfinished paintings. A (much older) expectant Hannah, smiling. A family portrait, but Hannah's the only clear-pictured one, though obviously a loving husband goes on one side and two adorable children go on the other. Wait, if there's kids that means--

Amanda Faust has posed:
    (His brain normally refuses to imagine a real person this way, but they *are* dating and Hannah said she likes being looked at) A slightly older Hannah, standing at the food of the bed, smiling down at--wait, hang on. She's 'my' age, isn't she? That means she's only 15--A *significantly* older Hannah smiling down, saying something flirty and climbing on top to

    There just isn't more. That picture can't form, except in the vaguest and briefest way. Also oh god, he's been a girl too long, that was definitely not how that scenario is supposed to go. Future-Hannah smiling up at him from the bed, while he climbs over and nope, nothing. Huh. That's weird. Everyone wants this, right? Well, not everyone, but if they're gonna, if he likes girls... he likes girls, right?

    He tries to picture being out and about with some boyfriend and those pictures are even vaguer, not really forming, with a vague sense of distaste, which is to be expected.

    Well, what now? His mind drifts. Future with Hannah... what were we thinking about, again?

    While she tries to pick up the thread of her thoughts so she can accomplish whatever the point of all this was, a different image forms in her head. Significantly-older-Hannah smiling down at *her*, adult Amy. She's smiling back. And Hannah climbs over and--

    Amy, who's been spacing out with her head on the table for a long moment now, *blushes*, and after a few seconds more shakes her head and sits up, unable to meet Coco's gaze. Oh gods he really is messed up, he had no trouble imagining *that*. Nearly twenty-two years of online stories and manga have *rotted his brain* to this point, what a freak.

    She glances briefly at Coco, then away. She speaks quietly, "...I can't be her boyfriend." She takes a breath. "I don't... *want* to. I'd rather..."

    A smiling Hannah, leading a smiling Amy in another dance. Even swinging her around and throwing her, and then hugging her close after. A smiling Hannah insisting a blushing Amy try on some embarassingly expensive jewelry or try eating some rich people food. The confident, competitive couple taking eachother on at videogames, or laughing and commenting at some movie, and Amy leans against her girlfriend and feels an arm around her... Even the princess-consort debuting at court -- or moving into a house on Earth together with older-Hannah.

    And the thought of all of it makes her feel happy and warm. She *wants* this. Of course, she doesn't have unrealistic expectations of a relationship, this might not last -- but she *wants* it, with *someone*, even if Hannah didn't work out (they'd still be friends though, right?)

    Amy's head slowly leans down to meet the table again, tears welling up, voice growing tight and choked.

    "...My heart really *has* become that of a girl..."

    She sniffles, and rests her face against folded forearms. "What ab I godda doo?"

Marinette Dupain-Cheng has posed:
"Marinette you have to explain what is going on to those other magical people. They need to know what is going on." Tikki comments as she flies up beside her miraculous holder. "We don't want them to be targeted by Hawk Moth again." The kwami explains.

"I know Tikki. I just was in a hurry. I was about to change back you know." She opens her purse and smiles to the small kwami. "I will go back. But you need to hide for now."

She turns back toward the ice cream shop. Marinette had gotten her ice cream and shared it with Tikki. Now the ice cream is gone and she needs to change. She quickly ducks down the same quiet alleyway she ducked down not long ago. A flash of red and she is Ladybug once again.

Ladybug comes swinging out into the street and into the ice cream shop. Turning her attention to the magical girls present, she quickly makes her way over to them. "Hey, I guess we need to talk. Cat Noir and I are new to Tokyo and I am guessing you never encountered anything like what happened earlier. I wanted to explain some things and learn about some of the stuff around here because Where we are from, we didn't have other magical people." She stops talking and looks at Amy. "Hey ummm are you alright? You seem really down. Do you need to talk?" She asks as she looks around worriedly.

Coco Kiumi has posed:
"Because they were part of the lie. Which is super unfair of me, I know. Honestly, this is just my opinion now that I am here. I think that if I were to get the chance to process this stuff with them, I would probably get over it. I don't know, and that's why I need to talk it out with them. But even addressing it is complicated, since it's not like it was something new that only happened to the seven of us, nor is it something they decided of their own volition."

"Hmm, maybe Kyubey is the only one that offers that second youth, and he has his own finicky requirements as to whom can get "employed" by him, hence why it's a rarity? I mean, Blue only offers a wish only after you complete his album of collectible cards, while Kyubey offers the wish straight up. As for Aqua Regina, she likely could help you in whichever way you needed as long as you didn't ask to change the world or something like that. But that's not something she does as part of granting magic powers. In fact she doesn't grant magic powers at all. She has already created the system when she was at her prime and now it's running independently of her."

Coco goes to grasp Amy's hand and say 'Amy, this imaginary scenario is about how you perceive yourself, not your relationships', but then Amy freezes and just stands there thinking about who knows what, the only inkling she offers are her alternating emotions of what she thinks are joy and horror. When Red finally starts speaking again, an outset of tears start showing up on her face. "That's ok, Amy, nobody of your friends is gonna fault you for preferring this life", she says, impacted by how much she has (had hopefully?) been obstructed inside and bringing her arms around the Puella Magi.

'I'm sorry for pushing you this far, I really am. I hope at least it won't be in vain and you will feel better after this', are the mermaid princess' thoughts. "And you shouldn't do that to yourself either, because there is nothing wrong with it: if that's who you truly feel you are, you should embrace it instead of torturing yourself over it. Let me say again that we aren't going to refuse you."

When Coco realises Ladybug has come over, Coco turns her gaze towards her. "Oh, hi, uhm, we have been talking some heavy stuff", she says. 'What now? Should I send her away? She means well, but this is rather delicate. Maybe she will take the hint?' she thinks.

Adrien Agreste has posed:
As Ladybug arrives... well. It was only fair Cat Noir had returned, too. Of course the reasoning was because Adrien had seen her swinging BACK to the icecream parlor while leaving himself just missing each other.

"This is becoming a habit. But, leave it to My Lady to try to help others out." With a bit of mirth he pats the satchel by his side inquiring, "Up for another transform, Plagg?"

Plagg pokes his head out, whiskers covered in cheese crumbs. "Awww I was just about to take a nap! And have wonderful dreams of Camembert!"

"We should learn more about the other heroes here, Plagg. Besides, Ladybug returned to do the same."

"Fiiiiine."

The transformation is quick at least! By the time Coco/Yellow Pearl is greeting Ladybug she might also see one Cat Noir leeeeaning around the corner to peek in the window. A clawed hand lifts to wave with a cheeky grin but he doesn't come inside JUST yet. This gave him the perfect opportunity to watch Ladybug at work from afar!

Amanda Faust has posed:
    preferring this life
    Mallory cringes slightly, each word a reminder of how much he's failing at... something. At what exactly? ...Being a man. Right.

> there is nothing wrong with it
    Great, the teenage girl is *coddling her*. Him. Gods this is so embarassing and awkward and shameful for *both of them*.

    The rest of the words aren't fully processed. Who she feels she is? *He* is. But that's just it, he's a guy and *feelings* don't change that, that he'd rather have this body and have everyone be okay with it and be Hannah's -- or whoever's -- girlfriend doesn't change what he *is*.

    Anyway, there's someone else here. Amy sniffles, and blows her nose on a napkin, and sits up to look at Ladybug. Oh hey it's the other magical girl and god how embarassing to have a Hero see a grown man like him crying oh wait he looks like a teenage girl right now okay well at least he can take advantage of that right now, she won't know how truly lame he actually is.

    "Um..."

    Amy clears her throat, and takes a breath. "I'm uh... I'm okay. It's not more important than Hero stuff. What's up?"

    She sees Cat Noir approaching and offers a little wave and a forced smile to him as well.

Marinette Dupain-Cheng has posed:
"Are you sure?" Ladybug asks curiously but with purpose. "I can come back another time."

The blue haired hero smiles and backs away for a moment. She looks at Cat Noir and smiles to him. "I'm happy you are here Cat Noir. I didn't get to talk to you earlier. I just wanted apologize. I'm just surprised that we are both here in Tokyo and Hawk Moth too? There are a lot of coincidences here aren't there?"

She turns her attention to the two magical girls. "It starts with these items. THey are called Miraculouses. They give us our powers. Two were stolen. The Miraculous of the Butterfly and the Miraculous of the Peacock. Hawk Moth has the Butterfly Miraculous. We don't know where the Peacock miraculous is. Hawk Moth wants our Miraculouses more than anything." She frowns and shakes her head. "We can't let him have them."

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Coco undoes the embrace but moves a hand towards Amy's, still wanting to give some measure of closeness. "Hello, Ladybug and Cat Noir. As you heard earlier, I am Yellow Pearl Voice, one of seven mermaid princesses sent on land to prevent evil from prevailing. In particular, I am seeking traces of how to locate the King of the Deep Sea and Tokyo was the best place to start."

When they bring up the whole deal about the Miraculouses, Coco notices the similarity. "Uh, that's sort of the same deal with my situation. What is he gonna do with all 4 Miraculous? And what are the chances he already has the Peacock?"

Adrien Agreste has posed:
Cat Noir slide-steps further in clasping his hands behind his back politely. He wanted to at least wait until the pair had finished whatever it was they were speaking so deeply over before joining. A friendly smile is offered to both in greeting.

"Cat Noir, at your service, ladies," he greets with a sudden sweeping bow, one hand brought in front of his torso as he does so. It's brief and he straightens to his full height again immediately after.

Green cat slitted eyes skirt over toward Ladybug at her many thoughts. "A lucky coincidence, though you know I'd follow you anywhere, My Ladybug." The last is said while he leans in closer to her grinning in a Cheshire way ear-to-ear. "So did you miss me, Bugaboo?" Worth a shot to ask.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    'Hawk Moth'? Amy mouths as the name is mentioned. She's actually in civilian mode at the moment, but from the way she's acting, either she's in on the secret or is a magical girl herself. She nods as Cat and Ladybug give a... very brief overview of the situation. "Does the Miraculous of Butterfly have to do with how he turned our friend into a giant monkey? Who then turned people into bananas?" She smiles a bit as Coco takes her hand, gently squeezing it back.

> Cat Noir, at your service, ladies.
    Despite how completely cheesy that introduction was, she can't help smiling.

    Bugaboo? She looks between them, pointing lightly. "Aaaaaare you two a couple?"

Marinette Dupain-Cheng has posed:
Ladybug looks down and frowns. "Yes." She looks up and to Amy. "In good hands, The Miraculous of the butterfly has the power to temporarily create heroes. In the hands of someone like Hawk Moth," She sighs. "He can create super powered villains. He focuses in on people with negative emotions to give his villains more strength.

"Its not what he can do with the four. Its what he can do with the two. The Miraculous of the Ladybug and the Miraculous of the Cat. The Ladybug's is the power of creation. The Cat's is the power of Destruction. You saw both in action during the fight. When the two are brought together they can be used to grant one wish. The reason that's a bad thing is because for every action brought about by the wish, there is a negative action. So say he used it to bring someone back to life, it would take an equally important life."

Ladybug looks at Cat Noir and frowns, "Don't call me bugaboo!" She looks at Amy and shakes her head. "No we aren't a couple. We are just good friends." She tries to explain. "Right Cat Noir?"

Coco Kiumi has posed:
"So, that's why you gave the warning about trying to calm ourselves down when we see one of those butterflies", Coco says, look at Cat Noir. "Is it really true that's the only countermeasure? Couldn't I use my own magic to oppose it?"

"Oh." She thought it was a similar deal to hers, but apparently not? The comment about it require a balance of sorts makes her wince. She really doesn't like all these dangerous magic sources around here. "I guess it uses what is lost to power itself or something in that vein? And if he is the one that stole the Peacock he did it to have more power to take yours then, I guess."

"She has a point though", Coco observes, innocently for once. "You two seem really close, maybe you should consider whether that's what you feel."

Adrien Agreste has posed:
Cat Noir claps a hand over his chest as she doesn't even say she missed him. His shoulders slumped, dejected. He might just be acting though. A heartbeat later he gives a little laugh, "Sorry, Ladybug, you know I can't resist teasing on occasion."

The topic of the Miraculouses was a serious one though. Even he had to admit that, so he straightens up properly and shifts his weight away from Ladybug to lean a hip against a table. Idly he twirls his belt around his hand like a cat tail twitching. "Right. We know people who have been able to avoid being turned into Akuma, but once they *are* turned it's difficult to free them without intervention. Unfortunately the best way is to just not give in to darker feelings that make you a target," he explains.

Ladybug speaks up about being friends so he nods firmly in agreement. "Yep, just friends. Partners at most. We do work well together as a pair," he explains with a forcibly large smile. It grows serious again after a few moments. "It's why we have to keep our Miraculouses apart as well as why we can't let him get ahold of either one. I can destroy things, but I can't purify the Akuma that Hawkmoth creates."

When Coco adds in about seeing how they feel, he pointedly looks to the side away from Ladybug. The tail-swinging continues.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy listens attentively, although she frowns at something Ladybug says. "Every life is important. I don't know about you, but I used to *be* just some random... nobody before the talking animal guide showed up."

    She gives Coco a surprised 'what are you doing' look when the mermaid plays matchmaker.

    And then she can't help laughing at Cat Noir's overdramatic reaction!

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Coco looks at Cat Noir, unsure of what his cat imitation is supposed to signify. Maybe he finds it relaxing? If they weren't barely even aquaintances, she would satisfy her curiosity, but she thinks better of it. "I suppose both of you flew to Tokyo to go away from the other, then?" she asks instead. "You weren't aware the other one was here, right?"

She looks at Amy back with surprise of her own when the redhead gives her a surprised look. What is she trying to tell her?

Adrien Agreste has posed:
Cat Noir glances back toward the pair with a little shrug. "Not a terrible idea, but no. I had to come out to Japan suddenly due to a family issue." Says the blonde cat hero who looks absolutely nothing like anything 'family' related would bring him to Japan of all places.

"I wasn't able to inform Ladybug before I had to leave. Our real lives sometimes interfere with this side of things, unfortunately."

"It's pure luck that My Ladybug showed up too! Though the fact that Hawkmoth is also here is rather concerning."

One hand lifts, clawed gloves flexing, as he considers. "Our Miraculouses were originally from somewhere in Asia. Perhaps he's hunting for more."

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy considers this. "*Are* there more miraculouses?"

Marinette Dupain-Cheng has posed:
Ladybug takes a deep breath. "I know of 19 of them. Our two, I have access to one other one which I need to return. Hawk Moth has the butterfly and we think the Peacock miraculouses. The rest are with the Guardian of the Miraculous.

She turns and looks at Cat Noir, "You know I am happy you are here, right? I wouldn't be able to do anything without you, my kitty." She sighs, "I just have someone I am really interested in, in my mundane life."

Coco Kiumi has posed:
"I assume the other Guardians are protecting other parts of the world then?" Coco comments.

Adrien Agreste has posed:
Cat Noir flashes a more genuine smile at Ladybug only to dip his head toward her a single time. "I know. I'm here if you ever need me though, Ladybug." Pushing from his casualy leaning spot he drops the belt he'd been swishing like a tail to give a polite nod to the other two as well.

"No, the other Miraculouses are held in protection by a Guardian that only Ladybug knows of, to keep them safe. Though they can be pulled out and temporarily bestowed on others when we need." With the little explanation given he sighs. "I should be on my way for now. I do have to tend to other things as well. It was good meeting you both!" And he's off. He's quick like that.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Someone she's interested in her mundane life? "What's that like? Ah, um, sorry, maybe that's a bit prying...

    Cat Noir must go now, his planet needs him!
    "Nice meeting you too~!" She smiles and gives him a little finger-wave goodbye.

Marinette Dupain-Cheng has posed:
"Its a little crazy." Ladybug replies, thankful that she has a much easier time talking to Cat Noir than she does Adrien. She smiles to the two magical girls. "I am sorry I interrupted your conversation with such a heavy topic. I should get going myself. I won't bother you anymore. Have a good day. Bug Out!" She waves and heads outside. A quick flick of the wrist sends her yoyo up into the air and she swings off to the roof tops.

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Coco waves as the two Miraculous Wielders go out just as fast as they came. She looks back at Amy, still worried about how she brushed her feelings off when the two of them came back here. "Amy, how do you feel?"

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy watches her go. Damn, a yo-yo grapple is pretty cool!

> How do you feel?
    Huh? Amy looks at Yellow.

    And remembers what they were talking about.

    ...Although, it feels a little... dulled? Her face falls somewhat, but she doesn't go back to crying. "I... look, I'll... make up for being such a..." She looks away, "such a mess... and a... and weird," she looks back to Coco, "by being a good Hero, alright? I'm sorry you have to deal with someone like this, and I appreciate the politeness, but... Um... I appreciate all the support you've given, I really do. I'd be *lost* without you girls and I've felt really special and honored to be a part of your lives, but... This isn't a life a guy can have, and it's gotta be creeping you out too. But I'm... stuck here, by magical girl circumstances, so..."

    The negativity just doesn't have the *momentum* to keep pulling her down, after that interruption. She holds her hand to the back of her head. "Tell you what. If you're really okay with it, and I guess maybe you are since like, all you've seen is me like this, and maybe I *am* doing a good enough job as a Magical Girl, then..."

    She stands and bows. "I'd be honored if you really think I'm special enough to treat me like one of you. It's... it really is nice, the moments where I can feel like I fit in. I've never really had that before. And I appreciate the opportunity to see a side of life and the human-- err, human-and... you know what I mean, a side of the human-like being experience I wouldn't otherwise get to." She stands up again. "It's a rare chance to understand people better, and I really do see it as that and not as anything I want to be... weird about."

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Coco shakes her head at Amy's comment. "Amy, what would it take for you to be convinced that there's nothing wrong with you? Do you want me to challenge Gaito directly? I can do that if you want. If you really believe what you say, then I guess I could call you by your previous name. But I believe that both of us here would like to use the name Amy."

She takes a deep breath. "Let's go back to the dorm, ok?" she says, grasping Amy's hand a little bit tighter as she makes for a motion to start walking together, waiting to see if the redhead does the same.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy is kind of bewildered. What would it take for her to think she's normal? "Well, then I'd be a normal guy, and I'm clearly not."

    There is a slight twitch, and the beginning of a fearful expression before she tries to hide it, at the idea of calling her Mallory. Like, it'd be fine, but somehow he still feels like she'd be losing something...

    She nods and smiles, squeezing Coco's hand back. "Sure. And thanks." She follows Coco.