Nooru flew beside her, smiling gently.

Damian stared disbelievingly at the Kwami—a tiny, cute, fluffy creature he’d never seen before—as Maya gently stroked it.

He smiles, so “Maya, care to introduce me to your friend?”

”Oh, Damian, here is Nooru, the great Kwami of Transmission, my partner.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Nooru. Thank you for being Maya’s friend.” He bowed.

The sight of the three of them reunited like old friends made her ill.

”What partner?” Her voice trembled with apprehension.

They stared at her. There was a strong sense of sadness in Nooru’s eyes. Taking pity on her.

”Yes, Marinette, Maya is a true holder.”

Maya, like Lila the bully turned assassin turned spy, is a chosen holder, just like her with Mullo. This felt like an unacceptable betrayal to her.

She thought the holders were chosen for a significant reason. According to Plagg, it is the holders who determine whether they will be the good guys or the bad guys. So it makes sense that Maya is a chosen,

But, her assault on the people of Paris is not acceptable.

She might be broken, but Marinette is not prepared to forgive her just yet.

Stories—one featuring Mullo and another—were Marinette’s only source of information on Nooru, thanks to Hawk Moth and Chrysalis.

A mocking, sinister green glow emanated from the liquid in the pit as she watched.

Nooru continues.

”This pit was created a century ago by the wish of a physician. This blunder—if we can call it that—is typical of Plagg; the Kwami of Chaos certainly enjoys such cosmic humor.

Marinette, please forgive me for the hurt I caused you during my time as the imprisoned by HawkMoth.

I watched from within, helpless… while Paris crumbled under my power, twisted by someone else’s will. I never wanted this, Marinette. I failed you. I failed them all.

Maya’s actions, however, were done with my knowledge and consent.”

Why?” Marinette asked sharply.

Nooru looked apologetic, flapping her wings. “Marinette, you must understand... if Leviathan captures me, the world will be in even greater danger.

However,…… that doesn’t excuse our actions, which are causing so much suffering in Paris.

For that, I’m truly sorry for Marinette.”

Marinette grasped the significance of Nooru’s words. Alya and the others battled hard to rescue her, but Nooru’s alliance with Lila only worsened the situation. She's left wondering why they didn’t reach out earlier.

Marinette remembers every fight, Alya’s sacrifice as Ladybug, and Alya becoming the Guardian of the miraculous; she remembers Alya’s burden as leader of their makeshift Miraculous holders—too young to fight, too naive for a war thrust upon them.

”Alya, Tikki even- Plagg is worried about you Nooru,

But instead of reaching to us, you chose her…. For what reason,

Is it kind of twisted revenge? after Hawkmoth’s controlled you?

You exact revenge by akumatizing everyone? is that it?

Tikki will be disappointed because of what you did.”

She lashed out with scathing words, consumed by the injustice. They fight every day, each time to the death. Just to make it through Chrysalis attacks. Her remorse flares.

Nooru’s eyes widened at her outburst.

”Marinette No, I did not mean to do that.”

Maya chimes in;

With a soft pat on Nooru’s head, and a look of distant, apologetic firmness in her eyes.

“Dupain-Cheng, blame me; my inaction caused everything.

My fear is that the Miraculous heroes will betray me—is that justified?No.

I’m afraid reaching out will just lead to more heartache.

So I played their game, perfecting my villainous role, to deflect suspicion.

If Leviathan suspects me of espionage, they won’t let it go. Six months of forced compliance, a burning resentment fueling my every twisted action.”

Maya’s emerald eyes, sparkling despite smudged mascara, stared into the pit; remorse and moroseness etched on her face as dense smoke, like hot lava, poured from the smoldering depths. She continues.

”Gabriel Agreste, ignorant of Nathalie’s role in the shadow organization, wished to be with his wife and heal Nathalie

while the organization used him as a distraction in Paris to unleash Hawk Moth and conceal a larger scheme.

They need the Lazarus Pit and; combined with Nooru’s akumatization , they believe these substances can create an enhanced soldier.

A willing participant in their experiments. Nooru's transmission’s power boosts the akumatized Leviathan, strengthening it than all meta humans together.

Therefore, they used Hawk Moth’s Akuma’s as a testing ground for their own gain.”

There’s much to process here. Marinette glanced at them. Hands clasped in a firm grip.

Damian asked with his arms crossed.

“What is the connection between the Void Kwami and the artifacts’ whereabouts?”

With a feral glint in her eyes and a playful smile, Maya seemed to view it all as a game of cat and mouse.

”The most exciting part, though, was that the artifacts’ location was a secret hidden in those coordinates, a puzzle that remained unsolved. That phone was necessary for them.

I deleted it from their database and sent the only encrypted files to your phone, Damian.”

Damian is holding the phone. Started typing.

Marinette asked. “What About Null Monarch? What would he gain? about this.”

Nooru added with a solemn voice.

“The Void Kwami… it was the first born before creation. It embodies nothingness—absence of light, matter, even time. If Null Monarch awakens it… we’re finished. Not even Gimmi can undo what the Void devours.”

For a minute no one talks; a deep silence, only the pool of Lazarus water, dripping from the pit.

The hazy green hue of smoke permeating in the cave's atmosphere.

Marinette mulls.

A terrifying thought: if the villain finds the artifacts that awaken the Void Kwami, not only Paris, but everyone, will be in mortal danger; there’s no hope of using Gimmi.

Marinette Dupain-Cheng, control your emotions; there’s no time for thinking, anger, or outbursts—they won’t help.

She closed her eyes, she took another deep breath.
She looked at them with a burning terrible resolve.

“We’ll put our problems aside for now, Maya and Nooru, but don’t think this means I’ve forgiven either of you.

Paris was in need of our help. We won’t give the Leviathan what it wants.”

Marinette, looking at the three,

A beep, the silence, had been broken by Damian.

He nods at them.

“I have successfully accessed the files and dissected the map pinpointing the bomb locations.

It’s a grim situation; there are too many, and I fear we three can’t defuse them all in time.”

He looked morbid, yet Maya smirked, her gaze flicking from Nooru to Marinette.

Marinette had a bad feeling about this. She takes a gulp.

”Oh, Damian, no need to panic.”

Maya drawled, like a vixen she truly are.

“I have a solution for that. We have someone who has experience, who has the skill, power and determination to defuse the bomb and the holder of the Kwami of Multiplication right?

”But, Mullo is not here. Even if I wanted to, I did not know to multiply at will?” Marinette unsure of her answer.

”That is not a problem, Dupain-Cheng….. You know, I’m curious. , for all of Hawkmoth and Me trying to akumatize you, you have never succumbed. What’s the secret?”

She gulped. Here it is.

”Marinette Dupain-Cheng, will you heed the call?

Can you be my Akumatized Champion?”

Maya with her foxy eyes. Offered her, for not in this world-ending scenario, she will never accept it, but now. She had no choice, for Alya, for her parents, for Paris as a whole.

Marinette, fist curled. She swore against becoming akumatized, yet the situation changed, her former enemy is now a reluctant ally.

”Yes, I'll be your champion.”