One Way or Another

A Missing Ingredient, A Name Game and A Retaliation

Gabriel nodded. "We need the instructions from the grimoire."

"I already got them from the Guardian in Portugal. He tried to fix it himself, but couldn't decipher the words. Hopefully we have better luck." She turned and went back over to the table where her purse was laying. Reaching inside, she pulled out the bangle, a folded piece of paper and a cloth bag.

The others gathered around, with Gabriel picking up the Miraculous and examining it. It didn't take too long to find the damage. "It's cracked," he murmured.

"Yeah," Marinette said. "And I already asked, we can't use it to repair itself. So the only way to fix it is by following the instructions and making the formula."

Adrien picked up the paper and started reading aloud, but stopped as Marinette cut him off. "Tikki, Plagg," she said, looking at the kwamis. "Do you mind stepping out for a minute?"

They nodded and flew off, disappearing through the wall.

"They're not allowed to know the spells," Marinette continued in explanation at seeing Emilie's confused expression. Then she turned to Adrien. "Go ahead."

He started reading again. "Water from the earth, now mixed, will repair the limbs of the injured animal. Combine the shimmering grains with a fiber from a born traveler. Then add a pinch of salt." He paused momentarily after he finished. "Okay, what does that mean?"

Marinette grabbed the cloth bag and removed three vials. "Well, the 'water of the earth, now mixed' is just ocean water," she explained, gesturing to the first vial filled with liquid. "And the 'shimmering grains' are grains of sand," she continued, gesturing to another one filled with a beige granular material. "And a 'pinch of salt' is literally that," she finished, gesturing to the last vial.

Adrien blinked at her. "You're kidding," he said. "The ingredients are water, sand and salt?"

She sighed. "We still need to figure out the last part. The fourth ingredient. A fiber from a born traveler."

Emilie took a step away. "A fiber from a born traveler," she murmured in thought. "A fiber..."

"Like a thread?" Gabriel offered.

"And a born traveler must be referring to... someone or something that travels a lot?"

"A thread from something that travels a lot?" Adrien repeated. "But what could that be?"

Silence all around as everyone was lost in thought.

Finally, Adrien looked at Marinette. "What do you think, Princess?"

With a weak shake of her head, she whispered her answer. "I don't know."

*

Adrien stared up at the ceiling as he lay in bed. Sleep was eluding him that night and no matter what he did, he couldn't clear his mind.

His wife. His mother. His sister. They were all in danger. And there was nothing he could do about it.

If they didn't figure out how to fix the Starfish Miraculous, they would all be gone. Gone, in one way or another.

Turning onto his side to face Marinette, he pushed some hair away from her face and gazed at her as she slept. Even as a quiet snore escaped from her lips, she seemed so incredibly... peaceful.

But that would only last for so long. Her injury would keep getting worse until there was no more peace.

The cataclysm would consume her. It would consume her until there was nothing left.