Chapter Text
I was told to wait here in this alley, and wait, I shall.
The currently Akumatized Chloe has brought a kind of plush horror that should stay inside the world of fiction, even transforming the one I love into a cuddly owl.
It was blackmail—cuddly blackmail. All of this was because I did not wish to be bought by her; I am not a doll; I am a living being.
I look up and sense Ladybug’s presence. Moments later, she lands back and clutches something in her right hand (her left hand holds the Lucky Charm, a spool of thread).
“Pen-Pen,” she says, opening her right hand in front of me and revealing a small hexagonal box, “This is the Miraculous of the Rooster, which grants the power of Sublimation. You will use this for the greater good.”
I look back down at the box and sigh, “I cannot accept this power.”
“But why not? There aren’t that many people who haven’t been turned into plushies, and I could really use a temporary partner.”
“It is not that I don’t want to.” I explained to her, “It is that I physically cannot wear the Miraculous.”
She looked at me confused, “They usually adapt to fit anyone; I heard from Mr Damocles that for him, the earrings became clip-ons.”
I shook my head, “that is not what I meant, please, allow me.”
I extended my hand to accept Marinette's box. Opening the box revealed a thumb ring and a bright orange light flew around me as a small orange rooster materialized in the air.
Ignoring the Kwami for a moment, I took the thumb ring and placed it on my hand, the magic shifting its shape and color from a golden, sharp thumb ring to a much more skeletal and dull appearance. I slip the newly transformed ring onto my feathery thumb.
“You look just like me!” the Rooster Kwami chirped, “My name is Orikko, we’re going to have so much—”
Rotating my thumb upside down, the Miraculous fell to the ground as Orikko returned to the thumb ring.
“‘You are made to guard, not be a Guardian.’” I said, reciting a mantra I was taught while under the watch of the Order.
Marinette picked up the ring and put it back in the box, groaning, “This is a disaster. Why didn’t you tell me this before?”
“You spent the day mad at a coincidence,” I told her blankly, “I am not the one at fault.”
“How was I not supposed to be mad!?" Marinette exclaimed, "You literally followed me home last night! And now you decide to show up to my school!?”
“To discuss the location of your master—which you still have not told me—and arriving at your school was a coincidence; Owlet has never told me about his student body. Why is trusting me such an obstacle to you?”
“Why should I trust you? You say everything without a filter; it’s a surprise you don’t blab about my identity to someone right now!”
“I was made to protect the Guardians; even after a hundred years of finding myself, I still remember what I learned when I was young,” I said, trying to sound serious.
I paused for a moment, letting Marinette consider her options. “I know this might be hard to believe, but I take my job seriously, even though it hurts to hide this from the person I love.”
I emphasize my point by placing my hand where I believe the human heart should be, but as Marinette snickers, I think I may be off.
“I guess someone as silly as you can still be trusted.” Marinette sighed, “But I still don’t know what to do; if you can’t transform, then my plan won’t work!”
She pauses for a moment, looking down at the wrist that held my bangle and then back at her Lucky charm.
“Of course!” she gasped. “P2, I think I know what to do, but I have to use your bangle. Will you let me?”
I nod as I remove my bangle from my wrist, “I trust you.”
Quickly getting to work, she ties two different pieces of string to my bangle before giving it back to me.
I put my bangle back on as she passed me the Rooster Miraculous once more. I fit it onto the hand that held my bangle, and she then tied the Miraculous to the string.
The Kwami pops back out into the air, slightly dazed. “Woah, let me try again this time. I’m Orriko! Have you transformed already? You look like a big bird!”
I smile, “I’m a Sentimonster.”
“Cool! Everyone’s going to be so jealous when they find out I get to transform with a Sentimonster!”
“I will be sure not to disappoint you. Orriko, Transform Me.”
The Kwami is pulled into the thumb ring, and a flow of orange light envelops me for a moment before it fades, leaving behind a suit.
My costume features a hood partially covering my head, a cloak draping down to my legs, and a rooster mask completely hiding my face.
“It looks bulky,” Marinette says, inspecting my new appearance.
“I doubt I will be using this miraculous after today; how I look doesn’t matter,” I tell her, fidgeting with the feathery end of the ink pen that was conjured up to be my weapon, “but that is beside the point, what is it that you have planned?”
“Well, you see,” Marinette explains, “Queen Mcstuffins’ ability is that anyone touched by her becomes a stuffed animal under her command. What I plan on having you do is to give yourself the power of fabric manipulation to lock her and her minions in place with the rest of the spool of thread while I break her Akuma.”
“That way, she can’t use her ability on you.” I said, nodding along, “Quite the plan you’ve got there.”
I put my hand out, and a glowing orange light begins to pour out from my pen, “Sublimation: Fabric Manipulation.”
Writing out my ability onto my hand, I pressed my now glowing hand onto my chest as it rippled over my costume.
She tosses me the rest of the spool that was left unused, and it begins to unwind in the air. The red string wraps around my other wrist, acting as a second, softer bangle.
“I will not disappoint you, Ladybug.”
“We need to give you a name, P2, you never know!”
My answer came to me in an instant, “Champion.”
“Hope you can keep up with me, Champion!” she teased as she swung her yo-yo, reeling into the air.
Copying her movement, I mentally commanded the string to shoot out like a grappling hook as it attached itself to a gutter up ahead, launching me into the air.
It was time for my first (and hopefully only) debut.