Margot was just relaxing on her couch with a bowl of potato chips, watching TV when her kwami flew out of her pocket with a smirk on her face. Kichi grabbed two potato chips, one for each hand, and flew down to sit on the couch next to her owner.

Margot looked down at her kwami with furrowed eyebrows, about to say something before being interrupted by her ring tone. She picked up her phone and placed it against her ear, quietly calling, "hello?"

Alya's voice rang out from the phone, "hey, Mars! How're you doin?" Before Margot could answer, Alya continued, "that's good. Anyway, are you free today?" As the two talked on the phone, Kichi continued to take more chips from the bowl, Margot smacking her away every few moments.

"Um...depends on what you're about to make me do." Margot said unsurely, raising an eyebrow. The phone seemed to go silent for a moment before Alya responded.

"Emotional support...?" Alya said with a nervous laugh, making Margot's face quickly harden. "H—Hear me out, it's for Marinette! Her Chinese uncle came by earlier to stay with her so he could go on the famous TV show: World's Greatest Chef." As soon as Alya said that, Margot's head turned toward the TV only to see that same logo. Alya continued, "she doesn't know how to speak Chinese and he doesn't know how to speak English. I already called Adrien—"

Margot sputtered in shock at the name, "You called Adrien?"

She could hear Alya smirk through the phone as she said, "yeah...why? Are you nervous?"

No. thought Margot, rolling her eyes. It just feels like everytime he joins us in something, something weird ends up happening.

After not receiving a response, Alya continued. "Anyway, he's there for translating purposes. Now, I know you're not good with emotional support, but I'm busy today...and she honestly trusts you more than me!"

Really? She doesn't act like it. That's what Margot wanted to say, but she bit her tongue.

"Please? Do this for me and Marinette!" Alya said, probably folding her hands and kneeling down on the other side of the phone.

Margot sighed, grabbing a chip and eating it before saying, "fine. I'm in."

~><~

When Margot got to Marinette's house and rang the doorbell, she was about to talk to Kichi through her jeans before she heard footsteps behind her. They were quiet, almost stealthy, but they didn't get past her.

Her reflexes immediately said 'punch them in the face' and she whipped around, punching someone hard in the gut instead. The person let out a wince and spoke quietly, their voice strained, "you...you throw a good punch, Margot.."

Margot almost immediately recognized the voice and looked up at him, seeing the pained face of Adrien Agreste. Immediately, her eyes widened and she mumbled a few worried apologies. The model let a small smirk creep onto his lips as she pressed her hands lightly against both of his arms, which were holding his gut in pain.

"You're sorry? Wow, I never thought I'd hear you say that." Adrien joked, making Margot's lips form into a pout. He chuckled when she elbowed him in the side, making him wince but laugh at the same time.

"I really am sorry." Margot said quietly, leaning her head against his chest. Then she suddenly wondered...what was taking Marinette so long? She removed her head and any form of contact with him almost immediately and turned to the door, ringing the doorbell again. She tapped her foot for a few moments before shouting, "ugh, what is taking—"

The door swung open and the two were met with an exhausted Marinette. She seemed to be out of breath and collapsed on her butt, looking up at her two friends, "o—oh...Margot? Adrien? What are you guys doing here—oh, Alya! Alya called you, didn't she? Ugh...that girl..."

Before Adrien could respond, Margot did, "yeah, she did. She called Adrien for 'translating purposes' and me for apparent emotional support. I don't know why she chose me and not Rose or Elias." Marinette rolled her eyes at the two then shrieked, eyes like saucers as she looked behind her two friends. "E—Elias! Oh, wow! It's a see you surprise here! I mean—it's a surprise to see you here! Haha! C—Come on in!"

Margot and Adrien looked to see Elias, who gave the two a friendly wave. "Oh, Margot and Adrien, you're here too! We've met before. Nice to see you two again." The two gave him a friendly nod back to him and they all walked into Marinette's home together.

"I was told I could make your day a bit brighter, Marinette! What seems to be the problem?" Elias questioned, placing a hand on Marinette's shoulder. Marinette blushed deeply and started to stammer.

"U—Uh...t—the problem is y—y—your gorgeous face—I-I mean— just look over there..." Marinette sighed and subtly slapped herself in the face for being so weird. When everyone looked over at where Marinette had pointed moments before, they found someone who seemed to be ripping some flowers apart. Margot immediately recognized him and her eyes lit up.

"Wow...I've never seen you so bright before. As bright as you can look, at least." Adrien said the last sentence quieter so only those two could hear. Immediately, Margot turned back to her stony facade and rolled her eyes. "What about him made you so ha—"

"Don't say it, Agreste." Margot cut him off from saying that inaccurate word to describe her. Then, she sighed, and said, "I—I know him. Well I don't know him, I know of him. He's a famous chef, he makes a really good soup apparently. I never knew that Marinette would be taking care of him. I think they're related."

"He's...he's my uncle." Marinette said, almost disappointed, "but I don't think he likes me." Margot frowned and looked back at Marinette, while Adrien simply denied it.

"I'm sure you're wrong. I'll talk to him Marinette, don't worry." Adrien said with a smile. Marinette's eyes lit up and she hugged Adrien, wrapping her arms tightly around him. "Woah—what are we waiting for? Lets go to the hotel!"

"Hotel?" Margot questioned, "Alya never told me about that. Though I'm not shocked I have to emotionally support you for probably the whole day."

Marinette giggled, "well, my uncle is going on a TV show to keep his title as World's Greatest Chef! He's definitely gonna win, just like last year!"

Elias smiled, "I'm sure he will." Then, Cheng Sifu, the chef, walked over to the kids with a curious but happy expression. He looked satisfied as he held a tiny bag to hold the flower petals he had just ripped off of the flowers.

Margot had a good feeling about today. Especially with her friends on the journey with her.

~><~

As they sat in the limo being driven to the Bourgeois hotel, Adrien and Cheng Sifu were both in conversation...in a language Margot couldn't understand. This experience would probably make her want to learn Chinese or some sort of other language.

Margot was starting to stare off into space as she listened to the Chinese language be spoken over and over again, back and forth. She sighed, lifting a hand to her mouth to bite her nails. Nerves wracked through her body.

"My English very bad. Not like your Chinese." The familiar voice of Cheng Sifu spoke...in English. Margot was surprised upon heard him speak English and stuttered, looking at him.

"Y—You speak English?" She questioned in surprise.

"Oh, no! My English bad. English very bad." Cheng Sifu denied, shaking his head. Marinette was also surprised, as were Adrien and Elias, but nevertheless Marinette let out a giggle.

Then, the limo stopped in front of the Bourgeois hotel. As soon as the door opened and Cheng Sifu stepped out, cameras were in their faces. Margot stayed sitting down as Marinette and Elias exited the limo. Margot hated the screaming and yelling outside so much that she curled up into a ball. Luckily, no one else was in the limo to see her be so...weak.

"Hey, are you okay Margot?" Adrien questioned suddenly, making Margot jump in surprise. She had clearly spoken too soon. "I know you don't like loud noise, but...be brave, okay? I'll be right next to you the whole time." She looked up at him, seeing his hand held out. This boy was gonna be the death of her, she couldn't see it any other way. When she blushed, he did too as soon as he noticed hers. "I mean...you don't...um...crap. I'm sorry, I—"

Margot shut the boy's mouth by gripping his hand and standing up, leading him to the limo door. She nodded at him and said, "thanks, Agreste." Adrien still had a blush spread across his cheeks and then nodded back, a shy but cheeky smile on his face.

The two left the limo and a few camera immediately started flashing in their faces. Margot looked over at Adrien, alarmed, only to see his face alarmed as well. He was frowning with wide eyes.

A paparazzi suddenly yelled, "Adrien Agreste has a girlfriend!" Margot couldn't help but feel uncomfortable at that comment and gripped Adrien's hand tighter, only making the photographers and paparazzi photograph them more. She was frozen in place until Adrien finally stepped up.

"Please, stop! You're making her uncomfortable. We're not dating, we're just friends!" Adrien announced, "now please, let us go inside!" The photographers stopped at his request but the paparazzi kept going, having no care for their privacy. So, instead, Adrien took matters into his own hands and ran after Cheng Sifu, Elias, and Marinette. Out of breath with Margot's hand still wrapped with his, he questioned Cheng Sifu, "would you like me to come into the kitchen with you, Cheng Sifu?"

"No thank you, Adrien." Cheng Sifu responded as the group got inside the Bourgeois hotel. "Cooking needs no words." Marinette was the only one out of the three to noticed what had just happened with Adrien and Margot, so she looked pretty pouty at this moment. On the inside, she wanted to beat the crap out of the paparazzi taking pictures of them constantly.

Margot didn't notice her pissed off stare, but Adrien did. Adrien looked into her eyes with worry, then mouthed a subtle no. Marinette raised her eyebrows and looked back at the paparazzi, then sighed.

It looked like no one would get a beating by Marinette Dupain Cheng today.

When Cheng Sifu left to head toward the kitchen, Margot turned her head to look toward Marinette. Marinette let out a nervous laugh when she saw Margot's eyes on her and said, "um...thanks, guys. I'm totally sorry for bothering you for nothing. I really thought he couldn't speak English."

The two shook their heads simultaneously and Margot said, "no problem, Marinette. I mean, I bet it was great for Adrien to practice his Chinese and I got to meet a Shifu that I've loved for years—"

"A Shifu?" Adrien questioned, raising his eyebrows, "you can speak Chinese? I thought—" Margot crossed her arms and released Adrien's hand, looking away from both of them.

"I know some words, Agreste." Margot said. Marinette looked quite confused so Margot decided to explain, "a Shifu is a master. Cheng Sifu is an amazing master after all."

Suddenly, the annoying voice Margot knew so well approached her from behind. She whipped her head to look back at Marinette and Adrien and her shoulders tensed, a pout on her lips.

"Look who it is!" The annoying voice, known as Chloe Bourgeois shouted, "my favorite people, Marinette Dupain Cheng and Margot Vaillant! I mean, seriously Marinette, does your great uncle really think he can win with a soup!? It's not even a main dish! Doesn't he know how to make sushi like everyone else?" Margot was biting her lip so no one could see her anger, and she clenched her fists tightly, having an internal struggle of whether or not she should fight Chloe Bourgeois.

Adrien rolled his eyes and said, "Japanese people make sushi, Chloe! Cheng Sifu is Chinese!" Marinette had crossed her arms, as did Elias, while Adrien had a hand on his forehead, holding himself back from scolding Chloe. She was his childhood friend after all.

"Besides, he's not like everyone else!" Marinette said, "my Great Uncle is the best chef in the world! His soup is legendary!"

"Well, I despise soup." Chloe said simply, glaring at Marinette. Margot rolled her eyes and grumbled, why are we supposed to care about what you like? Apparently Chloe heard that and said, "oh Mar-trash, didn't you know I'm on the jury? He's definitely not getting my vote!"

"Well, Chloe, he doesn't need your vote! There's plenty of people on the jury with better taste than yours." Marinette said smugly, "oh wait, you don't have any taste. I mean, look at what you're wearing!"

Chloe scoffed and turned her head angrily, "Ew, don't talk to me like that!" Then, she whipped around and threw her hair in Marinette's face. "You've made a huge mistake, Dupain Cheng!" Chloe stormed off into the hotel and almost immediately, Marinette felt a hand on her shoulder.

She turned to see Elias, who was looking at her with a smile. "Wow, that was amazing Mari! You stood up for Cheng Sifu. He would've appreciated that!" Margot nodded in agreement, but Marinette shook her head.

"Probably not...I don't think he likes me. He even ripped up the flowers I gave him." Marinette admitted, wrapping her arms around herself. Margot raised her eyebrows in disbelief and sighed, deciding to try to do her job based on how much she knew Cheng Sifu.

"Marinette, I think you're wrong about him not liking you. Cheng Sifu isn't just a famous chef, he's a famous artist at the same time. He always puts beautiful flowers in his soup. He has said on multiple interviews that he improvises on faithful things that come his way. I think that this time he could be using your flowers." Margot concluded, making Marinette smile brightly.

"So...y—you think he likes me?" Marinette questioned hopefully, her eyes lighting up.

"Of course, Marinette. You overthink this type of thing. He has shown you so much respect in his own special way. Trust me on this, okay?" Margot placed her hands on both of Marinette's shoulders comfortingly, and Marinette nodded gratefully. Adrien couldn't help but smile as Marinette finally said,

"...Okay."

~>~

A little while later, Cheng Sifu's soup was done. While it didn't look like his usual Celestial Soup, it smelled absolutely delicious. Margot wished she could try some for herself.

She adjusted her posture and let out a deep breath as each judge started to taste the dish. She was hopeful, but she still clenched her now sweaty hands into fists. Immediately after the judges tasted the soup, each of their faces had...revolt written all over them.

"I don't think this soup would fare well with our guests. I give it a 3/10."

"Seeing as it's pretty unappetizing, maybe I'll pass on the tasting, but I'm still giving it a 0/10!" Ugh, Chloe Bourgeois totally had something to do with this.

The next judge, who was Jagged Stone, actually spit out the soup and shouted, "it's like kissing a member from the Zombeats! Negative 0/10!"

"I'm sorry, but...it's inedible. I give it a 1/10."

When Margot looked over at Cheng Sifu, his face was completely pale. He walked over to the judge table and tasted Chloe's serving, almost immediately gagging and spitting it out. Margot looked at Adrien and Marinette, eyes filled with confusion. Elias furrowed his eyebrows and glanced over at Margot, feeling extremely worried. They both looked the same, both confused and filled with panic.

Margot walked up to Marinette and placed a hand on her shoulder, only to realize that her dear friend had been fuming with anger and that Adrien was trying to calm her down. What had happened?

When Margot looked forward, she saw Cheng Sifu walk toward the judges, going over to one of the soups and sampling it. Almost immediately, he spit out the soup, making Margot even more confused than before.

Cheng Sifu shook his head rapidly, raising his hands. He looked at the judges and shouted, "I don't understand! I never put these ingredients in! It's a mistake, someone sabotaged soup!" Margot almost immediately knew exactly who was responsible. She looked over at her only to see a smug smile on her face. Margot clenched her fist in anger, but kept her lips tight, her face rid of any emotion. She was going to kill Chloe Bourgeois.

The show's host, Alec, stepped forward with a sigh, placing a hand on Cheng Sifu's shoulder only to say, "I'm sorry, Cheng Sifu, but I'm giving you a zero too. This brings your score to 0.8/10–which is the lowest so far. Celestial Soup will therefore not be in the hotel's menu this year, and you will not be named 'World's Greatest Chef'!"

Margot felt Marinette's shoulders droop beneath her hand. Margot's eyes softened as she looked at her best friend, then to Adrien, who had the same facial expression she did.

When the judges stood up and walked away from the table, Margot spotted a flower petal fall from the back pocket of Chloe's jeans. Her eyes narrowed and she stepped toward the table, removing her hand from Marinette's shoulder. Elias must've also noticed, because he seemed to get there seconds before Margot, lightly gripping the flower petal in his hand.

"That girl definitely has something to do with this." Elias spoke angrily, looking at Chloe as she left the room. Margot had never seen Elias so angry in the little time she had known him.

Adrien stepped forward with a disappointed sigh as he watched his childhood best friend walk out the door. As his eyes watched the door slowly close behind her, he spoke, "I'd like to say you're wrong, but...I know her too well."

Marinette quickly noticed that her uncle had not left the room yet. She caught up to him and touched his arm, looking up at him desperately, "Uncle Cheng! I'm sure it's not your fault. In fact..." Marinette closed her eyes for a moment, then reopened them with a sigh, "I know it's not. I'm pretty sure Chloe's behind this. It was... because of me. I provoked her, and—"

Cheng Sifu took his arm from Marinette's hold and said, "shame is on Celestial Soup! I shall never be 'World's Greatest Chef'!" As Cheng Sifu began to walk away into the kitchen, Marinette could only reach a short hand out, knowing there was nothing more she could do.

Margot went to go comfort her best friend, but felt a firm hand from Elias lightly set itself on her shoulder. She looked up at him, confused as to why he was touching her. He whispered, "I can handle this. You and Adrien head downstairs. We'll be down in a minute."

Margot hesitantly nodded, turning around to go to the stairs with Adrien right behind. She sent one last look to her best friend's crush before heading down to the lobby.

~><~

A few minutes of waiting in the lobby passed, and Margot was growing impatient. She wanted to know if Marinette was okay, and if Elias had managed to help her. Her thoughts were cut off by a desperate voice screaming, "run! Run while you still can—"

Margot, now alarmed, heard a familiar, more digital sounding voice say, "not polite to leave table without permission! Cut off all exits!" Margot furrowed her eyebrows and looked over at Adrien, who looked just as confused.

Margot lightly tapped the pocket of her jeans, feeling Kichi's little form inside. She seemed energized and ready to fight from how she was moving in her pocket.

Margot's attention was suddenly directed to the floor below her, which was now starting to cover with a sticky liquid. She looked at the glass doors inches away from her, only to see the same sticky liquid covering the glass and seeping through the bottom of the doors. Adrien stepped toward the doors and crouched down, putting his finger in the liquid and tasting it. Margot couldn't help but be somewhat revolted.

"It's...caramel." Adrien said, looking up at his friend with confused eyes. She looked back at him with the same expression, but their shared stare broke upon hearing a loud bang from upstairs. Adrien bounced up and said, "it may taste good but it's totally indestructible! We're trapped in here!"

Margot's eyes widened and she placed her hands on his shoulders, face filled with panic, "Marinette and Elias are still up there, Adrien! Oh god—what if Cheng Sifu was—"

"Margot, calm down! Everything's going to be okay. I'll go get Marinette and Elias. Wait here." Adrien spoke calmly, running away from Margot only to be stopped a few feet away. "Huh—"

"Be safe." Margot spoke firmly, staring at Adrien with a blank expression. Adrien blinked a few times, dumbfounded, before he nodded and ran up the stairs. Margot squinted her eyes shut and sighed, running behind the staircase to transform.

As she released her kwami from her pocket, she leaned against the back of the staircase with her eyes shut. She seemed frustrated as she said, "how did I know this would end badly?"

"Kichi, wings aflutter!"

~><~

Moments after Calibri transformed, she noticed Chat Noir and Ladybug jump into the lobby from two different directions. The two heroes seemed confused upon seeing each other. Calibri knew it would look incredibly suspicious suddenly coming from behind the staircase without reason, so she came up with an excuse before running out of her hiding spot.

Ladybug was the first to speak, completely dumbfounded, "C—Cali? You too? How did you—"

"I used my power to avoid alerting the villain and came in at the roof. I used the emergency stairs to get down here, but I think it's locked now." Calibri said confidently, then added, "I didn't get to spot the villain's akuma."

Ladybug nodded her head, seeming to believe all of Calibri's words. Chat Noir seemed a little skeptical, but ignored it. Calibri was honestly just glad one of them believed it. That would've been really awkward if they didn't.

The three heroes looked at each other for a few more seconds before walking over to the elevator. After calling the elevator and waiting a few minutes, Chat Noir impatiently tried to open the doors, only to find out it was jammed. Crap.

Calibri heard the same digitalized voice from earlier and turned around to the villain on a projector. There was no doubt in her mind that it was Cheng Sifu.

"Ladybug, Chat Noir, Calibri! You soon have privilege to be ingredients in Kung Food's soup. First, you must taste my special of the day!" Cheng Sifu—or Kung Food—shouted. The elevator door suddenly opened behind the three heroes, causing all three to turn around get into a fighting stance immediately.

Calibri was shocked to be met with Jagged Stone. Was he brainwashed? She had no idea. She just knew she couldn't hurt him too badly. Jagged Stone had a smirk on his face as he faced off against the three heroes with a giant wand of seafood in his hand.

"Seafood? This scampi happening! Let's see if you can carry a tuna!" Chat Noir said with a smirk, making both of his partners roll their eyes in disappointment. Calibri was slightly amused by the cat's jokes, but clearly didn't notice it herself.

Jagged Stone pulled out the seafood wand and rushed forward, swinging his wand back in an attempt to hit the three heroes. Ladybug gasped and yelled, "look out!"

The three heroes jumped backward and dodged Jagged's hit. Chat Noir let out a playful meow and said, "that's not very rock n roll of you, Jagged Stone!"

Jagged Stone recovered quickly and swung the wand behind his head, "rock is one thing, soup is another. When I'm done with you, you'll be nothing but minced meat!" He rushed forward again, attempting to hit Ladybug, only to be met with Chat Noir's baton.

After a few moments of the four fighting, Calibri shouted to Chat Noir, "boost me!" He immediately understood what she wanted him to do. When she grabbed onto his baton, he extended it upward, then tipped it toward Jagged, getting Calibri at an angle that she could push him into the closet next to him.

Calibri spread her wings and glided down to Jagger Stone, hands out in front of her, ready to push him into the closet. Once her hands touched his shoulders, he felt himself be launched far back into the closet from the rough push. Ladybug rushed forward and closed the door, while Chat Noir grabbed a chair and pressed it against the door knob, making it so that Jagged couldn't escape.

Satisfied, the three heroes fist bumped each other. When Calibri looked up at the projector, her eyes widened when she saw Chloe hanging over a boiling pool of what seemed to be soup. Calibri's jaw dropped as she tapped Ladybug's shoulder, then Chat Noir's.

"Oh fu—"

~><~

Moments later, the trio ended up in the elevator in an attempt to go up to the top floor. Calibri saw Chat Noir out of the corner of her eye, facing the two girls with a smirk on his face.

Seconds later, as expected, he made a flirtatious comment to the two, "come on, girls. It's just the three of us. We could go places."

Ladybug kept her arms crossed, letting a small smile peek through her lips, but Calibri was completely unamused as she turned to him with a stony facial expression and said, "yeah, maybe like up."

Chat Noir looked to the side for a moment, almost seeming to give up before responding with, "you know what, exactly! We've got nowhere to go except up!"

The elevator suddenly came to an abrupt stop, making the three heroes shriek and yelp in alarm. Ladybug was thrown across the elevator while Calibri and Chat Noir luckily managed to steady themselves. Calibri looked up at Chat Noir with a glare in her eyes, saying, "look what you did. You jinxed us."

Chat Noir shook his head lightly and rushed over to the elevator controls, pressing a few buttons only for the power in the elevator to turn off. Apparently, the black cat found this to be the perfect opportunity for a flirty comment, "hm...I think the electricity between us short-circuited the elevator, m'lady." Calibri heard a light giggle from across the elevator, making the owl hero roll her eyes. She looked over at Ladybug through the darkness only to see her smiling, amused face. Of course Ladybug would laugh at that dumb cat's jokes in a situation like this.

The elevator door suddenly opened, revealing the bright lights from the rest of the hotel, along with Mayor Bourgeois, who was holding a long string of sausages in his left hand. He smirked and shouted, swinging his sausages around, "royal hotpot with its giant string of smoked sausages!"

"Looks like a food fight is coming our way!" Ladybug said, her eyes finally adjusting to the bright lights. As she got into a fighting stance, Calibri pulled out her bow and got ready to use it to disarm the mayor.

"I personally prefer my sausages with mashed potatoes!" Chat Noir shouted, also getting into a fighting stance and rushing forward. The black cat was extremely unlucky and was struck in the back with the string of sausages, which was more painful than he ever could've expected. He was flung sideways into the hotel suite the mayor was standing in front of.

Ladybug rushed forward as well while Calibri shot an arrow in an attempt to disarm him. The arrow deflected off of the string of sausages, and instead, he used the sausages to wrap both Ladybug and Calibri up and launch them back as well, next to Chat Noir.

As the three heroes recovered from the hard hit, the mayor smirked at them again and said, "welcome to the world famous Suite 36 of this hotel."

Ladybug looked between her partners and said, "we need to be cautious! If we're not careful, we'll be the mashed potatoes!" Chat Noir cringed, getting into a fighting stance once again, while Calibri rolled her eyes and placed her bow around her torso again.

The mayor rolled his eyes, a smug look on his face. He responded to Ladybug's warning with, "you're no competition, Ladybug."

Mayor Bourgeois raced toward the three heroes and threw Ladybug across the room once again, making Calibri instinctively leap at him. Chat Noir wanted to fight with her but couldn't find a way to help her and not possibly ruin things. Chat Noir froze, watching the two fight it out before Calibri was thrown back into the couch again.

The mayor used his sausage strings to capture Chat Noir, who let out a yelp and desperately reached his hand out toward Calibri. The owl super-heroine gasped and rushed forward in an attempt to grab her partner's hand, only to miss when he was pulled back into Mayor Bourgeois.

The mayor pinned Chat Noir to the floor, one hand gripping his wrist and pressing it roughly to the hard surface beneath them. He went to grab Chat Noir's ring, making Calibri rush forward but be intercepted by Ladybug, who shook her head in a don't be reckless kind of way.

Ladybug turned toward the mayor, who was still attempting to snatch Chat Noir's miraculous. Ladybug started to swing her yo-yo inhumanly quick, shouting, "you've got the wrong superhero, Bourgeois! Bet you don't know how to do this!" She started swinging her yo-yo around, up in the air, before finally pulling it back down to her with a smirk.

Mayor Bourgeois rolled his eyes and removed his hand from Chat Noir's wrist, making Chat Noir sigh in relief and rub his wrist uncomfortably. The mayor laughed mockingly and said, "really, Ladybug?" He then copied the exact moves she did, only to pull down a chandelier when pulling his string of sausages back to his chest. He let out a yelp when the chandelier landed on top of him and trapped him, luckily without harming him.

"Nice work, Ladybug." Calibri stated, nudging her in the side. Ladybug smiled, looking at Chat Noir who had just popped up from where he was being held. Chat Noir rubbed the back of his neck and smiled at his two partners, one of which smiled back, one of which didn't, because again; she didn't know how to.

She wished she did, deep down, but her brain tricked her in more ways than one. She thought that happiness would ruin her. She didn't want to feel. She didn't want to be weak.

She wanted to stay emotionless.

~><~

In the dining hall upstairs, Calibri couldn't help but let her mind race. She let out a sigh, suddenly realizing all they would have to do was take the spiral stairs to the roof, and they'd be able to defeat the villain. Finally.

Breaking the silence, Chat Noir commented, "all this fighting has made me hungry! Why don't we get a bite to eat after this, ladies?—"

"Kung Food is very generous!" shouted the familiar voice of Kung Food, who showed up on another projector beside them, "no need to choose between cheese and dessert, you have to get both!" When the elevator bell rang, the three heroes turned around, getting into fighting stances once again.

There was two people: Alec, the host of the show that occurred earlier, and Marlena, Alya's mother. Alec looked extremely smug while Marlena just had a happy, innocent smile on her face. Alec shouted, "watch the spectacular demonstration of the famous thousand flying cakes!"

Calibri looked at Marlena only to realize that she had a bow, similar to Calibri's. The owl super-heroine growled as Marlena stepped forward and started shooting at the three heroes. All three of them dodged the arrow with ease, Ladybug and Chat Noir blocking the arrows with their weapons while Calibri landed simply to the side, getting ready to pull out her bow. She gripped the hard part of the bow tightly in her hand, squinting her eyes at Marlena.

When she was about to pull out her bow to shoot, Ladybug shouted at her from across the room, "no, Calibri! You need to remember that these are real citizens—"

"Your Miraculous Ladybug will fix everything." Calibri said plainly, not meeting Ladybug's eyes. Calibri pulled her bow from her torso and grabbed an arrow, starting to shoot at Marlena. Chat Noir almost interfered but Alec interrupted his thoughts.

"Our guests seem to have a few tricks up their sleeves, but how will they fare against the blinding stinging cheese bombs!?" Alec shouted, throwing a few cheese bombs across the room. Chat Noir's eyes widened as one of the cheese bombs came right toward him, and on instinct, he blocked it with his baton.

A burning mist started to escape the cheese, making Chat Noir yelp out in pain. Calibri looked back at his yelp, seeing him rub his eyes and face desperately. He couldn't help but let out a pained yell, followers by shouting, "he's right...this cheese really stings your eyes!"

Calibri was angry, and though she couldn't tell that she was, you could see it on her face. Ladybug rushed forward and knocked Marlena's bow out of her hands, making Marlena growl angrily.

Calibri started shooting at Alec, who was still throwing cheese bombs toward her. She dodged them then shot the next arrow, then did the same, then the same over and over.

Out of nowhere, Ladybug came into Calibri's field of vision. Her eyes widened as Ladybug was backed up against Alec, facing off against Marlena.

When Ladybug noticed who she was back up against, she shrieked and moved out of the way as Marlena got her bow from the floor and shot at the two of them. Ladybug had moved away just in time for the arrow to pierce Alec's belt of cheese bombs, making one fall toward Marlena. When the bomb exploded, Marlena fell to her knees and cried out. Alec also got some of the effects of the bomb, being blinded from the heat.

Ladybug smirked as the effects of the cheese on Chat Noir started to finally wear off. She spoke confidently, "I think it's about time we got to the second course."

The three heroes got on the elevator and quickly pressed the up button, hoping they would arrive in time to save the one and only Chloe Bourgeois.

~><~

When the three heroes arrived at the roof, Calibri immediately did a tuck and roll toward one of the tables, hiding behind it. Ladybug and Chat Noir joined her. She peeked over it only to see Kung Food and Chloe, who was held over a boiling pool of soup with rope wrapped around her torso.

Kung Food smirked, "ah, temperature's just right! Time to add main ingredient!" He simply flipped a switch and the rope began to lower, along with Chloe, who let out a gasp and started struggling. Reading her lips, Calibri could see that Chloe had been mumbling no over and over again.

Calibri realized that she was so focused on watching as Chloe was lowered to the boiling pot, that she almost missed Ladybug hopping over the table. Chat Noir threw his baton at the rope, tearing it and dropping Chloe, who screamed extremely loudly. Ladybug jumped to catch Chloe bridal style, landing on the other side of the pool with her in her arms.

Chloe groaned angrily, "Ladybug! What took you so long!? Just wait until I tell everyone—" Ladybug rolled her eyes and dropped Chloe on the floor, making her let out an oof!. Ladybug faked a gasp and said, "...Oops!"

Calibri jumped onto the table beside Chat Noir and got into a fighting stance, glaring at Kung Food as he said, "oh no! My Brat Soup will be so flavorless!" She  was still trying to cope with the fact that Cheng Sifu had managed to get himself akumatized.

Calibri sighed and shouted, "Cheng Sifu, please! Don't let Hawkmoth make a villain out of you! You're better than this!" Ladybug nodded in agreement and approval at Calibri's words as she stood protectively in front of Chloe.

Kung Food shook his head firmly, "I am not Cheng Sifu, I am Kung Food—the Greatest Chef in the World! Nobody will stop me from finishing my Brat Soup!" As Kung Food pulled out two different batons, Ladybug pushed Chloe toward the elevator and told her to run, which she did without hesitation. Kung Food growled then yelled, "I'll take care of you pests myself!"

As Kung Food rushed forward, the three heroes tried their hardest to throw as much as they could at him, hitting him, kicking him, pushing him, but he was extremely good at blocking attacks. Calibri took a moment and stepped back, crouching down with a hand on the floor. She focused extremely hard on Kung Food while Ladybug and Chat Noir continued to throw punches and kicks.

She sensed the akuma rather quickly, finding it in the chefs hat. She wasn't surprised it was there.

"Ladybug! The akuma's in his hat—WAH!" Calibri was cut off when Kung Food threw a red powder in her eyes, making her gasp and whine in pain. She scratched at her face and squinted one eye barely open, enough to look at Kung Food and throw him a glare.

Luckily, Ladybug had heard Calibri and yelled seconds later, "lucky charm!" A bright glow emanated from her yo-yo before a check dispenser appeared out of thin air, dropping into her hands. She stared, absolutely dumbfounded, at her lucky charm.

When the three heroes got together and stood next to each other, the effects of the powder were starting to wear off. Calibri squinted both of her eyes slightly open, only to see Ladybug's lucky charm. She wanted to throw up in that moment. What was she going to do with a check?

Kung Food cackled and pulled a giant sword made of pizza from his bag, a smirk on his face. He shouted, "you think you can beat me with a piece of paper!?"

Chat Noir smirked back and started to speak, leaning his chin on his baton, "you're one to talk, Kung Food! You've been trying to defeat us with sausages and cheese! Without any luck, I might add." Those words really set Kung Food off as he raced forward with a growl.

Chat Noir raced forward as well to meet Kung Food halfway, and Calibri was about to do the same before Ladybug placed a hand on her arm. Calibri turned her head to Ladybug, raising her eyebrows before Ladybug explained, "I have an idea. Just restrain Kung Food, Chat Noir and I will do the rest!"

Calibri nodded and mumbled, "see-through." Calibri watched for a moment as Ladybug ran over to the boiling pool of soup, dipping the check inside. She had zero idea what her partner was doing, but she always did things right, so she had to trust her.

Calibri ran toward Kung Food and wrapped her arms around him, bear hugging him almost. Kung Food felt this invisible force and was confused, looking around only to not find anything. Ladybug ran forward and wrapped the check around Kung Food, which allowed Calibri to hold him tighter. Ladybug shouted, "Cali, throw the bag!"

Calibri furrowed her eyebrows but threw the bag at Chat Noir, giving him the chance to shout, "cataclysm!" When the bag made contact with his hand, it turned black and faded into dust.

Kung Food fell to the floor, desperate without his bag that his weapons would originate from. Calibri became visible again and simply removed the hat from his head, then ripped it in half and nodded toward Ladybug.

As the akuma flew out of the hat, Ladybug started to capture it, saying, "no more evil doing for you, little akuma. Time to de-evilize!" She captured the akuma and waited a few moments before releasing a purified, white butterfly. She giggled and waved to the butterfly, "bye-bye little butterfly!"

"Miraculous Ladybug!" Ladybug shouted, throwing her lucky charm in the air. Magical butterflies flew all around the building, removing the caramel surrounding it. A black fog overtook Kung Food then disappeared moments later, turning him back into Cheng Sifu. He looked around, confused, "what am I doing here...?"

The three heroes brought their fists together and shouted, "pound it!" Only moments later did all of their miraculouses beep, making them simultaneously bid eachother farewell. Calibri hid behind the hotel to detransformed, fed her kwami, then ran back into the hotel, hoping her friends were okay.

~><~

A little while later, Margot was now spending time with Marinette, Adrien, Elias, and Cheng Sifu in the kitchen. She was relieved to see that they were all okay.

When Cheng Sifu grabbed a pot and set it on the stove, Marinette pulled out a new bouquet of flowers, a smile on her face, "I got an extra...could you teach me how to make Celestial Soup, Cheng Sifu?"

Cheng Sifu smiled at his niece and nodded, "with pleasure, Marinette." He looked over at Margot and nodded his head, basically calling her over without words. She raised her eyebrows in confusion then walked over to the two, who both were smiling at her.

Marinette handed Margot the bouquet of flowers, making Margot look at her in complete and utter confusion. She looked down at the bouquet of flowers, then looked at the pot that Cheng Sifu was filling with boiling water. She seemed to suddenly realize what they wanted her to do.

Margot couldn't help but stammer, "M—Me? Cook with you? I—I don't know—"

Marinette butted into the conversation and wrapped an arm around Margot's, giggling at her sudden shyness. Marinette insisted, "Come on, Margot, it'll be fun! Besides, you love to cook! You never stop rambling about it after you've made something!"

Margot sighed and then nodded, starting to pluck the petals off. She began placing each one in the pot, not feeling Adrien's gaze on her from behind, admiring her. He sighed, "cooking needs no words." Elias nudged him with a smirk on his face. Adrien couldn't help but let a light pink spread across his cheeks.

"Ugh! Seriously? Still making soup? I told you I hate soup! You think the jury is going to approve of this!?" Margot knew that voice. Chloe. At this point, she didn't even want to acknowledge her, and so she just kept plucking the petals and placing them in the water.

She expected everyone to ignore her, but she heard Elias' irritated voice say, "Didn't your father kick you off the jury?" Margot snorted, surprised but almost found his words... amusing. She shook off the feeling and continued plucking petals.

Chloe responded, stammering, "N—No, he didn't! I—I resigned!"

Adrien and Elias could both tell she was lying, but instead of flipping out, Adrien kept his composure and smirked, "I think Cheng Sifu, Marinette, and Margot got this covered. Why don't we let the real jury decide?"

Chloe growled in anger and stomped away, shouting her classic words, "Ridiculous! Utterly ridiculous!" When the kitchen doors closed, Adrien turned back to the three behind him. Marinette and Cheng Sifu had smiles on their faces in thanks, while Margot couldn't help but throw him a glance and nod at him, then start plucking again. Elias simply just laughed and gave his friend a thumbs up of approval.

He chuckled at all of them, scratching the back of his neck. He had actually stood up to Chloe for once.

~><~

"Cheng Sifu's delicious Celestial Soup has received the highest marks overall, making you the final winner!" Alec shouted with a bright smile on his face, placing a hand on Cheng Sifu's shoulder.

Adrien, Marinette, and Elias all looked at eachother with smiles on their faces, immediately giving a rush of applause. Margot nodded her head and clapped as well, a little slower than everyone else. She wished she knew how to smile in that moment. If she knew how to, she totally would've.

Cheng Sifu smiled at the judges behind him, all of them giving nods of approval or little positive comments toward the soup. He started to speak, "thank you, but no longer Celestial Soup. Now called: Marinette Soup."

Margot looked at her best friend, who was staring at her uncle in complete shock. Margot placed a hand on Marinette's shoulder and pulled her into a hug, followed by Elias, who was smiling like an idiot. Marinette blushed at the contact with Elias, but didn't let the blush stop her from beaming at her uncle.

"Come over here and stand alongside your uncle, the World's Greatest Chef!" Alec said, beaming at Marinette, who hesitantly went up to stand next to his uncle. Marinette looked so happy up there with him.

Margot couldn't help but admire Marinette and her personality. Elias came over next to Margot and smiled to himself, saying, "she looks so happy and..." a pink tint appeared on his cheeks, "really pretty."

Margot raised her eyebrows and looked at the boy standing next to her, only to see his cheeks becoming redder by the second. She nudged him playfully, and even without a smile he still detected her playfulness. He blushed even harder, if that was even possible, hiding his cheeks behind his curly, long, fluffy hair.

She was almost tempted to move his fluffy hair out of the way just to expose him. She enjoyed teasing Elias, it was like he was a little brother.

"You like her, don't you?" Margot said, a knowing look in her eyes. He whipped his head to the right to stare at her, seeing that she was completely serious.

Elias hesitated. Did he like her? When he heard a giggle escape Marinette's lips, he couldn't help but feel absolutely love struck. This girl was gorgeous.

"...Yeah. I do."

Oh my god it's happening HHHHHHH

I absolutely adore Elianette !! These two are so cute I cannot wait to see what happens!!

I literally know what happens I'm already filled with suspense lol.

Thank you so much for all the support lately guys! I cant wait to get back into this book <33 hope you enjoyed this chapter!

~ Via