(Two days after Marinette's solo visit to Stone Arc)

While Jim and Toby were trying to dig up more proof for the Killahead Bridge, things on Marinette's end took an interesting turn. As part of their last year of middle school, the ninth graders were required to take part in a 'Work Experience' excursion as part of their curriculum in preparation for high school. With Chloé in Marinette's class, she pulled some strings to have them work in her father's hotel. This led to Kim working with the bellhop, Alix Ivan and Sabrina with housekeeping, Max Nino Juleka and Rose in the kitchen with Alya's mom, and Adrien with Chloé at the front desk. But while most of the already assigned students were having fun with their jobs... there seemed to be a little problem.

"Do you have Marinette and Alya on your list, Mr. Bourgeois?" Ms. Bustier asked the mayor, the two standing in the hotel's main hall while the mentioned girls awaited their job assignments.

"It doesn't look like it." Mayor Bourgeois replied, both adults so caught up in fixing this misunderstanding that they didn't notice Marinette staring lovingly at Adrien as he manned the front desk with Chloé.

"I bet I know who helped Daddy make the assignments." Alya whispered to Marinette, snapping the pigtailed girl out of her trance and seeing how Chloé was clinging to Adrien like a leech, making the poor boy uncomfortable.

"Of course, she gets to spend her entire day with Adrien... Ugh! This is gonna be the worst day ever!" Marinette griped, frustrated that Chloé had used her 'kind gesture' to spend all of her time with Adrien.

"It must be an oversight." Mayor Bourgeois theorized, still searching the list in his hand for the two girl's jobs.

"Daddy!" Chloé called out to her father, pulling his attention from the list and onto her as she waved a new list in the air for him to see. Now seeing his daughter had the jobs for Marinette and Alya, the Mayor walked over to Chloé so she could give him the assignments.

"Thank you, sweetie." Mayor Bourgeois thanked his daughter before reading the new list. "Oh yes! Alya, you're going to be... sorting trash at the main dumpster." André read from the paper, causing Alya to gasp out of shock when hearing her assignment.

'THAT LITTLE BRAT!' Alya seethed in her thoughts, not at all happy with what she had been given.

"And, Marinette will be..." Mayor Bourgeois continued, only to be interrupted when the main doors opened, allowing Jagged Stone, Fang, and Penny Rolling to appear in the lobby, their heavy luggage with them.

"WOW!" Chloé exclaimed in awe, immediately knowing who just entered the building.

"Hey! That's..." Marinette began, she herself recognising the rockstar on sight as well before Mayor Bourgeois walked up to them.

"Ah, Mr. Stone, welcome to the Grand Paris Hotel!" Mayor Bourgeois greeted the rockstar, recognising him from his daughter's class rep campaign launch party. "I am Mayor Bourgeois and the owner of this luxury establishment, in fact, the most luxurious in all of Paris. How might we serve you?" André questioned, hoping to please Jagged in any way possible.

"How'd you think? I didn't just come here to admire your lobby." Jagged responded, a little more irritable than normal due to being tired from a previous long trip before arriving.

"Jagged would like to check into your most luxurious suite." Penny revealed to Mayor Bourgeois, telling him why they decided to come to the hotel.

"And Fang better get a real bathtub, not a tiny water hole like the one in that hotel across the street." Jagged Stone half-heartedly threatened.

"We have everything you need, Ms. Fang. Even a state-of-the-art entertainment center!" Mayor Bourgeois pitched, causing Penny to giggle at his misunderstanding.

"Fang's me crocodile." Jagged Stone corrected, pointing at the animal in question as he wagged his tail while looking up at his owner. At the sight of the normally dangerous animal, Mayor Bourgeois suddenly became very nervous.

"Mr. Stone, we have everything you require for your...Fang." Mayor Bourgeois nervously assured, his voice trailing off into a stutter when saying the crocodile's name. "Would he, um... enjoy a bubble bath?" André inquired, again prompting Penny to giggle at his question.

"Crocodiles don't like bubble baths, that dries their scales out!" Jagged Stone exclaimed, concerned about Mayor Bourgeois's ignorance in taking care of his beloved pet.

But unbeknownst to the conversating adults, a photographer quietly sneaked into the hotel, slipping behind the decorative divider across from the front desk. Unfortunately for him, both Fang and the girls see the photographer after he snuck in, while Fang decided to follow the guy when he saw him. As such, when the photographer saw Fang next to him, he yelped in surprise and jumped out of his hiding spot, revealing himself to a suddenly annoyed looking Jagged and Penny.

"Oh, no. Not him again." the rockstar groaned, seeming to have encountered this specific photographer before.

"Remember me, Mr. Stone? Vincent Aza!" the photographer exclaimed, unintentionally introducing himself to the others in the room. "Just one photo to show everyone in the world that we're best buds! Come on, please! I'm your biggest fan!" Vincent begged.

"I know, you've been to my last 36 shows. But we are not friends." Jagged replied, having had enough of Vincent's super fan behavior since he's been stalking him for a while now. But that didn't stop Vincent from walking over to the rockstar and wrapping his arm around his shoulder, holding up his camera so he could take Jagged's picture.

"There! Look into the lens!" Vincent cheerfully instructed, making Jagged uncomfortable as he tried to take his picture. Fortunately for Jagged, Vincent gets interrupted by Penny when she takes his camera away before he can take the picture.

"Didn't you hear Mr. Stone? You still haven't got it, have you? No photos!" Penny ranted as she quite literally threw Vincent out of the hotel, his camera following behind. Thankfully, Vincent managed to catch it in time before it could hit the ground and break.

"Good reflexes." the fuchsia-haired assistant complimented when seeing Vincent save his camera. "Now don't let me see you near Mr. Stone again. Or next time, you won't get your camera back." Penny threatened before walking back into the hotel, leaving Vincent to seeth with his rising anger as he began to walk home.

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Deep below the city, Hawkmoth's lair window opened up as he sensed Vincent's negative emotions, disturbing the resting butterflies to start fluttering around the observatory-like space.

"I sense brewing anger and frustration. Perfect father for my evil little akumas. It won't be long now." the Elderberry-esqe psychopath observed to himself before he transformed one of the white butterflies into an Akuma, allowing it to flutter free from his grasp after its transformation.

"Fly away, my little akuma, and evilize him!" Hawkmoth exclaimed as he watched the akuma flutter through the lair window, targeting an angry Vincent. Fortunately for the akuma, due to the distance between Le Grand Paris Hotel and the Agreste Mansion, it didn't take long for the akuma to find Vincent and enter his camera to evilize him.

"Pixelator, I am Hawkmoth. I'm giving you the power to capture your hero's smile, forever." the resident supervillain offered to Vincent through the newly created psychic link between them. "But in return, you'll need to do some capturing for me as well." Hawkmoth outlined, laying out his newest akuma's part of the deal.

"Yes, Hawk Moth." Vincent agreed, quickly turning into the Pixelator with the bargain now struck.

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Back at Le Grand Paris, Jagged Stone and his entourage finally checked into one of the available suites, and headed up to the corresponding floor via the elevator that Mr. Bourgeois directed them to. Once the door closed, however, the mayor breathed a sigh of relief, glad that Jagged didn't decide to leave for another hotel.

"Mr. Bourgeois, you haven't told Marinette what job she'll be doing." Ms. Bustier reminded the mayor, standing next to Alya and Marinette even after the interaction they witnessed earlier.

"Ah, yes. Of course, Marinette." Mayor Bourgeois muttered to himself before checking the list his daughter had given him. "You will be a gopher. And as luck would have it, I've got a job for you already." the mayor revealed, turning to face the girl in question as she processed her assignment with confusion.

"Gopher? What's that?" Alya wondered, a little concerned for her bestie and the job Chloé had assigned her.

"I'm guessing it's about as bad as trash duty." Marinette remarked as she turned to glare at Chloé before she and Ms. Bustier walked over to Mayor Bourgeois, who led them to the elevator Jagged Stone and his posse had used. From there, the mayor pressed a floor button and sent the elevator up to the floor where the majority of the hotel's suites were located, leading her to Jagged Stone's one to receive elaboration about Marinette's job.

"Mr. Stone is going to need a unique pair of shades for tonight's gig." Penny explained to Marinette, Ms. Bustier and Mayor Bourgeois, Jagged playing with Fang behind her as she spoke. "Can you get that for him?" the fushia-haired assistant questioned Marinette, who was still unsure of what exactly she was supposed to do.

"Of course we can! Marinette here is our gopher for today. She'll take care of that for you." Mayor Bourgeois responded, answering for Marinette instead of letting her speak for herself.

"Wait, you still haven't told me what a 'gopher' is." Marinette pointed out, wanting to know what her job entailed.

"A gopher is an employee who goes for anything a customer needs. Anything at all." Mayor Bourgeois explained to Marientte, finally telling her what she was meant to do for the day. "So go ahead. Goph!" the Mayor encouraged as he and Ms. Bustier left the room, leaving a newly nervous Marinette with Penny. Regardless of her nervousness, once Penny described what Jagged Stone wanted his new shades to look: red, white and blue with two large Eiffel Towers on them, Marinette then left the suite to get to work.

"Maybe I can buy a pair from the Eiffel Tower gift shop. Then I can get back to the hotel and hang with Adrien!" Marinette mused out loud as she approached the elevator and waited for the doors to open, trying to think of a way to get the job done as soon as possible. "Ugh... And Chloé." the designer groaned as the elevator doors opened, allowing her to walk into the inner cabin to let the elevator head to the ground floor.

"You know those won't be even close to what Mr. Stone wants." Tikki spoke up, poking her head out from Marinette's purse now that they were in the privacy of the elevator. "It's better in the long run to do it right the first time." the red kwami elaborated, offering some wisdom to her holder.

"But, the glasses he wants don't exist!" Marinette protested, knowing without a doubt that no retail store sold anything like what Jagged Stone wanted.

"Those sunglasses exist somewhere... Get creative!" Tikki encouraged, unknowingly sparking an idea in Marinette's mind.

" ...Of course!" Marinette exclaimed as the elevator doors opened, allowing the designer to run like crazy to the exit and passing by Chloé and Adrien at the front desk.

"Failed as a gopher already? Not surprised. Don't let the door hit you on the way out!" Chloé taunted Marinette as she worked on her manicure, while the pigtailed girl barely registered her words as she exited the hotel, eager to get home and start working on her idea. But as she left, Pixelator had arrived back at the hotel, much to Kim and the bellhop's surprise and causing them to move and block the door as he stood before them.

"Excuse me sir, can I help you?" the bellhop asked, Kim standing next to him on his left.

"Look into the lens..." Pixelator purred as he pointed to his headset, prompting Kim and the bellhop to pose for what they thought was a picture. But once they did as the akuma instructed, Pixelator zapped and digitized them, leaving only Kim's bellhop hat as evidence of their presence.

"Photo finished." the akuma said before walking into the lobby, stepping on the hat as he walked. When he entered the building, however, both Chloé and Adrien immediately took notice of him as he walked towards the elevator.

"Oh, look what the cat dragged in." Chloé cruelly remarked as she watched Pixelator pass them. "Let me handle this, Adrien. Watch and learn." the heiress told Adrien before walking out from behind the front desk, heading towards Pixelator.

"Excuse me..." Chloé called out, only to be ignored by the akuma, much to her displeasure. "Excuse me! You can't be a guest at this hotel! My father only allows the most important celebrities. Like me." the blonde brat stated, not noticing Adrien's angry glare in her direction due to her mean words while Pixelator stopped walking, waiting for her to finish talking her 'high and mighty' spiel.

"Well then, I am Pixelator. Your number one fan." Pixelator greeted as he finally turned around to face Chloé, giving her a little bow as he spoke.

"Moi? Oh, my, you're flattering me." Chloé gushed, absolutely loving the praise she was receiving. "Keep going." the heiress encouraged, striking a pose.

"A photo of you, sweet miss...?" Pixelator asked before trailing off, not knowing her name... which should have been a dead giveaway that he wasn't who he said he was.

"Chloé, of course." Chloé replied as she kept posing, still not registering the danger she was in. But the same couldn't be said for Adiren, who soon realized that Pixelator was an akuma.

"Look out, Chloé!" Adrien exclaimed, jumping over the front desk and running to save his friend.

"Look into the lens, miss!" Pixelator instructed as he prepared to zap Chloé, only for Adrien to attempt to push her out of the way and ending up with the both of them getting zapped. The next thing either Chloé or Adrien knew, they were transported into a white endless room.

"What the..." Adrien uttered as he took in their new surroundings.

"What just happened?" Chloé exclaimed, she herself not understanding how they got to where they were.

"I think we've been like... digitized or something." Adrien theorized, looking around the white void they were in.

"What do you mean, digitized?" Chloé interrogated.

"I don't really know, but I don't think it's a good thing." Adrien admitted as he rose to his feet, still looking around to try and find anything other than white while Chloé remained sitting on the ground.

"Well, I can fix this. Leave it to me." Chloé assured as she pulled out her phone from her pocket, calling her father so he could rescue her. "Daddy?..." the blonde brat spoke into the phone, only to be met with silence.

"Daddy??..." Chloé tried again as she rose to her feet, being met with the same result. "DADDY?!" the heiress shrieked, now realizing that she was trapped and her father couldn't fix her problem this time.

'Well, there goes that plan.' Adrien thought to himself, his hopes of getting out quickly so he could join Ladybug in fighting the latest akuma now going down the figurative drain.

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While Adrien and Chloé were stuck in Pixelator's white void, over at the Dupain-Cheng household and in Marinette's room, the designer in question was rummaging around her room, trying to find something.

"Where did I put them... " Marientte muttered to herself, digging through one of her storage bins. But her efforts were rewarded when she found what she was looking for. "Voila!" the pigtailed girl cheered as she pulled out an old pair of shades from her bin.

"But they're pink." Tikki pointed out, flying over to her holder.

"They won't be when I'm done with them." Marinette responded, revealing just what her plan was to her kwami. "This is either gonna be the most amazing pair or the ugliest pair of shades in shades history." the designer admitted as she placed the shades onto her desk, soon pulling out some markers, a pair of scissors and construction paper to begin creating Jagged Stone's requested glasses.

"Ms. Bustier is grading me on effort, right?" Marinette remarked, the words 'You'll be graded on your effort, which will affect whether you pass or fail the class.' ringing through her thoughts as she glanced up at her kwami.

"Don't worry, I'm sure Jagged Stone will love them!" Tikki encouraged, just as Marinette popped the lens out of the shades, accidently hitting Tikki with them in the process. "Or hate them." the red kwami added after recovering from her sudden tumble, returning to Marinette's side as she spoke. With her kwami's encouragement, Marinette soon got to work, crafting the glasses to Jagged's preference while Tikki watched from the curve of her desk lamp.

But when she was a quarter done: having revised half of the frames, planning to make them thicker with molding clay and painting them to Jagged's requested colors, her phone started buzzing as it rested on her desk. With the new sound filling the room, it prompted Tikki to glance over from her vantage point to see what caused it. As she did, she soon saw both the time, and who exactly was to blame for the phone buzzing.

"Looks like Jim's calling you, Marinette." Tikki alerted, causing Marinette to look up from her work and glance at her phone to confirm Tikki's claim.

"It's noon already? Dang, I must have lost track of time." Marinette spoke out loud before she picked up her phone and answered the call, allowing Jim to appear on her screen. "Hey, Jimbro. How's it hanging?" the designer greeted as she propped up her phone against her computer so she could keep working.

"Hey, sis. Admittingly, I'm actually doing well." Jim happily reported, much to Marinette's confusion.

"Really? Even after Miss. Janeth is giving you so much homework for missing rehearsals?" Marinette questioned, preparing more molding clay to make the second half of the glasses thicker.

"Well, my good mood is because of what happened after I ended our last call." Jim admitted, a blush appearing on his cheeks before bashfully scratching the back of his neck. "You won't believe this, but Claire offered to help me finish my algebra homework... at her house!!" the Trollhunter cheerfully announced, making Marinette stop midway through her current task and look at Jim with gleeful eyes.

"SAY WHAT!!! Jim, that's awesome!! I'm so happy for you!" Marinette cheered, happy that Jim was going to be spending time with Claire despite the setback of Jim being replaced by Steve for Romeo.

"Thanks Mari." Jim thanked, glad that she was happy for him

"But now I'm also jealous. It's not fair that you're making more progress with Claire than I am with Adrien!" Marinette whined, finding the new development a little unfair as she started adding the previously abandoned molding clay onto the frames. But then again, Jim had been crushing on Claire longer than she had with Adrien, so it makes sense that he's finally making more progress.

"Not that I'm complaining." Jim muttered, which Marinette heard him regardless.

"Jim..." Marinette said in a warning tone, not having any of her brother's continued disapproval of Adrien for the moment.

"Okay I'll let up... for now." Jim relented, knowing that this was still a sore subject between them.

"That's all I'm going to get for now, isn't it?" Marinette questioned as she sculpted the molding clay to mimic the already finished half of the frames, to which Jim nodded 'yes' in response. "So, is there anything else I need to know?" the designer asked, wondering if there was anything else he had to tell her.

"Well, after school Tobes and I went down to Heartstone to meet up with Blinky and Aaarrrgghh!!!" Jim replied, watching as Marinette worked on her current project.

"How did it go?" Marinette questioned, soon connecting the two halves of the frames to make them seamless.

"Pretty good. Toby and I now have a way to find more Changelings." Jim reported, a slight tone of relief lacing his words. "With this thing." the Trollhunter added before he pulled out the Gaggletack from his bag, showing it to a suddenly unamused Marinette.

"A horseshoe?" Marinette deadpanned, not believing what Jim was insinuating. "Seriously, Jim? I know you need some extra luck, but I highly doubt that thing will help you find Changelings." the pigtailed girl said, feeling like Jim was taking her for a ride.

"Blinky said that it works, and that it's a rare artifact that exposes Changelings when they come in contact with it." Jim explained, hoping that it would convince Marinette that he was dead serious. "Tobes and I are planning to use it at school to see if there are any Changelings there." the Trollhunter revealed, thinking that if Marinette heard the plan she would be more at ease with it.

"So you're placing your hope in something that is hammered into a horse's foot?" Marinette questioned, her voice laced with concern as she took in Jim's words. "That doesn't seem like a good idea. Even if Blinky says that it's the real deal." the designer continued, once again voicing her concerns about this plan Jim and Toby had in mind.

"And yet, horseshoes are also a lucky charm themselves." Jim remarked. "Isn't that right...Ladybug?" the Trollhunter slyly inquired, slightly catching Marinette off guard before she let out an amused chuckle at Jim's little jab.

"Touché." Marinette relented, seeing Jim's point before deciding to redirect the conversation. "By the way, how has Draal been settling into the basement? I know that you said that you and he had a training session the second to last time we spoke, but has he been doing well?" the pigtailed girl asked as she finished cutting out the Eiffel Towers from the construction paper, putting the scraps off to the side to throw them away into recycling.

"Pretty good, actually. Mom hasn't found him out and he's been on his best behavior, so that's a plus." Jim reported, soon noticing just where his sister was. "What about you? Isn't today your class's work experience field trips?" the Trollhunter asked, remembering what Marinette had told him the day before.

"Yeah, it is. Why?" Marinette questioned, grabbing her markers to color in the Eiffel Towers to match the already altered shade frames.

"If that's the case, why are you in your room? And..." Jim brought, trailing off as he leaned in closer to his own screen to see what she was up to. "...working on a project?" the boy in blue finished when he saw the in progress shades in her hands.

"Part of my gopher job, actually." Marinette explained as she got out a ruler to draw the lines to limit her coloring space for the Eiffel Tower cutouts, much to Jim's further confusion.

"What's a gopher?" Jim asked.

"Apparently, it's an errand runner for hotels. And I have Chloé to thank for the assignment." Marinette elaborated as she began coloring the cutouts, taking great care to not go past the lines she made.

"Ah, that's right! I remember you telling me that she pulled some strings to have you guys work at her dad's hotel." Jim recalled, even if it brought up a new set of questions. "Wait... Chloé assigned the jobs? Does that mean...?" the Trollhunter began, pulling Marinette out of her concentration for a bit.

"Yep. Not only did she make sure to give Alya dumpster picking duty and me a job that would have me running all across town for other people's desired items, she also made it so she spent the day with Adrien! It's so unfair!" Marinette ranted, abandoning her project for a few seconds to throw her hand into the air in her frustration.

"That's not exactly what I was going to ask, but it still answered my question non the less." Jim remarked, allowing Marinette to return to her work. "But that still doesn't quite explain why you're in your room right now." the blue eyed boy pointed out, watching his sister as she finished coloring the cutouts for the shades.

"Are you sitting down?" Marinette asked, picking up the cutouts to give them a once over to make sure she didn't miss any spots.

"Yeah, why?" Jim responded, not sure why she would ask him that.

"Because you are not going to believe this!" Marinette exclaimed, putting the cutouts down when she was sure there were no mistakes. "Okay, you know my favorite rockstar, Jagged Stone?" the designer asked, redirecting her attention back onto Jim as she spoke.

"How can I forget? You were gushing about his last album all of last summer like a crazed fangirl." Jim recollected, a smirk on his face as he remembered Marinette's behavior at that point in time.

"Ha ha, very funny." Marinette fondly deapaned, slightly amused by her brother's words before continuing. "Anyway, guess who checked into the hotel today, and who's request I'm fulfilling right now!" the pigtailed girl squealed, causing Jim's eyes to widen as he took in her words.

"No... way!! Seriously?" Jim questioned in rising excitement.

"I kid you not, Jim! He asked for a pair of red, white and blue shades with two large Eiffel Towers on them for his gig tonight!!!" Marinette explained as she picked up the cutouts and more modeling clay. "And considering that no retail shop either sells or makes them, I decided to make them myself." the designer revealed, taking a few small pieces from the clay and placing them onto the already prepared frames to attach the cutouts.

"Marinette, that's amazing!! You're finally getting a chance to show your skills to the world! I'm so happy for you!" Jim exclaimed, happy for his sister's opportunity to get her work recognised by one of the biggest names in music and jump start her career. But since he knew his sister so well, he knew that was the last thing on her mind when she made things for others.

"Thanks, Jim. And speaking of skills..." Marinette trailed off as she gently placed the shades onto her desk, having attached the cutouts to the frames. "The shades are done!" the designer proudly announced, throwing her arms into the air with joy.

"Oooh, let me see!" Jim exclaimed, prompting Marinette to gently lift the newly completed shades to properly show them to Jim. "They look awesome, sis! Jagged Stone's going to love them!" the Trollhunter continued, in awe of his sister's ingenuity in achieving Jagged Stone's request.

"You really think so?" Marinette questioned as she put the glasses back onto her desk, letting them dry undisturbed.

"I know so!" Jim replied, confident that her work wouldn't go unrecognized.

"Thanks Jim." Marinette thanked before she started cleaning up her desk space. "I've got some time before the clay dries, so you can tell me about the specifics of yours and Toby's plan for Changeling hunting while I wait. I want to make sure you two aren't going to do something too stupid." the pigtailed girl said as she put the scraps of paper into her bin, putting her markers away right after.

"Sounds good to me." Jim responded, leading the two siblings to go into a more in depth conversation about things on their ends, happy to pass the time while waiting for the clay to dry.

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Meanwhile in the white void, after Adrien and Chloé had had enough sitting where they landed, they decided to walk around and explore the void. But after a good amount of time had passed, they soon found that there seemed to be no end to the space in sight.

"Ugh! I still can't get through to Daddy! How can there be no cell reception here?" Chloé exclaimed as she still tried calling her father, following behind Adrien as he led the way and growing more frustrated the longer she went without her desired results.

"The void seems to just go on forever. No doors, no walls, no nothing..." Adrien observed after he stopped walking, now seeing just how trapped they were while Chloé finally stopped trying to contact her dad.

"You mean we're stuck here?" Chloé exclaimed, scrambling to Adrien's side and clinging to his arm. "Just..." the blonde brat began, only to fully take in their situation and begin to relax.

"Just the two of us?" Chloé purred as she leaned further into Adrien's personal space, much to the boy's discomfort as he realized that she was right.

"Uh, no." Adrien argued in a nervous voice, not exactly happy with the idea of being stuck with Chloé. "There's gotta be a way out somewhere." the model reasoned out loud, only to find Chloé nuzzling into him as she hugged him.

"I hope..." Adrien muttered to himself, feeling like he got the short end of the stick... once again.

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After having her daily conversation with Jim and waiting for the clay to dry, Marinette put the finishing touches onto the shades and ended the call to her brother before racing back to Le Grand Paris. But as she entered the hotel and looked at the front desk expecting to see Adrien and Chloé, she was met with an empty front desk with no one meaning it.

"Adrien? Chloé?" Marinette called out when she saw the two missing, only to be met with silence. "Ughh! I bet those two have gone off together somewhere fun!" the designer exclaimed, walking around as she looked for the unknowingly captured pair.

"And now I'm here all alone without Adrien..." Marinette groaned as she walked to the front desk and slumped onto it, feeling sad that wasn't able to spend time with her crush.

"Marinette, snap out of it." Tikki lightly scolded, flying out of her holder's purse to float in front of her since they were alone. "Let's just focus on getting Mr. Stone's glasses for now, okay?" the red kwami pointed out, prompting Marinette to get up from the desk and head up to Jagged's suite, Tikki herself flying after her. As she did, the designer was totally unaware of Pixelator being on the same floor and going door to door looking for Jagged Stone, having already taken a few celebrities captive. However, that was the least of her current concerns as she gave the shades to Penny.

"Thank you, Marinette. I'll get them to Mr. Stone as soon as possible." Penny thanked, holding the completed shades in her hands as she stood in the doorway of the suite.

"Can't you deliver them to him now?" Marinette asked, eager to hear Jagged's reaction to her work.

"He's... busy with something at the moment." Penny said, her thoughts trailing off to her boss giving his pet crocodile a bath in the bathroom.

"Okay, no problem. Just trying to do the job right the first time." Marinette replied, understanding that the rockstar wanted to be undisturbed with what he was doing.

"Got it." Penny said, reaching to close the door.

"Thank you." Marinette responded, just before Penny closed the door. With her job now complete, Marinette walked to the elevator, unaware of Pixelator arriving at Jagged Stone's suite door after she left. "I hope Mr. Stone likes them." the pigtailed girl muttered to her kwami, pressing the elevator button to summon it.

"Hard work always pays off." Tikki encouraged after poking her head out from Marinette's purse, both not hearing Pixelator knocking on the suite door behind them. After the akuma knocked on the door, Penny opened it a bit to see who it was and was greeted by the sight of Pixelator.

"Who are you?" Penny questioned from behind the ajar door, only for the akuma to step in front of her as he prepared to digitize her.

"Look into the lens!" Pixelator chanted before he zapped Penny, the sound and flash of the blast causing Marinette to turn around and see Pixelator before going into the elevator.

"Time to transform!" Marinette announced after the doors closed, Tikki flying out of her purse before the pigtailed girl pulled out the runestone necklace Styx made her. With a hand clasped over the runes and her eyes closed in concentration, a soft glow appeared around the red runestone as Marinette's appearance changed into her Ladybug disguise. Once the disguise had taken effect, she finally called out...

"Tikki, spots on!" the designer exclaimed, triggering her transformation into Ladybug. When she was finished turning into her alter ego, she exited the elevator and headed over to Jagged Stone's suite to save him from the akuma.

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After Ladybug began making her way to Jagged Stone's rescue, the rockstar had finished bathing Fang and was drying him off on his bed as Pixelator broke into the room.

"Hey there! Time for your photoshoot!" Pixelator greeted Jagged Stone, surprising the rockstar enough to jump onto the bed behind Fang as the akuma walked towards him.

"How did you get in here? I don't know about any photos." Jagged Stone demanded, already not having any bit of what Pixelator was suggesting. "Fang, attack!" the rockstar commanded his crocodile, only for Fang to roll over and ask for belly rubs, leaving Jagged defenseless.

"See you later, alligator." Pixelator quipped before he zapped Fang, sending the reptile away in a shower of pixels.

"What? Fang? Fang!" Jagged Stone exclaimed when he saw his beloved pet no longer in the room. "Who are you?" the celebrity questioned with dread, looking the akuma dead in the eye as he spoke.

"I am Pixelator, your biggest fan, Mr. Stone. Can I call you Jagged?" Pixelator introduced himself with a bow, attempting to put his idol at ease.

"No!" Jagged Stone denied.

"I want to immortalize you, Jagged! I'll be your one and only fan! You will belong to me for eternity!" Pixelator proclaimed as he walked up and climbed onto the bed as well, causing Jagged Stone to back himself to the wall as the akuma went to his knees to beg for said 'photo'. "Now, look into the lens." the akuma said, preparing to zap Jagged Stone while the rockstar looked away from the camera.

But just before Pixelator is about to digitize his idol, Ladybug finally made it to the room and threw her yo-yo to wrap around Jagged Stone's waist. With a strong tug, she pulled him out of the way, saving him as well as knocking Pixelator onto his back in the process. Not liking the interruption to his plan, Pixelator picked himself up and turned around to see Jagged sitting at Ladybug's feet, recovering from the sudden whiplash as she spun her yo-yo into a shield behind her.

"So, you're Ladybug. I've heard such pathetic things about you." Pixelator taunted the spotted heroine, who was unfazed by his words as she stood ready for his attack. "Look into the lens!" the akuma exclaimed before he started zapping at Ladybug, making her dodge the blows as she pulled Jagged Stone to safety behind one of the suite's divider walls.

Once Jagged had some cover, Ladybug jumped around the room in an attempt to get closer to Pixelator, still dodging zaps her way until she grabbed a flower vase with her yo-yo, and threw it at Pixelator. Fortunately for the akuma, he dodged it and ran to the corner of the room to prevent any more sneak attacks before he kept blasting at Ladybug. The action soon grew too wild for just the bedroom area of the suite and soon progressed into the main area, causing Jagged Stone to hide under a table while Ladybug kept avoiding Pixelator's zaps. After Ladybug had made a full lap around the suite in avoiding the zaps, Pixelator finally landed a hit on her right arm when she pulled out her yo-yo to attack him.

The hit then digitized her arm, rendering it useless as it forced her yo-yo to fall to the ground. With a sneer at Pixelator as she held her affected arm, Ladybug hid behind the luggage cart next to the windows of the bedroom area, the akuma still blasting at her. Seeing Ladybug cornered, Pixelator began to advance onto Ladybug, which she countered by kicking the luggage cart at him, letting it crash into Pixelator and the wall on the other side of the room. While the akuma was occupied with recovering from the crash, Ladybug tested to see if her arm was still usable, using her left hand to do so as it passed through her arm like it wasn't even there.

"AH!" Ladybug exclaimed in shock when she saw that her hand went through her pixelated arm, even testing it a few more times to make sure she wasn't imagining it. Groaning at the situation, Ladybug grabbed her yo-yo from the ground and ran to Jagged Stone before swinging them out of the room window to safety, just as Pixelator got up from the ground.

"Ugh! Where did they go?" Pixelator shouted in frustration as he looked around to see the room empty of his idol. And it was at this time that Hawkmoth decided to intervene and remind his latest akuma of his part of the deal.

"If you want Jagged, you must find Ladybug." Hawkmoth reminded Pixelator through the link, much to the akuma's exasperation.

"I don't have time to deal with this Ladybug!" Pixelator yelled out in frustration, walking to the window that Ladybug had escaped through.

"Yes, you do. Plenty of time." the purple version of Psimon said before he clenched his fist, suddenly taking control of Pixelator's body as it began to writhe with pain.

"Okay, okay! Tell me what to do." Pixelator strained to say in an attempt to appease the person that A) gave him his powers and B) had control of him as long as Pixelator had said powers. Thankfully for the akuma, it was enough for his benefactor to stop controlling him.

"I command an excellent photograph of Ladybug with her Miraculous. I want those powers!" Hawkmoth demanded like he usually did, fully intending for his minion to do the dirty work. "So listen very carefully." the resident supervillain commanded as Pixelator recovered from the show of force Hawkmoth had demonstrated on him, nodding to whatever his boss wanted him to do.

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While Pixelator was listening to the plan Hawkmoth was outlining for him, Ladybug had decided to bring Jagged Stone to Collège Françoise Dupont in an attempt to keep him safe.

"I can't stay here. I'm performing tonight." Jagged Stone protested as he and Ladybug occupied Mr. Damocles' office alongside the principal himself.

"Don't worry, you'll get to do your gig. You'll even get to wear some awesome shades!" Ladybug assured the rockstar, hyping up her contribution to the show by accident and catching Jagged off guard for a second.

"Uh?" Jagged Stone uttered, causing Ladybug to realize what she said and then play it off with a nervous giggle before focusing back onto the task at hand.

"Look, while I'm catching Pixelator, I need you to stay put where no one would think to look for you." Ladybug explained, hoping that it would be enough to appease the rockstar for the time being.

"Ladybug, is this safe? This is a school." Mr. Damocles asked as he sat at his desk, not exactly comfortable with the idea that the target of an akuma was so close to his students.

"Yes! Pixelator would never imagine his idol would actually want a day out at school." Ladybug confidently replied, only to see Mr. Damocles had become offended by her words. "I mean, isn't school awesome?" the spotted heroine nervously added, trying to salvage the situation.

"This is ridiculous. I don't have time for this." Jagged Stone ranted, not liking that he had to hide from an akuma instead of getting ready to rock out on stage. "First, I get practically hijacked by this crazed fan, and then, I'm attacked by some super weirdo, then..." the rockstar listed off in frustration, only for Ladybug to start connecting the pieces between these occurrences.

"Wait, what do you know about this crazed fan?" Ladybug interrupted, forming a theory that the crazed fan and Pixelator are the same person.

"He's come to every one of my shows this year." Jagged Stone began. "He's also sent me stacks of letters, gone through my trash... even followed my mother to her weekly bingo night!" the rockstar elaborated, revealing just how crazy Vincent's behavior towards his idol had been.

"How creepy." Ladybug remarked with a shutter, even though she herself had no room to judge considering she knew Adrien's schedule by heart and kept tabs on him at all times. 'But it sounds like it's worth checking out.' the spotted heroine mused in her thoughts before pulling out her Bug Phone to find Vincent's number. But as she held it in her usable hand and went to type in Vincent's name, she was reminded of her arm being digitized when it passed through the keypad with ease. After a few frustrated attempts to try and use her hand, Ladybug just decided to type in the name with her nose and chin to solve the problem.

"Vincent... Aza." Ladybug spoke out loud as she typed the name, only needing to wait a few seconds before the phone found him. "Got his address." the heroine in red announced before she went to leave, walking to the office door.

"You're not gonna leave me here, are you?" Jagged Stone cried out as Ladybug left, only to receive the same reaction Ladybug had gotten earlier from Mr. Damocles when talking bad about the school. "I mean, isn't school awesome?" the rockstar said, parroting Ladybug from earlier. With the assurance that Jagged Stone would be safe, Ladybug exited the room and threw her yo-yo out to hook onto a neighboring rooftop. A strong tug then sent her on her way to Vincent's house, hoping to see if her theory was right.