The Miraculous Cure did not fix everything.

It is, after all a piece of magic, and things magical had fallacy and weakness just as anything else in life. In the Miraculous Cure's case, it was not all powerful and easily influenced by the holder's emotions.

Tiki had made a point to never tell Marinette this though. For all of her charge's sweetness and kindness, Marinette was capable of holding a grudge and being extremely bitter about it. It hadn't been a problem before – Chloe's Adrien poster didn't count as it was neither important nor a living soul – but now as Lila Rossi stood there with a crimson red horn still very much standing attention on her forehead, Tiki wondered if she had ought to have warn her charge about the Miraculous Cure's weaknesses.

Everyone just stared at Lila.

Chat Noir's face was the perfect picture of horrified while Kagami's lips twitched in amusement as she was breaking free from the usual Akumatised Victim confusion and fatigue.

This was nothing compare to the pool of anxiety and fear that was bubbling up within Marinette as she too couldn't rip her eyes away from Lila's new anatomy addition.

"What?" Lila scowled. "What are you lot staring at?"

Numbly, Chat Noir lifted up his hand and pointed at Lila's forehead. He opened his mouth to say something but words failed him and he ended up doing a rather decent fish impression as he opened and closed his mouth repeatedly.

"What?" Lila barked impatiently. "What is it? What are you pointing at?!" She growled darkly to herself as she pulled her mobile out and to use the camera to check her reflection. "What's so interest- AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Tiki flinched within Marinette as Lila's shrill shrieks pierced the air. It was so nastily high-pitched that Tiki was convinced that dogs could hear it from the other side of the world.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ME?!" Lila screeched as she dropped her phone onto the floor in order to grapple at the large red horn protruding from her forehead. "You...you...you foul, sneaky, awful excuse of a superhero!" Lila spluttered out furiously as tears rolled down her cheeks. "You did this on purpose! To punish me!"

"What?" Marinette gasped. "No! I...I don't know what went wrong!" She wrung her hands nervously as she trembled ever so slightly. Chat Noir glanced at her in concern but Tiki could have told him not to have bothered. While Marinette was naturally worried about her Miraculous Cure not working her trembling was less to do with anxiety and far more to do with a desperate attempt to prevent herself from breaking down into hysterical giggling. "This has never happened before!"

"Huh," Kagami said loudly, "perhaps some people are just too vile to be cured."

"You shut your mouth you slant-eyed snob!" Lila hissed venomously. "This is your fault too!"

Chat Noir and Marinette shouted crossly, their voices of indignation lapping over one another as they condemned Lila for her racist insult. Kagami, however, looked utterly indifferent as she gazed back unruffled.

"Thank you for just proving my point," Kagami said calmly, "perhaps you ought to consider that if magic is real then so is karma. You reap what you sow."

Lila's face turned purple as it twisted into the ugliest feral furious snarl Tiki had ever had the misfortune of witnessing.

(And believe her she had seen millions of furious snarls in her time on this planet.)

Before Lila could lash out and attack either Marinette or Kagami though, Chat Noir stepped in front of the two girls and blocked Lila from view. "Welp, there's nothing we can do standing around here," he said brightly, "so I think I should escort you and Kagami home while Ladybug finds away to fix your forehead."

"Yes," Marinette said in a strangled voice, "fix it. That's what I'll do."

She then barely escaped from the streets before she dissolved into giggles as her transformation abruptly ended. Tiki sighed heavily as Marinette slumped against the brick wall clutching her stomach while loud, shrill, shrieks of laughter forced itself out of Marinette's lips.

Tiki was a patient soul, she could wait it out before she reminds Marinette of her responsibilities.

(And to be honest, even with her high principles and strong moral compass,Tiki didn't have it in her to rush to Lila's aid either. That horrid brat had threatened Tiki's sweet bug!)

As the last tear of mirth rolled down Marinette's cheek and the giggles finally died down to a soft, blissful, sigh, Tiki decided to finally speak up.

"So shall we consult Master Fu?"

"Yes," Marinette nodded, "I suppose that is the right thing to do."

Tiki didn't need to still be merged with Marinette's mind to know that her charge was desperately wishing that she could leave Lila with a gigantic lie detector on her forehead for the whole world to see. She couldn't blame her, the temptation was nearly irresistible for anyone.

"It is," Tiki said bemused.

Marinette had moved with great reluctance but within the hour they were sitting in front of Master Fu and a steaming cup of tea having just finished recounting the problem. Marinette sat stiffly as her jaw twitched repeatedly in an attempt to prevent another fit of hysterical laughter.

"Hmm..." Master Fu hummed, "and you say that the Miraculous Cure had no effect at all?"

"None at all, Master," Marinette said quietly. There was a slight pause and suddenly Marinette's voice wavered hesitatingly as worry flooded her face. "Do you think there is something wrong with me?"

"Not at all!" Master Fu said quickly. "The Miraculous Cure is sometimes..." Tiki shook her head rapidly. She might have had doubts about not telling Marinette the weaknesses of her own powers but she still felt it was a good idea. Otherwise Chloe might get stuck with a warty nose or something in the near future. "...not as strong as we like it to be," Master Fu said tactfully as Tiki sighed in relief. "An Akuma's power is created through their emotions and some emotions are stronger than others. In a case like this a more powerful magic is required to fully heal the inflicted party. True love is the most common cure which is why so many Fairy Tales speak of true love kisses."

"I doubt Lila has a true love," Marinette wrinkled her nose, "that would require her to be honest and open with somebody. Who could truly love a lie?"

"A tragedy really," Master Fu said softly.

Marinette shrugged.

Any empathy for Lila had died a long time ago and after having to calm Marinette down repeatedly in the bathroom to prevent her being Akumatised, Tiki was in full agreement that the bitter brat didn't deserve a single whit of sympathy from anyone.

"Is there anything else we can do?" Tiki asked. "We can't have this effect the morale of the city or we would be fighting Akumas left, right, and centre. Could we find anything else to cure Lila?"

"Well..." Master Fu stroked his chin thoughtfully, "if the horn grows whenever Lila lies I suppose the only way to reverse it is for her to tell the truth."

"You mean," Marinette said in a strangled voice, "Lila has to be honest if she wants to be cured?!"

"Why yes," Master Fu said a little taken back by Marinette's tone, "honesty is a powerful magic in it's own right."

"And if Lila is never honest?"

"Well then," Master Fu shrugged, "I suppose she would be stuck with the horn forever."

There was a beat of silence, and then -

"Pffffffffffffffffft!" Marinette snorted.

Master Fu and Wayzz watched utterly stunned as both Marinette and Tiki collapsed on the ground and rolled about in hysterical laughter.

It took quite some time before they could calm down enough to apologise and leave them both in peace...and even then, Marinette and Tiki were still chortling into their hands.

Lila Rossi, telling the truth?

Pigs would fly first.

MLBMLBMLBMLBMLBMLBMLBMLB

At first Lila was filled with such a murderous rage that she couldn't comprehend why Hawk Moth hadn't Akumatised her on the spot. She would have handed him Ladybug's skin along with her stupid plastic earrings for what the sanctimonious spotted bitch had done to her.

How dare she not cure Lila?!

Lila was the victim in all of this! If anyone deserved to suffer from this Akuma it was Kagami who had deserved all the pain and humiliation for being such an oversensitive spoiled brat. Lila's picture of her kissing Adrien's cheek was supposed to hurt Marinette and provoke her into some stupidity so Lila could win over all of Marinette's friends to her side not cause an Akuma from some freaky stranger!

And now Lila had to suffer the consequences of Kagami's actions.

It was so unfair!

However by the time Lila finally reached the safety of her own bedroom her fury curdled and cooled down into smug satisfaction as she realised Ladybug had handed her the very tools for her vengeance.

After all, Ladybug had screwed up!

She hadn't cured Lila!

This was ammunition beyond Lila's wildest dreams. She could finally tear Ladybug down from her high and mighty pedestal and ruin her for good. If she played these magnificent cards right she could probably micro-manage a mob with pitchforks to tear those stupid plastic looking earrings out of Ladybug's ears. The very thought of finally getting her own back on that spotted know-it-all almost made Lila pass out with a blissful contentment that she had never known before.

Typically, her mother wasn't home but Lila didn't mind as much this time as it gave her some time to figure out her next move.

Her mother had some sway in the realm of international politics and could probably put up a big enough stink to smear Ladybug's reputation somewhat but she wasn't as trusted or reliable in the eyes of the citizens of Paris to do the damage Lila desired.

Alya, however, could.

She would have to go to school like this so she could reach Alya. Alya was already eating everything out of Lila's hand like all the other pathetic morons at that stupid school. Lila was certain a few well-timed crocodile tears and tale of broken friendships and treachery would have Alya writing an expose that would destroy Ladybug's reputation for all eternity.

For once Lila didn't mind that her mother wasn't home when she woke up (well, she did mind and very bitterly screwed up the loving note her mother left informing her packed lunch was in the fridge and rudely ignored the breakfast waiting for her on the kitchen table) as that meant there was no obstacles to prevent her from going into school with her horn.

Lila carefully covered the horn with a warm, fashionable, hoodie in her signature colour of orange and purposely kept her head ducked down the whole journey to school. Thankfully, she didn't live that far away and was able to make it there in good time.

She hurried past crowds of students until she got into the safety of her classroom and, lo behold! Alya Cesaire was already sitting at her desk chatting away with an unusually early Marinette Dupain-Cheng. The pair of them looked like a perfect picture of friendship as they leaned into giggle with one another while Adrien and Nino looked on with stupid matching grins.

Lila gritted her teeth at that.

She didn't particularly wish for her humiliation to be displayed for the likes of someone as sanctimonious and holier-than-thou as Marinette Dupain-Cheng or for her future boyfriend (if she had anything to say about it), Adrien Agreste but Lila couldn't afford to be picky and perhaps she could spin this to make Marinette look like the bad guy as well.

Hitting two birds with one stone and all that.

Lila took a deep breath and then suddenly flung her hood down. "Alya!" She wailed melodramatically. "Look what malicious cruelty has been done to me and by Ladybug's very own hands!"

Alya and Nino looked suitably horrified as their eyes widened and fixated on Lila's nightmare of a horn. There were also some other shocked gasps echoing around the classroom as their other classmates took in Lila's new disfigurement. It took a considerable amount of restraint not to smirk and drink in the attention Lila was currently receiving. The sight of Adrien scowling at her in disapproval and Marinette covering her mouth to smother a giggle helped Lila to maintain her damsel in distress act as she silently swore to make them both pay.

"Oh my God, Lila!" Alya cried out aghast. "Is it growing?!"

Lila scowled as her head ached under the newly added weight on her forehead. This time round she hadn't even lied! Not really. Ladybug had been cruel by refusing to heal her and Lila was fully in her right to want her pound of flesh in retaliation!

"No!" Lila said quickly.

She then winced as she felt the horn grow another millimetre.

"Dudette!" Nino said awed. "It just grew right then!"

"No it didn't!" Lila denied hastily.

"Yeah," Nino blinked dumbly, "It did. It just did it again!"

"You're imagining it!"

"I'm really not!"

"Oh Nino I'm already suffering because of Ladybug's cruelty!" Lila wailed melodramatically as she squeezed out a few tears from her eyes. "Why are you adding to it with your bullying?"

Nino's mouth dropped wide open as he stared at Lila like a gormless fish. Lila felt a satisfying stab of pure victory and hastily covered her face to fake sob into her hands while she hid her victorious smirk. It faded very quickly as she heard not berating from Alya or loud scolding from the other classmates for hurting Lila's feelings. Instead the classroom was annoyingly silent beneath Lila's loud fake wails.

"Lila," Marinette said sweetly, "forgive me, I'm a bit of a scatterbrain and forget all sorts, what is your surname again?"

WHAT?!

What sort of bloody inane question was that?!

Lila's temper flared furiously as she dropped her hands to glower at Marinette Dupain-Cheng's sickly innocent and sanctimonious face. "What a stupid question, Marinette!" Lila snapped angrily. "You know well enough that my surname is Rossi!"

"Yes, yes," Marinette smiled softly, "you're right. Your surname is Rossi, and how old are you again?"

Lila scoffed and rolled her eyes.

Clearly Lila's manipulations and isolation tactics had made the idiot snap but instead snapping into an emotional breakdown which Lila very much desired to witness, it had made her snap into sheer stupidity! Which was nothing short of irritating.

"I'm fourteen!" Lila hissed. "Which you should also know seeing as we're in the same class."

"Uh-huh," Marinette kept smilingly at Lila with bright stupidity, "and remind me again, which country are you from?"

"ITALY!"

"Oh yes, of course," Marinette said sweetly, "and how exactly did you meet Jagged Stone, again?"

Ha!

Did this naïve innocent cow think Lila was just as stupid as she was? Lila was a natural at these sort of games and she wasn't going to be caught out this easily just because Marinette was dancing on her last nerve.

"Marinette!" Adrien hissed furiously.

Lila was a little touched that Adrien would rise to her defence despite knowing full well, just like Marinette, that Lila had been lying through her teeth since the day she arrived at this dump of a school. It was so strange for someone to be so against her lying and yet doing absolutely nothing, hell, even coming to her defence and letting her play her games on him. She wasn't sure if it was because Adrien Agreste was a grade A moron or because he was actually falling for her, either way it gave her great satisfaction.

And it was totally unnecessary, Lila could fight her own battles after all.

She widened her eyes with fake hurt and innocence as she gazed back undaunted at Marinette. "Oh Marinette, you know exactly how I met Jagged Stone!" Lila cried out loudly. "It was when I rescued his little kitten from being run down by an air plane. That's why he has written a song in my honour, remember?"

Lila didn't get a chance to savour whatever frustration or pain her lie caused Marinette's face to contort into. The moment her last lie dripped off of her tongue her horn shot up so rapidly and the sheer weight of it caused her to immediately topple over backwards.

Her whole body from her forehead beneath the infuriating scarlet red horn to the back of her legs ached like hell as the furious indignant Alya, the angry but bewildered Nino, the smugly sanctimonious Marinette, and the resigned Adrien all stood over her.

"Your horn was growing bigger!" Nino shouted crossly. "Marinette just proved it! It was getting smaller when you told the truth but the moment you lied it grew!"

"You...lying...little...!" Alya choked out furiously.

"Oh please!" Lila snapped. "I only ever told you what you wanted to hear. It's not my fault you believed me."

"Lila," Adrien sighed disapprovingly, "there's no need to be rude."

"There's no need to grovel either," Lila said unrepentantly, "I'm not the bad guy here. Marinette was the one who-"

"Oh shut up, Hornocchio!" Alya barked.

"Lila," Marinette said gently, "your horn was getting smaller when you told the truth. If you are just honest I'm sure it'll go away for good. So please, let yourself get better and tell us the truth."

There was so many things Lila would like to do in response to such sappy after-school-special pile of horse shit that Marinette had just spewed. Say something utterly scathing to tear the sanctimonious bitch from the pedestal she clearly propped herself on or lash out with the much deserved slap this cow richly deserved or even, as she had dreamt many times before, scratch her eyes out. But the horn was so gigantic, so heavy, that Lila didn't have the strength to do more than lift her head up a few centimetres and spit at Marinette's dainty little pink shoe.

The slobber landed on the very tip and Lila only regretted that it didn't actually hit Marinette's actual skin as the whole class roared with indignant outrage.

Marinette had to hold Alya back as she lunged forwards to strangle Lila or commit something just as violent.

At this point though Lila didn't give a damn as she laid back to rest her aching head and let the shouts and arguing and insults wash all over her. It took some time but eventually Ms Bustier came in and finally controlled her class (it was a miracle honestly as this teacher was more useless than most in Lila's experience) and an ambulance was called to assist Lila as well as her own mother.

Lila had then been forced to endure additional embarrassment, as her horn was so big, to await for them to actually take the door off and knock down parts of the surrounding wall to get her out. Her classmates awkward titters and smug smirks were enough to rile her up to leave one last parting shot (for she knew without a doubt she was never going back to this school ever again).

"Oh, by the way," Lila said loudly, "Adrien Agreste knew I was lying the entire time but said nothing while your precious little Marinette suffered."

Her classmates horrified expressions and the lessening pain of her horn shrinking just a little bit filled Lila with great satisfaction as she happily flopped back onto the stretcher and let the paramedics carry her through the streets (her horn still too big to fit in the ambulance).

She might not get a happy ending but there was no way she was letting those insufferable self-righteous idiots get theirs either.

MLBMLBMLBMLBMLBMLBMLBMLB

Kagami was reluctant to go to fencing today.

She felt utterly humiliated by her own actions the day before. Kagami had once prided herself with her self-control and restraint and yet she had thrown them both out of the window with her jealous outburst and allowed herself to be Akumatised once again. Not to mention that she was pretty certain that Adrien had witnessed the whole attack on Lila and probably now thought Kagami was a psychotic jealous bitch from hell.

Yet Tsurugi women never cower from what was difficult and with her family legacy weighing heavily on her shoulders, Kagami arrived at the school with her head held up high and a determination to keep her integrity intact.

She had expected at the very worst for Adrien to avoid her and everyone to point and whisper loudly and at the very best for Adrien to behave awkwardly towards her as he tried to very gently let her down.

What she hadn't expected was to be tackled into a bear hug by the likes of Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!" Marinette chanted In Kagami's ear with a delighted squeal. Marinette clogged all of Kagami's senses as her arms were wrapped tight round Kagami surrounding her with her warmth and comforting scent of flowers and baked goods. It was all so very pleasant and confusing as Marinette's sweet high-pitched voice rang in Kagami's ears. "Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, oh my God, thank you so much!"

"Erm," Kagami blinked, "...you're welcome?"

She then hesitatingly patted Marinette's back.

Marinette pulled away to give Kagami the most radiant smile Kagami had ever seen in her life. "You're my hero!" Marinette declared. "Thanks to you, Lila Rossi has been exposed as the liar she is. It was beautiful!"

"Good," Kagami said fiercely.

She had nothing else to say on the matter. Her opinion on Lila was so low that vermin were viewed as Gods in comparison and to hear that Lila had gotten her comeuppance made Kagami's chest flare with deep satisfaction.

"She made my life hell recently," Marinette confessed, "it gave me great joy to see her get her just desserts."

Kagami felt her lips twitch into a small smile. She knew Marinette Dupain-Cheng couldn't be the sweet and innocent girl that Adrien thought her to be. This darker and more sadistic aspect amused Kagami greatly.

"I aim to please," she replied dryly.

"So to thank you," Marinette smiled back, "I would like to treat you to an ice cream or a box of macaroons or a dress or anything. You can have anything you want and I'll happily give it to you on a silver platter."

It was almost on a the tip of Kagami's tongue to demand Adrien Agreste but that would make her no better than the likes of slimy Lila Rossi or spoiled Chloe Bourgeois or even how she had been perceiving Marinette to be.

(But here was Marinette being genuinely sweet and grateful towards Kagami, so surely she could not be that bad?)

However before Kagami could utter a word there was loud, obnoxious, shouting as Adrien hurried out of the school looking rattled while his two friends (Kagami believed Adrien said they were called Alys and Neo, or something similar?) yelled at him.

Kagami stiffened and instinctively reached for her sword upon witnessing the scene. "Could you be so kind to tell me what is happening with Adrien?" She asked Marinette flatly.

"Oh," Marinette said sadly, "Lila left a parting shot before they carried her off. She told the whole class that Adrien knew she had been lying all along and so everyone has been rather unhappy with him today."

"Did he know Lila had been lying?!" Kagami asked sharply.

"Yeah," Marinette mumbled, "but Adrien thought if we did nothing then people would figure out Lila was lying on their own and no one would get hurt." She swallowed and looked particularly upset as she nervously glanced Kagami's way. "He said that lying doesn't hurt anyone."

If Kagami hadn't had the restraint she had, she might very well face palm at such asinine stupidity.

She had held Adrien in high regard.

He was, of course, devastatingly good looking, kind, polite, good-natured and good-humoured, and gave Kagami nothing but the deepest respect as a fellow fencer. It was an incredibly attractive package and she was dangerously close to falling madly in love with him. Yet it was moments like this where she realises how weak and silly and fallible Adrien could be that brings her firmly back to ground.

Sometimes she could slap that boy silly with the handle of her sword.

"I see," she said coolly, "so your friends have taken it upon themselves to lecture him?"

Marinette squeaked slightly as she nodded rapidly.

"Did it ever occur to them that Adrien comes from a highly controlling and sheltered household and he might not know better?" Kagami demanded to know. Her care for Adrien trumping her frustration at his idiocy. "That doing nothing is how celebrities deal with tabloids less they fan the flames of rumours?"

"I did point it out," Marinette said meekly, "along with the fact that they didn't believe me, who they had known for years, so why would Adrien trust that they would believe him."

Kagami nodded approvingly at Marinette. She may not have warmed up to this girl in the past but that was hastily changing this very minute. "And?"

"And Alya said that was all well and good but it doesn't excuse the fact that Adrien did nothing," Marinette blurted out quickly, "and how was Adrien supposed to learn from his mistakes if no one points them out to him and tells him off?"

Kagami had to grudgingly admit that this Alya person had a very good point but that didn't change the fact that Adrien's flustered, mildly terrified, state roused Kagami's protective instincts. She had almost rushed off to his rescue when she saw the boy in the red cap (Nero?) face soften as he slung an arm round Adrien's shoulders and the girl (surely she was Alya, right?) loudly but gently informing Adrien that he too has the right to say no.

A lecture that Kagami firmly believed Adrien needed as she grimly recalled the way Chloe clung to the poor boy and so instead she glanced back at the hopeful but anxious smile on Marinette's face and caved instantly at the offer of friendship.

She could always do with more friends.

"I'm very partial to orange juice," Kagami said quietly.

"I like orange juice too," Marinette beamed warmly, "and I happen to know a really good cafe with an outside patio."

And on that lovely note, Kagami and Marinette left Adrien to his fate as they walked away with their arms linked together as Marinette began to fill Kagami in all the gory and juicy details of Lila's downfall that very morning.

A glorious friendship blossomed that day and many years down the line Kagami and Marinette still toast their glasses together in memory of Hornocchio.