#ladybug luka couffaine

Whoop! Another chapter down. Finally decided to get Stormy Weather 2 out of the way and I think I did a good job adapting it considering that it is a filler episode and a show case. Anyway, next chapter is Midas (Bob Roth) and I’ll be releasing a few new designs. Hope you guys enjoy this chapter :)

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Chapter Seventy-One: Stormy Weather

~Hawkmoth’s Lair~

“And this will repair the miraculous?” Gabriel asked, glancing at the molten gold that would make part of the cure. Su Han himself was grinding up meteorite dust as it was required. It didn’t look that impressive to him but this guy should know what he was doing since he was the celestial guardian… or so he claimed. Gabriel guessed that he wasn’t the true one and going by the legends that had been passed down by his father and his father’s father, this man was the sixth celestial guardian. According to the legend, the fifth celestial guardian known as Master Toutai was attacked by an unknown assassin, cutting his normally long life short and in his last moments, he passed the title onto his best friend in the order, one Master Su Han. Su Han then swore to protect the miraculous and continue his friend’s legacy until his soul was reborn. Having met the man though, Gabriel was certain the majority of that legend was fabricated. Su Han had expressed a desire to find the new mage but not to help him regain the title but to ensure that he himself remained the celestial guardian. As to how he would achieve that, all he knew as that Su Han needed to find him before the next spring festival which was only a few months away. Of course, that made him come to Hawkmoth. In return for helping him fix the miraculous and capture Anatis and Lady Noir, Hawkmoth was to help him find the mage. However, Gabriel had no intention of doing so. As soon as he got the mage’s identity, he would find a way to akumatize him. He would become his masterpiece, even more so than Luka Couffaine and Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Speaking of the students, he had also decided to lay low on targeting Luka or at least making situations to target him. Should a natural situation come up, he would take that chance but he also needed Luka to lower his guard and continuously targeting him wouldn’t make that happen. Besides, Lila wasn’t able to get close to him anymore. In that sense, she had outlived her usefulness but he wouldn’t throw her away just yet. She can still sow discord, similarly to how Chloe Bourgeois used to. Shame that Anatis put her on the right track but it is what it is. He’ll make do with the pawn that he has. Of course, he nearly lost Lila been in school thanks to the frame up job she did. Mr Damocles actually contacted the school board and it took all of his power to ensure that she got away scott free. He would have tried to get Luka expelled since it would have made for another attempt but the rest of the school board wouldn’t agree to that. Besides, he managed to get Lila to stay in school by suggesting that maybe she was acting out due to lack of attention at home. Naturally, the rest of the school board lapped it up and those didn’t… well they soon did after a rather generous donation to their bank accounts. He had also warned her to keep a low profile for now. A few snide remarks here and there should be enough. After all, words were often more damaging then actions. Gabriel frowned as Su Han cleared his throat, making him look at him. “Yes?”

“Are you listening?” He asked, crossing his arms.

“Yes, I am,” He replied, narrowing his eyes. Su Han huffed before turning back to the mixture. “But you didn’t answer my question. Will it repair the miraculous?”

“Yes, it will,” He replied, stirring the mixture. “This potion was created by the fourth celestial guardian, Sir Rene,”

He turned to the spellbook and turned the pages, coming to a stop when he came to the page about the aqua power up potions.

“According to Legend, Sir Rene also created the power up potions and shared them, along with this potion and a number of other unknown ones with the first celestial guardian despite being born in a different time,” Su Han replied, making Gabriel frown. “It is believed he used the rabbit miraculous to do so but no-one actually knows for sure,”

“Not even you?” Gabriel asked, crossing his arms.

“I did not inherit the title of Celestial Guardian in the same way as my predecessors therefore I do not share the same connection to them,” He replied, frowning as he poured the crushed meteorite dust into the molten gold. “Do you have the peacock feather?”

“Yes,” Gabriel replied, gesturing to Nathalie to bring it over. “This should suffice,”

“Hmm,” Su Han replied, taking it from her before he examined it. “It will do,”

Once he said that, he dropped it into the mixture, causing a puff of smoke the same color as the peacock miraculous to appear. Su Han turned to Gabriel, making him raise an eyebrow.

“The potion is done,” He stated, gesturing to it. “All that is required now is for you to inject it into the miraculous and state the incarnation. Once you do that, the miraculous will be repaired. However, it needs time to charge up it’s magic,”

“Charge up its magic?” Gabriel asked, frowning. “What does that mean? Will it be safe for me to use?”

“Once it is repaired, yes but the more it is charged up the more powerful it’s magic will be,” He stated, making Gabriel nod. “To charge it up, it must be around emotion,”

“Will it take time to charge?” He asked, making Su Han think.

“Depends on the emotions it is exposed to,” He replied as Gabriel listened. “If they are weak, it will take long to charge,”

“I see,” He replied, thinking. “I shall have Nathalie wear it-”

“Not her,” Su Han said, making him frown as he glanced at him. “She has been exposed to the broken miraculous. If she was to wear it again in her current state, it will make her worst despite been fixed,”

“I see,” He frowned, thinking. “Then I will have to wear it until it’s charged up. Will I know when it is?”

“Yes, you should feel it’s magic,” He replied, making Gabriel nod. “I should take my leave for now. We will talk again soon,”

“Thank you for your guidance,” Gabriel replied as Su Han left before he took out a syringe and used it to take some of the mixture into it. He moved it over to the peacock miraculous and pressed it against the cracks before injecting it into it. It filled the cracks and began to glow, making him smirk before he held out his arms. “Miraculous of the Peacock, repair yourself!”

The miraculous began to glow white before it floated in the air for a few seconds. Suddenly, it burst into light then fell out of the air. Gabriel caught it and held it up as he examined it. There were no more cracks on it at all but it looked slightly dull in color. However, overall it looked fixed. Smirking to himself, Gabriel fixed it on his shirt, allowing Duusu to manifest and the miraculous to change into a golden pin.

“Whoo!” Duusu declared as she floated up. “Oh! I feel so much better! What happened?!”

She looked around before spotting Nooroo and squealed, making Gabriel raise an eyebrow.

“Nooroo!” She gasped, hugging him before she pulled away. “Oh wow! Everything was so chaotic in my head! Like a nightmare that I had fallen into the wrong hands!”

“Sorry, old friend but I’m afraid the nightmare is not over yet,” Nooroo replied, gesturing towards Gabriel who had crossed his arms in a stern manner.

“Dusuu, Kwami of the Peacock miraculous,” He stated, making her look at him. “I am your master, Gabriel Agreste. You will do what I say and we have rules that you will follow. Understood?”

“Y-Yes, Master,” She gasped, nodding as he smirked evilly.

“Excellent,” He replied, turning to the grimoire. “Now I have repaired your miraculous but the current guardian suggested that I need to recharge the magic of the miraculous. Is this true?”

“Y-Yes, Master,” She replied, pressing her paws together. “When a miraculous is damaged, its magic is consumed and drained, trying to repair it but exposing the miraculous to what it is connected to restores the magic or so Master Rene said. I don’t really understand how it works but Master Feng seemed to agree with Master Rene,”

“And how long will that take?”

“I… I don’t know,” She replied, making him frown. “The only other miraculous to have been broken was the rabbit miraculous but Fluff’s Miraculous is time based so she had to be passed through time,”

“I see,” He replied, turning to her and Nooroo. “You will stay with me and Nooroo then once it has recharged its magic, you will help me become more powerful and take Anatis and Lady Noir’s miraculous… and of course, help me find and akumatize the mage!”

“Y-You want to akumatize the mage?” She asked, fearful. “Master, you mustn’t! You wouldn’t-”

“You dare question me?!” He growled, making her gulp. “I am your master and you will do as I say. You will help me get what I want. Understood?!”

“Y-Yes, Master,”

~Deep Within the Catacombs underneath Paris~

Why did you show him how to fix the miraculous? Simme hissed as Su Han walked into the area with a cage that had two rats that he caught. He stopped at the place he had set up as a camp and placed the cage down before kneeling down in front of them. Rats again…

“It is the only thing that doesn’t raise suspicion, my lord,” He replied, bowing as Simme hissed in displeasure. “I know you prefer human chi-”

Yes!! I want the lifeforce of the mortals that idiot loves so much! Not of rodents! Simme hissed out, making Su Han flinch. Feed me real food!!

“Master, please. I can not right now,” He replied, making Simme roar in anger. “I w-will try to lure some homeless into here for you to feast on but for now, please enjoy the rats,”

Fine! But you better try or it will be your chi I’ll consume! Simme replied before Su Han’s head was forced back and his mouth opened in a silent scream as shadows poured from it, making the rats panic and attempt to escape. The shadows surrounded them, causing them to squeal and squeak in fear as the shadows closed in on them. Also instantly, the rats began to glow. Within seconds, they were turned into dried up corpses. The shadows returned back into Su Han, making him gasp as his eyes turned black before they turned black to normal. He blinked and picked up the cage before taking out the corpses of the rats and throwing them into the small pile of other rat corpses. As he did, the sounds of footsteps got his attention, making him straight up and turn around.

“Grand Mage,” Zoe Lee stated as she walked over and knelt down, bowing her head towards him. “You sent for me?”

“Yes,” He replied as he walked over to her. “I want a progress report,”

“Currently, I have moved back into the Grand Paris hotel and I will start attending Dupont High tomorrow,” She replied in an emotionless voice. “I haven’t yet made progress on tracking down the mage. The reason for the delay in joining the school was in order to build a ‘relationship’ with my half sister, Chloe. She is known very well in school and previously held the Bee Miraculous. She informed me that Anatis took it from her and advised her to seek help from a professional. Since she has done so and 'improved’ her lifestyle, she has become fairly popular at the school, especially with the girl who runs the ladyblog. She doesn’t realise this but she will help me infiltrate the school and find anyone who may have a connection to the holder of the eastern box. I intend to cause discord in the school in order to lure them out,”

“Excellent,” Su Han replied before dismissing her. She nodded and left as a shadow formed on the wall again.

And the mage? Simme’s voice echoed, making Su Han frown. The Spring Festival is three months away. You’re running out of time if you want to keep this level of power and magic that you have gotten used to.

“Finding the current holder of the Eastern Miraculous will lead us to the mage,” Su Han replied. “But we do need a back up plan in case that doesn’t,”

We should influence some people. Luring the darkness out of people’s hearts will make the mage act if he’s in Paris. Simme suggested, making Su Han think. Especially if it’s me who does it.

“Isn’t that risky?”

Isn’t waiting for him to appear just as risky? Simme countered. We can lure him out using Hawkmoth’s akumas. He can’t stand people been hurt so if I influence them like I did with Crescendo then he’ll come running to try and save them and when he does, you can finally have the power that belongs to you

“Yes but Toutai’s concubine is in Paris too,” Su Han replied, frowning to himself. His disciples had warned him that Mulan was active and looking for him. He knew what she wanted. She wanted revenge. She wanted to kill him and if she did, it would mess up his plans. He couldn’t allow that to happen. “If she sees me, she’ll try and get her vengeance for me taking Toutai’s life,”

Leave the influencing to me Simme replied, making Su Han glance at the shadows. I might be a little out of practice because of the cage but human hearts remain the same and I can influence them all the same too. It will also give me more strength to take down the mage when he comes out of his hiding place.

“Very well," 

~The Next Day~

Zoe glanced in the mirror as she applied some make up to her skin in order to hide the paleness. She leaned over and put her brush down before taking out her contact lens. They were slightly a brighter shade of blue then what her eyes colored in order to hide the dullness within them. She put them in as her kwami stayed in front of her before she brushed her hair. Once satisfied with her look, she added some lip gloss and got up before walking over to her wardrobe and putting on her leather jacket. It was one of the few things she was allowed to wear despite it not matching her mother’s usual taste. She grabbed her bag and turned to her kwami.

"Stingg, hide in my bag,” She ordered in a cold tone.

“Y-Yes, Mistress,” Stingg replied before flying into her bag. Zoe turned on her heel and left her room, heading to where Chloe was waiting for her. As soon as she saw her, she turned to her 'outside’ personality and gave her a bright smile, which Chloe returned.

“Hey, ready for your first day?” She asked, making Zoe smile a little.

“I’m a bit nervous,” She lied. She wasn’t nervous at all. “What if people don’t like me?”

“Oh, please!” Chloe gasped, making Zoe think for a second she had seen through it before she moved her arm around her. “They are going to love you! Just be yourself and not like Mum and you’re good,”

“Not like Mum?” Zoe asked, generally taken back by that. She had known Chloe had changed, especially since the last time they saw each other but as far as she knew, Chloe looked up to their mum and wanted to be just like her. “I thought you wanted to be like her?”

“I did until I realised what a bitch she was,” Chloe answered, again surprising Zoe as she looked at her nails. “She never has time for me, can’t even get my name right and basically acts like I don’t exist. When I was more naive, I thought that if I acted like her, she would love me but that isn’t the case,”

“What made you change your mind?” Zoe asked, finding the conversation interesting. It had been a long time since she had felt anything and hearing her sister speak ill of their mother sparked something inside her.

“Oh, a friend gave me some really good advice and a reality check,” She replied, making Zoe raise an eyebrow. She didn’t know Chloe had friends and the way she said it suggested a hidden meaning. “After that, I asked Daddy to get me a therapist and have been going to weekly sessions ever since,”

“You have a therapist?” Zoe asked as they walked out of the hotel and got into the car. Chloe nodded as she did up her seat belt. “Does it work?”

“Oh, definitely,” She replied as she took out her phone. “I’ve learnt so much about myself and Dr Lang is really nice and understanding. Mum doesn’t like it though. She thinks it’s a waste of time,”

“Well, if it’s helping you then that’s the main thing right?” Zoe asked, making Chloe smile and nod. “So who’s your friend?”

“Oh, no one really important,” Chloe replied, brushing it off. “I have loads of them now anyway. Even Marinette,”

“Marinette?”

“Oh, you are going to love her!” She gasped, making Zoe raise an eyebrow. “She is really into her fashion. Even Mum actually likes her stuff,”

“Really?” Zoe asked, surprised for the third time that day. “Well, that is surprising,”

“And we’re here,” Chloe stated as the car pulled up. “Thanks for the ride, Jean!”

“No problem, Miss Chloe,” He replied as the two girls got out. Zoe said her thanks quickly before joining Chloe outside of the school. She looked up at it as she followed Chloe inside, not really listening to her as she chatted.

“Oh and you should definitely avoid Lila,” She stated, getting her attention. “She’s this crazy liar and it’s best not to get involved with her,”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Zoe replied as Chloe led her to the principal’s office.

“Ok, here’s Mr Damocles’ office. Just knock and he’ll let you in,” She replied before hugging her. “I have to go to my class but I’ll see you at lunch,”

“Ok. Thanks, Chloe,” Zoe smiled and waved as she ran off but as soon as she disappeared out of sight, she dropped her cheerful expression. “Chloe’s changed a lot. No wonder why Mother thinks of her as a failure,”

She let out a sigh and shook her head, putting on her persona before knocking on the door.

“Come in,” A gruff voice replied, causing her to open the door. She walked in, causing Mr Damocles to look up at her. “Ah, can I help you, young Lady?”

“Hello, sir. I’m Zoe Lee, Chloe’s sister,” She stated, making him look at her in surprise. “It’s my first day here,”

“Oh yes! Of course!” He gasped, scrambling up and rushing over to the file cabinet. “Forgive me, I was just working on some important work. Now where is it?”

He flicked through the files as Zoe leaned over and looked at his computer, raising an eyebrow at the letter he was writing. It appeared to be addressed to Anatis, making her frown. She hadn’t met him or Lady Noir during the Crescendo attack as Su Han had ordered her to leave so she wouldn’t get caught up in it but she had seen him swinging through the city or on the news. There had been a couple of akumas since she came back to Paris and she watched the news about them. It fascinated her how people reacted to Anatis. The way the Parisians look at him when he does interested her, like he was their Savior. In a way, he kind of was. Him and Lady Noir were. They stood against Hawk Moth with their team of heroes while everyone else cowered away. Despite her allegiance not been with them, Zoe had fantasies about what it would be like to run with them when she saw them running about the city or fighting a few akumas but that would be for another lifetime. She was not there to run around with them. She was not on their side and if they got in her way, she wouldn’t hesitate to remove them regardless of what it might do to the city.

“Ah, here we go!” Mr Damocles stated, pulling out a file and walking over to her. “Your new student file,”

He sat down and opened it, taking out a couple of documents.

“Let’s see… this is a copy of your schedule, a map of the school and… ah, it appears your student file has already been completed,” He smiled, looking up from it and handing her the information. “Your home teacher will be Mrs Mendeleiev,”

“Oh, I was under the impression I would be with my sister,” She stated, making him frown.

“Well, Mrs Mendeleiev’s class is for students your age,” He replied, making her frown. “And she is very good at helping new students settle in,”

“Perhaps I should contact my step-father,” She replied, crossing her arms but Mr Damocles didn’t even raise an eyebrow. She managed to hold back a frown as she expected it to work but apparently, Mr Damocles wasn’t as much of a push over as she had been told. “You are aware of who he is,”

“Yes but my decision remains final, Miss Lee,” He stated, crossing his arms too. “The mayor may be in charge of the city but he does not have any power in my school and if you attempt to blackmail me, any of my teachers or the students by threatening to contact the mayor, I won’t hesitate this time to give you detention. Is that understood?”

“Yes, Mr Damocles,” She replied, frowning. How was she supposed to investigate the akuma class if she wasn’t able to be in that class? She would just have to find a different way. “I didn’t mean to cause offence,”

“Yes, well… I’m not surprised that you thought you could get away with that given who your mother is but please take a leaf out of your sister’s book and remove yourself from the path your mother has set you on,” He stated, surprising her. “You seem like an intelligent young lady and you can thrive here but only if you’re willing to try,”

“I… see,” She replied, getting up and taking the papers he gave her. “I will try my best, Mr Damocles so I better go to my home room,”

“Excellent,” He replied, causing Zoe to shoot him a smile before she got up and left. As soon as she was out of the office, her smile turned to a frown as she took out her phone and made a note to be careful around him. With that done, she looked at her map and walked over to the classroom, knocking on the door as she did. A stern voice told her to come in, causing her to frown before she opened the door and walked inside. The teacher raised an unimpressed eyebrow as she looked at her, along with her class.

“And you are?”

“Oh, I’m Zoe Lee,” She replied, going with the shy but polite act. “It’s my first day here and-”

“Ah, yes. I was informed of a new student joining my class yet again,” She remarked before glancing around the room. “Have a seat next to Miss Borealis ,”

Zoe nodded and took her seat, glancing around at her new class. Mrs Mendeleiev took the register before Aurora began to introduce her to the rest of the class and explained her role in it. Finally, the bell went signalling the first lesson of the day. The students all got up and headed to their classes, causing Zoe to find her way to her next one. The rest of the morning went that way until they found themselves back in Mrs Mendeleiev’s class for Science. This time, however, Zoe noticed a new addition to their class, making her raise an eyebrow. Sat in the back was Luka Couffaine, son of Jagged Stone and the winner of the violin contest she had entered. She had no idea he was even in her class as he hadn’t been in any of their classes that morning. What made it even stranger was no one seemed bothered by it, not even their teacher. Instead the students greeted him, making him smile and wave back.

“Ok, Zoe, this is the only student you haven’t met yet,” Aurora grinned, gesturing towards him. “This is-”

“Luka Couffaine,” She smiled, making everyone look at her. “We’ve met before,”

“Yeah, I remember,” Luka smiled, glancing at her with tired eyes. That surprised her a little as last time she had seen him he didn’t have dark circles under his eyes. It looked like he hadn’t slept in a long time. However, she didn’t have time to think about that as he stared at her. His eyes hardened a little as he scanned her, making her feel concerned as if he was looking deep into her soul. However, she mentally shook it off. It was just her imagination as there was no way that he couldn’t detect her true intention. “Zoe right? I had no idea you went to this school,”

“Oh, I didn’t when I joined that contest,” She smiled, rubbing the back of her neck. “I actually moved back here after that and Chloe recommended the school,”

“Chloe recommended it?” Jean asked, making Zoe nod. “Wow, I’m so proud of her! I knew she had changed but to actually recommend it!”

“We’re all proud of her,” Luka commented, making the rest nod before he turned back to Zoe. “Anyway, welcome to Dupont,”

“Thank you but why weren’t you in class earlier?” She asked, causing everyone to look at her. “Did I say something wrong?”

“Guys, it’s fine,” Luka stated, making her look back at him. “I have therapy every Monday Morning so I’m excused from my classes during that time,”

“Oh I’m so sorry,” She gasped, making a mental note. “I didn’t mean to pry,”

“It’s fine, Zoe,” He replied as Mrs Mendeleiev clapped her hands, causing everyone to go to their seats. Though Luka raised an eyebrow. He couldn’t pinpoint but something felt off with Zoe. He had felt it a little at the contest but brushes it off as Melodie due to how she acted and since Zoe had disappeared at the end of it, he couldn’t confirm if it really was Melodie so he just forgot about it, especially with the other things that had occurred since then. However, now it was back on his mind. Not that he wanted it to be. In fact, it was the last thing he needed. He was already struggling with sleep and he didn’t need another thing to keep him up late again. He frowned before jumping as Mrs Mendeliev called his name and asked him if he was paying attention. “S-Sorry, Miss,”

She gave him a look before continuing what she was saying.

“Now as I was saying, these tests are designed to check your GPA scores,” She stated, passing the tests around. “It is designed to find areas of weakness and struggling, which we will work on once we get the scores back. I expect you all to try your best and take this seriously. Getting a good score could be the difference between free time and extra tutoring. Is that understood?”

“Yes, Miss,” Everyone replied as Zoe raised an eyebrow.

“Now because you’re new here, Zoe. I won’t have you sit the test today. Instead, I will have you do some work sheets,” She replied, making Zoe nod as she headed back to her desk and took them out. She walked back over and placed them on her desk. “However, once you’ve settled in , you will take it. Understood?”

“Yes, Miss,” Zoe replied, feeling that Mrs Mendeliev wasn’t the type of teacher she wanted to piss off. She would have to maintain her 'outside’ persona with her in order to keep her off her back. With that, Mrs Mendeliev started the test and took her seat at the front of the class as she waited for the time to pass. Zoe worked on the worksheets as best as she could but part of her was slightly distracted by her encounter with Luka. Despite the fact that she didn’t think that he could work out her true intention, it didn’t settle her mind. She had come across people who had tried to figure her out before and each time, she had convinced them that they should trust her but something told her it might not be this easy this time round. She frowned a little to herself and quickly glanced behind her, half expecting Luka to be glaring at her but instead, he was focusing on his paper as if nothing was the matter. Maybe she was overthinking it. Yeah, that would be the case. She was in a new place and had a new mission. She always got nervous when getting a new mission so that was it. There was no way he knew anything other then what she wanted him to see. That look he gave her earlier? It was him trying to remember her name. It was that simple but she should definitely keep an eye on him. He might be useful in her plan after all… plus he was cute. Looking back at her work, she put it to the back of her mind. After that, time passed pretty quickly and soon she found herself walking with Kagami, Aurora, Luka and Felix towards the canteen for lunch. She wasn’t sure about Felix or Kagami but Aurora and Luka seemed really nice and she was certain that his reaction to her was fluke. She smiled as he laughed full hearted at something Aurora had said before Kagami made a witty comment. 

“Oh damn, Kagami has a sense of humour,” Aurora grinned, lightly knocking her shoulder with the girl as she grinned. Kagami gave her a smile and turned to her.

“Well, I do have more then one emotion,” She grinned back, making them all laugh. “Unlike Felix,”

“You wound me, Kagami,” Felix replied, dramatically holding his hand to his heart before he looked at Luka. “Have you seen how mean she is to me, Luka?”

“Hmm… well, she kind of has a point,” He laughed, making Felix gasp dramatically again as the girls laughed. “But you’re getting there,”

“Rude!” Felix gasped before bursting into laughter with everyone else. Once they stopped, he and Kagami turned to them. “Well, we’ll see you after lessons. Uncle has requested our presence for lunch today… assuming he actually turns up,”

“Yes but at least, Adrien won’t eat alone,” Kagami replied, making everyone nod before they said their goodbyes. They waved and left the school as the other three headed to the cafeteria. Almost instantly, they were greeted, causing them to wave. Aurora made a beeline for a girl with wavy hair and glasses before sitting next to her as they began to chat. Luka, on the other hand, walked over to a girl Zoe recognized and hugged, giving her a soft kiss on the cheek. The girl giggled and hugged him back before pressing a kiss to his cheek. Zoe felt a tingle of jealousy but shook it off as Chloe came over and dragged her towards the group.

“Listen up, everyone! This is my sister, Zoe!” She declared, gesturing towards her and causing everyone to look up. “She’s new here and just started today,”

“Hi, Zoe,” The girl who kissed Luka declared, smiling brightly as everyone else said hi and welcomed her. “I’m Marinette Dupain-Cheng,”

“Oh, Chloe mentioned you,” She smiled, making Marinette smile too. “She said you’re really into fashion,”

“I am!” She gasped, clearly excited to share her passions. “I actually have my own store and I’ve been making clothes for years! Oh I could totally make you something as a welcome gift!”

“Oh, that’s ok,” Zoe gasped, holding up her hands. “I wouldn’t want to trouble you with that,”

“Oh, it would be no trouble at all,” She gasped before making a thinking face. “Though, I won’t be able to do it yet. I’ve got a few commissions to do for a couple of clients plus I’m still working on that thing,”

“That thing?” Zoe asked but Marinette brushed her off and said it didn’t matter. “Oh, ok,”

“Anyway, I’m right in thinking you were part of that violin contest right?” She asked, making Zoe nod and ask her how she knew. “I was there, supporting Luka,”

“Oh that makes sense,” She gasped, rubbing the back of her neck.She hadn’t really paid attention to anyone else but the other contestants and the only reason why she did that was to play the role. Master Su Han had seen it as a chance to spy on the heroes, believing it was certain to cause an akuma but he had also ordered her mother to find a way to get into Paris. While her mother was making the arrangements, she had entered the contest but because the akuma had been too violent, she hadn’t been able to observe it. Instead, Su Han got her out of there. While usually he didn’t care for casualties, he did see her as an asset. “Are you friends with Luka?”

“I’m his girlfriend,” Marinette grinned proudly, causing Luka to blush a little. “But he’s also one of my best friends,”

“Melody..” He mumbled with red cheeks. Zoe however felt a bit disappointed but brushed it off. Having a relationship was too much a distraction so it wasn’t like she was going to pursue him but it would have been nice to flirt with him a little. Everyone smiled and chatted while they ate lunch, causing Zoe to get to know them but their peace didn’t last. Instead, a girl with frankly terrible taste in fashion and god awful haircut sundered up to them and gave the fakest smile Zoe had ever seen. She noticed that Luka visibly tensed up as she smirked.

“Hi everyone!” She gasped in a cheerful manner before turning to Luka. “Freak,”

“Lila, you know what I’m going to say,” He stated in a calm manner, despite the fact that she had just called him a freak. She however tossed her head and turned away from him as she faced Zoe.

“I’m just introducing myself to the new student here. Besides, I’m within the legal requirement,” She stated in a vindictive manner, gesturing to the fact that she was in fact on the other side of the table far from him. Since her attempt at framing him and losing her most loyal ally, Lila had been showing her true colors. She had for the most part stuck to the restraining order but that didn’t stop the snide remarks. “After all, the restraining order only says I can’t be in a certain radius of you, not your friends. Besides, I’m probably not your biggest worry right now. I hear that Bob Roth and your step father are out on bail. Be a shame if anything was to happen to you again,”

She smirked evilly at him as she flipped her hair and turned to Zoe.

“I’m Lila Rossi by the way,” She smirked, holding out her hands. “I suggest you join me instead of these losers. I have lots of connections so if you want to be successful, you should be with me,”

“Um…” Zoe replied, not sure what to say. She was sure Chloe had said she was a liar and if it was just the two of them, she would shut her down. However, she had a persona to maintain. She went to open her mouth but before she could, Chloe butted in.

“Rossi, no one here likes you,” She declared, crossing her arms. “And I’ve already told her that you’re a super liar!”

Lila narrowed her eyes before flicking her hair and walking away. Zoe watched as she shoved some poor student to the ground and left the room.

“Well, she was something,” Zoe laughed, making everyone nod before she turned to Luka. “What did she mean by Bob Roth and your step father been on Bail?”

“It’s a long story,” Luka sighed, making her raise an eyebrow. “Bob Roth released my relation to Jagged Stone without our permission and it directly led to a very dangerous situation for me regarding my stepfather. The court case for that is coming up next week and not only are we pressing charges against Mr Roth, we’re also suing him. As for my stepfather… Well, we’re also pressing charges against him. I’m going to be off for a few days to deal with it. I hope Anatis and Lady Noir are able to come by. I would feel safer if they could,”

“I’m sure they will,” Marinette replied, gently taking his hand. “You’ll be ok,”

“Thank you, Melody,” He replied but he still looked shaken up. “Mind if we change the subject? I don’t like to talk about that,”

“Sure,”

~A Few Days Later~

Su Han frowned to himself as he watched the students from Dupont High from afar. Zoe had settled in nicely and no one had suspected a thing. Her first report to him was that no one seemed to be suspicious when it came to miraculous. However, she also knew it would take time to conduct a full search. He did not expect good results in just a few days and he considered himself a patient man when the end results would benefit him. However, Simme was not. He was whining for more than just rats. Luckily, their plan to corrupt people would gain him energy. It wasn’t quite the same as consuming souls and life force but it would stop him whining at least. Presently, he was terrorizing some pigeons as Su Han watched the school. If his calculations were correct, the mage should in fact be the same age as the students who attended the school and given that the amount of akumas in that school, there was no way he could stay away if he was in the city. Or at least that’s what Simme said. Su Han wasn’t so sure but it was the best lead they had plus if the mage wasn’t there then the guardian of the eastern miraculous box might be. Though that could be a teacher or a student. Who knows what happened after he was eaten by that sentimonster? Su Han narrowed his eyes as he watched a number of students come out of the school. He jumped a bit closer in order to hear more.

“Oh that is terrible,” A ginger haired girl with glasses gasped as she walked out with two blonde girls. Behind them, a girl with dark hair walked hand in hand with a boy with black hair with teal blue highlights. Su Han pursed his lips as he stared at the youth. In his day, that child would be punished for daring to wear such an extreme hairstyle, especially if he was part of the order. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

“Oh, that’s ok, Sabrina,” The blonde girl with an umbrella stated, holding up her free hand. “It’s only a small drop and Mrs Mendeliev is helping me catching up,”

“She’s got this,” The rebellious youth smiled before he turned to her. “But seriously, we don’t mind helping you if you need it,”

“Just let us know,” The girl with the dark hair smiled before the two of them said their goodbyes to the girl and walked off. The blonde girl smiled and waved in reply but another girl walked past her, causing the other students to tense up as she stopped in front of her.

“Aurora, I heard you drop a whole point on your GPA,” She gasped, making Aurora glance at her. “You know I tutored Prince Ali for a certain amount of time-”

“Lila, save your lies,” Aurora replied, making her grit her teeth a little. “I already have a plan to regain it,”

“Oh, of course but I hope it works out,” She replied as they went to walk around her but Aurora stopped and asked her what she meant. “Oh, I’m just saying you can’t be Little Miss Weather Girl and Little Miss Good Grades at the same time,”

“That’s not true!” Sabrina gasped, making Lila laugh.

“Of course, it’s true. That’s the way life is. You can’t have everything,” She replied, making Aurora frown and look upset. “Oh, I better not make you cry otherwise you might turn into Stormy Weather and rain on me. What a pathetic power,”

“Oh and been Volpina was better?!” Aurora gasped, clearly angry at the comment but Lila smirked. “Besides, I won’t transform since I already have a plan,”

“Yeah right!” She stated, making both her and Sabrina gasp. “Once a villain always a villain. It’s only a matter of time before Hawkmoth gets to you again,”

With that, she turned away and left, leaving both Aurora and Sabrina shaking with anger. However, the two girls shook it off and went their own ways, causing Su Han to narrow his eyes as Simme crawled over to him.

The blonde child… He hissed, making Su Han nod. She is perfect…

Su Han nodded before the shadows moved from him and followed the girl as she got into a car and drove off. They attatched themselves to the car as it drove through the city before it came to a stop near a building. The girl got out and walked through the doors, causing the shadows to follow her. Just before she entered into the building, the shadows latched onto her leg and began to fill her mind with negative thoughts.

I’m just saying you can’t be Little Miss Weather Girl and Little Miss Good Grades at the same time… Lila’s voice echoed in her mind, making her frown as she pressed the lift button. She tried to shake it off but the shadows tightened their grip. It was a slower way then the way they had done to Crescendo but it was still effective… plus it was more enjoyable this way. That’s the way life is. You can’t have everything…

“That’s not true,” She muttered as the lift opened.

Oh, no! I better not make you cry otherwise you might turn into Stormy Weather and rain on me. What a pathetic power!

“My power wasn’t pathetic,” She muttered before shaking her head. “Beside, I’m not going to be Stormy Weather again,”

Once a villain always a villain. It’s only a matter of time before Hawkmoth gets to you again…

She’s right, you know… Simme’s voice echoed, causing Aurora to gasp and look around wildly. But why resist when you could use that power to put that child in her place?

“Who are you?!” She gasped, making him laugh. Her panic only increased when the akuma appeared. “Oh no! An akuma! Stay calm, Aurora!”

Why resist? Simme asked again, making her squeak in surprise as the lift suddenly came to a stop and the lights went out. Your anger is fair and your judgement should be swift. Show the world who the most powerful villain is!

Aurora’s eyes turned completely black as the lights turned back on, allowing the akuma to fly into her umbrella and open up the connection to Hawkmoth.

“Stormy Weather, people have told you that you’ll never change,” Hawkmoth declared in her mind as she stared into space, listening to him. He had his reservations about akumatizing her when he felt her rage but he wasn’t about to miss a chance to try and get the miraculous. “Well, they’re right. People don’t change, they grow. This time, your powers will be even stronger as you know them well! Show them how you’re able to control all of the forces of nature!”

“Alright, Hawk Moth,” She declared as a truly dark grin appeared in place of her usual smile, making him laugh as the purple smog encased her.

~At the Liberty~

“No!” Luka gasped, jolting awake. He let out a sigh as he looked around, realising he was in his room. He glanced at his notepad and realised he had fallen asleep while doing his homework. He wasn’t surprised since his sleeping pattern had gone out of the window again. His nightmares about the flood had gotten a hundred times worst since finding out what it was. His sleeping moments were haunted by the cold icy glare of Lady Blanche and the horrible laughter of Simme. His waking moments weren’t much better. Sometimes he felt like she was stood behind him and he would jump, despite nothing been there. He also found it hard to look at Lady Noir. He hadn’t fully told her everything but he knew he would have to at some point. He knew that but he was afraid of her reaction. Luckily, she had the charm on her so he wouldn’t have to face Lady Blanche any time soon but part of him still worried. He had told her that he had experienced something that allowed him to make her an anti-akuma charm. However, it seemed that he couldn’t make himself one no matter how hard he tried and he had tried. He asked Tikki why and she suggested that it was because he lacked the energy to do so. Creation couldn’t come from nothing. It required something, even if it was the smallest spark. Since Anatis was trying to create an anti-akuma charm from nothing, he wouldn’t be able to do it. Now if he faced an akuma, he could create one because he would have his spark. He argued that he was facing the akumas but she pointed out that he hadn’t actually been targeted by Hawkmoth since the scarlet attack. On one hand, that was a good thing but on the other, it meant he had no real inspiration to create the charm. Typically, when he finally came up with a way to protect himself Hawk Moth would stop targeting him. He sighed and got up, walking over to Tikki who was also taking a nap. He gently poked her, making her wake up. “Hey…”

“Luka?” She asked, looking at him before frowning. “Are you ok?”

“Not really…” He admitted, making her fly over to him as he sat on his bed. “Sorry for waking you up but…”

“Another nightmare?” She asked, making him nod. “Same as usual?”

“When isn’t it?” He asked, frowning. “Do you think it will ever go away?”

“Of course,” She replied, resting in his hands. “You went through a lot when you faced Lady Blanche. It’s natural to having trauma from that,”

“I know…” He muttered, looking down. “I just… I hate that I can’t look at Lady Noir without thinking about how I failed her,”

“You didn’t fail her,” She stated, making him frown. “We stopped that from happening,”

“I know but if I hadn’t thought about telling Marinette then maybe I wouldn’t have-” He cut himself off as he sighed. “Despite it, part of me still wants to tell her and the other me. He said the time would come but what if I tell her and it’s even worse then this time? What if I can’t save anyone?”

“Luka, listen to me,” Tikki stated, making him look at her. “Yes, you made a mistake but that doesn’t mean the events that occurred were your fault. We both know that Hawkmoth and Su Han took advantage of the situation and caused the events. Yes, you had a choice when it came to telling Marinette about it but they also had a choice. They didn’t have to go through their plan or be the way they are,”

“I know, Tikki,” He sighed, nodding. “I’m trying not to blame myself… I’ll get there eventually. It’s just… It’s hard and I know blaming myself isn’t helping but-”

“You feel responsible,” She concluded, making him nod.

“Even for things out of my control,”

“Luka…”

“I know,” He replied, sighing. “I know I’m not but it’s part of my complex or at least that’s what Dr Lang says. She says I need to learn to accept that I’m not responsible for everything and everyone,”

“She’s right,” Tikki stated but before they could continue the conversation, the boat shook heavily. Luka jumped up and rushed upstairs, only to be greeted by a terrible sight. The sky was blood red and there was an orange glow to the area like a fire had been lit. In the distance, they could see what appeared to be a huge volcano. Luka stepped back in horror as his mind flashed back to the Paris he had witnessed. Even though it was a different look, he couldn’t help but feel a wave of panic wash over him. It could be Simme for all he knew. Feeling a panic attack creeping up on him, he rushed back inside and into his room, causing Tikki to look at him with concern. “Luka?!”

“It’s… it’s not the same,” He muttered, trying to calm himself. He began to mentally count, using the technique that Dr Lang had taught him before taking a deep breath. “It’s not the same,”

“Take deep breaths, Luka,” Tikki stated, causing him to nod and do so as she looked over  “I hope Plagg didn’t use his cataclysm,”

“C-Could he cause that?” He asked, starting to calm down as he realised that it was probably an akuma. He shook his head before taking one last breath. “We need to transform,”

“Are you going to be ok?” Tikki asked, concerned written over her features.

“I’ll be fine. It was just a small moment of panic,” He admitted but he was slowly getting better with handling them. Tikki nodded before he swiped his earrings. “Tikki spots on!”

The red glow covered his body, leaving Anatis in his place before he opened his porthole and climbed out. He threw his yoyo and swung towards the Volcano, heading to the building where Lady Noir was already waiting. He landed next to her, causing her to look at him.

“Looks like Stormy Weather’s made a comeback,” She stated, making him frown before she looked over at him. “So far, she’s not made any actual attack apart from the big volcano but according to the experts, it’s moving us away from the sun,”

“Away from the sun?” He questioned, frowning.

“That seems to be her goal,” She confirmed as Stormy Weather flew a bit closer to the helicopter, filming the scene. Anatis frowned as he watched her. It wasn’t because she ignored them but because her song sounded distorted and she seemed to be in rage. It reminded him of something but right now, he couldn’t put his finger on it. “She seems to be more interesting in the camera then us,”

“Well, let’s see what she has to say,” He replied, making her nod as Stormy Weather focused her attention on the camera. 

“I’m using this volcano to move the Earth away from the sun!” She declared, making the heroes frown. That definitely appeared to be her goal. “Soon, the world will be plunged into a perpetual winter and all earthlings will be nothing but frozen food! Then you’ll see how truly powerful I am!”

She burst into evil laughter as lightning struck around her, making the heroes frown. 

“So that’s her play,” Anatis stated, pulling a thinking face as Lady Noir looked at him. “She’s trying to prove a point and show her power but why? Aurora isn’t usually this type of person. I know she’s been akumatized but she knows her worth and doesn’t need to prove it. The times she has been akumatized… it’s not because someone questioned her ability but jealousy… so why the sudden change?”

“Perhaps we need to do some detective work,” Lady Noir replied, making Anatis nod. “Let’s start with her classmates. Maybe someone saw something,”

“Sounds good to me,” He replied, nodding. “She seems more interested in playing up for the cameras right now anyway,”

Lady Noir nodded before the two of them headed off to find Aurora’s classmates to see if they could find the cause of her sudden akumazation. 

~At the Grand Paris Hotel~

Zoe frowned to herself as she looked over at the volcano that the akuma had summoned. She wasn’t sure what to make of it but it would give her a good sense of how the heroes worked so she was watching the battle… except there wasn’t much of one. She thought that Anatis and Lady Noir would charge head first into a fight but instead they had left the scene. Not that Stormy Weather had noticed. She seemed too busy, showing off her power before flying off. Zoe frowned as she had waited on the roof to see when she would come back. Hearing the lift ping, she let out a sigh before turning around to face the butler. 

“Mademoiselle, I know this is your first time seeing an akuma but please come inside. We can watch it on the news,” He stated, making her frown before she nodded and turned to follow him but before they could, a loud thump caught their attention. Zoe turned around and saw Lady Noir and Anatis where she had stood. “Ah, Mademoiselle Noir and Monsieur Anatis, what can we help you with?”

“We’re trying to find out what caused Aurora to turn back into Stormy Weather,” Anatis explained, making him frown and nod. “Could we come inside and question Miss Raincomplex? We were informed she was here and might have seen something,”

“Yes, of course,” He replied, allowing them to come into the lift. Zoe sneaked a peak at the hero as Jean leaned over and pressed the button. Lady Noir was humming a little and Anatis seemed to be thinking. However, he noticed her staring and gave her a gentle smile, making her cheek flush slightly.

“You must be Zoe,” He stated, making her blink and look at him in surprise. “I’m Anatis and this is Lady Noir,”

“Welcome to Paris!” The cat girl grinned, holding up her fingers in a peace sign. “It’s nice to meet you by the way,”

“It’s nice to meet you too,” She smiled, making the heroes smile back. “But how did you know about me?”

“Oh, my informant told me about it,” Anatis confessed, surprising her. “Nothing bad I assure you,”

“My informant also told me,” Lady Noir added in, surprising her even more. “Nothing bad either,”

“You have informants?” She asked, surprised. Both Anatis and Lady Noir grinned, making her feel a little on edge. It was the type of grin that told her that it wasn’t just one person. They had multiple in the school. She would have to be careful. “Wow,”

“Here we are,” Jean stated as the lift stopped and opened, causing them to walk into the penthouse. Chloe was curled up in her blanket, holding Mr Cuddly while Sabrina was pacing. “Mademoiselle Sabrina, Anatis and Lady Noir wish to talk with you,”

“Oh,” She gasped, walking over as Zoe hovered nearby. “Is everything ok?”

“We’ve been questioning Aurora’s classmates to find out the cause. A few of them mentioned you were talking with her as she left school,” Anatis stated, making Sabrina nod. “Did anything happen?”

“Yes!” She gasped, making them frown. “Aurora was talking to me about her GPS score and Lila Rossi overheard us and offered to tutor her, using it to spit one of her lies. Obviously, we didn’t believe her and when Aurora called her out on it, she made fun of Aurora and called her a villain and told her that her power was pathetic. She was really mean but Aurora brushed it off or at least, I thought she did. I should have known,”

“Sabrina, take a deep breath,” Anatis ordered, causing her to nod. “You did nothing wrong. As per usual, Lila was the cause of this so I’m not even surprised. It also explains why Stormy Weather seems to be trying to make a point. In her mind, she’s proving that she is in fact more powerful than Lila said. Thank you for this information, Sabrina. It’s been very useful,”

“You’re welcome, Anatis,” Sabrina answered, feeling a bit calmer. “But does this mean Aurora is going to hurt Lila?”

“Probably,” He sighed, frowning. “I suppose we better go make sure she’s ok,”

“Do we have to?” Lady Noir whined as the two headed walked back over to the lift.

“Yes,” He replied, though he didn’t sound happy about it before he looked at everyone. “Stay inside, wrap up warm and keep calm. We’ll get Paris back to normal soon,”

“Ok!” Sabrina nodded as they disappeared into the lift. Zoe watched as her eyes lingered on where the heroes had been. Sabrina moved closer to her. “You know Chloe has a life size cut out of him. I’m sure she wouldn’t mind if you borrowed it,”

“What?” Zoe asked as Chloe shot up.

“Hey! That is my lifesize cut out!” She declared, making Sabrina smile. “If Zoe wants one, Daddy can buy her one too!”

“You have a lifesize cut out of Anatis?” Zoe asked as Chloe grinned proudly. “Do you have a crush on him or something?”

“Who doesn’t?” Chloe asked as Sabrina blushed a little. Zoe wasn’t surprised by that. The boy was attractive. “I still need to get a life size cut of Lady Noir as well,”

“Wait what?!”

“What? I have a crush on her too,”

~The Rossi’s House~

Anatis landed on the window seal, frowning as he noticed the window was open. Lady Noir landed next as he climbed inside then followed. Both of them shivered as they glanced around Lila’s room. It was freezing to the point of seeing their breaths and the masks covering her walls did not help. Anatis walked over to the laptop on the floor and picked it up, frowning as he saw ice on it. He glanced over and saw an icy patch on the wall. 

“Seems Aurora came here,” He muttered, making Lady Noir nod as she shivered. “I’d guess she came through the window and fired at Lila but she got out of the way before it could hit her,”

He walked over to the door and opened it, finding the hallway covered in ice too. It was colder here as well.

“I think we better use our winter suits,” He stated, getting a nod from Lady Noir before they both took out the power up snack and ate them, turning their suits into their winter ones. Anatis walked into the hallway and followed the ice through the house. “She must of ran downstairs,”

“And Aurora followed,” Lady Noir replied as they made their way downstairs. As soon as they did, they saw Mrs Rossi frozen with a look of shock on her face. By the way she was standing, it appeared that someone had pushed her in front of them. “Did she seriously sacrifice her own mother?”

“Are we really surprised?” Anatis questioned as they followed the ice. “She caused her and her father to be akumatized,”

“True but still…” Lady Noir mumbled as they came across her father in a similar way. They made their way past him, coming to the back door which was open. They walked outside and came to a stop as they found Lila frozen in the garden as she attempted to run away. “Did her no good in the end,”

“You’re right about that,” Stormy Weather’s voice declared, causing the two heroes to gasp and look behind them before she attempted to freeze them. The two heroes jumped back, avoiding her ice as she cackled before they took out their weapons and charged at her. She dodged them and fired more ice at them before Lady Noir dived at her. She almost got to her but last second, Stormy Weather turned on her and hit her with a strong gale, smirking as she did. Lady Noir was knocked to the ground and Stormy Weather pointed her umbrella at her, only this time it didn’t appear to have ice. Lady Noir gasped as a bolt of lightning almost struck her but Anatis pulled her out of the way and threw his yoyo towards Stormy Weather, who knocked it back with ease and sent him a glare that could kill. “You’ll never defeat me, you stupid bug! I’m a hurricane!”

With those words, she directed her umbrella at them and summoned strong winds, sending them crashing through a building roof as she laughed evilly. 

“Ouch,” Anatis gasped, rubbing his back as Lady Noir got up. He pulled himself up as well before turning to her. “Are you ok?”

“Nothing broken,” She grinned, making him smile back. “But Stormy Weather is so much more stronger and… colder then before,”

“You noticed too,” He sighed, frowning. “Something about all this doesn’t add up. I know she went after people before but to completely try and plunge the earth into a new ice age just to prove a point… even for an akuma, it seems extreme,”

“That and she certainly seemed willing to kill us,” Lady Noir replied, making him frown. “I’m pretty certain that bolt of lightning would have turned me to dust. Thanks for the save,”

“Anytime, Kitten,” He smiled before making a face. She raised an eyebrow. “She knocked us into this building right?”

“Yeah,” She replied, a little confused as to why he asked.

“Then why hasn’t she chased after us?” He questioned, making her frown too. Most normal akumas chase after them. That’s usually their whole goal. Sure, there were a number of them that completed their goal first but they always went after them afterwards. The only one that didn’t really do that was Crescendo. Sure, she had tried to take their miraculous but her behaviour was erratic and she kept on changing her goal. “Something isn’t right at all,”

“She reminds me of Crescendo a little bit,” Lady Noir mumbled, making Anatis look at her before he pulled a face, like he was thinking. “Like the erratic behaviour and the killer streak. You know what. Just ign-”

“That’s it!” He gasped, making her jump a little. “That’s what I couldn’t place. Earlier when she was focused on the camera, I c

And here we have my version of the Ladybug episode. Since obviously we don’t have Ladybug, the sentimonster isn’t here and I couldn’t call them ‘Bugette’ so the sentimonster is known as Sentis (Senti-Anatis). Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy this. It was rather interesting to write and definitely sets the feeling for the next half of 'season 4’. Part of this is the build up to Truth which will be the season finale. I should warn you now though. It’s gonna get worst before it gets better. There’s literally gonna be one chapter that won’t be too serious but chapters 70-80 will be rough for our favorite bug boy and will be a test of character for him. Anyway, the next chapter will be the long awaited Lady Blanche. I’m very excited to write this chapter and as it has been and will be with this story, it will differ slightly from canon. Anyway, hope you guys like this chapter and enjoyed how I’ve worked into this universe :D Also I changed Lila’s reason at the end. I always hated how she claims this 'rare’ disease causes her to lie so I’ve worked in what I hope is a more realistic chapter and hopefully in the snippets as well as some future chapters, we will learn where she learnt her lying habits and learn more about her character. For a heads up, I won’t be giving her a 'tragic’ background as I feel like that wouldn’t work with her. Also the reason why Hawkmoth is called Sphinx in Lila’s phone is so no one realizes it’s him if they saw it. Sphinx Moths are another name for Hawkmoths.

————————————————————————————

Chapter Sixty-Nine: Anatis (½)

~Lila’s Household~

Lila sighed to herself as she turned the page on her magazines. She smirked as she came across a recent fashion piece with her own photos. She had done a number of photo-shoots since joining Gabriel as an official model and she had to admit, she liked it. It was such easy money. All she had to do was wear the latest designs and pose in front of a camera. She even got to keep some of the clothes as part of the contract and she earnt €4000 roughly each month. Of course, she wasn’t earning the same level of paid as Adrien or the other 'faces’ of Gabriel as she was fairly new to the company but for once, she certainly wasn’t complaining and Ms Sancoeur had explained that as she got more experience, she would earn more money and that she was also one of the models who is paid more due to be a 'face’ of Gabriel. Each 'face’ had their own clothing area that they modelled. Adrien, being the most popular face, had more than one but that made sense. Lila’s area was everyday clothing for teenagers but she was hoping to take over as the model for Teen Evening Wear as she would get to model with Adrien that way. She just needed the position to open up or find a way to get it open. Maybe she could convince Mr Agreste that the current model is a bad influence on Adrien. After all that is her second job. She was to make sure that Adrien didn’t have any bad influences in his life, which was especially hard thanks to him dating Kagami and how the majority of the class acted around her. It wasn’t that they completely ignored her. No, she would rather that because then she could focus her attention on making them feel bad for neglecting her and use it to convince others that she was been bullied by them. Oh, no… what they were doing was much worse. They just treated her as normal and took her words with a grain of salt, thanks to Anatis. Marinette and Juleka, she expected it from. She wouldn’t care if it was just the two of them because she could make their lives hell by simply turning their classmates against them and she had tried but every time she accused either girl of something, everyone including Miss Bustier asked for proof or they had a way to disprove her claims, forcing her to retract her comments and either lie to cover it up or admit that she was lying for attention again. Miss Bustier had even insisted on her seeing the school therapist. Luckily, she got out of that by using the fact that her father had her seeing some crackpot for it. However, Mr Agreste didn’t seem to mind so much. Besides, it didn’t matter where she stood with the class because she could still easily fulfill the requirements of her third job as Hawkmoth’s ally. You didn’t need people to like you to sow seeds of discord. Lila was smart in her own way. Sure, she wasn’t great at Maths or some Academic but she was crafty and if there was one thing she knew how to do, it was to manipulate people. She didn’t need them to like her. She just needed them to listen to her and that was something even Marinette did because as much as she didn’t want to, Marinette and the others in her class had good hearts, meaning they would try and prove to others that Lila was a liar. Good hearts were easy to manipulate. As the old saying goes 'the road to hell is paved with good intentions’ and her classmates were the type to have good intentions and wear their hearts on their sleeves. She closed the magazine and put it down before getting up to head to the fridge. She took out juice and poured herself a glass as her phone vibrated, making her cock an eyebrow and walk over to it. She unlocked it and opened the text she had received, causing her to smirk.

Sphinx: Be at the Park asap. I have a job for you.

L: I’m on my way

Lila closed the chat box as she grabbed her jacket and put it on before grabbing her keys and her favourite book. She locked the door behind her and walked to the park, taking a seat on the bench closest to the road and far from anyone in the park before opening her book and reading it as she waited. A few seconds later, a car pulled behind her.

“What’s the job?” She asked, not looking up from the book.

“I need you to put your skills to use at your school,” He stated, making her raise an eyebrow. “There’s a target in your school who has been on my radar for some time. I have good reason to believe that this target would not only be the akuma that could defeat Anatis and Lady Noir but could be a catalyst which allow me to use my scarlet akumas again,”

“I see, Sir,” She replied, smirking. “Does this mean I get to be Miracle Queen again?”

“Not this time, my dear,” He replied, making her frown. “Oh, don’t take it the wrong way, Miss Rossi. You are an excellent and powerful akuma but you’re just as powerful without powers. Why grant you the ability to control people when you could simply bend them to your will with your actions and words?”

“Very well,” She smirked. “Who’s the target?”

“Luka Couffaine,” He replied, making her frown. “I am more than aware of the restraining order he has against you but for this to succeed, I don’t need you to actually go near him. I just need you to create a situation that will allow me to akumatized him and possibly others,”

“Doesn’t he have fits when you try?” She asked, rolling her eyes. There was no way that was true. He’s probably just faking them. “I mean I wouldn’t want you to hu-”

“Save the pretence, Miss Rossi,” He stated, making her go quiet. “It doesn’t matter if he does as long as the akumatization is successful. As for what happens to him after… well, I couldn’t care less about that,”

“I see,” She replied, nodding. “Rest assured, Sir. It will be done,”

“Excellent. You will be well rewarded for this,” He replied, causing her to hear the window being closed and the car to drive off. She closed her book and put it away before getting up and leaving. 

~A Few Days Later~

Lila turned the page on her book as she sat in her usual spot in the park, waiting for the car to pull so she could report her progress. So far, she made a plan that would paint Luka in a bad light if believed, even though the chances were slim but that’s was the best part. Even if it wasn’t believed, it would anger him, his friend and in particular Marinette and give Hawkmoth the opportunity to akumatized Luka. In fact, it would actually be better if it wasn’t believed as the emotions would be more devastating. Anger is good but righteous rage is better plus it would finally show the world that Luka Couffaine is not perfect at all. She paused as she heard a car pull up behind her.

“I thought I ordered you to put your skills to use,” Hawkmoth’s voice stated, making her frown a little. He sounded annoyed.

“My plan is taking a little longer than expected, Sir. The school has been taking extra precautions with their security,” She replied, frowning. She was going to do exactly the same plan she used on Marinette that caused her to become Princess Justice. Only this time, Luka will be her target. The only difference is that she might not be able to claim that Luka pushed her down the stairs but if she sees a chance to do that, she will be doing so but framing him the same way she framed Marinette wouldn’t just make him vulnerable to akumas but Marinette and her classmates too. However, since Anatis’ appearance, the school had been working on their security and a zero tolerance on bullying. They had been making sure they investigated each case correctly as well, making it a lot hard to frame people for bullying her. Her plan to frame Luka was risky but she didn’t care about that. She only cared about the reward. “Will you keep your promise if I succeed?”

“I always honour my commitments,” Hawkmoth stated, making her smirk. “As long as you honour yours,”

“Of course I will,” She smirked as the window closed up. She closed her book and took out her phone. It was reaching the last half an hour of break. She would have to be careful with her plan as it required her not been seen nor caught by cameras. She knew the school had to have proof so she had done her research. Mrs Mendeleiev’s class been having a test on physics this afternoon so she needed to get the answer key for it. The best time to do would that would be now since the teachers would be in their lounge. The good thing was there would be no CCTV in the classroom as it was allowed to be in there without a justified reason. The difficult part would be getting it into Luka’s bag but he tended to leave it in the locker room while he was in class. She glanced around as she walked through the gate. Most of the students were still on their lunch break so she made her way up the stairs and headed to Mrs Mendeleive’s classroom, looking at her watch as she did. She glanced around as she did before trying the door. To her annoyance, it was locked but that wasn’t as much of an issue as it would be for a normal person. She glanced around once more, making sure no one was around before taking out a couple of pins from her hair and using them to pick the lock. She smirked as she felt it click before slipping inside and closing the door behind her. She walked over to the desk and opened the draws, going through them until she found papers. She read over them, making sure they were in fact correct before she slipped them into her own bag and closed the draw. She walked over to the door and left, using her pins to re-lock the door before she headed towards Miss Bustier’s classroom, satisfied that the first part of her plan had gone off without a hitch. All she had to do was plant the answers on him and plant her necklace in his locker. She would do that tomorrow morning as she had a therapy session schedule in the morning at 10am. The school was already informed about it and planting them on him tomorrow meant it gave time for Mrs Mendeleiev to become suspicious of her class. It was perfect.

“Hey, you look happy, girl,” Alya smiled, making her smirk back.

“Oh, it’s because of my job,” She smiled, making Alya raise an eyebrow. “Oh, didn’t I tell you? I’m a model at Gabriel now. It’s been so busy I must of forgotten to tell you,”

“That’s awesome,” Alya grinned, making Lila smile. “Do you get to model with Adrien?”

“Not yet but as long as I keep up my good work, I should be able to at some point,” She replied, noticing Adrien rolling his eyes. “It is so much fun,”

“I bet,” Alya grinned as Marinette came in. “Oh, you could model for Marinette!”

“Oh, I wouldn’t want to intrude,” She gasped, hoping Marinette either calls her a liar or is harsh towards her. “But I could give her a few pointers,”

“That’s nice of you, Lila but I already have models and modelling for a different company is probably against your contract,” She stated, making Lila frown. She was expecting Marinette to call her a liar yet she hadn’t. “Congratulations on the job though. I saw your photoshoot in the latest issue of Chic,”

“Oh, thank you,” Lila replied in a sweet tone but both her and Marinette knew it was false. “Well, if you do need help and it doesn’t break my contract, you can call me. I would  love  to help you,”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Marinette stated, taking her seat next to Alya, who leaned over and whispered something. Lila gritted her teeth when no one was looking before turning her attention to the lesson.

~The Next Day~

Lila smirked to herself as she walked down the stairs after being excused from class. She was on her way to her 'therapist’ so she would be out of school for an hour but it was the perfect chance to frame Luka. She had overheard Miss Bustier talking to Mrs Mendeleiev about the stolen papers this morning, along with the rest of the school. To ensure her plan worked and she had time to do what she needed to do, she learnt Luka’s lesson plan. Right now, he was in the gym and as such had left his bag in his locker, giving her the perfect opportunity to plant the answer key. And if anyone got suspicious of her… well, she had a perfect reason to be in the locker room. The locker room itself had no cameras as it was illegal to have them in due to minors possibly changing their clothes in there for Gym or other reasons but there was a camera at the entrance so if they looked over it and saw her enter, she had a reason as to why she would be in there. It would have been better if the camera wasn’t there like the last time but she’ll work with what she had. She entered the room and headed to her locker before taking out her bag and moving across to Luka’s locker. It was a pin coded lock but she had watched from afar and had learned his code. She glanced around before opening it and removing the lock. She smirked as she opened it and took out his bag. She unzipped it and placed the folded up answers in there, making sure to put it in the pocket inside to make it look hidden but have it visible enough for someone to notice if they looked inside. She rezipped it up and placed it back in it’s exact place before closing the locker. She made sure the door was locked again. Satisfied, she left the room and headed outside to her father’s parked car. She greeted her father and got in before they drove off. She took out her phone as he listened to the radio, opening up the chat between her and Hawkmoth.

L: Get ready. My plan has been set in motion.

S: Excellent

She smiled before going onto the school’s website and typing a message on it before posting it.

Anonymous: Hi, I’m really concerned about something I saw yesterday. I didn’t think much about it until I heard that some test answers were missing. I saw a student acting really odd on the break yesterday. He seemed to be looking in his bag a lot. Not sure of his name but he has dyed blue hair and has a guitar case. It might be nothing but I’m concerned. Hope this helps. 

The best part was Luka was looking in his bag a lot yesterday, like something was in there. She knew it wasn’t the answer key as she hadn’t even stolen it at that point but she wasn’t the only person who had seen it. It was perfect.

~After Break~

Luka hummed lightly to himself as he wrote down the notes he was taking. His bag was now next to him, having been taken out of his locker after Gym yet he remained unaware of Lila’s plans. As far as he knew, his bag hadn’t been tampered with and he wasn’t about to be accused of cheating on the test. He hoped he had done well yesterday but that was as far as his thoughts regarding it went since it was only a small one that wouldn’t really affect his grade. The class was waiting for Mrs Mendeleiev to return after she had been called out of the class by Mr Damocles. The door opened and she came back in. Luka frowned as she didn’t look happy at all and weirdly enough, Mr Haprele followed.

“Class, I have to attend to a serious matter. Please do these worksheets that Mr Haprele is handing out,” She stated as he began to hand them out before she looked towards Luka, making him frown. “Mr Couffaine, could you come with me please? Bring your bag please,”

“Sure…” He muttered, concerned as he grabbed it. He got up and walked over, following her out of the room. “Am I in trouble?”

“You are aware that the answer key to the test yesterday was stolen, correct?” She asked, making him nod. He heard from Aurora. “There was an anonymous comment on the school website that suggests you were the one who took it and that you may have stolen from other students,”

“What?!” He gasped, stopping. She turned and looked at him. “But I didn’t. I don’t steal,”

“While I’m inclined to agree, I must investigate these claims as protocol requires it,” She stated as they headed into an empty classroom. They walked over to the desk, causing her to gesture towards it. “Please put your bag on the table,”

He did as told, taking it out and opening it for Mrs Mendeleiev to search it before he stepped back. He held his breath as she searched before she pulled out a piece of paper. She unfolded it and read it, revealing the answer key. He looked at it in shock.

“I swear I didn’t-”

“This is very serious, Mr Couffaine,” She stated in a calm voice. “I must get the principal immediately,”

“But I’m innocent!” He gasped, making her look at him. “I didn’t take the answer key I swear!”

“Mr Couffaine, I understand but we still have to investigate this,” She stated, making him frown. “You’ve been accused of having an answer key for a test and it has been found in your bag. I have to inform Mr Damocles and we will have to call in your mother,”

“But I didn’t do it!” He argued, tears in his eyes. “Please believe me,”

“I want to…” She admitted before looking down at the sheet in her hand. “But the evidence does suggest otherwise, which is why we must do this by the book,”

He looked at her with a broken expression before she led him out of the locker room. He followed her with his shoulders slumped, following her to the principal’s office. Within minutes, his mother had been called and was arguing his case inside the office while he waited outside. Tikki pressed her paw against his chest, letting him know that she was there but things were about to get worse. A few minutes later, Lila walked up the stairs, heading back to Miss Bustier’s class after returning from her therapy session. Unknown to him, she had put the next part of her plan in action. Since she had to return to the locker room to return her things there, she had taken the chance to slip her necklace into his locker, making sure it was well hidden so they would have to search for it. Now she just needed to get them back in the locker room.

“Oh my gosh, are you ok, Luka?” She asked, making him grit his teeth. “You look upset. Wait… why are you outside the principal’s office? Are you in trouble?”

“Leave me alone,” He growled, folding his arms and looking away from her as her smile turned to a smirk.

“Of course, you are,” She stated, making him blink. “I heard you stole the answer key. Strange, you’re normally so well behaved,”

“You…” He gasped before narrowing his eyes. “It was you who gave the anonymous tip and you who put the answers in my bag. You broke into my locker!”

“Wasn’t hard,” She muttered, shrugging so only he could hear it. “I swore I’d make your life a living hell. Let’s see how you get out of this one,”

Luka frowned as he noticed her walk towards the edge before she smirked at him and turned to walk down the stairs. Realising what she intended to do, he jumped up as she walked down some of the stairs before she smirked at him. He gasped as she missed her footing, causing her to fall down the last three steps. She cried out as she did, causing the doors to the principal’s office to open. Luka spun around as Lila cried that he had pushed her at the bottom of the stairs. 

“Mrs Mendeleiev! Get the nurse!” Mr Damocles declared before turning to Luka and pointed to the door to his office. “Inside my office now!”

Luka flinched at the raised voice, instinctively stepping back.

“I didn’t push her!” He gasped. “Why would I?!”

“B-Because he hates me!” She sobbed, making him blink. “I just tried to be his friend!”

“Liar!” His mother declared, causing everyone to look at him. “That child has assaulted my boy before! She is a menace and if you believe for one second he would do something like this then you are crazy! Check the CCTV for crying out loud before you condemn my lad!”

Lila had to hide her smirk as her plan was coming together nicely.

“Of course, I shall,” Mr Damocles declared, turning to walk back in. The nurse came and checked on Lila, helping her to the office as Luka sat in with his mother by his side. Mr Damocles phoned Mr Rossi straight away before checking over the CCTV as they waited for her father to come in, frowning as he did. Once her father was there, he turned back to Lila. “Miss Rossi, it appears that Mr Couffaine did not push you. That you walked down the stairs and fell down three of them. Why did you declare it was Mr Couffaine when it was clear it wasn’t?”

“B-Because I thought it was…” She gasped, crying as her father rubbed her back. “Luka has just been so mean to me and all I’ve done is try to be his friend. He even stole my necklace off me!”

“I didn’t do anything!” Luka declared, getting a glare of Mr Rossi as the captain. “Ma, I swear I haven’t done anything at all. I didn’t steal the answer key, I didn’t try to hurt Lila and I didn’t steal anything from her! Why would I?! I don’t want anything to do with her! That’s why I have a restraining order on her!”

“My bambino wouldn’t lie about something so serious,” Mr Rossi declared, making Anarka roll her eyes.

“And my lad wouldn’t steal or hurt anyone!” She declared before gesturing to Lila. “And why should I believe this scallywag?! She’s accusing him without proof,”

“Oh, I have proof,” She replied, making everyone look at her. “Check his locker,”

“Excuse me?!” Anarka gasped, as everyone looked at her. “Why would you suggest that?! That makes it seem like you put it there yourself!”

“I’m just saying if he’s innocent then there would be nothing in his locker,” Lila replied, looking down before she looked up at Luka. “You have nothing to hide right, Luka?”

Luka gritted his teeth as Lila stared at him, waiting for his reply. It was obvious at this point that she had planted the evidence in his locker, leaving him in a catch 22. If he turned around and refused to let them look in his locker, it would look bad for him. They had already found the test answers in his bag and it would make him look more guilty if he said no but if he said yes and they found something in his locker, he would look just as guilty. He knew that’s what she wanted. He was damned if he did and damned if he didn’t.

“Fine,” He stated, making everyone look at him. “Look in my locker. I have nothing to hide,”

“Very well,” Mr Damocles declared, getting up. The families and Mrs Mendeleiev followed him out of the office and to the locker room, with Mr Rossi helping Lila walk. They walked into the locker room, causing the students in there to look over. In particular, Marinette looked extremely worried, making both Mr Damocles and Mrs Mendeleiev think about how similar the situation was. The students watched as Luka came to a stop in front of his locker, looking straight at Mr Damocles, who cleared his throat. “Open your locker please,”

Luka turned and opened it, causing a white box to fall out as soon as he did. It landed on the floor, causing a fox tail pendant to fall out, making the students and the teachers looked at it in shock.

“My pendent,” Lila gasped, reaching for it and picking it up as her father glared at Luka.

“This is unacceptable,” He declared angrily. “I demand this boy to be arrested and expelled!”

“Wait!” Marinette gasped, rushing over. She looked at Mr Damocles with a desperate look. “Mr Damocles, you can’t expel him! Luka didn’t do anything! Lila is framing him, just like she framed me!”

“Marinette, how could you say that?” Lila gasped, tears in her eyes. “I know I made a mistake but that was Chloe-”

“I didn’t tell you anything,” Chloe replied, walking over. “Marinette is right. You legally can’t expel Luka. Only the board has that kind of power and if you even think about it, I’ll call my daddy,”

“Miss Bourgeois, there is no need to get the mayor involved,” Mr Damocles gasped nervously. “I am not going to expel Mr Couffaine,”

“What?!” Mr Rossi shouted, making everyone glare at him. “The evidence is right there! He is a good for nothing thief!”

“Don’t you dare call my son that, you stuck up bigot!”

“Mr Rossi. Ms Couffaine,” Mr Damocles gasped, holding up his hands. “Please, calm down-”

“That’s Captain Couffaine!” Anarka declared. “And I won’t calm down while my son is wrongly accused!”

“Captain, please. We will follow the rules in this situation to find the truth,” He gasped, making them both look at him. “The rules state that the accused must be suspended until the case can be fully investigated,”

“Suspended?!” Anarka gasped, clearly annoyed. The class looked just as annoyed and were shouting out in Luka’s defense. Alya, on the other, looked shell shocked and devastated. Unbeknownst to anyone else, she was realising Lila was not the perfect person she thought she was. It was one thing to lie about small things but to lie that Luka had stolen from her when he came across as one of the kindest persons she had met was on a different level. Not just that but Lila had to have planted the 'evidence’ in his locker to make it look that way. “How can you suspend my boy when he has done nothing wrong?!”

“Yeah!” Rose gasped, making the teachers look at her. “Luka won’t hurt or steal from anyone!”

“He’s a good person!” Ivan piped as Mylene nodded furiously. “He’s friends with Anatis for crying out loud!”

“Students, please,” Mr Damocles declared, holding his hands up as Mrs Mendeleiev frowned. “That’s enough. Demeter, if you could help me,”

“I don’t think Mr Couffaine did what he was accused of,” She stated, making everyone blink. “But school rules are school rules and as such must be followed. I’m sorry, Mr Couffaine but we must do this by the book,”

“I… I understand,” Luka sighed as Lila smirked. Marinette gasped and looked close to crying while the rest of the students had looks of disbelief and anger on their faces. Luka took a deep breath before looking at Lila. “The truth will come out one way or another,”

With that, he turned on his heel and began to walk towards the door with his head held high.

~Hawkmoth’s Lair~

“Ah, yes. This was worth the wait,” Hawkmoth declared as his butterflies flew around him. Behind him Nathalie stood, though her expression was unsure. She had tried to convince him to go a different way but he hadn’t listened. Part of her was unsure about this plan, mostly because of how the boy had reacted the previous time they had tried to get him but Hawkmoth was certain that this was the time they would succeed. “The downfall of Luka Couffaine brings about the despair of those who love him. Knowing their friend and loved one is wrong accused has opened a chasm of negativity,”

He closed his eyes, smirking as he did.

“I can feel the huge waves of negative emotions coming from this injustice and not just from the witnesses,” He declared, smirking. “Luka Couffaine may be putting on a brave face but he is hurt by the turn of events nevertheless, making him perfect prey once again for my akumas,”

“Are you sure this is a good idea sir?” Nathalie asked as he held out his hand. “While I agree he could make an excellent akuma, what if he reacts the same way he did before?”

“He won’t,” He declared, confidently as he charged up the butterfly that had landed on his hand. “I know we’ll succeed this time and he’ll bring us the miraculous… Now are you ready? I can’t do this without you, Nathalie. I need you,”

“O-Of course, Sir,” She blushed, ignoring her previous concerns. She took a deep breath and looked up at him as he walked over to her. “More than ever,”

“Good,” He smiled, placing the akuma into her tablet. “Catalyst, I’m returning to you the power to transform me into Scarlet Moth,”

She accepted the akuma, turning her back into Catalyst before placing her hand on his cane, charging it up with red energy.

“From now on, you are the almighty Scarlet Moth,” She declared, causing a red light to flow up from his legs, changing his outfit into a red version. Scarlet Moth grinned, spinning his cane around.

“Thanks to you, I can release as many akumas as I desire!” He declared, tapping the butterflies with his cane. They turned into red versions of the akumas, making him smirk. He continued to change them until all of the butterflies in his lair had become Scarlet Akumas. Satisfied, he held his arms out. “Ah! Fly away, my little akumas! Find Luka Couffaine and his friends and evilize them all!!”

With that, the scarlet akumas flew out the window and made a beeline for the school. 

~Back at the School~

Luka sighed as he walked over to the door and opened it but as soon as he did, the swarm of Scarlet akumas fluttered at them, causing everyone to panic. Luka instinctively covered his face with his arms, causing one of the akumas to fuse with his leather bracelet as others flew to his classmates. One entered his mother’s ring while another entered Rose’s shoe and Juleka’s glove. Luka gripped his head as he tried to fight the influence he could feel, stepping back as the other scarlet akumas entered other people’s items, turning the majority of the students into their akumatized self. In the corner of his eye, he saw one fluttering towards Marinette and entering her purse.

“N-No!” Luka gasped, gripping his head as the buzzing noise started but it wasn’t as intense as the previous time. He gripped his head.

Luka, can you hear me?  Finni’s voice stated, making him nod in response. He just hoped Hawkmoth couldn’t hear him.  Listen to me. I can’t just push the akuma out like I normally do. It’s more powerful than the normal type and everyone is connected. If I try to expel it, I could seriously injure everyone here. You need to try and expel it yourself…

Luka nodded to show that he understood before trying to push back on the connection.

“Oh?” Hawkmoth smirked as he felt Luka mentally pushing back. The buzzing was still there and he had no idea of what Finni just told Luka but he could feel Luka’s mental strength and it was a lot stronger than he originally thought. “You’re trying to resist the akuma?”

“I d-don’t need your help!” Luka gasped out, making Hawkmoth smirk. Only someone with a strong will could be a brilliant akuma. “I w-won’t let you influence me!”

“Well, that simply won’t do,” Scarlet Moth stated in reply, frowning as he could feel the connection with Luka breaking. It shocked him but the boy was actually pushing the akuma from him. Not just that but it felt like the akuma had been purified, which was impossible. Luka pushed back even more, causing the akuma to be forced out of his bracelet, losing it’s red and turning back into a normal butterfly. Luka sucked in a deep breath as those who hadn’t been caught by the akumas stared at him in shock. Before they could celebrate this victory, one of the remaining Scarlet Akumas fluttered over to Luka and re-entered his bracelet, opening up the connection again. Luka froze in fear and exhaustion as he felt Scarlet Moth back in his mind. “Impressive, young man but you can’t get rid of me that easily,”

“G-Get out of m-my head!” Luka gasped back, trying to push the akuma out of his bracelet again but he was drained from doing it already and Scarlet Moth wasn’t about to lose another.

“Ah, now there’s no need for that trick again,” Scarlet Moth replied as some of the remaining scarlet akumas fluttered over to him. “I have waited too long to akumatized you, Couffaine! I’m not about to stop now! Now you may be able to resist one of my akumas but I doubt you can resist all of them,”

“D-Don’t!” Luka gasped, realising what he intended to do but it was too late. One of the spare scarlet akumas entered his ring, strengthened the connection even more but it also caused pain, causing Luka to grip his head as he cried out in pain. “Y-You do-don’t know what you’re doing!”

“I’m making the most powerful akuma I’ve ever had,” Scarlet Moth replied as another one entered his other bracelet. He let out a howl of pain as he gripped his head hard. His eyes began to flicker between silver and blue as he tightened his hands, digging his fingernails into his scalp as blood began to trickle out of his nose. He knew he needed to force the akumas out but he didn’t have the strength too… but he had to. He could hear those who were not akumatized, trying to encourage him not to give in but he wasn’t sure who hadn’t been akumatized and who had. “Even now you’re still resisting,”

“I… w-won’t…” He gasped, pain numbing his senses. “I… c-can’t…”

“Such stubbornness,” Scarlet Moth sighed as another akuma entered his third bracelet. Almost instantly, Luka let out a scream of pain as his arms dropped to his side and his head slumped over, making those who hadn’t been akumatized gasp and step back as he looked up. A cruel expression had appeared on his face, complete with a psychotic grin that didn’t suit him. His nose was bleeding like he had been punched in it and he looked deranged as he stared with the butterfly mask around his eyes. The whole scene sent a shiver down everyone’s spine including Lila. Even Scarlet Moth felt a chill in the air, much like when he had akumatized Meishi. Not that he heeded it. Instead he smirked in triumph. “At last! Truth, I am Scarlet Moth. Since the innocent is no longer to believed, I’m giving you the power to expose the truth,”

Luka!! Don’t give in to him!! Fin gasped as Hawkmoth addressed the others, clearly unaware of the spiritual connection he still had with Luka. Luka!!!

“As you, my desperate loyal ones, I give you to Truth to serve his loyal army in his quest for the truth. In return, all I ask is for Anatis and Lady Noir’s miraculous… do we have a deal?” Marinette reached for her ring and Luka instinctively reached for his earrings but before he could, the buzzing noise came back full force, cutting off the connection to Scarlet Moth. It caused him to almost gain control over himself again, though it didn’t seem quite real or that he was fully in his body. 

Finni?  He thought in a dazed state.

I’m sorry, Luka!  Finni’s voice echoed.  I know I said that I could hurt everyone but I can’t let you fall into the hands of evil! Please forgive me!

What..? Why..?

Clean Slate!

~Hawkmoth’s Lair~

“Truth?” Scarlet Moth asked, wondering why his minion wasn’t answering. Catalyst also looked worried but before Hawkmoth could answer again, a wave of power suddenly hit them, causing him to get a headache and Catalyst to start coughing. He gasped and dropped his transformation rushing over to her as she sunk to the floor, coughing.

“Nathalie!” He gasped, picking her up and completely abandoning his plan. In that moment, he didn’t care that he was close to akumatizing Luka and nearly seizing the miraculous. Instead, he was focusing on Nathalie, bringing her upstairs and calling for a doctor to check her over. The miraculous could wait for now.

~Back at School~

Clean Slate! A burst of light and energy appeared, swiping across everyone and freeing them from the akumas, causing them to groan in pain as they felt like they had been hit over the head. A few of them even threw up. However, the wave didn’t purify the akumas. The students who hadn’t been akumatized moved in front of the ones who had and protected them from the scarlet akumas that were looking for a victim before they lost their red and turned back into normal butterflies, leaving the students confused. However, the situation wasn’t over yet. Within seconds of the butterflies losing their red, Luka’s eyes rolled back into his head and he collapsed to the floor as his body shook, much to the horror of everyone there.

“Luka!” Juleka screamed, rushing over with Marinette and Rose before they tried to help him as Lila stared. She hadn’t believed it to be true until this second as there was no way he was faking. Blood was rushing his nose as his body shook violently. It was much more violent than the previous time Marinette had seen, causing her to panic. She stepped back in fear as she watched. “What do we do?!”

“I don’t know!” Rose gasped as the Captain rushed over. Marinette took a deep breath before kneeling down and held Luka’s head, trying to stop him from hitting it but everyone else seemed to be panicking. Mr Damocles looked horrified, along with the other teachers. Mrs Mendeleiev rushed over and helped Marinette hold his head still as Rose fluttered around, scared.

“Miss Lillivant, please be still,” Mrs Mendeleiev stated before turning to Marinette, who was trying to remain calm. “Miss Dupain-Cheng, I need you to keep calm and help me move him into the recovery position. Can someone phone an ambulance while we do that?”

“Already on it, Miss!” Aurora gasped, looking up from her phone. Mrs Mendeleiev nodded and with Marinette’s help, they moved Luka onto his side. Aurora moved over a few minutes later, now off the phone. She also had taken off her hoodie and folded it up. She knelt down and placed it under Luka’s head as his movements began to slow. Marinette gave her a look. “The ambulance is on it’s way and it’s best to make sure he doesn’t hit his head. Is his airway clear? He could choke if they’re not,”

“R-Right,” Marinette replied as the butterflies that were once the akumas fluttered around him, almost like they felt bad for causing this. Marinette made sure he was breathing ok as Aurora got up and tended to Rose and Juleka, helping them to calm down. Marinette hummed softly as she stroked his hair as the seizure calmed down. A few minutes later, the paramedics came in and checked over him before moving him onto a stretcher and out to the waiting ambulance. Juleka and the Captain went with him as Marinette hugged Rose, who was crying. Aurora came back over, causing Marinette to look at her. “H-How did you know about the head thing and to keep his airways clear?”

“It’s basic first aid when it comes to seizures,” She muttered, rubbing the back of her neck. “Epilepsy runs in my family so we’re all trained to deal with it. I have it as does my cousin and father but I didn’t know akumas could trigger it,”

“According to the doctors, they can’t,” Marinette frowned before hissing as her head hurt. She wanted to check on Luka but she also needed to have a word with Plagg. After all, she nearly gave up her ring. She wanted to make sure he still thought she was worthy to be Lady Noir, even if she felt for Lila’s plan. Speaking of Lila, her father cleared his throat, making everyone look at him.

“Well, I hope you’re still going to investigate that delinquent!” He demanded, making everyone glare at him. “That child stole-”

“He just had a seizure after almost being possessed by Hawkmoth and you still think we should care about what Lie-la said?!” Felix growled, making everyone look at him. “Anyone in their right mind would know that brat is lying through her teeth again! Or did you miss that she framed someone else in the exact same way?!”

“I didn’t!” Lila cried, making everyone look at her. “I swear Chloe told me otherwise! She’s the one who’s lying!”

“And Luka having your necklace in his locker?” Alya asked, making everyone look at her. She looked hurt and broken. “Everyone here knows that Luka isn’t a thief. He has never acted out before nor broken the rules yet he 'stole’ your necklace?”

“Yes!” She gasped. “You have to believe me, Alya. I’m telling the truth,”

“Just like the time you told me that Adrien is dating you when he’s been with Kagami for the majority of the year? Or better yet what about the time when you told my siblings that you invented a highly popular game or that you saved Jagged Stone’s cat on an airport runway?” She asked, causing her father to look at her as Lila looked at her shocked. “Tell me, Lila… if Luka stole it and put it in his locker… how did you know it was there?”

“Because I saw him!” She gasped, thinking she had won. “He took it from my bag and placed it in his locker,”

“So you admit you stalked him and broke the terms of the restraining order?” Alya asked, making everyone gasped and Lila looked at her like a gaping fish before she denied it. “There’s only two ways you could know. In one way, you stalked him and in the other, you framed him. Either way, I don’t want to be friends with someone like that,”

“You can’t stop being my friend!” Lila gasped, making Alya look at her. “I made you who you are! You wouldn’t be half as popular as you are with myinterviews!”

“Marinette and Anatis were right about you,” Alya gasped as Lila’s father looked at her. “You’re crazy. And for the record, my blog has become more popular since I got rid of those interviews and focused on the real subject at hand,”

“What interviews?” Mr Rossi asked before Lila turned to him.

“Oh, Alya was just asking me what I think of the heroes of Paris!” She gasped, clearly not wanting her father to know. “You know-”

“She claimed to be dating Anatis and Lady Noir’s best friend,” Alya stated, making everyone look at her. “I removed them from the blog but I have copies if you want to see them,”

Everyone thought it would be easy like that but sadly that wasn’t the case. Instead of saying yes, Mr Rossi puffed out his chest in anger.

“My little angel wouldn’t do anything of the sort and those so-called lies she told you? How do I know you didn’t just make them up to support that delinquent and his nuisance of a family?!” He gasped, surprising everyone. “Come, Lila,”

Lila smirked at everyone and left with her father, causing Mr Damocles to pinch his nose and sigh.

“So it’s clear that Luka didn’t do what she accused him of, right?” Marinette gasped, making him look at him. 

“We still must investigate but yes, I would say so,”

~Agreste Manor~

“Once again, Mr Agreste, make sure she gets lots of rest,” The doctor stated, following the Gorilla out of the house after Gabriel had thanked her. He frowned and walked back in the room where Nathalie was resting. He frowned as she opened her eyes.

“I’m sorry,” She muttered, making him frown even more. They had been so close but something interfered. That wave of energy. Just what was it? “Perhaps you could still take advantage of the chaos Lila created,”

“No, the plan is pointless without you,” He stated, causing her to agree and try to get up but he stopped her, making her look at him. “No… There will be no more Catalyst or Mayura. I warned you. Using a broken miracle ends up weakening its user. It’s wounds are becoming your wounds,”

“I don’t care,” She gasped, looking at him. “I want to help you,”

“Not at that cost. Never at that cost again,” He declared, making her look at the portrait of Emile. “Now rest. I’ll just have to find a way to get that boy again. Lila can provide us with another chance at some point,”

With that, he turned and walked out of the room, heading to his office. He locked the door behind him, frowning as he did.

“Nooroo, what was that energy?” He asked, making the kwami look at him but before he could answer, a deep cough got his attention. He turned around and faced himself face to face with a bald man dressed in monk garb. Nooroo gasped and bowed to him. “Who are you?! How did you get in here?”

“Silence,” He stated, turning to Nooroo. “Nooroo, formally introduce me to your master,”

“Y-Yes, Grand Mage,” He muttered, making Gabriel’s eyes widen. Surely, this wasn’t the mage he was looking for? He seemed different to what he imagined. Somehow darker. Nooroo faced him. “Master, this is Su Han, the Celestial Guardian of the Miraculous,”

“And why are you here in my home?” He asked, turning to him. “Should you not be helping out the heroes?”

“Nooroo, leave us,” He ordered instead of answering him, making Nooroo fly out. Gabriel raised an eyebrow. “Order secrets. Kwamis must not know. As for the heroes, I have no interest in them for I seek someone much more powerful,”

“And who might that be?” He asked, glaring at the man.

“The next Celestial Guardian,” He replied, making Gabriel raise an eyebrow. “I believe you are familiar with the legend of Hao Feng, the mage who created the miraculous?”

“Yes, I am,” Gabriel stated. “It is said he is reborn and every celestial guardian is one of his new lives… but you are not, are you?”

“Very observant,” He replied, making Gabriel narrow his eyes. “It is true that while I am the current one, the title did not always belong to me. It was bestowed on me when the previous guardian, Feng’s last incarnation, was murdered. I have come to Paris to find his new incarnation and to do so I wish for your help,”

“And why would you want that?” Gabriel asked, crossing his arms. “I am a villain after all,”

“Oh, I’m no saint myself,” He replied, only this time it was two voices. It sent a shiver down his spine as the man’s eyes turned black for a second before turning back to their normal colour. “I wish to hold onto the title and if I am to do so then I must find Feng’s incarnation before the Spring Festival and claim his power as my own. If I fail then I will lose the title and it will be transferred to the new incarnation. If you help me locate the mage, I will show you the secrets of the miraculous and help you acquire Anatis and Lady Noir’s miraculous. As a token of trust, I will teach you how to fix the broken miraculous that you have. Do we have a deal?”

Gabriel smirked and stepped forward, holding out his hand.

“It will be my pleasure to work with you, Grand Mage,” He replied, shaking his hand. “So how do we fix it?”

“There is a ritual but it will require some time as I’ll need to collect the material needed,” He replied, turning on his heel. “Once I have collected the material, I will instruct you on how to fix it so you may use it to its full potential,”

“I look forward to it, Grand Mage,” Gabriel replied as the monk headed to the window and jumped out. “An excellent turn of events. Right, Nooroo?”

“Yes, Master,”

~A Few Days Later at the Hospital~

Marinette hummed to herself as she made her way to Luka’s room with a new blanket she had stress knitted. As usual, the hospital had no idea what happened other than that it was the akumas again. Herself and the other students who got possessed suffered with migraines, which was odd in itself but what made it odder is she was sure she heard a voice that wasn’t Hawkmoth in her mind. She didn’t remember what it said or much else really but she did remember that it sounded gentle and after she heard it, the akumas were expelled. She wanted to find out if anyone else had heard but she was also not sure if she should. Maybe she was just going mad. She had asked Plagg about it but he had no idea what she might have heard. He did suggest that she bring it up to Anatis but she decided not to as it might tip him off about who she is. Though she could ask him on Marinette’s behalf. Of course, that would have to wait until she saw him again. He hadn’t turned up for patrol but Tikki had come and visited her to let her know that he was on the spirit plane, doing mage training and that he would be back in a few days. Apparently, time was different in that plane and the training was unexpected. She also mentioned that Anatis was keeping an eye on things in case he was needed but so far, Hawkmoth hadn’t attacked just yet. He tended not to after a failure but he didn’t go by his usual pattern as he normally did when it came to a large scale attack. It could be that he’s changing his tactics or that he was targeting one person but it concerned her. However, those thoughts were driven out of her head when she heard shouting, making her frown and rush to Luka’s room. She knocked on the door and entered when she heard Luka say come in.

“Is everything ok?” She asked as she came in. She was happy to see Luka away but she could also see that he looked visibly stressed. She frowned and walked over to him, placing a gentle kiss on his cheek. Instantly, she noticed he felt a little better but the tension was still high in the room. The Captain was stood by the window, looking upset. “Luka? Captain?”

“Ma wants me to move from Paris,” Luka stated, making her look at the Captain, who sighed. “She and Jagged think I should go with him on a tour or move to one of his places in a different city,”

“Because of the akumatization?” Marinette asked, concerned. Luka pulled her over to him and wrapped his arms around her waist, resting his head on her shoulder.

“That and because of the suspension,” He replied, making her frown. Technically, he was still suspended from school. “She’s got it into her head that it would be good for me,”

“Lad, things have gotten complicated,” The Captain sighed, turning to them. “Not only has this Lila girl got it in for you but Hawkmoth himself has targeted you three times. I can’t just sit there and do nothing!”

“Oh but sending me away is the solution?!” Luka gasped, clearly annoyed. “I’ve already told you the answer is no!”

“Luka, please! You’ll be safer this way,” The Captain begged, making Marinette surprised. She had never seen the captain beg before. “Hawkmoth won’t be able to get to you if you’re not in Paris. You’ll be safe and I know you’ll be upset about leaving Marinette and your friends behind but a fresh start could-”

“I said no already!” Luka growled and for a second, both the captain and Marinette swore they felt the air shift. Luka closed his eyes and took a deep breath, calming himself. “You’ve always said that running away is for cowards and I get we’ve left difficult situations in the past but this is not the solution for this,”

“Luka-”

“Your argument is that it would be safer for me if I left because Hawkmoth wouldn’t follow right?” He stated, looking at her. She nodded. “And what if he did? There would be no Anatis or Lady Noir to help me and no one would know that I have a strange reaction to the akumas so what if he did follow me and used one to possess me again and I have a seizure, only this time there’s no heroes or people who know what the cause is. That could be the end of me and we both know that,”

“Luka, Hawkmoth isn’t-”

“He was in New York and Shanghai at the exact same time I was,” He pointed out, making her stop and look at him in shock. “I’m not saying that he followed me but we know he’s not against travelling to get what he wants and he’s not the type to give up. I mean he has tried three times. There is no solid proof that if I move away that I’ll be safe. If anything, I’d say I’ll be putting myself at more risk then if I stay. We have Anatis, Lady Noir and their entire team of superheroes. I trust that if I get possessed or end up as Hawkmoth’s target that they’ll protect me plus don’t forget I need to be around for Issac’s court case. I’m not moving away and that’s final so please respect my wishes,”

“Luka,” She replied but before he could answer, he began to cough. He groaned and leaned against the pillow, making both Marinette and the Captain frown as he breathed in, clearly drained still. The Captain bit her lip before sighing. “You’re right. It would just be running away and a Couffaine doesn’t run from danger. We face it head on… but I still want you to be careful. Maybe you could ask Anatis to find a way to protect you from akumas?”

“Sure, Ma,” He muttered, making her nod as he opened his eyes. “I’m sorry for shouting. It just felt like you weren’t listening to me and that you had already made your mind up,”

“I kind of had,” She admitted, making him frown. “Both me and Jagged had but I see now that we didn’t really think how it would actually affect you or if it was what you actually wanted so I’m sorry too. We’ll find a way to protect you from akumas and Hawkmoth,”

She walked over and gave him a kiss on his head, making him smile before she gave them both a grin and a salute as she headed out of the room. Luka let out a sigh and turned to Marinette, who was sitting on the edge of the bed.

“I’m sorry that you had to see me arguing with ma,” He muttered, looking to the side ashamed. “I hate arguing but she can just be so stubborn sometimes,”

“Hmm, looks you might have taken after her,” She giggled, moving closer to him. He playfully rolled his eyes, making her grin. “Don’t worry. I like that stubbornness and that roguish charm you have,”

“Hmm… well, I am kind of a pirate,” He grinned, making her laugh. “So what’s in the bag, Melody?”

“Oh, I ended up stress knitting and made a blanket so I thought maybe you could have it?” She mumbled, taking it out. Luka smiled brightly, looking a lot better before hugging her. “I’m glad you’re ok. It was really scary seeing you like that again,”

“It was scary going through it,” He admitted before sighing. “And I still need to find a way to prove I didn’t do what Lila accused me off,”

“Well, the good news is we have a new ally against her,” She replied as he snuggled into the blanket, making her coo at how cute he was before he looked up at her. “Alya finally saw the light and has officially disowned Lila as a friend.She said that once you come back to school, she wants to apologise and she’s also trying to prove that Lila did in fact frame you but Lila has been clever with her tracks. However, what concerns me is the timing of the scarlet akumas,”

“Yeah, it was too well timed,” He mumbled, making her nod before he tried to get up. “Maybe we should flag down the heroes-”

“Hey, rest,” She gasped, pushing him down. “I already had that idea and I passed it onto Lady Noir. She said she would talk to Anatis about it,”

“Alright,” He yawned, clearly tired. “Sorry,”

“It’s ok,” She smiled, placing a kiss on his cheek before she got up. “I’m gonna let you rest because you’re clearly knackered so sleep and put my blanket to go use,”

“Get rest too,” He stated, making her blush at how he knew. “Your song is quieter than usual, Melody so no more stress knitting. Get some sleep,”

“I will,” She replied with a smile that had a promise hidden in it. “Love you, Lu,”

“Love you too, Melodie,” He replied, yawning again. She waved and left, causing him to sigh a little. He missed her already but he held the blanket around him as Tikki flew out. “I manage to convince Ma not to send me away,”

“That’s good,” She replied, nodding as she floated over. “But maybe it wouldn’t be a bad idea. We could use the horse mir-”

“No, it would be bad,” He replied, making her frown. “When I found out last night that Ma was going to do it, I channeled Feng’s magic to see if it could work as I was considering it but what I saw was bad. In the vision, Hawkmoth got the earrings and found out I was Anatis. He then took me prisoner with the intention of luring out Lady Noir. I cut the vision short before I could see if he succeed,”

“I see,” Tikki nodded, grimly. “Then we best make sure that you don’t move away but what do we do about Lila?”

“I’m not sure just yet,” He admitted, running his fingers through his hair. Tikki frowned a little so he gently cupped her in his hands. “Hey, don’t pout. We’ll work out something… but there is something else I want to run by you,”

“What is it?” She asked, looking up at him. He bit his lip in a nervous manner. “Luka?”

“I want to tell Marinette that I’m Anatis,” He stated, making her look at him like he was insane. Maybe he was. “I know it’s risky but I trust Marinette a lot. She’s on my books to give a miraculous or at least, she would be if I could find her during the akumas,”

“Luka, it’s great you trust Marinette so much but you know it’s forbidden and risky,” Tikki stated, making him frown. “Hawkmoth is still at large and if he found out she knew, he would use her against you so why do you want to tell her?”

Luka looked down as he frowned.

“He nearly akumatized me for real today. Finni actually had to use his full ability to push out the akumas and I nearly gave Hawkmoth the earrings,” He admitted before he looked at her. “That’s never happened before. Finni is normally about to cut the connection and force them to leave without using 'Clear Slate’ but Hawkmoth was too strong today. He used his scarlet akumas. He nearly won, Tikki and we don’t have much of a contingency plan, apart from Creation but that is supposed to be a hail mary and last resort… if we can get the earrings away from me before I’m controlled or akumatized then we don’t have to use that and if we fail then we have Creation to fall back on. If Marinette knows I’m Anatis and I get akumatized then she can grab the earrings and take over as a temporary Ladybug hero,”

“Your reasons are understandable but it would still be putting Marinette at risk,” Tikki sighed, making him frown. “So please reconsider,”

“Because it’s forbidden?” He asked, frowning but she shook her head.

“No because I know you love Marinette and would blame yourself if she got hurt by Hawkmoth,” She stated, surprising him before he sighed. He knew she was right.

“Alright, I’ll reconsider,” He stated, making her nod before he yawned. “I think it’s also time for me to get some rest,”

“Ok,” Tikki nodded, kissing his temple as he closed his eyes and curled up in Marinette’s blanket. “Sleep well, Luka,”