“Did you sleep at all last night?” His fingers froze on the strings at the sound of his sister’s voice. The moment his hands stilled, a wave of exhaustion washed over him. Slowly, he blinked, and then pulled his gaze away from the music he had hastily written and looked up at his sister.
Juleka was standing in the doorway to the music room, her hair still in papers, and she was wrapped in her black and violet dressing gown. Her arms were folded across her chest, and she was glaring at him with a mix of exhaustion and annoyance.
“Not exactly…” he mumbled, ducking away from her gaze, turning to the safety of the sheet music in front of him. They had gotten home from the Agreste ball at near three in the morning. And he had had every intention of going to bed for some much-needed sleep. But then his hands had begun to itch with new music. And he had instead made his way to the music room, where he had been ever since. “What time is it?”
Instead of answering, his sister stalked to the windows and threw open the curtains that had been tightly shut before they left for the ball the previous night. He hissed as bright sunlight blinded him. Blindly, he groped for his pocket watch. He blanched when he saw the time.
The girls’ heads darted up at the words. Marinette stiffened, but didn’t take it back, opting to squeeze her hands together on her lap rather than let her nerves show.
It was time to say it, she figured. Everyone had gotten together for a sort of “reminiscing” party - Rose would use any excuse to get everybody in one place, really - and they were even adults now. She was still fighting evil as Ladybug, but she had a better handle on it than when she was a teenager. Maybe it’d be a little more work than if she wasn’t a superhero, but she could still try for the kind of relationship she’d always been denied when she was younger.
She’d long grown out of her lousy crush on Adrien (complete with a well-imagined slap to the kwami of love, if there was one), as well as out of her dream of the three kids and a hamster. At least for now, she wanted to live in the moment and be happy.
Luka made her happy, and she wanted him to know that.
The girls, however, didn’t seem to agree. They exchanged glances with each other around the table, all showing various expressions but none of them that Marinette could define as “good.” The only possible exception was Juleka, who seemed more conflicted than anything else. Marinette didn’t think much of it though; this involved her brother after all, so it was natural to be hesitant. Really, she’d only said anything to the girls at all because she secretly wanted Juleka’s approval.
“What?” Marinette asked when everyone continued to stay silent.
Second illustration I made for @youarethemusicinme-lukanette -a lukanette fanzine- back in 2020. This is a companion piece to a beautiful fic written by @kryptored<3
One instant in a series of soft moments, her turn at last.
Check my IG (art_of_lineith) for close-ups.
|Check my Miraculous Ladybug tag for redesigns and lukanette content| |DO NOT REPOST MY WORK|
He closes the space between them just a little, enough so that his breath tickles the tip of her nose. Marinette doesn’t know what to think, and Luka only makes it worse by choosing to drop his soft lips on her left exposed shoulder.“I love the freckles on your shoulders.”Just as promised, he’s taking it slowly. But at this rate, she’s not sure if she’ll make it to the end intact.
I know it’s been a hot minute since I updated, and for that, I am so sorry (especially since I didn’t think it would take me this long ) Anyone else feel like they blinked and April was just gone? Because I do. But the good news about one of the reasons it took me so long to update is because I’ve been having lots of fun working on some of my other current WIPs (and there are even a few new ones ) But I really appreciate your patience and support everyone!!
I’m super excited for you all to read this chapter and I think quite a few of you have been waiting for something like this (I think. I hope). I’ve actually had some of these scenes written since January, but obviously other things had to happen first. All that being said, I hope you enjoy!!
She couldn’t help but frown at the sight in front of her, despite how seemingly perfect it was. Marinette and Luka were sprawled out in two of the lounge chairs on deck; Luka with his guitar and Marinette with her knitting. And every so often, he would look at Marinette with his Marinette smile like the completely lovestruck sap he was. And every time he looked away, Marinette would look over at him with her completely lovestruck Luka smile.
But they kept missing each other. If they would just look at the same time, maybe those two idiots would see what was staring them straight in the face!
It was infuriating! If it weren’t for the fact that she had just touched up her hair colour, she would be ripping her hair out.
They said love was blind. And so too, apparently, were the two idiots who were so in love with each other.
Those two idiots were blind… but it was a good thing she wasn’t.
“I was gonna talk to you about something. But I lost my nerve,” she admitted. “And now I can’t find it again.” The hand that was on the spoon moved to pick up a cloth napkin instead, and dip it in the mixture. “This should help with the shirt.”
When Marinette was about to start scrubbing away the stain, Luka’s hand was back on hers, this time with more strength. As she looked up, she was startled to see how close he was. So close, she could make out the light pink color on his cheeks.
“You know you can trust me with anything, right?” he said, with a husky voice she had never heard come from him.
We can finally share our pieces! The Lukanette Fan Zine has finally been shipped and we are allowed to share our pieces. I had the honor to write a story in art collaboration with the awesome @edendaphne, who made gorgeous artwork depicting a scene from it. Show her some love! And thank you to the team behind @youarethemusicinme-lukanette for letting me be a part of it. Enjoy some Lukanette goodness!
Wedding Magic
No one said seeing Luka in a well-tailored tux would make life—and a confession—so much harder than it already was. But alas, there Marinette was, doing her best to not drool on her own sparkly Maid of Honor dress. Just as she let out another wistful sigh, said man tucked a stray hair behind his ear.
Oh yeah, because the handsome suit wasn’t enough, he also had his hair slicked back. For the first time in his life, according to Juleka.
The sigh turned into a noise more akin to a whimper. When did Luka become so handsome? How long had she been away for? How long had she been fantasizing with confessing her feelings for him, that he suddenly seemed ten times more attractive?
“You’re doing it again,” a voice sang next to her.
“I can’t help it,” Marinette whined, turning to Rose. “I’ve never seen him like this before. He looks so good. And the way he’s laughing…” Her eyes turned soft. “I’ve never seen him so happy.”
“He better be,” Rose laughed. “He would be a terrible Best Man if he wasn’t happy for his own sister.”
“That would make him a terrible brother,” Marinette agreed, gaze still locked on those irresistible silky strands that made her want to brush her fingers through it.
“Marinetteeee,” Rose sang again.
The lovestruck woman whimpered once more. “I need a distraction. Yup, that’s what I need.”
Marinette pushed her way through the crowd until finding a waiter carrying glasses of wine. She grabbed one and made a round around the room, stopping to chit-chat with several old classmates.
But in less than ten minutes, she was already back merely three meters away from the Best Man. She watched for a moment, as Luka laughed at something Mylène had said. Marinette let out a resigned sigh, ready to give up and leave it for another time. Yet, just as she was turning, Mylène left her spot, leaving Luka on his own.
This was it. It was the perfect moment. Marinette stood straight, squaring her shoulders, chin up high. A deep breath filled her lungs, giving her the needed confidence to take large strides to him.
“Luka, I—”
Marinette slipped on the skirt of a table, tripping her enough to spill some of her wine on the very man she was calling. Her eyes almost shot out of her eyes, as the shirt and vest of the gorgeous suit became tainted in plum.
Marinette felt lighter than she had in weeks for the next few days, even the two akuma she had to fight weren’t bothering her. She talked with Luka frequently, telling him about her day and the little things that made her happy or sad or stressed. Marinette could be vague about what was bothering her and her Hanahaki would ease up a little when she told Luka about it. She had found her loophole of sorts, talking around the problem helped, talking about how she felt even without context, helped. Marinette was confident that things were starting to look up for her.
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
Ok firstly, I can’t stand how Chat Blanc is! Urg, the whole episode made me mad with the way everything is bad on Marinette! and Rose! She disappointed me! I don’t like how the Girl Squad is. Anyway, I finally finished up my version. I hope you guys enjoy it and sorry if there is any mistakes. I’ve gone through it for now but it’s 6am here and I’m tired so I’ve probably missed some. I’ll go through it again at a later date to find them. Anyway, I’m pretty happy with how this came out and while at the ending, Luka seems happy. I can say that he is not, he is going to be dealing with this for a long time. Right now, he is simply putting on a brave face so to speak. Anyway, enjoy. Oh also this is going to be rough from the start. You’ve been warned.
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Chapter Seventy- Lady Blanche
~Sometime in the Near Future~
“Lady Blanche, I’m giving you to the infinite power of destruction!” Hawkmoth declared as Lady Noir gripped her hair, trying to resist his deal. Anatis pushed himself up as he gripped his ribs. He was already weakened from his battle with Hawkmoth and Simme’s influence wasn’t helping. However, he wasn’t about to give up. He went to rush over but Su Han roughly grabbed him, allowing shadows to wrap around him as he struggled. The other heroes were also trapped, unable to get away from Su Han’s forces. “You and I will seize Anatis’ miraculous and finally I can have my wish!”
“Lady Noir! Fight h- hmm!” Anatis shouted as Su Han covered his mouth.
“Silence, child,” He growled, tightening his grip. “You will watch your lover fall to our dark influence and then once she has pried the earrings from you, I will take your power and grant my true destiny!”
Finally, Finni and his pet human will fall… Simme’s voice echoed as Lady Noir screamed, trying to resist Hawkmoth. He narrowed his eyes as he glared at her before moving his hand to assert more control over her.
“Obey!” He growled as she trembled before her arms fell to her side and she looked down, causing Anatis’ eyes to widen.
“I’m so-sorry, Annie,” She whispered as the purple smog consumed her, causing the heroes to gasp in shock and fear. Hawkmoth and Su Han smirked as the smog lifted, revealing their latest akuma. She looked the same as Lady Noir, apart from the colours she wore. In place of the black was white. Even her hair was as white as snow. In place of the green was an icy blue and her once healthy skin was a sickly white, almost as pale as a corpse. Her eyes were now a cold icy blue, matching the details on her suit and her belt buckle had changed to white with a blue circle around it. Inside it had changed too. Instead of been a black paw print, it was a purple butterfly. The hairband that tied her braid had the same symbol on it. Before Anatis could react, Su Han shoved him in front of her, causing him to land on the ground as Hawkmoth smirked. He shakily looked up at her as the two villains looked on the scene before them. The rest of their team were either frozen with fear or trying to break from the minions holding them back.
“Seize his miraculous!” Hawkmoth declared, smirking. Both him and Su Han would get what they wanted. Lady Blanche created a ball of white energy and pointed it towards Anatis as he pushed himself up and looked at her with a sorrowful expression. Her lip trembled and tears rolled down her face as she stared back with a matching one.
“Kitten, it’s ok,” He stated in a calm voice as he held out his hand. Su Han smirked as he watched, thinking that even he couldn’t bring her back from the edge. “You can resist this,”
“I… I…” She gasped, conflicted. “I don’t want to do this!”
“I know,” Anatis gasped, still focusing on her. “You don’t have to,”
She trembled again before moving her hair towards Hawkmoth and Su Han, making the two gasp.
“Get better control of her!” Su Han declared as Anatis saw the chance to try and get over to her. However, a shadow stopped him and knocked him back down, draining him of his energy. While Anatis was on the floor, Hawkmoth moved his hand and used his power to try and gain control over Lady Blanche, making her cry out in pain. The other heroes continued to try and break free, wanting to help their leaders but the minions of Su Han were stronger then them and once again overpowered them, forcing them to watch the scene helplessly. Anatis, however, wasn’t about to give up. Despite been drastically weakened from Simme, the battle and his injuries, he pushed himself up and glared at Hawkmoth and Su Han.
“L-Leave her alone!” He gasped, making Su Han walk over and backhand him, causing him to fall onto the ground again as blood dripped from his mouth. Seeing the younger on the ground, Su Han slammed his foot into his ribs, causing him to cry out.
“Stop it!” Culpeo cried out, trying to get free from the minion who had held off her as the others did the same. She managed to get out of their grip and ran over, trying to stop Su Han as he continued to kick Anatis. She grabbed his arm but he turned around and hit her, knocking her back and allowing her captor to hold her back again.
“Insolate brats!” He snarled before he turned back to Anatis and roughly grab his hair, force him on his knees so he could see her as she struggled and tried to resist. Anatis tried to pull free but Su Han had a tight grip on his hair. He reached for the earrings but hissed and yanked back his free hand as his skin burnt. He narrowed his eyes in annoyance. “That little trick might stop me and Hawkmoth from taking them but we have other ways. I will admit that I will enjoy watching your lover become your executioner, Mage. Now,”
He looked over at Lady Blanche, who was still pointing her ball of energy at Hawkmoth.
“Take his miraculous!” He growled, yanking Anatis’ hair so she could easily grab his earrings. Hawkmoth clenched his hand and ordered her to grab them, making her look more fearful and panicked. Anatis’ eyes widened as the energy ball in her hand began to get more shaky as she shook. More tears rolled down her face as she pointed it towards him under Hawkmoth’s control. Su Han smirked and shoved him forward, causing him to land on the ground in front of her as she shook but she didn’t attack. “What are you waiting for?!”
“Take his miraculous!” Hawkmoth growled as her hand shook. Anatis’ eyes widened as the energy ball began to get bigger.
“I… I don’t want to hurt him!” She cried, making Anatis want to reach out and hug her. She didn’t deserve to suffer like this. “I won’t hurt him!”
“What?!” Hawkmoth gasped, glaring. “I order you-”
“I WON’T HURT HIM!” She screamed, lifting her hand and allowing the ball to consume her. Only it didn’t destroy her. It began to grow bigger, causing Anatis to crawl back as Hawkmoth and Su Han stepped back in fear. The minions let go of the heroes, causing them to rush over and help Anatis to his feet as Lady Blanche screamed. Anatis and the heroes stepped back as Su Han turned on his tail and ran out. Hawkmoth stared in fear as the ball began to get closer to them.
“Hawkmoth! Undo it!” Anatis called out, making Hawkmoth blink and snap his fingers, recalling the akuma. Only it didn’t work. Fear entered his eyes as he realized this would be his last moments. He stepped back and dropped his cane as he turned, running off. Left with not many choices, Anatis closed his eyes and took a deep breath before opening them as they turned silver. “Alpheus! Lead me your strength!”
Holding out his hands, Anatis summoned a gust of air, trapping Lady Blanche inside it but he could feel the power behind it and he knew he wouldn’t be able to hold it back for long.
“Valkyrie! Get everyone out of here now!” He ordered, using his strength to hold it back but they could see he was struggling to contain it. Valkyrie nodded and opened a portal, causing the other heroes to rush in it. Anatis looked over at Bunnyx, who was staring at the ball of energy with fear. “Bunnyx! Listen to me! Get in your burrow and find me in the past! You’re our last chance! Help me save her!”
She nodded as he faltered before he pushed back the energy again but he was fighting a losing battle and they both knew it. She closed her eyes and summoned a burrow before jumping it in as Culpeo and Abeille rushed through Valkyrie’s portal, leaving just Anatis left. Valkyrie held it open for him to come through but he didn’t move.
“Anatis! Let’s go!” She called but he looked back and shook his head. “Anatis! You have to come now! I can’t keep it open for much longer!”
“If I let go now, it will explode!” He called out, looking back over as he felt the air bubble weakening more. He wouldn’t be able to hold on much longer. “Close the portal now!”
“But you’ll be trapped here!” She gasped.
“I know,” He replied, giving her a soft smile before his expression turned serious. “Get as far as you can. I don’t know what the blast radius will be,”
“Anatis, you-” She started but then a bit of the energy escaped, hitting a nearby building to explode. Valkyrie screamed but before she could do anything else, Anatis redirected a bit of the wind he had summoned and used it to push her back, causing the portal to close. With the portal closed and the last of his energy gone, Anatis lost the wind, causing it to disappear and for the ball of energy to begin to expand again.
“Just me and you now,” He whispered with tears in his eyes. “I love you, Princess,”
“I-I love you too, my prince,” She whispered back before she couldn’t hold it back anymore. She let out a painful scream, causing the ball to explode. Anatis finally let his tears fall as it consumed him.
Luka! Finni’s voice echoed as it began to turn him into stone. He could feel Finni trying to resist it and stop him from being consumed by it but he knew it was impossible. He felt himself lose consciousness as the transformation into stone completely. As he turned to stone, the explosion itself rippled through Paris, striking anyone who stood in it’s way including Su Han, Hawkmoth and the remaining heroes. Abeille and Culpeo held each other as it hit them. Leatherback threw up his shield and summoned his power, trying to protect them. Valkyrie huddled inside the shelter with Apollo and Sabertooth as Ryuko and Aspik held hands. Regardless of their attempts, they were all turned into stone, along with anyone else that the destructive energy touched. The explosion continued to rip through Paris, destroying all in it’s path before it exploded again, sending a beam of destruction through the atmosphere and straight into the moon, causing it to break and split in half before disappearing. As the destructive energy disappeared, Lady Blanche slowly opened her eyes and found herself met with a horrifying sight. All of Paris had been destroyed and there were a number of statues scattered around. One of them appeared to a statue of Hawkmoth that seemed to be fleeing and right in front of her was a statue of Luka, reaching out for her with tears on his cheek but the statue looked different to what he normally looked like as Anatis, which was strange to her. She was sure he was wearing the miraculous. His costume looked very similar to his Anatis outfit but the belt was different and strangely enough, he seemed to have a tail coat on. His hair appeared the same and his mask was slightly different in patterns. There were several cracks on the statue that seemed to be filled with gold, making it look beautiful but what really made it stunning was the huge wings, stretched out from his back and the crown that resembled a halo. Despite his sorrowful expression, he looked angelic. However, the statue also freaked her out. It was so detailed that it unnerved her. Feeling afraid, she looked around for the real Luka, hoping to see him but all she saw was destruction and statues everywhere. Gradually, she looked up at the sky and gasped as she saw the moon. Not only had it been cracked in half but it had also been knocked out of its usual place, bringing it close to the planet. Realization washed over her as she realized she had done it but then she looked back at the statue in front of her. Pure horror filled her as she realized Luka hadn’t left her side, regardless of being in the blast radius. She covered her mouth as a sob escaped her mouth and tears rolled down from her cheeks. In front of her wasn’t a statue of Luka but Luka himself. Her akuma powers had turned him and everyone else into the statues around her.
“No… kwami no!” She screamed as she cupped his face. Tears continuously rolled down her face as she stared at his stone eyes. The once ocean blue eyes that were filled with kindness, mystery and wisdom were gone and replaced with stone gray ones that were void of any life and emotions.“Luka, please… Come back to me! Please, don’t leave me!!”
She let out a scream of anguish as she fell to her knees, sobbing uncontrollably. Part of her wanted to wake up from this nightmare and have Luka hold her, telling her that it was nothing more than a bad dream but part of her knew that wasn’t going to happen. A loud cracking noise echoed in the distance but she was too caught up in her grief to notice. She covered her face with her hands as she sobbed in front of him, wishing that somehow she could go back in time but she didn’t have the Rabbit Miraculous. Alix had that and she did remember hearing Anatis shout at her to go to her burrow so maybe she would fix it but right now, she had lost her best friend, her partner and her boyfriend. However, a loud whooshing sound got her attention but before she could react, a tidal wave of water rushed over her and Luka, almost washing her away from him. She fought against the current and waters, using her strength to swim over to him as the city continued to flood. She managed to get close enough to him to place her hand on his cheek but grief rippled through her once more as he felt cold to touch. She cupped both of his cheeks and leaned in, gently pressing her lips to his. In her mind, she was hoping that maybe it would revive him, like in a fairytale. It doesn’t work. She pulls away with more tears in her eyes before a cracking sound and an echo wave got her attention, causing her to look behind him. The water instantly changes, feeling colder and darker then before as a wave of fear flooded over her, taking over her mind and emotions as a dark laugh echoed through the waves. She looked back at Luka before letting go of him and swimming away, knowing that something was in the water with her. She felt the water ripple as she swam through it before a tentacle wrapped itself around her leg and yanked her downwards.
“Going somewhere, Pretty Kitty?” Simme stated as he appeared in full form. Lady Blanche looked at him terrified, making the demon smirk. “Come with me and I’ll let you be with your precious boyfriend,”
An angry hiss escaped her lips as bubbles appeared before she summoned a ball of energy and threw it at him, causing him to let go of her leg to dodge it. He turned around and went to hit her but she used her powers to block it, injuring him before she swam off.
“Fine but you’ll never get him back!” He screamed before laughing. “He’ll be my prisoner forever!”
Lady Blanche ignored him as she reached the surface before breaking through it and swimming over to the TVi studio building as it was one of the only ones left standing. She climbed up it and onto the roof, falling back on her knees as she hugged herself. She hated herself. She had killed Luka, destroyed all of Paris and unleashed Simme in his full form. Now she had no choice but to leave Luka’s corpse with him. She sobbed to herself as she continued to hug herself.
“I-I’m so s-sorry, Luka…” She whispered. “I r-really hope Bunnyx can fix this…”
~Current Time, Hawkmoth’s Lair~
“Emile, I miss every moment,” Gabriel sighed as he looked at his wife in her eternal sleep. She looked so peaceful, just like how she did when they shared a bed together. He would watch her for a few minutes after he had woken up, amazed with the fact that he had married such an amazing and beautiful woman before she would wake up and smile up at him. He longed for those days again but sometimes his mind drifted to Nathalie. She was his rock right now. Always so brave and determined to help him. He knew she loved him and he saw it as an opportunity to have support in his mission. However, the more they worked together, the more he found himself getting closer to her. She was a beautiful and intelligent woman and maybe if the situation was different, he would pursue her. He shook his head off such thoughts. Things weren’t different and he was too loyal to Emile to even consider another woman, let alone Nathalie. In the end, she was just another piece on the chessboard and as such she could be sacrificed if necessary. It was best not to get attached. He sighed and placed his hand on the coffin. “But one day, I will get the miraculous of Anatis and Lady Noir, repair the mistakes of the past and make sure you’re returned to us,”
He removed his hand and walked over to the lift, heading up back to the manor to continue with his normal life. After all, he had to keep up appearances.
~Current Time, The Liberty~
“Ok, I’m gonna tell her,” Luka stated, turning to face Tikki. For the last half an hour, he had been pacing up and down his room. He had been meditating to connect with Feng for the time before his pacing began but hadn’t gotten any real answers from the older mage. Instead, he had received an overly complicated answer that went simplified basically meant that Feng couldn’t actually tell him the outcome of him telling Marinette. He had been disappointed and asked why but Feng simply replied that he is bound by cosmic rules that meant he couldn’t always reveal the outcome of a situation. In other words, Luka had to find out on his own. “I mean he didn’t say anything bad would happen right?”
“He didn’t say anything,” Tikki pointed out, making him frown. “Meaning it could be good or it could be bad,”
“I know!” Luka sighed, groaning. “I wish he could just tell me! Are the comic rules an actual thing?”
“Yep,” Tikki nodded. “All who can see the future, past and present are bound by the rules of the universe to not reveal any information that can drastically change fate. They can however give hints and arrange help if it’s needed,”
“Hence why he got me to go to Shanghai,” Luka nodded. “He couldn’t tell me about Meishi so he left hints,”
“Exactly!”
“But there’s no hints about this choice so it’s not bad right?” Luka asked, glancing over to his journals. All of them were filled with the same words. ‘It’s coming’. Written over all of the pages. Luka frowned before shaking his head. Surely, that wasn’t a hint to do with him telling Marinette. It was something to do with his nightmare, not his choice to tell his girlfriend that he was a superhero. A cold shiver traveled down his back as he thought about it but he shook it off. He was clearly overthinking things. “Right! No more hesitation! I’m gonna tell her!”
“Are you sure?” Tikki asked, making Luka look at her. “I know it was Master Han who came up with the rule but in this case, it might be a good thing,”
“Telling her will be a good thing too,” He smiled, gently cupping her in his hands. “I’m sure if it’s not meant to be then something will happen. Anyway, I’m supposed to meet Marinette for lunch with the rest of our friends. If I text and ask her to meet a little earlier, I can tell her in private. I hope she won’t be disappointed though,”
“While I don’t think telling her will be a good idea, I don’t think she’ll be disappointed,” Tikki replied, making Luka nod. “But if you think it’s the right thing to do then you should tell her,”
“Thank you, Tikki,” He smiled, gently kissing her forehead. “Oh, I should let Lady Noir know that I’m going to tell someone. That way she can choose someone too,”
“Well, at least you’re considerate towards her,” Tikki mused. She had seen a number of Ladybugs who weren’t. She had also seen a number of Black cats who were too destructive but both sides needed to be balanced. She figured that’s why Luka worked as Anatis. He had plenty of creativity, making him compatible with her but he had enough chaos in his blood to be able to work with Plagg both as a holder and an ally. Marinette was similar too. She felt it when she was Ladybug. She frowned to herself as she thought about it. If only she could tell Luka that Marinette was Lady Noir but sadly, she couldn’t. Despite the fact that it would be a lot easier, she had been bound by the spell placed on the kwamis to ensure their obedience. She did count herself lucky that she had gotten Luka as a holder though. Despite knowing of the spell, he never took advantage of it. He had asked her the details of it but sadly she could only say so much. That didn’t stop Luka from trying to find a way to undo it and he never treated her badly. He always made sure she had a good supply of cookies and tried to include her in his plans by asking what she thought and if she approved of it. She had a lot of holders who hadn’t, especially before Luka. She didn’t question it at the time but now she had discovered that Master Toutai had been murdered and that Master Su Han had stole his title via the wish, she wondered if that had directly affected who was choose as the Ladybug. One that stuck out in her mind was Tentomushi. She was her holder during the feudal period of Japan. She wasn’t a bad person per say but she was trained to kill from an early age and quickly became one of the shogun’s secret weapon. Even after she was freed from his service, she still killed for a living. It was all she knew so when she was given the miraculous, she became one of the most violent Ladybugs Tikki had been with. She was never considerate towards her black cat and didn’t care who got hurt while she was working. She would sacrifice anyone as long as her goal was completed, even when she wasn’t sure if she would be able to bring them back and often ignored Tikki’s advice. She actually clashed and ended up being taken down by that time period’s monkey holder Sarutobi Sasuke when she went too far with her plans. It had been a long and grueling battle but with trickery and clever use of Uproar, Sasuke defeated her and took back the Ladybug miraculous. She was then dishonorably discharged from the order of the guardians by Su Han, despite the fact that he had been the one to choose her in the first place. It made Tikki sad when she thought about it. Feng or one of the other celestial guardians would have tried to help her, even after she had lost the miraculous but as soon as she became useless to him, Su Han dropped her faster then you can say 'goodbye’. She let out a little sigh, causing Luka to look over at her.
“You ok?” He asked, making her look at him. “You look sad,”
“I was just thinking about the past,” She replied, making him give her a look. “Just remembering how lucky I am to have you as my holder,”
“I’m the lucky one, Tikki,” He smiled, gently placing a kiss on her head. “Ready to get going? I’m gonna send a text to Lady Noire to let her know that I’m going through with it then we’ll go find Marinette,”
“If you’re sure about this then I’m with you,” She replied, making him smile.
“Thank you, Tikki,” He replied before swiping his earrings. “Tikki, spots on!”
He transformed before taking out his yoyo and climbing out of the boat, swinging off into the heart of the city. Once he landed on the rooftops, he opened his yoyo and looked for Lady Noir’s contact info. Seeing she was online, he decided to call her instead off texting. After the first ring, she answered.
“Hey, Annie,” She grinned, making him smile. She appeared to be laying on a rooftop in the sun like a typical cat. “I can’t chat for long since I have plans to do soon but I’ve got a few minutes. Everything ok?”
“Yeah, I just wanted to let you know that I’m going to do what we discussed,” He stated, making her look at him. “Is that ok?”
“What? Yes, of course,” She replied, making him let out a sigh. “I’m glad you let me know though,”
“Of course I would,” He stated, making her smile. “You’re my partner and this is a big thing that could affect both of us so naturally I’m going to tell you,”
“Thank you,” She smiled shyly, looking away before returning her gaze to the camera. “I want to tell my boyfriend,”
“I encourage it,” He smiled, making her smile back. “Feng said nothing bad… but then again he didn’t say anything. He kind of gave me 'I can’t say because rules say I can’t’ kind of speech,”
“Really?” She asked, frowning before shaking her head. “Well, if it’s not meant to be then maybe Bunnyx or someone will reset the timeline?”
“Yeah, that’s a good point,” He nodded, making her nod. “Ok, I say we go tell the people we want to tell then meet at our usual spot at sundown. Sounds good?”
“Yup!” She grinned, making him nod. “Wish me luck, Annie,”
“Good luck, Kitten,” He replied before they both hung up. He took a deep breath before going to throw his yoyo to swing off but before he could, his yoyo vibrated. Figuring it was Lady Noir, he opened it but it wasn’t from her.
Lepus: Anatis, I hope this finds you. If it does, come to the place beneath history. It is of great urgency that we speak. Godspeed. Lepus.
“Lepus?” He asked, frowning before using the yoyo to detect this user’s location. Anatis rose an eyebrow as he saw that this Lepus was located in the Louvre. He really hoped they weren’t actually inside it but then again, they said underneath history. Maybe they were in the catacombs underneath it. He frowned and closed his yoyo, throwing it and swinging to the location before finding one of the entrances to the catacombs and climbing down into them. He took out his yoyo and followed the map to Lepus’ location. He made it close by before the signal disappeared. He frowned but upon hearing chatter, he held out his yoyo in defense and stepped out. Leaning against the wall and chatting to none other then Fluff was Sir Rene. He wasn’t wearing his usual armor but a blue tunic, brown breeches and leather shoes. “Sir Rene?”
“Anatis, my message found you!” He declared, facing him. Anatis lowered his weapon and walked over. “I really must apologize for the sudden visit and the location but I couldn’t risk been seen. A medieval knight walking around might have made people panic,”
“Agreed but why are you here?” He asked, frowning as Fluff fluttered over, eating a carrot. “You used the rabbit miraculous? Why didn’t you just contact me in the spirit realm?”
“Yes,” He replied, rubbing the back of his neck. “If I could I would have but I can only access certain areas of the spirit realm and Feng’s hut requires a much more powerful magic then I have access too,”
“I thought you had magic?” Anatis asked, frowning.
“I mean I do but I had to repress a lot of it during my life due to Uther’s rule and I’m afraid I’m not very academic when it comes to the study of magic. Merlin is helping me learn but there is still a lot I can’t do so needs must,”
“I see,” Anatis replied, nodding. “But what’s so important that you would travel to the future to talk to me? I mean you could have asked Feng to send a message right?”
“Oh not for this,” He replied, straightening up. “We have rules and one of them is when it comes to our test, we deal with it ourselves. I did the same for Toutai as well. I would have talked to you in the spirit realm but you haven’t been there in a while plus Feng is fairly strict about who gets to go into his hut. He only let Toutai in that time because he knew Toutai could help you better when dealing with Miracle Queen then the rest of us could,”
“I see,” Anatis nodded, holding his chin when he thought about it. He did wonder why Feng was a little strict about his hut but maybe because it had been his home in his lifetime. If Luka moved the Liberty into the spirit world, he would be strict about who could be on it as he would consider it his space away from the others. Sure, he wouldn’t mind them coming on it every now and then but only on his terms. Maybe Feng thought similarly about his hut. “So this test… is it like Feast?”
“Similar but I don’t know the details about it per say,” He explained, making Anatis frown. “Like you, I can channel Feng’s magic but as you know as well as I do that it isn’t as potent to us as it is with him,”
“Yes, I noticed that,” Anatis admitted, frowning a little. It was something he hadn’t told Tikki but when he channeled Feng’s magic to find out the outcome of him leaving Paris, it felt like he was watching an old film where certain parts in the film were damaged. However, it was still clear what would happen if he did leave. “So what do you know about the test?”
“Well, it’s the test of courage as that’s my trait as a spirit,” He explained, making Anatis nod. “I’m not sure what exactly it will intel for you but if it was anything like Toutai’s, you will be facing your fears and nightmares,”
“N-Nightmares?” Anatis asked, his voice breaking slightly. “I.. is there a different way to pass it? Like rescuing someone from a burning building?”
“No,” He stated, making Anatis frown even more. “I’m sorry but that’s not how it works. Rescuing someone from a burning building is fairly normal for you. Yes, it can count as an act of courage but true courage comes from facing what scares us the most and working through it. To past my test, you must face your biggest fear and prevail regardless of how scared you felt or how scary it is,”
“I… see…” Anatis frowned, looking down before taking a deep breath. “Then I guess I have to face it. Any idea when this will happen?”
“It could be from the next minute to three days’ time,” Rene stated, making Luka frown. “I don’t know the exact time but it is soon. Very soon,”
“Great,” Anatis sighed, running his fingers through his hair. “Well, at least you warned me,”
“Of course,” Rene nodded before turning to Fluff. “We should get back to our time. You’ll know when you’ve passed it,”
“Will I see you afterwards?” He asked, making Rene pull a thinking face. “Rene?”
“Possibly,” He answered, making Anatis nod. “I can’t make a promise but I will try to return here or at least get Feng to let me talk to you in the hut,”
“Ok,” Anatis replied, nodding as Rene transformed into Lapus. It was very similar to his Wyvern outfit but more blue, white and silver with rabbit ears instead of horns. “Goodbye,”
“Farewell and good luck, Luka,” He replied, taking out the umbrella. “Burrow!”
One appeared and he stepped through it, causing it to close after he did.
“Tikki, spots off,” Anatis declared, catching Tikki as he frowned. She glanced around as he took out a cookie and gave it to her. “We have a problem,”
“What is it?” She asked, frowning. Luka bit his lip. “Luka?”
“Rene just met with me,” He stated, making her look at him. “He told me his test is coming up and that I’ll have to face my fears and nightmares to pass it,”
“But you already faced Mob Boss and Miracle Queen already so maybe you’ve passed it?” Tikki asked, making Luka frown and glance down. “You think… that nightmare is the test?”
“It has to be,” He replied, frowning. “Rene would have told me if I passed the test already and it’s the only one out of my usual nightmares that has happened yet,”
“Didn’t Dr Lang say that it was just been overwhelmed?” She asked, not wanting it to be real. She had seen how Luka reacted to those dreams. How he woke up screaming and crying. He sighed and sat down as she bit into her cookie.
“Yes but only because I told her about the flood part,” He replied, frowning before he looked up at her. “But that wasn’t the full dream. I didn’t mention about that sea monster or Lady Noir been different or the moon or the fact that I’m trapped beneath the waves and unable to move,”
He hugged his knees as he frowned, looking afraid.
“I don’t think it’s just a dream, Tikki,” He replied, frowning. “And I think that I might be what caused it,”
“What do you mean?” Tikki asked, frowning as Luka sighed, running his fingers through his hair again. “Luka?”
“What if me telling Marinette causes it or not telling her?” He asked, looking at her. “I.. I don’t know what to do. If I tell her and it causes that dream to come true then I’ll never forgive myself but if I don’t tell her, not only will I be lying to her but if it comes true because I don’t tell her…”
“Maybe we should head to Marinette and you can make your mind up as you go?” Tikki suggested, making Luka nod before he checked his phone. Marinette sent him a text to say that she was going to be running a little late but she’d message him when she was on her way. He got up and opened his jacket for Tikki before she flew inside and he walked over to the ladder that lead back to the streets. He began to head to where he was suppose to meet Marinette but before he could, a cold shiver made him stop before he glanced over at the rooftops. His eyes widened as he saw Bunnyx looking around but he knew he hadn’t given Alix the miraculous permanently so the fact that she was there concerned him. He quickly ducked into an alleyway and opened his jacket, causing Tikki to fly out. “Bunnyx is on the roof,”
“Really?” She asked, frowning. “Then we should see what she needs or why she’s here,”
“Agreed. Luckily, Marinette is running a little late so we should be ok,” He replied, making Tikki nod before he transformed and threw his yoyo up, pulling himself onto the building. As soon as he landed on the roof, a wave of fear and sorrow washed over him, causing him to be even more concerned then before. The worst part is it was coming from Bunnyx. However, it wasn’t an older version of her. By the looks of it, she was only a little older then what she was now. Her hair was slightly longer and she was a tiny bit taller but other then that, there was no difference between this Bunnyx and present day Alix. “Bunnyx?”
“Anatis!” She gasped, jumping and turning around but before he could ask her what was wrong, she glomped him in a hug. He frowned but moved his arms around her as she shook. The aura of fear was stronger now that she was close. She pulled back and wiped her eyes free from the tears that had been in them, worrying Anatis even more. “Sorry but it’s just…”
She sniffed as tears filled her eyes again.
“Hey, it’s ok. Take a breath and take your time,” He stated, making her nod before she did as told. “There we go. Now what are you doing here? Not that I’m unhappy to see you but I’m guessing you’re from the future?”
“Y-Yeah… we… I need your help,” She stated, making him blink. “Something happened today that will cause a major disaster in the future. I managed to escape it and have pinpointed the event to today but I’m not sure what it was or when it happened exactly. Is there anything you can think of that caused it?”
Anatis bit his lip before looking at her with an almost guilty expression.
“Anatis?” She asked, concerned.
“Let’s go into your burrow,” He stated, making her blink. “You never know who’s listening,”
She nodded and stepped into her burrow. Anatis raised an eyebrow before she waved her hand, closing it behind them. As soon as she did, she detransformed and took out a carrot for Fluff, who began eating it.
“How come you were able to keep your burrow open?” Anatis asked as she turned to him. “I thought it closed automatically,”
“I’ve been practicing,” She replied, making him blink. “I’m not quite as cool as older me but I’m getting there. Now, what was with the guilty expression? Do you know what might have caused this disaster?”
“I have a rough idea but I’m not sure which route creates this outcome,” He replied, making her frown. “I… I intended to tell my girlfriend that I’m Anatis today but I’m not sure if telling her is what leads to the disaster you’re talking about or keeping it from her… I don’t know…”
“Well, it’s a start at least,” She muttered before looking at him. “But why were you planning to tell someone? Isn’t it a rule not to?”
“Well… um…” He mumbled, looking to the side before he glanced back at her. “I take it at this point you know who I am under the mask,”
“Of course, I do. Admittedly I’m not the first person you tell but you know I can keep a secret,” She grinned, making him nod. “So what’s that gotta do with it?”
“Last week was the scarlet moth attack,” He stated, making her eyes widen. “You know what happened to me during that time…”
“I see,” She muttered, frowning. “That explains why you want to tell her. Code Black is what you called it aka the plan to get the earrings in case you ever got akumatized,”
“Yeah…” He nodded, making her frown. “So in your future do I tell her… or…?”
“I don’t know,” She replied, frowning before the room shook. Anatis frowned as well as Alix ran over to one of their portals and looked in it. To both of their horrors, it went fuzzy. “That is not good. Fluff, Clockwise!”
She retransformed before checking on the rest of the portals, making Anatis frown. He walked over to the one that fuzzed out before going to touch it. However, Bunnyx suddenly pulled him back and glared at him.
“You don’t want to do that,” She stated, placing a bowl over his head before dragging him over to another portal. “Normally we have to avoid interfering but this is worse then I realized. Our future is in danger so I’m gonna need your help,”
“Ok,” Anatis replied, frowning as she pressed the portal, fast forwarding it to a point. Thanks to the bowl covering his eyes, he couldn’t see anything that happened but he had a sinking feeling in his stomach. She gently nudged him through it and followed him, making him step through the portal. Instantly, he shivered at the air. It was extremely cold, making him frown even more. She took off the bowl, revealing the Paris of his nightmares in front of him. “Oh god… what happened?”
“The less you know the better,” She stated, making him frown. “Just do your thing. Capture the akuma and restore order. Then hopefully this nightmare will be over,”
“Ok,” He nodded, glancing around as the sinking feeling of fear formed at the pit of his stomach. It was exactly the same as in his nightmare and he really didn’t want to be here. What freaked him out more was that he couldn’t feel the song of the city. No matter what he had gone through in the past, he could feel and hear the song of the city even during Heroes day but in this version of Paris, there wasn’t a song. It was just empty and that scared him. Just what exactly happened here? He went to ask but Bunnyx had turned back to her burrow, making him frown. “You’re not staying?”
“I can’t,” She stated, looking at him with an expression he couldn’t quite read. “I have to work out what caused this. I have a rough idea where to start from what you’ve told but you’re right. We don’t know which one caused it so I need to find out then find a way to avoid plus I have to be on standby to find another way if you fail,”
“I see,” He muttered, frowning. He didn’t want to do this alone but it looked like he had no choice.
“Good luck, Anatis,” She stated, frowning before she looked up at him with a seemingly hopeful look. “I really hope you can fix this,”
“Yeah… me too,” He muttered as she disappeared back into the burrow, making him frown as a shiver passed over him. He glanced around as he heard a melody on the wind, making him glance in the direction it was coming from. Taking out his yoyo, he walked over to the edge of the building and swung to one of the others that had survived whatever had happened here. He landed on it as the voice got louder, making him glance around before he saw it’s source. Sat on one of the shelters was a girl that resembled Lady Noir. Like his partner, she was dressed in a cat based outfit but instead of it been black, it appeared to be white. In fact, even her hair was white. His eyes widened as he looked at her. “Lady… Noir?”
“Little Kitten sat on a roof all alone without her,” She sang in a sorrowful voice that made Anatis’ heart ache. “ Annie. Little Kitten sat on a roof singing someone save me,”
“Lady Noir…” He stated as he walked forward, getting her attention as she stopped singing.
“Annie?!” She gasped, jumping and turning around. As soon as she saw him, she broke into a smile and jumped down from the roof, walking towards him. Anatis instinctively took a step back as she stalked over. The way she walked wasn’t how his Lady Noir walked. “I thought I lost you! Oh, I was so sad that you were gone!”
“What happened to you?” He asked, concerned before he remembered what Bunnyx had said. He shook his head. “No, don’t tell me. We’ll fix everything… I promise,”
“Of course, we will. We’re gonna fix everything!” She smiled, stalking over before she moved around him, actually crawling like a cat. He froze up as she stood back up. “Especially now that you’re back and going to give me your miraculous!”
She grabbed at his ears, trying to rip off the earrings but he grabbed her arms and used his feet to push her off him, causing her to fall to the floor as he jumped away and took out his yoyo.
“My miraculous?!” He asked, spinning it. “What is wrong with you, Lady Noir?”
“I’m sorry,” She stated, getting up and looking over at him. “I didn’t mean to be rude, Annie. Could you please hand me your miraculous? Lady Blanche has gotten into some mischief,”
“Lady Blanche?” He asked, frowning as it all clicked into place. The difference in her look, the want for a miraculous and of course the Paris they were standing in. Somehow, this had all been caused because she had been akumatized. She looked to the side as she held her arm with a sorrowful expression on her face, making his heart ache again before he lowered his yoyo and put it away. Slowly, he walked over to her as she kept looking down. “You’ve been akumatized, Lady Noir. You don’t want or need my miraculous. You need my help. I need to deevilze you so please… let me help you…”
“Annie…” She whispered, looking at him with tears in her icy blue eyes. He stepped closer and wiped away a tear as it trailed down her cheek. “S-Save me… please,”
“My poor kitten,” He whispered. “Tell me… do you remember where the akuma went?”
He gently picked up her hand and looked at her ring before she glanced up at him and smirked at him as she placed his hand on her heart.
“It landed in my heart but it’s already broken!” She replied, making him jump back as she went to grab at his miraculous. This wasn’t going to be an easy task. He knew that the real Lady Noir wasn’t in control but the akuma was. Given that she hadn’t talked to Hawkmoth yet, he could assume that he wasn’t around meaning she was a rogue akuma. That made her more dangerous then the normal kind. She growled as he jumped back and charged at him, trying to grab his earrings. He dodged and ducked down, using his legs to bring her down before jumping up and running to the edge of the building. He needed to evaluate what he was going to do. She jumped up and gave chase as he jumped on the edge before diving off the building. “No! Don’t jump down there, Luka!”
“What?!” He gasped, losing his concentration as she dived after him. He landed on a bus and stumbled as she landed near him. He quickly scrambled up. “W-what did you say?!”
“Your name, Luka,” She answered, making him shake his head.
“No, you’ve got it wrong,” He gasped, shocked. “I’m not Luka,”
“Don’t lie to me!” She screamed, charging at him. He dodged and ran off, jumping across to other places as she chased after him. “I know you’re Luka!”
“But how?!” He shouted back as he tried to escape her. “I didn’t tell you who I am! You know my rule about identities and what Mulan advised!!”
“No but you told someone!” She replied, making him stop as he looked at her. She stopped as well as she glared at him. “And so did I. That is where it all began,”
~Bunnyx’s Burrow~
“But how?!” Anatis shouted as he tried to escape Lady Blanche. Bunnyx frowned as she watched the scene, crossing her arms as she did. She had detransformed and charged up Fluff as soon as she had entered her burrow. Now she was trying to work out what had happened. She had also re transformed in case this Anatis failed. She had to be ready to grab someone else. Hopefully, he wouldn’t and this interaction would reveal what happened. “I didn’t tell you who I am! You know my rule about identities and what Mulan advised!!”
“No but you told someone!” Lady Blanche shouted back, making Bunnyx look at the scene in surprise. Anatis came to a stop as he faced her, causing her to stop as well. “And so did I. That is where it all began,”
“Hmm,” Bunnyx muttered to herself before she changed the screen to the day she picked up Anatis and let it play out, watching it as she did.
~Alternative Timeline~
“Good luck, Kitten,” Anatis stated, finishing the conversation he had with Lady Noir about telling a person before they both hung up. He took a deep breathe before throwing his yoyo and swinging off into the city. He landed in an alleyway, near where he was going to meet Marinette detransformed before walking over to their meeting point. At exactly the same time in the other direction, Lady Noir landed in another alleyway and also detransformed, leaving it to meet with Luka. A smile appeared on her face as she saw him waiting. He had sent her a text saying that he had something important to tell her and she had replied that she also had something important to tell him. As if sensing she was there, he looked up and gave her a beautiful smile before walking over to her. “Hey,”
“Hey back,” She giggled, making him smile. “So this thing I want to tell you… um… can we go somewhere more private for it?”
“I was about to suggest the same thing,” He replied, making her smile before he took her hand in his. The two of them walked off towards the Seine and farther from prying ears, heading towards the Canal Saint-Martin. Once there, they came to a stop and Luka smiled as he leaned on the bridge. “I like it here. It’s peaceful and quiet, meaning I can hear the music of the city,”
He turned to face Marinette as she looked around.
“The best part is hardly anyone comes here,” He explained, making her smile as she walked over to him. “So we shouldn’t have to worry about anyone overhearing us,”
“That’s good,” She smiled, making him smile back. “So.. Do you want to go first or should I?”
“I’m kind of nervous,” He admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. She giggled a little. “But if it’s ok with you, I would like to go first,”
“That’s fine with me,” She smiled, making him smile back before he bit his lip. “Hey, whatever it is… I’m still gonna love you,”
“Y-Yeah… it’s just…” He took a deep breath before looking at her. “It’s big, Marinette and I’m not sure how to say it so I’m just gonna go for it,”
“Alright,” She nodded, gently taking his hand in hers.
“Ok,” He replied, closing his eyes and taking another deep breath. “I’m… I’m Anatis,”
Marinette blinked as she looked at him in shock, causing him to open his eyes. Fearing the worst, he gently placed his hand on her shoulder, making her look at him.
“M-Marinette? Please say something?” He asked, concerned. What if she now hated him? Or was disappointed? She must be so disappointed. Oh, kwami, maybe this was a bad idea. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t… I can use the Rabbit and-”
“I’m Lady Noir,” She stated, making him look at her in just as much shock. “A-And I don’t want to forget this. My boyfriend is my best friend too,”
“Y-You’re not disappointed?” He asked, making her give him a look that screamed Lady Noir. He wondered how he didn’t see it before.
“Far from it… Annie,” She giggled, making him smile too before she cupped his cheek, making a blush come across his cheeks. “I’m happy that the two boys I’ve admired for a long time are the same person and that I’m lucky enough to be with you,”
“Kitten,” He whispered, closing his eyes. “I’m so happy to know you’re my girlfriend and my partner but we should be careful,”
“I know,” She replied. “We’ll keep this between us,”
“Hmm sounds like a good idea,” He replied, opening his eyes to reveal a soft expression. “I love you,”
“I love you too,” She replied, leaning up and gently pressing her lips to his. He kissed back, snaking his arm around her waist as she moved her arms around his neck…
~Bunnyx’s Burrow~
“It’s worse than I thought,” Bunnyx gasped, pausing the screen before rushing over to another one to see what was happening with Anatis and Lady Blanche. “Come on, Anatis. Quick!”
She pressed the screen in front of her, causing it to come to life as Anatis landed on another bus. She frowned as he glanced up to Lady Blanche who was walking over to him.
“Give me your miraculous so I can make everything go back to the way it was!” She shouted, making Anatis glance up at her. “I just want to fix this,”
“I know but you know I can’t do that,” He replied, making her narrow her eyes. “I’m sorry, Kitten… I am but-”
She suddenly tackled him, making him grunt before she jumped up and charged up a ball of white energy in her hands. He watched as a huge tentacle came out of the water, making him stare in fear before she hissed as she narrowed her eyes, directing the ball of energy into the tentacle.
“Mega cataclysm!” She declared, throwing it out. It hit the tentacle, causing a wave of energy to blast from it and for the tentacle to hit into a building, knocking it down and into the water as Anatis stared in horror. Lady Blanche breathed out heavily as she glared at the tentacle retreating back into the water. “I won’t let you take him. I won’t lose him again,”
“… What was that?” He asked, slowly getting up and causing her to turn around. “Lady Noir?”
“It’s Lady Blanche and that was Simme,” She answered, confirming his worst fears. “He escaped after the calamity,”
“T-The Calamity?” He asked, making her glance up. He followed her gaze and saw the moon split in half, confirming that it really was the Paris he had dreamt about. “Lady Noir-”
“Lady Blanche,” She corrected, making him frown.
“What happened?” He asked, glancing at her. “Kitten, what happened to you?”
“Wouldn’t you like to know,” She replied, switching back to her akuma personality before she tried to hit him again. Anatis jumped back and swung off, making her growl. “You can’t run from me, Luka!”
“Oh no!” Bunnyx gasped as her burrow shook from Lady Blanche’s attack on Simme. She paused her screen and rushed over to another one, fast-forwarding it to one of Luka’s and Marinette’s dates. She frowned to herself as she watched them sharing ice cream together. She moved it forward again. This time they danced together. She kept searching but they seemed happy with each other. Both sides of them just got stronger so where did it go wrong? She frowned as she came to a battle between an akuma and Anatis. She pursed her lips as she watched them battle it out. The akuma almost won but before he could harm Anatis, Lady Noir inferred and distracted him, giving Anatis enough time to summon a lucky charm before the two of them defeated them. She frowned as she watched Anatis throw the cure before the two of them went off. However in the shadows, Su Han lingered, giving her a shiver. She paused it and turned to the current scene on the screen. “You have to succeed, Anatis! Forget about everything and capture his akuma now!”
~Apocalyptic Paris~
“Things were perfect until Hawkmoth found out about us,” Lady Blanche stated as she landed on the Eiffel tower. “Somehow he found out and… well, you can see for yourself what happened. All because of us. Our love did this to the world,”
“No,” Anatis stated in a firm voice, making her turn around as he stood above. “Love did not do this… I don’t know how we got involved with each other but our love didn’t destroy the world. We’ve always used it to save it. Hawkmoth is what caused it. He was the one who akumatized you. He was the one who caused the 'Calamity’ as you put it and freed Simme. All of this can be directly linked to Hawkmoth’s actions. Not ours. I know we would have done our best to stop this from happening. I know I would have tried to reach out to you and save you. So don’t blame us, Kitten. We didn’t destroy the world. Hawkmoth did!”
He glanced to the side a little.
“I know you don’t really think that, Kitten,” He muttered, meaning her words. “It’s just the akuma speaking but it doesn’t matter because I’m going to fix it!”
“That optimism and determination,” She growled, summoning a small ball of white light and firing it at him. He jumped away from it. “It’s so annoying! How do you even remain like that even when faced with this?!”
She gestured to everything as Anatis landed in front of her.
“I have to,” He stated, making her grit her teeth. “I can’t afford to give up. Not only would it give Hawkmoth an advantage but it’s just not in my personality to do so. I can’t give up not after what we’ve gone through and I’m not giving up on you. You’re one of the most important people to me, Kitten,”
“A-Anatis,” She gasped, a light blush danced across her face as her eyes flickered green for a brief moment. She lowered her hand as he stepped over to her. “E-Even like this?”
“I never judged you for been akumatized before… and I’m not going to judge you for it now,” He stated, taking his hand in hers. Her eyes flickered green for a little longer this time “Give me your akuma, Kitten. I can fre-”
“No!” A deep voice roared out as a number of tentacles burst free from the water and slammed towards them. Lady Blanche suddenly pulled Anatis out of the way and fired her mega-cataclysm at it as Anatis landed on the ground. “I have worked too hard for this! I am not about to let you undo it!”
“You will not touch him!” She screamed, firing another large ball at it as the tentacles attempted to hit her and try to get to him. However, neither of them noticed a seperate one moving behind Anatis as he got up, staring at the scene in front of him. It suddenly wrapped around his ankle and pulled, causing him to fall before it began to drag him to the edge, making him cry out. Lady Blanche turned around and grabbed his hand, her eyes full of fear as more of them wrapped around his torso as it tried to drag him to the watery deep. Her eyes widened as she could feel his hand been pulled out of hers before he was suddenly yanked back, causing their hands to break free from each other. He tried to reach out for her as he was dragged into the water, his eyes wide and full of fear as he disappeared into the depths. “Luka!”
~Bunnyx’s Burrow~
“Luka!” Lady Blanche screamed as he was dragged into the water by Simme, causing Bunnyx to stare in horror. The fear in Lady Blanche’s voice was clear as she called for him and she was clearly frightened of going into the water but he had been so close to freeing her. Her eyes were starting to turn back into her normal color. Simme must have sensed it and that’s why he interfered. He didn’t want her to be saved and given what he was, it made sense. Lady Blanche was a perfect power source for him. All of her despair and guilt acted like a battery for him and he had finally defeated the 'mage’ and Finni. If Anatis succeed then this would all be undone, meaning Simme wouldn’t escape, Finni wouldn’t be killed and Lady Noir wouldn’t be in this state. It would all be undone. Bunnyx paused the screen and turned to another. If she could work out exactly how it came to this then she could work the exact moment and change the course of history. She pressed the scene in front of her and watched the scene play out.
~Alternative Paris~
“I want you to break him,” Hawkmoth stated to Lila who was sitting in her usual spot in the park, reading her book as he talked to her. “I was so cool to succeeding last time and this time I want to succeed and you will help me,”
“But he really did have a seizure,” Lila replied back, frowning as she closed her book. “And it was too close last time. The timing of the scarlet akumas, the fact that everyone was willing to defend him. I’m lucky that my father dotes on me but if I do something again, I might not be so lucky and I know when to cut my losses. You’re playing a losing game when it comes to Luka-”
“Are you planning to give up my work?” He growled, making Lila smirk a little.
“Of course not… I just think going after Luka is a losing game,” She replied, placing her book on her lap. “Now going after Marinette. Now that would be worth it,”
“Excuse me?” Hawkmoth asked, frowning.
“Think about it,” Lila stated. “She was Princess Justice, your most powerful akuma to date and she is close to both Luka and Anatis. Target her and you can take out more then one bird. If you’re so determined to break Luka then that’s the way to do it and plus Luka is careful and has a restraining order on me. Marinette on the other hand doesn’t. She would be a much better target,”
“That isn’t a bad idea,” Hawkmoth stated, smirking. “Do your usual thing at school and torment her,”
“Not hard to do,” Lila stated, smirking. “Am I ok to leave now?”
“Yes,” He replied, making her get up. “Do this well and I’ll reward you immensely,”
“I promise you won’t be disappointed,” She stated, walking off as Hawkmoth’s smirk disappeared.
“Sir?” Nathalie asked from the driver’s seat. “Are we going after Marinette?”
“No,” He replied, making her blink. “Miss Rossi can but I will be focus my energy on Mr Couffaine,”
“I see,”
“But Miss Rossi did have a point,” Hawkmoth replied, smirking. “Miss Dupain-Cheng is the secret to akumatizing Luka,”
~At the Liberty~
“I intend to invite her to join Gabriel as my apprentice but your relationship with Miss Dupain-Cheng would
Inspired by @airi-p4 recent comic. It was so cute and adorable that I had to write something for it. Admittedly, this is inspired by the first part and is a little short but that’s ok. I still enjoyed writing this.
——————————————————————————————
“Uh! Why did it go wrong again?!” Marinette groaned, holding her face in her hands as Alya gently patted her back. Once again, she had tried to ask Adrien on a date and once again she had messed up royally. There was a fair in town and she thought it had been the perfect place for a date. As usual, the girl squad had encouraged her, telling her she could do it and she marched up to Adrien but the moment she got near him, she lost all of her confidence and it didn’t help that he was talking about a girl called Kagami. As if that wasn’t bad enough, he jumped at the chance to ask her where he thought he should take Kagami on a date, which in turn resulted her to suggest the fair. Adrien had thanked her, saying he could always rely on his ‘best’ friend to help work out what to do before hugging her and rushing off. The thing is she didn’t want to be his best friend. She wanted to be his girlfriend but something always seemed to go wrong no matter how hard she tried. And now it seemed like Adrien had his sights on someone else. Maybe it was best to move on. She had to accept that he would only ever see her as a friend. She let out a huff and sat down as Alya sat next to her. “I can’t keep doing this, Alya. Every time I try it goes wrong and he is interested in someone else,”
“Come on, girl,” Alya frowned, making her frown. “You can’t give up now. Adrien just needs to see how amazing you are and once he does, he’ll jump at the chance to date you,”
“Adrien doesn’t see me as more then a friend,” She stated, making Alya frown. “And maybe I should be ok with that. You know I’ve tried everything and it just doesn’t happen.. maybe it’s time to move on,”
“Girl, you can’t give up!” Alya gasped, making Marinette flinch a little from her raised voice. “Sorry but I just don’t want to see you give up. You’ve worked so hard for this,”
“And none of it worked,” She sighed, looking down. “I’m just meant to be alone forever,”
“That’s not true,” Alya gasped, taking her hands in her. “Ok so you can’t go to the fair on a romantic date with Adrien but you can go to the fair on the best friend date ever with me!”
“Really?” Marinette asked, smiling a little.
“Yeah! We’ll go on rides, get ice cream and candy floss and play a bunch of games!” Alya grinned, making Marinette smile. “I’ll even win you a toy,”
“Aww, thanks but aren’t you going with Nino?” She asked, making Alya grin.
“Yeah but not til the weekend,” She explained, making Marinette feel a little better. “But the fair opens today so let’s go after school! It’s been ages since we actually did something together that wasn’t related to Adrien or school work,”
“Well, I’d have to ask my mama and papa but sure,” Marinette grinned, linking arms with Alya as they headed back to the classroom. It would be fun to hang out properly.
~After School~
“Whoa, this is so pretty,” Marinette gasped as she looked around at the fair. The lights were beautiful and the air smelt sweet. There were a number of food stalls and different rides but there were also game stands and different sideshows. They had gone on a few rides already and played a number of games. Right now, they were walking around, eating some chocolate kebabs. Instead of meats and veg, they had strawberries and marshmallows on, along with been dipped in a chocolate fountain. They tasted delicious. The two of them walked towards the Seine area of the fair as they ate, causing Marinette to come to a stop as she noticed a boat. It was fairly chaotic looking and hardly anyone was near it but there was a very pretty girl leaning against it. Behind her was a purple tent set up on the boat. It had stars and moons on it, making Marinette want to touch it. Next to the tent and the girl was a sign.
The Mysterious Viperion
Tarots. Crystal Balls. Palms. Runes and much more.
Palm Reading: €10
Tarot Reading: €20
Crystal Ball Reading: €5
Runes Reading: €15
Zodiac Reading: €10
Love. Fate. Destiny.
Come inside and have your future revealed
“Ooh a psychic!” Alya grinned, pointing towards the tent as Marinette glanced at it. “Hey, let’s get our future read. Maybe they can advise you on how to win over Adrien,”
“Alya!” Marinette gasped but despite her comment, she was curious. Maybe this psychic could tell her where she was going wrong or why the universe seemed to be against her. “A-Alright but you have to do it as well!”
“Sure,” Alya grinned, walking over to the girl. “Hey, so how do we do this?”
“Prices are there or you can go for a full reading for €65,” The girl mumbled quietly as Marinette glanced at her hair. It was black and purple. “You’ll have to wait for a moment though. He’s currently reading the Mayor’s future,”
“Ok. We’ll do the crystal ball reading. One reading each,” Alya replied, taking out €10 and handing it to the girl who nodded before putting the money in a box. “So is he the real deal or a con artist?”
“You’ll find out soon enough,” She replied as the mayor exited from the tent with a grin on his face. Marinette rose an eyebrow as the girl disappeared into the tent and came out a few minutes later. “He’s ready to see you now,”
She gestured to the tent, causing Marinette to take a gulp and walking inside with Alya. The smell of white sage hit her nose as she looked around. Now that she was inside it, she could see the tent was fairly big. She noticed a tank that housed a beautiful looking snake that seemed to be resting. She turned her attention away from it as she continued to glance around. In the middle of the tent was a round table covered with a purple cloth with a crystal ball on top of it and a couple of chairs before it. Sat in behind that was a mysterious figure. She could see he was male but she couldn’t see much of his face as it was covered with a hood. All she could see was his mouth in fact.
“Please take a seat,” He stated, making Marinette’s heart flutter a little. His voice was soft and charming and the air around him seemed gentle. She took a seat next to Alya before the mysterious fortune reader began. “I am Viperion, teller of truth. I can’t promise that I will tell you what you want to hear but heed my words. The future isn’t always sugar coated and it is my duty to the universe to tell the truth that I have been gifted to see. Now you both paid for a crystal ball reading. I will admit that it isn’t as accurate as tarots or palms but if you satisfied with your choice, we can begin,”
“Yes, we’re good,” Alya answered, making Viperion nod. “I’ll go first,”
“Very well,” He replied, moving his hands over the crystal ball. For a few moments, he remained silent before he smirked. “Interesting,”
“What is?” Alya asked, a little impatiently.
“So far, I see no real issues in your immediate future. Your relationship with your boyfriend is strong and your friendships are stronger,” He stated, making her let out a sigh of relief but then then he frowned. “Dear me. You seem to have trouble coming for you in the form of a fox who spins tales of gold but are nothing more then hay,”
“Huh?” Alya asked, confused.
“You wish for success and she will promise you the world but her promises are empty,” He stated, frowning. “She is nothing more then a wolf in sheep’s clothing so beware and be skeptical. For if you take her words as true, you will lose what you most hold dear,”
Alya blinked at his reading, feeling a shiver down her spine as he tilled his head to the side.
“And that’s all the universe will let me see with you,” He replied, making her nod before she shook of the feeling as he turned his attention to Marinette. She gulped a little afraid of what he might say with her. He moved his hands over the crystal ball again before a playful smile came on his lips. “Oh, you’ve had quite the unfortunate love life hm?”
“That’s such an understatement compared after the latest attempt with Adrien,” Alya grinned, making Marinette groan.
“Alya!” She gasped before turning to the fortune-teller. “Sorry, Mr Viperion. Please go on,”
“The universe is trying to lead you to the right path,” He stated, moving his hands again. “But the right path is not made of sunshine like you think it is,”
“You mean Adrien isn’t meant for me?” She asked, a little sorrow in her voice but deep down she knew that. All the times it went wrong and she failed. It was because she wasn’t meant to be with him. At least, she knew now. “S-So what else awaits me? Is it bad?”
“Hmm,” He answered, glancing at the crystal ball. “Do not worry. Your luck is about to change,”
“It is?” She asked, blinking.
“Yes, a chance encounter will change your perspective,” He replied, making her blink again. “In other words… you’re about to meet someone who is right for you,”
He glanced up at her, causing her to see his full face and boy was he cute. His eyes were ocean blue and danced in a way that made her heart stop. His hair was dark with blue highlights and he had a mischievous but playful smile was on his lips. Marinette couldn’t help but blush as he looked at her.
Marinette felt lighter than she had in weeks for the next few days, even the two akuma she had to fight weren’t bothering her. She talked with Luka frequently, telling him about her day and the little things that made her happy or sad or stressed. Marinette could be vague about what was bothering her and her Hanahaki would ease up a little when she told Luka about it. She had found her loophole of sorts, talking around the problem helped, talking about how she felt even without context, helped. Marinette was confident that things were starting to look up for her.
So when her friends asked her to come to a Kitty Section mini concert that Friday, Marinette felt good enough that she accepted. The rest of the week (well for the two days beforehand) Marinette and her friends talked about the concert and about dressing up a little and maybe doing a snack potluck. Then the day of, Alya texted Marinette to come to the boat 2 hours early. Weird, but maybe they needed help decorating so Marinette didn’t think too much of it and hurried to get ready then sent a quick, see you soon! to Luka.
Marinette enjoyed the walk to the boathouse. It was a warm spring day with just a touch of a cool breeze to keep the day from being too hot. The slap of her slip-ons hit the cement and Marinette could feel Tikki bounding along in her purse. The little god had been very supportive of Marinette talking to Luka, almost adamant in telling her to talk about everything, even the little things which as it turned out helped more than Marinette thought it would. She was really blessed to have the goddess of luck and creativity at her side.
When Marinette reached the boat she could hear lots of talking below deck. Marinette called out, “Hello! I made it!” Then a thump of feet hit her ears and she saw Alya pop up and grabbed Marinette’s arm. Marinette was starting to get a little confused.
“Alya what’s-”
“I’ll explain in a minute, just follow me.” Alya almost barked at her. Now Marinette was confused and concerned. When they got to Luka and Juleka’s room Marinette saw the girl squad huddled together.
“Marinette! You made it on time!” Rose said, a big pleased smile was on her face. Marinette smiled nervously back.
“Y-yeah, I’m just a little confused-”
“Okay, let’s get this meeting started!” Alya cut in. Marinette started to have a sinking feeling grow in her stomach.
“What meet-”
“Okay, so, Buttercup is at the Eiffel tower doing a shoot, which is roughly 20 minutes from here.” Alya cut Marinette off again. Apparently she was in one of her moods as a result Marinette’s mood started to take a dive. Not another ‘adrinette’ plan, Marinette’s stomach twisted almost painfully.
“Alya, I-”
“So, while we girls get the boat ready for the concert tonight, Marinette can go to the photo shoot and accidently bump into him and ask him to come to the concert and then Rose will play a romantic song or two for Marinette to confess and dance with Adrien and live happily ever after!”
“Alya, I don’t-” But Alya interrupted Marinette again and Marinette was feeling like she was doing it on purpose. She looked at the other girls in the group looking seriously at Alya and nodding along. Rose was commenting about which songs she will sing and Alex nodded along looking a little bored. Mylene was asking about decorations for the boat and Alya was still going on about her ‘perfect adrinette plan’.
Marinette was starting to feel her heart race and her breathing becoming difficult, her fingers were starting to tremble. She needed to leave. Marinette turned when she felt a hand land on her shoulder.
“You okay?” Juleka mumbled. Marinette gasped a little before she word-vomited.
“I uh, yeah, just need.. Air, I’m fine! No air! I-I mean no worries. I’m going to wash my dace- I mean face.” Marinette unsteadily got to her feet and shot out the door to the bathroom. She thought she heard Alya call for her but Marinette ignored her.
After firmly closing the door shut Marinette gasped again and dropped her head over the sink. She could feel the Hanahaki acting up and Marinette desperately wanted to keep the flowers in, but her body had other ideas; her chest started to convulse with the lack of air getting to her lungs. Marinette started coughing, hard. A pink tulip and a yellow rose came up. Marinette heard knocking on the door and panicked.
“Marinette, it’s Luka, can I come in?” The male voice said.
Marinette relaxed a little and opened the door a crack, standing there was Luka with a worried expression on his face, over his shoulder she could see Juleka nervously looking at them both.
“…I’ll leave you to it.” Juleka said before she disappeared from view. Marinette opened the bathroom door and let Luka in. Luka sat on the toilet as Marinette stood over the sink again.
Luka was quiet waiting for Marinette to speak, Marinette bit her lip before she turned to face him.
“Alya has been… pushy and ignoring me.” Marinette finally said, the silence was comfortable. Luka nodded to show he was listening, Marinette really appreciated that.
“She is in one of her moods, when nothing I say matters, and Alya is pushing another ‘get Marinette together with adrien’ plan.” Marinette’s face twisted in displeasure. Luka blinked but kept a steady poker face waiting until Marinette was done speaking.
“I don’t want that anymore and I’ve tried telling her in the past but she ignores it and says I’m just chickening out. Now, I guess she’s making it so I don’t have the option to… it’s stressful and hurts me.” Marinette grabbed her chest, feeling the Hanahaki squeeze her lungs a little. Marinette sank to the floor, a large sigh left her.
“I don’t know what to do anymore, if Alya won’t listen then what am I supposed to do?” Marinette rested her head on her knees, the image of a person who has too much stress and not enough people supporting them.
“I think you need to tell them how you really feel. Both Jules and I can back you up, you aren’t alone, Marinette, we got your back. Whatever you need to do I’ll be there to support you.” Luka said as he softly rubbed her shoulder until she looked up at him.
“Thanks, Luka. I don’t know what I would do without your help.”
Marinette stared at Luka as he climbed into her room, her thoughts running a million miles a minute wondering if she had prior plans with Luka she forgot about. Luka took a minute to look over Marinette. She had rumpled bed-head and dark circles under her eyes, she looked a little pale and Luka felt bad for waking her up.
“Sorry for waking you, you look like you could use the sleep.”
Marinette blushed, desperately trying to comb her fingers through her hair hoping to tame the wild mess.
“Oh no! It was about time for me to get up anyway. No worries!” Marinette reassured Luka with only a little false brightness, she was just caught off guard and needed a moment to wake up.
“Are you sure? Cause I can go and leave you to get some more rest.” Luka asked. Marinette blushed again, touched by Luka’s concern for her. It was very different from the concern her friends gave her, there was no prying or stress to tell him something to get him to stop asking. Luka was chill, and Marinette realized she needed more of that in her life.
“No, Luka, please stay. It’s wonderful to see you.” Marinette assured him, she patted the space on her bed next to her. Luka climbed up and sat on top of the covers but still close by. Marinette smiled at him, immense feelings of gratitude welled up then suddenly felt the overwhelming urge to cough.
Marinette’s eyes started watering and she could feel the flower springing up in her mouth. Luka looked concerned again and Marinette desperately wanted to stop the Hanahaki but her body wouldn’t listen. Coughing hard, Marinette hunched over as a beautiful dark pink rose came up. Luka patted her shoulder and stilled with his hand on her back when he saw the flower.
“Marinette…” Luka started but stopped, swallowing hard he picked up the flower and rubbed her back again as Marinette coughed for another 30 seconds.
When the coughing fit was over Marinette wouldn’t look at him, fear crawled up her belly to her heart and clenched tightly.
“Marinette,” Luka started softly. “Please be honest with me, do you have Hanahaki?” His voice held no anger, nor disappointment that Marinette expected. Just soft concerned tones of a friend that wouldn’t judge you.
“Yes.” Marinette didn’t want to lie to him, and the moment the words left her mouth, her chest released the pressure that was building. She felt like she could breathe freely again. She took a deep breath and laughed lightly. Luka looked a little confused but a small smile graced his lips, he still held concern in his eyes but he seemed happy that she was happy. Was it really that simple? Marinette had glanced at the remedies when she looked up long-term effects, one specifically mentioned addressing the suppressed emotion but she had no idea it would have this big of an effect. Maybe she could beat her Hanahaki, if she talked about things more. The thought of expressing her emotions, all of her emotions, stopped her cold. Marinette’s smile faded, she couldn’t tell anyone.
“Luka, you can’t tell anyone.” Marinette said sadly. She had secrets she could reveal and if she talked about the things bothering her, about how her friends were making her feel, and she would lose them which could possibly expose the fact she was Ladybug. It was too dangerous.
Luka hummed with a frown. “Why not? It seems like you have been dealing with this for a while, what’s so bad that you can’t tell me or your friends?”
Marinette hesitated, but the disease acted faster, she started coughing again, a snapdragon and a white rose came up, Luka quickly rubbed her back again while Marinette was coughing and silently looked at the new flowers.
“Deception and secrecy.” Luka muttered, then his eyes widened as if something occurred to him, then he looked thoughtful. For a moment, Marinette feared that Luka had figured out she was Ladybug and everything was going to go downhill from here and her mind spiraled down the many disaster paths that could happen.
“You can’t tell me.”
The sentence froze Marinette. She hadn’t thought of it like that before, but it was true; she couldn’t tell anyone.
“You would tell me if you could, but you can’t.” Luka continued.
Marinette nodded but looked a little relieved that he understood. It was incredibly hard to keep the secrets she had and to be a star-student, the class rep., role-model for others, and share her generosity unconditionally. Marinette was tired and none of that included her Ladybug duties or bakery chores she had to do too.
“Luka?”
“Yeah?” He responded.
“I’m happy you are here. I didn’t realize how stressed and worried I was, but letting you know about my disease helped alleviate it. At least a little bit.” Marinette smiled ruefully.
“I’m glad you told me. I’ll be here, however long you want me to, in whatever way you need.” Luka vowed.
“Thank you.” Marinette blushed again. She relaxed against him and sighed.
Luka had a small soft smile on his lips and cuddled her closer for a few minutes. Marinette enjoyed the silence and comfort that Luka created. It felt like she could just be, and be herself freely.
Marinette took a peak at where Tikki was hiding and found the goddess partly hidden watching with relieved eyes. Marinette thought that she was happy that Marinette shared the truth about her Hanahaki with someone. Marinette thought she was glad she shared it with Luka too; like a small weight had been lifted.
“Luka, can we just cuddle like this for a while?” Marinette asked softly. Luka felt Marinette relax more and squeezed her a little closer to him.
Luka: Beautiful cinnamon roll who’s too pure and precious for this world.
Marinette: Sorry doesn’t bring back my fucking Skittles, Luka.
Luka knew he fucked up the moment he realized they were all gone. His heart was pounding in his chest, knowing that when Marinette came back and saw they were all gone, well, he did the only thing he could. He ran. He ran like the boogeyman was after him, knowing that when he was a block away from the Liberty and saw all the Miraculous Ladybugs fixing everything he had less than five minutes until Marinette learned of what he did. After getting to the boathouse and hunkering down in his room, he prayed. Luka swears he could hear Marinette’s screech across Paris. Counting the second, Luka brings his phone out of his pocket with trembling hands.
Luka: Marinette, I’m sorry
Luka waited for five minutes before he tried again.
Luka: Please talk to me baby
The sweat was pouring down his face and he quickly wiped it away. Luka took a deep breath and tried again.
Luka: Muffin?
Luka: Sweet pea?
Luka: The love of my life
The silent treatment was a really bad sign. Luka knew he was in deep shit now. He sighed and decided to pull all the stops.
Luka: Beautiful cinnamon roll who’s too pure and precious for this world
He waited again, chewing on his hoodie string. If this didn’t work Luka knew nothing could save him from Marinette’s wrath. Luka held his breath when he saw the waiting dots of Marinette texting him back, they started and stopped several times before his phone dinged with her answer.
Marinette: Sorry doesn’t bring back my fucking Skittles, Luka.
Fuck, he was doomed. His name with a period? Luka knew he had a lot of groveling to do when he saw her next. If she didn’t kill him on sight. Luka smacked the phone to his forehead. “That was so stupid Couffaine.” Luka said to himself. Then his phone dinged again with another message.
Marinette: Your ass is MINE the next time I see you.
Luka felt a shiver go down his spine. Would an innuendo joke be a good idea right now? Probably not. But when did Luka do anything sensible when it came to Marinette? Never. But before he could start typing, Marinette messaged him again.
Marinette: And I swear to kwami, if you make a joke about your ass, your punishment will double.
Luka had to smile about that. Marinette knew him too well.
Luka got up from his hiding hole and sat on his bed, he threw his phone on his pillow and stretched. Luka knew he was in for it when he saw Marinette tomorrow but he couldn’t help but smile. Man he loved that woman, no matter how scary she could be.
Marinette took her phone and opened her messaging app, it was time to share her information with Nino. Sending a quick, “I need to talk to you, please come over” text and started to wait. Nino responded positively saying he would be over in thirty.
Marinette stacks her papers together again, for the 4th time in 30 minutes, she knew she was nervous and Tikki had been silently watching her hold this entire time.
“Marinette, this is Nino you are talking to, he is your childhood best friend, he will listen to you.” Tikki finally spoke, hoping that the encouragement would help Marinette’s nerves.
“But Tikki, since Alya came along and they got together my word has been holding very much influence anymore. AND I’m doing this behind her back! She’s gonna hate me and never trust Nino again! Oh, Tikki this was a mistake-”
Amidst Marinette’s nervous ranting she heard Sabine call for her saying that Nino was here. No time to continue to freak out, she just had to get through her evidence and hopefully convince Nino of the truth.
Nino knocked on her trap door and Marinette called for him to open it, when he did she saw he looked nervous too.
“Come on in, Nino. There’s something important I want to talk to you about.” A little bit of Ladybug bleed through giving Marinette strength. Nino nodded and went to sit on the lounging chair, facing her.
“Okay Nettie, I’m listening.” Marinette paused, and looked up from her papers she grabbed to ‘organize’ again. Maybe this wouldn’t be as bad as she thought.
Marinette went down her itemized list of lies Lila has told then went back through giving information that proved each one was a lie. Marinette went methodically through each one, giving time for Nino to nod or say ‘continue’ to make sure he understood before moving on to the next one. By the time Marinette had gone through her entire list an hour and a half had gone by, Nino removed his hat and rubbed his head letting out a long sigh.
“Marinette, I believe you. I also owe you an apology.”
“Oh, that’s not-”
“Yes, it is.” Nino said firmly. This was his childhood best friend, and the fact that Marinette went to such lengths to prove Lila’s lies says a lot about how everyone, himself included, had been treating her.
“I’m sorry for not believing you, that was wrong of me to just dismiss you and ignore everything you had said.” Nino took a deep breath, before he continued.
“I should have listened to you from the start and looked into Lila myself, a few of us are doing that and we hope to tell more people. There’s just one last thing.” Nino gulped he knew he had messed up pretty badly and desperately needed to talk to Alya but Marinette needed his support right now.
“So, what can I do to help?” He asked.
Marinette sat still blinking at Nino for a moment, stunned that he believed her and was willing to help. She blinked back tears and thought for a moment.
“Just when Lila lies, point out the inconsistencies and back me up, if that is too much then just check in on me every once in a while?” Marinette looked down at her shoes before looking back up to Nino, he was smiling.
“Yeah, I can do that, dudette.”
“You said a few others are looking into things?” Marinette remembered he mentioned that.
“Yeah, a couple people and I’m sure they will reach out to you soon. If you could talk to them that would be great but I also understand you have needed your space.” Nino paused, actually Nettie had been a lot more relaxed lately since getting space and it seemed Adrien stopped bugging her too. Really after that, Marinette’s mood has been happier like before.
“You’ve been happier lately, I hope that continues and I know the others will want to apologize too, but take it at your speed Marinette, you are right that we haven’t been giving you enough consideration.”
Marinette did start crying, she was happy to have her childhood friend back and that he supported her. She was happy that others were starting to see Lila’s lies and maybe she would have more people on her side.
“Thank you Nino,” Marinette wiped her eyes but tears still fell.
“Sorry it took me so long, Nettie.” Nino opened his arms and Marinette happily hugged him. The two took a bit longer to let go, both realizing it had been far too long since they last hung out just to two of them.
He was completely transfixed by her lips—when was he not?—and it was driving him insane. Why did she have to purse her lips like that? Was she doing it on purpose?
Her lips were always enough to drive him to distraction. Not that he minded.
But today, she was wearing a new lip gloss. One that painted her lips the same shade as a perfectly ripe strawberry. His favourite fruit in the world. And it wasn’t enough that her lips were that tantalizing shade of berry red. They were glossy too. The light was reflecting off of the gloss, and it was making her perfectly pouted lips look like a perfect strawberry…
And she was pouting because she was trying to concentrate.
They were sprawled out on her bedroom floor, surrounded by textbooks and papers. They were supposed to be doing homework. She was doing her homework. And him? He was staring at her lips like an idiot. Of course, they were much more enticing than his history homework…
“Luka?” He jumped. He hadn’t even realized she had looked up from her work to look at him, her head tilted quizzically to the side, her lips pursed in concern. Her lips… “Are you alright?”
Heat flooded his face. “Yep! Yeah. I’m good. Fine, yeah…”
He tore his gaze away from her and began scribbling nonsense in his notebook. But he couldn’t help but idly wonder if her lips tasted like strawberries.
“Ok,” she said breezily.
They worked in silence for a few minutes, or rather, she worked in silence. He was still trying the wrestle his mind away from thoughts of her berry red, perfectly kissable lips. And then she started humming.
And he knew, before he even looked at her face to see the smile she was trying to hide behind her perfectly pursed lips, that she was doing this on purpose. Because she was humming Strawberry Fields Forever.
He was done. He could not take it anymore.
He got up, letting his pencil clatter to the ground as he hauled himself up to his feet. Marinette jumped at the sound, blinking up at him in confusion. Her eyes wide, and her long lashes fluttering as he plopped himself down in front of her.
“Luka?” She asked innocently. Too innocently. “Is it something the matter-“
Her words died in a surprised squeak on his lips as he cupped her cheek and pressed his lips to hers. It only took her half a second to return the kiss.
"I swear I’m gonna fuck the next person that walks through that door.“
“I swear I’m gonna fuck the next person that walks through that door.” A muffled, familiar voice said.
Luka stopped outside his bedroom door, with his fist raised with the intent to knock. He wasn’t sure if he should enter now after hearing that declaration. But before he could make any decision the door flew open to reveal his sister, Marinette and the rest of the girls in her class sitting on the ground in the room. He was sure that his face was red and he couldn’t help but look directly at Marinette. Marinette on the other hand was calm and had a determined look on her face.
“Ooo, guess that makes you’re gonna fuck Luka, huh?” One of the girls teased, fully expecting a blushing loud denial, Luka was surprised to see Marinette stand up and say “Yup.” Much to the surprise of everyone else too.
Luka heard a quiet “Ew.” From right next to him, and it was the first time he registered that his sister opened the door. But she had her mischievous smile on her face and something told Luka that she heard him coming.
Luka heard sputtering before Alya stood up too, “You can’t be serious, it was a joke Mari!” Marinette started walking up to Luka who was still frozen with his arm raised in the doorway. Without missing a beat or looking back Marinette replied, “I was serious, and I already told you, Adrien and I are over, I don’t want anything to do with him anymore.”
Alya sputtered and looked pissed, although Luka wasn’t sure about what specifically. But another bomb was dropped on him in that moment. He had heard that they broke up and after offering his condolences he stayed away from Marinette. Luka didn’t think that the break-up would stick but something had changed with Marinette, and he was starting to see it.
Marinette grabbed his raised hand and dragged him back up stairs with the girls talking over each other and yelling after Marinette, and he supposed that Juleka was barring the door so they could escape. He owed his sister and was a bit nervous as to what she would collect on.
Marinette didn’t stop until they were in the green house, hidden from prying eyes. She plopped down on a nearby crate putting her face into her hands and gave a big sigh. Luka’s heart hurt seeing her like this, he had to wonder about some of her friends if saying something like that was the only way to try to get them to listen.
“Marinette, are you alright?” He asked her. Sitting down on the crate next to her offering his hand in comfort. Marinette took it and looked up at him, she looked tired and completely done with everything.
“I just don’t understand why Alya won’t back off! I’ve told her as much as I feel comfortable and she still won’t drop it. I’m over Adrien and I’m done being his friend. Why can’t she get that I don’t want to see him let alone date him again?!” Tears were forming in her eyes and Luka was a bit nervous that a butterfly would come.
“Well, you could always take your frustrations out on me, I’d be happy to accept that.” Luka joked referencing her declaration to ‘fuck the next person who walked through the door.’
Marinette looked horrified, “No! I would never try to-” then his meaning kicked in and Marinette blushed a bright red.
“Sorry, that was a poor joke,” Luka ran his hand through his hair, unconsciously tightening his grip on her hand. Marinette bit her lip before asking, “Why was it a poor joke?”
Luka glanced at her then down at his shoes, never letting her hand go, “…because I meant it. IF that is all you want from me I would gladly take it, I would give you as much love and attention you wanted and if you decided that it wasn’t what you want in the long run, I’ll let you go.” Luka didn’t see the wonder and hope in Marinette’s eyes.
“What if I wanted you for much longer and much more than that?” Marinette asked softly. Luka looked at her in surprise and hope.
“Then I’m yours.”
Marinette smiled, “And I’m yours too.”
Luka and Marinette grinned at each other and slowly kissed. Vaguely the sounds of yelling had died down but they paid no mind to that, both just as lost in the other, in their own bubble of happiness.
Juleka: Hey, are you free on Friday? Like around 8 p.m.? Marinette: Yes? Juleka: What about you? Luka: Yes, I am. Juleka: Great! Because I’m not. You two go on without me. Enjoy your date! *Walks away* Marinette: Did Juleka just-?
Luka and Marinette sit on Luka’s bed while he finishes the song he was working on, setting aside his guitar, Luka stretches his arms above his head and Marinette takes a peek at his toned stomach and blushes red. Juleka notices Marinette looking at her brother in the vanity mirror where she is applying eyeliner and gets a wicked idea.
“Hey Marinette, are you free on Friday? Like around 8pm?” Marinette tears her eyes away from Luka, “Y-yes? I’m free?” she blushes again at the look Juleka is giving her as Juleka stands up and walks in front of her brother.
“What about you?”
Luka looks up to the sparkling gleam in his sister’s eyes. “Yes, I am.” he says cautiously. Juleka smirks and turns toward the door.
“Great! Because I’m not. You two go on without me. Enjoy your date!” Juleka leaves after this declaration leaving to who blushing dorks behind.
“Did Juleka just-?” Marinette starts but freezes up before she can finish.
Luka can only nod his head mutely. Still trying to process that his sister managed to trick him and Marinette to go on a date. Then shakes his head, it wouldn’t be a date if Marinette doesn’t want to go.
“Marinette-?” “Luka-?” They say at the same time. Marinette blushes again and she thinks that her face is going to be in a permanent state of tomato red from now on. Marinette gestures for Luka to go first and he takes a deep breath.
“We don’t have to go on a date just because Juleka set it up,” Marinette’s shoulders sagged a bit and her lips turned down into a frown. Luka’s heart started to pound at the implication, “I’ll only go on the date if you want to go Marinette, not because someone forced us to.” Hope sparkled in Marinette’s eyes, Luka was giving her a choice of what she wanted to do.
“Yes… I mean, I want to go on a gate-date with you.” Luka smiled a big goofy happy smile at her.
Marinette owns a flower shop and one day Luka comes in. Luka slaps 20 bucks onto the counter and then asks, “How do I passive-aggressively say fuck you in flower?” Marinette bursts out laughing before making a bouquet for Luka.
Marinette was tending the clearance flowers when she heard the doorbell ring through the shop.
“Hello! Welcome to-” Marinette cuts off when she sees her customer, a tall punk rock guy with blue dyed tips who looks… frustrated and irritated. Marinette returns back to the counter and the guy digs into his pocket, pulls out a $20 and slaps it onto the counter.
“How do I passive-aggressively say ‘Fuck You’ in flower?” he asked, Marinette was silent for a moment then burst out laughing. The punk rock guy looks startled then softens.
“I- Um, need a bouquet for an… annoying friend.” He adds in a softer tone. Marinette smiles up at him.
“Sure, just follow me.” She beckons him over her shoulder as Marinette strides to the carnation section.
“Here, yellow carnations,” Marinette says as she pulls two of the flowers from the flower bin. Then walks down the aisle and stops again. The guy blinks at the carnations in his hand then follows after her.
“What do yellow carnations stand for?” He asks. Marinette is looking intently at the lilies in front of her.
“‘You have disappointed me’, and orange lilies are ‘hatred’.” Marinette bends down grabbing a lily and shoving the flower at the blue haired man, after he takes it Marinette moves down another aisle and rounds a corner. The guy quickly follows after her and almost bowls her over when he rounded the corner.
Marinette glances at the geraniums, grabs two then looks for something else. The punk rock guy just keeps staring at her in wonder. Marinette takes a peak at him in the corner of her eye and smirks then goes back to her task.
“Geraniums are ‘stupidity’ and this one,” Marinette pulls a foxglove stalk and hands it to him, “is foxglove, which is ‘insincerity’.” The man grins at her which makes Marinette blush lightly at the intensity of his gaze.
“We have one more to find, meadowsweet.”
“What does meadowsweet stand for?” Marinette and the guy walk down a couple different aisle before finally reaching the one she wanted.
“Meadowsweet is ‘uselessness’.” She replies then reaches down to grab 3 of the last flowers. When she looks up and hands him the flowers he is looking away slightly red in the face, he glances at her then clears his throat.
“Then we are all done?”
“Yes, let’s check out at the counter, did you want them wrapped?” Marinette asks him as she scoots behind the counter and takes the flowers from him.
“Yes in the ugliest color wrapping tissue you have.” The blue haired guy says and pushes the $20 dollars he slapped on the counter earlier towards her. Marinette nods and grabs the ugly puke green yellow tissue from underneath.
“So, do you get many people asking for ‘fuck you’ flowers?” Marinette stills in her wrapping, taking a moment to register what he said.
She laughs lightly, “No but I make sure to know all the names and meanings, both good and bad, in case the need arises. Like today.”
They exchange money and goods before the man starts to walk out, “Thanks Marinette, it’s been a real pleasure!”
Marinette must have looked confused so he taps his chest and points to her, right, she has a name badge.
“I’m Luka, I will come back again soon!” He calls to her and walks out the door. Marinette collapses onto the stool burning her head into her hands as her face flames up.
‘Fuck you’ flowers, really? She got flustered from misinterpreting what he meant. The ‘fuck you’ hate kinda of flowers not the ‘I wanna fuck you’ kind of flowers. Marinette needed a drink, as she looked up something on the counter caught her eye, it was a business card with his name and a phone number written on it, on the other side was a logo for a band that Marinette is sure she heard somewhere before. Marinette will look up ‘Kitty Section’ later, right now she plugs Luka’s number into her phone and sighs happily. Today was a good day.
19. The Needed Rest - Ladybug needs a break, and a young musician can help her with that.
Ladybug swung herself through the evening air, trying to run from how she was feeling and all the responsibilities placed on her, perhaps she should talk to Master Fu again. Pushing herself harder, Ladybug jumped the gap between two buildings and landed in a roll before straightening up again. Ladybug heard someone call for her and realized where she was, next to the Seine where a familiar house boat rested, she hadn’t realized that she made it over to him so quickly. After a moment she heard someone call out again and looked to see Luka waving at her on the deck on the Liberty. Ladybug backed up then ran and jumped to land on the deck with a thud sounding her entrance.
Luka studied Ladybug for a minute listening to her heart sound but it was muffled like static interfering with it, Luka supposed that was probably the miraculous magic at work, but from what little snips of her sound he could hear, Ladybug was troubled.
“Would you like to take a little rest?” Luka asked her. Ladybug smiled politely at him and took the chair he was gesturing to. After a moment of silence Luka decided to skip the small talk and try to get to the heart of the problem.
“What’s on your mind, Ladybug? You seem distressed.” Ladybug looked at him with eyes that were tired and carrying a heavy burden she couldn’t even name. Luka lost his breath at the look in her eyes, his heart went out to her. Being Ladybug couldn’t be easy and it seemed she had a lot of other stuff going on as well.
“That obvious, huh?” Ladybug chuckled.
“I guess I just pay attention.” Luka responded, he fiddled with his guitar strap, a new one by the look of it and tried again to listen to Ladybug’s heart song, something about it felt achingly familiar. Ladybug sat down on the crate next to him and looked out across the river.
“I just had to do some… clean up. There were tough conversations that had to be discussed. I’m just…feeling drained from that.”
Luka nodded to show he was listening and waited for Ladybug to continue.
“I feel like I’m the only one who takes superheroing seriously. It’s frustrating with Chat Noir being so, so… ugn. I don’t have the words. I wish he would knock off the flirting and pay attention during battles.”
Luka hummed and had a look on his face that said he wanted to say something about Chat Noir. Ladybug wondered what he wanted to say.
“What is it?” She asked. Luka turned towards her with a serious look.
“This isn’t my place and you can disregard everything I’m about to say, but it sounds like Chat Noir isn’t being a good partner to you and someone should hold him accountable for his actions.”
Ladybug snorted, “Yeah, I’m trying to get that done too and I’ll have to wait and see if the talk goes over well.”
“I hope things work out for you.” Luka said sincerely.
“Thanks Luka, and thank you for listening. I haven’t had a lot of people do that for me recently.”
Luka looked concerned, “Isn’t there anyone who you can talk to about things? It’s not healthy to bottle things up, take a break, let yourself feel those hurt emotions.”
Ladybug sighed, a soul-weary sigh that had Luka offering his hand out to Ladybug in comfort. Ladybug smiled at him and took it, giving a light squeeze.
“Thank you but, I can’t afford to get akumatized and-”
“Then I’ll keep watch, we can go somewhere secluded and you can cry it out, whether as Ladybug or civilian self, I won’t look and I’ll keep you safe.”
Ladybug looked so surprised at his offer that Luka was starting to wonder how long Ladybug felt isolated and alone with her responsibilities.
“Thank you but I can’t use the Miraculous for personal gain.”
Luka frowned, this was progressively getting worse the more he heard. Ladybug needed this release soon or it could be a lot worse for her and everyone in Paris.
“It’s not personal gain if it’s for mental health.”
At those words Ladybug froze. When was the last time she thought about her own mental health? Too long, and she had a feeling that Tikki thought the same.
“Okay.”
“Okay?” Luka parroted.
“Yeah, let’s do this plan of yours.” Ladybug looked up at him with a broken smile and Luka took her hand that he had been holding and led her into his room. The walk was quiet and filled with a light charge of energy.
“Uh, what about your family?” Ladybug asked, the first to break the silence.
“Everyone is out until tomorrow, we have the boat to ourselves.” Luka replied as he opened the door to his room.
“I figured somewhere quiet, private, and with limited access points would be ideal.” Luka explained and gestured for Ladybug to enter.
Ladybug sat on his bed and looked around. Luka shut the door and locked it.
“Do you feel most comfortable there?” he asked her.
Ladybug nodded and Luka strode over to the porthole and stood with his back to her. Ladybug took the cue to start… well processing she guessed. Ladybug whispered the transformation words and glanced at Luka, he didn’t move a muscle.
Marinette smiled at that, Tikki floated in front of Marinette with solemn eyes and Marinette could already feel the tears coming.
“It’s okay, you’re safe, let it out.” Tikki said softly, and at Tikki’s words the dam broke, Marinette started balling. Luka could hear the hurt and pain that Ladybug was feeling and his heart broke for her.
After about ten minutes he heard the sound of feet on the deck and his heart stopped. Grabbing the nearest blanket he threw it behind him and ran to his bedroom door blocking the port hole window.
“Luka? Is everything… Okay?” Juleka’s voice could be heard through the door and Ladybug’s cries quieted instantly.
“Yeah, Jules I’m okay.”
“It sounded like-”
“I know, I have someone here, could you keep an eye out on the deck for akuma?”
“Who-?”
“Later, Juleka, please, we just need some more time.” Luka pleaded. It seemed Juleka relented as Ladybug and Luka heard her footsteps go back up the stairs and onto the deck.
“Sorry, she wasn’t supposed to be coming home tonight.” Luka said, still with his back to Ladybug, he wasn’t sure if she got the blanket or not but he wasn’t risking it.
“Thank you.” Ladybug said quietly. Luka nodded and moved back to the porthole, keeping his back to Ladybug. He heard her giggle, a small smile slipped on his face.
Marinette’s cries died down to sniffles and Luka broke the silence once more, “How are you feeling?”
“Better, thank you, Luka.” Marinette said and wiped her face clean. Calling on the transformation words again, Ladybug sat in the place Marinette was with a calmer, clearer eyes. Luka still didn’t move.
“You can turn back around now.” Ladybug told him, as Luka turned, his eyes raked over her to confirm that she was okay. Her blue eyes were a piercing periwinkle that stopped his breath for a moment.
Luka knew those eyes. But before anything could become clear, fog clouded his mind and he shook his head to not think about it.
“If you ever need this again, my door is always open.” Luka told her. Ladybug smiled softly.
“Thank you Luka, I just might take you up on that.” Ladybug kissed his cheek, after pulling away Ladybug saw a stunned and slightly red Luka. She giggled again which seemed to shake him from his stupor.
“Anytime, Ladybug.” Luka reiterated, Ladybug nodded and reached for her yoyo and climbed out the window being careful to not be seen by Juleka.
Ladybug leapt home feeling lighter than she had since Juleka came to apologize. Luka really was a rock that Marinette needed.
18. The Old Fox - Alya gets the fox miraculous revoked
Ladybug took a deep breath and thought about the problem again. Rena was compromised, she couldn’t be trusted with the fox miraculous anymore. Rena fell for Lila’s lies and believed her over Marinette. Ladybug knew logically that giving Alya the fox was a bad idea. That didn’t make it easier for her heart though. Alya wouldn’t listen to Marinette even with evidence, if Alya wouldn’t believe Marinette, then she could turn on Ladybug. Marinette couldn’t risk that.
So as Ladybug stood on the roof of Alya’s place, she thought about what she was going to say, nodded her head then slid down to knock on Alya’s window. Alya looked up from her computer that she was working on and saw Ladybug at her window. Excitedly Alya threw open her window and ushered Ladybug inside. Ladybug nodded and slipped inside glancing around the room for a moment before landing her blue eyes back on Alya.
Ladybug sucked in a deep breath before saying, “Alya it has come to my attention that you have been compromised.” Alya’s jaw dropped and went to speak before Ladybug lifted her hand for Alya to keep her silence.
“I can’t tell you the details about it, but unfortunately you will not be able to receive a miraculous again.” Alya gaped like a fish for a moment, then exploded.
“WHAT?! But why? What did I do? can’t you give me another chance-” she cut off suddenly, her eyes widening in realization.
“You said ‘miraculous’ not 'fox’, does that mean I can’t use ANY miraculous?"
"That is correct,” Ladybug responded. “You won’t be able to use any miraculous, I must find a new fox holder."
Alya sat down on her bed in shock, Ladybug took this time to look around Alya’s room in more detail. Ladybug noticed more pictures of Alya and Lila together, and only a few of Marinette and her together, Ladybug felt a pang of hurt that some of their photos were taken down to make room for ones of Alya and Lila. Not wanting to dwell on it much longer, Ladybug looked at Alya’s computer to see what she was working on and stopped cold. It was another article questioning who ladybug was and guesses to narrow down specific traits that she had. Alya snapped out of her daze and dashed over to her computer to put the screen saver on. She laughed nervously while Ladybug stared at her for a moment.
"It’s just a writing exercise, I’m not posting it or anything.” Alya tried to explain. Ladybug just shook her head and sighed, realizing that once again that this was the right choice.
“It’s there another way? I know I’m a good hero, I can help! Secretly even!” Alya pleaded.
Ladybug shook her head, “It’s just too dangerous, I’m sorry Alya, but this is the final say.” Alya sunk back onto her bed depressed.
“How did I get compromised? Did someone see me?” Alya asked, maybe she could find a way to fix the problem and go back to being the Fox Hero.
“I’m sorry but I can’t tell you the details.” Ladybug replied.
“Can’t you tell me what I did wrong so I can avoid doing that in the future?” Alya asked, Ladybug had a weird expression on her face.
“I’m sorry but I can’t tell you anything.”
Alya huffed and crossed her arms in thought. There HAD to be a way for Alya to be Rena again. Maybe if she picked out the temporary holder, someone Alya trusted and wouldn’t mind giving it back to her then, yes! That was the plan.
“Well, I have to find a new Fox, I’ll bid you goodnight.” Alya gasped and clapped her hands together, “I know! You should choose Lila!” Alya figured if she had to be replaced, however temporary, Lila would be the best candidate. Lila would definitely give the fox back to her.
Ladybug froze, she had to make sure Alya was talking about who she thought she was.
“…Who?"
Alya smiled, "Lila Rossi, your best friend!"
"Lila Rossi is NOT my friend. Lila hates me and I don’t like her. She lies about me and apparently still is even after I told her not to.” Ladybug tried to control her anger but some leaked into her voice. Alya gave a start, “Come on, you don’t have to lie about that!” Ladybug glared at Alya. Alya looked nervous but still held her ground.
“I am not lying. I HATE liars.” There was a moment of silence. Ladybug gave a sigh and pinched her nose.
“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have exploded at you like that. But truthfully?” Alya nodded her head for Ladybug to continue. “I don’t like Lila Rossi, she lies as much as she breathes. Just take a grain of salt with everything that she says.” Ladybug checked her yoyo for the time.
“Oh come on, that-”
“I don’t have the time or patience to try and convince you of the truth. You want to be a reporter right? Do your own research.” Ladybug snapped.
Alya slouched, shock and disbelief were at war on her face.
“Anyways, I have to get going, I still have things to do tonight, just think about what I said.” Alya nodded silently, still trying to process. Ladybug hoped her words would finally get through to Alya. Grabbing her yoyo Ladybug swung out of Alya’s place and headed over to a familiar boat moored in the seine.
