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raeuberprinzessin · 1 year

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Making Amends - Fantasy - Prompt 16, Chapter 9

@felixmonth, @stainedglassm

Summary: For Felix Month 2021 - beware, the chapters are not in chronological order^^

When Felix loses a bet with his cousin, he has to make amends with Adrien’s friends. Well, at least this provides a good excuse to spent a lot of time with Adrien’s “very good friend”, a certain designer, who may or may not be described as tolerable … or cute. This may not be so bad. Yeah, not bad at all.

AO3 | Masterlist

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"Don't worry, dude. Everything's chill between us. We both think - Ah, I mean, Felix and I are bros now. I mean, you're still my best bro, but you know. You get it, right?" Nino's rambling was almost as bad as Marinette's when she was nervous. At least that was Felix's opinion.

"That's great! I'm so glad you two get along!" was Adrien's reaction. He didn't even seem to notice that he barely escaped a word vomit. Instead, he gave his cousin a proud approving smile. Felix loved his cousin, he really did, but he would prefer him not to give him the look a pet owner gave their puppy for not shitting on the carpet.

That had been right after he made amends with the DJ. And as nice as it was to get along with Nino, simply by the law of the enemy of my enemy, he still had a long way to go. He knew that. He just had no idea how to continue.

“Well, your little stunt got Alya, Juleka, and Rosé akumatized. You already did something for Alya, which by the way is another stunt I will get both of you back for. As soon as I have more time,” Marinette declared, threateningly brandishing one of her colouring pencils like a sword. A very short cyan-blue sword. “But anyway, I’d advise you to continue with them. Although it probably doesn’t matter which one goes first. Rosé would probably be a bit more open, but I guess Juleka would be easier on you.”

“Rosé is the bubbly pink … girl? And Juleka is her goth friend?” he asked as he continued to note down what materials Marinette already had and how much. He barely stopped himself from using any derogatory term for the small blond and very, very pink classmate. The girl had too much energy, always talking and gesticulating. Her voice was so high and she was talking practically all the time and just everything about her was so … so … very not English. There was no better way to describe her.

Yeah, choosing her as his next target would not go well.

“So, Juleka it is,” he announced and turned to his friend. Since the theme for the silent auction was decided and Marinette said, she was fine with designing the costumes for everyone - fine his ass, he didn’t want her to do it, but nobody even took a second to listen to his very relatable concerns … -, she had been designing almost non-stop. And right now she just hummed as she added some accents to Max’s futuristic dolphin suit.

“I said,” Felix tried again leaning slightly over her, blocking the light, “I’ll continue with Juleka.”

“I heard you the first time and Felix, I swear to whatever unholy deity is willing to listen, probably Plagg, Trixx or Xuppu-”

“Not unholy,” the monkey kwami interjected. He sat on one of the ceiling beams and was doodling a few of his former holders’ transformations. Most of the kwamis had been very excited about the theme. Just Kaalki sat on Marinette’s bed, eating sugar cubes, watching interviews with celebrities and was all around sulking. And making nasty remarks about the dolphin kwami going by the name of Flipp.

“- if you don’t step out of my light, I will tie you up, throw you over my shoulder like one of our bags of flour, climb up onto my balcony and let you dangle there as if our house is a donkey and you’re the carrot. And don’t think I wouldn’t do that.”

On one hand, Felix knew it was a serious threat. On the other the mental image alone almost had him daring her to do as she said. But hanging from her balcony he wouldn’t get anything done and in the end, she would only regret what she said, since she just had a very short temper while designing. And he knew that. So, he stepped back and she turned back to her sketch with a slight huff, but he caught the little smile she unsuccessfully tried to hide.

“Fine. But, please, just tell me what I should do for Juleka,” he complained as he turned back to her materials.

“What makes you think I know?”

The blond snorted at that. “Of course you do! She’s your friend and you’re a bit scary with how much you know about your friends.” It was true. Marinette knew a lot about her friends. She even wrote their events down in her planner and now that he was in charge of her schedule she had him memorise those events as well so if he planned possible events that not only included both of them but also other classmates, nothing would coincide. But that wasn't a half-bad idea! Quickly he pulled out his phone to check his calendar app for any events Juleka had going on.

“You mean, like how I know that you’re hungry but won’t ask for the pain au chocolat with the dark chocolate Papa made especially for you, because you want to eat it with your five o’clock tea later and won’t allow your stomach to dictate when you eat something?” Felix looked up from his phone and stared at the girl. She just shrugged. “You have checked the time at least five times in the last half hour and that’s only what I have witnessed,” she explained. “Plus, I could almost see the saliva run down your chin when Papa told you about your favourite pastry.”

Felix audibly clapped the cover of his smartphone case shut and put his phone away. She was correct, of course, but he felt petty and unwilling to give her this win. “Just so you know, pain au chocolat is not my favourite. I like the mocha macarons better.”

“Oh? That’s good to hear, then I’ll give the pain au chocolat to Adrien tomorrow.”

Felix hissed at that. “Over my cold dead body!” he growled quite irritated but he instantly felt a bit soothed when he heard Marinette’s soft giggles. Of course, she wouldn’t do that. He knew that, but still, he was a bit miffed at the thought she might give something to someone else that was meant for him. Whether it be a pastry or his place in her life.

“Actually, this is just more proof, that you definitely know what I should do for your friend,” he tried to get back to the original topic. Marinette just hummed noncommittally. “Please, Marinette? You know, I need your help to do this making-amends-stuff. And it’s also a bit your fault I’m in this predicament.”

“Okay, first off: I did not tell you to make that stupid bet. That’s on you. You made a mistake and I hope you learned from it and it better not be to make sure that the odds are even more in your favour the next time-”

“Was there any other lesson to learn from that?”

Marinette heavily breathed through her nose when he interrupted her, so he decided to not add anything and to just let her say her part for now.

“Anyway, what I wanted to say is, that a part of this making-amends-stuff, as you called it, is that it should show that you are trying to be a better person. I will help you at some point, but first, you will have to put in some work. This is more than some homework you can finish and not think about again. Try to find out what Juleka’s fantasy is and what you could do to make her happy. Happy and grateful enough so she might accept that the bad behaviour from your last visit is not who you are.”

Having said what she wanted to say, Marinette turned back to her sketch and narrowed her eyes as she critically looked it over. She was done with their discussion.

***

Talking to Juleka turned out harder than he thought. He tried to start a conversation but she just mumbled something unintelligible and hid behind her hair. And Marinette just gave him an amused grin and a slightly raised eyebrow, letting him know that she still expected him to make an effort to find out what Juleka would like himself. Maybe he should pay for a few lessons of confidence training? She could definitely use it!

At the end of their lunch break, he still hadn’t made any progress and he was ready to ask Adrien to give him another punishment. He would get nowhere like this.

“You could use some help, am I right?” he heard a high voice ask and turned to the source. The pink flower girl, Rosé, stood there and gave him a small smile. The kind of smile someone gave out of embarrassment when they weren’t sure whether to smile or even say something.

“Yes, I could use some help, but Marinette has this idea that I have to put in the effort before she considers helping me.” He sighed and pulled an overly dramatic grimace. “Why is she one of my favourite people again?”

Rosé giggled and relaxed her posture slightly. “Probably because she sent me a message last night. Hey, Rosé, tomorrow Felix will try to find out what he could do for Juleka to make amends with her. I want him to try on his own at first, but if he hasn’t been successful when lunch is over, could you help him? He’s not a bad person, I promise. If you can’t trust him, trust me with this. Have a good night, see you tomorrow, Mari,” she read the message and looked back up. “Well, you don’t look like you had any success, so here I am. Also, you’re stressing out Juls with your attempts to approach her. Maybe we could meet at the library after school and brainstorm an idea?”

“That should be possible. I’ll just inform Marinette that I’ll come over later than planned. She’ll probably design first anyway and we can finish homework later.”

Rosé smiled and nodded. “Okay, see you then, Felix,” she bid goodbye and returned to her friend group. Finally a silver lining! And in the end, Marinette had helped him anyway, even if it was indirect. It was actually scarily smart. Before now he had thought Rosé was annoying, but now that he had talked to her, she didn’t seem that bad. Quirky and excitable maybe and if he had to spend long periods of time with her she would certainly be unbearably annoying after a while, but she seemed to be alright if he only had to interact with her for a limited amount of time. He wouldn’t have known that if Marinette hadn’t sent her his way.

Felix grabbed his bag and went to find his friend to tell her: Well played!

***

"Do you really think a new instrument is the best we can come up with?" Felix frowned as he looked at the list of ideas Rosé and he had come up with. He learned that Juleka liked music and played several instruments like everyone else in her family, although she preferred the bass guitar. She liked make-up and styling and had dyed her hair in different colours in the past.

"I guess it's the best thing that's possible and not just some fantasy," Rosé answered doodling a little cute kitty next to the list of ideas. "A fantasy?" What did she mean by that? In a city that got attacked by a magical supervillain and his butterflies almost daily - and got saved by two teenagers with magical jewellery just as often - he would think anything fantastical wouldn't seem quite as out of reach. "You know, if you have another idea, just say it. Even if you don't think there's anything I can do. Maybe we can think of something that's close enough or I can make sure to at least turn a part of this fantasy into reality," he offered after he had a few moments to think about it.

"Are you sure?"

Felix gave her a small self-assured grin. "I better be!"

Rosé giggled at that and began to tell him about the curse her girlfriend only recently broke.

***

“What do you say?” It was a bit later in the afternoon and Felix had just told Marinette about the idea Rosé and he had come up with. “That should be possible, right?”

Marinette sat at her desk but turned to face him. She fiddled around with some ballpoint pen, rolling it thoughtfully between her thumb and her index finger.

“Maybe,” she finally answered, “but the last time Juleka tried to model for me, she got very nervous. Alya was a bit pushy because she convinced Adrien to help out as well and that’s why we had a time limit. In the end, I was pushed to model with him and Juleka got akumatized. Do you have any plan for what to do if Juleka gets anxious again?”

“Well, not inviting these two might be a good start for now.” He didn’t intend to have them there, but this just confirmed his thoughts on the matter. “I could also take the shots myself. I have some experience behind a camera and I imagine having a professional photographer there would mean more stress to her. I could even try to not be seen by her.”

“You mean, you would hide in the bushes and on trees?” Marinette asked slowly. She gave him a look as flat as a sheet of paper. And to be honest, hearing it like this, it sounded … weird in the best case.

“No, I think I better not do that.”

“No,” Marinette agreed sagely, “you better not.”

***

Felix wasn’t sure how he thought Juleka would react, but he didn’t expect her to look like a cornered little bunny.

“You- you want me to model some of Marinette’s designs? Don’t you remember, what happened last time?”

“Oh Juls,” Rosé whispered and hugged her friend. “That’s exactly why we want to have a do-over! Don’t let that one bad memory stop you from doing something you really want to do!”

“We hope to create a less stressful situation this time,” Felix offered. “It would be just you, Rosé, Marinette, and I. I will also shoot the photos. So, there will only be people you have at least talked to already. This could be the foundation of a portfolio if you want to do more modelling gigs. Also …” Felix looked around and after not seeing the lying girl anywhere near them, he leaned a bit in and lowered his voice, “considering other people who confidently model and who have less than half as much reason to be as confident in their looks as you should be, you really should do this. Always remember: If you would like to do something but you wonder if you are qualified enough, rest assured that there is at least one unqualified person who does exactly this.”

Juleka still looked a bit hesitant, but finally, she nodded.

***

Felix should have known. Of course, it would have just been too easy, if they could just get to the location and take the photos.

Some students from her brother’s school recognised Juleka and immediately crowded around her. Rosé was so excited for her friend, she told them about the photoshoot and they asked if they could stay. They wanted to help and watch.

After all this excitement Juleka’s confidence took a nose-dive. She was nervous and stiff and looked like she was forced to do this at gunpoint. Felix only took half a dozen pictures before he decided this didn’t make any sense.

“The only fantasy I see in these pictures is her fantasy of running away and hiding,” Felix whispered as he stood next to Marinette and showed her the pictures. His friend gave them a critical look, but finally, she sighed and gave him the camera back.

“Well, at least they seem to be genuinely supportive. That’s not the worst-case scenario. But maybe we should still reschedule?”

Felix shook his head. “We won’t have enough time if we don’t get the pictures by the end of the week.”

Marinette frowned at him. “Why the time limit?” she wanted to know. Felix hadn’t told her, but he had sort of planned another surprise for Juleka, but he hadn’t told anyone. He didn’t want to put more pressure on Juleka or disappoint any hopes he might spark, should it not work out as he planned. But maybe he should tell Marinette now?

“The modelling agency you work with has a youth program and I know someone working there because he used to work for my acting agency. I showed him the class photo and he agreed to take a look at Juleka’s portfolio. And if he could get the portfolio by the end of the week, he might be able to get Juleka into their summer program. This would-”

“Felix, I have to interrupt you.”

Marinette cut him off with a raised hand and a pensive expression. “We don’t even know if Juleka would want this. I agree, it’s an amazing opportunity and Juleka deserves this chance. I appreciate how much thought and work you put into this and I’m sure Juleka would, too.”

“But-?”

Marinette’s lips twitched into a tiny smile. “Still,” she continued, emphasising the word to point out that she was not using a but, “I think you should talk to her before you show the pictures to anyone else. She’s surrounded by people who support her and she is this anxious. Could you imagine how violated she might feel if she learns afterwards that some stranger saw the photos without her consent?”

Felix couldn’t precisely understand why Juleka might be hurt. He was usually ecstatic when he learned people saw his work. But Marinette knew the girl better. Maybe she really wouldn’t want that. The boy decided he should talk to Juleka first, but when he looked around he couldn’t see her anywhere.

“Mari.”

“Give me a moment, I’m texting Luka. I’m sure he can calm her down.”

“Amazing idea. Maybe he can also tell us where she likes to hide?”

The young designer looked up and let her gaze wander over everyone present as well. She couldn’t find her friend but only a moment later they both noticed something else. “Merde!”

“With baked beans on toast,” Felix added with a nod. “Alright, you find a place for your glam up and I try to find our model before Mothbreath does.” With this Felix followed the little black butterfly. It was surprising enough that nobody else seemed to notice the akuma. Rosé talked to those other students about the band she and Juleka played in. If he had to guess, he would say she tried to keep their attention from her friend. Only, Rosé did it too well, so she didn’t notice anyone leaving.

Felix followed one of the paths for a bit until he found a hair clip near the edge of the grass. It was black and pretty simplistic, but he was sure he had watched earlier as Rosé used this clip to keep Julekas hair out of her face.

He looked around and noticed that there was a shortcut towards the toilets if he walked over the grass compared to the gravel path. Of course, an upset girl would run to the toilet. He should have learned this from Marinette by now!

With a deep sigh, Felix cursed Hawk Moth and public toilets and the fact that he would still do what he had to do. To put one over on Mothbreath and so Juleka wouldn’t be reminded of past traumatic events.

He didn’t usually storm the ladies’ room, but this also wasn’t a usual situation. He was faster than the akuma and skidded in front of a still pretty upset Juleka.

“Not her!” he hissed, watching the flying pattern of the black insect. “Not today!”

Felix heard the scared sobs Juleka tried to suppress. As if the butterfly could hear her and take control of her if she was too loud.

“Juleka, please listen to my voice,” he begged while internally praying that Ladybug would soon appear. “Take deep breaths. Concentrate on your breath on the feeling of your lungs expanding when you breathe in and contracting when you breathe out. You’re doing great! Ok, Juleka, do you think, you can listen? Hawk Moth can only control you if you think the power he offers is the only way out for you. Do you understand me? You don’t need his power. I think the fact that you are here is proof that you are so much stronger than he is. Do you want to hear my theory on why he mainly akumatizes teens and children?” Felix didn’t wait for an answer. Giving the girl something else to focus on seemed to be as good a plan as anything else.

“Teens and children haven’t had the chance to learn a few important life lessons. It’s a lot more likely that a situation seems hopeless to them. Hawk Moth thinks they are the best targets. Easy victims. I don’t think you’re a victim and I’m offended Mothbreath would dare to think this!”

A surprised little laugh sounded behind him and Felix felt a tiny part relax slightly.

“Mothbreath?” Juleka whispered.

“Yeah. I’m also convinced the akumas are created by his burps.” This was improvised, but he heard the girl giggle softly. The dark butterfly seemed to be scandalised by his words and left the restroom through a window. Felix felt himself finally relax. He was confident that Ladybug would be able to do the rest.

“Thank you. I … I really didn’t want to be akumatized again. I just get so anxious when so many people expect something from me. What if I disappoint them? Rosé and Luka’s friends were so excited for me and you organised everything and Mari agreed to let me model some of her designs. And my dad loves her designs and I just know that he would make this big deal about this. And if I end up having this portfolio and people immediately see through me and know I’m not an actual model? After all, most pictures of me end up being awful!”

No, no, you can’t get upset again, just when I was able to calm you down a bit! Felix tried frantically to come up with an idea.

“I just don’t want to disappoint everyone if I can’t do it,” Juleka added faintly not knowing how her words sparked an idea in the blond boy. Felix remembered himself saying something very similar many years ago. Reaching a decision he carefully looked out the door and saw Ladybug de-akumatizing that pigeon guy and joking with her cat boy. Seems as if Hawk Moth had to use the akuma one way or another and the pigeon guy was the only other option. He hoped Mothbreath bumped his tiny toe when he kicked something, angry about his newest loss and his stupidity.

“Look, over there is a bench, let’s sit for a moment,” he offered and pointed to a wooden bench not far away. Juleka nodded and followed him there. He took a moment to sort through his thoughts.

“Many years ago, when I had my first acting role, I said something similar. I was afraid I wouldn’t get it right and would be replaced by another, more experienced child actor, which would surely disappoint my family. One of the assistant cameramen found me and sat down with me. He told me that even though people may think otherwise, a camera doesn’t capture reality. This goes for acting and modelling. Shortly after my aunt disappeared, there was an interview and a photoshoot with Adrien. In the interview, they praised how brave my cousin was, because he could still smile for the camera. I like to think that I know my cousin well enough to know that he didn’t feel like smiling or brave in any way and this interview is just another reason I owe my uncle a kick in the crotch. He hid and mostly still hides in his obscenely large house and Adrien had to manage on his own, while the media hunted him down because stories and pictures of the son of the mysteriously vanished wife of a failed designer sold well.” He took a deep breath, to get back on topic.

“What I’m trying to say is, that in front of a camera, you can be whoever you want to be. It’s not Juleka, the girl who had a photo curse. When you’re in front of the camera, it’s Juleka, the model. If it would help you, you can have a pseudonym.”

“Do you have a pseudonym?”

“No,” he answered but pulled a piece of cloth out. “Back then, a friend gave me a piece of cloth she had used to practise stitching. I could hide it in the pocket of my costume. With it, I had an easier time getting into character.”

“Was Mari this friend?” she asked and finally there was a soft smile on her lips. She knew the answer, which is why Felix only smirked but didn’t answer. She snorted at that. “So, who are you playing if you have it with you now?”

“Initially I thought I would play the photographer, but it seems I also picked up the role of a civilian hero and your coach. This reminds me …”

Felix raised the hand in which he still held the hair clip she lost earlier.

“I think you lost this. It’s not a talisman made by Marinette, but then again, what else is? And I’m sure, Rosé will be more than happy to supply you with your own talisman. May I?” Felix didn’t comment on how Juleka blushed when he mentioned her girlfriend. Instead, he motioned to the hair that was hiding half her face. He leaned forward and fixed the hair clip so her hair would be held back.

“See? Now I can only see the model of today’s photoshoot. Before we go back, Marinette scolded me and told me, I should tell you before: I know someone working for a modelling agency with a youth program because he worked for my acting agency when I started out. He said he would be happy to take a look at the photos we shoot today and maybe he could get you into their summer program if we can show him the photos by the end of the week. Initially, I only wanted to tell you if everything worked out, but Marinette thought it’s more important that you are okay with someone else seeing your photos. What do you think?” Felix watched her and carefully tried to take note of every twitch that might tell him if she felt uncomfortable with the idea. Of course, he wanted to respect her wishes and if she didn’t dare to outright tell him, she didn’t like the idea, he wanted to be able to offer her a way out.

But he was worried for no reason because he could see determination steel her face and she gave him a brave nod. “That sounds like an amazing opportunity, Felix. Thank you. But, you know, now I really expect you to shoot amazing pics!” She gave him a small smirk and he returned it as he stood up.

“Perfect! Then let’s return to the location!”

***

When Felix saw his uncle later that day he was walking with a limp and when he asked his cousin what happened, he told him that Garbiel had bumped his tiny toe somewhere.

Huh! Well, it didn’t hit someone undeserving, Felix decided and revelled in the petty feeling of schadenfreude.

#miraculous ladybug #marinette dupain cheng #felix graham de vanily #felinette #felinette fanfic #felix month 2021 #marinette x felix #rich!marinette #felix redemption #bamf marinette #Hexxe: Making Amends

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bard-of-worlds · 1 month

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Chapter 31

Sorry this has been so long, problems moving into my new pad. ENJOY here tonight, and the rest at the other sites tomorrow!

Chat Noir smirked as he dropped into the room and sighed. “That was something else!”

He couldn’t believe half of what happened! When he left he had expected at worse Dark Owl, but everything else? Never in a million years! From the Sentimonsters to Bustier, this was the most strange battle he’d ever been in! and this is from a person who fought a pigeon controller over thirty times!

He looked around and tried to think about what to do next as he sat down on the bed. That was insane! What in the world was a robot masquerading as a teacher!? Why our school? And where did it come from!? He thought as he held his head.

“Plagg, claws in!” Chat Noir said, and a wave of magic flowed over him turning him back into Adrien.

Plagg reappeared and looked down at Adrien, smirking as he hovered there.

“You know, I can’t say anything when you’re transformed. But that was something else, Kid!” Plagg said as he nuzzled against Adrien’s chin.

“Plagg!” Adrien said with a laugh as he looked down at the Kwami. Plagg only laughed and moved to hover body to eye with Adrien.

“I mean it!” Plagg said with a laugh. “You led the team against the Sentimonsters, and

“We were on the defensive through it all! We had to wait for the others! And if that dolphin hadn’t been there!” Adrien said with a scowl.

“That was a horde. I’ve seen those tactics overrun everything sent against them! The fact that you all were able to survive that and keep those things from overwhelming you all is amazing!” Plagg argued and Adrien looked at him.

“Really?” Adrien asked and Plagg nodded.

“Good, there you are,” Sabine’s voice caused Adrien and Plagg to go still. Adrien slowly looked up seeing her and Tom standing there at the doorway.

Adrien went still and looked at Plagg hovering there and quickly thought up a lie. “Oh, you’ve found my toy! It’s something a relative sent me! A Black Cat flying a silent drone! All the rage in America among the rich!”

Plagg kept still and tried to think of how to act. He hadn’t paid close attention to Markov, but he thought that the AI wasn’t normal. How are we going to get out of this!? Tikki and Baker Girl are going to explode when they hear about this!

“Yes, the Kwami Drone series. So many of your friends have them after all!” Tom says with a chuckle.

Adrien went still and looked at Plagg, who had blinked before sighing.

“So how’d you do it? Spy on her or see her detransformed?” Plagg asked crossing his arms.

Sabine sighed and shook her head. “We found Ladybug asleep in her room. It was a while back, so We’ve known for a while. And how you came here after everything, it wasn’t hard to figure out who you were.”

Adrien looked at her in shock, wondering how they could be so right for the wrong reasons.

“And we’ve been so happy that you two had each other to help the other! For a while, we were worried about who was behind the Cat mask. But we’re so happy that you two had each other to lean on!” Tom said with a smirk.

Plagg went still and Adrien felt his mouth move before he even realized he was speaking. “We didn’t,”

“I’m sorry?!” Sabine asked with shock.

Adrien looked at them and shrugged. “Before I hid out here, I never knew who was behind the other mask. And it was an accident!”

“So you two fought, and you never knew who was fighting next to you. You just had the Kwami to lean on,” Sabine said slowly.

Tom smiled in such a way that even Plagg felt a chill.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Arashiko landed at the Tsurugi Mansion and detransformed into Kagami Tsurugi.

As Longg looked around for the second time, something about this place still felt so wrong. He couldn’t understand why, but this place was colder than the Temple to his senses. Yesterday he hadn’t seen his Wielder’s mother, and soon he would. I have to get something about her from watching her. He thought as he floated after Kagami.

“I still don’t know why you needed to come back here my dear. Your mother might not even make it here with what happened,” Lonng said.

Kagami laughed a little, shaking her head. “If my mother is not here then I’m still expected to be here. And the machines will record my actions.”

Lonng looked at her, starting to feel something about this mansion. He couldn’t see what but that was very wrong here. That’s the kind of treatment even the worst of the Samurai wouldn’t do! None of them fought! What does this witch even think she’s doing?! He thought as he followed after her.

As she walked into a large dojo, Lonng found a place to hide in the rafters. Looking down, Lonng looked around and took in the space. It was over forty feet long and thirty wide. For just two people, this was too much. And why do I only feel one other person who is only now coming this way? Why do all these robots? Is it because she has secrets or because she doesn’t believe in human help? Lonng thought as he looked down at Kagami.

As Lonng looked on, Kagami took a wooden Japanese sword out and moved to the center of the dojo. She stood there, silent as a grave for five minutes until a door opened. In walked a tall slender black haired Japanese woman. She had long black hair in a bun style with a barrette in it. She was wearing a white long-sleeved shirt with a Cheongsam collar. Bellow that was a flowing deep festive red culottes pants. There was a family crest on her upper sleeves and below her neck on her back. She had on black sunglasses and black high-heeled dress shoes. There was a wooden Japanese sword in her hand that she pointed at Kagami.

Without a word, Kagami pointed her sword at her mother, Tomoe Tsurugi. A second later the two charged at each other.

They struck and parried the other's blows. Kagami moved backwards and Tomoe seemed to move forward as if she could see.

Kagami went to the left and raised her sword to block Tomoe. As soon as Kagami felt her mother’s sword hit hers, she reacted.

With a quick foot movement, she was behind her mother and waited for her to react. Tomoe slashed around in a strike at Kagami’s knees that she jumped over.

In the air, Kagami slammed her sword down at her mother’s arms. Tomoe only grunted and moved backwards, Kagami chasing after her. Striking swiftly, she forced her mother to dodge again and again.

But then Tomoe dropped down and swung her sword at Kagami’s knees. Kagami jumped over it, but as she watched her mother react she knew she made a mistake.

Tomoe moved to the side and when Kagami landed she went still. Tomoe had her blade touching Kagami’s neck and with that, the short match was done.

Lonng only looked down, shocked at what he had seen. But then he heard a strange sound next to him. He turned and saw a camera and held back a gasp. This must be how she knew where Kagami was, she had this report to her! That means that that woman's not that good! She trained herself to fight by having someone or something tell her where her opponents are! All while appearing to fight blind! He thought in shock. He had heard about this kind of training before, and the scum had fallen to one of his wymlings centuries ago!

“It is over. You were passable with your blows. But your plans were like a child! That second jump might have gotten me if I was asleep!” Tomoe said stiffly.

“Yes Kaasan,” Kagami said with her head facing down.

“And you need to be quicker! Even blinded I was able to see where you were coming from! All your foes will not be on a single line! You must be better!” Tomoe said emotionless as she stood over Kagami.

Lonng looked on and felt a growl growing in his throat. She used the cameras to see where Kagami was, I’m sure of it! She must have them programmed to see her position as the center point. It must track everyone around her so she can win! Lonng thought with rage as he watched.Andthe way this woman was talking to his newest wymling was getting on his nerves! And there was something about her that just made him want to bite and never let go.

“Thank you kaasan,” Kagami said softly.

“I heard there is a new Dragon Hero,” Tomoe said. Why didn’t this fool take the power when she had the chance? Was all my training for nothing? Will she ever be worthy of our name? Tomoe thought as she ‘looked’ at Kagami. “You wouldn’t know anything about it would you?”

Kagami looked at her mother and tried to think of what to say. For a split second, she thought about saying it was still her, but then that died. The secrets of the others weren’t hers to share, and she would keep them. So she took a deep breath and released it before she spoke.

“Yes Mother, there is. My own time with it was only to escape you,” Kagami said softly. “Ladybug-sama spoke to me with her present. After she explained who the new Dragon was and why they were there, I gave her my thanks for letting her use her powers.”

Tomoe turned and pointed her sword at Kagami’s face. “Unacceptable! We are Tsurugi! All we are is perfection itself! Why would you give such power to someone else!?”

Kagami looked at her mother, a scowl on her face.

“At the end of my battle, I gave the source of my power back as was normal. If a new permanent Dragon is here, then so be it. I was not trained to fight Super Villains as they have,” Kagami said just as softly.

Lonng looked down at Tomoe and felt something, something that bothered him.

“I’m going out for a few hours. I have a meeting to get to. Stay in the house, we will talk more once I get back,” Tomoe ordered before turning away.

As her mother walked away, Kagami kept her face blank. The robots that took care of the house were all under her mother’s complete control. She knew how they worked and that they would ‘report’ if she showed her emotions. The one thing she hated was that they could do that, but then the childcare ones were perfect nurses. But it also makes them perfect guards and spies. From the way Mother had been talking about them, I wonder if I was the test subject for the prisoner routines? It would make it safer for guards, but the risks involved. Sure she would say that criminals deserved it all, but really! They are still alive no matter what they did and robots can be hacked. She thought as she walked to her room. She felt Lonng settle into her pockets and rub against her.

Kagami had a feeling that the Dragon Kwami wanted to talk to her, and she felt that she wouldn’t do it at all.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Lila’s eyes shot open and she looked around, finding herself in a strange-looking room. As she looked around she saw she was on a simple bed. The room looked like it had been converted from a cell, the bed she was on and a TV on the wall were the only furniture.

Lila looked around and tried to understand where she was. Then she held her head as she remembered exactly what had happened. For a moment she was still before she exploded. "That lady-bitch! I'll pull off every spot with a rusty knife!"

A sound behind her caused her to turn and see a door open and Nathalie walked carrying a surgical knife in her hand. Lila blinked before she smiled. Sancoeur's here!? Perfect! Then Gabriel saved me. I'll be able to play the victim and then I'll find Hawkmoth! He'll be able to protect me! She thought as got up.

“Miss Sancoeur, what happened? The last thing I remember is that monster Shadow Moth’s Akuma and Amok hitting my necklace and then I….. blacked out again, where am I?” She asked as Nathalie looked at her with a strange look in her eyes.

“You do that whenever you’re turning into an Akuma Lila?” Nathalie asked blandly and Lila started to sniffle.

“Whenever that butterfly hit me I just fell asleep! I can’t imagine what my body was made to do!” Lila said miserably and Nathalie only looked at her. Lila was crying, but she wondered why Nathalie wasn't believing her acting job.

“Then how was Hawkmoth able to talk to you over for so long before he called you?” Nathalie’s question caused Lila to stare at her in shock and confusion as Nathalie looked at her. How could she know that she talked to Hawkmoth before Heroes’ Day? It didn’t make sense, the only way that she could know was if……. Lila went still before she grinned and started to laugh.

“So Gabriel is Hawk….Shadowmoth! That’s just perfect! Master Gabriel knows that he can count on me for anything. Thank you for letting me escape, I’ll do anything to help his goal! And I have to talk to him about something,” Lila said with a grin and Nathalie looked at her with a level stare.

“Like you helped that girl in Germany or the boy in England?” Nathalie interrupted and Lila looked at her in shock.

Nathalie looked at her coldly and sighed. “Let me tell you something interesting Lila. We’ve found by experiments that if Ladybug needs to the Akuma used to empower a Champion. If not then anything that was done by said Champion will remain. Even things done to living beings or creatures."

As she spoke the screen changed to show views of many rooms. One had an ant the size of a dog, another a dove with three legs the size of a hawk, and the last a Cerberus Dalmatian.

Lila stared at the animals on the screen, taking them in. Then she grinned as she turned towards Nathalie. “So is the plan to change how I look then, nice! Can I be blond, my mother never let me change my hair color…………. Wait, isn’t that the plan?”

Nathalie only looked at the teen and grinned evilly. After everything, she still thinks we're going to help her. I don't know who she was raised but whoever did it failed. Well. I'll know how she was raised soon. And the look on her face when she realizes what’s going to happen…… it will make everything worth it. She thought as she grinned, looking at Lila like a bug about to be killed. “The plan is to have you be my ‘niece’.”

“Your niece?” Lila asked and Nathalie nodded.

“Yes, I took a vacation a few years back, I can say I was chasing down a possible relative of mine. After that, We're going to say your parents died. Before that 'you' were homeschooled, then do that a week or two. All to get you used to your new workload and such,” Nathalie said and Lila looked at her in confusion.

“What work?” Lila asked and Nathalie grinned at her darkly.

“The plan is for you to be a new model for the brand, after a bit of theater of course. With the fallout from what you’ve done, we need a new female model. The fall line needs a new face as the last had to leave. Family emergency and all. So since we have no one better, you’re it. We don’t have anyone else to use so congratulations,” Nathalie said dryly and Lila grinned at her and smiled.

“Great! What’s the plan for my makeover?” Lila asked with a smile. This is perfect! I’ll need to change my tells but a few days to charm Adrien once he’s found and brought back. He’ll forget all about both of those Asian Tarts! She thought as she looked at Nathalie who only grinned back at her.

“It’s to change your body, your voice, and your mind,” Nathalie said blandly. Lila blinked and looked at Nathalie for a few moments before she reacted.

“That sounds wonderful, this will……wait. My Mind?!” Lila said as she fell off the bed and tried to get away. Nathalie looked at her as an Akuma and an Amok fell towards the knife Lila only now saw. Lila paled in fear as she comprehended what was about to happen.

“Lila is going away, forever. Instead, a new person will come into being, my niece Sunrita. Who will prefer Rita, is a good and loyal person who will be willing to do anything to help us accomplish our goal. A person who will be like a sister to Adrien and will not be connected to him in any way romantically. Well, maybe as a rival for Marinette or Kagami. I haven’t decided that yet,” Nathalie said. She grinned at Lila who paled in fear as she started to understand what Nathalie was saying.

“You can’t mean, no you can’t! Wait I know things!” Lila said as she tried to find any way out of there.

“But don’t worry, Rita will be both a model and a charity worker, everything that you lied about. That is who my niece will be, so take that into the darkness. And anything you know I will know,” Nathalie said and grinned at Lila evilly. Nathalie felt a spark of twisted joy at Lila’s fear. After all the pain and trouble Lila had caused, the chance to get even was perfect.

“No!” Lila screeched as she charged at Nathalie who punched Lila in the stomach. As Lila was stunned, Nathalie grabbed her. Spinning around in a circle Nathalie threw Lila against the far wall. Lila looked up as a purple energy mask formed over Nathalie’s face. She screamed in rage as a monster formed beside Nathalie as a purple flash went over her body.

Nathalie looked at Lila in her champion form; the Stylist. Her hair was free and went to her waist with multicolored streaks down it. She was wearing a short black leather skirt and a black leather tube top. On her exposed stomach was a purple tattoo of a butterfly with her navel in the middle of the head. Her tight black pants and the long sleeves of her shirt ended in gloves. Her eyes were behind a visor across and her hair was in long waves that went down her back.

Beside her was her Sentimonster, The Mind Styler. It was shaped like a large purple helmet with a visor shaped like a butterfly. It had four long metallic tentacles that ended in manacles that ‘grew’ from the top in a circle formation.

"Say goodbye," The Stylist said coldly. She directed it and it floated towards Lila.

"NO!" Lile cried as she tried to move. But before she could move the Sentimonster jumped onto her head. Lila tried to pry it off her head for a few moments before the Sentimonster’s visor flashed and Lila went still.

The Stylist smirked and looked at the teen. She was about to raise her hands to start shaping Lila’s body to her will when her visor flashed. Her mouth dropped open at what she saw in Lila’s memories.

“Good god……….sleep, just sleep. Lila might have been dead since before she was born, but she'll have justice. From her ashes will rise a new girl who will have a perfect life,” Nathalie purred. A moment later her visor flashed as she raised a white glowing hand towards Lila. As a white energy cocoon grew around the teen, the Sentimonster shot at it. The Stylist watched as the cocoon and Sentimonster merged into one. As soon as that was done, purple light radiated out as a low beating echoed from the cacoon.

The Stylist walked to the cocoon smiled sadly down at it and patted it. “Don’t worry baby, I’ll make sure you have nothing but good memories once the bad things are gone from your head.”

The Stylist felt the energy of her transformation drop as Gabriel recalled the Akuma. She looked around the room and nodded, happy with what she saw. She walked out of it, stopping to look back at the cocoon before scowling. She had thought that Lila was a monster, a sociopath. But what she found in the girl’s memories, not in that thing's memories. It changed and destroyed every conclusion she had come to. What does this mean? I…….. first the Seven, then those Ice things disrupted our supplier……. Just what is happening to the world? She thought asshe came onto a catwalk. It ran around a rectangle-shaped chamber the size of where Emile slept. A tree with moth cocoons was surrounded by a few pieces of furniture. This was the fallback, in case they were unmasked. This place was hidden enough and had enough supplies they could survive for five years here. A phone ringing caused her to look at the wall and grab it as she brought a hand to her face. “Gabriel, everything was fine at my end. It worked perfectly. But then I found something going over the copy before the wipe.”

“Get back here, we were sent just another restraining order, this one for you. And Tomoe will be here soon,” Gabriel said bluntly. “I’ll send another feather to you to get back.”

Nathalie went still before clenching her fist. After a moment she blew air out of her

“Yes sir,” Nathalie said and sighed. She knew going in that Adrien might make a move against her for her actions, but this still hurt. He was her god-child in all but blood and she loved him, and she hated all of this! She knew and understood why they were keeping him away from their plans to save his mother. But she had to admit that they had mistakes. She could see how this all looked to him. Add in what Lila had said was the reason she even had a chance to be a model, this whole thing was what she expected from him.

Moments later she walked through the portal to see Shadowmoth and she nodded at him. He nodded back and dropped his transformation, Duusu and Nooroo appearing by his head.

“You should have wiped her away the moment you saw her. It would have been merciful to it,” Duusu said and Nathalie looked at the Kwami in shock.

“It?” Nathalie asked as she looked at Duusu. “Then you know what that thing did to her?”

Duusu turned and looked at Nathalie with such a look of loathing that Nathalie almost took a step back. Only the feeling from the Miraculous that the Kwami wasn’t thinking that about her made her stay still.

“It wasn’t free enough to even be a person. Not even like how I’m bonded to this Miraculous. Creating people and turning them into things like that….. was the worst crime. Those who did that were punished horribly. And even those who thought that Death was a mercy said that those scum didn’t deserve it. It was that wrong,” Duusu said as he looked at the being that had been Lila.

“Brother please, you……we can’t talk about the before!” Nooroo said before he suddenly went still and dropped to the floor.

“Oh brother,” Duusu said softly.

“What just happened!?” Gabriel demanded as he dropped to his knees while Nathalie did the same.

“Old wrongs done to us years ago by the so-called Guardians. He’ll be fine, he just has to rest for a while,” Duusu said as he looked at Nooroo.

Gabriel picked Nooroo up and put him into a small bed. He walked to an electronic wall safe and took off the Butterfly Miraculous. Turning back to look at the others, he looked right at Duusu. “You will explain this later little one.”

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

A limo rolled into the Agreste mansion. As it stopped by the front door, a door opened in the passenger section. From the door Tomoe got out and walked towards the stairs, using her wooden sword as a cane.

Nathalie stood at the top of the stairs and bowed to Tomoe. “It’s a pleasure to see you again Tsurugi-sama.”

“Sancoeur, still working for this idiot? What has he done now?” Tomoe asked as she walked up the stairs.

“Nothing, it’s what we learned that we have to talk about,” Nathalie said and Tomoe sighed.

“Whatever it is, it wasn’t worth it to make me come here. Still, we can talk about our greater plans once he’s told me what is wrong,” Tomoe said with a hard tone. “And before that, I have something else to say about a topic.”

Nathalie only looked at the blind woman as she walked into the mansion. Shaking her head, she closed the door and readied herself for Tomoe’s explosion.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

“WHAT!?” Tomoe roared in anger. Once Nathalie and Gabriel had finished she had exploded with rage. “Her birthday is eight months from now! And you say that she’ll be out of my control that soon!? All our planes are at risk!”

Tomoe breathed heavily as she held her sword pointing straight at Gabriel.

Duusu only looked on as Tomoe threatened Gabriel with her sword. Oh, that witch might be one of the funny ones! I can’t wait to see how this goes! Still, I might have to step in as bad as that tastes to me. Duusu thought as he looked down from above them all.

“We had no idea this was the case Tomoe! None at all!” Gabriel growled as he looked at her as Nathalie stood behind Tomoe. Why did Emila have to reach out to Tomoe about the plan? Why did I have to keep working with her? Sometimes I wonder if I should try and kill her with an Akuma. He thought as he looked at her.

“That’s not good enough! Already she might be developing in ways I don’t want! Why did that little fool not tell us!” Tomoe snarled and Duusu only glared down at her. And to his surprise, Duusu didn’t feel the mental chains that kept him from speaking up. He just blinked for a moment before grinning.

“Because the Guardians made it so I could only tell my wielders what they wanted them to know! And they never knew the truth about my levels! Gabriel finally decoded the proper way to repair my Miraculous. And with that, all their spells were broken!” Duusu snapped from above her. As everyone looked at the Kwami Duusu only glared down. “As much as I don’t like what you all want to use me to do, I will not let anyone be insulated for what they couldn’t know!”

Gabriel and Nathalie both looked at Duusu, shocked. He didn’t say anything about the Sins, and that was wonderful for them. But the Kwami was looking at them now, and the small nod showed that Duusu knew that. Gabriel only nodded and then gestured to the clock.

“This is even worse than I thought. How much are those old fools hiding? Why have they only decided to move now?!” Tomoe snarled confusing the others.

“What do you mean?” Nathalie demanded as both Gabriel and Duusu looked at her.

“I asked my daughter about the New Dragon. She told me that Arashiko was trained to use it,” Tomoe said.

Gabriel stared into space as Nathalie gasped. Duusu kept calm and looked at her, feeling a spark of pride.

“Then the Guardians might not have completely. They might even have splintered,” Nathalie mused.

Gabriel nodded. “It raises more questions than it answers. Were the other heroes trained or just the Dragon? Many of our plans with the Miraculous were based on no organized resistance. Sure there probably are rogue Miracolous like the ones here. Others that might have been found by others after the Order’s end. But if one of them was trained to wield this power, were the others? This puts many of our assumptions in doubt.”

Duusu looked at them, his face blank. What plans!? I told them that their children would be humans, what are they after? I need to listen in, I need to talk to Nooroo! He thought as he gazed at Tomoe.

Tomoe just glared with seeing at Gabriel before she pointed her sword down. “What’s done is done! And I wanted to talk to you about that brat of yours!”

Gabriel went still and looked at her before sighing. “You found out about the troubles that my son is giving me.”

“Troubles!?” Tomoe said with a hard sniff. “My spies at the local news station already told me! By this time tomorrow, the whole city will know about this court case. The only thing that might be more talked about is your little pawn being exposed!”

“What?!” Gabriel demanded and Tomoe spat at him.

“That Lila girl! That’s all my spy could tell me! The words Gabriel and Lila are being yelled there!” Tomoe snarled and Gabriel looked at her shocked. Tomoe took their salience to keep speaking. “So what did you do with that little wrench? I thought your tastes ran to more…… mature things.”

Gabriel looked at Tomoein in shock at what she insinuated. He glared as he went red in the face while both Duusu and Nathalie looked at her in shock.

“How dare you!” Gabriel roared and Tomoe only pointed her sword at his face.

Nathalie interjected before more words in anger could be said. “Lila was used by the Hawkmoth identity to create another mass Akuma attack. She failed and the issue was sent to a hearing. He talked to her during the last attack, that must be what they have.”

Tomoe only turned to ‘look’ in Nathalie’s direction before growling as she pointed her sword down. “She must be dealt with!”

“The Lila situation has been dealt with Tsurugi-sama. I handled it myself,” Nathalie said with a hard tone. Of course, this witch doesn’t need to know how we handled it. She thought as she looked at Tomoe with a blank stare.

Tomoe only kept her head focused on Gabriel for a few more moments before she nodded. I can’t trust this fool! I’ll have my people end that witch! These two are too soft, they’ll never see the truth of my plans before I win. But it does seem that I need to rethink how to handle Adrien. She thought beforespeaking. “I’ll need to adjust all my plans now. And Project Alliance is in jeopardy! You must place all blame for your issues with your son on Lila. You must regain your control over Adrien or we will fail!”

“I KNOW! I had an agent of mine investigate Lila, and I have enough to show the court what she is! A master manipulator that had Hawkmoth’s help to get close to me to use us as a way to get control of the city!” Gabriel said with a hard tone.

Nathalie only grinned as Tomoe’s mouth dropped open. “What do you mean!?”

“Think. I am friends with the mayor. I threw parties here when my wife was…..active. As far as; Hawkmoth knows, I’ll throw another soon. Lila comes to the party. Hawkmoth’s new ability to generate multiple Akuma. He Akumatized Lila into her in a gown. Hawkmoth creates another at the party, everyone goes to my panic room. Lila’s ability takes control of the Mayor,” Gabriel said flatly.

Tomoe ‘looked’ at Gabriel and nodded once. “Plug any holes in that. Once we know what will happen, we start Project Alliance. I have the factories ready for them. And we’ll say that I was testing the power source for a few months, something Emila got at an auction or something. And find those a way to get them!”

“Of course Tomoe, of course. Have a good evening,” Gabriel said as Tomoe walked toward the door, Nathalie opening it for her.

Gabriel sat down and looked at his office, his eyes finding the painting of his wife.

As soon as Nathalie came back Duusu floated down and looked at Gabriel.

“Think she bought everything?” Gabriel asked Nathalie.

Nathalie only grinned and nodded. “The plan worked perfectly. And now we know one more piece Tomoe has. It should be easy enough for me to find out the who. Does that old with really think she’s that smart to keep ahead of us?”

“Yes, she does. But once we have what we want, we’ll burn Tomoe. Those passages about Nooroo’s powers to store Akuma's powers will be most useful soon. Once we can figure out how to transmit,” Gabriel said with an evil grin.

“And then we take care of Tomoe. I wonder if I should give her a makeover? Have a nice bonding experience with her. A way to say goodbye,” Nathalie purred as she grinned evilly. We might need a new model soon. And her body would be perfect once I’m done. Nathalie thought with a grin.

“Before anything happens, we need to talk!” Duusuu declared as he looked down at the humans.

Gabriel looked at Duusu before sighing and shook his head. “Fine, I owe you. What do you want?”

“A plate of greens for dinner every night for me and my kin. No more, no less,” Duusu said bluntly. “And for you to hunt that monster down!”

“What monster?” Gabriel asked as he looked at Duusu. What’s wrong now? With everything that’s been happening, just what is going on now? He thought before he looked at Nathalie. To his surprise, Nathalie seemed to be on Duusu’s side and was glaring into space, her hands flexing. For a moment he stared before he shook his head.

“I mean that woman in Lila’s mind! That monster that my Weapon revealed!” Duusu snarled in a burst of emotion that caused Gabriel to stare at the Kwami in shock.

Slowly, Gabriel turned to look at Nathalie who was glaring into space. He had only seen her like that once before. It was when someone tried to rape Emile on an expedition when their camp was attacked by raiders. They had just found the Peacock and that was the first time Nathalie became a Champion. “Nathalie, explain, now please.”

“Duusu is talking about Lila’s mother Gabriel!” Nathalie snarled and Gabriel blinked.

“What about her?” Gabriel asked and Duusu glared down.

“She’s a magic user. She might have had Lila just so she could jump into Lila’s body once it was old enough,” Nathalie said bluntly.

Gabriel only looked at her and then to Duusu who nodded. Gabriel only put his head down and sighed. “When will this day be over!? First the Sins and now this?”

Duusu only looked down at Gabriel. I’m starting to see the limits of this one. He wants his wife back, nothing else. But he is a Holder no matter his goal. Should I be able to guide him to hunt her down? Duusu thought as he looked down at Gabriel. “So what will you do?”

“You want me to hunt her down? Why?” Gabriel asked and Duusu nodded.

“If you want my help as more than a slave, then yes. We hunt,” Duusu said.

Gabriel only looked at Duusu for a few moments before shaking his head. “No, why is this so important? Who is this woman to you?”

Duusu only hovered there and seemed to be vibrating in place, glaring down at Gabriel.

“A monster like her killed my first wielder and escaped before the others could kill her. For years she was the number one enemy of my kind. But who are these Sins?” Duusu asked as he looked around.

“The ones who gave us the means to fix your Miraculous,” Nathalie said

“How could modern Villains even find that much yet know how to use it?” Duusu asked, completely shocked.

“No, the Sins are Miraculous users. Theirs are based on the Seven Sins,” Nathalie said and Duusu went still before turning towards her.

“Based on what!? Impossible! There were never any Miraculous created based on sins by the Great Mages!” Duusu shrieked in shock.

“What!? Ten where they come from!?” Nathalie asked in shock.

“Wait, Mages!? As in more than one!?” Gabriel demanded and Duusu looked at him and shook his head, chuckling. Gabriel looked at Duusu and growled. “Tell me who you mean!”

“Did you think the Guardians had any legitimate ownership of anything to do with them? No the culture that did had been dead for a century before those fools found even a scrap of knowledge. But what they found let them add spells to make my kind slaves. But I’m free now, and only the first spells are on me!” Duusu spat and turned away. Looking over his shoulder, he grinned. “And while I still can’t do anything that might endanger you, I have a gift. The right to not obey your orders, and I don’t have to tell you anything. Try and find out the truth yourself. Me, I’m going to get some food upstairs!”

Gabriel looked at where Duusu had gone. “Nathalie.”

“Yes, Gabriel?” Nathalie asked.

“Who created the Sins Miraculous if these Great Mage didn’t?” Gabriel asked and Nathalie just shrugged.

Gabriel just looked into space, trying to understand this. There was something that was at the edge of his mind, but was it possible?

“Compile all the knowledge about the Guardians we know. I smell a mystery,” Gabriel said with a grin.

Nathalie only chuckled as she walked away.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Commissaire Bertolfo walked out of the morgue, a scowl on his face. I can’t believe this. Six officers killed on the same day! The only thing good about this is that these weren’t from one battle. The drones and robots were bad enough, Damocles actions were the cherry on top. And now this woman that attacked Rodger. Just what is she? Bertolfo thought as he looked at the ceiling. His phone beeped, and he grabbed it. “Bertolfo! Talk to me!”

“Sir, this is Adam, the team is ready to move in. Waiting for Go order?” Adam’s voice asked.

Bertolfo sighed and shook his head. Finally, I can deal with something. That filth killed one of my men, and he’s going down. Everything I have on him says that he’ll run to his home. Once we have him, he’ll be judged. He thought with a hard glare. “The word is go! I want that man alive, remember that. But don’t you dare trade your lives for his capture. If you have to bring him in a body bag! And stay safe, do everything right!”

“Yes sir! I’ll bring him in myself!” Adam's voice had a note of anger in it.

Bertolfo just sighed and put his phone away. Walking towards the elevator he passed it and moved towards the stairs. “Yeah, I need more time.”

As he stalked through the corridors, everyone moved out of his way. He walked by the elevators and slipped into a staircase, he walked up five floors. Exiting into a corridor with four police officers around a door in the distance. He walked towards them, and when they saw him they saluted him.

He stopped and looked at them for a few moments. After a long look, he nodded and walked past them, opening the door.

“……Lila’s mom!? She did this to you, Dad?!” A young voice called out as he looked in.

inside the room Sabrina was standing to the right of the bed, Roger setting up. His left arm was covered in a caste and he had a bandage over his right eye. “She made things that did this to you?! Are you going to be okay?”

“Yeah Sabrina, I’ll be fine,” Roger said as he looked at her. Because of that, both of them never noticed that Bertolfo had come into the room. Roger reached over with his right arm and rubbed her head. “My arm will heal and beside a small scar, my eye is fine. And the break was near my shoulder and they set it perfectly. Give me a few weeks on paperwork duty and I’ll be out there again.”

“Hopefully sooner!” Bertolfo said, causing both father and daughter to look towards his voice.

“SIR!” Roger said as he tried to salute but winced. “Sorry sir.”

“Nothing to be sorry about. But I need to know what happened,”

None of them heard Sabrina tap an app on her phone before Roger started to talk.

“It was a normal sweep to get everyone off the road. Then we found my daughter’s classmate, Lila. She was screaming at her mother about how she won’t control her anymore. Before we could move, some of the Sentimonsters knocked the mother out. Then Lila bargained with Hawkmoth! She transformed into that illusion-making Akuma, the fox one. Then she rode off on this fox Sentimonster the size of a horse, at least!” Roger said as he leaned back, wincing.

“Someone was willing to work with Hawkmoth?! And a teen at that?! Impossible!” Bertolfo exclaimed in shocked horror.

“I don’t doubt it,” Sabrina said absently. She blushed and looked away. “Forget I said anything.”

“Sabrina, please be….” Roger began only for Bertolfo to interrupt.

“Quite Roger! Now Miss, why aren’t you surprised?” Bertolfo asked softly.

Sabrina looked between the two adults and was visibly struggling with something. Finally, she sighed and shook her head.

“I……. a few days ago my classmate was expelled without a hearing. She was expelled because Lila created an event that framed Marinette for a few crimes,” Sabrina said and Bertolfo looked at her in shock.

“You were there….” Bertolfo asked in total shock. He had barely been able to get the address of Damocles from that reporter and to hear why the trial happened. “You were at ground zero for the Double Akuma!?”

“Sabrina!?” Roger asked in horror. She was that close to an Akuma?! Why oh why?! And if she was, then Chloe was! The boss is not going to be happy about this! He thought as he looked at his daughter.

“Yeah, I was there. We were showing support for Marinette. And when the Akuma got both him and Madame Bustier…..” Sabrina just hugged herself and looked away. “We just ran. I remember the time she became that Kissing Zombie! I didn’t want to get hit a second time!”

“Wait, Bustier!? She was your teacher? And the Kissing Zombi?!” Bertolfoasked in shock.

“What’s wrong?! Is she okay!?” Sabrina asked and inside she was laughing. Those lessons Aunty gave me are paying off!! As they have always. She thought as she looked at her father.

“She’s currently missing. The police will find her,” Bertolfo said after a minute.

Sabrina nodded and sighed. “I hope she’s okay. She might not have acted right, but she tried at least.”

“I see,” Bertolfo said evenly. He looked at Roger and then Sabrina before sighing. “Miss, could you please leave? I need a full debrief and the two of us need to talk about things a civilian shouldn’t know.”

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“Of course. Good to see you, sir!” Sabrina said as she walked out the door. She moved softly towards a bathroom and as she entered a single. Locking the door, she brought out her phone and looked at an icon. She grinned and chuckled a bit before starting to type away. That worked. Hopefully, I’ll have everything I need once I get home. She thought as she started to type out a text to Chloe.

“WHAT IN THE WORLD!? I WANT THAT MAN IN CHIANS!” Bertolfo bellowed from outside.

Sabrina opened the door and saw Bertolfo rush by her, two police people following behind him. She looked towards her father’s room and saw the guards were shaken. Rushing over, she looked at her father who was staring into space. “DAD! What happened?!”

“He just got a text. Seems a news station is showing a piece about how Lila is working for Hawkmoth,” Roger said with a hollowed voice.

“Oh,” Sabrina said and then she blinked. “Didn’t the Commissaire tell the stations to tell him first?”

Sabrina then blinked as she suddenly understood why Bertolfo was so mad

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Max sat down and looked over the theater’s electrical system to kill time. Hearing the way Markov and Kaalki were ‘talking’, he smiled. He had tried to figure out how to let the two of them communicate and came up with nothing. But once he realized that Kallki could manipulate a keyboard, he had his answer. It was easy for him to make an app that could send her text straight to Markov, and they were talking for hours. It was only a stop gap, bur he had time to make something better.

He looked around saw Luka and Master Fu in deep discussion while Sass sat between them. He thought it was about an old song that Fu had been taught as a child. Nino and Wayzz were by the door to the sewers, and talking about how to reinforce it. Something about the door bothered Nino, and it did to Max as well.

Kim and Zuupu were in the corner, Kim was hand-standing as Zuppu was on his right shoe.

Max grinned, he had thought they would talk about the battle as soon as they got to Fu’s, but he had said no. The best idea he said was to wait for the others to get there. Best to go over everything once and together.

The door opening above them caused Fu to smile but that dropped as he saw who wasn’t there. “Where are Sabrina, Adrien, and Kagami?”

“Kagami needed to get back before her mother noticed she was gone. And Sabrina went to the hospital….” Chloe sighed as she shook her head.

“Adrien went to my home before my parents did,” Marinette explained as she and Chloe got down to the bottom floor.

“So what happened out there?” Fu asked as everyone and their Kwami gathered around the room. , Marinette sat down in front of Fu, Tikki on the right shoulder. Kim and Xuupu both sat together,

“During the battle, Bustier took back control from Hawkmoth. But then she started to fight Damocles. And she grew these steel claws!”

“Turns out she’s a robot and has always been one. She took the place of the real Caline Bustier, and the real one is in America. Has been since before we met robo teacher!” Chloe said with a scowl.

“Yeah, and when she went rogue she ‘infected’ one of the Senntimonsters! It infected others and since their power was combat and reproduce by dying.……….. Well, it was a mess,” Nino said with a sigh.

Next to him Kim sighed and shook his head. “Yeah, and if the Dolphin chick didn’t show up and reverse the Sentimonsters power. Sure they merged together but if they hadn't we would have lost!”

"Almost as bad as my little sis's Akuma form then?" Alya asked and Kim nodded while Max shuddered.

“Even worse, Monasterio showed up and bumbled into the battle!” Nino said and Chloe groaned.

“That idiot?! I swear why he’s still a commander of men is the real mystery!” Chloe said as she face-palmed.

“And even worse, when the others confronted ‘Robo-Teacher’, she called robots to help her. They fought them off with a few arrows from me before she put her head on a drone!” Luka said from the stairs. He had sat down on the last one and Sass was on his head.

Master Fu looked at Luka in shock as the others all nodded.

“Yeah, me and Dragon Girl went after it, and five more that changed to look like the drone with the head! They split up and I destroyed six of them as they came met back up at the river! None of them had it, and it was the same with Dragon too!” Kim said with a scowl.

Master Fu frowned as he looked around at the heroes before him. He just kept stroking his beard as he listened to them. A robot? A robot with feelings at least that long ago? I’ve seen much but this? I expected the human race to move along, to discover ways to do that without magic but how old was it? And this Spider, where did she come from? How long has she been here? And are other ‘Stolen’ around here as well? He thought as he looked around. “I might have heard about a ‘stolen’ Spider Miraculous in the temple once. But the recent events, have made me reconsider everything I thought I knew. The gossip was that the Mage gave Miraculous to certain families. The stories go that the Kwami became such a part of their the heirs wouldn’t give them up. Something about watching them until the heirs died, but I thought it was just a rumor. I only heard it once, something told by initiates to each other.”

“So we know nothing? Great. But do you know anything about those robots horse boy?” Chloe asked as she leaned against the wall. Pollen giggled as they all saw the look on Chloe’s face that showed this was to tease Max.

“I never!” Kaalki huffed and Max just chuckled.

“No, those were beyond cutting edge. I’ve never seen anything like what they used to power them! And Buistier was a true human-level AI! I….. Markov and Uncanny Valley are the only such examples that are on the side of the law. Markov is only just starting to understand emotions and humor, but Buistier? She had a terrible sense of humor but it was there! I can’t explain any of this!” Max said softly as he held his head. “It took me months even with cutting-edge AI architecture and design. I spent months teaching him emotions by carrying him around town. And Mis….. Bustier was around when we were all in preschool!”

Everyone who had seen Bustier around school nodded. She had always seemed the same for days, but this revelation threw everything

“And that’s not even talking about the drones we fought! It took me months to find a way to make Markvos’s body. It’s a custom work, and it took me most of the time to find a way to make it. Those drones…..Those were all based on a single model. But I’ve never seen that design anywhere. The numbers alone were like a factory line. I can’t figure out where they were made. This is beyond anything I know about! Sorry,” Max said as he looked down.

Suddenly a phone rang. Everyone looked around until they saw Marinette take her’s out. She smiled and looked up. “It’s Kagami! Hey, what? Oh of course give me a minute to get somewhere I can talk.”

Marinette muted her speaker and looked around as she frowned. “Kagami is talking in code, something about a game….. oh. In case her mother has her room bugged. Smart. Hold on.”

As they all gathered around her as she turned off the mute. “Sorry Gami, but you know how it is with me. Sorry that quest you took, that Monster Tamer did it first? Yeah, that happens. That’s how the game is, all the other people. And he messed up the hunting too? We’ll get them next time. Have a nice day, thanks for calling. Sorry, I couldn’t be there.”

Marinette closed her eyes as she looked down. I knew there was something about Kagami’s mother! I just hope that Kagami can keep Lonng safe and secret! She thought as she looked around.

Chloe sighed as she looked around. “Well, that’s a bust. The bot got away after all. And Giles must still be around and still a threat.”

“How’d you figure that out?” Luka asked and Chloe shrugged.

“Monster Tamer, what he could do. And the hunt? How she and Monkey Boy went after the head. Makes sense,” Chloe said with a shrug.

“Yeah. I went up she went down. Must have found some of his monsters in the sewer,” Kim said with a sigh.

“Oh,” Fu said as the others all looked at her shocked.

“He’s still active. And he must be hunting in the sewer for materials for his monsters,” Alya said with a scowl.

“And we know that he thinks Ladybug is her senior. And let me say, that fact the that Lady Joan was one of the bugs makes me respect her more. I mean to put up with the sugar tooth Tikki had back then?” Chloe said as she grinned.

The Kwami and humans all laughed a little as Tikki looked away.

“Yeah. But seriously, with their new tactic for multiple Akuma, we’ll need Sabrina a lot more,” Marinette said with a sigh.

“And sooner or later they’ll catch on and work to catch her,” Luka said softly as Sass nodded.

“Then a small team to track down the ‘Holder Akuma’ then?” Alya asked as she looked around.

Fu only nodded as he looked around. “But still, you’ll need to get away from school if his habit continues. And all of you at once?”

“It’s a trick, but most of us are going homeschooled. A few study sessions at night? But about the team to hunt, no more than four. They’ll need to be fast,” Kim said with a hard edge.

“Maybe Horse and Monkey? That way Max can get the item to us before we destroy it, and Kim can be muscle protection.” Chloe said with a shrug.

“Your power would make it easier as well. A simple strike and the Akuma would be down,” Max suggested and Chloe nodded.

“It might work if we need it. but still…” Chloe trailed off as her phone started to beep. Looking down she grabbed it. “It’s from Sabrina, she’s saying….. Oh my god!”

They watched as Chloe went white and collapsed against the wall.

“MY QUEEN!” Pollen exclaimed and shot towards Chloe as the others all went to her

“Chloe?” Marinette asked softly

Chloe looked up and she swallowed. “Lila’s mother is a Super!”

“WHAT!?” Alya screeched as the others all looked at Chloe in shock. “What the hell did she do!?”

Everyone looked at Chloe as she read what was on her phone, looking up with a shocked look.

“She killed cops to break out. And she put Sabrina’s father in the hospital! She made or summoned these golems from gems after they put her in Roger’s squad car!” Chloe said as he

“Gems!? Madame Rossi is a Gem Witches!?? But how!?” Fu asked in shock.

“Wait, Gem Witch? What’s that?” Max asked as everyone looked at Fu.

“Gem Magic is a branch of magic, it was created during what you call the Dark Ages. But the last user died out during the war,” Fu said with a strange look on his face. “At least, the last active user.”

“And you’re sure about that?” Kim asked and Fun nodded.

“Yes, I killed her myself,” Fu said absently.

At the gasps, the others all gave when he told them he waved their shocked looks off.

“She was one the Thule, a true believer in the Nazi’s vision and goal. She had killed her off the only other Gem Witch still alive when she refused to join her,” Fu said absently.

“You fought in the war?” Marinette asked and Fu chuckled.

“A bit. To be honest the Thule hunted me. They had a way to find magic and the SS was their hunting dogs most of the time. I helped the Underground destroy captured material and saved those I could. And it wasn't enough, never enough,” Fu said and sighed as he looked at Max. “The worst thing about the Horse Miraculous is that you need to have seen where you’re going or seen it even from far off. As I had never been to Britain I couldn’t act as a channel for those we rescued. I was only able to get them to barns we had visited.”

“Oh,” Max said and he looked at Kaalki before he frowned. “Wait…. Does live TV count?”

“It was before my time. Pictures didn’t work right….. so maybe?” Fu said as he looked up, trying to think.

There was a whistle before they looked at Xuupu who was behind Kaalki who was looking away. Kaalki nodded once and Max’s eyebrows shot up.

“It can?! How do you know?!” Max asked and Kaalki dropped to the floor, unable to move.

“Kaalki!!” Max cried as he grabbed her.

Marinette only looked at Kaalki before looking at Tikki who looked away.

Chloe only scowled but then she reached something and paled in fear.

“Chloe? Are you okay?” Luka asked and everyone looked up, seeing how she looked.

Fu nodded and Chloe took a deep breath. “Sabrina says that Commissaire Bertolfo wants to talk to all of Buistier’s students. It was only the time that kept that from happening now, and they were all able to get away and talk. And then she sent a message, a station is reporting that Lila is working with Hawkmoth!”

“She was right!?” Alya demanded in horror.

“Great, just great! Now we gotta watch out for people who follow Hawkscum by choice! Anything else?” Kim asked.

“Yes,” Marinette said.

Kim looked around as everyone glared at him. He raised his hands and cringed. “I swear I was joking!”

“My parents know about Tikki,” Marinette said as she looked up. “And I think you should talk to them, Master.”

For a few seconds nothing, then it was like a bomb had gone off. Adrien stared in shock as Plagg started to smirk. Alya’s glass fell off her face as her mouth dropped open while Trixx was laughing. Max had fallen backwards while Kakki only stared. Pollen was sitting on Chloe's head while she had facepalmed. Nino had his hands over his mouth while Wayzz’s mouth dropped open Luka only nodded as Sass crossed his arms. Fu had fallen backwards, the only thing showing he was still alive was the way his limbs twitched.

“Oh dear,” Marinette said softly and looked around. There was a small shaky smile on her face as she looked at Adrien. “Maybe I should have said that easier?”

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A door was slammed open and Dolores Rossi stalked into her apartment, a scowl on her face. When she had come to the police had tried to question her but she had gotten away using a few gems. But now had to leave this place! Sooner or later, someone would remember seeing her come here. And when that happened she would have minutes at best to get away. Looking around the room, she scowled and held up a hand. A green glow covered it before she brought her arm slashing down. As soon as she did, wards activated before the furniture was thrown around the room.

“All my plans! It was perfect! Have that thing make a mess, make them hate her! Then she would get into an accident, she’d fall into a coma and I’d move in! I would have been a model! I’d get one over those two bitches! And everything was perfect! Just another week to finish everything, but this happens!”

She came to a large cabinet and threw it to the floor. Doing so revealed a hidden space in the wall that the cabinet had been hiding. She grabbed the bag in it and opened it, looking inside it before nodding.

“Well, at least I still have this! And the other places I can rest. I’ll track you down you little shirt!” She snarled as she looked up a picture of Lila.

As she looked around, she took a deep breath. The people in the building were nothing to her, but she liked the view. And thankfully she had a few tricks to use to get away. “And of course, this place isn’t the one recorded on my papers. And it’s time for a few of my other identities to come out of the shadows. This is what I made them for after all!”

She walked towards her room and in moments pulled out a bag. She held up a red gemstone and fired a red beat at her furniture that shrank them all. With a scowl, she looked at a wall niche and pulled out a small box six inches long and wide with a purple triangle gem. Putting it down she touched the gem and all the shrunken furniture floated into the gemstone.

She looked at the niches and pulled out five necklaces. She looked down at one that was just twelve round purple gemstones on a string. She put it on and in moments all of the gemstones lit up, and as she watched one of them started to flicker. “A bit less than a year, perfect! I need to find her or a substitute before my time runs out. Maybe that twin had children? Well, time to pack up.

Five minutes later she finished putting all the items she wanted into a backpack bag. Walking out of the room she stopped at Lila’s room/ she scowled and a green gemstone appeared in her hand. She threw it into the room and a tornado formed. In moments the room was destroyed, everything was broken and thrown around.

Dolores looked at the wreckage and chuckled darkly. “And that is just a taste. You’ll know pain unlike anything you’ve felt before! And since I can heal scars, I think I might disfigure you before the ritual, I can heal myself after anyway.”

She walked into the kitchen and stopped as she saw a blinking light on one of her statues. With a savage grin, she started to laugh. “So they’re there? Perfect! Nothing like a massacre to cover your tracks!”

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Lieutenant Monasterio grinned as he looked at the apartment building. Everything was almost ready, all that he was waiting for was the snipers to get into place. He had planned everything perfectly. Soon that witch would be in custody, captured by normal people. This would show the world and the city the truth! Finally, I’ll show everyone that those super-powered freaks aren’t needed! And more, my command will put away a killer of cops! And even better it happened under the command of the Super-Freak babysitter! I’ll finally have my mark on the city, and then I’ll have the power! Soon this whole city will be mine. This is just what I needed to start my political career!! He thought as he sat in his command van. They were one street down and he had brought all his forces, even those beyond a few patrollers here. They were all around the building, ready to lay down covering fire against anything that she would do.

He looked around, frowning as he saw a large truck with an open trunk. “Sergeant Gonzalez! Are we ready!”

“Yes sir!” Gonzalez called out as he saluted his captain. “The Snipers have a line on the apartment. The officers are ready to breach and they have orders to shoot to maim at most. We’ll have that witch soon. Anyone who dares to kill a cop, they go down. Hard!”

For a moment all Lieutenant Monasterio could do was stare at Gonzalez and then he started to turn red.

“Then what is that?!” Monasterio demanded as he pointed at a single truck.

“Oh, that! Well, the engine broke. We could call tow but well,” Gonzalez said laughing. “That thing is so loud! I thought it might let the enemy know we’re here!”

“We know nothing about the enemy besides the fact that she can create minions! And that thing is being left there. Do you think it might affect the battle!?” Monasterio demanded with a growl.

Gonzalez just shrugged. Not sir. It’s on the other side of the building from the apartment after all.”

Monasterio blinked, looked at the building map, and then at the videos and nodded. “So it is. The word is giving, go!”

#miraculous ladybug au/ the law is the law #miraculous tales of ladybug and cat noir #adrien x marinette #ladybug fanfiction #mlb fic #mlb fandom #ladybug fic #ladybug au

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