Part 3 Chapter 2: In every lost soul the bones of a miracle


Brigid the Healer watched as Marcel was losing the fight through the labyrinth and they were losing their window. The Purifier was gone, but they were already navigating the maze, they couldn't go back. Then it happened again, after a while and it was the Peacock again. She hoped the Peacock came through this time, or there would be irreversible damage to this boy.

— —

Rumble-Bee had every intention of joining Fortuna but she saw the fight happening in mid-air. No way could Red Fox help.

"Fortuna, I'm going to help Peacock. Red Fox go back up Fortuna," Rumble-Bee said before she took off into the sky towards the fight. She could see a drone was already recording this footage. She plowed into Segomo and sent him down several feet in the air.

"Need a hand?"

"Hard Work and Truth always work well together," Peacock said before they resumed the fight. Rumble-Bee twirled the top and threw it like a bola pinning Segomo's arms to his sides but he threw her off balance as his form mutated further.

"We're going to have to purify him as quickly as possible," Peacock said.

"Why?" Rumble-Bee said.

"The long a corrupting influence is within a body, the worse it is after the corruption is purged," Peacock said. Rumble-Bee nodded before she manipulated her top and the strip to appear more like a sling-shot. The top glowed yellow.

"Bee Sting!" she shot it and it hit Segomo freezing him in the air.

"It will only hold for a minute, exorcize him!" Rumble-Bee said. Peacock charged up her fan as fast as she could and slammed it forwards the instant she could, just as the Bee Sting wore off.

"Evil Sprit, be gone!" The light hit the possessed boy and when it cleared, Marcel was back to being himself. Rumble-Bee caught him and flew him to Notre-Dame. She pulled out clothing and pulled it on him. She ducked into a side room shutting the door before she de-transformed. She looked down at Nambii who weakly gave her a thumbs up. She pulled the honey bottle out of her bag and handed it to the bee kwami. As for the heroine, she slumped against the wall to relax.

— —

Peacock fled in a hard to follow pattern back home and released her transformation in the back garden before heading inside to feed Herra and get something to pick her up too.

— —

Red Fox arrived to see Heat Resistance had burned away most of the skeletons and Fotuna was fluttering above them? He hopped up.

"When did you get wings?" he asked.

"They're new, Let's head over to the Palais Garnier. Hawkmoth and Hero Turtle are getting the supplies to the civilians. Rumble-Bee and Peacock took down Segomo. We're down to just two," Fortuna said.

"And then the nightmare will be over," Red Fox said.

"Yes. So will the terror of Hawkmoth," Fortuna said, "He has what he wants, so he won't be after the Miraculous anymore."

"Does that mean we'll have to return them?" Red Fox asked.

"I'm not sure. I have a feeling that even though we won't have akumas, we're going to be busy," Fortuna said. They crossed Paris and Fortuna had to dodge a direct attack from Touttais who was now wielding a black metal sword.

"It took ripping apart this city, but I finally found my favorite sword!" he said as he tried to plunge it into her heart. Fortuna blocked with her staff and forced him back. She let the power flow and the next hit caused hissing sparks. They broke a part, he melted into shadows, and then appeared on the street below her leaping up at her forcing her to block and be sent flying out of control. She righted herself and kicked Touttais in the gut sending him away from her and into a lamppost. She dove at him and he blocked her with his sword and she was forced to break off the strike before blocking a thrust of his sword.

— —

Red Fox met Peacock at the doors of the Palais Garnier.

"After you," he said bowing at the waist.

"Don't mind if I do," Peacock said fluffing his hair. There appeared no one in the grand building but there was some creepy music coming from the performance hall. Peacock stiffened.

"What?"

"Banshees."

"Banshees?"

"They're British creatures whose wailing signals someone is going to die or death is near. Don't touch them, or it will be you," Peacock said.

"It's been years, Peacock." She whirled and it was a giant black cat.

"Cat Sith," Peacock explained to Red Fox, "Also don't mess with them. Why are all you Fae here?"

"The Kind of the Underworld always throws such magnificent parties when he's on this plane, neither court would miss it," the Cat Sith said.

"Those idiots summoned Arawn thinking he was dangerous because he was a death deity?" Peacock said.

"He can be dangerous to those who violate the balance of life and death, Peacock," it was one of the Banshees.

"But he doesn't harm mortals the way Touttais does," Peacock said.

"No, he does not. Once the party is over, he will voluntarily vacate the young man's body with no nasty side-effects," the banshee said.

"If I might be so bold, may I speak with him? It would also be a good chance for my teammate to see the other spirits that inhabit this world," Peacock said looking to Red Fox. He nodded.

"He's almost as wide-eyed as you were once," the Cat Sith said.

"Any other advice?" Red Fox said.

"Don't eat the food or drink the wine unless you want to end up with an ungodly hang-over and find you've slept the last fifty years away," Peacock said, "The only protection your Miraculous would give you is that you wouldn't wake up as a 65 year old."

"Understood," Red Fox said, "This is amazing, isn't it?"

"It is. I'm going to message the others to direct them away from here," Peacock said pulling up her fan and swiping all the symbols except the fox, though the yin-yang that was Fortuna didn't respond the others did.

"Do not go to the Palais Garnier. Red Fox and I have it handled. Focus all efforts on Touttais or helping the citizens of Paris."

"Rodger that Peacock!" Hero Turtle said.

"I expect you're not in any danger," Hawkmoth said.

"It's a gathering of Fae and one of the possessed is here, so this requires delicate handling. I promise I won't be vanishing anytime soon," Peacock said. Hawkmoth stared at her before he nodded and his communication cut out.

"That sounds amazing. I'm jealous. Red Fox, I expect you to draw me pictures later," Rumble-Bee said, "And tell me all about this."

"Of course," Red Fox said. Rumble-Bee signed off and Peacock ended the communication. The Banshee looked impressed.

"All the Miraculous wielders are working together? It really is a sign of the end," she said.

"Let's hope not," Peacock said, "I only just got out of the Shadow World, and I haven't even gotten to really enjoy being back yet because of this current crisis."

"Ouch, that sucks," the Cat Sith said, "We knew you couldn't have died. The Seelie Queen was worried."

"Queen Fiona was? I'll have to pay my regards to her when I next have the chance," Peacock said.

"Your little protege is staring again," the Cat Sith said.

"He's new, but he'll soon learn that in a world like ours, strange things happen to even those who aren't human," Peacock said.

— —

Brigid nodded after she'd looked into Raphael's Maze. He and Adrien were the only two left. She hadn't even had a chance to guide Deidre back whenever Fortuna purged Trivia from her completely. There wouldn't be too much damage but going through the maze ensured less nightmares during recovery. Oh well.

"Arawn will vacate your body voluntarily after a party. He really didn't want to be summoned in the first place," Brigid said, "He's the king of the Otherworld and has a lot of work to do."

"So, he has been throwing a huge party and I've been in here? That's so not fair," Raphael said.

"Chances are, after this, the Fae will patronize you because you've been touched by Arawn, which means you'll have connections to things you didn't even know about. This is really good for your career," Brigid said.

"Oh. That's awesome, I guess. What about Adrien?" Raphael.

"As a Miraculous user, he's already semi-revered by them, and nothing Touttais will do can destroy his reputation. He didn't voluntarily take on that entity so he's blameless in the eyes of the supernatural community," Brigid said.

"That's good to know," Adrien said clutching his head, "I think he's trying to absorb me."

"He is. He knows that Arawn won't help him. Segomo is gone. Nemain is gone. Trivia is gone. Andraste is gone. Rudianos is gone. He's alone against a young woman holding the powers of good and bad luck. Creation and Destruction. So far, she has only tapped into her creation magic, as amplified as it has been," Brigid said, "We're going to need to prepare you. Your cleansing needs to be on two levels. Without you breaking his hold on you, you will never be totally free of him. He would be bound to your life-force lurking and waiting to take control of you again. You can't force him out, but you can break loose of him."

"That made no sense," Raphael said.

"It's like slicing the roots of a tree, right? It won't topple over from that but when it does topple, the roots can't do anything to stop it," Adrien said.

"But, if we do this, there will be things that not even Ladybug can remove as side effects on your body. I don't know what will happen but, you will never be the same. Knowing this, will you proceed?" Brigid said.

"Yes." Adrien walked towards a section of the wall that called him and it opened to reveal a shattered room. It looked like a combination of Paris roof-tops and Adrien's bed room. Pictures on the wall that weren't there in real life were everywhere and the book case was full of strange titles. This was him.

"This is a representation of your spiritual state. This destruction is Touttais best attempts to remove you. These are his attempts to assimilate you," Brigid pointed to the pulsing roots that were everywhere.

"Is this my doing?"

"Them looking like that? Yes. This is your head," Brigid said, "We need to get started while he's distracted with your Lady of Fortune. They are going head to head. He is very desperate, and he will be trying to kill her and he will try to make you watch so he can try to break you, do not let him break you."

"I won't." Adrien said. He raised a hand and Brigid caught him.

"No destruction magic. You'll only make his hold on you stronger."

"How can I destroy these then?" Adrien asked.

"Focus on love," Brigid said.

How?" Adrien said.

"Think of your Lady of Fortune. Think of your mother. Your love for them is still evident in this shattered place," Brigid said pointing to the pictures. Memories. These were his memories. He remembered those times with his mother and father and the times with Ladybug. All of them made him feel warm and that he could do anything. He wasn't alone. A white light appeared before him and it was a white blade. Just the right size for root clean up. Soon, he would be free of all of this, but in the mean time, he had some gardening to do.

— —

Rumble-Bee arrived at the scene of the battle to see parts of the 16th Arrondissement were on fire. Touttais's doing, no doubt. Fortuna and Touttais were clashing in mid-air. Touttais leaping off roofs to try to land an attack on his opponent. The sparks flying made Rumble-Bee think of Star Wars. Hawkmoth was watching from next to Hero Turtle.

"We got the supplies to the people whenever this started," Hero Turtle said, "There's a trail of destruction across to the 9th Arrondissement."

"Let's hope her Miraculous Cure can fix the city," Rumble-Bee said.

"Let's focus on getting the dark god out of my son first," Hawkmoth said.

"Shouldn't Peacock be here?" Hero Turtle asked.

"If she left now, she'd make an enemy of a bunch of fairies, and that would mean bad things for all of us," Rumble-Bee said.

"How-no, Why do you know this?" Hero Turtle asked.

"Because, weird things happen in Paris all the time. You've got to be prepared for everything," Rumble-Bee said.

"What can we do?" Hero Turtle said.

"Cover me," Hawkmoth said after a moment. Hero Turtle used his shield's growing powers to cover up the reformed villain's detransformation. He calmly pulled a bag of strawberries out of his coat pocket and Nooroo ate them gratefully.

"Is there anything we three can do to help Fortuna against Touttais?" Gabriel asked.

"There is one thing. Once we do it, we can't move and it only lasts five-minutes. We can create a barrier confining them to one area to prevent him from escaping. The only draw back is she won't be able to escape either. You need to draw on your powers like you're about to use your abilities and then say "Miraculous Limitation" to use the spell," Nooroo said before stuffing the rest of the red fruit in his mouth and nodding to his wielder.

"Dark Wings Rise." Hawkmoth nodded.

They split up and found spots around the fight in the park in front of the Eiffel Tower. They already had their powers ready. Fortuna floated above them and Touttais leapt at her. Now!

"Miraculous Limitation!" the three said. Violet, Yellow, and, Green light shot up into the air forming a cylinder around Fortuna and Touttais who was slammed into the barrier by Fortuna.

"What is this?" he snarled. She saw the anchors were Rumble-Bee, Hero Turtle, and Hawkmoth. This meant this was for her benefit.

"What's the matter, don't like being alone with me?" she asked once they landed. Touttais glared and then tried to melt out. Nothing happened.

"You can't leave, can you?" Fortuna said.

"That won't matter!" Touttais snarled, before he launched at her, sword drawn. She blocked the attack, skidding nearly into the barrier before she pushed back. The attacks grew more vicious. Fortuna was having trouble keeping up with the assaults as they grew faster and wilder. Like an animal, Touttais was cornered. This wasn't good. He growled and the sword made a wild swing that she barely blocked and it forced her to her knees. She pushed back, but she was getting tired. She pressed on the barrier to find, she was trapped too. This was a double-edged sword and she was not in the shape to try purifying him but this might be her only shot.

— —

Adrien sliced though the last root whenever one burst through from beneath him and ensnared him. He suddenly was seeing the real world and his Lady was barely fending off attacks. She was tiring.

Now for the end of her and your little resistance, vessel! The sword was swung right at an opening in her defenses.

No!