I'm expecting the next chapter to be the last. I am so ready.
Marinette walked along the shops, peering into the windows and looking for anything that jumped out at her. Outfits she may want to do her own spin on. Hats she may want to make. Anything she can be inspired to combine and make.
Nooroo peeked out time to time, looking up at the shop windows with her. Sometimes he'd lean out, pointing to whatever caught his eye.
It was nice.
Very nice.
Just a nice little outing for the two of them. A break from the recent events, from the issue of Harlequin having Chat's ring. Of her being able to sever Mariposa's Champions.
It was a detail that they couldn't do much about at this time. So Marinette was up to just relaxing. Let the afternoon fade away. A small part of her did hope that a plan may come to her while she's out. Some idea that could let her at least get the ring back.
But nothing so far.
How to get the miraculouses when both were hard to grab?
Perhaps if she can feel around for the right Champion, someone that could pin Harlequin down, she could get the earrings then.
But she needed the right Champion for that, and that depends on who was around and willing.
She sighed, eyeing her reflection in the windows, her gaze settling on the large, bulky brooch she had on. She reached up, running her hand over it absently, feeling the ridges under her finger. She recalled Nooroo's earlier words, brow furrowing as she considered them.
"Maybe even be your own Champion."
Was that possible? Could she be her own Champion? Use a butterfly on herself, have whatever power she desired. But how can she do that? Nooroo hasn't quite told her…
Well, there was one hint.
"Have a bit of a metamorphosis."
Marinette narrowed her eyes, considering the word. "Metamorphosis," she murmured. A transformation. Most commonly known for butterflies.
Could that be the power's name?
She knows that Chat's and Harlequin's powers seem to revolve around their power. Cataclysm and Misfortune, Lucky Charm... Butterfly miraculous' power was transformation, it made sense that a special power from it would be Metamorphosis, the name of a butterfly's transformation.
There was only one way to know for sure. She needed to try out Metamorphosis, see if anything would happen.
Inspired, Marinette moved to head towards a hidden location, eager to test out the theory. But she jumped when she was grabbed from behind, a firm hand squeezing her shoulder hard.
Marinette tensed, her body instinctively curling under that grip.
An unfamiliar voice murmured smoothly, a chest pressing at her back, "Come on little papillon, let's go somewhere private. And don't cause any trouble."
Her purse bounced from her side, being slid away with Nooroo in the man's grasp. He pushed her along and Marinette went, teethed gritted. They turned down a darkened alley, the man pushing her away and making her stumble. Waving her arms wildly for balance, Marinette turned to face him, just in time to see a hand coming straight for her.
Marinette jumped back, the man missing her brooch by inches, his finger just brushing the surface.
"Fast," he praised with a mean smile, "not too surprising."
"Who are you?" Marinette demanded, sparing a fast glance to the purse in his grasp. Nooroo peeked out, turning his wide gaze up to see who held him. He gasped at who he saw, and dove out for Marinette. The kwami grunted when he was grabbed, the man holding him up to look over the squirming kwami.
"Nooroo!" Marinette cried out, racing to him. She skidded a stop when the man waved Nooroo about, his eyes locked on her's.
"Let's not be hasty," the man declared, tossing Marinette's bag to the ground. "Patience is a virtue you know."
Marinette glared at him, fisting her hands and trembling in anger.
Pleased, the man turned his gaze down to the struggling kwami, greeting, "Hello, Nooroo. It's been a while."
Nooroo glared at him, his wings flapping in an agitated blur. "Hawkmoth."
"Hawkmoth?" Marinette repeated.
"I used to go by Papillon for a while, but Hawkmoth was far more fitting a name," he said, turning to smile at Marinette. "Far scarier. But truly, I'm the real Butterfly, unlike you, Mariposa. I'm here to take my miraculous back, thank you for finding it for me. I thought it was stolen."
She stiffened, wide eyed. "St-stolen?" she repeated.
"Trusted friends who betrayed me, one ripped my wings away, and another mocked, saying she found it and sped away. I had thought she had it, till I saw the news, seeing that my miraculous was found again, by a false butterfly."
Marinette glared, demanding, "How did you find us?"
"Young holders," Hawkmoth said, "always so thoughtless, always naive. You're more obvious more than you realize, especially to a veteran who knows what to look for."
She glared at him.
He held out his hand expectantly. "I want my miraculous back."
"No."
"Little papillon, it is my right to have it back." He raised his hand, presenting his little hostage. "Besides, you can't refuse me."
Marinette flinched.
Nooroo wiggled in his grip, trying to push his body out. "Don't give it to him Marinette!" Nooroo cried, his wings a blur.
"Nooroo," Hawkmoth warned. "I'm disappointed in you. I thought we had quieted down that spirit."
Nooroo turned and glared at him. Hawkmoth chuckled. "You almost look unnerving. I'll have you fixed when I get my miraculous back," Hawkmoth said, his gaze settling on it. Marinette covered it, gritting her teeth.
"You are not my master anymore!" Nooroo snapped.
"You have no say in who your master is," Hawkmoth reminded. He took a menacing step closer to Marinette, reminding, "And you, little papillon, have no control here. Be smart and give me that brooch."
Nooroo bit at Hawkmoth's hand, only to be squeezed, making the kwami flinched.
Marinette stomped her foot, snapping, "No! You're not his master, you won't be his master ever again! Not someone like you!"
"You have no—"
"Nooroo! Wings rise!"
The miraculous flared with life, butterflies rushing out and swarming around the air. Unable to resist the call, Nooroo broke free of Hawkmoth's hand and dove for Marinette, a determined glint in his eyes. Butterflies crowded around Marinette and making Hawkmoth faltered when he pursued the kwami, lifting his hand to stop the insects from flying at his face. They dove and covered Marientte and burst away leaving her as Marposa. As soon as Mariposa had her wings, she flew up, out of Hawkmoth's reach and glared down at Hawkmoth, her shadow covering him.
He faltered slightly as she hovered over him, butterflies zipping around her in an angry fashion.
He wasn't intimidated though, he waved his hands about, giving her a mocking smile, boasting, "You know how to fly, adorable. Sadly, butterflies don't get to enjoy their wings for too long. Take it from me, little papillon. I had my wings ripped away."
Mariposa dove at him, swinging her cane, glaring at him as he dodged, that damn smile on his lips. "It's your own fault!" she snarled. "Your wings were taken away because you misused Nooroo!"
She swung at him again, he grabbed her cane, making her squeal as he threw her aside. Mariposa's wings flapped quickly, stopping herself from slamming into a wall. She turned, stiffening to see that he had her cane. He twirled it, grinning as Mariposa's eyes widened.
"Very naive of you to think so, little papillon." He set the cane on his shoulders, smirking. "Not even miraculouses, as good as they are intended to be, are pure. They sit more in the gray than you realize." He drew near, her cane in his hand, his eyes locked on the butterfly holder. "And every holder will do what they must, or what they want."
Mariposa charged, throwing a fist out at him. Hawkmoth dodged her, grinning as he brought the cane up, slamming it to her middle hard and spinning her around. Again he flung her away, only this time, Mariposa hit the ground and rolled with the momentum.
"In my prime as Papillon, there were many gangs in Paris, doing what they wished. We weren't able to get on top of them, no matter what we tried. But, I could feel them, I could sense all those ugly emotions. Emotions I could make use of as the butterfly holder. I turned them into the very monsters they were, I turned them all against each other and broke down gang by gang. And they never knew who was doing it, could never find me."
He grinned, malicious. "Doing that, it became easy to the see the uglier sides of humanity. Easy and tempting to help show people who they really were deep down, bring out their inner demons and show them bare before the world."
"You were a hero," Marinette growled, standing up, wings expanding behind her.
Hawkmoth laughed. "There are many types of miraculous heroes. Each did what they thought was best. Did what they had too; even if their actions were considered evil. There is no good miraculous. They are tools, tools that allow us humans to be our own gods. That allows us humans to do as we like."
"Take Chat Noir's predecessors," Hawkmoth continued. "You think the Black Cat is good? The miraculous of misfortune, of destruction, chaos! There is no good history from that ring. Hercules? He killed the ladybug holder, Queen Hippolyta. All he had to do was simply obtain her girdle, and what did he do? He broke her kingdom, scattered her people, and sunk his claws deep into her heart. He broke the trust and faith she had in her miraculous half."
Mariposa stiffened.
Hawkmot eagerly continued, enjoying the look of horror on the girl. "And another ladybug holder, Jean D'arc? Burned at the stake at nineteen. How do you think she got to that point? Why do you think her Black Cat never came to save her? He was the one to make sure she was captured. And Jack the Ripper? A mad cat who wanted to find and kill the Ladybug who stood against him. And witches, Cat Sith was a Black Cat who worked with witches, with demons and sorcery. They all cackled as they tormented poor civilians, and witches just made him stronger."
"Shut up!" Mariposa snapped, diving at him. Hawkmoth dodged and pinned her wing down, keeping her from rising up. "Chat isn't them!" she cried, trying to pull herself free.
"There is no good Black Cat." Hawkmoth dodged her again, hitting her away with the cane. "Chat Noir is an ender, a source of chaos and misfortune. He will never be good. There is no good in the Black Cat's power. There is no good to any miraculous. Not even the Ladybug has a good history. And definitely not the Butterfly. Take the church's influence during the Middle Ages. How they obtained so many followers, sparked such faith in the church? A Ladybug and Butterfly are handy in manipulating the masses. Convince them that demons rose up, and only the church was able to save those poor souls, that people could find salvation and protection in them."
He dragged the cane along the ground, dragging Mariposa closer, her free wing moving in a frantic blur.
"Miraculouses have a long history of misuse, little papillon. Kwamis may preach about them needing to be used for good but they themselves never stop the misuse. They are tools, tools to be used however humanity sees fit." He bent down, plucking the brooch off her collar, Marinette freezing as the transformation fell away, butterflies scattering. Nooroo spun out, turning around with wide eyes.
"Heroes are naive and self-sacrificing. There are no happy endings with them." He shoved Marinette back down when she made a grab for the brooch, putting the brooch on. "The best thing to do is use these tools as you wish. The job you do is a thankless one, little papillon. At least Harlequin knows that."
"You—"
"Nooroo," Hawkmoth cut in, "dark wings rise!"
Nooroo reached for Marinette, only to be pulled into the miraculous. Butterflies, twitching and wild from the new holder, dove to Hawkmoth in an angry swarm. They flew away, leaving him transformed and grinning down at Marinette maliciously.
"You want to see wings, little papillon?" Hawkmoth asked. "I'll show you wings."
There was a purple glow at his back, growing out and expanding till they shadowed over Marinette. In a flash, they turned into menacing black wings, with fearsome purple eye spots glaring down at her.
Marinette instinctively flinched back, eyes wide as she stared up at him.
Hawkmoth laughed. "Oh, little papillon. You have no idea what sort of power the butterfly has. It's true potential." Hawkmoth lifted his cane, the crystal tip glowing purple in a dim, menacing light.
He raised it, ready to bring it down on Marinette. A voice shouted out before he could, their tone teasing.
"Attacking defenseless kids now, Hawkmoth? My have the mighty has fallen."
Hawkmoth stiffened.
Marinette stilled, surprised.
He and Marinette looked over, seeing a golden-haired woman with coy green eyes standing in the alley opening, her gaze locked on the butterfly villain. Despite the playful stare, her body was tense, her posture ready.
Hawkmoth turned to her, azure eyes ablaze. He lowly growled, "You…"
She grinned, her smile growing. "You couldn't escape me so easily, Papi."
In the last year of the Agreste home, Gabriel has unwittingly built a wall between himself and Adrien. A wall Adrien hasn't ever been able to breach and a wall Gabriel was content to stay in alone. Recently, Gabriel has unconsciously lowered a bit of the wall, but it wasn't quite enough between the two to fully reconnect.
But in the recent events that happened, the wall was broken, and like an impatient flood, Adrien poured right in, chasing after his father as they walked through the Agreste manor, Gabriel heading for a more private place where there weren't any windows to look through.
"You and mom were miraculous holders? Were you a duo? You had the peacock miraculous this whole time? Is that why you put it away? Because I was allerg—"
"Adrien you are clearly not allergic to me or Duusu," Gabriel huffed.
Duusu giggled from where she was perched on Gabriel's shoulder, turning warm pink eyes to Adrien. "Just as excitable as I remember."
Gabriel sighed, a mix of exaggeration and fondness. "He's really taken after Ariel."
"Oh please, you love it," Duusu teased.
Adrien drew near, playfully nudging his father, green eyes bright. "You do, right Papaon?"
Gabriel shot him a look.
Duusu laughed, tail fanning in delight. "It's true what they say of birds of a feather," she trilled. Leaning over, she eagerly revealed, "Your Papaon used to make your Mamabug crazy with his puns. She loved them so much! They were the light of her life."
Adrien had the biggest Cheshire smile on his face. "Maman was charmed by puns? That where I got my love of puns from?" Adrien frowned. "Why'd you stop?"
"Puns aren't appreciated in business," Gabriel tutted.
Rolling her eyes, Duusu hopped onto Adrien's shoulder, revealing, "His favorite phrase was 'guess we're winging it!' He thought it was extra funny because all team members were based off flying animals. Oh man, he and Papillon used to have pun wars all the time! And if she was up for it, Joli Rouge joined in too. And—"
Gabriel opened up a computer on the podium, asking, "What have you gathered on Harlequin?"
Adrien blinked, looking around his father's more private office, one hidden deeper in the manor. "I know who she is," Adrien said. "A classmate of mine, Lila Rossi, she's the to have the earrings and my ring."
"Which we should get back as soon as possible," Plagg declared, floating up to Gabriel's side, checking to see what the peacock holder was looking into.
Gabriel hummed, looking over all articles he could find about Lila Rossi.
With Gabriel occupied, Adrien turned to the blue kwami, his gaze curious. "So, your Duusu?"
"Of the peacock miraculous!" she confirmed with a chirp. "Although, we kwamis sometimes go by different names, well used too. In older timed not everyone liked Duusu. When I was in Rome, one holder referred to me as Juuno, after the goddess. Sometimes even Little Juuno. Juno herself though wasn't too crazy about," Duusu chuckled. Greek and Roman gods were always fickle. Duusu definitely doesn't miss them.
"Really?" Adrien asked. He turned to the cat kwami, asking, "What about you Plagg? Did you have different names?"
"One girl wasn't crazy about having a kwami named after plague. Called me Jinnx instead."
Adrien gasped. "Jinnx is adorable."
"Don't call me Jinnx."
"I think he was also called Maao. Pakka. Quut. And—"
"We're not going through all my names," Plagg huffed. "Doesn't matter anymore. People these centuries are a lot more accepting of our preferred names."
Duusu stuck her tongue out at him.
"Duusu."
She perked, turning her gaze to Gabriel.
"Fan spread."
She dove off his shoulder, diving to Gabriel's side. As soon as he was transformed, Houte Roi brought out his fan, touching upon the eye spot and making a screen appear on the fan.
"What are you doing?" Adrien asked, drawing near.
"Contacting your partner, Mariposa. I want her included in the planning on attacking Harlequin."
"I'm glad you're helping," Adrien said.
"She attacked my home, me, and my son. It is officially personal," Houte Roi replied.
Adrien smiled, the jolted a little, realizing that his father was contacting Mariposa. She could end up learning who he was. She may know.
His heart skipped nervous beats at the thought. He wasn't opposed to the thought of Mariposa knowing. Instinctively, he had a lot of trust and faith in her. He trusted her with his life.
Mariposa knowing… he would be fine with it. Nervous, but he was willing.
He was encouraged when Plagg settled on his shoulder, leaning on his neck.
But silence rang on, with his father frowning more and more.
"Papa?" Adrien softly asked, brow furrowed.
"Mariposa isn't answering," Houte said.
"She could be busy?" Adrien offered.
"I hope so," Houte murmured.
"What's up?" Adrien wondered. Why was his father worried?
"Yeah," Plagg backed. "It does happen that we can't always answer. Much less let our holders know that their partner is trying to contact them. We can just try again later."
Houte just frowned and dropped his transformation. He met Duusu's wary gaze and the kwami revealed, "Nooroo has blocked all contact."
Plagg stiffened.
Adrien blinked, looking between his father and the kwamis. "What does that mean?" Adrien asked. " What do you mean Nooroo blocked all contact?"
Plagg explained, "We kwamis are to work in sync, and are able to link together which allows you and your comrades to keep in touch and keep track of each other. But, if we're being misused, to keep the misuse from tracking unsuspecting holders, the trapped kwami cuts off all contact with the others."
"The drawback is that we can't locate that kwami," Duusu added, curling up on herself, hugging her middle.
Adrien stared at them, his body feeling cold.
"That means," he murmured, trailing as it clicked in his mind.
Nooroo was being misused.
Something happened to Mariposa.
His partner was in trouble.
Adrien turned and tore at of the room, ignoring his father's shout after him. Adrien only focused on moving, set on finding Mariposa, to helping her.
He wasn't going to leave her alone when she's in trouble.
Hawkmoth turned to the woman, seething. With his focus elsewhere, Marinette quickly crawled away from the miraculous holder, her gaze flickering between the two. Her gaze settled on the cane as it glowed brighter with his anger, sparing the woman a fast, worried glance.
"You dare appear before me again, after keeping me on a wild goose chase for a whole year!"
"Oh please, Papi," the woman chastised, "it was you who took the bait. That's on you flutter boy." Her gaze flickered to Marinette before turning back to Hawkmoth.
Butterflies darted and swirled around the villain angrily, riled and upset. "It is Hawkmoth, Ariel, and you will refer to me with the respect I deserve."
Ariel quirked an amused brow. "Even with the tantrums you have?"
Hawkmoth snarled, jerking his cane forward. Butterflies dove down in angry swarm. Ariel rolled out of the way, grabbing a trashcan lid that had been left on the ground and threw it at the butterfly villain. As Hawkmoth moved to dodge, Marinette saw her chance and jumped up, racing to the woman's side.
As soon as she was close, Ariel grabbed her and tore off down the street, with Hawkmoth shouting angrily behind them. Ariel dragged Marinette to a narrow alley, ducking in and hiding away. They crouched low to the ground, Ariel facing the front, her arm warm on Marinette's shoulders protectively.
They waited, seconds feeling like hours, staring at the entrance and half expecting Hawkmoth to appear with his swarm coming at them.
Both flinched down when the swarm flew by, surrounding a dark figure that took to the skies.
Ariel sighed, relaxing back and laughing. She said through her giggles, "That was close."
"A-a bit," Marinette agreed, eyeing the blonde warily.
Ariel offered her a smile, one that grew at the calculating look in Marinette's eyes. That's a very familiar look to see, a promising one. Ariel held out her hand, greeting, "Hello, Mariposa was it? You ok, Sweetie? He didn't hurt you, did he?"
"N-not really," Marinette murmured, taking her hand and giving her a wary shake. "Who are you? How do you know him, and-and, Nooroo! I need to sav—"
"Woah there," Ariel cut in, gently pushing Marinette down. "Can't go charging after a miraculous holder, Sweetie. Not without a plan at least."
"I can make one up and work on it!" Marinette insisted, "Nooroo—"
"Would feel awful if anything happened to you." Ariel stood, offering her hand to Marinette. "Let's plan first. And get some help."
"The peacock," Marinette whispered, letting the woman pull her up.
The woman flinched before nodding. "The Peacock can definitely help. And maybe the Black Cat? Chat Noir? I saw that he was here."
Marinette rubbed her arm. "He is but… Harlequin has the ring."
The woman frowned, her eyes sharp. "So that's the name of Tikki's misuser…"
"Tikki," Marinette repeated, surprised. How did she know? And she knew Hawk Moth. Marinette narrowed her eyes at the woman, curious and wary. Marinette asked, "Who are you?"
"Someone who should be retired," Ariel joked. "I'm Ariel Agreste. I was the previous Ladybug, Joli Rouge. I worked with my partners, Houte Roi and Papillon to keep Paris safe from gangs, a few good few decades ago, anyway. This is a lot more serious than gangs."
Marinette took a sharp breath, eyes widening. "You, you're Adrien's mother?"
Ariel froze, her eyes widening. She turned, looking over Marinette with a new light, looking hopeful and unnerved. Softly, she whispered, "You know my son…?"
Marinette stared, the confirmation ringing in her head.
This was Adrien's mother.
Adrien's mother who was a previous miraculous holder. The previous Ladybug.
Adrien was the son of a miraculous holder.