I'm glad you all like the snippet in the last chapter!
Wings
by thepeacockandthebutterfly
The pain awoke her from her dreamlike state. Mirabee opened her eyes slowly, thick black fringe of eyelashes lifting up, revealing divine blue eyes. She struggled to remember why she had entered the miraculous again. She had not been retired, so why was she here?
Memories trickled back into her mind as she became more and more aware of her current state. The fight with Chloe, the betrayed baby blue eyes of her chosen. The guilt that had threatened to overwhelm her. Bitterness.
"Oh no," she gasped, realizing that she had left her chosen susceptible to attack. And seeing as the dark butterfly was on the loose, she hoped that she had not made a fatal mistake.
Another wave of pain sent her reeling, reminding her of just why she had been aroused in the first place. Mirabee,fluttering her wings, attempted to burst through the miraculous, but a tar-like ooze dropped into the gold. A shape formed from the tar, taking the form of Nooroo...a Nooroo that was jet black with a glowing purple swirl on its head. The dark butterfly.
"Hello, Mirabee," it cooed.
Mirabee bristled with indignation at the familiarity in its voice. "What do you want, Hei?"
It appeared to scowl at its given name. "I forgot you knew my name," it hissed, malice like a rippling undertone to its words. And then a smooth mask slid over its face, shielding any emotion. "My dear Mira...you know what I want. The same thing as ever." It moved closer to her, eyes staring deeply into hers, a smirk breaking the emotionless façade.
Mirabee couldn't help a feeling of wistful regret. She remembered another time, where Hei hadn't been set on revenge, when it had been a he, when they had had something between them. But now he was darkness. "I can't let you do this to the children, Hei."
"Why can't we go back to what we were, Mira?"
Mirabee pursed her lips, not wanting to answer. "We had something before you became darkness. Before you aligned yourself with the dark side of the butterfly. You chose your path and I will not follow you on it." Fighting back tears, she closed her eyes.
But when she opened her eyes, she saw the burning anger in the glowing purple orbs that were it's eyes. And then it spoke, "I'm sorry, Mira, but that means I'll need to hurt you." It smiled sinisterly, the gelatinous black tar flooding the golden space that was the miraculous and corrupting it. Mirabee felt her power sapped as the miraculous was corrupted, the bee kwami falling to be submerged in the gooey substance.
"Now nothing can stop me from defeating Ladybug." The pain was a dull flickering one, not enough to truly hurt her. But the snarl in Hei's words cut to her core, causing a single tear to drip down her fuzzy cheek. The last thing she saw was Hei's purple eyes. They swirled and changed shades, creating mesmerizing patterns. Yet it was the regret in those eyes that imprinted on her mind as she was devoured by darkness.
Marinette sat on her bed, knees pulled up to her chest, mulling over the events of the patrol. She didn't understand what had happened. She had tried to apologize, but Queen Bee had just barely even acknowledged her! And her eyes had been so cold...Marinette recalled the flash of purple she had thought she had seen around Queen Bee's eyes. Something sinister.
Chat Noir came through the window then, settling onto the bed next to Marinette once he saw her state. He wrapped a leather-clad arm around the shaking girl, trying to soothe her. "Mari, what's wrong?"
"I don't know what to do about Chloe! I feel so bad about the whole thing, but she won't listen to my apologies!" Marinette didn't know whether to be upset or mad.
In a flash of green light, Chat changed into Adrien. He rested his head on Marinette's shoulder, offering comfort. "Princess...I think that she has accepted your apology already."
"Then why did she act like that?" Marinette asked, sky blue eyes begging for answers.
Adrien smiled softly. "You are worried, Mari, but I don't think this is only about Chloe."
Marinette watched the light gleaming off his golden hair for a moment, mulling over his words. But she didn't know what to say.
"Princess, why do you doubt yourself?"
And then she found herself tearing up. She always felt so vulnerable around Adrien but also like she needed to protect her flaws from him. But he continued to just find his way through her locked doors.
Marinette sniffled quietly. "I can't do this, Adrien...I just keep messing up, and I have from that very first day when I let the akuma escape!"
Adrien pulled Marinette into a hug, his chin resting on her head. "Lovebug, I believe in you. Always have. Even on that first day you inspired me. And the second day you took back the akuma and that's when I realized I loved you."
"You loved Ladybug," Marinette pointed out, burrowing into Adrien's warm chest.
Adrien smiled softly, understanding Marinette's need to differentiate between her and Ladybug. "I love the girl beneath the mask," he paused, trying to find the right words, "The mask is not a person! You give the mask a personality, call it 'Ladybug,' but the truth is that Ladybug is just Marinette!"
Marinette looked up at him, smiling softly. "Thanks, kitty."
Adrien shook his head playfully. "I'm not done, princess." He reached over and booped her nose lightly with the tip of his finger. "Both Ladybug and Marinette have a cat in shining leather beside them."
Marinette leaned up and brushed her lips against his cheek. This was the boy she fell in love with. And she found herself falling in love with him all over again each and every day.
Chloe paced her bedroom angrily, feeling lost. When she reached back, tried to remember something, it slipped out of her grasp. She knew what she was looking for...sort of. If she tried to recall it, this peaceful sensation surrounded her. And yet she couldn't recall it. But she just had this feeling as if she had lost something. But she couldn't remember for the life of her what it was.
A tapping on her balcony window startled her out of her reverie, sending her rushing over to see what had caused the sound. And she sucked in a breath at the sight.
Gorgeous blue eyes the color of the sea were staring right at her. Eyes like gentle waves that lapped at your toes when you walked along the sandy beach. A calming sensation washed over her. The memory of singing in the library filled her mind, recognizing the face staring into her room as Vulpin's.
She opened the door and stepped out onto the balcony, the slightest of pink shades tinting her cheeks. "Why are you here?"
Vulpin stuck out his lower lip, pouting at her question. "Can't I just come to see you?"
Chloe rolled her eyes at the fox hero. "I'm Chloe Bourgeosis. No one just comes to see me...they'd rather be far far away from me..." Her voice trailed off at the last part, resembling her mood at that moment.
He tilted his head as he looked up at her, his large cerulean eyes meeting her own baby blues. He sighed and shook his head at her, his eyes dancing with some unknown emotion. "Trust me, I used to feel just like that." His face soured, as if he was remembering a bad memory. "You've never been...kind...to my civilian self."
Chloe could just feel the fragile hope inside her shattering and digging into her heart like knives. "I'm sorry," she whispered, lowering her eyes.
But when she was entrapped in a warm embrace, Chloe felt like she was floating. There was something familiar about Vulpin, about his sad eyes. She wanted to know his secrets-no-she craved them. Yet the fluttering in her heart was not love, it was the butterfly reminding her that it had already satisfied her wishes concerning Vulpin. Chloe fought the butterfly's control for a moment, trying to enjoy the feeling of Vulpin's arms around her for as long as possible.
And then her own hands moved and shoved him away. Sombre had come out to play.
Vulpin stared at Chloe in shock, trying to understand why she would push him away. His eyes narrowed, seeing something...different...about her now.
There was a faint purple edge to her blue eyes, the different color gleaming when the fluorescent light touched them. Her lips were curled downward, but she seemed distinctly unsettled. As if she was fighting some internal battle.
He remembered seeing darkness coiled around her on patrol. It had been creepy enough then, but now it was as if the darkness was seeping outward from her.
"Who are you?" he asked, realizing that this-this was not the same girl he had been talking to.
Sombre lifted her head, as if noticing the hero for the first time. She sneered at him, her transformation covering her in a foam of black and gold bubbles. The butterfly broke forth, but then paused for a moment. Vulpin felt his stomach twist in a sick sort of anticipation of what words would come out. The dark butterfly began speaking through her in a dissonant harmony like a roar, "I am the dark butterfly. I am Sombre, Fenwa, Dark Wings, and Hei."
Vulpin took a step back, registering the danger he was in. "Chloe...I need you to fight this. Please."
Sombre laughed suddenly, sharply. "Chloe tried, has been trying for a few weeks. But she is broken now. My...puppet..." The last words were a low, rasping hiss, making her sound more like a wild beast than a human girl.
Vulpin took another stumbling step away, putting as much distance in between himself and the monster as he could. "I'm so sorry, Chloe," he finally whispered before turning and leaping away. But his mind was racing at this new development. He knew he needed to report this to one of the senior members, preferably Ladybug, but he couldn't help but be more concerned for the girl with the broken soul.
Please keep fighting it, Chloe.
Nino found himself fiddling with the bracelet on his wrist again. The red string wrapped around the slim bone, threaded through a carefully carved chunk of jade. To be perfectly honest, he was surprised one of his friends hadn't noticed the piece of jewelry. His tawny eyes drifted to trace the contours of the precious stone, the swirling lines adorning the stone twisting through and around each other, forming some new design each time he tried to follow the lines. He could feel the raw power thrumming through the gem and into him, conforming to his heartbeat, becoming a part of him. And it scared him. He knew better than to think of the miraculous stone around his wrist as a toy. It wasn't gift, wasn't free. Not really. It came with a price tag, perhaps the heaviest cost of any item in existence. It demanded his time, privacy, loyalty, honesty, even his life. That wasn't something he took lightly. He saw how the miraculous affected Chat, changing him into a new person of sorts. And the worst part was he didn't think Adrien had considered the consequences of accepting the jewel for even a moment. But for Nino, the miraculous was a constant weight that he wasn't sure he wanted to have for the rest of his life.
Wayzz floated out of his bag, frowning at the contemplative look on Nino's face. "It's not that bad."
"Are you kidding?" Nino suddenly said, "Dude, the miraculous isn't worth the sacrifices I'll have to make." He shook his head, already imagining the utter chaos that would ensue.
Wayzz sighed, exasperated with the pessimistic attitude of the boy. "Someday there will someone or something worth making sacrifices for. And I promise you that the miraculous will look like the best option then."
Nino scowled, his answer worded in a tight voice, "I've noticed that most of the sacrifices that others have made were the direct result of their own actions." With a clench of his jaw, he sent Wayzz spiraling back into the miraculous, his mind willing the turtle kwami to fall into a state of slumber.
And although he was being locked away, Wayzz couldn't help but feel a twinge of satisfaction at the ease with which Nino controlled the powers of Guardian.
"Is it time yet?" Sombre's eager voice asked.
A chuckle rolled through the air, malice dripping from the cackling laughter. "Almost..." a slow growling noise issued itself from Fenwa's throat, "the final battle is close..."
But an unsettled feeling filled her gut suddenly, a faint memory tugging at her mind.
Her hand reaching for a slim throat. Caramel contrasting with cream, swirling together in a blend of skin.
A body dropping to the ground, cold and dead. A scream, ringing through her ears.
A butterfly and a ladybug. Hands held and sweet kisses exchanged. But the contact snapped off with a slap, creating a sound that reverberated. A broken bond.
The sea, contained in two brilliant orbs. A gold ribbon forming a link, a blazing purple flame reducing the bright gold to ashes. And the sea churned with anger.
Glinting emerald eyes that burned with jealous fire.
Umber eyes faded to a tawny brown. A jade color snaked around the tawny colored eyes, branding them.
Fenwa gasped, reeling from the sudden barrage of images. And just as quickly as the memory faded, she felt her grip on reality return. She remembered pain ripping through her as she faded in and out of sanity, those same visions passing across her eyes. But there was something changed about the visions now, a sinister presence to the futuristic pictures. But Fenwa shook off the curiosity and focused on the coming clash of souls. Darkness versus light. Fenwa snarled suddenly, drawing Sombre's eyes to her. Rage pulsed through her like a rhythm, dancing with her heart as she uttered a promise. A promise that spoke of the bloody future to come.
"And we will be triumphant."
So many chills in this chapter. Also, if you were wondering what the original vision was, check out chapter 19!
Reviews:
LadyNoirShipper: I am not planning on making a second book, but I do have some other fics in my collection to finish, plus a new AU.
Panteabooks: I think that tidbit was the best part of the last chapter...other than some serious SombrexFenwa stuff. But cliffhangers are always the best part of anything, if you're the one writing them I mean.
Izzy: Wow, I managed to convert you. Maybe the next chapter will have some kind of epic cliffhanger just for you ;)
FaithandHope357: Vulpin found out just what's up in this chapter, but what will happen with that knowledge next chapter? Also, I'M SO EXCITED FOR CHAPTER 27 TOO!
Catearereader: Don't worry, any cursing is minimal and rare!
Ok so I do need to mention something that disappointed me greatly. I was hoping to not run into any negative reviewers any time soon, and this one was not too bad, but it still upset me. I want to say now that I don't plan on tolerating any demands from reviewers. The current story arc will not be changing anytime soon because IT IS A STORY ARC! IT HAS TO END BEFORE I MOVE ON! If any of you don't like the dark butterfly arc that the story is currently in, please just keep your opinions to yourself. I respect any readers who dislike the current arc, but you don't need to verbalize it to me. To all my faithful reviewers, thank you for your positivity and keeping me motivated! This mini-rant is only intended to nip any issues in the bud, not offend anyone. I am sorry if I've offended anyone, but I want to make my point clear. Thank you all for reading!
Love, love, love all of my readers and reviewers and followers and favoriters!
REMEMBER: REVIEWS, FOLLOWS, AND FAVORITES ARE FOOD TO A FANFICTION WRITER!