When the skies of Paris fell further into darkness, and the three heroes watched over Paris to safety see millions of civilians being evacuated across the border from a distance, it was the first crack of thunder that cued the return of the dark entity Imra.
Snapping their heads to the sound of the thunder, they watched as the dark cloud spread further into the city, stretching and approaching fast to cloud Paris, their home, in this dark prison.
"Nathanael, this is your last chance to leave the miraculous and go." Adrien warned solemnly. Nathanael gritted his teeth.
"And my final answer is no. Besides, Nooroo needs me." Nathanael told Adrien firmly. The artist took a similar transformation as Hawkmoth with some uniform adjustments. He wore a deep purple tuxedo under an off-black robe, with the brooch pinned tightly and high on his collar. His hair was done harshly against the winds and his eyes were brighter blue under the butterfly mask that matched the one when he was the Evillustrator. He summoned the bright white butterflies to levitate him in the air as he clutched a staff similar to Hawkmoth's.
"That's a start. But you need to get used to your powers. If Hawkmoth can manipulate people mentally-" Lady, now transformed, started.
"Nooroo, just told me all of that just now." Nathanael placed two fingers on the side of his head. "I can hear him so clear...I think I know what I need to do. Give me a bit I'm wetting my feet."
Chat Noir nodded slowly, "Okay. If you say so."
"And please, call me Papillon." Thew butterfly hero smiled. "It's much nicer than...you know..."
"Yeah, of course, Papillon." Ladybug smirked.
Another crack of thunder broke their conversation. The miraculous trio huddled together, arms crossed over shoulders.
"Here's the plan. We need to weaken Imra..." Ladybug warily glanced at Adrien as he silently protested, "Felix."
Papillon's eye widen, "Felix?! Your brother...is the one behind all of this?"
"He was corrupted before all of this. Imra fed him more and he...he's not the same person before. Gone..." Chat spat, before clutching his gloves.
"He took the other miraculous...but if he gets ours, there's no stopping him." Ladybug explained, "Our miraculous can grant life and death. If you combine mine and Chat's miraculous...they say it can bring back the life of a loved one."
"But he can't, not with Imra. Imra is evil, a liar, and he's greedy. He's sucking the life out of him and he's not going to bring her back to life. He wants the miraculous for himself and cause chaos in this world." Chat Noir hissed.
"Wait, Felix wants the miraculous to bring back someone to life?" Papillon said. The two heroes nodded, exchanged glances before staring back at the dark cloud in the far distance.
"We should move, let's scout around and make sure everyone's out. We'll explain more on the way." Ladybug told the men. They followed her lead, sailing the dark city as they scouted left to right.
"Felix had a very harsh life, as you may look at it, I was spoiled more at a very early age...and he was the hardworking somewhat older twin. When he mother fell ill, he stayed and took care of her for a few years before my father sent her to Tibet. He went to America to study...turns out he felt more at peace there than he did here. He found friends,...and someone he loved." Chat Noir said. "And that's hard to say because, family is supposed to be first. My mother loved us both dearly, but Felix never saw that from her...or rather couldn't because he was always under my father's wing."
"I understand that." Papillon listened carefully, sitting on his cloud of butterflies following the heroes.
"Turns out, there was a tragedy. An attack in America where Felix and his friends were...the other miraculous that were his friends and help him become a hero. They attacked a ferry and...they save as many as they could but-" Chat Noir pursed his lips.
"One of the miraculous heroes, Bridgette, she drowned in the wreckage. Felix blamed his other friends for not saving her...it was unexpected and they were on a date...as Kisu, another kwami, told us."
"Where's is the kwami?" Papillon asked. Chat Noir flashed the brooch from under his fur coat showing it to the new hero before tucking it back.
"It was never his anyways." Chat Noir told him immediately. "Go on, LB."
"And since that day, he wasn't the same anymore. He sought revenge, and the strangest thing was that Hawkmoth couldn't akumatize him. So when he...did those cruel things, he had a motive." Ladybug shuddered at the thought, the flashback to the night before making her eyes well up.
"What did he do...?" Papillon asked.
"He killed his friends...the other miraculous holders. And he left America. He pushed them off a building and made them fall to their death." Chat swore bitterly. "Marinette, you're right. He's scum and evil and I want him dead."
"Adrien-" Ladybug tried.
"No! He hurt you, he killed his friends, he stressed my mother into a coma, HE KILLED MY FATHER. He doesn't deserve to live, I want him dead." Ladybug watched as his skin began to blacken from the profile view as she skidded to a stop on the rooftop, Papillon levitating to the ground and watched cautiously.
"Is-is he okay?" Papillon asked. Ladybug shook his head, watching Chat Noir paced, his leather turning into fur. He snarled, his head constantly turning as he paced on all fours.
"No...he's not." Ladybug knew.
Chat Noir finally stopped, "Mom is dead...there's no one left."
The distant rumble of thunder filled the dead silence of the air as both Papillon's and Ladybug's eyes widen.
"Why didn't you tell me?!" Ladybug demanded, raising her voice sharply.
"I was worried about YOU! After what he did!" Papillon helplessly watched the heroes bicker as he suddenly closed his eyes, trying to reach their minds, trying to talk to them.
"I'm fine now!" As she wasn't completely honest with herself. "You could've hurt yourself! You're wreckless and you know that Adrien! Especially with all these new things happening to us. As your partner you should've told me right away regardless!" Ladybug told him as he snarled.
"I'm SORRY for caring so much. But I cannot do this anymore. If he hurts anyone else, there's no stopping me, got it? There's nothing left for him after all of this." Adrien scoffed after making it clear. "I thought you would be the first to agree with this after all..."
"This isn't the way though. Not like this. We don't kill, we purify."
"You purify...I destroy." Chat snorted. Ladybug tried to calm him, reaching to caress his face. He snorted, silently resisting for a few as he turned his head, finally relaxing after she petted his face.
You guys need to calm down. They heard Papillon's voice in their head as their eyes blown wide. It was mesmerizing and calm as it immediately eased the tension.
Nate? Ladybug asked quietly in her head.
Can you both hear me? Papillon opened his eyes and stared back at the heroes.
Yeah, is...is that? Chat Noir tilted his head.
It appears I can speak to more than one of you. Did Hawkmoth do this with his akumas? Papillon asked.
No, he could only akumatize one at a time, but he influenced them deeply with mind-control. It just seems you can connect our minds more intimately with telepathy. Ladybug realized. It must has something to do with you being a pure user of the miraculous...where Hawkmoth used it for evil intentions.
I'm learning by the second. The butterfly hero hummed approvingly.
Another crack of thunder alerted the trio of heroes.
"C'mon...I think I have an idea." Chat Noir's ears perked at the thought of a plan.
"Oh, this should be great." Ladybug snorted as Papillon snickered. Chat Noir scowled as he took the lead, pouncing and bouncing on rooftops scouting as the two other heroes followed.
After another ten to fifteen scout around Paris in record time, they halted to a stop as they watch the cloud grow bigger.
"We checked all across Paris...beyond that is out of our control at the moment." Ladybug stared at her hand, slowly watching her spots slowly stretch into stripes. By the time she turned around, she could see Chat Noir already growing into his new furry self, his bright green eyes with narrowed pupils as he scratched an eat with a foot.
Ladybug rolled her eyes.
"Are...you okay?" Papillon was now asking her. Ladybug was aware of a dull tugging in her back, her wings about to emerge as the transformation was now forced.
"Um, so fun fact, we have these brand new transformations and now we're kind of helpless of controlling them with Imra, you know, trying to destroy the world. So we may, or may not be ourselves at one point." Ladybug quickly pointed out, watching her spots spread into black veins across her suit. She shut her eyes tightly, as suddenly her vision was sharper and colors were saturated extremely. Staring back at Papillon now with lapis lazuli blues harshly against black where the whites of her eyes should be.
And she nervously chuckled at his stunned expression.
"Oh cool, so do I get be an eagle or something?" Papillon asked.
"No...unfortunately." Chat Noir growled, his voice deeper as he licked his sharpened rows of teeth for familiarity. He hunched, standing on two, long and black furry legs.
"It's something for the cool kids." Ladybug, now fully transformed in her dragonfly self. "Sorry."
Papillon grinned, "I'm still getting used to things, I don't think I can handle all of that at once."
Chat Noir hummed. Then Ladybug stared back at Papillon seriously, her eyes boring into his.
"Papillon, if things get bad...call our names." Ladybug told her.
"Ladybug and...Chat?" Papillon said slowly.
"No, our ancient names." Ladybug swore under her breath, "Right...you don't know our origin names..."
"Origin? Are these your...true forms?" Papillon studied closely, they looked very familar to very specific species.
The way Chat Noir looked, slightly larger with more dilated eyes and blond spikes around his black face and his messy dirty blond mane. His tail more lively and swung about, his weapon disappeared from his belt and the rest of his suit. He watched the big cat groom himself as Ladybug watched in slight embarrassment.
"Panthe-" Papillon began.
"NO. STOP RIGHT THERE." Ladybug warned. "Don't say it now...it...changes us." Chat Noir was alerted as he glanced up at the two heroes, his felt ears flicking.
Papillon understood right away, "Only if things go to...shit right?"
Ladybug helplessly smiled, "Let's hope not...you'll be our last hope."
Papillon swallowed as Chat Noir yawned with boredom, his yellowish teeth well sharped and possibly ready to gnaw on some dark entity. Ladybug stared directly at the black cloud as it never stopped growing and spreading further up into the sky.
"Let's go." As she change course straight to the dark cloud, possibly where Imra was. Chat Noir and Papillon exchanged glances.
"What's the plan Bugaboo?" Chat asked, catching a glint in her eye.
Ladybug didn't speak for moments, feeling her dragonfly entity stir impatiently in her. A mature, devious goddess that almost mocked her will power, as she felt her lips curl.
"We have to split Imra from Felix's body. Both of them will be weak, but only before if Felix doesn't activate the other miraculous." Ladybug told them.
"I thought he needed just you two's." Papillon pointed out.
"If he gets ours, no one can stop him...not even Felix." Ladybug began.
"I thought Felix couldn't-"
"Let. Me. Finish. Please." Ladybug told them sharply. The two men obeyed immediately.
"Tikki told me that Felix...Imra doesn't need all the miraculous to resurrect. He's just delaying the inevitable so Felix will cease to exist. If he gets ours, then of course there's no stopping him...not even Papillon could take him on. All Felix wants is to see Bridgette, which requires the two miraculous that we have...the miraculous of luck and calamity." Ladybug explained to them.
"Someone once told me, that 'once the dead takes them, they will never give that back.'" Chat Noir said solemly. "Felix isn't going to really bring Bridgette back...not for long even with our miraculous."
"It takes one time, to just see your loved one, one last time." Papillon understood. "I'll do anything honestly...if I was desperate as him."
"Which is why we need you Papillon. We need you to get through Felix's head so we can speak to him...once we weaken Imra." Ladybug told him. "Understand."
"Cool cool, except one problem." Papillon asked hesitantly as Ladybug raised a brow, her expression looked harsh against the dark shadowy paint across her face.
"How are you going to stop this, Imra thing?" Papillon asked. Ladybug and Chat exchanged glances.
"We don't know yet." Chat Noir said simply as Papillon slowly nodded.
The silence fill the air for quiet a bit.
"Glad I wrote a will." Papillon prayed to the heavens as Chat Noir chitchatted and snickered. Ladybug rolled her eyes as the heroes followed her lead, heading into the dark clouds that leaked of death.
I was asked before if you guys could see an actually look at their dragonfly/panther transformations, which I was planning on doing with a plethora of other things such as revising, rewriting, drawing etc. That is, however going to be something I will work on after I finish this fic and take a break for a few.
Coming up in the final chapters: Did you guys forget people die in battle?