This is a forewarning that this chapter contains a smidge of tragedy. And also, when the gods are speaking they are in bold dialogue, hence the switch in personalities. Probably should've emphasize it before when I first started doing that.
The moment Imra heard the names of the gods within the miraculous users, his snarl dropped to a slow frown and a low growl. Hearing those names brought back five thousand years plus of memories, only to be filled with infinite darkness and pain. He remember being shoved into a tight space and bellowing hatred and slurs of all the vulgar words he could think of across centuries.
However, his freedom was granted by the years and years he spent engulfing the hatred, pain, suffering of humans into himself, stretching and expanding his prison of an urn until it shattered into black dust, and he was freed.
But no time will be enough for the sheer amount of hatred Imra felt towards the awakening gods in those miraculous users.
He watch them hunch over, Chat Noir collapsing on his knees until his five thousand year plus senses kicked in; with his feline sneer and his bulging muscles and his dilated pupils. He stands straight up, his hair moving on its own in waves. His glare steadies on Imra and a menacing growl grumbles from his chest, his claws slightly elongated than before.
Beside him, Ladybug was almost fighting against this vixen that reside deep within her, who grew to mock her shortly after her powers awoken. She hunched over with her gloves digging into her eyes, her wings fluttering anxiously as her body shook, her hair extending a few more inches in length into red-tipped ponytails, her brief moment of pain from a soul-splitting headache as her cries of pain turned shortly into a string of laughter. Almost uncontrollable, maniacal laughter as her arms clutched her stomach and her eyes were rimmed with tears.
Imra took a step backwards as the second pair of black and blue eyes stared right into the mortal eyes of Felix, shifting constantly from fear and hatred. Ladybug, now possessed by her former five thousand plus personality smirked, trying to hold back the laughter.
"Libellue, darling. Are you feeling quite alright?" Panthere spoke with some level of compassion.
The heroine stifled her laughter, smirking at her partner, looking him up and down.
"I am quite alright, daddy-o." Libellue emphasized, her voice mature and aged sweet like wine. A woman that was almost quite opposite from Panthere; with the sass and swing of a flapper. Panthere groaned, a small smile on his lips as he recall his partner taking a keen to the era of swing in the roaring twenties.
"'Belle. Look at our old friend Immy. How are you lad?" Panthere smirked at a fuming Imra, purple flames erupting from his eyes.
"Fine, just fine hating you for the past five thousand years plus. Ready to shred your throats and essence to fine pieces and set them on fire!" Imra snarled.
"Still rough on the edges hmm Immy?" Libellue cocked her hip, her grin a bit wider.
"Stop. Mocking me!" Imra snarled.
"Ah ah ah." Panthere wagged a black, clawed finger. "You know will happen once we obliterate you my shadowy friend. We offer you one last chance to let go of the mortal."
"You can bite the flesh of my rotten ass." Imra made it clear he was going to unleash hell on the two mere gods that had imprisoned him for the past five thousand plus years.
"Such a foul dirty mouth." Panthere huffed.
"That's just too bad. Say Immy, you know we won't hold back this time. You caused quite the trouble for all the miraculous here..." Libellue warned, her yo-yos merging and then magically transforming into red vine whips. They cracked violently against the crumbling pavement as Imra visibly winced.
"The children are going to be quiet upset for having blood on their hands." Panthere told her partner. He felt odd still, residing in a young yet mature body feeling giddy with such immaturity.
Libellue smiled, her bright red lips tugging to one side, "They will have to realize that sometimes being a hero is not all peachy and kind as they think. People die, and sometimes that's the only choice we have."
Imra snarled, "Your old ways will never change I see."
"And neither have yours old fiend." Panthere snarled, "And now, you must suffer all over again for now ten thousand years."
Imra smirked, a bitter chuckle leaving his lips, "Come hither kitten."
Panthere immediately lost it as a menacing roar ripped from his throat and his two claws sharpened and ready for shredding. He launched himself at Imra as he pounced on all four limbs at lightning speed with a trail of black behind him.
With an eye blink, Libellue disappear in a gust of pink dust and a finger wave.
When the inner gods fully awaken in the bodies of Paris's beloved heroes, it was no doubt that their overall demeanor changed. They were much more majestic, moving in tandem with their attack synchronizing in alternative beats. With that, Papillon almost envy his allies because of their heighten strength.
He continued to watch the fight among the heroes again Imra, at the same time fighting through the darkness that seeped far into Felix as he traveled through wormholes infested darkness. He needed to get through to Felix and trigger Imra's weakness. If he could do that then...
Libellue danced. She danced with her vine whips like a majestic angel twirling and flicking her whips at Imra as he defensively blocked her attempts with erected walls. Libellue did not miss a step or bat an eye with each strike, but Imra sneered as he was walking backwards. Panthere circled around with a trail of black left behind him and he launched himself at Imra, tackling the deity.
That head collision to the ground shook Papillon's trance as he saw the stream of light in that dark place searching for Felix. His eyes were still shut tight but his butterflies fluttered anxiously encasing him in that soft cocoon.
Felix...where are you?
Imra huffed at the butterfly miraculous hero's feeble attempt, his violet eyes staring sharply in his direction. Panthere was about to claw his throat when Imra threw him off with a sharp kick with his boot. Panthere snarled as he skidded to a stop as he watch Libellue snatch Imra's arm with a vine, yanking him back down to the ground.
"Not so fast, slick." The dragonfly goddess smirked at the surprised god of death. Panthere huffed as he crouched down, staring down Imra with his claws center and his legs adjacent. His feline eyes bore at the butterfly cocoon that hovered over a rooftop.
Papillon! Panthere snarled. You need to work harder!
I'm trying. Papillon whined. It's so dark and hardly anywhere to move around. Felix is too deep.
If he was that far gone Imra would've obliterated the boy. You have the power to change his mind...find a way to bring Bridgette little butterfly. Panthere told him.
Papillon froze.
That was it.
If he could somehow, implement Bridgette in Felix's thoughts, it would open a weakness.
Papillon clutched his hands tighter as the cocoon fluttered violently, a shower of light erupting over him and the war beneath him. The light engulfing Paris in this white bubble, causing Imra to roar in agony.
Nathanael didn't know what he did, but the moment he opened his eyes, a familiar face stared back at him with deep condolences and curiosity. A face alike to Marinette, except slightly taller, leaner, and with longer hair. She dressed in a white gown, her feet bare but in her ears shone bright gold beads.
The miraculous bee holder.
"Bridgette." Papillon said out loud, and with a drop of water, Imra/Felix stilled in utter silence.
Felix/Imra was weakened by the sheer white light that engulfed Paris and merely stunned his abilities. Right now it wasn't a god of death that possessed the body of a human being, but Felix himself. A weakened, distraught adult that was blinded for so many years by vile, cruel, corrupt, and evil that plagued his entire life.
All for a while until Bridgette came. And he sat on his knees craning his neck to look at her in all beauty and glory he missed dearly for so long.
All the while as Felix sat in that corrupted vessel being consumed by a weakened Imra, desperate for survival, Libellue gripped her vines tightly in her hands restraining Felix as he was non-resistant.
"Libellue, we need to do this now." Panthere warned as he watched Libellue's black and blue eyes hover over his with strain as she finally let go and proceed to retreat back to Papillon.
Panthere's eyes turned into even more further slits as he saw Papillon covered in a frozen cocoon of butterflies. But over a second glance of Papillon's face, he noticed a twinge of pain. He immediately rushed over clawing and hacking the cocoon, even wanting to use his cataclysm. Libellue restrained him with her arms.
"Now Panthere. He's holding Imra back, and that's time enough to do this." As she pulled back her semi-long hair for Panthere. He quickly, hesitantly, ran a claw through it grazing her scalp before quickly slashing her hair short back to Marinette's signature that stopped at the nape of her neck. He quickly handed her the length of hair that had the glowing red tips at the end as Libellue cradled the bunch of hair in her hands.
Kneeling, Panthere reached into his mouth before finding a canine easy enough to pull out as he took his index and thumb and grasped a tooth. He winced slightly as he yanked his long, sharp tooth and crushed it in his hand with no effort. It crumbled to chunks of bone as Libellue quickly glanced over at Felix still in a trance, before thoughts were rushed into her head and she could hear everything.
"What?" Panthere read her mind as he cued in on Papillon's mind as he watched Felix speak to Bridgette.
"Shh..." Libellue told him out loud. "Panthere, now."
The ferocious hero drew catacylsm from his hand, a ball of black energy engulfing his hand as he planted his hand over the pieces of him and Libellue collected to begin the exorcism. As he lift his hand, a swirl of magical blue dust swirled to life on it's own as Libellue captured it in her yo-yo. She stared back at her partner, and then gazed deeply into the cocoon at the sleeping butterfly inside. His face concentrated and almost at peace.
"If there was only another way..." Libellue stared at her glowing, blue yo-yo. Panthere placed a black claw over the red and black glove, staring deep at her.
"Not this time...things are different. We were too late to intervene." Panthere assured as his eyes trailed over Felix/Imra, the black from his face peeling back to that chalky white skin tone, a bit of Felix revealing himself.
So the two godlike heroes took one hand, both holding the magical dust in the yo-yo as they walked over the petrified god of death.
And they closed their eyes.
"Bridgette..." Felix said probably a hundred times over as Bridgette watched him fade, growing transparent. Papillon stood in the distance of the trance listening and controlling the atmosphere. The butterflies were growing weaker, and he felt his body grow heavier the longer he stood in the trance. The white sky almost cracking and falling into piece as evil slowly began to plague the dream.
"Why Felix...why did you do such a cruel thing?" Bridgette asked. Behind her, Felix fallen comrades stood in disdain, their clothes stained with blood and their eyes dead white.
Felix's head drooped so low to ground as he covered himself in his feeble arms.
"I didn't care. I'm vile and cruel and didn't care. I had grown sick and tired of being selfless and hated and scorned and denied all I ever wanted. And they." Felix sneered at his ex-comrades in the distance, "They were weak, they were scared, and they did NOTHING to save you."
"WE COULDN'T FIND HER SOONER." Nigel roared, causing Papillon to wince.
"Felix, no matter what had happened that day. The outcome would still be the same. Hundreds of people died, and you only contributed to the factor to killing more people that needed to die. Bridgette died because it was so little time to react. Everything happened so fast." Papillon told him.
"You weren't there. I saw it happen. She was scared and alone, and I was WEAK. You don't understand ANYTHING!" Felix roared as the trance shook more violently.
"Felix. Stop it!" Bridgette vocie shook the trance as everything stilled, the comrades fading back into the white. Bridgette shed white tears before looking at Felix.
"All I ever wanted for you was to be happy. That's what I saw when I met you. I saw, a sad little boy. A boy that gave his happiness and time for others only to be handed back very little. I know of your brother Adrien, and your parents. I remember it all. And those months we spent and you opened up to ME I knew Felix, you were lost all this time. And you were alone." Bridgette lifted his head up in her hands, his eyes rimmed with tears as Imra's shell peeled off his skin.
"And then you came. And you gave me such kindness no one else knew. That no one else understood. And I ruined it all. I have failed you." Felix sunk his head before Bridgette firmly grasped it.
"You have not. This is not the end. You can change things, you can fix this. I know you can. Even now I forgive you. But you have to fix this Felix...it's the only way." Bridgette told him as Papillon had already inched closer, pressing a glove hand against the back of his head. Looking up, he saw Panthere and Ladybug holding out the magical dust as they all met eyes,
Imra promised you to bring Bridgette back, but he is just slowly leeching off of you. Panthere spoke through his thoughts.
Let go, Felix. Libellue coaxed, blowing the blue dust into Felix as he took one agonizing breath, before he slowly turned into a crystal blue statue. Papillon let go of Felix. He watched Bridgette in the distance with a taller figure beside her as she turned around and disappeared into the whiteness of the trance with the figure.
And Papillon closed his eyes.
Around him the two heroes stood as they stared at the crystallized Felix Agreste meet his demise at the age of 19. The young man with his eyes closed and his mouth slightly agape as he shortly died mid-breath the moment the blue dust cast him in a crystal prison. Imra's presence died shortly after as the heroes woke from the trance and all was heard around them was the wind around them.
"Leave it...so they can see that Felix had sacrificed himself to save them all. And that he was not all bad as he grew up to be...somewhat." As Panthere turned to his partner
"Now it is your turn." Libellue nodded at him as she threw up her yo-yos and the capsule, a swarm of thousands and thousands of t dragonflies swarming over Paris as the damage done was reversed in mere seconds and the skies cleared.
Like old times, they did their ancient handshake, which followed a series of complicated gestures before turning to Papillon.
"For a first timer, you weren't so bad..." As somewhere deep within Panthere, Chat Noir resonated deep agonizing pain at the sight of Papillon.
The butterfly hero was slightly hunched over, realizing a sharp pain, cold and hot digging into his stomach as he looked down.
How did he not feel it before? Was it the adrenaline beforehand? The butterflies protecting him numbed the pain as long as possible? His gloves were coated in red as well as his suit as a onyx spike penetrated through his side and out his back. He gasped, blood dripping out his mouth.
Nathanael looked back up at them, his eyes brimmed with tears as he managed to stumble out a weak, "Why?"