Today on Wedding Ladybug, Evillustrator's got an ally in an akuma called Volpina (much to his annoyance), meanwhile Nathaniel's trying to figure out a way to help Marinette out without blowing her secret to his unwanted houseguests! Speaking of the girls, they're putting on a Halloween party at Michelle's nursery school! Not a good combination. How's Nathaniel going to handle this situation?

YES, I know it's WAY too early for Halloween in the real world, but work with me here, please!


One night at Nathaniel's house, he was sitting in the bathtub, soaking in the bubbly water and stewing over his worries.

"I know I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed, but why is it that every time I have problems with girls, I can never figure out what to do?" Nathaniel asked aloud.

~Flashback~

"Ladybug, you'd better hurry and go!" Nooroo instructed.

"Right!" Ladybug said, before jumping away.

"Marinette's... A Love Angel?!" Nathaniel said, in pure shock. He fell onto his rear end.

~End of Flashback~

"Ugh, if I don't report this to the Evillustrator, he's gonna kill me!" Nathaniel groaned, putting his hands to his head. He sunk into the water, thinking, 'I'm done for if he founds out some other way!'

"Honestly, you're such a Donnie-Downer," A feminine, saccharine-sweet voice said from out of nowhere. Nathaniel popped his head out of the water. "No wonder the Evillustrator decided to go and possess someone with such a sad outlook. Fitting, really."

"Hey, who are you?! And why are you in the bathroom?!" Nathaniel asked, freaked out.

Flute music played, and out of a puff of illusion fire came a girl that looked a lot like Rena Rouge. But her hair was longer and it was down as opposed to Rena's ponytail, and the mask was smaller, too. There were also some differences in her suit, too, including that Rena didn't have a belt-like feature on her waist.

"I'm a super-attractive, popular akuma girl from the illusion tribe," She explained, a smirk still on her face. "The name's Volpina."

Nathaniel was close to face-palming with a groan, his face red from the heat of the water and the embarrassment of having an unfamiliar girl in his bathroom. Volpina was just looking at him like nothing was wrong.

The next day, the girls were walking through the shopping district as a way to relax. They came upon a toy store, and saw that staff members were dressed in costumes. One man was dressed as a clown and doing magic tricks for the kids, and a woman was dressed as a cloak-wearing witch and patting one little girl on the head, handing her a small toy.

There were pumpkins carved into jack-o-lanterns and other decorations.

"Oh, I totally forgot that Halloween is tomorrow!" Marinette said.

"What's Halloween?" Nooroo asked from his shared hiding spot with Tikki.

"You don't know what Halloween is?" Chloé asked.

"We don't." The kwamis all stated collectively, while still hiding.

"According to my research, Halloween started as a festival in the Celtic culture called Samhain, where people would light fires and wear costumes to ward off ghosts on October 31st," Alya began with her phone out. "Over time, it evolved into the holiday we know today."

"Right," Marinette continued as she let her imagination run wild. "These days on Halloween, kids dress up in all kinds of costumes. Monsters, ghosts, fairies, you name it!"

"And the kids go up to houses at night, and they say "trick or treat" which is basically saying "give us candy or else!,"" Chloé added while acting all witchy and spooky to scare the kwamis before going back to normal. "Basically, the adults have to give the kids candy, or chances are they'll be mischievous and pull pranks on everyone!"

"Last year, the bakery had a huge turnout of kids, so we had to have lots of free sample cookies and pastries to give them." Marinette informed.

"And you were dressed as a classic witch, too!" Alya added. "Just like in the "Hansel and Gretel" story!"

"This holiday sounds like a lot of fun!" Trixx stated from her hiding spot. "Especially the pranks and tricks!"

"I happen to find the dressing up portion of this festival quite appealing." Pollen agreed.

"I love sweets, so the candy sounds delicious!" Tikki added, with Nooroo nodding in agreement.

"Let's do it!" Nooroo declared in delight.

"Hey, great idea," Alya said. "Why don't we go back to Michelle's nursery school and have a Halloween party for the kids?"

"Ugh, for those brats?!" Chloé groaned along with Nooro. They both remembered exactly how bad it was last time.

~Flashback - Chapter 27~

"Big sister, watch this karate move!" One little boy said.

"Uh, karate?!" Chloé asked as the boy jumped at her with his arms in an "X" shape. He tackled her to the ground, and she hit the back of her head.

The boy laughed at Chloé as he got off her, teasing her about his attack.

"Hey, stop!" Nooroo cried. More kids crowded around and began playing with the poor kwami. "Enough! Stop it, please!"

Seeing the kids were taken with Nooroo, Chloé stood up and haughtily said, "Well, I'll leave the kids to you, since you clearly have it under control."

She started walking away with a satisfied, smug smile on her face, meanwhile Nooroo shouted, "Hey! Don't leave me here!"

~End of Flashback~

"There's no way I can deal with those kids again!" Chloé griped.

"Me neither, Lady Chloé." Nooroo agreed.

"Indeed. Those youth are quite incorrigible." Pollen added, also agreeing.

"Come on, Chloé, don't be such a baby," Marinette joked. "You don't have to help out."

"Since it's Michelle's school and we've met these kids before, it probably won't be too hard." Alya said.

Chloé then sparked a pretty nasty idea, and in an attempt to smooth things over, she said, "Hey, who said I wasn't going to help? Of course I'm gonna help my BFF's!"

"Thanks, Chloé," Marinette thanked before turning back to Alya. "Now let's talk costumes! I think I can rework some of the clothes I have to make them work for us. Alya, I think you'd look great as a..."

Meanwhile, Chloé took out her phone and her signature cruel smile came upon her face. It used to be that that smile was never a good sign, but since befriending Alya and Marinette, that smile came up less often, and even when it did, it usually meant that she was going to do something to help the girls. Not this time, though...

She stepped away from the girls and called up Nino.

"What? A Halloween party at Michelle's?" Nino asked.

"Indeed. And I heard through the grapevine that Alya would be dressed as something quite attractive. Why don't you come along and help out?" Chloé suggested.

"Well, I don't see why not, dudette," Nino replied. "I'll figure out what to wear later."

"You'd better do your best to go all out. I'm sure Alya would enjoy it." Chloé spoke, disguising her mischief.

"Okay, I'll get back to you." Nino said before hanging up.

"Oh, Alya's going to thank me later." Chloé snickered.

"My queen, I don't find this little prank of yours amusing." Pollen scolded.

"Neither do we!" Marinette said. Chloé whirled around and saw both Alya and Marinette glaring at her.

"Oh, um, hey girls..." Chloé began sheepishly.

"Chloé...!" Alya growled through grit teeth, angry that Chloé would pull such a thing. "You're trying to set me and Nino up?!"

"Come on, we haven't seen Carapace in a while," Chloé scoffed. "If that turtle isn't going to make a move on our resident vixen, then..."

"What did we talk about last time we had an incident about setting people up without consent?!" Marinette and Alya roared, scaring Chloé.


On Nathaniel's end...

"HELL NO!" Evillustrator protested. "There's no way I'd ask a stupid girl like you for help!"

Volpina had invaded Nathaniel's room and was talking to the Evillustrator, meanwhile Nathaniel was sitting on his bed and watching the exchange in silence.

"Aw, don't hold back with the praises," Volpina purred as she was hugging Evillustrator by the arm and walking her fingers up it. "You're just bursting with joy that a beautiful akuma like moi has a thing for you, Evey-Honey!"

""Evey-Honey?!"" Evillustrator spoke, grossed out.

"Evey-Honey, you're the type who always has to keep his hands clean," Volpina continued, leveling a flirtatious on him. "Always conjuring up akuma machinations with your artistry and making them do your dirty work. How lazy."

Evillustrator groaned, annoyed. Volpina came up behind him and said, "But once you've got your targets cornered, helpless, and completely beyond rebound, unable to get back up and fight anymore, then you slowly torture them in the most cruel ways!"

She then took one of his hands and rubbed her cheek against the back of it, clearly delighted.

"Craft, conniving, cunning... Just like a fox! And I love it, Evey-Honey!" Volpina cooed. She then cuddled closer to him. "You've got a lot of fans back in the akuma realm, but I just so happen to be your #1!"

"Get your hands off me!" Evillustrator shouted before stepping away and glaring at her. "What the hell was Queen Mayura thinking, sending a vixen like you?! And I'm not using "vixen" as a compliment here!"

"Aw," Volpina cried falsely. "Evey! You bully!"

She kept chasing him around the room, but Evillustrator ducked into Nathaniel's body to hide... Only for Volpina to follow him inside.

Nathaniel started groaning, still unused to the discomfort.

"HEY! Get out of my bed, Volpina!" Evillustrator shouted from inside.

"You drew up a bed in there?!" Nathaniel rhetorically asked aloud, groaning.

"Ooh, nice place and absolutely beautiful bed, Evey-Honey! I wouldn't supposed you'd be okay with me sleeping in here with you, huh? Oh, please?" Volpina squealed.

Nathaniel, fed up, shouted, "GET OUT, BOTH OF YOU!"

The power of his rage forced the two akumas out, and Volpina was still hanging on to the Evillustrator's arm. They were looking at him in surprise.

"Listen up! This is my body, NOT a toy!" Nathaniel spat at them. "You've got no right to mess around with it! Especially not without my consent, UNDERSTAND?!"

"Ugh, angry much?" Volpina said.

"Yeah," Evillustrator agreed before pulling his arm away. "Okay, Volpina. Since I've got no choice in this matter, as it is Queen Mayura's will, I'll let you be my subordinate."

"Good." Volpina said, smirking in delight.

"Your task is to disguise yourself as a human, and observe the human culture and lifestyles," Evillustrator instructed as he drew up a simulation on his tablet. "Then, find a way to eliminate the Love Angels."

"Understood, Evey-Honey." Volpina said, a bit too sweetly.

Evillustrator sighed.

Nathaniel looked on, panic on his face, and he began thinking, 'Oh, HELL... Now Marinette has another enemy! What am I supposed to do NOW?!'

Being forced by Evillustrator, Nathaniel took Volpina into town on the metro, and she'd disguised herself as a human. Her hair was the same, but the fox ears and fox-themed suit were gone, and she was now wearing a red-orange jacket over a black romper shirt and had a black skirt and leggings as well as matching shoes.

She was looking around at everything, muttering "Human lifestyles" over and over again.

Volpina looked at the people in costumes, saw a few advertisements for Halloween on TV screens that were in the window of an electronics store, people selling their wares on the streets, etc. She saw people dressed as skeletons, witches, all kinds of monsters, etc.

As Volpina and Nathaniel walked through the crowd, she came up next to him and questioned, "So Nathaniel, are those normal human clothes."

"No way," Nathaniel replied. "They're just dressed up in costumes for Halloween."

"Halloween?" Volpina questioned.

"It's a holiday," Nathaniel explained. "That one woman was dressed like a witch. That's what humans think witches in general look like."

"Ew, that's disgusting!" Volpina complained, a disgusted look on her face. "Why do you humans think akumas like us look so horrible?!"

"Not sure," Nathaniel admitted. "It's just what people think. I wouldn't be too worried about it. Anyway, just stick by me and follow my lead."

But he immediately noticed Volpina wasn't next to him. He was frantically looking around before seeing that she was standing in front of some punk rockers and staring at them as they were posing. And they weren't very comfortable at the akuma's eyes on them.

Nathaniel dashed over, snagged Volpina's wrist, and started dragging her away. He scolded, "Don't go staring at others like that! It's rude! Under-AAAH!"

True to kitsune form, Volpina had changed clothes. Her hair was now died fiery red-orange and it was all spiked up, and it had a bright yellow streak in it, too. And she was also wearing clothes akin to the rockers from earlier, including a leather jacket, black shorts, and high-heel black boots that went up to her knees.

"Well, look at me now. Sexy, bad, just like a regular human girl." Volpina giggled.

Nathaniel face-palmed, but then he heard giggling.

He turned around and saw Marinette and company carrying shopping bags and walking through the district.

"Crap! Marinette!" Nathaniel shouted, freaked. He started pushing Volpina by the back. "Come on, we gotta get out of here! This is bad!"

"Hey, don't get forceful with me!" Volpina giggled.

"This isn't the time for messing around! Just get out of sight, come on!" Nathaniel pleaded, pulling Volpina's arm.

"Knock it off," Volpina said with a cruel scowl before yanking her wrist away. "You're getting annoying."

Nathaniel flinched.

"You're just a human, you're not the boss of me. I'm an akuma, so I don't have to listen to what you have to tell me." Volpina stated, glaring at him.

"Hi, Nathaniel," Marinette greeted. "Fancy seeing you here."

Nathaniel scrambled to hide Volpina, and said, "Um, hey Marinette!"

Alya noticed Volpina and asked, "Hey Nathaniel, who's the girl? Friend of yours?"

"Oh, um... This is... My cousin, yes! My cousin!" Nathaniel said.

"I didn't know you had a cousin," Alya stated. "But... you're not the most open person in the world, so I guess it makes sense you didn't mention her."

"Ugh, you're a pathetic liar," Volpina scoffed as she pushed Nathaniel aside and then stepped to the girls. "I'm an akuma girl."

At the word "akuma," the girls knew they had to play dumb just to be safe.

"Oh, an "akuma." That's Japanese for "devil," right? I get it! You're dressed as a punk rock devil!" Alya stated.

"You look great in that costume," Marinette commented. "The clothes are so accurate for the style!"

Volpina just looked at them like they were insane.

"Hey Marinette, why don't we dress as princesses?" Alya questioned.

"Great idea!" Marinette said. "But we'll need to be distinct from one another."

"Are you going to copy me or something?" Volpina questioned.

Marinette kindly said, "Hey, why not come to the Halloween party we're throwing tomorrow? That is, if you don't have any other plans?"

"Huh?!" Nathaniel spluttered.

"We're going to go and make our costumes right now," Marinette explained. "And hey, with more people, a costume contest sounds about right!"

'Oh no... No, no, no, no, NO!" Nathaniel thought, scared.

At Michelle's nursery school that evening, the girls were in an empty classroom, with several high-quality fabrics laid out on the floor. They were all in different colors and varieties.

"Wow, we have such a spread to work with! They're so beautiful!" Marinette commented.

"Are you sure about this?" Michelle questioned, pouring juice for the girls. "They look like they cost a fortune."

"Don't worry," Chloé assured, waving the concerns off. "Mommy told me these were just scraps and that we're free to them for the costumes. And with Marinette's talents, we're a shoo-in to make great costumes."

"Speaking of costumes, what should we go as?" Marinette asked as she picked up some red fabric. "I'm thinking I should go as Little Red Riding Hood. Thoughts?"

"You look absolutely ravishing in red, Marinette," Alya said before winking at her. "And I also need to think of something."

"Like what?" Chloé asked as she examined the yellow/gold fabric. "What about me? I need to figure out how to make this into a cute, sexy bee!"

"Oh no!" Marinette protested. "Nothing "sexy," Chloé! Remember, we're having a party for little kids! We need to be age appropriate!"

"Ugh, fine." Chloé relented.

"We can all discuss this over these." Michelle said as she placed a tray of orange juice glasses and cookies on the floor.

"Awesome! Macarons from the Dupain-Cheng bakery!" Alya said.

"This is going to be great!" Marinette squealed.

Outside the school, Nathaniel was up a tree with Volpina, who was still in disguise.

"What is their deal?" Volpina questioned, crossing her arms. "I don't understand why they're so excited about dressing up like witches and whatever."

"Remember what I said?" Nathaniel reminded. "Halloween is supposed to be a fun holiday. It's a huge thing."

"I've been thinking about this, though," Volpina said before crawling over to Nathaniel. "Why should I want to go to something as stupid as a Halloween party? Who cares, right?"

Nathaniel lost his grip and fell out of the tree, and Volpina came down to chase him.

Nathaniel snagged her by the back of the jacket and started dragging her away, saying, "Doesn't matter, we're leaving! Come on!"

"I'm serious. Why should I go?" Volpina questioned, genuinely confused.


Nathaniel was once again in the bathroom, soaking and trying to think of a plan.

"This is shlecht, schlecht, SCHLECHT!" Nathaniel muttered to himself. He turned over and hung over the edge of the tub. "I know it's Halloween, but this is insane... How am I supposed to keep Marinette safe from this machshaifeh?!"

"Oh, Donnie-Downer!" Volpina cried from hiding. "Do you always bathe when you're upset?"

Volpina appeared in a puff of fox fire again, this time dressed like a female version of Jagged Stone, her hair now dyed purple, with a purple star mark over one of her eyes, and wearing a skimpier version of his usual costume.

Nathaniel groaned.

"Cute, right?" Volpina questioned. "Like it?"

"Don't you have any sense of propriety?!" Nathaniel snapped at her as he stood up (while covering himself with a towel). "I'd like some privacy, please! Or did that even cross your mind?!"

Instead of getting out of the bathroom like he wanted, Volpina changed clothes again. This time she was dressed as Kannon, a Japanese goddess.

"This seems more sexy, don't you think?" Volpina questioned before shapeshifting once more. "Or maybe this one?"

She kept switching outfits, including a sexy nurse, Dorothy from the "Wizard of Oz," Santa Claus, and she asked, "Maybe I could go further if you'd like?"

And then she changed into a female sumo wrestler before saying, "Do women in sumo costumes turn you on?"

Nathaniel face-palmed and said, "Just leave..."

The next day at the nursery school...

Michelle was standing outside the building with the kids, dressed as a clown, including subtle makeup. And the kids were all dressed in costumes, too.

"Okay, kids! Do you all know the secret words?" She asked. "If you don't know the secret words to say, you won't get any sweets!"

"We know!" The kids said.

"The magic words are "trick or treat, give me something good to eat!"" Michelle said with a smile.

"Trick or treat!" The kids said, happily.

Inside, the others (accompanied by Nino and Adrien) were in the decorated classroom, getting ready. Alya was a forest pixie, her hair in ribbon curls in a low ponytail She was decked out in orange with a short dress, black leggings, and transparent wings on her back. She had Trixx play dead and look like a stuffed fox. Marinette was dressed as Little Red Riding Hood like she suggested earlier, with a basket filled with the candy for the kids. Her hair was in its usual pigtails. She also had Tikki and Nooroo dressed as little birds and they were on her shoulders, pretending to be inanimate. And Chloé was a classic princess decked out in yellow with hints of gold, including a cone hat, and Pollen was pretending to be a bee, also sitting on her owner's shoulder.

Marinette was helping Adrien zip up the back of his costume - he decided to go as a dinosaur.

"There you go," Marinette said as she finished zipping the back of the suit. She then handed him the head. "Here's your head, Adrien."

"Thanks, Mariboo," Adrien said before winking at her. "Or should I say, "Red Riding Hood?""

Marinette blushed before giggling a bit.

Adrien put the head on and said, "I can take the humiliation for the sake of the kids!"

"Why should you be humiliated, dude?" Nino asked, dressed as a garden gnome, minus the beard. "Trick or treat!"

"Alright, everyone! Let's go give those cute kids a Halloween to remember!" Marinette said.

Everyone cheered in agreement before heading outside (the kwamis being inanimate for the sake of disguise).

"Okay, time for the fun to start!" Marinette said.

The kids cheered before running to everyone, lining up for the candy.

"Trick or treat!" A little girl dressed as a bunny said to Marinette.

"Well said!" Marinette said as she took a few candy pieces out of her basket and deposited it into the little one's open hands.

The rest of the kids were enjoying themselves, getting candy from everyone, playing around, and everything.

Inside, some of the kids were being given piggyback rides by Nino, while some others were playing with Adrien's costume. He was taking the kids' mischief in stride, laughing and letting them play with him.

Back at Nathaniel's, Volpina conjured up some fox fire and she was watching the party.

"So the party's under way," She said. Evillustrator, who was on the bed, turned over. "I've been thinking about this, and I'm going to show these stupid humans what a real witch is!"

Volpina then disappeared in a puff of fire and went into the portal to the party.

"Hey! Wait, hold on! Get back here, Volpina!" Nathaniel shouted. He dashed to the bed. "Evillustrator, get up and get her back! Stop her, please!"

"Why are you getting so riled up?" Evillustrator asked.

"You just don't get it," Nathaniel began. "Marinette's at that party! If Volpina does anything to hurt her..."

"I wouldn't get so amped up," Evillustrator said as he continued sketching on his tablet. "There won't be any need for us akumas to reveal our powers so long as the Love Angels don't show up."

"That's what I'm worried about." Nathaniel muttered.

"Huh?" Evillustrator questioned.

"Oh, um... Nothing at all," Nathaniel said before slapping his hands together, in begging. "Please, Lord Evillustrator, grant me your evil powers!"

"Excuse me?" Evillustrator said, surprised.

"It's... Well, I wanna go to the party and enjoy myself, too. And impressing Marinette wouldn't hurt, either. You know how much it means to me." Nathaniel began.

"Why didn't you say so?" Evillustrator said with a smile. "It's there in the contract. So, what kind of power would you like?"

"Hm... Let me think on it for a second..." Nathaniel began.

Back at the party, one little boy dressed as a bat, said, "Trick or treat!"

"Very good." Marinette said as she placed some candy in his hand.

But the boy noticed Nooroo, and started pulling him by the tails of his wings, saying, "I love your stuffed toy!"

"Owww!" Nooroo complained. Tikki grimaced.

The girls then heard cackling, and they looked up on the jungle gym. There was Volpina, in her true form, up on the fixture.

"I'm a real witch! Ta-da!" She sang with a big smile.

"Hey, it's that girl from yesterday." Marinette said, happy she attended.

"Is she supposed to be a Rena Rouge fangirl?" Alya questioned, unimpressed with the costume.

The kids approached, all delighted.

Volpina jumped down and examined the kids with a deceitful smile, saying, "Well, well, well. What do we have here? I'm a real witch!"

"You're supposed to be a witch?" "The costume's rather strange."

"Strange?!" Volpina questioned as she recoiled.

"Doesn't matter," One little boy said as he opened his hands. "Trick or treat! May I have something sweet to eat?"

Volpina had her back against the gym as the kids were crowding around her for sweets.

"Hey! What do you want from me?! Get back, you little brats!" She said, confused.

The kids' squeals, smiles, and pleas for treats were generating love waves.

"Ugh, what is this gross feeling I'm getting?!" Volpina bitterly spat. "Is this the love waves?"

But her eyes flashed at the sight of the kids. She picked one up and shouted, "Quiet, you monsters!"

"Hey, what is she doing?!" Marinette questioned.

"Marinette, that's no witch!" Nooroo piped up. "I know her! She's an akuma called Volpina, also known as "The Phony Fox!""

"What?!" The girls screamed.

Nathaniel came on the scene from behind, and said, "Nishtgut! Volpina's revealed herself! Fine, then..."

Nathaniel picked up a sparkling vial and looked at it.

~Earlier~

"Just sprinkle this on yourself and think of what you want to turn into." Evillustrator instructed

~End of Flashback~

He gave a firm nod.

"We gotta stop her! Come on!" Marinette said.

The girls began to charge in...

"Hold it right there, you witch!" A voice said, stopping the girls in their tracks.

The girls and Volpina looked up to the roof to see... Ladybug? Or more accurately, Nathaniel dressed as Ladybug, all decked out in the dress.

"HUH?!" The girls shouted, surprised.

"Oh, you must be a Love Angel!" Volpina accused.

As Nathaniel held the bouquet to his face, he started saying, "On this beautiful autumn day, before the visit of Jack Frost, you've come to harm these innocent kids during this party! This is unforgivable! I am the Love Angel! I am Ladybug, and I am NOT amused!"

'Since when do I do fight speeches like that?!' Marinette thought.

"Ladybug!" Volpina sneered as she jumped up onto the roof.

Nathaniel turned on his heel and started running, screaming. Volpina gave chase. The kids were cheering.

"Okay, any idea what's going on?!" Marinette asked.

"Who knows?" Chloé commented.

"It doesn't matter," Alya added. "That girl's an akuma, so let's stop her!"

The others nodded.

Nathaniel was running along the Seine, Volpina hot on his heels. He said, "Okay, I've managed to get her away from Marinette and the girls."

Nathaniel then pivoted on his foot to confront Volpina, and she stopped.

He jumped up and shouted, "Take this!"

But Volpina was too nimble, dodged Nathaniel's kick, and then said, "You missed!"

She did a roundhouse kick and kicked Nathaniel in the back, sending him flying.

He landed on his stomach on the ground, and the veil he was wearing disappeared in sparkles.

"Uh-oh!" He said.

"Hey! You're no Love Angel! You're Nathaniel!" Volpina spat. "You're going to get it for tricking me!"

Said human whirled around and shivered as he saw how angry Volpina was.

Her angry akuma energy was radiating and she roared, "I'm NOT an akuma girl you want to piss off!"

Nathaniel stood up and ran for it, screaming, "HEEEEELP!"

Volpina blew into her flute and shouted, "No one's going to help you out now!"

She blasted illusion fire from her flute and it hit Nathaniel smack in the back. Akuma electricity was pulsing through him and he was screaming in pain.

"ENOUGH!" Ladybug shouted.

Volpina looked up and saw Ladybug and company in their wedding dresses, standing on the bridge.

"So, you must be the real Love Angels!" Volpina stated.

"Yeah, no need to reiterate that," Ladybug said. "Shall we, girls?"

"Let's!" Rena and Queen Bee agreed.

"Bridal Change! Wedding Dress Transform!" "Angel Creation Ladybug!" "Angel Illusion Rena Rouge!" "Angel Subjection Queen Bee!"

The girls' dresses switched and then they jumped down to confront Volpina.

"Sorry for the wait." Ladybug said.

"You Angels are doing down! I'm Volpina of the illusion akumas!" Volpina shouted before blowing into her flute and conjuring up illusions of giant water spouts coming up from the ground.

The angels were jumping and dodging the water spouts, even though they knew that they were only illusions.

They were soon back-to-back, surrounded by the spouts. Ladybug looked and saw that there was an opening above the illusion spouts, and she said to the others, "Let's go! Up top!"

Queen Bee and Rena Rouge followed Ladybug's lead and they jumped up top above the water.

Volpina stepped back, gasping.

"Queen Bee! Go for it!" Ladybug directed.

Queen Bee summoned up her baton before saying, "Bride's Bashfulness! Honey Star Shower!"

The bee lights were landing a direct hit onto Volpina, who was shouting, "CUT IT OUT!"

"I'll show you who's boss, you phony fox!" Rena Rouge declared as she got her wand out. "Love's Tribute Candle! Miraculous Fantasies!"

Her fox lights were also battering Volpina, and she was screaming, "Agh, they're strong! I'd better get backup!"

She fired another fox fire blast at the girls, only for Ladybug to get her crystal out.

"Lady's Crystal!" Ladybug shouted as she sucked the fox fire into the crystal. "Engagement Present! Lady's Crystal! L'amour Pour Vous!"

Ladybug fired light at Volpina, and it was so bright that the area was blinded.

When the light faded, Volpina was gone.

"Huh? Did I miss?" Ladybug asked as she put the crystal away.

"No," Rena said as she and Queen Bee landed next to her. "That cowardly imposter! Turning tail and running! She gives foxes a bad name!"

Ladybug went over to examine Nathaniel. She lifted him up and said, "Nathaniel? Are you okay?"

Nathaniel, weakened from the attack, looked up at Ladybug, then muttered, "M... Marinette..."

He then fell unconscious, and Ladybug froze, thinking, 'Oh CRAP! Does Nathaniel know who I really am?!'

"Hey Ladybug!" Rena said as she and Queen Bee came over. "How's Nate?"

"He'll be fine. Just unconscious." Ladybug reported.

"Okay, while we're on the subject, any idea WHY THE HELL Nathaniel was cosplaying as Ladybug?" Queen Bee questioned as she knelt down next to him.

"Halloween notwithstanding, you mean?" Ladybug asked.

"Maybe he just likes drag performing?" Rena suggested. "I mean, there are plenty of drag queens in the world."

"I don't think it's that..." Ladybug muttered.

But the girls laughed when they realized that the chaos died down.

That evening, back at his house, Nathaniel was holding one of his profile sketches of Marinette, and he muttered, "Marinette..."

"What do you mean "Marinette?"" Volpina asked from behind.

Nathaniel turned around and screamed when he saw Volpina in the form of a fox-colored flying fox bat and hanging upside down.

"Geez, would it kill you to stop popping up in weird places out of nowhere like that?!" Nathaniel asked.

"I wouldn't be so chatty," Volpina said as she shapeshifted back into her true form and landed on the floor. "I was nearly blasted into love waves because of you!"

Nathaniel gulped.

"That was completely weird," Volpina said as she narrowed her eyes at Nathaniel. "I mean, dressing like a Love Angel? You're not hiding anything, are you?"

"Oh, come on," Nathaniel lied. "Me? Why would I hide anything? I have a contract with Evillustrator, and I plan on holding up my end of the deal. A human with akuma-tendencies, so to speak."

"Ugh, whatever," Volpina said before crossing her arms. "But damn, those Love Angels are strong."

"They sure are," Nathaniel said with a smile. "So, why don't you and the Evillustrator go back to the akuma realm where you'll be safe? Better than putting yourself in danger, right?"

But Volpina smiled and said, "No way! Those Love Angels are worthy opponents, and I LOVE fighting a worthy opponent!"

Nathaniel gawked.

"Queen Mayura, Lord Evillustrator, watch me go and take those angels down!" Volpina squealed, still as cheery as ever.

"Were you talking to me?" The Evillustrator questioned as he came out from hiding.

"Give me my dues, you know?" Volpina said.

Nathaniel face-palmed before muttering, "Oy vey..."

Volpina was still peppy, motivated to wage war, while Evillustrator and Nathaniel were looking on, annoyed.


Oh-kay... Nathaniel jumping in to help the girls out by using akuma power to disguise himself as Ladybug? That's a weird one. But at least the girls' secret is safe for now. And trust me, I was really trying my best not to LOL writing that part.

Also, I hope you liked the brief history of Halloween. I did my homework on this.

As for what Nathaniel was saying earlier in the chapter, here's a translation:

Shlecht: Bad
Nishtgut: not good
Machshaifeh: witch

As for the language, this is Yiddish. Thought it fitting, since it's been speculated that Nate's Jewish. Speaking of which, I know it's early, but HAPPY PASSOVER! I hope everyone finds a way to enjoy their seder in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis!

Now, this is the beginning arc I've been dreading. I hate Lila (and I KNOW I'm not the only one; I skip episodes where she's a central character), but everyone remain calm. I'm going to try and keep her as IC as I can with more humanizing characteristics compared to how she is in canon, but mostly she's just gonna be more annoying than anything. This is going to be especially as the rest of the arc goes on, and there will be a few episodes where the focus isn't even on Volpina. Example, we'll be seeing a lot of Renapace moments, the debut of Ryuko, and more! Besides, the sooner I get the arc done, the sooner it'll be finished and we can move on to more of the real drama of the show, including more Adrienette moments... and a few other surprises, some nice and some... Well, not so nice. No spoilers, and for those of you who've seen "Wedding Peach," I don't want ANY SPOILER COMMENTS, please! You'll ruin it for everyone else otherwise.

Coming up, the girls have had enough with Nathaniel's bizarre behavior (especially when Marinette admits that she's suspicious of him finding out about her secret) and decide to go undercover to look into the situation, suspecting that the akumas have something to do with it. And when Volpina tries to bring Evillustrator back to the evil side to no avail, she tries to "resolve the issue." And then Nathaniel tries to get help!