The rest of the path to the Treasure felt like an eternity. The Phantom Thieves passed through several rooms and hidden passageways, and they lost count how many staircases that they climbed a long time ago. Fortunately, the more they explored, the more Shadows they fought, and the more Personas that Joker absorbed into his mask. When Beat saw that for the first time he wished he had caught it on film due to how 'wicked' it was!
By the time they'd reached their destination, Joker had gained the Personas Discordia, Hydra & Manticore, and the rest of the team's Personas were a lot stronger as well. Plus, the Phantom Thieves pockets were bulging with extra treasure they collected from Treasure Chests, though some were more useful than others.
Finally, the team reached what looked like the top of the tower, a set of old looking double doors greeted them.
"So… is this it… finally?" Beat panted.
"Yeah, the Treasure is most likely ahead," Mona nodded, "We're nearly there."
Chance went to reach for the doorknob, when Tikki landed on top of her hand, "Wait, Chance. Sass and I should check it out first, don't you think?"
"...That's a good idea," Chance nodded. The two Kwamis quickly phased through the door to check it out. They returned not even ten seconds later.
"Don't tell me they're executing someone there or something…" Skull moaned uneasily.
"No," Sass shook his head, "but it would be bessst to find another way into thissss room. There are sssseveral Shadowssss and I doubt their leader issss far away."
"Okay, thanks," Joker nodded appreciatively, "Everyone, try to look for a side window or a vent we can use to sneak through."
"There were some railings around the sides of the room," Tikki suggested, "there may be a side door as well."
Taking the Kwami's advice, the team looked around to the sides, quickly finding a window on the right side of things and entering through it.
"Sweet! We're in!" Beat exclaimed before he felt a hand cover his mouth.
"Shush! Look down there!" Panther pointed with her eyes.
Just as Sass and Tikki had warned, the ground level below was lined with tons of soldiers, but in the center of the room was a large gold throne with none other than…
"Lila!" Viper hissed, narrowing his eyes.
"You still haven't found the intruders yet?!" the Shadow Self shrieked. Next to the throne, the cognitive Adrien was sitting crisscrossed next to the throne on a plush pillow. They couldn't tell from so far away, but he looked like he was glancing between Lila and the soldiers nervously.
"Our utmost apologies, Imperatrix!" one of the guards saluted, "Please forgive us!"
The Shadow growled, "Any more incompetence and you're all next to be executed!"
"And to think we're in the exact same room right now," Chance whispered with a small smirk.
"Let's keep moving, before they notice us," Queen advised as everyone crouched low.
Staying low enough to duck beneath the railing, the group shuffled silently towards a large, rusted door at the back of the room.
"After those three doors earlier, I'm not as impressed with this," Viper murmured, "this leads to this Treasure of yours?"
"Heh, guess this just proves that deep down, even with all of her lies and boasts, this chick ain't anything special," Skull smirked.
"Indeed," Fox agreed, "how does the saying go? 'What is a lie? Only the truth in masquerade…'"
"Who said that?" Beat asked curiously.
"Lord Byron, if memory serves," Fox answered, "Now then, let us proceed."
o~o
Upon pushing through the door, which was surprisingly not locked, the Phantom Thieves were led into a long, dark, empty hallway. At the end of it, they could barely see three more sets of double doors.
"...So, which one of these is the Treasure behind?" Beat asked.
"My thief senses are pulling towards the middle door," Mona smirked, "but it's definitely behind one of these, that's for sure."
"Then… what's behind the other doors?" Panther wondered.
"...Let's check them out either way. They're here for a reason, after all," Joker said grimly.
Opening the left door first, the Phantom Thieves found a massive heap of flowers.
"...flowers?" Queen was the first to speak, her tone more confused than anything else.
"Oh, like at the trophy garden!" Chance snapped her fingers, "This must be where she takes all of those flowers once she's plucked them!"
"Sure enough," Viper said, now holding one of them in his hands, "I'm pretty sure this one is Kim's."
Inscribed on the flower were the words Sports, Swimming, and Challenges. That had to be Kim.
"So, she's storing hopes and dreams in here?" Panther scowled, "If that's what's in here, what's in the other room?"
"...Guess we'll find out," Queen said, as they closed that door and opened the door on the right.
This room didn't have flowers in them, but it wasn't empty either.
"...Is that a microphone?" Chance asked as she approached one of the shelves. Unlike in the flower room, where the blossoms were simply tossed haphazardly on the floor, all the items in here were on top of shelves, almost as if on display. Others included a marathon medal, a bunch of golden pencils, and even a tiara.
Approaching the microphone, the Phantom Thieves noticed a name on a plaque next to it as well that read Ivanka Ptichka.
"...Why does that name sound familiar?" Fox pondered.
"Oh my god!" Oracle gasped, "Ivanka was one of the suicide victims when Lila lived in Bulgaria! According to the article I read, she wanted to become a singer - an opera singer specifically. But then she had an accident that ruined her singing voice."
"What kind of accident?" Viper asked, before shaking his head, "You know what? I don't want to know."
"That's fair," Oracle acquiesced before scowling furiously, "...oddly enough, it was a month later that she was found hanging in her bathroom by the shower curtain."
The group collectively shuddered.
"You think Lila had something to do with her accident?" Mona asked.
Oracle could only answer, "Well, the fact that something of Ivanka's is here only proves that, right?"
"So… this is where Lila puts the dreams she stole from her enemies, then," Joker stated.
"Hey, Chance... isn't that…" Beat pointed to another shelf. It was empty, which made sense when they saw Marinette Dupain-Cheng engraved upon it; she wasn't dead, after all.
"Of course…" Chance grumbled, "I haven't done this as much as most of us and already I feel desensitized…"
"Nothing really will surprise you anymore, after a while…" Fox admitted, "Palaces do demonstrate the most depraved sides of human emotion, after all."
"...I think we've seen enough of all of this," Joker suggested, "Shall we move to the Treasure?"
"Yeah…" Mona nodded as they finally left the room and approached the middle room at last.
Shoving it open with more force than necessary, inside, the room was scarce except for one thing - a rippling shape of… something.
"...Well, there it is," Queen said, looking up at the hazy ball of light, levitating in the very center.
"Huh? That's the Treasure?" Beat asked, sounding confused and a bit in disbelief.
"Well, it's not the Treasure… yet, anyway," Oracle explained.
"What do you mean 'yet'?" Chance asked.
"This is the Treasure, but in order to steal it, we need to make it materialize first," Mona specified.
"Materialize?" Beat asked, "Is that like with some special Persona move?"
"No," Mona chuckled, "now what we got to do is alter Lila's cognition. You see, by nature, desires don't have a physical form. So we first have to make Lila realize that her desires are a Treasure. So, if her cognition then recognizes that her Treasure is about to be stolen, it will instantly appear over here!"
"Change her cognition?" Viper asked, "How are we going to pull that off?"
"Easy," Skull grinned, "All we gotta do is send her a calling card."
"A calling card?" Chance asked.
"Yes," Fox nodded, "on the calling card, we will state plainly that her Treasure - and her desires with it - will be stolen. That will put the Palace on high-alert for intruders, but that's what we want."
"All of the Palace's focus will be on keeping the Treasure safe," Joker explained, "which is why it will materialize when we give her the card."
"...Will she take it seriously, though?" Chance asked, "I mean, I didn't learn about the Phantom Thieves until we had a layover in Japan by chance. I'm sure she's at least aware of them by now, but…"
"...you're worried that the fact that they seem to act solely in Japan may make it less believable?" Queen prodded.
"Yeah," Chance nodded.
"That shouldn't matter," Panther said, "when we sent Kamoshida's calling card, the Phantom Thieves didn't officially exist yet. Simply the fact that we accused him of things we knew he was doing was more than enough to make it work."
"...We'll trust you on that then," Viper sighed.
"And... if it doesn't work?" Beat asked.
"It will," Mona insisted, "just trust us, okay?"
A beat of uneasy silence passed before Chance took a step forward.
"If this doesn't work," she declared, "you will regret it."
"If it doesn't work, we'll figure something else out," Joker insisted, "We've come too far to fail now."
"...All right," Chance sighed, "I'm just… scared, that's all."
"Trust us, we get it," Skull assured them, "Joker, Panther, and I felt the same way when Mona walked us through this the first time. And at the very least it's worth giving it a shot, right?"
"Well, it's not like we have much else to lose…" Beat admitted.
"Very well," Mona smirked, "the infiltration route is secure. Now we just need to prepare the calling card in reality and send it to Lila. Then we can make the Treasure our own!"
"Everyone's done a great job today," Joker praised, "why don't we all take the rest of the day to rest, and then we can hash out details tomorrow over video call?"
"Hey, you think we can do it at my place this time?" Beat asked, "I usually have to babysit Chris on Sundays."
"Won't he overhear what we're planning?" Chance asked, a little alarmed.
Beat chuckled, "Unlikely. He just got a new video game two days ago, and he's been glued to it since. I doubt he'll bother us, much less care, or understand what we are talking about anyway."
"...All right if you're sure," Viper relented.
"Just so the three of you are aware, once the calling card is sent, there's no turning back," Queen warned them, "Furthermore, the effects of the card don't last very long - twenty-four hours at the most - so when we decide on a date to send it, we should all have plenty of time to do it."
"Well, if we hash out the details tomorrow, it could be ready as early as Monday right?" Chance said, "And considering Lila's only given Beat a week to give his answer, the sooner we do it, the better."
"Possibly," Fox agreed, "but rushing things can bring its own set of problems too."
"We also have to make sure Lila will come to school the same day we send it out," Viper added, "remember, Lila does have a habit of suddenly ditching school sometimes."
"...Looks like there are more things to go over than we thought. Let's get out of here for now," Joker decided, "call us tomorrow when you're ready, Chance."
"Okay, sounds good," was all she said before the Phantom Thieves vanished from the room.
Days until pictures are leaked: 6
o~o
Just as Nino promised, Chris was playing away when Luka and Marinette arrived at his family's apartment Sunday morning.
"...Enjoying your game, Chris?" Marinette asked, amused at how focused the younger boy was on his Nintendo Switch. Chris didn't answer, too focused on rapid-firing at the monster he was trying to defeat.
Marinette snorted and shook her head. It reminded her when she was in the zone for Ultimate Mecha Strike III.
"I got my computer set up in my room, so whenever you two are ready," Nino informed them.
Marinette quickly shot the Phantom Thieves a text, asking what their status was. Sunday was the day they all had off from school, but that didn't mean that they didn't have other commitments after all.
To her pleasant surprise, it wasn't even a full minute after when she got a reply. The Tokies were already waiting at their own hideout and had been waiting for them.
"They're ready anytime," Marinette said.
"Let's do this then," Luka said, and Nino nodded and the three headed to his room.
"Hey, Chris, we'll be in my room if you need anything, okay?" Nino called back over his shoulder.
"'Kay!" Chris gave a short reply to let his brother know he'd heard him.
"Now… let's hope we get an okay signal in here," Nino muttered as he pulled up Skype on his laptop. Once the program was booted up, he passed the computer to Marinette, who typed in Akira's phone number.
After two rings, the screen cleared.
"Sweet, it's working!" Nino gasped as the faces of the other Phantom Thieves filled the screen.
"Yo!" Ryuji greeted, "Can you hear us?"
"Loud and clear," Luka confirmed.
"Great! Let's get right down to business, then," Morgana said, "First, I think we should address how Lila is going to receive the calling card. You mentioned yesterday that Lila has a habit of skipping school, yes?"
"Yeah, definitely," Marinette confirmed, "sometimes it's completely random, too."
"Okay, if that's the case, then why don't we just send it to her house?" Ann suggested, "That way she has to see it, even if she skips school."
"We could, but I don't know where Lila lives," Marinette said, "do you Nino?"
"Uh, uh," Nino shook his head, "whenever Alya and Lila hang out, she always insists it's at Alya's house or somewhere outside. As far as I know, Als has never been to Lila's place."
"Then it's unlikely that anyone else knows where she lives either," Luka stated.
"But, Mari, isn't there a way for you to access stuff like that?" Nino asked, "You're the Class Representative, after all."
"I don't think that grants me such power…" Marinette answered sadly.
"Hmm… oh! I could ask Adrien to ask her to come!" Nino then suggested. Marinette looked unsure but Nino continued, "I mean, if Lila is already in cahoots with Agreste Senior, he probably sees Lila a lot. After all, she's 'keeping an eye on Adrien.'"
Marinette frowned at the reminder of that information, "So… she might show up at school anyway because of her 'job' is what you're saying right?"
Nino winced, "...Basically, yeah."
"Okay, that's taken care of," Makoto said, "Now, the next step. We need to secure you an alibi, Marinette."
Marinette blinked, "Huh? An alibi?"
"Yes. Think about it. When the students arrive at the school and see cards that apparently have a 'threatening' message on them towards Lila, who's going to be the first person suspected of putting them up? You. So we need to craft an airtight alibi for you so that you won't be suspected of being behind it."
"Okay… how about Luka and I had a sleepover at my house that had started as a movie night?" Marinette suggested.
"Hmmm, that's an okay alibi," Ann said, "but Luka's your boyfriend, so he's going to defend you and back you up no matter what. Or at least, that's what everyone at school will think... Not saying that that's a bad thing or anything!"
"You better not. Of course I'll defend this amazing girl," Luka smirked playfully, placing an arm over Marinette's shoulder. Marinette giggled and leaned into his hug.
"Hmmm, what if it's not Luka who stays over, but me?" Nino suggested.
"Uh… wouldn't that look suspicious too?" Ryuji asked, "Since, you know, you just broke up with your girlfriend and all?"
"Not if I say… I went to Marinette's house to discuss costume ideas for a new movie I thought of," Nino smirked mischievously, "and I happened to stay late enough that Marinette offered for me to stay over just like old days."
"Oh yeah!" Marinette remembered, "You, Kim, and I would have sleepovers together when we were still in èlèmentaire!"
"...What's Kim's position in this whole situation?" Akira asked suddenly, "If this was something the three of you did as kids a lot, then wouldn't he be offended that the two of you had a sleepover and didn't invite him? I can see Lila taking advantage of that and spinning it to look like you two are dating."
Marinette bit her lip. As much as she hated to admit it, Kim wasn't exactly the smartest kid in class. More brawn than brains as some people liked to put it. Plus, he usually relied on Max when it came to the brain's department anyway and Max was clearly on Lila's side. She could see Kim believing Lila too if she tried to spin it the way that Akira described. If he got upset enough, he could be-
"Oh shoot!" Marinette exclaimed, a crucial problem popping into her head.
"What's wrong?" Yusuke asked, voicing the alarm all the Phantom Thieves were feeling.
"Akumas! How are we going to deal with that?! I didn't even think about it! Posting all of those calling cards around the school is obviously going to scare some people. Hawkmoth could target any one of them! B-But I have to be there as Marinette, or else I'll just look even more suspicious, and I can't give the Miraculous to anyone else either! If they see that there is a different Ladybug on the same day these calling cards appear, that's going to look suspicious too!"
"Marinette, calm down," Luka said, "Breathe. We'll think of something. There's got to be a way around this."
"Can any of the other Miraculous help us?" Futaba asked, "Like, can one of them make a clone of you or something?"
"The Mouse Miraculous can make duplicates, but you shrink when that happens. And you can't take the Miraculous off or else the power will wear off. And I can't combine it with the Ladybug Miraculous, that would look suspicious too. The only time that Ladybug was seen wielding more than one Miraculous like that was when Miracle Queen happened. Seeing Ladybug in a new combined form could scare people even more!"
"...What if you weren't literally in two places at once," Nino said slowly, "it just looked like you were!"
"Huh?" Marinette gasped, looking at the bespectacled boy.
"Okay, hear me out. What if you were indeed there as Ladybug, but then someone else disguises as you and plays your part so that your alibi can still work," Nino explained.
Marinette stared at Nino for another five seconds before it finally clicked, "Oh my gosh! Nino, you're a genius!" with a shriek of happiness, she leaped forward and hugged the Moroccan boy.
"Did you figure something out?" Morgana asked curiously.
"Yes! The Fox Miraculous!" Marinette gasped excitedly, "It's the Miraculous of Illusion! Yusuke can use the Fox Miraculous to disguise one of us as me, while I, as Ladybug, keep an eye out for akumas as Lila reads the calling card."
"Huh?" Yusuke blinked, "Me? Why me?"
"Because you, Yusuke, are an artist, and in order to pull this off, we're going to have to dot every 'i' and cross every 't'... so to speak. Basically, I think you can pull off the best illusion of me, or anything else. That's all."
"Well, uh," Yusuke stuttered before clearing his throat, "I'll do my best."
"The only drawback to that plan is that we have to make sure that nothing touches the illusion. If something, or someone, so much as grazes it, the illusion will disappear. So we'll have to be careful with that."
"Great, got that problem taken care of," Luka said, "Now, about that alibi?"
"I can't use you or Nino, and I'm not sure if it's too last minute to get Aurore or Mireille involved for 'filming advice'," Marinette muttered.
"...What about Marc?" Nino asked, snapping his fingers, "He works with Nathaniel on their Ladybug comic, he does the dialogue," Nino suggested, "We can invite him with the option to write the script."
"Marc…?" Marinette asked in surprise, "...I guess I can shoot him a text. Plus, it kind of works a little anyway, he always gets to school early to work on his writing. I'm sure I can slip away to transform and have the illusion replace me."
"Why don't you text him right now, before it gets too late in the day?" Luka advised.
"Yeah, I'll do that," Marinette said, pulling out her phone.
MDC: Hey Marc, it's Marinette. How are you?
Surprisingly it was only fifteen seconds later that she got a reply.
MA: I'm doing fine. How are you?
MDC: I'm great! Hey, are you doing anything tonight, because Nino and I have a favor to ask of you?
MA: ?
MA: What kind of favor?
MDC: Nino has a new idea for a movie and he's coming over to my place later today to talk about costume designs. He was wondering if you'd be interested in helping with the script.
MA: For a movie…? Um… I guess I'm free tonight. I've never done a movie script before though, are you sure you want me?
MDC: You're writing is amazing, Marc! I think you'll do great!
MA: ….Okay. What time are you meeting?
MDC: We were aiming maybe around 5:30 or 6:00. My maman and papa can make us dinner too if you want.
MA: Sure, I think I can make that work.
MA: Does he have an idea for the plot yet? It's just so I can start thinking of ideas.
Marinette hummed and passed her phone onto Nino with a wink. Nino bit his lip in thought for a moment, then his eyes wandered to the Phantom Thieves on the other end and his eyes lit up.
MDC: Hey dude, Nino here. I kind of got inspired by those Phantom Thieves in Japan. I was thinking of maybe doing an origin story about them. I mean, no one really knows that much about them or why they're doing what they're doing, so I thought it'd be fun.
MA: Oh, the Phantom Thieves? I think I heard Nath mention them before.
MDC: There's a website called the Phan-Site you can use to research them if you want. It is in Japanese though, so some of the translations may be a bit off.
MA: Okay, I'll look. See you both later then?
MDC: Totally dude! Thanks so much!
"There, that should cover an alibi and pacify Kim if he complains. We can tell him that the movie was a surprise but someone, a.k.a. Lila, had to force us to reveal it ahead of schedule," Marinette grinned deviously.
"That will work, I think," Yusuke spoke.
"You'll still have to be cautious, of course," Makoto said, "but I agree, that should be a safe option."
"So just to make sure we understand, we send the calling card in the morning, and then steal Lila's heart before the end of the day, right?" Luka asked.
"That's correct. We'd recommend we do it immediately like, don't even wait until your school is out," Ann said.
"I guess the earlier the better, huh?" Nino asked.
"All right," Morgana grinned, "who's going to write the card then?"
"It would be a good idea for one of you to write it," Marinette said, "there's always the chance for one of the teachers to read it and recognize our writing style."
"Oh, let me do it! Please?" Ryuji begged, "I have some very choice words to put on it."
"...Why don't you and Makoto work on it, Ryuji," Akira suggested, "Then we can send it to the Parisians to translate it."
"Sounds like a plan," Makoto grinned.
"Awesome! Oh man, I can't believe we're actually going to do this!" Nino exclaimed.
"So… one more thing, who's going to put up the calling cards?" Marinette asked.
"...Didn't think of that one," Akira grimaced, an embarrassed blush on his face.
"...I think I have a solution for that too," Marinette said, "Luka can use the Horse Miraculous to transport you guys to our school to put them up. Then when you're done, you can transport out of there. That way, Nino and I can keep our alibi still. Plus, I doubt anyone would suspect you, Luka."
"I'll work with it," Luka nodded.
"Plus, that way, we'll be ready for when Yusuke needs to Inari up," Futaba grinned, "Good thinking!"
"All right, I think that's everything we need to cover for now," Marinette said, "Luka, do you think you can handle translating it? I don't want Marc to accidentally see it."
"No problem," the guitarist gave a thumbs up.
"All right then! We'll see you tomorrow then," Akira said.
"Right, Beat, Viper, and Chance, out!" Nino grinned before ending the call.
And just in time too, as Chris came into the room, "Hey, can we go outside? I'm bored."
With snickers coming from the trio, Nino quickly grabbed his bag and they headed out into the city.
Days until pictures are leaked: 5
o~o
"This was pretty cool. Thanks for having me, Marinette," Marc said meekly as he stood outside the bakery Monday morning.
"You sure you don't want to join us for breakfast, Marc?" Sabine asked sweetly.
"Oh, no thanks. I'll just take a croissant to go if that's okay," the writer said shyly and fumbled for his wallet.
"Oh don't worry about that dear," Sabine said, "it's on the house."
"Oh! Thank you," he stuttered as Ms. Cheng handed him a croissant that Mr. Dupain was just pulling from the oven.
"We'll see you at school later, dude," Nino called, "thanks again for helping us!"
"N-no problem! Bye!" he stammered out before quickly scrambling out the door.
"Marc's such a sweet boy," Sabine smiled.
"Yeah, and a good friend," Marinette nodded. The rest of the morning was fairly quiet, with Nino and Marinette sharing a couple of pastries at the front of the bakery.
"You two should get going too," Tom said as he started pounding out another batch of dough, "wait much longer and you may be late."
"Okay, papa! See you later!" Marinette said as Nino waved.
"Bye sweetheart! It was good to see you again Nino!" Sabine smiled.
"You too Ms. Cheng! See ya!"
The duo walked in comfortable silence before making a sharp turn down an alleyway.
"About time!" Ryuji grinned, pushing off the wall.
"How long have you been waiting?" Marinette asked anxiously.
"Mmm… about an hour give or take?" Makoto guessed, "Luka's a real trooper, he woke at 5:00 AM to come and get us in time."
"And the calling cards?" Nino asked.
"Oh, there's not a wall in that school without one," Futaba chuckled darkly, "Lila will totally see them!"
"Cool!" Marinette said as she spotted Luka and Juleka walking inside, "Then let's get down to business! Tikki, Spots On!"
In a flash of pink, the red and black spotted superheroine stood where Marinette Dupain-Cheng was.
"I-I still can't believe that you're Ladybug!" Nino said a large grin on his face.
Ladybug winked before opening up her yo-yo and extracting a familiar looking box.
"Yusuke Kitagawa, here is the Miraculous of the Fox, which grants the power of illusion," Marinette as Ladybug smiled, holding the box out to the artist, "you will use it to assist us in our task if you're willing."
With a sharp nod, Yusuke delicately took the box from her
"Once this job is done, you'll return the Miraculous to me. Can I trust you?" Ladybug asked him.
"I won't let you down, Ladybug," Yusuke said firmly. Cradling the box in his palm, Yusuke opened the lid. He barely had time to catch sight of the fox tailed necklace inside, when an orange ball of light rose up a split second after. Yusuke had been prepared for this. After all, if Kobra and Ladybug had a Kwami that powered their Miraculous, it made sense that each of them would have a Kwami as well. But the artist still instinctively flinched as the light spun around him a couple of times before finally fading to reveal the small fox-like Kwami floating in front of him.
After giving a large, open-mouth yawn, the Kwami introduced himself, "'Sup? Name's Trixx, and I'm your Kwami!"
"I am Kitagawa Yusuke, it's a pleasure to meet you," the artist said respectfully, slightly bowing his head.
Trixx's eye flashed a little, but then smirked at Ladybug and nodded his head, "I like this one already."
Ladybug smiled. Trixx was certainly one of the more laid-back Kwamis, but Yusuke's immediate demonstration of respect seemed to impress him immensely.
"All right, everyone remember the plan? Who's going to be playing fake-me?"
"We had a discussion," Akira said, "and it was agreed that Ann would. She's the best actress, plus she knows enough French to pass off as you."
"Okay, sounds good," Ladybug said, "just remember, once the illusion is in place, make sure no one touches you. We don't want it to give everything away."
"If we pull it off though, no one gets akumatized and suspicion will be taking off of you!" Nino finished with a grin and a fist pump.
"I'm still concerned that people will notice that the Marinette at the school is an illusion, however," Yusuke commented.
"You'd be surprised how easily a mirage can fool someone, kit," Trixx grinned.
"He's right. You have a pretty keen eye for detail, Yusuke, so I trust that that should be able to pull it off," Ladybug reassured him.
"You can do this, Yusuke," Ann nodded.
"Knock 'em dead… or whatever the phrase is," Ryuji said, realizing last minute that his comment was a little misplaced considering Yusuke wouldn't be actively fighting at the moment.
"...All right," the artist nodded, finally slipping the necklace over his head.
"Then you just need to say one thing: Trixx, Let's Pounce!" the Kwami proclaimed.
Yusuke smiled before uttering the same words, "Trixx, Let's Pounce!"
Instantly the Kwami was sucked into the necklace. Yusuke swiped a hand across his face, an orange mask with white lining materializing on his face. Upon opening his eyes, they were now a reddish-brown with slit pupils. He then threw his other arm into the air, orange light encasing it before spreading down the rest of his body, down to his toes. In place of his uniform was a kimono-like orange shirt, with a black under-jacket that fanned out at the collar, much like his attire in the Metaverse. The Fox Miraculous sat in the middle of his chest, acting as a zipper tab for the outer shirt. His orange pants were baggy and tied with thick straps around his ankles. His shoes were black traditional Japanese sandals with white socks separating his big toe from the rest. A sash appeared around his waist that draped down into two foxtails, like a Kitsune. With a flick upwards, two black-outlined fox ears - orange on the inside that grew lighter the more inward it went - appeared on his head. His hair was also longer, tied in a low ponytail with the end tipped in white. On his back, a traditional Shinobue flute appeared.
Ryuji whistled, "All right, looking good!"
"What's your hero name?" Ladybug asked.
"Is that really necessary?" Yusuke asked, "I am only using the Miraculous for this one task."
"Yeah, but we don't want anyone knowing your secret identity either now do we?" Ladybug reminded him.
"It's got to be Kitsune!" Ann suggested, "I mean, even the outfit has more than one tail."
"Boring!" Nino complained, "That's basically just 'fox' in Japanese, isn't it? Come on, if you're an artist, you've got to have a more creative name than that!"
"...How about Kijutsu-shi?" Yusuke suggested.
Most of the Phantom Thieves actually laughed at this suggestion.
"Kijutsu-shi literally means 'illusionist'," Makoto explained.
"Mmm, it's better," Nino shrugged.
"Hey, your hero name was basically Turtleshell," Ryuji pointed out.
"Yeah, and it was an awesome name!" Nino shot back.
Ladybug wasn't paying attention as she eyed Lila finally arriving at school and entering through the front doors.
"Lila just arrived. We gotta move!" she exclaimed.
"So I just play the flute, correct?" Kijustu-shi clarified, grasping the instrument in his hands.
"Yep! Just play a few notes, and once you see a ball of light appear, throw it and say 'Mirage'. Then think of the illusion you want to cast."
"Understood," he nodded. The rest of the group backed up as Nino and Ann got into position on the sidewalk.
With a quick twirl, he brought the flute up to his lips and blew out a few low, haunting notes. Just as Ladybug said, a ball of light appeared on the end of the flute. With a smirk, he reeled the instrument back.
"Mirage!"
o~o
Nino gulped nervously as he and a disguised Ann approached the entrance of Françoise Dupont. Upon making it to the doors it was clear that the atmosphere didn't seem excited with the usual banter before class. Instead, it sounded tense and even slightly worried.
Opening the doors, the duo soon saw why.
The Tokies hadn't been exaggerating when they said that they hadn't missed a single wall of the school when putting up the cards. The bulletin boards, walls, and windows were covered with them, the floor was littered with cards, and there were even some taped to the basketball hoop's pole!
Everywhere students were picking cards off the floor or wall and reading them in hushed tones. Some looked very frightened and confused.
Nino caught a couple of whispers here and there.
"Victims? What are they talking about? And suicide?"
"Phantom Thieves? Aren't they that group from Japan?"
"Is this a death threat? Should we call the police?"
"Why would someone say things like this about Lila?" he heard Mylene whisper.
"Oh, why don't we just ask them?!" a louder voice shouted, making Nino and Marinette-Ann stop. Low and behold, Alya came stomping up to the pair with a nearly inconsolable Lila close behind. She was hugging Adrien, who looked like he wanted to push her off, but awkwardly patted her back.
"What?" Ann asked in Marinette's voice, sounding confused but outraged, "What are you talking about, Alya?!"
"Don't play dumb, Mari!" Alya shouted, leaning in dangerously close to her face. Ann actually had to step back to avoid the illusion dropping, "Who else could it be? Look, I get that you and Lila don't get along, but this is going too far!"
"Hey! Marinette didn't do this!" Luka protested from the background.
"Alya, maybe before you accuse Marinette of anything, you should tell us what's going on!" Nino said with a scowl.
"Fine! Here!" Alya shoved one of the cards into Nino's hands, "Read what Marinette wrote!"
Nino's eyes scanned the card and widened. Wow. Ryuji and Makoto certainly didn't mince words.
But, knowing better, Nino took a calming breath, "Look Alya, sure this is bad, but I know for a fact that Marinette didn't do this."
"Oh really?" Alya asked sarcastically.
"Y-You're probably in on this too, aren't you, Nino?" Lila blubbered, "Because you're mad that Alya sided with me!"
"Oh, you want proof that neither of us did this?!" Nino demanded angrily, "Ask Marc! He was with us all last night!"
Silence fell over the courtyard as all eyes turned towards the boy in question. The writer looked like he had been caught with his hand in the cookie jar and seemed to want to run and hide in a corner. Nino winced; they'd have to apologize to the kid later for putting him on the spot like this.
Heh, spot.
"Marc… is that true?" Nathaniel asked, looking at his boyfriend.
Marc fidgeted, and Nino was scared that the poor kid may start to have a panic attack. To his relief, though, Marc nodded.
"Y-Yeah. The three of us had a sleepover at Marinette's place last night," he stuttered out, his face bright red in mortification.
More silence followed, and Nino and Ann saw Lila's eyes widen in panic for a moment, "Wh-you did?"
"Yeah," Marc squeaked, "They-they uh… wanted my help with something."
"...And what was that?" Juleka asked curiously.
"Uh… um, well," Marc stuttered again. Nino knew why too. It was because when they were working on the script - and boy could that kid write a good one - Nino had asked Marc to keep this project a secret for now, so that he could surprise his class when he was ready to announce it.
"Well," Nino frowned almost over-dramatically, "it was going to be a surprise. But it seems someone is forcing me to tell it now." He made sure to eye Lila and Alya specifically.
"Nino got an idea to do a new movie, and he came over so that we could do some costume designs for it. We decided to call Marc last-minute to help with the scriptwriting," Ann-Marinette explained succinctly. Man, she pulled off Marinette's character really well.
Murmurs started to ripple around the courtyard again and some people had the dignity to look a little ashamed. They knew that when it came to Nino's movies, he liked to make sure everything was in order before officially starting anything.
"Oh! That's cool, Nino," Adrien said, finally wrenching his arm out of Lila's grasp, "What is going to be about-"
"Nice try!" Nino snapped good-naturedly, "I ain't revealing anything else about it. The surprise itself was already ruined with that accusation!"
Adrien flinched slightly, not used to seeing Nino angry like this, but shot him a sympathetic smile.
Lila's face looked like it was shifting between true fear and pure rage as her eyes darted between Nino, Ann-Marinette, Marc, and several other people in the yard. It was clear that the little scene she had been hoping to start hadn't gone according to plan.
Alya looked like she was at a loss for words for a moment before scowling, "Okay, well if it wasn't one of you two, then who else could have done this?!"
"I don't think we're gonna get to find out," Kim suddenly cried, pointing in the air, "Everyone run!"
An akuma semi-leisurely flapped down from the sky, only to be snatched out of the air with a whiplike CRACK.
"Bye bye, little butterfly!" Ladybug smiled as she waved to the small white moth that flew out of her yo-yo. This grabbed the students' attention and a cheer erupted all over the school as the scarlet heroine swooped down from her perch on the rooftop. "What's going on here? What's with all the ruckus?"
"Oh, Ladybug! It's just awful!" Rose cried as she ran up to the heroine, Juleka hot on her heels. The pink girl had another red and black card in her hands, "Look!"
Raising a concerned eyebrow, Ladybug carefully took the card and slowly read it aloud.
"Mademoiselle Lila Rossi, Vixenly Empress of Mendacity,
It seems you've finally told the wrong lie at last. You fill the heads of the innocent with pretty words and promises you have no intention, much less the ability, to keep. To those who call you out and defy you, you bring nothing but threats, torment, and misery. You've followed through with these threats so thoroughly that some of your victims have even taken their own lives to finally escape the pain you caused. For too long have their families been denied justice for their children being robbed of bright futures because of one petty, jealous, despicable girl. We are especially appalled at the foolhardy teachers and cowardly principal of your current school for turning a blind eye to your reign of terror for so long. Today, however, they are not our target - you are. We are not your mindless subjects. We won't let you go unpunished nor ignore the murders you committed. Today, we are your judge and jury. With that said, we shall steal all of your twisted desires, and make you confess the truth, and nothing but the truth, with your own silver tongue.
Signed, The Phantom Thieves of Hearts"
Ladybug was silent for about a minute. Then she just sighed and breathed a small chuckle.
"Wow… who did you piss off this time, Lila?" Ladybug asked.
"Uh-Ladybug!" Sabrina exclaimed, "This can't be Lila's fault! Someone is threatening her, right? Shouldn't we be calling the police or something? I can get my dad on the phone!"
Ladybug sighed again, "Everyone, I honestly don't think you should take this too seriously. It's clear that Lila did make someone angry, though. It may not have been intentional, but still. I can assure you, though, the real Phantom Thieves aren't coming after Lila."
"Ladybug, not that we doubt you, but how do you know?" Ivan asked, holding Mylene who was still shaking a little.
"Well…" Ladybug said, pulling out her yo-yo and accessing the internet, "According to their official Phan-Site, the Phantom Thieves only operate in Japan, particularly Tokyo. I mean, there was Medjed, but that was a bit of a special case, I think. And besides, most of the Phantom Thieves' targets have been high ranking criminals that even the police couldn't catch. And also," she snapped her yo-yo shut and gave the students a serious gaze, "think about it. Considering all of the facts that are listed online, even if the Phantom Thieves are in Paris, why on Earth would they target a random school student? It doesn't make sense, don't you think?"
Silence once more was prevalent in the school grounds, but several students looked like they were actually thinking about Ladybug's information.
"Hmmm… there is a 99% possibility that your theory is sound, Ladybug," Max finally spoke up.
Max's statement seemed to calm down most of the students, though some still looked doubtful.
"So what, was this just a prank, then? Is that what you're saying, Ladybug?" Nathaniel asked.
"Possibly," Ladybug shrugged, "You all went to Hawaii a while ago right, and stopped in Tokyo halfway? It's likely someone got caught up in all the Phantom Thief drama and decided to prank Lila to get back at her for something."
This final statement finally dissipated the tension in the schoolyard as everyone finally accepted Ladybug's deduction.
"So… no one's really targeting me? I-I'm safe?" Lila asked in a small voice.
Ladybug managed to smile, "As I said, don't take this too seriously. Someone was likely just taking a prank too far. But, Lila, are you sure that there is no one that you've angered recently, even by accident? Some people can have a tendency to overreact to something."
Lila sighed remorsefully, but Ladybug didn't miss the malicious glance towards Ann-Marinette and Nino, "I-I can't think of anyone! I would never think to do something mean to anyone! I mean...I thought Marinette did this," she pointed at Marinette behind her, "but, if Nino and Marc are sure it wasn't her…"
"Well, still, maybe think about it, and if you remember something, maybe consider talking it out with them, okay?" Ladybug suggested.
Suddenly, the world around Lila, Nino, Luka, Ann, and Ladybug changed. The world had faded to black around them, and standing in Lila's place was her Shadow. She sneered at them.
"You think you can fool me? Come and try to take it, caudices. I'll be waiting!"
Though alarmed for a moment, the Parisians remembered what the Phantom Thieves had told them about Lila's cognition changing. From the response her Shadow just gave, they could only assume that something happened.
Plus, from the confident smile that Ann-Marinette was giving, it had to be a good sign.
Ladybug quickly regained her composure, "So anyway, everyone just take this down and throw it away. And to the person who actually initiated this prank, be more careful next time! Jokes like this aren't jokes - especially if it involves groups like the Phantom Thieves…. Then again…" Ladybug paused, catching the attention of the school-goers all over again, "...if this truly was the work of the Phantom Thieves, what does that mean about Lila… well hopefully, it's nothing. Anyway, I gotta get going. Bug Out!"
Several students cheered and clapped as Ladybug swung out of the school and back toward the city. But some of the students - especially those from Mme Bustier's class - looked confused and alarmed.
"Wait… what did she mean by that?" Mylene asked. Ivan shrugged, but it was easy to tell he was unnerved.
"Did Lila really do something wrong?" Rose asked quietly, "Cause… even if this is just a prank…"
Adrien looked a little pale and was glancing around, gauging everyone's reactions. If they weren't careful, another akuma could show up, and then they'd really be in trouble!
"Come on guys! You heard Ladybug, let's get this cleaned up!" Alya exclaimed, gesturing to the bulletin board.
Most of the students moved to do just that, completely ignoring Ann-Marinette and Nino who were still standing by the entrance. The DJ caught Luka's eye, who nodded and gestured outside. In response to the signal, the two of them turned around and carefully walked out the door, making sure that no one saw them.
No one saw the pair of curious eyes noticing the three disappearing in the crowd, nor did they notice the eyes shift to spot the flash of orange disappearing from the rooftop as well.
Once far enough away from school grounds, Nino broke into a run and scrambled into an alleyway.
"I think it worked! Nice job!" Nino complimented one of the figures leaning against the wall. The Marinette beside him suddenly dissipated in a cloud of colored smoke, being replaced by Ann. Seconds later, Ladybug, Kobra, and a new fox-themed superhero joined the group.
"Whoa…" the blonde whispered, "That was cool and freaky at the same time!"
"Trixx, Let's Rest." A flash of orange light later, Yusuke promptly caught the little fox kwami in his hand.
"Yay! That was fun!" Trixx cheered gleefully, "I gotta say - I like you, kit!"
"Great job, Yusuke! The school bought it!" Ladybug smiled, pumping her fist.
"My pleasure," Yusuke smiled back, as he took off the Fox Miraculous, handing it to Ladybug, "It was… quite the exhilarating experience."
"Anyway, Lila got the calling card," Makoto said, "the Treasure should have appeared in her Palace."
"That means we can take it today, right?" Nino asked.
"Not just today," Akira corrected, "only today."
"Akira's right," Morgana said from his bag, "the effect of seeing a calling card doesn't last very long. We only have today to steal the treasure. If we fail, we won't be able to use a calling card again."
"But if we succeed, Lila's heart will change, right?" Kobra asked before turning back into Luka.
"That's what should happen," Ann said, "But we just have to make sure that her Shadow Self remains alive as well. The last thing we need is her having a mental shutdown."
"Alright, what are we waiting for, then?!" Nino exclaimed, "Let's go steal us a Treasure!"
"Couldn't have said it better myself!" Ryuji whooped.
"Right!" Ladybug smiled.
As all of them pulled out their phones and turned on the app. The world around them shifted and warped until the familiar landscape of Lila's towering romanesque palace, surrounded by the thick stone walls and large pantheon at the very top of the mountain in the distance.
"We have our route to the Treasure! Let's go!" Morgana declared.
Before anyone could agree with him though, a voice behind them made them freeze.
"Whoa! What the heck just happened?!"
Viper, Chance, and Beat whipped around, eyes wide and mouths agape.
Alix Kubdel stood behind them, eyes bulging out and hands trembling.
"Oh, shit, not again…" Ryuji swore.
o~o
AN: And there we go! Lila got her calling card! Now all we need is for the Phantom Thieves to steal the Treasure...
...with a little help from Alix it seems. Come now, did you really think that Nino was the only other Françoise Dupont student that would see the Metaverse did you?
Seriously, what's with the Phantom Thieves and pulling random people into Palaces?
Next up, the Phantom Thieves vs Lila. How's the fight going to go down...? Find out next week!
R&R and I'll see you then!