"Remind me never to follow any of Alya's plans..." Ella groaned, her face hitting the desk as the livestream from the 'Ladyblog' played loud. It had been two days since Ella promised Alya could use her now finished song on her blog, but the red-headed girl had managed to get into trouble with this newest villain, calling himself Pharaoh, and was in the middle of the entire problem.
"Uh, Ella? You might need to go join this one." Kiismet chimed in, her little face wary.
"Huh? What do you mean?" Ella sat up, moving the stack of books she had collected from her day completing homework in the library, to the side to look at Kiismet, who had created a nest in Ella's bag during the long studying hours.
"Well, five thousand years ago, the last Raven miraculous user was seen as a prophet in ancient Egypt. They used my 'Light the way' power to see the future for their own gain. And she told Pharaoh that he and his lover Nefertiti would be together, so he tried that ritual to trade for her life with Ra. But the Ladybug back then stopped it."
"Is that why you only come out for your chosen wielder?"
"Yeah, after that happened, I told the Guardian of the Miraculous my miraculous would never be handed to another human unless I chose them. And so five thousand years later, here we are."
"Awe Kiisy~ but why did Ladybug stop the ritual way back then?"
"From what I remember, that was the only other time the user of the Black Cat miraculous and the Raven miraculous were together, rather than the Black Cat being with the Ladybug. She had been jealous and wanted to ruin the Raven user."
"Wait what? The Black Cat and the Ladybug usually end up together?"
"Breathe, Ella. It's okay..." Kiismet pressed a paw to Ella's cheek, as the girls breathing picked up a bit.
"Yes, in many instances of the history with those two miraculous, the users do end up together. That's in relation with working together to save the world. In this situation however, this Ladybug does not end with Cat Noir- it'll be you and Raven. That fate is set in stone. But for now, you should go join the fight. This one may be necessary." Glancing around, Ella saw no one nearby.
"Alright- Kiismet, touch the sky!"
"Did you say... Ladybug and Raven five thousand years ago?!" Alya's voice exclaimed through the yo-yo speakers. The two heroes watching were surprised, not knowing the miraculous had been around for so long.
"Everyone does have a past they can learn from."
"Well, you and angel don't look a day over three thousand."
"And it explains why we're so much wiser than you!" Ladybug smirked, before exiting the video and trying Raven's grappling hook again. It rang for a moment before the girl finally picked up.
"Raven- finally!"
"Yes?"
"Hey there, beautiful~"
"We need you to get down here to the Louvre. We've got a villain with a history lesson for us."
"On my way."
Ladybug hung up, her eyes pensive.
"What is it, LB?"
"I'm just wondering if Raven knows anything about her past- I mean, she's got that power where her eyes glow and she can see a person's fate- that's what my kwami said."
"Wait- so when Raven did that eye-glowy thing on you, she saw your fate?"
"I guess so... that's why she said I was going to be the best Ladybug in thousands of years."
"Hm... I wonder if she could look at mine and see if-"
"Not gonna happen, kitty."
The pair turned as Raven landed on the rooftop behind them, a frown on her face.
"Why not?" Ladybug asked as Cat Noir smiled and attached himself to his crush's side.
"My kwami's power is not to be used for personal gain- in your case, Ladybug, when we met- it was a one-time thing. The last time this power was used for personal reasons, it was five thousand years ago, with the very villain we're facing now."
"That's what the Pharaoh was talking about- when Alya noticed the drawing of Ladybug and Raven on the papyrus! He said Ladybug was his nemesis but Raven was the cause for everything."
"Because she was. The last Raven proposed herself a prophet back in ancient Egypt and used the kwami's power for their own gain, and told the Pharaoh he and Nefertiti would be together again, but Ladybug back then stopped the ritual."
Raven frowned again, ashamed of her predecessor.
"That's why from then until now, there hasn't been another user of the Raven miraculous. The kwami decided to choose her own wielder to ensure the special power would never be used incorrectly again."
Cat wrapped his arm around Raven's waist, pulling her flush against his side.
"Well I'm glad you're the new Raven, mon merle." He purred, nuzzling his nose against her cheek.
"Me too. But for now, we should get moving."
The trio made their way to a closer rooftop, finding the Pharaoh had begun the ritual. Alya's panicked cry echoed up to the heroes.
"We've gotta save her before he completes the ritual, or Alya'll be gone forever!"
"What should we do?"
"You hold back the mummies, I'll grab Alya and Raven can distract the Pharaoh."
"Why do I have to deal with these freaks while you get to slip calmly around back?" Cat whined.
"At least you're not being offered up as live bait in Alya's place." Raven chuckled, unwrapping her hook.
"Cause I'm the only one who can capture his akuma, and cause you're the bravest out of the three of us!"
"Sure." Cat deadpanned as Ladybug swung away.
"I know you're braver than me, mon amour~" Raven smiled, giving Cat a quick peck on the cheek before taking off. The feline hero blushed, his brain rebooting.
"Let's get to it, then." He finally mumbled, the blush still prevalent.
"Hey there, you bunch of bandages! What do you say we wrap this up!" Cat smirked, sitting atop a lamppost.
"Cat Noir!" Alya cried.
"Seize him!" At his command, the citizens turned mummies ran after Cat.
"Is that really as fast as you can go?" Cat taunted, jumping from street lamp to street lamp.
"Wait, this looks... like a trap!" Pharaoh hastily turned back to his mummies carrying Alya, just in time to see Ladybug swing down and grab Alya.
"Gotcha!"
"Horus, give me your wings!"
"Hold it right there, Pharaoh!" The villain froze, hearing that familiar voice. Turning to face the newcomer, the Pharaoh seethed at the sight of the new Raven; her familiar grey eyes meeting his own.
"Raven's Wing of Anubis...! How dare you return back before me?!"
"Only because fate has set our meeting in stone. As it did back then."
"You spew your lies! As you spoke falsely when you saw my Nefertiti return to me!"
"My sight never lies- only sees the multiple paths you could take. You just happened to step onto the path where the past Ladybug ruins your fun." Raven taunted, crossing her arms.
"But this time, I will be victorious, you cursed raven!"
"You say that as if we heroes have already lost."
"Lucky Charm!" Raven and Pharaoh's gaze found Ladybug, catching what looked like...
"A Ladybug outfit?"
"That's our last hope?!"
"YOU DID NOT JUST PULL OFF THE SASSY HAND LIKE A TEENAGE GIRL!"
Ladybug, ignoring Raven's outburst (though it was hilarious) used her Lucky Vision, and the earrings in the costume appear. Quickly, she thinks back to the history Raven told her...
"Hey Pharaoh! This offering isn't good enough for Nefertiti!"
"Too late, Ladybug! The ritual has begun!"
"Set Alya free and sacrifice me instead! Wouldn't that be the sweetest revenge? Five thousand years later! After all, I'm the one who kept Nefertiti from you all those years ago!"
"It's true that you make a much more precious offering than this mortal." Pharaoh pulled himself from his confrontation with Raven and goes to Ladybug, who offers her hand.
"Horus, give me wings!" Pharaoh flies up to Alya with Ladybug.
"Seriously?" Alya grumbled from her spot on the light beam she had found herself deposited on. The Pharaoh throws her off the beam. She falls, slides down the pyramid, and lands safely on the ground. "Excuse you, but I make excellent sacrificing material!" Raven and Cat ignore Alya's complaints, watching their leader.
"I hope she knows what she's doing..." Cat whispered, stepping as close as possible to Raven.
"Don't worry, Cat. Ladybug always has a plan."
Up in the air, Pharaoh puts Ladybug on the light beam.
"You win, Pharaoh..." She pretends to take off her earring, then grabs his pendant.
"You want my Miraculous? Go get it!"
The Pharaoh takes after the gems and grabs them, but he sees they're fake.
"A toy? You tricked me!"
Ladybug punches the pendant and breaks it, releasing the akuma. She slides down the pyramid and lands on the ground.
"No more evil doing for you, little akuma. Time to de-evilize!"
Swinging the yo-yo around, Ladybug caught the purple akuma.
"Gotcha!" Tapping the device, the lid opens back up and out flies a white butterfly.
"Bye bye, little butterfly. Miraculous Ladybug!"
Throwing the Ladybug costume box into the air, the heroes watch as it exploded into a blast of energy 'ladybugs' that turn everything back to normal.
"I told you." Raven smirked, nudging Cat with her elbow. Cat smirked, responding with an arm around the feathered teens waist.
"Yes, yes. As usual, you're right, mon amour~"
The pair watched Ladybug deal with Alya, before giving her teammates a wave and swinging away.
"We should get going too. Wanna see who can get to the Eiffel Tower the fastest?"
"Consider yourself in second place, angel!"
"As if a cat could be faster than a raven!"