Since Rose's disease was never identified, I went with one that I thought fit with the pictures and actions from the show.
It was Monday afternoon. Ning had locked herself in the master bedroom and was talking with her superiors. "I can bring the border jumper to Hague in three days. Any sooner and Shadowmoth will locate him."
"Are you certain Hawk/Shadowmoth is after this man?" the UK supervisor asked her.
"The criminal used magical means to transverse eleven countries Ma' me. I apprehended him during an active Akuma battle. Shadowmoth knows about him and has been actively searching for him."
"The news reports say other than occasionally using his new powers, his attacks haven't been different," the Russian supervisor commented.
"The news doesn't record everything. There are smaller incidences that have been aimed at finding the magical individual. I'm sending you the reports now."
In America, the data instantly appeared on the supervisors' tablets. Several videos were showing Mayura making rounds across the city searching for something.
A few photographs showed tiny protectors infiltrating Central and Southern Asian communities. There was even a photo of Shadowmoth out in the open attacking middle-aged men with his cane.
According to the reports by Peace Keeper, she had managed to contain most of these incidences. Her attempt to capture the terrorists failed because she had to save civilians that were being attacked so the villains could get away.
"Shadowmoth and Mayura have been doing their best to drive the criminal out into the open. The means that I used to keep him secure magically, will not be over for three more days."
Even though she wasn't there, she could sense three of her supervisors wanted her to stop using the term magic. The time spent explaining magic in scientific terms was increasing delays for her missions.
She understood why most governments couldn't acknowledge that magic existed. If they did, they were admitting to their citizens that they didn't control every aspect of their lives.
Using magic, hate groups could wipe out anyone they didn't like. A terrorist could overthrow existing regimes. Criminals could get off for major crimes if they cited magic being used.
Denying that magic was real was the only hope of maintaining the multitude of government power. Swallowing a growl of frustration, Ning continued to explain why she couldn't get to Hague for a couple more days. "The criminal, Su-Han, is difficult to work with. He hasn't given me any legal paperwork to fast track his extradition. I'm having to create the paperwork myself. "
"Without an existing paper trail, it's taking me a bit longer to get clearance I need to transport him to the Netherlands in a low-key way. I know what you're all thinking, and I have to respectfully, disagree with."
"Any private transportation will immediately draw Shadowmoth's attention. Same with a convoy. We don't know his or Mayura's civilian identities. There's a big risk we'll be spotted on public transportation. If we're not careful we could have another Scarlet Moth incident. I'm sure no one wants Paris to become a war- zone again."
That gave her superiors pause. Heroes Day had been broadcasted internationally. Several countries had changed their view on magic that day. Others' were holding to the idea this was some kind of bio-warfare.
Then there was the Lila Disaster, which had also been broadcasted worldwide. France spent months calming down the rest of the EU, who were questioning if their domesticated terrorist was brainwashing citizens from other countries.
"I'll take your silence that you agree with me. I'm in the middle of making arrangements to keep him secure while in transit. I promise by the end of the week, the criminal Su-Han, will be in the custody of the IWC."
"Make sure that he is. We will call you again in three days." The call ended abruptly. Ning pressed herself against the door and let out a deep breath. She slid down to the floor and took another deep breath.
How could one man make her life so difficult? Shadowmoth had to be monitoring all incoming and outgoing methods of transportation. The best way to get him out of the city was to disguise him, before driving him or taking a boat to the Netherlands. Each had their own risks.
Then there was also binding his magic long term to prevent him from escaping before or after the trial. She didn't want to imagine the debacle that would be for the UN. This was one of her toughest peace assignments ever.
She finally left the room and headed into the kitchen. Her father was making snacks for the ECMC. It was decided they should remain active for a few more days to help with guarding Celestial Guardian Su-Han. She hoped they could also get the man to stop making her life difficult.
At the table, Marianne was listening to the radio while Su-Han was being useful for once by helping put away the rest of the groceries. Four more rows of chain tattoos had vanished.
He only needed to lose one more row and he would be free to leave the apartment. Ning had three days to convince the Celestial Guardian to listen to her father. It would be a very tough job.
"You are causing me a lot of stress Celestial Guardian Su-Han," Ning moaned as she slumped in her chair. The man looked at her questioningly only for her to wave him off.
Right now, all she wanted to do was have a snack and listen to her father talk.
At the Agreste Mansion, Gabriel and Nathalie were plotting to get the Celestial Guardian to show himself again. "My next victim must have
an extremely powerful protector. The Akuma must feel a specific emotion if this is to work in our favor."
Nathalie adjusted her glasses before asking what emotion they were looking for.
"Guilt, Nathalie, is a powerful emotion. The Akuma must be able to spread his/her guilt to others. Anyone in the area will become consumed by their own guilt. Even Ladybug and Chat Noir."
An evil sparkled appeared in Nathalie's eyes. "The Celestial Guardian will have to appear to save them. Once he's consumed by his guilt, we simply take what we need. Even if he doesn't go anywhere near the protector, you can still force him to give up to protect the others."
Gabriel smirked, "Precisely Nathalie. We'll have to time this perfectly. If the protector vanishes before the heroes are trapped, then our success diminishes greatly."
Nathalie replied she wasn't going to let that happen. "Duusu revived herself by feeding on my energy. We can force her to feed on my energy to keep the protector active for as long as we need. "
Gabriel thought that was a splendid idea. He should also supercharge Nooroo to keep the unification going. He was already picturing Emilie back in his arms in a few days.
When Rose arrived at school the next morning she could sense a change in her classmates. She had to leave school early yesterday and ended up visiting the hospital.
When she was a young child Rose had been diagnosed with pseudotumor cerebri. Her brain acted like there was a tumor even when there wasn't. It was a difficult diagnosis to handle when you were only eight.
The treatments had varied. At eight she had been pretty chubby, so she lost weight to help lower the pressure of her cerebrospinal fluid. She had to have routine eye exams.
When she was nine she had a shunt placed in her head to help drain excess fluid. Her symptoms could reoccur years later, which is why she went to the hospital yesterday after experiencing an intense headache.
The only one who knew about her condition was Juleka. Her best friend had kept her secret for years. She wondered if carrying that secret by herself had been too much and she finally shared it with the others.
"Hello everyone! I'm very pleased to see you!"
"We're happy to see you, Rose. Look, I made you a nice pillow to sit on in class." Marinette said in a tone that was associated with her anxiety.
"You want something to drink? I can get you ice tea if you want some," Mylene offered.
"Do you need help with your homework? I can assist you if you're experiencing a severe headache," Max offered.
"I can carry you from class to class no problem!" Kim boasted.
Juleka looked down at her desk trying to fight back tears. She felt very guilty about telling the others about Rose's secret.
Rose saw how sad Juleka was and felt a bit of guilt. She didn't want everyone to treat her differently growing up. She had to take charge of the situation.
"Listen to me, everyone. I understand that you're concerned for my health and want to help me. Juleka, I know you told them just because you were worried for me. I shouldn't have asked you to keep my secret for so long."
She took a more confident stance. "Everyone, I know that my disease pseudotumor cerebri sounds scary. It can be dangerous if you don't know you have it. But when you know and get the proper treatment it's not as bad as you think."
"I've had the right treatment and visit my doctors when I need to. I was at the hospital yesterday just to check for the cause of my headache. There's nothing wrong with my brain."
"I just had a stress induced headache from everything that's been happening this year. What I really need is for you to act normally. That's what will make me happy."
The class agreed to act normal around her. Everything was going fine until science class. The class was doing a chemistry experiment. The smell from one of them made Rose dizzy.
She put her head down for a few seconds and suddenly her class was all over her. Juleka yelled at them and then ran away ignoring the teacher's warning. Seeing her best friend run off was the last straw.
"ENOUGH!" the pink-clad girl yelled. Everyone backed off right away, shocked that Rose could even yell. "I don't need to be watched constantly. I can manage my disease just fine! You upset Juleka, and now she's feeling super guilty about all this."
The others looked down in shame. They had promised they wouldn't treat Rose differently. Now they had made her upset while also hurting Juleka.
Ms. Mendeleiev adjusted her glasses as she surveyed the class. "Alright students, I think you've been properly disciplined. Would someone please bring Ms. Couffaine back to the classroom?"
Marinette started to raise her hand when a huge explosion went off. The class took off despite Ms. Mendeleiev calling at them to stay put.
When they raced to the courtyard, what they saw shocked them. Some kind of device was growing exponentially from the bathroom. It had already taken over the bathroom and locker rooms.
The students in the lower classrooms suddenly burst out screaming as the device took over the classrooms. The kids didn't make it far before they were being sucked inside the device which contained a pink vortex.
"RUN!" Adrien shouted pointing to the school entrance. The teenagers ran as fast as they could. However, only Adrien, Marinette, and Rose escaped before the rest of the class was sucked inside.
"We need to put some distance between us and the vortex. Once we're far enough away, we can call for the heroes," Marinette reasoned. The others nodded their heads in agreement.
"Rose, you head for the police station. They can clear the area before more people are pulled in. Adrien and I will head in the other direction. I've seen Ladybug patrolling the area before. Hopefully, we can flag her down."
"I won't let you down!" Rose's promised. "Stay safe you two."
As soon as she was out of sight the teens transformed and made their way towards Fu's home. Knowing they were likely being spied on, they took a long route and sometimes ran back the way they came.
Finally, they felt safe enough to de-transform. They hurried towards Master Fu's apartment. Before they could knock, Marianne let them in.
"We've been watching the news broadcast," she explained. The two teenagers slipped into the room as everyone was watching the TV. Nadja was giving a news report. Despite the obvious danger, the TV reporter kept her cool.
"At the moment, we don't know where this swirling vortex came from or what's happening to the people inside. What we do know is no Akuma has been spotted yet, but we can't rule out the possibility that Shadowmoth has his hands in this mess."
"Police are warning people to stay away from Collège Françoise Dupont area. There is no telling how large this vortex will gggggggggggggggrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrroooooooooowwww!"
The apartment viewers watched in disbelief as Nadja, her cameraman, and their truck got sucked into the vortex. The vortex started expanding even faster.
"We've got to do something!" Adrien proclaimed. He looked over at the Guardians. "This is a protector, right?"
"Indeed, which means there is an Akuma somewhere near the vortex," Master Fu reasoned. He turned to the Celestial Guardian. "Could the Akuma be inside the vortex?"
"Yes, I strongly believe that. The Akuma's powers could be powering the vortex. You mentioned that Duusu's Miraculous most likely is only partially fixed, correct?"
Fu nodded and Su-Han summarized that it wasn't just the Akuma's energy keeping the vortex going. Mayura was probably feeding her own energy into Duusu to keep the protector from dissolving quickly.
"Considering how powerful the protector is it's likely a trap by Shadowmoth to draw you out Celestial Guardian," Ning said. "He designed the protector for a specific purpose, but I don't think it was for protecting the Akuma. He either expects you to get trapped inside or confront you in battle."
Her mind was working overtime as she tried to figure out all the angles of the problem. "Father, what would happen to the people trapped inside the protector when it vanishes?"
"The people inside would also disappear with it. Since the protector is a separate entity, that means Miraculous Ladybug won't bring those trapped back."
Everyone's eyes widened in alarm. Finding a feather was harder than finding an akuma. A protector's power source was very subtle. Worse, the protector's power source didn't have to be anywhere near the person it was protecting.
Su-Han stood up and turned to Honorra. "I ask you kindly to remove the last of my chains. I'm ready to listen as well help stop Shadowmoth."
Honorra smiled and pointed to his body. The last set of chain tattoos were gone. "As long as you don't go back on your word again, the curse won't return."
Su-Han nodded in thanks. He then looked at the others and asked them to help come up with a plan.
It was agreed that Su-Han and the twelve Kwamiis would draw Shadowmoth into the open. If he wanted the Celestial Guardian's power, he would have to come to get it himself.
Rose, as Honeybee would search for the hidden feather. She would have Peace Keeper join her as her backup.
With Honeybee and her backup focused on the protector, Ladybug and Chat Noir would go inside the vortex to rescue everyone. Since they didn't know what was inside, they would need to be prepared for anything.
With a plan in place, the heroes, along with the Kwamiis, and the Celestial Guardian, went to rescue the city. Marianne and Master Fu watched them go hopeful that they would be successful.
Rose couldn't believe how big the vortex had gotten. She had a good idea who was the Akuma. She wished she had the Bee Miraculous with her. "Hurry up, Ladybug and Chat Noir. The city needs you."
A moment later, four heroes landed on the roof above her. Ladybug pointed to the street corner. The adult she recognized as Peace Keeper nodded and said something to an old man she didn't know.
Chat Noir, Ladybug, and Peace Keeper landed next to her. The strange old man continued heading in the direction of the vortex.
Rose let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding. "I'm so glad that you're here. I think my friend Juleka is the Akuma. She was feeling guilty earlier about telling a secret of mine to our class."
Ladybug tapped her chin thoughtfully. "I bet that vortex is swallowing people to force them to face their guilt. If that's the case, then Reflekta must be inside as well, just as we suspected."
Chat Noir took a few deep breaths. If Reflekta was inside the vortex they would need to rescue her first. Once she was normal it would be easier to free everyone quickly. They wouldn't have much time to get out before the protector vanished taking everyone with it. This was going to be a tricky rescue.
"We need your help to save everyone, Rose." Ladybug held out a box for Rose, who quickly opened it. Pollen appeared and started comforting her wielder.
"Rose, it's going to be okay. We'll save Juleka together."
"It's time to put those observation skills to the test, Honeybee," Peace Keeper informed the teenager. Rose nodded and transformed.
"Let's go, we need to accomplish this quickly before the vortex disappears," Peace Keeper said. The teenagers nodded as they headed into danger.
Celestial Guardian Su-Han and the ECMC were looking for the place Shadowmoth would be springing his trap. Swimmy looked around and noticed something weird. It appeared that the vortex was avoiding a specific area.
"The Trocadéro! The vortex is avoiding the area. That's where Shadowmoth will appear. If he's not there already, he'll be there once we get his attention," she informed Su-Han.
The Celestial Guardian stopped moving and turned to face the little gods. He then spoke to the group. "Send your powers towards the area. As soon as you have used your powers, you are to return to your box immediately. Shadowmoth must not discover your involvement. He needs to believe I summoned a massive storm to get his attention."
The Kwamiis nodded as the group resumed their course. The little gods pulled ahead and aimed their powers into the sky above Trocadéro to call forth the largest elemental storm.
"High Waves!"
"Fiery Sparks!"
"Shifting Rocks!"
"Easy Breezy!"
"Mechanical Punch!"
"Icicle Storm!"
"Lightning Strike!"
"Youthful Sprig!"
"Gravity Well!"
"Energy Burst!"
"Prism Split!"
"Blackest Night!"
A doomsday storm came into being and started striking the area, destroying the place. As the Kwamiis scurried back to Master Fu's, Su-Han took a deep breath as he was mentally preparing for the coming battle. "It is time to face this evil and put an end to this reign of terror."
Su-Han calmly walked into the storm. He ignored the destruction around him. He didn't even feel the water or ice falling on top of him. Despite the changing surfaces and gravity, he kept moving in a straight line.
Holding his staff high in the air, he commanded the elements to cease their activity. One by one the elements faded away until Su-Han's staff was glowing brightly with power. He slammed the staff on the ground and waited for Shadowmoth to appear. He didn't have to wait long.
Someone clapped their hands. The Celestial Guardian was stoic as Shadowmoth came out into the open. "Bravo, Celestial Guardian. Did you summon that storm and end it just to show off your power?"
"Why would I need to show off my power? I knew a cowardly man like yourself would show up if I signaled for you," Su-Han calmly stated. He gazed into the man's soul and saw the darkness inside.
"I sense you were once a decent person, perhaps even kind and loving. You have strayed greatly from that path for a delusional belief. Your twisted belief that this is all for the greater good is blinding you to the consequences of your actions."
"You are the delusional one. You have the power of the cosmos at your fingertips. Gods that you can command to do anything you want them to! Instead of using that power, you hide it away from the world! I'm not afraid to use it!
Su-Han said nothing. This man couldn't be reasoned with. "I will not help you achieve your twisted goals. Nor will I, ever bequest the power, of the Celestial Guardian, to you. This ends now!"
Twirling his staff, Su-Han called upon his power and unleashed a blast of concentrated magic at Shadowmoth.
The younger man dodged the attack and threw his battle fan. The Celestial Guardian knocked it away and opened a portal to send the weapon to another part of the city.
It had been a distraction so Shadowmoth could close the distance and strike with his cane.
Su-Han barely blocked it. The two men shoved each other back and forth. Then they sprang apart from each other. Su-Han took two steps back, watching his foe to see what he would do next.
Just like he anticipated, Shadowmoth used the Peacock's power. "Raging Call!"
He spun around backwards reducing the amount of sound he heard. He brought his leg around and knocked Shadowmoth over, due to him getting closer to use the full force of his attack.
Charging in for the attack, Shadowmoth called out, "Chrysalis!" The purple threads quickly surrounded the man's body keeping him safe. The Celestial Guardian was stronger than he thought.
No matter, he would win this fight. No one was going to keep him from obtaining the Celestial Guardian's power!
At the edge of the vortex, Peace Keeper used the filters in her mask to do a quick analysis. "We need it to keep it from expanding any further. If it does, there won't be enough time to get everyone out before the protector vanishes."
"You two do what you can to stop it. We're going in," Ladybug ordered. Grabbing her partner's hand, they raced closer and jumped down the opening.
"How do we stop the expansion of the vortex?" Honeybee asked. She looked around making quick observations. "The vortex grew when it swallowed people, but the entire area has been cleared of people. How is it still growing?"
"It's feeding off the power already inside to keep it from collapsing. We need to divert that energy somewhere else." She looked around and got an idea.
"If we can make a connection between the vortex and the electric lines, we can keep it from growing," Peace Keeper said. She started pulling out items from her belt pockets. "Follow my lead."
Inside the vortex, Ladybug and Chat Noir were swimming past Reflekta's victims, confirming that Juleka was indeed the Akuma. As they swam they saw people covered in tiny purple bubbles.
"What do you think those bubbles are for My Lady?" Chat Noir questioned.
Ladybug threaded and watched more of them appearing over the closest victim, Nadja Chamack.
"I shouldn't have put my cameraman in danger. I shouldn't have put my cameraman in danger. I shouldn't have put my cameraman in danger," she repeated several times.
The more she said it, the more the bubbles gathered around her. When she was completely engulfed there was a soft flash of light. The bubbles dissolved, revealing a Reflekta clone.
"Don't let the bubbles touch you! They magnify your guilt until it consumes you!" She quickly destroyed the bubbles around her while Chat Noir cleared the way forward.
"We need to find the real Reflekta, My Lady. Come on!" Chat Noir urged as they swam deeper into the vortex.
Outside of the vortex, Peace Keeper and Honey Bee were ready to implement their plan. If it worked, then the vortex expansion would halt, and Shadowmoth would lose his trap.
Honeybee was hovering over the vortex with a metal rod with a wire attached to it. The wire went into a generator Peace Keeper "borrowed" from Andre's ice cream cart.
Another wire branched out into four separate ones. Each one was then connected to different pad mount transformers. (The pods on the electrical pole.) The adult looked up and waved a gloved hand.
Honeybee centered herself. "You can do this! All I need to do is get close to the opening and throw the rod. As long as it connects with the sides of the vortex, it can begin sucking the energy away."
Without another word, she dived towards the vortex as fast as she could. The pull from the vortex started getting stronger. She was barely able to control her flight.
When she was about ten feet from the target, she hurled the rod and then used every ounce of strength to pull back up and out of the vortex's pull. Once she was clear, she looked down and saw that the plan was working.
The rod had rooted itself into the right side right near the opening. The energy then flowed out to the generator. It sparked with life. Peace Keeper monitored the flow of energy. She had to make sure the right amount went through each of the four spliced electrical wires.
Honeybee observed the vortex slowly stopped expanding. She hurried back down and told Peace Keeper what she had seen. The woman smiled in satisfaction that the plan worked.
"Now that the vortex isn't expanding, we need to start looking for the item the protector's connected with," the woman informed the heroine. "Think of anything that belongs to your friend and start looking. If you see anything strange, then get my attention."
"On it!" Honeybee zoomed off towards where the school used to be. She hoped that whatever the item was, Juleka had not been holding it when she was akumatized.
The fight between Shadowmoth and Celestial Guardian Su-Han had resumed. Just as his defense fell away, Shadowmoth blasted a past image of Reflekta's first transformation from the cane's pommel.
It had startled Su-Han and given the villain time to pull the sword blade out of the cane. With renewed vigor, Shadowmoth pushed forward.
Su-Han weaved between the swings of the sword. He called on his magic to form a protective shell in front of him. As he was thinking about what his next move was, he was shocked when Shadowmoth phased right through it!
The villain thrust his sword forward and managed to stab the Celestial Guardian on the man's side. Blood started to trickle out of the wound. The sight which made Shadowmoth laugh.
"Not so invincible are you, Guardian?" he laughed. "Mayura's new potion didn't work as intended. Still, waste not, want not applied in the situation. I decided to coat my Miraculouses with it right before our battle.
Just like I hoped, the potion worked enough for me to phase through your shield. What do you think of that, Celestial Guardian?"
Su-Han looked at him in disgust. "Risking the destruction of a Miraculous with an unstable potion proves you are not fit to be a wielder." He pressed his hand to his side, and it glowed blue.
The wound sealed itself. Stretching his body, a golden light pulsed through his body, renewing his energy levels. He went on the attack, swinging his staff. Which was then blocked by Shadowmoth.
The fight resumed, each trying to best the other.
In the vortex, Ladybug and Chat Noir had located the real Reflekta. She was almost fully inside the walls of the vortex.
"I never should have told anyone about Rose. It's my fault that our classmates are treating her differently. I deserve to be trapped in my guilt forever."
Ladybug swam closer and tried to pull Reflekta out of the wall. "Come on, Juleka, snap out of it. We need you to fight!"
"My Lady, please hurry. I don't think I can keep these bubbles away from us much longer," Chat told her as some of the bubbles started getting past him.
Wrapping her yo-yo around Reflekta's right hand, the spotted heroine started pulling with all her might. "Come on, Juleka. I can't do this without you!"
The yo-yo lid popped open, startling Ladybug. She flew backwards and got tangled with Chat Noir. As they smacked into the vortex wall, the bubbles started swarming them, taking away their will to fight.
"All we do is put Paris in danger," Ladybug commented.
"We'll never beat Shadowmoth. Why should we even try?" Chat Noir whispered.
Neither hero noticed a small kwami making her way over to her wielder. When no one had been looking, the little magpie had hidden in Marinette's purse which had turned into Ladybug's yo-yo. She had waited until she was close to her wielder to appear. Honorra touched down on Reflekta's hand. Leaning forward a bit, she slapped Reflekta's cheek.
The slap caused the Akuma to look in the kwami's direction. "Juleka, listen to me, please! If you don't fight back, everyone is going to perish."
"Why should I care? I am a horrible friend. I couldn't even keep my best friend's secret. I deserve to be here."
Honorra popped a bubble heading in the girl's direction. "That's enough wallowing, Juleka. Rose forgave you, remember? I know you feel bad about telling the others, but even Rose admitted, she should never have made you keep that promise."
"You can't let guilt stop you from living your life. We all make mistakes and feel bad about them. Staying in a bad moment means you never learn anything. Honeybee is out there right now, trying to this vortex from engulfing the whole city. That is what Shadowmoth wants!"
Reflekta stopped letting the vortex swallow her. "Shadowmoth? What does he want?"
Honorra got in front of the Akuma's face. "He's using your protector, Guilt Trip, to force the Celestial Guardian to surrender his power to him. The villain knows he can threaten the Celestial Guardian by withdrawing your protector with us inside."
"The Celestial Guardian would be forced to give in to save lives. Even if this protector vanishes on its own, he can say he'll bring us back if he's given the full power of the Celestial Guardian."
"We can't let that happen, so fight! Fight for your friends, your city, and yourself. Break your connection with Shadowmoth. You can do it, I believe in you!"
Reflekta thrashed around. She kicked her legs, trying to break free. Concentrating on Honorra, The Akuma gave all she got and escaped the wall, turning back into Juleka!
Honorra caught the akuma and smacked it against the vortex wall. It was covered by the bubbles within seconds. Then it slipped free fully cleansed.
There was no time to celebrate. Juleka popped as many bubbles as she could, freeing the heroes. Honorra joined in, and soon the heroes were back to their normal selves.
"Thanks for your help, Juleka. Honorra, next time you think of sneaking out, don't," Ladybug chided the little kwami.
Chat looked back the way they came and saw some of the Reflekta clones starting to stir. He had a feeling that wasn't a good thing. "How are we going to get everyone out if they're going to attack us?"
"Leave it to Honorra and me. We might not have her Miraculous, but we can still help people let go of their guilt.
Ladybug summoned her Lucky Charm. An ice ax and long rope dropped into her hands. She instantly knew what to do.
Peace Keeper was getting concerned. The energy flow of the vortex was weakening faster than anticipated. "Honeybee! The protector is starting to collapse! We need to find that feather right now!"
"I think I found it!" Honeybee exclaimed as she located Juleka's phone. She zoomed back to Peace Keeper, who was busy with trying to redirect the current. The teenager landed and handed off the phone.
Without hesitation, Peace Keeper jumped into the vortex and used her magnetic soles to keep herself firmly on the metal rod. Holding the phone to Duusu's kwami charm, the adult heroine willed the energy inside to keep the protector going for a few more minutes.
Su-Han was having a hard time with Shadowmoth. The man had turned the tables by using a weapon that wasn't from a Miraculous. Shadowmoth had reached down to his ankle and unstrapped a small gun.
The villain had only fired one shot, and it had hit him in the arm. He was barely able to keep his grip on his staff. Even so, he managed to keep fighting despite the injury. Shadowmoth continued to use his advantage to further weaken the other man.
Su-Han attempted to perform the disabling move Master Fu had shown. Shadowmoth caught him and threw him over his shoulder and into the ground. There was the sound of a small explosion in the distance.
"Ah, that would be the sound of hundreds of people being trapped forever inside a protector who is no more. If you want me to re-summon it and bring them back, I suggest you give me your staaafffffffff!"
Shadowmoth had been hit in the back of the head by Ladybug's yo-yo. The man gasped as he realized that the explosion had been the sound of Ladybug calling for her Miraculous Ladybug while the protector vanished.
Ladybug, Chat Noir, along with Peace Keeper and Honeybee, surrounded him. The Celestial Guard switched the staff to his other arm. "You would be wise to surrender your Miraculouses."
He was vastly outnumbered and realized he was not going to win. "You win today, heroes, but don't expect to again. I will have your power Celestial Guardian no matter how long I have to hunt you!"
He threw down a smoke bomb, blocking everyone's vision. When it cleared, Peace Keeper looked at the others. "Is it just me, or is he starting to act like a cliché villain?"
Later that night, Marinette and Adrien slipped out to say goodbye to Ning. She had secured a ride to the French coastline. From there, Su-Han and her, would take a boat trip, and be in the Netherlands by Sunday.
"Shadowmoth will destroy Paris until he finds me. I should be seen outside the city to minimize the damage to Paris. I plan to be seen on our drive to the coast."
"I do not doubt that Shadowmoth will be using modern technology to look for me. Once he confirms I left Paris, he'll believe that the heroes have lost a powerful ally. His attention would refocus on obtaining the Miraculouses here."
"I've already set up a series of switches between rental cars. At one point, Su-Han will disguise his appearance so we can reach the Netherlands safely," Ning explained.
Su-Han stepped forward and looked down at Master Fu. To the elderly gentleman's surprise, the Celestial Guardian bowed to him. "I apologize for my words and actions towards you and Master Zhu. He was right. I was abusing my power."
"From what I have witnessed here and talking to the kwami groups, I realize I have forgotten why the Order expelled the members of the Society of the Exiles. I place too much attention to physical prowess and severing emotional attachments."
He looked at the Kwamiis and apologized. They were not gods that needed micromanaging. They were beings with emotions and desires. They should have a say in who their wielders would be.
More importantly, they should have a chance to stretch their legs once in and while. Being cooped up in their world all the time was not healthy for them.
"You are a true Guardian, Wu Fu. I am sorry that I didn't see that until now. As the Celestial Guardian, I have an important task for you. I need you to safeguard this until I return," he said as he handed the old man his staff.
Master Fu accepted it, understanding that it was for the best. "I will be honored to carry out your order."
Marianne hugged her love before embracing Ning. "Have a safe trip, daughter."
"I will, Mom," Ning said to her new adoptive mother. She looked at the two teenagers. "Keep Paris safe for now. I'll be back eventually to aid in the fight against Shadowmoth."
Celestial Guardian Su-Han also promised to be back eventually. Until then, he trusted Marinette and Adrien to keep being the best wielders ever.