Chapter 8: It Takes Two to Tango
Rapier was about to charge against Carapace, when he saw himself unable to move. Something had wrapped itself around his wrists and ankles, as well as his waist. He could not make heads or tails of what that thing was. The only thing he knew was that it was black and did not feel like it was made of any material he knew… looking at it, it looked like it was alive, somehow. Looking over his shoulder, he quickly understood what the material was… shadows. And the one who was controlling them was none other than raven heroine, Corbeau Noire. And she was not alone. With her was her partner, Flamingo.
"Wrong! I'm the one who's going to turn you into minced meat, you disgusting creep!" -Corbeau Noire exclaimed, as she tilted her hand-mirror, making use of her powers and ordering every single shadow around to wrap themselves around Rapier's body. –"That reminds me, I hope mom has done something good for dinner tonight. After this, I know I'll be so hungry, that if someone gives me a horse to eat, I'll eat the whole horse, no questions asked." -she thought to herself.
Focusing, Corbeau Noire ordered the shadows to wrap themselves around Rapier, who tried to get rid of them, as one by one, the shadows latched onto him. In a matter of seconds, they had wrapped themselves around the villain, sealing him inside of a shadowy cocoon. The two of them had arrived just in the nick of time to help Carapace and Dragonfly, and just by looking at the turtle hero's expression of relief, Flamingo could tell that he was thrilled to see them.
"Is she alright?!" -Flamingo shouted at Carapace, worried about Dragonfly.
"Go check on them. I've got this!" -Corbeau Noire declared to Flamingo, as the shadows under her control continued to latch on to the cocoon of living shadows, that was continuing to form around Rapier.
(Flashback)
Rose and Juleka sat down to talk for a little bit. Usually, Juleka would go to the ballet academy to pick her up, and the two of them would talk all the way back to Rose's house. But on that day, Juleka was unable to do that, because Luka had asked her to help him practice for a concert, he and a couple of his friends were going to give that weekend. Even so, thanks to destiny or some unseen all-powerful invisible force, things happened in a way that allowed them to see each other, one more time that day.
"Do you want me to play something for you?" -Juleka asked Rose, as she grabbed her guitar and sat on the stage.
"Only if you want to." -Rose smiled at her.
"Rose, come on! Let's go!" -Flint was begging the blonde.
"Be patient, Flint." -Rose told him. –"We'll go, in a bit." -she said, before looking at Juleka again, who was tuning the guitar.
"Okay, this is going to sound like a really dumb and cheesy question, but have I ever sung you a ballad?" -Juleka asked Rose, in the sweetest voice she could muster.
"I don't think so." -Rose smiled at her. –"You have sang me a couple of songs, but never a ballad. Why are you asking me that? Are you going to sing me one?" -she asked her, always smiling.
"Yes, I'm going to." -Juleka said, as she played a couple of chords. –"Luka taught me to play this one last month. I wanted it to be surprise." -she admitted. –"I'm still learning it, so, forgive me if I fail one or two chords, as I play it."
"And then you say, I'm the romantic one in our relationship." -Rose giggled.
"And you are… and this song, is my way to tell you the love I have for you, is something that grows and becomes stronger with each passing day." Juleka said, as she began to play.
Playing the first few chords, it took Rose less than three seconds to realize what Juleka was going to sing to her… "Take My Breath Away", by Berlin. It was one of the most famous ballads ever, and it was also one song that Rose knew quite well, thank to her mom, who was a huge fan of Tom Cruise. She had listened to that very same song countless times, and she knew the lyrics by heart. It was a special song for her, and Juleka knew it, when she asked Luka to teach it to her. The Goth wanted to surprise her, by playing her that ballad, when she fully mastered it, but her love for the blonde got the best of her, and she decided she did not want to wait a minute longer for her to listen to it. To make up for any chord she failed, she tried her hardest to not miss any of the words in the lyrics. Juleka was always saying that from the two of them, Rose was the one who had the best singing-voice. But Rose disagreed. She believed that Juleka has a singing-voice that was absolutely beautiful, and much better than hers.
"Can't believe Jules learned this, just to sing it to me." -Rose thought to herself, without taking her eyes off her girlfriend.
"Watchin', I keep waiting, still anticipating love; Never hesitatin' to become the fated ones; Turning and returning to some secret place to hide; Watchin' in slow motion as you turn to me and say, my love." -Juleka sang for Rose.
"Take my breath away!" -Rose exclaimed, joining her girlfriend.
Juleka continued to play, as well as to sing, now joined by Rose, who could not help herself. What had started as a solo act, quickly turned into a duet. And more importantly, it had become a magical moment between the two girls. One that they would remember fondly, for the rest of their lives. Unfortunately, such a beautiful and magical moment was cut short, when the girls heard an already familiar sound from their cell phones; a distinct ringtone that they had heard more times than they wanted to.
"The Akuma Attack App!" -Rose and Juleka exclaimed in chorus, as the latter stopped playing.
"Just when we were getting to the best part of the song." -Rose sighed, sad about how that special moment between her and Juleka ended.
"This can't be good." -Juleka said, as she placed the guitar by her side and quickly pulled her cell phone from her jeans front pocket, opening the app, to see where the attack was taking place. –"Champ de Mars… I think we should go." -she told Rose.
"I agree." -Rose said. –"I don't know just how tired the others might be, but we're fresher than they probably are, because we didn't train today." -she said. –"Well, I did, but ballet practice is never as rough as our training sessions in the Garden of the Ancients."
"Agreed. I'll go wake up Tamara." -Juleka said, as she got up.
"What about your brother?" -Rose asked her. –"He's going to ask where you're going." -she said.
"I'll come up with an excuse, don't worry." -Juleka told her, as Rose opened her backpack.
"Looks like that mango and your show will have to wait a little bit longer, Flint." -Rose apologized to her kwami.
"Tell me something I don't know already." -Flint said, in a sarcastic tone.
"To make it up to you, I'm buying you two mangos, instead of just one, once we've dealt with the Akuma." -Rose said, as she petted Flint on the head, which made him smile.
"Come on, Tamara, wake up." -Juleka told her kwami with a calm and melodious voice, which woke her up. –"There's an Akuma attack. We need to go." -she said, as Tamara yawned.
Hearing her say that, the raven kwami understood that nap time was over, and it was time to go kick some butt. Yawning, she knew that the rest of her nap would have to wait. Still slightly asleep, she flew inside Juleka's backpack. Grabbing the backpack, Juleka was about to go and warn Luka she was going to accompany Rose home, when he showed up, coming from inside the houseboat's basement, where he had gone to get a snack.
"You're going somewhere?" -Luka asked his sister, when seeing her with her backpack.
"I'm going to walk Rose home." -Juleka told him.
"Okay, but be careful. I just got a warning from the Akuma Attack App, saying there's an Akuma running loose." -Luka told her.
"I know. I also got the warning." -Juleka told him. –"Don't worry, the Akuma is attacking the Eiffel Tower, and we're going on the opposite direction of it. Still, I promise you, Rose and I will be careful." -she declared. –"Once I get her home, I'll head straight back home. And since you'll get home before I do, if mom and dad ask…"
"Don't worry. I'll come up with a proper excuse." -Luka said. –"Just don't take too long. Remember, it's meatloaf night, and you know that mom's meatloaf is only good, when it comes out warm out of the oven." -he reminded her.
"Thanks, Luka." -Juleka smiled at him, as she and Rose left the boathouse. –"You're the best big brother in the world!" -she exclaimed.
"Yeah, yeah, I know." -Luka smiled at his little sister. –"But remember, you owe me a chocolate bar for keeping you out of trouble!" -he told her. –"You know I'm a sucker for Twix, so be sure to get me some… but make sure it's not White Chocolate Twix. You know I hate white chocolate. It's too sweet!"
"I know!" -Juleka laughed, as she and Rose quickened their pacing.
(End of Flashback)
Grunting and yelling, Rapier tried to break free from the shadows' grasp, only to fail. And once the raven heroine felt that she had a good drip on him, she used her hand-mirror and ordered the shadows to bounce him around, as if he were a bag full of useless junk, trying to break that same junk into tiny little pieces. Corbeau did not hold back, and ordered the shadows to not be kind to Rapier. After seeing Dragonfly on the ground, looking the way she looked, it was clear to her that that guy did not deserve anyone's sympathy. And as she handled Rapier, Flamingo went to check on Carapace and Dragonfly.
"We should've gotten here faster." -Flamingo thought to herself, as she approached Dragonfly and Carapace, as the latter one examined her. –"Is she conscious?" -she asked the turtle hero, while kneeling by his side, not taking her eyes from Dragonfly.
"Barely." -Carapace said, as he checked her pulse, which was strong. –"She must be in a lot of pain, or no pain at all, given what happened to her." -he told the flamingo warrior, raising his voice a little, to make himself heard over the noise of Rapier hitting the tower's floor and beams. .
Finishing talking, Carapace felt a sudden weakness, which made him dizzy and lightheaded. Flamingo noticed that happening, and wondered if he was alright, not hesitating to ask him that.
"Are you alright?" -Flamingo asked him. –"You look a bit pale." -she said.
"I-I'm okay. Just a little too… too tired." -Carapace said.
"G-G-Guys…" -a voice was heard. It was Dragonfly, who was trying to speak.
"Are you okay? Sorry, stupid question." -Flamingo said, as she saw that Dragonfly was trying to say something. –"Don't talk, save your strength. She's handling that Akuma, and we're not going to let it hurt you anymore."
"That's not an Akuma, Rose." -Carapace told the flamingo heroine. –"That's Hawk Moth's newest lieutenant." -he clarified.
"Newest lieutenant?!" -Flamingo asked, surprised with what she heard.
As they continued to talk amongst them, as well as keeping an eye on Dragonfly, Corbeau Noire was busy handling Rapier, who was trying to break free from the cocoon of shadows the raven heroine had created around him. But this was not easy, because Corbeau was making sure he would not get the opportunity to come up with a way to pierce through the cocoon of shadows. Smashing the cocoon, he was in against every hard surface there was around her, the raven heroine made sure that he received a hell of a beating. And after what felt like an eternity, she ordered the shadows to smash the cocoon they had created, one last time, against the metal floor, this time with all the strength they could muster, making the Eiffel Tower vibrate violently. As the shadows faded away and returned to their original places, Rapier's bruised body was revealed, this one having sustained a heavy beating. Looking at him, Corbeau believed he would not get up after what she had done to him, but in case he would, she decided to warn him no to do it, for his own sake.
"Do yourself a favour, and don't get back up. This would go a lot easier if you just fainted. The sooner we get that Akuma Butterfly out of you, the better." -Corbeau Noire told Rapier, in a serious tone, while trying to collect her strength back.
That was the third time Rapier was confused with an Akuma by the heroes. If this was Reptile, or Madame Romani, they would have been absolutely enraged and offended, by it. But not Rapier; he did not care if they thought he was just another Akuma. He just cared that they had their eyes on him. That just made the thrill of taking them down, one by one, even greater. And after hearing Corbeau Noire mistaking him for an Akuma, he could not contain himself and started to laugh like crazy.
"Y-You, heroes, a-are s-so stupid!" -Rapier laughed, while coughing up some blood. –"C-Can't you tell t-the difference b-between a stupid and miserable A-Akuma, and a guy who's working d-directly f-for Hawk Moth?!" -he asked her, as he got back up, while continuing to laugh.
Hearing him say that, Corbeau Noire was surprised, just like it happened with both Dragonfly and Carapace.
"Y-You… Y-You think you can… s-stop me, like that?!" -Rapier asked them, before letting out a shrieking manic laugh into the air. –"G-Go ahead! P-Punch me! K-Kick me! E-Eviscerate me! T-That just g-gives me more r-reasons to get b-back up and kill you a-all!" -he yelled, practically spitting the words, before starting to laugh maniacally again.
The way Rapier talked and laughed, caused the hairs on the back of Corbeau's neck to stand up; and not for a good reason. She had dealt with all sorts of Akumas before, as well as the other three of Hawk Moth's lieutenants, and none of them had ever given her the creeps the way Rapier had just given her. There was something about him that made her uncomfortable. Even before she attacked him, she felt he was not like other enemies she had faced, just from looking at him. And now that she was staring him in the eyes, she could tell her initial thoughts about him were right. There was something about Rapier that made him more dangerous and twisted than he looked.
"Fine. It doesn't matter if you're a lieutenant working for that psycho or just another Akuma. If you want to end up the way your work buddies end up, every time they go up against me and my friends, that's fine with me." -Corbeau Noire told him, as she readied herself to attack him again.
"Y-You're going to end up with your wings clipped, little raven." -Rapier threatened her.
"Bring it on, you poor excuse for a pigeon!" -Corbeau Noire shouted at him, while brushing away the lock of hair that was covering her eyes.
She had not finished that last sentence, when Rapier dashed towards her, ready for the killing. The raven heroine was confident that beating she had given him would have been enough to disorient him, and perhaps even weaken him a little. But the only thing it did, was make Rapier furious, and even more determined to kill her. The truth was, it had weakened him a little, but not enough for anyone to notice it much. Firing his bladed wings at Corbeau Noire, she managed to dodge most of them, though two of them grazed her right shoulder and her left ankle. For someone who had taken a beating as heavy as the one she had given him, Rapier seemed just fine.
Their battle soon became airborne, but it did not go past the boundaries of the tower's first level. When it came to their powers, the two of them seemed to be in equal terms, as they pit themselves against one another.
Observing them fighting, and unable to just stand there and do nothing, Flamingo decided to give her girlfriend a hand, while leaving Carapace to tend to Dragonfly, hoping he would be able to help her. Creating several copies of herself, the flamingo heroine, she attacked Rapier, by creating an attack circle with her copies, making it hard for him to avoid any attack from her. But just like it happened when it was just Corbeau fighting him, Rapier attacked her, without a single care in the world. He did not mind if he was outnumbered. To him, that was just another thing made the adrenaline in his veins flow even faster. To deal with Flamingo's copies, he pulled a few of his bladed feathers from his wings, and by magic, he turned them into a red and black rapier, true to his name, and proceeded to attack them. One by one, they all fell, until only the original and the last copy were standing.
"You can continue to try and fool me with your copies, princess, but sooner or later, I'm going to turn the real you into sushi!" –Rapier threatened Flamingo, as he obliterated the last of the copies.
"That doesn't even make sense!" -Flamingo exclaimed, while dodging one of Rapier's bladed feathers. – "How do you even make sushi out of a flamingo?! Sushi is made with fish, you moron!" -she shouted at him, as she shot her cane at Rapier, trying to hit him on the head, but failing.
"Forget his logic! It's clear that even using small words, he's too dumb to understand the absolute nonsense he just said!" -Corbeau Noire said, as she leapt over Rapier, hitting him on the back.
"Dumb?! We'll see who's dumb, when I have your heads on one hand, and your miraculouses on the other." -Rapier yelled at the raven heroine, while throwing his weapon in her direction, forcing her to dodge it.
"We need to put this guy out of commission!" -Corbeau Noire said, as she landed next to Flamingo.
"Agreed! Let's give him a taste of our combined special attack." -Flamingo suggested.
"You mean…" -Corbeau Noire said.
"Yup… Ring Around the Rosie!" -Flamingo exclaimed.
"I was hoping you would say that." -Corbeau Noire smiled at Flamingo, who winked back at her.
"And I'm hoping it's enough to take him down." -Flamingo said. –"Follow my lead!" -she said.
Ring Around the Rosie was a combined special attack Flamingo and Corbeau Noire had come up with, while fooling around their powers at the sound of music. Basically, the girls would start to dance with their bodies pressed against one another, with Flamingo taking the lead, after which they would start to spin as fast as they could, on the tips of their feet, mimicking a spinning top. When doing it, the result was the release of an energy wave that combined both girls' powers, which manifested themselves as a mixture of both living shadows and pink feathers, creating an impressive visual display.
When he saw what they were doing, Rapier believed it was a trick of theirs to get his attention, and force him to come at them, instead of going after Dragonfly and Carapace. But soon, he found out that what he believed would be an "all spin and no delivery" move, was not. And when he found that out, it was already too late for him to do anything. Flamingo and Corbeau Noire did not hold back, as their attack engulfed everything around them, including Rapier, who felt like his body was being pierced over and over by sharp and pointy objects. Gritting his teeth, he tried to move as fast as he could, so as to avoid being hit, but it was no use. The gusts of wind created by the heroines made it nearly impossible for him to control the direction he wanted to go. And as the seconds passed, he could feel his energy being consumed, from just trying not to get hit.
"That guy has no idea where he got himself into." -Carapace thought, as he watched the whole thing. –"It was a smart move from both Rose and Juleka. They're going to tenderize him." -he thought.
When they ceased the attack, Flamingo and Corbeau Noire felt like they had had a sizable amount of their energy sucked out of them. But as tired as they were, they were still in better shape than Rapier was, as he fell hard on the metallic grid that the floor was made of. Not taking their eyes off of him, they used the time it took Rapier to get back on his feet, to rest for a bit.
"I'm n-not done yet…" -Rapier said, as he did his best to stand up. –"Like I s-said before, you c-can use me as a p-punching bag! T-That only makes me w-want to turn you a-and y-your friends, i-into corpses!" -he shouted at them.
The raven and the flamingo heroines knew that just like every other enemy, Rapier was not going to throw in the towel and give up, and wondered what his next move would be. He looked in pretty bad shape, but they knew that that was not going to stop him from coming at them again. Like it happened with all the enemies they faced, these only stopped attacking them, when someone punched their lights out. Not wishing to find out what his next move would be, Flamingo and Corbeau Noire charged against him, hoping to gain once more the upper hand, by making the first move. But before they could do it, a cloud of purple smoke engulfed Rapier, and made hi disappear out of sight, just like it happened when Hawk Moth teleported his lieutenants out of the battlefield.
"He's gone!" -Corbeau Noire exclaimed, after seeing him disappear.
"Hawk Moth must have teleported him out of here… that, or this is some kind of power he has, and that we don't know about." -Flamingo declared, as her eyes scouted the area around them, looking for any sign of Rapier.
"I don't think so." -Corbeau Noire told her. –"The way he behaved, if he was still here, and this was a trap, he would've showed up by now." -she said, as she looked around for any sign of him.
"Doesn't matter, really. If he's gone, then the threat is seemingly over." -Flamingo told her. –"Besides, we've got a bigger issue on our hands… Alix's in really bad shape." -she said.
After getting things back the way, they were, with the Ampulla Amulet, the heroes quickly got out of there. On the ground, the police and everyone else, wondered what had happened. The media, who had also showed up to cover the fight, were hopeful the heroes would shed some light on what happened, once they came down. But that did not happen. Flamingo carried Carapace, while Corbeau Noire carried Dragonfly, who was looking like she had been squashed by a giant. Carapace had used his healing powers on her, but was unable to heal her properly. His exhaustion had left him without enough energy to use them in a way that could help her.
"She's in pretty bad shape." -Flamingo said, as she looked at the dragonfly heroine. –"Are you really sure you can't help her?" -she asked Carapace.
"I'm afraid that's a little too much for me, in my current state." -Carapace admitted. –"I tried to help her, but my healing powers aren't working properly. I just don't have the energy to do it. We need to get her to Master Fu, right away. He'll be able to heal her." -he said.
"Then, we better hurry and get to the Garden of the Ancients." -Corbeau Noire said.
"Agreed. We better teleport there and…" -Flamingo said, when she caught eye of something moving on the rooftops below them. –"Hey, is that Alya down there?!" -she said, as she saw Rena Rouge running towards their direction.
Carapace was going to tell the girls to go down and meet her, but both Flamingo and Corbeau Noire got ahead of him, and quickly began to descend to meet her on the rooftop she was running on. Rena Rouge was so focused on getting to the Eiffel Tower to help them out, wondering what kind of threat her boyfriend would be facing, she did not even notice him and her friends descending to meet her. It was only when they were about to land in front of her that the fox heroine noticed them. And upon seeing them, and especially Alix, her heart nearly stopped.
"What happened to her?!" -Rena Rouge asked them, as they landed on the rooftop in front of her. –"Tell me, what happened to Alix?!" -she asked them, demanding an answer.
"Long story… I'll explain everything to you in a bit. And you two, get to the Garden. I'll call the master and tell him to meet you there." -Carapace said. –"You can leave me here."
"You're kidding me, right?!" -Flamingo exclaimed. –"You also took a beating from that guy. You need to let Master Fu check on you." -she said, worried about him.
"Don't worry about me. I'm fine, compared to Alix. Just get her there, so the master can heal her. Put me down, and go. Alya, will take care of me." -Carapace asked Flamingo, who immediately placed him on the ground, in front of Rena Rouge.
"Take care of him, Alya. He may not look like it, but he's exhausted." -Flamingo told her, as she, Dragonfly and Corbeau Noire teleported to the Garden of the Ancients.
The fox heroine did not know what had happened, but she knew that she would find out all about it, once her boyfriend finished calling Master Fu. The call only lasted a couple of seconds, but for Rena Rouge, who was eager to find out what had happened, felt like it had taken a whole hour. After seeing Dragonfly that way, she assumed that something truly bad had happened; not catastrophic, but still pretty bad. And once Carapace ended the call to the old master, she did not hesitate in bombard him with questions. From the way her voice sounded, while demanding answers, most people would think she was furious, but the turtle hero knew that was not the case. That was her voice, whenever she was worried. One by one, he answered all the questions she asked him, making sure he would not forget about any detail.
Hearing the whole story, Rena pictured and recreated the whole battle against Rapier in her mind. And while recreating it, she felt the urge to check out online for any photos of Rapier, on her flute-staff/cell phone, just to see how he looked like. But she resisted the urge, mostly because she was too worried about what the implications of the attack that took place earlier.
"That's awful…" -Rena Rouge said. –"Poor Alix." -she said, while hoping she would be alright.
"Yeah… but don't worry, she's tough as nails. And Master Fu knows just what to do to get her back on her feet, before you can say "Omelette du Fromage", trust me, foxy fox." -Carapace told her.
"What about you?" -Rena Rouge asked him. –"How are you feeling?" -she asked, worried. –"And don't lie to me, Nino Lahiffe. I know when you're lying to me."
"I'm okay. I mean, I'm exhausted, I most certainly have a couple of bruises on my chest which will take a whole night to vanish… and I need to get home quickly, because I told my mom that I had forgot to pick up a record that I reserved at my usual music store, and that I wouldn't be long. Otherwise, I'll get into trouble." -Carapace answered her. But other than that, I'm okay" -he reassured her.
"You want me to walk you home? I don't mind doing it." -Rena Rouge told him.
"No, it's okay. I still have the energy to go by myself." -Carapace smiled at her. –"Sorry if I dragged you out of the house for nothing." -he apologized to her.
"Don't say that, turtle boy." -Rena Rouge said, smiling. –"I'm the one who has to apologize for not being faster." -she apologized to him. –"I really wish I could've been there to help you all."
"Don't blame yourself, okay? I don't want you to do that." -Carapace smiled back at her. –"We managed to handle that guy. And besides, like I said before, I'm okay. A little hurt, but nothing that a good meal and a few hours of sleep won't cure." -he said. –"Also, our birds of prey showed up in the nick of time and saved my bacon, as well as Alix's."
"Thank God, they both skipped training today." -Rena Rouge said. –"Unfortunately, that's where the good news end, and the bad ones begin… this is the first time we have one of Hawk Moth's lieutenants taking down one of us, in a matter of minutes." -she said. –"If it hadn't been for you, Rose and Juleka, Alix could've died and her miraculous would've been taken. She was quite lucky."
"I know." -Carapace said, nodding his head. –"We'll definitely need to talk about this with the others." -he said. –"And something tells me, that we will be doing it online, tonight, after dinner."
"Definitely." -Rena Rouge said.
While Rena Rouge and Carapace were having a calm and tranquil conversation between them, despite what she had heard him telling her, in Hawk Moth's lair, things were anything but calm or tranquil. The villain had teleported Rapier from the Eiffel Tower, and his reaction to it, was not a positive one. And unlike his fellow lieutenants, who had learned to withhold their tongue, when talking to Hawk Moth, Rapier was talking to his master, without caring if what he said offended him or not; not realizing that he was digging into a hole, or a grave, in his case.
"W-Why?! I-I w-was on a role! I-I could've killed them all!" -Rapier exclaimed at Hawk Moth. –"Send me back again, and I'll g-get y-you their miraculouses!" -he demanded.
"I brought you, because you were being humiliated, after starting what looked like a promising offensive." -Hawk Moth told him, with a voice devoid of any kind of feeling. –"You allowed yourself to be used as a punching bag, by Corbeau Noire and Flamingo, after facing Carapace and Dragonfly; even managing to almost get your hands on her miraculous!" -he said, this time with a voice filled with both rage and disappointment. –"You showed weakness, and I will not have that. I will not have my lieutenants being humiliated like that… because if I do, it shows that I allow weakness into my ranks, and I will not have that! The others already know this, and now, so do you."
"Who cares about what those three idiots know and I don't! And I'm not weak! I was this to get their miraculouses! I just needed time to get rid of them!" -Rapier berated at Hawk Moth. -"You're the one who screwed everything up, by taking me out of there, just as I was about to deal with those two, and then finish what I've started!" -he yelled out, furious at the villain.
There were many things Hawk Moth did not tolerate from anyone; among those things was someone berating at him. Over the millennia, he had punished those who dared to disrespect him, by raising their voices against him, some more hardly, some less harshly, depending on what it was spoken, and on his mood. But one thing always happened. Whoever had the sad idea of berating or yelling at hawk Moth, would never do it again, either because it did not wish to receive the harsh punishment that awaited them for doing it so, or because they ended up dead. And when Rapier did just that, he did not hesitate in showing him that he would not tolerate that kind of behaviour from him. Raising his cane, he fired a series of purple lightning bolts, which hit him and caused him to scream in agony. Rapier's screams echoed all over the lair.
"Allow me to remind you this, Rapier… when you speak to me, you will do so with the utmost respect I deserve. Or otherwise, you will suffer the consequences of such kind of insubordination, just as you will, every time you fail." -Hawk Moth declared in a cold and harsh voice, while continuing to electrocute him. –"And let me remind you as well, that I gave you those powers, so you could serve me; not to question my orders.." -he spoke in the same cold tone of voice.
He continued to electrocute him, and Rapier continued to scream in pain, from the top of his lungs. But unlike what happened with Reptile or Madame Romani, he never begged Hawk Moth to stop, or for mercy. One would think that he did not do it, because he feared that begging for mercy would make Hawk Moth punish him even harder. But the truth was, he did not do it, because he refused to show any weakness. In his mind, if he begged for any kind of help or mercy, he would not be worthy of serving Hawk Moth. When the lightnings finally ceased, Rapier felt like he had a close encounter with a bug zapper, or stuck his fingers in an electrical socket. Falling on the ground, he tried to move, but realized that apart from his eyes, he could not move any other muscle in his body.
"If you cannot obey my orders and understand what I've just told you, I'll take those powers I gave you, kill you and find someone who can use them." -Hawk Moth threatened him.
"Y-Yes…." -Rapier said, in a whisper.
"Yes, what?" -Hawk Moth asked him again, demanding a proper answer, while stepping on Rapier's right hand.
"Y-Yes, s-sir…" -Rapier answered him, gritting his teeth in pain.
"From here on out, you will address me by the word "sir" or "master", and you will respect me and any decision I make. Do I make myself clear?" -Hawk Moth asked, as he turned his cane and then pulled it off, revealing the fine blade the cane concealed. –"Otherwise, I'll cut your head off and feed it to the sewer rats." -he threatened him, before using the blade to cut off Rapier's right fingers off his hand, which made him scream. -"And unlike your fingers, your head won't grow back. Remember that, Rapier… Reptile! I know you're there. Come out from your hiding spot and tend to his wounds. Hurry!"
Doing as he was ordered, Reptile came out of the shadows and quickly grabbed Rapier by the arms and dragging him away. And as he did it, the lizard man could not help but to be pleased with what happened to Rapier. From the first moment they met, the lizard man and Rapier did not see eye to eye, and that was enough for Reptile to see him as someone who did not deserve to be there.
"You thought you were better than all of us, but in the end, you're no better than anyone else… it's just a shame that the master didn't torture you more than he did." -Reptile thought to himself. –"But knowing your kind, it'll only be a matter of time, before he has to do it again, and I'll be more than happy to see you suffer. You'll learn your place, soon enough." -he mused to himself, while continuing to drag Rapier's body.
But Reptile was not the only one who was hiding in the shadows. Brutus was also doing that. He saw the way the whole scene between his master and Rapier had happened. And the more he thought about what he had seen and heard, the more he felt compelled to talk to Hawk Moth about it. Brutus had a feeling that Rapier was not the kind of person his master needed as one of his closest acolytes, and after seeing Hawk Moth retrieving him from battle, because he was not behaving satisfactorily, he saw that his assumptions were correct. As a loyal and devoted servant, Brutus was not one to question his master's decisions. But at the same time, he felt like he had to tell him his thoughts on how Rapier, whom he felt, was not cut out for that job. Stepping out of the shadows, he addressed Hawk Moth, just as he was about to head back to his private chamber.
"Master, may I have word with you?" -Brutus asked Hawk Moth.
"Speak, Brutus. But be quick about it." -Hawk Moth told him.
"With all due respect, master, this won't work. Rapier's a loose cannon. He has no kind of discipline, he's reckless, he's impulsive, he doesn't have any kind of respect for authority… he's the opposite of what a person under your command should behave." -Brutus pointed out. –"The way he spoke to you, reveals that he lacks the various qualities that make a good soldier, master." -he declared.
"And yet, he was this close to killing one of the miraculouses heroes, and taking its miraculous." -Hawk Moth declared in a cold voice. –"Something that neither you, nor Reptile, nor Madame Romani have managed to do with the help of my Akumas, while he alone, was able to put one of the heroes against the wall and nearly got its miraculous." -he said in the same cold voice as before. –"His methods are a little crude and different from yours, yet they seemingly work. As for his lack of respect for authority, that can be taught, one way or another. I chose him for his unpredictability, and such unpredictability has already given some fruits, even if they were not the ones I was expecting."
The way he spoke about Rapier, it was clear to Brutus that his master had not lost his faith on him, and that was both interesting and scary. Interesting, because it revealed that Hawk Moth was willing to play a dangerous game., where the prize was quite high. And scary, because when playing a dangerous game, which relied on the efforts of others, meant the outcome might not be the one desired.
"I understand what you're saying, master. I have to admit that even for all his flaws, he is a very resourceful fighter. But still, why take him out of the battlefield like that? I do not understand what good can come of doing such a thing, especially when you said that he was quite close to get at least one of the miraculouses." -Brutus admitted, not being able to see the reason Hawk Moth had done that to his fellow lieutenant.
"So, he understands what happens, when he fails." -Hawk Moth said. –"By knowing the kind of punishment that awaits him, he will try harder than ever before to succeed. On top of that, Rapier is the kind of person who hates to lose, just like me." -he said. –"You called him a loose cannon, did you not? Well, with what I did to him, I made sure that he will be a loose cannon, who will do anything in his power to succeed, Brutus. And he will do just that."
He could not say he agreed with the way Hawk Moth was handling Rapier's situation, but Brutus was not one to question his master's decisions. He had just seen what happened, when one questioned his authority, and he did not wish to suffer the same treatment Rapier suffered.
"I understand, master." -Brutus told Hawk Moth. –"I wouldn't handle Rapier's case the way he is, but that's me. I am quite sure the master knows what he is doing." -he thought to himself.
"Good. Which is why you and the others will be working with him, whether you like it, or not. I will not have any of you jeopardize my plans, just because your working styles clash. Do I make myself clear, Brutus?" -Hawk Moth asked.
The way he spoke, Brutus understood that that warning was not merely a warning, but a serious threat. And the last thing he wanted, was to get on Hawk Moth's bad side.
"Crystal clear, my master." -Brutus complied.
Slow and steady, wins the race... that's what my grandmother always said. And in this case, she was right. Slow and steady this story is beginning to take shape. I enjoyed writing this chapter, because it gave me the chance to continue to develop two of my favourite ships... RosexJuleka and AlyaxNino. The song I chose for Juleka to learn, so she could sing it to Rose is a personal favourite of mine. I really love "Take My Breath Away" from Berlin... I'm not the biggest fan of Top Gun, even though it's a fairly decent movie (and I think that the sequel is coming out two decades too late, and that it will most certainly bomb on the box-office, but that's my opinion), but the song, it's a special song, because it reminds me of my childhood and the countless times I listened to it, while in the car with my parents (those were the days. :) )
And don't worry about Alix... you know she's a tough girl, and she's going to end up alright. :) And Rapier... well, he'll be alright too, once his fingers grow back.
Anyways, as always, feel free to comment, fav and leave your suggestions to improve this fic, and future ones.
P.S. One last thing... for those of you who love fanart form this AU, Cerumoce has designed Rose and Juleka's winter hero outfits, so go to her page on Deviantart and check it out. I can guarantee you that you'll love the outfits.