Author's Note: Guys I am so sorry that this chapter came out so late, college started up again and I recently got a new job so things have been uhh... hectic. This chapter has not gone through a beta read so please keep that in mind, so please excuse me. I certainly was not expecting this chapter to take that long and originally this chapter was supposed to be longer actually but I decided to split the Future Past into two chapters since everything I planned in my head was a lot longer on virtual paper. Chapter 4: The Agrestes' Gambit was supposed to be a chapter that focused on Hugo and Emma and the aftermath of the Future Past, but I will be including the second half of the Future Past into that chapter since the title fits the narrative I was pushing for anyway! I really hope you guys enjoy and I am honestly so proud of this story and where it will go. Keep in mind that a lot of these powers are inspired yet original ideas, well mostly original and this is not at all how the powers currently work within the show. It's a kind of mix of the Miraculous Ladybug mechanics as well as making these children OP as hell. I read my fanfic to a lot of video game soundtracks to set the mood while I'm writing so it's extremely fun. Anyway! Enjoy this chapter and hopefully I will get the future chapters up soon! SnivyLord out!
"It's all over..." Louis simply said, closing his eyes.
This is the Future Past, an apocalypse created by Hawkmoth in order to force Ladybug and Chat Noir to give up their miraculous. Unfortunately, the plan worked and now the two heroes of Paris are now out of commission. This calamity has corrupted every timeline and every future became the same bleak despair. Every passage of time, every alternate future as far as time could tell ended with the same image of the White Fang standing alone against Hawkmoth in the ruins of Paris. It was up to Adrien and Marinette's children Louis, Hugo, and Emma to defend Paris in their parents' stead. This is just the beginning of where fate begins to take a disastrous turn, and this is when the Future Past truly starts. With Hawkmoth now holding both the Creation and Destruction miraculous, there is nothing stopping him from making his dreams a reality. Will Louis be able to stop him now, or will he be doomed to perish like every other time he's tried?
A week before the Future Past...
Louis looked in disbelief at all the burrows around him courtesy of the bunny miraculous. All of the ones that had to do with the future all had the same image: Louis in his superhero form standing alone amidst the flames and rubble facing an ominous figure in the sky in front of the Eiffel Tower. Louis could only assume that it was Hawkmoth and he looked back at Bunnix who returned a grim look.
"Only Louis... is left? What happened to everyone else? Ladybug and Chat Noir?" Glacies asked as both the kwami and his wielder looked to Bunnyx for an answer. However, it was an answer that both of them vaguely knew despite their hopes that the future could have turned out differently.
"They're dead... you're the only one who stands alone against him..." Bunnyx confirmed, making Louis breathe out a harsh breath, closing his eyes in order to process what he just learned. His parents are going to die and so is everyone else, even his siblings. There was no alternate future where someone would be beside him... it was just Louis and Louis alone. Knowing that made a crushing force grip his heart, making Louis feel more alone than he's ever felt.
"All of the futures... are the same?" Louis murmured to himself, glancing at his kwami who was also examining the phenomenon before them. Louis felt a bit scared looking at his swami's expression, which was just as grim as Bunnyx's.
"It seems to be a phenomenon that reflected itself across every branch of time... all leading to the same future," Glacies explained without looking at Louis, his eyes transfixed on the repeated scenes of the Future Past across every burrow, "I believe it has something to do with a specific chain of events that sealed the fate of every future..." Glacies surmised as Louis realized what his kwami was talking about.
"The Chain of Causality?" Louis asked as his kwami nodded and Bunnyx moved closer to converse with her fellow miraculous wielder of time.
"Yes, we believe that there is a specific chain of events that occurred in the past that made every future like this. Usually the thread of fate known as the Chain of Causality allows alternate futures to occur as every choice leads to another, thus advancing time and creating the chain of causality," Bunnyx looked worriedly at the burrows.
"I understand that much about the thread of fate, but haven't you tried to go back in time to order to warn the past version of me? Or anyone for that matter?" Louis asked and Bunnyx sighed at the notion. Truth be told that was the very first thing that she did, and it's obviously not working. That's why she's conversing with present day Louis to figure out a way to fix this time mess.
"Believe me I tried, you don't know how many times I've gone back in time and warned you, but every single other version of you that tried to change something about the future didn't work! It all ended with the same scene at the end and you end up dying anyway!" Bunnyx explained, feeling exasperated and frustrated with all her efforts being for naught. Louis looked at Bunnyx, trying to process what she just told him and closed his eyes to calm himself down by taking deep breaths. Every single other version of him has failed to stop the Future Past? It's all ended the same way no matter what he did?
"Bunnix... when did you first start noticing that every single future was the same?" Glacies asked, a question that left Bunnyx thinking about when she first started this race against time, "and why didn't you bring this to our attention sooner?" The kwami felt a little annoyed that Bunnix had only decided to warn the two about this calamity a week before it happens, but Glacies thought that now would be better than later.
"I thought I could handle this myself about a month or so ago when I checked the burrows, but then it became an endless loop of fighting the same fight over and over and I realized that I was way too in over my head with this," Bunnyx held her hands up to her face to massage the bridge of her nose as she explained. Louis sighed and said nothing to her explanation, but Bunnix decided to keep talking, "I didn't want to get you in particular involved unless if I absolutely have to because this is the original timeline. You have no idea how many times I had this conversation with you." Louis noticed that Bunnyx looked too tired to even go through the same conversation again, but he understood that. If Louis had to explain that the future was doomed in a loop to countless versions of another person, he'd go mad as well. It also just hit Louis that Bunnyx had gone through this exact scenario hundreds or maybe thousands of times, and yet nothing has changed.
"Now it's almost too late because we barely have any time left," Glacies narrowed his eyes at Bunnix, who sighed and put her hands on her hips and glared back at the kwami as if she was challenging him.
"Now don't put all the blame on me, aren't you like an immortal being who is literally the manifestation of the concept of time? Don't tell me that you couldn't predict that all of this was going to happen and didn't tell Louis either!" Bunnix accused Glacies, who bristled with anger as the wielder and kwami squared up against one another.
"Excuse me, but I believe I gave up my ability of clairvoyance to your kwami Fluff so I wouldn't bring fear to humanity because humans have such fragile minds when it comes to seeing their future fate," Glacies retorted, pointing his tiny paw at Bunnix's pocket watch miraculous. Louis groaned in frustration as the two continued to argue, "so I wouldn't be able to tell Louis that the world is ending because I made it your job!"
"Guys! Arguing isn't going to help us here! We only have a week left until the Future Past and so far we have nothing!" Louis yelled, emphasizing the last part and the two of them fell silent. No one knowing what to say for a moment and Louis pinched his nose in frustration.
"There's one thing I do know," Bunnyx sighed as she looked at all the burrows again, "you're the key to all of this... no pressure, but the world is riding on what you happen to do in the end."
Louis bit his lip, gave Bunnyx a knowing look, and groaned, "That doesn't make me feel better at all... if anything, that makes me feel incredibly incompetent because my parents literally did this for a living at my age! And I have no idea what I'm doing!" Louis threw his hands up in frustration and walked around the pocket realm, his hands behind his head. Louis had so many questions in his head, but before he could open his mouth, Bunnix had already anticipated his questions.
"If you want to ask if you told anyone about this, you have: you told your siblings, your parents, your friends, every other wielder in Paris in a large war meeting. But trust me when I say that it doesn't work, anything that you can think of right now that you could have done different, you've already tried and it didn't work," Bunnyx bluntly stated as Louis faltered and felt himself deflate. It was true, anything Louis could possibly think of now he must have already tried, "I know it's a frustrating and daunting task but we just need to find another way to approach the problem." Bunnix put a reassuring hand on Louis' shoulder and Glacies thought to chime in with some advice of his own.
"One way we could fix this is by finding the chain of events in the past that caused this phenomenon to happen," Glacies suggested but Louis countered it with a argument of his own.
"That chain could literally be anything in the past and it would take forever just to find it, but we do know it has to be something big that happened to Hawkmoth in order to make him resort to this in the first place," Louis explained as he turned around the burrows that played scenes of the past and he ran his fingers across the glassy plane of the burrow. Louis looked through a couple of scenes from the past: Catalyst, Mayura, Miracle Queen, Feast, Monster Fu, Wishmaker, and many others but literally everything stood out like a sore thumb. Was there anything in these specific moments that brought on Hawkmoth's plan for the Chrysalis of Paradise?
"Do you think you'll be able to find it in time?" Bunnyx asked, making Louis narrow his eyes at the burrow and answered without looking back at his fellow time wielding wielder.
"Maybe... we just need to find out when Hawkmoth had the idea of using that thing in the first place..." Louis murmured, not really paying attention to Bunnyx anymore, but turning around to go back to the entrance of the main burrow with Glacies following him. Before Louis could leave the burrow, Bunnyx called out one last time to him.
"Louis!' Bunnyx called out with the boy only turning his head slightly to acknowledge her voice, "Good luck..." The superhero saw the boy nod minutely before going back through the burrow back to his own time. Later on that evening after their meeting, Adrien came home to find Louis sitting alone at their dining room table deep in thought about something. Louis had his elbow on the table and was subconsciously biting his nails, occasionally closing his eyes as if he was resting for a moment before continuing to think.
"Louis? Are you alright?" Adrien called out to his son who snapped out of his reverie in surprise and looked back at his dad.
"Umm yeah! I'm.. I'm fine! Why do you ask?" Louis tried to adjust his sitting position in his chair, trying to make it seem like he wasn't perplexed by something however his dad knew better when something was bothering his son.
"You looked bothered by something, and I can assume you've been sitting here for a while, so tell me what's wrong," Adrien set down his briefcase and took the seat next his son, who looked into his father's eyes as if he was debating something. Suddenly, Plagg came out of Adrien's coat pocket to meet Louis, who looked at the black cat kwami in surprise.
"Hey Lou! I just wanted you to know that whatever it is, we have your back!" Plagg smiled at Louis and munched on a piece of camembert. Adrien nodded at his kwami and looked back at Louis who looked like he was about to cry. However, Louis just sighed and rubbed his eyes with his hands, he didn't exactly have a response to his dad and his dad's kwami's support. Adrien looked at his shaken son for another moment before reaching out his hand and rubbing his son's arm.
"Does it have something to do with your meeting with Alix earlier today?" Adrien asked and Louis immediately ceased his ministrations on his eyes and looked back at his dad.
"So that was it..." Adrien thought to himself knowing that he hit the nail on the head. Alix must have said something that made Louis like this. Adrien also noticed Glacies, who was resting on Louis' shoulder, look at his wielder as soon as Adrien mentioned the meeting.
"It wouldn't even matter even if I told you.." Louis sighed and used his other hand to place on top of his dad's, "Dad... I promise you that I will tell you what happened, but I need to figure out some things first...ok?" Louis asked Adrien, who could only give him an understanding smile.
"Of course, I trust you and I know you will be able to figure out whatever is bothering you," Adrien smiled and leaned over to give his son a hug, who reciprocated the hug before standing up from his seat and heading back upstairs to his room. Adrien sighed as he watched his son leave his vision, and after another moment Adrien stood up himself and made his way up the stairs with his kwami to the bedroom he shared with Marinette. Taking one last look at Louis' bedroom door, Adrien walked into his own room to find Marinette already sitting in bed waiting for him. Marinette was reading a book before Adrien came in and she set it down and gave Adrien a bright smile. Adrien walked over to her beside and sat down in the cushy chair that they brought in their room for late night talks. For some reason, Adrien had always liked sitting in that chair for late night talks instead of sitting in the bed. The look that his wife gave him as he sat down told Adrien that she knew what they were going to talk about.
"How did your talk with Louis go? Did you manage to find out what Alix told him?" Marinette asked hopefully as Adrien shook his head and leaned back in the chair.
"No... whatever Alix told him... he's keen on keeping it to himself, but it's definitely bothering him," Adrien sighed and Marinette gave him an understanding look and leaned forward in response.
"I tried to talk to him earlier, but he told me it was official time business that he had with Alix and that it was nothing to worry about... do you think he's keeping something from us?" Marinette laced her fingers together and looked over at Adrien who didn't think that was too far from the truth. Louis was definitely keeping something from them, but he told Adrien that he would tell him when he was ready, "And to think that his birthday is coming up soon as well..."
"Mmm... our boy is turning 15 in a week, but I know that he'll be able to figure it out when the time comes..." Adrien nodded at Marinette before leaning over to give her a peck on the lips before he stood up to go change to get ready for bed. Plagg flew over to Tikki, who was resting in a little nook that Marinette had made for them on their nightstand and poked her awake.
"Hmm? Plagg?" Tikki woke up to address the black cat kwami, who looked nervously at Adrien before whispering to Tikki.
"Hey sugarcube, do you think Glacies knows about what Louis talked with Alix about?" Plagg asked, their gazes drifting over to the wall in the direction of Louis' room. Tikki mulled over it for a second before nodding.
"Mmm, I think that Glacies would know... but should we come visit him to discuss what happened?" Tikki asked, making Plagg shake his head in response.
"Maybe later... I don't think now is the time," Plagg settled in next to Tikki and decided to go to sleep with Tikki nodding in understanding and sending one last look at the wall where Louis' room was and went to sleep as well. Meanwhile, in Louis' room, the boy had notebooks strewn all over his bed and he was pacing around the room, occasionally looking at the the holographic matrix made from ice that Glacies made for him.
"So the moment that Gabriel found the means to summon the Chrysalis of Paradise was around... 15 years ago," Louis stepped closer to the suspended matrix and brought his hand out to bring a specific scene from the past to his fingertips, "Right here..." Louis murmured as he watched the scene again where he saw Gabriel holding a tome that had a symbol that looked like a chrysalis with a butterfly resting at the top, "So he had been planning this for a long time now..."
"Yes... I believe that is the Gloria Tenebris tome... the tome that holds the secret to summoning the Chrysalis of Paradise," Glacies looked closer and discovered that Hawkmoth was standing in some sort of lavish and exquisite hall where a lot of people dressed in similar clothing were gathered, "that doesn't look like the Agreste Mansion does it?"
Louis looked closer at the scene that Glacies was referring to and shook his head slowly in agreement, "No it isn't... it's somewhere else, but I don't know where that could be. However we could go back in time and track where he went on that day to try to get that tome away from him..." Louis tried to suggest but Glacies shook his head.
"According to Bunnyx you already tried that in an alternate timeline but it didn't work. Multiple times in fact... but that means we just need to approach this from a different angle," Glacies explained and Louis could only groan as his plan was shut down once again. What hasn't he tried yet? All the usual plans Louis tried that included going into the past before the Future Past begins or trying to change something within present time or even changing what he does during the Future Past itself doesn't change anything.
Louis pushed the scene from the mansion away and brought forward the orb that showed the scene where he stood alone against Hawkmoth, "It always ends up being me in the end... but what if it wasn't? What if my parents or my siblings were there?" Louis wondered aloud as Glacies flew closer to Louis again to look at the scene where Louis battles Hawkmoth for the last time before ultimately succumbing to Hawkmoth's combined powers.
"Every attempt to save your parents in every alternate future has failed... it seems that they are destined to die at that moment..." Glacies sighed as he turned his attention to another scene in their holographic matrix and found the scene where Adrien and Marinette are killed by Hawkmoth. Louis glanced at that scene out of the corner of his eye and bit his lip to prevent himself from breaking into tears again. Louis must have watched that scene a thousand times and he still can't believe his parents died that way. Louis could see the horror in his own eyes as he watched his parents die right in front of him. There would never be a timeline where Louis could be ready to see that, and knowing that soon after that Louis would be next, it just made his heart sink even more. With that in mind, Louis couldn't help but burst in tears, sitting back down on his bed. His parents in the other room heard his sudden emotional outburst and looked at each other worriedly before getting out of their bed and coming over to Louis' room, opening the door just a tiny crack to see if he was ok. However, before they could say anything to him, the next thing they heard from Louis made them stop in their tracks.
"I think it's just hitting me that I'm going to be dying a week from now," Louis buried his face in his hands while trying to muffle his sobs. Glacies flew over to him worriedly and tried to pull a hand away from his face. Adrien and Marinette couldn't believe what they were hearing, their son was going to die a week from now?
"No, I won't let you die! We can still do this!" Glacies tried to reassure Louis, but the boy cut him off and looked up at his kwami with tearful eyes that just stopped the kwami in his tracks.
"But how? Every future is exactly the same! Alix told me that I'm the key to changing the future where Hawkmoth wins..." Louis looked up at the matrix again and his eyes caught glimpses of different parts of the Future Past, "But nothing I do is going to make a difference, and it doesn't matter if I tell anyone else... so what else is there?" Louis closed his eyes and buried his face back in his hands. Adrien and Marinette didn't know how to feel with the information they just discovered: their son was going to die within a week and Hawkmoth was going to win. They watched as Glacies continued to try to get his wielder's hopes up again.
"Louis please... look at me, I don't want you to die... I don't want to go through that again..." Glacies pleaded with Louis, and that was when the boy remembered that all of Glacies' previous wielders have died in some sort of apocalyptic event as well. None of them were able to die peacefully: Fjorm, Gunnthra, Hrid, and Ylgr, the royal family of Niflheim was wiped out in a single tragedy: Ragnarok. Glacies had really been excited once he had been reawakened since that meant that he would have a new wielder.
"Glacies I'm so sorry, but I want you to know that it's not your fault, you weren't the reason why they died... they died because they made a choice," Louis explained. The more Louis kept talking, the more he realized the connection between his dilemma now and what his previous ancestors dealt with in the past. Being the wielder of time, Louis always had to make a choice in order to advance time, it was the duty of a time wielding miraculous. Whether that choice would end up ruining everything or becoming a miracle, that choice was up to Louis and everyone who came before him. Perhaps that was their curse, being completely at the mercy of destiny, that's why Louis will never be able to die on his own terms, "They all made a choice to protect something bigger than them... they were all at the center of destiny, and unfortunately, so am I. However, I know that we're glad to do our part in weaving the grand scheme of fate. That's the price we pay for wielding such power..." Louis explained, his voice low as if he was trying to comprehend what he was saying as well.
"That's what I hate about it so much! My power..." Glacies started to cry in frustration and Louis could look at his kwami in pity, "I always wanted my wielders to make time for themselves because you are all good people who deserve to live out their lives with the grace of passing time... but with you all taking responsibility for my power, it's become impossible..." Glacies' voice becoming nothing more than a pitiful whisper, and Louis couldn't help but feel bad for his kwami. The kwami's wielders are at the forefront of weaving time and fate, they must tackle whatever destiny throws at them, otherwise time will leave them behind because it waits for no one.
"You know... choosing to wield your power, I know people would think that we would be completely prepared to go wherever time leads us... but I'm just as scared as everyone else, I'm scared to die," Louis confessed tearfully when he thought about where destiny would lead him. Louis couldn't imagine that his previous wielders would be able to stare death in the face without fearing it as well, "but there's no escaping it can I..." To his parents who were listening outside the door, this conversation was heartbreaking enough as they've never seen Glacies break down like that before, but even more devastating, it sounded to Adrien like Louis was resigning himself to his fate.
Glacies shook his head and floated to face Louis, "No... I absolutely will not let you die, I won't allow it... I finally have a wielder again after I spent so many millennia alone, I don't ever want to be alone ever again. We made a promise," Louis' eyes widened slightly at Glacies' mention of their promise to each other the first moment they met.
"I remember, 'I promise that we will always be partners and that our fates will always be intertwined until the end of time,'" Louis recited with Glacies as they let out a teary laugh at the sentiment. The reminder of the strength of the promise Louis made with his kwami almost made him believe that fate could be changed. Almost. "Glacies... I promise that I won't die so easily ok? Even though I know that the likelihood of me even surviving this is... slim, if I can at least save them..." Louis looked over at the matrix again and he saw fractals that showed glimpses of his family fighting in the Future Past, "then maybe dying will be worth it..." Adrien finally snapped out of his shock and slowly closed the door so that Louis wouldn't hear them eavesdropping. Both him and Marinette shared a look of apprehension and worry before going back into their room to process what just occurred. Their son was destined to die by week's end, and they both agreed without telling each other that they could never let that happen. However, one will often meet their destiny on their way to avoid it. Louis knew that well, and unfortunately he couldn't warn his parents of that danger.
Presently within the Future Past...
"The miraculous are finally mine!" Hawkmoth held both of the jewels in his hand as both former wielders glared at Hawkmoth, neither of them wanting to bask in Hawkmoth's victory.
"We gave you what you wanted, now let our kids go!" Adrien snarled at Hawkmoth, who raised an eyebrow at his son before snapping his fingers.
"Well I am a man of my word, so I will honor our trade," Louis felt him get released from the shackles of the chrysalis and his body just felt so limp that he made no effort to even land safely. Louis barely managed to tell that his siblings were falling with him. Louis assumed someone caught him because he was being cradled in someone's arms. He felt a familiar warm presence and Louis knew instantly that it was his dad.
"Louis, please talk to me, give me a sign that you're ok," Louis could faintly hear his father say, but his slipping consciousness was making it difficult for his ears to even register anything. The only thing Louis could do was weakly grip the sleeve of his father's coat.
"Dad.. why d-did you... Give up?" Louis asked weakly as Adrien slung his arm over his shoulder to support him and hugged Louis close to his body.
"I could never forgive myself as a father if I let you die... you're more important than that," Adrien answered simply and before Louis could think, he turned around and weakly wrapped his dad in a hug. Louis could feel his father's strength and that was something he sorely needed right now. Louis scrunched his eyes together, snuggling into his father's shoulder as he realized that the Future Past is playing out exactly as he saw it. Louis hasn't changed anything yet, and very soon after this... Louis wasn't ready. This would be the last time that Louis would ever feel his dad's touch and leaving those strong, comforting arms felt like he was giving up.
"Oh Emma... my dear daughter, are you ok?" Marinette asked tearfully as Emma remained unresponsive in her arms. Seeing her daughter knocked completely unconscious and treated like a hostage or trading item made her feel sick. Hugo was still conscious and he was leaning on his mom for support. Looking at his unconscious twin sister's body, Hugo looked around for his kwami.
"Naga... are you ok?" Hugo asked weakly as Naga emerged from his shirt and nodded, but her wielder could tell that she was exhausted, "I was wondering if you could quickly heal us," Hugo reached his pocket and pulled out a piece of dried dragonfruit which Naga happily took. Naga immediately radiated a calming energy and Louis's body felt cool and he could feel the breeze of a waterfall soothing his mind and body. Marinette noticed that Emma's burns were fading as well with a light green glow, and soon after that she slowly opened her eyes, "Thank you..." Hugo sighed and Naga nodded and nuzzled the boy's cheek.
"Emma!" Marinette exclaimed as Emma looked around and gained full consciousness. She then made eye contact with Hawkmoth and saw the items that he had in his hand.
"Maman.. Papa... you gave up Tikki and Plagg?" Emma asked as her mom nodded and let Emma down, making sure that her daughter could stand.
"Yes... we did..." Marinette nodded grimly, as everyone watched as Hawkmoth marveled at the two jewels and started to slip them both on. The family watched in horror as both Tikki and Plagg came out of their miraculous and looked fearfully at their former owners. However, Adrien and Marinette could do nothing but watch helplessly as Hawkmoth prepared to make his dream a reality.
(Author's note: Hey! So I planned some music to listen to as you read through these scenes, so for this transformation part, I had picked out Rapture of the Chaos from the Genshin Impact soundtrack because I honestly thought it fit so well. However you can tell me what you guys think!)
"Finally, with both powers within my grasp... I will take what's mine..." Hawkmoth raised his closed fist to look at his son's ring and looked one last time at his son's horrified face. That face will change, and he will change it back to the way it was before, "Tikki, spots on! Plagg, Claws out!" The two kwamis cried out for their former wielders one last time before they were forcefully sucked into their miraculous. Adrien and Marinette felt their hearts stop at that last moment as they saw their kwamis plead for them before being subjected to Hawkmoth's servitude. Louis felt an unbearable build up of spiritual energy conversing in the Eiffel Tower, it was almost as if the Eiffel Tower was twisting itself apart from the mere magnitude of the transformation. Louis could feel like his body would crumble under the pressure as he saw both miraculouses shine with a galactic purple and golden light and Hawkmoth's body become completely transformed by the universal power of creation and destruction. Hawkmoth's cackling could be heard as combined universal matter ran over his body until he was completely covered. Louis saw various parts of his body convulse and thrash about with the power of creation and destruction and the cackling turned into a scream of pain for only a moment before Hawkmoth became completely silent. Suddenly, Hawkmoth's body pulsed a crushing aura that pushed the whole family back, but Louis stood his ground and raised his arms to cover his body. When Louis looked up, he saw Hawkmoth in all his glory, his body looked like a purple galaxy with glowing golden lines running along his body. Hawkmoth's eyes were completely flooded out by that same golden light and there was a shining ring behind Gabriel with 4 halves of the ying and yang symbol encircling it. Louis could swear that it looked like Hawkmoth was assimilating with the space around him, as if he has become the universe.
"So this is... the combined power of creation and destruction..." Louis murmured as he heard the clouds thunder above him. To anyone on the outside, it looked like the clouds were churning and spiraling towards the Eiffel Tower. Lightning started to roar and the winds howled more viciously than ever before. The city seemed to unraveling and tearing at the seams as the ground cracked, sending its fractures to the far recesses of Paris. The monsters that were still roaming for Paris began to act in a crazed reverie, being more vicious than they were before. It was a sign that a god had descended upon the human world.
"By the powers of creation and destruction, my wish will be realized, and I will rid the world of all who dares to stain my perfection!" Hawkmoth looked straight at Louis, who realized that he was that stain upon Hawkmoth's perfect image, and that Hawkmoth was most definitely going to erase him from the face of the Earth now. Louis felt his entire body shaking in fear as Hawkmoth's voice and presence alone made it difficult to even look at him. However, this was no longer the time to be afraid, the fateful moment that Louis was waiting for was approaching. It was the moment that begins the Future Past: the clash between time, creation, and destruction.
"Glacies! Are you ready?" Louis asked without taking his eyes off of the omnipresent being. He saw out of the corner of his eyes that his kwami floated up beside him and nodded. Louis steeled himself for the upcoming battle as he remembered what Glacies said to him before the apocalypse started:
"Louis... when you eventually come face to face with the combined powers of creation and destruction. There is one thing you need to keep in mind," Glacies warned Louis as the boy set down his research notebook and turned to listen to his kwami attentively.
"Mmhmm? What is it?" Louis asked as Glacies looked straight into his eyes and spoke a single statement that sent chills down the boy's spine.
"All creation and destruction must obey time... Understand that, and you already have the advantage..." Glacies stated with such a firm and calm demeanor that Louis couldn't understand how that ideology could garner so much confidence from his kwami. It made sense, however Louis couldn't understand how that could help him overpower Hawkmoth when the gap in power would be astronomical. If Louis believed that his control over time was strong enough to counter Hawkmoth, then would he be able to succeed?
"Ready!" Glacies nodded his head firmly as Louis called out his transformation chant.
"Glacies! Prowl on the hunt!" Louis called out with Glacies immediately entering into his charm bracelet and Louis immediately felt different than his other transformations. Louis felt something blooming in his chest as his usual latex superhero suit became something else entirely. Louis donned an ice white tunic with a high collar accompanied by his signature cape that was now embroidered by gold and the Niflheim symbol on the back. The coattails of the tunic extended down to Louis' knees and had beautiful ice blue and golden embroidery on the seams. Louis wore his usual latex pants but his boots had new wool lining and golden leather designs on them resembling snow flurries. Louis summoned his signature lynx ears and swiped on his mask and smirked as a breast plate and shoulder plates made of ice formed on his chest and arms to complete his transformation. Hawkmoth narrowed his eyes at the boy's new transformation and Louis stared right back the all powerful being, fearing nothing at all.
Louis gripped his lance tight and pointed it right at Hawkmoth, "Hawkmoth... sooner or later, time will catch up with you, and when it does... Someone will be there to judge you for all that you are," Louis felt his lance glow and pulse with an icy aura that made him feel like every single moment within time was his to change. Louis remembered Glacies saying that each weapon he possesses has the ability to rend time and they all bend to his will.
"And what makes you think that I will be judged?" Hawkmoth asked as a malicious aura surrounded him, coming off of him in waves of erratic electricity. Louis only had one answer for him.
"Because all creation and destruction... Must obey time," Louis answered simply and everyone could feel a temporal aura radiate from him in a raging blizzard. Adrien and Marinette couldn't understand where any of this power or even where Louis' confidence was coming from. Did Louis have this ready and was waiting for the right moment to unleash his true power? This answer was enough to anger Hawkmoth to attack Louis, who stood still as waves of lightning came to attack him from all directions. However, within an instant, all the waves of lightning froze like ice and shattered into the air.
"What?!" Hawkmoth bellowed as Louis merely just stared at the remains of the man, and slightly moved his lance so the gem at the base of the blade shone straight into the god's eyes.
"Did all of that just freeze...?" Marinette stared incredulously at her son who stood tall against the calamity that was Hawkmoth. To the common eye, it would seem like all Louis did was blink and the lightning shattered to ice. However, all Louis did was finally understand creation and destruction's greatest weakness: time.
"Chronos..." Louis merely stated as the gem on his lance glowed for another moment before returning to normal. Looking down at his lance, Louis understood that this is what Glacies meant by creation and destruction's weakness. There were two fundamental things Louis could change with his powers: the relativity of the object to him and the timeline of the object. The latter of the two is the weakness of creation and destruction. Louis realized that Glacies' advice was a revelation that enlightened him to a greater understanding of his power. Time is absolute, and it witnesses all. Hawkmoth sent another blast of his combined power at Louis, who grabbed his lance with both his hands and thrust the base into the floor, creating a transparent icy barrier that blocked the blast, sending its rays in multiple different directions. His family could only stare in amazement at their family member who became so heroic, standing stoically without moving an inch. Without taking a look back at his family, Louis knew the choice he would have to make in order to protect his family.
"Everyone... while you still have the time, you need to get out of here," Louis breathed out a harsh sigh as it took everyone a moment to register what Louis was saying.
Marinette felt a cold stone drop into her stomach as she realized the course of events that were going to take place, "L-Louis... what are you saying?" Marinette asked dumbly as Louis reiterated his words, blocking another volley of blasts.
"I'm going to try to hold him here... for as long as I can, but you all need to go!" Louis shouted, desperately hoping that his family could just comply and get away from this wretched place.
"But Louis... leaving you here... you're going to get yourself killed!" Emma exclaimed, tears pricking at her eyes. Of all the plans that Louis has come up with in the past to save Paris, this was by far the stupidest thing she has ever heard him suggest, "you won't stand a chance against him!"
"This is not about winning!" Louis stressed through his gritted teeth, and sighed as he proceeded to barely block more attacks from Hawkmoth's increasingly violent rampage, "This is just buying time..."
Adrien looked at his son and he could tell that his son was struggling with his choice, not just physically but mentally. Given how things have gone since the beginning of the apocalypse, Adrien could only surmise that Louis had already known this was going to happen. Adrien could practically see the gears rolling in his son's head trying to think of any other solution to the situation, and Louis must have done everything he could to avert the tragedy when he knew he was going to die. However, Adrien arrived at the only conclusion that Louis could have arrived at: this was the only way.
"He's right... Louis is the only one who can pull this off..." Adrien said slowly, keeping his eyes locked on his son. Louis' eyes widened slightly as he heard those words from his dad. It was the first time that his father had ever shown any faith in him in a showdown between them and Hawkmoth. Louis had known that his father was always afraid of him facing Hawkmoth, fearing that he may never be ready or that Hawkmoth could hurt him somehow. Knowing that his dad has faith in him made him feel a little better. It made Louis feel like he could maybe live up to his dad's name as the superhero of Paris, just this once.
"Papa!" Hugo and Emma protested as Marinette searched Adrien's face for any sign of clarity. Leaving Louis here meant that his life was essentially forfeit and both of them agreed that they had to save his life at all costs. How could Marinette let her own son resign himself to a predetermined death? It felt so cruel and incredibly unfair for Louis to even make this kind of choice let alone go through with it.
"If anyone has a shot of standing a chance against Hawkmoth now and making it out alive... it's Louis," Adrien tried to crack a smile at his son, feeling inside him that he was giving something up. Adrien was giving up on the fact that any of them could help Louis now since he is the only person who has enough power to stand in his father's way.
"Hugo... Emma, you two need to focus on getting Mom and Dad out of here since they won't make it far without you... I'm sorry it has to be this way. But I need you guys to protect them in my place," Louis agreed with his dad and proceeded to apologize to his siblings who wouldn't have any of it.
"Louis! Don't say that as if you're going to die ok? You better catch up with us! I'll never forgive you if you don't!" Hugo cried. He understood the massive risk Louis was taking with this. Hugo didn't want to leave his brother behind and neither does their sister, but Louis was set on protecting them. Hugo saw his brother give a slight nod in response and he grabbed his father's sleeve to guide him out of the tower and Emma did the same to their mother.
"Mmm... I promise," Louis pressed his lips together in a firm line just as Hawkmoth roared and launched himself himself straight at Louis. Louis quickly held his hand out and stopped Hawkmoth as soon as he made contact with Louis' shield, creating a frozen and crippling atmosphere around them, "Chronos!" Louis yelled out as he rotated his wrist to freeze Hawkmoth in place, but he could practically feel the combined powers of creation and destruction straining desperately against his. Louis scrunched his eyes as he tried to keep his control over Hawkmoth, but the latter's will was almost palpable. Louis kept one hand near his chest to keep the spell up, however he felt like his hold over Hawkmoth was going to break so he brought out his other hand to strengthen his hold.
"Louis!" Marinette called out as Louis realized that they were still here and he felt a surge of desperate anger surge through him.
"Why are you still here!? Go! I can't hold him forever!" Louis yelled forcefully, no longer having the patience for any more goodbyes. Adrien took his wife's hand started to guide them all out, and he looked back at Louis one last time and called out for him to ask an important question.
"Louis!" Adrien called out as Louis spared a look behind him to lock eyes with his father, "Are you going to make the world a better place today?" Adrien asked softly as Louis' eyes widened at the question. It was the question his dad always asked him when Adrien dropped him off for school.
Adrien pulled up to his old high school and he could hear his son in the passenger seat taking big breaths because it was his first day of high school. Adrien looked at Louis who was warily looking at his dad's old high school. Noticing how nervous he was, Adrien put a supporting hand on his son's shoulders, who instantly relaxed from the touch.
"Louis, I know it's your first day of Highschool, but you have nothing to worry about. I know how likable my son is, how could anyone not like you?" Adrien asked incredulously as Louis raised an eyebrow at his dad questioningly and leaned back in his seat, obviously distressed.
"Are you sure? Even though I'm gonna have to hide half of my life?" Louis gestured to the kwami poking out of his shirt pocket. Adrien chuckled and leaned over slightly so he could covertly whisper in his son's ear with Louis eagerly leaning in to listen.
"You know, between you and me, most people don't really question why you happen to disappear during every akuma attack, but they will catch on eventually," Adrien advised jokingly as Louis let out a little laugh and his father continued to explain, "it really helps if you give yourself an alibi before you transform and I usually use the empty bathroom stall or transforming in your own locker if an akuma attack does happen while you're at school."
Louis scrunched his face in confusion and sighed, "How have you not gotten caught Dad? Did nobody ever see you hide in those obvious places to transform?" Louis raised an accusing eyebrow at his dad who laughed in response.
"I have almost gotten caught multiple times, but I have never gotten caught by accident, I trusted dear friends of mine with my secret," Adrien emphasised and Louis slowly nodded in response, "that's the difference you have to learn between who to trust with your secret whether you tell them or get caught. Ok?" Adrien asked Louis, who nodded quickly and placed his hand on the car door getting ready to leave before he turned back and smiled at his dad.
"By the way Dad... thanks for letting me help you with the akuma missions," Louis smiled brightly at his dad who reciprocated with his trademark warm smile. It was the start of Louis' work with his parents because they finally deemed him ready to fight alongside them.
"I trust you Louis, I know you're ready," The two sat there in the silence of that statement before Adrien asked the question, "Louis? Are you going to make the world a better place today?"
Louis immediately brightened at his question and smirked at his dad, his dimple giving off a semi cocky yet confident look, "Of course I will, even if it's one little step at a time," Louis looked back out at his school and noticed the five minute bell ringing for class, "Ok love you Dad! See y'a later!" Louis quickly leaned over to give Adrien a hug before heading out the door and up the steps to his first class. Adrien stared at his son's back and smiled softly at his son's renewed excitement for school.
"That boy could do nothing... and still make my world a better place every day... love you too kiddo," Adrien gave one last look at his old school before gripping the driving wheel once again and driving off to go about the rest of his day.
"Louis... I want you to know that you made my world better every day by just being you... you don't need to do anything more than just being my son... so please... come back to us..." Adrien begged breathlessly as Louis turned back towards Hawkmoth and scrunched his eyes closed to blink away the tears and concentrate on blocking the god's attacks. Taking a gasping breath, Louis repelled another wave of Hawkmoth's attacks and looked back towards his dad to give him his answer.
"I promise Dad... I'm going to make the world a better place today..." Louis said weakly and Adrien nodded at his son one last time before running after their family and escaping the tower. Louis kept an eye on the moment that his family would leave the tower so he could enact his final stand. Louis took deep breaths as he noticed that Hawkmoth stopped attacking and looked up to see the god merely observing him.
"It's disgustingly noble what you're doing for your family... I can already see that you're delaying the inevitable... you can't protect them forever," Hawkmoth gargled out in a manner of speech that seemed inhumane, "let me make this easier... for you..." Hawkmoth extended his arms towards Mayura and Lila and a wave of pure creation and destruction flooded out through his fingertips and overtook them. Louis flinched from the screams and groans of pain that came from them and grit his teeth upon witnessing their transformations.
"What... IS THIS FEELING?!" Lila choked and felt her body convulse in several painful directions before her entire body was overtaken by the galactic purple void of the universe. Mayura's transformation was the same and her supervillain outfit because riddled with the universal void covering her body and the golden wisps of the stars beyond graced her fan. Louis saw them become lifeless minions of the combined powers of creation and destruction, and soon, the unbearable pressure increased two fold from the combined presence of Mayura and Lila.
"Kill them..." Hawkmoth cackled and the two immediately moved to commence their mission but before they could do so, Louis clapped his hands together and brought them up towards his face in a prayer sign.
"Glacial Prison!" Louis yelled and a loud rumbling could be heard throughout the Eiffel Tower and all of a sudden, gigantic glaciers of ice burst out of the ground and surrounded the Eiffel Tower. They all rose and combined to completely encase the Eiffel Tower to prevent anyone from entering or leaving the tower, creating a giant glacier in the middle of Paris. Everyone could feel the atmosphere freeze and drop into a numbing cold that was generated by Louis' power. Louis could practically see the frozen fractals floating in the air from the humidity in it, "you're not going to get to them... not while I'm still alive!" Louis challenged Hawkmoth who chuckled and floated closer to the boy without attacking him. Louis' family looked back at the encased tower in despair yet they resolved to keep running away from the tower.
"This feeble prison won't save them... in fact, you practically doomed yourself," Hawkmoth laughed as he channeled his power to break through the glacial prison that Louis made and his minions roared as they threw themselves against the glacial walls. Louis could barely make anything from their ghastly cries but he could make out the word 'Cataclysm,' "Why... WHY ISN'T IT WORKING?!" Hawkmoth took a closer look at the icy walls and noticed that it looked like ice, but it wasn't.
"You can't destroy what isn't tangible... despite my dad's power to destroy everything... there's a few exceptions after all..." Louis felt slightly surprised that his deduction was even right, even Hawkmoth couldn't use Cataclysm to destroy something that's technically a concept. Louis summoned another Ultima, enveloping the entire tower in his blizzard. Immediately, Louis attacked the minions to get them out of the way, switching to Golgr and dispatching them with a flurry of slashes. Hawkmoth launched himself at Louis just as he finished defeating them and Louis barely managed to look at the villain before the latter crashed into him with the crushing force of the universe.
Emma yelped out in surprise as the family heard a large crash and the groaning of metal from the Eiffel Tower. Marinette looked back at the tower and clutched her heart to calm herself from the anxiety she was feeling. Her son was really going through with it; in order to buy his family enough time to escape, he trapped himself inside with Hawkmoth. Just knowing that made Marinette feel sick to her stomach and wrought with worry because she knew that his decision was going to lead to his death.
"Lou is fine... he'll... come back..." Hugo murmured to himself like a mantra, praying that his older brother was going to keep his promise. He and Emma kept guarding their parents as they led them through the ruined streets of Paris. Taking another deep breath to calm himself, Hugo pressed on. Neither of the siblings knew that Louis already knew that he was going die from the decision he made, but Louis had kept it from them on purpose.
Hawkmoth landed on the lower levels of the Eiffel Tower and found no trace of the time wielding boy that he crashed into. Hawkmoth smiled evilly, thinking he obliterated the boy but the man was suddenly hit in the back by a powerful blast of ice. Barely phasing him, Hawkmoth turned around and looked at where the attack came from and found Louis floating above with a cold and stern look on his face with his lance aimed at Hawkmoth.
"You think I would die that easily?" Louis asked calmly and he only got a snarl in response before Hawkmoth shot up and rammed himself straight into him. However, Louis held out his free hand and blocked Hawkmoth with only his aura, their collision revealing Louis and Hawkmoth's opposing auras that were trying to overpower the other. The collision of time, creation, and destruction sundered the ground and warped space around them. Louis and Hawkmoth disconnected from each other just to crash into each other again, flying about the Eiffel Tower and shaking it to its core. Each clash sent a tremor throughout the tower, but the overwhelming forces weren't enough to even topple the tower.
"How... HOW IS YOUR POWER EQUAL TO MINE!?" Hawkmoth roared as he attacked Louis with a unbridled laser coming from the galactic expanse of his body. Louis immediately countered with a blast of his own, their powers meeting in the middle. Truth be told, Louis was just barely able to keep up with Hawkmoth, and he could feel his power barely strain to match Hawkmoth's combined powers of his parents' miraculouses and the butterfly miraculous as well. It was essentially a three on one situation. Unfortunately, it was only a matter of how long Louis can keep his new surge in power against Hawkmoth. Louis knew it wouldn't last forever as it would only last as long as his will, but luckily for him his will would definitely give him more than enough time.
"I really don't have to answer to you..." Louis disregarded Hawkmoth's temper and waved his lance in the air to create a beautiful yet deadly array of icicles in midair. Hawkmoth started to exude a pitch black aura that Louis could recognize as his father's power and quickly brandished his lance down to launch the icicles at Hawkmoth. Hawkmoth flew up through the barrage of icicles, Louis' attacks being immediately destroyed upon contact with his body. Louis quickly summoned his aura barrier just as Hawkmoth crashed into him and Louis felt the power of his father's Cataclysm slowly destroying his barrier. With a huge influx of force, Louis used his barrier to push Hawkmoth off of him and the villain floated in front of him for a moment.
"You're grasping Louis, your power's just for show isn't it? You know you can't defeat me..." Hawkmoth mocked Louis as the latter lunged forward and thrust his lance towards Hawkmoth who merely lifted his arm to block Louis's attack. With a swipe of his arm, Louis was knocked back into his own barrier with a slam and before Louis could recover from the impact, Hawkmoth slammed into him, using Louis' body as a means to break through the barrier. Louis groaned in pain, using his lance to block Hawkmoth's advance, but the pressure was just too much. Louis felt the glacial barrier he made crack behind him from the combined pressure of destruction and creation, and soon Hawkmoth broke through taking Louis in tow.
Everyone noticed the two entities shooting through the barrier like it was glass and they looked like a comet flying through the sky. Right on cue, the entire barrier shattered into the winds like snowflakes and the two of them were streaking across the sky like a shooting star. Louis' family looked at the comet in despair, knowing this meant that Hawkmoth managed to overpower Louis. Given their trajectory, Louis could only surmise that Hawkmoth means to have them both crash into one of the skyscrapers in the city. Having an idea, Louis decided to wait to turn the tables on the man at the last possible moment since Hawkmoth could easily recover and counterattack if he were to do something now. Rapidly approaching the building, Louis leaned back a little more and wrapped his legs around Hawkmoth's arms surprising the man and with a powerful swing of his body, Louis spun them both around so that Hawkmoth was in front and the momentum disconnected them. Hawkmoth crashed into the skyscraper and the mere aura around him decimated the floor he crashed into, and Louis decided to add insult to injury by summoning a swirling hailstorm that rained down gigantic icicles, piercing the building. Everybody stood in shock as the floor was leveled and the building started collapsing on top of Hawkmoth. Louis eyed the carnage for a moment before realizing that a malicious black aura was emanating from it and it was destroying the scaffolding and building structures around it.
"So that's not enough is it?" Freezing the air below him so he could stand on it, Louis wondered to himself before preparing himself for an attack from Hawkmoth. Marinette looked at the skyscraper in the distance that was in danger of completely collapsing, and something of that height falling to the ground like that was bound to create some casualties.
"Is anyone there right now that could evacuate the citizens? There might be some people still there," Marinette worried because even though their family was a good ways away from the skyscraper, there could be innocent people still there. Emma and Hugo looked at each other and then at their parents as if in a silent discussion. Louis had asked them to escort their parents away from the city and to protect them, but they had the power to see the citizens to safety from Louis' battle with Hawkmoth. However, that would mean leaving their parents vulnerable for a time before the twins could get back to them. Luckily, Louis had also planned for this since he studied every event that would play out during the Future Past. Louis needed Hugo and Emma to be with their parents no matter what because Hawkmoth would eventually get to them. Running out of time before Hawkmoth gets out, Louis summoned Fimbulvetr and flipped through the book and found the spell he was looking for.
"Tracker snowflakes," Louis muttered and a huge cloud of snowflakes billowed from the tome and fluttered down onto the streets down below. Each individual snowflake scanned the area through its six points and Louis found several people that were still trying to escape. His eyes widened when Louis' snowflakes told him that there were still some people inside the skyscraper that was collapsing. Given that his snowflakes could float in every nook and cranny, Louis knew exactly where they were, some of them were in the levels above where Louis skewered the skyscraper and a good handful of them were below. Louis summoned a few more icicles and pierced them into the building from all sides and if you looked at the building from above, it would look like a giant snowflake. Louis held his two fingers up to complete the spell, "Niflheim Seal: Freeze!" Louis shouted and the icicles glowed with unique golden markings and they suddenly pulsed a freezing aura that froze the decimated floor to temporarily support the building before it completely collapsed. It also helped that Louis sealed Hawkmoth inside the seal as well. Louis quickly flew into the building and found the people in the emergency staircase looking at the ice as if it was their death sentence.
"Oh my god! It's the White Fang! He's here to finish us off!" A person screamed as Louis suddenly remembered that half of the population of Paris still thought he was an akuma or villain of some sort, but Louis didn't really care at this point.
"Before you think I'm here to kill you, know that I'm here to help," Louis huffed as he pointed his lance at bottom of the staircase and summoned a portal, "If you go through that, it should take you out at the streets below."
"And why should we believe you? That could lead to God knows where!" Another person accused Louis as another person proceeded to berate Louis even more.
"For all we know, you could have been planning this with Hawkmoth all along to start the apocalypse and kill us all!" A man yelled as the crowd started getting angrier and there was only a matter of time before they all turn suicidal and get themselves all killed. Louis sighed and proceeded to explain quickly.
"You all do know that I'm the son of Ladybug and Chat Noir right?" Louis asked as the citizens shot back.
"But you're also Hawkmoth's grandson, maybe the heroics skipped a generation and you're in league with that monster!" A woman shouted and Louis felt that statement hit a nerve, "After all, you're the spitting image of Chat Blanc and who's to say that you're not akumatized right now!"
"I don't believe that being related to Hawkmoth has anything to do with it, because I grew up with two amazing parents. As for Chat Blanc, we're two very different people as Chat Blanc was my dad's akuma, but believe me or not, you're either going to die in this building or you're going to die when you step through the portal as you all claim which I already said would lead you out to the streets. You don't have to trust me, but I do need you to listen to me if you value your lives. Because if you do die here, I can promise you that it won't be painless, so do as I say and go through the portal!" Louis said with increasing frustration as the crowd stared at him in fear for a moment before looking at the portal in question. Louis decided to add another incentive because they were really were running out of time, "By the way, you can poke your head back through the portal to tell everyone it's safe if you don't die," Then a person decided to take the plunge and go through the portal and after a moment, he poked his head back in.
"Guys it really does lead out to the streets, we can go through!" The man said before leaving through the portal before everyone looked at Louis in slight regret and shame for the words they said to him.
"White Fang you..." A person started to apologize before Louis cut her off.
"We don't have time for this, you don't owe me anything, now go!" Louis urged everyone to go through and everyone quickly filed through the portal to safety. Louis closed the portal and ran back onto the main floor and flew out the window to get to the floors below. Louis helped evacuate the people of the lower floors and Louis could feel the seal trembling as Hawkmoth was preparing to break free. Louis rushed everyone out and came with them to escort them. Everyone thanked Louis for helping them and the hero noticed some demon akumas in the distance so he flew up and summoned his tome again to find a spell that incapacitate every one at once, "Stakes of Permanence!" Louis yelled as he concentrated on every roaming akuma that was within the area. Sharp spikes of ice rose up from the ground beneath every akuma and pierced through them, with screams of pain resounding through the air. However, the spikes didn't kill the akumas, but simply acted as a stake to keep them all from moving, "Everyone! Go while you can! Those stakes will keep them at bay long enough for you to escape!" Louis warned everyone, who heeded Louis' words and ran away from the skyscraper. Louis flew up to where the snowflake seal was and as if on cue, it started to break and Louis could hear the furious bellow of the god within.
"LOUIS AGRESTE!" Hawkmoth roared as he broke out and fired a cataclysmic beam at Louis, who dodged and sent back his own attack at Hawkmoth, who deflected it back at the skyscraper and the whole thing fell down to the ground. Louis whipped out his lance to brandish an Ultima around the building to slow down the blast radius of the crash and quickly created some distance between him and Hawkmoth. Louis received some more news from his tracker flakes and realized where he and Hawkmoth were fighting was a very hazardous place as it was right in the middle of the metropolitan area and every single skyscraper and everything around it was pretty much collateral. There were still people in the other buildings and Louis wouldn't able to evacuate everyone in time. Suddenly, Louis heard a ring coming from the gem in his lance and Louis quickly pressed it as he proceeded to dodge another attack from Hawkmoth.
"Whoever's calling me right now, now's not a really good time!" Louis yelled as Hawkmoth proceeded to follow him and they flew around the skyscrapers while Louis dodged for his life. Louis quickly looked down at his lance to find Rena Rouge contacting him.
"Louis! We're all on our way! Just hold on just a little longer!" Rena Rouge reassured Louis, who looked at Rena's picture in confusion.
"Who's 'we?' Rena! Did you?" Louis looked away from his lance for a moment to dodge another attack from Hawkmoth and send one back. Louis peered down at the city below and several colorful figures caught his eye and Louis immediately recognized them.
"Louis, we'll evacuate all of the citizens and we'll come aid you!" Louis heard another voice through Rena's call and Louis recognized it as Ryuko, Kagami's alter ego, "Just keep him away from the buildings!" Louis felt a wave of relief knowing that he wasn't going to be doing this alone. However, that didn't last for very long as Louis realized that all of the other heroes coming to aid him was another event in the chain of death that was the Future Past. All of them gathering here meant one thing: Hawkmoth could essentially wipe everyone out in one go. Louis felt himself panic as he frantically pleaded into his lance.
"Rena! Ryuko! Just help everyone out of the buildings and get them away from the area! Just leave Hawkmoth to me!" Louis ordered as Rena protested.
"Louis are you sure you're going to be a match for him?" Rena asked softly even though Louis thought it was going be more accusatory than anything else. However, Louis could tell she was genuinely worried. The thing is that Louis went into this knowing well that he was going to die, so no, Louis would not be a match for Hawkmoth. Regardless, Louis had no choice but to figure out a way to change the future as he goes, but he was running out of time.
"What else can I do? I'm the son of Ladybug and Chat Noir... I have to be a match for this guy... otherwise the entire world's doomed," Louis said weakly before turning off his communicator and focusing back on the battle. Weaving back around a skyscraper, Louis fired a beam right back at Hawkmoth who met his attack in the middle with his own. The explosion sent waves rippling throughout space and distorting the area around them. Louis noticed that even the buildings were starting to fall apart of their own from the aftershocks from their attacks. Soon, this area wouldn't be safe either. The pair continued crashing into each other before separating quickly and darting to a new location to clash their weapons, they were both so fast that a human could barely see them with the human eye. Suddenly Hawkmoth sent one particular attack at Louis, who deflected it without noticing that it was heading straight for a building.
Not knowing whether there was anyone still inside, Louis didn't take any chances, "Chronos!" Louis outstretched his left hand and rotated his wrist counterclockwise so that time would flow backward. Everything started to slow down and started to flow backward but Louis could feel Hawkmoth threatening to break his power with just his aura alone. Louis had planned to reverse time to the point when Hawkmoth first attacked but he could only reverse it to a few seconds before the attack reached him.
"Your little tricks won't save you!" Hawkmoth bellowed, breaking free from Louis' Chronos, and the attack continued like it did, but Louis had the sense to do something different this time. Louis summoned his tome, flipped to a random page in his spell book, and chanted out the spell without knowing specifically what it did, but it looked like it would do the job.
"Crystalline Ice Mirrors!" Louis shouted and suddenly, an array of hexagonal ice mirrors started to around them and one specifically appeared right in front of Louis and blocked the attack at the last second. The beam of creation and destruction immediately reflected off of the mirror and shot straight towards another mirror, bouncing off of it and repeating its trajectory with tens of other mirrors. Louis quickly read the spell and he wasn't sure whether to feel relieved or terrified.
"This spell creates a chamber of mirrors around you and your opponents, it will reflect any attack thrown at you and it will proceed to bounce around the mirrors before reflecting the attack back at the attacker. The more reflections there are, the more powerful the counterattack," Glacies explained for him in his mind as Louis looked up at the beam that was currently flying around them and it reflected off of one last mirror before blasting straight at Hawkmoth. Hawkmoth had no time to dodge as his own attack hit him and the blast radius was astronomically bigger than his other attacks. Louis was immediately thrown back from the impact and all of his mirrors broke simultaneously as well. Louis was launched back into another skyscraper, breaking the glass and crashing into the floor with the area around him immediately collapsing. Louis coughed and quickly got up to look out of the building to find that all the other buildings were collapsing as well.
Louis noticed that the ground beneath him was also starting to crumble away and it was only a matter of time before all of this was reduced to rubble, "This building's going down..." Louis muttered to himself before he jumped out before the building could collapse on him. Louis froze the air beneath him to stand and looked around at all the destruction that his and Hawkmoth's battle brought, every single skyscraper was leveled and there were clouds of dust and rubble everywhere. The buildings were either lying on their side, or they were completely toppled into a pile of rubble, and Louis could no longer recognize the streets. Louis looked around once more and noticed that Hawkmoth was missing.
"Where is he?" Louis glanced around once more frantically before he shouted, "WHERE IS HE?!"
Everyone witnessed the explosion from afar and no one could tell who was winning. Louis' family felt the ominous surge of wind blow past them from the explosion and they all looked back at the ruined skyline of Paris, wondering when it was going to end. Louis looked around once more before a voice sounded behind him and he turned around to find Hawkmoth rising from the ground below to meet him.
"I will admit that actually did hurt... probably one of the only attacks that managed get through to me, but what do you expect when creation and destruction come into contact with itself? Nonetheless, bravo Louis for actually making this farce interesting," Hawkmoth nonchalantly stated as Louis narrowed his eyes at the man and refused to entertain his idea of a good time.
"You don't think I don't know that Hawkmoth? I'm perfectly aware about what my parents' powers do and how they work. I don't need you to explain them to me," Louis said through gritted teeth, keeping his eyes trained on Hawkmoth who looked at him in amusement, or at least Louis assumed he did because he couldn't really tell from the way his face seemed like a galactic void of nothingness.
"Then I probably don't need to explain this," Hawkmoth shrewdly countered back before snapping his fingers and suddenly the area around Louis became charged and before Louis could react, the air around him exploded. Louis fell out of the sky and crashed into the rubble filled streets. If anything else, Louis hoped that everyone in the buildings got out in time. Louis coughed as he felt his power waning and he slowly got up on his hands and knees and looked up at the god that loomed over him, "By the way, I am not Hawkmoth... I am Gabriel, the progenitor of creation and destruction, and I will get rid of all who stands in the way of my perfect vision."
"You've said that already you old man, you've got to be completely insane if you think the world would ever accept a god like you... you stole my parent's powers by threatening our lives... and you've killed countless people. You have no right to call yourself a god... much less a human being." Louis said under his breath by Gabriel heard him anyway. Gabriel raised his hand and summoned an incredible amount of power in his preparation to kill Louis. Louis knows that he doesn't die here, but why couldn't he help but wonder if it all just ended here. It was almost as if he was just waiting for the inevitable.
"And you... have no right to save anyone, when you can't even save yourself," Gabriel said coldly and before he could unleash his power to kill Louis, a blast of lightning came out of nowhere and struck Gabriel, temporarily incapacitating him. Louis looked behind him and his eyes widened at who he saw. Holding her sword straight at Gabriel with the tip of it smoking from the lightning was Ryuko and by her side was the whole miraculous order. Louis saw Rena Rouge, Carapace, Queen Bee, Viperion, Wukong aka King Monkey, Pigella, Bunnyx, Tigresse Pourpre, Pegasus, and even his own siblings Divine Voice and Phoenix Priestess joined the battle. Bunnyx looked at him expectantly with her and Louis sharing a look that spoke volumes. Louis knew exactly what was coming and decided that he would play along to fate until it was the right time to change it. Even if it meant that everyone here would most likely die in this clash.
"You seem to talk a lot for someone who can't even defeat a child, now with all of us here, your defeat is inevitable," Ryuko goaded Gabriel on with the slightest semblance of a smirk on her face. However, Queen Bee had some more words for Gabriel.
"Whatever your ridiculous name is, whether it be Gabrielmoth or Hawkriel or even Mothgab, you will pay for what you did to my daughter!" Queen Bee yelled, her voice edging to a scream and Louis was instantly reminded of how he had failed practically everyone here. Louis was weak enough that he let both Gavin and Elena die, and now he had to receive help from his comrades who were inevitably going to die here as well.
"Louis... don't give up just yet, we've got your back," Carapace took a single glance at Louis before looking stoically back at the god in front of them. Emma and Hugo helped their brother up and Louis looked at all of the heroes together, prepared to fight, but were any of them prepared to die?
"Hugo... Emma.. where are Mom and Dad?" Louis asked as Emma proceeded to explain quickly.
"We flew both of them to the outskirts of Paris, don't worry, they are nowhere near us," Emma reassured Louis, who wanted to believe her, but he knows that he can't completely trust it. Bunnyx studied the grim expression on Louis' face and knew exactly what was on his mind. One way or another, Adrien and Marinette were going to come back, and Louis and Bunnyx knew it.
"I see... I didn't want things to come to this..." Louis murmured to himself, and he felt lightheaded because it seemed like everything was moving so fast. Louis must have studied the timeline a thousand times and wrote notes about what to do in between the important events in the Future Past. However, every single idea he's had so far flew out the window and Louis is literally making it up as he goes. Louis felt an undeniable pit of dread in his stomach as he didn't know how much time he had left to find the moment that would change everything. Everything Louis has foretold in the Future Past was moving by so fast and he wasn't sure if he could keep up. It was only a matter of time before Louis would end up alone, and he knew that... he knew that, and yet he couldn't change that. Could he?
"But I suppose.. it's only a matter of time before I could no longer handle this on my own... Everybody ready?!" Louis looked at up Gabriel, who prepared himself to attack everyone, his aura creating an almost unbearable pressure on all of them. Everyone prepared their weapons and looked up at Gabriel without a hint of fear in their eyes, if they were afraid, Louis couldn't see it. With everyone by his side, Louis was sure that he would be able to change at least something, but that is the uphill battle to change fate named the Future Past.