Chapter 11: La Paon

The battle in the Place de la Bastille was seen by hundreds of people, who saw it as another successful rescue of Paris, by three of the Miraculous heroes. They were relieved to see another one of Hawk Moth's creations defeated. But not everyone who saw it happening, was happy about it. A pair of eyes that had watched the battle, from the roof top of one of the buildings around the square, and that belonged to none other than Hawk Moth's lieutenant, Reptile, was not at all happy about the event. When the creature showed up, he was looking for another victim for his master, and upon seeing it battling Flamingo and Corbeau Noire, he decided to change back into his true appearance, and made his way to the rooftop of that building, using the fire ladder.

As he climbed the ladder, he wondered what was truly going on, while also trying his best to ignore his instinct to go and try to kill the heroines, which was not easy. Reptile was not one to pass an opportunity to exact his revenge on the Miraculous heroes, who had defeated him more times he could remember. But this time, something told him that if he did that, he would get into even further problems.

The creature did not emit the same energy as an Akuma. and that alone was enough for Reptile to understand that there was something more happening. Whenever Hawk Moth akumatized someone, he would feel its energy, and this time, he had not felt it. Once on the rooftop, he contacted his master, to tell him what he was seeing.

"Master, there is something you must see. Something unbelievable." -Reptile told Hawk Moth, via telepathy.

Hearing Reptile's voice, as he was meditating, Hawk Moth wondered what was the hurry. He did not know why his lieutenant was bothering him, as Reptile did not mention the words "victim" or "Akuma". But Hawk Moth knew that Reptile knew better than to disturb him, unless it was something important. Opening his eyes, he made use of his telepathic link with his lieutenant. Looking through Reptile's eyes, the villain saw Flamingo and Corbeau Noire fighting the creature.

"What is that… no, it can't be…" -Hawk Moth thought to himself, as he saw the creature Flamingo and Corbeau Noire were facing.

Hawk Moth was speechless, as he continued to watch the battle unfolding, feeling like he was seeing a ghost or a spectre, that had come back from the dead to haunt him. When the battle ended, with the creature becoming liquified, and Forest Doe joined the other two heroines, Reptile was silently wishing for his master to give him the order to attack them. As he saw it, that was the perfect opportunity for him to take the down.

"There they are… all I have to do is jump out of here and attack them!" -Reptile thought to himself. –"I have to… no! I can't go. If I go down there, without the master's orders, I'll be punished." -he thought. –"I must wait until he tells me that I can go. And when he does, I'll pluck the feathers off those two birdies, and skin that doe, so I can turn it into a new jacket for myself."

But the order never came. And soon, the heroines teleported out of there, leaving Reptile to wonder why Hawk Moth did not order him to attack them. Seconds went by, and his master did not utter a single word. It was uncommon for Hawk Moth to act like that.

"Master? Master?! Are you listening to me?!" -Reptile asked, wondering if Hawk Moth was simply ignoring him, or not.

"I am here, Reptile." -Hawk Moth answered him, via telepathy. -"Return to the hideout." -he ordered him.

"But master, what about that creature? Maybe I can try and…" -Reptile said.

"I said, return to the hideout, immediately." -Hawk Moth ordered him, his voice clearly showing impatience.

"Yes, master." -Reptile said, before breaking the telepathic link.

Reptile knew well not to infuriate his master, once he had given him an order. More than once, he had felt his wrath, and he had no interest in feeling it again, if he could help it. Obeying Hawk Moth's orders, Reptile climb down the way he came. Once on the ground, he quickly changed his outward appearance and began to walk away from there, with the intention of returning to the hideout. Meanwhile, in this one, Hawk Moth was pacing back and forth inside his private chamber. Days before, he thought he had felt an energy signature that was familiar to him. And now with the appearance of that creature, he knew that he had not imagined things, and his presentiment was no longer just a presentiment, but a reality. Someone he knew too well had come back, and he knew that that was going to be a problem. Reflecting on what his next move would be, he reached a conclusion in a matter of seconds.

"My past has come to haunt me." -Hawk Moth mused to himself. –"They say that you can run from your past, but that eventually it catches up with you." -he thought. –"Well, let it come. I will be ready, for when it comes knocking at my door. I do not fear what is coming, and neither will my lieutenants... and this time, I will finish what I started all those centuries ago."

As it was his custom at Friday afternoon, master Fu was in the Garden of the Ancients meditating, when the girls showed up to tell him the news. And as it was his custom, he had put his headphones on, to fully appreciate the Oriental music that he had chosen for that meditation session. Breathing in and out, he believed himself alone in that place. So much, that when he felt Flamingo's hand on his shoulder, he almost had a heart attack.

"S-Sorry, master. I didn't want to scare you, or break your concentration." -Flamingo apologized to him, as the old master's heart calmed down.

Upon seeing them transformed, the old master guessed that they were bearing bad news. But because they all began to talk at the same time, he had to ask them to calm down, so he could understand what was going on.

"Please, girls, one at the time. One at the time." -Master Fu begged them. –"If you all talk at the same time, I won't be able to understand you." -he told them.

"Sorry, master." -the three heroines said in chorus.

"Okay, now, one of you tell me what's going on." -Master Fu said, before looking Flamingo in the eyes. –"Rose, go ahead, tell me what's the matter." -he told her.

Taking a deep breath, the blonde began to narrate what had happened to her and her friends, without skipping on the details. She wanted to make sure that master Fu knew everything that happened. And the old master heard her, listening to every word that came out of her mouth. And like it had happened before, he was surprised by what he was told.

"An Akuma without an Akuma Butterfly, you say?" -Master Fu asked.

"That's right, master." -Forest Doe said. –"It didn't have one." -she said.

"And we're not even sure it was an Akuma." -Corbeau Noire said. –"It was behaving differently from most Akumas we've faced, master." -she said.

"And on top of it, it kept changing its appearance and size." -Flamingo said. –"So far, we never had an Akuma that did that… I mean, we had Akumas that changed appearance and size, but never like this." -she added.

The more he heard them, the more the old master wondered what could be happening. During his time as a miraculous holder, he never saw anything like what the girls were describing, and that made him uncomfortable. He did not consider himself an absolute expert in everything regarding Hawk Moth, but he knew enough about the villain to not be caught off guard, most of the time. But what he was being told, went against everything he had seen with his own eyes, and of course, everything that he had been taught by his late master. The more he thought about the possibility that there were things about Hawk Moth's powers that he did not know, and was never told about, the more he believed that to be a possibility. With his thoughts swirling inside his mind, master Fu did not realize that Forest Doe was talking to him, until she yelled at him.

"Master? Master? Master!" -Forest Doe exclaimed.

"Uh… yes? Sorry, my mind was somewhere else." – Master Fu apologized to her. –"You were saying, my dear?" -he asked her.

"I was asking, if it's even possible for Hawk Moth to create other creatures that aren't Akumas, or not?" -Forest Doe asked him.

"Not to my knowledge, no." -Master Fu answered her. –"As far as I know, he can only produce Akumas, and of course Akuma scouts, via Akumas that can create the butterflies that turn people into them." -he said. –"But that doesn't mean he doesn't have the power to do so. One of his previous incarnations could've had that power, and only now has he been able to tap into it."

"Wait, is that even possible?!" -Corbeau Noire asked the old master.

"Quite so, yes." -Master Fu said. –"I must admit that I know a lot about Hawk Moth, but I don't know everything. And I what I know, is from what I observed and what I was told." -he said. –"On top of that, there's always the possibility that he might have developed a new ability, by experimenting with his powers."

Upon hearing this, the girls could not help but to feel like someone had pulled the carpet from under their feet. They knew that Hawk Moth was very powerful, but they liked to believe that they had seen what he could do with his powers, and that they were powerful enough to take him on. But once again, reality came knocking on the door, to remind them that they could not think like that. Seeing just how stressed they were, the old master decided that they needed to calm down, and there was only one thing to do.

"I want you girls to go home, for now." -Master Fu said. –"I'll text everyone and tell them that it is imperative that we talk about what happened." -he said. –"After calm your nerves down and have dinner, you'll come back here and we will talk about what you saw."

"You're not going to offer us some tea, and a few words of wisdom, master?" -Corbeau Noire asked him, curious. –"You're always saying that there's nothing better for calming our nerves, than some tea." -she said.

"I could do that. But I feel that after what you girls went through, I could serve each of you, a full pot of Oolong tea, that it wouldn't calm your nerves." -Master Fu said joyfully, trying to ease up the situation. –"Now, off you go. Remember, rest and eat properly. We don't' need any exhausted or nervous heroes." -he said, once again in a joyful tone.

"Very well, master." -Forest Doe said.

"While you rest and have dinner, I'll do some research, and see if there's anything on this kind of creature, and if Hawk Moth has anything to do with it." -Master Fu declared. –"Hopefully, the temple's library will have a book that can provide us with some answers." -he thought to himself.

Sticking to the plan, Flamingo, Corbeau Noire and Forest Doe, returned home, while master Fu dedicated himself to research. He was hopeful that in the temple's library there would be a book that would help him discover what that creature really was, and if Hawk Moth had the power to create it, without resorting to an Akuma Butterly. After he texted everyone, to show up in the garden, after dinner, he entered the library, closing the doors behind him. Checking the tomes that he believed would have any kind of information, he found nothing. This led him to search in other books, where he also did not find anything. Using the Ampulla Hourglass to give himself a little bit more time to find anything in the library, the old man was hoping to have good news, for when the teenagers got there. But time went by and he found nothing. There was no evidence of Hawk Moth having the power to create, and when checking for any enemy the Miraculous Order had faced before, and who could create creatures like the one that rampaged through Paris that afternoon, he did not find anything useful.

Eventually, time ran out and one by one the teenagers all arrived. The master had texted everyone, including Miss Bustier. Gathering in the room where the Book of Prophecies rested, like they always did. And when they all arrived, and asked why they had been called there, as master Fu did not specify it in the text, he told them what had happened. Gathering around in a circle, with the kwamis all seated in the middle of them, they listened to every word that came out of the old man's mouth.

"I thought it had been just another Akuma." -Sabrina said.

"Unfortunately, it wasn't the case." -Mylene sighed.

"I hate to ask this again, but are you girls sure that there wasn't an Akuma Butterfly, when that thing got liquified?" -Alix asked the girls.

"Yes, we're sure, Alix." -Rose told her. –"If there was one, one of us would've seen it." -she said, while pointing at Juleka and Mylene.

Rose, Juleka and Mylene had pointed out the absence of an Akuma Butterfly, when the creature was defeated, more times than they could remember then. But even after doing it, there was always someone asking the same thing again. Normally, they would get upset for having to repeat themselves, over and over. But they could not blame their friends for questioning what happened, because they too had asked themselves the same thing, more than once.

"This never happened before." -Alya said.

"You're right, foxy fox." -Nino agreed with her. –"If there was one thing that we always took for granted, is that whenever Hawk Moth sends someone or something to attack the city, is that they all have an Akuma Butterfly that grants them their powers." -he said.

"Yeah, always… until now." -Kim said, grimly.

"I know this looks and sounds bad, but whatever lies ahead, I'm quite sure that you will all be able to face it, like you always do." -Miss Bustier said, trying to boost their morale.

"If not an Akuma, then, what was it? Plus, we're all thinking assuming that Hawk Moth created it, but what if he didn't? What if it was created by another enemy." -Max said. –"There's also that possibility, as well." -he added.

"Another enemy? Is that even possible?" -Alix asked.

"Are there more enemies, other than Hawk Moth and the Collector, that we should know about, master?" -Marinette asked. –"We never asked him that, because we believed if there were, he would've told us about them. Plus, Tikki and the other kwamis never said a word about it either." -she thought to herself.

"Well, there are… or better yet, there were, and allow me to put emphasis on "were". These enemies also had magical abilities. But they have all been vanquished, a long time ago." -Master Fu answered her. –"By the time I became a miraculous holder, they had been out of the picture for centuries." -he said.

"But what if one of these enemies hasn't been defeated, but the order believed it was, and now it's back?" -Mylene asked the other master. –"There's always a chance, right?" -she asked, insisting on the matter.

"Yes, there's always that hypothesis, I admit it." -Master Fu said. –"Still, I don't think that's the case." -he declared. –"From the research I did, from the enemies the miraculous holders have faced over the millennia, none of them had the power to create creatures like the one Rose and the girls faced this afternoon."

"Okay, maybe it wasn't an enemy that one of the previous holders faced. But what if it's someone else who knows about the miraculous? And when I say someone, I'm not just talking about regular people. Nowadays people know about our miraculouses but they don't really know what they truly are. The only thing they know is that they grant us powers and that Hawk Moth wants them, so he can destroy them." -Adrien declared. –"I'm talking about people who don't have magical abilities, but have an understanding of the matter and somehow, someway, they know about the kwamis and their powers." -he said.

"I never thought about it, before." -Marinette admitted –"I mean, there have been countless miraculous holders and guardians of the secret. They all knew about the kwamis. What if one of them, somehow let out some kind of information, regarding the kwamis and the, and someone nowadays, knows about them? That would make that someone look for them, or any other kind of magic there is, and make use of it?" -she pondered.

"That's a really big "what-if", Marinette. But it's one that I'm inclined to believe." -Adrien said.

"But don't you think that if anyone had known about the kwamis and their powers, they would've said it by now, bro?" -Nino asked him. –"I mean, we've been out there for months, fighting crime and Akumas. If there was anyone who knew about the miraculous and the kwamis, wouldn't they have made themselves known to us?" -he asked.

"Maybe, I don't know." -Adrien admitted. –"I mean, there's always the chance that they didn't want anyone to know about them, until they deemed the time was right." -he said.

"That sounds a lot like something a James Bond villain would do." -Kim commented. –"And before anyone has the idea of telling me to shut up about it, allow me to finish what I'm saying." -he told the others. –"What if, and I know it's an even bigger what if, than the one Marinette was saying, whoever's behind this creature is someone who doesn't want people to find out that somehow, someway, they managed to replicate the powers of Hawk Moth's miraculous has?"

"I hope not. Just thinking about it, makes me shiver." -Rose said.

"If that happens to be true, and I'm truly hoping it doesn't turn out to be it, I'm more interested in finding out how would they know about the miraculouses, the kwamis and their powers." -Alya said. –"I mean, people know about the miraculouses, but have no idea about the kwamis." -she said.

As he heard them talking about it, a distant memory popped up in the old master's mind; a memory pertaining to the subject Adrien and Nino were talking about. It had been years, since he had thought about it, and now that he remembered it, he felt like sharing it with the young ones.

"Well, I never touched this issue, because I didn't feel it was necessary Throughout the centuries, the miraculouses have been known to exist and its existence has been depicted in numerous ways. Most of the times, the knowledge anyone had about them, has been passed by in the form relics and other sort of objects that most people tended to doubt they truly existed, or that had any power at all." -Master Fu said. –"Sufficient to say that through most of the time, since their creation, they have managed to blend in, in a way that makes them both real and made believe. But like everything else, sometimes people tended to find out about the truth about them. And some of the people who did, were anything but good. The Nazis, for example; they knew about the miraculouses' existence, though they believed these were relics from an ancient civilization, whose power could be harnessed, and used as a weapon." -he told them.

"The Nazis knew about the miraculouses?" -Ivan asked.

"Yes. As most of you know, Hitler, like so many others at the time, was fascinated by the occult. So, you can imagine that the idea of possessing magical objects, that would grant them unimaginable powers, was something quite appealing." -Master Fu said. –"I believe that the Nazis found out about the miraculouses, through one of the last surviving members of Hawk Moth's cult, who might have told them about then." -he said. –"But whatever they might've been told, it was only enough for them to make assumptions… Still, sufficient to say that they tried to look for them. Don't exactly know how, but they came close to finding me, once, during the occupation of France. But I did my best to keep out of sight, by hiding here, most of the time."

"If they had managed to get them…" -Alya said, as she imagined

"It would be all for nothing, hopefully." -Master Fu said. –"Fortunately, the miraculous can only be activated by those whose name is in the Book of Prophecies, or someone who has any kind of magical powers." -he stated. –"The only thing they could've done with them, would've been to extract some of its power, though I hardly believe they would've been able to do it, with that era's technology. Besides, like you and I know, it's the kwami who have the power. The miraculouses are just objects, which without a kwami, are useless. The fact they were looking for the miraculous, and not the kwamis, reveals that they did not know very much about the matter."

"Well, at least we don't have to imagine what Nazis with superpowers like ours look like." -Kim joked, trying to lighten the mood.

"Did you manage to give them the slip?" -Alix asked the old master.

"I did." -Master Fu said. –"And no, I didn't use any Jedi tricks." -he told them, after looking at Kim, who he knew was going to say something like that. –"I made them think that they had caught me, by asking Trixx to use her powers, to create an illusion."

"One of my best works, I might say." -Trixx said, proud of herself.

"They believed that they had killed me, and taken the miraculouses with them. But it was all an illusion. And what they took were some mere baubles that I found in some antiquary." -Master Fu said. –"All this to say, that over time, many have tried to get the miraculouses and failed." -he said.

It was clear that Master Fu believed that whatever that creature had been, it had not been the work of any enemy the Miraculous Order had faced in the past. And he was not the only one. The kwamis also believed that. Them, better than anyone else, would remember if they had ever seen a creature like that one that afternoon, as well as who would have created it.

"Okay, maybe whoever created that creature wasn't Hawk Moth, or someone who has managed to get magical powers, though other means. But what about someone with a miraculous? What if that creature was created by another miraculous holder?" -Alya asked. –"I mean, I know that's practically impossible, but what if there's a miraculous around that we don't know about?" -she hypothesized.

"Other than the Zodiac miraculouses, I have no knowledge of there being any others." -Master Fu confessed. –"And regarding the Zodiac miraculouses, those are safe where I hid them, and none of them possess the power to create creatures that are similar to Akumas." -he pointed out.

"You guys can feel other kwamis, right?" -Nino asked the kwamis. –"Have you felt any other kwami, other than yourselves?" -he asked.

"No." -Tikki said.

"If we had, you guys would've been the first ones to know about it." –Plagg said.

The conversation around that subject would have continued if suddenly the Book of Prophecies had not started to glow, alerting everyone in the room. When this happened, it meant that a new page, describing an event, had appeared. Usually, the book revealed a page when something was already in progress. But sometimes, it revealed that it would still happen. And this time, it showed something that was yet to happen. On the page was a figure none of them had ever seen. It was a woman in an indigo blue medieval dress and black shoes. On her chest, she had a light greyish blue-violet pendant, adorned with pink crystals on the top of each segment. Additionally, the lower part of the pendant looked like a single teardrop of the same colour of the other crystals. In her right hand she held a blue fan, which appeared to be made of peacock feathers that were blue, white and red. Physically, she was a tall, slender woman. Her hair was black, her eyes were blue, and her skin was white as alabaster.

"Fascinating." -Master Fu said, as he looked at the book.

"Who is she? An Akuma?"-Miss Bustier asked.

"Maybe she's a new lieutenant that Hawk Moth got?" -Nathaniel hypothesized.

"It wouldn't be the first time he got more help. We're pretty good at our jobs." -Kim bragged.

"Well, whoever she is, I don't like her clothes. That shade of blue is awful; not to mention her dress looks like something worn by someone in those corny Renaissance fairs." -Chloe said, while looking at the pages. –"But her fan is pretty, I'll give her that." -she admitted.

"Hey, what is that on her chest?" -Max asked. –"That looks like… like a miraculous." -he said.

"A miraculous?" -Marinette asked, as she looked at the object in the illustration. –"I don't know. I mean, it could be one…" -she said.

Looking at the illustration, the kwamis too wondered if the object the woman had on her chest was a miraculous or not. And suddenly, three of them, Wayzz, Tamara and Pin began to shake like a leaf, which lead the other kwamis to wonder what was going on with them.

"What's the matter guys?" -Plagg asked them.

"You look like you've seen a ghost." -Flint said.

The teenagers, as well as the adults also noticed the three kwamis, and asked them if they were feeling alright. And Pin, Wayzz and Tamara told them that they knew who the woman in the illustration was, much to their surprise.

"What do you mean, you know who she is?" -Master Fu asked them.

"She's a miraculous holder, just like Juleka and the others, master." -Tamara said.

"And her name… is La Paon." -Wayzz declared.

I need to apologize to you all for taking so long to update, but this last month has been hard on my mental health, which made it nearly impossible for me to write. I hate when this happens, because it prevents me from doing what I like to do the most. This chapter was going to be a lot longer, but I decided to cut into into two, because I felt that what follows deserves its very own chapter, instead of being the second part of one long chapter.

We'll finally get to know about La Paon and her backstory. This is one of those points in my AU that I've been waiting to reach for a very long time, ever since the peacock miraculous first showed up, so yeah, it's a big deal, because what follows will be a big game changer. But you will all have to wait for the following chapter. I promise you that I will try my best to write it fast, but this might be one promise that I might not be able to keep, if my mind goes back into the dark places that has been lately. To all of you who PM me and ask me if I'm alright, thank you for your concern. It's good to know that there are people that care about me.

And on a brighter side of things, I have commissioned something very special with our Miraculous heroes, which I will be posting on my page on DA during the next couple of days. It's something that is quite big, and it's my way to spread a little bit of joy and hope, when the world seems to have gone to the dogs, this past year. What is it, you ask? You'll have to wait and see, but believe me, you're all going to love it.

As always feel free to comment, fav and leave your suggestions to improve this or future stories. :)