I'm back again! This story is going to be very important to the storyline. I'm trying something a little different with this one, as it's going to be a couple of multi-parters and single-shots all combined into one collective arc (if y'all like this style and I like it, I'll try more like this. If it's too crowded for y'all, say as much and I'll go back to the way I've been doing it).
Update for reworks: GUUUHHH I'm dreading this one! These chapters are titanic as hell and I'm going through each one and updating it and ughhh. I'm working on this over spring break mostly and through tech issues too. But I'm doing this because I started it and I want to finish pretty-fying it before I move on in the story.
Chapter One
Dark Rise, Part One
"Master, I can only say this one more time. Don't try and take it," Nooroo urged. "It will only cause suffering for all of us, most definitely you. Who knows how Dragonus will react when he finds that the Dark Box is gone?" Nooroo watched as Gabriel ran his hand across the stasis pod containing Emilie's form.
"There is nothing else I can do, Nooroo," Gabriel replied. "And before you bring up what Dragonus said previously, no. I will not stoop so low as to ask him for help. That will increase his already titanic ego, and even then he may harm Emilie. We can't trust him after what he's done."
Nooroo had to admit his master had a point. The Dark Miraculous wielders in the past seemed only interested in serving themselves, and the current group of them seemed much more interested in ganging up on the akumatized villains and intimidating the heroes than actually causing new problems.
"Besides, Nooroo," Gabriel continued. "If Dragonus keeps the Dark Box wherever he lives, we could figure out his identity and use it for blackmail. He'll be under our thumb, our personal attack dog."
Nooroo gawked at Gabriel. The kwami started wondering how far his wielder had fallen. Trying to blackmail a Dark Dragon was essentially a death sentence. The last person to have tried that had ended up ripped apart and the pieces scattered all over the continent. Nooroo remembered it well. It had been one of his favorite holders.
"Master, for your own safety, please don't do it," Nooroo pleaded. "Dragonus will show you no mercy. He'll destroy you! He'll-" Nooroo's mouth fused shut.
Gabriel glowered at his kwami. "He won't. Dragonus may boast and brag, but at the end of the day, he is still human. He has loved ones. He has his own limits. And even if he does come and beat me into the dirt, I will still make it out alive. Because I can tell that he needs me for whatever plan he has."
Gabriel released Nooroo's mouth. "This is the end of this discussion, Nooroo. I will hear no more of it," he said firmly, then turned away.
Nooroo bowed his head in defeat. This won't end well, for any of us, he thought. If he does continue with this plan, he had better hope Dragonus needs him. Because he won't survive if Dragonus doesn't need him.
"We need a base," Ryan said suddenly. Andrew, Alex, Jack, and Dylan all threw him looks of confusion. The five of them were hanging out at the twins' place for a change, working out a plan for their band in Paris.
Jack twirled a drumstick between his left-hand fingers, idly hitting a cymbal with the other drumstick in the other hand. "What for?" he asked, somewhat disinterested. "We aren't exactly too organized with our new antics."
Ryan plucked a string on his bass. "Well, thinking critically here," he began.
Alex, lounging across the couch, snorted. "First time?" he asked sarcastically.
Ryan shot him a glare. "Thinking critically here, we can't exactly speak of… you-know-what, in the houses, can we? Let's say someone walks in on us while we're talking or…" he paused, then raised his voice. "IF SOMEONE IS LISTENING AT THE DOOR!"
Silence filled the room for a moment before Dylan coughed once from the top bunk. "You do realize I asked for soundproofing in the room before we came, right?" he asked, his eyebrow raised.
"That's just here, dude!" Ryan snapped back. "And think about it for a moment. Let's say, I don't know, a certain spotted superhero found a way to find the Dark Box, tracked whatever scent it had, and found it at your place, in your room," he continued, pointing at Andrew. "Well, we know what happens next," he added as he put his bass down, then pantomimed being wrapped in a yoyo and falling over. Ryan popped back up. "Any questions?"
Andrew stroked his chin. "Ryan does have a point, though," he admitted, standing up from his beanbag chair. "It is a big risk, and probably a good idea to keep it somewhere offsite from our houses. I'm pretty sure the Dog Miraculous has some kind of homing power, and y'all's Dark Miraculouses still smell a little like the Dark Box. And even if they just tracked you to your houses, that's a whole 'nother problem for us."
Ryan snapped his fingers. "Again!" he exclaimed, then mimed the scene again.
"Any ideas, then?" Alex asked. Jack coughed once and pointed a drumstick at the window. "An old warehouse, maybe? Remake it, get a nice base going for us, maybe a hangout for when we're bored?" he suggested.
Ryan strummed a chord on his base. "Yes!" he exclaimed. Alex clicked his tongue. "And that's exactly where I knew this conversation was going," he said matter-of-factly.
"I'm gonna call Lila, let her know about the plan," Andrew said, and the twins flashed him a mischievous grin.
"We'll find a warehouse with a nice corner for you two to kiss," Ryan teased. Dylan started playing a few notes of one of the love songs the group had composed, his grin growing. "And put in a nice sound system for you two to sing along to," he added.
Andrew rolled his eyes, but smirked. "And I'll make sure we record each kiss so we can send it to you guys and torture you with it," he retorted.
A half-hour later, Dragonus and Maladea soared silently over the rooftops, unnoticed from below. On the rooftops below them, the other four Darks raced to keep up with the airborne couple. Crocdown grunted a little as he leapt over another chimney.
"I really wish I could fly," he said, panting a little, struggling to keep up with the others. Alphaux slowed down and motioned for the twins to do the same, then pressed two fingers to his comlink. "Yeah, boss, you two have an unfair advantage with those wings of yours," he told Dragonus. Dragonus and Maladea looped around and landed next to them.
"You guys feel the same way?" Dragonus asked.
Skinker and Iapallidus nodded vigorously. "Yeah, I sure do!" Skinker replied. "Ever since I first saw you fly, I wanted to do that." Iapallidus shrugged. "I just want to give my feet a rest."
"Well, I might have something that can help with that," Dragonus said as he pulled out a baggie of purple-colored jerky. "Normally, this would be a potion which would have been made into a foodstuff for your kwami, but…" Dragonus smirked a little under his helmet. "I sorta absorbed the potions a while back and put the flight one into these before I got the Dark spellbook. I figured I wouldn't need the flight ones, because… well, you know."
"So you've been hoarding extra flight powers for how long now? A few months?" Alphaux asked, his arms crossed and an eyebrow raised behind his visor.
Dragonus shrugged. "Guilty as charged. But they're supposed to be space powers, in case I needed to go to space, but whatever." Dragonus passed out four pieces of the potion-infused jerky. "Just eat it and say 'power up'. That should give you some wings," he explained.
Alphaux pulled his helmet up a little and popped the jerky into his mouth, the other three following his lead.
"Power up!" they cried, and, after a flash of light, the space powers took effect. Their helmets turned into a combination of the regular helmets and flight helmets in their respective colors, their suits streamlined a bit, and jet-like wings, thrusters, and tail fins from their backs and back of their lower legs, respectively. Alphaux had the grayish-silver wings of an F-14 Tomcat, Crocdown had green F-22 Raptor wings. The twins had F-15 Eagle wings pointed up, colored like their respective suits.
Skinker whooped with joy as he fired his thrusters and launched into the air. "Now I can see why you love this feeling!" he yelled down. Iapallidus chuckled as he ignited his own thrusters and took off. "Yeah, this is awesome!" he agreed. Alphaux and Crocdown each took off after the twins, leaving Dragonus and Maladea standing on the rooftop.
"I think you inflated their egos," Maladea commented as the twins started doing loops in the air.
Dragonus chuckled. "Maybe, but we can bring those back down. Can't let the others have all the fun," he replied as he tossed her a piece and took one for himself. The two clinked their snacks in a sort of toast and popped them into their mouths.
"Power up!" they yelled, and their powers took effect, their organic-looking wings shifting into mechanical wings, thrusters and tail fins forming on the back of their lower legs, their suits streamlining like the others.
Dragonus's golden wings transformed into an approximation of an F-16 Falcon, but somewhat longer and pointed at the ends, his helmet now similar to a flight helmet. Maladea, on the other hand, had poisonous green wings that ended in stabilizing extensions and had rotating VTOL fans positioned right in the middle front of the wings. Her helmet had also changed to evoke a flight helmet, but with green detailing that looked like curling tendrils.
Dragonus whistled. "Nice," he commented. Maladea smiled under her helmet. "You're not too bad yourself, babe. Should we catch up with the others?" she asked, spinning up her VTOL fans.
Dragonus smiled back and fired his thrusters. "Yep, we should. At least to make sure Skinker hasn't crashed into the Eiffel Tower yet," he replied. The two flew after the other Darks, looping around each other in the air.
"Show-offs!" Skinker exclaimed when Dragonus and Maladea caught up with himself and Alphaux. Maladea giggled a little. "Maybe, but we make showing off look good," she replied as she and Dragonus grabbed each other's forearms and spun around.
Alphaux flew up next to the couple, his wings in the middle position. "Crocdown and Iapallidus spotted an abandoned warehouse not too far from here," he reported. "It's out of the way and no one is likely to come barging in."
"Excellent," Dragonus replied. "Lead the way!"
Alphaux dived, his wings sweeping back as he flew along. Skinker, Dragonus and Maladea flew into position behind him, following him to where Crocdown and Iapallidus were standing on the warehouse roof, near a skylight.
Crocdown snickered. "The sky super-lovers finally arrived."
Iapallidus gestured to the trap door opening on the roof for the light. "Please place your trays in the upright position and exit the plane via the nearest door. We hope you fly with us again soon," he joked. Skinker opened the skylight, and then the twins leapt into the building, then Crocdown, then Alphaux.
Dragonus gestured for Maladea to enter. "Ladies first." Maladea nodded and trailed a finger under his chin, then slowed her descent into the building with her VTOL fans.
At last, Dragonus jumped down and fired his thrusters, landing in the classic superhero pose when he landed. When he stood up and looked around, he nodded in satisfaction. Plenty of space, nice and clear, not too dusty, he thought, eternally grateful for the last part. Still a bit of a fixer-upper, but nothing a day or two of work can't fix. He checked his teammates. Alphaux seemed satisfied with the area, his wings were fully swept up, pointing to the ceiling. Crocdown, the twins, and Maladea also seemed satisfied with the new base.
"It's gonna be a bit of work, but that's what weekends are for!" Skinker said energetically. Before he could go and start doing renovations, Maladea pointed one of her daggers at him. "Hold up, lizard boy. Andrew and I have plans this weekend," she replied. "If you wanna do this, go right ahead, but don't involve us in your crazy scheme."
Crocdown chuckled. "What kind of plans?" he asked, a smirk under his helmet.
Dragonus rolled his eyes. "Maybe if you're good, we'll take pictures and send them to you," he replied. Maladea gently elbowed her boyfriend. "Well, maybe not all the pictures," she teased. Dragonus smirked back. "Maybe not, my dear. Maybe not."
"Lord save us all, we have the full villain couple going now," Iapallidus said in a resigned tone.
Alphaux groaned. "Okay, how about this?" he began. "Crocdown, the twins, and I will take care of renovations this weekend while you two are on your date and stuff, but I can't guarantee things won't all be Skinker-themed and everything won't be done to Ryan's standards…"
"Okay, okay, we'll postpone!" Dragonus exclaimed, then leaned to Alphaux. "I know when I'm being manipulated, Alex… But your point still stands."
Alphaux smirked. "Whatever do you mean? I'm just warning you," he replied. Maladea crossed her arms and started tapping her boot. "And what if we did?" she challenged.
Dragonus leaned down to her ear. "Everything would be done how Ryan wants it. Either willingly or unwillingly. Need I remind you he can turn his tail into a knockout gas bomb?" he whispered. Maladea clenched her jaw a little, then relented. "Fine. I guess this base would need a lady's touch," she said. "If half the things I heard about my dad's college apartment were true, you guys would just have a mini fridge, lawn chairs, and a TV and call it finished."
"Harsh, but fair," Crocdown replied. "We'll meet up back here and start renovations on Saturday, just before lunch. Sounds good?"
Everyone nodded. Dragonus clasped his hands together. "Alright. I guess we'll split up now," he finished. The other four boys all nodded and fired up their thrusters, flying out of the skylight, leaving Dragonus and Maladea standing in the warehouse.
Dragonus threw her an amused glance. "That was one of the worst get out of working excuses I've ever heard," he commented.
Maladea shrugged. "Well, I was planning to tell you I wanted to have a day out together, just the two of us," she said innocently. "A movie, ice cream, maybe kiss at the top of the Eiffel Tower?" She had to stifle a laugh when Dragonus's jet wings butterflied a little.
Dragonus sighed. "I promise, sometime soon, you and I are going to have a blast. Just the two of us," he said as he laced his fingers through hers. The two lovers pulled into a hug as they ignited their thrusters, Maladea's turbines spinning up, and the two flew out of the warehouse in an embrace before giving each other a helmet tap and flying back to their houses.
The next day, right at the start of the school week, Marinette raced to the school, late as usual. It had taken her a good bit longer than she intended to stuff the sweatshirt for Rose into her backpack without crumpling the unicorn design. Luckily, she had managed, but that had cut into at least five minutes of Ms. Bustier's first lesson of the day.
After stammering out one of her classic excuses, Marinette quickly took her seat. Ms. Bustier raised an eyebrow, but turned back to the chalkboard.
"Well, lucky for you, Marinette, we haven't gotten down to today's topic yet," the teacher said. "But now that you're here, we'll begin. In most monarchical governments throughout history, there have always been a group of people who always felt that they were getting short-changed in life. Whether it was by class systems or simple envy, those people had often decided to rise up and take some or all of the power. And yes, there have been a lot of such revolutions in France," she added, turning to the class, almost throwing a look at Andrew Hendrol.
"The question of how long or how successful these revolutions were is also something to consider," Ms. Bustier continued. "For example, the American revolution led to the birth of a nation and an almost unheard-of form of government, which still stands to this day. Conversely, the French revolution that led to the rise of Napoleon didn't have the same lasting effects as the formation of the United States. The biggest difference between these two is who was leading them. The Americans had George Washington, while France had Napoleon who eventually seized power."
Alya raised her hand. "So what you're saying, Ms. Bustier, is that a revolution's success and effects are dependent on who leads it?" she asked. Ms. Bustier nodded. "Exactly. Of course, there was also an amount of power being usurped from people when Napoleon took over. Does anyone know why Napoleon seized power while Washington didn't?"
The class was silent for a moment before Marinette raised her hand. "Wasn't Washington a benevolent leader who cared for the people he led, while Napoleon was power hungry and manipulative?" she asked. Ms. Bustier nodded. "Exactly. There was also the fact that Napoleon managed to seize absolute power, while Washington was held in check by other parts of government. These patterns have repeated in history, most often the first of the two. A revolution is held, the people succeed, and a single person takes absolute power. The former Soviet Union is another good example of a dictator taking power after a people's revolution. What is most often said about absolute power?"
"It corrupts absolutely," Andrew answered very casually. "The pattern seems to be repeating itself today, even as we're growing up."
The class took that to mean Hawk Moth, Mayura and the Darks menacing the city, even if they noticed the oh-so pointed look at Chloé. The classroom was quiet after Andrew gave his answer, so quiet one could hear a pin drop, before the bell rang to change classes.
"Your homework is to read the chapter on the French revolution and Napoleon, then answer the questions in the book!" Ms. Bustier said as the students began filing out of the classroom.
Marinette met up with her friends during lunch period, the pink sweatshirt clutched under her arm. Sliding next to Alya and Alix, she placed the sweatshirt on the table and pushed it to Rose, who looked at the gift, then Marinette, a confused look plastered on her face. "What's this for?" she asked.
Alya chuckled a little. "Remember that bet we all made a while back?" she asked, allowing herself the smallest of smirks. Rose shook her head. Alya turned to Juleka. "You know, the bet," she emphasized. "The one where we'd get something for the person who had guessed a certain thing right? The one where Marinette would finally do the thing?"
Mylene gasped. "You don't mean…" she turned to Marinette. "Did you actually?" she asked excitedly.
Marinette allowed herself a small smile. "If I didn't, why would I be giving the present to Rose?" she replied coyly.
Rose herself began to squeal. "Finally! Finally! Oh, this is going to be so awesome!" she said giddily. Alya nudged Marinette, smiling a little. "I think she's going to have a few ideas for the good ship Adrienette, if you know what I mean," she joked.
"Well, I was thinking Marien, but Adrienette does sound a lot better," Adrien said from behind Marinette. The dark-haired girl leapt up from her seat and kissed him on the cheek, prompting big smiles from four at the table and another squeal from one.
"Another one for the press?" Alya asked. Marinette and Adrien exchanged glances. "Maybe not yet," Adrien replied. "I haven't exactly told my father yet and I don't want him to find out the same time everyone else does."
"The same goes for the rest of you," Marinette added, looking at everyone in the lunchroom, who, with the exception of Andrew and his friends, were staring wide-eyed at Marinette and Adrien, some putting away phones they had just slipped out. "This is still a somewhat private affair, so I would appreciate it if none of this got on the news just yet." Promises cascaded from the lips of nearly everyone paying attention.
Marinette turned her attention to the five people who hadn't been watching any of what had just happened. Andrew, Alex, Jack, and the twins were all huddled by each other, either deep in conversation or playing a phone game. Most likely the second option, as they each had headphones in and their thumbs were moving furiously like they were controlling characters.
"Has anyone seen Chloé? Or Amber, for that matter?" Adrien asked. "Neither of them are here, and I would have at least thought she'd have something to say about… what just happened."
Sabrina scurried over to them. "Last I saw of them, Chloé and Amber were in the middle of a pretty heated argument. I think Amber was saying something about Chloé not wanting to make any changes, but I left before I heard anymore. It didn't sound good, for the most part."
"We should probably check on them," Adrien decided. "The last time they had an argument like that, Chloé got akumatized." Sabrina nodded. "I'll go with you. Safety in numbers, right?"
Marinette was about to get up and go with them when a certain Italian made her way to the table. Lila flashed one of her signature smiles at the group. "Hey, everybody. Can I borrow Marinette for a minute? I just have something to ask her," she said.
Marinette's senses went into overdrive, alarm bells ringing in her head. "Sure…" Marinette replied warily. Lila leaned in close to her ear. "In private, please," she added.
Now Marinette was sure Lila had something nefarious planned, and this almost made her ask Alya to come with them. Alya, on the other hand, smiled back. "Go right ahead. We were going to look for Amber and Chloé, just send Marinette along when you two are done," she said.
Marinette grimaced as Lila took her hand and pulled her off to who-knows-where. If she does have something planned, if I absolutely have to, I can transform and defend myself, she thought. Let's hope it's not that, though.
"What do you mean, you already worked on the base?!" Andrew whispered-hissed at the twins. Dylan jabbed a thumb at Ryan. "Technically, he did, but I made sure he didn't go overboard on his favored details. I also suggested a popcorn machine in the rec room," he replied.
Ryan shrugged. "I couldn't sleep last night and I didn't want to stare at the ceiling, so I left and started working on it," he explained. "And the first thing I worked on was a vault for the Dark Box, so we can move that there now and protect it."
"That is probably the most logical thing to do," Alex said. Jack elbowed the blond. "Don't encourage him!" he snapped. "That's just going to encourage him to do more stuff like that!"
Andrew sighed. "While out of line it may be, Ryan did end up doing the right thing. I'm gonna move the Dark Box to the new base in a minute. But before I go, I have to ask this… how much of the base did you finish?"
Ryan hummed in thought as he did the calculations. "About half, five-eighths, give or take. Took care of the electricity and water situations, patched up a few holes, got some new furniture in there," he replied. "And the vault. Other than that, not much."
"And the popcorn machine," Dylan added. Ryan snapped his fingers. "And the popcorn machine," he confirmed. "And maybe the security system."
"Security system?" Alex asked. Dylan chuckled. "What, you think I can't program a basic security system? Basically, it'll keep out anything that doesn't have a Dark Miraculous energy signature. And if something gets in that doesn't have a signature, it's neutralized."
Ryan cleared his throat. "Except most pet animals. No need for any unfortunate accidents." Jack raised an eyebrow. "That makes me very worried," he said.
"I'm gonna move the stuff now before this conversation escalates," Andrew decided, getting up from the table. "I'll meet back up with you guys right before classes," he said, quickly crossing the room, paying little attention to the surroundings. He slid to a very out-of-the-way corner, transformed, and portaled out of the school to his bedroom. Dragonus opened the secret drawer in his desk, pulling out the Dark Box and, after a moment's consideration, the Dark Spellbook.
Dragonus opened another portal to the new lair. Once he stepped through, he quickly looked around the space, nodding in satisfaction. The twins had done a good job making it somewhat comfortable: good lighting, a new air conditioning system, everything looking clean and shiny. Quickly crossing the first room, he passed what he thought was the rec room and the storage area. Finally, he came to a large steel door, which swung inward when he placed his hand on a scanner.
"So Dylan does know how to code this stuff," Dragonus mused to himself. "Interesting." He stepped through the doorway, then noticed a second door. He smirked. "Double or nothing," he commented. This door had a key system, the keyhole shaped like the outline of his sword. Dragonus drew his blade, set it into the keyhole, then turned it to the left. The door unlocked and swung inward, revealing a simple stone pedestal for the Dark Box to be placed on.
Without wasting a minute, Dragonus laid the Dark Box down on the pedestal. A pang of guilt struck him. He had told the other Dark kwamis about the plan and how it was supposed to keep them all safe from being exposed, but a couple had given him a few accusatory looks and Slashh had outright said that it was the Dark Guardian's duty to watch over the Dark Box in his own place of residence. It had taken every ounce of convincing power he had to tell them this was only temporary. "And if everything goes according to plan, it will be temporary," Dragonus muttered.
A thought struck him almost randomly. Dragonus flipped to the Dark Secrets portion of the spellbook, looking for a specific page. It had fascinated him endlessly, and, he thought, it could be very useful if somebody doesn't shape up.
"Darkness manipulation," he read aloud. "The ability to control the shadows of animate and inanimate objects, to control the darkness of another being. Mastery of this ability can allow one to puppeteer any being's body, corrupt a being into a twisted version of itself, or purify a corrupted being." The idea had crossed his mind several times since he had read it. Mostly as a countermeasure in case Lila went crazy and he had to drain some of her inner darkness from her. Corrupting the heroes or their allies had been a very close second.
"To unlock and use this ability, one must have a superpower that touches the heart, mind, or soul of another being," he continued reading. "They must have an understanding that darkness is a part of any being, and that every being is capable of darkness and light. Finally, one must either have adult abilities or have a loved one that is in mortal peril." Dragonus closed the book, and after a moment's thought, shelved it in the darkest corner of the vault. A few moments later, after Dragonus had locked down the vault and closed the doors, he flew over the skyline of Paris. Then the scent of milkweed and cloves caught his nose. "What's his plan this time?" he muttered, then followed the scent.
Meanwhile, the ornate window opened, bathing Hawk Moth and Mayura in the midday light. "It's time. The prey I've been waiting for. All it took was the wrong thing said at the wrong time, one simple phrase to turn her to darkness," Hawk Moth monologued as a butterfly flew into his cupped hand. The dark power seeped into it, turning it black. "Go, my akuma, and evilize her!" he commanded, then turned to Mayura. "For this plan to work, we'll need a sentimonster."
Mayura nodded and pulled a feather from her fan. She placed it in her hand, turning it pure blue, then blew it away, sending it after the akuma.
"Fly away, beautiful amok, and give this shattered soul her truest ally!" she commanded. Then she turned to Hawk Moth. "I'll be ready when you need me," Mayura added.
Hawk Moth nodded. "Good. For this plan to work, we have to hope Dragonus and his allies give into their sense of cruelty. They will have practically handed us new powers!"
"How do you think he'll react?" Mayura asked. Hawk Moth allowed himself a dark smile. "If everything goes according to plan, we won't have to fear his reaction," he replied. "Because he won't have his powers to use against us."
Things are going to pick up speed next chapter, which will be part two of this specific "Dark Rise" arc, coming next week! (Fun fact, this was originally posted around exam week in 2021)
Make sure you read this chapter carefully. I'm not the best with foreshadowing, but there's some good theory material so theorize away (I would love to hear theory ideas)! As always, tell me what you think, ask some questions, and stay safe, healthy, and research things before reposting them (don't spread misinformation plz)