Chapter 12: Hawk Moth's Equal
Minutes before, master Fu had assured them that he was not aware that there were other miraculous, besides those they had, and the Zodiac one. But now, three of the kwamis were saying that the person in the illustration that appeared in the Book of Prophecies was also a miraculous holder. Hearing this, everyone fell silent as they processed the information they had just received. If anyone had asked them how they were feeling, they would most likely say that they felt like someone had swept the rug from under their feet.
"La Paon?" -Marinette asked.
"That's French for peacock." -Adrien said.
"What do you guys mean she's a miraculous holder?" -Tikki asked the three kwamis.
"Guys, if this is some kind of joke, I'm not getting it, and I'm usually the funny one around these parts." -Flint declared.
"It's no joke. She's a miraculous holder." -Pin said, with a serious voice. –"She's just like Hawk Moth. She has a miraculous without a kwami." -she said.
"A miraculous without a kwami?" -Mylene asked her kwami. –"I thought that other than Hawk Moth, the Collector was the only one who had such a thing, and in his case, they had become his armour." -she thought to herself.
"And that's not all. She was working with him, to get the miraculouses." -Tamara said.
"She is just as dangerous as Hawk Moth, if not even more, master." -Wayzz declared, while looking Fu in the eyes.
"I think you better start that story from the beginning." -Master Fu said.
"Indeed. I think I speak for us all, when I say that this is one tale that we all want to hear and understand." -Miss Bustier said.
Giving Wayzz, Pin and Tamara the podium, everyone gathered around them and allowed them to tell them what they knew about the woman on the illustration. Like always, there were a lot of doubts, and more than once they were interrupted with questions from both humans and kwamis. But they did not mind it. In fact, it helped them to tell them something that seemingly only the three of them knew about. Nino, Mylene and Juleka could tell, just from looking into their kwamis eyes that they had remembered something that was anything but pleasant. The old master felt this too, and wondered what the kwamis were going to tell them.
"So, you're saying this miraculous holder is just like Hawk Moth?" -Pollen asked the kwamis.
"Yes." -Pin said.
"How come you know this, but none of us do?" -Imp asked. –"How is that even possible?" -he insisted on the matter.
"Imp, calm down, and let them talk." -Kim told his kwami. –"Usually, I'm the one who's told to take things easy." -he thought to himself.
"It's complicated." -Tamara sighed.
"Then, maybe you should start from the very beginning." -Juleka smiled at her. –"I can feel that it's not going to be easy for them to tell us this." -she thought to herself. –"And take your time, okay? That goes for all of you."
"She's right." -Marinette said. –"We've got time." -she said. –"Start from the beginning, and take your time."
"Very well." -Wayzz said, before taking a deep breath. –"This all happened during the time, when the three of us were the kwamis of three of the Knights of the Round Table." -he said
"The Knights of the Round Table?" -Miss Bustier asked, surprised. –"Then, does that mean that King Arthur…" -she said, as she tried to process what she had heard.
"Existed? Yeah, he did. I was his kwami." -Plagg told her. –"Muria and Mulan there, were also around, back then." -he added, much to continuous surprise of the teacher.
"So, the Arthurian legends are real?" -Miss Bustier asked the black cat kwami. –"I-I'm sorry, but it's just that I never thought that…"
"It's okay, Miss Bustier." -Nathaniel said. –"We were also surprised, when they told us about some of the people who wielded their miraculouses, a long time ago." -he admitted.
"Yes. And Arthur was one of the coolest people to wield my miraculous. Great man. Great king. Great fighter, and best of all, a cheese lover. He loved goat cheese. Could eat a large wheel by himself in an hour, if he had the opportunity." -Plagg said, as he reminisced on those times. –"Sometimes, we had cheese eating competitions. I don't have to tell you that these competitions were quite fierce. Losing was not an option for the both of us, and…" -he went on.
"Uh, Plagg, not that I don't like to hear those stories of yours, but…" -Wayzz said.
"Right, right, right, sorry about that." -Plagg apologized. –"Go on, guys. We're listening." -he told Wayzz and the others. –"Oh, one last things. Unlike the Arthurian legends from the 11th and the 12th century, Arthur and the other knights lived in the 5th century. Just wanted to add that… go on."
"Thanks, Plagg." -Pin said, with a sarcastic voice. –"The first thing you must know is how some of the knights of the Round Table became miraculous holders." -she said. –"When this happened, Camelot was already reality for a few years. It wasn't the enchanted kingdom with a magnificent castle, that people think it was, from reading all those tales, but it was a place where those who sought protection and mercy would find it. And more importantly, it was a place where justice reigned, and where although there was a king, he did not rule alone, but with the help and advice of his knights and his queen."
"Not wanting to interrupt, but where was Camelot located?" -Kim asked, which earned him the stink-eye from Alix. –"What? I'm really curious." -he said.
"It was located on what is Somerset today." -Wayzz answered him. –"Going back to the story, Camelot was indeed a place where high morals were uphold. But outside of the walls of its walls, superstition and the sword ruled. It was a world of fear. It was an age where all sorts of dangers roamed the land. Bandits, robbers, Vandals, Visigoths, among others took advantage of the poor people who had nothing." -he explained.
"But before even Camelot was built, Arthur had to go through a series of trials, to prove himself worthy of the crown. Trials that were devised by Merlin, who in time would become a keeper of the secret of the miraculous, by the way. The last of the trials was to pull the sword Calibur from the stone; a feat that would crown him king, as most of you know, the only one who would be able to pull it, would become king of England. " -Pin said.
"You mean Excalibur." -Km said. –"King Arthur's sword was Excalibur." -he said, correcting the deer kwami.
"No, I mean Calibur. Calibur was the sword that was on the stone. This one only became Excalibur, after he was given the black cat miraculous." -Pin said.
"Okay, sorry, I won't interrupt again. But I have one question. He pulled the sword from the stone. But the sword isn't Excalibur. And if you're saying that it only became Excalibur once he was given the miraculous, then, what's the Lady of the Lake role in this?" -Kim asked her. –"I'm just curious." -he said.
"The Lady of the Lake was an Akuma, and had nothing to do with it, Kim. I know, I was there." -Plagg said. –"I don't know why people wrote that she helped Arthur and the knights, but she didn't. She tried to kill him and claim his miraculous." -he declared.
"Anyways, going back to the tale, once he pulled the sword from the stone and was crowned king, Arthur took it upon himself to rule the land and create a kingdom where people could live happily and thrive. To do that, he assembled the best knights in the land and formed what would become the Knights of the Round Table." -Pin declared.
"That's when the names of six knights showed up in the Book of Prophecies." -Tamara said. –"The first one was Arthur, who became the holder of Plagg's miraculous. The second one was Sir Galahad, who became the holder of Mulan's miraculous. The third one was Sir Percival, who became the holder of Wayzz's miraculous. The fourth one was Sir Gawain, who became the holder of Muria's miraculous. The fifth one was Sir Kay, who became the holder of Pin's miraculous. And last, but not least, Sir Lancelot, who became the holder of my miraculous." -she said.
"So, Arthur, Galahad, Percival, Gawain, Kay and Lancelot became the equivalents to Chat Noir, Panda Roux, Carapace, Grizzly Bear, Forest Doe and Corbeau Noire, respectively." -Marinette thought to herself.
The three kwamis, with a little help from Plagg and Muria, told them how for years, Arthur and the knights used their powers to bring peace to the kingdom, and making the lives of people easier, by assuring their safety. But like it happened so many times, one can please some of the people all of the time, and one can also please all of the people some of the time, but one cannot please all of the people all of the time.
"But not everyone was happy with what happened." -Wayzz said. –"Being a king, Arthur made all kinds of enemies. But none of them was as dangerous as his nephew, Mordred, the son of Arthur's half-sister, Morgan le Fay." -he said. –"He was already a fierce warrior with a thirst for blood. But when Hawk Moth possessed his body and turned him into a human vessel for his spirit, he became even worst."
"He was Hawk Moth?" -Nino asked.
"Yes. And you can imagine just how bad things got, when he decided his lieutenants weren't enough to handle the king and his knights, because he did something that he had seemingly never done before." -Tamara said. –"He created another miraculous… the peacock miraculous, and gave it to his mother." -she said.
By saying those words, the little kwami caused the atmosphere in the room to change drastically. They already knew about the miraculous, but they did not know who had created it and to who it had been given to. So, all that information came as a big shock.
"Hold on! Hawk Moth was the one who created La Paon's miraculous?!" -Alya asked, surprised.
"But why would he do that? If he wants to destroy all the miraculouses, then why create one?" -Chloe asked. –"It makes no sense." -she said.
"We're not sure of why he did it, but from what I remember, he said something about balancing the scales of power, or something similar." -Tamara said, as the details of what happened to her Pin and Wayzz continued to flow into their tiny heads, the same way water flows from a dam, when this one opens.
"You heard him say that?" -Flint asked the raven kwami.
"Yes. It happened when we found out that La Paon was Morgan le Fay." -Tamara said, answering the flamingo kwami.
"Wait, wait, wait! Go back a notch. Are you telling me that La Paon is actually Morgan le Fay, who was King Arthut's half-sister and Merlin's archnemesis?" -Muria asked, not believing what he had heard. –"That same Morgan le Fay?!" -he insisted.
"Yes." -Tamara said.
And with that, La Paon's identity was discovered. On the one hand, it should not have come as a surprise, given what they knew of the Arthurian legends. But on the other hand, it was a surprise. But the ones who were more amazed by the news were the three kwamis, who like Pin, Wayzz and Tamara fought alongside them during that time, and had no idea that happened.
"I remember her giving Arthur trouble, but I didn't know she had become the female equivalent to Hawk Moth." –Plagg confessed. –"And how come you guys know that, and we don't?" -he asked, while signalling Muria and Mulan.
"That is quite the tale. And there's a good reason why we knew about it, but only now we could remember." -Pin said.
(Flashback)
The air smelled of putrefaction, in what looked like a dungeon. The light that illuminated that room came from the various torches that burned on the stone walls, as well as from the huge fireplace where the fire crackled. In a cell were three knights, all of them laying on the floor, unconscious. These were Sir Lancelot, Sir Gawain and Sir Kay; members of the Knights of the Round Table, as well as the Miraculous Order. The three were prisoners, but they did not know it yet. But their kwamis knew it. Pin, Wayzz and Tamara were trapped on top of the table by the fireplace, surrounded by a magical seal. The three wondered how long it would take the knights to wake up. By then, they should have woken up, but they still had not, and that was worrying the kwamis. They had been attacked and then dragged to that place.
"How long do you think it has gone, since we arrived here?" -Pin asked the other kwamis.
"I don't know. It could've been a few hours… or a few days." -Wayzz said. –"There's no way to know how long it has been." -he sighed. –"And there's nothing we can do to get out of here."
"Hate to say it, but you're right." -Tamara agreed, with a grim voice. –"But right now, I just wished Lancelot and the others woke up."
Out of the blue, the fireplace slid to the right, revealing a secret entrance, from where a woman came out. She was dressed with an indigo blue 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. In her right hand, she was holding a fan that she was waving vigorously against her face.
"So, how are you, since we last talked a few hours ago?" -La Paon asked the kwamis. –"I truly hope the accommodations are to your liking." -she said.
It was not the first time she talked to them. Since they were brought in by Hawk Moth's lieutenants, the previous night, La Paon had spent some of her time talking to them. She had been the one to remove the miraculouses from the knights who were wearing them and placed them and their respective kwamis under the restraning seal, which prevented them from leaving. And just like the other times, they refused to talk back to her.
"You really don't like to talk, do you? It's such a shame, because you are adorable. I'm not into adorable and fluffy things, but there's no other words to describe you how you look." -La Paon said, while cackling. –"It's still hard to believe that you little creatures are the ones who give those imbeciles over there, their powers." -she said.
Tamara did not like La Paon's words, and she had to make use of all her inner strength not to yell at her, for offending Lancelot and the others. Still, you could see in her eyes, that she did not like what the woman was saying.
"Your powers are wasted on them. But don't fear. I have plans to use you and your miraculouses, my pretties." -La Paon declared, before letting out a maniacal laugh into the air. –"You're going to help me achieve my goals." -she said.
Suddenly, the doors to that dungeon burst open, and a tall man in armour entered. His armour was adorned with dozens of skull symbols. The shoulder pads, the helmet he was holding in his hands, the crown, the boots, the knees, and the breastplate all sported these designs. On his head, he was wearing a black crown adorned with amethysts. The rest of his armour was coloured in heavy shades of purple and black, as well as silver. Hanging from his waist, he had a long sword, that just like his crown, had its hilt adorned with amethysts. He was Hawk Moth, and he did not look happy.
"Why did you tell the men outside that you did not want them to enter this dungeon?!" -Hawk Moth bellowed at La Paon.
"I wanted to have a few little momenta with our little magical friends here." -La Paon said. –"I was just telling them that we aren't going to destroy their miraculouses." -she said.
"What do you mean, we aren't going to destroy the miraculouses?" -Hawk Moth asked her, not understanding her reluctance to do it.
"You heard me. I am not going to repeat myself. If you want to destroy something, then kill the idiot knights that were wearing the miraculouses." -La Paon told him. –"Why would you want to destroy, what you can possibly use to your advantage?" -she asked him. –"Imagine the chaos that we could create, if we had these little creatures working for us."
"We've had this conversation before. You know quite well that there is no way for me to make use of the miraculouses. And if I can't use them, then, I'll destroy them, to prevent anyone from using them against me. Even if I have to destroy them, one by one." -Hawk Moth replied to her, with a cold voice.
"I remember you saying it." -La Paon said. –"But what if you're wrong? You say the only way for those miraculouses to work, is if they're used by those chosen by them on some magical book. But what if there's a way for us to use them? What if there's a way, we can break that rule and make use of their power?" -she asked him, before taking letting out a maniacal laughter.
"And you think I haven't tried before?! For centuries… millennia, I've researched for ways to do it, and I've failed." -Hawk Moth shouted at her, as he felt his patience running low.
"Maybe you have failed. But me? Maybe I'll be able to do what you haven't done. You may be powerful, but that doesn't mean that you know everything there is to know." -La Paon said. –"I mean, we can't expect you to know everything. Especially, when your favourite hobby is to create Akumas, using prisoners and then throw them out of this castle, so they can go and cause chaos and mayhem, to attract Arthur and the other knights inro a trap… One would expect, if you knew everything, that this tactic of yours is completely useless! If you had any brains, you would have changed tactics a long time ago. Maybe then, you would actually manage to capture the miraculouses, or at the very least, invade Camelot!"
Enraged by those words, Hawk Moth pounded his left fist against the table's hardwood. One could clearly see that if he was angered before, now he was more than angered. He was mighty pissed.
"How dare you speak to me like that?! Do you know who you're talking to?!" -Hawk Moth vociferated, his voice filled with anger.
"And do you realize who you're talking to?! I'm your mother!" -La Paon
"No, you're not my mother!" -Hawk Moth declared with an enraged and displeased voice. –"You are the mother of the host, whose body I've possessed! We do not share a blood bond! The only bond we share is that of master and servant! And as your master, you will show me the proper respect I deserve!" -he yelled at La Paon, who began to laugh maniacally.
"Or what? Do you think I am one of those useless generals you created, and who you are continuously torturing and killing, whenever they fail you, only to create new ones?!" -La Paon asked him. –"And the last time I checked, I wasn't your servant! I am your equal! It happened, when you gave me this miraculous! That makes us partners, and you only have my son's body as your own, because you promised me that you would make him king!" -she yelled at him. –"A promise which you still haven't fulfilled! Mordred should've been crowned king of England by now!"
"He and I are one now, and I'll be king, not only of this kingdom, but of the whole world." -Hawk Moth declared. –"You scorn of my generals, but its thanks to them, that we have captured those three knights, and have become closer to that objective." -he said, before pointing to the cell on his left. –"And as for the miraculous, I gave it to you, to counterbalance the power those knights have… in sum, I gave it to you, so you could serve me, and help me fulfil my destiny."
Turning away from La Paon, Hawk Moth directed his attention to the table, where the miraculouses and the kwamis were. Approaching it, he looked at the kwamis at them with a look full of hatred and contempt. Looking at the magical creatures, which were terrified by his presence, it reminded him of the time he had been denied a miraculous. Just the memory of such, made the anger and hatred he had for the Miraculous Order created by his late master, burn inside him, like a raging fire; a fire which would not be put out, until he had fulfilled the destiny, he had decided for himself.
"Once I enact the destruction ritual, I will destroy these miraculouses and the kwamis that inhabit them, and I will be one step closer, to becoming the absolute lord and master of this world." -Hawk Moth gloated, as he looked at the terrified kwamis. –"You and your order tried to stop me from doing that, ever since my original body was destroyed. But unlike all the times you and the ones chosen to wield your miraculouses, foiled my plans, this time, you will fail. I'll destroy you and your miraculouses, and then, I will find the others, as well as the person who guards the miraculous that have not been activated, and destroy them, one by one." -he said, when he was struck by a lightning bolt on his right shoulder. It had been La Paon, who had hit him. –"What is the meaning of this treachery?!"
"I won't let you do it!" -La Paon said, while pointing her fan at Hawk Moth. –"I will not allow you to destroy what could be the trump card we need to win this war! I can find a way for us to make use of those miraculouses, without the need of a holder! The dark arts will show me the way!" -she told him. –"To destroy those creatures and the magic they possess, is an affront, not to mention a waste of power!"
"The dark arts?! Do you really expect that your feeble knowledge of black magic will be sufficient to triumph, where I failed?!" -Hawk Moth scorned of her. –"You're delusional, if you think you're more powerful than I am!" -he told La Paon, only for her to attack him again. –"Have you gone insane?!"
"No. I merely understood that you cannot be reasoned with! And if you can't be reasoned with, it means that you are no longer fit to help me in my plans." -La Paon declared. –"
"You would kill your own son's body, just to get rid of me?!" –Hawk Moth asked her, as he pulled his sword from its scabbard.
"Yes." -La Paon said. –"You better than anyone, should know that one must not fear death." -she told him, as she attacked him with another spell. –"Once you're dead, I will retrieve my son's soul from the pits of Hell with my dark magic, and the time that you possessed his body, will be nothing but a vile memory!"
"I will send you to Hell! first" -Hawk Moth said, as he shot a purple lightning from his sword's blade, nearly hitting La Paon on the head.
"Then, do your worst!" -La Paon said, while laughing maniacally.
(End of Flashback)
"There was a fight between the two of them; a nasty one. I can remember that midst of the confusion, the seal that held us, as well as our miraculouses, was broken, allowing us to grab them and then freeing Lancelot, Kay and Gawain out of the cells they were being held… and then, we were hit by some sort of lightning." -Pin said. –"After it, I can only remember us in the middle of a forest, making our way back to Camelot." -she said.
"The same thing with me." -Tamara said.
"And me too…. What hit us, as well as our holders, must've been some sort of memory blocking spell, I guess. And seeing La Paon's illustration must have unlocked the memory about her and about what happened, while we were in Hawk Moth's castle." -Wayzz hypothesized.
It was undeniable that everything they said about what happened during their imprisonment in Hawk Moth's castle's dungeon was extraordinary, for lack of a better word. But still, there was one question that was to be answered. And it was Alya who made it to the kwamis.
"Then, what is the power of the peacock miraculous? What does it do? Does it allow her to create Akumas, just like Hawk Moth?" -Alya asked the kwamis.
"Not exactly." -Tamara said. –"From what I remember, and La Paon kept talking about how her powers were different from Hawk Moth's, she can create creatures that are called Sentimonsters, by extracting the emotions from the victims she chooses. These vary in appearance and power, depending on what's the emotion that she picked from the victim." -she said.
"Not only that. I remember that she said that it can be any creature. It doesn't have to be a person. So, animals are on the menu as well." -Pin said.
"Both people and animals?" -Alix asked. –"Great! I can imagine what kind of creatures she could come up with, by extracting emotions out of a stray cat, or a bird." -she sighed.
"So, she doesn't use Akuma Butterflies to create those?" -Alya asked.
"No. She uses feathers, that she pulls from her fan… I'm trying to remember what was the name she gave to those feathers, but I can't." -Pin said, as he tried his best to remember. –"Oh, I remember now! They're called Amoks." -he said.
"So, the peacock miraculous is similar to the moth miraculous. But instead of making use of Akuma Butterflies, which turn people into Akumas, La Paon makes use of these Amok feathers, which link themselves to a victim and extract emotions from them, which then take the form of a creature called a Sentimonster." -Master Fu said.
"Still, if these magical feathers are what creates those Sentimonsters, then, why didn't one show up, after we defeated that one?" -Rose asked.
"I don't know. Maybe she doesn't need them anymore? I mean, she was an enchantress that dealt in dark magic." -Juleka suggested.
"Whatever the case, this means that we have another enemy." -Marinette said, grimly.
"And who says she is our enemy?" -Ivan asked her. –"I mean, if she got into an argument with Hawk Moth and was never heard from again, and is now back, who says that she's on his side?" -he asked.
"Ivan's not wrong about it." -Mylene said. –"I mean, she could be neutral, or be on our side." -she said. –"After all, it's like they say, the enemy of my enemy is my ally."
"Yeah, except when the enemy of my enemy is also my enemy." -Sabrina said. –"If she was in cohorts with Hawk Moth, that means that she also wanted to rule the world. And let's not forget that according to Pin, Tamara and Wayzz, she wanted the miraculouses to herself, so she could use them." -she pointed out.
"The kid's right." -Mika declared. –"There's nothing that says she'll be our ally." -he said.
It did not take long for the rest to also start throwing guesses on what was going to happen, now that they had another miraculous user, who was most likely a threat as big as Hawk Moth, roaming around in Paris. They all believed that their lives had gotten a lot more complicated, and no one could blame them for it believing it so. Dealing with one lunatic, while balancing their school and personal lives was already complicated enough. With two, it would be even more. But like always, the old master knew just what to say.
"I don't know how things will progress from now on. But I believe that we've learned a lot tonight and that we need a decent night of rest, to get our ideas straight." -Master Fu said. –"So, I'd advise you all to go back home and rest, because tomorrow is a brand-new day, and you have school." -he said, before looking to Miss Bustier. –"And I'm quite sure your teacher wouldn't want you to fall asleep in class."
"The master is right. Just because things look bad, doesn't mean a few hours of sleep won't do you some good." -Miss Bustier said.
"But what about La Paon?" -Marinette asked, her voice filled with concern.
"Do not worry about her, for now." -Master Fu told her. –"We will cross that bridge, when we reach it." -he reassured her. –"For now, focus on getting a good night's sleep."
"The master's right, Marinette." -Tikki said, smiling at her.
"And the same thing goes for the rest. A good night's sleep will help you to process what we found out.
Realizing the old master was right, the teens decided to call it a night. Saying their goodbyes, one by one, all of them went back home, leaving Master Fu and Miss Bustier alone. The teacher wanted to have a word with him, to discuss something that was bothering her.
"I didn't want to talk about this in front of them, but I'm worried of what the La Paon could do. Hawk Moth is dangerous, there's no doubt about it, but she could be even more dangerous than him, and that is not a good thing." -Miss Bustier said. –"You do know that I worry about Marinette and the others, just as much as you do, and I fear for their safety. So, please, tell me, master, how dangerous do you think she is?" -she asked the old man, her voice, filled with concern.
"I'm afraid I don't know, my dear." -Master Fu admitted. –"There's no information regarding her. All that we know about her is what Wayzz, Pin and Tamara have told us. That alone makes her dozens of times more dangerous than Hawk Moth." -he said. –"With him, we have a good idea of what he is capable of, and what to expect of him. But with her…"
"With her, we have no idea of how powerful she truly is, and what her intentions might be." -Miss Bustier sad, finishing the master's sentence. –"You're right. That alone makes her far more dangerous." -she said. –"I fear that they might not be prepared to deal with her. They have trained to deal with Akumas and Hawk Moth. But this La Paon's powers are different, and the creatures she creates also look different. Not to mention that she also wants their miraculouses; but instead of wanting to destroy them, she wants to use them. Do you think t's even possible for her to use them?"
"I don't know." -Master Fu said. –"In theory, it's impossible for anyone, other than the holder of the miraculous, whose name shows up in the Book of Prophecies, to use the miraculous. But if she is Morgan Le Fay, whom the Arthurian legends was one of the most powerful dark arts practitioners ever, we can't rule out her being able to do that." -he declared.
"If that happens, I fear for what could happen to the kids." -Miss Bustier said.
"I hate to admit it, but I too fear that." -Master Fu sighed. –"Still, we're not up against the wall just yet." -he said. –"We don't know what to exactly expect of La Paon. But we do know this. If in order to create these Sentimonsters, she uses a similar method to Hawk Moth's, we can at least come up with a way for their weapons to destroy her Amoks, the same way they destroy Hawk Moth's Akuma Butterflies. I'll have to start researching for a way to do that, in the morning."
"But there was no Amok in the one the girls fought, master." -Miss Bustier reminded him. –"Couldn't that mean she doesn't need one to create one of those creatures?" -she asked.
"Maybe…. but and this is just a hypothesis. What if the Sentimonster the girls faced ended up turning into goop, because it did not have one of those Amoks? What if, it only had a small fragment of an Amok, and that made it unstable?" -Master Fu suggested.
"It's a possibility, yes." -Miss Bustier said. –"I mean, I'm still new to all of this. You're the expert when it comes to magic, master. If you're saying that that's a possibility, I have to believe it might be." -she said.
"Expert? Oh, I wish I was, my dear." -Master Fu chuckled. –"Most of what I know about magic, was taught to me. The rest, I had to found out through research and some experimentation. I'm good, but far from an expert." -he said. –"Experts were the members of the Order, when this one was founded. They were the ones who dabbled in magic and made use of it. The others that came after them, like myself, my master and others, we're merely picking up the pieces of knowledge that were left y them, and that weren't lost in the sands of time."
"Well, expert or not, you are who we have, and that will have to suffice." -Miss Bustier said, in her usual kind-hearted and melodious voice. –"Do you need help with that research? I don't mind helping you tomorrow, after classes are over." -Miss Bustier asked the old master.
"Perhaps a second pair of eyes will make this research a lot faster, I admit it." -Master Fu smiled at the teacher. –"Hope you're not allergic to dust." -he said, with an amused voice.
At the same time, down underground, Hawk Moth was addressing to his lieutenants. Just like it happened with the Miraculous Team, the villain felt it was imperative for him to talk about what happened that afternoon. He told them the whole story of what happened between him and La Paon, and how she had served as a lesson to him, to never attempt to create another miraculous.
"In the end, she was turned into stone, when one her spells backfired on her. Because at the time, I had more pressing matters to take care of, I ordered my generals to take her stone-turned body into a cave I knew she was using as her witch's laboratory, and to seal it, until I decided how to deal with her." -Hawk Moth confessed. –"That never happened, as Arthur and the knights that were in possession of miraculouses increased their attacks against my forces, and I was forced to deal with them." -he said. –"In the end, I was defeated, and when my spirit finally possessed a new body, it was far from the place where I was before. As time went by, I forgot about her. Something that should've never happened. She is a formidable opponent, and the power that I gave her has made her someone that will stop at nothing to get what she wants. She wishes to rule the world, just like I do. But while I wish to rule it in a world, shaped after my own image, where the strong prevail and the weak succumb, she wishes to plunge the world into chaos and discord. And that is unacceptable, for true power comes from order, not the opposite."
The four lieutenants could hear the sneer mixed with praise that Hawk Moth had for La Paon. Still, they did not allow themselves to be fooled by it. They could tell that their master hated that woman, even though he had a similarly begrudging respect for her.
"Now, you know what we're up against." -Hawk Moth told his lieutenants. –"I expect you to deal with whatever La Paon is planning." -he said. -And just like Ladybug and the other heroes, if given the chance, you will bring me that woman's miraculous, so I can destroy it and reclaim the powers I placed in them, for myself."
"Of course, master." -Brutus said.
"You can rest assured that whatever she's planning against you, we will deal with it, master." -Madame Romani said.
"I will slice her into bits, and whatever she conjures up, and I will bring you her miraculous, master!" -Reptile said, as he imagined himself slicing a Sentimonster and La Paon.
"Whatever she throws at us, I'll destroy it, just like I will destroy those kids and their miraculouses." -Rapier said, in his usual cocky voice.
"For your sake, you better not fail me. Or else, your punishment will be nothing like the punishments you've endured so far." -Hawk Moth warned his lieutenants, with a cold voice. –"Now, go. I wish to be alone." -he ordered them.
"Yes, master." -the four of them spoke in chorus.
Closing the chamber doors behind them, Hawk Moth's lieutenants mused about what they had heard, and how they knew that a war was coming, that would pit them against La Paon and her forces. There was no question about it. The only question was when that would happen. And inside his chamber, Hawk Moth was thinking the same thing. He did not know where La Paon was, or how it was possible for her to be back. But he knew that she was back, and that he would have to deal with her.
"If you're back, then I will correct my mistake and take from you what I gave you so long ago." -Hawk Moth thought to himself. –"I should've gotten the miraculous from you and destroyed it, when I turned you into stone… I will not make the same mistake again. Wherever you're hiding, when you decide to show yourself, I will be there to destroy the peacock miraculous, just before I snuff the life out of your body, permanently." -he thought.
This one took a little bit longer to complete, but it was partly due to the fact that I got the new Sonic Frontiers, as well as God of War: Ragnarok, and decided to play them (already completed the first, and I'm at the beginning of the second, so no spoilers, from those of you who have already played it, or are playing it).
So, in this chapter there's a lot of History to be told. I have to admit that it was fun to use what I learned in Arthurian mythology in college in this AU of mine. Because there are so many versions of the Arthurian myths, I decided to grab pieces of each of them and come up with my very own version. So, yeah, before anyone asks, no, the Ladybug miraculous was not active during the period in which the Knights of the Round Table were chosen to wear some of them (unlike what happens in the show, there's no need for both the Ladybug and the Black Cat miraculous to be active at the same time). And yes, we find out that La Paon is actually Morgan Le Fay, or Morgana in this AU. I felt that we needed a powerful magic wielder to uphold the peaacock miraculous, and I couldn't think of anyone better than her for the job, given all the stories that have been told about Morgan, over the course of the centuries.
To choose which of the knights would get a miraculous, I had to do a little bit of research (it's a good thing I did it a few years ago, otherwise, it would've taken me a long time to do so), and see which miraculous would be better suited for each of the knights. Arthur of course got the Black Cat miraculous. For Lancelot, given that he's most of the time seen as Arthur's rival, and is sometimes seen in his shadow, I felt that the raven miraculous would be perfect for him. For Kay, I decided to give him the deer miraculous, based on the fact that in the Disney movie "the Sword in the Stone" we see Sir Kay hunting with a bow and arrow at the beginning, and to be honest, he seemed rather at ease with them, when compared with the rest of the weapons he used in his knight training. For Galahad, I had already chosen him to uphold the red panda miraculous (check "Miraculous Team: Haute Couture" to see that happening). For Percival, given that he's sometimes depicted in literature has having developed healing powers, not t mention as being the one who found the Holy Grail and protected it, so, I felt the turtle miraculous would be pefect for him, given that in my AU, the holders of the turtle miraculous develop healing abilities. And finaly, Gawain is sometimes depicted as having superhuman strength based on the cycle of the day, so I felt that the bear miraculous would be perfect for him.
As always, feel free to comment, fav and leave your suggestions.
P.S. The next chapter will be a little bit more slice-of-life chapter, because it will focus on some of the heroes' relationships. I think you're going to like it.
