Chapter 93: Tarantula
A school day dawns, and several students are very groggy as they were up half the night. This includes Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Adrien Agreste, and Nicolette Lacroix. Chloe Bourgeois would also be sleep deprived, but she had her father call her off school for the rest of the week, claiming she's visiting distant relatives in Italy. And given that Francoise Dupont High School sucks at following up with excused absences, Chloe gets away with it. Of course, hers at least has validity (unlike Nathaniel Kurtzberg or Lila Rossi's excuses) as her father, the mayor, is actually in on it.
As a result of staying up half the night to text Adrien, Marinette winds up running late. She does her best to sprint to school on time, but she keeps slowing down as her mind turns. Does Adrien actually know I'm Ladybug? Some of his dialogue has strongly hinted that he does. However, Marinette has no idea how to bring it up. If he does know…maybe he only is dating her because he sees her as the idealized Ladybug rather than the real Marinette. And if he doesn't know…then she just blew her identity for nothing. Plus, she would likely have to reveal she's known for a long time that he's Cat Noir. Now that she's dating him, she knows she owes him that truth at least. But again, she struggles with how to bring it up. Every time she tries, even when practicing alone, she breaks into incoherent stammers. Then it gets complicated by her stress over what happened between her and Luka as well as knowing Adrien's parents are in a coma. And that's on top of all the stuff she has to deal with as Ladybug, which includes the B Team's new theory that the birthstone wielders are having their personalities corrupted (something Alpha contacted her about off-page). And yet, her heart practically sings when she's with Adrien because deep down, her greatest wish is to be just a boy and just a girl, in love. How does she tell that to Adrien/Cat Noir when she knows how much Cat Noir loves being Cat Noir?
Speaking of Adrien, unlike Marinette, he arrives at school early as he wants to see her. He gets a bit bored when she doesn't arrive and he can't find Nino. He winds up hanging out with Ivan Bruel and Mylene Haprele while waiting for the others to arrive. Mylene, of course, is there early as her father is a teacher. Ivan arrived early to spend time with her. They start talking, and during the course of the conversation, Adrien eventually realizes that he never thanked them for saving him from the stadium during the end of Phase Two. Ivan was the one who carried him, unconscious, out of the building to the paramedics. Ivan and Mylene accept the gratitude, but Ivan points out that it wasn't really him who saved Adrien—it was Marinette.
This confuses Adrien; he has no memories of Marinette being there (he was unconscious, after all) and no one mentioned it to him. Mylene confirms it. Marinette pulled him out of whatever room he had been imprisoned in when she (Marinette) found him unconscious. She was crying so hard and stumbling, barely able to support Adrien's weight, when Ivan and Mylene found them both. Marinette begged Ivan to help carry Adrien, and Ivan was more than willing to lend his aid. Adrien is so surprised by this news he has to ask several times, "wait, it was Marinette who found me?" They repeat their affirmation as many times as he asks.
This causes Adrien to start really, really wondering what Marinette saw when she found him. He was alone, locked in a single room deep within the stadium. He was no longer transformed into Cat Noir as he had been blackmailed into giving up his ring. He was there in the poncho to hide his identity, feeling very very claustrophobic. Then, he felt sick and collapsed. He thought he saw Ladybug at that moment, but he isn't sure. However, the room itself would have been suspicious as it was covered in claw marks from his Cat Noir outfit, and he had used his baton to damage the door. Plus, he was alone. As far as he can tell, the only other person Hawk Moth imprisoned alone was Ladybug. Adrien's heart races. He's certain Marinette is Ladybug, and if she was the one to see him in that state… Does Marinette know I'm Cat Noir?!
Adrien probes Ivan and Mylene further, asking about what state he was in when they found him, where exactly in the stadium they crossed paths with Marinette, and if he was wearing a poncho. Mylene and Ivan are puzzled by the last question. It was raining that day, but when Marinette brought Adrien to them, there was no poncho in sight. Adrien thanks them and heads off to be a lone and mull things over. He definitely was wearing a poncho when he passed out in order to hide his identity. And given the fact it was buttoned, it's unlikely it slid off of its own accord. That means someone had to take it off, and the person who found him is Marinette. Granted, he considers the possibility that Hawk Moth lied about not peeking. It's possible that while he was unconscious, Hawk Moth entered the locked room and learned Cat Noir's true identity for himself. However, that makes no sense as in the present, it's clear Hawk Moth has no idea who Cat Noir is. Also, since Adrien was locked in the room, it's unlikely anyone else entered and removed the poncho. Now, "unlikely" doesn't mean "impossible"—someone still could have. But why would any stranger do that? That person would have had to suspect Cat Noir was imprisoned inside, which seems unlikely. Otherwise, a stranger who was worried about the health of the unconscious boy they found wouldn't bother with his clothing—the stranger would get help somehow. Which brings Adrien back to Marinette. He knows for a fact she found him. But why would she remove his poncho on the rainy day? The only thing that makes sense is if she is Ladybug. The poncho was provided by Hawk Moth; wearing it would completely give away he was Cat Noir. Ladybug, being the only other person provided with a similar poncho, would have also been the only other person to know this. And Adrien knows this as Hawk Moth himself mentioned both ponchos to Cat Noir. Therefore, when Ladybug found him in an identical poncho, she would have realized right away that the person underneath was Cat Noir; she would have taken the poncho off not to reveal his identity but to conceal it. And the fact that it was Marinette who found him and that no one else would realize the significance of the poncho makes it very likely that not only is Marinette Ladybug but also she has known this whole time he's Cat Noir.
Adrien isn't sure how he feels about this. Ladybug knew his identity this whole time and kept such a huge secret from him. He feels hurt. And perhaps a bit mad. But also…Ladybug didn't reject him when she knew who he really was. She remained by his side. Even though Adrien is an imperfect, slave to PR, always fake smiling celebrity with daddy issues a mile long. That kinda makes him happy. He always did want to fight crime alongside Ladybug, side by side, no secrets between them, just a hero and a heroine, in love. But it bugs him how much time has passed without her saying anything. It's complicated. He mulls things over, trying to get his thoughts and emotions in line. And it isn't easy. Eventually, Adrien concludes he needs to talk to Marinette about this directly. But how can he even bring up such a subject? Most of his evidence, while compelling, is circumstantial. If he's wrong (just as how he once assumed Chloe was Ladybug), then he could blow his secret identity to his girlfriend. If he's wrong…then…then he's not really in love with Marinette. And that fact stings deeper than he realized. He had such a fun time coming out with Marinette…he couldn't break her heart over a mistaken identity. In fact, if he is wrong…he still doesn't want to break up with Marinette. Which feels oddly horribly hypocritical but also oddly wonderfully right. It's like dawn breaks all at once. I think…I think I'm in love with Marinette. He genuinely prays they're the same person because he doesn't know how to handle things if they aren't. Adrien realizes he'd break his own heart right in half if he's wrong about Ladybug's identity.
Nicolette Lacroix arrives early in order to meet her friend, Monique Imhof, before Monique gets wrapped up with Mathieu Anciel. Monique can immediately see that Nicolette is uncharacteristically serious and asks if everything is okay, if it has something to do with the previous night. Nicolette affirms it does, and she says she wants Monique to hang out with her after school. She has something important to tell her. Monique suspects that this has something to do with Nicolette recently giving up her pursuit of Etienne, and she promises to be there with ice cream.
Jakeel Aristide is not his usual prankster self. He's actually lost in thought, trying to make sense of what happened to him during the prior evening (when Mink subjected him to Duality). He can't understand why he seems to have two conflicting sets of memories, and he can't understand why, for lack of better words, his "personality feels sick." He actually is becoming aware enough of things that he heads to the bathroom and takes the peridot choker off of his neck. He stares at it a long time, studying it and its reflection in the mirror. But as far as he can tell, it's a normal item. Still…there's something unsettling… Jakeel decides to keep it off for the time being, so he sticks it into his pocket. However, like all the items Nathalie created, it has its own allure. Once he's out of the bathroom, his hands reach into his pocket and he subconsciously puts it back onto his neck.
Cameran Tyler is only half stuck in a similar mental loop. However, he has his friend/roommate, Guy Nigels, joking with him and having fun, so Cameran keeps getting pulled into the moment instead of getting lost inside his own head. This is, in part, instinctive on Guy's part. He's a rather intuitive individual, and at a subconscious level, he realized that Cameran just needed to have some fun to relieve the tension. They all meet up with Tristan Fortier, and all three start playing around, throwing a Frisbee to each other down the hallway, until Miss. Mendeleiev confiscates it.
Giselle Winters-Blanchet is very stressed about her current situation between her friends, Meera Pugliese and Raissa Deschamps, and her identity as Snow Leopard. In addition, she still hasn't processed what it means that her mother worked for the Western Order; she keeps wondering if her mother was a villain. Her anxiety skyrockets when she sees both friends standing on the steps of Francoise Dupont High School, clearly waiting for her. Raissa and Meera are deadly serious; Giselle is to step down as Snow Leopard today or else they're spill her secret identity. "It's for your own good." Giselle insists she'll do as they say—but after school. She tells them a time and a place she wants them all to meet. Raissa accuses her of setting a trap. Giselle promises that that's not the case; she just wants a chance to say goodbye to Chill. Meera and Raissa remain suspicious, but they say they'll meet her after school—and they'll be taking precautions of their own. This causes Giselle to sweat. She could call in back-up, but there's no way to do that without revealing an identity. Giselle argues that things'll be safe. They'll be in public, in a place surrounded by people. It'd be stupid for either side to ambush the other. Meera and Raissa are still suspicious, but they agree to the meeting. Once those two head off on their own, Giselle sends a frantic text to the B Team: I need that item, now.
Not all things are tense among friends at Francoise Dupont High School. Granted, there still is a lot of tension due to the machinations of the antagonists. However, Sabrina Raincomprix and her new friend group have managed to evade those. She's hanging out with Yvonne Garnier and Genevieve Faucher, and they're all giggling and laughing together. Sabrina is in a way better place than she was with Chloe. Yvonne and Genevieve also both know that Sabrina is Hachiko, so they occasionally ask her about it and worry about her safety. Sabrina insists she's been fine, and the three grow closer together due, in no small part, to Sabrina's innate loyalty.
Then there's friends like Marie Chauveau and Suzette Rault, who are rather petty individuals. They're perpetuating the gossip about the Marinette/Luka/Adrien love triangle—in part because Marie is jealous of Marinette's work as class representative. They make a point of glowering at Marinette when she passes by and then whispering and pointing. They do the same to Luka and Adrien out of spite. Luka coldly ignores them, and Adrien is so distracted, wondering if Ladybug knows he's Cat Noir, that he doesn't even notice.
Alya Cesaire meets with Marinette shortly after this. She asks all kinds of questions about how the first date went as she wants all the details. And Marinette readily gushes about them. However, Marinette has to be careful not to let her concerns about Adrien being Cat Noir and in love with an idealized Ladybug slip; she doesn't want to reveal his identity, not even to Alya. She does almost let the words slip out of her mouth, but she catches herself at the last moment and redirects the conversation. Once dating gossip has run its course, Alya asks Marinette about the next time the A Team will get together to practice; it's been awhile. Marinette admits she completely spaced. She sends a text out immediately on Discord, inviting all available Team Ladybug wielders to practice that evening.
Kagami Tsurugi is the first to check the message, and she smiles. Elsewhere on campus, Rachel Beauchene almost gets into a brawl with an upper classmen, which is very unlike her external Valley Girl persona. Meg Delphinus has to hold her back. Stella Tenebrae also sparks a rivalry with one of the other track team members, which culminates into an uncharacteristic verbal shouting match about "I'm better than you. My times are faster. I put in more in practice." Ms. Mendeleiev has to break them up. She and several other faculty members are beginning to notice a turn in the school's atmosphere. Tsuyu Asui arrives with her hair down and wet, as morning swim practice went long and she didn't have time to dry it. Fumikage remarks about this, and Tsuyu admits to being embarrassed; she feels she looks like the girl in the well. Fumikage says he likes her hair down. Chloe Bourgeois is notably absent. Her father claims she's in Italy visiting family, but really she's just playing hooky. And the reason for that is because Madam Gros wants to reclaim the Scorpio hair tie from her, and she (Chloe) wound up reflecting Ivory's Oblivion back on her. So she's now laying low.
(The entire student body is here: (( photos . app . goo . gl / cgLSrNi71rxfep9e8 )).)
Nicholas Sancoeur is dropped off by his aunt as Adrien opted to arrive at school early. He's one of the last ones to arrive as they had been discussing things related to their lives as Hawk Moth and Adamantus. Of course, Mirelle Caquet and Aurore Beaureal are even later. He checks on Dapple, his protective senti monster, who is happily preoccupied inside his backpack.
Madam Gros has a large map of Paris open before her on her desk; she's refusing to see any students that morning. She's marked the locations Rhino, Draco, and Tarantula scouted out the day before. However, they still need roughly 9-10 more pinpoints. Madam Gros gets in contact with her three agents and orders them to keep scouring the city. Tarantula/Dr. Theroux points out he has his day job; he has to monitor Gabriel and Emilie Agreste. Madam Gros is quite cold-hearted; she tells him to leave them be. The Western Order and finding out what happened to Grant Theroux is more important. This is Dr. Gerald Theroux's weakness, and he gives in for his brother's sake. Rhino and Draco point out that one of them should stay in order to guard Master Fu. Hawk Moth has already tried to find their location once and might be suspicious of its general location (she is). If Hawk Moth attacked or Master Fu revolted while both were away, they'd be completely compromised. Madam Gros is not happy with this; she points out that they both went out last night. Brynne and Zenon counterpoint that they thought it was a bad idea then too. Madam Gros relents only slightly. She still orders both of them out on the field, but she allows Brynne/Rhino to search for major points near their apartment HQ so she can hurry home if anything happens. After all, Master Fu has spent the vast majority of his time meditating ever since his capture. They haven't been able to break him, not even with Oblivion, but he hasn't been able to escape. A couple of hours with Rhino searching for the framework locations for her planned spell shouldn't result in disaster. Draco pushes the argument further, noting that it's broad daylight; they're more likely to be seen. Madam Gros at that point pretty much tells them to shut up and obey orders. Her desperation to learn what happened to her fiancé is clouding her better judgment. But it doesn't decrease the threat she possesses.
At Francoise Dupont High School, the halls fill as classes end for lunch. Nicholas Sancoeur meets up with his friend, Gilles Chastain. Raissa Deschamps nudges her way into the conversation to hang out with Nicholas as well. It still seems strange to Nicholas, a senti monster, that people care about him. He was created to serve Nathalie and lead the birthstone wielders. He's made from the core of her wish that Gabriel Agreste would wake up. His secondary purpose was to be akumatized. But now…his own master considers him her nephew more than her creation. He has friends. He has a life. He was just supposed to be a tool; he wasn't supposed to be a real person. And that scares him a little bit because now he has things he doesn't want to lose.
He's so distracted by his own thoughts and the conversation with his friends that he doesn't notice when an upper classman comes up behind him and swipes his backpack out of an overdone joking around. Nicholas whirls around in a panic, but by then the upperclassman is halfway down the hall, running backward, clearly expecting a chase in good fun. Nicholas protests that that's his before his strength gives out under the wards Ivory placed around the high school. He collapses at the feet of Raissa and Gilles. Both immediately start looking after him, trying to find what's wrong, trying to get him to speak. But shudders just run through Nicholas's body. He can actually feel the magic that created him breaking down, and it's taking all his mental effort to keep himself together. From an outside, it looks as if he's having a seizure.
Of course, the teachers coming running immediately. The upperclassman who stole his backpack panics and flees the scene, dropping the backpack behind the stairs. Crowds form, and then the school nurse arrives, shooing everyone away. However, her preliminary examination reveals nothing, so she calls for an ambulance. Adrien is obviously worried as he views Nicholas as an extended part of his own household. It also gets to him due to the condition of his parents, as well as the fact that he and Nicholas and Nathalie have all collapsed at different times in the past for reasons unknown. Felix, who watches from a corner, could honestly care less.
Speaking of Nathalie Sancoeur—she senses immediately when something goes wrong with Nicholas. Despite how their relationships has progressed, she is still his creator. And she actually shows an emotional reaction akin to panic when he collapses. Nathalie is halfway to her car before it dawns on her that she shouldn't know about Nicholas until someone calls her. She just can't go to the school or hospital without being informed; it'd be too suspicious. (She does know where Nicholas is; she's able to sense his presence in the city.) And yet…Nathalie cannot shake her worry—especially as she feels Nicholas's entire existence fading. She only hesitates a moment before she gets into her car. She has to make sure Nicholas is okay.
Once the ambulance pulls Nicholas out of the school grounds, he gradually begins to recover. But he is still dazed as he came dangerously close to fragmenting. However, he has to hide his "miraculous" recovery so as not to draw suspicious about what he really is. The rest of the student body is ushered back to their classrooms—now they have something new to gossip about. After all, it's a well-known fact that Adrien's parents are in a coma. And given how his household keeps collapsing…well, it does spawn all kinds of wild theories.
Nathalie gets a call about Nicholas's collapse when she's already halfway to the hospital. She pretends as if she were out on regular errands, continuing her route to the ER. Once she's allowed to see Nicholas, she actually gives him a hug in relief, which surprises both of them. The doctors are running tests, but they can find nothing wrong. Nathalie is the one who notices, though it takes a few minutes. "Where's your backpack?" Nicholas explains how an upperclassman jokingly stole it. It's probably still at school. The conversation is coded, as it's clear Nicholas and Nathalie are talking about Dapple and not the backpack. Nathalie leaves Nicholas in the hands of the doctors and heads to Francoise Dupont High School.
Dr. Theroux gets notified about another collapse within the Agreste household. He receives a text through his cell phone, which is now linked to his miraculous weapon as he's actively transformed into Tarantula (his weapon being needles, which does mean his phone screen is ridiculously small—his works more akin to hands-free Bluetooth). He doesn't feel pressured to check on Nicholas because 1) Nicholas is in the care of many other doctors and 2) Gerald is paid primarily to care for Gabriel and Emilie. He does, however, report this to Madam Gros just in case he does have to report in to his day job.
Dolores Gros is not happy about this turn of events because it could easily turn into something to delay her plans. She considers her options. Since she has no counseling appointments that afternoon and doesn't need to screen anyone else as she has her twelve teenage wielders, Madam Gros simply takes time off for the rest of the day and heads onto the field herself as Ivory. She does feel as if something is off as she leaves. Wasn't she supposed to replace one of her wielders? No, that's not right. All of her wielders are fine. (She's forgotten the incident that caused her to reject Chloe and the subsequent rebounded Oblivion.) She also keeps in touch with Tarantula. They do have to search the part of Paris over by the hospital, so they might as well meet up near it…just in case he has to go into work under his civilian alias. Tarantula agrees and heads towards the hospital to meet her.
Nathalie Sancoeur arrives at Francoise Dupont High School a few minutes later, just missing seeing Ivory escape out of the second floor window. She heads inside because apparently Francoise Dupont High School has no security to ensure only the right people come and go—after all, Vivica is able to join their DnD Club despite attending a completely different school. Nathalie is in-tune with everything going on, and she can sense Dapple because Dapple is also one of her creations. She finds the senti monster and Nicholas's backpack pretty quickly, reclaims them, and leaves to return to the hospital and get Dapple back to Nicholas.
Shortly after she departs, the bell rings for classes to end. A few hours have passed in getting Nicholas to the hospital, running tests, and then allowing Nathalie in to see him, after all. Gilles is worried about his friend, so he calls his parents, telling them that he'll be a bit late to work at their flower shop. He's going to visit a friend in the hospital. They encourage him to do just that. He heads over on his bike (which he usually uses to deliver flowers), which means Nathalie arrives at the hospital long before he does as she's driving.
In the interim, the other students disperse for their after school activities. Since it isn't a day when the DnD Club meets, Giselle Winters-Blanchet heads for her ice skating practice at the nearby rink. Tristan Fortier heads to his community boxing league, and Rachel Beauchene has lessons in kendo outside of the school bounds. Tsuyu Asui and Le Chien Kim walk together for afternoon swim practice, where they meet with Ondine (who attends a different school). Adrien Agreste and Kagami Tsurugi head to fencing practice, and Kagami completely creams Adrien as he's distracted, worried about Ladybug knowing he's Cat Noir and Nicholas's health. Not to mention, Kagami is in a great mood as she's looking forward to the Team Ladybug practice that evening. Stella Tenebrae heads to track practice, where the bickering between runners about who has the best times and if sprints or long distances are the best running continues. Luka Couffaine sits down on the steps and plays his guitar, still processing his break-up with Marinette. His heart hurts, and it's heard in his songs. Theo Barbot finds Mireille and invites her out after her afternoon job; she's elated. Viktor Vasiliev notices this and is dejected; he's had a long, silent crush on Mireille and hasn't been able to speak up, and it pains him she has a boyfriend. Jean Duparc heads to the park to perform magic for coins thrown his way; he does rather well despite his own inner turmoil between his torn alliances of the B Team and the birthstone team.
At the hospital, Nathalie arrives and gains admittance to see her nephew. While the doctors want to give Nicholas a clean bill of health because they can find nothing wrong, the fact is he did collapse, and they want to keep him for more tests. Nathalie walks in with his backpack, and the relief on his face is obvious. He accepts it, peeks inside to make sure Dapple is okay, and then hugs the whole thing close. That's when a doctor enters to review Nicholas's medical history with Nathalie, as well as ask her questions about the Agreste family's health (obviously something is wrong there) as well as the history of Nicholas's (non-existent) mother and father. Nathalie fields the questions, but she is tight-lipped on anything that would remotely paint Gabriel in a bad light.
While this is going on, Ivory and Tarantula have met down a nearby alleyway. Ivory carefully picked this place as no windows face in their direction. Tarantula reveals he hasn't been needed yet as Dr. Theroux, and he's searched the northern side of the hospital neighborhood. None of those locations suit their needs. Tarantula and Ivory quickly divide the rest of the district between themselves; they know better than too linger.
However, their conversation still takes too long. By this time, Gilles Chastain has arrived. He's locking his bike onto the rack when he looks up and sees them talking down the alleyway. He lets out a small gasp as his hand darts for his cell phone. That small gasp is enough to give him away, and Tarantula responds immediately. He throws thread from his knitting needle weapons, ensnaring Gilles, pinning his arms to his side so he can't reach for his phone. Gilles tries to dig in his heels, but Tarantula gives a mighty yank and drags him into the alleyway, out of sight of any passersby.
He isn't quick enough. While Nathalie reviews medical history with the doctors, Nicholas gets bored. His eyes drift to the window. He sees his best friend arrive and chain-up his bicycle. Then he sees ropes of some sort thrown from the nearby hidden alleyway. A moment later, Gilles is yanked out of sight. Nicholas, who was created to not have emotions, feels a wave of concern and fear. He yanks the curtain around his hospital bed shut, scoops Dapple out of his backpack, and transforms into Adamantus. Fortunately for him, the birthstone wielders don't need to speak (yet) to transform. Which means the doctors and Nathalie hear nothing suspicious. As Adamantus, he doesn't hesitate. He's by the window in a moment, opens it, and leaps outside a second later.
Now this, Nathalie does sense—she can tell when Adamantus is using his powers; after all, she created both him and his diamond unicorn cuff links. Her eyes dart to that direction, but she's stoic enough that the doctors don't realize anything is wrong. It's also hard for Nathalie to talk to Nicholas telepathically while she's not transformed and holding a separate conversation.
Within the same ten seconds, Gilles is totally panicking as he's basically prisoner to Ivory and Tarantula. Ivory plays it off as if she doesn't recognize him as a student at her school. To be far, she's seen every student in the whole student body, and Gilles didn't particularly stand out to her as she never entrusted him with a miraculous, so she does hardly remember him at all. Tarantula lifts Gilles up by the threads and looks to Ivory. They both know what has to be done. Ivory pulls out her pendulum and prepares her special ability.
Adamantus lands hard on his ankles outside of the hospital, but he tanks it, being the diamond unicorn. He sprints to the alleyway as fast as he can in order to save his best friend. He has no thoughts beyond that; he isn't even thinking about how he'll explain why he showed up, why he's protecting a random civilian, or how he'll keep his identity hidden from Gilles.
However, when he arrives, it's too late. Ivory and Tarantula are both gone, their shadows disappearing over the rooftop. Gilles is sitting on the pavement, staring blankly ahead, his memories gone. Adamantus tried to bring him back to his senses, first in a way that befits his Adamantus persona before breaking down and trying to get through to Gilles as Nicholas Sancoeur. But Gilles got nailed, hard, with Oblivion, and Ivory eliminated way too many of his memories for Gilles to respond. Adamantus realizes what likely happened, and he feels a brand new emotion he never felt before: rage. He is pissed off at Ivory, and he's not going to let her get away with this. The first thing he does might be considered incredibly petty or spiteful, but he pulls out his cell phone and for once in his life, sends out an Akuma Alert himself, notifying civilians and heroes alike that Ivory and Tarantula have been sighted in this neighborhood. He's doing this mostly out of revenge, but there is an idea in the back of his mind. Maybe Ladybug can set things right. If Ladybug beats Ivory, her "Miraculous Ladybug" should restore Gilles's memories, right? It's all Adamantus can think to do. He doesn't even know what his own special ability is, and despite his high defenses and martial skills, there's nothing he can do to help his friend.
There is a problem with Adamantus's Akuma Alert. He's the only one to report it. The app works by giving priority and validation to multiple reports of an akuma within the same vicinity, as pinged by the cell phone's GPS. This is to stop trolls from spamming fake alerts. Since no one else has yet to spot Ivory and Tarantula, Adamantus's report is the only one within the app, and the app has yet to flag it in order to raise a proper alarm. Adamantus keeps waiting for his cell phone/screwdrivers to buzz from the app, but they don't. He hesitates with what he should do. Should he follow Ivory and Tarantula? That would leave Gilles alone. Should he stay with Gilles? But what can he do to help? Should he take Gilles somewhere? Like to the nearby hospital? Oh yeah, that wouldn't be suspicious at all—Adamantus, hauling a catatonic teenager into a hospital. Security would flank him before he made it through the ER. He realizes he could transform back into Nicholas—but that would also look very suspicious, only marginally less suspicious than Adamantus—as Nicholas was just on the fifth? floor, and no one had seen him leave the room. He obviously didn't jump out of a fifth floor window; that would be ridiculous for a normal human.
Adamantus runs through his options mentally when Nathalie Sancoeur is finally able to reach him telepathically. She shows concern about why he disappeared, but she also figured something important had to have come up. Adamantus is greatly relieved to hear from her, so much so that he actually interrupts her. He explains he sighted Ivory and Tarantula, leaving out what happened to Gilles, and asks that she send out an Akuma Alert to get Ladybug and Cat Noir after them. Nathalie is surprised to hear this, but being a cunning strategist, she quickly puts in play a ploy that'll work to her advantage. She tells Adamantus that she will send the alert, but that she's also going to send in some of her birthstone wielders. Ladybug and Cat Noir will ambush the Western Order, and the birthstone team will ambush them. Her plan, of course, requires Adamantus to lead the ambush and to be in position when the others arrive. She trusts this won't be a problem.
Adamantus hesitates, looking at the catatonic Gilles. He knows he can't just leave his friend, but as a senti monster, he is ridiculously loyal to his creator. Adamantus hesitates. He then hefts Gilles onto his shoulder and heads in a different location than the one Nathalie indicated. He figures he can get Gilles home. If he slips in through a window, no one will notice. Gilles will be safe. Then, he can obey his directive.
Things pan back to Nathalie, who is in Nicholas's hospital room. The screen has been pulled aside, revealing that the bed is empty. Nathalie is faking being irate about Nicholas sneaking out while on the doctor's shift. She plays it up enough that the doctor goes running to find the missing patient, getting a couple of nurses involved as he goes. This gives Nathalie the time she needs to contact Nicholas, send out the Akuma Alert to trap both rival Orders, and to contact her chosen birthstone wielders. Once that is done, she looks at the Akuma Alert app in her hand. If I had all 12 birthstone wielders report a fake—or even a real akuma or senti monster—and then had them all waiting for Ladybug and Cat Noir to arrive… Her ultimate plan solidifies. Cut communication. Take out the heroes before back-up can arrive. Use Ladybug and Cat Noir as hostages against their friends… Yes, yes, that will work. She'll gain as many miraculous as she can—and then, she'll wake Gabriel regardless of the consequences to herself. But…but what happens to Nicholas after that? Nathalie finds herself uncharacteristically hesitating.
With a second Akuma Alert submitted so quickly, the app itself moves the notification up the scale. This causes a couple of people who live within this neighborhood to be, justifiably, concerned. They look out their windows. And a couple of these people notices Ivory and Tarantula, moving from rooftop to rooftop, seemingly looking for something. A few more reports roll in, officially setting off the app, buzzing everyone of the danger. Ladybug and Cat Noir get the notification as well, and the hospital goes under lockdown as a precaution. By then, Adamantus had arrived at the apartment above the flower shop where Gilles lives. He sneaks Gilles into his room and then doubles back.
The downside of the Akuma App is that everyone has it, including Ivory and Tarantula. Ivory curses when she realizes that they've been spotted; she tells Tarantula they need to make themselves scarce; they can't afford to be detained by the heroes when they're so close to completing their master spell. Tarantula agrees, and the two depart.
They're not fast enough. Ladybug and Cat Noir cut them off. Tarantula moves in front of Ivory, weapons brandished. Cat Noir can't help but chuckle at the fact that the spider's weapons are knitting needles. Tarantula urges Ivory to just walk away. He can easily handle two teens with his skill level, and it'd be unwise to risk Ivory as her skills as the elephant are core to the Western Order's plan—plus she's the contact for the teen Western zodiac wielders. Ivory points out that with both her and Tarantula, Ladybug and Cat Noir would be completely steamrolled. With them out of the picture, the Eastern Order would fall easily. She's actually pretty accurate about that assessment. Tarantula, however, is mildly insulted by the fact that she doesn't seem to think he can take two teenagers after being fully trained in the Western Order and their auxiliary spells and martial arts as well as being expertly proficient with his miraculous.
This is among the few times Ladybug and Cat Noir encounter Ivory directly. Since Ivory, like Hawk Moth, usually leaves others to do her dirty work, her path has seldom crossed with the golden duo. And Ladybug and Cat Noir aren't about to let the leader of the Western Order get away.
Ivory evaluates the risks and decides that it's worth it to triumph over Ladybug and Cat Noir. She preps her pendulum and prepares to join the fight, two against two. Tarantula, however, doesn't believe that this is the best course of action. He knows for a fact that his little brother, Grant, would not want Dolores in danger. Of course, most of what they're doing now, Grant would disprove of. But Tarantula feels strongly about keeping Ivory off of the front lines. But he knows she won't leave for any normal reason, so he has to be cunning. He briefly mentally reviews how the A Team fights—and he realizes that he can get Ivory off of the field; he just has to wait for the right moment.
Ivory is the first to lunge forward as she's getting reckless due to her issues with Grant surfacing. Tarantula realizes this and that it's danger; he has to get her to leave. Ivory lets loose with multiple Oblivions. Being an adult wielder, she's not limited to only one and a cool down. Ladybug and Cat Noir evade them acrobatically, and Cat Noir starts with his usual puns. Ivory gets irritated, so she uses one of her verbal weapons—she mocks them for how long the Western Order has imprisoned their master. This does piss off both Ladybug and Cat Noir, causing them to get reckless in turn. Tarantula then flanks them, boxing them in by creating webs with his knitting needles.
During this, the birthstone team assembles on the outskirts. It's not the full team, it's just All-Star Rex, Swallowtail, Gel Girl, and Tenrec. They look around, wondering where Adamantus is. Shouldn't he have been the first to arrive? However, he's nowhere to be found. In lieu of a leader, the four find a location for their ambush. But none of them actually have the resolve to be the first to move without someone taking charge. Furthermore, All-Star Rex has severely limited free will due to him being brainwashed by Peacock Moth. It's only recently began to falter due to the events of prior chapters. There's times when he seems disoriented or confused, and in general he seems uncertain of where he is—or even who he is.
It's also worth noting that due to the hospital being locked down, Nathalie is still stuck inside. She found a private bathroom to lock herself in and transform, and she's currently organizing the birthstone team from there.
The fight with Ladybug and Cat Noir continues, and they're pretty much overwhelmed by Tarantula and Ivory. Both adults are fully trained after all and are well-versed in each other's fighting styles. It's compounded by the fact that the golden duo cannot let Ivory's pendulum's spells even scrape them as the smallest touch would steal their memories. Tarantula keeps closing in the fighting area with webs, giving them less and less space to move. Ladybug realizes that they're out-classed and tells Cat Noir to fall back and radio in help. She then uses her Lucky Charm to distract the Western Order leaders.
This is actually what Tarantula was waiting for. He speaks in a low voice to Ivory as Cat Noir ducks behind an HVAC system, explaining that Cat Noir is likely calling in for help. He (Tarantula) could run on ahead, cutting off the reinforcements, while she finishes off the heroes. Ivory likes this idea, but she orders him to be the one to stay to take on Ladybug and Cat Noir while she deals with the other members of the Eastern Order. This was intentional on Tarantula's part. He knew Ivory's ego would never let her follow someone else's plan without modifying it to be her own. He knew that by suggesting he go and she stay, she'd be contrary and do the opposite—which was his ultimate goal. A Batman gambit. Tarantula complies, allowing Ivory out through his webs.
Cat Noir sees Ivory escapes and tries to warn his friends, but Tarantula throws one of knitting needles, disarming Cat Noir of his baton, which also serves as his cell phone. Ladybug uses this moment to breathe in order to figure out a use for her Lucky Charm, but she's currently stumped. Tarantula then takes a deep breath to focus and charges at them, laying them flat on their backs. It's clear he's no longer holding back, and his skill as a fully trained adult miraculous wielder shows. It's all the heroes can do to defend themselves, and bit by bit Tarantula pushes them back towards a wall he made of sticky thread, which would completely immobilize them.
Their allies are rushing to their aid. Cat Noir requested that Buck, Carapace, Tigress, and King Monkey join them. He did consider fully tipping the odds by summoning the entire Eastern Order as well as the B Team—but there's an inherent risk in putting all the miraculous on the field at the same time, and that's a risk that Ladybug and Cat Noir are not willing to take. So Cat Noir put some thought into the allies he requested, and he picked the ones will the skill set best for dealing with Tarantula and Ivory.
Buck, Carapace, and Tigress convene while en route to the hospital, each approaching from a slightly different direction. They talk as they sprint across the rooftops. Media coverage of the incident has been slim; only a few people have uploaded live footage onto the internet, and the news stations haven't even arrived. Buck asks if either has any more details about what's going on so that way they don't head in blind, but Carapace and Tigress have no more idea than he has.
However, before they can get to Tarantula, Ivory intercepts them. Thanks to the Discord chats, the Eastern Order fully knows that the elephant is leader of the Western Order, that she's very dangerous and that she can erase memories. The trio brace themselves to stop and prepare to fight her—or at least defend themselves. Ivory makes the first move, flinging rapid-fire Oblivions at the teens. Carapace responds immediately with a Shelter Shock, defending them all (and putting himself on a timer). From behind the shield, Tigress lets out a massive roar as her Intimidate, which does succeed in lowering Ivory's stats.
Ivory turns her attention to breaking Carapace's shield to get to all three of them, using a combination of her weapon, her own martial arts skills, and supplemental spells known only the Western Order. Carapace's shield immediately begins splintering. Buck responds by telling Carapace to drop it while at the same time activating his Shepherd ability, surrounding them with a large, random number of black and white sheep. Carapace lowers the shield, and the sheep flood out, driving Ivory away.
However, Ivory recovers her stance and prepares for another assault. Carapace, Buck, and Tigress do the same—their timers all beeping noticeably.
Meanwhile, Adamantus is finally able to join up with the other chosen birthstone wielders for their ambush. Swallowtail, somewhat sharply, demands to know why he's late while Gel Girl is just happy he's there and siddles up beside him, her school girl crush apparent. Luckily for him, Adamantus is able to slip behind his emotionless persona. He tells that that he really doesn't owe them an explanation about why it took him time to arrive. He also ignores Gel Girl's, admittedly rather weird, flirting. Adamantus directs them, as he's being directed by Peacock Moth, where they're best stationed to take advantage of their various skill sets.
All-Star Rex actually questions why verbally—why is he best there. Adamantus starts to answer but then stops short. Of all people, Rex should not be questioning things. He shouldn't be able to. Adamantus just pauses and stares. Rex falls silent. After an awkward moment, Adamantus continues. The rest of the birthstone wielders agree with his commands and disperse to their assigned locations, waiting to attack when no one else is prepared.
Back against Tarantula, Ladybug and Cat Noir haven't struggled this much since they had to deal with Mad Hare. Tarantula proves to be quite the strategist although not quite as good as Peacock Moth. He focuses his attacks on Ladybug, which distracts her from finding a use for her Lucky Charm. This also causes Cat Noir to get reckless in order to protect Ladybug (whom he's certain is his girlfriend), causing him to get brutalized. This chapter is to showcase Tarantula's skill set, and this fight is the venue to show it.
For starters, he's great at manipulating the terrain to his advantage. Not like Terra Firma. Instead, he turns it into something akin to an obstacle course by using both sticky and non-sticky threads. Only he knows which is which, so he can swing from a thread over a sticky patch on the ground; he can also intentionally make the rope thread weak, so when Cat Noir tries to follow, it breaks on him and sends him plummeting. This causes Cat Noir to have to use his Cataclysm to break free. Tarantula creates a crisscross network of threads he has to acrobatically flip through (akin to a Mission Impossible-style thief leaping through a laser security system), springing in and out to attack. He can make some threads dangerously sharp, hidden within cottony binding threads. He can use them to swing high and evade attacks as well as aid him in flipping around and launching surprise attacks from different angles. He also is skilled at kickboxing, aiming low strikes while the heroes are worried about sharp threads near their throats. He has an amazingly low crouch for strikes, demonstrating his great leg strength. Plus, Tarantula can stick to vertical walls as well to catch his breath. He pretty much gives the heroes the runaround. They can't keep up.
Of course, Carapace and his allies are struggling against Ivory too—especially since they've all used up their special abilities. Which may lead some to wonder why Tarantula and Ivory (with the help of Draco and Rhino) not just steamroll the Eastern Order from the beginning. That's two-fold. One is because of the existence of Hawk Moth and his (actually her) allies. If Ivory made the first move against the Eastern Order, even if she were to win, Team Hawk Moth would swoop in when they were weak and finish off the Western Order. (Which is exactly what Nathalie is planning at this very moment.) It's the balance of their being two antagonistic groups that keep each other at bay. The second reason is that Ivory wants all of the miraculous—the same as Peacock Moth. Ladybug and Cat Noir are prudent; they've never pulled all their miraculous allies in at the same time. In the Phase One climax, they called in all their active wielders, but there were still many miraculous without wielders. And in Labyrinth, Ladybug and Cat Noir never asked all their allies to suit up—their allies did that on their own. And the reason is clear—don't put all the eggs in one basket. The heroes are aware that the bad guys want all the miraculous, so they keep some in reserve. Just in case they fail, Ivory and/or Peacock Moth won't get all the miraculous. Because of this, Ivory can't steamroll the heroes because them some of their allies will go into hiding and she'll never subdue the complete Eastern Order. Which is why Ivory and Tarantula are enacting a plan to force all the heroes out.
I suppose the answer isn't two-fold. It's three-fold. And the third reason why Ivory and her family don't just go on the warpath is: unpredictability. The heroes excel at pulling out strategies, resources, and sheer dumb luck for their victories. And in this case, unpredictability comes in the name of King Monkey.
King Monkey arrives from a direction where he can see Ladybug and Cat Noir against Tarantula as well as Carapace, Tigress, and Buck against Ivory. He can see they're both struggling. The problem is, he can only head to one location—and he can only disrupt the power of one antagonist before having to transform back. He only has a few seconds to make his decision, and he isn't fully certain what to do. Le Chien Kim isn't known for being the brightest bulb. He knows from Discord that Tarantula's special ability is Trace—it lets him track down any target with even a trace of spiderweb clinging to that person. So, King Monkey decides that Ivory and her Oblivion are the biggest threat and races to help his allies.
Ivory does have all three heroes in a pinch as she destroys Buck's final white sheep with her pendulum. However, all three are determined; they won't give up without a fight. Despite this, Ivory knows she's going to win. Her Oblivion is just that powerful. Unfortunately for her, she's so focused on her targets that she doesn't see King Monkey coming until she gets hit in the face by a rubber bone. She dismisses it out of hand and then goes to Oblivion Carapace, only for her pendulum to turn into a plastic snake instead. That's when she realizes what just happened, and she furiously turns to King Monkey, who takes his place alongside his allies. They're all on their counters now, but all are poised and ready to continue the attack. Ivory sees that as still putting things to her advantage; she discards her pendulum and subsequent special ability and decides to deal with them just with her augmented strength and her own martial arts skills.
King Monkey targeting Ivory does, of course, leave Ladybug and Cat Noir in a pinch. By now, they realize that their back-up isn't arriving—and is likely detained by Ivory, which leads to all new kinds of worries. But like Mad Hare before him, Tarantula is keeping up the pressure so that Ladybug and Cat Noir can't request more back-up. Plus, they do have the whole concern that if they did, it's just more miraculous that risk falling into enemy hands. Ladybug isn't about to give up; it's not in her nature at all. Cat Noir pauses a moment in the fighting to say how much he admires that in her. However, halfway into his compliment, Ladybug finally realizes what she can do with her Lucky Charm. She interrupts Cat Noir with "I have a plan" and then runs off.
Tarantula sprints to cut her off and succeeds in doing so. Ladybug evades him by heading higher up the building, then up the next tallest building, until she's at the highest peak in the neighborhood. Tarantula is right on her heels, and Cat Noir is right on his. However, at the apex, it looks as if Ladybug has gotten cornered. Tarantula throws his thread, webbing her in, and moves for her beeping miraculous.
Ladybug drops and grabs some of his thread. By now, she recognizes at least what is rope-like thread versus what is sticky thread—possibly by paying very close attention to which knitting needle he uses. She then loops the thread around her Lucky Charm, finishing just before Tarantula binds her arms tight to her side.
Cat Noir leaps to the rooftop, just in time to see Tarantula standing over a fallen Ladybug with one hand reaching for her earrings. Cat Noir cries out "NO!" and charges Tarantula in an attempt to tackle him. Tarantula, as always, is easily agile enough to evade. It doesn't help Cat Noir's case that he blurted out a loud, long "NO" before charging in, alerting Tarantula to the attack. Tarantula's side step only causes Cat Noir to collide with Ladybug's rather heavy Lucky Charm (whatever it is).
Back with the fight against Ivory, the four Western members are struggling. They've been forced to fall back several times. Buck looks at his allies, wondering what the plan is. King Monkey has absolutely no idea, and Tigress sorta freezes up when the attention is on her. Carapace also doesn't have much of an idea; he asks if Buck has any thoughts, but Buck freezes up like Tigress. That's when Ivory catches up with them. Even without her Oblivion working properly or her pendulum, she's still enough of a threat that Buck and Tigress sorta leap in alarm when she lands.
Carapace realizes that he's going to have to act as stand-in leader for this group at the same time Tigress internally realizes that she does have a plan. However, Tigress's lack of confidence rears its head, and she finds her voice freezing up. She has to remind herself that no one knows it's Juleka behind the mask; they won't mock her at school if she slips up. She remembers the confidence her brother has as Alpha, and she knows how much her family (father included) believes in her. When Carapace steps forward to deal with Ivory, Tigress joins him and whispers something very quickly in his ear…
Back at the golden duo's fight, things are unfolding just as Ladybug planned. Her Lucky Charm falls off of the building. Tarantula rolls his eyes at Cat Noir, not even noticing that amid all the threads he has on the ground, Ladybug has managed to loop one thread in particular around his ankle. The Lucky Charm falls onto an in-motion truck below. Just as Tarantula bends over to again take Ladybug's miraculous, he's yanked off of his feet, down the side of the building, and behind the truck. He spirals as he goes, out of control, getting bound up and twisted in his own threads.
Cat Noir immediately helps cut Ladybug free of the threads that ensnared her by using the fake claws on his outfits. He's obviously worried and asks if she's okay; Ladybug insists she is. He then asks what they're going to do about Tarantula. Ladybug admits that they can't beat him now; they're lucky to get away—which is what they need to do now. Flee. Cat Noir doesn't like that; what if Tarantula continues to cause trouble? After all, as an adult wielder, he could keep charging and attacking civilians without rest. Ladybug points out that at the very least, they need to recharge their kwamis in that scenario in order to fight fresh.
However…Ladybug smiles. She dangles another set of threads, revealing she has Tarantula's twin knitting needles. She was able to ensnare them with Tarantula's own sticky thread during the moment Cat Noir charged the spider. So now, if Tarantula wants to make more threads and continue his attack—he can't. He would have to revert back into his civilian alias, which would cause the twin needles to vanish, then he'd have to feed his kwami, and then transform back. Ladybug is banking on that being outside of Tarantula and Ivory's plans. After all, if they truly intended on attack, attack, attack, they would have done so long ago. However, it's clear they have something else up their sleeves—so disabling him from continuing his current plans is likely to get him to stand down. For now. Ladybug admits it's not a permanent solution, but they do have a practice session with the Eastern Order that evening, and they're going to have to find a way to deal with the enemy Order, together.
As Ladybug reveals she pickpocketed Tarantula's needles, Cat Noir can only smile and say "I love you." Ladybug starts to reply with a smile of her own and an "I know," when she stops, turning slightly pale. Cat Noir realizes I'm Marinette?! She panics on the spot and pulls a "gotta go!" but Cat Noir catches her so she can't leave.
Back at the confrontation against Ivory, Carapace nods slightly in agreement with Tigress's idea. Tigress struts forward with the confidence of a model despite the fact she feels anything but. Ivory opens her mouth to tell Tigress off, but Tigress lets out a massive, terrifying roar complete with claws extended on her costume. She is so ridiculously loud that Ivory is shocked, and somewhat scared, into silence. This allows Carapace a moment to grab Buck's remaining sheep—a black one. The turtle wielder swings onto the sheep's back and spurs it directly at Ivory. All the while, Buck shouts at him to stop. See, everyone knows what the black sheep do. They're offensive; they explode.
Ivory points out that Carapace is going to take himself out with her. Carapace smirks; his kwami animal is a turtle; he's protected. Does an elephant have the same level defense? Ivory clearly thinks he's bluffing, but King Monkey and Buck think Carapace is serious and pursue, intent on stopping him. Ivory, however, cannot take that chance. She falls back.
Back with Cat Noir, he points out the Ladybug that she can't leave yet as she has yet to undo the damage Tarantula caused. But then he wonders if she even can—after all, her Lucky Charm is currently entangled with the spider at that moment. Ladybug smirks, relieved that Cat Noir was going to pry about her feelings. She reveals that she broke off one piece of her Lucky Charm (whatever it is). She's still concerned about Team Carapace, but her and Cat Noir are out of time. She throws the fragment into the air. "Miraculous Ladybug!" All the webbing vanishes, though the duo take a quick moment to ensure not a scrap is left on either of them due to Tarantula's Trace ability. They also quickly "Pound it!" and prepare to leave.
Ivory's heels hit the edge of the rooftop. She steadies herself; she's not going to let Carapace bluff her. Just then, she hears a familiar voice below, struggling and swearing. She looks down long enough to see Tarantula, fully bound, trapped in the bed of a truck. This is enough to distract Ivory; she stops moving out of the way of the black sheep.
It collides fully on with her, Carapace still riding it. The sheep explodes spectacularly. Within that fragment of a second, King Monkey has caught up with them both. He lengthens his staff and knocks Carapace mostly free of the blast just as it's going off—something Tigress suggested he do once Carapace took off.
Carapace lands on his back, hard, winded, but safe. Ivory is heavily damage; however, her elephant suit absorbs most of the explosion. It sends her flying backward, landing in the back of the same truck bed as Tarantula. A moment later, sparkles wash overhead as Ladybug does her "Miraculous Ladybug." Ivory is fuming and sore all over. Tarantula suggests that they withdraw for the day. They need to focus on their master strategy. He reminds Ivory they have an ultimate goal; they don't need to win today. Ivory is not happy about this, but Tarantula's influence over Ivory as well as him acting as her voice of reason is showcased here. He convinces her to withdraw, and the two vanishes from the public eye.
Team Carapace have their own "Pound It!". Carapace thanks Tigress for her plan, and Buck thanks Carapace for leading them. By now, they're all out of time as well. They quickly scattered.
Back with Ladybug and Cat Noir—just before they can withdraw, Adamantus's allies flank them. This is the moment they've been waiting for. Gel Girl, Swallowtail, and All-Star Rex order Ladybug and Cat Noir to stand down and hand over their miraculous. They have no strength left to continue. Ladybug is panicked; she only has seconds left. Cat Noir stands in front to defend her despite having limited time remaining himself. Then Gel Girl looks around. Where is Adamantus? He was supposed to be there with them.
Cut to Adamantus running in the opposite direction once "Miraculous Ladybug" kicked off.
Swallowtail growls in frustration. She says they have their orders, and those orders are to take down the heroes. Ladybug grabs Cat Noir by the wrist and tells him they're in no state to fight. They have to run. (This does show how Hawk Moth has successfully warped the personalities of the birthstone wielders. Most of them believe they have innate powers—so, logically, they should be honing those powers. The vast majority of them have no grief with the heroes (only Hawk Moth and Ivory), so they have no reason to target Ladybug and Cat Noir. However, Peacock Moth's manipulations have caused them to forget that.)
In lieu of a leader, Swallowtail takes the reins. It's something she doesn't have a particular knack for as she immediately orders everyone to use their special abilities. This causes Gel Girl to drop unconscious as she uses her astral projection. All-Star Rex stops his pursuit in order to use "Play Ball," lobbing elemental attacks at the heroes that are progressively more inaccurate as Ladybug and Cat Noir get farther away. The only one who has any success is Swallowtail herself, who has super-speed flight and is able to catch-up with them.
King Monkey was on his way home when he sees Ladybug and Cat Noir fleeing; he can hear the beeps from their miraculous. Despite not being a strategist, a solution occurs to him—and it really only strikes because it's literally something the B Team practiced the night before.
He quickly calls up Max Kante. He doesn't even bother with text messages or Discord. He goes right to voice and video chat. Max answers immediately as he's been keeping an eye on the situation due to being Pegasus. Kim/King Monkey skips all pleasantries and tells Max to transform at that very moment. He then flips the video feed around and follows the chase on the ground, showing what's going on to Max. Max immediately realizes what's happening. "Kaalki, Full Gallop!"
He has no time to calculate other coordinates for an exit point. He just uses the live footage he's being shown by King Monkey to open a "Voyage" portal right underneath the feet of Ladybug and Cat Noir, dropping them right into his own house and onto his own bed. Pegasus closes the portal immediately, leaving the birthstone wielders unable to follow. Gel Girl in her astral form makes a solid attempt, but heading through a Voyage portal as a disembodied spirit nearly rips her apart; she has to withdraw.
Ladybug and Cat Noir ricochet off of Pegasus/Max's bed—Ladybug on one side and Cat Noir on the other. Pegasus has his back turned as both of their transformations break, Ladybug first and then Cat Noir a moment later. Both are heavily disoriented about what just happened.
Pegasus, still keeping his back to them, explains that King Monkey sent him an SOS and he opened a Voyage to yank them out of danger. (It pans over to Gel Girl, All-Star Rex, and Swallowtail, who are all massively confused about the sudden disappearance of the heroes.) Adrien on one side of Max's bed and Marinette on the other feed their kwamis without peeking. Pegasus makes no move to learn their identities either. Marinette thanks him for his quick thinking, but Pegasus has to give a decent amount of credit to King Monkey for having a plan in the first place. Pegasus also explains that his mother is out (she's still at astronaut training class), so there's no risk of anyone discovering the heroes. Plus, both Ladybug and Cat Noir already know Max Kante is Pegasus, so there's no identity revealed by him bringing them into his home. Markov is there as well and joins the conversation. However, in a prior chapter, Max explained that identities are secrets to be kept, and Markov added that into his coding, so he doesn't reveal anything either.
Adrien asks if Pegasus knows how Carapace is. Pegasus pulls up the Team A Discord while they feed their kwamis and reads the chat log to them. Carapace and allies have retreated by driving Ivory away. They're fine, but they couldn't beat her. It took them all they had to even hold their ground. Marinette laments it was the same against Tarantula. They really, really need the upcoming practice session in order to put down the Western Order for good. Pegasus mentions he is eager for it.
Once the kwamis are all fed, Marinette and Adrien transform back into Ladybug and Cat Noir. The three hold a discussion about the strengths and weaknesses of the Western Order (including ones like Angelica and June) until Pegasus has to transform back, feed Kaalki, and re-transform. And even then, they continue talking and planning with Pegasus providing some valuable insight and strategic plans. They basically discuss and stall for time until they have practice with the others, at which point they head out together. They arrive, and there's a pan shot of the entire Eastern Order, transformed, together.
The birthstone wielders search and search for the heroes, but they eventually have to call it a quits. Peacock Moth grumbles about this, but she does realize that she learned two valuable things today. She could use the Akuma Alert app herself for an ambush. And that the heroes can be rescued from bad situations by an ally. However, that doesn't explain what happened to Adamantus. The golden duo might not have been able to escape if Adamantus had been where he was supposed to be and cut Ladybug and Cat Noir off.
There's minor flashback as it picks up when Adamantus fled the scene. The moment Ladybug's "Miraculous Ladybug" kicked off, he couldn't wait. He tried to be patient and focus on the goals of Peacock Moth, but his own emotions overpowered him—despite him being a senti monster who was literally created to serve her. He had to know if the world-healing wave restored Gilles Chastain. So the moment he saw it, he abandoned his post and raced to the Chastain Flower Shoppe. Adamantus snuck into the upstairs window and into Gilles's room. But Gilles was still unresponsive, damaged from Ivory's Oblivion. (Which might take some artistic license to happen. If "Miraculous Ladybug" could restore Alix's watch, which happened prior to akumatization in Timetagger, then it likely could restore Gilles. After all, Hachiko and others have had their memories restored before. But for the story, it has to fail here.) Adamantus is shaking as he tries to rouse his best friend, but nothing works. His emotions spike, and tears actually well in his eyes—even though he isn't supposed to even have emotions.
Adamantus's own power, his own special ability, surges. The diamond unicorn actually notices it this time. He notices how his whole bodysuit glimmers. He can feel that power. He places his hands on Gilles. Gilles's eyes focus. His mentality snaps to. The damage done by Ivory is undone.
Gilles, of course, is baffled about why he's in his room when the last thing he remembers was being attacked by Tarantula in an alleyway. He then is alarms and leaps onto his headboard when he sees Adamantus, a known criminal right there.
Adamantus is in a bit of a shock himself as he realizes he used his special ability—and that it isn't the first time. He's felt it before. It was the same when his aunt was in a coma and he woke her up. "That's my special ability. The power of the diamond unicorn is healing." To be fair, he does feel fairly stupid for just now figuring it out. Nathalie even told him that his power was "linked to her greatest wish." Although why she didn't tell him this directly, he's not sure. But now that he knows what it is…he feels fulfilled—something he never felt his entire life. That's when his mind takes notice of the present, and he realizes that Gilles is climbing the walls, freaking out.
Adamantus holds up his hands, insisting he's not an enemy and he's not there to hurt Gilles; he's there to help. He's the one who brought Gilles home after Ivory victimized him. Gilles really doesn't believe it. 1) Everyone knows Adamantus is an enemy of Paris. And 2) why would Adamantus help a total stranger like him? Adamantus does what he can to reason with Gilles, but Gilles is creating a scene.
Adamantus weighs his options. He then shows how much his character has changed by transforming back into Nicholas Sancouer. He doesn't want his best friend to hate him. This shocks Gilles so much that he falls completely silent. Nicholas apologizes for keeping such a huge secret. He wanted to help Gilles because he thought they were friends—and friends don't let friends suffer. But if Gilles never wants to speak to him again, he understands. Nicholas turns to leave.
Gilles stops him. He says he understand a bit now—but he still doesn't understand why Nicholas/Adamantus would become a villain and attack innocent people and all of Paris. Nicholas says that he never intentionally attacked civilians and that while he does plan on taking down Ladybug and Cat Noir, it's because they're also enemies of Paris—not him. Gilles asks him point blank, why. Nicholas says it's for his sponsor, but that he can't reveal anything about said sponsor.
Gilles begins thinking Nicholas got himself into something deep, something troublesome. He thinks the sponsor is blackmailing Nicholas and urges Nicholas to seek help and get out of this situation. Nicholas repeats that he's on the right side of things. By now, their conversation (as well as Gilles's earlier screaming) has caught the attention of his family. Nicholas transforms back into Adamantus to leave as they hear footsteps on the stairs. Gilles promises him that this conversation isn't over; it's clear his remark comes from a place of worry. He also tells Nicholas that there is no way that Ladybug and Cat Noir are the villains.
There are more groups winding down as well. Giselle Winters-Blanchet is waiting on a bridge as she and her best friends had planned. It's clear by her body language that Giselle is ridiculously stressed out due to her friends' ultimatum. They both wind up running late due to being Swallowtail and Gel Girl.
When Raissa Deschamps and Meera Pugliese arrive, Raissa doesn't waste time with pleasantries. She demands Giselle's answer. Hand over her miraculous or have her identity revealed to their sponsor (Hawk Moth). Giselle replies by pulling out her bracelet and holding it out. Chill appears next to her, begging her not to do this; Giselle ignores him. Raissa moves to take it, but then Giselle pulls her arm back and chucks the bracelet as hard as she can into the fast moving current of the river. Chill (melodramatically) feigns what looks like a heart attack and vanishes. Giselle tells them that she would rather the power of the Snow Leopard be lost forever than used by Hawk Moth.
Meera, exasperated, insists they're not working for Hawk Moth. She follows the bracelet with her eyes as much as she can. But it's swept away. Raissa is shocked that Giselle would do such a thing. That was her mother's bracelet! And Chill was her friend! In fact, she doesn't believe it. It had to be a fake. Meera shakes her head. They've both seen Giselle's bracelet before; that definitely was the right one. And besides, right now Giselle is crying—she really did just throw her mother's bracelet away. Raisse hrmphs but accepts this. She wonders if Giselle will forgive them for going through such harsh measure—but they really didn't want her to support the villains Ladybug and Cat Noir. Giselle just sobs. Raissa does apologize…she, rather sincerely, says that they can talk later when Giselle has calmed down. Perhaps then she'll understand. Perhaps then they can be friends again. In the meantime, they promise not to say anything to their sponsor; Giselle is no longer Snow Leopard. Meera and Raissa leave.
Giselle heads in the opposite direction, still crying. She starts off walking and then escalates into a run. However, it's revealed that the bracelet she threw away was a fake, made by Froppy. She still has the real one. After all, there's no way she could throw Chill away. This buys her some time; she can continue acting covertly with the B Team as long as she makes no public appearances. At least until they find a way to rescue her friends from the influences of Hawk Moth. Giselle doesn't like it at all. And she's crying because she's genuinely sad and scared that she might have lost her best friends forever.
Speaking of the birthstone wielders, All-Star Rex heads straight home and transforms back. He then goes about his afternoon…but then he hesitates. Something feels off. It feels different. He find a full-length mirror and studies himself in it for a very long time. He lets his mind and memories drift. It's like he's trying to discover who he is. Then, it all clicks; it's like he's been awakened. "I'm All-Star Rex!" The fog around his time transformed lifts. The nightmare he had in the past wasn't a nightmare—it was real. There really was a time he was surrounded by the other birthstone wielders, transformed into the opal chameleon, pleading his innocence.
Into the afternoon, Nicolette Lacroix and Monique Imhof are painting their nails at Monique's house while eating massive amounts of ice cream and watching chick flicks. Monique guides the conversation to asking what has been bothering Nicolette. Nicolette explains she had to end her feelings with Etienne Fontaine because she realized it wasn't healthy at all—and what caused her to realize this is that she can see the threads of relationships that bind people together. She's June—the Cancer miraculous wielder.
Monique's jaw drops when she hears this. Nicolette takes this the wrong way, trying to clear her name and insists she's not a villain. She just knows things about the dark side of Ladybug and Cat Noir that the public doesn't know—like how they brutalized Reef and create chaos magic. She stammers as she's trying to explain, and the whole while Monique is silent from her surprise. Nicolette takes this to mean that Monique doesn't believe her at all, so she eventually transforms right in front of Monique.
As June, she babbles a bit more until Monique finally finds her tongue. She explains that that's not why she's surprised. She's surprised that she and June have always been on the same team—she's Zephyria the Witch. June practically squeals "no way!" and Monique transforms in front of her to prove it.
Both girls geek out together as two best friends who just discovered something cool and exciting. They talk about their experiences being recruited by Ivory (June wound up leading Monique to Madam Gros, not realizing that that's when Monique was recruited), in fighting against the heroes, and their thoughts on their allies within the Western Order itself. Zephyria explains how she and her boyfriend were actually attacked by Ladybug and Cat Noir and Buck, cementing their loyalty under Ivory. June doesn't want to believe it, but after seeing Reef beaten after a confrontation, she does. Zephyria's remarks also not-so-subtly reveal that her boyfriend was there, likely meaning that Mathieu Anciel is Ramson, but June has so much on her mind she doesn't focus on it.
They eventually get around to June explaining the conversation she had with Queen Scorpion. Scorpion says Ivory turned on her and attacked her, and that Ivory's powers are Oblivion and thus amnesia. Zephyria ponders over everything as June explains the story, and she eventually comes to the conclusion that it's within the realm of possibilities that Ivory did attack Scorpion and would erase their memories if she deemed them a threat to her mission. Zephyria asks what she should do. June mentions meeting with Scorpion, and Zephyria agrees to go along with things. If not to get more information, then to learn to protect themselves and their memories. She's definitely going to get involved in the latter with June just in case either of them do get hit with Oblivion. Zephyria also says she'll bring Ramson with her to meet Queen Scorpion.
To be continued in Chapter 94: Marinette…