I don't know what to say after that last chapter. Too many feels.

Chapter 10: A Hero's Strategy

By the time Tara had finished sharing her backstory, Master Fu had visibly calmed down. "Now that you know our stories, we must finish writing yours," he said firmly. "We need to train Alya and Chloé in preparation for the upcoming battle against Hawk Moth." Master Fu then turned took look at his daughter. "Tara, could you please get us the special weapons for Marinette and Adrien?"

Tara nodded and stood. She then walked over to the back of the room, stopping in front of a decorative scroll that hung next to the dresser with the phonograph. Tara gently lifted the scroll off of the wall, revealing a safe. She turned the combination lock slowly.

"Wait a minute, why don't we attack now? We'll have to fight Hawk Moth at some point," Adrien pointed out.

"We will attack Hawk Moth, but not today. We are not yet ready to fight his army," Master Fu explained. "Alya and Chloé do not even know what their powers are, and you and Marinette will need weapons. Besides, Hawk Moth may let his guard down a little if we wait until tomorrow to attack.

"Ladybug and Cat Noir have always fought akumatized villains as soon as they became aware of them. Hawk Moth may expect that same strategy of us. Even if his army gains more soldiers in the night, there is a possibility that Hawk Moth will be taken by surprise when we attack. A second of surprise is all we need."

Tara walked back over to the group with two cloth-wrapped objects in her hands. Kneeling back onto the floor, she placed them down in front of her, then began carefully unwrapping one of the cloths.

When a round object, colored red with black spots, began to show through the cloth, Marinette let out a gasp. "Is that…?"

Then Tara unwrapped the second cloth. A stick-like object, silver in color and decorated with a green paw print, poked its way through the wrapping. "Those are our Miraculous weapons," Adrien agreed. "But how did they get here?"

Handing the yoyo to Marinette and the staff to Adrien, Tara spoke up. "They're not your Miraculous weapons," she said.

Marinette turned toward Master Fu as Adrien began fiddling with his staff. "Tara is correct. These weapons may resemble your Miraculous weapons, but they are actually replicas," the little Chinese man explained. "My grandfather, who wielded the Fox Miraculous, was obsessed with the Miraculous' magical properties. He spend a good part of his life trying to replicate the Miraculous' and their powers."

"Unfortunately, the most Great-Grandpa could replicate was the various Miraculous weapons," Tara revealed. "These replicas are not nearly as powerful as the weapons you receive when transforming. However, they do possess a limited amount of magic."

Marinette examined the replica yoyo carefully. She attempted to open it in the way she would to capture akumas, but nothing happened.

"These replicas do not have all the same abilities your usual weapons. They can be used to physically attack and defend like the real ones," Master Fu explained. "You can also use them to travel. However, because you won't have the enhanced endurance you get from transforming, you will tire out more easily. You'll have to be careful."

"We will be," Marinette promised.

"That means no fancy stunts," Alya said pointedly to Adrien.

"So, when does training start?" Chloé asked suddenly.

"You seem eager to start," Adrien said.

"The sooner we get to training, the sooner we defeat Hawk Moth," Chloé insisted. "And the sooner we defeat Hawk Moth, the sooner the TV station will get to interview Queen Bee!"

"Training begins now," Master Fu announced.

…

"We shall start off our training with strategy and intelligence," Master Fu said. He turned toward the phonograph, where Dusuu was pouring more tea for the other two kwamis. "Trixx and Buzii, would you mind explaining your powers to Alya and Chloé?"

"Of course, Master Fu," Buzii bowed.

"Let me go first, Buzii baby," Trixx nudged her fellow kwami. "So dig it, Alya. You got the Power of Illusion. You just gotta play a tune on your flute and say "Mirage." Whatever illusion you want to appear, appears!"

"And what power does my Miraculous give me?" Chloé asked eagerly.

"Well, Miss Chloé, you possess the Power of Immobilization," Buzii explained. "Whenever you wish to access your power, you must spin your trompo within the vicinity of your opponent and say "Sting Stun." Your opponent will then become paralyzed. I hope that this explanation was useful."

"So, my power is that I can stop people in their tracks?" Chloé summarized.

Buzii nodded. "Quite right."

"Now that you know about your powers, we can discuss our strategy," Master Fu spoke up. He turned back toward the phonograph. "Wayzz, if you are done recovering, we could use the intelligence you gathered."

At those words, a turtle-like kwami flew out of the phonograph horn. "Hello all," he spoke. "After Marinette and Adrien delivered the Fox and Bee Miraculous' to Alya and Chloé, I did a quick recon of Hawk Moth's forces.

"Most of the akumatized villains appear to be foot soldiers. From the moment they transformed, each villain started marching toward the Agreste mansion," Wayzz revealed. "Out of nearly everyone in Paris, Hawk Moth has only three villains guarding him.

"The first of the akumatized guards is Gabriel Agreste's personal assistant Nathalie, now the Assistant. I saw her practicing her powers on the other two guards, and she appears to be able to control an individual's actions by writing it down in her planner.

"Next, Adrien's bodyguard Mr. Singe has been akumatized into Gorilla Warfare. He appears to have enhanced strength, which makes him a considerably difficult opponent to defeat.

"And finally, the young student Lila Rossi, who has been akumatized for the second time into Volpina.

"In order to get to Hawk Moth, we must have one transformed hero each distract one of the akumatized villains," Wayzz concluded.

"So who gets to fight who?" Adrien asked.

"I have thought long and hard about this," Master Fu revealed. "Tara will be battling the Assistant. Argus has the most experience fighting, and she is fast and unpredictable in battle. That should give her an advantage, since the Assistant is all about predictability."

"Who would my mother fight that she would have so much experience?" Adrien asked curiously. "Was there a supervillain in Tibet or Paris before Hawk Moth?"

"No, nothing like that. I used to fight thieves and criminals throughout Paris, just to practice," Tara explained. "I was much more discreet and you and Ladybug, so the police had no idea that a peacock-themed superhero was involved in bringing people to justice."

"Moving on," Master Fu continued. "I will fight Gorilla Warfare. Because I am small and fast, I can avoid his strength. Also, I believe I can trap him with the Power of Protection."

"Uh, what the heck does that mean?" Chloé asked.

Master Fu ignored his granddaughter. "Alya will fight Volpina…"

"That makes sense. Lila wants to believe that she's the holder of the Fox Miraculous," Marinette pointed out. "Seeing the real wielder of the Power of Illusion should throw her off guard."

Master Fu nodded. "...And with the guards incapacitated, Queen Bee will be able to immobilize Hawk Moth."

"Me?" Chloé gasped.

"Her?" Alya protested.

"As Chloé pointed out, the wielder of the Bee Miraculous is the only one who can stop a villain in their tracks," Master Fu explained. "With the master of the akumas paralyzed, all the akumatized villains will be immobilized as well. Then Marinette and Adrien can just open Gabriel's Miraculous and retrieve their own. It's our best option."

The Great Guardian paused to look everyone in the eyes.

"It is our only option."