MIRACULOUS

Ch. 10

Paris Part II

"…Be still in your silence
Be silent and hopeful
Again
I'd like for you
To be still in our silence
Be golden in darkness
Again"

-"Paris" by BT

"Hey, aren't you forgetting someone?" Cat asked.

"Huh? Who?" Afterglow asked

As if on cue, holographic screens popped up all around the area. Appearing on buildings as well as the Eiffel tower as if the screens were part of their structures. It was TVi News but instead of Nadja Chamack's usual persona, her skin was glowing blue and is on a completely black background.

Everyone below had suddenly stopped fighting and got distracted by the sight, looking around in confusion. Even Volpina was taken aback by the sudden display of these giant images, stepping backward as she looked around.

"This is Prime Queen and we're he tonight to introduce you to tonight's top hit!" Prime Queen commented.

"That's odd… TVi doesn't cover music…" Lady Wi-fi pondered.

"And I have here to introduce our top hit of the night! That's right…' Summertime Lovin!'" Prime Queen shouted with excitement as she presented what was behind her as the screen motioned to her right as a spotlight was turned on and showed what appeared to be a giant cassette tape which was sideways with large sunglasses adorning the object with four strings of tape film emerging on each side which one can quickly realize that they're supposed to represent its limbs.

Not wasting any time, some simple acoustic guitar and percussion started to play and the anthropomorphic cassette tape began to dance. A voice began to sing and the Paris fighters began raising their eyebrows while Lady Wi-fi and Marinette's classmates have had a more knowing laugh. The clones, on the other hand, began to disappear as the real Volpina was so put off by the bafflingly awful tune. The voice sang as the tape danced on the screens…

"It's Summertime and you know what that means.

Gonna head down to the beach and do some beachy things.

It's Summertime, it feels just right.

Gonna gather all my friends and we'll party through the night.

It's Summertime luh-uh-loving.

It's loving in the Summertime. (It's Summertime!)

It's Summertime luh-uh-loving.

My baby, why can't you be mine?"

"Oh, Mordecai," Timemaster muttered as he facepalmed.

"Of course! Mr. Quintel!" Afterglow shouted with glee. Volpina growled as she covered her ears.

"Grr… Neither Meloe or I couldn't best but that abomination could?" Volpina yelled, astonished by the fact.

Afterglow couldn't help but giggle a little as she remembered the biggest humiliation Cat had endured to date.

"Hey," Cat shouted, turning to her, raising an eyebrow. He then looked back up at the screen. "Seriously though, this was pretty out there for my father to come up with. Heh, guess reality can be stranger than fiction…"

"Cat Noir!" Afterglow snapped. "Focus!"
"Oh, right!" Cat Noir said, shaking his head.

They then both charged at Volpina who was still unwittingly in a daze about the song.

"Give it up, Lila!" Afterglow shouted as she charged to grab her opponent's miraculous. Volpina snapped out of her trance and created and light ball and quickly whacked it towards them. The ball exploded, knocking them both off their feet. Volpina then began playing her flute in summoning a sandy mist, covering the entire area.

"Cat! *cough* *cough* Cat, where are you?" Afterglow shouted as she struggled to see through the sandy mist.

"Right here, My Lady!" Cat shouted back and coughed. "Where is she?"

"CRUSH 'EM!" Volpina yelled. The remaining clones began to subdue the powered citizens. However, because of the "Summertime Lovin'" song kept playing on the background, thus still aggravating Volpina, therefore, her clones. While the mist limited the citizen's vision, they managed to fight back and break free from the clone's grip. Combined with the clones' weakened state, the fight seemed to be evened, despite the now smaller number of clones.

Feeling her friends' distress, she summoned her neon mask and communicated with her friends.

"Everyone, please listen up!" Afterglow called out, grabbing everyone's attention. "We'll do everything we can to keep Volpina vulnerable. But there are times when you have to find your own way out! Listen, my Ladybug abilities have helped me more than I had to admit, I'm not as competent as I let on to be and I going through a dark moment in my life right now and I don't even know if I'll be around for long. What I'm trying to say is that I need you all now just as you need me and I beg you all for once to be my heroes!"

And with the neon masks fading off, everyone found way out of their situation. Lady Wi-fi had a Rena Rouge clone pinning her down with a foot on her chest. She then launched a pause icon on the Rena Rouge clone before she could stomp her again. She then kicked her off her.

Bubbler was trapped inside the barrier a Carapace clone being beaten with his shield. He reacts and bubbles the shield. The bubbles the clone as well as the other cones surrounding him and shrinks them, causing them to be munched to yellow sand.

Cat Noir skillfully jumped on to of clone heads, causing them to poof as well. His cat vision helped somewhat to see through the mist but he was still struggling to find Afterglow or Volpina. A Volpina clone had pinned Princess Fragrance down and about to strike her with a light ball. Only to get her head whacked out by Cat Noir's staff.

Meanwhile…

Afterglow was at the bottom of the Eiffel Tower looking around to catch sight of her opponent. Then a green shield went towards her, only to her to dodge it. She was quickly ambushed by four Rena Rouge clones, coming from the four pillar corners. She had anticipated to come at her at the same time but the clones were more in sync than she thought as one of the clones attacked from behind first then one after the other took a jab at her. Afterglow was too stunned to react after any of these attacks so once the final Rena Rouge clone struck, a Queen Bee clone struck her in the back with her venom, paralyzing her.

"Grrr…!" Afterglow yelled. "Damn it! I can't move!" she muttered.

With a giggle, Volpina landed in front, landing on one knee before immediately getting up. She slowly walked towards her while swinging her hips.

"You disappoint me, Dupain-Cheng. And here I thought your time as Ladybug would put your brain in motion for these situations," she said as Afterglow struggled. "Or, was in the Cat who always got you out of a jam?"

"You still don't get it, do you?" Afterglow muttered. She was gritting her teeth as she wasn't able to move them. She was actually surprised she's actually able to speak. "I don't care where I came from or how I came to be, I would have never succeeded on my own. Cat Noir was always there for me when I was in trouble! Sure he can be a pain in the neck with his flirting and his Cat puns. But if there's anything you should take into account is that I'm just like everyone else. Someone who needs friends, family, happy memories, love. I felt everything…" She said as she was starting to tear up again. "*sniff* Look at these tears, Lila. I've lost everything and I'm feeling the loss still fresh in my mind… *sniff* You felt it too didn't you. When I was Meloe, and I summoned my amulet of despair. Everyone felt how I felt, the void that's still eating up at me…" she continued.

"Are you done?" Volpina asked, trying to sound apathetic. But Afterglow scoffed.

"Don't try to pretend you're not affected. You're just as desperate for affection as I am now. I mean come on. Why else do you think you were lying through your teeth to get the attention of the class? Face it, you're just as lovesick as I am…"

"ENOUGH!" Volpina yelled and struck Afterglow. "It's about time I end you!" she concluded as she readied her flute and played a tune. Then suddenly, Afterglow began to gasp, widened her eyes she began to wheeze as she struggled to breathe. As Volpina played the flute, the oxygen levels around Afterglow as she gasped for air. "It's over, Dupain-Cheng…"

Cat's staff knocked Volpina off her feet, as well as knocking her flute out of her hands. The flute music stopped and Afterglow began to pant in relief.

"Seriously, you need to stop ignoring me!" Cat Noir grinned as he caught his staff which came back to him like a boomerang.

"Grr… Damn that cat!" Volpina growled as she dashed to get her flute. Though a black yoyo swiped it away from her reach.

"What!" Volpina spouted as she looked up and it was Anti-Bug, who had her yoyo ready as if about to strangle someone.

"I was following a phony of mine and looky here," Anti-Bug grinned.

"Good timing, Anti-Bug! Don't let her get her flute!"

With that, Anti-Bug grabbed the flute with her yoyo and then kicked it up in the air. With a growl, Volpina abruptly pushed Anti-Bug out of the way and went wall running up the Eiffel Tower in pursuit.

Meanwhile, Cat checked on Afterglow. It seems she was beginning to recover her movement.

"My lady, Are you all right?" Cat asked, looking around her. Noticing her slight movement.

"I'll be fine. I would probably wouldn't if it was the real Queen Bee," Afterglow clarified with a chuckle. "Go! I'll catch up!" Afterglow commanded abruptly.

"Yes ma'am," Cat Noir conceded, but before he headed off he caught a glimpse of Anti-Bug, who was regaining consciousness. "Hey, Anti-Bug!"

"Huh?" She reacted, catching a glimpse at Cat Noir.

"I'm going after Volpina, keep her safe!" Cat commanded as he ran past her, after Volpina.

"Uhhh… Yes, sir!" Anti-Bug conceded, intimidated by his strength in authority. She propelled himself upward with his staff and went after Volpina. Anti-Bug went in to check on Afterglow.

"Hey… uhh… Ladybug?" She began and began twirling her fingers. "Uhhh… Big fan?" she said, giving her a nervous grin.

Meanwhile, Cat Noir wall-ran his way up the Eiffel Tower as he caught sight of Volpina jumping off as she reached out for her flute, only for Cat Noir to knock it out of her reach.

"Ah, ah ah," Cat taunted. "Why don't you let the summertime tunes fill your void?"

With that, the sand storm began to die out and the screens were still on but it appears that the footage is on repeat. Volpina quickly caught wind of all this.

"Huh?" She muttered. Just then, the summertime song only sounded louder as a limb made of large cassette tale with the end tied like a knot like a fist. Which landed right on the side of her face. It was, of course, Summertime Lovin' with his giant sunglasses with the song still emitting from him…

"It's Summertime and you know what that means.

Gonna head down to the beach and do some beachy things."

He then tangled her with cassette tape amidst the Eiffel tower pillars. Summertime lovin' then landed on one "knee" and greeted Afterglow.

"Thank you so much, Mr. Quintell!" A recovering Afterglow shouted with a glowing smile.

Summertime Lovin' gave a salute and moonwalked away, with the tune still emitting from him.

"It's Summertime luh-uh-loving.

My baby, why can't you be mine?"

"Are you all right?" Anti-Big asked.

"I will be… Go join the others!"

"Are you sure?" Anti-Bug hesitated. She was getting ready to take off but still looking back at Afterglow.

"Don't worry," Afterglow reassured. She then looked up where Cat Noir and Volpina. "It's something Cat and I have to do…" she concluded.

Anti-Bug hesitated for a moment but then nodded.

"Good luck," she said before heading off.

Afterglow flexed her limbs and made sure she could move properly and quickly began her pursuit. She then quickly caught up to them and saw Cat Noir interrogating Volpina while he sat on top of the tip of his extended staff while she was still tangled by the cassette tape.

"Give it up, Lila. You're now just embarrassing yourself," Cat Noir trying to end the conflict peacefully.

"Don't you dare patronize me!" Vopina spat as she struggled among the tape.

"It's over, Lila!" Afterglow stated as she arrived and hanged on the edge of the tower structure. "We've got the high ground!"

Cat simply covered his mouth as he held back a laugh.

"Good one," he said as he fist-bumped Afterglow.

"All right Lile, enough screwing around, now your gonna tell us who stole the miraculous and gave you the Fox miraculous," Cat asked.

"And who told you everything about me? About us?" Afterglow continued. Cat noted a hint of desperation in her voice. Volpina growled in irritation and rolled her eyes. "What am I!?" she nearly shouted, nearly startling Cat.

"Fine, I'll humor you! They call themselves the 'Blue Mustang' and they were the ones who told me everything, heck, my supposed mother is one of them as well!"

"What do they want? Were they the ones who tricked Gabriel Agreste into becoming Hawk Moth?"

"All I know is that they were bidding their time, waiting for the right time to make their move. You see, their goal wasn't the stolen miraculous, no this was only done to get your attention. There're actually many homunculi like you and me all around the world! The blue mustang is gathering them as much as they can so they can harness the power of other miraculous for their goals. Starting with Ladybug and Cat noir's miraculous!"

"And what about those other homunculi? How are they intent on using us?"

"Haven't you realize it yet? You're too good at everything! Always coming with the right solution at the right time and everyone kissing your ass for it! Just as I have been good at lying! We were exclusively created to become the best at everything we put our effort into!"

"The homunculi will make them the most valuable assets to their cause. Guess the real question is, why wouldn't want the homunculi in their army?" Cat concluded, stroking his chin.

"Yes, I guess that made sense…"

"Marinette…" Cat whispered.

"So what is it, then? Why our miraculous in particular? What are they after?"

"Heh, why bother telling you I was planning my escape while we spoke, and besides I was never gonna give the miraculous to them!"

"Huh?"

As if on cue, a Volpina clone played her flute…

"Cataclysm!" The duo heard from behind. It wasn't Cat who shouted that. There were two Cat Noir clones charging at them with both their cataclysm activated. The cloned disintegrated Cat's staff causing him to fall, while Afterglow successfully dodged the other's attack, which ended up disintegrating the tape in which Volpina was tangled in. In his panic, Cat attempt to grab on to something he was near enough to grab the Fox necklace from Volpina.

"My miraculous!" Lila wailed. Cat landed on one of the tower pillars, breaking his fall but still lost consciousness when he hit the ground. All of the clones had disappeared and Afterglow herself tried to grab Lila's hand but fell short. She propelled herself after her but Lila hit the ground before Afterglow could've boosted herself. She then landed on her feet and checked up on her. She covered her mouth and looked away with tears about to emerge from her eyes. It happened so quickly it didn't really sink in. Less then a minute ago, the battle was apparently won with her tangled up with all this cassette tape. It seemed everything was going to be OK and maybe come to some compromise with her and now she's lying lifelessly with a pool of blood spreading from her head on the pavement.

Cat moaned as he regains consciousness, only to be horrified by the scene before him. Afterglow was once again on her knees. It still broke his heart to see her like this but considering what had been happening to her, he had no choice but to let her all out as much as she could.

"My Lady…?" he began. She gasped as he grabbed her attention. She turned to him and hugged him again. He only returned the gesture. "I don't know about you… But what do you say we wrap this up?" Cat suggested, Afterglow broke from his chest and looked up to him. Crying for probably the hundredth time this week, and probably won't be the last. With tears still cascading down her cheeks, she nodded. She quickly gathered herself and summoned her neon butterfly mask and contacted everyone.

"This is Afterglow," she greeted as all of the confused heroes had the same neon butterfly mask on as she spoke. "I thank each and every one of you for volunteering for this, this means more to me than you all can imagine and now a relieve you from all of our power including my own…" and with that, white butterflies emerged from Marinette's friends and they all turned back to their original selves. Unlike the first time they were akumatized, they all stood still, remembering the events of what had transpired that night. Instead of looking around in confusion, they all looked up knowingly.

"Wait, we still need to find the miraculous box…"

"I know where they are…" Afterglow commented.

Later…

"Cataclysm!" Cat Noir shouted as he disintegrated the lock where the miraculous box was locked away. Cat then held the miraculous box and looked inside. "Yep, I think these are it!" he said as he saw all the miraculous in place. Afterglow finally conceded and nodded.

"The miraculous has been secured. I once again thank all of you for everything," Afterglow communicated as she spoke to those she had recruited. "Nooroo, dark wings fall," she said as she revealed herself to Cat Noir.

"Marinette… I'm sorry…" Nooroo said, looking back at the fallen teenager. She just shook her head and removed her brooch. Cat took a moment to look at her in silence as he took her in his arms and took her to the police station.

Meanwhile, everyone came running from the other side of the tower. They all had their reaction of the sight of Lila lying dead on the floor. Cat kneeled beside her and closed her eyelids. Alya buried her face on Nino's chest as he held her. Juleka and Rose had a similar reaction. Most people just looked in silence as sirens began to appear on the horizon. Cat Noir held Marinette's hand as they walked towards the crowd while he held the miraculous box on his other hand.

"Hey, it's Marinette!" Nino shouted, causing Alya to look towards them. She broke the hug and went to greet her.

"Marinette!" she shouted as she dashed towards her.

"Alya!"

"Where have you been?" Alya asked, grabbing Marinette into a crushing hug.

"Yeah, we haven't seen you since you ran off from school…" Nino added.

"I was… I…"

"I was tracking her down when her family asked me to find her and take to the police station," Cat interjected, getting their attention. "They're all back at the station, they're worried sick."

"Go with him," Nino suggested quickly. Alya turned to him.

"Huh?"

"But what about you guys?" Marinette asked.

"We can wait, but we'll see you soon," Nino said. "We know you're headed for Tibet soon… So…"

"Right, forgot about that…" Cat thought. Marinette hesitated but conceded and nodded.

"Don't sweat it, Alya," Nino reassured and placed his hand on her shoulder. "We'll see her again before that happens," he said before turning back to Marinette and nod to her who nodded back.

"I'll hold you to that," Alya said, pointing both at them. Reluctantly backing away. Cat then motioned Marinette to grab onto him, and she did.

He leaped over those who were recruited by Afterglow and cheered as Cat Noir carried her in his arms and jumped over them. On their way to the station, Marinette spoke up.

"Cat…"

"Hmmm?" Cat responded.

"I'm sorry…"

"For what?"

"I… I willingly gave myself up to Hawk Moth…"

"My Lady…"

"He's right, I was responsible for many people being akumatized. He promised me to bring my parents back and I allowed it. I wanted to be Meloe. I wanted to serve Hawk Moth, I wanted to be evil, I'm so weak."

"Stop it!"

Huh?" she asked as she looked up at him again.

"Marinette," Cat began as he hugged her again. "You may be made by some taboo experiment… But you also can be swayed… We all sell ourselves for one price or another, I'm no exception, there was a time I would've…" he said as Marinette laid her head on her shoulder.

"What am I…?"

"You're human," Cat answered. Then they finally arrived at the police station. Cat put Marinette down and they both stared up at the building. Despite Cat's hand being gloved, he could tell her palm was sweating… "You all right, my lady?"

"I'm just nervous… My uncle, my grandparents… I haven't seen them since the funeral…" She wondered. Then Cat's ring began its warning alarm.

"Go…" Marinette prompted in resignation. "You'll transform back…"

"I don't mind keeping you company to face your family," Cat stated and leaned a bit closer. "And besides, don't you want to know who I am?"

Marinette stared back for a moment but she smiled, closed her eyes and shook her head.

"No, Cat," she replied. It's already dangerous enough for you to know my identity, and I still stand by that. The less we know the better. And besides, you still need to take those back to Master Fu," she concluded, pointing at the miraculous box on his other hand. Cat's expression lowered for a second but nodded. He then put the box down then put his hands on her shoulders…

"Look, whatever happens after all this, wherever you go, know this… I will stand by you and fight tooth and nail to keep you and Paris safe. Even if you're not Ladybug anymore, I'll always have your back," he stated. Marinette began to tear up yet again.

"Oh, Cat…" the two then leaned on each other's foreheads and stayed that way for a full minute before Cat's ring bleeped again. Cat broke off their moment, grabbed the miraculous box, and ran off.

"I'll see you, my lady," He stopped and turned to look back at her again. He waved at her who she waved back, pretending not to cry. He then ran off and actually left this time.

Marinette then stood in place for a moment in silence before looking at her palm and saw her Ladybug earrings. She smiled and looked up at the building. No longer running away, she took a deep breath and walked in.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Whew! That took longer than expected. In fact, it was originally going to be longer as I was planning to stop after the aftermath of the whole ordeal. But then I decided this is the place to stop and besides, I realized I kept you waiting long enough. As a result of this, I expect the next chapter to be shorter.

Please, review.