A quick thank you to the person who left the kind review on my last two chapters. I'm so thrilled you enjoyed it and I hope you have a nice day! Thanks!

A/N: First, I just realized that the order I saw these episodes in doesn't correlate with the correct production order. I believe The Pharaoh is actually episode six of season one, not three. I'll try to do them in the correct order going forward. Second, as I was going through this episode and writing it out from Adrien's POV, I realized it was a really well-written episode. The pacing is good and the characters make intelligent, believable decisions. That being said, I didn't add as much of my own original content apart from framing it differently. If you prefer more original scenes, you can scroll down to the bottom near the end of the fight. I have added my own there because that's where they make the most narrative sense. They'll come into play later with differing plot developments, specifically regarding Adrien's understanding of miraculous lore and Hawkmoth's future plans. Thanks!

Episode 3- The Pharaoh

"That's so weird," Plagg remarked, "What kind of kwami has the power to make tape come out of their holder's elbows?"

Maybe I should've started him off on a different anime first.

"They don't get their powers from miraculous; they're born with them and they're called quirks," Adrien tried to explain. Apparently though, when you have the power to destroy anything you touch, things like tape elbows and frog powers aren't all that impressive.

"C'mon," he whined, "my powers are way cooler than- onmmmmaskdfnosdn" Plagg's words turned to gibberish as he stuffed his face with a huge chunk of Camembert.

Adrien rolled his eyes. He started the episode again but was interrupted. A dinging sound followed by a notification popped up on his monitor. It was a video update to Alya's Ladyblog of an incident he and Ladybug had helped resolve earlier in the week.

He reminisced. Ladybug did not see that helicopter coming.

"Don't you see her enough already? I'd rather watch elbow tape," Plagg complained.

Ignoring his pleas, Adrien let the video play. It showed Ladybug dropping a book into the street as she was being yeeted across Paris by a helicopter. Alya picked it up and explained that it was a 10th grade history textbook. His heart beat faster and his breath caught in his chest. Eyes wide, he gaped at Plagg.

The kwami had to quickly dodge the back of Adrien's chair as he violently spun around.

"It's crazy! What are the odds that we have the same textbook! Maybe we even go to the same school!" He exclaimed, practically dancing in his seat.

Plagg countered, "Don't you think you'd know her then? And why bother yourself with ladies when you could be enjoying this!" He held out a piece of cheese and grinned wide, showing off his tiny fangs.

Adrien leaned forward. "For one, ladies smell about a thousand times better than that cheese. And they're much better looking."

Plagg shrugged. "Suit yourself. Your loss." He held another slice of Camembert close to his chest and giggled.

Adrien mentally facepalmed. "My only loss is my appetite. What would you have done if you had gotten stuck with a holder who couldn't afford Camembert?"

Plagg looked back and forth between Adrien and the piece of cheese cradled in his paws.

Are those…tears?

Plagg set down the cheese just long enough to wipe his face. He comforted himself that this was not the case by inhaling the slice he had set aside and then proceeded to ignore Adrien turning around to play back the video 5 more times. He probably would've kept watching it if not for the livestreaming notification that popped up during the 6th replay. He clicked on it and another tab opened.

On screen, Alya was streaming an akuma attack at The Louvre. The victim had been transformed to look like an Egyptian god. He was stealing an artifact from a display in from of him and shapeshifting his face to look like different animals. In doing so, he was able to change his abilities.

Plagg flew in for a closer look. "Wow! I love the face changes!" He gave a sideways glance to Adrien's raised eyebrows and wide-open mouth. "You could use one."

Turning again in his chair, Adrien frowned at the small cat. "Time to transform! Plagg, claws out!"

He relished becoming Chat Noir. He had loved cartoons as a kid and even practiced a transformation sequence of his own after Chloe had made him watch Sailor Moon a few times. He hadn't done it since he was little but even so, the whole routine came back to him when he had first transformed. In fact, he was so excited to do it for real back then that he hadn't even let Plagg finish explaining how he was supposed to use the Miraculous. The kwami explained later of course but that first time was Chat's moment to shine. Too bad nobody would ever see it.

He rushed over to the Louvre just in time to see Ladybug get thrown into an exhibit wall. The villain turned and walked toward where Chat stood, bending a set of metal bars in his way to pass through the space between them.

I hope she's okay. Gotta distract him.

"How nice of you to hold the door open for me," Chat winked. "HA!"

Jumping into the air, he swung his staff downwards at Pharaoh. As he fell, fist met face and Chat was blinded by a giant palm covering his eyes. It lifted him by his head into the air, making him dizzy. Chat felt himself being thrown backwards and had no time to catch his breath before the wind was knocked out of him. With a sickening thud, he hit a hard metal object. Adrien opened his eyes to darkness and began feeling around. He was closed in by walls on every side. His chest tightened. Quick breaths started to come. The dizziness got worse.

Finally, the front was flung open. He gasped, catching the tail end of Ladybug shouting at Pharaoh. "…Let her go!"

Oh no.

He contextualized his surroundings. Pharaoh was carrying Alya away and Ladybug ran out in front of him to catch up. Guilt crept up inside him. They had wasted too much time.

He leapt to his feet, still breathing heavily. He nearly spit the words out. "Hiding behind an innocent bystander?" You're weak, Pharaoh!"

The akumatized man spoke, his voice resounding like a low growl. "I'm way more powerful than you are." He bent the bars back into place and walked away.

Ladybug and Chat Noir ran ahead to the bars and watched Pharaoh make his exit down the hallway. Alya, still slung over his shoulder, stared at the two heroes intently and winked. "And don't forget all the latest behind the scenes are on my blog!"

"That Alya is one brave girl." Smart too. Now we can follow them.

Ladybug smiled teasingly, "If by brave you mean bossy, feisty, and bold? Yup! That's her. Now c'mon, get us out of here Chat Noir."

Alya's not the only one. "Cataclysm!"

The bars rusted and broke apart, hitting the ground hard. They ran through the cleared hallway.

The two spoke at the same time, "Alya's blog!" Chat's flashing ring broke the surprise of their seemingly synchronized thoughts. He told her, "Uh, go ahead. I'll join you as soon as my miraculous is charged up again."

Ladybug grabbed his arm and then moved her hands up to his shoulders. She guided him to face her. "Hurry up. It's gonna take both of us to defeat him."

Their eyes met and he nodded. They were a team. An unstoppable duo. They'd save Alya together.

Chat rushed to the bathroom. He definitely wouldn't have stopped in the middle of The Louvre where there are high tech security cameras everywhere. Nope, the show writers know the adults writing fan-fiction about a children's show will be watching for details like that.

He ran inside, locking the door behind him.

"Eat as quick as you can. This villain seems to be more powerful than the first few we fought. A girl from my school has been taken hostage so I need to get out there to help Ladybug fast."

Plagg didn't need to be told twice to eat cheese. He grabbed it from the palm of Adrien's outstretched arm and started to chew furiously.

Adrien played back the livestream starting from when Alya was taken so he could find out where she was. He listened intently as Pharaoh revealed his plan to bring Nefertiti back and how the ritual would work like any good villain that wastes just enough time explaining a plan for the heroes to arrive.

In between bites, Plagg muttered, "Oh do you seriously think this mumbo-jumbo with the sun and mummy stuff is gonna work?"

"I don't know but does it really matter? If Pharaoh believes it, who knows what he'll do to Alya to make it work!"

He stared into the kwami's face. Plagg, unblinking, stared back and burped out into the otherwise silent room.

"You have no respect."

Adrien rolled his eyes and continued, "So you know what? Your batteries are charged up enough. Plagg, claws out!"

Chat transformed and hurried through the museum. Coming into a main lobby area, he spotted his lady trapped inside a bubble. She was running in slow motion. He slid forward and brought his staff down like a baseball bat to pop it. Ladybug fell forward and into his waiting arms. A real homerun.

Chat held her up as she tried to regain her balance. He leaned in and made eye contact. "Thanks for waiting around for me," He purred. She quickly looked away. The floor had suddenly become very interesting.

Stepping back a bit she gestured at him, waving her wrist. "Um... no problem." She cleared her throat and regained focus. "We've gotta find the hidden akuma and free it before he sacrifices that poor girl!"

Taking a moment, Chat put his hand to his chest and breathed in deeply. Then, they were off and running up the stairs. Ladybug checked the livestream again. They had their target.

At the top of the stairs they came to an outdoor entrance. They huddled in close, moving slowly and quietly. Ladybug barely peered over the top of the gate separating themselves and the stairs from a hoard of mummies, blockading whatever lay beyond.

She ducked down, meeting Chat's face and whispered. "I can't see her or Pharaoh." Ladybug silenced her yo-yo and checked the livestream to double check Alya's location while Chat led them to another spot out of view. They crept along until he put his arm out to the side. She stopped, just behind him. Chat pointed. "Over there."

Down below, mummies gathered to create the outline of an Egyptian Ankh. In the center stood Pharaoh, gripping Alya's hand tightly. She struggled but to no avail. He seemed to be saying something to her.

Ladybug turned up the volume of the livestream. Leaning in close, Chat listened with her, hoping Pharaoh's monologue would help them find a weakness. Perhaps the show writers would be kind to them since the episode was halfway over and he still hadn't been able to ask Ladybug about the textbook yet.

From the livestream they could see Pharaoh pointing to a picture on his papyrus scroll that resembled Ladybug. He was explaining to Alya that Ladybug was his enemy. She was the one who had kept him from carrying out the ritual to bring Nefertiti back 5,000 years ago and that he would not let her stop him this time.

Ladybug let the information wash over her. "Everyone does have a past they can learn from."

Chat squinted at her. He made a finger gun with his left hand and tucked his chin in between his thumb and pointer finger. He flashed a wide grin at her. "Well, you don't look a day over three thousand." He giggled and was rewarded with a devilish smile. "Well, now you know why I'm so much wiser than you."

Touché.

He was fine with that. The way she used her intelligence as a form of compassion- to help the citizens of Paris lead better lives by thwarting Hawkmoth- it drew him in like a match to a flame.

He stared at her, watching as she turned to follow Pharaoh and Alya with her eyes.

Chat forced himself to do the same. What is he doing?

Pharaoh had sent a beam of light up from the top of the glass pyramid below. Something like black smoke stopped it about 100 feet in the air. Where the light met the darkness, the smoke curled around and spread out like an ink stain in the sky.

The mummies chanted, still in the formation of an Ankh. Some that had stood off to the side picked up Alya and were carrying her toward the beam. She screamed out for Ladybug. It was time to move.

Mummies? No. Too many. Light? No. Have to touch it. Pharaoh's surrounded. Alya first.

"What should we do?" He whispered, tensing his jaw.

Ladybug stood. "Hold back the mummies while I take on Pharaoh."

Placing his hands on his hips, he leaned forward and pointed at her. "Why do I have to deal with these freaks while you get to slip calmly round back?"

She mimicked his stance. "Because I'm the only one who can capture his akuma."

Straightening up, Ladybug swaggered over to him, tilted her head, and placed a hand on his shoulder. She smiled sweetly and winked at him. "And because you're the bravest one out of both of us."

"Sure."

She turned, satisfied with his sarcasm, and ran forward. A moment later, she jumped off the building and out of sight.

Chat walked up to the edge of the roof and folded his arms across his chest. He wasn't sure she could hear him but he countered anyway, "I know you don't really think that but I'll pretend you do."

They jumped into action. Chat squatted down on top of a light post and called attention to himself. Alya, relieved at the sight of him, called out, "Chat Noir!"

He yelled, catching the mummies' attention. "What do you say we wrap this up?" Pharaoh, seeing him now, ordered them to catch him.

Chat egged the mummies on, enticing them to follow as he lept from post to post.

"Is that really as fast as you can go?" he jeered.

This was enough distraction for Ladybug to swoop in using her yo-yo and grab Alya. They swung to the nearest rooftop and out of Pharaoh's reach. He seethed, "Horas! Give me your wings!"

Pharaoh spread his arms and light erupted from the pendant hanging from his neck.

Meanwhile on the ground, Chat had gathered a whole hoard of mummies. They followed him, staggering a bit as they walked.

Why couldn't they look more like Mii-kun? Kashiwagi had it easy.

He was starting to zone out a little bit. Between the monotonous moaning of the mummies and the repetitive route he took to keep them just behind him, this job wasn't too hard. It reminded him of when he got chased by fans or the paparazzi, except with less shrieking and life-threatening peril.

Chat slipped and threw his weight forward into a somersault to break the fall. He hit the ground but rolled and was able to quickly get back on his feet. Running forward, Chat tried to maintain some distance by running towards the road. The mummies continued to inch forward.

There were too many. He ended up cornered. Flitting his eyes back and forth, he searched for an exit.

"What the…?"

In typical mummy fashion, they had communicated well enough to pick up a whole car. To chuck at him. In their very extensive vocabulary containing such sophisticated utterances such as "ughhh" and "arghh" and the ever controversial "uhhahhh" they had unanimously determined to smash his face in with a vehicle. They couldn't simply overwhelm with numbers and grab him. Indeed not. They were far too classy for such a newbie move.

So there Chat Noir stood, almost missing the jacked pigeons they had faced before.

He couldn't miss the birds too much, however, because the ground seemed to suddenly give way beneath him. Ladybug had thrown her yo-yo and it wrapped around his foot. She yanked him to safety, pulling him underneath and then behind the car where she stood.

They dove toward a bus on the street further away from the hoard. Chat slid underneath to the other side and Ladybug led them through first bus door.

Not a bad idea. He thought, realizing what she was trying to do.

Ladybug ran out the door at the other end of the bus and Chat, using his staff, tipped the vehicle on its side. Now freed from the trapped mummy hoard, they ran back to save Alya.

Pharaoh was less than thrilled to face them. "You will not stop me from bringing Nefertiti back! I'll finish you off! Anubis, bring me mummies!"

Not this again.

Light erupted from Pharaoh's pendant and his face changed to resemble a dog. Two energy beams shot out from his eyes towards them.

What is with this guy? First Hawkmoth sends us villains like Bubbler and Mr. Pigeon. Now he decides to send us somebody this strong? What's he thinking? Maybe upping his game? Or getting serious?

What Hawkmoth was doing was not thinking, dear readers. In season one, the show writers gave him one exactly brain cell and called her Nathalie. But I digress.

Author's Note: At this point dear readers, I realized there wasn't a lot I could add to this battle scene that would make it more intriguing. Everything happens so fast. I imagine there wouldn't be that much time for Adrien to think too much apart from focusing on taking immediate action to defeat Pharaoh. I want writing this story to be as much fun for me as it is for you to read it and writing down exactly what happens on screen without being able to expound on how the characters are feeling or give more plot relevancy isn't fun for me. So when this happens, I'm going to make my story interactive. You can go watch this part in the episode starting from where Pharaoh changes to look like Anubis. My version of the story resumes where Ladybug summons the lucky charm.

They were surrounded again. They needed a miracle, something to turn the tide in their favor.

"Lucky Charm!" Ladybug yelled, jumping up onto her tiptoes and bending a leg behind her. Chat looked at her standing like that and couldn't help but smile.

That's adorable.

From the sky, a package fell. Her lucky charm and given them a ladybug Halloween costume.

Chat crossed an arm over his chest and pointed to the box in her hands. "That's our last hope?"

It's a good thing she's smart.

Ladybug paused, trying to analyze the situation. She gasped and stepped forward.

Her voice was steady and even. "Pharaoh! This offering isn't good enough for Nefertiti!"

Alya, coming in behind Chat Noir at a close second for greatest sass master in this series, crossed her arms and retorted. "Hey, thanks a lot!"

Ladybug ignored her. "Set Alya free and sacrifice me instead. Wouldn't that be the sweetest revenge five-thousand years later? After all, I'm the one who kept Nefertiti from you all these years!"

Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. Back up there Ladybug.

Chat reached out to grab her arm. She didn't look back at him. "It's alright. I know what I'm doing."

What if…? He breathed deep and sighed. Okay. Alright.

Pharaoh took the bait. "It's true that you would make a much more precious offering than this mortal." He reached out a hand to take her. She took it calmly.

Chat's eyes stayed glued to her as Pharaoh took her to the top of the beam, replacing Alya. He gripped his staff, turning his knuckles white under his gloves.

They hadn't lost to a villain yet. They also hadn't worked together for long, but she hadn't given him a reason not to trust her. He came to a decision in his mind and relaxed his grip on the staff.

Still, He watched Ladybug intently and was ready to run forward. When Pharaoh threw Alya to the ground, he was prepared, and caught her in his arms.

Evidently, falling from that great of a height wasn't too much of a bother for Alya. She scrunched up her face and looked at Pharaoh. "Excuse you, but I make excellent sacrificing material."

Chat smirked. "Oh, I can always take you back up there and make sure Ladybug is okay if you'd rather."

She faltered, "Umm you know, I may be excellent sacrificing material, but I think I'm good down here."

Chat set her down and then looked up to see what was going on above. Ladybug made a throwing motion with her hands and Pharaoh soared past and behind them, diving towards the ground. He picked up something small off the pavement and yelled, "You tricked me!"

Ladybug had done it. Chat felt his shoulders relax. There was built up tension he hadn't even realized was there.

Chat gazed at her, entranced as she destroyed Pharaoh's pendent, slid down the side of the pyramid to land beside them, and captured the akuma. Ladybug released a white butterfly into the air and summoned her miraculous ladybug. Still, his eyes watched only her.

Chatter soon filled the air. The mummies had turned back into people. The police, who were also there when Pharaoh summoned mummies, began attending to the citizens after taking in the initial shock of becoming human again. From the road, the chief of police scanned the area, looking for Chat Noir and Ladybug, and began making his way towards them. Pushing a button on his radio to speak, he said, "One Alpha One we have a 955. Situation resolved. 902m needed at the Louvre. Officers standing by. Approaching vigilantes now. 10-4. Over." It was time to speak with the alleged heroes.

Meanwhile, in front of the glass pyramid, Alya was bouncing on her toes and trying to get answers. Her sentences came out rushed. "Thanks, Ladybug! But I still gotta ask. How old are you, really?"

Chat raised his eyebrows at Ladybug and waited. She looked back and forth between him and Alya before composing herself and answering. "Umm.. Well, I'm much older than a high school student, that's for sure." Before Alya could ask any more questions, she threw her yo-yo into the air and zipped away.

Chat smirked and turned to Alya. Rubbing his fingers through his hair, he asked, "Don't you wanna know how old I am?"

She pulled out her phone. "In a sec, it looks like I'll be able to tell for myself."

What? Oh.

His ring had started flashing. Alya pressed the record button and Chat pranced away.

The police chief had made it across the courtyard and was coming up behind Alya at this point. He quickened his pace, trying to close the growing gap between him and Chat Noir.

He commanded, "Chat Noir, stop! I'm police chief Renaud and I need to speak with you about- "

Chat didn't look back but cut him off, "Next time! I'm a little busy."

Alya laughed as the hero hiked up his knees and quickened his pace. Renaud tried to move in front of him, but Chat used his staff to propel himself to the rooftops.

From above, he looked around for Ladybug but she had disappeared.

I'll have to ask Plagg.

Once Adrien had gotten back inside his room and detransformed alone, he sat a whole plate of Camembert in front of Plagg. He meant business.

The kwami hastily shoved a piece into his mouth. He then grabbed another slice and retreated. Narrowing his eyes at Adrien, Plagg inhaled the second piece. "What do you want exactly?"

"Answers," Adrien demanded.

The kwami looked back and forth between the plate and his holder but didn't move. Adrien leaned in and filled the silence. "First question. I won't ask if you know who Ladybug is-"

Plagg interrupted, "Good, cause I don't. And even if I did, she'd kill me if- "

"She? Ladybug?" Adrien questioned.

Plagg continued, "Ladybug's kwami. That's all you're getting out of me."

Adrien slid the plate closer to Plagg, who dove in to grab another piece and then retreated once again.

Adrien casually remarked, "That's fine. Even if that textbook Alya found during her Ladyblog livestream wasn't Ladybug's, I already knew she wasn't an adult because of Bubbler. Otherwise, she would've been trapped with them and unable to fight. The textbook just confirms what I was already thinking. I know it's for tenth-grade because I have the same one, so I figure she's the same age as me even if she told Alya differently. Probably to keep her from digging. I just wonder how many schools use that textbook…" Plagg started to protest but Adrien continued, "I'm not going to look into it more for right now. I want her to tell me who she is and besides, she'd be upset if I tried to figure out her identity behind her back, so I won't."

Plagg crossed his arms and squinted at him. "Hmmmmm."

Adrien held out another piece of cheese to the kwami, who slowly grabbed it from his fingers. "What I do want to know right now though is why Pharaoh said he knew Ladybug five-thousand years ago. It made me realize I don't know anything about you or these powers or anything else. Like, I'm not five-thousand years old and Ladybug clearly isn't either, so what's the deal?"

Plagg sighed and landed on the cheese plate, too full to keep floating. Using the last two slices as arm rests, he leaned back and explained, "We kwamis have been around since just after the universe was created. After that, a lot of stuff sorta blends together cause it's been so long. We've always had holders though since we're not supposed to use our powers on our own; otherwise, everybody says it's a total disaster."

"So that papyrus scroll Alya pointed out- that picture was of a previous ladybug holder?"

"Yeah and-"

Adrien interrupted, "So have Ladybugs and Chat Noirs always worked together? And why is it a disaster for you to use powers on your own? And how are you so old? And if you're that old, who created you and-"

Plagg rolled his eyes and sighed, putting his head in his paws. "This is gonna give me a headache. Look, just wait and ask the Guardian. This is too much to talk about on an empty stomach."

"You just ate like a whole plate of Camembert!"

Plagg patted his bloated belly. "Your point?"

Adrien crossed his arms and frowned. "Who's this guardian you're talking about? Why can't you just tell me?"

Plagg mimicked Adrien's posture. "I've known you for less than a month and you're wanting me to give you all the secrets of the universe? I'd never see a whole plate of Camembert again if I just told you everything now! Besides, the Guardian said he'd answer your questions once he makes sure you can do the job. He's the one who watches over the miraculous and us kwamis. And I couldn't answer all your questions even if I wanted to. He told me not to."

Adrien stared as Plagg used one slice of cheese as a pillow and swallowed the other whole, never breaking eye contact.

Adrien uncrossed his arms and stood over the plate. He slipped his hands in his pockets and walked over to the window. Leaning against it, he took in the view of Paris outside. "Fine. When can I meet him and what do I have to do to prove that I can do the job well enough for him to answer my questions?"

Plagg shrugged. "I'm not sure. It's been different with every holder. You give me the best food though, that has to count for something."

At the same time, another serious matter was being discussed in the Agreste household.

Nathalie entered Gabriel's private room, dedicated to his alter-ego. Gripping her tablet firmly, she walked in to hear Hawkmoth growl out, "You might have gotten away this time, but I assure you Ladybug, someday, wherever you are, I will have your miraculous. And you'll be nothing! Nothing at all!" With those final words, he threw his cane down and detransformed. Nooroo flew to a corner of the room and cowered quietly.

Natalie walked forward slowly and cleared her throat. "Sir, I have something that will be of interest to you concerning Ladybug's identity."

Surprise crossed his face. He paused and then smiled at her. "Please, show me Nathalie."

She played back the video for him of Ladybug dropping the textbook.

"Sir," Nathalie explained, "This could be an important key to finding the miraculous. We discovered from The Bubbler that Ladybug is not an adult and while we do not know for sure, we should assume for now that Ladybug is a 10th grade student. This will allow us to narrow our search. I will compile a list of public, private, and home school curriculums that use this textbook. Then, we can look into the female students enrolled in those programs. Adrien's school is included in this list. The girl who runs the blog is named Alya Césaire and she attends Collège Françoise Dupont with him."

Gabriel rolled his shoulders backwards and tilted his head up towards the window. Breathing deep, he closed his eyes and let his shoulders fall back down. "Thank you, Nathalie. Excellent work. Is there anything else?"

"Yes, sir. If you would allow me, I would advise you to continue making villains like Mr. Pigeon while we investigate the identities of Ladybug and Chat Noir. If she is smart, Ladybug will be on high alert after losing her textbook now that the video is all over the internet. She will most likely be safeguarding her identity even more closely; however, if you continue to make non-threatening villains she may let her guard down. If she does, she will be more likely to make similar mistakes. It would also give us a chance to observe more footage of her and Chat Noir fighting those who are akumatized on the news and the internet. There may be useful information we can acquire from simply watching and learning about our enemy."

Gabriel turned and opened his eyes to look at her. He nodded. "Your suggestions are always welcome. I agree and plan on continuing to do so. I've waited all this time. We will gather information and take Ladybug and Chat Noir down one way or another. Then, when we are ready to move, we will not fail."