These chapters just keep getting longer and longer!

I couldn't decide whether to address Alya as Rena or Alya while she's transformed into Rena Rouge, so it kind of goes back and forth. I typically use Alya when she's acting like herself and Rena when she's acting like her super counterpart.


Another three akumas are thwarted before Ladybug is paying her a visit in the middle of the night, Fox miraculous in hand.

Alya steps into her bedroom after literally just leaving the shower after a long night of video editing, with her hair still wet and nothing but a towel on, and freezes. She stares at Ladybug staring back at her, sitting cross-legged and bug-eyed on her bed, little ornate box poised carefully in her hand. Vaguely, Alya registers that her hair is dripping water onto her wooden floor and there is now a threat of damage to the expensive material, but she's naked in front of Ladybug and nothing else can matter in light of that. For the moment, she's overwhelmed. Neither of them can say a word.

. . . But then she is too excited to care.

Ladybug is here with her miraculous. It can only mean one thing.

Alya finally moves to close her door behind her as the anticipation takes over. Time resumes with the action, and Ladybug blushes furiously, instantly looking away from the other girl before she can say anything.

"I-- I apologize!" Ladybug exclaims, "I'll just leave this here," she sets the box down on the black and white comforter, then awkwardly stalks out onto the balcony and waves back at Alya without looking at her. "See you on the rooftop!"

Ladybug swings her yo-yo, and she is gone. In her rush to leave Alya's quarters, she leaves the glass doors open. A cold breeze slips into Alya's bedroom, and Alya shivers underneath her towel. She wants to curse out the very atmosphere, but settles for closing the balcony doors instead. She hopes none of her family have heard anything.

Shaking off the last bit of shock in her system, Alya changes into some PJs really quick, then takes the miraculous box into her hands with care. With a deep breath, she opens it. She savors the seconds she spends removing the foxtail necklace and putting it on, the cold metal on her fingers the only cold she'd ever take pleasure in. As she does so, the little fox spirit jumps out of the jewelry into her room, spinning around and twirling like an excited ribbon.

"I'm back, baby!" the kwami exclaims as soon as he's free. Alya shushes him, albeit with a grin as wide as his own. Trixx snickers before adding quietly, "It's about time."

Alya couldn't agree with him more. "I know. Ladybug is waiting for us outside, it's time to go to work. Ready?"

Trixx rolls his eyes. "Been ready."

Alya laughs. Then happily, calmly, cause it's the middle of the night, she says, "Trixx, let's pounce."


Alya, now Rena Rouge, makes her way up to the rooftop. She finds Ladybug leaning against her knee at the other edge of the building, gazing out into the city with moonlight on her back. The cold surrounds Alya in her suit but it doesn't affect her the way she expects; it hovers at the edge of her senses, a peripheral feeling that's easy to forget.

She takes quiet steps to Ladybug's side, the sound of her voice the only warning of her approach. "You had me benched for a while there," Alya says as she sidles up beside the other hero. Before Ladybug can respond, just for sport Alya pivots around her to her other side, all sly confidence and criminal grace (being Rena Rouge again feels so good) and speaks into her other ear. "I was beginning to think I'd been replaced."

Ladybug frowns. "That's definitely not what I intended," She turns around to look at Rena. "I just wanted to give you some freedom. I know what the stress of an akuma battle is like, and I had been calling on you frequently. . . you deserved time to just be a teenager. I'm sorry if I hurt you."

"It's nothing," Alya assures. And as she says it, it becomes true. All of her worries feel real but nullified; she's here, now, with the Fox miraculous and Ladybug, about to help save the day. All she'd needed was this reassurance. "I'm fine now-- nay, better than fine. Thank you, Ladybug. For everything."

"Not a problem," Ladybug smiles in delight. She tips her head out to the town. "You ready to head out?"

"Always."

Ladybug takes off at a run, and Rena follows closely behind. They bound across the rooftops in the direction of the Seine.

"So," Alya starts once they've run for a while and her adrenaline rush begins to settle, her blood simmering gently in her veins, "what's the threat?"

They vault over a major avenue before Ladybug answers. "Tonight's just patrol, actually. We might find small crimes to stop, but nothing major. I'm working you back in slowly."

Alya's not happy about that, but she isn't going to argue. She does shake her head, though. "It's whatever you say, babe."

"Babe?"

"You like it?" Alya smiles slowly, despite Ladybug not giving the slightest indication that she does, in fact, like it. "I've had some time to think about it."

Ladybug's eyebrows furrow. "I'm afraid people are going to get the wrong impression."

"It's all about how you say it," Alya waves her off, smile turning into a grin as she notes Ladybug doesn't say that she does not, in fact, like it. "Besides, I'd never call you that in front of the press. Just Chat Noir."

Ladybug raises an eyebrow at her. "You're not just doing this to mess with Chat, are you?"

Rena's smile turns sharp-- she actually isn't, but Ladybug has no idea and she kind of likes it that way. "What if I am?" she questions.

"I don't want you to encourage his behavior."

"Honestly," Rena assures with a lighthearted chuckle, "I wouldn't dream of it."

The duo leaps over another wide street, suspended in the air for long seconds, their chests bathed in streetlight before they're running again.

(moment of reflection midair: she doesn't believe her own words.)

After some more tireless running, the girls soon arrive to a strikingly familiar eatery right by the water-- though for the life of her, Alya can't place where she remembers it from-- with two very familiar masculine figures waiting for them on its rooftop.

Ladybug touches down first with Rena following immediately, and one of the guys jogs over to them.

"Is everything alright?" Chat Noir asks upon their arrival, wariness shining in his eyes. "You're never late, M' Lady."

"Everything's fine, I just stopped to get our last teammate."

With a jut of Ladybug's head, everyone's attention shifts to Alya, who walks up to stand beside Ladybug. Recognition sparks in Chat Noir's bright green eyes. "Oh, Rena! It's been awhile." he smiles.

"You're telling me," she returns the greeting in kind.

"Rena Rouge?" Carapace speaks up. He steps forward to extend his hand to her with a smile on his face. "I've heard about you, it's nice to finally meet you. I'm Carapace."

Alya looks at the hero. He's the same-- tall, green, with a husky voice and kind eyes-- but seeing him in this context feels different somehow. Some of the insecurity from nights before starts to creep up on her as she acknowledges him, but she shoves it away.

She accepts his handshake even though she thinks it's too formal (it's cute). "Oh I know all about you, newbie." she says.

Carapace raises his eyebrows. "You do?"

"I keep up with my news," Alya shrugs, crossing her arms over her chest. She smiles wider. "But it's nice to meet you too."

"I don't suppose," Chat Noir gestures vaguely, "I could get a handshake?"

Alya turns to him. "What for?"

"I'm your senior, it's just a little matter of respect. Besides, Carapace got one."

"Don't sweat it, Ladybug didn't get one either."

Chat Noir only complains louder. "You have no respect for your superiors."

"No, I just don't do handshakes. And I know Ladybug well enough already."

"That's not to say we know each other," Ladybug adds hastily, uncharacteristically nervous, though she is a stickler for keeping anything related to their identities hush-hush. "We actually don't know each other well at all."

"Really?" says Rena, directing a look at Ladybug as she gets an amusing idea, "After earlier tonight, I'd say you know me pretty well."

Rena's face is its usual neutral-playful, but her tone is decidedly suggestive. The other heroes take their time to absorb the statement. . . and tense collectively as realization dawns on each of their faces.

"Wait--"

Ladybug tries to physically wave the matter away, flush rapidly stealing over her face, before Carapace can finish the thought. "It's nothing--"

"Nothing?" Rena asks, feigning this side of taken aback, just to make matters worse.

Ladybug shoots her a look that says, why are you doing this, we silently agreed not to talk about this? It's not quite a glare, but even if it had been, it'd've been undermined by the innocent red in her face. It's clear she knows Rena is using her ill-timed visit from earlier that night to encourage the boys' imaginations.

Carapace and Chat Noir, meanwhile, exchange silent glances.

"You don't think. . ?" Carapace murmurs.

Chat's ear twitches. "They were late."

"Dude,"

"They are hot."

"Dude," Carapace pulls a face.

At this, Chat shows his fangs in a knowing smile. "It's elementary, my sheltered friend,"

Pleasure with his pun aside, Chat Noir redirects his gaze up to the sky with a contemplative crinkle to his nose, his hands raised palm up, as he continues his musings to himself in an oddly sober manner.

"But does this make me feel better?" he lifts one hand, "Or worse?" he lifts the other.

"Better?" Carapace questions, bewildered. He can understand worse, Chat obviously has a thing for Ladybug. Why would this development make him feel better?

Chat Noir shifts his glowing eyes to Carapace, something just short of a smirk on his face. "It's kind of a turn-on--"

"We're not talking about this anymore!" Ladybug catches the end of their conversation. She pinches the bridge of her nose with an audible growl, and Alya stifles her laughter in the back of her hand, sensing it would not be appreciated by her disgruntled friends.

"Let's just focus," Ladybug demands with a stern look at Rena and Chat Noir both. Carapace is spared, though he's the most responsive to the demand of the other three. Ladybug brings everyone in close to form a tight circle, like a team huddle, Alya can't help but think, and though everyone is hugging each other to keep it closed, Alya meets feelings of nostalgia as she feels the warmth of Carapace's arm settling over her shoulders.


"That's the plan. Everybody got it?" The four heroes pull apart.

"Got it, babe," Alya affirms, grinning when Ladybug blushes under her mask and the boys share looks again. Again, the heroine doesn't outright admonish the nickname, and Alya almost can't believe it, but she is feeling confident, now, that Ladybug wants it.

"Okay then. We'll see you guys at midnight."

Chat Noir and Ladybug sign off respectfully, then bound off across the Seine.

She and Carapace are left alone.

Alya's seen Carapace up close before. She's been alone with him before. She's gotten exclusive interviews with him on her balcony and hovered over his shoulder at alleyway corners. They've hugged each other. But this is different.

They're standing atop a tall building near the Seine, where the city lights aren't as numerous, and a calm wind is blowing over the water. He's posted dutifully at the edge of the roof with his arms crossed over his chest as he monitors the waterway traffic. Alya is a meter behind him, watching from an angle as the moon washes his front in delicate light. It's like an epic picture-- Alya heavily considers whipping out her phone to steal a photo for her blog (or her wallpaper), but ultimately decides against it. The idea reminds her a little too much of a certain boy-crazed best friend.

Instead, she stands from her perch atop an air duct and walks up to his side. She speaks softly, not feeling entirely like her usual self under this guise, "Looks like it's just us for a while,"

Carapace gives a pensive hum in response. Though it's minimal, it gives Alya a certain kind of pleasure; this experience with the new hero is different than her experiences with him before.

Before, as Alya Césaire, she was always following behind him, or standing across from him, never on the same level. As Rena Rouge, they're equals. She stands beside him and sees what he sees, does what he does. And he doesn't push her behind him again for her safety.

Surrounded by darkness and quiet, something in Alya moves her to sneak a hand behind Carapace's back, then reach up and drape her arm over his shoulders. Carapace turns to look at her for the first time since Ladybug left.

She raises an eyebrow at his conflicted expression. "Are you going to ignore me the entire time?"

His countenance shifts into something apologetic, but also anything but. "I didn't mean to ignore you. I'm watching for the signal."

Suppose Ladybug and Chat find anything amiss from where they are just on the other side of the Seine; if they deem the situation challenging enough, Chat is supposed to signal them using his staff and a light source, producing a weak flash that he would repeat several times at steady intervals. Rena has the same protocol if she and Carapace find anything.

"You can relax a little, nothing happens around here halfway to twelve," she assures him as she inches closer to him for no real reason. Outwardly, she appears calm, but something inside her is itching to do. . . something. Alya can only describe the feeling as antsy, even for herself. "Besides, you can't see the signal, remember?

It's why they've been paired together. Rena Rouge and Chat Noir have the best eyesight at night, so they had to be separated when the teams were formed, and of course the original duo had opted to stay together.

"Well, yeah," Carapace answers, "but what else am I supposed to do? We got the sleepy side of town."

The heroine retracts, humming thoughtfully. That is true. "How about a riddle?"

"Pass."

"A wager?"

"Pass."

"What about I Spy?"

"Again, pass; I'm not stupid."

Rena pouts. She mumbles under her breath, "No, but you sure are a killjoy."

If Carapace hears her, he doesn't say so. He doesn't say anything.

Easily, even with Rena still hanging off his shoulder, the air around them grows silent again.

Alya's eyes dart around a bit. Seriously, now that she really thinks about it, Rena has always been a bit. . .strung. Usually gifted the miraculous in the midst of a frightful akumatization, Alya has never had time to really consider it, or even actually experience it, but after she transforms, her senses are heightened and so are her nerves. Now that there's no exciting fight happening to burn the extra adrenaline or steal all her attention, she's twitchy and anxious and she sees and hears everything, and she doesn't know how to handle it. Almost desperate to focus on something to drown out the noise, Rena latches onto the only interesting thing around: Carapace.

She eyes his profile, and can't help but envy his seemingly effortless focus as he watches the city devotedly, though it doesn't take long for her interest to shift elsewhere. She carefully raises the hand over his shoulder to tug once, kind of hard, on his hood, and is not surprised when it doesn't budge.

"Hey--"

Rena swiftly releases her hold on his suit as his hand comes up to press down on his head. She rests a curled finger under her lip and takes a small step back, albeit sure to stay in his personal space. "So it doesn't come off either," she murmurs.

"Either?" he questions.

But Rena has moved on.

Her fingers grip the bridge of his goggles and give a light tug, confirming what she already knows, before wrapping delicately around his wrist, turning it over in her hand. Carapace doesn't have any time to react. Before he can stop her invasive ministrations, she's turning on her toes to glide behind his back, out of sight. The airy tingle left by her careful touch is easily blown away by the wind, as if she'd never touched him at all.

With a fox's cunning, she slips his shield from his back without a sound.

Carapace whirls around to see her holding it. "What are you doing? Give me my shield."

"I'm getting to know you," she says, inspecting the green weapon. "It's beats doing nothing."

"We weren't doing nothing," Carapace explains, "we were doing our jobs. Well, at least one of us was. I guess you were doing nothing."

Rena chuckles derisively. "Handsome, we were both doing nothing."

Carapace takes a moment to process her words. "Wh-- Handsome?"

The only sign the heroine gives of having heard him is the widening of her smile. She slips the shield onto her forearm and feels the weight of it; somehow, it's heavier than she thought. "How do you run around with this on your arm all the time?" she asks, genuinely curious.

"It's mine."

In spite of that being more of a point than an answer, Rena meets the hero's eye without a speck of shame, her fists poised comfortably on her hips, mouth pulled into a vicious smile. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were trying to get at something."

Carapace stands straighter. "What if I am?"

Oh. He's threatening her. . . kind of. That's a bit unexpected, though she supposes not totally unwarranted. In response, the fox slips the shield from her arm to hold it out vertically in her hand. She shakes it tauntingly. "You can always take it from me."

"You're not going to make it easy, are you?" Carapace glowers.

She rescinds the invitation, spinning the large disc on the tip of her finger. "What fun is easy?"

Without warning, the green hero wastes no time lunging at her.

Alya darts out of his wide reach with a surprised yelp. She snatches the shield from where it hangs in the air across her breast and tucks it beneath the arm farthest from him, not hesitating to dash to the farthest corner of the rooftop. Carapace swiftly turns on his heel to chase after her.

At his approach, a bolt of pleasure runs through her. Her heart races, and her entire body is poised as a tight coil of energy waiting to be released the moment Carapace gets close again. She twists out of the way of his outstretched hand when he does, purposefully providing an opportunity for him to get his shield back before taking it away too fast, then letting that tight coil go in a burst of new speed. She leaps over to the next roof, and doesn't stop running.

It takes a few miles, but Carapace catches up to her with a disgruntled growl. Once they're more or less side by side, he attempts to snatch his weapon back from Rena. Even while running, she doesn't make it any easier, and they end up dancing around each other for the shield as she literally trips him up and he retaliates in kind.

The two heroes' race along the Seine while trying to outwit each other continues this way, with Rena never quite losing hold of the shield, as they take their fight over a dark boutique, then an old flower shop, then a waterside market. Rena eventually leads them to the roof of a candlelit restaurant, whose outdoor patrons gawk at them as they leap down to tango on the thin metal gate outlining the patio for but a second before flitting soundlessly back overhead. Rena laughs when they return to the shadowed roofs and Carapace stumbles when she abruptly pivots on the ball of her foot to sprint in the complete opposite direction (don't want to stray too far from their post).

Compared to a civilian, the hero's speed and reflexes are very much above average. Superhuman, if you will. And as a civilian, Alya watched him fight and run around with the awe typical of someone who can't do superhuman things. But as Rena. . . he's amusingly underwhelming. Of course as a superhero she would be able to match his speed, negating the awe factor, but even then, his movements actually seem slower than her own. . . dare she say sluggish.

Either his heart's not in it, or she's just insanely agile. As the Fox holder, she supposes the latter isn't all that unbelievable.

Also, he's a turtle, so most of that EXP is going towards defense instead of speed, she guesses.

Despite it not being very eventful, Alya is content to let the chase continue. And it would have, if not for Carapace's surprising moment of cleverness.

Their footfalls are silent, so the only way she knows he's following her is by glancing back occasionally to spot him. Alya vaults onto yet another rooftop but neglects to look back this time because her eyes have settled on the dazzling water of the Seine. She idly wonders what Ladybug and Chat Noir are up to, if there's been any crime on their side of the city, if she's missed the signal because of her little game--

She doesn't know how he managed to get ahead of her, but one moment the path ahead is clear, and the next Carapace is there, broad reach and careful hands managing to slip his shield from her possession from the periphery, a proud grin on his face as shock passes over hers when they brush by each other and he takes the disk with him.

Alya freezes the moment the shield is no longer hers. She places a hand on her hip and breathes, realizing for the first time that she is short of breath. Perhaps the chase had gone longer than she thought. But a perfectly fine Carapace changes her mind; maybe she's just too worked up. Slightly irked, she notes this miraculous had never been so troublesome before. Why is she feeling so different now? Had she just been blind to it until now?

Carapace is quick to ease his weapon onto his forearm. He is reluctant, however, to be close to Rena again. Said heroine catches his eye when he steals a wary glance at her from the corner of his vision, halfway across the building they've ended on.

"I admit, I'm impressed," she confesses. "Though you wouldn't have gotten me if I wasn't so busy working."

"Working?" he says, nearly aghast.

"Watching for the signal. We are still on the clock, aren't we?"

Carapace frowns. "Where was that attitude, like, twenty minutes ago?"

Alya shrugs carelessly. "Hidden in plain sight."

Carapace just shakes his head, not taking her seriously at all. "Look, even if you never got distracted, I'd've still bested you. You've been going a hundred percent this entire time. I paced, you didn't. It was only a matter of time before you got too tired to outrun me anymore."

Huh. She hadn't realized she was pushing so hard. She was having too much fun, she supposes, and had gotten overconfident after he'd proven too slow to best her in the beginning. Alya narrows her eyes to herself as she considers that information a second longer; this narrative seems familiar. . .

"So?" Carapace begs eventually, still not really looking at her-- though he seems more relaxed, ironically, than before the whole chase. "What'd you learn about me?"

Alya turns to him. "You're interested?"

"I suffered through the investigation, I might as well know the results."

His soft face is still frowning, his hands curled into loose fists at his sides, but there's a twinkle in his eyes among the distrust. It looks like contentment, like curiosity. And he's calm, like usual, like nothing ever happened. He really wants to know.

Alya smirks mysteriously, intrigued; did he actually like the chase as much as she did? "I learned that I like you." she answers him.

A mix between a scoff and a laugh serves as Carapace's thoughts on that. He turns his back to her in favor of watching the waterway again, his shield still on his forearm where he can see it. Alya smiles gently at him in spite of his obvious new aversion to her.

He's keeping away from her, but the distance he's putting between them isn't like that. And it's no divide of civilian and hero either, not like with Alya Césaire. Carapace is wary of Rena, but if she decides to stand beside him, he will stay there next to her, fight with her. Knowing that makes her happy. Even if. . .

Alya, standing abreast to him now, watching the city with the antsy feeling in her chest quelled, feels her smile fall. Carapace is clearly adamant about keeping things professional. They can be equals, sure, but only professional equals. Friendly teammates. Close for the sake of harmonious cooperation, but nothing beyond that.

She can feel it in the way he stands next to her, the way he talks. It isn't the same easy friendship he fell into with Alya Césaire. There's no pointless, random small talk while they wait for Chat Noir's signal, not after their situation has eased. Just companionable silence.

Something in Alya squirms, unsatisfied, and squeals for retribution. It isn't the first time this desire has arisen while Trixx has possession of her, but it's stronger than it's been before.

She wants. . . to cause trouble.

She wants Carapace to do more than just acknowledge her. She wants him to look at her and interact with her outside of his professional boundaries. She's willing to force it out of him, just like she did with the keep-away race (albeit unintentionally). If it worked once it can work again, right?

But. . . she won't do that.

There's a time for everything.

Right now, it's time to focus on hero work.

"What the. . ."

The sound of Carapace's voice breaks Alya away from her thoughts.

"What?" she asks, blinking, curious.

"I dunno," Carapace huffs. He rubs a knuckle against his left eye. "I'm not sure what I saw."

"Where did you see it?"

"There," Carapace points in the direction of a dark alley not too far from the waterway. "I think. . . I think it's still there, somewhere."

Alya narrows her eyes in search of it, then narrows her eyes further when she spots it. "What the hell?"

"What? You can see it?" Carapace turns to her. "What is it?"

"Disturbing," Alya wrinkles her nose. And it is. She puts a hand behind Carapace's shoulder imploringly. "Come on, we need to check this out. I have a bad feeling."