To Lyger 0: Dhuan doesn't actually do magic per se; isn't it enough for him to be a were-bear?


"You are clear on the plan, correct?"

John nodded firmly, his mouth set in a thin line. His stomach clenched. Ever since the rockslide that had given the others their opening to infiltrate the camp, he had been on edge, waiting for someone to see them, for the miraculous abusers to uncover their plan. Were they doing the right thing? The Prior thought so. All miraculous use is abuse: The miraculous abusers were risking the balance of the universe by meddling with forces they didn't understand, with which no human being was supposed to tamper. And if the Tarasque had been called into being because of the miraculous, then it was their responsibility to stop the miraculous abusers before it was too late. On the plane ride to Paris, he had watched footage of the other Beasts, and there had been miraculous abusers present at every battle he had seen – all except the one at their own temple. But why had the Ox emerged there? The Dark Acolytes of the Mundane had no miraculous in their temple – did they?

Next to him, Jake folded his arms, his face set in concentration. "Of course," he assured the Hermit. "We'll wait for your signal."

Around John, the other three Dark Acolytes nodded their agreement. John swallowed anxiously, wishing that he had taken the time to eat lunch before now. This was to be their most audacious move yet. The Prior had requested a meeting with Ladybug and Cat Noir, leaving their tent on the edge of the camp unguarded. Alaina had been watching them when they left Hero Town for their meeting with the Prior, and neither of them had been wearing the Stingray Miraculous; it didn't take much of a leap to guess that it was hidden somewhere in their tent. And even if it wasn't, they could find any number of things there. Caravela, the holder of the Jellyfish Miraculous, had left the camp a little before noon; the team still outside the camp would have to deal with her.

They would almost certainly have their hands full just with the targets inside the camp.

The Hermit looked John and Jake in the eye. "We are counting on you," he reminded them. "We only have this one shot at getting this miraculous, and once we take that shot, we will lose the opportunity forever."

"We won't let you down," John promised. He swallowed hard against his anxiety. Their last mission had been a success… but that hadn't involved breaking into the lead miraculous abusers' tent!

The Hermit glanced up at the other three Dark Acolytes. "As soon as the Prior gives the signal, I will create the diversion. That is when you act."

"We understand." Margot rolled her eyes. "You've only gone over it a dozen times…"

"And your hesitation almost got you caught within your first five minutes here," retorted the Hermit, frowning. He folded his arms, staring at her intently. "If we are to stop the miraculous abusers and restore balance – if we are to take down Ladybug and Cat Noir, and the other miraculous abusers, and their temple – there can be absolutely no mistakes!"

"Relax," Bobby told him. "We know what we're doing. We managed to narrow down this miraculous temple, after all."

The Hermit folded his arms and glanced up at the sun. "It's time. Get to your places."

As the other three jogged directly north toward where the temple had to be, Jake started moving east. John hesitated, frowning. The Hermit gave him an expectant look. "Do you have a concern with the plan?" he asked, his mouth set in a thin line.

John swallowed nervously. "No – of course not, sir," he answered quickly. Jake paused near the makeshift shower hut on the edge of the "Villains' Ghetto" and turned to watch them, a nervous look in his eyes.

"Then what?"

John cleared his throat. "Um… it's just… do the Dark Acolytes have any miraculous at our temple? We don't, do we?"

"Why would you ask something like that?"

John's breathing hitched. "I was just wondering," he began. "The other Beasts all appeared near miraculous, right?"

"Yes…"

"So then why did the Ox appear near our temple?"

The Hermit scoffed. "Obviously because the miraculous abusers assaulted our temple last year, and this was the universe's way of avenging us on them." He folded his arms. "That is why the Ox appeared – it is why the Tarasque appeared: the universe's counterbalance to the miraculous abusers. Understood?"

John snapped to attention. "Yes, sir." The Hermit turned and walked briskly away from them toward the main dining pavilion. John watched him for a moment before sighing and moving to join Jake.

"Dude, what was that about?" Jake demanded, frowning.

John shrugged. "I was just thinking about the Ox," he explained. "If the Beasts show up where there are miraculous, then why our temple? We weren't using miraculous…"

Jake hummed. "I suppose that's a good question," he mused drawing the words out.

"I mean, the Hermit said it was the miraculous abusers last year who awoke it…" John frowned.

"Maybe it just took the thing a while to emerge?"Jake wondered. He quirked an eyebrow. "But we can try puzzling through that after we do this," he pointed out. "I'd rather not be distracted while we're sneaking into the miraculous abusers' camp…"

John nodded firmly and glanced up at the sky. The sun was just barely reaching its highest point – if everything went according to plan, the attacks would begin in only a few minutes. Carefully, John let the way through the camp in the general direction of the section where the Heroes of Paris were staying, trying to take a circuitous route, moving quickly but not fast enough to arouse suspicion. Passing la Gymnaste and Killer Bee walking along the perimeter of Hero Town, they paused behind a tent, waiting and watching for the Guardian Initiates who were almost certain to be prowling along the edge of Hero Town. They didn't have to wait long before an Initiate passed them. John watched carefully until the boy reached the far end of the "block" before sprinting across the way and slipping inside an unoccupied tent along the edge of the section, Jake hot on his heels. No sooner had they hidden inside the tent than they heard a couple of the miraculous abusers walking past, speaking quietly. Only after the voices had died away did John poke his head outside and check. He could see Olivet speaking with one of the miraculous abusers and a Guardian Initiate; on the far side of them, only barely visible in the shadow of one of the tents, crouched Alaina and another Dark Acolyte. Swallowing back his nervousness, John pulled back and held a finger to his lips before pointing deeper into Hero Town. Jake nodded seriously and crept across the small tent to glance outside through the canvas flap. In moments, he was gone.

They had to get into position before the signal came. Steeling himself, John checked once more to make sure Olivet and the miraculous abuser were otherwise occupied before doing the same on the other side of the tent. Seeing nobody, he rolled across the narrow space between the tents on the other side of the avenue and came up into a crouch next to Jake.

They were in.

Bending low to stay below the tops of the tents, John and Jake sprinted between tents, pausing at each corner and listening for movement before crossing the open space and slipping deeper into the camp. They were two-thirds of the way through Hero Town when someone or something flew overhead. John froze, hardly daring to breathe until the shadow had passed them in the direction of Hero Town's medical tent. Looking up and down the line of tents, John could see more and more of the Heroes of Paris milling around. He dropped lower, simultaneously cursing the lack of shadows in which to hide. Carefully, moving in bursts and hiding whenever possible, they crossed Hero Town, moving ever closer to the imposing cliffs going up above them.

"Where is it…?" muttered Jake at they reached the final row of tents. Frowning, he scanned the three tents in front of them, which had been placed right up against the sheer cliff. He could hear quiet voices coming from the tent on the right; the other two tents were silent.

John shrugged. "Not that one," he whispered, pointing to the right. After a moment's hesitation, he pushed aside the flap of the middle tent and slipped inside. Clothing lay strewn across the ground, with a single cot in the middle of the tent. A trunk sat on one side of the cot on which was a small pile of shirts that reeked of cheese. Cautiously, John started searching around the tent, pushing aside the clothing and shaking out the blanket.

"How can we know for sure?" Jake wondered, brushing the shirts off of the trunk and opening it up. Inside were a few clean pieces of clothing, along with a package of cookies. He frowned, kicking the trunk in frustration.

John groaned. "Not sure…" Quickly, they searched the tent from one side to the other, but without success. Finally, John straightened up and folded his arms, frowning. "If it is their tent, they're too smart to leave anything lying around with a name on it…"

"And they have their miraculous on them…" agreed Jake, pursing his lips. "But I thought we might at least find that Stingray."

John nodded and kicked the trunk himself. Inside, something clinked against the side of the trunk. The quiet voices that had been audible from the next tent suddenly cut off, and John held his breath for a long minute, listening intently. After several moments, the voices resumed, and his heart began beating again.

Jake let out a breath. "That was too close," he whispered, wiping his forehead.

Brows furrowed, John knelt in front of the trunk and pushed the clothing aside to find the bottom of the trunk. As he worked, the smell of old cheese intensified, and he wrinkled his nose in disgust. At the bottom, however, something circular and vaguely metallic glinted in the little light filtering in through the canvas. "I wonder…" Carefully, he grabbed the pin.

A flash of navy blue emanated from the pin, and a small Kwami with a flattened head appeared from it. "Hello!" he squeaked. "I'm Chenn!" John nearly jumped out of his skin and nearly dropped the miraculous. Chenn looked up at him curiously, his head cocked to one side. "Are you going to be my new holder?"

John's jaw dropped. "Me? A miraculous abuser!?"

The Kwami cocked his head in confusion. "'Abuser'? I have no idea what you mean – unless you mean my last holder," he added, frowning. "He wasn't quite as altruistic as I had hoped he might be. But, then–"

"Shut up!" John hissed urgently, looking around in a panic. The Kwami's mouth continued to move, but no words came out. Chenn cocked his head, looking up at John and then around at the tent. John stared at him in surprise, matching the expression on Jake's face.

"Come on, let's get the hell out of here!" muttered Jake, glancing out the tent flap. Over his head, John could see smoke drifting up into the sky from a spot closer to the center of the camp. Closer to them, loud voices were shouting near the edge of Hero Town. There was a flash of brilliant white light, followed by a crack of thunder. Jake gulped nervously.

John nodded and slipped the miraculous into his pocket, along with the Kwami. Pulling out his grappling hook, he pushed aside the tent's back flap, which abutted right up against the cliff face. Swinging his grappling hook in a wide circle as he played the line out to its full length to build up momentum, he threw it for the projection on the top of the cliff as Jake did the same. It caught snugly, and he gave it a testing tug before grabbing onto it and pulling himself up as quickly as he could. Over his shoulder, he could see two people flying around near the center of the camp, one of whom turned in their direction. But, with a burst of speed he reached the top of the cliff and sprinted across the road, diving for the cover of the trees, Jake at his side.

Collapsing onto the ground just inside the tree line, John gasped for breath. Next to him, Jake leaned against the closest trunk, clutching a stitch in his side. Glancing back behind them at the flying figures, John groaned. "No going back there…"