Chapter 80: Morpho

Brynne Theroux is in her standard outfit of tattered jeans and a tank top with a frilly apron. She has a rather delicious curry in hand. She unlocks the bedroom of the apartment Dolores Gros is stationed out of. Inside is Master Fu. He's sitting crossed legged on the sparse bed, eyes closed, deep in meditation. The windows have been barred, there's several spell tags in the corners, and there's minimal other furnishings in the room, so it's clear that despite this being an apartment, he's a prisoner here. Brynne sets the curry on a tiny end table, where his untouched dinner has long-since grown cold. Brynne insists he needs to eat, but Master Fu doesn't even seem to hear her. Brynne takes this as an insult as he's turning down her food, and she's a masterful chef.

Byrnne leaves the curry and locks the door again. Zenon Theroux asks if there's been any change, and Brynne shakes her head. Zenon curses because 1) he really, really wants answers about where their father might have disappeared to and 2) despite these two siblings being antagonists, they don't actually want anyone to die. And if Master Fu continues to refuse to touch food and water…

That's when Dolores Gros herself enters the room, prepared to go to school for her job. Brynne relays to her boss that Master Fu still isn't eating and still isn't talking. Madam Gros is obviously getting impatient as they have a source of knowledge about the Eastern Order right in her grasp. She transforms into Ivory and storms into the locked bedroom to deal with the issue herself.

She interrogates Master Fu, barking questions at him, but he doesn't even so much as bat an eyelid. So she hits him with "Oblivion" so he'll forget they're enemies, forget his reluctance to speak, forget why he's opposing them. Yet even that doesn't snap Master Fu out of his trance—and it's clear that this isn't the first time Ivory has tried Oblivion on him. Ivory demands to know what happened to Grant Theroux, her fiancé. Did the Eastern Order capture him? Imprison him? Where? Yet Master Fu still doesn't move. Ivory gets so worked up that it takes both Brynne and Draco to pull her from the bedroom. And this is the first time ever we see her act in a way that is anything less than professional and manipulative.

Also the same morning, Jean Duparc wakes up. He recalls the previous night where the Western Order raided their practice in the graveyard. He also recalls how his allies on the B Team suspected him to be a traitor. But then he realizes that there's a gap in his memories. He has no idea how he got home that night. Which gets him thinking…this isn't the first time there is a gap in his memories, is there? Jean starts to get anxious. He logs into his computer and heads to Discord, but he sees yet another email about
"your account has been accessed from another device." Jean hesitates…and then logs off. Have I been compromised? He looks down at the turquoise glove on his hand, deeply uneasy. He peels it off and throws it into a desk drawer and locks it tight. He can't take the risk. (Or, at least he thinks he puts it in a drawer and locks it.)

Elsewhere in Paris, Giselle Winters-Blanchet is also preparing for school. She studying her mother's snow leopard bracelet, pondering everything adult Bunnyx told them last night. Lazare Carnot was a former butterfly user who empowered the seven items the B Team is using. Adult Bunnyx circulated them recently…but Giselle's mother had this very bracelet long before that. And Bunnyx hinted that maybe her mother left behind a clue.

Giselle slips into her parents' bedroom; a lot of her mother's possessions are still untouched. Giselle checks through the closet and under the bed while her father is in the kitchen, but she doesn't turn up anything out of the ordinary. She flips through a couple of pages of her mother's books, checks in the pockets of her coat, and peeks inside boxes. Still nothing. Chill, the snow leopard kwami, helps her look. And initially, he doesn't turn up anything either. However, because he's a kwami and can phase through things, he's the one who finds that the bottom dresser drawer has a false bottom. Giselle thanks him and pulls it out. She dumps the items on top and unclips the false bottom; underneath everything are several letters. That's when Leon Blanchet calls Giselle for breakfast. Giselle quickly reassembles the drawer, shoves her mother's letters into her backpack, and heads to eat (baguette with hot cocoa—yum).

Within the same time frame, Nathalie and Nicholas Sancoeur are talking together in the Agreste manor. They have yet to take down the Western Order's wards around Francoise Dupont High School out of concern that only taking those down will be suspicious. However, Nicholas cannot get close to the school as long as they're there, and Nathalie is still trying to figure out a solution. She has already called Nicholas off sick for the second day in a row.

Nicholas points out that Nathalie could enhance him as a senti monster. The peacock brooch can bestow all kinds of abilities on senti monsters, so she could give him the ability to be immune to wards. Nathalie doesn't like this idea as, in order to make it happen, she would basically have to break the tie clip that holds Nicholas's amok, undo the feather, and then re-enchant it with new abilities. She'd have to destroy and recreate Nicholas himself, and there's no guarantee he would be the same person—he'd easily lose all the experiences and memories he gained over Phase Three, and there's no telling what may happen to his personality. Nicholas says he's okay with that as he's a senti monster; it's his reason for being—to serve his master. (Part of this thinking does come from the fact that Nicholas doesn't have possession of his own amokitized item.) Nathalie, however, vehemently vetoes that idea. She doesn't want to lose Nicholas as a person—she doesn't want to lose her nephew, her family. Nicholas, however, doesn't realize that this is what she feels—he just sees it as a failure on his part as a senti monster. Nathalie tells Nicholas to occupy himself while she works on a solution to the problem. She's flipping through the digital grimoire, so she doesn't see Nicholas's sad expression when he leaves the room.

At the same time in the manor, Adrien Agreste still has Ladybug's cell phone. He's sealed it in a brown paper bag to prevent himself from peeking at it and learning anything about her identity. Adrien slides over to his computer after brushing his teeth, and to his relief, Ladybug has replied. She thanks him profusely about caring for her phone so that none of the Western Order could get it, and she makes an appointment to get it back from him. Adrien looks at the time, and it's way too close to school beginning for either of them to make it, so he suggests after their classes. Ladybug types back on Discord that that works for her, and the figure out a place. Ladybug is incredibly grateful the entire time, and Adrien is on cloud nine because he's so thrilled he was able to help her.

Students are arriving at Francoise Dupont High School. Guy Nigels has on a western-style t-shirt as he's excited because one of Louis L'amour's westerns has become a movie and is debuting that afternoon. Luka Couffaine is waiting for Marinette Dupain-Cheng when she arrives. They walk into the building together, locked in conversation, both laughing. Juleka Couffaine notices this and bites her lip. She wonders about Marinette's heart as she doesn't want her brother to be hurt. Roarr notices this and asks Juleka why she's stressed. Juleka mumbles her explanation, but Roarr doesn't accept it until she speaks up, coaching her to use her voice. Giselle Winters-Blanchet tries to find a quiet corner to read her mother's letters, but Nathaniel Kurtzberg finds her first. He explains that Viktor Vasiliev is starting a Star Wars Dungeons and Dragons-style campaign so that the DnD Club doesn't get closed. Would Giselle be interested? Nathaniel knows she loves Star Wars as much as him. Giselle is thrilled by the idea of playing as a custom made character in the Star Wars universe, but she doesn't know the rules of DnD. Nathaniel says that they can teach her, so Giselle decides to go along with it and attend their Session 0. Nathaniel wonders if she knows anyone else who would be interested. He's going to ask Marc Anciel. Giselle considers her two best friends, Raissa Deschamps and Meera Pugliese. But Raissa isn't into Star Wars, she just joins them out of friendship, and Meera is a Trekkie. Giselle wonders if it would be okay to invite someone from outside the school, and Nathaniel shrugs as it wouldn't hurt anything. So Giselle sends a text to her penpal, Vivica, who did join them for the Ahsoka Tano watch party a few chapters ago.

Lila Rossi is going around with a new lie, claiming some costume jewelry are actually valuable family heirlooms. Pierre Lefevre is the first to fall for it, and he compliments how lovely she looks with them on. Chloe Bourgeois rolls her eyes; she's actually the one who calls Lila out for lying as Chloe herself knows real and expensive jewelry when she sees it. However, Lila gets catty back and calls Chloe out about her parents' divorce and how Audrey left for American and a different daughter. This really, really hurts Chloe, though she masks it well, and simply walks away with a toss of her hair. Ivan Bruel walks to class with Mylene Haprele. Mr. Haprele watches them careful but acceptingly. He can see Ivan is a good guy who treats his daughter well. Le Chien Kim is texting Ondine, and Stella Tenebrae is doing cool down stretches from her usual jog to school. Rose Lavillant sends an ecard off to Prince Ali, as he's returning to his home country. She's tickled pink as she does so…and Jean Duparc doesn't even notice as he's so distracted in his thoughts. Jean's friend, Jakeel Aristide, notices that Jean is wearing just one glove and mentions it. Jean jerks upward in surprise; he left it locked in a drawer…or so he thought. He knows he shouldn't be wearing his magical item because of Hawk Moth. Jean shoves it into his backpack, his anxiety escalating.

Raissa Deschamps actually seeks out Adrien Agreste as she's wondering where Nicholas Sancoeur is. Adrien is surprised she's talking to him as they haven't spoken a word this whole storyline, but he tells her that Nicholas is home sick again. Raissa is bummed as she wanted to hang out with him as she sees him as an increasingly close friend…and maybe more. At the very least, she enjoys studying with him as he can keep her focused, something she struggles with. Rachel Beauchene (who is also Ursa) strikes up a quiet conversation with Cameran Tyler (who is also All-Star Rex) about how much they secretly cannot stand Ladybug and Cat Noir. Alya Cesaire meets up with Marinette. She remarks about how Marinette hasn't replied to her texts. Marinette admits she lost her phone and has to go pick it up latter that day. Theo Barbot waits by the entrance until the very last minute as his girlfriend, Mireille Caquet, usually arrives late from her weather forecasting job. (Aurore Beaureal is with her too, but she heads to class first to give the couple their space.) They confirm their plans to do dinner that evening for Mireille's birthday. Both are looking forward to it and then split for their respective classrooms.

((All students are here: (( photos . app . goo . gl / cgLSrNi71rxfep9e8 )).))

The school day ends. Marinette and Adrien both make excuses to wiggle out of talking with their friends. They sneak off to transform and then head off to meet each other so that Cat Noir can return Ladybug's phone. Giselle Winters-Blanchet gets a text back from Vivica, who is thrilled to be invited for their Star Wars DnD campaign. She says she's going to do her best to make time in her school/work schedule to attend their Session 0. Giselle relays this to Nathaniel Kurtzberg, who just asked Marc Anciel to join them too. Marc admits he's concerned that playing DnD will take too much time from writing, but Nathaniel's able to convince him to join. They then pass word onto Fumikage Tokoyami and Viktor Vasiliev, who are relieved that the club won't shut down. Marie Chauveau gets alongside Felix Graham de Vanily as he's trying to leave school and she has a crush on him. She asks him about the cello on his back and if he plays. Felix, rather curtly and sarcastically, tells her that he likes carrying around his cello for weight training. Marie laughs, thinking it's a joke, but Felix just walks frostily away.

Theo Barbot is able to meet up with Mireille Caquet, who got the afternoon free from her broadcasting duties by asking Aurore Beaureal to fill in for her. The two girls are talking when Theo approaches with flowers for Mireille's birthday. Aurore greets Theo and then heads to work. Mireille takes Theo's hand, and they walk to his scooter where he drives her to the nice restaurant he made reservations for.

Things are wonderful for the young couple until they get to the restaurant, and the hostess gives them quite the look. She then shows them to their table but hustles off at a fast clip. Theo notices her whispering and pointing with her manager. He gets anxious, but Mireille brings him back to the fact that they're here on a date, and he blocks it from his mind.

However, when the waiter comes to take their orders, he comments about their ages. "How old are you anyway?" Mireille gets sassy with, "it's not any of your business, but I just turned fifteen, and my boyfriend is seventeen. We go to school together." Theo is surprise as it is completely unlike Mireille to get sassy with anyone. Mireille admits she's just tired of hearing Theo getting harassed because he looks older and has to shave so often. Her new sapphire earrings glint.

Elsewhere, Ladybug and Cat Noir meet up on a quiet rooftop. Cat Noir hands Ladybug her cell phone, still stapled into a brown paper bag. Ladybug admits she's really touched by Cat Noir respecting her identity like this. However, she does feel incredibly guilty as she knows his identity and hasn't told him she knows yet. She knows she owes the truth to her partner. So after thanking him, she tries to tell him the truth. However, her words tangle on her tongue, just like they do when she's Marinette. And Cat Noir is so desensitized to things like this that he doesn't even notice. However, Cat Noir is a bit reluctant to leave Ladybug as he enjoys spending time with her, friend or lover regardless. So he changes the topic of conversation, asking her about her taste in music as it's on his mind after hearing that her ringtone is his (Adrien's) piano solo. The two begin talking normally.

At the restaurant with Mireille and Theo, things continue to go well until food is served. As they eat, Theo and Mireille begin to hear the growing whisper from the nearby tables as the gossipers progressively get louder and louder. They call Theo "gross" and "perverted" and mention how "disgusting" it is that an adult, someone out of college, is dating a middle school student. This, of course, upsets both as not only is Theo getting pegged for much older than he actually is, but Mireille is getting put off at getting pegged for much younger than she actually is even though the fact she's a high school student is pretty well known since she is a celebrity.

It comes to a head when the manager asks to speak with Mireille alone. He asks if she's okay, if she needs him to make any phone calls, if she'd like any help. However, he's not all that discreet, and Theo winds up being able to hear every word said. He stands up and approaches, saying he'd like his check and that he and Mireille will be leaving. The manager insists he should stay, and it's not-so-subtly implied that the cops might be coming to sort through the situation.

Which makes both Theo and Mireille pretty irate. Theo pulls out his student ID to prove he's only seventeen, which earns a remark from a busybody at a nearby table. "Pfft, a fake idea. What an animal, preying on a cute, innocent girl like that. Pig."

And that's the exact moment Theo Barbot is akumatized. This earns some panicked alarm from the other diners as well as the hostess pulling the Akuma Alert, please evacuate message. Mireille pleads with Theo to keep his sanity, but he's too pissed off to care. He hears Hawk Moth's voice (which again is Nathalie speaking through a synthesizer). "Give me the miraculous of all who oppose you, and I will let you have your revenge to the fullest." Theo agrees and is turned into Morpho.

Morpho's first target is the gossiping busybody. "You think I'm the pig?" He turns the busybody into a pig by using a sculptor's chisel much like a magic wand. He also has a rubber hammer, a precision ax, and a pick—the kind of tools Theo Barbot uses daily as a sculptor.

Seeing a customer turned into a pig causes a complete panicked exodus from the restaurant. Only Mireille remains behind, trying to appeal to her boyfriend's better nature. Morpho turns on her and for a moment it looks as if he might turn her into an animal too. However, he strokes her cheek and from the bottom of his heart he admits he doesn't want to hurt her. He then tells her to remain here while he deals with everyone who ever harassed them. He then leaps out of the window, right through the glass, and into the street.

Of course, making a scene like that causes a dozen people to send Akuma Alerts. Which is exactly how the previous Hawk Moth operated, which is why Nathalie Sancoeur did it, to continue to mimic his style and provide an alibi for Gabriel Agreste. It doesn't take long at all for both Ladybug and Cat Noir's weapons/cell phones to start buzzing. They take one look and then bolt towards the conflict, as they were still together, talking and hanging out.

While on the streets, Morpho wastes no time in turning Xavier Ramier into a pigeon, Mayor Bourgeois into a fat cat, and Otis Cesaire into a chimpanzee. That's when Ladybug and Cat Noir ambush him, trying to find, steal, and break his akumatized item before he realizes that they're there. However, Xavier Ramier as a pigeon is startled by their arrival and takes flight, which alerts Morpho to their presence and allows him to dodge just in time.

Ladybug and Cat Noir try to flank him. Cat Noir provides a distraction, asking Morpho why he's so worked up while Ladybug attempts to bind him. However, Morpho doesn't fall for it and leaps atop a lamppost, targeting them both with his wand/chisel. Cat Noir prepares to defend himself with his baton while Ladybug activates her Lucky Charm. Morpho sees his moment as Ladybug throws her yo-yo upward and targets her. Cat Noir is caught off-guard as Morpho's body language implied the black cat was being targeted. Ladybug all but disappears in Morpho's spell smoke, and her Lucky Charm hits the ground by itself. Cat Noir all but loses it and charges Morpho at point blank range. He's skilled enough using his baton as a sword that he actually drives Morpho back.

However, that's when Cat Noir hears Ladybug's voice begging him to calm down. Cat Noir looks around, confused, which gives Morpho the space he needs to retreat. Cat Noir attempts to follow, but he feels something pinching his ear. Absentmindedly, Cat Noir goes to swat it, but he hear Ladybug shriek "don't crush me!"

Cat Noir pulls his hand back and sees a ladybug beetle on his palm. "L-Ladybug…?" Ladybug's voice comes from the bug, and she admits to being transformed into this tiny state. Which helps the duo instantly deduce what Morpho's power is. But it also proves to be a major problem as Ladybug can't do too much as a bug. It's worse, as she admits her earrings have stopped beeping. They're likely part of her now, which mean she likely won't be able to turn back unless Morpho is defeated. Cat Noir promises he'll save her and starts to pursue Morpho, but Ladybug bites the tip of his finger and tells him to be prudent. If he gets turned into an animal, they won't win. He needs help. And lacking fingers, Ladybug can't call for it—it has to be Cat Noir. Cat Noir takes a deep breath, sees her reasoning, and begins to text into his baton. Once that's settled, he scoops up Ladybug's Lucky Charm, places the Ladybug-bug on his headband, and hurries after Morpho.

Of course, all of the A Team and all of the B Team have logged into their Discord, keeping in tune with what's going on so that they can help when need be. Firefly/Nom de Plume, Dauphin/King Monkey, and Alpha/Viperion are actually toggling between both servers without anyone else the wiser. As the news broadcast airs, Nadja Chamack winds up a little too close to the conflict and gets turned into a parrot, live on stream. This helps the golden duo's allies correctly deduce Morpho's power as well. Which instantly causes Firefly, Honey Bee, Dauphin, and Dauphine to voluntarily bow out as getting turned into an insect or a strictly aquatic animal would help no one.

That's when they get BUZZED with Cat Noir's request for help. It's clear that Cat Noir was thinking along the same lines as he asks for King Monkey and Tigress to back them up. Le Chien Kim/King Monkey is simply elated, jumping around and cheering with Xuppu. Juleka/Tigress freezes up and has to be encouraged by Roarr to move. Ryuko makes a comment that even if she got turned into an animal, she'd be a dragon—and Morpho facing down a dragon, well, he doesn't stand a chance. She wonders why she wasn't chosen. Meanwhile, Tigress and King Monkey are not the only ones to get a message. Cat Noir also sends a private message off to one more team member on behalf of Ladybug.

That's all the time Cat Noir has as he was typing while he was running, and he comes across Morpho again, who has just turned Philippe into a penguin. Cat Noir knows he has to stall until their allies arrive and do what he can to minimize civilian casualties. While Ladybug's "Miraculous Ladybug" does right what went wrong, it's not 100% guarantee that she'll be able to activate it (case in point, Mad Hare). And even though it resolves physical damage, people still wind up dealing with the psychological aspects of being the victim of an akuma victim. So Cat Noir engages Morpho as close as he can, doing all he can to prevent Morpho from using his chisel/wand by attacking relentlessly.

It looks bad for Morpho when King Monkey and Tigress join Cat Noir, weapons ready, with Morpho trapped in the middle. Tigress quickly asks where Ladybug is, and Cat Noir points to the red beetle clinging to his headband. He theorizes that if King Monkey can disturb Morpho's powers, then the people turned into animals will go back to being themselves. King Monkey agrees and uses "Uproar," creating a rubber ducky. Hawk Moth coaches Morpho not to let that happen, and he lunges forward to stop King Monkey, only to be detained by Tigress, who meets his advance barehanded and with a snarl. She unleashes her Intimidate roar to further weakness the akumatized victim.

Cat Noir dives in and grapples with Morpho's other arm and shouts at King Monkey to go. King Monkey throws the rubber ducky, which does destabilize Morpho's powers. However, it doesn't react the way Cat Noir was hoping as it causes an uncontrolled blast of transformative powers. Everyone on the block is turned into an animal, including Tigress getting turned into a tiger, King Monkey getting turned into an orangutan, and Cat Noir getting turned into a black cat.

Of course, this means that Morpho is now dealing with a fully grown tiger, but he surprisingly handles Tiger-Tigress well due to his augmented speed and dodging. Cat-Cat Noir sees his moment and leaps onto Morpho's face, claws extended. It takes Morpho a moment to peel Cat Noir off by the scruff of his neck.

That's when Ryuko lands down in the middle of the street. She declares that she knew she should have been invited along—after all, dragon. She's not alone. Blue Ox, Viperion, Nom de Plume, Buck, Pigella, and Pegasus arrive alongside her. Viperion says that it looks as if Ladybug and Cat Noir could use help, which is why they're all there. Morpho has to leap onto the top of a statue to get away from Tigress's claws while he preps his chisel-wand to target the new heroes. Now, his powers are still incredibly disrupted thanks to King Monkey (who is climbing after him), so there's a lot of misfires, including turning a trash can into a crocodile-shaped bin and a passing-by pigeon into a dragonfly. But it comes down to a test of dodging and evading with weapons and spells in the air, and one by one Morpho manages to turn the heroes into animals as well. Which leaves him dealing with not only a tiger, black cat, and monkey on his heels but also a dragon, an oxen, a snake, a rooster, a goat, a pig, and a horse too. And the whole landscape looks like a sculpture zoo thanks to Uproar.

However, Morpho gloats that they'll all be stuck that way and that the only way to turn back into humans is for surrender. He and/or Hawk Moth would transform them back into humans and immediately take their miraculous, using their friends as hostages in the case they tried anything rash.

That lasts until a tiny, little red bug jets forward and stabs Morpho right in one eye. He recoils, and Rena Rouge leaps out of the illusion to steal and break his akumatized item. You see, the arrival of Ryuko and the others didn't happen. Rena Rouge was the only one there, casting a Mirage of her allies and their subsequent transformation in animals.

With the akuma free, Morpho turns back into Theo Barbot. However, Tigress, Ladybug, Cat Noir, and King Monkey, as well as any unfortunate civilians, are all still trapped as animals. It's Rena Rouge who picks up Ladybug's Lucky Charm. Ladybug-bug lands on her wrist, and together they throw the item into the air for "Miraculous Ladybug!" This finally does turn everyone back into humans as well as resolving the collateral damage. Now human, Ladybug is finally able to purify the akuma. All the heroes present "Pound It!"

Ladybug and Cat Noir personally thank the heroes for their help, and Ladybug says she appreciates Cat Noir's quick thinking and planning in this situation. She tells him that it suits him much better than getting reckless every time someone he cares about is in danger. Ladybug is being rather warm towards Cat Noir, which does cause Rena Rouge to raise an eyebrow as she knows all about Marinette's true romantic feelings but doesn't realize Cat Noir actually is Adrien. Tigress thanks them for believing in her when she didn't believe in herself, and King Monkey tells them that they'll have to "play again" together sometime. The supporting heroes depart. Rena Rouge lingers just a moment longer to make sure that the golden duo are okay, then she leaves too.

Ladybug and Cat Noir offer to help Theo back where he came from, but he insists he's fine. He thanks them, apologizes for everything he put them through, and heads off to find Mireille. Ladybug and Cat Noir start to say their good-byes to each other when Cat Noir stops Ladybug. He stammers a bit and then points out that they have solved all the riddles from Master Fu with no more clues to go on (and the master himself being abducted) as well as Ladybug getting her cell phone returned. So they have no reason to really talk outside of superheroics. But… But Cat Noir would love the chance to continue to text and email casually with her. He enjoys their evening conversations. Ladybug admits she does to and that she doesn't want them to stop. She tells him it's okay to text her. But then she realizes what she just admitted and insists it's a "friendly professional conversation" so that they can keep in touch better to help their allies and find where the Western Order took Master Fu. Cat Noir goes along with this as he knows that they have been bonding a lot by talking. They leave.

Things also wind down on the Discord, but one character didn't log in. Chip Bluestone. Jean Duparc had yet again locked his turquoise glove away only to find himself wearing it later in the day. Between that and the birthstone theme and the gaps in his memory and the log-in warnings on his Discord account, Jean reluctantly comes to the conclusion that he, himself, has been compromised. Whatever power the glove has, it isn't safe to use—and he can't get rid of it. Someone is using him, and that person isn't an ally. That person is likely looking to harm the B Team. And Jean cannot allow that. Because the B Team are all his friends.

He decides there's only one thing left to do. He logs in under his Chip Bluestone alias and types a long good-bye message to them, telling them that they were right and that he is compromised. However, he never willingly would betray them; he hopes they believe him. He feels it's not safe to be around him, especially since the glove is following him now. So he's withdrawing from the B Team; it's for the best. He thanks them for their time and welcoming him in. But now…it's best if they don't get near him; they could get hurt. He says good-bye and deletes his account so that no one else can access it.

Froppy notices this immediate and is frantically typing a message to him, but he's gone before she can send it. She had tried to urge him not to go—that they would help him, break whatever hold an antagonist has on him. He's a friend, he's one of them, and they want to help. But Jean doesn't get the message. Alpha picks up the Discord a moment later, insisting to his allies that this is not the end. He promises that they will save Chip from whatever influence is controlling him.

Meanwhile, Theo Barbot is still looking for Mireille Caquet. He expected her to still be near the restaurant where he was akumatized. But she's gone. He leaves the restaurant a bit frantic, searching for her, with his cell phone to his ear as he tries to call her. But Mireille doesn't pick up. Theo practically runs down the street.

The camera pans up to the roof of the restaurant where Mireille is looking down at Paris with a strange expression on her face. It's not clear if she sees Theo down below or not, but her cell phone is obviously ringing, and she's making no attempt to answer it. The sapphire earrings glimmer, and Mireille drops to one knee while clutching her head. She gnashes her teeth in anger. "This is all their fault. It's all Hawk Moth's fault Theo got hurt. It's all Ladybug and Cat Noir's fault; they attacked Theo even though he was just a victim of Hawk Moth. It's all their faults!" Power surges around her.

To be continued in Chapter 81: Selkie-shi…