Chapter 85: Oxforte

It's either super late at night or super early in the morning. At this hour, it's hard to tell which is which. Marinette Dupain-Cheng is still awake. She's just about translated what she needs out of the grimoire on Master Fu's cracked tablet in order to cure Plagg, who was struck down by Angelica's arrow two chapters ago. But she's now incredibly nervous and also sleep deprived as she hasn't slept in like 48 hours. She knows she'll actually have to perform acupuncture on Plagg, which is what is making her anxious. She goes through all of her sewing needles, evaluating their different gauges and making sure they're disinfected. Tikki encourages her, and Marinette then does her best to treat Plagg.

She's sweating and her hands are shaking, but she follows the meridians. Plagg's eyes open, and he says he wants to eat cheese. Marinette is so relieved tears leak, and even Tikki embraces Plagg, though he just winces as he is still recovering. Plagg then realizes he's not with Adrien and wonders why he's with Ladybug. Marinette explains how Cat Noir trusted her to treat him; she then asks if Plagg knows who attacked him. Plagg shakes his head. Marinette tells Plagg to take it easy while she sneaks downstairs and gets him a midnight snack.

When Marinette is gone, Plagg begins to drift around the room. It doesn't take him long to notice all of the Adrien Agreste photos. He points and raises an eye to Tikki. Tikki motions to him, pretty much confirming Marinette's crush but also urging Plagg to keep his mouth shut on the issue. Plagg shrugs, amused. Marinette returns a bit later with some cheese and macarons for the kwamis. They help themselves, and when they look at Marinette, she's fallen asleep across her desk. Plagg remarks that he really does need to get back to Cat Noir, but Tikki explains their concerns that Adrien has been compromised. Plus, Plagg is still pretty weak. She encourages him to spend the rest of the night with them and let Marinette contact Cat Noir in the morning to see if it's safe to return the ring. Plagg, being on the lazy side, doesn't really protest too much and makes himself comfortable in Marinette's scrap fabric bin.

Morning rolls around, and Sabine wakes Marinette up for school. Marinette is flustered that she overslept, and her neck is sore from sleeping over her desk. She flies around the room, getting dressed, and then she sees Plagg and remembers. She grabs her phone off of the charger and immediately texts Cat Noir with the good news about Plagg.

At the Agreste manor, Adrien scrambles out of bed the moment his phone rang. He only slept lightly, worried about Plagg as well. He's thrilled and relieved to learn that Ladybug was able to cure the kwami, and he thanks her immediately and wishes Plagg well. Ladybug types back, suggesting that she drop the ring off in a secret location for Cat Noir to pick up before school—as long as she thinks it's safe to do so. Cat Noir needs to make sure he's not being followed.

This is where Adrien hesitates. He has no idea how Plagg was struck down or who did it. He has no idea if his identity has been compromised or not. He looks around for spyders, peering through his window, but he finds none. But that still doesn't prove he hasn't been ousted. Maybe they're watching me to try to learn milady's identity too! Adrien replies to Ladybug, asking her to watch over Plagg just a little longer—at least until they can confirm if he's being spied on. Ladybug replies back, promising she will—and that she'll help him figure out if anyone knows who he is. Adrien lets off a thin smile when he reads this. He's still worried about the whole situation, but it is a comfort to know that both Carapace and Ladybug have his back. He's not alone any more.

Students are again arriving at Francoise Dupont High School. No thanks to Labyrinth the prior day, yesterday's afternoon classes were all canceled. This forced Viktor Vasiliev to reschedule his Star Wars DnD Session 0 for this afternoon. Most everyone is gossiping about the craziness that was Labyrinth, and Lila Rossi is playing up her (mock) heroic efforts. Miss Bustier is optimistic and naïve enough to believe her, and she congratulates Lila on turning her life around. Juleka Couffaine and Rose Lavillant make it a priority to find each other early in the morning. They put their heads together and whisper eagerly about being Tigress and Pigella with Roarr and Daizzi occasionally popping in on the conversation. Speaking of kwamis, Luka Couffaine winds up having to mediate a jealousy fight between Luuna and Sass. Cameran Tyler and Guy Nigels arrive together (since Guy is hosting Cameran). They're on a video call with Cameran's family in America, showing his parents around the school. Guy is doing his best to practice his English during the call. He actually strikes a chord with Mr. Tyler as they both love Westerns. Things work out so well that Mr. and Mrs. Tyler actually say they'd love to host Guy the next year if they can work out the finances. Guy and Cameran high five. They then hurry to find their other mutual friend, Tristan Fortier, to share the good news.

Tristan Fortier congratulates them, but he is a bit pensive and falls silent as the conversation goes on around him. He's still mulling over what happened to him the previous day. Ursa saved him; Ursa helped him through the maze. As far as he knew, Ursa is an enemy of Ladybug and Cat Noir—thus she's an enemy of all of Paris. So why would she help him? (She's his girlfriend, but he doesn't know that.) Then, to make things more complex, Blue Ox attacked her. She didn't do anything wrong, at least not that time—she was actually trying to help a civilian. So why would Blue Ox, a known ally of Ladybug and Cat Noir, attack her when she was actively protecting an innocent? It makes no sense.

Adrien Agreste arrives with Felix Graham de Vanily and Nicholas Sancoeur. It doesn't take long for both Gilles Chastain and Raissa Deschamps to want to speak with Nicholas. Adrien joins up with Nino Lahiffe and whispers to him the news about Plagg's condition. Nino and Wayzz are both glad Plagg is better. Adrien then asks Nino to help him keep an eye out, just in case he has anyone on his tail. Nino agrees. He asks if Adrien has any idea about how this happened, and Adrien doesn't. Though it might be connected with either an akuma victim or a miraculous user—and if it's the latter, Ladybug is going to attempt to translate the Western Order's powers out of the grimoire for answers.

While Nicholas chats with Gilles and Raissa, his eyes fall on Chloe Bourgeois as she passes, her ear glued to her phone. Her identity as Queen Scorpion is known to both Nicholas and Nathalie. She could be useful to us. The only problem is all the wards around her home and school. Nicholas is willing to risk it to get closer to Chloe, or steal her phone again, or otherwise follow her back to Ivory. However, Nathalie is unwilling to risk Nicholas in any of those endeavors, and Nicholas himself doesn't understand why.

Giselle Winters-Blanchet arrives a bit later than she usually does. She notices that Raissa is off talking to Nicholas and her other friend, Meera, has gotten distracted trying to photograph moths with her phone. So Giselle finds a corner of the library, pulls out her mother's letters, and begins to read. She already established her mother had been in communication with someone in Canada (where she immigrated from) for years. And as Giselle begins to read, her eyes go wide. Giselle learns her mother was actually sent to Paris during her college years specifically to research magic. Namely, she was sent there by "the Order"—and it doesn't take Giselle long to realize that "the Order" was an Order than revolved around magic. Mom knew all about magic? Mom knew all about miraculous? As far as she can glean, Giselle learned that "the Order" had ties to someone in France (or possibly greater Europe) who also knew magic and had a magical item. Mrs. Winters (then just Ms. Winters) was to make contact with this person in order to strength the relationship between the European magic user and "the Order." But that all changed when she met Leon Blanchet.

The bell rings, and Giselle is forced to stuff the letters into her backpack again and attend class. Everyone heads to their classrooms with Aurore Beaureal and Mireille Caquet arriving later, after their morning job. Tristan Fortier slowly makes his way to class, his brain in a quagmire. His body language is notably different from what it usually is, and of all people, Madam Gros picks up on this. After all, she did do a psyche evaluation of the entire school, so she has a pretty good read on everyone's personalities. As Tristan trudges to class, she asks him what's on his mind. Tristan hems and haws and hesitates an answer, but then poses her a "hypothetical." "What if the people you thought were the bad guys are the good guys? And what if the people you thought were the good guys were the bad guys? Or at least, they weren't as good as you thought they were?" Madam Gros sees her moment and invites him into her office. Tristan wonders if this even merits a talk to the counselor, but Dolores Gros insists it's her job. She also excuses him from Mr. Haprele's class. So Tristan follows her.

Madam Gros asks him what happened, so Tristan explains that when Labyrinth attacked the other day, it was the garnet bear of all people who helped him—and then she was attacked in turn by Blue Ox, who immediately assumed she had kidnapped him and wouldn't be reasoned with. Madam Gros listens to the whole story and then asks Tristan what he'd like to do. Tristan looks up at her, confused. She asks again, wording it differently; how would you like to pursue the situation now that you know the truth? The truth that Ladybug and Cat Noir and their allies aren't the heroes the media makes them out to be. Tristan admits he doesn't know…but he feels like he has to do something. Madam Gros tells him that she can offer him the chance to be proactive. Tristan expresses curiosity at that, so Madam Gros reveals the (almost empty) Western miracle box. She offers him the Taurus miraculous, which is a pair of bracelets.

She explains that she's the leader of the Western Order of the Miraculous and is looking for allies to oppose Ladybug and Cat Noir as well as Hawk Moth because their conflict is increasing the chaos magic in the world and will become a bigger threat to Paris than anything we've seen so far. (Lies, of course.) She wants him to fight by her side. Tristan reaches for the bracelets, takes a deep breath, and accepts them. This just leaves the Sagittarius in the box.

Tristan puts the bracelets on his wrists, and an oxen kwami named Buff appears. Tristan wonders what kind of name that is, but Buff explains it's short for Buffalo. He eyes Tristan up, hoping that his new master will be strong enough. But he has his doubts. Tristan immediately fires back with his boxing accomplishments, and Madam Gros can tell that this is going to be a good match. She tells them both to keep things a secret and that she'll call upon Tristan later to practice his powers. Until then, he is to act as if everything is normal. Tristan promises to do so. He heads to leave. And as he does, Madm Gros transforms into Ivory. She hits him in the back with one very simple "Oblivion." Forget that it was Ursa who helped you. And forget that it was notRhino who helped you. This manipulation fully cements his loyalty to the Western Order.

School continues on through lunch. As soon as Miss Bustier is done lecturing, Marinette puts her head on the desk, doing all she can to keep her eyes open. Alya Cesaire comments about how tired Marinette has been the past two days. Marinette replies that she just didn't sleep well. Adrien tries not to notice; he tries not to keep connecting the dots. But Ladybug was up late for two nights helping Plagg. His eyes slide to their other classmates. He knows Alix Kubdel is Bunnyx, Le Chien Kim is King Monkey, Sabrina Raincomprix is Hachiko, and Max Kante is Pegasus. But they got their miraculous because circumstances dictated that. Right? But…How didLadybug know that Sabrina is Chloe's best friend in order to give her the dog miraculous to help us when Chloe first transformed into Queen Scorpion? He doesn't know who Pigella, Tigress, Minimouse, or Blue Ox are. However, Cat Noir did pick Nathaniel Kurtzberg and Marc Anciel to be Nom de Plume and Buck. I picked people I know, classmates. If Ladybug did the same… He shakes his head, trying to bury thoughts that won't be buried.

Marinette and Alya walk by, laughing, on their way to lunch. Marinette lets out a long yawn and looks back at Adrien. Their eyes meet. And for once, it's Adrien who turns away, blushing.

Students mill about. Marie Chauveau and Suzette Rault are still snippy with each other, and Chloe Bourgeois is giving the whole world the cold shoulder. Giselle Winters-Blanchet hangs out with Meera Pugliese and Raissa Deschamps; it goes normally until Meera and Raissa get unnecessarily hostile about Ladybug and Cat Noir, leaving Giselle baffled. Jean Duparc is notably depressed, and even his friend, Jakeel Aristide's, best attempts to cheer him up fail. Guy Nigels is also pretty intuitive. He brings up the fact that his host brother, Cameran Tyler, has gone missing a couple of times lately. Cameran insists he hasn't; he has no idea what Guy is talking about. Now, this is true as Cameran had been brainwashed into being All-Star Rex during those times and has no memories of those incidents. But Guy knows what he's talking about, and it leaves a bad taste in his mouth. As Marinette walks down the hallway, she notices all the tension. Friends are fighting, and mistrust is building. Francoise Dupont High School used to be such a nice place. Why is everyone so angry? What is going on here?

She's distracted from these thoughts when Luka Couffaine approaches her and asks to eat lunch with her. Marinette is thrilled and agrees. Alya notices, raises an eyebrow, and then makes an excuse to leave those two alone. Luka and Marinette have their lunch at a table together and are soon laughing and having a great time. Marinette asks Luka about his family, and Luka replies that things are getting better with them and his father. They're actually working on a song together. Luka pulls out a copy on CD and gives it to Marinette because he "wants her to be the first one to hear it." Marinette thanks him.

Juleka Couffaine walks by with Rose Lavillant and Mylene Haprele. She notices how close Marinette and Luka are—but she is fully aware of Marinette's crush on Adrien Agreste. She excuses herself from Rose and Mylene and attempts to approach her brother and Marinette. But her courage fails her. She ducks behind a pillar. Roarr appears. They talk, and Roarr gives her a pep talk to encourage her to use her voice. Juleka takes a deep breath, approaches Marinette and Luka, and asks to speak with Marinette alone. Luka accepts and leaves them.

Marinette asks Juleka what's wrong, and Juleka lowers her eyes and mumbles. But she takes a deep breath again and finds what she wants to say. She tells, rather insistently, Marinette not to lead her brother on. He really likes her, and Juleka is worried he's going to get hurt if Marinette is just going to chase after Adrien. Marinette is a bit speechless about Juleka's boldness, but she does admit that Juleka is right. She needs to pick; she needs to be honest with her heart. Because the last thing she wants to do is hurt her friends. She thanks Juleka for talking with her. Juleka nods and falls silent; her courage is spent, but she does feel better for finding her voice and not being hated for it.

They're not the only ones busy during break. Nicholas Sancoeur finally got word from Nathalie to act on Chloe. He wouldn't move if he didn't have her permission otherwise. So he follows behind Chloe and swipes her new, spiffy cell phone when she isn't paying attention. With it in hand, he retreats to a quiet place in order to attempt to hack her password and access any information she might have about Ivory. So he spends his lunch fiddling with her phone.

However, it doesn't take Chloe long to realize her precious new device is missing. And after Adamantus and Ruddiger nearly stole her last phone, she isn't about to allow that to happen again. Plus, she's always glued to it. She had high-end tracking put on her phone; so she pulls out her tablet and uses GPS to locate where the phone is. Chloe traces it to the library, wondering why her phone would be here when she's not the type to intentionally step foot into such a room. Fortunately for Nicholas, he hears her coming. He shoves the phone under a table, as if it had been dropped, and waltz innocently away. Chloe finds her phone, suspicious, but no evidence about what just happened. Nicholas reaches out to Nathalie and tells her that Chloe has upgraded her security. Nathalie tells him to let the matter rest for now; she can't have him drawing suspicion to himself. Nicholas agrees.

Afternoon rolls around, and the students disperse for their extracurricular activities. Viktor Vasiliev is finally able to host is Session 0 to launch his Star Wars campaign. Fumikage Tokoyami is the first to show up. Tsuyu Asui joins him. She isn't interested in playing, but she is there to hang out with her boyfriend and his friends. Giselle Winters-Blanchet parts ways from Raissa Deschamps and Meera Pugliese to join them. The scene has a bit of an "awkward newcomer" feel as these characters usually don't associate much at school—of course, not realizing that they work together regularly as Tsukuyomi, Froppy, and Snow Leopard with Viktor being Tenrec, their enemy. Giselle admits she's never done anything like DnD before, so she'll need to have everything explained to her from the beginning. That's when Marc Anciel and Nathaniel Kurtzberg sit down. Nathaniel is incredibly happy about being able to play as he's a huge Star Wars nerd. Marc is just there to support his friend. Nathaniel and Marc and Giselle do get along better as they have hung out with each other a couple of times within the story. And, of course, there's more irony as Marc is Buck and Nathaniel is both Firefly and Nom de Plume.

Viktor begins explaining the basics about character alignments, stats, and classes and how they'll work in a Star Wars session. That's when the final participant joins them, and it's Vivica. Vivica is a penpal of Giselle and also a Star Wars fan (as well as being a fan of Cat Noir). Giselle invited her knowing this. Vivica admits it's a bit weird walking into someone else's school (Francoise Dupont High School's security is just that bad). But she is glad she was invited. She's also thrilled no one has yet to recognize her as Jagged Stone's guitarist as she does want to be a normal girl. She attends a school for celebrities, which allows for very flexible schedules. She tells the group she might not always be able to make it, but she's going to do her best. And, for final irony, Vivica has a birthstone item Adamantus slipped her. Viktor welcomes her and counts. Without Tsuyu, they still have six people. And even if Vivica doesn't count due to not being a student—there's five people attending. It's enough to save his club!

They have a blast planning their characters with Nathaniel ultimately deciding to go with someone Force sensitive on his road to becoming a Jedi, Giselle playing a Miraluka, Vivica playing a Twi'lek who is very clearly inspired by Hera Syndulla, Marc playing a bounty hunter, and Fumikage still undecided due to being less familiar with the setting—but considering a Fosh or a mercenary or a Separatist/Imperial/First Order gone rogue. Viktor, of course, is the DM. Even Tsuyu is laughing and enjoying herself and possibly considering participating later.

Eventually afternoon activities end, and everyone makes their way home. Tristan Fortier practices boxing with his coach before heading home to his large family. It is chaotic at the Fortier household, so it takes him a while to realize he received a text message from Madam Gros/Ivory. It takes him even longer to read it as he has dyslexia. She has a mission for him, and she needs him to meet her. Buff appears and asks for more details, but Tristan explains that Madam Gros didn't say anything else—she just expects him to show up and will explain everything then. Buff shrugs and figures it's time to teach Tristan how to transform. "Keep Punching, Buffalo!" Tristan repeats the phrase, transforming himself into the wielder of the Taurus.

As befitting his character, brass knuckles form over his hands as his weapons. His whole is shimmery grey overall with black accents. It's very tight-fighting, showing off his muscles. The joints give an impression of having metal plates riveted over them, a design that is repeated in his knee-high boots (that have a cloven tread) and thick belt. Like Blue Ox, Tristan gains a pair of upward pointing horns. His dominion mask is wide, and there's a small ox hoofprint in the corner beneath his left eye.

Tristan looks himself over before studying his reflection in the mirror and testing out his brass knuckles. He doesn't really like those as it goes against his ethics as a boxer. But then he remembers his meeting with Ivory. He checks to make sure none of his siblings are listening in, and then he leaps out the window. Compared to other empowered characters, he's not the best jumper.

He finds Ivory waiting for him where she indicated. But she's not alone. Not only is Tarantula, the spider user waiting, but there's also a dove wielder with actual wings for arms. Ivory introduces Tarantula and Angelica to the new Taurus wielder, and he gives his name as Oxforte. (When pronounced with mild inflection, it actually sounds like Oxford.) Oxforte asks Ivory about the mission.

Ivory explains that barely a couple of days ago, Angelica used her ability to "strike down the source of Cat Noir's powers." She doesn't know exactly what she hit, but she has reason to believe she hit something. And the additional evidence of this is the fact that Cat Noir didn't appear during Labyrinth. Ivory reveals that tonight, they intend to do the same to Ladybug. Angelica hesitates. She recalled that Ivory told her that the Western Order's ultimate goal is the Eastern Order's miraculous. But if she, Angelica, snipes down Ladybug, how will they get any miraculous out of the deal?

Ivory explains that that's where Tarantula and Oxforte come in. Tarantula will use his ability, Trace, in conjunction with Angelica's Sniper. This'll allow Tarantula to follow Angelica's arrow wherever it goes. It'll lead them right to Ladybug. Then, they can all strike her while she's powerless. With Oxforte's super strength, they're not likely to lose. Both Oxforte and Angelica hesitate. Angelica already struck her target, Cat Noir, while Oxforte would prefer to go after Blue Ox, who attacked Rhino (actually Ursa, but his memories are warped). However, Ivory is able to convince them to go along with her plan, and they move to enact it the moment the sun sets.

Angelica raises her bow, loaded with a moonlight arrow. Now that the full moon has passed, her powers aren't as strong as they were. She draws the string. Tarantula tells her to hold it for a moment as he loops some spider webbing over the shaft of the arrow. Once done, Angelica declares her target. "I wish to strike the source of Ladybug's powers." (Ivory would prefer if she targeted Ladybug herself, but Ivory knows not to push the issue…for now.) Angelica lets the arrow loose. Tarantula immediately calls Oxforte to his side, and the two set off pursuing it. Angelica and Ivory herself follow a moment later.

Meanwhile, Marinette Dupain-Cheng has yet to get ready for bed. She's frequently checking her cell phone while she talks with Cat Noir, trying to encourage him and ensure he is safe: that his identity hasn't been compromised. Tikki and Plagg are both with her, with Plagg making a glutton of himself. He mumbles about how he hopes he can go back to "his master's" that night for a second dinner.

It's Tikki who notices a flicker of light and throws herself to the side as Angelica's arrow darts into the room. Marinette cries out a warning to Tikki, and Tikki finds herself having to high-speed dodge as the arrow keeps changing its course to target her. Marinette attempts to deflect it with no luck. After a quick moment which nonetheless leaves her room in tatters, Marinette gets a brilliant idea and declares "Tikki, Spots On!" and transforms into Ladybug. With the target gone, the arrow stops honing in and flies straight into the nearest wall.

Ladybug and Plagg carefully approach it. When Ladybug touches it, it dissolves into moonlight. She exchanges a confused look with Plagg, who just shrugs. But then she rubs her fingers together; they're sticky. Ladybug quickly looks around, seeing the gossamer thread in the right light—and she recognizes it as Tarantula's webbing. Thanks to Adamantus, Ladybug knows exactly what Tarantula can do—his Trace will lead him right back here! Ladybug then frantically scoops up all the webbing she can. She heads to the window, sweeping the black cat miraculous into her purse as she did. She rests on the ledge, and her "Ladybug vision" predicts the most likely route the arrow came from. Ladybug then leaps onto the rooftops, still carrying the webbing, following the logical route the arrow would have continued taking if it hadn't targeted Tikki within her family's bakery. Plagg flies along beside her, asking what she's planning.

Ladybug explains that Tarantula is likely on his way—she can't let him know that Ladybug is Marinette Dupain-Cheng. So she's going to continue along the arrow's route to lead him off course; he can't learn the arrow stopped in the bakery. Plagg commends her quick thinking as she came up with all of that within seconds all while being under attack. "No wonder Cat Noir got it bad for you."

Ladybug perks at this as she realizes she's going to need Cat Noir if Tarantula is on her tail. She asks Plagg if he's up to flying home. Plagg acknowledges that he is. Ladybug quickly passes him his own miraculous and orders him to go back to Cat Noir; she needs her partner. Plagg takes off. Ladybug finds a shadowy perch, her arms still loaded with thread. She reaches for her yo-yo/cell phone to call for aid and to let Cat Noir know that Plagg is on his way. However, a clear lasso wraps around her wrist and yanks her off of her feet. Ladybug drops her yo-yo as she dangles. Tarantula has found her.

While the chase is going on, one miraculous user moves around Paris, oblivious to it all. Queen Scorpion has snuck out of the Bourgeois manor without her father or Butler Jean noticing. Again. She sticks to the shadows of the eaves, determined not to be seen. After all, if she gets caught, she knows she's done for. However, she also know she just can't sit on the sidelines. She won't sit on the sidelines and let her powers stagnant. Ivory is holding her back by forbidding her to practice, but Scorpion isn't going to play "follow the leader" any more. That's what lost her the bee comb. No, this time, she's going to become strong.

Queen Scorpion retraces her route to the cemetery where she saw the B Team practicing and subsequently helped drive them out with the Western Order. By now, she's concluded that if this was a good enough place for the entire B Team to practice, regularly, without getting noticed, it's good enough for her. She's also aware that if she doesn't control her acidic powers, it won't be long until someone notices. So as Queen Scorpion begins to practice by herself, she has to hone the one thing she seldom has—self-control. It doesn't help that being alone leaves her alone with her thoughts—and many emotions she's trying to bury. Namely, her feelings towards her parents' divorce and her heartbreak over Adrien rejecting her for Ladybug. Her attacks get more and more frantic as she finally blurts out, to no one, that "I need to be stronger. Stronger than dad, stronger than mom, stronger than Adrien, stronger than Ladybug—so that they won't be able to hurt me again!" While she does show more control over her attacks than when she sparred in the abandoned hotel, there still is evidence and dissolved tombstones all over the graveyard.

Meanwhile, Plagg finally makes it back to Adrien Agreste's room, diving in through an open window with the black cat ring. Adrien has been checking his phone after Ladybug went silent on him; he's surprised to see Plagg and chides him immediately as they don't know if it's safe; Adrien might still be compromised. Plagg starts to explain, and there's a bit where they talk over each other, until Plagg blurts out that Ladybug is in trouble. That gets Adrien's attention, and Plagg quickly explained what happened between the moonlight arrow targeting Tikki and Ladybug fleeing. Adrien darts into his private bathroom as he's still concerned about being spied on, transforms, and leaps out the window to help Ladybug.

Back with Ladybug, she's struggling with all she has to get out of Tarantula's sticky grip without even her weapon to help her. With her hands bound, she's finally able to put all of her strength into a kick to give herself some distance from Tarantula. Of course, it's far from super effective as he's a fully grown man and she's still a teenager. Nonetheless, Ladybug stands defiantly against him as her eyes dart to her yo-yo, planning a way to snag it and activate her Lucky Charm.

Those plans crumble when a new person joins Tarantula, and Ladybug meets Oxforte for the first time. Once she hears the name, it doesn't take much for her to conclude that this is the Taurus wielder, whom she already knows has super strength, based on her translation of the grimoire. Ladybug braces herself for two against one with still no way to call for back-up and no civilians around to activate Akuma Alerts (or get themselves in danger, which is a positive). However, Ladybug isn't about to back down and she defies them. Which gets all the more complicated when Angelica lands next to Tarantula and Oxforte. Ladybug stares at Angelica's wing-arms for a moment before demanding to know who she is as none of the heroes know Angelica yet.

Angelica introduces herself as the Virgo, wielder of a dove miraculous. She points her bow at Ladybug and declares this the end. There's no way Cat Noir is coming to save her; Angelica saw to that. And with Angelica covering long-range attacks while Oxforte will be in close and Tarantula in between, Ladybug doesn't stand a chance.

Ladybug bluffs, and bluffs very well, in return. She boldly declares she already called for help and that her allies, including the B Team, are already on their way to her. She also declares that Tarantula and his allies have actually walked into her trap, which she used his own thread to bait him this way. Tarantula claims he doesn't buy this, but it's clear by at least Oxforte and Angelica's body language that they are nervous about getting ambushed by the heroes.

Tarantula orders his underlings to continue according to their plan, so Angelica falls back with her bow ready while Oxforte charges forward, brass knuckles raised. Ladybug, having taken a moment to catch her breath and evaluate their movements, duck under his arm, twists and flips, and scoops up her yo-yo. "Lucky Charm!" She gets an empty refrigerator box and an uppercut to the jaw from Oxforte, who isn't even using his super strength yet. This sends Ladybug sprawling, but she quickly recovers her wits, plays it off as "all part of her plan," and makes a show of heading in a different direction, as if leading them into a trap. Angelica lets loose a barrage of arrows, but Ladybug deflects them by spinning her yo-yo.

Tarantula moves to trap her while Angelica and Oxforte keep her busy, and Ladybug has to be light on her feet to keep from getting boxed in. She's starting to sweat, hoping Plagg can get to Cat Noir in time in order to back her up as she still doesn't have a moment to call for aid herself. She also has yet to see a purpose in her Lucky Charm and is starting to have doubts at how a cardboard box can help her defeat three miraculous users.

A shadow crosses her vision, and Ladybug turns, starting to smile. She thinks it's Cat Noir arriving, but it's not. It's much, much worse. Ivory herself walks onto the scene. She gloats, quite happy she has the de facto leader of the Eastern Order alone (what with Master Fu still being captured) and says this is a prime time to deal a crippling blow to her enemies. Ladybug's eyes go wide as she remembers Master Fu's warning "beware the elephant" and of her prior meeting with Ivory when Ivory used Oblivion on Hachiko. Ivory orders Tarantula to restrain Ladybug so she (Ivory) can finish things.

Tarantula acknowledges this and covers the entire area with web. Angelica protests as it's all over her too; now she can't fly. But Ladybug is stuck, unable to free her legs. She deflects Tarantula's throwing needles with her yo-yo, but Oxforte moves in. His footwork is exceptional, dodging the sticky traps, due to his experience as a boxer. He starts aiming punches at her, still following all the rules of boxing, while demanding answers. "Why did Blue Ox attack when Rhino was just trying to help me?" Ladybug has no idea what he's talking about, and she tells him as much.

Just when it looks as if Oxforte is going to land a one-two KO on Ladybug, she's swung off her feet and out of range. Cat Noir sets her down on the next rooftop over, having lunged over the webbing with his elongated baton, scooped her up, and let the momentum carry them both to safety. Ladybug offers him a genuine smile and thanks him, and Cat Noir puns in return. He asks what's going on, and Ladybug quickly explains about being ganged up by four of the Western Order, including Ivory's presence. Cat Noir declares it's time they take that Order down for good. But he also whispers his insecurities to Ladybug about his identity being compromised. Ladybug pretty much tells him to shelf it for later as she needs all of his focus for what's to come. Cat Noir agrees, and the heroes prepare to fight. (Also worth noting, due to its bulky nature, Ladybug had to leave her Lucky Charm behind.)

Oxforte is the first one to catch up with them and proves crazy adept at channeling his new augmented superpowers through his boxing abilities. He's able to hold off both Ladybug and Cat Noir, and neither can get close enough to even attempt to claim his Taurus miraculous. Cat Noir actually struggles the most due to the differences between boxing and fencing. This is the moment the reader really gets to see Oxforte's talents, even before he uses his special ability.

Angelica joins him next, her feathers still tangled with gooey webs. She asks the golden duo point blank about how they're able to transform when she struck down the "source of their powers." Cat Noir gapes a bit, "that arrow was yours?!" Angelica replies by firing half a dozen moonlight arrows at him, forcing him to dodge, and confirming she's the one who targeted Plagg and Tikki. Cat Noir doesn't want Ladybug to have to deal with the excellent fighter that is Oxforte, but he needs to deal with Angelica and the risk she presents, so Cat Noir asks Ladybug to trade opponents with him. Ladybug agrees.

They have no further time to talk since Oxforte and Angelica close in on them at that moment. While dodging fists, Ladybug looks for a solution. She knows where her Lucky Charm is, even if it isn't immediately by her side. But she still doesn't see any Rube Goldberg devices to help. In lieu of that, she attempts to reason with Oxforte. However, as far as Oxforte remembers, it was Rhino (and thus the Western Order) who came to his aid during Labyrinth. It's clear he's been hurt and disillusioned by the Eastern Order, namely Blue Ox but also Ladybug and Cat Noir, as a result. He calls them out, saying that if they're going to allow civilians to suffer in the sidelines while they fight their enemies, then they're not the heroes Paris needed—they're every bit as villainous as Hawk Moth. Ladybug's arguments do not sway him any.

Cat Noir is also trying to bait Angelica, trying to see what she knows about him, how she was able to target him, and why she would even target him (and Plagg) in the first place. Angelica makes it clear that she's disgusted with him, and guys in general, who do not take "no" for an answer. Cat Noir insists he has nothing but respect for "his lady" and starts to explain he's been laying off (for pretty much this entire storyline) because his friendship with her is worth way more than flirting. Angelica, who has also had her memories altered by Ivory, doesn't believe Cat Noir and doesn't give him the opportunity to explain himself. She calls him out for referring to Ladybug as "his lady" as if she (Ladybug) is a piece of property he can own. Angelica than calls Cat Noir out for flirting with her (Angelica). This completely baffles Cat Noir as he never did anything like that in his life. He insists he never met her before this night! He tries to prove his innocence, but Angelica and her altered memories aren't having it. She sees it as Cat Noir has flirted with so many civilian girls that he can't remember her specifically, which only causes her to loose more arrow upon him.

Oxforte and Angelica drive Ladybug and Cat Noir back to where Tarantula and Ivory are waiting. Tarantula has boxed in the entire area with webs, declaring that those two will not escape. He also calls their bluff about having back-up. Meanwhile, Ivory seizes her moment with her pendulum. "Oblivion!" She targets Ladybug, aiming to completely wipe everything from her mind.

It's only by sheer luck, which Ladybug has in spades, that she turns to look at Cat Noir to ensure he's okay after dodging a punch from Oxforte. This moves her head enough to miss the Oblivion. Both Cat Noir and Ladybug turn to stare at Ivory, having not realized that they got so close to her. They also instinctively realize that this is Bad News for them and that they need to get out of this situation ASAP.

That's when Ladybug's "vision" finally lights up, and she sees what she needs to do. The vision includes Oxforte, Cat Noir, her box, and a fire escape. She backs up carefully, still dodging and occasionally tanking Oxforte's blows. "We don't actually have to win this, do we?" Cat Noir glances her way, confused. "Trust me." Cat Noir insists he does.

Ladybug smiles at him and then baits Oxforte, goading him to take their fight closer to the fire escape. She calls him delusional for thinking that the Western Order has good intentions and insists if he really wants to do good with his powers, he'll help the golden duo take down Hawk Moth instead. She also makes a comment about "read the writing on the wall" or some other similar, clichee literary expression. Which does not serve to help her reputation in the eyes of Oxforte at all due to the fact he has dyslexia (even though Ladybug has no way of knowing his). It infuriates him as he sees her as mocking him and only cements him turning away from the golden duo. This is what causes him to activate his super strength and go at her, not holding back at all. Ladybug steps onto the fire escape to evade him, and Oxforte follows.

Ladybug then declares "say it now, Cat Noir!" Cat Noir replies with his signature "Cataclysm!" Ladybug grabs his wrist and slams it into a crucial support for the fire escape. The entire thing buckles and collapses with her, him, and Oxforte on it. Angelica is barely able to evade by flying, and even then, she flies poorly due to Tarantula's threads on her feathers.

Ivory and Tarantula immediately leap down. They find Oxforte, struggling to his feet, as the dust settles. Once they determine Oxforte is fine as his super suit protected him, they survey the area for Ladybug and Cat Noir. Tarantula declares that they couldn't have gone far as he has webbed off the entire street and would know if someone attempts to cross his threads. Angelica, still hovering in the air, asks "are you so sure" and points to an upturned manhole cover. Tarantula curses and heads over, peering down into the darkness.

Ivory flatly refuses to go crawling in the sewers but orders her three underlings to do the same. Tarantula gives her a cold glare before motioning for Angelica and Oxforte to follow him. Angelica complains about being a bird and trapped underground; she'll be useless there. Ivory concedes this and sends Oxforte and Tarantula into the tunnels while Angelica backs her up. After all, Ivory does want to talk with the Virgo.

The camera then pans over to a cardboard box amid the debris. And inside are Ladybug and Cat Noir, incredibly close together due to the space. Both have pulled out their weapons to use the cell phone feature, and are texting instead of talking so they don't get heard. Ladybug remarks that it worked; it seems as if the Western Order has left and won't find them. After all, there was no akuma to purify this time, so they didn't have to win. Ideally, of course, they would have—they would have taken Ivory and her crew down, claimed the western miraculous, and halted their Order's plans in their tracks. But both heroes had to admit they were overwhelmed and that it was better to retreat than push things and get captured themselves. They then stop typing and hold their breaths as Ivory and Angelica draw closer.

Ivory, rather coldly, demands Angelica explain what happened with her powers. Why was Cat Noir here tonight when she struck him down? Angelica insists she doesn't know. She knows she drew her bow under the full moon, when her powers were at their peak. She told the arrow to strike down "the source of Cat Noir's powers," and she felt the arrow sail true. It didn't feel that way when she attempted to target Labyrinth, but it was the same way her bow felt when she tried to target "the source of Ladybug's powers" tonight. She felt the bow aim true; she has no idea why Ladybug is still able to fight. Angelica also makes it clear she didn't see where or what her targets were; she only gave commands to her bow. Ivory drills her more, looking for some type of weakness in Angelica's skill set or some type of explanation on how the golden duo could have evaded her Sniper. But Angelica is too new to magic to know for certain beyond what she felt. Ivory grumbles that Angelica needs to be more specific with her targets from now on. She's then forced to let the matter drop. She tells Angelica to follow her, and they leave.

Ladybug and Cat Noir heard the whole thing from beneath the box (yes, they pulled a Solid Snake). They exchange a look, and Cat Noir types "so that's what happened to Plagg." He is obviously relieved, so much so his shoulders are shaking. He explains he was genuinely fearful he would have to give up being Cat Noir and his time spent with Ladybug; both are precious to him. But it turns out, it was just Angelica's special ability—one they need to warn their allies about. He wasn't compromised in any way. Ladybug reaches out as if to take his hand, but she hesitates at the last moment and touches his shoulder by the light of their cell phone/weapons. She gives him a reassuring smile and types that she's glad he's all right because he's her irreplaceable partner.

They wait together as long as they can, side by side, so close that they're touching, until they're certain Ivory and Tarantula are gone and Ladybug is on the last stretch of her counter. They emerge from the cardboard box and jointly throw it into the air. "Miraculous Ladybug!" After a quick "Pound It!" they decided to peel out before Ivory and Tarantula come looking for them. Both promise to "moonlight proof" their rooms so that Angelica cannot target them at night as well as passing word onto the A Team and the B Team to do the same. They part ways.

Elsewhere, Queen Scorpion has worked herself into a tizzy with her powers, striking out with her acidic chain and doing a notable amount of damage to the graveyard due to her unstable emotions. A flurry of magic drifts by, undoing the damage. This is enough to snap Scorpion out of her tantrum as she realized something must have just happened involving Ladybug. She looks around the graveyard, making sure no one noticed her. Then she figures she'd better leave before things draw Ivory's attention. She starts to head home.

However, she wasn't completely discreet. Someone did notice her nightly escapade. June, the Cancer wielder, is waiting for her halfway en route. June calls for Queen Scorpion to stop. After all, they are allies. Scorpion starts sweat but hides it well, demanding to know what June wants and if she's going to tell Ivory. June says she just wants to talk. Queen Scorpion insists she doesn't want to talk, "so, bye!" However, June gives her a look that implies blackmail, so Scorpion resigns and sits down beside her. "I guess I can afford five minutes."

June asks Scorpion if she's okay. Scorpion insists she is. June doesn't buy it. She can see many relationship threads around Queen Scorpion are fraying or out-right broken. Queen Scorpion gets snippy, accusing June of spying on her. June insists it's not the case; her powers with the Cancer miraculous are growing. They're growing so much she's starting to feel a bit afraid. She can see threads all the time when she's transformed, and now even in her civilian form, she can sometimes see threads in the corner of her eyes. That's how she noticed that Queen Scorpion had a thread similar to hers: unrequited love.

June confesses to her own feelings. She flatly admits to being in love with Reef the Pisces, even if her own vision shows he only loves himself. She knows there are other guys in the city, much better ones (like Cameran Tyler) she could turn her attentions to. But her heart is stuck on Reef. She can see that Queen Scorpion is suffering under similar strain from unrequited love, plus June can see severed friendship threads as well as fraying family ones. June tells Queen Scorpion that she isn't going to say anything clichee like "there's plenty of fish in the sea" or "it'll get better soon" or "I'm sure there's someone even better out there for you" because June herself is in the same situation and doesn't buy those lines. However, she does tell Queen Scorpion that "you're not alone." She offers to listen if Scorpion wants to talk. Scorpion turns her down—though deep inside, it does help Chloe's emotional state to know that someone else is going through the same heartache as herself. Queen Scorpion also admits aloud that she's so angry with The Jerk for turning her down for someone else. She's angry and furious and frustrated and disgusted and hurt—and she's disappointed. Disappointed in herself as part of her heart still cares about The Jerk.

Queen Scorpion then declares that "five minutes are up" and turns to leave. June watches her rise and then tells her. "I do see one really, really strong family thread. There is someone out there who still cares about you very much." Queen Scorpion asks who—mostly to test the waters to see if June can glean someone's identity. However, June admits names aren't usually connected to the relationship threads she sees. Queen Scorpion then tells June she'd better not spread word about Scorpion's vigilantism. June promises not to, and Scorpion leaves, mulling over everything said.

Queen Scorpion lands on the balcony of the Bourgeois manor and transforms back into Chloe. She feeds Barbarra, who tries to get her attention, but it's clear Chloe is distracted. Chloe suggests that Barbarra enjoy a bubble bath in the sink while Chloe attends to something. Barbarra excitedly accepts this and flies off to the bathroom.

Chloe puts her hand on her door knob, hesitates, and then leaves the room. She finds her father, Mayor Andre Bourgeois, in the living room, looking over a photo album from the time Chloe was a toddler (freeze frame bonus includes a shot of toddler Adrien in one of the photos). It's from a time he was happily married—or so he thought. Audrey was cheating on him even then. Mayor Bourgeois quickly hides the album when Chloe enters. He asks if everything is okay, and Chloe insists it is in her usual aloof way. She starts to sashay away after saying she's fine, again with her usual arrogance. But then she stops and whispers, with her back to her father. "Thanks…thanks for being my dad." She leaves. But it's clear Mayor Bourgeois heard her as his expression completely melts. Audrey might be gone, but he still has his daughter.

To be continued in Chapter 86: Knave…