To Guest: It's an unfortunate reality that you can't always save everyone.
To yellow 14: Hopefully I can deliver some more twists and turns moving forward! And dropping the Tarasque through a portal into space… I–I feel like that shouldn't work… but I don't have any specific reason for it not to…
As a seemingly-endless tide of people poured past him and through the portal to Angola, Pegasus craned his neck, searching for the other heroes. The Miradouro da Lua valley was beginning to fill up with people; Markov kept up a steady stream of reports of the African Miraculous Teams as they rushed through the portal system from their own temples to Angola. And all the while, the poison gas level within the Mansion was rising at an alarming rate. Pegasus frowned, his brows furrowed in concern. With the Mansion acting as a hub for the portal system, how would the portals work if they had to abandon Paris – and the Mansion along with it? Could the portals even handle the strain of so many people moving through them and being forced to open and close so rapidly? But as the Tarasque lumbered closer, Pegasus swallowed hard. They had no other choice but to use the portal system and transport as many people to Angola as possible before such travel became impossible.
In the distance, between the Seine and the Sorbonne–Curie campus where they had opened the portal, the heroes continued to battle against the Tarasque, trying to buy as much time as they could for the civilians still streaming through the portal. According to Markov, their surviving drones showed an unending stream of vehicles racing away from Paris in all directions. Not everyone would make it to Angola, even if he could keep the portal open that long. Another building crashed down beside the Tarasque as it threw Taureau Dechaine into it, sending a plume of dust up into the air, mingled with the Tarasque's green poison. The sky had taken on a sickly pallor. Fires continued to burn unchecked throughout the city; the fire department had been overwhelmed almost immediately by the sheer number of emergencies.
Would any of the city remain?
The Tarasque swung its head around, snapping at the Knight as he flew past and lurching forward in pursuit. Valkyrie sent a gust of wind at the Tarasque, drawing its attention, and the Tarasque shot fire at her, narrowly missing her as she dropped like a rock beneath its range, nearly crashing to the ground before catching herself. The fire beam flew over the Sorbonne campus, above the refugees trying to cram through the portal, only adding fuel to their panic. A family raced past Pegasus, almost barreling Impératrice Pourpre over as they did so. Pegasus pulled her in close, only barely keeping her out of their way. The Knight waved at Valkyrie, gesturing toward the portal, and she flew away from the Tarasque, swooping low and snatching a pair of small children that had been left alone on the ground, carrying them through the portal with her. More and more of the heroes were starting to mingle in among the refugees and make their way through the portal. Koldunya and Nochnoy Storozh were quickly followed by O Patriota supporting Draco, who covered his mouth with one hand, coughing weakly. Onça Feroz half-dragged Lupa Gris through the portal, calling for Mão Curadora to help them.
Pegasus' jaw clenched in frustration. The wave of poison air was creeping closer to them along the ground, preceding the Tarasque itself. Even now the leading tendrils of poison were reaching out: half the trees on the north side of the campus had browned and died already. Thousands of people were cramming together, trying to get to the portal before the Tarasque reached them, but the flow was starting to peter out. Doorman had moved on to the fourth evacuation center. But Pegasus could feel the magic holding his portal open starting to dissipate. The portal had already been open for longer than five minutes, thanks to the extra power that Impératrice Pourpre had given to it. But how much longer could he maintain it?
"We are running short of time," Pegasus warned, keying his communicator to the widest channel.
"We–we're on our way!"
In the distance, Ladybug and Cat Noir were sprinting in their direction, following the last group of civilians. The rest of the heroes ran after them. Knightowl raised one gauntleted hand and pressed a button. Behind them, explosions rocked two buildings on opposite sides of the street, sending them crashing down just in front of the Tarasque. At the same moment, Majestia spun around, still drifting backward above the other heroes, and unleashed a wave of heat vision on the buildings, welding them together. As the Tarasque barreled forward, Amun-Vatar hurled a pair of light constructs which merged together into a glimmering golden barrier above the makeshift barricade.
Pegasus' miraculous beeped in warning. "I estimate no more than a minute left!" he shouted to the others as Uncanny Valley grabbed Sparrow and Ayilon, shot up into the air, and barreled through the portal.
Markov's voice came through the communicator. "The Headquarters portal is finally closed," he reported briskly. "All African personnel appear to be on-site. Poison concentration has reached 5% in Headquarters; filtration system is struggling to keep pace."
Pegasus clenched his jaw. "Seal it!" he ordered. "We cannot allow the poison to spread through the portals!"
Doorman stuck his head out of the glowing pink doorway portal in the side of the Sorbonne campus center. "There are still about 30 people here!" he called, as people continued to stream past him.
The Tarasque roared and barreled straight through the two buildings, sending shrapnel in all directions. Its tail lashed out at Mecha-Man, who rolled to one side to avoid it. Again the tail lashed out, catching Majestia off-guard while she searched the streets around the Tarasque for trapped civilians. It struck her in the chest, and she cried out in surprise as it launched her backward through the portal and into one of the rock pillars of Miradouro da Lua.
"Let me try to boost you again," suggested Impératrice Pourpre, taking Pegasus' hand.
He concentrated on the feeling of her hand in his, willing some of her power to transfer into his Voyage. This could never be as powerful as a true Akuma boost, but it had kept the portal open long past its limit already. But this time nothing happened. He shook his head, swallowing anxiously. "It–I do not think it worked!"
Impératrice Pourpre's eyes widened. "We have to hold it open for them!"
"We're almost there!" Cat Noir shouted, as the last civilians rushed through, followed by most of the remaining heroes.
Ryoku paused for a moment, spun around, and slashed her sword through the air. "Lightning Dragon!" she screamed just before jumping through the portal. A wave of lightning erupted from her blade and struck the Tarasque across its front, but it barely slowed.
The Tarasque stepped onto the campus.
Wide-eyed, Pegasus stared up at the Tarasque, a massive Monster called forth from the pages of legend, so enormous it dwarfed the buildings of Sorbonne University with its prodigious size. He had been studying the Beasts for months, analyzing samples and seeking to understand them… but never had he seen one in person. The images and first-person accounts had failed to do the experience itself any justice. Involuntarily, his grip on Impératrice Pourpre's hand tightened.
"We need to go!" yelled Impératrice Pourpre, tugging on Pegasus' hand, her eyes wild with fear.
The Tarasque stomped through a parking lot, crushing dozens of cars under its paws. Fire erupted across the pavement beneath it, and the Tarasque roared, the poison spewing from its mouth and nostrils adding to the hellish landscape.
Slowly Pegasus nodded, swallowing back bile. He was just turning toward the portal when he caught a glimpse of moment a half-kilometer down the length of the portal. Another small family racing toward the portal. Pegasus' stomach clenched. "Wait – we cannot close it yet!" The Tarasque brought one paw down on a dorm building on the far side of the campus, and a plume of smoke and dust blew up in front of it, obscuring it from view for a moment. It loomed through the haze, a blacker patch against the grey-green cloud, and suddenly a beam of fire burst forth from within the smoke. Only the student center still separated the Tarasque from the portal. It lumbered forward, shaking the ground with each step. Doorman finally closed his doorway and dashed through the portal giving Pegasus a thumb's-up as he passed. The family was only a few meters away from the portal.
Pegasus gave Impératrice Pourpre a push toward the portal. "You go first!"
"I'm not leaving without you!" Impératrice Pourpre insisted, her mouth set in a firm line. "You can keep it open from the other side!"
The Tarasque was almost on top of them as the last family finally crossed the plane, through the portal, and arrived in Angola. The rumbling of the ground beneath their feet had reached a fever pitch. A low creak came from the building in front of them as the Tarasque's tread shook it to its very foundation. The roof started to lean toward them ominously. Pegasus froze, staring at the building, and the Tarasque above it
"Um… right…" Pegasus started toward the portal, pushing Impératrice Pourpre in front of him, keeping himself between her and the Monster.
The Tarasque let out a bellow and stomped forward, driving one paw into the student center with a crash. Debris flew in all directions. The building crumbled and pitched forward, directly at Pegasus and Impératrice Pourpre. Pegasus' eyes widened in terror and he pushed Impératrice Pourpre out of the way, diving backward just as the rubble came down around them. A sudden pressure bloomed around his foot. He couldn't move. Looking down, several pieces of the wall had landed on and around his leg. Pegasus pulled furiously, trying to dislodge the debris, but it was wedged tightly in place. Impératrice Pourpre gasped and pounced on the debris, trying to push it out of the way, driving her cane in between the biggest pieces and pushing it down for leverage, but still it refused to move. The Tarasque loomed large over them beyond what was left of the student center, staring down at them and at the portal. They were almost within reach of the portal – so close but so far. Pegasus could feel the portal starting to flicker and fade as the miraculous magic wore off.
"Go!" he yelled to Impératrice Pourpre, waving her away from him, toward the portal.
"I'm not leaving you!" She grabbed the edge of one piece of the wall and tugged, grunting and straining with the exertion. The debris, however, remained firmly wedge in place. Pegasus crammed his horseshoe into the space, trying to lever his leg out, but with the same result. The Tarasque pushed its leg through the rubble once more, sending another cascade of bricks and masonry down around them. Pegasus grabbed her shoulder and pulled her close, shielding her with his body, gritting his teeth against the pain as bricks peppered his back. No sooner had the rubble settled than she threw herself at the wall again.
Pegasus took her hands and squeezed. "No. You need to go."
"But–"
Pegasus cut off her protests with a kiss, pressing his lips to hers. "I'm sorry," he whispered. She stared at him in confusion. "Your father made me promise." She gasped, her eyes flickering between Pegasus, the Tarasque, and the river. "I promised him that I would keep you safe." He swallowed. "Take care of Kaalki, will you?"
"What?" She stared at him in confusion and terror.
Quickly, as the portal was collapsing toward them from both ends, Pegasus pulled off his miraculous glasses and pushed them into Impératrice Pourpre's hands. "I love you," he whispered as the light flashed around him. She tried to hand the glasses back to him, but he put his hands on her shoulders and shoved her backward, through the rapidly-closing portal and into Sent-Bee's arms.
Max twisted himself around as best he could and stared up at the Tarasque's massive paw. The portal, no longer held open by his miraculous, had almost entirely vanished. The rubble shifted and shuddered around him as the Tarasque pushed through it.
At least he kept his promise.
At least Sabrina was safe.
"Max!"
AN: Return tomorrow for the first chapter of "Light in the Darkness," which picks up right where this one ended…