Chapter Seven
"Alya, run!" Adrien cried as the dark energy surrounded Lila. Alya was given no time to react as Marinette ran at her, grabbing her wrist and dragging her out into the hallway. She was forced to stumble after her, mind attempting to process what she had just seen.
Lila had grabbed the akuma.
"Nino!" Alya cried, trying to turn back. "A-adrien– and everyone! We just can't leave them with the akuma!"
Marinette didn't slow, unhindered despite Alya's attempt to pull free. She was startled at just how strong a grip her friend had, forcing her through the halls as they ran. "And who do you think Lila's target is going to be? You need to get as far away as possible! Lila is a dangerous akuma because she wants to cause harm!"
Akumas usually did want to cause harm, but Alya had the feeling that wasn't what Marinette was getting at. Lila had been trying to hurt Adrien before the akuma had even arrived in the classroom. Meaning any aggression she had wouldn't necessarily be a trait granted by the akuma, if anything it could be enhanced to a new level.
"Wait–" Alya began again as they drew to a stop, but Marinette seemed to have no interest in listening to her, throwing open a janitor closet door, before unceremoniously shoving her inside. "Mari–!"
"Stay in here," Marinette ordered in a surprisingly firm voice, standing in the doorway. "Don't make a noise, don't try to film anything, don't let the akuma know where you are– got it?"
"What about you–?" Alya tried to step out of the closet– startled that there was no explosion nor any cries or screams that usually occurred when an akuma attacked. The silence was unsettling– and there was no way Ladybug had arrived already to defeat her. She only got one step before Marinette shoved her right back in.
"I'm going to go get help," she said after a moment of thought, glancing over her shoulder. "Just stay in here– please!"
"Lila might go after you too–" Alya tried speaking once more, reaching for her arm, but she stepped back into the hall. Her friend gave her a tight smile, a fixed determination in her eyes.
"I'll be fine, I promise," she promised, before slamming the door to the closet right in her face. Marinette didn't necessarily seem mad, just in a rush, leaving Alya in the darkness as her footsteps echoed down the hall.
She turned her attention to the phone in her hand, turning on the flashlight feature so she could actually see around her. The scent of chemicals was heavy in the air, and she didn't dare sit down on the definitely-less-than-clean floor. Currently pulled up on her screen was the video she had been playing in triumph only a couple of minutes ago, fueled with an anger with what she had discovered– that same anger leading to her almost being akumatized.
She closed her eyes, she wouldn't be surprised if Marinette's attitude was because she was angry with her. The realization of what Lila had been doing... she was still trying to fully comprehend it herself. She had listened in as Lila had attempted to threaten Adrien into ruining his relationship with Marinette, and when that failed she had tried to turn everyone against him, even going as far as to accuse him of harassment. If she hadn't overheard what they had said... she would be standing by Lila's side right now. Angry at Adrien for 'betraying' Marinette, and of course Marinette would loyally be by his side, meaning that the class would have probably been turned against her in the end as well.
Again. Lila had turned turned many of them against Marinette before, accusing her of enough to expel her.
Even though she had believed Marinette's innocence at the time, Alya had still seen Lila as an innocent party. Despite Marinette telling her otherwise, despite the many times she had constantly warned her, tried to get her to see through the lies, she had just shrugged it off as mere jealousy. It had taken her hearing for herself to learn the truth, instead of just trusting her best friend.
"It's too quiet," Alya whispered, trying to shrug off the guilt. It would do her no good to dwell on it now, though it was not something she would ignore.
She pressed her ear against the door, trying to listen in– but yet there was no sounds to suggest there was an akuma running loose. No sounds of a fight or people trying to get away. Hadn't anyone else in her class ran? What about Adrien, who had fearlessly stood between her and the akuma? Was he the first one attacked by Lila?
Her heart began thumping as she heard footsteps, isolated, but not rushed as they made their way down the hall. Not the sound of someone running from an akuma. Her hand tightened around her phone, half tempted to rush out and take a look around herself. It was her passion, her self proclaimed job, to record the akumas and the heroes in their city.
Yet Marinette had wanted her to stay in here...
"Marinette?" a soft voice called. "Alya? Are you guys here?"
Juleka, she recognized the soft spoken girl right away. She didn't even pause to think, opening the door so she could join her in hiding. Juleka turned, eyes narrowing as she headed towards her.
"Where's Lila?" Alya asked. "Is everyone else okay? Nino? Adrien? They weren't attacked, were they? The rest of the class–?"
"Where's Marinette?" Juleka asked, ignoring her questions, staring Alya in the eyes. She felt shivers crawl up her back, and she didn't know why. Juleka didn't look any different than usual, but the gleam in her eyes and the tension along her jaw... was she mad?
"She went to get help," Alya said slowly, taking a step back, but her classmate suddenly grabbed her shoulders. "Juleka, what–?"
"How could you guys do that to Lila?" Juleka spat, fingers digging into her skin, shoving her back towards the closet. Alya's phone fell from her hands. "How could you hurt her– I thought she was your friend!"
"What the–?" Alya flinched as she was slammed back into the closet, wincing as her back hit the shelves, cleaning supplies rattling. Instinct instantly told her 'akuma' and to fight back– but she couldn't bring herself to. There was no sign of Juleka being under the influence of one: her eyes were normal, so were her movements. There was no mark on her clothes, face, or skin– nothing that showed she was under the control of magic.
"How dare you say such horrible things about Lila and Rose behind our backs!" Juleka suddenly roared, voice echoing within the confines of the closet. Any hesitation in Alya before was now gone– because this was most definitely not Juleka.
She twisted in her grasp, bringing a heel down on her feet and jabbing her elbow into Juleka's gut. She let out a grunt of pain, grip loosening enough for her to break free. There were indents on her skin from where her nails had dug into her, but fortunately it hadn't broken through the skin. Juleka let out a snarl of rage as Alya charged out into the hallway, running after her.
"We trusted you!" she screamed. "We thought you were our friend– we trusted you!"
Marinette was going to kill her, but Alya began running back towards the classroom. If something had happened with Juleka, then that meant something must have happened to everyone else. Sure enough as she hurried forward she spotted some of her other classmates coming out of the room, many of them talking among themselves like usual– not like an akuma had just appeared in front of them minutes ago.
"Nino!" she cried, eyes landing on her boyfriend. He was chatting with Max, amber gaze shifting towards her as she called out to him. His expression had been friendly, but as his eyes landed on her his gaze hardened.
She stumbled to a stop, watching as slowly everyone turned to look at her, their expressions turning to anger and disgust. The most unsettling thing though was how natural it looked– because that scowl on Nino's face was exactly how he looked when upset. The sneer on Sabrina's face was the same sneer she had when she and Chloe were belittling someone, and Max was adjusting his glasses in the same manner he did before stating a fact that would usually turn the tide of a discussion.
"What do you want?" Nino growled, and Alya's gaze flickered across her classmates who were slowly rounding on her. Several people were missing– Marinette, of course; alongside Adrien, Chloe, Lila, and Miss Bustier.
"Nino, what's going on?" she demanded– she had no idea where akumatized Lila was or what she had done, but this was so different from anything else she had seen with akumas before. Clearly something had happened, but what exactly she did not know.
Nino hesitated, looking at her with pained eyes. Her heart twisted, she had only seen that expression on him once, when someone he loved had hurt him. His anger brewed under his sorrow, and he took in a deep breath, as if gathering courage.
"I don't want to talk to you right now," he said, averting his gaze. "Not after what you did. I... I didn't think you could do something like that. You can be blunt, but that was downright cruel."
"Nino," Alya whispered, trying to remind herself this had to be the work of an akuma, but hearing the disappointment in his voice... hurt.
"You and Marinette just stay away from Lila!" Alix snapped.
"Humiliating her and spreading lies, I thought reporters were supposed to give facts!" Rose snapped, tears stinging her eyes. "And wh-what you said about me... I would never!"
"Where is Lila...?" Alya said slowly, eyes darting across them. She wasn't exactly surrounded, but she could hear Juleka coming from behind. Her heart was hammering, and she hoped that whatever help Marinette was planning to go get involved Ladybug or Chat Noir.
"Like we'd tell you," Nathaniel said coolly.
Alya opened up her mouth, not sure what she was planning on saying, but before she could say a word a figure appeared in the doorway of the classroom. She didn't make any noise as she walked, yet everyone turned to look back at her as she stepped out into the hall, her cool green eyes flickering over towards Alya.
"Lila," she spat, and the akuma smiled wryly at her.
This was not the first time Lila had been an akuma– she had boasted about the times she had before, usually about how Ladybug had so quickly come to her rescue and how worried she had been– but this akuma was not any of the others she had been before
Her hair was now a midnight black, her figure elegant and tall. There was no sway in her walk, as if she were gliding across the floor. Her eyes were a toxic green, sharp and cold as she looked out over their classmates. She wore a flowing black silk dress, which was covered in a delicate lace. The lace was shaped like a spider's webbing, the pale thread standing out against the dark cloth. Dozens of white bracelets covered both arms, looking woven in appearance.
"I am the Weaver," Lila replied, voice eerily calm– neither the voice of her fake kindness nor cold threats. Her long fingers caressed her bracelets, nails tugging at the loose threads. Alya watched in hesitation and fascination as she pulled out a string between her fingers from the bracelets. Not unraveling the bands, but pulling out the strands like it was from a spool of thread.
"You look like you just walked out of a Halloween movie," Alya remarked dryily, eyeing the spider web–shaped lace.
The Weaver hissed, and threw the string out at the class surrounding them. The webbing divided, a half dozen threads lashing around each of their wrists. It was only now she noticed that there was already a thread around them, nearly invisible with how fine it was, even as the new thread intertwined with it. Her classmates went still, and as the Weaver spoke again the thin bracelets faintly glowed.
"Alya is angry that you've discovered what she's truly like," the Weaver spoke, a low echo of her voice reverberating about the room– a power in her tone that hadn't been there before. "She's attacking you, and you need to defend yourselves."
"No I'm not–" Alya began, but in response to the Weaver's words everyone around her shifted into a defensive position. Rose threw her arms up as if someone were swinging at her face, and Juleka threw herself in front of her to protect her from the unseen threat. Alix and Kim's hands curled into fists, eyes narrowed in determination, and with a yelp Max scampered behind them.
"Alya!" Nino cried, stumbling back. "You're better than this, babe– I know you are!"
"I'm not attacking you!" Alya shouted, but clearly Lila's powers were tied to her lies. She felt her blood turning cold as Alix charged right at her, fists flying.
"Back off!" Alix snarled, an arm rising to block a strike that wasn't there.
Alya shivered at the cruel smile spreading across the Weaver's face, and she turned to race away before her anyone could land a 'retaliating' strike as she 'attacked' them– only to find her path blocked by a towering Ivan, Mylene hiding behind him. She swallowed as she looked up at his massive form, and while Ivan was a gentle giant, if he believed someone was attacking Mylene...
"Nino!" she instinctively cried, leaping out of the way of a blow. Thank goodness for the time she had spent as Rena Rouge– or else her instincts would have not been this good. She spotted him coming towards her out of the corner of her eye, and without thinking she stepped towards him.
Nino pinned her arms at her side, and while physically he was not much stronger than her, he had a strong grip. He stood right behind her, hands on her wrists as he held them fast against her stomach.
"Alya, calm down," he whispered, voice sounding pained. She worryingly eyed her incoming classmates, trying to break free. "Please calm down, please. You're better than this, you're better than–"
"I'm not fighting you!" she screamed in frustration– right as she stomped on his foot. Like with Juleka it had the desired effect, Nino yelping in pain as she broke free from him. She shoved an incoming Sabrina away with ease, sending her crashing into Kim, who fortunately paused to stabilize her. Her heart hammered, because they weren't blindly attacking under orders, they still seemed to be acting like themselves.
Except for the whole, 'attacking her' and everything.
Nino took a step towards her, and Alya lunged towards his outstretched hand. Her fingers wrapped around the thin webs wrapped around his wrist, pulling the bracelet free. Nino jerked back as she let the threads fall to the ground, her boyfriend reeling back in confusion.
"What the–?" he cried, eyes wide. "How did I get here, what's going–"
"Glad you're back, now it's time to go!" Alya said, grabbing his wrist once more as she pulled him forward. She raced for the first opening she saw, but before she could break through her classmates a burly arm shot out.
"Alya!" Nino cried as Ivan grabbed her. "Let go of my girl, dude!"
Without hesitation Nino through himself at his much larger classmate, whose eyes widened in confusion as Nino came at him. He shoved him back, much more gently than he had grabbed Alya, blinking. "Nino, why are you–?"
He was cut off by the sound of a window shattering– two figures came crashing through into the hall, baton and yoyo spinning about. Relief ran through Alya as the red and black heroes sped forward, immediately leaping into action. Chat Noir scooped up Nino, leaping across everyone else and placing him on the other end of the hallway, while Ladybug spang at Ivan.
"Let her go!" she cried, yoyo wrapping around his wrist and pulling him away. "Go Alya– now!"
She didn't need to be told twice, racing towards where Chat Noir and Nino were waiting. Ladybug looked around as she stood in the midst of the class, yoyo spinning around like a shield as she waited for the opportunity to counter attack. Yet no one charged at her, Alya's attackers looking at Ladybug in either relief or confusion.
"What was that for!" Ivan growled, wrapping his arms around Mylene. "Alya was attacking us!"
"She and Marinette are the ones you need to stop!"
"Adrien as well!"
"Tch," the Weaver growled in annoyance, pulling another length of thread from her bracelet. She lashed out with the webbing, it unraveling as it entangled around everyone's wrist– including Ladybug's. They all went still as another layer was added to the mind-controlling bracelets around their wrists, save for Ladybug, who only had one thin cord. "Ladybug and Chat Noir are not heroes, they are–"
"Don't you dare!" Alya snarled, turning around and charging back towards her classmates. She snatched the newly formed thread from around Ladybug's wrist, breaking her free from the trance of the Weaver's words. The hero blinked a few times in confusion, before throwing Alya over her shoulder and jumping over towards Nino and her partner.
"Ladybug and Chat Noir are Paris' enemies!" the Weaver snarled over the interruption. "Hawk Moth is the hero and the one you serve– and you are the only ones that can stop these villains!"
"What has she done to them?" Chat asked, watching as the class turned towards them, a sharp determination in their eyes.
"They follow whatever she says– we need to get out of here!" Alya shouted.
"I thought I told you to stay hidden," Ladybug said, shifting Alya so she was carrying her in her arms, while Chat Noir scooped up Nino, who looked strangely embarrassed at this action. With their enhanced strength they took off speeding down the hallway, looking unfazed despite the fact there were nearly a dozen people now chasing after them.
"First of all you know I like to take videos for the Ladyblog, I'm not going to avoid them," Alya said. "Second of all this akuma was my classmate, so for all you know I didn't have time to hide."
"Are you serious?!" Nino cried as she said this, looking at her in exasperation, and she blinked. "You have to be messing with me at this point– it's so obvious!"
"What is?"
"...You know?" Chat Noir said warily, looking down in Nino in shock.
"You two don't know the meaning of subtle, dudes," he grumbled. "Neither does Chloe for that matter, she confirmed my suspicions."
"Lila. Akumatized. After all of us– I think we have more important things to worry about," Alya said, gesturing behind her. "She's got the entire class under her control– I have no idea where our teacher, Chloe, or Adrien is. Marinette said she'd go get help so she could be anywhere."
"Marinette told me what's going on, she's safe now, don't worry," Ladybug said as they burst through the front doors of the school.
"I got the others out," Chat replied. "Lila was targeting them first."
"You carried all three of them?" Alya asked, blinking as the heroes leapt up the side of a building. At one point in her life she would have been far from calm like this, but after wielding a Miraculous herself she trusted the heroes' strength and wasn't even fazed at the height. They leapt from window seal to window seal, heading up to the roof.
He shrugged as they came to a stop, setting Nino down. "I can carry two people easily without losing too much speed. Three would be a challenge but not impossible."
"Took you long enough," a voice snapped on the roof, and all four of them turned to find Chloe, arms crossed. "Ridiculous, if I had my Miraculous I could have saved them all in a snap."
"Well you don't have a Miraculous right now," Ladybug snapped back.
"My Lady, be nice."
"I don't have to if I don't want to– I have other things to worry about," Ladybug turned back towards Alya and Nino. "Okay, explain to me everything that happened and what you know about Lila's powers– that's not her usual akumatized form."
"Where's Adrien?" Alya asked, glancing about the roof. If Chloe was here that meant he could be here too– and he had thrown himself between her and the akuma to protect her. She owed him an apology and a thank you– and so much more.
"Are you blind?" Chloe sneered. "Here I thought you were supposed to be the smart one or something–"
"With Miss Bustier," Chat Noir said quickly, shooting a glare at the blonde. "Anyways, about Lila– what can you tell us?"
"She calls herself the Weaver," she replied, not knowing why Nino had thrown his hands up with a groan. "She creates these little bracelets on their wrists, made out of thread from her own bracelets. When they wrap around someone they seem to do whatever she tells them, but if you break it you break the connection– that's what I did for Ladybug and Nino."
"I don't remember anything from being under her control," Nino said.
"It was... weird. It wasn't like other mind control akumas where they just do whatever they're told, because everyone was still acting like themselves," Alya said, tapping a foot against the ground. "I'm not sure how to describe it. They were themselves but just did what Lila told them?"
"If I had to guess, she's making her lies a reality to them," Chat Noir said, a small sneer on his face. "All of her akuma forms involved deception in some form– first it was Volpina and illusions, then Chameleon and the transforming."
"First she made it look like her lies were real with Volpina," Ladybug said, nodding in agreement. "Then with Chameleon she could act like they're real– but now it seems like she can actually make everyone believe they're real."
"The Weaver, how fitting," Chat said, crossing his arms. "Weaving her little web of lies."
"How come the spider-themed akumas always target me?" Alya muttered under her breath.