Chapter 25: Love Goddess, No More
Outside, Madame Romani's army of stone cherubs were shooting flaming arrows everywhere, trying to hit the heroes, who continued to deal with the love zombies and Aphrodite herself, who which seemed to get stronger, with each passing minute, while they looked and grew weaker and more tired. Some of them were even forced to seek a place to hide for a few minutes, just to get a little bit of their strength back. With Panda Rouge turned into a love zombie, and Ladybug and Chat Noir nowhere in sight, they were down to just 11 members. Usually, that number alone would be more than enough for them to deal with an Akuma and one of Hawk Moth's lieutenants. Only this time, instead of just battling them, they also had to be careful not to be touched by the love zombies, while at the same time, not hurt them. They were just innocent people who were put under the Akuma's spell, and forced to behave like that. All that, was just making things even more complicated for them, and they knew it.
"At this rate, will be sitting ducks." -Corbeau Noire said, as she and one of Flamingo's copies, hid beneath an overturned car. Because of the stone cherubs, they had been forced to see shelter, at least, until the raven heroine was able to regain part of her strength. Even though that was not the real Flamingo, she was happy to have her there with her.
"I know. Things aren't good." -Flamingo's copy told her.
"You're not going to disappear, are you?" -Corbeau Noire asked her girlfriend's copy.
"No, not yet… but I won't last much longer. I'm starting to feel a little dizzy." -Flamingo's copy told her. The raven heroine was told by Flamingo, that when her copies began to feel a little dizzy, it was because she herself was beginning to show signs of exhaustion, making it harder for her to maintain the copies.
"Don't think about it." -Corbeau Noire told her, knowing what she was thinking about. –"It'll all be alright."
"You don't have to talk to me like I'm the real Flamingo. I know I'm not her. I'm just a copy of her. When I disappear, no one will even remember me." -she told her with a sad voice.
"I will, remember, and so will Flamingo. Copy or not, that doesn't mean I don't care about you, or my girlfriend's other copies. I care about you all, just like she does. She knows that without you or the other copies she creates of herself, she would not be able to pull out some of the stunts she does. That's why I tell you that she does care about you." -Corbeau Noire smiled at her, as she caressed her face. –"And the same thing goes for me. I also care about you all. Because in more than one way, you and all the other copies of her, are her. That's why, until you disappear, I'm going to protect you, just like I protect Rose, whenever she's next to me. And when you do disappear, I will thank the fact that you were here to help us fight." -she declared.
"She's really lucky to have you." -Flamingo's copy told her, when she was interrupted by a loud thud, coming from above them.
"Uh-oh, this is bad…" -Corbeau Noire said, as the noise continued.
They had been listening to several different sounds. The sound of the flaming arrows being shot or the incessant giggling and chuckling of every love zombie that was still roaming around. But this sound was different. It sounded like someone, or something was pounding onto the car, and it kept repeating itself. Not knowing what was happening, the two of them prepared for the worst. And then, they saw the car around them being ripped apart, the same way one opens a can of sardines. The whole scene made them both wonder what was doing that. Corbeau Noire was about to use her powers to attack whatever was doing that, when she was surprised by two faces she knew quite well.
"Need a hand?" -Rena Rouge asked her in casual tone, as she and another of Flamingo's copies looked at them. But looking her in the eyes, she saw in her eyes that it was not one of Flamingo's copies, but the real Flamingo. And around their feet, were numerous broken pieces of stone, scattered all over the place.
"Were you the ones doing that sound?" -Corbeau Noire asked Rena, as Flamingo helped her up.
"Yes, and no. That was us breaking and shattering stone cherubs." -Rena Rouge told her, as she pointed at the rubble at their feet. –"What you heard, was what was left of them hitting the car, after we broke them." -she said.
"She noticed that you had crawled beneath the car, and we were worried that you might be hurt." -Flamingo said, as she hugged her.
"No, I'm okay, and I had someone to keep me company." -Corbeau Noire said, as she looked at Flamingo's copy.
"Hate to break up this cute moment between you, but that gypsy witch has dispatched more of these things and they don't look like they're here to play with us." -Rena Rouge warned Flamingo and Corbeau Noire, while pointing at the small group of flying stone cherubs that was flying towards them. –"It's time to play baseball with these guys." -she said, as she held her flute-staff like it was a baseball bat.
"You're feeling strong enough to fight?" -Flamingo smiled at her girlfriend.
"As long as I'm around you… and your copies, I'll be alright." -Corbeau Noire said, as she winked at Flamingo's copy, who showed her a little smile. –"Let's bash these idiots and turn them into rubble." -she said. She was not feeling especially filled with energy, just like the rest of the heroes, but she was not just going to stand-by and let them do all the work.
And Grizzly Bear was no exception to the exhaustion that was taking over the bodies and minds of the heroes. As he battled Brutus, he felt his strength diminishing little by little. And he was not the only who saw that. Brutus also noticed that his moves were getting slower, and every time he managed to land a punch or a kick on him, these were consistently weaker.
"Feeling tired?" -Brutus asked Grizzly Bear.
"Not really. What about you? Are you getting tired?" -Grizzly Bear asked him in a mocking tone, trying to hide the fact that he was beginning to feel exhausted.
"Of course, not. When in battle, a true warrior manages to get the energy he needs to keep going, from every single blow he lands on its enemies! Every drop of sweat and blood that your body secretes, is proof that as long as there's a fighting spirit within you, you can continue to fight!" -Brutus said, as he swung his war-hammer against Grizzly Bear, missing his body by mere centimetres, as the bear hero performed a backflip.
"This guy has seen Spartacus and Gladiator one too many times." -Grizzly Bear thought to himself. –"If that's so, then why is it that it feels like you're not even trying to hit me with that giant mallet?!" -he taunted him
"You talk big, but let's see if you can handle my strength, when combined with my speed. And it's not a mallet, it's a war-hammer" -Brutus said as he threw the war-hammer against Grizzly Bear, before jumping into the air. Once Grizzly dodged it, the war-hammer turned to dust, as Brutus pulled from his upper arms twin cinquedas and tried to hit Grizzly with them, only for him to escape. –"Looks like you've been training your dodging moves as well." -he said.
"Yeah, guess I'm faster than I look." -Grizzly Bear spoke in a cocky voice. –"I barely managed to dodge that attack of his. I've got to be careful." -he thought to himself.
"We'll see about that. This fight is just beginning." -Brutus declared, as he brandished both cinquedas and prepared himself to attack once again. –"Come at me, if you dare!" -he said.
And while the heroes tried their best to stay alive, the team leaders were inside the bakery, where Ladybug seemed to be having a sort of seizure, as she was standing, without moving an inch, and her eyes seemed devoided of life. All this was making Chat Noir nervous, as he did not understand what was going on, and was worried that Ladybug had bumped her head and was seriously injured.
"Ladybug? Milady? Bugaboo? Marinette? Say something, please!" -Chat Noir said, as he grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her lightly.
(Flashback)
Valentine's Day was just around the corner, and Tom Dupain was trying his best to come up with a specialty to be sold during the week before that date, and on the date itself. He had been trying numerous kinds of recipes, trying to find the one that would perfect, but until that moment, he had failed to do so. Still, this new one looked promising. He had decided to take an old favourite of everyone in France, palmiers, and give it a twist. And to help him with it was his daughter, Marinette. With only five years old, Tom's little princess already insisted in helping him out.
"Do you have my strawberries ready, my little princess?" -Tom asked Marinette, who was trying to crush an entire bowl of strawberries into purée.
"Almost, daddy." -Marinette said, as she did her best to crush the strawberries in the bowl.
"Here, let me help you with this." -Tom said, as he gently took the wooden spoon from Marinette's hand. –"Now, place your hand on top of mine, and try to keep up, Marinette." -he told her.
Tom's hand looked enormous compared to Marinette's little hand. Looking at it, Tom could not help but to think of his little girl as the most delicate thing in the world. Still, even thinking about it, he focused on what he was doing. Marinette had done most of the work, but those strawberries still needed to be crushed a little further. Once he felt that the delicious red fruits had been crushed enough, he looked at Marinette and smiled, telling her that she had done a terrific job, after which she giggled. Grabbing the bowl, he went to the stove and gently poured the crushed strawberries into a pan filled with refined sugar. Stirring it gently, soon the strawberries mixed with the sugar, creating a delicious red syrup, which kept bubbling, as Tom stirred it. He wanted the syrup to get the perfect consistency, for when he poured it on top of the palmiers, which would be ready quite soon.
"It smells so good, dad." -Marinette giggled, as she inhaled the sweet aroma of the strawberry syrup.
"It does, doesn't it?" -Tom smiled at her. –"Do you want to see it bubbling?" -he asked her, as she waved her head.
Grabbing her, he carefully allowed her to look inside the pan and see the syrup inside it. Seeing it, little Marinette could not help but to feel like she was looking inside a magical cauldron, and imagining that the syrup Tom and her had been making, was actually a magical potion, which smelled divinely.
"What's so funny?" -Tom asked Marinette, who was giggling.
"It's making bubbles!" -Marinette giggled.
"Oh, you think that's funny?" -Tom chuckled.
"Yes!" -Marinette giggled.
"Well, how about we let it bubble a little more, while we check on the palmiers, to see if they are all done, or not?" -Tom joyfully asked Marinette, who smiled at him.
Putting her on the ground, Tom lowered the stove, after which he placed his oven mitts. Opening the oven, he pulled the tray out, where several beautifully heart-shaped golden palmiers were resting. Smiling at the result, he placed the tray on the table, before closing the oven's door. Taking off the oven mitts, he was going to wait for the palmiers to cool down a little, before proceeding to the next part of making. He was about to check on the strawberry syrup, when he noticed Marinette was about to touch the stull warm tray, and quickly stopped her.
"No, no, no, hold on, honey." -Tom said, as he stopped Marinette from touching the still hot tray. –"You must always be careful, Marinette. The tray's still really hot. And we don't' want you to get burn, do you?" -he smiled at her.
"But you're always burning yourself." -Marinette told him.
"Yes, I am always burning myself. But I burn myself while cooking, so you don't have to, especially when you help me." -Tom said. –"And besides, we don't want mom to get angry, now do we? If she knew that you got yourself burned, she would never let you help me in the kitchen again, you know?" -he told her, as he pinched her cheek, making her giggle. –"Now, how about we finish delicious sweets?"
"Can I lick the spoon?" -Marinette asked.
"But of course, honey. But only when they syrup is already cold." -Tom told her, with a smile.
While waiting for the syrup to cool down, Tom arranged the palmiers on another tray, with Marinette giving him a hand. They all looked perfect, and they would look even better when they were finished. And once the syrup had cooled enough, Tom proceeded to finish them, while giving the wooden spoon that he had been using to stir it, to Marinette, who proceeded to lick it. When they were finished, Tom felt happy with the result. Unlike it happened with his previous attempts, Tom believed that those were palmiers would be the perfect treat to sell on Valentine's Day. He had a good feeling about them, and that feeling became even stronger, every time he looked at them.
"They look so pretty. They look like real hearts." -Marinette said, as she looked at the red syrup covered palmiers.
"They sure do." -Tom agreed with her. –"And you know, they're going to need a name." -he told Marinette.
"And what name will that be, daddy?" -Marinette asked him.
"Well… I was thinking, Heart Palmiers. Do you like the name, honey?" -Tom asked Marinette who waved her head, as not liking the name. –"No? You don't like it? Well… how about Love Palmiers? Do you like that name better, Marinette?" -he asked her, and she nodded. –"Okay, then, we'll call them Love Palmiers."
(End of Flashback)
"Milady?" -Chat Noir asked her. –"Marinette, what's going on?! Answer me, please!" -Chat Noir called her out, trying not to panic.
"Uh... what?" -Ladybug said, as she herself back to reality.
"Marinette, what happened?" -Chat Noir asked her, slightly relieved to see her talking.
"I… I… I don't really know…" -Ladybug told him. –"But this is… this is starting to become a habit." –she said.
"What's starting to become a habit?" -Chat Noir asked her.
"These memories." -Ladybug declared.
"What memories?" -Chat asked her, not understanding what she was talking about. –"What are you talking about?" -he asked her.
"Well, the first time it happened, was when the others and I were battling Origami. I had this memory of the first time my mom taught me how to make an origami butterfly, and that gave me an idea for a plan." -Ladybug told him. –"And now, I had another one, where I'm with my dad and he was creating the Love Palmiers for the very first time and I was helping him, and he asked me to taste the strawberry syrup he uses on them… wait a moment…" -she said.
And it was then that Ladybug had an epiphany. She did not know how she did not see it before, but she was seeing it now. What happened to her, was perhaps not as random as she initially thought.
"I'm thinking my special power, you know, my 6th sense, is somehow evolving, and it's manifesting this way now." -Ladybug told Chat Noir. –"I mean, the power itself still works the same way it did before, but now…"
"But now it's like it's been upgraded, and when necessary, it works like that, by showing you memories, which might help you solve a problem you have." –Chat Noir said.
"When you say it like that, it's almost like we're talking about a cell phone app, but yeah. I couldn't have put it better myself." -Ladybug declared. –"One thing's for certain, I'll have to talk about this with Tikki and with Master Fu, to know if there have been other Ladybugs who's 6th sense suffered an upgrade." -she said.
"But what triggered that memory?" -Chat asked her, curious.
"That over there." -Ladybug said, as she pointed to the stove. On top of it was a pan, from where a delicious smell emanated. -"My dad's strawberry syrup. The smell alone was more than enough to trigger that memory… he must have set it on low, and forgot about it when all this began." -she said, as she approached the stove, surprised that with the whole ruckus she and Chat did, that the pan did not fall from the stove. –"He overdid on the vanilla and the ginger again… like he always does. No wonder dad's pastries always come out perfect. He always puts a little bit more of each ingredient in them, just to make them taste even better."
"But how does that help you?"" -Chat asked her.
Ladybug did not answer immediately. Instead, she thought about the memory and what this one had showed her. After a couple of seconds, a plan had formed inside her mind, and she believed that it would work, if they were able to pull it out.
"I think I know how we can stop Aphrodite" -Ladybug said. –"But we're going to need the fastest members in our team, as well as our flying members, and this batch of my dad's strawberry syrup." -she smiled at Chat Noir.
"What exactly do you have in mind, milady?" -Chat Noir asked her, curious about what her plan would be.
"Listen carefully…" -Ladybug said.
Up in the air, Dragonfly and Queen Bee continued to battle Aphrodite. They were trying their best to keep up with her, as she continued to throw all kinds of attacks at them, but they were beginning to run on fumes.
"Just give me your miraculouses, and I'll save you the trouble of having to take it from you, once you're dead. I'll promise that I'll even use my love dust on you, and that way you two can go on and experience what true love really is."
"You can forget about it!" -Queen Bee declared.
"And as far as true love, I think I'll take my chances with another kind of love that isn't the one you're continually advertising." -Dragonfly shot at Aphrodite.
Hearing her that, Aphrodite attacked them again, trying to get them under her control. As she did that, Hawk Moth's words kept echoing in her head. After the last conversation she had with him, she knew that if she failed, the consequences would not be good for her. And so, she increased the speed of her attacks, hoping to catch either Queen Bee or Dragonfly, or the two of them. Suddenly, she felt something piercing her left shoulder. Gritting her teeth, she took her right hand to where she was feeling pain and felt what had hit her, an arrow. Looking down, she saw Forest Doe, with another arrow on her bow, ready to be shot at her.
"Sneaky little doe! Attacking me from behind…" -Aphrodite smiled wickedly at Forest Doe.
"Maybe… go ahead, try your tricks on me." -Forest Doe said, as she disappeared again, only to reappear seconds later on the other side of the rooftop. –"Come on! I think you've already had your fun with those two. Why don't you try the same thing with me? I bet you're not even capable of hitting me!" -she challenged, never taking her eyes of her.
Even though she was focused on Dragonfly and Queen Bee, Aphrodite changed targets, deciding to take down Forest Doe first, after she challenged her. What she did not noticed was that before she attacked her, Forest Doe had left a message on a wall of one of the surrounding buildings, using her arrows. This message was a drawing of a bird with its wings open, accompanied by the representation of the wind blowing. And that message was a warning. It was one of many warnings that the team had conceived to communicate amongst themselves, when they found themselves unable to speak face to face And that one was addressed to all the fliers and speedsters in the Miraculous Team, warning them that Ladybug or Chat Noir needed to talk to them, urgently. Seeing it, Dragonfly and Queen Bee left Forest Doe to deal with Aphrodite, who had clearly lost her interest in them, and wasted no time in finding the scarlet heroine and the feline hero.
At the same time, Madame Romani was controlling her stone cherubs, from the top of a building. She had created an enormous army of them, but when seeing the Miraculous heroes taking them down, she continued to create more to replace the ones that went down, even if that meant wasting some of her precious energy. She wanted to kill the heroes with her bare hands, but she was not foolish to face them without some advantage that would benefit her. So, by continuing to create stone cherubs, she planned on exhausting them, before going for the kill.
"They destroyed five more… no matter, five new ones, coming up." -Madame Romani mused to herself, as she used her crystal ball to create five new stone cherubs. –"No matter how many of these they destroy, I'll replace them with new ones… and I'll give them some more powerful weapons. These new ones, instead of just flaming arrows, they will have exploding arrows as well. It's going to take more of my energy to do it, but it will be worth it." -she thought, while laughing manically.
She was just finishing conjuring those last stone cherubs, when suddenly, one of the heroes stopped right in front of her. And who would be bold enough to do that, but Antelope, who kept showing her a cocky smile, as if he was challenging her.
"You've got a lot of guts of showing up here, without your dragonfly girlfriend." -Madame Romani said, as she ordered one of the stone cherubs to attack Antelope.
"She's not my girlfriend, and I don't need to be incredibly brave to come here and challenge you… after all, you're just a one-trick pony." -Antelope mocked her, as he dodged the cherub's attempt to kill him.
"You're going to eat those words!" -Madame Romani yelled at him.
"Yeah, right… I bet you can't catch me!" -Antelope shot at her, as he used his bat to whack the cherub that was chasing him. –"I bet that I can literally run laps around you and what's left of your stone cherubs." -he said. –"I'll tell you what! If you or one of your stone cherubs is able to touch me, I'll give you my miraculous. You can even send all the cherubs after me, I don't care."
"You think I'm stupid enough to fall for something like that?" -Madame Romani raised an eyebrow at him.
"Who knows? I mean, you're not exactly very smart to begin with… if you were, you, and probably the rest of your partners in crime would have been able to kill at least one of us, and you haven't, so…" -Antelope continued to mock her.
"You'll eat those words, kid, right after I skin you alive!" -Madame Romani exclaimed, as she ordered every stone cherub to stop doing what they were doing and to begin chasing Antelope. –"If he wants a challenge, I'm going to give it to him!" -she thought.
"She and her massive ego… works every time." -Antelope thought to himself, as Madame Romani deployed every last of her stone cherubs to chase him. What Madame Romani did not know was that all that was part of the plan Ladybug had come up with. Because Chat Noir was able to find him, as soon as he left the bakery, he told him what Ladybug wanted him to do, and Antelope wasted no time in putting her plan into motion. –"Oh, come on! You're sending your stone pigeons to get me, but you're too good to try and catch me yourself?!" -he said, as he saw the stone cherubs in the sky approaching him.
"You're going to regret mocking me, when I catch you myself, Antelope!" -Madame Romani growled at him, as she too began to chase after him.
"And you're going to be sorry you ever tried to come after me, witch." -Antelope thought to himself.
Enraged by what Antelope had told her, Madame Romani was now determined to kill him with her own hands. As for the antelope hero, he knew just what to do. But for things to proceed as scheduled, he needed to be sure that all, or most of the stone cherubs were chasing him, along with the gypsy witch. To make sure that happened, he wasted a little time, performing numerous stunts, just to make sure every last stone cherub came after him. Once he felt that Romani had dispatched most of the cherubs after him, he sprinted as fast as he could, avoiding the occasional love zombie that was still roaming, towards where the next part of the plan was going to take place.
Grizzly Bear and Brutus continued fight, and were so caught up in their struggle, they did not even notice Antelope and Madame Romani coming towards them. Grizzly Bear had just managed to dodge Brutus' latest attack, when he saw Antelope approaching, followed by Madame Romani and a massive army of stone cherubs, and knew from the expression on his face that there was something up with him. Not sure if Brutus had seen his friend or not, he decided to keep him looking at him, by attacking him again.
"Come on! My grandmother punches harder than you, man! Don't tell me you can't punch harder?!" -Grizzly Bear taunted Brutus.
Hearing him say that, Brutus' temper got the better of him, something that did not happen often, but the fight was beginning to tire him. And so, he charged against Grizzly, with both fists closed, determined to punch him. But like it happened so many times to those who attack in rage, he failed, tripping and falling on the ground. By then, Antelope was pretty much on top of them, and he kept sprinting. Understanding, what he was about to do, Grizzly jumped forwards, getting out of the way, as Antelope passed in front of Brutus, just before Madame Romani, blinded by rage as well, hit him. When this happened, a loud thud was heard, creating a small blast wave, as they hit each other, sending each of them flying a couple of meters in opposite directions, before falling on the ground. When all this happened, every stone cherub that Romani had created disappeared into thin air. Both Brutus and Romani were heaving, as they tried to get up. What happened to them had left them in a pretty bad shape, but neither one, nor the other was ready to throw in the towel. They both knew what would happen if they dared to give up. And as they tried to get up, the heroes were already getting ready to take them down again.
"Nice dodging man… but it's time we finish this. Hadouken Shoryuken Combo!" -Antelope told him, as he performed a backflip, celebrating the stunt he had just pulled. –"I'll take her, you take him, and then we exchange!" -he said.
"Got it!" -Grizzly Bear nodded to him, knowing just what to do.
Antelope and Grizzly Bear did not have many attacks where they combined their abilities, but that one was perhaps the one they liked the most. The attack consisted in the two of them mimicking the iconic attacks from their favourite Street Fighter characters, Ryu and Ken, while giving them a little twist of their own. Going for their respective target, they attacked them, mimicking Ryu and Ken's attacks respectively, before changing targets and applying the same combo. The result was two of Hawk Moth's lieutenants on the ground, knocked out cold.
"Man… we don't get to use this attack often, but when we do, we rock!" -Antelope exclaimed, as he high fived Grizzly Bear.
"You got that right." -Grizzly Bear smiled, as he looked down and saw Brutus and Madame Romani passed out on the floor. –"These two won't be waking up anytime soon. Not after the pounding they just had." -he added.
"And a good thing too, because we needed them out of the picture for the plan to work." -Antelope declared.
"What plan?" -Grizzly Bear asked him, not understanding what he was talking about.
"I'll tell you as we go. Believe me, it's a doozy, and we might just get there in time to be part of the action." -Antelope told him.
Forest Doe continued to keep Aphrodite busy, as the blonde Akuma tried to hit her with everything she had. She had become so obsessed with catching her, she did not notice that the remaining heroes had all positioned themselves around the rooftop where she was battling Doe. And it was this obsession that would soon dictate her defeat.
Doe herself was keeping an eye out for what was going around her, knowing that at any moment, the next part of Ladybug's plan would kick into action. Still, she hoped it would not take too long, because she was beginning to feel exhausted, and Aphrodite could tell that just from looking at her.
"Feeling tired, little doe?" -Aphrodite asked the doe heroine.
"Not really." –Forest Doe lied, as she tried to get her breath back.
"Don't lie to me. I can see it in your eyes. You're beginning to feel exhausted. Why don't you just give up? While you, with each passing minute, get weaker, I only get stronger." -Aphrodite told her, as she attacked her again. –"Just give up, and everything will be alright… true love will make everything alright." -she smiled evilly at her.
"Hey, you!" -a voice called Aphrodite, who turned around and saw to who it belonged to, Queen Bee, who was standing on the rooftop. –"Don't tell me you forgot about me?!" -she asked her with an annoyed voice, pretending she was mad at her.
"Oh, I didn't forget about you. I'm just focused on your friend here. If you are a little patient, I'll take care of you, little bee." -Aphrodite told her.
"Hey, no one calls me little bee! It's Queen Bee, and you get down from there and face me!" -Queen Bee declared. –"Or are you afraid to lose to someone prettier than you are?" -she called her out.
"Prettier than me?! Have you looked yourself in the mirror?!" -Aphrodite asked her, believing she was mocking her.
"Yes, I have, and while I rock with this beautiful blond hair, you look like something out of a cartoon!" -Queen Bee told her.
"A cartoon?!" -Aphrodite shouted at her, enraged, as she came down and landed on the rooftop, right in front of Queen Bee. –"How dare you call me that? I am beauty incarnated! I am the one who will show Paris and the world what love really is! I am the goddess of love!" -she shouted at her.
"Goddess of love? Please, if you're the goddess of love, then, I'm Selena Gomez, and I'm not!" -Queen Bee shot at her in a sarcastic voice, further annoying irritating Aphrodite, who could not see that that whole match of insults, was just a way to keep her distracted. –"You're a poser! I mean, have you looked at yourself in the mirror?! Those rags that you're wearing, they totally do not match your hair style, which like I said, it looks like something out of a cartoon… a cheesy cartoon, by the way." -she continued throwing insults at the Akuma. –"From all the Akumas Hawk Moth has created so far, you're probably the one with less style, and you're definitely the ugliest… and calling you ugly, is more than you deserve, a lot more."
"I'm going to force you to eat every single word you just told me… and then, I'm going to spray so much love dust on you, that you will fall in love even with the lowest bacteria on this planet." -Aphrodite told her. You could see the anger in her eyes and her face; a first, since she only showed them and everyone else a sweet and tender side, which now the bee heroine could see was nothing but a mask.
And with Aphrodite distracted, Ladybug, who was hidden, like the other heroes, knew the time was right. Exiting from her hiding spot, she was carrying the pan with her dad's boiling strawberry syrup on her hands, and she was going to use it to end the madness Aphrodite had started. Reaching her, she threw the content of the pan directly at Aphrodite's face. What followed next, was a scene worthy of a horror movie.
"Aaaargh! My eyes! It hurts!" -Aphrodite screamed, as the boiling syrup burned her face and her eyes.
"It's now or never!" -Ladybug thought to herself, as the last part of her plan was about to begin.
Aphrodite continued to scream in pain, as the boiling syrup ran down her face, burning it. Knowing they would not get another chance like that, the heroes went ahead and used their last trump card, the Merry Go-Round attack. With hit, they were all going to use the last of their strength to take her down. Using her trompo, Queen Bee created a small tornado around Aphrodite. This one was not as strong as the ones she was used to create. But it was supposed to be smaller and less strong than her usual tornados, so the heroes could go inside it and use their powers against the Akuma, and then exit it. They had come up with that attack, when Queen Bee accidentally created a weaker tornado, and upon examining it, she was sucked inside it, but was able to get out of it. With that in mind, the whole team came up with the idea of the whole Merry Go Round routine, but they had never attempted it in battle before. Still, they were about to see if it worked as well as they had practiced it.
Chat Noir was the first one to enter the tornado, and he wasted no time in using Cataclysm on Aphrodite. As soon as he was finished, Rena Rouge went ahead, and so forth. Every last one of the heroes went ahead and used one last attack on Aphrodite, who due to the excruciating pain she was in, as well as being blind, was unable to defend herself. And every time she was hit, she became weaker. To make sure the tornado would not lose too much strength, the flying members of the team, gave it a small boost, while inside it, so Queen Bee would not use all of her energy sustaining it. Even with the pain she was in, Aphrodite still tried her best to defend herself, but in the state, she was in, it was useless. Antelope and Grizzly Bear arrived a little late, but they were still able to contribute to her final demise.
After the last one of them entered the tornado and attacked Aphrodite, Queen Bee ordered her trombo to stop spinning, allowing the tornado died, Aphrodite's unconscious body feel to the ground. They had defeated her, and as soon as her body hit the ground, everyone that had been turned into a love zombie returned to normal, as the Akuma Butterfly exited Aphrodite's body, turning her back to normal as well, and tried to run away.
"No more evil doings for you, you blasted Akuma Butterfly. I relinquish you from evil!" -Ladybug exclaimed, as she used her yo-yo to destroy the dark creature, obliterating it.
And with that, Aphrodite is no more... I can't think enough to LaViolaViolaRosa for lending me her original Akuma. She was a spectacular character that I loved to write, and she did not make things easy for the Miraculous Team. All that is left is to see, if Marinette and Adrien finally become a couple or not. Do you think think that will happen, or something will prevent it from happening? You'll have to wait and see on the following chapter.
Oh, and before I forget, I bet you all have noticed what I did with Ladybug, didn't you? I told you that that "flashback" scene when they fought Origami had a reason to happen. Now, you know... our little Ladybug's powers are beginning to evolve. I wonder what else will I have in store for you all?
As always feel free to comment, fav and leave suggestions to improve this fic, or future ones.
P.S You might want to check out Liehl-FerZ page on DA, because on top of drawing Juleka as Corbeau Noire, she also did Rose as Flamingo, with a new and improved outfit. :)