Ladybug tackled another civilian that had been turned into a toy soldier. This time it had tried to stab her in the chest and she had narrowly avoided the bayonet. It had grazed her arm, the cold metal slicing her suit and skin. Scarlet blood trickled from the narrow cut and the heroine winced as it came into contact with the air. Her crystal blue eyes watered as it began to sting. She couldn't stop to look at her injury: she needed to deal with the situation.
Ladybug threw her yo-yo onto a roof and felt the line go taunt. She then relaxed her stance and zipped onto the roof where she could get a better perspective on what was going on. She needed to see what was going on before going back into the fight.
Gracefully landing, the heroine crouched on the ground as she surveyed the scene below her. So far the heroes had just about been getting by. She could spot Rena Rouge, Viperion and Ryuko working together to defeat the soldiers; Chat Noir, Bunnix and Carapace trying to take down the akuma itself; and Queen Bee switching between the two groups.
Each had their weapons connecting against another, sweat gathering on their skin beneath their suits. Their suits flashed by in vibrant colours as they passed by, either from being flung or dodging an attack. Majority of the heroes wore weary expressions and had slower movements than usual, nevertheless it didn't stop them. If anything it made them try harder.
The akuma was struggling to keep up with them, often relying on its soldiers. However, it also kept gaining advantages from the people nearby, turning them into zombified soldiers. This made it harder for the heroes to keep fighting, especially from the little amount of sleep they'd been having. If this kept up then they wouldn't stand a chance. They needed to evacuate the area before it became their downfall. If they failed, then all of Paris would be at Lila's wrath.
The bluenette shivered. The thought alone scared her.
"Chat!" The heroine called to the leather clad hero, "I need you to evacuate the area with Carapace!"
"On it M'lady," The blonde winked before taking off with the turtle themed hero.
"Rena, Ryuko and Viperion focus on the akuma!" The female instructed.
"Got it," The three nodded and went for the target.
"Queen Bee and Bunnix," Ladybug looked at the two, "Finish off the final soldiers. Then this'll be over."
The two females nodded and went to perform their roles.
The ladybug themed heroine sighed as she surveyed the scene below.
The heroes were working contentedly and most of the civilians had been cleared of the area. With the supply of soldiers limited, it seemed to be going better than it had been. But Ladybug knew that they'd need Celeste's help. She knew that the three combined minds of the children would manage to find a way to win, just like Manon did when she was Puppeteer. The only person who could think like them, was their newest member.
The bluenette got her yo-yo and tapped on the icon that showed Celeste. She tried to contact the teen again. It rang once, twice, three times. Nothing. Not a single answer. If she didn't get here soon the battle will have already been fought. The heroine sighed, what could she be doing?
Sapphire Paonne sat on the top of the Eiffel Tower basking in the autumn breeze. She closed her eyes as the cool gust of air whipped past her face, washing all of her thoughts away. She just wanted to forget. To forget all of the pain and torment that was her life. To forget the hellhole that she called home. She wanted it all to disappear.
Her actions, her words, she wanted them to be meaningless just like she was. But they weren't, they impacted her life everyday and that's what left her here in the first place. Grieving over being separated from Emma when she knew it was coming all along. She knew it would happen eventually, yet she did nothing to halt it or make the pain numb. If anything, she made it worse. Why did her emotions always get the best of her?
Her selfishness caused her to keep Emma to herself; her pain kept her isolated from the rest of society; and her rage and grief had nearly turned her into a sick and twisted monster. It was a good thing that Duusu's words were on replay in her head. But she knew that the monster inside of her wasn't gone. It was still there. Waiting to be unleashed and used.
She tugged at her hair trying to lock it back into its box. The mental cage she made for her darkest thoughts. She couldn't let it out, she mustn't let it out. If it did, she'd be lost forever. The teen balled her fists and felt her nails bite her flesh through the material of her super suit. It was becoming too much. She was getting closer and closer to breaking.
Tears trickled down her cheeks as she tried to cage the raging monster inside of her. It screamed and ranted at her as she swept it further and further into the darkness. She tucked it into its box and nailed down the lid. She then bound it with the thickest chains and tossed it to the bottom of her mind, covering it with thoughts of things the brought her joy.
The heroine gasped as the struggle ended. She gradually opened her eyes to see the city stretched before her in an endless chain of lights. Just like the stars. Smiling as she closed her eyes, the brunette gathered her thoughts and went back to thinking about her predicament. She had to find some sort of answer to her questions.
Her moment of peace was broken by the sound of her communicator ringing. It rang once, then twice, a third time. Then it stopped. The teen slowly opened her eyelids to get it and see that she had a new message from Ladybug. Of all the people to call her now.
She probably found out that her mother kidnapped Emma; or that she had taken the infant around the city; Maybe she wanted to take away the teen's miraculous. All of those thoughts were enough to compel her to run away. To be a coward and never look back. She just didn't know what to expect, yet something told her to see what the bug wanted.
Shakily, the teen selected the voicemail button and listened to the heroine's message. The female's voice was audible instantly.
"Where are you? We need your help! There's an akuma attack by the Louvre, please come as soon as possible."
The message was brief but straight to the point, exactly like the bug herself. No hints to anything else whatsoever. However the girl didn't know if she could face Ladybug knowing that she kept Emma away from her mother.
'Speaking of which didn't the Dupain's say that Marinette Agreste was the infant's mother?' The teen tapped her chin, 'But wouldn't that mean that Ladybug and Marinette are Emma's mother? Meaning...'
"Oh my- " The teen didn't even finish her sentence.
Sapphire Paonne rose and looked at the Parisian skyline. A glorious sunset had began and the sky had hues of red, orange and peach. Fluffy clouds floated by and it looked like something out of a book. However the sunset was just a false sense of safety and Celeste could tell. The wind had a bitter taste to it and she could sense that something sinister was about to happen. A shiver traversed her spine and she could almost hear her mother's voice whisper into her ear.
'I'll get what I want, no matter what it costs.'
The teen shivered. It was sweet and resonate, like honey, however she knew that the worst of monsters were often sweet at first glance. The teen sighed.
She'd nearly turned into that earlier that day, thank the stars she decided to think for a while. But she knew that there was still part of that inside of her. Buried in the deepest parts of her mind and waiting to come crashing out.
The teen shivered as she hugged herself. She had a lot to discover about her true self. Taking a deep breath the heroine made her choice.
Jumping to the closest rooftop, the teen grabbed her communicator. She had to assist the heroes before Paris lost its heroes and an infant lost her parents. Even if she wasn't sure if she was a hero or a villain.
All of the toy soldiers lay on the ground. They were lifeless and stuck. They had no use anymore.
The akuma stood across from the heroes, a glare on its face. The akuma took the form of a giant teddy bear. It had a ribbon around its neck, forming a cute little bow tie and had brown beady eyes. But nothing about this bear said playtime if anything it screamed danger. It held a toy gun, fueled with ammo and had a beam that could turn anyone into a loyal soldier.
Suddenly, it shot at a bird and it came crashing down, asleep. The heroes took a step back.
"Who knew children were so dangerous," Ryuko looked at the bear.
"Well...they're full of surprises," Carapace chuckled, earning a nudge in the rips from Rena Rouge, "Ow! Hey!"
"You know very well why they're violent," She glared at him, "It's not like Per- them to do that."
"But they are full of surprises," Chat Noir casually added, "Just saying."
"Got that right, Blondie," Bunnix chuckled, "The twins are a handful."
"Can we just get this over with!" The akuma snapped, "I'm done with being Luna Moth's plaything! Always being used to be akumatised or as an advantage!"
"Since when did they know this many words?" Chat raised a brow.
"Not recently," Rena eyed the bear.
"My boys are smart, but they don't know words with more than a few syllables," Queen Bee shrugged.
"Ugh!" The akuma slammed its fist down and the heroes scattered.
"Hey!" Bunnix growled, "That wasn't nice! Burrow!"
She then teleported to the akuma's head and landed a blow right in the centre.
"Hey! That's not fair!" The bear stomped on the spot growing annoyed.
"What you did wasn't fair either," Bunnix blew a raspberry at the akuma, "Or nice."
"Did you notice that?" Ladybug watched as the akuma threw a tantrum.
"You mean Bunnix acting like a big kid?" Queen Bee pointed to the rabbit themed heroine.
"Hey!"
"No," Ladybug shook her head, "The akuma's like one big child. See?"
The other heroes turned to see the akuma throwing a tantrum. Stomping about, lying on the floor and kicking and screaming. All criteria that fits a child.
"So what do we do?" Viperion turned to the bluenette, "Not all of us are well versed in the art of parenting."
"We need something to distract it," The heroine spoke, "Though I'm not sure what."
"I know what!" Queen Bee smirked, "Just let me go and fetch it!"
Just as the heroine set off, Sapphire Paonne landed before them a grimace on her face.
"Sorry I'm late," She rubbed her arm, "I had some...uh..issues to deal with..."
The other heroes nodded before deciding to take a course of action.
"Carapace, fill..um I didn't ask for your name yet did I?" Ladybug blushed as she looked at the teen.
"You didn't," The teen nodded, "It's fine. My name's Sapphire Paonne."
"Well, Carapace tell Sapphire Paonne what we've discovered while the rest of us deal with the akuma," Ladybug smiled, "Feel free to join."
The other heroes then sprung into action, splitting up and each taunting the childish akuma.
"We've just discovered that the akuma's like a big child," The hero spoke, "So we're just trying to come up with a way to distract it."
"A way to distract it?" The brunette cocked a brow, "What like a giant lollipop or something?"
"Exactly," Carapace nodded, "Queen Bee just went to grab something that might work."
"I could help," The teen piped up, "I could create an amok that may distract the bear for a while."
"It's worth a shot, just tell Ladybug," The hero smiled before heading off to help the others.
'I'll definitely ask then,' The teen nodded, 'If it means making sure that those infants are safe from Luna Moth then I'll do it. Even if Ladybug knows what I've done.'
With that then teen rushed towards the scene, ready to put her plan into action.
"What's happening?!" Lila screeched as the heroes managed to purify her akuma. All because of the Peacock hero making a lollipop sentimonster. How stupid were those infants?
"They had one simple fucking job!" The brunette pushed a vase to the floor, "One fucking job!"
She pushed a framed drawing her daughter had done to the ground, breaking the frame. She then proceeded to throw her cane at the large window of her room, only for it to narrowly miss.
"Shit," She rushed to the window, scared of the damage she'd done.
The female then checked the glass for any cracks or chips, before sighing. If she had broken that, then her cover would've been blown. The repairmen would've immediately noticed all of the butterflies in there and let's not even mention the weapons.
The brunette was about to leave, when she spotted the Peacock miraculous holder. Something about her seemed familiar to the villain. Her green eyes, the brown hair. She'd seen them somewhere other than herself. She was pretty sure that the heroine looked like her daughter as well. The amount of negative energy radiating off her seemed the same as well. The female smirked, she'd have to put that theory to the test.
Swaying her hips, Lila walked up to her window. Tonight she'd see what her daughter has really been up to, but first she'll have a little fun.
"Great job!" Carapace fist bumped Sapphire Paonne, "It's good to see that we're getting new additions to the team."
The akumatised infants were now back with their parents, fully purified, and the heroes were now celebrating.
"Oh, I don't know about that," The teen bit her lip, "You see I have something to tell you guys. I know wh-"
A violet butterfly landed on her fan and the teen immediately froze. A violet butterfly outline came to her face and her bottom lip quivered as she felt her darkness coming out.
'No, no, no! Not again! I won't be able to hold back this time! There's only so much darkness I can withstand...'
'Sapphire Paonne,' The voice sang.
'That voice...' The teen shivered as she recognised it. It was sweet like honey and resonated in a singsong way. Her face immediately contorted in pain. It was her.
'I can give you the power you want. The power to not come second, to get what you want, when you want it.'
"Leave me alone!" The brunette gripped her head trying to get the thoughts from her head, "I'll never listen to you!"
The heroes around her were trying to snap her out of it, but she was alone. Stuck in her own limbo. A world that was all her mind. She was alone, like always.
"I-I...I can't do this anymore!" She cried out and desperately flung her hands into the air.
Half of the akuma emerged from her fan and the heroes all watched as the half flew away, unable to be taken in. The other half remained, lodged into the girl's fan. She stood there her bottom lip twitching as she shivered all over, half of the outline was still there and the heroes could see her struggling.
Her face contorted between different expressions. She switched from determined, to uncertain, to desperate. As if she was losing control, or part of it.
The brunette froze as the beast inside of its box slipped out. Half of it escaping as a puff of smoke. Slithering around her thoughts as it poisoned half her mind. Her mind grew darker and she began to lose half the light it had. She'd never felt this helpless.
The teen backed away from the heroes her face cold as she laughed. Her laughter wasn't joyful or sweet, it was cold and callous reflecting how alone she felt in the world. She shook, her laughter vibrating through her body.
"Sapphire Paonne?" The words rang around her mind as she looked at the heroes studying each one.
Each had a fearful look on their face, not knowing what would happen next. This had never happened before. The teen was unpredictable, she could go either way.
It was then a urge took over her. She had to harm, she had to kill, she had to carry out her darkest desires. To stop that itching urge and soothe it.
"I'm not Sapphire Paonne," The teen turned away from them, holding her arm back, "I'm someone else entirely. I'm not a villain, and I'm definitely not a hero. Just know that I'm a rebel and if I don't agree with you well..." Her cold laughter sounded again, "I'll have no problem killing you."
With that she disappeared into the darkening sky, leaving the heroes with yet another problem.
A/N: Here's the latest chapter. Sorry if there's any grammatical errors and I hope you guys enjoyed!
D.L.D