In this chapter, I will be reminding people of the different family bloodlines in Lila's extended family and what they specialize in now that they are regular business people and not a crime family.
Also, the episode in this chapter Feast will be slightly different because in my stories I said the temple was attacked by outside forces and not destroyed because of Master Fu's mistake.
I hope everyone likes this chapter.
Four nights had passed since Ladybug had an idea of where to train everyone. After discussing the problem with Ning, and informing Master Fu and Chat Noir what they discussed, they had found a secure and safe space with plenty of room to train all the wielders.
Ladybug and Chat Noir started to gather all of the temporary heroes. When it came to the Couffaine siblings, they had to be extra careful not to let the other one know they were being fetched for training. Finally, they all arrived outside a nice looking rental office in an older section of Paris.
The temporary heroes glanced over at Bunnyx and Kkachi. Well, they thought they were Bunnyx and Kkachi. Because Bunnyx had been forgotten due to the Akuma Timetagger never happening, Ladybug and Chat Noir had informed the other temporary heroes about her. They also said that Kkachi's Miraculous came with limits which is why she wasn't transformed.
Instead of their costumes, they were wearing black stealth suits with attachments on them to mimic parts of their costumes. They were also carrying replicas of their weapons, (in Bunnyx case, a tube filled with Playdough) and had on fake Miraculouses.
When Ladybug had talked with Ning about the two heroines' problem, the UN agent had overnight shipped two of her old stealth suits to a P.O box for Ladybug to pick up. The stealth suits had been equipped with some enhancements that would help mimic the physical powers of the Miraculouses magical suits.
"Welcome everyone. As some of you know, Chat Noir and I, have been training our first three temporary heroes one night a week. As our ranks have swelled it's become a necessity to train all of you so you're ready to face Hawkmoth's akumas or the villain himself with Mayura tagging along.
For weeks now the two of us have been struggling to find a place to safely train everyone without being caught. I'm happy to say we've finally found a place that suits our needs."
"A real estate office? Are you kidding us?" King Monkey asked dubiously.
Chat Noir grinned. "Looks can be deceiving. Follow us." The two main heroes lead the small group around back to a fenced-in area where the trash was dumped.
Chat Noir pushed the dumpster out of the way and underneath it was a large metal door in the ground. Ladybug pulled open the door revealing a narrow staircase heading down.
Everyone followed her down into the depths while Chat Noir secured the door behind them, after using his baton to help him slide the dumpster almost back in place.
At the end of the staircase, everyone gasped at what they saw. It was a huge underground shelter, a relic from WWII. During WWII several underground shelters had been constructed to protect people during attacks on the city, but over time people had forgotten about them.
Ning had come across this one by accident during one of her previous trips to Paris. She had updated the shelter figuring it would be a good place for the heroes to hide out if there was a city-wide attack and they needed to rest and recharge. She even had reinforced it to prevent it from collapsing.
It had everything they needed to train all the heroes without being seen by civilians and Hawkmoth. A gym and training area, a kitchenette to store food for the Kwamiis, a few rooms to rest after training. There was even a small living room area with a fully stocked bookcase, a computer, and a TV, which had special transponders so they could get a signal down here.
"This place is awesome! How did you two find this sweet place?" Bunnyx asked with glee.
"We have to keep some secrets. Tonight's practice is about physical conditioning. Several of you need to learn how to handle your enhanced physical abilities. You also need to exercise to keep your body in good shape."
Chat Noir stepped up and said, for now, he would work with the boys on their physical exercises while the girls would remain with Ladybug to get used to their enhanced abilities. He caught Bunnyx muttering something about sexism and chose to ignore it.
So he took the boys over to the gym area and started to assign them to different machines. "Alright, Carapace and Viperion both of you need to work on speed so head over to the treadmills. Sirius, you need to put on a bit more muscle go over to that machine to work on your arm strength.
King Monkey go use the step climber. You need to work on getting your cardiovascular muscles stronger so you don't tire yourself out with all the jumping around you do. It can also help with your balance."
For himself, Chat began to work on his flexibility. Fencing had developed his flexibility and it had only improved by battling Akumas. Still, he knew he could do better. So he started to do different stretches such as touching his toes and lunges.
With the girls, Ladybug had them line up and taped two X's on the ground several feet apart. "Alright, the first thing we should work on is controlling how high you can jump and how far will a leap take you. I want each of you to step on the X and jump as high as you can first. After you come back down, then I want to see you push off the ground and leap across to the other X.
I'll be taking notes from over here and talking to you after your turn. Let's begin." Ladybug went first to demonstrate what she meant on the off chance her explanation was too confusing.
Turning around she watched as Rene Rouge went first. She had improved greatly from the first time she had used the Miraculous. Her control was almost flawless. The problem was she kept overestimating her abilities.
Honey Bee's attempt was good, but not great. She needed to work on her leg strength if she wanted to reach higher and go further on her own power. Ladybug was going to recommend that she should use her wings less often.
Now it was Kkachi's turn. The teenager was fidgeting inside the stealth suit as she tried to figure out how to use its enhancements. Picturing the outfit with bouncy springs underneath her feet the teen gave it a try.
Her form was terrible as she only managed to get her right leg to activate the enhancement. So when she sprang up she was tipping wildly to the right as she struggled to get her left side in sync.
Ryuko caught her teammate before she hit the mats. Knowing the girl had to be embarrassed she whispered a suggestion about how to do her leap properly. This time, she made sure to bend down as far as she could and kept her eye on the other X.
She pushed off the ground and made sure not to lean too far forward. During the leap, she took a deep breath to loosen her body and made sure her feet were ready to absorb the impact.
"That was excellent Kkachi! You did great for using that stealth suit for the first time. Bunnyx, it's your turn to try. Please don't go overboard!"
Bunnyx rolled her eyes. She wasn't always that reckless when it came to testing her limits. Well, besides that time when she was eleven and thought it would be a brilliant idea to shred down the glass pyramid entrance and ended up breaking her left ankle and right wrist. Oh, and she got grounded for three months.
Okay, so she did go overboard at times. Like Kkachi, she needed to be careful. She knew how powerful and dangerous her Miraculous could be. So she would have to get used to the stealth suit and hope muscle memory took over when she transformed again.
So she jumped up and then did her leap. She didn't get as high or as far as the others, but she did do better than she expected. Hearing Ladybug telling her she did great was reward enough.
Of course, Ryuko did the best thanks to her natural physically fit body. The only comment that Ladybug had for her is that she needed to work on preparing herself for sloppy landings. Amid a fight, there was no guarantee of a perfect landing.
The group practiced for an hour and a half. The girls also worked on their flexibility before hitting the machines and Chat took to the boys to work on their enhanced physical abilities.
Once it was time to leave, the heroes made sure to secure the shelter and Chat used his baton again to move the dumpster so they could all climb out. As soon as the door was locked and the dumpster back in place the wielders split into their gender groups and were taken home and to return their Miraculouses to main heroes.
The next day while the kids were at school a family meeting was taking place at Fox Burrows between the heads of the extended branches of the Rossi family. The family meeting was being headed by the patriarch and matriarch of the family, with Lila's parents sitting to the side to listen and speak on their daughter's behave.
Simon called the meeting to order. "Today we are having an important meeting between the family heads to discuss an ongoing issue. My son and daughter-in -law's child Lila. I understand that every family has issues to discuss, but this is not a free for all.
Each head will get a chance to discuss their issues and decided on how to work them out. If anyone starts yelling or causing a scene you will be dismissed from this room. Am I clear?"
Everyone nodded and Jeanne got out her notebook and pencils to write out the transcript in shorthand. She would digitize it later. For important meetings, it was important to have a hard copy as well as a digitized one for comparisons.
First up was the head of the Canuto, (Hoary) family. They were in charge of the Advertising and Public Relations division. It was one of the most critical departments in the business.
Mr. Canuto looked glanced at a pile of papers before speaking. "Our Advertising department is scrambling to come up with new commercials and ads to make up for the false advertising your daughter spread.
We took a major hit in the sales of our sporting goods because of the incident with Ms. Bubbles. She left several negative reviews causing a few of our sporting goods partners to end their contracts with us. The company is now stuck with a surplus of gym equipment with nowhere to distribute it.
Has Lila even apologized to Ms. Bubbles? We believe if she did, then Ms. Bubbles might retract her previous statements and give us a better review."
Vino looked at his wife and she waved her hand in a so-so gesture. "I talked with the girl's parents. They were very unhappy about their daughter getting conned. I apologized for not keeping a closer watch on Lila. I forced her to apologize. It was apparent she didn't mean what she said."
"Which explains why we're still getting bad reviews. The Bubbles family don't trust us to keep our word." Mr. Canuto was not pleased by this at all. They would have to do something big to convince people that Treasure Incorporated was worthy of the public's trust.
It didn't take Mrs. Granncho, (Crab Eating), very long to get into the problems the Security division was still having thanks to Lila's Darknet stunt. They had to upgrade their protection protocols several times now and write a new firewall code to prevent any more attacks.
"Do you know how much overtime my entire division had to perform just in Paris alone? I had to contact and explain to all our other branches across the globe why they needed to go through extensive and lengthy upgrades."
She took a deep breath before continuing to speak. "I do not like having to stay up for several hours just to deal with cybersecurity issues, in other time zones for weeks. I know you've punished her for this, but I feel I'm owed some type of compensation for this."
Mr. Rossi promised that he would personally work on getting her compensation for all the overtime as soon as possible. He just needed a little time to figure out how he was going to do that. Mrs. Granchio gave him a month to comply.
Next up was Mr. and Mrs. Chaveo, (Bat Ear), who happened to be in charge of Finances, Accounting and Human Resources.
Mr. Chaveo looked like he was going to explode as he explained the difficulties he was facing at the moment. "It has been a nightmare trying to find ways to pay the Security division for all their overtime. I've had to redistribute money from other departments just to make ends meet for this quarter.
Mrs. Chaveo added that she was having struggles in Human Resources as well. "Several of our trainees abruptly quit after the debacle with the company's AI chips. They were afraid for their careers and decided to leave rather than risk being associated with the scandal.
We've been reaching out to temp agencies to fill in for those who quit, but it will be a while before we have enough to train for full-time employment. I'm also dealing with problems between coworkers who are losing trust in each other."
Olivia promised to help fix things in Human Resources, while her husband would work with Mr. Chaveo to find a way to pay for all the overtime.
The Sables, (Tibetan Sand), grievances with Lila had to do with the position her lying had done when it came to the R&D division. They were still months away from releasing several of the new products, which Lila had boasted about.
"We are still researching half of the projects she mentioned to her classmates. The self-cleaning silverware is only in the early stages of development. However, we've received several emails demanding to know why there is a delay in receiving them."
Both of Lila's parents confirmed that they had already taken care of the problem and had managed to rectify the situation by making Lila not only apologize but gave back the down payment they had given her.
The other families included the Arcers, (Artic), the Andeans, (Culpeo), the Grise, (Grey), and lastly, the Fennels, (Fennec).
The Arcers, who headed up the Marketing Research stated how the company's profits would most likely tank if the Rossi's couldn't get Lila to behave properly. This was related to the fact they were related to the owners of the company and closely watched.
What would the public think if Lila's behaviors, in full detail, were made available to the general public? If people saw a rift in the family, Treasure Incorporated would appear they were abandoning their core values.
The Andeans were in charge of the Sales, Purchasing, and Distribution divisions. They were having to scramble to find ways to save money to make up for the surplus products that were being stored because they had nowhere to ship them to.
The Grise family ran the entire Legal division and Lila had caused them a migraine. They were trying to settle the lawsuit with the Bubbles quietly. It was a tricky situation because it had been Lila who had given their daughter faulty equipment, but the suit was against Treasures Incorporated for false advertisement.
The Fennels were up to their ears in complaints coming into the Customer Service division. It was not easy dealing with customers who demanded to know if their products had been sabotaged as their AI chips had been.
Then, of course, the other Rossi family members, namely Vino's sister, (whose husband had taken on her name), explained the troubles in General Management.
"Vino, you know I love my niece, but her attitude is impacting my family negatively. My daughter and youngest son are frightened of her. Todd is starting to mimic her bad behavior. It has to end now."
"I know little sister. Everyone, I understand the difficulties my daughter's recent actions have caused. My wife and I are working to ensure this doesn't happen again."
Olivia held back tears as she reminded everyone her daughter was suffering from a mental disorder and they were doing their best to help manage it. They would continue to do what was best for her and try to keep her problems out of the family business.
Isra Santos was having a challenging time concentrating on her mission since the Startrain attack. It had shaken her more than she cared to admit. She had never felt that helpless before.
Of course, she had faced similar problems. There was always something going on in the world that she couldn't stop. This was different because she had been the only person in the world who could help and it scared her to think about the what-ifs.
She took a few breathes and forced herself to pay attention to what she was doing. She was talking with the Information Officer, Mr. Agraz and Editor Wainschenker.
Mr. Agraz was showing her the information he had gathered for the proposals. "As you can see I've been updating the information relating to the studies being done about the melting ice caps. Those include recent studies on how the situation with the melting ice caps is a more complex problem than originally thought."
Ms. Santos looked over the new information. It included how to construct new climate models based on the effects of freshwater from the melted ice mixing with the ocean currents. It also explained the results of the studies conducted showing the possibility of natural disasters occurring.
"This information is available to all the parties involved correct?"
Mr. Agraz nodded. "They have already reviewed it previously. What I'm suggesting is for the proposals is to remind the parties of this information. We should also show them the daily changes going on in Antarctica up to a week before the meeting."
"Good idea, this will show how quickly the problems are evolving and put pressure on the parties and the EPA to pass any proposals made. I would like you to continue to gather as much information about what's currently going on Antarctica, including how the different parties involved might be affecting each other's research."
Editor Wainschenker then presented her the edited drafts he was working on for the proposals. They were looking good and she urged him to make sure the proposals were grammatically correct in all the different languages the parties used.
After she was completed her meeting, she decided to contact her supervisors to let them know what was going on. After bidding the staff to not disturb her for one hour, she went into the conference room to make her video call. She made sure to lock the doors and check to make sure her video link was private.
Her call was answered by the UK Representative and she didn't seem surprised by the call. "I assume you're calling about what happened a few days ago with the flying train?"
"Actually, I was going to give you an update on my work here. I wanted to let you know that the situation here is going well. The new proposal ideas are very precise and focused on the most concerning issues at the moment.
I have no doubt when the proposals are brought up at the annual meeting that at least one of them will be approved. Hopefully, it will be all five. The team here is dedicated to their job to ensure the next meeting is a huge success."
The UK representative inclined her head, a gesture to indicate she was satisfied with Ning's success. Her face became serious again. "It is a good thing that the ATS is dedicated. I have no doubt they can complete the rest of the work without you."
The only indication that Ning was caught off guard was the slight widening of one eye. "You have a new assignment for me? When is my briefing?"
"Now. The incident with the train not only affected Paris but London as well. Citizens are terrified to take the train between the two countries. If the terrorist Hawkmoth can send a train into space then he is capable of sending his akumas out of France to other countries?"
"Madame, my team in Paris stated that this was an isolated incident and provided evidence that the terrorist had no control over the Akuma once it left the city."
"You'll have to show the council the evidence later. You will be leaving Buenos Aires in two days so that you may finish your work there. We will be sending you to Paris for the next three weeks to work with your team there.
We want you to internment Hawkmoth to end the threat he poses. If you are unable to, at the very least, the Security Council wants you to diminish his terrorizing efforts. Understood Peace Keeper?"
She nodded and her supervisor dismissed her. "Looks like I'll be cashing in that favor sooner than expected."
Three days passed and it was late afternoon in the City of Love. They massage shop was closed for the day.
Master Fu was busy building something for his Apprentice. The active Kwamiis in the shop floated around watching him. The only one missing was Sunny, who was currently with Marinette, exploring the modern world.
Fu was polishing a crystal sphere that he was going to be attaching to a polished wood staff that had a metal base.
"What are you doing Great Guardian?" Honorra asked curiously. She felt a sense of familiarity with the different parts, but couldn't remember why.
"I'm creating a staff for Ning to use to channel her magic."
The Kwamiis looked at each other confused. Ning already knew how to cast wards, make potions, and channel the power of the Kwami Charms. Why did she need a staff?
Master Fu sensed their confusion and laughed a little. "All Apprentices are given a staff to help them build up their magic reserves and assist them in casting certain spells, such as the one I use to create a shortcut between locations."
"Casting wards isn't considered a big spell?" Prickker questioned.
Master Fu shook his head and stated that casting wards was one of the first spells trainees learned. Wards were spells for protection and to keep evil out. The stronger the aspiration the more powerful the spell.
Ning's desire to keep the world safe and bring about peace was her core belief so it was easy for her to cast powerful protection spells. However, Great Guardians needed to know many different spells if they were going to keep a close eye on the Miraculous they had to watch over.
"How long will it take for Ning to build up her reserves so that she doesn't need the staff to cast big spells?" Flapper asked as she balanced on the staff.
"It is different for everyone. I only needed the staff for a year. My mentor was very proud of my ability to learn so quickly. He said I had a natural talent for magic."
The old man's eyes glazed slightly as he recollected how his mentor had told him that he believed he would be a great mentor for his own Apprentice when he became a Great Guardian. It was awe-inspiring that Master Zhu had that much faith in him.
Wayzz brought over a tissue over and the old man wiped his eyes. "Sentimentality will always get to you. I'm glad I have so many nice memories. It makes up for the heartache when the temple fell."
Upon hearing this, all the Kwamiis swarmed the man, giving him a much-needed hug. They knew he felt guilty for what happened. He had trusted the wrong person and he felt like he murdered everyone in the temple, which wasn't the case.
"You can't keep blaming yourself for the actions of another. It's not healthy," Zippy stated in a kind tone.
"If you feel the need to release the burden then talk to your daughter next time she visits," Jill advised.
At that moment, Fu's phone chimed. The EMC Kwamiis backed off a little, still a bit scared of the fancy communication device. Fu didn't recognize the number so he let the phone ring for a bit.
There was a double chime, indicating a voicemail had been left. Cautiously, he opened the voicemail, prepared to destroy the phone, if any dark magic was contained in the message.
A familiar voice filled the air though it was heavily accented. "Mr. Chan. This is Isra Santos, a friend of your daughter's. We just met up in Buenos Aires three days ago. She said she was heading home and when I guessed New York, she corrected me by saying Paris. I hope she arrives safely tonight and enjoys her three weeks visiting you.
I have to so I hope you enjoy the rest of your day. Tell your daughter I said hi. Bye."
The EMC Kwamiis looked at their "cousins" confused by the message. Who was Mr. Chan and why did this woman call about his daughter when she was supposed to be a secret?
Seeing their confusion, Wayzz and Honorra explained what was going on as they helped Master Fu set up the guest room. The EMC already had a basic idea of who Ning was and what her job was.
It was astonishing to learn how many precautions had to be taken to avoid people finding out she existed. Even the anonymous Order of the Guardians and the Miraculouses never had as many precautions to keep them from being discovered.
"It shows how much she loves she has for the Great Guardian and the Miraculouses if she's going so far to keep her bosses from discovering the truth behind all this," Flapper twittered.
"It also shows how happy her job makes her. Traveling the world to bring peace and also working to preserve magic must be a thrilling endeavor," Stella squeaked.
A few hours later after the city was engulfed in the cloak of night, there was a knock on the back door. Master Fu checked who it was and opened the door letting in Isra Santos aka Ning Sun.
"Did anyone besides the Kwamiis see me come in?" the woman asked. The man shook his head assuring her that no one noticed her arrival. He took note she was traveling light with just one small suitcase.
"I sent most of my things back to New York. My supervisors will make sure the bags will be returned to my bunker. Sorry for the late notice, my superiors wanted to keep quiet about this trip."
Master Fu could hear her unspoken words. Her supervisors were getting extremely concerned since the last akumanzation had reached international news. Sending his daughter on such short notice and with a limited amount of time indicated they wanted her to solve this problem quickly and quietly.
The young woman cracked her neck slightly after sitting in a plane for a thirteen and a half hours. Nobody should have to sit stiffly for so long. She headed to the main shop so her father could work the tension out of her body. They could discuss business tomorrow.
It was late morning when Ning finally woke up. Traveling between so many time zones and getting her disguise off always left her tired out. Normally she couldn't sleep in, but when she was in Paris, she took advantage of it.
Once in the kitchen/dining area, she realized everyone was gone. There was a note on the fridge stating that the small group had gone to pick up a special delivery at the post office and would be back soon.
On the kitchen table was the Miraculous Book. Lying next to it was a freshly made memory stone. She felt it calling out to her. Taking a seat at the table she reached out and touched the memory stone.
Ning found herself in a garden. She looked around and could see mountain peaks in the distance. The garden consisted of several different wildflowers you would find in the lower elevations of Tibet.
Different types of moss were attached to rocks spread out in a lovely fashion. There were also Himalayan firs mixed with tundra-like vegetation, rocky terrain plants, and occasional buckhorn bushes and junipers.
Seeing a patch of snow lilies near a wall she walked over and marveled at their beauty. Hauling herself up she looked at what was behind the wall.
She was at the temple built for the Order of the Guardians. She recognized it from the Miraculous Book. She had never notice before there was a large area outside the complex for growing food and beyond that, she could see wild animals.
There was a heard of Kiangs running down the slopes without breaking their legs across the rocky terrain. In the sky above a Tibetan eagle soared.
She heard voices coming from the far side of the garden and got off the wall. Walking through the garden she saw two teenage boys. One, she instantly knew was her father as a teenager. The other she didn't recognize, but she felt a lot of negativity coming from the boy.
The teenager had extremely dark hair and dark eyes. Unlike the trainee's outfit, his was black and that worried her. It was not one of the five pure colors associated with the country.
"I have nowhere to go Fu. My family already has too many mouths to feed. If you would put a good word in for me, I'm sure your masters would allow me to train here in the temple."
Fu bit his lip and as he spoke in a kind voice. "Being a guest for a few days here is not the same as becoming a full time member Wangchuck. We train from early morning to late at night.
There are tests to take and there are several books we must memorize each day. Our lives are harsh here, with very little interaction with the rest of the world. If you stay here, you might never see your family again."
Wangchuck insisted that it would be a problem. He was smart, capable, and would be happy here knowing that his family was safe. "Why are you hesitating my friend? Does it have to do with the secretive nature of the people here?"
Fu was caught off guard and fumbled as he responded. "There is nothing here that is secretive. We are merely guarding cultural treasures from being stolen by outsiders."
Wangchuck gave Fu the stink eye. "You are not fooling me, Fu. I am part of this culture as well. If you know what they are, then why are I and my family unable to learn the truth?"
Fu couldn't find an argument for that one. "What I tell you stays between us understood?"
Wangchuck nodded and leaned forward. His eyes widened as Fu whispered about the Miraculouses and what they were used for. "Now, I really want to stay here. Can you please talk to your masters about my desire? I promise to never tell the secret of this temple no matter what they say."
The memory faded and the picked up once more. Judging by the position of the sun it was a few hours later. The two boys were in the garden once more, but Wangchuck was yelling at Fu.
"You're lying! You never tried to get your masters to accept me as a trainee! I thought we were friends!"
"We are! I did talk to them and they were angry with me for trusting you with this secret. They're doing this to punish me not you."
"Well, it turns out they're punishing me too. Thanks for nothing Fu!" The boy stormed off angrily and muttering curses.
The memory faded and a new one appeared. Time had passed and she found herself inside the dorms. Her father appeared about a year older and was gazing out his window.
Suddenly, he looked alarmed and she peered about the window. She saw coming up the path a squadron of people, all dressed in black. Each of them carrying magical staffs. In front of them were tiny blue creatures, which reminded her of the Pokémon, Trapinch, lashing out thei long tongues.
Voices carried throughout the complex. The elders were yelling something about the Society of the Exiles. People were already rushing out to defend their homes.
Ning pulled out of the memory and found herself no longer alone in the kitchen. Her father had returned with the Kwamiis and was looking at her, wondering what she was going to say.
"Your memories," she started to say before she paused. "Do you really think this Wangchuck was responsible for the Society of the Exiles for attacking the temple?"
Fu's eyes scrunched together in confusion. "What is the Society of the Exiles?"
It was Ning's turn to be confused. "That's what the elders called the group attacking the temple. Didn't you hear them?"
Fu shook his head. "It was absolute chaos that day. People were running and shouting. Securing the Miraculouses and trying to get everyone to safety by use of a back trail."
He sat down and pulled the Miraculous Book towards him. The Kwamiis all landed on the table. The Great Guardian flipped through the pages until he came to a page that was written in extensive code.
It took a few minutes to decipher and then he read the entry. "It is a warning. The Society of Exiles was made up of those banished from the temple. They couldn't make their own Miraculous as the spells to do such a thing have been lost for centuries.
Instead, they enchanted their staffs to pull the negativity from inside them to cause destruction and chaos. They vowed to destroy the Order of the Guardians for exiling them."
He pushed the book over to his daughter and she read the rest of the page to herself. The Society recruited all who had been scorned by the Order. Their ultimate goal was to take back the Miraculouses and use them for their own gains.
No doubt my father's old friend joined this group. That doesn't mean the blame for the attack rest on his shoulders entirely.
Ning placed a hand over Fu's and squeezed. "Just because you told one person doesn't mean you are solely responsible for the attack. You told me the Order did both good and bad deeds. It's just a coincidence that the attack happened a year after your friend left. You shouldn't blame yourself." The Kwamiis added their encouragements, allowing the man to finally let go of his guilt and have a good cry.
Later that day, Sunny and Tikki were hiding in Marinette's purse. A new artifact that had been found by Alix's father was being unveiled. The whole class was there and even local reporters. Adrien was, of course, is accompanied by Nathalie and the Gorilla.
"I can't wait to see what Alix's dad found on his last expedition. She mentioned he found it deep in the mountains of Tibet."
Sunny looked over at her "cousin" sharply. "How deep in the country was he? What if he found something related to the Order of the Guardians? We should check this out before the unveiling."
Tikki shook her head at the other kwami. "You're getting ahead of yourself Sunny. If it was something to worry about wouldn't we feel it?"
The skunk gave her a hard look. Peeking out of the purse the Kwami of Disgust looked around. The clock on the wall said the unveiling would start in five minutes.
Ignoring Tikki's protests, Sunny phased out of the purse and crawled to the floor. Making sure she was hidden by Marinette's feet Sunny phased under the floor and then phased back up behind the curtain.
The closer she got the more her hackles were raised. Levitating in front of the statue she gasped. If Kwamiis could vomit she would be doing just that. Why was the symbol of the Guardians with two slash marks over it, on this statue?
Moving slightly closer, she felt extremely cold. Blinking her eyes, she thought she saw the statue crumbling. She backed off and made her way back the purse.
Once back inside, Tikki started to admonish Sunny for her stunt when she told her to put a sock in it. "That thing behind the curtain. It has the symbol of the Guardians on it, only the symbol has two slash marks over it."
Tikki's eyes widened even more. "Mr. Kubdel was that close to the temple? But it's nearly impossible to get to, especially from the lack of care for nearly two hundred years."
Both Kwamiis were jolted as Marinette moved closer to the front. The curtain went up and Mr. Kubdel was telling everyone about his discovery when there was a thump beside him.
"Alix!" her father cried out. He bent down to check on her with the reporters taking pictures when a lot of people started to faint. The media turned around and they saw several teenagers and an adult woman had fallen on the floor.
The Gorilla was torn between checking on Adrien or Nathalie. Adrien was moaning on the floor. Nathalie was withering on the floor as she started to grow very pale.
Rose and Juleka had fainted next to each other. Rose's hands were twitching and Juleka legs started to shake. Max had fainted on top of Kim and both of them had a sheen of sweat on their bodies.
Alya had fallen forward, her phone skidding all across the room as her breath became uneven. Nino had a nice bruise forming on his face where he had slammed into the floor.
Inside Marinette's purse, Tikki watched anxiously as her wielder jerked slightly. "Marinette! Oh, we need to do something! If only there weren't so many people."
"I know one way to clear a room." Sunny peeked out again and still saw chaos. Focusing her energy she released her power into the room. "Gross Out."
Since she hadn't used her power on an object or a person, her power simply spread throughout the museum. People started to feel sick or started to hallucinate about whatever disgusted them the most. Several crowds went running for the exits.
That's when something truly disgusting and scary happened. The statue started to form cracks all over it. A musty smell filled the air as the temperature dropped.
Suddenly, stone chips went flying everywhere. Sitting on top of the pedestal was the creature from Master Fu's memory. It shook the remainder of the stone chips off and its eyes zeroed in on Alix and her father.
The creature's vision revealed the level of magic and potential a person had. Mr. Kubdel had none, but Alix had a lot. The creature yelled out "Feast!" then its tongue lashed out, it stuck to Alix, and swallowed her up in one gulp.
"ALIX!" Mr. Kubdel launched at Feast determined to get his daughter back. Feast rammed into the man's legs sending him crashing into the pedestal it once sat on.
Feast's tongue lashed out and quickly swallowed Alya and Nino. It then targeted Juleka and Rose and swallowed them. It also swallowed Mylene by accident when she had run over to protect her friends.
The same thing happened when Nathaniel and Ivan tried to keep Feast from eating Kim and Max. Feast had grown larger after consuming the teenagers and then its attention was on Ms. Bustier, specifically the person she was helping out.
Nathalie was semi-conscious. She was weakly insisting that she needed to stay and help Adrien. The teacher kept a firm grip on the woman to keep her from going back.
Feast pounced on top of Ms. Bustier squishing her under its weight. The teacher screamed in agony before the creature leaped off her and swallowed Nathalie.
The Gorilla grunted loudly and attacked Feast. The creature and man wrestled around as neither would let go of each other.
With Feast distracted Chloe and Sabrina managed to get Marinette and Adrien to the safety of the employee lounge. Sabrina called her father to tell him about the situation while Chloe started piling things in front of the door to prevent the creature from getting inside.
"My dad and the entire police force are on their way. The TV reporters were broadcasting live so the heroes should be on their way. Hopefully, they can stop that creature."
"How? It's not an Akuma. This isn't some kind of curse either like what happened with Adrikins. What if the heroes can't save us?" Chloe replied in a shaky voice. She hoped the creature was defeat before she learned the answer to that question.
Back in the main part of the museum Feast was sniffing around trying to find the source of the strongest magic he could find. It had swallowed everyone he had come across. Not all of them had magic but most wouldn't get out of its way.
The creature was determined to eat the strongest source of magic. The Society of Exiles had created it for this purpose. Feast was to consume as much magic as possible before delivering it back to its masters.
Feast stopped in its tracks. It sniffed the air. It could smell strong magic coming from two directions. One was a few hallways over, but the other was coming from the entrance.
Turning around, it went back to where it had just come from. The smell was getting stronger the closer it got to the entrance. Upon entering the room it stopped in its tracks.
Standing in front of Feast was one of its masters! It didn't recognize the young woman, but she was carrying a staff and wore the symbol associated with the Society.
"Feast! You have done well my servant. Now, I require you to release the magic you have collected to me!"
Feast nodded and regurgitated everyone it had swallowed. The saliva in its mouth kept them from waking up and trying to escape. The creature sat down waiting for its reward.
"You've done well my servant. I thank you for your service. Allow me to reward you." The young woman started whispering a spell. The crystal on the staff glowed bright blue.
Feast opened its mouth so the spell's magic could enter it. As the blue magic filled its mouth it felt itself returning to the void where it had come from. It tried to stop eating the spell, but it was impossible. One minute later it vanished from sight and no longer a threat.
Peace Keeper lowered her staff and did her best to stay upright. She was exhausted after using most of her magic reserves to hold the illusion of her as Ladybug and channeling part of Plagg's power into the spell to get rid of the creature.
Thank you, Sunny for warning us. I hope I never have to come across another magic consuming demon in my life she thought to herself. Looking down at the people gathered, it was going to take a while to clean this mess up.