Foxhunt
Chapter Six: The Final Hunt
Sitting in the warm light of the setting sun, the world bathed in its glow that shined so bright all seemed to have faded into near-white glistens, Alya kept her eyes closed as her beaming smile naturally rested upon her face. Her sun-kissed skin, soft and free of blemishes or wounds, seemed to glisten as she held her baby sisters in the cradle of her arms. Without her glasses, she could see them clearly as they smiled and reached for her.
Time passed slowly, gently, until the babies were little girls, and their resting place changed from their sister's embrace to separate, wooden chairs. "We love you, Alya," they warmly declared in harmony.
"I love you too," Alya answered in kind. This was all she needed. If she had her sisters, to have and to hold, to protect from all harm, it would be enough. She would want for nothing more.
"Alya," a familiar voice spoke up. Its sound was not the same as it once was, though. Though still childlike, the voice no longer sounded otherworldly. Turning from her happy life and memories, Alya saw a young girl, clearly older than the twins, but androgynous, somewhat pale, and crowned with warm-crimson hair nearly resembling a fox's coat, slowly stepping forward. "Alya, tell me," she pleaded. "Do you know why it is your sisters love you?" For the first time, she seemed truly human: She was no longer a god or even an angel, but a child.
"Trixx?" the African-American young woman realized. "…Yeah, of course I know. They love me because I'm always there for them. I'm their hero."
"That's not true," Etta replied, her little legs kicking forward and enabling her to stand up from her seat.
"Even if you were gone, we'd still love you, Alya," Ella continued as she stepped up beside her sister.
"We love you, because you're you, Alya," the twins proudly explained in perfect harmony. "You should love yourself for the same reason."
Opening her eyes, Alya found herself sitting in the windowpane, her back to the world. The room was empty, but she knew someone was nearby. The girl glanced down into her bag, where Trixx rested. "…What's there to love about me?" the redheaded young woman quietly demanded of her Kwami.
"Are you really going to look this time?" Trixx replied without so much as opening her eyes. "Are you really going to try?"
Coming face-to-face with her past lies and excuses, Alya let out a sharp sigh through her nose. Despite her seemingly natural confidence, the young woman found herself unable to find anything about herself that she truly admired. "Fine," she gave in, finally willing to find herself.
"Then look inside yourself," the Kwami instructed as her little body curled into a restful fetal position. "I can only give you ideas and show you some truths, babe. You have to do the rest yourself. Don't try to tell me you can't."
Closing her eyes and letting the warm wind blow through her hair, Alya pushed her mind to recall the girl she once was: Before her doubts, her shame, Lady Wi-Fi and the Akuma, and all the years she kept quiet, Alya Césaire was her true self. Without forcing herself, she was brave, bold, reckless at times, happy, confident, honest, and strong. Even though her younger self had been hidden away for so long, the woman knew all those things, all the memories, still belonged to her. She could be that person again. Most of all, she was strong, even before Volpina. "I'm more than my sickness," Alya declared. "I'm more than the monster he tried to turn me into…And I can't stand alone anymore…But I still don't know if I'm worth fighting for, though."
"It's not a matter of knowing that or not," Trixx demanded. "You are. You've gotta step up and act like it." Alya turned to her friend, no longer sure of what she should do. "…There's not always a moment of clarity or a revelation," the Kwami's voice grew softer, gentler. "Sometimes, you need to take a step, even if it feels wrong at the time. But you stick with it and stay strong…That's how we go on, Alya."
"I've seen him before," Hawk Moth's hellish voice declared as his icy body made its way to the center of the aviary. The sensitive, loving, hurting man who looked after and cared for Nathalie was gone. Now, the means to the end were all that mattered. Every life, every Akuma, and every soul was nothing more than a stepping stone to reach Emilie, who waited and believed her love would return for her. "…His name is Luka Couffaine…A quiet, sensitive boy who hides his unhappiness behind a smile and his music."
Glancing out the window into the darkening sky, Alya's heart came to a violent halt as a gunshot louder and sharper than anything she'd ever heard before tore through the air. Her pulse spiked and her heart pounding so hard it hurt, the young woman jumped to her feet. "…He's out there," she declared just above a gasp.
Through the darkening city, guided by the blooming lights of nearby shops and buildings, Miss Bustier carefully rounded a corner as Lila leaned back in the passenger seat, wrapped in a warm, orange and brown blanket. Gentle music played over the radio as the two finally made their way to the treatment center. In that confined space, in the company of one of the only people she trusted, Lila found some peace and comfort for the first time in so long.
Sitting alone atop his bed, still struggling to fall asleep, Luka rested his head against the wall and closed his tired eyes. Winter was always a difficult time for the young man, and it was growing more and more difficult to remain positive, much less motivated. Since his grandmother's passing, Luka's world seemed to crumble all around him.
"Luka Couffaine," a strange, haunting voice gently called out from the shadows. The blue and black-haired boy jolted and began scanning his room. "Please, don't be afraid. I've heard your prayers… You needn't feel lonely or afraid anymore…Reach out your hand and I'll soothe your broken heart."
"…N-no," Luka fearfully answered, fighting the crushing urge to hide under his blankets and close his eyes. "I know who you are…You only wanna use me to hurt people… Get out!"
"So bold," Hawk Moth mockingly replied as his Akuma slowly flapped its corrupted wings. "Perhaps I was wrong about you. Now, your sister, on the other hand…"
"No," the young man pleaded, his heart pounding with fear. "No, please…Not Juleka…Please, isn't there another way? Maybe I can help you."
"Will you take your sister's place?" the beast refused to relent. Lowering his head in fearful, shameful sorrow, Luka closed his eyes and nodded in submission. "Your broken heart and ailing mind are all I require. Close your eyes, and let this all be a dream." Luka obeyed sorrowfully. "Hold out your hand." The boy complied once more, enabling the Akuma to merge with his bracelet.
His eyes shooting open, their irises having turned crimson as the mark of the Akuma glowed around them, Luka let out a sharp gasp as icy steam emerged from his mouth. The embrace of the Akuma felt like poison to mind, body, and soul. As his hands began to tremble, the young man fell to his knees and attempted to clench his throbbing shoulders. "I-it hurts," he began to sob.
Driven by his desire to protect his sister, Luka's calm, loving, and compassionate personality was quickly thrown aside as the Akuma's dark influence overtook its new host. Though the pain continued to course through his body, the boy rose to his feet, allowing his darkened face to dangle above the floor, and snarled. Within that instant, dark energy engulfed the beautiful young man's body, allowing something monstrous to emerge.
"Ladybug, Chat Noir," Volpina exclaimed into her staff. "The Hunter's back. Come to my location ASAP. I'm tailing him now." Leaping onward, the fox Miraculous kept her movements silent as she traced the sound of the gunshot. "I can't let him get away," she whispered as a hot stream of desperate sweat burned her back. "This has to end. No more nightmares. No more pain."
"Remember what this guy is capable of, Alya," Trixx warned her beloved partner. "Don't let your feelings outweigh your judgment."
"I won't," Volpina answered her Kwami. "I just need to keep him in my sights until the others show up."
Suddenly, another thunderous gunshot burst through the air, rendering the world silent. No longer able to press forward, Volpina felt a sharp gasp escape her throat as her body grew numb. Forced into the nightmare of struggling to flee from an ever-closer threat on limp legs and flailing arms, the fox Miraculous could only watch in horror as her form fell from the sky towards the distant, snow-covered ground. Blood seemed to frame her vision during her merciless plummet, until tears splashed from her eyes. Before the inevitable impact, everything faded to white, and reality became a dream.
Assembled at Master Fu's apartment, Ladybug, Chat Noir, and Sabrina stood in a circle with their guide. The ladybug and feline Miraculous having just received their friend's message, they were faced with a decision.
"Master," Chat spoke up, though his voice was quiet and humble. "I'm sorry, but she's not ready yet. If what Volpina said about The Hunter is true, this isn't the time for Sabrina to step up."
"Fate did not call on any of us at an opportune time," the old master replied, his voice unflinching. "Dis is how it must be. Sabrina, you are strong. Believe in yourself, protect dhose around you, and trust your fellow Miraculous."
Her jaw trembling as her meek heart pounded, Sabrina ran to Ladybug, tightly hugged her, and turned away from the others. "…Big Sister," she pleaded as tears filled her eyes. "Please…I…"
"Sabrina, it'll be okay," Ladybug interrupted her new partner. "I wasn't ready when I first became Ladybug, but we still need to stand up. Volpina needs us, and I won't let anything happen to you, okay?"
"But I'm so scared," the redheaded young woman choked out just above a whispered sob. "I don't wanna die."
"You won't," Ladybug assured the girl. "I'll be right beside you the whole time. But we have to go, now." Every soul in the room noticed the shift in the raven-haired woman's tone from gentle to forceful. "Come on, Sabrina." Ladybug then handed the cowering girl the golden hair comb she had been given. "Summon Éveil: She'll guide you from there."
Placing her trust in the hero she had loved and admired for so long, Sabrina nodded her head, slowly reached out her trembling hands, and took the Miraculous. The young woman removed her headband, closed her eyes, shook out her long-restricted, long, red hair, and placed the comb within its crown. Opening her sea-green eyes wide, Sabrina watched as a small beam of golden light flew from the sacred item and came to a halt no more than a foot from her face. Within an instant, the ball of light shattered to reveal a yellow Kwami curled into an upright fetal position with two black antennas folded down over her black-striped head. Slowly, the bumblebee-like creature stretched its black arm and leg stubs to reveal a patch of fluffy, white fur over its chest, and opened its large, thoughtful eyes to reveal dark-blue sclera and large, black pupils lined with golden rings. Her antennas raising up and pointing forward, the Kwami looked at Sabrina and smiled.
"Sabrina, the Kwami are the source of our power," Ladybug explained as she walked up behind the bee-like being. "It's extremely important to forge a bond and a friendship with them. Chat Noir has Plagg, Volpina has Trixx, I have Tikki, and, now, you have Éveil."
"It's a pleasure to meet you, my queen," the bumblebee Kwami warmly declared in a childlike voice Sabrina found familiar.
"H-hi," the redheaded young woman stuttered. "Thank you…for choosing me."
"I can tell you have a good heart," Éveil happily answered. "All you need to do to transform is say, "Éveil, Buzz On." I'll be with you every step of the way, Queen Bee."
Nervously nodding her head, Sabrina closed her eyes, focused on her Miraculous, which now glistened and bore ebony rings on its surface as well as crystal wings, and made her decision. "…Éveil, Buzz On!"
Smiling, the bee Kwami nodded her head, closed her eyes, and merged with her partner's Miraculous. Sabrina immediately felt a powerful, heavenly warmth surround her body and envelope her in golden light. Her glasses fading from existence, the young woman closed her eyes and tightly but gently held herself as the Miraculous Light transformed her: Her shorter red hair grew down past her shoulder blades while her green pupils turned a warm, ember color and her eyelashes grew longer and eloquently curled, the energy surrounding her tightly hugged her body and glistened into the shape of a skin-tight, yellow-and-black one-piece suit covering her neck down to her feet and utilizing two sets of semi-transparent bee-wings as a cape. Sabrina then opened her eyes, causing her uniform to further materialize: The collar of the suit turned black with golden-yellow lining wrapped snugly around the center and bottom of her neck, her black-cloaked chest adopting white fibers so fine they only appeared under direct light, while a yellow bustier-styled torso lined with two v-shaped black stripes running down her abdomen formed between her yellow-rimmed, full-armed black gloves that ended in yellow fingers, with a loose wire utility belt slung atop her yellow-cloaked waist, opaque black leggings lined at the knees with two upside-down v-shaped stripes, forming a v. shape along her lower tummy and leading to solid black from the back of her waist down to her ankles, and ending in yellow stiletto high-heels. The young woman's fearful tears turned to a black mask framed with slim, golden-yellow material that hugged her facial features perfectly, and her energized, immovable hair comb glistened.
Once the light parted, Sabrina looked down at herself in modest awe, no longer feeling weak or powerless as she had before. In many ways, she felt naked, but that no longer felt wrong, especially among allies. However, she felt the need to cross her arm over her larger, plump breasts, which she tried every day to conceal as her human persona.
"There's no need to be ashamed," Ladybug warmly declared as she placed her hand on the bee Miraculous' shoulder. Sabrina reluctantly nodded her head and lowered her arm. "Queen Bee, are you ready?"
Swallowing the bulging lump in her throat, Queen Bee looked at her mentor with weak but determined eyes. "Yes," she answered. Closing her eyes and focusing, the red-haired young woman extended her wings and adjusted to the feeling of a new limb.
"Our communicators are all synced," Chat Noir announced. "Let's go help Volpina."
Bidding their master farewell, the three Miraculous leapt into the city under cover of darkness, Queen Bee holding Ladybug's hand for the time being. Fixed on the location they had been sent, the heroes made a straight line toward Volpina's position, only for the Akuma alarm to blare beneath them. Before anyone could respond, a large creature latched onto Chat Noir and thrust him downward.
"Oh, god!" Queen Bee cried out in terror as her heart pounded.
"Don't panic," Ladybug ordered, her voice strong but compassionate. "We'll stop the Akumatized and help Volpina as soon as we can." The red-haired young woman nodded her head and followed her mentor's lead.
Far from the reach of others, a single, unforgiving blast tore through the air and released a small trail of smoke. Letting out a shrill whine of anguish, the vixen collapsed into the snow as her blood slowly painted the ground red. Despite the pups waiting for her return, the fox saw no way to recover from such a complete wound. Before their weight grew too heavy to bear, her eyes dashed around the area, saw she was all alone, and shut as the world grew colder.