CHAPTER FIVE:
WEDDING CRASHERS
The raging elephants trumpeted through the pavilion, knocking down everything they saw or otherwise chasing after the frightened guests.
In the scuffle, Alya and Nino tried to direct some of the remaining people to safety. The four kwamis used their magic to prevent the guests from being crushed by falling columns or chunks of the ceiling. King Gabriel's guards were busy herding the angry beasts away, while the king himself was dragged away against his wishes.
Marinette and Adrien were huddling on top of the altar when one of the elephants saw them. Lifting its mighty tusks, it came barrelling towards the couple.
"Jump!" Adrien yelled, pulling his bride alongside him.
The pair leaped off the altar together just as the elephant slammed into the miniature dome and its surrounding pillars. It collapsed into a heap of dusty rubble.
Marinette was just getting to her feet when a shadow fell over her. She looked up... and gasped. "Adrien, watch out!"
The prince snapped up and, thinking quickly, pushed his bride out of harm's way before flinging himself to the side and onto his stomach.
The huge chunk of marble that had almost crushed them landed on the ground with a bone-cracking thud.
Marinette rolled to a stop, losing her veil in the process. She quickly got up to make sure Adrien was all right.
Somewhere, she heard Tikki utter meekly, "I think we're going to have a little problem with leaks."
At that moment, Marinette heard something like a war cry.
Snapping around to face the edge of the pavilion, she saw dark, shady-looking figures jump out from between the columns, weapons raised.
It didn't take long for Marinette to figure out what had caused the elephant stampede. "It's an ambush!" she bellowed as loud as she could.
Adrien followed her gaze to the massive group of invaders – thieves, by the look of them – and he stood up with raised fists. "Not in this palace," the prince declared, throwing his crown aside and charging at the thieves.
The group in front of Adrien leaped right over him like acrobats and stole through the crowd, forcing the guests to remain where they were at sword-point.
When Adrien tried again, a tall, young lad with a red hood aimed an arrow at his chest.
"Give us the goods," the archer said, dark-brown eyes narrowed, "and you can go back to saying your vows."
Gritting her teeth, Marinette picked up a fallen rock and chucked it at the boy.
He dodged just in time, but that gave Adrien the opening he needed to tackle the archer, sending him flat on his back.
Glancing around, Marinette was appalled to see dozens of thieves pouring into the chamber, swiping every bag of gold and piece of jewelry they could get their hands on. The elephants were disappearing now, thanks to the guards, but now there was no one left to protect the citizens.
No one... except four determined youths.
Alya and Nino exchanged a firm nod.
Then, the latter pulled his right sleeve up, revealing a jade bracelet. "Wayzz..." Nino called, raising his arm to the sky, "shell on!"
"Trixx..." Alya shouted, exposing her pendant proudly, "let's pounce!"
The two kwamis spun towards their friends in glowing streaks. The vixen disappeared into Alya's pendant, and the turtle collided with Nino's bracelet.
In a conjoined flash of orange and green, their wedding attire was replaced with the uniforms of their heroic alter-egos: Rena Rouge – fox-like and flaring with magic, her reed flute in hand; and Carapace – green, hooded, and ready to pound someone with his broad shield.
Just then, Marinette spotted Adrien pounding his fist into the air, the silver ring on his finger gleaming.
"Plagg, claws out!" he announced.
The black-cat kwami whirled into the prince's ring. In a burst of electric-green light, Prince Adrien was Cat Noir, his glowing, green eyes glaring at the thieves with oblong pupils as the boy pulled out his metal staff.
Several of the thieves paused at the sight of the three masked heroes, eyes wide.
Marinette smiled. These wedding crashers are in for it now, she thought as she brushed her hair away from her earrings.
But the moment she opened her mouth to call Tikki, a small hand came out from behind her and covered it.
Marinette let out a muffled cry as another arm wrapped around her, forcing her own arms down at her sides. The blunette struggled as she was dragged back.
"No magic tricks for you today, Ladybug," the woman whispered into her ear, the slurring voice as warm as it was prickly, like a desert cactus. "I suggest you stay calm. We wouldn't want to ruin your lovely gown, would we?"
Marinette squirmed and kicked out, but that only made it easier for the woman to heave her away.
Her captor pulled the blunette behind one of the remaining columns. She was no doubt using them as cover so that everyone inside wouldn't notice where Marinette had gone, including Adrien and her friends.
Why does this always happen to me Marinette thought with a growl.
Adrien slammed a couple of thieves away with his staff before he looked to see how Marinette was faring.
But there was no sign of her. No matter where Adrien looked, she was nowhere in the pavilion.
The brief moment of panic was interrupted by a high-pitched, "Yoo-hoo!"
Adrien turned to see a tiny blonde standing a few feet away.
She batted her pretty, baby-blue eyes at the prince... and then tossed some kind of pellet at his feet.
The thing exploded into a plume of pink smoke, which blinded and stung Adrien's eyes. Crying out, he tried to rub the stuff out when someone tackled him from behind.
The prince landed on his stomach, and his attacker – who was pretty heavy – laughed cruelly. "That's a fancy ring you've got there, Your Highness," he said with a firm voice. "May I see it?"
Adrien's eyes were damaged, but the other parts of his body were working just fine. Keeping his eyes closed, he elbowed his attacker in the gut.
The man staggered off him, allowing the prince to flip over and take out the man's legs from behind.
When the attacker fell, Adrien blinked his eyes open. Through his blurry vision, the prince noted the tuff of blond hair and the buff but flabby muscles.
When the man – or rather, boy – came to his senses, Adrien smirked. "You want my ring?" he asked. "I'll give you a closer look."
Then, he punched the thief right in the face.
The boy went all cross-eyed and fell to the side.
Adrien scowled at him, his oblong pupils thinning. "That was for ruining my wedding," he spat.
With his opponent defeated, the prince continued his search for Marinette.
Nino spotted a thief with long, purple-streaked, black hair swiping a bag of coins from a wailing noblewoman.
That's when two palace guards ran towards her, their swords raised. The girl only sneered at them – a look Nino knew meant trouble.
The green-clad boy reached out to the guards. "Wait, don't!" he cried.
Too late.
The copper-eyed girl landed a good kick to one of the weaker columns. It cracked like broken china from top to bottom. Then, it came teetering down towards the startled soldiers like a falling tree.
Nino ran over and yanked the two men out of the way before the pillar hit.
When he stood up, the captain turned to his troops. "Get the people to safety," he commanded sharply. "I'll deal with the thieves."
The guards nodded wordlessly and sped off.
When Nino turned back to face the ninja girl, he saw a new figure standing before him instead; a dark silhouette stepping out of the cloud of dust.
It cleared, revealing a tall, sharp-looking man wielding a long sword.
The silver, skull-like mask on the man's face made Nino pause, but he crouched into a fighting stance with his shield ready. "Meet your match, Zorro!" the boy snarled.
The man laughed darkly. Nino hadn't heard a chuckle like that since Volpina was still alive. It made him all the more determined to take this thief down.
Nino struck first, trying to bash the old man away with his shield. But the silver-faced thief stepped away with easy grace before striking Nino with his sword. Mostly, he missed, but a couple times he managed to get the boy right in the arms or middle. Luckily, his suit protected him from slices or scratches... even though the blows still hurt.
"Hey!" Alya shouted from somewhere. "Paws off my man, Baldy!"
Nino glanced in her direction just as she starting playing on her flute. A ball of orange light appeared on the end of it.
With a furious swing, Alya shot the magical ball straight at Nino's opponent.
The man saw it and leapt back, causing the blast to smite the ground and leave behind a thick scorch mark.
The sight of it, and Alya's magic, made the old thief stare at her with shocked eyes. "The Queen never said anything about fighting a witch," he complained loudly.
"Hey!" Nino spat, brows furrowing. "That's my woman you're name-calling!"
He flung his spinning shield at the thief, but once again the man dodged like some kind of martial arts master.
Who IS this guy? Nino wondered as he caught his returning shield and raced after the thief.
Adrien paused when the red-hooded archer appeared again, this time with a dark-skinned boy on his shoulders.
The prince gripped his staff in both hands and swung at the one on top repeatedly.
The boy jumped out of the way each time before giving Adrien a taunting raspberry.
That only made the cat-like warrior grin, and he shrugged. "Well, if you can't beat 'em," he said, "join 'em."
Ignoring the two thieves' confused expressions, Adrien extended his staff and vaulted high up over them. He landed on both feet... right on top of the small boy.
Of course, the archer below wasn't strong enough to hold two people up. When his strained shoulders couldn't take it anymore, he collapsed onto his stomach with his friend on top of him.
Adrien slid safely down on his staff with a proud smirk. "I guess three is a crowd," he mused.
Just then, Tikki zoomed up to him. Her broad, blue eyes were strained with worry. "Adrien, I don't see Marinette!" the ladybug kwami stated, panting heavily. "She hasn't called on me at all!"
Concern crinkled the prince's brow, and he looked around again.
There were thieves everywhere, either fighting Adrien's friends and the guards, or stealing loot from the guests that remained.
One of them – a man wearing a silver mask – swiped his sword swiftly at two of Lieutenant Roger's men before drawing back with a sneer.
The soldiers were unharmed, but their swords fell to pieces. So did their clothes, which floated down to the floor in ribbons. All that was left on the men's skin was their underwear.
Covering himself, the bigger guard whimpered, "They are demons!"
"Worse than demons!" his scrawny friend rasped, glancing around. "These are the Forty Thieves!"
Adrien's mouth hung open. The Forty Thieves? At his wedding?
Tikki frowned as she spun three-sixty degrees. "Really? I count only thirty-nine," she said.
The prince's mind raced as a thought suddenly occurred to him. Why were the most notorious thieves in the seven deserts here in the pavilion, and not in...?
The treasure room.
Adrien snapped towards the antechamber.
Through the tumbling debris and the mob of crooks, the prince spotted two figures vanishing into the treasure room.
One of them was Marinette.
The other was clad in a dark-blue hood and cloak. And that person was stealing the young bride away against her will.
Adrien's eyes turned feral. "Forty," he snapped, pointing at the thief.
With Tikki at his side, he sped towards the treasure room.
Marinette was surprised her captor was leading her into the antechamber.
What was even more surprising was that the treasure had remained untouched, save for the few that had toppled off the tables during the elephant stampede.
Marinette finally wriggled her mouth free of the thief's hand and growled, "Let me go right now, or I'll let you have it on principle!"
The woman chuckled and lowered her hand... only to grasp the peacock brooch clasped onto the front of Marinette's dress. "You have a lot of spirit," she commented before lowering her voice, "and a lot of mouth."
With a small tear, the woman ripped the brooch right off before shoving the poor bride to the floor.
Marinette winced as she hit the ground. As she struggled onto her hands and knees, she heard the woman murmuring with unbound joy, "At last!"
Those words made Marinette pause. Suddenly, she was back in the Miraculous Temple, watching Volpina raise her stolen trophy to the ceiling with a triumphant cackle.
Only it wasn't a pair of earrings this new villain had stolen – it was the blue-jewelled brooch; the last thing Adrien had left of his deceased mother.
Simmering heat rose in Marinette's face as she rose up. She was about to turn to face the woman... when a black figure stole past her.
WHACK!
The woman let out a distressed grunt as she was knocked down by her newest attacker.
Marinette looked back and smiled up at Adrien, who twirled his staff and stared down at the woman with a sneer.
"Can I see your invitation?" the prince asked, though the edge in his voice indicated he was clearly not asking for one.
The woman rubbed her head before glaring up at Adrien, her hand reaching out to the side. "Stay out of my way, boy... if you don't want to get HURT!" She shouted that last bit while flinging a god statuette at the prince.
Adrien blocked it, but by then the woman was back up on her feet. She pounced at Adrien and grabbed at his staff, pushing him down to his knees with a strength Marinette had never seen in a normal woman.
"Fool," the woman said, eyes blazing. "You don't stand a chance against the Queen of Thieves!"
Marinette gasped just as Tikki appeared beside her.
Everyone in Agreste knew that only one woman bore that title: the most notorious, most elusive woman in the seven deserts; the leader of the legendary Forty Thieves. But her tales of ne'er-do-welling went back almost a hundred years. This "Queen" looked like she was just starting in her thirties.
Marinette wasn't sure whether she could be amazed or horrified.
Adrien grunted and glared up at the Queen of Thieves with narrow slits in his eyes. "When I get up, I'll bow to you!" he stated through gritted teeth.
He then rolled onto his back, taking the Queen with him, and flung her right over him.
Marinette took this chance to get to her feet, and she snapped to her red kwami friend.
"Tikki, spots on!" the blunette declared, closing her eyes.
She felt the warm whirl of magic wrapping around her like a ribbon. She felt her wedding dress turning into sparkling dust before the red, black-spotted bodysuit encased her. The matching mask slid over her eyes, and her braided-crown unfurled into her trademark, twin ponytails. Her magic yo-yo appeared right at her hip.
Marinette opened her eyes and lifted her fisted hands at the Queen of the Thieves.
The woman was wearing a hood and a face-cover, so Marinette couldn't see the bottom half of her face. But those eyes – a deep yet shimmering blue, like a roiling sea – churned with disgust as they locked solely on the no-longer-helpless bride.
The Queen slid into a crouch, one hand braced against the floor, and the other clenching the brooch she had clearly come to take.
Marinette and Adrien eyeballed each other. Then, they too fell into a fighting stance, ready for another round.
That is, until all three of them felt the floor shaking... and heard the trumpet of an elephant.
The royal couple glanced behind them to see a massive hulk of grey barrelling its way through the doorway. Being not big enough to fit through the threshold, the elephant took out huge chunks of it.
Marinette wasted no time in pulling Adrien off to the side with her. The momentum caused them both to collapse onto a heap of treasure as the elephant charged right past them.
The beast broke through the second opening and raced out into the open. More screams could be heard from outside.
Marinette and Adrien scrambled up, noticing that they were the only two people left in the antechamber.
Adrien glanced around quickly. "Where's the Queen of Thieves?"
Marinette immediately knew where, and she ran up to the edge of the broken entrance.
It was difficult to see clearly in the sudden sunlight, but the red-clad heroine saw the elephant easily enough. It was now angrily making its way through the palace gates and down the main street of the city.
A blur of dark-blue hung like a caped leech along the elephant's side.
Marinette's face contorted. Queen of Thieves or not, no woman was going to get away with her groom-to-be's family heirloom.
Marinette pulled out her yo-yo and gave it a hard spin before glancing at Adrien. "I can reach her faster," she stated. "You help the others."
Her prince gave her a reluctant nod, a small smile forming on his lips. "And here I thought we would be swinging away into the distance by now," he said with a dreamy voice.
She smirked at him. "Save it for the honeymoon, Kitty," she said with a wink.
Then, she flung her yo-yo out towards the gate towers, and it hoisted her up into the air.
Three of the Forty Thieves – the copper-eyed girl, the blonde bomber, and the buff strongman – were making a straight shot for the pavilion exit when someone appeared before them in a twister of orange smoke.
Alya emerged with a cocked eyebrow, folding her arms. "Going somewhere?" she asked sweetly.
Copper-Eyes raised her arms in a martial arts gesture, clearly unafraid. Blondie toyed with a pair of pellets in her hands, giggling with a sneer. Big Boy pounded a fist into his hand.
Alya stared at them for a moment... and then grinned.
Waving her hands, a bright glow shot from her body and expanded behind her. The light molded into the forms of several Rena Rouge doppelgangers, each one brandishing their own form martial arts before finishing in a unified crouch.
All three thieves gulped, their pupils shrinking. Then, they turned and hastened away as fast as they could.
Alya undid the illusion and laughed, shaking her head. "Ah... That one never gets old," she chortled.
As she regained her composure, the redhead spotted the archer and his black lackey trying to make off with a pair of treasure chests.
Alya merely pointed one finger at them.
A bolt of orange lightning shot out and zapped both thieves from behind. They cried out, covering their scorched butts as they ran.
Once again, Alya couldn't stop herself from laughing.
Meanwhile, Nino stopped a group of older-looking thieves, drawing his shield back.
"Freeze, sandbags!" he shouted in a slang accent.
The men chuckled meanly and held their swords up, ready to strike.
Nino flung his shield right over their heads... and over the chandelier above them.
It sailed up in a high arc before slicing easily through the rope holding the chandelier up.
The thieves didn't have time to look up and get away.
Nino winced from the resulting CRASH, but his smile remained.
Just then, something puny, gangly, and... pink sped towards him.
She rolled so swiftly on her wheeled shoes that Nino didn't react in time before she knocked him in the back with her fist.
"Too slow, Turtle Boy!" she taunted.
Nino snapped around... only to get punched in the gut this time as the girl zoomed past him again.
"Gotcha!" she called.
Nino growled, raising his shield up. But once again, he failed to stop the speedy little gnat, and she pummeled him right in the chin.
"Gotcha again!"
Working out his sore jaw, Nino fell to his knees and told himself to focus. Gnats were hard to catch, but they could still make noise if you listened closely enough.
So Nino waited for the next move, silencing his breathing.
There – a sound like a rolling stone coming from the right.
Nino spun and lifted his shield.
GONG!
The captain grinned and peered over to see the girl shaking from the resulting vibration she had received from that last attempted punch. She stumbled backwards on her wheeled shoes, grasping her injured hand.
Nino huffed a laugh. "Too slow, Speedy," he jeered before giving the pink-haired girl a gentle shove.
She rolled away with a startled cry before crashing into the silver-masked man Nino had fought earlier.
Hawkmoth caught Alix before glaring up at the shield-bearer and his witch friend.
Not far away, the feline prince was knocking more thieves away with his staff. From the way he rolled, spun, and twisted along the floor, he looked like he was dancing.
Mylene had succeeded in scaring away the guests, so she thought she would try her luck on the groom. Sadly, the sight of the boy's glowing, cat-like eyes frightened the masked girl something fierce, and she ran towards a petrified Ivan.
Pathetic, Hawkmoth thought bitterly as he glanced around.
There was no sign of the Queen of Thieves, or the blue-haired bride.
Hawkmoth bore his teeth in a growl. This was not how things were supposed to work out. The Forty Thieves beaten by a couple of children in costumes? This was as humiliating as it was infuriating!
Alix groaned as she stood up. "They've got us all outmatched," she stated regrettably. "There's no way we can stand against their powers."
Hawkmoth put on an emotionless frown. "Call everyone back," he ordered sharply. "We need to regroup and retreat."
Alix snapped to him, her blue eyes narrowed. Hawkmoth knew he shouldn't be giving the second-in-command orders, but he couldn't care less. If anything, he knew he was the better person for the job.
"We need to wait for the Queen," Alix insisted.
Hawkmoth's lip curled nastily in response. "We'll leave the Queen to her plan," he bit back, staring out into the open.
She had better get the job done, he thought as he fought a dark impulse of anger, or she'll be the one to pay for our losses.
Marinette flew over the shops and houses lining the edge of the main street, keeping her eyes locked on her target.
The elephant kept charging through the parting crowd of civilians, who screamed at each other to get out of the way.
The Queen of Thieves leapt gracefully onto the elephant's back, using her arms for balancing.
Marinette almost smiled as she ran along the rooftops. If she wasn't a criminal, I bet she and Alya could become good friends.
The blunette continued dodging and flying over obstacles in her path. Thankfully, the street became narrower as the elephant and its passenger neared the city limits, which allowed Marinette to move closer to the Queen.
The elephant's tusks and broad feet knocked several closed stands over, sending debris flying over the Queen's head. The hooded woman had to duck and crouch low to avoid them.
Marinette saw her chance and launched her yo-yo again... at the elephant's tusk.
She arched through the air before coming right up to the Queen, attempting to kick her right off.
However, the Queen noticed her at the last second and swerved away.
Marinette called back her yo-yo and rolled onto the elephant's back, right at the base of the creature's neck, before looking up at her opponent.
Both women shared a stare of iron will. The Queen's stormy, blue eyes were undoubtedly beautiful, and Marinette shivered at how strikingly similar they were to her own. Not just in colour, but in valour and determination. Stubbornness was more like it.
For a short minute, the only sounds were the elephant's trumpeting and the thundering stomps of the beast's feet as it plowed through the shrinking street.
Then, Marinette broke the long silence. "Give back what you have stolen," she demanded calmly.
The Queen tilted her head, patting the pocket of her cape. "Wouldn't that defeat the purpose of being the greatest thief of all time?" she asked as though she were a teacher giving a lesson.
Marinette spun her yo-yo into a glowing-red shield. All I need is an opening. "If you're so "great", why do you run away like a yellow-bellied lizard?" she taunted.
The Queen snorted unkindly through her face-cover. "I never run from anything," she stated, her voice thick with absolution.
Marinette smirked. "Prove it."
The Queen charged, fists raised.
Marinette instantly blocked one blow and threw the other one aside, giving her the opening she needed to tackle the Queen.
The caped woman flung her right over in the breath of a second.
Marinette cried out as she was sent flying off the elephant's back.
Thinking quickly, she swung her yo-yo and latched it onto the elephant's tail. Marinette dug both feet into the ground, carving two long lines into the sand as she was dragged along the street.
Marinette saw the Queen of Thieves staring down at her with wide cow-eyes before the former tugged hard on the yo-yo string.
Like a fish on a line, she went soaring into the air and landed back on top of the elephant, which seemed oblivious to the fight happening on its back.
Marinette almost lost her balance, leaning precariously on the far back of the beast. Then, she straightened and twirled her yo-yo.
The Queen of Thieves hummed. "You're quite clever," she noted, "for a spotted, doll bride."
That's a new one, Marinette thought.
Suddenly, something large appeared behind the Queen, and Marinette gasped.
It was a thick, sandstone bridge!
The Queen noticed the appalled look on Marinette's face and turned her head.
Now!
Marinette leapt forward, pinning her opponent down and flattening herself on top of her just before the bridge swept over the two girls.
Darkness enveloped them for a brief moment... and then it passed.
Panting, Marinette lifted herself up onto her hands and knees.
The Queen of Thieves stared up at her with astounded eyes.
The blunette grinned and held up the peacock brooch she now clutched in her hand. "And you're not the only woman with tricks up her sleeve," she stated proudly.
The Queen let out a soft gasp before grabbing Marinette's shoulders with a defiant growl.
Marinette merely swung her yo-yo again, latching it onto a nearby oil-lamp post.
She jerked off the elephant, taking the Queen of Thieves with her.
Both women collapsed onto the ground and broke apart as they rolled in the dusty sand. Through the ringing in her ears, Marinette heard the startled gasps and murmurs of people.
The blunette scrambled to her feet, relieved to see that the blue-jewelled brooch was safe in the palm of her hand.
When she looked up, the Queen of Thieves was already standing, her cape billowing in the breeze.
Marinette waited for her to strike again, but the hooded woman made no attempt to move at all.
The Queen glanced around at the gathering crowd; the faces of men, women, and children who gazed upon her with fear and bitterness.
The people immediately flocked to Marinette, as though daring the Queen to challenge their beloved heroine.
Marinette didn't grin this time, mostly because she was too exhausted to do anything at the moment.
The Queen of Thieves glared at her again, the blue in her eyes becoming darker in the shade of the street. "I'll be seeing you again, Ladybug," she said coolly.
Then, she grabbed her cape and swept it up before snapping around and racing down the street.
Several people tried to follow, but Marinette knew it was pointless. The street was now thick with buildings and people, and there were many shadowy spots in which to seek refuge from unwanted eyes. Marinette knew that better than anyone. She had grown up here.
Within seconds, the Queen of Thieves – the woman who could never be caught – vanished without a trace.