Chapter 15: La Paon Rises

It was ten minutes past two when Amélie returned to the Medieval Studies department from lunch. She had not planned to stay in Paris that long, but the artifact she had brought with her from England, which little she knew was actually the peacock miraculous, had forced her to extend her visit. Every time she and her colleagues at the Louvre thought they had found a clue to what the miraculous was, something new came along and changed their assessment. And that was driving her crazy, as she wanted to find out what the artefact truly was and where it had come from, because they had already assessed that it was a lot older than initially thought. However, she could not complain much about being forced to remain in Paris. After all, being in Paris gave her the opportunity to be with her nephew, Adrien. Since she and her brother-in-law, Gabriel, buried the hatchet and made up, she had become a part of Adrien's life again.

And it was this thought that was giving her the energy to endure all the things she still had to do that day. She had decided she was taking Adrien to the movies that night. The Cinéma du Panthéon was playing some of Emilie's movies that week, and she wanted to take him to see one of them. It was going to be a surprise, and she knew Adrien was going to love it. But before she could surprise him, she still had a few more hours of work ahead of her.

"What are you?" -Amelie asked herself, as she looked at the miraculous. –"We already had you submitted to numerous tests, and none of the results were conclusive." -she said. –"Maybe it's time for us to take on a more traditional approach, to see if we can figure out what you truly are and where you came from."

And by traditional approach, Amelie meant some good old-fashioned research in the Louvre library. Most of the books and tomes in its collection had already been digitized and were available for consult. But there was still a large number of them that had not been, and it was those very same ones that Amelie hoped would have the information she was looking for.

"I better go to the library, if I want to have any hope of finding something." -Amelie sighed. –"But not before I snap a few photos of you, with my iPad, so I can take you with me, without having to take you out of this room." -she said, as she grabbed her iPad.

Pointing the iPad's camera, she quickly took a series of photos of the miraculous, making sure to photograph every single detail in it. As was her custom, she checked all the photos to see if any had come out wrong, or if she needed to take a few more, and was staggered by what happened. None of the photos was good. They were either completely blurry or filled with static, which she thought could not happen.

"What's this?" -Amelie asked, as she looked at the photos and saw they were all ruined. –"None of these photos can be salvaged… Did I touch something on the iPad, which made them like this?" -she asked, as she quickly checked the configurations, as well as the device's lens. –"No, everything seems okay with it, and the lens is clean… then, why did these photos ended up like this? The image was crystal clear, when I snapped them."

Amelie could not understand how that happened. But unknown to her, there was a perfectly logical explanation for it. Ever since the peacock miraculous was recovered, the spirit of La Paon inside it, began to try and find ways to regain its physical form. By doing it so, little by little, the miraculous became charged with enough magical energy to interact with everything around it. And it was this same energy that ruined the photos.

Determined to take detailed pictures of the miraculous with her, Amelie got ready to photograph it again. But she was not going to succeed, because at that moment, sparks started to jump from the miraculous, as if it were alive. La Paon's spirit was eager to get out of the miraculous, and the energy it had accumulated over time was going to make it happen.

"What's going on?" -Amelie asked, as more sparks leapt from the miraculous.

Fearing, and not understanding what was going on, Amelie backed off, not wishing to get zapped. The sparks coming out of the miraculous continued to grow in size, becoming full lightning bolts, with several of them hitting numerous objects in the room, shattering them. Screaming in panic, Amelie's survival instinct told her to run, and she did, when one of the bolts hitting her. When this happened, a wave of blue energy coursed through her body, and made her eyes glow blue, at the same time as her lips formed a smirk. La Paon had full control of her mind and body. Grabbing the peacock miraculous from the small box it was, she gently placed it on the jacket's lapel. Snapping her fingers, Amelie's body was enveloped in a thick cloud of blue smoke, which quickly dissipated to reveal her new appearance. Her skin was now light indigo, and her hair was dark blue, braided into a French braid, over her left shoulder. On her face, she wore a black domino mask.

Her clothes had also changed. She was now wearing a pale blue blouse with a black stripe on both the edges underneath a dark indigo long-sleeved jacket with a dark fuchsia stripe on the edges of the jacket, which now had rounded points with dark blue, light, pink-centred spots, resembling a peacock's tail feathers She was also wearing dark indigo business pants and black ankle-strap heels, adorned with blue peacock feathers. On the lapel, the peacock miraculous glowed with an unearthly glow. And on her right hand, she was holding a hand fan, made out of white peacock feathers. Seeing her reflection on one of the numerous glass cabinets, she did not like what she was seeing; at least, when it came to her clothes.

"Uh… these clothes… the indigo colour makes them look a little better, but they're positively ghastly!" -La Paon declared. –"But I don't dislike the pale blue complexion… blue skin and hair is actually a fantastic thing." -she said, as she admired her face. –"Don't know if this will be a temporary body or not, but I don't dislike it. And if I end up getting a new one, for the time being, this one will do."

She was so entertained with her own thoughts, that she did not hear Allan Giroud, the head of the department coming in, looking for Amelie. And who awaited him in that room, was not her.

"Sorry it took me a little longer to finish lunch, but I'm back." -Allan said, as he entered the room. –"So, what is it that you want to… huh… who are you?!" -he asked, when he saw La Paon.

"What?" -La Paon said, as she turned around. –"Oh, that must be the name of the person, whose body I possessed." -she thought to herself.

"W-Who are you?!" -Allan asked her again. –"Oh, my God, it's an Akuma… could she be Amelie?" -he thought to himself. –"Amele? Is that you? Have you been akumatized?"

"Akumatized? Far from it, my dear! I'm merely using her as a flesh bag to walk around. I don't know if I'm going to get myself another body. But until I decide, I'm using hers." -La Paon said, before letting out a maniacal laugh into the air. –"And you? You're now… a poodle!" -she said, as she opened her fan.

"A-A what?" -Allan asked, confused.

"A poodle! Don't you know what a poodle is? I'm the one who's been trapped for more than 1600 years, and even I know what a poodle is." -La Paon continued to laugh, before throwing one of the Amok feathers in her fan at him.

Throwing himself onto the floor, he evaded La Paon's attack. Still believing that Amelie had been akumatized, he knew he had to get out of there and raise the alarm. Still on the floor, he prepared to run, and when he saw her coming towards him, Allan knew if he hesitated, something bad would happen to him. Getting up he ran for the door. Seeing him run, La Paon attacked him again.

"Don't run… you can neither run nor hide from me." -La Paon laughed evilly.

Allan instinctively dodged to the left, evading another Amok feather. That was the second attack he got away from. But his luck ran out, when La Paon's third attack struck him on the back. As he fell, his left hand reached towards the fire alarm, pulling it.

"W-What?! What is that sound?!" -La Paon asked, as the fire alarm roared. –"It's such a beautiful and chaotic noise." -she laughed, while listening to the infernal alarm.

When she hit Allan, she wanted to turn him into a poodle, but that did not happen. Instead of turning into a poodle, he had begun to act like one. Walking on all fours, he began to bark at her, before starting to run around in circles, as if trying to catch his imaginary tail. Seeing this, La Paon saw that something was wrong with her powers.

"Mmm… I feel that my chaotic magic is a little weaker than I thought it would be. I was expecting to turn this man into a poodle, but only made him act like one." -La Paon said, as the fire alarm continued to roar. –"Guess I'm a bit rusty… I need to get some practice." -she laughed, as she made her way to the window and opened it. –"And with a city like this one, opportunities to practice, is something I will not lack."

Just like it happened with Hawk Moth, when he awakened in that new millennium, La Paon was surprised with what her eyes were seeing. From the window she could see the Louvre's pyramid and the square, along with the countless people in it. It did not take long for her to imagine what else the rest of that city looked like, not to mention the rest of the world.

But her thoughts were rapidly interrupted by someone, who had entered the room; a security guard. After the fire alarm was activated, he was told by his supervisor to check the place where it was activated, to see if it was the real deal, or just a false alarm. Not for a moment did he think he was going to have to deal with anything magical or supernatural when he arrived at the department of medieval studies.

"What's going on here?! Who are you?!" -the security guard asked, as he pointed his gun at La Paon, who slowly turned to face him.

"Oh, more company… mmm… I smell anxiety, mixed with a little touch of shock." -La Paon laughed, before stopping abruptly and putting on a straight face. –"With those emotions of yours, any Sentimonster that I might conjure up, would be mediocre, at best." -she declared. –"You're not worthy of one of my Amok feathers."

"Stop right there, you Akuma!" -the security guard ordered.

"Akuma? Me?" -La Paon asked, before letting out a maniacal laugh. –"I am not an Akuma, you silly little man. I am La Paon, the future ruler of this world." -she said.

"L-La Paon?" -the security guard stuttered.

"Yes, La Paon… you don't need to stutter." -La Paon said. –"It's the second time I'm mistaken for an Akuma. That must mean that Hawk Moth must not be far." -she laughed. –"Oh, it's going to be fun to have a little talk with him, after such a long time… just before I kill him, for encasing me in stone during all these years!"

The poor man did not understand what was going on, or what La Paon meant, when talking about Hawk Moth like that. All he knew was that whoever, or whatever that woman was, she was dangerous and he had to do something. His mind was racing, with all sorts of thoughts, on what he should do or not. And it did not help that La Paon continued to laugh maniacally, which only made him feel more nervous by the minute.

"S-Stop! Or I'll shoot!" –the security guard shouted at her, as he prepared to shoot her.

But his warning fell on deaf ears, when La Paon used one more of her Amok feathers. Shooting it, before the guard could react, this one was hit him on the chest, and immediately he began to act like an animal. While Allan was behaving like a dog, the security guard was acting like a pig. But unlike what happened with Allan, the security guard was not only acting like a pig, but also had a pig snout instead of a nose, and a pig tail. Seeing this happening, the holder of the peacock miraculous rejoiced.

"Oh, yes! My chaotic magic is getting stronger! It's so fun to have people behaving like animals… but that gets boring, really quick." -La Paon sighed. –"Perhaps it's time for me to try something else." -she said.

Leaving her two first victims to continue to do as they please, La Paon exited the room, and proceeded through the corridors of the department of Medieval Studies, looking for a way out. On her way, she crossed paths with some museum employees, on their way towards the exit, after listening to the fire alarm. Using them for target practice, the ones who were not able to escape, ended up suffering the same fate as her two previous victims. Laughing, she was amused to see that with each new Amok feather she used, her chaotic magic became even stronger. But like she had said before, she grew impatient and was looking for a target. She wanted to create a Sentimonster. But those that crossed her path, did not have the right emotions, as she liked to call them. She wanted to create one that would surpass some of the ones she had created for Hawk Moth's army to practice on.

"At the time, I didn't understand why Hawk Moth didn't want me to me to create Sentimonsters to be used on the battlefield… but now I do. He feared what he could not control. And because I was the one in control of the Sentimonsters, he feared I would use them against him." -La Paon thought to herself. –"He was always a stickler for control. Doesn't he realize that sometimes, chaos is needed to get something done?" -she mused about it.

Her desire to create a Sentimonster grew with every passing second. But no matter how hard she tried, she did not feel anyone whose emotions were something that were worthy of her attention. They were all banal, and she was looking for something that stood out. And not finding what she was looking for, she decided to take fingers in a different direction, for the time being. Turning the corner, to her right, she saw something that caught her eye. Two white marble statues. And these were no ordinary statues. They were statues of dragons. They had been carved in a way that made them look like they were alive. Her eyes could simply not stop looking at them,

"Oh, look at these beautiful stone dragons!" -La Paon exclaimed, as she looked at the ancient stone statues. –"How about we give them the chance to stretch their legs and play with us?" -she smiled wickedly.

Opening her fan, she plucked two Amok feathers and and blew them against the statues, where they fused with the marble. Once that happened, the statues came to life. First, their eyes turned blue. Next, they sprung their wings, while slowly moving their stone bodies. The last thing they did was to open their mouths and let out a fearsome roar. Looking at them, La Paon felt proud of herself.

"Yes! You will do just fine… Now, go on, my pretties! Burn this place to the ground… let's make sure that Hawk Moth knows that I'm here." -La Paon laughed maniacally, as the two stone dragons' breath fire from their nostrils. –"And when he does, I'll be waiting for him to come and face me… he will pay for what he did to me." -she mused about it.


At the same time, in class, Miss Bustier was explaining to her students the causes that lead to the fall of the Romanoff family and their murder, marking the end of the Imperial Russia, and the ascension of Vladmir Lenin, as the first head of government of Soviet Russia. Like always, there were some questions posed by the students. But some of them that day, were being posed by the kwamis, who more and more, had begun to play an active role in Miss Bustier's classes.

"The death of the Imperial family, in many ways, not only marked the end of the imperial rule in Russia, but also the beginning of what would become the Soviet Union, which would become one of the two superpowers at play, during the Cold War, until it's eventual collapse in 1991." -Miss Bustier explained.

"Does this mean we can blame Lenin for their murder, Miss Bustier?" -Adrien asked.

"There's no sure evidence that it was him who gave the direct order, or if it was someone else. But most historians believe it was Lenin who gave the order." -Miss Bustier answered.

"What about that whole idea that princess Anastasia Romanoff did survive?" -Mylene asked. –"Was there any truth in those rumours?" -she asked.

"No, there was no truth in those rumours, Mylene. But people still believed in it, because the Bolsheviks set up a web of misinformation about what truly happened. For years, they only claimed the death of the tsar, but never spoke a word about the fate of the rest of the family. As you can imagine, rumours are like wildfire, and they spread quite fast, even in those days. It was those rumours that ended up becoming the stuff of legends and fairy tales, which had numerous repercussions like creating the false idea that the grand duchess Anastasia Romanoff had somehow survived, and had escaped Russia; as well as the appearance of numerous imposters, who claimed to be the surviving members of the Romanoff family." -Miss Bustier told her. –"The truth is that Tsar Nicolas II and his whole family were shot and bayonetted on that fateful night. There were no survivors" -she said. –"But unlike what most people think, the Romanoff family did not disappear, with the death of the tsar and his family. What disappeared was that branch of the family, better known as the Imperial House of Romanoff. Today, there are still members of the Romanoff family alive."

"Then, that means that if the monarchy was restored in Russia, there would be descendants to take on the crown, right?" -Tikki asked.

"Undoubtedly, Tikki." -Miss Bustier answered. –"But, I don't believe that will ever happen. Mostly because the whole idea of a country being ruled by a monarch, is something that is becoming less prominent in today's world. Most countries nowadays have a liberal democrat ruling system, which was first seen, in the United States, and later on, right here in France, upon the French Revolution in 1789." -she explained. –"One of the few countries in the world that still has a ruling monarch, is the United Kingdom, which we have visited recently. And even there, the Queen only serves as the head of state, and has no saying, when it comes to ruling the country."

The History lesson was interesting, but right then, Nino was not really interested in it. The night before, he had gone out on patrol with Max, as Alya had been forced to stay home and babysit the twins. Usually, after a few hours on patrol, he would fall asleep as soon as he got into bed. But that night, he could not sleep, and that made him wish it was a Saturday, so he could remain in bed, and try to get some sleep. At that time of the day, he was not sleepy anymore, but he felt like he needed silence, more than anything else, to feel good and relaxed.

"Still feeling like going home and sleep the rest of the day?" -Wayzz asked, whispering to his ear, after looking at him and seeing him crestfallen.

"You bet… I'm not in the mood for History, or any other subject today." -Nino whispered to Wayzz. –"You guys, on the other hand, haven't stopped interrupting Miss Bustier every two seconds with a question." -he said, referring to the kwamis.

"We are curious by nature, Nino." -Wayzz said. –"Besides, Miss Bustier doesn't mind." -he said.

"I know… I guess I'm just not in the mood for anything." –Nino whispered back, this time also getting Adrien and Plagg's attention.

"We all have days like that, man." -Adrien whispered. –"But don't worry. It's almost time for us to go home." -he told him.

"And about time too. I need my afternoon Camembert, Adrien." -Plagg commented.

"Do you ever think of anything but stinking cheese?" -Adrien asked him.

"Do you really need to hear the answer to that?" -Wayzz asked, with a sarcastic

"I didn't know you could also be sarcastic." -Plagg joked.

"Nino! Adrien! Wayzz! Plagg! What do I always say?" -Miss Bustier asked them. –"If you want to talk amongst yourselves, you'll have to wait until class is over." -she reminded them.

The four of them were about to apologize to Miss Bustier, when every cell phone in class rang. And the ringtone they all heard was as familiar as the school's ring bell, and it was never a sign of good news. The Akuma Attack app was warning them that an Akuma had been spotted, and it was best for everyone to remain indoors, until he had been dealt with. Unfortunately, in their case, this was something they could not do. They were the only ones who could stop it.

"We've got an Akuma in the Louvre." –Alya sighed, while looking at the cell phone's screen.

"There goes my chance to get some rest, this afternoon." -Nino thought to himself.

"The Louvre? Not again." -Alix said. –"That place is like Akuma Central, for some reason." -she said, worried, as she texted her brother. –"Come on, Jalil, answer back and tell me that you and dad are okay!"

"What kind of Akuma you think it'll be this time?" -Marinette asked.

"Hopefully, it'll be one that doesn't take us too long to beat." -Adrien said, as he looked over his shoulder, and smiled to Marinette.

"Or one that doesn't take us for a swim." -Chloe said. –"I washed my hair this morning, and I don't want ruin it, by going for a swim on the murky waters of the Seine." -she added.

"Don't know about that, but I'm already receiving notifications from the Miraculous Blog, with images attached." -Alya said, as she checked them. –"No matter how much in panic people are, there will always be someone photographing an Akuma and posting it online." -she smiled.

Hearing her say that, everyone, with the exception of Marinette, who was sitting by her side, gathered around Alya, to see the images of the Akuma that people were sending to the blog.

"Thank you, blog of mine… if you want images of the latest rampaging Akuma, this is the place to get them." -Alya thought to herself, as she opened one of the images that had been uploaded. –"Okay, this one is quite blue. It's probably the bluest Akuma I've ever seen." -she said.

The image was out of focus and it was hard to clearly understand what the Akuma was. The only thing you could tell was that this one was quite blue. It took them a mere moment, to see that whoever took the picture had taken it in a hurry, probably before running away from where the Akuma was.

"Don't you have a better image of it?" -Chloe asked her. –"That one looks like someone photographed a blot of ink." -she complained, as she got a good look at the photo. –"I wouldn't even call that a photo. Whoever took it, needs to learn how to use a camera."

"Please, Chloe, save those comments and complains to some other time." -Marinette told her. –"It's not Alya's fault the photo is all blurry." -she said, defending Alya.

"I never said it was! Did you hear me saying that, Marinette?!" –Chloe exclaimed, upset.

"Please, girls, no fighting." -Miss Bustier begged them.

"Miss Bustier is right, Chloe. This isn't the time to complain." -Pollen told her.

"Finally! We've got a good one!" -Alya exclaimed, as the image showed up on her cell. –"Okay, now let's try and get a decent look at this Akuma." -she said, as she zoomed in the photo. –"It's a woman, and she must really love blue, because she looks like one of the members of the Blue Men Group."

And Alya was not the only one who thought that. Some of the others, alongside a few of the kwamis, also thought the same. The woman really looked like she had been dipped into a can of blue paint. But one small detail in the photo immediately gave away that the Akuma was not an Akuma, but something far worse. And it was the red panda kwami who saw it.

"That's not an Akuma… that's La Paon." -Mulan said, as he looked at the photo on the cell's screen. –"Look at the miraculous on her chest." -he pointed out. –"It's the peacock miraculous."

"It really is the peacock miraculous." -Tamara said. –"She looks different from when we last saw her, but that has to be La Paon." -she stated, while looking at the photo.

With that new piece of information, the whole situation changed. They were thinking t was just another Akuma that Hawk Moth had unleashed on the city, to get the to show up and kill them, before getting their miraculouses. But this was something they were all hoping to avoid, until they were ready. Even so, they were already used to not having that kind of luxury, when it came to their jobs as heroes.

"If it is La Paon, then, I don't think just a couple of us will be able to take her on." -Max said. –"If she's just as powerful as Hawk Moth, I think it's going to take all of us to face her."

"I couldn't have put it better, Max." -Kim said.

"And what do we do, if she conjures up one of those Sentimonsters creatures that Rose, Mylene and I faced the other day?" -Juleka asked. –"We don't know for sure if she still needs those Amok feathers to create them, and if she does, how do we get rid of them? Do we even have a way to deal them?" -she asked, concerned, while looking at Miss Bustier.

"She's right." -Sabrina said. –"If she doesn't use those Amoks to create Sentimonsters, there's no problem. But if she still does, we're going to need to dispose of them, once the Sentimonsters have been defeated."

"Tell us that master Fu managed to find a way for us to deal with that issue, Miss Bustier." -Marinette asked their teacher.

"I believe so." -Miss Bustier said. –"Our research did produce a sort of enchantment. But he was still testing it." -she said.

"Then, whether it works or not, we'll most likely have to use it, in the next hour or so." -Adrien said. –"Could you…"

"Call him about the enchantment? Yes, I'll do it in a minute." -Miss Bustier told him, as she called the old master.

Like it always happened, when someone desperately needs something, time seemed to slow down. Everyone was watching the seconds feeling like they were hours, as Miss Bustier remained on the phone. Finally, the old master answered, and the teacher quickly told him what was going on.

"He said that he needs to make sure the enchantment holds up, but it's going to take him a little while." -Miss Bustier said. –"And he added that you'll just have to hold whatever Sentimonster she might conjure, until the enchantment is ready." -she said. –"Once he's sure it holds up, he'll find a way to give it to you."

"Let's hope it doesn't take him too long." -Tikki said.

"I wish we had more time." -Rose said.

"Yeah, but that's a luxury, we don't have." -Daria said.

"Well, then, what are we waiting for? Let's go!" -Alix said, impatient. –"I still didn't get an answer from my dad, and my brother, if they're alright or not, and the sooner we get out of here, the sooner I can go and check if they're still in the Louvre." -she sighed, getting more restless by the minute, as she checked. –"Would it hurt them to at least say something, to calm my nerves?!"

"But there's still 30 minutes until the bell rings. We can't just waltz out of here, without anyone noticing it, Alix." -Nathaniel said. –"And we can't ask Miss Bustier to let us out earlier. She'd get into trouble with Principal Damocles." -he told her.

"Then, we'll just have to make use of illusions, to take our place, like we've done before." -Sabrina said.

"Alya, do you think…" -Marinette said.

"No worries, girl. Me and Trixx are on the case, right Trixx?" -Alya asked the fox kwami, who smiled. –"I'll stay behind and then, catch up with you." -she said.

"That's one less thing to worry about. But there's another problem. We switch places with the copies created by Alya, but how are we going to get out of this classroom, without anyone seeing us?" -Ivan asked. –"Even if we take out the cameras, someone will spot us for sure, and then we'll get ourselves into trouble, as well as Miss Bustier." -he said.

"May I suggest, we do what we did when Aphrodite attacked Paris?" -Alix asked the others. –"It may not be the most perfumed idea ever, but just like last time, no one will see us getting out of here." -she pointed out.

"Oh, no, no, no, no! Are you crazy, Alix?! I'm not going down into those sewers, ever again!" -Chloe protested, feeling revolted with the whole idea. –"It was bad enough having to roam inside the disgusting sewers once." -she said, as she remembered what happened when Aphrodite attacked, during last Valentine's Day. –"You're not catching me doing that stunt, a second time!"

"I'm with her." -Rose said. –"There's got to be another way for us to get out of here, which doesn't end up with us inside hazmat suits, walking inside the sewers.." -she said.

"And maybe there's one, Rose." -Marinette told her. –"Why don't we just get out through the front door, while invisible?" -she suggested.

"Well, it's not the first time we do make use of that power." -Mylene said. –"Then, we all transform and then I turn us all invisible, and leave through the front door?" -she asked.

"I think it's best if only you and Alya transform, and the rest of us will do that when we're out of here. The lightshow we put on when we transform, might attract too much attention, even with the blinders down." -Adrien said.

"Agreed. The only ones who get to transform now will be Mylene and Alya." -Marinette declared. –"The rest of us will transform, when we're out of the school." -she said, with everyone silently agreeing.

"Alright. And since we'll probably need a lot more than 30 minutes to deal with this, I think we should text our parents, and tell them that we'll be staying in school for a little bit longer." -Adrien said. –"Better warn Nathalie, not to send Gorilla to pick me up today, and tell her that I'll be walking home. It's also a good thing I don't have anything in my schedule this afternoon." -he thought to himself, while writing the text.

"Good idea." -Sabrina said, as she began to text her dad. –"Let's tell them that Miss Bustier is rewarding us with a movie, and that will be arriving a little bit later." -she suggested.

"That's a great idea." -Rose said. –"That'll give me an excuse to skip on my ballet class." -she said, as she texted her parents.

"And me, on my swimming lesson." -Kim said, as he texted his mother.

It did not take long for all of them to text their parents, explaining they would be coming home a little later. Seeing this, Miss Bustier felt proud of how quick-witted her students were, coming up with a solution for their predicament. Leaving them to text their parents, she went to lower the blinds of the windows facing the school yard, as well as the street, to give them the privacy they needed.

When he finished texting his mom, Nino looked at Alya, and could not help but to notice in her eyes, a little sadness. Seeing this, he felt like he had to tell her something, to make her feel a little better. He himself was not having the best of days, but that was not going to prevent him to be supportive, when she needed the most. She would do this to him, every time, when he was feeling down. So, it was only natural for him to do the same to her.

"Hey, I'm sorry you'll have to sit this one down, foxy fox." -Nino told Alya.

"It's okay. Besides, it'll only be for 30 minutes." -Alya said, pretending she was okay with all that, when Nino could tell she was not.

"30 minutes or not, I know you wanted to come with us, right now." -Nino said, hoping his smile would cheer her up a bit. –"You're the kind of girl who hates to be left behind, But more importantly, you're the kind of girl who likes to be where the action is, especially when she's a passionate fighter, who will do anything in her power to protect those she cares about.. That's just one of the many reasons, why one day you'll make a great reporter. A reporter as fierce, passionate and cunning, as you are as a warrior, foxy fox." -he told her.

Alya loved when Nino talked to her like that. It made her feel special. But more importantly, it reminded her why he was the boy who had snagged her heart, and why she loved him so much.

"It's true. I don't like you guys going, while I stay behind. Especially when I know that I can be a key-player in battle." -Alya admitted. –"But sometimes, you need to wait on the bench, until … and yes, I'm quoting Nora on this. You don't have to say it." –she said, as Nino saw the sadness in her eyes disappear, and being replaced by joy. –"Still, you can bet that once the bell rings, I'll join you and the others, turtle boy."

"I know you will. You always have my back, Alya." -Nino smiled, before kissing her on the lips. –"And I promise that whatever trouble we find, we'll save you some." -he chuckled.

"Thanks… and usually, I'm the one who offers you a good luck kiss." -Alya smiled.

"Well, this time it's my turn to do it." -Nino smiled, before kissing her again. –"And this one's an extra one, because you deserve it, for putting up with all my crazy shenanigans." -he said, while continuing to smile.

"Alright, the blinders are down. It's time for you to do your thing, girls." -Miss Bustier told them.

"Hurry up!" -Alix exclaimed, as she continued to check her cell phone, for any new texts. –"My dad and my brother could be in danger!" -she complained.

"Okay. Let's do it, Alya." -Mylene said, as she looked at Pin. –"Pin, transformez-moi!" -she exclaimed.

"Right behind you, Mylene." -Alya said, as she looked at Trixx. –"Trixx, transformez-moi!" -she exclaimed.

Upon saying those words, Mylene and Alya found themselves enveloped in a brilliant light that lasted only a few seconds, and which, as it faded, it revealed them transformed into Forest Doe and Rena Rouge respectively. Without a moment to lose, the fox heroine picked up her flute-staff and quickly used her "Mirage" power to create copies of herself and all her friends, ordering them to sit in their designated places.

"They look perfect, like always, Alya." -Marinette praised her best-friend.

"Of course, they're perfect." -Nino said. –"My girlfriend is a professional, after all." -he smiled, while placing his arm around Rena's shoulders.

"Save the praises for later, turtle boy." -Rena Rouge chuckled, as Nino gently removed his arm. –"You guys better get going, while have these copies in their rightful places." -she said, as she played her flute-staff again and the copies all walked to their designated seats.

"Alright, you guys know the drill. Form a circle around me, and place your hands over my shoulders or arms." -Forest Doe told them.

"Good luck, everyone." -Miss Bustier said, as she went to open the door for them, and they all became invisible. –"Please, try not to die." -she thought to herself, as she opened the door and pretended that she had heard someone knocking at the door, to let them out.


Hey everyone! So, this is the first chapter of this year of 2023... it took me longer, because things at work haven't been easy. But I'm hopeful they'll improve over the next couple of weeks.

The leaks of the show are everywhere, and I for one, do not like what they did numerous characters. Just as expected, on top of bad writing, we also have rushed writing, as I like to call it, where we see the writers trying to shove entire pieces of narration and so-called character development, down one's throat, as if we were on an all-you-can-eat buffet that is about to close, and we haven't begun to eat yet. But, what can we say, other than, "It's predictable" and "We should've seen this coming, from miles away"? It's sad really... then again, that's good, because it makes this AU, and pretty much every other AU, rewriting and whatever other kind of MLB fic out there better than the original material. All that to say, that I'm more motivated than ever to continue to write this AU of mine, so I can avenge not only the characters, but the show itself. I don't know if I'll be able to finish this fic, before season 5 ends, but I'm going to try, especially, because I've got something very special cooked up for this AU's season 1 ending.

But regarding this chapter, I'm quite pleased with it, because it allowed me to finally unveil La Paon, as she posesses Amelie. Yeah, I thought t would be fun to have that happening. What can this spell for our heroes? The game is on, and from this point on, only God (or the Devil) knows what will happen... and yeah, 'm referring to myself as God, in this. A little bit of dry humour for you all.

As always, feel free to comment, fav and leave your suggestions to improve this, and/or future fics. You all know that I love to here you. :)

P.S. We wll soon have an illustration of La Paon in my DeviantArt page. I think you'll be surprised with it.