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Paon and Renarde AU
"Volpina" Rewrite

Chapter 3: On Top of the Tower

From behind a chimney, Volpina watched Paon interact with the other fox heroine, cursing under her breath. This hadn't been part of the plan.

"Ah, the fox holder has arrived! Be a dear, Volpina, and take her miraculous, too. After all, we can't have two fox heroines, now can we?"

"No, no we can't."

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Sabrina swung from roof to roof, but couldn't find Volpina anywhere. It was a mixed blessing: if she didn't find Volpina, she wouldn't have to fight. But if she didn't find Volpina, the faux-heroine would just create more trouble.

"Where'd she go?" she asked as she stopped. Maybe if she looked around from one place, she'd have an easier time finding Volpina.

A red square appeared where she next stepped, followed by a variety of projectiles.

"What the-?"

Volpina appeared right in front of her. "I wouldn't move if I were you," she sneered. She scanned Sabrina up and down. "So, this is the 'real' fox superhero? How adorable. But clearly I wear it better."

Sabrina scowled, her cheeks heating up. "Yeah, well, at least I'm not a liar using a villain's powers to get attention!"

Volpina shrugged. "True, but only you and Paon know that. Everyone else thinks I'm a superhero, and once I get your miraculouses, I will be a superhero." She stretched out her hand. "Now be a good little girl and give me your miraculous. I'll let you live if I do."

The bombs drew closer.

"N-no!" Sabrina didn't want to die, but Queen Bee could not win, either. There had to be a way out of this.

"So, you don't care about your life, huh? Well, what about their lives?" Volpina pointed to a building intersected at a bustling road. "Give me your miraculous or it goes down!"

"Y-you wouldn't!"

Volpina summoned her flute. The minute she played, the building began crumbling. Townspeople screamed as they fled, unharmed, but the people inside stood no chance if it kept up.

"No, stop!" Sabrina had always known she wasn't cut out for this. So if giving up her powers was the only way to prevent deaths…She reached for her necklace when the building suddenly shifted back to normal…as if it had never been destroyed.

Wait a minute! "That was just an illusion?!" Sabrina slapped a palm against her face. "Of course it was. How could I be so stupid?" Volpina was based on her miraculous, for crying out loud! "So that means…" She snapped her whip across the bombs and Volpina, all of them vanishing at its touch. Where was the real Volpina?

Sabrina called Paon, hoping he'd had better luck. He picked up after two rings.

"Did you find her?" he asked.

"I thought I did, but it was just another one of her illusions." If Volpina wasn't pursuing Paon's miraculous, and she wasn't after Sabrina's anymore, where else could she be? "You wouldn't happen to have an idea where else she could've gone, would you?"

"When they weren't after me," Paon explained, "The previous victims went after the person or thing that upset them before they got possessed."

"Chloe!"

Paon's eyes widened. "How did you kno-I-I mean, what gives you that idea?"

"Um…"How could she explain this without exposing herself? "I heard about how she humiliated Lila on Twitter?"

Paon tsked. "That sounds like something she would do…a-according to the rumors I've heard."

"I think she stays at the Grand Hotel Paris, so let's meet up there."

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"No way. I'm not going anywhere until I find the perfect hat-dress-shoes-earrings combo!" Chloe said, crossing her arms.

Sabrina groaned. Why was Chloe always so stubborn? "But if you don't, Volpina's gonna hurt you." Or kill her, but Sabrina didn't want to think about that possibility.

"Why should I have to leave my own home, just because I was trying to do the right thing?"

Sabrina sighed, then paced around the room. There had to be some way to get Chloe to leave. Her eyes fell on a roll of duct tape on the nightstand. Oh, Chloe was going to hate her for this, but it was for her own good, right? Besides, it wasn't like she knew Sabrina was Renarde.

Putting on her sweetest smile, she said, "You're right. You shouldn't have to leave your home."

Chloe smiled. "Exactly-"

Sabrina smacked a piece of tape over Chloe's mouth and shoved her into the closet, making sure to lock it. Chloe banged on the door furiously. Sabrina recoiled, but the doors held.

"Sorry, but you-you wouldn't cooperate!" If Volpina heard all this racket, however, she'd find Chloe, regardless. Unless…

Sticking her finger in the air, Sabrina yelled, "Illusory!" Orange, misty magic surrounded her, transforming her into a perfect copy of Chloe.

Just as Chloe's windows shattered.

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Nathanaël was almost at the Hotel when he heard Chloe shout, "Hey, put me down!"

Volpina leapt out of one of the hotel windows, Chloe tucked under her arm. Renarde was nowhere to be found, but there wasn't time to look for her or call her. He followed Volpina.

The chase led him to the Eiffel Tower, where Volpina dangled Chloe loosely.

"Give me your miraculous or Chloe Bourgeois falls!" she ordered.

"No! Don't let her drop me, Paon!" Chloe cried.

Nathanaël froze. He couldn't use his fans without risk of hitting Chloe, and if he charged at Volpina, she'd just drop her. That only left him with Aria, but it was too unpredictable to use in a situation like this.

"Did you find her?"

"I thought I did, but it was just another one of her illusions."

Yes, this had to be another illusion. "That's not the real Chloe Bourgeois, is it?" Nathanaël threw a fan at 'Chloe'. It smacked her in the face.

"Ow! What was that for?"

"S-sorry!"

Volpina laughed. "Nice try, but this time it's the real deal. Either you give me your miraculous or Chloe dies!"

"I…I…" Nathanaël didn't know what to do. Chloe was a terrible person, yes, but even she didn't deserve to die like this. He really was a terrible hero, wasn't he? So why bother trying to keep his miraculous? IT wasn't like he was making a difference. He clutched his brooch.

"My eyes…" Chloe whined.

What? He hadn't hit her eyes with his fan. Nathanaël looked up, and sure enough, there wasn't any cuts or bruises around her eyes…but they were flashing? Squinting, he found they went from light blue to sea green-a very familiar sea green…

He smirked. "On second thought, I'm not a big fan of Chloe Bourgeois. But I am a big fan of keeping my miraculous. So drop her and let's finish our fight."

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What was this sudden change of heart? This wasn't how it was supposed to go! "What? But you were hesitating just a second ago!" Volpina replied.

"Yeah, well, I realized it didn't make sense to give up magical powers for a selfish brat like her."

No, no, no! "I-I'm not bluffing! I will drop her!"

"Go ahead. Or do you not want my miraculous?" Paon tapped his brooch.

"What are you waiting for, Volpina? Drop the girl and get his miraculous!" Queen Bee hissed.

"But, but…" She didn't want to actually kill Chloe. Just scare the crap out her and use her as a bargaining chip…

"Sweetheart, may I remind you of our little deal?" It was meant to come off as cooing, but the icy edge in Queen Bee's voice made Volpina shiver. "You give me Paon's miraculous and I give you superpowers. Or do you not want magical power anymore?"

Volpina's hands tingled as her black gloves began to disappear. "No, please!" She glared at Paon, then at Chloe. If this was the only way for her to remain Volpina… "Fine."

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Volpina dropped 'Chloe'.

'Chloe' transformed back into Renarde, who thrust her whip at the Tower. It wrapped itself around one of the beams, breaking her fall.

"What?!" Volpina screamed. "How did you-when did you-?!"

Nathanaël smiled as Renarde landed beside him. "Volpina, you've met my real partner, Renarde. And I'm sure you're already well acquainted with my fans, too."

Nathanaël tossed two fans at Volpina, who swerved out of their path as she ran to the top of the Tower. There, she summoned clones with her flute. Paon and Renarde followed, Renarde snapping the clones away with her whip. She aimed for Volpina's necklace next. Volpina blocked the blow with her whip.

While the girls fought, Nathanaël shouted, "Aria!" His brooch glowed as magic flowed into his chest and throat. A haunting melody poured from his lips.

Corroded metal from the Eiffel Tower fell around Volpina, trapping her inside.

Renarde gaped. "That's your signature move?"

Nathanaël scratched the back of his head. "Yeah…but you should've been there the first time I used it. It was horrible!" He grimaced as he remembered the harsh, off-tune notes that had frightened his opponent. "It's different every time," he added.

Volpina shook the bars of her makeshift prison. Nathanaël turned to her. "Relax, I didn't forget about you." He removed her necklace and stomped on it, releasing the spirit within.

"No more mischief for you, little spirit," he said, tossing his fan. It sliced through the spirit, catching the bee within as it returned to Nathanaël. The minute the fan touched his fingers, the bee turned from yellow to white. "Bye, busy bee," he murmured as the now purified bee flew away.

Nathanaël threw his fan into the air. "Immortal Peafowl!"

The fan dissolved into waves of blue magical energy that spread all over the city, restoring it and Lila back to normal.

Renarde approached her slowly, cracked necklace in hand. "Um…"

Lila snatched the necklace and placed it over her neck. She eyed Renarde, sighed, and walked away. Once she was gone, Nathanaël said, "Thank you so much. If you hadn't disguised yourself as Chloe, I…I have no idea what I would've done."

Renarde blushed. "Oh, it-it's no problem! I'm supposed to be your partner, after all." She looked down at her boots. "Again, I'm really sorry I took so long to show up…"

"It's fine. I'm just glad you're here now."

Renarde's necklace flashed five times. One of the 'feathers' on Nathanaël's brooch blinked before fading to gray. They both needed to leave, but not before he knew something. "You'll be back next time, right?"

Renarde blinked, surprised, but another four flashes of her necklace broke her stupor. "Y-yeah!" She swung away from the Tower.

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Queen Bee screamed. She had been so close. She took a few deep breaths, running a hand through her dark hair. Everything was going to be okay. This was only a minor setback-no, it was a boon. Volpina had lured out another miraculous for her to destroy. If Queen Bee kept this up, she'd have them all sure enough.

"But that Lila…I can still feel her turmoil." Queen Bee stroked her chin. "She could prove useful again someday…"

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I had to make some last minute changes to the battle scene because I felt that I wasn't portraying Lila's character properly. I hope this is fitting!

This is it for the main story! The next-and final-chapter will be the epilogue, which should wrap things up nicely. Thanks for reading, and feel free to leave a review!

twilightwrites
10/22/2016