Chapter 19: Fight at the Assembly

Upon hearing its mistress' telepathic call, Surtr stopped attacking Carapace, Grizzly Bear and Arachnid, and proceeded to run across the square, making its way towards the river. They had seen just how fast the Sentimonster moved, despite its enormous size. But it still amazed them, how something so large could move with that kind of speed, and a sort of grace, worthy of a ballerina.

Most Akumas that size were slow, careless and incredibly clumsy, not to mention the opposite of intelligent. They were mindless brutes who only wanted to destroy everything in their paths. And that was where that Sentimonster differed from them. More and more they realized they were not dealing with one of Hawk Moth's creations, but something different, and just as dangerous.

"Okay, this is new." -Carapace said –"When was the last time we saw an Akuma or any other thing that Hawk Moth threw at us, ditching the fight like that?"

"Never. But the big guy is moving like he as to be somewhere." -Grizzly Bear said.

"Then, what are we waiting for? Let's go after it, and see where it's going." -Arachnid declared.

Up in the sky, Surtr's movement did not go unnoticed by the eyes of Queen Bee and Dragonfly, who continued to fight Rapier. And seeing it moving towards the river, the dragonfly heroine felt like she needed to go after it. As much as she was enjoying fighting Hawk Moth's lieutenant, she knew there were more important things to worry about, than her own self pride, not to mention her constant seek of thrills.

"Sorry, idiot, but we've got to get going!" -Dragonfly said, as she grabbed her frisbee.

"You're not going anywhere, until I finish with the both of you!" -Rapier yelled at her, as he fired another volley of razor-sharp feathers at Dragonfly, only to be hit on the face by Queen Bee's trompo.

Hitting him on the face, the bee heroine broke his nose and saw reflected on his eyes, the hatred that he was having for her. But like always, she did not feat him, like she did not fear any of Hawk Moth's lieutenants.

"Go! I'll handle him, and then catch up!" -Queen Bee told her.

"Are you sure?" -Dragonfly asked her.

"As much as I hate to admit it, you're faster than I am, and they're going to need aerial support, handling that Sentimonster." -Queen Bee declared. –"So, you go ahead and help them out, while I teach this guy, who really owns the skies of this city." -she said.

"Alright! But don't break him too much! It's no fun if we break our toys. Because if we do that, we can't play with them again!" -Dragonfly joked, as she quickly followed Surtr.

Wiping the blood that was trickling from his nose, Rapier glared at Queen Bee, who was looking at him the same way someone looked at an insignificant insect. And he did not like that.

"You're quite confident that you can take on me." -Rapier said, as he licked his own blood. –"Guess I'm going to need to teach you a lesson."

"Sorry, but the one who's going to be taught a lesson, it's going to be you." -Queen Bee shot at hm. –"So, stop wussing around and let's get this over with. I've an appointment to do my nails this afternoon, and I don't want to be late, because of some slime like you." -she taunted Rapier.

"I'm going to rip that smug off your face, along with your arms and legs." –Rapier threatened her.

"Just hurry up and attack me! That Sentimonster is getting away, and I need to catch up to it!" -Queen Bee declared, when Rapier threw a volley of razor-sharp feathers at her, before charging against her.

And Queen Bee was not the only one, who wanted to deal with the Sentimonster and finish that battle. Antelope and Flamingo, alongside her copies, had finished searching the museum for anyone who was still inside, and getting them to safety, and decided their talents were needed to deal with Surtr.

"Where is that guy going?!" -Flamingo and her copies asked in chorus.

"I don't know, but I'm going after it!" -Antelope said. –"After I throw a couple of punches at Reptile, that is." -he said, with a confident smug on his face.

"But hasn't Panda taken care of him already?" -Flamingo asked, knowing the two were fighting, form one of her copies, who saw them.

"He's still taking care of him. I saw him fighting him about 30 seconds ago. And I'm going to ask him, if I can share Reptile with him. I mean, I'll just waste a couple of seconds with him, because we've got to deal with the big guy, but being the fastest being alive, a few seconds is just what I need." -Antelope said, as he got ready to sprinted out of there. –"Smell you later, pink girl!" -he exclaimed, as he dashed out of there.

"That Kim. He's got the biggest ego I've ever seen. Way bigger than Chloe's, that's for sure." -Flamingo thought to herself. –"You girls chase the Sentimonster. I'm going to give a little help to Louve and Corbeau." -she told her copies, when noticing that the two of them were still fighting Romani, not too far from where they were. –"Not that they need it. But with my help, they might be able to take down that gypsy witch a lot faster."

"You got it!" -Flamingo's copies responded in chorus, as they took up to the sky, after Surtr.

At the same time, Ladybug, Chat Noir, Rena Rouge and Forest Doe continued to battle La Paon, alongside Brutus, who had been instructed by his master to deal with her. Right then, they were fighting on the steps of the Palais Bourbon, where the National Assembly, the lower legislative chamber of the French Parliament was located. Built in 1722 for Louise Françoise de Bourbon, Duchess of Bourbon, the legitimate daughter of Louis XIV and Françoise-Athénaïs de Rochechouart de Mortemart, the Marquise de Montespan, that building had been a part of the political power in France, since the French Revolution in 1789. There were many political historical events that took place there, and at that moment, another type of event was about to happen. One that began the moment the scarlet heroine and her companions were hurled against one of the columns of the building's façade, destroying it. Pieces of the column fell down the stairs, along with the four heroes. The impact was quite violent, and anyone who had seen it, would have wondered how the heroes survived it.

Gasping for air, Chat Noir felt as if his back had been used as a boxing bag, after hitting the marble column. But he tried to ignore the pain, as he looked to his right and saw Forest Doe lying on her belly, while Rena Rouge was lying on her back, both of them absolutely still. Fearing the worst, he tried to get up to check on them, only for a sharp pain to make him cry out. A second later, he saw Doe move her left arm before lifting her head.

"Are you okay?" -Chat Noir asked her.

"M-More or less. I feel like a truck just hit me." -Forest Doe answered him, when she heard Rena grunting. –"R-Rena?" -she said.

"I-I'm still alive… though I think that if I w-was dead, I wouldn't be in so much pain." -Rena Rouge said, as she slowly tried to get up. –"One of the things I hate about this job, is t-that we almost end up being tossed around l-like Raggedy Ann dolls." -she said. –"Hey, where's L-Ladybug? I don't see her."

Upon hearing her say that, Chat's eyes searched for the love of his life, hoping to see her alright. Unfortunately, she did not look okay. Lying on her back, a few meters from him, the scarlet heroine looked like she was bleeding from her forehead.

"Milady!" -Chat Noir yelled.

Rising to his feet, Chat ignored the agonizing pain he was in, and ran to his partner's aid. Every step he took, it felt like knives were sticking into his back, making him want to yell. But the concern he had for Ladybug's well-being made him ignore those pains. All that mattered to him, was seeing if she was okay or not. Kneeling beside her, Chat was allowing his nerves to get the best of him, by imagining the worst possible scenarios. Noticing that she was breathing, tome of those scenarios disappeared from him mind. But even with them gone, he was still worried she was seriously hurt.

"Milady, please, wake up." -Chat Noir called her. –"Come on, Marinette, open your eyes, please." -he thought to himself.

Ladybug's eyes remained closed, after Chat called her. This only made him feel even more scared for her. Shaking her, he hoped to wake her up, which happened the second after, when she regained consciousness and opened her eyes. The scarlet heroine took a couple of seconds to remember what had happened and to realize why she was on the ground. But having Chat looking at her helped.

"Are you okay?" -Chat Noir asked Ladybug, his concern for her mirrored in his eyes.

"I… I think so. B-But my head is ringing like Hell." -Ladybug said, as she reached for her forehead with her right hand, only to be stopped by Chat.

"Don't touch it. You've got a cut on your forehead, but it's not serious." -Chat Noir said. –"I wish Carapace was here to fix you up." -he told her.

"Give me your tail." -Ladybug said, as she quickly came up with a solution, while slowly getting back up. –"I'll just put it around my forehead, and hope it stops the bleeding, until he arrives." -she said, as Chat took out his outfit's tail and gently wrapped it around her head.

"There." -Chat Noir said. –"That should stop the bleeding." -he said, when he felt a sharp pain on his ribs. –"Aargh!"

"Are you hurt?" -Ladybug asked him, worried.

"I-I'm okay." -Chat Noir smiled, as he rubbed his left ribs, while trying to pretend he was not in much pain. –"I just need…"

"You need a moment, I know." -Ladybug smiled at him, before looking at Brutus who continued to fight La Paon. –"Maybe you'll get that moment, if Brutus manages to keep fighting her." -she said, as her head continued to ring. –"Hope this ringing stops soon, or it's going to be hard for me to focus."

One would think that in a fight, a simple sword would not stand a ghost of a chance against a war-hammer. But the truth is that in a fight, many times it does not matter what weapon a person holds, but how the person uses said weapon. And La Paon was proving that though her weapon was delicate and even a little fragile, she used it better than Brutus used his. Landing blow after blow, Brutus always seemed to be one step behind La Paon. Even with his vast tactical and military knowledge, Brutus was finding it difficult to keep up with her. But as with everything else, luck is also a factor, and in a fight, sometimes it's best to be lucky than to be skilled. And it was that same luck that allowed Brutus to strike a decisive blow.

Knocking Le Paon down, who fell under the stairs, he prepared to smash her head with the hammer, when she rolled to the side and avoiding the hammer, which destroys the piece of ground where she was a second before. And before he could attack her again, she retaliated. With a well-aimed kick, she sent him flying a few meters in the air.

"You're beginning to bore me." -La Paon said, as Brutus hit the ground. –"Either show me something new, or else I'm going to have fun with someone else." -she laughed.

Brutus ignored her words, and prepared to attack again. Determined to end the fight, he charged La Paon like a bull. Clutching her with all his strength, he climbed the stairs to the building, and instead of bursting through one of the doors, and entering, he went through the wall, in an attempt to seriously hurt her. Upon seeing this, the heroes realized that they would have to enter.

"Those two are going to end up killing each other." -Rena Rouge commented.

"That they will. And usually, I wouldn't mind if they did, because that would mean one less trouble for us all." -Ladybug confessed. –"But if that happens, you can bet that there will be people hurt in the process." -she said.

"Does that mean we're going in?" -Forest Doe asked.

"Yes." -Ladybug said. –"Not that we have another choice in the matter.

going to be easy." -Ladybug said. –"We don't know just how she fares inside closed spaces. But if it's anything like she fares outside, then, she'll be just as dangerous." -she said, as her brain imagined how the battle could go.

"It's a good thing we've been practicing for just such situations." -Chat Noir said. –"Let's see if all that training in the Garden of the Ancients pays off, or not.." -he smiled at the scarlet heroine.

"You're thinking what I'm thinking, my favourite feline?" -Ladybug asked him.

"I believe I am, milady." -Chat Noir he answered her, always smirking.

"Then, would you mind sharing it with the rest of us? It's because the only mind I can read is my boyfriend's, and I bet it's the same with Rena." -Forest Doe joked, -"Ouch, I think it isn't my back that's killing me. My right leg has seen better days too." -she thought to herself, while trying to ignore the pain.

"We're going in there, with our "Double Trouble" routine." -Chat Noir told her, while looking at Ladybug, who nodded her head.

"Exactly. And we're going to need some cover, with a splash of illusion and a sneaky attack." -Ladybug clarified.

"Leave the illusions to me, girl." -Rena Rouge said, as she winked at Ladybug.

"Good. And do you think you can take care of that sneak attack, Doe?" -Ladybug asked her, noticing she was limping slightly from her right leg.

"I'll do my best!" -Forest Doe declared. –"Keep her busy, and I'll handle the rest." -she said, as she became invisible.

"Okay, let's go. And remember, don't try anything stupid alone. None of us is at full power here. So, we'll have to use our wits, so we don't end up in a coffin." -Ladybug warned them, as she swung her yo-yo.

"Back right at you, milady." -Chat Noir said.

Inside the palace, the fight raged on, with Brutus gaining the upper hand on La Paon, as the blows of their confrontation echoed through the walls of that temple of democracy. After pulling several spears from his chest and abdomen and throwing them at her, and making her fall on her back, as she avoided them, Brutus believed he had cornered her. But his joy was short-lived, for La Paon immediately fought back. Plucking another feather from her fan, she dropped it onto the red carpet which adorned the hall's ground, and this one instantly sprang to life, beneath Brutus' feet. Gulping its feet, the carpet began to crawl over Brutus' legs, with him pulling out a long sword from his chest and use it to try and set himself free.

"Accursed thing!" -Brutus shouted, as he continued to cut the carpet.

"Fight all you want, you brute! You'll never get out of this one!" -La Paon laughed, as she saw the carpet –"I'm going to use you as a pincushion or a piñata!" -she laughed, before realizing that she did now know what –"W-What is a piñata?! Why am I even using words I don't understand?!"

Little did she know that her mind and Amelie's mind were beginning to merge, giving her access to Amelie's knowledge of the current world, and thus, a new source of vocabulary and ideas. This was one unexpected side effect from possessing her. And though not a bad thing, it was quite confusing. But before she could think further about it, her train of thought was interrupted, when a gunshot was heard from behind her.

"Freeze!" -a voice was heard. –"Don't you dare move, or the next one will be between your eyes, you disgusting Akuma!"

Turning around, La Paon saw three police officers and two security guards, all pointing their weapons at her. Just like it happened with all the others that had confronted her, there was fear mirrored in their eyes, and one could tell by their body language, that they were at an impasse; whether to fight or flight. Fear was running deep inside them, but they all decided to ignore their basic instinct, and stood their ground.

"You Franks really love to say that to people." -La Paon laughed, as she turned her rapier back into a fan. –"What can I turn you into?" -she asked, while looking them in the eyes. –"Oh, I know!"

Plucking five feathers from her fan, she quickly shot them at the five men, who were hit either on the chest or one of the shoulders. As the feathers pierced their skin, they dropped their weapons, which fell on the ground, as their bodies started to change. In a matter of seconds their limbs were no longer human, and the same could be said about their faces. Where there was once a nose, now existed a snout. Where there were once hands and feet were shanks and hocks. And instead of words, the only thing coming out of their mouths were oinks La Paon had turned them into pigs.

"Oh, much better!" -La Paon laughed, as she saw the pigs running away, oinking all over the place, as if they were begging for help. –"Even Circe would be jealous of this feat." -she laughed, when she began to see smoke forming around her, while the air was flooded with the –"Someone wants to play."

It did not take La Paon more than a couple of seconds to realize that the heroes up to something. She did not know what it was, but she could tell that involved illusions. She had seen Rena Rouge's powers and was quite impressed with them. She had never seen the fox miraculous in action before, and quickly understood that from all the heroes, Rena was one that she would have to be careful. Still, she did not fear her, and she was going to face her, just like any of the other heroes. As the smoke surrounded her, she did not resist in throwing a high-pitched laugh into the air.

"So, you want to play hide and seek, huh? Okay, let's see play. I love to play games!" -La Paon laughed, as she once more turned her fan into a rapier.

Scouring the area around her, La Paon tried to anticipate the heroes' next step. The smoke swirled in the air, as if it had a mind of its own. Suddenly, coming out of the smoke at breakneck speed, numerous snakes attacked La Paon, who managed to escape them. Laughing, she grabbed one of them and smashed its head with her bare hands, reducing it to smoke, and proceeded to do the same with the others, as they tried to bite her. But she did not realize that the snakes were just the first part of a larger distraction, conjured up by Rena Rouge. When the last snake was reduced to smoke, behind La Paon, Ladybug and Chat Noir appeared, ready to attack her. Noticing their presence, she quickly assumed these were yet another illusion.

"How quaint." -La Paon said. –"Creating illusions of your friends and having them face me, while the real ones hide. It's a nice trick." -she laughed, as she looked at them. –"I must admit. your attention to detail is quite remarkable. They look just like the real ones."

"But we're the real ones." -Ladybug said

"Of course, you are." -La Paon laughed, before stopping abruptly and looking them in the eyes. –"You think I will be outsmarted by mere children?" -she said with a voice so cold, it sent shivers up one spine. –"Think again, then."

She had just finished talking, when from behind her another Ladybug and another Chat Noir sprung from the smoke attacking her. Turning around, La Paon smirked evilly as she used her rapier to stab Chat Noir in the chest, only for this one to dissolve in front of her eyes, followed by the Ladybug that was with him. This surprised her, as she believed they were the real ones, only for the first ones to reveals themselves as the real ones, and attack her. Sufficient to say, she never believed they were actually telling her the truth.

"You should've listened to us!" -Chat Noir exclaimed. –"Cataclysm!" -he yelled, activating his power, as his claws made their way towards her.

Digging his claws into La Paon's right side, Chat smirked, as he heard the villainess's scream of pain. Leaving her temporarily stunned, he and Ladybug attacked her with the "Double Trouble" routine, which consisted on the two moving as if they were one, and mimicking each other's attack, thus delivering the double of the strength. They had practiced this routine, alongside the rest of the team, since the beginning of their career as heroes, but only recently were they able to fully master it. They had all trained to be able to use it with any of the other team members, but they both discovered that it was with the other that they had the most synergy.

"She's good, but she's not the only one who practices fencing." -Chat Noir thought to himself.

"It's a good thing we practice fencing in school, or otherwise I would be in big trouble, following Adrien's movements." -Ladybug thought to herself.

Combining their fighting style with their knowledge of fencing, and making use of the smoke created by Rena, the miraculous duo gave La Paon a run for her money, even with them feeling each of their muscles screaming in pain, begging them stop for a little. She was able to block most of their attacks. But the heroes still managed to land a few decent jabs and hits on her. And as they fought her, Forest Doe prepared to end it. Using her invisibility, she placed herself in the perfect position to hit La Paon with two arrows, which would hopefully allow her friends to put her out of commission. Caressing the grip, she gently placed two arrows against the bow string, pulling it towards her, and targeted La Paon's shoulders.

"Let's see if you like to be nailed to the wall by your shoulders, you psycho." -Forest Doe thought to herself, as she was about to release the string.

Releasing the string, Doe saw the two arrows flying towards their target. But they both failed to hit it, as La Paon moved faster than she thought she would. The first arrow hit her on the left leg, making her scream in pain, while the second one grazed her right temple. When this happened, something inside La Paon's mind snapped and she lost control of Amelie's mind.

"W-What? What's going on?! W-Where am I?!" -La Paon said with a voice that was not hers.

For some reason, the arrow grazing her head had broken the control La Paon had over Amelie. But only for a split second. Quickly, the villainess regained control and Amelie's mind went back to sleep. Cursing the fact, she had once more been shot with an arrow, La Paon quickly yanked it from her leg, glaring at the heroes.

"You're going to have to do a lot better than this, to defeat me." -La Paon said, as she dropped the arrow to the ground, where it disintegrated. –"I thought I had full control of this fool's body, but it seems like I'm not at full power yet. I need to be careful, so I don't lose control again. That could cost me my own life." -she thought to herself.

"What do you think that was?" -Ladybug asked Chat Noir. Though she tried not to show it, the scarlet heroine noticed something had happened to La Paon, and wondered what that could mean for them and their fight.

"I don't know." -Chat Noir told her. –"But I suggest we ask her, when she's permanently down." -he said, as he got ready to attack her again.

But before she could create another illusion to fight La Paon, they all felt the ground and the building tremble. It had been a slight tremor, but still strong enough for everyone to feel. After that, a second tremor was felt; this one stronger than the one before. And then a third, a fourth, all of them stronger than the one before. From experience, Ladybug and her teammates knew that tremors like that, were never a good thing.

"Oh, it seems that my creation is about to arrive." -La Paon said, as her lips formed a sadistic smile.

This chapter is smaller than usual, because I haven't been feeling like writing much these last few days. Still, quantity isn't always the same as quality, and it's best to write somehting short but good, than somehting long and bad. xD I know I promised you all something big for this chapter, but believe me, if I had tried to write it, it would've come out absolutely awful. So, I'm saving it for the next chapter, which I believe, will be worth the wait.

Anyways, this chapter sees the fight between our heroes and La Paon, who are having some difficulty handling her, and the same could be said about Brutus, who sees himself in a bit of peril.

In other news, I admit that because I've been playing a lot of videogames lately, the amount of time for writing isn't the same (which is already very little, I admit), but what can I say? I fell in love with the Resident Evil 4 remake, which is probably the best remake Capcom has made so far (it's practically perfect), and I also bought the Miraculous videogame, to play it when I'm in the mood for it, or when I'm in need of a jolt of inspiration. And regarding seaosn 5, I've been having a lot of people sending me PMs, asking me what I'm thinking about it, and well, I have to thank you all for asking me about it.

To make up for a longer chapter, I'm going to give you guys a little bonus. A small list of trivia bits, regarding our heroes (and unlike what happens with the show, where they say things about the characters, but these seem to never fully materialize in any way in the show, these will be things that will be referenced, sooner or later, or even play an important role in the story). So, here they are.

* Alix knows sign language, because she has a cousin who's deaf (and her brother, Jall, also knows sign language as well).

* Marinette's favourite Disney Princess is Cinderella.

* Alya dreams of one day being able to adopt a fox as a pet.

* Max has one videogame in his collection that he believes he will never be able to finish: Dark Souls.

* Rose has spent all her birthdays in Disneyland Paris.

As always, feel free to comment, fav and leave your suggestions, to improve this or future fics. :)