Chapter 20: Hawk Moth Joins the Battle
The evil smile on La Paon's face grew even wider, with each step Surtr took, making the ground and everything else shake, and warning the heroes that he was getting closer to them. But they were not the only ones who understood that they were about to get into even greater trouble. After fighting that living carpet, Brutus ended up swallowed by it. He could not tell what exactly was going on, because he could not see. But he could hear, and what he heard made him realize that the tide of battle might be about to change, and not for the better. Seeing himself cornered and trapped, he realized that if victory was possible, he would have no choice but to ask for help.
"H-Help! Reptile! Rapier! Romani! Please, I need assistance!" -Brutus contacted them telepathically. –"Stop whatever you're doing, and come to the Palace Bourbon, now!"
It was hard for Brutus to ask for help, due to his military background, and also because he was used to facing whatever challenges that anyone threw at him. But seeing himself encased in that living carpet, without being able to move an inch, and feeling like most of his bones were about to be crushed, he knew he desperately needed help. Especially, since there was something much bigger at stake than his pride. Defeating and killing La Paon, and getting her miraculous for Hawk Moth, was everything that truly mattered in Brutus' mind.
"I know this is not what the master wants. But in war, one must be willing and ready to adapt." -Brutus thought to himself. –"In any case, I'll take full responsibility for whatever happens." -he thought.
And as this thought went through his mind, the other lieutenants, who had heard his cry for help, were about to answer it. Being the only one with whom he had what many would call a good relationship, Reptile did not hesitate to help him, knowing that by helping him, that would score him some points with their master. Regarding Rapier, he did not want to help Brutus. He could not care less about him. But being the insane adrenaline junkie, with an anarchist and superiority complex he was, he knew that if he saved him, he could rub it in his face, until the end of times. And as for Madame Romani, the hatred she felt for him and the way he behaved, was more than enough for her to make a quick decision.
"I'll go and help him. But only because I want to show the master that I should've been the one chosen to kill La Paon and get her miraculous." -Madame Romani thought to herself. –"Master Hawk Moth will see that giving Brutus that mission was a mistake, and by accomplishing it, I'll finally become his right hand." -she mused about it, as she dodged one more of Louve and Corbeau's combined attacks. –"I'll come back for your heads and your miraculouses, later."
Saying that, she passed her hand over the crystal ball, and a cloud of smoke came out of it, which quickly engulfed everything around it and blinding the three heroines. Using this distraction, Madame Romani rushed out of there, making her way towards Brutus.
"Where is she going?!" -Louve Grise asked.
"My guess is, to where the action is." -Corbeau Noire said. –"Let's follow her!" -she exclaimed before taking to the sky.
"Right." -Flamingo agreed, before looking at Louve. –"Come on, I'll give you a lift." -she told her.
Following Romani, the three heroes quickly realized she was not the only one who was ditching the fight. Up in the sky, Queen Bee was chasing Rapier, who had stopped fighting her. And Reptile had jumped the barricade, grabbing one of the police motorcycles, leaving Panda Roux and Antelope to chase after him. They had never seen this happening, and rapidly assumed it had something to do with La Paon, and wherever she was fighting Ladybug and the others.
"I don't know what's really going on, but that lizard man isn't the kind to run from a fight. So, whatever's happening, it's got to be the opposite of good." -Panda Roux thought to himself, as he jumped the police barricade and finished designing a motorcycle, which bore some resemblance to the iconic Akira motorcycle, bringing it to life. –"It's time for speed, man!" -he exclaimed to Antelope, as he got on the motorcycle and turned it on.
"Hey, I'm the one who comes up with the speed jokes!" -Antelope said. –"And if you think you can come up with better speed jokes than me, you got another thing coming." -he stated, in a playful tone. –"Because I am speed! Lightning speed! So, catch me if you can, ketchup head!"
"You're on!" -Panda Roux said, as he dashed after Antelope, on the motorcycle.
Every step Surtr took, the car alarms around him went off. And with each step it took, it was closer to where its creator was. By this time, the heroes were beginning to get fed up with not being able to attack it with everything they had, out of fear that if they destroyed it, the Amok that was inside would fly away and end up creating something even worse than Surtr. To say it was frustrating that they did not have a way to destroy the Amok would be an understatement. They were not used to holding back, in this kind of situation. As they ran or flew alongside the Sentimonster, the heroes wondered where Master Fu was.
"Where is the master?" -Arachnid asked himself.
"He should've said something by now." -Carapace thought to himself.
"Without a way to destroy the Amok in that thing, we're done for." -Grizzly Bear thought to himself.
And they were not the only ones who were asking themselves what was taking master Fu to show up, with the solution to their problems. The old master was asking himself what was going on with the spell that would enable them to destroy Amoks, the same way they destroyed Akuma Butterflies. Because he feared he would not be able to complete it, instead of working on it, in his apartment, he went to the Garden of the Ancients, where time was the last thing, he had to worry about. But even there, he was beginning to think that even with all the time in the world, the spell would not be ready to be used in time. After his latest failure, the old master was so mad at himself, that he even threw one of the magic tomes he had been using to create the spell, to the other side of the room.
"Why isn't this working?!" -Master Fu yelled, absolutely frustrated. –"The spell is complete, but it doesn't hold, when attached to an object." -he sighed. –"What is it that I'm missing here?!"
That was the question that he wished, he had the answer for. He had promised the young heroes a solution for their predicament, and now he was beginning to think that he was not going to able to keep his promise he made to them. He did not understand why what he was doing was not working, and the frustration was making it even harder, as he felt it clouding his judgement and concentration.
"Calm down. Just breathe." -Master Fu told himself, as he did a couple of breathing exercises. –"Just do as master Su-Han told you all those years ago." -he said.
One of the first things master Su-Han taught Fu when he became the holder of the turtle miraculous was a series of breathing exercises to help him clear his thoughts and control his emotions. The whole thing did not have anything to do with using the powers of a miraculous. But as Su-Han would always tell him and his teammates; a warrior's mind must always remain calm and serene, so any decision made, is made with absolute confidence. So, true to his master's teachings, the old master did just as he was taught.
"Focus on your breathing and clear your mind. You're no good to them if you allow your feelings of frustration to cloud your mind." -Master Fu thought, while taking several deep breaths. –"You're one with the universe… Recharge, renew, then respond." -he said, as he recited several mantras.
Breathing in and out, while reciting the mantras that he was taught, little by little, master Fu's mind began to calm down. As he did this, the most random thoughts began to cross his mind, like the time he met Wayzz and transformed for the first time, or the times he found a new kind of tea, or the conversations he had with his old teammates. All of them good and soothing memories. Eventually, the frustration he was feeling disappeared and felt calm, once more. Repeating the meditation mantras a few more times, the old master felt ready to tackle the problem he had, and solve it.
"Alright. Now, it's time to get back to work." -Master Fu said. –"I must find a way to finish this spell, so I can give it to them." -he declared, as he sat down. –"And remember, no pressure. The fate of Paris is in your hands, but you can't let pressure get the best of you… but first, I'm going to need a cup of Oolong tea. Other people's brains don't work without drinking coffee. My brain can't function without a cup of tea."
The whole building trembled, as Surtr struck it with its flaming sword. Above the heroes' heads, the ceiling began to crack and they were forced to move as fast as lightning, to not end up squashed like pancakes, from the ceiling debris. As this happened, La Paon laughed like a maniac, seemingly enjoying the chaos that was going on, not afraid of being hit by any piece of debris.
"Crud! That monstrosity is here!" -Ladybug exclaimed, when she saw La Paon running, and disappearing, when turning the corner. –"Hey, she's getting away!" -she yelled.
"Where is she going?" –Rena Rouge asked.
"Probably on the look for fresh victims." -Forest Doe said. –"You all saw what she did with those poor guards." -she said.
"Yeah. Reminded me of that Greek mythology class, two months ago." -Chat Noir said.
"Then, let's go after her." -Ladybug said, when the whole building trembled violently once more, a piece of debris fell in front of her, missing her by mere centimetres. –"Whoa! We're going to end up pancaked, at this rate!" -she exclaimed, while feeling extremely lucky on that large piece of debris not hitting her.
Still trapped inside that red velvety cocoon, Brutus continued to hear the fight, as he waited for any of his fellow comrades to show up. Because of it, every piece of debris that fell on him, he hardly felt them. Struggling to get free, he realized that no matter how much he tried, he was not going to be able to get out of that magical prison he was put in. Not without help. Minutes went by, and he continued to wait, while listening to the commotion that was happening.
"I wonder what is going on?" –Brutus asked himself. –"That La Paon is quite the warrior, especially for a woman. No wonder the master wants her dead, as well as her miraculous. She could be a problem in his plans." -he thought.
Waiting for someone to come and help him, Brutus. And help arrived, in the form of Madame Romani. Entering in the building's lobby, she looked around, and saw this one looked like a wrecking crew had passed by there, destroying everything they could. But her eyes were quickly drawn to what she assumed was a trapped Brutus.
Creating a dagger out of smoke, the gypsy witch stabbed the carpet, which immediately tried to attack her, by springing tendrils from it. Using the dagger, she cut them with lightning speed, and then proceeded carve the carpet once more, freeing Brutus from the chest up. Because the carpet began to heal itself, Brutus was forced to rip it open to get out, while Romani ripped one of the wall-lights off the wall, hoping to use the electricity in its cables to burn it out. Once the still electrified cables touched it, the carpet caught fire, releasing Brutus, while at the same time yelling in pain. Such a surreal sight astounded both Hawk Moth's lieutenants, who despite having seen so many impossible things, did not expect to see it.
"Many thanks." -Brutus thanked Romani, as they saw the living carpet turn to ashes.
"Don't thank me. Thank the fact that I want to kill that woman, and prove to Hawk Moth that I'm better suited for the job than you, more than I want to see you killed." -Madame Romani told him.
Brutus did not say a word. He knew Romani was not someone who could be reasoned with, when she was in that kind of mood. Instead, he remained in silence, because he knew there were more important things to worry about.
"Where is La Paon?" -Madame Romani asked, impatient.
"She was fighting Ladybug and some of the other heroes. If you haven't bumped into them, then, it's safe to assume they must have made their way inside the building." -Brutus declared.
"Good. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to find where La Paon is and get her miraculous." -Romani stated, without giving Brutus the chance to talk back to her.
Brutus was about to follow her, not wishing to be left out of the battle, when he heard a crashing sound, behind him. Turning around, he saw a police motorcycle speeding in his direction, driven by Reptile, and followed by another motorcycle, driven by Panda Roux. What happened next was a scene worthy of an action movie. Reptile, knowing he had Panda Roux on his tail, decided to leap off his motorcycle and landed on top of Panda's. Grinning at Panda, Reptile pulled his switchblade and prepared to attack him, when Panda lost control of his ride, and was forced to do the same Reptile did, so he would not end up splattered, and to get rid of him. In the end, the two motorcycles crashed into one of the walls, with Panda coming out unscathed, because of Antelope, who arrived at the scene and used his lightning speed to catch him. As for Reptile, he ended up falling hard on the floor, in front of Brutus, who quickly went to his aid.
"Are you alright?" -Brutus asked the reptile-man, as he helped him get up.
"I-I'm fine…" -Reptile said, as he coughed up blood. –"T-That kid's going to pay for this, and for trying to turn me into a popsicle!" -he exclaimed, while looking at Panda and Antelope.
"I guess he doesn't like how you've been treating him." -Antelope told Panda Roux, laughing, as he put him on the floor.
"I guess not." -Panda laughed as well, when the building shook violently once more. –"Whoa, this place is really shaking a lot." -he said.
"Then, we better get these two outside and deal with them, where at least we know we won't have anything falling on our heads." -Antelope said, with a smug on his face. –"If you don't mind, I'm going to have fun with Reptile." -he told him.
"Go ahead. I'll handle Brutus." -Panda Roux said.
Outside, pandemonium was running wild. When responding to what was happening inside the Palace, the police were faced with a scene they had already started to get used to. Targeting Surtr, as he continued to destroy the building, they fired with everything they had. But just like it happened with Akumas, the Sentimonster felt nothing. The only blows it felt came from the heroes, who were then busy trying to get their attention, trying to keep him from further damaging the building.
Right then, the heroes had two problems, and Surtr was just one of them. The other was the police. The ever-courageous law enforcements also wanted to help save the day. But as always, even their best efforts were not a match for the magical forces of evil. And that meant Carapace and the others were forced to keep them at bay, for their own sake.
"Why does the police keep insisting on attacking these things? Don't they understand that they're only going to get them even madder?" -Carapace asked, as he created more energy shields and placed them over the police enforcers, for their own protection.
"They're just doing their job, man. You can't blame them for trying to keep the peace." -Grizzly Bear said, as he tried to catch his breath. –"It's in their job description, remember?" -he reminded the turtle hero.
"Keeping the peace, yes. Fighting magical creatures that can send them to either Heaven or Hell, no. That's our job. Theirs should be making sure that everyone on the streets finds a place to hide, until it's safe to come out." -Carapace said, as he finished placing the last energy shield over the police. –"And right now, I wish it would be easier to " -he sighed, when at that moment, reinforcements arrived to help him in the boys, in the form of Corbeau Noire and Louve Grise.
"Need some help?" -Louve Grise asked, as she and Corbeau Noire arrived at the scene.
"Absolutely." -Arachnid said, as he shot his rope, trying to lassoing one of Surtr's arms. –"But weren't you girls busy with Romani?" -he asked them.
"Antelope told us that he and Panda would handle Romani and Reptile. And you guys seem like you need some help getting this guy away from the building." -Corbeau Noire said, as she made use of her shadow powers.
"Well, the more the merrier, as they would say." -Carapace said. –"Let's see if we can truly get this guy's attention." -he told the others.
In the sky, Dragonfly kept trying to get Surtr's attention, now with a little help from Flamingo and her clones, while at the same time, Rapier and Queen Bee continued their battle. Hawk Moth's flying lieutenant flew towards Brutus rescue, but when noticing Madame Romani and Reptile were on it, he made his priority dealing with the adrenaline junkie flying member of the Miraculous Team. But Queen Bee had other plans for him. wanted to finish what he had started with Dragonfly, but the bee heroine was forcing him to focus on her.
"I already told you! If I have to eviscerate every last one of you, to get to her, I'll do it, no questions asked!" -Rapier yelled, referring to Dragonfly, as he made another of Flamingo's clones disappear.
"Sorry, but she doesn't want to have anything to do with you!" -Flamingo said, as she bashed him on the head with her cane, followed by two of her copies doing the same.
"I don't know which one of you is the real one, but I'm going to take care of all of you, followed by that annoying bumblebee, and then the other bug girl!" -Rapier yelled at Flamingo, before throwing another volley of razor-sharp at her and her two copies, nearly hitting them.
Taking advantage of Rapier being distracted by Flamingo, Queen Bee assessed on what could be done about Rapier. He was a loose cannon, and worse, he was incredibly fast and agile, when in the air. If she, Flamingo and Dragonfly hoped to have a chance to deal with Surtr, while in the air, he had to be taken out. The problem was, she did not know how they were going to do that.
"I need to finish this maniac." -Queen Bee thought to herself, as she caught her breath. –"There's got to be a way to take him out of the game. But how?" -she thought as her eyes scoured around for an answer. –"And I think I found one. I just hope it doesn't take too much of my strength to do it."
Flying down, Queen Bee threw her trompo into the river. Once it touched the water, it began to spin, creating a tornado and pulling water from the river, turning into a water trunk. As the trunk grew, Queen Bee focused to not lose control of it. Taking deep breaths, she visualized the next part of her plan, as a means to focus on her target. Once the trunk was big enough, she ordered the trompo, which was inside it, to dash towards the air, extending the water trunk as if this one was a sea serpent on the hunt, and targeting Rapier, who was then with his hands around the neck of one of Flamingo's copies.
"W-What?!" -Rapier yelled, as he heard something coming from behind him.
Taken by surprise, Rapier and Flamingo's copy were caught by the water trunk, which immediately soaked Rapier wet, while obliterating the copy. Trying to escape it, he flew up, only for the trunk to get him, and pull him inside it.
"Let's see if you can swim, as well as you can fly, freak." -Queen Bee said.
With Rapier trapped inside the water trunk, Queen Bee ordered her trompo to spin even faster, making the water inside the water trunk spin equally faster. No matter how hard he tried, it was impossible for Rapier to get out of it, with his body feeling like it was inside a washing machine. On top of it, Rapier was beginning to feel like his lungs were about to burst, from the lack of oxygen. Struggling to get out, he began to panic, believing the bee heroine was going to kill him. But that was not Queen Bee's plan. She just wanted to make him as weak as a kitten, before letting him go. And when she felt that he had reached that point, she ordered the trompo to dive, making the water trunk dive as well, hitting the river with the strength of a bomb, splashing water all over both sides. A few seconds went by, before Rapier's semi-conscious body showed up at the surface. She had done it.
"It took a lot more strength to do it, but it was worth it to see that idiot in the water." -Queen Bee thought, smiling triumphantly.
"That was a nice move." -Flamingo said, as she stopped next to Queen Bee. –"Hope he doesn't get us into any more trouble, for the time being. I lost count of how many copies of me he destroyed." -she told the bee heroine.
"Something tells me it's going to take him a while to annoy us again." -Queen Bee said.
The fight had reached the Chamber of Deputies, where the members of the French Parliament gathered. The damage was already quite visible, caused both by La Paon and the heroes, who continued to exchange blows between them, and by Surtr and his sword, which at that rate was going to destroy the whole building. One of the stands had come down, along with several columns. The statues above the podium had been reduced to rubble, and the same thing could be said about the podium and most of the benches. In sum, the whole place was an absolute battlefield.
Observing them from behind one of the broken columns of the stands, was Madame Romani. Having followed the path of destruction and chaos created by La Paon, it was easy for her to find them. Entering the chamber, she looked for a place to hide and see what was happening. The gypsy witch had not seen La Paon in person before, but it was easy for her to identify her, since she was the only she did not recognize.
"I was expecting her to look differently." -Madame Romani thought to herself, as she saw La Paon kicking Ladybug on the chest, who was caught by Chat Noir. –"That must have hurt… good. The more she hurts them, the better. These brats don't matter to me. That woman and her miraculous are the only ones who truly matters." -she mused about it.
Continuing to watch them fighting, Romani quickly came up with a strategy, as she waited for the right moment to attack. She knew the surprise factor could signify the difference between victory and defeat, and she planned to use it, and take full advantage of it. Sadly, for her, whatever surprise factor she believed would give her the upper hand, when she attacked, went up in smoke, when a large explosion propelled her, the column she was hiding behind and a large portion of the wall behind her, into the air.
This made La Paon and heroes stop fighting, such was the full force of the explosion. When this happened, they wondered what had happened. And a second later, they saw Brutus and Reptile falling alongside Romani, as well as Antelope and Panda Roux stepping out of a large hole in the wall, where you could see what looked like a massive smouldering cannon, which had no doubt been created by the holder of the red panda miraculous.
"Hey, girls!" -Antelope greeted them.
"Let me guess, you guys decided to bring the party to us?" -Rena Rouge asked him.
"More or less." -Panda Roux said. –"We wanted to take this outside, but ended up here, thanks to them." -he admitted, as he pointed –"Although Romani wasn't with them, when we went full Pirates of the Caribbean on them. Guess we must have caught her, while she was hiding."
"I wasn't hiding! I was waiting for an opportunity to strike!" -Madame Romani yelled, as she got up. –"And you idiots couldn't handle the two of them?!" -she yelled at Brutus and Reptile, furious with them, as the two of them got back up.
The chaos arising from the conversation between the heroes, Madame Romani and her fellow lieutenants was music to La Paon's ears. To her, chaos was just like the spice in someone's life, preventing her from ever getting bored or losing interest in something. And the arrival of a new set of heroes, was just what La Paon needed.
"More heroes for me to play with." -La Paon laughed, as she saw Antelope and Panda Roux arrived at the scene. –"It's so nice of you to stop doing, whatever it was you were doing, and show up to living up the party!" -she kept laughing.
"This woman is treating all of this, as if it was a game or a party." –Forest Doe commented.
"A very sadistic and sick party, if you ask me." -Ladybug said, panting, while moving away Chat's tail that was blocking the view of his left eye.
Determined more than ever, to prove her worth to Hawk Moth, Romani had already decided that she was not going to deal with the heroes. She was going to fight La Paon herself, while leaving Ladybug and the others heroes to her two male comrades.
"I'll deal with her. You two get rid of the heroes." -Madame Romani declared.
"You're not the boss of me, gypsy woman!" -Reptile yelled at her, furious with her.
"The master has ordered me to deal with her, not you." -Brutus reminded her.
"And look what happened." -Madame Romani said, with a sarcastic voice. –"You had your chance. Now it's my turn to prove what I'm capable of." -she said, with a vicious smile on her face. –"So, stop being useless, both of you, and take care of the brats, while leaving that one to me."
Reptile growled at her, not wanting to accept any orders from her. But Brutus looked him in the eyes, giving him a look, which warned him that that was not the time for petty squabbles. Nodding his head, the lizard-man was about to strike, alongside Brutus, when the black cat hero decided to warn them, that whatever their plan was, it was not happening with him there.
"You're not going anywhere, Romani! Neither you, nor those two uglies behind you." -Chat Noir exclaimed, before looking over his right shoulder. –"The boys and I can handle the three of them. You and the girls handle La Paon, milady." -he told Ladybug, who winked at him.
Charging against Madame Romani, Chat saw himself going through the gypsy witch, who used her ability to temporarily turn her body into smoke, and thus, make him go against Brutus, who almost punched him in the face. Leaving Reptile and Brutus to fend off against the three male members of the Miraculous heroes, Madame Romani decided it was best to do something to also keep the heroines busy, as she wanted La Paon all to herself. Using her crystal ball, she created several wild animals, like lions, tigers, bears and hyenas to take on Ladybug, Rena Rouge and Forest Doe, who quickly saw themselves in quite a pickle to handle them.
With her eyes fixated on La Paon, Romani's vicious smile grew wider. Looking at her, she saw nothing special about the holder of the peacock miraculous. And the more she looked at her, the gypsy witch believed that if she did not know she was a miraculous holder, she would mistake her for one of her master's Akumas. Still, she knew one should not be fooled by appearances.
"Oh, you must be another of Hawk Moth's helpers." -La Paon laughed. –"Your friend was a fun guy, and he did put a decent fight. But compared to the other helpers Hawk Moth created in the past, he was nothing special." -she told Romani.
"He's not my friend." -Madame Romani said. –"I might work with him, but he's not my friend. And if you had killed him, I wouldn't give a damn about it." -she declared.
"Oh, I like you!" -La Paon laughed. –"How would you be interested in changing sides? I could use someone as ruthless as you on my side." -she said, tempting Madame Romani.
"Not interested." -Madame Romani said. –"My allegiance is to my master, and when I kill you and give him your head and your miraculous, I'll prove it was a mistake to send a man to do a woman's job." -she said, as her hands caressed the surface of her crystal ball, making it glow, before shooting dozens of snakes in the direction of La Paon.
"More snakes? What's with you illusion players that love to create snakes?" –La Paon asked, as she dodged to the right.
"Laugh all you want! You still haven't seen what I can really do!" -Madame Romani said. –"Time to trap you in your worst nightmare!" -she shouted.
Springing from the ground, several dark tentacles wrapped themselves around La Paon's waist, arms and legs, making it impossible for her to move. Then, another tentacle sprouted directly from Romani's chest and glued itself onto La Paon's forehead, linking their minds together.
"Now, let's see what makes you tick." -Madame Romani laughed, as both her eyes and La Paon's glowed white.
The whole idea of trapping La Paon inside her own mind, and make her relive her darkest thoughts occurred to Romani, as she made her way to the National Assembly to help Brutus. She had used that trick once, on Ladybug and several other members of the Miraculous Team, when she kidnapped Manon and held her hostage, hoping to trade her for their miraculouses. Ever since then, she had perfected this technique, and was now using it, confident that unlike the first time she used it, she would come out victorious. It felt like the perfect plan.
But it did not take long for Romani to realize just how wrong she was. Probing into La Paon's mind, she became confused, as it looked like there were two separate minds, each one completely different from the other. Her first thought was that it felt like there were two completely different people inside La Paon's head. And before she could make heads or tails of what she was seeing, a mental projection of La Paon showed up in front of Romani's own mental projection and attacked her.
"You think your mental tricks will work on me?!" -La Paon's voice echoed all over the place, as she laughed like a maniac. –"Foolish child! Trying to attack me in my own mind, and turn it against me, is the equivalent to suicide!" -she laughed, as she disarmed her and placed her hands over Romani's head. –"Let me show you how it's done!"
And she did it. La Paon quickly turned the tables and made Madame Romani face some of her worst nightmares. Both her mental projection and her real self, started to cry for help, as La Paon had fun with her mind. As this happened, the tendrils created by the gypsy witch disappeared, and so did the animal illusions she had created to keep the scarlet heroine and her friends busy. Seeing this happening, Ladybug saw this as an opportunity to strike both villainesses and take them out. Noticing that Chat, Antelope and Panda were busy with Brutus and Reptile, she signalled Rena Rouge and Forest Doe to follow her lead. Shooting her yo-yo, the scarlet heroine wrapped it around La Paon and Madame Romani's bodies, lassoing them together, as the fox and the doe heroines used their weapons to knock them on the head.
"Lights out!" -Rena Rouge said, as she swung her flute-staff.
But to their surprise, even seemingly with her psyche trapped, La Paon's body somehow moved, breaking from the embrace Ladybug had placed her in, and quickly knocked Rena Rouge and Forest Doe down, using Madame Romani's body as a makeshift blunt weapon. Seeing her friends falling on the ground, Ladybug quickly understood that she had once again underestimated her.
"That was not very nice of you. Attacking me, while I was busy with that one." -La Paon said, as she pointed to Madame Romani, who was now lying on the floor. –"I was trying to play nice with you all. But it seems, you leave me no other option but to show you my true power." -La Paon told the heroines.
Snapping her fingers, a second later, Surtr's sword came down the ceiling, obliterating most of it, with pieces falling all over the chamber, some of them in flames. As this happened, La Paon laughed, while seemingly dancing to the chaotic sound of the debris falling down, as if this sound was some kind of melody. The heroes quickly moved to avoid them, but not all were able to do it. Panda Roux ended up being hit on the back by a large piece of debris, which fell on him, after hitting Brutus and Reptile. Still, Panda was mostly uninjured, due to the fact that Brutus took most of the impact. After tearing up the ceiling, Surtr was attacked by Dragonfly, Queen Bee and Corbeau Noire, who were trying to get its attention again, and force it to leave the building alone. Inside the chamber, Chat and Antelope helped Panda getting back up, while Ladybug, Rena Rouge and Forest Doe kept an eye on La Paon.
But this one did not seem interested in them then. Giggling, La Paon grabbed Romani's semi-conscious body from the ground by the neck, pulling her up, so she could look her in the eyes. She wanted to gloat about what she had done, to a certain miraculous holder.
"Hawk Moth… I know you're watching through the eyes of your minions, like you always do." -La Paon declared, while looking into Madame Romani's eyes. –"This one here is clinging to her life, while the first one who attacked me and his reptilian friend, well, let's just say they won't be causing any trouble for a bit And you can bet that I'm going to do the same to that flying one.. On top of that, I'm closer to killing the miraculous holders and getting their miraculouses, than you ever have!" -she laughed. –"Once I have them in my hands, this world will be mine. That is, right after I use their power to send you to Hell, so you can keep Satan company!"
Hawk Moth was indeed watching all that was happening through the eyes of his lieutenants, and right then, he was staring into La Paon's eyes through Madame Romani's own eyes, as he felt his blood boiling inside his veins. He had expected that Brutus would be able to take down La Paon by himself. But not even with the help of the other three was he able to do what he was ordered. And now, La Paon was bragging about it, in his face.
"But because I love a good challenge, I'm going to give you a chance to defend yourself. Show up and face me, one on one., just like the old days." -La Paon said. –"If you're not afraid to do your own dirty work, then come out of the hellhole you're hiding and face me!" -she told him. –"Finish what you started all those centuries ago, if you dare!"
Gritting his teeth in anger, he tried to ignore La Paon's words. But no matter how hard he tried, these kept echoing inside his head. And just like that, his mind was made up. He never allowed anyone to speak to him that way, without facing the consequences. And he was not going to start doing it. On top of that, he was not going to refuse a challenge from La Paon.
"Finish what I started all those centuries ago?" -Hawk Moth said, in an enraged voice. –"Very well. Since my lieutenants can't seem to deal with you, if you want me so badly, I'll take you on, myself." -he declared, as he tapped the floor with his cane.
Once the tip of his cane hit the floor and resonated over Hawk Moth's private chamber, a sphere of purple energy formed around him. Tapping the cane once more, this sphere disappeared from his private chambers, only to reappear, seconds later, in the middle of the Meeting Chamber, where the sphere disappeared, revealing Hawk Moth.
Seeing this happening, La Paon smiled, threw Madame Romani aside and walked a couple of meters in Hawk Moth's direction, whose cold and calculating eyes followed her every move. Looking at him, the villainess was surprised to see how he looked. He had changed a lot, since the last time she had seen him. If not for the moth miraculous he was wearing, she would have never believed he was Hawk Moth.
"Well, well, well… I'm impressed. You changed a lot. I was hoping for you to still wear an armour, just like in the old days. But maybe armours are a little bit out of fashion. I haven't seen anyone wearing them. Not even…oh, what do they call themselves? Oh, yes, police officers, who are some kind of modern knights." -La Paon laughed, while observing Hawk Moth's face, which remained stone-cold. –"As for me, as you can see, I've also changed a little bit. I don't dislike this body, but I still haven't decided if I'm going to keep it or not." -she declared.
She continued to talk, while Hawk Moth remained silent. For every ten words she said, he said none. This was one of the clearest differences between the two villains. She talked a lot. He barely talked.
"Always the silent one." -La Paon said, as she continued to laugh. –"No matter how much I tried, you were never one to carry a proper conversation! To you, every single word must be carefully chosen. Never understood that obsession of yours! What's so wrong with having a proper conversation, like a regular person?!"
It was clear that Hawk Moth, was not in the mood for any sort of conversation; the polar opposite of La Paon. You could see it, by looking into him. As for the heroes, their eyes were fixated on Hawk Moth. It had been months since he had come out of hiding, and just like before, he looked every bit as mean as they remembered him. Wondering if he was going to attack them, Ladybug, Chat, Rena, Doe, Antelope and Panda kept their guard up. But quickly they saw that he had no interest in them that day. The only thing that he was interested in was La Paon and her miraculous.
Believing he had heard enough from La Paon, Hawk Moth decided to get down to business. Unsheathing his cane-sword, he saw his own reflection on the immaculate blade, before pointing it to the holder of the peacock miraculous. She on the other hand, saw that the time for laughing was over, and it was time to settle serious matters.
"Like you said before, it's time to finish what I started so long ago." -Hawk Moth said, pointing his sword at La Paon. –"And unlike last time, I won't just turn you into a statue, and leave you to suffer for eternity. I will be slicing your head, and feed it to the fishes in the Seine. And this time, I will be taking that miraculous of yours; which I should've done, the moment I turned you to stone." -he said, with a cold voice.
"I was hoping you would say something like that." -La Paon said with a serious voice, as her fan turned into a rapier. –"Then, let's finish this. Bring it on, you, poor excuse for a world dominator!" -she insulted him, before striking him with her rapier.
The sound of metal clashing echoed through the place, to be slightly drowned out by La Paon's maniacal screams and laughter, who once again looked like she was enjoying everything that was going on. As for Hawk Moth, his face remained unchanged. No one could tell if he was enjoying it or not. But his eyes told another story. The hatred he had for La Paon was mirrored in them. Blow after blow, it was difficult to know who would win that fight, since both were outstanding with the sword. Jumping from bench to bench, the two did the best to cut the other. More than once they came close to inflict harm on the other.
Those that were watching them fighting, could not help but to compare the fight to those described in Dumas D'Artagnan Romances. Every move, every advance, every retreat was calculated, and almost choreographed. But that did not matter to Hawk Moth. All that mattered was La Paon's death, and right then, no matter how he attacked her, she defended every last one of his blows. It did not take long for frustration to raise the rage he had for her.
"Come on! It's almost like you're not even trying!" –La Paon laughed in his face, as her blade swooshed over Hawk Moth's head. –"That was a close one! If you keep moving like a tortoise, you won't last for long, against me." -she taunted him, between laughs.
Her bothersome voice and her shrieking laughter were piercing Hawk Moth's eardrums, making it hard for him to focus. Determined to make that fight as short as possible, he decided to make use of his powers.
"This has gone for too long!" -Hawk Moth yelled, as the blade from his cane-sword started to glow purple. –"Just die!"
Releasing a powerful wave of destructive energy from his cane-sword, he aimed to reduce La Paon to ashes. But his opponent saw it coming and easily dodged it. Hawk Moth's attack ended up targeting Ladybug and her teammates, who were momentarily caught by surprise. Moving as fast as they could, they managed to avoid it.
"I think we've got more than we bargained for." -Rena Rouge said, as she watched Hawk Moth charging against La Paon, who defended his attack.
"That would be an understatement." -Ladybug declared. –"This is bad. It's been months since this guy shows his face, and the last time he did, we had a hard time just keeping up with him." -she thought to herself, as she felt fear and doubt filling her chest. –"It was bad enough having to fight that woman. But now, we'll probably have to fight Hawk Moth as well. Things just keep getting worse."
This was a hard one. I must admit, that I made the right choice to not write what happens in this chapter in the previous one, because if I had tried to write it, it would've come out awful. So, it paid off to wait for my creative juices to come back.
And what a chapter this one was. We see the return of Hawk Moth to the field of battle. It has been a long time, since I wrote him this way, so it felt good to do it. Hawk Moth is one of those characters that is fun to write, because it allows me to write him in a way that resembles how Disney villains used to be written, back in the old days, when villains were villains, and we didn't have to settle for the "villain" to be some kind of trauma (not saying that every Disney animated movie needs to have an old fashioned villain, but it wouldn't hurt if some of the most recent ones had had one). On top of it, I needed to exorcise from my mind what I've been seeing in the show, regarding Gabriel (they want us to feel sorry for him, but personally, i just want him to be reduced to ashes. If Chloe deserved a proper redemption arc, and doesn't get it, then, Gabriel doesn't deserve one, even if they were to give him one). But let's not talk about it, as that is a conversatiion for another day.
You guys are probably asking what will happen from here, right? Well, the fight is on its way towards its climax, but there are still a couple of things that still need to happen, and I hope to surprise you guys, with what I have in store for you. As always, feel free comment, fav and leave your suggestions to improve this and/or future fics.
P.S. I don't know if I'll start working on the next chapter rigth away, or if I'll take a breather and finish a one-shot I came up with, a couple of days ago. Still, whatever I choose to do, I know that I'm going to have fun, and that you are going to like what I have planned. :)