On the banks of the Nile Ladybug, Chat Noir and Ember arrived into the darkness of night through their portal. Starlight reflected off the great river that brought life through Africa (and of course Egypt) from the earliest of civilizations.
"I will go announce our arrival to our host," Ember told them. "I will meet you back here once the morning star arrives."
Ladybug hopped up to the top of a nearby rock surveying the Nile, while Chat took to skipping rocks to pass the time. They did not have to wait long before they heard the sound of someone approaching.
"That didn't take long at all!" Chat Noir turned to see the approaching individual, but then froze. It was not Ember…and it was not something in the animal form of a wild kwami. It was a young man dressed in gold, who appeared close to their age.
To say this man was handsome was an understatement. He was downright gorgeous. His blond hair shone in the moonlight, and his well defined muscles rippled under his shirt. His pale blue eyes smiled at them. "My friends!" he called to them still at a distance in a clear voice. "You guide as asked me to fetch you! Come with me, and I will show you what awaits!"
"I thought Ember said he would come back for us?" Ladybug wondered out loud.
"Yes, Ember. We are old friends. He wanted to get everything ready for you. He is waiting for us. Come along with me," he strode confidently closer, reaching out to greet them. The man's eyes suddenly glanced distractedly over to the shore where he caught the triangular sail of a felucca. Something like fear or annoyance passed over his polished features. "Quickly, come here," he urged, "We don't have much time!"
Chat Noir instinctually gripped his baton, hearing a soft padding of feet sneaking up beside them from the water. "Mi'Lady, be on your guard something else is out here," he whispered in her ear.
"We've got to get away before the sorcerers arrives!" the young man implored, stepping closer. "If she gets to you before me…" but his warning was interrupted by a dark shadow that darted out of the night, and struck him between the eyes. The swift strike was strong enough to send him flying back onto the sand.
"Stay down pest," his attacker screeched at him.
But he did not. He dove at her, trying to push her aside, but she knocked him down more forcefully then the first time.
Ladybug grabbed her yoyo and defensively swung it in front of her and Chat Noir.
The attacker's face was completely opposite to that of the young man. She was a haggard looking woman, with a jagged scar running across the left side of her forehead to her cheek. Her eyes were glazed over with a light milky film. They did not have to be close to notice that she was blind. Yet, even with the absence of eyesight, she was dealing out precise blows to her adversary. Her black ragged cloak swirled around her as she attacked him.
"Stay away from them!" the woman threatened. "The weilders are not yours to command!"
"Help me! Stop her! You've got to destroy her amulet!" the young man whimpered, now on his hands and knees crawling closer to them again.
The darkened woman grabbed him by the back of his collar, and with surprising strength for one who appeared so old, threw him back.
Ladybug made a step forward towards the man in pity, but Chat Noir held her back. "Wait Mi'lady," he held her. "Something isn't right. We need to know what is going on before we act!"
"He needs our help!" Ladybug shot back urgently to Chat Noir. "We can't just sit back…"
The man in gold tried to get around the dark woman, but she blocked his path again. "You will not reach them," she hissed.
"Please! The man begged again, "Only by using your miraculous with me, can we defeat her for good. Come closer…"
Once again Ladybug moved towards him, but Chat Noir stopped her again. "Chat!" she complained. "We've got to destroy that amulet before she hurts him!"
"Haven't you noticed that he is the one trying to get closer to us?" Chat Noir challenged. "She has not made a move towards us. She has not even hurt him…much. She has only prevented him from getting close to us!"
Ladybug looked around Chat Noir again, and realized he was right.
"He has the look of a hero, but is he?!" Chat Noir scrutinized.
"She looks like a villain, but is she?!" Ladybug agreed.
"Quick, quick!" Screeched the man. "Get your miraculous to me, before she puts a spell on you!" In a swift movement the golden man grabbed the woman's staff and struck the chain holding her amulet. This sent the jewel flying through the air, and it landed at Chat Noir's feet.
"Now Black Cat, now! Use your cataclysm to destroy it!" The man called in triumph.
Chat Noir bent over and picked up the amulet. The man held his breath in anticipation, but Chat Noir did not channel his destructive energy. He handed the amulet to Ladybug.
"If you won't destroy it, give it to me!" the man called, "I will do what should have been done a millennia ago!"
Ladybug walked towards the pair, but instead of handing the amulet to the golden one, she put it into the soft wrinkled hand of the ragged woman.
"What have you done!" the pleasant voice of the man turned cold. He lunged with the woman's staff at her, but the woman called out "Maat, balance the scale!" Within a brief moment they saw an ostrich kwami fly out of the black cloak as she was summoned into the amulet.
The old woman was transformed into a beautiful angelic youth, whose white hair flew around her face. Her luminescent skin and her eyes shone like they were illuminated by the stars above. Her amulet turned brilliant white. Her black robe was edged with ostrich feathers, and her mask came down over her noise in an ebony pointed beak. With a swift, well aimed kick, she jarred her staff from the golden man's hand, and he let out a high pitched drone.
"Submit Accuser, or shall I continue?" she commanded with authority.
"They still have to pass through the halls of Horus," he shot back, crossing his arms and pouting like a child who had a toy withheld.
"Yes, and I will see that they have their fair trial, without your interference," she glared at him with unseeing eyes.
"You…you are a miraculous weilder?!" Ladybug gasped in awe of the ancient, yet strangely youthful woman before them.
The woman gave a mischievous childlike smile in their direction. "I am human, and still technically mortal, but my kwami, Maat, has the power of rejuvenation, granting me exceptionally long life…even for a weilder. In this form, I am sometimes called Lady Justice. Over the years and kwami cycles I have been charged with guarding the fountain of youth."
"But before…before you transformed you looked so…different?!" Ladybug blushed awkwardly.
"The truth is not always what it appears to be a first glance," she smiled. "Appearances have never been of value to me, as I was born without sight."
"I'm sorry…I…" Ladybug rushed to apologize.
"Not to worry little Ladybug. It is not necessarily a bad thing to be underestimated by your adversaries. And it allows me to be unbiased and without distraction. My other senses have become well honed to focus on key details."
"You fight so effectively," Chat Noir complimented, leaning on his baton.
"Being the defender of a miraculous for many lifetimes has given me lots of practice," she laughed merrily.
"I almost had you that time," the sullen Adonis moped, dropping himself to the sand. But he went silent when Justice again glared towards him.
"And he is?" Chat Noir nodded towards the man sulking in the sand, who was looking more and more foolish now that he had been pacified.
"The Egyptians referred to the chaos he created as Isfet. Here in the miraculous trials he is supposed to play the role of one to challenge you, known as the Accuser. As a wild kwami, he should know his place…but every time the black cat and ladybug weilders are being tested his trials to steal their miraculous'.
"A wild kwami?!" Chat Noir said shocked, "but he looks so…well…human!"
"I will try not to take offense," the blonde "man" shot back. "I intended you to think so." Then he magically shifted through a series of human features, taking on new faces, which warped his appearance.
"His power allows him to take human form, which unfortunately, he utilizes for deception and the disruption of order," Justice shook her head in disgust. "Come now Accuser, drop your act, and your selfish hunt for a wish."
"Fine," he rolled his eyes, "But the Ladybug was nearly ready to warm up to me in this form," then he gave Ladybug a wink which made her shudder, and Chat Noir stepped defensively to her side.
It was then that Ember arrived, surveying the scene, he appeared visibly distressed at the sight of Isfet. Ember flew to Justice's shoulder, and she bowed to him with a smile.
"I see he is up to his malevolence again," Ember spoke to the starlight haired weilder, "As always my Lady Justice, I am glad you were vigilant as always."
"The same old tricks," she replied, "still resentful of missing out on his chance for a wielder when he had the chance."
"I am sorry I left you to his mischief," Ember looked apologetically at Ladybug and Chat Noir. "I'm glad to see you have had the chance to meet the weilder of Maat."
The gold man seemed to release a high pitched whine again, dissolving into a kwami with the characteristics of a mosquito. He had clear wings, a slightly yellow torso, and a distinctive long needle-like nose.
"Are you going to release Maat again vile human?" he droned.
"Until I ensure these two make it to their trials without your evil, we will stay united against you," Justice snapped, making the mosquito kwami withdraw a bit further. "And if you make one more move toward either of the children, I will not hesitate to make your eternity excruciating," she threatened drawing her staff down firmly in the sand.
"Okay, okay, let's get to the temple of Horus already. The falcon can deal with them," Isfet floated before them, passing across the Nile.
"Come, I will take you across on my felucca," Justice said leading down to the water's edge. She drew up a silver cord, that tether the small sailing craft, and adjusted the sail.
"Thank you for your help," Ladybug said walking next to Justice, as Ember flew near her shoulder.
"It is a pleasure to have the opportunity to greet the next generation of weilders," Justice happily replied.
"How many Ladybug weilders have you met?" Ladybug asked curiously.
"Oh my young friend, I'm afraid I've lost count!" she replied, "but each one has always been unique…and inquisitive," she added.
Justice and Ember chatted as old friends about cycles past, and historical events Ladybug and Chat Noir were shocked to hear that kwami's had been involved in.
"We fought an acoma once that took the form of an Egyptian Pharaoh," Chat Noir ventured.
"Yes, we found hieroglyphs in the Louvre about a Ladybug who had fought the Pharaoh he was based on, in order to rescue a girl he planned to sacrifice to the Sun god Ra," Ladybug added.
"Did you know that Ladybug?" Chat Noir asked excitedly.
"I have been with Maat for a very long time, but I am by no means her first weilders. The Ladybug you are referring to was Tiki's weilder before my time, but Maat has told me of her," Justice remembered fondly.
Ladybug and Chat Noir looked excitedly towards her as she continued.
"Her name was Neith, and her black cat's name was Maahes. Now theirs was quite the romance…." At this Chat Noir's ears perked up, only to drop again when Justice added, "…only to end in heartbreaking tragedy."
"What happened?" Chat Noir asked disappointedly.
"Your kwami may be able to tell you better than I. Although, I don't imagine Plagg will be inclined to talk much about it. That is a story for another time.* Perhaps I will tell you the story at our next meeting…for fate is likely to cross our paths as fellow weilders again….but we are here now. It is time to prepare yourselves weilders."
She expertly docked the small craft, letting her hands guide along the ropes, and listening closely to the sound of the water against the shore. Ladybug and Chat Noir helped her tether the small ship securely. Then they had to walk past buildings of Edfu to come to a dip in the land, where layers of the past had been uncovered to reveal the hidden temple. One of the jewels of Egypt; The temple of Horus.
They came to the entrance of a great temple with two tall stone century walls with inscriptions and imagery carved into the sandstone.
"The original temple that this new one was built on used to be much smaller. The Pharaohs' wealth and attempt to appease Horus made this one grow quite impressively ostentatious," Justice said reaching out her hand to rest it on the cool sandstone.
"This one is new?" Chat Noir narrowed his eyes at the images carved in relief, "what do you mean by new?"
"Well they started this renovation on August 23, 237 BC," Justice said thoughtfully, which made Chat Noir's mouth hang open as they passed under the door frame. "Actually you're lucky. Some of the last miraculous trial weilders had a more difficult time gaining access to the entrance. This whole temple was covered in 12 meters of sand after the aardvark kwami (who the Egyptians called Sett), feuded with Horus and buried his temple. Finally in the 1860 humans rediscovered it and excavated."
"As we enter here," Ember advised, "it is imperative that only truth leaves your lips. In the house of the falcon, deceit is punishable by death."
As they reached the end of the grand courtyard lined with pillars they saw a pair of hawk-like statues like guarding shadows to the central temple. As they drew closer, Ladybug noticed differences between them. While the statue of Horus on the left had smooth dark, rigid stone, with graceful lines, the other had more detail showing in the feathers, and the face. She leaned forward examining the intricate detail chiseled there…when the eyes of the 'statue' on the right opened.
The falcon's right eye shone so brightly they could not stare at it long. It was like it held the brilliance of the sun. His left eye was pale blue like the full moon. The falcon on the right was not a statue at all, but Horus himself, waiting patiently for their arrival.
"Son of truth," Ember greeted the dignified looking wild kwami.
"Son of wisdom," the falcon responded to the Phoenix, and then turned to Maat's weilder, "Daughter of justice."
Then he turned to the Ladybug and Chat Noir. "Your trial is to determine your worthiness as weilders. Do you truly seek wisdom, justice, and truth within the world, or will your selfish human flaws corrupt the miraculous for your own purposes?"
The mosquito kwami arrived at the adjacent side, and hummed, "They are flawed like all humans.
"Get on with your evidence accuser," the falcon scolded with irritation.
"The boy is starved for attention. It is sad really. He frequently takes unnecessary risks, compromising the safety of his miraculous, his life, and the lives of others." The accuser paused to let this fact sink in, before continuing. "He rushes in to situations, and allows his ego to drive his interactions with others. Oh…and he is blinder than Justice when it comes to evidence of the heart staring him right in the face.
Lady Justice frowned at the accuser, letting slip a soft snarl at his taunt.
"Keep to the facts Accuser," Horus cautioned. "It is unwise to bait the defender of Maat. Do it again and I will allow her satisfaction."
"Yes, yes of course. A million apologizes to Maat's handler," the mosquito kwami crowed insincerely. Then he turned his attention on Ladybug. "And this girl did not even want the gift of a miraculous at first!" the mosquito kwami huffed in indignation. "At the first sign of a challenge she rejected Tiki, and tried to pass the miraculous to another! And don't even get me started on her jealous behavior, which is an affront to what it means to be a weilder. There were specific cases where her civilian actions of carelessness, indecision, or jealousy incited fellow humans to even become aromatized under the Hawkmoth villain, who corrupted the Butterfly."
The falcon kwami looked deeply at them with his dual eyes. "You represent yourself in this place. How do you plead?" he inquired.
There was a pause as the Accusers words sunk in. Both Chat Noir and Ladybug could not deny that everything he said was true. They thought back to moments of failure or poor decisions had put a risk on the great powers they possessed.
"Guilty," Chat Noir finally responded.
Ladybug and the others looked over at him in surprise.
"Did you admit to the charges against you?! You're not going to argue for yourself, or justify your actions?" the falcon inquired.
Chat Noir shook his head. "What the Accuser has said about me in truth. I have made the wrong decisions. I've been impatient and even arrogant at times. But worst of all... I've been oblivious to things right n front of me that caused pain to not only myself but others."
"I'm guilty too…." Ladybug jumped in.
"Even at the start I was hesitant to take action. I've been jealous s and acted towards others with envy. I've made the wrong decisions and allowed people I care about to get hurt. It was I that mistakenly led Hawkmoth right to Master Fu, and sacrificed his role as guardian."
"You heard them!" the accuser roared with a cackle of ominous glee. "They are guilty. They are flawed."
"Now each of you may call your witness to your defense."
They looked blankly back.
"Each of you have been a witness to your partners flaws and assets, no?!" The hawk prompted.
"Black Cat, what do you have to say of the Ladybug wilder? Should she be allowed to continue to utilize the great power of creation?"
"To take away the Ladybug miraculous from her would be the true crime. She is braver than she realizes. She stands up for others, even when it is difficult. Countless times she had defended innocent civilians as personal cost. Even when it is not easy, she chooses to do the right thing."
"Hmmm," the hawk kwami pondered, "and you Ladybug, what o the Black Cat? His power is capable of ultimate destruction. Should this human possess such a power?"
"Even if I could choose from everyone on earth, I would only choose Chat Noir as my partner. I have trusted him with my life countless times. He is selfless in laying down his life to help others and protect them. He is kind hearted, and gentle. Even when he has been tempted to rush into things, he has been willing to show restraint when it is required," Ladybug declared passionately.
"And now your final witness, Kwami of wisdom," he turned to the phoenix. "You have been the guide of the chosen humans now for thousands of years. Have these mortals justly used their gifts?"
"I would not have revealed the location of the first justice disc if I felt otherwise," Ember proclaimed. Then added boldly. "These two are more worthy to weild their miraculous' than any I've encountered before. I would wager my own miraculous on that."
The falcon nodded happily, "Compelling evidence."
"But they…" The Accuser roared in protest.
"Silence Mosquito! I have made my decision. Then the falcon kwami reached within his feathers and produced a disc similar to the one from the museum. The only difference was a cut halfway through it. "The requirement has never been perfection," the falcon said handing them the disc, "only the determination to do what is right over selfish desires."
The Accuser let out a frustrated high pitched drone, and released his kwami form to fly off as a tiny mosquito.
The falcon bowed to Ember, then to Lady Justice, and then to the weilders. "Stay the path," he said, and then transformed, flying away to the west.
Thank you so much readers for continuing to follow Chat Noir and Ladybug's journey through this fanfic!
*Thank you to all those who have left reviews to help guide this story! A special shout out to Malicious hero who suggested our heroes travel back to Egypt in light of Tiki's connection ('Pharaoh' episode). If you'd like to read another fanfic I wrote going deeper into Ladybug's 'past lives,' specifically the romance between in Egypt and the loss of Plagg check out s/13302703/1/Miraculous-Ladybug-Flashback