Alright, the finale of this story is upon us!
Marinette, now Ladybug, is about to lead the charge to defend the forest from Chloé and the mob she's assembled!
The girl squad was at the tree line of the forest, hauling buckets of water over to the flames and dumping it. But the smoke was getting thicker.
"The fire's getting too strong!" Myléne coughed. "And the water's not doing enough!"
"We gotta keep going, girls!" Alix said as she and Kagami kept cranking the handle for the water well.
One of Carapace's shields surrounded the entire group, and they all looked around in confusion.
"What's going on?!" Zoé asked.
"Whatever it is, at least we can breathe!" Rose said, giggly as always.
A portal opened up inside the barrier, and Ladybug, Rena Rouge and Cat Noir bolted towards them, with Pegasus a little bit behind. The portal shut.
"Girls! Is everyone here okay?!" Ladybug asked.
"Yeah, we're good. Wait, who are you?" Myléne asked.
"Hold on... Marinette?! Alya?!" Alix asked as she examined the girls.
"Yes, it's us. Though now I'm Rena Rouge and Marinette's Ladybug. We'll explain everything later, but right now we need help," Alya, now Rena Rouge, said as Ladybug presented the jewels by opening the box. "One jewel per person, and we've already chosen who gets which one."
"Alix, the Rabbit Pocket Watch; Kagami, the Dragon Bead Choker; Juleka, the Tiger Panjas Bracelet; Rose, the Pig Anklet; Myléne, the Mouse Pendant; Zoé, the Bee Hair Comb." Ladybug instructed as she and Rena Rouge handed out each respective jewel to their chosen bearer.
"Once you put these jewels on, you'll become immortal guardians like the rest of us. We need help to defend the forest, and to stop Chloé!" Cat Noir explained.
"Can we trust you?" Ladybug asked.
"Marinette - no, Ladybug - even though you were hiding something from us, you had the best intentions. You can trust us, we promise." Kagami spoke.
"Good. Now, everyone put your jewels on, and Pegasus will teleport us back to everyone else." Ladybug instructed.
Pegasus opened a portal near the Mother Tree and saw the rest of the boys had already rallied. The girls, now wearing their jewels, ran through the portal. Carapace took the shield down before running in after them, and then the portal shut.
Everyone started talking over each other, trying to introduce themselves, including fist bumps and handshakes, but Ladybug whistled to get everyone to listen.
"Save the introductions for later! Right now, we got a forest fire to put out and an angry mob to stop," Ladybug said, getting everyone to look at her. "And here's how the plan is going to go..."
Ladybug went over every detail in the plan, from who did what, who hid where, which power was intended for what purpose.
"Is everyone clear on the plan?" Ladybug asked.
"Right!" Everyone shouted in agreement.
"Now let's get into position!" Ladybug said.
The entire team nodded before they scattered to their respective spots within the forest. Bunnyx took the remaining three Miraculous, opened up a Burrow and jumped in to hide for the time being. Ladybug stood with Cat Noir.
"I like the way you think, M'Ladybug." Cat Noir chuckled.
"Even after Chloé found out? I mean... Alya and I were being careful, but I guess I should've known better than to talk about that in public." Ladybug said, looking down.
"The past is the past, Ladybug," Cat Noir reassured her. "For now, we just need to get that mob away from our home."
Ladybug gave Cat Noir a hug and a nod.
Chloé was leading her mob and calling for the guardians' death. Every step she took, she would order Sabrina to light a plant on fire before moving on. They made sure the fires they were starting were behind them so they could breathe.
Chloé had a satisfied, cruel smile on her face.
'Everyone's following me like the dumb lambs they are,' She thought, briefly looking behind her to see the rioting villagers behind her. 'How perfect. And once I burn down that utterly ridiculous Mother Tree and kill the guardians, I'll take those jewels and become the queen I deserve to be!'
She came upon Cat Noir's usual perch tree, and she saw his and Marinette's initials in the heart he'd carved. She growled in outrage before snatching Sabrina's torch.
"Hey!" She shouted.
Chloé roared in anger as she lit the tree on fire. As the flames crackled around the trunk and it started climbing, burning the carving away, Chloé's anger turned to twisted satisfaction as she cackled in delight.
"Ugh, take this back, it's going to ruin my skin!" She spat before handing the torch back to Sabrina, who took it without a second thought.
Up ahead, Purple Tigress, Ryuko, and Minotaurox were in an unburned area.
Ryuko was using her sword to clear all the dead brush and trees, meanwhile Minotaurox was using his hammer to smash rocks.
"Clout!" Purple Tigress hollered as she punched a larger boulder, causing it to turn into a bunch of smaller rocks.
"Wind Dragon!" Ryuko called as she turned into a tornado and gathered up all of the brush and flammables, only leaving mineral soil behind. She dumped all the vegetation a fair distance from the fire.
When she got back, the group used their respective powers and strength to line the cleared area with rocks.
"This should be a good firebreak." Minotaurox spoke.
"This will hopefully buy us some time." Ryuko commented.
"Great work, both of you." Minotaurox praised.
"Thanks," Purple Tigress responded. "Now we can slow this fire down while everyone else gets the villagers out."
Further into the woods, the smoke was getting thicker and the fire was spreading faster. Some of the villagers had gone ahead of Chloé to burn down more trees, and they were chanting in protest of the guardians.
They heard a loud roaring noise and out of the nearby smoke and fire, came a ginormous monster that looked like it was made of nothing but dripping, flaming tar. It was at least ten feet tall and had a skull-like head for a face, and the places where the eyes and nose were supposed to be were on fire. It even had bat-like wings on its back that were slick with tar.
All the creature did was roar at the top of its lungs and start walking closer to the villagers.
"Back! Back, you vile beast!" One of the women screamed as she waved her torch around.
The monster merely breathed in the smoke from the torch like it was a flower, and said, "Stink good."
Realizing they were in trouble, the mob members dropped their torches and started running for their lives, screaming out, "TAR MONSTER!"
Since they weren't watching where they were going, a portal opened up under their feet and they fell through it. They landed on a giant wagon with soft, silk pillows back in town. They saw more of the villagers had calmed down and were smiling, looking around at their home as if they were relieved.
"What's going on?!" One of the men said.
"Gift!" A voice shouted as a pink ball of light appeared in front of them, and as they looked into it, they began smiling and seemed to relax.
Pigella was standing in front of the wagon, smiling at the sight of the happy people.
Back in the woods, the tar monster disappeared in orange mist to reveal Rooster Bold. Pegasus came down from another tree that was untouched from the flames.
"Good show," Pegasus praised, covering his mouth and nose to filter out the smoke. "If I hadn't known it was an illusion, I would've been 80% convinced that that was a real tar monster."
"Thank Rena Rouge for that," Rooster Bold spoke, seeming to be unaffected by the smoke. "She did an impressive job on that illusion. It's like she's been doing it forever."
"Thanks, Rooster Bold," Rena Rouge said, covering her mouth as she came out of hiding. "I'm sure my Turtle Boy will be happy to hear that. And nice idea on your part, using your Sublimation to give you the ability to breathe smoke as if it were clean air. Really added to the illusion's realism and fear factor."
"Speaking of smoke, let's get out of here before you two start choking on it." Rooster Bold said as he and the others ran from the fire.
Near the Mother Tree, Ladybug and Cat Noir were touching base with the team through their communication tools.
"Okay, Minotaurox just reported that the firebreak is made and is working," Cat Noir said. "Any word on your part?"
"Rena Rouge and Rooster Bold scared more of the villagers out of the woods and Pegasus teleported them back to town." Ladybug reported.
"And good idea having Pigella there to use her Gift to calm everyone down as they arrive through the portals." Cat Noir responded, a smile on his face.
"Thank you," Ladybug said, blushing. "I just hope the others are doing okay."
"You're the one who chose them, m'lady," Cat Noir said as he put his hands on her shoulders and brought her closer to him. "You're an amazing judge of character. They're already kicking ass out there. They'll be fine."
He moved on to give her a hug, and she hugged back.
Back out in the woods, Viperion, Caprikid, Polymouse, and King Monkey were doing their best to put out the fire. Caprikid had conjured up a giant, wooden water silo and hose/pump combination. They hooked up the silo and hose and started pumping the water, dousing the flames with it.
Polymouse multiplied into several copies of herself and was tasked with keeping the silo together in case things got too hot and it began falling apart.
"Faster! Over there!" Viperion shouted, directing Caprikid and King Monkey to douse the flames.
More villagers with torches came in, and began throwing the torches at them.
"Incoming!" Caprikid hollered.
The trio leaped out of the way as the torches hit the silo. Polymouse got a safe distance away from the silo and recalled all her duplicates and formed back into her normal, singular self. The silo itself didn't catch on fire, but steam was coming inside.
King Monkey jumped up onto the silo and held up his tool.
"Uproar!" He shouted as he conjured up a stuffed, toy sheep. "Polymouse, catch!"
He threw it at Polymouse, who caught it in her hands, before shouting, "Multitude!"
She once again duplicated into several miniature copies and started throwing the multiplied stuffed sheep at their attackers. As each one hit one of the villagers, the torches turned into live sheep. They were multiplying before they turned into an entire herd. Their fear of the fire caused them to run around, knocking the villagers about. The timid animals were bleating and running around. The villagers were shouting, frustrated and angry with the outcome, trying to redirect the sheep. Meanwhile the boys were laughing at the scene.
Polymouse retreated back to her group and collected all her duplicates. She also laughed at the sight of it.
"Pegasus!" Viperion hollered.
"Voyage!" Pegasus hollered as he teleported everyone in the sheep herd back to town.
Up above, Vepseria, who'd acquired a specific honey candy that was able to give her the capacity for flight, giving her wasp-like wings on a jetpack on her back and a mask to help her breathe, was flying above the woods and monitoring the scene.
She called up Ladybug and said, "Vesperia here!"
Down near the Mother Tree, Ladybug and Cat Noir were still making extra preparations for any and all backup plans.
"How's it looking from up there?" Ladybug asked on her bug phone.
"Good news! The fire is slowing down. Everyone's efforts are working!" Vesperia reported. "But the bad news is that there are still people in the woods that are pushing on."
"Copy that," Ladybug responded. "Stay on watch up there until further notice."
"Got it!" Vesperia spoke before hanging up.
"Looks like the plan's working, chaton." Ladybug reported to her king.
"Like a charm, m'lady," Cat Noir responded. "But we still have work to do."
"We'd better get into position." Ladybug said, a confident smile upon her face.
Chloé was still making her way to the Mother Tree, tuning out the screams of "tar monster" from her mob as they were running back to town.
"Useless! You cowards are utterly useless!" Chloé screamed as they ran past her. She rolled her eyes before griping, ""Tar monster," what a crappy joke. At least you're sticking with me, Sabrina."
No response.
"Sabrina?" She asked, looking around in confusion. Chloé was alone now. "Where did that utterly ridiculous girl go?!"
Sabrina was sitting in the pillow wagon under the effects of Pigella's Gift. Her greatest wish was for her to be in a real friendship with someone - the same way that Alya and Marinette were friends. She was watching the images unfold with a big smile.
Pigella was giggling at the sight.
"Ugh, no matter," Chloé sniffed. "I'll just take care of that stupid tree myself!"
She kept going forward, and saw that the fire wasn't burning as quickly as it did before. She screamed in outrage before lighting more of the dead brush on fire, causing another conflagration.
She began cackling at the sight before trekking further on.
Everyone was working hard at their respective tasks - Purple Tigress and her trio making firebreaks; Rena Rouge and Rooster Bold scaring people with their "tar monster" illusion; Viperion and his quartet putting out the fire; Pigella calming down the scared villagers; Vesperia flying above, keeping watch on the situation.
She caught sight of some villagers running in fear or being stuck in the smoke from the flames. She reported the situation to Ladybug, who instructed Pegasus to teleport the people to safety.
At one point, the water silo Caprikid created began falling apart. Polymouse lassoed it with her jump rope.
"We're nearly out of water!" King Monkey reported.
"Uh-oh!" Viperion responded.
On Minotarox's part, he, Ryuko, and Purple Tigress were repeating their methods to create larger, more resilient firebreaks to slow the fire down.
"Clout!" Purple Tigress hollered as she smashed a nearby boulder to pieces. "We're running out of rocks!"
A tornado landed and Ryuko reformed herself, saying, "I've cleared up as much as I can! Let's get that firebreak done!"
Another large firebreak was created, and a beeping noise was heard from the hilt of Ryuko's sword. She pulled it up and saw she was getting a call.
"Ryuko, Vesperia's reported that the fire is slowing down. How's it going?" Ladybug asked.
"We've made another firebreak, but we're running out of resources." Purple Tigress reported.
"Don't worry about that. Just get back to the Mother Tree so we can get away from the smoke and get into the last phase of the plan!" Ladybug instructed.
"Right!" The group said before running from their firebreak and back to the tree.
The same instructions were given to Rena Rouge and Caprikid's groups, too. Pegasus opened a portal for Pigella to get back to the Mother Tree, and Vesperia landed before changing back into default mode on her suit.
"Alright, that should be good for now. Everyone in position for the final step, okay?" Ladybug said.
Everyone nodded.
Chloé kept indiscriminately burning trees down left and right. Every tree she burned, she kept going. Her smile became more wicked, more triumphant, and less sane with each tree she destroyed.
When she made it to the next clearing, she saw the Mother Tree. In front of it was a dais that had golden tiara with 14 carat diamonds sitting on a silk pillow. Seeing it, Chloé's power-lust and greed was kicked into overdrive. She began running towards it, only for it to vanish in orange mist.
"What?!" She asked, shocked.
"Shell-ter!" Carapace shouted, erecting a barrier in front of the tree in the nick of time and Chloé slammed face-first into it. She backed up before growling at the sight of the Mother Tree being protected by the shield.
She threw the torch at it, only for the flaming object to bounce off and onto the ground, causing the grass to catch fire. Chloé snatched the torch back up before continuing to ram the shield, but no luck.
"Try all you want, but this shield is indestructible, thanks to Minotaurox's Resistance." Carapace laughed, still holding his shield in his hands. Minotaurox chuckled at the scene.
"I'll burn this tree down and get those jewels if it's the last thing I do!" Chloé declared.
"Sorry, but all the jewels have owners now." Ladybug said as she stepped forward. The rest of the guardians came out of hiding with confident smiles and poses.
Chloé turned around and saw Ladybug, hands on her hips and a smile on her face. Chloé was growling, and she lunged at her to attack with her torch.
"Oh, no you don't!" Vesperia hollered as she used her spinning top like a rope to bind Chloé's waist.
"Looking for this?" Ladybug taunted as she took out a red and black-spotted tiara, one that was similar in design to Rena Rouge's earlier illusion.
Chloé tried to reach and grab for it, shouting, "MINE! THAT'S MINE!"
"Not sorry, but this isn't for you, little girl," Cat Noir teased as he approached Ladybug and took the tiara out of her hands. "This tiara is meant for a queen. A queen of my choosing. And that's Ladybug."
Chloé snarled when she got a better look at Ladybug.
"Dupain-Cheng?! You?!" Chloé screamed.
"So, I take it you accept my proposal, mon coeur?" Cat Noir asked Ladybug, ignoring Chloé.
"Yes, kitty." Ladybug responded.
"NO! THAT'S MY TIARA! GIVE IT TO ME! GIVE IT TO ME!" Chloé screamed.
Again, her bratty tantrum went ignored as Cat Noir put the tiara on Ladybug's head. She looked up at him and they held hands.
And all the guardians chanted, "ALL HAIL QUEEN LADYBUG! LONG LIVE QUEEN LADYBUG!"
"NO! THAT TIARA IS MINE!" Chloé hollered at the top of her lungs as she broke out of Vesperia's grasp and charged at Ladybug with her torch.
Ladybug ducked out of the way, as did Cat Noir and Chloé just started brazenly attacking, trying to hit the duo with her torch.
The others intervened, with each hero trying their best to get the torch away from Chloé without getting burned. The bratty blonde was just blindly attacking, outraged at not getting her way, and everyone else was trying their best to duck and not get hurt.
"Venom!" Vesperia shouted as she took out her power and tried to paralyze Chloé, but her half-sister was too fast.
Ladybug started spinning her yo-yo like a shield, and kept blocking Chloé's torch.
"HAND OVER MY TIARA!" Chloé yelled.
"Sorry, but it's mine," Ladybug teased, a confident, blasé expression on her face as she blocked each attack with the torch. "Cat Noir chose me to be his queen. I wonder why? Anyone have an answer?"
"Incredible!" Rena Rouge said as she threw her flute at Chloé and hit her in the temple head, causing her to stumble.
"Loyal!" Carapace agreed, while keeping the shield up as the others fought.
"Kind!" Vesperia said, trying to lunge in and hit Chloé with her top, but she dodged.
"Smart!" Pegasus agreed as threw his horseshoes to trip Chloé up.
"Righteous! Clout!" Purple Tigress hollered as she threw a clout at Chloé, but the blonde ran out of the way and Purple Tigress's punch hit the ground instead.
"Brave!" Viperion agreed while throwing his lyre like a boomerang. But it missed - luckily, he caught it in hand as it returned.
"Creative!" Ryuko added as she tried to slice at Chloé with her sword - just barely cut the blonde's clothes.
"Responsible!" Polymouse pointed out.
"A real friend!" Pigella spoke.
At one point, Ladybug used her yo-yo to wrap it around Chloé's ankle, tripping the blonde up, causing her to slide on her stomach. She looked up and saw Cat Noir glaring her down.
"Everyone's right about Ladybug. Though they did forget a few things: trustworthy. A sweetheart. Beautiful. But mostly..." He began as he knelt down and gave Chloé a hate-filled glare. "She's not a bully that would burn down a forest just to feed her own egotistical entitlement problems. She's not you. You'll never be anything compared to Ladybug. And I love her."
Chloé raised her torch to Cat Noir's face before saying, "Let's see how much she loves you when I burn you to death!"
"Actually, I'll take that." Cat Noir chuckled as he grabbed the torch and threw it at Pegasus.
"Voyage!" Pegasus shouted as he opened up a portal and the torch landed in the water silo, going out.
"Ryuko! You're up!" Ladybug called.
"Water Dragon!" Ryuko shouted while flying up into the clouds above, taking the leftover water from the silo with her. Seconds later, she created a huge deluge of rain. A few minutes later, the entire forest fire was put out, and the remaining trees were saved.
The dragon girl landed within the group, causing the rain to stop. Once it was over, Bunnyx jumped out of her Burrow, having monitored everything from inside, and Carapace lowered the shield.
"Here are the rest of the jewels back." Bunnyx said, giving the last three Miraculous back to Ladybug, who put them in the Miracle Box.
"Now for one last thing," Ladybug said as she held up her Lucky Charm - the tiara. "Miraculous Ladybug!"
She threw the item in the air, and in a wave of magic ladybugs, all the damage that the team created with their powers was repaired, healing their wounds, and reversing everything, so like nothing had happened.
All the guardians came together and they shared a group fist bump, shouting, "Pound it!"
Sadly, the damage to the forest wasn't fixed, since it wasn't created by the Miraculous' powers.
"The trees..." Ladybug murmured as she looked at the damage. "It's awful, what happened. Your... No, our tree..."
"It's okay," Cat Noir assured her as he put a hand on her shoulder. "The important thing is that we saved our forest."
"But so many trees were killed..." Ladybug said, beginning to cry.
"It wasn't all of them. The majority of the forest is still intact." Viperion assured.
"In fact, this fire might have actually been helpful, since it burnt away a lot of dead brushwood." Pegasus commented as he examined the damage.
"Meaning when spring comes, the forest will become healthier!" Pigella added, always trying to find a silver lining.
Cat Noir noticed Chloé, now soaking wet, was sneaking away out of his peripheral vision.
"Hold it!" He snarled, causing her to stop in her tracks as he used his baton to block her. "Where do you think you're going?"
"Out of this utterly ridiculous forest!" Chloé sniffed.
"After what you've done? We won't let you walk!" Cat Noir spat, his facial expression the angriest he'd ever been.
As he spoke, Purple Tigress approached Chloé and held up her bracelet fist to her face. She was glaring Chloé down with a look that could easily kill. The blonde paled and backed up, only for her back to touch the tip of Ryuko's sword. She yelped in pain.
"Hey! Watch where you're pointing that thing!" Chloé ordered. She looked around and saw that all the guardians had their weapons up, their faces angry, and poised to attack if Chloé tried anything.
Polymouse took her jump rope and lassoed Chloé, binding her arms to her sides, before forcing her to kneel to the ground.
"GET THIS ROPE OFF ME!" Chloé demanded.
"You won't get away with this!" Polymouse shouted.
"That's right," Rena Rouge agreed, tapping her flute in her hand like she was about to slug Chloé. Carapace stood beside her. "You tried to destroy this place and take something that wasn't yours! Time for you to face the music!"
"And like the rumors state... You'll never see the outside of this forest again." Cat Noir chuckled, a triumphant smirk on his face.
"No! Those jewels are mine! I'm the queen! ME!" Chloé screamed, like a petulant child. She screamed in anger.
Ignoring her rant, everyone rolled their eyes.
"Now, what should we do with you?" Vesperia asked aloud while casually spinning her top, as Chloé struggled to break free from Polymouse's rope.
"A punishment fit for the crime is definitely in order." Minotaurox agreed, standing next to Polymouse.
"I could clout her so far down into the ground that she'll suffocate." Purple Tigress suggested.
"Or I could slit her throat with my sword." Ryuko added.
"Or maybe I could use my Gift to see what her heart's desire is, and we can help her achieve that so she'll never try this again?" Pigella asked, trying to find a healthier approach.
Everyone started offering up suggestions, and they ranged from teleporting Chloé to a jail cell in another town on the other side of the world, to manipulating time to prevent Chloé's birth (which was vetoed automatically), to making her suffer nightmares for the rest of her life.
But as Ladybug listened to everyone's ideas, another one came up in her mind.
"HOLD IT! I have the perfect solution!" Ladybug shouted, getting everyone's attention.
She approached their captive, and she looked Chloé in the eye in triumph.
"I have just the appropriate thing for you." Ladybug said.
"What do you have planned for this witch?" Rena Rouge asked, standing next to her BFF.
"She did try to destroy our trees. I say we let her meet the fate of Daphne." Ladybug stated.
Everyone looked at Ladybug in confusion.
"Meet the fate of Daphne?" King Monkey repeated.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Chloé barked.
"I get it," Cat Noir said, smiling in understanding. "Purrfect idea, m'lady."
"I think so, too, chaton," Ladybug said before turning to the team. "Polymouse, recall your rope. Vesperia? Minotaurox?"
"On it!" They responded as Polymouse took her rope back.
Minotaurox grabbed Chloé from behind and held on fast.
"Hey! Let me go, you huge, stupid animal!" Chloé spat.
"Nope." Minotaurox spoke with a laugh.
Vesperia took out her top and called out, "Venom!"
It turned into a pulsing bee stinger and she pricked Chloé in the arm, causing her to croak, gasping for air. Both ox and wasp/bee hybrid stepped back, leaving Chloé standing.
"That should keep her quiet. Now, Minotaurox, carry her, and Pegasus, I need you to teleport us to an area that isn't connected to the forest." Ladybug stated.
"Got it! Voyage!" Pegasus said as he opened a portal and everyone walked through it, with Minotaurox carrying a paralyzed Chloé over his shoulder.
Minotaurox set Chloé down on an elevated area before stepping back a few feet.
"This should be the perfect place. Rooster Bold, if you will?" Ladybug prompted.
He smiled and took out his quill pen. He walked over to the paralyzed Chloé and wrote something on her forehead.
As if scores of years began passing in the blink of an eye, Chloé's feet started turning into tree roots, digging into the ground. Her skin and clothes melted away, turning into tree bark, and she started growing taller. Her abdomen and legs turned into a thick tree trunk, like a huge oak tree, and her arms grew longer, turning into huge tree branches. Her fingers extended into longer, thinner branches, her eyes and mouth sprouted more tree branches, and within less than a full ninety seconds, Chloé Bourgeois was no more.
She was now a giant, lush French oak tree.
"Girl, turning Chloé into a tree to punish her for trying to mastermind the forest's destruction? Genius!" Rena Rouge said, as she and Ladybug shared a high-five.
"Indeed," Ryuko agreed. "Karmic, yet ironic with a healthy dose of permanence to it."
"And we made something good out of that bitch for a change," Bunnyx added. "Now she can actually contribute something positive to this world, she won't bother us or Ladybug ever again, and she can't go crying to Papan and Maman about it, either."
"She can't cry or make any noises at all now, actually." Purple Tigress laughed.
"One thing: what's going to happen if the tree gets cut down or something?" Pigella asked Ladybug.
"Then the tree gets cut down and she turns into firewood, someone's home, whatever," Ladybug reassured. "Since we did this in a place that isn't connected to the rest of the forest, in the worst case scenario, Cat Noir can just cataclysm the tree. And that won't cause any damage to the rest of the woods."
"See, I knew you have what it takes to be my queen!" Cat Noir chortled as he swept Ladybug up into his arms and spun her around.
"He's right," Rena Rouge agreed. "Your leadership in this crisis just proved it."
Everyone started making agreeing statements and they were clapping and cheering for the couple. Ladybug looked into Cat Noir's eyes, seeing the love and sincerity in them, she began crying tears of joy.
"So, crisis averted," Carapace said. "And now that it's over, it looks like we have a wedding to plan. Right, dude?"
Cat Noir blushed at this before asking, "Right, Ladybug?"
Ladybug gave a timid nod before pressing a kiss to Cat Noir's cheek.
"So, shall we?" She asked.
Cat Noir gave a smile before slamming his lips against hers, and holding her close. Everyone cheered in response to their kiss.
Epilogue
After the fire was put out, the entire group of guardians and the villagers came to an understanding. They came up with a deal that allowed the guardians to continue defending the forest, while also being allowed to come and go in the village whenever necessary.
Marinette's parents, while upset that she kept secrets from them, were proud of her for stepping up to stop Chloé from burning the forest down. After a tearful goodbye, Ladybug promised to come and visit every now and again, along with Cat Noir.
In anger that her daughter had been turned into a tree, Audrey Bourgeois dragged her husband out of the village, choosing to leave for another life in another town, to everyone's joy.
The villagers and guardians came together to clear out all the burnt trees, and treat any trees that weren't that far gone. Combining their powers and working with the humans, the forest was slowly, but surely healing. The beauty of nature was glowing.
After several weeks, everyone gathered in the forest to celebrate. In front of the tree that was once Chloé, Ladybug and Cat Noir stood together.
"Shall we get started, everyone?" Rena Rouge asked. The crowd cheered.
Caprikid took this as his cue. He raised his paintbrush and called, "Genesis!"
He painted a shape of a tiara that was similar in shape to the Lucky Charm that Ladybug created to stop Chloé. It materialized, but while the shape was the same, the tiara was black gold rather than 14 carat standard gold. And as opposed to diamonds, it had almandine garnet, cherry opal, and red topaz as the crown jewels.
Cat Noir took the tiara in hand and turned to Ladybug.
"Cat Noir, I..." Ladybug began. "I'll be honest. The night we met, Chloé got to me. Her words were so painful, even though I knew she was wrong. When you came along, I first I thought you were a handsome, enigmatic gentleman with a noble background, but I didn't question it. We had fun, talking and walking, and playing tag with those roses. But as you know, when I realized that you were the king of the forest guardians, I freaked out and ran off. I never intended to come back to these woods, only grateful I escaped unharmed."
Ladybug looked down out of her peripheral vision, ashamed of her past behavior. But she looked back up at her tomcat, and she confessed, "But that entire day and night after, I couldn't stop thinking about you. I wasn't sure if it was because I was scared or because it was so unexpected, the image of the rumored king of the forest guardians versus the man I met. But you sought me out, and pleaded your case to see me again. And... I was right to trust my instincts about you."
Cat Noir chuckled, blushing under his mask.
"You make me happy, I have so much fun with you, and it's like we've known each other for so much longer than we have. When we're together, I feel like the queen you asked me to become, and I'll be grateful forever for that. I love you, chaton. My king." Ladybug said to him, tears of joy streaming down her face.
Cat Noir, still red in the face, was also about to burst into happy tears.
"Ladybug, I know it's cliché, but the night we met, I felt like an angel fell from heaven. When my eyes locked onto yours, my heart was stolen in an instant. Tears aside, you were the loveliest creature I'd seen in my eternity. And seeing you so upset, I just wanted to cheer you up and make you feel better. Showing you around the forest, and playing tag, I don't think I'd had such fun in a long time. I couldn't remember the last time I laughed that much."
"I won't lie, when you found out who I am and you ran off, it really hurt. You took my heart with you," He said, looking a little wistful at the memory. Ladybug blushed. "I knew I had to find you again, to see you again. It was a gamble, leaving the woods to find you, but it was worth it. You kept an open mind and heart, talking to me. I was so happy when you accepted my invitation for a date, because it led to this."
He presented the tiara to Marinette, and the gemstones shined.
"I've said it before and I'll say it again: you're perfect to be my queen. You look at the forest the same way we all do, and you see its beauty both in broad daylight and the cover of night. I couldn't have asked for more amazing woman to wear this crown. So now..."
Ladybug bent forward to lower her head. Cat Noir put the tiara on her head, and she rose up. They held hands, and looked each other in the eyes.
"The power of our love, always so strong." They said in union.
"My king..." Ladybug murmured, with wet, joyful eyes.
"My queen..." He responded, an identical expression on his face.
Without hesitation, they dove in for a kiss, and they wrapped their arms around each other. They mentally filtered out the whooping and cheering coming from the crowd. The sun shined down over them, with a few spots of shade from the tree.
Once they broke for air, Ladybug laid her head into her now-husband's chest, the crown still perched atop her black locks. The gemstones glistened in the light again, and Ladybug sighed in content.
Cat Noir gripped her chin with his thumb and forefinger, lifting her face to look up at him.
"I've kissed myself a princess, and now she's a queen," He chuckled. "And I'm about to go in for more, if she'll let me."
"Yes, my king." Ladybug chuckled back, and she launched herself at him, slamming her lips onto his again.
'I've never been so happy... And I don't think I'll ever stop being happy now.' She thought as happy tears dropped from her face.
El Fin
Okay, that's the end of this story! Hope you enjoyed it!
Now, a few things to note about this chapter.
Regarding Chloé's punishment, Ladybug was referencing the Greek myth of Apollo and Daphne. And there were two easter eggs in this chapter. The first one was a reference to Hexxus, the antagonist from FernGully: The Last Rainforest. The second one was the wedding scene from Disney's The Princess and the Frog when Tiana and Naveen are married as frogs and their kiss breaks the spell.