Chapter 3: Bravery
Chloe Bourgeois was many things. Among them was observant, but even if she wasn't, figuring out the identity of Paris' most controversial topic could hardly be called a challenge.
Not when the list of people who could light up with green lightning only had one name in it.
With that in mind, Chloe marched to the Agreste mansion like a woman on a mission.
What was that punk thinking?! He went to fight a giant rock monster with no backup (no offense to the girl that was with him but it was obvious she didn't know what she was doing), without telling anyone, and without a plan. That was the part that most got on Chloe's nerves, how could Azzy be so reckless?!
He always had a plan. He taught her to always have a plan. They had multiple plans in place in the off chance a disaster happened and they had to do something about it.
And he just threw it all out of the window to punch a boulder in the face hopefully harder than it could punch back. "Ridiculous, utterly ridiculous."
Her grumbling continued while she entered the mansion, using the spare key she had to bypass the usual time wasters of informing the people of the house she was there. Power walking through the empty hallways, she quickly reached the door to her blockhead of a somewhat adopted brother's room.
Chloe reigned in the impulse to kick it open, knowing better than to startle the person who taught her how to be paranoid. The girl knocked on the door, "I'm coming in." With the warning given, she promptly opened it and slid in.
"Okay Azzy, you have two seconds to explain- what the hell?!" The blonde blanched at the state of the room. The floor was matted with sand coming from the ripped (more like exploded) punching back discarded on the corner, notes and training equipment were flung around haphazardly, and the center table and couch were flipped over, it looked like a tornado had swept through the place.
In the center of it all was Azzy. He was sitting on his bed, still wearing the clothes he went to school with and the addition of a bandage over his right arm. Both his hands were bleeding from his split knuckles, but he simply ignored the fact in favor of pressing his palms into his eyes.
"What do you want, Chloe?"
"What I want can wait until after we patch you up." The girl made a beeline to his closet. She threw it open and grabbed the first-aid kit on top of the industrial buzzsaw, not calling him out on it. Chloe would be a hypocrite if she nagged Azzy when she had just as much of a valuable and ambiguously legal horde inside her own closet.
"I'm fine."
"Did I ask? No, I said we were patching you up, so shut!" She marched to the bed, sat beside him, and waited. Chloe knew she wasn't grabbing his arm unless Azzy let her, especially when he was in the middle of one of those moments where he felt more like a cornered animal than a person.
Azzy rubbed his face tiredly, looking at her with his green eyes almost glowing, and sighed, "Fine." He offered Chloe his still-bleeding hands.
"You really pushed yourself if your eyes look like that." The more of his power he used, the brighter they got, along with his hair becoming a jagged mess as if electrified. She only saw it getting to that point once, and Azzy had to stay in the hospital for a week because of it.
That day had been a nightmare on various levels, but at the same time, Chloe remembered them sharing a hospital room and playing some silly card game. That was one of the fondest memories of her childhood.
Huh, they both were real messes, weren't they?
Chloe cleaned the wounds with antiseptic and spread an anesthetic balm over them because no matter how much of a hardass Azzy was, those got to hurt. To finish it, Chloe wrapped his hands in bandages tightly, but not too much as to impede movement.
"All done."
"You got really good at this."
"All those first-aid courses weren't just for show." They were mostly to help with her anxiety over her helplessness. She felt much better knowing if something happened then she could do more than stand around and cry. Chloe did enough of that.
Azzy smiled one of those 'I'm proud of you but too emotionally spent to show it properly' smiles of his, "They sure aren't."
Giving them five seconds to enjoy the moment, Chloe cut to the chase when the time was up, "You fought a giant rock monster."
"Yes."
"In the middle of Paris."
"Yes."
"In a catsuit."
"It wasn't a catsuit. It was a stealth hero suit."
"And it has cat ears."
Azzy had the decency to look away. "In my defense, that part was because of who made me the suit I'm pretty sure."
"And who was that?" Chloe would very much like to know. She wanted to have a lengthy discussion with this person about their design sense and maybe strangle them for enabling her menace of a brother.
"Plagg! Come on out, we need to talk." Azzy's soft and tired tone became the hardened and commanding baritone. Chloe knew he only broke that out when diplomacy had been thrown out of the window. Azzy would get his way or someone would get a beating.
Probably a verbal beating, but those were just as brutal as the physical ones the boy could dish out.
"You know all the Miraculous stuff should be a secret, right?"
Chloe almost jumped away from the bed at the voice suddenly coming from right beside her ear. There, floating in the air, was a miniature black cat. "Okay, the ears make sense now."
"Plagg, why did you send me to the field with incomplete information?" Azzy talked to the floating cat completely unbothered.
"Would you sit back and wait for me to give you the full talk?"
The boy sighed. "No. No, I wouldn't."
"Back up a bit people! Why is there a floating cat here? And why does it talk?!" That was a little over Chloe's weirdness tolerance. Just a bit.
The cat, Plagg as Azzy called him, turned to Chloe with a bored look. "Eh, if the kitten is fine with you knowing it then I won't bother. I'm Plagg, Kwami of Destruction, and as of today, the kitten's partner."
"Nice to meet you?" She blinked, her brain finally catching up, "And what do you mean by 'Kwami of Destruction' and 'partner'?"
Plagg floated closer and sat on her head, much to her consternation, "You see, Kwamis are what you little mortals decided to call us when we managed to make contact. It means, translating and paraphrasing, 'consciousness that has logic' or something vaguely like that. Urgh, why do you guys make so many languages only for them to die out later?" The cat slumped on Chloe's head, pawing(?) at her glasses grumply.
The blonds traded a glance, "You got straddled with an eldritch cat god?"
"Apparently."
Chloe scooted the pocket-sized cosmic horror from her head, petting Plagg's in turn. If she was getting into this mess, she was gonna show who was boss, "Okay. So, mini cat god, what made you decide to choose Azzy as your mortal champion or whatever the case is?"
"Oh, you know, the usual. Scratch a little to the left." She did, and he purred. "That's the spot~! Yeah, I needed someone I could trust to get things done, and the kitten here is a scrappy one. I know he can do it."
"Do what?"
"Rescue my friend."
"Yup, Azzy was the right choice." Chloe, from personal experience, could speak for her brother when the subject was helping save people. He could do it, it was just a question of how much effort it would take. And how many broken bones.
"I know." Plagg was practically a liquid in her hand now, like cats usually became when they relaxed. "And hey, it's not like I'm not going to help." He turned to Azzy, a smug smirk on his face, "Did you like your costume?"
An eye roll later, the boy admitted that yes with a nod, "It's as good as professional-level suits, and the equipment held up. Not only that, I think the disguise magic worked, as the police hadn't kicked down the door yet." Azzy pulled one of his notebooks, making Chloe flinch. There we go. "I just have some questions to ask about it. What else can I do with your Miraculous, how does it work, what are the drawbacks…" The boy lost himself in a storm of increasingly quicker questions shot one after the other.
Urgh, they would be there a while.
—
Ninth forgot just how much…fun it was to analyze powers. It wasn't a quirk, but magic harnessed from a sentient concept in chibi form wasn't all that different, believe it or not.
He had ripped every kernel of information he possibly could from Plagg, after bribing the Kwami with cheese of all things, and went deep into the night filling notebook after notebook. Now it was close to one in the morning and he had finally burned off enough energy to stop.
Chloe, who had decided an intervention was in place and enacted it as an impromptu sleepover, had held strong and followed the Q&A session while petting Plagg all the while. She was now sprawled on the left side of his bed, using clothes she stole from his closet without shame or hesitation, completely conked out and softly snoring.
After his first go around, Ninth learned how important it was to have people to share secrets with, and how it made the weight in his chest a little more bearable. Ninth didn't have the luxury to crash and burn, he had to keep up until the finish line was crossed.
"Your own kitten is quite the piece of work, eh?" Plagg commented from his nest on a pillow he declared as his.
"I'm telling you, Ninth has an 'attract small things' quirk, but it only works by bringing troubled kids for him to raise." Seventh snorted at Ninth's flat stare. The woman ran her ghostly fingers through Chloe's now loose hair, "You should have seen it. Chloe was this little brat who treated everyone like garbage to try being like her witch of a mother, but it only took one stern talk from Ninth for her to drop it. Then he went all 'DadDeku', trademark pending, on her."
"You're exaggerating."
"Quiet!" Plagg shushed Ninth, then turned back to the Vestige with trilled eyes, "Please continue."
They shared a catlike grin, and Ninth decided he had more to gain getting ready for bed. Putting on some comfortable clothes, getting his emergency kit for the off chance someone tries to get him in his sleep, and tucking himself on the right side of the honestly far too big bed, Ninth ignored the two gremlins laughing at his expense.
Laying down, staring at the ceiling for what felt like an eternity, Ninth finally worked up the courage to ask the one question that had tormented him for fourteen years, "How did I get here?"
Plagg and Nana stopped their gossip to look at him. The Kwami let out an exasperated sigh, "Can I be brutally honest?"
"If you don't mind being detailed too."
"Sure, why not?" The cat shrugged, getting comfortable for what felt would be a lengthy talk. "The shortest answer is, you got lucky. Shut! Let me explain." Plagg stopped his tirade before it could start, knowing well Ninth's feelings on the matter. "All the things that needed to happen exactly like they happened to achieve this result was a chance in a septillion, at best. You got lucky in the sense of how improbable it was for that to happen, now if it was good or bad luck? That's a matter of point of view."
"Weren't you also a manifestation of Bad Luck? Shouldn't you know?"
"It's exactly why I know it. If I ask you, you'll say it's the worst thing to ever happen to you. If I ask sleeping beauty over there, she'll say it was the best thing to ever happen to her and a million other people too." He snickered a laugh, "That's why the Cat and the Ladybug have to be together, they were two sides of the same coin."
"And how did it happen, exactly?" That was what Ninth wanted to know. He would think about the merit of the good he was able to do thanks to it later, probably on his deathbed.
"That's a little more complicated. You see, everyone has a weight to them, at least that's the simplest way for you to understand it. Those who affect little in their life are lighter, not that they're unimportant, just not as important comparatively." Plagg lightly pushed down on his fluffy perch to illustrate, not leaving many marks and them being close to his pawn. "The people that change the world? Those are a lot heavier. All that weight attracts things, it leaves a mark, and that's why they are remembered centuries later." He pushed harder, making an indentation. After pulling back his paw, the pillowcase remained ruffled.
Ninth would need to write all that down later. "I'm following you. The weight some people have makes it easier to leave their mark, but what does it have to do with me?"
Plagg gave Ninth a flat look. "Kitten, imagine if from one moment to the other, your whole species spontaneously sprouted superpowers left and right. It as a whole would become heavier. Actually, it would become so heavy so quickly your world would implode from the weight, metaphysically speaking." He rolled his eyes, "That's not good for anyone, so reality tends to autocorrect in those cases. Not fun, let me tell you."
Ninth could imagine, even if it added a whole new form of existential dread to the pile. The next few decades would be a nightmare. "But it didn't."
"Thanks to Yoichi Shigaraki." Plagg broke down cackling, "Oh, this kid. Thanks to who he was, added to his fancily-named quirk, Yoichi Shigaraki had just enough weight to hold your world together but not enough to break it himself. You kittens are all too lucky."
"Huh." That revelation gave Ninth a whole new level of respect for the First. "So, without One For All, the human race would have been…retconned? But that means-"
"No." Plagg stopped laughing, his tone becoming grave and cutting Ninth off sharply. "All For One was a cancer that spawned from your race's metamorphosis. He would have made it rot and die. That's why Creation needs Destruction; when mistakes like that happen, you can remove them." He stretched just enough to pat Ninth on the cheek, "Like you did. Good job, kitten, your world can recover and go back to growing safely thanks to you."
Ninth took in a shuddering breath. His throat was clogged and his chest felt tight. "T-thanks."
Plagg nodded and waited for him to recompose himself enough to finish listening. When his breath went back to normal, the Kwami continued, "The thing is, kitten, you yourself were already very heavy before you got One For All. With it, you turned into the center point, for lack of a better term. Your actions have steered the course of your world in a new direction." Plagg also stared up at the ceiling, seemingly lost in thought. "I know you don't think so, but you did good. You did more good than you could ever imagine. All that good added up, which in turn made your soul gain just enough weight to it so when you went through the reincarnation cycle, it didn't get your sense of self washed away."
Ninth blinked slowly, two times, "When someone dies, they reincarnate. That's what happens?" He wasn't expecting such a direct confirmation. One of the most significant questions humanity ever faced was answered just like that.
"Yes and no." Ninth spoke too soon. "I could go into the lengthy details of how things actually work, but that would take years and you mortals haven't come up with words for most of the things I would need to tell you." Plagg huffed, shaking his head as if disappointed. "I'm just giving you the barest of bones so you can have an idea. Calling it a cycle is already stretching it, believe it or not. It's just that there is an analogy to it as you are alive, then you're dead, then you're alive again, on and on as you go through your own journey."
"Plagg, I already have enough intrusive thoughts keeping me up at night. Can you please not give me more sources of anxiety?" The wise sage shtick that Plagg was doing to mess with Ninth wasn't amusing to the boy in the slightest.
"Sure." The Kwami snickered before falling silent. After a long moment, he finished his little lesson on how the universe worked behind the scenes, "Your soul got washed by the tides, kitten, like every other one. But as some rare few, you endured. I am sure you have no memory of it at all, your mind just isn't built to handle that kind of experience, but through grit and luck, you got yourself to the other side in one piece." Plagg finally moved his eyes to Ninth once again. "I am that part of the wheel, little kitten. I know every single spark that crosses to it and that leaves it back to this side. The ones that do what you did? They are hard to come by even to my standards, but oh if they don't prove they are worthy of it."
The deep silence that followed was solemn but in a respectful way. It reminded Ninth of the funerals of heroes who laid down their lives in the line of duty.
Plagg spoke again, and he sounded…wistful if Ninth had to put a word to it, "You showed you're a spunky one, but you are so lucky, kitten. One For All and its ability to store a piece of the holders' souls is the least impressive part of it. It kept all of your egos intact."
"By ego you mean?"
"Your personality. Your character. Your definite traits as an individual. All of them, perfectly safe, to just leap back at the thick of things like the selfless brats you are." Plagg exhaled a heavy sigh, making the tiny feline sound as old as he probably was. "If only. Ah, all the kittens who deserved better, who deserved another chance." Slitted green orbs met glowing green ones, "Don't waste your chance."
"I won't."
"I'll make sure you won't."
Yes, what happened to Ninth was something that a human being wasn't prepared for, but he was sure no one was ready for most things that happened in his life, in both of his lives. He faced villains, criminals, bioweapons, wars, and a blight wishing to destroy the whole world. He survived magic, monsters, and whatever else the future was cooking up.
Ninth wouldn't give up.
He couldn't.
Everyone was counting on him.
"Goodnight, Plagg."
"Night, kitten."
Ninth closed his eyes. All too quickly, sleep claimed him, and for the first time in years, he drifted off to a peaceful slumber, feeling lighter than he had in a very long time.
—
"Marinette. Wake up."
The girl groaned while rising up. She blinked groggy eyes, her vision slowly focusing to see Tikki floating before her face. "It wasn't a dream."
"No, it wasn't." Tikki patted her cheek gently, "Everything yesterday really happened. And all things considered, they went really well."
Marinette rubbed her face. She wasn't ready to deal with that. "You say that but you gave me an earful about not catching the Akuma. Or fixing the city with the Miraculous Cure. And you also complained about how I left everything to Deku."
The Kwami shook her head, "It wasn't an earful, I was just a bit heated. I explained to you your powers, which was more than Plagg apparently did, you should have used them." She poked Marinette's nose, "And you didn't leave everything to Deku, you helped too. But think about it for a moment, could you have done things better?"
She sighed, "Yes." Which was the truth. If Marinette hadn't taken so long to work up the courage to trip Stoneheart, they could have ended the fight faster, which would have caused less damage and Deku wouldn't have probably been as hurt, probably. And if she had remembered the Cure, she could have fixed it all. Urgh, the whole thing could have gone better.
"Hey, the blame for it is not only yours. Plagg could have explained things to his chosen better. Deku didn't even use his Miraculous magic at all, he was only using his-" Tikki cut herself, realizing she was about to say more than she should in the heat of the moment.
Marinette caught the slip, "You know what the powers Deku was using were, don't you? Why did they hurt him?"
"That isn't my story to tell." Tikki gave Marinette a look that reminded the girl of her mother's, "If you want to know, ask him. If he feels comfortable telling you, then okay, but if he doesn't, you shouldn't push him."
"But he got hurt." Marinette still felt queasy at the memory of his bleeding arm. If only she had acted sooner. Did things better.
The Kwami's face softened, "I know you're worried, but if you want to enact change, you have to achieve it with your own efforts."
Translating, suck it up and start acting instead of whining about it.
Marinette only nodded and got up. The clock was thickening and she had school today. Here was hoping she could act normal, instead of having a meltdown when everyone started talking about what happened yesterday.
After freshening up and changing into the same clothes she usually wore for school, Marinette grabbed her purse, stopping briefly to look at Tikki, "Uh, are you going to stay here or…?"
The Kwami gave her a flat look, "And what if there's an attack while you're out there?"
"Fair. Can you stay inside my purse? I'll clear a spot and grab some macarons downstairs for you."
"Yes!" The tiny goddess fist bumped. At Marinette's snicker, she coughed on her hand, "I mean yes, that's fine."
"Okay then." Following their plan, Marinette was out of the bakery minutes later. She crossed the street and entered the school, already noticing the whispers and conversations.
Everybody was talking about the disaster yesterday. From people who were there and saw it firsthand to those who hadn't even felt the tremors of Deku's clash with Stoneheart, everyone had learned about it from the news, social media, or the police conference that had apparently happened late in the past night.
Marinette was acutely aware of every word flying around her, unfortunately, that caused her to hyper-fixate so much that she didn't realize where she was going.
"Ouch!" Marinette held her nose, feeling like she had smashed it on a wall. For all the impact the girl caused the other person, she might as well have.
"Holy shit she really did crash into you." Chloe's comment was as dry as her stare, which only made Marinette blush in embarrassment. "My life is a lie."
Adrien shot her a very pointed look before checking if Marinette was okay, "Are you hurt?"
"No, it's fine." She waved his hand away, noticing then that they were bandaged, "Are you?"
Chloe didn't let him respond, "Azzy went ballistic on his poor punching bag. The thing looked like a gorilla had gone to town on it."
"Har har." Adrien walked past his sister (Marinette fully bought the idea from how much those two bickered), "I'm fine, just some scraps. Let's go, I want to check on Ivan before class starts."
Marinette panicked, "What, why?" Did he…?
"The police report explained how he was a victim who was forced to cause all the destruction yesterday by a third party. I want to make sure he's recovering." Adrien glanced at the people gossiping, a frown firmly on his face, "Still, from the way he got a target painted on his back by it, I wouldn't put past some people to make things hard for him."
Marinette felt something bitter in her tongue, "Did they accuse him?"
Chloe linked her arm with Marinette's, drawing her closer and whispering, "Not openly, but some people hadn't bought he was being controlled. Deku's report after the fight, and the fact he was the one to put down Stoneheart, gave just enough credence to it to shut some idiots up." The blonde sighed, a grim air overtaking her, "But not all of them. If that girl in red hadn't saved everyone in the scene before it all really went to hell, I bet Ivan would be behind bars by now."
Marinette stumbled, not even acknowledging that Chloe caught her. No, they couldn't. It wasn't Ivan's fault. It wasn't. He was innocent in all that. Ivan had been so scared when they rescued him, there was no way he could have done it on purpose!
She felt a light chop on her head, breaking Marinette from her spiral. Looking up while rubbing the sore spot with her free hand, she saw Chloe giving her a knowing look.
"Breath, Mari. There's no reason to work yourself into a fit. We're not letting Ivan get the blame, and in the worst case, we can always stage a revolution."
The girls traded a chuckle, "I already said no guillotines, Chloe."
"Spoilsport. Now c'mon, let's check on our resident controversial celebrity and see how he's holding up." The blonde pulled her along, making sure no more crashes would happen. That gave Marinette time to focus on her thoughts.
She may not be that great as a superhero, but taking care of her friends? Marinette would show she didn't need magic to help someone out of a bad spot.
—
Ninth pushed through the mob blocking the corridor to his class and entered the room to the sight of every single one of his classmates hounding Ivan's table. Surprisingly, thankfully, they were doing exactly what Ninth had been planning on doing.
He smiled slightly at the affirmations of support and worried questions about his health. Looks like he had good people in his class.
Walking to Ivan's desk, Ninth nodded at his classmates, who opened the way for him. "Hey, Ivan."
The taller boy seemed small with his shoulders slumped and chin buried in his chest. He looked at Ninth like a startled animal, scared and a second away from bolting, "Y-yes?"
"I know things have been hard for you lately, so don't be afraid of asking for help." Ninth handed him a folded notebook page he fished from his hoodie, "Here's my contact and the numbers of some people that can help you with what you're going through. If you need anything, just ask." He shot a look at the door, seeing the other students of the school trying to catch glimpses inside, "And if anyone tries to give you trouble, just tell me. I'll handle it."
"T-thanks." Ivan accepted the gesture, relaxing his posture some, "If even someone that doesn't know me believes I didn't mean for any of that to happen, then I still have hope."
Ninth nodded at the boy, one of his hero smiles making its way to his face. With his piece said, Ninth left Ivan to be with his friends and went to his seat.
Nino was already there, giving him a knowing smile, "Nice one, dude."
"I just did what anyone should."
"Yeah, but only good people do that." Nino extended his fist to Ninth, "You're alright, dude."
Green eyes widened. Ninth shook his head and looked away, "You don't know me."
"But I want to." He wriggled his fist. "C'mon, don't leave me hanging."
Ninth stared at him for a moment, something that he thought long lost steering back in his chest. Maybe, just maybe… Maybe Ninth could accept making a friend. "Fine."
They pumped fists.
At Nino's smiling face, Ninth found himself remembering that no man was an island. Lone pillars crumbled, and Ninth didn't have the luxury. Or that was what he told himself.
Truth be told, Ninth just wanted a friend.
"So dude, what do you listen to?" Nino gestured to his headphones to clear what he was talking about.
Well… he had some recommendations of classic bands two centuries in the future that were starting out today.
—
Marinette waited for the bell for lunch break to make her move. When Ivan, still looking down, lingered in the classroom for a little too long, she walked to his desk and sat beside the boy.
"I know what you're gonna say." Ivan rubbed his face, looking tired, "I am self-aware enough to know I'm not fine, but that's fine too, right? I don't need to be fine all the time."
She let him finish, then pointed out gently, "That's true, but you can't close yourself when you're not fine too."
A tired sigh escaped Ivan. He rubbed his eyes, displaying his lack of energy clearly. By the eyebags, he hadn't slept much, if at all. "Promise you won't tell anyone?"
"I promise."
Marinette had known Ivan for years. Had helped him many times before, even with sensitive problems. More than that, she always made sure to listen without ever judging. That combination of factors was what gave Ivan the confidence to start speaking.
"The problem isn't that I-, that that thing took over and started destroying the city. The problem is that I don't know how it did it, where it came from… I don't know if it's gonna come back to finish the job."
Marinette bit her lip. Ivan, and all of Paris, weren't safe. They wouldn't be until she, along with Deku, took down the person who stole the Butterfly Miraculous. Still, everything wasn't lost, "I think… I think you are stronger than you realize." Marinette held his arm in a show of support and to convey the sincerity of her words, "Ivan, you survived that disaster. You held up long enough for Deku to come save you. You came to school today! If it was me, I wouldn't have gotten out of bed."
The boy opened the smallest of smiles, "That's not much coming from the person that always oversleeps."
"Maybe." She let the jab slide, thankful that the boy had cheered up a little. "Either way, you got this."
Ivan looked down at his things over the desk, eyes fixed on his notebook, "I-I'm not so sure about that."
Marinette tilted her head, "Why do you say that?"
Ivan shot her a glance before quickly averting her gaze, "Before…you know, that, I was trying to come up with a way to confess to Mylene."
In a truly heroic display of effort, Marinette didn't squeal, no matter how much her inner romantic was leaping with joy. "You finally decided to do it?" She spoke gently, but her big grin still earned a deadpan from Ivan.
He scratched his head, considering something before shrugging and opening his notebook, showing Marinette a torn page that was ripped in half. "I was making a script to figure out what to say, but I just couldn't. Everything I wrote ended up sounding so weird, and I got frustrated."
"I bet that didn't help."
"No." Ivan shrugged, "When I got angry I ripped the page out, and then… Then the next thing I knew, I was trapped and Stoneheart was rampaging."
At least he was distinguishing between the two. Ivan wasn't that monster, no matter what anyone said.
"You still gonna do it?"
"I think I lost my chance." The boy slumped, a morose sadness washing over him, "After what happened, who would want to be with me?"
Marinette's frown was quickly hidden, that wouldn't do, "Hasn't she come to say something to you?"
"Yeah?"
"Something along the lines of 'that wasn't you' and maybe 'if you want to talk I'm here' by any chance?"
"Yeah."
"So…"
Ivan sighed, huffed, slapped his cheeks, and ultimately grabbed his pen and opened his notebook to a blank page, "I think the worst has already happened and I can only go up from here."
The smaller teen opened a brilliant smile, "I wholeheartedly agree with the going up part. Now c'mon, let's do this!"
"You're gonna help?"
Marinette gave him a blank look, "The fact you think there's a universe I wouldn't deeply offend me."
Ivan raised his hands in surrender, the smallest of grins on his tired face.
He was right, things could only go up from there.
—
"Thanks for helping me, Mylene."
The shorter girl gave Chloe a shy smile, "It's nothing. Sabrina asked me to cover for her, and I couldn't let our class president do everything on her own." She fumbled with the band pulling her wheat-colored, curly locks back, "She's okay, right?"
Chloe adjusted her sunglasses, "More or less. Her dad had come home only this morning thanks to the chaos the Paris PD turned into. She decided to skip school to take care of him, at least until he has to return to his patrol route." Every officer available was told to cut distractions short and be on the street to make presence. For all the good it would do when pitted against something that gave Azzy of all people trouble.
"Oh." It was a testament to the aspiring actress's skill that a single sound conveyed all the turmoil in her head. She handed Chloe another one of the equipment reports, the blonde scanning the contents and checking the item in question. "Do you think it will happen again?"
"Yup." Chloe put a tally on the list, they would need to get a new volleyball net soon, preferably before the current one snapped in the middle of a game. She went to give the poles a look, expanding on her thoughts to Mylene, "Think about it. Ivan was controlled by a still unknown third party, one that everything indicates that can do so again. We don't know what they can or can't do, so for now we have to assume and prepare for the worst."
She turned to the chubbier girl, seeing her pale. Okay, Chloe needed to backtrack a little before she gave poor Mylene a panic attack, "That being, it will happen again and we will need to hold the fort long enough for Deku to show up."
"Oh, right." Mylene sneaked a glance back, seeing the storeroom the school had reserved for the sports equipment was completely empty save the two. "What do you think about them? The heroes I mean."
Chloe made a conscious effort to not react. She didn't know Deku, didn't know who he was, didn't know what he was capable of. From an unrelated perspective, she had that one case to speak from. "Deku showed he can take on something like Stoneheart down, I doubt he will have much trouble in the case it happens again. The problem is making sure no one gets hurt, or worse, in the time he'll take to get there."
Mylene nodded, following along her logic, "You're right. It's just that he also really messed up the street they were fighting on."
"Controlled collateral." Chloe shrugged, not much bothered by the asinine argument some idiots were using to throw flack at the person that saved their hides, "He made sure the damage was focused on one place, and it's easy to rebuild. You know what's not easy, telling families they won't ever see one of their members again." She stopped, recovering from her snap with a deep breath. Mylene didn't deserve to deal with Chloe's anger when she had nothing to do with it. "I think everybody should get their priorities straight. You can remedy the effects of a crisis after it passes, and this one just began, so better figure out how to survive it first."
"Yeah." Mylene patted Chloe's arm reassuringly, seeing the girl was very stressed by the subject. "And hey, it's not like Deku is our only hope. His partner protected everyone while he was fighting, she even pulled my dad away from the line of fire!"
At Mylene's cheer, Chloe gained an awkward expression. "Her. Urgh, can I be brutally honest?"
Mylene blinked, confused by her reaction, but nodded.
Chloe held the bridge of her nose and let out a sigh. Nuwa, as Chloe knew thanks to Azzy, was a bittersweet topic to her. "I honestly don't know if I want to give that girl a hug or chop her on the head." On one hand, she did good and helped Chloe's brother out of a tough spot. On the other, Nuwa obviously had no idea what she was doing, but even then…she could do more than Chloe.
Gratefulness and jealousy turned into a weird mix that left Chloe's opinion about Nuwa very divided, to say the least.
"What, why?"
"That girl had her heart in the right place, but I don't think she understands the consequences of her actions."
Just as Chloe said that Marinette barged into the room. Her eyes zeroed in on Mylene, then Chloe, "Chloe! I'm so glad I found you! I need you to come with me right now." The shorter girl snatched her blonde friend's arm and dragged her away, yelling over her shoulder, "You better wait here Mylene, we know how skittish you are so it's best if you don't see it."
"See what?!"
"Just stay here!" Marinette pushed through the door, quickly rushing to a corner with a complaining Chloe in tow.
"What are you doing, what happened?!"
The aspiring designer let go of her friend and turned to her so fast Chloe was worried she got whiplash, "Ivan wants to confess to Mylene."
Chloe blinked once, twice, three times, "In any other case, I would say fucking finally. Unfortunately, this is possibly the only time this is bad."
Marinette let out an offended squawk, "What, why?! They would be so good together."
"Mari, sweetheart, follow me for a second," Chloe spoke as if to a toddler, "Ivan got through a very traumatic experience, his emotions are all over the place. You really think it's a good idea to put him in another stressful situation, not a day, twenty-four hours, later."
"Oh."
"Yeah, oh." Chloe rolled her eyes, exasperated at her friend's antics. "Now we have to go find Ivan and explain to him that he should wait until he's in a better headspace before doing anything."
"Uh, about that…" An awkward and weak laugh escaped Marinette, the girl fidgeting like a mouse.
Chloe let her head fall, "You got me out of the room so he could be alone with her, didn't you?"
"Yes." The admittance was almost gloomy. At least Marinette understood how much she messed up.
"Shit!" After huffing a swear in English, something she got from Azzy, Chloe spun on her heels and bolted back to the storage room. Marinette followed her close behind, or as close as she could manage with her shorter legs. The thought was mean but Chloe felt she got a pass thanks to how peeved she was.
Just as the blonde reached the door it burst open. Mylene ran out and away faster than Chloe had ever seen her move.
Ivan also exited the room a moment later, red-faced and with tears in his eyes, "Mylene, wait!" He shouted at the girl's retreating back. When she didn't turn back, Ivan broke out in a sprint in the opposite direction.
"Shit. shit shit shit!" Chloe looked from one side to the other, her dread pooling at the sight of the fleeing teens. By what Plagg told her, emotional distress was a sure-fire way for the Butterfly Miraculous to take hold of an unwilling person, and now both Ivan and Mylene were very distressed. Chloe needed to do something now, but she couldn't be in two places at once.
Thankfully, she didn't need to. "I'll go after Ivan, you get Mylene." Marinette clapped Chloe's shoulders, her blue eyes set, "Let me fix my mess. I trust you with her."
Chloe slapped her cheeks and nodded, "Let's go." They broke off and rushed after their respective targets.
Maybe Chloe couldn't help with the fighting part, but she sure could try preventing things from reaching that point in the first place. "Plus Ultra." She muttered under her breath, time to give it her all.
—
A black butterfly lazily flew, carried by the wind. Each of its wingbeats was a prelude to the disaster it was about to cause.
The magic tainting it grew and grew, multiplying and mutating like a virus. It had one goal carved into its being, and when the time came, it gently descended into the poor boy who just had his heart broken.
"Huh?" Ivan looked up from the page he had poured his heart into with Marinette's help, just in time to see a…familiar butterfly approaching him. Something in the back of his head told Ivan to run, to get away from it the fastest his legs could carry him.
Unfortunately, it was too little, too late.
The butterfly touched the paper. The last thing Ivan saw before his vision went dark were countless butterflies, each black as pitch, bursting from the paper in his hand.
—
Marinette had only just reached the school's courtyard where she saw Ivan running towards moments before when all hell broke loose.
"No one can hurt me, I am indestructible! I am, Stoneheart!" The Akuma's, as Tikki told her they were called, roar was so loud the windows shook. The rock titan started marching, going straight through walls while not even slowing down.
"Oh crap!" Marinette dove out of the way, quickly hiding behind the bleachers, "Crap crap crap crap!" She opened her purse, panic in her every movement.
What had she done?! Ivan got akumatized again, and it was all her fault! No, focus. Marinette said she would fix her mess so that's what she was going to do, "Tikki!"
The Kwami flew out of her purse, quickly checking to see if no one was looking. That done, Tikki nodded to herself, "Okay, the coast is clear. Remember, use your powers, don't be afraid, and when everything is over use the Miraculous Cure."
She nodded, determined to do things better this time. It was all too much, but that didn't change the fact someone had to do this. She already cried about it, as Deku told her to and it had helped. Now, it was time to grit her teeth and fight.
Then why did Marinette feel her body locking up? Her mouth refused to open and utter the phrase to transform.
Tikki's eyes softened, the Kwami floating closer and putting a hand on Marinette's cheek, "I know you can do it, my little bug. Believe in yourself, even if it's hard, then you will see it too."
Closing her eyes to stop tears from escaping, Marinette took in a shaky breath. It was too much, it would never stop being too much, not as long as she refused to face it. Life waited for no one, so what she could do was her best, and prey it was enough.
Like her chosen name, she had to put the world back together. Success or failure, Marinette would only know what awaited her if she tried. She said it once already, she refused to be useless.
"Tikki, Spots On!"
—
"Mylene!" Chloe skidded down a curve, quickly following the path she saw her friend taking. She glanced into class and art rooms, praying it wasn't too late, when finally, Chloe spotted her in the sculpturing club room, "Mylene!"
The crying girl jumped, startled by the shout. When Mylene turned, the wet smile on her face made Chloe stop dead in her tracks.
"He likes me."
"Uh." Was Chloe's very coherent response, something wasn't adding up. "You're not, I don't know, mad?
"Why would I be?" Mylene tried in vain to dry her leaking eyes, a bubble of laughter escaping her, "Ivan likes me!"
"I understood that part, but you kinda fled away in tears!" Chloe threw her arms up, starting to get heated. Forcing herself to breathe and maintaining a level head, she grasped Mylene's shoulders and made the other girl understand, "People usually do that when they don't like what they were told."
It finally dawned on Mylene what she had done, "Oh, no. He thinks I don't like him back."
"Have you at least told him that?"
"I…" Mylene put her hands over her mouth, her eyes widening, "No. I got so overwhelmed I just- I- oh no!"
Okay. Okay. Chloe still could salvage this. "We still can fix this, we just-" Chloe was cut off by a resounding quake that shook the building. She and Mylene traded startled looks, both recognizing the feeling.
The tremors continued, closer and closer, almost like- "Look out!" Chloe pulled Mylene with her, throwing them to the floor and away from the wall that was demolished a second later by the monster that terrorized Paris the day before.
It was back for round two.
"Mylene! You can't hurt me, no one can! Not anymore!" Stoneheart mumbled, almost as if talking to itself. It approached the two fallen and dazed girls and took Mylene in its colossal left hand.
Chloe shook herself from her stupor seeing that, "Oh no you don't!" She scrambled to her feet, snatching a chisel that was flung close by on her way. Chloe would never complain about the clubs asking for more supplies ever again after that day.
The blonde adjusted her sunglasses. Time to do something stupid and reckless, just like Azzy.
When Stoneheart went through the wall leading outside, right side first to shield its prisoner, Chloe bolted. She used one of the worktables as a stepping stone, leaping and latching onto Stoneheart's arm.
"Chloe!" Mylene reached for the blonde, having her arms free from her rocky prison. She grabbed her left arm, holding the girl the best she could.
Raising her right hand, chisel in her grasp, Chloe started to chip away at the giant limb, "Don't worry Mylene, I'll get you out!"
Stoneheart stopped for a moment to glare at Chloe, the blonde meeting its glowing eyes and not backing down. The Akuma only huffed, resuming its march without even bothering to shake her off.
Chloe gasped at the dismissal, "It's on now, rocks for brains!" She redoubled her efforts, stabbing the chisel into the boulders forming Stoneheart's arm and chipping it away a pebble at a time.
"Chloe, it's too dangerous!" Mylene did her best to keep her friend from falling, her arms shaking with the strain. She wouldn't be able to hold up for long, "Go! Get away from here!"
"Shut up and let me save you!" She sent a particularly large chunk flying with a well-placed stab. "I'm done being useless! I'm gonna save you and then both of us are getting away from here!" Another strike sent earthen debris flying. "You hear me?!"
"Y-Yes!" Mylene fought back tears while doing her best to not let go of Chloe's arm.
Stoneheart carved its way through Paris, with people trying desperately to get away from it. Unimpeded, the Akuma roared, making black butterflies come out of its mouth like a geyser. They flew away, landing on fearful civilians and turning them into stone statues.
Stoneheart ignored the gasps of the girls on its arm, finally getting to its destination.
Eiffel Tower. There was where it needed to go, where he commanded it to go. Stoneheart used its free arm to climb the tower, unafraid. There was no reason for it to be afraid, no one could hurt it, not anymore, never again.
"Stop this already!" Chloe's shout was accompanied by her burying her improvised weapon into Stoneheart's arm.
The Akuma flinched. No, never again! It roared and snatched Chloe with its free hand, throwing the girl away.
Chloe could barely register Mylene's cries, or the wind howling, her mind too filled with static. That was it, huh? The tragic ending of Chloe Bourgeois, the girl who tried her best to be a hero and came up short.
Dammit, Azzy better get back at that damn mud doll and save Mylene.
Just as Chloe came to terms with her, probably painful, end, a red and black figure caught her.
They landed softly, even after falling several stories. Chloe was gently lowered to the ground, her savior checking her for wounds, "Are you okay?"
Well, at least now Chloe knew where her opinion on Nuwa landed. She pulled the heroine into a hug, "Thanks."
Nuwa was startled but returned it shortly before pushing away and helping Chloe stand up. The blonde noticed first that Nuwa was short and secondly that she was using a new getup.
While her blue hair was still tied in pigtails and her face was covered by a red-with-black-spots domino mask, everything else was different. She was wearing a red qipao with black dots in diamond formations over it. Under the Chinese dress was a black long-sleeved shirt, the sleeves baggy and with red dots marking it, red wraps protecting her wrists and connecting the fingerless black gloves on her hands to the sleeves.
Covering her legs were equally baggy black pants, those with red dots running down the sides of her legs. On her waist a red and black belt had her yo-yo clipped on the side. To top it all off, a pair of red shoes that reminded Chloe painfully of Azzy's, Nuwa's only being different because of the black dots.
Chloe finished giving Nuwa a once over and nodded, "Not bad."
"Thanks." Nuwa looked down at herself with a smile, "Can't go saving Paris in a boring costume, can I now?"
Their moment was interrupted by the ear-bursting sound of metal tearing. They looked up, just in time to see a steel beam flying at their position. Nuwa grabbed Chloe and was about to jump away when a familiar green and black blur fell right before them.
Deku grabbed the multiple-ton beam with his bare hands, the lightning over him flaring for a moment. With a grunt of effort, he threw it away, thankfully at an empty spot in the park under the tower.
"You two okay?"
"Yes."
"For someone who almost died two times in the last two minutes, yeah."
The sharp look she got from Deku told Chloe they would have a lengthy talk about that later. Keeping appearances was the only reason he refrained from chewing Chloe right then and there.
Not wanting to be called out in some distant and professional way, Chloe changed the subject, "Why took you so long to show up?"
"The statues." He turned to his partner, "People turned to stone come alive a few minutes later. Nuwa, you can turn them back, right?"
"I should?" She didn't appear very certain. "At least in theory. But wait, how are you here then? You left the statues to run around just like that?!"
"No, I made a cage with the vehicles on the streets, that should hold them for some time." Deku huffed, shaking his head, "Let's just hope everybody has their insurance up to date."
Casual snark, if he's at that level of stress then things were under control, "What about the big bad up there? We need to take it down and save Mylene."
The hero gave Chloe a pointed glance, "You need to evacuate, let us-" Deku cut himself and snapped his head up, in Stoneheart's direction, "Shit." He muttered in English.
Without wasting another second, he grabbed Chloe and Nuwa, earning yelps from them both, and leaped away. In a single bound, he covered all the distance to the street where police cars were already pilling up to make a defense line.
If Nuwa's landing was soft and graceful, then Deku's was the definition of brutal efficiency. His legs kicked out, soles burying into the street and cracking asphalt. With all their momentum sharply arrested, they came to a stop with a jolt.
Deku put them down, eyes never leaving Stoneheart. Chloe would have followed his gaze if a voice she knew very well hadn't called her name.
The girl turned, stunned, "Dad?!"
Mayor Bourgeois, still in the suit he usually wore while in office, disregarded the police officers trying to pull him to safety and rushed to his daughter. He pulled her into a quick hug, "Chloe, thank goodness!" He checked her over, sighing in relief seeing she was mostly fine, "I was so scared! What were you thinking?!"
"I didn't, my body just moved on its own." The brief thought that Azzy would do the same went through her head but Chloe was too busy being reckless to give it much attention.
"Oh, Chloe." Her father sighed, exhausted, exasperated, and somewhat proud.
"You two need to get back!" Deku's shout made both father and daughter jump. The hero had dropped in a low stance, ready to jump at the first sight of danger. If that was away or towards it remained to be seen.
Chloe took the moment to finally raise her eyes to see what got her brother so rattled. Stoneheart had dark smoke coming from its mouth. The golem roared again, the sound accompanied by countless black butterflies flying out of it.
"What's that thing?"
"Worry about it later! Nuwa, grab them and fall back!"
"I'm not leaving you alone against that." The heroine pulled up her yo-yo and started spinning it. "I'm done being useless!"
"You're not-" Whatever Deku was about to say was forever lost as the mass of butterflies converged.
Looking down at Paris was the head of a man, made of innumerable dark butterfly wings beating together.
"Citizens of Paris. I am Hawk Moth." The cold and detached voice thundered through every corner of the city. "This is my ultimatum, surrender the Cat and Ladybug Miraculous to me, and the city will be spared."
"Get real!" Both Nuwa and Deku shouted at the exact same time. Their faces were set in glares that would have sent weaker-willed people running.
"You think we will hand more power to a terrorist?!"
"There's no reason to trust your word after what you have done!"
"This city doesn't need you, it has us!"
"And as long as we are here, we won't let you destroy it!"
They, once more in perfect synchrony, pointed at the mass of butterflies, "We'll take your Miraculous and save Paris!"
Hawk Moth, as if a god looking down at foolish mortals who dared defy his will, sneered condescendingly, "So be it." The mass lost coherence, turning into an amorphous black cloud that quickly descended.
"Nuwa!" Deku shouted for his partner, legs bending and lightning building up, "Protect the civilians."
"What are you gonna do?"
"Something reckless." With that said, Deku leaped at the colossal mass of butterflies buzzing with Hawk Moth's magic.
Nuwa stood shocked for a moment before shaking herself and moving, "I'll get you both out of here."
"Wait-!" Before Chloe or her father could protest, Nuwa picked them up and jumped behind the defense line.
In the air, Deku held his right wrist with a hand, power flooding his finger. He took aim, red lines shining through the cracks of his gauntlet. 50%. The lightning screamed while jumping over his hand. 70%. He focused, old instincts surfacing in that familiar moment of fear being swept in the rush.
"100% Delaware Smash!" He flicked his finger.
A sound similar to a bomb going off rattled Paris. Through that single movement of his finger, Deku created a wave of raging wind so strong it tore through the mass of butterflies. They fell, fading away into black particles as the currents ripped them apart.
As for Deku, physics did their job and sent the boy flying in the opposite direction like a bullet.
He flipped, bleeding what momentum he could before landing. Exerting some measure of control with Float, Deku touched down harshly in the middle of the defense line.
Everyone around watched him with mixes of awe and wariness, shocked silent by his display of power.
Almost everyone, "You okay?" Nuwa slipped close to Deku, seeing him holding his hand and an unnaturally crooked and certainly broken finger.
"I'm fine."
She gave Deku a look, too many emotions behind it for him to piece out. He would deal with it later. "We need to rescue the civilians and subdue Stoneheart."
"And how do you plan on doing that?" Chloe was the one to ask, ignoring her father's worried fumbling. "They're in a horrible position, and you can't go all out without hurting Mylene."
Nuwa looked up at the tower, where Stoneheart seemed content to look down on them. Balling her fists, she came to a decision. "Maybe I can help with that." She grabbed her yo-yo, focusing on the warmth of her Miraculous, she launched it up.
"Lucky Charm!"
A reddish light blinded all eyes that followed the yo-yo. When it faded, in Nuwa's hands fell the yo-yo and a new item.
"A sculpting hammer?" The tool was red and marked with black dots, but beyond that, it was like any other one.
"I stabbed a chisel in Stoneheart's arm, the one holding Mylene."
Deku and Nuwa's heads snapped to Chloe at her words, then at Stoneheart, to the hammer, and finally they turned to each other, eyes shining with the same idea.
"I break the arm."
"I catch Mylene."
"And I take it down."
"How?"
As an answer, Deku started doing crouches. With everybody busy looking at him weirdly, no one saw Chloe's eyes widening.
Deku's legs were covered by a red glow, two rings of energy forming over his knees. "With this. Fa Jin will give me the push I need, but I'll only have one shot." His body still wasn't ready for the quirk, using it instead of a bigger portion of One For All would only do marginally less damage.
Still better than turning his bones into confetti though.
Nuwa looked at him with uncertainty for a second before shaking her head and nodding, "Let's make it count then." She spoke with more vigor than she felt.
"I plan to. Let's go!" At his signal, Deku hopped over the police cars. Nuwa followed a moment later, trying her best to keep up with his strides.
Longer legs and super speed was an unfair combo.
She threw her yo-yo, the magic tool zipping away and latching onto one of the beams of the Eiffel Tower. Nuwa pulled, and in a moment she was flying up. Using her yo-yo, she climbed the structure from what she hoped was Stoneheart's blind spot.
There was no need to bother. Deku had captured the Akuma's complete attention by going straight at it with a single bound.
With the green, black, and now with a touch of red, comet in collision course to it, Stoneheart didn't even notice Nuwa approaching.
"Get away from me!" Stoneheart ripped another part of the tower and threw it at Deku, "You can't hurt me, no one can!"
"Wanna bet?!" Deku punched the steel beam away, not slowing down on his way. He saw the chisel, nailed onto Stoneheart's arm and creating the perfect structural fault on the golem.
Mylene was close to it. The girl cried while pleading for Stoneheart to stop.
Deku was not letting her cry for long. He was done with people suffering because of madmen with too much power and not a drop of empathy.
He was tired of losing.
The voice that sounded suspiciously like Kacchan taunted in his mind, "Then stop crying and win!"
Well, let no one say insanity didn't have upsides too.
Two strands of Blackwhip shot from his hands, latching on the structure and having Stoneheart right in the middle of them. Deku slingshot himself at the Akuma, too fast for it to react.
"Smash!" His shout was accompanied by his metal soles driving the chisel deeper, the impact breaking the stone arm clean off.
Before the damage could reach Mylene, Deku greeted his teeth and activated Gearshift, "Transmission: Low!" Physics were overwritten, the kinetic energy simply ceasing to exist and leaving the girl unharmed.
Unceremoniously, Mylene and Stoneheart arm parts fell, almost comically slow.
With a whistle, Nuwa's yo-yo lassoed Mylene and pulled her to the heroine waiting arms. "I got you!"
Whatever thankful words she was about to say were drowned by Stoneheart's painful cry. The Akuma trashed around, its arm intending to swat Deku like a fly.
The hero gritted his teeth and activated Smokescreen. Purple mist exploded from his form violently, obscuring Stoneheart's vision and making the Akuma miss its target.
From the edge of the purple cloud, Deku appeared. His skin was red and irritated from the Sixth's quirk, but he powered through the maddening itch to circle Stoneheart.
He reared his left leg back, the red glow covering it brightening. Deku kicked Stoneheart's square on the back, a red ring of energy spreading from the point of impact. The force was so great that not only cracked most of the Akuma's torso but sent it flying away from the tower.
Not stopping, Deku dashed after the flailing Stoneheart. The golem spun head over heels, its glowing eyes wide at the sight of Deku giving chase.
As a replay of the day before, the hero raised his leg, foot glowing with power. "This time, stay down! St. Louis Smash!" Deku snapped his leg down.
Stoneheart was spiked downward with the speed of a meteor, the impact so strong it resounded to the whole city. The red circle of energy covered the sky over the Eiffel Tower, while fast winds howled through the park.
Stoneheart opened a crater on the ground, breaking it along with itself. The golem barely remained cohesive enough to appear humanoid, its limbs having fallen apart almost completely and its head heavily damaged. From the deeply cracked chest, an arm, made of flesh and clearly human, burst out from the last remains of stone. Another soon followed, a smoking black page in hand.
With herculean effort, the two hands picked the edges of the paper and ripped it in half.
Ivan took in shallow breaths, his whole body dirty and bruised, but free. He had used all his strength to escape Stoneheart and get rid of the item trapping himself inside the monster, but still, still, he did it!
Deku landed on the giant depression they created in the soil, losing his footing and hitting the ground with a groan almost immediately. "You okay?!"
A cough escaped Ivan when he tried to speak. Clearing the remnants of dust from his airway, he nodded, "Y-Yes. The butterfly!" He remembered now. It was the butterfly that brought Stoneheart, they needed to get rid of it!
Both boys tried to force themselves to their feet, but the strain their bodies sustained piled up, leaving them with barely enough strength to not fall sprawled to the floor.
Thankfully, blessfully, help came at that moment.
"Ivan!" Mylene escaped Nuwa's hold and rushed at the boy the moment their feet touched down. She held him up, tears in her eyes, "Ivan, I'm so glad you're okay!" She pulled him into a hug, not even noticing the dirt clinging to him.
Deku only had time to spare them a glance. "Nuwa!" He pushed himself up with his unbroken hand, punching that steel beam with a broken finger wasn't his best idea. Deku could focus on how rusty he was later, now, "The Akuma!"
Nuwa's eyes widened. She glanced from side to side. There! Trying to fly away was a pitch black butterfly, its wings ruffled and barely keeping it aloft.
The heroine's hand went to her yo-yo, "Found it!" She snapped the magical tool forward, sending it whistling through the air.
Just when the yo-yo was about to hit the Akuma, it snapped open and then closed, capturing it. Nuwa pulled the line and caught the glowing yo-yo head.
The light built up, brighter and brighter, until the trinket opened again. From it, a pure white butterfly flew out, its perfect wings beating softly and carrying it into gentle loops.
Nuwa stared at the purified Akuma with her eyes shining. It felt so…right to do that, to save even the smallest creature when it needed help. Maybe, just maybe, Nuwa could really be a hero.
"Bye bye, little butterfly."
A moment of peace fell on the battlefield, no more reasons to fight leading to a quiet respite.
Which was broken by Deku snickering. Nuwa, Ivan, and Mylene looked at the hero who had stopped struggling and had his face touching the upturned ground.
"Sorry- I didn't mean to- I didn't-" Deku's apologies were interrupted by his fits of laughter. Dammit First! You can't just call a person a Disney princess like that!
"And am I wrong?" The response from his predecessor in his mind caused Deku to break down laughing fully.
Surprisingly, Ivan joined him. At first with chuckles that then devolved into a full belly-aching laughter. His relief at having survived all he went through needing some form of release.
Their laughter was so contagious it broke the girls own shock, Mylene and Nuwa joining them in airing their feelings.
Noticing her chest feeling considerably lighter, Nuwa jumped down the crater to her partner, "C'mon, let me help you up." She pulled Deku to his feet, hearing him groan.
"Hairline fractures for sure." He palmed his legs, flinching when touching certain spots.
Nuwa grimaced. Deku hurt himself again. No, this time around she wouldn't let him go away like that. "Come on, I can help."
He tilted his head, curious at what she meant. Nuwa helped Deku out of the crater, then went to retrieve Ivan and Mylene.
With everybody safe, Nuwa pulled the Lucky Charm she had attached to her belt. Just like Tikki said, breathe in, breathe out. Remember the feeling of fixing something, the happiness of putting something precious back together, and then…
"Miraculous Ladybug!" She threw the Lucky Charm up.
The hammer burst into light, countless ladybugs manifesting from it and flying all around. They washed over the destroyed streets, the Eiffel Tower, the people, repairing every damage caused by the battle. Even the ones from the day before were gone as if they never happened in the first place.
Deku braced himself, not trying to move only because of the lack of warning from Danger Sense. And… Deku didn't believe Nuwa would do something to hurt him.
The ladybugs flew by his body, their soft touch taking the pain away. When they were gone, Deku checked himself and found his wounds gone and bones repaired. He checked his finger, feeling it and noticing how it moved just as well as before he broke it.
He turned to Nuwa, his partner. She looked at him with a smile, happy and proud of what she did.
"Well done." Deku extended her a fist. Nino's charisma was massive if one talk was everything he needed to make Deku adopt the mannerism, or the hero was just very rusty in showing his feelings properly. Either or.
No matter, what did was how Nuwa's smile brightened and she bumped her fist against his. "Thanks."
On that day, the heroes Deku and Nuwa, successfully defeated one of Hawk Moth's Akumas and saved Paris. That was the beginning of a tale of strife, of battle, of hope… and of healing.
No Miraculous Cure could heal a broken heart, no magic could.
But love, care, and time could.
It can indeed.
Again, thanks to Silverbit for the help and support, both with my writing and in the times I just needed someone on my wavelength.
Thanks, to everybody in the discord server that are my friends even while in another corner of the world.
Thanks to everyone who cares.
Obrigado Nena, por me fazer quem eu sou hoje.
Again, this will be a story with drama, craziness, and what-have-you. Still, it will be a story about healing. If you also need someone, join the discord, there are good people there (discord . gg / stAGY4V). If you need someone close, I hope there is a person in your life who can help you put yourself together after crumbling, I know I need it.
For the awesome people who found it on themselves to toss a coin to their writer. Guipa_, SilverZero90, CBN, and kennine. I thank you all from the bottom of my heart.
To every single person reading this. Thanks for using your time to dive into this small world I'm creating, one word at a time. I hope you all enjoy the journey as much as I do, and that I find my own healing along it.