Chapter 9: The Pharaoh

Chloé Bourgeois and her best friend Sabrina Raincomprix were seeing a yet-to-be-publicly-open display at the Louvre. As the curator's daughter, their classmate Alix Kubdel was also watching it. Said curator was pointing at a parchment with something Chloé and Sabrina recognized as a drawing of Tikki. "The inscriptions suggest this drawing represent a ladybug-like figure that the ancient Egyptians worshipped as the Goddess of Creation and the source of their ladybug-themed heroine's power." Mr. Kubdel stated.

Since Chloé's and Sabrina's purses were close to each other, Plagg felt it safe to whisper to Tikki. "They caught your best angle, sugarcube." He commented.

"Quiet, Plagg." Tikki hissed back.

"Dad, perhaps it should be kept a secret." Alix suggested. "I'm afraid of what Hawkmoth will do with this knowledge."

"Don't worry, Alix." Mr. Kubdel said. "While there's undeniable evidence that magical artifacts exist, Gods are a different matter altogether. This Goddess of Creation, for example, is suggested to be so small she could fit in a purse like those your friends are carrying."

Tikki was relieved while Plagg was snickering.

"Chloé and Sabrina aren't necessarily my friends but I get what you mean, Dad." Alix commented.

"Dad! Dad!" They heard someone else calling.

"What's it now, Jalil?" Mr. Kubdel asked with a tone that gave the girls the impression he didn't expect anything meaningful from his son.

"Dad, I've translated some documents and figured out the ancient Egyptians had a ritual a Pharaoh once tried to bring his loved one back to life with!" Jalil happily said and then described it. "We could try it."

"Ridiculous!" Chloé shouted. "Utterly ridiculous!"

"Chloé's right, and it pains me to say that." Alix added.

"Jalil Kubdel, you will not use ancient artifacts to perform this ritual for very obvious reasons." Mr. Kubdel sternly said.

"You never support me, Dad." Jalil whined and walked away.

"Does he even realize he cannot test the ritual without killing somebody?" Chloé asked, not believing what she'd just witnessed.

"I wish I could be sure he does, Chloé." Alix sadly replied.

"I'm sorry but I have to end the private tour." Mr. Kubdel said. "I must make sure Jalil won't do anything stupid. Again."

"It's okay, Mr. Kubdel." Chloé replied and she and Sabrina left the room. "Sabrina, are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Afternoon at the hotel's Spa?" Sabrina asked.

"Maybe later." Chloé answered. "I'm thinking Superbug and Catgirl might be needed right now."

"Why?" Sabrina asked.

Meanwhile, Alix and her father witnessed her brother being turned into an akuma. "Jalil?" Mr. Kubdel asked.

"No, I'm Pharaoh!" The akumatized one answered. "You wouldn't let Jalil Kubdel show you the ritual works so the Pharaoh will do it!"

Moments later, the Louvre was changed in a way everyone outside could tell it was the work of an akuma. "There." Superbug told Catgirl. "Now we can show up without making Hawkmoth and the Kubdels wonder how we knew about the akuma."

However, Catgirl stopped her. "Look, it's Alya!"

"What?" Superbug asked in shock and, upon noticing the reckless blogger's presence, pinched her nose. "Will she never learn? It's such a good thing my power can undo the harm."

As the two superheroines entered the modified museum, they were careful enough to avoid touching anything that could be a trap. Upon finally finding the Pharaoh, they noticed Alya was interviewing him. "Why am I even surprised?" Superbug asked.

"Uh, because you hope she's got some kind of common sense?" Sabrina suggested.

"Let's just figure out where the akuma is, Catgirl." Superbug replied, not wanting to dignify her partner's suggestion with a response.

"That must be Jalil Kubdel!" Catgirl exclaimed upon hearing the Pharaoh telling Alya he intended to sacrifice a girl to bring his loved one back.

"That I already suspected, Catgirl." Superbug said. "I'm more concerned about the akuma. Where could it be?"

"The scepter, I guess." Catgirl replied.

Meanwhile, Alya was too excited with her scoop to care about the fact a supervillain was holding her captive. "Are you saying Superbug is five thousand years old?" Alya asked, sounding as happy as a little kid in a candy shop.

"Superbug, Ladybug, I don't care which name she uses." The Pharaoh said. "She might have defeated me back then but I will bring my beloved Princess back this time."

"And who are you sacrificing for it?" Alya asked.

"You!" The Pharaoh answered.

"Awesome!" Alya's answer shocked everyone, even the Pharaoh.

"Hey, Pharaoh!" Catgirl called while wearing a red tiara with polka dots. "Don't you think I'll make a better sacrifice?"

"Hey!" Alya protested. "I came here first!"

"I'd rather have Ladybug herself but you'll do, Catgirl." The Pharaoh said while pointing his scepter at Catgirl, giving Superbug the needed opening to pull it with her yo-yo. "What?"

Superbug quickly broke the scepter in half, revealing the akuma, which she purified. Catgirl handed Superbug the tiara and the ladybug-themed superheroine threw it to the air. "Miraculous Ladybug!" As everything returned to normal and Mr. Kubdel was revealed to be inside a sarcophagus that disappeared, Superbug ran to a corner to detransform without being seen. "That was close, Chloé." Tikki told her wielder.

"We're not done yet, Tikki." Chloé replied and gave her kwami a cookie. "Tikki, transform." The Mayor's daughter said and turned herself back into Superbug and left the corner, unaware that somebody saw them.

"Superbug, are you really five thousand years old?" Alya asked the superheroine.

"No, I'm too young to be whoever had the earrings back then and too surprised to understand how you can get into these situations without your parents worrying about it." Superbug answered.

"What happened?" Jalil asked, not remembering anything he did while under Hawkmoth's power.

"You were akumatized into a Pharaoh who tried to kill Alya Césaire to revive his loved one with some ritual." Superbug answered.

"Kill?" Jalil asked in horror.

"Are you just now realizing the ritual you were researching required someone to die?" His father sternly asked.

"Well, our work here is done." Supergirl said and left. Catgirl followed her.

Later on, Alix Kubdel was trying to digest what she'd just witnessed. 'Out of all the people I suspected of being Superbug and Catgirl, I'd never suspect that bully and her lackey.' Alix thought. 'Anyway, that they don't use their powers to bully people mean they're not so bad. Hawkmoth is the bigger problem anyway so I'll stay quiet.'

Meanwhile, Gabriel Agreste and Nathalie Sancoeur were discussing the latest akuma. "Gabriel, the Pharaoh had a similar goal to yours." Nathalie commented. "Maybe you could give someone the power to revive Emilie."

"Unfortunately, Nooroo cannot give anyone the power to undo the damage caused by a damaged Miraculous." Gabriel replied. "Right, Nooroo?"

"Sad but true, Master." Nooroo sadly answered.

"Anyway, Jalil could be someone willing to help if we ask him to perform the ritual for Emilie." Nathalie suggested. "It'd be the ritual's power instead of Nooroo's."

"From what Tikki told me, the ritual doesn't really work on its own." Nooroo explained, making Gabriel and Nathalie give up on that plan.

Meanwhile, Alya's parents were furious. "You were actually happy at the idea of being sacrificed?" Otis Césaire asked her. "Are you crazy?"

"I was getting the interview of my life and, if he killed me, Superbug would've used her magical butterflies to bring me back to life." Alya argued, showing how reckless she was.

"I'll inform your therapist about it, young lady." Otis sternly said.

"Until you're no longer suspended, you won't get out of this house for anything other than your therapy sessions." Marlena Césaire stated. "You're grounded and no phone."

"That's so unfair." Alya moaned.

"Maybe our parents would trust you to handle yourself if you were a heavyweight like me." A tall and muscular woman said.

"Whatever, Nora." Alya told her.

"It's Anansi!" Nora/Anansi corrected her sister.

One Spa session later, Chloé and Sabrina were at the former's room talking to their kwamis when they heard someone knocking. "May I enter?" The Mayor asked.

"Yes, Daddy." Chloé answered while Tikki and Plagg hid themselves. They Mayor then entered with a package.

"Chloé, as you know, the day the students' parents visit the classroom is coming and I know how much you enjoy showing off new accessories for the occasion." The Mayor commented.

"Oh, thank you, Daddy!" Chloé quickly said and unwrapped the package. "A new bracelet? It's so beautiful. Sabrina, I'll need your help choosing a matching outfit."

"Actually, she only has five minutes before she has to go back home, remember?" The Mayor asked Chloé.

"You'd be amazed at what we can do in five minutes, Dad." Chloé replied and her father took the cue to leave.

While Chloé was picking clothes from her closet, Plagg got himself stuck in the bracelet. "What happened, Plagg?" Sabrina asked.

"I thought it was camembert." Plagg said, making Tikki, Chloé and Sabrina roll their eyes.

"Whatever, just get out of it." Chloé told the cheese-loving kwami.

"I can't." Plagg replied, shocking the others.

"Ridiculous, utterly ridiculous!" Chloé exclaimed. "I've already seen you kwamis phasing through walls. How come you can't do the same through a bracelet?"

"There must be something magical about it, Chloé." Plagg theorized.

"I could get you free by transforming myself, Plagg." Sabrina suggested. "Pla…"

"Don't!" Both Tikki and Plagg said at the same time.

"The bracelet will instead become part of your cat outfit, Sabrina." Tikki warned her wielder's friend. "And it'll cover your eyes the same way it's now covering Plagg's."

"I've got an idea!" Chloé exclaimed. "Sabrina, hold on the bracelet."

"Yes, Chloé." Sabrina replied. While Sabrina did as it was commanded by Chloé, the Mayor's daughter pushed the cat kwami through the bracelet, eventually freeing Plagg.

"Ouch, that hurt." Plagg moaned.

"Serves you right." Tikki replied.

"Et tu, Sugarcube?" Plagg asked.

"That little stunt cost me almost all of the five minutes and I still haven't decided what to wear." Chloé complained.

"Just wear your usual clothes." Plagg uncaringly replied. "Anything new might distract people from the bracelet."

"Good idea, Plagg!" Chloé replied. After Sabrina and Plagg left, Chloé thought about something. "Wait a minute! If the bracelet could do that to a kwami, what would it do to a human who wears it? I cannot simply not have it with me at the meeting or Daddy will suspect something!"

"Let me look at it, Chloé." Tikki requested and Chloé agreed. "I don't feel anything dangerous from it, Chloé."

"Plagg would disagree." Chloé commented.

"Humans are already unable to phase through solids anyway so it won't be a problem for you." Tikki explained.

"Okay." The Mayor's daughter reluctantly replied.

End chapter

Omake – What if Plagg was still stuck by the time Sabrina had to leave Chloé's room?

"What do we do?" Sabrina desperately asked.

"Plagg can join you after being unstuck, Sabrina." Chloé answered.

"Alright but come back to me as soon as you're unstuck, Plagg." Sabrina ordered. Because she called her kwami by name while issuing that order, Plagg felt the enchantment forcing him to obey.

"Now what do we do?" Chloé asked.

"How about some camembert?" Plagg suggested.

"Do you think it'll help?" Chloé skeptically asked.

"No, but I'm hungry." Plagg answered and Tikki and Chloé rolled their eyes.

"There's some in the drawer." Chloé said.

"My precious!" Plagg exclaimed and tried to zip into the drawer (he couldn't see it but he could feel the camembert aroma) but, because of the bracelet, he failed to phase his way in. The impact caused the bracelet to come off and the enchantment forced Plagg to obey his wielder's command to return to her.

"Wow!" Chloé commented while looking through the window. "He didn't even stick around for the camembert. He must really like Sabrina."

"T-true." Tikki replied with such a forced smile Chloé would've figured her kwami was lying had she not being focused on Plagg's path. "How did you know the plan would work?" Tikki asked, wanting to distract Chloé.

"Plan?" Chloé asked. "I just would have picked up the camembert myself. I didn't expect Plagg's reaction."

End omake.