Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Chat Noir

Stranger in Town

Chapter 34: Forgettings and Farewells

Hell, The City of Dys: The University of Hell, the office of Honored Morax: "But, Deanna, I don't understand." Damien was still recovering, and every so often, his sister would see him slump slightly. She tried to stay close enough to catch him; he had, after all, been exposed to the deadliest form of energy this side of an angel's sword. Lord Morax had told her not to expect a full recovery within a human month, at least, and maybe longer. "What does Honored Morax need with me?"

"I don't know, big bro," she said, rubbing his arm in a supportive way. There was that which she didn't say, namely, that if the Honored One had requested not just his presence, but also hers…that was a bit ominous. They had both already guessed it had something to do with Akane and her progress. Damien was eager to see how well the treatments had progressed. "Maybe he's got good news," he said, hopefully. Deanna looked away. If Morax wanted not only Damien there, but his closest relative, to be with him, this might not have anything to do with "good" news.

"Ah, there you are," said Morax, entering from a side doorway. Given the non-Euclidean nature of Hell, not to mention the shadonai's ability to manipulate time and space, that doorway could have led to anywhere. Or anytime. "Damien. Please. Have a seat. You, too, Deanna." He indicated chairs, chairs that had just sprouted from the floor, chairs that self-adjusted to fit them perfectly. He offered them two self-refilling glasses of ice water.

Damien couldn't contain himself. "Is Akane-*"

But Morax held up his hand. "Please. Just a moment, Damien, and I will…explain some things." Damien glanced worriedly at Deanna.

"As you know, Akane was contaminated by the phenomenon we call The Madness of Love's Flame. With few exceptions, there is no more deadly energy known to us. It altered her body, and it definitely altered her mind. I think you'll agree that what you met-and fought-up there, was not her."

"But-*"

Another hand-raising gesture. "Please. Let me finish. I have examined her as thoroughly as anyone or anything that has ever come to my attention. Perhaps more so, given that we never acquire any test subjects infected with the Madness."

Now he leaned forward, focussing his attention on Damien. "Damien, I need you to assist me in the final stages of her treatment. In short, I need your help."

"Anything, Honored One! I would gladly lay down my life for her!"

Morax nodded. "This I know. But what I am now calling upon you to do is going to require a decision on your part more painful than any death I can conceive." Both shadonai stared at him.

He continued. "Her physical injuries…those are severe, but I believe the regeneration pods can heal her of those. But there is another matter. A more serious one." He paused a moment, then continued. "She has committed many and grievous crimes. That, plus her spurning of our laws and customs, in betraying you. The Black Throne…will not look upon her with favor.

"You are the closest thing she has to living relatives. So this is what I can do. I can, of course, simply heal her, using the pods, and release her. Release her to the Black Throne's custody. I…really don't like to think about what they would do, but that would be of their deciding.

"Or…or, I can use the pods to regress her back, farther and farther, to a time before she met you. That may…it may…put her beyond the reach of the Black Throne, since the person who committed all those crimes would, effectively, be no more.

"But she would not know you. You would be a stranger to her.

"But if anything would save her from the Black Throne's justice, it would be that.

"The decision must be yours. What say you?"

Damien was silent. Deanna rubbed his arm. "Bro," she spoke in a low voice, "you don't owe her anything. She betrayed you, left you to face the Black Throne's wrath all by yourself. They won't do anything to her she doesn't deserve."

But his next words came as absolutely no surprise to anyone in the room. "Do it, Honored One. Take her back."

….

"What are we here for, once again?" Adrien Agreste looked around at the place they'd materialized. So this was Hell? He could see why it got a bad rep. Fires all around, giant red-skinned devils-Lord Morax had told them they were a separate species-titanic crystal statues, even buildings made, seemingly, of solid ruby or quartz. But the fires! Even with the protection Lord Morax had provided, it was like being inside a supernova.

"We're here because Deanna called us to come down here." Ladybug adopted a pensive expression. Adrien…whom she now knew to be her long-time partner, Cat Noir…right there next to her… She tried to distract herself. "I wonder…is all this really 'down here,'? If so, is there anything below this? And what's above?" Ladybug, Adrien, Rena Rouge, Chloe, and the ever-present Sabrina, as well as Z and Kyrie, had all received calls in what was to them, the middle of the night, from Deanna, requesting their presence. Deanna had specifically requested Cat Noir to come in his civilian guise. That told her more than she wanted to know, about who they'd be meeting, down here. And once they got there, they were greeted by a woman seemingly made of golden light, a woman they recognized. And the last person they expected to see here.

"Miss Adriel?" Ladybug had exclaimed. "What are you doing here, of all places?"

The apparition smiled. "The same as you. I was called. I am needed. Just as you are."

"An angel in Hell," mused Chloe. "Now I've seen everything."

Miss Adriel's smile broadened. "I've heard that expression three million, four hundred sixty-seven, five hundred ninety-two times, and each and every time, it's been proven false. Usually within twenty-four hours." She sobered, and put her two fingers up to her mouth. "Be careful what you say, all of you. Especially here.

"Because here…words have Power."

Rena Rouge was looking around worriedly. "Where's Damien?"

"He's here. You'll see him, shortly." And she left.

"Rena?" Ladybug's single word asked a question. She was well acquainted with her friend's intuitive abilities.

"Just thinking," replied Rena Rouge. "All of us…Damien's closest human friends…usually calling in one's closest friends…is seldom for good news."

A triangular door opened, and Adriel motioned to them. "This way." She led them to a corridor just outside of Morax's office, from which a window showed them the office itself. Inside the office, they could see Morax, Damien, and Deanna, and two other shadonai, one of whom Ladybug recognized as Daniel, Damien's cousin. Accompanying him was a tall female shadonai, with long, strawberry-blond hair, whom Ladybug reasoned must be Daniel's wife, Claire. Interesting. She'd understood that Claire had been born human, yet here she was, a full shadonai, what Earth-humans called a demon. So…apparently it was possible to change? How? And under what circumstances?-she wondered. Damien seemed nervous; Deanna was staying close to him. "One-way glass," Adriel said. "You can see and hear, but not the other way around."

In the office, another set of doors on the opposite wall slid open, and Luan, Morax's wife, led in…

Akane.

Even those who hadn't seen her could tell, from descriptions, who the shadonai female must be. Instead of the standard red shadonai uniform, she wore a tunic-and-pantsuit combo of dazzling white.

A few inches shorter than Damien, her features were so perfect she hardly seemed real. Like a cartoon or anime character come to life. Her brushed, straight brown hair hung to her shoulders. But those features reflected uncertainty and confusion, not recognition.

Damien straightened up and stepped towards her. "Ah. Miss…Akane, I believe they said your name was? I'm Damien, Damien BenDarian. Are you well?"

"Yes, I, I am. Thank you for asking…" Her expression said, wordlessly, why are you here?

Who are you?

"My sister and I were with the extraction team that brought you here. I'm told your injuries were…quite severe. We were in the area, and I wanted to see how you were doing." His own features showed nothing but professional concern.

"Oh! Uh, yes, I am…recovering nicely, so they tell me. Er, th-thank you for saving me…Damien, did you say your name was?"

"Yes. Well, I just thought I'd stop by and check up on you. Honored Morax and Revered Luan tell me you'll be discharged soon, so that is good news.

"We'll be taking our leave, now. There's much to do, upstairs." And he turned to go, followed by Deanna, who couldn't keep from clenching her fists when she thought nobody was looking.

But at the door, she called to him. "Er, Damien, did you say? Forgive me, but you seem…familiar, somehow. Do I know you?"

"No," he said, without elaboration, his smile a professional blank slate.

"Oh," she said. It might have been the onlookers' imagination, but she sounded slightly disappointed. Luan led her back into the recovery / therapy area.

But once the doors had closed, his expression broke, and a trickle of fire ran down his cheek. "No," he repeated, "Not anymore." Daniel put a hand on his shoulder.

Deanna took him by the arm and led him outside, into the corridor with the others. Daniel and Claire followed.

…

The group in the corridor stood in silence. Nobody really knew what to say.

It was Damien who broke the silence. "I, I heard about your losses, Chloe, Adrien. There aren't words to express my sorrow…"

"We…weren't the only ones who lost someone," said Adrien, his gaze flickering back towards the office.

Damien glanced back over his shoulder. "I…lost her long ago. This just…makes it official, I guess."

"Ah, Damien. You're still here." Lord Morax emerged from his office, closing in on them. "I was afraid you'd left already. The Black Throne is…requesting…your presence."

"What now?" muttered Damien. For more years than most humans could count, for longer than some continents had been in existence, all he'd known of the shadowy rulers of Hell was their infliction of massive amounts of pain. Still, he could not disobey, and followed Morax down the hallway.

Deanna started to follow, only to be brought up short by Morax's upraised hand. "This audience is requested for Damien alone. I'm sorry, Deanna."

Deanna looked at Daniel and Claire in bewilderment. Previously, the Black Throne's "questioning" of her brother had been a more or less public spectacle. Why the change?

Now she was more worried than ever before. What was going on?

Meanwhile, in the small room allotted to her, the shadonai going by the name of "Akane Nightstar" was tidying up the place. She didn't know why she was doing it; she hardly had any personal possessions worth mentioning. But something compelled her to.

Opening a drawer, she chanced upon a small bluish-white crystal. Of course, she immediately knew what it was: a bonding crystal, such as all demons were given. But this one…

She picked it up, noticing for the first time that its aura was not a match for hers. How could that be?

In fact, the aura was remarkably similar to that of the tall shadonai she'd just met, the one who'd introduced himself as "Damien." But she'd never met him. What was she doing with his bonding crystal?

In the back of her mind, a horrible suspicion began to form.

Midgard: Morax was looking over the results of the rebuilding. It had come along nicely. But all the demons could do was restore the nonliving physical aspect of the city: the buildings, the shops, the houses.

He had a good idea why the Black Throne wanted an audience with Damien.

Even as he thought that, a mist seemed to close about the rebuilt city. "What's going on?" asked Ayla. Even human senses could tell this was no ordinary mist.

"When news of Akane's perfidy reached them, they decided they had tortured him unjustly. Therefore, they have granted him one reality alteration. A wish, if you will.

"And what he wished for, was for those who died in the Great Fire, to return to life, to their loved ones." His voice lowered somewhat. "Those, and one other."

"Then…then Daddy will-*"

"Ah, that's something I have to talk to you about," he said, very solemnly.

Adrien visibly deflated. "Father's not coming back, is he?"

"No. Nor is Chloe's father."

"But...but why?" exclaimed Sabrina. "If, if anyone deserved a second chance, it would be them!"

"This isn't about second chances. You see, there is one thing the Black Throne prizes above all else is the ability, the willingness of mortals to so easily surrender that which is most priceless to them-their lives-for the sake of others. To bring them back, at this point, would be to dishonor their sacrifice." He gestured ahead of them. "We have done what we can. I know it isn't enough. But it's the most we can do."

The mists parted further, to reveal a life-size statue of Gabriel Agreste, one seemingly cut from solid ruby crystal. His face both noble and stern, and he was holding, in his outstretched hands, a facsimile of the globe of Earth, seemingly suspended a centimeter or two above his palm. The stand on which he stood held an inscription:

"Gabriel Agreste: A reclusive man given to shadows, yet when the people of Paris were threatened by an unimaginable force, bravely stepped forward to stand between them and a cosmic horror from beyond the stars. Although no one knew it at the time, it was largely due to his selfless sacrifice of his own life that the people of Paris are alive today to live, laugh, and love.

May he rest forever in Light Perpetual."

Adrien choked. "Th-thank you, Honored One. It…helps a little."

Chloe stood off to the side. "Guess there's nothing like that for Daddy." Sabrina moved to comfort her.

Morax's face took on a mischievous look. "You might be surprised." One teleport-flash later, and Chloe, Sabrina, and Morax were standing outside the rebuilt Hotel Bourgeois. On the hotel grounds was a life-size ruby statue of Andre Bourgeois, holding what looked like a quarterstaff. His face, too, reflected every noble emotion known to man. The inscription on his stand read:

In loving memory of Andre Bourgeois,

An otherwise timid soul who, when his daughter and her friend were threatened, found within himself the courage of a lion, interposing himself between them and a malevolent power from beyond the stars. Unhesitatingly, he did sacrifice himself for their sake, willingly accepting the death intended for them.

And thus did Andre Bourgeois pass from this life into the realm of heroes.

"A man's love is his testament of honor, reflecting his highest values and deepest principles. He cherishes it, and defends it, no matter what the cost may be."

-The 57 Laws of Power

Poor Chloe broke down. "Daddy," she said between the tears. "If only I could see you…one last time."

Morax regarded her sympathetically. "There is more than one way," he said, in a low voice, "for the dead to be reunited with the living." And he pointed. Chloe stared.

Such had been her grief that she hadn't seen, standing right up against the statue, her hand placed against the pedestal, the figure of a woman. She could tell, by her clothes, that it was her mother, Audrey Bourgeois. She dried her eyes and started to stride up to Audrey, fully prepared to give her a piece of her mind at the first cruel remark, of which her mother seemed to specialize in.

Instead what she heard was this: "Andre. I'm…so sorry. I misjudged you." And her mother, Audrey Bourgeois, Audrey Bourgeois, actually sniffled. "And perhaps I misjudged our daughter, too." Then, without even turning around and seeing Chloe, she made her way back into the hotel.

But so focused was she on her mother's very uncharacteristic behavior, that she missed seeing the change some over Morax's face, behind them. "Chloe, I have to go. Something's come up. Will you and Sabrina be alright here?"

"What? Where? What's going on?" From the look on his face, it looked like…

…really bad news.

Without a word, he included them in his teleport spell, that took him to Gabriel's statue, where Ladybug was sitting by Adrien, trying to comfort him. "The two of you, come with me."

"What? Where are we going?"

"Dys. I've just had some very bad news. Deanna will join us there; this involves her, too.

"Something's wrong with Damien."

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