Chapter 16: Panic at the Party
Coming down from the top of the Eiffel Tower, Ammit's army dashed towards their victims. With so many people around the tower's ground and beyond them, it was hard for those creatures to decide which they attack first. One could say Paris was their all-you-can-eat buffet. The speed with which they moved was such, the sound they produced made it virtually impossible for people not to know they were coming. Arriving at the ground, these creatures began to do what they did best. Grabbing their screaming victims, they then looked them in the eyes, before opening their mouths and regurgitating some black sand, which entered through the victims' mouths and noses.
As the sand poured into their bodies, the poor victims struggled for air, only for seconds later their bodies to turn into stone. The macabre ritual ended with a what could be described as a small glowing red orb came out of the victims' mouths and it was then gulped by the Jackal-creatures, which then divided into two, multiplying. Seeing this happening, a patrol car which was in the vicinity of the tower quickly called for help.
"We got ourselves an Akuma attack in progress! I repeat, an Akuma attack in progress! Send us back-up, immediately!" – the police officer called over the radio.
The man had just finished the call, when a gust of sand entered the patrol car through the open windows. The sand almost instantly turned into one of those awful creatures, who pinned him down. He struggled to get free, but it was no use. And before he could yell for help, he was turned into stone, as his heart was devoured, the creature divided into two and proceeded to search for their next victims.
With millions of people in Paris, it would not be long for Hawk Moth to have the largest army he ever had, at his disposal. An army he intended to use to conquer the whole of Europe, as well as the rest of the world. And the only thing standing in his way was the Miraculous Team, who he firmly believed would soon be a part of the past. Feeling like it was time to move to phase 2 of his plan, Hawk Moth ordered the Moth Pawns to guard the urn and to destroy anyone who dared to close on it, before disappearing in a glowing purple orb of energy, only to reappear on the tower's first floor. Looking around, he saw that everyone who had the misfortune of being there, when Ammit's creatures attacked, had been turned to stone. Smirking, he could not help but to think that that would be a familiar sight, once he unleashed those creatures on the rest of the world. But before that happened, Paris and its heroes needed to fall. And he needed to make sure that happened.
"Let's turn things interesting." -Hawk Moth said, as he made appear a greenish orb on his right hand. –"By using the magic in the Breath of Arawn, I managed to create this, which will ensure that no one escapes my new army." -he smirked evilly, as the orb flew up into the sky. –"Let the games begin, Miraculous Team. Let's see you squirm, like vermin."
The limo in which Gabriel Agreste was, had just stopped outside the Place des Vosges. With him were Nathalie, and Nina. The meeting with the board of directors had taken longer than he had anticipated. Part of him was relieved it was over, because he spent the entire morning listening to the latest reports regarding sales. But the other wished he was still in the meeting, to try continue to convince the whole board of directors to approve one of his latest ventures. Still, there was nothing to be done about it, right then. All that mattered was that he was going to keep his word on a promise he had made to Adrien, and that was to attend his girlfriend's birthday party.
It had taken some time for Gabriel to accept the fact that his son was already dating. And it was true that Marinette was not the kind of girl he had envisioned for Adrien. But she had shown him that she was willing to prove she could make Adrien happy, and that alone made Gabriel give her a chance.
"We've arrived, sir." -the chauffeur declared, over the communicator.
The chauffeur was about to exit the vehicle, to open the door for Gabriel, Nathalie and Nina, when a loud whooshing noise was heard. None of them had ever heard anything like it before.
"What's going on? What is that noise?" -Nina asked, feeling a bit nervous, after hearing that strange noise.
"Remain calm." -Nathalie told her. –"Whatever's going on, we must keep our cool." -she said.
Gabriel did not say a word, but he agreed with Nathalie. Until they knew what was really going on, there was no point in losing one's calm. Still, with everything that happened in that city, it was hard for one to keep calm, when confronted with an unusual element, like that strange sound. In the driver's seat, the driver too tried to remain calm, when what could be described as some sort of shadow passed in front of his eyes. It was then that he knew that there was truly something wrong. And before he could figure out what was happening, he saw sand bursting from the air vents, which quickly took the form of one of the Jackal-creatures from Ammit's army. The driver tried to scream, but before he could, the creature regurgitated sand, forcing him to gulp it down. Agonizing in pain, he soon turned to stone and the glowing red orb which was his heart, was gulped by the creature, which split into two. All the commotion was heard by Nathalie, Gabriel and Nina, who wondered what was going on.
"What's happening in there?" -Nathalie asked the driver, while tapping on the divider.
Nathalie had just said that, when an arm broke through the glass, scaring her, as well as Gabriel and Nina. Sticking its ugly snarling face out of the divider, one of the creatures had just found its next victims. Seeing it trying to get to them, by destroying the divider, the three of them quickly opened the doors and exited the limousine. But once outside, they saw that they were not safe. In fact, once they saw what was happening, they wondered if they were not safer inside the limousine. Whirlpools of sand quickly turned into members of Ammit's army, blocking their way.
"Stay behind me, sir. You too, Nina!" -Nathalie exclaimed, as she placed herself between them and the creatures.
Not many people knew, but Nathalie was well-versed in Tai Chi, Karate and Akido. During her youth, she had won a couple of medals and trophies from tournaments she participated. It was not something that was in her resumé, but those who were closest to her, knew she could handle herself in a fight. But that was up against human opponents. She knew she did not stand a ghost of a chance against those creatures. Just looking at them, made her blood curdle. Still, her sense of duty, as well as her devotion to Gabriel was too great for her to not try.
"When I strike them, you run!" -Nathalie said, as she charged against one of the four creatures in front of her.
"Nathalie, wait!" -Gabriel yelled.
Even knowing she knew those creatures were stronger than her, Nathalie was not going to let them get near Gabriel and Nina. Landing several blows, she tried to make the creature in front of her to focus on her, so that the other two could run. But this one did not even feel the blows. Moving as fast as lightning, it tried to grab Nathalie's left arm, but she dodged it. Attacking it again, she hoped that Gabriel and Nina would have fled, but the two remained on the same spot. The creature that turned the driver into stone and its duplicate had broken free out of the limousine, by kicking the doors open and had their eyes set on Nina and Gabriel.
"S-Stay back!" -Nina shouted, as she threw her purse at one of the creatures.
"Get behind me, now!" -Gabriel ordered Nina, trying to protect her.
Watching this happening, Nathalie quickly ran towards Gabriel and Nina's rescue. She was not going to let the creatures hurt either one of them. As she hurried, she saw Gabriel try to defend himself, by punching the creature in front of him on the face. But the only thing he was able to do was to hurt his right fist, while irritating the creature, who snarled at him. Raising its arm, it threw Gabriel to the ground in one swift movement. It was about to attack him, when Nathalie surprised it, by hitting him on the chest with a well-placed spin kick.
"Sir, what are you doing?!" -Nathalie shouted at Gabriel, as she quickly helped him get back up. –"I told you to run! You need to get out of here! You too, Nina!"
But that was not going to happen, as the following second, both Nathalie and Gabriel were each caught by a creature, and suffered the same fate as the rest of their victims. Quickly and painfully, sand was forced down their throats, as their bodies turned to stone in front of Nina's eyes.
"Monsieur Agreste! Nathalie!" -Nina yelled, as she saw the two of them turning to stone. –"I got to get away from those things!" -she thought to herself.
But before she could take another step, one of the creatures materialized in front of her and grabbed her by the shoulders. She immediately kicked it on the legs, but it did not feel a thing.
"Let go of me!" -Nina screamed, as the creature shot sand from its mouth, forcing the poor girl to gulp it.
As this happened, at Marinette's birthday party, the shrieking sound caused by Ammit's army moving kept getting louder, which led to the interruption of the festivities. Even Luka and his band stopped playing, and like everyone else, tried to figure out where the sound was coming from.
"Wherever that sound is coming from, I don't think it's a good sign." -Luka thought to himself.
"Could it be an Akuma attack?"
"Maybe. But the Akuma Attack app hasn't gone off."
And before there was any warning of an Akuma attack by the app, a new development took place, which made everyone, not only in the Place des Vosges, but all over Paris, to realize that there was something very wrong happening. Suddenly, the sky began to turn bright green.
"This has got to be Hawk Moth's doing." -Marinette declared. –"Couldn't that bastard picked another time to attack the city?! I just wanted to celebrate my birthday in peace, with everyone I care about!" -she thought to herself, feeling that her special day was about to go down the drain.
"Don't worry, honey, everything is going to be alright." -Sabine said
"I think we should head to the nearest safety shelter, just as precaution… all of us." -Tom suggested. –"Let me see where it is." -he said, as he looked it for online.
"I agree. We'll be safe in there, until Ladybug and the other heroes save the day." -Gina said.
But Marinette knew that was not going to happen, because she was Ladybug, and her friends were the Miraculous Team. If they got stuck inside a safety shelter, it would be nearly impossible for them to get out. And if that happened, Paris would be doomed.
"That can't happen. If we get stuck inside a shelter, there'll be no one to take on Hawk Moth." -Marinette thought to herself, while beginning to jumble ideas inside her mind. –"I've got to find a way to stay outside, while making sure, mom, dad and the rest will be safe."
"Uh… maybe it's not an Akuma attack." -Adrien suggested, recognizing the look of concern in Marinette's eyes. –"We couldn't have picked a worst moment for Hawk Moth to throw us an Akuma." -he thought to himself.
"Y-Yeah. It could be something else." -Alya –"There's no way our folks will ever go for this… still, we've got to try something…" -she thought.
"Nonsense, Alya. This has to be an Akuma attack." -Marlena told her daughter. –"Now, go and get your sisters and your father, so we can head to the shelter."
And just as Marlena finished that sentence, strong winds began to blow over everyone's heads, which blew over most of the party decorations. The shrieking sound became even louder than before, forcing everyone to cover their ears. Eventually, the shrieking sound dwindled; but only because the Jackal-creatures from Ammit's army showed themselves. Looking around, they all felt like a banquet had been laid just for them, with all those people around. One of them showed up in front of the Cesaire twins, looking at them as if they were two delicious morsels. But before it could attack them, their big sister Nora, stepped in, threatening the creature.
"You want a piece of me, ugly?!" –Nora yelled at the creature, as she put up her fists, readying herself to fight it. –"Come on! I'm not afraid of you!" -she yelled, before looking at the twins. –"You two stay behind me. I'm going to teach this thing some manners."
Closing her fists, Nora struck a right hook on the creature's, followed by a jab and left uppercut, hoping to make it fall on its back. When that did not happen, she decided to use her special move, to knock it out. The move which she had affectionally named the "Ice Box Stunner" had won her numerous fights. It consisted of several interval uppercuts to the opponent's jaw, which then culminated with a massive double hook. Using it, she was sure to knock the creature cold. But as she was about to throw the double hook, the creature grabbed her by the neck, and began to choke her. Kicking it, the creature did not feel a thing. Opening its mouth, it regurgitated sand, forcing Nora to gulp it down.
"Nora!" -Ella and Etta screamed in chorus, as they saw their older sister get turned into a stone statue.
"Hold on, girls!" -Otis said, as he grabbed his daughters and started to run, with each of them under his arms, only to fall a couple of steps later. –"Run towards mom!" -he ordered them, trying to get them away from the creature.
But the fear was too great for any of the twins to move an inch. Otis yelled at them to run, but they were frozen in place. And that only helped the creatures catching up to them. Marlena and Alya, who were watching the scene could do nothing, but scream, as they saw the three of them getting the same fate as Nora. And seeing that just gave Marlena an extra reason to try and get her and Alya to safety. But before they could even take a step, more of those creatures showed up, looking at them, as well as the Dupain-Chengs as their newest targets. Instinctively, Tom placed himself in front of Marinette and Sabine, with his father and father-in-law doing the same thing, protecting their spouses.
"Gina, you and the rest of the women get out of here." -Rolland told his wife.
"Do what dad is telling you, mom. You too, honey." -Tom told Sabine.
"Go and find a safe place to hide, Ju!" –Weng told his wife.
Hearing the men saying that, Marinette's first thought was to just jump in front of them, and fight those creatures, with or without her Ladybug costume. But she knew that she could not do it. Not without revealing part of, or even her full secret. And the same thing happened with Alya and Adrien. They would just have to let Tom, Rolland and Weng place themselves between them and the creatures. Their bravery was commendable. No one could deny it. But unfortunately, bravery would not be enough to give them the upper hand in that situation. The three of them fell victims to the creatures, who quickly robbed them of their hearts and turned them to stone. Doing what they had been told, the three women from the Dupain-Cheng, along with Marlena grabbed Marinette, Adrien and Alya, and ran. Sadly, the four of them were also caught, leaving the three teenagers to fend for themselves.
"Mom!" -Alya yelled, as she saw Marlena falling victim to those creatures.
"Mom! Grandma Gina! Grandma Ju!" -Marinette screamed, as her face reflected the shock and fear that was coursing through her mind, when she felt herself being pulled back.
"Stay behind me, girls" -Adrien told Marinette and Alya, while kicking one of the creatures on the chest and throwing it into the ground. –"I don't' think I need to point out that we got to get out of here.." -he whispered at them, when someone else placed himself in front of them; Gorilla.
Doing his job, Gorilla was determined to protect Adrien from whatever those things they were. At the same time, Kagami had turned a broken table foot into a weapon, and began to attack the creatures. It was not the first time she used her fencing abilities against supernatural targets, and unlike what happened with many, she was not afraid of whatever Akumas and other creatures could do.
"Get back!" –Kagami shouted at the creature, while pointing the broken table's foot at the creature. –"What I wouldn't give to have my sabre, right about now." -she thought to herself, as the creature attacked her and she dodged it. –"Too slow!"
It was hard not to notice Kagami, as she used her fencing skills to keep the various members of Ammit's army at bay. But unfortunately, just like it happened with many others, after managing to dodge a couple of attacks, she too ended up a victim of those creatures. And as she became a stone statue, so did Gorilla, who tried to punch one of the creatures on the face, only for this one to grab him by the arm and swing him in the air, like he was ragdoll, before throwing him on ground, and consume his heart.
Scared of those creatures, Manon automatically reached for her mother's protection, clinging to her legs, as they both hid behind a turned table. Nadja herself also felt scared, but put on a brave face, and told her daughter that everything was going to be okay, while looking for a place for the two of them to hide.
"Don't worry, Manon. Mommy won't let them hurt you." -Nadja assured her.
Hearing her say that, the little girl felt safer, just like all kids do, when their parents tell them not to be afraid, because they will protect them. But this feeling only lasted a couple of seconds, because Manon knew that only the Miraculous Team would be able to fight those creatures.
"Come on, honey. Let's go this way." -Nadja told Manon, as they made their way out of there.
Nadja was determined to get herself and her daughter to safety. She was not going to let Manon get caught by those creatures, and she figured that if they could get out of that square, they might find a place to hide in one of the nearby buildings, or even making it to the nearest Akuma shelter. As more and more creatures showed up, her fear continued to increase. She just wanted to get out of there, along with Manon, and find a place to hide, and wait until the Akuma was dealt with.
"Keep calm, Nadja. Keep calm for Manon. She's just as scared as you are… wrong, she's way more scared than you. So, keep calm." -Nadja thought to herself.
Mother and daughter were making good progress, when one of the creatures showed up in front of them. Nadja yelled, and so did Manon. The jackal-creature snarled at them. Right then, Nadja felt the urge to run, but her maternal instinct prevented her from doing it. Her mind was literally screaming, telling her that she needed to protect her daughter at all costs. Therefore, she did the only thing she could think of. She threw herself at the creature, while shouting for Manon to run as fast as she could.
"Mommy!" -Manon yelled, as she watched Nadja being grabbed by the creature, and her heart stolen.
Seeing this, Manon burst into tears. Fear and sadness had taken over her, making it impossible for her to move. And seeing the creature dividing into two, and both of them snarling at her, seeing her as their next meal. But unlike her mother, she was not going to get her heart stolen and turned into a stone statue. Just as she was about to be grabbed by the arm by the horrifying creature, something came out from the right and pushed it to the side. And that something was Adrien, who tackled it. By doing it, he gave Marinette the time and chance to grab Manon.
"I've got you, Manon!" -Marinette said, as she grabbed her, while running. –"Close your eyes, okay? I don't want you to see what's going on." -she asked her, as she reunited with Adrien and Alya, and they tried to find a way out of there.
"O-Okay…" -Manon said, as she closed them with all her might, while at the same time still having in her mind the image of her mother being turned to stone.
At the same time, two creatures jumped on the stage and attacked the band, turning them into stone statues. The only one who managed to escape them was Luka, who dove underneath the stage, where his sister already was.
"Are you okay?" -Juleka asked her brother.
"Just peachy. And you?" -Luka told her.
"I'm also okay." -Juleka declared, when they both heard a loud crash.
They say curiosity killed the cat, and in that case, it made the Couffaine siblings want to know what had made that roar. Looking under the stage canvas, they saw that what had made that sound was one of the amplifiers being mangled by one of the creatures.
"Great… as if those creatures weren't bad enough, now they're thrashing the equipment. And the worst part is that it was mostly rented." -Luka sighed.
"I'm more worried about the sky, than the fact of these things turning everyone into stone." -Juleka said, while looking from under the stage canvas. –"It doesn't look natural." -she added.
"Then, you better go and do what you do best. Beat the crud out of whatever Akuma is doing this." -Luka told her, which caught Juleka by surprise.
"W-What do you mean?!" -Juleka asked, shocked.
"Don't pretend you don't understand what I'm talking about, Jules." -Luka declared. –"You got a job to do, Corbeau Noire." -he told her.
Hearing him say that, Juleka did not know what was most shocking. The fact her brother knew she was secretly Corbeau Noire, or the rather casual way he said it. She had taken all precautions so no one at home found out about her secret, and yet, somehow, Luka found out and was now telling her he knew.
"H-How…."
"There'll be time for a proper conversation later. Go on! You got to go and help Ladybug! Only that way will things go back to normal" -Luka told Juleka, as he swiftly got up and ran out of his hiding spot. –"I'll keep them busy, so you can get out of here, without them seeing you."
Seeing Luka using himself as bait to give her a chance to get out of there and save the day, Juleka's first thought was to go after him and prevent him from doing something stupid. But she had to ignore that urge. Luka's words kept resonating inside her head. The only way things would go back to normal, was if she and the rest of the Miraculous Team put a stop to whatever Akuma was terrorizing Paris. Clenching her fists, Juleka also left her hiding spot, looking for a way out of that garden, while at the same, looking for any of her friends who might still be around. Instantly, she spotted Kim, who had just seen Ondine get turned into stone by one of the creatures. Seeing this happening, Kim became frozen, which was unusual for him; maybe because he was not used to seeing someone, he cared for being affected by an Akuma in front of him.
"Kim, come on!" -Juleka shouted at him.
"B-But…" -Kim hesitated.
"Move, before we also end up just like your friend!" -Juleka told him, snapping him back to reality.
Realizing there was nothing he could for Ondine, Kim ran after Juleka. Just as the two of them exited the garden, Luka became a victim of Ammit's army, with his last thought being that only his sister and the other heroes could save him now.
Manon continued to sob, and it was hard for Marinette to ignore her, knowing she was terrified. But that was not the time, or the place for her to reassure her that everything was going to be alright. First, they had to find a place to hide and plan their next move, which seemed rather difficult given what was happening around them.
"Marinette, I'm scared!" -Manon sobbed.
"I know, Manon. But don't worry, I'm not going to let anything happen to you." -Marinette told her, as she and the others finally exited the square.
If things in the Place des Vosges looked bad, then outside of it, they looked far worse. Wherever they looked, it was chaos. People running for their lives, while those creatures chased them. It was a horrible thing to see. And yet, for a certain boy, there was one thing that was far more horrible than everything else that was happening around him. Adrien was looking at the petrified bodies of his father and his two assistants.
"Dad…" -Adrien said, as he saw his dad's petrified body. –"Nathalie… Nina…" -he said, as he also saw them, next to Gabriel.
Seeing them like that was something that caught Adrien off guard. Just like it happened with Alya and Marinette before, when they saw, their families getting turned to stone, Adrien felt like someone had just pulled the rug from under his feet. He knew he could not have done anything to stop that from happening. And yet, he still felt guilty.
"Adrien, come on!" -Marinette exclaimed.
"There's nothing you can do for them, Adrien. Let's go!" -Alya shouted at him.
It was hard for Adrien to leave Gabriel, Nina and Nathalie that way, but he knew Alya was right. There was nothing he could do for them, and if he remained there, he would share their fate. Following Alya, Marinette and Manon, the four of them started looking for a place, where they could temporarily escape those Jackal-creatures, which continued to multiply, every time they made a new victim.
"I'll find a way to get you back to normal. The three of you. I promise." -Adrien thought to himself, as he gave a final glimpse to the petrified bodies of Gabriel, Nathalie and Nina, as he turned the corner.
Looking for a place to hide, they found it a few minutes later, in an alley, behind some fetid thrash bins. They were not sure if they were safe there, but they did not intend to stay there for long. Just long enough to get their head in the game, and to calm down Manon, who continued to sob, terrified, after seeing her mother turn into a stone statue. The only other time she had seen Manon like that, was when Madame Romani kidnapped her and used her as bait to attract Ladybug and the rest of the heroes to a trap. Feeling the only way, Manon would calm down, was to rock her in her arms, while singing to her, Marinette did just that, singing the first song it came to her mind.
"Where do all the rainbows go? To somewhere I don't know. Wherever it is, I want to go." -Marinette sang to Manon, hoping to calm her down, so she would stop sobbing. –"You're the one that makes me feel so high. Just like the diamonds in the sky. I never want to hear you say goodbye. Cause you're my diamond in the sky." -she kept singing.
It took a minute or two, but Marinette's singing voice did the trick. Slowly, but steadily, Manon stopped sobbing and calmed down.
"Feeling better, Manon?" -Marinette asked her.
"Y-Yes." -Manon answered, as she wiped the last of her tears.
"I don't want to rush or spoil that moment between you two, or anything, but we're not completely safe here." -Alya said. –"You got a plan, right?" -she asked Marinette.
"Of course, I do. We need to regroup." -Marinette said, as Manon kept clinging on to her. –"Tikki, can you send a telepathic message to the other kwamis, telling them that we are all to transform and regroup on one of the building surrounding the Place de la Bastille?" -she asked the scarlet kwami.
"Right away!" -Tikki exclaimed, as she quickly passed on the message to the remaining kwamis.
"Then, we better get moving." -Adrien said, as he kept playing the awful scene of his father, Nathalie and Nina turned into stone statues, in his mind. –"We've got to find out the Akuma and stop it." -he said.
"We will, Adrien. I promise you." -Marinette told him, while holding his hand, knowing fully well that he was still thinking about his father.
Happy holidays to everyone! Looks like I did manage to get one more chapter done, before Christmas. And I must say, this one was easy to write (it just took me a little longer to complete it, because I've been busy at work). So, yeah, things aren't looking good for the inhabitants of Paris. Our heroes will have to come up with a miracle to save everyone. Also, we find out a couple of more things about Nathalie, and that a certain teal-haired guitarrist knows a certain secret about his sister... I wonder how he found out about it? Questions, questions, questions... which need to be answered, and they will, eventually. :)
In case some of you are wondering what's the name of the song that Marinette sings to Manon, to calm her down, it's "Diamond in the Sky" from Sonic R soundtrack (the videogame might be one of the lamest Sonic games ever made, but when it comes to its soundtrack, it's one of the best)
As always, feel free to comment, fav and leave your suggestions for this and/or future sequels. And if I can't write another chapter, before the end of the year, I wish you all a Happy New Year 2025.