Actions

Work Header

Hedgehog's Dilemma

Summary:

Hedgehog's Dilemma
a situation in which a group of hedgehogs seek closeness to one another to share heat during cold weather. They must remain apart however, as they cannot avoid hurting each other with their sharp spikes. Though they share the intention of a close mutually beneficial relationship, it may not happen, because of circumstances they cannot avoid.

🦔

Ten years after this wife's death, Gabriel Agreste gets the chance to rewrite the events of a faithful October Night.
However, his plans are crushed by a mysterious woman in a blue dress, who cannot help but rises to the position of his nemesis.

🦔

"Nonsense, I've been looking for you. For you and your Miraculous !!" the man corrected himself, which made the woman smile slightly.

"I'm sorry. Unfortunately, this one is already taken."

" .. That won't stop me.. Just so you know, I'm not afraid to hit a woman."

"Oh don't worry about that. Neither am I"

Notes:

Main changes in this AU

- Kwamis used they magic to seal themselfs away so that only specific people can activate and use they Miraculous

- There is more then one Miracle Box

- Guardians play a bigger role

- They excists more then one Temple who all have they owl collection of Miraculousen

_ Miraculouse can be more powerful, depending on the user and also in rare cases control them

- Nathalie and Caline are Halfsisters in this story
 

I always appreachiate some feedback, critic and comments.
Thank you~

Chapter 1: a cold October night

Chapter Text

If you asked Gabriel Agreste what the worst day of his life was, he would probably answer that it was the 27th of October.
He would tell how clearly he could remember the day and the events that happened that day.


It had been a cold night. The rain that had plagued the whole town with its constant dwelling pelted with all its might and braced against the window of the room Gabriel was in. It was ruining all activities that could have been done outdoors and thus turning a plain autumn day into a moderately cheerful autumn day.
He however didn't notice it at all as he was busy listening to his wife's last words while holding her hand tightly in his.

It had been an accident. While trying to sweep the leaves of the large oak tree that was on the property from the balcony in front of her room, she slipped and fell over the porch and down into the depths. A terrible sight that his assistant, Nathalie Sancoeur of all people had to witness.

Immediately she called an ambulance and help to keep Gabriel's Son, Adrien Agreste away from the scene, while his father tried desperately to administer first aid to his wife. In Vain, however. Everyone present quickly became aware of the seriousness of her injuries, and even the first responders quickly realized what chances Emilie had at this point.
Despite everything, she had been taken to a hospital with Gabriel.

Nathalie herself had stayed at the villa to take care of Adrien. He was still too young to be left alone.
Desperately she tried to make the small boy stop crying while holding him in his arms and going up and down the Hallway of the big building, softly petting his back and assuring him, that everything was alright. That there is no need to cry.
Even tho that was a big fat lie.

"Emilie.." Gabriel breathed her name softly while gently planting a kiss on her knuckles.
The beautiful woman slowly opened her eyes once more to look at the man in front of her. How pale he looked. His hair, which was usually combed back so perfectly, was untidy and scattered in all directions. His otherwise perfectly fitting clothes were soaked and disheveled as he kneeled beside her. She remembers how he had desperately called out her name over and over again to make her stay conscious.

"My dear.." Emilie greeted her husband, who immediately looked up to put his hand on her cheek. All without letting go of her hand. "I'm here," Gabriel assured her. “I am right here.”

"I'm so sorry.." the woman in bed tried to explain herself. "It's my fault... I should have been more careful.."

"No, no please!" Gabriel contradicted her with a shake of the head. "It was an accident... I am sorry that I was unable to do more.."

"No... I-" Emilie tried to explain before a fit of coughing overcame her and made it impossible to speak any further for a moment. 

Gabriel was painfully aware of how his wife would run out of time. Probably only has minutes at best. He gently squeezes her hand. Gentle tears welled up in his eyes.

"Let me speak for a moment, my love.” he started to speak as soft tears start to run down his cheeks. “I will never forget how we meet. This wonderful moment. How I was able to spend so many years with you, made you my wife, and have a son with you. Knowing all of this, that you made all of this possible for me, makes me very happy. I love you so much." he stopped, his voice shaking with sadness and gratitude.

"Adrien.." Emilie breathed out softly "Please take care of him.. of our son. You know how he is.. he's so easily frightened.. remember he needs a bedtime story.. otherwise he won't sleep well. And don't be too strict with him. He is a wonderful child. Make sure he doesn't eat too many sweets and has a healthy balance but also allow him to have treats from time to time. He is much too young.. to have to live without a mother... I pity him for that.."

"I'll promise you,” Gabriel said, squeezing his wife's hand once more. “I'll read him one every night. The best ones there out there. And that he eats a salad once in a while. I promise you... he'll be a great boy one day and an even better man.. and I'll make sure that he will always remember you. And how much you loved him. That you watch over him where ever he goes. I'll promise..."

Satisfied with his words, the woman closed her eyes with a soft smile on her lips, for a moment. "Thank you Gabriel..." she said with an honest smile “I love you...” were her last words before the strength in her hands and the rest of her body left her as she collapsed. The sound of the machine to which his wife was connected also gave him confirmation.
Emilie had left this world.
Gently, Gabriel laid his wife's hand beside her and gave her one last kiss on her forehead before falling into a deep silence, only occasionally broken by the loud storm raging outside his window, as he griefs with tears uncontrollably running down his cheeks.



 

10 years later

"Celine. Celine wake up!" Nathalie called to her sister over and over again in an attempt to wake her up... She kept wondering how her sister managed to be a grown-up woman with a steady job and even be successful at it, but at the same time couldn't manage to wake up on her own and needed help to not be late for everything she has to go. Something kids as young as 10 can do. Yet here was her sister. Ignoring every alarm clock she had set for her.
Annoyed by her daily task, Nathalie looked over to said lock which was standing on Celine's bedside table. 6:43 a.m.
If things went on like this, she would be late herself.

She didn't have much time. And most of it was taken from her by being forced to wake her sister up, every day.
An event she's been working toward for months would soon reach its final stage. So much preparation had yet to be made, questions were waiting to be answered, and knowing her boss, so many design ideas were still waiting to be changed and done. The deadline for it was slowly but surely approaching.

So much still have to be done. Who would take care of the gathering of the guest and where would it be held? At what location...
At the mere thought of her work, Nathalie shook her head in annoyance. This would be overtime again, which only on her paycheck would at least feel like it was worth it.
Slowly she grabbed the alarm clock and set it again to the time when it was supposed to ring to make a shrill and constant noise.
She then held it at Celine's ear so that she wouldn't overhear it this time at least.

"Celine, would you please be so kind to wake up now.." she admonished her sister once more this time even more annoyed than before.

"Hmmm..." the woman on the bed let out a quiet grumble, pressing her head further into the pillow and raising the blanket over her head. "5 more minutes.."

"You don't have 5 minutes. Now get up”

It took the woman a few more seconds before she finally decided to open her eyes and blinked. Nathalie took it as confirmation to silence the shrill annoying noise of the clock.
Celine was unable to fall back asleep once she opened her eyes. And now she wouldn't have to worry about her falling asleep again.

"Morning. I hope you remember that your class has to take an exam today. Fresh coffee is ready and waiting for you. And please, for the love of god. Learn to stand up on your own, would you." The Woman explained while putting the alarm clock back in its original place.

"But then I wouldn't see you in the morning! I like to see you in the morning. Or once in a while." Celine protested while she sat up and wiped a strand of hair from her face.

"Just think about learning that. And your class. I'll be going now." the woman replied before turning and leaving the room.







Gabriel stood tense in the large room on the ground floor of his villa, which served as his study. His full concentration was devoted to the monitor in front of his feet, on which he wanted to breathe life into his latest creations. Or so it seemed. The reality was way different.

He was tormented by a terrible headache, conjured up by the memories of his dead wife. Whenever it rained, the memories would come to him, grab onto him, and refuse to leave him for the entire day.
He took a step back from the monitor for a brief moment to massage the end of his nose, hoping to banish those negative memories and feelings. Or at least make them more bearable.
When he opened his eyes again, his gaze fell straight back to his designs, making him groan in the process.

He was forced to work on a new design. A dress for women. The silhouette of his wife served him as a template. She was after all that Gabriel wanted to become a designer. Supporting him on every step in that process. Cheering for him and celebrating his small victories.
And it was she who could no longer wear any of the pieces.

The sound of the door opening was what made Gabriel aware again that he was slipping into his thoughts. And that this wasn't the right time for it.
He slowly turned his head to see Nathalie, who was just entering the room.

"Good morning, sir," she greeted him formally but coolly, as she did every morning.

"Morning Nathalie," he replied before turning back to his work while she made her way to her desk.

"Your son asked me for a special request on a matter." she started the conversation again while her PC slowly started up.

"He wants to go to school."

"How do you-"

"For days he has been looking at all the schools in the area, comparing them to each other and who was the most accessible. He longs for contact with kids his age and to make friends with them. I thought it was only a matter of time before he would approach me with the wish. So I waited." Gabriel explained while gently massaging his temples again. The headache had just gotten stuck in his head.

"Sir?"

"It's nothing, don't worry about it.." the men waved her off before picking up a topic of conversation again.
"Isn't your sister a teacher?"

"At the Collège Francoise Dupont" Nathalie confirmed.

"Could she.. arrange something for Adrien to attend this school?"

"I could finish the registration forms and arrange a meeting, but it's the middle of the school year."

"We could argue that he would have to change schools for personal reasons."

Nathalie couldn't help but look at the men for a brief moment in disbelief. She doubts that it would be that easy. He was a rich man. Why would his son suddenly attend a public school for “personal reasons?” Then again. That was not her concern.
She turned away to type in the password to unlock the computer, which then greeted her with 24 new notifications and made Nathalie sigh briefly. "I'll see what I can do."

"Thank you, Nathalie."






"He said that?" asked the Woman in amusement as she shifted back on the couch she was sitting on, almost spilling the contents of her bowl on herself.

"He just wants the best for his son.." Nathalie replied, worried about the condition of the couch and if she should take the bowl away till they would be finished with the conversation.

"And do you think school life will make him happy?"

"For a boy who's been homeschooled all his life, it's going to be an adjustment. But once he makes friends I think he'll be fine. He's not as fragile as he looks."

Silence seized the woman who had made herself comfortable on the couch next to Celine in her bright red blazer with the tablet in her hand. The word 'personal time' just didn't exist in Nathalie's vocabulary.
Her thoughts, in turn, wandered to the day the world lost Emilie Agreste.

All of that was 10 years ago. She still had in her mind the sad face of little Adrien, who had to watch as his mother's coffin had been carried to the grave and how he could not understand why the dirt was now being thrown at her. "What are you doing with mom?" were his words as his tiny hands clutched his father's pants tightly while tiny tears rolled down his face.
His father gently put his hand on his head. It hurt him too that he wasn't able to explain to his son what was happening to his mother.
The little boy tugged at his father's pant leg

"Dad! Daddy, you have to tell them to stop! Mom loves to wear white! She's going to get all messy!"

Slowly Nathalie got down on her knees to look into Adrien's eyes and take his small hand in hers.

"It's okay," she tried, "your mom doesn't mind getting dirty anymore."
It pained her to see Adrien's tears still rolling down his cheeks as he once tried to hold back the snot that escaped his nose. "Your mom... she's in a better place now..." she continued, hoping he would understand.

".. Mom.. is in a better place?.."

Now it was Gabriel who bent down to his son to be able to look him directly in the face. "Your mom is in heaven now. Where she doesn't get dirty anymore. And where she can always look down on you"

".... No!" Adrien protested while trying to break away from the two adults who knew how to prevent this. "No!" Adrien repeated while he burst into tears more and more "Mom has to read me so many stories! Mom! Maaamaaaa!!"



"You know Nath, sometimes you sound like a real mother to me!" Celine Nathalie tore back to the present, which she commented directly with a grim look.
However, Celine was completely unaffected.

"You've become part of her family over the years anyway," she added. "But you're lucky, too. I still have room in my class. Bring him over and we'll fill out the forms, then he can attend class."

"I only work for the family..." Nathalie tried to explain to her sister again.

"And what about you? When will you think of yourself and be happy."

"I'm happy. Every month. the day my money is sent to me"

"I mean real happiness. What about your love? At some point, you have to make the first step!" Raising an eyebrow, Nathalie looked over at Celine. "I don't think I'll take any relationship advice from a 36-year-old woman who still sees cornflakes as an appropriate dinner at 8 p.m."

"I just forgot to go shopping!" she spoke to her again while shoveling another spoon into her mouth. "But Nath. You'll soon be 39. When do you want to think about yourself?"
Silence filled the woman in the sweater, who was now looking tensely at her tablet.

"You're just working. I'm worried about you."

"I'm fine. Besides, it's what I always wanted."
Nathalie didn't miss the way her sister's gaze pierced her. But she also found that she always worried far too much.

"I know you didn't have much back then but.. -"

"It's getting late. I think I'm going to bed. I have to get up early tomorrow" with these words Nathalie threw the remote control aside and swung to her feet. "I can't wake you up tomorrow, so please set the alarm."

And with that, she quickly left the room, leaving behind a slightly worried Celine.
With a slight sigh, she leaned back and looked at the ceiling. "When will you finally understand Nath.. he won't be able to rest happily if you just work your life away" she murmured, still inaudible to everyone who wasn't in the room.

Chapter 2: new Duty, same people

Chapter Text

"Say my little kwami, do you know the tale of the Miraculous?" a deep, rough voice said in a low soft tone to banish the silence in the room.
The only source of light, a flame poking out from a single candle flickered softly as the man continue to speak in his endless fight to banish the deep darkness of the room.

"A long long time ago, there was a powerful box. Inside it were many small pieces of jewelry, little but yet very powerful. Each of these pieces housed a single creature all created and born from the most diverse emotions, a person can encounter over the years. Each different. Some from positive, and some from negative which made them all unique.
They were given the name 'Kwamis'.

Since then Kwamis served the people in many ways. They were friends and allies. Sometimes even servants.
Although kwamis are friendly and peaceful creatures, fear and the wish for power led to battles and even wars over them, time and time again. People fought with them for the power they had, to obtain the ultimate power. They wanted to use her for their own selfish and self-serving purposes, realize their dreams with them, or just wreak havoc with them to demonstrate their power.
As it is in human nature.

So it was that wise and experienced monks finally took care of the kwamis to put an end to the senseless fighting. They collected the Miraculouses that got spread around the globe and distributed them to different temples, on every continent to slowly but surely make these powerful creatures disappear from the public eye. It was said that each temple should get a certain number of Miraculous, which they would harvest and protect. To bring balance to the power they would now hold.
But even that should not end the fighting.

Was it no longer the population but the monks themselves, who swore absolute allegiance to the Miraculous to protect and shelter them, who were now responsible for the senseless slaughter?
However, the reason for their fights was only a certain pair of Miraculous. The first two were born from the desire for creation and destruction. Should anyone succeed, so they said, should that person have a wish granted? It was the need for this wish that drove these once so clever people to the bottom of their common sense.

It was that amidst the dreadful battle cries, the weeping of men at the innumerable casualties, and the need for peace, that forced the was to make a fateful decision.
They each took the Miraculous and spread it all over the world in all the different parts of the globe and sealed themselves in them. With the help of their magical powers, they cursed themselves so it was now only chosen ones possible to find, own and use these pieces of jewelry.
Even today, many of these creatures are said to have disappeared. Nobody knows where they are or where to find them or how many of them there are."

 

"Adrien? Are you finally ready?" Nathalie called up to the boy who was hastily stuffing the last things into his bag in his room.
She stood impatiently in front of the big staircase in the hall and waited for the boy who should already have been in her car 5 minutes ago, on the way to school so that she could register him there.

"I'll be right there!" he called back from his room on the first floor.

Nathalie could hear him trying to stuff various things into his bag as quietly as possible. Only he wasn't very good at it, making it painfully obvious what he was trying to do.
The soft cursing alone and the fact that she knew the boy well were enough indicators for Nathalie to know.
'He has far too high expectations' it shot through her mind making her sign softly.

It was just the day he enrolled at the school. No one ever said that he could take part in the lessons directly right away. Also, there was the fact that he would be missing the supplies he would need in class, besides a block and pen. And even tho a college student would tell you it was all they needed, so was it not enough for him in her eyes to be able to follow the lessons as smoothly as possible?
However, she had agreed with her sister that he could come to class as soon as possible, even if it was in the middle of the school year. So the boy wouldn't have to wait too long. But in her eyes, Adrien imagined it all too easy.
After all, the director would also have to agree to the whole thing. 'But at least you could bribe him with enough money,' the woman continued to think.
A light sigh escaped the woman again.

Her gaze fell back into the large room, in which her workplace was located, among other things. The door was only cracked open, giving only a limited opportunity to look inside, therefore it was impossible to see what her boss was doing in it, yet she could occasionally hear quiet noises, which undoubtedly came from the man. Presumably, he would just keep working on his designs. Hopefully.
After all, a big gala, an event they had worked towards all year, was not far away.

However, Gabriel was gradually retreating with his drafts, which was mainly because he was currently in a severe art blockade, which sometimes happens yet always at the worst timing.
If Nathalie thought about the event alone, it spoiled her mood, because of the unchangeable fact alone that Gabriel couldn't come up with any new designs, no matter what. And even if she understand his trouble, if that would continue any longer, both of them would probably have to work through a few nights to be able to get everything done by the agreed date.
It wasn't the first time something like this had happened. The woman would claim she was used to it.

She didn't like it, but at least Gabriel would always reward her handsomely for this effort. With a hefty bonus on her paycheck.
'I wonder if the kids will enjoy seeing Celine stumble into the class as she desperately tries to hide that she overslept?' Nathalie thought to herself. 'Or she'll finally learn to wake up on her own.'. These words bring a soft smile to her face. ' I can at least dream.'

"I'm ready!" Adrien announced, coming down the stairs, beaming like a honey cake horse smiling from one ear to the other, forcing Nathalie back to the present with the sound of his soft childish voice. A soft shiver run down her spine as she realizes how she now has to be the one to crush that dream of his.

"What's with the big bag?" she comments raising her eyebrow and giving him a sharp look.

"This is for school."

"We're just signing you up."

"But.. -"

"Just. register. Nothing more."

She could watch Adrien's expression change, his smile fading as his gaze wanders to the ground.
It was a dream of his to finally be able to go to school with people his age. So it was understandable that he absolutely couldn't wait to meet and get to know them.
Adrien slowly raised his head to look at her again with a specific look that Nathalie would affectionately call a dog's look. When will he learn that it won't work on her?
She couldn't help but sigh again.

"We'll see that you can attend class as soon as possible, okay?" the woman said making Adrien nod immediately with a wide smile. "Deal!"

"Good. Mr. Agreste, we are on our way to school now," she announced, before putting her hand on Adrien's back to gently push him towards the door.

 

 

Gabriel didn't even know his assistant was gone with his son, leaving him alone in the mansion as he didn't even pay attention to her words.
He looked at the note in his hand which he had found next to a small jewelry box.

At first, he hadn't thought much of it. Thought it was a gift from Adrien or maybe even Nathalie. Or a bad joke from one of his employees. But why should they buy and give him jewelry on an ordinary Tuesday? And then also from a brand unknown to him. The jewelry box was beautiful. But he had never seen them or the symbol on it ever before. And he had a lot to do with different brands. Was this maybe an offer from a new one who would like to collab with him? But Nathalie didn't mention anything.
All of this made him suspicious.

What seemed particularly odd was the note that had come with the box.
Estimating, Gabriel now picked it up to direct his full attention to it and to read it.

"My dear Mr. Agreste" was written there in what was probably the most beautifully curved handwriting the man had ever seen. It immediately removed any doubt that the note was addressed to anyone other than him.

"The loss of your all too kind wife still hurts and haunts me to this day. Her loss was something that without a doubt made this world a whole lot worse.
But how would you feel if I told you that you could get your wife back?
Open the box and be a part of something big that will change the world."

'Part of something big?' 'Get my wife back?' what did it all mean? Was it just a bad joke?
Again and again, Gabriel went through the note and repeated the words in his head. 'Bring her back? How is that possible? Overcoming death, something like that only happens in fiction and fantasy books. Not in real life. Which was probably for the best yet the thought alone was daring.

Cautiously, his gaze wandered to the small box that glared at him softly. '.. Should it.. be possible with that?'
Forced to find an answer to this question, Gabriel now put the paper aside to turn fully to the box. He ran his fingers slowly over the material from which it was made, exploring every single fiber of the pattern with his fingertips.
It consisted of a red circle on a black background, which was probably created from ebony. For Gabriel, the pattern had something foreign about it. A pattern consisting of an infinite number of symbols linked together.
'Mysterious' he thought as he opened it.

A bright purple shimmering beam of light shot out at him and forced him to close his eyes for a brief moment.
He opened them again to see that the light was gone. In its place, a small creature had formed, which was staring at Gabriel's face. It was a small, purple-colored creature of an unnatural shape whose back was adorned with magnificent wings that remind him of the wings of a butterfly.
With its small purple eyes, it returned the look of the fashion designer.

"Hi." the creature greeted him, causing the man to blink a few times. He rubbed his eyes in amazement, but no matter how hard he rubbed, the creature stayed.
Cautiously, he reached out one of his fingers to touch the creature on his tummy as proof that it wasn't a product of his imagination. It was real

"You seem to be my new master. I am happy to make your acquaintance." said the being, which seemed to have no problems with the touch. With a gentle smile and a slight bow, they continued his greeting to the fashion king. "I'm Noor-"

".. You can speak" Gabriel interrupted him.

".. Of course. All kwamis can speak."

"Kwamis?"

"Magical beings like me. Didn't you read the note?" Nooroo asked with a questioning look.

"The note didn't say anything about kwamis!" Gabriel protested, pointing to the note next to the box.

"Not this one - the one in the box"

"In-... How many more notes do I have to read? Is this a dream or the beginning of building an Ikea shelf?"
With a loud grunt, he picked up this piece of paper which was in Nooro's box itself.

"I see you have decided to accept the offer. I am very pleased my dear king of fashion ~
What you now hold in their hands is a miracle. I hope it was also possible for you to activate this so that you can now look into the face of a kwami. A kwami is supplied with each of these jewels you now find laying in the box. He will tell you more.
Get me the Black Cat Miraculous and the world will be your oyster and your dreams will come true.
Good luck ~"

"Ha....." Gabriel sighed loudly and put the note aside. He could feel another wave of headache creeping up, ready to sneak up on him and plague him again. It all seemed so unreal. like a bad dream
He slowly turned his head to look into the small eyes of the kwami, who also looked at him questioningly.
"Okay.. start again, please. And this time slower."

  




"With that, we would have done everything!" Celine announced happily while putting the last papers in the folder that they had created for Adrien.

"Woo-hoo!" Adrien cried happily. The feeling of having come to a step closer to a normal life made him very happy.

"You will receive a timetable from me in the next few days. Since we have just started with a new subject you shouldn't have too much trouble getting to join. I'm sure Mrs. Sancoeur will be happy to help you to catch up with the rest of the class." A slight smile escaped the face of the woman who had just addressed her sister by her last name. Even if she skilfully ignored it. "She takes care of your books too, is that correct?" she continued.
A quick swing of the head followed by a gentle nod confirmed Celine's question from Nathalie and gave her confirmation that she could now continue talking.

"Very well," Celine said and gave the file a quick pat on the table. "Do you have any other questions that need to be clarified?"

"Can I get to know my class now?" the boy asked excitedly.

"Adrien. I told you it wasn't pos-"

"If you want," Celine interrupted. "They are currently in their free study period. I am sure they will be excited to meet you."

Motivated by these words, the boy swung his head around and looked at Nathalie with wide eyes. "May I Nathalie? Oh please!"
Grumbling, the woman's gaze swayed away from the boy to her sister and then back to him.

"Please please please please?" he continued to plead.

"..Your father is expecting us back soon."

"We can claim that the registration would have taken longer. He never has to find out about this."

Sighing, Nathalie turned her head to the lady at the desk ".. Celine, how long until lunch?"

"About 15 minutes left."

"10 minutes. You introduce yourself to the class, familiarize yourself and then we go back."

The boy jumped to his feet in anticipation and gave the woman a brief hug around the neck. "Thank you, Nathalie! Thank you, Thank you," he said making the woman pat the boy on the back to get him to let go.
She slowly got up to grab her bag. "Celine, you will surely accompany him. I trust you that you will take care of him."

"Naturally!"

"Wonderful. If you can, try not to make too much of a fuss about Adrien's origins. And, Celine."

"Yes?"

"In 10 minutes the boy will be in front of my car. Not a minute later." Nathalie repeated her words in a quiet menacing voice. She looked deep into the woman's eyes to make sure she understood the meaning of them.
Swallowing, the teacher quickly nodded.

"Good. If you can do that, I'll go shopping on the way home."

"Alright! ~"





Slowly the woman walked down the big steps of the school to the parking lot, whereupon the sun shone towards her and even blinded her for a brief moment.
It was a nice day. The sun's rays gently kissed her skin, while a gentle breeze blew around her nose and caressed her hair. It was a perfect day. Neither too warm nor too cold. Perfect for pursuing outdoor activities.
For example, grab a blanket, find a nice spot on a lawn in a park, settle down with a picnic basket and enjoy the day.
Or just sit down on a park bench.
If only she could.

In Nathalie's world, it was a painful fact that her schedule couldn't be more jam-packed with various appointments and tasks to do.
As soon as she drove back home with Adrien, a pile of documents would be waiting for her. And her cell phone alone had already told her that emails would also be waiting for her to answer.
Almost annoyed by this fact, she reached for the tablet in her handbag to get it out.

In the half-hour that she had now spent here with Adrien, 17 people had already decided to reply to the e-mails.
To do this, she would also have to talk to Gabriel about how far along the drafts were and when she could send them to the agency. And as she knew, there were far from enough that were finished. If he had even finished one at all.
If only the world could wait a moment for Gabriel to get out of his block. That would make the world easier for her.

Absently, she unlocked the car door to sit down and wait for the boy. She wanted to sit down before a hard object forced her to get up again. "Ouch - what the..." she cursed and whirled around only to be greeted by a small box. It was beautiful A black box with a red pattern. It looked foreign, nothing she had ever seen in her life. But what was it doing here? She certainly hadn't packed it here. Was that from Adrien?
She noticed a note that was enclosed with the box. Curious, she now took it and read the following words.

"A difficult fate will await you, my dear.
I hope you feel up to the task.
Bring me the Black Cat Miraculous and I will redeem you from this fate.
Good luck ~. May the Miraculouses have mercy on you"

What was that supposed to be? A bad joke? Unsolicited prophecies that were known from fortune cookies, among other things? a prank?
Even before she could answer even one of these questions, she heard a loud rumbling in the distance which was getting closer faster. Almost single-minded, as if it were aimed at the woman. Or waited for her.
The woman hastily got out of the car to look up at one of the rooftops, on which was now standing a man dressed in a purple suit. He was facing away from the school, so Nathalie couldn't see his face. Not that she had much to see as it was hidden from the public by a gray mask that went all over his face. Which gave his appearance an odd touch.

"Owners of the Miraculous! Show yourselves! I challenge you all!" announced the voice to get the people's attention.
Questioningly, the woman blinked up at the man a few times to make sure what was happening around her was happening.

".. That can't be true now.." she swore softly, grabbed the box, and slammed the door of the car.

"Miraculous? That thing? Did I miss something?"

She stared at the box in her hand, unbelievable, before gritting her teeth and turning to walk down the alley with it. Without really understanding what she was doing and why she was doing it. All she knew at the moment was how little time she had for that right now.

Chapter 3: Hawkmoth and Mayura

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Tense Nathalie pressed herself against the wall in the alley where she was now hiding. She waited for the distant man's voice to fade away to reassure her that he would be gone.
She clutched the box tightly in her hand. Slowly her gaze wandered towards it. Everything seemed so surreal. Like in a bad dream, in which the awakening will only be possible when you are brought back to reality by a shock. But this wasn't a dream, it was real. 
Nathalie slowly opened the box to be greeted with a ray of blue light, which quickly manifested itself in the form of a small creature.

"Hello!! I'm Duusu!!" the creature greeted Nathalie immediately, completely excited and with shining eyes. "You must be my new owner! Wow, it's been a while since I've had an owner at least one who let me out. How old are you? What's your name? Do you have any cookies with you?" the being squeaked happily without even giving Nathalie the chance to answer any of these questions.

Her body was blue, which was very unnatural, but it brought out her small magenta eyes, which were bright with anticipation. A daring combination, as the woman found, but she did the animal, which was supposed to represent the creature a peacock all honor. The creature's tail wagged happily as she watched the woman who focused her gaze on her.
Nathalie, however, couldn't help but blink at her a few times in confusion. "You... are what this madman wants?" she asked Duusu cautiously, pointing her finger in the direction of the creature.

"Crazy? Oh, you mean the one who looked after me before you. Well, he's a little strange. But it's complicated -" Duusu tried to explain before another rumble interrupted her. Nathalie turned around, startled. "No, I mean THIS crazy one!" 'The light must have guided him back. Damned..'

"Oh.." Duusu just breathed out "We don't seem to have time to talk! Transform!"

"Transform?"

"Use my powers. You activated me, so that shouldn't be a problem! Take the brooch and say 'Duusu, spread my feathers!' Quickly!"

Nodding in agreement, Nathalie grabbed the piece of jewelry in the box and put it on before speaking in a loud and clear voice “Duusu. Spread my feathers!"






The man in a purple suit, who was walking around on the roofs of Paris, looked hastily in all directions.
Out of the corner of his eye, he could see how for a fraction of a second a bright light, which he too had seen before, made Paris shine. With no doubt, this must have been the work of a Miraculous. What he was looking for. However, the light disappeared as quickly as it had appeared, which made it much more difficult to find it.
Frustrated by this, the man used his newfound strength to put an end to the chimney that was standing in his way.

"It was around here somewhere... I saw it," the man grumbled to himself. "Nooroo said there should be at least one more Miraculous in circulation. It could be what I need according to the letter.." he kept talking to himself as if someone was listening to him. A quality that Gabriel had acquired over the years of his loneliness. As soon as he found himself somewhere alone, he would start talking to himself. That or he continued his conversations mentally.
"Once I have that, I'll get the miracle."

"If you're looking for a miracle, I can show you a nice wishing well that's close by." Nathalie, who had now completely transformed, greeted the man while gently landing on a ledge a few meters away forcing the man to immediately turned around.

His eyes widened as he began to examine the lady on the roof.
She wore a long, blue dress with dark blue feathers around her neck and arms. It was daring yet charming as it parted beneath her waist giving some insides if she wouldn't be careful. What made her look unnatural, however, was her thoroughly blue skin and magenta-toned eyes, a color eyes could not possibly have. In contrast to him, who tried with all possible means to prevent his identity to be recognized, the woman had only applied make-up as a 'mask'. And yet it was impossible to see what she would look like without the Miraculous powers. 'Impressive' thought Gabriel.

".. Why you are looking at me like that?" The woman now interrupted him, who felt a bit bothered by the man's stare and the slight grin on his face. "I don't know which of your fantasies or similar things you're trying to live out here, not that it's my business, but someone should teach you that you should generally only do something like that within your own four walls."

"Nonsense, I've been looking for you."

"... No thanks. That's not for me."

"After you and your Miraculous!!" the man corrected himself hastily making the woman smile slightly. "I'm sorry. Unfortunately, this one is already taken."

"So you leave me no choice... Just so you know. In this scenario, I don't shy away from hitting a woman. If I have to."

"Oh don't worry about it. Neither do I." she grinned back.

The man clutched his stick tightly as he starts to run towards the woman to prepare for his first attack.
Nothing special, just a simple swing with the hand in which he would hold his staff. Nothing that Nathalie couldn't dodge. What particularly helped was the fact that the Miraculous enhanced her powers and agility. Jumping almost felt like flying. And so all she had to do to dodge the attack was to slide elegantly to the side.

She immediately grabbed the man's now outstretched arm and half turned away from him to throw him over her shoulders in a firm grip, letting it slam to the floor beneath her.
Grinning, the woman looked down on him from above "Strike 1" she announced. "I expected more. How are you going to take on all Miraculous owners? like that? Please."

With a loud hiss, the man now grabbed her legs to take her footing and to make her acquainted with the ground beneath her too. "Look who's talking! You'll see how I do it, just watch me!"
They both quickly jumped back onto their feet and away from each other, ready for Round 2.

As they ran towards each other and before they knew it they found themselves in a scuffle, which slowly but surely also attracted onlookers. Whispering made itself felt. People pulled out their phones ready to take photos and videos.
The whispering was abruptly interrupted by the loud ringing of the school bell, announcing the start of recess. 'Damned! Adrien!' the woman's voice cursed in her head as she fixed her sharp gaze on her opponent's eyes.

"You're so calm all of a sudden, lady," Gabriel mocked his opponent. He was careful to pronounce the last word clearly and in a sharp menacing tone. "Have you bitten your tongue?"

"Oh please," she grinned at him "Just tell me if you want me to put you on the ground again. You just have to say please. Also, call me Mayura."

"Mayura?" he asked in a questionable confused tone.

"What? Do you have any complaints about that? I can't tell you my real name after all. Let's see how creative you are."

"Just for you, you may call me Hawkmoth."

A light laugh broke out of the woman before she grabbed Hawkmoth's hands, twisting them and pulling him down next to her with a force that made him stumble and fall. "And you complain about my creativity."

"... And you're starting to get on my nerves."

Hastily, Mayura got to her knees next to the man to grab him by the collar and placed her hand on his brooch while looking him straight in the eye, her face just a few inches from his. "Then let's just end this here, how about that?"
"Hey! Are you two dating?" came a voice that immediately made both of them turn their heads to the side and look into the face of a small boy with brightly shining blond hair and piercing green eyes.

"We are not a couple!" both shouted in unison, almost on command.

"Who are you then?"

"Uhm..." questioningly they looked at each other again. How are they supposed to explain that? Who would believe them? They didn't know themselves.

"Let's come back to the 'end it here. You give me your Miraculous and I'll leave you alone." the man began.

"Why on earth should I do that?"

"Give me your Miraculous and find out," he grinned at her with a smile that could almost be described as charming, while he winked at her once.

' Ewww.. ' "I have instructions."

"So do I. And I can instruct you to give me your Miraculous."

"Do you forget that I hold you're Miraculous just in the palm of my hand?"

"So you guys are a couple, then?" the boy asked again, surprised by the sudden lack of interest in him.

"WE ARE NOT A COUPLE!" both called again in unison, which was almost funny now.

'This leads to nowhere' thought Hawkmoth before breaking away with a well-aimed smack on Mayura's hand.
He scrambled to his feet and before Mayura could say anything he disappeared.

"Hey!" she called, but Hawkmoth was already gone as quickly as he had appeared. 'Damn!!' it shot through the woman who got up 'Never mind, I have more important things to do!' and with that, she also disappeared.






"That was Awesome!!" Duusu squeaked happily after Nathalie transformed back into the alley she had disappeared into. She happily waved her little arms back and forth. "You're so talented. I've seldom had such a qualified owner. It's almost a pity the man escaped. He didn't stand a chance against you."

"We'll get him next time," she announced, reaching for the brooch on her sweater.

"But you are really strong. Do you have combat experience?"

"I was in one or the other course. And my professional experience also played its part." the woman explained further and took out the box from which Duusu had appeared. She carefully placed the brooch in it and turned to the kwami. "Go back to the box"

"Whaaaaat?!" Duusu protested, "But I'd much rather stay outside! I'll hide well too! I promise!"

"And how am I supposed to explain that to people? Or even begin to explain it when they see you? No. Go in the box."

With a pouty look and a low grumble, Duusu slowly dissolved back into a glimmer of light and went back into the brooch. The woman quickly stowed it in her jacket pocket and rushed back to her car. A glance at her watch told her the track of time.

"13:07h" 'What a bummer. I've had to spit such big words and now it's me who's late!' she cursed and turned the corner. In the distance, she could already see her car. Adrien, however, did not stand by it. There was no trace of him. 'Shit!'. Where was he? Had something happened to him? He had just been to the school building.

With a flick of the wrist and Nathalie had her cell phone ready on which she found a message before she could even call Adrien. "I've got your little boy with me. You weren't there, so I thought I'd drive him home. After all, there were some crazy people around. Kind regards~"

"..... Celine for the first time in my life I would be grateful right now if you hadn't helped me.."





"Damn! Who is that woman?!" cursed Gabriel, who was also himself again, around in his still empty studio. "And what does she allow herself anyway!"

"I don't know, master," Nooroo spoke softly, unsure of how to handle his new owner's temper.

"I have to think of something, this woman is strong... I can't get her Miraculous that easily... But it's not even the one I need... damn it. Are there any more people?"

"You could come up with a plan.. and use my powers to have allies."

"I'll probably have to resort to something like that," Gabriel whispered before he grabbed his temples again. The whole day would not pass him by without a trace. "My son will be home soon..." he continued while tying his tie to hide the miraculous beneath. "You will have to hide."

"That should not be a problem," Nooroo spoke in his natural friendly tone before disappearing into the inside of Gabriel's jacket. Just as if it was planned, the bell of the property rang forcing the men to look suspiciously at the front door. Why on earth would Nathalie ring the bell?

With a click, he opened the door only to look into the face of Adrien and a person he didn't recognize. Or did he? Hadn't he even seen her in a photo that Nathalie had lying on her desk? It could be her sister.
"Hello Monsieur Agreste. My Name is Celine Bustier. I bring you your son" the woman greeted him with a smile.

".. where is my assistant who was responsible for taking him home?"

"There was an incident that prevented her. So I brought him home in her place."

"Nathalie will come immediately after father, she knows we're already here."

The loud sound of squealing tires followed by the awkward sound of an overloaded brake caused everyone present to look up and whirl for a moment. Which caused them all to see Nathalie get out of the car in a rush and scurry over to them.
"I'm so sorry" began the woman who immediately climbed the stairs to come to rest next to Adrien "I came as fast as I could."

"Mrs. Sancour, there you are" Gabriel greeted her with a stern look while Adrien and Celine were almost amused to find themselves in this situation right now.

"May I know what was so important to you that you couldn't personally bring my son home when it was your responsibility."

"I..." Nathalie started to stammer.

"There were two crazy people on the roof near the school building," Adrien began

"And for safety reasons, of course, we wanted to get your son out of this situation. After all, it seemed to be dangerous," added Celine.

"Since Nathalie still had a few things to sort out, she asked Mrs. Bustier to drive me to make sure nothing happened to me."

"And that's why her son was at home before her. Right, Nathalie?"

"..Y-Yes exactly. That's the reason! Adrien's safety alone."

Thoughtfully, Gabriel looked back and forth between Nathalie and his son before making room to let him pass. He couldn't ask suspicious questions without raising questions himself.
Uncertainly, Nathalie walked past her sister to the door.

"You know," Celine suddenly began, which caused a bad premonition in Nathalie. "If you allow me. It's nice to see my sister taking such good care of her son. I can't wait to have such a lovely young man in my class."
With a short nod, Gabriel confirmed this statement "I think you can say she has a good influence on my son."

"Did you know she's single? And available?"

"Bye Celine!" Nathalie hissed at her sister with a slightly flushed face before slamming the door in her face "...I'm so sorry Sir, my sister sometimes doesn't know what she's saying"

"It's okay. I assume the login went without any problems? Other than the incident mentioned."

"Of course. Adrien will be able to attend said school as soon as possible."

"Wonderful. I'll be in my office then. Give yourself a break and I'll expect you in my office."

"Yes, sir."

“Oh and Nathalie”

“Yes?”

“It was nice meeting your sister. Even tho it was hard to tell at first glance.” Gabriel admitted in a softer voice. Almost stuttering

“We're half-sisters. We share the same mother but different fathers.” the Woman explained, questioning the sudden interest her boss seemed to have in her personal life.

“Ah, I see. Well, it was nice” he repeated before he would turn around to go into his office.

Notes:

welcome to me either not updating for weeks or me updating in days.
either way shows how much I lack selfcontrol.
Anyway - I hope you like it.

Chapter 4: After the fight

Chapter Text

"I'm home" Nathalie announced while, with two fully packed bags in her hands, slamming the door to the apartment shut with nothing more than her hip.

"I'm in the kitchen," replied Celine, who had just been waiting to finally see her sister again. Like a loyal dog that was waiting for its owner. Only with less anticipation of being attacked at the door before you even stepped into the apartment and more with a nice relaxed tone, as a cat would. But with a bit more care.

Nathalie quickly went down the hall to the kitchen, where she put the bags on the large work surface.
Amazed, Celine breathed out a simple "Wow .." when she saw how much had been missing in the household. "Do we need all of this?" she asked carefully.

"It should be enough for a while."

"That sounds like I'm going to eat alone again for a while."

"I am afraid you will. And don't forget to set your alarm clock." Nathalie answered before she stowed the milk and eggs in the fridge. "But in exchange, you have the honor of cooking today."

"Are you going to stay away long?" ask Celine, with a slightly tragic, almost sad expression on her face. She hated it when her sister didn't come home. But that would not change the fact that she exactly understood that sometimes it was part of her job.

"A few days. I'll write to you when I can." Nathalie rummaged impatiently in the bag, looking for something that seemed to be hidden on the floor, of all places. "Aha!" she announced happily while pulling out a bottle of lovely white wine. That was exactly what she had been looking for because that was exactly what she would need after such a day.

Celine on the other hand was still impressed to see so many ingredients now in front of her. She could make such a nice dinner with it. And maybe even Dessert.
As always, Nathalie had thought of everything. Everything would be enough to prepare a delicious Chili Con Carne.

Nathalie gently shook the wine back and forth in the glass before she took a small sip. God knows she was not a wine connoisseur, and she would never go to such a thing that would call they self a wine party, where she could taste different wines and then buy them at prices that could make people swallow. No, she preferred the good old supermarket wine, which you could take with you whenever you felt like it.

"Why weren't you at the car? That's so unusual for you." Celine began while she started to cut the onion. The question alone was enough to almost make Nathalie choke on her glass of wine. "T-That ... um ..." she started to stutter. 'Shit .. how should I explain that?'
Her sister's stuttering caught Celine's interest straight away she turned her full attention to her,
"I just mean. You emphasized it again and again. And then you weren't there. It surely would raise some eyebrows, wouldn't you agree?"

Nathalie slowly put her glass aside and looked at Celine. No excuse in the world would get her out of here. It was too unusual for her. Besides, she couldn't think of a suitable one at the moment. And Celine would have a point with it. It was unusual for her to not be there when they agreed on it. "Did you see the news?" she slowly began.

"Yes, why? What has that got to do with it?"

"The heroine who got the news today, the one in the blue dress. It was me."

Astonishment spread in the face of the teacher, while she put all her focus on every part of Nathalie's face to see just a small sign that she would be joking right now. There was no sign.
Suddenly she could no longer bear it and burst into loud laughter. "You the heroine from the news? And tomorrow the Christmas man is coming!" she called loudly while she shortly paused to gasp for air.
It took a few seconds until she had recovered and was still giggling slightly as she wiped a tear from her face "I understand that you don't want to tell me everything. But you don't have to lie to me, Nath"

"I mean it," said Nathalie, who was still almost piercing her sister with a stare. "And I can prove it if you don't believe me."





"Interesting," said a man in a smoky voice, while he looked at the television in front of him. He rested his head lightly on his hand. Judging from the big grin on his face, he seemed to like the news. "I didn't think they'd make it that public straight away .."

"What do you mean, master?" croaked a calm, uncertain voice.

"I didn't expect both of them to show up on their first day, in the new roles. Quite daring, wouldn't you agree?"

"Do you mind that they did?"

"Not at all, my little friend. Not at all," he repeated these words even slower the second time, as he would enjoy every ring to these words.

With one swing the man jumped to his legs. "We should congratulate both of them on their first appearance, don't you think?" the man grinned at his little Kwami while he wiped one of his strands from his face.

"As you wish .."

"I will send them a letter. They should know that I will follow their successes!" he announced before he turned and hurried out of the room. His long, bright green coat waved with his long black hair before he disappeared into the deep darkness of his own home.





"You are what?!" Celine screamed, this time even louder than before while she looked incredulously into the figure of Mayura, who could understand only too well that her sister was overwhelmed with all the new information.

"I told you."

"B-But that ... you .. HOW ?!"

"I don't know myself... I found this box and there was this brooch in here. And then one thing led to another"

"That .. Wow ... I'm stunned .." Celine stuttered, still incredulous. Slowly Mayura pushed her glass to her, which Celine emptied with joy in one gulp before she managed to find her language again. "Thanks," she spoke briskly before re-examining her sister's appearance. She had seldom been allowed to see her sister in dresses, which was particularly because they had never grown up together and Nathalie had never thought much of dresses because pants did just that for her. Also, she found them way more comfortable. "It suits you," Celine announced quietly.

"What?"

"The dress. It looks good on you"

"Thanks ... I didn't choose it... When I transformed, it was just there." Mayura spoke with a slight tone of charm in her voice before she transformed back, which made Duusu reappear

"That was funny!!" Duusu squeaked again with joy "We should do this more often !!"

"And .. what is that now?"

"This is Duusu" explained Nathalie "I think she is responsible for the dress"

"And what exactly is Duusu?"

"I'm a Kwami! Nice to meet you! Who are you?" Excited and curious, the little Kwami looked around at their new surroundings. It seemed to Nathalie like a loose bundle of energy, which was probably impossible to stop. But she found it enchanted how Duusu's small eyes shone with everything she saw or whenever she spoke.

"What .. is a kwami?" Celine asked cautiously while she fixed her gaze on Nathalie, who looked just as loose as she was.

Whereupon Duusu committed to explaining. "Kwamis are magical beings. We always come in a bundle with a Miraculous that gives our owner special powers. Yours are those of the peacock that allow you to create Sentimonsters", Duusu announced when she turned to Nathalie.

"Sentimonsters?" she asked curiously what Duusu confirmed with a nod

"Beings that can be created from emotions. All you need is a feather from your fan and an object in which you put this feather. And then you can start!"

"That sounds complicated ..."

"It's very easy!"

Now it was Celine who handed her sister a glass of wine to swallow, while she didn't dare take her eyes off the little Kwami. "She's so cute ..." she stammered softly. "

"And turned up. I have to hide her in the box."

"I can hide outside the box too!"

"Yeah, why don't you let her fly around a little?"

"What if someone sees her? It's hard enough to explain that to you. And nobody else should find out about her .."

"But it's so dark in the box. I would much rather be out here. It's been ages since I was allowed to see the world. Oh please !! I'm good too! I will behave!"

"But-"
Celine reached out carefully to pat her sister on the back. "Don't be so heartless Nath, show us that you have one!"

".. Are you ever going to stop picking on my last name?"

"Sure! When you finally marry your crush," Celine said with a big grin before she giggled a little.

"... Fine, she can stay outside ... for now anyway."

"Yay !!" Duusu exclaimed happily before setting out to explore the apartment. There was so much to explore, so many corners to find and so many places to use as an opportunity to sleep. It was going to be a wonderful evening for her!

Chapter 5: Truth

Chapter Text

The days passed in Paris, while the sun rose and set again. And as time passed, Nathalie managed to get used to her new unwanted role as Mayura. Which each passing day, and with that new Akuma attack, she got more and more control over her new powers.
In addition to her activities as Gabriel's very personal assistant and the organization of the big event, she was now also allowed to deal with the machinations of this Hawkmoth. She had also realized that her powers weren't that different from those of Hawkmoth. His powers also had to do with emotions, but he did not need objects but people which he then, as he called it, Akumatised. It happened, however, that as soon as Mayura had succeeded in breaking the akumatization, the corresponding person, unfortunately, could not remember anything, which did not help her to get closer to the secret behind the man with the mask.

Not that she had a lot of time to figure to take care of that in the first place.

The deadline was getting closer than she liked, overtime was appropriate and the only "free time" she had was when her boss shooed her out of the room for reasons unknown to her. "I have an artistic inspiration and have to be alone!" he always called while he pushed her out of the room. Literally.

 

"I just don't get it .." Nathalie explained as she leaned on Celine's desk. "He never had anything like that before .."

With a low smile and a quick shrug, Celine put the last of her documents aside before turning to her sister. "Does it bring anything?"

"Whenever I'm back, he has another design ready."

"Then why are you complaining?"

"It's just strange ..". Gabriel's new behavior was really no reason to complain about it, especially since Nathalie would soon have her regular everyday life back, but something was just bothering her. But it was always possible for her and Duusu's strength to spend at least a little time with her sister.

"At least you can allow yourself a snack or two!" Duusu giggled, as usual, she was in a good mood, from Nathalie's jacket pocket. Slowly she stuck her little head out to greet Celine, who responded with a small wink.

"By the way, this arrived for you today," said Celine before handing Nathalie an exotic-looking letter. It was about to be sealed with a strange red wax seal. Something that nobody did anymore today.
Nathalie took the letter curiously and opened it to read the following letters.

"My dearest peacock,
I have to admit, that your accomplishments impress me. You have to be a natural talent ~
I hope you will be able to avert worse damage in the future too.
And who knows
You might even find a new Miraculous or two.
Goodbye my love ~ "

Amazed by these words, Celine breathed a simple "wow". At the sight of her sister changing her expression from curious to disgusted, she couldn't help but look over her shoulder to see what might have caused it. "Who is the writer?"

"I have no idea and don't even want to know," announced Nathalie just annoyed while she crumpled the letter in her hands.



 

Hawkmoth stood tense alone in his attic, which now served him as a secret hiding place. Unlike Mayura, he had to use live butterflies for his powers, which he now hides in this hidden place. I mean he couldn't walk around like a madman with a net every time he felt a negative emotion that he could use trying desperately to catch a butterfly. Something like that would only attract attention.
The source of his tension was a feeling. A powerful one. Someone in Paris seemed to have lost their heart to love.

He could feel the pain of the person who must have experienced the partner's having an affair. Such a terrible pain. Hawkmoth could only Imagen how much pain the person must feel.
But it ran down his spine at the thought of taking advantage of this. Without a doubt, it would be the strongest victim so far, if only because of the intensity of the feeling. But it would probably also be impossible for him to be able to maintain control in any way. Or would he? Should he dare to take this opportunity?

Slowly he opened his eyes and looked out the window into the distance. Without a doubt, it would be a chance to see how strong his powers were. And such an opportunity would probably not come again anytime soon.
Carefully he reached for his Miraculous what his wife called into his mind. "Emilie .." he whispered, "I'm only doing it for you .."





"Are you sure you can't stay a bit longer? You can eat with me in the cafeteria," said Celine as she accompanied her sister out of the school building.

"I really should go back. Gabriel could soon be finished with his 'creative' impulse"

"You work too much .." Celine said only softly before both women listened to the loud clutter. Both immediately turned in the direction from which the sound was coming. On the horizon, they could see the figure of a person who was Akumatized. What was striking was how the person was designed. She wore a pitch-black suit on whose many broken hearts were scattered like dots. What finished the look was the long black staff the person was holding. No normal person would go around like that.

"Oh come on .." Nathalie swore softly before she grabbed Celine's hand and pulled her behind her. "Come, quickly!" she called.

Celine stumbled after her uncertainly "Who is that?"

"Hawkmoth's newest victim. You are no longer safe here!" Nathalie called before pulling Celine into a dark alley behind her. A glance to the left and right assured her that no one would see them. "Duusu spread my feathers!"

"Wait here!" Mayura ordered her sister before she jumped over the wall in a zigzag pattern on the roofs of Paris, quickly to her new destination.




"There she comes!!" Hawkmoth exclaimed excitedly when he could feel Mayura's emotions. The great anger she was feeling right now. "Truth, my wonderful creation. Get ready! The Win is as good as yours. Destroy her and bring me her Miraculous!"

"Yes, Hawkmoth," Truth announced before he picked up his weapon, a huge staff that he must have bought at the Alice in Wonderland sale. Or so it at least looked.'

Quickly and directly he started firing small arrows in the shape of a heart at Mayura, which she could only avoid sharply and forced her to stand still for a moment.






Without a doubt, Mayura could feel how strong her opponent was. Her Miraculous was always designed to be able to feel people's emotions. It wasn't going to be easy.
Purposefully, she clutched the fan in her hand and launched her attack on her opponent. She was quick, her strokes precise, but Truth's agility troubled her. She always had to avoid any attack. She was not allowed to be hit.

But she couldn't stay at a distance either. With one swing she opened her fan to grab a single feather which she immediately put into one of the objects that she always carried with her since she knew about Duusus Power. Her feelings would be sufficient as a source of energy.

This time she opted for a butterfly with a horn at the end of its body, which it should use as a weapon while it could also be used as a shield. Truth's powers would be ineffective against a sentimonster. Now Truth would have to take on two opponents.
With a sure grin, she started another attack, this time she concentrated on her opponent's staff while the Sentimonster provided support. She could land a few quick attacks before she had to hide behind her Sentimonster. And as she did, for a short moment, she could see a shimmering purple mask on Hawkmoth's face. Could Hawkmoth be able to communicate with his victims? Would that be the reason they would get stronger every time?
Distracted by this question, Mayura made a mistake. Truth grabbed her and managed to pull her by the dress to push her to the floor with all his strength.

"Arg ..!" Mayura shouted before her bottom meet the roof under her. Scared she looked into the flash of the staff which was now pointed at her. Without thinking about it for long, Mayura grabbed the staff in front of her eyes and snatched it from Truth's hands to throw it off the roof just before the Butterfly could even attack to help her.

Truth clenched his teeth now anger spread across his face. aggressive, he grabbed Mayura by the collar and threw her a couple of feet further with full force, as he would meet with a wall, far behind where she stand just seconds ago. Before the sheer force kicked in and pounded her from the roof back onto the floor which he now lay down.

"Ouch ..." Mayura cursed softly while slowly getting up again. The Miraculous is there to take the wearer's damage, but even that would not completely absorb the pain one would endure after such an attack.

"Are you all right?!" exclaimed Celine carefully. 'Why can't she listen to me? Just once?' thought Mayura.

"What are you doing here?" Mayura hissed at her sister.

"I .." Celine stuttered before she could say anything, Truth had already followed them.

"He's fast .." It shot through her head before she jumped to her feet and unceremoniously took Celine in her arms to flee from Truth, carrying her bridal style.

"I told you to hide!"

"But I wanted to help you ..." she stuttered softly

"How are you going to help me when I have to protect you ?!" Mayura hissed at her, a little too loudly than she wanted.

"I.. just- WATCH OUT!" Celine called quickly but it was too late. A red arrow had caught Mayura forcing her to stop for a moment.

She gritted her teeth, but she could already hear Truth's voice in her head.

"Show me what you're so desperately trying to hide," the voice whispered.

"Why did she get everything I always wanted?" a voice rang out. It sounded like Truth and Nathalie were talking together, "I was born first. Why was I never enough for mother?" the voice continued.

"Stop it ..." Mayura pleaded but Truth didn't even think about it.

"Then why did she get me at all? Just to give me away? To deny me. To forget me?"

"Please .." Mayura pleaded again

"I hate her for that! Everything was always put in her lap! Since she was little. She had everything one could have. The perfect family, father, and mother, and everyone were happy. What about me? Why had I lost everything? What does she have that I don't have? What made her have the right to have the life, that I could never have?"

"Nath ..." Celine whispered, barely audible. She could hear everything. If she liked it or not.

"It is enough!" Mayura shouted before setting Celine down and turning to Truth. "You're telling bullshit without a hitch!" Mayura announced before she rushed towards him and grabbed his arms to hold them tight.

"Bullshit?" Truth laughed now "These are your inner thoughts! What you don't want to let anyone know"

"Nonsense! These are nothing but lies. I don't hate anyone, and not her!" With a quick kick in the pit of the stomach released by her knee, Mayura now made Truth rattle. "And anyway," she continued while she took another blow, "What do you allow yourself to look around in MY head of all the people!"

Truth stopped several steps backward. He had underestimated this woman's anger, as had Hawkmoth, who was also speechless. He wasn't even sure why. Was it the words he overheard, or was it Mayura's strength? He didn't even dare to make contact with his victim again.

Mayura glared at Truth. “You should not look into my mind. Because now I am pissed!” she said before grapping Truth and with a punch make him meet the ground under him.

Before he could even think about what to do, she grabbed his staff and threw it on the ground with full force, whereupon this broke and a dark shimmering butterfly crawled out of it.
With a few flaps of his wings, the little creature changed colors again, going from a mysterious dark purple to a shimmering light white again and the akumatization stopped.

"May-" Celine wanted to start but Mayura stopped her by stretching out her arm. "Take care of the man. I have to go." She announced before she jumped from the ground onto the nearest roof and disappeared.
Celine could feel her heart starting to hurt in her chest. She had always feared that her sister would hate her for getting what she always wanted. Has this fear now really become reality? Was it her fault? Should it always be this way?

"What ..." the man mumbled softly, who was now slowly recovering.

Celine approached the man cautiously and held out a hand to help him. "It's okay sir. You have been akumatized. But now everything is okay again." she said while bringing up all her strength to give the man a soft smile.

Chapter 6: Before another storm

Chapter Text

Angry and with quick, powerful kicks, Mayura scurried across the roofs, far away from the scene in which she was just now.
Why did it have to be an Akuma of all the things that could have happened today, who had to have the ability to bring secrets to light? And why on earth did Celine have chosen today not to listen to her? However - when did she ever really have that in the first place?

A quick short misstep on her part brought Mayura to stumble before she could slowly catch herself but was forced to a sudden standstill.
She looked at the floor under her in awe while reaching for her Miraculous with one hand. 'Stupid thing!' she started to curse in her head 'This is all your fault !!' she continued before she jerked it and tore it from her body. Furious as she turned back from Mayura to Nathalie, she was ready to smack it onto the floor below her. Only the sight of Duusu could stop her at the last moment as she quickly flew to her hand to hold it with her little hands.

"Miss Nathalie ..." Duusu whispered while she gave her owner a concerned look. Nathalie couldn't figure out the being. How did she manage to be so excited and then so sensitive in the next moment?

"It's okay," she said before slowly straightening up again and putting the Miraculous in its place. "I am okay"

"Really?..."

"Let's go back. Duusu spread my feathers."




"What are you going to do now, master?" Nooro asked cautiously, while he flew slightly around Gabriel, who was already making quick steps back to his study.

"What should I do, Nooro? My Akuma has been defeated. What else can I do now?” he asked before making a small pause until he continued. “Nothing. I have is to continue to work," he added before he opened the door to his large entrance hall.

The air feel thick thanks to Gabriels displayed of such a gloomy mood. Fortunately, it was at this time of the day that he was alone in the mansion. So no one else was present who would listen to him. However there also was no one else he could talk to regarding his Villian life.
Normally, Nathalie was supposed to be with him, but he had successfully chased her out of his mansion as he could feel some negative emotion that demanded his attention. Soon, he thought, he would have to come up with new excuses to be alone. "Now all I'm going to do is create a new design like I do after every Akuma" Gabriel slowly whispered as he moved forwards.

"I don't mean that master .."

"What do you mean then?"

"Well," Nooro began carefully while he stood exactly in Gabriel's field of vision. "If you allow me, won't you be curious about what your Akuma had to say to Mayura?"
Curious about these words, Gabriel suddenly stopped again to take a closer look at his little comrade ".. continue"

"My view may have been clouded by that of the Miraculous, since I had to lend you my powers, but I think I caught Mayura for a brief moment while she looked over at the woman who was with her on the roof. It was, however not a normal look if you ask me. Mayura seemed to me really worried about her. But why should she have done this?"

"No reasons, unless .." added Gabriel as he connected the things in his mind "She would know her .."

Nooro nodded happily to him. "If you want to find out more about Mayura, this could be a clue."

A sudden big grin came over Gabriel "You might have noticed something very important Nooro ..." he said before opening his jacket pocket. "Come on. We have to forge a plan."

 

Nathalie carefully opened the door to the office "Sir?" she asked cautiously "May I come back in?"

"Ah Nathalie!" Gabriel greeted her, in happy upbeat voice as he already was beaming with joy. Something that Nathalie thought was more than just strange "You have the perfect timing, come here"
'Did he do any drugs? Alcohol? What put him in such a mood?' Nathalie thought: 'He's rarely in such a good mood. It is so strange'.

Nathalie slowly closed the door behind her before she went to Gabriel's workplace. She could feel how he was watching every step she took, which made her feel queasy in the stomach area. Gabriel quickly took a few steps to the side so that Nathalie could stand next to him to look at his screen.

"How do you find it?" he asked her excitedly

".. extraordinary?"

"a little more precisely, Nathalie." he said in a soft commanding voice which made Nathalie turn her head to just look at him questioningly

"Sir .. what exactly would you like to hear from me?"

"Gabriel."

"What?"

"Gabriel. Not sir. I don't ask my assistant for advice, I want to know your opinion as Nathalie."

Nathalie couldn't help but blink a few times before she looked back at the screen. She was now studying every little detail of the picture in front of her. But she couldn't shake the feeling of having seen the design somewhere in a different form.

"It seemes to be.." she began slowly "that you put a lot of work into it. You can clearly see that it is one of your works. In my eyes it will look good on the corresponding model." Encouraged by these words, Nathalie could see how a proud smile formed on his face while he was, as quickly as he was, slowly pushing towards her to get his documents.

"I'll show you one more thing," he said while he just pressed his shoulder onto Nathalie's. The smell of his perfume rose slowly but surely could me smelled. Nathalie couldn't help herself but to take a deep breath. They would be rearly that close.
Also it just smelled too good. For a short moment she could also feel Duusu's gaze as she was watching the two of them out of her jacket pocket.
Nathalie followed the gaze of Gabriel's finger tense as he brushed the screen and called up another already completely finished design.

"I'm particularly proud of this. What do you think?"

"Interesting" said Nathalie only quickly in the hope that this might tempt him to distance himself a little. He didn't.

Instead Gabriel raised an eyebrow while looking at Nathalie. Something she couldn't answer. "Just interesting?"

"Sir - all of your designs are wonderful and I'm sure people will like them." 'please just let me go back to my desk now' "But if you'll excuse me now," Nathalie said before a detail caught her eye.

A woman's down in a blue robe stood there in the corner of the screen. As it would serve as his inspiration. ".. Is - is that Mayura?" she now asked sincerely while turning her head to Gabriel. What separated their heads only a few meters from each other.

Startled by this question, Gabriel turned his head to the side. "It's just a coincidence." he added quickly. Slightly grumpy. It was true, he had based this design on Mayura after their first meeting. After it he had the first idea for a new design, which resulted in him getting all his motivations from his akumas and her, all tho he wasn't happy about this fact.

Nathalie while he watched her boss turn, a cold shiver ran down her spine. Did her boss just fall in love with her alterego? With a slightly dark expression, she turned to her desk. "I should get back to my job." her words were as sharp as the pencil on her desk.

"Are you jealous, Nathalie?"

"Excuse you?" she hissed at Gabriel as she turned to face him. "Why should I be jealous of a heroine I don't even know?"

Gabriel carefully raised his hands in front of his chest. "I just wanted to ask."

"Nonsense. I am as calm then ever. If you will excuse me now, I have emails that require my attention!"

And with that, Nathalie turned and stomped over to her desk. Her thoughts still revolved around the question of whether her boss really had a crush on her second half, and how much that bothered her. 'But why should he be interested in me in the first place?...' it finally shot through her head, which finally made her immerse herself fully in her work.


So the hours passed in which both were absorbed in their work.
Before they knew it, a new day had dawned. Even if it was the dead of the night.

"Phu ..." Nathalie said softly while leaning back in her chair. She brushed away a few streaks of hair from her face, which had escaped from her braid during the course of the night.

"That was the last .." Gabriel also spoke softly. His hair was also completely disheveled and he no longer wore his otherwise elegant design, just his tie and shirt. "It's gotten late .." he stated with a quick glance at the clock.

Actually. It was already 2 a.m. His gaze wandered to Nathalie who also noticed with a look at the clock how quickly the time had passed.

Despite the fact that her otherwise formal look was affected by the individual strands of hair, she was still a really attractive woman.
Nathalie didn't noticed the look her boss gave her. Annoyed, she now looked at her cell phone. She had way too many messages and no interested in answering any of them.
She quickly got up from her table and grabbed her bag. "I should be really go home .."

"You can stay here," said Gabriel, "It's late and we have a guest room after all."

Nathalie now blinked carefully at her boss. It was the first time he had made her this offer. And it sounded way too tempting for her to turn down. Because she was really exhausted. "Gladly .." she mumbled softly'

"You know where the room is. Make yourself comfortable there. And Nathalie?"

"Yes, sir?"

"Do me a favor and take the next few days off."

"But-"

"No buts. You already have too much overtime anyway."

".. Then .. I'll probably go home for a few days after getting up tomorrow."

"Do that. I don't want to see you before Monday!" announced Gabriel with a smile on his lips.

"Roger that." Nathalie replies with a smile, "Good night then, sir"

"Good night, Nathalie. Sleep well."

Chapter 7: Goldeneye (part 1)

Notes:

PlusPlus may not have given us a new episode today. So I took it upon myself to at least post today.
Part 2 will hopefully follow soon.

Chapter Text

One of the first memories Nathalie had was the one in which she sat in the loving arms of her father and listened to what he was telling her. He would then always sit in his beloved emerald-colored armchair. On the small wooden table next to them, 2 cups of tea would always be placed, which neither of the two paid much attention to. Sometimes both of them would sit there and just talk, other times he would hold a book and tell Nathalie another story from it as he could watch her eyes light up with the more he would read. And in Nathalie's favorite moments he would wrap his hands around her and sing a song to her. It was an English song the meaning of which Nathalie could only find out many years later, but at that time back then, she hadn't bothered her at all to not fully understand it. She would listen curiously to the sounds of her father while he gave her this audition. After all, she could sing it with him. A single part at least. And that whenever he would sing “Let it be”

Melanchonically moved by this memory, Nathalie now reached for the picture that was placed in the drawer. It was a picture that the good old days had forever trapped in this one, but for Nathalie, it mostly was nothing more but bad memories that aroused her. Except for today.

Nathalie smiled sadly at the man in the picture. "Happy birthday, Dad" she breathed out softly before kissing him and putting him back in his place. The silver ring, the only souvenir, and heirloom that Nathalie owned from her father sparkled for a brief moment as the few rays of sunshine hit him through the large window.

It had been some time in Paris since Hawkmoth launched another attack with Truth. The strange thing was that he hadn't dared to try again since then. Nathalie knew it would only be a matter of time before this would change. But she would think of it when the time came. She had other worries right now. She continued to avoid her sister whenever she could, so as not to be confronted with an unpleasant truth and a conversation. 'I'm childish ...' it always shot through her head. But not today.
Carefully she took the bouquet that she had previously gotten from her table and walked to the door. One last time she turned Nathalie to her dresser to catch a glimpse of the picture before she left the room.




The bus ride that Nathalie made was long and difficult for her. Not least because everyone, who considers themselves interested in fashion, was knowing her face and this fact made her feel like people were just staring at her. The downsides that resulted from working for a well-known and famous fashion designer like Gabriel Agreste. For Nathalie, this was reason enough to prefer a car over public transport. But today was one of those rare days when she preferred to take the bus to the nearest cemetery like someone normal, while she skilfully ignored some of the looks that were thrown at her. 'the red streak maybe was a bad idea after all she thought while fixing her gaze out of the window.

The job had taught her to keep a cool head and not show her feelings openly, a skill that also helped her in such situations.
What bothered her, however, was the intrusive look of the little kwami in her coat pocket, which betrayed just by looking at what burned the being to the soul.
Nathalie was at least grateful that Duusu managed to hold back so far that no one could notice her. She didn't have a not exactly inconspicuous color scheme. And Nathalie wasn't sure she could talk her way out of it when someone would see Duusu in a way that people would believe her.

She hastily glanced out the window before pressing the button to stop the bus to leave it at the next stop. Quickly she made her way out of the crowd and with a last look over the shoulder she confirmed that she could now continue her way undisturbed. "What do you want, Duusu?" she asked her little comrade who then crept a little further into her pocket. "Nothing .." Duusu mumbled quickly, which made Nathalie sigh. "You have been looking at me since we left the house. What's troubling you?" she repeated her question in other words, hoping to get an answer now.

"I .. well," Duusu stuttered quietly before fixing her gaze on Nathalie. "A-are you okay?" she asked cautiously.

"Why shouldn't I be fine?"

"Well ... you've been avoiding Miss Celine for days." before she paused briefly and directed her little arms towards the bouquet of white lilies in Nathalie's hand "And these flowers ... I don't know what it's like to lose someone to death but .. doesn't that always make you people sad?"

A slight smile formed on Nathalie's face as she glanced at Duusu before turning to a corner. "Death isn't always a bad thing. It's sad to lose someone you like, but in some cases, it's the better option. And it is now an inevitable fact that will come to every living being. "

"Better option?"

"Assume that one of your Kwami friends would suffer from an illness. You cannot cure it, only alleviate the symptoms from which your friend is suffering. Death would save him from it because this is not cruel but peaceful."
Amazed and with big eyes, Duusu looked up at her "But .. Kwamis don't die .."

"It's a hypothetical situation. The death of my father is something I have to live with"

"But .. what about Celine?"

"That's just a small difference of opinions" Nathalie mumbled in a tone as if she had to convince herself that would be the reason why she avoided her sister.

"But how can you have different opinions if you're not talking at all?"

"It's ... just complicated .." Nathalie mumbled one more time as she ruffled her hair before turning a corner into the cemetery "Can you give me a moment?"

"Sure" confirmed Duusu before she disappeared deeper into Nathalie's jacket pocket.





Under the watchful eye of his kwami, Gabriel brushed hastily from one end of the room to the other. He was constantly followed by the feeling that made his Miraculous shine. Thank god he was alone.
He hurriedly walked along the room in a constant hurry, paused for a second, and stared at the floor below. Now and then you could even see a vein pulsing in his temples for a brief moment. He was torn between his feelings at that moment. He hastily ran his finger through his hair before turning around and making his way back.

Nooro himself couldn't help but watch him do it. He did not understand why his master was so tormented.

"Master?"

"It's risky .." Gabriel mumbled while running his fingertips over his nose "But it would be perfect .. but then again ..."

Nooro couldn't help but just shake his little head. "Master?" he tried to get through to Gabriel again. This time without success because Gabriel fell silent again. He had reached his destination one more time at the end of the room making him get lost in his thoughts. The large black wall which was now right in front of him blocked everything from going any further. Gabriel stared through it with a glazed look while his hand found its way into his mouth. At least his fingertips.

"Master!!!" Nooro shouted loudly and clearly, which now made Gabriel look up and take notice

"What is it Nooro?"

"Why are you tormenting yourselves so?" the kwami asked.

"Because it is a difficult decision whether I should akumatize someone so close to me," Gabriel explained to him in a sharp tone.

"But she won't be able to remember it anyway, master."

The sharp, determined gaze of Gabriel brought his comrade to silence again. He was right. She wouldn't be able to remember it. Gabriel, however, would never be able to forget that. But Mayura would save her, right? And Nathalie could help him find out who would be behind the mask. It would all just serve a bigger purpose. Right?
Quickly spurred on by this courage, Gabriel turned to the door. He would take the chance, put his insecurities in their place, and seize this opportunity.
It was always just part of his plan. Right?





Nathalie carefully knelt on the floor in front of her father's tombstone. Her gaze fell on the stone, which had already been taken with the weather and nature, in which the name was engraved. She wasn't here often, actually only when her time allowed it, and that was rarely the case.

"Hello, Dad", Nathalie greeted the stone in front of her while she was looking for a suitable place for the vase to place on the floor. "I'm sorry that I haven't been here for so long. You .. you know how the job is .."

Nathalie could feel Duusu's gaze on her again, this time less urgent, more questioning, or more interested in what she was doing. She was convinced that little Kwami probably wouldn't understand any of this. It was almost embarrassing to sit here like that being watched by her. It was the first time that this happened after all.

Nathalie grabbed a few withered leaves that had made it to the grave through the wind to slowly brush them away to place the vase finally in a spot.
Now she fixed her gaze uncertainly on the edge of the grave. The longer she looked at it, the more it occurred to her what to worry about. The grave was not in the best condition, which was mainly because Nathalie only visited it on birthdays or the day of death.

"I still work for that fashion designer," Nathalie continued, "I don't know if you would like him. But the pay is good. We could have gone on vacation so often ..." Nathalie breathed out the last words without paying much attention to how she emphasized this.

"We could have got ourselves a better house .."

"Miss Nathalie ..." Duusu mumbled softly, which brought Nathalie's attention

"It's okay. I'm okay," she assured her little friend. What Duusu, however, considered implausible.

"Why could you never go on vacation?" she asked, unsure if she was even allowed to do that.

"We didn't have much. He had an easy job, there wasn't much money for it," she told her before her mind darkened. "And then ..." she breathed out until she fell silent again. Her gaze led straight past Duusu back to a year in which everything was different.
Nathalie was able to remind her of the smell of the wood, which she always greeted as soon as she opened the door of the shop. How her father stood at the counter and turned to her and smiled at her. She would run into his arms beaming with joy, accompanied by a few turns in the air in which she couldn't help but laugh.

Nathalie didn't notice a creature approaching her. With a sure constant flap of wings.

"- is Nathalie !!" She heard Duusu screeching before a purple mask appeared in front of her eyes and clouded her view of everything else.

"Hello, my dear" greeted the harsh, dark voice of Hawkmoth. He almost sounded pleased to see her again. Even if he wasn't aware that the two had met before.
Nathalie hastily clung to her head with both hands, held her tightly and screwed up her eyes tightly, shook her head back and forth. She heard her breathing quicken.

"I'm sorry to have to burden you on such a beautiful day, Goldeneye," Hawkmoth continued.

"I ... am .. not Goldeneye .." breathed out Nathalie while she was still trying to get rid of him. She could feel the feelings boiling deep inside her as if the Miraculous Hawkmoths were already provoking them. She tried to find the object into which the Akuma disappeared. She couldn't find it.

"Oh no, my dear. Stop resisting. It will make everything so much easier"

"Do not listen to him!" screeched Duusu who came flying out of her pocket and clung to her arm "You can fight it!"

With gritted teeth, Nathalie gathered her strength one more time so as not to be tempted.
"Leave me alone.."

"Oh? But I have such a nice offer for you. Just listen to it"

"N-No …"

"I can feel something tormenting you. You are angry, angry at yourself and the person in your life. Yes, even those who are closest to you. Wouldn't it be wonderful to give these feelings an outlet?"

"I do not want... that"

"Listen to me, and I will give you the powers that make it impossible to hide secrets from you. With this, you could also find out whether your feelings are not reciprocated after all ~"

Suddenly Nathalie opened her eyes and stared into the astonished face of her kwami. How did he know? How did he know about the feelings she was trying to bury so deeply?
Duusu could watch Nathalie's face lose all color, while Nathalie could hear Hawkmoth grinning "You don't think you can hide feelings from me? From me, silly? - It must torment you so incredibly. The city of love and then your Heart hurts for this very reason. What an idiot this person has to be to make you suffer like that.

"Idiot .. that hits it .." shot Nathalie through the head while she formed a sad smile and her hands slowly sank to the floor.

".. No!!" Duusu screamed again

"That's right," said Hawkmoth triumphantly. "Surrender to your feelings. I'll help you and you will help me. How about that? How does it look, do we have a deal?"

Filled with fear, the little Kwami shook Nathalie's sleeve. In vain, "You mustn't listen to him !!" she screamed once again before Nathalie hold her back. "I'm sorry ..." She said softly before holding the brooch out to Duusu. "I can't ..." she added before giving her little friend one last look while the purple mass devoured her.

"... No ... Miss Nathalie !!!!!"

Chapter 8: Goldeneye ( part 2 )

Chapter Text

Nathalie carefully looked over her hand which she held in front of her face. Her body felt so different, lighter, and yet stronger. It was completely different from when she transformed into Mayura. Her strength this time did not come from a Miraculous, but herself, from the feelings that plagued her. Now they served her as her greatest driving force.
Quite different from when she borrowed Duusu's powers.

"How do you like it, my dear?" Hawkmoth's voice rang out while a shimmering purple mask reappeared in front of her face.
Nathalie didn't answer. , she lowered her head to the place where Duusu was recent. Little Kwami must have run away and disappeared because Nathalie couldn't see her anywhere.

"If I could make a suggestion," Hawkmoth made another attempt to get an answer from his latest creation. "You could take revenge on the people that hurt you. You might even find a Miraculous on the way."

The woman slowly raised her gaze again and looked directly into the mask in front of her face. "You are very interested in my life. Is there a reason for that?" she said with a slight grin on her lips. Where did this sudden self-confidence come from? Otherwise, she would do anything to not let anyone share her feelings. So what changed that she would do it now? Was it because it was impossible to hide them in front of Hawkmoth? Or was it just because of her new shape?

"I'm just giving you a starting point. It is up to you what you want to do now, as long as you bring me the Miraculous of the peacock." For a brief moment, Nathalie could hear the sound of grinding teeth before Hawkmoth continued, "From this annoying woman" he added, which made Nathalie grin even more.

"What if she doesn't show up?"

"She always shows up .. and she always gets in my way."

"You really don't seem to like her."

"Enough about her!" announced Hawkmoth with a sharp, annoyed tone before he let the mask disappear and with it the communication for now.

Nathalie liked the idea of how he should have an annoyed, strained look just now. Maybe she was wrong. Maybe she did not like her other self. And of all the things in the world, she definitely didn't want Hawkmoth to like her. Neither as Mayura nor as Nathalie.
Slowly she turned away from her father's tombstone, over to one of the rows of houses in Paris, onto whose roof she jumped and went into the distance. She had not yet made up her mind with which of her feelings and the corresponding person she would deal with first. But she was sure that, of all the places, in the cemetery she would certainly not be able to make up her mind at all.





Panting and with an impressive speed, Duusu raced over the roofs, away from the cemetery where she had to watch her own owner become akumatized.
Little silver tears shimmered in her eyes, which were blown in the wind over her little cheeks. She had her Miraculous, the peacock's brooch, clutched tightly in her arms.
What should she do now? Who should she entrust this Miraculous to?

Logically, there was only one answer to both of these questions, but she was uncertain even with this one. What should she choose to do?
Celine knew about her, had the powers that Mayura had already experienced herself, but was she suitable for this mission?
But what other choice did Duusu have in this situation. She couldn't just entrust this great responsibility to someone complete stranger.

Duusu quickly looked around to the back once again. Goldeneye didn't seem to be chasing her, so she escaped the situation. But it still hurt to see something like that.
The feeling of helplessness spread throughout the little being.
Of course she had noticed how something must have worried Nathalie in the past few days. But she didn't know that there were so many things. However, she tried to talk to her, to help her to have an open ear for her. But she probably lacked the right skills for precisely this when she was unfortunately only a Kwami and not a person.

"Miss Nathalie ..." she sighed softly before she added before she flew even faster.




Celine carefully folded the pile of papers in the palm of her hands by hitting them softly on the table in front of her. They were the last sheets of tasks that her class would receive as exercises before the upcoming exam.
Confident in the knowledge of her class, she smiled to herself before laying the papers to one side. She had always been proud of the fact that the students in her class will pass this exam as well. She was never really worried. She believed in them and in her skills to teach them.

Relaxed, she leaned back in her chair, ready to eat the cheese sandwich in front of her, when a bang on the window made her startle.
Immediately she could see Duusu, who had made it through the window, but not the brooch she was holding.
Completely dissolved and out of breath, little Kwami first looked at the Miraculous, who was swaying back and forth on the window ledge, and then at Celine.

"Duusu? .." the woman asked the little creature while she swayed to her feet and came to the window. Thank goodness she was currently alone in the teachers room so that nobody could disturb them.

"I-It .... well .... w-what ..." Dusuu gasped while watching Celine as she opened the window to fished the Miraculous in her hand from the ledge.

"Take a deep breath," ordered Celine while grabing the brooch and stand up straight again. After she gently took Duusu in her hands to carry her to her table and hold out a spoon of her coffee which the kwami devoured directly. It took two more before the kwami had calmed down enough to be able to speak again.

"Miss Nathalie ... she ... she has been akumatized!"

"Nathalie? Akumatized?"

The Kwami quickly nodded and pointed to the Miraculous. "I didn't know where else to go ... you have to save her!"
Duusu shyly raised her head to look into Celine's soft green eyes. "Please ..." she added in a soft, broken tone.

Celine gently stroked the kwami's little cheek with her thumb before looking to the Miraculous in her hand.

"Do not worry." she said confidently. "This is nothing we can't fix."






Goldeneye had settled steadfastly on one of the rooftops of Paris. Her gaze was directed to the distance, which led to the assumption that she still had not decided what she wanted to do with her strength. Maybe she didn't want to decide either. Maybe she just wanted to wait.
The golden-colored shawl that Hawkmoth had given together with the powers was blowing in the wind around her neck in the opposite direction. Hawkmoth had decided to give her a pitch black full body suit with gold decorations that shimmered in the sunlight as it reflected the light. She herself found the outfit not uncomfortable but daring, something she would never wear.
Again the shimmering purple mask appeared in front of her eye and she could hear Hawkmoth's voice.

"Have you already decided?"

"Would I stand here then?"

"Well - if you want a recommendation. Start with the heartbreaker"

"Then you would know who it is," breathed Goldeneye with a sneering smile on her lips before crossing her arms in front of her chest. "And I have a feeling you'd use that against me more than once."

"Ohh," she heard Hawkmoth breath, "I thought we were a team. I would always give you your powers, when you feel like it."

"That doesn't mean I have to share my secret with you."

"Nathalie!" Suddenly she heard someone calling. She quickly looked behind her shoulder only to look into the eyes of a heroine who had borrowed Duusu's powers. She had decided on a significantly different outfit than she had chosen.
In addition to her noticeably shining orange hair, she had two feathers as a decoration in her hair. Her mint green eyes couldn't be hidden by the blue mask on her face while they eyed Goldeneye conspicuously. The outfit was completed with a dress in a peacock pattern which was opened on the sides down on one side and was decorated with blue feathers on the neck and arms.
A slight grin formed on Goldeneye's lips as she looked at the heroine. She was amazed at the outfit she had created.

"Work is calling," she announced to Hawkmoth before he could even complain, "Mayura is here." she said before slowly turning completely around to face the heroine.
Celine returned the look that Nathalie gave her before she dared a slight step forward.

"This .. this is nuts, Nath. You are not a villain. You are a heroine."

"I've never been the hero in any story. Not mine, not yours. Never."

"You know how I always looked up to you! You where my hero!" she called over to her as she grabbed Goldeneye's arms. So tight, you could feel her nails almost cutting their way into the flesh. "This can be over quickly! Please Nath!" Celine pleaded with her sisters.

Goldeneye carefully grabbed the heroine's hands to slip them off her shoulders. "You're right" she said before looking deep into hers with her golden eyes. "This will be over quickly"

Faster than Celine could realize, Goldeneye wrapped her arm around her and flung her onto the floor with a precise grip over her shoulder. "You have no idea how I feel! What's going on inside of me! You don't know anything!"
She hastily pulled out another blow. Celine knew how to ward that off. She quickly grabbed the hand and held it tight.

"Then explain it to me!" she shouted back now "You always keep everything to yourself! Don't you actually notice how I'm trying to get through to you ?!"

With a firm grip she now also clasped Nathalie's other arm to push both of them away while she straightened up "You always keep everything to yourself! Still think that you have to take care of everything by yourself! When will you finally learn that I am there for you ? Nath! "

"Tze .." hissed Goldeneye as she pushed against her opponent with all her strength. Unfortunately, this seemed to have the upper hand. Her strength seemed to be beyond hers.

"Why do you think you could understand me at all? You with your perfect résumé! Mama's little darling! How are you supposed to understand how it is to be an outcast! I was there before you! And I was never good enough for mother! She gave me away.

Happily. And then fate takes away the last people to whom I was important. How can you understand that? Or understand me ?! " she hissed at her sister, furious. "Tell me!"

"You're right. I have no idea what it's like to be in your shoes! But that doesn't mean that I can't understand you. Finally learn that you are no longer alone!" Celine yelled at her sister before she let go of her hands with a strong jerk and threw them to the ground. She herself took the chance to jump back on her legs. "I didn't move to Paris because the croissants are so tasty here! I'm here because of you!"

Goldeneye slowly straightened her upper body while she was about to get up. "I never asked you to!"
She quickly took another swing, a quick blow that Celine could only barely avoid. Both now involved in a skirmish of blows, left, right everywhere their fists flew.

Without a plan, Celine grabbed the golden scarf that was blowing around Goldeneye's neck, grabbed it and whirled her sister on it until she lost her balance and fell from the roof. Celine immediately jumped after her and before she did anything else she grabbed Nathalie by the hands and pressed her firmly to the floor. "You never had to! I wanted to be there for you. I wanted to help you! I couldn't years ago.. but this time I can! Why don't you understand that ?! " she yelled at her one more time.
Nathalie couldn't help but widen her eyes a bit when she felt small warm tears dripping down on her from above while they rolled from the cheeks of the person in front of her. "I want to help you to carry the burden ......." Celine sobbed softly and Nathalie understood how much her sister must be suffered at this exact moment.

"I'm sorry .." she said while she turned her head to the side. "I give up..". Nathalie understood how she must go to far. This isn't what she wanted. What she wants to do.
Nathalie slowly closed her eyes. It took less than 2 seconds before the mask appeared in front of her face one last time "Don't do that !!" the voice ordered, but Nathalie didn't listen to it.

"I'm repelling your powers, Hawkmoth!" she announced before she was again immersed in a purple mass and the mask disappeared.

Confused, Celine let go of her sister and took a few steps back. Little by little the crowd turned back into Nathalie as she knew her.
A dark-colored butterfly flew past her shoulder to the horizon, which Celine followered with her gaze before turning her head back. "You did it! You did-" she said when her eyes fell on the place where her sister had just been lying, it was empty and Nathalie was no longer there.





Nathalie carefully placed the green vase in which was the bouquet of flowers, which had fallen to the ground through the whole chaos, now in the place she had intended on the grave. They had visible traces of the debacle that had happened here, but nothing from which they would not recover.
Slowly she could perceive the steps approaching her. However, she did not turn around to see who was it, that was approaching her.

"So here you are ..." greeted Celine, who was now herself again as she came closer.

"I knew you would find me here," said Nathalie, still with her back turned to her.

Celine herself now crouched next to her sister at the edge of the grave. "I got him a bouquet of flowers too. May I?" she asked what Nathalie confirmed with a nod.

"You shouldn't have left .." she continued while she was looking for a place for the bouquet.

"I didn't mean to talk to, when you are 'Mayura'." she explained.

"That would have called out a few questions from people. I agree" replied Celine as she looked over the entire grave with her eyes.

With her finger Nathalie now pointed to a place not far from the place of her flowers "But... I was serious. I'm sorry .."

"Can you even remember everything?"

"Not everything. A lot is blurry. But I remember that moment clearly," she admitted as she straightened up. Celine did the same and took a step back.
The grave looked nicer with the two bouquets now slowly dancing with the soft wind that surrounded them.

"I can yell at you again if you want," Celine announced in her usual cheerful way, which made Nathalie laugh a bit.

"No.. please don't. But maybe we should talk about it."

"We should."

Slowly Celine offered her a hand as she turned around to her. "Let's go home" she announce to which Nathalie agreed with a soft nod.

"Let's go"

Chapter 9: The love of a sister

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

"I... don't know how to start," Nathalie admitted to her sister while she was looking at the cup, which she was now clutching tightly with both her hands.

Carefully, Celine put her hands on her sister's soothingly so that she would look into her eyes. "Then let me begin. I know how difficult it must be for you... Mother... Mother always had a strange way of showing her affection for you."

"Affection? Is that what you call the fact that she gave me away the moment she held you in her arms?"

"No! I'm just saying that she never showed how important you are to her, but she loved you."

A soft sigh escaped Nathalie as she placed the mug on the wooden table in front of the couch on which she had also placed her Miraculous. She couldn't use Duusu's excitable manner in this very emotional situation, which is why she ordered Duusu to withdraw again. At least until the matter was resolved.

"Celine" she began her sentence "You were still so small, so you didn't get a lot of what happened back then. But I didn't move out because of the divorce between my father and our mother. Your father and our mother had an affair. She was happy with him. Happier than ever."

"I know about that... But just because she loved someone else doesn't mean she didn't love you. Your parents' marriage may not have lasted but-"

Gently but firmly, Nathalie interrupted Celine in her flow of words with a sad smile, "She left us to elope with him. She just left me behind. She wanted to start over. That's why I grew up with my father. It was never a matter of the marriage not working."
She could watch exactly how Shock took control of Celine. She hastily pulled her hands back to focus her wide-eyed gaze on the floor in front of her. "There... That.. no..." she stammered uncertainly.

"Mum never told you. But believe me when I tell you, I was never the child she wanted. But you were. She was happy when she got you. The perfect Child with a Perfect Partner." Nathalie carefully tried to take her sister's hand again to calm her down, but Celine prevented this by standing up in a rage.

"That can't be true! M-mum would never..... I mean she always invited you over there at Christmas and Easter. You were there... I know it.. there are pictures to prove this.."
Nathalie followed her sister's hasty pacing. Should she hug her to help her calm down?

"She invited me. But I wasn't welcome.."

"Then why did you come at all?"

"I felt obligated," Nathalie admit which made Celine stop for a moment to look at her.

"..arg!" Angry, Celine brushed the strands of hair out of her face. Rarely have you seen her so upset? Nathalie already regretted having brought up the whole subject at all.

"I know how difficult this must be for you. But you have to believe me.." she carefully got up to go to her sister "And it's okay too. I broke up with mother a long time ago. She didn't want me, never even regretted leaving me behind." she said in a soft voice before wrapping her arms around her sister's shoulders. "But she took care of you. And that's what matters."

Nathalie could feel Celine burying her head in her shoulder to hide the small tears that were now rolling down her cheeks and she couldn't help but gently put her hand on her head.

"She shouldn't have treated you like that..." Celine protested after she had calmed down a bit.

"But what good would it have been to stay with her if she didn't want me in her life? Besides." Nathalie said while leaning back with her thumb to brush away a tear from Celine "I got you through that. You are my dear little sister." which brought a little smile to Celine's Face.





"Please what?" Nathalie stammered while blinking at Gabriel a few times. She tried to process what she had just heard without losing her professionalism. Something she couldn't do right now.

"You heard me. I'm going to organize a gala. Here in the mansion" Gabriel repeated once more.

Again Nathalie couldn't help but blink at him implausibly.
The events that led to Nathalie being akumatized were now a few days in the past. The trouble that had caused this had slowly subsided, which was particularly since Celine had become a great help to Nathalie. Both had spoken out and decided to take a step together toward a future in which they could be more open and honest with each other. It was a work in progress.
Nathalie was all the more surprised about the decision of her very introverted boss to organize a huge gala out of the blue, with all the important personalities in his wider environment.

"I think it's appropriate to celebrate the very successful release of my designs, don't you think?" Gabriel added after noticing that his assistant was slightly overwhelmed.

"For that.. there are other ways, sir. With all due respect, this is the first time that you think it's important. At least since-"

"Since my wife left. Yes. I'm aware of that."

Nathalie was silent for a few seconds. She was aware of how carefully she had to choose her next words. Emilie was and probably always will be a painful topic that shouldn't be brought up when you speak to Gabriel Agreste.

"There are other ways to celebrate something spectacular."

"So you're saying I won't be able to host a gala since my wife is gone?" Gabriel asked with a razor-sharp look that made her shudder. Luckily she was a pro at hiding this.

"No! I'm just worried about you, sir. It's going to be a very big event."
Satisfied with that answer, Gabriel turned away, back to his designs on his screen. "The mansion is big enough. We will order caterers who will provide the guests with drinks and food. Of course, People are more than welcome to bring someone with them. If they want, that is."

With this information, Nathalie couldn't help but prick up her ears from her tablet, on which she wrote everything down. "company?"

"Company. Everyone is welcome to do so."

"So - theoretically a date for the evening"

"Yes. Nathalie, this isn't your first gala."

"Of course not sir, I'm just asking to be more specific in the invitations for the guests." She hastily spoke while turning back to her tablet. A date.For one evening. At the thought alone, her eyes wandered over to her boss again. Should she ask him directly? Mention it casually? Should she even ask? After all, it was still the first gala without his wife. What if it was still too early for him? But then again, it has been 10 years. But she had never seen him having a Date since then. Maybe it was too soon.

"Do you already have a date on which the event should take place?" she asked to move away from the topic that was going through her mind.

"I've scheduled it for next Saturday. Please write in the invitations That I expect a more formal style dress code. As always, but I just want to make sure."

"Of course, sir."

Gabriel took the chance to catch a glimpse of her while Nathalie concentrated on writing down everything he asked for.
She looked beautiful. In her red blazer and a black jacket which caught the soft light of the evening sun. He almost felt bad for taking such advantage of her and akumatizing her the other day. The question of which Grave it was, she was standing in front of, was burning in his mind. He wanted to know but didn't want to ask.

"Do you already know what you're going to wear?" asked Gabriel whereupon Nathalie looked at him in amazement

"May I understand that you want me there?"

"I couldn't do it without you," Gabriel replied, which made Nathalie blink again. They both looked at each other for a few seconds before quickly turning their heads away. "I think I have something to wear. So If you need me there, I can come." Nathalie added quickly, to which Gabriel nodded absently.

"Of course, it doesn't have to be a dress either. A suit is also perfectly appropriate, should you feel more comfortable in that one."

"I'll find something," she assured him.

"Good, good," Gabriel added before clearing his throat once more. "I have another issue I'd like to hear your opinion on. What do you think about inviting Mayura?"

".. Mayura?" Nathalie repeated while her heart sank to the ground.

"I thought it might be appropriate. She does such a good job-saving Paris from Hawkmoth and is a real beauty. I thought it might persuade people to show up even more if she were present."

"With all due respect, sir. A superhero is not a tourist attraction."

"No of course not."

"Then why do you want to invite her if not as an attraction?"

"That would be just a nice bonus, I...was thinking of asking her out as my date"

It cost Nathalie all remaining self-control not to split the tablet in two in her hands at that moment. She would have enough anger for that. 'So as a date'

"You can ask her, sir!" Nathalie hissed at Gabriel, in a tone that would let the heavily emphasized 'Sir' without sounding too offended.

"But when should I meet her?"

'Inquire in the newspaper. Maybe that helps.' "Maybe just ask her next time there's an Akuma attack"

"But then I would have to wait for Hawkmoth to move again."

"Meeting a superhero will be hard without a villain to fight."

Questioningly, Gabriel looked again at Nathalie, who no longer even looked in his direction, but stared stubbornly at the tablet.
Should he say anything else? Better not. He would only make it worse after all. And he also thought it was inappropriate to ask questions.

 



"Nathalie! I'm home!" announced Celine, who had just come in through the front door with a full shopping bag.
What she didn't expect was Duusu who now came straight towards her. "Miss Celine..."

"Duusu!" Celine greeted her with a big smile "Don't worry. I got the little sweets you like to eat so much. They were hard to find, but I got them."
But Duusu paid little to no attention to it. Even tho she loves sweets.

"Miss Nathalie. I don't know what's wrong with her!"

"Nathalie? What happened?"

"I don't know! She's been sitting on the couch for hours just drinking this weird juice. But she doesn't say a single word.."

Hastily Celine put the bags down in the hallway to hurry into the living room with Duusu.
Nathalie herself has made herself reasonably comfortable, she had thrown her blazer into the corner, and her bun, which had seen much better days, was held on the last bits of strands there where. She must have been sitting there for a while.

"Nathalie?.." Celine asked cautiously to draw attention to herself.
For a second Nathalie turned her head to look at her sister only to turn back to the bottle.

"Do you want to.. tell me what's going on?" she tried again.

"Gabriel is an ass," Nathalie breathed out. She still with a clear voice, but you could tell she drank something.

"Okay.. and why?"

"He has now ditched blondes and embraced a new booty scheme. Blondes were yesterday, the new trend for the fashion-forward fashion king is blue-haired."
A quick exchange of looks with Duusu revealed to Celine that even little Kwami had no idea what she was talking about. "So he got a girlfriend?"

"Nonsense. Who would voluntarily sleep with him?"

'You my dear..' it shouted through Celine's head while she slowly approached her to sit next to Nathalie on the couch. "Then what's the problem? He doesn't have a girlfriend. So what makes you think he likes blueheads?"
Annoyed by this question, Nathalie took another sip directly from the bottle before she continued to explain, "He's planning a gala. People can bring companions as dates. And Mr. Oh so great - Agreste wants to invite the oh-so-fine Mayura to accompany him. He even called her a real beauty!" Nathalie almost spits out the last words.

"..You're aware that you are Mayura. So you're on a date with him. What's so dizzying about that?"
Uncomprehendingly, Nathalie stared at her with glassy eyes "Didn't you hear me? He doesn't want me, he wants Mayura"

"YOU are Mayura!"

"But he shouldn't like my Mayura version. He should like me!"

"That's no reason to get drunk.."

Annoyed, Nathalie looked over at her again "Are you, my mother.. because that's a lot of judgment I feel there."

Also annoyed, Celine rolled her eyes before she took the bottle from Nathalie's hand, which Nathalie looked after, only to then fall back on the sofa. "You sacrifice the precious years of your life to the man, and that's the thanks you get," she announced, slightly pouting. "He falls for the first best. A woman that comes around.."

"Again. That's still you."

"I don't want him to like this version of me though... I want him to like the original..."

"Look at it like that," Celine said before she carefully undid the hair tie and the clips that had held Nathalie's last remnants of the bun together so that her hair slowly slipped onto her shoulders. "At least he's taken a liking to a part of you. Now all you have to do is convince him of the rest."

"Hmh..." Nathalie mumbled while she put up with Celine stroking her hair. "And if he fell in love with your version of Mayura?"

"Then I'll turn him down. I promise!" Celine announced with a laugh, which also made her smile.

Notes:

I am again super sorry it took so long for me to get this chapter done.
ImposterySyndrom fucked me over so it was a pain to write.
I hope I can write the next one faster...

Chapter 10: Meet me on the Balcony

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

After a long wait and many preparations that had cost Nathalie hours of her life, the time for the big gala had finally come.
Nathalie herself didn't think too much of these events anymore.
Especially not since her boss had revealed to her that he had secretly kept an eye on her alter ego.
The memories alone sent shivers down Nathalie's spine.

It had happened on a normal day. An Akuma, weaker than usual, as the woman thought, had roamed the city.
Dutiful as she was, she had stepped in to put an end to it as Mayura. And just when she was done doing the dirty work, she spotted Gabriel.
He was standing on the corner of the street a few yards from his mansion, which in itself was a step forward for him. After all, he wasn't known to think it was important to leave home ever since his wife's death. Only in the most pressing of emergencies, or for meetings that absolutely could not be held via video call, would he be seen outside his home.


Yet here he was. Standing there. And calling out to her. Even waved a little while doing so.
Which made her want to roll her eyes before she jumped down to meet him.

"Monsieur Agreste, right?" she greeted him. Gabriel confirmed this with a quick nod, "What can I do for you?"

Confidently, the man took a step closer to the woman to put even less distance between the two, and the woman reflexively raised her head slightly.
Along with other traits she had altered to better conceal her true identity, she was also quite a bit taller when she was Mayura.
But she still had to look up at Gabriel so that she could look into his eyes.

"I would like to invite you to my upcoming gala. I'm sure with you there it would be an unforgettable event. The guests, who came from all parts of the world, would certainly be excited to meet the heroine of Paris. Who knows. With so many suitors, it might even cause the Akuma rate to go down. What do you say?"

The woman raised an eyebrow in confusion. He couldn't be serious. Thank god she was able to hide most of her emotions behind her mask so he would have no idea of the thoughts that were running through her mind at that moment.
The woman retreated a few steps to turn away slightly and cross her arms in front of her chest.

"I'm not an attraction monsieur. My job is to protect the city, not to smile tiredly over sparkling Prosecco and to pretend interest."

This cold rebuff seemed to surprise the man.
He stared at her in amazement with his mouth half open.

'What did he expect? that I just agree? It's bad enough going through that as Nathalie. So I'd happily do without the extra attention.'
"If that's all, I'll leave now. It was my pleasure."

she said and looked away only to be surprised by Gabriel's firm grip on her arm. Which made her head snap back to him.
She couldn't explain it, but his grip sent a chill down her spine.

"I beg you! Please" Gabriel pleaded, "I don't think you're an attraction in any way. I just want you to think about it. I'd be delighted to see you at the party!" he added. "I just want to bring people in Paris closer to their heroine. An event this big, like the one I'm going to host would be perfect for that."

'Yes, you make a big fuss. I have to agree with you.'
Mayura resolutely watched as the man took a step back, but didn't let go of her hand. Which made her sigh.

"I'll think about it..." she spoke, which immediately made the man smile again. "But! Don't see that as a promise on my part," she admonished him and stroked his arms from her.

"Of course! Thank you!"

Finally escaping the conversation, the woman gave a quick nod before making her way across the rooftops. It was a lie. Her decision was made and she certainly wouldn't think about it again. But what else could she have said?



The memories of this event made Nathalie close her eyes for a moment before examining herself in the mirror again.
For Gabriel's gala, she had decided on a burgundy shirt, to which she wore a black vest with a small pocket in which she could stow Duusu and her Miraculous.
Her hair, which she usually wore in a bun, was now pinned up to show off the golden earrings that Nathalie wore in combination with her golden chain.
The look was rounded off by her make-up, which she always chose, only this time her eyeshadow was reddish instead of bluish to better match the style she had chosen.
Satisfied, the woman nodded to herself in the mirror. She agreed with her decisions.

"So you will go as Nathalie?" asked Duusu, who had placed herself near the mirror and watched her owner.

"I never promised him to come as Mayura."

"He will be expecting Mayura."

"That's his problem. He pushed himself on me. Besides, I never promised."
 
She replied reaching for the tablet she had placed on the table next to her "Besides, I have far more important things to do this evening than playing hero attraction. It would also be too flashy to appear as Mayura. It could jeopardize my identity ."






"Master.. are you sure that this will be such a good idea?" Nooroo asked cautiously.

The villa was already fully prepared. Under the watchful eye of Nooroo, Gabriel reviewed the last steps on his tablet. It would be at least an hour before the first guests started to arrive. Gabriel only expected that Nathalie would show up soon to go over the planning of the gala with him again. This also ensured that everything would run smoothly.

"The plan is perfect Nooroo" Gabriel spoke sharply without taking his eyes off the small device in his hands.

Yet he could feel the kwami's piercing gaze to the point that he did look up. ".. Spit it out, Nooroo. What bothers you?"

"Nothing.." the kwami mumbled hastily until Gabriel looked away from him again. "I'm just thinking..."

"And here I was really thinking it was nothing.." Gabriel interrupted him annoyed"

"I am just saying, master. That maybe you should reconsider the plan"

Gabriel couldn't help but roll his eyes and put the tablet aside in annoyance to give the kwami his full attention. "What don't you like about the plan?"

"I just think he has too many gaps.."

A soft sigh escaped the fashion king as he put the tablet aside to get out a small notebook in which he had written small sticky notes with highly detailed stick figures to explain his plan step by step to Nooroo again.

"Look, we're luring Mayura to the gala here. After a while, I'll use some pretext to ask her to accompany me onto the balcony, away from the guests, away from the party."'

"But wouldn't that be striking?"

"Nathalie will take care of the situation. As soon as she notices that I'm gone, she'll take charge anyway. She'll think of something,"

Gabriel continued while turning to the next page of the notebook. "So we're standing there on the balcony. And when I give you the signal, you're going to fly through her, grab the Miraculous, and then we have the trinket and Mayura's true identity! We confront her, strike, and win! The So the plan is perfect in every way!" Gabriel announced confidently, as he always was.

Which in Nooroo continued to trigger only an oppressive feeling of uneasiness. Gabriel cleared his throat once and decided not to pay any further attention to his little kwami.

"The guests will be coming soon. Get ready Nooroo. Today is going to be a big day."







As expected from Gabriel's guests, they all arrived at the large mansion at almost the same time.
Many came alone, some with company, and a few had to cancel because the schedule had changed spontaneously.

Gabriel himself personally received every one of his guests, greeted them with a handshake, and made a quick comment. All thanks to the woman who stood behind him and repeatedly provided him with quick information about his guests.
So it didn't escape her notice that her boss seemed more than obvious to distort himself after a certain guest, who, however, didn't show up.
But being subtle had never been Gabriel's forte if you would ask her.
With a blink of an eye, Nathalie turned away from Gabriel and looked at the next guest, who had just entered the villa, to be able to quickly whisper something in her boss's ear so that he could greet them as well.



The first three-quarters of an hour passed until all guests were greeted and provided with drinks and food.
Satisfied, Nathalie pulled back with a glass of sparkling wine in her hand observing what was happening around her.
Gabriel himself got involved in the conversations with his guests and occasionally engaged in friendly small talk.
Yet Nathalie could watch him again and again as he curiously turned to the door in the great hall in which they were, whenever someone opened it.

'Cute. He thinks Mayura will show up' the woman thought and grinned while taking another sip from her glass.
Nathalie wasn't introverted, at least that's what she would say about herself. But she felt a little out of place at such events.

Now that all the guests had arrived, all she had to do was make sure everything was still going smoothly and pretend she was having at least a little fun with it. She was allowed to drink a glass or two. But mostly it was Gabriel's task to entertain his guest. It was only when something happened that she would have to intervene. 
So again and again, she looked across the room at the faces of many guests and let small grapes, which she had stolen from the buffet, disappear into her bag.

"It's so boring..." she breathed softly so that only her little friend could hear her.

"Would you like to transform?" Duusu asked her quietly, slightly sticking her head out of her pocket. The soft chewing noises from her pocket then stopped for a brief moment. From the angle, the woman could see the half-eaten grape.

"So he gets what he wants? Why should I"

"But it sure would be fun. You could suddenly appear like a magician and do a little sentishow."

"Great. From Personal Assistant to Part Time Entertainment Show."

Giggling, Duusu stuffed the rest of the small grape into her tummy before continuing. "Or you comfort him as yourself" she announced with a huge grin on her lips which caused Nathalie to growl a little. "I'm sure he could use it right now," she added.

"Hmph," she said softly, turning her head away to drain her glass in one gulp.

It bothered her that her kwami hadn't missed the looks she'd been giving Gabriel throughout the evening.

"For your information, I'm just doing my job here. I always have to be ready in case he beckons me over to discuss an important matter."

"Important matters? Like that he's lonely?"

"No something like - DUUSU!" Nathalie hissed at a volume that was just about acceptable so that no one would turn around and look at her questioningly.

Which of course made Duusu giggle again.
But as quickly as her cheerfulness had come, it was gone just as fast.

She scrambled a little way out of the bag so she could follow whatever with her eyes for a second before it disappeared. Nathalie only noticed when she put her glass aside. "Duusu!!" she hissed softly and tried to stuff the just visible kwami back into the bag, but it didn't move.

"...What is wrong?"

"Miss Nathalie, may I go away?"

"Pardon?..." she said, blinking questioningly at the kwami.

"I saw something, I have to follow it up. Please. It's important!"

It was the first time since she had met Duusu that she wanted to move away from her. Otherwise, she couldn't seem to get far enough into Nathalie's personal space. So it had to be serious.
Not that Nathalie would mind being separated from this little creature from time to time. "If you keep a low profile. Nobody can see you. And even less can anyone find out that you belong to me."

"Promised!" Duusu shouted quickly with a nod when, in line with this promise, the lights of the room were dimmed so that you could hardly see the man next to you.

"How fitting.." Nathalie commented, swinging her head to the side. "Take your chance. Go away. I'll see you when you get back from your little trip."

"I will be back soon!"

And just like that Duusu had disappeared through Nathalie's pocket and the next wall.
It was then that the huge spotlights were now directed onto the small platform on which Gabriel now stepped, armed with a microphone in his hand and a glass of champagne in the other thus attracting everyone's attention.

"Dear guests!" he began his little speech. "I am very pleased that so many of you were able to appear here today."

The man waved his hand to the side to purposefully point to the wide range of dishes he had prepared for his guests.

"You were already able to get to know the buffet. Please don't hesitate and grab and try everything you like. The chef did his best to make this evening as unforgettable as possible."

There was a short pause in which some of the guests laughed and some even clapped.
'Yeah, yeah. The best that money can buy.' thought the woman, who continued to watch the man from her little corner.'

"But that's not all. To make this evening as unforgettable as possible, we have also arranged a music band"

Loud applause suddenly rang through the room while Gabriel introduced the band of tonight with a grin.
'Yep. That's my cue to plunder the buffet,' the woman thought and opened her up to leave the space on the wall.


"Mademoiselle Sancoeur?" a voice suddenly sounded that made her stop abruptly and whirl around.

She hadn't noticed that someone had approached her, the sound of his voice sounding indescribably familiar to her.
With the little light that the room provided, probably to give the whole thing a slightly romantic touch, she could only make out his look when he was standing directly in front of her.
He was wearing a black and blue suit, with the matching snow-white button-down shirt, but no tie or anything.

His long black wild hair was pulled back in a neat ponytail and hung down his back in an attempt to tame it, revealing his ear studded ears. He choose one earring on the right ear, yet whore three on his left ear.
Particularly striking was also a silver helix on the top of his right ear, which Nathalie was now beaming at.
With his shimmering green eyes, he looked down at the woman.

"Mr. Lee. Right?" she said. 

"You remember me. I am glad."

He spoke those words with a smile on his lips and the oddly familiar sound that had struck Nathalie out of the blue was gone.
Surprised, she blinked at him a few times, which he couldn't miss.

"Oh? Did I say something wrong?"

"No, it's.." Nathalie paused and cleared her throat once "You just reminded me of an old friend of mine for a moment." 'You look alike. However, his voice is different.. and his eye color is wrong. Besides, it's been a long time...'

"If so," the man announced, holding out his hand. "May I ask for this dance?"

"I'm not a dancer."

"Oh don't worry about that. I'm not a good dancer either. I just want to talk to you about something. But with this music, I just can't help it. Don't worry, I won't bite you~"
The man grinned at her as he said this and gave her a wink.

'He has charm. you have to give him that'  "We could just have a normal conversation."

"But where's the fun in that? Mr. Agreste put so much effort into the music."

Defeated and unable to argue against this, Nathalie sights once ".. But only this one dance," she said, carefully reaching out for the man's hand to grab and hold it.

With a smile, he clasped her hand and pulled Nathalie closer to him with a leap, and began to move with her to the beat of the music.
All without taking his eyes off her.
His movements were elegant. He was deliberate and led but was exceedingly gentle. Nathalie liked that. However, she also tried desperately to remember more information about this man.

'Tyler Lee. He works in the company in England which is responsible for marketing Gabriel's brand there' Nathalie rattled off the details and quickly realized that she didn't know anything more about him.
She hastily caught a glimpse of his hands 'no wedding ring... that's the third argument against it. It really can't be him... can it?'
Spurred on by that thought, the woman slowly let her eyes travel down the man's chest back to his eyes.
They still just looked straight at her, even twinkling slightly as their eyes met and the corners of his mouth turned up.

'Shit! That was too obvious!'

"So~" the man continued the conversation, with a sudden change in the tone of his voice from suddenly pronouncing that word in English "That friend you mistook me for. Do we look that alike?"

"He and you.. have the same need when it comes to their hair it seems. He was desperate to grow his too. Back then, at least. I have to admit I haven't had any contact with him for years."

"Oh. I'm sorry to hear that." the man said, whereupon Nathalie shook her head.

That was long ago. This man was long gone from her life. And she was done with it. "You wanted to discuss something with me."

Grinning, he held out his arm to Nathalie so that she could turn around her axis. Which she did, slightly hesitant at first. 

"I wanted to invite you. You and Mr. Agreste. There are a few things I need to discuss with you regarding the new collection."

".. Mr. Lee, you know that-"

With an abrupt movement, he pulled the woman back into his arms. "That I have to communicate with you via email? Of course. But I thought if I could enjoy your presence tonight, I could just bring it up here~" the man explained and took his chance to wink at Nathalie, whereupon the woman could only roll her eyes. She grabbed the man's hand and held it tight. Now it was she who made Tyler swing around.

"If you know that - then explain to me why you still decide against following the instructions."

Tyler smiled enthusiastically at the woman who had just taken the lead in the dance. "Mademoiselle! I had no idea what kind of temperament you have!"

"Requests must be processed via email." she continued, giving the man no chance to regain the lead.

Now it was her turn to let him twirl around for once. "You've worked with us long enough to know that"

She hastily and suddenly pulled him back. One hand was now holding his while the other was on his back. Nathalie had pulled him a bit further so that she now had to lean forward slightly to look down on him from above to give her a strange sense of power yet being unable to look anywhere else than into his eyes.
There seemed to be beaming with excitement, standing out in the dim light even more. 'Hypnotic' "So tell me. Why again did you think that was a good idea?"

As if on command, the music that had been playing in the background suddenly stopped until it fell silent.
Both could only listen to the sound of their breathing. Still unable to move. Caught in each other's gace. 
It was Gabriel's voice. cutzing through the silence like a sword, that pulled them both back into reality. With a strong voice, he now announced the change of music and with this, the light slowly returned to the hall.

"Whoops. Looks like our time's up." the man explained as he straighten up, whereupon the woman slowly stood up properly as well.

Tyler carefully pushed Nathalie's hands away from him as he gave her one last grin and spoke in a hushed voice, "It was my pleasure, Mademoiselle Sancoeur~" he said. 

With his hand on her shoulder, he gently planted a single kiss on her cheek and whispered in her ear "think about it~" before scurrying past her.
Nathalie hastily turned around, but as quickly as the man had appeared in front of her, he had disappeared into the crowd.









"Where is he... Where is he?..." Duusu mumbled over and over as she flew along the top of the ceiling to avoid people's eyes.

Most were, thank God, involved in their deep conversations. That or they were about to ask their partners to dance. Still, others stood at the buffet waiting for their chance to fill their plates and some were drawn to the quieter corners of the celebration.
But Duusu wasn't interested in any of that. Her eyes were fixed on what she had seen.

A black and gray kwami, in the style of a raven, had been able to perceive her for a few seconds.
What fascinated her so much was the fact that the existence of this kwami had been forgotten for centuries and was even doubted today. She hadn't heard anything about this kwami for several years. What was he doing here now? Here of all places!
The reason why this being had fallen into oblivion was the unimaginable power that resided in this being. Which should bring him a fate in eternal captivity. So how is it that this very being was here?

So engrossed in her thoughts, that she didn't notice how a small kwami approached her at increased speed and swept her into the nearest room.
Which Duusu could only comment on with a quick croak.

"What the hell are you doing here?!" the little creature hissed at her.

"huh? Nooroo? What are you doing here?"

"What am I doing here? What are YOU doing here?" cried the little butterfly again who was quite upset.

"I'm looking for Zeroo." Duusu paused and gasped once, "Did you see him?!"

"Zeroo? No.. you're the only kwami I've seen. Wait - Zeroo is here!?"

Hastily, the little being pushed Nooroo away, "If you haven't seen him, don't stop me! That's important!" she announced and disappeared through the next wall out of the room.

Nooroo stayed behind and looked after him in amazement. ".. Damned!!" he growled softly and immediately took up the pursuit.







It got later and later. Some guests are already on their way home.
Only now did Nathalie realize that she had to say goodbye to the guests because Gabriel was nowhere to be found.

'that's just typical of him' she admitted annoyed as she stomped up the steps of the hall. She knew where he was. There was only ever one place he was drawn to once he had shifted all his work and responsibility onto Nathalie. After years of working with him, she was well aware of this behavior and had come to terms with it. But just today she could not tolerate it.

Gabriel himself was leaning with his arms on the porch rails on the outside of his balcony.
His gaze was directed away from the villa's courtyard, towards the city that was now shrouded in a dark cloak that revealed the stars above him.
In his hand he had one of many wine bottles, the others were on the premises. One was already empty, the one in his hand was still half full and the other were standing to his right.


Gabriel could feel a gentle breeze blowing past his body through his hair. It was night, but it wasn't necessarily cold. On the contrary. It was a perfect night. The stars above him shone and shone in competition with themselves, without a cloud in the sky able to stop them. All that would be missing would be to share this moment with a loved one.

"Gabriel?" came a voice that forced him to turn around. In the shadows, he could see Nathalie Silloute. She looked good in the soft glow of the moonlight, which only reached her bit by bit in the shadows.

"Nathalie.." he spoke quietly, which made her realize immediately that he wasn't just holding the bottle for fun. "What are you doing here.."

"Looking for you... sir" she added while approaching him with soft, slow steps. Only now did the moonlight hit Nathalie completely and another breeze let strands of her hair dance gently with her earrings. Gabriel just couldn't take his eyes off her.

"Guests say goodbye. I think they'd rather you say goodbye to you than an assistant like me. After all, you invited them."

"They don't care if I'm there or not"

It took Gabriel strength to turn away from her, back toward the city that shone in his direction, to take another sip from the bottle.

"At least I don't care about it. And otherwise, it was always Emilie who said goodbye to them."

'Emilie' shot through Nathalie's mind. Gabriel avoided speaking about her. It was like a thorn that slowly pierced his heart at the sound of each letter. Nathalie was still deeply saddened by her death. She had been a kind-hearted woman, that had never deserved to leave her son and husband behind so early. Nathalie was also sure that if she were still there, she would have feelings for someone else. But she wasn't there. And her heart wanted Gabriel. The man in front of her leaning on the balcony with a bottle of wine.

"She's not here anymore..." Nathalie spoke quietly

".. I know.." Gabriel replied before taking another sip "I wish she was..."

Nathalie slowly took the step to Gabriel's side. A quick exchange of looks and she too now leaned against the railing, her eyes also directed towards the city "I wish that too.."
Gabriel caught himself again as his eyes wandered over to the women. How he examined her. Memorizing every single aspect of her face and the cut of her clothes. How the wind sometimes carried the scent of her perfume over to him for a brief moment and he couldn't help but inhale it. She was a dangerous woman. And he knew that.

"Mr. Lee" she started to break the silence "He invited us to come to England. Something important needs to be clarified."

"So important that it couldn't have been a video conference?"

He could observe how the woman shrugged her shoulders slightly at this question. "Did he tell you that personally?"

"You could say that, yes," she confirmed, unconsciously wiping her cheek with her sleeve.

"..some wine?" he asked her while holding the bottle out to her over the bars.

"I really shouldn't-"

"It's okay. No one sees it," he interrupted before pointing to the bottle again with a hand movement. Knowing that she couldn't refuse the offer, Nathalie took the bottle and took a strong sip only to grimace shortly afterward. "It's bitter..." she breathed out while narrowing her eyes, which amused Gabriel.

"Do you prefer sweet red wine?" he asked her with a smile on his lips.

"I don't have any preferences.. but it's bitter... How do you even drink that.."

"I would say experience. Have another sip and it won't be so bad. No, a big one, not such a small one. Yes. And? How is it now?"

"....You were right..." she admitted and handed the bottle back to him. 'What am I doing here..' she thought while her gaze met Gabriel's briefly.

He was handsome with his hair slightly tousled. His cream-colored shirt, which he was wearing was untied which gave her a little insight to his chest. The jacket, which he had also put on was completely unbuttoned and so it now blew back and forth in time with the wind. Nathalie could feel the blood slowly running into her cheeks. 'Quickly! You have to say something! Anything!

"So Mayura didn't show up..." 'Everything!! But not that!!'

"No. Apparently not. But it doesn't matter." Gabriel said before he took another sip.

At which the woman blinked once, embarrassing him.

He quickly grabbed his neck "I didn't expect her to show up anyway..." he secretly admitted.

"I'm sure she had a good reason for it..."

"I think it's more because she keeps her distance from everything. You never see her for long. She never tries to get more than the attention she needs." Gabriel paused for a moment before looking straight at Nathalie. "She's strong but mysterious. She.. she's like you."

Nathalie could feel her strong facade beginning to crumble, how she lost control of her gestures, and how the blush on her cheeks would give her away. "Me? I'm not like Mayura at all.. we're different," she mumbled quickly and hastily, which made her feel even more stupid.

"I think you have a lot in common. You always put so much value in your work, everything has to be perfect, and yet you work everything at a remarkable pace without making a single mistake. Don't think I can't see that."

"Well, maybe we have the same way of working, but that doesn't make us twins by a long shot" Nathalie tried to talk herself out of it so as not to sink into the deep blue eyes that were directed at her.

"You are both beautiful. You have that in common"

"…"

Nathalie couldn't help but fall silent at that moment, mouth slightly open. Both their eyes seemed to be locked on the other.
It was Gabriel who broke the contract and looked down before giggling. "I'm sorry. I think I had too much.." he confessed to her, which also broke the spell on Nathalie so that she could take her eyes off him and slowly regain control of her senses.

"It would probably be a good idea to end here."

"You're probably right about that. Before I talk any more nonsense.."

Nathalie slowly lifted her head to look at the man from the side "Is... that nonsense? I mean what you said"

"No. I think that you have things in common with Mayura," he explains with a slight grin, which also made her grimace.

"I should send the guests home," she explained before walking away from the porch and turning around.

What slowed her departure, however, was Gabriel's hand, which he suddenly placed on her wrist. "It was a joke. I think you're really beautiful.." he admitted to her, albeit with a glassy look in his eyes.

How long had he been standing here and staring into the distance? When did he disappear? She didn't know anymore.
What she was aware of, or what she hoped more, was that he would probably know little about tonight tomorrow.
Gently she grabbed his hand and took a step closer to him before placing a lovingly kiss on his cheek with a smile that made even him blush a little "Good night sir"






"You see that! I told you!! They work so well together!" Duusu squeaked happily while Nooroo's face showed more confusion and incomprehension.

Both kwamis had given up the search for the mysterious kwami, or more Dusuu had when she saw her owner's shadow on the balcony. Nooroo could also have stopped his pursuit, which was more aimed at the Peacock Kwami.

"I do not know..."

"Oh please. What do you know about love? You butterfly terrorist!"

"Butterfly terrorist? I won't let you tell me that! We all remember the senti incident of thirteen hundred and - you are not listening.."

"No," Duusu breathed softly while following Nathalie's eyes as she disappeared away from Gabriel and back into the house. "They go so well together. it's so romantic.."

"..They are opponents.."

"And? They still don't know that. Besides, this isn't the first time. Remember the two of them in 1594? Their families were enemies and yet they held on to their love!"

".. They killed themselves.."

"In the Name of Love, Nooroo!"

It was not new to either of them that they found out who owned each other before they found out. Over the years, being entertained out of sheer will had become something of a game for her. What else would you do if you were an immortal being that never knew when the world would see it next? At least it was for Duusu. Nooroo himself was more than happy to just be able to talk to his comrade again.

"We should go back. They'll be looking for us soon.." he reminded her of the important things in life. "And I don't think we will find Zeroo anymore either."

"You are right.."

Notes:

this chapter took longer since my body decided it was the perfect time to get sick. Great timing..
It is also just the start. The story will not start to only get interesting.
Anyway I hope you like the chapter.

Chapter 11: Welcome to England

Chapter Text

'There must be something here. Anything, no matter what, that will help me further!' Nathalie cursed loudly in her head as she put down another stack of papers to turn to the new one.

It was already late at night. Around 2 a.m. The light of the moon shone brightly into her room with the light of the stars as they lit up the night sky.
The woman was sitting in her room, surrounded by boxes and stacks of old papers. Some were, even so, old that the white had already turned yellow. However, all are still in extremely good condition.
Her only source of light in this mess was the lamp on her desk, which shimmered dimly in front of her.

Duusu had made herself comfortable on the desk on which she was already sleeping, like any normal person.
But not Nathalie. She tirelessly went through stack after stack. Always looking for new information.
The documents she had in front of her had been created by the discoveries of her father, who had written everything about what he discovered and saw. The old diaries that he had written on his travels lay next to the women. A gentle smell of nostalgia filled the room.


"Day 23.
We made a discovery today. We received confirmation that this temple did indeed appear to have connections to the Miraculous. Hopefully, we will have the success of actually holding one of these exceedingly rare gems in our hands this time."


This was written on one of the many pages of the diary, with various drawings scrawled alongside it. 
'Damn dad! Couldn't you have written a little more? Which Miraculous, for example? You used to be a master of many words!' Nathalie continued to curse before turning another page to compare with the papers.


"Day 56
I got the message that Elise has found out the sex of the baby! I am so happy! I could hug the world! It's gonna be a little girl!
Hopefully, I'll be back soon to be able to attend the birth of my child."


'Well Dad.. honor your anticipation, but we all know how this story ended' Nathalie admitted with a tired smile while she was about to turn the page until a certain sentence caught her eye, which immediately captivated her.

"After a long time, we managed to get hold of a Miraculous. A beautiful silver ring. The kwami that resides within this seems to have a cat-like shape. It's called 'Plagg' and has a undying Desire for Cheese. I can't wait to reveal it to the museum.
Finally, we succeeded!"


As if spellbound, Nathalie stared at the pages of the book, which she now had in a firm grip. So her father had managed to find a Miraculous after all? But where was this now? She had never seen anything like it in the museum, nor had she ever heard of such a particular exhibition. Was it thanks to the long lapse of time since the find and the here and now? But you wouldn't just let something like that go moldy in boxes in a corner.
Nathalie hastily turned around to grab her laptop from her bag and turn it on.
This would require further research!





"I'm sorry..." Zeroo announced in awe. His little head was pointed towards the floor. "I couldn't find anything..."

"No, my little friend,"

Tyler said with a huge grin on his lips. His long black hair swirled around as she traded his suit jacket for the green and black coat he much preferred, and slowly untied his long hair from its braid so that it fell onto his shoulders and back. "It just means the ring isn't where we think it is. That's another realization and a step forward."

He directs his eyes to the little being who still didn't dare to look into his eyes. Instead, it was averted while he was playing nervously with his little fingers.

"You can be proud of that, my little friend."

Zeroo only responded with a quick nod, whereupon Tyler looked away.

"Come, my friend. We have preparations to make."

With big strides, he went to a board that served as a pinboard on which he had placed a few pictures. Among other things, those of Gabriel and Nathalie. He hastily tore down Gabriel's picture to place a large cross on his face with a red felt pen.

"So our dear Mr. Fashion King doesn't have it. And doesn't seem to be able to record any other successes either." he commented with a laugh, "Then let's just focus more intensively on the mademoiselle."







Quickly, Celine swung herself from the kitchen over to Nathalie's room. She held two coffee cups in her hand while banging on the door with her hip

"Nathalie~ rise and shine!" she announced in the best of moods that she usually was when it was the Weekend. It was also the only time where she got the chance to wake up her sister. While the door slowly opened  she continued to talk "I have delicious cof- What happened here?!"

Her gaze focused on the mess Nathalie had made last night.
The women herself was still sitting at her desk, her laptop on the floor next to her. Unfortunately, her intensive search was not able to find out anything about the museum. Her eyes were still on the papers.

"I was just looking something up"

"Just looked up something? Your room looks like your bed is hosting a garage sale!"

Celine slowly handed her sister the coffee cup to drink from her own "What exactly did you look up?" she now explored curiously.

"Only old documents on Miraculousen"

Curious, her sister picked up one of the papers that Nathalie had already put aside to read through. "So you're going through your father's old stuff. How long have you been working on it?"

"All night"

"All night? You haven't slept?!"

"I can sleep on the plane. The flight is more than enough for that and Gabriel won't want to talk to me the whole flight anyway. And I am off work for a few days when I am back. So it is alright."

"Maybe he'll talk to the gala~," the woman said with a broad grin on her lips, which resulted in Nathalie's face forming an annoyed look again while her gaze wandered from the papers to her sister

"I told you before, nothing happened that needs to be talked about. It was a simple event."

"Oh sure!" Celine protested while leaning her arm on the desk. "That's why you were suddenly in such a good mood. And Duusu's look alone spoke volumes that evening. You may be able to deceive him, my dear, but I know very well that you rarely went as well as it did that night. And it can hardly have been due to the champagne that was served. So I'll find out why!"

"Do what you must."

"By the way, I wanted to wake you up because your flight is leaving soon. You want to go to England with your lover, who isn't your lover at all. Have you already packed up in your confusion?"

Nathalie pointed behind her with her thumb while she took another sip of coffee. "The bag was ready at 4 a.m. I took a break and packed."

"... You should have taken a break to get some sleep.."

"Why? The hour on the plane is enough," she announced before draining the cup and getting up to tuck a few journals and documents neatly into a file and her bag.

".. do you want to take them all with you?"

"Sure. It'll be my flight reading. And I'll read the rest at the hotel."

Celine only answered Nathalie's behavior with a slight shake of the head. "What will happen to the hero of Paris? What will you do when Hawk Moth shows up? Have you thought about it?"
Nathalie slowly stowed away a few more documents before she put the bag next to hers and undid her braid so that her hair fell to her shoulders.

"I'll take Duusu with me. Miraculous give you superpowers. If an Akuma shows up, let me know and I'll create a sentimonster, which will get me back in no time." she explained to her sister while the woman brushed her hair and wrapped it in a neat bun again.

"Wouldn't it be easier if I just played 'Mayura' in your absence?"

"That would be easier. But more noticeable. Our outfits as 'Mayura' are too different. And that would be noticeable.."

"But it would also be noticed if you suddenly disappeared from a meeting as Nathalie."

"It's just a meeting. Round-trip flights. I'll be back tomorrow. And thank God Hawk Moth doesn't perform every day."

"And what do you do if your Akuma alarm goes off in the middle of the plane?"

"Then my love," Nathalie announced while putting her hand on Celine's shoulders, "I'll come up with something spontaneously. But I'll take Duusu with me."





The trip to the airport went smoothly. Nathalie had picked up Gabriel at the villa. Both were then driven onto Gabriel's private jet campsite by Gabriel's bodyguard, who always remained silent rather than saying something Gabriel appreciated.
The reason for this was that Gabriel already wanted to discuss a few things with his assistant, regarding appointments, the implications of the trip would be, and how best to reconcile everything. He also made sure that the bodyguard knew about all of Adrien's appointments and the rules that would apply to young Agreste now that his father would be away for 48 hours.

Nathalie also assured him that her cell phone was always on in case of an emergency and that Adrien could reach her. Always. Which calmed Gabriel at least a little.
What he didn't address, however, was what happened at the gala. It was still clear to him. He couldn't remember much. But the kiss was clear in his mind.
Gabriel caught himself slowly glancing at Nathalie, who in turn was looking at her tablet.
It would be a good time. Yes, maybe even a perfect time. Carefully, he aimed the powers of his Miraculous at the woman in front of him. Cautiously he tried to get access to her feelings, to find out something. A clue. Anything.

"Sir?" She tore him out of his thoughts, which made him flinch for a moment.

"Yes?" he spoke quickly and hastily.

"Adrien forgot to ask if he might invite a friend of his. They wanted to study together," Nathalie repeated the question.

"Uh yes. He should have my permission for that, tell him that," Gabriel said while now directing his gaze out of the window.






The arrival of the two at the airport where Gabriel's private jet was placed went without further incident.
Once at her place, Nathalie went through some more preparations on her tablet, entered a few new appointments, and did the rest of her work. She had placed two more coffee mugs next to her. One-half full, the other empty.
Meanwhile, Gabriel went through the documents that were important for the meeting to prepare for it.

It was a conversation to discuss the upcoming advertising campaign. Still, he would be expected to be prepared. Even if in his eyes, this meeting could have been a simple video conference.
That's the only reason why he would have to take this flight now.

'A simple meeting about teams would have done it. I wouldn't have even had to put on real pants for that...' he grumbled to himself.
However, Mr. Lee had insisted on a face-to-face meeting to receive the two in his country, after Gabriel had written again personally.
Annoyed, he sways his head to the side. He didn't want to keep thinking about something he couldn't change. As a result, his gaze was now on his assistant. Through which he noticed the documents, which smiled at her from Nathalie's pockets.

"What is that?" he asked curiously, putting his own aside.

Slowly she turned her head to Gabriel before she could guess from his look what he was referring to. "That? Those are just old documents."

"old documents? For the meeting?"

"No.. they're about historical events. I thought he'd take a little reading with him."

"I didn't know you were interested in something like that," he asked with a light smile and looked her straight in the eyes.

"They are my father's old documents. I am reading them... for... private reasons."

"Oh..." Gabriel chuckled softly. "May I.. have a look?" he asked cautiously, whereupon Nathalie jumped briefly and unnoticed.

"You. I don't know if that wouldn't be boring for you, sir. You have nothing to do with general knowledge."

The man beamed at her sincerely, "I'm very interested in history. Please, Nathalie."
Defeated by this move, she carefully pulled out some of the documents and handed them to him. Excitedly, Gabriel took these and began to read them.

"Oh? I didn't know your father was interested in the history of the Miraculous."

"It was his job. He made it his mission to find her," she explained to him while she pointed to the paper with her index finger and thus came a little closer to him, which didn't bother Gabriel.

"He managed to get locations and information about them. According to him he also made them available to the Louvre, but I couldn't find anything regarding this."

Excited, Gabriel opened his mouth to take a deep breath. "Oh! Then your father must have been the famous historian I read about in the newspaper.
10 years ago there is said to have been a burglary in the Louvre. Rare, undefined valuables were stolen. The exhibition was then closed and replaced. Today there is the old exhibition on the theme of Egypt!"
Nathalie's eyes widened slightly at this information.

Gabriel had just handed her one of the missing puzzle pieces. Excitement spread through her and for a moment, Nooroo's powers shot through Gabriel like a bolt of lightning. Without any warning, he could feel something for a split second. Too fast to define or pursue further. But there had been something.

"Can you tell me more about that?" asked the woman and finally put her empty coffee aside. She would need a few more. But that would be all right.

"I don't know much either, but I can tell you what I know"

"That would be wonderful."




Visible uneasiness spread across the faces of Nathalie and Gabriel when both finally arrived at the hotel where they would spend the night after their flight.
Mr. Lee had already reserved a room for her.
It's a big cozy room with a beautiful view of the whole city.
The only downside was it was the couple's suit.

They both looked at each other for a moment before putting their suitcases down.

"I will request a new room immediately, sir!" Nathalie spoke with the last remnant of professionalism that was left after the intensive conversation with her boss on the plane and too little sleep.

"There's no hurry. You can do that later..." Gabriel contradicted her, massaging his temples annoyed at the thought of the forthcoming conversation. And this quite unpleasant situation was simply the icing on the cake that annoyed the man. "We should just get ready and then head to the meeting. I just want this to be over with." he added while slowly undoing his tie and unbuttoning his shirt "Would you like to take a shower too?"
Immediately, Nathalie turned her head to her things so as not to completely lose her mind. "I think I can wait until you're done in the bathroom. Sir."

"I'll gladly let you go first"

"No, no. It's okay. I still have a few things to take care of anyway." Nathalie lied, still unable to look him in the face.

"Nonsense" Gabriel announced while grabbing her arm and gesturing towards the bathroom door "Lady's First"

Without further protest, Nathalie quickly grabbed her bag and disappeared into the bathroom, closing the door behind her and leaning against it.
Only now did she let her feelings get the better of her, causing her cheeks to turn slightly red.
Gabriel didn't notice how his Miraculous, which he had hidden in his jacket pocket, started to glow.

Nooroo looked up at him sincerely but remained silent as he watched Gabriel rub his hair. "Keep it to yourself Nooroo..." he hissed softly at the little kwami

"I'm not saying anything."

Duusu didn't bother giving her owner a certain look either. Only this was accompanied by a wide grin.
"Keep it to yourself..." Nathalie also hissed at her kwami in a low tone. But that didn't stop the kwami from continuing to look at her. However, Nathalie ignored it and began to undress.


After the woman was done, it was time for Gabriel to occupy the shower.
Nathalie sat attentively at the desk in the suite and was already looking for a hotel room to which she would rebook alone. Contempt spread through her when she thought of Tyler. 'that was purely intentional..' it shot through her head again and again.
She had also decided to change her clothes. Because of the trip and the effort, she had now decided to exchange her pullover for a white blouse and continue to wear her Blaser.

"Nathalie?" she suddenly heard it from the bathroom, calling Gabriel.

"Yes, sir?"

"I remembered something else. About the museum burglary and the Miraculous"

"Oh yes?" she gave him as an answer, only to startle a little later when the bathroom door opened and Gabriel was standing in the room.

With a towel around his waist and his hair wild and tousled, he now put a hand on his hip and looked directly at the woman. Nathalie's heart almost stopped.

"I can still remember articles on the subject mentioning two specific pieces of jewelry. These were the ones that were stolen."

The woman hastily held the tablet in front of her head and turned her head away "Oh really. What was that reported?...." 'Oh Lord in heaven help me....'

"It was a pair of earrings and a ring. So it was assumed that the thief might have been a woman. However, the investigation was quickly dropped. Too few leads.

And any investigation came to nothing. To this day, nobody knows who had been the culprit. But because these two pieces of jewelry were probably the main exhibition, it was decided afterward to replace the exhibition with another one. So that something like this wouldn't happen again."

"That's.. really interesting. sir. Would you like to wear something? We have to go to the meeting soon."

"Oh yes of course! You're right." Unconcerned, Gabriel turned around and disappeared back into the bathroom.

'So stolen.. a ring and a pair of earrings... Interesting' Nathalie thought as her pulse slowly returned to a normal pace.

 






Chapter 12: Chappie

Chapter Text

Tyler himself sat in his company's Large Conference Room, in the Large Leather Chair, where he would always sit down, his back to the glass screen showing the never-ending city of Shanghai.
His fingers were all crossed, making his arms parallel to each other. Staring at the papers in front of him.
A glance at the clock told him that his guests would be arriving soon. Did they like their surprise?
Just the thought of it formed a wide grin on his lips as he leaned back in his chair. For a brief moment, he closed his eyes which resulted in a shape forming in his subconscious.

Blurred at first, but then it became clearer. The silhouette began to take shape more and more until Tyler saw the person's face clearly in front of him.
She was wearing a snow-white dress that was blowing in the wind. Her auburn hair was braided back and fastened with a clip.
The small sunbursts formed on her face as Tyler caught the woman's laughter.
"Look honey!" she called to him. "How beautifully the lilies are blooming! Let's take some with us!" she continued.
He could still remember that day well. It had been a hot summer day. Both of them were out and about through the streets of Paris to find all sorts of sights.
The hot weather had made it difficult for him to keep up with the enthusiastic woman. How excited she had been. After all, it was her first time in Paris.
Tyler pictured her looking at the lilies at the flower shop they were now at and how badly she wanted them.

"It's our anniversary! Please!" she begged again.

Only the sound of footsteps, which came quickly towards him, let him find his way back to reality.
The door to the conference room was hastily thrown open and Gabriel entered

"Tyler!" he greeted him while practically shouting his name.

"Gabriel!" he calmly welcomed him back before he leaned forward a bit on the chair. "Is there a reason you're storming into my room so upset?" Tyler asked while feigning utter ignorance.

"What do you allow yourself!?"

Out of the corner of his eye, Tyler could see Nathalie entering the room. He immediately noticed how both of them were now wearing new clothes, which made him grin on the inside.

"I'm afraid I don't quite understand"

Exasperated, Gabriel slammed his palm on the table. "I'm talking about the suite! Why do you dare to put us in a couple's suite?! That's outrageous!"

Apologetically, Tyler raised his hands and straightened. "Oh, my~" he spoke, showing off his British accent. Something he rarely did and especially surprised Nathalie. "It must have been a mix-up! I admit I may have called them last night to reserve a room for you two. The lady in charge there must have misunderstood me. Or maybe I used the wrong word. I can be clumsy sometimes..."

"So you mean it was an accident?"

"Oh absolutely! I beg your pardon!"

Estimating whether the man in front of him was serious, he gave him a look before directing it to Nathalie, who just shrugged her shoulders. Much more she focused on the accent. This sounded more than just an alarm bell in her. But she couldn't quite find out why.

"Okay.." Gabriel spoke softly before he sat up normally again. "As long as it doesn't happen again..."

"Oh, of course not! I'll never make that mistake again! I promise!"

"Then let's start the meeting..."

 







A few days passed. Nathalie and Gabriel had made it back home.
It was almost like everyday life had returned. But only almost.
With a sigh, her gaze fell on the space where Gabriel always stood.
It was unusual how in the middle of his work he had jumped up like something bit him to leave the room. He'd said he really needed a lunch break and hadn't returned since. It was 'urgent' in his Words. That was 45 minutes ago now.
Should she look for him? But who knows what he'd be stuck in now...
Her gaze wandered back to her work until a loud noise from outside startled her again.
She hastily ran to the window only to see the form of a frightening Akuma.

"That can't be true....." she cursed to herself. "Does he have any idea what else I have to do at the moment? How many deadlines do I have to meet?!"

"Miss Nathalie..." Duusu whispered carefully while making her way out of her jacket pocket.

"I know. I know... Duusu spread my feathers!"





 

Sure of victory, Hawk Moth had made himself comfortable on the roof, a few meters away from his own home. He stood there in his usual pose and had his eyes on his 'masterpiece'.
He had given his creative powers superhuman strength. A simple yet powerful superpower. In addition to strength, he also gave him the ability to desire and get anything he touched.
With a wide grin, he continued to study the figure before speaking to her.

"Go. Bring me the Miraculous from that annoying woman!"

A nod from the creature indicated to Hawk Moth that it was ready as it turned and made its way. He nodded again before following it.
'2 against 1. This time we will win! Get ready, peacock!' he thought, making him even more confident.
However, it didn't take much to destroy this confidence.
His Akuma stopped abruptly. Completely rigid without moving a muscle.

"Chappie..?" Hawk Moth asked his creation, which didn't respond either.

"I command you-!" he added before an attack forced him to dodge.

"What?!" Hawk Moth called out, only to have to dodge another attack. "What's gotten into you?! You have to obey me!-" he tried again before a violent blow made him bounce back and forth on the walls like a bouncy ball into an alley.
While the Miraculous protected him from further harm, Gabriel could no longer tolerate this disobedient behavior.
He quickly grabbed his staff, which he used as a weapon, then jumped back to his feet with momentum and made his way back onto the roof.
Before Chappie even noticed that Hawk Moth was back, he had already reached out and delivered a punch in the back so hard that it brought him to his knees.

"Will you obey me now?!" Hawk Moth shouted at him again but this time there was no reaction. 'Why isn't he listening?'
With a thought, he popped open the mask that connected all of his Akumas to him.

"I'm talking to you!" he tried.

Chappie himself had already picked himself up again and launched another attack on his creator, which he evaded again.

"I warn you!" he said now while he put his index finger on his thumb "Just a flick and I'll drain your powers again!"

But Chappie didn't respond to that either. Instead, more attacks rained down on Hawk Moth.

"You didn't want it any other way." Hawk Moth quickly snapped his fingers only to realize that even that wouldn't defuse the situation.

"W-What..." he spoke quietly before a blow hit him, so strong that he let him fly.

Back to the villa.
While out of the corner of his eye he could see his Miraculous falling into the alley below and the purple light turning him back into Gabriel Agreste.
Unnoticed, another figure from the alley watched before retreating into the alley's shadows. "This will be interesting, good luck~"





 

Mayura herself had just made it onto the villa's balcony unnoticed.
Luckily Gabriel was nowhere to be seen. 'Maybe I should have transformed here first..' she admitted to herself while quietly closing the glass door before a scream caught her attention.
She could see how Gabriel approached her in a steep flight.
Mayura quickly jumped up and caught him in her arms, giving him a softer landing than he would otherwise have faced.

"So it does rain men. Hallelujah" she greeted him with a slight grin.

Gabriel himself was still overwhelmed by the adrenaline that took over every fiber of his body. With a glassy look, he almost clung to the woman who carried him in her hands.

"Aw.." Mayura continued "It's okay, you're safe and -" she tries to calm him down before noticing the Akuma who was now purposefully coming towards them both.

".. Or maybe not!"
she announced before turning and running away with the man in her arms.

"I know people take fashion too seriously but aren't that kind of an overkill?"

"I agree with you there... Would you have a problem letting me go? I don't need to be seen like this.."

"Sure. Do you have something with you to be able to fall from 250 meters?"

"....."

"Yes, that's what I thought. Hold on!" Mayura said before she jumped from roof to roof to escape the Akuma.
Fast, she made her way to land on the roof of the Paris hotel as quickly as possible, but undetected.
Only now did she let Gabriel down from her arms. He looked very funny with the blush on his cheeks and his windblown hair.
She slowly leaned against one of the walls and directed her gaze toward the direction from which they had just come.
Gabriel, meanwhile, uses the time to put his clothes and hairstyle back in order. He hastily tugged at his shirt to straighten it and ran his hand through his hair to help it return to its former glory.
With a clear throat, he adjusted his tie before demanding Mayura's attention.

"It's extremely nice with you and I am thankful. But I think I'll say goodbye here. After all, I'm not in danger anymore." Gabriel stated confidently which only made Mayura want to roll her eyes.

"I think you're probably right about that," she replied and Gabriel said goodbye with a slight turn to stomp away. It wasn't long, however, before his walking came to an abrupt end and he was staring into his Akuma's cold eyes, sending shivers down his spine.

Mayura hastily grabbed his arm and pulled him back so that Gabriel was spared from an attack.
She quickly picked him up again in her arms to run away.

"What have you done that makes the Akuma so fixated on you?"

"I haven't done anything! Why would anyone would want to damage me?"

'Oh. I can think of one, two, maybe three reasons' "You must have done something. The Akuma is always following you," Mayura continued while leaning on a roof and into the next best alley to escape.

"But I can't think of anything that could result in someone targeting me!" he continued to protest while Mayura lowered him from her arms again, to his relief.

"Let's just ask him when we've defeated him then."

With a raised eyebrow, Gabriel looked at the woman in front of him. "Isn't that a bit very confident? How can you already be so confident, that you can beat that thing?"

"Oh, Hawk Moth's Akumas are usually a Joke. Over time you figure out what to do."

"Tz..." Gabriel hissed softly while the corners of his mouth turned 'conceited cow'

Chappie itself was not long in coming either, as it always had to keep up the pursuit.
With a loud bang, it landed right in front of the alley where it saw Gabriel with the heroine in the blue dress.
Immediately it shot at both of them to attack them. At the last second, she nudged Gabriel to the side, so he could dodge, her before doing so herself.

"Hide yourself!" she ordered him before stepping protectively in front of him. "I'm getting tired of this cat and mouse game!" she announced before parrying the next aimed punch that was intended for her this time by throwing Chappie over her shoulder in the quickest way to the ground.

With her foot placed on his chest, Mayura pushed him down further. "Now tell me what the walking candy cane did to you"
However, the Akuma didn't answer. Much more he widened his eyes as if he were in severe pain. Besides the red glow, Mayura could see something else in them. A kind of black shimmering shine with purple accents was represented in them. She had never seen anything like this on an Akuma before. It almost made her freeze a little. 'What did he do this time? Is that his work at all?.. doesn't he work alone anymore?'
Distracted from her thoughts, she realized too late that the Akuma was grabbing her leg. With a jerk, he got up and now threw her to the ground before simply letting her fly into the next building with full force.
'What power!' she stated as she was buried under the falling stones.

Gabriel, who had to watch all this and was now completely at Chappie's mercy, retreated a few steps when he had to look into his face again.
'Now would it be handy to have a Miraculous..' he thought while he had to swallow.

"We can talk about it..." Gabriel suggested, overcome by his fear. "Or we just forget the whole thing, how about that?.."

"...."

"Listen! I didn't do anything to you!" he just protested before squinting to avoid seeing his doom, which was probably in his immediate future, as Chappie launched his attack again.
Only seconds later he could feel the wind in his hair again as arms carried him away.

"Very impressive, candy cane. Heroic," Mayura encouraged him, who was about to carry him to safety.

"You took your time! Lady!"

"Oh sorry I was buried under stones. It won't happen again!"

"Pff.." protested Gabriel, crossing his arms over his chest "So we're running away again?"

"Yes, but I have an idea. You and I have to work together."

"Working together. Have you noticed that normal people could die from his beatings?"

"You're not going to fight him! I just need your support!" Mayura hissed back before stopping again and letting Gabriel down again. Without wasting any more time, she pulled out her fan to take one of his feathers.

"What are you doing now? Do you want to tickle him to death?"

"I'm creating a Sentimonster. So would you shut up for a second so I can concentrate?"

"Oh yes, please. Don't let my presence bother you. My life is only one the line, but please."

"I have no problem ignoring your presence. Otherwise, I would have appeared at your little party," Mayura announced before she tinted the nib a dark blue to make it disappear in her own Miraculous, which quickly put a pistol in her hands.

"Exactly what I needed."

"What?! You can't shoot him! That's a human!"

"Relax. I'm sure it doesn't even work." Mayura said before she fired a well-aimed shot on the ground ".. or it does"

"You're going to kill him with this!!"

"Then he just dies, whose fault will it be?"

"Your!"

"Right, nobody's."

".. You can't be serious... You're the good guy!"

"Of course not. That was a joke," she explained to him before throwing the gun up and flicking once to destroy it for good. "It was only a test. Where the Limits of my Miraculous start. Pay attention. That's the plan"





 

Mayura was now waiting on a roof, from a further distance. Her gaze was always directed to the sentimonster she had created, which was now placed on the large square a few meters in front of her. Impossible that it would be overlooked.
Gabriel himself was even further away, hiding behind some garbage cans in an alley.
With a queasy feeling in his stomach, he agreed to Mayura's plan.

But they didn't have much time to think about it either. Chappie had already caught up with them. Without further ado, he launched himself at the sentimonster that looked like Gabriel with an attack so violent that it shattered the ground beneath him.
Immediately, Mayura grabbed a new feather that was supposed to give her a new Sentimonster, after destroying the previous one, this time it was a large cage that fell hard on the Akuma. However, without luck. Immediately Chappie also destroyed the one with his enormous power. Even that didn't stop Mayura from creating a new Sentimonster straight away to put a stop to it.
A slab of stone and senti-energy fell on the Akuma, which would bury her opponent for at least a few seconds, giving Mayura time to think of a new creation.
Everything is still under the watchful eye of Gabriel.

"Master..." Nooroo gasped out of breath as he slowly emerged from behind one of the garbage cans, his Miraculous in his tiny hands. "Finally... I... was able to... keep up with you..."

"Nooroo?" gasped Gabriel in astonishment when he saw his little comrade. "You followed us?"

"Of course... I couldn't very well leave the Miraculous... in the alley... But the woman has a speed ..."

"And a temper.." Gabriel confirmed while reaching for the little Miraculous to put it back on. The loud rumbling in the background could still be heard, which made both of them sit up and take notice. Gabriel turned slowly to watch the battle over his shoulders.
Chappie had long since freed himself and tracked down Mayura's location, turning all of his attention to her. With heavy attacks, he didn't give her time to even create a sentimonster without getting hit herself.

"She fights bitterly" stated the little kwami, following her movements with his gaze.

"She's all alone..." Gabriel whispered softly

“She always fights alone” Nooroo stated which Gabriel ignored.

"And I can't help her without her attacking me, I'm endangering my identity..." he stated before he had to watch the Akuma catch Mayura's foot as he tossed her onto the floor.
Gabriel clenched his teeth grimly.

Still lying on the ground, Mayura used this to create another Sentimonster, a Thundercloud Sentimonster, which immediately electrified the Akuma.
Paralyzed by the shock, Gabriel could feel his chance

"That's it! Quick Nooroo! Dark Wings rise!" he commanded his kwami.
Fearful, Mayura rolled back to her feet before commanding the cloud to strike again.
What Hawk Moth had been waiting for. 'Please work!' he pleaded as he snapped his fingers to make the Akuma lose its power.

Surprise spread across Mayura's face as the purple matter overcame the Akuma, transforming it from its large stature back into a simple child, which was now in danger of falling to the ground. She quickly pushes herself off the ground to catch the child in the air and bring it safely to the ground.

"Is everything ok?" she tried to make sure, which the confused child confirmed with a quick nod.






 

"Not bad..." stated the figure in the shadows, who had observed everything from the vantage point. "You worked together subconsciously. And paralyzed my powers for seconds by influencing the person's mind with electricity to strike. Impressive." he added before clapping once.

"Very impressive! I didn't even know it was possible!"

A wide grin formed on the person's mouth as he clapped his hands one more time before removing the Miraculous he was carrying, whereupon Zeroo appeared.
Which Tyler didn't even notice. Much more his gaze was still focused on the woman in the blue dress.

"Remember that, my dear. Memorize it well. Otherwise, you will soon have bad cards in your deck. Our next meeting will only be more interesting because of this," he announced more to himself than to one of the people present, who still hadn't noticed him.
After all, he was well hidden in the shadows.



 

Hawk Moth still stood motionless. He still couldn't believe it had worked. In disbelief, his eyes wandered from his fingers to Mayura, who still turned to the child to comfort him and to make sure that her sentimonster had left him no harm.
But aside from the usual amnesia, the child seemed perfectly fine. Hawk Moth's powers, out of control, might have been able to protect him. Which pleased her.
She stroked the child's head again before she got up and walked towards the alley where he was still standing.
Only then did his head start working again. Hastily, due to the lack of time, he tore down the Miraculous to quickly hide it behind his back.
Seconds after he was himself again, Mayura was standing in front of him.

"And you had doubts about my plan," she stated slightly pleased while looking into his eyes.

"Yes.. haha.. well it all worked out!" Gabriel answered her, who with a slight hand movement indicated to Nooroo, who also pressed himself against his back to hide, to take the Miraculous.

Satisfied and with a slight smile, Mayura reached out her hand to him. "Would you like me to take you home? Or would you rather walk?"

Gabriel blinked once before accepting the hand. Ready to be humiliated one last time, he took a step toward Mayura before she lost her balance and collapsed. Gabriel quickly caught her before her body hit the ground.

"Is everything ok?" He asked her.
Only now did he realize how tired Mayura must be. A twitch ran through his body as his fingers could feel the edge of her Miraculous. He could just rip it off her and would have achieved his goal. It was right there. Basically in the palm of his hand.

"I'm just exhausted..." Mayura admitted. "Too tired to even tease you..."

Gabriel swallowed once before he got Mayura up and helped her to sit on the floor and lean against the wall.

"Nobody will see you here. I'm going to walk. Rest. You deserve it."

Surprise filled her as her eyes widened slightly.
This caring nature, which she could observe in him as Nathalie, was the reason why she fell in love with him bit by bit. Usually, he would only show this caring side to his son. Seeing it now, make her heart skip a beat.
Even now her heart made a little leap in her chest. Unable to speak, she just nodded.

"Okay," Gabriel said before gathering all his strength to take his hands from Mayura and standing up. "And.. also. I thank you. You saved me." he said with a slight smile “Without you, I would have been crushed..”
Now a smile also formed on Mayuars face “That is my Job..”

Chapter 13: Karasu ( Part 1 )

Summary:

Still moved from the last battle, Nathalie quickly finds herself in a new situation, confronted with new enemies and allies.
Will she be able to save the day again this time? Or will Karasu be to strong and powerfull for her?

Chapter Text

"Thank you Monsieur Dupain-Cheng for your detailed explanation of your jobs to the class"

Celine said while she started clapping her hands lightly, which the rest of the class quickly followed so that a single clapping quickly turned into a roar of applause.
Despite his portly height, Monsieur Dupain-Cheng was a very shy personality, which could easily rival Gabriel Agreste. And so he scratched the back of his head slightly while enduring the applause with a smile.

"Please. That goes without saying that I come to school today on this special day." he began when the crowd had calmed down a bit.

"Not at all. We appreciate it when parents take the time to come to school to talk about their jobs. It's no longer a matter, of course, these days."

For a second, her gaze fell on Adrien who had been enthusiastically participating throughout, but unfortunately, neither of his parents had broadly declared to be presenting anything to the class about the profession of fashion design.
This sight in particular made Celine a little sad. He was such a good boy who was sincere and kind despite his fate. It was just a shame that the jobs of the adults in his life took up so much of his time.

"Of course, like every year, I brought croissants with me," Monsieur Dubapain-Cheng tore the woman out of her thoughts.

"Wonderful!" Celine announced while watching Marinette walk through the class with a fresh tray of croissants.

"How about if we use that to take a short break at this point? Then we can listen to the rest of the parents afterward." Celine asked, which was met with thunderous applause from the class and a nod from everyone. They all were happy to get the opportunity to take a deep breath for at least a few minutes.
At least the cafeteria wasn't going to be overrun by all the students at this hour, giving them a chance to get one more meal before it was down to bars and only bars.
Celine herself gathered up some of her papers, which she couldn't leave lying around, before disappearing into the staff room with her phone in hand. It was time to abuse their power.







"You tricked me..." Nathalie pouted to herself, arms crossed over her chest as her sister pushed her towards the classroom.

"It's an emergency!" Celine protested, but with a big grin on her face.

She loved that her sister would drop everything if she used the words "emergency" and "Adrien" in the same sentence. It was so easy to take advantage of that in such cases to make Nathalie come to the school in a hurry. And this was an emergency. After all, Adrien shouldn't be without a parent on days like this. And Nathalie fulfilled this role almost perfectly.

"What do you expect from me, anyway? I'm not his mother, nor do I have a particularly interesting job." Nathalie asked, still visibly annoyed by her sister's behavior.

"Oh, I'm sure you'll think of something to talk about!"

"I'm still not even his parent! That his father is in a meeting of all people, I'm not responsible that the company decided, to hold a last-minute meeting with a high priority."

“Oh, we accept all kinds of parents this day, adoptive parents, biological parents. step-parents. So you fit right in."

"I'm not even-"

"Now don't be like that to Nath! After all, this is about Adrien!"

"... I think my parking ticket is about to expire.."

"Nath, you make a lot of money a month. You don't give a damn fuck about the French bureaucracy." Celine said while pushing her sister into the classroom, in which the children were slowly reappearing, all amazed to hear their otherwise friendly teacher swearing. Which Celine quickly responded with a grin, "crap! You don't give a crap." she quickly corrected herself.
With a soft sigh, Nathalie lifted her sister's hands from her shoulders

"Where is his seat?..."

"Right there. First row. Just stand by the window. Thank you~"

"Yeah, yeah.." Nathalie mumbled softly before she placed herself at the glass window facing Adrien's seat.




 

On a roof, a few meters away from the school, a figure in a black and gray raven outfit had settled. With a broad smile on his lips, he now put aside the binoculars with which he had observed Nathalie.

"There you are again, my peacock," he stated while slowly getting up again. "I was wondering why you were suddenly in such a hurry to leave the house. So your loved one wasn't the reason? Too bad. It was the kid."
With his index finger, the figure now tapped against the chain which was around his neck

"Come out Kwami. Time to shine~" he demanded.
A light emanated from the chain, which gave her a fox-like design, from which a small fox kwami came out.

"hnnng!!" announced the kwami form as it stretched once. It had been a few years since it last saw the light of day.

"It's time to get going. Zeroo, Trixx Unify."






 

Engrossed in his phone screen, Adrien made his way back to the classroom. His vision clouded, even more, when he realized that even now he still had no notifications. With a sigh, he put the phone away. There was no point hoping in his father as he had made it clear where his priorities lay today. Not that Adrien hadn't realized this for a long time. Or would get why this was this way.
Of course, as a single father, Gabriel had a lot to do. Adrien knew if his father had more time, he would use it for his son and his important appointments and be here today. Unfortunately, his father's diary was quickly filled with many appointments.
So he understood only too well that this meant that some appointments simply had to be postponed or canceled as long as they were not work-related. But Adrien was still a child and so this fact made him sad.
With another sigh, he entered the classroom only to find a small crowd of people gathered around Nathalie.
As the assistant of one of the hottest fashion people in Paris and probably even in the world, she was not spared the hustle and bustle that Gabriel was exposed to almost every day.

"Nathalie?" the boy blinked at her in amazement, whereupon the attention of the people was divided between the two.

"Adrien. Nice to see you're back from break." she greeted him.

Even more, astonishment spread in the boy "What are you doing here?" he asked her curiously.

"I asked her to come here." Celine now intervened. "So that she tells us something about her job. She's doing better with the crowd than I thought."
A glow spread in Adrien's eyes when he heard these words.

"Mrs. Bustier is right!" one of Adrien's classmates now intervened. It was Marinette Dupain-Cheng, daughter of Mr. Dupain-Cheng, who in turn was very interested in fashion rather than following in her parent's footsteps.

"Your stepmom is great!" she continued, which made Nathalie feel like rolling her eyes again. She had already tried five times to explain that her relationship with Gabriel was purely professional, but no one seemed to care. Not after Marinette had a few reports up her sleeve which reported about, how close the two seemed to be. These were all not correct and were taken out of context, but the little girl didn't seem to care about this.

"I know!" Adrien now boasted proudly. "Did she tell the bathroom story? That's my favorite story!"

"Bathroom story?" Celine was now pricked up while she turned her gaze to Nathalie, who blushed slightly again.

"Adrien!" she admonished him. "We talked about-" she wanted to explain further before a loud rumble interrupted her.

Her gaze fell on the window from which she could look outside.
A large monster had placed itself in front of it, which caused a riot.
'Has Hawk Moth no life or job at all!?' Nathalie cursed in her head before taking Adrien's hand. "It's an Akuma! Come on! We have to get out of here!"
Nathalie hastily looked back at Celine, who had also already understood the seriousness of the situation.

She quickly waved her hand to the door while telling her class to leave the room quickly and calmly. With a nod, she confirmed that she had the situation under control.
Nathalie made her way out of the school with Adrien at her hand, were another shock awaited both of them.
It wasn't a single Akuma. They were surrounded by these creatures.
A shiver ran down Nathalie's spine. 'What did he do...'

"You have to get out of here!" Nathalie stated before pulling Adrien further out of school.
'I have to take him away and transform.. just where should I take him?!' it shot through Nathalie's head while she opened the door to the car to put Adrien inside.

"Buckle up!" she prompted as she turned the key to turn it on.

"Where are we going?"

"I don't know yet," she announced before stepping on the accelerator, causing Adrien to fall back in his seat.






 

"We interrupt the program for a special report. We just received the news that today at 2:35 p.m. there was another attack by Hawk Moth and thus another Akuma attack. This time the students of the Collège Françoise Dupont were affected. Why Hawk Moth launched a targeted attack on the students is unclear at this time."

With those words, Gabriel couldn't help but arch his coffee back into the cup.
As he made his way back to the villa, he had completed his appointment, treating himself to a coffee as a reward on the way back, before soon moving on to creating new designs.
He had now passed a shop for television sets, on whose large screens this breaking news was being presented.
Confused, he stared at the screen in front of him. What was that all about? Hawk Moth couldn't possibly have hit again if he'd just been in a conference room and then in a Star Bucks.
It had taken him all morning, leaving no time to even think about attacking.

Nooroo slowly crawled out of the gray coat pocket to just make his little head visible to Gabriel. He, too, had pricked his ears at this breaking news.
He could watch his master staring spellbound at the screen.
No doubt that was the school his son went to.

"Damned!" He cursed quietly before quickly continuing on his way, spilling the contents of his cup over his hand and clothes. But that didn't matter to him.
He quickly turned into a side street to turn behind a few garbage cans to his little comrade, who immediately flew out of his pocket

"What are you up to master?"

"Coffee break is over Nooroo. Let's take someone else's work today." he quickly looked around before continuing, "Nooroo, dark wings rise!"

 




"You stay here, you understand! You only leave the car in extreme emergencies!" Nathalie explained to the blond boy after she had committed a crime thanks to him, to bring him out of the danger zone by clearly exceeding the speed limit.

"Where are you going?!" the boy wanted to know but Nathalie brushed him off

"I have something to do. You stay here! Got it?"

".. Yes Nathalie.."

"Good!" she said before closing the door. She left the key in his care.

Hastily she ran back to school, or at least close to it.
People were still coming toward her who were moving away from the danger zone.

"Miss Nathalie!" Duusu squeaked softly as she emerged from her hiding place. She was still hidden from people's view, hiding in the area between Nathalie's red sweater and jacket.

"It does not look good.."

"It doesn't look like Hawk Moth at all either.."

"What do you mean by that?"

"It's too many Akumas. Until he finds a way to overcome his limitations, this isn't his doing. After all, he can only create one Akuma. Just like you can only create one sentimonster."

"That's strange. But whoever is to blame for this, we will deal with this one and defeat them."

She quickly made her way to a spot where she could transform unseen. She didn't even pause.
While still running, Nathalie grabbed the Miraculous in her jacket pocket to put it on and transform herself, so that she could continue her way over the roofs to be much faster.
Arriving on the roof of the Collège Françoise Dupont, Mayura first looked around.
The school was still surrounded by huge scary akumas.
And there were still people scattered around the building.

"These idiots!" she cursed under her breath before jumping off the roof

"Are you tired of life? Get out of here!" she yelled at the people who were now paying attention to her. However, there was something odd about them. Her eyes were glassy, and blank, with a green tinge flashing in them.

"There she is!" "Get her!!!" proclaims the crowd when they see the heroine in the blue dress.

Surprised by this, Mayura flinched. This whole situation stunk to high heaven.
Almost as if they were ambushed, the people began to surround her. One also surprised her from behind as he wrapped his arms around her to hold her tight.

"Seize her and her Miraculous!" one person now shouted at the people who approached her from the front.

Mayura now had to react quickly. Luckily she was stronger. And had combat experience.
With a purposeful movement, she was able to free herself and fend off the people.
She threw the man over her shoulders at the crowd approaching her and jumped back a few steps before pulling herself back onto the roof.

"What is going on today?"

"They all seem to be having a bad day.." the man in the purple suit, who had also fled to the roof, greeted her now carefully.

She narrowed her eyes in anger before straightening up and immediately pointing her fan like a sword at his face. "And what did I do to deserve your presence today?"
Swiftly, Hawk Moth raised his hands to take a defensive stance. "I have nothing to do with any of this!" he explained quickly.

"And that's why you thought you'd just stop by to help?"

'Well you saved my life' "Something like that"

"Tzz, if you believe it, we're blessed. You're just waiting for a chance to take my Miraculous from me."

"This isn't my doing! I have nothing to do with it! I'm here because-" he stopped himself at the last moment before announcing his son was the reason he was here.

"Because?" Mayura now asked curiously.

"... Personal reasons."

"Wonderful. Of course, that's believable," she announced before she slowly let her fan slide back towards the floor.

Another person slowly approached them. Almost as if he were floating, he glided onto the eaves with absolute elegance. His outfit itself consisted of a black coat with purple accents which turned into feathers at the ends that just blew back and forth in the wind.
He was wearing a black shirt. The chain, which was strongly reminiscent of a fox's tail, was blowing on his chest. A pair of sunglasses served as a mask and his black hair was tied in a neat ponytail.
The raven outfit wouldn't be bad if it weren't for the orange accents that ruin it a bit.

"If you are looking for the person responsible for this event. That would probably be me," he greeted the two, who looked at him and then at themselves confused.

"And you are?" Mayura asked him.

"Wait.. so you don't work with him?" Hawk Moth now asked who had his eyes on her.

"What? Why should I work with someone like him?"

"I thought it was because of the bird thing."

"....." Incomprehension spread across Mayura's face before she turned her gaze back to the other man. "Let's ignore that. Who are you now and what are you up to?"

"Oh yes.." the man continued to talk. "You all give each other funny names. However, some of them seem to be more creative than the others," he said while his gaze wandered to Hawk Moth for a few seconds. "To be honest I haven't come up with anything yet... Ah, how about this? You can just call me 'Karasu' my love~" With a wink he smiled at Mayura who only looked back in disgust.
With a leap, she set out to attack the enemy, who was able to dodge it quickly and skillfully. "How temperamental," he commented on the attack before turning to face her.

Mayura then tried again, but she was unsuccessful this time as well, as he was able to dodge like a feather in the wind and only made comments like "Too slow" and "Ah almost." "Close is also over"

"Shut up!" she cursed, but before she even had the chance to react, she could already feel his firm grip on her arm.
With a firm swing, Karasu threw her into Hawk Moth's arms, who barely caught her.

"That's how you do it," announced Karasu. His style of fighting was almost like a dance. Elegant and yet purposeful.

"Everything okay?" Hawk Moth inquired before he could feel her elbow in his chest as she scrambled to her feet, pushing him away in the process.

"Excellent!"

"What is your plan?"

"Plan? I don't remember allying with you."

"Come on. You know what they say. The enemy of my enemy is my friend?"

".. Terrible timing for the phrase.."

"So what's the plan?"

Mayura could feel anger building up inside her. She wasn't usually the person who lost control of her emotions. But right now she felt Karasu's broad grin and Hawk Moth's words act like charcoal, fueling the fire of anger within her. "Please. That's nothing more than an inflated turkey!" she said straight out.
'It's beginning to work' thought the man in the raven robe. "Owww..." he said before shrugging his shoulders "I'm a fine raven if anything. And it hurts me that you still haven't learned."
Determined, he now pointed his index finger at Mayura and with a blink, his eyes began to glow red.

A shock ran through Mayura suddenly. Unable to move, she could feel Duusu's powers being sucked out of her.
She clutched her Miraculous in fear as she watched parts of her body transform from Mayura back to Nathalie.
'Mayura' flashed through Hawk Moth's mind before he could tear himself away from her gaze to launch his attack on Karasu, stopping him from proceeding at least for a moment.

"Aww. He'sprotecting his girlfriend~"

"She's not my girlfriend!" he shouted before he turned to Mayura, "Pull yourself together! You're usually not that spirited!"
Mayura hastily nodded to him before she took her hands off her chest again. He was right. The feeling of fear was still present in every fiber of her body. But she couldn't allow herself this moment of weakness.

"You guys are almost cute together," Karasu announced before he punched Hawk Moth in the stomach and forced him to his knees only to finally let him go to the ground with another kick. "But just almost"
Still panting and gasping for air, Hawk Moth had to watch as his opponent pointed his finger at his provisional comrade again.

"Run away!!" he breathed with the last of his strength towards the woman who turned around hastily and jumped off the roof.

"Sweet. But your kwami stays here!" commanded Karasu which he also succeeded immediately.

While still in flight, Mayura transformed back into Nathalie, causing her to crash-land in the garbage cans.
Luckily the building in front of them was such that at least she didn't have to worry that anyone might have seen her.

"Shit...!" Nathalie cursed while she could hear Karasu's soft laughter from the roof.

Hawk Moth himself could also look into the face of the peacock Kwami, which now seemed to be suffering from severe pain.

"W.. what did you..?"

"Oh? Didn't anyone enlighten you? That's my power. The power of the raven. I can control the powers of other kwamis and even force them to come out of their Miraculouses even if they don't want to. Great, right? Shall I go ahead and take Nooroo too, so you can join her?"

Fear is now also spreading in Hawk Moth before he also jumps from the roof to the garbage cans "Mayura?!"

"Come one step closer and no Miraculous in the world can protect you from what I'm about to do to you!" Nathalie hissed at him. She was still covered by the garbage cans, which probably secured her identity. Her words alone were strong enough to force Hawk Moth to stop on the spot.

"Right...You have to get out of here! It's too dangerous for you without kwami"

"Oh really? Thanks, I would never have thought of that!"

".. I know you don't like me but I'm trying to protect you!"
Nathalie didn't say anything to that. How was she supposed to get out of this mess?

"Listen.. I'll figure something out, we'll get your kwami back. But now you have to go!"
With these words, Hawk Moth turned around and left Nathalie alone.
'He says it so simply..' she thought before slowly turning in his direction to make sure that he was gone. She slowly got up and made her way out of her hiding place in the other direction.
As soon as she got outside, she noticed a car whizzing around the corner and pulling up right in front of her. The door slammed open and Nathalie could see her sister's face as she grabbed her car with Adrien "Need a ride?" Celine now greeted her

"What are you doing here?!"

"Save your butt. Get in!" Celine said making Nathalie follow as she sat down on the passenger seat.

"I had it under control."

"Or you sure did. I can see that very clearly. Or hear it more," Celine explained while pointing to the radio in the car. "You know what they called your fight? Animal Abuse."
Shame spread in Nathalie while Adrien stared at her with sparkling eyes

"Wait!" he began "So you're Mayura?!"

".. Thanks, Celine. So much for keeping this a secret."

"Oh please. You didn't exactly bother to hide it from him either. I found him and the first thing he did was ask me about you because no sane person would walk in that direction you've just run from with him. You're not exactly known for your charity either. Plus, your Miraculous sparkles at us right now."

"I just couldn't think of anything.." Nathalie mumbled softly before taking her Miraculous from her chest.

"That is so cool!!" Adrien continued to boast while his eyes continued to shine.

"Do you have any idea what we can do now?" Celine continued to dig while keeping her eyes on the road.

"I don't know yet... As for Nathalie, I can't do much. So I have to get Duusu back. But I don't know how yet."

A wide grin now spread on Celine's lips "Ask your friend? How about that? He seems to be obsessed with helping you right now."

"He's not my friend! I don't even understand why he insists we form a team."

"Maybe he wants to return a favor to you~ Did you two have a secret rendezvous?"

"Oh yes totally... he wants to return the favor because I probably saved his life. Oh, wait - that never happened!"

"I might have an idea." Adrien now intervened, who had bent forward and stood up slightly, which Nathalie didn't like at all.

"Please sit down again." she ordered him thoughtfully, "If anything happens to you, your father will kill me."

Adrien immediately retreated to his seat before continuing. "I'm just saying... We could use Hawk Moth to set a trap for him and then overpower this raven guy.

"Or we just hit him with the car. Miraculous protect you from a certain kind of damage.." Nathalie added. She could feel herself slowly regaining control of her feelings. But that didn't change the fact that she didn't like Hawk Moth. Or Karasu.

"We won't hit him with the car! Otherwise, what is this? CIS Paris?" Celine protested immediately, which made Adrien laugh slightly.

"Of course not. But I think I have an idea that might work."

 

To be continued.

Chapter 14: Karasu ( Part 2 )

Chapter Text

Swiftly, Hawk Moth ran along the rooftops of Paris, away from Karasu, who didn't even bother to follow him. At least not now.
Rather, Karasu stood confidently on the ledge of the school and watched with folded arms and a broad grin as he disappeared into the distance.
Smugly he reached for the chain around his neck to remove it, which made the aspects the Kwami Trixx bestowed on him disappear, taking the little kwami with them.

"That's enough. Let's bother them with something else" he announced while stowing the Miraculous back in his jacket.
His gaze wandered to Duusu, who still seemed to suffer from pain as she was just squirming.

"Ohh... No." Karasu said while running his thumb over the kwami's head. "I'm sure your prince will come to save you soon, don't worry.”







Only after making sure he wasn't being followed did Hawk Moth lean against the wall of an alley before transforming back.
His Miraculous had protected him from further damage and yet the fight with the new opponent had left its mark on him.
To give Mayura the chance to escape, he kept trying to fight Karasu, even though he was way out of his league.

"Master?..." Nooroo croaked while looking at Gabriel who was sliding further down the wall.

"I'm okay..." he assured him "I just need a little break..."

Displeasure spread in the kwami as he approached the fashion designer a little, both of them were silent for a moment.
Gabriel took a deep breath before looking into the little kwami's face. "I'm sure I don't have to explain the power of your Miraculous to you. What's burning on your little immortal soul?"

".. your opponent... He uses multiple Miraculouses.."

"Yeah, I noticed that too. That would explain his inconsistent outfit." Gabriel said while his eyes fell on the little kwami again, who seemed to be playing with his hands nervously. "But that's not what you were getting at, right?"

"No..." Nooroo squeaked softly "Master.. this man... he is dangerous. And they are not the only Miraculouses he has.."

".. You think.."

"Yes.." Nooroo confirmed before both were startled by a loud noise. Gabriel carefully looked over his shoulder from the hiding place.

Karasu's costume had changed again. This time it had aspects of its costume that mixed black with a magenta tone.
With a big grin he announced "Where are you two? Let's continue!" while again presenting Duusu who was still crouched down.

"We have to do something.. we can't do that nothing."

"What should we do? Even if we free Duusu. We don't know who Mayura is behind the mask.."

"I know... But if we help the kwami, she'll be able to find Mayura..."

"Do you know how we do that?"

"Well, certainly not by hiding here. The break is over. Nooroo! Darkwings rise!"





 

Celine now clung doggedly to her seat. In a fleeting exchange, she had swapped places with her sister, who was now presenting her driving skills at full throttle while the earth was just rumbling in the background.

"Nath... are you sure that's such a good idea?"

"Do you have a better idea?"

"No.. that. CAUTION!" she called out quickly, while her sister was already pressing the brake to bring the car to a standstill in seconds.

"Watch where you walk!" Nathalie cursed loudly before she realized who ran in front of her car "Hawk Moth?!" now called Adrien and Celine in chorus.

"Nathalie?!" he called back before quickly covering his mouth with his hand.

A moment passed in which everyone involved just stared at each other before a loud crash in the background shook them awake.

"Oh, there you are!" announced Karasu happily who had landed on a roof a few meters away and Hawk Moth ran a shiver down his spine.
'There goes my plan...' it shot through Nathalie's mind while her gaze was also directed at Karasu.
Without thinking about it, Hawk Moth ran to the car door to tear it open and flee into the car.

"What do you think you're doing there?" snapped Nathalie at him.

"What are you waiting for? Hurry up!" he just ordered Nathalie, who didn't need to be told twice either as she saw Karasu approaching the car.
With squeaking tires, she started driving again.
The man in the purple suit could feel the eyes of the boy next to him, who had shifted a bit away from him, and how uncomfortable the whole situation was.

"May I ask where you are going?" he tried to break the ice.

"During the journey, you don't talk to the driver," Nathalie replied coldly. A look in the rear-view mirror told her that Karasu was in pursuit.

"Great..." she said while clenching her teeth "Now he's after us"

Hawk Moth hastily turned around to also see that Karasu was closer than expected. "Then drive faster!"

"This is the city center!"

"And that's a dangerous man!"

"You are a fantastic help!" Nathalie said before she made a sharp turn into the next best side street, which drove Adrien into Hawk Moth's arms for a few seconds, but of course, he let go of him immediately.

"I want to help you!"

"If you want to help us, how about you just roll out of the car and get the guy off our backs!"

".. You're driving through a city center at 60 miles per hour!"

"Then pay attention when you roll off!"

"Okay how about we all take a deep breath?" Celine intervened now. "Mayura isn't here right now, so the only option we all have is to escape," she suggested which made both adults want to growl at themselves.
But as much as Nathalie disliked it, her sister was right. She couldn't transform and danger was closing in on them with quick steps.
She quickly caught a glimpse in the outside mirror of the car. Karasu had come closer. But so was Duusu, who apparently could not free herself from his spell and had to pursue him.
'Sure.. that's it!'

"All right. I have a plan!" she announced "Adrien! Celine! You have to hold onto something now and no matter what, you must not let go!"
With a nod, both immediately followed the instruction and clung to the handles of the car and the door. Only Hawk Moth himself looked confused at the woman.

"And... what do I do?"

"You my friend, you get the wonderful task of snatching the kwami. If I swerve the car, you jump out of the car. Ready?"

"No?!"

"Perfect, go!"

Suddenly and with a violent jerk, Nathalie jerked the steering wheel over, causing the car to make an 80-degree turn and the door that hid Hawk Moth now facing Karasu.
Without thinking about it and being out of options, Hawk Moth ripped it open and jumped out. He quickly stretched out his arm to grab Duusu before Karasu could even realize what was happening. Or what Nathalie and Hawk Moth had just managed.
Hawk Moth carefully hid the little kwami in his hands. He had managed to land safely on the ground. His eyes now fell on the little kwami, who still seemed to be suffering, but whose pain and control depended on the distance from Karasu. She seemed to be doing a little better now.
She quickly looked at the car and Karasu, who had also come to a standstill and was in the middle between the car and Hawk Moth. A few meters away from both.

"Hurry on!" he yelled at Nathalie before turning and fleeing in the opposite direction to further relieve Duusu of her torment.

Nathalie herself didn't need to be told that twice. "Adrien! The door!" she ordered him before she started driving again.
In the rearview mirror, she could see Karasu still standing around idly and getting smaller in the distance. 'He's not moving.. that's good

"Celine.." she spoke to her sister. "We'll swap places in a moment. You take the car and Adrien and continue driving to safety. Don't stop. I'll go back and see that I get my kwami back."

 




Hawk Moth carefully carried the little peacock kwami away from the scene she had just been in with Karasu. He could watch Duusu closely as her pain seemed to diminish significantly, to the point where she was back to normal in the blink of an eye.
Surprised she now looked over to Hawk Moth. It took a moment, but then she gave a startled squeak

"Wah! Hawk Moth!!" she cried while hastily freeing herself from his grip.
Immediately, the man in the purple suit stopped to raise his hands and release Duusu. "I am not your enemy!" he explained. "I'm glad we were able to free you. Fly to your mistress! We need her help. I will go back to the woman to help her."

Still confused, Duusu blinked at the man. "Woman?"

"Yes.. Her name is Nathalie Sancoeur"
That name made Duusu shiver down her little spine. Did he find out that it was none other than Mayura?

"N-Nathalie Sancoeur?" she now explored nervously, which Hawk Moth acknowledged with a nod

"An incredibly mysterious woman. And as it turned out, highly spirited," he explained with an almost gentle smile on his lips before clearing his throat once.

"Anyway, she helped me to help Mayura. So I'll see if I can help her. Not that she needs my help."

".. I get it"
With a nod, the man turned away from Duusu. "Good. Then fly off already"

 




Karasu was still standing where Hawk Moth had snatched Duusu from him.
He was neither shocked nor angry. No, what he felt at that moment was nothing but the incredible feeling of being unspeakably amused.
'These two...' kept flashing through his mind. 'I didn't think they would go that far..'
A wide grin spread across his face as he began circling one of his many Miraculouses in his hand.

"I thought by separating them I would weaken them. They're amazing. Scary. Dangerous," he stated. "But that makes things a lot more interesting."

Karasu didn't notice through his soliloquy how unnoticed and quietly a person came towards him. Before he could even react, Mayura kicked him in the back to pin him to the ground, her hands clasped in front of her chest.

"What are you babbling about?" she greeted him as Karasu looked up at her, still smiling. "Hey what's cooking, good looking~" he greeted her back with his very fine British accent while winking at her once.

"Have you missed me yet?"

"Oh absolutely my love~" he assured her

"Awww. I don't like you at all," Mayura exclaimed before kicking him off her shoe.

With a swing, Karasu swung back to his feet

"Sure you ready for round 2? After what happened last time?"

"Now I know your power and how you use them. Besides, I have no other choice. You're terrorizing my town. I can't just let that happen. I have a reputation to lose."

"Ha. Spoken like a real heroine"
Mayura knew if she just tried to hit him blindly again, he would be able to dodge again. A sentimonster would also take too long. After all, he could steal Duusu from her again without any problems and force her to transform back again.

"What is it? Are we waiting for your friend?" Karasu goaded her. "Or are you waiting for me to make the first move? Do you want me to come first? Do you want to come first? Shall we come together?"

With one leap, Mayura pointed her fan in his direction. Straight towards him. By tilting his head, however, he was able to easily avoid it. "Please. I have expected more of you-" he wanted to start before Mayura punched him in the face and stopped him.
Another punch hit him right in the stomach area, causing him to fall to the ground again.
It felt so good to finally punch him. Even if the Miraculous would save him from more damage.
Mayura wasn't going to leave it at that. She immediately tried to kick the man lying on the ground, which he knew how to prevent.
He immediately rolled over to get back on his feet before Mayura's next attacks came at him and forced him to back away from her.
He was shocked to find that his back was literally against the wall.
Mayura hastily grabbed his arms to push him even more firmly against the wall.
Both couldn't help but look into each other's eyes while gasping for air.

"So who are you?" Mayura started breaking the silence

"I said so. 'Karasu', didn't you hear me? big mistake."

With a little strength, she pressed him even tighter against the wall for a moment

"I want to know who you are. How come you have so many Miraculouses?" she hissed at him in a sharp tone.

"What's the fun in that, if I just tell you, my dear? Besides, you already know it. Just think~"

"What do you mean by that? I've never seen you before."

"But you knew who the Miraculous collected. As a job~" Karasu breathed at her, causing Mayura to shiver.

"Don't tell me..."

"Oh? Has the penny finally dropped? Took you long enough."

"You....." Mayura started before the sound of squeaking tires interrupted her. Hastily, Celine yanked the door open "Mayura!" she called loudly.

"What? I'm busy"

"The town!" Adrien, who also got out of the car, also intervened. "She's surrounded!"

"What..."

"Ha. That took a while." Karasu said before preparing to kick Mayura in the stomach, causing the woman to back away from him. "I had fun talking to you but I have other things to do. Au Revoir~" he explained before making his way up onto a roof.
Mayura gritted her teeth in anger before turning to face the woman. "You can't stay here! Take Adrien and hide somewhere!"

"But-"

"No Buts. You can do it, Celine!" Mayura announced before setting off to follow Karasu.
Which wouldn't have been necessary. Before she could even jump onto the roof, Karasu flew off it and landed almost right in front of her feet. Face first.
In Surprise Mayura looked up, only to see Hawk Moth on the roof. "Now that's what I call a strike!" he announced with a laugh while circling the staff in his hands a few times before jumping down to the two.

"You took your time..."

"I'm glad to see you too”

"hugging..." Karasu grumbled. This was not how he had imagined the day to be. Mayura quickly looked over at her partner. "Would you like to clip the bird's wings?"

"Oh yes, please!" he said, pointing out to take a big step toward the man who was still lying on the ground. He hastily wrapped his arms around it to be able to hold it with a firm grip and get it up again.

"You're hiding, understood!" Mayura admonished Celine and Adrien one more time before she went to Karasu and yanked open his coat, which was part of his outfit so that she had a clear view of his chest where the Miraculous was hidden.

"Ha... buy me a drink first..." he breathed, still dazed from his fall.

Mayura didn't pay any more attention to him, her attention was much more focused on the many pieces of jewelry that were on the inside of the coat.
What particularly caught her eye was the fact that they all looked like normal pieces of jewelry. Nothing about them looked magical in any way.

"Wow.." Hawk Moth also commented, who was just able to look over Karasu's shoulders at the inside of the coat as well.
Without giving it a second thought, Mayura began grabbing the jewelry. "Which of these is responsible for your monsters?"

"You won't be able to activate it anyway..."

"Activate?"

"Didn't you learn anything? What a waste of your father's DNA... Miraculous react to their owner's abilities.. in other words, some Miraculouses you can use. Others are denied to you forever."

"Oh, and you're Mr. Master User here, aren't you?"

"Some are just easier to use."

"And where is your Miraculous?"

"I suppose you'd like to know that."

Annoyed, Mayura rolled her eyes before continuing to find the Miraculous, which Karasu believed to have given him his powers.
But that turned out to be harder than expected. All Miraculous looked the same as they all had the same color. They were all gray and colorless. Only the forms differed from each other.
In addition, Karasu found the outfit from so many aspects. He had sunglasses, many small rings, and even earrings. All of this could be Miraculous.
With her fingers, she now grabbed his chin to turn it to the side. One of the earrings he was wearing stood out in particular. It was a black helix piercing, with a striking purple shimmering gem in the center.
'Bingo'

She quickly grabbed it before another attempt by Karasu to kick her in the stomach made her back away again.
Immediately she placed herself in front of her to protect her.
Celine who in turn held Adrien protectively in her arms.
He hastily wriggled out of Hawk Moth's grip to throw it over his shoulders at Mayura's feet. As soon as this happened, he retreated a few steps from both of them.

"It was funny. But you're starting to annoy me," he announced before pulling another Miraculous out of his pocket. This time it was a small necklace with a large stone in the center which instantly transformed at his touch and took on shades of red and black.
As Hawk Moth grumbled to himself on the ground, Mayura jerked her hand away to summon her fan, and she threw it in Karasu's direction again.
This time he dodged again.

"My, my. You've got fire in you. You know what? Just for you." Karasu grinned slightly before he dug something out of his pocket and threw it at Mayura.
It was a gray chain shaped like a fox's tail. But unlike Karasu, the chain did not react to Nathalie.

"What is that?" she asked.

"You will need it." he announced before stretching out his hands "Longg, Zeroo. Unify!" he commanded, whereupon his outfit took on dragon-like aspects and his weapon became a sword.

"That doesn't look good..." stated Hawk Moth, who had slowly straightened up.

"Really..." Mayura only replied while looking at the necklace in her hands again. She was still the same grey. "there.." she hissed quietly to herself before burying it in her palm. "Get ready, Hawk Moth!" she instructed the latter, who only nodded in agreement before taking his weapon in hand.
Karasu hastily raised his sword, whereupon the wind collected around it, which he aimed directly at the two Miraculous owners.
A wind so strong that even standing was difficult came upon them.
They stretched out their hands protectively in front of their faces.
However, Mayura's gaze fell directly on Celines, who was crouched down with Adrien in her arms.

"Hawk Moth!" she instructed him "Take the boy!"

With a nod, they both jumped at Celine, whereupon Mayura picked her up in her arms while Hawk Moth carried the boy away.
They both jumped in different directions onto one of the rooftops of Paris.
Still shaking and with a queasy feeling in her stomach, Celine now clung to the heroine's neck.

"This guy is insane."

"I know. And I don't understand what I'm supposed to do with this necklace..."

"He meant something about 'activate'."

".. Yes, but!" Mayura announced before turning in the direction of the roof, a few meters from her, on which Hawk Moth was standing, who was staring stubbornly at Karasu, who was once again finding this all very amusing.

"Hawk Moth! Catch!" she shouted at him to be able to throw the Miraculous to him before both had to dodge again because Karasu directed the next storm at them, which this time even ripped a few chimneys away.
The blond boy looked surprised at the hand in which Hawk Moth had caught the Miraculous. He still clung to the hero not to fall from his arm while he jumped down from the roof onto the ground.

"Nothing happens..." he stated now

"Looks like it.." the man confirmed before he hugged the boy tighter. "We have to get you to safety."

Adrien couldn't help but just nod.
But as if he had guessed it, Karasu had now turned his attention to the two.
With a loud bang, he rattled lightning down on both of them, which Hawk Moth narrowly avoided while others rained down on the building next to them.

"Look out!" the man in the purple suit shouted as he bent over Adrien to protect him from the large chunks that now fell on both of them, burying them underneath.

 





It was dark. Only narrow rays of light managed to get through the narrow gaps in the junk to Adrien.
Still overcome with fear, he slowly began to move his fingers, only to find that nothing hurt him. Not a part of the falling stones had caught him. He lifted his head in surprise and opened his eyes only to freeze in place. His eyes widened in horror as instead of looking into the face of the hero who had saved him, he looked into the face of his father who had saved him.

"Are you okay?" he asked with a soft smile on his lips. His cream-colored clothing was now completely covered in dirt, and he was still hoisting heaps of pieces of rock so they wouldn't fall on Adrien.

"F...Father? You're Hawk Moth?..." Adrien stammered quietly.

"I'm sorry. I didn't want you to know. but I couldn't let you. get hurt.."

Adrien's gaze fell carefully on the Miraculous, which was lying on the ground in front of his father, in front of whom Nooroo was now flying. He too looked puzzled and unsure of what to do next. Adrien held his head grimly. All of that couldn't be true. It must be a bad dream. For sure.
His father is Hawk Moth? And he would fight his assistant, who was Mayura?

"Why..." he whispered. "Why are you doing all this?..."

".. A wish.. the one who gave me the Miraculous said some of them would grant wishes when put together. I thought... with this, I could bring your mother back to you.."

"M-Mum?...."

"You were so sad at her funeral.. we had to hold you back from jumping into the hole with her afterward. you spent weeks just crying... I don't want you to suffer anymore.."

The sound of clearing away the stones did not allow the two to continue the conversation.

"Adrien!" he could hear Mayura calling.
He hastily grabbed the Miraculous lying on the ground and put it back on his father.

"Hurry up! We don't have time to explain this!" he said to his father before taking the Miraculous of the Fox from him and crawling towards Mayura to free himself.

"We're okay!" he explained to her before he gave her the Fox Miraculous "But Hawk Moth couldn't awaken it either."

Amazement spread across her face. But there was no time for it.

"What are you taking so long for, old man!" she called to Hawk Moth, which elicited a tired laugh. With a slight rumble, Hawk Moth freed himself only to come out of the junk like a phoenix out of the ash.

"That guy sucks.. just throwing lightning bolts at innocent people."

"You're right. You should teach him a lesson."

"Oh I will!" proclaimed Hawk Moth. "Take care of the boy!" he said before he went to attack Karasu.

With a nod, Mayura grabbed Adrien, who was still staring at the man, as he got carried away.
'Hawk Moth couldn't activate it either... crap. I have to find someone who can..' Mayura thought. 'Only who...'

Chapter 15: Karasu ( Part 3 )

Summary:

The fight against the new Enemy goes into the final round.
And while Adrien is still moaning over the revealtion that the fight had brought to him
Hawk Moth finds himself faced with what happend 10 years ago again, raising questions about what happend on the day, Emilie died.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Mayura carefully carried the boy in her arms, away from the fighting.
What surprised her, however, was the boy's absent gaze, as if he wasn't interested in what was going on there. Not even in the slightest. Just an hour ago, he was so excited. And now?

"Are you all right Adrien?" she asked him cautiously, now that they were far away enough so that neither Hawk Moth nor Karasu could hear them.

"Yeah. it's just.. you don't get buried by a bad guy every day.." he breathed at her, his gaze still fixed on the ground beneath him as Mayura carried him away over the rooftops, in Security.

".. I'm sorry I couldn't protect you.."

"Hawk Moth was there..."

Mayura quickly realized that it was probably impossible for her to get through to him in the current state. It was useless. So she turned her gaze back to the landscape in front of her.
Only one question was burning in her mind, who should she give the Miraculous to?
She quickly jumped down from the roof to slide into a side street.

"Wait here," she instructed the boy before turning to jump back to Hawk Moth.
Which Adrien took as a direct approach to holding her back by the dress. "Let me try!"

"excuse me?"

"The Miraculous. Let me see if I can activate it."

"This is far too dangerous! Your father will give me hell if he ever finds out!"

Adrien didn't answer that. Much more he tried to grab the Miraculous in her hand, which Mayura was able to prevent by simply stretching out her hand further. How good that she was a grown woman and Adrien a boy, not older than fourteen.

"I would like to help!" he protested again.

"You can help us by staying safe so we can take care of the madman!"

With these words, she finally tore herself away from Adrien and rushed back to the battlefield.

 





Hawk Moth himself still found himself in the situation where Karasu, now with a dragon update, kept switching between wind and lightning to keep his opponent aka the Fashion King of Paris on his toes.
Doggedly, Hawk Moth continued to dodge. He hasn't been able to land an attack since Mayura left with Adrien. And that wasn't even the worst part of the situation.
Why did HIS Miraculous of all people have to fall away trying to save his son, so that he had to look into his son's face as Gabriel? How should he face Adrien from now on? How should he take this conversation again in general? What should he tell him?
With an elegant leap, he dodged another flash. What he did here would easily pass as a sports program today.

"you can't only dodge! You also have to swing back!" shouted Celine to the man who had hidden behind a pile of falling rocks. "Cover right, strike left!" she continued to call out to him.

"Don't you have a better place to be?!" Hawk Moth only replied before he had to dodge to the side again.

"But the woman is right," Karasu intervened, "How are you going to do anything if you just avoid my attacks?"

"How about you stop playing the weather fairy." Hawk Moth replied with a sneer on his lips. “Then I could come at you”

"Oh? So you would prefer my sword instead?"

Skillfully, Hawk Moth then circled his staff a few times in his hand before slamming it on the ground to support himself. "I mean. I'm not unarmed," he said with a grin on his lips, which made Karasu's eyes shine. He would accept that challenge.
He quickly turned the sword in a different direction so that it was now pointing to the ground while waving his hand at him "Then show me what you've got."
Hawk Moth didn't need to be told twice. It was not for nothing that he had always taken fencing lessons as a teenager, just as Adrien does today. And it was not for nothing that he had also won countless trophies.
He now held his staff like a sword, with which he immediately attacked Karasu's sword.
But even he knew how to handle a weapon in his hand. With ease, as graceful as a feather, he parried, only to strike purposefully. He was like a butterfly stinging like a bee.
At the same time, they banged their weapons on each other just to be able to look into each other's eyes.

"Ha, you've got more than just cracking jokes, turkey."

"And despite all your failings, you seem to have a talent, king of fashion"

A shiver ran down Hawk Moth's spine. He was glad that Celine was far enough away to hear what the two were discussing. "What did you just call me?"

"Oh, I didn't mean to offend you. Would you prefer a different title?"

"How do you know..."

"I know a lot. You would be surprised. Why do you think you got a Miraculous back then?" Karasu spoke before unrolling his sword to strike again, which Hawk Moth parried, bringing them face to face again.

"Maybe my charm was the reason?"

"Ha! More of your sense of humor. But think about it. Why should you get one of all people?"

With anger, the man now hit the sword to force him to block. "Just tell me! You seem to be the one responsible for it after all!"

"You're right. Well, maybe I just wanted to give you a chance to put things right after the death of your wife Emilie."

Hawk Moth gritted his teeth and growled "Don't say her name! And what do you even know?!"

"You and I. We have more in common than you might think. Like how my wife died the same October night as Em-your wife, for example."
The brief shock Hawk Moth felt was quickly covered with anger. "What does all this have to do with it!?" he yelled at him now, so loud. Celine would have no problem hearing it.

"You're right," he replied before knocking his staff out of Hawk Moth's hands. "Let's not dwell on the past any longer. It seems you are not in the mood for it anyways."
With one bound, he aimed his sword directly at the man's throat, who reflexively raised his arms

"You know what's interesting?" Karasu continued.

"I'm sure you'll tell me right away."

"When children wear Miraculous, their weapons are harmless. Toys if you will. But when grown-ups carry them, their weapons can become real weapons. Because they reflect the cruelty of the owner. Your weapon is blunt. From the start you had no chance." he explained to him and for a second Hawk Moth could see the light reflecting off the blade towards him and he couldn't help but swallow for a moment.

"You would have the chance to upgrade your weapon, but not by continuing to be so weak." Karasu continued.

Hawk Moth could just see the gleam in the eyes of the man in front of him, who could easily look down at him, being a few inches taller than himself.
He could feel the fear creeping up on him bit by bit.
With a grin, Karasu lunged, only to take a few steps away from Hawk Moth as Mayura swooped down. Was she here to protect him?

"Are you unharmed?"

".. Y-Yes," he quickly assured her.

"Good!" she said before continuing her attack on Karasu. She blocked his sword with her fan so that it posed no danger to her.

"Ha! What are you trying to do with that? Better take his staff and try your luck with it, my peacock!" her opponent in raven's robes laughed mockingly.

"You know what's so great about a short weapon? You're closer to your opponent to do this!" she announced before kicking Karasu off his legs so that he was reacquainted with the ground once again.

"Tze.." he hissed before he swept everyone present away from him with another storm. Even Celine now had problems keeping herself on her feet.

"Mayura!" shouted Hawk Moth, who had caught her in flight while both set course for the next wall.

In a single instant, Mayura could see out of the corner of her eye how the Miraculous reacted for a split second. 'That can't be true...' she thought as her gaze fixed on the woman who did so. While still in flight she tossed it.

"Celine!" she shouted at her before she and Hawk Moth slammed into the nearest wall. "Catch!"
Unsteadily, the woman caught the necklace in her hands, only to be greeted with a warm glow of the most beautiful shades of orange that slowly took over the whole necklace, transforming it into a colorful necklace reminiscent of a fox.

"What..." Hawk Moth gasped in surprise.

"I knew it.." Mayura also coughed softly. Both had hit their heads against the wall and were now lying close together, leaning against the wall.
Stunned, Celine now looked into the face of the kwami who had sprung from the chains.

"Who are you?" she asked him carefully and with a soft surprised smile to take away the little kwami's fear.

"Trixx! Don't you dare!" yelled Karasu who was visibly annoyed and had now lost all patience at the fact that someone from Mayura's team had been able to awaken the Miraculous when storm and lightning combined to conjure up a thunderstorm.
Immediately, Celine stood protectively in front of the kwami so that it wouldn't fly away, and Hawk Moth did the same to protect Mayura from harm. It should be him rather than her.
You would at least cry for her.

"So you're Trixx, I'm Celine. Can you tell me how to transform?" she asked him while covering her face with her hand, whereupon the kwami nodded

"all you have to say is 'Trixx, let's pounce!'"

"Celine, hurry up!" Mayura yelled at her as Karasu got dangerously close to her.

She hastily fastened the chain around her neck and walked in the opposite direction, away from Karasu, still holding the small kwami in her protective hands.

"Trixx, Let's pounce!" she announced and while still running, she was overcome by the same orange light from the Miraculous that greeted her which is now transforming her clothes into those of a heroine.
With one leap she now jumped on the outside wall of a building to support herself from it and with one leap, she flew straight at Karasu and gave him a kick in the face that made him fall to the ground again and at least for now, the storm stopped again.
Pleased with her performance, she landed on both feet to hop up and down a bit. "Wow." she announced, "I feel so much lighter and yet so much more powerful." 'I almost forgot

"What a show-off." commented Mayura

"I wonder who she got that from..."

"However, we can't let her steal the show!"

With a leap, Mayura jumped to her feet and offered her hand to Hawk Moth. "Thanks for catching me."
A gentle smile spread across his face before he took the hand that was extended to him. "With pleasure."
He'd just managed to get to his feet, only to collapse right back. It had hit him harder than he thought.
Mayura just managed to catch him so that he fell into her arms.

She gently leaned him back against the wall. "You are too weak..."

"I know..." the man breathed out. He wasn't used to all the fighting. "You should take the chance and just take my Miraculous from me."

Mayura could feel how her gaze slowly wandered towards the miraculous in front of her. How close it was to her. And how pretty it looked.

"... What are you talking about?"

".. I can't help anymore. You should just take my Miraculous. Then you would put an end to my tyranny... to finally save Paris from me..."

"You protected me." Mayura retorted before taking her hands off the man. "Also. It's a lot more fun if I take it off your hands after defeating you. You're Akumas aren't that good anyways." she continued before turning with a grin to rush to Celine's aid.

"Rest! We'll give you back up!" she called out to him and the man couldn't help but watch her go before he started to smile slightly.
Even more annoyed, Karasu rubbed his face before he slowly got up again, which immediately put Celine in a fighting position.

"You want more? I got more where that came from"

"That was nothing but beginner's luck. Don't think you could do it again!" he shouted at her to start his next attack on her, and Mayura immediately intervened by fending off the sword with the fan again.

"Your weapon!" she now instructed the woman. "I think you want to use that. Nice ears, by the way," she winked, indicating the large fox-like ears that were now sticking out of Celine's hair.

"Thanks. I knew I always had a lot in common with foxes," the woman announced before drawing her weapon, a simple flute, and for a second disappointment spread across her face. Why hadn't she got a great weapon like those two?
However, she quickly got back into the fight, which prompted Karasu to parry the attacks that were now coming at him from both sides, which made him sweat a lot and kept pushing back.
Each blow from Mayura's fan was followed by a kick from Celine. And each parry from her weapon was followed by a smack with Mayura's bare fist.
They were a coordinated team in perfect synchronicity.
Suddenly he found himself with his back against the wall. Before he could do anything, Celine knocked the sword out of his hand to throw it over her shoulder so Mayura could take it and hold it to his throat this time.

"Checkmate, my dear," she announced with a smile on her lips.

"Tze.." Karasu hissed softly.

"Celine." she continued to instruct her sister without taking her eyes off her opponent. "I assume your powers summoned all the creatures in the first place. Am I right?"

"You might be right about that," Karasu simply replied

"Very nice. Now if you would be so kind as to make these disappear."

"Sure!" Celine said happily before picking up her flute. Skilfully she let it circle her fingers a few times.

She gently lifted the flute to her lip to play a melody on her, whereupon all of Karasu's created monsters evaporated in a cloud.
Which upset him even more and he started to grind his teeth.

"Now that that's off the table," Mayura said while taking a step closer, Karasu could feel the blade on his neck. How the tip touched his throat. "I have a few questions and you will answer them for me."
The man in front of her blinked as he didn't dare to take his eyes away from her.

"What is it, my love?" he tried to bluff as coolly as possible. He was trying to act as cool as someone with a blade to their throat could act in this situation.

"Am I correct in assuming it was you who broke into the museum 10 years ago to steal the Miraculous my father found?"

"Oh. So you did some research after all!"

"Answer the question!" she hissed before she jerked her sword once, making Karasu flinch for a split second.

"I did it, yes."

"In his files, my father spoke of a feline kwami that dwelt in a ring. Furthermore, my father spoke of many of the Miraculous he had found. But that night, you only stole this one, along with a pair of earrings.
Why did you want this particular couple?"
Karasu had to swallow once at the cool voice the woman brought towards him together with the piercing look. It frightened him further than the sword at his neck.

"They are special.. only these two fulfill one wish, should they be united.."

"Did you use the wish?"

"...."
Silence took part between them which was all the assurance that Mayura had needed.

"Well, then it was you. It was you that my father spoke of that night. You who saw with your own eyes the cruelty of desire. You disgust me!" Mayura started, gripping the sword tighter.
Out of sheer fear, Karasu summoned the powers of both the raven and the dragon with an eyelash to unleash them all at once, which made Mayura push away from him to give him a chance to free himself.
With one bound he jumped at Celine to rip the chain from her neck, which turned her back into an ordinary woman, as he run past her at a high speed.
Before Mayura could even follow him, he had already disappeared over the rooftops.
Now, seething with anger, she gritted her teeth while glaring her gaze in the direction in which he had disappeared. "Shit!" she cursed loudly, making Celine look up worried.

"Nath..." she breathed softly to get the heroine's attention.

She was startled when she looked at her. Behind the beautiful magenta, eyes were hate. Contempt. A strange purple shimmer that wasn't there before.
Celine couldn't help but flinch. "Nath..." she repeated, this time with more fear.
Why was her sister giving that look? What was wrong? Why were her feelings so overwhelming again? Confused, Mayura grabbed her head before she got on her knees.

"Damn.." she breathed softly before wrapping her arms around herself.

 






Shivering, Karasu landed on one of Paris' many rooftops when he had walked far enough away from the scene.
'Crap....' he cursed under his breath before wrapping his trembling hand around with the other more calming one.
This woman. She was terrifying. scary. He hadn't felt those feelings for so long.
It was overwhelming.
And yet, even if he was the one who had to answer her questions, he too had learned something.

"So you got him..." he announced quietly before looking around to jump into a deserted back alley. "You have the miraculous I'm looking for," he spoke before a shimmer of purple light turned him back to Tyler.

With a grin, he leaned against the nearest wall which he slid down.
His legs were shaking. And without the power of the Miraculous, he didn't even have the strength to stand.

 





"Maura!" Hawk Moth shouted as he made his way to the scene Celine and Mayura were in.

Mayura was still crouching in front of her, away from Celine, who still didn't try to take a step closer to her out of fear.

"What happened?" he inquired before crouching down in front of Mayura to slowly put his hands on her shoulders, whereupon Celine just shook her head.

"Celine!" he yelled at her now "Pull yourself together!"
Which made her wince again, but also broke her trance.

"He used his powers. When he ran from her... I was a little way off, but she got it all."

Hawk Moth could see Mayura gasping through clenched teeth as she wrapped her arms tighter around herself. He was at a loss. What should he do?

"Mayura.." he breathed out again. It was worth a try.

Without thinking about it, he took her in his arms. "Take a deep breath!" he tried to instruct her. With a jolt, he felt the full force of her powers as she pushed him away.

"Hands off!" she yelled at him "What are you allowing yourself?!" she continued while slowly getting up on her legs. "You're doing welfare here. What do you want from me!?"
He blinked at her in confusion.
She took a few steps away from him to lean against the wall to hold her head again "..damn.." she swore softly again.

"Maura!" Celine tried it now, and slowly and unsteadily got on her feet. "Please. You have to take a deep breath! That's not you!"

"You think I don't know that?!" Mayura hissed at her, only to regret it right away. "It.. I.." she stammered softly before she could feel Celine's arms around her body slowly embracing Mayura. "I know. take a deep breath. I'm here for you.." she whispered to her.
Desperate, Mayura wrapped herself now around this woman. "Help me..." she breathed back. Softly. Whereupon Celine hugged her even tighter "Everything will be fine. Take a deep breath. In and out.."
They both stayed like that for a few minutes. Though it seemed like an eternity to Hawk Moth. He felt so out of place.
Minutes passed before Mayura blinked at the woman in front of her.

"I think it's ok" which provoked a smile in Celine. "You.. you can let go of me now.." she continued, whereupon the woman only hugged her tighter "But when do I ever have the honor of hugging the heroine of Paris!" she announced with a laugh whereupon Mayura pushed her away. Only now did she realize that she was still Mayura and not Nathalie. "Well, my work here is done. So I guess I'll go now.."
With a bound, she turned to leave quickly.








Still laughing, Celine looked after the woman before turning to Hawk Moth. "You should leave soon too," she said to him.

"I know.." repeated the man, who seemed almost depressed. He felt so useless. So he hadn't been able to support Mayura once more. Had he been here, he might even have been able to protect her.

"Are you blaming yourself?" the woman asked him as if she could read his mind, whereupon he turned his head away.

"You were able to do a lot for Mayura today. Thanks to you she got her kwami back. And between us" she whispered while winking at him "The way you protected her with your body was heroic."

'Heroic' echoed in his head. Each letter pierced him like a knife. There was nothing heroic about him. He was much more ashamed of everything he had done up until now. How many people he must have hurt with his akumatizations? And today wouldn't change that.

"There's nothing heroic about me," he retorted before getting back to his feet. "She should have taken my Miraculous while she had the chance. This piece brings nothing but mischief."

"It is not too late"

"What?.."

"To do the right thing." she smiled at him "You can always do the right thing."








It was already dark. Gabriel had planned to talk to his son, but after the conversation with Celine, he didn't have the heart to look at his face.
Far too many questions shot through his head. He was so full of these that all he had done was flee home and lock himself in his room. The words that Celine had brought to him were still buzzing through his head and her shape formed in his mind's eye. How could she smile at him so sincerely when he had brought so much sadness to Paris lately?
And so he sat there now. The Miraculous in front of him in which Nooroo was hiding.
Was it not too late to do the right thing? Would Mayura accept seeing who was hiding behind Hawk Moth's mask all along? Or would she make his life hell? Ruin his career? Would Adrien be taken away from him? The thought of losing his son alone pained him.

Or seeing the contempt on Nathalie's face that he well deserved.
He didn't notice a figure sneaking up to him from the shadows of his room.
Before he even had the chance to notice him, he had his fingers pointed at his forehead, rendering Gabriel unable to move. Fast his mind got rid of all the questions he asked himself. His gaze went blank.
Menacingly, the eyes that were fixed on the fashion designer, as they began to glow a menacing red as they emerged from the darkness.

"Let's see how you like this, my dear." commented the voice in a slightly sneer

Notes:

first of all I want to take this chance to thank my two friends Amy and Harry who Betareaded my story to get the best possible version of this chapter out. You two are the best.
Also I am sorry this fight actually took 3 chapters. Planned where 1. Then 2 and then It still wasn't enough xD
Lastly, thanks to everyone who read it and takes the time to comment. You guys can't believe how happy it makes me. So thank you very much!

Chapter 16: The Day Mayura died

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Nathalie's day started like any other.
It was early in the morning when she'd rolled out of bed to disappear into the bathroom, where she'd allowed herself a shower, which should help bring her weary spirits back to life. Although she only succeeded when she was sitting with her first cup of coffee at the breakfast table. How wonderful the first sip of coffee in the morning felt! She closed her eyes for a second to enjoy it even more.

With a satisfied nod, she turned to look at her tablet. A few more appointments would have to be made. Plans would have to be agreed to.
And then there was what Karasu had said yesterday. It still sent a shiver down her spine. She knew who was hiding behind the mask. Only his destination was unclear to her. He had already expressed his wish. What else could he be after now? world domination? Chaos?
Nathalie took another sip of her coffee.
It made her sad to think about Tyler. He had been such a nice boy, sincere, and calm but not mean in any way. What on earth had happened to him to make him change like that? So much so, that not even she had recognized him. Although they had been working partners for years and she had always known him before both of them had even mastered the little one times one. Yet she was aware of the time they both lost sight of one another. He hasn't seen him for years. Just when she started University.

"Morning.." Celine greeted her sleepily, as she made her way to the coffee maker. Which made Nathalie break out of her thoughts, but only greeted her with a short nod.
With another big yawn, Celine also poured something into her cup before turning to her. "You're already at work? so early in the morning?..."

"I need to do some research..."

"About Karasu or Hawk Moth?.."

"Karasu, there are still too many things that don't make sense."

Celine's gaze also became more serious as the memories of the past day came up. They still tormented Celine. Karasu alone was scary enough. But seeing her otherwise self-possessed sister lose control like that scared her. With a blink, she banished the memories and pushed the button to turn on the radio. She didn't want to spoil her early morning with bad memories right away.

"...-the current reports, let's come to the weather in Paris. The Katharina high is still making itself felt, so we can hope for pure sunshine today too. With maximum values of up to 25°C."

"So we have nice weather again today!" Celine stated happily. Nathalie envied her how quickly her mood could change and how happy she was about the little things. Such as good weather, and sunshine for 3 days in a row. "Then I can move the class outside today!~" Celine continued, which made Nathalie smile. Adrien had always loved studying with her in the garden, it helped him concentrate better. This was also reflected in his performance. So she was sure he would be happy with that decision.
Nathalie emptied her cup in one gulp before putting it in the sink and reaching for her bag. "I wish you a lot of fun with it. I'll try not to come home too late today."

"I hope so! I'm making my delicious curry today! You better be there!" she admonished Celine causing Nathalie to raise her hand. "I promise it," she said before unlocking the apartment door and stepping outside, making her way to her car. The sun was already shining on her. It was a beautiful day.
A normal day. As always.






What wasn't normal, however, was Gabriel's behavior.
Confused, Nathalie watched him from the great hall through the open door of his study. She knew he had always been a very quiet person. But at least he had managed to say hello to Nathalie at least in the morning when she came to work. But not today.
He stood stiffly in front of his screen, one hand on his hip, totally absent and uninterested in what was going on around him.
Clearing her throat, Nathalie drew attention to herself again. "Good morning, Mr. Agreste!" she repeated, this time in a louder tone that finally forced him to turn to face her.

"I'm busy. Can't you see that?" he replied coolly.

Did she upset him with something? Was it because of the action with Adrien? But he would have mentioned that already if it had bothered him. When it came to work or his son, Gabriel wasn't the type to give you the cold shoulder to point out that there was a problem. No, he would address it directly to get it out of the way.
With a sigh, Nathalie picked up her tablet. "Sir, you have a meeting to discuss today starting at 10 a.m."

"Cancel that."

"Excuse me?.."

"Cancel it. I pay you to do that, don't I? What else?"

"..Today at 2 p.m. Adrien's school, will be repeating yesterday's event which was canceled due to the Akuma attack that lasted too long. That the children's guardians can present their respective professions again today."

"There's no need for that," Gabriel said again coolly with any disinterest in every word, which made Nathalie finally lose patience.

"Adrien would be very happy.."

"I have no time"

"I should just cancel the appointment," Nathalie hissed out, in a tone that Gabriel would tolerate just a bit.

"Don't bother, Nathalie," said Adrien, who trotted down the stairs, his school bag, which he usually carried so energetically, now hung limply from his shoulders, just like his head, which was stubbornly pointed to the ground. "I've tried, but he's not listening..."

Nathalie could feel the grip on her tray getting tighter. At least she could still control her facial features. Although she would like to throw the tablet at Gabriel's head. But that would get her fired. Not that Gabriel was particularly interested in what she was doing or how his son wasn't in the best of shape.
Hastily she stuffed the tablet back into the bag, which she also threw over her shoulder to put her free hand on Adrien's shoulder. "Come on Adrien. School is waiting," she explained before practically pushing him out of the villa.

"Shouldn't my bodyguard drive me?" he blinked at Nathalie in surprise.

"I've got the morning off. I'll drive you," she explained and before Gabriel could protest, she slammed the hall door.







"I don't get your father..." Nathalie cursed softly, her gaze fixed on the traffic in front of her. Adrien, who had made himself comfortable on the back seat, had to smile tiredly at these words. He gently rips his eyes. He had hardly gotten any sleep that night. How should he, after finding out his father was Hawk Moth? Should he tell Nathalie? Keep it to himself? Even more so, why was his father now punishing him with silence? Didn't he want to talk to him about it? All these questions were burning on his nails for which he had desperately searched for answers, but found none.

"He's weird. That's for sure.."

"He probably just had a bad breakfast."

"I don't think he had breakfast at all."

Nathalie realized that she wouldn't get any further with that. Any more would only make him sadder.
She carefully looked in the mirror while the car came to a stop at the red light.

"Is... everything alright between us?" she asked him cautiously, finally causing Adrien to look up from the floor so that she could see his sweet emerald green eyes.
He blinked at her with those now in amazement before starting to grin a little.

"Not quite." he protested more enthusiastically now. "I mean it's shocking and I still can't believe you're Mayura. But I still think Mayura is super cool! And I think it's even cooler that you are her."
Those words brought a gentle smile to the woman's face.

"Furthermore." the boy continued, now a little embarrassed and in a softer tone. "I've always seen you as part of the family. You've always been there for me.. for as long as I can remember. So I looked up to you.."
Adrien paused before mumbling hastily, "You've become like a second mother of sorts to me...the fact that you're now my favorite heroine just makes it all the better."

Nathalie didn't know what to say to him, since he had meanwhile become her son. Instead, they watch as the boy nervously scratches the back of his hair while his cheeks turn a faint pink. Did he wonder if he had gone too far?
She had been employed at the villa for years and she had seen Adrien grow up. She had watched his first steps, she had overheard his first attempts to speak. And even when he lost his mother, she had taken care of him.
But she had never seen herself as part of the family. Not without wishing for at least a few seconds that Gabriel would finally see her. Not as his employee at his side. But as a woman at his side. But as long as this did not happen, she would not dare to even begin to claim to be part of this family. More so she would see herself as a loyal employee of Gabriel. She would have others for that. And point it out to them at every opportunity.
But the fact that Adrien now saw her as more made her happy anyway.
The traffic light turned green and she slowly drove off again.

"Thank you, Adrien," she said quickly to be able to free the boy from his tranche. "You are important to me too."

Satisfied with that answer, he leaned back in his seat. He was already looking better, and happier, as he always did when he could drive to school.

 






Tyler himself had his eyes closed. He leaned back in the chair Nathalie always works in and waited for her to return.
Or rather, he was using his power to push away the memories Mayura's questions had brought up in him. It cost him his willpower to banish the scenes that had arisen in him, to put them back where they belonged.
He couldn't however.
The memories of his wife Amelia were too present in him from the day he lost her. As the rain pelted mercilessly on her lifeless, motionless body which Tyler held in his arms.
He remembered the feeling of helplessness, the screams of desperation, and blacking out for moments.
He hastily grabbed his head and opened his eyes. "Again..." he murmured under his breath.
Again only a fraction of a memory came to him and disappeared as quickly as they came. He wondered. How did he get away from that scene? Where was his wife buried? He had no answers to these questions. He didn't know anymore.

"Master..." Zeroo croaked softly but Tyler ignored him. He ran his hands through his hair and blinked twice to get a grip of these feelings.
A bright green glow ran through his eyes and disappeared as quickly as it came.

"All is well." he replied, "Everything. As always"







Nathalie hurried back to the villa at a remarkable pace to confront Gabriel. She was aware that he had always been a man who found it difficult to admit his feelings and even more difficult to show them. But if all the years she had already spent with him and his son had taught her one thing, it was that Gabriel loved his son dearly. He could be cold-hearted, especially to her. Especially when he was stressed. But he also had his gentle side.
Nathalie couldn't explain why he was suddenly so cold towards her. He hadn't spoken to her like that in years.
So it was in her interest that she should confront him to find out what made him so mean today.
With a considerable swing, she yanked open the door to his study. "Gabriel!" she called in only to freeze in place.

The man she now sees there in the room was not Gabriel.
He was taller, wore significantly darker clothing than he did, and his hair was significantly longer. Also, Gabriel would never dare to sit at her table with his shoes on.

"Surprise~" greeted Tyler, with a big grin on his face.

"You here? Who is guarding the gates of hell then?" Nathalie only replied before closing the door behind her. "Where's Gabriel?"

"Not here. That much is certain"

"Did you send him away? Go buy ice cream so he can apologize to his son?"

Those words made Tyler smile. "I hope he brings me one with chocolate sprinkles."'
However, Nathalie was not in the mood for a joke. No, Tyler was more of the straw that broke the camel's back. But she knew how to control herself. With heavy steps, she came towards the table on which she was now leaning with both hands.

"I have to hand it to you. You've changed so much in the last few years, I didn't recognize you. You little rat."

"You'd be surprised what let people change," he admitted openly while shrugging his shoulders once.

"You mean how a wish can change people," Nathalie said, whereupon Tyler's facial features changed abruptly. "I think that's enough with reminiscing about old memories."

"I agree with you there. So. What are you planning to do? Why are you doing all this?"

"Give me your Miraculous and I might tell you~"

"Let's swap yours for mine if you want it. How about that?" Which again slightly amused Tyler. "You're funny," he openly admitted before finally getting his feet off the table. "But that won't work. Leave your Miraculous to me," he asked her once more. This time more seriously and with a determined look, which now prompted Nathalie to claw her hands even more tightly into the table. "And if I refuse?”

"There's no other way. I'll get it. Either the gentle way or by force. Those are your only options."
A loud rumbling coming from outside made the woman turn her head to one of the many windows in the study.

"Oh~ Looks like he finally got active," Tyler said with a grin and a twinkle in his eyes. "You should hurry. Looks like Paris needs her peacock"

"What.. have you done?"

"I just gave you a present." he breathed at her. "Give me your Miraculous and I'll solve the problem without you having to bother. But if you refuse, then you have to take care of it. And you're still not really in form, aren't you?."
Nathalie looked at him appraisingly. After all, he shouldn't be fit either. Was that a farce? She looked at every fiber of his face, but she couldn't see anything. He had a good poker face.

"If I was you, I would hurry up, you're running out of time. Tick tock, tick tock."

Nathalie felt uneasy as her gaze wandered away from Tyler to the window again. She could hear faint screams from outside. And the vibration on her phone told her a new Akuma had been sighted. This could only be the work of Hawk Moth, for real this time. And at the shittiest time, she could imagine. And then right after yesterday.
'It was to be expected that the guy wouldn't change!'

Nathalie straightened up in anger before turning away from the table. "you know what, screw you" she announced before hurrying towards the door and throwing it wide open to storm out.
Tyler followed her with his eyes until she was out the door.

"So you choose this path," he said to himself before he smiled "I wouldn't have expected anything else from you"







A shiver ran down Nathalie's spine as she yanked open the door to the mansion and was faced with utter chaos.
Figures were walking all over the streets, some real, some fictional. She could even swear she's seen one of those characters in a movie. What on earth was this Akuma? What was all this mess about?

"Uh ho..." Duusu whispered as she flew out of the bag. During the conversation with Tyler, she hadn't dared to come out. She didn't want to face the man again.

"It doesn't look good," Nathalie replied before raising her head to the sky, where a little boy, not older than 9, was doing his rounds on a pillow, spreading a strange purple cloud.

"That looks like an Akuma," confirmed Nathalie happily and almost confident of victory. "Hopefully this time for real," she added.

"It doesn't look normal at least... But so shortly after yesterday."

"He doesn't seem to think it necessary to wait. That bastard..." Nathalie cursed softly.

Cautiously, the little kwami turned his head towards the woman, who was staring at the scene in front of her. "Are you taking what he said to heart?" Duusu asked cautiously.

"What Hawk Moth said? No. After this action, I don't take anything he says to heart anymore."

"Not what he says... what... the man said."

Nathalie felt her anger rise again. She no longer knew which of the men in her life the anger came from the most. Was it Gabriel who had been so cold-hearted towards her and Adrien? Hawk Moth, a man she thought had changed after yesterday. Just to trample on that desire. Or was it Tyler, her old childhood friend whom she no longer recognized either?
However, now was not the time to figure that out. She would have to take care of the Akuma first.

"Duusu spread my feathers," she announced only for the blue light to transform her into the heroine she needed to be now.






Tense Mayura took up the pursuit of the boy. Thanks to the Miraculous, she was faster and more agile, but she also quickly felt the consequences of the last fight and with the little regeneration time she had, Mayura did not feel in top form as usual. Rather, she felt more exhausted.
For a second, an image formed in her subconscious. Image of a boy aged 12 with black hair tied in a ponytail. Hesitantly, he put his hands around the girl next to him and smiled shyly at the camera.
Nathalie could remember that day clearly. It had already happened a couple of times that her father had brought the boy home. She had looked at him in amazement when she realized that his hair had grown longer since the last visit, which was a few months ago. Significantly longer. The boy himself didn't seem to care. Just like he didn't pay attention to the care of his hair, which probably didn't go beyond washing and coming. His hair was sticking out wildly in all directions, and his face. Which he fought by repeatedly blowing away the individual strands.
And even that was probably partly too much for him. But why he then let his hair grow was behind Nathalie.
In protest, she had pinned his shoulders to the ground to run a brush through his hair neatly and carefully while preaching to him.

'You can let your hair grow, it suits you. But you have to take care of her too!' she had told him. The boy hadn't answered that. Not that he resisted the girl's actions. But he didn't understand why she was doing what she was doing.
Before wrapping his hair in a neat ponytail, she explained to him the best way to care for his hair. He pretended not to listen, but he was already making a mental list of things she explained to him.

She hastily pulled out a couple of hair ties which she held out to him. "Here. You'll need these. Don't worry none of these are pink".

She happily showed her father what she had done, who then decided to take a picture, to remember this day. And now that photo had resurfaced in her memory.
And it was this moment that gave her heart a little pang as she thought back to it.
So she didn't notice how Hawk Moth had also noticed her.

With a well-aimed punch, he tried to throw Mayura off balance who was still running across the roofs, which she noticed at the last moment when she tore herself out of her thoughts.
With a bound, she jumped back to just dodge the attack before she came to a standstill.

"You here? already?" she greeted him, colder and more annoyed than she wanted. "That saves me time to look for you and kick you in the back. You make it easier for me every day."

"It also makes it easy to grab your Miraculous." Hawk Moth hissed back in a tone that gave her another sting and made her exhale loudly in what almost sounded like a tired laugh. "It's almost sad... It's like we never fought Karasu," Mayura replied, almost disappointed. "I was hoping it would have changed something."

Hawk Moth now shrugged his shoulders with such indifference as if he were seeing the woman for the first time today. "What should have changed?"

"... That's how you see things, that's good to know." she gave back cooler than before. "Good to know where your priorities lie. Then don't expect mercy if I take your Miraculous to end your tyranny!"
With that, Mayura lunged forward to prepare her attack on Hawk Moth, which immediately engaged them in a fistfight.

"You! my Miraculous? Just give me yours! That would make your life so much easier!" the man laughed at her with a grin, so mocking, that Mayura run a shiver down her spine.

"And expose Paris to your machinations without a chance? Never!"

With a great deal of anger, the woman now clutched Hawk Moth's arms to carry him over her shoulders. With a loud RUMS, he slammed the man to the ground and looked up in awe at the woman who now had her foot on his chest.

"Now give me your Miraculous!" she commanded him.
Hawk Moth hastily grabbed her leg to push it off his chest, immediately rolling over to put some distance between the two while Mayura still staggered to jump on his legs.

"Never!" he announced to turn around and jumping onto the nearest roof, which Mayura immediately did the same.

"You are such a coward!" Mayura screamed. She was approaching at a considerable pace.

Before Hawk Moth could answer her, she had grabbed him by the collar from behind, forced him to stop, and thrown him sideways off the roof, where she was now pursuing him.
She immediately grabbed Hawk Moth's arm so that he couldn't escape from her again.
The man was now on his knees. With another tug, she got him on his feet and dragged him to the wall of the alley, in which they were now.
With a gasp, the man let his head fall back to meet the woman's gaze, who was now staring at him with her dark magenta eyes.
Before Mayura could reach for the Miraculous, Hawk Moth grabbed her hand to stop her from doing so. At which point she considered letting go of his other arm to grab him with it.
Both found themselves clutching each other's hands, both unable to grasp the other's Miraculous.
Angry, Mayura gritted his teeth "You are such a traitor!" she snapped at him. "I don't recognize you!"

"What did you expect?!" replied the man, who was struggling to keep the woman in check, since her strength was greater than his.

"You showed potential! Potential that you have a good heart. But now. Now you're just showing what a despicable person you are! I trusted you! Believed you. But apparently, it was all just a game for you!"

Hawk Moth now also firmly bit his teeth. What was the woman talking about? What potential had he shown her? In his mind, there were no recollections of anything the woman had thrown at him since her appearance. He only had scraps of memory from his last Akumas. How he created them and how they failed. But no more. No. No there was something else.
Memories of how he got his Miraculous and with it the task of grabbing hers, how he got used to his new powers and how he used it for the first time. But nothing she spoke of fitted into the picture in any way. Was she confused? Was she mistaking him for anyone? But his outfit didn't look remotely like anyone else.

Suddenly fragments of memories flashed through him, which he could not locate. They disappeared as quickly as they came, and yet they left him with a strange feeling. For a moment he had seen himself as Gabriel catching Mayura who was going down. Or the memory of how he had protected her from an attack and how he had looked into his son's face as he had protected him from further harm. But before he could deal with them more closely, they were gone again.
Hawk Moth's eyes narrowed for a few seconds. "You're talking complete nonsense!" he yelled, squeezing her wrists so hard that Mayura had to squint as she staggered a few steps backward. "None of what you're saying makes the remotest sense to me"
Anger spread through Mayura. Even more than before. With these words, she could only see red. "I'm not making any sense? YOU with all your actions today are the ones who don't make any sense! You are incorrigible! I've dated men who had more decency than you!" she countered, this time forcing him to stagger back a few steps. Hawk Moth's head banged against the wall behind him again, giving him more fragments of memories, fragments that made even less sense than the previous ones and made him narrow his eyes again.

Why was Mayura there? Why didn't they fight? Was he holding her there in his arms? And even more. What are these? Why wouldn't they leave him alone?
Mayura also noticed now that something was wrong with him, with his behavior, with his words. But she especially noticed the sudden glint in the man's eyes before he narrowed his eyes again. 'This glow. I know it.. but from where?'
With a bound, he grabbed her arms so tight it hurt before he forced her to take a few steps back with all his might so that it was her whose back was to the wall now.
He was still plagued by the memories, which he couldn't put in order, which forced him to dig his fingers into Mayura's arms so much that it hurt. As far as that was at least possible with gloves.
The woman hastily tried to free herself from his grip, but he held her too tight. His strength had now far exceeded hers.

"Let me go!" she ordered him, which of course he ignored. Meanwhile, he let his head hang.

'Duusu... Duusu's eyes lit up like that..' she thought. 'from there I know it! Of course

but if she couldn't free herself, she couldn't help him.
Again she tried to wriggle out of his grasp, but without success again. "Where do you suddenly get this power from?" she tried to get through to him.
He didn't respond.

"You.. you don't want this! Let go of me and we'll find a way!"

"...."

"If you don't talk, we won't get any further! Say something! Insult me if you like it! But say something!"

From afar, Mayura suddenly heard the child's voice again, the Akuma who was still up to mischief. A shiver ran down her spine. Faster and more desperately, she tried to free herself from the man's grip.
" Let me go!" she ordered again, now even more desperately. Fearing that the nightmare the boy would give her would expose her identity scared her. And generally, she didn't feel like facing her darkest nightmare. But if the man wouldn't let her go, it would be fate that would bloom towards her.
Was the man immune to his Akuma? Or was he just risking everything to let her identity lie? Didn't he care that he also risked revealing something about himself?

"Shit!" she cursed softly.

With a swing, Hawk Moth suddenly spun the woman to the side without letting go of her arm before dodging the attack himself, which let Mayura escape the purple cloud of mist at the last moment, but also had something of a dance to it. Confused, she blinked once, the man was still silent, but at least he had let go of one of her arms.
However, before she could react further, or even think about what her next move might be, he pulled her back. With care and at his full strength. She quickly found herself in the situation from before, her face only a few meters away from his, she could look into his soft dark blue eyes.

He gently placed his free hand on her cheek, preventing her from turning her head away, before closing his eyes.
Startled, however, Mayura opened her eyes wide to stare at the man in front of her, who just pressed his lips to hers.
What on earth was he doing there? Why was he kissing her all of a sudden? It was what was missing from her today. A declaration of love from her enemy.
Stunned, she stood there for a few seconds before clenching her free hand into a fist and slamming it into his chest.
Hawk Moth immediately took another step closer to her so that all space between the two was gone again. Forcing her to meet the wall with her back once more. Without stopping to kiss her for a second. Rather, he became more passionate, forcing Mayura to narrow her eyes. Why did he have to be so good at kissing?

Mayura was grateful that her costume always covered her cheeks, at least that way he wouldn't notice how red she was blushing. They lingered like that for a few seconds before he
slowly started building distance to her face.
Mayura glared at him now "What... what do you allow yourself?!" she hissed before she reached out with her hand to slap him.

She stopped when she felt his face slowly fall onto her shoulder. "Help.... me..." he whispered wearily before collapsing in her arms once more.
Reflexively she caught him and fell to the ground with him.
Confused, she stared in his direction. She could feel his grip on her, betraying that he was still conscious. But she had other questions on her mind.
What happened here? He had never given any hints of liking her in that way. Or has he?
Anyway, what is this supposed to lead to? Reveals and confession? Her heart was beating faster, but she wouldn't say she was in love with him. Doesn't her heart belong to Gabriel?
Even as she gathered herself, she could hear laughter from the roof above. She quickly lifted her head to see Karasu, who must have been chasing her.

"You guys are so cute!" he greeted her which only made her angrier.

"Can't you just leave me alone for one second?" she snapped back "I'm sure this is your work too!"

"I would call it more of a gift~"

"Undo that!"

"Make me"
With these words, Karasu jumped onto the nearest roof to flee. Hastily, Mayura leaned Hawk Moth against the wall to jump to her feet in pursuit of the man.
He wasn't going to escape her that easily. Not this time!

Notes:

Happy Mothersday
and sorry it took so long to post. busy week.. won't stop...
the chapters will come more regulary once all my exams are over. I promise

Chapter 17: The Day Karasu awoken

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

The unbridled anger that burned in Mayura spurred her to rush behind the man in the raven outfit at a good pace. Her exhaustion was gone. Or at least she didn't notice it anymore.
With one leap she had climbed up the walls to reach the roofs, from which she could better observe the man in the distance. He had already gained a good lead. So that he was only visible to her as a small silhouette on the horizon.
'Shit!' Mayura cursed before her gaze fell on her fan. Should she create a Sentimonster? But which one? None of those she had already created would help her here in this situation. Maybe later. But not now.
On the other hand, Karasu was already a good distance away from her, soon he would be gone as he escaped her gaze. How could he still have so much strength to be so fast?


Squinting her eyes together, she plucked one of its feathers from the fan, colouring it with the palms of her hands and then concealing it in her own Miraculous. She didn't think about what she wanted to create. Rather, she created this Sentimonster with a wish. The desire to find for her what she desired most. With this kind of request, a Sentimonster came to life. It was a Sentimonster in the shape of a small jellyfish, quite tiny, yet that gave it a certain charm. Almost cute.
Satisfied with her accomplishment, Mayura nodded once before ordering the Sentimonster to do what she created it to do. To show her what she desired most. The way to track Karasu.
Hastily, the Sentimonster pointed its small tentacles in a direction.
Mayura turned her head in that direction, only to find out it pointed in the direction she had just come from and where Hawk Moth still was. Probably.
'... Well, fantastic...' she thought.


"Not THIS desire" she protested "Show me where Karasu is!"

Startled, the jellyfish retracted its tentacles before stretching them in a different direction.
"Good" Mayura replied "Come on"

The Sentimonster followed her purposefully until both arrived at a small, completely dilapidated building that had probably been abandoned for years.
Mayura started to appraise the situation. Had she conveyed the wrong things to the Sentimonster? Create it under false pretences? Or was this the place where Karasu had fled? The building looked like an old company building in which a fire had devastated everything inside 1 year ago. She remembered hearing about it on the news.

The brickwork of the building looked correspondingly tanned and many of the windows had burst under the pressure of the heat.
But she didn't know why nobody had bothered to rebuild it. It's just been empty ever since. Possibly no new buyer for the building had simply been found yet.
Slowly she looked down from the roof to the street. As you might expect, she was on a secluded street. The building was at the end of a cul-de-sac. No one would stray here on purpose. The only thing that was with her there, was the sign announcing that this building would soon be demolished.

The whole situation reeked of the smell of a trap. Even a blind man with a cane could see that.
Again she carefully crouched down behind the walls of the building, on which she was hiding, to focus her gaze on the Sentimonster. Nothing about this one suggested it would show any time soon that Karasu had moved. It seemed much more as if it wanted to say "You have reached your destination."

With a soft sigh, Mayura turned her attention back to the building. This time on what was happening in the building. At least what she was able to see from her location.
She could see a shadow in the building. How he flitted back and forth. Almost as if it were expecting her.
With a queasy feeling in her stomach, she crept away from her seat, around the building, to the back entrance through which she crept inside.
She could faintly hear the sound of footsteps. No doubt. Karasu had to be here.
Mayura quickly scurried from pillar to pillar to remain undetected.

She stopped at a wall, a few metres from where she could jump up to where Karasu was. She cautiously caught a glimpse of Karasu, as final proof that he was here. 'Got you
With a slight grin, she jumped in a zigzag pattern along the walls to surprise Karasu from behind. Before he could react, she grabbed his collar and pulled him so hard that he was thrown to the ground.
With a quiet "Arg!" Karasu slammed to the ground, from which he immediately rolled and looked into Mayura's satisfied face. He quickly breathed out before speaking. "Too bad, I was hoping that you would jump through one of the windows, for example. Like they always do in action movies,"

"You watch too much TV," she retorted before reaching out to kick him.

Immediately, Karasu rolled to the side to straighten up to get ready to fight too.
He swung his fist as an opener to hit the woman, but she knew how to defend herself.
A scuffle broke out between the two, in which neither could gain the upper hand.
Knowing that she would not let him escape this time, Mayura took the chance to grab Karasu's arms and hold him by them. With a targeted kick in the stomach area, during which she elegantly turns around her axis, she puts him back on the ground.

"Let's end this right here right now!" she announced before hastily reaching for her fan to pluck another feather from it. Immediately she turned it blue to make him disappear into her Miraculous again. However, she didn't succeed. A barricade built by her powers prevented her from inserting the feather into the Miraculous.

"W-What?" she gasped, startled, only to get a punch from Karasu the next moment, which this time made her fall to the ground. "Stupid thing. You can only summon one Sentimonster at a time. Have you ever delved into the Miraculous?" Karasu replied, who had fixed his gaze rigidly and gloomily on the woman lying on the ground. He wasn't grinning like usual, no, he was just staring. His hair was a little dishevelled and some strands fell into his face, in which she could see his eyes. They seemed cold, without any sympathy. Only a hint of a green shimmer could be seen in them from time to time. It sent a shiver down Mayura's spine, causing her to clench her teeth. 'Damn!' she cursed. 'Why did I have to forget to destroy my old sentimonster right now?!'
She immediately jumped back onto her legs and brought her thumb to her middle finger to snap them.

"Oh no! Not today!" announced Karasu, who came storming right back to her. He immediately grabbed her hand and shoulder, pushing her back to the floor, now lying over her.

"Get. off. me!" Mayura prompted while trying to break free of his grip. If only he wasn’t stronger than her.
With a knee kick in his stomach area, she knocked him back to the ground at a remarkable pace. The woman quickly got back on her feet and they faced each other again. Fists together again.

"You have changed!" she snapped at him angrily

"Didn't we already figure that out?" he just replied before trying to grab her hands again, which she wouldn't let him do.

"We were so close, but now I don't recognize you at all"

"This again? Didn't we agree to never talk about it again?"

"So you do remember it. What we agreed on when we were young teens. Nice. Then explain to me why you changed so much!"

Again she could see how the man gritted his teeth. For a split second, she too could watch the green glow come back. "That's none of your damn business!" he hissed.
For a second, Mayura felt like a sword pierced her heart. Slow and painful. It hurts her that she knew the man. They were once very close. And now? Now she didn't recognize him. At all.
She felt the feeling of anger being replaced a bit by the feeling of sadness.
She would be interested in what happened to him that made him become this monster.
In a split second, Mayura grabbed his wrist, twisted it around, and jerked his balance with her leg, throwing him to the ground.

"I would be really - really - interested in what happened to you."






Hawk Moth, meanwhile, was struggling to keep his eyes open. He tried to open them by blinking repeatedly. It was difficult for him at first, as his eyelids felt so heavy. The memories slowly came back to him as he lost the sense of being controlled by anything or anyone.
He sighed softly and held his head. What happened? Where was he? Why was he in an alley?
How did he get here?

A shiver suddenly ran through him, like a downpour, as all memories suddenly came back to him.
He tried to order his memories. He recalls sitting alone in his room at night, thinking. Recalling the events of the day. And then suddenly...
Hastily Hawk Moth grabbed his Miraculous to yank it off of him while desperately gasping for air, still holding his head. 'Go away! go! Path!' he commanded the feeling. The paralysing fear and also the greenish tinge in his eyes. Gabriel felt this shimmer trying to get control over him again, but now much weaker than last night.

"Master!" cried Nooroo, the little kwami who now had his little hands on Gabriel's and looked up at him in shock.
Gabriel couldn't answer him, he was still trying too hard to breathe. He narrowed his eyes doggedly so that the little creature didn't have to see the pure fear that could be seen in them.

"You have to breathe! Breathe!" Nooroo continued. "You can break out of control! You can do this. You can do this!"






Again Karasu raised his fist to hit the woman. His head was pounding in time with his heartbeat, giving him a hell of a headache.
He paused for a second to hold his head. His gaze fell on the weapons they both have, which they had thrown aside in the heat of the moment.
In retrospect, it probably hasn't been one of his best decisions, since his stamina was further inferior to Mayura's.
But at least she was also incapable of summoning new Sentimonsters this way.

"What's up?" Mayura snapped at the man with a sneer. "Is there no attempt today to gain control over me?"

"Tze.." Karasu only replied. His control over the fashion designer should already be broken or at least weakened, but the headache didn't allow him to even remotely use his powers to the extent he needed in the situation.
For a second he closed his eyes. He could feel that there was still a faint connection to his victim. Weak, hardly worth mentioning. But it was there. "You don't use yours either. It's only fair," he breathed at her while gathering some of his strength to call Gabriel. Should he fight again with the woman in his place? Instead of him?

"Since when do you value fairness?" she asked him, almost ironically.

Again his head was pounding so hard that he had to hold it. What was it about Mayura that made him feel this way? this pain? As if his Miraculous was reacting to something about her and taking it as an opportunity to torment him.
Surprisingly and quickly, Mayura grabbed his shoulders when he was distracted to push him a few steps back against the nearest wall.
With a firm grip, she now held both of his arms as she stared at him. "You never cared if anything was fair. Not when you stole my kwami, not when you chased us, and certainly not when you attacked us with your weather powers! You don't give a damn about anything, that has nothing to do with you!"
she snapped at him angrily as she grabbed his arm in the grip of her hand so that she now had one hand free again. Hastily and purposefully she ran her fingers to the Miraculous that was on his ear. Luckily she remembered where it was.

"So forgive me for not being fair either right now!" she announced before trying to yank the Miraculous right from his ear.

With a cry of desperation and pain, Karasu pulled out to kick Mayura right off him.
Even as she staggered back, he grabbed her arm to pull her back, this time pinning her against the wall.

"I don't care! What you say! What you do. Stop trying to make me feel bad. It won't work." he hissed at her. His grip tightened with each word as he could feel warm liquid trickle down his ear. It hurt, but it bothered him less given his headache.

Disgusted, Mayura turned her head slightly to the left. "You cold-hearted bastard!" she replied, practically spitting the words in his direction. "A despicable certified bastard who will die all alone without anyone to care!" she added, spitting the words at him. She now felt deep inside so she decided to throw them at his head.
Karasu firmly buried his nails in Mayura's arms, the intense wave of pain washing over him once more as he ground his teeth. If only she would stop talking so much! And if only these memories would finally stop bothering him.
All of a sudden, the silence around them mixed with intense staring was broken by a loud bang. Then another. And another one. A whole wave of small explosions made its way towards the building, sending loud sound waves ripping through the building. Startled, Mayura narrowed her eyes for a second as the railing around her turned into hellfire.
Now was his chance!
Hastily and quickly he let go of her hands to rip the Miraculous from her chest. Fast and painless. Like a plaster.

With a huge grin, he let go of the woman and took a few steps back as the blue light transformed her back. "Your days as a peacock are numbered! You've had enough, my love. Your miserable, as you would call it 'raison d'être' ends here." he announced while letting the image of Nathalie surrounded by the fire from all sides sink in for a second. She hung her head a little before she suddenly started to smile slightly.

"Ha. What do you know, what a raison d'être is? Nobody wanted you from the day you were born!" Nathalie replied before rushing towards the man to grab her Miraculous. What Karasu prevented by stretching the hand with the Miraculous away from her, while his free one clutched the collar of her sweater to pull her closer to him. "You still spit big tones in your face for someone who has deliberately chosen the difficult path for herself. You can be happy if I leave you to your fate here instead of taking it into my own hands." he hissed back at her while keeping his bright green eyes on her.
She was still smiling.

"You're so pathetic. Do you want to scare me? What do I care if you leave me to my fate here in this inferno? Even that won't change the fact that you're pathetic. So who of us should be scared now?" Nathalie announced without batting an eyelash.

"Tze!" Tyler spat at her before he picked her up a bit by the collar. "You're starting to get on my nerves!"

Nathalie firmly clung to his arms as she lost the ground beneath her feet. "Thank you likewise!" she replied.
He slowly carried her a few steps forward to the edge of the hallway, which had probably collapsed in the fire. Or maybe it was already broken before she got here. Anyway, Nathalie could see the underground on the first floor. She was on the 4th floor.

"Miss Nathalie!!" Duusu croaked softly, but Karasu silenced her with a single scowl. It sent shivers down the little kwami's spine as her eyes fell on Nathalie. The woman could see the pure desperation in the creature's eyes.

She quickly turned her head back to the man who was still grabbing her collar and making it difficult for her to breathe. "You are sure you want to do this?"

"Are you getting scared now?"

"You did the wish for Amelia, am I right?" Nathalie said, which briefly brought a surprised look to the man's face. "Keep my wife’s name out your fucking mouth..."

"Is it true? Did you do it for her? Even though you knew the consequences? Did you know them?"

Tensely, Karasu withdrew his hand to procure Nathalie. So for a moment she at least had ground under her feet again. She could feel the man's warm breath.

"You have absolutely no idea. About Miraculous, the wish. You know nothing!"

Out of the corner of her eye, hidden between lots of dark ends of hair, she could see a dark shimmer shining toward her. "Then explain it to me!"

"You want to know? Know everything? What's it like to be left outside alone? Holding the love of your life in your arms, her lifeless body. And how did it feel to know that you had to kill her revived remains with your own hands?" Karasu yelled at her, causing the woman to widen her eyes, "Wish can't work miracles. All he did was breathe life into her flesh. Let her writhe in her misfortune like a zombie! And then he's got the Audacity to demand sacrifices!" he explained further.

"You... don't mean"

"Enough!!" he screamed before he stretched Nathalie away from him again.

"No.." the kwami screams quietly

"What?" replied Karasu

"No!" Duusu shouted louder this time before stretching and starting to glow blue "I won't let you hurt Miss Nathalie!!" she announced, louder and more self-aware this time.

"Duusu! I have your Miraculous! I am your owner. You have to obey me!"

"And you have to let go of the woman immediately!" exclaimed Duusu before the light grew stronger. Was Duusu about to use her powers herself to create a sentimonster?
From the corner of her eye, Nathalie could see little Kwami doing this. The gesture touched her. She had found a little friend and partner in this little creature.
Slowly and with his hand raised, Karasu took a few steps back before letting Nathalie down, a few metres from the abyss but she had solid ground under her feet.

Duusu abruptly stopped using her powers to smile in relief for a second. "Miss Nathalie!" she announced quickly.
But it was too late. With a push, Karasu pushed the woman back a few metres, down the abyss.
Nathalie felt herself losing her balance and falling backwards. Unable to even think straight, she grabbed the next best thing, resulting in dragging Karasu down with her.
She could see the cliff she was standing on getting smaller and farther away.
The last thing she heard was Duusu's desperate scream for her name.

"MISS NATHALIEEEEEEE!!!!!"




"Master!" Nooroo called out to Gabriel, still keeping his eyes on the man who was still trying to escape control.

What was the image that had just popped into his mind? The picture of that abandoned building?
Then suddenly, as if someone had flipped a switch, Gabriel felt like waking up. The feeling was gone. Suddenly.
Confused, he looked over at Nooroo, whose small face was showing relief.

"Master! You did it!"

"Nooroo.. what on earth happened.." he blinked at his little friend in amazement.

"I'll explain all that to you later. I'm so relieved!" Nooroo openly admitted and for a second he fought the urge to give Gabriel a little hug.

However, the moment was quickly interrupted by the appearance of Mayura's Sentimonster. Enraged, it flew towards the little kwami. Since it couldn't speak, all it could do was wave its tentacles wildly.

"What the..." Gabriel said in surprise when the little creature came towards him. "Isn't it?"

"One of Mayura's Sentimonsters!" answered Nooro.

"What is it doing here?"

"I don't know. Did Mayura send it?"
The sentimonster quickly grabbed one of Gabriel's arms to pull him onto his legs. Which he reluctantly did.

"Does it want us to follow it?"

"Seems so"

But even before Gabriel could do anything, the Sentimonster froze for a moment before it immediately disintegrated into its parts. Bit by bit. It was different than usual. It wasn't a blue mass that turned the being back into a simple feather. Much more than it looked like it would break until there was nothing left of it but a simple feather.
This white feather, now simple again, slowly floated toward the ground.

"Uh oh... that's not good..." exclaimed Nooroo, startled.

"Did Mayura destroy her Sentimonster?"

The kwami quickly turned his head to his owner. "That wasn't Mayura," he explained quickly. "There are only 3 ways to destroy the Sentimonster. The owner of the Peacock Miraculous does it himself. The object is destroyed and the feather returns to a normal item."

"Or.." Gabriel now asked carefully while he had to swallow once.

"Something happened to the creator of the sentimonster...."

"You don't mean..."

"Quick, Master, we must hurry!"




Nathalie could look up at the sky from the ground. At least what she could still see from heaven. Her goggles had shattered in the impact and her vision was blurred by the black fog and thick clouds of fire. Not that she could see much anyway, with the progressive loss of consciousness from lack of oxygen.
She felt every fibre of her body aching, her heart pounding and the bones in her body cracking.

Meanwhile, Tyler picked himself up easily. His Miraculous had finally fallen from his ear in the fall.
He quickly grabbed his head. Where was he? How did he get here?
Fear overcame him as he couldn't find an answer to any question in his mind and his eyes fell on the motionless woman next to him. What on earth has happened here?
Tyler froze for a few seconds before struggling to his feet and running to the woman.

However, Nathalie didn't notice any of this.
First, she lost the ability to hear. And then also the feeling for her body. Silence came over her. Only the strong pounding of her heart pounded in her ears.
Suddenly it didn't hurt anymore. Not her legs, her arms, or her body. It was all numb. 'How strange'

She was able to see a small blue creature for a split second, before her ability to see was finally taken away and her eyes went black.
'That's it...I think... but today I promised Celine to come home early. She's cooking her delicious curry.... she will get mad at me again...' were her last thoughts.

Notes:

I am sorry this chapter took so long to come out.
I was done on Thuesday, but shit hit the fan really fast the second I did.
That said.

I want to dedicate this chapter in memory of my cat. He will be gone but not forgotten.

Chapter 18: Goodbye May Seem Forever

Chapter Text

One of the first things Nathalie can remember was sitting at the large wooden table in her father's apartment one Sunday morning. In front of her, she had a large white piece of paper on which she had tried to draw a landscape with a house, flowers, the sun, and her family with wax crayons. She was just tall enough that her chest touched the edge of the table, making it hard for her to reach the end of the paper.
Next to her where a white cup of cocoa, from which she occasionally took a sip.
She remembered how proudly she had immortalized herself and her father on the paper and how joyfully she had shown him the picture.
But of course, her life began much earlier.

 

"I finally put her to sleep..." announced the woman, who just entered the kitchen. She had forced her dark brown hair into a bun, which by now more took the shape of a messy bun.

As for clothing, she wore a wide white shirt, which she probably borrowed from her husband years ago and forgot to return or who used to be the actual owner. She looked a lot like Nathalie when she is an Adult just with the wrong hair color and without the glasses.
She slowly reached for the coffee machine with her hand.

"You want another coffee this late?"

"Nathalie doesn't sleep through the night anyway. I can stay awake straight away."

"You know I also get up to comfort Nath when she starts crying."

Without comment, the woman leaned against the nearest wall, cup in hand. "You're far too focused on your work.." she replied before gesturing to the books that were open in front of the man. She himself wore a white T-shirt and a light blue shirt, which he was open. His hair was dark brown, and short and under his eyes, he had noticeable dark circles.

"Anyway, you'll be gone soon anyway, then it's just my work again. So don't even bother." the woman replied coolly and she took another sip from the cup.
Hurt by these words, the man closed the book he had spread out in front of him.

"I thought we wanted to work on the relationship and hold on. For Nathalie."A

"Now what don't you like about what I said?"

"You act like I don't care about Nathalie. Like it's too much work for me!"

"It's just the truth."

The man clutched some of his papers in anger before jumping to his feet and bracing himself on his hands on the table. "It is not! I love our daughter!" he announced loudly while slapping the table once. Silence filled the room as both adults looked deep into each other's eyes, blazing with pure hatred. But the silence didn't last long.
The argument between the two had caused the baby to wake up again.
Annoyed, the woman put the cup aside, but before she could even comment on how his screaming had made Nathalie wake up again, the man had pushed past her out of the kitchen.

He carefully took the little crying Nathalie in his arms and sat down with her in the rocking chair that was in the room with them.
He gently began to rock back and forth on it while holding his little girl in his arms while making soft "Shhhh" noises.
Ever since she was born he had been fascinated by her. She was now 1 year and a few months old and yet she was very bright for her age. Wearily, she blinked the tears from her eyes to look at the man who was now rocking her gently.
He looked back at her with a smile and quickly poked her nose with his finger, which made her suddenly giggle. Hastily she wriggled her little arms out of the blanket in which she had been rolled up to reach for his finger. How small her fingers were compared to his hand.

With another giggle, she clutched the finger in hers, only to be utterly mesmerized by what she was doing the next moment. Like she's proud to have done it. Or at least has been able to do it.
This sight also brought him to a short laugh.
He leaned back in his chair and softly began to hum the beginning of a tune. Curiously, the child now looked from the finger to his face, which he found amusing and the humming, a little louder, continued.
He liked the song very much. Couldn't wait to sing to his daughter one day when she was older. But not now when she should be sleeping. And so he just went through the lyrics in his head.

It's not time to make a change
Just relax, take it easy
You're still young, that's your fault
There's so much you have to know
Find a girl, settle down
If you want you can marry
Look at me, I'm old, but I'm happy

It took a moment, but soon he could see how she was beginning to struggle with tiredness. Once she had to yawn, the man knew she would fall asleep soon.
She slowly closed her eyes to let the tiredness win. They sat together for a moment before he laid her back in the crib. Before that, he kissed her on the forehead.

"Sleep well, Nathalie."


It wasn't until the next morning that the adults' arguments moved on to the next round. Both had found each other in the kitchen and the conversation of the previous day was quickly resumed. Again with a cup of coffee and with the difference that this time Nathalie was also in the room, but she was distracted by a delicious oatmeal cookie, which she happily stuffed into her mouth again and again.
The reason why the oatcake probably also acted as a distraction was that both adults hissed at each other more than screamed, which made it easy for Nathalie to ignore them.

"We talked about it!" the man said to continue the conversation.

"We talked about trying!" defended the woman on whose lap little Nath had made herself comfortable and continued to break down her oatmeal biscuit into its parts.

"You don't even seem to want to try!" the man glared at her angrily, louder than he had planned, which also made Nathalie look up.

Hastily, the woman clutched the baby a little tighter, signaling that she wasn't alone while glaring at the man.
"Maybe you're right! Maybe I don't even want to try it! Because this doesn't seem to be working anymore! So why should I?!"

"Because we have a child together, Elise!"

"Children of divorced parents can be happy too!" she protested, jumping to her feet to turn Nathalie away from her father's face, whose face was now showing obvious anger.

"I'm not stupid. You love him. Am I right?"

"And if so? What right do you take to judge that?"

The man stomped on the table with his hands, which meant that the biscuit fell out of Nathalie's hands in shock.

"We promised each other! I wanted to forgive you for your misstep. The cheating. For Nath-"

"I never asked you to do that! Not the misstep and certainly not that you're only doing it for the good of our child!"

Their conversation, which had now turned to scream, was now interrupted by the desperate screams of the baby, who was reaching out for her broken breakfast while small tears rolled down her cheeks.
Annoyed, the mother adjusted her arm before she took another biscuit out of the tin and disappeared into the living room with the child.

 

At the age of 3 almost 4, Nathalie started to remember a few things. About arguing with her parents over the phone at every opportunity. It was always the same. There was something she had to discuss, then one of them started screaming and then the other followed. Even when it was vaguely.
She also vaguely remembered both of them giving each other angry and reproachful looks whenever her father would take her over every 2 weeks to spend time with her on the weekend. At least that's what she was told it was like back then.
The longing for her father made her sigh briefly while listlessly stacking a few building blocks on top of each other.

"What are you doing there?" the voice of the man, her mother's lover, snapped her out of her thoughts, who made another attempt to strike up a conversation with the child. She paid him no attention. She had nothing against the man. He was nice and kind to her.
Outsiders would say he accepted her as a child brought by his mistress. But he didn't do more than that. He wasn't her father and he treated her that way.

"Build..." she replied only briefly, while she reached for another building block.

"Are you excited?" asked he. It wasn't exactly kept secret from her that she was going to have a sibling. On the contrary. They had happily announced it to her one morning at the breakfast table, while all Nathalie would have wanted was another cup of cocoa.
And so she was waiting here with the man for her mother to call her, that the child was here. He was allowed to come along, but so that Nathalie didn't have to wait for hours in the hospital without any employment opportunities, he stayed at home with her. And her biological father couldn't have looked after her either, he had to work.

"No..." she only replied as she stacked the stone on top of the pile, which then lost its balance and collapsed.

"Oh no," the man commented "Come on I'll help you rebuild it" which prompted Nathalie to immediately jump to her feet "I'm painting something" she announced only to run to her desk.

 

Nathalie could still remember the moment exactly. The moment when the long-awaited call came. How excited the man put her shoes and jacket on and dragged her into the car. How quickly he drove her to the hospital, where she met her mother again.
And how she held a little worm in her arms that was no bigger than an undersized melon.
Curious, Nathalie now approached the kid only to be greeted by the little face of her sibling. How cute she looked. With her little pink cheeks and little limbs.

"You got a sister," her mother explained while Nathalie carefully reached out her index finger to place it on the newborn's cheek. As expected, the cheek was soft. With a small "hm..." the baby made a face and she withdrew her finger.

"Have you thought of a name yet, darling?" asked the Mann, who now had his arm around Elise.

"Yes. I will call her Celine. And she gets you're last name."




It took a few more months, which Nathalie used to get to know her little sister better before her father finally got custody of her and she could move.
The reason for that was that he couldn't just quit his work, which delayed everything. Then there was the search for a new job and the bureaucracy also associated with the custody application.
But now it's finally time. She could move.

She liked her new home much better. Because she felt much more comfortable here.
Although all the adults had been nice to her, Nathalie noticed that the two of them had wanted their child more than a child from a previous marriage, which was simply dragged along because the law required it. Of course, she couldn't prove it. She didn't know anything about laws yet, but she often felt a little lonely and left out.

Nathalie knew nothing about her time as a baby, but she didn't let go of the feeling that her mother was much happier to have Celine than she was when she got Nathalie. This was probably also because she had spent significantly more time with Celine since she was born. And not just because a baby has to be taken care of more than an almost 4-year-old, but more because it probably made her happier to have Celine. Nathalie had the feeling that it didn't matter what she did, as long as Celine was there nobody would notice anyway.

So in the last few months, Nathalie had been forced to deal with herself or her sister a lot to at least be noticed by her mother.
She'd been keen to help with the move, so she'd carried some of her stuff upstairs to her new room. Some light stuff.
Her father came over to her and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Do you like your new room?" he asked her with his usual smile.

"I like it," she responds. But much she was happier to finally be with him.

 

The weeks that followed were a challenge for both of them. More so for Mr. Sancoeur, as he was utterly incapable of giving his daughter a proper haircut. Nathalie's were long and thin, actually perfect for letting the creativity run free. But her father wasn't the best when it came to that. This was probably because before that he only saw his daughter every 2 weeks at the weekend. And even this time had always been limited by his work.
Doggedly he tried his luck once again to tame his child's hair at least a little, which again he didn't succeed.

Dejectedly, he let her hair fall back onto her shoulders. He wanted to make it possible for her to look decent even without a mother in the kindergarten he took her to every morning. But he felt like he had 2 left hands when it came to that.
Curious, his daughter looked up at him before looking back in the mirror. From which she could continue to watch him.

"Wait a minute," he said before leaving the room.

Nathalie hastily let her gaze wander to the drawer that was in the bathroom. She knew she was forbidden to go to this one. But that wouldn't stop her.
She quickly pulled out a pair of scissors, with which she quickly went through her hair. If it was her hair that was making her dad sad, maybe this would solve her problem.
With that mindset, she just started clipping left and right through her hair.

Upset, her father rushed back into the room. He immediately grabbed the scissors in her hand to take them away from her "Nathalie, stop!!" he exclaimed "Are you crazy?!"
Confused, she looked at her father, who only now saw the impact of her idea. Her hair was a mess. Sometimes short sometimes long. No chance to save anything there.
With his free hand, he touched his face while sighing once. That was the case for the hairdresser.
He quickly put one of his old caps on Nathalie so that not everyone would at least stare at her on the way to the hairdresser.

Exhausted, the man dropped onto the emerald green armchair. All the excitement of the early morning had worn him out a bit. Nathalie padded happily to him. She didn't seem to mind that her hair wasn't even remotely long. Much more you could only just wriggle through it with your fingers. The man gave her a weary smile. "You're a little snotty-nosed, you know that?" he said to her while he ruffled her hair once. "I like the hair," his daughter replied, giggling. "it's so light!" Amused, he lifted her onto his lap.

"The other children will be amazed when they see you tomorrow."

"Yes!" she cried before tickling her father's hair which made them both laugh. "Can I paint my hair next?"

"You mean coloring?"

"Yes! The woman in the daycare center has red hair. I want that too!"

 

It took a few years for Nathalie to seek contact with her sister again.
At first, her mother invited her to the usual holidays like Christmas, Easter, and both their birthdays to spend with them.
But Nathalie quickly had the feeling that this was only for the sake of politeness. Although she was treated kindly, even on her birthday, her sister was the absolute focal point of the family. Plus she had no idea who the people were, that came with her Moms new Lover.

And so she preferred to spend it with her father, after all, they were always less alone that way.
It was only when Celine started attending the first grade of elementary school that Nathalie began to seek contact with her more regularly. Before that, they had seen each other at certain festivals, such as their enrollment in school.
But now she at least had a reason to write to her more regularly. And that's how she began her first letter to her younger sister.

Hello Celine.
I am writing you this letter for practice.
so you can learn to read and write!
After all, it is important and you will need it.
I had to learn that too. It's not fun, but Dad was very patient with me.
And that's how I want to be able to help you too.
If you want we can stay in contact that way.

Nathalie

 

It was a short letter, mainly because Nathalie still had very large handwriting, but she was still proud of her accomplishment.
Expectantly, she had her father write Celine's address on it and put a stamp on it before she ran to the nearest mailbox to throw it in.
It took a few days, but one day when she came back from school there was indeed a letter for her on the kitchen table and an arrangement was made whereby both sisters started sending letters back and forth in which they talked about various things, events of their lives,

how school was. What friends they had found. Where they went on vacation and what each other's favorite sweets were.
And occasionally photos were even included with the letters so they could see each other.
So it was natural that the sisters began to long for each other, especially during their vacations. At which point the yelling phone because of the adults started up again.
But at least they managed to get the kids to see each other while making it clear what they thought of each other.
This made it possible for Celine to stay with Nathalie for a sleepover from time to time. They lived a good distance apart, but that shouldn't stop them from having a permanent place in each sister's life.

 

Almost at the same time, but a little earlier, Mr. Sancoeur himself met a boy who came to visit him in his shop one morning.
He paid the boy only brief attention before turning back to the book he was working on, the book of Miraculous.
Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the boy and how he seemed rather uninterested in being here at all. A glance at the clock also told him that it was 10 a.m. a boy was not supposed to be in an antique shop at 10. am and instead should be in school.
He looked very young. He could easily be in Nathalie's class. Maybe one above hers. At least he had a backpack with him, in which the men hoped to find his learning materials.

"Are you looking for something specific?" he asked the boy, to which he silently denied, shaking his head once, causing his slightly overgrown black hair to be twirled.

"Should it be a present for someone?"

".. for myself" he replied uncertainly before going to the counter "How much does that book cost there?" he asked the man while pointing to the Miraculous Book.

"Unfortunately, this is not for sale.." the man answered him, whereupon he could see how disappointed the boy was. Which made him almost a little sorry now. But there was no way he could just give up this book.

"Are you interested in history?" he asked the boy instead, which he answered with a shrug. "I'm interested in books" he replied "And this looks interesting"
"Do you want to take a look?"

"Can I?"

"Sure"

He pointed to his seat behind the counter with one finger.
The boy hastily put the backpack aside to take one of the stools and sat down next to the man who then pushed the book toward him.
Excited but cautious, the boy began to leaf through the pages to absorb the information that was on the pages, like a sponge. As if captivated, he stared at the drawings in the book and tried to take in every detail of them.
He only managed to let out a breathy "Wow..." before turning to the next page.
The man watching him found it all more than amusing. He already liked the boy.

"What are these things, mister?"

"I'm not that old yet..." he protested before pulling the book a little closer to enable himself to point at the pages with his index finger. "These 'things' are called Miraculous. Old pieces of jewelry, with supposedly magical abilities. At least that's what they say. But they have been lost over the years. Through wars and the general change of times. And that's how many famous historians have made it the task to look for and find them, to then present them to the public in the museum."

"The man could see a gleam in the boy's eyes. Which made him up the ante.

"I've found some myself." hastily leafed back a few pages "This one, for example. But also a few others. But I couldn't find anything magical about them. But they do look incredibly beautiful."

"You found some?!" the boy repeated excitedly

"Of course I did. I didn't always have a shop. No, I used to be a historian myself."

"Why did you give up THAT? Give up for.." he runs his hand through the room "This."
Whereupon the man had to start laughing, "You're cheeky!" he said as he took a breath to continue laughing. Which again made the boy slightly embarrassed.

"I have a daughter," he explained after calming down a bit. "She lives alone with me. And so that I have enough time for her, I quit my old job."

"You gave that up for .. a kid...?" the boy asked which made the man laugh again.

"Basically yes. And I don't regret it a bit. It's wonderful to see her grow up."

Questions spread through the mind of the boy, which he also expressed through his facial expressions. He couldn't understand this decision, but he respected it.

"But if you quit your job, then I can still have the book. Then I'll just find the Miraculous in your place!"

"Aren't you a bit too small for that?"

"I'm growing fast! And then I'll get even bigger! A bigger historian than you! And I'm not having children so I can find all the Miraculous!" the boy said proudly, which made him smile. A

"You're funny. I won't give you the book. But you're welcome to come back anytime. What's your name?"

"Tyler. Tyler Morel!"

"Nice to meet you. I'm Gaspard. Gaspard Sancoeur."

Since that day, Tyler has been visiting the store whenever his time allowed. And when it wasn't, he just took the time to listen to Gaspard's stories of his discoveries and adventures. How he had found certain Miraculouses that had taken him months and sometimes even years to even locate them.
Tyler listened to them spellbound. And now and then he even made notes or started to draw Miraculous as how he imagined their look.
He spent a lot of his time in the store. As he got to know him better, Gaspard found out that Tyler was being raised in an orphanage. He didn't know his real parents and he wasn't interested in finding them or getting to know who they were either. It just made him a little sad. And he was also wondering why he had been abandoned as a baby. But an answer would probably never be found. And he could at least accept the fact, even if it bothered him. He couldn't change it after all and it wouldn't change anything.



A few more months passed before the man invited the boy over to meet his daughter.
Shy and unsure why he had even agreed to this, Tyler now stood in the hallway of the house, in which he hardly dared to look around. 'It's set up nicely' he thought before loud footsteps coming towards him tore him out of his thoughts.
Curious, Nathalie peered into the hallway to see who her father had brought, causing Tyler to nervously play with the sleeves of his shirt.
What a stupid reaction. After all, he was older. Why was he acting like that?

Nathalie slowly approached the boy so that he could examine him closely.
This caused him to turn his head away slightly, causing strands of hair to fall across his face. His hair was now medium-length. He could just comb it behind his ear.
Everything inside him was like, 'That's a stupid idea! run! Run and don't come back!'

But before he could even follow this thought, the girl spoke to him "Hello!" she greeted him "I'm Nathalie. And you?"

"..Tyler..nice to meet you.." he stammered softly.

Curious, she grabbed his arm to pull him further into the room. "Then don't just stand there stupidly, Tyler. Come in," she invited, smiling.

"What do you children want to drink?" asked Mr. Sancoeur from the kitchen

"Cocoa!" Nathalie replied before turning her head to Tyler

"Water.." he spoke quietly, which Nathalie answered by shaking her head.

"He says he'll take a cocoa too!"

Excited to show him more and not leave him rooting in the hallway, she pulled him into her room. "Sit wherever you want!" she told him.
The boy looked around quickly. It was nicely furnished. Nathalie had a bunk bed on which you could find one or two cuddly toys. Below this was a desk with all sorts of things and a pinboard on which she had attached a few photos. On the desk, itself was stationery and a letter that she had started and was probably still waiting to be finished.
It was spacious but thoroughly charming.
Tyler looked around a little before he took the next best seat and chose the floor, whereupon Nathalie sat down next to him.

"Tell me something about yourself," she told him

"and what?"

"Do you have a family?"

"No"

"Where do you live then?"

"In an orphanage.”

"Do you like it there?"

"No"

"Do you at least have friends there?"

"I have no friends"

"When is your birthday?"

"August 12. But I don't like the day."

"Why not?"

"It's not the day I was born.. they just took the day I came to them as nobody knows my birthday."
Relieved that she has at least found a topic of conversation, even if not a pleasant one, Nathalie moved a little closer to the boy. "That sounds mean. How come you don't know that?"

"I was just abandoned as a baby. I didn't even have a name. Nothing. Except for a blanket they wrapped me in."

"I see... that's mean..."

The girl thought for a moment, causing silence to take over the room before jumping to her feet. Without saying anything, she climbed up onto her bunk bed. From where he was seated, Tyler couldn't see what she was doing. But he couldn't let go of the feeling that he had done something wrong. Just as he was about to get up, Nathalie climbed down again.
Armed with a stuffed animal, she rushed to her desk. From one of the drawers, she took out one of the bows she kept in it to throw on the stuffed animal before she came back to him.

"If you don't like your birthday, we can make today your birthday."

".. W-what?"

"I mean we can't make it official.. but I think today is at least nicer than the day you were just dumped so... Happy Birthday!" Nathalie explained before smiling and holding the stuffed animal out to him.
Puzzled, Tyler blinked at her a few times to understand the situation.
He slowly reached out his hands to take the stuffed animal and started to smile softly. "Thank you..."



Years passed and children became young adults. A deep friendship between Tyler and Nathalie had developed from the encounter at that time.
Tyler continued to chase his dream of becoming a historian. Thanks to a good word, Gaspard had put in for Tyler, he was able to get into one of the best universities.
Tyler had proudly told him what progress he had already made at this university, how far he had come, and how he would overcome him when he sat at the family table.

"I also met a girl today," he continued

"You're not at the university to meet girls!" Gaspard said.

"I didn't meet her IN university. She ran into me. She's just passing through Paris. In 2 weeks she's going back to England."

Curious, Nathalie raised one of her eyebrows. In the meantime, she had made her dreams of dyeing her hair a reality and transformed her magnificent head of brown hair into a dark blue hairstyle which she wore tamed in a ponytail. "You met an English woman? And with your broken English, you could talk to her?"

"Hey! It's good enough for us to understand each other!"

"Oh, I'm sure. 'Bonjour Mademoiselle. May I show you around? This is the Eifel tower, The Grand Parnasse and this way is my bed.'" Nathalie continued, causing Tyler to glare at her, slightly annoyed, which made Mr. Sancoeur laugh.

"Leave him alone, Nath. It's sweet that he's finally developed a little crush."

"She's really cute. A really lovely girl. We made an appointment for Tuesday so I can show her around town." Tyler continued to explain before looking in Nathalie's direction. "And no, I won't show her the way to my bed!"
Which made her again smile slightly.

"What's the name of your sweetheart?" Gaspard prompted.

"Amelia Lee. She's amazing. I'll bring her over if we get to be something serious."

"Oh yes! I want to meet the girl who finally let us see your soft spot!"

"As long as you keep her off my bed."

"... I'm serious about her. I'm not going to lead you through town with any ulterior motives..." Tyler protested again, which made Nathalie grin again.

"I'm just saying. Just in case."

"Pfff..." the young man only replied, whereupon he got up. "I'll be late for work," he announced as he scurried to the door.

"That he'd get the idea to meet a girl he's interested in and then bring her with him. I'm almost in tears," Gaspard added while watching Tyler leave.

"Why not? He's an attractive young man after all."

"Oh - aren't you falling in love with him now?"

"Me? Never. I won't love someone like him!" she protested before turning her head slightly to the side. After all, her father did not have to find out what was between the two of them a few years ago, that never worked out. So both had decided never to say a word about it again. And she should leave it at that.
But she was also pleased that he had finally found someone who interested him and was able to make him happy.




A few more years passed in which the circumstances did not necessarily improve. After his illness and subsequent diagnosis, Gaspard struggled and struggled to at least make it possible for Nathalie to finish school.
The diagnosis was unequivocal. lung cancer. How ironic. He had never smoked. Still, it got him.
With a smile, Gaspard stared at his cell phone, which had a message from Tyler on it. He had moved his studies to England to spend his time there with Amelia. This message was several years old.

Most recently, Tyler sent him a picture posting with a Miraculous held in his hands. He grinned proudly. The image's caption read "I'm catching up!" And even that was months old. He had little contact with the boy, but he was still there for him. Not like Nathalie. There the contract with Tyler had already broken off when he emigrated to England and has not been resumed since then.
He put the phone down before he started coughing heavily. Worried, Nathalie handed him a glass of water.

"Your cough is getting worse..." she said

"It's always been bad," he replied, only to take a strong sip from the glass. "Tell me how your work went."

Knowing that he would not pursue the subject further, Nathalie leaned back in her chair. "Good. Like the past few weeks. It's a nice family. The designer himself is eccentric but he has talent. I love his son. He's only 4 years old but already very bright for his age."

"That sounds wonderful. Then why are you making such a face?"

".. You have to go to a hospital... It's not getting any better here at home either..."

"They can't help me in the hospital either..."

"They can ease your pain!" Nathalie called, in a slightly louder tone, making the man turn his head toward her. He knew she was right. But he also knew how serious the situation was around him. He didn't have much longer. His time would soon be up. And a hospital wouldn't be able to change that fact either.

"I'll go this afternoon..." he said reluctantly.

"You'll be better go..."

"They will pump chemicals into my body and thereby only destroy it more.." he replied slightly grumpily, whereupon Nathalie was silent for a moment.

".. promise me you will go..."

"I'll go. Now go. You don't have to stand by your old folks. I'm fine. Really."

Nathalie looked over at him uncertainly before patting herself on her legs and standing up. "If you say so. I was going to go to the mall anyways. I still have time before I have to go back to work. Do you want me to bring you something?"
Gaspard thought briefly and intensely. "You could cook your delicious goulash when you get back!" he said delightedly "It always tastes so good!"

"Agreed. Then I'll be on my way."


The sun was about to set or at least what you could see from it, it was October and it was raining.
As Gaspard pulled on his coat and hat, he ventured a look out the window to gauge how intense the rain was and whether he would need an umbrella. Which he answered with an inner 'yes'.
Not exactly pleased with what to expect, he reached into the umbrella stand to grab one of them.
He slowly stepped out of the house and into the open. The air was cool and the wind pelted the rain down on the world.

He quickly opened his umbrella to make his way to the nearest hospital. He had to hold the umbrella in his hands with all his might to keep it from flying away.
He pulled his hat low over his face. He wanted to perceive as little as possible of his surroundings, which were already getting on his nerves with this horrible weather. He would have preferred to be the other way around, but at least he had promised Nathalie. And he kept his word.

He continued comfortably on his way when he heard sirens in the distance. Slowly he turned his head and saw an ambulance driving past him in the direction of the hospital. He waited patiently until it drove past him, not knowing why he had stopped to watch the vehicle in the first place. After all, there was no need for it. 'I could use a taxi like that' he thought before continuing on his way. Unconcerned before a low, almost imperceptible scream snapped him out of the trance that should have gotten him through the rain. A shiver ran down his spine, he knew the sound of that voice.

He turned around hastily. Where did the sound of that voice come from? It took another scream before he had a vague idea in which direction he had to go.
He hurriedly set out to walk in the appropriate direction. On and on. He ignored the pain in his lungs, which burned like fire, and turned the air he breathed into ash.
The sound of the voice whipped him too much even after it had stopped again.
The scene that opened up to him sent a shiver down his spine again.

A man with long black hair knelt on the ground in his arms the body of a lifeless woman he was clutching in desperation.
The man's outfit was a strange mix of green, black, and red with various accents reminiscent of a cat and/or a ladybug. It looked strange. Nothing the man would have ever worn. It wouldn't suit his style.
But the most threatening thing was probably the ear jewelry on his left ear, which shone in a poisonous green shimmer.
Gaspard couldn't see the woman's face, but on the arm that hung over the man's lap, a gold ring flashed at him. He could hear a desperate sob coming from the man.

"...Tyler?" Gaspard carefully started the conversation to get the man's attention, whereupon he turned his upper body around.

Gaspard was startled again when he saw the sparkling green shining eyes that were now directed at him. He could also see the woman better now. In addition to many fractures, there were clear strangulation marks on her neck. But her eyes were closed, her face peaceful. Only a few tears ran down her cheeks. But it could also be the rain that pelted down on those present.

"What... did you do?..." he stammered softly

"I had to do it... It was the only thing I could do..."

"Are you kidding? That's not -" Mr. Sancoeur began before his lungs began to work again. He hastily put his hand to his mouth and his chest. It hurt, his lungs burned with every cough, so he had to squint.
If only for a few seconds.

The next time he opened his eyes, Tyler was no longer sitting on the floor. He had gotten to his feet and had rushed to him. But his gaze wasn't caring. He was cold. Absent. frightening. Left no room for emotions.
He had stretched out his free hand, with which he now grabbed the man's collar. On the other, he still held the lifeless body of Amelia.
Hastily, Gaspard let go of his mouth and grabbed the man's arm.

"What on earth are you doing?!"

Whereupon the man's grip tightened. "You said they were just beautiful trinkets. They had no special abilities. No magic. Just jewelry. You're a liar! A failure! See what your lies have done!" Tyler yelled at him. His voice shook with every word.
Gaspard was startled. Was this his merit?

"I did not know..."

"But you should have known!"

The man could feel the grip on his collar slowly choking him. He hastily turned his head away from the man's cold eyes. He had to turn his attention to something else. Anything. Just not that cold eye.
His gaze fell on the ring on Tyler's hand, which shone brightly towards him. The ring itself was black with a kind of screen on which a small paw was glowing green.
Gaspard flinched once as he began to breathe heavily. "It's not too late. we can work this out.. we can fix this.."

"Fix this? What exactly? Finding my Miraculous? The burglary? Amelia? She's dead! Dead! I've tried everything! But there's no life in her body anymore! No, it's nothing more than flesh and bones that begin is going to rot! Which of them do you want to fix? It's too late! And I didn't need your pity!" Tyler hissed at him, but before he could do or say anything else, the man grabbed the ring on his finger and pinned him to the ground with the other hand, causing Tyler to fall to the wet dirt beneath him as a green glow washed over him.

Gaspard immediately turned and ran as fast as his legs would carry him and as much as his lungs would allow.
At a crossroads, many streets away, he stopped. His heart was beating like crazy, his pulse had skyrocketed, and his lungs seemed burned. Frightened, he clutched his chest with his hand.
His gaze was first on the ground below him, then on the ring, he had stolen. He was now a different color and shape. It was pale and gray and nothing at all reminded me of the design from a few minutes ago.
That was the last thing Gaspard thought about before he blacked out and collapsed.

 

When he slowly opened his eyes again by blinking a few times, a bright light shone at him. It took a few minutes for this light to take shape.
It wasn't the light at the end of the tunnel that shone toward him. It was a lamp on the ceiling.
Now he could also hear the soft beeping of a monitor and the feel of a respirator on his face. He turned his head slowly. Indeed. He wasn't in heaven. He was in a hospital.
But from his daughter's terrified, pale, sweat-drenched face, it was clear that heaven was just waiting for him.

"Nath..." he gasped out softly to get the woman's attention, who immediately turned to him.

"Dad!" she answered before running to him. Suddenly the silhouette of a boy appeared behind her. Barely older than 4 years, with blond hair, green eyes, and a look that told the man that he probably didn't understand the whole situation.

"Who do we have here?.." Gaspard greeted the boy, who then hid behind Nathalie's leg.

"This is Adrien" she began to explain while wiping away a tear "The boy of the family I work for."

"Then how is your work at your father's bedside?" he asked in a gentle, slightly laughing tone as much as he could to relax the situation and take away the boy's fear.

"I have to take care of him. His parents are in the hospital too. I couldn't leave him so I took him with me when they called me. I'm so sorry..."

"What are you supposed to be sorry for?"

"I should have taken you to the hospital.. then you wouldn't have collapsed.."

"Don't. It's okay." he just spoke softly. The memories of his meeting with Tyler flashback in his mind. And they hurt. More than his body, which was completely eaten away by cancer.

"Listen to me, Nath. We don't need to beat around the bush. I know how serious the situation is... And I saw it coming.. I don't have much time so you have to listen to me.

I have never regretted being your father. Not for a second. I was happy with you How I could see you grow up Experience your first steps, how could speak your first words.
I'm glad I was able to experience all this with you. Be by your side with every step you made.
What saddens me is that I'll never meet the man you might share your life with. Or the woman. It doesn't matter as long as you're happy, he or she just has to be decent. You don't have to get married either, decide what you want, and live your life the way you want."

"Dad..." Nathalie sobbed softly while taking her father's hand.

"It's okay.. you're still young. I'm old but I'm happy. And I'm damn proud of you, I hope you know that." He slowly reached out to stroke his daughter's cheek with his thumb to at least wipe away a few of the tears. Whereupon Nathalie briefly closed her eyes.

"I have to go Nath. But be sure.. no matter where I go.. wherever I will be. I will always take care of you. Watch you. And when you are old and gray and your life is behind you then I'll come.. and then I'll pick you up. Okay?"

The woman slowly wiped her face "That sounds good..." she sobbed softly. "When I'm old. surrounded by cats.." she spoke softly which brought a small laugh to their lips.

"Did you see the ring? I had with me?" Gaspard redirected the subject.

"Yeah. I can't believe it.. you're supposed to go to the hospital and you'd better go and buy some jewelry.." the woman protested, wiping away her last tears.

"You can call it that. Take it.. take good care of it... protect it at all costs... And Nathalie.."

"Yeah, Dad?"

"Look out for Tyler for me... He's such a boisterous young man, always wanting to bang his head against the wall. But you know he's a good boy. He's got a good heart. Maybe he's just a little too kind-hearted. Tell him... when you see him... that... I... don't... hate him......" Gaspard breathed out before his eyes fell shut.

The constant noise of the monitor took over the stillness of the room and Nathalie was painfully aware that his time had come.
But also that he had said everything.
She hastily made room for the nurses and doctors who ran into the room after the heart alarm had been triggered. She quickly took the ring before leaving the room with little Adrien.
Out in the hallway, she stopped against a wall with the boy. It was a few seconds before her body started jerking again and the tears returned to her face.
Unsure what to do, little Adrien tugged at her pant leg. "Aunt Nathalie?..." he asked cautiously and the woman looked at him.
'Great.. now I'm crying in front of a 4-year-old who doesn't understand the world anymore and who should have been in bed 2 hours ago she thought before she quickly tried to wipe away a few of the tears.

"Are you sad?.." the boy asked cautiously, which the woman acknowledged with a nod

"Yes, Adrien. I'm sad."

Slowly, the boy stepped back before spreading his arms. "When I'm sad, Mom always hugs me and tells me everything will be fine. Shall I hug you?"
Touched by the gesture, Nathalie crouched down to him, but before she could even say anything, the boy ran into her arms.
He wrapped his little arms around her gently and stroked her back just like Emilie had always done with him.

"Everything will be fine. I'm sure!" he said quietly and Nathalie couldn't help but cling to his small body.

Chapter 19: Slipping Through My Fingers

Chapter Text

Nathalie rubbed her eyes tiredly. Where in the world was she? Wasn't she just lay on the floor of a collapsing building? So how did she get here all of a sudden? Was she dead?
At least there wasn't much here to suggest she was alive. Here in this infinite nothingness.
She was sitting on what she would describe as the floor. Her hair, which had been ruined in the fall, now lay loose on her shoulders. Her hands still bore burn marks and wounds. Even her clothing, which was otherwise neatly adapted to her body, seemed not to have been spared from the fire, things were torn, tattered, or soiled here and there.

I slowly grabbed her hair and face with her hand. It was charred in places, yet her skin felt cold. "So. I am dead?" she stammered softly.

"Unfortunately, it looks like that," a man with a deep voice replies, which immediately made her startle. Not far from her, a few yards from her, was her father in a plain blue-grey shirt which he wore open to reveal the blue shirt underneath. His hair was not gray like it was the day he passed away. It was brown again. He looked younger in general, with no resemblance to the man Nathalie had to bury 10 years ago. Nathalie spun her body all the way around as she jumped to her feet to run into the man's arms. Without a word, she clung to his neck to bury her head on his shoulder.

Laughing, the man wrapped his arms around his daughter and placed a hand on her head. "Hello my little one.." he greeted her affectionately while placing a kiss on her hair.
Full of longing, she continued to cling to her father's body.

 

"It's an emergency!!" a voice called out as the door to the ambulance opened. The appropriate kind hastily wrestled for the stretcher the woman was lying on while the paramedic continued to explain. "38-year-old woman, a victim of a fire accident. No vital signs at the scene of the accident. We gave her a Supra and we're trying to resuscitate her!"
"Another Super! And someone brings me the defibrillator! Quickly!"

 

"I thought you wanted to die surrounded by cats at the tender age of 80 maybe 90. What are you doing here already?” Gaspard continued the conversation and stroked his daughter's hair.

"It probably didn't quite work out it seems.." she replied quietly. "I have missed you so much.."

"I missed you too. By the way, I'm a huge fan of the strand in my hair!"

He ran his finger over the striking red strand in her dyed blue hair. "There's something so cheeky about that. restitution”
A light laugh escaped the woman's lips. "Thanks. I thought I'd try something new.." she replied softly.

"I love it! Did you do it for him?”

Surprised, Nathalie blinked a few times. She lifted her head to face the man in front of her who was grinning broadly
"I told you I'll always be with you. I don't know what you see in him. But if he makes you happy.”

 

"Still no reactions! Doctor!” a nurse called, staring at the monitor.

"We'll keep trying!" the woman in the white coat replied. Rigidly and according to the protocol, she had given instructions to all the nursing staff present in the room. And yet Nathalie's vital signs hadn't returned. "Are you the husband?"

"This is the man who found her and called us," explained another nurse who took the paramedics' data.

"You what?"

"I found her and got help," said Gabriel "But I'm not the husband"

"Then find me the next relative!"

 

"As long as I can remember... in every event that I remember...you were always there" Nathalie spoke softly and calmly. Both had now separated from each other. Nathalie preferred to look at the ground beneath her than at her father's face. "You were even in the front row at every stage performance in which I had a minor supporting role... And you always clapped a little too loud.."
The memories brought a smile to Nathalie's face.
Gaspard stroked a strand of hair behind her ear with his finger before he placed his thumb on her cheek to stroke her once with his thumb "I was just always extra proud of you.." he breathed out with his usual smile which also made her smile.

"Do you remember the story you always loved to tell?"

"The one with the woman from kindergarten?"

"Yes. After my hair grew back.”

"of course! I will never forget the woman's facial expression. How she desperately wanted to know who did your hair. And how proud I was to announce that I was the one! That was a beautiful moment!”
Nathalie could feel the smile slowly disappearing from her lips and instead, her expression became dark and sad again "I miss these moments..."

 

Panting, the doctor looked down at the body beneath her before motioning to a nurse, "You! Take over!” she demanded and made room for her so that she could continue the cardiac massage. "How does it look?"
"Still nothing! We'll try it for almost 17 minutes..." the nurse explained, still keeping an eye on the monitor.

Horrified, Gabriel jumped forward "You can't stop now!" he shouted, whereupon the doctor turned to him and wiped his forehead once "Get him out, I don't need him here" she instructed and a few of the freestanding nurses came to Gabriel but the men didn't let go that easily "Please! Keep trying! You can't just give up like that!”

"Sir. We are doing our best here and you are disturbing us!" She explained and turned to the nurse who was responsible for the medication "20mg Supra. We'll try one last time."

 

"You can't stay here..." Gaspard broke the silence, whereupon Nathalie finally lifted her head

"I don't want to go... I want to stay with you..."

He smiled softly and stroked her cheek again. "You have to go. You have people waiting for you. who will miss you Just think of Celine? Adrien. Your boss. What will become of them when you are gone?”
Nathalie could feel soft little tears forming in her eyes. She hastily shook her head to stop her body from producing tears. She couldn't.
She carefully took a step back.

A short, almost imperceptible beeping replaced the constant heart alarm tone of the monitor for a fraction of a second, whereupon all heads in the room turned their heads towards it as it disappeared again.
"Come on Miss Sancoeur! You can do better! Don't disappoint me!"

 

"Exactly.. just like that.." Gaspard announced proudly with a sad smile on his face. He quickly pressed his head against her forehead before taking his arms off his daughter and pushing her away a bit. "Now go! You are still needed. Your time has not come yet!"

 

"Vital signs are rising! We have a pulse! He's weak but there!"

 

For Nathalie, it was like a dream. She could feel a warm light begin to dance around her. As if it wants to guide her. Don't let her walk the path that lay before her alone. assist her. It was so gentle.
The woman hastily rubbed her face once to let the tears disappear. "I love you, dad! I want you to know! I will Always Love You. And even if I don't go to your grave regularly, you should know that not a single day goes by that I don't think of you!"

Happiness spread across the face of the men. "I know. And you know I'll always love you too. But you must go now. I don't want to keep you here any longer. Hold you back” he gently closed his eyes to give her the widest smile he could. That was the last thing Nathalie could see before the light that wrapped her became too bright. It began to take hold of her, to devour her.

 

With a breath, Nathalie suddenly opened her eyes, whereupon the nurse who gave her CPR, pulled her hands away from her, startled.
The woman hastily looked in every direction, as far as she could see. A light was still shining towards her, not too bright as the previous one, but still annoying.

"Miss Sancoeur! It's nice to know you're alive again!" the doctor greeted her, who now approached her to look her straight in the eye. "Can you understand me? A nod is enough."
Still begging for questions but able to feel her body again, she took all the strength she had to slowly nod her head.

"Very good!" announced the doctor before turning to the nurse "Prepare her immediately. She has to go up to the operating room immediately. And bring the mobile X-ray machine with you!" she ordered the people who then continued their activities with a nod.

"Nathalie!" Gabriel called, running back into the room. He immediately pushed past the woman to grab Nathalie's hand, "Thank the gods!"
However, his joy didn't last long, because the doctor came right back to him to remove him from Nathalie. "Sir. I know you're over the moon currently, but please. We need to get her to the OP as soon as possible. That's why I ask you-"

"G..Gabriel..." Nathalie breathed softly, whereupon both turned their heads to her.

"Yes? I'm here!"

"... call. Ce..line.... she is.. my emergency contact..." she stammered on. Immediately Gabriel nodded his head "I'll take care of it!"
He quickly let go of her hand so that the now-prepared Nathalie could be pushed out of the room. In no time at all, he was the only one still in the room.
Noor took the chance to crawl out of his hiding place "Master..." he whispered, "How are you?..."

".. There are more important things at the moment Nooroo." The man replied before reaching for the bag in which Nathalie's valuables were. "First Nathalie, then the rest."

Gabriel was in the waiting room. With less enthusiasm, he was pouring himself half-warm hospital coffee into a mug when Celine stumbled into the room.
Her face was chalk white. Her hair, which she usually wore together, stood up wildly in all directions and otherwise hung limply over her shoulders. Occasionally Gabriel could see yellow marks on Celine's trousers legs. She clutched the bag she had slung over her shoulder.
He immediately set the cup aside to receive the woman. Should he put his hands on her shoulders to calm her down a bit? No, they didn't know each other that well.

"She's okay." he started, so that Celine noticed him and glared at him with her mint-green eyes. He felt uncomfortable as if he had lied to her and was now caught in the act. "Well.. under the circumstances" he corrected himself.

"What... happened?..." she stuttered softly.

Gabriel had to think for a moment. rewrite his story. change details. It seemed logical to him that the woman knew about Nathalie's second identity, but he didn't have any proof of this and Celine had to go through enough. Besides, he wasn't ready to let her know he knew just yet. He was still processing it himself.

"I don't know.." he started. 'Great start..' he thought but just kept talking. "When I found her at the scene of the accident she was already lying on the ground unconscious. I don't know what she was doing there or why she was there. I called 112 and they took her to the hospital and continued CPR. Now she's upstairs in the operating room being treated."

Celine stood there stunned, the words just echoed in her mind. So much was waiting to be processed by her. She felt like the ground beneath her feet was being ripped away. She stumbled back a few steps, it made her seem she was about to lose her balance. Gabriel grabbed her, held her, and gently nudged her in the direction of one of the chairs. "Sit down," he instructed.
Celine followed the instructions. Small tears welled up from the rims of her eyes. The conversation this morning, the instruction that Nathalie should be home for dinner, couldn't have been the last thing she said to her sister. It couldn't be the last!

"Here," Gabriel said as he handed her a tissue.

Celine took it without a word and wiped her eyes with it. "Thanks..." she stammered softly.

“We interrupt the program for some important news! We just got the news that the hero of Paris 'Mayura' apparently died in an accident around 4 pm today. Witnesses confirmed seeing Paris Hero storm into the building, which then exploded a few minutes later. Since the extinguishing measures are proving to be difficult, it is not possible to enter the building at the moment."

A shock ran through the adults present in the room, both for different reasons. Both stared spellbound at the TV in the room.
Gabriel cursed the transmitter. This was by far the worst time to mention that Mayura had passed away. Not because of the gruesome fact that this same Mayura was now in civilian clothes in one of the many operating theatres, but because Celine was now probably wondering why on earth he hadn't mentioned this.
Celine meanwhile was more scared that the man next to her could probably now put 1 and 1 together. After all, it couldn't be dismissed as a simple coincidence that exactly at the moment when Mayura had a serious accident, Nathalie was accidentally found with serious injuries.
Both turned their heads slightly to each other. Appraising looks were thrown back and forth between the two.

"...h-how cruel" Celine started to break the silence.

"That's right... terrible" Gabriel continued.

"Mrs. Bustier?" the doctor interrupted the uncomfortable situation, whereupon she jumped to her feet.

"Yes?" she exclaimed immediately as she trotted over to the doctor.

"You are the sister right?"

"That is correct"

“Your sister's condition was critical. We were able to successfully stop the internal bleeding. She will have a long time to recover, but she will make it. She's still in the recovery room, you can see her if you want."
Celine couldn't believe hearing those words. Relief spread so that she almost started crying again. Immediately she nodded to follow the lady who brought her to her sister. With a quick look, she tells Gabriel to come with her.
Maybe it was better to keep an eye on him than just let him run around freely now. And after all, he was worried about her too. And so he followed the two.

 

Tyler had his arms wrapped around himself, his hands buried in his hair. He had drawn his legs up against his body. His hair and clothes, also destroyed in the fire, were still stuck to his skin. He didn't seem to care about making a less pathetic figure.
The Miraculous that he used to wear with pride now lay before him on the floor in its pale gray state of inactivity.
In the background of the dark room, there was a television that informed him about Mayura's death.

"You.. you..." he stammered softly to himself. "I... I killed her..."

Scared, he blinked a few times before rubbing his eyes. It was difficult for him to breathe as if someone had placed concrete on his body and was now repeatedly submerging him underwater to drown him. Accordingly, sweat ran down his face. Coincidentally, his gaze fell on the chest of drawers on which he had placed his collection of Miraculous. Right next to the Book of Miraculous that he also had in his possession.

He gritted his teeth before straightening up and sweeping them off the dresser in one swoop, spilling them across the floor. "It's all your fault!!" he yelled. "Why don't you guys bring anything but bad luck?!" There was a banging couple of times when the individual pieces of jewelry fell to the ground along with the book. The book itself jumped up with a sudden jolt and accidentally presented one of its pages.

Tyler knew this page all too well, it was one of the pages he had added. It was one of the first Miraculouses that he had found himself without help and had written accordingly in the book.
He still knew how proud he was of himself back then and how he had to send Gaspard a picture via SMS immediately, on which he had posed with it. That was all when his world was right. Now it was burning.
Wracked by the memories, he dug his fingernails into his hair again.

he cursed a few times. How could he have let it come to this? How could he have even let it go this far? What had happened?
He'd spent the past few hours trying to find an answer, but couldn't find it.
Besides fragments of memory, there was nothing more. He fell into deep, impenetrable darkness. A look at the calendar revealed to Tyler that besides his most recent memory and last memory more than 10 years had passed. 10 years he couldn't remember. And that didn't exactly help him calm down.
Should he turn himself in? But how should he explain that? That he'd lost control and accidentally killed someone? Who would buy this feeble excuse? Or believe? He wouldn't believe it himself if someone told him that.

"You're a murderer!!" he suddenly heard from his coat pocket, startling him. He quickly turned around the room to find out where the small squeaky voice was coming from.

"A murderer and a bad person!" the voice continued.

It took him a moment before he could locate the voice coming out of his pocket that held the Peacock Miraculous:
Despite Duusu being in it, it was activated.
When her previous owner fell and lost consciousness, she was pulled back inside. But that didn't stop her from telling Tyler what she thought of him. He stared at the Miraculous in amazement. He had never experienced anything like this. A kwami who made contact with the outside world in the Miraculous. A shimmer came over the Miraculous and now he could also recognize the figure of Duusu in it, who stared at him darkly and then stuck out her tongue for a long time.

".. You... are activated" he stammered

"And you're a bastard!"

activated.." he repeated before glancing at his own Miraculous lying around on the floor with the others. "That means...."

"That Miss Nathalie will come and conquer you!"

"..She lives.."

Hastily, Tyler tossed the Miraculous aside and grabbed his own. If she lived she would come. She would come and conquer him. Should she decide his fate?
With these thoughts, he plugged in the Miraculous and the green in his eyes returned to how it was then. Like the first time. And his eyes went black again. But his body stood. Firm on both feet.

 

It took a while before Nathalie was taken up to her room and another half hour before she woke up from the anesthesia.
She blinked slowly a few times. Everything was still blurry around her. Her head was pounding with pain and confusion with every heartbeat.

She quickly narrowed her eyes and made a soft "Hng..." which Celine noticed immediately and took as a reason to hug her sister. "Nathalie!!" she cried happily and relieved "You're alive!"

"Obviously..." the woman mumbled softly. "You're heavy...."

"And you a fool! What are you thinking? Are you tired of life?"

Nathalie didn't answer her. Her gaze fell more on the man in the room. It took a second before her memory hit who this man was.
She hastily pushed Celine away. As much as she could at least. "S.Sir.." she stammered softly while straightening up, which she immediately regretted as a new wave of pain shot through her body.
He approached her bed with a slight smile. "Hello, Nathalie. It's nice to see you doing well," he said to her, whereupon the woman turned her head to her sister in confusion.
'What is he doing here?' she tried to ask Celine telepathically.

"He's a hero!" the woman announced "He was the one who saved you and called the ambulance!"

"I was just doing what anyone would have done..." he stammered softly while his face turned red.

"Are you kidding me? Are you serious when you say that? When he saw you lying in front of the building, he ran straight to you and tried to revive you until the ambulance came. The doctors once again explained clearly how it was only possible thanks to him that they could still help you. Because you got almost constant first aid."

"You don't mean..."

"the whole time," Celine emphasized again, which made Nathalie's cheeks turn slightly pink.
The man felt uneasy at these words as he took a step back. He didn't dare to look Nathalie in the eye. She, in turn, had her gaze completely fixed on the man in front of her. Studied his posture. His facial expressions. She kept going over the words Celine had spoken to him in her head. "The whole time" that was a hell of a long time he had his lips on hers and his hands on her chest. Even if it was in a not-exactly romantic context. It made her heart beat faster.

"I'll get you a glass of water!" he announced to be able to leave the room quickly.

Both women were silent and watched him go for a while before Celine stepped a little closer.

"What are you thinking about?" her sister whispered to her in a low and serious voice. "You have a guess, don't you?"

"He's lying.." Nathalie retorted, banishing the feelings rising in her. "When I passed out, I was in the burning building. But look at his clothes. There's nothing to indicate that he was near the fire at all."

"You don't mean..."

"There's only one reason why he should lie. One more thing" she announced before turning her eyes to Celine. "I know who Karasu is. And I don't think he dragged me out of the inferno after he pushed me off. So that leaves only one option."

"He got you out.... But why would he hide that?"

"That my dear. we'll find out. But I think I know why."

Chapter 20: In the Shadow of the night

Notes:

Oh boy
how long did I waited for this. I can finally update again!
I am so sorry it took so long. I had trouble the past weeks. Work, graduating, getting a new Pc. my Parents getting Corona. It was a lot....
But I am back!
And with more.
I wanted to write something sweet with just a bit of pain - Well.... my Betareader cried reading it.
So I guess - Content Warning.
But now - Have fun :)

Chapter Text

The sun had long since set when Gabriel climbed the stairs of his villa. Adrien should be in bed by now. Had he survived the day well? He must have been surprised to find nobody at home.
The designer had noticed in the hospital when he was waiting there with Celine, that the two people who otherwise took care of Adrien were unable to attend and do so today. And so he had to ask the boy's bodyguard to step in at short notice to pick up his son from school and take him home. He had told him that Adrien should stay in his room and that the chef should be told not to wait for him as he would come home late and to serve his son whatever he desires instead. The Bodyguard should make sure that the teenager got everything he needed.

He had assured Gabriel that he would take care of everything and that he could rely on him.
So quietly Gabriel turned the key to open the front door.
As expected, it was pitch dark inside. No lights were on. No sound could be heard. Silence reigned. Satisfied, he closed the door behind him.
Tomorrow he would simply tell his son that he had been to a meeting. An important meeting. And then he would act surprised if Nathalie didn't come to work. Around noon he would simply tell Adrien that she had called in sick at short notice. Gabriel nodded proudly. Yes, that would suffice as an excuse and give him time to think.

More time to think about, what it would mean now that he had found out who Mayura was. How he would face Nathalie from now on. And also what he should do with himself now. Did he want to be the man this woman had to fight? Wasn't the man in the raven outfit already trouble enough?
Gabriel had never a problem with fighting Mayura, a women he didn't knew. But since he knows that it was Nathalie who was behind the Mask, things changed quickly.
With these questions in mind, Gabriel quietly climbed the steps. He stopped at Adrien's door.
To his surprise, he could hear soft crying, which must have come from the room.

"Adrien?" asked Gabriel as he knocked on the door which stopped the crying. He could hear soft footsteps slowly approaching before his son opened the door for him. He sniffed again and wiped his eyes before looking at his father

"Yes?..." he said softly.

"What's going on?..." the man asked immediately, but his son just shook his head and sniffed once more.

Gabriel slowly put his arm around his son's shoulders to push himself into the room. He urged the boy to his bed. Deliberately, he knelt before Adrien, whose hand he was holding. Gabriel looked deep into his green sad eyes.

"Adrien. I'm your father. And I promise you can tell me anything. I'm eccentric, but I promise to always be there for you. If you're feeling down, I want to help you."

The boy looked at the man with wide eyes. He wipes his eyes again before looking down at the floor again "here... you can't help me..." he replied softly.

"Whatever it is. Whatever happened. You can tell me. I promise I won't get angry at you."

The boy quickly turned his head to the side, "No. No, I can't tell you this."
Gabriel was silent while he tried to perceive the gestures of his counterpart. He couldn't force his son to tell him what was on his mind. He didn't want to do it. But Adrien's behavior told him something. And there was always his Miraculous, which could tell him something about his son's emotional state.

"It's because of Mayura?" exclaimed Gabriel with a sigh, "right?"

Immediately tears welled up in the boy's eyes again, which he desperately tried to wipe away. "Yes..." he admitted, sobbing softly, "I can't believe that Mayura is dead.... she was just here... a-and... now she's just gone..." the boy pinched his lip bitterly as tears rolled down his cheeks again. He couldn't help but burst into tears again.
Gabriel sat up hastily to take his son in his arms, who then wrapped his arms around him.

The man didn't think twice before saying, "She's fine."

"W-What?"

"She's in the hospital. Nathalie is fine"

Adrien's eyes widened at those words. He could hardly believe what he was hearing.

"We can visit her tomorrow..." Gabriel added.

 

Silence had returned to Tyler as well. He quietly listened to the sound of his own breathing, which very slowly and only bit by bit slowed down again and fell into a normal rhythm.
He waited a few seconds before stroking his hair and the green twinkle in his eyes slowly disappeared.

“Impressive” a feminine voice greeted him. Forcing him to hastily turn his head. Trying to locate the source, finding a tall silhouette leaning against the door frame, hands crossed on her chest. Through the faint light that shone into the room behind her, Tyler could see the short flaming red hair held together by a wing-like pendant. Creating a small but noticeable contrast between the cream white dress she was wearing with darker, undefinable accents on her sleeves due to the light. The look was rounded off by a black and gold mask that didn't even reveal the colour of her eyes. Frozen, the man continued to stare at her, unable to take his eyes off her. Desperately trying to shake off this feeling of unease, she was giving him. “You haven’t changed one bit.” she said, letting go of the frame, entering the room. “I thought she finished you off. But then I come here and have to look at your pathetic face instead. It's a shame.” she sighed softly. “Do I … know you?” spoke quietly, slowly rising back to his feet. “As a matter of fact, I do.” she said, carefully picking up the small brooch to inspect it. Ignoring Tylers completely. She turned it a few times in her hand while staring directly at Duusu who looked back wide-eyed, equally frozen by her gaze. She had never met anyone like this before. Her mere presence sent shivers down her small spine. “So, this is her Miraculous,” she spoke finally, turning her head to face him. “… but why do you see the Kwami in it? Shouldn't it be inactive?” Tyler continued to stare at her, his gaze only briefly flicking back to his collection of Miraculous, which were still spread out on the floor. He wouldn't let her have them that easily. A look that forced an amusing smile on the woman’s lips. “Unlike you, she really is something special.” Instantly, she buried the Miraculous in her fist, squeezed tightly together, causing a small crack to be heard. “N-No wait-!” Duusu spoke before a red light emerged from the woman's fist emerged, swallowing the Kwamis words, and forcing her to be silent. “This going to be interesting.” she spoke as she turned around. Throwing the Miraculous back at him as she walked past him. “Send her my regards~” And with the blink of an eye she disappeared as quickly as she had appeared. Leaving the confused Tyler alone in the room, who had his eyes fixed on the now broken Miraculous in his hands, still glowing with an unfamiliar heat. Small cracks appeared now all over the back, with Duusu no longer to be seen anywhere.

 

The next morning broke over Paris. All the news channels were still full of the breaking news that Paris was mourning the loss of its heroine. Mayura.
In the meantime - it had taken long enough - the fire in the building had been extinguished. But it was completely burned down. Which made it difficult to enter and thus hindered investigations. So the for hours, the only news where, that current state was Mayura being dead.

Annoyed, Nathalie turned off the TV and let her head fall back on the pillow. It was a real mess she was in now. And much more important. How was she suppouse to get out of it?
At the end of the day, Tyler had what he wanted, didn't he? So technically she could get back to her normally life. With her normal daily task. Working as the assistant to Paris famous fashion designer. Which was already enough trouble. Or not?
The woman felt uneasy at the thought. She couldn't just abandon her little friend like that. But what should she do now? It wasn't like there was just a Miraculous lying around on every street corner that she could take with her and use. And without the magical powers she wouldn't stand a chance against the man anyway.

With a desperate sigh, Nathalie put her arm over her eyes to sight heavily.
And if that wasn't enough, there was the Problem with Gabriel. Nathalie still didn't want it to be true. But there were so many indications that it was. Sadly.
His unburned clothes. That he was there immediately. The secrecy of the last few months. Why hadn't she noticed all this beforehand?
Her boss was Hawk Moth who she had to fight all the time. Only now there was an even greater threat.
And the question - Why? Why had Gabriel got involved in this game?
What was so important to him that he had gone this far?
Nathalie's hackles curled up at these questions.

As if on command, as if a higher power wanted to redeem her, her hospital room door opened and Celine entered. She was armed with a huge bag and probably the most comfortable leisure outfit Nathalie had ever seen on her. She was wearing a slightly larger blouse and a pair of simply wide white trousers. She wore her hair in a simple ponytail. Because of the incident, Celine didn't showed up to work to have the time to take care of her sister. Which she appreciated. In her own way.

"I am back!" Caline greeted her sister with a big smile.

"..Welcome back" replied the woman who was slowly trying to sit up again "Then I can finally take off this excuse of a nightgown!"

Celine closed the door to make her way to her sister's bedside to hand her the bag.

"Have you spoken to him yet?" she explored, wasting no time to get back to the topic Nathalie was trying to avoid talking about it with her.

"Not yet. I don't want to clarify this via text message."

"Did you at least text him that you wanted to talk to him?"

"....."

Thoughtfully, Nathalie reached into her pocket. In addition to her hygiene items, which Celine had packed for her, there were 2 pairs of pants. A few tops. underwear and socks. Everything she would need to get through the days she would have to stay in the hospital.
But much more important, were the pajamas the woman was now aiming for. "I didn't want to bother him.." Nathalie admitted quietly.

"Not bother him? He spent the time here until the hospital kicked him out because visiting hours were over and he was not a close relative! I think he really wanted you to 'bother' him!"
Nathalie grumbled once softly. Which made Celine sit up and take notice. "I don't understand you. All along you've been wishing he would notice you. Now he does and you don't want to admit it. Do you not love him anymore?"

"...It's just a tough subject.. I don't know how to bring it up. I mean, now that I know he's Hawk Moth is one thing. But who's going to tell me he knows? Maybe has he hasn't found out yet that I'm Mayura." said the woman before she pulled her shirt over her

head "or much more... was"

"You're not saying you're going to give up, are you?"

"Of course not. But I can't just face Tyler without extra powers."

The facial expressions on the face of the woman, who otherwise always had a smile for everyone and everyone, became clouded. "I still can not believe it..."

"But it's a fact"

"Yes, I know.. it's just.." Celine stuttered softly "He was so nice.."

"Unfortunately, we can only ever look in front of people, Celine." Nathalie said before she grabbed Celine's hand "Help me" she guided the woman and with her help she managed to slowly and shakily get on her legs.

She was about to grab her pants, but Celine stopped her. She took her pants to kneel in front of Nathalie.
Grumpy but accepting it, Nathalie leans on her shoulders to lift her leg.

"I'm telling you... he'll definitely get this back..." she grumbled softly.

"I would say you can cross a near-death experience off the list now."

"It was never on my list to begin with.. but this is just demeaning.. I can't even put a pair of pants on by myself."

With these words, Celine couldn't help but giggle "I think it's great to be the one who can help you," she explained, slowly sitting up, "It reminds me of the times when you picked me up from school and always insisted on carrying my backpack while we went to the bakery where you used to get me those yummy curd balls."

Embarrassed, Nathalie turned her head aside. "I can't remember that anymore," she lied. Which made Celine giggle more. "Done~" she spoke changing the subject.
And almost on command there was another knock at the door. They both turned their heads in surprise. "Come in" said Nathalie.

"Nathalie!" Adrien called out excitedly as he stormed through the now opening door into the room.

"Adrien" Nathalie and Celine called back in surprise.

"I'm sorry.." Gabriel said as he entered as well. "He really wanted to see you.." he explained, whereupon Nathalie suddenly staggered. She hastily clung to Celine's arms, which she caught.

"I-I see..." she stammered softly, surprised at the sudden lack of balance. Estimating they both exchanged a few looks while Celine helped her sit down again.

"Are you all right?" Adrien broke the silence, who had now come to her bed, making Nathalie now looking at him instead.

"It's nice that you're worried. But I am okay. One spit on it and it's gone." she assured the boy softly petting his hair a few times to only have a coughing fit shortly afterwards making the boy worry about her again.

"Wait Nathalie! I'll go get you a glass of water!" Adrien shouted but Gabriel stopped him.

"I'm going. Stay here," he said quickly looking briefly at Nathalie before disappearing from the room.

Adrien waited a moment before he turned his head back to the woman. "I'm surprised you told him."

"Pardon?"

"Well, that you are Mayura. I thought the matter should remain secret."

"......" Nathalie couldn't help but sigh once.

"I do not understand.." the boy said

"She didn't tell him," Celine explained.

"Ohhhhh!" returned Adrien. After a short pause he adds a way softer and more quiet"...oh...".

"At least that gives you an answer to your question if he knows."

Wordlessly and with just a short grunt, the woman threw herself back onto her pillow.

"How do you know that he knows?" Celine asked the boy, who then drew attention to her instead.

"I thought Nathalie had died, so I locked myself in my room. When he came to check if I was sleeping and notice that I was crying he asked what was going on, I said it was because of the news and what happened to Mayura. To which he just said, 'Nathalie is fine'. So it wasn't hard to put 1 and 1 together. I think he was too tired to think about what to say."

"That looks like him.." Nathalie continued to grumble.

Before she could say more, the door opened again and Gabriel was back with a bottle of water and a mug.
Immediately everyone fell silent again as their eyes were directed at him.
Hesitantly he closed the door behind him and came to Nathalie's bed. "They didn't have anything left on the ward, so I rushed down to the cafeteria to get you a bottle.

"Thank you" Nathalie said, who accepted the bottle and the cup. From the corner of her eye she could see Celine and Adrien who stepped aside to make room for Gabriel and who where watching the two now closely. Way to obvious for Nathalies liking and not subtle at all. But at least Gabriel couldn't see them. They look of them reminded Nathalie about the better days, where Celine would do anything to hint to Gabriel that her sister likes him. Now they gaze where the same, as if they expected Nathalie to throw her arms around his neck and either kiss him or yank him to the ground.
So now she stared purposefully past Gabriel to her sister to give her a meaningful look as well.

"Did I.. interrupt something?..." Gabriel asked unsure.

"No no." Nathalie said quickly turning her had back to him "We just..."

"Just talking about why Adrien is already here. After all, there are still classes. Right Adrien?"

"Erm. Exactly. I was telling Mrs. Bustier how I find it funny that she's on the schedule today as absent and she's here now." said the boy who scratched his head in embarrassment.

It was way to obvious how nobody wanted to let the cat out of the bag. Yet there was the same thing on everyones mind.
Adrien, out of everyone present was the one breaking the silence. Clapping his hands suddenly while announcing "Why don't we just state the obvious. You guys know each other's identities. Talk about it."
Nathalie and Gabriel looked tensely at Adrien for a moment just to draw their eyes to each other. It took a few seconds before Nathalie blurted out, "What were you thinking!?"

"I didn't think anything of it. I-"

"Yes I see that!" the woman interrupted him.

"I just saw an opportunity and acted! And then it was too late to stop!"

"Too late to stop?! What made it impossible to stop?! Tyler putting a gun to your head?"

"Tyler? - Who is that supposed to be?!"

"... So you had no reason to behave so stupidly!" the woman hissed at him.

Another fit of coughing interrupted Nathalie in her flow of words. She quickly grabbed the bottle and just took a strong sip from it. Gabriel waited until she was done with that before speaking further

"I behaved stupidly? Maybe. But you've allowed yourself quite a lot as Mayura!"

"Somebody had to stop you!"

"I don't mean that. You called me a woman!"

"...You're right, my fault. You fought more like a girl who's just painted her nails! So it would been more accurately to call you that."

“Okay!” Celine hastily said as she clapped in her hands. ". how about we try to discuss the problem in a gentler way."

"She called me a woman!"

"He akumatized me!"

"And yet we can all be adults and talk nicer about these subjects!" Celine tried again.

"Fine alright. Different subject. Tell me what must have gone through your mind to make you think kissing me would have been a good idea?"

A shiver ran down Gabriel's spine when he heard that. His pent-up anger suddenly turned to fear "I have... what?..."

"He has WHAT?!" Celine and Adrien exclaimed in surprise as well, whereupon Nathalie crossed her arms over her chest. "You understood me.”

Gabriel scratched his head nervously "that.. well.. that is..." he stammered softly. He looked desperate. He could barely remember the events of the day before, was only able to think clearly again when he was standing in the building that Karasu had let him see in his vision. Everything before that was vague for him. How was he supposed to explain that to her now?

"I... well, it's not that I find you particularly attractive as Mayura-"

"Oh am I not good enough for you and it was just a bad joke?"

"No! Let me finish!"

Nathalie started wrinkling her nose once. "Then explain yourself." she replied and Gabriel didn't let go of the feeling that he should choose his next words wisely.

"So.. that.." he tried only to fall right back into silence. He was used to being the center of attention because of his work. But this was unusual for him and indescribable.

"I..." he tried again

"He didn't think about it because he was under Karasu's control," Nooroo squeaked out of Gabriel's jacket pocket, which he now came out of.
Nathalie blinked at him in surprise.

"Nooroo!" Gabriel hissed.

"Omg, He is so cute!" Celine exclaimed excitedly, who now almost pushed Gabriel aside to take a closer look at the little Kwami. "A little butterfly!"
Nooroo gave a short bow and smiled, "Hello. I'm Gabriel's kwami. Nice to meet you."

".. You are quite different from Duusu.." Nathalie breathed out, who was still amazed.

"Duusu is more.. temperamental. As one would expect the well-being of the kwami born of emotions."

Gabriel quickly grabbed the kwami with both hands to catch him so that only his little head showed. "Wonderful. Glad we all get along. Now would you please get back in my bag?" the fashion designer hissed at his kwami once more. This was so embarrassing for him.

"But master! I don't understand one thing. Why don't you explain, Miss Nathalie, that you weren't yourself. And what's the problem anyway? She always kissed you too?"

"huuuh? When?" Celine breathed in surprise.

"Back then at the event. Duusu and I both saw it."

"You have - what?" asked Nathalie

"We saw it."

"You knew about each other's existence?!" Gabriel gasped in surprise.

"Of course. It wasn't that hard to find out."

"And you didn't say anything?!"

"We made a deal. Besides, you humans can't understand how many times in human history it's happened that two people like each other but don't want to say it. It was entertaining."
At these words, Gabriel and Nathalie couldn't help but blush a little.

"That - That's not true at all!"

"Exactly! We don't have feelings for each other. Right?"

"Absolutely not. We wouldn't even dream of that!"

“But why did you kiss my master then?” Nooroo asked making now everyone look at Nathalie instead. She gulped once

“Yeah..” Celine now said in a soft sarcastic voice. “I would like to know that as well.”

“I was just.. trying to cheer him up. Since he seemed to be depressed that night.” She looked at the Men. A few seconds past before they both nodded in agreement.

Gabriel then stuffed the kwami back into his jacket pocket. They hastily turned away from each other. Clearing his throat, Gabriel straightened his clothes while Nathalie took another sip.

"Anyway.." he cleared his throat once more. "There's something else I really need to address that I had noticed. Now that the obvious is out of the back. If you don't mind."

Chapter 21: Total Eclispe of the Heart

Notes:

Happy ( late ) pridemonth

I would have been on time. But depression hit me.
Still - I updated faster then the last time xD

Also I want to thank everyone who interacts with the story at this points. All the Kudos, comments and Hits. Thank you all so much! <3

Chapter Text

"That's nonsense!" Nathalie protested after Gabriel had finished talking.


"How else are you going to explain it?" the man contradicted her.

"Certainly not with this nonsense. You must be wrong!"

Things were still tense between the two. But at least they managed to communicate normally again without yelling at each other after every second sentence.

"I don't know.." Celine joined the conversation "It's strange and doesn't make any sense. But Gabriel has facts on his side."

"Or he's just wrong. Why would Tyler throw me off the building just to try to revive me afterward?"

"Perhaps out of regret?"

"...Sure. Between the time he set the building on fire and making me fall 3 floors down, his conscience must have kicked in to tell him it was probably a shit idea." the woman protested, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I also understand that it doesn't seem logical, or make sense." Gabriel tried again "But it's just as illogical when you calculate your chances.

I was way too slow. By the time the guy used his powers and I got to the building, it must have been another 7 minutes. It was ablaze when I was there. I've had trouble finding you at all. And when it comes to resuscitation, every minute counts." the man explained before he paused and stretched out his hand, "but look at yourself. Here you are now. And the nurses love me because I supposedly saved your life with my constant resuscitation. So how do you explain that?"
Nathalie then gave a low grumble, and with a blink of an eye, she turned her head away from Gabriel.

"If I may say something about that," Gabriel's jacket pocket squeaked again, "I think it could be because of the Miraculous he's wearing."

"What makes you think that?" Celine asked curiously, who had now taken up Nathalie's place in the conversation.

Annoyed, Gabriel opened the jacket to reveal the little kwami again.

"Let me explain. My Miraculous was one of the few the master found before finally finding the one he uses today. So I first met him when he activated my brooch. And maybe it was because he was younger, but he was very different. More warm-hearted. More excited."

"Was there anyone else with him?" Nathalie asked, joining the conversation again

"A woman."

"Amalia.." the woman mumbled softly "How has he changed?"

"I wasn't allowed to be out of my miraculous for too long. But when he summoned me the second time, he had turned 180 degrees and become the man he is today. He also wore the Raven's Miraculous for the first time back then."

"Hm..." Thoughtfully, Nathalie raised her fingers to her face. Had Tyler changed so much after his wife's death that he had turned 180 degrees? Or was there something more to it? It still wouldn't explain what Gabriel insisted on.

"What can you tell me about his Miraculous?"

"the on of the Raven?"

"Exactly."

"Not much... on the one hand because not much has been handed down and on the other hand because there are still many secrets entwined around this miraculous. I also wasn't allowed to roam freely."

"Tell me everything you know," she demanded while grabbing a pen and paper.

"The reason for the miracle through which it came into the world is unknown. For a long time, it was rumored that it was born from a strong negative feeling. Over the centuries, the mere existence of this miracle was also doubted, but many myths and stories grew up about this. Supposedly it had the power to bestow great power on its wearer. But it was also said to control the possessor and ultimately drive him insane. This has never been confirmed. And after all, there were also the countless wars over and with Miraculous."

"In the end, you know that you don't know anything about this Miraculous...." Nathalie sighed, disappointed.

"I'm afraid so. All I know is that the Miraculous' kwami goes by the name of 'Zeroo'."

"Ah, wonderful...."

"I don't know if his Miraculous powers are particularly strong by the standards, but at least we can say for sure it has something to do with emotions and that he can even control kwamis." Gabriel explained, "After all, he didn't just take Duusu away from you that day, he also used the powers directly on you."

"Yeah right! When you put him through the wringer! He got pale. I remember." Celine gasped, slamming a fist into her hand. "If he can control people based on his emotions, that would explain why you were acting so strangely when he tried to escape."

".. quite possible. But I'm afraid I hardly remember it." She quickly turned her head to Gabriel "Do you remember how he controlled you?"

"I don't remember much. but I do know that I was sitting in my room wondering how to deal with Adrien now that he found out I'm Hawk Moth. And then all of a sudden everything went black."

"In any case, 'emotion' seems to be the keyword. What else do we have?"

"His Miraculous will be the stud on his ear." the woman said, raising her finger to point to the spot. "I recognized it when I fought him. And I almost managed to snatch it from him in the fire in the building. But only almost."

"Then there's only one question left to answer - does he control the Miraculous or does it control him?"

"Hard to say.... I know him from before, but his demeanor has changed so drastically. I mean, I didn't even recognize him anymore..."

"But we can test that."

"How so?"

"We just confront him."

"Are you completely insane?" Nathalie exclaimed angrily, "He'll deal with you and your lack of combat experience immediately! And who says he's not after your Miraculous, too!"

"And then what's your plan?"

"Well, definitely not that you confront him." Nathalie laboriously sat down on the edge of the bed. "Give me your Miraculous."

"Pardon?"'

"I'll do it. At least I know how to defend myself."

"In your condition, your combat experience isn't going to help you either. You're far too weak!" Gabriel tried to hold her back. He quickly placed his hands on her shoulders. A look from Nathalie, however, made him withdraw it quickly. And so he just added, "I'm just saying. You should rest.."

"I have to agree with him. You are far too weak." Celine also tried to dissuade her from the idea. But she too was silenced by a look from Nathalie.

"We can't let him go alone though. What if Tyler controls him again? That would be a disaster. Because, unlike last time, this time we don't have anyone to stop him." Nathalie breathed out with a sarcastic undertone. The thought of having to fight alone again against a Tyler-controlled Hawk Moth was enough to make her shudder. Not because it was so tiring. Hawk Moth wasn't exactly the biggest challenge. Much more because his Miraculous was the only one they had left. And if they wanted to stand a chance against this man to save Duusu as well, they needed the jewel.

"I think you should go together" Celine spoke while all eyes focused on her. "I think above all you need time to be able to talk alone."

 

Hawk Moth stood tensely on one of Paris' many rooftops, with Nathalie at his side. He had his arm around her waist so he could support her as she was far too unsteady on her feet unaided and one shouldn't be walking around on a roof in that condition.
Nathalie herself only had one arm on his chest to support herself as well, but her head and chest were turned away from him.
The mood was more than uncomfortable.

The idea of the two speaking privately wasn't a bad idea. But nobody wanted to take the first step or even had any idea what to address from their many topics.
Hawk Moth cautiously looked over at the woman. "Are you. sure he'll show up?"

"If I'm sure of one thing, it's that the man has a bigger ego than the Eiffel Tower. He'll show up."

"May I ask you something while we wait?" Hawk Moth began, still unable to take his eyes off the woman.
Nathalie just nodded. Her eyes were still in the distance, and she hoped to see the man who was responsible for all of this.

"Why did you save me from my own Akuma back then?"

"Fool.. what else could I have done? Adrien would have been heartbroken if something had happened to you.." the woman quickly lied.

"You could have just taken care of the person while I ran away. Instead, you carried me away again and again...on your hands" Hawk Moth mumbled softly.

"It's my job to protect you when an Akuma is after you. Besides, I could ask you the same thing - you had a chance to take my Miraculous. Why didn't you?"

"I would be interested in that as well~" came a voice from a roof behind them, whereupon both of them suddenly spun around.

"That is?.."

"Tyler!" Nathalie hissed, pointing at the man, almost forgetting that she still needed Hawk Moth for support as she took a giant step forward. The man hastily followed her and held her so that her action would not be ruined by an ugly fall. "Give me back my Miraculous immediately or I'll come up and get it!"
With a smile, Karasu raised his hands to show her how empty they were. "Unfortunately, I don't have it with me. Can I interest you in something else? A coffee perhaps?"

"You can give me your Miraculous! Otherwise, you can go to hell!" the woman continued hissing

Amused by these words and with his hands in his pockets now, Karasu practically slid down the roof onto the ledge the two were standing on with an elegance that was second to none. He walked towards her with a quick step.
Hawk Moth wrapped his arms around the woman protectively and turned half his back to Karasu, but still glared at him.

"Don't touch her!" he warned him, which did not deter the man in the raven robe.

When the man was only a few yards away from them, Hawk Moth swung back in hopes of catching the man. However, he grabbed his wrist and threw him with all his might away from the woman on the ground, whereby Nathalie lost her footing and almost stumbled toward Karasu.
He quickly grabbed one of her arms to hold her there, while his other hand lifted her chin slightly, forcing her to look into his face. "You're annoying. You're acting up here, yet you can't even stand alone. How do you think you can pose a danger to me in any way?"

Angrily, Nathalie glared at the man with a look that betrayed how much she detested him "I didn't need a Miraculous to do this to you!"
She quickly grabbed her ear with her free hand where she had ripped the Miraculous away from him.
The man slightly twitches then slapped her hand away and then grabbed her arm harder, literally burring his nails in her wrist "You're starting to get on my nerves!" he hissed now.
Hawk Moth, who had gotten back up, got involved in the action again. From behind he tried to hit Karasu with his weapon.
Ye, he had quick reflexes. As if she were made of air, he lifted Nathalie onto his arms and, in a spin, kicked Hawk Moth in the pit of his stomach, knocking him down again.

"What was that supposed to be, who-" said the man who wanted to comment on it again until Nathalie hit him with full force. "Put me down immediately!" she called while the whistle was still be heard.
"Tze.."

With a swing, he threw the woman from his arms in the direction of the man in the purple suit, who immediately caught her and went down with her.
Unimpressed by this gesture, Nathalie clung to the man's chest to continue glaring at Karasu. How could he? To him, this all seemed like a joke. A game. As if he could do anything with these two.
Driven by these thoughts, she ripped Hawk Moth's brooch from his chest, instantly turning him back into Gabriel. "Give me that!" she hissed at him.
But as soon as she held the Miraculous in her hands, it immediately lost its color and became a simple off-white brooch making Nooroo disappear too.

"What!?"

"Ohhhh~ Oh no." began Karasu, who came closer once more. "Can't you use the Miraculous? What a shame." he grinned at her now while looking down at her from above. "Well - you know what they say. There isn't anything special about you anymore. Now you're just a simple woman with some jewelry."

Humiliated by these words, Nathalie could do nothing but clench her teeth.
Satisfied with this reaction, the man passed her to kneel in front of Gabriel, whose chin he now also lifted with his fingers "And you, you disappointed me, you had so much potential in you, but look where you are now. I had hopes we could become Partners. But so? No I am afraid we can't." he said making Gabriel slapped the man's hand from his face with force. "Do not touch me!" he said in a sharp tone, which made Karasu grin.
He quickly grabbed the man's face again and pulled it closer to him. "Oh? You've got fire in you. You're fighting back a little. I like that ~" he breathed in a charming voice before he answered and placed his Lips on the man. He looked him straight into his eyes while doing so.

But before Gabriel could even react in any way, Karasu pushed him away with such force that his head hit the ground.
He got up himself, wiped his lips once with his thumb, and turned to Nathalie. "One more thing. Don't waste my time next time. Just bring me the Miraculous I want."
And with those words, he disappeared as quickly as he had reappeared.

 

"Miss bustier?" Adrien began quietly while placing a card on the table. To wait until Nathalie and his father came back, they decided to kill time by playing a few rounds of Uno.

"You can call me Celine when we see each other outside of school, Adrien."

"Can I ask something?"

"Sure."

"Will the two get along again?"

At these words, the woman pricked up her ears. Curious, she lifted her head to see the boy looking sadly at his cards. "Why do you ask?"

"I lost my mother when I was very little. I can't remember the day exactly, but what I do know is that Nathalie was with me. As long as I can remember she has always been there for me and I love her so much too. I don't want my dad to throw her out now just because they had to fight each other...."

Celine was touched by the words. She didn't care how much her sister wanted to deny it, over the years Adrien had become a kind of family to her. And he felt the same way. That pleased her. It didn't matter that they weren't related. They had found a family in each other.

"I don't think that's going to happen." Celine tried to calm him down. "They've both been through worse. They're angry with each other. But your father spent the whole day at Nathalie's side after taking her to the hospital. If he hadn't cared about her, he certainly wouldn't have waited until she opened her eyes and he could be sure that she would make it."
Only now did the boy raise his head, ".. did he do that? Wait. Is that why he came home late?" which Celine confirmed with a nod

"He did. I was there and I can attest to it."

The boy couldn't help but smile. Before he sighed and leaned back in the chair, "It's such a shame these two don't just fall in love."

"Well, one party already has feelings. Now it only has to be the other - Uno's last card"
Adrien looked at her with wide eyes and blinked once. Now he didn't care about the game at all. "You don't mean..." he mumbled softly and swung himself back to the table "Nathalie?!"
Whereupon Celine nodded "I got that from a very trustworthy source. But you must promise to never tell her that I told you."

"But she denies it, and she never does anything at work to even suggest it!"

"She's just a master at burying her true feelings most of the time. Don't blame her. It's the way she had to grow up."

A loud rumble immediately silenced both of them. They looked at the window, through which Hawk Moth now carried Nathalie back into the room on her hands. Nobody spoke a word. The adults' facial expressions were all Celine needed to know that things probably hadn't gone the way they had imagined.
The man carefully carried the woman to the bed, on which he placed her, and then took off his Miraculous. "Excuse me," he said and slipped past the others into the bathroom, from which you could immediately hear the sound of running water and a gurgling sound.
Curious, Adrien and Celine looked back at the woman who had crossed her arms over her chest on the bed and was silent. Celine put her cards aside to get up and go to the woman "It didn't go the way you wanted it to. Didn't he show up?"

"He showed up..."

"Then what went wrong?"

"Everything!" shouted Gabriel from the bathroom, only to shove another load of water into his mouth afterward.

"We weren't even a challenge for him..." Nathalie growled softly. At the memories, she saw black again. "He could do whatever he wanted with us."

"... Are you all right?"

Nathalie nodded in the direction of the bathroom "He got hit with far worse than me. He just attacked my ego. Gabriel, on the other hand, he-"

"Zip!" Gabriel called out again from the bathroom

".. roughed up and introduced him to the ground a few times," Nathalie added before letting her head fall onto the pillow. "It's just a bit pile of shit.." she sighed softly "Gabriel?"

"Yes?"

What did he mean by 'We should bring him the miraculous he wants'? Did he give you two?"

"No" declared the man coming back from the bathroom 'Memo to Brain. When we get home we'll go brush our teeth,' he thought, “He just gave me Nooroo's. And two messages. But it just said to look out for other Miraculous. And that ended up being yours. "

"But I only got Duusu's.. and he already got that.." she thought slowly, "He... doesn't mean..." a thought shot through her head, causing her eyes to widen.

"Celine!"

"Yes?"

"I have a favor to ask you. You have to get me something from the apartment. Do you remember the ring my father gave me?"

"The ring he gave you when he died? Yes of course. You keep it like a treasure. I thought I wasn't allowed to touch it."

"It doesn't matter now. You have to bring it here! Please!"

Questioningly, the woman blinked at her sister "Okay. I can do that."

It took about half an hour until Celine came back to the hospital room with the ring, where Nathalie had been waiting for her longingly
Adrien and Gabriel meanwhile sat down at the table, but Gabriel didn't want to take Celine's place and play Uno with his son. He was in a far too bad mood for that.

"Here he is." Celine greeted the group when she came back. In a red box, which she now held out to Nathalie, she handed her the desired piece of jewelry.

'It has to be. Please!' Nathalie pleaded before she opened the box. Her silver ring immediately shone, her father's last souvenir greeted her, and with it came doubts
'On the other hand.. back then it didn't do anything..'

"What is it? Did you just want to look at it?"

"No, I..." Nathalie stammered

"Try it," Gabriel interrupted. "Mine didn't work out, but that doesn't mean anything. Don't listen to his words. You're not ordinary and you know it."
Carefully Nathalie took the ring out of the box and actually, It did do something. At her touch alone, it began to glow. The piece of jewelry suddenly changed its shape and the plain silver became a black ring with a small cat paw symbol on the top. With a greenish light, the shape of a kwami formed.

"Wow!" breathed Adrien and Celine in unison

"Hngggggg..." the kwami spoke instead, who had the form of a black cat and was now stretching vigorously. "10,000 years. And my back is as stiff as an ironing board!" he said in a tired voice.
Surprised, Nathalie blinked at the creature. It had worked. Better late than never.

"I have to say. The next time you get me, I demand-" the kwami continued and turned to Nathalie, only to fall silent at the sight "You're not..."

"No, obviously not. And you weren't gone 10,000 years, you were gone for 10," explained Nathalie putting the ring on her finger. "But glad to see you anyway."

Confused, the kwami looked around at the crowd of people who were all staring at him.
The little boy in particular was more than enthusiastic about him.

"Don't worry, Plagg" said Nooroo, who made himself noticed from Gabriel's jacket pocket and showed himself to the kwami "You are not alone after all."

"Nooroo? If you're here, that means..."

Nooroo nodded "Yes. I'm afraid that's what it means."

Chapter 22: Gisele Colbyn

Notes:

It is never to be said that I am not a Women of my word

Chapter Text

The horrible, shrill sound of the alarm clock tore the woman out of her dreams and into harsh reality. It was the third time that morning that her alarm clock rang. With Nathalie at her side, who came to wake her up in the morning, it was much easier and more pleasant to get up. But that wasn't possible at the moment.

With a low grunt, she ripped the covers off her and swung out of bed. Celine wanted to take a few more days off so she could take care of her sister. But not only had the sister in question vehemently rejected it, but Celine also lacked the time for it. The final exams at the end of the course would soon have to be written before the well-deserved summer holidays began. And for that, Celine would have to prepare her class. That's why she couldn't take much time off at the moment. Nathalie had assured her that she would be fine and that her sister should concentrate more on the important things. Like she always did. Why couldn't she even see that people liked to take care of her?
Half awake, the woman crept to the coffee machine. With another loud yawn, she tried to pour the substance into the cup like she did every morning, only to find that the pot was empty.
Annoyed, she let out a low murmur and went offended to the sink.

When Nathalie lost her father years ago, Celine rushed to her sister to help.
As the last piece of the family, she still had and since then they lived together. But never before had Celine seen her sister in this condition, like that evening back then. So broken, weak, unable even to hide her feelings and instead to wear them openly on her sleeve. Her gaze was blank. her hair was disheveled. The clothes are dirty. Although it seemed to be a race to see who was dirtier. The woman or her clothes. She just didn't seem to care.

With the spare key that she had received years ago for emergencies that never happened, she gained access to the apartment. She found her sister sitting on the couch, wrapped in a blanket and with tissues scattered all around her. The apartment was still as Celine remembered it. And everything about it immediately reminded her of Gaspard. Which probably explained her sister's condition. Nathalie didn't speak. She also didn't seem as if she would even notice that her sister had entered the apartment. The only sound she made was when tears formed in her eyes again. Without hesitation, Celine took a vacation for personal reasons. Her class was secondary compared to her sister's condition at that moment, as it was an emergency.
She had directly put the sick note in Gabriel's mailbox. Nathalie hadn't requested more so, Celine had decided it for her, but Gabriel didn't seem to mind. Rather, he seemed to think that was the last reason to tell the public that the forthcoming collection would be indefinitely paused before he, too, disappeared from public view. At least it became very quiet after that about the fashion king of Paris.

It took Celine a few days to try to dry her sister's bitter tears and help her slowly get back on her feet. The first few days it was more about the fact that her sister would talk to her again in the first place.
After that, it was about Nathalie noticing her.
When the first week was gone, they could start to plan the Funeral and other things had to be cleared away.
After some time, one evening, they were sitting together on the couch. And suddenly, out of the blue, Nathalie laid her head on her sister's shoulder. With a broken voice that was almost swallowed by the noise of the TV, she breathed out a quiet but sincere
"Thank you".

And with a smile, Celine realized that her sister was on the mend. Slowly but surely getting back on her feeds
Before either of them knew it, a month had passed and the woman, who only wanted to stay temporarily with her sister, had moved in. Or much more she had simply never left again, so both had founded a shared flat.
This was now 9 years ago.

The memories of that time made Celine smile wearily. So much time had passed since then and so much had changed. Nathalie had become even more successful in her job and had also helped to raise Adrien. Celine herself had gone from being a simple substitute teacher to a class teacher. And so many students had already managed to get a good degree and also significantly raise their grade point average.
But a lot had changed in her personal life too. The bond that surrounded the two sisters had tightened and was now at a point where it seemed unbreakable. Nothing could bring the sisters apart again.
And yet. Celine's heart grew heavy.
With the filled can, in which the water was now, Celine went back to the machine to fill it.

"Hey, Nathalie?" suddenly a child's voice called through her head.

"Yes?"

"Do you think we'll always be together?"

"Yes. We will always be together. After all, you are my dear little sister~"

It was only when she took the filter out of the packaging that she noticed a glassy liquid dripping down on it. Celine had had this conversation with her sister half a decade ago. Why did that make her sad right now?
Tears had formed in her eyes, which were now looking for their way out. She hastily ran her fingers over her eyes to stop them, all this was no reason to cry like a child! Yet here she was.

"My dear little sister," the voice in her head repeated again and again

the tears didn't stop. They only got more intense.
With shaky hands, Celine clung to the edge of the counter.
She realized painfully how much she had grown accustomed to her sister. To live with her. To be able to see her almost every morning. How she took that for granted. When it just could change in a second.
Her Sister always had been so inconspicuous. Calm. Never had any problems.

But why was she chosen to be a hero? Why did it have to be her? Why couldn't she just be Nathalie again? The Nath she knew? The Nath she loved so much. The Nath didn't have to put her life in danger.
Who threw her out of bed in the morning annoyed and still always made sure that coffee and breakfast were ready. Why did she have to be the heroine they were aiming for? Risking her life to save people? Who would save her if Nathalie were torn away from her?
Scared and tormented by these thoughts, she clutched her arms around herself as she slowly slid down the counter to crouch on the floor, tears relentlessly falling.

 

"Give it up. I'll bet you all that camembert in your fridge you can't do it!" croaked the black kwami, flying blithely across the room.

Nathalie herself clung to the edge of the bed. She shakily tried to stand on her feet and at least take a step by herself. Her body was weak, she still lacked the energy. But she didn't want to be condemned to inactivity any longer.

"I don't have Camembert, so shut up," she said, trying to take another small step. If she talked to the kwami too much, the sisters would surely call her crazy.

With all her strength she clung to the railing of the bed, shifting her weight forward. Her foot moved. Just a bit. But it was a small success. 'Yes!' she shouted in her head.

"No camembert? How do you live like this!?"

Before Nathalie could reply to his cheeky comment again, there was a knock on the door. One look was enough to make Plagg quickly hide. With decent speed, he flew into the pillow.

"Come in"

"Good morning Miss Sancouer!" greeted a nurse who then opened the door. Nathalie already knew her well. She took care of her from the beginning, from the very first night she had to stay here, and entertained her with her open nature.
The only thing that bothered the women about her, was that she always asked so many questions. After all, Nathalie has always been reluctant to reveal not so much about her personal life. "Oh!" she exclaimed in surprise. "What are you doing there?"

"Practice walking. You can just put the pills on the table there. I'll take them right away."

"You mustn't even get up yet!" horrified, she put the container on the table to get to her. "You have to rest. After all, you've just had an operation! And you have to take it easy!"

"Oh please" answered the woman who tried to take another step. However, she faltered.

Hurriedly, with both arms, she clutched the grating again to not have to greet the ground with her face.

"You must rest!" The sister, who was only called a 'mini nuisance' by Nathalie, tried again, which was now supported by the woman with her body. She quickly let out another little shout of joy, "You're wearing a ring!" she noted, changing the subject.

"Yes, I got that from-"

"The man who saved your life?!" the sister interrupted her.

".... No. My father."

"Your father? Isn't he a bit young for that?"

".. The man who was here is my boss. He just visited me."

Slightly annoyed, but quite willing to take a little break, Nathalie followed the instructions of the little sister, who now brought her back towards the bed.

"So your boss. You must be in good contact with each other when he comes to visit you in the hospital."

"He's just a bit peculiar. That's all," Nathalie replied, slowly taking a seat on the bed.

"OK, oh well." said the girl, who then pulled her arms back from the woman.

"I'll be right back. Don't dare to be on your feet again when I come back!" she explained to the woman and then left the room.

"That is what you get. You being a Camembert denier!" cried Plagg, who was now sticking his little head out of its hiding place.

Nathalie ignored him. She quickly took the capsules and poured them all into her mouth at once, then swallowed them down with a good amount of water.

 

 

"Crap, crap, Shit!" Celine cursed loudly in her head, and then took the next turn to get to the school's backyard parking lot. During her break down she had completely forgotten the time and before she knew it it was almost 8 o'clock. And she was wearing nothing but her pajamas.

'That's a good start to the day!' the woman continued to curse in her head as she parked the car in the next free spot, tires screeching.
In a Hurry, she then fled the vehicle and ran to the school building with her purse in hand. A glance at her wristwatch told her that she had less than 5 minutes before her students would probably miss her. They were probably confused. After all, she wasn't on the substitution plan, but she should have been in the class 10 minutes ago.
She quickly ran up the stairs, past the school gate and the man in the brown suit. 'Wait... Man in brown suit?..'

"Miss bustier!"

'Damn..' she immediately stopped and turned around. She greeted him with a forced friendly smile. "Monsieur Damocles! Nice to see you"

He, however, put his hands on his hips and moved his long gray beard with a long sigh, "You're late."

'Whether you believe me or not, I am aware of that.' thought Celine, but she certainly wouldn't say that out loud.

"I just forgot something in the car," she quickly tried to talk her way out of it. Which left the man unimpressed.

"You're embarrassing me in front of our newcomer..."

"Newcomer?" the woman repeated, curiously looking past him.

Behind him, she saw another woman, who was wearing a white suit with a dark blue blouse beneath it. Her light blonde, half-length hair was tied back in a ponytail, held in place by an exotic-looking pin. Only single strands hung in her face. She seemed to be Celine's age, maybe a little older? Although if Celine continued to watch the woman, she seemed to be closer to her sister's age.

Celine was charmed by the woman. She looked amazing. Not only because of her make-up or the jewelry she wore, but also because of her figure. In short. Celine found her attractive.
With a blink of an eye, the woman who had just been staring into the corner of the yard shifted her gaze to her so that they eyes could meet, given her the chance to look into her dark brown eyes of the other one.
Which immediately made Celine look away hastily and embarrassed.
Unsure what to do, she started to fish the strand of hair out of her face.
'So much for a good first impression..' shot through Celine's head 'I shouldn't have been staring like that!'

"I'm sorry..." Celine said finally.

"No please," the unknown now interfered in the conversation. Celine immediately noticed how soft the tone of her voice was, and for a second Celine could hear the sound of a slight accent in her words.
The woman took a few quick steps past the man. A smile and Celine couldn't help but blush slightly again. Was the woman looking at her with bright eyes?

"It is a pleasure to meet you. I'm Gisele Colbyn. I teach History and English." She held out her hand to Celine. Still captivated by her gaze, Celine took it and shook it.

"Celine Bustier... I teach French... and..." she mumbled softly. Gisele's hand was so god-damn soft. 'Damn it, pull yourself together!" "Latin! French and Latin!" which made Gisele giggle slightly and briefly.

"So you are also an expert in languages. How nice~" she continued the conversation. She seemed to enjoy Celine being shy in her presence. She grinned briefly and winked once in their direction. "I hope we will get along~"

With a clearing of his throat, the man, who despite everything was still in the room with the ladies, made himself noticed again. Celine hastily withdrew her hand. Both women looked at him. They both seemed to have forgotten that he was still there. Or that he existed at all.
The school bell rang. Now it was hopeless that Celine would still make it.

"You seem to get along really well. I'm glad. Why don't you show Miss Colbyn the rest of our beautiful school?"

At the word 'Miss', Celine pricked up her ears and was happy for a moment. Luckily only internally. "Unfortunately I have to teach the first two lessons."

"That is not a problem." the woman intervened again. With another step she got even closer to Celine, to carefully but determinedly take the bag out of her hand and hand it to the principal "He can do that for you. I would much rather see the rest of the school with you. Then the whole thing will be a lot more fun."

'Damn...' thought Celine. She had already noticed that Gisele was almost a full head taller than her. But now that she was even closer, it was time to lift her head to still be able to look the woman in the face.
She quickly turned her head away. She directed her gaze to Monsieur Damocles, who also seemed a bit overwhelmed, but seemed to be able to catch himself more easily than she.
He then pulled Celine's arm and turned away from Gisele with her for a moment to be able to whisper in the woman's ear so that only Celine would understand him.

"Listen. She's the best in her field. With her presence, we could become the most famous school in the country in no time. Mothers will fight to get their kids enrolled in our school. She already likes you. So do me that favor. I take care of your class"

Those words didn't surprise Celine in the slightest. Of course, her boss was only interested in the reputation of the school. But why did he have to take her on board?

"I-"

"Please."

"......... Tell my class to read pages 123 and 125 independently and work on the exercises.."

"Thank you!" With these words, the man said goodbye and dabbled away, leaving Celine alone with Gisele, who only commented on the whole thing with a smile while waving him goodbye.

"So. Where are we going first?" she asked, amused.

"And here you will find the library," Celine explained, feeling the woman further through the empty corridors of the school. She went ahead while Gisele walked after her. She had clasped her hands behind her back and surveyed the whole situation with her head held high.
Not that Celine wasn't happy about the company, but she didn't let go of the feeling that the woman would have fixed her gaze more on her than her surroundings.

"May I ask what brought you to this humble school?"

"Personal reasons."

"Like a relationship?" Celine blurted out before she could even think about it. She stopped and put her hand over her mouth. "Oh damn.. sorry. I wasn't thinking." she apologized.
Gisele couldn't help but smile again. "You don't mince your words. I think that's good. I don't like people who beat around the bush, and say what is on they mind. " she said in her usual soft voice. Her eyes fixed again on the woman, who was still embarrassed by her talking too fast. Gisele then just went on, past the woman. She slightly tilted her head down to Celine. "I can assure you, I didn't go after a partner. The job alone brought me here," she whispered as she passed.

Out of reflex, Celine grabbed her hand to her ear. The woman just kept walking. unconcerned. As if she didn't even care how much she was trying to keep Celine from throwing her self-control overboard. Her head didn't know what to think about first. The fact that she was so damn attractive or that she was single. Or what she was saying.

"What is this?" Gisele tore her back to reality. She stopped a few yards away. She pointed her finger at the next room.

Celine quickly came to meet her. "Oh that. That's the chemistry room."

"I'm telling you. She's wonderful," Celine gushed. She assured Nathalie that she would be able to catch her at any time.

The woman herself concentrated less on her little sister's talk and more on putting one foot in front of the other, this time even hands-free. It was a lot easier to keep her balance than it was this morning. Now it was just a matter of regaining the strength to walk alone and safely. Plagg watched the whole spectacle from his corner. Just in case, he had prepared himself to be able to leave immediately. After all, it had happened enough times today that he had to do that.

"She seems to have tied you up quite a bit," Nathalie replied, still looking at the floor.

"I feel like a silly school girl...who, in the middle of puberty and suddenly adores Joey from the junior class, who once lent her an umbrella or something. Not that I'm going so far as to say that I love her. But she sees it good looking and classy." the woman continued to explain, this timeless enthusiastically. More depressed.

With a slight grin on her lips, Nathalie turned to her "It just got to you. It's nice. Now I can tease you about it. A welcome change."
Unbelievably, Celine shook her head and with her fingers, she pointed her sister's head away from her. "Better watch where you're walking. Just because I find her attractive doesn't mean I'm in love with her." she retorted cheekily.

"Nooo," Nathalie spoke in a sarcastic tone. "You only imagine what it would be like for her to carry you in her strong arms, her hair gently blowing in the wind. Her chocolate brown eyes were fixed on you. And with a smile, she says, 'Oh Celine. I just want you ~'."

Her sister's horrified face, which turned more than red, was enough to make Nathalie laugh.
"That is not true!" Celine protested with a pouty look instead.

Without thinking twice, Nathalie put an arm around her sister's neck. She leaned back slightly, knowing that Celine would hold her. Dramatically yet still amused by the situation, she put her hand on her forehead "Kiss me, dearest Gisele, ~" she continued to giggle.
Annoyed, her sister growled at her, "I'll drop you on the floor if you don't stop."

"Now you see what this feels like," Nathalie replied, who now slowly straightened up again.

"Well, some of us, sadly didn't have our first kiss with our crush yet." Celine grinned at her

"Pff, please. That could hardly be called a kiss"

"How else do you want to describe it? That he slipped and accidentally landed on your lips? And once he was there, he might as well keep going?"

"Well first of all he didn't kiss me - he kissed Mayura. And then there's the fact that he can't even remember."

"First of all, you are Mayura. Second - kiss him again. Maybe then the memory will come back~"

Grinning, Celine raised her eyebrows for a split second and looked deep into her sister's eyes.

"Haha... funny" she only replied

"You started. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes."

"She's always been good at that," a voice suddenly spoke to the two of them. Neither of them had noticed that someone had joined them. Or how long the person has been in the room.

Suddenly Nathalie turned her head to the person. So fast, Celine had to catch her so she didn't lose her balance.
The woman who was now standing in the room with them had crossed her arms in front of her chest. She observed the two sisters with a stern look. She wore a light blue shirt, which was only slightly too big for her but flattered her, together with a pair of white pants. A white handbag slung over her shoulder, which she had probably taken with her to be on the safe side.
However, what was most striking about the woman was the unparalleled resemblance between her and Nathalie. Without a doubt, both were related to each other. You could not only tell from the fact that they had the same hairstyle and the same color of eyes. But also the same facial features.
Celine herself couldn't believe it either. With her mouth open, she clung to the woman she was still holding in her arms.

It was Nathalie who found her voice first. "What are you doing here?" she hissed at the woman with a stern look "mother"

"Looking after you, of course. Daughter," she replied before she looked past her. "Celine," she greeted her as well, with a nod.

Celine quickly turned her head to Nathalie. She knew only too well how the two of them hated each other to death. She had seen it often enough for that herself. "I didn't call her!" she explained directly, hastily, and indignantly.

"I don't care why she's here. I just want her to go." Nathalie hissed.

"You haven't changed at all. In all these years.."

Chapter 23: Preperations

Notes:

these chapters gets presented by you by my inability to keep a upload scedule and the 2 week writerblocks I just experienct because of it.
Have fun!

Chapter Text

Under the watchful eye of Nathalie, the woman made her way to one of the many chairs that were in the room.
On one of these chairs, she put her handbag to immediately open it. Out of it, she pulled out a small file. It wasn't tall. But it seemed to have several pages of content.

"You don't have to worry. I'm not here simply check on you. To see how you're doing." Elise said to her daughter, who was still glaring at her.
Nathalie half clung to her sister's shoulder. Under no circumstances did she want to show weakness to her mother. She had never done that before.
Elise herself now approached her two daughters and held out the file to them.

"What is that?"

"Documents. You'll want them."

Nathalie felt uneasy as she reached out to grab them. What could her mother have that she could need in this situation? A wonder?
With appraising looks she tried to find out what was going on in her head. But just as Nathalie's thoughts remain a mystery to many, she too could not make sense of Elise's gaze. Over the years, she too had simply learned to hide her thoughts from the public eye. Nathalie probably got that from her. Just had she learned that skill faster than her mother had.
She let go of her grumpily and turned to the binder.

"... Is this?" she stammered softly. When she saw what was on the leaves, her eyes feasted as she clung to the paper in her hands.

Not only were the papers detailed with beautiful drawings of various ancient temples, but also where they were located in the world.
Nathalie hastily went through the pages. There seemed to be one almost everywhere in the world. England, Taiwan, and Spain. Even in Australia. Even if it was a bit too far for Nathalie to visit it. Someone near would just do.
But despite all that, it was fascinating.
Even Celine was now concentrating on the papers and seemed to be impressed as well. She had been able to catch a glimpse over Nathalie's shoulder and was also amazed.

"Where did you get that?"

"Your father forgot that when we got divorced. He never asked about it, but it seemed too important to just throw it away. The drawings alone must have taken him many hours. I never did anything with them, got it but saved for a moment as this" Elise explained in a soft, calm voice, as she always did when Nathalie was standing in front of her. She shifted her gaze to her daughter and said, "I mean, you've always come more after your father. So I figured it must only be a question of time."
The woman's excited face had suddenly changed again at the word 'divorce'.

As if she had only now remembered that something like this had happened in the first place. And also somehow, she felt insulted.
But what bothered her, even more, was that her mother knew she had formed a bond with Miraculous.
Nathalie had never really cared who knew unless it was Hawk Moth. Or Gabriel.
Now that she knew that both were the same person and that any secrecy was no longer necessary, she cared even less who knew that she was not only Nathalie but also Mayura.
But her mother? The woman she wouldn't even call 'mother'? Sure, she had brought her into the world. But she certainly had never made her feel like she would get along with her.

"We could-" Celine tried to break the tense silence.

"I just looked up to him" Nathalie interrupted her sister's voice.” After all. He was at least there for me,” she said in a sharp voice.

They exchanged appraising looks again before Elise reached for her bag with a sigh. With another sigh, she let out the words, "I just wanted to drop this off." off and then turned around.

"Wait, I'll bring you out!" Celine called out to her. She gave Nathalie a quick look and then followed Elise out of the room.

 

Tyler had retired to his bedroom. With a good swing, he now pushed a small wooden box under his bed in which he had hidden his collection of magical jewels, which in professional circles would also be called Miraculous.
He couldn't let them fall into the hands of the woman or anyone else.
The man was about to straighten up when he noticed a shadow looming over his shoulders. This could only mean one thing.

"What are you looking for down there? Your level?" the woman with the fiery red hair in the white and black dress greeted him.

'Speaking of the devil..'

"What are you doing here again, dung beetle?" Tyler growled at her. He slowly straightened up and whirled around to face the woman. At least as far as that was possible.
The sun had long since set and so not much light shone into the room.
What Tyler could tell, however, was that her arms were crossed over her chest. Like last time.
When she caught sight of Tyler's eyes, she turned her head slightly to the side to grin at him. Almost as if she wanted to mock him a little. Or as if she would enjoy the green gleam in his eyes that he couldn't see himself.
God how much he despised her.

"So?" he repeated his question once more when the woman made no move to answer him.

Firefly then shrugged her shoulders once "I'll just stop by. See what you're doing. To check if you even intend to face the woman." She paused to hold out her hand. With a slight grin on her lips, she now leaned forward slightly "Or should I just give her your Miraculous?" she breathed at him.

Annoyed and without thinking twice, the man slapped the woman's hand aside. "What's it to you what I'm planning?" he hissed at her in a sharp tone.
Laughing, she raised her hands. "I'm just asking," she replied as if she was more than just amused. Maybe even delight.

"I mean just look around," she added as she stepped closer to the man.

Tyler was still taller than the woman. But that didn't stop her from looking deep into his eyes from below. "You're outnumbered." she breathed at him.

"That never stopped me before!"

"Oh no. Not. I've seen the TV reports. But you don't seriously think it's going to be like the last few times? That you can just put on your black clothes, pose a little, and boom. All your dreams come true?
Please. Even you can't be that naive."

Growling, the man bit his lower lip "What do you know?!"

"Ha!" the woman laughed briefly, "A lot."

Quickly, too quickly for the man to follow her, she drove around him to use her finger to brush his hair from the ear on which he wore his Miraculous "You have one of the most powerful Miraculous. Do you know what kind of power it has? What powers does it lend you? You could have had anything you wanted long ago. Instead, you use it for ridiculous games."
'Anything I wanted long ago' it repeated in the man's hand. 'That is impossible. No Miraculous could bring her back to me.'
Hastily Tyler turned to the woman to look her in the eye again. But she had already wandered further around him.

"And then you're stupid enough to give two of your Miraculouses from your collection to two ordinary people to snatch them away from them when you think you've played with them enough. That's not only naive but ridiculous." she continued.

".. Then what's it got to do with you? Why are you so interested in what I do?" Tyler asked, still spinning in a desperate attempt to get the woman's gaze again.

Suddenly, the woman paused to stand in front of the man's eyes, which surprised him so much that he stumbled back a few steps.

"What you do? To be honest, I don't give a damn. No. What I want and what I care about is the Miraculous." she said in such a different tone while walking threateningly toward him, that it forced the man to take another step back. "So instead of wasting your valuable time with a pathetic attempt to hide your collection from me, you should focus on getting back the last two Miraculouses you're missing!" Firefly spoke in such a demanding voice that Tyler couldn't help but to obey and stop when his back meet an obstacle.

The woman followed him to flick his head once. "After all, You don't have your head there just to put hair care products on it. So make an effort and use it for once. Can you do that?"
She paused to realize with astonishment that now not only Tyler's eyes were shining but also his Miraculous, which brought a small grin to her lips. The man's bitter look gave her pleasure. Seeing him like that, intimidated by her. She liked that.
She reached out with her finger to place it on Tyler's nose in a simple gesture, "I'm counting on you."
With these words, the woman said goodbye, turned, and left the room. A confused Tyler was left who could do nothing more than cling to his bedside table.

 

Firefly slowly looked around in all directions. It was dark in Paris. The sun was down, there weren't many people on the streets, and yet Firefly wanted to be sure that no one even remotely noticed her. Which was not so easy when you have hair, red as fire.
Yet the coast seemed clear. 'Good' she thought and jumped into one of the many side streets. It was even darker here as the lights from the lanterns didn't reach into them.

"Valley lights off," she ordered her kwami, who then appeared and transformed her back into a normal woman who could now easily blend in with the crowd of people on the street.

The kwami that now formed out of the golden glow was light brown. She had little wings on her back and a fluffy little black fur adorned her neck. On her head, she had small antennae, which just twitched briefly. Her eyes had a light blue gleam that was the same color as the dot on her forehead and with which she was now aiming at the woman in front of her.
Valley herself could hardly see her owner because it was so dark. All she could see was her master's black t-shirt together with the black pants, which made her drown in the darkness even more. If her master wouldn't have such outstanding hair color, Valley would probably feel like she was talking with the wall.

"Ma'am, was it necessary to" the kwami wanted to ask, but the woman put her hand in front of her little face.

"Are you doubting my actions?"

"No!" cried the little creature. "No. Not a bit. Just..." she mumbled and started playing with her hands nervously. "Aren't you a little too hard on him?"

"He's just a simple chess piece on my board. So insignificant that it's not necessary to keep him until the end of the game." announced the woman.

"But you told him to get the last two missing Miraculous?"

"Ha. Do you trust his abilities? That he could get that Miraculous? No. I just don't want to get my hands dirty trying to get rid of him. For the woman who calls herself Mayura, that should be easy. I have complete faith in her. Let her make sure he gets what he deserves. After all, he messed with her."

"But I thought-"

"I'll get my revenge on him," the woman interrupted the kwami once more. "Just let him fully remember what he did first."

 




"You have to excuse Nathalie's behavior.. she just has lot of stress recently." Celine tried desperately to improve her mother's mood.

"She's always under stress." Elise just said back.

'You're not entirely wrong..' "There's just been a lot going on lately."

Celine tried very hard to keep up with her mother, who didn't seem to be able to leave the hospital fast enough. At these words, however, she stopped abruptly and spun around, surprising Celine enough to stumble a few steps before stopping.

"Honey. You don't have to apologize for your sister's behavior. I've known her long enough. I know how she feels about things. You try to stand by your sister and that's commendable. But there are limits, Celine." she admonished Elise. Her daughter looked over at her uncertainly. What did she mean by that?
However, Elise ignored this and just continued towards the exit.

Celine herself thought about it for a moment and then followed her further. "You know..." she started "It's not like Nathalie hates you to the bones."

"Did she tell you that?"

"She told me a lot."

"Oh yeah? Let me guess. I'm the bad guy in all of the stories."Elise said as if she had had to say those words a few thousand times already.

"..." Celine was silent for a moment. She was unsure if she should tell her mother. After all, Nathalie had told her that more in confidence. At least, that's what Celine told herself.

The reality was that one night they both drank more than a little too much and got caught up in one of those chewy TV dramas. Where things were constantly happening, which of course were also absolutely realistic.
This particular one was particularly about family dramas. And matching the topic, the words shot out of Nathalie like a fountain.

"It's always so unrealistic. The family pulls the biggest shit and in the end, they always hug each other as if nothing had ever happened!" she protested and took another sip from the glass. "My mother never made me feel like I had a home with her. And she still sees it as her right to have done what she did. Should I hug her now so that we can all pretend to be a happy family? No! Because why should I? If it was your right, this is my right!" she had announced while seeming to be very proud to be able to say these words.

Celine remembers how she stared for her sister for a long time, proceeding to process these words. Before she couldn't help but laugh. Looking back. It was impressive that she could even remember these words the next morning.
With a blink, she came back to reality. "You never gave her the feeling that she was at home with you," she blurted out.

"Just because I did what I thought was right? I gave the kid everything I could in my power. She always had food, a roof over her head, and the ability to do whatever she wanted."

"But she never had the feeling to be at home..." Celine repeated herself all while looking into her eyes.

Now it was Elise who paused for a moment. Time seemed to stand still for a moment before she turned to Celine.
Gently, she placed her hands on her daughter's shoulders. "It's nice of you to try. You always had such a big heart. But it's okay, love. We will never be this happy family and that is okay. I accepted that. And I at least have you."
She wrapped her arms around Celine to hug her once and then smile at her.

"I'll find my way out of here. Go back to your sister. And take care of her. She's attached to you. You're probably the last thing she sees as family. So make sure she doesn't rush in some suspicious thing, okay? Or that she get in something strange involved."
With these words, Elise smiled for a second, before waving goodbye leaving Celine a bit confused and alone in the hallway.

Chapter 24: Day of Fate

Chapter Text

"Do you think that's such a good idea, Nathalie?" Adrien asked the woman a third time that day. And like before, Nathalie answered him with a simple "It will be fine." while stuffing the pajamas that she had been wearing until now, into her bag. The last thing she wanted was to be seen in that thing, should she have to transform back during the fight.

Nathalie had decided on a red blouse today, the substitute for her sweater, which she usually wore, and which had been partially burned in the fire, together with a pair of ordinary black pants.
Her hair was in the same style as she always wore it with a subtle touch of make-up. She was prepared for anything.

"And what if one of the nurses comes in?"

"Then you just tell them I'm somewhere in the cafeteria."

"And if they were looking for you there?"

"Then you come up with something new"

"I can't just lie to them.."

"It's just a little lie. You can call it an emergency lie."

"And if-"

"Adrien!" Nathalie interrupted him to prevent him from continuing this discussion. "Everything will be fine. People will be distracted anyway once they see their heroine is back. Or something like that. Anyways, you don't have to worry."
The boy looked down uncertainly. "I know it's just..." he stammered softly and nervously as he twisted the cord on his sweater a few times around his finger.
He received a letter 2 days ago. It quickly turned out that it was from Karasu, which he immediately passed on to Nathalie. Yet it triggered this overwhelming feeling in him. Like a bad premonition. It wouldn't let him go. Follow him wherever he was going.

As if everything would be different at the end of this day. As if he were going to lose Nathalie too. This time.
His father would fight by her side, but that didn't make the whole thing any better in his eyes. Rather the opposite.
He would have liked to have stopped the two of them from this project. Thrown away the letter and pretended it never existed. But then the man would certainly have come up with something else.
And not only that. Nathalie now saw it as her duty to put an end to all this hustle and bustle here and now. At least that's what she said when she received the letter.
What should he say to that? Stop them? After all, he was nothing more than a simple child. He didn't even have a Miraculous or any powers that would give him the power to even try. He had nothing but this crushing and all-consuming fear that followed his every step.

Gently, as if she could sense his feelings, Nathalie placed her hands on his shoulders, causing the boy to lift his head.
Pleased to be able to look into his bright green eyes, the woman gave him a sincere smile and immediately wrapped him in a hug, wrapping both arms around him tightly. "You don't have to be sad," she assured him, gently stroking his hair. "Everything will be fine."
Fearfully, Adrien clutched the woman's clothing with both hands as he buried his head in her chest. "Please.." he breathed softly "..come back to me...to us... I...we...still need you..."

"I will. Don't worry. I'll get back to you. I promise."

 

On one of the city's many rooftops, which were plunged into deep darkness while slowly but surely gloomy rain clouds appeared in the blue sky. Nathalie was now squatting behind a chimney. This should only serve her as protection for now.
She had already transformed with the help of Plagg. Her outfit consisted of a black, almost leather-like full-body suit, which was decorated with a belt in the hip area that was supposed to remind of a cat's tail and to which her weapon, a staff, was attached.
Unlike when she was Mayura, her face was hidden from the public by a real mask this time. The only thing similar to Mayura was Nathalie's hair, which was again short and with a curl that hung from the ear down into the face.
In addition, it had assumed a beautiful green shimmer mixed with the black in her hair and was adorned with cat ears.

She clutched the stony scaffolding with her hands while gritting her teeth. Her eyes were on the man on the ground beneath her. The way he just stood there. unconcerned. As if he were expecting someone and that calmly and patiently. He was perfectly calm. His hands crossed in front of his chest. Was he whistling a song?
The simple form of the man alone made Nathalie angry.
She quickly took a few deep breaths to remain in control of her feelings. Going in head first would certainly help no one.
Hawk Moth approached her cautiously and not exactly silently and briefly tapped his hand on Nathalie's shoulder as a greeting so that she wouldn't be startled by his sudden proximity.

"I am happy to see you," he whispered to her.

"I couldn't have turned down an invitation like that," she replied without even looking at him. The whole situation with Gabriel being Hawk Moth still left a bitter taste on her tongue. A fact that she would have to deal with more at some point. But not today.

"Oh so he sent you one too?" the man grinned slightly delightedly, causing Nathalie to grumble softly.

He quickly cleared his throat as an apology. "Are you sure? you can do this?"

"Do I have a choice?"

"He can't force you"

"Unfortunately he can. I have to get Duusu back. Who knows what else he will do if I don't act? Who he will injure..." Nathalie explained. Her gaze wandered to the floor for a moment. She couldn't just let Tyler hurt anyone else just like that. Someone she cared about.

Resolutely she reached for her staff. "This is all just pointless. So let's just end it."
Nathalie was about to straight up when the man held her back by the shoulders. Carefully, he now forced her to turn to him and look into his eyes. Reflexively, Nathalie backed away a little so as not to repeat what happened the last time Hawk Moth held her like that.

"You don't have to do this," he repeated his words, this time in a desperate attempt to get her to understand the meaning of those words. The Power these words have.

"He chose me just like he choose you."

"And hurt you. He's ruthless... what if something happens to you..."

"I can take care of myself and defend myself. He won't get another chance to let me fall off somewhere. Also," she continued, gently stroking his arms from her shoulders. "We're not fighting each other anymore. We're fighting with each other now. That makes us stronger."

The man blinked at her a few times in amazement. Words seemed to fail him.

"You could do me a favor. Can you distract him for a moment?" she then asked him, which he confirmed with a quick nod and encouraged the woman to whisper something in his ear.

"Sure. No problem at all," he hastily assured her and then jumped down from the roof in one leap. Smiling he then leisurely made his way over to the man in the raven outfit.

"So we meet again, Tyler," he greeted him, making Karasu spin around in an instant.

"Gabriel! 6 days and not a call. But nice to see you too. Are you here for more?"

"Ha. Certainly not."

"Then what are you doing here? Don't tell me you came alone. Where's your little girlfriend? I was so looking forward to seeing her again."

"She's not my girlfriend."

"Sure. And prison is just a simple room."

"Good cue," Hawk Moth replied, stopping a few yards in front of the man. "Because guess where you're going today."

"Oh?" said Karasu who then grinned amusedly. "Am I? What makes you so sure?"

"Because he's not alone!" called Nathalie, who had crept up to the man from behind. In both hands, she now had the silver shimmering staff firmly entwined, which she immediately pulled over Karasu's skull from behind. Staggering, he stumbled right in Hawk Moth's direction and arms "Now! On the ear! Grab his Miraculous!" she instructed her partner.

Hawk Moth hastily tries to follow the instructions and catch the man at the same time. His miraculous was within reach. Just a little bit more! Nearly!
If Only.
Karasu managed to catch himself too quickly. The Miraculous had saved him from too much damage. He turned sideways and grabbed Hawk Month's arm tightly to spin him around and dropped him instead.
He lifted his head to be able to look at the woman's face. "Hello my dear~" he greeted her with a big smile on his face. Just seeing Nathalie's outfits made his eyes light up. "Ohhh! I see you finally decided to bring me the Miraculous I wanted after all. Good choice."

"Tzz.." Nathalie hissed quietly "And what do you dream about at night?"

"A few things. World domination. Miraculous. Power. You~"

"What?"

"just kidding~" he replied laughing. "But I'm glad to see you through."
Grumbling and annoyed, Hawk Moth pushed himself off the ground to get up, which Karasu knew how to prevent. After all, he wasn't done talking yet.
He immediately placed his foot on the man's back for support and to prevent Hawk Moth from saying goodbye to the ground just yet. With force, he pushed him face-first back into the asphalt.
Desperately, Hawk Moth tried to get the man off his back. But he was amazingly stronger than he looked.

Amused by all of this, Karasu reached into his coat pocket from which he immediately got a pair of earrings. "You know. It's nice to see that at the end of the day I'll be the owner of both Miraculouses again." he continued and almost presented Nathalie with the jewelry he was holding in his hand. A pair of earrings. "Once I have them both again, nothing can stop me. Not you and certainly not this woman."

"Pff.." Nathalie replied and clutched her staff tighter "Are you here to talk or are we fighting?" she said, pointing at the man.

“As you wish,” he said and immediately put the earrings back in their place to pull out a small necklace instead. "Zeroo, Lonng. Unify~" he commanded letting his outfit gain the familiar dragon aspects. Not the first time that Nathalie saw this.

The man immediately pointed his now available sword in the direction of Nathalie to conjure up a storm. "You want to fight. Let's fight!" he replied and jumped off Hawk Moth's back over to the woman.
She hastily clutched the staff in her hands, parrying the attack as the two weapons clashed.
Without thinking long, Karasu began to rain down many targeted blows on the woman with the sword which forced her to stumble backward and keep parrying.

The man's punches were hard and precise. The superiority of fighting with weapons was noticeable, which further condemned Nathalie to not being able to do much more than fend off the attacks. He didn't give her enough time to counter.
'Damn..' she cursed under her breath, taking a step back 'I knew I would have watched Adrien's fencing lessons more often!'
She narrowed her eyes once and gritted her teeth as another blow caught her hand this time.

'Crap, crap, crap. Shit! I forgot how strong he was. Why did my dad have to allow him to take fencing lessons? Why not a sewing course? Or a cooking class!' she continued to curse and just dodged another attack from the man.
'I mean thank you for that, Dad. Very helpful. Glad he got what he wanted. But when I asked for a puppy, all you said was - No, that's way too much responsibility. At least a puppy wouldn't have made such a fuss!'
"What's the matter? You're so calm all of a sudden. Did the Cat bite her tongue?" she heard Karasu say in an almost mocking tone that snapped her out of her thoughts.
She gritted her teeth in anger "That's called thinking!" she yelled, swinging once with full strength to knock the man's sword away from him and his hand. A small albeit daring success that made Nathalie smile slightly. "You should try it too!" she added, watching the man's sword smash to the ground.

She glared at the man angrily, gasping a little. Damned. She hasn't done anything and already was out of breath. That was so unlikely of her.
He look at her before starting to laugh lightly, which resulted in a lightning bolt, striking in Nathalie's direction. She quickly backed away from him to avoid being hit. He then used it to quickly grab his sword. Elegantly he let the sword circle in his hand a few times before holding it tight again.

"En Grade," he spoke in a self-assured tone.

Nathalie couldn't help but look deep into his eyes.
Her gaze meet Hawk Moths for a second, who was standing in the back. He had now managed to get back to his feet.

"Pret" she answered him while looking back at Karasu.

A moment of silence followed.

"Allez!" they both shouted and with hasty steps they ran towards each other. Fueled by a desire to no longer be doomed to inaction, Nathalie attacked first this time.
Which resulted in a series of punches and parries on both sides.
Hawk Moth followed the bacon, grabbing his staff as he watched.
Nathalie parried with a violent punch and this time forced him to stumble backward. Directly in Hawk Moth's direction.

 

"Have you ever heard?" Celine heard one of the many teachers in the staff room arguing. They weren't exactly quiet, causing a bit of a commotion. "That weird guy is supposed to be back"

"What was his name again?"

"Who knows? It doesn't matter. Who is the woman messing with him?"

“No Idea. And what is with the men with her? Wasn't he suppose to be a bad guy?”

'weird guy? Woman messing with him' Celine repeated in her head until she hit realization and her eyes widened.

She hastily reached for her cell phone. Reality hit her like a hard blow immediately after. Right in the face. 'this can't be true she cursed in her head and clutched the phone in her hand.
No doubt. The live transmission of a hobby blogger, who had just made it to the scene and is now serving as Celine's source, obviously showed her sister. The Miraculous may have changed her appearance, but she couldn't fool her.
Celine immediately jumped to her feet and grabbed her jacket.

"Celine?" she hears the woman next to her say, whose attention she must have just caught. Not that she cared right now.

"I'm sorry, Gisele. But I have to go."

"What. Hey! Wait!" the woman called after her, but Celine had already opened the door to storm out of the room.

Gisele also jumped up quickly to run after Celine.
She grabbed the woman's wrist and held her back as she caught up to her in the hallway.

"What happened so suddenly? Where are you going? You still have 2 hours of class after lunch."

Celine immediately tried to pull away "This won't happen. Please let me go!"
As if she had conjured it up, the school bell suddenly rang. But unlike usual, her sound was constant and shrill so that Gisele pricked up her ears. "It's not the fire alarm. What is it?" she asked the woman.

"Akuma alert!" she now heard some of the kids shouting, all running to the school gate to run to the backyard.

"Akuma alert..?"

"I can't explain that to you now, I have to go!" exclaimed Celine

"Where do you have to go?"

"Just let me go!"

"You don't want to... Are you completely insane? The Miraculous could hurt you!"

"I must!" Celine continued to shout and slowly wriggled her arm out of Gisele's grip. "Sorry! Can you take care of my class? Thanks!" she shouted and ran away.

Stunned, Gisele looked after the woman with wide eyes. She had never encountered anyone like this in her life. Someone so stupid.
With gritted teeth, she ran her fingers through her hair questioningly. How could you be so tired of life? Without Miraculouse witnessing such a fight. It was like suicide. Nobody in their right mind would expose themselves to that. Being so unreasonable.

'.....Stupid women' Gisele grumbled in her head and ran after the woman.

 

 

"You're annoying!" Hawk Moth cursed as he swung his staff again to hit Karasu. However, the man simply turned sideways, dodged, and kicked the man to the ground with his knee.

Nathalie managed to push Karasu so close to Hawk Moth with another attack that he managed to knock his sword out of his hand as a surprise he then took over the fight with him.
The woman herself held back for a moment to catch her breath. It was proof that she was still not 100% fit. She probably should have rested more. Or should have trained more.
Gasping, Hawk Moth held his hand in front of his stomach as he slowly fell to the ground. The Miraculous can protect him from greater damage. But still, he could feel a touch of pain. And Karasu knew where to aim to make it hurt.
Satisfied, the man turned away, only to be greeted by Nathalie's fist, which hit him square in the face.

"Hawk Moth!" she called and knelt to the man "Are you okay?"

"It's alright.." he assured her and wiped his mouth once "Spit on it and wiped it away."

She straightened up to offer the man her hand. "He is strong. We must not underestimate him.

"I know..." he said and took her hand to get to his feet "I know..."

They both now saw the man who shook his head once before turning to face them. None of them flinched from the enemy's gaze.

"If he gets his sword back, he'll be even stronger," Nathalie whispered to her partner.

"Then we know what we have to prevent."

Confidently, she looked over at Hawk Moth for a split second, who nodded at her.
With quick steps, they now approached the man to get him directly involved in a fight again.
Immediately, Nathalie raised her fists and banged her wrists against Karasu's.
Hawk Moth meanwhile ran past the man to pull him over from behind.
Karasu grimly grabbed the woman's wrists to twirl her around.

At least that would put him out of the line of fire and stop the man from going through with his plan. If only for a brief moment.
Nathalie herself did not give up or was impressed by his behavior.
She swung her foot to hit Karasu where it hurt. This deviated from her like a reflex and she let go of what she used to start again with faster and more precise punches. This forced the man to take another step backward. Then another. And another one.
Like an order to get the man away from her, she carried out her attacks, this time letting the man be the one who could do nothing but defend himself.
Grinning, she grabbed his arms and turned the tables.

Like him before, she spun him around right into Hawk Moth's arms. This was the one who swung his staff and let the man fall to the ground. Fixed and precise.
Nathalie hastily grabbed Karau's neck to tear the dragon Miraculous from his neck.
Proud of the teamwork, Hawk Moth held out his hand for the woman to hit it, letting her give him a well-deserved high five, which made Karasu grumble once while a wave of red caused him to lose his dragon aspects.
He clenched his fists in anger, unleashing his powers, forcing both Hawk Moth and Nathalie to back away from him, giving him the chance to get up again.
He immediately turned around to grab her tight. With a grin, his eyes start to shine as he gazed at the woman he hold so tight in his gasp. Seeing her suffer. Her eyes started to light up too.
In a desperate attempt to free herself she kicked her food directly into his stomach causing her to stagger and eventually fall to the ground.
She immediately flinched and went a few steps back, giving Hawk Moth the chance to stand before her, blocking Karasu's path, ready to take on him again at any time.
The man growled a few times before lifting his head.

"Get out of my way." he prompted in a sharp low tone. His blank green eyes then lit up menacingly.

"So you can hurt her again? Never!"

Driven by the feeling of unbridled rage, the man knocked Hawk Moth's staff from his hands making it hit the ground. "I said. Get out of my way." Karasu repeated.
But the man stood his ground. "I said no!"

"I don't need a protector. Get out of the way!" yelled Nathalie. "Please!" she pleaded softly, whereupon Hawk Moth slightly turned his head towards her. Big mistake.

Karasu immediately approached him, grabbed his collar, and pulled him to bury his fist in the man's face.
Another one this time with even more force. Satisfied with the look on the man's face, Karasu let go of the man's collar but not before snapping the brooch from him. "You should have just stepped aside." Gabriel heard the man say before blacking out as his head hit the ground.

Gabriel's body hadn't reached the ground yet when Nathalie rushed off to grab Karasu's neck to push it onto the ground.
With a tight grip, she clasped his neck and stared into his face.
He narrowed his eyes for a moment and desperately tried to free himself. Damned. Where did she get this strength from so suddenly?
He thought as he tried to her away from him.

"Cataclysm!" Nathalie yelled angrily, causing her ring to glow. A black substance formed in her palm letting the man freeze.

She gritted her teeth in anger as she stared at the man below her. How could he? Why did he do all this? Who even allowed him to do that? No, how dare he allowed himself to put on such a fuss here and involve herself and everyone important to Nathalie in the matter! He would pay for it! She would make him pay for it! With everything he had! His Life. His Freedom. What else mattered to this man? She would get let him pay! would be the one who would smack the grin off his face and replace his smug laugh with unimaginable fear! And if it was the last thing she would do!

"Nathalie!~" she suddenly heard a childish voice call out. A sound that went through her marrow and leg in one fell swoop. So softly and childishly. Hardly more than 10 years old. Too young to come from the man beneath her, yet it was unmistakably his.

"Do you think we'll be friends forever?" the voice continued its dialogue.

"What's the point of such a sentimental question?" she now also heard a girl's voice speaking, whereupon she narrowed her eyes in desperation. "That doesn't suit you at all."

"Just answer my question for once!" protested the voice. This conversation was so old. So old that it had no right to show up in Nathalie's subconscious here and now. The children of that time were long grown up. What difference did it make? What meaning do the words have today?

"Let me think" she heard the girl say and the image from back then formed in her head. How she had sat with him on a wall back then. Both are holding ice cream. How hot it was that day when he had asked her this. Grinning, she nudged him with her shoulder to tell him the following words.

'Yes... I think... we can be friends forever, Nathalie repeated the girl's words in her head and slowly lowered her arm.

"Then let's promise it to each other! Here and now! Pinky swore! We'll be friends forever!"

At the time, he announced it with a bright smile on his face. Now those words plagued her.
They were the words of a simple child. What value would they have today?
Why did they still mean so much to her today?

Was it because they had always been together since they were little? Or was it the harsh reality that she had once called him her best friend? Even more than that?
Or because at the time she believed those words were true. That nothing would tear them apart. At the time it seemed impossible.

She slowly raised her head to see his gray eyes, which looked uncertainly up at her. "..How could you..." she breathed in a broken voice.

The man looked at her questioningly "This isn't the first-"

"What the hell happened to you? That's not you!"

"...."

"The hell with all this! How could you do this to the people here? Your town! Your Home! How could you become such a monster? Tell me, don't you see how wrong all this is? What you're doing here? Do you think that this makes anyone happy? That Amalia would have wanted all of this? No! No, even you can't be that stupid!"
The woman reached out with her hand so suddenly that even the man couldn't help but narrow his eyes. As if in a trance, he could feel the sound of the cataclysm which had hit matter and was now slowly decomposing into its parts. That unnatural sound of something being broken down bit by bit.

To his surprise, however, he felt no hint of pain. He felt nothing at all.
Abruptly he opened his eyes again to look into the face of the woman.
Nathalie had come even closer to him, but she hadn't hit him and instead aimed for a stone that had been lying on the ground next to him.
But she left him no time to gasp for air. She grabbed his Miraculous to put an end to all of this. Now that her hand was free from the cataclysm.

With a blink of an eye, the man grabbed the woman's hand at the last second and pushed her off with his legs. Not with a lot of force, but enough for the woman to land on her butt and finally let go of his neck.
There was a moment of silence. Karasu held his neck with one hand and looked over at the woman. He watched her. His breathing was heavy and inconsistent. Watched how she gasped for air herself. Her head was still on the ground.
It was only after a small noise, almost impossible to hear, that she found the strength to look up again. A brooch had fallen out of the man's jacket pocket when he pushed the woman away. A brooch they both knew only too well.
Both start at each other for a second before getting up and plunging to be the first to catch it.

However, Nathalie had the upper hand when she was just a second faster than the man.
She clutched the brooch tightly in her hand and pushed Karasu away from her with her other hand once more.
Without hesitation, she put the brooch on, which immediately gained color, and let Duusu come out of it.

Nathalie's heart was overwhelmed when she could look into the kwami's little face again. "Duusu!" she greeted her comrade joyfully

"How? Where? What? Miss Nathalie!?" gasped the kwami

"I am happy to see you too but we have no time!"

"No! Wait!" Duusu wanted to stop her. In vain.

"Duusu! Plagg! Unify!" she ordered, sending Duusu back into the brooch.

Her face then adorned the 'mask' that Mayura always wore in her fights.
On her arms and neck, she regained the fluffy parts of her outfit.
But most important of all. She had back the fan she was used to fighting with, which she immediately held out in the man's direction. It was just Miraculous like any other. But knowing Duusu's back overwhelms the woman.
Yet the feeling of euphoria didn't last long.
As if struck by lightning, she was suddenly overcome by a wave of unspeakable pain. So strong, that she suddenly forced the woman to her knees. Anxiously she clutched her chest where the brooch was. Every breath burned. Like a forest fire raging through her lungs.
A fit of coughing came over her and forced her to put her hand in front of her mouth and shut her eyes. What was that? Why did it hurt everywhere all of a sudden?
She heard someone approaching her with quick steps making her immediately open her eyes again only to see Karasu. With his hand, he grabbed the Miraculous on her chest.
Hastily she knocked them away and jumped back on her legs. "Stay away from me!" she hissed at the man as best she could. The words alone made her cough again.

"Your Miraculous is broken!"

"What..."

"The brooch! You have to take it off, damn it!" the man explained to her.

Slightly, without removing her from her outfit in the process, but enough to catch a glimpse of the back, Nathalie looked down at herself. Indeed. She could see small cracks on the back of the brooch. Cracks that weren't there 100% when she lost Duusu.
".. Unbelievable.." she breathed out, gritting her teeth "You don't seem to know any shame. You wouldn't even shy away from such a crappy trick?! How could I hope for even one second that you are Tyler I knew. The Men from back then" she announced and grabbed a feather which she snatched from her fan and hid in her miraculous.
From her anger alone, a sentistormcloud formed.

"You're the absolute worst, Tyler!" she screamed and immediately the man got hit with a clap of thunder that made him scream.

"You lousy bastard!!" she continued to shout and another blow hit him.

She ignored the pain she felt. Her anger was too great. "I've dated guys who were more decent than you!!!" she hissed furiously to counter the man's screams.
She gritted her teeth as a wide wave of pain hit her, forcing her to her knees again. Coughing, she stared at the man.
Had she gone too far? No. No! He deserved this! This and far worse! If her body would only let her.
Another cough forced her to close her eyes again. What she saw when she opened them again made a shiver run down her spine. Karasu was about to put on Gabriel's brooch.

“..N-No!” she tried but too late

"Zeroo! Nooroo! Unify!" he spoke quickly and got to his feet.

Forcing his outfit to change once more. His sunglasses now replace a mask through which you could see his completely green glowing eyes. And the ends of his cloak were replaced by a cloak resembling two butterfly wings.
He clutched the staff in his hands angrily as he glared at the woman.

"You little.. you get that back!" he hissed and clutched the staff in his hands.

Mayura hastily wanted to give the Sentimonster another command, but the words stuck in her throat. Breathing alone was hard enough.
Karasu watches it for a moment until his eyes fell on a small creature. A stunning and useful creature. A little butterfly. It had landed on his hand. Should he go this far? What was that for a question?
Grinning, he forced the little creature to change color and to disappeared into his brooch. He closed his eyes as a purple substance took over him completely. Giving him even more power in the process.

Chapter 25: Spirit vs Spirit

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

In awe, Mayura stared at the man who was now standing a few meters in front of her.
She stood protectively in front of Gabriel's unconscious body and spread her hands as a gesture to protect him.

Only slowly did the matter that was surrounding him settle to reveal his altered form, which he presented with a broad grin on his lips.
His skin now took on a slightly purple shimmering tone, making it look unnatural and dangerous. Almost poisonous.
His previously black cloak was now replaced by a purple vest and cloak, that had taken the form of two large butterfly wings, which were now flapping menacingly in the wind. Claw-like nails had formed on his hands, which together with the dragon horns adorned his head, completing his look.

'A dragon butterfly?..' thought Nathalie before another fit of coughing overcame her and forced her to her knees.
The Miraculous was too much. It cost her too much of her energy.

"Duusu.. fall my feathers.." she ordered her kwami, whereupon the aspects that Duusu had bestowed on her disappeared.
The little kwami immediately formed back into its form from a blue ball of light into a little peacock-shaped creature making all that remained a dejected Nathalie in a cat outfit.

"Miss Nathalie! I wanted to warn you!" Duusu squeaked in exasperation and paled at the sight of her owner. Nathalie was completely exhausted and it was obvious.
Her face had lost color and taken on that of chalk instead, making her eyes stand out, she was so pale.

"It's okay.." she assured the kwami "It's already better than when I was transformed," she explained, wiping her mouth once.

What should she do now? she wondered her gaze fixed on the man who was sneering at her.
He was even stronger now, with two not to be underestimated Miraculouses and an Akumatized form, while she had only one she also could use a break right now. It seemed hopeless.
Her gaze wandered to Gabriel, who was still lying unconscious on the floor.

In that state, he was defenseless at the mercy of her opponent. And Tyler would certainly take advantage of that. She would have to protect him.
Resolutely she clutched the Miraculous she had taken from him in her hand and straightened up again.

"Do you have a plan?" the Kwami asked curiously while watching her. 

"No. But how do you say it. Safer demeanor when completely clueless." Nathalie explained.

She took a deep breath before turning her head to her little friend. She looked at them gently now, to give her a sincere smile, "I'm glad to have you back, despite everything, Duusu. I missed you."

".. I missed you too, Miss Nathalie" the little Kwami admitted, wiping a little tear out from her face. 

"Let's finish this and then I'll get you some coffee. How does that sound?"

"Great!" the kwami confirmed with a nod. She held out her tiny hand in the direction of the woman. With her index finger, the woman now gave it a slight tap.

".. What kind of sentimentalism are you having there?" the man growled, annoyed, and impatiently put his hands on his hips and leaned his head to the side.

"Oh, you wouldn't understand that," the woman said, who broke into a wide grin when their eyes met. "You would have to be loved by someone for that."

"Lovely," the man replied in a calm voice. "Thank God you'll talk less once I'm done with you!" he announced and his eyes shimmered menacingly.

'Has that green in his eyes always been so intense' thought Nathalie while she protectively covered her face with her arms.

With the sound of his voice alone, the man had managed to stir up a storm that would start the plague of his enemies.
He watched the woman now as she desperately tried to stand on both feet as he walked towards her.

"The power of the dragon? How can he use it?" Duusu cried desperately, clinging to Nathalie's belt with her last strength so as not to be blown away.

"He must have given himself the powers with the Miraculous of Gabriel!"

"Gabriel?!"

"I'll explain it later!"

"You know" explained the man who stopped a few meters in front of the woman "I've always liked the Miraculous of the Dragon the most. It's so simple, very easy to use, and yet so powerful.
In one fell swoop, you can conquer the elements making them your servant and control them to your liking."

Only now did Nathalie notice the cold that had formed around her legs and tied her to the ground. 'When did he!?' she cried in her mind and heard the man snap once. Grinning, he lifted her chin with his finger and forced him to look into his menacingly shining eyes. His face was barely a few feet from hers.

"And with your lover's Miraculous, I can make myself even more powerful," he whispered in a gentle, menacing voice, forcing the woman to feel every spoken word on her skin.
She gritted her teeth in anger in response. What seems to amuse the man even further? 

"Now ~," he said, while coming even closer  "Be a good girl. Give me the Miraculous," he ordered her and reached with his free hand to the one in which Nathalie clutched the miraculous tightly and where the Ring that gave her power was resting.

Without hesitation, the woman swung her head to the side to free herself from the man's grip as she reached out to bite the man's hand with all her strength, forcing him to jump back in shock and pain.
He hastily grabbed his hand, pausing his powers for a moment and stilling the wind, giving the kwami a chance to retaliate.

"Leave my Nathalie alone you madman!" shouted Duusu, who then unleashed her powers and created a sentimonster, which immediately pounced on the man.

It was a greyish-blue wolf-like being, complying with its creator's desire to attack the man directly.
Reverently, the man jumped back one more leap to gain a certain distance between himself and the being. Not that that would save him.

The creature immediately lunged at him again, much faster than the man would have guessed. It growled at him with bared teeth. Ready to attack if he moved a muscle.
Karasu stared deep into the wolf's black eyes and slowly drew his staff without breaking eye contact with the creature.
He hastily threw himself on the creature, underestimating the enormous strength that Duusu had given it.
The wolf threw him back against the nearest wall, where he appealed and fell to the ground.

But it wasn't just the man who was hurt.
Gasping, the woman fell to her knees and put her hand in front of her mouth to prevent more blood from draining out of her body. Frozen, she looked at the floor and her hand in which the liquid was dripping onto the floor.
Excited and proud of her accomplishments, the kwami turned to her owner. Her facial expression however changed suddenly when she saw a woman on her knees.

"Miss Nathalie?" Duusu screeched "It shouldn't.. actually.. I'm sorry!" she called on hastily.

The woman looked over at the little creature. Her normally blue face looked pale and her magenta-colored eyes showed fear. She didn't seem to understand the situation either. So this didn't seem normal.
Her lungs burned even worse than before. If this continued, she wouldn't make it. 'I have to finish this's flashed through her mind and her gaze wandered to the man who was scrambling to get up on the wall.

"It's okay..." the woman coughed a few times and wiped her mouth "You helped me.., I thank you for that," she explained to the kwami and then grabbed the Miraculous in her hand to light it up.

A red glow lit her neck for a second, turning the pendant from gray to a black tone with red accents.

"And another thing!" continued the dragon-like kwami, who had now emerged from the Miraculous, as if it was just in the middle of a conversation when it got banished back into his jewel. "You and your stupid personality! You can ma- You're not Tyler.."

"No. Obviously not. But please. Keep talking"

Surprised, the creature blinked at her a few times before recovering. Elegantly, it bowed to the woman with a simple curtsy. "Name is Longg. Nice to make your acquaintance."
'And you're upset about his personality? you could be twins'

"Wonderful. Longg. Plagg, Unify!" the woman commanded, whereupon her body was nourished with new strength. She could feel it! This would give her a fighting chance!
She grinned at the sword in her hands in which she could see her reflection and the new things that were added to her costume.
Her cat ears were replaced with dragon horns and her mask also got a dragon tooth addition while her eyes turned yellow. A Necklace now adorned her neck while the red colors mixed with the black ones from the cat miraculous. It was fitting. Reminded her of her civil persona. 
With a nod, she turned back to the Kwami.

"You can make the Sentimonster go away," the woman said, before dispersing into the wind in a split second to free herself and launch a counterattack.

She reappeared just in front of the man to fall on him from above.
He was able to just about fend off the attack with the staff.
As soon as she had her feet on the ground again, the woman swung the sword again to drive the man further back. An exchange of blows ensued between the two and a series of attacks forced Karasu to retreat further and parry.

"Lightning Dragon!" the woman announced, her blade lighting up brightly and now coming dangerously close to the man.

He dodged at the last moment and stared at the woman for a second before unleashing his powers. "Don't get choocky now!" he cried and his staff was now felt with the power of lightning, with which he immediately threw himself on the woman.
The mere touch of the blades shook the area as thunder broke through the silence with a vengeance.
Again he unleashed his powers that made his eyes light up and conjured up a storm.
But this time the woman was prepared for it. With a blink of an eye, the woman turned back into thin air to sneak up behind the man and ambush him. "Please!" she announced and drew back her sword.

"Please. This Wind could probably only  blow out candles at a children's birthday party!"

The man hastily tried to dodge the attack, but the tip of the blade had already reached his skin. Even as he turned away, the blade was already cutting into his skin, slicing through the matter it touched and making the man cry out briefly.
Karasu bared his teeth in anger. Undeterred, the woman swung around him to attack him again. Like the raindrops that are now slowly beginning to trickle down on the city and its people, she let her sword hit the man again and again until he hit the ground head first.
His eyes narrowed from the impact, giving Nathalie a chance to grab his chest first. On the other hand the sword. This time she wouldn't hesitate. This time she would meet him. Not this time-


"Nath.." the man said confused and held his head as he slowly opened his eyes again, causing a shiver to run down the woman's spine.

Suddenly they stopped looking at the cold, poisonous green eyes they had always faced in the last few months. But the soft brown eyes she is so familiar with from her past.

'What the?' she thought.

"Nath! Your.. your eyes! They are so green!" gasped the man, startled, which made the woman back away from him a little.

".. Not a step further!" proclaimed, teeth bared, sword still in her grip.

Which left the man unimpressed. Slowly, he struggled to put his free hand on her cheek. The sight of his hand made him pause ".. What. the.. what is that? Why am I wearing a Miraculous..." he spoke softly and looked down at himself.

"I said no movement!" the woman repeated her words in a sharper tone and pressed the blade of the sword against the man's neck, cutting it lightly into his neck, causing the man to finally stop moving.

He looked deep into her eyes, which sparkled with anger, and in a broken voice he began to speak, "I screwed up quite a bit, didn't I?"

"Shut your mouth!" she hissed, causing Karasu to finally look away. He was still holding his head as if something was bothering him. Memories that are still raining down on him like the rain that is still constantly pressing the hair into the faces of the grown-ups.

"You are a monster!" the woman continued, clutching the sword's hilt tighter. "A disgusting bastard! Stop trying to play stupid games here. I should rip you open here and now for everything you've done!" she growled.
Which only increased the man's pain.

"I... that...!" he tried to explain while finding himself surprisingly lacking the words to speak what was on his mind. Carefully he reached his hand out for her again. "Nath.." 

"Do not touch me!" she cried with such force behind her voice that her Miraculous couldn't help but obey her voice and unleash a storm that threw the man away from her.



Roughly and with such force that it forced his eyes to close again, the man landed again on the hard floor. This time with the shoulder first, followed by an ugly loud cracking noise.
Without giving him a moment to breathe, another person approached him from behind and pulled the silver staff that Nathalie had thrown away in the fight over his head and let him fall to the ground.

".. Celine?!" the woman gasped in surprise when she saw her sister. What of all the people was she now doing here? 

"Na- Mayura!" she called back as her gaze meets Naths. Without hesitation Celine ran to her, to kneel before her, taking her head into her hands "You look pale. Is everything okay?"

"Yes, that.."

"Your eyes!"

"Ignore the eyes. I'm fine." the woman assured her and tried to tear away the hands that Celine had wrapped around her. Making the women hold her tighter now

"If so - have you gone completely insane or did you just lose your mind?!" Celine called out and shook her sister slightly "You got the order to rest. And what are you doing? Pounce on the next best fight." she paused for a moment to catch her breath before she could continue "... Is that blood!?"

"Celine!" now called another voice, which approached the women and forced both to turn their heads towards her. 

".. Gisele?" Celine gasped out in surprise as she saw the woman who was now standing behind her. 

'Gisele? This is Gisele The Gisele..... Well... I can see why Celine is into her. saying she is her type is an understatement. She is quite appealing.'

"What are you doing here?" Celine asked curiously, letting go of her sister's clothes in return. 

Nathalie meanwhile looked questioningly at the woman who had now fixed her gaze away from her sister and instead on her. For some strange reason, it makes run a shiver down her spine. As it wanted to warn her or something. Nathalie was quite unable to explain it. Was she an alley? Or another storm. 
.
'Without a doubt thought Gisele, who was still looking down at the woman in front of her 'This is the woman I'm looking for. But how are they related to each other? are they related They don't look alike? But she doesn't look like anyone at the moment. Maybe a couple?.. who knows... It's no use at the moment. I don't know enough.'
With the blink of an eye, her expression changed, to a friendly yet formal smile that she gave Nathalie as she held out her hand to help her up. "Nice to make your acquaintance. I hear quite a lot about you" she explained which the woman confirmed with a nod. 

"Thanks. I can't quite say the same to you.."

"Oh don't worry. I am just a nobody" Gisele exclaimed while letting go of the woman's hand and turning her head to Celine "You ran out of the building like a swarm of wasps was behind you. I was just curious. I mean we didn't have this quite of fuss from where I come from." she explained.

"But - You should take care of my class!"

"Oh, they're fine. I am sure."

"Hnggg...." the Karasu growled softly, who was about to get up again and made the three women turn their heads towards him.

Shaking his head slightly, he opened his eyes to glare at the woman with his bright green eyes. "You're all getting on my nerves..." he continued to growl and unleashed an ice storm which he aimed directly at the women.
Protectively, Nathalie stands in front of the other two to be able to create a protective shield with her powers of wind and her body before she looks over her shoulder at Celine.

"You can't stay here. I can't fight him and protect you."

"You can give me another Miraculous! I can help you!" Celine contradicted her in an almost pleading tone.

"This is far too dangerous!" Gisele joined the conversation, using all her strength to hold the woman back in her arms by the shoulders.

"She's right. I couldn't watch if something happened to you. Do me a favor and take care of the man over there," Nathalie said and pointed with her chin in the direction of Gabriel, who still hadn't regained consciousness. Before turning away from them both. "This is the best you two could do for me."

"Oh so you don't want to watch me suffer, but I am supposed to do!?"

"This is not the time for that!" the woman explained in a sharp demanding tone. "Also. All of this has nothing to do with you - This is my fight."
With these words, she vanished into thin air again. In a split second, she made it back to the men who she faced now again. 






Celine was still looking over Gisele's shoulder at her sister with a pleading look. Just as Nathalie couldn't bear to see her sister suffer, Celine didn't want to have to see anything like that either. Yet her sister expected her to do.
Again she felt so helpful. So useless. Like the day her sister seemed lost to the world. Why wouldn't she reconsider that she could help her? That she didn't have to care all of this responsibility on her shoulders alone. 

"Celine, we have to go. Come on!" Gisele shouted as she grabbed her hand to tear her out of her thoughts back into Reality. 

Arm first, Gisele pulled the woman away from Karasu and further to Gabriel. Yet Celine couldn't help but keep her gaze fixed on the woman in the background that was fighting the men with all her might. With every step, the image of her sister got smaller and smaller.
'Please Nath.. stay save..' she said in her mind before finally turning her head away.


Finally arriving, Celine immediately crutched down to him and started to shake him. "Mr. Agreste... Mr. Agreste! Wake up!" she repeated his name over and over again.

"Agreste? Is he related to the popular boy in your class?" Gisele gasped while switching between looking at her and the men. She seemed oblivious to the noises in the background. 

"They Father and son." the woman explained. "We can't leave him here. He's better protected over there. Help me carry him over!"

"You're not going anywhere soon!" growled the familiar voice of the man who now appeared behind the two women and made them both spin around. "You're going to pay for attacking me!" he continued, glaring at Celine.

With a flick of the wrist, Gisele pulled the woman behind her and the men a step away from them while taking the staff Celine was still holding in her hand all the time. "You leave her alone." the woman hissed back at him and looked menacingly into his eyes. "I have no problem hitting you over the head as well."

The man stared down at her questioningly and his grip on his staff tightened. "Get out of my way!" he commanded and lunged once without noticing how Nathalie had already approached him in a hurry to tackle him away from the woman.

"Your opponent here is still me!" she announced and with a gust of wind both she and the man were gone.

Much to the women's surprise. But they didn't have much time for that anyway.

"We have to take him away!" repeated Gisele and dropping the staff. "Come on!"





Even as Nathalie's body slowly materialized out of the wind, she again aimed her sword at the man and left it on these woodlice to push him further and further back. Away from the people. Away from the women who were trying to help Gabriel and who Nathalie had sworn to protect.

"Grr.. leave me alone!" Karasu yelled and a wave of negative emotions that drove Nathalie insane hit her, making her eyes light up green again. But this time it shouldn't end like the first time they met.

No, this time she would use those intense feelings.

"Lightning Dragon!" she cried again and her sword lit up again, which she immediately swung at the man.

He hastily dodged back a little, only to find himself with his back to the wall and a woman approaching him with quick steps.

"Damn. Damn!!" he cursed and another wave of energy emanating from Raven Miraculous hit her, which she ignored.

In a split second, the man turned back into the wind, just like Nathalie, to quickly rush up onto the building and dodge the attack.
Nathalie stopped briefly to look down after him and did the same so that she too would get to the building.
With one leap she made it onto the roof, where she immediately attacked the man.

He spun around and desperately tried to parry the attack with his staff, which was immediately split in half by the woman's unbridled anger and the superiority of the sword.
With one blow she had managed to destroy his weapon. The point of the sword, which was now coming towards the man unchecked, now bounced off the brooch on his chest, causing it to be thrown from him and putting an end to his outfit.
Even as the dark mass made him turn back to Karasu, the woman grabbed the brooch, which turned gray again at the mere touch.

Determined she stretched her sword in the air "Water Dragon!" said the woman and immediately a ball of water formed around the roof, which would make it impossible for both of them to escape.

The woman gritted her teeth and pointed the sword back at the man, who was now crouched on the ground in front of her. "Check and mate," she hissed.

Only now did she realize how exhausted she was. The man's face in front of her blurred again and again. The sound of her heartbeat pounded in her ears in rhythm with her breathing, which was heavy and fast. She felt like she might faint at any moment. 'Damn... pull yourself together..' she admonished herself 'You're so close... you
For a brief moment that felt like an eternity for herself, the woman blacked out in which she felt the strength in her arm leaving her and the sword falling to the ground, causing her to fall to her knees as well.

"It's over... look at yourself... you're at the end strength," the man said, trying to gasp for air. 

"Oh yeah. Why don't you take a look at yourself... You don't look any better..."

"Better than you.."

"Just give me... your Miraculous..."

"You want it.. " shouted the man "come and get it!"
With a huge leap, he jumped at the woman in an instant. To hold back her opponent's fists, she grabbed the man's wrists to hold them tight. At least in theory. In Reality, she missed them as his vision still went blurry from time to time.
However, she managed to get his hand, which resulted in her having to hold hands and stare into the man's eyes as they both struggled for the upper hand.
The sheer force of the man and superiority in strength, however, let her stagger back a bit, which is why she was now slightly below him.

"You're such a bad loser!" the woman hissed at him

"I just fight to the end!" the man replied and pushed her down a bit further. "I am just as much of a pain in the ass, as you are!" he commented further. 

"Well.. you got that part right!" she said, using all her strength to not sound as desperate of a miracle as she was. What could she do? what was she supposed to do? Even with all her strength, she couldn't overpower him. And his Miraculous was too far out of reach for her to snap it. 
'Damn.. damn, damn. Damn it!!' she gritted her teeth as she gazed at the men. 

"Maura!" Gisele called out to her "That is your name, right?"  Her Voice made Nathalie turn her head slightly to her rousing the heroine from her despair. "I am a little bit busy here"

"I know. You forgot your staff," she said waving once with the silver weapon in her hand.
'Of course!' 

Grinning, the woman turns her gaze back to the man. All of her last energy would be needed for this moment. With sheer willpower and the desperate force power to not lose her as she forgives herself when she would lose to this man one more time, 

she tore the staff out of Gisele's hands, which immediately came rushing up to the two of them on the roof with breakneck speed.

"That won't help you anymore either!" the man shouted and pushed her down a bit further "You don't even have one hand free to catch it! Nor do you have the time!"

"I can change that!" she announced and let the man push her to the ground completely to place her legs on his stomach and push him away before he could even realize what happened.

His terror reign would end here and now.
She jumped back to her feed, grabbed the staff, and immediately pulled it over the man's head with her remaining strength, forcing him to turn his head to the side as he would loose his sign.
Emotionenless she watched how he and his Miraculous thundered to the ground, heralding the end of this fight.
She won. She had beaten him. 
Nathalie raised her head to focus on the sky above her. 'I won...' she explained as her staff fell to the ground.  

Notes:

with the end of this chapter, we reached the end of this fight and soon the end of this arc with only one chapter left.
I am again sorry that it took so long.

Chapter 26: Take me to Church

Notes:

welcome to the chapter that broke my beta reader.
here is your content warning for the stuff you are about to read

Mentioning suicide, suicidal thoughts, and attempts of suicide.
please be aware and stay safe.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

The water, with which the woman had erected her shield and for which she now lacked the strength to maintain, pelted down on the two with all force.
It drenched her and swept everything away with merciless energy, forcing the woman to drop to her knees and drop her weight.
The water even crashed over the railing of the roof and down onto the street, causing it to rain down on the woman in white who was still standing by the building.

Nathalie carefully raised her head to look over at the man who was still lying on the ground on his back, all limbs stretched out. She rubbed her eyes a few times to be able to see him.
He had already lost his transformation. The tidal wave had soaked him too. Just like his white shirt, his black curly hair stuck to him, hiding his face and eyes from Nathalie's staring gaze. But not the look at his now visible chest. The shirt had probably been the wrong choice for today.

Further down, the woman could see black rings, of which the man wore 2 on each hand. So 4 in total. The look was rounded off by black pants and the big boots he wore.
His style had changed. There is no comparison between what he wore back then and what Nathalie was used to seeing him in. But it didn't look bad. 'Unusual but good' she thought while looking at him.
The silence was quickly broken, however, by the man's rattling sound, which made his chest throb. Nathalie could watch him as his hand wandered to his face and he then exhaled deeply, with what was probably the longest and deepest sigh the woman had ever heard.
She hastily looked at the sword, which lay ready to hand next to her.



"Gisele?" exclaimed Celine.

At her side she helped the still slightly weakened Gabriel, who used the woman as a support, to walk. They slowly approached the blonde.
The man finally regained consciousness, but he still had a slightly confused look in his eyes. But a lot had happened since he'd fallen. Unsure, he looked over at the adults to whom Celine was now dragging him.

She squeezed the last drops of water out of her hair to at least claim to have done something that would solve her problem of being completely soaked.
Her gaze met Celine's as she swung her hair back and quickly bent down to retrieve her hair clip, which had been torn from her hair by the tidal wave.
 She paused for a second before straightening up.

'Wow..' the redhead thought and she stopped to get a better look at the woman. Even soaked through, she still looked so incredibly good.
Her red blouse pressed against her skin without revealing more than she wanted. Her blond hair was just long enough to brush her shoulders. Even now that it was wet. Celine would do a lot for the chance to see it exactly like this when dry. 'Stop it!' she reminded herself quickly. This wasn't the time for that.

"What did I miss?" Gabriel asked, questionably looking between the two women.

"Not much," said Celine.

"She hit him with the staff. When he wanted to attack Mayura. After that he practically escaped to the roof." the woman explained, with a slight grin on her lips, and nodded towards Celine, who then blushed slightly.

"And what happened on the roof?" she asked quickly, avoiding Gabriel's confused stare, making the blond then turn halfway around so that she could look up at Nathalie and the man.

"She hit him with the stick too. That's all I could see from here. We should go back a bit. That will give us a better view." suggested the woman.

Unsure, the redhead looked up and carefully took a few steps back. Gabriel's gaze followed.

"Mayura?" she called up when she could see the woman on the roof.



Concentrated, the woman continued to stare at the man who had straightened up and buried his head in his ring-bedecked hands. Her fingers twitched at every slight movement, ready to grab the sword beside her and hold it to his throat.
She ignored her sister's calls. Her ears were already ringing from the constant rapid pounding of her heart in her chest.
The Miraculous should give her powers. But right now it seemed to be the only thing standing between her and a breakdown. Her body ached. You should finish this.

"Mayura!" her sister screamed again, this time even louder to make it impossible for the woman to ignore her.

"What!?" Nathalie called back.

"How does it look?"

"Great. We just made tea and now we're going to talk about last week's gossip!"

A low, deep laugh made the woman's head swing back. She could watch the man as one of his hands slowly wandered from his face to his knee, which he had leaned against his body, and how his other hand wandered through his hair until his gaze finally met the woman's. ".. That was good." he admitted softly.
The woman stared into her familiar dark brown eyes, which she hadn't seen for so long.

"But I'd have to remember last week's gossip for that..." Tyler added.

"...You don't remember anything?"

"not of everything..."

The man said nothing and pointed to the sword that the woman was clutching in her hand. "You won't need that. I won't hurt you.."

"Sure.. after everything you've done, I believe you.."

"I have no more reason to hurt you."

"And I have no reason to trust you!"

Her mind was fuzzy. Her body felt heavy. She wished she could just throw one of the Miraculous to someone to take care of this man. But Gabriel was weakened, the blonde she didn't know. And until hell freezes, she would never again put her sister in this danger. 'Fucking crap..'

".. Then at least take off the other Miraculous. Two cost more energy."

"You would know..."

"I do. So listen to me"

".. So you remember that time! The crap you pulled." the woman hissed at him in a sharp voice, leaning on the sword in her hand to get up.

Tyler said nothing. Turned his head away when he heard the woman slowly walking towards him.
However, her steps came to an abrupt halt as Nathalie tried to keep her balance and sank back to her knees.

".. the Miraculous-" the man murmured

"Keep your mouth shut!" she said only getting betrayed by the red light that came over the woman.

After which the dragon powers left her involuntarily, as did the sword, and Long reappeared in their place.
Nathalie watched the being transform from a shimmering red back into a kwami. She looked into his little yellow eyes for a moment and then turned away.

"There. Are you satisfied now"

"... You're still wearing too many Miraculouses.." the man spoke petty and quickly

"Your care is lovely," said the woman and grabbed her staff, which was the only weapon left to her.

Whipped up by her anger, she stomped on the man to grab his shoulders and hold him tight. With her staff, which she now placed under his chin, she forced him to look into her eyes again. "Where was that pity when you put all the people in danger! or broke my Miraculous, asshole!?" she hisses.

The man said nothing.

"Tell me!" she challenged him again.

".. That wasn't me. Your Miraculous. I didn't break it.."

"Oh? So you had a partner who helped you?"

".. Not like that. I hardly know her. But it was a woman who broke your Miraculous.."

"And you want me to believe that? Do you think I'm stupid?"

Silence fell on the man again. He tried to look away, but the woman wouldn't let him. She stopped him with a firm grip.

"I want answers!" she admonished him once more, whereupon the man gritted his teeth.

'She's right..' came a voice in his head, amidst the memories of his actions and the people he had so shamelessly exploited and hurt.

They were fragments that kept pouring down on him like the rain. He only had to look up to see what he had done. The way the woman looked at him and treated him. He had destroyed so much. How could he think for just one moment that he could make things right again?
No, there was only one thing he could do. He would have to finish it. Everything would end here for him today.

Spurred on by that thought, he slapped the woman's hand and her away from him before getting to his feet. 'This will be a worthy ending. Worthy for a shameless villain like you. After all, the bad guys always die in fairy tales, don't they?..'

"You want to answer. Then I'll give you the answer." he hisses at her in the menacing tone with which the woman has been able to make acquaintance the last few times.

The man gave a small grin and stroked his hair again before staring at the woman. "You're so right! Who would want to help me anyway?" he paused for a second 'I just have to say the opposite of what I mean, "I thought I might be kidding you. But you're smarter than I thought my dear~"

".. So you broke it. Why?"

"Because it was fun~" he continued to grin. 'On and on and on. One lie after another "I knew you'd want your little friend back. By breaking her up, I had a distinct advantage over you. Your love for her weakened you, didn't it?"

"You still lost. Look around. What do you think you can do now?"

"You think I am done? I still have so many more Miraculouses that I can use. You can't even imagine what else awaits you."

At these words, the woman couldn't help but open her eyes a little. ".. Is this all just a game for you!? A joke?!" yelled the woman angrily.

'That's good. despise me.' he thought and slowly walked back a few steps to the edge of the roof. Once there, he turned back to her. "Shouldn't it be? please. Not even you can be so naive as to think that it was nothing more than a little pastime for me. Why else do you think I chose you of all people to get a Miraculous? What about you think you are so special that you deserve a Miraculous? No. It was all just a cure for my boredom"

".... You... You're sick!"

"Don't act like you didn't like it." he said slightly sneering "You could be a heroine. And even save your loved ones. Now he will be forever in your debt~"

"You put everyone I love in danger! I never wanted to be the heroine you made me have to be. If anything, I loathe you! You monster!"

'Monster. Yes, that fits. A worthy title' he confirmed with a slight smile. 'I think that is my codeword..' 

He slowly placed his hand on his chest to bow to the woman before stretching them both away.
His gaze had changed. Where there had been confidence and self-assurance, his eyes now showed despair and emptiness. He had finished. with himself. With the fact of being a bad person. What was left for him now?
He was finally able to drop his mask and sincerely offer his last words to her.
With a sad and broken voice that was almost swallowed by the rain, he said "Au Revoir, Lady du Coeur"
He closed his eyes. The wind whipped his hair as he fell off the roof, back first.


"TYLER!" screamed Nathalie and jumped back to her feet.

In a split second, she had reached the end of the roof as well. She quickly reached out and took the man's hand. Just in time she had managed to prevent his fall. Desperate, she clung to the gutter with her free hand to keep from falling herself. "Take my hand!" she challenged him.
But just as he ignored the panicked onlookers' screams, he didn't look at them either.

".. why... why don't you just drop me?" he said "I hurt your loved ones! I hurt YOU!"

"You've done a lot of bad things! Things I can't forgive! But what kind of person would I be, no. What kind of hero would I be if I just looked the other way when someone was in need? Grab my hand so I can pull you up!"

"You want to grab this hand. These bloodstained hands? have you lost your mind?.. I not only killed my beloved with these hands but also pushed you to your doom!"

"I said that you should take my hand!" the woman admonished him once more "Life has nothing but suffering and despair in store for you right now. But you know as well as I do that there are a lot of good things in life aside from the pile of shit! You can't just throw your life away!"

"Ha..." the man laughed softly and sadly and lifted his head "Thank you for these words. But you know as well as I do that I have nothing left in life that is worth continuing for. " Tyler said and reached out to slap the woman's hand away, which was now getting smaller for him bit by bit. 'It's better this way.. believe me..' he added in his mind.

Nathalie remained speechless on the roof. "Your... you're bloody stubborn!!" she yelled and braced herself to jump after him.

With wide eyes, the man stared at the woman, who now pulled him into his arms with trembling hands. She clung to the man and said, "I won't let you die... Never! I promised him... And I'll keep my promises. To the bitter end!"

"....." The man slowly closed his eyes. A feeling that he hadn't felt in a long time spread through him.

Ready to accept this fate, he swallowed before speaking. ".. as you wish..." he murmured.
Nathalie hastily grabbed her silver staff.

In a fraction of a second, she deployed it and grabbed it to break the fall. She lost speed but also lost balance due to her lack of balance with one hand and extra weight. And then there was Nathalie's dwindling strength, which made sure that the woman let go of the staff in the last few meters.
So it was Tyler who put his hand on the woman's head and turned slightly. This landed him back-first on the hard asphalt, on which he slid a few meters before coming to a halt. His back was burning, but at least they got away with it.


Scared, Celine now pushed the man into the arms of the blonde, who, just like the man, was still staring perplexed ahead. Both were still processing what had just happened when Celine had already arrived at Nathalie and Tyler.

"Nathalie!!" she cried scared and grabbed her sister's hand, whereupon the man let go of the woman in his arms.

The adrenaline that had whipped up the woman until just now faded away with the sound of her heart and gradually made her aware of how exhausted she was.

".. I'm okay.." she whispered softly.

She could feel Celine pulling her into her arms. How gentle she was. And how fast her heart was beating. Nathalie would have to apologize for all of this. She must have been terrified.
So her thoughts were on her little sister when her eyes went black.


"..Nathalie.NATHALIE!!" Celine yelled in a panicky high-pitched tone as she began to shake the woman who lay motionless in her arms.

Tyler hastily grabbed the woman's hand and ripped the Miraculous from her finger, causing it to also lose its powers and the green light transforming her back into a normal woman.
Appropriate to the fact that Gisele and Gabriel had also arrived at her place.

"Nathalie!" Gabriel shouted, pushing Tyler off her to take his place.

Gisele herself was still speechless behind the two. The whole situation seemed to overwhelm her. Or her.. to look forward to?
For a split second, Tyler could see the hint of a smile on her lips, but it vanished as soon as their eyes met. Did he just imagine it?
He looked to the side uncertainly. Her piercing stare made him feel something he wasn't ready for.

"She has to go back to the hospital!" shouted Gabriel. Celine nodded quickly and wiped a few tears from her face.

"I'm calling...-"

"I'll do it," Gisele said, putting a hand on her shoulders. "Stay with her" with these words she turned around, pulled out her mobile phone, and walked a few meters away from the group.

"... What are we going to do with him now?.." the man growled, pointing to the still silent man a few meters away.

Celine shrugged and pushed the strands of hair out of her sister's face.

As an act of reconciliation, Gabriel gently placed his hand on her shoulder ".. Everything will be fine. We'll take her back to the hospital and she'll be able to rest."

"I know..." the woman stammered quietly "I.. she's just all I have.." she admitted quietly.


Gisele stood with her back away from them. She carefully looked over them to see how they paid no attention to her. She couldn't even hear them.
she quickly ended the call and dialed the speed dial button.
It took less than 3 seconds for a woman to answer the other line.

"It's me. I have good news." Gisele said quietly and dug the Miraculous in the form of a now dark gray helix out of her pocket. "I finally got what we wanted," she added while turning the little jewel a few times in her hands.







Nathalie blinked her eyes tiredly. The moonlight shone into her room and gave her a glimpse of her surroundings.
Where was she? In the hospital. How did she get here? And what time was it now?
She sat up and held her head. She couldn't remember much anymore.
Just the case. And how she could perceive Celine's outlines. Then everything went black.

She must still be dreaming. Because she could still see Celine's shadow.
Nathalie reached for the bedside table on which her glasses were. But even when she put it on, Celine was still there.

".... Celine?.." she asked quietly, nudging the woman who was sitting on a chair next to her bed and seemed to have fallen asleep. Why hadn't they been woken up? Aren't visiting hours long gone? After all, it was already so dark.

"Celine." the woman tried again, shaking the other's arm slightly.

"She's been waiting by your bed the whole time," came a voice.
It was Duusu who slowly crawled out from under Nathalie's pillow. "Not even the nursing staff could chase her out," she explained further and rubbed her little eyes.

".. Have you too slept until now?"

"No-ohhh" Duusu called and yawned loudly once. "Of course not. I kept watch. As befits a kwami like me!"

Whereupon she nudged the creature's cheeks and smiled slightly. "Then I guess I have to thank you. I've missed you. I thought you left me in battle."

"I hid. But that won't be necessary anymore."

"... What do you mean?"

"Well.." Duusu stammered, nervously playing with her little hands"

"No..."

"Yes...."

".. Shit! I turned back in front of everyone?" asked Nathalie which Duusu confirmed with a nod. 'Damned..'

"hnng... hey.. some are trying to sleep here..." Celine mumbled under her breath before her eyes suddenly widened. "Nath!" she exclaimed "You're awake!!"

"I told you it's nothing-"

The abrupt proximity of her sister, who desperately wrapped her hands around Nathalie's neck, made her stop.
She could feel Celine running her arms further and further down her back until they met their hands. As if she wanted to prevent her from ever escaping them again.

"I was worried..." Celine confessed with a shaky voice "You can't just jump off a roof like that!"

Nathalie looked down at her sister uncertainly and blinked at her a few times. She was used to being around them. But seldom would she hug her like that.
Hesitantly, she wrapped her hands around the woman before slowly burying her face in her shoulder. "I know. I'm sorry..."

".. I thought I would lose you again... This time for good"

".. I will never leave you alone, Celine." the woman said and pulled away slightly to look into her soft green eyes.

She gently wiped a tear from her face with her thumb. "You are my beloved little sister. Nothing will ever change that. I won't leave you alone."
Sobbing, Celine looked at her "Then stop letting anything throw you off!" she cried and wrapped the woman in an almost crushing hug again.
Nathalie smiled tiredly and put her hand on the woman's head, "I told you, I'm sorry."

"You're going to make it up to me! You're not leaving this hospital until the doctors give it the okay!"

"Yes ma'am."

"And I'll visit you every day to make sure you're sticking to it!"

"haha.. mercy!" laughed Nathalie lightly.

"... And you're going to take a few days off!"

"I was going to do that anyway."

Whereupon the woman easily broke away from Nathalie. "You want to take a vacation?"

"..my identity was exposed.." Nathalie sighed as she fell back onto the pillow. "So I'd better avoid the general public for a few weeks..."

"I'm afraid so... But!" said Celine and rummaged in her jacket pocket.
Duusu's brooch and the Dragon Miraculous appeared, which had deactivated themselves. She now handed both to Nathalie. "You have Duusus back and a new Miraculous."

"... hm..." the woman sighed again "It's not that big of a win.. considering Tyler must have had more... Tyler! Where is he?!"

"Well... just after you passed out, some strange people in exotic clothes suddenly appeared. Anyway, they were wearing long beautiful robes. They said they were from a temple, but they only spoke broken French. It was hard for them Anyway, they took him into their care. So I don't know where he is now. But he's alive."

"... You really can't call this a victory..."

"I wouldn't call it that," the woman explained, unbuttoning her jacket to get a small ring out of its inside pocket."

"Before he left he gave me this for you. I know how valuable it is to you so I kept it in my inside pocket. So nothing happens."

Reverently, the woman handed Nathalie her father's ring. "He also said to say 'Thank you. Lady du couer'." 

Nathalie could help but smile slightly at these words. She didn't understand why either. Just that she did it. 'What an idiot..' she thought and continued to smile. She grabbed the ring and looked at it in the palm of her hand "...Did he also give you Nooroo's brooch?"

"Nooroo? Oh... No..."

".. So we lost a Miraculous...."

"I'm afraid... But at least you defeated your enemies."

"Hmh..." Nathalie replied and nodded slightly.

".... What are you going to do now? As I know you, you will not just take some days off because of your new reputation."

"You know me too well. No. There's another reason for that. I need to find out what other Miraculouses Tyler had. And get Nooroo back. And the Raven's Miraculous. Whoever has him or both of them now. And the most important." the woman said, looking directly into Celine's eyes. "I want to visit one of the temples. I need to find out more about the Miraculous."

Notes:

And Scene!

first of all, I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who stayed till now and keep reading.
I know this chapter was a lot. I am sorry...

I have the next arc planned. There will be more. I plan to write a lot of the next arc in advance to have a more regular upload schedule so you don't have to wait months or weeks for the next part.
Again massive thanks to everyone who sticked with the story and me.
I hope I see you all in the next arc <3

Series this work belongs to: