Continuing Tales

Secrets and Betrayals

A Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir Story
by LilyTheNinjaGirl

Part 38 of 41

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Ladybug buried her head in her hands as she threw herself back onto the ground. The explosion nearly burst her eardrums and the white flash left her unable to see anything. Ash flew everywhere, and she coughed, desperately trying to draw air into her lungs.

She didn't know how long she stayed there. It seemed like hours, but it was probably only a few minutes. Her ears were ringing and her vision was blurry. She didn't even want to think about trying to stand. Her bones felt like cooked spaghetti.

"Marinette?" she heard Alya's voice whisper in her head, followed by a groan.

"Alya?" Ladybug groaned. Her throat felt raw from breathing in all of the ash and smoke that still wafted through the air. "Is everyone okay?"

"I think so. Let me see," the girl replied.

There were several minutes of silence, and then Ladybug heard soft footsteps heading in her direction. Papillon leaned over and slid an arm underneath her best friend's shoulder, helping her stand. Ladybug wobbled a bit, but Papillon supported her weight. She gasped as she surveyed the park.

There was a huge crater where Gabriel had been standing, at least forty feet deep. At the bottom of it, glinting in the sunlight that had just peeped out from behind the clouds, were the Ladybug and Cat miraculous. The normally silver ring was black, and it was smoking. An unconscious Plagg and a feeble Tikki were lying next to their miraculous.

"Tikki!" Ladybug cried. Alya released her of her butterfly and she became Marinette again. Jade walked up to them, Adrien still curled up in his arms.

"I managed to get far enough away from the blast that he wasn't affected," Jade said, glancing down at his friend. "His pulse is faint, though."

They heard a groan from behind them. Queen Bee opened her eyes and blinked several times. Volpino had thrown himself on top of her right before the explosion, curling his body around hers so that he took most of the blast. He was still lying unconscious on top of her. She gently pulled him off of her and sat up. "What happened?" she asked. "Is he….dead?"

The teens looked around. Emily was lying unconscious on the ground a few feet away. There was no sign of Gabriel anywhere. Just the smoking miraculous in the bottom of the pit. The Peacock miraculous was lying a few feet away. "Something like that," Marinette said weakly.

"He's not alive, if that's what you mean," Jade said, looking at the crater. Volpino stirred.

"What? What happened…." he groaned. "Why does my head hurt so badly?"

"You took the shockwave blast for me," Queen Bee said. Volpino was quiet for a few seconds.

"Oh," he finally said.

"Thank you," Queen Bee replied gratefully, remembering her manners. She pressed a soft kiss on his cheek before standing up and brushing herself off, moving away quickly in embarrassment. Volpino just sat on the ground with a hand on his cheek.

The superheroes made their way to the bottom of the pit. Tikki looked up. "Get… Wayzz… must…..transfuse….energy…."

"What's wrong, Tikki?" Marinette asked, scooping her kwami up. Jade set Adrien down and detransformed. The rest of the teenagers followed suit. Wayzz flew over to Tikki, placing a tiny little hand on her forehead.

"Tikki was nearly devoured by dark energy," he informed the group. "When the added positive energy of the Peacock was added, it was too much for Gabriel to handle. It… incinerated him, in a way. It was enough to keep Tikki alive, but just barely. The dark energy is trapped inside of Plagg's miraculous. He's fighting it, but it will eventually devour him too. We need to lend Tikki enough positive energy to transform you and purify his miraculous."

"Will it fix the miraculous completely? Could Adrien ever use it again?" Nino asked.

"Yes. With proper care and regular kwami healing sessions, Plagg and Tikki should fully recover in a matter of days. In a week tops, they will be able to transform and perform as they usually do," Wayzz answered.

Marinette set her kwami gently down on the ground and then backed away a few steps. She sat next to Adrien and cradled his head in her lap, monitoring his vital signs. Unfortunately, this had to be dealt with first.

Volpino tossed the peacock miraculous down to Nino and then jumped down after it, detransforming. Wayzz, Buzza, Kittsu, Nooroo, and Pavvo gathered around her. Wayzz began to chant, and different colored wisps floated around the kwamis. Dancing through the still ashy air. They circled around, combining into a golden color before resting above Tikki, who seemed to inhale it. Her eyes opened and little wider and she flew up a bit.

"Okay, I think I can do this. We need to hurry!" She glanced worriedly at Plagg.

"Tikki, spots on!"

Ladybug pulled out her yoyo. "What do I do?"

"Place the ring inside. Say the magic words. Poof," Buzza explained. Kittsu rolled his eyes. Ladybug stroked her yoyo with two fingers. It opened and she hesitantly picked up the black, smoking ring and dropped it inside.

"I free you from evil!" she called. Her yoyo flashed pink light and opened again, revealing a shiny silver ring. Plagg groaned and blinked his little green eyes open.

"Now throw the ring up and say 'Miraculous Ladybug'!" Wayzz instructed.

"But… it isn't a Lucky Charm. Will it work?" Ladybug felt her throat choke up as her eyes filled with tears. "Will it… can it… fix all of this?"

"You got rid of the evil. The evil infused from Gabriel's soul to the ring was what allowed him to create his undead army. Any damage that the army caused with be undone when you say the magic words, using the ring as an object to flow to. Your creation will balance his destruction and fix everything."

"Really?" Ladybug whispered. Alya sighed in relief as Nino visibly relaxed and leaned against her. Chloe smiled slightly and Nathan just stood there, obviously relieved. "Well in that case, MIRACULOUS LADYBUG!" She tossed the ring into the air, and bright light flashed across all of Paris.

Suddenly, the teens were standing on flat, grassy ground, surrounded by trees. The sun was high in the sky. The building around them were perfectly restored. They didn't dare to breath or utter a word. It all seemed far too impossible to be real. The damage that had devastated all of them couldn't just be undone that simply, right? It seemed to be some surreal dream.

Chloe crossed the grass and rubbed her hand against a tree. "It's real…" she whispered. She ran her hand along the grass. "All of this is real!"

Ladybug laughed in relief. She felt a hand on her shoulder and spun around to face Emily. "Oh, it's just you." Emily kneeled down next to her son, stroking the hair out if his face.

"The good news is that the extra damage done to him during the whole undead thing has been healed!" she said softly. "He's still weak and unconscious though. But he'll be able to heal."

"We owe the public an explanation," Alya said, pulling out her phone. "Emily, will you film it?" Emily took the phone from her hands. The teens transformed back into their superhero personas and stood behind Ladybug, who took a deep breath before facing the camera. Emily clicked record.

"Paris!" Ladybug started, her voice ringing loudly. She sounded nothing like a scared teenager, and more like the brave and heroic young lady that Paris looked up to. "I apologize for the inconvenience of the last twenty four hours! Your houses and streets should now be restored, and any injuries should be healed."

"I know you want an explanation. The man that Chat Noir and I have been fighting for two years, Hawkmoth, finally decided to take matters into his own hands. He kidnapped Adrien Agreste and used him to lure in Chat Noir. Adrien is fine and will be returned to his family. Chat Noir was badly injured, which is why he is not standing beside me right now. He will be fine, don't worry. But I request that the media remove all negative coverage of him being a 'kidnapper'."

"Furthermore, Hawkmoth has been defeated. You no longer have to fear akumatization or akuma attacks. Also, several more superheros joined us for the final battle. Papillon, Jade Turtle, Queen Bee, and Volpino. They are to be treated with the same respect as I am treated. The five of us will continue to fight regular crime and hopefully make the streets of Paris much safer. Chat Noir will join us when he recovers."

"We will leave you all to get back to your homes and find your loved ones. We wish we could help, but we still need to take care of a few things after this battle to make sure everyone is safe and nothing like this will ever happen in the future. Again, I apologize for the inconvenience. Thank you!"

Emily hit the stop button and gave Ladybug a thumbs up. She sighed. "I hope Paris isn't too mad at us…"

"Paris can't be mad at you, Ladybug! You saved the day!" Queen Bee said, smiling. "All of this wasn't your fault, and you saved them and fixed everything! If they're mad, then I'm a saint." Alya chuckled wryly at the expression.

"I need to find my family. My mom is freaking out," Volpino said, looking at the 573 missed calls and 309 texts from his mother. "I need to go."

"The great thing is that we don't need excuses, since all of our parents know we were at Marinette's house. They'll assume we fled from the city. Just tell them that we got out safely and hung out in one of the barricaded shelters the police set up," Papillon said.

"And I can lie to my father easily," Queen Bee said. They all looked at her. 'What? You can't say you haven't lied every single day since you became Ladybug, Marinette!"

"True. You guys can't tell anyone that you have miraculous, okay? It'll be hard. Maybe once I determine it's completely safe…" Ladybug said. The other teens nodded. Volpino said goodbye and shot Chloe a shy smile before taking off across the rooftops on his hover board, answering his mom's frantic texts while flying.

"TEXTING WHILE FLYING, IT CAN WAIT!" Jade shouted after him. He waved to the others. "I need to go find my fam too. They'll be freaking out. I think they blew up my phone." He dashed off across the rooftops, using his super speed to disappear in seconds.

"Well, my mom knows I'm with you, and that you're Ladybug. And your parents know you're Ladybug. We might as well all meet up in the bakery as soon as they can get back to Paris," Alya suggested. "I need to post this video on the Ladyblog ASAP."

Ladybug nodded and scooped up Adrien. Emily followed her across the park and into the bakery door. Alya followed the, typing frantically on her phone. Ladybug detransformed into Marinette and set Adrien on the couch. Plagg plopped down on his wielder's chest. "Cheese!" he requested.

Marinette went into the kitchen, gave Tikki some cookies and Nooroo some lettuce, and then brought some cheese back from Plagg. Emily had lifted Adrien's shirt up and was already working on re-sterilizing, treating, and bandaging his wounds with the use of the first aid kit Alya had left lying around.

"Our parents are okay," she told Marinette and Emily. "They're migrating back into Paris with the rest of the citizens. The road is clogged up with cars and buses and stuff. They said they'll be back in around an hour or two. I posted the video to the Ladyblog and emailed all of the local news channels."

"Thank you," Marinette said softly. Emily pinned back Adrien's bandage and then pulled his shirt back down, moving to re-do the sling on his sprained wrist. She worked methodically and lovingly. Marinette collapsed onto the sofa next to Adrien and listened to Plagg munch on his cheese noisily.

She didn't mean to fall asleep. She didn't want to fall asleep, either. But the couch was so soft and warm, and Adrien was safe beside her. The sun was shining, and the familiar smell of home filled her nostrils. She was scared that if she fell asleep, she would wake up and find that all of this was a dream. But she couldn't help it. She slipped off into slumber.

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Queen Bee dropped down onto the roof of the hotel. She climbed into her bedroom. She could already see that her father was returning. He ran into the hotel, screaming her name while surrounded by a police escort. She hurriedly released her transformation, ready to run down and assure her father that she was alive…. When she heard a sharp gasp.

She whirled around and froze as she saw Sabrina standing in the doorway, her hands over her mouth. "Sabrina…."

The red head's mouth snapped shut and her hands found her way to her hips. "YOU'RE QUEEN BEE?" she demanded. Chloe nodded.

"I know it's a lot to take in, but you can't tell anyone… You can't! Are you okay?"

"Why do YOU get to be a superhero?" Sabrina snapped. Chloe was stunned at her best friend's reaction. "All my life I've been living in YOUR shadow, hoping to receive one ounce of affection! But NO! You hurt people, you akumatized people, you made people miserable! And I stood by you because you were my only friend!"

"So why is it?" Sabrina sniffed. "That when it came to picking superheros, you got to be one! WHY YOU? You don't deserve it! You're a horrible, cruel… WITCH!"

"I'm sorry, Sabrina!" Chloe pleaded. "For everything I've ever done! I know I hurt you, and I'm really sorry! I can't offer more than apologies, but I can try to be your friend! I'm trying to change. I need your help, I can't do it alone! I need you to show me how to be a good person, like you!"

"A good person," Sabrina muttered. "A good person like me deserves that miraculous, not YOU! I should tell everyone your identity! They need to know the girl 'helping them' is actually a little lying, deceiving, cruel, snobby-"

"Sabri-"

"CHLOE!" Mayor Bourgeois burst into the room and flung his arms around his daughter. "OH CHLOE! MY DAUGHTER! Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine, Papa," she promised. "I managed to get away and hide early on. I made sure to come right back! Are you okay?" She looked over his shoulder at Sabrina with pleading eyes, but the girl only stomped out of her room. Chloe wanted to go after her, but her father was still hugging her with a death grip.

"Thank goodness you're okay! I almost lost you!" The mayor wiped the tears out of his eyes. "Now, I must go attend to Paris! It is in disarray! Imagine the paperwork…" he groaned before dashing out of the room. "If you need anything, just call me!"

"Of course, Papa!" she called after him. When he left, she slumped down on her bed. "Do you think Sabrina is going to tell everyone my secret identity?"

Buzza flew out of her closet. "I don't know. I don't know her. Do you have any honey?"

"Yeah, sure." Chloe went down to the kitchen by herself (for the first time ever) and brought some honey back to her room for Buzza. Then she took a shower and cleaned herself up. She picked up her phone and texted Marinette.

ChloeIs Adrien OK?

Marinettethis is alya. Adriens fine, mari is asleep

ChloeThat grammar though.

Marinetteshut up

"Should I tell her about Sabrina?" Chloe asked. Buzza looked up, her mouth all sticky from honey.

"No, don't stress her out. It'll be fine," she said calmly. "I think."

"Gee, thanks a lot," Chloe replied sarcastically. "I guess there's nothing else to do today. Might as well finish that stupid homework assignment. I guess I'll be doing my school by myself now. And I doubt they'll stop school for very long after this disaster."

"I guess you will be doing your work by yourself," Buzza replied. "You'll be fine. You had to have learned something. And it is kinda your fault that you slacked off for five years."

"Don't remind me," Chloe groaned, picking up her papers. Before she went to work, she pulled out her phone again.

ChloeYou all good, Nath?

NathanealYeah, I'm fine. My mom bought the excuse. It's very plausible. Doubt she'll let me out of her sight now.

ChloeI'm so bored.

NathanealSame

ChloeWould you draw me a picture? If you have time, of course…

NathanealSure. A welcome distraction. Gonna start now. Bye

ChloeBye

Chloe sighed and tossed her phone onto the chair next to her, picking up a pencil. She sighed as she stared at the homework. "The answer to the first question is B," Buzza said, glancing over. Chloe shot her a confused look before shaking her head and circling the answer anyway.

"This is gonna be a long day. I hope Adrien is okay. No telling how he'll react to the news that his mother is alive. I hope he'll react well and not angrily or get all depressed." She paused and looked out the window. "But something tells me things won't be so simple…"

Secrets and Betrayals

A Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir Story
by LilyTheNinjaGirl

Part 38 of 41

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