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sassyduckqueen · 1 month ago

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Miraculous: Rise of Anatis Chapter 77

So this is the second chapter inspired by miracle queen but more focuses on the guardian aspect of that episode. It gave me quite a bit of trouble when trying to write it but I'm happy with how it came out. It's quite heavy and deals with themes around death and grief, which we will be seeing a lot more of in the next few chapters. Anyway, I hope you enjoy it :)

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Chapter Seventy-Seven: Assassin Bee

"Excellent," He smirked, holding up his cane as it opened and an akuma flew out, landing in her miraculous. "Assassin Bee, I am giving you the power not to just control three minds but all minds. You will rule over Paris and use Parisians as your personal army. All I ask in return is for you to use them to capture Anatis, Lady Noir and the mage then bring them to me,"

"As you wish, Hawk Moth," She declared, causing the purple smog to cover her form. The purple smog cleared, revealing her akuma form. She was one of the more prettier akumas that Hawkmoth had made but also one of the more scarier. She was clearly wasp themed and seemed to be similar to Queen Wasp, Chloe's Akumatized Hero form. Her hair was similar to her ponytail, only bigger and more curled. It was black with yellow swirl in the ponytail and she had a black ribbon that resembled an antenna tied around it. She had two strands of hair that framed her face as well. Her skin was yellow and her lips were black. She wore a black suit with yellow markings, resembling a wasp's pattern. The outfit had shoulder pauldrons that resembled a double shoulder design. She had a golden belt with a red gem in the middle and it had an outer skirt that resembled wings as well. She wore thigh boots with a yellow heel and a yellow strap on the top. She had yellow fingerless gloves that were worn over the black suit. She wore a mask with a wasp pattern on her face and finally her eyes were insect-like with a hexagram pattern that was dark grey in color. Hawkmoth smirked as he held the Eastern Miracle Box in his hands. While they had the Western box, it turned out they couldn't open it. Dr Mila seemed to have put a spell on it so that only she could open and since they hadn't captured her, they couldn't open it right now. However, Su Han was using the magic he knew to try and undo her spell. It was quite the eye opener for Hawkmoth as he saw how weak Su Han truly was. Maybe he didn't understand magic that much but he was certain that if Su Han was the real celestial guardian, he would have been able to open without any trouble. Hawkmoth already knew he was a fake but this truly confirmed it. He turned to Assassin Bee and held out the box to her.

"Use it well, Dearest Assassin," He smirked, holding it out to her. She took it and smirked before turning into a swamp of wasps and jumping down to the entrance of the Trocadéro gardens. She reformed and straightened up, causing the civilians there to begin to panic and run off. Her smirk widened, enjoying their fear as an idea popped into her head. Right now, she didn't care for heroes or villains. She didn't care for her master or for his goals. All she could think about was how she finally had real power. Hawkmoth had given her the ability to take control of anyone she wanted. She was no longer just a worker wasp or a drone. She was now a queen. She stretched out her hands, summoning her swamp of wasps as people ran from her.

"Sting them! Sting them all!" She commanded, ordering them to sting anyone in their paths. The only people she ordered them not to sting was Hawkmoth, Mayura and Su Han Since Hawkmoth had given her real power, he was safe and Mayura was his partner plus she was sick. Assassin Bee couldn't see her being useful. Her master wasn't so lucky. She wouldn't spare him from her wasps and as for Su Han, she needed him to undo the spell on the other box. As soon as he is done with that, she'll take over his mind too. "Make them mine!"

The swarm of wasps descended down onto her master straight, the smirk that was once on his face as he realized she wasn't going to spare him from her mind control. He went to disappear into the shadows as soon as he realized she wasn't going to spare him but it was already too late. The wasps moved fast and stung him before he could even activate his power. His eyes turned completely yellow and empty, causing him to stand still with his arms by his side before the swarm of wasps flew up and dispersed all over Paris, stinging all who they came across. Assassin Bee walked over to her former master.

"My, my. How the tables have turned," She smirked, satisfied with his mind control. She couldn't help but feel happy as he had always been hard on her and made sure she knew she belonged to him. Not just that but her mother did the same thing. She was only good because she was under their control but now all of Paris would be under her control. She smirked even more. "Drone!"

"Yes, Ma'am," He answered in a cold voice.

"I'm not your only apprentice," She states, coldly. Another reason why he treated her awful was because she was the youngest of his apprentices but also because she was of the Bourgeois family. The Bourgeois family was one of the founding families, along with his family. However, he considered her a bastard child as he put it. In other words, she wasn't a pure 'Bourgeois' and therefore not a pure member of the founding families and he made sure she knew that. She had to work harder than the others and nothing was ever good enough for him. Because she was weaker than him and knew she was liable for any punishment, she had to repress her emotions plus there were the 'special' classes. Deep in the back of her mind, she knew what they were. Brain-washing but she couldn't break free from it. She narrowed her eyes at him. "Order them to come here,"

He nodded and sent out a message to the other apprentices. A few moments later, he opened up a shadow portal for them to come through but the moment they crossed over into Paris, a number of her wasps descended on them, stinging them and turning their eyes the same yellow as her master. Su Han looked at her in shock as Hawkmoth jumped down and stood next to her. Assassin Bee grinned in glee as her master and the other assassins were now at her mercy.

"Excellent work, my dear," He smirked before looking at her. "Or should I say my queen?"

She smirked before turning back to the people of Paris. Almost all of them had been stung by now.

"People of Paris, listen to Assassin Bee's first order!" She called out. "If you see the bug or the cat, capture them and bring them to me!"

She laughed evilly as the order echoed through the mind of the Parisians before she turned to the mind controlled assassins.

"As for you lot," She declared, looking over at them. "My first order is for you to bow to me!"

She smirked as they all bowed to her without question, making her smirk.

"I could definitely get used to this," She smirked, clearly enjoying the power but Hawkmoth cleared his throat. "What is it?"

"As glad I am to see you enjoy yourself, my dear," He stated, not actually caring for her newfound freedom. "Anatis will come and ruin it. He always does and while your new subjects will try their best, you should plan for it in case he gets past them. May I offer some advice?"

"Yes," She nods, after Hawkmoth is experienced when fighting Anatis.

"Call for his allies. After all, you have the miraculous right now and we can use it to find out their identities,"

"Oh yes. Break down his team," She grinned, turning from the assassins bowing to her. She held out her hand out again. "People of Paris! Listen to my next order!"

She paused, waiting for everyone to be listening.

"From now on, no one will have to keep their identities a secret!" She declared. "All miraculous holders! Come to me!"

~At Fu's Apartment~

"L-Luka, look... look after the kwamis... for me...." She gasped, making him nod.

"I p-promise," He whispered as the light left her eyes and her body went still. He sniffed as tears rolled down his face, keeping hold of her hand as he leaned over and gently pushed her eyes down so they were closed. "I'm so sorry I failed you..."

He wiped away his tears as he whispered the transformation words, turning back into Anatis.

"But I will get the kwamis back and save Master Fu," He answered as her body began to disappear. He wasn't really surprised by that. She had lived for centuries after all. It made sense she was using magic to stay alive. He stood up as she completely faded away, wiping away his tears as anger began to settle. He turned and ran towards the hole in the building before jumping out and swinging into the city. He landed on a building as he saw citizens running from swamps of wasps before going still when they stung them. He narrowed his eyes and swung towards the Seine as the wasps began to chase him. He ate the green macaron as he did before diving into the water. As he suspected, the wasps had the same weakness as Queen Wasp' ones did. They couldn't go in the water. The swarm flew off as he took out his yoyo and texted a warning to Lady Noir before he swam off. He would deal with the wasps later. Right now, he needed to hunt down Hawkmoth and save Master Fu and the kwamis from him. "Hold on, Master Fu. I'm coming,"

He swam through the water at a fast speed, thinking as he did. Hawkmoth must of had a bigger plan all along and that was to go after the guardians. He must have planned to use himself as a distraction akuma to force Anatis to get his allies but instead of Luka himself getting infected by the akuma, Felix did. Regardless, he still had to get his allies thanks to Felix being an extremely difficult akuma, leading Hawkmoth to find the guardians. The whole ordeal had left him with more questions than answers. It seemed Felix was a mage but he didn't want to deal with that right now. Then there were the questions on how Hawkmoth followed him? And why kill Mulan? Shouldn't have he abducted her like he did with Master Fu? He may have been a bit distracted but he didn't notice Hawkmoth or Mayura following him nor did his empathy alert him. Even with his magic weakened, his empathy still should have worked since he had it even before his magic was awakened and he would have heard Hawkmoth's or Mayura's song plus he should have picked up on her illness. He didn't experience any of them, meaning neither of them had followed so how did they know? As he swam, he racked his memory of going to the apartment. Unable to recall anything, he came to a stop and took a deep breath before closing his eyes as he got a feeling of what to do. He needed to view the memory but not just remember it. He needed to relive it. He needed Feng's power but he couldn't just activate it as his own due to his magic being weakened. As the true celestial guardian and the 'mage', he could tap into his past lives and use their powers as his own but it requires a lot of magic to do so. However, Feng had taught him of a system he had come up with in case of any of their magic being too weak to use them as their own ability. Regardless of how weak his magic is right now, he still has a connection with his past lives. That was something that would never go away and since they all have that connection, they could share their own magic across the different lives including his. To use it, he just needs permission and once granted, whoever he called on would grant him access to their own magic, effectively sharing it with him.

"Feng... lend me your sight," He whispered, holding his hand to his heart. For a second, nothing happened but then he felt a rush of magic flowing through his veins and his eyes turned silver. Feng had granted his request. He closed his eyes and recalled the memory but this time he used Feng's vision ability to view it as if he was reliving it. As he ran through the buildings toward Fu's new apartment, he came to a stop and stepped into a third person view instead. He observed his past self going to the apartment but didn't follow. He looked to the rooftop and to the streets for Mayura or Hawkmoth but neither showed up. He frowned but his answer soon came. From the shadows, a miraculous holder manifested as he entered Master Fu's window. No wonder why he didn't see nor sense him. This man was themed around a cobra and Anatis felt a memory from Alpheus. The Cobra miraculous. Hera had successfully stolen it as revenge, along with the peacock when Alpheus rejected her but during one of their battles, she lost it and Alpheus was never able to recover it. Toutai took on the task to reclaim it and did but of course then he was murdered. Su Han must have passed onto one of his cultists and now it's resurfaced once again. Anatis made a mental note to investigate its resurgence, along with the Swan Miraculous and the Crocodile Miraculous. He didn't want to pressure Snapp but he would need answers. He frowned deeply as he watched the man pressed his finger to his ear.

"Hawkmoth, Mayura," He stated, making Anatis frown. "I have the guardian's address,"

So that's how they knew. They used someone who's miraculous was stealth based, had him followed at a distance and waited til he was inside before revealing themselves. He frowned and watched as Hawkmoth and Mayura arrived. As usual, Mayura was sick, coughing before the Cobra teleported them into the shadows. He closed his eyes and felt the scene shift before opening them. Now he was back in Fu's apartment, watching himself explain the whole situation with Simme before Red Moon bathed the room in red light. He frowned as he noticed Mulan's expression change to shock and realisation then acceptance. He frowned as he watched himself leave with the dragon and the octopus miraculous as Mulan stood by the window, looking at Red Moon. Her expression could only be described as acceptance and relief. Anatis frowned even more as he realised she had expected it. She knew she was going to die. He jumped as Hawkmoth and Mayura appeared thanks to the Cobra before they all began to engage with the guardians. Mulan gave it her best but she ended up being stabbed by the Cobra as Hawkmoth went after Fu with Mayura. Anatis frowned as the Cobra looked at her.

"You should have expected this, traitor," He stated, kneeling in front of her. "I have something very important to tell you. That girl you've been 'helping'... she is my apprentice and she will kill your apprentices. Slowly and painful. I'll make sure she drags it out and when they beg her for release, she will deny them,"

"Y-You're a monster," She gasped, making him smirk before he stood up and took both of the boxes. Mulan tried to stop him despite her injury. She drove at him and he kicked her before stabbing her again, causing her to slump against the wall. "A-Anatis... w-will stop you and s-save those ch-children... a-all of them,"

"Such misguided faith," He chuckled, grabbing her hair. "Anatis is weak and hasn't got what it takes to fight me and Cicada. In fact, he will be her first kill. We will get rid of him and Paris will fall,"

He shoved her head back and got up, disappearing into the shadows with the miracle boxes and leaving Mulan to bleed out. Anatis felt an anger in him that he had never felt before as the memory faded. He took a deep breath and swam off, determined to find him and this Cicada. He frowned as he thought about it. Cicada. Why did that seem familiar? He sensed someone coming close to him, causing him to take out his yoyo as a black figure swam towards him. Upon seeing her braid and the green on her outfit, he felt relief flood through him.

"Lady Noir," He gasped, swimming towards her. Her eyes lit up as she saw him and she swam over. He hugged her, causing her to hug back.

"Annie," She gasped, gently rubbing his back. "Whatever happened, it's ok alright? We'll go to Master Fu and Master Mila and get some mir-"

"We can't," He gasped, looking at her. She frowned and looked at him. He looked down to the side. "I'm... sorry. I'm so sorry, Kitten. This is all my fault. I failed,"

"Annie, it's ok," She gasped, taking her hands in his. He looked panicked and broken. The sorrow in his eyes was insane and he was in clear pain. She knew straight away something had happened. "What is it?"

"Master Fu and Master Mila..." He muttered. His eyes fill with tears. "I... I was too late. Hawkmoth has Master Fu and Master Mila... She's gone, Lady Noir and it's all my fault,"

"Gone?" She asked as he nodded. For a second, she didn't get it but then she realised. She covered her mouth in shock. "Oh no,"

"S-She was stabbed and I found her but I was too late and I couldn't heal her. I couldn't even summon a lucky charm," He gasped, moving his arms around his waist. "And Hawkmoth took Master Fu and their miracle boxes. I failed. I've failed,"

"Annie, listen to me," She gasped, stopping him from grabbing at his hair. "You haven't failed,"

"B-But,"

"No buts, Mister," She declared, looking at him with determination. "Failure only occurs when we give up and we can still win this! We'll rescue Master Fu and the kwamis and defeat Hawkmoth and Mayura and Su Han for good measure! We can do it!"

She held up her arm like one of those posters from the 1940s but seeing her unwavering faith in him made Anatis believe her.

"You're right," He nodded. "We can do it!"

"That's the spirit!" She grinned before going serious. "And once this battle is over, we'll honour Master Mila too. She will not be forgotten,"

"Thank you, Kitten," He answered, nodding. She swam closer to him and pressed her forehead to his as she held his hand. He closed his eyes and the two floated there for a moment before the sound of banging interrupted them. He frowned, causing Lady Noir to take out her baton and extend out of the water, using it to look around. She saw lots of wasps and a number of civilians were looking around as if looking for something. She zoomed in and noticed their eyes were yellow and emotionless. She frowned as the banging noise continued. She moved her baton in the direction of the Trocadéro gardens which was where it was coming from before seeing a girl who resembled a wasp. With her yellow skin and look, she knew she had to be the akuma. Before her were a number of what appeared to be civilians and a miraculous holder bowing to her. She frowned deeply as it seemed odd that the akuma would only make those ones bow to her but one of the more concerning things was this akuma was holding the miracle box in her arms. Still needing to see the full picture, she looked up as the noise wasn't coming from them. She gasped as she saw the moth sentimonster trying to break Master Fu's shell-ter. Hawkmoth was on the roof with him. holding Mayura in his arms and it seemed Su Han was there too. He was kneeling before something and had his hands out in front of him. They were glowing with a dark light, making her frown deeply too. She quickly turned to Anatis.

"They have Master Fu and the akuma has the Eastern Miracle box," She gasped, causing him to look through her baton. "And that Su Han seems to doing something as well,"

"He's trying to unlock the other miracle box!" He gasped, pulling away. "Mulan must have placed a spell on it to lock it,"

"That's clever but there's also a sentimonster and Mayura's there as well as Hawkmoth," She gasped, making him frown deeply. "And that akuma seems to be controlling the civilians,"

"She must be Cicada," He muttered, making her raise an eyebrow.

"Cicada?"

"I'm guessing she must be a miraculous holder but she is the apprentice of Mulan's killer," He answered, closing his eyes. Lady Noir frowned deeply. "I don't know if I can hold back if I fight her. I know she didn't kill her but..."

"I understand," She answered, nodding. She knew she should discourage him but she also felt rage and she wasn't sure if she would be able to hold back herself. The girl was training under a killer. She herself could already be a killer and then there's the want for vengeance. Her master took theirs. It would only be fair if they took his apprentice from him. The two remained silent, knowing that they were both thinking the same thing. An eye for an eye.

"... Let's focus on saving Master Fu..." Anatis stated, making her nod. "First we need to get pass those wasps-"

He cut off as his yoyo vibrated, causing him to take it out. He read over the message before closing the yoyo.

"Atratus just messaged me. He asked us to come to the sewer but told us to stay in the water," He explained, making her blink. Ah yeah. She hadn't really met him yet. "He was the one who helped us with Party Crasher and explained about Felix being an akuma,"

"Oh, that guy!" She answered, nodding. "Can we trust him?"

"I think so," He answered, nodding. Trusting him, she nodded and the two of them swam off to where Atratus had told them to meet him. They were deep into the sewers before poking their head up. Atratus was leaning against the wall and behind him there were the miraculous holders they had chosen including Chloe, Rose and Ondine. The only one who wasn't there was Felix but that was given, considering he was unconscious in hospital. Even Adrien and Kagami were standing there. All of them have the same yellow eyes. There were also a number of wasps trapped in midair. However, a wasp flew down from above but before it could sting anyone, Atratus sprayed it with bug spray, causing it to fall down dead, joining a small pile of wasps. He also noticed a number of lit candles. "What's with the candles?"

"Citronella," He answered. "Wasps hate it and the rare one that comes over gets sprayed. I don't usually kill wasps but these aren't natural,"

"And our friends?"

"I've trapped them in a time bubble using my Temporal Hiatus ability and my natural magic," He explains before one of them blinks. He took out his staff and tapped it on the floor. "Temporal Hiatus!"

A red light spread over them again, trapping them and the wasps back in paused time.

"But as you can see, I have to keep using it," He stated, making them frown deeply. "Which is why I sent you a message. We need a plan,"

~Back at the Trocadéro gardens~

"I don't get it!" Assassin Bee demanded, slamming her foot down. Despite giving the order, none of the miraculous holders had turned up. She was sure that they had been stung. They had to be so why weren't they here? She huffed before turning to her minions that were bowing to her. "Fine! Since I can't use your allies against you, I'll use mine! Drones!"

"Yes, your majesty!" The assassins said in union as she walked over to them.

"I'm upgrading you to soldiers for my army against Anatis!" She declared, holding out the miracle box. "Take a miraculous each!"

They grabbed a miraculous and put them on, causing the kwamis to look around in panic. Her allies had picked out the fox, the snake, the monkey and the horse miraculous. She smirked and narrowed her eyes.

"Kwamis, I order you to tell them your transformation words!"

The kwamis looked at each other and tried to resist but unfortunately, the curse they were under couldn't be stopped.

"T-Trixx, l-let's strike," Trixx gasped as Kaalki tried to resist.

"Xuppu, strife time," Xuppu gasped.

"Kaalki, full dart,"

"S-Sass, Serpent Slither," Sass confirmed his transformation words. The assassins in turn used them to transform, though there wasn't much difference in their outfits. They had become slightly more themed with each miraculous but other than that, they were still the basic assassin garb they had already been in. Assassin Bee smirked.

"You were once above me but now you're my royal guard!" She declared before looking to the sky. "Anatis and Lady Noir, your allies may be safe but I will still use your own weapons to defeat you,"

~Back to the Heroes~

Anatis frowned deeply as he looked at the temporary heroes. All of them looked terrifying with the yellow eyes but especially Juleka. She didn't look like herself at all. There was no shyness in her face but also no other emotion there either. Then there was her song. Like the other heroes, the music within them had been overtaken by Assassin Bee's heart song. It was so loud and it made Anatis want to cover his ears but it also helped him understand her a bit better. Her song was calling out to be acknowledged but also to not be tormented. She wanted to just be herself yet she couldn't. He frowned though. She was part of the bad guys so why did her heart song sing of freedom? Did she pick that life or was she forced into it?

"What happened?" He asked, choosing to ignore the song right now. He couldn't do anything about it yet.

"Your allies were on the way to join the new akuma as she has managed to take over the minds. Luckily, I was able to trap them with the help of the Rabbit Holder,"

"Bunnyx or Sir Rene?"

"Both," He answered. "Do you have a plan?"

"... I don't know," Anatis admitted, looking down. "... It's my fault. All of this is. I should have-"

"Anatis," Atratus stated in a firm voice. "This isn't your fault and even if it was, you can't change the past but we can save the future and we're going to need a focused Anatis to do that so head in the game ok?"

"Atratus is right, Annie," Lady Noir gasped, gently taking his hand in hers. "None of this is your fault,"

"Thank you, Kitten," He sighed before nodding and taking a deep breath. "Ok, we have to assume that the reason why our friends were on their way to the akuma was because she planned to use them to fight us,"

"Hawkmoth would have also found their identities," Lady Noire points out, making Anatis nod. "Luckily, we have our own connections,"

"You can thank me later," Atratus stated, making Anatis nod. He would have to find a way to thank him properly. One of the controlled blinked again, causing Atratus to use his ability again. "This is getting tiresome. Tell me, Anatis, what is that you have in your yoyo?"

Anatis blinks before he remembered. He didn't get a chance to return the Dragon or Octopus miraculous. He took out his yoyo and pulled out the two miraculous, making Atratus raise an eyebrow.

"Well, that helps, doesn't it?" He answers as Anatis thought about his opinions. He could use the Octopus miraculous to free everyone but that wouldn't solve the root problem. No, they would have to take down Assassin Bee, the senti-monster and Hawkmoth to save Master Fu and the miracle boxes so the Dragon miraculous would be the best move.

"I have a plan," He answered, putting it on and causing Longg to manifest. He took out a cookie and gave it to him before looking at the other two. "I will merge with the dragon miraculous and use water dragon to keep the wasps at bay. With those at bay, we take down the new holders and reclaim the miraculous. The snake miraculous is the one we'll want to take out first. Once you've got it, merge with it. We could do with a second chance. Once we've done that, we'll fight Cicada, save the hostages and then fight Hawkmoth and Mayura, rescue Master Fu and save the kwamis,"

"Sounds like a plan!" She declared, making him nod as Longg declared he was ready. "But what are we going to do with the wasps out there?"

"I have a plan for that as well," He answered before closing his eyes and holding out his hand. They felt the air change as he opened his eyes, causing them to turn silver. "Alpheus, please lend me your magic,"

For a second, nothing happened but then they heard the sound of something hitting the water nearby and the roads.

"It's raining!" Lady Noir gasped, making Anatis smile. "We can leave the water and put the plan into action,"

"Impressive," Atratus states, nodding before turning to Anatis and Lady Noir. "But you better hurry. The rain won't last forever,"

"Right, let's go," He replied, nodding before the two of them dived back under and swam out of the sewers. They broke the surface and dived out, calling off their aqua forms as the rain kept the wasps in that area away from them. They landed on the bridge before Anatis held out one hand, summoning a red orb then the other, summoning a yellow orb. He brought his hands together and closed his eyes. "Tikki, Long. Unify,"

A bright gold light surrounded him before spreading down his body, changing his outfit. His hair grew a little bit longer and wilder, his ears turned pointed and he gained four red and black horns with gold details. Two were curled and large and two were small. His mask still had its ladybug pattern but gained a golden outline and two black triangles. His eyes remained blue but turned into lizard-like with slits for pupils. The whites of his eyes had turned blue too. His outfit had gained golden details on the neck and zipper but had also split into two. The left side was black with red spots and the right side was red with black spots. His right glove and boot was black with a gold trim and his left glove and boot were red with a gold trim. The boots travelled up his legs and torso, resembling two dragon tails. One was red and the other was black. Both with a gold trim. On his side was his yoyo and on his back was the dragon's sword. The dragon miraculous had turned into the zipper of his suit as his earrings remained in his ears. He turned to Lady Noir.

"Looking good, Annie," Lady Noir grinned.

"Call me Zhuyin.... Atratus was right. This rain can't last forever so let's go," He declared as he looked up, causing her to nod and for the two of them to jump off and heading to where Cicada was. As they got closer, the rain began to slow down. Zhuyin took out his yoyo and spun it. "Water dragon!"

He used his yoyo to surround them with a water bubble before they landed on the ground and he extended it, slamming it into Cicada and throwing her against the wall as it trapped the hypnotised citizens with the miraculous in the bubble with them. She got up and narrowed her eyes at them.

"You must be Anatis," She declared, getting Hawkmoth's attention.

"And you must be Assassin Bee," Zhuyin answered, spinning his yoyo. "Though you can call me Zhuyin right now,"

"Well, Zhuyin, your name won't matter when I rip those miraculous from your ears!" She hisses as Hawkmoth looks down at them.

"Merging Miraculous again?" He smirked as the sentimonster slammed against Master Fu's shelter. "That won't save you this time, you know. Or your master. In a few minutes, when the guardian is too weak and his shield is broken, I'll force him to tell me your secret identities and not to mention, we've nearly unlocked the western miracle box. Soon, Mulan's death will be for nothing and even better... it will all be your fault, Anatis,"

Zhuyin glanced down, making Hawkmoth smirk.

"After all, you led them all to their own doom,"

"You're wrong!" Lady Noir shouted, stepping in front of Zhuyin. "He did not lead them to their doom! You did! The only one to blame here is you! You're the one who wants to harm people! You're the reason why Master Mulan is dead!"

"Such belief in your partner," Hawkmoth chuckled as Mayura smirked. "I guess you make up for his lack of self-belief,"

"You're damn right!" She hisses. "I don't care if Annie doesn't believe in himself because I believe in him! And I'll believe in him even more to make up for it!"

"Lady Noir," Zhuyin whispered as Master Fu managed to turn his head.

"Listen to her, Anatis!" He gasped. "He's trying to use your insecurities to divide and weaken you! Don't listen to him!"

"If you think you can divide us, you're wrong!" Lady Noir answered, turning to Anatis and holding up her hand. "I'm always on your side, Annie. Me and you against the world!"

"Thank you, Lady Noir," He smiled, clapping his hand against hers. "You always know what to say,"

He turned to Hawkmoth.

"A clever plan but I couldn't care less what you think of me," He answered, taking out his sword and pointing it to him. As he did, Su Han stopped working on the box and gasped in shock. "Me and Lady Noir are a team and together we will take you down!"

"Welcome to your doomsday, Hawkmoth!" Lady Noir grinned, making Hawkmoth growl.

"Assassin Bee! Show these fools who is the true ruler!" He shouted, noticing Su Han staring as Assassin Bee ordered her soldiers to attack. "Shouldn't you be working on that box?"

"She put a spell on the box that I can't undo," He explained. "She made it so only herself, the Celestial Guardian or his reincarnations can open it,"

"Is that not you?"

"I am only it in name. Not in anything else," Su Han answers, his eyes glued on Zhuyin as he fought against three of the other holders. Lady Noir was fighting the snake holder but the way Zhuyin was fighting. The stance, the way he held the sword. Su Han narrowed his eyes. He watched as he flipped his sword to his spare hand and spun with it, knocking back three of the holders. "That boy. He's Anatis yes?"

"Yes... why?" Hawkmoth asked as he dived forward and darted. Even Hawkmoth had to admit it was impressive. He had no idea that Anatis had such training in swordplay. He had always assumed that Lady Noir was the one who could use a sword. Speaking of her, she manages to take down the snake miraculous, allowing Zhuyin to grab the snake miraculous. He chucked it to Lady Noir before going back to fighting the other holders. Su Han narrowed his eyes as he watched. "Assassin Bee, be careful!"

"I got this," She answered as she watched. She already knew the plan was in action and she would win. Lady Noir put on the bracelet, causing Sass to manifest. He tried to apologise but she shook her head and gave him a smile before offering him food. As she did that, Assassin Bee frowned and her mind briefly drifted to Stingg. She shook her head before holding out her hand. "That won't help you defeat me, Lady Noir!"

"Call me Lady Cobra," She answered, holding her hands. "Plagg, Sass, unify!"

A green light caused Assassin Bee to cover her eyes. When she uncovered them, Lady Noir's form had changed. Her ears were the same but she had gained some teal details on her suit, making it resemble her Queen Cobra look. Her boots had yellow and green diamonds on boots and the green detail was now more yellow. She had two large diamonds on her hips that were both yellow as well and her mask had become a blended version of her usual mask and her Queen cobra one. She had a yellow and green diamond in the middle of her chest and her eyes were more snakelike now as well. Her hair was still in a long braid but it resembled her Queen Cobra hair more and it faded from black into teal green. She didn't even spare Assassin Bee a glance as she flicked back the bracelet and activated her second power.

"Second Chance!" She declared, causing Zhuyin to smirk and Assassin Bee to narrow her eyes.

"Drones! Stop her!" She declared, causing the monkey holder to charge at her as Anatis fought against the fox holder. She dodged and side stepped the horse user before seeing a second fox trying to sneak up on Zhuyin.

"Zhuyin! It's an illusion!" She called out, causing him to nod and swipe the illusion away as she did the same thing. However, the monkey holder suddenly caught his yoyo and pulled Zhuyin to him. He punched him as Lady Cobra charged towards them. However, she was grabbed by the fox and held back as the monkey pressed his summoned item against Zhuyin's yoyo. The water shield disappeared and the wasps descended onto Zhuyin, stinging him. His eyes turned yellow and he dropped his sword, slowly standing up. She struggled against the fox as Assassin Bee laughed.

"Finally! The bug is mine to control!" She laughed, tilting her head back. "I'm finally fully free! Zhuyin! Bow down to your queen! Drones, bow down to your new master!"

"Master?" Lady Cobra questioned before really glancing at them. She noticed that they are all in the same style of clothing. She realised that their movements were practised and trained. These weren't ordinary civilians. They were trained fighters. The Yǐnshēnyǐnbì. She struggled against the fox as Zhuyin, the Cobra holder who she realised was Mulan's killer and the others began to bow towards Assassin Bee. Su Han jumped down and glared towards them.

"Ask him who the mage is," He demanded, making Hawkmoth look over and Assassin Bee to nod.

"Zhuyin, who is the mage?"

"I-" He started but before he could answer, Lady Cobra was able to free herself enough to flick back her bracelet, bringing her back to the save point,

"Zhuyin, they're illusions and Yǐnshēnyǐnbì!" She declared, ignoring the monkey and running straight towards him. "She didn't pick- ah!"

A portal opened beneath her feet, causing her to fall into the dark depths of space. If she didn't think they were trained assassins before, she did now. No one normally would drop someone into space, even if they were mind-controlled. She took a deep breath and flipped back her bracelet, going back to the save point. She ignored the monkey, jumped over the portal and held up her fingers as she activated her screech power. She tapped her throat and let out a screech that broke the illusion and knocked the monkey holder back. She took the chance to grab his arm before pointing.

"Zhuyin! Opening! There!" She gasped, making him nod and open a hole in the water. She kicked the Monkey's pole up and towards Assassin Bee, who caught it and glared at her.

"You're going to need to do better than that!" She glared. "Cobra! Kill them!"

Before the Cobra holder could make a move, Lady Cobra twisted the monkey's arm, using it to throw its item straight at Assassin Bee. It landed right in her face, turning her miraculous into a small bell and causing the wasps to burst into confetti. Zhuyin threw his yoyo and wrapped it around her waist, pulling her towards them as Lady Cobra rushed towards her, tapping the bell with her cataclysm. Assassin Bee fell to her knees as she turned briefly back into Cicada then finally into Zoe as her miraculous crumbled to the ground. Zhuyin and Lady Cobra turned back into their normal forms before Anatis caught the akuma and purified it. With Assassin Bee no longer active, the controlled regained their selves, blinking and looking around confused. Zoe slowly scoped up the broken pieces of her miraculous and looked down at it sadly but before she could do anything else, the Cobra holder stalked towards her and grabbed her by her hair.

"You little brat!" He growled, throwing her to the ground and taking out his weapon, ready to attack her. Maybe even kill her but before he could, his weapon was knocked out of his hand by Anatis' yoyo before it wrapped around Zoe's waist and pulled her into the air. He caught her and placed her carefully on the ground before narrowing his eyes as the Cobra turned and went to stalk over. Anatis stepped in front of Zoe in a protective stance. "Get out of my way before I kill you like I did with Mulan,"

"No," Anatis replied before his eyes turned silver. He quickly glanced around and saw some loose ropes near a building site. "Mih dinb sepor,"

The ropes glowed before coming to life and aiming at the Cobra. It binded around him and made him fall on the ground, causing Su Han and Hawkmoth to look at him with surprise. Anatis walked over as the man glared at him.

"Go ahead," He smirked, gesturing to his fallen weapon. "Avenge your master,"

"She wasn't my master," He stated, picking it up. As soon as he did, the other The Yǐnshēnyǐnbì assassins blocked his path, ready to defend the Cobra. Anatis frowned at the corruption Su Han had caused to the once good and loyal group. He looked at the weapon in his hand as he weighed up his options. "She was my friend... but I'm not going to kill you,"

He casted it aside, shocking almost everyone there. Apart from Lady Noir.

"And it wouldn't be justice if I took your life. It would be vengeance and would make me no better than you," He declared, making Su Han's eyes widen once more. Those words are almost identical to what Toutai had said the night he murdered him. Anatis moved his gaze from the Cobra to Hawkmoth. "It's over, Hawkmoth. Your villain has being defeated,"

"Yet I still have the miracle boxes," He smirked, holding up the eastern box as the assassins freed the cobra holder. "I made sure to grab it off Assassin Bee in case you defeated her and don't forget I have the guardian too. It's only a matter of minutes until that shield breaks down and then he'll be mine to question. Not to mention I have a celestial guardian and his guard helping me out as well. You may have your tricks and whatever you did to the Cobra but I have the upper hand. Yǐnshēnyǐnbì, take them down!"

The other holders surrounded Anatis and Lady Noir as Zoe hid behind them. Lady Noir's ring beeped, making her frown as Anatis glanced at her. Hawkmoth laughed as he heard it.

"Even better! Your stupid cat's time is almost up!" He laughed as Mayura and Su Han smirked. "You're on your own! Checkmate, Anatis!"

"I still have a move left!" Anatis declared, hiding the fact that Hawkmoth's comment got to him. He knew he was on his own. Lady Noir had used her power and the miraculous had being stole. Atrutus was busy keeping their friends safe and Mulan was gone while Fu was captured. He threw up his yoyo, changing his outfit. "Lucky charm!"

The magical swarm summoned a small key with a keyring attached to it. Anatis caught it and glanced around in his luck vision. Only nothing lit up. He began to panic as he continued to look. The banging of the sentimonster echoed as Hawkmoth laughed, making him feel worse as he couldn't see anything.

"Annie?" Lady Noir questioned as his panic became visible.

"I... I can't see how to use it," He gasped, looking at her with fear. "I can always see it but I can't! There's no solution!"

"That's because there's nothing you can do!" Hawkmoth declared, laughing. "My plan is perfect! You can't beat me!"

"Ignore him!" Lady Noir declared, glaring at him as Anatis looked around. Finally, his luck vision kicked in and lit up Master Fu's cage... and only that. Anatis frowned with confusion for a moment before it suddenly clicked what it meant.

"No..." He gasped as he looked towards Master Fu. "Master, you can't!"

"It is the only way forward, Anatis," Fu answered, holding back the cracking of his shield. "I return to you what is your birthright. You will be a glorious guardian and I believe you will become the best celestial guardian we've ever had. It was an honour to serve as your master, Kāimíng yī,"

He let go of the shield and bowed before holding up his arms as Sass and Longg called out to him. Su Han stared in shock at his words, especially his use of calling Anatis Kāimíng yī. It was what the Order's members called The mage. It meant enlightened one and was a sign of respect.

"I, Wang Fu, hereby relinquish the miracle box and on behalf of Hua Mulan..." He declared, beginning to glow. "I name Anatis the new guardian!"

The moth sentimonster literally broke the shield as he spoke but it was too late. The light faded away from Master Fu and he fell to the ground, causing Hawkmoth to call out as the miracle box lifted out of his hand and began to glow with a white light so bright that it encompassed it. Su Han, Hawkmoth and Mayura watched in awe as the box began to change. The simple octogonal design disintegrated and morphed into a different form. As this happened, the assassins who had been given a miraculous by Assassin Bee began to glow, causing them to panic and try to back away, confused by the sudden light. Beams of light suddenly shoot away from them and into the morphing box, returning the miraculous to it and turning them into their normal forms. The only ones not to return were the Cobra's, Hawkmoth's and Mayura's... though Anatis wasn't sure why. However, it might be because they inherited the miraculous technically speaking or are viewed as true holders by the spiritual powers. While evil, Hawkmoth and Mayura did know what they were doing with their powers after all. Meanwhile, Su Han watched in shock as it happened. He had begun to suspect the boy to be the mage but this confirmed it. He narrowed his eyes and pointed at him.

"Kill him!" He ordered, causing the assassins to look over as he pointed frantically at him. The only assassin that remained with a miraculous was the Cobra holder but the others surrounded them as well. However before they could make a move, the box finished morphing and dropped down, back into Hawkmoth's hand as he stared at it. Gone was the old look and in its place was a beautiful carved music box. It had taken on a rectangular design, with a flattened top and the Order’s symbol carved into it. Metal workmanship decorated the lid’s corners, matching the intricate clasp. Carved meticulously into the wood were the images of the Chinese zodiac animals, all racing each other around the box’s edges. As the box fell back into Hawkmoth's hands, the light above them didn’t disperse. It pulsed once, knocking him, Mayura and Su Hand back before it blasted into the air before separating into several directions, each with one destination as the assassins and the heroes looked on in awe. One beam hit Mulan’s former box, and in the same flash of light, it also changed form. When it faded, the Western box now held a more rounded shape, with a brass sun placed on the lid and the symbol of the Order engraved on its core. The sides held countless stars, and the shapes of the Western constellations encircled it. Just like the Eastern Box, it had transformed into a music box. Both boxes also had one other thing in common. Sat inside the keyholes of the boxes sat a single, simple key. Hawkmoth sat up, along with Mayura as The cobra helped up Su Han, who slapped away his hand. "Kill him now!"

The Cobra nodded and turned to Anatis as Hawkmoth picked up the miracle box and tried to turn the key but it refused to budge.

"What did he do?!" He growled, glaring over at Anatis.

"It's simple," He answers, holding out his yoyo. "He passed the title onto guardian onto me,"

"I was able to open it even when he was a guardian!" Hawkmoth growled. "I should be able to do the same here!"

"No... because I'm not a normal guardian," He answered, looking at them. "I am the true Celestial Guardian! The current reincarnation of the grand mage Hua Feng and those boxes belong to me!"

He threw his yoyo, hitting the box out of Hawkmoth's hand as Lady Noir jumped up and swiped the Western Miracle Box. She jumped back down as Anatis wrapped his yoyo around the Eastern box and pulled it to him.

"One chance, Hawkmoth," He stated, looking at him. "Return yours and Mayura's miraculous to me and hand yourself in,"

"You think I'm actually going to do that," Hawkmoth stated coldly. "How disappointing,"

He picked up Mayura and jumped onto the Sentimonster, ready to retreat. Su Han glared at Anatis, wanting to order his assassins to kill him but he also knew what Toutai had been like, even before he had been revealed to be the Celestial Guardian. He was a prodigy in everything that had been taught. Fighting, potion making, medical training. He knew this boy was already gifted, being able to use the ladybug and keep Hawkmoth on his toes but now he knew that he was the next celestial guardian. The boy would undo his wish and reclaim his title but Su Han knew he wouldn't be able to kill him here. He shouldn't have even ordered his assassins to try but he panicked. However, he wasn't going to let that show right now. He took a deep breath and called back his assassins before narrowing his eyes as he looked towards Anatis, who met his gaze with no fear.

"This isn't over, boy," He declared, also jumping down to the Sentimonster. The three of them flew away and Lady Noir gave Anatis the Western box before chasing after them as the assassins also left, apart from the Cobra holder. He stepped forward and narrowed his eyes.

"Traitor, I order you to come and accept your punishment," He demanded, making Zoe slowly get and go to walk over to him. However, Anatis stopped her by putting his arm out as he held both of the boxes in his other arm. "You do not have the authority to sto-"

"I don't care," He answered, making the Cobra holder snort.

"You know she is going to kill you once I have... fixed her," He answers, making Anatis feel sick.

"Fix her?!" He snarled, making Zoe flinch. "and then make her kill me?! You really think I'm going to let you do that?!"

"You are powerless to-" The Cobra started but before he could finish, Anatis held out his free hand as his eyes glowed silver as Longg flew next to him, hissing softly.

"Alpheus! Lend me your power!" He called, making the Cobra blink before a sudden gale began to push against him, increasing in strength until he was taking off his feet and slammed into a building. He slowly got up and looked over at Anatis, who was still standing protectively in front of Zoe while glaring at him. With his glowing eyes and harsh glare, the Cobra found himself feeling fear for the first time in his life. This wasn't just some miraculous holder. This boy actually could seriously harm him or even kill him. "I will give you one chance to leave. Next time, I won't be as compassionate as I'm being right now,"

The Cobra didn't need to be told twice. He jumped away and into the city, making Anatis let out a sigh as Lady Noir returned. The gale turned into a breeze that helped her land before she turned to Anatis.

"You good?" She asked, making him nod before she frowned. "They got away,"

"I'm not surprised," He answered before he threw his yoyo and jumped away, landing on the building where Fu was lying unconscious. He had detransformed and Wayzz was watching over him with worry on his face. Lady Noir landed next to him with Zoe in her arms before she put her down. Both girls looked over at Anatis as he put down the boxes and gently lifted Fu into his arms. "Master Fu... Please wake up,"

His voice wasn't harsh like it had been when talking to the villains but it was soft, gentle and broken. Like he knew he wouldn't wake up or if he did, he wouldn't be the same but he had to try. He had to hope that he was the same. Slowly, Master Fu opened his eyes, making Lady Noir let out a sigh of relief as Anatis helped him sit up. Wayzz zoomed behind Anatis as Master Fu blinked and looked around in confusion.

"Master Fu," He stated, looking at him. His silver eyes shone with worry.

"Such pretty eyes," Master Fu stated, making him frown before he looked over at Lady Noir. "And such lovely costumes. Are you going to a party?"

"No, not a party," Anatis answered, making Fu look at him confused. He had a feeling he knew why but he didn't want to voice it. Unfortunately, Master Fu did.

"I don't mean to be rude but who are you?" He asked, making Lady Noir gasp and Anatis look down. "Oh, I'm sorry. I just can't seem to remem-"

"It's ok," Anatis smiled softly, though it was clear he was upset. "We're friends, sir,"

"Oh," Master Fu nodded as Lady Noir clicked her fingers.

"Annie, you haven't used the charm," She gasped, making him remember the lucky charm in his hand. He took it out and looked at it. He had a feeling that it won't fix this but he needed to fix what Assassin Bee. The assassins may have awakened after she lost her powers but he didn't know if the rest of Paris had. He threw it up into the air.

"Miraculous Ladybugs!" He declared, causing it to burst into the magical swarm and go around Paris, fixing stuff. It came back and wrapped around Zoe's hands before disappearing but it didn't touch Master Fu. Lady Noir looked at Anatis as he frowned. They both knew it didn't work but he decided to ask just in case. "Mister Fu... do you remember us now?"

"I'm sorry to disappoint you but this is the first time I've ever seen you two in my life," He answered before smiling. "But that magic trick was amazing. Shame, you had to throw away that keyring though. It would have gone lovely on my own key set,"

He took out a matching set to show them but didn't just pull out the keys but a piece of paper. He opened it up and read it.

"Oh," He gasped before looking at Anatis. "I think these keys belong to you. Strange, I thought they were mine,"

"What makes you say that?" Lady Noir asked.

"Because of this note," He answered, handing it to them. It read please return these and the turtle bracelet to the boy dressed as a ladybug. He looked at Anatis before handing him the keys and Wayzz's miraculous to him. "That must be you,"

"Thank you," He nodded, taking them. "Do you need us to take you anyway, Mister Fu?"

"Well, I do need to meet a lovely lady at the train station but I'm not running late," He chuckled, making Anatis feel relieved. It seems Master Fu had planned out a retirement plan so he would be ok. He couldn't help but wonder if his past lives had helped to make sure he wasn't homeless or lost. It seemed like something Feng would do but he wasn't sure. Still it gave him a sense of relief that he would be ok. "Well, I better be off. It was nice to meet you both,"

With that, Master Fu wandered off as their miraculous beeped. Anatis nodded to Lady Noir before she grabbed Zoe who gasped and he grabbed the boxes. The two dived off the buildings and headed to where Atrust had been keeping the holders, only to find the area completely empty apart from a single candle with a piece of paper under it. Anatis placed the boxes down and picked it up, reading it. It simply had two words on it. Best outcome. He sighed and nodded before putting the note back down and disappearing behind a wall as Lady Noir placed Zoe down and ordered her not to peek before she disappeared behind a wall. Zoe stayed on her knees and looked at the miraculous in her hand. It was repaired and she could take advantage of the two heroes hiding but she owed Anatis a debt of life. He had stopped her master from trying to kill her as she was certain he would have ended her life even if he claimed he was going to have her retrained.

"Anatis... what do you intend to do with me?" She asked. Her 'sweet' voice was no longer there. No point in pretending.

"What do you mean?" His voice replied as a pink light flashed, followed by a green light.

"Are you going to kill me or punish me?" She asked.

"No," Luka replied from behind the way as he gently scratched Longg's chin as Tikki ate a cookie. "Your master mentioned fixing you. Care to explain?"

"... those trained by the Order are put through a certain amount of programming and training to make them the perfect soldiers for the cause," She explained, making him frown. "Our goal is simple. Protect the Celestial Guardian and take out any threat he wants... but Su Han isn't the true celestial guardian is he?"

"No, he isn't," He answers. "Why were you trained by them?"

"All the families give up one child to be trained," She answers, making him frown. "It was meant to be Chloe instead of me but her father interfered and she failed the first test anyway,"

"I'm sorry," Luka replied, frowning. "Can I ask what families?"

"The five founding families," She answers. "The Agreste family, the Graham de Vanily family, the Tsurugi Family, The Bourgeois Family and finally the Kubdel family,"

"And each family has to give up a child to the order?" He asked, frowning. He knew Alpheus didn't have that rule and the family thing seemed odd too. He would definitely have to investigate it.

"Yes but the Tsurugi family had already given one and the Agreste family refused with the order's approval and the Graham de Vanily family has no children to give," She explains, making Anatis frown.

"But isn't Felix a child of the Graham de Vanily family?" He asked, making her snort.

"That child was born out of wedlock," She explained, making him frown. "He is not worthy of such a role,"

"And the Kubdel family?"

"They do not work for the order anymore," She hissed, making him frown as Longg and Tikki looked at him with concern. "If I see them, I shall stain the street with their blood,"

"Ok then," He answered, closing his eyes and listening carefully to her music. There was a song there but it was being overpowered by the Order's music, making him frown before he gently reached into his pocket and took out the octopus miraculous. He now knew why he grabbed it. He slid the bracelet on, causing Kraak to manifest. "Hello,"

"Hello, young holder," She smiled, bowing. "I'm Kraak. To use my miraculous, all you have to say is Kraak, unleash,"

"Thank you, Kraak," He answered before holding up his arm. "Kraak, Unleash!"

Kraak got sucked into the miraculous, charging it up. He swiped his hand across his face, causing the mask to manifest in a light blue light and his eyes to resemble an octopus'. He tilted his head back, causing his hair to change into yellow and black while gaining a small ponytail in the back of his hair. The light blue light faded down his body, creating a light yellow shirt and black pants before his boots manifested, resembling classic pirate boots. His belt appeared in a light blue glow before a tail coat that resembled a pirate jacket appeared on him. It was dark grey with a bright blue ring pattern on it. Finally he gained fingerless gloves and the flexible claw appeared, attached to his belt. He turned to Tikki, causing her to zoom over and hide in his new hair style. He stepped out, making Zoe look over at him.

"Are you going to kill me now?" She asked, coldly. "The only reason why I'm not trying to kill you is because I owe you a debt of life but-"

"I'm not going to kill you," He answered as Lady Noir stepped out. Plagg had recharged. He walked over to Zoe and knelt down so they were eye level. "I don't think you're actually a bad person, Zoe,"

He gently placed his hand on his heart.

"I can feel what you truly want. I feel it now and I felt it when you were Assassin Bee," He continued. "You long for one thing,"

"And what is that?" She sneered.

"Freedom," He answered, making her eyes widen and look at him. "The ideology of Su Han is stuck in your head like a song on repeat but it's time for the record to stop playing. I'm willing to give the freedom you crave and a new beginning but you only get one chance. Don't waste it,"

She blinked as he held up his forefinger.

"Mind break," He whispered, causing his finger to glow a very light blue before he gently pressed his finger to Zoe's forehead. Her eyes glossed over in the same shade before shattering, causing her to blink. "Zoe?"

"Anatis... I mean... you are Anatis right?!" She gasped. Her voice sounded the same but the coldness was gone. He nodded before she quickly got to her knees and bowed to him, making Lady Noir look at him. He shrugged. "I'm so sorry! I've been trying to stop myself for years but I couldn't. I was too weak-"

"Zoe... it's ok," He stated, making her look up at him as tears rolled down her face. He stood up and held his hand out to her. She looked at it before slowly taking it, causing him to pull her to his feet. She wiped her tears away. "I am going have to take your miraculous,"

She looked at the miraculous in her hand before she slowly handed it over to him.

"Thank you," He answered, making her nod. "Zoe, your life is back to being yours,"

"What if I get brain-washed again?" She asked as he felt something around him. It felt warm and familiar like a warm fire that kept the cold from taking over the bones. Finni. He must have been listening in.

I am going to borrow your body for a second. Is that ok? He asked, making Luka nod. He felt Finni briefly taking over before his eyes glowed silver and opened on their own. His hand lifted and he gently placed his hand on her forehead as well. A soft golden light appeared from his hand, making him blink as he watched. "Zoe Lee, I share this gift with you so you may never lose your mind again,"

The glow disappeared and Luka felt Finni leave, causing him to stumble forward a bit.

"What... what was that?" Zoe asked. "It felt warm... like a hug,"

"It's a protection spell," He explained. "You're completely free... now let's get you home,"

~Later that Evening~

"So what was that earlier?" Lady Noir asked, sitting next to Anatis as he placed the octopus miraculous back in the box. "And I don't mean your octopus form,"

"Finni," He answered, making her look at him. "He asked to use my body so he could give Zoe that spell. First time I've ever literally done that,"

"Oh wow... so Finni can possess you?"

"With my permission," He explained, nodding. "It makes sense. Finni is part of me as I am part of him. I hope he'll be able to teach me that spell but right now, I don't have enough magic to use it. I think that's why he took the front seat. I can't use my magic,"

"You were able to use it in battle?"

"Feng lent me his earlier," He explained. "It's slowly recharging but... spiritually I'm weak at the moment,"

"Maybe there's something in Feng's diary that can help?" She suggested, making him frown.

"I can only read it with my spirit eyes and honestly most of it doesn't make sense," He answered, thinking back to how he was reading it. He could read most of it now and there were only a couple of pages left empty but most of what was written were riddles, the odd akuma, some rambles about the end of time itself, something about reality and the ghost festival but then for the last ten pages, there's only one repeated phase. The truth is coming. Even Feng had foreseen Truth. "I thought it would be something helpful but he always writes in riddles,"

"Sounds about right," She giggled before gently placing her hands on his. He looked at her and smiled weakly. "You'll be ok,"

"Thank you, Kitten," He nodded before standing up. "I better get the kwamis settled. See you soon?"

"Yeah. Are you sure you don't want me to look after a box?"

"For now, I think it's best if I keep them all together," He answered, nodding. Though he appreciated the suggestion. She nodded back and offered him a hug. He hugged back before he stepped back. He threw up his yoyo and summoned a backpack before placing them in there. "I'll see if there's a way to connect the boxes to our weapons so both of us can access them,"

"Sounds good to me," She nodded before he swung off and she headed home too. He swung across Paris before landing through his porthole. He took off the bag and took out the boxes before detransforming. He carefully placed them on his shelf, next to Tikki's and Snapp's beds, where Snapp was snoozing before he took out the Wasp Miraculous. He put it on, causing Stingg to manifest.

"Mi-Mistress, I... you're n-not my mistress..." Stingg gasped softly. "I-is she..."

"She is alive," He answered, making the little kwami gasp in surprise. "And free. With assistance, I freed her and made sure Su Han could never control her again,"

"M-my mistress is free," He sniffed. "T-thank you,"

"Your name is Stingg, yes?"

"Y-yes,"

"And what's your concept?"

"D-Domination,"

"Then I, Luka Couffaine, give Stingg, the kwami of Domination, permission to remain outside of their miraculous, even without a holder or a miracle box," He declared, causing the miraculous and Stingg to glow before it disappeared. He took off the miraculous, causing Stingg to gasp as they didn't disappear. "Welcome to your new home, Stingg. Tikki will give you an update on the rules and I'll sort out a bed for you as well in the morning,"

"A-are you ok, Master?"

"Just call me Luka," He sighed before sitting on the bed. "And not really. Master Mila is dead and Master Fu has no memory of any of this. I can't even cry about it or there's a risk I'd get akumatized,"

He looked down as the kwamis began to manifest.

"Anyway... I'm tired..." He whispered, kicking off his shoes and curling up on his bed. He really wanted to cry and let himself feel his grief but he couldn't. He felt so alone. He curled up and closed his eyes as he felt the kwamis flying next to him, gently hugging him and chasing away his loneliness. "... Thank you..."

"Sleep well, young guardian," Vernn stated. "We will be right here,"

~Luka's Mind Hut~

"Luka," Toutai's voice echoed as he gently leaned over the younger mage, who was curled up on the floor. Toutai gently placed his hand on his shoulder, causing him to jolt awake and look around wildly. He didn't think he would have seen him here today, given his lack of spiritual energy but here he was. It can't have been easy for him, considering Feng's energy had long since run out but he pushed through. Toutai frowned as he took a good look at him. He looked tired and drained. Like he was close to giving up. Seeing Toutai, the alert look slowly disappeared. "Luka... are you ok?"

"I..." He started but before Toutai could say anything, tears began to roll down Luka's face. Though he quickly wiped them away. He was clearly trying to hold back his tears but Toutai shook his head.

"Let it out, Luka. There's no akumas here," He reassured, causing Luka to look at him before he began to cry, covering his face with his hand. Toutai moved his arms around him and gently rubbed his back.

"It's ok,"

"I f-feel so alone, T-Toutai," He sobbed, looking up at him. "I... I couldn't save them. I tried but it was too late. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I should have being able to save them,"

"It's ok, Luka," He reassured. "You didn't fail,"

"B-But Master Fu and Master Mulan... I let your wife die," He sobbed, covering his face again. Toutai let him cry it out, waiting patiently until he had calmed down enough. "Y-you must hate me,"

"I don't hate you, Luka," Toutai reassured

"But I killed Mulan..."

"No, you didn't," He explained. "Firstly, it was that cowardly snake and secondly, she already knew it was her time. My last parting gift to her was a warning of what was to come and when she would finally meet her end. It was fate. You couldn't have stopped it,"

"B-but,"

"Think of it this way, Luka. Instead of death, it was release," He stated, making Luka frown. "She had lived an unnatural life for at least a hundred years. Maybe more. For us, that is normal but she wasn't a spirit. Neverending life for a mortal is a curse but she finally was able to make peace with her pain and is finally able to move to the afterlife,"

"S-so you're not mad?" Luka asked, wiping his eyes.

"Of course not," Toutai smiled, gently patting his hair. "I'm very proud of you, Luka,"

"Y-you are?" He asked, confused. "Why?"

"Because you passed my test," He stated, making Luka blink. "My trait is compassion. It allows me to use healing magic via touch. The trial you faced today was my trial and you passed,"

"I did? But..." He asked, confused. "How?"

"You could have killed that cobra, let him harm Zoe or even leave her to her fate as a slave to Su Han," He explained, making Luka look at him. "You did not. You chose to protect her from his wrath, you chose to spare his life and when it came to breaking Su Han's influence on her, you chose to do it in a gentle and reassuring way, making sure she wasn't afraid even though she was your enemy. That is compassion in its purest form. Compassion for our friends and family is easy but compassion for our enemies... that's something that most people can't do. Not just that but you stayed with Mulan when she was dying. You could have just left to fight but you saved with her in her last moments and I know you plan to make sure Master Fu is cared for,"

He nodded. He planned to contact Marianne. He hadn't really thought about contacting her since he had met her but he had also come to terms with the fact that he was a witch now. Not just any witch either but the mage. However, he would worry about his own problems once he was sure Fu was ok.

"My point is your compassion is strong and you passed my test," He smiled, making Luka nod. "Only one more test to go now,"

"Khnurn's right?" Luka asked, causing Toutai to nod. "... Can I ask what to expect?"

Toutai's face fell a bit, making Luka frown.

"Is that not allowed?"

"It's not that," He answered, taking a deep breath. "Luka, Khnurn's trait is honesty and I'm afraid that means that his test is going to be hard. You'll have to face the Truth,"

"The Truth... as in..." He whispered. "C-can't I prevent that?"

"I'm sorry, Luka but I can't answer that," He answered before gently placing his hand on his shoulder. "Just remember no matter how alone or vulnerable you feel right now, you're not alone. You have friends, family and allies who care deeply about you,"

"T-thank you, Toutai,"

~A Couple of Days Later~

"Thank you for helping me, young man," Fu stated as Luka carried his suitcase to the train station. He had already gone to Fu's locker and used the key to grab what was in there. Fu had left him a letter and the translated version of the grimoire as well as ingredients and other things to help, like a list of the kwami's favourite foods but he would sort them out later. Right now, he wanted to make sure Fu reunited with Marianne. He wasn't sure if he remembered her but she had agreed to look after him. The train doors opened and she stepped out, causing Fu to gasp in surprise and awe. Though his memories were gone, the emotion of love clearly wasn't. She walked over and smiled softly at him.

"How incredible," He gasped, looking at her like she was the most precious thing in the world. "I've only just first laid eyes on you and yet my heart is beating like I've known you for a long time,"

"You should always listen to your heart," She smiled, gently taking his hands in hers. For a moment, they stared into each other's eyes before she smiled softly. "Why don't you go and settle down? I have something to say to this young man,"

"Of course," He nodded, turning to Luka. "Thank you for your help, young man,"

"You're welcome," Luka nodded before Fu disappeared on the train. "Thank you for coming so soon. I'm sorry I haven't contacted you until now, Ma'am,"

"It's ok," She smiled, gently taking his hands in her eyes. "I know it's hard to come to terms with having magic naturally but you don't need to face it alone. You can contact me but also I wanted to give you something,"

She took out an envelope.

"Since I can't always be in Paris, this is the address of the acting grand mage," She answered. "He can help you,"

"Thank you," He answered, taking it. "Please take care of him, Marianne. Fu... he taught me so much,"

"I will," She promised. "And don't be a stranger ok,"

"I won't," He answered before the final whistle blew and she went on the train. He looked as they took a seat by the window and waved at him as the train departed. He waved back before walking out of the train station and back to The Liberty. Juleka and Rose were practising some music and waved at him when he came back on board. He gave them a small wave but didn't bother going to see what they were doing as he headed back into his room. He frowned as he saw a note on the deck, causing him to pick it up and read it.

Dearest Luka,

I had to borrow the Rabbit Miraculous for a short amount of time

Due to a dangerous situation. Please do not worry.

I have plenty of carrots for Fluff and she will be returned to you

soon.

Stay strong

Sir Rene

Luka sighed and put the letter down before sitting on his bed as he thought about everything that had occurred. In less than 24 hours, he had lost two of the most important people in his life and had become the guardian of two miracle boxes, setting his path on becoming the Celestial Guardian in stone. He knew life was never going to be the same again. The Truth was coming and he wasn't sure if he could stop it. He put his hand on his head and took a deep breath.

"The future isn't set in stone," He whispered to himself.

~Hawkmoth's Lair~

"I told you not to let her wear it again!" Su Han shouted as Gabriel paced. Nathalie's health was far worse than it had been. She was now bedbound for the foreseeable future and was constantly sick. He had the best doctors look at her but they didn't know what it was. "When I told you that, it wasn't just because I dislike the woman. She can never wear a miraculous ever again!"

"It was fixed!"

"Yes but her soul was still being damaged by it when it was broken!" Su Han shouted, pinching his nose. "She can never wear one again or she will die. Do you understand?!"

"I see," Hawkmoth frowned before he decided to change the subject. "Have you found out anything about Zoe?"

"She is defective," He answered. "I don't know how but that bastard of a mage not only freed her from her training but made it so it can never be done to her again,"

"Mage? So Anatis is the mage,"

"Yes," Su Han frowned. "Your plan to akumatize him is pointless and now he has two boxes. We'll have to have him killed. It isn't the first time I've killed him after all,"

"Killed?!" Hawkmoth growled. "No! I need him alive!"

"What?! You only need his and that mangy cat's miraculous!"

"I want him alive so I can make him watch as I make a wish!" He growled, making Su Han roll his eyes. "He has humiliated me enough. I deserve to make him suffer as I tear apart the world he loves so much!"

"You are a man-child but fine. Have it your way," Su Han declared, leaving. Of course, he wasn't going to keep his promise. The Mage would be dead before the next Ghost festival. Otherwise, all the hard work he put into stealing his wish would be undone. The Yǐnshēnyǐnbì were stood outside, waiting for him. "The boy you saw in battle. The child of the beetle. I want him dead,"

"Yes, Lord Guardian," They all declared before jumping off. Su Han smirked.

"You may be using the Ladybug in this life, Mage but that won't save you,"

#luka couffaine #miraculous ladybug #miraculous #lukanette #rise of anatis #marinette dupain cheng #pro lukamari #anatis au #snake miraculous #dragonbug #snake cat #miracle queen inspired #master fu #zoe lee #wasp miraculous

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