Chapter Text
Alya was excited, while she would rather be interviewing the performers than be a performer for the music competition. She got to spend time with her boyfriend, best friend, and other friendly acquainted she is working up to friend status with. Nino has been distant lately though, thankfully he agreed to DJ their performance allowing for them to be well less distant!
The girls suture off stage with pure confidence in their skill, after Lila finished telling the group how amazing they have been and that her choreographer great great great aunt will be ecstatic!
Unfortunately, Alya thought at least Kitty Section won my friends truly deserve it, they are going to go so far with how talented Rose, Luka, Ivan, and Juleka are!
“ …. please welcome EMPIRE!!!! “Alya looks over at Lila, “Huh I didn’t know we would be getting a concert after our competition; I can so put them on my Lady blog!!” Lila nods with a smile, “my third cousins in the band I’m so sorry to keep it a secret but that’s how she and her band wanted it! I’m sure I could ask them to give you an interview!”
Alya side hugs the other, “girl you’re the best!” The class watches as the drummer, keyboardist, bassist, and guitarist appear on stage. Throughout the crowd, you can hear many comments of appreciation for the American boys.
Once the singer and only female appear on stage, Lila points up at her with a cheerful grin. “Look everyone that’s my cousin, I taught her everything she knows!” Many in the class including Alya praise Lyla, though much to Alya’s confusion she heard Nino have an intake of breath, Kim curse, and Chloe snort. Well, Chloe snorting at another is not uncommon, but Alya could not come up with a reason for the way Nino and Kim’s reactions.
She watches as Nino taps Lyla on the shoulder and asks, “Hey duetted what’s your cousin's name?”
With an angelic smile, Lila answers, “Oh it's Iris!”
“HELLO! We are EMPIRE!!! A lovely little rock band from America, today we have a special guest joining us, so sit back, relax, and enjoy the downfall!” Lenna Shouts out causing the class's attention to go back to the band.
As the chords play and the Marinette doll appears on stage the crowd gasps in amazement.
“Does it make you feel good to make me feel small?
When you're pushing me down, does it make you feel tall?
Pointing out my flaws cause you wanna erase them all
Does it make you feel good to make me feel small?”
The Marinette puppet lifts her head looking at Lyla, Alya gasps looking between the two girls as she recognizes the doll as her friend Marinette.
Alya finally focusing on Lyla sees her friend with tears in her eyes,” Why is my cousin singing with Marinette, why must she come after me in front of everyone!” Alya goes to comfort her friend only for Nino to put an arm on her shoulder with a shake of his head no. Ignoring her boyfriend she goes to comfort the girl anyway. ‘The audacity this girl has and amount of petty it takes to do this. What is Marinette thinking!’ Alya thinks to herself.
The part-time fox holder watches the performance in anger, confusion, and annoyance at her friend. Unaware of Lyla’s fuming, or Kim behind the two looking cautiously at the sausage haired orange and green wearing girl. All Alya could think about was, ‘What is she doing? Marinette wouldn’t do something so drastic without reason, right? No, but—oh that kick was badass, you go girl! Wait no were mad Alya Mad. How dare she attack Lyla like this! But i-it’s Marinette! Oh, that last note who knew this shy girl can sing! Wait costume change, oh this girl outdid herself! Did she get any sleep? Wait not Lyla is crying, but wait none of this makes sense!
The projector plays a girl with curly pink hair and candy pink eyes looked into the camera with a wave and pink eyes, “I’m not sure how to start this.” She begins saying. “But a few years ago, a girl came to my school, she put voices in my best friend’s head saying Zoe wouldn’t amount to anything, she’s not good enough, not worth it, she turned the whole school against my friend including me her best friend against her.” She tears upholding a frame up to the camera showing a picture of her with a beautiful silver-haired purple-eyed teen making a silly face at the camera. Setting it down she helps up a newspaper article making the crowd gasp. Because of it, she killed herself on February 7th. Every action has an equal opposite reaction, Zoe couldn’t do it alone.” She says with tears flowing down her cheeks.
Alya gasp at the screen, ‘what the heck that’s terrible what monster would do such a thing? What’s going on! No one should be alone, it kind of reminds me of when I first met Mari… she was so lonely! But now she is trying to make Lyla into what she was, friendless!’
She watches the image transferred to another girl a blue and pink-haired girl, “This is for my kind and sensitive brother who fell into her rein and lost himself, becoming what he hated. Different kids tell their story articles of kids falling into depression, moving schools, etc.”
Alya listens in disgust at whoever these people are, if it was up to her they would get a fist to the face and a true fight for ruining innocent people's lives. She frowns as a loose memory plays of Marinette becoming less cheerful over time. ‘But where did that behavior start?... when Lyla showed up?! But this can’t be right!’
Marinette’s face pops up and as she speaks Alya’s heart shatters but her brain is in denial.
Marinette Dupain-Cheng the same girl singing is now projected on the screen as well. “You all must be thinking what is this about, well for a couple of years you may have heard me as a liar, or full of jealousy but you are wrong. I just discovered the start of a reign that had yet to begin. For that, I was punished and executed by the crown. By that I was lied about, witnessed lies, slapped, tripped, expelled, how those I love doubt me, pulled into a depression landslide but no more this is my time to stand up, I’m still standing, I’m still breathing, I’m still fighting, and I’m not leaving Lila. This is the end of your rein. The multiple screens pop up with the people from before as the lyric Let me see you, if you hear me, sing along plays they say, “the crown that tore down ( the victim’s name) was the rein of Lila Rossi!”
She turns toward her friend with tear-filled furious eyes and shouts, “YOU DID THIS.” She gets quieter eyes narrowed at the lier, “ You hurt my best friend you did what to her! You cause the most cheerful wonderful girl in the world into depression!” Nino grabs onto Alya holding her back as he glares at Lyla.
Meanwhile, 2 guys in suits are keeping Lyla in place so she cannot escape, though she is pulling a pity party that is falling onto death ears.
Alya watched it all unfold in fury, ‘lies, lies and more lies, this girl could have killed all of our futures, she harnesses my friends, and she hurt my best friend HOW DARE She!’ A voice in her head retaliates with,’ but you did not have to believe her, you were the one to turn your back on the girl who made your life so much better, you fed into the lies and had a contribution to the Rossie Rein as it is called.’
The strong-headed girl crumbles onto the floor sobbing in horror as she watches Lyla chase the akumatized butterfly. It was the last straw, this was too much for her. To be lied to, psychologically manipulated into abandoning her best friend, to have hurt her best friend the way that only she was responsible for was just too much for her to handle.
She’s glad the empress has been executed and no longer in rein, and she is so happy for Marinette for staging up for herself while looking badass! But she ruined everything she was a pon in the chess game the simple jester, she was the puppet, not Marinette. And it's time for her to take Marinette’s lead and break the strings that manipulated her. She gathers herself together as Lila walks out to her metaphorical execution, goes up to the lying fiend fives her the middle finger but blatantly ignores her, and walks away.
The journalist goes back home and explains everything to her family, she grounds herself, but takes time to purge the lies from the lady blog makes an apology video that took her all night to make with all the fact-checking she had to do. Then the next morning she went to the Dupein- Chang bakery and begged at Marinette’s feet for forgiveness. While she was not forgiven right away, she works every single day to become the friend Marinette needs her to be. She will never let the Marinette empire fall on her watch again!
As for Chloe, Kim, and Nino, well while they realized as to what Lila was at different times the truth was truly proven when Lila pointed out her cousin. You see Chloe, Kim, Nino, and Marinette were childhood friends who grew apart. But considering they met Lenna before they definitely knew she was not Lila's cousin. While they didn’t realize the extent Lila has lied to they whee horrified to learn the truth. Which lead to the makeup of the friendship four, and how the three became the knights of the Marinette empire. Forever protective making sure to never abandon their true empire again.
It will take the class along time to grovel enough for Marinette to even begin the healing process with her old classmates, as she transferred into Marc's class but they will get there.
As for Adrien well let's just say a certain Kitty became extremely confused with his feelings once he saw Marinette as confident as he has only ever seen in Ladybug. Come on Rockernette is badass! But seriously plagg and Adrien were beyond furious and accidental cataclysms may have definitely happened on his way back home. After having a long take with Marinette, with a lot of tears mind you. The two are as close as they can be though Marinette is still warry as it is going to take a while for her to truly be ok after the trauma Rossi left behind. But the Rossi Empire has been distinguished. Like all things in history, it is over but never truly forgotten, the lasting impact will shake many for the rest of their lives, but we live and learn and hope it never happens again. As for now, the Rossi empire is to never rise again.