Archive of Our Own

[6:17 am]

"Doll, you know I can't let you do that."

"Doll, are you trying to make me upset?"

"My dear Little Doll, I do this all because I love you."

"St-stop it..."

"Don't you love me, Little Doll?"

"If you loved me, you would do this for me, Little Doll."

"We may talk when you quit acting so defiant, Doll!"

"Don't call me that!"

"My sweet Little Doll, you shouldn't spend time with them."

"They're all such bad influences, Doll."

"Doll, you hear the way they speak about me?"

"Shutupshutupshutup..."

"You don't think that way about me... Do you, Little Doll?"

"You are helpless without me. Never forget that, Little Doll."

"SHUT UP!" Nathaniel thunders. Shooting up from his bed, he grips at his hair, pulling at it and clawing at his scalp as he grits his teeth. Tears spill down his face and drip onto his sheets. His voice and that horrible nickname are still resonating in his head. They're all he can hear like, almost as if he's stuck in a crowded room with people saying the same thing over and over again. The artist resorts to smacking the sides of his head in a futile attempt to mute his voice and words overlapping on each other.

The nightmares used to be rare. Before that, they took over his dreams every night, leaving him screaming and kicking in his sleep as his mom tried fruitlessly to wake him up, and making it so he could never remember the last time he slept. Now they seldom seem to happen, but then that pops into his head out of nowhere! Why now? Why when everything is fine now?!

With a dreadful thought, nausea churns into his stomach, and he staggers out of bed. He looks up at the skylight's window where it is still partially dark. Staring at it for a few seconds more, he stumbles to his window, muttering several curses as he nearly trips over the air in his sleep-deprived state.

"Can you do anything without me, Doll?"

His hands fly up to his mouth to hold back the bile beginning to rise in his throat. He swallows it back and reaches for the curtain. With the fabric held in his white-knuckle grip, he pulls it aside, just to give himself a slight glimpse of the street below. His breathing comes out as a shudder as he darts his eyes all around as they struggle to adjust to the dark. Even with the streetlights still on, they don't illuminate everything.

Nathaniel spends a minute or two staring at this one alleyway across from his home, looking for any sort of movement. Yet, when he finally sees something come into view, he feels stupid for nearly freaking out over a woman going for an early bike ride. The reflectors in the partial dark just looked an awful lot like...

In frustration, he slams the palm of his hand against the glass. Immediately he regrets it, shuts the curtains again, and backs away from the window.

"... Fuck." He stumbles his way to the hall bathroom and feels around for the doorknob in the dark. He doesn't bother with the light switch as the small window provides enough light for him to see his disheveled appearance in the mirror. Feeling another wave of nausea, he leans over the sink. He turns on the sink and gathers some water in his hands to take a couple of sips, repeating the process a few more times before taking a few deep breaths.

With the feeling that he was going to throw up gone- for now- Nathaniel looks back at the mirror. He moves his sweat-soaked hair out of his face and grimaces at the sight of his reflection. He looks just as he did last year when the nightmares started. The dullness in his aquamarine eyes is back along with his skin being at least three shades paler. He looks like he's on his deathbed.

"Such a disappointment, Doll."

Nathaniel only slaps the sides of his head, murmuring, "Shut up," a few times to drown out his voice.

"You seem to have forgotten..."

He seethes. "Sh-shut up!"

"... How a good Little Doll is supposed to look."

"SHUT UP!"

"Nathan-"

Nathaniel sees a drastic change in his appearance for only a brief second before whipping his head around. "LEAVE ME ALONE!" He only sees him, only his face, and throws a punch to make him leave. He grabs his fist, gripping it tight as the redhead writhes and cries profanities. "LET ME GO!"

"Doll, stop being so-" "Nathan!" "Is that any way to talk to me-" "Look at me! I'm-" "Little Doll-" "Please-" The voices stay jumbling together for what feels like hours, hitting Nathaniel's ears at different angles and making it sound as though a dozen people are crowded around him, talking to him all at once. In his desperate attempt to drown out his voice, he hears a different voice. It's faint, but he can make it out.

"Nathan, breathe."

Was he breathing?- Without warning, a cough escapes from him and his body lurches forward. He feels a pair of arms wrap around him and before he can push whoever is holding him away, he starts to feel himself relax in their hold. The tense feeling throughout his body slowly subsides, and his breathing improves.

A soft blue enters his field of vision. "Nathan, can you look at me?" The voice doesn't sound as distant this time; Nathaniel finds himself lifting his head away from the blue... Fabric? Nathaniel's eyes lock on his mother in front of him, holding him tight with gentleness in her eyes. "Nightmares again?"

Nathaniel nods, prompting her to cup his face. He hates himself for flinching, but she doesn't seem to take offense. "Here's not here," she swears, and he wants to believe her, but... "He's not coming anywhere near you again."

He turns rigid at the absurdity of her words. She doesn't know that bastard like he does. He won't stop no matter what. Nathaniel's caught him before, last year, going through his trash to collect all of the "gifts" he had thrown out. He doesn't even want to think about what he's doing with them-

"Nathan?"

"I'm fine," he quickly says and pulls himself out of her embrace, paying no mind to the look of worry across her face. "C-can I just go back to bed, please? I'll be back up in an hour to get ready." With haste, he leaves the bathroom, ignoring his mother trying to call him back. As he's climbing back into bed, he can hear approaching footsteps. "Mom, not now," he murmurs.

"We-we can talk when you're more awake," she offers, but it sounds more like a question. She stands waiting for a response, but it never comes. Sighing, she makes her way over to pull the covers up more. With a kiss on Nathaniel's forehead, she leaves and shuts the door behind her.

Nathaniel buries his face deeper into his pillow. Light is beginning to trickle in, and he'd rather not be reminded that he has to go to school in about two and a half hours. He knows that after that, his mom will be getting ready to call Mme. Bustier and tell her he won't be coming in today, and she would completely understand, considering she was there.

She was just one of the couple of teachers who raised their concerns, who talked to him in private after class to "talk about his assignments," and instead, they offered to make some calls. Each time, he would run out of their classrooms and run into his arms, crying that their classmates were badmouthing their relationship to the teachers. In the back part of his mind, back then, the part that remained uncorrupted by pastels and frilly clothing, he was relieved but also mortified to have more people knowing the extent of their relationship.

He supposed it didn't matter. Hell, everyone at school got a front-row seat to view his humiliation and see how easy it was to break him and turn him into that... That thing, that stupid, manipulatable DOLL! So what are four teachers gonna change?!

He doesn't even realize he punched his headboard until he feels a searing pain in his knuckles. The redhead shoots up from bed and clutches his hand with a white-knuckle grip, hissing through his teeth. He spares his headboard a glance, just to prepare himself and see how much damage his fist might have sustained, and he can't help but wince. There's a clear dent in the wood.

Fortunately, his mom splurged on the material that didn't splinter easily, so that might not be something to worry about.

Nathaniel turns his gaze to his fist, which is already starting to bleed and drip on his bedsheets. It's beginning to look like a crime scene. "Fuck," he repeats on his way out of his room and back into the bathroom. While the faucet water runs over his injured hand, he looks through the medicine cabinet.

"My poor Little Doll. Can you not take care of yourself?"

"How could you listen to them?"

"You know you were much better off, safe in my arms-"

Nathaniel grits his teeth as he sprays the disinfectant on his hand. The slight burning is starting to take his mind off of that damn voice echoing in the back of his head, but it gradually starts to get louder.

"I forgive you. You'll always be my precious Little Doll."

"I'll come back for you very soon, love."

"You can go back to being the darling I know and love."

His scream reverberates through the bathroom when he catches a glimpse of pink in the mirror. Nathaniel's breathing comes out short, choppy as he tears his fingers through his hair in a desperate attempt to rip that fucking bow out! Why won't it come off?!

"Th-that's not m- me, that's- that's not me- THAT'S NOT ME!" He barely notices the hand resting on his shoulder until he whips his head around, finding his mom... Saying something, he thinks, but he can barely hear her. It doesn't even seem like any words are coming out of her mouth.

He can only make out, "He's not here."

… Those words again. What the hell does she know? Did she spend months fearing she would be dragged out of her room at night against her will and locked and chained up somewhere?! He’d do that! Any way to force him to stay- to comply and obey him! She will NEVER know the fear and the sleepless nights! He is not gone, because Nathaniel was too much of a damn coward to make sure he doesn’t get away with that bull again, and he knows he’s biding his time, waiting until he’s alone so he can fuck up his mind all over again and not fail that time!

”He won’t hurt you again,” his mother says softly.

"... He will."

"Nathan-" Any words Aya is about to say die on her tongue. Nathaniel's visible eye twitches, and she breaks eye contact for only a second to see him digging his nails into his palms. "..."

"No. No, go on. Tell me I'm safe," he says, and Aya can hear the edge in his voice, but he maintains the illusion of being calm. "Tell me that I am safe when he's still sitting comfortably at home, probably- No, definitely doing whatever he wants with those photos, and probably wants more." He looks like he wants to say more, but seems to be restricting himself from snapping at her. "He knows where to find me. We didn't move, and I didn't switch schools." He finally raises his voice as he slams his fist against the sink counter. "I was humiliated! Everyone at school saw what he did to me, and I was stupid enough to send that picture to my classmates! I didn't even bother going to the police, and I had to beg them not to do the same; why let an entire courtroom full of strangers see how much of an idiot I am?!"

Aya has no words, and what could she possibly say in response to that? Nathaniel is in neither the mood nor right headspace to listen. She’s almost worried about letting him go to school like this, especially considering that it’s already been a year since he got away from Emani. She has no doubt there will be students staring and whispering, and all that will do is upset him even further. Then there's this unsettling feeling that if she tries to coax Nathaniel into staying home, that won't do any good, either. He doesn't want to be pitied or treated like a victim, but he's still afraid.

When she doesn't say anything, Nathaniel huffs and continues bandaging his hand. "I'm gonna get dressed."

"So early-"

Nathaniel snaps his head toward her. "Yes."

The older redhead watches him leave, her forehead creased with worry. She purses her lips as she grips at the silver charm on her necklace. "Watch over him, Maison."

[5:46 am]

"You know... I'm beginning to see what has you infatuated with this rebound, Little Doll." Emani plucks a photo out of the box and glares at it for a moment. He can certainly understand why his Doll would pick him of all people; it's so obvious. The black hair, the bone structure, and the gem-like eyes. His poor Doll is far too in denial, too deluded after their forced separation. He was so desperate for even a shred of familiarity that he began dating the first guy who bore the most striking resemblance, someone his so-called friends could trust.

It makes so much sense, and yet, his Doll isn't satisfied with that rebound. He knows it; he can see it with his own eyes in the photos. The poor thing's eyes don't light up the way they usually do. He's not looking at that damned rebound the way he did with him, because he knows there can never be a replacement.

Lord knows he's going to be a wreck on today of all days. And those classmates of his, fueling his mind with poison, will be of no help at all. They will just continue to poison his Doll against him, force him to forget the beautiful relationship they had together, and make him love that rebound. The rebound, he can understand, but them? They're forcing his poor Doll to stay close to them until they're sure he can't even remember Emani's name. Then once they've done their dirty work, they'll just toss him aside as usual.

They never cared about his Doll, not like he did and will continue to do. All they do is hurt him, never once paying him any mind until he showed up to school, wearing the adorable skirt he had picked out, and they called it "abuse." He would never. His Doll was just afraid to be his true self; he needed a push. He was more than happy to help his precious Little Doll embrace the life he so wanted, a life without worries, where he could just sit and look pretty, and be doted on and taken care of. No one can take care of his Doll the way he can, no one understands how he is meant to be treated.

He's fragile. So delicate and perfect. He should not be exposed to Akumas and Amoks. If he could, he would drag him out of the city, away from everyone who ever stood in the way of their love and away from the dangers those lousy heroes are doing nothing to prevent. With him, his Doll would finally be able to relax for once in his life and go back to being the perfect boyfriend Emani remembers- Before he allowed everyone to fill his head with poison.

Sighing, he whips out his scissors.

He's extra careful with this photo due to the way his Doll and that rebound are posed. It's perfect; they didn't even notice him with his camera. He was able to capture his Doll's smiling face at just the right moment. And with the beautiful natural light, it almost looks as if he's wearing lighter-colored clothing. It's perfect, save for the rebound, snaking his arms around his Doll. Nothing a pair of scissors and an X-acto blade can't fix.

He shouldn't be doing this so early in the morning. Hell, he almost cut his index finger due to a lack of sleep, but, he had something he needed to take care of in-

His cell phone vibrates as the alarm goes off. Emani taps the 'Snooze' button and reaches for his jacket. Covering up his small shrine behind clothes hanging on the racks, Emani reaches up to the shelf and feels around for a few seconds until he picks up a small white gift box with a pastel purple bow on top. The bow is covered in little intricate floral embroidery. It cost him extra, but nothing's too good for his Little Doll.

If that rebound is not enough proof that his Doll still harbors feelings for him, then it's the fact that he didn't move or switch schools. Victims- something his Doll is not- of stalkers- as they all have dubbed him based on ludicrous opinions- typically find new places to live, look for new jobs miles away so that they can't be found. Some even go so far as to change their names. And, of course, they press charges against their stalker. His Doll stayed in the same place for him to find easily, and not once has he ever gone to the police because what is there to report?

It's because of that, he's obtained so many photos of him looking out his window, walking to school, or even just sketching outside on the stoop leading to his door.

He looks so adorable, acting unaware when he knows he's still around. He could see it in his eyes last year, just a few weeks after their separation. The way his Doll would dart his eyes around as he tried to find him. As much as he would have loved to rush over and scoop him in his arms, those classmates of his insisted on keeping an eye on him at all times.

Probably to make sure he doesn't sneak off to look for Emani- bastards, all of them.

Emani tucks the gift box into his jacket pocket as he opens his nightstand drawer, finding his Polaroid. He's used it plenty of times to capture his Doll's beauty. Now he's being forced to take pictures from afar.

Gradually, he opens his bedroom door and makes his way toward the stairs. He knows his home, every creaky floorboard like the back of his hand. He takes careful steps when going past his sister's room. Brooke is a light sleeper, and if she hears him, she'll go wake up mom and tell her that he's "gone back to old habits."

She was never supportive. Technically, she was fine with him being gay, and he loved her for that. She even bought him a rainbow flag to hang up in his room. Her problem was with his Doll, or, rather how Emani treated him. What would she know? She's never had a boyfriend, so she had no idea how a relationship works.

Brooke behaved just as his Doll's classmates did. First, she acted suspicious, questioning his Doll's sudden change in wardrobe, then has the gall to accuse him of being a gaslighter, or something of the sort, saying he was emotionally abusive. How dare she?! She's supposed to be on his side, tell him he's in the right, and yet, she betrayed him.

There were no comforting words when he was forced by their mom to stay away from his Doll because of the actions of his classmates and none of those cheesy "crying your feelings into a tub of ice cream" moments like they have in those teen dramas. No, instead, all he got were suspicious looks and side eyes.

Now his own sister treats him like the plague. When she's not avoiding him, Brooke's looking for new ways to antagonize him. Any time she sees him with a camera, she always demands to see the photos he's taken and then shows them to their mom, who has to steady herself before she even looks at them. He doesn't know who put that "abusive stalker" rumor in her head, but he's beginning to suspect a certain pinkette.

Emani doesn't bother going down the stairs, opting to slide down the rail. The first five at the top creak, and he doesn't see himself getting past those without being heard. From there, he breezes right through the front door, not a sound to be heard.

Allowing muscle memory to guide him, he takes a look at his surroundings to make sure no one he knows is around. Kim seems like the type to go for early runs, so he's someone to look out for. The same goes for Denise and a few students from M. Grotke's class. An encounter with Shadow Moth would be better than running into them.

It's not long before he finds himself nearing his Doll's neighborhood. Just to be on the safe side, he pulls his hood over his head before ducking into an alley hardly illuminated by the street lights. It's a good thing he did. A second later, his Doll would have seen him. Beaming, Emani pulls out his phone and opens up the camera so he can zoom in on his Doll's face. Just as perfect as he remembered. A little rattled, he notices.

Any photo is better than none he supposes. He points and shoots his camera, and he can't help but flinch at the brightness of the flash in the dark. Fortunately, a cyclist rides by right at that moment with some reflectors. Emani doubts they saw him, but his Doll suddenly hitting his window before shutting the curtains raises some concern.

'Must have had a rough night.' That's to be expected. Emani has watched his Doll carefully over the past year; he's been having nightmares ever since their breakup, and it makes sense they would start up again today.

Emani sprints over to the townhouse and places the gift box in front of the door. He doesn't bother knocking, deciding to let his Doll sleep a little while longer after what must have been a horrible nightmare. He's sure that once he sees his present, he will be overjoyed by the little reminder of the life he used to have.

As much as he would love to stay and see his reaction when he makes the walk to school, he has been up all night and Brooke will no doubt question his whereabouts.

He can't for the love of God figure out what her problem is. She seemed to love his Doll, even going so far as to call him her 'future brother-in-law' before. It's like she was anticipating a reason, any reason to antagonize Emani or something. He doesn't know what he has done before to warrant her hostility, but it's getting old.

Emani sighs to himself but then whips his head in alarm when he hears a scream. It takes every ounce of strength and willpower in his body to not run back to the townhouse and rapidly knock on the door to check and make sure his Doll is safe. However, the screaming dies down, but it doesn't help to ease Emani's worries. After all, he should be the one to console his Doll, to hold him in his arms and dissuade any worries plaguing his poor, innocent mind.

But, he can wait. Some day soon, his Doll will come back, begging and pleading for Emani to take him away from his awful friends, and Emani will be there to welcome him back with open arms... Granted, he does exactly as he says. He can't let the same mistakes be made all over again, and that won't happen unless his Doll stays the compliant, perfect boyfriend he knows and loves, and not one so easily persuaded by those who don't have his best interests at heart.

He's sure he'll return. And if not, then... Well, with Akumas plaguing the city on nearly a weekly basis, he's certain it will be easy for people to blame Shadow Moth if his Doll were to just one day disappear. He knows his darling's schedule inside and out. It shouldn't be too difficult to find moments where he's all on his own. His Doll will understand and probably even swoon in his arms once he sees him again!

Oh, maybe once he lays eyes on his gift, he'll realize that he is the only person he needs in his life.

[8:05 am]

... How dare he?

How FUCKING DARE HE?!

Nathaniel takes the wretched thing out of the box and throws it to the ground. When that's not enough, he steps on it and drags his shoe across the ground enough times that the old paint on the soles of his shoes stains the fake flower petals. He doesn't stop until the dye smears against the concrete.

To blow off more steam, he slaps at the doorframe, which earns him a few strange looks from people. He doesn't care, and in a fit of rage, bashes his head against the door, the distant peal of thunder in the distance mirroring his rage. With a hiss through his teeth, he slaps the doorframe one more time before storming off right as Aya opens the door.

"Nathan?..." He doesn't respond. She moves to go after him but then steps on something. A quiet gasp escapes when she sees the remains of the flower crown. She whips her head around and sees that Nathaniel has already rounded the corner at the end of the block.

"O, got," she shudders. "Neyn, nisht vider." She steadies herself, feeling faint, but then sinks to her knees when she sees the gift box.

"Miss Aya?"

"Are you alright, lass?"

The concerned voices of her neighbors turn to background noise as she picks up the gift box and reads what's written at the bottom.

'Happy anniversary, Little Doll.'

"Someone... Get... Get my phone, please."

Aurore gives a concerned look as Mireille clenches and unclenches her fists. "You really shouldn't be practicing on school nights, you know," she says with worry in her tone. Passing her parasol to Mireille's uninjured hand, she readjusts her wrist brace a bit. "How did this even happen?"

"My form was off," she admits sheepishly and hands the parasol back. "I-I guess I was a bit tired, too. Maybe a little peeved." When the blonde gives her that all-knowing look, she says, "No, he didn't do anything. To me, I mean. Théo called him, and you know how their conversations usually go, and- He just had no right to say that kind of stuff to him," she huffs.

"Rain cloud, I love your spirit," Aurore coos. "I do. But you can't over-exert yourself like that again."

The bluenette fondly rolls her eyes. She knows Aurore is right, but boxing helps her release pent-up stress and anger. Mostly stress, due to frequent Akumas and Amoks. But, before Hawkmoth made his debut and before Alec kept trying to thrust her into the spotlight, she took classes for self-defense purposes. Her past schoolmates had a ball chasing her to her house before and when she started transitioning, yelling all sorts of threats— at her and Théo.

Théo was terrified of fighting back and potentially making things worse, so he transferred schools. Mireille, however, sought to stand up for themself. The instructor was nice and taught them all the basics of self-defense. Mireille turned out to be somewhat of a natural with their quick reflexes, and with three classes a week, they could flip a kid twice their size over their shoulder. No one messed with Mireille after that, but their mom still had them transfer to Françoise DuPont which enforced a strict zero-tolerance policy.

... Sure.

There were one or two people who tried to start something, but with a majority of the student body being members of the queer community, they got shut down fast. But, besides bullies, stress, and pent-up anger toward Alec, Mireille found boxing to be an enjoyable activity to do in her spare time. As a plus, it's hilarious when people look surprised to hear that she, one of the quietest students in Mme. Mendeleiev's class enjoys boxing.

"I can't help it if I'm a scrapper," Mireille giggles, and Aurore lightly slaps her arm. "Okay, I'll take a break until my wrist feels better."

"You wait a week after your wrist feels better," Aurore asserts. "Until then, how about you and I do some yoga together? Come on," she goads when the bluenette sighs. "It's fun, and relaxing, there's tea, and I'll be wearing cute yoga pants." Noticing a slight pink tint to the bluenette's face, she giggles and kisses her on the cheek. "You're thinking about it, and we're going."

"I guess I have no choice," Mireille says coyly. "Okay, just send me the details." The two continue their walk to school, unbothered by the rainfall, and pass the time by watching bunny videos on Aurore's phone. While the blonde scrolls for more content, Mireille catches a bit of red out of the corner of her eyes. A greeting almost escapes from her until a look of realization crosses her face when she sees the state of her friend. "... 'Rore?"

"Hm?" She doesn't look up from her phone.

"Are we... Are we gonna tell Marc about... Him any time soon?" It takes the blonde a moment to understand her question, and it's not until she spots Nathaniel, that she realizes. Her expression morphs into one of worry, then with her lips pulled inward, she looks away from the artist.

"That's entirely up to Nathaniel. Marc's gonna notice his mood and of course, he'll ask questions." She glances once more at the redhead, seeing a few students from DuPont moving out of his way. It's like this unspoken rule the witness students had, ever since the first time last year when Nathaniel came to school looking as though he'd been dragged through hell and back.

A handful- ignorant bastards, in Aurore's opinion- pegged it as him being saddened by his breakup. Never has Aurore wanted to punch someone so much. This one girl had the gall, the fucking audacity to recommend to Nathaniel that he talk things over with Emani, and even suggested that he was at fault for their breakup because he "overreacted." It sickened Aurore to hear her words, and before she could give her a quick slap across the face, Nathaniel subjected her to the verbal lashing of a lifetime. 

It was a proud moment on Nathaniel's end, but some people still couldn't get it through their thick skulls that the "relationship" was built on nothing but manipulation, gaslighting, and a very toxic dynamic. Denise was especially appalled by what Emani had turned Nathaniel into- this twisted idea of femininity taken to the extreme.

It even got to a point that Nathaniel became painfully insecure about what he wore and cried whenever Emani would so much as raise an eyebrow at something he didn't like.

With a heavy sigh, Aurore and Mireille make their way up the stairs, passing by several students who had not gotten the memo about the forecast and are covering their heads with their bags. Just near the front doors, she and Mireille spot Marc with an umbrella, likely waiting for Nathaniel. As soon as he spots him without anything covering his head, the noirette hurries over and covers his boyfriend. One or two students tense up, but to their surprise and disbelief, Nathaniel curls up close to Marc, burying his face in the fabric of his hoodie.

"Are you okay?" Mireille hears him ask. Silence follows, and the bluenette flinches when bright green eyes meet their brown ones. Marc notices their apprehension, but his expression, a mix of questioning and worry is met with a slight shake of their head. The writer nods and walks Nathaniel up the stairs. Many students decide to mind their own business, but there are still some lingering looks.

Mireille blows her bangs out of her face in a huffish manner. 'Please, don't let anyone start anything.'

"Y-you're sure?... No! No, I believe you, it's... Yes. Yes, Mme. Kurtzberg, I'll keep an eye on him... I can organize for M. Kubdel to pick him up if you'd like... Okay... Okay, bye." Caline sets her phone down when the other redhead hangs up. Sighing to herself, she looks up and sees the worried look of her fellow staff members. "She's certain it's him."

As she looks around the room, she notices several different reactions. Olga and Alonzo appear alarmed and greatly disturbed, Jean-Pierre seems to be holding in his fury, looking closer to snapping than Armond, and Fred is biting the nail of his thumb, clenching and unclenching his fist as he does so.

The science teacher sighs and drags her fingers through her hair. "Okay. Okay, let's look at the facts here. Emani Pulateur wouldn't dare try to go after Nathaniel now that Shadow Moth is active. Maybe last year, but now? He knows our students," She gestures to herself, Caline, and Alonzo. "Despise him and what he's done. It'd be a death wish if he were to try anything here."

"Do not underestimate the cur," Armond warns. "He is cunning- I will give him that- Knew how to get into heads-"

"Head," Jean-Pierre corrects with a bit of bite in his tone. "Nathaniel's friends all knew exactly what he was doing to him. He didn't trick them for a second." The fencing teacher nods stiffly. "But, you are right about Emani being deceptive. And those who weren't here to witness..." He clears his throat. "Will surely believe any tale he spins."

Caline continues, "Which is why I'd like for us to keep an eye out for anyone or anything out of the ordinary. I doubt Emani wouldn't go so far as to learn Nathaniel's new schedule, and last I heard, he was attending Vadim Bastille. Their hours are different from ours, so if I'm right, he's got about a thirty-minute window to come here and harass Nathaniel in any sort of way."

"Caline, are you certain he would even dare to set foot in here again?" The purple-haired teacher asks.

"It never hurts to be cautious," Alonzo chimes in. "Olga, that boy is not right in the head. It's a wonder he wasn't sent away to a facility of some sort. He truly believed he was in the right, that everything he was doing to Nathaniel was in his best interests. He was... He was obsessed with this idea he had for Nathaniel and probably still is. He won't stop until he gets the perfect feminine boyfriend he wants." With that, he takes a sip of his tea. "I despise what that boy's done, but his drive is impressive and disturbing. And that gift box he left shows he's still ballsy."

They all hate that he's right, Jean-Pierre especially. He watched for months as Nathaniel slowly turned into a shell of his former self, giving up everything that made him happy all to make Emani happy. It shows how deeply Emani drilled into his head his idea of what a "good boyfriend" should be. It disheartened the art teacher when he watched the young redhead throw away his sketchbook, knowing he couldn't do anything to get him to change his mind, not when Emani had him wrapped around his finger and intended to keep him that way.

"Alright," he sighs. "Caline, you said you'd arrange for M. Kubdel to take Nathaniel home?" She nods. "Good. We'll circle back to this if Emani harasses him again. Right now, let's try not to worry. He knows the consequences of showing his face here." With that, he grabs his umbrella. "Have a good day, everyone." He quickly opens his umbrella as the rain starts to pour into the room and leaves, the door shutting behind him.

"My sweet Doll, how could you betray me?"

Nathaniel blinks, trying to focus on Mme. Bustier's lesson, but her words are becoming garbled, damn near unintelligible until it's white noise.

"Did you have to overreact in such a manner?"

'... I wasn't overreacting! SHUT UP!'

"You don't think you were a little paranoid?"

'YOU WERE TAKING PHOTOS OF ME WITHOUT ME KNOWING!' He claws at his scalp with one hand and digs at the wood of his desk with the other. 'You took me away from my friends!'

"I wasn't hurting you; you know that."

'You... YOU WERE! You were trying to turn me into-!'

"Desperate for attention, Doll? You know you can always-"

"-on the board?" A loud scraping sound startles the teacher and students, who all whip their heads toward the back. Nathaniel is visibly shaking, gritting his teeth as he takes heavy breaths, his chest rising and falling with each one. His visible eye doesn't even seem to be focused and Max is sure he sees his pupil vibrating. Chloé physically cringes when he sees his nails digging into the desk.

Steadily, Juleka moves toward the redhead and takes hold of his hand. He violently flinches, prompting her to lighten her touch. "I'm just gonna..." Carefully, she lifts his hand off his desk, and some wood dust lodged between his nails and fingers scatters onto the surface.

"Nath?" Alix's voice seems to have an effect. His posture becomes less stiff and his breathing slowly turns normal. The look across his face makes it seem as though he's just now becoming aware of his surroundings, looking startled when he notices Juleka holding his hand and the scratch marks on his desk. "Hey, are you-"

"Fine," he says quickly and pulls his hand away. "I... I'm going to the bathroom." Not waiting for permission, he hurries down the stairs and out of the door. His classmates and teacher are left in stunned silence and worry.

The redhead pulls his jacket over his head and bolts for the locker room, nearly slipping on the wet floor, but he steadies himself. His hand flies up to his chest as his breathing starts becoming choppy. This earns him some strange looks from some other students, but he can't be bothered to care. He just wants to get the wood dust out from under his nails and get the day over with.

However, it seems the universe refuses to give him a break.

"Nathaniel! Can we talk?"

It takes him a moment to make out the girl's face. He thinks she's a grade ahead. Céline, if he remembers. 'Why does she want to talk to me? How the hell does she even know my name? We've never said one word to each other; who the hell is this girl?'

"I know you're probably not in the mood to talk-"

'That's the understatement of the year.' "No, not really," he interrupts, about to turn on his heel, but she just keeps talking.

"It's perfectly fine, what you're feeling." She takes Nathaniel's silence as permission to continue. "And, I get it, you just want things to be better, to forget about the past... The past ugliness-"

'Where the hell is she going with this?'

"-But... If I could be honest for a bit... What you did to Emani was uncalled for."

The room becomes dead silent. One student hightails it out of the room, not even bothering to collect his belongings.

"... What?" He hisses, voice laced with enough acid to melt through steel. Céline, though? She doesn't notice his tone.

"He wasn't hurting you, you know? Was it wrong for him to want his boyfriend to dress nicely? Plus, you looked so adorable in that purple dress with the little frills," she gushes.

'Oh, she's one of them.'

"And, you can't believe everything your friends tell you. Abuse? Come on, that's a stretch. How is dolling you up considered abuse? Emani wouldn't lay a finger on you."

"Céline, shut up," a girl whispers, but she ignores her.

"And not to mention that whole thing with the pictures," she laughs. Laughs. "Of course, you'd be his muse, especially when you dressed so adorably and parted your hair the way you used to-"

'It wasn't my choice; what is she saying?!'

"Sorry, I'm getting off-topic. What I wanted to talk to you about was that you didn't have to replace Emani with Marc."

"..."

"I get it. He kinda looks like Emani, but that's not gonna fill the void." She continues, "Don't get me wrong, Marc is sweet. Hell, if he were here last year, Emani probably would have scooped the cutie up. I get why you wanted to date him, though; he kind of looks like Emani-"

'No.'

"-you probably miss how Emani treated you before. I know I would love to be doted on and have a cute guy buy me all sorts of gifts."

'Shut. Up.'

"I'm not saying you should break up with Marc, but, maybe ask for a break and see how Emani is. I bet he misses you as much as you probably miss him. Oh, but you should apologize for overreacting and calling him a stalker, though, I'm sure he doesn't blame you for that, it was just your classmates getting in your head, you know?"

"..."

"You done fucked up, bitch," the same girl who told her to shut up mutters.

Nathaniel is silent for the longest time. It unnerves a few lingering students as he narrows his eyes. They're afraid to move when he opens his mouth to speak. "... You do realize I spent long months trapped under his thumb, right? It was an endless, crushing darkness. He seized control of me and harmed me emotionally and psychologically. I could do nothing but watch from the back of my mind as he turned me into his plaything, his obedient doll for him to own and control. I gave up my friendships, my passions, and my comfort all for him. He had me believe that he was the only good thing in my life by making me believe I was helpless, frail, stupid, and could only rely on him and him alone. Seeing that shrine of his, though?"

Céline, her skin deathly pale, sweats anxiously as Nathaniel takes a step closer to her. She flinches when he snaps his fingers.

"It snapped everything back into place... But thanks... For reminding me of such pleasant times."

Everyone finally feels like they can breathe again when Nathaniel goes into the bathroom. A few cast Céline wary or disapproving looks as they leave her alone in the locker room, at least until she regains her senses and bolts out of the room.

Seething, Nathaniel continues to throw cold water in his face. He got a look at his face in the mirror when he stormed in, and it was not great. He looked like hell with dark bags under his eyes, his skin more pale than usual, and... Are those scratches on his face? What the hell did he do to himself?

His hands suddenly flinch when a burning pain courses through them. "Fuck." He unravels his bandages a bit to find some blood leaking from one of the cuts. Ripping off the soaked bandages, he runs his hand under the cold water and uses the bandages to wipe off any blood. With those ruined, he gathers a bunch of paper towels, more than he needs, and soaks up any blood still leaking from his cuts.

Is this why he's so pale? Has he been losing more blood since this morning? He sets the water on hot to try and bring some color back to his face. He grits his teeth as the scalding water hits his cupped palms, and then throws it in his face. He quickly reaches for a damp paper towel to cool his skin down a bit. When relief hits, he uncovers his face, and his scream reverberates through the bathroom.

Nathaniel backs away from the mirror until his back is pressed up against one of the stall doors. "Leave me alone!" He snarls, storming over and jabbing his finger in the mirror. "Get out of my damn life, you idiot! I'm not you!"

His reflection innocently tilts his head, his bangs kept in place by the pink glittery clips. "Of course, you are. He can't stay mad at his little Doll."

"Shut up! Just shut the fuck up! You were an idiot to ever allow this to happen! You let him turn you into this pathetic plaything just to just to break whenever he felt like it! YOU-!" Shakily, he lowers his finger when the pastel-clad version of himself disappears, replaced by his actual reflection. "..."

His legs eventually give out and he falls to his knees, his head resting against the edge of the counter...

Then he hears the door open.

~Earlier~

He knows. He knows this is far too risky, but Emani's strangely feeling lucky today. He knows the current weather is usually seen as a bad omen, but he's sure today's date contradicts the superstition. Besides, he wants to see the smile on his Doll's face as soon as he lays eyes on him, and that flower crown will only enhance his beauty, too. That's just something he refuses to miss!

His homeroom teacher didn't show up for class and had neglected to find a substitute. On rare days such as that, that means the class is given an hour to an hour and a half of free period to study, goof off, and even go off campus until their next class. That gives him a window to run to DuPont, see his Doll, hopefully before his class starts, and then head back to Vadim with at least twenty minutes to spare. He's not going to miss it, and he is most certainly not going to let a little rain deter him. He barrels past people walking, sprinting along the crosswalks until he makes it to the roofless school.

A wave of nostalgia hits, prompting him to pull his hoodie down some more until it covers the top half of his face. He can't risk being seen by anyone here, at least not now. Once his Doll takes him back and finally listens to him about severing ties with those dreadful friends of his, then maybe they'll finally get the hint and stop trying to interfere. Staring up at the front doors, he takes a deep breath and begins making his way up the stairs, trying to look as inconspicuous as possible.

Fortunately, he doesn't have to pull his hood down due to the open ceiling. Honestly, for such a prestigious school, one would think they'd splurge on a roof what with all the wealthy students attending, not wanting to get their expensive hairstyles wet. Thoughts aside, he darts his eyes around the courtyard looking for the redhead.

However, Emani can't help but flinch when several students he recognizes pass by him. Victoria is headed to class alongside Gerard, clearly invested in something the redhead is talking about. He starts to turn his head away, only to quickly face the front when he spots Mireille walking out of the locker room.

Before his transfer to Vadim, Emani considered letting his Doll be friends with the bluenette. She was shy, quiet, and so polite, all the things he wanted for his Doll. He needed to be around people like her, but then Emani found out about her after-school activity. He'd never let his delicate boyfriend become friends with such a brute. It seemed as though no one was good enough to be friends with him, and honestly, Emani didn't mind that. All that meant was he could have his Doll all to himself without anyone corrupting or stealing him.

Yes, his Doll didn't need friends. He just needed him, his boyfriend to provide him with all that he wanted and to protect him. What was he thinking back then, trying to find him "good influences?"

He continues searching. It shouldn't be this hard; there are only about ten students with red hair, but he can't find any sign of his Doll and doesn't want to go into any classrooms. He won't have an excuse to leave his hood up and his past classmates will pounce on him the moment they see his face... Yeah, he'll wait in the courtyard.

But, as if a deity had taken pity upon him, he sees his Doll floating up the stairs. It's almost as if time is slowing down for him so he can take in the almost ethereal beauty of his Doll, the way his hair flows so gently behind him, the careful and delicate steps he takes up the wet stairs, and his eyes. He nearly faints when his Doll turns his head. His beautiful diamond eyes seem almost brighter in the rain. He's as breathtaking as he remembers... Sans the clothing.

How could his classmates possibly think that looks right for him? It's completely unflattering, doing nothing to highlight his beauty. Emani sighs sadly to himself, but he knows he can fix that.

Then he realizes. Emani spent so much time staring at his Doll's face and lamenting over his clothing, that he almost didn't notice. Where's his flower crown? Did he not like it? He had purchased it in purple and spent forever finding the perfect design. He had to have seen it when he left this morning... Unless those wretched classmates of his took it away. His Doll knows better than to decline his gifts as he knows how much thought and love he puts into each of them, to show how much he adores him.

He needs to get him out of here.

RIIING!

But, it looks like that'll have to wait. As discreetly as possible, he speedwalks toward the locker room, hiding behind a row of lockers as students start to make their way out. There are a few stragglers, though. It's fine, he'll wait it out.

Then, he can go look for his Doll, bring him somewhere private, and let him know how much he misses him... He'll surely fall into his arms, sobbing his eyes out and begging for him to take him back. Of course, Emani would forgive him, but he'd just like to see his Doll's beautiful eyes brimming with tears for a moment.

When thirty minutes pass, Emani decides to pass the time by scrolling through his photo gallery. He'll be running out of space soon, but he has to make do with his phone so his Doll won't hear the flash of his camera. He finds himself so enthralled that he doesn't hear the door open, not looking up from his phone until he hears-

"Nathaniel!"

His breath hitches and he nearly drops his phone. Fumbling for a moment, he quickly catches it before he can hit the floor and holds his breath as he listens in.

'No way...' Still, he peers out from behind a row of lockers and can't help his lips curling upwards when he sees his beautiful Doll. Even unkempt and tired-looking, he still looks so beautiful. Instinctively, he holds his phone up to take a couple of photos but he can't get the right angle.

"C'mon, move," he whispers, but knows that the girl- Cerise? Selene? He can't remember- can't hear him. Can't life just throw him another bone? It brought his doll to him, so why can't it just make her move?! He's barely getting half of his Doll's face, and he's not risking having anyone hear him by moving to a new position.

'What does she have to say to him that's so important?' Emani listens in, finding none of this one-sided conversation even the least bit interesting until he hears her utter, "What you did to Emani was uncalled for." The locker room falls silent. Emani has to resist the urge to scream with delight, and instead, he bites his lip.

There was someone on his side! Finally! She's not blinded by this- this corrupted moral compass like the others! Sheila, or whatever her name is, knows his Doll was happy with him, that he'd never harm or abuse him, and only wanted what was best for him!

"... you didn't have to replace Emani with Marc."

... He knew it. When biting his lip isn't enough, Emani bites the jaw strings of his jacket as he continues to listen to the one rational person at this damn school!

"... Hell, if he were here last year, Emani probably would have scooped the cutie up."

He blinks. Caught off guard, the jaw string falls out of his mouth... He'll admit, that rebound is quite eye-catching, albeit a little too tall for his tastes and his obsession with soccer is off-putting, but his face makes up for it. He has beautiful naturally long lashes, soft pink lips, and mesmerizing emerald-green eyes. Now, of course, his Doll is adorable, but the rebound has this charm to him. Who knows? Maybe if the rebound had gone to DuPont last year, Emani would have had two boyfriends to dote on.

"... you should apologize for overreacting and calling him a stalker, though, I'm sure he doesn't blame you for that, it was just your classmates getting in your head, you know?"

'Where was she when we were dating?!' It would have been nice to know there was one or possibly even more on his side last year. The majority must have made them too afraid to say anything. Well, no matter. She- whatever her name is- is right. Emani can't find it in him to blame his Doll for a moment of weakness. He was under so much stress from his classmates badmouthing his boyfriend and he said things he didn't mean. Once he has him alone, then-

Oh, he won't have to wait for that. When whatever her name is leaves, Emani finds himself alone in the locker room. His grin widens, and Emani makes his way toward the bathroom and reaches for the doorknob, but stops short when he hears screaming he can't make out through the door.

"Get out of my damn life... shut the fuck up! You were an idiot-!... Just to break whenever he felt like it!"

Concern sets in. Emani opens the door and locks it behind him. He can't have anyone interrupting. His Doll whips his head around, his eyes widening in disbelief as he pulls down his hood. He can't believe he's here. Of course, he's thrilled to finally see him after so long.

"What are you doing here?" The redhead asks with a faint tremor in his voice, but Emani hears it all too well. The poor thing, he's scared of the others knowing he's here.

So he assures him, "They can't hurt you, Little Doll. No one's going to bother us now. I know this is not ideal, but seeing you after all this time makes up for it." He reaches for his hand, but he snatches it away, smacking his hand in the process. Emani tries not to show he's upset as he knows the reaction was not his fault. "Doll, it's alright," he says softly.

"Get out."

Emani flinches at his tone.

"... You know I love you, Doll," he says with a soft smile but maintains a firm voice. He takes a step forward, ignoring the redhead's quickened breathing and unfocused eyes. "However, you need to stop this behavior. I am taking a big risk by being here, and I expect some gratitude from you."

"Now, let me see both of those pretty eyes." As Emani moves his hand toward his face, Nathaniel remains still. However, the moment he feels his bangs shift, Nathaniel suddenly lashes out, swiping his nails at Emani's arm. The sound of his scream reverberates through the bathroom as he clutches his arm, which is now marked with deep scratch wounds that have already begun to bleed.

With a shaky breath, he looks at Nathaniel and starts backing away when laughter escapes past his lips. "What? Are you scared of your precious little doll, Emani? You can't handle being the pathetic one for once in your life?!" His lips curl into a smile and Emani backs away. He doesn't get very far when Nathaniel grabs his hand and squeezes it hard. "You tried to strip me of everything!" He yells over his pained screams. "My comfort! My freedom! My dignity!"

"D-Doll, calm down- Aah!" He yells again when he feels Nathaniel's grip tighten.

"You can't control me again," he sneers.

Emani manages to pull his hand away but also sustains a few more scratches. "Doll, you don't know what you're saying!" He snaps. What was wrong with him?

"Shut up! SHUT! UP! I want you out of here and out of my life! I will never go back to being your goddamn doll! YOU are never going to take control of me! YOU are never going to look for me!" He slams his fist down on the counter. "YOU are never going to take me away from Marc!"

'That stupid rebound.' A dark look crosses Nathaniel's face. Dread washes over Emani when he realizes he has said that out loud. Before Emani knows it, a fist is colliding with his face.

This wasn't at all how things were supposed to go! His Doll was supposed to be falling into his embrace, pleading for protection from everyone who had a role to play in their separation. Not... THIS!

He doesn't think things can get any worse as he backs away toward the door, only stopping dead in his tracks when he notices the black butterfly. "Doll-!"

"SHUT UP!" His breath hitches when the Akuma makes contact with his ring.

Deep in his lair, Shadow Moth staggers and falls to his knees, only holding himself up with his cane. "I need to be quick,' he thinks to himself and rises back to his feet as he ignores the searing pain coursing through his head.

"Wrath, I do not think introductions are in order. Now comes the time for you to unleash your rage and exact revenge on the one who has hurt you by doing what he has done- Taking away the powers of others, thereby making you stronger. All I need in return are Ladybug and Chat Noir's Miraculous."

"Took you long enough."

Emani bolts for the door when the black and purple cloud of dark magic begins to encase Nathaniel. He wasn't expecting the small number of students in the locker room. None of them bother to look his way or chide him for pushing them out of his way when their attention is drawn to a crash coming from the bathroom.

He does, however, get the attention of many students and teachers who heard the commotion and left their classrooms, likely fearing an Akuma.

"YOU!" Alix practically snarls, her cold blue eyes zeroing in on him.

Kim adds with an alarming amount of hate in his voice, "I told you, if you showed your face here again, I would rip your balls off!" He and Alix are halfway down the stairs when the locker room door is sent flying off its hinges and leaves a cloud of dust in the doorway. Many on instinct duck to the floor, but a few stand with their phones out to record the threat.

Emani takes a step back, his heart racing in his chest. Through the dissipating dust, he can make out the outline of the figure stalking toward him.

Narrowed eyes glowing a bright menacing red, they step forward through the dust, and students watching get a good look at the muscular stature of what they assume is an Akuma who could almost rival Denise and Ivan. The Akuma's wild, red hair cascades down their back in a tangled mass, falling almost to their waist. A chain-link belt is wrapped tightly around their waist, the silver spikes gleaming in the rain. The belt matches the black choker and wrist cuffs, both adorned with broken chains that hang limply from them.

The Akuma only has to tilt their head up slightly for Marc, eyes widened with recognition to gasp, "Nath?"

The akumatized artist's lips curl into a snarl when Emani shifts a glare to Marc, and without any hesitation, Wrath swipes at Emani with unsheathed claws. The entire courtyard gasps and covers their eyes to avoid seeing what is sure to be a bloody mess, but it never comes. Instead, Emani had jumped backward just in time, and only his shirt sustained three long claw marks going through the fabric.

"Little Doll-"

Wrath's second attempt at an attack is interrupted by "WAIT!" His claws stop just short of an inch from Kim's face.

"Get out of my way!" He thunders and bares his sharp teeth, but Kim remains unmoved.

"N-Nath, just- just hear me out," he stammers. "Emani definitely deserves some sort of punishment-" He ignores Emani's offended "Hey!" "B-but not like this!" He quickly adds when a snarl escapes from the back of the Akuma's throat. "We know what he did, and... Nath, you can't do this." A beat of silence passes, but just when Kim thinks he's getting through to his friend, his face is suddenly grabbed, claws digging into the sides of his head and making it nearly impossible for him to free himself.

"Don't tell me what to do!" Kim's body suddenly seizes. If Wrath weren't holding him up, he'd collapse to the floor as it appears his legs seem to have given out, followed by the rest of his body going slack. Everyone watches in horror as the color begins to drain from Kim's body, starting from his feet and up to his head until he's a pale grey, and simultaneously, glowing red veins creep up Wrath's arm. His eyes glow a bright red and his hair plumes out before falling back into place, now visibly longer and reaching his ankles.

Emani is so shaken that he can't even think about running. He doubts he'd even make it to the door before his Doll got a hold of him.

Wrath lets Kim fall to the floor and sets his sights back on Emani, who decides to take his chances and run to the door. He spares a glance over his shoulder and breathes a breath of relief when he sees Denise and Ivan trying to restrain him. Neither seems too eager to go out of their way for him, but as long as they're keeping that thing at bay, he can leave with no problems.

"GET OFF OF ME!" The Akuma roars and surprises everyone once more with his incredible display of strength, ripping his arms out of their hold and grabbing Denise and Ivan's wrists before promptly slamming them into each other. With them momentarily incapacitated, he does to them what he did with Kim, and Denise and Ivan are left sprawled out on the floor, much to the horror of Simon and Myléne.

"Did he just get bigger?" Ismael stammers, eyes widening in disbelief when he and everyone else see Wrath shooting up at least two feet, and in addition, gaining more muscle mass.

His near-deafening roar sparks something in everyone, and they hurry for the exit. Those in a desperate attempt to escape push others out of their way, but soon find themselves within Wrath's grasp, drained of their color and the will to even stand. With several more people sprawled out on the floor, red spikes now protrude from different areas of Wrath's arms.

He leaps onto the roof of the school and scans the panicked streets below for any sign of Emani.

An animalistic snarl escapes through his lips when he spots the familiar head of black hair just a block away. He jumps from rooftop to rooftop before landing on the road, the concrete beneath him cracking and forming a crater. Cars swerve out of the way, and throwing one of his arms out in front of him, the chain attached to his cuff lengthens and surges for a car, snagging it by the bumper.

The driver, startled by the sudden appearance of Wrath, does not put his car in park and hastily exits the vehicle. In sheer terror, he watches as Wrath grabs hold of a chain and with the strength of a professional hammer thrower, he hurls the car in Emani's direction. As Emani runs for his life, Ladybug's yoyo comes to his rescue, wrapping around his waist and pulling him out of harm's way. The car skids down the road, narrowly missing Emani.

Pushing Emani aside, Ladybug attempts to placate the Akuma. "Nathaniel, please, listen to me- This isn't right- ACK!" Her hands fly up to the chain suddenly bound around her neck. She tries not to struggle too much to avoid cutting off any more of her airflow, but then she finds herself in Wrath's grasp. By her wrists, he lifts her so that she's at his eye level. "Nathaniel, you can't hurt him," she says firmly, desperation in her voice.

Ladybug tenses as blood-red eyes devoid of all but rage bore into her. "What would you know?" His voice was nearly unrecognizable, sounding like a much gravelly version of Evillustrator's. "You weren't THERE!" He throws her into a parked bus. The impact causes it to tilt back before falling on its side with a loud crash. Ladybug staggers to her feet upon hearing the rapidly approaching footsteps, but Wrath gets to her first. 

"DON'T TALK LIKE YOU KNOW!" Before Ladybug knows it, she's being thrown to the ground. Her suit absorbs most of the blow, but it's still a struggle for her to stand back up. Her eyes slowly open and she sees Wrath's fist raised. Before he can land a quick blow, a familiar staff strikes him in the side. Wrath yells and bends over in paint. Ladybug smiles to herself as Chat Noir swoops in and carries her to safety.

"Sorry for the lateness, m'lady."

"Don't worry about it," she assures. "Nice hit back there."

The blonde hero looks off to the side. "I had some help." Ladybug turns to see Mireille and Aurore hiding with them behind a tipped-over car. "Turns out, Mireille knows a shocking amount about pressure points."

"It's gotten me out of trouble a couple of times," Mireille replies, and the other three don't even want to know what she means by that. "If he tries to grab you, there are some nerves in his hands that'll mess with his grip." They all flinch when they hear a crash and poke their heads out from behind the car to see Wrath tearing up the street looking for Ladybug and Chat Noir. Aurore's hand flies up to her mouth to quiet a gasp when Wrath tears a car door off of the hinges.

"You know, I always thought about Nathaniel knocking Emani out," Mireille murmurs, not noticing the confused expression Chat Noir is sporting. "He deserves to get a quick punch in after everything, but not like this. He'd kill him."

Chat Noir glances at the spotted heroine to see if she knows who Mireille is referring to, but is met with a hardened expression. Her body language is tense and it looks as though she wants to punch someone judging by the way her fists are clenched. Carefully, he places a hand on her shoulder, and her angered look melts away when she looks at him. "Are you okay?" She nods after a bit of hesitation.  "Okay. Mireille, what's that nerve in the hand you were talking about?"

"It's in-"

"DON'T FUCKING TOUCH ME!"

With a loud clang, Ladybug and Chat Noir move in front of the two and ready their weapons when the car is dragged away from them by one of Wrath's chains. He takes it into his hands and lifts it over his head, glaring daggers not at them, but at Emani who's on the ground and backing away.

"D-Doll, this isn't you-" He just barely evades Wrath's chains. "Whatever happened, we can talk about this; I know you wouldn't want to do this."

Wrath fumes and rips a lamppost from the sidewalk. Seeing that Wrath can't be reasoned with, Emani runs away. When he doesn't hear the pounding footsteps, he looks back for one second and feels a sense of relief when he sees Ladybug and Chat Noir attempting to restrain him, allowing him to stop to catch his breath.

Chat Noir yells in pain when one of Wrath's spikes scratches his cheek, and Wrath seizes the moment to throw him into a wall. With Ladybug trying in vain to hold him off on her own, Emani hides out at Place des Vosges and views the rest of the battle from behind the fountain. Wrath's fangs gnash as Ladybug's yoyo ensnares his ankle, and with a quick pull, she pulls his leg out from under him and trips him.

The noirette winces when his Doll's face makes contact with the gravel. 'The Cure will fix that,' he thinks to himself. And when it turns his Doll back to normal, he'll go comfort him after what must have been a harrowing ordeal. "It'll be okay, Little Doll."

"What did you just call him?" Emani hears and for some reason, the scratch on his arm begins to burn. He turns around and takes on a fighting stance, but drops it when he sees the rebound. Emani's mouth opens, having several things to say to this guy, but nothing comes out when he sees the clear height difference along with the lean muscles the other noirette possesses. "... You're that guy from earlier," he says, his eyes narrowing. "Mind explaining why my boyfriend seems to have something against you? Back at school, Kim mentioned you deserved some sort of punishment, and Alix doesn't get that angry without a valid reason. So, enlighten me."

Emani sputters. "What? You can't be serious- I haven't done anything." 'I haven't.' "Look, I was a student last year, and we had a slight disagreement-"

"And do tell. What was this 'slight disagreement'?" He questions using finger quotes, and Emani scoffs at the audacity of this guy. How his Doll could fall for such rudeness is beyond him. Before he can retort and rub it in his face that his Doll was in a loving relationship with him, Emani hears a crash followed by panicked screams.

They look, eyes close to popping out of their sockets when they see Wrath looking much more monstrous than a moment ago.

Four arms, each pair seeming to share a shoulder joint, lift two buses and hurl them at Ladybug and Chat Noir. Upon looking closer, Marc gasps when he sees several passengers still on the bus, drained of their color. A breath of relief escapes from his lips when Ladybug creates a net using her yoyo to catch them, but the sheer horror of Wrath's action lingers. He knows Akumas aren't all too concerned with the general public when it comes to achieving their goals, but it's rare for them to not think twice about possibly killing people.

But, Prime Queen knew what she was doing, that Alya could have drowned if the sarcophagus wasn't sealed tightly. Of course, not everyone would survive Syren, and she was more concerned with having Kim for herself than the lives of others.

Wrath, though- It's almost as if he's blinded by rage. He doesn't see anyone as human anymore, just power sources.

"GET AWAY FROM HIM!" Marc hears, followed by a thud. He looks to find Mireille pinning the other noirette to the ground, her fist gripping his shirt in a white knuckle grip while Aurore tries to get her to let him go. "If I weren't so nice, I'd drag you to Nathaniel myself," she seethes, and despite her being a foot shorter than him, Mireille is very strong and it seems like he knows it, too.

"Mireille, Aurore, what's going on?" Marc questions, frustration evident in his voice. "Who is this?"

While Mireille keeps her steely gaze on the stranger, Aurore looks off to the side and says, "That putrid piece of human garbage-"

"HEY!"

"-is Emani Pulateur. He was a student back at DuPont, and Nath's ex." The last two words seem to echo, and Marc almost doesn't hear the rest of what she says. "... still is a jackass... Total creep... Photos without him knowing-"

"Shut the hell up, Aurore!" Emani hisses, and Mireille slams him against the wall again. "You don't know anything! You and the others blew everything out of proportion, you poisoned his mind against me, and now, he's turned into that THING! My Doll was happier when he belonged to me; I was and still am the only one he needs, and I will make him see that- HRRK!"

Marc's expression is eerily calm as he tightens his grip around Emani's throat. "Get this through your head."

"Marc, let him go!"

"I don't know who the hell you are."

"He-he's choking- Marc!"

"I don't know exactly what you've done to my boyfriend, but if you ever speak about him in such a way again, as if he's an object for people to own, this will be much worse for you." Emani collapses to the ground and gasps for air, taking deep breaths as the color returns to his face. He looks up at Marc with a defiant look. "Stay away from Nathaniel," he hisses through clenched teeth, then suddenly jumps back in fright when Wrath skids by the park, stopping by gripping the fence. He spots the four of them before they can hide, narrows his eyes, and emits a low growl.

With a gulp, Marc stands and takes a step forward. "N-Nath, please don't do this. Look at me. Please?" He tries not to flinch when Wrath's claws unsheathe.

Marc's words seem to work like magic and Wrath's gaze softens for a second until he spots Emani. In a surge of rage, he grabs Marc, fingers curling tightly around his shoulders. They dig into his skin and cause his body to tense up in anticipation of what his akumatized boyfriend might do next. Marc's heart races as he watches Wrath's face contort with frustration, and he spots a glint of reluctance in his eyes. Before he can process anything, Marc feels himself being pushed, the heels of his combat boots digging into the ground, deeper until his legs and then waist are buried in the dirt. Wrath spares him no glance when he goes after the others.

He reaches for Emani, but then at the very last second, in a panic, Emani grabs and shoves Aurore in front of him, putting her in Wrath's grasp instead.

"You fucking bastard!" She screams, but her anger turns to exhaustion, the energy starting to drain from her as her color pallet slowly becomes more muted.

"NO!" Mireille sprints forward and punches Wrath's hand, her fist landing just near his wrist. His grip around the blonde loosens and she falls to the ground on her knees while Wrath fervently punches at a wall with that hand. Urgently, she hefts Aurore and then Marc over her shoulders and runs out of the alley, not caring to assist Emani and forcing him to run before Wrath regains his bearings. "Say you'll stay away from us, or I'll trip you!" She sticks out a leg while hopping on the other to show she's serious.

"You wouldn't! And I could have talked him down had that stupid rebound not interfered and upset him even more."

"Nathaniel was doing just fine until he saw your face!"

"He was only panicking because he knew what you and those other attack dogs would do to me!"

"That's it!" Before Mireille can stick her leg out, a sudden roar reverberates through the alley, and they run faster. But then from out of nowhere, a familiar red blur comes swooping in and pulls Mireille out of the way. Ladybug's yoyo then snatches up Emani, reeling him up at a stomach-lurching speed and onto a roof where he lands at Ladybug's feet. He looks up and can immediately tell that those traitors have gotten to her. It looks like Chat Noir is trying to restrain himself, but is keeping his focus on Aurore and Marc while also trying to calm down several other people who were injured amid Wrath's rampage.

"M'fine," Aurore murmurs with a half-hearted smile. "Just... Just out of it... Marc?"

"He's okay," Chat Noir tells her and tilts his head in Marc's direction. The other blonde lifts her head a bit to see her friend being tended to by Mireille, who rips off his hoodie sleeves and wraps them around where Wrath's claws made marks in his skin.

"What the fuck is he doing here?!" A voice calls out from the crowd. Pushing to the front is Alix. People look to where she's pointing, and some- those from Dupont- express their outrage.

"He's the reason we're in this mess!"

"Nath's gone ballistic because of him!"

"I say we sacrifice him!"

Chat Noir blocks off the angry crowd with his staff. "HOLD IT!" He thunders, his normally kind voice startling them. And with that distraction, Emani sneaks off to another part of the roof. "No matter what Emani has done before we are not sacrificing him just to deakumatize Nathaniel! Is that clear?!" They only murmured and backed away.

"At least someone here has common sense." Emani flinches when Chat Noir whips his head in his direction.

"I don't know the full extent of what you've done, but their reactions are pretty telling, and I trust Ladybug's judgment. She clearly doesn't trust you as far as she can throw you, so don't try anything." Before Emani can say anything, he goes to check on Ladybug, who's watching live footage of Wrath's attack on the streets. "... I don't think we're winning this one alone, bugaboo."

She hums in agreement and he asks, voice just above a whisper, "What about Marc?"

Ladybug shakes her head, "Not while he's injured at the moment. And most of the other nearby temps are either injured or Wrath used his power on them." She closes her yoyo and throws it. "Come on. The more we wait, the more the city is destroyed." Before she swings away, the spotted heroine glances at Mireille, helping to get debris out of a little girl's hair... "Mireille?" The other bluenette's head quickly shoots up. "Mind holding down the fort while we're gone?"

"Y-yes!" They fervently nod, their bob-cut bouncing. "Of course!"

Giving her reassuring smiles, the heroes depart, not even noticing the shifty look in Emani's eyes. His eyes scan over the crowd, most of them minding their own business and assisting any other injured civilians. Then he spotted her, the only one who understood his plight. Pulling his hood over his head, weaves his way through the crowd, thankfully going unnoticed by Alix, and approaches the girl with a polite smile.

"Hi. Céline, right?"

"He's WAY more terrifying than last time!" Chat Noir screams and vaults out of the way of an incoming bus hurtling towards him, the vehicle crashing into the road and forming a crater. "Ladybug?!"

"Dealing with my own problem, here!" She shouts and digs her heels into the ground as Wrath pulls on the other end of her yoyo with his teeth. The ground beneath her finally gives way due to the force of Wrath's strength and the durability of her suit, and Ladybug finds herself shooting towards Wrath. She has no time to move out of the way when Wrath smacks her out of the air... Like a bug.

The heroine lands with a hard thud against the side of a building and slides to the ground. Her suit took the brunt of it, but she still had trouble standing or keeping her eyes open for that matter. It's not until she hears, "HEY, CORRUPTED QUARTZ!" that her eyes shoot open and she sees Chat Noir running toward the monstrous Akuma. "Courtesy of Mireille!" He lengthens his staff, and with excellent speed, strikes the side of Wrath's neck. To Ladybug's surprise, Wrath stumbles a bit, but not from the force. It's almost as if he's dizzy.

She's in Chat Noir's arms before she knows it, and carried into an empty cafe.

"At this point, I'm desperate for any sort of backup," he huffs. "Anyone to take that guy out!" After a beat, Ladybug reaches into her yoyo and pulls out a familiar pink and grey necklace. "It'd certainly be harder for him to hit someone small," he muses. "Any ideas?"

As the two mull it over, a creaking out prompted them to draw their weapons and point them at-

"YOU!" Ladybug seethes. Emani doesn't have a chance to speak when his ankles are suddenly bound and yanked, and he falls flat on his back. "Haven't you done enough? How are you even here?!"

"Hi. Céline, right?"

The brunette turns her head ever so slightly and an involuntary squeak escapes past her lips when she sees his face under the hood. "E-Emani. It's... Been a while." Biting her lip, she glances at a small cluster of DuPont students not too far from where they're standing. Two of them glare at her before turning their heads in what can only be described as disgust. "Hey, now's not a good time, okay?"

He quickly takes hold of her arm before she can walk off. "Céline, please. Listen to me, I was so close to talking my Doll out of it. That re- Marc, he's no good for my Doll. I know you know this." He suppresses a smirk when he sees the contemplative look on her face. "Look, when I went to talk to him before all of this, he seemed... Almost scared of what Marc would do."

Céline furrows her brow, but not in anger. "What do you mean?" Hook.

"I mean, my Doll was so worried about Marc being mad at him for dating me before and not telling him that he just panicked." He doesn't even need to fake his tears. His Doll had fallen under corruption by that Rebound and is too scared to admit it, even to himself. "You should have heard him- Screaming for me to leave and trying to hit me. It only makes me afraid of what Marc might be doing to him when no one's around." Line.

With wide eyes, she turns her head and sees the mentioned noirette... On his phone and not even worried about Nathaniel! If there weren't already an active Akuma, Shadow Moth would probably have a field day with her. What on Earth is on his phone that's more important than his loving boyfriend?! Emani's right, and she was, too. Her friends didn't know what they were saying; she was in the right!

Emani and Nathaniel just had a falling out, but then the rumors started and people were twisting it into some abuse story and painting Nathaniel as the victim when in reality, it was Emani. Nathaniel's classmates- it's always something with them- they started this whole thing when they screamed abuse all because Nathaniel wanted to dress nice and be closer to his boyfriend. If Rose and Juleka weren't dating and Kim didn't wear makeup sometimes, Céline would expect homophobia and some extreme toxic masculinity. Emani had been nothing but sweet and doting to the redhead, and now he can't even show his face near DuPont without someone throwing stuff at him.

If what he said was true, then he should be able to help Nathaniel in what she can only describe as a sweet romantic fairytale cliché. He'll bravely approach his Akumatized love and talk him out of Shadow Moth's control, and then Nathaniel will realize that his savior is the one who's truly meant to be his boyfriend.

"... What do you need me to do?" Sinker.

Emani beams. "I saw a door that should lead to a stairwell. Help me get there without being spotted, and I'll handle the rest."

"... That's none of your concern," Emani retorts. "Now, I believe I heard something about offering up a Miraculous?" Ladybug clenches the jewel in her fist. "Let's face it, you don't have many options here. Everyone else is either too injured or had their energy drained." He looks up at her and smirks. "And you're not looking so well yourself, either."

A snarl escapes Chat Noir. He narrows his slit eyes at the noirette for his audacity.

"And, let's take into account that I know my Little Doll." He unwraps the yoyo from around his ankles and stands. "I know everything, and I mean everything about him." Chat Noir tries not to bristle at the tone of his voice. "For instance, the poor thing has these... Let's call them reflexes. They started showing up while we were dating."

Ladybug shoots him a look. "From what I heard, you trained him to develop those reflexes. What was it? Squeeze his left forearm tight enough and he'll kiss you, or something?"

The room grows tense amidst the stare-down between the two.

"... If you want to make it sound so heinous-"

"Because it is!" Chat Noir finally snaps and stalks toward him. "You don't just control people like they're puppets for your own entertainment or whatever the hell you used Nathaniel for! And going off the way you talk about him, I can name one thing off the top of my head." He doesn't know what came over him, but Emani- this bastard makes even his father seem decent. Gabriel Agreste is cold and overly controlling, whether it be his employees or family. But the main difference is that he uses his authority, connections, and overall intimidating demeanor to make people listen to him. He doesn't train them like dogs until they bow to him on command, or something!

"Seems I struck a nerve," Emani continues with that incredibly punchable smirk. "Well, hate me all you want, but need I remind you that you gave Chloé Bourgeois a Miraculous and she crashed a train? I can assure you, that I would not go that far. I will simply talk my Doll down the way I used to when he was being... Hysterical about certain things."

The leather-clad hero hisses, "Okay, that's it," but then stops when Ladybug places a hand on his shoulder. "... You can't be serious, Ladybug."

"I'm only standing because of my Miraculous and you can't take him on your own." Expression darkening, she whips her head in Emani's direction, and to her satisfaction, he seems scared. "... Emani Pulateur," she says through gritted teeth. "If you fuck this up, if you try to fuck with me in any way, I will make Shadow Moth and any other villains out there in the world look like little bitches. When Nathaniel is de-akumatized, you WILL stay away from him and you will give me the Miraculous back. Have I made myself clear?" All she gets as a response is a frightened squeak from the back of his throat. Stiffly and shakily, she moves her still-clenched fist forward and begins to unfurl it.

Regret starts to spike when she sees the greedy look in Emani's eyes but before the jewelry can be placed in his waiting palm, the back door swings open, and in runs Mireille. With her momentarily distracted, Emani grabs for the Miraculous, only for Ladybug's reflexes to kick in and keep it out of reach.

"Mireille?" Chat Noir questions with a tilted head. He looks her over and sees that her sweater is missing, revealing the shorter girl's muscular arms. Her hair is a mess with the headband skewed, and she has a scratch or two on her face. "What happened to you?" She glares at Emani, of course.

"Ask his little partner in crime. Yeah, as soon as Alix saw him sneaking off toward the stairs, she ran after him, but then Céline cut her off." Ladybug internally groans. "He locked the door, and Céline started spouting this crap about how Nathaniel deserved a better boyfriend. Oh, and heads up, Marc is not afraid to punch a bitch. A few of us started arguing, then we fought, but the few students who sided with Céline got the worst of it." She smirks at Emani. "Long story short, I hog-tied her with my sweater and Cosette unlocked the door with a bobby pin, then I sprinted after Emani because I was sure he'd do something to make Nathaniel kill him."

"Like he'd ever-"

"Shut up," Chat Noir snaps before addressing Mireille kindly, "Well, since you're here, I'm sure m'lady has something to ask of you." Sharing a smirk with him, Ladybug unfurls her fist and presents the Mouse Miraculous.

Emani sputters. "Are you serious?! You were just about to give it to me! You could see that I was-" His sentence cuts off at the sight of Chat Noir holding up his staff with a menacing glint in his eyes, and he wisely decides to not say anything more.

"Mireille Caquet, this is the Mouse Miraculous which grants you the power of multiplication. If you'll say yes to using it, then you'll help us defeat Wrath," Ladybug explains. "What do you say?"

They smile and take the necklace. "Why not? I'm on kind of a role today." With the cord fastened around their neck, the necklace transforms and turns into a silver chain with an eclipse charm. That wasn't all, though. To her and Emani's shock, a pink light emerges from the charm, and before Mireille, a mouse-like creature appears.

"Hey, a new mouse!" The creature cheers and circles the bluenette. "You look a little rough around the edges, but I can work with it! I'm Mullo and I'm your Kwami!"

"Um... Mireille. It's nice to meet you," they say kindly. While occasionally stealing glances at Mullo, they ask the heroes, "So, how does the transformation thing work?" They instead gesture to Mullo, who responds, "Just say the words, 'Mullo, Get Squeaky!'" Seeing Emani practically burning holes into the side of Mireille's head, they ask, "Who's the sourpuss?"

Mireille glances at him and smirks. "No one of importance. You ready?" The Kwami gives an enthusiastic nod. "Mullo, Get Squeaky!" In a burst of pink light, her outfit begins to change, forming a grey bodysuit. A sleeveless black compression top formed, followed by a pair of pink gloves that stopped just before her elbow, matching cargo pants that fitted mid-calf at the end, and they were followed by a pair of pink and black sneakers. Around her waist forms a jump rope in place of a belt, wrapping around her waist once and ending as sort of a tail. Over her eyes appears a pink and grey mask, and to finish it off, her hair lengthens and styles itself into space buns with pink highlights.

"... How do you look badass and cute at the same time?" Chat Noir asks after a beat, getting a snort of laughter from his partner while Emani only rolls his eyes.

"Uh, thank you?" Mireille gets a look at herself and has to admit it herself, she does feel pretty badass, like a character out of a fighting game. "Guess I need a name... How about Minnie?"

"Okay, but for copyright reasons, you won't be getting your own dolls," Chat Noir quips and ignores the audible sound of Emani gritting his teeth.

With a much more determined expression, Ladybug approaches the door and looks through the glass, only to find Wrath nowhere in sight. It shouldn't be hard to spot a ten-foot-tall Akuma, yet, here she is. Then, suddenly, the building begins to rumble. She holds a finger up to her lips, watching as the chandelier begins to move back and forth with the vibrations. "He's on the roof," she whispers, and not even a second later, the ceiling comes crashing down all of a sudden in the middle of the room, dust, and debris clouding their vision. Chat Noir spins his staff to fan the dust away and when it is clear enough, he blanches at the being before him, his fake ears falling.

The creature, massive in size with red fur has two black ram-like horns on the sides of its' head and two smaller horns erupting from where its eyes should be. Even more spikes protrude from multiple areas of its body. A black mane grows from around its neck and ends as a tail, and Minnie is sure she spots something peaking out from under the fur. Blotches of black and a lighter red make up its skin, and teeth just as sharp as its claws line its mouth. Despite its hindered vision, it seems to know where the four of them are, swiping at them with its claws.

"Nathaniel?!" Minnie utters upon recognition and uses her jump rope as a whip against his claws. "How can he see us?!"

"Never mind that!" Ladybug yells and hefts Emani over her shoulder. "We need more room!" She, Chat Noir, and Minnie run out of the cafe, followed by Wrath bursting through the wall with a primal roar. She shoves Emani into an alleyway, hoping he won't try anything foolish again. "LUCKY CHARM!" She shouts and receives a rubber mallet. While Chat Noir and Minnie work to keep Wrath at bay, she hastily darts her eyes around the area for some way to use her Lucky Charm. All that's illuminating is Minnie, and then, it hits her. "Minnie! Catch!" The mouse hero catches the mallet without even looking. "Use your power!"

With a nod, Minnie hops on Wrath's back and grips the sides of him as tightly as possible with her thighs and keeps one arm out as she grips his mane. 'Thanks for the bull-riding lesson, Zoé.'

When he attempts to buck her off, Minnie manages to keep her balance. "Mul- Whoa! Multi- AAH!" She goes flying off and skids across the ground. Wrath proceeds to smack Chat Noir away with his tail, the impact enough to make him wheeze. Wrath charges at Ladybug while her yoyo frantically lashes at him. His teeth clamp onto the weapon, and with a hard pull, Wrath snatches her yoyo away from her, and...

"He... HE ATE MY YOYO?!" Ladybug screams. Amidst her disbelief, Wrath's tail smacks her out of his way. His eyes, if they were visible, narrow down at Emani, his frightened figure just barely illuminated in the alley.

"D-Doll-" Wrath growls in response. "Dearest, I know you're in there," Emani says to him softly. "You don't want to hurt me. That's not what you want; I know you." With a soft smile, he approaches the Akuma, ignoring the way he bares his fangs. Akumas may be hellbent on their goals relating to what got them Akumatized, but they still retain their memories. Once his words sink in, his Doll will remember how much he loves him and break free of his Akumatization on his own. It has to work.

"It's okay-" Wrath's teeth miss him by a hair as he ducks out of the way. Emani stumbles backward and quickly books it in that direction with Wrath on his tail. The only thing he can do to hinder Wrath is throw any small debris at him, but it hardly has an effect and only seems to make him angrier.

Emani's not a runner. He loathes any sort of physical activity. He finds himself approaching a neighborhood- A very familiar one at that. He doesn't even think twice when he knocks on the first door he comes across. The door opens, and for a moment, he hopes that Wrath finds him.

"You," Aya hisses, her turquoise eyes holding only fury. Emani's words become caught in his throat. "I thought I told you to never-!" She staggers a bit as the ground beneath them trembles. Keeping a firm grip on Emani's shoulder to prevent him from entering her home, Aya scans her surroundings until she spots the Akuma rounding the corner. Of course, she doesn't have a death wish and knows she should take cover in her home- Emani, unfortunately, included- but she can't help but stare at the approaching figure, and when it hits her, her grip tightens. "What did you do to my son?"

"I- I didn't-"

"Is he looking for you? Why else would you come here again?" 

"I just-!"

"Perhaps this is karma of some sort. You terrified him for so long, made him feel weak, and as if he had no control over his life. Then he finds you stalking him like some sort of predator, intimidating him." Bullets of sweat fall down Emani's face. "I'd say you deserve this and leave you out here to suffer, but... I'm not that petty." The noirette feels like he can breathe when she lets go of his shoulder. "Get in." He doesn't need to be told twice and runs into the house.

But then, a thought. A sick, twisted idea comes to him. His Doll will surely feel guilty for terrorizing the citizens, attacking his classmates, and brutally attacking the beloved heroes. But, attacking his mother... If he didn't recognize him, then who's to say he'll recognize Aya? Besides, she has it coming for being against their relationship. He saw the distrustful looks she would cast him whenever he came over and he listened to his Doll's cries about his mother wanting them to spend less time together.

Once Ladybug de-akumatizes his Doll and he realizes just what he's done, he will be there to console him. No doubt he won't be able to look his mother in the eye or be in the same room with her for a while, and that's where Emani will come in, saying it wasn't his fault. He was just weak-willed and over-emotional. And he'll be far too mortified to face his classmates again, believing they'll all fear and shun him. When he sees that Emani is the only one who will help him in his darkest hour, he'll come crawling back, sobbing his eyes out and begging for his love.

So, with that, he shuts and locks the door.

"EMANI!" screams Aya. The footsteps draw closer and she resorts to trying to ram the door open with her shoulder. "Ikh shver tsu got!" Her yells fall silent when she hears a low growl behind her. She turns and presses her back against the door with Wrath looming over her.

"Nathan. Sweetie, it's mommy... I wasn't much help this morning, was I?" She tenses up at the low growl. "... I didn't know how to help you; I still don't. I thought I could just make it all go away, tell you that you were safe and that would be the end of it, but you were right. Emani is a persistent bastard and I didn't do enough to help you feel safer!" Out of the corner of her eye, she catches a quick glimpse of Emani looking out of the window before drawing the curtains shut. "... I'm sorry, Nathan."

She squeezes her eyes shut tight when Wrath stalks forward... And slowly opens them. Instead of preparing to maul her, Wrath has his head resting on the steps. If his eyes weren't covered by the spikes, Aya swears they'd be glistening with tears. Carefully approaching him, the redheaded woman strokes his horns. "It's okay-"

Creak.

Aya feels Wrath tense up. She whips her head around, and despite her current feelings, she can't have a minor dying on her watch. "Go back inside," she hisses. Wrath stands back to full height, and towers over her and Emani. His growl reverberates through the street, and as she's covering her ears, Aya finds herself being shoved to the side, her voluminous red hair helping to soften the blow to the back of her head. As she lifts her head and her vision readjusts, she sees Emani being pinned under Wrath's hand, his claws dangerously close to piercing his skin. "N-no-"

"Multitude!" Aya hears before she spots a burst of pink light.

Wrath snarls and writhes in his binds as he's dragged away from Emani by his hind legs by two copies of Minnie, all of them less than half her height, each of them wielding a jump rope and Ladybug's Lucky Charm mallet.

The other six clones unwrap their jump ropes from around their waists. Minnie #3 wraps one end of her jump rope around Wrath's left front leg, and Minnie #4 goes to do the same with his right but gets swatted away and skids across the road. Minnie #8 and #7 each toss one end of their jump ropes over one side of Wrath to each other. They have a remarkable amount of strength despite their statures and they pull until the jump rope handles touch the road, right before they strike them with their mallets.

Minnie #6 takes their jump rope and loops it around Wrath's neck, momentarily pausing when they feel something under his fur before continuing the job, and Minnie #5 ties one end of her jump rope to that rope and stakes the other end into the ground.

Minnies #9 and #10, while Wrath is subdued and writhing in his binds, climb on top of him and move toward his neck. Burrowing into the mass of black fur, they find a studded black collar with a silver chain tangled up in his fur. Nodding to each other, they hop off of the Akuma. Paying no mind to his snarling, the other clones regroup and glow a bright pink, forming Minnie at full size.

"The collar around his neck!" They yell and run to Wrath. They rest a hand on his head to try and calm him down, but Wrath continues to gnash his teeth at them. From above, Ladybug and Chat Noir drop down on top of Wrath and grip his horns to keep steady. Chat Noir takes his staff, and when Wrath's mouth is open just a few inches, he sticks it in his mouth and lengthens it, the ends prying the roof and bottom of his mouth apart.

Ladybug, without hesitation, sticks her hand in his mouth before her fingers brush against her yoyo, the string wrapped around one of his canines. Parting the mane, she feels around for some sort of latch on the collar before trying to pull the collar off herself, but the chain made it almost impossible without Wrath growling at her. Taking the collar into his hand, Chat Noir uttered a quick, "Cataclysm," and the collar disintegrated into dust, releasing the Akuma.

"Get over here!" Ladybug yells and snatches the evil butterfly with her yoyo before releasing it. Sighing a breath of relief, she takes the offered Lucky Charm from Minnie and throws it into the air, yelling, "Miraculous Ladybug!" The mallet bursts and the pink and red swarm sweeps across the city. Ladybug instantly feels better when her injuries are healed, but can't help but lean against Chat Noir and rest her head on his shoulder amidst the relief.

The moment was short-lived when the inky black and purple cloud washed over Wrath and dissipated, leaving the smaller form of Nathaniel sprawled out on the ground. Ladybug goes to approach but immediately takes action when she hears rapid footsteps and throws her yoyo around Emani. "Don't even think about it," she hisses while Minnie helps Nathaniel up. Upon seeing him, Nathaniel clings tight to the temporary hero while Emani screams.

"Doll! Doll, come here!" The redhead continues to ignore him, much to his rising anger. "Doll! Tell her to untie me!"

"I still wouldn't if he asked," Ladybug asserts and tightens her yo-yo's string around him. "Now, I think you need to come with me for a bit."

Emani blanches. "WHAT?!" He screeches. "You can't be serious! I haven't done anything!"

"So, you didn't emotionally abuse my son for months?" Aya's voice cut through like a knife. "You didn't stalk him before and after he broke up with you and take what I'm sure is over a hundred photos of him without him knowing? And you didn't follow him to his school to what? Force him into dating you again?!" She cuts him off. "I called his homeroom teacher after you left that gift. To warn her that you decided to show your face again and keep my son safe from you! And then she calls me, telling me that he got Akumatized and suspects you had a part to play in it because you were in the school when it happened!"

Had it not been for Chat Noir holding her back, Emani would have had a broken nose by now.

Aya's words repeat in Ladybug's head. Emani's collection of photos had to have been growing over the past year, and there's no way any of the students or teachers can avoid talking about the cause of Nathaniel's akumatization. Alya's going to find someone willing to talk so she can put out an article on the Ladyblog. Word's going to spread anyway, so... She might as well.

"Chat? Can you take Emani down to the police station?" Nathaniel's head shoots up from the comfort of Minnie's shoulder. "I'll recharge and meet you there."

"No," Nathaniel murmurs. "No, don't-"

"I was right," Emani says with a laugh. His smirk widens as he continues, "You people have some nerve to think that I victimized him. You put that idea in his head, just like you're doing now. It's good to see that my little Doll still has some sense of right and wrong," he taunts and pays no mind to how Nathaniel's skin seems to be turning paler with each of his words or he does and gets a sick thrill out of how scared he looks.

"It's okay, Doll-" A resounding backhand slap across the face shuts him up. Nathaniel stands before him with a look of defiance and his breathing comes out in shudders. "Doll-"

"Shut up," Nathaniel hisses and raises his hand to slap him again, but Minnie grips his wrist. "I'm only looking out for me, you piece of shit, NOT you! I didn't want anyone else to know what you did to me- h-how I was so fucking stupid to ever go along with everything you said!"

"Doll-"

"Shut your mouth!" To his satisfaction, Emani withers a bit. "You can't even begin to fathom how horrified I was when everyone at school knew the extent of what you had done to me! Now? Now, I do not give two fucks! It's all going to be out in the open pretty soon, so, fuck it! Yeah! Tell the police all about the shrine in that freak's closet! I don't care anymore! Just get him away from me!" Huffing, he storms into his home and slams the door shut behind him.

Aya's hand flies up to her mouth to cover her shuddered breathing. She glares daggers at Emani and he visibly pales under her intense gaze. "Get him away from my home!" She says to Minnie, her tone much gentler, "Dear, if you could take me to the station with them, that would be much appreciated."

"Sure. Just let me recharge."

"What the hell happened back there?"

"Who was that guy?"

"Why'd he freak out like that?"

"I heard around they used to date."

"Probably pissed that he broke up with him."

"What? Not happy with Anciel?"

"Should've considered himself lucky that two guys even looked at him."

Marc couldn't have gotten away from those people fast enough. The fucking gall they have to talk about Nathaniel like that! He doesn't know all that happened last year, the specifics of what Nathaniel had been through and what Emani had done, but it'll be a cold day in hell before he listens to these people talking about Nathaniel in such a way- As if it were his fault he got Akumatized because of that bastard supposedly breaking up with him.

As soon as the Miracle Cure took effect, the writer pushed his way through the crowded roof and barreled down the stairs.

He sprints down the sidewalk, maneuvering around the slightly disoriented civilians and the damage that wasn't caused directly by Wrath. He comes across the familiar townhouse and races up the stairs before knocking rapidly on the door. Five seconds don't pass before he knocks again, louder as he yells, "Nath! Nath, it's me!"

The door swings open, and Marc retracts his hand.

"WHAT-?!"

Marc and Nathaniel spend the longest time staring at each other. The puffiness and the slight red coloring of his eyes show that Nathaniel had been crying for a while before Marc showed up. However, Marc is more concerned about the scratches marking his face and the ones on his arm that look like they're about to start bleeding.

Following his gaze down to his arm, Nathaniel explains, "I... I scratched myself a bit this morning. They opened up again."

Marc offers his hand, waiting for Nathaniel to take it before he walks him upstairs into the bathroom. He ignores the faint red staining the sink and looks for the bandages.

"Second shelf in the cabinet." Marc turns to Nathaniel. "There's some bandages and hydrogen peroxide."

"You know using hydrogen peroxide or rubbing alcohol to clean a cut can actually harm the tissue and delay healing, right?" Marc smiles, though it's not condescending. He turns on the faucet and has Nathaniel put his arm under the cool water. "Yeah, you gotta use soap, because apparently it turns out it irritates the skin and kills normal cells within the wound. So, not great." To his relief, this gets a small laugh out of his boyfriend.

A long silence then falls over the room. When Marc is about to speak again, his words become caught in his throat when he hears what Nathaniel says.

"Do you hate me?"

"NO!" Marc immediately yells before saying a quick apology when he sees his boyfriend flinch. "No, I could... I could never hate you, Nathaniel."

"But I never told you I used to date someone before you!"

"Because I never felt the need to ask," Marc says firmly, but not unkind. Grabbing the bar of soap off the counter, he continues to clean Nathaniel's scratches. "And it was your place to tell me when you were ready." He dries his arm off, lightly patting it with a paper towel. "After just everything I had seen and heard from different people, I can tell that he's a touchy subject for you and that he hurt you in a way I'll... That I'll never understand."

Nathaniel's brow furrows with worry at the hesitation in Marc's voice, but he hears him out.

"My point is, you don't have to tell me anything if you're not ready to, about him or anything else." Marc gently cups his face, wiping away one of the tears forming in the corner of Nathaniel's eye. "And, when you are ready, I'll be listening without any judgment. Okay?"

The redhead chokes back a sob but smiles. "Okay." He moves closer to Marc, placing his head against his chest as Marc curls his arms around his waist for a gentle embrace. "I love you."

Marc kisses the top of his head. "I love you, too." He holds him in his arms a little while longer before escorting him out of the bathroom and into his room. Marc ignores the dent in the headboard and lies down next to Nathaniel, his embrace protective as the redhead curls up close to him. They lie content in each other's presence.

Nathaniel's eyelids slowly flutter open, his eyes lingering on Marc with a mixture of exhaustion and concern. His hand reaches up to gently cup Marc's face, and his thumb brushes near Marc's eye, coaxing it to open slightly. As Nathaniel's tense body begins to relax, Marc gazes at him with worry.

"Nath? Are you okay?"

"I get it. He kinda looks like Emani, but that's not gonna fill the void."

"... She said you look like him. Céline-"

"Oh, fuck her," Marc remarks, getting a laugh to slip through Nathaniel's lips. "I'm serious. That girl is just... She's not great. Sorry, what were you saying?"

Nathaniel exhales. "Céline stopped me in the locker room. She started saying all this stuff- that Emani- he didn't do anything wrong, and that I was overreacting, and treating you like his replacement- I wasn't! I love you!" He sobs, "I-I'd never do that to you!" He cries into Marc's chest. Marc combs his fingers through his hair.

"It's okay. I know," he murmurs. "Céline shouldn't have said that. She was so out of line-!" He corrects his tone and sighs. "And, you are at no fault for having a type, Nath." His smirk widens at the blush across Nathaniel's face. "Let's see, there's Marinette, Ladybug, he who shall not be named, and then me. Noirettes with cool-colored eyes, it seems."

"Marc," he groans and shoves his hand in his face. "Quit it."

"My point is, she had no idea what she was talking about. And it was fucked up that she believed she knew better than you."

"Not only that... She said- to my face- that I should take a break with you and implied that I should get back together with him."

"... I'm gonna punch her again."

"Rainbow, no- Again?"

"Yeah, while you were Akumatized. She helped the little bastard escape, so I punched her."

"Oh. Well, you're not punching her again."

"How about a backslap?"

"No."

"Pepper spray?"

"That is so much worse!"

"But it's effective." Nathaniel promptly shoves his hand back in his face.

Céline felt herself shrinking as she ascended the stairs, hyper-aware of what felt like the gaze of every other student around her. Suddenly, she hears a voice calling out, "Hey!" and she turns to see Victoria being pushed up the ramp by Gerard. Victoria defiantly raises her middle finger, and Gerard shoots her a disapproving look before continuing to assist Victoria up the rest of the way.

The strawberry-blonde girl huffs and continues up the stairs, drawing some aghast looks from her peers. It takes all of her willpower to not roll her eyes. It's not like she was doing anything wrong, and everyone was getting so bent out of shape over nothing.

Hearing whispers, she glances and sees Austin Armbruster pointing to her while whispering something to Austin Boulet. Boulet elbows him and points his lip toward her. Straightening up, Armbruster whistles nonchalantly and pulls Boulet away.

Céline scoffs. As if they get to act so righteous after all they’ve done. Meanwhile, she was just trying to make two people happy again! And it all went up in smoke! Last she heard over the weekend on the students’ Discord, Ladybug, Chat Noir, and some new hero took Emani down to the station. People went back and forth, saying he’s being questioned for multiple counts of breaking that stupid photo consent law and stalking. When she tried to get a word in and defend Emani, she was immediately booted from the server!

Not even her friends will talk to her, and a couple have even blocked her on all of their social medias. Where the hell do they get off, just because she has a different opinion about what happened with Emani and Nathaniel’s relationship?! Yeah, sure, Nathaniel got Akumatized because of something Emani said, but-

“Céline.”

Céline whips her head around and finds Alix, along with Ivan and Kim behind her. While Alix is definitely intimidating on her own, Ivan and Kim acting as backup is sending chills down her spine.

She’s vaguely aware of other students not even pretending to look like they’re not listening in, but she doesn’t break eye contact with the pinkette.

”Whatever you’re about say-“

Alix holds up a finger, and to her surprise, she chuckles. “You don’t talk now. Okay? Okay. Here’s what’s gonna happen. Since it doesn’t look like the cops can charge you or any other students with the same mindset as you and haul your asses out of here,” A few students shuffle in place or slip into a classroom. “Even though you helped Emani escape from the rooftop, and- from what I heard- nearly cost Ladybug and Chat Noir to lose-“

“That’s not true-“

”HEY! I wasn’t done talking!” Alix thunders. “When Nathaniel comes back- whenever that may be- you will NOT talk to him! You will not look at him! You will not even accidentally graze his hand when you reach for the same damn food during lunch! Do you understand me?! I heard all about what you said, and your friends are just as pissed of. If you think I’m mad, then you haven’t seen them yet.” She steps closer and smirks when Céline flinches and takes a step back. “Now, do yourself a favor and don’t say a fucking word about Nathaniel, or about Emani unless you really wanna have some problems. Because, get this. A handful of students here don’t take too kindly to victim blamers.”

Ismael, Mireille, Austin Boulet, Chloé, and Cosette’s glares harden.

Céline scowls, finally at the end of her rope. “Why can’t you idiots just use some common sense for once?! It is not my fault that I just wanna see two people happy together again! Emani was the perfect boyfriend for Nathaniel! He took care of him, and loved him, and Nathaniel went psycho and overreacted because you and your damn class just can’t stand to see him happy!”

Everyone in the courtyard goes completely silent and looks at Céline as if she’s a dead man walking. She looks around before her gaze settles on Alix, surprisingly calm and not snapping at her. She was way too calm.

Alix sharply inhales. ”I’m going to strangle you now,” she finally says and starts to walk toward her. Céline stood in fear. Kim and Ivan quickly go to restrain Alix.

”Alix, stop! Calm down!”

”I’m perfectly calm, Kim. I’m just gonna talk to her.”

Ivan picks her up by the waist. “You said you were gonna strangle her!”

“Not too hard.”

“That’s enough,” Marc’s voice cut through as they all went still and silent. Calmly, he makes his way toward Alix. “Nath’s at home resting. He said he’s gonna come back tomorrow. Okay?” She nods, and Marc gestures for Ivan to set her down before he turns to Céline.

”… How’s your cheek?”

Céline feels the cheek where he punched her the other day. It’s still sore.

“Nathaniel convinced me to not take matters into my own hands if you were to come within ten feet of him when he comes back. And like the loving boyfriend that I am, I listened to him rather than just brush off his concerns like a certain someone.” He smirks. “Now, look, I best be heading to class, and so should you. I’m sure all your friends are just dying to see you right now, Céline, especially after your little chat with Nathaniel in the locker room.”

Marc shoots her one last glare. “But seriously? Stay the fuck away from Nathaniel.” With that, he turns on his heel and leaves. The other students slowly disperse, but not without glaring one last time at Céline and heading to their classrooms or the locker room. She finds herself alone in the courtyard, no one even sparing her a glance. She sighs and heads up the stairs.

Aurore and Mireille watch her go with matching expressions of discontent. “The gall of some people,” Aurore hisses.

”Yeah, but Nathaniel won’t have to worry about Emani or her for a while,” Mireille reminds her. “Let’s try to focus on that.” They hook an arm around Aurore’s waist and kiss her on the cheek, not noticing the blonde smirking.

”Now, answer me this. Where were you when that mouse hero made her debut?” Her smirk only widens when Mireille looks off to the side. “Journalist’s intuition, dear,” Aurore whispers.