Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The picturesque cityscape, basking in the golden rays of sunlight, offered a peaceful sight for the heroes, perched high atop one of the towers of the Notre-Dame cathedral. Being so high up in the sky gave them a sense of privacy that was particularly important for this meeting, seeing as each hero got an unsettling invitation to an event that seemed magical in nature sent to their civilian identities. After confirming that it wasn’t part of some elaborate prank from one of her teammates, Ladybug left the discussion up to them.

It hadn’t been that long since the Miracle Queen disaster, and they desperately needed something happy after that fiasco. Since Hawk Moth hasn’t attacked yet, it should be safe to escape the city for one night, have fun and process their feelings without fear of being akumatized. But this invitation just screamed suspicious and “I’m a trap to get your miraculous!” Ladybug’s mind kept thinking that he might be planning a party for all of them and attack the city while they’re all distracted – or worse, seize the Miracle Box.

After hearing her friends’ points of view, Ladybug decided that they could go to the party, but that Pegasus should be ready to teleport them back, if trouble arises in Paris during their absence.

Meanwhile, Gabriel and Nathalie were in the atelier, discussing the strange invitation they got. It was certainly not one of their investors, and it wasn’t their friends in high places either. As far as he knew, there was no restaurant called “The Enchanted Forest”. The note written in a tiny cursive cemented his thoughts since it was certainly not a civilian matter.

If it was sent by one of the heroes, then surely, they knew and would be knocking at the door of the Agreste mansion, with a team of police cars and news helicopter, documenting the defeat of Hawk Moth and disgraceful fall of Gabriel Agreste. Which meant that it would be safe to assume that it wasn’t the heroes of Paris who had sent this invitation. But if it wasn’t those children, then it had to be someone important who had magic and knew his secret. He had been so careful to keep the two sides of his life separate, as to maximize his chances of getting the miraculous and not getting sent to prison.

Nathalie’s voice pulled him out of his spiral, and from the wicked smirk on her face, he knew she had formed a plan to seize the heroes’ miraculous – and it would probably be at the party.

The sound of three shadows talking and cackling like maniacs could be heard throughout the Enchanted Forest. Anyone who was in proximity of them that night got chills and a feeling of doom.

- They are coming soon. I can feel it. At the next full moon, we will finally be able to complete our plan, sisters! We won’t be cursed to stick around this forest anymore, and we’ll finally be able to get revenge on those pesky squishy humans who trapped us in this realm.

Twin cheers of joy join the cackle, clinking glasses and celebrating into the night, waiting for their freedom to come.

Chapter Text

The night of the full moon arrived, and the heroes once again gathered on the north tower of the Notre-Dame-de-Paris cathedral. On Ladybug’s count, they held out their cards to the moonlight and whispered “Miraculous.” The writing on the cards lit up in a golden hue, expanding and spreading that mesmerising colour all over, until all the blank spaces were covered. Sparks flew out of the cards as they flew up to face the heroes. A beam of light flew out and landed on the heroes’ faces, as if to verify the holders’ identities, before fizzling out of existence. The cards changed into multiple shades of green, then merged to create a sparkling portal. On Ladybug’s count of three, they all leaped through.

The other side was spectacular and dazzling. Floating lanterns emanated a soft light in all the shades of a rainbow. Streamers hung high above the trees and in between each tree, golden arches stood proud and tall, each decorated with a different variety of flowers and strings of LED lights. On one side, there was a floating dance floor with speakers, a DJ set and a case full of vinyl discs. On the other side, a few party games and a table with multiple party favor bags was set up. Each bag was clearly themed after each Miraculous, if the animal designs were anything to go by. Strangely, there were also two that were themed after Hawk Moth and Mayura, and two turtle themed ones. Further away, in an alcove hidden by a few leafy vines and strings of tiny lights, there was a sweets table, overflowing with all kinds of desserts and candies that one could think of, a cooler filled with soda cans and silly colorful ice cubes.

Once they overcame the initial stage of wonder, Carapace ran to the DJ station and put on some music. Chat bolted to the desserts table, ready to devour as many treats as he could while Rena took pictures and videos of everything, documenting the party for the fun memories that it’ll provide. Queen Bee found a photobooth and dragged Ladybug with her to get pictures. Ryuuko trailed after Ladybug, not quite sure what to do, since she had never been to a party like this one. Bunnyx and King Monkey rushed to the game they were closest to, which happened to be a bean bag toss. Just like their civilian counterparts, the two of them settled easily into a dare-you-that-I-outperform-you-at-this-game atmosphere. Pegasus rejoined them a short while later, partially to join in on the fun, partially to keep score between the two heroes that felt a lot like Alix and Kim. Viperion found himself a quiet zone and watched his teammates have fun

Another portal appeared, and a confused Fu stumbled out of it. He was suddenly transported into a magical forest, and there were many strangers dressed in beautiful and colourful costumes. The stranger dressed in red with black polka dots was talking like she knew him, which was weird, because he didn’t know her. Trying to escape the sad looks that that stranger was giving him, Fu saw the leafy vines and hoped that he could escape to a calm corner. Perhaps find some calming herbal tea? That would be nice. Hopefully, this was just a crazy dream his mind made up. However, that plan didn’t work out, as there was another stranger in the alcove. He was clad in a cat costume, with the ears and the moving tail, the whole set. This new person just stared at him for a moment before going back to the snacks table.

The sudden sound of buzzing and the breeze growing stronger put the heroes on alert. Especially when the people that stepped through were none other than Hawk Moth, Mayura and a sentimonster.

All the heroes stopped playing their games, gearing up for a fight. The one night they get off to relax since forever just had to be ruined by Hawk Moth’s nefarious plans.

As soon as the sentimonster started destroying the party decorations, the hero team decided to split into multiple groups to defeat the villains. Since Mayura was closer to her, Ladybug took the chance to recover the peacock miraculous.

They fought. Ladybug was at a disadvantage, because she had a timer. If she Lucky-Charm-ed her way out of this, she would only have five minutes left to fight Mayura, win and keep her identity hidden from the villainous duo. It would be nearly impossible.

Ladybug and her yo-yo flew around quickly, avoiding a few of the attacks. However, when Mayura started throwing the party cups and decorations, the villainess noticed that it was easier to catch Ladybug unaware. After all, the cat-themed pest wasn’t there to defend Ladybug’s back. Getting the earrings would be child’s play then.

By a stroke of misfortune, Ladybug stumbled and tripped on a fallen tree branch. Mayura seized the opportunity to get the earrings. Just as she was about to grab them, a long metal staff hit her in the ribs and pushed her far away from Ladybug - right into Hawk Moth’s field of attack.

Mayura took the brunt of Hawk Moth’s hit and collapsed. Hawk Moth knelt beside her, full of regret at his actions and anger at the heroes. He swore that he’d get revenge on the heroes for this, then swung his cane wildly in the hopes of getting to one of them.

While they were fighting, nobody noticed the dark vortex, swirling with negativity and crackling with bolts of electricity manifesting out of nothing in the shadows between two trees. Three menacing figures walked out. The air of wickedness around them was like a bad omen. All the hairs on the heroes’ necks rose up, making them more defensive than ever. Even if they didn’t know what caused it — because Hawk Moth and Mayura were still there.

Before Hawk Moth could strike anyone down, the golden arches light up in a blinding light. All the transformations drop, revealing the identities of all the holders.

As Marinette stood up, she looked around for Tikki to transform back into Ladybug and finally retrieve the Miraculous jewels. She didn’t see them anywhere, which is worrying. At least she still had her friends. And Gabriel and Nathalie, who weren’t among the heroes that she chose. Why were they here then? How did they get here? They couldn’t be… could they? Adrien would be so devastated.

Chat’s familiar voice knocked her out of her thoughts. As she looked around, she saw Adrien, standing close to her. As far as she knew, he wasn’t one of the active temporary heroes. Well, he was Aspik, but then the snake went to Luka, and King Monkey is Kim… the only one she doesn’t know is… Oh… He’s Chat Noir. He’s Chat Noir ?!? Adrien, the sweet angelic summer child, the one she’s been crushing on hard is Chat Noir ?!?

Adrien, whose eyes were trained towards his parental figures, full of anger, betrayal, and sadness. He spoke up slowly, as he came to terms with the reality he’s presented with. It was unbelievable. His father, as distant as he was at home, was the villainous Hawk Moth. The wicked menace that sent akumas at an infernal hour. No wonder he wasn’t available to talk with his own son. He was too busy finding the perfect victims! And Nathalie! Where to even start with her? She was supposed to be the rational one between the two of them. Not joining his father on this madman’s quest! And she got the same dizzy spells and the health issues that his mom had before she disappeared. And she’s Mayura.

Gabriel couldn’t take it anymore. His ego wouldn’t let this go. True, the things that Adrien said weren’t completely inaccurate, but the fact that his son was insulting him still stung. These grievous insults wounded his pride, and they were completely unnecessary. He tried to appease Adrien by telling him that he just wanted to bring Emilie back so that they could be a happy family together again. If it took a wish to make it happen, well, what was the worst that could happen? It would only ever be just a wish.

Marinette interrupted Gabriel at that moment to correct the idea of the wish being a harmless thing. Every wish had a price, an equivalent exchange, and no one ever came out of it unscathed. If someone wished to resuscitate a dead person that they loved, someone else that they loved equally would have to die. The universe would always find a way to balance itself, no matter what.

Gabriel argued that it should be fine. Emilie wasn’t dead , just sleeping in a coma in the Agreste mansion’s basement. There was no one else that he loved, so he wouldn’t need to pay the price.

Adrien cracked at this. Hearing his father’s words felt like a slap to his soul. Why did his father say that? What did he do wrong to make his father not love him?

Nathalie rose up slowly on shaky legs, saying that she’d volunteer to sacrifice her life if it meant that Emilie would wake up. If it meant that Gabriel, Adrien and Emilie could be a happy family again, then she would do it without hesitation. Upon hearing that, both father and son protested. Gabriel because Nathalie is the best assistant in the world, the best he ever had, and it wouldn’t be the same without her. Adrien because Nathalie became like a mother figure to him once Emilie left, and he didn’t want her to die, even if it meant that his mother might not come back.

A discordant symphony of cackles interrupted the holders’ bickering. Thunderous noise and sparks of fire appeared out of thin air every time a lightning bolt struck an invisible forcefield. Strong gusts of wind blew all the party supplies and debris away, clearing a path for the three figures floating out of the shadows. The one in the middle, dressed in burgundy, snapped her fingers, and the thunder stopped. She raised her hand and then her voice started echoing all around the forest.

- As fun as watching you squabble over trivial matters has been, your petty fighting has gotten far too loud. I don’t have the patience for that, so nighty-night!

With those words, the witch on the left summoned a thick lavender fog over the party. The witch dressed in burgundy joined in, weaving sparkling tendrils of crimson into the fog as she chanted “Tu in aeternum dormias, in hac silva incantato circumdata somnia” over and over, until the holders dropped down one by one into a deep sleep.