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“I see. In that case, Lila Rossi, as my champions have defeated you and your blood in fair combat, I claim the spoils of victory. Your magic shall serve my house for as long as I shall keep it.”
The voices of generations of Rossi sorceresses fade into silence, and Chat Noir feels a change in the air. The Guardian lets the smallest of hisses escape from between her teeth, so small that even Chat Noir, whose eyes have not left her since she took the Peacock Miraculous from his hands, barely notices. He notes the subtle sag on her shoulders, the tightening of her face beneath her cowl of night, the hint of mint that passes across his tongue as she releases her held breath.
The moment passes and she straightens her shoulder, shrugging off the discomfort. She turns to her Champions, who have carefully made their way through the battlefield to join Chat Noir and the Guardian. “You have righted a great wrong this night.” The assembled heroes watch the Guardian as the sun rises behind her, dispelling her cloak of night, replacing it with a robe of sunlight. The crown of stars on her brow brightens as she suddenly is holding a box, one that Chat Noir knows his team has not seen since the night his father was defeated.
Slowly, delicately, reverently, the Guardian replaces Duusu’s Miraculous into its proper position in the upper ring of the box. “With your victory, the circle is closed. What was broken is restored. You all have my gratitude.” There is a moment of awed quiet.
Rena is the first to break the silence. “What happens next, Guardian?”
“It is as I told you. It is time for me to withdraw from Paris. I will take Duusu with me and repair the Peacock Miraculous.”
“And the Ladybug? Lila doesn’t really look like she’s in a position to help uncurse anything right now.”
All six look to where Lila lies on the ground. Carapace pales a little. “Is she…” He leaves the question unasked but it hangs in the air.
“Not yet.” A shroud of magic covers the defeated supervillain, and she vanishes between one breath and the next. “And with the right care, she won’t be. Do not worry about Lila Rossi, I will handle her. As I will handle the Ladybug.
“Before I move on to these tasks, though, we must close our circle here. You will recall that when I gave each of you the Miraculous you now wield, I charged you with working for the greater good in the battle against evil. Now, as this chapter in the war comes to a close, I once again offer you this choice. Will you continue in your role as a Champion for the greater good?”
She meets eyes with Carapace, Rena, Queen Bee, and finally Ryuko, who each nod. She accepts their renewed vows with a smile. Finally, she turns to Chat Noir. “And you, Chat Noir. I did not charge you with your Miraculous, but I do now. You have suffered great losses that can all be laid at the feet of those who would use the Miraculous for their own good, and no one would blame you for setting the responsibility aside. Will you continue your fight?”
Chat swallows, his throat thick, but he does not hesitate to answer. “For as much as I’ve lost, that can all be blamed on my father’s selfishness. What I’ve gained is so much more than I could have possibly imagined, and that is due to the Miraculous, and to you, milady. Of course I will continue my fight as your Black Cat.”
The Guardian nods and only Chat Noir can see her brilliant smile under the hood, which has now taken on the eggshell blue of the early morning. The first rays of daylight weave their way through her cloak and she pulls them into her hands. She twists them between her fingers, spinning them into five reams of golden fabric woven through with streaks of what tastes to Chat Noir like resolve.
“Then go forth into a new day, Champions. Revel in your victory, and bask in the light of peace, as fragile as it may be.” She waves her hands and the four other heroes are gone, sent back to their beds. Chat Noir tastes the richness of an unfamiliar spell, the flavor dissipating nearly as quickly as it filled his mouth.
“As for you, mon chaton, we have business to attend to.” He blinks and is suddenly elsewhere, joined by Marinette, who has shed her Guardian guise. Plagg comes spinning out of the ring and Adrien’s transformation falls away.
“You have it, Guardian. I can feel the sorceress’s magic in you. Is it time?”
“Yes, Plagg, it is time. Adrien, I have need of Plagg’s powers for this ritual. Do not be alarmed.”
She crosses her legs, sitting on air, and removes the Miracle Box from her shadow, placing it in the middle of a ritual circle that has formed around her from the golden sashes she has just created.
The magic pouring off Marinette—the Guardian, he corrects himself as a cloak of magic more brilliant than she has ever worn settles around her shoulders—is heavier than anything Adrien has ever felt. He feels dizzy with it, his thoughts suddenly clouded by the waves of pure power rolling away from this circle.
A five-pointed star forms from the cloth around the Guardian, and the Miracle Box opens, the upper ring resonating with her summons. He feels the power of Trixx, Wayzz, and Pollen recalled to the box, joined by Nooroo and Duusu.
“The first light to shine over a great victory, joined by a vow renewed five times over.” The taste of mint fills Adrien’s senses. “The sacrifice of ancient magic.” Adrien hears all of this through a tunnel. When did the Guardian get so far away? “Balance is restored.” The ring on Adrien’s finger is suddenly frozen. Molten? The Guardian is standing at his shoulder. He is standing at hers. They are a thousand miles away from each other. They are pressed up close against each other.
The iron-tasting entropy of a Cataclysm runs through the mint, leaving cherries, resolve, sunlight in its wake. The sunlight is swallowed by Misfortune; the vows are received by the End of All Things. The Miracle Box is singing. Marinette—the Guardian?—Marinette is laughing. Paris releases a breath that has been held for three generations. Are Adrien’s cheeks wet? Pure potential, Creation-Made-Manifest, fills Adrien’s senses, and the last thing he remembers, his only clear thought, is Marinette gently kissing his forehead as he is laid down in his bed at Nino’s and falls deep into sleep.