The Forgotten Ring

Chapter 10: Cataclysm

~MONARCH~

A man stands in the center of a dark room with a giant closed window. A strange contraption sits behind him, consisting of a series of circular tanks in ring formations. Almost every little tank is occupied by a strange floating creature, save five of the terrariums. The creatures hover miserably in their cells, all energy drained from them.

One of the creatures floats dejectedly before the man, awaiting orders.

"It seems our dearest rivals have a new ally," the man says into the silence. "Nooroo, what miraculous is that?"

The tiny purple creature squeaks nervously when spoken to. "The miraculous of the white cat, master," he whispers.

"How come I've never heard of it?" the man asks.

"It was supposedly lost for years, sir," Nooroo starts. "It was originally the counterpart for the black cat, but...circumstances changed that."

"What happened?" the man sneers. Nooroo flinches. "I order you to tell me!"

Nooroo sighs in defeat. "It was too powerful," is all he says.

"What is its power?"

"The power of creation, sir."

The man sharply turns to the kwami. "The same as Ladybug's? Why?"

"It...it allows the wearer to create almost anything they set their mind to. It outweighed the other miraculous powers, so it was discarded."

"Could I get my wish by only getting that miraculous?" the man asks rapidly.

"No, sir," Nooroo whispers. "It has a few limitations. You can't make or bring back life, and whatever is created vanishes when the holder is detransformed."

The man growls and clenches his fists. "I'll find a way to change that," he pledges. He turns to face the caged creatures, hands behind his back.

The kwamis shiver in fear, secretly hoping that their cruel master would leave them be. The man stares frustratedly at the five empty tanks. Nooroo is one of them, but currently Nooroo is out with him. The peacock miraculous was given to someone the man could not remember, and the rabbit miraculous, stolen by Ladybug and Chat Noir. And, of course, the middle two tanks were left empty, saved specially for the miraculouses of the ladybug and black cat. It seemed the man would have to add one more for the new hero.

The man rubs his temples in thought. He was growing impatient. He had been trying for years to get his love back, but to no avail. He had almost all the miraculouses now; it was time to do something about it.

He glances down at the multitude of rings he wears on his hands. He had destroyed all the miraculouses and turned them into rings for his convenience. All he had to do was press the ring of the power he wanted to the corresponding kwami tank and it would be activated.

The man growls and shouts, "Nooroo, dark wings rise!"

Nooroo warps into the brooch as the man transforms into Monarch.

"Trixx, Longg, Wayzz, Kaalki, your powers are now mine!" he calls. His rings press to the tanks and the kwamis are sucked into the metal bands.

The man stands uneasily. He hasn't used this many miraculouses at once for a while. Having too many activated miraculouses is dangerous, and he discovered that early on. Any more and the immense amount of power might have broken him completely.

"Today, Ladybug," he rumbles, "today, I will get a victory."

~ ~ ~

Monarch had almost gotten us.