Post-Reveal: Volpina

Chapter Fourteen

"Lila, I'm telling you, even if you stole me, you shouldn't use my power for anything but protection purposes," Sannke urged.

"I didn't ask you." Lila fidgeted with the clasp on the necklace.

"It's my advice. And us foxes are known for being cunning." Sannke's tail swished. "I don't pretend to know what you're doing, but I know you're not doing it to aid Ladybug and Chat Noir."

Lila didn't answer, and instead commanded Sannke to the necklace.

She was ready to steal Ladybug's and Chat Noir's Miraculous for good. Imagine the bragging rights she'd have! Imagine how pleased Papillon would be, and how much fame and attention she'd receive!

She was jumping around Paris, trying to find Ladybug (whom she knew was battling an Akumatized victim), and was stopped by a nagging voice inside her head. One that sounded vaguely like Sannke's voice.

"Volpina, the ultimate way to get attention and love is to do the right thing."

"When has that ever gotten anyone anywhere?" she growled to herself. "The ones who go down in history are revolutionary."

The voice was silent. Volpina resumed her path to Ladybug.

When she finally found her prey, she halted. Chat Noir was collapsed at Lullaby's feet.

Was he dead?

No matter how much she hated Ladybug, and how much she resented Chat Noir for loving her, she couldn't bear the thought that he was dead. Before she could verify whether or not he was breathing, Lullaby scooped him up and flew away to Papillon's lair, wind chimes trailing behind her and playing a sweet melody.

Ladybug, predictably, swung after her without hesitation. Volpina hosted a short mental debate in her head, and then sneakily and elusively followed.

As she was about to jump through the window, she wondered why exactly she was doing this, and what this even was.

I want to save Chat Noir. But that wasn't it, was it? Did she just want attention and praise for saving him? Or was she really following an internal moral compass, one that had been misaligned before now?

And what exactly was her objective? To help Ladybug, or to stop her? To steal Chat Noir away for herself, or to save him so Ladybug could keep him?

When she had stolen the fox necklace, her intention had been to become a revered and esteemed superheroine. And wasn't this the perfect chance to prove her heroism to all of Paris?

That decided it. Volpina vaulted into the room, making an impressive entrance.

Ladybug seemed utterly perplexed. "Volpina? What are you doing here?"

I decided you're right," Volpina responded, surprised at her words. As she said the she realized, as she hadn't before, that they were true. "And we have to unite against the common cause, or whatever. Now, are we going to kick his butt, or what?"

"With pleasure," Ladybug agreed, thankfully not challenging Volpina's strange fluctuations between her side and the enemy's, and somehow (through witchcraft, seemingly) brought Chat Noir to his feet. Volpina now saw, to her relief, that he was merely sleeping.

She didn't even care that this fight wouldn't be recorded on camera. It felt exhilarating to do the right thing, the morally correct thing (even though that's subjective). She relished in the feeling.

She brought the flute to her lips and played a little melody that brought three times as many butterflies to the room, effectively confusing Papillon and Lullaby. In the midst of the chaos, she managed to snag the brooch off of Papillon's crisply pressed suit and leapt out the window without checking to see if Lullaby was okay.

Soon after her brief plight, Chat Noir caught up to her and ran along side her, slightly behind Ladybug. "Where are we going?" he yelled into the wind.

"To Master Fu's. We're going to return all the Miraculouses to the box," Ladybug declared, landing in front of the building. She ran as quickly as she could through the door, and Chat Noir was on her heels.

"We got the brooch!" Ladybug said with satisfaction. Volpina thrust it in the air.

"Excellent. Bring it here, please." Fu did something to the weird old-fashioned music player he had, and the box from which Volpina had stolen her necklace rotated upwards.

She placed the brooch in Master Fu's hand, and he gently inserted it in the box, directly below the space for the necklace. "Very good. Your help was precious, young lady."

Volpina noticed Ladybug and Chat Noir giving each other a knowing glance, and all three simultaneously detransformed. The old man looked up.

"What's this for?"

"If we give you our Miraculouses, you'll have all of them," Marinette said, spreading her hands. "And we could finally restore the world to balance, or something!"

"It's a nice thought, but... correct me if I'm wrong, mademoiselle," he said, addressing Lila, "but I believe you stole the necklace because you wanted it so badly and misused its power."

"There's more to it than that," she murmured. "I'm willing to give mine up."

Marinette stared at her in shock. "You... you are?"

"Sure. Whatever." She was secretly dying to give the necklace back, especially if it meant it could "restore the world to balance."

"That's great! See, we're more than willing to give you our Miraculouses," Marinette reminded. "Imagine what might happen!"

Fu thought about this for a very long time. So long, in fact, that Lila grew fidgety.

"What's wrong with it?" Adrien urged. "What-"

"Master, I know you still feel guilty about what happened last time, but it's time to try again," the turtle kwami persuaded.

"What happened last time?" the three teenagers asked in unison.

"That's a story for another time. But you're right, Wayzz. It's time we reunited you with your brothers and sisters." He clutched the bracelet. "It's possible I might never see you again, so... I'll miss you."

"Me, too, Master," Wayzz said, slightly choked up, and then he disappeared as the bracelet was taken off and placed very, very carefully in its section of the box.

Lila fingered her necklace and looked wistfully at Sannke. "It was fun while it lasted," she said quietly, and undid the clasp of the necklace and placed it in the box.

"Tikki, you know this, but you're so much more than a kwami to me," Marinette managed. "I loved being Ladybug."

"You were a really special Ladybug," Tikki told Marinette. She looked as though she wanted to say more, but Plagg started into a loud and dramatic fit.

"Ah, you were so much fun to turn into Chat Noir! And you gave me lots of cheese!"

"We still might see each other again," Adrien suggested, voice shaking slightly, and slipped off the ring, setting it in the yin half of the yin-yang.

"Au revoir, Tikki." Marinette removed her earrings and gently put them in the yang half, completely filling the box.

The room seemed strangely empty without the company of the kwamis. The air was heavy with melancholy longing.

The box was shut carefully and set on the floor. It began to flow intensely. Master Fu, Adrien, Marinette, and Lila all covered their eyes instinctively.

A few moments later, the glow was gone. The four in the room opened their eyes simultaneously.

The box was gone, and in its place was a pretty-looking blonde woman.

Adrien inhaled sharply. "Mere?"