Spirit of the Sphinx || Miraculous Fan Fiction ( Chat Noir X Ladybug X Reader)

Chapter 17: Origins

Master Fu frowned down at the sleeping creature on his futon, worried. Agent Sphinx had been tossing and turning fitfully for the last hour, though the sleeping potion kept her from waking up. Wayzz put another damp cloth on Sphinx's head.

"She's not doing well, Master," he said anxiously.

"I know, my friend," Master Fu said, rubbing his eyes as he stared blearily at the ancient manuscript he'd been studying. "But so far I have found nothing that can aide this creature. Obviously, this is a being that has been trapped in Agent Sphinx's body with her, but how do I separate the two without destroying one of them?"

Chat Noir barged in excitedly, clutching a large book in his hand.

"Master Fu! I've got something!"

Master Fu looked up wearily.

"How serendipitous. Ask for an answer from the Universe and it sends you to my door."

Chat slammed the book on the table, releasing a cloud of dust, making them both sneeze.

"I did some research into the symbols on the amulet as you said. Most of them were unrecognizable but this one looked familiar." Chat pointed to one that was in the center of the amulet. "It's on the cover of a book my father has had in his private library for like...two years now! I must've seen it a million times and it never clicked until now. Isn't that crazy?" He asked excitedly.

"Quite a coincidence," Master Fu said, stroking his beard thoughtfully. "What are the odds that your father would have a book with information we need on this creature?"

"I know!" Adrian said, flipping through pages. "There's sections on the weird hieroglyphics, the amulet and theories on how it worked, even supposed origins of this Sphinx." Adrian said, turning more pages. "Apparently there's a myth that this Sphinx had gained control of a small town, near where the necropolis of Egypt is now. There are conflicting theories here too, some say she was a terrible monster who ripped apart anyone who defied her, others say she was beloved by the people. Both however agree that it was a pharaoh in the early dynastic period who viewed her as a threat. With the help of his priests, this pharaoh was able to call upon the Gods to help them create an amulet to trap her inside and use her power for 'the glory of Egypt' and conquer neighboring lands. But here's the really, really interesting part." Adrian pointed to a picture of one of the hieroglyphs. "These were apparently two of the warriors that helped to take down the Sphinx and capture her within the amulet. Look familiar?"

Master Fu peered through his glasses at the faded temple markings. Then his eyes widened. One of figures was a crude drawing of a female, with a spotted dress, while the other was a male sporting cat ears.

"Ladybug and Chat Noir." He murmured. "How interesting. I am surprised your kwami had nothing to say on the subject."

Adrian looked a little irritated.

"Plagg said something along the lines of it kinda blurs together over time and buried himself in his cheese. Which usually means he's hiding something."

"I am sure he will say something if he needs to." Master Fu said. "So ancient versions of Chat Noir and Ladybug were at hand to aid in capturing this Sphinx?"

"Yeah." Adrian nodded. He was still giddy with the idea that he was part of a lineage that seemed to stretch back hundreds of years. "It says that someone – it does not say who- took pity on her and warned her of what was coming, and the Sphinx created a spell so that when she was trapped, the only way to unlock her power was to answer the riddle she gave them correctly. If they answered wrong, the person would be driven mad. You'd think that something like that would scare people away," Adrian commented, turning the page, "but apparently the pharaoh was so desperate to unlock her powers he forced the whole town to try and answer the riddle. It is said that her amulet was hidden in a tomb that is guarded by the bodies of every person she drove insane." Adrian shivered slightly.

Master Fu took the book from Adrian and studied the sketches and drawings of the amulet in the book. They matched the one worn by the creature on the futon perfectly.

"Excellent work young one. It seems we have found the creature we have been looking for and the cause of her imprisonment. Have you found anyway to remove the enchantment?"

Adrian shook his head.

"I didn't see anything, since most of this is considered just a myth anyway. But there are warnings that the wearer would be in great danger if the amulet is ever broken. And we saw what happened yesterday, it looked one of those movies where two people are trapped in one body."

"And they appear to still be fighting." Master Fu said, nodding towards the moaning Sphinx. "Her agency is coming to pick her up in a few hours, we do not have much time to come up with a solution."

"There's something else." Chat said, looking serious. "There's this girl who has been staying at my house for the last few days – and she's gone missing. Natalie told me this morning that her aunt got sick and she had to go home suddenly, but...I was in her room last night and I found this."

Chat held out the feather to Master Fu. "I can't tell any of this to Ladybug...on account of her not wanting us to reveal our secret identities," He muttered, a little annoyed, "but I thought you should know...since, well, you already know who I really am."

"Do not be vexed with your partner for wanting to preserve your secrets, Adrian." Master Fu said gently. "Be patient, and remember that an unripe apple is not as delicious as one that has been left on the tree to mature."

"Right." Chat wasn't really sure what Master Fu meant by that. "Anyway the feather is too big to belong to any birds in Paris, and it matches the feathers on Sphinx. Either Agent Sphinx took the girl staying with me, or she is Agent Sphinx."

Master Fu examined the feather closely.

"You were wise to bring me this, Adrian. No doubt knowing who this creature is bound to will help set it free. Tell me, what was the name of your guest?"

"[U/N]." Adrian said. "But here's the thing, if she really is an agent of some sort it makes sense she would give Ladybug and I a fake name, right?"

"Ladybug has met her?" Master Fu asked curiously.

"Yeah," Chat waved a hand dismissively, "there was an akuma at school and she and Ladybug were already involved when I got there. Had some decent moves, like she'd been in a fight before, I just thought she took martial arts or something. Anyway, [U/N] mentioned to me later that she lost her Dad on a trip to Egypt, and since that's where this Sphinx is from..." Chat pulled a newspaper clipping out of the back of the book. "I did a little research on any exploration digs to Giza in the last few years and found an article about a Doctor [Y/L/N], who was killed while investigating a tomb that was recently discovered near the necropolis. The only person to survive was his daughter [Y/N], who was twelve years old at the time. The picture is a little blurry, but it could be her."

Master Fu looked carefully at the picture and smiled.

"This is good work Adrian. Like a candle, your curiosity has brought light to the darkness of our search. And if this Agent Sphinx is really who you think she is, you may be key to helping break the magic that holds her captive. Trust your instincts, for like the bamboo they are strong, yet flexible. Now if you would help me with something..." Master Fu started rummaging through the things laid out in his shop.

"Sure, Master Fu," Adrian said, willingly lending a hand. "What are we looking for? Magic powder? An ancient stone?"

"No, my cellphone." Master Fu said with a twinkle of amusement in his eye. "I need to call Ladybug and have her pick up a few things for me."