"Grade Representative Elections," Alya reads off the poster. "Don't you mean Class President?"

"Nah, each grade in the school has a representative, sort of like a diplomat," Nino explains. "The President's spot is reserved for the Seniors. They organize events and listen to representatives about issues with the classes, it's a whole thing."

Alya reads the poster and then nods to herself. "Hm. Alright." She and Nino walk to class. "So, who's our Grade Representative?" When Nino threw his head back with a groan, she already had a feeling. "Don't tell me... Chloé?" Of his nod, she mimics his previous action. "That girl is representing our entire grade?! Why did you all even vote for her?!"

"We didn't. No one else ran." Overhearing their conversation, Juleka decided to add her two cents. "Chloé uses blackmail and intimidation to make sure no one else runs against her. But, really? I think she's just too lazy to write her own campaign speech." The bespectacled students look at each other and nod. "Last year, Reshma tried running, and everyone was totally on board with her campaign, but Chloé threatened to have Damocles shut down the manga club if she continued."

Alya looked like she was about to scream, but then just sighed. "That man better grow a spine."

"It ain't just Damocles, Alya," Nino sighed. "Reshma's just as rich as Chloé, but her parents don't have the Mayor's influence. And that's how she got what she wanted. Hell, even the Austins know not to cross her because, as I said, they don't have the Mayor on their side." He chuckles a bit and pulls up something on his phone. "Although, I think this year will be just a little different. Check it out. With the mayoral elections coming up, Bourgeois has been scrambling to try and make sure he gets re-elected."

"I heard he's making Chloé do community service," Juleka chortled. And on cue, a frustrated scream could be heard as Chloé stormed through the front doors of the school with visible bags under her eyes. And you could tell her mood really was bad because she managed to push Ivan and Denise out of her way. "Yesterday, she worked at a soup kitchen and planted trees with kindergarteners the same week she got her manicure."

Marinette sighed wistfully as she passed by them. "While that does sound great at first, it'll only push her to be more ruthless in the Grade Rep election."

"Even if no one's running?" Alya questioned. "Is she even a good Grade Rep?"

"Well... Every field trip is super expensive so it takes our entire grade months to raise money for," Juleka starts listing. "But that's kinda the same for everyone. But for us, most of the time it's at some five-star place with nasty rich white guy food."

"And she never helps with the fundraisers," Marinette mentions. "She shoots down all of our ideas and comes up with ones that take up like half the day." She presses her face against the wall and bites her hand to hold in a scream. "This one time, she rented a traveling circus for three days! And for three days, our whole class was the carnies! A girl can only take so much pie being thrown at her face, Alya!"

Juleka pats her friend on the shoulder with a sympathetic look. "There, there. It's all behind us now. But Alya, in short, Chloé is not a good representative. She only cares about herself, she plans events that only cater to her likes, and if anyone has a problem with it, she makes sure to make the school year a living hell. Last year near the end of the school year, Rose mentioned she'd want to run for Grade Rep this year, but Chloé threatened to get her kicked out of the scrapbook club. That's like her thing, messing with clubs her competitors are in."

Alya scowled. She's only known Rose for a while now, but that girl is sunshine and rainbows in human form. How anyone could just go and threaten someone so sweet is beyond her.

"I know," Juleka muttered. "I was consoling her for weeks because she actually wanted to help our grade."

"Who wants to help the grade?" Adrien asked as the four made their way into the classroom.

Juleka sighed on her way to her desk. "All will be revealed shortly."

Adrien arched an eyebrow. He turns to Nino and asks, "What's that about?"

"Grade Rep elections, dude. And guess who's running unopposed yet again." He points to the door, and in struts Chloé right on time. "Long story short, this entire year will be hell... For you, though? I'm sure you'll have some benefits as First Lady."

"Dude, nice." Marinette fust-bumps him while Adrien opened and closed his mouth like a fish.

"I am no one's First Lady," Adrien hissed, making Nino hold his hands up in a calming way. "Especially not Chloé's."

Alya leans back in her seat. "Then you better pray someone runs, blondie. Not Mari or me, 'cause we got Bug and Cat Chat, Mari's got her sewing. We're swamped." Before another word was said between the four, their phones went off in their bags. It was a message from the class group chat, which excluded Chloé and Sabrina no matter how many times Alya pleaded for Marinette and Max to add the ginger.

Max Makes Mechs:
Who would like good news and who would like bad news?

Buff But Sweet:
...

Briar Rose:
Good news plz

Mari-is-Designing-&-Blogging:
Rip the bandage off, man

Smol Thespian:
I like good news

Red Emo Bangs:
Gotta go with Mari

Red Emo Bangs:
Pull the knife out

They See Me Rollin':
Jesus, Nath!

They See Me Rollin':
What he said, but not like that

Max Makes Mechs:
Bad news it is, then.

Max Makes Mechs:
Okay, so I accessed Chloe's digital files

Alya-is-Blogging:
Ooh! Boy be snooping

Blonde Wonder:
Snoop Dogg

Son of Poseidon:
Snoopy Doo and Mystery Inc

DJ Lahiffe:
Snooping like Charlie Brown's dog

Mari-is-Designing-&-Blogging:
The Snoop, The Snooper, and The Snoopiest

Briar Rose:
... You guys done?

Red Emo Bangs:
Just be glad I can't think of any... Yet.

Red Emo Bangs:
Max, continue

Max Makes Mechs:
May I? Anyway, I just so happened to have found Chloe's files while... Doing things

Red Emo Bangs:
Shady Much?

Purple Emo Bangs:
Nah, he sus

Max Makes Mechs:
And I found one titled, 'Grade Rep.'

Buff But Sweet:
She isn't even Grade Rep yet

Max Makes Mechs:
In summary, this is a list of what she's planning to do once she's back in office

Max Makes Mechs:
This includes class trips and fundraisers, seating arrangements, and classroom policies. Just try not to scream

Max Makes Mechs:
[image]

Max Makes Mechs:
[image]

Max Makes Mechs:
[image]

Mari-is-Designing-&-Blogging:
I CAN'T FUCKING BELIEVE THIS!

Son of Poseidon:
I'm fine working at the hotel, but look at what jobs she's having us do

Smol Thespian:
She has me on trash duty!

They See Me Rollin':
Oh, like hell I am cleaning her bedroom!

Red Emo Bangs:
And I have to help move around the gym equipment!

Red Emo Bangs:
Look at me! I'm scrawny and hate heavy lifting! I will throw my back out in a hot second!

Red Emo Bangs:
Please don't make me move anything!😭

Son of Poseidon:
No one's gonna make you, buddy!

DJ Lahiffe:
Shit, I gotta teach yoga to seniors

DJ Lahiffe:
Nothing against old folks, they're cool

Smol Thespian:
I'd LOVE to teach yoga! It's like she assigned us stuff she knows we'll hate

Alya-is-Blogging:
Trash duty?!

Alya-is-Blogging:
Do I look like I touch garbage?

Mari-is-Designing-&-Blogging:
Fuck no

Blonde Wonder:
And would you look at that

Blonde Wonder:
Chloé put me and herself down together for the front desk!

DJ Lahiffe:
Tough break, madame first lady

Max Makes Mechs:
Oh, that's not the worst of it

Max Makes Mechs:
[image]

Purple Emo Bangs:
Great, another stuffy rich white guy hotel

Purple Emo Bangs:
No offense, Adrien

Blonde Wonder:
None taken, we suck

They See Me Rollin':
My dad went there for a Historians Conference, and he HATED it!

They See Me Rollin':
The food sucked, they don't play any good music, and he says he got followed around a lot

Mari-is-Designing-&-Blogging:
... I beg your pardon?

Smol Thespian:
What?

Max Makes Mechs:
Oh, God

Alya-is-Blogging:
Alix... Please don't tell me...

They See Me Rollin':
... So an Arabic guy walks into a fancy hotel and the white manager asks him-

DJ Lahiffe:
Great, so a hotel with racist staff. Wonderful.

DJ Lahiffe:
I ask that you note my sarcasm

Blonde Wonder:
Noted

Smol Thespian:
Noted

Son-of-Poseidon:
Does Chloe even know?

Son-of-Poseidon:
I mean, I don't like to think anyone's that bad

Mari-is-Designing-&-Blogging:
For her sake, I hope she didn't know

Briar Rose:
Now I'm definitely not helping to raise money for a trip there.

Buff But Sweet:
Like hell I'm spending even a minute there

Son of Poseidon:
Max, bestie, tell me there isn't more

Max Makes Mechs:
Okay, I'll show you

Max Makes Mechs:
[image]

Son of Poseidon:
Max, WHY?!

Red Emo Bangs:
OH FUCKING HELL NO!

Mari-is-Designing-&-Blogging:
Couldn't have worded it better! She can't make me leave my design book at home!

Mari-is-Designing-&-Blogging:
"So I don't fall behind" my ass! I get good motherfucking grades!

DJ Lahiffe:
It'll be a cold day in hell before I give up my headphones!

DJ Lahiffe:
I don't even use them during class

Purple Emo Bangs:
I'm not dying my hair back

They See Me Rollin':
Same here!

Smol Thespian:
Me neither

Red Emo Bangs:
She can pry my sketchbook from my cold, dead, clammy hands!

Briar Rose:
She can't stop me from wearing my perfume!

Buff but Sweet:
If she can get these rules past the school board, she can

Blonde Wonder:
Guys, she's gonna make me sit up front with her!

Alya-is-Blogging:
My curves are a distraction?!

Alya-is-Blogging:
Alright! How many guys here find my curves distracting?!

DJ Lahiffe:
I always make respectful eye contact!

Max Makes Mechs:
Boys

Son of Poseidon:
No way! I'm not like that!

Blonde Wonder:
Nathalie gave me ALL the talks about consent and harassment

Blonde Wonder:
Plus, I'm Ace

Buff but Sweet:
Mylene is and will always be my #1

Red Emo Bangs:
In terms of romantic and sexual feelings...

Red Emo Bangs:
Guys > Girls

Alya-is-Blogging:
Okay, that's what I thought

Alya-is-Blogging:
So, I can't show off my midriff, but she can stroll in wearing some skinny jeans?!

Red Emo Bangs:
This reeks of jealousy

Alya-is-Blogging:
YES!

Alya-is-Blogging:
Thank. You. Nath.

Mari-is-Designing-&-Blogging:
Alya, I say this respectfully and in the most pansexual way possible, but you have the thighs of a goddess

Mari-is-Designing-&-Blogging:
And any girl who tells you otherwise is jealous

Alya-is-Blogging:
Giiiiirl! ☺️

Blonde Wonder:
Body positivity makes me go 'Brrr'

Buff but Sweet:
Then in that case...

Buff but Sweet:
Myléne, you are gorgeous, and I love your dimples

Smol Thespian:
Ohmigosh!

DJ Lahiffe:
And Nath, ur thickness is unparalleled

They See Me Rollin':
Nath, you can crush a melon between your thighs

Red Emo Bangs:
Thank youuuu!

Blonde Wonder:
Was that a compliment, or fact?

Red Emo Bangs:
Can't it be both?

Blonde Wonder:
😲

Buff but Sweet:
Fuck

Smol Thespian:
IVAN!

Alya-is-Blogging:
Share with me your secrets, oh great one!

Red Emo Bangs:
Sure. Pretty soon, you'll be able to crack skulls.

Blonde Wonder:
... While I am curious, let's put a pin in that

Max Makes Mechs:
He's right. Unless we want to suffer for the school year, we need to pick a new Grade Rep

Max Makes Mechs:
That means no backing down despite any stunt Chloé might pull

Mari-is-Designing-&-Blogging:
Well, I'm a no-go because of my clothing commissions, work for Bug & Cat Chat, and I gotta help my parents at the bakery

Max Makes Mechs:
Not me. I have dozens of projects to work on

Smol Thespian:
I already plan on running for Theater Club President

Purple Emo Bangs:
Don't feel like making a speech

Red Emo Bangs:
Same

They See Me Rollin':
I just don't feel like it

Alya-is-Blogging:
I wouldn't know the first thing

DJ Lahiffe:
Nope

Buff but Sweet:
Not a valid reason, Nino

DJ Lahiffe:
Fine, I still need to make edits to our movie before the deadline in like four days

DJ Lahiffe:
I can't be bothered coming up with a campaign

Buff but Sweet:
Better. And you guys know I have to take care of my nana

Son of Poseidon:
I would run this class to the ground

Son of Poseidon:
So... Adrien?

Blonde Wonder:
...

Blonde Wonder:
Shit, am I the only one left?

Briar Rose:
Unless you're too busy...

Blonde Wonder:
Nothing except the occasional photo shoot, but those are usually on weekends

Blonde Wonder:
And I DO like having power

They See Me Rollin':
I just felt a chill

Alya-is-Blogging:
... Is it too late to say I wanna run?

Buff but Sweet:
Probably

Blonde Wonder:
Okay! I'll run for Dictator and beat Chloé in the election!

Red Emo Bangs:
🤣

DJ Lahiffe:
I'm with Nath on this one!

Mari-is-Designing-&-Blogging:
Phones down! I see Miss Bustier.

Everyone put their phones away as the redheaded teacher walked into the classroom, panting and with a couple of strands of hair loose from her usual bun. "Sorry I'm late, everyone. My car decided to be a little you-know-what and not start."

"So you ran?" Alya asked.

"I didn't run cross country in University for nothing, Alya," she said while repinning her hair. "It's been a while, but I am still in the best shape of my life."

Kim looks impressed. "Future goals, teach."

She waves him off with a bright smile. "Anyway, I'm sure you all know, each grade is holding their grade representative elections." Everyone in the room gave a collective groan, with the exception of Chloé and Sabrina. Honestly, Caline couldn't blame them. Chloé probably has to be one of the worst grade representatives. She doesn't listen to her fellow students' concerns and has countlessly abused her power to make their school lives miserable. She's tried going to Damocles about this, but even back then, he was still under the mayor's, and by extension, Chloe's thumb.

Here's hoping the mayoral elections will turn out differently so things can get back in order around here.

"And," Mme. Bustier continues, ignoring as Chloé preens in her seat. "I'm sure you all know Chloé is running for the grade representative position again with Sabrina as her deputy." In other words, Chloé forced Sabrina to run for the deputy position so none of the other students will "bother" her with actual concerns in the classrooms. "But, just as a formality, do we have any other candidates?"

Chloé looks around at the classroom smugly. As if these losers would dare to run against her, nut unless they'd like to get kicked out of their clubs-

"I nominate myself for Grade Dictator!"

And just like that. Her entire world came crashing down. Her Adrikins is running against her?!

Mme. Bustier suppressed a laugh when she saw Chloé's expression. "Adrien you can't nominate yourself. Or be a dictator."

"Hey, Chloé's been running the class," Kim quipped, making the blonde girl let out an enraged snarl. "And if he can't nominate himself, then I will! I nominate Adrien Agreste for Grade Dictator!"

"Again, we have representatives, not dictators-"

Marinette raises her hand. "I second! Adrien Agreste for Grade Dictator! Adrien Nation forever!" The students all cheer and chant 'Adrien Nation' while Chloé looks and wonders what the hell is happening. Mme. Bustier just sighed and took a sip of her coffee, wondering if teaching University students would have been easier. Although she can't deny it, she'd like to see how this goes.

With a fond smile, she continued, "Well then, Adrien, you and Chloé will have a week to put together your campaigns, earn votes, write a speech, and on the day the votes are all counted, we'll see which of you wins."

Chloé scoffed and turned her nose up. "It'll be me." After all, her daddy always wins those mayoral elections, and he will again despite what these losers are saying. Andre Bourgeois has many ways of getting what he wants, and that means he can get her what she wants.

🗡🦋

"So, that wasn't a dream? I actually ran for Class Dictator?"

Nino and Marinette were having trouble containing their laughter. "Dude!" He wheezed while slapping his hand against the stair railing. "You got everyone to chant, 'Adrien Nation' on our way to our next class, vowed to banish Chloé when she tried to get you to drop out, and we got it all on video!"

"I already made some concept designs for your posters." Nathaniel shows him what he's designed on his tablet. "I kinda want it to look like those Obama Hope posters. But, it's really up to you."

Adrien scrolls through the different sketches for his poster designs, looking more and more impressed by the next. His finger stops over a medium-shot rough sketch of him wearing a blazer with the school's crest stitched to the right, and there's a transparent overlay of France's flag. "... Can I see how this'll look with the flag behind me?" Nathaniel nods and gets to work. "Okay, I've got poster guy. What else do I need for my campaign?"

"A memorable slogan," Juleka adds before looking back down at her journal. "Ivan, Rose, and I may have workshopped a bit."

"I can make pins, shirts, and other stuff out of Nath's art," Marinette offers. The other artist beckons her over to check out some of his designs.

Max types something on his laptop. "You're going to want a PR manager. If you had to choose, the likely choice would be Alya." The auburn-haired girl quirks an eyebrow. "Think about it, you are the most social-media savvy person in the class. Your posts and stories get over five-thousand notes, so it's clear you know what the common people like." Alya beamed with pride.

"Alright. I'll be the best PR Manager you'll ever have, blondie!" She tussles his hair, making him laugh. "First thing's first, you're going to need an Instagram account for your campaign. Post occasional stories of your promises to the students of our grade, make polls, and make sure to promote your art team's projects on the side." Marinette and Nathaniel give him a thumbs up. "It shows you care about the needs of others, and you do, but we've gotta let everyone know it."

Adrien nods the entire time as he's creating his new Instagram account. "Got it. Anything else?"

"Only this." Kim clears his throat before yelling through cupped hands, "HEY, EVERYONE! Adrien Agreste is running for Grade Representative!" The students in their grade start to gather around. "If you want a fair and impartial representative, vote for him!" Everyone in the courtyard cheers and starts chanting Adrien's name, even those who aren't in his grade.

"Yeah!" Marcelle thundered. "Off with Bourgeois' head!"

Austin B claps. "So far, I'm in."

"Make sure to follow Adrien @Agreste4Dictator on Instagram," Alya announces, showing everyone the new account on her phone. "Don't let the name fool you, he's a benevolent dictator, people! Remember, if you want fairness and someone who doesn't use their family's influence to make their classmates carnies for a fundraiser, vote Adrien Agreste to be your representative!"

Lacey gave a low whistle. "That'll be hard to beat, Ismael."

"I'll get you fifty followers on your Twitter election account before the end of study hall," Simon told the shorter boy. "Fifty-four if I can somehow convince the Austins."

"I'll be honest, I think I might have been high on my allergy pills when I said I'd run for representative," Ismael admits with a shrug.

Aurore nodded. "Yeah, you were pretty drowsy this morning." She tussles his hair a bit.

"Plus, I ain't competing with Mr. Sunshine over there. And knowing Chloé, she'll try to win by any means." Ismael discreetly points to Chloé standing far away from the crowd with Sabrina. The blonde girl looks a mix of enraged and betrayed. "And I don't feel like having my secrets getting exposed and shit, alright?"

Reshma puts her hands on her hips with a raised eyebrow. "What secrets do you have that I don't know about?"

Ismael chuckled. "Some secrets of mine are better left unheard, Resh."

🗡🦋

For three days now, Adrien has been working to gather potential votes. So far he has his classmates and Mendeleieve's students on his side. Marcelle is working to convince her classmates to vote for him, assuring them that Chloé definitely won't get revenge on those who voted against her... Hopefully.

His parents couldn't be prouder and were thrilled he was finally taking an interest in a school activity. Emille had bragged a couple of times that she had been the student body president when she was a student, and it took a fancy bottle of wine from Gabriel to get her to stop mentioning it every hour.

The only thing concerning him was how Chloé had been quiet lately. Adrien honestly expected her to send a limo after him while he was walking home and have one of her father's security guards pull him in like in one of the political corruption movies. Then she'd blackmail him with incriminating photos that are no doubt photoshopped or just ones from when he was a child and did stupid stuff as every child does.

It was almost like she expected to win. And speaking of, today marks the end of the mayoral elections. If Andre Bourgois wins again, Adrien will be wondering if there's been a gas leak or something. And there probably is if the school's fencing team instructor tried running for mayor when he has no experience... Seriously, what is up with this city?

"What do you think? The blue tie, or the red?" Marinette asked as she and Reshma held both ties up to the blonde's shirt collar. "I mean, red is one of the school's colors, but blue gives off a calm demeanor."

"Split the difference and go with black?" Mireille suggested. "It's timeless and goes well with any color." She makes quick work of tying the necktie around Adrien's neck in a perfect Windsor knot. "See?" The girls nod and give his look a thumbs up.

Mme. Mendelieve's students, plus Marcelle, were offering their services for Adrien's campaign as well. Simon and Alya worked together as his PR team, Marinette, Reshma, Mireille, and Aurore worked on his outfits, Juleka, Marc, Jean, Ivan, and Rose helped with his speech and slogan, and Kim, Marcelle, and Denise worked as his in-school bodyguards in case Chloé was up to any tricks. Because when Chloé Bourgeois is quiet, you know something is wrong.

"Okay, you're on in thirty seconds," Simon reminds him as Alya gets her tablet set up for the live stream. "Let's make that face a little less shiny." Reshma gets out her powder and dabs a little on Adrien's face. "Perfect. Twenty-one seconds."

"Got your speech memorized?" Marc asked.

Adrien nods. "Sure do, thank you again, you guys."

"Twelve seconds, blondie," Alya said.

"Don't forget your button." Marinette quickly pins one of the buttons she and Nathaniel made on his shirt. "And you're set."

Alya counts down on her fingers. "Five. Four. Three. Two." She points to him.

"Hello, Francoise DuPont. My name is Adrien Agreste, and as you all may know, I am running for the Sophomore Representative position. Now, I know some may think-"

"Is that why you ran in the election, Mr. D'Argencourt?!"

It was Nathaniel who summed it up the best. "Are you shitting me, man?" Alya subtly tilts her tablet over to the exchange between Nadja Chamack and Armand D'Argencourt.

"Was this nothing but a ploy to seek revenge on your ancestor's behalf?"

"This will be very fun to watch," Cosette said to the viewers.

In the comments section, people who didn't go to the school but were invested in the election are wondering how Nadja and her cameraman managed to sneak into the school without being noticed and if the school even had security.

"Part le fer! Wherefore art thou hither?"

Jean gestures for Alya to turn her tablet toward him. "For those who need a translation, he's saying, 'Why are you here?'"

"Do you have anything to say about your rankings in the polls?" The anchorwoman holds her microphone a little too close to the man's face, and Marinette and Nathaniel couldn't help but roll their eyes. Knowing her personally from babysitting Manon, they've come to the conclusion that Nadja Chamack is a bit... Over the top.

"Hey!" Mme. Mendleieve shouted from the second level of the school. A second later and the fencing teacher probably would have taken matters into his own saber. "How did you two get into the school?" She starts to storm down the stairs, prompting Nadja to drag her cameraman out. "Do not let me catch you in here again! The nerve of some people," she muttered.

Alya turns her tablet to Simon. "Everyone, we'll be back in a moment once we're someplace quieter. Thank you." She ends the live stream. "Okay, that could have gone better, but we had no idea Nadja Chamack of all people would be here."

"She was bound to show up here one day," Marinette sighed. "With all the Akuma victims that go to this school, I honestly should have seen this coming. Plus, y'know, our fencing teacher did run for mayor."

A look of suspicion crosses Denise's face for a moment. "Come to think of it, does he even have any experience in politics? While I can respect someone wanting to reclaim their family's honor, this is just over the top."

"From what I heard, his ancestor, Darkblade, ruled over Paris with an iron fist back in the Dark Ages," Alix notes with a look of disgust.

Simon adds, "Until some rich guy used his money to buy the people's loyalty and get them all to overthrow him. Honestly, if I were born during those times, I'd side with the rich guy. I mean, right?"

"For real, can't believe I'm saying this, but Bourgeois would make a better ruler than that guy," Ismael remarked. "Didn't Darkblade have three wives all at once and force everyone to follow his religion?"

"It was four wives, actually."

"I think he tried to wage a war for no reason."

"Oh, and he sacrificed his dogs."

"And forced one wife to shave her head since she was having 'impure thoughts.'"

Simon waved them off. "Guys, you know those are only rumors... Probably."

While his friends were discussing the fencing teacher's diabolical ancestor, Nathaniel was wondering when now would be a good time to go and Akumatize Mr. D'Argencourt. He can't just sneak off, he'd be noticed right away because he just had to wear this bright purple hoodie.

But, if the outcome of the election turns out the way he expects, Mr. D'Argencourt will be so enraged, that he'll be the perfect bait for his Akuma!... There's also the chance he'll put Paris back in the dark ages, force women into unflattering skirts, and do hell-only-knows to people who aren't Catholic. Well, as long as he keeps the man on a tight leash, that'll surely never happen. Hopefully, after Theo's interview with Marinette and Alya, future Akumas know better than to ever cross him.

🗡🦋

This was meant to be a celebration party. Now the wine just tastes bitter on her tongue.

Demeter grabbed the bottle from her clenched hand and took a swig. "I can't believe we lost," Caline bemoaned while Jean-Pierre shook his head. "Th-they all saw the video, right? This must be a mistake!" She gestures to her television screen, the image of that man standing at city hall and still wearing that damn sash mocking her.

Fred topped off his glass. "The people have spoken, I guess." He chuckled a bit. "Remember back when we were sixteen and protested against the mayor at that time-"

"Because he wanted to tear down a park to build condos," Demeter reminisced with a laugh. "I seem to recall Caline pulling down a construction worker's pants." The redheaded teacher choked on her drink while laughing at the memory, making the purple-haired woman smirk as she recalled the day. "Yes, that very same man shoved me, you got angry, and pantsed him in front of a camera crew."

Jean-Pierre slapped his leg as he laughed. "His heart-printed boxers were on tv for two weeks!"

"Oh, what I wouldn't give to get away with that stuff now," Caline sighed. "If you look up my name, all anyone would see is a gif of me pulling down the mayor's pants in front of everyone. Plus, I wouldn't want to embarrass Chloé like that."

"Yes you would," Fred remarked with a smug smile.

"Immature much?" She snarked, then took the wine bottle to top herself off.

🗡🦋

"Of all the crafty shit she could pull, she just had to do this?" Alya throws her hands up in exasperation. "Adrien, your folks must have hundreds of connections, yet you didn't think to do this?" She gestures to the booth in the middle of the main floor of Hôtel de Ville where rock legend, Jagged Stone himself is there, signing autographs on CDs for DuPont's sophomores.

Alya and Simon knew it just was not in Chloé's nature to be quiet for this long. Here she comes out of nowhere, bragging on her Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat that not only did her father win the election, but Jagged Stone is also at City Hall signing autographs for the launch of her campaign!

"And remember, everyone! Everyone who votes for me gets a ticket to Jagged Stone's next concert!" Chloé announced and holds up a stack of tickets for every student to see. Noticing Adrien standing by the front door, she winked and blew him a kiss. In response, he flipped her off.

"Hey, I don't use my connections to get what I want," Adrien said in defense. "Besides, are people really going to be swayed by tickets when they have a CD of songs from his best album?"

Max types something on his phone. "Not to worry, everyone. According to the polls, Adrien is still ahead. Chloé's gained five more potential voters because of this stunt and they're latching onto the hope that she'll give away the tickets if they vote for her, but the majority really do want a change."

"Well, in that case, I'm getting myself a CD." Cosette and a few others stroll over to the booth. "Remember, do not be tempted by the tickets."

Austin Armbruster scoffed as he and his friends walked past them with their autographed CDs. "We could easily buy out the entire stadium for a private concert. Nice try, though, blondie!"

After getting his CD signed, Nathaniel snuck away into one of the bathrooms on the first floor as soon as he noticed his Miraculous glowing again, much brighter than last time. Mr. D'Argencourt was pissed... That or those who didn't vote for Andre Bourgeois are enraged like anyone after hearing the results of an election when the person they voted for didn't win. Either way, he's still getting an Akuma.

"How do you think Mr. Bourgeois even won?" Nooroo wondered. "Rogercop showed everyone the video that Nino took, right?"

Nathaniel bit his lip in thought. "Yeah, there's definitely up here. I mean, if I'm running for office and a video of me transforming into Monarch gets out into the public, no one's voting for me. He threatened people's jobs and tried to instigate an unlawful search of minors. Something's not right."

"Well, you can figure that out later," the Kwami chirped.

"Nooroo, Wings Rise." Fortunately, none of the bathrooms here had cameras, but he's got to make this quick just in case someone comes in. Monarch sends his Akuma off, and in no time, it finds a disgruntled Mr. D'Argencourt slicing a poster of Mr. Bourgeois into pieces with only his saber. 'This should be easy.' "Hello, Darkblade. Let me be the first to apologize for your loss-"

"I dost not need the pity of a villain who hath terrorized this city for too long!"

... Okay, that was to be expected. "... Okay, but-"

"Dost not speak another word, thou knave!"

Monarch grits his teeth. This guy is really starting to get on his nerves right now. For someone so turned on by the Dark Ages, one would think he'd respect Monarch because of his whole Prince get-up. It's like the guy would rather bow down to some dude in a powdered wig wearing a French Revolution Era outfit!

"Thy majesty, Pray, forgive me!"

'... What?' Monarch was confused by the sudden 180 until he saw something that made him jump out of his skin. He was right outside City Hall. And Mr. D'Argencourt was bowing to him?

'Okay, that's more like it, but this is weird.' He didn't leave the room, and it doesn't feel like he's... There. It was like when he tried out Max's virtual reality goggles, he was there, but at the same time, not there. He gives a quick look around before he catches his reflection in a car's window. That's him, just not in his usual outfit. His clothes are now a purple and black version of an aristocratic outfit from 10th-century France.

'... Yeah, this is definitely weird.' Seeing the fencing instructor still bowing before him, most likely expecting some sort of punishment, Monarch awkwardly told him, "Uh... Hey, get up. I'm not gonna cut off your head, or anything, alright? Just... Accept my Akuma, Darkblade, and we can pretend this never happened. Unless," he adds with a smirk. "You'd rather defy your Prince-"

"No, sire! On my honor, I shall be indebted to thee when the flag bearing the emblem of mine ancestors lies once again upon the roof of City Hall!"

'What is with this guy?' "Yes, you do that." When he cuts off communication, Monarch finds himself back in the bathroom and in his normal clothes. "What the hell? Wings Down." He catches Nooroo in his cupped hands. "Nooroo, what the hell was that, and how do I do it again?"

Nooroo looked eager as he got to explain his powers some more. "It's how few holders of the Butterfly Miraculous are able to get their Champions. They can appear as sort of a hologram but with mass."

"Mass?" The Kwami nods.

"It helps to convince potential Akumas. When Mr. D'Argencourt saw you dressed like French royalty from the Dark Ages, he respected you and accepted your Akuma."

Nathaniel looked uneasy before asking, "Isn't that kind of manipulative?" Before Nooroo could answer, he held a finger up. "N-nevermind, don't answer that." Suddenly, there was a crash outside. "And, there's Darkblade." He slips out of the bathroom, going unnoticed as all the students in his grade are staring out the door and windows at the good-sized army Darkblade had managed to put together. "That was quick," he murmured to himself.

"O-ye, o-ye!" One of the knights bellowed. "Darkblade shalt speak now! Listen or be imprisoned!"

Darkblade steps to the front and points at the building with his sword. Although looking closer, he seems to be pointing it at Mr. Bourgeois. "Henceforth, my flag shalt fly over thy kingdom! Bourgeois, pathetic knave, come hither and do battle!"

"What did he say?" Asked the mayor.

Jean was the one to answer. "Oh, he's gonna plant his flag in place of the French flag on top of the building, he called you a miserable and dishonest man, and he wants you to sword-fight him."

Now that, he understood. Mr. Bourgeois quickly shut his doors. "Ask my secretary for an appointment!" He yelled through the solid wood.

'Coward,' many of the students thought. Seeing them starting to advance, Marinette's quick to react. "Everyone! Barricade the doors with whatever you can find! Hurry!" Denise, Kim, Ivan, Marcelle, and the other physically fit students from the other classes run to grab the heavy stuff while the others work to push any cabinets around up against the windows.

And while Marinette lead everyone, Adrien couldn't help but watch her with awe. The way she immediately took charge, the fire in her eyes... 'She'd be a way better Grade Rep.'

The barricades didn't stop the knights from trying to break down the doors with whatever they had, but they hindered them a bit. Amidst the chaos, Max runs into a coat closet to transform and sneakily makes his way out through one of the windows to ward off the knights.

"So." Ikati Black slides down his pole and lands behind the knights. "I take it you all are heavy metal fans," he quipped before lengthening his staff to use as a makeshift sword against the knights' very real swords. Now he's wishing he had spent more time playing Wii Sports. The sword fighting wouldn't be realistic, but it sure would've helped him in this situation.

He deflects a few strikes with his staff and even splits it in two when the knights start coming at him in fours. "Where are you, Scarlet?" Ikati Black smacks another knight away, and when he does, he notices Darkblade approaching two civilians who were trying to hide. Before he could go to help them, the Akuma tapped their shoulders with his sword, and in a flash of green light, they turned into knights.

"... Shit."

🗡🦋

"Lacey, how's the climbing gear coming along?"

"I'm working with what I got." She holds up a braided rope made from some of the decorative plant vines and roots. This building is lousy with them.

Marinette moves over to Cosette, Reshma, Jean, and Juleka using their nail files to sharpen the ends of some mops and brooms to a fine point. "Keep those spears coming, guys. Austins..." Her voice trails off when she sees them doing absolutely nothing. Tomassian is at least trying to dial for help, but the Akuma must have messed with the signal, so he won't be reaching anyone. "... Nevermind. Marcelle, Marc, Saanvi, Simon, Nath, Alix, Denise, what's it looking like outside?"

"They have what appears to be a trebuchet," Simon answered without missing a beat. This made everyone stop what they were doing.

"Repeat that," Nino requested after a beat of silence.

"You heard me!" The redhead screamed. "Brace for impact people; they're loading a fucking car!" He gets off of Denise's shoulders and drops to the floor. Everyone else follows his example, and just in time as a car was hurled right through the wall and skidded along the floor. The Knights shouting, "Part le fer!" could be heard as they loaded another car into the medieval weapon.

Rose voiced everyone's thoughts when she yelled, "RUN!" The students and those still in the building ran up the stairs to the second level of city hall. Chloé was the fastest out of everyone, only because she kept pushing everyone out of her way so she could get to the first room and lock herself inside.

"Did this girl seriously just..." Austin Boulet grabs the doorknob and tries to open the door, but it won't budge. "Bourgeois! Open this damn door before we all die!"

"As if! Find your own panic room!"

The Austin in yellow sputtered for a moment. "OPEN! THIS! DOOR!" He demanded, slamming his fist against the door with each word.

"Forget it," Austin Armbruster tells his friend then whispers, "Let the little skeeze die alone." His friend smirked and followed the group to find a new room to hide in, but by that time, the knights have already broken into the building after hurling another car. While everyone was piling into the rooms, Darkblade seized seven more people, including Marinette, Denise, and Jean.

"GET YOUR HANDS OFF OF ME!" The bluenette screamed. She scratched and kicked at the knights holding her, but her attacks were no match for their armor. Alya tried to go and help her friend, but Mr. Bourgeois quickly shut the door so no other knights could get in.

Darkblade hefts Marinette up by the back of her shirt. "A feisty wench, this one is." The bluenette scowled.

"The fuck did you just call me, you rusty tin-can?!" She lands a kick to his crotch, but as suspected, he didn't even flinch. "... Jean, Denise, help me out."

Jean writhed around in a knight's hold in a vain attempt to avoid Darkblade's sword while Denise couldn't even yank their arms out of the knight's hold. "Dealing with my own problem-!" The words died in their throat when Darkblade's sword tapped them on the shoulders, turning Jean into another one of his knights.

Marinette blanched when the sword made its way to her next. There was only one thing she could do at that moment now. "... My last words are Chloé Bourgeois sucks!"

Denise felt their blood run cold when their friends turned into knights right in front of them. So, deciding to take a page out of Marinette's book before they could get knighted, they yell, ¡Te amo, Simon O'Connor!"

🗡🦋

"You unbelievable spineless coward of a man!" Nino yelled at the mayor, but he wasn't listening. Andre was trying to get a hold of the police so they could save Chloé... Chloé, but not them. "HEY! Are you listening to me?! You just shut the door on three students and four innocent people! And might I add one of them was helping to keep us safe and alive?!"

Ivan grunts as he, Marcelle, and Vance push a cabinet up against the door. "Nino, maybe save this for later?"

Simon screamed into his hands while pacing around the room. "No! No, this needs to be said! Right here, right now! Bourgeois, you got a messed up kid! You know that?"

The man had the nerve to look aghast. He stares down the redhead, trying to look intimidating. "Young man, I will not be spoken to that way! Need I remind you, I am your mayor?"

"Bitch, he didn't vote for you," Cosette hissed, making him gasp. "Hell, my parents didn't vote for you after they saw that video!" She looks over at Reshma and gestures for her to pull out her phone. No way this is going undocumented. "And it's pretty obvious to see why since you just ran up the stairs like a coward instead of letting students, minors, go first, you let your daughter lock herself in a room alone so she could leave us to perish..."

While Cosette ranted, Alya was trying to coax Sabrina into calming down. When Chloé shut that door on everyone, Alya knew something was wrong with Sabrina when she saw the look of horror and betrayal cross her face. It was like she couldn't believe Chloé would stoop that low or something. "Hey, 'Brina, look. I'm here."

"I-I th- I thought she'd he-help me. Sh-she d- she didn't even ask for me! We're supposed to be friends," The ginger rambled. She was staring off into space, looking at nothing. Alya wasn't even sure if she was aware of anything right now; it was like she was completely in shock.

The creole girl sighed. It was bound to happen one of these days, she supposed. "C'mon, 'Brina. Let's sit you down, okay?" She brings the ginger over to a table and has her sit down on it. "Alright, there you go... This is gonna sound weird, but... You wanna braid my hair?" This seemed to snap Sabrina out of her daze and she gave the other girl an odd look. "My sisters always liked braiding my hair whenever they were in a mood. It's calming for them, so... Wanna try it out?"

Sabrina looked a little apprehensive for a moment. Then she took a few strands of the soft hair and got to work on making a small braid.

"And another thing, Bourgeois!" Cosette continued. The mayor was now backed into a corner while Mireille was trying to restrain them. "Why don't you discipline your daughter, huh? What? Are you scared of her, or something? You get so tired of hearing her scream and whine, that you just pander to whatever the hell she wants?!"

"Part le fer!" Everyone heard before a boulder was hurled into the room next to theirs.

"CHLOÉ!" The mayor cried, making Cosette tense a bit.

Then, allowing everyone to take a breath of relief, Chloé screamed, loud enough that it could be heard through the walls. "Daddy! Get me out of here! Why didn't you losers warn me?!"

It was quiet for a moment.

"Is this girl serious?" Marc whispered to Nathaniel. It seemed like the worst possible moment to try and start a conversation, but maybe it would help. What he was forced to see when Myléne was Akumatized had left him unable to get a good night's sleep. Understandable since every time he went to bed, all he could see was a bloody hole in Nathaniel's neck and his eyes rolled back into his head as he lay on the cold, hard ground. This honestly seemed like his best chance at getting the nightmares to stop... Kinda unfortunate that it had to happen during an Akuma attack, though.

To his relief, Nathaniel didn't seem appalled by the question. "Hey, I'm not surprised. Honestly, I'm kinda all for Dark Blade's whole 'eat the rich' thing."

"What?!" Reshma screamed.

"No one's eating the rich, Resh," Ismael promised. He whispers to her, "Although should we get hungry, we're eating uinlan-quay first." Discretely, he points to the redheaded Austin trying to push through the crowd so he can be closest to the window for his escape.

Messing with the spikes on his bracelet, Marc continued, "Um... I never actually apologized for what happened on Valentine's Day. I-I just figured if this whole thing goes South, and we're all knighted, I should tell you-"

"Marc, don't say that." The noirette tried so hard not to smile like an idiot when Nathaniel rested a hand on his shoulder. "First, I know what happened wasn't your fault." A strange look crossed his face before disappearing as quickly as it disappeared. "Second, we're getting out of this." He points to Lacey opening one of the windows and throwing down her braided rope. Adrien is handing students the makeshift spears in case they run into any knights on the way down.

"We're uh," he chuckled and scratched the back of his head. "Pretty resourceful for sophomores. Now come on. Let's get the hell out of here."

Marc gave a determined nod and followed him over to the window.

"Alright, Ivan and Alix are getting Chloé out of the other room right now," Adrien tells them and points. The three of them are shuffling along the ledge of the building to the rope. "After them, you two go. I messaged Scarlet Beetle and Ikati Black; they're gonna fight any knights in our way, but we're gonna have to do some fighting, too, and then we'll head to my place. The security system is top of the line, and there are plenty of rations to go around while we wait for the heroes to fix everything."

Alya gave a low whistle while Sabrina worked on her seventh braid. "Damn, blondie."

"Someone's gotta take charge with Marinette gone," he reasoned.

"We're definitely screwed if she's a knight, you guys," Ismael remarked. "I'm just pointing that out. Yes, Denise will punt us across the city, but that girl is an evil mastermind." A few students nod in agreement.

"Your turn, guys!" Ivan hollered once he, Alix, and Chloé made it to the ground, unaware of the knight coming up behind them until Scarlet Beetle's yoyo wrapped around their torso and yanked them aside.

Marc went down the rope first, followed by Nathaniel who was handed a finely sharpened spear from Juleka. A quiet gulp escaped from his mouth when handed the weapon. He had practiced with his cane only three times and was still just getting the hang of it. But, he might as well use some of the moves he learned.

'Knees bent. Move from your elbow and shoulder. Move fast to try and disarm... You've got this.'

He almost didn't. The two had encountered their first knight when they made it to the eleventh arrondissement, and with Marc defenseless, Nathaniel took to fighting them off. He had lost his balance two times, almost had his head chopped off, and kissed the concrete when he veered out of the way of a swing. It took a while, but Nathaniel managed and even successfully disarmed a knight! Now he had a sword, which was badass, and he's definitely keeping it.

🗡🦋

"Dude! You need to teach me how to do that!" Nino exclaimed while walking into the foyer with the others who had made it. He had been right behind Marc and Nathaniel when he saw the usually passive artist disarm a knight who had to be twice his body weight like it was nothing. "I'd kill to have skills like that!"

Alix gave the redhead a friendly punch on the shoulder and chuckled. "Dude? Badass! You'll learn how to street fight, but not how to rollerblade?"

Nathaniel looked around the room and saw a few pairs of eyes on him, most of them disbelieving. Which, is pretty valid. He's not on the athletic side, so hearing that he disarmed someone with boosted strength and agility, wearing armor and carrying a sword was bound to make some people skeptical until they saw the broadsword in his hand.

He gave a sheepish smile. "Fight or flight, I guess?"

"I call bull!" Exclaimed Ismael. If fight or flight were real, he would've been living way differently than now. Meeting Nino's gaze across the room, he gives a quick nod and looks away before he could see his reaction.

Gabriel Agreste shouted over the loud murmurs in the room. "Is that everyone? Tell me before we activate the security system!" To show he's serious, he holds up his tablet with the screen showing a blue screen with a glowing handprint icon. The students and city hall staff look around, trying to see who's missing besides those they saw get knighted. "Alright, if that's it..." He presses his hand against the screen, and the students all flinch when the doors and windows are suddenly barred with some strong-looking metal.

"What is that, steel?" Lacey wondered as she looked at the bars through one of the windows.

"Tungsten, actually," Emille bashfully admitted. "Celebrity families come with highs and lows. One of those lows is stalkers who claim that your son is their own," she adds bitterly as a few unwanted memories resurfaced. The thought of some deranged woman sending a letter claiming Adrien as her son sickened her to no end. She and Gabriel could hardly rest when she found the letter and that's when they decided to amp up the security. The metal bars may have been much, but one can never be too careful, especially with Monarch running around now.

Alya shuddered as she thought back to Valentine's Day, and all of those freaky letters. She looks at Adrien to make sure he's okay, but, his mind seems to be somewhere else at the moment. He's got his 'thinking' look on. "Everything cool, blondie?"

Adrien suddenly snapped out of his thoughts and quickly ushers Alya over to a quieter part of the room. "Do you think this is everyone? I-I know some must have gotten knighted- Maybe I should have put in a better system to make sure everyone got here safe, or-"

"Adrien." She grips his shoulders to get him to look at her. "Okay, let's chill for a moment, alright? First, why are you stressing? You've got the majority of our grade to safety, you were on point with that escape, and contacting Scarlet Beetle and Ikati Black? Fucking genius," she beamed. "So... What's up?"

"... You think Marinette could have done this better?"

Alya gave him a soft smile. "Hon, she's only human. She does the best she can, and so do you. Let's focus on the positives right now. When Marinette got knighted, you stepped up as a leader, showing everyone once again how good a fit you are for Grade Rep. Now," She cups his cheeks and gave them a little squeeze. "Quit being mopey, and take me to the game room so I can see if I can beat Mari's high score."

"Attacking the girl while she's down?" Nino tsked. "For shame, Alya, for shame."

"You hush," she scoffed and looked off to the side... Where she caught sight of Chloé making her way up the stairs while Adrien's family was trying to calm down some of the more anxious students... And, she was making her way toward Adrien's room. 'Not on my watch, boo,' she thought to herself, knowing her intentions. "Real quick, blondie, mind if I use your bathroom?" Off his nod, she made her way up the stairs. She wasn't going to hurt Chloé, no... She just wants to have a little friendly chat.

"Alright, you've got yourself a two-handed sword," She heard Nathalie telling Nathaniel as she showed him how to hold his new weapon. "So, have your right hand at the top end of the grip and the left hand at the bottom. You'll have a much firmer hold on the sword and it'll be difficult for your opponent to knock it out of your hand." The redhead nodded and readjusted his grip around the weapon.

🗡🦋

"Cursèd, colorful acrobats!" Darkblade exclaimed when Ikati Black ruined his knights' formation by using cataclysm on the ground beneath them so they would fall into the sewers, taking out about a quarter of his army. It wasn't a lot, but it was a start. Dark Blade tapped two cars with his sword and turned them into catapults. At his command, knights start loading themselves in. "PULL!"

"That's not gonna end well." And Ikati Black was absolutely right when both knights slammed none-too-gently into the wall with an "Oof!" before sliding down. "See? Now, come on! We need to get to the roof before he sets down the flag!"

"On it!" Scarlet Beetle threw his yoyo to mess with the catapult's aim, making causing the next knight to land in a fountain. He yanked on his yoyo hard until the string cut through the wood, destroying the first catapult. Before he could destroy the second, Darkblade caught the end of his yoyo and flung the spotted hero into a brick wall.

"Scarlet!" Ikati Black cried and surged forward with his staff split in two. He deflected the other knights' attacks so he could get to Darkblade, but one managed to overpower and pin him to the ground piercing their sword through his tail and into the ground. This left Darkblade able to catapult himself up to the roof with his flag, shouting something about, "Stripes," "coat of arms," and "reign supreme."

Before the knight who took Ikati Black down could deliver a blow, Scarlet Beetle's yoyo wrapped around their arm, and they were thrown to the side. "Th-thanks," he stammered.

Scarlet Beetle took the sword out from the ground and swung it over his shoulder. "No problem." He helps his partner up and has him wrap an arm around him. Ikati Black just barely noticed the quick awkward look that crossed his face but didn't say anything as he propelled them up to the roof. Before Darkblade could make it to the flag, Ikati Black threw his staff, hitting the knight's hand so he'd drop his flag and become aware of their presence. "It ends here, Darkblade!"

"Villains! Thou impress me not!" He hits the tip of his sword against the roof, and at his command, four knights come out of hiding, restrain the heroes, and toss their weapons to the side, leaving them completely defenseless as they were forced to watch Darkblade's, and by extension, Monarch's victory. "By the blade of darkness..." He picks up his flag and approaches the French flag. "I hereby declare all peoples of this kingdom are henceforth mine!" Once the flag is replaced, the skies are suddenly turned dark without a single cloud in the sky. From down below, civilians were turned into knights when the darkness spread to them and made their way to city hall to await the head knight's orders. Scarlet Beetle and Ikati Black pale when it finally hits them. They failed.

Scarlet Beetle called for his Lucky Charm in vain, but it was useless unless he was holding his yoyo.

Ikati Beetle wasn't doing any better. He was racking his brain for some sort of idea to get them out of this, but... He had nothing. He used his power, Scarlet can't call for his Lucky Charm, and now Paris is under Darkblade's control! A quiet whimper escaped through his lips and he turns to Scarlet Beetle, "Scarlet, I'm sorry!" He blurts.

"It's okay," he assured. "There's no way we could've-"

"No! I-I mean, I'm sorry for what happened on Valentine's Day!" His vision was slowly starting to be obstructed by tears. "I'm sorry for taking advantage of you like that, for-for kissing you while you were under an Akuma's control, and then not stopping, and waiting so long to apologize! Scar-"

"I should be the one who's sorry!" Scarlet Beetle exclaimed, squeezing his eyes shut to hold back his tears. "I wrapped my arms around you! I basically forced you to stay on top of me! Then I acted all cold and awkward around you, and I didn't even say why..." A tear finally makes its way down his cheek. "Overall, Ikati... I just wanted to tell you I'm sorry before-" He shudders a bit when Darkblade approaches. "That."

Although they couldn't see it, Darkblade was smiling like a madman under his helmet. He was the winner, Monarch's successful Akuma, his key to victory. And once he takes the Miraculous, he shall be forever in the Prince's debt. Before he could grab the earrings, though, his arm violently jerk back with a yelp. "Pray tell, what- AAH!" He fell to his knees and gripped his arm.

"Look!" Ikati Black jerks his head towards Darkblade's arm. Dark purple veins are forming along the armor and are already spreading up to his shoulder. "What's happening?!"

Scarlet Beetle couldn't take his eyes off of the Akuma. "I-I don't know!" Hoping the knights were good and distracted, he kicked them in the shin, making their grip loosen so he could toss them over the side of the building. He yanked the knight restraining Ikati Black away and did the same so they could rush to Darkblade's aid. If this turns out to be a trick, it'll be a cold they in hell before they can trust Akumas when they say they're hurt.

"Scarlet, I can't get his armor off!" Ikati Black exclaimed as he tried to pull the armor off, but even with his enhanced strength, it wouldn't budge. "Darkblade, you need to tell me what's wrong!"

Darkblade couldn't get a word out before a sudden flash of purple light hit them. The heroes look and find... Monarch. He was just standing there by the flag, but... There was something off about him. For one, he's purple and see-through! Also, there was an eerie feel to him, the way he seemed to look past Scarlet Beetle and Ikati Black and at Darkblade with so much malice in his eyes. The heroes were about to grab their weapons in case this was some sort of trick, but then Monarch just held his hand up and put his thumb and pointer finger together, and the purple veins spread through half of Darkblade's body, making him scream in agony.

Ikati Black bared his teeth and surged toward the villain. "CUT IT OUT!"

"..." Monarch took all of his blows without so much as wincing when the staff hit him, and he just continued to walk towards Darkblade while Scarlet Beetle put himself between the two. Scarlet Beetle's yoyo bounced off of him each time until finally, he was standing over Darkblade. The Butterfly holder kneeled down, and the heroes waited for his next move. They just weren't expecting, "You were a mistake," Monarch whispered, and put his hand on the sword's blade. It glowed a bright purple as he forced the Akuma out.

Scarlet Beetle was stunned for a moment before he remembered the Akuma and made quick work of catching, purifying, and spreading his Cure around the city. During all of that, Monarch had disappeared.

"... Why did he do that?" Ikati Black wondered.

🗡🦋

There was so much blood... So much screaming... Nathaniel was vaguely aware of all that was happening around him during that moment. The skies turned dark, there were flashing red lights. A wailing noise... Marcelle was kicking and screaming while being dragged away by Simon as heavy tears streamed down her face. And there's Marc. He's on his knees with a sword sticking out of his chest.

That's a sword.

It's sticking out of his chest...

Oh, and Alix. His best friend, her leg was just cut off... That's not good. And Chloé and Alya are just lying on the stairs with huge gashes on their back.

Also, it looks like there's a knight in front of him, but they're on the ground. And a hand is missing.

Nathaniel didn't know what happened next, or how he was able to make it into the kitchen without being spotted, but he made it... Also, there was... Blood? On his sword? That's weird, but then he saw Nooroo, and he looked really scared. He was telling him to say something, and then the next minute... His senses returned. His Akuma killed and injured his friends. He killed and injured his friends. The entire fucking foyer is covered in blood, he probably cut off a knight's hand, and he launched Paris right back into the Dark Ages!

He did the one thing he could do at that moment... He screamed. Loudly. Then everything just sort of blacked out for him until the next thing he knew, he was back in the kitchen with a bunch of glowing swarming around him. Monarch called off his transformation and was met with a very frantic Nooroo asking if he was alright. And to be honest, Nathaniel wasn't entirely sure. He just walked back into the foyer where everyone else was as pretty shaken up at the moment.

The knights were gone, that's good. His friends are all healed up and there are no blood splatters. He doubts any of them will forget what happened here, though.

"Hey," Alix finally said. She was quiet for a moment before pointing to his hand. "Still got your sword." The redhead looked down and saw that he did, in fact, still have the sword he took from that knight earlier and then used to cut off a hand. And it was clean, so that's a plus. "... You good?"

'Not really.' "Yeah... You realize my mom's gonna flip out when she sees me with this, right?"

Alix managed to snort a laugh, making Nathaniel smile a bit. "Hey, if she doesn't let you keep it, I'll take it off your hands, bud."

"Is everyone alright?" Asked Nathalie. "Physically, I mean!" Everyone gave a murmured round of "Yes," and "I'm good." "Okay, I'd suggest calling your parents and having them give you rides home."

"And I'll just take this," Alya piped up as she snatched a green journal out of Chloé's hand while she was still sprawled out on the stairs. "Blondie! This yours'? Found Chloé snooping through your room, wrestled it from her a bit." She tilts her neck and it emits a pretty loud crack. "I figured she was looking for blackmail material, and I was right when I saw her with your diary."

Adrien happily took it. "Thanks, Alya, but this isn't my diary. Just cosplay ideas." He flips through the pages so the creole girl can see different rough sketches of costumes, most of which she recognizes from animes like My Hero Academia and SK8 the Infinity. "Also, I live in a multimillion-euro mansion, do you think I'd just leave my diary out in the open like that?" He scoffed. "Come on."

"You know," she chuckled. "Most guys wouldn't admit to owning a diary."

"I can admit it because no one will ever find it, or both keys."

🗡🦋

Mme. Bustier had "calmly" and "kindly" coerced principal Damocles into letting the sophomore class have a week off from school after the events that took place during Darkblade's attack. When they returned, a couple of the other students tried to give their two cents and downplay what went down, but an icy cold glare from Mme. Mendeleieve managed to quiet them down.

Other than that, they returned to school just in time, because the polls for Grade Representatives are in. The Senior Grade representative is Beck King, a well-liked student and sibling-like figure to the younger students with a promising hockey career, and acting as their Deputy is their classmate, Ferdinand Prince. The Junior class voted for Willow Lovat, and she chose Corey Jones as her Deputy, an easy election as last year, Willow was voted Most Levelheaded in the superlatives and it had been unanimous. The Freshmans voted in Neil Nye as their rep, and it was a close call considering three of the most popular students in their grade were running, but he had two master manipulators for campaign managers and one hell of an artist to make his posters. For his Deputy, he chose Erin, whose friends had been forcing her to run for Representative, but she was more of a "Behind the scenes" type of girl.

And finally...

"WHAT?!" Chloé exclaimed when she saw the results on the school's blog. "How could I lose?! I gave you all Jagged Stone CDs and tickets to his concert!"

"You didn't give us the tickets," Austin Quinlan reminded her with his hand on his hip. "You'd only give them to us if we voted for you. And we didn't, but that didn't apply to the CDs, so... Yeah, you lost."

"Also, Adrien's speech? Hands down, the best one I've heard," Alix adds, making other students agree with her. Juleka, Marc, Jean, Ivan, and Rose couldn't help but beam with pride knowing they help to write an election-winning speech.

Ivan shyly raised his hand. "It also didn't really help you in the polls when you locked yourself in a room and left us to get attacked by a bunch of knights." A frown crossed his usually gentle expression. "Also, Alix and I rescued you, and neither of us heard a 'thank you' for it. So, you got your answer on why we didn't vote for you."

"Then your dad acted kinda cowardly back there," Marinette said. "I mean, the man's decent with politics, but kinda lousy with relations with the citizens."

Mylene shows the bluenette her phone. "You won't be saying that when you hear about this sanitation program he's been planning."

Not wanting to hurt her pride even more, Chloé stormed off in a huff, only to stop when she noticed Sabrina wasn't following her. "SABRINA!" She tapped her foot impatiently, waiting for the ginger to follow, but she was caught looking between her and Alya. The bespectacled girl gave her a gentle look that said, 'I'll trust you.' And it didn't take long for Sabrina to make her choice.

She went with Sabrina. Chloé shot Alya a smug smile before continuing to storm off.

Alya sighed, and Nino put a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, you tried. But relationships like theirs'? It takes a while, you know?"

"I guess. But, hey, let's not mope around. We've got a certain blonde to congratulate." She jerks her head in Adrien's direction as students are already wishing him good luck, asking what his first act will be, and who he's choosing for his deputy. He answered the second question pretty quickly and now, Reshma was being swarmed with questions. Apparently, Adrien had heard about how she tried to run last year, but couldn't due to Chloé. She quickly accepted, figuring this was the closest she would get to the action.

🗡🦋

"Looks a lot like him," Nooroo murmurs, resting on Nathaniel's shoulder as he sketched Darkblade. "Another one to the list?"

"It'd be stupid not to add him." Nathaniel pauses on shading just to stare at his sketch and wonder, 'What the hell was I thinking?' "... I basically helped kill most of my friends," he said to himself.

"Nathaniel-"

He cut the Kwami off, "Don't try that, Nooroo, please. I always thought Copycat was my worst, but this guy? I gave this guy a bunch of armed knights, he sent Paris to the Dark Ages for a brief moment, and then his army fucking slaughtered my friends." A sob escapes through his lips, making Nooroo hurry to hug him. "How many more people am I going to hurt just to make that damn wish, Nooroo? I-I thought I had a hold on him, but I couldn't get away, and his knights weren't- they weren't supposed to-"

"Stop it!" Nooroo shouts, silencing Nathaniel. "Nathaniel, I won't lie, this was probably your worst move, but you can't beat yourself up over this. People will get hurt, I can't lie to you about that, but unlike you, those who got their wish never cared what happened to people in the line of fire. They let families die, children, they burned homes." Nooroo tried not to shudder at the memories, but his friend needed to hear this. "You stopped Darkblade before it could get any worse-"

"Remind me, how did I do that, again?" He wipes away a tear with the pad of his thumb. "My memory's still kinda blurry."

"Call it an 'emotion surge,'" the Kwami starts to explain, looking relieved. "Your powers are linked to emotions, others, and your own. You're not limited to only creating Akumas, much like how Scarlet Beetle's not limited to his Lucky Charm. He has his Miracle Cure and any other hidden powers there are to discover. Same for Ikati Black. Holders unlock new powers the more they use their Miraculous. That day, you experienced an emotion surge. It sort of overrides your Akumas when you feel a strong burst of emotions like what you felt when the knights hurt your friends."

Nathaniel mirthlessly laughed. "Good to know. How many other powers can I expect to unlock?"

Nooroo looked up in thought and hummed to himself. "... The most I've ever seen one holder unlock was... Ten, I believe." The redhead choked on his spit. "You've already got Akumatization, Emotion Lacing, Influence, and Emotion Surge. I consider that impressive, especially at your age. A lot of my holders were in their twenties or older."

"... Good to know," Nathaniel said before closing his sketchbook. "Okay, mom's still out with her friends; let's work on my stance."

"I'm ready when you are, Nath," the Kwami chirped.

"Nooroo, Wings Rise."