The Wolves in the Woods

An Unfinished Fairytale

She's an unfinished fairytale that never got any closure on pages.

— Nitya Prakash

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The day of the trial finally comes to a close amid many unsolved mysteries.

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Content Warning: The following chapter contains a nightmare scene that may be disturbing to some readers. If you are squeamish or are easily spooked, skip ahead to the next scene. You have been warned.

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            Shocked silence filled the atmosphere inside the lair that belonged to Hawk Moth. He and Nathalie stood, mouths agape, at the scene that had just transpired before them. Just—just now... did someone actually interrupt an akumatization? Not only that, but they had the utmost gall to physically fight the akuma in progress. And they succeeded.

What on earth?...

"... well," Hawk Moth said, breaking the silence. "That was... unexpected."

"I..." Nathalie gawked. "I have to agree..." She typed something onto the tablet. Then she turned to her boss. "Did that answer anything?"

Hawk Moth touched his chin, deep in contemplation. The magical backlash from the interrupted akuma was enough it nearly gave him a skull-splitting migraine. Had Nathalie not been there, he was certain he would have collapsed on the spot.

"Hmm..."

How strange... until now, no one besides Marinette Dupain-Cheng had ever had the strength to resist his akumas. Given her tenacity and creativity, the number of times she had resisted them didn't surprise him. It only fueled his desire to break her will and turn her into his masterpiece akuma. His magnum opus that would have secured his victory against Ladybug and Chat Noir. Of course, given Chat Noir's recent interest in lazing about rather than participating in battles, it would have been too easy for his liking.

But perhaps... this could be salvaged. Just because he couldn't akumatize Miss Tsurugi now didn't mean he couldn't try again later. After all, heartbreak could last for weeks, if not months. Perhaps, this time around, all he had to do was bide his time until the perfect opportunity. A smirk coming to his lips, Hawk Moth analyzed the energy he had witnessed just now.

"In a sense," he said. "This answers plenty of questions." Nathalie raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean?" she asked. Hawk Moth was all too glad to oblige.

"For one," he began. "It would seem our opponent is well-versed in the ways of magic." He summoned back the butterfly and removed the rest of the magic. "This one, in particular, has abnormally strong magic." Nathalie was listening now. "When this young lady grabbed the akuma with her bare hand..." Hawk Moth's grin turned manic, "there was so much negativity, it was virtually a whirlpool!"

Nathalie smirked, sharing her boss's excitement.

"And if I can akumatize this one alongside Miss Dupain-Cheng," Hawk Moth's eyes glinted with greed. "Then we are assured victory against Ladybug and Chat Noir." Nathalie's glasses shimmered with thinly-veiled delight.

"But first," she reminded. "Why don't you lay down for a bit? That backlash seems to have taken a lot out of you." Hawk Moth groaned, the reminder having summoned the headache back.