Miraculous Ladybug: The New Holders

Volpina: Part Twelve

It was there. Everything was true.

Volpina had flown to Notre Dame, and found exactly what she was looking for. A way to confirm the vision. A single red rose, slightly wilted, on the roof of the historic church.

It was almost as though it had been waiting for her.

Volpina reached down and picked it up. She would put the rose beside Eliza's grave. But first, it was time to detransform and visit Nino.

Jumping off of the roof of the old church, Volpina looked around to see if anyone was nearby. No one was visible, so she called out, "Renard, detransform!"

Her costume melted away, and her Kwami flew out of her necklace. Alya grinned at the little fox. "You did fantastic, Renard. I'm so proud you held out that long in the miraculous!"

"It was nothing, Alya!" Renard reassured. "Besides, you did all the heavy lifting! You took down Dark Ladybug and Chat Blanc! I had nothing to do with it."

Alya blushed a bit. "Okay, so you probably want some food now then, am I right?"

"I wouldn't be opposed to the idea..." Renard admitted.

"Here, you can hide inside my bag. There's some beef jerky in there." Alya opened the shoulder bag. Renard flew into the bag, and Alya set off to Nino's.

------------------------------------------

Alya knocked on his apartment door. She heard faint yelling, and then the door opened.

It was Nino. "Alya! It's really good to see you!"

Faint yelling was heard in the background again, and Nino's smile faded. "Hey, um, do you think we could take this someplace else?"

Alya nodded. "Let's go."

Nino walked out of the doorway to his apartment and closed the door.

As they headed down the stairs, Nino looked slightly tense. "Sorry about that..."

"Don't be." Alya took his hand and squeezed it reassuringly.

Nino smiled, but then got serious. "So, you won?" He asked excitedly.

"Yes!" Alya grinned. "I won, Nino. I saved them."

"Never doubted you, Alya."

Alya explained what had happened during the battle while they walked to the Square René Viviani.

"And then, I punched her in the face, telling her it was for the previous Volpina." Alya told Nino excitedly.

"Wow." Nino said. "Remind me never to mess with you."

"Ha ha." Alya said sarcastically. "But after that, I dragged the two off to a hotel. Firstly, I tied up Ladybug. Then I went into Chat Blanc's room and manipulated his dreams so that he'd believe he killed Ladybug. That pushed him over the edge, and he was able to expel the akuma from his Miraculous."

Nino and Alya sat down on a bench in the Square Renè Viviani, where Alya picked up the story from where she left off.

"Once I had both akumas in the jar, I waited outside for the two to wake up. Once they did, I gave them a run-down of what happened, and I showed them the previous Volpina's grave. After that, I pulled out all three of Ladybug's lucky charms-the knife, the rubber band, and the akuma jar. Ladybug cleansed the akumas, and then released all three items." Alya paused. "And you won't believe what happened next."

"What happened?" Nino looked
fascinated with her story.

"The miraculous cleansing power erased Ladybug and Chat Noir's memories of why they got Akumatized, and gave them to me." Alya explained briefly.

"Woah." Nino thought for a minute. "Wait, does that mean you know who they are now?"

Alya bit her lip nervously, then nodded.

"Who- who are they?" Nino asked.

Alya was silent for a moment. "Nino," She placed her hand on his shoulder. "I don't want there to be secrets between us. I really don't. That's why I told you I'm Volpina. But I don't want to betray their trust, and only you and Chat Noir know I know who they are. It terrified him when he found out I knew, and I don't doubt Ladybug would react similarly. It's that reason, and that reason only I won't tell anyone."

"Hey, it's cool. I understand." Nino acknowledged. "But what happens now?"

Alya raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"With Volpina. Are you going to continue to fight with Ladybug and Chat Noir regularly, or just whenever they really need help?"

Alya paused. "I don't know. I'd love to continue to work with them, but they honestly don't really need me. They were fine without me before, and the only reason Volpina was needed was because they were the villains this time. I don't really know, if I'm being completely honest."

"Hey! I know!" A little voice called out from Alya's backpack. Renard flew out, and Nino jumped.

"What is that?" He asked cautiously.

"This is my Kwami, Renard. He allows me to transform into Volpina." Alya explained briefly before turning to Renard. "What do you mean?"

"You should see The Great Guardian, Master Fu!" Renard said excitedly.

"Master who?" Alya asked.

"Not who. Fu." Renard corrected. "He's the holder of the Turtle Miraculous, and he keeps the Miraculous's from the wrong hands, and he's the one who sent Eliza here to stop Dark Ladybug and Chat Blanc in the first place."

Alya nodded. "Maybe he could teach me more about the Miraculouses if I'm going to become a contingency plan for Paris. Where is he?"

"Well, he went to his studio in Rome in order to get in contact with Eliza, but he should be back in Paris soon."

"So I'll visit his Paris studio in a week." Alya suggested. "I'm sure that'll give him enough time to get back to Paris."

Nino grinned. "Sounds like a plan, Volpina."