The Criminal's Princess

Chapter 43

Master Fu opened his eyes and looked at Lucas just as he pinned the Peacock Miraculous to his tattered shirt.

"No..." Groaned Master Fu still struggling to get up.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ladybug grab the pole that was lying a few feet away from him. Master Fu understood Ladybug's plan the instance he saw the fishing hook Ladybug was holding.

But he knew it wasn't going to work.

He realised that Ladybug was targeting the Mouse Miraculous and that she didn't realise the full capacity of the Peacock Miraculous. Even without the Mouse Miraculous, Lucas was going to be unimaginably powerful as long as he had the Peacock Miraculous on him. 

"Ladybug..." Master Fu called out but his voice was a barely audible whisper.

The old guardian flinched when he tried to put his weight on his injured leg. There was no way he was going to make it in time and Lucas was getting dangerously close to transforming using the Peacock Miraculous.

Kwamis hovered in the air beside Lucas knowing that no matter where they went, they would be bound to their jewels.

"What?!"

Master Fu's head jerked to where the angered voice had come from and his eyes met Ladybug's bluebell eyes as she flipped in midair right above Lucas's head. Ladybug landed gracefully on the lamp post and tied the string of her yoyo to the pole, connecting the fishing hook to it. 

"No... NO!"

Master Fu's sudden outburst shocked Ladybug and the fishing hook fell right between the cracks of her fingers. Ladybug reached for it but the metal simply slipped past her fingertips and fell at Lucas's feet.

Lucas looked behind him at Ladybug and stepped on the fishing hook. Without the Lucky Charm, Ladybug was left with no plan.

"Duusu! Spread my feathers!"

Ladybug shielded her eyes when a bluish-purple light surrounded Lucas. When Ladybug opened her eyes, she was staring down at a man dressed in a bluish-purple suit. Peacock feathers fanned out from his waist just like a tailcoat.

The vibrant colours of the feathers blended perfectly with the suit and as Lucas turned around to face Ladybug, the colours of his suit shifted creating a beautiful combination of royal blue, purple and green.

The fan he held in his hands closed with a flick of his wrist. Ladybug stared as he smirked up at her. Out of pure instinct, Ladybug gripped the pole she had been holding and threw it at the Peacock Miraculous holder.

But she didn't expect him to grab the pole out of the air, spin around and throw it at Chat Noir like a javelin. Chat Noir reacted immediately and pulled out his baton, ducking as the pole hurtled towards him.

He flinched as the pole bit into the wall behind him embedding itself in the structure. The pole quivered for a moment and stuck to the wall while Chat Noir slowly got up and looked back and forth between Lucas and the pole sticking on the wall.

Ladybug smiled sheepishly and mouthed a 'sorry' to which Chat Noir responded with a quick wink. But the threat was still there.

Without the Lucky Charm, Ladybug couldn't restore anything and her time was running out. Chat Noir considered using his Cataclysm but he stopped when Master Fu struggled to his feet.

"Lucas..." Master Fu groaned, leaning against a tree.

"Don't call me by that fool's name! He was always so pathetic and useless! I'm Paon now."

With that, Paon opened his fan and plucked a feather. The pure white feather swayed in the wind but Paon closed his fist around it letting the darkness consume it.