Hedgehogs Dilemma

Take me to church

The water, with which the woman had erected her shield and for which she now lacked the strength to maintain, pelted down on the two with all force.
It drenched her and swept everything away with merciless energy, forcing the woman to drop to her knees and drop her weight.
The water even crashed over the railing of the roof and down onto the street, causing it to rain down on the woman in white who was still standing by the building.

Nathalie carefully raised her head to look over at the man who was still lying on the ground on his back, all limbs stretched out. She rubbed her eyes a few times to be able to see him.
He had already lost his transformation. The tidal wave had soaked him too. Just like his white shirt, his black curly hair stuck to him, hiding his face and eyes from Nathalie's staring gaze. But not the look at his now visible chest. The shirt had probably been the wrong choice for today.

Further down, the woman could see black rings, of which the man wore 2 on each hand. So 4 in total. The look was rounded off by black pants and the big boots he wore.
His style had changed. There is no comparison between what he wore back then and what Nathalie was used to seeing him in. But it didn't look bad. 'Unusual but good' she thought while looking at him.
The silence was quickly broken, however, by the man's rattling sound, which made his chest throb. Nathalie could watch him as his hand wandered to his face and he then exhaled deeply, with what was probably the longest and deepest sigh the woman had ever heard.
She hastily looked at the sword, which lay ready to hand next to her.



"Gisele?" exclaimed Celine.

At her side she helped the still slightly weakened Gabriel, who used the woman as a support, to walk. They slowly approached the blonde.
The man finally regained consciousness, but he still had a slightly confused look in his eyes. But a lot had happened since he'd fallen. Unsure, he looked over at the adults to whom Celine was now dragging him.

She squeezed the last drops of water out of her hair to at least claim to have done something that would solve her problem of being completely soaked.
Her gaze met Celine's as she swung her hair back and quickly bent down to retrieve her hair clip, which had been torn from her hair by the tidal wave.
She paused for a second before straightening up.

'Wow..' the redhead thought and she stopped to get a better look at the woman. Even soaked through, she still looked so incredibly good.
Her red blouse pressed against her skin without revealing more than she wanted. Her blond hair was just long enough to brush her shoulders. Even now that it was wet. Celine would do a lot for the chance to see it exactly like this when dry. 'Stop it!' she reminded herself quickly. This wasn't the time for that.

"What did I miss?" Gabriel asked, questionably looking between the two women.

"Not much," said Celine.

"She hit him with the staff. When he wanted to attack Mayura. After that he practically escaped to the roof." the woman explained, with a slight grin on her lips, and nodded towards Celine, who then blushed slightly.

"And what happened on the roof?" she asked quickly, avoiding Gabriel's confused stare, making the blond then turn halfway around so that she could look up at Nathalie and the man.

"She hit him with the stick too. That's all I could see from here. We should go back a bit. That will give us a better view." suggested the woman.

Unsure, the redhead looked up and carefully took a few steps back. Gabriel's gaze followed.

"Mayura?" she called up when she could see the woman on the roof.



Concentrated, the woman continued to stare at the man who had straightened up and buried his head in his ring-bedecked hands. Her fingers twitched at every slight movement, ready to grab the sword beside her and hold it to his throat.
She ignored her sister's calls. Her ears were already ringing from the constant rapid pounding of her heart in her chest.
The Miraculous should give her powers. But right now it seemed to be the only thing standing between her and a breakdown. Her body ached. You should finish this.

"Mayura!" her sister screamed again, this time even louder to make it impossible for the woman to ignore her.

"What!?" Nathalie called back.

"How does it look?"

"Great. We just made tea and now we're going to talk about last week's gossip!"

A low, deep laugh made the woman's head swing back. She could watch the man as one of his hands slowly wandered from his face to his knee, which he had leaned against his body, and how his other hand wandered through his hair until his gaze finally met the woman's. ".. That was good." he admitted softly.
The woman stared into her familiar dark brown eyes, which she hadn't seen for so long.

"But I'd have to remember last week's gossip for that..." Tyler added.

"...You don't remember anything?"

"not of everything..."

The man said nothing and pointed to the sword that the woman was clutching in her hand. "You won't need that. I won't hurt you.."

"Sure.. after everything you've done, I believe you.."

"I have no more reason to hurt you."

"And I have no reason to trust you!"

Her mind was fuzzy. Her body felt heavy. She wished she could just throw one of the Miraculous to someone to take care of this man. But Gabriel was weakened, the blonde she didn't know. And until hell freezes, she would never again put her sister in this danger. 'Fucking crap..'

".. Then at least take off the other Miraculous. Two cost more energy."

"You would know..."

"I do. So listen to me"

".. So you remember that time! The crap you pulled." the woman hissed at him in a sharp voice, leaning on the sword in her hand to get up.

Tyler said nothing. Turned his head away when he heard the woman slowly walking towards him.
However, her steps came to an abrupt halt as Nathalie tried to keep her balance and sank back to her knees.

".. the Miraculous-" the man murmured

"Keep your mouth shut!" she said only getting betrayed by the red light that came over the woman.

After which the dragon powers left her involuntarily, as did the sword, and Long reappeared in their place.
Nathalie watched the being transform from a shimmering red back into a kwami. She looked into his little yellow eyes for a moment and then turned away.

"There. Are you satisfied now"

"... You're still wearing too many Miraculouses.." the man spoke petty and quickly

"Your care is lovely," said the woman and grabbed her staff, which was the only weapon left to her.

Whipped up by her anger, she stomped on the man to grab his shoulders and hold him tight. With her staff, which she now placed under his chin, she forced him to look into her eyes again. "Where was that pity when you put all the people in danger! or broke my Miraculous, asshole!?" she hisses.

The man said nothing.

"Tell me!" she challenged him again.

".. That wasn't me. Your Miraculous. I didn't break it.."

"Oh? So you had a partner who helped you?"

".. Not like that. I hardly know her. But it was a woman who broke your Miraculous.."

"And you want me to believe that? Do you think I'm stupid?"

Silence fell on the man again. He tried to look away, but the woman wouldn't let him. She stopped him with a firm grip.

"I want answers!" she admonished him once more, whereupon the man gritted his teeth.

'She's right..' came a voice in his head, amidst the memories of his actions and the people he had so shamelessly exploited and hurt.

They were fragments that kept pouring down on him like the rain. He only had to look up to see what he had done. The way the woman looked at him and treated him. He had destroyed so much. How could he think for just one moment that he could make things right again?
No, there was only one thing he could do. He would have to finish it. Everything would end here for him today.

Spurred on by that thought, he slapped the woman's hand and her away from him before getting to his feet. 'This will be a worthy ending. Worthy for a shameless villain like you. After all, the bad guys always die in fairy tales, don't they?..'

"You want to answer. Then I'll give you the answer." he hisses at her in the menacing tone with which the woman has been able to make acquaintance the last few times.

The man gave a small grin and stroked his hair again before staring at the woman. "You're so right! Who would want to help me anyway?" he paused for a second 'I just have to say the opposite of what I mean, "I thought I might be kidding you. But you're smarter than I thought my dear~"

".. So you broke it. Why?"

"Because it was fun~" he continued to grin. 'On and on and on. One lie after another "I knew you'd want your little friend back. By breaking her up, I had a distinct advantage over you. Your love for her weakened you, didn't it?"

"You still lost. Look around. What do you think you can do now?"

"You think I am done? I still have so many more Miraculouses that I can use. You can't even imagine what else awaits you."

At these words, the woman couldn't help but open her eyes a little. ".. Is this all just a game for you!? A joke?!" yelled the woman angrily.

'That's good. despise me.' he thought and slowly walked back a few steps to the edge of the roof. Once there, he turned back to her. "Shouldn't it be? please. Not even you can be so naive as to think that it was nothing more than a little pastime for me. Why else do you think I chose you of all people to get a Miraculous? What about you think you are so special that you deserve a Miraculous? No. It was all just a cure for my boredom"

".... You... You're sick!"

"Don't act like you didn't like it." he said slightly sneering "You could be a heroine. And even save your loved ones. Now he will be forever in your debt~"

"You put everyone I love in danger! I never wanted to be the heroine you made me have to be. If anything, I loathe you! You monster!"

'Monster. Yes, that fits. A worthy title' he confirmed with a slight smile. 'I think that is my codeword..'

He slowly placed his hand on his chest to bow to the woman before stretching them both away.
His gaze had changed. Where there had been confidence and self-assurance, his eyes now showed despair and emptiness. He had finished. with himself. With the fact of being a bad person. What was left for him now?
He was finally able to drop his mask and sincerely offer his last words to her.
With a sad and broken voice that was almost swallowed by the rain, he said "Au Revoir, Lady du Coeur"
He closed his eyes. The wind whipped his hair as he fell off the roof, back first.


"TYLER!" screamed Nathalie and jumped back to her feet.

In a split second, she had reached the end of the roof as well. She quickly reached out and took the man's hand. Just in time she had managed to prevent his fall. Desperate, she clung to the gutter with her free hand to keep from falling herself. "Take my hand!" she challenged him.
But just as he ignored the panicked onlookers' screams, he didn't look at them either.

".. why... why don't you just drop me?" he said "I hurt your loved ones! I hurt YOU!"

"You've done a lot of bad things! Things I can't forgive! But what kind of person would I be, no. What kind of hero would I be if I just looked the other way when someone was in need? Grab my hand so I can pull you up!"

"You want to grab this hand. These bloodstained hands? have you lost your mind?.. I not only killed my beloved with these hands but also pushed you to your doom!"

"I said that you should take my hand!" the woman admonished him once more "Life has nothing but suffering and despair in store for you right now. But you know as well as I do that there are a lot of good things in life aside from the pile of shit! You can't just throw your life away!"

"Ha..." the man laughed softly and sadly and lifted his head "Thank you for these words. But you know as well as I do that I have nothing left in life that is worth continuing for. " Tyler said and reached out to slap the woman's hand away, which was now getting smaller for him bit by bit. 'It's better this way.. believe me..' he added in his mind.

Nathalie remained speechless on the roof. "Your... you're bloody stubborn!!" she yelled and braced herself to jump after him.

With wide eyes, the man stared at the woman, who now pulled him into his arms with trembling hands. She clung to the man and said, "I won't let you die... Never! I promised him... And I'll keep my promises. To the bitter end!"

"....." The man slowly closed his eyes. A feeling that he hadn't felt in a long time spread through him.

Ready to accept this fate, he swallowed before speaking. ".. as you wish..." he murmured.
Nathalie hastily grabbed her silver staff.

In a fraction of a second, she deployed it and grabbed it to break the fall. She lost speed but also lost balance due to her lack of balance with one hand and extra weight. And then there was Nathalie's dwindling strength, which made sure that the woman let go of the staff in the last few meters.
So it was Tyler who put his hand on the woman's head and turned slightly. This landed him back-first on the hard asphalt, on which he slid a few meters before coming to a halt. His back was burning, but at least they got away with it.


Scared, Celine now pushed the man into the arms of the blonde, who, just like the man, was still staring perplexed ahead. Both were still processing what had just happened when Celine had already arrived at Nathalie and Tyler.

"Nathalie!!" she cried scared and grabbed her sister's hand, whereupon the man let go of the woman in his arms.

The adrenaline that had whipped up the woman until just now faded away with the sound of her heart and gradually made her aware of how exhausted she was.

".. I'm okay.." she whispered softly.

She could feel Celine pulling her into her arms. How gentle she was. And how fast her heart was beating. Nathalie would have to apologize for all of this. She must have been terrified.
So her thoughts were on her little sister when her eyes went black.


"..Nathalie.NATHALIE!!" Celine yelled in a panicky high-pitched tone as she began to shake the woman who lay motionless in her arms.

Tyler hastily grabbed the woman's hand and ripped the Miraculous from her finger, causing it to also lose its powers and the green light transforming her back into a normal woman.
Appropriate to the fact that Gisele and Gabriel had also arrived at her place.

"Nathalie!" Gabriel shouted, pushing Tyler off her to take his place.

Gisele herself was still speechless behind the two. The whole situation seemed to overwhelm her. Or her.. to look forward to?
For a split second, Tyler could see the hint of a smile on her lips, but it vanished as soon as their eyes met. Did he just imagine it?
He looked to the side uncertainly. Her piercing stare made him feel something he wasn't ready for.

"She has to go back to the hospital!" shouted Gabriel. Celine nodded quickly and wiped a few tears from her face.

"I'm calling...-"

"I'll do it," Gisele said, putting a hand on her shoulders. "Stay with her" with these words she turned around, pulled out her mobile phone, and walked a few meters away from the group.

"... What are we going to do with him now?.." the man growled, pointing to the still silent man a few meters away.

Celine shrugged and pushed the strands of hair out of her sister's face.

As an act of reconciliation, Gabriel gently placed his hand on her shoulder ".. Everything will be fine. We'll take her back to the hospital and she'll be able to rest."

"I know..." the woman stammered quietly "I.. she's just all I have.." she admitted quietly.


Gisele stood with her back away from them. She carefully looked over them to see how they paid no attention to her. She couldn't even hear them.
she quickly ended the call and dialed the speed dial button.
It took less than 3 seconds for a woman to answer the other line.

"It's me. I have good news." Gisele said quietly and dug the Miraculous in the form of a now dark gray helix out of her pocket. "I finally got what we wanted," she added while turning the little jewel a few times in her hands.







Nathalie blinked her eyes tiredly. The moonlight shone into her room and gave her a glimpse of her surroundings.
Where was she? In the hospital. How did she get here? And what time was it now?
She sat up and held her head. She couldn't remember much anymore.
Just the case. And how she could perceive Celine's outlines. Then everything went black.

She must still be dreaming. Because she could still see Celine's shadow.
Nathalie reached for the bedside table on which her glasses were. But even when she put it on, Celine was still there.

".... Celine?.." she asked quietly, nudging the woman who was sitting on a chair next to her bed and seemed to have fallen asleep. Why hadn't they been woken up? Aren't visiting hours long gone? After all, it was already so dark.

"Celine." the woman tried again, shaking the other's arm slightly.

"She's been waiting by your bed the whole time," came a voice.
It was Duusu who slowly crawled out from under Nathalie's pillow. "Not even the nursing staff could chase her out," she explained further and rubbed her little eyes.

".. Have you too slept until now?"

"No-ohhh" Duusu called and yawned loudly once. "Of course not. I kept watch. As befits a kwami like me!"

Whereupon she nudged the creature's cheeks and smiled slightly. "Then I guess I have to thank you. I've missed you. I thought you left me in battle."

"I hid. But that won't be necessary anymore."

"... What do you mean?"

"Well.." Duusu stammered, nervously playing with her little hands"

"No..."

"Yes...."

".. Shit! I turned back in front of everyone?" asked Nathalie which Duusu confirmed with a nod. 'Damned..'

"hnng... hey.. some are trying to sleep here..." Celine mumbled under her breath before her eyes suddenly widened. "Nath!" she exclaimed "You're awake!!"

"I told you it's nothing-"

The abrupt proximity of her sister, who desperately wrapped her hands around Nathalie's neck, made her stop.
She could feel Celine running her arms further and further down her back until they met their hands. As if she wanted to prevent her from ever escaping them again.

"I was worried..." Celine confessed with a shaky voice "You can't just jump off a roof like that!"

Nathalie looked down at her sister uncertainly and blinked at her a few times. She was used to being around them. But seldom would she hug her like that.
Hesitantly, she wrapped her hands around the woman before slowly burying her face in her shoulder. "I know. I'm sorry..."

".. I thought I would lose you again... This time for good"

".. I will never leave you alone, Celine." the woman said and pulled away slightly to look into her soft green eyes.

She gently wiped a tear from her face with her thumb. "You are my beloved little sister. Nothing will ever change that. I won't leave you alone."
Sobbing, Celine looked at her "Then stop letting anything throw you off!" she cried and wrapped the woman in an almost crushing hug again.
Nathalie smiled tiredly and put her hand on the woman's head, "I told you, I'm sorry."

"You're going to make it up to me! You're not leaving this hospital until the doctors give it the okay!"

"Yes ma'am."

"And I'll visit you every day to make sure you're sticking to it!"

"haha.. mercy!" laughed Nathalie lightly.

"... And you're going to take a few days off!"

"I was going to do that anyway."

Whereupon the woman easily broke away from Nathalie. "You want to take a vacation?"

"..my identity was exposed.." Nathalie sighed as she fell back onto the pillow. "So I'd better avoid the general public for a few weeks..."

"I'm afraid so... But!" said Celine and rummaged in her jacket pocket.
Duusu's brooch and the Dragon Miraculous appeared, which had deactivated themselves. She now handed both to Nathalie. "You have Duusus back and a new Miraculous."

"... hm..." the woman sighed again "It's not that big of a win.. considering Tyler must have had more... Tyler! Where is he?!"

"Well... just after you passed out, some strange people in exotic clothes suddenly appeared. Anyway, they were wearing long beautiful robes. They said they were from a temple, but they only spoke broken French. It was hard for them Anyway, they took him into their care. So I don't know where he is now. But he's alive."

"... You really can't call this a victory..."

"I wouldn't call it that," the woman explained, unbuttoning her jacket to get a small ring out of its inside pocket."

"Before he left he gave me this for you. I know how valuable it is to you so I kept it in my inside pocket. So nothing happens."

Reverently, the woman handed Nathalie her father's ring. "He also said to say 'Thank you. Lady du couer'."

Nathalie could help but smile slightly at these words. She didn't understand why either. Just that she did it. 'What an idiot..' she thought and continued to smile. She grabbed the ring and looked at it in the palm of her hand "...Did he also give you Nooroo's brooch?"

"Nooroo? Oh... No..."

".. So we lost a Miraculous...."

"I'm afraid... But at least you defeated your enemies."

"Hmh..." Nathalie replied and nodded slightly.

".... What are you going to do now? As I know you, you will not just take some days off because of your new reputation."

"You know me too well. No. There's another reason for that. I need to find out what other Miraculouses Tyler had. And get Nooroo back. And the Raven's Miraculous. Whoever has him or both of them now. And the most important." the woman said, looking directly into Celine's eyes. "I want to visit one of the temples. I need to find out more about the Miraculous."