Marinette POV
The next day at school
"See you later, Luka." I said after Luka dropped me off at my school.
"You too, Melody." He replied and peddled his way to his own school. After meeting up with Alya, Nino, Isaac and Chloe, we made our way to class.
"Hey did you hear that someone else is replacing Mr Damocles and Mrs Bustier?" Alya asked.
"Yeah. I think his name is Mr Joseph Smith or something." Isaac replied as he readjusted his goggles.
"That's for the principal. As for Mrs Bustier, I don't know who. For now, Ms Mendeleiev is our teacher for History." Chloe replied.
"Laaame." Nino groaned.
"Hey, Chloe. Whatever happened to Sabrina? Are you two on speaking terms?" I asked.
Chloe shook her head.
"It's complicated. Like very complicated." She said, not meeting my gaze.
"How?" I asked.
She sighed.
"After how I treated her, she sided with Lila. After the reveal, I guess she still stuck with her. And she's not talking to me anymore. So, that's that."
"Geez. She's giving you the cold shoulder. And not even an apology can thaw it out." Nino chuckled. Alya slapped him in the arm.
"What? Was it that bad?" He retorted.
"Not cool, Nino." She hissed.
"Sorry." He replied.
"No, you're right. I guess I abused our bond. And I deserved what I get." Chloe answered glumly.
We sat in our seats. I could feel the intensive glares from my former friends.
"Are they still mad at you for not forgiving them? It's been a month." Isaac sighed.
"Yeah. Ignore them." I replied.
"No promises. Apparently, they blame me for you not forgiving them. Saying that I influenced you to close your heart to them." Isaac replied.
"Same here. Even after I bullied you for weeks." Chloe added.
"Just ignore them." I said with a sigh.
Suddenly, a large thud shook the school. We leapt off our seats and went to the window and saw a large ruby flew towards the window. We dived out of the way as glass scattered everywhere.
"Where did that ruby come from!?" Nino shouted as he helped Alya get back to her feet.
"I don't know. And I don't think we have time to find out." Chloe replied.
Ms Mendeleiev escorted the class out of the school, while we snuck into the toilets to change into our alter egos.
"We really should find better hiding places." Chloe said as she flicked a tissue off her boot.
We made our way to find the akuma. He was wearing a ruby red suit and a black tie with black shoes. He was wearing a white fedora with a red scarf. He twirled his silver cane and pointed it at us.
"Who are you?" I asked.
"The name is Mr Ruby. I had a plan to create a casino to replace the local park that was closed down due to the lack of safety. But of course, the mayor refused and wanted to rebuild the park. Hawkmoth offered me a deal. He'll help me with making my casino with the exchange for your miraculous. How about you make this easy for me and cough 'em up." He said.
"Hard pass, Scrub." Crimson Web said.
"A casino does sound nice." Queen Bee smirked.
We glared at her. Queen Bee cleared her throat.
"But no, we'll have to say no." She said.
"Not to mention that you did wreck a whole lot of buildings on your way here." Carapace said.
"I'll sort 'em out after I get your miraculous." Mr Ruby replied with a dismissive tone.
We darted towards him. I threw my yo-yo at him. He caught it and threw me to one side. Before I crashed into a building, a web caught me.
"Thanks, Crimson!" I yelled. The latter gave me a quick nod before dodging Ruby's cane. As we tried to get close to him, we dodged a shard of rubies. Crimson tried to punch him but recoiled and clutched his hand in pain. His suit was covered in rubies.
"Time to make it rain. With pain. RUBY RAIN!" He shouted as he summoned rubies from the sky and showered them at us. The crowd ran into the school, sheltering themselves
"Ow! Ow! Ow!" We exclaimed as we tried to protect ourselves from the rubies pelting us.
"Carapace, we need some shelter!" I shouted.
"Ok! SHELTER!" Nino shouted and summoned a green forcefield around us.
"Ugh, I thing I got a concussion." Crimson said as he rubbed his head.
"Same here. I'm gonna need a long rest after this." Rena replied.
"Forget the damn casino, I need a hospital." Queen Bee whined.
"Anyone got any bright ideas." Purple Tigress asked.
"Wait? Where's Chat Noir!?" Crimson asked.
"Forget about him. We need to deal with the akuma." I said.
I used my lucky charm to summon a pickaxe.
"Seriously? This is hardly the time for mining." Crimson said with a scowl.
I glanced at Ruby's armour and then at the pickaxe.
"I got it!" I shouted.
"Guys. We got a problem." Carapace said as he pointed at a giant version of Mr Ruby. His giant fist raised above us.
"RUN!" I shouted. Carapace dissipated his shield and ran. We followed him and dived out off the way as the fist crashed onto the ground behind us.
"His weak spot is his jaw. Hit him and his armour breaks. As for the akuma, it's in his cane." I said.
"Alright, we'll distract him." Crimson said and web zipped towards the Ruby golem. Carapace threw his shield at Queen Bee, who caught it and threw it at the golem's cheek. He stumbled backwards.
"Crimson. Throw me." Queen Bee shouted.
"What?" He replied.
"DO IT!" She repeated.
Crimson Web fired a web line at Queen Bee and spun her around a few times.
"Hey, Ruby! Catch!" He shouted and threw Queen Bee at him. Queen Bee used Venom to punch the golem, immobilising him.
"CLOUT!" Purple Tigress shouted and punched the golem's right leg. He tumbled towards the ground. Crimson Web used Crimson Chain to summon a large string of webs, holding up the golem.
"Hey! Let me go, you damn bug!" Mr Ruby shouted as he tried to free himself.
"NOW!" Crimson shouted. Rena summoned a trampoline with Mirage, allowing me to jump up to the golem and smash his jaw with the pickaxe. His giant armour shattered and Mr Ruby fell to the ground. His cane landed on Crimson's hands.
"Don't do it, man! Please!" He begged.
"Oh yeah, I was about to give it to you." Crimson said and snapped it in half. "Oops, clumsy me."
I caught the akuma with my yo-yo and purified it. I tossed up the pickaxe, after saying my catchphrase, repairing everything. Mr Ruby turned into Bob Roth.
"What happened?" He asked.
"Long story short, you got akumatized." Crimson said.
We bumped fist and left the school.
"Something's bugging me. Pun unintended. Chat Noir didn't come to help us." Isaac said as he fed Arachne a piece of a chocolate bar.
"Yeah. Where is that mangy cat?" Chloe replied as she gave me the bee miraculous.
"Maybe he was preoccupied." Nino replied.
"Doubt it. He always comes to help us fight the akuma." I said as I feed Tikki a macaroon.
"Come to think of it, we haven't even seen Chat Noir ever since you and Luka became a thing." Juleka said.
"You don't think he knows. Right?" Isaac asked.
"Know what?" Alya asked.
"That Viperion and Ladybug are-. You know." He replied.
"I hope not. Even so, we don't know who Chat Noir is." Chloe said.
We murmured in agreement.
"Hey, quick question? Where is Adrien?" Isaac asked.
"No idea." I answered.
Adrien POV
I know that I should've been there to fight the akuma, but I had to take some time off as Chat Noir after the events of Princess Justice. Though Plagg was chewing my ear out with his constant complaining due to me being inconsistent. I even had to shut him up with Camembert.
What a chore.
Lila was suspended from school, so I haven't been seeing her as of late. Nino unfriended me for siding with her. And I've been trying to make amend for weeks with no success.
At least Chloe is no longer harassing me with her kisses.
Tonight, I will reveal my secret to Marinette and confess to her. After that, she will dump Luka for me.