Nathanael stood near his desk staring out the doorway willing Lila to come back. The classroom had plunged into an uncomfortable silence after Lila had rushed out in tears.
'I should have gone after her...I think this is about more than just being annoyed at Ladybug...I'm such a pathetic friend'
"She really doesn't take the truth well, does she?" Chloe laughed "At least it got rid of her! Nobody wants her around here"
Nathanael couldn't stand listening to Chloe's bratty voice anymore. He looked at her with a piercing gaze.
"Shut up, Chloe," he said, coldly "You are cruel and thoughtless and arrogant, you represent everything I despise...you represent what everyone despises!" His voice cut through the tension in the room. Leaving everyone to stare at him in shock, they had never seen Nathanael so cold and unforgiving before.
Chloe's eyes widened in shock "If that's how you really feel then why didn't you stand up for your little lying friend, hmm?" she said in a mocking tone "Oh that's right because you also realise what a horrible person she is, not me, her!"
"Lila's not horrible, she only told a few lies because she was worried she'd be alone! Unlike you, she didn't tell lies to hurt people!" Nathanael snapped.
"Guys! Cut it out!" Alya shouted.
They both looked at her in surprise.
She sighed and held up her phone "It appears that Lila's been akumatised"
Nathanael's eyes widened in worry and shock. "What...No...I should have gone after her" he muttered
Chloe strolled up and grabbed the phone out of Alya's hands despite the girl's annoyed comments about "being careful"
"Typical Rossi, she just has to get attention one way or another...honestly what does she think she's doing wrecking Paris!"
"She's obviously trying to get Ladybugs attention," Alya said, snatching her phone back from Chloe.
Nathanael gasped. 'What am I doing...I can't just stand here, I need to get Lila back...Lila needs me!'
He rushed down the classroom and out the door.
"Nathanael, where you going!" Rose shouted after him.
"He must be going in search of Lila" Juleka voiced up.
The class gasped.
"He wouldn't be that foolish, would he? She's an Akuma now, she would be dangerous!" Mylene said in a fearful voice. She pressed herself closer to Ivan who was standing beside her and he wrapped an arm around her protectively.
"I'm sure Lila wouldn't hurt Nathanael, even though she's Volpina now she still knows Nathanael's a friend!" Rose said with a nod of assurance.
"I hope you right" Juleka whispered.
Nathanael went running down the stairs of the school and his feet hit the pavement. He had never run so fast in his life.
He sprinted down the street. The cars rushed by and he nearly crashed into people, fortunately, they parted to let him through though some people muttered about "no manners" Nathanael didn't care about that, all that was going through his head was 'Lila...I need to get to Lila'
Nathanael didn't have to go far to find Lila. As he was rushing down an alleyway.
A voice called out: "Where do you think you're going, little red?"
He turned around and gasped when he saw Volpina sitting up on a wall looking smug with herself. She gracefully jumped down and looked at him with narrowed eyes. "Well, you still haven't answered my question, which can be considered rude"
"I was looking for you" Nathanael whispered, he looked at her with concerned eyes.
"Why would you do a silly thing like that, little red?" she asked, an unusual harshness to her words.
"Why-"
Volpina cut in not letting him talk "No, I'm not listening to your lies"
Nathanael raised an eyebrow in confusion "Lies?" he asked. "I would never-"
"Save It, Nathanael!" Volpina shouted. Her eyes flashed with anger "I know the truth now! I thought I could trust you but you're just another ladybug fanboy out to keep me quiet about your precious pest!
"What? I'm not a Ladybug fanboy!" Nathanael said.
Volpina rolled her eyes and scoffed "Sure and you just happened to be drawing her!"
"Is that what this is about?" he asked, his eyes widening.
Volpina didn't answer as a harsh purple glow appeared over her face in a shape of a butterfly. Her eyes flickered from Nathanael to the ground. She shook her head and muttered, "No I can't-"
Nathanael felt his hands tighten into fists as he wondered what Hawkmoth was saying to manipulate the girl into helping him.
"Fine" Volpina sighed. The Purple glow disappeared as she looked back up at Nathanael with sad eyes.
"I need to get Ladybugs miraculous but I'm not finished with you"
"What?" Nathanael asked confused.
Volpina glared at him "So you're coming with me!"
"Wait, what?" Nathanael exclaimed "H-how?"
Volpina rolled her eyes as she walked up to Nathanael. Nathanael raised an eyebrow wondering what she was going to do.
Nathanael let out a squeal of surprise as she lifted him off his feet, pulling him close to her. Nathanael's face quickly heated up in a dark blush as he registered his position, not daring to look up at the vixen Akuma. He knew she was probably smirking and he would be right.
"I-I don't t-think yo-you'll be able to ca-carry m-me for l-long!" He managed to stutter out.
"Quit your whining, Tomato," Volpina said as she took off into the sky and then she was high above the Parisian streets as she ran along the rooftops.
"Where are we going?" Nathanael asked.
Volpina glanced at the red-head before saying "You'll find out soon"
Nathanael gulped. 'I hope she isn't planning something Crazy...what am I thinking? She's akumatised! Of course, she's planning something crazy'
They arrived at their location and Volpina set Nathanael down.
Nathanael let out a sigh of relief as he felt his feet hit solid ground, but then his knees gave out and he hit the cold stone. He looked up to see the whole of Paris laid out before his eyes. Then he glanced down and his stomach dropped and his eyes widened in fear.
Volpina grinned "I've always wanted to visit this place." she stepped forward to watch the tiny cars pass by below them.
Nathanael quickly scrambled to his feet and took a few cautious steps away from the edge as he tried to steady his breathing. Underneath him, long black roads stretched in every direction and he was in the middle of it all. Very high up in the middle of it all.
"The Arc de Triomphe." Volpina began. "Over two-hundred years old, right?"
'And fifty meters tall.' Nathanael thought with a gulp.
"I think this place is very fitting, after all, I'm claiming my own triumph," Volpina said with a smirk, still looking out at the darkening city.
"Lila why are you doing this, it's not like you," Nathanael said, taking a step towards her.
Volpina quickly turned around, a fierce glare in her eyes "My name is Volpina and you know nothing about me!" she snarled.
Nathanael's eyes widened and he took a step backwards "Nothing about you...you honestly think that!?"
Volpina raised an eyebrow at Nathanael's words.
Nathanael lowered his head as he began to talk in a shaky voice "I know you, Lila, at least I believe I do...I know that you're really caring and sweet when you let your guard down around people you trust, I know you actually care about people's opinions more than you let on and that's why you Lie, you thought nobody would like you for who you truly are but...I do! I like how you're so passionate about your interests and protective of your friends...you always encourage and support me...you are amazing in your own way...even when you're being reckless or blunt you're still amazing to me"
He finally looked back up his blue eyes looked as if an ocean had been encased inside of small glass marbles. 'Please don't leave me' they said. Then the smooth spheres appeared to be cracked; the ocean had started to leak, little water droplets streamed down Nathanael's pale cheeks.
Volpina gasped when she saw the tears drip down from his large blue eyes. She moved a step closer.
"Nathanael" she began to talk.
"No!" Nathanael exclaimed, tears blurring his eyesight. "You said what you said...at least I know how you truly feel now" He took another step back from her.
Volpina's eyes widened as she saw what was going to happen "Nath!"
"Shut up!" Nathanael shouted he took another step backwards. Then he was falling.
"Lila!" Nathanael yelled, looking down in terror to see cars becoming more distinct, the pavement drawing closer.
The wind clung to his clothes, and he felt a chill as the cool breeze whistled through his shirt. His red hair whipped around his face, but every so often he would get a clear view of the city around him - so painfully beautiful, even when it was only glimpses of colour and sound.
He couldn't bare it anymore so he shut his eyes as he prepared himself to meet the cold, hard ground. 'I wonder if it'll hurt much' he thought, fear swirled within his body 'I never thought it would end like this'.
Then he felt himself become wrapped in a warm, comforting grip. His eyes fluttered open and he saw Lila or well Volpina had him in her arms.
"L-Lila" he stuttered, fresh tears welling up in his eyes.
Volpina glanced at him but said nothing as she gently lowered herself to the ground as she held Nathanael bridal style.
She reached the ground and set Nathanael down gently. She looked over him with concerned eyes.
"You're okay, right?" she asked.
"Ye-yeah, I-I think so" Nathanael stuttered, still shocked. Tears still slowly streamed down his cheeks. Volpina reached and gently wiped away his tears.
"I'm sorry, this was my fault...I should have realised..." she sighed, then looked away from Nathanael.
Nathanael was about to speak when a purple glow appeared across Volpina's face. He watched with wide eyes as she shook her head and muttered "I can't leave him...but- ...No! I'll do it!" The butterfly glow on her face disappeared.
"I need to go, I need to get Ladybugs miraculous," she said her eye's becoming dull. She started to walk away.
'No I can't let her go, I need to make Lila see sense before she seriously hurts herself'
He rushed and grabbed her wrist stopping her. She looked over her shoulder at him, her lips in a tight line as her eyes flashed with a dangerous warning.
"Let go" she hissed.
Nathanael looked at her with a determined gaze "No, not until you see sense"
"I see sense, unlike you...go home, Nathanael, stay out of this for your own sake"
"No, I'm not leaving you!" Nathanael said.
Volpina wrenched her wrist out of Nathanael's grip and turned to him with furrowed eyebrows "Just leave Nathanael...before he hurts you!" she exclaimed.
"Hurt's me? Who?" Nathanael asked. Confusion danced across his eyes.
Volpina's eyes widened with a mixture of concern and fear "Hawkmoth" she whispered. She lowered her head, her hair shielding her expressions from sight. "He said he'd hurt you if I didn't continue with the plan"
Nathanael glared as he heard these words. "Don't listen to him Lila, he's not going to hurt me...he just said that to take advantage of you, he's lying"
Volpina shook her head "No...he said he was helping me...he said I needed to get the miraculous and then-"
"And then what? He'll toss you aside, he's just using you!" Nathanael roared. 'I need to get through to her...she's too far manipulated, he's clouded her mind...how am I meant to get Lila back?"
Then Ladybug and Chat Noir swooped in.
"Volpina!" Ladybug called out as she landed on the ground. She spun her yo-yo around so that it created a red blur of a shield.
Chat Noir landed behind Ladybug and narrowed his green eyes at Volpina.
Volpina turned around and glared at the superheroes. She grabbed her flute and spun it around in her hands. "Ladybug" she growled.
'I need to stop this' Nathanael thought as he watched with wide eyes. He watched as Lila raised the flute up to her lips and then he shouted out: "Please just give up this fight with Ladybug, I don't want to lose you, Lila"
Volpina lowered the flute and glanced at him. "Now isn't the time, Little red" she hissed.
Ladybug and Chat Noir glanced at each other in confusion.
"Aren't we meant to be fighting her, my lady?" Chat Noir asked.
"she seems to be preoccupied with Nath- err I meant the boy with red hair" Ladybug answered, covering up the fact she knew Nathanael in case it leads to suspicions about her civilian Life.
"You're not acting like yourself!" Nathanael exclaimed, "I thought you were trying to make up for lying, trying to get rid of the past!"
"I tried that but still nobody will see past that, they all see me as a pathetic liar!" Volpina shouted back.
Nathanael's eyes softened "I don't," he said softly "I could never see you as just a pathetic liar"
Nathanael watched as those green eyes began to soften and his heart filled with hope.
"Please stop this pointless fight against Ladybug, please just come back, Lila"
Volpina glanced at the flute in her hands and then back at Nathanael. She gave a small nod.
Nathanael smiled happily glad to have gotten through to Lila.
But the fight was far from over as Volpina winced as a harsh purple glow appeared over her face in a shape of a butterfly. Nathanael watched as her hands tightened around the flute she was holding.
Her body started to tremble as pain radiated through it and Hawkmoth's enraged voice echoed through her mind.
"S-stop It" Volpina cried, her body shook in pain.
"Lila!" Nathanael said, his eyes widened in shock. He gasped as he realised what was happening. He could faintly remember his time as Evillustrator when Hawkmoth had controlled him and caused him pain.
"What's happening?!" Chat Noir shouted out.
Nathanael didn't have time to answer him he had to act quickly. He had to save Lila.
He quickly reached across and grabbed the foxtail necklace that hung around her neck. He pulled on it snapping the chain. Volpina gasped.
Nathanael threw the necklace to the ground and stood down hard on it with the heel of his foot. It cracked and a black butterfly fluttered out.
"Lila." Nathanael breathed, relieved. Volpina had gone and in her place stood Lila in her usual clothes. Volpina's costume, her tail, it was all gone.
Lila managed to give him a small smile, then her eyes rolled back into her head and she slowly collapsed to the ground. Nathanael rushed to catch her before she hit the ground. Then he looked up and saw the butterfly still doing aggressive loops in the sky.
Then a blur of red leapt through the air and the Akuma was gone.
"Gotcha!" Ladybug yelled. Nathanael watched as she twirled her yo-yo skilfully in the air, and when she opened it a white butterfly flew out and fluttered slowly towards the sky. "Bye, bye, little butterfly." Ladybug said softly, watching it float away.
Then Ladybug approached Nathanael with a concerned gaze. She looked down at the unconscious Italian he held in his arms.
"Is she okay?" Ladybug asked. Chat Noir hovered behind her with wide eyes.
Nathanael glanced down at Lila anxiously before back at Ladybug he opened his mouth to answer but was beat to it.
"I'm fine," Lila said, groaning as she opened her eyes and tried to sit up. Then she realized that she was in Nathanael's arms. A blush spread across her face.
They both heard Ladybug yell "miraculous ladybug" and the city healed around them.
"How are you feeling?" Nathanael asked, looking at her with a concerned gaze.
"My head hurts a little" Lila said. She reached up and rubbed her head.
"Well, you did just have Hawkmoth inside your head that would give anyone a headache," Nathanael said with a grin.
Lila started to smile "Yeah, I suppose it would"
"Hey, Lila can we talk"
Lila and Nathanael looked to see Ladybug shifting on her feet anxiously as she looked at Lila with an anxious smile.
Lila's eyes widened in shock and she glanced at Nathanael who gave her an encouraging smile. She looked back at Ladybug and stood up. Nathanael stood up after her.
Ladybug began to speak "I'm sorry about what I did, I should have never acted so irrationally, I realise now how wrong it was of me to act so harshly... I'm really sorry"
Lila smiled "I'm sorry as well, I should never have told those lies it was foolish of me...I'm also sorry for holding a grudge for so long"
Ladybug's eyes brightened up as she smiled "So friends?" she held out a hand.
Lila nodded and accepted Ladybug's hand which she shook "Sure, friends"
Nathanael looked on as Lila agreed to be friends with Ladybug. He was proud of Lila for getting past her grudge on Ladybug.
Lila looked over at Nathanael with a bright smile, her eyes sparkled with happiness.
He blushed and smiled back.