NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Has Hawk Moth really won? It sure looks like it… but the story's not over yet!
Chapter 14: He Tried to Give Her the World
"Assistant, Gorilla Warfare, Volpina, leave us," Hawk Moth ordered. "I will deal with these heroes myself."
The Assistant, Gorilla Warfare, and Volpina bowed and left the room. All of the heroes' work to restrain the trio had been futile. And somehow, the three akumatized villains had avoided being paralyzed.
Hawk Moth pushed aside the trampoline and walked over to Rena Rouge. "The Power of Illusion," he said, bending down to remove the Fox Miraculous from Rena Rouge's neck. As the transformation was released, Hawk Moth pressed the Fox Miraculous onto his own Miraculous. The Fox Miraculous dissolved and was absorbed into the Moth Miraculous, along with Trixx.
Hawk Moth moved on toward Queen Bee and took the Bee Miraculous out of her hair. "The Power of Immobilization," he said, pressing the Bee Miraculous into his own.
"The Power of Protection," Hawk Moth slipped Jade Turtle's bracelet off and repeated the action of absorbing the Miraculous.
"And the Power of Vision," Hawk Moth said as he unclipped and absorbed Argus' Peacock Miraculous. He then leaned into Tara's paralyzed face. "Combined with the Powers of Creation and Destruction, along with my own Power of Transformation, I am able to spread my akumas all over the world, and at a much faster pace. This time tomorrow, the whole world will be akumatized!"
As he stood up, Hawk Moth lifted Tara to her feet. Because she was still paralyzed, Hawk Moth had to support Tara as he walked her to the window.
"Look outside, Tara, my beautiful peacock," Hawk Moth said softly, caressing her face. Tara opened her eyes with great difficulty.
Standing completely still in uniform lines, an army of akumatized Parisians were all that could be seen through the lair's window. But as Tara opened her eyes, the akumatized villains started bowing.
"You see?" Hawk Moth sounded giddy. "At our wedding, I promised I would give you the world if I could. And now I can! With the world akumatized, we are in complete control. And I am giving that control to you!"
Tara mumbled something. Hawk Moth turned toward her. "Yes, my love?"
"My… power?" Tara croaked.
Hawk Moth shook his head. "No, I think I'll keep the Miraculous'. You may control the akumatized populations, but I will make sure they stay under your control." Then Hawk Moth tipped Tara as if they were ballroom dancing and leaned in for a kiss.
…
Marinette struggled to open her eyes. What she saw looked like a nightmare. Hawk Moth had won, taking control of the Miraculous', the world, and the woman that he believed loved him back.
But as Marinette started to close her eyes in defeat, something came to her. A memory, or a thought. It was difficult to differentiate the two while paralyzed.
Adrien's eyes, looking directly at her. Looking like those of the boy that Marinette fell in love with, with a hint of Cat Noir's unflappable optimism. They were eyes that told Marinette she could do anything.
Breathing heavily, Marinette slowly pushed herself off the floor and onto her feet. Hawk Moth had yet to notice, as he was still kissing Tara.
Marinette started lumbering toward the villain. Her body still felt mostly paralyzed, like she was stumbling more than walking. Good. That was what Marinette was going for.
As Marinette slowly took one step after another, some old words of advice came back to her.
"Trust the one you love, even when he seems false."
Been there, done that. Finding out that Adrien was Cat Noir had felt completely wrong, but Marinette had pushed her doubts aside and trusted him.
Marinette was only a few steps away from Hawk Moth and Tara.
"When the time is right, you will know what to do with the remaining three."
Check. Fox Miraculous given to Alya, Bee Miraculous to Chloé. And the Peacock Miraculous returned to Tara.
Hawk Moth finally noticed Marinette approaching. "What do you think you're doing?"
"And…"
Marinette zeroed in on the Miraculous on Hawk Moth's chest.
"…Look before you leap."
Stumbling hard, Marinette reached out as she fell to the floor, ripping the Moth Miraculous off its abusive owner.
"NO!" Hawk Moth screamed. But it was too late. He transformed back into Gabriel as the stolen Miraculous' and kwamis flew out of their prison. And with the force of Marinette's clumsy grasp, Gabriel fell backwards. With a sickening crunch, the villain hit his head on the window and slumped unconscious.
As the paralyzing spell broke, the freed kwamis picked up their corresponding Miraculous' and flew to their owners.
With a grateful and proud smile, Tikki handed Marinette the Ladybug Miraculous. As the other kwamis did the same, Marinette and her team put on their Miraculous'.
"Tikki!" Marinette cried.
"Plagg!" Adrien cried.
"Trixx!" Alya cried.
"Buzii!" Chloé cried.
"Dusuu!" Tara cried.
"Transform me!"