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milarqui · 4 months

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Scarlet Lady: Crocoduel

Directory | Ikari Gozen

“Because you dye! My! Heart! A rainbow of coloooooors!”

“WHOO!” Everyone cheered as Kitty Section's song ended. Everyone had gathered at the Liberty to listen to their friends' band group, and it had been quite amazing, as they played some of the songs they would release soon, but this one was very much unexpected.

“Wow, Rose,” Luka said as he turned off his electric guitar, “you wrote that for Juleka?”

“Heehee! Happy birthday!” Rose said to a smiling, blushing Juleka, then turned to him. “I'll sing you yours before we head out on Saturday, Luka!”

“Lookin' forward to it!” he replied as he began to take off his costume.

“Everyone still down with watching 'Rock and Monster Party Parade'?” Nino asked.

“YEAH!”

Lila split off from the group to approach Luka.

“And how old are you turning, Luka?” she asked, smiling.

Luka smirked down at her.

“One year older than the last year~” he sing-sang, causing Lila to pout.

“Smartass.”

----

As everyone began to split along the Liberty to do their thing, Marinette found Juleka and Rose on their own.

“It'll work out, Ju!” Rose exclaimed in an encouraging tone.

However, Juleka didn't seem to be convinced that it would.

“I don't know...”

“Hm? Is something wrong?” Marinette asked, worried.

“It's just...” Juleka said, sighing. “This is the first time my Dad is in Paris for our birthday and I really want to celebrate with him. But he and Maman don't know me and Luka know who he is.”

Marinette grimaced.

“Wow, I've... never heard you talk about your dad.”

“Well, he and my Mom don't get along, so...”

“... is he a cop?” Marinette asked, remembering Anarka's rather acrimonious relationship with law enforcement.

All while Rose just gave a nervous smile.

“Every year we 'mysteriously' get gifts centered around our interests,” Juleka said, remembering how she got a makeup kit when she started to be interested in the goth subculture, or the violin Luka was given when he started learning how to play one. “So I think he'd be up for meeting us if not for Maman.”

She sighed.

“I just want to thank him in person.”

“Why woun't your mom let you meet?” Marinette asked, curious.

“Let's put it this way. Between the two of them... my mom's the responsible parent.”

Marinette felt her eyes going wide.

“Oh.” What kind of person is he that Anarka is the more responsible? “Oh, I see.”

“Yeah, I'd like Dad to come too,” Luka added, “but he'll cause a scene if he just shows up at the cinema.”

“'Cause a scene'?” Marinette asked. This only added to the enigma of who their father was.

“How about a party here?” Adrien suggested. “It's private property, so people won't stop him, but not so private he can't coincidentally stop by! Only hiccup is letting your dad in on the plan.”

“Oh, that's easy,” Luka said, pulling out his phone. “I have his manager's number.”

“Oh, perfect!” Adrien exclaimed, ignorant of the mental collapse Marinette was suffering.

Who is this man?! His manager?!

----

“Ha! Your birthday's on the same day so you have to be twins!” Lila shouted, but Luka's smirk stopped her cold.

“Or we were born on the same day years apart.”

“ARGHHH!”

Juleka rolled her eyes at her brother's teasing.

Luka's having too much fun with this, she thought.

----

The next day, preparations for the birthday party were quickly underway, and everyone was helping wherever they could.

“Thanks for bringing the cake, Marinette!” Juleka said, preparing to hang the flags next to a window, as her friend placed the box with the cake on the table.

“No problem!” Marinette replied, just as someone knocked on a window. Luka opened to see who was calling –

“Jagged?” Marinette asked, surprised.

“Hey, birthday sibs! Bon Anniv'!” the rocker said, grinning at Luka, who helped him through the window. “I'm not late, am I?”

“Early, actually,” Luka corrected, while Marinette's surprised turned into confusion.

“What is Jagged Stone doing here...”

Wait.

She slowly turned to look at Juleka, who was looking away and trying (and failing) to look innocent by whistling.

Marinette felt her jaw drop at the shock.

“I was so pumped to get an official invite! From, uh, 'Anarka's' kids,” Jagged Stone said, unaware of the shock he had just induced in Marinette. “I had to get the perfect gifts!”

From a bag he had brought with him, he pulled a bass guitar, which he offered to Juleka.

“Juleka's Kitty Section's bass guitarist, right? I thought it'd be cool if I gave her my very first bass guitar!”

Juleka carefully picked up the present, tested it, and smiled at Jagged – at her father.

“Thank you.”

Jagged acted as if he had been struck straight in the heart by Juleka's cuteness.

But he quickly recovered from it, and pulled a vinyl from the same bag.

“And for Luka, this original edition LP from Crocoduo, the group I had with your mom–“

“JAGGED STONE, YOU SCALLYWAG!”

Everyone jumped in the air as Anarka Couffaine screamed, her eyes glaring at the rocker.

“A-Anarka!”

“No stow aways on my ship! Disembark right now!” the twins' mother shouted as she walked up to the group.

“H–How'd you know I was here?! I was so sneaky!” Jagged declared, shocked.

“Your tour bus is parked on the dock, you one-hit wonder!”

----

On the dock, the class approached Jagged Stone's tour bus, stunned – mostly because all of them could easily recognize it.

“Whoa...” they all said, as Penny Rolling greeted everyone.

“Hey.”

----

Inside the Liberty, things were a lot more tense.

“You have some nerve gifting the album that split us up!” Anarka shouted, marching up to Jagged Stone.

“'Split us up?!' You mean the album that gave me my life back after you left me!” Jagged replied, brandishing the vinyl disc as if it were a weapon, only for Anarka to grab the other side and pull.

“You're the one who left me!” she said.

“No, you!” he replied.

None of them aware of the black butterfly flitting its way down until it touched the disc – which turned black.

“A-AKUMA! AH, SHIT!” Marinette shouted as the disc cracked and both Anarka and Jagged showed the signs of Akumatization.

Juleka and Luka sighed.

“Happy birthday to us.”

----

Hawkmoth was stunned.

It was the first time he had a two-for-one deal.

And both of them were people he had Akumatized in the past.

There was only one thing he could say.

“What? You two again?”

----

Captain Hardrock and Guitar Villain quickly took to the skies, facing each other.

“Ye selfish sea dog, ye sailed off on yer own cruise leaving two matey's behind!” the pirate-themed Akuma shouted.

“You're the one who destroyed our duet and played on without me!” the dragon-riding Akuma shouted back.

“Aw, man, you can get Akumatized again?!” Alix complained.

“Even after Scarlet Lady purifies the butterfly?” Ivan asked, remembering how he got Akumatized twice from the same butterfly.

“Well, that one florist gets Akumatized a lot–” Rose reminded her friend.

“BOOOOO!” Nino yelled, ignoring how his best friend was slowly sneaking away.

Elsewhere in the dock, Marinette was doing the same, while Juleka and Luka watched their parents duking it out in the skies of Paris.

“So much for keeping things a secret,” Luka lamented.

----

“GET BACK HERE, YOU BILGE RAT!”

“TRY AND CATCH ME!”

“Chloé! Akuma!” Tikki exclaimed, but when she turned, she saw Chloé was deliberately looking away.

“So it is.”

“Time to goooo,” Tikki tried to push her.

“Oh, what's the point?!” Chloé complained. “It's not like I can fly up there! Even though I'm a Ladybug hero!”

She turned to Tikki.

“Make me able to fly!”

“No~”

----

As the two Akumas fought, Chat Noir and Marigold managed to reach out to them and attempted to make them stand down.

“I'm the only one who gets to slay that villain, alley cat!”

Unfortunately, the Akumas were so fixated in their fight that they didn't like the interference, and one of Captain Hardrock's cannonballs struck Chat Noir before he could knock Guitar Villain out.

“WAH–!” he shouted as he fell off the dragon.

“I'm the one who gets to sink that ship, you wasp!”

While Guitar Villain hit Marigold with his guitar before she could inutilize one of the ship's engines – causing her to fall off as well.

“AHHH!”

Fortunately, both heroes reached a safe place, but the two Akumas were too high to reach.

“C'mon, Guitar Villain! We've got a duel to finish!”

“You heroes just wait there!”

Marigold and Chat Noir huffed, trying to work out how to stop them, while Scarlet Lady finally arrived.

“Ha! You totally got ignored! Losers!” the so-called heroine exclaimed.

“We're ignoring you too,” Guitar Villain reminded her, causing the heroes to give a knowing look at their 'partner'.

“HEY!”

The Akumas flew away, intent on continuing their fight, while Scarlet Lady angrily pointed at them.

“No fair! We don't have wings or a flying ship!”

Marigold snapped her fingers and turned to Chat Noir.

“Hey, that's right! What about the space potion?”

Chat Noir smiled.

“You're right! Let me just...”

He started to pat his pockets, but then he realized they were not as full as they should have been.

And he turned to Marigold.

“I... I forgot them at home.”

“M–Me too.”

“Pathetic.”

The heroes tried to come up with a plan to deal with the lack of materials, when they saw the twins shouting at their Akumatized parents.

“Do you have to attack each other?!” Juleka screamed, clearly upset.

“Stop pulling others into your drama!” Luka called them out.

The two heroes quickly realized they had had the same idea, and nodded at each other.

“I think this 2-for-1 special calls for a 2-for-1 special, Goldie!” Chat Noir said with a wink, which the Bee Heroine returned.

“Ooo, I think something nice and loud would suit just fine!” she replied, and Chat Noir extended his baton.

“You got it!” he shouted as he jumped away with his weapon.

“Where's he going?” Scarlet Lady asked. “Did he realize he's useless?”

“Nevermind that,” Marigold replied, grabbing her arm. “You and I are gonna protect civilians until he gets back.”

“NOOOOOO!” Scarlet Lady uselessly (as most of her efforts) yelled, unable to free herself from Marigold's iron grip, while Juleka turned to her brother.

“Maybe we should pitch in and help.”

----

“Master Fu!” Adrien said as he entered the old man's house, which was shaking from the sounds of battle. “There's–”

“Two Akumas? I noticed,” Master Fu replied, already opening the gramophone so Adrien could choose a Miraculous. Much to his surprise, he picked the Snake Bracelet and another one. “This is getting risky, Adrien. Five heroes?”

“Well, I only need one Miraculous if you have some space potion lying around,” Adrien replied, making Fu raise an eyebrow.

“And what happened to the one I gave you?” he asked, amused.

“Uh! Well! You can't expect me to carry weird colored cheese with me all the time, can you?” he excused himself, only for Plagg to spring up from behind his shoulder.

“You could if you weren't a COWARD!”

----

While Chat Noir made his way back to his partner, things were getting heated up in the sky, as the Akumas traded accusations, while, below them, Alya, Mylène, and Lila observed.

“You only ever cared about your music! That's why you dumped me when you started climbing the charts!” Captain Hardrock shouted, pointing at Guitar Villain with her large cutlass.

“Whoa,” Alya said with a grimace.

“Omigod the tea,” Lila added.

“Have you caught sea madness?! You dumped me! And didn't even tell me you were pregnant, and blocked me from my own kids!”

“WHAT?!” Alya shouted, feeling like her glasses were breaking apart from the shock, as Mylène looked on, stunned.

“Ohohomighod the tea!” Lila exclaimed.

----

Luckily, Chat Noir arrived soon, and the first thing he did was to walk up to his partner and kiss her hand.

“Welcome back to the party,” Marigold graciously said.

“Please, I am the party,” Chat Noir replied, discreetly passing her the new Miraculous he had picked.

“Did you remember to bring a gift?” she asked, grabbing the richly decorated wooden box.

“Only the best for my honeybee,” he said, smiling at her, before picking Luka up. “C'mon, Luka. Let's go recite our scales.”

Luka looked at Chat Noir with a surprised face.

Meanwhile, Marigold was tossing her top to hook it to a nearby roof and grabbed the other Couffaine sibling, who was shocked.

“Let's go, Juleka.”

“Wuh–HEY!”

Both heroes flew away towards nearby roofs... leaving their 'partner' behind.

“What about me?!” she complained.

(Nobody cared)

----

As soon as they were in a secluded place, Marigold pulled the box Chat Noir had brought her and offered it to Juleka.

“Juleka Couffaine, this is the Tiger Miraculous, which grants the power of Exaltation. You will use it for the greater good,” she said.

“M–Me?” Juleka stumbled. “But I'm not–”

“After helping with Captain Hardrock and Silencer you still don't think you're a hero?” Marigold asked with a smile, making Juleka blush.

“You remembered...” the girl said. It was enough for her to accept opening the box, revealing a panjas bracelet – and a light that flew around her before transforming into a small creature that –

“ROOOAR!”

“Wah–!” Juleka yelled, jumping back from the shock and falling to the ground. The small creature flew closer to her.

“C'mon, let's wreak havoc!” the Tiger Kwami said, grinning.

“O–Okay...” Juleka mumbled, still in shock from the sudden appearance.

“Huh?” the kwami continued, leaning his head. “You say something? Louder!”

“Okay,” Juleka replied in a normal tone.

“LOUDER!”

“OKAAAAAY!” Juleka finally shouted, making the Kwami fly back.

“WHOOOOOAH! Nice and loud! Perfect!” she said, smiling. “My power won't work if you don't feel it!”

Juleka nodded, putting on the bracelet on her right hand.

“Next, just say, 'Roarr–'”

----

“STRIPES ON!”

----

“Alright, ready when you are,” Viperion said, his transformation complete, as Chat Noir looked on, slightly worried.

“You're okay going against your parents?” Chat Noir asked, but Viperion shrugged.

“Going against authority is the Couffaine way,” he replied. “Even your parents.”

Chat Noir nodded – it was an idea that really spoke to his own soul.

“That's such a good way,” he agreed.

----

“Chat Noir!” Marigold said, as she and her new partner landed next to him, Viperion, and Scarlet Lady.

“Ah, the gang's all here!” the Cat Hero happily exclaimed, while Scarlet looked on with disgust.

“Gross, you got another cat?”

“The name is Purple Tigress,” the new heroine replied, while Marigold turned to her oldest partner.

“Chaton, I need you to throw us as high as you can!”

“Sure thing!” he replied, extending his baton as far as he could and telling the two girls to stand at the other end of it. “Me and Viperion will keep protecting citizens!”

“Ew!” Scarlet Lady said, running after Marigold and Purple Tigress. “Then I'm coming with–”

Too late, as Chat Noir pulled with all his strength and sent the Bee and Tiger Heroines flying – while whacking Scarlet Lady in the face.

“AH!”

Chat Noir grinned before walking to continue the work of helping innocent people.

----

The Akumas were so absorbed into their fight that, while trying to stop them was hard, stealing their Akumatized objects was another matter entirely.

“Ahoy, Captain Hardrock!” Marigold cheekily greeted her as she grabbed one half while dodging her slashes. “Yoink!”

“HEY!”

“Time to turn down the volume!” Purple Tigress said as she spun around Guitar Villain, who couldn't make heads nor tails of the new heroine as she grabbed the second half of the disc.

“OI!”

“You're ruining the music!”

The duo quickly jumped to the end of the flying ship and –

“HA!”

“HNGH!”

– snapped both halves of the disc over their knees!

But... nothing happened.

“... where's the Akuma?” the heroines asked themselves.

----

Chat Noir saw that both heroines were holding onto the end of his baton and contracted it.

“Aaaand they're back,” he announced, but when they returned it was obvious something had gone wrong. “It didn't work?”

“No!” Marigold shouted, observing the disc pieces and trying to find some clue in them. “I don't get it!”

“Me either,” Purple Tigress admitted.

“I saw the Akuma go in before it was broken–” both Viperion and Purple Tigress said at the same time, and they gave each other a glare.

“I got it!” Marigold interrupted. “We put them together and then break it!”

She grabbed Scarlet Lady's hand.

“Hurry, use your Lucky Charm!”

“Don't boss me around,” the Ladybug 'heroine' said, but still she created the magical object they needed to solve the problem.

“Purple Tigress, use your power to keep them at bay!” Chat Noir said, but the Tiger Heroine was doubtful.

“W-What if I miss, or, I can't pull it off?!” she asked, scared of failure. “Roarr said I had to 'feel it'!”

“Hey,” Viperion gently said. “Second Chance.”

Purple Tigress looked at him in shock.

“Now no matter how many times you need, I'll make sure you get your shot,” he said, smiling. “But I bet you'll only need one chance.”

Purple Tigress smiled back at him, and, encouraged by his support, turned towards the dueling Akumas.

“You two are always so damn loud. No one can get a word in edgewise!” she growled as her right fist shone in purple, swirling energy – and jumped. “How is anyone supposed to settle things when you won't listen?! It's time for you two to SHUT THE HELL UP!”

She reached the flying ship, still engaged in fight with the dragon, and her clenched fist struck the former.

“CLOUT!”

The energy collided with the ship, and the explosion of energy suddenly sent both Akumas flying arse over teakettle... much to the shock of Chat Noir and Viperion, who watched the entire thing with wide open eyes and an inability to look away.

“Ready, Chat Noir!” Marigold happily declared after using the Lucky Charm – a roll of adhesive tape – to put the disc back together.

“C–Cataclysm,” Chat Noir said without looking away from the Clout explosion.

----

Once everything was fixed up, Marigold took Purple Tigress aside, and she returned to her civilian identity of Juleka Couffaine, who carefully took the bracelet and put it back into its box.

“Thanks for trusting me, Marigold,” she said, giving the box back to the Bee Heroine.

“Whoo! That was awesome!” Roarr said, floating and smiling at her temporary wielder. “It's been a while since I've felt this refreshed! Feels good to let it out, right?”

“Yeah, it does!” Juleka exclaimed, before she remembered the other thing that had happened earlier, and turned to Marigold. “... um... you should know... I figured out Viperion's identity. And he probably knows mine.”

“Oh...” Marigold replied, before she started to get covered in a cold sweat. “I–It's fine. Probably.”

“Are you sure?” Juleka asked. “You don't look fine.”

“Nah, it's probably cool.”

----

Unfortunately, while they may have been deakumatized, it hadn't brought peace, because Anarka and Jagged had resumed their argument from earlier.

“You shipwrecker! This was your fault!” Anarka screamed.

“You're the one off-key!” Jagged screamed back.

“Oh my god, SHUT UP!” Juleka interrupted, fed up with the shouting. “No one cares who's fault it is, so drop it and at least be civil!”

Both adults pulled back and looked chagrined in the face of the girl's wrath, and Anarka pointed at a suddenly shy Jagged Stone.

“J–Juleka, there's something you don't know about this ship rat–”

“What, that he's my dad?” Juleka asked with a deadpan face.

“You knew?!” the adults shouted at the same time.

“I've always known,” Juleka replied, crossing her arms, while her friends reacted in different ways, from Rose's smile to Alix sticking her tongue. “And now so does all of Paris.”

After a few seconds of silence, the adults turned back to each other.

“This isn't something we can be civil about!” Jagged shouted. “Bob gave me your letter! It said you wanted nothing to do with me! It didn't even mention the kids!”

“Have you swallowed sea water?!” Anarka accused. “Bob gave me your letter and it said you wanted nothing to do with me! Right after I told Bob I was pregnant–”

As they listened to what the other was saying, Anarka and Jagged realized something that was missing.

The neuron they needed to realize what had really happened that day, sixteen years before.

Their growing fury turned so incandescent, that Jagged Stone and Anarka Couffaine looked like they were about to fire a Kamehameha at something – or someone.

“BOB!”

----

In one of the many streets that populated the fair city of Paris, a certain music producer (who, in his free time, also was a walking excrement) called Bob Roth felt a shiver running down his back, as if someone had stepped over his (shallow) tomb.

“Why do I feel a sudden chill...?” he asked himself.

Not having any pattern recognition, he didn't give it the importance it required.

----

Anarka and Jagged's brief foray into Saiyanism ended, and both of them collapsed into the Liberty's deck, as they realized what they could have avoided if they hadn't trusted the wrong person.

“I feel so dumb...” Anarka mumbled.

“All this time...” Jagged mumbled.

“This day has been so weird,” Alya declared, and everyone else nodded.

“Alright, everyone!” Penny said, clapping her hands and catching everyone's attention. “Let's not forget, we're here to celebrate! Let's get back to it!”

Everyone cheered in agreement, and Anarka and Jagged were shaken off their brooding: standing up, they hugged each other.

“I'm sorry, Nanarky,” Jagged said.

“I'm sorry too, you old pirate,” Anarka gently replied.

“Let's figure this out later,” Jagged added, before looking at his ever-faithful assistant. “Penny.”

“Already on it,” she said with a grin that wouldn't have been out of place in a sea predator or in a law firm.

----

Jagged offered to play with his children and their group for the party, and they all agreed: playing with Jagged Stone, famous rock and roll star, AND father of about half the group? No one was crazy enough to pass on the opportunity!

“I know I have a lot of time to make up for...” Jagged said as they adjusted their strings, “but I'm gonna do my best to play to your tunes.”

“I know it'll be a beautiful duet, Dad,” Luka said, hugging his father.

“You're speaking my language,” Jagged replied, and Luka let him go so Juleka could glomp him.

“I love you, Papa,” Juleka added.

“You rock my world, too.”

“Please don't get back with Maman.”

“Pretty sure that ship has sailed,” Jagged sentenced.

----

The party was now in full swing. With Kitty Section having done its part, now it was time for DJ Nino to put on some of his music, and everyone was now cheering in unison to the new tunes.

That was when Lila corralled Luka.

“A-HA!” she shouted, and Luka turned to look at her, as she gave a knowing grin. “If Jagged Stone is both you and Juleka's dad, then you have to be twins!”

Luka looked back at her, and shrugged.

“Guess you got me,” he admitted, and Lila smirked.

“Ha! Yes! I win!” she said, walking away. “Nothing gets past me!”

Except the smirk Luka was now bearing, and which she missed because she wasn't looking.

You still haven't figured out my age, though, he thought as he tried to contain his laughter.

----

In one of the most expensive and famous restaurants of Paris, the aforementioned music producer-slash-walking excrement was sitting down at a table, ready to partake in a delicious lunch.

“Enjoy your meal, M. Roth,” the elégant waitress said, and walked to her waiting place while Bob opened his Loco laptop in order to check his business.

Sadly for him, he was doing this as he drank from a glass of Perrier water, and the moment he saw the latest email he had received, he spewed most of what he had drunk and began to choke on the rest.

“M. Roth?!” the worried waitress asked, while in the screen of the laptop glared three large lines that spelled doom for the producer.

Notice of Termination

Penny Rolling

You're fired, Bob.

----

Robostus

@zoe-oneesama How far can Clout fire Bob Roth? Answer: Not far enough.

Apologies for taking so long in writing this chapter! It's been quite the month, between work, personal projects, real life issues... I never found the time nor the boost I needed to get back into writing this novelization! But, between the one-shot I wrote (only if (a) you are a RWBY fan and (b) at least 18 years old) and a request from @sassy-but-sweet-purrrincess29, I got back into the saddle!

I hope to be able to finish Season 4 before the end of year, and continue with a similar tempo as earlier. Please, bear with me (also, we've got the events at the end of Style Queen, and I really want to write that scene!).

With this chapter, we've reached 477 pages, 191,219 words, 1,030,945 characters!

See you soon!

#scarlet lady the novel #fanfiction #milarqui #long post #marinette dupain cheng #adrien agreste #marigold #chat noir #scarlet lady is better than canon #luka couffaine #viperion #juleka couffaine #purple tigress #crocoduel

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