the next holders//mlb fanfiction

36//personal investigations

Its been three days, Autumn has been trying to put together a plan with Tikki all weekend, but it's not that easy. She went back to school yesterday, anxious about seeing El, but El didn't show up. She had asked Rune whether they knew anything, but they shook their head. Autumn told him about how she's worried about El, about how she's been upset lately and how Autumn is afraid El's going to do something stupid.

Autumn was right about that. El has been trying to lure the attacker into attacking her all weekend. She skipped school yesterday as well as today, walking through Paris undefended and alone. She had cleaned the storage of her phone so she can film everything that happens in case she does get attacked. She's done some research and proved that her suspicions were right: everyone who has been attacked was either akumatised or someone close to them. So if she manages to find the attacker — and they are somehow connected to the akumas — she might get closer to getting Plagg back.

When turning the corner into yet another alley, she notices a hooded figure a few steps away from her. It's the same hooded figure. El rechecks that her phone is recording, which it is, then carefully walks further. She needs to have a conversation with the hooded figure, she needs to ask them why they target former akumas, she needs to ask whether they know anything about HawkMoth, she needs to know if they have a solution for her problem.

The attacker turns to her, their face still hidden under the hood, they're kind of intimidating. It makes El want to run away, but she continues walking forward anyway. If she leaves now, she might lose her only chance.
"So we meet again." El says, trying to sound confident. She wants to avoid fighting if possible. The attacker doesn't answer and scoffs.
"Not so talkative? I didn't expect you to be. I still hope you're able to answer my questions though." The attacker doesn't respond again. Instead, they run towards El and have her pinned to the ground in one movement. El curses herself for not reacting sooner, but won't give up.
Then, unexpectedly, the attacker starts talking "Who's HawkMoth?" This question surprises El even more than the fact that they started talking in the first place. She recognises their voice, but can't quite put her finger on it.
"What?" She asks confused, then starts coughing right afterwards due to the fact that she can barely breathe.
"I'm not repeating myself."
"How should I know?" El coughs again, then tries gasping for air. She struggles to get out of their grip, they're stronger than she is.
"Don't act stupid."
"What are you talking about?"
"You've been akumatised, you must know something!"
"Are you stupid?!" El asks, there's exactly no air left and starts to feel herself getting dizzy. The attacker loosens their grip, making El able to breathe again.
"I'm not stupid. I just need to know." They say.
"So do I. I need to know and I thought you'd have the answer!" The attacker loosens their grip completely now, El manages to stand up but doesn't attack them while they're confused. They seem to be struggling with what to think. Then they run away, trying to get away from El before they get too vulnerable.
"Wait!" El shouts, but they continue running. "I captured you on video. If you leave now, I won't hesitate to show it to the police!" El shouts, the attacker stiffens, obviously unsure with what to do.
"What do you want?" They ask.
"I wanted to know if you worked with HawkMoth, but I guess I have a solution to that answer already."
"Then why won't you let me leave?"
"Because you're still attacking innocent people." El takes a few steps towards the attacker. She doesn't feel scared anymore, what she feels is more like pity.
"Because I need to know." Their voice sounds like a child's now, El is sure she knows who it is, she just doesn't know who exactly.
"Seems like we're in the same boat."
The attacker doesn't give a response.
It stays quiet between the two of them for a while. Eventually, the attacker speaks again.
"So why don't we try to take her down together? HawkMoth, I mean."
"What?"
"You want it, I want it, we could work together."
El rethinks the situation before answering. Of course, she needs to take HawkMoth down. The sooner she does, the earlier she'll see Plagg again. And two pair of eyes see more than one. But the attacker attacks innocent people and she doesn't know who they are. That shouldn't matter, she doesn't know who Ladybug is either. This feels different though. She has to know if they're going to work together.
"Fine, on two conditions. One, you won't attack a single innocent person anymore. And two, you'll reveal your identity to me. It seems only fair, you know who I am, too."
The attacker stays quiet for a while, then says "I agree if you promise not to tell anyone and if you delete that video you have right now." They eventually say.
"Deal." El says, El takes out her phone and deletes it, then turns to the attacker. "I won't reveal your identity, I promise." The attacker seems a bit confused as to why El agreed this easily and how confident she sounds.
"Just... don't freak out." They say, then take of their hood, revealing themselves to be Rune. El looks at them, trying to take in the fact that the only friend they've made in years turned out to be someone attacking innocent people. It does make sense to her now: Rune showed up around the same time the attacks started, she and Autumn found him waking alone near one of the attacks some time ago. It's pretty obvious now, but she still doesn't understand why.
"I—" she wants to start a conversation, but falls silent.
"I told you not to freak out." Rune says, obviously uncomfortable with the situation.
"I—" El starts, takes a deep breath, then continues "I keep my promises." Then she runs away, leaving Rune perplexed and anxious. She feel happy that she told them she keeps her promises, but her running away doesn't exactly put him at ease.