My Kitty

23| The End Of Shadowmoth

LadyChat ventured into the mansion, cautious at every step she took. Her yo-yo spun in sharpened circles, non-stop, and her eyebrows furrowed at the intensity of her focused gaze.

It burdened her to no end, having come to know that Gabriel Agreste was the enemy they've been seeking from the very start. It wasn't because she admired him, but because she was afraid of Chat Noir's reaction once he'd find it out. She felt utterly sorry for him, and couldn't bear the thought of delivering the news to him. She hated seeing him in pain. And he's been hurting for the longest time, all alone. This was sure to be his last straw; his breaking point, and he might even blame everything upon himself.

She gingerly opened the door to his office and her eyes skimmed over every corner to the room. All her hopes were left shattered into pieces as she found it empty, devoid of his presence.

Since there was an akumatized villain on the loose, he must've been transformed somewhere. And the only place he could be was here. Because that's where the Universe had led her. The lights further guided her to an artistic portrait of Adrien's mother. A few specific triangle shapes, along each side of the painting, glowed a magnifying blend of red and black.

The tips of her fingers slightly brushed up the artwork, and she sucked in a breath, willing her anxiety away. She now carried Chat Noir's confidence and courage. She surely wasn't going to let him down. Her eyes fell upon his ring and she felt the familiar ache stinging the back of her throat. "I'll use it well, my kitty." Her voice came out a softened whisper. An unspoken thank you for entrusting her with his miraculous, and a silent promise that she'll bring him back. And everyone else in Paris who'd lost their lives.

She pushed the uneven shapes further into the art piece, and a gasp escaped her lips as she was brought down a tube. Which took her exactly to where she expected. Numerous butterflies fluttered around, glowing an angelic white against the obscurity of the room. They were all akumas. Akumas yet to be corrupted. Shadowmoth's back faced her, but at the lightest sound she'd made, he turned around; mortified.

"Didn't think I'd meet you so soon." She smirked. Damn that kitty's way with words was getting to her.

"You..." He snarled. His gaze ran down her costume, and his expression molded into that of pure terror, and realization dawned upon him. A punch to his gut. "You merged the miraculous!"

"You don't say, captain obvious." Rolling her eyes, she locked contact straight with his. "And I've still got a wish to make." It was a blatant lie. A threat empty of meaning. But the conviction she'd so easily spewed the words with, had him fooled.

That was exactly what she wanted. To mislead him into believing he was more than inferior to her. And he was easy prey. Through the defiance sheer in his demeanor, she could make out his gradual increase in distress. He was cornered, a helpless butterfly amidst the raging wind. Quite literally.

She radiated power, and her authority didn't sit right with him. He despised the way he'd suddenly began to falter, and he had to remind himself why he'd started all of this in the first place.

He tightened his grip on his cane, lunging towards her with his only weapon raised high above his head. LadyChat skillfully dodged his futile attacks. "Don't you think it's a bit humiliating—" She ducked to the side, "Taking advantage of young kids, old man?" She flung her yo-yo to his feet, and as it wrapped around his ankle, she drew the string into her with all her might.

Shadowmoth was dragged to his back, slumping to the floor with a groan that brought her satisfaction. "Lucky charm!" Into her welcoming hands fell a fishing rod with her ladybug pattern. But before she could innovate a plan, the villain tackled her. His cane dug into the bottom of her ribs, and she whimpered at the dull ache shooting through her. "I—" she breathed in, grimacing, "I wish for Gabriel Agreste to savor the taste of death."

His eyes widened, and the grip on her loosened. She took it as a prime opportunity to slam the soles of her feet into his chest. He was hurled further away. His back crashed into the lone window, a crack stretching in branches across the glass. Tumbling to the ground; helpless, he wallowed in self-pity. He couldn't bring his wife back.

He had failed not only himself, or his son. But he had failed her. The thought alone left him drowned in remorse. It brought a wave of disappointment over him, wishing he could turn back time. Just to have stopped Emilie from putting such a corrupted miraculous to use.

Police sirens wailed from outside the perimeters, and LadyChat did the best she could think of. There wasn't time to conjure up a complicated plan. She couldn't risk having him recover from the shock. She tossed the hook straight towards his miraculous, sure to have it secure around the butterfly one specifically. Yanking it down, it skidded across his lair, and to her feet.

She firmly grasped it. "Powerless now, aren't you?" Without the brooch, he no longer had the ability to control his puppet. Heartbreaker was down, and the chaos has surely begun to waver. She took menacing steps his way, watching him wither. She bent to meet his eyes. "I think this," she snatched the peacock miraculous, "belongs to me."