Until We Meet Again

Chapter 10: The City of Lights

We were falling so fast I could barely think, but Chat pulled me out of my trance.

"Grap Carapace!" He yelled, I grabbed Carapace who was right next to me and tried to find something to latch my yo-yo onto. I spotted a light post. It looked like one of the few things that was still standing after all the bombs.

To say we landed gracefully would be a lie. We swung so low to the ground that once we hit it, we went tumbling through the charred grass.

"Sorry." I said simply, helping Carapace up.

Rena and Chat had landed safely while Carapace and I brushed the ash from our costumes and hair.

"What happened?" I said, "we were meant to come out on the observation deck of the Eiffel Tower!"

"I think we did." Carapace pointed out. "That's the Pont d'Iéna right there, which means this is where the tower is supposed to be. All this rubble," he gestured all around us, "is the Eiffel Tower. This villain is far more powerful than we could've imagined."

There was deadly silence between the four of us. Even as a team this would be hard. There was no going back.

"With everything in me, I want to protect my friends here. I could never forgive myself for turning back now, but I also couldn't blame any of you for wanting to go back to where it's safe." I took a deep breath, and continued. "I won't sugarcoat it. We could die here today, but if you stay and fight, we fight to protect the people of Paris, and the Miraculous jewels. Hawkmoth will go to any length to get them from us, so we will do everything in our power to stop him. Are you with me?"

I waited for a moment, thinking I would have to fight on my own, until Nino placed his hand on my shoulder.

"I'll fight to the end. My whole life is here, I won't let the people that I love down." Nino said solemnly.

"I'm by your side no matter what Milady."

"I'm in," Alya said casually, "it's a suicide mission, but there's no going back now."

I smiled lightly. This felt right, going into battle with my best friends. I just wish I could tell them it was me, that I was safe. Or at least, as safe as you can be when you're going to fight a domestic terrorist.

I looked at Chat and for a moment, spoke only to him. The city was crumbling around us, but it was hard to focus on anything but him.

"If I die today," I started.

"Ladybug don't-" Chat stopped me.

"If I die today, tell them who I was, and tell my parents that I fought to the bitter end. And I'm sorry if I die today without knowing who the man I love truly is. Though, if we defeat Hawkmoth today, I can't wait to kiss your face with these silly masks off. But just in case I don't get to do that…" I reached up and pulled Chat Noir's face to my own. It was a passionate kiss, like the one we shared when I first saw him. It was filled with love and all the things that I couldn't bring myself to say. Lightning flashed overhead as thunder rumbled throughout the sky. I let go of Chat's face and embraced him, leaning my forehead against his own.

"I love you." They were such simple words, I could say them to anyone without even meaning it, but when I spoke them for him, they carried an electricity throughout our bodies.

"I love you too." He didn't even need to say it, I could feel it.

I let go and turned to Alya and Nino as they were finishing their own moment. We all knew that death could be upon us at any moment, but that didn't mean that we shouldn't try. We would fight. Win or lose, we would fight for our people.

"Ready?" Chat asked everyone.

"Ready."

We ran, searching for the culprit of all the destruction around us. It was around ten in the morning in Paris, but the storm, and the dust from the demolished buildings made it look like it was late at night. There were fires all around, giving the impression that street lamps were still lit in the darkness. It was eerily quiet, save a few car alarms in the distance, that was, until I heard crying coming from nearby.

Without saying a word to the others, I sprinted to the source of the crying. It was a leveled Pied-à-terre around the corner from where we were.

"Hello?" I called out. "I would like to help you, but I need help finding you. Will you speak, so that I might follow your voice?"

"I'm over here! I'm stuck under some rubble! I think my arm is broken, I can't push it off of me. I can't see anything under here."

The voice was muddled, but I was able to find her.

"I found you." I said to the trapped woman, hoping to offer some comfort.

I cleared away most of what was covering her, when I found a large piece of concrete covering her upper body. I could see part of her left arm. It was bloody, and lying limp under the large concrete block.

"I can see your arm, it will need medical attention, but I can lift this off of you."

She didn't respond as I began to lift the concrete. In my civilian form I'd have no chance of lifting it on my own, but with Tikki's power, it was a breeze. I threw it aside and looked down at the girl. She had her eyes tightly shut, her face was covered in dust, ash, and dried blood, muddling the color of her dark skin. Tears made their way down her cheeks in a constant stream.

"Ladybug! Where are you?" I heard Chat yelling from the street.

"I'm over here! Come help me." Chat came running towards me, obvious relief in his eyes.

"Ladybug? Is it really you? Are you the real Ladybug?"

I turned around to the young woman. She was staring at me with bloodshot eyes, and a look of confusion and relief.

"Yes, I am. May I ask your name?"

"Fleur. I never thought I'd meet you. Everyone thought you were gone forever. I moved to France for university just before you left."

"Alright Fleur, we have to splint your arm. Before I can do that though, we have to clean up the wounds so you don't get an infection."

I grabbed my yo-yo and opened it. Inside the yo-yo there is a portal that I can place things in. I always have first-aid supplies in there just in case. I searched around and pulled out hydrogen peroxide, gauze, medical tape, and an aluminum roll meant for splinting.

"Wow, you really came prepared." Fleur said softly.

"I suppose I could say it's part of the job, but I've never even had to use any of it before." I poured the hydrogen peroxide on her arm causing her to wince, but she held still.

I cleaned all her wounds out and began to splint her arm. In that time, Rena Rouge and Carapace had arrived and were watching silently next to Chat.

Once I had finished with all the bandaging I helped Fleur stand up. Although she had some gashes on her legs, she could walk without assistance. We all agreed to take her with us until we found a place that was safe for civilians to stay. As long as we could get in, our plan was the Louvre. The museum was all underground, and the walls of the lowest floor were extremely thick and safe. It would likely be the safest place, other than not being in the city at all.

We made menial small talk as we traveled. Fleur was originally from Belgium and had moved to France by herself, so luckily she didn't have any family in the building. We didn't talk about it, but we all knew that people died in the collapse of Pied-à-terre. It was likely that there were hundreds, if not thousands, dead already. The only way to save them and bring them back was to defeat the akuma and use my powers to fix the damage caused by them. That was completely dependent on surviving though.

As we made our way to the Louvre, we turned onto a street that was all too familiar to me.

"You guys keep walking." I said to the others. "I have to do something real quick. I shouldn't be long."