Miraculous: Tales of Ms. Ladybug and Tom Cat

Part 65- Strategic Thinking

As the battle raged on between Anti-Bug and the other heroes, Emilie was a bit lost in thought.

How did this happen? she thought. Mom has always been cool-headed and in control of her emotions. What caused her to get akumatized?

Her split attention nearly got her hit with Anti-Bug's yo-yo. Thankfully she dodged and landed next to Cat Noir.

"What do you think could've done this?" Emilie asked him. "She's never been akumatized, not even in the future. So what caused this?"

Cat Noir deflected another yo-yo attack. "I don't know. She's always been level-headed one the two of us."

"Don't think you can escape me!" Anti-Bug said charging at them with her fist aimed at Cat Noir. Emilie pushed him out of the way and Ladybug's fist turned a piece of rubble to gravel.

Ok Emilie, think she thought. What could set Mom over the edge like this? What would cause her to feel so bad that she'd feel like she'd have no choice but to give in to Hawk Moth?

Emilie was stumped. Her Mom was one of the most stable people she knew. She might freak out occasionally when she made a mistake, or get overly stressed from work, but in general, she was happy. The only times Emilie had ever seen her Mom really upset would be after an extremely rare fight with...

The answer hit her like a ton of bricks. She hadn't been paying attention to Anti-Bug's fighting style. She quickly developed a theory and decided to test it. She stood next to Cat Noir, let Anti-bug approach, and found the answer. Anti-Bug was mainly attacking her, and only going after Cat Noir when he got in the way!

That's it! she thought. She thinks something's happened to Dad! And she doesn't know that Dad's actually right here, so she assumed the worst!

She regrouped with Cat Noir. "Listen Chat Noir," Emilie said, using her yo-yo to deflect the oncoming onslaught. "I think I know what caused her to be akumatized! She thinks she's lost someone she cares about!"

"What?" he asked, spinning his staff like helicopter blades to block Anti-Bug's attacks. "How do you know?"

"I know her in the future. That has to be the answer." Emilie responded. "I have an idea to stop her, but it's kinda risky."

Chat Noir stood at the ready. "As long as we can bring her back to the good side, I'll go along with anything!"

Emilie nodded. She then jumped up and started moving towards the city. Cat Noir took his staff and vaulted over to join her.

"You think you can run?!" Anti-Bug said, eyes filled with rage. "Lucky Charm!" As she threw her dark yo-yo in the air a black and red jet pack appeared. She quickly put it on and chased after them, desperate to catch up. Thankfully, they had a head start.

"So what's the plan?" Cat Noir asked, jumping from building to building.

"As far as I can tell," Emilie said, "She's lost the boy she loves and cares about. So the only way to stop her is to show her that she hasn't lost him."

"How do you know this boy is still alive?" Cat Noir asked. "And how do you know if he is still alive?"

Emilie really didn't want to do this, but at this point, she saw no other solution. It was either irreparably change the past, and fade out of existence, or keep fighting Anti-Bug until the both of them passed out from exhaustion and lost. At least this way, Paris and its people would be safe.

"Well, I know because..." she said, her eyes wincing at her revelation. "She's in love with you in the future!"

Cat Noir's staff missed its mark, causing him to fall and land on his face. Emilie went and checked on him. He was more shocked than hurt. "She's in love with me?" he said. "How do you know?"

Cat Noir was suddenly puzzled. "Also, I'm right here. She knows I'm fine. How can she think that she's lost me?"

"Well, she's not technically in love with you, but with Adrien Agreste."

"She's in love with Adrien?" he asked. Suddenly his expression turned from confusion to a goofy smile that was so wide it looked like it would break his face.

"She's in love with Adrien! She's in love with me!" he shouted, happier than a cat with a ball of yarn. "I can't believe it! All this time she's really been in love with me and we never even knew! I'm so happy I could just cry! We're gonna get married and have a house! And two kids! And a little hamster named,"

"Listen Chat Noir!" she said, grabbing his shoulders. "We need to stay focused. Ladybug is still akumatized and we need to save her."

She pulled out her yo-yo and tossed it in the air. "Lucky Charm!" she called and out came a red object decorated with black spots.

"A swiss army knife?" she asked. "What am I supposed to do with this?"

Cat Noir turned his neck and his expression dropped "I don't know, but we better figure it out quick!"

They both jumped out of the way as Anti-Bug threw her yo-yo and broke the ground they stood on. Emilie landed and tripped onto her back.

She quickly picked up her bug phone and dialed Thomas. "Tom Cat, I have a Lucky Charm to defeat Anti-Bug, but I'm still gonna need your help. Did you take care of Hawk Moth?"

There was silence on the other end. "Tom Cat?" she asked.

"No. He got away," he replied. "Emilie, there's something you need to know."

Emilie was just barely able to dodge an oncoming attack. "Can't it wait?! We're in the middle of a battle right now!"

Thomas's voice was depressed. "Alright. I'll be over in a second. Just hold on."

Emilie hung up and swung her yo-yo to defend herself from the pieces of rubble being thrown at her. As she looked over the scene, a plan began to form in her head.

Chat Noir, the knife, Thomas, I think I have it.

"Chat Noir," she said, "I'll need you to keep her distracted long enough for Tom Cat to get here. Once we do that, I'll stall her jet pack and distract her long enough for me to capture her."

He nodded and went to distract her. Emilie prepared herself for what she was about to do. This was her one chance to end this.

Don't worry Mom, she thought. You'll be free soon. Then we can go back home.