Tales of the Bug and Cat: Book 2

Chapter 11: This Ends Now

Thursday, July 27th (Late Afternoon)

"Miraculous Ladybug!" Ladybug shouted as she threw her lucky charm, a wooden figurine in the air.  Magic swirled through the air fixing everything that was damaged. 

"That was a quick fight." Chat Noir said, sliding down a nearby lamppost. 

"I know, pretty easy." Ladybug smiled. Adrien came one the day before and everything seemed back to normal. Well, if you don't count the fact that they're still together against Gabriel's ruling. She turned to her left, a small group of reporters (including Alya) was buzzing with the normal questions. "How did you beat the Akuma so fast? What do you look like without the masks? Any updates on the Ladynoir ship?" A newer nervous  reporter blurted out the last question. Chat Noir winked at Ladybug.

Beep. Beep. Their Miraculous's were almost out.

"No comment. Come, LB." Chat smirked at the cameras and gave them a peace sign before using his baton to get away, she yoyoed after him. 

"So, what now?"  Ladybug asked. "We have nothing to do, we can't hang out, and unless Master Fu has a message, there's nothing we can do."

"I don't know, but I'm tired of waiting." Chat said as he found solid ground, his bedroom floor.

"Me too. I thought I'd be easy to wait for Master Fu and focus on the Zodiacs, but we have a month before I leave, and I keep worrying." Ladybug detransformed. Marinette took the glass of water Chat offered her.

Chat Noir spun his baton. "You know, usually when we really need something to happen, it does. Maybe if we close and eyes and hope for a letter from Master Fu with his whereabouts, it will happen." He joked.

Marinette placed her glass down as a blast of light covered the room, then she sat next to  Adrien. "Fine." Marinette joked. She closed her eyes and reached her hand out for Adrien to hold.

"She's kidding, right." Plagg commented, clearly unamused.

"Hey, I brought it up. Might as well try everything" Adrien went along with Marinette.

"Guys-!" Tikki started, but Plagg shushed her.

"Tikki, what is it?" Adrien asked. He continued to keep his eyes closed and his hand on Marinette's. 

"Nothing." She smiled back, following Plagg's advice. 

"Maybe we should just tell your dad we're still together." Marinette said. 

"But- ACHO-. 'Cuse me. But you'll lose the intership." Adrien shook his head, and searched for Marinette's other hand. "It's the start to your dream."

"I'm already-"

"Achoo!"

"Bless you."

"Sorry."

"Anyway, I'm already living a dream. We're superheroes. I'm a superhero and I'm with you , we have amazing friends. I have my parents. I don't need this internship, i'll just wait until i'm older." Marinette decided.

"Ma-achoo!- great. I have to have more allerg....Plagg!" Adrien yelled.

"Adrien?" Marinette asked. What's going on? 

"Ace?!" Adrien opened his eyes and stood up. Turning around, sure enough, Ace checking his feathers on the top of the small couch.

Marinette bursted out laughing. "It worked! HaahaaHA!" Soon enough everyone was laughing. (And Adrien was sneezing.) 

"I thought it was funny, but how does Ace relate to finding Fu?" Tikki asked

"With Ace's mostly impeccable search skills, Adrien and I can try to follow him to Master Fu!" Marinette said, petting their searchbird.

"You're on a tightrope to your doom." Plagg said. "Be my guest." He added. He flew over to his cheeses. 

"Ignore him, maybe you can catch Hawkmoth off guard!" Tikki motivated them. 

"It's be amazing if we could." Adrien smiled, he turned to Marinette. "Acho--Ready, Mari?"

"Yep."

"But my cheeses!" Plagg called from the other side of the room.

"Plagg,"

"Tikki,"

"Claws Out!/ Spots on!" Adrien and Marinette shouted. 

Ladybug took Ace and wrote a short note, 'We're here', and sent Ace out the window while she and Chat Noir followed. 

Against the (unusually fast) winds of hot summer air, Ladybug yoyoed after Ace,

5 boring minutes later.

Chat realized that the bird has started a big turn back to their neighborhood. 

"Where's he going?" Chat yelled over the wind. His hair whipped back and forth (saying aaaee oh, baby let's go.......haha)

"It looks like Hawkmoth is closer than we thought." Ladybug shivered at the thought. He could have be someone we know, living in our neighborhood...eating at our restaurants...celebratingwith the community while plotting to destroy it... 

"Chat? CHAT NOIR?" Ladybug yelled.

"WHat?" He said, stopping on a roof so they won't have to yell. 

"Maybe we shouldn't do this. Maybe we're walking into a trap-- or  tempting fate!" 

Chat looked at Ace, getting farther and farther away. "No, we've gone through to much, and worried too much. This has to end. So let's end it now!" Chat left without another word, making sure they didn't lose the trail. Ladybug scoffed, and grudgingly followed Chat Noir. Soon enough, she saw Chat dead ahead, stopped in place.

"Don't rush off like that!" Ladybug scolded. "I seriously think...that...this." She looked at to where Ace was. Originally, he flew so far away, but then circled back...to Adrien's house?

"THat's the back of my house!" Chat Noir cried. "Why is Ace back here?"

"He was supposed to go to Master Fu...Is he wrong?" Ladybug started.

"He did. Look:" Chat slowly raised his finger in horror as he saw Wayzz appear through a good sized window in the back of his small yard. "Father is Hawkmoth."

A vision worst then he could ever imagine came true.

His vision went dark.

"CHAT!" Ladybug dived straight down to grab him before he hit the ground. Her yoyo wrapped around the top of the gate right before the superheroes hit the hard ground. Their breathes were stuttered and their hearts was pulsing hard. Ladybug looked down at her unconscious partner, lying in her lap.