Ladybug Nutcracker

Chapter 4: Land of Snow

Marinette was humming quietly so she wouldn't be scared, really glad that it seemed that Chat Noir could see in the dark, because that was all there was.

Complete darkness.

And a draft coming from somewhere in front of them.

"You ok Marinette?" Chat asked after a bit.

"Not really, I'm afraid of the dark," she admitted feeling Chat grip her hand a little more.

"It's ok, I'll be here to keep you safe," he said sounding as if he just went into a heroic pose.

"And that's meant to comfort me?" Marinette said grinning, and laughing as she felt Chat get bumped out at those words.

After walking a little more they saw a light.

Together they run towards it but then the floor gave way making them slide down it and come out in an ice cave that had about 10 feet of snow in it.

"Where are we?" Marinette asked shivering a little.

"Ugh... Must have taken a wrong turn back there," Chat said sitting up, his broken arm fixed like he said it would be now the magic of this land was here to mend it. "Now where did my staff go?"

Seeing it Marinette called "Here let me give you a hand."

She picked it up and attached to the staff was Chat's other hand and forearm.

"Hm, I wasn't one to think of you as being one for puns Princess," he said taking it, thanking her and reattaching it.

"I'm not," she said pouting a little then looked around as she heard giggling "Who's there?" she asked.

In answer a small ball of red light came to see them and poofed itself into a strange looking creature that made Marinette scream and trip backwards into the snow.

"Agh! It's a giant bug! A mouse? A Bug-Mouse!"

"It ok," Chat said trying to calm her down and not laugh at the same time "It's just a Kwami."

"Hello," the little red creature with two antennas, a black hexagon on her forehead and icicle diamonds as her tail, said cheerily

"Agh!" Marinette screamed again, again tripping over herself to try and get away from this thing.

"Are you ok?" the Kwami said curios on who this person was.

"I'm sure she's fine," Chat said looking around "Little Kwami which way is the way to the Land of Sweets?"

"I can show you! My name's Tikki. Come on!" she said grabbing Marinette's sleeve and tugging on it, but the girl didn't want to move.

After pulling with all her might, Tikki accidentally tumbled away and into Chat Noir's chest damaging her almost invisible wings meaning she couldn't fly.

"Hey!" she called up to Chat from his hand, annoyed.

"Well I'm sorry but you should have been more careful." Chat Noir said not minding he was being told of by a creature that was six inches tall.

Finally getting over her fear of the giant-bug/mouse Marinette came over and offered Tikki to jump into her own hand.

"Here, we'll fix this right up..." she said gently undoing the damage to the Kwami's wing.

When it was done, Tikki tested it cheering.

"The exit's over there, come on!" she said and whizzed off, Marinette and Chat Noir doing their best to keep up with her.

At last they come to a wall of ice.

Pulling out his staff, Chat dried breaking it but it was too strong.

"Ugh, there made of solid ice," he said looking up at them. "Maybe if we made a fire..." he thought but then shook his head.

Where were they going to get things to make a fire that weren't him in this place.

"Or you could ask for help!" a new more raspy voice than Tikki's called out as a black ball of light came towards them this time, this time poofing into a black cat with bright green eyes, a whisker on each cheek, and his head a tail, and ice-diamonds on his forehead. "Right Sugarcube?" the cat asked looking over at Tikki.

"Plagg I told you not to call me that!" she said sounding annoyed "You don't hear me calling you Stinky-Sock in front of the others do you?"

"No. But you should." Plagg said smiling "That would be delightful Sugarcube."

"So I take it you know each other?" Marinette asked making Plagg look up at her.

"Of course we know each other," he said smiling as he circled her wondering who this person was "But I don't know you."

"Oh um, I'm Marinette," she said bowing a little as her mother had taught her to due to her Chinese heritage.

"You smell like bread," Plagg said happily "I like you! You got any on you?"

"Plagg stop thinking with your stomach and go get the others!" Tikki said in annoyance from beside Chat Noir.

"Ok..." Plagg said flying away.

"Others?" Chat asked knowing that there were more, but he didn't expect there to be more here, Kwami's as far as he knew liked warmer climates.

"Our friends," Tikki explained happily pointing them out as a few more Kwamis came along soon joining them in a line and aiming at the wall.

"Step back," one that looked kind of like a polar bear said.

Chat Noir and Marinette got to a safe distance away and watched as they all built up a small ball out power and aimed it at the wall.

Within 10 seconds there was a hole, large enough for Marinette and Chat to walk though.

"Thank you," Marinette said smiling up at them all of them leaving but Plagg and Tikki.

"So where you two lovebirdies heading?" Plagg asked smirking.

"We are going to the Land of Sweets to try to defeat Hawkmoth," Chat Noir said, the answer nearly making Plagg fall out of the air.

"You can't be series!" he said laughing "A tree-stump and a human girl?!"

"Plagg! Stop it!" Tikki said shooting a few short ice blasts at him, which he dodged.

"Oh you have to let us come with you!" he said coming to himself "This is something I cannot miss!"

"But won't you be... unhappy if we go somewhere warmer?" Marinette asked confused.

"What makes you say that?" Tikki asks.

"Well just, you live here so don't you prefer the cold to warmth?" she said.

"Kwami's can live wherever they want, all they need is to be in the right form to fit that environment." Tikki said closing her eyes and turning into a different form that was still her, but her tail was now red spikes, and the spot on her head was circler.

Plagg then closed his eyes and he lost the ice on his forehead.

"See?" he said "Now come on I'm starving!"

With that he whizzed through the hole getting eye-rolls from everyone who soon followed at a more slower pace.