Breaking the Mask (Book Three)

Chapter 15

Adrien and Chat Noir stood facing each other, both of them huffing with exhaustion from their battle. Adrien had a shallow, horizontal cut directly underneath his eye, followed by a deeper gash on his upper right arm. His shirt had tears and blood stains here and there. Large sweat droplets beaded his forehead and stuck to his blond bangs.

Chat Noir was not uninjured, either. Dark purple bruises scattered his face, and blood from his lips trailed down his chin. His face scrunched up in pain as he used his staff to keep his balance while his other hand held his abdomen, which felt as if his organs were being torn apart from landing a Cataclysm on himself.

"You're surprisingly holding up well without powers," Chat Noir muttered through his pain.

"Like I said, I know Chat Noir's weaknesses," Adrien used the back of his hand to wipe the sweat off his forehead, "And unfortunately for you, you have no experience with using that miraculous.

"Speaking of which," Adrien continued, "It won't be long before you detransform, meaning I'll have a much easier time beating you"

Underneath their feet, the ground began to shake violently. Adrien nearly lost his balance as the ground moved beneath him, feeling as if an outside force was shaking the entire area. Adrien was thrown off his feet as the shaking grew stronger, falling to the ground and landing on his behind. His eyes moved frantically along the dimly lit area, where he spotted Ladybug doing the same thing. His eyes widened in fear as he looked back at Chat Noir.

"What the hell is happening?"

Chat Noir only smirked at his question, "The next wave of attacks is coming"

~

Back in Paris, Emma rose from one of the beds in Alya and Nino's guest room, moving slowly and quietly as to not wake up her siblings on the other twin-sized beds. The blonde tiptoed to the door and slowly pulled it open with a gentle creak. Once it was open big enough, Emma slid out the door and closed it shut.

From downstairs, a chorus of shouts and the high pitched sound of metal hitting metal emerged from the TV. Before she could take a single step down the stairs, quiet marimba music sounded from a nearby room. Alya and Nino's room. Curiously, Emma stepped up to the wooden door and pushed it open. On the far side of the room sat a crib with a baby laying fast asleep. The young blonde stepped fully into the room and tiptoed over to the bedside table, where an incoming call was displayed on Alya's phone.

Emma rubbed her eyes and squinted as the blinding light of the screen struck her eyes in the darkness of the room. Wrapping her fingers around the rectangular device, she lifted it up, holding it a good distance from her face. Her mouth dropped open when she saw who was calling her.

Ladybug, one of Paris' saviors. Emma's tiny thumbs trembled as they hovered just inches above the screen. With a gulp, her thumbs performed a horizontal swipe on the screen. She didn't say a single word as she held the phone to her ear. Ladybug's voice rang from the other side almost immediately.

"Guys! We need your help!" The hero's rather pained voice yelled urgently.

Emma heard a quick and small grunt from the other end before her city's protector continued speaking. Emma's heart rate sped up slightly. The tone of this did not sound good at all. And why was Ladybug calling Alya and Nino of all people?

"The villain took Adrien's miraculous and I'm unable to fight," Ladybug explained, "One of you take the horse miraculous from the miracle box and come over here as soon as you can!"

The call ended, not giving Emma a chance to make out a single syllable. She gently set the phone back down on the table while a million thoughts pounded through her head.