Author's Note: For Moon and her kitten eyes. So much for my 2-3 day schedule. Damn those eyes.

Chapter 2

Chat Noir ran like a scalded cat above the rooftops of Paris. Glancing across at Ladybug, he was appalled to discover the last dot on her earring flashing. "You need to find you someplace warm. Now!"

"I know!" Ladybug said, sounding panicked as she cast a frantic look behind her. "But—"

"You have to!" Chat Noir said. "We'll split up. I'll take them, you recharge and catch up." Bounding on all fours, he switched sides with her, peering down into the street below as he ran. Dogs, so many dogs of all shapes and sizes, ran down the street barking and growling as they chased after the pair. Really, the last place he wanted to be but they needed time. This was what he was for.

"Don't you dare!"

Reaching for his baton, he gave her a two fingered salute. "Gotta dash. Hound me later," he said and vaulted into the middle of the street ahead of the pack.

"Chat!"

The dogs didn't even stop their charge at his appearance. Braying in excitement, they increased their speed. Chat Noir turned and scrammed, hightailing it down the cobbled street as fast as he could. He had to get both the dogs and 'The Walker' as far away from Ladybug as he could so she could recharge. Down side streets, up alleyways, he ran full pelt. Anywhere that gave him room to manoeuvre or things to bounce over to give him an edge in avoiding the dogs.

Glancing over his shoulder, he saw more dogs spilling into the streets as they fell under the thrall of The Walker. "Oh, why did I think this was a good idea," he muttered and leapt onto the closest car.

Bounding along the tops of parked cars, he hissed at the dogs chasing him. Barking and growling filled their air, with beady eyes fixed on Chat Noir.

He ducked down more side streets, yelling at random people ahead of him to move. People, upon seeing the dogs, cleared the way in a flurry of activity. He needed to find an open area, preferably with trees so he could hide up one and keep the dogs contained.

The dogs gained on him. Yapping at his heels and pushing him faster, Chat Noir began to use his baton to vault forward and keep out of reach. With a yowl, Chat Noir leapt for the wall of a building, scrambling along it as he ran. There was a limit to how long he could defy gravity like this, but he needed to stay away from the snapping jaws and sharp teeth.

The street he was on emptied into a mostly filled parking lot but beyond that was an outdoor market. Chat Noir hadn't even realised he was close to this area. Too many people to evacuate or navigate through, not with so many dogs driven vicious by The Walker. The risk of civilian injury was too high.

He'd have to make a stand. Contain the dogs in the parking lot. If he could make it to one of the lamp posts in the middle, he could keep the braying dogs beneath him. Maybe even make a run at The Walker herself.

The tops of cars became his safety zone, but some of the dogs were large enough to clamber or leap onto the trunks of smaller cars and continue to chase him. Yappy small dogs circled the ground below, adding their voices to howl. He had to make sure they all stayed with him, and the only the way to do that was to keep so tantalisingly close to them that they chose to chase him rather than other people.

His baton became his only salvation to reach one of the lamp posts. One of the cars alarm went off, the incessant beeping only serving to rile the dogs even more. Chat Noir consoled himself that at least now everyone in the area would be alerted to something happening. He did what he could, batting the dogs away while hissing and spitting at them, until he finally made it to the lamp post.

Scrambling up, he perched at the top and crouched. His tail lashed as he continued to yowl at the dogs below him. He extended his baton to use as a weapon so he could whack at the stray or inattentive dogs. He teased and taunted, scrambling down just far enough to take a swipe at them before darting away. Anything to keep attention on him and not on the people in the market.

When he saw he was also drawing attention from people in the market, he cupped his hands around his mouth. "Clear the area!"

Being who he was, Chat Noir held a lot of weight with the general population of France. Chat Noir meant danger and bad luck and the residents acted accordingly. The tourists did not, but went with the crowd. The reporters were a different story, vying for the best place to stand to get a piece of the action. Especially when their name is Alya and they ran the Ladyblog.

Chat Noir groaned as he spotted Alya on top of a car at the edge of the parking lot, phone in hand as she recorded. Scrubbing a hand over his face, he concentrated on the dogs.

They made him edgy. All the beady eyes watching his every move. The noses, fangs and lolling tongues. The unkempt fur. The barking, yapping and growling. He was a cat and cats wanted very little to do with dogs if they didn't share a human with one. Here he was, Chat Noir the bringer of bad luck, trying to keep their attention.

And he was losing it. The waiting, the prowling around his lamp post bored some of the dogs. There were dogs running between cars, dogs playing tag, dogs running across the tops of cars and barking at nothing and dogs fighting among themselves.

He looked back the way he'd come, hoping to see the familiar red figure prancing across the rooftops toward him. All he saw was The Walker meandering between the cars before the dog whistle blasted in his ears.

He clapped his hands over them, wincing in pain, but the shrill whistle had the opposite effect on the dogs. Abandoning the base of his pole, they trotted to The Walker's side, docile as lambs. They sat in union, staring that The Walker with rapt attention.

Once the whistle finished, Chat Noir dropped his hands from his ears. "I've got a bone to pick with you!"

"You've been a disobedient kitty," The Walker said and scowled at him. "You need training."

"Don't be dra-meow-tic. Cats rarely come when they're called," Chat Noir responded. Since the dogs were commanded to sit, he took a moment to study the akuma. Numerous leashes and chains hung from her belt and she wore a bright orange vest. Narrowing his eyes, he was fairly certain the akuma was in the dog whistle.

Movement close to him that wasn't a wayward dog and Chat Noir turned his head. Alya had used the distraction to sneak closer and was now within hearing distance. He gritted his teeth to stop himself from calling out a warning and alerting The Walker. If the dogs went for her, she'd have no chance. He and Marinette should really talk to Alya about the principles of preservation and basic safety.

The Walker had seen Chat Noir's glance. "Give me your Miraculous or I'll unleash my puppies."

Chat Noir leapt down from the lamp post to the top of a car and waited with his baton resting on his shoulder. "Like I haven't heard that one before." Putting his baton back in its holder, he threaded his fingers together then stretched his palms out ahead of him. Shaking his shoulders, he jogged on the spot. "Alright," he said, spinning his baton. "Ready when you are."

With a grin, The Walker blew her whistle again and the dogs charged. Instead of going for Chat Noir, they dashed for Alya.

"Shih tzu," Chat Noir muttered and leapt off the car to sprint across the parking lot. It would be close, the dogs were faster and had a better angle on Alya.

Alya's eyes widened. She stifled a scream and didn't stop recording. Chat Noir's heart threatened to burst from his chest. Did she really trust him that much to stand her ground? Or did she think Ladybug was around to save her? The girl had no sense of self preservation.

Going to all fours provided a boost of speed that allowed Chat Noir to reach Alya scant seconds before the dogs. He hit her stomach with his shoulder and scooped her up, planting his baton on the ground so he could vault away.

He was too slow. Teeth sank into his calf and tore. Pain ripped through him and he cried out. His leg couldn't take the weight to and he failed his vault, landing only a small distance away from the dogs. Staggering, his free hand went to his leg.

"Run!" Alya blurted, kicking her legs as she tried to wriggle free.

A wild glance over his shoulder caused him to panic. "Hold on!" Forcing the end of his baton into the ground, he extended it straight into the air, carrying him and Alya with it. His hope was to get it high enough they could tilt to the building across from them but the dogs had other ideas. The baton trembled as heavy bodies hit the base, then dislodged completely, throwing them both into the air.

He fumbled for his baton as it retracted and missed it. It soared away from him and they began to fall. Shifting his grip Chat Noir curled himself around Alya to protect her. Cats might always land on their feet but one of his wasn't working. His suit was compromised and he could feel blood down his leg.

The ground came up fast and Chat Noir braced for impact while Alya shrieked in his ear.

Ladybug's yo-yo twined around his wrist and Chat Noir closed his eyes in relief. He tightened his grip on Alya as Ladybug jerked her yo-yo and yanked him with it. The pull and sudden change of direction jarred him and he felt the shock as a tingle through his spine.

Ladybug stood on top of a building near the entrance of the car park, but she hadn't been able to get enough height and pull from her throw to get him all the way to the roof. Extending his feet, he hit the wall below her and hung there. "Ow."

"Sorry," she called. "You okay?"

"Yup. Thanks for the save, my lady." Shifting his grip on Alya, he bunny hopped up the wall while she hoisted. "It's in her dog whistle."

"Thought so."

Alya twisted around, her phone still recording. "Hi Ladybug! A message for your fans?"

Ladybug's eyebrows shot up. "What—?"

"She got too close to the action and put herself in danger," Chat Noir scolded and hung onto the awning so Alya could use him as a brace and climb on the roof.

Ladybug pulled her friend up. "You shouldn't do that, you could've gotten hurt."

Heaving himself up, Chat sat on the edge of the building with his legs hanging over. He didn't want to look at his leg, didn't want to see the extent of the damage done by the dog bite. Nerves fired at random intervals, slicing along his calf and up his thigh. Below, the dogs reached the base of the building and brayed up at him.

"You put yourselves in danger every day," Alya replied. "I want the world to see what you do for us. People need to know—"

"We have suits to prevent us from getting hurt. You don't."

Alya protested, "You can still get hurt with the suits—"

Chat Noir interrupted, "Ladybug, the akuma. The dogs are below us—"

Rubbing her forehead with her fingers, she said, "We can't be everywhere. My cure doesn't always fix everything. If you put yourself in danger and are hurt, you might stay hurt. Just, stay here, out of the way. Chat—"

"Yup. Coming." He stood up, careful to take his complete weight on his good leg and keep her from seeing the back of his other leg.

"Why is there blood on your pants?"

Chat Noir stiffened and turned, but Ladybug wasn't looking at him. Not yet. Her gaze was on a spot of Alya's pants and the small splash mark which betrayed him. Alya's eyes were on him and Ladybug tensed. She whipped around to face him, her eyes wide. "Chat?"

He lied, "I'm fine."

She spotted his leg and all expression disappeared from her face. Even her eyes lost their spark.

His heart banged against his rib cage and the purr tickled his throat, wanting to comfort her, wanting to take away his pain. "It was an accident. I wasn't quick enough."

Thrusting her hand in the air, she tossed her yo-yo and cried, "Lucky charm!"

He didn't even see what the charm was, the moment it landed in her hand she threw herself from the building.

"Ladybug!" he cried and watched her land and charge straight into the pack of dogs, who parted around her and then followed her away from the building. "Damn it!" Spinning, he thrust a finger at Alya. "Stay here."

"No way. I need to be closer so I can record."

"That's enough, Alya," he snarled, pain making his tone short. Alya reeled back in shock. "My job is to protect her and I can't do that if you keep getting in the way!" Stepping over the edge of the building, he knew he wouldn't be able to land on his leg. Using his hands, he dropped from ledge to ledge until his feet touched the ground. All he could hear was the braying and barking of the dogs and he feared the worst. She would be torn to shreds and he wouldn't be there to stop it. It hurt to put weight on his leg, but he had to get to his lady.

Stumbling forward, he braced one hand on his leg and hobbled a few paces, then dropped down on to run on three limbs.

Before he'd even reached the first row of cars, a cry went up. "Miraculous Ladybug!"

He watched her magic stream into the air and spread out. The multitude of dogs vanished, carried back to their masters. The four dogs the walker had before being akumatised returned to their leads and sat about the woman as they waited for her to continue their walk.

Chat Noir leant against a car. The pain in his leg lessened, but did not vanish. He slumped, sliding down until he could sit on the ground and inspect the leg for himself. The purr tickled his throat and this time he let it out, a comforting noise to aid with the pain.

Four puncture wounds and tearing at the exits, a far cry better than the mangle it had been. The punctures seeped blood and Chat Noir could see the suit gradually repairing itself around his leg. Gingerly he probed the area with a finger and wondered if Plagg would have a torn up leg as well. He hoped not.

Ladybug appeared, running around the side of the car to slide to his side. One hand on his shoulder, the other hovering over his leg. A dismayed gasp and tears welled in her eyes. "It didn't fix."

He tried to smile. "I'm just having a ruff day, that's all."

"Chat, this is no time for jokes."

"I am bad luck. Can't mix it with your cure, it won't work."

One of the tears spilled over. "This is my fault."

He gripped the hand on his shoulder, while his other went to wipe away the tear. "No, it isn't."

"It is! If I hadn't failed the first time, you wouldn't have—"

"Neither of us could've known—"

"But I should've!" she protested. "I was just so slow. I figured it out after it was too late to use the charm!"

He pulled her face so he could rest his forehead on hers. "It's not your fault. It's not. Don't blame yourself. I knew the risks when I separated from you. This is on me."

Tears dripped down her cheeks. "I failed you."

"You didn't."

"I hate this," she whispered. "I feel so useless and tired. I hate it."

"I know you do," he murmured and kissed her, something he hadn't done in public as Chat Noir. His cheeks were wet with her tears and his purr rough with pain. The need to comfort her was greater than his injury. It wasn't lingering or passionate, just a small kiss. Nothing wrong with that. Resting his face against hers, he whispered, "It'll be okay. We'll work this out."

A stifled shriek. "I knew it!"

Ladybug jerked back to stare at Alya and her camera. "Oh."

Chat Noir was dismayed. "I told you to stay put! How'd you get down so fast?"

She smiled. "Stairs. The cat's out of the bag. Do you have anything to say? Your adoring fans are waiting!"

Ladybug turned away. Chat Noir caught the look of panic in her eyes the moment her back was to her best friend. Sharing a look with Chat Noir, she ducked down so she could loop his arm across her shoulders. "We need to go," she said, lifting him to his feet.

Grimacing, he held onto her as she tossed her yo-yo and lifted them away from prying eyes.