The prince can only watch in horror as the spotted heroine holds her ground. The monster smashes through the wooden posts beside her. The small roof that provides shade over the well collapses into the water with a distant splash. All he can see is that the pail is over the akuma's head, effectively muzzling the monster.

She actually caught it...

Between the furious flapping he spots Ladybug riding on the akuma's back. The papillon writhes beneath her, struggling to be free. With it properly leashed she extends her fingertips to its deformed wings, but the creature slams into a cottage before
she can touch it. Stones and brick hit her, she lets out a small cry when she hits the ground. The monster is blind, crashing into structures and causing destruction. While still hidden in the alley Adrien pulls out a long, black cloak he has concealed in his chest plate. He curses himself under his breath. "How could I have let her do this alone?"

A flash of green glows around his eyes the second his hood is up. He is no longer a prince, but the bandit rouge Chat Noir. He is much more comfortable leaping into the square with the raging akuma under this alias. He reclaims the rope before the beast
could fly off.

"Ladybug! Help me!" Chat Noir shouts to his cloaked counterpart. He can already feel his feet lifting away from the cobblestone beneath him.

Ladybug lifts her heavy, hooded head in a daze. Her masked face cannot mask that she is bewildered to see him. Nonetheless, she soon crawls out from beneath the debris and is ready to aid. She races towards Chat Noir at such a speed that she is able to leap onto his back for an extra boost. She lands in front of Chat with a smirk of triumph. The akuma's ugly wings dissolve into the harmless white butterflies. With the cleansing butterflies also comes a magical restoration. No property damage or injuries exist any longer. They soar into the sky only to cause trouble another day. Chat's tug on the rope slackens as the weight of the giant papillon has disappeared. He gracelessly falls onto his hindquarters as a result. Ladybug chortles at him, not in a rude way, but in a delighted teasing way.

Well... maybe she is laughing at him a little, but he is happy that they have defeated their foe.

The beautiful girl does offer him her hand to lift him back up. His lanky fingers envelope her small delicate hand completely. The touch is enough for his cheeks to turn a deep pink under his hood.

"I thought cats landed on their feet, Chat Noir!" She teases him lightheartedly.

"What can I say, I've never fallen for a lady quite like mine before," he purrs with a glance that should have made a maiden swoon.

She clears her throat and pushes his hands away politely. "Not your lady," she corrects once again, "But thank you for coming to help me, I couldn't have done it without you."

He grins at the compliment, but tries to remain suave at receiving her praise. "I was in the neighborhood... If you have any other purr-oblems with these akumas I could always assist you!" Ladybug rolls her eyes at him. He cannot see why she would. His saying was rather clever.

"But why are they a problem in the first place, Chat?" Ladybug questions.

"Because they are akumas! Their master wants all the power he can attain!"

"Who?" Ladybug wonders with a clear distress, "What power?"

"You don't know about the miraculous war?"

"What war?" She questions, "I truly don't." Before he could knowledgeably inform her a horde of new fans have already run up to shower their praise upon them. They are also flooded with a wave of questions.

"That was incredible!" "What was that awful creature?" "Who are you two?" "Will you be saving those who have already been carried off?" "Why do you wear masks?" "Where did you get your powers?" "Are you here to save Paris from future attacks?"

Ladybug appeals to her partner for the answers she is clearly lacking. Chat Noir senses the need to address her as well as the audience. He does so in the most melodramatic manner.

"We..." He pauses and motions between himself and Ladybug, "Are Ladybug and Chat Noir. We were bestowed with the miraculous power of a long forgotten prophecy! From this moment on we are protectors of Paris!"

He raises his fist to the sky and a cheer erupts from the crowd that had gathered. Some are fearful of having been attacked in the first place. One girl with a maroon dress pulls out a book of blank paper and a hard chunk of charcoal to take notes on so that she may inform her guild. "Could you stay to elaborate further in an interview?"

"We really cannot ..."

"We will return as needed," Chat Noir promises as he removes the silver cane he carries under his cape. He extends his hand to the Ladybug he has bewildered so thoroughly, "I have something to show you."

Ladybug's holds the edge of her mask as it begins to crack with her right hand. Her left accepts the offer. In the next moment she is launched high above the rooftops with him. Chat laughs once at her initial squeal of fright and vaults off again, carrying them to their lonely forest.

"I thought you weren't afraid of heights." She flicks his ear through his hood for the teasing; then resumes her death hold around his petite body is protected by his arms and held close against dark armor. When they reach the forest he switches from vaulting to running atop the branches. He stops at a tree with the thickest trunk and tallest stature she has ever seen. Chat leaps to the base and sets her down beside him before knocking on the bark. The sound echoes on the inside to her surprise. It had not appeared at first glance to be hollow. Nothing else of interest occurs as they stand waiting, but the fragile cracks in her mask become all the more evident.

"Where is that lazy warlock..." Chat Noir grumbles under his breath. "We might as well go in."

"In?"

He yanks a branch above them. With a mechanical lurch of gears a slim door releases a latch and releases its invisible camouflage. Chat Noir pulls the door open and holds it aside, "Ladies first, my dear."

The stairwell is damp, cold, and unwelcoming to any outsiders. His Ladybug is blind in the dark and relies on the glow of Chat's eyes and shoulder to be her guide down a twisted corkscrew stairwell. Some boards sagged, shifted, and screeched beneath their feet, adding to her unease. Chat Noir tries to reassure her with the gentle touch of his glove.

"There's nothing to be frightened of." He teases again as he slowly uncurls her fingers from his cape.

"Except tripping!" She frets.

"Have trust in me, my lady-"

"-not your lady..."

"Be-claws I would never let harm come to you!" She groans at the clever pun which only makes Chat Noir smile wider.

The light of flickering candles illuminates the end of the passage. At the bottom of the steps is a lair. The walls are lined with shelves of manuscripts, potions, and cobwebs. A faint stink of mold fills the air. A husky man with black curls and an empty round tin snores heavily at a table in the corner. The nearer they approach the stronger the aroma becomes.

"Ugh! Plagg! Could you resemble a pig any further?!" Chat Noir rebukes the sleeping warlock. "We have a guest."

The slumbering lump blinks sleepily and growls right back, "You bring a girl home, but no cheese I see? I gave you one task, boy!" He yawns again and without any kindness addresses her, "And it's about time you were appointed, Ladybug!"