"Bonjour, class!" Madame Bustier started, watching her students assemble by one of the many entrances to the Catacombs. "I hope everyone's here." The teacher took a headcount, the final count reaching the desired number. "Now, I'd like to introduce our guide for today-" Nikolai stopped listening. His eyes were on the abysmal hole that lay before them. The world was drowning as the black hole swallowed everything around it. An eerie, foul smelling wind belched from inside the catacombs. Nikolai wanted to throw up, run away and scream all at once. Yet his feet were sealed in place. Any attempt to let out a cry was cut off by the lump that choked him.
"You okay?" Adrien asked, seeing his paled friend.
"Y-yeah," Nikolai mumbled. "Just chilly."
"On a blistering summer day?" Nino raised an eyebrow. "You look like you're gonna yack, dude." Nikolai staggered back, the blood draining from his head.
"You should take a seat," Alya tutted as she caught him. "I'll let Madame Bustier know that-"
"Non," Nikolai argued. "I just need to man up."
"Man up?" Rose tilted her head. "Why would you need to man up?" The Venetian sighed, squeezing his eyes shut.
"I have claustrophobia," Nikolai admitted. The group of friends didn't even bat an eye, hearing his phobia as casually as someone was talking about the weather.
"We'll be with you the whole time," Marinette smiled, putting a comforting hand on Nikolai's shoulder. "If you need to get out, just let us know." Nikolai already felt a little more confident, knowing his friends were by his side.
"I'm here too," Draggo mumbled from his pocket. "Don't be a chicken!"
"I appreciate it," Nikolai smiled, looking at his friends. "Grazie."
"I hope you're ready to go on an underground adventure!" the old man next to Madame Bustier smiled. Those words made Nikolai almost collapse. More like an underground nightmare. "We just opened up a new section to the public last week, you'll be the first people to get in there!" Nikolai almost sprayed the contents of his stomach on the pavement. This was one of his worst nightmares, going underground. Yet here he was, against his parent's advice. In Nikolai's eyes he was growing up, he had to put away his childhood fears. What better way of that then throwing himself into them? "Now I want you to stay together. It's easy to get lost down there!" The man began the expedition into the Catacombs, followed by the chatting class of students. Nikolai's feet were frozen in place. His chest was so tight that he couldn't breathe. His friends had gone without him, leaving him in the darkness that was swallowing him up.
"You're okay," A voice said. The Venetian flinched, the words washing away the dark. "Just stay with me." Nikolai turned to look at who it was. Juleka stood there, giving him an encouraging smile. "You're very brave for doing this."
"I don't feel brave," Nikolai admitted through chattering teeth. "I'm terrified." Juleka thought for a few moments on how to help.
"You like dragons right? Think of this like we're going into a dragon's cave to get the hoard!" Nikolai couldn't help but smile at the thought of that. The Venetian donned in shinning armour, a mighty steed by his side, off to slay a dragon! The darkness around the tunnel receded, he saw the world as it was. He had to be brave. Brave like Achilles.
"I guess we'd better go see what the dragon has in his hoard," Draggo snickered. The Kwami fluttered out from the Venetian's pocket and sat upon his shoulder.
"I know about your hoard!" Nikolai snickered. "Mochi was snuffling around in your pile under my bed." Draggo hissed a jet of smoke in annoyance.
"I'll eat that rodent…" Draggo grumbled. Nikolai took a deep breath and entered the tunnel.
The air was dry and stale inside, getting less clean the further they went in.
"These tunnels have been part of Parisian life for hundreds of years!" The tour guide explained. "They were originally mine shafts, that spanned across the south part of the city."
"And that's why there aren't any skyscrapers in this area, oui?" Madame Bustier asked on behalf of the class. Nikolai hated when teachers did that, asking questions to try to get the kids to learn.
"That's right! These tunnels stretch right underneath the streets of the city, and the tunnels can't handle the pressure of such heavy buildings!" Nikolai stuck close to his friends, the light of his torch darting in all directions. To him, every noise was some kind of monster in the dark, every clatter of pebbles on the ground a cave in. "Over time the many tunnels have collapsed, and even now we're still uncovering them!"
"Will we be going into the ossuary?" Kim asked. It was surprising how even though they were only a few metres underneath the loud city, the only noises that filled the tunnels were the scuffing of feet against the dirt.
"Non," The guide answered. "We're in the wrong part of the tunnels. Today we will be exploring parts that we've been excavating for the last few months. Did you know that La Résistance used these very tunnels when fighting the Nazi occupation?"
"What's a Nazi?" Draggo asked, hitching a ride on Nikolai's ponytail.
"I'll tell you later," The Venetian whispered, giving the Kwami a scratch on the head.
"You okay?" Nino looked at him, hearing the Venetian mumbling to himself.
"Si," Nikolai answered. "Just thinking is all." The guide took a sharp turn down a tunnel, leading them further underground. Nikolai was shaking in his boots, his teeth chattering. His semi-calm exterior was covering the sheer panic inside him. Each step they took down a decrepit stairwell felt like they were descending further and further into Hell.
"Now I must warn you," the guide started as they gathered around him. "Though we try to keep the Catacombs clean of vermin, they are around." Of all the students to be irked by this, Chloé was the most vocal.
"What!?" shrieked she. "How can you let us down here if there are rats?"
"W-well, the Education Board passed it and-"
"I'll have you know that my father's the mayor! If I so much as see a rat, I'll have him deal with you!"
"Chloé, enough." Madame Bustier sighed, shaking her head. "You can't blame the Monsieur for something that isn't out of his control." The guide, taken back by the threats to his livelihood, moved the group on.
"I read last year that people often get lost and die in here," Alix started. Nikolai was just about ready to put his Flames On, or run. Probably both. "How often does that happen?"
"Very rarely," the guide answered. "We dragged the remains of a young person that had been eaten by feral dogs and cats last year, but that was on the other side of the city."
"Oh, that's horrible!" Rose shrieked
"That's neat," Juleka smiled, much to the shock of Rose.
"So it's not just rats we gotta look out for, but also feral animals?" Nino guessed.
"And the occasional fox!" The guide added, descending a ladder.
"Outstanding…" Nikolai grumbled, first down the ladder. Things were getting worse and worse. Now he not only had to watch out for little vermin, but now also dogs looking for their next meal! Nikolai was becoming hyper vigilant to every change of light, every movement. Ivan was acting sheepish, sticking close to his friends.
"You okay big guy?" Nikolai asked, approaching the gentle giant.
"Ivan doesn't like rats," answered he, trying his best to keep his loud voice low. "They scare me." The big giant, frightened by the harmless tiny creature? It was almost like David and Goliath. In most situations, Nikolai would've at least snickered. But down here in the Catacombs, he was more scared than he'd ever been in his life.
"Ivan mon ami, I think that they're just as scared of you." Nikolai tried to console him. "You'll be fine!"
"Just don't tell anyone, okay?" Ivan looked at the Venetian with pleading eyes. Someone so big and outgoing, like Ivan, seemed fearless. For him to suddenly be terrified must be humiliating.
"Your secret's safe with me," Nikolai slapped him on the shoulder. "You aren't the only one who-"
"Ivan, Nikolai, keep up!" Madame Bustier snapped. The two teenagers gave each other a quick look before rejoining the others.
"How many people are buried in the Catacombs?" Nathanaël asked.
"Six million," the guide answered. "There's likely to be many more that we've missed, or whose remains have been lost to time." The man was steadily getting further and further ahead of the group, his long legs taking great strides. "Now I want you to all keep up, we've got a lot to see in not much time!" The party was trying to keep up, but five of the students struggled. Adrien, Ivan and Nikolai were at the head of the stragglers, while Chloé and Sabrina were sticking close to the model.
"Oh, this is absolutely disgusting!" Chloé tutted. "My shoes are going to be ruined."
"You can always but new ones," Nikolai shrugged, stepping over a pile of what smelt like guano.
"How can you even say that?" Chloé snapped. "These are custom made shoes all the way from Sweden! These are the only one of its kind!"
"And you brought them down into a sewer?" the Venetian retorted. Ivan gave a hearty laugh. Adrien chuckled along too, oblivious to Chloé's anger.
"Honestly, Nikolai! I thought you'd be more cultured than this." The Venetian ignored her jabs, wading through the darkness. Adrien looked over at him. Nikolai was shivering and teeth were chattering. The movements of his torch were frantic, darting in all directions.
"Hey," Adrien placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Ah!" Nikolai jumped, dropping his light. He almost screamed, running for the entrance.
"Easy," the model smiled, taking his hand back. "You're okay."
"So long as you don't give me a heart attack." Nikolai snapped, reaching down for his torch. Adrien looked hurt, moving on to talk to Ivan.
"Wait," Nikolai reached for him. "I'm sorry. I'm just not really coping, is all. I didn't mean to snap at you." Adrien gave him a soft grin, shrugging.
"It's okay," Adrien nodded. "I can tell this mustn't be easy for you." Ivan put his beefy arms around them both, joining the boys. Both Nikolai and Adrien staggered under his weight but managed to support him.
"Ivan also doesn't like this." He said in his grumbling voice.
"Well we're here for you too!" Adrien laughed, slapping his arm lightly. "I'll keep the monsters away." For someone who had very little social interaction as a child, Adrien was extremely caring. There was not a sliver of selfishness in him, like he was born to please others.
"Don't forget to look after yourself too," Nikolai looked at the model.
"I've been through worse." Adrien shrugged off. If only Nikolai knew of what he meant. The Akumas that plagued Paris had certainly taken their toll on him. Every time he was injured, Ladybug healed him with her powers, but the psychological scars still remained. The party of five arrived at a T-intersection of the tunnels.
"Which way do we go?" Sabrina asked. Each path was equally dark and quiet. As if the class before them hadn't even entered FRENCH FOR CATACOMBS. "Did we take a wrong turn?"
"I was watching them, they definitely came down this way." Nikolai answered. "Can you hear them?" There was no sound, only echoes of their breathing. Adrien looked into his shirt to consult Plagg.
"Hey," Adrien whispered. "You there?" The tiny black cat was snoozing, enjoying the warmth of his master's chest. Ivan checked his mobile to text Kim. Several metres deep underground meant no signal. Nikolai reached into the pocket of his pants and retrieved the dragon Kwami that lay within.
We got separated from the group," Nikolai explained. "Any idea which way to go?"
"Hell if I should know," Draggo shrugged, floating up to look around them. "There is something… off."
"Despite the fact that we're lost?" Nikolai replied. "What else is there?" The Kwami floated down each pass, then over each of the humans who were oblivious to his existence.
"I feel the a sense of…bad luck. There's the scent of death and despair around these humans. I don't trust them, stay alert." The dragon whizzed away before he could explain further.
'SO helpful.' Nikolai thought, shrugging it off. Draggo was an eccentric one, but even that was strange by his standards. "Well we can't do nothing, I say we take a vote on which way to go."
"Who put you in charge?" Chloé snapped. "If anyone should be in charge, it should be me! My father is the mayor, after all!" Sabrina voiced her support, whilst Ivan sided with Nikolai.
"Nikolai is a better leader than you," Ivan practically shouted. "He'll get us to the rest of the class in no time!"
"Uhh, guys?" Adrien started. The model was drowned out by the argument unfolding in front of him.
"Who asked for your opinion?" Sabrina retorted. "Chloe is the best choice fore being a leader." Adrien stood between the to factions, his head swivelling as each side shouted their opinions.
"Lay off Ivan!" Nikolai shot back. "What has he done to be treated like that?"
"This isn't getting anywhere…" Adrien sighed. The commotion was loud enough to wake the sleepy Plagg, who floated out from Adrien's shirt.
"What's going on?" Plagg yawned. "Is it time for lunch?"
"No, it's not time for lunch." Adrien answered, stepping away from the bickering teenagers. It was paramount that they not discover him talking to himself. That could lead to them finding out about his identity, or draw the ire of his over-controlling father. "We are in an excursion and git separated from the group. Do we head left or right?" Plagg looked down each of the tunnels, his miniscule nose twitching.
"Left," the Kwami answered before going back to sleep in Adrien's shirt. The model thanked his partner quietly, letting him get comfortable. Adrien couldn't help but smile. As much of a pain as Plagg could be, he was always there for him. No matter what was going on, he could rely on the cat to help him.
"Well we've got to do something, or else we're gonna starve ourselves of oxygen!" Nikolai's voice shattered Adrien's calm. The smile shrank away as they all turned to him. "Adrien, you're the only one who hasn't said who they want to lead us out of here. Me, or Chloé?" Chloé batted her long eyelashes at him flirtatiously, trying to win him over with her beauty. Adrien looked between the two pairs, but gave them a shrug.
"I'm going to go this way," Adrien announced, pointing down the left passage as he started down it. The four others exchanged confused looks before giving chase.
"Adrien, wait!" Sabrina called. "How do you know which way to go?" Adrien stopped in his tracks. What could he possibly say? A magic cat that gives him superpowers told him?
"Oh, just… intuition," Adrien lied, continuing on.
"Ivan trusts Adrien!" Ivan boomed, keeping up with the model. Chloé pushed past Nikolai and Ivan to link their arms together.
"Oh Adrien, you're so smart!" Chloé cooed, placing a kiss on his cheek.
"Merci," Adrien chuckled, trying his best to push her away. However she was persistent in her efforts. Chloé took both of his hands in hers and nuzzled her head into his neck.
"Ugh…" Nikolai guttered, feeling close to throwing up. Whether it was the horrible tunnels he was in or the sight of Chloé sticking to Adrien like a leech that made him want to hurl, he didn't know.
They had been walking for what seemed like hours. Sweat dripped down Nikolai's forehead as they trekked onwards. Personally, he didn't like the odds they had. even though it was exactly a fifty-fifty chance they were going the right way, who knows what could happen? They could get lost, encounter a pack of feral dogs, or worse. With every passing minute, Nikolai was more tempted to put his Flames On and escape.
"What happens if we don't find them?" Nikolai mumbled to Adrien. "I hate to be that guy, but things aren't looking great." Adrien kept his pace, only looking back to make sure everyone was keeping up.
"Just trust me," Adrien said. "I got a good feeling about this." Nikolai felt the tiny weight of something press onto his shoulder. Draggo had left his pocket and settled on Nikolai's shoulder.
"I think this kid is an idiot," Draggo sneered. "Let's just go Flames on and get outta here!" Nikolai wiped the seat from his face, looking at the dragon in shock.
"Dude!" Nikolai hissed back. "There's so many wrong things with that. One, Adrien's a nice guy, lay off of him. Two, I can't fly through walls. Three, everyone down here would know I'm-"
"Are you alright?" Ivan asked. "Nikolai is talking to himself!" Nikolai flinched as the giant's meaty hand grabbed him. The Venetian flushed, afraid that he'd compromised his identity.
"Y-yeah!" Nikolai beamed, acting as if nothing was wrong. "This place is just getting to me, is all." Chloé snickered, whispering something malicious in Sabrina's ear.
"Puttana," Nikolai hissed, glaring at them. Why were they always so mean? What joy did they take out of hurting others?
"Watch your step," Adrien warned as a sickening crunch filled the tunnel. "I think I just stepped on a bone."
"Merde, Now we're gone into a feral dog den."
"Ew!" Chloé wailed. "Oh this is absolutely horrible!" Sabrina tried her best to keep her calm, but to no avail. Once Chloé was in a frenzy it was almost impossible to calm her. "We're going to die down here!" The tightening feeling around Nikolai crawled over him again. Everything seemed to become a blur as the darkness closed up over him. He wanted to scream, but nothing came from his throat. He couldn't move. He couldn't breathe. The darkness around him felt like a black sludge, swallowing everything around him.
"…kid." A voice whispered. The sludge was flowing over him. Nikolai tried his best to stay above it but it pulled him under.
"Kid." the voice was louder this time, tying to pull him up from the dark.
"Kid!"
Nikolai's eyes shot open as he began to take huge, raspy breaths.
"C'mon kid, stay with me!" Draggo slapped his cheek. Nikolai tried to sit up, but was held down by a pair of hands.
"Don't get up so quickly," The soft voice purred. It sounded familiar, like an old friend. "Are you okay?"
"Ugh…" Nikolai groaned, his vision returning. "What happened?"
"You passed out." The voice answered. What was like a distant memory turned out to be Adrien, placing a wet towel across his head. "You hit the floor pretty hard on your way down."
"Anything hurt?" Ivan asked, kneeling down over him. Anyone who didn't know the man would certainly be frightened by Nikolai's position under him. Nikolai was also guilty of feeling the pang of intimidation from him.
"Only my pride," the Venetian answered, struggling to his feet. His neck hurt, like he'd been kicked in the throat.
"We should get him to a doctor or something,"
"There aren't any down here," Nikolai smiled. "Unless you want Adrien to dress up like a nurse!"
"Let's keep moving," Chloé ordered, moving on. "We've wasted enough time waiting for you." Sabrina flashed Nikolai an annoyed look, before following Chloé.
"God, what a bitch." Draggo mumbled, whizzing around his human's head, checking for injuries.
"Tell me about it." Nikolai replied. "How long was I out?"
"Too long," Sabrina answered. Nikolai was ready to shoot back a reply, but his head was aching too much for another argument.
"Probably a couple of minutes at most," Adrien answered. But we really need to get moving and catch up with the others." The reality of their current position came flooding back to him. Nikolai was trapped underground with little chance of escaping, the Catacombs under the 14th Arrondissement were a literal labyrinth they were trapped in. Nikolai began to shake again, giving in to his fears. The air deep underground was stale and in short supply. That didn't stop him from hyperventilating.
"Hey, chill out." Draggo said, frowning at him. "You're freaking over nothing."
"Easy," Adrien put a gentle hand on Nikolai's shoulder. "You're safe here." Nikolai turned to the model, his eyes wide in terror.
"I've gotta get outta here." Nikolai mumbled. "I don't wanna die down here!" Sabrina turned to him, her face scrunching up. Chloé gave him a disapproving look.
"Ivan will protect you," announced he, pulling the panicked student into his embrace. Nikolai flinched away at first, tense. But the warmth of his body was like a blanket, inviting and safe. Nikolai felt he could trust that Ivan would protect him. The man slowly loosened, the tension easing from his body.
"Pathetic," Chloé tutted. "You'll never be a man if you don't face your fears." Adrien, usually calm and collected, shot her a look that said one thing.
Stop.
Chloé was smart enough to take the message and turned away with a humph.
"Come on, Sabrina." Chloé snidely instructed, snapping her finger at her as she went. "Since those boys would rather play around, it's up to us to find those idiots who abandoned us!" Chloé hadn't walked more than ten metres when there was the sound of rope snapping. Shortly followed after was the sound of metal wires zipping along the ground and into the air. Sabrina stood in horror as Chloé dangled immobile in the air.
"Okay, so explain it all again." Alya instructed, the smile of her face reminiscent to a shark's.
"We lost sight of you all, and went left at the crossroad." Adrien started. "We kept going until-"
"But you're alright though?" Marinette asked with desperation. "I mean, I don't want to sound annoying or creepy or anything, it's just that I wanted to know. B-but if I didn't ask I'd look like I didn't care and I do and-" The girl in pigtails continued rambling on, words just spewing out of her mouth like an open floodgate.
"Anyway," Alya butted in, placing a hand on her friend's shoulder. "Keep telling the story." Marinette's face was as red as a ladybug's back as she trailed off into silence.
"Anyway," Adrien continued. "We went left at the crossroads, and Chloé walked into a trap. Chloé kept screaming until you heard and found us." Nikolai sat away from the group, sipping at a bottle of water. On one side of the path Chloé was being pampered be her father's servants and Sabrina. On the other was Madame Bustier was yelling at the guide.
"How you feeling?" Draggo asked, the Kwami drifting around in the wind.
"Words can't describe how glad I am to be out of there and in open air." The sun's rays shining through the clouds. The whisper of the wind through leaves on the trees. It felt like he hadn't experienced these things in decades.
"Can't believe the person I get stuck with is afraid of the dark," Draggo spat, his turquoise eyes shooting Nikolai a look.
"Yeah, well not all of us can be demigods." The little orange dragon fluttered his maroon wings as it flitted, secretly also glad to be out of the catacombs.
"Thought you could use some company," Rose announced as Juleka and her sat by him. "That must've been very tough on you, going through all that!" Nikolai shrugged, trying to act cool in front of them.
"I handled it," Nikolai said simply. "I was fine really."
"Liar!" Draggo hissed. Nikolai shot him a look. With is head turned away from them, Juleka easily spotted the dark red blotches against his brown hair. She frowned, but didn't say anything.
"I thought it was pretty cool." Juleka mumbled. "Pretty spooky." Rose shuddered, hating every moment of the experience. For once, Nikolai had to agree with her, it sucked. Madame made the five kids who were lost line up. The tour guide approached them, looking sheepish.
"I'm terribly sorry about what happened today." He started. "I did not preform my duty as your caretaker in the Catacombs and I regret my actions." His words reeked of a scripted apology. Nonetheless, Nikolai was glad to hear one, only for justice's sake. "If there is anything that I can do to make it up to you, please don't hesitate to ask." Nikolai had no quarrel with the man. Sure, he was mad about the whole thing happening, but it was an honest mistake.
"It's okay, Monsieur," Adrien smiled. "These things happen." Ivan nodded in agreement, stomping off to talk with Alix.
"You'd just hope I forget this ever happened!" Chloé snapped. "I'll have you know that my father's the mayor!" The man, already looking drained, was hit with a wave of terror. "I can make your life hell if I want, just you wait and see!"