Chapter 11

Angela sat in her room studying for Literary Arts Exam for the next day. With her favorite band playing over her radio, she found it easier to concentrate and easier to stay awake. Tikki had fallen asleep awhile before, but Angela was finding it hard to even close her eyes. But she knew eventually she was going to have to get some sleep soon if she was going to do good on her exam tomorrow. Finishing her chapter for the night, she closed her notes and trudged to bed tuning her radio off on the way. As she slipped under the covers, she laid down wondering if she really should go forward to the police about what she was doing and about her father.

It had been almost two weeks since the trade with Jacob and Jacob turned the offer to make a deal, a lesser sentence in exchange for information. She knew it was only a matter of time before anyone found out, and she wondered if she would be in as much trouble if she came forward herself instead of being ratted out. As she laid in bed, she rolled it over and over in her mind and came to the decision that if she came across anyone else she knew involved with the trades, then she would go to the police. Finally, Angela felt her eyes getting heavy and she let herself drift off.

"Angela." She heard her name being called.

She looked around and saw that she was standing in a field of bright green grass and a single tree in its best stage of life. She turned and saw a woman standing under the tree.

"Angela." She heard again.

She followed the voice and quickly jogged up to the tree. As she got closer to the tree, she recognized the woman as her mother.

"Mom?" she breathed in disbelief. "But you…"

"No, I'm right here." Her mother said taking Angela in her arms. "I've been right here waiting for you for so long. Don't you remember, we were going to the lake today." Her mother said with a smile.

"But I thought…"

"It's okay sweet heart." Angelina said brushing her hair out of her face. "Come on, let's get going, the others are waiting for us."

"Others?" Angela asked confused.

"Your father, brother and sister of course."

"I have a sister?" Angela asked even more confused.

"Yes, Gloria."

Angela was confused, but she followed her mother through the field until they came to a trail. Angela couldn't explain it, but she felt like this was what her life was meant to be. The life she had always wanted for her and her family. Her mother here with them and her father the loving man he was before. Now it felt all so real, that all she had been through for the past several years had been a dream and now she was awake and back with her family.

She felt her grasp on her confused feelings fade the farther she and her mother walked down the trail until they made it to a cliff over-looking a lake. Her mother flashed her a smile and jumped in the lake below to join the others. Angela stood at the edge of the cliff and started to smile and giggle as she watched her family smiling, laughing and splashing below.

"Come on Little Angela." She heard father call up to her. "Jump, the water's great."

"We're waiting for you." Josh called holding his arms to catch her.

Angela suddenly felt a dark pulse shoot through her and then she saw everything around suddenly taking a darker tone, even her family.

"Yes, jump!" she heard her father call.

But as she looked down, she saw her family not as her family anymore, but they were now morphing into monsters. Reaching up for her trying to pull her in. Angela tried to turn to run, but she felt something trying to push her in to their reach. She fought to stay out of their reach.

"Help! Someone help!" she cried out for someone, anyone to get her out there. "No please, don't!" she kept screaming.

She suddenly felt something pull at her from behind, shaking her.

"Angela!" she heard her name being called.

Her eyes snapped open and but she couldn't see straight right away. She continued to thrash trying to get loose. When her vision cleared, she saw that she was standing in front of Cat Negro with his hands holding her arms.

"Angela, it's okay! It's okay." He said gently shaking her.

"I saw them, I saw her, she wanted me to follow her" she spouted frightened, not thinking clearly.

"What? Saw who?" Cat Negro asked concerned.

"I kept seeing faces, so many faces." Angela said on the verge of tears laying her face against Cat Negro's chest.

She felt Cat Negro gently yet firmly hug her. "It's alright, it was only a nightmare. It's over now."

Angela didn't try to push him off right away, in this one moment, in his arms was the only place she felt safe right now. When she felt she could finally think straight, she looked around and saw where she was.

"Where am I?" she asked seeing that she was standing in the middle of a bridge over-looking the Hudson river. "What am I doing here in my pajamas?" she said seeing that she was still in her night clothes.

"You were sleep walking, you were about to walk off the bridge before I caught you." Cat Negro said leading her to a safer spot off the bridge. "You were lucky I was out tonight, you would've been at the bottom of the river for sure if I hadn't seen you walking through the busy streets."

"Sorry, I didn't even know I was sleep walking." She apologized following him. "This has never happened to me before, why now?" she asked trying to make sense of what had just happened to her.

"We can figure that out later, right now we should get you home. Where do you live?" Cat Negro said putting his arm around her waist and hoisting them both up on his rod.

"2110 Concord. The third house on the right surrounded by a gate." She said feeling very awkward with his hold on her.

But seeing how he had just saved her from a watery grave and how they were now up a hundred feet in the air, she couldn't complain.

"Got it. Hang on tight little lady." He said as he started leaping across roof tops with her in his arms.

Angela felt weird being carried like a damsel in distress when she was so used by this point to doing the saving rather than being saved. Below she watched as the buildings rushed below, she finally saw how far she had gotten. She had walked several blocks from her house was halfway down Broadway when she had made it to the bridge.

When they made it to her house, she saw her balcony door was open. 'Tikki must be so worried.' She thought as they landed on her balcony.

"You should be safe for now." Cat Negro said escorting her back in her room.

"Thanks for saving me tonight." Angela said pulling an afghan off her bed and pulling around her shoulders.

"It was no big deal. I better get going." Cat Negro said turning to leave.

"No wait," Angela said taking his wrist. "Please stay here a while." She said still feeling her heart pounding with fear.

Cat Negro looked at her surprised, but said he would stay a while longer. Angela laid back down in bed and Cat Negro asked about her dream. After telling him everything she could remember, Cat Negro asked her if maybe she thought that it couldn't have been just a dream.

"Are you thinking it could have been an akuma?" Angela asked now feeling even more worried.

"It's not what I was going to say but it definitely seems like what happened to you would be an akuma attack." Cat Negro answered rubbing the back of his neck. "Have you had any run ins with anyone lately? Anyone who would want to see you hurt?"

"Only person I could name who would want to make me miserable would be Jezebel, but I sincerely doubt it could be her, not even she would go so far as to try and kill me." Angela answered.

"Okay, I've gotta go looking for whoever this new villain is before he hurts anyone else. But I won't be far if you ever need me again." He said winking at her before closing the door.

Angela sighed in relief. But then she realized something else.

"Tikki? Tikki? Are you here?" she called out quietly.

"Angela!" Tikki called out zipping out from under her pillow. "I was so worried about you. When I saw you walking out on to the balcony and then climbing out and over the fence I didn't know what to do. I'm so glad you're okay."

"Yeah, thanks to Cat Negro. He saved me." Angela said as Tikki flew over and cuddled against Angela's cheek. "He thinks it was another akuma."

"I know, I heard him. I think it was an akuma too. I could feel it." Tikki answered.

"But the question is, who is it and why would they want to do this to me?" Angela said pulling the covers back. "In any case, that cat's gonna need our help to track down this new akuma." Angela said getting out of bed. "Tikki, Spots On." Angela said transforming into Ladybug.

Quietly slipping out her balcony door, she zipped off to follow Cat Negro. No sooner had she made it to Broadway, her communicator started to go off.

"Cat Negro, where are you?" she answered.

"Nice to see you too mi senora." He smiled at her. "I'm at the northern bridge over-looking the Hudson river."

"I'll be there in a minute." Ladybug said closing the communication and quickly making her way across the roof tops back to the bridge Cat Negro had saved her from earlier. When she got there, she saw Cat Negro waiting for her.

"I heard you rescued a damsel in distress earlier tonight." She grinned.

"Yeah, she was just walking as if she was in a dream. Almost got hit by several cars and walked all the way out here to the bridge and would have jumped if I hadn't seen her walking out in traffic and followed her." Cat Negro said staring out at the water.

"So what are we hoping to find here?" Ladybug asked.

"I'm not sure, but after what she told me, I could only guess that whatever it was that made her sleep-walk all the way out here was another akuma." Cat Negro answered.

"Okay, so where do we start? We don't even know why this akuma would be after this girl."

"Maybe not, but we may have a clue." Cat Negro said holding up a feather.

"A feather?" Ladybug asked confused.

"A pheasant feather. Very decorative, and used for many crafts including dream-catchers." Cat Negro said handing it to her.

"A dream-catcher, you think this came from a dream-catcher." Ladybug asked looking at it.

"I know it did, I saw someone running from the bridge just before I stopped that girl from taking the plunge. I didn't think much of it at first, but after I heard about her dream and seeing her walking through traffic all the way here, I began to think that maybe the one I saw running from the bridge may have been the one who lured her out of her home and here. As for why I don't know, but we need to find this thing and stop it before it tries to do the same thing to anyone else." Cat Negro explained.

"Wow, that was very observant and vigilant coming from you." Ladybug said surprised.

"I had a different motivation this time." Cat Negro said actually sounding serious.

"And what motivation would that be?" Ladybug said curiously.

"The girl that I saved tonight was someone I care about, if this thing is after her, I have to stop it before it goes after her again." Cat Negro answered jumping down from the railing.

Ladybug felt her heart miss a beat. Cat Negro knew her normal self? How, did he know who she really was? There would be time for that later, right now they needed to make sure that this new villain was stopped before he tried to hurt anyone else.

"The first thing we should do is track this guy down." Ladybug said looking for any sort of clue where the person Cat Negro saw running away might have run.

"I think I might have found something." Cat Negro said pointing to a faintly glowing pile sand.

"Good job gatito." Ladybug said scratching under Cat Negro's chin.

"Muchos gracias mi senora." He purred.

They followed the trail through the city over roof tops and through the darkest alleyways through the city until the trail stopped in an old warehouse that looked like it was on the verge of collapse.

"Stay close, this place looks like it could give any minute now." Ladybug said slowly slipping in through the window in the roof.

When they got in, a light came on and they saw something that made her heart skip a beat, an anti-shrine for someone she knew all too well. Her father, and whoever made it had a lot of rage. Whoever this new villain was had been following her father for a long time and clearly had some dark vendetta that they needed to settle.

"I think we found who it was this new villain is after." Ladybug said nervously.

"I think so too, the question is, why go after that girl? Who is this?" Cat Negro asked.

"His name is Isaac Martinez. As for why whoever this person would be after him I don't know, but I think I do know why he would go after that girl too."

"Why?"

"That girl you saved is his daughter, Angela Martinez." Ladybug answered feeling her stomach drop mentioning her own name learning that she had a target on her back because of who her father was.

Cat Negro seemed disturbed hearing this too. "But why go after her if it's Mr. Martinez he's after?"

"I can think of no better way to hurt someone than by going after the people close to them." Ladybug answered.

"Well if this akuma is after Mr. Martinez, then odds are he would be heading to his house. Which means our best chance to catch this thing would be to head over there now and make sure he doesn't find what he's looking for." Cat Negro said heading back out.

"Right." Ladybug said following him. "So, tell me, Cat Negro, what's this girl you care about like? Do you like her?"

"Whatever, she's just someone I know and she's great friend. I wouldn't want to see her hurt." Cat Negro explained as they made their way across the city for her house. "I do care about her, but everyone knows that you're my only senora." He grinned at her.

"Of course." Ladybug said trying not to laugh.

So maybe she and Cat Negro did know each other in normal life, but it was important that they stay oblivious to each other's identities. Even if they did know each other, it was important that they not know who they really are.

They finally made it to her house and despite what hour it was, the place was alive with activity.

'Guess father's looking for me.' Ladybug thought as she and Cat Negro made their way to the door.

As they were about to knock, the door opened and they were grabbed and pulled in.

"Back to the scene of the crime." Brock said pointing a gun at Cat Negro. "And you, here to help him finish what he tried to start."

"What are you talking about?" Ladybug said holding her hands up.

"Ms. Angela has been missing since this morning and one of our guards saw him leaving her room around the time she disappeared." Brock said pointing the gun at Cat Negro.

"What, I never hurt her, I was bringing her home. I saved from jumping off the northern bridge into the Hudson river. I brought her home and she was fine when I left." Cat Negro said like he was trying not to lose his cool with a gun at his head.

"If she's missing again it means that whoever lured her out the first time must have come for her again after you left her alone." Ladybug said trying to get Brock to lower the gun. "Where is Mr. Martinez?"

"He's out on business." Brock answered

"Sir, we have reason to believe that the one who took Angela was an akuma but she's not his target. We found his hideout, and we found that the one he's really after is Mr. Martinez." Ladybug explained trying to keep a straight face. "Is there any reason why someone would want to hurt him by means of taking his daughter?"

"With what Mr. Martinez does for a living, I would be surprised if he didn't have any enemies. But if you can really help get Ms. Angela back, I will trust you. But I warn you now, if anything happens to her, if she gets hurt or worse, you will be held responsible too." Brock warned.

"Don't worry sir, we'll bring her back. You have my word." Cat Negro promised in all seriousness that Ladybug didn't think she would hear from him.

All at once, everyone around Ladybug and Cat Negro began to fall asleep.

"What's going on?" Cat Negro asked getting edgy

"I don't know." Ladybug answered.

They suddenly heard a sinister laugh ringing through the front hall. "I'd say sweet dreams, but soon they won't have any left." The voice said. All at once, in a whirl of sand, a man with a dream catcher in his hand. "I am Dream Snatcher and I will find Isaac Martinez."

"Why ae so intent on hurting him? Where's Angela?" Ladybug demanded.

"She's safe for now. Whether or not she remains that way depends on how well you're willing to cooperate." Dream Snatcher sneered. "Tell me where Isaac Martinez is and I'll return Angela unharmed."

"You're a real coward you know that, hiding behind a young woman like this." Cat Negro growled.

"I'm just playing the game, now where is Isaac Martinez. Don't leave Angela dangling." Dream Snatcher grinned showing them an image in the rim of his dream-catcher.

Ladybug couldn't believe it, she saw her normal self hanging by a rope over a sheer drop over the Hudson river. But she knew it wasn't real, that had to be Dream Snatcher's power, dreams and nightmares. She knew it wasn't real, she just had to get Cat Negro to believe it without giving away how she would know.

"You have until sunset tomorrow to bring him to me. You wouldn't want Angela to take the fall for it now would you? She's already deep enough in as it is." Dream Snatcher sneered before disappearing in a whirl of sand.

"We have to find her." Cat Negro said sounding worried for her.

"Cat Negro, it wasn't real." Ladybug said holding his shoulder.

"How do you know?" Cat Negro asked.

"Well think about it, if his power deals with dreams, who's to say that what he showed us was real and not just a dream he wanted us to see so that we would do his dirty work for him."

"You've got a point there, but right now I still think our best chance is to find Mr. Martinez and do as Dream Snatcher says." Cat Negro argued.

"You're right. Even if what he showed us wasn't real, we wouldn't know where to start looking for Angela." Ladybug agreed.

"Question is, what kind of business would he be away on?"

"I don't know where we can find him, but I think I know how he can find us." Ladybug answered realizing she was going to have to pull out another alter ego she hoped she wouldn't have to use again. "I just need a laptop."

Cat Negro seemed confused, but they found a computer she could use in the office across the hall. She asked Cat Negro to wait outside. Again he looked confused, but waited outside. Ladybug sighed with relief. She typed in her father's password and then opened up a private sight that she hadn't used in years and hoped she wouldn't have to use again. When she first tried sabotaging her father on her own, she worked under an alias, Burned Gold. She opened a message page with her father's message line and hoped he would be on.

Almost immediately he responded to her request to meet for a trade. After setting up the meeting place for behind the old shop on Bleaker, she informed Cat Negro where they had to go.

"So how did you manage to arrange this meeting with him?" Cat Negro asked.

"I had to pull some strings I had in my normal life a few years ago. It wasn't easy but he has agreed to meet."

"Now I'm really wishing I could know the smart senora under that mask." Cat Negro said winking at her.

"Later gatito." She winked back. "Right now we have a date with Mr. Martinez."

Rushing through dark alley ways, they met up with Mr. Martinez just as he was pulling into an alley way.

"What are you two doing here?" Mr. Martinez asked harshly. "I was told there was to be a trade here."

"We reached out to a friend for a favor to meet with you. We need to talk." Ladybug explained.

"I'm losing money." Mr. Martinez said turning to leave.

"Mr. Martinez, your daughter's life may be in danger if you don't cooperate." Cat Negro said as if he was expecting it would stop him.

"My daughter, what do you know of her?" he said all too calmly.

"Only that she's been kidnapped by an akuma and is probably scared for her life hoping that you're looking for her." Cat Negro said with that same tone.

"Angela is more than capable of taking care of herself. If she has been taken, she would know how ot get herself out."

"Do you not care that your daughter's very life could be in danger? She could be killed and you will have done nothing about it." Cat Negro said almost yelling at him.

"If I were you I would let myself hold my tongue." Mr. Martinez growled.

"Look, I think we can all agree that this is a very stressful situation. Look, Mr. Martinez, we have reason to believe that your daughter was taken as bait to get your attention. The akuma's target may in fact. Now if you don't care if your daughter is in danger or not that's one thing, but if you want to preserve your life, you need to come with us." Ladybug said stepping between them.

Ladybug knew her father all too well. He may seem like he didn't care that she was in danger, but he was only trying to not show weakness. She could see it in his eyes, inside he was burning with rage.

"Take me to her." Came Mr. Martinez's answer.

"Sir we are not sure where she is being held. But the one who has her says he will set her free if you turn yourself in to him." Ladybug explained. "We can lead you there."

"Just do it." Mr. Martinez said getting back in his car.

"How can he not care for his own daughter?" Cat Negro asked, Ladybug could see the anger in his eyes.

"It was all an act. I could see it in his eye. He does love her, he just doesn't show it or even really express it." Ladybug said. "I've seen his kind before."

"Don't suppose you'll tell me where."

"Nope." Ladybug answered. "At least now we're on track to getting the girl back and de-akumatizing Dream Snatcher."

Ladybug expected Cat Negro to push her more for answers, but he didn't and part of her was grateful for that. She wasn't sure how much more she could put out without giving away who she was. They lead Mr. Martinez to the warehouse they had found earlier that night. Once everyone was in, Mr. Martinez saw the anti-shrine and did seem taken aback, but none the less shaken.

"So, you held up your end of the deal and in, if I may say, excellent time." Dream Snatcher said coming out of nowhere.

"Don't think you're going to get away with this." Mr. Martinez said pulling out his gun. "Where's my daughter!" he shouted.

"She's safe for now." Dream Snatcher said as if unfazed. "But soon you won't be." with a wave, sand blew all around.

Ladybug and Cat Negro kept Mr. Martinez between them and thrust their weapons in circles to keep the sand back.

"If you really knew what this man had done you wouldn't be lifting a finger to protect him." Dream Snatcher said taking on a darker angrier tone. "This man took everything from me. My life, my dreams all of it because of him and what he's done to everyone he's ever come in contact with. Now, I'm about to return the favor."

"Look, Dream Snatcher, this isn't the answer." Ladybug tried to reason with him.

She suddenly felt Cat Negro pull her down. "What?" a blast of sand blew past her. "Thanks partner." She smiled. "We've got to get to his dream catcher, that's gotta be where the akuma is."

"I'll get Mr. Martinez out of here." Cat Negro said helping her up.

"Good, I'll keep Dream Snatcher's attention, I can buy you probably only a minute. Be quick."

"Got it." Cat Negro took Mr. Martinez's arm and launched out of the roof and disappeared.

"No!" Dream Snatcher tried to follow but Ladybug got in his way.

"Not so fast Dreamer." She taunted. "Lucky Charm!" she summoned. What appeared was a lighter.

"Just try and stop me with that little lady." Dream Snatcher taunted.

After looking around for what else she needed to use, being the sprinkler system and a sheet of plastic, she had an idea.

"With pleasure." She grinned back.

Dream Snatcher continued to try and blast her with the dream sand, but thankfully Ladybug as fast a dancer and she was graceful. Making it up to the ceiling and lighting the sprinklers, she grabbed the plastic sheet from off the wall and huddled beneath it. Just as the water started to fall, Cat Negro appeared and Ladybug pulled him under the plastic sheet with her. Dream Snatcher tried again and again to throw his dream sand, but the water wouldn't allow his attack to materialize.

"I'd say he's all washed up." Cat Negro laughed.

Ladybug groaned. "Now let's free that akuma." Throwing her yo-yo, Ladybug was able to pull the dream catcher out of Dream Snatcher's hand and break it. Out came the little black moth.

"No more terrorizing for you moth." She said preparing her yo-yo. "Time to be purified." She said launching her yo-yo and capturing the akuma. "Be free little butterfly." She said releasing the purified butterfly. "Miraculous Ladybug!" she summoned as the damage all around the city from Dream Snatcher's attack was repaired and the people returned home and awakened.

Dream Snatcher's form then dissolved back to his true form, a man whom Ladybug felt that she should know but she just couldn't put her finger on it.

"Olé!" Ladybug and Cat Negro exclaimed high-fiving.

As Ladybug and Cat Negro helped the guy get back on his feet, Ladybug could see that something else was bothering Cat Negro.

"Are you doing okay?" she asked.

"There's just one thing we still need to figure out, where's Angela?" he asked with concern in his voice.

"Everything's back to normal right, she should be safe at home." Ladybug answered trying to keep a straight face.

"I should go check on her just to be sure."

"No it's okay I'll go." Ladybug said trying to stop him.

"No, she was my responsibility, I should be the one to see if she's okay." Cat Negro said launching himself in the direction of her house.

Ladybug groaned and she quickly started swinging over the roof tops across the city, trying to get there before Cat Negro. As she got there, it was just about sunrise. She quickly landed on her balcony and ran for the bathroom and switched on the water just as she heard Cat Negro arrive.

"Angela, Angela?" she heard him call for her. "Are you here? It's me, Cat Negro." she heard him ask as he knocked on the door.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just got up to get a shower is all." Ladybug answered.

"Good, I just needed to see if you were okay."

"I'm good, thanks for saving me last night."

"You are very welcome senorita, I guess I'd better be going."

"See again sometime Cat Negro." Ladybug called through the door.

Once she was sure Cat Negro was gone, her transformation wore off and she got in the shower for real and started getting ready for school that day. As she was putting on her make-up, her father came into her room. He didn't say anything, he just walked up to her and stood there for a minute. Angela and him locked eyes for a moment and then he did something Angela hadn't even seen him do in years, he leaned down and pulled her into a hug. Angela's breath escaped, but she hugged him back.

"I'm glad everything worked out for the best." Was all he said before he left her alone again.

"You think seeing how close he could've come to losing you made him appreciate you more as his daughter?" Tikki asked poking her head out from her coat.

"I'd like to think so." Angela said as she grabbed her books and ran out for the bus.

As the bus drove for the college campus, she thought back to something Cat Negro told her last night, how she was someone he knew in normal life and really cared about her. If Cat Negro knew her in normal life, did she know him? If so, which guy in her life could it possibly be? She could eliminate Derek as a possible suspect because Derek didn't even speak Spanish and he was no flirt and even if he was he was totally faithful to Abbey so there was no way he would be flirting with her as Ladybug if he was Cat Negro. So if it wasn't Derek, who in her life could Cat Negro possibly be for him to know her?

When they got off the bus, Angela started up for the doors when Miguel pulled her over.

"Hey." He said smiling pretty big.

"Olllo, no I mean, Hello." Angela stammered.

"I heard about your adventures with Cat Negro last night. You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Angela answered trying to keep herself from babbling.

"Were you scared?"

"Me? Scared? Please, it was a dream, I mean no, In your dreams." Angela said realizing she wasn't having good control at this point.

"Okay, so what did you think of Cat Negro? Was he cool?" Miguel asked.

"Yeah, he was cool but not as cool as you of course, I mean you're the coolest of cool." Angela blathered.

"So, yes then." Miguel said clearly not following her babble.

He then walked off but not before patting Angela on the back. Angela felt completely light as she walked toward the main building.

"You do realize you just gabbed to Miguel about how cool you think he is right?" Tikki said poking her head out.

"He patted me on the back, I'll never wash my jacket again." Angela said clearly not listening.

"Oh Angela, you've really gotta learn to have better control of your emotions." Tikki said shaking her head.