The Pocket

Boing! Boing! Boing!

Fists and staff bounced off the rubbery time bubble as Ladybug and Chat Bast attacked it with everything they got until they were out of breath. But nothing worked. The time bubble would not pop. And the beeping earrings reminded them that Ladybug already used Lucky Charm, and her powers were draining. Ladybug fell to the floor completely defeated. All she could think about was her friend, Akila, who was captured by the Akhenatens for whatever fiendish purpose. Why did she fail to stop the Akhenatens? How could she let her best friend be kidnapped like that? What kind of hero is she? As she thought this, her eyes became fountains of tears.

A moment later, her blurred vision saw a peculiar figure outside of the bubble. It was Keyon, the man who tried to kill them as Falcon Eye. And he had a knife in his hand. Oh! No! Ladybug and Chat Bast were helpless as this time bubble slowed them down tremendously. The two heroes could do nothing but watch as the man walked closer and closer. Then, they braced themselves as he lifted his knife with both hands and struck.

Pop!

The time bubble broke and the miraculous holders were untouched. Chat Bast immediately assumed a fighting pose when Keyon dropped his knife and kept his hands up where they could see it.

"I mean you no harm," Keyon explained, "I just want to help."

"It was only a week ago when you used a tornado to make us hiss-tory. What brought the change of heart?" the incredulous Chat shouted.

"Believe me. I'm sorry," Keyon answered, "I was angry and I made some wrong choices. But now, I realized that I was just as guilty as the Patra family. I was also attacking and hurting others, and I could have harmed somebody's Kali."

"You don't actually expect me to fur-get all you did and trust you all of a sudden, do you?" the cat replied.

"You don't know where they took that girl," Keyon argued, "Do you even know what they plan to do to her? I do. I can help. I'm not asking you to trust me. But you need me."

The man made a good point. Chat considered his options and decided that he needed to take the risk. Then, he turned to his partner to see what she thought only to see empty space where the girl was.

"Where did Ladybug go?" he asked.


The mountain-like pyramid, which served as the Temple of Ra, was bustling with activity. The temple servants scrambled to wash, perfume, and dress Akila for the ritual. They had to hurry. The pharaoh could not hold his temper much longer.

Over at the entrance of the pyramid, the Thoth Akhenaten wrote "Sphinx" and summoned the powerful mythical beast to block the door. Hopefully that would prevent any further interruptions. Returning to the main chamber, the pharaoh depowered himself, took off the Mask of the Ancient Pharaohs, and laid it on the altar. Even though the mask empowered him with the spirit of the pharaohs, it was a little hard to breathe under it. After drawing a deep breath, Tutankhamun said, "I waited far too long for this moment."

"Don't worry. In just mere moments, the ritual will be performed, and I will finally get my wish," Grave Dog said.

"What did you say?" the pharaoh reacted to the last portion of the sentence.

"I mean, 'YOU will finally get your wish'," the jackal-headed priest hastily corrected.

That was close, Sebak thought, Patience. I'm so close.


Beep! Beep!

Ladybug dashed into a sandy alley before the earrings rang for the final time and she detransformed.

"Aba, are you alright?" Tikki asked as soon as she emerged from the earrings.

"Why did you choose me?" tear-streaked Abayomi sobbed, "I was not meant for this."

"It is not too late. You can still go rescue her," the kwami assured her.

"But your powers are gone. I don't have any sweet pastries because I'm poor. So, you need to rest for at least six hours before you can transform me again. Even if I could transform, I will fail. There is nothing I can do," the girl cried.

Her cheek felt Tikki's tiny, gentle hands gently stroking. Then, after Abayomi calmed down a bit, Tikki said, "Remember when you made the pocket. It was the result of a mistake. You were making a robe to be just like every other robe. But then, you accidentally cut a slit at the waist area. Normally, that would have wrecked the robe's quality making it unsellable. However, you used your creativity and sewed a pouch inside using the slit as an opening. A mistake changed into something better than you first intended. A failure is not the end. You are a weaver. So weave these mistakes into something beautiful. Take this failure and become the hero you never thought you could be."

Tikki was right. Now was not the time to give up. Besides, Akila also believed in her. After a few deep breaths, Abayomi stood straight up. Then, she looked around the neightborhood and realized that she was standing near Akila's home. A crazy idea popped into her head. She went inside. In Akila's room, she found the Ladybug costume Abayomi made for her. Fortunately, both girls were the same size. So, she slipped on the dress and tied on the mask. But the outfit was still not complete. She found Akila's copper wesekh collar and hair beads and put them on. Now, she's starting to look more like Ladybug. But the actual outfit had forearm bracelets, and not even Akila had those. Then, Abayomi found a pair of red and long sleeve gloves that covered her entire arm. So, she got some black ink, drew some dots, and wore those as a replacement. The soft fabric wrapped around her hands and arms felt different from the hard metal bracelets, but they were better than nothing.

Ladybug was back in action.

She dashed back out onto the street. But then, she stopped in her tracks. Where was Akila taken?

"Do you need help, Ladybug?" an elderly voice said. It was the old man that she saved in the marketplace.

He continued, "I'll help you charge-"

"I'm sorry, sir. But I'm in a hurry. I need to figure out where Akila was taken," Ladybug interrupted.

"Oh! She was taken to the Temple of Ra," the mysterious man stated.

"How would you know that?" Ladybug asked.

Then, Tikki emerged from hiding. "This is Master Xu," the kwami explained, "He is the current guardian of the miraculous. Wise and all knowing. He even gave me to you." Abayomi stood there dumbfounded. So much was happening so fast.

"I'll take you to the temple," Master Xu said, "But take this." From his cloak's pocket, he took out the Ladybug yo-yo. "It is also magical. While it cannot perform Lucky Charm, it is perfect for combat," he explained.

Yo-yo in hand, Ladybug followed the master to where her friend was held captive.


Chat and Keyon were already at the massive pyramid when Ladybug arrived with Master Xu.

"Ladybug? You look a bit different," Chat remarked. Ladybug looked away and just drew lines in the sand with her feet.

Then, Master Xu asked the cat hero, "Have you, two, kissed and made up?"

Red shades flooded his face as Chat cried, "ENOUGH WITH THE KISS, YOU SICKO!"

"Is that the man who was Falcon Eye?" Ladybug asked at the sight of the Nubian man.

"I'm sorry, my lady. But now, I'm made up for it by bring Chat to the temple," Keyon said.

"Except he never mentioned the meow-nster Sphinx guarding the entrance," Chat added.

Towering over the group was a massive Sphinx, with the head of a human and the body of a lion. It was as big as ten elephants. Just its paw alone was bigger than any man.

Moist, hot air beat against the group as the Sphinx growled, "Answer my riddle. If you answer correctly, you may pass. If you are wrong, you will be destroyed." Then, it gave its riddle.

"It is made by a pair and shared between a pair.

It's an unspoken language hundred cultures share.

Placed on different body parts, it could mean different things.

Though the act is always soft, strong feelings it brings.

It's purse holds nothing, but it's valuable, of course.

The mouth is the deliverer. The heart is the source.

What is it?"

"Made by a pair. Shared by a pair." Chat whispered to his companions, "Gifts?"

"But the mouth does not deliver gifts, and it is not always soft," Keyon refuted.

"What purse holds nothing?" Ladybug wondered.

The trio stood scratching their heads failing to produce an answer. Then, the Nubian man thought of something. With his chest pushed out and his head held high, he boldly answered the Sphinx,

"What unspoken language is used more than MUSIC? Music is my answer."

"WRONG!" the Sphinx roared as it raised its lion claw. Fortunately, Ladybug and Chat quickly grabbed Keyon and, together, jumped away as the mountainous claw smashed the ground with an earth-shaking slam.

Pound! Rumble!

"You don't place music on different body parts," Chat explained.

"And music does not involve a purse," Ladybug added.

Roar!

The furious Sphinx gave a mighty roar releasing a storm-like gust of wind that knocked the trio onto their backs. The man-lion hybrid was about to follow up with another attack when Master Xu walked up behind Chat and Ladybug and said,

"Kiss."

"WOULD YOU KNOCK IT OFF WITH THE KISS ALREADY!" Chat Bast screamed.

Immediately, the Sphynx froze. "Correct. A kiss," it murmured as it faded away to reveal the door behind it.

"Oh … Well … How about that," Chat said.

"You, three, go on inside. I'll wait out here," Master Xu said. Chat and Keyon went through the entrance, but Master Xu stopped Ladybug and told her, "Leave Tikki with me."

"Huh?" Ladybug said.

"I'll recharge her with a chi spell. As soon as she is fully powered, she'll join you," he explained.

"What? You can do that?" Ladybug yelped, "But why didn't you do that earlier?"

"I was going to but you interrupted," the master replied, "That habit needs to be fixed."

Bowing her head in apology, Abayomi left Tikki with the master. Then, Ladybug followed after Chat and Keyon into the pyramid.

The muggy ritual chamber was dark as most of the lit torches were near the altar, and the heroes could only see the dark figures of the mummies, Grave Dog, and what looked like the leader. Fortunately, the darkness gave the heroes an advantage as they could sneak up on the enemies.

"ACHOO!" Ladybug sneezed due to the smoky incense. So much for the element of surprise.

"Ladybug! And Chat Bust!" the shadowy leader shouted when he turned and spotted them.

"You're the one who'll get busted up, buster," the brave cat man shouted.

But then, Chat froze as he got a good look at the leader.

Father? Father was the mastermind behind the Akhenatens? Tut thought.

He stood in disbelief as he watched the man raise the Mask of the Ancient Pharaohs and placed it back on his face before activating the Pendant of Ra.

This was too much as Chat fell knees and screamed, "No! Noooooooooooooo!"


Sneak Peek for the next chapter

Tut: Please, don't do this!

Pharaoh Tutankhamun: I have gone too far to stop now. Awaken, Nefertiti! Awaken!


As Akila levitated upwards, she cried, "Help me, Ladybug!"


Ladybug: I surrender!


Author's Note: Here's the explanation about the riddle.

A kiss is made by a pair of lips and shared with a pair of people. A kiss is a form of expression or communication many people use. Kissing on the lips mean one thing. Kissing on the hand or kissing someone's feet mean something else. And the "purse" is talking about the lips pursing.

I hope you enjoyed my riddle. I honestly made it myself.


Here was an idea I wanted to try in the story, but I could not pull it off

The masked pharaoh said, "Chat Bast, I am your father!"

"No. No. That's not true!" the poor cat hero whimpered as he shook his head in disbelief, "That's impossible!"

"Search your feelings. You know it to be true," the dark lord insisted.

"NOOOOOO!" the boy cried.