Chapter 14: Who Are You Going to Call?
With Carapace at the helm of the music, the party was, little by little, being what Miss Bustier's class wanted it to be. When they came up with the ideas for the party, they wanted this one to be one of a kind. And they were having it, with a little help from the performers who kept finding ways to living up the party. But, of course, Carapace's music was the fuel that party needed to keep rocking, and as he put on another song, he saw everyone having a great time.
"And for our next song, I'd like you guys to welcome our good friends Lars Ulrich and James Hetfield from Metallica, with the song "Enter Sandman"!" -Carapace exclaimed, as he turned up the volume. Such song deserved to be heard as loud as possible.
At the same time, Ladybug finished the slice of chocolate cake she had brought with her. With her stomach fuller, she felt like she could do anything, including asking the boy of her dreams to dance with her. She did not know if it was her being transformed, or the chocolate who was giving her the courage to do such a thing, but she really did not care. Right then, she felt like she could do it, and that was just what she was going to do. Getting up, she went looking for Chat, among the crowd of people. It would not be easy to find him, because he was not the only one wearing that costume there. Still, she hoped her instinct would help her find him.
"Come on, kitty cat, where are you?" -Ladybug asked herself, as she spotted a boy in a Chat Noir costume, not too far from her. At first, she thought it was Chat, but after looking at him closely, she saw that he did not have the same haircut. –"Nope, you're not my kitty cat. Where are you?" -she asked herself, as her eyes kept roaming the crowd.
After a couple of minutes, the scarlet heroine finally spotted the real Chat, near one of the gym's entrances, He was talking to a Rena Rouge and to a Forest Doe, who she believed were the real Rena and Doe. As she got closer, and though the music was a little loud, she recognized Alya and Mylene's voices.
"Hey, can I join you, or is this a private party?" -Ladybug joked, as she neared her friends.
"Hey, Marinette!" -Forest Doe smiled.
"Hey, girl." -Rena Rouge said.
"Hey, Marinette. So, are you enjoying yourself?" -Chat asked her, always with a big grin on his face.
"A little… what about you? Shouldn't you be on the dance floor?" -Ladybug asked the three of them.
"We're taking a little break." -Rena told her. –"And, we're also helping Mylene looking for Ivan."
"We've been looking for him for almost 15 minutes, and he's nowhere to be seen." -Chat said. –"Which is pretty strange, since a big guy like him should be pretty easy to spot." -he declared.
"Did you check the bathrooms?" -Ladybug asked him
"I did, and he wasn't there." -Chat answered her. –"But, he's bound to show up, sooner or later."
"Yeah, he's bound to show up." -Rena agreed.
Thinking to herself, Ladybug felt that was right moment to ask Chat to dance with her. Now that the ice was broken, she could ask him, without sounding awkward. Taking a silent deep breath, she looked at him and said:
"Uh, Adrien… I was wondering, if you would like to…"
"To what?" -Chat asked her.
"To dance with me." -Ladybug asked him in a whisper.
"What did you say? I couldn't hear you!" -Chat asked her. The music was a little too loud, and with Ladybug whispering, he did not hear her question.
"I was wondering, if you'd like to dance with me?!" -Ladybug repeated herself. This time, for some reason, that came out a lot easier than before.
"Y-Yeah, sure!" -Chat said.
Smiling, Rena Rouge felt that they were about to have an infamous Adrinette moment there, and she was going to lend them a little help. Excusing herself, she quickly made her way through the crowd, reaching the stage, where Carapace was. Going around the back, she climbed the stairs and quickly got behind Carapace, who felt her presence, as she playfully pressed herself against his back.
"Hey, Alya! Don't tell me you already miss me?" -Carapace asked, as Rena giggled.
"No, silly. Okay, maybe a little bit. But I'm here to ask you a little favour." -Rena told him.
"Lay it on me, girl." -the turtle hero declared.
"Adrien and Marinette have just hit the dance floor, or are about to, and I need a special song, just for them." -the fox heroine told him.
"Special? You mean…"
"Yeah, something they can dance, while on each other's arms."
Carapace smiled. He and Rena had been trying their best to get those two to start dating since the end of the summer, and now, he had the chance to do something that would hopefully put both Ladybug and Chat Noir on the right track for that to happen.
"Alright, something really mushy, but that still has that Halloween vibe… I won't lie, it's going to be tough, but I'll do my best." -Carapace told his girlfriend.
"I know you can do it. After all, you're the best DJ around, Nino." -Rena said, as she hugged him even tighter and kissed him on the cheek.
"Well, you're also pretty awesome too." -Carapace said, as she let him go, allowing him to go through his record collection, looking for something that would fill out the requirements. –"I know I have the perfect thing right here… I just need to find it, and… Here it is!" -he thought to himself.
"Found it?" -Rena asked him.
"If this doesn't work, nothing will." -Carapace declared.
"It's not "Love Is in the Air", is it?" -she asked him.
"Nope, something less corny and more hardcore." -Carapace said, as he noticed the song he had put on before, was about to end. –"Leave everything to me." -he winked at her, after which he turned his attention to the crowd. –"Okay, everyone, I think that after these many awesome songs, we need something a little calmer and smoother… don't worry, I'm not going to play something like the waltz."
That joke of his made the whole gym chuckle. Hearing them do that, meant that he was doing a good job of entertaining them.
"With you, "The Ghost of You" from My Chemical Romance." -Carapace said, as the song began.
Just like he had promised, that song was a little softer than the ones he had been playing until then, but it still had enough kick in it, to not let people fall asleep while hearing it. Upon hearing it, both Ladybug and Chat Noir knew that their best friends were behind it.
"That Alya… I bet she's behind this." -Ladybug smiled.
"That Nino. I can see what he's trying to do here… best wingman a guy like me could ask for." -Chat Noir thought to himself.
As the song went on, the two heroes started to dance together. Slowly and awkwardly, they wrapped their arms around each other, and let the rhythm of the song guide their bodies. Chat could not help but to look Ladybug in the eyes and feel a little nervous. And the same thing could be said about Ladybug herself. The two of them were so nervous, that they did not dare to utter a single word, fearing that they might say something embarrassing. Still, they did not dare look away, their eyes locked onto each other's.
"I can't believe I'm actually dancing with Adrien! Not only he's super handsome, he's also a great dancer… I just hope he doesn't think I can't dance." -Ladybug thought to herself.
"I can't believe I'm dancing with Marinette. She's so pretty… plus, she's an incredible dancer. I just hope she doesn't think I can't really dance." -Chat Noir
They kept dancing in silence, though both were telling themselves that they could not go on like that. They had to say something to each other, otherwise, that would be the most awkward dance ever.
"I've got to say something, otherwise he'll think I've got my mind on the Moon!" -Ladybug thought to herself.
"I've got to say something to her, otherwise, she'll think I'm a complete idiot!" -Chat Noir thought to himself.
"So…" -Both said in chorus.
"S-Sorry, you go first." -Ladybug told Chat.
"No, you go first, I insist." -Chat told Ladybug.
"O-Okay… so, you're a really good dancer." -Ladybug declared.
"Well, you ain't so bad yourself." -Chat grinned.
"Thanks. I learnt to dance with my dad." -Ladybug said. –"What about you? How did you learn?"
"Two years of dancing lessons, along with piano and fencing lessons." -Chat rolled his eyes, as he remembered them. From all those things, the only thing that he really liked practicing was fencing. –"My dad thinks that I needed to learn those things, though I don't know why I would need piano lessons. I don't have any plans of becoming a pianist." -he chuckled.
The scarlet heroine quickly imagined him playing the piano, and from there, it was not much of a stretch to imagine the blond playing the piano, wearing a black tuxedo, while she herself would be singing, lying on top of the piano, wearing a beautiful silk red strapless dress and matching stilettos, just like in an old movie. Thinking about it, her mind was quickly over the Moon, and if it was not for Chat, who called her back to Earth, she would have stayed there for as long as possible.
"Marinette? Marinette?" -Chat called her back to Earth.
"S-Sorry, I was a little distracted…" -Ladybug said, as her face blushed lightly.
"That's okay." -Chat smiled at her. –"I was going to ask you, if you want to hear a little secret?"
"A secret?" -Ladybug's heart skipped a beat, when Chat told her that. What kind of secret he wanted to tell her? Was it something about him, or maybe about how he felt about her? Just thinking about it, made her heart beat faster than ever. Still, she tried to look cool and relaxed. –"S-Sure, I'd love to. That is, if you want to tell it to me." -she giggled nervously.
"Of course, I want to." -Chat told her. –"Remember when we were talking to Alya and Mylene about Ivan being nowhere? Well, actually, I kind of lied about that." -he said.
"What do you mean?" -Ladybug asked him, puzzled. –"Why would he lie about such a thing?" -she asked herself.
"Ivan was in one of the bathrooms, trying to gather up the courage to do something he's been planning for a couple of weeks now. He's going to propose to Mylene, tonight." -Chat told her. –"But, you know just how shy he can be. He told me that he was really nervous and if Mylene asked about it, that I should tell her that I didn't see him."
"Shy? I can relate to that." -Ladybug thought to herself. –"I thought he wouldn't be shy about proposing to her. After all, they already kissed a couple of times, and they're always hanging together. He shouldn't be shy about asking her to be his girlfriend." -she said.
"Well, maybe, but you know that you girls aren't the only ones who get to be shy. We guys also have the right to be shy." -Chat winked at her, making her blush once more.
All that mushy and sweet talk was making Ladybug's heart beat faster than a hummingbird's. She always thought that whenever she donned that costume, her feelings for Adrien would be in control, but right then, they were anything but under control. And unknowingly for her, Chat's heart was also beating like crazy, because of his feelings for her. If she dared herself to touch his chest, Ladybug would feel the boy's heart beating like crazy, just as well. Still, she did no such thing, and though the song had reached it end, they went on dancing in the middle of the dance floor, while the rest had stopped. Seeing that, Carapace smiled, as he believed the song he had picked had done its job better than he expected.
"Those two… I wouldn't be surprised if they tell each other tonight what they really feel for one another." -the turtle hero thought to himself, as he readied the next song.
But, he was not the only one who was commentating just how lovey-dovey both Ladybug and Chat Noir were acting on the dance floor. Near one of the speakers, both Flamingo and Corbeau Noire talked between them about what they were seeing.
"Do you think it will be tonight that we'll see those two together, at last?" -Corbeau Noire asked Flamingo.
"I don't know. But it would be so romantic if that happened." -Flamingo told her.
"Just like it happened with the two of us?" -Corbeau asked Flamingo.
"Yeah, just like that." -Flamingo sighed, as she remembered the moment when they both professed their loved for one another.
As this went on, Grizzly Bear had finally gathered the courage he needed to propose to Forest Doe. As he exited the bathroom, he wondered why he just did not go up to Doe and told her how he felt about her in the first place. But, deep down, he knew why he did not do that. He was afraid of her saying no to his request. Though part of him knew she was going to say yes, another part of him pondered the slim and almost unrealistic possibility of her saying no. Still, now that he had placed all his worries behind him, the bear hero was ready to pop her the question. And, for such an occasion, he had bought her something very special. A small bracelet with Mylene's favourite Shakespeare quote engraved in it, "It Is Not in the Stars to Hold Our Destiny, But in Ourselves". She loved that quote, because it reminded her that people made their destiny, and that this one was not set on stone.
"Mylene's going to love it. I can already picture her face, when I give it to her." -Grizzly thought to himself. –"But, what if… no, don't think crazy things. No bad thoughts… you don't need those, right now. I mean, we've been dating, just not officially. Tonight, we just officialise things, and let people know that we're together. Yeah, that's it." -he thought to himself. –"Now, all I need to do is find her."
But finding Forest Doe was not going to be easy, especially since Carapace had decided to put on one of Jagged Stone's songs, and everyone had converged on the dance floor, including Forest Doe, who was accompanied by Dragonfly. As soon as he entered the gym, Grizzly knew he would not be able to find her among that turmoil of people, so, he leaned himself against a wall and waited for the song to end, and for his opportunity. As he waited, he took his left hand to the pocket where he had the bracelet he was going to give to Doe, and found himself thanking the fact that his superhero outfit had pockets.
As the song went on, the mass of people on the dance floor continued to dance like there was no tomorrow. While, at the same time, sitting on one of the tables, were most of the teachers. On that night, they only had two missions. One, was to make sure that everything went according to plan and that everyone had fun, while not doing anything stupid that went against school rules. And two, to pick the best costumes of the party, which was exactly what they were talking about, right then.
"So, do you already have any favourites?" -Miss Mendeleiev asked Miss Bustier, as she herself checked the list
"Not yet. Some of the kids' costumes are very good, but I still need to make another run through the gym, to see which costumes deserve to win this."
"You know you can't elect your own students for best costume. Those are the rules, Caline." -Miss Mendeleiev warned her.
"I know that, don't worry." -Miss Bustier told her. –"Although that's going to be really hard, because they all have the best costumes I've seen tonight." -she thought to herself.
As they talked, Principal Damocles joined them, having finished talking to one of the janitors, telling him to keep his eyes open. Something told him that one, or maybe more students could try to pull out a major prank on everyone in that gym, though he could be wrong. Still, he believed it was better to be safe than sorry, regarding that.
"Finally, I can sit down and relax for a couple of minutes." -Principal Damocles sighed, as he sat.
"Something wrong?" -Miss Mendeleiv asked the principal.
"No, at least, not that I know of. Still, I decided to take some precautions, just in case." -Principal Damocles declared. –"But tell me, how's it coming, choosing the winning costume?"
"Still early to pick favourites." -Miss Bustier said.
"Well, speak for yourself. I already have a few of my own. One of them is even one of your students." -Principal Damocles told Miss Mendeleiv.
"Who?" -Miss Mendeleiv asked him.
"Aurore Beaureál, I think." -the principal told her.
"Oh, yes, I've seen her outfit. It's not exactly my style, but I have to admit she outdid herself."
"But, like I said, she's just one of them. I already have a few other favourites as well." -Principal Damocles declared.
But before he could name the others, there was a loud bang, that echoed all over the gym, startling everyone, and ending the music. At first, they thought a bomb had exploded, but there was no sign of any such thing. It took them a couple of seconds to realize that what had caused the loud bang had been the gym's main door, which looked like it had been blown away, with some thick smog entering through it, rolling down the floor, as if it had a mind of its own. And then, the lights went out, causing everyone to scream.
"Something's going on." -Ladybug told herself. Knowing there was not a minute to lose, she pulled Chat towards her, and whispered at his ear. –"Tell me I'm not the only one who thinks that we've got trouble."
"You're not the only one." -Chat whispered back at her.
And then, as if things were not bad enough, and the chaos around them was already enough, when the lights came back, the real menace showed up. Standing at the gym's main door was a group of what looked like living skeletons; each one of them more gruesome and scarier than the other, and all of them brandishing weapons of all sorts. At first, some of the students thought that that was part of something Miss Bustier's class had secretly planned for the party. But, when the skeletons screamed and began to destroy everything in their path, as well as attacking anyone who stood in front of them, they realized that what was going on was real. This made fear, chaos and mayhem spread like wildfire inside that gym, with people running for their lives. The teachers tried to calm everyone down, but it was no use. They themselves, were forced to find a way out of that place.
The only good thing about all that, was that thanks to everyone panicking, and the thick smog that kept rolling from outside, it allowed Ladybug and the others to quickly gather under the stage, away from prying eyes. They had devised that plan, which was to go for the place they felt was the safest to assemble, and where they knew they would not be bothered, for occasions, such as the one that was happening, during training in the Garden of the Ancients. They knew that eventually they would have to make use of it, but never that fast. It was only when the last member of the team, Panda Rouge, showed up, that Ladybug dared to talk.
"Okay, our worst fears have come true, guys. I don't have to tell you that Hawk Moth's behind this." -Ladybug declared.
"Great… and here I thought we were actually going to have a quiet Halloween night." -Antelope said, trying to break the tension in the air. –"And before you say anything, I know this isn't the best time to tell jokes or anything, but I'm trying stay relaxed, okay?"
"So, what do we do?" -Flamingo asked them.
"First things, first, we need to get everyone out of here, or take the fight outside." -Grizzly Bear said. As always, he had practically glued himself to Forest Doe, who was to his left. Cursing his luck, he knew that he would have to wait until all of that had been dealt with, before he could propose to her, like he had planned to.
"Why not do both things?" -Louve Grise asked her. –"These things need to be taken outside, where they won't hurt anyone, and I don't know about you, but I don't think anyone will want to stay here as long as these creatures are here."
"She does have a point." -Queen Bee said. –"We need to get everyone out, safely, and then, deal with those things."
"I agree with you, but we have to consider one thing." -Ladybug said. –"We need to consider one fact. Once outside, we'll have all the teachers making sure that all students are accounted for, and when that happens, they'll notice that our entire class is missing in action."
What the scarlet heroine said was true. Once Miss Bustier found out that they were nowhere to be seen, and with the whole Miraculous Team showing up to save the day, people were bound to make the connection, and the last thing they needed, was the whole school to find out Miss Bustier's class was the Miraculous Team. They needed a way to be in two places at once, and fast.
"Why don't we ask Alya to use her powers to create illusionary copies of us? She's done it before." -Arachnid suggested, referring to what happened when they saved Manon from Madame Romani's clutches.
The idea was not half bad. But there was a catch. When Rena Rouge did that, the only thing she had to do was create the copies and control them, while they were all invisible, thanks to Forest Doe's invisibility powers. This time, she would have to create them and control them, while fighting those creatures. Still, the fox heroine did not say anything, remaining in silence, while also analysing the chances of that idea working out.
"I can try, but…" -Rena Rouge hesitated for a second. –"… but I don't know if I'll be able to fight those things."
"You won't have to." -Chat told her. –"If we do this, you'll be in charge of controlling those copies. Leave the fighting to us."
"Plus, one of us will cover you, so you can do your magic, Alya." -Carapace said. –"And if it's okay with you, I'll be your bodyguard." -he told her, making her smile. She was happy and relieved to know that her boyfriend would be there for her.
"If you think you can do it, then let's do it. And don't forget to also create a copy of yourself as well" -Ladybug said, as the screams of terror became louder and louder. She and the others knew there was not a minute to lose.
"Don't worry, I won't." -Rena Rouge told her.
"As soon as you create copies of us, order them to find Miss Bustier and stick to her. In the meantime, we'll take advantage of that thick smog that's coming from outside, and we'll get out through the back. Once outside, we'll evaluate the situation, and given the danger, half of us will fight whatever other creatures are out there, while the rest comes back inside and helps everyone
"Hey, one last question, once our copies head outside, what do we do with them?" -Arachnid asked them. –"I mean, they can't just stay around, even if the teachers ask them."
"I'll tell them to scatter and each one run in a different way. Once they're far enough, I'll order them to find a secluded place to hide, and they'll just disappear." -Rena Rouge answered him.
"You can do that?" -Dragonfly asked her.
"I don't know, but I guess tonight, we'll see just how far my powers can go." -the fox heroine.
"Okay. We've got a plan. Stick to it, and remember, don't do anything rash." -Ladybug told them all.
"Uh, before we go, I just wanted to ask you guys one thing." -Antelope said. –"When things become too crazy for the police to handle all by themselves, who are you going to call?" -he asked them.
"Really, Kim?!" -Dragonfly punched him on the shoulder. –"Are you expecting us to say Ghostbusters?!"
"Uh, no, I was actually hoping you guys would say the Miraculous Team. And don't punch me like that, Alix!" -Antelope told her. –"I was just trying to set the mood here!"
"And then, I'm the one who's the nerd around here." -Arachnid sighed in exasperation. –"Honestly, man, couldn't you save that for another time?!"
"Enough with the nerdiness! We got work to do!" -Queen Bee shot at them.
"Chloé's right. We've got to work fast." -Ladybug told them, after which, no one else said another word. –"Alya, do your thing."
"One fake Miraculous Team, coming up." -Rena Rouge said, as she grabbed her flute staff, and prepared to conjure them up.
One more chapter is up. And I'm really sorry for taking so long to write it, but with Christmas coming up, I spend most of my free time helping around the house and go out shopping (we still have nearly 2 weeks until Christmas, but we have so much work to do, that we're forced to start early). Anyways, in this chapter we set things in motion for the confrontation of Ladybug and the others against Spectrum, who's bound to show up on the next chapter.
And yeah, the chapter's title was chosen as a pun on the Ghostbusters, I intended it to be like that. As always, I hope you guys liked it, and I'll try writing the next chapter as quickly as possible.