Thirty-Eight: Saving Friends
Author's Note: Now that Chat understands what's going on with his friend, he and Ladybug begin to take steps to correct the situation.
Alya shared an apartment with her fiancé one arrondissiment over from our place, and we found it dark and empty upon arrival. Under normal circumstances, I wouldn't have expected to find Nino at home in the middle of the day but based on what I'd overheard in the abandoned subway station, I suspected there was a more nefarious reason for his absence.
Mostly recovered from her experience, Alya had opted to transform so we could cross the city faster; I landed just behind the fox on a nondescript balcony fronting the street and did a quick check to ensure we'd not attracted any undue attention before the two of us slipped into the main space of the apartment together. For the first time in a while, it felt like the Rena of old — my witnessing of events in the subway had lifted a weight from her slender shoulders. It was nice having some semblance my friend, and I therefore didn't object when she asked if I minded that she stay transformed.
"It helps a bit," she admitted. "I'm not exactly sure how. The suit seems to protect me."
"I'm not surprised," I said as I perched on the back of her couch. My tail swished slightly as I looked across to where she was pacing by the window. "Ladybug is on her way," I said gently. "Have a seat, would you? You're making me nervous."
She looked at me and slowly moved to a recliner that seemed more something Nino would have preferred, given the beer-sized cup holders in each arm and the scattered game controllers on the end table.
"Chat," she started as she held her tail out of the way so she could sit down. "Look—"
I suspected I knew where she was going and held up a paw. "Rena, you and Cap are the closest thing I have to family. You don't have to say anything. We'll get through this. Together."
"But Chat," Rena continued, and I could see tears brimming at the corner of her masked eyes, "I'm so sorry. I'm in way over my head here," she continued, grimacing in pain as she ground out the words. My masked feline eyes snapped to her wrist, amazed to see the slight outline of the bracelet glowing against her costume. "I've hurt you and Mari—"
I leapt to her side and pressed a claw tip to her lips. "Hush, Rena," I said softly, eyes darting to the bracelet and then back to her glistening eyes. "Let's think about happier times, shall we?"
She nodded mutely.
"Please tell me you have wine," I said as I vaulted toward her kitchen. "Because I could really use a drink right now."
Rena chuckled – a welcome sound that I think both Mari and I had missed. "Chat, it's not even noontime."
"I'm in Paris," I countered, "and I've just discovered dear friends of mine are in danger. I think that qualifies."
"Upper cabinet," Rena laughed. "Glasses are underneath."
I was in the middle of uncorking the bottle I'd located with a claw tip when a feline ear twisted; I looked up and caught the bemused face of Ladybug as she stepped through the doors from the patio, arched masked eyebrow telling me how she felt about my transgression. I smiled widely as I decanted into three wineglasses. "Purrfect timing as always, Milady."
"Rena," Ladybug said as she took up position on the couch and accepted a glass from me.
Rena's face had paled slightly at the appearance of Ladybug, and she became more reserved. "I'd understand if you took the Miraculous away," she said softly. "I've been actively working against you."
Ladybug leaned forward and took Rena's gloved hand into her own. "Why don't you start from the beginning?" She asked gently. "Then we'll go from there."
"I'm not sure about that," I interjected. "Rena, correct me if I'm wrong, but that bangle of yours acts up if you go off the rails, right?"
Rena nodded, and at the same time the bracelet lit up again.
Ladybug's eyes went wide. "Even transformed?"
"That shocked me too," I replied as I sipped from my glass. "It's almost like it's monitoring her every move, her every action."
"And… thoughts…" Rena nodded haltingly again. "Sleep is… the only… time!"
Rena gasped and dropped her wineglass as her gloved hands shot to her head, the bracelet glowing brightly; my fast feline reflexes let me dart in quickly to catch her falling wineglass in my free paw as I slid beneath her chair. Coasting to a stop on my side with two wineglasses now, I thoughtfully tapped a claw against one glass.
"Nice catch," Ladybug said.
"Thanks," I replied and then twisted my mane to look up at Rena. "You have to be awake for it to control you? Just nod if that's the case."
Rena nodded as she tried to catch her breath.
"We need a way to fake it out then, don't we," I murmured before looking to Ladybug. "Some method to relax Rena just enough that the bracelet thinks she's sleeping, but not enough that she can't speak more freely to us." I looked back at the wineglasses in my paws and smiled wryly. "Wine might work, but…"
"Actually, Chat, you're on to something," Ladybug nodded, a smile playing at her lips. "And I think I know what will do the trick. I'll be right back."
The only downside to Ladybug's plan was how it affected me.
Returning less than fifteen minutes after her abrupt departure, I immediately recognized the vial Marinette had received as a gag gift at Christmas from her officemates. Curious cat that I was, I'd discovered it by accident one evening, and Mari had consequently found a very pliant kitty lounging on the kitchen counter infatuated with the argument taking place in the apartment above us. Looking from the vial to her masked blue eyes, I arched a masked eyebrow.
"Seriously?" I mewled.
"I don't know if it will work," she said honestly, "but seeing her transformed gave me the idea."
"Milady," I said quietly, "she's a fox. Those pheromones were meant for a cat."
"True," she smiled, "but I have a hunch it will work."
My masked eyes widened. "But it will affect me, too," I warned her. "If she reacts poorly to it, I might not be capable of protecting you."
Ladybug looked at Rena. "I think she'll be fine," she said slowly.
I pulled Ladybug aside and whispered, urgently, "LB, are you sure about that? She's not completely in charge of herself. We have zero idea of what she might do."
Ladybug looked over my shoulder. "I am," she replied firmly in a tone that I knew from long experience brooked no argument.
"As you wish, Milady," I replied and stepped away.
Ladybug uncorked the bottle and then brought it close to Rena. "Take a deep whiff," she said, "and then relax."
"Milady-" I started, intending to remind Ladybug that Rena's sense of smell was as enhanced as my own – that there was no need for her to get so close to the fox. But the exotic scent quickly hit my feline olfactory, and as I shook my mane in a poor attempt to try and keep my wits about me, I quite suddenly didn't care one way or the other.
I blinked and found I was on my side down on the carpet, purring loudly and looking between Ladybug and Rena. For some reason, even though the back of my feline brain was telling me there was an emergency, the rest of me felt pleasantly comfortable. And for whatever reason, I was enthralled by the way Ladybug's costume was shimmering in the low light of the apartment. I'd never noticed that the pattern of small hexagonal shapes were so evenly distributed between the red and black portions-
I shook my head violently, trying to clear my wandering mind. I hope this works, I thought. Because I'm not going to be worth much in a few short minutes.
"Okay Rena," Ladybug said slowly (at least, I think it was slowly, for my sense of time seemed to be paused), "start from the top."
I languidly turned my mane toward Rena, who I had to admit certainly looked as comfortable as I was feeling. She smiled slightly. "Nino and I were in the craft festival a month ago," she said a bit dreamily.
I'd been there too, I thought. Trying to find a ring for Marinette. It was at-
"The one at Trocadero?"
"Yeah," Rena said, nodding deeply enough that her ears tilted forward. Funny, I'd never noticed that she had the same hexagonal patterns as the two of us in her costume. "There were so many vendors, but Nino and I happened on one small booth."
I glanced at her wrist, fascinated by the fact the bracelet was glowing, but just barely.
"That particular artisan had a variety of hand-made jewelry," Rena continued, and even in my excessively relaxed state, I could still hear Rena's heartbeat had ticked up as she told her story. "When she saw the two of us, she smiled and showed us the most beautiful set of what she called 'lover's bracelets.' They are mirrors of each other, done in gold and silver."
"Sounds pretty."
Rena smiled. "They were," she sighed. "And then we made the mistake of trying them on." Her expression faltered quite a bit, commensurate with another uptick in her heartrate. I sluggishly turned to say something to Ladybug, but she was already on top of it, wafting the vial past Rena again. The light dimmed just a bit on her bracelet as Rena took a deep breath and started to relax once more.
"You put them on," Ladybug prompted after waiting for Rena to settle back.
"Yeah," Rena continued. "It slipped on easily, and... and..."
Despite the second dosing, just talking about the bracelet shot Rena's heartrate upward fast enough that a bolt of adrenaline washed away my torpor. "Milady," I said urgently.
"I see it," Ladybug nodded. "I don't dare do more," she said softly.
Rena waved her away, and gritting her teeth, continued. "The bracelet immediately lit up. It glowed! And we both knew in an instant something was wrong, but I couldn't get it off, nor could Nino. And then… and then…" Rena started to shake.
"What happened, Rena?" Ladybug asked gently. "Go slow. Walk me through it."
"Voice… in my head," Rena said haltingly. "I… had no choice! Trying to disobey was… painful," she managed to get out, her chest heaving at the effort of trying to speak. My eyes flicked to the bracelet again and saw it was glowing brighter than ever; looking back to Rena, I was more than impressed at how much obvious effort it was taking to work against the control the bracelet was attempting to assert. The pheromones had helped, to a point; the rest was all Rena.
"Ladybug…" I warned; the burst of adrenaline had waned leaving me once more with a detached feeling, but even so, I knew that Rena was on the edge. "Careful."
She patted me on the mane and nodded, then changed tacts. "Where is Nino, Rena?"
The fox's eyes snapped wide open, and darted between my eyes and Ladybug. "Home," she said, the word a low, guttural whisper.
Ladybug's eyes widened. "He's not here, Rena."
"Home," Rena said again. "Can't be… within… fifty! Meters! Without hurting… him!" Rena screamed, the bracelet glowing white hot against the brown of her costume.
Ladybug moved around and cradled Rena. "Okay, okay, that's good for now," she said softly, rocking her friend gently. "We more or less can guess the rest."
My girlfriend's beautiful eyes looked over to me, full of worry and concern. "It doesn't sound like Hawkmoth, does it?"
I just smiled back at her. She really was quite lovely.
"If it's an akuma, it's not like any we've ever faced before. This one has been in action for weeks." She continued to rock Rena. "I wish we'd gotten a look at whoever it was that sold them the bracelets."
"I have a video," I said suddenly, oddly proud that I had remembered it. "It'll help fill in the blanks."
"I'm sure you do, kitty," she smiled as she corked the vial. "Let's clear the air a bit, and then check it out."
