Twenty-Two: Full Moons, Black Chats and Witches

Author's Note: Chat and Marinette encounter more than they expect at the Halloween Office party when an akuma makes use of the full moon on All Hallow's Eve. Unfortunately, Ladybug appears to be MIA and unable to assist.

Shards of glass rained down around me as I hit the sidewalk outside of Le Grand Hotel; I tried to roll out of the impact and away from the akuma, but it grabbed my tail and threw me back into the main lobby with such force, my only option was to protectively curl into a ball as I smashed into the mirrored wall on the far side of the lobby. What was left of the very cute cowboy costume Marinette had made for me to wear over my traditional Chat costume was in tatters; I had no idea what had become of the ten-gallon cowboy hat she'd modified so my feline ears could be accommodated.

My outfit had been a last minute change; I'd held firm on not wanting to wear anything other than my normal Chat costume, but she'd surprised me with her hand-crafted cowboy ensemble at the eleventh hour, and sold it with her version of Doll Eyes, well aware that I couldn't refuse her anything. But I had a price, too, that she'd reluctantly paid.

As I slid down to the floor, winded for the moment, I shredded the remainder the checked shirt and blue jeans with my claws and leapt out of the way of a potted plant that had been targeted at my head. The screams of the guests fleeing the pandemonium reverberated through the space and forced me to flatten my feline ears a bit in order to concentrate. Leaping up to the mezzanine balcony rimming the lobby, I perched on the railing and tried to recall that this was supposed to have been a celebratory evening for Marinette and her co-workers.

Instead, the party had taken an unusual twist when a bona fide Wicked Witch appeared, broomstick and all, and started swooping through the ballroom tossing candy at the shrieking attendees from a small bag. The unfortunate guests hit by the candy instantly mutated into what appeared to be a low-budget horror movie sheet-with-two-holes-for-eyes ghosts, floating a few feet off the ground; the fortunate ones that avoided the candy had scattered to the four winds, but not before many of them came into contact with one or more of the floating ghosts and joined their ranks as a result.

When the witch and her broom had sailed into the ballroom, I'd quickly grabbed Marinette and dashed from the space, stashing her in a small closet off of the kitchen that I'd used a few times for transforming. She'd protested all the way, and had even said a few unladylike phrases when I locked her in. I wasn't about to let my girlfriend get anywhere close to this mess; returning to the ballroom and seeing the ensuing chaos seemed to have validated my decision.

Twenty minutes into the melee, though, I was starting to worry; Ladybug was seldom late when an akuma appeared, and to be honest, I was running out of places to hide. What little was left of the ballroom was a smoke-filled mess; the cold October wind was whistling through the massive holes and missing plate glass windows of the lobby, and the shorting electrical system was plunging the space into darkness at random intervals.

In short, it felt like a very creepy Haunted Mansion.

So far, I'd managed to keep the amazingly fast-moving akuma from taking out too many additional victims; as per normal, she had been focused primarily on subduing me and removing my Miraculous, allowing me to keep her occupied long enough to clear the scene. As the final panicked guests moved out into the night, I turned my masked visage on my opponent only to see she was swooping toward me; somewhat appropriate to my former costume, she seemed to be twirling a lasso of black licorice, and I decided it would be best not to be easy to catch.

I tumbled forward off the mezzanine and used my baton to spring around her; she caught my move, though, and managed to bank her broom into a hard arc, snagging one of my boots in the process with her lasso. Yanking, she sent me flying up and away from the granite floor. I hit the side of the mezzanine's pony wall face-first and upside down, forcefully enough that I lost my grip on the baton and was seeing stars in my vision. My angle had loosened the lasso from my boot, but that only meant I was rapidly falling toward the floor head-first.

Not desiring to become a Chat-pancake, I curled into a ball and rotated as best as I could, managing to hit the floor feet-first, but hard enough that my right ankle went sideways at an insanely wrong angle. Intense pain shot up my leg and I gasped, nearly collapsing in agony, but managed to stay upright long enough to vault on my good leg out of the incoming attack from the akuma.

I landed on top of the reception desk and slid over the slick marble, digging in my claws just enough to arrest my movement so I could curl under the countertop. Chloe had often used the spot over the years to avoid just about everything, though I knew the akuma would be on me in seconds. With Ladybug MIA and all of the civilians accounted for, I needed to get out of there, and fast.

Cocking my head, I listened carefully to see if I could determine what was below me; it sounded empty, but there was still too much noise from the akuma and the hordes of ghost things moving through the space. As much as I didn't want to use Cataclysm to escape, it seemed like the only avenue left.

Raising my hand, I started to activate my superpower only to have my masked eyes fall upon my baton. It had rolled over and against the doorway leading to the kitchen. It was a much-needed reminder that someone I cared about was still hiding back there. In an instant I changed course.

Gritting my teeth, I leapt away from the counter and over a legion of sheets swarming toward me; the pain of my broken ankle was nearly overwhelming. I landed in a tuck and roll, grabbing my baton as I rolled by it, and then stayed on all fours (well, three and a half) to dash down the hallway toward Marinette.

The door to the closet was still closed. While I was surprised Marinette hadn't gotten out, I also knew she wasn't safe any longer. Quickly I tore the door from its hinges and tossed it against the ghosts that had followed me. "Time to go, Princess," I said.

Marinette was sitting on top of a stack of paper towels in her Chat Noir costume, angrily twirling her tail. I took a moment to appreciate the fine curves it showed off before seeing she still had steam coming out of her ears; she tamped down whatever she was going to say, though, when her eyes saw me favoring my ankle, and the odd angle of my foot.

"Holy Hell," she breathed as she dropped down to take a closer look, all traces of anger gone. "How are you even moving?"

"Sheer determination." I held out my paw. "I'm going to get you out of here and to a safe place, and then see if I can figure out where Ladybug has gotten to."

"I can take—"

"I know, but I'm pulling the anxious boyfriend card." I grimaced as another bout of pain shot through my foot.

"Chat, you can't protect me like this," she said.

"I can," I said with more certainty than I felt. "Come on."

She nodded and took my paw; grinding my teeth now, I hobbled to what was left of the door and saw the coast was reasonably clear before starting to dash down toward the kitchen. I made it as far as the double doors to the kitchen before landing on my bad foot awkwardly. Yelping in pain, I pitched forward through the silver double doors and slid on my chest across the industrial linoleum before coming to rest against the emergency exit.

"Out," I hissed through my clenched teeth. "Call… call for help."

"Chat-"

"Go," I commanded as I flipped around. "Ladybug will appear. She always does."

Marinette kissed me between the ears and then pushed through the door and was gone.

I sagged against the doorframe and popped open my baton. As I speed dialed Ladybug, I could hear the whisper of the ghost things as they entered the kitchen, and further behind them, the telltale whooshing of the broomstick.

"C'mon Ladybug," I prayed. "Now would be a good time to magically show up…"