Cracking the door, Chat Noir poked his head out, glancing up and down the hall for the presence of anyone, especially Félix. Once in the clear, he steps out, closing the door behind him with a soft click.
Chat pondered out loud, "Now...If I was an Akuma, where would I be?" His answer came when a wall was destroyed in front of him, the debris nearly hitting him in the process. "Well...that is convenient," he muses, looking straight ahead.
"Hey," Chat shouted, catching the attention of the Akuma, "Tell the kitty your woes! Maybe I can be of assistance?"
The damn thing narrowed his eyes and scoffed. "I only want your ring, you irritating alley cat."
What is with everyone name-calling him as of late? "How original," Chat deadpanned, taking out his staff. He hasn't seen Ladybug, and so far, no sign of his cousin flaunting his stuff. Hopefully, the ladder stays that way.
Around the Akuma, the rocks levitate as a bright yellow glow surrounds them. Then there is the mane which shines like the sun around the Akuma's face, causing Chat to squint from the luminance. Telekinesis? Oh, joy.
"What's your name? I would like to know who I am brawling with before I kick your ass." Chat taunts, tapping his staff on the ground. He is trying to buy himself some time. For Ladybug...? No, yes? A bit; however, he wants to locate the object he needs to destroy to help with the purifying process.
The Akuma snarled, "What a tactless cat you are." With a flick of his hand, the rocks flew towards Chat with great force. "Unlike myself, I am Raging Lion."
Chat ducked under one, instantly sidestepped to avoid another, and whacked another rock on his side with his staff before taking a blow to the face with the final bit of debris. He curses under his breath, rubbing his face, "What an uninspired name for someone with an interesting power. That pride going right to your "
"I could say the same to you, alley cat. Let's continue our dance, shall we?"
Chat bowed, "Sure, I love a good tango."
After that, the ground started to rumble underneath Chat. His eyes widen, shooting a glare at the damn Akuma. He needed to find the object, stat. He sprinted to the left, narrowly avoiding the ground rising underneath and slamming him through the ceiling. Rushing towards him, Chat spun his staff to make a small shield from the rubble, whether falling or being thrown at.
Chat's eyes traveled throughout Raging Lion's futuristic getup until he finally landed on a necklace. Every time he utilized his powers, that necklace would pulsate, almost like it was alive. Extremely unsettling now that he thought about it...
He jumps towards the Raging Lion, reaching his hand to snatch the necklace. However, he could feel he was frozen or floating in the air.
"You made a grave mistake," Raging Lion chuckles, cocking his head. "You think I can only use my abilities on objects?"
It dawned on Chat. He glances at his outstretched arm, now covered in a yellow sheen, then attempts to move it to no avail. It has a tight grasp on his body with no means of escape. He jumped the gun and now is royally screwed.
"I can see in your face that you realize your error. Are you ready to go for a ride?"
Chat gulped, tightly shutting his eyes and bracing for the impact he was about to endure...It came, but not in the way he expected. The binds felt like they snapped, and he could feel himself falling, akin to a dream. His eyes shot open- Yep, he is falling alright. With a flip, he landed gracefully, but who released him from his trapping?
A streak of red caught his attention as Chat turned his head. To say he was vexed at her would be an understatement, but this isn't the time nor place to have that discussion. Their priority is the Akuma. Instead, he bit his tongue as he gave her a cheeky grin. "Pleasure to have you here, Ladybug. Thanks for the assistance!"
The heroine nodded, giving an apologetic smile to her partner. "Not a problem. Sorry for the delay. I was in a situation where I had to try and weave my way out."
The black cat snorted, "Understandable, we both been there. But a quick sitrep: telekinetic..."
"I noticed that when you were in the air a second ago," Ladybug interrupted, readying herself.
"Give me a second to finish my sentence, LB," Chat hissed, baring his teeth before he resumed, "It is in his necklace. Whenever he activates his power: it beats like a heart or something."
Ladybug winces. "Could you have used a better way to describe that?"
Chat shrugged, "It was the first thing that came to mind..."
Trees were flung at the heroes from outside, which they dodged with relative ease. A very pissed-off Lion emerged in the distance. "At least I won't have to hunt down the other one. Pity, I was looking forward to that once I put the cat in his place."
"Chat!" Ladybug called out, beckoning him away from the Akuma as she ran down the hall.
"Wh-what!?" Chat choked out, chasing after her while looking at the random shit the Lion keeps chucking at them. He hops over a pipe and turns the corner to nearly crash into Ladybug waiting on him.
"Chat, I already used the Lucky Charm, and it gave me this..." She opens her hand to reveal a feather-a peacock one. Chat's face twisted into one of worry. He is more than aware of what that intel, but he doesn't want his cousin involved in this. He preferred his Félix was the brain like he always way instead of getting in harm's way.
Ladybug grabs Chat's arm, dragging him behind her to keep this distance from the telekinetic beast. "You seem to have an idea what that means? Can you inform me? Because the only thing that comes to mind is the peacock miraculous, which we do not have..."
With his sight locked onto the hand containing the feather, he swallowed. "I believe you are correct...We need the peacock."
"But how?"
Should he tell her? Should he rat out his cousin? That would also give away his identity, driving a wedge between them even more...Then there is the possibly shattering whatever chance they have of getting his amok. Especially when Ladybug won't inform him of anything happening anymore.
No, suck up your pride Adrien. This can be discussed civilly. You went over this once before; you are better than this! People of Paris before your own.
I'm so sorry, Félix. "Well," Chat began until another piece of the wall smacked him on the back of the head. There it is...
"Fuck!" Chat swore, rubbing the spot, flinching each time he grazed over it. His breath hitched when he saw Ladybug lifting the rumble off before her expression twisted into terror as a glow engulfed her. He felt the same sensation as he did earlier, gritting his teeth.
"It is futile to run from me, you two." The Lion walked past Chat before turning to face him with a sinister grin. "I was expecting more from the hero, but alas, all you gave me was a dull chase. Pity, but now to obtain my prize." He reached for Chat's ring, gently clasping it.
Twisting it, toying with the ring a bit, the Akuma bore into Chat with a smirk. Relishing in the feline's dread. Gingerly, Raging Lion began pulling it off, bit by bit, watching Chat all the while. Right when it would have detransformed the black cat, a girl shouting resonated within the halls, catching the Lion's attention.
In the distance, a girl can be seen running at the trio, yelling at the Akuma to cease his attack. This only enraged him as he turned to face her, letting go of Chat's ring for now. Chat let out a sigh of relief; at least they have some more time to come up with a means of escape.
"What are you doing here? I trusted you, and you ruined it!" The Akuma's voice boomed. Chat perked up to this statement, curiosity eating him. Seems like a possible lover's quarrel, friends perhaps?
"No! You are misunderstanding the situation entirely! Give me a chance to explain," yelled the girl standing before the Akuma.
Chat had to give it to the little lady, she had guts, but she is putting herself at risk here. He glances over at Ladybug, noticing she is mouthing to the girl to "Run."
"Like hell it is! You never tell me anything or do you care to. You do everything on your own and leave me behind."
"I'm sorry ok! I sometimes get caught up in things, but I do not mean to, I swear! We can talk things out, just push it aside and stop this."
This is oddly mirroring mine and Ladybug's current standing, which is a bit...weird. Chat thought, shaking his head.
"I feel anger and betrayal from your actions, and you expect me to just push it as-" A feather pierced his necklace with lightning speed, cracking it and releasing the Akuma within. Ladybug and Chat regain movement where she went to purify the butterfly while he rushed to the girl for protection.
"What you did was dangerous. You could have gotten hurt," Chat scolded the girl.
The girl smiled, curtsying to the hero.
"She wouldn't have been in too much danger, I can promise you that alley cat," answered a voice behind him. A chill shot up his spine when he heard the voice-it was Félix, no doubt about it. He whipped his head to face his cousin adorned in a peacock superhero outfit.
Chat's mouth formed a tight line. "Who might you be?" Trying his best to sound bewildered at the random appearance of a new miraculous wielder.
"More importantly, how did you obtain the Peacock Miraculous," Ladybug questioned, walking towards the two with her yo-yo out.
The Peacock wielder rolled his eyes, walking past Chat while brushing his shoulder to reach the girl. He held out a keychain, giving a warm smile to her. "You did very well. I thank you for your assistance, and moreover, I apologize..."
Shaking her head, the girl looked at the peacock hero with a smile, "No, I accepted it, and I will do so with grace."
"Elegant and brave, very well. I release you."
Just like that. The girl vanished. Disappeared with no trace...The uneasiness Adrien felt at that moment could not be described in words- witnessing that made his skin crawl. It was just that simple. Simple to just erase someone off of the face of the planet. Instinctively, he wrapped his arms around himself, rubbing them.
"Although I appreciate the assistance you gave us, I need your miraculous back, "Ladybug demanded, the beeping in her earrings growing louder.
The Peacock wielder turned, narrowing his eyes, "No."
"It is two against one. Give it up. I would rather not have to fight," Ladybug warned.
Chat stood in between them, glancing back and forth, unsure what he should do. All he knows is that he has to make a choice: trust in his partner, or does he put faith in his own cousin.
