MIRACULOUS

No. 22 Part II

Author's note: Please check out a thank you to the readers at this end of this chapter.

Cat Noir, Carapace and Rena Rouge were astonished of what they were seeing. It was like a massive gathering of ancient relics from the ancient monastery, from statues to ancient sculptures. It was kind of a museum and rather fascinating. There were also giant scrolls hanging on the walls of traditional Chinese text that would take Cat hours to break. There were also statues and artifacts from all over the world Egyptian, Aztec, Cambodian... One big artifact was hanging on the ceiling was an ancient model of the solar system which reminded them of the Italian renaissance. Oddly enough, Cat also recognized some Japanese text and for one instance he could've sworn was from the Tsurugi family. But what really shocked the three heroes was something that wasn't all that noticeable at first glance. There were red rune-like markings on the walls and tables with stocked up piles of jars. What really disturbed the heroes, particularly, Cat Noir, they were dead fetuses inside these jars. Rena covered her mouth as she made a gagging sound.

"Whoa, man…" Carapace muttered as he looked around.

"What is all this…?" Rena asked.

"What happens when certain people know too much… Yet accepted so little…"

"Huh?"

"Pretty much what happens when you don't just… let live…" Cat replied. Carapace and Rena raised their eyebrows and eyed at each other. "Long story for another time," he told them as he ventured further into the vault.

"So, what do you make of this…" Rena asked as she tried to regain her composure.

"Trying to figure out what was taken," Cat answered as he looked around. Carapace wondered around and got closer to the jars. Clearly disturbed by these 'incomplete' fetuses in these jars. These things were clearly too unstable to stay alive.

"Dude, who could've done this?"

"Not a sane person, that's for sure…" Rena added with a shudder.

"Hey Cat care to tell us…?" Carapace cut himself off as he saw Cat Noir on one knee.

"Found something Cat?" Rena asked as she saw a small safe that was apparently smashed open.

"Give away, much?" Carapace said, raising an eyebrow while placing his hands on his hips.

"Yeah, a little too easy if you ask me…" Rena agreed. "Do you think it could've been a miraculous?"

"Most likely," Cat replied. "The question is, why giving such an obvious giveaway?"
"What are you getting at, Cat?"

"I mean this box is actually pretty portable. So why open it and leave it here? He could've taken it and leave us guessing what was taken."

"I don't know, maybe to show off?" Rena suggested. But even Carapace realize how flimsy her theory was as he gave her a look, cocking an eyebrow. Cat shook his head.

"Nah, that only raises another question… why going through all this trouble to force this open? It seems like it's some sort of…"

"Uh, calling card?" Carapace suggested. Cat turned to them for a second then looked away.

"Yeah, that is possible," Cat admitted.

"But that doesn't make any sense either," Rena Rouge interjected. "An open box is hardly a calling card! It doesn't give the thief any identity!"

"Unless…" Cat muttered.

"Unless…" Rena repeated. Cat got up and readied himself to fight.

"Unless the thief is still here…"

"Huh?" Rena and Carapace blurted but Cat already began to wander around. More and more he discovered things that people were probably never meant to see. Statues, paintings, and other sculptures of miraculous holders. Despite not being colored anymore, he could make out who are they supposed to be… Ladybug, Cat Noir, and all those miraculous he recognizes and even one that he doesn't. The fox, the tortoise, the bee. Despite the situation, he took the opportunity to check on the Tsurugi symbol on one of the stone runes. "It may be just a coincidence…" Cat took a picture with his staff and thought about the rune but as he pondered on the rune a figure moved behind him. It circled around Cat as if making their way out of the vault, not making a sound while Cat still stared at the rune. Just as it turned around to make an escape, Cat abruptly turned to face the figure and pointing at them.

"Hey, buddy, where the goods?" Cat asked.

The figure was clearly caught off guard. It tried to jump away and make a break for the exit.

"Not so fast, dude!" Carapace shouted with shield ready. A flute started playing and a small group of Rena Rouge clones surrounding the figure.

"All right, who are you?" Rena asked.

"And what did you took?" Cat asked from behind.

"I can see what you took!" Rena revealed.

"WHAT!" the figure said and he instinct covered where he kept what he stole.

"They're miraculouses, aren't they?" she asked.

"I can see in the dark," She replied pointing at her eye. "Also aren't you a bit overweight to be a miraculous holder?" she asked, with a grin.

"HEY!" the thief shouted at a rather nasal tone. He jumped toward Rena, who was frozen in place, unprepared for the show.

"Rena!" Cat shouted as he jumped in and reflected the attack. The thief was finally out of the shadows. True to Rena's word, he was indeed overweight, probably to the point of obesity. His suit makes it clear that his miraculous has the theme of a raccoon.

"I'm not fat, I'm buff!" he insisted as he took a fighting stance.

"Whatever you say," Cat replied, readying his staff. Carapace and Rena Rouge spread out around their opponent. He slowly turned both sides before staring back at Cat and grinned.

"You think you can take me on? Your Fox already used her power, she will turn back any minute," the thief pointed out.

"Don't worry, we'll finish this before that happens," Rena said. Trying to sound confident, but she knew he was right.

"You sure about that?" he grinned. He finally took a fighting stance, similar to a feral position Cat Noir would take. Warning beeps were already coming from Rena's necklace. With a gasp, she clenched on the necklace before turning her attention back at him.

"Fear the Coon," he introduced himself and attacked. He leaped onto Cat Noir and attacked him with his claws but was quickly deflected with his staff. Just then in the blink of an eye, he quickly moved behind him and kicked him in the back, sending him to Carapace.

Rena tried to hit him with her flute but dodged it easily and kicked her in the stomach. He then grabbed her and threw her at the other two to delay them more. He then jumped over them and made a break for the exit.

"Seriously, how can he move so fast at his size?" Rena asked as the three tangled heroes struggled to get back up.

Carapace then threw his shield with his free arm and hit him at the back of his head, knocking off his feet. The impact caused the Coon to drop not one but two miraculouses. The heroes took notice of that but they were halted by the Coon.

"Hands off!" he shouted, attacking with his claws again. This time he was countered by Carapace's shield. He was then kicked in the face by Cat, knocking him off.

"Rena, grab the miraculouses!" He shouted, pointing at where they are. Rena made a dash toward them, but by then the coon was at the other side, making his way towards grabbing the miraculous. They grabbed one each. Rena grabbed the pocket watch and the Coon grabbed the other one which appeared to be a bracelet. The two then realize that the other one had the other miraculous.

"Gimme that watch!" Coon demanded.

"As if!" she shot back.

Carapace threw his shield at him again. Only this time, the Coon anticipated the attack. He grabbed the shield and with a spin he threw it at Cat Noir like a frisbee and threw a flash grenade on the floor, blinding the heroes. After a few moments, they regained their vision. To little surprise, the Coon was gone.

"After him, he couldn't have gone far!" Cat shouted, making a dash to the exit. They made their way out of the bank, only to find a large number of cops, clueless about the situation.

"Look out!" an officer shouted as the Coon jumped on the officers. Knocking them down one by one as he made his escape.

"There he is! Rena, give me the watch!"

Rena complied and Cat went off and landed on top of a police car.

"Cat Noir!" the Coon greeted. "Paris' No.1 jobber?" he said with a laugh. Cat gave a rather annoyed yet playful look at him.

"Hey, I resent that!" he said.

"Hehe, yeah. I pretty did my homework before coming hyah," the Coon revealed. "You were pretty much the jobber when 'your lady' friend did all the work. This 'Ladyblog' sure came in handy," he revealed, causing Rena Rouge to wince.

"Alright, let's try to make it easy, shall we?" Cat proposed while he squatted. "Hand over the bracelet and we'll let you walk away. Oh and tell us who sent you."

"How about you give me the watch and let you with your little petty crimefighting here with 'your lady' doing all the fighting for ya?" the Coon mocked. Cat tried not to flinch but the Coon noticed a small stir within Cat but he clearly tried to suppress it.

"Alright, let's do this the hard way," Cat affirmed, jumping off the police car and readied his staff. "Bring it on, Meatball!"

"Hey, respect my authoritah!" he yelled as he jumped with his claws again only this time, Carapace was prepared.

"SHELL-TER" he shouted. He raised his shield in the air, creating his green barrier. Cat Coon then banged his claws on the barrier before stopping.

"You can't hide in there forever!" he threatened.

"We can try!" Carapace grunted. Coon then started to pace back and forth waiting for the barrier to wear off. "Dude's we gotta come up with a plan and fast!" he urgently suggested, still holding his shield up.

"But he might be listening in," Rena Rouge warned.

"What choice do we have? Even I couldn't lay a finger on this guy," Cat said. "On top of that, he had been watching Ladybug and me closely for a while. This is why I'm having the toughest time with him, so I really need you two for this," he concluded, turning his gaze to Rena. Who then gave him a nervous grin and chuckled. Her pendant gave another beep, which she clenched it again.

"No good," Carapace said. "You're about to turn back! You better go out and hide!"

"You remember what to do, right?" Cat asked. Rena quickly nodded; she was clearly tense.

The barrier was starting to fade. The Coon quickly took notice as he then stepped back and hidden in the shadows of a nearby alley. Cat noticed this and gritted his teeth.

"He knows we're up to something…" Cat muttered. "The question is; how much he knows…"

"Any second, dudes…" Carapace muttered as the barrier faded.

"Now!" Cat shouted right before Rena Rouge skipped out of sight.

Cat then jumped in and readied his staff in defense as they looked around the rather isolated Parisian neighborhood. He and Carapace could only make out flashes and shadows quickly passing the cars and other covers the place provided.

"Eyes open…" Carapace muttered as his eyes rolled side my side.

"No. 22" by Moderat plays

Literally, in the blink of an eye, the Coon ran across them, only for Carapace to block him with his shield but staggered him and was taken aback. Before they knew it, their opponent was out of sight.

"You okay?" Cat asked a staggering Carapace.

"Watch out!" Carapace shouted while pointing behind Cat. But before he could react, Cat felt a sudden gash on his back, causing him to gasp in pain. He fell on his knees and tried to make out where the Coon struck. "You alright?" he asked, but before he could help, Carapace fell on one knee, gasping in pain. He had been struck behind his thigh.

"Carapace!" Cat shouted. But then the Coon suddenly sneaked up on them, kicked Carapace in the face then grabbed Cat Noir by the neck.

"Gimme the watch!" he demanded.

"Gimme the bracelet!" Cat fought back.

"How would you like to suck claw, Cat?" Coon asked as he readied his claw, ready to strike again.

"Suck on this!" Cat retorted, not wasting time. He extended his staff, with the upper end hitting his opponent below his chin, sending him flying upward. He then landed hitting hard on top of a car, dropping a chain. Cat then took the opportunity to grab the object expecting it to be the bracelet. However, to his shock, it was the fox pendant. "What the…?"

The Coon suddenly go to his feet and leaped from one car rooftop to another and grabbed an unconscious Alya by the neck and showed her to his opponents.

"Hahahahahaha, I got luggage on you. Nyah-nyah-nyah-nyah-nyah-nyah," the Coon mocked childishly. Cat gritted his teeth as a pang of guilt came to him.

"You better let her go!" Carapace yelled as he charged toward the Coon.

'Carapace, wait!" Cat yelled. Carapace actually stopped. Mainly due to his bracelet had begun to sound its alarm. He grunted as he grabbed onto his bracelet as if he was trying to cover it up.

"Now, how about that watch, Cat Noir?" the Coon asked.

Cat the slowly and hesitantly stared at the pocket watch in his hand. He then quickly turned back at the Coon. He stared and gritted his teeth for a second before he saw Trixx emerging behind the Coon. Cat took note of the kwami, who winked at him. He then looked at his other hand, which had the fox pendant and looked back at the Coon once again and grinned.

"Stop grinning like a dumbass and throw me the watch over hyah!" the Coon shouted, clearly losing his patience. He tightened the fox miraculous and took a few steps forward. "Drop it over hyah," Coon instructed, pointing at the ground. "And you step back over hyah," he went on as he pointed towards the distance. Cat then just nodded…

"Trixx, NOW!" Cat shouted. Trixx then dashed towards Alya and tackled her head causing her to regain consciousness. She gasped and looked around in panicked for a second but quickly realized where she was.

"Hey! Sit still you… ARGH-EH!" Coon was cut off when Alya broke free from his grip and punched him in the neck.

"Alya, catch!" Cat shouted as he tossed the fox pendant up in the air. Alya jumped off a cached it and quickly put it back on.

"TRIXX, LET'S POUNCE!" Alya shouted, turning to Rena Rouge once again. She landed on one knee alongside her fellow heroes once again.

"No more games, Mr. Kitty!" The Coon threatened.

"Only my lady can call me that!" Cat pointed out casually.

"Where is she?" the Coon asked, pointing a clawed finger at him.

"Tame this kitty and find out," Cat prompted, shrugging.

Coon then finally charged at them. Cat, Carapace, and Rena Rouge charged back. All three attacked but the Coon skillfully held his own. With the sound of the beep coming from Carapace, Cat knew that they had to finish this quickly. Rena once again played her flute, summoning another army of clones of herself. Coon had anticipated a similar pattern from earlier; however, there were no clones on sight.

"Two can play this game," she whispered with a grin. The Coon felt a pain whack on the back of his head. He looked back and a Rena Rouge clone disappeared in the darkness while a street light broke above. A small legion of Rena Rouge clones had scattered and waiting for their jab at the Coon. One at a time, Rena Rouge clones came out and landed a blow at the Coon and quickly went back into hiding.

"ENOUGH!" the Coon yelled. He mustered the strength to push off all the Rena Rouge clones. "Barrage!" he shouted. He walked in on them closer and emitted a shadow effect as he moved.

"Watch your backs, guys," Cat warned as they took a ready stance. The Coon then dashed and in the blink of an eye, he was already right under their noses and made uppercut on Carapace. Despite him reacting just in time to block it with his shield, the Coon still sent him flying.

"Carapace!" Rena called out in shock.

Coon then kicked Rena out of the way and set his sights on Cat. Cat quickly jumped back and spun his staff. Fast enough to swap the Coon's hand away.

"EEEEEHH…" Losing his patience, he jumped back and dug his claws on a car and lifted up with a single hand and threw it a Cat.

"Cataclysm!" Cat shouted. It was too big to dodge and had no choice but to destroy the vehicle to avoid any real damage.

Suddenly, there was a warning alarm from the Coon's belt buckle. The Coon gritted his teeth and grabbed his belt buckle.

"You were lucky! We'll again!" he yelled as he dashed off.

"After him!" Rena shouted, pointing at the direction the Coon went. Cat, however, placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Can't, too risky," he discouraged.

"But..."

Music Stops

"Look, we all three used our powers and we're all about to turn back. On top of that; we don't know what he's capable of while he already knows quite a bit about us! We have to step back and think it through," He suggested, lowering his hand from her shoulder.

Rena turned back at where the Coon had run off but then lowered her head in resignation. Sirens then started to blare from the distance becoming louder.

"The miraculouses, now!" Cat urged.

Then the police arrived and found Cat Noir alone. Nino and Alya had no choice but to hide and make a break for it back home. They did manage to listen in on some of the conversation that Cat had with the police. They had asked him of Ladybug's whereabouts and how they have to live with the damages they had caused, at least for now. Neither Nino nor Alya could help but feeling guilty, leaving Cat Noir to deal with all that on his own. But they also know that getting involved would get them in more trouble than it was worth. Once they knew they were safe they stopped for a while and panted.

"Ok, well," Nino started. "That didn't exactly go as well as I hoped."

"Tell me about it," Alya agreed.

"He knows who you are!" Nino reminded her.

"Hey, if Chloe can handle everyone knowing she's Queen Bee, I can handle some bad eggs knowing me," Alya replied with a confident grin. Nino sighed and stared at each other for a moment and smiled. He then shook his head with a chuckle.

"We're really in too deep, huh?" Nino said, trying to lighten the mood. Alya responded in kind.

"Yeah…"

Author's note: I'm gonna stop right there and boy was that a doozy! I can't believe it has already been a year since I started this fanfic. I really wish I did more because at this rate, who knows how long this will take as I still have a long way to go. You can think of it as a comic with monthly issues :P I thank you all who bared with me.

I would like to give shout outs to, kittynoir116, pinksakura271, RockSunner, Rose Tiger, bja133, micbot37, Reaga. Thank you all for your comments, please keep them coming.