Chapter 24: Emotions Running Wild
Queen Bee continued to tremble, as Louve Grise carried her to a safe place. The wolf heroine could only imagine what was going on inside her best-friend's head, right then. But she knew that it could not be good. She could hear her breathing heavily, and that could only mean that she was having an anxiety attack. Louve wanted to stop and try to calm her down a bit, but she did not dare to do so, until they were in a place deemed safe from prying eyes. On top of that, she did not know if Mind Void was coming after them.
"Hang on little bit longer, Chloe. I'll get you to a place, where we can help you." -Louve Grise thought to herself, as she quickened the pace.
As she leaped between buildings, Louve Grise had to make sure that they were not being followed. Opening one of her fans, she then used her ice breath on it, to create a layer of ice to allow her to use it as a makeshift mirror. Doing it so, she was able to see that Mind Void was not coming after her. But even knowing that, she did not slow down. She did not intend to do it, until finding a place where the two of them could hide.
Louve Grise's eyes kept looking around for a place that would be safe. Even breathing heavily, she could still hear her friend mumbling something, which she imagined was anything but good. That only made her feel like time was ticking and she had to hurry, so she could help her out. Finally, she saw a place where she believed they would not be disturbed: the rooftop of St. Anne's Psychiatric Hospital, where, unknown to them, everything that was happening right then, started. Landing on it, Louve gently placed Queen Bee on the floor and looked her in the eyes. She could see just how scared and stressed she was. On top of it, she was panting quite heavily, as if she was out of air. She had seen her that way before, and she knew that she had to help her to calm down. She thought she was just having an anxiety attack, but one look at her, and the redhead understood that it was more serious than that. She was having a severe anxiety attack, mixed with a case of depression.
"It's alright, Chloe, I'm here, I'm here." -Louve Grise said, as she hugged her. –"Oh my God, her heart! Her heart is pounding like crazy!" -she thought to herself, as she felt her friend's heartbeat against her own chest. –"It's okay, I'm here for you, and I'm not going anywhere, I promise."
Queen Bee's heart was beating like a crazy drum, each beat faster and more powerful than the one before. In her mind, all kinds of thoughts were fighting amongst them, turning her train of thought a complete mess. Right then, she felt like her brain was a carrousel, and she wanted it to stop, so she could get out. Louve's arms around her were providing her a little bit of comfort, but it did not feel to her as if they were enough. She felt like they were not enough to keep the bad thoughts that were haunting her mind. Right then, she just wanted those thoughts to go away, but at the same time, she welcomed them, believing deep inside her heart, that she deserved to have them circling inside her mind.
"She was right, Sabrina." -Queen Bee said, with a heart-broken voice.
"Who? Who was right, Chloe?" -Louve Grise asked her.
"My mom." -Queen Bee answered her, on the brink of tears.
"Your mom?!" -Louve Grise asked her.
"She told me that I wasn't worthy of her love… and that I have never done anything worthy of her attention or her love…." -Queen Bee said, as she burst into tears.
"Chloe, that's not true…" -Louve Grise assured her.
"It is true, Sabrina… I'm a f-failure! My mom's right. I n-never did anything worthy to deserve her a-attention and her l-love!" -Queen Bee declared in tears. –"M-Maybe i-if I had never b-been born, it would have b-been for the best! At least, I-I wouldn't s-suffer!" -she declared, as the tears ran down her face.
"Chloe, stop that! Don't you ever say that you weren't meant to be born, and that if you hadn't been born, it would have been for the best!" -Louve Grise exclaimed, angry at her. –"You're not a disappointment. You never were, and you will never be! That's your mom talking, not you! And I know that, because I know you. Like everyone else, you have talents that nobody else has. Other than you, I know nobody who knows more about fashion and tendencies. That's a special talent, and you have it! You also play the violin, and that's something that takes great skill. You are a very talented person, Chloe. Don't let others make you think or feel like you aren't talented, because you are!" -she insisted on the matter, this time with a softer and caring voice.
"N-No, I'm n-not. I am a d-disappointment, S-Sabrina!" -Queen Bee shouted at her, breaking the embrace, while continuing to cry. –"I don't have any sort of t-talent! I w-was never good a-at anything, e-except y-yelling at p-people, a-and making people feel miserable!" -she declared. –"N-No wonder m-my mother doesn't l-love me!"
It pained Louve Grise to hear her friend talking about herself like that. But more than that, it made her mad that Mind Void's attack was making her doubt herself and believe that what her mother had told her, was true. And she was not going to let her do that.
"I told you to stop saying those things!" -Louve Grise yelled at her from the top of her lungs. –"I won't have you say those things about yourself, when they aren't true, Chloe!" -she continued to yell. –"This isn't you talking! That's the anxiety inside you talking, and you know very well that's true! You wouldn't talk about yourself that way, and you wouldn't allow anyone else to tell you that!"
"B-But maybe I s-should!" -Queen Bee lashed at her. –"I'm the w-worst person in the w-world! Why d-do you e-even talk to me?! I treated you l-like trash, I humiliated you, and you s-still talk to me!" -she shouted at her, while trying to hold her tears, but failing to do so.
"Why?! Because I'm your best-friend, you idiot! Because that's what best-friends do! They stand up for each other! They reassure one another! They help one another! They laugh and cry with you! They fight by your side! They are there when you made a really big mistake and they tell you not to think about it and that it's all water under the bridge! And you know that! You just can't seem to see it, because that anxiety and all that sadness inside you is clouding your judgement. But believe me when I say that this is the purest of the truths, Chloe." -Louve Grise declared her.
She wanted to believe that. Queen Bee really wanted to believe what the wolf heroine had just told her. But the fear, the insecurity and the uncertainty that were roaming inside her mind were too strong for her to believe a single word she had listened to. Right then, to her, the only things she believed were her doubts and her fears.
"N-No, that's not t-true! I-If anything, it's m-making me s-see things clearly!" -Queen Bee told her, with the tears continuing to run down her face. –"Don't try to c-convince me otherwise! M-My mom t-told me the truth, and s-she's right." -she said. –"I-If I was gone, n-nobody would even c-care. T-They wouldn't e-even realize t-that I was missing."
When she said that, a strange feeling broke out inside the Louve Grise. A feeling that was a mixture of sadness, anger and fury. And that feeling led her to do something almost unthinkable. It made her kiss the blonde, right on the lips.
Louve's grandmother on her mother's side, had taught her that a kiss is the ultimate act of love between two people. And right then, she believed that the only way for her to show her best-friend that she was wrong, was to kiss her. She did not know why she did it, but as their lips touched, she told herself that she did not care. She just wanted Queen Bee to realize that she did matter, and that everything she believed to be true, regarding what her mother had told her, was false. But the kiss Louve gave her ended up being more than just that. It ended being the confirmation she was looking for. It was the confirmation that she did not have a crush on her best-friend, but that she was in love with her.
When they finally broke the kiss, they looked at one another and there was brief silence between them. Louve's heart was pounding harder than before, as she made heads or tails of what has happened in those few seconds. Also, she did not know if her kiss had managed to break Bee free from the anxiety attack, she was having. Her eyes were not revealing it. She hoped the shock had done the trick. But just in case, she decided to tell her a couple of truths, she needed to hear.
"Don't ever say that again, Chloe! Don't ever say that if you were gone that nobody would care or realize you were missing. Because I would!" -Louve Grise said, as a tear ran down her face. –"And I wouldn't be the only one, Chloe. A lot of people would miss you. I know that right now you don't think that's possible, but believe me it is." -she said. –"You're a special girl, Chloe, and I want you to remember that. No matter what other people tell you, I want you to remember that you're unique, with tons of talents and abilities, and who's also one of the sweetest girls I know."
Looking her in the eyes, Queen Bee shed a tear different from all the others she shed before. It was a tear of happiness. Louve's words, along with her kiss, had done the trick. She was a bit shocked by it, but at the same time, she felt like everything was alright Hugging her as tightly as her arms allowed her to, the bee heroine thanked her best-friend for helping her break free from the spell Mind Void had placed her under. It was all thanks to the harsh, but true words of Louve Grise, along with that kiss, that she was able to snap back at reality.
"T-Thank you, S-Sabrina." -Queen Bee thanked her, as she shed a few more tears. –"Thanks for n-not giving u-up on me." -she sniffed, as she hugged her even harder, feeling her chest against hers.
"Anytime, Chloe… anytime." -Louve Grise whispered at the blonde's ear. –"Maybe this is the right moment. Maybe I should just tell her that I'm in love with her... no, we're in the middle of a battle, and she just recovered from one of the Akuma's attacks. Oh, would you stop that, Sabrina? There's never going to be a right time for something like this! But what if she doesn't feel the same way about me, as I feel about her?! I mean, I pondered about it, and it's quite possible that Chloe's not into girls; she never once said that she found a girl attractive… oh, I don't care! I have to tell her, even if it her answer is not the one, I want to hear, I need to do this, because if I don't, I'm going to burst! I have to tell her that I'm in love with her." -she thought to herself. –"Uh, C-Chloe…"
"Hey, girls!" -a voice was heard. A familiar voice.
Flying over their heads, who should it be, it not for the only two members of the Miraculous Team that still had not showed up to lend a hand; Dragonfly and Forest Doe. Dragonfly was carrying Forest Doe. Because she had to wait for her mother to go to sleep, it was hard for Mylene to slip out of her house. And because of that, she had to ask Alix to wait a little bit for her, so she could give her a ride. That was the reason why the two were running late that night.
"Dang it, Alix! Why did you and Mylene had to show up now?!" -Louve Grise thought to herself, while cursing the dragonfly heroine. –"Couldn't you have showed up a couple of seconds later, after I told Chloe that I'm in love with her?" -she thought to herself.
"Sorry, we're a bit late." -Forest Doe apologized, as the two landed in front of their fellow teammates.
"Is everything alright?" -Dragonfly asked, noticing Queen Bee's eyes were red.
"Y-Yeah." -Louve Grise said. –"Chloe was hit by one of the Akuma's attacks, and was not feeling like herself. But she's better now. Aren't you, Chloe?" -she asked the blonde.
"Y-Yes. I was in a bad place, but I'm better now… thanks to you, Sabrina." -Queen Bee smiled at her, as she got up.
"Like I said, it was nothing." -Sabrina smiled bad at her. –"It's just a shame that I couldn't tell you about my feelings for you. I'll have to wait until a little bit later, when we're alone." -she thought to herself.
"Well, at least that." -Dragonfly smiled. –"So, can you tell us what we're up against?" -she asked the girls.
"Could we maybe get the intel, as we go along? From up above, we saw that Rose and Juleka we're having a couple of problems." -Forest Doe suggested them.
"Then, let's get going and give them a hand." -Queen Bee said.
What Forest Doe said was true. Corbeau Noire and Flamingo were having a couple of problems. And it was because they had of one unwanted guest showing up. After he and Brutus were awakened by Madame Romani, Reptile decided that he wanted a piece of ladybug and Chat Noir, and decided to go after them. But instead of finding them, he ended up crossing paths with Flamingo and Corbeau Noire, who were then busy trying to get more people to safety, while dealing with the smoke creatures that seemingly continued to appear. As they fought against, the girls realized that they were beginning to feel run down, due to being forced to make use of their special abilities to help all the people that were on the streets and were affected by Mind Wave's smoke creatures. They did not even imagine that the reason why so many people were on the street at that time of night, was because Reptile had tricked them into coming out of the safety of their homes. As for Reptile, he was also feeling a bit exhausted, after everything he faced that night, but he still felt like he could take on the two heroines. On top of that, his anger for not being able to get Ladybug and Chat Noir's miraculouses, was making sure to remind him of his failure, fuelling his need to defeat the flamingo and the raven heroine, He, for one, did not wish to go back to his master's hideout, without a miraculous, for if he did, he knew the punishment he would get for his failure. Moving around, he made sure not to stay in the same place for more than two seconds.
"How are you holding?" –Corbeau Noire asked Flamingo.
"More or less… I'm starting to get a little dizzy." -Flamingo told her, breathing a little heavily, trying to catch her breath. –"I think I've made too many copies of myself." -she admitted. She had lost count of how many copies of herself she had created, especially because some of them were destroyed, and she was forced to make more to replace them. –"What about you?"
"Getting a little tired too, but as long as you manage to keep these creatures away from us, I'll be sure to handle this greasy lizard." -Corbeau Noire said, as she made use of her mirror to order a shadow to wrap itself around Reptile, who managed to jump across a car's hood, and avoiding being caught by the shadow. –"You're starting to get on my nerves, you know that?!" -she shouted at Reptile.
"And you are and your pink friend there, are starting to get on mine, for not allowing yourselves to be sliced to pieced, by me and my blade!" -Reptile shouted back at her, with a creepy smile on his face.
"You really have a sick sense of humour, you know that?" -Corbeau Noire asked him in a sarcastic tone.
"I'm not joking here!" -Reptile shouted at her, as he threw his switchblade at her, only for her to dodge it. –"You and your friend won't live to see the end of this night, birdy!" -he threatened her, as his switchblade returned to him.
"You keep saying that, but I still have to see it happening." -Corbeau Noire told him, as she used another shadow to try and grab him, only to fail. –"Dang, this guy seems like he rubbed himself with oil! I can't grab him!" -she thought to herself, frustrated.
"I'm going to pluck your feather, one by… whooah!" -Reptile screamed, as he felt himself being picked from the ground, by a powerful gust of wind.
Out of the blue, a tornado caught Reptile and sent him swirling up into the air, before landing hard with his face on the ground. What happened was courtesy of Queen Bee, as she and the rest of the girls arrived to help Flamingo and Corbeau Noire.
"Another broken tooth… you kids are starting to grind my gears, you know that?!" –Reptile said, as he spat the tooth, while watching the other heroines landing in front of him.
"Now there's a smile only a mother could love!" -Dragonfly joked, as she looked at Reptile, who was missing on of his front teeth. –"Am I right, or am I right, girls?" -she asked the others, who laughed.
"Definitely." -Louve Grise agreed.
"I mean, his whole face is the kind of face only a mother could love, so it's not that hard for his smile to be the same thing." -Forest Doe joked.
"Yeah… but you know what? I think that not even a mother could love a smile with a few missing teeth." -Queen Bee joked as well.
"Laugh all you want, but just like your friends, you're going to die by my hand tonight!" -Reptile threatened the heroines, while getting up.
"Here we go again… aren't you tired of getting your butt kicked, over and over?" -Dragonfly asked him, in a mocking tone. –"Because I am. I mean, I love to kick your butt over and over, but it's getting predictable, snake breath." -she continued to mock him.
"Well, if you're tired of doing it, do you mind if I deal with him, tonight?" -Queen Bee asked Dragonfly. –"I need to vent off." -she said.
"Be my guest." -Dragonfly told her. –"While you enjoy yourself, Doe and I will help out these two, cleaning up the place." -she said, as she looked at Flamingo and Corbeau Noire.
"Sounds like a deal." -Queen Bee said. –"Once I beat him, I'll go give you girls a hand as well." -she said, as the girls left to deal with the smoke creatures and the civilians. Only Louve Grise stayed behind with her.
"Bee…" -Louve Grise said, worried.
"It's okay, Louve. I'm okay. I'm not going to do the same thing I did with the Akuma." -Queen Bee assured her. –"Besides, unlike the Akuma, our weapons and our fists don't go through this guy." -she said, with a smug on her face, while spinning her trompo. –"I'll make minced-meat out of him."
"You'll be the one who's going to end up as minced-meat, little bee. Or better yet, you'll end up as skewers!" –Reptile shouted at her, as he charged against her.
"Oh, I'm shaking in my beautiful boots." -Queen Bee joked, as she dodged him and landed a perfect kick on his back, sending him flying a couple of meters in the air, before hitting a parked car.
If there was one thing that always managed to surprise Louve Grise, was just how sometimes Queen Bee' mood changed in a matter of minutes. If she had not been there, by her side, the wolf heroine would have never believed that minutes before, the blonde had been crying her eyes out, believing that she was a failure and that no one truly cared about her. Still, that was not a bad thing, because it meant that when she was Queen Bee, she able to pick whatever it happened to her, and throw it over her shoulder, like if it had never happened.
"Now there's the Chloe I know." -Louve Grise thought to herself.
"Uh, Louve, maybe you should go and help the others?" -Queen Bee asked her, as she pulled a cartwheel, evading Reptile, who wasted no time in getting back at her.
"Uh, yeah! But are you sure you don't need any help with him?" -Louve Grise asked her, thinking that maybe she could use some help.
"No, I can handle him." -Queen Bee said as she used her trompo like a slingshot, hitting Reptile hard on the face, and breaking another tooth of his. –"But I'm thinking he can't handle me." -she joked.
"F-For this one, I'm going to pull your teeth out, one by one!" -Reptile shouted at her, as he felt with his right index finger the place where a tooth was before.
"Alright, just save some for us, in case we want to play with him." -Louve Grise told her, as she went to join the girls. –"Just be careful, Chloe. I'd hate for something bad to happen to you." -she thought to herself.
"I'll be going after you next, wolf girl!" -Reptile warned Louve Grise, before he was kicked in the groin by Queen Bee.
"Hey, idiot! I'm your target, not her. So, stop being an idiot and focus! I don't want to mop up the floor with you, before I get the chance to properly beat you." -Queen Bee told the lizard man, just to annoy him even further, as she saw Louve Grise running towards the danger.
And while the fight between Queen Bee and Reptile continued, and the girls tried their best to either help the civilians getting away from the smoke creatures, Carapace and Chat Noir were looking for the rest of the team, so they could help them track Mind Void and take her to where they had left Rena Rouge and Ladybug, so the scarlet heroine could use her newfound ability on her.
At the same time, they were both on the lookout for Mind Void, who could show up at any given moment. But until then, they had not seen or heard any of her, and that was making them nervous about it, especially Carapace, who had already gone against her and seen what she could do, if given the chance. The sound of their feet stepping on the rooftop tiles, reminded them just how high they were.
"Still no sign of her." -Chat Noir said.
"And just between us, I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing." -Carapace admitted. –"But to tell you the truth, I wouldn't mind running into her right now. At least that way, I wouldn't be on the edge, as I am now." -he said.
"I know what you're saying, bro. I don't like to be caught off guard either." -Chat said, as he and the turtle hero jumped between buildings. –"She could show up and save us the trouble of looking for her." -he joked, as they both landed safely on the following building.
Just like Carapace was worried, Chat was also worried, but he was masking his nerves with his humour. It was just like him to do that, and the turtle hero could not blame him for doing it. Until then, that night had hardly been an easy one.
"By the way, how was the party?" -Carapace asked Chat, trying to clear the tension. –"I bet you hated getting out of there, when you and Marinette were having fun, right?" -he asked, not knowing what had happened at the gala.
"Actually, no. Let's just say that it'll be one of those parties that I'll gladly forget about, if I'm lucky." -Chat Noir answered him.
"Why? What happened?!" -Carapace asked, wondering why his best-friend was saying that.
"Long story short, Chloe's mom happened." -Chat Noir declared.
He was about to tell Carapace what had happened earlier, when he spotted Antelope and the rest of the guys, fighting Madame Romani. But upon a closer look, he saw that Brutus was also there, measuring forces with Grizzly Bear. Unfortunately, there were no signs of Mind Void, which made him assume she was nowhere near there. Stopping at the ledge of the building they were on; the feline hero analysed the situation.
"I wasn't expecting that brute to be back on his feet already. And I was certainly not expecting that witch to also be around." -Chat Noir commented.
"Hawk Moth has seemingly sent the cavalry to help Mind Void. Not that it was needed, given how things are looking." -Carapace said. –"Unfortunately, I don't see her around here." -he said.
"I don't see her either. Which means, she's probably somewhere else." -Chat Noir said, as he observed his teammates trying to subdue Hawk Moth's lieutenants, while also dealing with the smoke creatures. –"Change of plans, Nino. You go help Kim and the guys, while I keep looking for Mind Void and take her to the spot, we agreed to take her to. Once you finish kicking Romani and Brutus' butt, you five come and help me keep Mind Void busy, while Marinette uses her new power to try and take her down." -Chat Noir told his best-friend.
"Sounds like a plan. But what about Rose and Juleka?" -Carapace asked Chat Noir. –"Last I saw them, they were still dealing with those smoke creatures and helping out civilians." -he declared.
"I believe that they will be more useful where they are. Besides, I think the six of us can keep Mind Void busy. There's no need for all of us to be serving as bait, if we can be helping the people and keeping those creatures from causing more damage." -Chat Noir told him.
"Well, you're the boss, when the boss lady isn't around, so we'll go with what you think it's best." -Carapace declared.
"Hey, just because I'm the boss, that doesn't mean my ideas are always good." -Chat Noir chuckled. –"You and the others also have good ideas." -he told Carapace. –"In any case, I will see you in a bit, bro. Remember, once you're finished down there, go to the rendezvous point and wait for me to show up with her."
"Alright, bro. Oh, and one last thing. Try not to find her the moment you leave here. Give me and the guys a couple of minutes to put those two out of commission." -Carapace told him.
"I'll try. But I won't make promises. You know that Akumas don't tend to wait to try and kill us." -Chat Noir joked, as he leaped out of there.
Giving a thumbs up to Chat, Carapace created an energy shield, jumping on it. Already on top of it, he created another one a little lower, and continued to do this, creating a staircase and making his way down, where the action was happening. The guys had divided themselves into two halves. The first half, Panda Roux and Antelope were dealing with Madame Romani, and the second half was fighting against Brutus. Seeing that Panda and Antelope looked like they had things with Romani controlled, he decided to give a hand to Grizzly Bear and Arachnid, with the latter being busy
"Mind if I drop in?" -Carapace asked, as he landed on top of Brutus. –"Thanks for being such a great mattress, Brutus."-he told him, in a mocking tone, as Brutus got back up.
"You'll pay for that low blow, Carapace!" -Brutus told the turtle hero.
"Hey, bonehead! We're not through yet!" -Grizzly Bear shouted at Brutus, getting back his attention.
"Very well. I'll deal with him, once I'm finished with you, Grizzly Bear." -Brutus told him, as he pulled two daggers from each of his shoulders. –"Now, come at me! I dare you!" -he said.
"With pleasure, you overgrown arsenal!" -Grizzly Bear said, as he charged against Brutus.
"I was wondering where you were." -Arachnid said, as he used his lasso to pull one of Madame Romani's illusions and use it as a counterweight to hit some of the smoke creatures.
"I could ask you the same thing. I haven't seen you since took Flamingo and Corbeau Noire to a safe spot." -Carapace said. –"Score! Nice throw, man!" -he said, as Arachnid took out several smoke creatures.
"Thanks. I've been practicing with my lasso, lately." -Arachnid admitted. –"By the way, how are the girls?" -he asked him.
"They're okay. They took a little time coming back, but they are okay." -Carapace said, as he dodged one of the smoke creatures, and used his tonfas to bash it. –"Also, I've brought with me good news."
"Good news?! What good news?" -Antelope asked, before speeding out of there, and coming back a second later. –"Sorry, had to take care of another one of those illusions from that witch." -he apologized. –"So, what are those good news? Tell us, turtle man."
"As soon as we get rid of these two, I'll explain everything." -Carapace told them, as he put up an energy shield between the three of them and another of Madame Romani's illusions, who tried to attack them. –"And we better hurry up, because a certain kitty cat is going to need our help to save the day." -he said.
And another chapter completed. I know I said that this chapter would see the end of the battle against Mind Void, but I got a little excited and ended up writing a little bit more than I wanted to, so the original chapter will be divided into two separate chapters (but don't think the next one is already completed, no... it still needs a little work). Anyways, when writing this chapter, I think my favourite part was writing the beginning of it, where we have a beautiful ChloexSabrina moment... whch isn't perfect, because I decided not to have Sabrina telling Chloe about her feelings for her just yet. As for how this battle will end, I've got something special planned. :)
I've also checked the reviews, and answering Sarah Pendletton on what are the jobs of the parents that I haven't named yet, I haven't thought about all of them, but here's a quick list to those I've already decided (bear in mind that some of them will probably be different from the OG show universe, and I'l be excluding those that have already been referenced in the fics):
* Nino's parents: Accountant (Dad) / Hotel Receptionist (Mom) - And no, his mom doesn't work at the Le Grand Paris, but in another hotel.
* Rose's dad: Supervising Administrative Worker (basically, he works for Social Security)
* Juleka's dad: Office Worker (he works for a major company)
* Nathnaiel's parents: Nurse (Mom) / Security Guard (Dad)
* Max's parents: Physicist/Astronaut in Training (Mom) / College Professor/Mathematician (Dad)
And those are the ones that I already have figured out. I hope I answered part of your question. Anyways, as always, feel free to comment, fav and leave your suggestons to improve this or future fics of this saga. I'll try to finish the next chapter, just in time for the premiere of season 4 in Germany. Wish me luck. :)