So! We meet again... This chapter is mostly about Adrien's training with Plagg, and some sentimentals... Anyway, I'll leave you to reading it. Enjoy!
-pawssible
The flight to Plaggoctetes took two days and a night, so that one night, Adrien and Nino had to seek cover from the storm under a tree.
While waiting for the storm to end, our boy Adrien thought about how his life was and how he would change, just to make his father proud.
He knew that he couldn't come back to Mount Eiffel until he became a hero;
It was an unspoken rule between father and son, that Adrien wouldn't show his face until his father's wishes were accomplished.
Then Adrien thought about his mother, a Miraculous Guardian who, despite being busy overseeing matters and such, still had time to bond with her son.
She even gave him a ring. Something he treasured deeply, but little did our Adrien know that the ring he wore was more important than it seemed.
…
"Nino, why do you think Father has such high expectations of me?" Adrien asked his Pegasus
"What if I fail? Will he disown me? He's the only family I've got left, and I barely have any friends because Father keeps me locked up in the palace." Adrien continued
He's always talked to Nino. Adrien didn't care if Nino never answered, he just had to vent his concerns and get his thoughts in order.
"No, I know I can reach his expectations. What am I so afraid of? Not being able to go the distance? I'll show Father. I am on my way already; I can go the distance. I don't care how far-fetched or hard the challenge is; somehow, I'll be strong. I know every mile will be worth my while; I will go most anywhere to show him I belong."
Adrien had confidence in himself. He knew speaking to Nino would help him, even though the only thing the Pegasus liked doing was flying, running, eating, and listening to music.
…
"Whoa!" Adrien exclaimed
"Y-You sure this is the right place?" He asked, taking in his surroundings
It was foggy and dark. Pieces of statues were littered everywhere, and trees grew as far as the eye could see.
Adrien and Nino continued walking, looking for any sign of a half-cat satyr.
Then they encountered what seemed to be a cat stuck in a bush, and, being the gentleman Adrien was, he tried helping it out.
"W-What's the matter, little guy? You stuck?" Adrien asked, pulling the 'cat' away from the bush
"Whoa! Hey, butt out, buddy!" the cat suddenly said, and Adrien saw that the 'cat' was bigger than any cat he'd ever seen (not that he saw many), it had striking acid green eyes and, dare he say, it was pretty cute.
The most shocking feature though, was that it talked.
"Ugh!" the cat(?) said, wriggling out of Adrien's grip
"No! Stop! Stop! Come back! Come back, come back!" the cat said in a nasally voice, running after what seemed like a giant blob of cream
"Wait! Whoa, whoa, whoa! Oh, cambs!" the cat exclaimed, looking disappointed that he didn't catch the creature
Adrien was as curious as a, well, cat. So, naturally, he picked up the talking cat and observed it
"Hey!" the cat said again
"What's the matter? You never seen a cat-satyr before?" the talking cat asked
"Uh, no. Can you help us?" Adrien inquired
"We're looking for someone called Plaggoctetes." He continued
"Call me Plagg." The cat, now identified as Plagg, replied
"Plagg!" Adrien exclaimed, shaking Plagg's hand (paw?)
"Ow!" Plagg exclaimed, quite shocked from Adrien's strength
"Boy, am I glad to meet you!" Adrien said "I'm Adrien, and this is Nino." He continued
"Animals. Disgusting." Plagg commented, crossing his arms
"I need your help. I want to become a hero, a true hero." Adrien stated
"Sorry, kid. Can't help ya." Plagg replied, sauntering away
And of course, Adrien and Nino followed the cat-satyr and stopped in front of him, blocking his way
"Uh, sorry. Why not?" Adrien asked, confusion evident in his voice
"Two words: I am retired." Plagg retorted
Adrien counted the words, pure confusion written on his face when he compared two to three
But, as usual, Adrien didn't give up, and blocked Plagg's way again
"Look, I gotta do this." Adrien explained
"Haven't you ever had a dream, something you wanted so bad you'd do anything?" Adrien continued
Plagg looked at Adrien solemnly, and trudged over to what looked like a door in the soil.
"Kid, come inside. I want to show you somethin'." Plagg said, hopping into the trapdoor
Adrien jumped in too, but Nino couldn't, so Adrien just told him to stay outside.
Once Adrien was inside a room, he tried following Plagg, but hit his head on something hanging from the ceiling.
"Watch it! That was part of the mast of the 'Argo'." Plagg reprimanded
"The "Argo"?" Adrien inquired
"Yeah." Plagg answered
"Who do you think taught Jason how to sail? Cleopatra? I trained all those would-be heroes. Odysseus, Perseus, Theseus. A lot of 'yeuseus'. And every single one of those bums let me down... flatter than a discus." Plagg continued, spinning a disc and flipping it down
"None of'em could go the distance." He concluded
"And then there was Achilles." Plagg said, unveiling a statue of said hero
"Now there was a guy who had it all... the build, the foot speed. He could jab. He could take a hit. He could keep on comin'. But that "furshlugginer" heel of his! He barely gets nicked there once and kaboom! He's history." Plagg exclaimed, flicking the statue's heel and watching it crumble down.
"Yeah, I had a dream once." Plagg confided
"I dreamed I was gonna train the greatest hero there ever was. So great, the gods would hang a picture of him in the stars... all across the sky... and people would say, 'That's Plagg's boy.' That's right." Plagg continued, looking up at the sky
Then he came back to his saucy self
"Eh, but dreams are for rookies. A guy can only take so much disappointment." Plagg said, huffing of the platform
"But I'm different than those other guys, Plagg. I can go the distance. Come on. I'll show ya." Adrien said, leaving no room for argument as he dragged Plagg by the wrist out of the room and to a clearing.
Once they were there, Adrien turned to Nino, and took his baton from the bag
Then, he walked up to a statue and did a few tricks with his baton and slammed it into the statue, breaking it into half
"Jeez. You don't give up, do ya?" Plagg said, clearly not impressed in Adrien's presentation.
But Adrien wasn't to give up so easily, he walked up to a bigger statue and did more extravagant tricks with his baton and hit said giant statue, instantly breaking it into a million pieces
"Holy Hera. You know, maybe if I... No! Snap out of it! I'm too old to get mixed up in this stuff again." Plagg was astonished, but instantly turned down the offer
"But if I don't become a true hero... I'll never be able to rejoin my father Gabriel. I need to live up to his expectations and-" Adrien was pleading now, but Plagg cut him off
"Hold it. Gabriel is your father, right?" Plagg asked, a smirk working its way into his face
"Uh-huh." Adrien answered, unsure of where the conversation was heading
"Gabriel, the big guy. He's your daddy. Butterfly Boy! Read me a book, would ya, Da-Da?" Plagg said sarcastically
"Gabriel! 'Once upon a time...' Ha!" Plagg said, clearly mocking Adrien
"It's the truth!" Adrien said, waving his hands in the air, his ring shining as it moved around
Plagg noticed the ring, and immediately turned serious
"Hey, kid. Where'd you get that ring?" Plagg asked
"My mother gave it to me, why?" Adrien said, confused on why Plagg was asking about his ring
Plagg sat down on a boulder, and beckoned Adrien to sit down as well
"That ring you're wearing is one of a kind. It was passed on from generation to generation. My family was the last ones to have it, and when we were hunted down, I was the only one who survived; and I was just a kitten then. so when Guardian Emilie took care of me for a while, I gave that ring as a parting gift." Plagg narrated, remembering the times that he talked about
"But what makes the ring so important? Why did Mother give it to me?" Adrien asked, his mind reeling with information
"Well, kid. That ring you're wearing is half of the most powerful Miraculouses there ever was. And I'm surprised Emilie didn't tell you anything about it. Probably to keep you safe. But the Miraculous picks for itself, so if you say Claws Out and you don't transform, I'll have to say no to your offer." Plagg explained
Adrien was still confused
"Claws Out?" He asked, clarifying what Plagg just said
But the cat-satyr didn't have to reply, because in a flash of green light, Adrien had transformed into a costume that made him look like a mix between a cat and a gladiator, albeit a cool version at that.
Plagg stood up and assessed Adrien, walking around the boy for good measure
"Sweet." Plagg said, whistling.
"The ring seems to have chosen you. I'll have to train you now, don't I, kid? It IS my duty because that Ring was passed on to my family from generations, starting with Master Fu." Plagg said, as Adrien mentally rejoiced
"But you gotta get a name for, yourself, kid. 'Adrien' just won't do. You gotta get a name that fits the bill. C'mon, think! Use that yellow head of yours! Speaking of yellow, I'll have to get extra Camembert for this!" Plagg exclaimed, his voice raising slightly higher because of excitement for his favorite food.
"Ummm, Chat Noir. Like, Black Cat because that's technically what I look like, right? What do you think?" Adrien suggested
Nino nodded and clapped his hooves together, and Plagg gave it a second thought
"Chat Noir, huh? It's got a good ring (pun intended) to it. C'mon, I'll show ya to the training grounds." Plagg said, grabbing Adrien's wrist and dragging him to a different clearing
"So you wanna be a hero, kid. Well, whoop-de-do" Plagg started, kicking away some debris
"I have been around the block before, with blockheads just like you" Plagg continued, clearly mocking Adrien
"Each and every one a disappointment, pain for which there ain't no ointment. So much for excuses. Though a kid of Gabe is askin' me to jump into the fray. My answer is two words: Okay." Plagg concluded, crossing his arms and rolling his eyes
"You mean you'll do it?" Adrien asked, clapping his hands like an excited child
"You win. Just because I want to honor the only person who'd been kind enough to take care of me before." Plagg reminded, or rather stated
"You won't be sorry, Plagg." Adrien assured
"So when do we start? Can we start now?" Adrien asked, grinning from ear to ear
"Oy, vay." Plagg said. 'This was going to take a while' he thought.
"I'd given up hope that someone would come along. A fella who'd ring the bell for once, not the gong" Plagg confided, rummaging through an old chest and ringing a gong
"The kind who wins trophies, won't settle for low fees, and at least semipro fees… But, no, I get the greenhorn" Plagg continued, clearly referring to his past students
"I've been out to pasture, pal. My ambition gone. Content to spend lazy days and eat camembert on my lawn" Plagg said, swallowing a whole slice of camembert in one gulp
"But you need an advisor. A satyr, but wiser. A good merchandiser and... whoa… There goes my ulcer" Plagg groaned, leaning on Nino for support, then he continued fixing the clearing
"I'm down to one last hope, and I hope it's you. Though, kid, you're not exactly a dream come true. I trained enough kitties, who never came through" Plagg continued, making Adrien do push-ups while the cat-satyr sat on the boy's back
"You're my one last hope so you'll have to do" Plagg finished
…
"Rule number six: when rescuing a damsel... always handle with care." Plagg stated as Adrien ran to a mannequin stuck to a pole in the middle of a fire, grabbed it, and ran across the log connecting two cliffs. But Adrien tripped and the middle of the log snapped in two, thus making Adrien and the mannequin fall down to the lake below
"No!" Plagg groaned, gobbling up another slice of camembert
…
"Rule number 95, kid: concentrate!" Plagg reminded as Nino threw Adrien his baton and Adrien threw the baton at the targets.
Adrien watched baton fly, but instead of beheading the targets, it flew straight to Plagg, and hit spot a bit TOO close to the cat-satyr's *ehem*.
Plagg was annoyed, and blurted out: "Rule number 96: aim!"
…
"Demigods have faced the odds and ended up a mockery. Don't believe the stories that you read on all the crockery," Plagg consoled, as Adrien had yet again killed a 'damsel in distress' mannequin
Adrien tried once again to hit the targets (popping up from random places this time) with his baton
Many of the targets hit his head, and when he almost gave up, he hit a target, splitting it cleanly in half.
Adrien grinned at Plagg, who gave Adrien a piece of advice
"To be a true hero, kid, is a dyin' art. Like paintin' a masterpiece, it's a work of heart" Plagg had said.
…
Adrien was more determined and inspired to continue his hero training, and it was evident in his moves.
"It takes more than sinew, comes down to what's in you" Plagg reminded
…
"You have to continue to grow" Plagg drawled out the '-row', because, apparently, Adrien had gotten stronger and could finally carry 15 giant statues instead of just 5, and he was faster in dodging projectiles and faster in completing obstacles. The boy was like a cat in grace and a lion in strength!
"Now that's more like it!" Plagg exclaimed, running and jumping around in joy.
…
It was the final obstacle. The great test of everything that Plagg had taught Adrien.
We'll break down the obstacle(s) Adrien will go through, sweetie: Adrien had to transform into Chat Noir, swing through giant swinging axes, get through a giant metal chomper, not get squished by the giant fist, not get eaten by two giant sharks, save the damsel in distress (mannequin) from a flaming hoop, and kill his enemies (targets) using his baton.
"I'm down to one last shot and my last high note, kid. Before that blasted underworld grabs my throat. My dreams are on you, kid. Go make 'em come true.
Climb that uphill slope, keep pushin' that envelope. You're my one last hope." Plagg shouted, as Adrien gracefully evaded the obstacles and saved the damsel (mannequin).
Adrien landed in the pit, and targets popped up everywhere immediately.
The student looked at his trainer, who was standing beside Nino, looking for affirmation
Plagg nodded resolutely at Adrien, saying "Kid, it's up to you"
Adrien nodded, new hope in his eyes. He wielded his baton and expertly defeated (broke) all the enemies (targets), taking his shield and moving it in a way that the arrows shot at him made a cat shape on his shield.
"Yeah!" Adrien exclaimed
The boy was whooping, head butting Nino, and pumping his fists in celebration
"Did you see that?" Adrien asked Plagg
"Next stop, Eiffel." Adrien concluded, putting an arm on Nino's neck
"All right. Just take it easy, champ." Plagg said, rolling his eyes as he made his way to the pit
"I am ready. I want to get off this island. I want to see battles and monsters. Rescue some damsels." Adrien proclaimed, as Nino pretended to be a damsel and jokingly fell into Adrien's arms
"You know, heroic stuff. Once I do that, I'm sure I can finally go back to Mount Eiffel and Father would finally be proud of me!" Adrien clarified
"Well…" Plagg started, unsure of what to do for once
"Aw, come on, Plagg!" Adrien pleaded, trying to make the best kitten expression he could with his forest green eyes
"Well, okay, okay. You want a road test? Saddle up, kid, we're goin' to Paris!" Plagg exclaimed, adding a dramatic flair when he said 'Paris'
"So what's in Paris?" Adrien asked, as they rode Nino through the sky
"A lot of problems. It's a big, tough town. Good place to start buildin' a rep." Plagg explained, shrugging his shoulders
Little did they know that their so called 'a lot of problems' would just get worse.
If you're asking why this chapter is so long, its because I followed the lyrics of the song 'One Last Hope'... I also added a bit Emilie drama to justify some things that I shall not write of as of now, because it would be spoiling the story; and I don't want to do that. This is a cliffhanger too because the next chapter would... I'll stop myself right there. *grins*
P.S. the cover image is not mine. It is from one of the videos that inspired me two write this story.
-pawssible