Prompt: Continuation of "In a Cage".
Rated: K+
In a Cage Part 2
It was late afternoon by the time Marinette stood on her balcony, small cookie box in hand, "Have some on your way kitty."
Chat Noir scratched the back of his neck, accepting the sweet gift, "Thank you Marinette!" there was a moment where he just looked at her, with soft green eyes and a warm smile, it almost reminded her that one time when Adrien-
"R-right! Uh, have a safe trip to uh- home! I guess we…we'll see each-other sometime!" Marinette grinned widely, inwardly panicking at her almost comparison between her crush and her good partner – crime fighting partner.
Chat Noir either didn't notice her internal dilemma or was too focused looking at her, either way he chuckled and bowed like he usually did, "Thank you again for today, Marinette. I hope our paths will croissant again." He winked and grinned boyishly, taking his baton out and waving at her with the hand holding the small but nicely wrapped cookie box.
A small smile came unbiddenly upon Marinette's lips and she waved back, watching his form become smaller and smaller in the distance.
"Looks like Chat Noir really loved-"
Marinette jumped, surprised to hear her kwami's voice suddenly, "W-who?!" she shrunk in on herself, like a cornered animal with wide panicked eyes.
Tikki blinked down at her, a small knowing smile on her lips, "I was talking about the cookies." The ancient goddess couldn't help but giggle at the girl's impulsiveness, outright laughing when Marinette's ears and cheeks turned pinkish.
"T-Tikki!"
After the kwami had her laugh, Marinette sighed, "A-anyway, let's get back inside, because of Chat Noir I wasn't able to finish homework." Tikki's back was turned to her charge, so Marinette couldn't see the sly smirk on the kwami's face.
Or the quiet words whispered under her breath, "Since he was such a distraction…"
"Tikki, did you say something?" Tikki was already inside while Marinette opened the hatch again.
"Nu-uh!" came the goddess' cheeky reply.
Marinette rose an eyebrow, certain she heard something from her kwami's mouth, until she suddenly tripped on something invisible on the ground. Tikki, having heard her yelp, thought it was just Marinette's clumsiness, she continued munching on the leftover cookies on the platter.
Marinette's eyes shot wide open, something scaly wrapping around her legs, something small was flickering by her feet but she couldn't see what it was and then, an akuma stood before her.
It was Kaleido.
"Ti-!" Marinette's cry was abruptly cut off as the girl vanished in a flash of light and a small hand mirror dropped into Kaleido's hand.
She giggled, opening the small hand mirror and spotting the girl's panicked face, fists hitting invisible walls within the mirror, "You naïve little girl, this is what you get for involving yourself with a superhero." She frowned at Marinette's angered expression and closed the mirror shut, "So unsightly, not pretty at all." With that, she pocketed the item, grabbing her chameleon and jumping off the balcony.
"Marinette?" Tikki dropped the half-eaten cookie back on the platter, no longer seeing Marinette's form from her viewpoint in the window, "Marinette, are you alright?" Tikki worriedly flew back up the stairs and out into the balcony, her eyes flying wide open, "Marinette!"
She looked left and right and flew quickly to the edge of the balcony, spotting the familiar mirror akuma they'd battled just today wandering off behind an alley, "Oh no! Marinette!" Tikki just caught herself in time, shaking her head vehemently before flying in the other direction.
Towards Master Fu.
She zipped this way and that, phasing through buildings as shortcuts to the guardian, who, upon entering his home, was playing a game of shogi with Wayyz.
"Master!" the old man's wise gaze met Tikki's with an arched brow.
"Tikki, can this wait a moment? I'm certain I'll win this time." Wayyz just smiled and took a sip of his green tea, shaking his head.
Tikki immediately flew in front of Master Fu's face, "Marinette's been kidnapped by an akuma!"
Master Fu's eyes widened in surprise, "What? Why didn't you tell me this before? We have to contact Chat Noir." Master Fu quickly reached for his phone, not noticing the exasperated look Tikki was giving him while Wayyz was shaking his head and patting her shoulder in understanding.
Master Fu waited a few beats, the caller finally picking up, "Adrien! You have to get here as soon as possible! It's an emergency!"
Adrien's surprised voice entered the old man's ears, "Huh? Master Fu!? What emergency? Wait, where did you get my phone number-"
"That is of no importance! Marinette has been kidnapped by an akuma!" he shot the two kwami's worried looks, who could only return them.
Surprise turned to worry and seriousness, "I'll be there as soon as I can!"
Master Fu hung up, rubbing his chin worriedly, "Tikki, have you seen what akuma it was?" he already had a hunch, but he had to ask nonetheless.
Tikki was flying around in circles, her big blue eyes shining with concern, "It was the same mirror akuma we fought today! But there was also a chameleon with her, Hawkmoth must be using Mayura's help again!"
Wayyz flew up to hover beside Tikki, "Master, if this is true, we will need to use the help of the other Miraculous to help save Marinette!" master and kwami's gaze met, one imploring, the other thoughtful, until Master Fu made his decision with his hands clasped behind his back.
"You're right, Wayyz. It would be wise to call upon Rena Rouge and Carapace." He moved to the Miraculous box, punching in the code as the slots started to open, just in time rushed footsteps thundered towards the closed door to the room.
Tikki quickly flew behind the gramophone to hide, none other than Chat Noir slamming the door open, eyes wild and searching, "Master Fu!"
The guardian turned around to address the young hero, "Calm down, Chat Noir. You'll need to deliver the Miraculous to people you trust, Mayura is aiding Hawkmoth this time as well."
Chat Noir's eyes narrowed, "Where is Ladybug? She should be here by now! Who knows what the akuma may have done to Marinette." His fists clenched, his baton shaking slightly within his enclosed hand.
Master Fu and Wayyz shared a look, "Ladybug is unavailable as of this moment, which is why you'll need the help of other heroes to deal with the akuma if you want to save your friend."
Something changed in Chat Noir, perhaps it was the straightening of his shoulders, or the sharpened look in his eyes, but he resolutely headed for the door, "No. I'll deal with this akuma myself."
Alarm bells already rang within the old guardian's head, "Chat Noir, wait! Hawkmoth is not alone, you cannot possibly defeat the akuma on your own with Mayura's powers making him stronger!"
The blond turned his head, fingers gripping the doorknob tightly, "I'm sorry Master Fu, but this is my fight. Akumatizing a person is one thing, but kidnapping Marinette is personal." His gaze darkened, "I'll bring her back safe and sound." With that, his form disappeared behind the door, a bell chime the only indicator of how fast he rushed out the front door.
Master Fu gripped his forehead, sitting down on the small cushion on the floor, "What shall we do Master? He can't possibly defeat the akuma without help!" Wayyz's gaze shifted worriedly to the door where Chat Noir ran out of.
Tikki flew away from her hiding spot, an angry look about her, "That stupid cat, Plagg! His charges have always been reckless, but this one is young and reckless!"
Master Fu sighed heavily, looking at the fox and bee Miraculous, "Protective, I would say."
Wayyz watched the way his own charge's gaze wandered to the old photo of him and Marianne, the black and white photo looked well worn, but it was as precious to his master as the day it was taken.
Chat Noir leapt from roof to roof, running along the sides of the buildings, scaling up lamp posts to look out for a rampaging akuma.
Where were the panicked shouts of the citizens? Why weren't there no akuma alarms?
Chat Noir was heading toward the park near Dupont before a small swarm of butterflies suddenly flew up in front of him, morphing into the shape of Hawkmoth's mask, "Hello Chat Noir."
Chat Noir's staff was pointed threateningly at the butterflies, ears drawn back in anger, "Hawkmoth! Tell me where Marinette is!"
A dark chuckle rang out from the mask, "Ah, yes the girl. Let's make a deal Chat Noir, in exchange for getting the girl safe and sound returned to you, you'll give me your Miraculous and Ladybug's!"
Chat Noir growled, "Let's make another deal, Hawkmoth, let Marinette go and I won't beat up your akuma too much!"
Another dark chuckle, "How amusing, it seems a mere girl is more important to Paris' superhero than fulfilling his duty as protector of this city!"
Chat Noir jumped, his staff cleanly hitting the center of the butterflies and Hawkmoth's mask disappeared, the dark butterflies flying around haphazardly, "I haven't noticed your akuma attacking anybody right now, so saving Marinette is my duty to fulfill! Now tell me where she is!"
Hawkmoth made a disgruntled noise from the swarming butterflies, "I see, I'll need to take your Miraculous first before I can get Ladybug's! If you want to try and save your precious Marinette, return to the place you've met your match in the past and give up your Miraculous!"
The swarm of butterflies flew away, Chat Noir glaring after them with Hawkmoth's laughter still echoing annoyingly in his head.
"Met my match? What did he mean?" Chat Noir paced the pavement until he stopped short in realization, "Copycat!"
He knew where he had to go.
Marinette hit the invisible wall as hard as she could, her fists throbbing in pain from trying to escape her glass prison.
Kaleido's obnoxious voice was all around her, "It's useless, you foolish girl! Nobody can escape from my mirror prison unless I let them out!" she laughed and Marinette cringed at the loudness of the voice in the vacant space she was trapped in.
She didn't have anything here, just mirrors, all reflecting her own reflection back at herself from all angles, nothing she could use to get out of her situation, "If only I had brought Tikki with me!" she cursed her luck, walking toward a standing mirror and sliding down to sit on the floor, trying to think of ways how to escape, "I don't know why I got kidnapped, but no doubt Chat Noir is waiting for Ladybug to show up and deal with the akuma. He can't possibly find us here, why didn't Hawkmoth let her be out in the open? Why in this place again?" she remembered this place vaguely, it was the same warehouse where Chat Noir had been kidnapped by Copycat.
Marinette sighed, "How ironic. We both got kidnapped in the same place." She glanced at the mirrors, mildly unsettled by her own gaze staring back at her, "…Does Hawkmoth intend to lure Chat Noir here? But how? He has no way of knowing where the akuma is or that I even got kidnapped! Wait…could he…? Did Hawkmoth possibly figure out that…that I'm Ladybug? But he didn't ask me for my Miraculous yet and Kaleido doesn't seem to know anything either….so why was I kidnapped?" Marinette frowned, despair and helplessness finally getting the better of her.
She held her face in her hands, catching sight of her anguished face staring back at her from the mirror beneath her.
A memory flashed before her mind's eye, the time she wanted to quit using the Miraculous, quit being Ladybug. The time where Alya nearly got hurt because of an akuma attack. She frowned and clenched her hands, a burst of white-hot rage and determination filling her chest as she jumped to her feet and walked over to the small window-like shape she could look out of, "Hey! Hey, you!" she shouted at Kaleido, who finally turned around, "Why are you listening to Hawkmoth? I'm sure your problem can be solved without kidnapping innocent people!"
Kaleido blinked questioningly, her eyes, one which itself seemed like a small mirror, "You don't understand, you're just a little girl."
Marinette's fists were shaking beside her hips but she willed her voice to remain calm, "Try me."
The akumatized woman scoffed, crossing her arms, "As if someone like you could understand the pain of losing something precious. The mirror that was shattered before my eyes had been in my family for generations, it represented my family's gift of overcoming any obstacle, just like the mirror survived all sorts of things while it had been in our possession and now it's broken." Marinette could hear the pain in the older woman's voice, until the butterfly mask appeared over her face again.
"Kaleido! Prepare yourself! Chat Noir should be coming any moment now!" Hawkmoth's irritated voice echoed in her head again and Kaleido groaned in frustration.
Chat Noir carefully crawled behind stacked-up boxes, peering over the rim of one at Kaleido and the hand mirror on the table by her side, seeing Marinette's tiny form trapped within.
His eyes narrowed and he clenched his fist in anger, "How dare they kidnap Marinette!" Chat Noir reached for his baton until his ears picked up a noise behind him.
Immediately, he fell into a crouch, rolling over the floor but spotting nothing.
Then, a long tongue shot out from seemingly nowhere, nearly striking him if it weren't for his good reflexes, "What in the-! There's nothing there! What was that!"
He felt something wet and warm wrap around his ankle, hauling him into the air and throwing him into the open center where he remembered getting chained to the ground with his confrontation with Copycat.
Thinking on his feet, Chat Noir quickly moved out of reach of Kaleido, stepping on the same warm and wet thing that had throwing him into the air.
He looked behind him, spotting flickering shapes and colors, "No! My pet!" Kaleido adjusted the large mirror and reflected the slivers of light peering into the warehouse back at Chat's face, nearly blinding him.
He stumbled, crouching low to regain his footing and sight, spotting just what had been harassing him this whole time.
It was walking toward Kaleido, the large chameleon's colors were changing, switching between the lighter shades of the mirrors and the darker background of the boxes behind it.
"It's you again!" Chat Noir glared at the akuma, eyes zeroing in on Marinette, "Marinette!"
Marinette's head shot up at the sound of her name, at the sound of Chat Noir's voice, "Kitty! In here!" she waved, waves of relief washing over her at spotting him.
He was here. He was here to save her.
Chat Noir broke his baton in half, elongating it and spinning the two halves in both his hands, "Just stay put princess! You have a look around while I'll see to it that I defeat your captor!"
Marinette rolled her eyes at his dramatics but frowned in worry as Kaleido herself advanced upon him, with Chat Noir already charging.
His baton bounced off of her mirror dress, the light impairing his vision as her chameleon kept trying to trip and distract Chat Noir while Kaleido tried grabbing him and take away his Miraculous.
This wasn't good, Chat Noir couldn't handle two akuma alone, he needed help. Why didn't Master Fu send for the other heroes?
Marinette looked around again, surrounded by her mirrors as she was, growing frustrated at her sheer helplessness while her partner was in a tight spot.
In a fit of rage, Marinette beat her fist upon one of the standing mirror, causing a miniature crack on it's otherwise pristine surface.
"Ah!" her eyes widened at the yelp of pain and she whirled around, spotting Kaleido clutching at her chest.
Did she just-?
Marinette looked back at the mirrors, "Is this…her heart? The mirrors that reflected her?" Marinette remembered the one eye the woman had made of glass, "The eyes…the eyes are the window to one's soul…" she looked back at the mirror before her and shouted out as loud as she could, "Chat Noir!"
Her kitty was flipping over the chameleon while deflecting shards of glass thrown at him at the same time, "I'm…" he kicked away another shard aimed at his face,"-kinda…" Chat Noir sidestepped chameleon's tongue again, "-busy, princess!"
"Chat Noir! You have to break the hand mirror!" Marinette could see the panic and disapproval instantly on his face.
"Not before I get you out of it princess!"
Marinette shook her head, "Break it now Chat Noir, trust me!"
Kaleido immediately moved in front of the hand mirror protectively, "No! I won't allow you to break another one of my family heirlooms!"
Chat Noir frowned, watching chameleon warily circling him, "If I break the mirror while you're in it, who knows what will happen! I'll get you out of there first!" Chat Noir charged again, jumping on the wall to gain momentum and slammed his staff onto Kaleido's mirror, the staff bouncing off it's steel-like surface.
Marinette stomped her foot, "We don't have time Chat Noir! You have to break it now! Use Cataclysm! Trust me kitty!"
Despite the distance, their gazes met once Kaleido moved, an unspoken agreement passing between them.
Chat Noir steeled himself, "Cataclysm!" calling upon his power, Chat Noir threw his baton at the chameleon's head, striking the lizard directly on his head, dazing him momentarily. It allowed him room to finally move freely, running on all fours straight towards an angry Kaleido.
"How dare you, you mangy cat!" she moved her hands over her mirrors, trying to hit Chat Noir's eyes with the reflected light, but he cleverly used his messy hair to block out most of the sun, pupils dilating and zeroing in on the handmirror and Marinette's reassuring smile.
Trust me, kitty.
Chat Noir jumped, right over Kaleido's head, landing on top of the table, "Hey!" Kaleido turned, agitated, "Mirror, mirror on the wall-" Chat Noir lifted his hand with Cataclysm active, "Who's the prettiest of them all?" his gaze caught Marinette's and he destroyed the mirror into millions of pieces on the ground.
Almost immediately, Kaleido fell to the ground in pain, clutching at her chest, "NO!"
The dark butterfly flew out of the broken mirror and Chat Noir quickly captured it in his hands, wondering where on earth Ladybug was to purify it.
Just then, a green blur flew past straight towards him, "Chat Noir!"
"Wha- Wayyz? What are you doing here?" Chat Noir looked down at the mirror, worrying where Marinette was. Shouldn't she have come out of the mirror? Did she trap her in it forever now that it was broken?
The wise kwami smiled, indicating at Chat Noir's clasped hands, "I believe you have something for me."
The cat blinked at him, dumbstruck, "…Huh?"
Wayyz shook his head, "The akuma! Release it!" why were people giving him such weird orders lately?
"But-"
"Trust me!"
Chat Noir frowned, hesitantly opening his hands, watching the dark insect flying out of it, heading for the crack in the ceiling. His panic grew the closer it got, but Wayyz suddenly sailed in the air and swallowed it whole in his mouth, holding it in his mouse before releasing a pure white butterfly with a wave of light, similar to Lucky Charm, washing over the warehouse.
The small hand mirror was repaired, the woman freed from Hawkmoth's control, kneeling on the ground, gingerly holding the object in her hands.
"Wait, where is Mari- woah!" a sudden weight crashed on his back, knocking the air clean out of him.
"Ouch!" a yelp on top of him made his entire body freeze.
"Marinette!" the poor girl was knocked over from her secret partner excitedly righting himself, pulling her along straight into his arms in a tight hug.
"C-Chat Noir?" she blinked, clutching at his back. What happened? One minute she was in the mirror, surrounded in darkness when Chat Noir destroyed it, then a white light flashed and she was being hugged by Chat Noir?
Marinette sighed, letting some of her weight fall against Chat Noir, who easily supported her, "Thank you for saving me kitty." She patted his back appreciatively, hearing and feeling the distinctive purring sound.
She giggled.
Chat Noir nuzzled against the side of her head, "I couldn't have done it without your quick thinking princess." His grip around her tightened, "Just please don't get captured by akumas again." Marinette smiled, hearing the worry seeping in his tone.
They broke apart, smiling at each-other, before Marinette moved toward the silent woman still kneeling on the ground, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder, "I'm sorry for kidnapping you, I swear I didn't mean to."
Marinette shook her head, "Don't worry, I believe you. Hawkmoth was controlling you, it wasn't your fault." Her gaze moved towards the mirror the woman held in her hands, "Is… this also a family heirloom?" she remembered how protective the woman had been of it.
The older female nodded, stroking the glassy surface of the mirror with a finger, "Yes, it's from my father, he used to craft mirrors before he died. This was a gift from him."
Marinette nodded, giving the woman a tender smile, "I'm sorry for your loss about the bigger mirror, but at least you have this one whole. I think it's an opportunity to start over while keeping the things you cherish still close to your heart. I understand that the mirror was important, but just because it shattered doesn't mean you yourself have to. Jut like the mirror, you may have a few cracks, but they can be mended." Marinette gestured toward the small mirror, "Despite everything, you still have this, see it as something hopeful. Something where you can start over."
The woman smiled, giving Marinette's hand a brief squeeze in thanks, "Thank you young lady, you made me remember something important about myself today. I'm glad you have such a dedicated boyfriend who saved you." Her gaze wandered over to Chat Noir, "Thank you too for saving me Chat Noir."
Chat Noir nodded, grinning, "Don't mention it!"
Meanwhile, Marinette was frozen, "….Boyfriend? Chat Noir? Was she talking about Chat Noir?" before Marinette could respond, Chat Noir's hand was on her shoulder pulling her up.
"Let's get you back home princess." Chat Noir wrapped an arm around Marinette's back and under her legs, gripping onto his staff while holding her legs up, "Will you be alright miss?"
The woman smiled and nodded, "Yes, thank you."
Chat Noir nodded, eyes searching in the room for Wayyz, "Wa-" wait…where did he go?! Did he already return to Master Fu?
"Something wrong, kitty?" Marinette rose an eyebrow, keeping a firm grip on Chat Noir's neck.
"Not at all princess!" Chat grinned, relief washing over him again as they finally walked out of the stuffy warehouse, "I'm…just glad you're safe, Marinette." He shot her a genuine smile and Marinette had to think back on the woman's words.
Boyfriend.
Marinette shook her head stubbornly, trying to think of Adrien and not how warm Chat Noir felt as he carried her over the rooftops of Paris back towards her home.
"No! Not again!" Hawkmoth paced his lair, Mayura sighing behind him, "Why?! How did Chat Noir defeat both my akuma and your guardian?!"
Mayura coughed into her hand, trying to still the coughs wrecking her body, "It is peculiar, especially without Ladybug's help. However, perhaps it was the fact we kidnapped his… associate that his determination to save her grew?"
Hawkmoth stopped his pacing, meeting Mayura's gaze, "…His determination…" he clenched his fist, eyes alight with dark intent, "My determination is greater! I shall get my hands on Chat Noir's and Ladybug's Miraculous sooner than they think! Then, we will see who is victorious in the end." Hawkmoth chuckled while Mayura felt sadness swell within her chest.
Thank you very much for reading! :) Hope you enjoyed!