"Fight me," Ladybug hisses, watching Chat Noir with disdain as he falls to his knees. His baton hits the ground with a heavy thunk, but neither of them hear it; Ladybug is too busy advancing on her partner, and Chat Noir can focus on nothing but the girl he loves, moving towards him with anger and determination.
"Come on, Chat Noir. Get up and fight," she says. Now that she's closer Chat can see that Ladybug's azure eyes, usually so bright and blue, have darkened to black, and he curses at himself for not getting there in time to take the hit for her.
She looks at him with undiluted hatred as she advances, and Chat Noir feels sick to his stomach.
"Awww, is the little kitten frightened?" She laughs, a cruel sound Chat Noir didn't think Ladybug could make. "Are you a scaredy cat?"
He's trembling, because this isn't his partner, isn't his friend. This is a girl under Hawkmoth's spell who has too much power, and Chat Noir doesn't know what to do.
He can't fight her. He can't win.
The thin black bracelet curled around her wrist has evil written all over it; Chat Noir can practically feel the power of the akuma oozing off of it, influencing his Lady's decisions, and he wants to scream because he should have been there, should have taken the hit for her. That's what he was for; to distract the akuma so Ladybug could work her magic and save the day.
But he hadn't been there, and suddenly Paris might have to pay the price for his delayed entrance to the fight.
He'd run as far as he could as soon as he'd realised what had happened, leading Ladybug away from any civilians to a deserted Trocadéro. Usually the area would be busy, filled with both tourists and Parisians alike, but nobody was stupid enough to come close to a Ladybug under the influence of an akuma.
Well, except Chat Noir. And maybe Alya, but for once she wasn't around to document the fight.
But then, all at once, there had been nowhere else to run to - there seemed to be civilians everywhere else, and Chat needed to keep the fight away from them. Chat Noir knew that he only had one option left to him as he took in his surroundings, the fountains in front of him towering upwards as he swiveled to face an advancing, angry Ladybug.
In a battle of baton against yo-yo, he knew he wouldn't win. He's a good fighter, yes, but Ladybug can be ruthless on the best of days; under the influence of an akuma, Chat Noir shudders to think about what could happen if he fights her.
So when he falls to his knees, he tries not to let Ladybug see the nerves which tremble through him as he plans his strategy. His baton is probably useless, and for the first time he doesn't have his partner to help him. No, right now all Chat Noir has is Ladybug, walking towards him with a terrifying grin, and a vague plan that he's not completely sure he can pull off.
Ladybug looks at the boy on his knees in front of her, and lets out a laugh of derision. She shakes her head, and the yo-yo twirling beside her slows down before she pulls it back into her hand with a flick of her wrist.
"You won't fight? Really? How pathetic," Ladybug sneers as she approaches him. "Alright then, this will be easy. Give me your Miraculous."
Despite the force of her request, Ladybug blinks in surprise when Chat Noir complies. He raises his hand up to her, the neon green pawprint on his ring bright against the black of his glove. She stops in front of him, one hand resting on her hip as she surveys his willing surrender.
"I didn't expect it to be this simple, Chat Noir. I thought you'd at least try." Ladybug rolls her eyes as she leans towards him, her face moving close to his so she can look him in the eye in her moment – well, Hawkmoth's moment – of triumph.
One of her hands grab his proffered wrist, her bracelet sliding downwards as she tilts Chat Noir's fingers towards the sky. Ladybug shakes her head, her other hand moving from her hip to inch towards his ring. She can feel the tension in Chat Noir's arm as Ladybug grasps it, but she thinks nothing of it; instead, Ladybug takes a moment to enjoy her success, a victor where every other akuma has failed.
"I'm disappointed," she begins, and the sheer glee in her voice is obvious. "I honestly believed that you would put up a fi-"
In a heartbeat, Chat Noir has grabbed the hand moving towards the ring in his spare one, and twists his ringed hand to grip the bracelet on Ladybug's wrist. Her grip has on him tightens briefly before releasing him completely, but she can't make him loosen his hold on her as she tries to pull her arms away. Chat Noir stands up, trying not to hurt either of them as the pair readjust to his sudden height.
"I'm sorry about this, my Lady," Chat Noir says as he looks down at Ladybug, who narrows her eyes in return. He looks into the ebony depths of her once sky-blue irises, and prays that his plan will work.
"Cataclysm!" he whispers fiercely, and Chat Noir fights the urge to throw his palm to the ground. Green energy crackles around the black bracelet, and Chat Noir focuses all his effort on only breaking its hold on Ladybug; he knows the damage his attack can cause, and containing its power so that it doesn't hurt her is the only thing that matters to him.
He keeps his eyes on hers as he grits his teeth, the concentration he's exerting causing his entire bod to tighten with tension, his palm angled so that it doesn't touch her – only the bracelet, a thin strip of evil which is terrifyingly close to her skin. Ladybug, in a move of self-preservation, stops pulling away; although it feels like eternity, only a few seconds pass before a sharp crack is heard, and Ladybug's eyes flood with the blue Chat Noir knows so well as the bracelet disintegrates completely.
Chat Noir lets go of Ladybug immediately, stumbling to the floor as he pushes himself way from her to prevent his attack from touching her. The remnants of the cataclysm crack the pavement under his hand, but it doesn't spread along the pavement; instead, tiny crevices stem underneath Chat Noir's palm, a map of destruction carved into Paris' grounds.
Ladybug is blinking, one hand rubbing her temple as the other looks at the wrist Chat Noir had been holding. He eyes flick down to meet his, and she's taken aback by the raw concern in his gaze.
"Are you okay?" he asks her, and the words are desperate. "I didn't hurt you, did I? It didn't – it didn't get you?"
Ladybug shakes her head, her hand moving from her temple to her wrist, tracing the outline of where the bracelet had entrapped her.
"No, no, I'm fine. I'm – did you just use cataclysm on me?"
"…Technically, I used on the evil bracelet thing," Chat Noir replies, smiling weakly as relief overtakes him.
She's not hurt. I saved her.
Thank goodness.
"That evil bracelet thing was attached to me!" Ladybug protests, but the smile quirking her lips upwards tells Chat Noir that she isn't upset – no, she's trying to show him that she's back to normal.
"Yeah, and you were trying to take my Miraculous, so I think we're even," Chat Noir points out, tilting his head as he leans back, his hands resting behind him. Ladybug flushes as her smile turns to one of chagrin.
"Oh. Right. Sorry about that, Chat. The akuma got the drop on me – I have no idea where it is now. I think it attacked me, and then left me to do all the work." Ladybug frowns. "It seems like a very lazy akuma."
"Well, that's good. Lazy akumas tend to be easier to beat. Do you know where it'll be?" Chat Noir begins to push himself up off the ground, and Ladybug steps forward, offering him one of her hands. A grin spreads on her partner's face as he takes it, letting her help him up; Ladybug has to step back to help tug Chat from the floor, but she closes the distance immediately once he's upright, and Chat Noir is surprised when Ladybug pulls him into a hug.
"Thank you," she says, her words muffled by his shoulder. Chat Noir's arms slide around her, and he carefully squeezes Ladybug as a soft smile grows on his face.
"Anytime, Bugaboo," Chat replies before pulling back, his hands resting on her shoulders. "Just try not to let an akuma make you its plaything again. You're a terrifying opponent."
Ladybug rolls her eyes, stepping out of the hug and folding her arms across her chest, one eyebrow raised at Chat's words.
"Oh, please," she says, "I didn't even do anything to you - you 'surrendered' before we even began to fight!"
"You threw me off a building once when you weren't under an akuma's control," Chat Noir reminds her. "I wasn't going to wait around to see what tall structure you decided to fling me from when you were."
"…Good point."
"So, what's the akuma like?" Chat asks again, curious to know what kind of attack could get the drop on Paris' favourite superheroine. "I couldn't see it anywhere when I got to the fight, and then I was a bit too distracted by you trying to take my Miraculous-"
"You're not going to let that go, are you?"
"-to find out anything about it."
A shrill beeping interrupts the pair, and Chat Noir looks down at his ring. One of the paw's toes flashes before it disappears completely into the ring's ebony background. Chat Noir looks up at Ladybug, who's wearing a look of concern on her face.
"Do you have time?" she asks, and Chat doesn't hesitate before nodding.
"I do if we get moving." He bends down to pick up his discarded baton, twirling it between his hands as he begins to walk towards Ladybug. "Now, where did the akuma go after it attacked you?"
He hears the thud of a heavy body hitting the ground, and Chat Noir's whole body sags as he hears a hiss which can only be the sound of the akuma. A sigh escapes him, and he lifts his head to look up at Ladybug, whose body is terse as she pulls out her yo-yo, eyes fixed on something behind Chat Noir.
"It's right there, isn't it?"
Ladybug nods.
"It's about to attack me, isn't it?"
She nods again.
Chat Noir straightens his posture and spins around, his baton spinning as Ladybug whips out her yo-yo. He looks over to his partner, a smirk growing on his face.
"Do you want to take the first shot, or shall I?"
Ladybug takes a step forward, the determination which had previously been focused on Chat Noir now directly aimed at the akuma. "Oh, I definitely get to go first," she says as she tightens her grip on her yo-yo, ready to throw it into the air.
Chat Noir lets out a laugh as he dips into a fighting stance.
"Then after you, my Lady."