Chapter 21 – Sacrifice
Zipping through the air, Cat Noir and Ladybug raced toward the school. He had a strong suspicion she was lying to him about something. She had claimed she need to quiet time to "think up a super amazing plan." Really, he thought, she just wanted him to shut up for a few minutes.
The face she was making as they cut across roofs and up avenues was not her "savior of Paris always saves the day" face. Her chin jutted out when she made that face. And it wasn't her "coming up with a master plan" face either. Not enough nose scrunch.
Instead, emotions like bewilderment, happiness, and doubt flashed across her face, only to be wiped away repeatedly as she tried to focus on coming up with a plan. Well, if it was quiet the lady wanted, that was what he was going to give her.
For now.
"I'm going to wait as long as possible before calling you," Ladybug said a few minutes later.
Call him? What was she talking about? The school was in view, and they nimbly landed on the roof. "I've got a feeling that catching him is going to take a while. Can you buy me some time?"
A few dozen civilians ambled around the red and white police tape and the large holes in the building. Some were trying to clean up the debris, while others looked like students who had already been dropped off for school when the attack had started and nowhere else to go. Their parents' work was not called off for something as commonplace as an akuma anymore.
"So we're definitely not doing a distraction?" Cat Noir asked. "Wouldn't he just blast apart whatever you-"
"No, that's the beauty of my idea," she said, eyes shining. "We're going to need to get inside and get these people out of here. I need you to give me ten minutes, then lead Dodgeboy to the art room."
"You want us to split up?" he asked, alarm bells going off. Hadn't she wanted to stick together? Did she not want him around anymore? "What if you need backup and I'm not there?"
"If he comes too early, I'm not going to have time to set the trap." She waved at the street full of students. "And the kids need to be away from danger.
"But-"
"We don't have time to discuss this. I need you to give me time. There's no other way."
"All right. All right." He put up his hands to show a surrender that he didn't feel. "But I want it on my permanent record that I super hate this idea."
"Duly noted." She flicked his bell. "I want everyone within the block out of here, just in case. Stay out of sight until I give you the signal that I'm ready. He's less likely to attack innocents if he can't see you." She turned to point at east side of the building. "The art room is over there on the second floor-"
"Wooden door, blue window. I know."
They stared at each other for less than a second before Ladybug asked, "How-"
"Not important," he said, pushing away the same question. How did she know? "Let's go."
Ladybug slipped through a third-floor window, which was directly above the art room, he noticed. How did she know that window was almost always unlocked? She didn't want him to know any specifics about her life, so he turned away and pretended like that wasn't a huge clue.
Cat Noir bounded over the edge of the building, slid down the wall (ninja-style) and started herding students off the street, always waiting for the distant roar of the akuma.
He didn't need to wait long. A grumbling soon became a despairing wail about exclusion. And Cat Noir took that as his cue to s-cat. Had he used that one on Ladybug yet? He'd have to remember to work that into their next conversation.
The shadows and alleys sheltered him as the pounding footsteps grew louder. He'd picked a hiding spot in a shadowed corner where he thought he'd be able to see Dodgeboy's approach. But something was wrong. The footsteps were spaced out and uneven. They changed location rapidly, varying in their force, as if Dodgeboy was bouncing from one building to the next, instead of running like he'd done for the entire fight. He couldn't jump that way, could he? And why were they so far apart? It sounded as if he were several places at once. Cat Noir's blood froze in his veins. Or as if Dodgeboy had made copies of himself.
Ladybug had told him to stay out of sight, but if they were dealing with a new power, he needed to know. Now. Looking both ways to make sure it was safe, Cat Noir slipped out of the cool safety of the shadows and vaulted down the street into the morning sunshine.
The noises were hard to pinpoint, which made them hard to follow. Crashes echoed through the streets and mixed with the sounds of the city, disorienting his enhanced hearing, until he had to stop on a high-rise roof to get a better look. Still nothing. He pushed on, getting farther and farther from the school as he followed the noises. The alarm bells in his head started to ring again, but he he told them he had to do this. Ladybug could take care of herself, he reasoned. This needed to be checked out now.
But two minutes and a dozen blocks later, Cat Noir still couldn't see anything and he began to worry. Images of many smaller Dodgeboys became images of many smaller invisible Dodgeboys, and Cat Noir wondered if he should abandon his search and run back to warn Ladybug, even though she hadn't called him. What if the invisible buggers followed him? He wouldn't be able to tell. They would ruin Ladybug's trap if he went back now, and the two of them would have to retreat and regroup.
A blur of movement in the corner of his vision caused Cat Noir to turn just in time to see a purple dodgeball arc through the air before disappearing behind and building to his right. The ball crashed and breaks squealed as a car swerved to avoid it. A second dodgeball sailed through the air to his left, landing on an adjacent street. Not many little Dodgeboys. A diversion. Cat Noir had been tricked.
"Those were coming from..."
The school. Dodgeboy was heading toward the school, was between Cat Noir and Ladybug, and had a huge head start. She needed him, and he wasn't there. He wasn't there!
Cat Noir flung himself through the air, knowing how dangerous it was to be out in the open and not caring if Dodgeboy saw him. He had to save Ladybug.
Ladybug. Ladybug.
Her name beat through his brain with every jump and swing. He had to fix his mistake. His Lady needed him.
He was leaving himself open to attack, traveling exposed like this. If he caught up with Dodgeboy, he'd be fighting a monster who could target him, and he'd be without backup. This was a dangerous thing he was doing.
But he would be willing to sacrifice his safety and more if it meant Ladybug would be okay. She was the important one. He was secondary.
When Dodgeboy stopped firing decoys, Cat Noir's heartbeat, already pounding from his race back to the school, spiked. No more decoys meant the akuma didn't need the distraction anymore. Just a few more seconds and Cat Noir would be there, but did he even have that?
The roof of the school appeared between the gaps in the buildings, and then the back of a large purple person on the next building, aiming his cannon directly through the art room window. A flash of red moved around inside the room. Red with black spots. Dodgeboy raised both arms to aim.
"Hey!" Cat Noir yelled, desperate to draw the akuma's attention. He leaped and reached. Dodgeboy's shots were knocked off course as the baton collided with his head, and the akuma himself toppled as Cat Noir bodyslammed him from behind. They pitched forward and crashed into the side of the building, taking out a chunk of wall, but missing the art room, and landing in a heap on the ground.
Before either of them could recover completely, Cat Noir swung again, knocking the akuma off his feet. Ladybug still needed time. Then again, forcing him to retreat up the street. The situation could still be saved. Again, tripping him as he ran away.
As Dodgeboy twisted and aimed at him, Cat Noir swung again, but the akuma was ready for him this time. The shots only missed their target by inches. A high-pitched whistle sang right next to his ear.
It was a difficult game Cat Noir played, keeping the akuma occupied. Ladybug hadn't called him, so they danced circles around the school, trying to keep each other right where they wanted them.
What on earth was she doing? Probably something brilliant. She was always brilliant, though. Extra brilliant? That sounded like a cheesy compliment.
He tried to stay focused on the fight, to keep Dodgeboy busy, but his thoughts anxiously spun to what was taking her so long, and settled on her. Whatever she was doing would work. It always did. And she was trying to make a trap without Lucky Charm too, which was bold and daring. Maybe he should tell her that when-
It happened in an instant. One moment, he was twisting safely out of danger, then next, he was staring down the barrel of a cannon, knowing that he couldn't flip out of his arc fast enough. Smoky discharge billowed from Dodgeboy's elbow, recoil pushed his shoulder back. In slow motion, a purple dodgeball emerged from the shadow of the barrel, spinning toward him.
He tried to move, tried to curve into a new trajectory, but the dodgeball hit him in the chest, pushing him back, crushing him into the school wall.
It didn't hurt at first, just squeezed the air out of his lungs, and for a merciful second he thought his suit had saved him.
The force of the shot pinned him in place against the side of the building for only a moment. Then gravity started to drag him down, scraping him against the bricks, and he felt it. His skin, his lungs, no his bones hurt. There was no feeling anywhere else in his body as he fell, collapsing to the ground, just his burning chest. He landed on his side, gasping, though every breath felt like a knife ripping him open.
His head thrashed in an attempt to separate himself from the pain. Distantly, he realized that he couldn't see the akuma anymore, and that was probably bad.
Ladybug. He could go after Ladybug. Thoughts of her cleared his mind. He had to help his Lady, and so he forced himself to think. To breathe.
It should have been worse, he knew. There wasn't a hole punched straight through him. He was still breathing. His limbs still worked. The pain was lessening already. He might even be able to move.
Eventually.
His baton buzzed next to his foot with an incoming call. He hadn't even realized it had clattered next to him.
Groaning, he kicked at it until it rolled within reach. The camera pointed at the sky, and away from him.
"Hey," he said, trying to hide his gasp. His voice sounded too strained already, and he'd only said one word.
"I'm rea- Are you okay?"
"Oh, I-" He coughed, then rubbed his eyes to try to clear his head of pain. "I'm okay. Resting." He needed a break. He needed to get up. They needed to regroup. But she was counting on him. She needed him. "I got the akuma right where I want him," he said, voice measured. He needed her to know she could count on him, or she wouldn't trust him to do his job. She wouldn't trust him. "Aren't I the best partner?"
"Are you hurt?!"
He wouldn't be a burden to her. Not a disappointment. He would fight anything for her. He could fight this. Just another sacrifice he was willing to make to keep her love.
"I'm fine! Really, I just tripped." He fought a wave of pain, sharp and burning but less severe than the others that had come before. A good sign. "I'll bring him over."
"But-"
He cut off the call by kicking at the baton. It skidded until it hit the base of the wall. Cat Noir counted slowly, letting himself succumb to the searing agony in his chest. When he reached ten, he put a shaky palm on the pavement, then the other, and gingerly pushed himself up. If he kept his back straight, it didn't hurt too much. The strength and stamina the suit gave him would have to be enough to finish the job. He could last until Ladybug used her cure.
He could keep going.
For her.
Author's note: To all those who waited so long for this chapter: WHY? Why did you want me to hurt our boy this way?!
P.S. I take no responsibility for my narrative choices. It's not my fault! I'm just following the prompts! 😭
P.P.S. Hi. It's been ages. How have you been?
P.P.P.S. There'll be at least two chapters posted next week as an apology for me being distracted and lazy, and because I apparently need external deadlines in order to function, and also because the next bunch of chapters are very short.