Foxhunt

Chapter Five: The Reason

Waking up in her own bed, Alya rolled onto her side, holding her sheets like a teddy bear, and let out a relieved and restful sigh. Despite everything that had happened, her dreams had been sweet for the first time in so long. Just last night, everything had been so cold, but now, the world seemed bright and warm. Her fever was gone, her wound healed, and every conflict seemed to subside. Each fox was safe and secure in their hidden burrow, which no one could intrude upon.

After checking her armband, the young woman slowly rose onto her hands and knees, lifted herself out of bed, quickly fixed her sheets, and made her way down the hallway. Opening their doors just a crack, Alya saw that Etta and Ella and their mother were all sound asleep in their beds. Smiling, she quietly closed the doors and made her way into the kitchen. Cooking breakfast used to be a chore, but after becoming Volpina, spending the morning taking care of her family had become a rare blessing Alya truly relished.

Floating onto her beloved partner's shoulder, Trixx gently hugged the weary surface and closed her eyes. "I'm glad you're doing better, Alya," she warmly declared.

"Thanks, babe," Alya replied with a smile. "I owe it all to you guys…my family. You're the reason I keep fighting…keep staying human."

"…Shouldn't you be part of that reason too?" the Kwami pressed her friend, provoking a period of silence.

Forcing himself back onto his feet, The Hunter stood up and looked down at his resting place. Upon leaving its cool embrace, the man felt himself slip away from the dreams and memories he had entertained. Now, they were little more than broken pieces of a life he couldn't have. Each morning, he left the same, happy life behind, leaving him with less each time. Soon, he would be unable to leave his resting place at all. Only his sacred hunt could soothe his agony until sleep finally claimed him. "…I won't let you go," he vowed with great weight in his voice. "You are the reason…I'll fight one last time, for you."

As a child, it seemed that happiness and joy would remain eternally. However, with each passing year, the boy who would become The Hunter watched as sorrow and tragedy filled his life, stealing from him all comfort. What was said to be an act of mercy awoke something within the child. A terrible, unlovable thing stirred from its hidden, isolated slumber, and upon awakening, cried out for punishment. All happiness would be stripped away, as the thing within the child would never sleep again. With each passing year, it grew, filling up and consuming the boy's heart as all it once held faded away. The childhood stolen was the first of countless wounds that he would endure as humanity shattered, leaving only The Hunter behind.

Mixing up her sisters' favorite pancake batter, Alya remembered being handed Etta first on the day they were born. At the time, she was frightened, but now, she couldn't imagine life without the twins. If ever she needed a reason for what she did, her sacrifices, or why she continued to don the mantle of Volpina, it was Ella, Etta, and their mother. It was all to make the world a safer place for them, and that was all she ever needed. Why can't that be enough? Alya demanded. Why can't I leave myself out of this and just be the kind of person who's only a hero? Why do I have to have a life beyond that?

Finding herself back in the kitchen, freed from her own thoughts, Alya looked over her shoulder to see Trixx watching her with concern in her large, childlike eyes. Remembering how much Alya Césaire meant not only to Trixx but to her mother and sisters, the redheaded young woman lowered her head in shame. "…Damn you, Trixx," she grumbled as she continued mixing her family's breakfast.

Seeing through her partner's guise of humor, the Kwami continued to float before her. "I wish you'd see it, Alya," she declared just above a whisper. "I wish you'd see that you're the hero, not Volpina."

"…Just…just leave me alone," Alya painfully decided. With that, the room filled with silence, ending only when Trixx returned to her resting place while Alya worked.

Leaning against the cold wall of his icy dwelling, The Hunter drove his clenched fist deeper into the brick and concrete. "My whole life, I've had an enemy," he declared as images flashed through his unhappy mind. "I didn't know its name, its form, or even what it was…Now I know…it's the Miraculous." That word burned worse than any fire the broken man had ever trudged through, yet it was his obsession. Ever since Ladybug first appeared, he knew. Now, there was nothing to hold the hunter back. Grabbing his sacred gun, The Hunter approached a window capable only of allowing him faint glimpses of the world outside, and watched as the sun rose above Paris one last time.

Looking away from breakfast, Alya leaned into the windowpane and stared out at the sunrise. There was once a time when its arrival meant the start of a new dream, a new adventure. Once she became a Miraculous, the dream felt heavenly. Then, after everything began to fall apart, the sunrise meant another battle to endure, more friends in danger, and more Akumatized she might not be able to save. Now, after everything that had happened and all she had done, Alya no longer knew the meaning of the sunrise.

Sitting atop her bed, Sabrina Raincomprix attempted to quiet her sobs, wiping her eyes and nose almost constantly while Ladybug gently brushed the young woman's short, red hair. "It's going to be okay, Sabrina," the Miraculous promised. "You're a lot stronger than you think you are. And you're not alone…We all look after each other now." The young woman closed her eyes and sniffled, her stomach still upset. "I know you're afraid…We're all still afraid, but we won't have to fight much longer. Tonight, I want you to meet the others, okay? They're all people you know, and they'll all be happy you're joining the family."

Glancing up from the weak glimmer of light shining into his cold chamber, Hawk Moth narrowed his search for the next victim of his Akuma. "Ladybug," the beast whispered, remembering how cold Nathalie's hand felt as he held it so few hours ago. "Your allies, your…family…I will take them all from you. One by one, I will break them. Then, one by one, you'll all fall. I will show no mercy. You have all committed too many sins against those I love. The youngest and purest of your soldiers will fall first, and then all others who stand by you. This will mark the last time the indifferent sun rises on the Miraculous."

"Just one more day," Alya begged under her breath.

"Morning!" Ella and Etta excitedly cried out in harmony as they raced into the kitchen.

Seeing her mother wasn't far behind, the redheaded young woman smiled and directed her family to the table. "Morning, ladies," she cheerfully greeted the three. "I made your favorite. How'd you sleep, Mom?"

"Pretty well," the woman of the house answered, still a bit groggy. "How about you, angel? You're up awfully early."

"I actually slept well," Alya answered with a smile. "No nightmares, no waking up in the middle of the night…All good." Images began to flash through the young woman's mind, reminding her of everything she had endured the night before. All the same, she had slept the sleep of babes, and finally found a peaceful day. "Come on. Everybody take a seat before the pancakes get cold."

The twins excitedly clapped their hands as their big sister began serving up her specialty, while their mother just watched, trying to believe all was right, as Alya continued to wear a smile that was only partially true as she set her family's meal on the table. Trixx lay awake in her partner's bag, unable to rest, and staring up at Alya. Glancing down at the Kwami, the young woman's smile faded for a second as she sat down.

"Who would like to say Grace today?" the girls' mother asked, her voice light.

"Me, me, please!" Ella excitedly cried out, her hand shooting into the air. With her mother's permission, the little girl blessed herself and cupped her hands. "Thank You, God, that we all slept well, we're all together, and thanks for breakfast. Please bless us all and keep us together and safe and happy forever and ever. Amen."

"Amen," the rest of the Césaire family answered in harmony. With that, they thanked Alya and began eating the breakfast she had prepared.

Seeing her family happy, healthy, and together, Alya felt her heart warm over once again. Despite what Trixx believed, the young woman's family was the only reason she needed to keep going.

In a darker part of the city, Adrien entered the shade-soaked room Nathalie had been resting in, where he found his father. Like so many nights before, the head of the Agreste family had fallen asleep at his assistant's bedside, his weary head resting at her shoulder. Adrien placed his hand on his father's arm and gently shook him. "Dad," he spoke up, stirring the prematurely aged man. "Come on. You need to eat something."

"Adrien, her…" Gabriel stuttered as his heart attempted to calm itself from the nightmares it had endured just moments before. "…Her hands are cold."

"I'll take care of her, Dad," Adrien answered as his father forced himself onto his feet and staggered into the hallway. Once Gabriel was far enough away, Adrien pulled up a chair and settled at the head of his caregiver's bed. "Hey, Nathalie," he softly spoke as he tucked the woman's cold, pale hands under her blankets. "Are you having sweet dreams? …Dad and I are doing okay, but we both miss you." Pulling a brush from his pocket, the young man propped his surrogate mother's head up on her pillow and began running the bristles through her long purple and black hair. "I know you like your hair short, Nathalie, but I don't know how to cut it. I'll take care of it until you're better, though." Failing to stop the tears from welling up in his eyes, Adrien continued his work, as he did every morning. "Please come back soon…I miss you so freaking much," he finally broke down before laying across Nathalie's upper chest and gently yet tightly holding her right arm. "…You're the only reason I keep going, Nathalie."

Sitting in wait, watching the sun make its way across the sky, his breathing slow and silent, The Hunter remembered his calling and his reason. As a child, he trudged through snow and ice in search of the one that called to him. Growing older, he stuffed snow into his mouth to hide the steam of his breath, all to get close to his target. As an adult, his life was a hunt, guiding his every movement, thought, and breath. Since the day he was forced to kill, he would never truly sleep, but his mission would not go unfulfilled. The Hunter rose to his feet as the sun began to set over the unclear horizon, just as Hawk Moth raised his head to face the coming of night. As an Akuma flew from its home and into the city, the hunter departed from his dwelling, leaving it cold and empty once more.

"I take up the gun…one last time," The Hunter declared, his breath heavy and his voice grave.