Chapter 2: Beware the Shadows!
~Lady Bug~
She opened her eyes and the brightness of the light tormented her. She quickly shut her eyes and concentrated on breathing slowly. Something had happened. She couldn't quite understand what though. There wasn't much to be heard, but there was purity in the air itself, so in a big city she was not in. She felt for her hands and encountered wet leaves. Opening her eyes, she found herself positioned in the biggest and thickest tree she had ever seen. Yet, she was still damp. She looked over to find Cat Noir in the same way but opposite side of the tree. She shook her head and tried to find her footing, while rising herself from the awkward position she woke up in.
Crack.
Urgh, there went my back, thought Lady Bug tiredly. The more she moved, the more her muscles seemed to voice their protest at being left too long in the wrong angle. By the time she was standing, she felt every part of her body ache. She frowned. What happened yesterday, she wondered.
In the corner of her eye, she caught a movement of some type. She looked to see Cat Noir try to move, but only a grumble and groan came out of the wet cat. She shook her head silently. She felt for her yo-yo, but it was not at her purse. She looked frantically for it, until she laid eyes upon it on the ground.
Huh, don't remember leaving it there. In fact, I don't really remember much of last night, she worried. She tried climbing down, and ended up slipping twice. There was a considerable amount of moss-like substance on the tree, which was odd. Nothing like this existed in Paris. Sure, they were a bit out of the city of Paris, but still didn't warrant for this type of flora. Lady Bug caught her yo-yo and climbed back up to the tree until she reached the top of the tree and observed her surroundings. She looked over the treetops and found the scenery puzzling. It was not Paris, but some tropical jungle. She had no idea why they were there.
"What happened? Milady? Are you here?" asked a very tired kitty.
"Yeah, just looking at the view, Cat Noir. Do you know we are not in Paris anymore? Maybe not even France."
"Mmmm..., he grumbled until his eyes popped out and asked, "What?!"
"Yeah, nothing in France has this temperature or view. We're in a tropical forest of some kind."
"How? Just a moment ago we were in a mini forest just outside of Paris. How did we end up here? I may not recall much of last night, but I would certainly remember if I was in some plane of some sort." Cat Noir asked in a worried tone, and occasionally groaning with the pops of his muscles.
"I don't know. But we have to find a way out of here. Also, our Kwamis will need to energize back. Soon we'll lose our abilities. So, we might look into a place with food first." She decided. She looked at Cat Noir to gauge his reaction. He was panting heavily from trying to do what she did before, stand up.
"Alright. Lead the way, milady." was the resigned response.
Lady Bug and Cat Noir walked through the forest until they found huts belonging to some tribe. Oddly enough, they understood what the heroes of Paris needed and provided with much kindness. After shifting back separately and feeding each of their Kwamis and themselves, they were full on energy. They asked the tribe leader to help them find a way back to a big city so they could go back home. The elder of that tribe pointed the directions. When that proved confusing for the two, he used a stick to draw the directions on the soiled ground. That proved to be a more successful explanation.
When arriving at a big city, they were able to go to an airport and fly back to Paris, odd as that experience was. After returning, they met face-to-face with someone they did not feel like meeting again. The guardian. His expression was none other than anger itself. Cat Noir and Lady Bug looked at each other uneasily and sighed heavily. This was obviously something they did not care to deal with yet, but since he was there, it could not be put off.
"You both know why I am here, right?" he asked in a gruff voice.
"Yes, guardian." They answered in unison.
~Cat Noir~
He kept his head down as he followed Lady Bug and the guardian. He thought back to the first time he met the guardian, the short and old Chinese man. Little did he know when he helped the man that his life would change.
"Lady Bug, why are we here? Is this a date?" Cat Noir asked her with wagging eyebrows.
"No, I need you to meet someone important. He knows more of our miraculouses than we do and can help us harness our powers."
"Who's he? And I thought we harnessed our powers well."
"Yes, we have, but enough to face what is coming." She replied sadly. She led Cat Noir to a room where its very design was very ancient like, where secrets were definitely hidden.
He looked around in awe. So many golden designs in spirals and delicate strokes, he thought to himself. Until his eyes fastened to this short old man that seemed to genuinely be happy to be in his presence. It took him a while before he realized this was the old man he helped on his first day of school. His breath caught in his throat, as he hurried to find something to say.
"Hello Cat Noir. Glad to see you made it. It's been a while since our last meeting. Hope all is well with you." spoke the guardian.
"Y-yes, all is well with me. Thank you sir. How about yourself?"
He simply chuckled. Then a flash of green swirled around him and landed on his shoulder. It was a Kwami. He seemed to look like a miniature of a turtle. "I am Master Fu and this is my Kwami Wayzz." He introduced.
"I am Cat Noir and my Kwami is Plagg, which you might already know since you know my identity." He ended with a suspicious frown and squinting of his eyes at the older man.
"Yesss, I understand your being wary young man. I would do the same in your position. However, I did not reunite both of you for chitchat I'm afraid. Something is stirring out there, and its not Hawk Moth, someone far stronger than he. Wish I knew who, but there is no indication yet."
"How do you know there is something wrong? What is telling you about it?" Lady Bug asked, keeping an eye on the suspicious kitty on her right.
"The balance of the world is not balanced. You do not reach my age and meditate as much as I do and not realize when the balance is disturbed. Dark forces are arising. Also, something is coming upon Hawk Moth. I do not know if this will help us or not in defeating him."
"So you're basically a telepath that can only predict things, but with no specification."
One side of the guardian's face twitched in anger as he struggled to maintain calm, else should he strike the boy for the offensive comment. He took a deep breath and looked at Cat Noir and spoke while looking at his eyes. "No, that is incorrect. I am the guardian, so it is my job to watch out for heroes, especially if there is unknown danger coming towards us. It is like possessing an antenna for any unbalance that may occur, but not by human hand, but rather evil presence."
The young heroes looked at each other, starting to feel the fear within them. They looked back at the guardian and listened to what else he had to say. They left his home and went back to Paris nervous of what the future held for them.
"Cat Noir! Cat Noir! Stop daydreaming!" yelled Lady Bug.
Car Noir shook his head and looked up to meet Lady Bug's dazzling eyes. He smiled goofily. Then he caught the glare of the guardian and instantly seemed to sober up from his affection for Lady Bug. His body contracted like a scolded kitten and entered once more the threshold that belonged to the guardian with his partner.
"I know that something peculiar happened to both of you, as there have been odd reports of storms and rains all around Paris. I was able to delay the akumatized victim until you, Lady Bug, can 'de-evilize' the akuma. Yet, I fear that what sent you away, was the same person that seems to have more power than Hawk Moth himself. I am not sure if he realizes this individual's presence." He mentioned while scratching his head.
"What do we do, guardian?" Lady Bug asked in a grave tone.
"Keep on saving Paris. But beware the shadows. It is through shadows which one of your most formidable foes will emerge." he warned gravelly. He looked at the two heroes and hoped the arrival of another foe did not mean the end of them. He worried about what else he must do to save them.