"M-Master," Chat laughed nervously as he reached Papillion, "I was not expecting you today."
"I will always take time to eat a nice meal with you, boy," Papillion said calmly, placing a basket on the table.
Chat took his cue to get the plates and goblets, breaking a few things as he did so. Papillion smirked as Chat fumbled. He had all the information he needed right there. He had seen the little figure of Marinette in the model town before, but now the little figure only made him angry.
"I've been searching tirelessly for that girl, you know," he smiled as he placed grapes on each plate.
"Yes, Master," Chat answered breathily, "Have you had any luck finding her?"
Papillion frowned, "You know, none of this would even be a problem if someone had not helped her escape."
Chat sat still, staring up at Papillion.
"I know it was you who helped her escape, Chat Noir," he accused.
"Master?" Chat whispered.
"You!" Papillion threw the plates of food from the table, causing Chat to fall backward in retaliation and fear, "are the reason the city now burns! You are the reason people have DIED!"
"But she is not evil," Chat responded quietly.
"She is a Gypsy, you fool!" Papillion threw the delicate buildings onto the floor, "Any act of kindness she showed you was in attempt to trick you into doing what she wanted! She used you!"
"B-but, Master," Chat hiccuped as tears filled his eyes.
"Think of your MOTHER," Papillion grabbed Chat by the shoulders, "All Gypsies are alike! They do not really care about others! They only want to survive! People are nothing more than their own little toys to play with!"
Chat buckled under the weight of both his body and his words. His knees hit the floor. Papillion released him and straightened himself.
"But don't worry, boy," he said as he swept his cloak as he turned, "I have searched this city from top to bottom and have found their little hideaway at last. I will attack at dawn with a thousand men. Then, the gypsy Marinette will be burned at the stake for witchcraft and will be out of your life forever."
Chat's eyes shined with tears as his master descended the stairs. His head swam with what he could possibly do to help.
"We have to get there first, warn the people," a voice said from a far corner of the room.
"Nino?" Chat asked as the man came into view.
"This is the part where I say something clever and witty, but," he adjusted his pants and began to go toward the South stairs, "I just don't have that kind of time."
Chat smirked before following him. "So what's the plan?"
"Are you really willing to leave the safety of the tower?" Nino asked abruptly.
Chat inhaled sharply, balling his hands into two fists, "If it means protecting Marinette, it will be worth anything this world can throw at me."
Nino chuckled as the two emerged on the street below, "Now… where are we going?"
Chat ran a hand over his head and looked up at the skies. He furrowed his eyebrows as he glanced from the stars to his wrist, where the bright beads of Marinette's bracelet was tied tightly to him.
He held up his wrist and examined the beads carefully. Each bead had a different constellation engraved on it, but beneath each one was an arrow pointing in a different direction. He looked up at the skies again, trying to find the constellations above him.
"Uh, Chat Noir?" Nino asked as he watched him stare at his wrist and then up at the stars, "What are you doing?"
"She gave me a map to get to her," Chat grinned as he located another constellation.
"That is a string of beads," Nino pointed out.
"They are a map," Chat corrected, holding the beads up so he can see, "each picture on the beads is a different constellation found in the night sky. Beneath each of them is an arrow pointing in a specific direction. If you were to find each constellation and follow where the arrow leads," Chat began to run down the streets of Paris excitedly, Nino trailing behind, "They all point to the same place!"
"Great," Nino called out, "So where are we going?"
"The Court of Miracles," Chat said flatly, "Duh."
"Silly me," Nino responded just as flatly, "How could I not know that was what you were planning."
After a few silent minutes of travel Nino's curiosity as to where they were headed returned, "Care to explain in more detail as to where we are going?"
"I had talked to Marinette before about how to find the Court of Miracles," Chat explained as he walked, "she told me that the best place to start was town square, where Notre Dame is,and it's a straight line there," Chat pointed ahead of them, "This road leads straight to the Court of Miracles."
The two stopped when they reached a daunting archway, "No," Nino said pointing to the large sign overhead, "this leads us to the graveyard."
Chat raised an eyebrow, "You're not scared, are you, Captain?"
Nino frowned, "What is there to be afraid of? We're just walking into a graveyard at night. Looking for a secret organization that has remained hidden for many many years. People have probably died looking for this place. The place is to be attacked in a matter of hours. Nothing to be afraid of at all."
The pair wandered toward the center of the graveyard where a large tomb stood out from the rest. Chat looked from the symbol on the tomb to a symbol on the largest bead on the string.
"Is this it?" Nino asked as he stepped closer to read the inscription on the tomb.
"Looks like it," Chat said looking around the tomb.
"Well, it will take me a few minutes to decode these words, and then we will be on our way," Nino said as he ran his finger over the words.
Chat grabbed the large stone on the top of the tomb and slid it aside, revealing a large stairway leading below the ground.
"Yes," Nino agreed as he looked down, "or we can just follow the stairs."
"I figured you already got that part translated," Chat grinned as the two climbed down.
"Oh course I did," Nino lied.
At the bottom of the stairs, the pair found the old catacombs. The walls were lined with cobwebs, skeletons, and the occasional rat.
Nino smirked when he saw Chat's ears turn toward the sound of the rats running around. "So can you hear really well with those things?"
"I didn't used to think so," Chat said honestly, "One time, Marinette said I started laughing really hard when someone down on the street told a good joke," Chat laughed to himself just thinking about it, "she said she couldn't make out a single word of the conversation."
"Hm," Nino hummed as they walked on.
"The really cool thing I can do," Chat said tapping his temple, "is see in the dark."
"Really," Nino said in honest amazement, "You should join the army. We could use a man like you in our ranks."
Chat stopped dead in his tracks, "Someone's here with us," he whispered.
"I figured as much," Nino deadpanned, "we've been due for some sort of trap."
Something blunt hit Nino's hand, causing him to drop his torch into the water at their feet, engulfing them in darkness. Chat blinked as his eyes adjusted to the darkness. Nino had crouched down and was waving his hands to find the legs of someone attacking him, finding no one.
"They're surrounding us on all sides," Chat warned as figures of a dozen people suddenly emerged from the walls. Each masked face grinned as they produced various ropes, chains, and other restraints.
In a flash of light, a few torches were lit in their faces, blinding both men. Chat grunted in pain as the white light overrode his senses. He lifted his hands to cover his eyes only to have them grabbed and tied up.
Nino was not much better off. He had been jumped on by what seemed to be a child. She hit him repeatedly on the back, making him shout in pain from his wound. A large man with a golden mask covering his whole head tied his hands tightly behind him and pushed him forward down the tunnel.
The crowd began shouting in victory as they paraded them into the light of what could only be the Court of Miracles.
"Look what we found!"
"They're spies for Papillion!"
"Hang them both!"
"Someone go get Nathanial!"
"I'm already here, love! Let's have a little fun with them!"
Nathaniel, the man who led the Festival of Fools, stood tall on a stockade near the entrance of the Court. He smiled wide as the two were dragged, gagged and struggling, to his side.
A large crowd of colorfully dressed gypsies all cheered as he began to talk.
"I have good noose tonight, everyone!" he said as he motioned to the hangman's noose behind him, "We have a couple of spies from Judge Papillion himself! The Captain of the Guard, Nino Lahiffe, and his henchman the mysterious black cat, the bell ringer of Notre Dame!"
The two men were pulled over to the hangman's tree and put through the noose.
"Now," Nathaniel explained to the men, "normally, we would put you through a fair trial, but since you and your precious Master are no longer giving us that luxury…" he trailed as his hand grabbed the lever, "Fair is fair, you know."
Just as his hands gripped the lever tightly, a voice called out from the crowd, "STOP!"
Nathaniel looked out to see Marinette and Alya running toward the platform.
"Stop it!" Alya shouted as she climbed up and began to untie Nino.
"These men aren't our enemies," Marinette explained to the crowd, "They are our friends!"
"Why didn't they just say so in the first place, then?" Nathaniel argued as both men pulled their gags out.
"We tried," Chat gasped.
"Nino saved the miller's family," Alya shouted as Ninio wrapped a protective arm around her.
"And Chat Noir helped me escape Notre Dame," Marinette added, standing beside him.
"There's no time to waste," Nino shouted to everyone, "Papillion knows where the Court of Miracles is. He plans to attack at dawn with a thousand men!"
"Everyone needs to escape as soon as possible!" Chat added, addressing the crowd, "Take only what is necessary and find a place to hide!"
"Quickly, everyone!" Marinette shouted as the people began to rush to their carts and gather their belongings.
People ran about shouting and helping one another with various boxes, bags, and children. Chat stared in awe at the way the people all worked together to protect one another.
"You took such a huge risk to get here," Marinette said quietly to the men, "We all are really grateful."
Alya swung a bag over her head and handed another to Marinette, "Your parents are worried, Mari."
"Your parents, the bakers?" Chat clarified as he looked out, trying to see them.
"Yes," Marinette laughed, "I'll be travelling out with them." She hugged Chat tightly, "Thank you so much, Chat."
"It was all thanks to you, Mari," Chat smiled as they parted slightly, "if it weren't for your beads, I would never have figured it out."
"Nor would I," the deep voice of Papillion rang out over the shouts of the crowd. Hundreds and hundreds of soldiers emerged from the entrance to the Court. In a matter of minutes, the entire population of the Court was arrested, chained, and ready to be taken away to the Palace of Justice. Chat, Nino, Marinette, and Alya were cornered. Chat was the only one who was not arrested.
"Master, please!" Chat tried to reason.
"Well done, Chat Noir," Papillion applauded, "After twenty years of searching, I have finally found the breeding grounds for all Gypsy vermin in all of Paris." He raised his arms as he addressed the entire crowd, "I am hosting a little bonfire in town square tomorrow, and you are all invited to attend."
Chat dropped to his knees as his friends were taken away.
"Take him back to the bell tower," Papillion ordered, "And be sure he does not leave."