Oh boy I think I need to read back on this FanFic because I have been reading several other Ladybug Fanfics at the same time... and it's confusing me. XD I'm pretty sure most of you guys aren't just following my FanFic, there's just so many good ones out there am I right? :D
Anyways, my graphic design course started and I've already got homework, but thankfully it's homework than I can do easily. I'm just warning you in advance because there's sure to be less time for me to write this and more on homework. However I will update this when I have the time to do it ;)
So, I think I have the special talent of leaving cliff-hangers at the end of every chapter, let's see if this streak will end in this chapter...or it might not, only I know for sure. *giggle*
Enjoy Chapter 11 of Revelations! ^^
Miraculous Ladybug (C) Thomas Astruc/ Zagtoon
Chapter 11 – Close Call
The sight of seeing Nathalie akumatised overwhelmed Chat; he stood there in plain shock with his jaw dropped. Ladybug raised an eyebrow, confused as to why Chat was behaving like this all of a sudden. Her curiosity was beginning to get the best of her, so she managed to fend off Nathalie long enough for her to ask what was going on in an alleyway.
"Chat, what's going on? Why didn't you do or say anything?" She asked in a caring tone, worried for her partner.
Chat breathed heavily as he looked down in the distance, seeing Nathalie in an akumatised form that almost made her unrecognisable, yet the strong bond he shared between his mother made the differences seem invisible in his eyes. "If I tell you...you might figure out who I am..." He warned, his eyes filled with worry and seriousness.
She gasped silently, realising that her curiosity had reached far beyond her limits, she couldn't ask why. But at the same time Ladybug wanted to know why so she could help him, she didn't want him emotionally affected by this villain while trying to fight them off. Then, she thought of an idea. With an assuring smile, she rested her hand on his shoulder in comfort.
"Okay, how about you tell me why but at the same time don't say any names or anything related to your personal life." She explained, smiling at Chat.
More than ever Chat just wanted to explain everything then and there, he wanted to explain who the akumatised victim was, he wanted to confess his feelings, and most of all he wanted to show her who he really was so then everything would turn out alright. But he had to respect Ladybug's wishes; he began to think of a better more hidden way to explain why he was acting like this.
Taking in a deep breath, Chat looked up into Ladybug's heavenly blue eyes and explained. "I just have an emotional attachment to her that I can't explain..."
Before saying anything else, Ladybug hushed him with a finger over his lips. "That's all I need to know." She said with a caring smile.
Chat smiled in return, but still wouldn't be able to face his own mother, especially now that she knew who he really was, or the fact that he could have heard wrong when Nathalie said his real name while he was Cat Noir. Either way, Chat was extremely worried and anxious; he didn't want to hurt her regardless of the fact that she was akumatised. He cared about his mother and he didn't want to lose her, if only there was a way to communicate that to ladybug without revealing anything. He thought.
"But how can we both fight this villain if I can't?" He cried in a low whisper.
Lowering her eyebrows and turning back to her partner in emotional support, she smiled slightly as she gave him assurance through her hands resting on his shoulders. "Look, I know you can fight her, I'll do what I can to fight but I can't do this without you. We're a team remember?"
A smile crept over Chat's lips, knowing that he and Ladybug were like the yin and yang of differences, two opposing sides that complete each other. Chat felt his emotional attachment to his mother wash away as feelings of determination washed over and made him ready to fight.
"Ready when you are my lady." He said with a smirk, waving his baton out.
With a nod in reply, they both ran out into the open, seeing the akumatised victim in full force, attacking using her whip which had similar features to Ladybug's yoyo, being able to extend long distances and hit from afar. Nathalie had the signature akuma mask over her green eyes, glasses completely removed with her black and red hair down freely, and her outfit was coloured purple, to match Hawkmoth's signature colour.
Nathalie growled at the pair, not getting a full view of Cat Noir just yet, she spun her whip out towards some people down the street and they were under her every command. She ordered them to fight, and they obeyed, just like Nathalie would have if Gabriel told her so. But now she was broken free of Gabriel and able to have a will of her own.
Ladybug turned, seeing the three people from behind running full force; meanwhile Cat Noir was behind Nathalie, still worried deep down of hitting her, but could see what Nathalie could do with her whip. He was thinking that could be where the akuma is, but wondering why she would have a whip in the first place, it was the only thing he could think of until she turned around to reveal a glimmering piece of jewellery on her chest.
"That brooch..." Chat whispered to himself, his mind flashed back to when he looked at the photo of him and his mother.
He remembers seeing that brooch in the picture on her; he remembered Gabriel gave it to her a while before she 'disappeared' as an anniversary gift. It was the exact same one, except this one looked jagged and sharp, deep red and purple in colour. The akuma must have been in there, he thought. But before Chat could say anything, Nathalie spoke up.
"Your father's going to get what's coming to him!" She yelled, pointing the whip towards him.
At that moment, Chat realised that his mother could indeed tell it was him, it had to have been her motherly instincts because it made no other sense to him. Chat ducked, hearing the whip snap near him, but nothing happened to him. He opened his eyes to see that she had slashed a poster of Gabriel's fashion designs; Chat was so relieved that Ladybug was too busy fighting off the influenced people to hear what Nathalie just told her. He knew that until Ladybug came back he could talk more openly with his mother.
"Mother, please stop this! I know Father is cruel but it doesn't have to be this way!" He cried, trying to hold back his tears as his bit his lip.
Growling and clenching her open fist in mention of Gabriel, Nathalie slashed her whip to him, forgetting for a moment that she was attacking her own son. Cat Noir used his baton to fling himself over to Ladybug who had managed to defeat the three people that were under their influence.
"I am Slave Driver! Those who tell me what to do will be forced to do what I say!"
A purple Hawkmoth outline appeared around Nathalie's face, Hawkmoth was speaking to her through her thoughts, and Ladybug and Cat Noir could see this happening.
"If you want to destroy those two and your husband, you take them all to the place where it all started." Hawkmoth ordered with an evil grin.
She nodded in reply, jumping up high and unleashing her whip on the two, preparing to take control of their will. The two separated, going opposite ways to avoid the whip from getting them. They both jumped on a high building nearby to get a view of what exactly was going on.
"Do you know where the akuma is?" Ladybug asked, resting a hand against her hip.
Chat narrowed his eyebrows, trying to hide his conflicted emotions. "It's the brooch on her chest." He informed, pointing to Nathalie's chest.
It was a déjà vu for Ladybug, since she had broken a similar brooch a while ago containing an akuma but it was from Sabrina, but this one could be different, she thought. She had to think of a way to get to her without being whipped and then taken under her control. She kneeled down in thought, her eyes following Nathalie around as she went in search to find the two of them. Then, she felt heavy breathing behind her, she knew it wasn't Nathalie and grew uncomfortable when she realised it was Chat very close to her.
"What?" She asked, seeming clueless to Chat's expression.
He sniffled before he could say anything else; he lightly touched her hand as she looked into his teary emerald eyes. "Please...I don't want to lose you too..." He cried softly.
Not fully understanding what he meant by losing her as well, she embraced him, assuring that they were both going to be alright in the end. Unfortunately that wasn't enough to lift Chat's mood, he still looked deeply worried, his lips curled into a worried frown, trembling in fear. She wanted to fully understand who that woman was and why did Chat take such an emotional attachment to her, she had suspicions that she may be related to him but she decided to not think too deep into it.
"I know Chat, but we've got to work through this. With the two of us together, I know we can take her down." She said confidently, smiling at Chat.
He couldn't help but smile when she smiled like that, an almost invisible blush crept against his skin as he smiled back adoringly. But then the moment was cut off when a whip was lashed between the two of them. They both turned to see Nathalie floating high up with her whip in hand, the brooch now in full sight with a deeply angered expression on her face.
She lashed out her whip again, this time more directed at Ladybug, and luckily she was able to dodge it in time while Chat jumped off the building in the opposite direction. Chat knew he couldn't fight her even if it was his last resort, she was flying up high and there was no way to grab the brooch off her without grabbing it with a hand. Then, he turned to see his mother facing him, he cringed in fear as he felt tears pooling at the bottom of his eyelids. He didn't want to hurt her, even if she was like this. She and Ladybug were the two people Chat cared for the most.
Before Chat could be taken under her control, her arm was pulled back tightly as Ladybug's yoyo wrapped itself around her arm and pulled her back. It was then that Ladybug could see the brooch in plain sight, but couldn't think of a way to get to it. However she knew one thing for sure, Nathalie had to be distracted in order for her to grab the whip off her and grab the brooch.
Her eyes widened with determination at the idea. "Chat! You need to distract her!" She called out, using her hands to make her voice sound louder.
Chat stopped dodging Nathalie's attacks for a quick moment. "What? But I don't want to hurt her!" He cried.
Meanwhile Nathalie lashed her whip out at a bus with several people on it trying to hide from her. The bus levitated off the ground and all the people within it became under Nathalie's influence. This distracted Ladybug and Chat from communicating what Ladybug's idea was, so she decided to fight Nathalie on her own while Chat defeated the people that were under her influence.
But what Chat didn't realise was that when a person was under the influence, they could touch another and they would come under the influence as well. Luckily, he realised just in time and flung himself up into the air and onto a nearby roof using his staff. It was then he saw that all the people could fly into the sky. This made Chat do nothing but run away while swinging his baton behind him to protect himself.
Ladybug had managed to wrap the string of her yoyo fully around Nathalie, and was pulling her into her grasp before she felt of an unknown presence behind her; she jumped in immediate reaction to see that there were more people under Nathalie's influence. With an evil laugh, Nathalie broke free from Ladybug's yoyo and whipped a few more people before unleashing her next command.
"Grab Ladybug and Cat Noir! Then take them to the Agreste Mansion; I have some unfinished business to attend to." She ordered, evilly smiling as she glared at the Agreste Mansion.
Everyone that was under her control nodded in response before running full force towards Ladybug and flying towards Cat Noir who was still jumping roof to roof avoiding their attacks. Eventually he ran in a big circle and managed to make it back to Ladybug and help her fend off the people under Nathalie's dark influence.
"So I take the ones on the left, you take the ones on the right?" Chat asked, confused by what plan Ladybug had now.
Sighing in realisation that Chat wasn't as emotional as he was before, she turned to him with a small annoyed glare. "We don't have time to fight these guys; we need to find out what that woman really wants."
So the two of them managed to fend them off, while Ladybug was very close to being touched. Luckily she and Chat were able to make it out, and then they both made their way to the Agreste Mansion, which was very near. Ladybug worried herself that Adrien could now be in danger, she knew his time table very well and she knew that he would be home around this time, so the first thing that came to mind as she and Chat stood in front of the mansion was making sure that Adrien was safe.
She started to make her way towards Adrien's bedroom, wanting to see that he was safe, Chat followed while assuming that they were going to give Nathalie a sneak attack, but then a gasp escaped ladybug's mouth once they peered through the glass.
"Where is he?" She asked, darting her eyes across the room and seeing no trace of Adrien.
Chat bit his lip, he had to think up of something quick but he didn't know what he could say. He stuttered a little before he finally came up with something.
"Maybe he hid somewhere safe when Nat- the woman came barging in?" he suggested, rubbing his neck nervously.
Ladybug hummed in reply before the two of them climbed through the window and into Adrien's room. Chat turned to his bed, having a sudden feeling of regret and having upsetting thoughts; more than anything he wanted to crash on his bed and forget that any of this ever happened. While he stared at his bed, Ladybug found something and called out for his attention.
He darted over, and saw the picture of Adrien and his mother, with the brooch in plain sight. That was when Chat started to back away in worry that she would discover who he really was, though excited that she could find out in this very moment, he was terrified at the same time.
"It's that same brooch; she must be related to Adrien somehow..." She wondered, before something clicked in her head, making her realise why Chat was so worried and anxious around that woman. "I know why you don't want to fight her..."
A gulp as large as an apple squeezed down Chat's throat as his heart pounded out of his chest and his muscles tightened, he knew it. This was it. It was going to be the time where his secret identity would be revealed to Ladybug, and completely forgetting the positive outlook he had on this, he backed away towards the window, secretly wanting to run before Ladybug turned to him with the look of mild shock on her face.
She held the photo up towards him, Chat had to look, even if he was just looking at a picture of himself, he had to look at the picture and not Ladybug, whom he was sure had an extremely shocked look on her face by this point. He closed his eyes tightly before Ladybug began to speak in a more calmer tone than he was expected.
"This is Adrien's mother, and you're one of Adrien's friends. That's why you don't want to hurt her." She stated.
Shrinking his lips as he processed what Ladybug just said to him and then his muscles relaxed in relief that she didn't find out. It was too close for call, he thought as he walked up to Ladybug, examining the photograph. He held it up, examining the brooch on his mother's chest, seeing if there was a way to unhook it from her. While in thought, Ladybug tossed some ideas around.
"Perhaps if I tie her up you can grab the brooch off her and then I'll cleanse the akuma." She suggested, a confident smile printed on her face.
Almost dazed out by admiring the picture of him and his mother, Chat shook his head and nodded in response to Ladybug's plan.
"Good idea, but where is she now?" He asked, the two of them looking around in silence, waiting to hear something.
Not a moment later was the sound of two large doors being smacked to the ground; they both ran out of the room and saw Nathalie zooming up the stairs. Chat was the first to panic, realising that his father could be in danger.
"We have to hurry! She's after Gabriel!" Chat cried, as he directed Ladybug towards where the woman was going.
Grabbing her yoyo and swinging it to the opposite end of the room, Ladybug swung herself towards the top of the stairs while Chat followed closely behind. It then grew too quiet for comfort; the pair looked around, confused and tense about what was going to happen next. Then Chat saw his father's office, he ran towards it while silently gesturing a following arm to Ladybug.
They both leant against the door; they could hear something on the other side of the door. So, both knowing exactly what to do as they nodded at each other, Ladybug and Cat Noir stood back with their weapons in hand. With a whisper to three, the two superheroes knocked down the door and quickly examined the room, ready for what was going to happen next.
But then, they saw what they least was expecting. Their jaws dropped and their pupils shrunk in pure shock and surprise at the scene presented before them.
"Welcome Ladybug and Cat Noir. We meet at last."
And there I go again... XD Oh I'm pretty sure I've got you guys hanging off the seat now, but please don't pressure me! I'll get the next Chapter up as soon as I can; I just have a life you know? Jeez for some reason that Chapter was hard to budge out in some places, oh well it all worked out in the end.
So I think the next Chapter should be up in the next 2-3 days, but it may be delayed because of my course. Oh well, I'll see you when I upload Chapter 12! ^^