I've pretty much recovered from my cold so I feel great, but I've had lots of homework from my course pile up because I have a two week break the week after next week, and if I haven't finished the story by then, then maybe that two week break I'll finish this story. I don't want this story to end I promise! It's just that all great things come to an end eventually.
The ending isn't like the next chapter or something, but as I think out the rest of the story of my head there isn't much left to go, and with me updating this story twice a week that'll end the story sooner. But don't give your hopes up I do have plans for other Ladybug Fanfics and some crossover ones with one of my other beloved TV shows :D
Lately it's been real busy for me so I apologise for the slight delay on this chapter, but don't worry next chapter should be on time. ;) Also, I feel real lucky that the English dubbed episodes are being released in my country first, I feel special ^^
Miraculous Ladybug (C) Thomas Astruc/ Zagtoon
Chapter 28 – Taken Away
Adrien's former bodyguard had been turn into a similar monster that compared to his first ever akuma battle with Stone Heart, only this one seemed to create heavier thuds with every step he took, plus he wasn't made of stone. Adrien stood perched on the railing of Marinette's balcony, he was already feeling the nature of being a bird, he had a curious thought as to if he could fly or not because Neera didn't mention anything about it, but he wasn't willing to test it at that moment.
He looked down at the monster, he glared at Adrien in his new form before he growled and let out a roar. He stomped over towards the building and started to climb it like a gorilla climbing the tallest tower in the city. Adrien leapt off the balcony and jumped to another roof, he was glad that Neera explained pretty much all the miraculous powers gave him beforehand, and somehow it was good timing too.
Everyone around the bakery had run off ages ago, ever since the monster appeared out of nowhere and started to look for Adrien. The blonde teen tried to think of a way to sneak up on him, but then remembered what he could do when he landed on the ground. He smirked at the thought before he took a giant leap off the roof of the building and landed softly against the ground, the feathers behind him slowing down his falling speed to almost slow and dainty, making Adrien feel slightly embarrassed as the way he fell gently down wasn't really for him.
He whipped out his fans, shaking them open as he held a fighting stance before running straight towards his akumatised old bodyguard and used the fans to smack him to the ground. The gorilla got up with a monstrous growl; Adrien held his ground before the gorilla was ought to grab him very quickly. He made a leap for it and jumped high up to the nearest roof.
Looking down at his fans, he remembered the other capability they had, so Adrien spun around on the spot and flung several sharp shards of the fan straight at the akumatised gorilla, pinning him to the ground by the torn clothes he wore. It was then that Adrien wondered where could the akuma be, he leapt down to approach the gorilla and find the object, but as he landed on the ground, he realised something.
He made a terrible mistake, if his old bodyguard was akumatised there was no way his father had left for fashion week in North America, he was still in Paris somewhere. Then his suspicions were confirmed when the signature glowing akuma outline formed across the gorilla's face.
Adrien said nothing, his anger starting to boil as fury and rage built up inside for how much his father had betrayed him after all these years and after all the destruction his own father had caused. The shards of the fans had returned back into their normal fan shape and were resting in Adrien's tightly gripped fists.
Remembering the other powers he had, he used his feathers from behind to give him a small window of flying before Adrien landed feet first into the face of his enemy, causing his akumatised old bodyguard to fall head first into the ground. Adrien smirked with pride, before quickly trying to analyse where the akuma might be, but unfortunately he wasn't able to spot anything before he was grabbed by the neck and flung across the street, his back hitting a solid brick wall, making him wince and groan in pain.
"I need Ladybug here..." He whispered as he felt the pain at its peak, getting back up.
But he knew well enough where Ladybug was and didn't want to disturb her, but he felt like he was already running out of options, and he was starting to piece together why his father was still in Paris and not on a plane. So Adrien leapt up to a building and lead the gorilla far away from the buildings and roads to lessen the damage the akumatised victim gave, on his way he made sure he went past the school so Marinette could get the idea of what was going on and come help.
During that same time, Marinette had finally let herself relax a little as she began to focus on her work more, with Alya on her side constantly whispering teases about Chloe being antsy about Adrien not being around, as well as the curious question to Nino about where he could be, but Nino had no idea, he only assumed that Adrien was going through some family trouble so he'd be back at school when it was all over.
Marinette sighed as she tapped her pencil lightly against her notebook, she wished Adrien's family wasn't so disconnected and in chaos, she wished that Adrien had a happy life with his family just like she does with her parents; Nino's words made her sadden as she lowered her eyes, her head resting in the palm of her hand.
"Don't worry girl, he'll be back soon." Alya assured in a whisper, pulling Marinette in slightly and patting her head.
She chuckled quietly in response for Alya's assurance, if only she knew, Marinette thought. But then, a loud thud was heard from outside, followed by countless other thuds as they sounded much like steps. Some students rushed to the window to see a horrifying monster that resembled a lot like a bodyguard of some sort, some grew scared and some grew excited.
"Oh no, what is that!?" Rose cried, her hands clenched over her mouth in worry.
"Looks to be a combination of the Hulk from the popular American comic brand Marvel along the superhero and super villain line as well as a muscular man with about sixty percent muscle mass." Max calculated, fixing up his glasses.
Alya rushed to window with worry and concern, before she whipped her phone out and started to film. "No way! I have to go outside to see this!" She exclaimed.
In all the meanwhile the teacher was trying to calm down the students and order them to return back to their seats, but then the shaking of the ground became more violent with each step the monster took made her think otherwise and start to panic.
"Okay everyone stay calm and stay as far away from the windows as possible, please stay inside!" She instructed in a slight panic.
But then some of the students gushed out the door, opening up an opportunity for Marinette to leave and transform. Luckily Alya had been stopped by the teacher while some other students were gushing out the door, so Marinette snuck out with a breeze. She ran to the girl's bathroom and Tikki came flying out of her purse in a hurry.
"We need to hurry Tikki, Adrien might be in danger!" Marinette exclaimed, her expression filled with worry for Adrien but determination to stop the villain. "Tikki, spots on!"
With a flash of pink light, Marinette transformed into Ladybug. She zipped out the nearest window and started to follow the monster's tracks. It wasn't long before she saw the cause of all the noise and ground shaking when she saw the same guy from earlier that day, she worried where Adrien would be and sincerely hoped that he still was at home in her room, but what she saw next made her heart beat fasten with panic.
Adrien was there, in front of the akumatised victim wearing the peacock miraculous and using it to fight the monster off. He had his fans out and was whizzing them around before he spun up into the air to make the individual parts of the fan split and pin his akumatised old bodyguard to the ground. This was when Ladybug stepped in.
"Adrien!" Ladybug cried, calling out for her boyfriend's attention. "It's too dangerous!"
"Don't worry Ladybug, remember who I once was. I can take it!" He shouted back in assurance with a smirk, before his fans retracted and the monster was on foot yet again. "But I wouldn't mind having your help though." He added, backing away from the monster with his fans in a fighting stance.
Ladybug didn't want Adrien fighting because she cared for him way too much, even if he used to be Cat Noir fighting alongside her it still worried her how he could fight using the peacock miraculous. She was unaware of the powers the peacock miraculous possessed, but knew she had to trust Adrien on this one, she could see that Adrien was mastering the fans really well, and his movements were becoming more like a bird. It reminded her of all the times his movements were cat like when he'd run hands and feet on the ground, sometimes actually meowing at the villain and even sitting like a cat on hard to reach places.
Now he was leaping all over the place like a bird, she hoped this didn't become permanent because she really preferred Adrien to be Cat Noir, even if that Cat Noir was always joking, teasing her and acting like a cat half the time. They were the same person; she just had to get accustomed to it until Adrien could get his ring and his kwami back.
Ladybug nodded before she whipped out her yoyo and spun it by her side, she made a run towards the akumatised victim and swung the yoyo around his legs before zooming underneath him and then ripping the rug from under him, causing him to fall and make the ground shake with his sudden fall. Adrien rushed to Ladybug's side, needing to explain exactly what was going on, but Ladybug spoke up first with a regretful expression.
"I knew I should have captured his akuma sooner, why did I leave him be?" She exclaimed, guilt filling her expression as she covered her face with her hand.
Adrien pressed his hands gently against his lady's shoulders. "Don't worry Ladybug, we all make mistakes." He assured her with a smile. "Now let's fight him together and capture his akuma."
His head sunk low when the thought of his father still being in town ran through his mind, but he shrugged it off and readied himself in a fighting stance. Ladybug felt more assured but still worried that Adrien might be hurt or captured, because this was the same man that attacked them that same morning, and she knew very well that he was after Adrien.
There was no way she was letting that happen, she felt like she knew Hawkmoth's plan inside and out. If he were to get his own son back, he would use him as bait to lure her in and give him her miraculous. Both she and Adrien knew that he didn't have a heart to care about anyone except himself, after all those akumas he released there was no way he was caring of others, or letting others do what they wanted to do. But there was something that bothered her the most, how come he didn't capture either of them when they were in the mansion?
It was a question that was constantly on her mind as she and Adrien fought the gorilla monster.
The gorilla lifted a giant piece of broken road and threw it at the duo, they both jumped away from each other to dodge it, they both had an arm balancing their weight against the ground as they knelt and looked up at their enemy. Ladybug had to think of a way to stop him plus finding where the akuma might be hidden, but right now there was nothing other than the torn clothes he was wearing, and there was nothing clenched in either of his hands like Stone Heart did, so she felt lost.
"Where could that akuma be?" She whispered to herself, narrowing her eyes on the gorilla monster.
She took out her yoyo, gripped it tightly before she took a giant leap over the monster and wrapped her yoyo around him. She pulled him back tightly, ensuring that the string remained tightened around him. Then Adrien stepped in and ran up to the monster, he searched as quickly and as carefully as he could to see what could be the object the akuma was in, but from what he could see there were only the torn clothes he was wearing.
More than anything he sincerely wanted his ring back, right then he wanted to use his cataclysm on the clothes to see if the akuma was actually hiding within his clothes, even though he wouldn't like to see the after effects of his old bodyguards clothes being removed, it was a risk he wanted to take if only he had his miraculous back.
"Can you see anything?" Ladybug asked, calling out to him.
The warm angered breath from the gorilla made Adrien sweat nervously as he began to see the string wrapped around him loosen, the monster gorilla growled under his breath as he fought his way through the wrapped yoyo string. Ladybug could feel him fighting back, Adrien stepped back with his fans in hand while Ladybug pulled as hard as she could to keep the string as tight as possible around him.
But his force was too strong, with more words from Hawkmoth through his mind, the monster gorilla built up enough anger to break free from the impenetrable yoyo string. Ladybug felt the force from him overwhelm hers as she was pulled in and then swung away to a nearby building, crashing against a wall, causing Adrien's heart to shatter and his heat boil in anger.
"Don't you dare hurt her!" He shouted angrily, as he ran up towards him with his fans spinning in hand.
Adrien leapt up into the air and combined the two fans into one, creating a larger and more powerful fan than the two on their own; it was then that he used the larger fan to smack the gorilla monster halfway down the street. Adrien knew he had to keep his anger low otherwise he could be leading himself into his father's trap. But he didn't want anyone hurting one of the two people he loved more than anyone else, even if one was already in his father's clutches, there was no way he was going to let Ladybug bow to his father's will.
The monster gorilla turned and growled at Adrien; on all fours it made a run towards Adrien. Adrien stood his ground, feeling his anger still at large he gripped his large fan tightly before bending down waiting for the enemy to come really close, and then once the monster gorilla had stepped onto his giant fan, Adrien lifted him off the ground and sent him flying into the building behind him. He heard a large crash and turned to see half the wall smashed in because of how he just threw him.
While the enemy recovered, Ladybug quickly made her way towards Adrien, panting as she was starting to feel the pain from being swung into a wall, her shoulder felt dislocated but she was still determined to fight. She wanted to use her lucky charm, but she wanted to be sure where the akuma was first.
"Did you see anything that could've been the object?" Ladybug asked, sincerely hoping Adrien found something.
"If there was I would've told you already." He implied, his face serious but sympathetic towards Ladybug.
Ladybug could feel Adrien growing angry at the monster gorilla, she could see in his emerald eyes that he was fighting to keep his anger built inside. He was much like a ticking time bomb waiting to explode. She decided to use her lucky charm, having no choice in whether she and Adrien should keep fighting him or not. But before she could swing her yoyo up into the air, the gorilla came back at them with full force, this time fisting the ground and causing the entire ground around them to shake.
The duo started to lose their balance, Ladybug could feel her balance slipping as the pain from hitting the wall earlier started to dominate the strength she had left, but then she felt a hand grip hers tightly and lifted her back onto her two feet. The monster gorilla growled at the two before running at them in full force. Adrien readied himself as he was going to run full force towards him but then felt a tug of the feathers attached to him as Ladybug pulled him back.
"No." She stated firmly, looking up at the monster gorilla rapidly approaching them, her mind accumulating an idea."Follow me." She said, quickly swinging her yoyo to the nearest building.
Adrien quickly followed, using his back feathers to leap him high up into the air and land onto the roof of the building next to Ladybug. He knelt down and glared at his old akumatised bodyguard, he hated him for hurting Ladybug, but he fought long and hard to keep all that anger inside, he didn't want Ladybug to be around when his anger was at its peak.
"What do we do?" He asked, looking up at his lady. "Your lucky charm?" He suggested, raising an eyebrow underneath his mask.
Ladybug nodded with determination, she swung her arm into the air and said the magic words, her arm stung in pain while she waited for the lucky charm to be revealed. The lucky charm fell gently into her hands with two small thuds; she and Adrien looked at the lucky charm with utter confusion.
"Another pair of earrings? They look exactly like your ladybug ones!" He exclaimed, feeling an idea being accumulated, before Ladybug darted her eyes to accumulate a similar idea.
She saw her idea in the form of black and red polka dots painted across each of the things she needed to make her idea work. She felt her confidence thrive as her mouth widened in the form of a smile, she looked up at Adrien, seeing that he knew exactly what she was thinking. She gave the earrings to him before Adrien leapt off the building to grasp the monster gorilla's attention.
"Hey! You!" He yelled, getting the gorilla's full attention. "I have something you want." He stated, making sure the earrings were in full sight.
The familiar glow of Hawkmoth communicating through his pawn was seen before it vanished a moment later and the gorilla was running full speed towards Adrien. Adrien gripped the fake earrings tightly before sprinting in the opposite direction. Meanwhile Ladybug was perched high up waiting for the right moment to strike.
But then, the monster gorilla stopped. Ladybug parted her lips in confusion as she raised an eyebrow, wondering why the gorilla suddenly stopped. After not feeling anymore thuds from behind, Adrien turned to see the gorilla completely stopped, as if he had been frozen on the spot. Then the unthinkable happened, from the monster gorilla's mouth, thousands of duplicate akumas flew out and darted their way over to Adrien at blazing speed.
"Adrien, no!" Ladybug cried, her emotions taking control as she tried to make her way to Adrien as fast as she could.
Adrien gasped in a panic and ran as fast as he could away from the swarm of akumas, he leapt from building to building trying to detour the akumas but they were too smart and somehow knew Adrien's every move. Ladybug was more than ready to cleanse the duplicates, but as she swung out her yoyo to grab them, she saw the love of her life being engulfed by the purple butterflies.
"No!" She screamed, tears streaming down her face.
Okay kill me now, you guys aren't going to stop pestering me with this cliffhanger I can tell you that. Now again I do apologise for the slight delay, don't get worried if I don't update this on time twice every week, sometimes things will come up and get in the way, but don't worry I never leave my stories unfinished. ;)
So since I uploaded this one late I'll try to upload Chapter 29 on Sunday instead of Monday but we'll see what the weekend brings me. Enjoy hanging off your seats in the meantime! ^^