So I was going to do this yesterday but I was travelling for six hours on no sleep, I went for more than a day without sleep that yesterday was so tiring and just so much happening yesterday that I couldn't do this Chapter that day, oh well I did tell you guys in advance that this would happen, hopefully you guys are okay with the chapter being a little late. :)
Well, looks like things are slowly starting to wrap themselves up, I actually ended the last chapter on too big of a cliffhanger that made it seem that it was important to the plot, but let me flesh that last part out a bit because I know some of you got confused by it. I do have an idea of how this final battle is going down, and yes this is the big fight. As much as I love this story I can't keep it going forever.
Enjoy the epic (hopefully I can make it epic) final battle! ^^ Now I don't know how long the battle will last so you'll just have to wait and see ;)
Miraculous Ladybug (C) Thomas Astruc/ Zagtoon
Chapter 31 – Disappearance
The akuma was getting extremely close to Ladybug; she didn't know what would happen if it touched her, she felt that by Hawkmoth's confident expression that he knew it was nothing she wanted to happen. Hawkmoth backed up a little and sent a swam of butterflies right into Cat Noir's face, Chat was distracted for a moment in order to make Nathalie attack and pin him to the ground.
The butterflies flew away to reveal a trapped cat on the ground, Ladybug stopped fighting Hawkmoth for a moment and reacted to the scene Hawkmoth presented to her. Her lips parted as her eyebrows curled, printing the expression of sudden worry on her face. Hawkmoth smiled and narrowed his eyes at Ladybug, feeling Ladybug's negative emotions starting to rise; he knew that within a matter of time he would have what he wanted.
"Take his miraculous!" He ordered his wife.
Nathalie obeyed by kneeling down, on top of her son, her eyes focused on the ring and her expression dull with no emotion, but then she felt the blonde teen cat speak.
"Mother please...it's me. It's your son." Chat begged, tears in his eyes as his expression grew desperate and worried.
Ladybug remained focused on Hawkmoth, knowing his target to have both their miraculouses she remained focused on fighting Hawkmoth for his miraculous. He waved his staff around her, the akuma from before was still flying around Ladybug and somehow had not yet made contact with her. Ladybug paused for just a moment to catch her breath when the akuma landed on her hand, she gasped at first reaction but then grew confused before she heard Hawkmoth growl.
"I need to anger you more." He murmured, turning to Nathalie trying to fight Cat Noir's words. "Injure the boy; hurt him until he feels nothing but pain!" Hawkmoth ordered Nathalie, pointing his staff at Chat.
The heroine's eyes widened as her anger grew, but reasoning came foremost as she could see how much of a ruthless father he was to Adrien, he was willing to hurt his own son just to get what he wanted. Hawkmoth was that evil he didn't care about anyone else except himself. She glared at the man while he smirked at her, Ladybug turned to Chat and could see that Nathalie was fighting it on the inside, wanting to break free of Hawkmoth's control but at the same time felt obliged to do what he told her.
With every word Hawkmoth said to her, Nathalie grew more obliged and willing to do whatever Hawkmoth asked her to. Chat was trying all he could to convince her, but then his mind was drawn to the last resort and hoped it would work. He closed his eyes slowly and gently lowered it onto the hard cold ground, waiting for his transformation to be released and his miraculous in her hands before she would see the real face behind the mask.
"Cat Noir, no!" Ladybug cried, her arm reaching out to him, the other clenched around her yoyo.
Hawkmoth's smile widened as he saw the ring slowly being taken off his son's finger, before Ladybug began to swing her yoyo out towards the two, Hawkmoth extended his staff towards that direction, stopping the yoyo in its tracks and wrapping itself around the staff.
Ladybug gasped as she turned to the villain, he smirked at her before a flash of green light brightened up the room.
She turned to see Chat untransformed back into just Adrien, her mind flashed back for a quick moment to when that happened last time in front of her, her mind spun for a moment before she glared at Hawkmoth. With her yoyo still wrapped around his staff, Ladybug pulled on the staff and yanked it forward, causing Hawkmoth to fall to his knees and growl in anger.
"Enough is enough Hawkmoth!" She declared, grabbing the staff and breaking it against her thigh.
The akuma that was still sitting on her hand this entire time slowly began to disappear into her, Ladybug felt her mind being lost as her self control started to let go, she looked down to realise that the akuma that was sitting on her hand was slowly starting to sink into her, Hawkmoth cackled evilly in the background before she looked down at him, expecting him to explain exactly what was going on.
"The more negativity you feel, the more willing your emotions are into giving in to my akuma." He stated, getting back up to his feet.
Ladybug was falling for Hawkmoth's trap; she could feel her emotions taking control, the akuma falling into her skin. She couldn't look at the state that Adrien was in; she knew he was trying all he could to convince his own mother who he was. She closed her eyes tightly, hearing Hawkmoth's evil laughter in the background as she tried to calm herself down.
Hawkmoth glanced at his son and wife, only to see Nathalie fighting his control over her inside and Adrien doing all he could to break her free. His eyes shrunk and narrowed at the teen in anger and frustration as he approached the two, looking back at Ladybug, knowing exactly what he had to do.
"Your mother is nothing to you anymore, she is under my control and so are you!" He declared, his voice echoing loudly throughout the room, causing the flying butterflies to pause for a sudden moment.
The teen heroine kept her eyes closed, her hands clenched tightly over her ears as she tried to keep her negative emotions as far away from her as possible. Although she hated Hawkmoth hurting his own son and claiming over the entirety of Adrien's free will, she only thought happy thoughts.
Her first akuma capture, standing up to Chloe in class, kissing Adrien, actually being with Adrien, becoming friends with Alya, but most of all she cherished the moment when her thoughts towards Adrien changed drastically, causing her to start stuttering after every response he gave her, blushing every time he was near, hiding away when his emerald eyes looked towards her. She smiled peacefully before opening her eyes to see the akuma flying off from her hand, not feeling any negativity from Ladybug anymore.
Hawkmoth stood up from his family and turned to the heroine, knew that he shouldn't have turned his back from her. He knew he had to fight back, with his fists clenched, and the direction of his fist in place in his mind, he turned to Ladybug with a smirk and a glare.
"You will soon feel negative energy Ladybug." He claimed, his clenched fist extending outwards.
Ladybug was midway through successfully capturing the akuma when she heard Hawkmoth echo those words, her head turned for a split second only to see that Adrien was about to get brutally hurt. She could see from her boyfriend's expression that he had given up, the determination swept away from his face, but she could see his anger stain his face, he wanted it all to end just as much as she did.
"No!" Ladybug cried, her arm extending outwards, abandoning the akuma before it started to fly towards her.
As Hawkmoth extending his arm into the air, and started to quickly make its way towards his own son's face, his arm was gripped tightly by another hand that wasn't Ladybug's. "Don't touch my son!"
He turned his head towards the woman, her expression angered as her motherly instincts took over, her free will returning to her as she set Adrien free and kicked Hawkmoth towards the wall on the other side of the room. Adrien and Ladybug watched in awe as they saw Nathalie start to glow a bright blue before her eyes took on their permanent green, the blue contacts now gone, her hair went from black and red to a lavish blonde as it undid itself from the bun it was once in and was now in a neat plait resting against her shoulder.
"You...I don't know how you gained back control but you will do my bidding for me!" Hawkmoth demanded, his fist clenched after he stood back up.
Ladybug was in a state of awe before she heard her name being called to her.
"Ladybug, help me defeat him!" She exclaimed, her fans in hand as she struck a fighting pose.
Adrien's miraculous had been thrown back to him, he started to put his ring on and transform back into Cat Noir, Hawkmoth cried in defeat before his anger and determination rose greater than before. He watched as he was beginning to see that he was outmatched, his ideas running thin as he no longer had his staff or all of the three miraculouses standing before him in use.
But then out of nowhere the monster gorilla returned, smashing through the ceiling and kneeling down on all fours as he looked up at Hawkmoth with respect. This made Ladybug regret herself even more with not de-evilising him from the start, but she shook it off her mind as she clenched her yoyo tightly in her closed fist, narrowing her eyes at the akumatised victim presented before her.
"Get them." Hawkmoth ordered, nothing but seriousness and anger in his face.
Ladybug and Nathalie prepared for the battle in front of them, but from behind, they heard the words 'cataclysm' in Adrien's voice before everyone turned to see Cat Noir with his right hand smacking the ground, making the ground around his hand crack towards the monster gorilla. Nathalie and Ladybug quickly stepped back before the cracked floor couldn't take the weight of the gorilla and sunk him halfway through the floor.
Everyone could see that Hawkmoth was losing, and he was running out of options.
"It's over Hawkmoth, give us your miraculous!" Ladybug demanded, her yoyo spinning in one hand while the other pointing firmly at the villain.
Hawkmoth growled angrily at Ladybug before turning to his wife and son, the growling less apparent but still present. It was then that he closed his eyes and his entire body started to glow bright purple before it suddenly vanished.
Chat and Ladybug felt defeated again, not being able to stop Hawkmoth yet again. They both sighed in defeat as they lowered their heads; Nathalie looked at the two of them in concern but hope and determination. She let the two approach each other before she explained her idea.
"There is a way, he was talking earlier about how he would escape if it were to come to this."
Ladybug lifted her head in sudden response, Chat's cat ears perked up as he looked up at her mother in surprise and sudden hope that there still could be a chance today. She approached the duo as she placed her hands on their shoulders in assurance with a smile.
"If you follow my lead, we can find him in and defeat Hawkmoth!" She declared in a more determined tone, a smile of pride on her face as she clenched one of her fists with confidence.
In silence the two teens nodded, not long before the beeping of a ring was heard, Ladybug turned to the grunting monster gorilla still stuck halfway through the ground, it was then that she noticed he had a very small pin on the neck of his shirt that was a dark purple colour.
"Adrien, you feed your kwami first, I'll de-evilise him and then we'll be on our way." Ladybug assured, thinking that Nathalie was going to get a head start.
"I'll stay here, we all need to work together on this and I don't want to lose my son."
Chat's eyes filled with warm tears as he embraced his mother tightly; loving the warm embrace they shared. He loved it just as much as he loved hugging Ladybug this lovingly and tightly. And although the love was equally strong on both sides, this love was different; it was love for his family.
He loved having his mother back, but he knew he couldn't celebrate fully just yet; he had to defeat his father first and take the miraculous and give it back to the guardian of the miraculouses.
"Thanks mom." He whispered, burrowing his head further into her arms as he hugged tighter. "I love you."
"I love you too son."
Nathalie gently stroked Chat's messy blonde hair while Ladybug cleansed the akuma, and started to wonder what happened to the other akuma that she didn't finish cleansing before, she assumed it got away but she wasn't sure where it disappeared off to, Ladybug knew it was no good so they had to hurry fast.
Chat turned to Ladybug, loosening his arms wrapped around his mother. He nodded and obliged, letting go of his mother and de-transforming himself, causing the tired black cat kwami to escape the ring and collapse into Adrien's hands.
"All this de-transforming and re-transforming is killing me!" Plagg cried, an arm resting on his stomach in exhaustion.
"Adrien you got feed your kwami and we'll go on ahead. Please hurry." Ladybug exclaimed, her voice sounding shaky with worry.
The words 'no' echoed through the room before Nathalie knelt down slightly beside the ladybug teen/
"We all need to stay together; you and Adrien create the balance." She assured, giving her a warm smile.
Adrien proceeded to walk out the room with his kwami in hand, looking down at his tired kwami in assurance that he will get him the food he needed to get his energy back. Nathalie and Ladybug followed him downstairs, meanwhile Ladybug still wondered what Nathalie's plan would be, she knew she couldn't do anything except trust her, and she had no reason not to, she was Adrien's long lost mother who had just broken free yet again from Hawkmoth's control.
After they all made their way downstairs and into the kitchen, allowing Adrien's kwami to eat, Nathalie discussed to them the plan she had in mind, and was fully determined that this was going to work.
"Okay so I know exactly where he went, he whispered to himself earlier while I was still under his control." Nathalie started to explain, her lips curled downwards as she thought back to when she was being controlled. "If he's not at the place he whispered to himself then I have another place in mind. You two need to be fully prepared for that moment just in case." She explained, her tone of voice more serious.
Ladybug knew exactly where Nathalie was going with this, and she thought to herself that she could've thought about that idea too, only she was still letting her emotions adjust to the overall situation. "But where is he going then?" Ladybug asked, needing to know where Hawkmoth was going to be next.
Nathalie lowered her head, as if she had suddenly forgotten what she just explained to them, she hummed in thought before looking back up with an answer. "His first preference would be the top of the Eiffel Tower, where he could announce his newfound power to the world." She said, Adrien leaning in closer, while Plagg in the background made eating noises.
"And what about the other place?" Adrien asked with a hand raised in a gesture.
His mother leaned in closer towards her son with a serious expression still remaining apparent on her face. "Exactly how this happened in the first place." She hinted, her expression still remaining serious.
Ladybug didn't understand what Nathalie meant by that statement, and grew even more confused when Adrien suddenly realised what his mother was talking about. He gasped at the sudden realisation.
"The middle school!" He cried, understanding back to those events.
A little while later, Plagg floated up aside Adrien with a determined yet fully satisfied look on his face. "'I'm ready, let's do this...Again." He murmured to himself as he sighed.
Adrien nodded before flicking his ring up into the air and saying the words 'claws out', and within a matter of seconds Adrien yet again turned back into Cat Noir. He had a brief moment of memory from when the last time he had transformed so much in just one day, that day with Simon Says was tiring by the time it got to the end of that day.
"Let's go!" Ladybug said with determination, not long before Nathalie headed off first, leading the two teens towards the Eiffel tower, which was not very far from the Agreste Mansion.
Nathalie knew exactly where Hawkmoth would be, so she had Ladybug and Chat follow her all the way to the top of the Eiffel tower, where it was then that they found who they were looking for in one shot. They all knew that in some way it could have been a trap but they went for it with caution.
"It's over Hawkmoth." Ladybug stated firmly, slowly approaching the evil man with Cat Noir and Nathalie by her side.
"Give us your miraculous!" Chat demanded, his baton gripped tightly in one hand as the other pointed at his father.
Hawkmoth cackled with laugher as he turned around, revealing something on his face that they weren't expecting to see at all. Across Hawkmoth's face was a large purple akuma, fluttering its wings slightly before they vanished and then Hawkmoth vanished a few seconds afterwards.
His laughter echoed until he was out of sight. Ladybug and Chat grew worried that Hawkmoth would just bounce from place to place, but neither of them knew the amount of information that Nathalie had. She jumped onto the railing and perched herself like a bird as she kept her eyes peeled for the school. Not a moment later was a bright flash of purple light very close to the middle school.
"Let's go." Nathalie said this time, leading the way to the middle school.
Okay to be honest I felt like this Chapter was kind of a dud but I'm pretty sure it's just me because I got REALLY tired halfway through this and I didn't want to stop there. I want to upload this chapter as soon as I can, and I know my sleep is important too but I just love receiving all that amazing feedback from you guys. ^^
Also, if some things from the over contest aren't clear, here's the link with all the details. journal/Story-Cover-Contest-Official-Details-603804343
See you all in a few days for the next Chapter! ;D