Next part is up! Enjoy!
Disclaimer: This show and its characters belong to Thomas Astruc. I do not own anything.
A moment later, Ladybug stood on top of the bakery's rooftop patio, surveying the streets below with a mixture of shock and dismay.
Littering the sidewalks were people hunched over, kneeling on the cobblestones. Each of them was surrounded by a blue holographic, square-shaped barrier of some design, a virtual orange sign reading "Loser" displayed above their heads. Those who weren't surrounded by the barriers could only look on helplessly, unsure of what to do.
They didn't dare touch the barriers.
Dropping down from the roof, the heroine headed for the closest person for answers. However, upon attempting to reach over the barrier to make contact with the citizen, she felt a sudden jolt through her hand, prompting her to quickly withdraw it on reflex.
It was as if an invisible force prevented any aid.
"Excuse me," she called to the imprisoned citizen instead, "what happened to you?"
The citizen looked up at her, eyes full of defeat and exhaustion. "H-He challenged me. Us. To a duel. A battle of fists. B-But it was completely unfair! He's larger, he has more bulk, and he has experience! None of us could stand a chance! We were down for the count in seconds!"
"Who is 'he'?" Ladybug asked seriously.
"The Challenger. He picks a fight with anyone willing to stand up to him. Drags them into this… arena" — the citizen gestured to the barrier — "where no one can help you. He uses his size and immense strength to his advantage. Plus, he has armor. Protection." The citizen shook his head briskly, as if he still couldn't believe it. "What kind of fight is that?"
"An unfair one," Ladybug replied, agreeing with his earlier claim.
"And if you lose to him, you'll be trapped inside these arenas forever!" The citizen's eyes turned pleading. "Please help us, Ladybug. It not only traps us, but it feels humiliating as well."
"Don't worry," the heroine reassured, standing up to her full height with confidence radiating from her posture. "Once I meet up with Chat Noir, we're going to confront this Challenger. We'll show him that he's met his match."
With a bid of good luck from the citizen, Ladybug launched herself onto the rooftops, determination driving her every step.
"WHO WOULD LIKE TO BE THE CHALLENGER'S NEXT OPPONENT?"
Adrien's head jerked up, taking the ice pack away from his almost-healed face as he turned towards the open window.
A loud crash echoed through the air, followed by a chorus of terrified screams.
The boy immediately jumped off the bed, ice pack abandoned as he rushed to the window, eyes widening in surprise. He could see people running away from a burly man in a full-body black suit with a yellow belt tied around his waist, armor covering his arms and legs, and skin tinted a sickly orange color. Powerful gauntlets glinted in the sun as the man closed his fingers into fists.
The man gave a taunting grin. "WHAT'S WRONG, PARISIANS? ARE NONE OF YOU STRONG ENOUGH TO FACE THE CHALLENGER? OR ARE YOU SCARED?"
The surprise turned to seriousness on Adrien's face as he turned away from the window, opening the flap of his white blazer to let Plagg fly into the open.
"Plagg, transform me!" he exclaimed, brandishing his ring, silver turning to jet black. Green light briefly bathed the infirmary before fading to leave Chat Noir standing where Adrien once was.
The hero swiftly turned back towards the window, opening it wider and unlatching his baton. A piercing scream rang through his ears just as he was about to launch himself outside, swaying him to turn towards its direction in alert.
To his horror, a woman had tripped over a curb in her blind rush to get away, leaving her frantically scrambling backward as the Akumatized villain descended upon her with a wicked grin on his face.
"PERHAPS YOU WILL BY MY OPPONENT?" The Challenger inquired mockingly, advancing toward the woman at a deliberate snail's pace. "DON'T WORRY. I WILL GO VERY EASY ON YOU. BUT I GET THE FIRST BLOW."
The woman screamed in terror as the Challenger lifted his gauntlet above his head, clenching it tightly into a fist. In that moment, Chat Noir launched his baton like a javelin, his weapon embedding into the ground between the woman and the Challenger. He jumped after it a second later, landing directly between them in a protective crouch.
"AH, CHAT NOIR. HOW NICE OF YOU TO JOIN US." The Challenger withdrew his large fist, an evil smirk twisting his face.
"Yeah, just thought I'd drop in," Chat Noir replied, motioning for the woman to get away as he retrieved his baton, extending it and twirling it once before dropping into a defensive stance. "Can't have you going around attacking unarmed citizens, you know?"
"HOW VERY NOBLE OF YOU," the Challenger mused, lightly knocking his fists together. "DOES THIS MEAN YOU'LL BE MY OPPONENT?"
"Sure." Chat Noir grinned. "But I have to warn you, I won't get knocked out so easily!"
"EXCELLENT!"
His fist came without warning. The feline hero narrowly dodged it with a surprised yelp before backflipping a safe distance away, the Challenger's punch creating a crater where he once stood. Chat Noir was stunned at how fast the villain moved, despite his size and the weight of the armor.
"C'MERE, YOU STRAY CAT! IT'S NOT MUCH OF A FIGHT IF YOU KEEP RUNNING AWAY!" The Challenger was suddenly in front of him, fist flying towards the hero's face before he could even blink. Chat Noir instinctively brought his staff up in a diagonal block, gripping it tightly as the blow made contact.
The sheer force of it sent the hero skidding backwards for yards, his boots grating deeply through the cobblestones. He only managed to stop when he slammed the end of his staff into the ground as an anchor point.
"Whew, you pack quite a punch," Chat Noir commented as he regained his bearings. "But who said I was running?"
The hero launched himself into the air with his baton, using the momentum to propel himself in an overhead attack. He let out a cry as he descended upon the Challenger with his staff raised over his head, following through with all the strength he could muster.
The Challenger merely smirked as his hand flew up to catch the end of the baton, just before it could hit. Chat's eyes widened in horror as the villain laughed.
"HA! IS THAT ALL ONE OF THE GREAT HEROES OF PARIS CAN DO? YOU MAKE ME LAUGH!"
Chat Noir was suddenly spinning, the Challenger swinging him around by his baton before hurling him away. The hero let out a long yell as he spiraled across the street, unable to right himself.
Just as he braced himself as the ground rushed up to meet him, a red yo-yo flew in, the wire wrapping around his waist before pulling him sideways. It swung him around a lamp post, allowing him to somersault back onto his feet. He looked up in relief to see his spotted partner drop down beside him as he steadied himself.
"You all right, kitty?" Ladybug asked as she withdrew her yo-yo.
"I'm purr-fectly fine, My Lady. Thanks to you," he replied with his signature grin, earning a light groan and an eye-roll in response.
"SO THE FAMOUS LADYBUG HAS ARRIVED. I LOOK FORWARD TO DEFEATING YOU AS WELL! IT WILL BE A VICTORY TO RELISH IN!"
The duo turned towards the villain, serious and unamused. Ladybug leaned towards Chat Noir, not taking her eyes off the evildoer.
"I'm guessing this is the Challenger?" she murmured.
"Yeah," her partner replied before looking at her curiously. "But how did you know that?"
"Some of the citizens had been unfortunate enough to wind up as his opponents. Had them imprisoned after defeating them." Ladybug got into a defensive stance. "We've got to find his Akuma and free them all. But until I can come up with a plan, don't let him pull you into his arena."
"Arena?"
Ladybug suddenly pushed them both back before she could answer, just as a fist crashed into the ground where they once stood.
"LESS TALKING, MORE FIGHTING," the Challenger bellowed, pointing a finger towards them. "ONCE I DEFEAT YOU AND TAKE YOUR MIRACULOUSES, I'LL BE DEEMED CHAMPION OF THE MARTIAL ARTS WORLD! I'LL NEVER BE DEFEATED AGAIN!"
"Looks like someone couldn't handle losing," Chat Noir mused as he casually laid his staff across the back of his shoulders. "You can't win all the time, you know."
"AH, BUT THAT WOULD APPLY TO HEROES LIKE YOU AS WELL, WOULDN'T IT?" The Challenger slammed his knuckles together, blue energy emanating between them as he slowly drew them apart. "LET'S TEST THAT THEORY, SHALL WE?"
Recognizing the blue energy, Ladybug immediately grabbed onto her partner's arm, trying to pull him backwards.
"Chat Noir, this is bad. We have to move back, quickly—"
The Challenger let out a cry as he sharply pulled his fists to either side of him, the blue energy that had built up exploding outward.
Ladybug suddenly found herself being forcefully shoved back as the energy spanned throughout the area, forming a larger version of the square-shaped ring that surrounded the defeated citizens.
The heroine had landed just a few feet away from where the border of the ring had stopped, and as she regained her bearings, she looked up and gasped in horror.
"Chat Noir!" she cried as she rushed at the border of the newly made arena, only to be stopped by the invisible wall that prevented interference.
Chat Noir, who hadn't moved from his spot since the arena had been made, was now contained within its area, looking around in confusion. He had thought that the arena's creation was a wide-area attack, which was why he had pushed Ladybug back on instinct.
"Chat Noir!" The hero swiveled around to stare at his partner, who was pounding frantically on the invisible wall.
"Don't stay there, minou! You have to get out! Get out of the arena now!"
The boy's eyes widened in surprise as he quickly glanced at the borders of the arena, before he darted for her. But just as he reached her, the same invisible force that kept her out was keeping him in, and it knocked him back a couple of steps when he made contact.
"THERE'S NO RUNNING NOW." The duo looked up at the Challenger, who was approaching them like a predator that cornered its prey. He knocked his knuckles together in a periodic rhythm, sparks of energy flying with each beat. A pink outline of a butterfly suddenly highlighted his face, enhancing the unnatural evil that twisted his features. "SURRENDER YOUR MIRACULOUSES OR BE PREPARED TO FIGHT FOR YOUR LIFE!"
"Never!" the duo shouted simultaneously, voices indignant.
"SO BE IT!" The villain smashed his fist into the ground for emphasis, causing a ring of smoke to billow. Due to the confinement of the arena, however, the smoke had nowhere to go but up, creating a blanket of dust to settle over the entire area of the arena.
"Chat Noir…" Ladybug said warningly, her hand pressed to the solid, invisible boundary that separated them.
The boy's arm suddenly shot up in the air, a ball of black energy building above his palm before he grasped it in his fist. "Cataclysm!"
However, in the time and space it took for the hero's hand to breach the border, something was suddenly flung in the path of the destructive energy. Both heroes could only gasp in dismay as Cataclysm disintegrated a plate of armor instead of the arena's border. They turned towards the source of laughter that erupted behind them.
"THERE IS NO ESCAPE," the Challenger told them, the piece of armor that had been covering his right elbow now missing. "YOU'RE IN MY TERRITORY NOW, LITTLE CAT."
Gulping nervously, the boy looked back at his partner, his eyes unreadable for a moment, before his mouth broke out into a sheepish grin. His hand came up to match against hers and his eyes softened knowingly, a look that Ladybug knew all-too well.
"Chat Noir—"
"Do what you have to, buginette," he interjected calmly. "I'll hold him off for as long as I can."
"Chaton, stop!" Her pleas fell on deaf ears as he turned around in time to block an attack launched by the Challenger. The force of the impact caused the ground to crack beneath them, and even she could see that it took all his strength to push the villain back as he threw himself fully into battle.
Ladybug wasted no time, her mind brimming with options as her eyes darted around for some sort of chink in the arena's barrier. She started running around its perimeter, her hand gliding across the invisible wall for any sort of weakness, all while carefully keeping her eyes on the fight that waged between her partner and the villain.
She came up empty-handed, however, as she could not even locate a possible trinket for the Akuma's possession on the villain's person. Chat Noir was depleting in strength as well, his arms shaking terribly with tremors as he blocked another of the Challenger's punches. The sounding beep that she could hear from his ring told her that he was also running out of time. She needed a plan now.
Grasping her yo-yo in her hand, she briefly squeezed her fingers tightly around its edge before throwing it up in the air. "Lucky Charm!"
Hoping for an object to help her past the barrier was in vain as a pair of handcuffs dropped into her palms.
"You've got to be kidding," she murmured, dangling the cuffs between her fingers, the rings seemingly a bit too large to fit around her own wrists. But she couldn't use them until she got past the arena's defenses.
A sharp cry interrupted her thought process as she looked up to see Chat Noir being thrown to the ground, his staff discarded from his grasp.
"Chat Noir!" she cried as she watched him flip onto his back before backing up in fear, the Challenger slowly advancing upon him.
"HAHA! I MUST ADMIT, YOUR SKILLS AND PERSEVERANCE ARE QUITE ADMIRABLE," the Challenger said, taking another step forward as the boy scooted another inch back. "BUT IT'S APPARENT THAT YOU'RE NO MATCH FOR ME. I'LL BE TAKING YOUR MIRACULOUS NOW."
Even while knocked down, Chat Noir gritted his teeth in determination as he rotated his body to protect the ring on his hand, using his feet to push himself back further.
All the while, Ladybug could only watch on helplessly, not knowing what to do for once. A range of emotions bubbled within her: fear, concern, anger… all for this silly partner of hers who had sacrificed himself for her once again.
Her fists clenched tightly at her sides, the cuffs in one hand jingling as her fingers squeezed around the edges. As her emotions started to peak, she felt something stir behind the internal barrier she had mentally built up. She briskly shook her head, briefly denying the consideration of using that power.
However, it kept reacting to her emotions, stirring restlessly behind that barrier as if beckoning to her to allow it to offer its aid.
What other choice did she even have?
"Just this once," Ladybug finally sighed under her breath as she closed her eyes, reaching out to the barrier, willing it to come down.
"Please…" she whispered, desperately grasping for it. "Help me."
With her words, the dam came down on its own, allowing the torrent to come rushing through. The energy washed over her in a sense of familiarity, warmth, and strength, making her feel complete. As if she had regained a part of herself that she had lost.
A small smile crossing her face, Ladybug opened her eyes as renewed determination shined within them. The cuffs dropped from her hand as she clenched her fingers into fists, willing the energy to manifest into being.
The Challenger was now reaching down towards Chat Noir, who had no more room to back up and no means of defense, and was now bracing himself as his eyes shut tight. The villain's grin grew wider as the pink outline of a butterfly once again highlighted his face, so close to getting what he wanted.
Taking a step back, the ground beneath the heroine's feet cracked under the power as she pushed herself forward, breaking through the arena's border.
CRUNCH!
The Challenger's hand suddenly halted right before Chat Noir's face, prompting the hero to tentatively look up and gasp in surprise.
Ladybug stood to the side of the villain's arm, her fingers around his forearm and holding back his hand with ease.
The Challenger's eyes widened as he gaped at her in shock, utterly speechless, as she glared at him with an intensity in her eyes she normally didn't have.
"If it's a fight you want…" she began, the flecks of energy dancing sporadically around her hand as her fingers squeezed his arm tighter, denting and wrinkling the armor within her hold.
"… It's a fight you'll get."
Happy Independence Day, everyone! :D