"Do not be discouraged young weilders. A new day is rising. Keep following the path!" Then the wild lion kwami placed a glimmering diamond into Ladybug's palm. "Diamonds are created under extreme pressure my dear Ladybug," the Lion smiled at her. "You both have strength even greater than this." Then without another word, the great lion padded silently away through the long strands of grass that were turning golden in the first rays of the sun. After he disappeared, Chat Noir and Ladybug continued on quietly with Ember flying ahead.
They came to a plain that met the sky. The sounds of grazing buffalo grunting, and lazily tramping the ground filled the empty space. Their tails causally flicked annoying flies away, and they tore up turf with ease. The herd ambled along their way, tossing their heads heavy set with horns.
Traversing through one of the largest game reserves in all of Africa was no 'walk in the park'. With 19,485 km2 of wilderness virtually untouched by humans, the trails were sparse. They wandered animal paths led by Ember, and found a way through thorny brush.
A herd of Zebra milled about nearby grazing peacefully among the red bush willows. Each one with a uniquely designed coat as unique as a fingerprint.
A bright-eyed zebra mare trotted out straight towards them from the herd. It tossed it's neatly bristled black and white mane, and kicked up its dainty little hooves. "By my stripes!" she exclaimed. "It's the Phoenix...and the Cat and the Ladybug too!"
Ladybug and Chat Noir bowed, and she arched her head in return.
"My friend, it has been some time since I saw you last, and here you are guiding the Next generation like old times," the Zebra said nostalgically to Ember. "Sawubona young weilders," the Zebra welcomed them.
"So what is the task this time? Saving damsels? Leaping threw fire? Jumping off tall towers?" Chat Noir asked.
"Someone's egger!" the zebra appeared amused.
"That's the life of a superhero!" Chat Noir leaned on his baton and winked at Ladybug cockily.
"Is it?" the zebra's nostrils flared.
"Well sometimes," Chat Noir defended. "Heroes stop the villains...good vs. evil...upholding laws and peace and all that!"
"Even I know the world is not that black and white," the zebra blew out a breath from her soft black muzzle, and flicked back her ears. "The human brain always tries to fit everything in neat little waffle-boxes!" The zebra stamped her hoof decidedly "Life is much less waffle, and much more spaghetti; messy and woven together."
Ladybug and Chat Noir exchanged a confused glance. Chat Noir have a shrug as if to say "Nope, I don't know what this crazy zebra is talking about either!"
Seeing their confused looks, the zebra softened. "Even here in South Africa there was a time not so long ago when Mandela dared to oppose laws separating people because of the colour of their skin. Who knew that in the isolation of jail that he would one day be elected president! Sometimes the outlaw is the hero...Some laws should be broken when that law is unjust...but even if it your cause is right...it doesn't mean taking a stand won't cost you something."
The weilders were sobered and humbled by the Zebra's words. Chat Noir thought of the day Hawkmoth had been revealed. That day he had made a choice...a choice to stand up to his own father. The zebra was right...the cost was high.
"Young ones, I don't want to discourage you...but there will are trials beyond these Miraculous tests you have faced, and will face in the future. Where I guide you will put your resolution to the test. Even when it seems like the world is against you, will you cave...or will it spur you forward?!"
"No matter what, there is nothing that could break our resolve," Ladybug grasped Chat Noir's hand, and gave it an encouragingly squeeze, noticing that he had gone silent. "We've got this Kitty," she whispered, tilting her head, so that she could see his eyes half-hidden beneath his shaggy blonde hair.
"Are you ready to go first then?" The Zebra asked and transformed into her kwami form, drawing her front hooves apart, creating three black stripes, which lengthened into beams. She stacked the shortest on top of the longer two creating a door frame of energy.
"Wait," Chat Noir held on tightly. "What will happen when she goes through there?" he asked protectively.
"Life is filled with risks, and the journey through this doorway is different for everyone...but this is only meant to help you learn...your Ladybug will find her way back to you again," the zebra assured him.
"See you soon," Ladybug hugged him tight, giving him a smile that she hoped looked braver than she felt.
"Whatever is through that door," Chat Noir said with his voice breaking, "...just be careful alright!"
"Don't worry my Kitty," Ladybug touched her forehead to his. "Nothing can keep us a part for long. We'll always find our way back to each other!"
"It's just that I don't know what you're going to be up against!" he tightened his grip around her waist, holding her closer.
"Our lives are rarely predictable! Common' my boyfriend is a superhero with cat ears!" she smiled.
"Boyfriend! You called me your boyfriend!" Chat Noir settled somewhere between surprise and glee.
"You're the one that practically proposed on our first official date...I figure boyfriend is not too much of a stretch she giggled.
"It's purrfect!" Chat Noir purred. "Now I really don't want to let you go!"
Ladybug's lips brushed along Chat Noir's softly, with breath like warm honey. Then she gave in to the desire to capture his mouth with her own, and kissed him till his head was spinning. When she rocked back on her heels, and broke away he gazed at her in a daze.
"Come on, you really really can't go now. One more baiser amoureux before you go Mi'lady!" Chat Noir moaned.
"When I get back!" Ladybug smiled coyly, and gave him a teasing little kiss on the tip of his nose, and flicked his bell for good measure.
"You're gonna be the death of me Buggabo," Chat Noir swooned. "Just be careful and get back as soon as you can!"
With a nod, Ladybug squared herself off to the imposing black doorframe, and stride through with confidence.
Marrinette was stunned as she passed over the threshold to leave the wilderness and arrive into the halls of her own high school!
She looked around the empty school halls, and was startled by the sound of the alarm bell signalling the change of classes. Ladybug glanced down and panicked seeing she was still clad in skintight red and black spots. She ducked into the locker room, and haphazardly jumped into the first open locker she found, before whispering urgently, "Tiki, Spots off!"
"Few! That was close!" She whispered to Tiki. "But it's the weekend! What are we doing at my school and why are students here now?!"
"This might not be your reality," Tiki glanced out of the open vents in the top of the locker.
"Wait! So this is an alternate universe or time travel or..." Marinette sputtered.
"Or something," Tiki mumbled unhelpfully, distracted by the noisy chatter of some of the girls outside the locker.
Marinette peaked out, and could see Leila laughing with Sabrina. Marinette's eyes narrowed. She was pretty sure that in any reality Leila was bad news.
Leila and Sabrina were giggling over some photos Sabrina pulled out. Leila took a photo of each on her phone and started typing. Marinette saw her uploading the photos to a website after 'adjusting' the photos.
"Oh she is not getting away with this! She is probably trying to set me up again. I bet she pick some horribly unflattering picture of me and his posting it on her blog!" Marinette growled lowly. The two conniving girls swung the locker room door and Marinette did not waste a second before bursting out of the locker and running down the hall after them with righteous indignation.
She finally caught up to them in the classroom where a great of her friends gathered around Max's computer screen laughing.
"Leila!" Marinette called out angerly from the door. "You are lower than low! Saying things behind my back is one thing but sharing my name and picture online is..."
"Marinette!" Alya rushed up to her side, holding out her phone so she could see, "the photons on the site aren't of you!"
"They're not?!" Marinette said in genuine shock.
"No, no of course not!" Leila cooed in a baby voice. "Marinette and I are old friends, aren't we Marinette! I would ever go behind someone's back. And," she said proudly, holding up her phone screen to the rest of the class "If I've got to stand up to a bully I don't mind doing what I have to for the truth to come out!"
The way Leila pronounces the word "truth" made Marinette's stomach heave, and as she looked around the room she thought she was going to be sick. All of her friends were once again buying the act from Leila. The light from their screens lit up their faces, and whatever was on the site they seemed pretty happy about.
Marinette looked down at Alya's phone. It wasn't her photo on the page after all...it was Chloe's.
The whole blog was titled "Queen Bee's a Royal B*!" Apparently Sabrina had supplied a series of unflattering photos of her ex-best friend and Leila had embellished them with photo shop, flashy quotes, and blurbs about Chloe. Marinette had to admit the stories about some of the things Chloe had done weren't exactly lies...still...as much had Chloe had made Marinette miserable in the past, seeing it splashed all over the internet made her feel sorry for her.
"Hey you put in a quote from me!" Marinette pointed to the screen with her anger bubbling up again.
"Did you not say that Chloe "has no heart?!" Leila, batted her eyelashes innocently. "I double checked with everyone here and they remembered that you did," Leila eyed her smugly.
"...Well yeah, I did but...!" Marinette protested.
"See! Even Marinette thinks Chloe just the worst and sweet little Marinette is nice to everyone!" Leila sung out impenitently. "Now Chloe will get what's coming to her!"
"I said it, but then I realized I was wrong! Remember after Zombizue I took it back!" Marinette, looked over to your friends to back her up. "This is wrong! Don't you think this is too harsh?"
"Harsh?!" Kim interrupted. "I used to love that girl, and when I tried to tell her and give her a Valentines gift, she didn't hold back sending you all that photo of me on my knees in mud and garbage! Now that was harsh!"
"She has treated me like I'm nothing, even when I would have done anything...anything for her!" Sabrina cried out choking on a sob. Leila made a big show of wrapping her arms around the distraught Sabrina, while smiling over her shoulder at Marinette.
"Yeah anything...like locking sweet Julica in the bathroom so she'd miss our class photo!" soft spoken Rose stood up defensively in front of Julica, who put her head in her arms remembering that day.
"That was Chloe's idea...it was always Chloe pushing people around!" Sabrina lifted her head off Leila's shoulder.
"Of course it was!" soothed Leila. "Chloe was the one who is always causing everyone to get akumatized. That is why Ladybug can't stand her!"
"That's not true!" Marinette protested.
"Sure it is! My very good friend Ladybug told me that she never wanted her to have the bee miraculous to begin with, and she had been on her way to give it to me, when Chloe stoke it for herself!" Leila shook her head. "Then when Chloe turned into Queen Wasp Ladybug thought Chloe was so horrible that Ladybug told Chloe she didn't deserve to ever touch a miraculous again.
"Chloe didn't get the bee miraculous all the time because Hawkmoth knew her identity. It would have been to dangerous," Marinette tried to be reasonable in her defence, while still not giving away her identity. Alya, you cover the Lady blog! You know I'm right...right?!"
"To tell your the truth girl, I actually think Leila's right. Even Ladybug doesn't seem to like her ..."
Nathaniel held up a hilarious comic of Chloe in bee wings getting booted off a Eiffel Tower by Ladybug. Alex and Max giggled at it.
Then a low voice spoke up, "she called me a monster!" Ivan hung his head.
Milan patted his shoulder tenderly, and added, "she drove me to become a monster after teasing me about being afraid...right in front of everyone."
"She has been pretty brutal to everyone! Especially you Marinette!" Nino pointed out.
"That's true, but how does hurting her make things better?! It doesn't take away what happened in the past...and instead we become even worse!" Marinette tried to point out.
Marinette!" Leila twisted her name in high pitched shocked tone, "are you saying Chloe can just hurt whoever she wants and get away with it?! It's like you don't care that she has hurt all of us!"
"No of course not, but..." Marinette shot a glare Leila's way.
"I'm mean I know you drool all over Adrien and cave whenever he stands up for Chloe, but come on! You really think you're above talking a stand with us!" Leila's tone took on accusation like a court prosecutor.
"What!" Marinette went beet red, and even she wasn't quite sure if it was more embarrassment or anger. "I'm not like that, and Adrien is my friend. A lot more of us (she glared daggers at smug Leila) could stand to show kindness to people like he does...seeing the best in them instead of dwelling on the worst parts!"
"It's sad really," Leila sighed, "You won't even stand up for yourself or your best friends, just because you still think you have a chance with Adrien. Sucking up to Chloe is not going to get you a date with either of them," Leila tried to look pityingly a Marinette.
"Shut up Leila," Marinette groveled through gritted teeth, clenching the strap of her purse. "Your words are poison."
"Oh...I didn't upset you did I?" Leila grinned triumphantly.
Alya said quietly to Marinette, trying to calm her down, "Leila shouldn't tease you about Adrien, but she does kindda have a point about Chloe."
"What!" Marinette's eyes widened in shock.
"Marinette, she's been worse to you than anyone...caused countless akumatizations, and even took sides with Hawkmoth after Ladybug trusted her. She revealed miraculous holders faces right to Hawkmoth! It was months before Ladybug could risk calling her allies! Hawkmoth could have gone after them and their families!"
Marinette closed her mouth in a straight line. She remembered that moment with horror...one of the hardest days she had faced up to that point, all in one day she had lost Master Fu, the miracle box, most of her allies...and even in a way...Adrien. She relived that instant she thought she had broke the hold Hawkmoth held on Chloe...but she had then willingly leapt after the lose akuma. Chloe had betrayed them all...but even still that wasn't the end of the story. In the end, during the final battle of Hawkmoth she had come to their aid once more as Queen Bee.
"She has a lot to make up for to earn back each of our trust...but what she needs is redemption, not revenge," Marinette spoke passionately to Alya, loud enough so she was sure everyone heard.
Leila stepped across the floor, and spat out, "she doesn't deserve another chance! This is the only way she'll learn not to mess with us!"
"She isn't the only one who was offered second chances," Marinette shot back knowingly.
Leila stepped back, but then her face turned smug again with a glance over Marinette's shoulder. Marinette turned to look back to the door, and saw why. Chloe...Chloe Bourgoiuis was standing with one hand supporting her against the door frame and had thick tears pouring down her face. In her other hand was her phone where she had clearly come face to face with revenge.
Chloe slowly looked up at the classroom full of eyes staring back at her. Then she broke away and fled down the hall, and pushed past a surprised Adrien who had just been coming to class.
"Chloe!" Marinette calked after her.
"Oh just leave her!" Leila brush her hand in the air. "Sticks n' stones and all that," Leila drawled carelessly.
"Your weapon of choice is always words!" Marinette snapped back at Liela. "You know they have the power to destroy a person, but what's worse is you don't even care!"
"Maybe you're the one who should care a little more," Leila shrugged. "Care about all of us more than Chloe having the face the truth!" Leila nudged Marinette with her shoulder as she marched determinedly out of the classroom.
"Guys! You can't really be okay with this!" Marinette challenged her class, and they looked back with caring degrees of discomfort...all except Sabrina...she was fuming.
"Sabrina, Chloe has always been your best friend! You were with Leila when she posted the photos, won't you take them down?"
"Leila said you'd try to guilt us into backing down! Well I for one am not! Not this time! Not ever again!" Sabrina seethed.
"Sabrina look out!" Milan called as a distinctive dark butterfly flew through the windows and onto her headband.
It was too late! The class watched in horror as Sabrina was engulfed by the dark magic of the corrupted butterfly miraculous. "I am Merciless!" the magenta tinged akuma possessed Sabrina declared. Then she shot beams of light across the room, leaving everyone to duck for cover.
"Watch out!" Nino hollered, and dove to block Alya and Marinette, getting hit with the beam of light. His eyes glazed over and Sabrina took control.
Alya pushed Marinette out the door. "Alya come with me, we've got to get out of here!" Marrinette pulled around her.
"I've got to stop Nino from doing something he'll regret! I'll draw them off, you've got to get help!" Alya ordered, pushing her down the hall.
"But Alya!" Marinette argued, but Alya had already put her own plan into action. Nino and half a dozen of their classmates were chasing her the opposite way. A few possessed students glanced her way hearing her yell, and she backed up, tripping over her feet, before scrambling down the stairs.
She looked back, hearing the bellows of her pursuers, when a strong hand grabbed her from behind and pulled her into the janitor closet, and closed the door. Her yelp of surprise was cut short by a hand claspt over it.
"It's okay Mari it's me!" urged the voice in the dark. "I just had to get you away from them."
Her panic was stilled by the gentle reassuring tone. At first she thought the voice must belong to Chat Noir, but a glance down at the iconic orange and white kicks of her assailant illuminated by the thin gap of light under the door made her stomach wind in knots...she was pressed up against none other than Adrien Agreste!
He slowly dropped his hand from her mouth, and said, "sorry if I freaked you out! I just had to get you away safely some how!"
In the tight space Marinette attempted to shift herself into a less awkward position, so she could turn to face Adrien...but that turned out to not have been the best plan after all...now she was wedged against him with her chin pressed against his chest, and his chin just above her forehead.
"Um...thanks for the save!" Marinette said quietly.
"Thanks for standing up for Chloe back there. I really just heard the end of it, but that can't have been easy," Adrien whispered back against her hair.
There was a long silence between them, and all Marinette could hear was the quickening heartbeat of Adrien through his T-shirt.
Voices shattered the silence outside the closet, and Marinette gripped her purse where Tiki lay hidden. In frustration she realized it still wasn't clear to rush out and transform yet.
"A..Adrien...Uh...this might sound weird, but why are you helping me?" Marinette whispered against the warmth of his chest.
"I've always been here for you," Adrien said, and she could tell he was smiling as it said it, even though it was pitch black. "Maybe you just didn't notice me!"
"Adrien! Of course I noticed you! I was like crazy in love with you for years! You didn't notice me!" Marinette protested in surprise.
"I told you I loved you...but you didn't see me," he sighed, and she felt him shifting awkwardly.
"You...you...never told me you LOVED me...I mean sure you like me...we're friends," Marinette felt a panicky feeling jitter her heart, (and not from the loose akuma she still couldn't quite break away to stop), it was like something was escaping her memory before she could grab hold of it.
The Adrien in front of her sighed dejectedly. "You still don't see me... not that I blame you...I've gotten more comfortable staying hidden."
"Adrien...I don't understand!" Marinette said feeling in the dark in more ways than one.
"When you find me, I hope you do...understand...when You see me, I hope you'll forgive me for what I didn't see in front of me!" He said in a cryptic mournful tone.
"Adrien...I..." Marinette breathed.
"Quick, he whispered, the coast is clear! This is your opening! I'll see you again soon!" Adrien pushed her quickly through the door.
Then Marinette stumbled out of the janitors closet and back into the plains of South Africa. She was more perplexed by Adrien's words that echoed in her mind, than the fact that she had suddenly been transported back to a world another reality and a continent away.
"Wait! You've got to send me back! There was an akuma on the loose! I didn't get the chance to purify it yet!" Marinette tried to jump through the doorway, but she couldn't walk through.
"Your test was to see if you would have the courage to stand up against your friends on behalf of an enemy. Don't worry about the akuma, that reality has its own Ladybug too!" the Zebra smiled.
"But I don't fix anything! I think I just made a mess of it all," Marinette dropped her head.
"Taking a stand for what you know is right doesn't always causes instant change...especially when you're dealing with hearts.
"Will they all be okay?" Marinette asked.
"All will go on as it was always meant to," the zebra said kindly, "but now it is the cat's turn," the wild zebra kwami turned to Chat Noir, who had stooped down to help Marinette up.
"I ended up right in the middle of my school back in Paris!" Marinette told Chat Noir, looking back to the empty doorway.
"And there was an akuma attack!" Chat Noir said.
Marinette nodded.
"So typical day for one of the hero's of Paris then," Chat Noir smiled.
"Well I wouldn't say entirely typical..." Marinette paused, drifting back to the conversation with Adrien.
"You are the adored hero's of Paris...but sometimes doing what you feel is right does not always come easy. It's not always popular. Sometimes it comes at a cost," the zebra kwami said gravely.
"I'm ready!" Chat Noir rolled his shoulders back boldly.
"Watch out in there Chat! I'm not sure where it'll take you, but I have a feeling it's not meant to be a dreamland...it might be more of a nightmare!" Marinette cautioned.
"Don't worry Buginette! We're the hero's of Paris! I've got this!"
Chat Noir gave Ladybug a soft peck on the cheek and then strode forward confidently. When he passed under the mantel of the door he was surprised that he found himself back in Paris too!
I wonder if this is something like Kaalki's teleportation tricks Chat Noir wondered, turning around. The doorway that had been standing in the middle of the sidewalk like three sticks suspended in the middle of no where, suddenly dissolved. Chat Noir was undeterred though. He trusted that the door would re-emerge in the right time, and if not he was back in his own city, and Ladybug would find him there.
Around him he noticed people lifting their faces up, and glancing over at him.
Not uncommon. Both as Adrien and Chat Noir he had become used to the stares and fanfare.
Yet...there was a unnerving difference this time. Instead of smiles, waves, or begging for autographs, these people narrowed their eyes at him, and skirted away from him with sneering faces.
"Get out of our city fleabag!" a lean man on a construction crew suddenly shouted. "You've caused us enough trouble!"
Chat Noir was taken aback. He had been lectured by his father and criticized on his aptitude...but never accosted on the side of the street by a complete stranger! Chat Noir looked closer...was this guy akumatized? Nope...didn't seem to be.
Then Chat Noir saw a young mother grab her little son's hand, and walked faster, avoiding him on the sidewalk. "Nasty Cat demon!" she hissed over her shoulder.
"What the...?!" Chat Noir breathed out, dropping his hands at his sides. What was with everyone? Hadn't he and Ladybug saved their city countless times?! Why were they snapping at him now?
Then Chat Noir heard a siren blare, and come his way. Good! He thought. At least I can help solve whatever problem is drawing the police. His mood turned again though when a loud speaker blared, "vigilante Chat Noir, you are under arrest for disturbing the peace. turn yourself over to the Paris police department!"
"Not again!" Chat Noir groaned. "This is another copy cat situation isn't it! He didn't go after the Mona Lisa again did he? Officer, you've got the wrong Chat! Let me explain..." Chat Noir stepped forward, and the officers jumped back defensively behind their cars.
"Stand down!" One shouted. "Come nice and easy...where is the red menace?"
"The red who?" Chat Noir cocked his head to one side.
"Your accomplice, your accomplice...where is the bug?"the officer demanded impatiently, signalling for backup.
"Look, I think you've got things twisted around! We're the good guys!" Chat Noir shook his head. "We're on your side!"
"After the mess you've made of this city?! As soon as you two showed up a kid can't even have a nightmare without being akumatized and wreaking havoc on our city. Just give Hawkmoth that stupid ring, and us civilians can finally get back to our normal lives!" a man scoffed.
"Yeah, just give Hawkmoth your miraculous already, and then this will all finally be over!" another insisted. This demand was then echoed by the growing mob of civilians that were crowding around behind the police.
"Not even our children are safe!" a woman threw up her fist in the air, "No more miraculous! No more miraculous!" As she chanted, more echoed her.
"I've been scared by all these egotistical battles these so called 'heroes' drag into our city! Akuma battles have scarred me!" a old woman piped up over the din of voices.
"Scars? But Ladybug always fixes everything with her lucky charm after each battle!" Chat Noir said bewildered.
"humph...well emotional scars then," the woman crossed her weathered arms in front of her, sticking out her lower lip defiantly.
The crowd drew closer, more vocal, and cursing at Chat Noir. A wayward half-eaten apple struck the side of Chat Noir's head as more onlookers started booing and hissing.
"People of Paris! I assure you Ladybug and I are here to protect you!" Chat Noir tried to calm the rising anger of the mob.
"Save yourself!" a voice shot back, and then he had to act quick to dodge them as some even started making lunges at his ring.
Suddenly a red and black yoyo looped around him, and hoisted him up out of their reach.
His Lady had arrived.
Pulled to the safety of the rooftops above, Ladybug pulled him up, and raised an eyebrow when their eyes met. "Playing a little reckless aren't you Kitty?!" she scolded. "What happened to keeping to the shadows?! Now here you are in the middle of the day on street level! What were you thinking?!"
"I...I...um..." Chat Noir gulped, glancing back down at the angry crowd below. Then he scrutinized the Ladybug before him, "we are still the heroes here aren't we?"
Ladybug gave Chat Noir a bitter smile. "Just because we save them or we do what is right doesn't mean we're necessarily their heroes." Then Ladybug craned her neck over the edge of the the building, and shook her head. "Look at them down there. They don't even realize!"
Her comments were nearly drowned out by the crowd yelling obscenities up at them and curing their existence. A man tried to lob a bottle up at them, with a frustrated shout, while others in the group glared up at the two weilders.
"And that..." Ladybug continued, "is why we work out of sight!"
"We do?!" Chat Noir asked.
"Silly Kitty," Ladybug booped his nose. "After all we are the most wanted criminals in the city!"
"What?!" shrieked Chat Noir in a hoarse voice.
"Okay, okay...most wanted in the world if you want to get technical about it," she sighed in a bored voice.
"What did you...I mean us...I mean what did we do?!" Chat Noir sputtered like a flooded motor.
"Are you okay Chat Noir?" Ladybug looked at him carefully with concern in her eyes. "Those idiots diddn't hit you over the head did they?! " Then seeing no visible damage to her partner answered, "...we do the same thing we've done since the beginning...we risk our lives to save these clueless peopl efrom a tirade of villains...then they blame us for unrest and stirring up the butterfly's wrath!"
"They...they don't like us?!" Chat Noir looked back down at the muttering hoard.
"You make it sound like they are a boy we've got a crush on that doesn't know we exist!" Ladybug exclaimed. "No they don't LIKE us! They hate us! THey'd turn us over to Hawkmoth the first chance they got!"
"They would?" Chat Noir whispered dejectedly.
Once again Ladybug looked concerned at her partner, and said gently, "Common' Chat, let's get out of here."
Ladybug flung her yoyo out, and swung off. Chat Noir took one more glance down at the bitter civilians below, before vaulting himself after Ladybug on his extended baton. Eventually they found a tucked away rooftop away from prying eyes.
Ladybug sat herself down on the edge of the roof with a heavy sigh. Chat Noir stood off to the side. They looked out towards the familiar skyline, but this Paris was not the one Chat Noir knew.
Ladybug kicked her feet over the edge, and patted the spot next to her. "Mind telling me what's up with you now?" she asked. "You had me worried out there!"
Chat Noir flopped down beside her with his head in his paws. "We're heroes...I just don't get it!" he mumbled.
"Sometimes it still gets to me too," Ladybug said whistfully. "Like wondering why we keep fighting when no one is cheering us on...when no one appreciates the sacrifices we make..."
"Why DO you keep going?" Chat Noir turned his face toward her.
She starred back at him. "Because it's the right thing to do," she said straightly, without any hesitation. Then she looked out toward the Eiffel tower in the distance. "You know the first time we gought Stoneheart I wondered if we should just give up playing the hero...even the authorities just accused me of making everything worse...do you remember what you said back then?!"
Chat Noir stared back at Ladybug, and nodded.
"I realized then that even if I felt ill-prepared for putting on the mask of a hero, it didn't mater...a hero was needed. I couldn't just stand by and do nothing."
"Mi'lady," Chat Noir smiled admiringly over to her. "You're pretty incredible!"
She laughed, "just trying to keep one step ahead!"
They sat quietly looking over their beloved city. "Maybe someday they'll all realize," Chat Noir murmured.
"Maybe," she answered evenly, without turning her head.
"Even some of the greatest visionaries, scientists, philosophers, and artists were not always appreciated in their time," Chat NOir supplied hopefully.
Again she grinned to herself, "I don't think I'd classify myself alongside most of them...It's normal to wish for recognition and appreciation for what you do, but it can't be the central drive. Otherwise as soon as you hit against opposition or critics, you fall a part," she sighed. Then she looked lovingly at Chat Noir. "At least that's what I've learned from a certain cool cat!"
Chat Noir grinned back at her, then squinted up at the sky. "Is this like for real or is this like some alternate reality or...oh gosh...it's not like the future is it?!" he looked back at her apprehensively.
"Le's just call it a 'scenario,' she replied turning herself towards him. Then she breathed in, studying him. "Let me ask you this," Ladybug paused looking at him even closer, "even though they curse you, hurt you and hate you...are you still willing to put your life on the line to save them?"
"Yes, of course" Chat Noir answered with determination.
Ladybug smiled, "that's my Kitty." Then she nodded back at the fire escape behind them. "There's you door!"
Chat Noir got up to leave, but hesitated turning back to Ladybug. "Are you going to be okay?"
"As long as I've got my Kitty looking out for me, I'll never be defeated," Ladybug let her hand drift down his cheek, then she opened the door and he was back in South Africa.
"It was all an illusion...wasn't it?" Chat Noir looked over at his own Ladybug who had leapt up in relief when he had re-emerged through the doorway.
"It is mathematical fact that two perfectly parallel lines will never intersect. There is a famous illusion however that makes parallel lines appear to cross by laying them over a zigzag-striped background," the zebra eyed the weilders. "It is not my purpose to deceive you, but rather to reveal reverse perspective. One who is called outlaw or villain rarely sees themselves as such. Each individual has their own motivation, rational, and beliefs that drive their actions. Would you say I'm black with white stripes or white with black stripes?" she gave a snorting bray of a laugh.
"So we shouldn't always assume people see us as the hero?" Chat Noir tried to clarify, "or make assumptions about those we are up against."
"But we shouldn't give up! We have to keep fighting for what we know is right...even if it's difficult," Ladybug added.
"That's the clarity I was waiting for," smiled the zebra to Ember. "They are determined aren't they?!"
"Like I haven't seen in quite some time," the phoenix replied proudly, regarding his charges.
"Well, you'll be needing this," the zebra offered, delivering a chiseled diamond into her palm. "Next you head to the coast line of Bolder Beach, outside of Cape Town. Good luck young weilders!"
"They always say luck favors the brave," Ember nodded to Ladybug. Then his eyes caught Chat Noir's. "...and the brave never forget to follow their heart."