The girl he was never supposed to see again. The girl who said she wasn't going to fight again. Why was she here? Not that he wasn't glad to see her again, he was grateful, really, just…she should've been in bed resting. Akumas were his problem now. She seemed to have quite a bit of energy last time when…when…
Wait. This was the same area, same victim. The snake said he forced her out last time…so did that mean she lived around here? Was that why she became Ladybug again after so many years of absence? Maybe she had plans to never become Ladybug again but what if she was being forced again? Was she a target? Was she bait?
She did tell him no and then pushed him off a roof when he tried to use his cataclysm…
She slowly stood up and, without bothering to say a word to him, started looking around worriedly.
"Ladybug?" he yelled through the pounding water.
"Th-There's a boy," she replied. "Did you see a little boy? Is he safe?"
"I…uh… There were so many people and… What are you doing here?"
"That's not important, did you see a boy?"
"I-I don't think so, I was just trying to get rid of the snake as soon as possible. I passed over too many people."
"Then don't use your cataclysm on the snake," she said.
"I have to! The akuma—"
"Can wait," she interrupted. "He's after that little boy, he may already have him. And he's already mad enough at the boy's mother, agitating him now might make everything worse."
He looked at the storm clouds above only to be met with rain stabbing his eyes. This wasn't how things were supposed to go. He was supposed to safely save the day before anyone got hurt. No child was supposed to be involved and Ladybug was never supposed to come back. As much as he wanted to listen to her…there would be no more victims this time. Even last time, Ladybug herself could've ended up one. Her dedication to her duties was admirable but…he just couldn't prioritize the possibility of the snake maybe hurting a kid over every Parisian still in the vicinity—including countless other young children.
He pressed his staff on the ground firmly in front of him as he faced the direction of the snake, whose head was just beginning to rear again slightly farther away than before.
"I'm so sorry, milady," he said. "Too many people got hurt last time, I can't let it happen again."
Especially not when she herself had once more been caught up in a storm that would and could destroy the city if left unchecked for too long. But he would come back for her the moment he was done and if she was feeling up to the task, they could search for the little boy together.
That was the plan, at least, but right before he could heave himself up, she ensnared him in her yo-yo string, pressing him up against his own stick.
"This storm is getting worse!" he cried. "Please, I have to stop this!"
She kept a tight grip on her string but he didn't struggle against her. It would probably have been way too easy to overpower her and he didn't want to risk hurting her.
"We need to save the boy first," she said. "Then you can cataclysm the snake to your heart's content."
That was not something Ladybug would typically say. Ever. Did she…maybe have something against this snake? Did she know the victim personally?
"Milady, we can find him after we win but I-I can't let so many people suffer again just because I took too long. Please let me go."
She bit her lip indecisively and he could do nothing but pray she would agree to his proposition, and hope that he could successfully appeal to her inner heroine. Her humanity. Maybe even bring back the sense she'd clearly lost.
She sighed heavily and loosened her grip, relaxing her yo-yo string so he could shrug it off.
"Fine, but leave the snake to me," she said. "You look for the little boy and protect him if you find him."
"I can't let you face that thing alone! It's too dangerous!" he protested.
"You can't cataclysm the snake until I know for sure he doesn't have the boy. But I can safely break his glass eye and I can capture the akuma."
She had a good point but still…last time they saw each other, she herself admitted she was dying. She pulled a knife on him right after, clearly not herself at the time. Maybe it was all part of whatever disease she had. Maybe it was something with her brain. He didn't know much about medicine or healthcare but perhaps that would even explain why her eyes looked slightly different?
Or maybe this was her way of separating herself from him so she couldn't hurt him. If she wanted to now, she would've already done so. She'd had him completely immobilized but did nothing. It could only mean she wasn't overcome by…whatever had possessed her to try to kill him before. She was still herself.
But then…still…why would she permit him to cataclysm the snake "to his heart's content" as though that was something he planned to do? Of course he planned to cataclysm the eye but that was just to get the akuma out…and he had no intention of harming the snake if he didn't absolutely have to.
Last time she appeared, she seemed so full of rage towards the snake. That could've been why, but this time there was a child's life at stake and she probably figured she couldn't afford to take that risk. Even if that decision risked the rest of Paris instead.
"Okay…" he relented. "I'm all for compromise, but at least promise me you'll call me if you need help."
She reeled in her yo-yo and started spinning it.
"Just keep searching until you either find him or I call you back," she said. "He's very young, probably around six years old, blueish hair, greenish eyes. I last saw him somewhere around the snake but I lost sight after that stupid thing smashed a building."
She threw her yo-yo up and yanked on the string before he could get out one more word. She didn't promise to alert him if she needed any help… Perhaps he was overthinking this but what if it was because she knew she would get herself into a situation that she wouldn't be able to get out of?
But…six, blueish hair…sounded a lot like Erek. Granted, he couldn't remember Erek's eye color, but not too many people had any shade of blue hair in Paris. Surely it wouldn't be too hard to find a boy with that.
But how could it be Erek? He was with Marinette, safe at home. Probably a coincidence but thankfully unique enough to pick out even in the throngs of people.
He stayed on the ground to search by foot. The snake hadn't left a complete trail of destruction but it was enough to check around each dumpster turned over or open holes in walls and piles of random debris. Things the boy could be hiding in or under to escape the snake. Things the boy could be trapped in or under by the snake.
Or maybe he had escaped. Maybe another person saw a young child alone and decided to drag him to safety elsewhere, away from the danger. Or, in a much better scenario, he was safe with his mother and father.
He wanted so badly to believe that the little boy was safe but the thought of another Marcel wandering the streets alone, in a storm like this, again, kept him from positive thinking. Ladybug really needed to stop this snake soon, they both saw what kind of damage it was capable of inflicting, but he couldn't see her being able to take it down quickly…if at all.
He was thus faced with the hardest decision: leave Ladybug alone knowing her condition, or keep searching for the boy that may have already left, thereby wasting precious time and casualties.
He loved seeing Ladybug still alive but hated this situation. He could've simply taken out the snake and stopped all this chaos but she had to interfere and he had to listen to her even if what she said was totally illogical and her priorities were clearly not straight right now. The child must've meant something to her if she favored him specifically over any other child that could end up dead in this weather.
But he had to trust her judgment… For all he knew, the kid could be the key element to defeating the snake and preventing reakumatization. He certainly didn't want to have to keep dealing with artificial natural disasters. And once Ladybug transformed back into a regular civilian he could only stand there and hope she hadn't been affected, she wasn't lying on the ground or being shipped off in an ambulance to a hospital that possibly couldn't treat her in time.
For once it would be great if she could let him in on her plan. Maybe he could make the right call on his own. Maybe she wouldn't need to face a giant monster alone. He could protect her. He could save her. He could convince her to let him take care of her. He could provide everything she needed. Even if it was just to be comfortable in her final days, she could rest and relax and never have to worry about akumas again because he would be there.
But…she didn't tell him anything. He would simply have to keep searching for this boy she kept mentioning. Hopefully he would find him soon so he could get him to safety and return to Ladybug before something too serious happened to her. And something too serious would happen to her at this rate. He just…had to hurry up, was all.
Finding Marcel hadn't been easy but finding this boy seemed even harder. He hoped everyone else had made it out of the storm safely because it was getting just as bad as before. If Ladybug didn't finish this in the next minute or so, he would have to come to her aid. He already assumed she would fail but he had hoped that she would be able to at least stop or slow the storm. Maybe distract the snake from making it any worse or something…
Or maybe that was precisely what she was trying to do at this very moment and couldn't. That seemed just as feasible.
The water pounding on the ground grew louder and each raindrop now felt like hail was beating down on him. Now he really hoped the little boy had reached safety because it was clear that the snake was making this storm much worse, much faster. If it was hurting him, he couldn't imagine what this pelting felt like to a regular citizen with zero protection.
"LITTLE BLUE-HAIRED BOY!" he screamed.
He already knew no sound would reach far in this rain. This…monsoon.
More thunder rumbled in the sky.
He could still see without lightning but…probably only up to a few feet in front of him. He could see outlines of buildings without the detail of color or brick, and could barely make out windows and doors. There was no way he could find the little boy this way. The weather was too bad and although he didn't want to blame Ladybug, he really did feel like she was antagonizing the snake somehow. When he fought it alone, or…mostly alone, she wasn't doing much at all. She may have cut the snake last time but had been captured immediately after if she did. With him offering his miraculous, the snake had no reason to be so angry. But this time she was fighting it alone so she was the one inadvertently controlling the situation. If she wanted this poor kid to live, she needed to calm the snake down, not rile it up.
He used an arm to shield his face as he was slapped with a huge gust of wind and rain so powerful it caused him to stumble backwards. It was only a short moment but that one gust told him his time was up. He had to get the akuma and end this now.
He spat out some water that got in his mouth and saw the shadowy movement of the snake's head peeking out from the top of the skyline. He had to use his staff at the risk of either electrocution or slipping to get there faster. His own momentum worked against him as the rain kept landing squarely on his face, feeling like he was inside an angry beehive now.
He ignored it as much as he could and when he got closer to the snake, the weather was calm enough to at least see somewhat clearly again, and breathe without the rain trying to drown him. His first instinct was to look for Ladybug as he grew nearer. At first he thought maybe she'd taken shelter and losing her was what was making the snake so furious, but once he was on the roof beside the snake, he heard another building being destroyed, this time in front of him rather than behind him. It looked like the snake's tail had punched a hole through the wall.
The question of why was answered before it was even asked when Ladybug slowly peered out from it. He rocketed himself in her direction, unfortunately attracting the snake's attention and eliminating any chance of a surprise attack on it, and scooped her up right in time for the snake to swing its scaly tail back into the building.
Was it trying to crush her?! It needed her miraculous, didn't it?!
He ran down a hallway with light protesting from Ladybug, but at least she was hidden this way. He didn't know if she was still in any shape to fight but he could find out once he felt he had the time.
The snake's tail started slamming against the top of the building, but thankfully this one had multiple floors and the snake would have to punch through all of them to reach the bottom. It wasn't the best protection but it was better than nothing.
And he would either have to put Ladybug down to finish off the snake before Paris was leveled by bad weather, of all things, or keep running to ensure the snake wouldn't hurt her at the risk of letting the storm continue until people could actually die from it.
He still felt the vibrations of the snake's persistence but with any luck he had traveled far enough in the building to let Ladybug rest.
He set her down gently. He didn't feel like he had enough time to stay with her and make sure she was okay, so he didn't look around for furniture. A hard floor would have to do, he hoped she would understand.
"Chat, wait. You need me with you," she said, grabbing his tail before he could run away.
"I didn't find the boy," he replied. "You were taking too long. I had no choice. I'm sorry."
"I can't let you fight him."
"I want to trust you, I honestly do, but I can't sacrifice the whole city because of a time crunch. Whatever you did…it really ticked off this thing and the storm it's creating keeps getting worse by the minute."
"I can't let you fight him though," she repeated.
He turned around and took a deep breath.
"You gave up being Ladybug," he said. "I know why you did a-and I understand and I completely agree with your decision. But…I never gave up being Chat Noir."
"Let me try again."
He frowned. "I can't do that. You're not in the best shape as it is."
"I know how to beat him."
"I'm sure you do, but you can't fight anymore, you're too…"
She held up her lucky charm. Another seemingly random object covered in the classic ladybug pattern. A pepper grinder.
"I know how to use this but he has to attack me a certain way first," she said.
"You're going to transform back soon."
"Which is exactly why I need to get back out there, kitty."
She cracked a weak smile and stood up. She was struggling just to stand, he could tell, but if she already had her lucky charm out and ready, then even he probably needed it. He was still doubtful but…
"Give me your lucky charm," he decided. "If the snake needs to attack someone for this to work, it can attack me."
"You won't be able to use it right," she countered. "Just let me do this. It'll be my last time as Ladybug, my last akuma."
"Isn't that what you told me last time you were Ladybug? Before you tried to slit my throat?"
"I didn't have much of a choice then or now. Ladybug was supposed to disappear."
"And if you don't have much of a choice in the future?"
"All I care about is the snake…" she muttered. "When the snake is gone, so is Ladybug."
He groaned uncomfortably at the thought of sending her back into battle with a creature that obviously had it out for her, and he suspected from her words that she had a personal connection to the snake as well. He didn't want her actions fueled by rage but…all she had was a pepper grinder. No knife this time. This lucky charm probably wasn't meant for him. Maybe he had been imagining this whole idea of her being mad at the snake… Maybe she was just feeling sick and being Ladybug was making it all worse. All the movement, all the action, it could be too much for her.
"Fine…" he sighed. "But at least tell me what to do…"
"You have to wait on the sidelines for now," she answered. "Keep watch and don't panic, no matter what happens."
"Uhhhh…and what can I expect to happen?" he asked nervously.
"You'll see."
He didn't feel so confident about this plan of hers, even though he barely knew what it was, but he nodded anyway.
"Let me help you get back out there…" he mumbled. "It'll…it'll make me feel useful…"
Because if all he did was watch a huge snake attack her, he was indeed completely useless. If she would let him help her out, maybe he could be a little useful. He could do something.
He held his arm out for her but she hesitated to take it. He looked at her with pleading eyes, silently begging her to give him this one thing. She did take it but he wasn't sure if it was because he asked, sort of, or because she decided that she could actually use a little help keeping her balance. He assumed being Ladybug right now was too hard on her body. She probably ran out of energy early in the fight and pushed herself to keep going even if she couldn't keep up, much like she was doing now.
He had to walk slowly to match her pace. She was trying to hide her irregular breathing and a little bit of coughing but he had such a terrible feeling about this. He trusted Ladybug but he didn't trust his own judgment to trust her. Not only would she be fighting the snake but she would be fighting the weather too. He could only imagine how much more intense it would be by now.
He brought her back to the hole the snake had made earlier and peeked through. The winds howled furiously and Ladybug started shivering. It was slight, but she was cold. Did her lucky charm still assist her when she was obviously incapable of fighting?
The snake was busy pounding away at the other end of the building, probably assuming they had run there. It still baffled him to know that the snake was more interested in killing or harming Ladybug than taking her miraculous, but if he had to guess, it was because it was blinded by fury and even Hawkmoth was having difficulty keeping it under control.
"Stay here and leave the rest to me," Ladybug said.
Chat nodded grimly and stared on as she threw her yo-yo. She pulled herself towards the snake and landed a few feet away from it, unfortunately on the other side to obscure his view.
She started yelling something but he couldn't make out what it was over the storm. And although she told him to stay put, he couldn't resist the temptation of coming out and getting a bird's eyes view from the nearest rooftop. Thankfully she didn't seem to notice him.
She kept yelling at the snake and, like before, the storm grew stronger again. But why? Why was she continuing to antagonize this thing? She knew what was at stake, he had told her what was at stake.
"Sssstop thisss nonsssenssse!" the snake screeched. "Sssshe is unfit!"
The snake opened its mouth and struck out at Ladybug. He reflexively launched himself to save her but the snake was faster than he was. It lifted its head. Ladybug was gone. There was no way this was what she wanted to happen. To be killed, eaten by a giant snake.
The snake looked at him next. There was no sense of happiness or victory in that thing's eyes. He didn't look directly at them, but he saw it all through his peripheral vision. He didn't see remorse in those eyes either.
"Ssshe was keeping me from my ssson," the snake said, as though it was explaining itself to him. "I underssstand how you feel…but I need to sssee the mother. I'll deal with you later."
"You're going to deal with me now!" Chat growled. "CATACLYSM!"
He knew he would be forced to transform back but…after what happened to Ladybug and his failure to find the boy, the prolonged storm, his decision to obey Ladybug in the first place, and now the boy's innocent mother was in peril…this snake would writhe in agony. He wouldn't cataclysm its eye, no, not yet. Perhaps he could cataclysm one of its fangs first. And then scale by scale, take its akumatized body apart as painfully as he could.
The snake let out one courtesy chuckle and looked the other way, towards a more residential area. Big mistake.
Chat used his staff again and propelled himself towards the snake, landing on its forehead and holding onto a cluster of scales with his claws.
"I'll make you regret being born," he hissed.
At first the snake seemed terrified of the cataclysm, as it should've been, but before Chat could slide down to destroy its fang, the snake's throat began to rumble in short intervals and its real eye began to water.
Its head suddenly jerked forward, nearly throwing him off. It started to gag and wheeze. The situation was enough to confuse him and hold onto the cataclysm a little longer. Not that he wasn't still enraged, but he wanted to know what was happening first. He had to know if the snake was trying to pull a fast one.
The gagging and wheezing quickly turned into a harsh cough, lowering its head closer to the ground and its body seemed to shake rhythmically with each cough.
Chat jumped off its head to avoid a rough ride that could possibly make him cataclysm the whole snake. He couldn't enact his plan if that happened. It didn't look at all like the snake was faking this. Even after he'd jumped off, the coughing continued.
He stayed in a fighting stance just in case, fully ready to jump back in once this was over with, but after several more raggedy coughs, a clump came flying out of his mouth, as if he had hacked up a glob of mucus or something. Did snakes even cough up hairballs…?
He held his cataclysm at the ready and slowly approached the glob as the snake's coughing became all the worse. He noticed the storm beginning to subside, likely in response to whatever was going on with the snake. But…why? What was happening? Why wouldn't the snake make the storm as worse as it could possibly get to prevent being hit by his cataclysm?
He quickly glossed over the thing the snake had spat out. It was Ladybug, covered in slime that was quickly being rinsed away by the rain. In place of her lucky charm was a young boy with blueish hair, held close to Ladybug. His eyes were closed but he swore this looked like Erek… And this was definitely Ladybug… Was her plan really to be eaten?
Wait…no, it actually was her plan to be eaten. The boy that the snake had been looking for had already been found. Somehow Ladybug discovered this and came up with a risky plan to get him back out while he was busy searching for this same boy. This boy was most likely the snake's son. And the pepper was their key out.
But why didn't she just tell him all this?
The boy was the first to rise to his feet but Ladybug struggled just to get on all fours.
Chat used his cataclysm on a nearby brick that had popped out of the smashed wall when the snake had broken through it. It meant he only had a few minutes to get them both to safety but once he recharged he could take on the snake without risking injury to the child—something he now understood when Ladybug commanded him not to cataclysm the snake earlier.
He hurried over to the two to grab the boy. He was exhausted and scared but otherwise seemed fine. He ran back to the hole that he had originally hidden Ladybug in and tucked the boy away there.
"Stay here, okay? I'll be right back," he said.
The boy sniffled and nodded.
He ran back to get Ladybug too before the snake could recover from the pepper.
He would've picked them both up but Ladybug was having a hard time just standing up, there was no way he could've carried them both. And while the boy looked fine and probably could've waited next, he was clearly a priority to Ladybug and she would've killed him if she felt like he abandoned him in any way.
"What's your name?" he asked the boy as he ever so gently set Ladybug down.
"Erek," he answered.
How though?! How did the snake get Erek in the first place? Was the snake his father or did Erek get in the way and end up an unfortunate victim of its appetite?
All questions that could be answered later, he supposed. He still had an akuma to deal with before he detransformed, and it would likely recover any second now.
"Okay. Erek, I need you to st—"
Erek burst into tears and started wailing.
"Wh-What's wrong? Are you hurt?"
"Mama left me!" he sobbed.
What, no, no, Marinette would never leave a child alone to fend for themselves. Surely she wouldn't have left her own child.
Ladybug reached over to pull Erek next to her.
"No, I'm sure that's not true," she cooed to him. "You probably just got separated. I'm sure she's very worried about you."
"Yeah, yeah," Chat agreed. "She's probably looking for you right now. It's just suuuuuper hard to see when it's so dark out and the rain is suuuuuper loud."
He secretly hoped she wasn't out at all though. He could imagine her protecting Erek, or at least looking for him, and he could imagine her being heartbroken that he was gone, but he never wanted to see her face-down on the ground again. He never wanted to follow an ambulance to a hospital room because he had failed to stop a monster in time again.
"Ladybug…I have to get rid of the snake," he said.
She lazily looked up at him and nodded her head in understanding.
"No!" Erek cried. "I want Mama!"
"I'll take care of this. Have fun with the snake, kitty cat," she said with a smile.
She was trying so hard not to show it but she wasn't having an easy time breathing right now. It was probably for the best that she stayed here with Erek. If the snake recovered, it would go straight for Marinette, and Ladybug simply had nothing left in her to help warn or even locate Marinette.
He ran back out and prepared another cataclysm for the snake's eye. It hadn't fully recovered yet, but it had recovered enough to start up another storm and the coughing spell was lessening.
He hadn't hidden Ladybug and Erek very far in the building as he had last time. They were practically still at the entrance, just enough to be out of sight. If he allowed the storm to get back to the way it was, it would hit Ladybug much harder than Erek. In her condition, he wasn't sure how much more of anything she could take.
He ignored his surroundings and focused squarely on the snake's eye. If not for Ladybug's lucky charm practically debilitating the snake, he probably would've taken longer, but it was only about a minute and two cataclysms later that the akuma was destroyed and Erek's father was freed.
He suddenly understood Marinette's animosity towards this guy. He was certain the snake didn't intend to harm Erek but Marinette was right. He didn't deserve to raise Erek. Akumatized victims weren't themselves but the man had eaten Ladybug and planned to hunt Marinette. Erek was safe but trapped inside his stomach. It was all so sickening. If Marinette still wanted him in Erek's life, he would respect that decision, but he would be so glad if she said no.
He put aside all the hard feelings he had and helped the man up anyway. Ladybug was still with Erek… Now would be a great time to recharge after three cataclysms. Maybe after that he could locate Marinette and assure her Erek was safe while Ladybug stayed to comfort the little guy.
Or maybe it would be simpler to bring Erek with him as he searched? But…that meant leaving Ladybug all alone. Erek was only a small child but he had to be better than no one.
He hid behind a pile of debris.
"Claws in."
A/N
She back! And so is scaly! COINCIDENCE?! Like I said last chapter, this will be split into parts. It's a long one. Anyway, read, review, all that good stuff!
*I originally planned to wait exactly one week between updates, just to make updates regular, but ummm...haha...I'm kinda starting to back up the pipe on chapters, so to speak. Enjoy an early update!