Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir

"Better," chapter 6, Part III

Nighttime: When the face of the Earth is turned towards the eternal night of space, and the Powers of Darkness are at their peak. The being known in the worlds of men and others as Damien Tennian BenDarian ran down and through the streets of rainswept Paris. The raindrops did not touch him, nor did the headlights of passing cars reveal his presence.

Some people might've found that a bit odd.

He ran, seemingly without effort, at a pace that would have put a great cat to shame. The lines of force he'd sensed led just…over…there. He only hoped he was in time.

The difference between a fish and a rock is that a fish is designed for water, its natural environment. It moves through it with minimal disturbance and maximum speed and efficiency. A rock, however, thrown into the same body of water, creates much greater disturbance. A big enough rock can create a huge amount of turbulence in such an environment, more so because of the denser medium.

What he sought had never been created, never been designed, for the environment it now found itself in.

There is speaking, and then there is Speaking. When one speaks, sound vibrations travel through the atmosphere, conveying information to those that can detect them. But when a Being of a certain type Speaks, the very substrate of reality Hears and is affected, with cosmic results.

He had to get to the creature before it Said the wrong thing. He only hoped it hadn't already.

There: high over the bridge railing, he could make out a white-garbed figure balancing perfectly on the cables. "Kagami!"

The figure turned. "Damien! You came!" She practically flew off the railing, sailing right into his arms. The rain had touched her, and she was soaking wet. She was wearing a sort of diaphanous gown that was now plastered by the rain to her skin. There were what looked like some kind of extensions protruding from her back; her hair hung in strings.

No face could ever look happier.

He held her slightly back, making sure his aura covered her. Now, no one would see her either. "Look. Who are you?"

"I'm a fairy princess! Isn't this what fairy princesses wear?" And she twirled out of his grasp, seeming to relish the feel of the rain on her body. "Wet," she whispered, running her hands over her face. "How wonderful…"

"I wouldn't know, I've never met a fairy princess. Well, maybe once. But you're not Kagami, I think that much is assured."

She seemed to think for a moment. Then, "You're right. I'm not Kagami. Kagami wouldn't be able to enjoy these sensations." She turned back to him, grasping the front of his shirt, a lascivious expression on her face. "Or to want more." Just as he started to get nervous again, she turned away, once again rubbing her hands over her face. "No, I'm not Kagami.

"I'm Better."

Then she stood, arms out from her side, and, to his horror, her entire garment disappeared, dissolving away, leaving her naked. "Ooooh, yessss…" She closed her eyes in ecstasy as the rain washed over her body. "Oh, yes…"

Yeeesh, he thought, disaster control time. He certainly couldn't let her be seen like this. Fortunately, she was still close enough that his aura shielded her from mortal eyes, at least, he hoped she was. But still, reflexively, he pulled off his shirt and draped it around her. She shivered, whether from cold or ecstasy or both, he couldn't tell. "But I wanna feel the rain on me.

"I wanna feel."

"Well, you don't have to be right here to feel the rain, do you? Tell you what, let's go over there." He pointed to a secluded bench on the nearby bank.

She pouted. "But I like it here."

"You'll like it there, too. The view's, uh, wonderful."

She came into his arms, smiling up at him in a way the real Kagami never would. "Okay."

….

"Kagami did this? How?" Chloe was almost toppling over, but she hung on to hear the answer.

"Don't…know. She…told me…to…go to…bed."

Chloe turned to Ladybug. "And now she can't get out of bed. That is no way normal. Not even akumatized normal. Ladybug, she's in misery. Here, let me sting her. That'll put her out, at least. Maybe when she wakes up, this'll all be over."

Ladybug had no better idea. "Do it," even as she was dialing Cat Noir's number.

….

Ladybug and Cat Noir cautiously entered the darkened Tsurugi household. "Brr," shivered Cat Noir. At her inquiring glance, he explained, "Cats don't like rain."

"You're liable to like what we find in here even less." She'd filled him in on the past few day's adventures, including a somewhat edited version of her and Chloe's conversation at school.

"For once I have to agree with Chloe," he'd chuckled. "That does not sound like Kagami." She'd told him about the group's encounter with the being that was impersonating Kagami at the bistro. Unknown to Ladybug, he, as Adrien Agreste, had been present at the bistro and seen everything. "Not even a good imitation." But then he sobered. "What kind of akuma could do that?"

"I don't think it was an akuma. Akumas, and akumatized people, are all about attacking us, stealing our Miraculouses. Nothing like that happened, unless you count 'Kagami's' practically assaulting Damien downtown."

"Heh. Lotta guys would kill to have a problem like that."

"Grow up, lech," she smiled. Typical boy. Then she turned to him. They'd covered a good portion of the house-and found nobody. "Cat, gotta question. You've been around Damien a time or two. Do you get any kind of strange vibe off of him?"

He thought for a minute. As Adrien Agreste, he'd been around Damien more than she knew and… "Yeah, yeah I do. I couldn't begin to say just what, but…something that's just not right.

"There's just something about him that doesn't belong, somehow."

"Belong…where? Here?"

He swept his hand about, indicating more than just the room, or even the city. "Anywhere."

There was no one else to be found, anywhere in the house.

….

"Oooooh!" exclaimed Not-Kagami, as she plopped down on the bench by Damien. She was still wearing his plaid shirt, and the sleeves were too long. She clasped her hands in front of her, a beatific smile on her face.

"What is it?"

"I just sat on a splinter!" She sounded as excited as if she'd just been given a great gift.

Which, if his theory was correct, she had been. He sighed. "Here. Turn over. I'll pull it out…"

Again that look, the one that made him so nervous. She got up on all fours there on the bench and turned her backside to him, spreading her legs. "Wouldn't you rather put something in?" His shirt dissolved from around her. Dang it, that was my favorite shirt. A human male of his apparent age would've found her posture almost irresistible, but he was none of those things. That didn't mean he was unaffected, however.

"Uhm, let's focus on one thing at a time, okay? You don't want to damage that body. C'mon now…"

He swiftly found and removed the splinter, which, fortunately, was rather small. It wouldn't leave a mark. He was human enough to think it a shame for something to scar that perfect tush.

He was wearing an undershirt, which he now removed and placed on the seat where she was sitting. No point in a repeat performance. Sat her back down by him. She looked so disappointed… "Look. We need to talk."

"I'd rather fork."

"Er…what?"

"You know." She made a circle with her thumb and forefinger, and thrust her other forefinger into it. "That. Forking. Isn't that what it's called? And do we need a fork to do it?"

Oh, Great Mother Night. He'd been right. "I don't think Kagami would appreciate us doing that while you're wearing her body. It would be much better if you had a body of your own. But we really need to talk.

"Couldn't we fork first?"

"No. I think I know where you're from. There's nothing there, is there? No light, no life, no matter, no energy, no time, no space, no sensations, no you even…nothing. Isn't that right?" She was silent for the first time since he'd found her, looking down at her hands. "How did you get out?" he asked gently.

"I…I don't know. I just…awoke, like this," she said, gesturing to herself. She turned to him in alarm. "You're not going to send me back, are you?"

"No, I would never do that. But I need to know how you got here, and-say, you never did tell me what to call you."

"Yes I did. I'm Better."

"Oh, sorry, I misunderstood." He rubbed his chin with his hand. "Look, uh, Better, you can't stay in that body. It belongs to someone else."

She began weeping, putting her face in her hands. "You are going to send me back."

"No, I swear, I won't. I promise. But…you have to find a body of your own. One without its own soul to contend with. That's the only way you'll ever be truly happy. Right now, all sensations are new to you, and you're enjoying them all, good, bad, and everything in between. But once the novelty wears off, it'll be like you're at war with yourself, constantly. You'll be miserable, Better. It could even drive you insane." He moved closer to the distraught creature and put his arm around her.

And something completely unforeseen happened…

It was like an electrical circuit closed between them with a snap!, and for a brief moment, their minds were connected. He saw the non-place she'd come from, and she saw…

The great snows of yesteryear, humanity struggling to survive, and, in so many, many cases, failing. And Damien, walking through the cold and the night, unaffected, as he had already walked through so much else for so long.

And his deciding he had to do something. And he did. As usual, it was the wrong thing. At least, according to some.

She looked at him in amazement. "It was…you. That time, so long ago…"

He pulled back slightly. "They were dying, Better. Many had frozen, and they were the lucky ones. The rest were starving because no food would grow. They…they were prepared to do horrible things, just to survive." Over the mental connection between them, she saw the prehistoric couple, the man, raising his club over a squawling infant, the mother, averting her gaze. "I couldn't let that happen." A mental image of a black-gloved hand reaching out, stopping the club in its downswing.

"I gave them the only thing I had left to give." Another image: Damien's hand reaching out to the couple, holding, in his cupped palm, a small tendril of yellow-red flame.

Her eyes were the size of dinner plates. "The legends…all true. You. Firegiver. Prometh-*"

"No. I'm no legend, no Titan, nothing special. Just…me."

Now she smiled and leaned against him, this time in the manner of a friend. "You were enough."

They leaned against each other for a while in silence, two of Time's lonely beings. Then, she said, "Will you stay with me? Until morning? I want to see one last sunrise…with a friend."

He held her. "I'll stay."

Silence. Then, "It…could take me a while to find a body. Maybe thousands of years. Maybe tens of thousands. Maybe longer."

"I'll be here. Waiting."

…

Shortly after sunrise, Better's eyes closed, and she drifted off to sleep. He knew it would be Kagami who'd open them, and quickly cast a sleep spell on her. It wouldn't do for her to wake up and find herself like this, with him.

Time is not a constant. There are places in the universe where it flows faster or slower, and some strange places where it actually flows in reverse. If one has the means and the know-how, it is possible to actually "tack" against the flow of time, like an old-style sailing ship tacking against the wind, and find oneself in a previous moment. It's very limited, and not true time travel, but it frequently can be made to serve the same purpose.

The previous Saturday morning: Damien gently placed Kagami's sleeping form in her bed. It was still nighttime, but it wouldn't be much longer. He loosened the sleep spell, so she'd wake normally. She'd no doubt wonder-mightily-why she was naked, but he couldn't fix everything.

Time resumed its normal course. Once again, he chanced by the bistro, and once again, was hailed over by Nino. This time he didn't say anything about Chloe's feet-he knew she was sensitive about those shoes.

He was so engrossed in looking around for the person he knew would show up any day now that he didn't notice the figure in white until she addressed him. "Mr. BenDarian?"

Kagami? At least, he hoped it was. She was attired in her usual white jacketed uniform and seemed like herself. Good.

With practiced ease, he adopted an expression of dismay. "Oh, god. What'd I do? This time, I mean."

She blinked. "What?"

"When anyone calls me 'Mr. BenDarian,' I know I'm in trouble. Look, whatever it was, I'm sorry, I'll fix it-*"

"No, no." The others watched, bemused by the spectacle of a flustered Kagami. She stopped, and rolled her eyes. "Oh, alright, Damien. I, I just wanted to say, thank you."

"Er. For-?"

"You went to a lot of trouble the other day, when you prepared that box of food for me. And I know you…didn't mean anything by it. My mother…well, she's…I suppose you'd say, protective of me. Sometimes a bit too much so." Now why did I say all that? There was no point in airing the family laundry, as the saying went, especially in public like this. She felt her cheeks flame.

"Oh." Good. "Well, as I said, I understand. I hope you enjoyed it."

"I did. It was very good. Well. Uhm. Thanks, again." And she moved off towards the exit. He breathed a small, internal sigh of relief. Better, wherever you are, I hope the best for you.

At least, you're free of that terrible place.

The End.

…

Epilogue: San Jose General, Pediatric Ward: the baby wasn't doing well at all.

The doctors and nurses had worked around the clock to ensure she could breathe, receive nourishment, and that none of her major systems flatlined, but things took a turn for the worse this night, and she stopped breathing. There was no indication of a heartbeat, and she lay, unresponsive.

"Defib, now." But even as the specialist readied as potent an injection as he dared-the general consensus being that neither one could do any more harm, not now-the still form in front of him suddenly jerked, spasmodically, and a thin cry filled the air. Everyone breathed a simultaneous sigh of relief; maybe a turning point had been passed…the baby's vital signs began to stabilize.

One of the nurses turned back, an expression of puzzlement on her masked face. She shook her head, wiping her brow with one gloved hand. "I must be more tired than I thought."

"What?"

"That hiccup just now…could'a sworn it sounded like…

"Better."

The end of "Better," Parts I, II, III