Luigi Costa was a simple man with a big dream: to own the best pizza shop in all of Paris. He spent years working dead-end jobs and busting his back just to have enough to buy his little shop in the fifth arrondissement. And he had gotten it, too! Le Coeur de l'Italie had finally opened its doors to the masses. Luigi put his heart and soul into every dish he made. Each sauce was made by hand, every topping gotten fresh from the market each morning. The dough was his mother's recipe and filled with fond memories of his childhood. This shop was a labor of love for his family and his city.
But his city betrayed him.
A critic undercover sat in his restaurant, ate his food, and dared to call him third rate. Third rate?! The man even went on to claim he'd broken health codes and that he'd seen a mouse run beneath his table. Health inspectors were there the next day. Luigi watched on helplessly as they came up with excuse after excuse to shut him down. Unclean sinks, overused fryer grease, cold food not cold enough, hot food not hot enough. He swore half the reasons they gave him were made up. Nevertheless, he was forced to close his doors. Not once in his life had Luigi ever been so humiliated. He sat at one of his tables, clutching a rolling pin so hard, his knuckles turned white.
His dream was ripped out of his hands. He was now the laughingstock of Paris.
They will all pay for humiliating you! Luigi didn't know where the voice came from, but he agreed with it, wholeheartedly.
Greetings, Pizzario, I am Hawkmoth. I will grant you the power to make your dream a reality, but I will need something in return. Do we have a deal?
The man grinned. "I'll show them the greatest pizza pie in all'a Paris! Using all'a Paris!"
With a howl of laughter, the man that was once Luigi was consumed by Hawkmoth's black power.
Marinette could only watch on in horror as her friend was practically eaten alive by the monstrous dough ball. Luna struggled against the mass, but as it lifted her in the air, she sank deeper towards its core and soon disappeared within it. Dread filled the blackette's stomach. That was almost her. What would've happened if Luna hadn't pushed her out of the way? What would've happened to Ladybug? To Paris?
It took Alya dragging her to her feet for Marinette to break out of her stupor. The two besties shared a look before walking out into the street.
"It's gotta be another akuma," Alya said.
"Yeah, but why the giant dough ball?" Marinette asked.
The blogger made a face. "Is that what that was?"
Marinette chewed at her lip and gave her a curt nod. She felt a hand take hold of her shoulder. Looking up at Alya, she was met with a warm smile and a confident gaze.
"She's gonna be alright, girl. Luna's tough. I'm sure she can handle herself until Ladybug and Chat get here."
A small smile grew on Marinette's face. "You're right."
"Always am." Alya gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze before pulling out her phone. "Alright, girl. I'll catch ya later."
"Wait, you're not seriously going after that thing!" Marinette said in horror.
"Hey, duty calls. Plus, it probably wouldn't hurt for Luna to have a friendly face when she gets free." The blogger mocked a salute before running off down the street. Marinette shook her head with a sigh. Trust Alya to be both right and reckless.
Peeking out of her chosen's purse, Tikki's tiny voice rose up. "We have to hurry, Marinette. Who knows how many people that oversized pastry has taken."
The blackette nodded and scanned the area for anyone watching. Then, ducking back into the alleyway, she called out to her kwami.
"Tikki, spots on!"
Luna knew how to stay calm under stress. As long as she kept herself in check, she could get herself out of any mess she was in. Hell, she even went out of her way to fluster her opponents during heists so they couldn't think as clearly. A level head wins battles. It was the first lesson her dad ever taught her, and she lived by those words. They had gotten her out of more than a few tight spots before.
But she had learned the hard way that a level head don't mean shit when you can't move.
She sank deeper into the dough as she struggled. No matter how hard she tried to kick her legs and claw her way to the surface, her limbs wouldn't cooperate. It was as if she was trying to swim through cement; the blob clung to her skin, making her body feel heavy and stiff. Still she tried to do something- anything -to trick herself into calming down. She told herself someone was coming for her. Chat and Ladybug would be there any minute. They had to know what was going on. There was no way her kitten wouldn't come save her. She just needed to keep calm and breathe.
Except she couldn't breathe. She couldn't move. She couldn't escape.
So she panicked.
"EEEEEK! MY SHIRT IS RUINED NOW!"
So isn't my hearing, Adrien thought. Rubbing his ears, the teen hero peeked out from the sweets store they had ducked in to escape. He had practically thrown Chloé inside ahead of him, which of course, led to the girl crashing into a chocolate display. Which he was really sorry about. But not so sorry that he didn't take advantage of the commotion his good friend caused to sneak away. He did kinda feel bad about leaving the shop owner all alone to be screamed at, though.
As Chloé shrieked about dry cleaning expenses, Adrien slipped outside and hid behind a dumpster. He opened his shirt to let Plagg fly out. The kwami sneezed, shaking his head.
"Ugh, that is way too much garlic," he said with a groan. "Do we really have to fight that thing?"
Adrien rolled his eyes. "Of course we do. Like that's even an option."
"But my poor nose!"
"If I can handle an army of birds, you can handle a bit of garlic. Now, claws out!"
"Oh come ooooooooonnnnnn!" Plagg wailed as he was sucked into the ring.
In the blink of an eye, the teen model was replaced with the knight in shining leather. Chat stretched his body out, then took out his staff and launched himself into the air. He landed gingerly onto the roof above before breaking into a dead-run after the rolling mass. It didn't take him long to catch up with it, nor did it take long for a familiar red figure to join him in his pursuit. A smile broke out on the cat's face.
"Afternoon, Bugaboo. We've gotta stop meeting like this," Chat said with a wink.
Ladybug rolled her eyes. "Give it a rest, chaton. We've got work to do."
"So I've seen. Guess we'll just have to break bread, later, then." He flashed her a cheshire grin as his partner sighed.
Soon, the dough blob made its way to a clearing and came to a stop. The heroes halted as they ran out of rooftop. They crouched low against the railing, trying to stay hidden as they peered down below. The blob had stopped on what looked like an oversized fire pit lined with some sort of griddle. The flames hadn't been lit yet, which was a relief to both the heroes.
"Do you think the blob has the akuma?" Chat asked.
"I'm not sure. I can't see where it would be hiding," Ladybug said.
"Could be at the center. I say we Cataclysm it!"
"We can't, Chat. There are people trapped inside, and we don't know what a Cataclysm would do to them."
"Fair point. So, what do we do then?"
"You can join'a the rest of Paris in my delicious cuisine!"
The heroes looked up with a start. Floating just above their heads was a tall and lanky man with reddish skin and a thick black mustache. He wore a blue cap with a pizza logo on the front and a matching blue apron. In his hand was a bright red rolling pin with spikes on each side. His grin was far too wide to be human and would've passed as cartoonish if it wasn't so unsettling.
Ladybug and Chat instantly took up battle stances, each one clutching their weapons. Neither one knew what to expect from Hawkmoth's newest victim. Though if his appearance was any indication, he'd be another version of Kung Food.
"We're not interested in your crummy cuisine, akuma!" Ladybug shouted.
"Too bad! The whole city will become ingredients in Pizzario's pizza pie, and that includes you, Ladybug and Chat Noir!" With a swing of his rolling pin, Pizzario willed the dough to life. Two arm-like pillars shot out at the heroes, causing them to jump out of the way and over the edge of the building they were on. They landed on the ground with a roll. The arms sank back into the dough and, with another swing of Pizzario's arm, shot back out at the pair. Ladybug barely had time to scramble to her feet in order to dodge a second time. Chat's feline reflexes gave him a bit more of an edge, but he still had to resort to using his staff to block the attack. Soon enough, Ladybug was doing the same with her yo-yo.
"Gotta say, m'lady, this is a pretty crummy situation!" Chat said in a strained voice.
"I think you need some new material, Chat," Ladybug said with a smirk, though she was straining just as much. "Pretty sure I already used that joke."
Her partner let out a small chuckle. Neither one of them saw the spatter of dough scattering at their feet from their makeshift defenses. It wasn't until the dough started to collect and rise that Ladybug realized the mistake. In the blink of an eye, the duo was surrounded by little, faceless dough men.
"Chat, we have to move!" the red-clad girl said. She dropped her shield and was about to launch her yo-yo and escape when one of the dough men pounced onto her feet, followed by another. And another. They piled on top of each other, molding together and cementing Ladybug in place. She let out a yelp as she clawed at the dough that was quickly rising to her waist.
Pizzario howled with laughter.
"I have'a you, now! Hand over your Miraculous! Or become a lifesized stromboli!"
"As if we'd give them to some cheesy videogame knockoff!" Chat said. He raised his right hand. "Cataclysm!"
Chat dodged the dough men trying to leap on him as well before rushing towards his partner. He laid his hand on the dough holding her down, causing it to harden and dry out before crumbling away. He then took his lady by the waist and used his staff to launch them skyward before the dough men could converge on them again. The pair hung in the air for a moment, giving Ladybug enough time to toss her yo-yo out and swing them to safety. They landed on a nearby roof with a tumble.
"Told you a Cataclysm would work," Chat said, cheekily, as they stood.
"Too bad we just blew our only shot for it, though," Ladybug said with a grimace. She looked down to see a fuming Pizzario glaring back at her.
"Run all'a you want! I may not get to make you part of the main dish, but you'll make'a a delicious dessert!"
With that, the villain waved his rolling pin and sent his dough men army marching after the heroes. Ladybug grimaced.
"We need to get that rolling pin," she said. "It's gotta be where the akuma is."
"We gotta get around the gingerbread freaks, first. And I don't think eating them will work," Chat said.
Ladybug smirked. "Let's see if we can get some help with that. Lucky Charm!"
She tossed her yo-yo into the air. In a flash of red sparks, a red, polka-dotted bag fell from the sky. Ladybug caught it with an oomph, slightly surprised by its weight. The heroes both read the label, and Ladybug's eyes began to sparkle while Chat frowned.
"Salt? What are we supposed to do with salt?"
"Obviously, you've never baked before," Ladybug said with a chuckle.
Woo-hoo! Another chapter done! I'm starting to realize that akuma scenes are freaking hard as hell! Seriously, this took way longer than I wanted it to, but I digress. Hope you guys enjoyed the read. Now, to answer some reviews:
AmuletSugar1: Honestly, I kinda side with Ladybug, there. Luna was pushing some serious boundaries with someone who was already majorly PO'd.
ChloeFan: Luna's actions are fifty percent impulse and fifty percent planned. Its pretty unlikely she was thinking anything more than 'this could be fun'.
Typicalbooklover: None of the pairings are set in stone. Though, I never would've thought of Adrina as a ship name. Doesn't sound as awesome as Meow Mix, though.
Davey: Don't apologize for a lengthy review; I love reading them! You're probably right about another heist, though.
That's it for now, guys! See ya soon!