Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Chat Noir

"Stranger in Town"

Chapter 14: Helluva Note

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Don't own, of course.

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Kagami is certainly having more than her share of bad luck lately, but so far, this one tops them all. It may always be darkest before the dawn, but what secrets will dawn's light bring?

R&R! And enjoy!

...

Hell: The monster had once again arisen and padded towards Kagami. Since her back was up against a rock wall (which, thankfully, hadn't shown signs of life, at least, not so far), she had no place to retreat to.

It came right up to her and extended its head. Considering the size of its head, she realized she wouldn't make more than a mouthful for the creature, if that…

But instead, it moved up to her, close enough for her to touch it, and stretched forth its head to where it was nearly touching her. It ran its nose up and down her sodden jacket, sniffing her deeply. Kagami stayed very still; was the creature sniffing its dinner before partaking? She was cognizant of her sweaty body. Maybe I smell too badly to be a meal. Though given the ambient stench of the place, she rather doubted that.

But then the monster moved up to touching distance, and rubbed the front and side of its face up against her, up and down, like a cat. Then it drew back and opened its enormous mouth. Kagami looked away; nothing said you had to watch death coming.

"Tokubetsu," said a deep, gravelly voice. If a landslide could talk, it would sound much like this. Such was her astonishment it took her a moment to register that it was the thing that had actually spoken. "Tokubetsu," it said again.

The word meant "Special" - in Japanese.

She totally forgot her circumstances, where she was or what she was facing. "Did…did you just talk?"

….

The Earth Realm: not too many blocks away, and just around the corner from Marinette's parents's bakery was a small corner grocery store. At this moment, it was not occupied, the staff and customers having left for the day due to the akuma alert. There was only a self-checkout. There was, in fact, no sign of anybody in there…unless you noticed, towards the back, a pair of canine ears sticking up from behind the last aisle. One of the ears flicked, and the head upon which the ears were mounted rose up slightly, to reveal a wolflike face. "All clear," whispered Thornmoon Ironpaw, to Ardent Bloodfang, crouched down on the floor beside him. "Now…towards the refrigerated area…" He glanced behind him, at the glass cases.

"Tell me again," said Ardent Bloodfang, now rising, "exactly what we're here for? It must've slipped my mind."

"Egg Nog."

"Egg Nog? Egg Nog?! We're risking our lives, and chances of discovery, for Egg Nog?" He paused a moment. "Er, what, exactly is this 'Egg Nog,' anyway?"

"A delicious human beverage. I had to scout around for it; not every store carries it."

Ardent stared. "You risked our chances of discovery for your stomach?"

"It's not for me. The Princess is said to be extraordinarily fond of it."

Ardent blinked. "Oh, I hope you aren't planning on setting some sort of, of trap for her, with this 'Egg Nog' as the bait."

"Oh come now. I know she has more sense than that."

"Then what-*?"

"I'm going to bribe her with it."

Ardent stared even harder. "Do you even have a brain? Have you ever actually had your cranium checked for occupancy? Do you seriously think-*"

"Shh, keep a lookout." He opened the neoplast door and selected the largest container he could locate. Checked the expiration date. "There. This ought to do it." He and Ardent made their way up to the front, their superb senses of hearing and smell telling them of the store's continued desertion. "What are these akumas, anyway, that everyone's so afraid of them?"

"Some sort of possessive entities that grant people afflicted with them greater-than-normal powers. Something like that, at least, so I gather."

"Greater than normal? Hmmm," said Thornmoon, scratching his neck. "I might like to try that out, myself."

"They'd probably turn you into an ambulatory stomach. No, wait: you're already that."

The pair moved up to the cash register. Something in a rotating bookrack by the register caught Ardent's eye. He pulled a book out of the rotating shelf. "Look. See? This is what humans think we are! This is why we have to stay hidden!" On the cover was a truly monstrous creature, one that combined the worst, scariest aspects of both human and wolf. It seemed to be snarling out from the cover, foam running down its face, its long, sharp claws reaching out for the reader.

Thornmoon took the book. "They think we look like this? Fyoof(wuffle)! I don't blame them for running away. If I looked like that, I'd run away from myself. Hasn't this gragnee ever heard of a brush?"

"Well, it's supposed to be a monster, so you know. I guess proper grooming is on the lower end scale of importance."

"Well, let's get out of here." He started to put the book back on the rack…then thought better of it and stuffed it into a pouch at his waist. It might be fun to read. He turned to Ardent. "Did you remember to bring the human money?"

His friend's blank stare told him all he needed to know.

….

Hell:

Kagami wondered if it were possible to pass out standing upright.

On the other hand, why should she feel this way? So the monster knew a word-at least one-in her native language. Had it turned out to be fluent in English or French, she wouldn't have batted an eye. So why did this, this anomaly, this totally unexpected behavior, to be more precise, practically knock her to the ground?

The creature didn't seem to know any more words, in any language. Just that one.

And it used it to refer to her. As Damien would say, what was up with that?

It called her "Special," and Kagami couldn't shake the notion that it wasn't just parroting the word. It knew what the word meant.

And it called her "Special."

Why?

She sat down on the ground there in front of the rocky hillock behind her, crossed her legs, put her head in her hands and just thought. She was coming to the conclusion that, somehow, some way, this creature in front of her was somehow responsible for her being here. But why? What sense could this whole scenario make?

Her stare seemed to make the giant creature nervous. It would look at her, then look away, then look back, then look away again.

Alright. There was a mystery here, but there was no reason to alienate the one entity in this entire realm with whom she had any kind of connection. Perhaps this was a bad idea, but…

She got up and went over to the monster. It kept its gaze on her, a bit nervously, she thought.

She went up to it, to the area where the neck joined the shoulder…and brushed her hand along its side. The hot, rock-like hide didn't seem any cooler, but it didn't seem dangerously hot, either. She caressed the monster's exterior: "Easy," she murmured, "Easy. It's alright. It's alright."

The creature visibly relaxed underneath her touch, and laid its enormous head on the ground, and, for the first time, closed all of its eyes.

She examined the area beneath the bony carapace, wondering if she should scratch it lightly, the way one would a pet, but decided against it. After all, the monster's hide was like rock; she'd probably only ruin her fingernails. Maybe, later on, if she needed to file her nails…

Wait. Later on? Just how much later on? How long would she be here?

And she became aware of another peculiarity: here she was, trapped in what could easily pass as an outlying garden spot in the Judeo-Christian Hell, with this incredible heat all around, enough to make her sweat profusely. She'd no doubt lost a great deal of water just from that alone, yet she'd seen no sign of water anywhere, and she didn't feel the awful thirst she knew she should be feeling.

There was only one possible conclusion.

"I'm dead.

"I must be dead. So I can't dehydrate.

"And I'm in Hell.

"And Hell is…Forever."

To be continued...

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