Continuing Tales

Secrets and Betrayals

A Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir Story
by LilyTheNinjaGirl

Part 3 of 41

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Marinette rushed home. She flung open the door to the bakery and dashed inside. To her surprise, she found Alya sitting at the table with her parents.

"Marinette!" her mother cried as she crossed the table and pulled her daughter close into a hug. "We were so worried about you!" Marinette returned the hug and then kissed her father's cheek quickly.

"I'm so sorry! I got knocked out or something by this crazy guy in a camo suit! It was sooo scary!" she said, being over dramatic about how scary it was. Alya had long ago stopped suspecting her to be Ladybug, but she could never be too sure, so she always liked to drop hints about how unlike Ladybug she was.

"Girl, did you see Ladybug out there? She was totally off her game! And Chat Noir never even showed! Where could he have been?" Alya asked, waving her phone in the air. Marinette growled.

"No, I told you, I got knocked out or something," she said. She didn't want to have to deal with this right now. "How did you get here anyway?"

"After the Trapper disappeared I stopped over at your house to see if you made it back. Can I not stop by and check on my BFF?" Alya asked, sounding confused and slightly hurt.

"Sorry Alya," Marinette apologized. "I've just been having a bad day, okay? Maybe now I can catch up on all that homework." She inwardly groaned at the thought.

"Yeah, okay. I'm being called to babysit my little sisters again," Alya groaned while looking at the text on her phone. "Good luck with that homework!" Alya hopped off of her seat and great fully accepted the croissant Tom handed to her. Being the best friend of a baker's daughter had its advantages. Namely, free goodies whenever she wanted.

After Alya left, Marinette grabbed a couple off cookies off of a plate on the counter. "Well, I better go start on that homework!" she told her parents. They nodded in approval as she headed up the stairs and into her room. She set the cookies on her desk and pulled a tired looking Tikki out of her purse and set her next to them. Then she threw her schoolbag at the wall and flopped down on her bed.

"What happened back there?" she groaned. "That Lucky Charm was like a cruel joke! And we never even needed it. The guy just completely disappeared and then everyone was fixed!"

"I don't know Marinette, but I'm sure it can't be good," Tikki mused.

"And when he was talking to Hawk Moth, it was weird. Almost like he was supposed to let me get away... Like this time, my miraculous wasn't what he was after."

"Then what was he after?" asked Tikki.

"How the heck am I supposed to know?" Marinette snapped. She instantly felt bad. "Sorry Tikki. I know it was a rhetorical question."

"That's okay Marinette, but you really should try and figure out what's bugging you. Everything is easier when you look at life positively!" Tikki said, smiling brightly. Marinette sighed and remained lying on her bed. Tikki zipped under Marinette's bed to her little hiding place. She had built herself a cozy little bed out of scraps from Marinette's fashion designs.

"Plagg? Plagg I need to talk to you!" she thought silently. Kwami's had a secret method of communication that they used only when absolutely necessary. They could only use it when their humans weren't transformed. She waited for several minutes, but got no response. That's strange. Maybe Chat Noir had come out to see if he could find Ladybug and make it up to her somehow? Or maybe the poor boy just needed to escape his house.

Tikki didn't know Chat's secret identity, but Plagg had told her plenty about him. Apparently he had a really overbearing and oppressive father. She wished she could give Chat some advice. No offense to Plagg, but he was really bad at it, and too prideful to admit how much he really cared about Chat.

Tikki sighed. She almost wanted to ask Ladybug to transform just in case Chat was going to come and apologize. But she needed time to cool off. Seeing as how Marinette had snapped at both her and Alya, she was nowhere near ready to face the person that her anger was directed at. And it wasn't even his fault, either. Tikki sighed. Why did this always have to be so complicated?

##################################################################################

Chat groaned. His entire body ached and he felt nauseous and dizzy. Where was he? What if his miraculous timed out soon? Would his secret identity be revealed? He pushed one elbow underneath him and lifted his head. It was hard to move. It felt like somebody turned his bones to jelly.

"So nice to finally meet you," a voice boomed. It echoed in his ringing ears. Chat glanced around wildly. It was pitch black, so dark that he couldn't see his hand in front of his face. He curled up in a ball defensively and hissed.

"Who are you?" he growled. "And where am I?" He paused, not really expecting an answer. There was nothing but silence.

"WHERE AM I?" he yelled again. There was still no answer. He shivered. It was really cold in here. And dark. Anything could be hiding in the darkness. Stalking him, ready to pounce. There was something in here. Something alive.

Something brushed his cheek and he jumped backwards, yelping in surprise. He heard a soft chuckle.

"You certainly are a scaredy cat. It's a wonder it took me so long to catch you. You're pathetic," the voice sneered. There was something familiar about the voice, but Chat Noir was too groggy and disoriented to notice.

He stood up shakily and spun around. There was nothing but blackness. It surrounded him on all sides, pressing against him. It was suffocating. His breath came in short gasps.

"Who are you?" he whispered again.

"That is not revelant. You don't need to know. I only need you for bait. You're too weak to pose a threat to me anyway."

"Bait," Chat thought. "Bait for what?" Then it hit him. Ladybug! "You can't," he snarled, bringing his clenched fists up into a defensive position. He heard another soft chuckle. It sent chills up and down his spine.

"Actually, you'll find that I can. I can do whatever I want, and whatever is best for me and my cause," the voice said softly. Chat Noir heard a rustle behind him. He spun around, lashing out. Something grabbed his wrist and twisted it, bringing him to his knees. "And you, Chat Noir. You will do everything I want."

"I can't escape that even as Chat Noir? Seriously! I'm tired of doing everything other people want!" he inwardly grumbled. "No," he said out loud, very matter-of-factly. The grip on his arm tightened painfully. He could feel the pressure on his wrist.

"You have no choice," the person chuckled. "Or else you die."

"Kill me then!" Chat Noir said, louder, more defiantly. "I don't care. I have no reason to live. Just leave Ladybug out of it!"

"FOOL!" the person roared. He jerked Chat's wrist violently. There was a loud snapping sound and Chat screamed in pain. "You have no idea what is truly going on here, do you?" He released Chat and dumped him on the ground.

Chat cradled his limp wrist in his other arm. White hot pain shot up and down his entire arm from his fingertips to his shoulder. He resisted the urge to cry from the pain. The chuckle came again. His frantic green eyes spun around. They were still met by blackness.

It was closing in. The darkness was everywhere. He curled up into a ball, hissing in pain when he had to lay his hurt arm on the floor. He was shaking from the cold. His breath came in short gasps.

"The darkness is such a scary place, isn't it?" the voice asked. "There's nothing worse than the fear of the unknown. There could be anything in here. Anything. With any motive, any reason to hurt you." He fully laughed for the first time. The noise made Chat instinctively whimper.

"It intrigues me just how cat-like you really are. Maybe I'll have to mess with that later. But for now, I think I'll leave you with the dark." Chat's eyes widened.

"No," he gasped. The man chuckled. There was a swish and then the sound of footsteps marching away from him. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

######################################################################################

Tikki shivered. Something felt wrong. She didn't know what it was, but there was a haunting whisper in the back of her mind. She rolled over. It was dark. Pitch black. She couldn't see her hand in front of her face.

"Marinette!" she squeaked. She zoomed out from underneath the bed.

"Yeah Tikki?" Marinette groaned as she rubbed her eyes. She switched on a lamp. Bright light filled the room, bouncing off of the pink walls and giving the whole place a cozy glow. Marinette pulled down her comforter a bit, letting Tikki slide down under them with her. The little kwami shivered.

"Something's wrong," she said after a second. Marinette patted her head.

"What do you mean?" Marinette asked.

"That's the problem, I don't know," Tikki confessed. "But something is wrong. I can feel it. A shift in the balance of magic. Plagg is trying to communicate with me, but he can't."

"Who's Plagg? And why is he trying to communicate with you? And why can't he?" Marinette asked impatiently, staring at her alarm clock. 3:47am on a school night. This had better be important.

"Plagg is Chat Noir's kwami," Tikki explained. "Kwami's have a secret way of communication, but we can only use it when our partners are not transformed. Plagg is trying to reach me, but he can't because Chat must be transformed right now."

Marinette's blood boiled at the mention of Chat, but she ignored her anger for Tikki's sake. The poor little kwami looked so upset. "Why would he be trying to reach you so badly?"

"I don't know," Tikki responded in a whisper. "It could be because Chat is hurt, it could be because Chat is doing something dangerous. It could be because Chat needs Ladybug to finish off an akuma really badly. It could be…" she gulped, "Because Plagg lost control of Chat."

"Lost control of Chat? What the heck does that mean?" Marinette said while yawning. "Look Tikki, I know you're worried, but it is really late. I'm sure that if something's wrong with Chat we can deal with it tomorrow. He'll be easier to find in the daytime, especially with citizens around to see him and post pictures on the Ladyblog."

She switched the lamp off and rolled over, putting her pillow over her head. Tikki sighed worriedly as she zoomed back underneath the bed and cuddled up in her little blanket. She knew something was wrong, but she couldn't place it. Besides, Marinette was right. Whatever was wrong could be dealt with tomorrow, and Tikki needed to be well rested in order for Marinette to stay transformed as Ladybug for as long as possible if need be.

Secrets and Betrayals

A Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir Story
by LilyTheNinjaGirl

Part 3 of 41

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