Miraculous Ladybug: The Longest Day

Ch 5: Hide And Seek

Ladybug landed on the ground. This was no sewer. Not a sewer she was familiar with anyway. It was more of an underground dubgeon. A bunker. Spider webs, cracked walls, dripping water, oil puddles on the ground. This made her feel really uneasy.

But she felt it again. The same presence she just escaped from was eminating somewhere from within the old bunker. Just where was she?

Not wanting to find out what was after her, she quickly hid inside an abandoned car, hoping it would be enough cover. She heard footsteps. She could feel the person looking at the car.

"Come out, come out, Marinette. Don't make me come and find you." the voice said. Ladybug recognized that voice...

"So, you want to play hide and seek? Really? This will be fun!" the being exclaimed and walked away. It was safe to come out.

"I need to get out of here... Fast!" Ladybug thought to herself. She got out of her hiding spot and ran as fast as she could, taking cover behind any pillar or pile of rubble she could find. The situation was too tense for her to notice the appearance of the villain. But she was certain it was Reality. His voice was exactly the same.

Why now? Why today? Where did he come from!? She hid inside another car and took out her yo-yo to check her messages. Indeed there was one. From Ray.

She began to read the message.

"Ladybug, we found Reality. He was hiding out in Everest. But he was gone before we got to him. Be careful. He may come after you. I will keep searching and if you need any assitance, call me."

"Crap." was all that Ladybug could think after reading the message.

Sitting in one spot would not end well for her, so she took a peek outside and saw Reality's back turned against her. He looked around for a brief second before teleporting away.

Sighing in relief, she ran out from her cover and found an elevator. Great, so this place had multiple floors? She figured she had to be at the very bottom of the bunker. It would have made sense. Quickly, she pressed the button to go up and to her luck, the elevator worked.

However...

The sound of gears and metal was too loud and all Ladybug could hear in the dark was a maniacal laugh. She knew she was in danger now.

When the elevator made it up, she ran as fast as her legs could go and found cover behind a pile of rocks. Reality flew past the rubble, knowing full well she was there, but decided to keep playing this silly game of hide and seek.

Ladybug waited. And waited more. She waited until she heard nothing. Then, she got out from behind the rubble and continued on, being as quiet as can be.

Before she could make it further, she saw Reality standing not too far from her with his back turned. Reacting fast, she found somewhere to hide, right as Reality looked over his shoulder. Not seeing anything, he walked away.

"You can't hide forever..." his voice echoed. That single sentence and the coldness of each letter was enough to send chills down her spine. Never in her life had she felt so cold.

There had to be a way out. There simply had to. A portal. A door. A window. Anything!

She snuck into the next room, being careful as to not make any noise.

But what she did not expect to see was Aatrox in his human form. How was that possible? Did he possess Reality again? Or was it an illusion?

Aatrox looked around the room, attempting to find the heroine, but she managed to hide in the shadows out of sight.