Right When I Saw You | Lukadrien

Chapter 10 | Poisonous Sweets

   Adrien, now transformed into Cat Noir, looked outside the alley again to confirm Coeurcass' position. He saw her extend her hand forward and open her palm to reveal a bright sparkle. Underneath those sparkles, two earrings. Ladybug's, no doubt, he concluded. I need to get those earrings before Hawk Moth gets them! Cat Noir unsheathed his staff which extended in length until it reached the earrings, only to smack them to the ground. Before there was anytime for Coeurcass to react, Cat Noir sprinted forward and tilted his baton horizontally to push her back.

"Wh-?!" Coeurcass startled.

At his sudden appearance she staggered back after being pushed, which ended up in her falling to the ground. Now to get the earrings! Cat Noir reached out for the jewelry. It was almost if they were calling for his name, and waiting for him to take them. As he was about to get a grip on them, he noticed in the corner of his eye that Coeurcass was reaching for her purse. I can't retreat now, I have to get them! He pushed further despite the danger and was ultimately relieved when he felt the small objects in his hand. He slipped the earrings in a pocket that was close to his hand. The relief didn't last long because when Cat Noir looked back again he saw that her hand was out of her frilly pink purse and her gloves now held something that looked like candies. The candies were contained inside a colourful wrapper, but when he looked closer a nasty lavender smoke seemed to be emitting from it. He had what he needed and he knew better than to stick around to see what would happen. He took his baton again and placed it on the ground so that it would extend him up in the air.

In a couple of a seconds, he was off the ground and in the sky. Cat Noir thought he was safe from Coeurcass in the air, because it didn't seem like she had the power to fly. Unfortunately, he was proven wrong in a matter of moments, when the right side of his ear suddenly exploded with noise and heat. 

When he looked to the side the nose came from, he faintly saw the remains of coloured ashes fall to the ground and smoke. Were the candies bombs? Soon enough, a smokey mist began to surround the area on his right. More specifically, they were smoke bombs.

"Give those earrings back, Cat Noir! I'm the only one allowed to have them!! If you won't now, then I'll get you soon and make you fall under the spell. It should break you down enough that I'd be able to take it by myself, with no trouble whatsoever."

Under a spell? Do these poisonous bomb candies have something to do with that? Cat Noir saw a building nearby and swiftly jumped on top of it, grabbing his metal staff and retracted it as he flew through the air. His legs started to move even faster once he was atop that building, because now he had to keep running or else she would probably catch up to him and take the earrings back. That couldn't happen. He kept using his staff to help support him as he jumped over the brick buildings scattered compactly across the city. The only noises that could be heard were the quick howls of wind each time he jumped and the tingle of his golden bell that hung from his neck. He landed on a roof of a building, hoping he was far enough away that Coeurcass wouldn't be able to get to him. He crouched down trying to make himself less visible in case she was looking for him. His lungs felt as if they were on fire from how much he moved. Even though he was breathing hard, he still found some energy to open his pocket again to take out the earrings. When doing so, a red creature flew from the earrings and hovered in front of him. It must be Ladybug's kwami, he thought. The kwami was completely red and had a big black spot on it's forehead, accompanied by two other black spots on its lower cheeks. Its face seemed to be a mix of surprise and sadness. I wonder how they're feeling knowing that Ladybug is akumatized... Cat Noir and the kwami ended up in silence for a couple of minutes, both of them not speaking. The silence was so incriminating that the more Cat Noir stared at the kwami, the more he saw what he thought was pain in their round blue eyes.

"Cat Noir."

Cat Noir jumped a little inside from the sudden sound after what seemed like hours of silence.

"Yes?"

"Please save her. Please bring Ladybug back."

Their voice wavered as she spoke. It was clear that they was holding tears in. When the words left their mouth, Cat Noir suddenly felt something unfamiliar. A sudden emotion pulsed through his heart. He couldn't quite name it. A feeling of determination and confidence combined. He sat still for a few more moments, trying to analyze it. All he knew was that he had to save her no matter what. He stared at the palm of his hand, where the scarlet-coloured earrings rested. He must save her, because without her, there would be no way to prevent Hawk Moth's akumatizations. Paris would no longer be protected. He would lose his partner. His friend. Memories of Ladybug flashed through his mind, powering his will to save her. He gripped the earrings in his hand. He knew what he had to do, but first, he needed someone else to help him out.