Thief | Lukadrien

Part 10 - Alya's Identity

I detransformed a block away from Master Fu's place to avoid detection. I entered the apartment building, ran up the stairs, and knocked on the right door.

"Do you really think you can escape me, son?"

I turned to my left. "F-Father? How did you—"

Sh*t, I forgot. Now that I was my civilian self again, my nightmare would be looking for me.

"Master Fu, open up!" I called, fear rising.

"Chat Noir?" the old man asked once the door was slightly ajar. "How did you find this place?"

"Ladybug—er, Lady Noir—gave me your address. We need the fox miraculous."

Master Fu noticed the illusion of my father in the hallway approaching, and pulled me inside his apartment before locking us in. I thought we were safe behind the closed door, but three ghostly figures were hiding out in the corner of the room.

"Whoa, what are those?" I asked, getting in a position to fight. Tikki flew over to a nearby table to eat a cracker.

"Meh, just ignore them. They have no power over me anymore."

"You lost the miraculous boxes!" the ghosts chorused. "It was your fault! YOUR FAULT!"

"Shut it!" Master Fu said, throwing a pillow at them.

"Adrien, open this door," the mirage of my father said. "I believe you have something to tell me."

"Did something happen to Ladybug?" Master Fu asked me. "I haven't seen her since she borrowed the snake miraculous."

"I'm not sure what's going on with her at the moment," I admitted. "But we need Rena Rouge to help us defeat Sandboy!"

"Alright, I trust your judgment, Chat Noir."

Master Fu went to his phonograph and pressed a sequence of buttons, causing a large black box to spin out of it. Master Fu opened the lid and took out an orange necklace.

"Use it wisely," Master Fu said, handing it to me. "Return it once the akuma is released."

I nodded confidently before transforming into Mister Bug (dumb name, I know) and vaulted out of the window. I could have gone out the way I came, but there was no way I was facing my father.

Real or not, I would never be ready for that.
...

I met up with Lady Noir in the alleyway again, I handed her the fox miraculous. She hesitated for a moment.

"What?" I asked. "Everything okay? I didn't grab the wrong one, did I?"

"I want you to come with me."

"You... what?"

"I want you to come with me," she repeated. "To get Rena Rouge."

"Won't I know her identity, then?"

"Yes, exactly."

"I don't understand."

She grasped my wrist and started running. As we were on the move, she started explaining herself.

"I need you to know who Rena Rouge is so that one day you can get her yourself."

"Okay, but what's the sudden urgency?"

"Look, Chat, I don't know how much longer I can be Ladybug. If Master Fu makes me give up my miraculous, you're either going to get my earrings or you'll be the next team leader. I just want you to be prepared."

"Why the hell would Master Fu make you give up your miraculous?"

Before she could answer, we arrived on a balcony. Lady Noir knocked on the window, and after a few minutes, Alya appeared.

"Alya? Rena Rouge is the writer of the Lady Blog?"

"Better believe it," Alya said. "Wait, you know?"

"Don't worry; he won't tell anyone," Lady Noir assured her, then held out the fox necklace. "Can we trust you again?"

Alya nodded with determination. She took the piece of jewelry, clasped it around her neck, and transformed.

"Alright," I said. "So here's the plan."

...

Once we located Sandboy, Rena used her powers to create a mirage of a giant monster. It roared behind the villain, causing Sandboy to stop and turn around slowly. He screamed, then started rapidly zipping around the sky to avoid the illusion chasing him.

While he was distracted, he wasn't paying attention to anything else, so he wasn't firing any nightmare sand. Lady Noir handed me her staff, which I positioned on an angle. I anchored the weapon as she held onto it, and on my signal, she extended it. She called cataclysm midair, and ripped open Sandboy's pillow before landing safely on the ground.

I de-evilized the akuma and threw the pen and paper into the air, yelling "miraculous ladybug." Everything returned back to normal. I breathed a sigh of relief, happy to be rid of the nightmares.

"Pound it," I said, holding out my fist. Rena hit it, but Lady Noir wasn't paying attention.

"M'Lady, are you okay?" I asked, walking over to her and putting a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm fine," she whispered.

"No, I don't think so," I said. "I've used that phrase way too many times. What's going on?"

She closed her eyes and let out a breath. "I can't tell you."

I was really starting to worry about her. All throughout the fight, she seemed absent, like her mind was elsewhere. And now, I could tell by the look on her face that there was a lot going on beneath the surface.

"If you ever need to talk, I'm here for you," I said. "Now, go home and get some rest. I'll take Rena's miraculous back."

She smiled and gave me a kiss on the cheek. "Thanks, Chaton."