Between the Heavens and the Embers

Chapter VIII

"Are you sure?" Chat Noir asked, his hand gripping the back of his neck.

"A hundred percent. Hawkmoth himself made an appearance. He was on the Eiffel Tower one second, and then gone the next. It's Minotaurox that saw him, but he didn't reach him in time. And I wasn't transformed at the moment, so..." Luka's voice said through the phone, his voice surprisingly calm.

Rena Rouge and Chat Noir exchanged a glance, both faces reflecting identical disbelief. Hawkmoth was usually a pretty straightforward man who stuck to the same routine. Nowadays, it was about two terrible akumas a month and then, once every few months, he would send a couple of akumas at the same time and come out of hiding. While the other heroes were preoccupied with the akumas, Hawkmoth would directly challenge Chat Noir to a duel. They would fight, Hawkmoth would lose, and the circle would start all over again. It was a tiring game, but one they knew well. So why would Hawkmoth suddenly change that?

"Have you asked Bunnyx about it yet?" Rena Rouge wondered, hoping for more insight.

"Yeah," Luka responded with a humourless laugh. "But you know her, she's as cryptic as ever. She claimed that the timeline was on the right path, and that was pretty much all I could get out of her."

Chat Noir sighed. "Alright, I'll come to check it out myself."

"I'll tell Pegasus to meet you at your location."

Chat Noir thanked him before ending the call, shoulders tensed.

"I don't get it," Rena whispered, her voice filled with bewilderment. "He never shows himself."

"I don't know, but I'll fill you in as soon as I have some information. I should be back tomorrow afternoon if everything's fine," Chat Noir assured her as a portal materialized before them.

"Be careful."

"I always am."

What a lie, Alya thought as she watched him disappear into the portal.

As soon as he was gone, Alya released her transformation, her exhaustion weighing heavily on her. Just as she collapsed onto the couch, Nino walked through the front door.

"Honey and Honey number 2, I'm home!" Nino exclaimed, clearly in a good mood until he noticed Alya's weary face. "Wait, what's going on?"

"Hawkmoth made an appearance. Adrien went to check it out."

Nino's eyes widened in shock. "Oh shit, really?"

"No," Alya admitted, her guilt seeping into her words.

Confusion washed over Nino's face as he stared at his girlfriend. "Uh, what do you mean, no?"

Alya took a deep breath, mustering the courage to explain her actions. "I've asked Luka to lie to Adrien. We need him away tomorrow, just for a couple of hours."

"I'm not sure I understand."

"Look, I've done some research, and the car accident did happen, but I can't find anything about a daughter being in the car with them. They only talk about the couple and their son. I didn't want to lie to Adrien, but..."

"I understand," Nino said, interrupting her. "He's not really cooperative over this whole thing."

"Exactly, and I understand why. But I need to figure out what's going on here. So, I looked around, and I found a relative. She's old but alive. She lives only about thirty minutes from here. We should go and ask her a couple of questions, don't you think?"

"I love the way your brain works, woman," Nino praised, leaning down to give her a tender kiss. "I knew you'd get to the bottom of this. Oh, by the way, Reid invited us to go clubbing tomorrow night. Apparently, there's this nice place in town he wants to show us. He says it's private, Adrien and him won't be bothered."