A Masked Game

Level 21: Part I and Part II

They'd gradually moved towards the staircase, finally arriving on the deck. They had exchanged several blows; Chat Noir deflecting the dagger with his staff, Viperion forcing him to expend his cataclysm on his lyre.

As they approached the open deck, Chat Noir surged forward with a spinning strike of his staff, following through with a body check to force Viperion off balance and create space between them.

Now, they stood face to face, Chat Noir clutching the snake Miraculous in his hand, and Viperion no longer with the blade in his. The turquoise suit slowly faded from his body, leaving Luka once more in his jeans and hoodie.

Chat Noir looked from the bracelet to the stranger standing in front of him – the stranger whose mind had been shaped and moulded into a whole new person.

The lingering thought that this was too easy encroached on his thoughts. A thought that was interrupted by the searing pain in his side.

Luka's laugh was hard and demonic. Chat Noir's body began to react, to try and recover, to focus on the job at hand and, most of all, on Luka.

"Whoo! That was tough," Luka said, still laughing. "That took me 28 tries. I think you may have even killed me a couple of times, that damn cataclysm. Every time, you kept going for my Miraculous and I struggled to fight you off. Finally, I just let you take it. And let's just say, your fixation has cost you dearly."

Overcome with dizziness, Adrien looked down to see the blade, buried deep to the hilt in his stomach. As he tried to make sense of it, Luka raced forward and ripped the blade out, sending blood spraying everywhere and doubling Chat Noir over with the worst pain he had ever felt.

Luka began to clap. "Bravo, Kitty Cat! To still have those skills after not transforming in almost a decade. Your Lady would be proud! No wonder you were a favourite of the Guardians!"

Chat Noir looked up, hand still over his stomach as the anger swept over him at the mention of Marinette.

Marinette! He stumbled forward in an attempt to attack again, but fell short. The blood was oozing from him, his power becoming weakened by the second. He needed to stay alive. He needed to be with her and his baby.

"Apparently, even though I'm far more suited for the snake Miraculous, you didn't break down the way I did after 2, 000 attempts. Even when they were worried you'd go rogue, they still respected you. If only they could be here now to see how the mighty have fallen." Luka gleefully called out to him, as Chat Noir fought the pain to stand. He staggered to the railing, blood running through his fingers as he desperately pressed against the wound to his stomach. "Though, they had to fall first, the bastards!"

Leaning on the railing, he watched as Luka stalked forward, a maniacal smile on his face as he closed in.

"L-Luka?"

"The GREAT and POWERFUL Chat Noir, reduced to a cowering... little... kitten," Luka announced to the world, before leaning right into Chat Noir's face and sneering. "First, I'm going to kill you. Then I'm going to destroy you, monster. Then finally, I'm going to go to Marinette, and make certain that the demon spawn you put in her is destroyed as well," He stood back up and brandished the blade, wiping the blood off with his fingers and flicking it down to the ground. "Your mother and father abused the magic, and thanks to them, I've ended up like this. I didn't want to do this Adrien, but with you around I'd always be reminded of what they did to me! What they did to my world! You know what they say though, a life for a life! I'll have great pleasure replacing you."

As Luka pulled back to thrust the blade deep into Chat Noir's chest, a blur of purple and silver dropped to the deck, striking Luka's arm and causing him to drop the blade. Before Chat Noir could focus on the newcomer, the blur struck a heavy blow straight into Luka's chest, sending him flying backwards and into a built up pile of cardboard boxes.

As Luka recovered, he recognised his assailant instantly, calling a name Chat Noir never thought he would hear again. "MONARCH!?!

"Actually," Gabriel began, "The name is Papillon." Wielding his cane like a duelling sabre, Papillon advanced.

Chat Noir was quite sure he was dreaming. As he watched Papillon – his father – take the initiative in the fight, Adrien struggled to make sense of everything. What....why....HOW did his father know to turn up here, now? And how did he get a hold of the butterfly Miraculous? He couldn't make heads or tails of it, but then he remembered his phone.

A roar of thunder was heard in the distance, the impending downfall only miles away now and time was running short.

Despite the desperately violent combat happening mere metres from him, Adrien casually reached for his staff, wincing at the pain the movement caused, and looked at the screen. Félix's name flashing on the screen.

Thoughts ran through his head about how this could have happened. Had Félix been with his father, or is this just a coincidence? Furthermore, what the hell was Gabriel doing back as Papillon?

In what universe does that make sense? He thought. The logic behind it must be so convoluted, that only the most insanely creative person could mak- OH...oh.

Adrien laughed, or at least tried. Yet again, his brilliantly talented wife had made a plan that made no sense to anyone, until it did. Oh, how he loved her so much. Tears began to form in his eyes, he'd never said a proper goodbye to her. Instead, he was sure he was dying, slowly. Leaving her alone with their child who would never know their father, a child who would have to live with the stories of their father's disappearance – or worse, murder.

He began to cough, violently. A wave of dizziness washed over him, setting him swaying. He shook his head to clear it, but that just made things worse. Attempting to keep his eyes focused on the fight in front of him, he felt himself begin to sway, the world moving from beneath his feet as he fell backwards.