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The elevator stopped halfway down.
Ladybug and Chat Noir froze. Fear set into their bodies, a silent killer sending their legs trembling.
They were looking over a vast chamber. It was mostly a garden, covered in greenery, with a walkway running through the middle. On this walkway stood Hawkmoth, proud and tall. Surrounding him was an army of akumatised people. All eyes were trained on the heroes. Waiting. Ladybug swore if she cast her yoyo it would swish through the deadly silence like thick grass.
Behind, Ladybug glimpsed something. A coffin-like structure. She shuddered, not wishing to know who or what it contained. Subconsciously, her arm reached for Chat’s, and they clasped hands together, each trying to squeeze some comfort into the other.
It was so subtle it was barely a movement, but Ladybug caught Hawkmoth’s smirk. It said I have you now, and there’s no escape, and it was sick. Ladybug could have sobbed. Chat Noir leaned into the glass of the elevator in defeat.
"We made a mistake coming here," the girl whispered, horrified.
“...You think?” her partner replied in a low voice.
“But we have to try to finish this.”
Chat brought his head around to look at her. At their hands still held in each others’ grip. He gave a curt nod. She smiled grimly.
The heroes raised their weapons and gave each other a final glance, before setting their eyes on the goal.
The glass shattered with a well-placed baton swing, and then they were through.