The 25913 Times Aspik Couldn’t Save Ladybug - chapter 3
Time loops 10-14, read it on AO3 and weep!
Whoops, it’s been well over a year since I last updated this. But you know what? I’m never giving up. If it takes me a million years to write all 25913 loops then SO BE IT.
x.
“I've reset 9 times already, this is the 10th time I'm trying this,” Adrien said immediately. The shock was visible on Ladybug's face.
“10th time?!”
“Yep. We've been too predictable We've really gotta surprise Desperada if we want to beat her.”
“Alright! Well what do you suggest?”
He frowned, before taking her arm and beginning to walk down the tunnel. “Not here. If Luka shows up I'll have to reset again, because he recognizes me as Adrien. But you can call me Aspik.”
“Aspik! What a wonderful name!”
Was she always going to say something like that? Probably.
Adrien glanced around as they went, looking for inspiration, and for a tunnel exit that they had yet to try. Neither was forthcoming.
“Have we tried attacking her directly?” Ladybug suggested. “Trying to track her down and take her by surprise?”
“No, we haven't tried that. At least... I think we haven't?”
He noticed with alarm that the past several attempts were indistinguishable in his brain. Which loop had Luka discovered his identity in? Which loop had him witness Ladybug being axed in the head? He couldn't tell anymore.
Ladybug seemed to sense his unease, as she laced her fingers through his. “My yoyo has plenty of useful features. Do you think your bracelet has something similar? Like a tracker to tell you how many resets you've done?”
He looked down at his bracelet and gave it a tap. Sure enough, the number 10 briefly flashed up on it. “Yeah, it tells me which loop I'm on.”
“Oh good! Though hopefully you won't need it for much longer anyway...”
Yeah, hopefully.
There was a ladder just up ahead, but Adrien was not sure whether they had tried it before or not. He grabbed one of the rungs and then turned back to face Ladybug. “So this time if we see Desperada, we attack her.”
She looked up at the ladder. “Have we tried this exit before?”
“It's, uh... kind of hard to keep track...”
“Well try to remember this time. Build on the knowledge you gain. That way we can know in advance where Desperada is going to be, and attack accordingly.”
Adrien thought, somewhat wistfully, that Ladybug would be better at this job than him. She was so much better at the whole coming up with a plan thing! No doubt she would pay attention, not lose focus, create some convoluted scheme to save the day. And what could Adrien do? Well, he was usually just there to Cataclysm stuff, and this time he couldn't even do that much...
-
Out on the surface, Ladybug grabbed Adrien's arm rather tight. “Look over there! I saw a flash of black – I think it was her... she's out of sight now...”
Without even thinking first, Adrien ran up and leapt on top of the nearest car to get a clearer look. Sure enough, Desperada was striding down the street towards them, strumming furiously at her guitar as she went.
Ladybug had followed him up. “There she is! Alright, okay, I... I need to think of how to use my Lucky Charm...”
The saddle was hanging off her hip, as of yet unused. Usually she got hit before she could even think about pulling it out. Adrien couldn't help but smile – progress, at last! If Lucky Charm was on the table, then surely this time they were closer to defeating Desperada than ever before!
He glanced back down the street, only to realize that Desperada had disappeared.
“Where–”
A trumpet sounded and a shot whistled right past his shoulder.
He snapped round to see that Desperada had snuck down one of the alleyways in order to ambush them. That must have been how she did it in the other loops too!
Thankfully this time she had missed Ladybug. But rushing forward, giving them a hearty death glare, she let out a barrage of shots from her instrument-weapon.
Adrien jumped off the car roof and down onto the street. Out of the corner of his eye he watched Ladybug do the same, felt the heat on his back as she stood directly behind him. She was safe! Desperada was attacking them, but at least Ladybug was fine, she was alright, perhaps this time they would actually manage to–
A shot ricocheted off the wall and hit Ladybug in the face.
No.
No!!!!!
“Are you kidding me?!” he yelled at Desperada. Her response was to pause her onslaught in order to do an unnecessarily evil laugh, and he used the brief respite to give his bracelet a tap and rewind time once again.
-
xi.
“We nearly did it!”
Ladybug stepped back a bit, clearly surprised by his enthusiasm. Adrien himself realized he should probably tone it down a notch – his voice was echoing through the tunnel walls and likely broadcasting his location to everyone in the vicinity.
“We were closer to beating her that time,” he said, more gently now.
Ladybug frowned. “Wait, so we failed?”
“Yeah, you got hit, so I used my powers to go back in time. Well, I've done it 9 times already... no wait, 10? ...10 times?”
He checked the counter on his bracelet. Right, this was the 11th loop. At least there was some external way to keep track of it, or otherwise he'd forget for sure.
“Anyway,” he continued, taking Ladybug's arm and leading her down the tunnel, “I think we should follow the same steps as we did last time. That way I'll remember exactly where Desperada is, and we have a better chance at beating her.”
“Wow!” Ladybug's smile was practically audible. “That's a really smart idea, Adrien!”
“Thanks. But call me Aspik!”
“Aspik? That's a wonderful name for a superhero!”
Offhand, he wondered if the name itself was cursing him. What if he tried a different name the next time? If there even was a next time. Hopefully there wouldn't need to be.
-
They came out of the tunnel at the same point and went to stand up on the car, much as they had done before.
“Desperada will duck into a side alley and shoot us from there,” Adrien said, pointing at the spot from the last loop. “Last time we jumped off the car, but then she bounced a shot off the wall and it hit you.”
“So what will we do this time?”
He gave it some thought, but his mind was still wandering somewhat from having to focus for so long. “Uh... we split up and attack from either side?”
“Did we not do that last time?”
“No, we were back-to-back.”
“Alright then, we'll try that plan. And I’ll see if I can figure out how to use my Lucky Ch– THERE SHE IS!”
Ladybug leapt off the car just in time to avoid being shot. Sure enough, Desperada was standing in the alleyway aiming her dual trumpets at them. Adrien followed suit, hopping down onto the road and this time running off in another direction.
Okay, so now they just had to attack Desperada from opposite sides, and...
He gripped his lyre in his hand, wondering exactly how he was meant to use it. Was he just meant to throw it?
“Welp, here goes,” he muttered, before chucking it at Desperada.
She ducked.
The lyre curved round, like a boomerang, and hit Ladybug in the head. In less than a second, Desperada shot her again.
Well, so much for that idea...
-
xii.
“I know what to do!” Adrien yelled, yanking Ladybug down the tunnel. “And this time I won't yeet the lyre at her, or if I do then DUCK, because otherwise it'll smack you in the face!”
“What?! Hold on – wait, wait – stop!” Ladybug wrenched her arm out of his grasp, out of breath. “Adrien... what...?”
“Call me Aspik.” He gave her a wink.
“What the hell are you on about?!”
Oh... right. From her point of view, him practically pulling her arm out of its socket while sprinting down the tunnel like a madman was probably seriously weirding her out. He took a deep breath and tried to calm down.
“We almost had it that time,” he said. “That was the 11th time. But I think we can do it this time!”
“11? We've failed 11 times already?”
She sounded heartbroken – aw man. Maybe telling her the exact number of failures would have a negative effect on her motivational levels. He made a mental note not to do it again.
“Yeah, we're on the 12th loop now,” he admitted.
That number... 12...
Oh yes! 12, 288, 2000, 9000!
“We've hit an hour!” he said excitedly, putting his hands on her shoulders. “I've been time looping for a whole hour! This is just like that one movie... this anime movie where this girl can rewind time, and she sings karaoke with her friends for like 10 hours...”
Ladybug batted his hands away and took a large step back. “What's gotten into you? We need to focus!”
“Oh come on! I've been focusing for an hour already! Can't you let me have a little fun?”
“Fun? Like what?!”
Karaoke was still on his mind, and he grinned at her. “Shot through the heart, and you're to blame, you give love a bad name...”
“Are you... singing???”
“It's what happened to you, Ladybug. Shot right through the heart, and I'm to blame. I couldn't protect you from Desperada...”
The rather harsh look on her face melted away into something softer. “Oh, I see...”
“See what?”
“You had to watch me get hit several times already, didn't you? No wonder you're going a bit crazy, you're just trying to distract yourself from it...” She placed a hand on his shoulder. “It's okay though, it’s not your fault! You're doing your best. Now, what's the plan?”
The weight of her hand alone was enough to bring Adrien back down to earth, at least temporarily. He really did have to focus now – Ladybug’s life depended on it. Time to explain what had happened last time, and hopefully think of a way to fix it this time.
-
The two of them stood on top of the car, waiting. Adrien checked the timer on his bracelet.
“The five minutes is almost up,” he said. “I don't understand. She should be here!”
“Hmm...” Ladybug frowned and tapped her chin in thought. “We're about four minutes in, out of the five minutes you have. Most of the time is already up because we spent it in the tunnels. Was it this late last time too?”
He shook his head. “It was about three minutes, I think.”
“Well in that case Desperada probably already passed by here and went somewhere else while we were still down there. You should probably reset, and next time come up here quicker. Maybe a little less time on the karaoke, mmm?”
“Yeah, I guess.”
To think he'd wasted another five minutes! This was beyond frustrating. So picky, so fiddly, so impossible to get exactly right... These truly were the worst powers of all. Who would want to time travel when this was the sort of mess it resulted in?
Sighing, he flicked the bracelet.
-
xiii.
As Adrien led Ladybug down the tunnels again, this time he did not dare tell her it was the 13th loop. Most people considered 13 to be some kind of unlucky number, didn't they? Perhaps Ladybug did too. In that case, telling her would be a very bad idea indeed. It might put her off entirely.
Then again, bad luck was something of a speciality for Adrien, considering he was Chat Noir and everything. If anything, the number 13 should be extra lucky for him! This was right up his street!
But still. Best to keep it quiet, and let it give him strength without anyone else needing to know.
“So when you throw the lyre, I duck?” Ladybug confirmed.
“Yep.”
“Alright, not a problem, Adrien.”
“Call me Aspik.”
“Aspik! That's a nice name.”
Heh, it was always something similar that she said. It seemed to vary from time to time, but she consistently liked it.
There was a nagging thought at the back of his brain.
What if he told her that he was Chat Noir...?
...No, there was no need. Their identities were supposed to stay a secret. If he told her, she would no doubt be so mad at him for it. Heck, she might even take away the bracelet. And then where would that leave her? At the mercy of Desperada, that was where. For now, he should keep quiet about his alter ego. She would find out when the time was right.
-
They made it to the car at the three minute mark, just in time to intercept Desperada. Her shots seemed to be coming from a slightly different angle – were they off by a few seconds? Ugh, it really was so finicky to get this exactly right.
“Ladybug, watch out!” Adrien warned. “YEET!”
He threw his lyre with as much force as he could muster.
Ladybug ducked. So did Desperada.
And apparently Adrien had thrown it with too much force, because instead of circling its way back round, it hit the wall behind and dropped down to the ground with a clunk.
Oh... so much for that idea.
He dived out of the way to avoid Desperada's next shots. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that Ladybug had not been so lucky – hit in the arm, and gone in an instant.
Oh, for goodness' sake! Was this the wrong way of going about things? The wrong place, the wrong time? Was it impossible to defeat Desperada here?
No... he could try again. At least a few more times. And if it still didn't work, then they could think of a new plan.
He flicked the bracelet. “Second Chance!”
-
xiv.
The lyre was back with him – good. He opened his eyes to see the now-familiar sight of Ladybug standing in front of him, about to explain his powers for the... what now? 14th time?
“I won't yell ‘yeet' this time,” he promised.
Ladybug blinked a few times. “Uh... what?”
“Last time I was throwing my lyre at Desperada, but she heard me and ducked. This time I won't say anything.”
“Did we fail last time?”
So many times. But there was no point telling her that, so he simply nodded. “We'll do it this time, don't worry. Just follow me. Chat Noir won't show up, we don't need to wait for him.”
Once more, he led Ladybug through the tunnels. He was beginning to be able to tell them apart. The one he spawned in had a spot of rust on the left wall, and the one where this particular exit was became narrower towards the end, and the fourth rung of the ladder wobbled a bit...
-
This time when he threw the lyre, he didn't say anything at all.
Desperada still ducked. Ladybug didn't.
Adrien didn't even watch Ladybug get shot once again. Would he become desensitized to it? Surely there was no way. Watching Ladybug disappear from existence over and over had not become any less horrifying, despite how many times he had seen it by now.
Something else jumped out from his memory.
This had already happened before! Just a few loops ago, this exact scenario had played out. He'd silently thrown the lyre, or at least quietly enough for Desperada not to hear, and she'd still spotted him and ducked at the last second, meaning Ladybug got hit. After all, he hadn't told Ladybug to duck this time. He hadn't thought she would need to.
He was just going round in circles!
Maybe the lyre was not for throwing. Maybe Desperada would duck every time, and he needed to think of some other plan.
In any case, he was sick of this particular situation. As he flicked the bracelet, he made up his mind not to come back here. There must be some other way to defeat Desperada, surely.
once february’s over i’ll finally update that ridiculous “25,913 times aspik couldn’t save ladybug” fic, i actually have written more of it haha, i promise i’m never giving up on it no matter how many centuries it takes
