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He stood with his back turned toward her, watching out over a silent Paris. “People could have gotten hurt you know.” His voice was filled with barely contained anger. “But that didn’t happen”, Marinette said. “We saved Paris again, you and me.” Chat Noir shook his head, slowly. “No. You saved Paris. Just like always.” This was not the cheery Chat Noir she knew. A cold wind blew across the rooftops, making her shiver. “I couldn’t have done it without you.” He snorted. “Oh please. I was just a distraction for you. You would have been better off without me.” 

  Ladybug hesitantly placed her hand on his shoulder. “You know that’s not true. Where is all this coming from?” He shook her off then walked away a bit. All was silent except for the thundering of her own beating heart. What was going on with him? Could he have been akumatized? No, that was impossible. He would have attacked her by now if that was the case. 

  “You don’t trust me, do you?”, he suddenly said. Marinette was startled. “Wha…what are you talking about? Of course I trust you.” He snorted again. “Oh sure you do. Whenever it suits you.”  She walked after him, trying once more to put her hand on his shoulder but he moved away from her. “What’s going on?”, she asked. “Are you mad about what happened today?” He finally turned towards her, green eyes glowing in the fading sun. “Of course I’m mad! What did you expect?” Marinette hesitated. She had been expecting something but not this.

Hawkmoth had akumatized another person and when she used her lucky charm it clearly showed her that she needed to go grab another miraculous to defeat the villain. The problem was that both she and Chat Noir was needed to keep everyone safe. It had not been an easy decision but in the end she left Chat Noir on his own to get the miraculous they needed. Needless to say, he had a difficult job keeping the villain away from all the civilians on his own. Had she not gotten back when she had, someone would have been hurt, perhaps even killed. 

  “You should have sent me instead. I even offered to go!” His hands were curled into fists. “We both know you with your yo-yo were better suited than me for this fight. I could have gone to get the miraculous.” He gave her a hard stare. “But you don’t trust me to know where the miraculous box is, do you?” Marinette's heart ached. There was nothing she wanted more than to tell him everything but she just couldn’t. The risk was too big. “I do trust you”, she tried explaining, “it’s just that... ” No words could explain what she was feeling. “Yeah that explains sooo much”, Chat Noir said sarcastically. “Great job Ladybug.” “Chat Noir please”, she tried again. “It’s too big a risk. If hawkmoth were to get you he would know to much.” “And what if he gets you huh? How am I supposed to protect people when you keep hiding things from me?” He walked towards her and she scrambled back, shocked at the sudden outburst. “Ever thought about that?” “Yes, but...” He interrupted before she could finish, still walking towards her. “No more buts! No more secrets and no more lies! I have fought by your side since the very first day we got our powers. We, not you and not me, WE! So are we a team or not?” 

  Marinette now stood with her feet against the edge of the roof, nowhere left to run. She couldn’t just tell him everything, could she? Master Fu had entrusted the miraculous to her. She couldn’t just betray that trust. “Of course we are a team”, she said, hoping to calm him down a bit. He stopped, standing still less than a hand's length away from her. She could practically feel his breathing. “Then tell me the truth. About everything.” She hoped he could see in her eyes all the pain she was feeling. She wanted to tell him, wanted to tell him everything but the risk was too great. “I can’t”, she whispered. 

  His warm eyes grew cold and he backed away. “Then I’m done.” Marinette's eyes widened as she stepped forward. “What do you mean?” “What do you think it means? The next time you refuse to trust me, someone might actually get hurt. I can’t have that on my conscience.” He reached up and grabbed his ring. “If we are not a team, then I’m done. Done with Chat Noir, done with being a superhero and done with you.” She rushed forward, placing her hand on the one still grabbing for his ring. “Stop! We are a team, please don’t do this!” Her panicked word seemed to have no effect on him. “Let go. I might not get to make a lot of decisions but this one is mine and mine alone.” Marinette shook her head. “No! I won’t let you.” His eyes grew even colder, now filled with anger. “ You won’t let me? You're not my boss Ladybug.” He pushed her away, seemingly without difficulty. “When one of your decisions leads to someone getting hurt or even dying, I won’t be here.” He grabbed his ring again and hesitated for a split second. Marinette staid where she was, too shocked to even move. Tears filled her eyes. “Please don’t do this! I can’t do this on my own.” Chat Noir looked at her one last time. “You should have thought about that earlier.” Then he pulled off his ring and his costume with it. 

  Marinette quickly closed her eyes and fell to the ground on her knees. If there were to be any chance of fixing this, she could not learn his secret identity. Tears were now dripping down her cheeks, wetting the rooftop below. She felt someone open her hand, then the ring was placed in it. “Still afraid to face the consequences of your actions I see”, she heard Chat Noir's voice. She fought the urge to look, keeping her eyes shut even as grief and sorrow broke her heart into a thousand pieces. “It’s not too late to fix this”, she whispered. “You can still take the ring back. Please Chat Noir. Please.” “Goodbye Milady”, was all she heard in response. When she finally dared open her eyes, he was gone, the only sign he was ever there the ring, still warm in her hand. She fell upon the roof, too weak to get up. And there she lay until there was no more tears left to cry, all alone in the dark night of Paris. 

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While laying there, Mariette lost track of time. What felt like hours might have been just a few minutes. She finally found the strength to sit back up, if only to mourn in a more comfortable position. Chat Noir was gone, there was no denying that. Would he ever return? She couldn’t help but hope but deep in her hearth, she doubted it. He had seemed so mad, so full of hate and sadness. All because of one small decision. 

  Was there anything she could have done differently? Just thinking about it hurt her very soul. Perhaps she should have sent Chat Noir after the miraculous instead. He wasn’t wrong when he said that she was better suited for fighting this villian on her own. At the same time, doing that would have revealed the location of all the miraculous to him and perhaps even her own identity. She couldn’t take that risk. Right? 

  The cold wind blowing above the rooftops made her shiver and the beauty of a sleeping Paris only deepened her sorrow. Never again would she and Chat Noir run above these roofs together. Never again would she hear his laugh or see his infectious smile. With another flash of pain, she realized that she even missed his puns. New tears fell upon her cheeks and she hugged her own knees. He was gone; truly gone. No more Ladybug and Chat Noir. Now, there was only Ladybug. And it was all her fault. 

  “Umm, excuse me?” Marinette bolted upright again and quickly looked around. The roof seemed empty. Still, she was sure she had heard something. “Down here!” Now she was sure she had heard something. Eyes still red, she looked down and saw something laying on the ground next to her feet. Something small and black, almost like a tiny cat. Plagg, she realised with a flash. Chat Noir's kwami.  “You wouldn’t happen to have any Camembert?”, he asked. The question was so unexpected that Marinette at first didn’t even understand it. “Wha.. what?” Plagg sighed. “Camembert? Only the best thing you humans have ever invented?” Marinette slowly shook her head. “No, sorry.” Plagg sighed again. “What do you kids learn in school these days? I even had to teach A...”, green bubbles came out of his mouth when the spell prevented him from telling his owner's name was activated, “what it was.” Suddenly, as if remembering something, he looked around. “Where is he anyways?” Now it was Marinette's turn to sigh. How could she explain to Plagg what had happened? That Chat Noir had abandoned him and that it was partly her fault? Sorrow and tears threatened to well up again as soon as she opened her mouth. Knowing she would only have the strength to explain this once, Marinette decided to let Tikki out as well so that she could hear what had happened. “Spots of”, she whispered. Plagg looked even more confused when he heard the sadness in her voice. 

  Her costume withdrew itself into her earrings and Tikki appeared, slowly falling towards the ground, energy now drained. Marinette quickly caught her in one hand and reached into her bag for a macaron with the other. Realising that Plagg too had to be exhausted, she broke it in two and offered the kwamis half each. “It’s not camembert but I guess it will have to do”, Plagg said when he accepted the food. 

  While the kwamis ate, Marinette closed her eyes and leaned back against an air vent sticking up from the roof. She felt exhausted. The two Kwamis helped her feel a bit less alone but they could never replace Chat Noir. No one could. 

  Tikki finished first. “Could you tell me what happened?”, she asked. “Why is Plagg here?” Marinette opened her eyes but before she could answer, Plagg stepped in. “Isn’t it obvious?”, Plagg said, still chewing. “She decided to replace my owner.” He flew up until he was floating right before her eyes. “But I won’t have it, you hear me!” Tikki flew up and pushed him away. “Knock it off. You know Marinette would never do that.” Plagg crossed his arms. “Then she better have a real good explanation for this.” Both kwamis turned towards her, both awaiting an answer. “He’s gone”, Marinette whispered. Her own words hit her like a punch to the gut. Speaking the words out loud made everything real. “What do you mean he’s gone?!” Tikki had to grab Plaggs tail to prevent him from attacking Marinette. “Calm down Plagg! Let her explain.” Marinette shook her head. “There is nothing to explain. He left.” “He wouldn’t just leave! What did you do?” Plagg was squirming and fighting so much, Tikki had trouble holding him back. Seeing Plaggs despair only made everything worse. “I didn’t trust him”, Marinette said, fighting to hold back even more tears. “I didn’t trust him and now he’s gone. I wanted to know everything and I jut couldn't...” Tikki placed her hands in front of her mouth in a gesture of shock, releasing Plagg in process. “Cataclysm!”, he shouted, shooting towards Marinette. Rage clouded his normally cheerful face. He stopped within an inch of her face, paw held out threateningly. “Plagg!”, Tikki shouted and flew after him. “What?”, he growled. “She deserves it.” “No Plagg!”, she said. “No one deserves to die. No one.” Reluctantly, he let his Cataclysm die down, something Chat Noir still hadn’t learned how to do. 

  Tikki flew up and gave her cheek a hug. “I’m sorry Marinette.  It’s not your fault.” A new wave of sobs ran through her body before she could push them down. “But it is my fault, Tikki”, her voice still just a whisper. “It’s my fault he’s gone.” “You bet it is!” Plagg was still boiling mad, floating right before her face. “And you are going to fix this!” “Believe me Plagg”, she said, “if there was a way...” “There is a way!” He floated even closer, staring right into her eyes. “You are going to go talk to him, right now.” Marinette jumped in surprise. “Wha… wha… I can’t do that!” She turned to Tikki for confirmation but she just shrugged. “You know we can’t find out each other's identity, it’s way too risky. Besides, I’m the last person he would want to meet right now.” She sighed. “I’m sorry Plagg.” He did not move an inch. “You done?” Marinette slowly nodded. “I don’t care.”, he stated. “I’m not losing another Chat Noir, not gonna happen. So you are gonna go talk to him right now.” He crossed his arms. “You are gonna talk to him and you are gonna tell him everything.” He turned away and started to float off. “Come on!”, he shouted. “I’ll take you to him.” Tikki slowly started making her way over to him but hesitated when she saw that Marinette did not move. “I’m sorry Plagg”, she said. “I truly am but I can’t do that.” Plagg turned around again. “You still don’t trust him, do you?” His expression soured. “You made a mistake and you are not even willing to fix it. You know, I get why he left now.” With those words, he took off, disappearing over the edge of the roof. 

  Tikki flew back to Marinette. “Why can’t you just talk to him? I’m sure he would come back if you just told him everything.” Marinette sighed. “I just can’t Tikki. You know what master Fu said. The less he knows the better.” “But you are the guardian now Marinette”, Tikki said. “You make the rules.” Marinette smiled weakly. “Master Fu’s rules kept you safe for over 100 years. If I follow them, perhaps I can keep you safe too.” She pushed herself to her feet, the hole in her heart still aching, and let one last tear fall from her eye. I have to keep moving , she thought to herself. It’s time to move on . “Come on Tikki”, she said, picking up the ring Chat Noir had dropped. “Let’s go home.”

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Adrian walked the cold and dark streets of Paris alone. His only company was the stars, twinkling from a cloudless sky and the moon, illuminating all in a silver glow. He wasn’t used to the silence. Normally he would have had Plagg to talk to. It had been so long since he was truly alone, he had forgotten what it felt like. “I’m sorry Plagg”, he whispered. “I had no choice.” Though he hated the loss of the company Plagg gave him, he felt no regret. How could Ladybug expect him to protect people when she hid so much from him? He remembered the time before, the time when Master Fu had been the guardian. He too had hid so much from him while still telling Ladybug. When he handed over the role of guardian to Ladybug, Adrian actually thought things would be different. He kicked an empty can laying on the sidewalk and snorted. If anything, things had gotten worse. At times, he was even afraid she would take Plagg away from him, only returning him when she needed help. I had no choice , he kept telling himself. But if that was the case, then why did it hurt so much?

   Before long, he stood in front of the closed gate to his own home. The gate was always locked and Adrian didn’t even have his own key. When he needed to go somewhere, his bodyguard always took him and as Chat Noir, he simply jumped the fence. Now there was only one way he could get in. Ring the bell and pray his father showed mercy. He was not hopeful about his chances. With a shaking hand and a stomach full of dread, he pushed the button. 

  It did not take long before the screen situated in the wall next to the gate flickered to life and Nathalie’s face was visible. Even though it was the middle of the night, not a strand of hair was out of place and her eyes were as alert as ever. The only thing showing that she had been sleeping at all was the black pajama she was wearing. Her eyes widened when she saw who it was. “Adrian? What are you doing out there?” Adrian smiled awkwardly and put one hand behind his head. “Fresh air?” Nathalie frowned and pressed a button. The gate swung open without a sound. “Get in here right now!” “Thanks”, Adrian said before hurrying in through the open gate. If he was lucky, Nathalie would not tell his father about this. She could actually be quite nice from time to time. 

  He quickly walked across the lawn and up the stairs to the front door. When he got closer, the right one swung open to reveal a stern looking Nathalie. “Adrian. Why are you not in your room?” Adrian smiled again. “Like I said. I needed some fresh air.” Nathalie sighed. “You have to tell me the truth Adrian. Otherwise, I will have to tell your father about this.” “No!”, Adrian exclaimed. “Please don’t do that!” “Then tell me the truth.” “I can’t! Please Nathalie.” Adrian suddenly understood how Ladybug must have felt. He shook his head. This is different , he thought. If I told Natalie the actual truth, father would never let me out of the house again! “Okay”, he said. “I’ll tell you if you promise not to tell father.” Nathalie stood silent, waiting for an answer. “You have to promise first.” “I won’t do that Adrian. If this is something serious, I have to tell your father.” Adrian sighed and forced himself to blush. “There's this girl”, he started. “You know what it’s like to be young, right?” He hated lying to Nathalie but this technically wasn't a lie since Ladybug was a girl. Nathalie hesitated for a moment before sighing. “I do know what it’s like. But if this ever happens again, I will tell your father, okay?” 

  “Tell me what?”, said the ice-cold voice of Gabriel Agreste.

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“Spots on.” The transformation did not fill her with joy like it usually did. Tonight, other things deterred all happy emotions. Not even the beautiful night or the wind in her face, as she rushed across the silent roofs, could cheer her up. Chat Noir had always been there. So long that she had started taking him for granted. How could he just abandon her like that? Abandon all of Paris? It seemed she had misjudged him. Turns out he never was a true hero. Master Fu had been wrong to place his trust in him. As she ran, her mood kept on getting worse. When she finally landed on the roof of the bakery, Chat Noir was no longer her friend. He was just a stupid boy who made a big deal out of nothing. Of course she couldn’t just trust him! She was the guardian of the miraculous after all. If hawkmoth captured him, the consequences for all of Paris would be disastrous. His actions tonight only proved her point. 

  “Spots of.” She opened the trapdoor and climbed down with angry movements, barely giving Tikki enough time to slip in before shutting it again. “Do you want to talk about what happened?”, she asked, sensing Marinette's mood. Marinette scoffed and climbed down from her bed. “He had no right Tikki”, she hished, careful not to wake her parents. “This only proves that I can’t trust him.” It was the middle of the night and she knew that she needed to sleep. Still, she was way too worked up for that. “At this point, I’m not sure I’d give him back his miraculous even if he begged me.” Tikkis face dropped. “What do you mean? You’re gonna replace him?” She flew down and landed on Marinette’s desk. Marinette shrugged. “Why does it matter?” She slumped down in her chair. “He was right you know. I’m better off without him.” “You know you don’t mean that!”, Tikki said. “Have you forgotten about all those times his Cataclysm defeated the villain?” “Have you forgotten about New York?”, Marinette countered. “He almost got someone killed!” “He was trying to protect you. Besides, you know he still regrets what happened.” Marinette sighed. “That’s not enough. I can’t work with someone I can’t trust and what he did today only proves it.” Tikki flew up and stood before her, just like Plagg had done earlier. “I know you don’t wanna hear this Marinette but you are making a mistake. You should just talk to him.” She smiled. “I’m sure he would come around.” Marinette shook her head and stood up. “No Tikki. He made his choice. Now he has to deal with the consequences.” “Are you su...” “Yes Tikki I’m sure!” This was the first time ever that she had raised her voice against her own kwami. It was impossible to tell who was shocked the most, Marinette or Tikki. “I’m sorry Tikki”, Marinette immediately said. “It’s not your fault he’s gone.” Tikki just shook her head sadly. “It’s okay”, she said. “He has to deal with the consequences of his actions and you must deal with the consequences of your own.” Then she flew off to her normal sleeping spot. 

  The hole inside of Marinette grew even larger. Not only was Chat Noir gone, now she had screamed at Tikki. She would have to make it up to her in the morning. Then she had to find Plagg and bring him back. A loose kwami risked exposing them all. While the list of things that needed doing kept growing, Marinette stumbled into bed, too tired to do anything but sleep. Pain and sorrow filled her dreams. 

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“Tell me what?”, Gabriel repeated. Then he noticed Adrian, trying to hide behind Nathalie. “Adrian? What are you doing up?” “Ummm”. Adrian hesitated. He didn’t want to lie to his own father but if he told him the truth, he was sure to take him out of school. He would lose all his friends and he would be locked inside the house forever! Still, if he didn’t trust his own father, how was he any better than Ladybug? Nathalie came to his rescue. “I found him walking around in the garden sir.” Adrian breathed out. “Yeah, I just needed a short walk to clear my head.” That wasn’t a complete lie though it wasn’t the truth either. This is different, he told himself again. It’s not like I’m hurting anyone by not telling him. He quickly glanced at his father. Would he believe it? Just like always, the face of Gabriel Agreste was impossible to read. He finally spoke. “So if I check the surveillance cameras, that’s what I will see?” Adrian winched. He was screwed, so very screwed. “No”, he sighed. “I’m sorry for lying to you father.” “Don’t let it happen again”, he said. “I expected more from my own soon. And from you Nathalie. I need to know that I can trust my staff.” Fear rose within him. He wouldn’t punish Nathalie for this, would he? “Please father! She was only looking out for me.” Gabriel gave him a hard stare. “Firstly, you don’t tell me what to do. Secondly, tell me the truth and I won’t fire her.” Dark thoughts played within him. Let her take the blame. Then he won’t punish you as much. Adrian shook them off. If I let someone else get hurt because of a lie, I’m just as bad as her. 

  “I’m sorry father. The truth is, I snuck out. Nathalie only let me back in.” Gabriel sighed and dismissed Nathalie with a hand gesture. “You know that’s not safe Adrian.” Adrian looked down into the floor and put on his best ‘I am very sorry’ look. Gabriel did not buy it. “Why did you do it?” Adrian quickly decided that it was best to tell him the same thing he told Nathalie. Not a complete lie but not the entire truth. “There is this girl in my class...” Gabriel put up his hand. “Say no more. This class is clearly a bad influence on you.” His next words shattered Adrians entire world. “Nathalie will begin homeschooling you again. You are to only leave this house when absolutely necessary.” Adrian could not believe what he was hearing. This was cruel, even for his father. “Please!”, he cried out, even though he knew it would have no effect. “You give me no choice”, Gabriel simply said. “Now return to your room.” Adrian knew there was no point in fighting and he knew that he had brought this upon himself. Still, the fate that now awaited him was worse than anything he could have imagined. A captive in his own home. “Please father, I beg you!” Gabriel didn’t move a muscle. “This conversation is over Adrian. Return to your room.” Adrian silently walked up the stairs, passing his father, and leaving all hope behind. Inside, he felt nothing but sadness. Where once there had been hopes and dreams of a life, now were only pain and sorrow.

 Adrian closed the heavy door to his room and collapsed on his bed, trembling from exhaustion. Tears fell upon his pillow when he realised what his new future looked like. No more school, no more friends and no more freedom. Every second of his life would be planned by his father, monitored by Nathalie and protected by his bodyguard. He hoped Nino wouldn’t try and fight his father over this. There was nothing he could do. 

  He let out a big sigh and turned around. Was there anything he could have done differently to prevent this? Sure he could have remained Chat Noir. Still, Adrian knew that was never an option. He had messed up in New York. He knew that. First by not telling Ladybug that he was leaving Paris. Then by accidently using his cataclysm on Aeon. In the end, Ladybug had fixed everything with her power but it was still his fault. Adrian didn’t even dare to think about what might have happened had she not been there. That very day, Ladybug said that she could never trust him again. Despite this, he had worked, worked hard, to improve. Not a day went by when he didn't try to make up for his mistake, getting stronger and better to become the hero Paris deserved. 

  Adrian got up and started getting ready for bed. Had he really been doing all this to regain her trust? He shook his head. There was so much more than that. He wanted to make sure no one else had to die or get hurt because of him. He walked into his bathroom and started brushing his teeth, a tad bit more aggressive than necessary. That was the problem, he realized and why he got so mad. He could improve himself however much he wanted and in the end, it still wouldn’t matter. As long as Ladybug didn’t trust him, people would keep getting hurt. Paris was better off without him. He slammed close the door to his bathroom and walked over to the bed again. Would she be able to do it on her own? Adrian shook his head. That wasn’t his problem anymore. You know you will always care , a tiny voice whispered within him. “So what!?”, Adrian screamed in his empty room, knocking a book of his nightstand. “There is nothing I can do about it!” He fell upon his bed, fighting to keep the tears in check. “Nothing.” He was utterly powerless. There was nothing he could do to protect Paris. He didn’t even have control over his own life. 

  “What do you think you're doing?” Adrian turned around, recognizing the voice. Plagg. He should have known the kwami would return to him. “I’m sorry Plagg”, he said. “I’m done.” Plagg sat down at the edge of his bed. “I get it Adrian. Trust me, I do.” He sighed. “But the Adrian I know would never abandon Paris. Never.” Adrian didn’t know what he could say to make Plagg understand. No words could explain all that he was feeling. “It’s better this way. Maybe now she can find a new Chat Noir. One she can trust.” Plagg shot forward, floating right before Adrian. “Don’t even think about it! I will never accept another Chat Noir!” Adrian turned away. “You have to Plagg. It’s the only way.” “No!”, Plagg shouted. “Ladybug can say whatever she wants, I won’t do it!” “Plagg please”, Adrian said. “Paris needs you. Ladybug needs you.” “No!", Plagg shouted. "Paris needs you!" Then softer. “and Ladybug needs you.” For a split second, Adrian lost his temper. “She doesn’t even trust me Plagg!” The kwami tumbled backwards, shocked from his sudden outburst. Adrian expected him to be mad but that was not what he saw in his face. There, he saw only sorrow. The tniy creature landed in Adrians hand. “And you think this will make it better?” Adrian pushed down his anger. Plagg did have a point. “No”, he admitted. “But nothing I ever do will make it better. She made that very clear in New York. I just never realised it until now.” “Maybe with time...” Adrian shook his head, interrupting him. “No Plagg, we’re out of time.” Memories from the fight flooded through him and he shivered. “Someone almost got hurt today. If I give her more time, someone might actually get killed.” He looked the kwami in his eyes. “And that’s not a risk I’m willing to take.” He wiped away a tear running down his cheek. “Adrian please”, Plagg said. “Without Chat Noir, more people will get hurt. Someone might actually die. You have to return.” Adrian shook his head again. “I’m sorry but no Plagg. If she finds a new Chat Noir that she can trust, no one will have to get hurt. It’s the only option.” “No. Because I won’t allow it!” Plaggs face grew darker as the sorrow was replaced by anger. “I will fix this!”, he shouted flying towards the window. “I’ll get her to trust you!” Adrian rushed up and ran towards the window but by the time he reached it, Plagg was gone. “Please Plagg”, he whispered. “Don’t do anything stupid.” 

Chapter Text

Gabriel entered his office to find Nathalie already waiting for him. It had been a long day and he really did not feel like talking to her right now. Still, she was his partner in this, always by his side. Giving her a bit of his time and some answers was the least he could do. “Can I speak with you sir?” Gabriel nodded. “Speak your mind.” “Don’t you think you're being a bit too harsh on him”, she said, looking down into the floor. Gabriel sighed. “So you heard?” She nodded. “Then you know that you will be homeschooling him again?” She nodded once more. “Do you really think it’s necessary? Nothing happened.” Gabriel walked across the room and sat down in one of the chairs. “You’re right”, he said. “The punishment might have been a bit harsh.” Nathalie turned around, still looking down into the floor. She was blushing slightly, no doubt from being uneasy confronting him. “Look up”, Gabriel said. She looked up and they locked eyes. “We are partners now. Don’t feel bad questioning me. The truth is, I just needed an excuse to keep him in the house.” Nathalie quickly caught on. “Because of the akumas?” Gabriel nooded, glad to see her blush gone. He motioned to the other chair and she walked over, sitting down in front of him. “Indeed”, he said. “My Akumas are getting stronger by the day. With every fight, we get closer to defeating Ladybug and Chat Noir. I can’t let Adrian get hurt. Not when we’re so close to winning.” Nathalie smiled weakly. “Yes. Soon, both miraculouses will be ours. I will gladly homeschool Adrian if that will keep him safe.” She stood up again. “I’ll be going to bed now.” Gabriel too stood up. “I’ll stay up a bit longer”, he said despite his body aching for rest. “There is still work to be done.” “Do you need help?”, Nathalie immediately asked. Gabriel shook his head. She had more than deserved some sleep. “No, you should rest.” Nathalie nodded before leaving him alone. Gabriel followed her with his gaze until she left the room. What had he done to deserve her as a partner? Even when the peacock miraculous had been damaged, she did not hesitate to pick it up and fight by his side. She was the only one he could tell everything. No one knew him like her. Not anymore, he added bitterly. Just wait, a voice inside him responded. Soon, we will succeed and she will be back. 

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Marinette awoke to the sound of shouting. She groaned, turned over and looked at her alarm. Then she groaned even louder and hid under her pillow. It was still an hour before she was supposed to get up. Marinette wanted nothing more than to go back to sleep but the sound of two kwamis arguing kept her awake. She closed her eyes but a voice inside her refused to keep quiet. It was something that was just out of reach from her tired brain. Something important. Suddenly, it hit her and she sat up, now wide awake. Two kwamis. Plagg was back! 

  When she rushed out of bed, the argument quickly ended. In her rush, Marinette stumbled on the last step to her bed, falling flat on the ground. “Ouch”, she heard Plagg say. “Are you okay?”, Tikki asked. Her body ached all over but she got back on her feet. “I’m fine Tikki.” Then she turned to Plagg. “Did you find him?” Plagg crossed his arms. “Of course I did. I’m the greatest kwami alive after all.” Tikki looked at him skeptically but didn’t comment. “So what did he say?” Marinette sat down in her chair, trying not to yawn. She was not used to getting up this early. “There was nothing I could say to make him change his mind.” Plagg narrowed his eyes. “You need to talk to him.” His pleading voice almost made Marinette reconsider the choice she had already made. Almost. She shook her head. “No Plagg.” Before he could protest, she continued. “He has made his choice and I won’t try to change his mind.” She turned away so that she would not have to look at his face any longer. “If he wants his miraculous back, he can have it but I won’t try to convince him.” She looked out the window. It was raining from a grey sky. Great. Even the weather was against her today. “Are you sure Marinette?” Tikki landed on the ledge in front of the window. Marinette remembered what had happened last time Tikki asked that. Never again , she promised herself. “This is more than I was willing to offer yesterday Tikki.” Plagg landed next to her. He did nothing to hide his anger. “Master Fu trusted him for a reason you know! Who are you to say he was wrong?” “I’m not saying he was wrong”, Marinette said. “He’s changed. He's not the same Chat Noir he once was. The old Chat Noir would not have given up when things got a bit rough.” Plagg snorted. “Do you even know how long he’s been hurting?” He turned away from her, watching the rain falling from the sky. “When Master Fu was still the guardian, he let it be. He figured Master Fu had his reasons for trusting you and not him.” Marinette said nothing so Plagg continued. “It hurt but he never let it show.” He took a deep breath. “Then you became guardian.” Plagg paused for a second. “He actually thought things would change you know. That the two of you would finally become a real team.” He shook his head. “But you soon crushed those hopes.” Marinette pushed down the pain she felt building up inside her. It’s not your fault, she told herself but the voice did not sound entirely convinced. “Still, he pushed through. You know why?” Marinette shook her head, not that Plagg could see it. “Because he knew Paris needed a protector.” He sighed again. “But then New York happened. He vowed to never again let someone get hurt.” Marinette knew where this was going, thinking back to the previous evening. “He blamed himself for everything. He thought that he wasn’t worthy of your trust. That he hadn’t been worthy of Master Fus trust.” Plagg pressed his paw against the window, feeling the cold outside. “So he trained. Trained every day to become a hero worthy of your trust. A hero who could make sure no one had to get hurt.” He suddenly turned around, his eyes narrow slits and his ears laid back. “Then yesterday happened”, he spat out. “Despite everything, you still didn’t trust him and people almost got hurt.” The claws on his paws were now extended. “Now that’s on you and you alone.”  The pain was greater now but she kept pushing it down, refusing to let it show. You did your best , the voice said. You had no choice. “It was the only way Plagg”, she said, agreeing with her own inner voice. “I knew where the miraculous box was so me going was the only logical choice.” “Then tell him that!”, Plagg said. “Talk to him and fix this mess!” “It can’t hurt”, Tikki added. Marinette shook her head. “No, to both of you.” Tikki looked sad and didn’t say anything but Plagg wasn’t ready to accept defeat. “Why not?!”, he yelled at her. “You really think you can defend Paris on your own?” Marinette slammed her hand on the window sill, causing both kwamis to jump. “QUIET PLAGG!” She took a deep breath and cleared her mind. “I don’t know, okay. I just know that I can’t trust him anymore. If he wants to fix this, then he will have to talk to me. And that’s final!”, she added after seeing that Plagg still had a defiant look in his eyes. She turned around and groaned. There was no way she was gonna be able to sleep now so she might as well get some breakfast before school. “Stay here”, she said to both of the kwamis before leaving her room.  

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Plagg kicked over a jar of pencils before sitting down, whiskers hanging low. Tikki sat down next to him, putting her hand on his shoulder. “I’m sorry Plagg”, she said. “I know how much he means to you. I can’t even imagine how you feel right now.” Plagg shrugged her off. “Everyone keeps telling me they're sorry. Adrian, Marinette and now you. If any of you truly meant it, you would do something to help me instead of using empty words!” He sighed. “I’m sorry Tikki. It’s not you I’m mad at.” Tikki smiled weakly. Plagg always acted tough but from time to time, a softer side revealed itself. She had known him for thousands of years, ever since the first miraculous was created, and she had only seen him like this a few times. Adrian leaving must have really gotten to him. “No”, Tikki said. “I get it. I will do my best to get Marinette to change her mind about all this. Maybe we can still go back to the way things used to be.” Plagg sighed again and shook his head. “That won’t work. Adrian told me that he won’t come back until Marinette starts trusting him. He’s afraid people will get hurt.” “But unless he comes back, she will never trust him.” Plagg nodded. “Yeah. See my problem? He wants Marinette to choose a new Chat Noir. One she can trust.” Plagg turned towards her. “But you can never tell her that, you hear me? I don’t want her getting any dumb ideas.” Tikki nodded. “But how can we get her to trust him?” Tikki placed her head in her hands. “He really messed up in New York and Marinette had to fix it. I’m not sure she will ever trust him again after that.” 

  Plagg floated up and turned around so he lay on his stomach. “You and I remember New York very differently”, he said. “What do you mean?”, Tikki asked. “I mean that Marinette was the very reason he made the mistake in the first place!” Tikki looked confused. “How is it Marinettes fault that Adrian left Paris when he was supposed to protect it? And how is it her fault that he almost killed Aeon?” Plagg sat up, still floating midair. His whiskers were no longer drooping, they were now back to normal. “Well”, he began, “the first one was his fault. He should have told her he was leaving Paris.” Tikki nodded. “And the second mistake?” Now Plagg looked mad again. “You can not place all the blame on Adrian for that. I get it, Marinette was mad he abandoned Paris but she should have waited until after the fight. When she told him she could never trust him again, that was the moment everything went wrong. The moment Aeon died.” Tikki floated up next to him. “He was still the one who messed up.” Plagg rolled his eyes at her. “Even if that was the case, I’m not done. Remember what happened right after, down in that sewer?” Tikki nodded. “He renounced you.” Plagg shuddered at the memory. “Yes but what led up to it?” “Everything”, Tikki said. “Leaving Paris, almost killing Aeon and disappointing Marinette”. Plagg nodded at this. “But there was still one crucial point where Marinette could have fixed everything. Where she could have stopped everything.” Tikki was getting tired at Plagg now. “What is your point here? I don’t understand what you mean.” “My point is that Adrian was beating himself up over everything! He called Marinette perfect and said that he messed everything up.” His fists were shaking at the memories. “Here, Marinette had a choice. She could say nothing and let him take the blame. Or she could have said that everyone makes mistakes and that they could still be partners. Wanna bet on which one she choose?!” Tikki flailed with her arms. “You wanted her to just forgive him for almost killing someone?”, she protested. “Are you even listening to me?”, Plagg said. “She told him she could never trust him again, in the middle of a battle! Of course things went wrong.” “Maybe she should have waited”, Tikki admitted, “but he still messed up.” 

  Plagg snorted. “So what? It’s not like Marinette never makes mistakes!” “Of course she does”, Tikki said, “but she has never killed anyone!” She sighed. “I’m still on your side, Plagg but maybe asking her to fully trust Adrian is a bit too much. He needs to prove himself first.” Plagg crossed his arms. “I really didn’t want to say this Tikki but I don’t have a choice.” He breathed in and then out. “Who is the reason master Fu was discovered?” Tikki made a shocked sound, placing a hand before her mouth. “And what did Adrian do after she told him of her mistake?” His voice was not angry, nor sad. He was just stating facts. “He comforted her, told her to move on and to forget it.” He took another breath. “He is always there for her whenever she needs him but she is never there for him. Never.” Tikki floated down, sitting down on the window sill again. “I’ve never thought about it like that before”, she said. Plagg floated down next to her. “Of course you haven't. Adrian never confronted her until yesterday. He was always hoping things would change eventually but when people almost got hurt, that was the last straw.” He looked down into the floor. “Everyone makes mistakes. The difference is Marinette has someone who always supports her no matter what. Adrian has no one like that, especially not as Chat Noir”.  

  Before the kwamis could continue their discussion, the door opened again and Marinette returned. She quickly put on some clothes and got ready for school. “Marinette”, Tikki began but Marinette interrupted her before she could continue. “I have made a decision.” She turned towards Plagg. “We can’t have you free like this without an owner.” Plagg opened his mouth but Marinette quickly continued. “Chat Noir either needs to renounce you or take you back. The choice is his.” She used two hair ties to put her hair up in her usual style. “Either way, I can’t wait for him to talk to me” She walked over to her desk and picked up the ring, still laying where she put it the day before. Stupid, said her inner voice. Anyone could have taken it. She shrugged it off. I’ll do better next time, she thought. There was too much to think about yesterday. The voice disappeared but she could not quite shake the feeling of guilt. She gave the ring to Plagg and opened the window. “Take this to him. Tell him to meet me at the usual place by five, this evening.” Plagg smiled with his whole face, barely believing what he was hearing. “Do you actually want him back? Will you tell him everything?” Marinette sighed and sat down in her chair so she could look the kwami in the eyes. “If he is willing to go back to the way things were, then yes, I want him back. But after leaving me two times, first in New York and now yesterday, I can’t trust him with everything he wants to know. I’m sorry Plagg.” He curled up his fists but he took the ring from her. “You make mistakes too you know”, he said before flying out the open window. Marinette looked as he flew away before finally closing her window. She was ready to go to bed and she hadn’t even left the house. Disappointing the kwami time and time again was exhausting. “What could I have done Tikki?”, she said. “I can’t trust him, not anymore. And yet, I’m not sure I can do this without him.” Tikki landed on her shoulder. “Just try to have an open mind when you talk to him, okay?”, the kwami said. “I’m sure you can clear this whole thing up.” Marinette smiled weakly. “I hope so, Tikki. I really do.” Shrugging of her exhaustion, she picked up her bag and headed out for another day of school. 

Chapter Text

Adrien awoke to the sound of birds singing and sun streaming in from his windows. Then his alarm rang, waking him up for real. The sun was replaced by dark clouds, the sound of thunder replacing the birdsong. 

  “Guess the weather knows how I’m feeling”, he muttered under his breath. 

  The cold floor sent shivers up his spine and he quickly put on some clothes to try and dispel the raw cold seeping in through the walls. It didn’t matter how much his father spent on heating, the house hadn’t felt warm since his mother died. He pushed the dark thoughts out of his mind. It was already full with other dark thoughts regarding a certain Ladybug. He picked up his school bag, dropping it an instant later when the realization hit him. He wasn't going to school. Not today. Not tomorrow. Not ever. 

  Slowly, he started unpacking his books again, dropping them on his desk with a thud. He wanted nothing more than someone to blame for everything that had happened. First he tried blaming his father for deciding to keep him locked up. He sighed and shook his head. No, it wasn’t his fathers fault. Adrien knew the rules and he knew the consequences of breaking them. Slumping down in his chair, he thought about the other person he could blame for everything. Again, he sighed and shook his head. No, it wasn’t Ladybugs fault. It was his decision to abandon being Chat Noir. That left him with only one person left to blame and he did not like the prospect of that. 

  “Guess I only have myself to blame”, he said, resting his head on the table. Noone had forced him to do it. Ladybug even wanted him to stay, begged him even. Still, he had known there was no other option. She had to have a partner she could trust, otherwise all of Paris was in danger. Still he had abandoned her. Abandoned Paris. How could he possibly call himself a hero? He clenched his fists, pushing down all depressing thoughts. “I’m a hero!”, he shouted out in the quiet room, trying to convince himself. “With or without Plagg” , his thoughts added. Adrien sat up in the chair with a straight back as determination filled him. “Good”, the voice continued. “A true hero stands for the consequences of their actions no matter the outcome.” Adrien nodded, agreeing with himself. He had put himself in this position and he now had to deal with the consequences. Did he wish they were different? Of course he did. Did he regret it? No, not at all. “You did what you had to” . “Yes”, Adrien said. “At least now, Paris might be safe.” Outside the safety of his room, the storm raged on. 

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Despite her raincoat, Marinette was soaking wet by the time she arrived at school. Luckily, Tikki had managed to keep dry in her purse. She quickly made her way over to her locker, sighing from relief when she saw that everyone else was soaked too. At least she wouldn’t stand out too much. After leaving her jacket in the closet and picking up her books, she hurried to class. It was still twenty minutes before school would start when she arrived at her classroom. Marinette couldn’t remember the last time she had been early for class. Being Ladybug made it really hard to be on time. 

  As soon as she opened the door to the classroom she heard Alyas excited voice. 

  “Marinette!”. She had a smile that could brighten a whole room and she always managed to make Marinette feel better. 

  “You’re on time! Early even.” Marinette smiled. She needed someone like Alya today to take her mind off things. Perhaps school wouldn’t be as terrible as she imagined. 

  “Yes”, she said. “I guess I just felt really inspired to get up early today.” 

  She sat down next to her best friend. The bench where Adrien and Nino usually sat was still empty. Marinette couldn't help but sigh when she thought of the blond boy. Would she ever work up the courage to tell him how she felt? Probably not, she decided, but that didn’t stop her from dreaming. Still, dreaming about Adrien didn’t make her as happy as it usually did. The empty void that Chat Noir left behind drained her energy and all the responsibility placed on her shoulders weighed down on her. 

  “Earth to Marinette!” Alya waved her hand in front of Marinette’s face. Marinette shook her head. 

  “Sorry.” 

  Alya just shook her head. “Daydreaming about a certain someone perhaps?” 

  Marinettes face turned red. “Me? Never”, she quickly said. 

  Alya smirked. “One day you’re gonna have to tell him you know.” 

  Marinette groaned. “I know. It’s just so hard. It’s never the perfect moment.” 

  She couldn’t risk telling him, not now. Marinette didn’t know if she could handle any more sadness right now. Not that she could tell Alya any of that. Alya did run the Ladyblog, a blog dedicated to Ladybug, but she still didn’t know who Ladybug was behind the mask. Marinette froze for a short moment, the thought running through her head at lightning speed. The Ladyblog. A blog dedicated to Ladybug and occasionally Chat Noir. Truth be told, she was the one getting most of the praise after every mission. She just hadn’t thought about it before. Could that have been the true reason why Chat left? Was he jealous? 

  “Earth to Marinette!” Alya waved her more aggressively this time causing Marinette to 

awaken from her thoughts. 

  “Sorry”, she said, smiling foolishly. “Guess I’m not used to being awake this early.” 

  Alya smiled. “You’re even more distracted than usual. Sure nothing happened between you and Adrien?” 

  Marinette chuckled. “Trust me Alya. If something ever does happen between us, you’ll be the first to know.” 

  “I’ll hold you to that”, Alya said just as Nino walked in through the door. He looked at the empty seat next to his own and frowned. He sat down  and turned around. 

  “Have you dudes seen Adrien today?” 

  Both Marinette and Alya shook their heads. Nino sighed and looked worried. “We always meet at the stairs right outside before class”, he said. “I thought he might have gone ahead but since he’s not here...” 

  He didn’t have to finish the sentence for Marinettes mind to start making up ideas for what could have happened to him. “What if he’s hurt? What if he needs us?” She stood up. “We have to find him!” 

  Alya looked up at her. “Calm down girl”, she said. “I’m sure he’s just sick or something.” 

  Marinette hesitantly sat down again just as Miss Bustier walked in and closed the door behind her. She turned towards them.

  “Afraid not guys”, she said before continuing towards her desk. Marinette followed her with her eyes, now really worried. What had happened to Adrien? What if he’s hurt, she thought. What if he needs our help? She gasped as a new thought entered her mind. What if he’s akumatized? 

“Calm down”, her own voice told her. “The last thing Paris needs is you becoming akumatized.”  Realizing her inner voice was, just as usually, right, she took a deep breath, feeling herself becoming more calm. I’m sure I just misunderstood Miss Bustier, She  thought. I’m sure Adrien is fine. 

   Miss Bustier and clapped her hands twice. Everyone fell quiet and looked at her. Was that a hint of sadness in her eyes? Marinette didn’t know for sure but it was enough for her calmness to start disappearing. “As some of you have already noticed, Adrien is not with us today”, Miss Bustier said. “And I’m sorry to tell you that he won’t be coming back.” 

  The classroom erupted with noise as everyone shouted their questions but the only voice Marinette managed to discern from the mass was the enraged one that could only belong to Chloe. 

  “Where is my Adrikins?!” 

  Her own thoughts drowned everything else out, a roaring cascade of dark thoughts flying all around her. Something has happened to him!, the voices screamed. The voice telling her to stay calmed was drowned by the neverending flood of darkness that threatened to pull her down. First Chat Noir and now Adrien. She couldn’t do this, it was too much. 

  “Quiet!” Miss Bustiers' voice cut through the noise, even dampening the sound of Marinettes own thoughts. Right outside the window, a purple butterfly turned around, heading back to it’s master. “Nothing has happened to Adrien'', she said. “His father has decided to homeschool him again.” 

  Outside, the purple butterfly turned around as Marinettes world came crashing down all around her. She was never going to see Adrien again. What had she done to deserve this? The butterfly entered the room and stayed close to the ceiling so as not to attract attention. Slowly it approached Marinette whose emotions were still in revolt. Slowly it flew closer, ready to akumatize her the moment it touched her. In the background, it could hear Hawkmoth talking.

   “Continue my little akuma. This will be my finest creation to date. So much sorrow in such a small body. Go on!" And the butterfly continued forward, slowly but surely. It had not been seen yet, all focus was still on Miss Bustier. "Good" , Hawkmoth whispered in it’s mind . "Just a bit further." 

  “Hey Marinette”, Alya said. “Are you okay?” 

  Marinette took a deep breath and nodded, not noticing the akuma floating by the ceiling who had suddenly stopped. Alyas voice helped her gain control of her emotions, forcing back the dark thoughts. “Thanks Alya. I’m fine”, she said and meant it. After the first shock had died down, she realised that not everything was over. She could still convince Gabriel Agreste to let Adrien return to school. She had already convinced him to let Adrian join the class on their trip to New York. This couldn’t be much harder. Right?

  In his lair, Hawkmoth sighed as he felt the emotion die down. “Return to me my akuma” , he said. “Next time, she won’t be so lucky.” With those words, the butterfly silently left, just as unnoticed as it had entered.

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Adrien left the room that acted as his classroom and sighed deeply. He usually enjoyed school but without his friends… It just wasn’t the same. He walked into his room and closed the door behind him. Outside his window, he could see the bustling streets of Paris. The sun had just broken through the clouds and the Parisians were starting to emerge from their homes, going about their days. Adrien wished for nothing more than to be able to join them but knew that this was impossible. After being caught yesterday, his father was unlikely to ever let him out of the house again. Adrien walked up to the window and stared out. His life was over before it had even begun. “ Was it really worth it?”, he couldn’t help but think. “If it keeps Paris safe”, Adrien said to himself, “then anything is worth it.” 

  Suddenly, at a distance, he noticed a black spot, quickly growing in size. He could recognize that black spot anywhere. Plagg. Why was he back again? When  Plagg got closer and Adrien could see that Plagg was carrying the ring in his paws, he groaned. “Please tell me he didn’t steal that” . The black spot quickly grew larger and soon he was right outside Adriens window. Not that the window stopped him. Adrien took a step back as Plagg continued straight through the window. Only to be harshly janked back when the ring hit the window with a bang. Adrien winched, hoping no one in the house had heard the sound. Plagg floated by the window, one paw stuck on the outside with the ring. 

  “A bit of help here?” Adrien hesitated for just a second before opening the window, letting Plagg come in with the ring. 

  Adrien crossed his arms. “What are you doing here Plagg? You know I’m not coming back.” 

  “Not the welcome I was expecting but okay”, Plagg said. He looked around the room. “Firstly, you wouldn’t happen to have any Camembert laying around?” His nose twitched as he tried to sniff out the cheese. “You won’t believe the food Ladybug feeds me.” 

  Adrien knew he would have to be hard on the kwami to stop him from coming back but at the same time, he knew that this might be the last time he ever got to talk to Plagg. A bit of cheese couldn’t hurt. He opened a cupboard and produced a slice of cheese from within. He offered it to Plagg who gladly accepted it. 

  “So why are you really here?”, Adrien asked. “And why did you bring the miraculous?” 

  “I’ve talked to Ladybug”, Plagg said, still chewing. He swallowed and took a deep breath. “She wants to talk to you.” 

  Adrien sat down on the edge of his bed, hardly believing his ears. Had him leaving finally made her realize that she needed to trust him? Was he about to find out who hid behind that mask? “Is she ready to trust me?”, he asked with a slight tremor in his voice. Even before Plagg spoke, Adrien could see that he had bad news. 

  “No”. Plagg shook his head. “But she is willing to talk and that’s good right?” He flew closer to Adrien. “Please Adrien. It might not be too late to fix this.” 

  Adrien met his gaze, refusing to give ground, not even a millimeter. “It’s been too late for a while Plagg. I have felt this way ever since Syren attacked and you know it.” He stood up and turned his back against Plagg so the kwami would not see the pain in his eyes. He needed to be strong. “The only way to move forward is for her to trust me.” He continued before Plagg had a chance to say anything. “I know it won’t happen now but if I return to being Chat Noir, Paris will pay the price.” He turned around again. “If she is not willing to trust me, I can’t return Plagg.” 

  “Please Adrien”, Plagg pleaded. “You won’t have to fight anything, I promise! I just want you to talk to her.” 

  Adrien hesitated. Could talking to her really hurt? “You did leave in a hurry. Perhaps you should explain why a bit better.” Adrien was inclined to agree. Perhaps him explaining things and not letting Plagg do it in his place could make her come around. Perhaps talking to her one last time wasn’t such a bad idea. There was just one problem. His father. He shook his head. “I can’t Plagg. My father decided to homeschool me when he found out I snuck out yesterday. I’m not allowed to leave the house.”

  Plagg smiled. “Just because Adrien isn’t allowed to leave doesn’t mean Chat Noir isn’t.” He held the ring out towards Adrien. “Please. Give it one more shot. I won’t survive eating any more of those macarons!” 

  Adrien chuckled when he saw Plaggs disgusted face. He stared longingly out the window. He could be back before his father ever noticed he was gone. One more time he could meet Ladybug. One more time he could freely run across the roofs of Paris. He accepted the ring, feeling it’s familiar weight on his finger. “Like it was never gone”, he thought. “Okay Plagg”, he said and smiled. “One more shot.” “But”, he warned. “If this does not work out then I will have to renounce you. Otherwise, she will never be able to pick a new Chat Noir.” 

  Plagg looked him in his eyes. “This will work out. I can feel it.” His eyes twinkled from happiness. “Also, could I have some more Camembert?”

Chapter Text

After the news that Adrian would not be returning to school, the entire day went by in a blur. Marinette couldn’t concentrate on anything her teachers were saying. All she could think about was what she would do when school ended. Class ended by four so if she wanted to meet Chat by five she would have to hurry. Still, this might be her only chance to get Adrian back. The longer he was home, the harder it would be to convince Gabriel that Adrian should be allowed to return. She couldn’t take that risk, not even for Chat. 

  As soon as the school bell rang out, Marinette rushed over to her locker, picked up the books she needed, and were about to rush out when Tikki spoke up.
“Marinette”, she said. “Are you sure you have time for this? You are supposed to meet Chat Noir, remember?”

  Marinette leaned into her locker so that the other students wouldn’t notice her Kwami. “Of course I remember Tikki”, Marinette whispered. “But this might be my only chance to get Adrian back.” She sighed wistfully. “Perhaps even my last chance to see him.” 

  Tikki shook her head. “This is a very bad idea Marinette. Gabriel can’t keep him locked in the house forever. You will see him again but if you are late tonight, Chat might be gone forever.” 

 “I know Tikki”, Marinette said. “But I have to do this.” She opened the bag and the Kwami entered without another word though she did not seem happy about it. Marinette sighed and shook her head. She would have to make it up to Tikki later. Besides, if she hurried, she might be able to get Adrian back and still make it in time to talk with Chat. She rushed out of school. 

  “Wait up girl!”

Marinette turned around to see Alya and Nino running towards her. 

  “Adrian is our friend too”, Alya said. “We’ll come with you.” 

  Nino nodded. “I could never forgive myself if I didn’t try to help.” 

  Marinette smiled. “Thanks guys. With all three of us, Gabriel will have no choice but to let Adrian return.” 

  Both Alya and Nino nodded. The storm had long since passed but the streets were still wet and Marinette could feel in the air that the storm was still near, ready to return. For now at least, the sun was shining. Perhaps the nice weather would help convince Gabriel. They certainly needed all the help they could get. 

  The walk to the Agreste mansion took them around twenty minutes and before long, Marinette, Alya and Nino stood before the wall guarding the house that had now become Adrian’s prison. Nino shuddered when he saw the looming gates. Alya smiled at him. 

  “Afraid Nino?”

  Nino shook his head a bit too quickly. “No”, he said. “Of course not.” He blushed slightly and Alya gave him a friendly punch on the shoulder. 

  “Relax. I’m messing with you.” 

  Marinette walked up to the screen embedded in the wall. “Come on already”, she said. “Let’s do this.” She reached out towards the button and Alya nodded. 

  “We’re right here with you girl.” 

  Nino gave her a thumbs up so Marinette pushed the button. Not a second later, a monotone ringtone could be heard, coming from the screen. It did not take long before it lit up and Nathalie´s emotionless face could be seen. 

  “State your business”, she said. 

  Marinette smiled awkwardly. “CanwespeakwithGabr-MrAgreste?”, she said hesitantly, the words tumbling out of her mouth in a jumbled mess. Behind her back, Alya facepalmed herself but somehow, Nathalie understood her. 

  “Do you have an appointment?” 

  The success gave Marinette some courage and she forced herself to speak clearly. “No”, she said and felt rather proud of herself. The screen went black without another sound. 

  “Hey!”, she yelled at the black screen. “You can’t ignore us like that!” 

  Marinette felt Alya place a hand on her shoulder. 

  “We tried girl. We can always come back.” 

  Nino yanked at the gate. It did not even sway. “It’s no use”, he said. “This place is like a fortress.” 

  Marinette checked her phone. 4:30. “ I still have time ”, she told herself. She spun around to face Alya and Nino. “We can’t just give up!” 

  Nino nodded. “You’re right, Adrian is our friend.” He stretched his fingers and pressed the button. “It’s my turn!”

  Once again, it did not take long before Nathalie showed up. Her expression had not changed at all. 

  “State your business.”

  “Hey! I want to speak with Adrian's dad”, Nino said bluntly. 

  If Nathalie showed any reactions, she would have sighed. “Do you have an appointment?”

  “No, but…” The screen went black before he could finish the sentence. Alya walked up to the screen. 

  “Leave this to the professionals.”

  Muttering to himself, Nino stepped aside. Marinette watched anxiously as Alya pressed the button. Her time was running out fast. She could practically feel the annoyance radiating out of her purse. Tikki was not happy. 

  Even Nathalie couldn’t avoid looking slightly annoyed the third time she had to answer the bell in a short time. 

  “State your business.”

  “Hi there!” Alya said, sounding quite cheerful. “I would like to make an appointment to speak with Mr Agreste.” 

  “Very well.” Nathalia looked down and started swiping with her fingers. “Mr Agreste does have some time over in his schedule in one year. Should I book you in?” 

  “You can’t do any better than that? Help out a friend in need?” Alya asked.

  “No”, was all Nathalie said. “Is there anything else I can help you with?” 

  “Yes!” Marinette shoved her way in beside Alya. “You can let us speak with Gabriel right now!” 

  Nathalie pressed a button and the screen instantly went black. Alya sighed. “Why did you do that girl? I was making progress.” 

  Marinette groaned. “You had a meeting in a year. That’s too late!” 

  “It’s called a negotiation”, Alya said. “She suggested a year, I would have suggested an hour. I’m sure I could have gotten that time down to a month.”

  “Still too late”, said Marinette. “We have to find another way to get in.” 

  She felt a small nudge, coming from inside her purse. “ Not now Tikki ”, she thought. She did not have time right now. She felt another nudge, even stronger this time. 

 “Just a moment”, Marinette said. She hurried off and turned her back towards Alya and Nino who both gave her a strange look. She opened her purse. 

  “What do you want?”, she whispered to Tikki. 

  “We are out of time!” the Kwami whispered back. “You need to get home and then get going to meet with chat.” 

  “I can’t give up now Tikki. Chat has already left but I still have a chance to get Adrian back.”

  Tikki shook her head. “I will always be on your side Marinette but you’re making a mistake. A mistake that you will regret.”

  “I have to do this Tikki”, she said. “I can’t lose two friends. I just can’t.” 

  She took a deep breath, closed her purse and turned around again. She ignored the looks on her friends' faces. “Okay, let’s do this.” 

  “Do what girl?” Alya asked. “I don’t think Nathalie’s gonna let us in.” 

  “We can’t just give up!” Marinette said. 

  Nino nodded. “Adrian is my best friend. I’m not ready to give up on him.” 

  Alya sighed. “Do you guys even have a plan?” 

  “No but...”

  “Listen”, Alya said. “I want to help Adrian just as much as you do but there is nothing we can do today. Let’s just go home, figure something out, and come back tomorrow.” 

  Marinette stared longingly towards the house but even she had to realize that there was nothing more to do that day. 

  “Don’t look so sad girl”, Alya said. “We haven’t lost, we just have to rethink our approach.”

  “I guess”, Marinette said.   

  They agreed to meet up after school the very next day to figure out a plan. As soon as Alya and Nino were out of sight, Marinette started running. If she hurried she might still make it in time. She had to get home, leave her school bag, transform into ladybug and meet up with Chat noir. She hoped he had realised the mistake he made when leaving her last night and chose to return. There was a lot she couldn't tell him but that didn’t mean she didn't trust him? “ Right? ”, she thought to herself. Her only answer was a deafening silence. 

------------------------------------------------------------

There were many things Adrian loved about being Chat Noir. Saving people and hanging out with Ladybug. But those were not the things he was going to miss the most. As he ran across the rooftops of Paris he realized that he was giving up something he might never get again. Freedom. Being free to go wherever he wished, whenever he wished. The feeling of wind in his hair and being completely weightless at the top of a jump. Nothing could ever replace this. Still, if he had to give this up for Paris to be safe, he would. 

  It was a beautiful evening. The sun was just setting when he reached the meeting place, coloring everything in shades of orange. Right ahead of him, the Eiffel tower reached high, the sun shining through the bars of the beautiful building. There was no place in Paris as wonderful as this one and he often met with Ladybug right here. Sitting down on the edge of the roof, Adrian realized that was another thing he was going to miss. The beauty of Paris from above. Especially with Ladybug by his side. 

  He waited as the sun slowly lowered itself towards the horizon, stars popping out one after another. He watched the clock through a window. It was ten past five before he finally spotted something red jumping across the roofs. 

  Marinette spotted Chat Noir right before she landed. He looked just like always, like nothing had changed. Still, she knew that nothing was the same between them. 

-----------------------------------------------------------

  Adrian saw Ladybug land and forced his breathing under control. “ I’m just here to talk ”, he reminded himself. “ No matter what, I won’t return unless she trusts me. ” They both stood before each other, neither willing to start. 

--------------------------------------------------------

  The air between them felt thick and the very atmosphere bursting with electricity. Sooner or later, one would have to yield. It turned out to be Marinette. 

  “Hi Chat”, she began. He nodded in acknowledgement. “So how much did Plagg tell you?”

  Adrian sat down and stared off towards the sun, now only a sliver right above the horizon.

  “He told me you were willing to talk.”

Marinette sat down next to him. “Yes. We need to talk about what happened.” 

  He was so close to her yet she could feel the distance that now lay between them. A distance that had never been there before. As the final rays of sunlight disappeared, Chat Noir started to talk. 

  “Yesterday, I overreacted.” 

  A tiny flame of hope started burning within her. 

  “But I do not regret my decision.”

  The flame died out as quickly as it had been created.

  “If you don’t trust me, I can’t keep doing this”, he said. 

  “And you think this will make it better?” Marinette didn’t mean to sound so confrontational but that’s how it came out. 

  Chat shook his head. “No, I know it doesn’t. But I had no choice.”

  “You have abandoned me twice now, first in New York and now yesterday. And you still expect me to trust you?”

  Chat sighed. “This is exactly what I mean. You never listen to me. Me leaving is the only reason we even have this talk.”

  He never raised his voice, nor did he sound mad, and that made Marinette even more annoyed. It was like he didn’t even care.

  “You wanna know why I can’t trust you? Because you never think ahead. You left for New York after I told you I needed you here. You left yesterday without letting me explain. You are too impulsive.”

  She saw him clench his fists and his entire body grew stiff. “You think I’m impulsive?” For the first time that night did she hear emotion in his voice. 

  “I have been thinking about leaving ever since Siren! You didn’t listen to then and you never have since. Leaving was my only choice!”

  Marinette looked up at his dark face. It felt like years ago Paris was flooded by Siren. Could he really have been thinking of leaving ever since? 

  “At first I wasn’t mad at you for always keeping me in the dark. I figured that Fu gave you no choice. I honestly thought things might change after he named you guardian. Perhaps we would actually become a team.” He snorted. “Well look how that turned out.” 

  “I barely trust myself with some of these things!” Marinette said. “How could I trust you with this after New York? After yesterday?”

  “You didn’t even trust me before New York!” He took a deep breath before continuing. “I have stood by your side since day one. We have fought the same battles. We would not be here had it not been for each other. We have both made mistakes but there is one major difference between us. I trust you while you don’t trust me.” 

  “But how can you just expect me to trust you after abandoning me? Twice?”

  He looked away but she could still see the tears running down his cheeks. “I don’t. That's the real reason I left yesterday. You need to pick a new Chat Noir. One you can trust.”

  Marinette could not believe her ears. A new Chat Noir. She hadn’t even considered it before. She reached out to him, placing a hand on his shoulder. “But if I can’t trust you, how can I trust anyone else?”

  “That’s not my problem.”

  Marinette took a deep breath, forcing her anger and annoyance to go away. “ This is Chat Noir ”, she told herself. “ If anyone deserves a second chance, it’s him. ” 

  “Okay”, she finally said. “Why don’t we forget about New York and go back to the way things were?”

  He shook her off and stood up. “You never listen. I don’t want us to forget about New York. If this is going to work, you need to trust me despite New York. I want to ensure that what happened yesterday never happens again. Yes I have made mistakes, many in fact, but so have you. I want us to be team Milady. Is that so hard to understand?”

  “But we were a team”, Marinette said. All the pain from yesterday was blossoming up again and she could not hold it back. “A great team. Why does anything have to change?”

  He turned around and snapped at her. “Because people could die!” She heard him breath in through his nose. “People almost died yesterday. All because of your secrets. You once said that you could not be Ladybug without me. That was the only reason I returned after leaving you in New York. Don’t you see that these secrets means that you are alone? We are not a team Milady and we have never been one but we can become one.” 

  Marinette remembered that day like it was yesterday. Aeon telling her that she had to become Ladybug. The feeling of helplessness after realizing that she could not do it without Chat. The joy when he chose to return. And now she was losing him again. But he wasn’t giving her any choice. There was no way she could share everything Fu had entrusted her with. 

  “No”, she said. “Not if that’s what it takes. You don’t understand what would happen if Hawkmoth learnt our identities or where the miraculous box is hidden.”

  “I know exactly what would happen”, he said. “I also know we would have a much better chance at defeating him if both of us knew each other's identities and where the box is hidden.”

  “But the chance of him finding out would also increase. No Chat, I can’t tell you.”

  “Then it’s time for you to choose a new Chat Noir. One you can trust.”

  “Then I want you to renounce Plagg. Right here, right now”, Marinette said bitterly. “You’re the one who wants everyone to know your secret identity after all.” 

  Chat did not look mad after her words. Only sad. “No, Milady”, he said. “Not everyone. Only you.” 

  For a moment she thought he might actually do it. She could see that he was strongly considering it. Would she watch if he did it? Did it really matter if she knew who he was anymore? 

  “No”, he said at last. “I can’t do it here. I need to get home without my father noticing me and I need to be Chat Noir to do that.” 

  “Then how do I get the ring?”

  He was quiet for a moment. “Do you know the Agreste mansion?”

  Marinette nodded. “Why?” A small thought ran through her head but she threw it out. No way could Adrian be Chat Noir. Adrian would never leave her like this. 

  “I will leave the ring right outside the gate in a box tomorrow morning.”

  Marinette shook her head. “It’s too risky. Anyone could find it.” 

  “Fine”, Chat said. “I’ll leave it right inside the gate then. You just have to stick your arm in and pick it up.”

  Marinette still wasn’t completely happy with the plan but she had already hurt him so much today. By agreeing to his plan, perhaps she could mend something of their rapidly breaking relationship. 

  “Okay”, she said. “But if you leave now I won’t take you back.” She looked him in the eyes, forcing herself to be hard. She had to do this. “If you leave now, you are done with being Chat Noir. Forever.” 

  Chat met her gaze unflinching. “Then this is my final goodbye to you, Milady.” He turned away and disappeared into the night. 

  All Marinette's strength disappeared and she was forced to sit down. Hugging her knees she fought the tears stinging behind her eyelids. Chat was gone and this time, he was never coming back. This time she truly was all alone in the night of Paris. 

Chapter Text

Traveling through the moonlit night, Adrian could not stop his dark thoughts from pestering him. “ Last time ”, they said. “ Last time you are truly free. ” Adrian shook his head, determined to not be poisoned by them. Still, he knew they spoke the truth. 

  For a moment, his foot slipped on an uneven roof and he stumbled. At the last moment, he managed to catch himself before falling over the edge. “ And what a great end that would have been ”, the thoughts mocked. 

  Adrian forced himself to sit down for a minute to calm the storm raging inside him. He had always known that she did not truly trust him. That had not stopped him from hoping. Hoping that perhaps, one day, that would change. That perhaps they could learn from their mistakes and move forward. That perhaps, they could still become a team. Now all those hopes were crushed. Crushed by the woman he had once loved. “ Once? ” a quiet voice spoke up within him. 

  With a heavy sigh Adrian realized that it was true. No love could surpass all the pain, anger and grief he now felt whenever Ladybug entered his thoughts. They had both made so many mistakes. How could they ever hope to move past that? He scoffed at himself. It had been a foolish dream. No longer would he be so naive. No longer would he let his emotions rule his actions. 

  Adrian let one final tear fall from his eye, crashing against the street far below, before getting up again. When he shut the pain out, getting home was easy. His body went through the motions like so many times before and he soon found himself jumping in through the window to his room. 

  “Claws in”. His voice rang out in the empty room. It was just him and Plagg and soon even Plagg would be gone. The Kwami in question flung himself on one of the couch pillows, laying face down. 

  “That didn’t go very well”, came his muffled voice.

  Adrian sat down next to him, slumping forward. “At least now, she can move on”, he said even though his heart was screaming out in pain. 

  Plagg turned around. “You’re not actually gonna renounce me, are you?”

  Adrian sighed. “We had a deal Plagg”, his voice no louder than a whisper. 

  “No, no, no!” Plagg flew up and floated right in front of Adrian’s face. “You know you don’t want to do that. We can run away together. Tonight. You can be free!”

  Adrian had to look away to hide how tempting the offer really was. “It’s not about what I want Plagg”, he finally said. “It’s about what’s best for Paris.”

  “You are what’s best for Paris!” Plagg said. “You have always done what felt right. Why not now?”

  “Because doing that is why she doesn’t trust me!” Adrian fought to keep his temper under control. He saw it all so clearly now. How had he been so blind? “I have always followed my heart, Plagg, even when my head told me it was wrong. Every mistake I have ever made is because of my stupid heart.” He shook and pushed back a wave of sobs. “I went to New York, even though she told me to stay here. Plagg, I almost got someone killed. It’s time I start listening to my head.” 

  “Going to New York wasn’t your idea”, Plagg said softly. “It was Marinette who convinced Gabriel who gave you no choice.” 

  “It doesn’t matter Plagg”, Adrian said. “I’m sorry but this is the only way.”

  “No!” Plagg exclaimed. “There are other ways, better ways! Don’t do this.”

  “I’m sorry Plagg but there isn’t. Not if I’m gonna listen to my head. Plagg I...”

  “No! Don’t you dare do this! I will hate you forever Adrian, I will...”

  “...renounce you.” 

---------------------------------------------------------------

  Marinette awoke the next morning feeling empty. Despite Tikki sleeping right next to her, she had never felt so alone in her entire life. With a heavy heart, she lifted herself out of the bed. Her body went through the motions of getting ready with Marinette really thinking about it. Her mind was far off with a certain black cat. 

  She sighed and shook him out of her head. She didn't have time to think of him anymore. “ He abandoned you ”, she reminded herself. “ You owe him nothing. ” She nodded to herself. Today was all about Adrian, not some stupid cat with hurt feelings. Today was Saturday which meant two things. That not have to go to school and that she could spend the entire day trying to get Adrian back. 

  “You look happy”, Tikki remarked. 

  “Yes”, Marinette agreed. “Today I have nothing to do except trying to get Adrian back!”

  Tikki flew down from her bed, looking puzzled. “Aren’t you forgetting something?” 

  Marinette drew back her curtains. It looked like it was going to be a beautiful day. “Like what?” 

  “Like that you need to find a new Chat Noir?”

   “No Tikki. I’m not picking a new Chat Noir. Paris will have to survive with just Ladybug.”

   “But you have to!” Tikki landed on a shelf so she was at the same height as Marinette. “Ladybug needs Chat Noir just as much as Chat Noir needs Ladybug. You have to do this together.” 

  “Why?” Marinette sat down in her chair and Tikki flew down to her desk. “It’s like he said in New York Tikki. He always messes up and I always have to fix it. I might even be better off without him.” 

  “That’s not true and you know it!”

  Marinette sighed. “Of course I know it Tikki. Perhaps I was too harsh to him back then but that does not change the fact that he left me again last night. Who can I trust if I can’t even trust him?” 

  Tikki placed one of her small hands on Marinette's hand. “I know it’s hard but you have to choose someone. The safety of Paris depends on it.” 

  “Can’t we just try this out and see how it goes? I have defended Paris for years now. I don’t have time to train someone new.”

 “I need to tell you something”, Tikki began. “At the very beginning of the Universe there existed only two things. Creation and Destruction; Me and Plagg.” She sat down. “Of course we didn’t know each other back then. We first met each other when a Chinese magician created the first miraculouses.”

  “I already know this Tikki”, Marinette said. “Fu told me long ago.”

  “But there's more”, Tikki continued. “Me and Plagg have fought side by side for thousands of years. During all that time, there has never been a Ladybug without a Chat Noir, nor have there been a Chat Noir without a Ladybug. Creation and destruction are two sides of the same coin. Neither can exist without the other. I don’t even know what will happen if you try this without him.” 

  “There’s nothing we can do about it Tikki”, Marinette said. “I can’t rush this decision, right?”

  Tikki hesitantly nodded. “But are you sure you don’t know anyone?”

  “Even if I did, I’m not ready Tikki. My head keeps telling me to pick someone new but my heart is not ready.”

  “But you once told me that you have to listen to your head and not your heart”, Tikki commented. 

  “Listening to my head is what drove him away!” Marinette snapped, wincing as Tikki retreated away from her. “I’m sorry Tikki”, she sighed. “But for once I just want to listen to my heart. Okay?” 

  “Okay”, Tikki agreed. “But promise me to at least look for someone?”

  Marinette nodded. “I promise Tikki.” 

  The sun was shining from a blue sky when Marinette met up with Nino and Alya. The nice weather filled her with optimism. Perhaps they would actually succeed today. 

  “Hey girl!” Alya called out. “You ready for this?” 

  “Yes!” Marinette said. “We’re getting him back, no matter what it takes.” 

  Alya chuckled. “I’m sure of it.” 

  Together, they started walking towards the Agreste mansion. 

  The weather forecast said it was going to rain today”, Nino commented, looking around at the beautiful day. 

  “Ha!” Alya said. “Those forecasts are never right.” 

   “Yeah”, Nino said. “I would hate being the person who has to read them every morning”

  Alya nodded in agreement. 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

  “That’s all for today, Nina” 

  Nina sighed and got off the stage in front of the greenscreen. Another day, another forecast that would no doubt turn out to be wrong. She really needed to switch jobs. With a heavy heart, she sat down behind her desk. She glanced over at her phone. Over one hundred new mails. Most of them angry Parisians no doubt. Didn’t they understand she didn’t make the forecasts? She was only the one delivering the message, nothing else. 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

  Without making a sound, a purple butterfly entered through an open window. It silently flew over towards the desk where a middle aged woman sat. “ Yes ”, Hawkmoth said in it’s mind. “ So much anger directed at someone so innocent. Get closer my Akuma! ” 

  The butterfly followed it’s orders, flying closer to the woman. Her brown hair was tied back in a braid. She didn’t even notice as the butterfly slowly edged closer to its prey, her face engrossed in something on her phone. 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

  “Nina, watch out!” 

  Nina turned around at the sudden scream, just in time to see a purple butterfly enter her eyeglasses. Immediately, the anger inside her rose to new heights as Hawkmoth entered her mind. Fighting was pointless. Nothing existed but a burning desire for revenge against all of Paris. 

  “ Weather queen ”, she heard the voice of Hawkmoth. “ To long have those Parisians directed their anger at you. It’s time for revenge! ” 

  “Yes Hawkmoth”, she said. In the corner of her eyes, she could see her coworkers fleeing in panic and smiled. Soon, there would be no place left to run. 

  “ I give you the power to control the weather ”, Hawkmoth continued. “ All I want in return are Ladybug and Chat Noir’s miraculouses! ” 

  “ Consider it done ”. Weather queen rose from her chair and smiled. It was time to finally get her revenge. 

---------------------------------------------------------------------

A chilly wind blew across the streets, causing Marinette to shiver and look up. Dark clouds now covered the sun, clouds that had not been there a moment ago. 

  “Huh”, Nino said. “You think the forecast was right?”

  “No”, Marinette said. “Something feels wrong.” She wanted nothing more than to talk with Tikki but couldn’t when Alya and Nino were there. 

  “You know the weather can change quickly, right girl?” Alya asked. “I’m sure it’s gonna pass.” 

  Marinette reluctantly nodded. “You’re probably right. Let’s keep going.”

  As they walked towards the mansion, the wind grew colder and the first raindrops were starting to fall. They hastened their pace until they were running across the streets, the rain now pouring down on them. 

  “Maybe we should turn back”, Nino said. “I don’t think we have any chance of getting in looking like this.” 

  Marinette looked down on herself. Nino was right. She was soaked to the bone and shaking from the cold. It was like the universe itself had decided that she would never meet Adrian again. 

  “Yeah, you’re right”, Alya said, stopping under a balcony to cover from the rain. She turned to Marinette. “I’m sorry girl. We’ll have to come back another day.” 

  Marinette leaned against a wall and groaned. “I’ll never see him again, will I?”

  “Don’t say that girl”, Alya said. “Gabriel can’t keep him locked up in there forever.”

  Marinette raised an eyebrow at her. 

  “Okay fine, maybe he can”, Alya conceded. “But I’m sure you’ll meet him again eventually. Right Nino?” She nudged him with her elbow. 

  “Oh right, yeah. Of course you will.”

  Marinette smiled. “Thanks guys. I just feel really down right now. I think I’m just gonna head home.” 

  She turned but before she even reached the edge of the balcony she noticed that the rain had stopped. 

  “Is it… snowing?” Nino asked. 

  Marinette stretched her hand out and dragged it in again. In her palm were several small snowflakes. “It is”, she said. 

  “This is great!” Alya said. “First a storm comes out of nowhere and now snow in September?” She smiled and pulled out her phone. “I bet there is an Akuma causing it!”

  “How is that a good thing?!” Marinette said. flailing her arms. 

  “I can get more content for the Ladyblog of course!” Alya was swiping away and tapping at her phone. “Think Ladybug will give me an interview again?”

  “Think she will give us our miraculouses?” Nino asked. “She might need our help.”

  Alya shook her head, not lifting her eyes from her phone. “She hasn't called upon us since Miracle queen, remember? She probably thinks it’s too big a risk since Hawkmoth knows our identities now.”

  Nino sighed. “Yeah, you’re right.” 

  Marinette’s thoughts were in a jumbled mess. If this really was an Akuma she needed to get out of here to transform. But could she even defeat it without Chat Noir? She hadn’t even tried to transform since he left. This time, she really was on her own like she had never been before. She couldn’t use any of the old heroes since Hawkmoth knew who they were. She also didn’t want to create any new ones. If even one miraculous fell into the hands of Hawkmoth, she would have failed as a guardian. 

  “Yes!” Alya said, holding up her phone. Marinette and Nino leaned closer. It was a shaky video, filmed by someone running away. The video zoomed in to a rooftop where a woman was standing. She wore a dark blue dress and her long black hair was flowing behind her in the strong wind. The only other thing clearly visible about her was the purple eyeglasses she wore. 

  “Citizens of Paris!” Her voice boomed out. “Today you can expect heavy snowfall with both thunder and lightning!” As she spoke, lighting sored across the sky, thunder following in its wake. “The time for my revenge has come!”

  “Snow, lightning and thunder. Is that even possible?” Nino asked. 

  “It is for an Akuma”, said Marinette. “We have to get out of her. Now!” 

  “No way!” Alya said. “I have to get over there. You coming Nino?”

  “Yeah. If Ladybug needs my help, I need to be there.”

  Alya turned to Marinette. “How about you girl?”

  Marinette shook her head. She hated letting her friends rush into danger but it seemed to be the only way for them to leave her so she could transform. “I’m gonna head home. I have to check on my parents.” 

  Alya nodded. “I'll call you afterwards, okay!”

  Marinette gave her a thumbs up and Alya and Nino rushed away towards the center of the storm. Immediately after they had disappeared, Marinette opened her purse. “Come on Tikki. We have to stop this new Akuma.” 

  “We still don’t know what will happen if we do this without Chat Noir”, Tikki protested.

  “We don’t have a choice Tikki”, Marinette said. “I have to do this on my own.” She drew a breath and calmed herself. “Tikki! Spots on!”

  She felt a rush of power as the transformation flowed through her, covering her in a red suit with black spots. By her side hanged her trusty yo-yo. She was Ladybug and she was ready to fight. With or without her kitten. 

Rushing towards the center of the storm filled Marinette with a sense of dread. Normally, Chat Noir would be running by her side, no doubt driving her crazy with his puns. She groaned to herself and jumped from one roof to another. She even missed his terrible puns. 

  The closer she got to the center, the worse the weather grew. Lightning soared all around her followed by deafening thunder, and the snow made seeing anything in front of her hand practically impossible. Still she kept pushing on because that is what a hero did. Keep going forward even if things got tough. “ Most heroes at least ”, she thought to herself but quickly banished the thought. She couldn’t afford to think anymore of him. Right now, she needed all her focus on defeating the Akuma. 

  Suddenly, the weather seemed to die down. The wind no longer howled in her ears and even though it was still snowing, she could actually see through it. Even the thunder seemed quieter now. She had arrived at the center of the storm. 

  She paused at the edge of a roof, surveying the situation. In front of her was a street and on the other side was an even taller building. On top of that building, the akumatized victim stood, no doubt waiting for her and Chat Noir to show up. She readied herself and pushed all thoughts of Chat Noir out of her mind. It was time for her to once more save Paris and all its citizens. 

  With practiced grace she jumped from the roof, swung her yo-yo round a part of the taller building and pulled herself up into the air. Now above the villain, she swung her yo-yo again, hoping to capture her and break the akumatized object before she could do any more harm. The lady turned towards her, chock filling her face. She would have no chance to dodge the yo-yo and Marinette smiled. She was doing just fine without her kitten. 

  The yo-yo missed. Instead of swinging round the lady and capturing her, it crashed useless into the ground while Marinette, not very gracefully, crashed on top of it. 

  “Ha!” The Akumatized woman snickered. “You thought you could defeat me, Weather queen, with that?” She kicked the yo-yo out of Marinette’s reach. “And Hawkmoth told me this would be a challenge.” She aimed another kick at her and Marinette barely managed to roll away and get back on her feet.

  “We don’t have to do this”, she said as she dived for her yo-yo. 

  “I hear there’s a chance of strong winds today”, Weather queen said and a sudden gust of wind blew to yo-yo out of Marinette’s reach and off the roof. Weather queen crossed her arms across her chest. “I’m gonna give you a choice, Ladybug. Hand me your miraculous or I’ll destroy all of Paris!” 

  She stepped closer and Marinette crawled on her back but soon stopped as she reached the edge of the roof. “Where is your kitten, Ladybug?” Weather queen asked. “I would love to play with him too.” She shrugged. “But it doesn’t matter. After I defeat you, defeating him won’t be a problem.” She took another step forward. “Now hand me your miraculous before I throw you off the roof!” 

  Marinette made a split second decision and rolled off the roof, trusting that the enhanced strength provided by the miraculous would break her fall. The ground came rushing towards her, faster than she had anticipated. She twisted in the air, landing with her feet first and rolling forward. It hurt but nothing broke and she got back to her feet just as a lightning bolt hit the ground where she had been just moments ago. “If you don’t come back, all of Paris will be destroyed!” Weather queen yelled angrily after her. 

  “Don’t you worry”, Marinette muttered to herself. “I will be back”. With a sigh of relief, she picked up her yo-yo. Now, there was just one more thing she needed to do before being ready again. “Lucky charm!”

  Usually when she said those words and swung her yo-yo, she felt a rush of power and received an object that would help her defeat the villain. Therefore, she was quite surprised when nothing at all happened. She received no object and felt no rush of power. 

  “Oh no”, she said. “No, no, no.” She forced herself to remain calm. “ Nothing’s wrong ”, she thought. “Lucky charm!” Once again, nothing at all happened. 

  “Trouble with your powers?” 

  Marinette turned around just in time to deflect a right hook from Weather queen and stumbled backwards. 

  “I don’t understand why Hawkmoth has never defeated you!” Weather queen laughed. “This is easy!” She raised her hands over her head. “Today brings a chance of lightning!” 

  Marinette dived out of the way, just as lightning started raining from the sky, breaking up the pavement all around her. She felt the hair on her arms stand up and jumped again, a fraction to slow. Lightning struck right before her and she closed her eyes against the blinding light. Marinette groaned as she landed on her back, rolling twice before stopping. Her ears were ringing and she couldn’t see a thing. 

  “Now then”, she heard Weather queen say. “Game over Ladybug.” 

  Marinette tried to pull away when she felt her hands reaching for her earrings but she had no strength left. Was this the end of Ladybug? Had Hawkmoth finally won? “ Tikki warned you about this ”, a treacherous voice spoke inside her. “ It’s too late now anyways ”, she thought back and didn’t even care to hold back her tears. She had lost and there was nothing she could do about it. “I’m sorry Tikki”, she whispered as she felt both of her earrings being pulled out and felt the costume slowly fading. “You we’re right.” 

  “You get away from her!” Marinette was jolted back from her self loathing by her friend's voice. Alya had come to her rescue. 

  She pushed back to her feet, filled with new energy and her vision finally cleared. Alya was attacking Weather queen, even forcing her to retreat, but she could not keep it up forever. Queen weather got in a kick and Alya fell to the ground. Marinette started swinging her yo-yo just as Nino rushed to Alya's side. 

  “You leave my girlfriend alone!” He yelled. Queen weather scoffed.

  “Too weak to fight your own battles Ladybug?” She smiled. “The forecast just changed. Parisians, get ready for a tornado!”

  The wind immediately picked up, blowing faster and faster. Nino and Alya both staggered backwards and Marinette barely stood her ground with the help of her miraculous. “Come on”, she whispered. “Please work.” She drew a deep breath, shutting out the world, concentrating all her energy on one thing. Swinging up her yo-yo, she spoke two words, putting everything she had in them. “Lucky charm!”

  This time, something did change. She felt a small burst of energy, deep within her, speeding through her body, getting weaker the closer it got to flying out her body. It died before reaching her arm and her yo-yo fell to the ground. 

  She tried fighting the ever increasing wind but it was useless. She staggered backwards away from the laughing Akuma. The Akuma in question strode effortlessly through the wind towards her, ducking away as a flying car swept past her in the wind. 

  Something broke inside Marinette. She could not defeat this villain, no matter how hard she tried. Not without her lucky charm. It was pointless and if she kept fighting, she would only lose her miraculous and then Hawkmoth would truly win. She shook her head. No, there was only one thing left to do. 

  She jumped and threw her yo-yo, grabbed hold of Alya and Nino and landed in a nearby alleyway where the wind did not blow as strong. 

  “Ladybug!” Alya said. “We can help you. Just get us our miraculouses.” 

  “Yeah”, Nino agreed. “We want to help.” 

  Marinette shook her head. “I’m sorry but I can’t. Hawkmoth knows your real identities. It’s too dangerous now.” 

  “Then where is Chat Noir?” Alya asked. “You need help to win this fight!” 

  Marinette looked away. “He’s gone. I’m sorry but you have to run. I’ll think of something.”

  “Please Ladybug”, Nino said. “We want to help you and we’re willing to take the risk.” 

  “You might be but I’m not”, Marinette said. “And I’m not willing to risk any of the miraculous.” She sighed. “Please run. It’s not safe here. I will find a way to win this but you have to run.” 

   Without waiting to see if they listened, she jumped away, using her yo-yo to quickly get away from the tornado that was forming. She had done what she could to help Alya and Nino. Leaving them hurt but there was something more important she had to do. She had to speak with Tikki. She might have a solution. 

  She landed in another alley, further away from the storm. Leaning against the wall, all energy left her. She had failed. “Spots off.”

  She rubbed her eyes and tried ignoring the sound of Paris being torn to pieces. She had not even been able to defeat a single Akuma on her own. “I failed Tikki”, she whispered. “Everything is my fault.” 

  “No Marinette”, Tikki said, landing on her shoulder. “I should have realized this earlier. You can’t have creation without destruction. Until you find a new Chat Noir, your lucky charm won’t work.” 

  Marinette sunk down to the ground. “I can’t Tikki. There is no one left I can trust. Hawkmoth knows who all my friends are and who else can I trust?” She lowered her head. “I wasn’t ready to be the guardian. I have failed Master Fu.”

  “No Marinette”, Tikki said. “If you give up now, there will be no one left to protect Paris. We need to go get the ring and then find a new Chat Noir. It’s the only way.” 

  “But who can I trust Tikki?”

  “Don’t worry about that now”, Tikki said and started trying to pull Marinette back to her feet. “Let’s get the ring and think about that later.” 

  Marinette sighed and got back to her feet. Tikki was right. If she gave up now, Paris would be lost. There was still a chance to fix everything. 

Marinette hurried to Agreste mansion where Chat had told her that he would leave the ring.
  “Shouldn’t you transform to get there faster?” Tikki said. 

  “No”, Marinette answered. “Weather queen might follow me and get both miraculous.” 

  She hastily looked back towards where a tornado was now raging through the city. “I can fix this”, she said to herself. “I can fix everything once I defeat her.” 

  Tikki looked away with a worried face. “Hopefully”, she said quietly. 

  “What do you mean Tikki?”

  “Without Chat Noir’s destruction, you might not be able to fix this.”

  Marinette shook her head. “I’ll find someone. I have to find someone. I will fix this.” “ I promise ”, she added in her mind. A silent promise to all of Paris. Everything would be okay. It had to be. 

  She breathed out in relief when the mansion came into view. The snow had stopped when the tornado began but the sky was covered in grey clouds. Marinette gave herself a moment to watch the window she knew belonged to Adrian’s room. “ Is he there right now? ”, the voice inside her said. “ You could go to him. He would not judge you. ” Marinette ignored the voice and kept going. Adrian didn’t even know about her secret identity. 

  She rushed along the wall and reached the gate. 

  “There!” Tikki exclaimed and flew through the gate, landing on a small wooden box. 

  Marinette reached through the gate and picked it up. “One thing done”, she said. 

  “Now we just have to find a new Chat Noir!” Tikki said. 

  Marinette glanced back at the tornado that kept growing in size. She had to fix this but her heart refused to trust anyone. Was there anyone left that she could truly trust? A tiny thought krept into her head and kept growing as her heart latched onto it. There was one person left, one Hawkmoth didn’t know and one she had always been able to trust. One she longed to meet again. 

  “Tikki”, she said. “There is one person left I can trust.” 

  “Great!” Tikki said. “Let’s go!”

  “Were already here”, Marinette said and looked at the mansion. “Adrian Agreste.”

Chapter Text

Tikki wanted to punch herself. Of course Marinette would think of Adrian, she should have seen it coming. There was no way he was going to accept the ring again though. Right? And even if he did, Marinette would recognize him and his secret identity would be revealed. She looked back and saw the tornado growing in size. Perhaps the time for secrets was over. Perhaps it was time for both Marinette and Adrian to learn about each other.

  “Marinette”, she began. “There is something I must tell you.”

  “Can it wait Tikki?” Marinette asked. “We have to get this ring to Adrian before it’s too late.”

  Tikki shook her little head. “No, it can’t. There is something you don’t know about Adrian, something I have to tell you.”

  “I know it didn’t work out with Aspik, Tikki and I promise this is not only because I really want to see him again. He really is the only person left I can trust with this.”

  “That’s not what I mean”, Tikki said. “There is something else that...” She couldn’t find the words. She didn’t know if it was the spell or something else but she just couldn’t find it in her to tell Marinette who Adrian really was. She finally conceded. 

  “Just don’t be surprised if he doesn’t accept the ring, okay?”

  Marinette sighed. 

  “At this point Tikki, nothing could surprise me.” She looked at the mansion. “But I have no other choice.” She closed her eyes. “Tikki, spots on!”

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“What are you doing Ladybug?” Adrian whispered to himself, watching the news on the TV in his room. The tornado was growing larger with every passing second and people were running for their lives. Luckily it didn’t seem like Weather queen was trying to hurt anyone yet but it was still only a matter of time before someone got hurt or even killed. 

  “I never should have left”, he whispered again. “She needs me.” 

  “ She gave you no choice ”, a voice inside him responded. “ You gave her more chances than she deserved. This is her fault, not yours. ” 

  Adrian wanted to agree with the voice but seeing the tornado ripping up the streets of Paris made that very difficult. 

  “Why didn’t she pick a new Chat noir?” He asked out loud. 

  “ You think Plagg would have accepted anyone except for you? ” The voice responded and Adrian shuddered. 

  “Please don’t let this be his fault”, he said, thinking of the little black cat. “Please don’t let this be my fault.” If that was the case, he didn’t know how to live with himself. 

  Adrian was pulled from his misery by a sudden knock at his window. He turned around and promptly fell off his couch in chock. 

  “ LADYBUG IS AT MY WINDOW! ”, his brain screamed at him, blocking out all other thoughts. 

  “ I don’t love her anymore ”, he reminded himself. Still, why was she here and not out stopping the akuma? He scrambled to his feet and headed to the window. 

  “ Stay cool ”. He couldn't give her any reason to believe that he was in fact Chat noir. Not that it really mattered anymore. He groaned to himself and opened the window. He had no idea how to deal with this. The hole in his heart that leaving her had caused was far from healed. 

  “Ladybug?” He said, choosing to remain neutral for the time being. 

  Ladybug jumped down to the floor and entered the room. “Adrian Agreste”, she said, locking eyes with him. 

  Adrian found himself unable to look away. However much he wanted to not love her anymore, his heart refused to accept it. It didn’t matter how she acted or what she did. She was still Ladybug and that would never change. He was still mad at her but that did not stop his heart from beating harder when she approached him. 

  Ladybug lifted up her hand and took a deep breath. “I don’t have much time, we need to do this fast.”

  “Do what?” In her eyes he could see an endless amount of emotions. Exhaustion, sorrow, anger and something else. Excitement, he realized. What was going on here?

  “Adrian Agreste”, she said again. “Here is the miraculous of the cat which grants the power of destruction. You will use it for the greater good.”

  “ THIS IS NOT HAPPENING ”, Adrian's entire body screamed. But it was, he realized. Ladybug was really offering him, not Chat noir but Adrian Agreste, the miraculous of the cat. He had told her to choose a new Chat Noir and she had chosen him. 

  “Will you accept it?”

  “ YES! ”, his heart screamed. “ Yes I will. It doesn’t matter if you trust me or not. ” 

  Adrian shook his head. He had decided to start listening to his head, not his heart. Coming back now would only prevent her from choosing another Chat noir. His secret identity would also be revealed since Ladybug would be able to recognise him. No, coming back was not an option. 

  “What happened to Chat noir?” He asked, silently cursing himself for not being able to give her an answer. He had to be stronger than that. 

  “There’s no time to explain”, Ladybug said, turning around and gesturing out the window. “We need to stop Weather queen before anyone gets hurt.” 

  “I’m sorry Ladybug”, Adrian forced his mouth to say, hating every word. “But you have to find someone else.” He looked away, too ashamed to face the sorrow that no doubt filled her face. 

  “ It’s the only way. ” His heart refused to believe the words.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  “But you have to find someone else”. 

  With those seven words, the little that was left of Marinette’s world crumbled to pieces. Her worst fear had finally come to pass. Adrian had rejected her. The one person in the world that she could still trust had turned her down. Darkness was all around her and the last shining light had just gone out. There was nothing now. Only darkness. Darkness and rage. 

  “Do you even see the tornado out there?” Ladybug pointed out the window. “Do you want Paris to be destroyed?” 

  “Of course not but...” 

  “Then what is the problem?” 

  Ladybug stared at him until he was forced to look at her again. See the anger in her face and see the tornado behind her, slowly consuming all of Paris. 

  “I’m sure there’s someone better than me for this”, Adrian began but Ladybug did not let him finish the sentence. 

  “No!” She stabbed him in the chest with a finger. “You, Adrian Agreste, is my last hope. If you don’t do this, Paris might be doomed. Is that what you want?”

  “Of course not!” Adrian spat out. “Is that what you think of me?”

  “Then why? Why won’t you just help me?”

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“Because you pushed me away!” Adrian wanted to scream but no words left his mouth. “ Because I was Chat Noir and you didn’t want me. That’s why! ” 

  Still, a feeling of dread was slowly rising within him. If he did not take the ring now, was he really better than Ladybug? He couldn’t let his feelings get in the way of the safety of Paris. But if he did take the ring now, she would know his secret identity and she might never pick another Chat noir. They would be back right where they started. 

  “Why do you even need him?” He asked, unable to find an answer to his dilemma. “You have defeated akumas on your own before.” 

  To his great surprise, Ladybug shook her head. 

  “I don’t need him. I need someone to be bonded with the ring. There must be both destruction and creation in the world, otherwise my lucky charm won’t work.” 

  All Adrian’s hesitation disappeared in an instant. She didn’t want him. She just needed him so she could use her lucky charm. If he took the ring now, there would be even less of a team than before. They would not be back where they started, they would be even further back!

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  Ladybug could see how Adrian’s face hardened as she spoke the words. 

  “So you don’t need me”, he spat out. “You only need someone to bond with the ring!”

  “Well I’m always the one doing all of the work anyways. There wouldn’t be a difference!” Deep within her, Marinette could sense Tikki squirming and knew that she would not be having a peaceful evening. Maybe she could get her some cookies. That usually helped.

  “I can’t believe you”, Adrian said. “You want to do this on your own?” 

  “No!” Ladybug said. “Why do you think I’m here? I need you to take the ring and help me.”

  Adrian snorted, something that really reminded Ladybug of Chat. 

  “No you don’t. You just want me so that your powers will work again. Well it’s not happening.” He turned away from her and stared into the wall. 

  “You're on your own Ladybug.”

  Ladybug saw red. How could he do this to her? Abandon her when she needed him the most? He was not better than Chat noir. Adrian, the person she had loved for as long as she could remember, was just as bad as Chat noir. In the background she could still hear the tornado growing even larger. She couldn’t stop it without her lucky charm and to get that, she needed Chat noir and the only candidate for that job was refusing. 

  Ladybug buried her head in her hands, thinking furiously. Was there no one left she could trust? No one that Hawkmoth did not know the identity of already? Who was the most trustworthy person in the world? Who would never refuse their responsibilities to the city? 

  Then it hit her. It was clear as day and she felt so stupid for not seeing it earlier. There was only one person she could always count on, no matter what. One person who would never 

betray her. 

  Herself. 

  “If you only need someone to bond with the ring, you can just pick any person off the street,'' Adrian said. “So please leave.”

  “I still need someone I can trust”, Ladybug said. “And clearly that person is not you.” 

  She opened the box with the ring. 

  “I thought you were different, you know. Better than other people.” 

  She picked the ring up, holding it before her face. Was she really doing this? 

  “But now I see the truth. You’re just a selfish prick who would rather see Paris destroyed than to help me stop it.” 

  Yes, there was no other choice. This was the only way. 

  The fact that Adrian didn’t even flinch at her words made her even angrier. 

  “Whatever happens now Agreste”, she spat out with as much fury as she could muster, “is your fault!”

  And with those words, she placed the ring on her right hand finger.    

  As soon as she did, she felt a small surge of power and Plagg appeared in front of her. 

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“You better have a lot of cheese ready for...”

  Plagg froze when he realized it wasn’t Adrian standing before him but Marinette. Marinette with both the earrings and the ring.

  “What are you doing?”

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  Adrian turned when he heard the sound of his kwami. The first thing he noticed was the small cat floating in front of Ladybug's face. The second thing he noticed was the ring she wore on her finger. 

  “No!” He exclaimed. “You can’t do this!”

  Ladybug gave him a look filled with fury. 

  “If I want to save my city, I have no choice.” Then she spoke three words that filled Adrian’s soul with ice cold dread. 

  “Plagg. Tikki. Unify!”

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Master Fu’s face filled Marinette’s mind as she spoke the words. Combining both Plagg and Tikki was supposed to give the user the ability to make a single wish. The power to do anything. He had also told her that this power could never be used because the wish always came with a terrible price. She had told herself she wouldn’t use it, forced herself to believe that she could resist the temptation. She had never realised how hard it would be. 

  As Plagg’s and Adrian's screams of protest died away, Ladybug suddenly found herself with the world in her palms. 

  She had the power to do anything. Everything she had ever wanted could come true. She could get Chat noir back. She could become a world famous designer. She could defeat Hawkmoth and marry Adrian. All of this and an infinite amount more she could do with a single thought. The feeling of absolute power filled her for but a split second; a split second stretched out into eternity. 

  Then eternity passed and the feeling of having everything at the tip of her finger disappeared. Ladybug stumbled back and fell to the floor. She could still feel the power, lingering just beyond her consciousness, ready to spring into action with a single thought, but for now, she was able to resist the temptation. 

  She had used multiple miraculouses before without much trouble but wielding the Ladybug and the Cat was nothing like that. Her vision was blurry, her body felt sluggish and a terrible weight was pressing on her mind, threatening to break it at any moment. 

  “Please Ladybug!” Adrian’s voice just barely pierced the fog surrounding her mind. “You can’t do this. It’s too dangerous!” 

  She forced her failing body to stand up and shook her head to clear her mind. It worked but she did not know for how long. 

  “No.” 

  She took a deep breath and looked at Adrian. She ignored the worry she could see in his face. He didn’t care about her. He didn’t even care about Paris.

  “You forced me to do this Adrian. Never forget that.” 

  She turned away from him and looked out the window. Now she was ready. No tornado was going to stop her. Not today. Not ever. 

  “Lucky charm!”

  The weak energy she had felt earlier was stronger now. It spread through her like a never ending torrent of power, rushing out through her arm and reaching her yo-yo. She retracted it just in time to catch the pole Chat noir always used, falling from the sky. 

  Ladybug had no idea what she was supposed to do with it but she was confident that she would figure it out. She always did. 

  She took a weak step towards the window, nearly collapsing as a new wave of dizziness hit her. She would have to end this quickly. Not even she could apparently wield this much power for long. 

  She tried to take another step but felt a weak tug at her hand. Turning around, she met the desperate face of Adrian Agreste. 

  “Please Ladybug”, he said. “Don’t do this.” 

  His voice had once been enough to turn her bones to mush and melt her heart. That was before he had refused to help her. He was no better than Chat. 

  “I’m not Ladybug”, she said, pulling her hand from his grip without effort. “I’m Lady noir.”

  Without giving him another look, she jumped out the window and swung her yo-yo towards the tornado. She had an akuma to stop.

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The storm hit her with full power as soon as she stepped outside the window, threatening to destroy her and everyone else in Paris. Despite this, Lady noir headed straight for the center of the storm. If she were to find Weather queen anywhere, it would be there. 

  With every step she took, the wind grew stronger. Luckily for her, Weather queen had stopped shooting lightning for the moment. She swung the yo-yo with her right hand, clutching the staff with her left. She still had no idea what she was supposed to do with it. Unless it meant something else. 

  “ No! ” She swung her yo-yo a bit more aggressively than needed. “ I don’t need him. I can be both Ladybug and Chat noir! ”

  With one final swing, she launched herself straight into the storm. 

  The winds hit her with full force and threw her around until she had lost all sense of direction. The only thing Lady noir could do was try to avoid the debris flying around with her, hoping that she would eventually come out the other side. 

  She tried swinging out her yo-yo to move forward but the wind blew it of course and she was barely able to keep hold of it. 

  Then, just as quickly as it had started, it was over. 

  Lady noir was hurled out of the tornado and found herself fast approaching the ground far below. She quickly swung her yo-yo around a streetlight that had somehow survived, and landed safely on the ground, still clutching Chat noir’s weapon in her left hand. 

  “ No ”, she corrected herself. “ My weapon. ”

   “So you finally decide to show up!”

   Lady noir turned towards the voice and saw Weather queen watching her from a rooftop, a smile plastered across her face. 

  “I thought I’d have to destroy all of Paris to find you.” 

  She took a step off the roof and fell fast before being caught by the wind, landing safely on the street. 

  “I’m glad you decided to do this the easy way.” She walked forward, hand held out. “Now hand over your miraculous!”

  The beginnings of a plan was starting to form inside her head as she closely watched Weather queen getting closer. It was risky but it might just work. She just had to be very careful. Already she could sense her legs starting to shake from the pressure of both miraculouses. She would have to end this quickly. 

  “Okay”, Lady noir answered. “Just remove the tornado first.”

  Weather queen shrugged. “If you say so.”

  With a wave of her hand, the tornado disappeared leaving cars and other debris to crash into the ground. When the dust settled, Lady noir could see the ruins of the city she loved. Never before had an Akuma caused this much destruction. 

  “ I can still fix this ”, she thought. 

  “Now then”, Queen weather spoke. “I see you got yourself something of an upgrade.” She smiled. “But that’s not enough to defeat me. Now hand over your miraculous!” 

  Lady noir bowed her head. 

  “Okay, you win. Just promise to let Paris be.”

  Weather queen scoffed. “You are in no position to bargain, Ladybug.”

  Lady noir sighed and slowly moved her hand up to her earrings. As soon as she touched them, her entire body screamed out in protest.

  “ I have a plan ”, she told herself, forcing her hands to keep going. “ This will work. ”

  As soon as she removed the earrings, she sensed the powers of creation disappear. Before Weather queen would notice anything wrong, she threw the earrings at her.

  Weather queen rushed forward and instinctively reached for the invaluable miraculous, now flying through the air. In the corner of her eye, Lady noir could see a confused looking Tikki looking around at all the destruction in despair. 

  But Lady noir had no time for any of that. By focusing on the earrings, Weather queen had missed that Marinette was still a threat. She still had the ring and she was ready to fight. 

  “Not Ladybug”, she said quietly. “Lady noir” 

  “Cataclysm!” She screamed, reaching for Weather queen’s glasses, the only thing on Weather queen’s body where the akuma could be hiding. 

  She felt the destructive power in her palm spread through the glasses, turning them to dust and freeing the akuma hiding within. The moment her glasses fell to the ground as dust, Weather queen disappeared, leaving a confused looking woman in her place. The earrings fell to the ground, forgotten by all but Lady noir. 

  Before the akuma was able to escape, she picked up the earrings and put them on again. Speaking the three words once more filled her with endless power but this time, the temptation was easier to resist. Still, the weight of all that power crashed down on her and she was barely able to stand. The only thing filling her mind, forcing her to keep going, was the knowledge that she was the last hope of Paris. If she fell, Hawkmoth would win. 

  With a snap of her wrist, she threw out her yo-yo, catching the akuma mid flight. 

  “Bye bye little butterfly”, she whispered as a bright white butterfly emerged from her yo-yo and fluttered away into the open sky. 

  “Now then”, she muttered to herself and took a deep breath. “Time to fix everything.”

  She picked up the pole her lucky charm had given her. She hadn’t actually used it but it had pointed her towards using the powers of Chat noir to fool Weather queen. She just hoped it would still work like her usual lucky charms did. 

  “Miraculous ladybug!”, she screamed with as much power as she could muster, throwing the pole up into the air. Relief filled her as a cloud of ladybugs swept over Paris, fixing all the damage caused by the akuma. 

  Unlike what normally happened though, the pole did not disappear. It instead fell down again, landing on the ground right next to her. Before breaking under the endless amount of power available to her, Lady noir removed the ring from her finger and once more became Ladybug. 

  All around her, she could see Paris returning to how it once was. The only sign that anything had ever happened was the shocked look on peoples faces and the bewildered woman laying before her. 

  “What happened?” She mumbled. 

  Ladybug got to her feet. No matter how tired she was, this was not the time to rest. Already, she could hear the sound of reporters closing in. She shook her head. Not today. Today she was simply too tired. 

  “Come on.” She picked up the woman and swung away with her yo-yo, dodging the millions of questions that were sure to come her way. 

  She dropped Nina off a few blocks from the scene of the battle. 

  “Will you be okay on your own?”

  Nina nodded. 

  “Yes, I feel fine now. It was just too much back at work. I’m sorry for causing this mess.”

  “No!” Ladybug immediately responded. “The only one who should be sorry is Hawkmoth.” 

  “ Him and one other person ”, her mind added and she fully agreed with it. Everything would have been much easier had he been by her side today. She wasn’t sure if she meant Adrian or Chat noir. 

  “Thank you Ladybug”, Nina said and smiled. “For everything.”

  “Just doing my job”, Ladybug responded before taking off. 

  She landed on a rooftop just out of view and immediately collapsed against a chimney. 

  “Spots off.”

  Now that everyone was out of danger and Paris saved, she couldn’t keep her exhaustion at bay. She doubted she could even stand if she tried. 

  If Plagg was around, she couldn’t see him. She took out the ring. Now, she had a solution to her problem. If Chat noir refused to help her, she would just have to help herself. If there was one person who would never betray her like both Adrian and Chat had done, it was herself. 

    Speaking of the ring, where was Plagg? And Tikki for that matter. Both kwamis seemed to have disappeared. 

  She forced open her heavy eyelids. At first, she saw nothing at all. Then, she saw a small figure, sitting down by the edge of the roof. Plagg. 

  Even from this distance, Marinette could see that something was wrong. The little kwami was shaking and as she made her way over, she could hear his sobs. No matter how much she tried to force herself, her body refused to stand up. She resorted to crawling over to the edge of the roof instead. 

  “It's over”, Plagg muttered to himself. “It’s over, it’s over, it’s over, it’s over!”

  He turned around when he heard her approach him. 

  “What’s wrong Plagg?” She asked, sitting down next to him. 

  To her dismay, Plagg recoiled several meters from her. 

  “No!” He shouted out. “Get away from me!” 

  Tikki was quickly by his side. 

  “It’s okay Plagg”, she said. “It’s over now. All that happened hundreds of years ago.”

  “No”, Plagg mumbled. “No, no, no, no.”

  “Plagg!” Tikki said. “Listen to my voice, okay. You’re fine. Everything is fine.”

  “It was all so real Tikki”, Plagg said. “It was happening again. We were standing on the edge, the edge of everything!” 

  He shuddered again. 

  “I could feel it Tikki. Feel it all.”

  Tikki slowly nodded. “So could I Plagg. But nothing happened. We’re fine now.” 

  Plagg sank down on the roof and slowly shook his head and Tikki glared at Marinette. 

  “Do you have any idea what you just did?” Her voice was colder than Marinette had ever heard it before. 

  “What’s happened with him?” Marinette gestured towards Plagg who seemed lost in his own world. His breathing was shallow and his eyes were closed. Tikki placed one paw on his shoulder which seemed to calm him down a bit. 

  “You happened”, Tikki said. “Do you have any idea what you just did?” She repeated.

  “I saved Paris”, Marinette said. “I did what I had to.”

  “No!” Tikki spat out at Marinette, her hand still on Plagg’s shoulder. “You needed to stop Weather queen. You didn’t need to unify us.” 

  “It was the only way.” Marinette said. 

  Tikki shook her head. 

  “You could have used Alya or Nino. You could have bonded with Plagg without activating him. You could have chosen a new person to give a miraculous. You had options!”

  “It just happened, okay?!” Marinette shouted out, a bit angrier than she wanted. She had had enough of all this. She had saved Paris. Why didn’t anyone see that?

  “I knew I needed to be strong to defeat her on my own so using both of you seemed like my only option. And it worked, didn’t it?” 

  Tikki slowly stroked Plagg’s arm. “Was it worth it?”

  “I’m sorry Plagg”, Marinette said. “But I didn’t know that would happen Tikki.”

  “Then perhaps you shouldn’t have done it!” 

  Marinette jerked back as Tikki snapped at her. She had been angry with Marinette before but never like this. It seemed Plagg held a soft spot in hearth. 

  “Perhaps you should have asked us about the consequences before you did it”, Tikki continued in a calmer voice. “We could have told you why this power is never used.”

  “Fu already told me”, Marinette said. “The wish always comes with a great price. That’s why it can never be used.” 

  Tikki turned Plagg around so that he was laying on his side. He had curled up into a little ball. 

  “Master Fu didn’t tell you the whole story. Our powers do more than grant you a wish. They grant you limitless control over everything. Endless power.” 

  Tikki turned her head away. “And very few people can have access to such powers and live to tell the tale.” 

  “But I did”, Marinette said. 

  Tikki nodded. “Yes, but just barely. Had that fight continued for much longer, you would have lost control.” She hesitated before continuing. “Just like a Chat noir once did.” 

  Plagg curled up even smaller at the mention of Chat noir. 

  “I’m sorry Plagg”, Tikki said. “But I have to tell her.” 

  Plagg did nothing to show that he had heard her. 

  “Do you know the city of Atlantis?” 

  Marinette nodded. “But that’s just a myth. Right?” 

  “Yes, it is now”, Tikki said. “But it was once a very real place. The height of modern civilization in the old days.” She kept stroking Plagg while talking. “Until Chat noir decided to unify me and Plagg.” 

  Marinette couldn’t help herself. “What happened?”

  “He lost control”, Tikki said. “Erased Atlantis and everyone in it from time itself. Me and Plagg spent over 300 years on the ocean floor before someone found us.” 

  She turned around again and Marinette could see nothing but sorrow in her friends face. 

  “Plagg never got over it. He lost his Chat noir that day and today, I nearly lost you.” 

  Tikki finally left Plagg's side and floated up towards Marinette.

  “You made a mistake today”, she said, “but that does not mean I want to lose you. Please Marinette. There has to be a different way to defend Paris.”

  Marinette looked down on the little black cat that lay quivering at her feet. 

  “I’m sorry Plagg”, she said. “I didn’t know.”

  She stretched out her hand to comfort him but he recoiled again. 

  “Give him some time”, Tikki said. “He really loved that Chat noir and he’s blaming himself for his death.”

  “I will find a way Tikki”, Marinette promised, filled with a new sense of purpose. “I will find a way to keep Paris safe without unifying you. If not for the safety of the world then for Plagg. I promise.”

  Tikki’s face was filled with a smile that reached both ears. 

  “Now there’s the Marinette I know.”

Chapter Text

The very moment Lady noir jumped out his window, Adrien was running. The look of desperate helplessness on Plagg’s face as Ladybug unified the miraculous had broken something inside of him. 

  He bolted down the hallway, cursing at himself with every breath. He thought he had prepared for everything. The moment he left, he knew he would have to be strong enough to watch the city he loved be damaged before Ladybug found a new Chat noir. He was prepared for that. He was not prepared for the way Plagg had looked at him. There was no hate left in his eyes. Only a raw fear, stronger than anything Adrien had ever seen before. Plagg was terrified and it was Adrien’s fault. 

   “You weren’t the one who unified the miraculous”, his inner voice said. “Ladybug did.” Adrien heard what it was saying but the Plagg’s face was still burned into his mind; a sight Adrien would never forget for as long as he lived. 

  He took the stairs in the main hallway with two strides, jumping the last bit and rushing towards the front door. He didn’t care about the house arrest or what his father would do to him when he returned. The only thought running through his mind was Plagg and the need to save him from Ladybug. Nothing else mattered. 

  Plagg had come to him when he was completely alone. He had been the light that shone through the darkness that was Adrien’s life. 

   “And I abandoned him”, he thought bitterly. He had thought that abandoning Plagg would be best for Paris but Ladybug had once again proved him wrong. If anything, abandoning Plagg had put the city in more danger than ever before. There was no knowing what Ladybug might do with the wish or what would happen if she failed to beat the akuma.

   “Hawkmoth wins”, the voice inside him spoke. Adrien had no arguments to put against it. If Ladybug failed today, all would be lost. He had to get his kwami back and stop her. He had no intention of being her Chat noir again but someone had to stop her before she destroyed all of Paris. 

  Adrien crashed against the door at the end of the hall and threw himself against the handle. The door didn’t budge. Adrien cursed again. Nathalie must have locked it when the akuma attack started. He threw himself at the door once more but without the strength Plagg gave him, the door did not move at all. 

  “Adrien? What are you doing?” 

  Adrien turned around and saw Nathalie standing at the top of the stairs. “Please Nathalie, I can explain.” 

  “Then please do”, she said, starting to walk down the stairs. 

  “I need to get out of here”, Adrien said. “It’s really important.”

  “You know your father said that you were not to leave”, she said. “You are allowed out into the garden but not right now with the akuma still running around.” 

  “Please Nathalie!” Adrian tried but to no avail. 

  “I will open this door once Ladybug and Chat noir has defeated the akuma”, Nathalie said. “Not a second earlier.” 

  “Fine”, he sighed, heading back up the stairs. If he kept arguing with her, he would only lose time. As soon as he was out of her sight, he started running again, heading straight for his room. If the front door was locked, he would just have to find another way out. 

  In his room, the window was still open. Looking out, Adrien could see his bodyguard just coming round the corner, heading for his window. Nathalie must have told him to keep an eye on him. There would be no escape that way. 

  While thinking about other possible escape routes, the wind suddenly stopped blowing and Adrien saw that the tornado had disappeared. Soon, a wave of ladybugs could be seen sweeping over the town. Ladybug had won again. 

  “I’m coming Plagg”, Adrien whispered. “Just hold out. I’m coming for you.”

---------------------------------------------------------------

Plagg was sitting on her windowsill. He hadn’t moved since yesterday when Marinette came back to her room after defeating Weather queen. He hadn’t even eaten or slept. He just sat there, unmoving, staring out over the city he was meant to protect. 

  Marinette sat at her desk, idly sketching on some new designs, but with no passion in her movements. Yesterday, she had unified Plagg and Tikki. She had done it to protect the city she loved but that did not change the fact that she had done it. She could almost feel master Fu judging her, wherever he was now. She crumpled the paper and threw it in the garbage can. Nothing she did anymore seemed to turn out the way she wanted it too. Ever since Chat abandoned her, it had been one long downwards spiral with no end in sight. 

  Tikki was sitting next to Plagg and Marinette could hear them talking quietly. Tikki had her short arms around Plagg who rested his head on her shoulder. It almost looked peaceful, like two people just enjoying eachothers company. That was if you ignored how Plagg was rocking back and forth, shivering from tail to whiskers. 

  Marinette sat up straight in her chair and took a deep breath. If Paris was attacked again, she needed Plagg to be back to his normal self. He had gotten enough time to sulk about what happened. 

  “Tikki?” She said. The red and black ladybug reluctantly left Plagg’s side and floated over to her. 

  “You need to give him more time Marinette”, she said. “Yesterday brought him right back to Atlantis and he’s having a difficult time getting back here.” 

  “We don’t have more time Tikki. What if Paris gets attacked again?”

  “You still haven’t found a new Chat noir”, Tikki pointed out. “Even if Paris gets attacked again, you can’t use Plagg.”

  Marinette sighed. “Even Adrian refused to help me Tikki. Who else can I trust?”

  “Adrian only refused because you said that you only needed him for your lucky charm. You need to find someone to be your partner, just like Chat was.”

  Marinette shook her head. “I’m sorry Tikki. There is just no one left.”

  “But you promised!” 

  “No”, Marinette said. “I said that I would find a way to protect Paris without unifying you. I never said that I would find a new partner.”

  “Then how are you going to protect Paris?”

  “I don’t know yet Tikki”, Marinette said. “But I do know that we don’t have time for Plagg to sulk anymore.”

  For the first time since they had returned yesterday, Plagg spoke so that Marinette could hear it.

  “Sulking? Is that what you think this is?”

  He turned around and Marinette could see small tears in his eyes. She hadn’t even known kwamis could cry. 

  “You almost destroyed Paris Marinette”, he said. “I’m not sulking. I’m terrified. Terrified of what you will do if no one stops you soon.”

  “I did the right thing Plagg”, Marinette said. “Maybe it was a big risk but if I had not done it, Hawkmoth would have won.”

  “I’m sure that’s what Hawkmoth tells himself too”, Plagg said. “That he’s just doing the right thing.”

  Marinette took a deep breath again and forced herself to calm down before screaming at the kwami, knowing it would only make things worse. 

  “I’m the guardian now Plagg”, she said. “And I decide what is right. Never forget that!” Her voice rose a bit but she kept her anger under control. She stood up from her chair. “I know what happened in Atlantis but I’m not that Chat noir. I’m better than him.” 

  She opened the hatch to her room and started descending the ladder. The hatch closed behind her, leaving Plagg and Tikki alone in the room. 

------------------------------------------------------------------------

As soon as Marinette left the room, Tikki floated down to the desk. Plagg landed next to her.

  “She promised Plagg”, she said with a trembling voice. “We both know she promised to find a new  Chat noir.” She tried to fight back the tears but didn’t succeed. “What is happening with her?” Plagg dried her cheeks with his pawn. “I thought I saw the real Marinette yesterday but now...”

  “I know Tikki”, was all he said. For a while, the two kwamis sat there, arms around each other, both desperately needing each other to keep going. It had started getting dark outside when Plagg finally spoke up. 

  “We can’t wait any longer Tikki”, he said. “We can’t leave the fate of Paris in her hands.”

  Tikki’s small body shook but she managed to nod her head. “I know”, she whispered, feeling her entire world crumbling to dust. Plagg only held her harder until the worst of the trembling had passed. 

  “What’s the plan?” She finally managed to whisper. 

  “The next time she goes too far, we have to stop her”, Plagg said. “We can’t let her keep risking Paris like this.”

  “She needs Chat noir”, Tikki mumbled. “Why can’t she see that?”

  “It’s not your fault”, Plagg said. “She made her choice. Now she must face the consequences.” 

  “Can we really do this, Plagg? She’s still the guardian.” Plagg held her as another wave of trembles and tears shook her.

  “Not even the guardian is immune to consequences.” He turned to her and looked her in the eyes. “I wish there was another way Tikki. I really do.”

  Tikki closed her eyes. “Okay”, she whispered. “We don’t have another choice, right?”

  “Right”, Plagg echoed. “It’s our only option.”

  “So the next time she goes too far, that’s it?” She opened her eyes again. “Are we really doing this?”

  “Yes”, Plagg said. “The next time she goes too far”, we’re stopping her. 

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Adrien silently opened his bedroom door. Not even his father was working in the middle of the night and the house was quiet. Despite this, Adrian took care not to make a sound as he sneaked down the hallway. 

  Normally, he would have had Plagg by his side, helping him out with his darkvision. Tonight, he was all alone but that didn’t stop him. If he wanted Plagg back, this was the only way. Ladybug had to be stopped and he had to be the one to do it. 

  With a few steps, he was past the room where his bodyguard slept. Besides Plagg, that man was probably his best friend in this house, although Adrien had never heard him utter a single word. He hurried past before his loneliness got any worse than it already was. 

  The large house felt spooky at night. The darkness transformed innocent decorations into horrifying monsters and the shadows cast by the moon did not make it any better. To his great relief, Adrian soon stood before the door he was looking for. Nathalie’s bedroom. 

  He silently pressed down the handle, praying the door would be unlocked and that it would be quiet. That night, the stars in the cosmos must have aligned because, despite his usual bad luck, the door swung open without making a sound. 

  Adrien looked in the room but saw next to nothing. The only light came from the moon, shining in through a window next to the bed. A bed in which Nathalie was laying, fast asleep.

  The thought of what would happen if she found him in there almost made him close the door and run back to his room. He had never been allowed into this room during the daytime, much less during the night. It was in situations like these that Plagg would usually push him the final bit. This time, he would have to push himself. If he didn’t, he would never see his kwami again. 

  Taking a deep breath, Adrian entered the room. He tried to avoid the slight rise of quilt as Nathalie breathed, instead focusing on his mission. The only way he would ever find Ladybug was during an akuma fight and the only way he would ever get out during one of those was if he had a key. 

  He slowly crept forward into the room, doing his best to avoid floorboards who looked like they might creak. He was mostly successful, another stroke of good luck. If he stole Nathalie’s keys, she would no doubt notice it first thing in the morning. Instead of doing that, Adrian had decided to steal her spare key. Knowing Nathalie, there was no way she didn’t keep one of those around. The only question was where. 

  The small room didn’t offer much of a hiding place, not even for a small key. The only furniture was the bed, a dresser next to the wall and a small desk right below the window. Adrien really didn’t want to get so close to the bed but the desk was his best option. He just had to stay absolutely quiet and pray that Nathalie was a heavy sleeper. 

  By the time Adrien reached the desk, his heart was beating so loudly, he was sure the sound would be enough to wake Nathalie up. Despite that, she kept on sleeping like nothing had happened. 

  Adrien could quickly see that the top of the desk was empty, not that he had been expecting the key to just lay there for him to take. He slowly pulled one of the drawers out, feeling around after anything that felt like a key. He found nothing but some pencils and paper. Undeterred, he closed the drawer and pulled out another one. In this one, he once again didn't find anything that felt like a key. It only contained a bunch of notebooks and some more papers. 

  For the third time that night, he wished Plagg was there with him. With Plagg by his side, finding the key would be no trouble at all since the kwami could simply phase through solid objects until he found it.

  Just as he was about to pull out his hand, his fingers brushed against something. It was a small indent at the bottom of the drawer. He gasped and immediately looked over at Nathalie. She moved a bit in her sleep and for a moment that felt like an eternity, Adrien stood there, frozen. Then she settled down again and her regular breathing continued. He dared to let out a breath and explore the indent further. It felt like a hole, just the right size for a finger. Almost like it was supposed to be used to lift the entire bottom of the drawer. 

  Deciding that it was his best option, he slowly began emptying the drawer, taking care not to make a single sound. If he was caught now, no explanation in the world would save him from a lifetime in this mansion. 

  After what felt like forever, Adrien finally managed to empty the drawer without waking Nathalie up. He looked down and could barely see the hole he had found with his finger. He placed a finger in the hole, bent it and tried to lift. Ever so slowly, the bottom of the drawer began to rise. 

  Adrien smiled but tried to contain his excitement. This was far from over. When he got the entire bottom up, he placed it on the desk, next to the content of it. Looking down, relief washed over him as he saw a single key laying there on the actual bottom of the drawer. He smiled at Nathalie who kept sleeping. She would have to try harder than that in the future. 

  As quickly as he dared, he picked up the key, replaced the false bottom and put back everything he had pulled out from it, trying to remember how it had been laying. 

  Once he was satisfied with his job, he closed the drawer and exited the room, closing the door behind him. 

  It wasn’t until he made it back to his own room and firmly locked the door behind him that he allowed himself to celebrate his victory. He threw himself on his couch and looked at the key, now in his hand. He had done it. The first step in his plane was complete. 

  He turned and looked out his window over a sleeping Paris. 

  “Soon Plagg”, he whispered. “Soon I’ll get you back.”

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Despite all that had happened, life still had to continue and come Monday, Marinette found herself returning to school. Somehow, she would have to act like everything was normal and try to ignore the weekend. Still, there was one thing she could not ignore. Adrien. 

  “I can’t do this Tikki”, she said while walking towards the school. A few passerbys gave her an odd look but they had more important things to worry about than the weird girl talking to her purse. 

  “You have no choice”, Tikki said. Ever since yesterday, she had been cold and distant. Marinette didn’t know what had happened after she left the room but it was clear that something had changed. 

  “I know that Tikki”, she whispered into her purse, “but this is the part where you give me some motivation and helpful advice.” 

  “I have already given you advice”, Tikki said. “Find a new Chat noir.” 

  Marinette sighed. “You know that’s not what I meant.”

  She got no answer from her purse but she could almost feel Tikki shrugging. She and her would have to have a really serious conversation about her attitude sometime soon. Plagg had changed her and Marinette did not like it one bit. 

  Without having received any motivation or helpful tips, Marinette saw Françoise Dupont High School come into view. It was time to face the one thing she had been dreading all morning. Acting like everything was normal when nothing could be further from the truth. 

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It wasn’t until lunch that her act started to fall apart. She had gotten through the day just fine. Gossiped with Alya, lied about Adrian (who she still had conflicting emotions for), and tried her best to keep up with class. It all worked until lunch when the question she had been avoiding all day finally showed up. 

  “So what’s our plan?” Nino asked, sitting down at the table where Marinette and Alya were sitting. 

  “What plan?” Marinette asked although she already knew the answer. 

  “Getting Adrian back of course, girl”, Alya said. “Knowing you, you already have ten different mad plans that will somehow succeed.”

  She and Nino laughed while Marinette frantically tried to figure out something to say. The last thing she wanted was to speak with Adrian again, even if he didn’t know she was Ladybug. First, she had to figure out what exactly she was feeling for him. 

  “Can we wait a bit with that?”

  Both Nino and Alya stared at her, dumbfounded. 

  “Are you feeling okay girl?” Alya placed a hand on Marinette’s forehead. “You are feeling a bit warm.”

  “I’m fine Alya.” Marinette moved away from the hand. “There’s just so much going on right now. I’m not sure I have time with this too.”

  “Adrien is our friend”, Nino said. “If you needed help, would you want us to just abandon you like that? Not cool dude.” 

  “ Like Chat noir did ”, her mind added against her will. 

  “I’m with Nino”, Alya said. “We have to help him.”

  “ I have to be better than him ”, Marinette thought. “Okay”, she spoke out loud. “I’m sorry. It’s just so much going on right now.”

  “So much you don’t even have time for Adrien?” Alya looked concerned. “What’s going on Marinette?” She smiled. “You know you can tell me anything, right?” 

  “It’s nothing”, Marinette said. “ Nothing you can help me with anyway. ” 

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yes Alya”, Marinette said. “Anyways, did you see Ladybug defeat Weather queen?” She said to quickly change the subject. 

  Alya scowled. “We both saw it.” Nino nodded in acknowledgement. “And something is definitely wrong”, she continued. 

  A numbness started spreading throughout Marinette. How much did Alya know? And if she knew, did Paris know too? She hadn’t heard anything on the news but maybe it was just a matter of time. She knew that she had done the right thing but would Paris agree?

  “Her lucky charm didn’t work Marinette”, Alya said. “She was really losing.”

  So they had seen that. The numbness was quickly spreading to her face now. Knowing Alya, even if she hadn’t figured everything out already, it was only a matter of time before she did. 

  “Yeah it was bad dude”, Nino chimed in. “We even had to rescue her at one point.” 

  “Really? You sure she really needed your help?” Marinette tried to feign surprise but found herself to be a terrible actor. 

  “Really”, Alya said. “I actually think she would have lost without us.” She sighed. “And of course she still refuses to give us our miraculous.” 

  “You know it’s too big a risk”, Marinette said, trying to defend her alter ego. 

  “Doesn’t mean I like it”, Nino said with a hint of annoyance in his voice. 

  “Anyways”, Alya said, “after we helped her, she got us to safety and just took off.” She took up her phone and started looking for something. “It was at least twenty minutes before she returned but when she did...” Her voice faded away as she kept looking for something on her phone. “She looked like this.”

  She held up her phone and showed Marinette a picture and there on the screen, she saw herself. In the heat of the moment, she had barely had time to consider how her new suit had looked but now, she saw it clearly.

 A red streak ran through her black hair that fell down to her feet in a braid. The mask covering her face was split right below the eyes, going from black to red with black spots. The rest of her costume followed the same theme, partly Ladybug and partly Chat noir, with some parts being black and others red with black spots. To cement her new look, she had Chat noir’s usual cat ears on top of her head. She truly had become Lady noir and there was no denying it. 

  “Do you see what I see?”

  For a moment, Marinette thought about playing dumb. She soon realized that doing so would only make Alya worry even more. It was painfully obvious that she had been using both miraculous.

  “Is that...”

  “Both the Cat and the Ladybug miraculous”, Alya finished. “Ladybug unified them. I even heard her call herself Lady noir.”

  “She didn’t even come up with an original name”, Nino said. 

  “ I was a bit busy! ” Marinette angrily thought. “What does this mean?” She said instead.

  “That’s just the thing”, Alya said. “I don’t know.” She started swiping away at her phone again. “I obviously have a few different theories but I honestly don’t know.” 

  “I’m just wondering what happened with Chat noir”, Nino said. 

  “He probably decided to let Ladybug deal with Hawkmoth and just gave up”, Marinette angrily said before being able to stop herself. 

  Alya looked up from her phone in confusion and Nino furrowed his brow. “Are you sure you’re okay?” Alya asked again. 

  “I’m fine Alya”, Marinette said again, getting more and more annoyed every time the question got asked. “Would you please stop asking that?”

  “Okay”, Alya mumbled and looked back to her phone. Nino didn’t look any less concerned but at least he didn’t say anything. 

  “Here we are”, Alya finally said. “Can you read this before I post it? I just want to know what you think.” She handed Marinette her phone. 

---------------------------------------------------------------

   A couple of days has passed since Weather queen attacked and I’m sure we have all had time to consider what might have happened. I am of course referring to the fact that Ladybug (or should I say Lady noir??) was using both her own and Chat noir’s miraculous. The question on everyone's lips is what exactly happened? What has happened between our two favorite heroes to cause something like this? I’m sad to report that I know just as little as everyone else but that has not stopped me from coming up with my own theories. 

Theory 1 - Chat noir took a vacation:

Although unlikely, it’s possible that Chat noir has simply taken a vacation and left his miraculous in Ladybug’s care for the time being. Even heroes need a vacation from time to time and if you ask me, he has more than deserved one. 

Theory 2 - Chat noir left:

Even the greatest hero will eventually get tired of fighting and sometimes, a vacation just isn’t enough. Could it be that we have seen the last of Chat noir and that Lady noir will now be our only saviour? I hope not but only time will tell. 

Theory 3 - Fight!

Is it possible that all is not as it seems between our protectors? Though they seem like good friends (maybe even more) it’s possible that something is brewing under the surface. Could it be that Chat noir and Ladybug fought, leading to what we saw two days ago? I don’t want to believe it but we must consider all possibilities. It is possible that Chat noir and Ladybug had a disagreement, leading to a fight that Ladybug clearly won. If that is the case, then I truly do not know what the future might hold. 

So what can we as Parisians expect in the future? I wish I had good news but the truth is this: I don’t know. Has Hawkmoth finally succeeded in breaking up the crime fighting duo or is this a simple misunderstanding that will correct itself shortly? Only time will tell but I advise everyone to be extra careful in the future. We don’t know what’s to come. 

If you are reading this, Ladybug or Chat Noir, please contact me! The people of Paris need answers and right now, you are the only ones who can provide them. 

Stay safe everyone and pray that we will soon have our favorite heroes back together; fighting akumas and doing their best to bring Hawkmoth to justice!

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With every word she read, Marinette’s world grew darker and darker. If Alya published this, there was no telling what the consequences might be. She wouldn’t be able to answer any of the questions people would ask. Not without looking like the villain. She knew that she was in the right but they didn’t know that. 

  “You can’t publish this”, she said.

  “Is there something wrong with it? I know it’s just a rough draft but is it that bad?”

  Marinette shook her head. “It’s not that, it’s just...” Frustration was building inside her. She couldn’t tell Alya what was wrong with it without revealing herself but she couldn’t let her publish it either. “You just can’t publish it, okay?”

  “Maybe you should go home”, Alya said. “I don’t think you’re feeling well.” 

  “I’m fine!” Marinette snapped, causing several people in the cafeteria to turn their heads to their table. Nino tensed up, leaning forward towards Alya, as if to protect her.

  “Can I have my phone back?” Alya held out her hand, looking more concerned and confused than Marinette had ever seen her before. 

  Marinette realized she was still clutching it in her grip, her knuckles growing white from holding it so hard. Marinette reluctantly handed it back and in the corner of her eyes, she could see Nino relax a bit. 

  “Please don’t publish this Alya”, Marinette pleaded. “You don’t know the truth.” 

  “No one knows the truth”, Alya said. “But I’m trying to find it. Can you just tell me what’s wrong with it?” 

  “It’s just that...” Marinette rummaged her brain for the right words. “It’s the last theory”, she admitted. “If Ladybug is going to be our only protector, should you really portray her in such a bad light?”

  Alya looked visibly confused at this. “I’m not trying to paint anyone in a bad light. I clearly say that it’s just a theory. If Ladybug or Chat noir wants the truth to come out, they will just have to come talk to me.” 

  Before they had time to say anything else, the bell rang for their next class.

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After the final class, Marinette hurried out of school so that she would not have to talk with Alya or Nino any more. She knew they only meant well but right now, she didn’t have the energy to deal with them. Everything was crumbling around her. Her friends were worried, Tikki hated her, Plagg was traumatised and soon, all of Paris would start asking questions she could not answer. She needed a break but it was not looking like she would be getting one. 

  She rushed along the crowded streets of Paris trying to silence the voices raging within her. “ Are you really doing the right thing? ”

“ Are you sure you don’t need Chat? ”

“ With every step, it just keeps getting worse. And who’s fault is that? ”

   Her breathing came faster, the sounds of Paris were deafening and the entire world was spinning all around her. It was just too much. How was she supposed to deal with all of this? A sound from her phone temporarily stopped her from spiraling into a panic but it was short lived. It was a single notification. Alya had updated the Ladyblog. She had published the post. 

  Marinette stumbled into the same alleyway she had walked past on her way to school, just hours earlier. There was nothing she could do anymore. She had only made it one battle without Chat before everything started crashing down around her. She could practically feel Tikki inside her purse and Plagg back home. Feel their happiness of being proven right. It was all over. She couldn’t do it without him.  

  “ It’s not over. ”

  She caught herself once more, right on the edge of never ending panic, and slowed her breathing. A new voice spoke within her, a voice stronger than all the others. 

  “ You don’t need Chat noir. You are the hero of Paris, not him. He was never more than your sidekick. ” 

  Slowly, the world stopped spinning and the sounds no longer deafened her. The voice was right. She was the hero of Paris. She didn’t need Chat noir.

  “ You have to take one step after another. Start with Alya. Give her something new to post. Something that will get Paris on your side. ”

  Marinette slowly nodded, realizing what she had to do. She could do this. She only had to do it one step at a time. Firstly, she had to deal with Alya. By talking to Alya, she could prevent everyone else from asking her questions. She still had to find a way to keep Paris safe but talking to Alya was a good first step. 

  Marinette walked out of the alley with a new spring in her step. She didn’t need Chat noir and after Ladybug had spoken with Alya that evening, neither would Paris. He had abandoned her after all. All that came now was his own fault.

Chapter Text

Monday morning, Adrien woke up like usual. He slowly sat up, rubbing the last sleep from his eyes while doing so. Almost immediately, a heavy feeling came over him. He stuck one hand under his pillow and pulled out the key. Adrien hated lying and he hated stealing even more. Still, he would do whatever he had to do to get his kwami back. Ladybug had to be stopped and right now, he was the only one capable of doing so. 

  Before he was caught, he slipped the key back under his pillow and slowly stood up. Another day was about to begin and he was not looking forward to it. He had been alone for most of his life but it had never been this bad. Before, he hadn't known what it was like to have friends. Now he knew and the feeling of loss was eating him alive. 

  The cold shower did little to lift his spirits. Normally, Plagg would have demanded his breakfast ten times over by now. Finding the quiet room unnerving, he put on some music. It wasn’t the same. To his great relief, he soon heard a knock at his door. 

  “Adrien?” He heard Nathalie’s voice. “Breakfast is ready.”

  “Coming!” Adrien called through the closed door. 

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For the most part, Adrien was able to keep his thoughts distracted during class. As soon as he had some free time, however, he could not keep himself from looking out the window and checking the Ladyblog for any sign of an akuma attack. 

  “ It’s not that I want anyone to be akumatized ”, he told himself during lunch. “ But it’s the only way to stop her before it’s too late. ” He hurried off to his next class before he began blaming himself for not taking the ring when she offered it to him. “ You didn’t know ”, his thoughts tried convincing him but it didn’t work. 

  “ Had I taken the ring, she would have never unified them. ” He didn’t want to believe it but there was no denying the truth. Ladybug might have been the one to unify Tikki and Plagg but had he just taken the ring, it would have never happened. 

  He forced himself to focus on Nathalie’s lesson, trying to silence his thoughts in the process. It almost worked. 

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It wasn’t until that afternoon, right after his final class ended, that Adrien finally saw an update to the Ladyblog. Excitement mixed with dread as he clicked on the article and started reading. It wasn’t a new akuma like he had been expecting. Instead, it was something that finally made his day just a little bit better. Proof that at least someone cared about him and not just Ladybug. 

  He finished the article and nodded a bit in agreement. Alya had come up with some good theories and it didn’t seem like she was blaming him for disappearing. The third theory especially was almost spot on. “ But I gave up the ring willingly ”, he gloomily thought. His thoughts didn’t even try to convince him otherwise. 

  He read through the article again, more slowly this time, trying to understand how Alya was feeling. It was clear that she was both confused and worried. The thing that worried him was once again the final theory. It was clearly tilted heavily against Ladybug. 

  The Ladybug that he wanted to remember would never get mad about criticism, instead trying to learn from it. But the Ladybug he wanted to remember would also never unify Plagg and Tikki. There was no telling how this new Ladybug would react to this. He wasn’t worried for Alya’s safety per say but at the same time, he had no clue what might come from this. 

  He spun around in his chair and sighed heavily. It was at moments like this he wanted someone to speak with, someone he could get advice from. 

  “I miss you Plagg”, he whispered to his empty room. 

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Marinette stood on a rooftop, looking down into the brightly lit room of her best friend who was currently writing something on her computer. No doubt more theories on what might have happened between her and Chat noir. Hopefully, that would end tonight. 

  “What are you going to tell her?” 

  “The truth”, Marinette said. “She wanted answers and I’m going to give them to her.”

  “Good”, Tikki said. “The truth is always the best way to go.”

  “I hope you’re right”, Marinette said. 

  She took one last look at her friend, drew a deep breath and thought about what she had to tell her. She wanted answers and Marinette was going to give them to her. 

  “Tikki! Spots on.”

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Ladybug landed on the windowsill to Alya’s room, keeping her balance by hanging on to her yo-yo, swung around a protruding bit of the roof. She had gone over the story in her head a thousand times by now. The plan was simple. Jump in, tell Alya what happened, jump out. She would have Paris on her side and she would dodge all uncomfortable questions. She just hoped Tikki would agree with her version of the truth. 

  Before she had time to second guess herself anymore, she knocked on the window. Immediately, she could see Alya turn her head and promptly fall out of her chair, just like Adrien had done just a few days ago. 

  Alya rushed over and opened the window. “Ladybug?” She asked. “What are you doing here?” She moved aside so that Ladybug could jump into her room. 

  She turned to Alya, deciding it was best to just be straight with her. “I’m here because of your blog post”, she said. 

  She saw Alya’s face whiten. “Oh no”, she breathed out. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean anything with it, really.”

  “It’s okay Alya, I’m not mad”. Ladybug smiled at her. “I’m here because I need your help with explaining everything to the city, okay?”

  Alya breathed out in relief. “You have no idea how glad I am to hear you say that. I have been dying for answers.” She practically jumped across the room to her desk and grabbed a notebook. “Tell me everything.”

  Ladybug sighed and sat down on the couch in Alya’s room. “I will tell you what happened and you will help me explain it on your blog. Deal?”

  Alya smiled. “Deal. My readers want nothing more than to know what happened.”

  “Good”, Ladybug said. “Honestly, there’s not much to tell you. Do you remember the akuma we fought just before Weather queen?” 

  Alya nodded. “Of course. I remember all the akumas.” 

  “Well”, Ladybug said. “During the fight, someone almost got hurt.” 

  Alya nodded again and wrote something down. 

  “After the fight”, Ladybug continued, “Chat noir said that he was done. That he couldn’t deal with it anymore. He abandoned Paris and he abandoned me.”

  Alya stopped writing. “So he just left? That’s what happened?”

  Ladybug nodded. “That’s what happened.”

  “But why this time? People have almost gotten hurt many times.”

  Ladybug shrugged. “I guess this time, it was just too much for him. I don’t know what else to tell you Alya.”

  “How about the truth?”

  Ladybug froze. No, she hadn’t misheard her. But she had told Alya the truth. More or less at least.

  “What do you mean?” She asked.

  “You know what I mean”, Alya said. “I have followed you guys since day one. I have even fought by your side a couple of times. The Chat noir I know would never just abandon Paris like that without a good reason.”

  “Wasn’t this exactly what you said in theory 2?” 

  Alya shrugged. “I needed 3 theories to fill out the article. I don’t actually believe in it.”

  Ladybug sighed. “Well can you believe in me? I’m telling you the truth Alya.”

  “I want to believe you Ladybug”, Alya said, “but every instinct in my body is screaming that there is more to this story. So please tell me what actually happened.”

  “That is what actually happened!” Ladybug snapped, staring at Alya who looked shocked. “I’m so tired of everyone telling me what to do!” She continued, unable to stop herself. “Haven’t I earned a bit of credibility by now!”

  “Yes, but so have Chat noir!” Alya snapped back. “You can’t just tell me he abandoned us all for no reason and expect me to believe you!”

  “Your blog is literally called The Ladyblog !” Ladybug yelled at her. “Shouldn’t you be a bit more trusting of Ladybug ?!”

  “Well then maybe it’s time that changed!” Alya was fuming. “I don’t know what happened with you but I do know that I don’t want my blog named after you!”

  “Alya, please!” Ladybug reached across the table and grabbed Alya’s arm. “I need your help.”

  “Then tell me the truth!” Alya spat out. 

  “I have told you the truth!” Ladybug said, accidentally squeezing Alya’s arm in her grip. 

  “Ouch!” Alya screamed and pulled her arm back, toppling her chair in the process. “What are you doing?!”

  It didn’t take her more than a second to realize what had happened. She had hurt Alya. In her anger, she had hurt her best friend. “I’m sorry!” She immediately said but it was too late. Alya pointed to the still opened window.  

  “Please leave.”

  “Alya please I can...”

  “Now!”

  Ladybug slowly moved to the window, pausing right before jumping out. 

  “I’m sorry Alya. I truly am.”

  Alya said nothing as Ladybug disappeared into the cold Paris night. 

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Adrien was just starting to get ready for bed when his phone chimed again. He glanced at it, hoping it wasn’t another message from one of his friends that he would have to ignore. He hated ignoring his friends but he knew that if his father found out he was still talking to them, his punishment would get even worse. 

  Luckily, it wasn’t a message from his friends. Instead, it was a notification letting him know that the Ladyblog had been updated again. Adrien furrowed his brow. Twice in one day? Alya never updated that often. 

  He laid down on his bed and opened the new post. He couldn’t believe what he was reading. He knew that Ladybug had changed. He had feared what she might do after reading what Alya posted. Still, he hadn’t thought that she would actually confront Alya and try to force her into helping her. That didn’t sound like Ladybug but he couldn’t help but believe it. Guilt was slowly starting to creep up on him again and before he knew it, it struck him with overwhelming force. 

  “ THIS ISN’T YOUR FAULT! ” The voice was pounding him from within but he barely heard it. “ I should have taken the ring. I should have taken it, I should have... ” The same message echoed within him, drowning out the screaming voice. The room grew smaller and his breath came faster and faster. He closed his eyes and tried to stop everything from spinning.

  He knew what this was but he didn’t want to accept it, didn’t want it to be true. He hadn’t had a panic attack in years. Not since his mother had died. Those times, Nathalie had helped him through it. Now, he had to do it all on his own. 

  “ Deep breaths. ” The voice started out quiet but grew louder, soon drowning out all other voices in his head. “ Deep breaths. Just breathe. ” The memories of the last time this happened was what brought him back. Nathalie's hand on his shoulder, her voice in his ears. It was Nathalie’s voice he heard now, despite being alone in the room. “ Just breathe Adrien. It will be okay. ” 

  “ This isn’t your fault ”, the previous voice tried again. “ She makes her own choices and she must face her own consequences. ” Adrien latched on to the message, trying desperately to believe it. Slowly, he felt the panic subside and when he opened his eyes again, the room had stopped spinning. 

  He took one shaky breath, then another. It wasn’t him who had confronted Alya, it was Ladybug. He hadn’t forced her to do this, he had begged her to pick a new Chat noir. 

  “ Which she tried to do ”, a treacherous thought reminded him. “ But you turned her down. ” Adrien drew another shaky breath before dispelling the thought from his mind. Yes, she had tried to pick a new Chat noir. Yes, he had turned her down. But had he forced her to unify Tikki and Plagg? 

  He closed his eyes again, trying to make some sense of all the conflicting thoughts running through his head. He had put her in a tricky situation. A tornado was wreaking havoc in Paris and the person who she looked to for help turned her down. 

  Still, he finally decided, he had seriously considered taking the ring back. Up until she told him that she only needed him to do it so that her lucky charm would work again. She didn’t want him, she just wanted her powers. He had left because she didn’t trust him and wanted to do everything on her own. Clearly, she still hadn’t learnt her lesson. 

  Adrien turned around and slammed his head into his pillow. No, he wasn’t guiltless in this. He shouldn’t have left so suddenly, he realized that now. But it wasn’t him who unified Tikki and Plagg. It wasn’t him who refused to pick a new Chat noir. And it wasn’t him who almost attacked Alya over what she posted. That was Ladybug and no one else.  

  He sat up again and forced himself to stop shaking. His head was finally quiet, all thoughts agreeing with his conclusion. He wasn’t guiltless but he shouldn’t blame himself for Ladybug’s actions. 

  He opened his phone and started reading Alya’s latest post again in case he missed something due to his emotions the first time. No, he hadn’t missed anything important. Ladybug had really confronted Alya over her previous post. Adrien reached under his pillow and pulled out the key. There was no more uncertainty in his mind. He had to stop Ladybug, before it was too late. It was his duty, both to himself, to Plagg and to Paris. He slipped the key into the pocket of his pants. The next time someone got akumatized, he would be ready. 

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Ladybug landed on her balcony, not yet ready to go inside. She needed the cold night air to think. 

  “Spots off.” 

  She sat down in the beach chair she kept up there. Tikki was upon her before she even had time to gather her thoughts.

  “What was that?”

  “Please Tikki”, Marinette sighed. “Not now.”

  “Yes now!” Tikki responded and glared at her. “You just attacked Alya!”

  “Attacked?!” Marinette glared back at her. “I asked her to help me and she refused. Then I left. I never attacked her!”

  “Asked her to help you?!” If Marinette thought she had seen Tikki mad before, it was nothing compared to now. “As if it wasn’t bad enough that you were lying to everyone around you. Now you’re even lying to yourself!”

  “I’m not lying to anyone! I told Alya the truth and she...”

  “Your version of the truth!” Tikki moved so that she was floating right in front of Marinette’s face. 

  “I needed her help Tikki! Of course I couldn’t tell her the whole truth. She wouldn’t understand.”

  “How deaf are you?! You couldn’t tell her the truth because if you did, she would never help you. Don’t you hear how that sounds?!”

  Marinette closed her eyes, forcing herself to calm down. She needed Tikki on her side. She opened her eyes again. “I know how that sounds Tikki. I did what I had to do with Chat and I don’t regret it.”

  “Well maybe you should!” Tikki turned around and floated away from her. “Plagg and I had a deal you know”, she said. 

  “What deal?” Marinette asked. 

  “That the next time you went to far, we would stop you.” Tikki was quiet for a moment. “And today Marinette, you went too far.”

  Marinette looked around, suddenly worried. Was Plagg hiding somewhere, just waiting to jump out on her with his Cataclysm? 

  “Relax Marinette”, Tikki said with disdain. “Had he been here, we would have done it already. It was his plan to begin with.” 

  “Then why haven’t you?” Marinette couldn’t stop herself from asking. 

  “Because I worry it would do more harm than good.” Tikki said. “We can still fix this, Marinette.” Tikki turned around again and looked at her. “It’s not too late. You just have to pick a new Chat noir.”

  Marinette sighed before shaking her head. “No Tikki. That’s not happening.”

  Tikki sighed. “Let me rephrase that”, she said. “Tomorrow, you are picking a new Chat noir. End of story.”

  “I’m still the guardian here Tikki”, Marinette reminded her. “I make the decisions.”

  Tikki gave her a single look so filled with fury, darkness and rage that it sent shivers up her spine. “No. Not anymore.” She floated forward again until she was so close she filled Marinette’s entire vision. “Me and Plagg are literally the embodiments of creation and destruction. You don’t wanna mess with us!”

  Tikki gave her one final look. “You are the guardian now Marinette. Start acting like it!”

Chapter Text

After Marinette had gone to bed, Tikki sat down next to Plagg on her desk and stared out the window. 

  “How did it go?” He asked. 

  Tikki shrugged. “Worse than I hoped but better than I expected.” 

  “Did she cross any lines?”

  Tikki hesitated before answering. She twisted her hands as she thought about what she could tell him. For a short moment she thought about lying but decided against it. Plagg was worth more than that. “Yes”, she finally said. “Even if it was unintentional, she did hurt Alya.”

  “She what?!” Plagg exclaimed. Marinette turned in her sleep but she didn’t wake up. “Come on Tikki, we have to stop her!” He said and started flying up towards the bed. 

  “Wait!” Tikki said, flying after him. “Can we talk about this first?”

  “We both agreed”, Plagg said, “that the next time she goes too far, we would stop her. She just went too far Tikki.”

  “I know”, Tikki said, “and I gave her an ultimatum. If she doesn’t find a new Chat noir first thing tomorrow morning, we are taking back our miraculous.” 

  Plagg sighed. “How many chances are you going to give her Tikki? I don’t even think a new hero could help at this point. It’s too late.”

  “No”, Tikki whispered. “Please, we can’t give up hope. Not yet.”

  “Tikki”, Plagg said, placing his hand on her shoulder. “The Marinette you knew is gone. We have to stop this new one before she makes Paris the new Atlantis.” 

  “Please”, Tikki said again. “I just… I can’t Plagg.” She turned away; couldn’t even face her friend. “I can’t. I’m furious about what she’s done but I can’t help but have hope.” She looked at him. “Maybe things will be different tomorrow?”

  Plagg sighed. “No Tikki, they won’t.” He looked over at the sleeping figure of Marinette. “But it’s not like she’s going to hurt anyone in her sleep.” He sighed again before landing on the desk again. “Fine. But if she doesn’t pick a new Chat noir first thing tomorrow, we are doing this. Right?” 

  Tikki landed next to him. “Right”, she whispered. 

  “You have to mean it Tikki”, Plagg said, looking her in the eyes. “Tomorrow she either picks a new Chat noir or she is no longer the guardian. Okay?” 

  Tikki took a deep breath and tried to dispel all doubts from her mind. Still, she couldn’t help but feel like a traitor when she spoke the word. “Okay.”

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Most Parisians had gone to bed by now but a light still shone from the office of Gabriel Agreste. The man in question was sitting behind his desk, pondering over something on his tablet. 

  Nathalie walked up to her boss and looked over his shoulder. On the tablet was the latest post from the Ladyblog. “Have you found something, Sir?” 

  Gabriel didn’t move. “I’m not sure”, he said. “These last two posts seem to indicate that something has happened between Ladybug and Chat noir. This last one is especially interesting.” 

  Nathalie nodded. “It seems Ladybug and Chat noir have had a falling out. Is it something we can use to our advantage?”

  “Yes”, Gabriel smiled and opened up the previous post. “If these images show what I think they are showing, then Ladybug has unified the ring and the earrings. You know what that means.“ He stood up. 

  “But if that’s the case, shouldn’t she have access to infinite power?” Nathalie asked. “That’s what the Grimoire says.”

  Gabriel walked over to a table with some chairs and sat down. Nathalie joined him. “Yes”, Gabriel said. “But it’s likely that Ladybug chose not to use these powers, fearing the repercussions.” He smiled. “That does not change one thing though. Every time she uses them, it takes a heavy toll on her body.” He leaned back. “It’s already clear that something has happened by the latest post from Miss Césaire. The miraculouses are weakening her, making her more susceptible to anger.”

  Nathalie smiled. “Are you planning to akumatize her?”

  “If possible, yes”, Gabriel responded. “But I believe a few more Akumas should be enough to finally defeat her.” He leaned back in the chair. “Soon both miraculouses shall be mine. And then, my dear Emilie, we shall finally be reunited!”

  He did not notice how the smile disappeared from Nathalie’s face. 

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“ Marinette. ”

  Marinette turned in the darkness of her mind. The last thing she wanted right now was to wake up. Never had sleep felt so blissful. 

  “ Marinette! ”

  Still, the annoying voice would not leave her alone. She thought about opening her eyes but decided a few more minutes couldn’t hurt. She wasn’t ready to face another day. Not yet. 

  “ MARINETTE! ”

  Marinette shot straight up, banging her head on the roof before falling back down on her bed. She turned her head slightly and glared at Tikki who was sitting on her pillow. 

  “Was that really necessary Tikki?” 

  “We had to wake you”, Tikki said. “There’s an Akuma attack going on!”

  “What?!” Marinette exclaimed, suddenly wide awake. “Why didn’t you wake me sooner?” 

  Tikki rolled her eyes as Marinette jumped out of bed and grabbed her purse. She quickly opened it and made sure she had some food in there. The Kwamis would need it after the battle. 

  “Tikki! Spots...”

  “Wait!” Tikki shouted, causing Marinette to halt. “We had a deal, remember?”

  “Wha…?!” Marinette stomped her foot on the floor. “You can’t be serious Tikki?!” 

  The Kwami didn’t falter. 

  “There’s an akuma attack going on right now! There’s no time!”

  Tikki looked at Plagg who nodded reassuringly. “Then you should have thought of that sooner.” Plagg held out the ring. 

  “It’s time Marinette.”

  Marinette was shaking. Who did they think they were? She was the guardian, not them! Did they really think finding a new Chat noir was more important than defeating the akuma? “Tikki”, Marinette began, trying not to feel guilty under her anger. “Spots on!”

  Before Tikki had time to protest, she was sucked into the earrings and Marinette felt the familiar rush of power that the transformation brought her.  

  “Cataclysm!” Marinette was barely able to dodge the furious cat flying straight at her. Plagg wasn’t playing around anymore. He actually wanted to hurt her. 

  “Let her go!” He shouted as he flew at her once more. As Marinette dodged him once more, she noticed something. He wasn’t carrying the ring. He must have dropped it when he first activated his cataclysm. 

  “Fight me!” Marinette jumped to the side, tripped over her chair and crashed to the ground. She rolled aside as Plagg came at her once more. Desperate for any way out, she grabbed her desk to stand up, seeing Plagg coming once more from the corner of her eyes. That’s when her finger brushed against something. Something metallic. A ring. 

  Before she even had time to think about it, she grabbed it and put it on her finger. Plagg was close now, there would be no time to dodge. 

  “Tikki! Plagg! Unify!”

  “Nooooo…!” His scream was snuffed out as the ring swallowed him but Marinette did not have time to notice it. The moment she spoke the final word, the terrible weight of the power came crashing down upon her. 

  No longer was she Marinette, nor was she standing in her room. She was everything. Every human that had ever lived and that would ever live. For a short moment, she saw it all and was everything. With a single thought she could have snuffed out lives and created new ones. The very laws of the universe were hers to break and remake as she saw fit. For one terrible moment, nothing was impossible. 

  Then, just like last time, she snapped out of it. She leaned on her desk to steady herself. The memories of what had just happened were fuzzy, her brain not able to comprehend the experience. One thing was clear though. With a single thought, all of that could come back.

   The temptation was ruthless and for a brief moment, she slipped. The desk immediately snapped under her strength. 

  “ Focus ”, her inner voice spoke. “ The Akuma. That’s your mission. Do it! ” Marinette agreed without arguing. She had a city to protect. 

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Adrien was in the middle of breakfast when he got the alert on his phone. Another Akuma was wreaking havoc, not far from his home. His heart started beating faster in his chest. Was this it? He stuck one hand in his pocket and felt the cold metal of the key. 

  Nathalie stood up from the table. “I’m gonna go check on your father. Will you be okay on your own?”

  Adrian did his best to smile reassuringly. “I’ll be fine. I’m used to Akumas by now.”

  Nathalie’s usual unreadable eyes got a hint of sadness to them. “I suppose you are”, she said before leaving the room. Out in the main hall, Adrien could hear her locking the front door. 

  As soon as he heard her footsteps disappear further into the house, he stood up from the table. He might never get an opportunity like this again. It was now or never. 

  Adrien hurried over to the door leading out into the main hall. It was empty. He slowly crept across the huge space, forcing himself to go slow instead of running. If he made any noise, Nathalie might come back to check up on him and he couldn’t risk that. Not when he was this close. 

  He reached the door without any incidents and allowed himself a huge breath of relief. He slowly pulled the key from his pocket. By this point, his hand was shaking so badly he could barely hold it. He gripped his hand with his other hand and drew a deep breath, forcing his body to calm down. 

  Was he really doing this? The chance of his father not noticing that he had left was nonexistent. What would he do when Adrien returned? Would he even return? There was no doubt the akumas were dangerous and this time, Adrien would not have the protection given to him by his miraculous. 

  “ Do you want to rescue Plagg? ” His inner voice spoke. Adrien nodded. There was nothing he wanted more. “ Then open the door. ” Before he had time to second guess himself, Adrien inserted the key and turned it. From the door came a slight click before it swung open. The only thing now standing between Adrien and his freedom was the gate. 

  Adrien hesitantly stepped out onto the stairs leading up to his home. The wind ruffled his hair and the sun shone down upon him. The only thing hinting at something bad going on was the screams he could barely hear. Finding the Akuma wouldn’t be a problem. 

  Adrien hurried across the gravel path leading to the gate. Upon reaching it, he immediately inserted the key into the lock. 

  The gate swung open and before him laid the streets of Paris. But not just that. Behind him stood the mansion, the home that had become his prison. Before him laid freedom. Complete freedom, the chance to do whatever he wanted. A chance to finally be free. 

  “I’m coming Plagg”, he whispered as he took the first step into freedom. 

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Lady noir rushed across the rooftops, using her yo-yo when the gaps were too wide to jump across. With every step, the sounds of battle got louder. 

  She jumped across another house and came upon a four way intersection in chaos. Cars had crashed into each other left and right, civilians were running for their lives, and in the middle of it all, stood a single man. He was covered from head to toe in a dark red suit. On his wrist sat a watch.

  “ The akumatized object! ” Marinette thought. Now she only had to find a way to destroy it. 

  “ You have infinite power... ” 

  Marinette groaned before resisting the temptation. She couldn’t use it. There was no telling what might happen if she did. 

  The man laughed as he saw the chaos all around him. “Finally!” He spun around, fully taking in the scene. “Now, no one will be able to stop me!”

  “Are you sure about that?” Lady noir shouted from the roof. She had to get him away from the civilians and this seemed as good a plan as any. 

  The man spun around again and looked at her, smiling. “How nice of you to show up Ladybug”, he said. 

  Ladybug rolled her eyes. Did every Akuma have to be so cliché? Also, did he not see her new suit? “I’m not Ladybug!” She shouted. There was no hiding it anymore so she might as well lean into it. “And could we please get this over with?”

  The man shrugged. “Fine by me.” Under his feet, a red portal opened and he fell through it. 

  Ladybug immediately spun around, narrowly dodging the hands reaching for her earrings. The man had appeared right behind her. She stumbled back and threw her yo-yo straight towards him. Right in front of his face, another portal opened, smaller than the last one. 

  Her yo-yo disappeared through it, hitting her in the back of her head. Before she had time to pull it back, the portal closed. In her hand, she was left with a useless bit of string. On the roof behind her laid the other part of her yo-yo with a tiny bit of string still attached to it. 

  “How are you going to defeat me without your yo-yo, Ladybug?” The man laughed. 

  The short break gave Lady noir time to compose herself. “I’m not Ladybug!” She shouted before charging him with Chat noir’s staff. With or without her yo-yo, she could still win this. 

  The man didn’t even flinch, instead opening another portal right in front of him. There was no time to stop. 

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Adrien was rushing through the street. His progress was slowed by having to dodge the crowd of panicked people running in the opposite direction. He turned a corner and was faced with a police barricade across the entire street. People were climbing over it, trying to get away from the commotion just a few blocks away. 

  In the chaos, nobody noticed the small boy who jumped the barricade, running in the opposite direction from everyone else. Adrien didn’t even reflect on the potential dangers this could bring. “ I’m coming for you Plagg ”, he thought. “ I’m going to stop her and I will never let her do this to you again. I promise. ” He hoped his Kwami could hear him and maybe find some strength in the words. In knowing he wasn’t all alone in the world. Adrien knew all too well how that felt. 

  He turned another corner and suddenly saw what everyone was running away from. In the middle of a four way intersection, cars had crashed into each other with smoke billowing out from their engines. In the middle of it all stood a single man. 

  “How nice of you to show up Ladybug!” The man shouted. Adrien followed his eyes up to a roof. But he didn’t see Ladybug. Instead, he saw something far worse. Lady noir. She had combined the miraculouses again. Fury and rage filled his entire body. She knew what a risk this was and she still took it! Any doubts he might have had vanished. She wasn’t the protector of Paris. She was its doom.

   “I’m not Ladybug!” Lady noir shouted while Adrien hunkered down beside a car. If he wanted to get his ring back, he needed a plan. “And could we please get this over with?” Adrien cringed. This didn’t seem like the Ladybug he knew. Then again, she wasn’t Ladybug anymore. 

  “Fine by me”, he heard the akumatized victim say. He quickly peaked around the car just as a portal opened under the man's feet that he fell through. Lady noir barely dodged out of the way as the man appeared behind her. Adrien cursed under his breath. How was he supposed to get up there? 

  By the time he got up there, the battle would already be over. His only option was to wait until Ladybug took the man down to the streets again. But he couldn’t just sit idly by while Plagg was being tortured! 

  “ Why did I ever leave you Plagg? ” Adrien fought back the tears. There would be time for that later. Ladybug would have to come down sooner or later. He just had to keep watch on that roof to see where she went. 

  He peaked around the car again and saw Lady noir fall through a portal. He looked around but she was nowhere to be found. The akumatized victim did not move from the roof. Instead, he stood completely still, looking up at the sky, laughing. 

  Still hiding behind the car, Adrien followed his gaze. All he saw was blue sky and some clouds. What was he looking for? He squinted his eyes, really focusing on the sky, and thought he noticed something. A small black dot, falling through a cloud. It was too far to make out what it was. 

  He looked away. As long as the akumatized person did not move, Lady noir couldn’t be far away. He still had a chance to follow her as she left the scene. Adrenaline was flowing through his body, willing him to move, to do something. 

“ Hold on Plagg ”, he thought. “ Not much longer now. ” 

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  Lady noir suddenly found herself above the clouds, quickly plummeting towards the ground, far below her. She twisted in the air to regain her balance but it did nothing to break her fall. The suits did protect them from being damaged but she had never tested their limits before. 

  Her mind was racing for another solution. She didn’t have her yo-yo and the staff would not help her. It was either trust the suits or… “ No! ” She refused to even think about it. That was the one line she refused to cross. 

  Still, as the ground came closer and closer, forcing herself not to reach for the powers became harder and harder. “ It will be okay ”, her mind whispered. “ It’s the only way. The only way to keep Paris safe. ” 

  Now, she could make out people standing on the streets. The people she was supposed to protect. Because of Chat noir’s betrayal, she really did have no choice. Right?

  She was plummeting straight towards a rooftop. It seemed that the portal guy had just teleported her straight up. Her mind kept racing, getting closer to panic. For a split second, she was unable to focus and lost her guard. A split second was all it took. 

  Everything froze. Just like before, she was no longer Marinette. She was everything. She saw what had once been her body, frozen in midair, her face filled with terror. Standing on the roof, she saw the man, laughing as he watched her. “ Portaler. ” She didn’t know how she knew but she knew. He called himself Portaler and the watch was where the Akuma was hiding. She knew this and everything else. Nothing was a secret from her anymore. 

  Was she supposed to be doing something? She didn’t know. It all felt so meaningless now, so inconsequential. She was everything, as close to a god as you could come. Why worry over simple earthly problems?  

  “ Protect them. ” The thought momentarily brought her back to her body. She wasn’t everything, she was Marinette. Protector of Paris. “ The Akuma. ” Yes. She knew what that was. Looking through her own eyes, she saw the man standing on the roof below her. “ Destroy it! ” Destroy it? Was that all she needed to do? She didn’t even have to wave her hand. A simple thought was enough. 

  As soon as she willed her thought to happen, time returned. 

  Lady noir slammed into the roof. She could hear something breaking and prayed it wasn’t her own body. Judging by how much it hurt, she wouldn’t be surprised if it was. She laid there breathless, trying not to move. 

  Shaking from the pain in her right arm, she slowly sat up. Her head felt like it was going to explode and just moving left her winded. She carefully turned her head towards where Portaler had been standing, almost expecting him to be attacking her by now. 

  Instead, she saw the man laying on the ground, completely still. His suit was nowhere to be found. Instead, he was wearing normal civilian clothes again. Had it actually worked? Then she looked down at his arm, where he had been wearing the watch. 

  She quickly averted her eyes but the sight would be forever burned into her mind. “ Destroy it. ” She hadn’t meant it so literally. It looked like the watch had exploded. The arm was burnt beyond recognition and the hand was nowhere to be found. The powers had done what she asked. The watch was destroyed. But at what price?

  “ I can fix this! ” She couldn’t give up. Not now. With her left hand, she found the two pieces that made up her yo-yo. Without thinking about what had just happened, she reached for the powers again. They happily answered. 

  “ Fix it! ” A wave of dizziness came over her but she did not let go of the yo-yo. The two broken pieces reached for each other, mending themselves and leaving behind the yo-yo as she remembered it. 

  “Lucky charm!” She shouted at the top of her lungs, feeling the power course through her body. She didn’t even look at the object she received, instead immediately throwing it above her. “Miraculous Ladybug!”

  As she did so, a wave of ladybugs filled the streets, fixing all the damages caused by the Akuma. The ladybugs covered her entire body and she could feel how the broken bones mended themselves. 

  After fixing her broken body, the ladybugs moved onto the man, recreating his hand and healing the horrible burn marks. They couldn’t change what had happened but they could heal the scars. That would have to be enough.

  She slowly got on her feet. Despite the pain being gone, she was just as tired as before and her head still felt like a ticking bomb. She had to help the man. That was her duty as Ladybug, no matter how bad she felt. She briefly considered dividing Plagg and Tikki but decided against it. She would deal with the aftermath. Just not now. 

  She walked over to the man and reached out her hand. “It’s okay now. You’re okay.”

  The man didn’t even seem to notice her. His eyes were locked on his arm that now looked completely normal. “No”, he whispered. “Fire. Pain. So much pain.”

  Lady noir crouched down next to him. “It’s okay now. It’s all healed.” She reached out and put her hand on his shoulder. Immediately, the man jerked back. 

  “No!” He screamed. “Get away from me!”

  Lady noir pulled back her arm in shock. Most Akuma victims didn’t remember anything. “ Most don’t get their hands burned off ”, a dark voice told her. She ignored it. She was only trying to protect everyone. Besides, it all turned out fine in the end. 

   “You’re okay”, she said again, trying her best to sound compassionate. “I saved you.”

  “No!” The man moved further back, until he was right at the edge of the roof. “My hand, it was...” He pulled it close to his chest, as if trying to protect it from her. 

  “You’re fine now, okay?” Lady noir said, losing her patience. “Hawkmoth can’t hurt you anymore.”

  The man shook his head. “I just… I can’t... ” He shuddered. “Please just leave.”

  She was too tired to deal with this. Did he not appreciate anything that she had done for him?! “Fine”, she said. “I’m sorry for saving your life!”

  With those words she turned around and jumped off the roof, using her yo-yo to swing away. 

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“Come on”, Adrien said, reaching out his hand to a woman laying on the street. “You can’t stay here.” She hesitantly reached out and grabbed his hand. He pulled her to her feet. “The police have set up a barricade a few blocks that way, okay?” He pointed down the street. “They will help you.” The woman nodded but said nothing. Adrien watched as she started walking in the direction he had pointed. Even if he couldn’t help Plagg right now, that didn’t mean he couldn’t help someone else. He looked around for other people needing help but before he found any, he was distracted. 

  From the roof where Lady noir and the Akuma had been battling came an explosion, loud enough to catch Adrien's attention all the way down on the street. What was going on up there? Unless the lucky charm had given her a bomb, there was nothing that could explain an explosion. “ It can’t have given her a bomb, right? ” He desperately wanted to believe it but he wasn’t sure. Ladybug had changed. Perhaps the Lucky charm had to. 

  “ Please be safe Plagg ”, prayed. “ Please. ” 

  As if someone had heard his prayer, a wave of ladybugs filled the air. Broken cars were fixed, people were healed and the very air seemed lighter. Ladybug had won again. Adrien watched the roof again. Surely she would bring the victim down now? That would be his chance. 

  Instead, Adrien saw the red figure of Ladybug swinging away from the scene. He did not see any sign of the victim. “ What's going on? ” he thought. “ She doesn’t even care about the victims anymore? ” He didn’t have time to think about it. Before he lost sight of her, Adrien started running. Sooner or later, she would have to land. He was getting his ring back and he was getting it today!

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“Plagg, Tikki. Divide.”

  She didn’t make it far before she had to stop to catch her breath on another roof. 

  “Tikki, spots off.” The two exhausted Kwamis drifted to the ground before her. Marinette eyed them carefully. Luckily, it seemed they were too tired to attack her right now. Perhaps she would have time to explain. 

  “I’m sorry”, she said, not sure if she meant it or not. “It was the only way.” That much was true. She did what she had to do to save her city. If anything, this was all Chat’s fault for leaving her. Could she really be blamed for his actions?

  If the Kwamis heard her, they didn’t show it. They just sat there, Plagg slowly rocking back and forth while Tikki embraced him. One day, she would make Chat noir pay for this. For now though, she had other things to worry about. 

  Marinette opened her purse and produced a macaron. She split it in half and held out the pieces to the Kwamis. Tikki reached out and grabbed one, offering it to Plagg. He took it without a sound while Tikki took the other piece.

  “Eat up. You'll need your energy.”

  While eating, Tikki and Plagg looked at each other. In the brief moment that their eyes locked, it felt like an entire silent conversation took place. Both Kwamis nodded. Whatever they had said, they agreed. 

  “Wait, what’s going…?”

  “Cataclysm!”

  “Lucky charm!”

  The three voices mixed together but two soon drowned out the third. Two voices, filled with power beyond comprehension; beyond anything humanity could ever dream of understanding. Two voices filled with infinite destruction and creation, the two forces mixing themselves to their owners wishes. 

  The display of power left Marinette stunned and awoke something inside her, something no human had felt for thousands of years. Pure and utter terror. The earliest humans had witnessed powers like this and they knew to fear them. Marinette turned to run, not caring that she was on a roof, but she didn’t even make it a single step. 

  Everything fell away. First went the ground under her feet. Then, as she tumbled into a black abyss, went everything else. If she was screaming, she couldn’t hear it. She couldn’t even see the hand in front of her face or feel her own body. It was as if nothing existed anymore.

  “ Is this what death feels like? ” She found herself wondering. The terror she had felt was gone, as was everything else. If this was death, she didn’t mind. It was almost peaceful. No responsibilities, no angry partners and no city to save. Simply existing was enough. 

  She had no idea how long she had spent in nothingness when the world suddenly returned. One second there was nothing. The next, the void around her was filled by a blinding light, banishing the darkness from existence. Alongside that light came the world and Marinette found herself laying on the ground, staring up at a clear blue sky. 

  She slowly sat up and looked around her. She was sitting in a grass field that stretched for as far as she could see. A gentle breeze was cooling her but it did not seem to affect the grass. 

  “ What happened?” She had no answer. The last thing she could remember was the nothingness and before that… “ Plagg. Tikki. ” What had they done? Marinette shot up to her feet and twisted around, trying to locate the Kwamis but they were nowhere to be found. How long had she spent here? There was no way to tell. 

  The peace she had felt earlier was gone. She remembered what had happened before that. The utter terror her body had felt, facing that endless power. Tikki had said that she and Plagg were powerful. Marinette hadn’t realized just how much she meant it. There was no fighting a power like that. She might as well give up. She laid down in the grass. Maybe she could stay here forever. That didn’t seem so bad. 

  “ Then what about Paris? ”

  The voice forced her to sit up again. She had once sworn to always keep her city safe. It didn’t matter what threatened it, even if it was endless power. She still had to try. 

  She reached up to feel her earrings. As long as she had the miraculouses, all was not lost. 

  Her fingers brushed against her ears and then…

  Nothing. 

  Where the earrings were supposed to be sitting was nothing. Only a small hole in either ear proved that they had ever been there. 

  Ice cold fear gripped her as she looked down on her hands, hoping despite it all to find a ring sitting there. Nothing. 

  Marinette opened her mouth, filling the place with a scream she could no longer contain. A scream she had been saving since the day Chat left. A scream containing all her pain, sorrow and anger. It filled the air around her with sound, a heartbreaking sound from the bottom of her heart. 

  Nothing changed. 

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  The Kwamis in question were currently flying across the city, as quickly as they could, carrying their miraculouses in their paws. 

  “Plagg!” Tikki shouted. “How long are we going to keep her there?”

  “As long as necessary”, came the answer. “Don’t worry about it, she’ll be fine!”

  “It’s not her I’m worried about!” Tikki shouted back. Just as she spoke the words, a car in the street below disappeared as if it had never been there. 

  “We can’t just open a hole in reality and create a new dimension without consequences!”

  “Did you have a better idea?” Plagg countered. “We had to do something.”

  “No but...” Tikki shook her head. What was done was done, there was no point in arguing about it. “Let’s just get this over with so we can release her before something bad happens.”

  By her side, Plagg nodded just as the Agreste mansion came into view.  

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  In another dimension, Marinette was trying desperately to figure out what to do. She had feared the Kwamis might try something but this? She hadn’t even known that they could do something like this. Master Fu had certainly never mentioned it. 

  “ Fu. ” The thought brought back memories of all their lessons. The ones that Chat had never been a part of she now realized. She shook her head. There would be time for that later. Right now, she needed to find a way out of here. 

  Had her old master never told her anything that could help right now? She sighed. All their lessons had been about how to use her miraculous. They hadn’t talked about what to do if her Kwami rebelled against her. Or had they?

  “ A Kwami must always follow a direct order from his or her holder. ” It had been one of their first lessons and at the time, Marinette had promised Tikki never to use it. It wasn’t until now that she realized why it might be useful. 

 “ I’m sorry Tikki ”, she thought for the umpteenth time. Did the words even mean anything any longer? 

  “ This isn’t your fault ”, her voice reminded her. “ Had Chat noir never left you, none of this would have happened. ” She nodded. The voice was right. No matter what she had to do, it wasn’t her fault. She had no other choice. But could the Kwamis even hear her from in here? There was only one way to find out. 

  “Plagg! Tikki! Release me!”

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  On earth, Plagg and Tikki froze. “Fight it Tikki!” Plagg growled but he knew they had no chance. No matter how strong they were, they could not ignore a direct order from their vielder. That, however, did not mean that he wouldn’t try. 

  “I’m trying Plagg”, Tikki said. He turned his face and saw that she had closed her eyes in concentration. He felt the unbreakable force of the wielders will try to force him into destroying the dimension. Still he fought even though he knew that it was hopeless. 

  A memory of Adrien filled his mind and gave him strength. His holder and the only one he would ever want. “ I’m sorry Adrien ”, he thought, letting a tear fall from his eyes. “ I can’t fight this. ”

  “Cataclysm!” He finally relented. As he spoke the words, the force disappeared and he was once more in control of his actions. 

  “Quickly Tikki!” Plagg shouted. “Before she...” 

  Even though he could not hear Marinette, he could not avoid hearing her direct commands. 

  “ Return the miraculouses to me. ” 

  Fighting it was pointless. Marinette had won. Plagg did not know what fate might befall Paris. He gave the Agreste mansion one last look. They were so close yet so far away. Then, he and Tikki both turned around and started their somber flight back towards Marinette. 

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Marinette was back on the roof where she had fallen into the abyss. Almost as soon as she spoke the command, the area all around her had disappeared and she had returned here. 

  She sat down on the roof, just to feel it again. Tikki hadn’t been lying yesterday. Getting on the bad side of her and Plagg did not come without consequences. Still, she now knew how to control them even if she didn’t like using it. 

  “ They gave you no choice ”, she reminded himself. “ Chat noir gave you no choice. ” She drew a deep breath and stabilized herself. It was true. Being a guardian was not easy and it meant that she had to make some tough decisions. This was just one of them. Now she was just waiting for the traitorous Kwamis to return with her miraculouses. 

  She could almost feel them before she saw them. Perhaps it was a result of being around Kwamis for so long or something that came with being the guardian. It could also be because she had felt the true power of destruction and creation, something that she would never be able to forget. 

  Soon after she first felt them, she could see them. They were both doing their best to drag the flight out as long as possible but they couldn’t ignore her command. They were pulled towards her by an invisible force, stronger than even them. 

  “Please Marinette!” Tikki yelled as soon as she got close enough. “You can’t do this!”

  Marinette gave her a dark look. “Why are you even doing this?” She crossed her arms. “I’m doing what’s best for the city after Chat noir left us!”

  Plagg snorted. “Best for the city? You will destroy it!” 

  “I’m not that Chat noir, okay!” Marinette snapped.

  “No”, Plagg said. “At least he had a reason to do it.”

  The two Kwamis floated close enough for Marinette to reach out and grab the miraculouses. As soon as her hands closed around them, her heartbeat slowed. Everything was as it should be again. Paris was safe. 

  “You are never allowed to attack me again”, she said to the Kwamis. “You will also never disobey me again.” As she spoke the commands, she could feel them take effect. Plagg and Tikki would not hurt her again. 

   Plagg looked at her with sad eyes. Tikki just looked away. “You really don’t get it, do you?” 

  Marinette sighed. She had had enough critique for one day. “Don’t get what Plagg?”

  “How do you think Hawkmoth is controlling Nooro?” He slowly shook his head. “What makes you any better than him?”

  Marinette curled her fists in an attempt to control her anger. “How dare you?” She quietly spoke. “After everything I’ve done, how dare you?”

  “How dare I…?!”

  “No!” Marinette interrupted. “How dare you compare me to him? I have sacrificed everything for this.” She tightened her fist, feeling blood slowly trickling down her hands. “My friends, my family, my love. I have sacrificed everything to stop him!” She stopped for a second to breathe. “So yes Plagg, how dare you?!” She looked him straight in the eyes, finally expelling all her doubts. She knew who she was and she knew why she was doing this. She did what had to be done, no matter what. Because that was what it meant to be a hero. 

  “Here is what you need to realize Plagg”, she said. “I’m not weak like Chat noir. I’m not evil like Hawkmoth. I will do whatever it takes to protect this town and do you know why?” Before Plagg had time to say anything, she answered her own question. 

  “Because I’m Ladybug!”

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Her final word was carried by the wind, out across Paris. It resounded through the streets and into homes. In a place not too far away, Hawkmoth stood by a window in a dark room filled with butterflies. He smiled as the word reverberated all around him. 

  “She’s losing it.”

  A woman stood next to him. She too was smiling. “It seems you were correct. Without Chat noir, it all became too much for her.”

  Hawkmoth laughed. “And it was her own inability to trust that drove him away! This is perfect Mayura.” He smiled. “Now all she needs is a push in the right direction.”

  He reached out to the Akuma, still flying around over Paris.  “She is already tired from her last battle. When she unifies the miraculous this time, it will be the end of her.”

  “Are you sure this is safe?” The woman asked. 

  “No”, Hawkmoth answered. “I hope the strain will kill her but if not... I guess we’ll just have to see.” He watched through the Akumas eyes, seeing its previous victim, still sitting on the roof. Probably traumatized by ladybugs actions. 

  “Multiply my little Akuma!” Hawkmoth laughed. “Multiply and evilize them!”

  A wave of purple butterflies filled the air, evilizing anyone that got in their way.

Chapter Text

“Tikki. Spots on!”

  Back in the streets of Paris, Ladybug was swinging with her yo-yo, heading home. The battle was over and she desperately needed some rest before school. In her other hand, she was holding the ring. Considering how tired she was after the last battle, there was no telling what might happen if she tried to put it on. 

  Maybe she could skip the first lesson? Just thinking the thought made her cringe but she desperately needed some sleep. Using both miraculouses had used up all the energy she had built up during the night. 

  “ Why did you have to leave me? ” She swung her yo-yo again and tried to force the thought out of her head. Wishing things were different wouldn’t fix anything. Chat noir had left and there was no changing that. 

  “ And too think I once liked him. ” She scoffed. He had finally shown her his true colors. He was a weak, spineless, jerk who did not even deserve to be her partner. He was butthurt master Fu had chosen her and not him and because of that, he left her. Well she was better off alone anyways. 

  She swung her yo-yo again briefly closing her eyes, imagining the warm and comfy bed waiting for her at home. 

  She slammed right into a wall. 

  Before she even had time to realize what had happened she fell backwards. Luckily, the street was not far away. She landed on her back, winded and with the entire world spinning. If she thought her head had been hurting before, it was nothing compared to what she was feeling now. Marinette groaned and closed her eyes.

  “ What happened? ” She had no answers. She had only closed her eyes for a second and she was sure there had not been any walls in her path. Walls didn’t just appear out of nowhere. That meant that she somehow must have moved. The more she tried to focus, the more her head hurt but she needed answers. 

  “Ladybug!” The loud voice came from somewhere behind here. It was also strangely familiar. Even though her head protested, she carefully rolled over onto her stomach and opened her eyes. She immediately noticed two things. 

  Firstly, the world had stopped spinning. That was a good thing. 

  Secondly, the person shouting her name was covered in a red suit with a watch clearly sitting on his arm. That was a bad thing. 

  Something wasn’t adding up here. She had defeated the akuma. No matter how much her head hurt, she was sure of that. She would never be able to forget the image of that burnt arm. So why was he back? 

  “You idiot!” 

  This voice she recognized. Plagg. 

  “You didn’t capture the akuma!” 

  As soon as he said it, Ladybug knew that he was right. She had defeated the akuma but she had never captured it. While dealing with her own broken body and the burnt arm, she had completely forgotten about it. Plagg was right. She was an idiot. 

  “Give me the ring!” Plagg shouted as Portaler slowly approached. “You need Chat noir!” 

  Ladybug grunted and pushed herself to her feet. “No. He left us.”

  “You can’t do this on your own!”

  Ladybug started swinging her yo-yo. “Watch me!”

--------------------------------------------------------------

Adrien stopped as a cloud of butterflies filled the air. What had she done? She hadn’t forgotten to capture an akuma since their very first fight. 

  He started running faster, dodging butterflies left and right. He was the only one who could save Paris now. Save it from the very person supposed to be their saviour. Ladybug. 

  Ha vaulted over a car and nearly fell into a portal that opened right in front of him. Only a quick jump saved him and when he looked around, portals were opening up all over Paris. 

  “ This is all your fault! ” He couldn’t stop the dark thoughts from coming, not when he knew they were right. If he had never left her, this wouldn’t have happened. If he hadn’t renounced Plagg, this wouldn’t have happened. If he hadn’t been so pathetic, this wouldn’t have happened. This was all his fault. 

  “ But is that really true?” The conflicting thoughts weren't helping him. “ Why do you take the blame for her actions? ” Perhaps they were right. Maybe this whole mess wasn’t completely his fault. Not that it mattered. The only thing that mattered now was getting back his ring and putting an end to this. 

  He dodged a few more portals before reaching the next intersection. All around him, people were running for their lives. He wanted nothing more than to help them but there was no time. He had to stop both the akuma and Ladybug and the only way to do that was with Plagg. 

  “ Where are you Plagg? ” He whispered to himself. “ We need to stop this. ” Wherever he looked, he only saw more akumatized people. 

  Then fate decided to do him a favor. Just a few meters in front of him, Ladybug slammed into a wall. 

----------------------------------------------------------------

This wall wasn’t any softer than the previous ones. She thought for sure something would have broken inside her at this point but the suit was holding up. “ But for how long? ” She had to end this and she had to do it now. 

  Portaler was laughing as he approached her. “It’s over Ladybug! I win!” 

  Ladybug spat out a mouthful of blood. “I saved you!” She shouted, venting her frustrations. “Why are you doing this?!” 

  “Saved me?” Portaler shouted back. “Do you have any idea what you did?! This is revenge!”

  “I did what was necessary! Why can't anyone just trust me?!”

  “Necessary?!” Portaler’s voice was getting darker as he got riled up. “I’ll show you necessary!” He raised his arms in the air. “Come my brethren! We have a bug to squash!”

  Ladybug could practically feel the gaze of every akuma turning towards her. Hundreds of Portaler, all wanting to kill her. 

  “You can’t do this alone!” She heard a small voice in her ear. “Give me the ring. I will find him!”

  For a brief second, she actually considered it. All around her, copies of Portaler were running towards her. Beyond that, the people that hadn’t been akumatized were running for their lives. Maybe she couldn’t do this on her own. Maybe she did need help. 

  “ No! ” She remembered and smiled. “ I’m Ladybug. There’s nothing I can’t do! ” She had said it just minutes ago. Now it was time she proved it. 

  The first portal opened under her feet. Then everything descended into chaos. 

Up became down, which became left, which became down again, until she had no idea where she was. Every time she appeared, she swung her yo-yo, often hitting one or two akumas. It made no difference. 

  She was getting beaten from all sides of her body at the same time. Blocking a punch to the head would lead to getting hit in the back. Protecting her back exposed her stomach. The world spun as she kept swinging her yo-yo, praying for an opening she could use to regain control. 

  “You need help!”

  Somehow, Plagg had managed to stay with her despite everything. She couldn’t see him in the chaos but she knew he was listening. 

  “Then help…!”

  Her words were cut short by a hard kick to her stomach, followed by an elbow to her head. Then she fell through another portal. Had it not been for her suit, she would have been knocked out cold or even killed by now. 

  “Give me the ring!”

  Ladybug grunted and blocked a punch while two others slipped through her defenses. She fell through another portal and slammed hard into the ground. Despite the suit, she could feel something breaking. She just hoped it wasn’t anything important. 

  “Lucky charm!” She shouted. In the sky above her, an object appeared. She reached out her hand and barely caught it before another portal opened below her. Trusting the suit to deal with the beating, she focused on the item. In her hand laid the small porcelain figurine of a black cat. 

  “NO!” She shouted, throwing the figurine into the ground as hard as she could, shattering it into a thousand pieces. She felt like a bouncing ball, bouncing back and forth between the akumas. Defending herself was hopeless. Block one and two others would hit their mark. 

  She had no idea where she was, what was happening or what she was supposed to do. The sky swirled by, then the street and then a building. The only constant was the akumas. The constant, never-ending, stream of akumas, all trying to kill her. 

  The suit was slowly failing. Her right leg broke as she crashed into the ground again. Her left arm broke when she slammed into a wall. Her ribs cracked as one akuma managed to land an especially good blow. She had to do something; anything. 

  But she was all alone. Helpless. 

  She had but one option. 

  But was it really the only option? 

  Plagg didn’t believe she could do this. Tikki didn’t believe she could do this. Alya didn’t believe she could do this. Even her lucky charm didn’t believe she could do this. Did they have any idea what she gave up every day to protect this town? Did anyone? 

  “ No, they don’t. ” She agreed with the voice. Everyone had left her. First Chat noir because he wanted more than she could give. Then Plagg because he refused to let him go. She lost Alya because she refused to believe her. Because she put too much faith in Chat noir. 

  Her chest clenched as she remembered the last one to leave her. Tikki. She had left her because she too refused to see that Chat noir was gone. 

  Why could no one understand that she didn’t need him, that she was just fine on her own? She had given years of her life to this town and this was how they repaid her? Even the people she had saved had turned against her. 

  She just wanted a break. A break from everything where she could just relax. Was that really too much to ask? She wanted to sleep. Just go back home, fall asleep and not wake up until she was rested. Until all of this was forgotten. Until Chat noir was just a distant memory. 

  Yes. This was her only option. The only one that she had left. 

  Slowly, she held up the ring, forcing herself to ignore the pain and the akumas. 

  “Please! Don’t do this!” 

  She placed the ring on her finger. Her heart broke for Plagg but he was part of the problem too. If someone had just believed in her, maybe everything would have been different. 

  As she fell through another portal and the beating stopped for a short moment, she spoke the words she had once promised never to speak. 

  “Plagg! Tikki! Unify!”

  As she spoke the words, she felt the unification awaken the powers within her. She embraced them before the tiredness hit her. 

  “End this.”

  The very second she spoke the words, her will was brought into the world. Everything stopped. She fell through the last portal, landing heavily on the street with her face up towards the sky. 

  For a moment she just laid there, fighting to stay awake as the weight of the powers crashed upon her. All around her, it was quiet. Her body still hurt but the beating had stopped. Everything was peaceful. 

  Sadly, it could not last forever. Lady noir knew she still had work to do. She opened her mouth to divide Tikki and Plagg again but found she could not produce any sound. She tried to move her arm but to no avail. She had succeeded but it had come at a cost. She had no energy left. None at all. 

  All around her, sounds were slowly coming back. People were speaking, though she could not make out what they were saying. She tried speaking again and found she could now make a small sound. Far from enough but progress. She tried moving her head to the side and it begrudgingly did as it was told.

  What she saw shocked her. The street was almost fine. The only thing that really needed repairing was herself. Across the street, she also saw people, slowly sitting up and rubbing their heads. Probably former Portalers who had now been freed. That meant that she had won. That it had worked. That she had done it. 

  Figuring that third times the charm, she tried speaking again. 

  “Plagg. Tikki. Divide.” 

  The words were hoarse and could barely be heard but they were enough. She felt a great relief as the power completely left her. Almost immediately, she felt good enough to try and sit up. 

  Which was a great mistake. 

  She fell back on the street and fought back the tears. Her body was still badly broken. She wouldn’t be doing any moving until she fixed that. 

  Before she could do that though, she had to capture the akuma. She turned her head and saw it slowly flying away. With the arm that wasn’t broken, she threw out her yo-yo and caught it. She released it in silence, too tired to say her usual phrase.

  Now all she had to do was fix everything. 

   Then she remembered what she had done with the lucky charm. 

  “You can’t fix this!” Plagg screamed at her. “You messed up and now you can’t fix it!” 

  Ladybug wished she could lift her arm to swat him away but just the thought sent up a wave of pain. The suit would heal her but it would take some time. For now, she had to listen to him.

  “It’s fine Plagg”, she mumbled. “I’m the only one who got hurt.” 

  Plagg was silent for a moment. Then she felt him slip the ring of her finger. She was too tired and too damaged to stop him.
  “What are you doing?” 

  “I don’t want you to do anything drastic”, Plagg answered. “You weren’t the only one who got hurt.”

  The air froze in her lungs. Not the only one who got hurt. “Who?” When Plagg didn't immediately answer, she asked again. “Who Plagg? Tell me!”

  “You want to know?!” Plagg snapped. “Then sit up and look!”

  The suit worked fast. Her body still hurt but Ladybug found that it responded when she told it to sit up. 

  She slowly turned around, looking for whoever was hurt. At first she didn’t see anything. Then she noticed the original Portaler. He was a normal man now. A normal man who laid very still in the street. By his side, another man was doing chest compressions. 

  A man was doing chest compressions. 

  Chest compressions. 

  It took several seconds before it hit her. The original Portaler was laying still in the street and a man was doing chest compressions. What had she done?

  The man turned his head towards her and her entire body jolted. It was Adrien. 

  “You killed him.”

------------------------------------------------------------------

Hawkmoth stood still, frozen in place. 

  “Did she just...?”

  By his side, Mayura nodded. “Yes. I think she did.”

  None of them moved for a long moment, both trying to wrap their minds around the situation. 

  “She killed him.” Hawkmoth spoke the words, tasting them. He had always known people might get hurt. He just hadn’t thought it would be Ladybug who killed someone. 

  Then he felt it. Something he had been hoping for since day one. He felt Ladybug break, felt her emotions run wild. Felt that she was ready. Finally ready to accept his offer. 

  He held out his hand, letting a white butterfly land on it. He cupped his hand over it, filling it with his evil intentions. Ladybug had messed up for the last time. He smiled as he spoke the phrase for what might be the final time. 

  “Fly away my little akuma and evilize her!”

------------------------------------------------------------------

“You killed him.” It wasn’t the words that hit her. It was the way he spoke them. He didn’t sound angry, nor did he sound disappointed. He just sounded shocked. Like he didn’t believe what she had just done. 

  She had to fix this. As she rushed over, she saw Adrien take a step back. Her heart broke but she didn’t have time for that now. 

  She knelt down next to the man. He wasn’t breathing. Adrien had already tried chest compressions and they hadn’t worked. What could she possibly do to fix this?

  “ The lucky charm could have helped. ” Ladybug knew the voice was correct but admitting it hurt. She had messed up and it had led to this. Her own actions had led to this. 

  Maybe there was still hope. 

  Filling her words with all the hope she had left, she swung her yo-yo. 

  “Lucky charm!”

  She held out her arm and captured the object. It was the same figurine as before. Her lucky charm still thought she needed help. She resisted the urge to break this one as well. 

  “Miraculous ladybug!” 

  She threw the object high into the air, hoping, praying even, that it would work. That the ladybugs would erase her mistake and prove once and for all that she didn’t need any help. That she could do this on her own. 

  She closed her eyes, not daring to look at the result. What if this didn’t work? What if she had really killed this man? Then what? She could already see the post Alya would write. 

  Ladybug - Hero or Murderer?

  “You can open your eyes”, Adrien said dryly. “It’s done.”

  Ladybug slowly opened her eyes. Had it worked?

  The man laid just where he had laid before, still not breathing. Her hand started shaking. It quickly spread throughout her body until she could barely stand, sobbing uncontrollably. 

  “Please”, she wept, to whoever would listen. “I didn’t… This isn’t… I’m sorry!” Ever since Chat noir left, she had fought to control her emotions. Now, it all became too much. There was no stopping the tears from coming, not after this. 

  “This isn’t what?” Adrien said. “Not your fault?” He scoffed. “Then who’s fault is it? Chat noir’s?!” 

  “No, it’s just...” She couldn’t even finish the sentence. Who’s fault was it really? She didn’t even know anymore. She had thought she knew, thought she was doing the right thing. But was that really the case? Someone had died. Was she really blameless?

  “Watch out!” She saw Adrien throwing himself towards her. Then everything turned dark as she felt a new presence enter her mind. 

------------------------------------------------------------------

Adrien couldn’t believe his eyes; didn’t want to believe them. 

  “ THIS IS NOT YOUR FAULT! ” The voice screaming within him was all that stood between him and another panic attack. A man laid dead in the street and it was his fault. No matter how he saw it, he wasn’t blameless. He should have realized that Ladybug would never pick a new Chat noir. 

  But could he really have predicted this? Not even in his wildest dreams had he thought that Ladybug would ever do something like this. She had always been Ladybug, the protector of Paris. When had she become this thing instead? 

  He turned his head to where she was just sitting up. 

  “You killed him.”

  He didn’t shout yet he was sure she heard him. The only thing his voice conveyed was shock. Shock over what she had done. Over what she had become. 

  Ladybug rushed to his side, suddenly on her feet again, and Adrien found himself taking a step back. He didn’t know if it was from fear or disgust. Perhaps a bit of both. The chest compressions didn’t matter anymore. The man was dead and there was no changing that.

  She was Ladybug again, having separated Plagg and Tikki. He looked at her but couldn’t see the black cat. He looked down at her hand and realized that the ring too was gone. This was his best chance to get the ring and it was gone. He couldn’t believe his luck. 

  He saw Ladybug swinging her yo-yo and shout the now familiar words. 

  “Lucky charm!”

  He didn’t have time to see what object she received before she threw it up in the air. 

  “Miraculous ladybug!”

  As the wave of Ladybugs filled the air, he almost felt a sliver of hope. The miraculous ladybug had always fixed everything in the past. Perhaps it could fix even this. 

  The wave swept all around him but he soon saw that it wouldn’t work. There wasn’t a lot that had been broken from the fight but even the small things remained untouched. 

  “ Just like New York ”, he remembered. The lucky charm had to be created for the fight. A lucky charm created after the fight would never work. 

  “ What happened to the original one? ” He didn’t know and he didn’t care. The only thing that mattered now was that Ladybug had messed up. She had messed up and someone had died as a consequence. If he had had any doubts about his plan, they were all gone now. 

  “You can open your eyes”, he said dryly. “It’s over”. 

  He saw her open her eyes, first filled with a weak hope, then only filled with despair. She broke down, sobbing and shaking. To his surprise, he felt no urge to help her. She had put herself in this position and he didn’t feel sorry for her. 

  “I didn’t… This isn’t… I’m sorry!”

  “This isn’t what?” He spat out. “Not your fault?” Even now, she refused to see the truth. He wasn’t blameless but this wasn’t his fault. He wasn’t the one who killed someone. “Then who’s fault is it? Chat noir´s?!”

  “No, it’s just...”

  Adrien scoffed. She was pathetic. Broken and pathetic. He was just about to start searching for Plagg, leaving her to her fate, when he noticed it. The purple butterfly, quickly approaching. It was no question who it was headed for. There also wasn’t any question about what would happen when it got there. 

  “Watch out!” He screamed, throwing himself towards Ladybug. No matter what he felt about her, he couldn’t let her get akumatized. 

  She looked up and met his eyes for a short moment. Then the butterfly entered her earring. 

-------------------------------------------------------------------

“ Lady justice. I’m Hawkmoth. The only one still capable of helping you. ”

  “No”, Ladybug murmured. “No, I won’t do this.” She fought her anger but it was a losing battle. She could almost feel Hawkmoth smiling. 

  “ Don’t you want revenge? Revenge against all of those that have wronged you? Revenge against the partner that left you? ”

  “I killed someone”, she tried arguing. “I can’t do...”

  “ But did you really? ”, Hawkmoth asked. “ Who is really to blame for this? Had Chat noir never left, this would never have happened. ”

  The last of her defenses were swept away. Hawkmoth spoke the truth and she knew it. Of course this wasn’t her fault. She was Ladybug, the protector of Paris. How could she be a murderer?

  “Yes”, she agreed. “I want revenge. I want to show Paris who the real villain is.”

  Hawkmoth’s smile grew wider. “ Then I give you the power of unlimited creation. Enough power to strike Chat noir down, once and for all. All I ask is that you give me the... ”

  “Ladybug and Cat miraculous”, Ladybug finished. “Consider it done.” She already had them both. She was using the earrings and the ring was right on her... Plagg. 

  “The ring”, she said. “I don’t have it.”

  “ Then take my powers and bring it back! ” 

  A pink goo covered her body and from it rose, not Ladybug but something far more powerful and sinister. 

  Lady justice was born.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

When Adrien saw the akuma enter her earrings, he knew that it was over. There was no stopping what was to come. The only hope he and the rest of Paris had now was another superhero; one covered in black. Chat noir. 

  But he still didn’t have the ring. He took one hesitant step forward, towards Ladybug who now had the purple mask in front of her face. He didn’t know how much time he had but perhaps he could find the ring in time. 

  “Wrong way!” 

  Adrien jumped at the sudden voice in his ear. A voice he would recognize anywhere and one he feared he might never hear again. Plagg. 

  “Come on!”  

Adrien turned around and barely caught a glimpse of the kwami before he flew away. He quickly followed, trusting that Plagg knew what he was doing. He threw one last look over his shoulder towards Ladybug. The very moment that the akuma died, her path had been finalized. There was no turning back now. The only thing Adrien could do was try to minimize the damage. 

  He followed Plagg into a narrow alley where they would not be seen. The kwami turned around and Adrien saw that he was holding the ring in his paws. 

  Suddenly, Adrien didn’t know what to do. He wanted to tell Plagg he was sorry, that he would never let him go again and that he would always be there for him. But no words could convey all he needed to say. 

  “I’m sorry”, he finally said. The words weren’t enough but he hoped Plagg would understand. Understand just how much he wanted to say with those simple words, understand just how sorry Adrien truly was. “Truly, truly sorry.” 

  His lip quivered when he saw Plagg smile. 

   “Yeah, I know”, Plagg said. “You are really sorry and you owe me a ton of cheese.” He held out the ring. “But we don’t have time for that now.”

  Adrien opened his mouth but Plagg stopped him. 

  “Trust me Adrien. Don’t get me wrong, you will be apologizing for the rest of your life but now is not the time.” He dropped the ring in Adrien’s hands. 

  “The best apology is you returning, okay?” Plagg smiled again. “You came back for me. No one has ever done that before. Thank you.” 

  Adrien didn’t know what to say. Could the kwami really forgive him that easily? He didn’t deserve forgiveness. He didn’t deserve Plagg. Didn’t deserve all the trust placed in him. But maybe he could. 

  Plagg’s smile broadened as Adrien took the ring and placed it on his finger. When he spoke the words he had spoken so many times before, they meant something new. They were an apology for all he had done wrong and they were a promise. A promise to do better. To always try and be better. 

  “Plagg! Claws out!”

Chapter Text

Lady justice looked around the street. Plagg was nowhere to be found. She couldn’t even see Adrien, nor any other people. They all must have fled when she was akumatized. Despite the darkness within her, she smiled at this. That meant they wouldn’t get hurt. She was still the protector of Paris. The only person she wanted to hurt was Chat noir. No one else had to come to any harm. 

  She crouched next to the only person still on the street. Portaler. Hawkmoth had told her she had unlimited creation. Did that mean that she could create life? Bring him back?

  “ I’m sorry. ” To her surprise, Hawkmoth sounded genuinely sad. “ The only thing capable of bringing him back is the wish. ” 

  Lady justice stood up and nodded. “I will get you the miraculouses. Then everything will be back to normal.” 

  “ Yes ”, Hawkmoth agreed. “ I will help you fix everything. Now bring me the miracle box! ”

  Lady justice hesitated. “That wasn’t part of the deal.”

  “ We will use it to lure Chat noir out. Unless you have a better idea? ”

  “I can’t let you see where it is. I’m still the guardian.”

  She could hear a hint of annoyance in Hawkmoth's voice. “ We’re on the same side, Lady justice. We both want to punish Chat noir and we both want to keep Paris safe. Let me help you. ”

  “Fine”, she conceded. “Where should I bring it?” 

  Within her, Hawkmoth smiled. “ Mayura will meet you. ”

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Running across the rooftops as Chat noir was something Adrien never thought he’d experience again. Though it had only been a few days since last time, it felt like a lifetime. He landed on the edge of a roof and tried to calm himself. He didn’t have time to enjoy this. The only reason he was back was to stop Ladybug. Stop the person he had once loved. This dampened his mood a little. 

  Still, he knew that she needed to be stopped. She had killed a person she was meant to protect. All because she was too stubborn to realise that she needed help. Would she ever be able to redeem herself from something like that? 

  Chat noir sighed and shook his head. He didn’t know and it didn’t matter. First, he had to stop her. Then they could worry about how to move forward. That meant he had to find her first. 

  “ If I were Hawkmoth, what would I do? ” He found himself asking. The answer came quickly. “ The same thing as always. The ring and the earrings. ” Chat noir looked down on his own hand where the ring was sitting. Hawkmoth needed that ring to complete his plan, whatever that was. That meant Ladybug would have to come to him. 

  At least that’s what it would have meant if one other thing wasn’t in play. The miracle box. Chat noir groaned. Ladybug was the guardian. Since she was now under Hawkmoth’s control, it was only a matter of time before he had the miracle box. 

  Using his staff, he jumped up onto a roof and started walking in circles. If Hawkmoth got the box, it was game over. He wasn’t even sure he could defeat Ladybug alone. There was no way he would defeat Hawkmoth and Mayura at the same time, fused with multiple miraculouses. 

  Therefore, preventing Hawkmoth from getting the box was number one. Defeating Ladybug was only number two. Maybe if he got the box, he could give out the miraculouses to their holders. He could probably convince Alya to help him. She seemed to already be suspecting something. She could then convince Nino to help out. 

  Yes, that could work. Normally, he would probably be able to take Ladybug in a fair fight but there was no telling what Hawkmoth had done with her. 

  He nodded slowly to himself. It wasn’t a good plan but it was a plan. Get the miracle box, distribute the miraculouses, and defeat Ladybug. Firstly, however, he would have to find her. 

  “ Or do you? ” 

  Chat noir smiled as the sudden thought popped into his head. Maybe he didn’t have to find Ladybug. Instead, she would find him. 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lady justice stopped a block from her home. Power rushed within her, longing to be used. Far away, she knew Hawkmoth was watching her every move and could remove those powers in an instant. Still, she hesitated. She was Ladybug, guardian of Paris. Was she really about to reveal her identity to Hawkmoth? 

  “ But you’re not Ladybug. Chat noir made sure of that. ”

  Lady justice clenched her fist. The voice was right. Ladybug would never reveal herself to Hawkmoth but Lady justice would. 

  “ Hope you like what you have done. ” She thought, hoping Chat noir could hear it. “ This is all your fault. ”

  She rushed forward, jumping across the streets before landing on her balcony. Working fast, she opened her hatch and entered her room, a small part of her still hoping Hawkmoth hadn’t figured out where they were. 

  She opened her closet and withdrew a box from the deepest part. She then opened her desk drawer and produced a key. Opening the lock to the box, she removed the top. Before her lay the miracle box, a red oval with black spots. The box Ladybug had been tasked with guarding. The box Lady justice would now give away. 

  “ Finally! ” She heard Hawkmoth exclaim. “ The miracle box is mine! ” 

  Her hands were shaking a bit as she lifted the box up. It was the most beautiful and powerful object in existence. The power of the kwamis inside were enough to forever change the earth. 

  “ Stay put ”, Hawkmoth said. “ Mayura is on her way to you. ” 

  Lady justice nodded and sat down on her couch, placing the box next to her. Soon, Chat noir would be hers. Then all of Paris would see who the real villain was. 

  Not having anything better to do, she turned on the tv. Nadja Chamack was giving a live update. 

  “Citizens of Paris”, she began. “This is a dark day. We are still not sure what’s going on but on the accord of multiple eyewitnesses, it seems like Ladybug has been akumatized.” 

  Lady justice scoffed. Dark day? This was the best day in the history of Paris. The day Chat noir finally got what he deserved. 

  “If that is true, our only hope now lies with Chat noir but he has not been seen for multiple days”, Nadja continued. 

  Lady justice considered throwing something at the tv. Chat noir being their only hope? She was their only hope! He was the reason Portaler had died. Someone had to stop him!

  Suddenly, something landed behind Nadja and the entire crowd gasped in unison. Lady justice leaned closer. “ Is that...? ”

  “You want answers? I got them.” Nadja turned around and the camera focused on the figure standing behind her. Chat noir. 

  “Chat noir!” Nadja exclaimed. “You’re back!” 

  “Yes”, Chat noir smiled, “and I’m sorry for ever leaving you.” He paused for a moment and dropped the smile. “The rumours are true. Ladybug has been akumatized. I saw it happen myself.” 

  Lady justice clenched her fists. Where were they? She couldn’t quite tell from the tv. 

  “But I’m here to protect you”, Chat noir said. Then he looked straight at the camera. “Ladybug? I know you’re listening. It’s me you want, no one else. Meet me at the eiffel tower. Let’s finish this.” Then he turned around and jumped away. 

  “How dare he!” Lady justice shouted. In her anger, she reached for her new powers, summoning a spear and piercing the TV. It fell to the ground, broken beyond repair. 

  “Protect them?!” She was shaking with fury. “He killed a man!” 

  She scooped up the box and jumped out on her balcony. Oh they would finish this alright. 

  “ And where do you think you’re going? ” Hawkmoth said.

  “You promised me revenge. I’m getting it!”

  “ You stay right there. I give the orders here! ”

  Lady justice rolled her eyes at the voice. If Hawkmoth thought he could control her, he had made a very big mistake. 

  “If you remove my powers now, you'll never get the box or our miraculouses.” She said, knowing there was nothing he could do. “I’m going.” She got no response which suited her just fine. She jumped off the building, swinging her yo-yo. She had a cat to murder. 

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Hawkmoth clenched his fists and took a deep breath. Being angry would do no good. He should have seen this coming. Controlling Ladybug? Was he really that stupid? 

  He breathed out and cleared his mind. There wasn’t anything he could do about that now. Instead, he would have to adapt to the new circumstances. Using the communicator in his staff, he called up Maurya. 

  “There’s been a change of plans. I need you to head to the Eiffel tower. Ladybug and Chat noir will be there.”

  On the other side of the screen, Maurya nodded. “Right away sir. The miraculous will be ours.” 

  Hawkmoth quenched the spark of doubt he could feel. This time would be different. This time, they would win. 

  “I’m coming too”, he said. “This has to work.” 

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Chat noir stood silent at the edge of the platform near the top of the eiffel tower. He made no attempts to hide. The plan was for Ladybug to find him after all. He twirled his staff while he waited. 

  How many times had he and Ladybug stood here, together, admiring the view? It didn’t matter how hard or bad the day had been, not when he always had moments like this to look forward to. Moments where he didn’t feel alone in the world. 

  He sighed and held the staff by his side. By his side was an empty void that Ladybug was supposed to fill. Would anyone else ever be able to fill it like she could? Would anyone else be able to brighten his day like she always did? He didn’t know. Perhaps he didn’t even want to know. 

  He shook his head, trying to remove the dark thoughts. He needed a plan for when Ladybug showed up. The akuma had entered her earrings, that meant he would have to destroy them to free her. 

  “ Is that even possible? ”

  “I don’t know”, Adrien said to himself. And even if it was possible, it was risky. If he missed, he would hit her head. Flashes of New York rushed through his mind and he shuddered. Aeon had been an android. If that had happened to a human, there would be no saving them. Especially not when he didn’t have access to the miraculous ladybug. 

  “ No fixing things ”, his brain reminded him. 

  He slowly nodded. Whatever happened in their battle, it would be permanent. Without the miraculous ladybug, nothing would be fixed. Luckily, he was alone on the plattform. When news got out of the upcoming battle, the entire tower had been evacuated. Even the area around the tower was empty and he couldn’t hear the normal sounds of Paris. It was like the entire city was holding its breath, waiting for the storm that was about to hit them. 

  What happened next, Adrien would never be able to explain. His ears picked up an almost inaudible sound and, trusting something that could only be called a sixth sense, he spun around, using his staff to block the spear heading straight for his throat. 

  Before it even hit the ground, he blocked two more on pure instinct, having no time to react. Ladybug had arrived. 

  Adrien shook when he saw her. He knew he was supposed to be angry at her for always shutting him out. For putting Paris at risk every time she unified the miraculous. For killing a person. Despite that, he couldn't feel any anger. Within him, he found only pity. She wasn’t worth his anger. He could only pity what she had become. 

  Her suit was completely black, darker even than his own suit. The only red that remained covered her feet, hands and her mask but it wasn’t the beautiful red from before. This was a dark red, a red that only reminded Adrien of death. Even the earrings had turned black and her hair was darker than it had been before. 

  Before blocking the fourth spear that sprung out of thin air, Adrien briefly met her eyes. He didn’t know what he had been expecting to find. Anger, sure, but maybe also a hint of regret or sadness, anything that could remind him that Ladybug wasn’t gone. Instead, he saw nothing but fury and hatred. A never ending hatred of everything she had once tried to protect. This wasn’t Ladybug anymore. This was something else. 

  “We don’t have to do this”, Adrien said, making no move to attack her. He didn’t have much hope but maybe, just maybe, she could still be reasoned with. 

  “We don’t?!” Ladybug shouted, halting her attack. “You’re the reason any of this even happened!”

  In the past, Adrien might have believed her. That was before he had come to term with his own guilt. He knew his role in this and it wasn’t the role of the villain. He wasn’t blameless but he didn’t kill a man. That was all Ladybug. 

  “We both know that’s a lie!” He shouted back. “You’re the one who killed a man, not me!”

  “It would never have happened had you not left!” As she spoke the last word, Ladybug raised her right hand, releasing a torrent of flames. 

  Adrien dove to the side, barely escaping the raging inferno. Behind him, the metal where he had been standing melted, raining down on the structure below. 

  “No one forced you to kill him!” Adrien yelled over his shoulder while he ran behind the tower, seeking cover from her next attack. He needed to find the box. That was the most important part. If he could free her, great, but it wasn’t a priority. Adrien hated himself but he knew it was necessary. Calling her here had hopefully stopped her from going to Hawkmoth first. Hopefully she hadn’t even picked it up yet.

  “I had no choice!” Adrien jumped back as a spear fell on him from above. “You saw how many there were!” She jumped on him, punching wildly. “I just wanted it to end!”

  Her punches were hard but without any of her usual coordination. Using his staff, Adrien had no difficulty defending himself. He ducked and slammed his staff into her stommach. She didn’t even flinch. 

  “There is always a choice!” Adrien yelled, swiping his staff at her feet, causing her to lose her balance. He reached for the earrings while she fell but before he could even grace them, a snake jumped out of Ladybug’s palm, striking at him. 

  He backed away and Ladybug rolled back on her feet. The snake was following his every move, eyeing him for any opening. 

  “Not always”, Ladybug said, no longer yelling. “I did what I had to do. Because of what you did.” 

  The snake struck and Adrien swung his staff, knocking it off the side of the tower. 

  “I’m not the one to blame here, Ladybug. Give me the box and I’ll go easy on you.”

  For a brief second her eyes shifted slightly to the right and Adrien cursed silently. That meant the box was here which in turn meant Hawkmoth was probably on his way. He had to finish this. Fast. It was time to stop being defensive. No more holding back. He spun his staff, catching it behind his back. 

  “Last chance Ladybug.”

  Ladybug raised her fists “I’m not Ladybug. I’m Lady justice.”

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  Lady justice slammed into the railing that buckled under the force. At the last second, she managed to throw out her yo-yo, swinging up onto the platform again. Before she had any time to collect herself, Chat noir’s staff slammed into her back, sending her flying. 

  He wasn’t holding back anymore, she realised. This was him doing his very best to take her down, once and for all. The thought of losing infuriated her but she had no time to focus her thoughts on creation. She barely had time to breath between his attacks. 

  She rolled away but he jumped after and she had to block his staff again. She opened her palm, focusing on the fire from before but before she could do anything, he kicked her in the stomach, causing her thoughts to shatter. 

  With blurry vision she looked up and saw him holding out his hand. “Give me the earrings Ladybug.”

  Trembling, she got up on one knee and met his look. “Never.”

  She rolled out of the way from his next punch, focusing her creation to make a shield and put that between her and the furious cat trying to destroy her. She had to destroy him first. 

  “Cataclysm!”

  Her shield turned to dust and she opened both hands, releasing a sea of flames to hold him off. Before her eyes, parts of the Eiffel tower melted, falling to the ground. It didn’t matter. The only thing that mattered was him. Destroying Chat noir and proving once and for all that she didn’t need him. They would see. They would all see. 

  She stopped the fire and spun around, searching for the cat. There was no way those flames had destroyed him. They had only bought her some time. All around her, the tower was empty. The only things left were herself and the melting metal. The tower creaked and shuddered in the wind. She didn’t know how long it would stand. 

  In the corner of her eye, she noticed something; something black. Without any hesitation, she spun around, barely managing to catch his staff before it hit her head. Blue met green as they locked eyes, their strength equal and neither one willing to let go. 

  “I know you’re still in there”, Chat noir breathed. “It’s not too late to do the right thing.”

  “The right thing?” Lady justice hardened her grip on the staff. “I’m doing the right thing. Stopping you.”

  “Hawkmoth is controlling you! You’re working with our enemy!” 

  “No”, Lady justice said. “We’re partners and when this is over, we will both have what we want. He gets the box and I get to keep Paris safe. Safe from you.”

  “Safe from me?! That doesn’t even make sense!”

  “You killed someone!”

  She was forced to take a step back when his force on the staff increased. 

  “I did?! You killed that man and we both know it!” 

  Refusing to lose, she pushed her muscles even further till they were once more locked in a stalemate. All around them, the tower was creaking and swaying, threatening to break apart at any moment. 

  “You left me! Your actions led to this!” 

  His eyes turned cold, devoid of any emotions. 

  “I have accepted my part in this. It’s time you accept yours.” 

  Every word he spoke pounded on her walls but the last ones hit harder than any other, slipping behind her dark rage, hitting her hearth. Was he really the only one to blame? Did she really have no part in what happened? 

  Her strength wavered from a hint of doubt, causing her to stumble backwards towards the edge and Chat noir took the opportunity. He jumped backwards, taking the staff with him, and ran towards the tower. 

  “ You know he's lying. You’re not to blame Lady justice. Get him!” 

   The voice of Hawkmoth awoke her from the confusion. Of course she wasn’t to blame. He was the one who left her, not the other way around. He was the reason any of this ever happened. 

  “You lying piece of shit!” 

  She raised her right hand, pointed two fingers towards the back of Chat noir and focused her creation. A deafening boom was heard and a blue light filled the air around them for but a second. 

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  “I have accepted my part in this. It’s time you accept yours.”

  The words seemed to finally break through to her and her strength wavered. Perhaps there was still hope. But he didn’t have time for that now. He needed to find the box. Despite his mind and body screaming at him to go for the earrings, he ripped his staff from her hands and jumped backwards, running towards the tower. He didn’t know where she had hid the box but her eyes had given him a clue. He could only pray he had enough time.

  Once again, it was his instincts that saved him. Right after Ladybug had screamed at him, he felt the hairs on his arms raise and dove to the side. Not even a millisecond after, lightning toar threw the air, accompanied by the sound of an explosion as it hit the tower, blowing a hole straight through. 

  Pieces of debris rained down all around him and the tower creaked even louder than before. But the explosion had also done something else. There, in the midst of all the rubble, lay the box. A red and black sphere, containing more power than he could even imagine. 

  He threw himself towards it and for a moment, he dared to hope. Perhaps this fight could still be won. 

  Then, another figure dowe in from the side, grabbed the box and rolled to their feet. He crashed at the place the box had just been and shakily got on his feet. His ring beeped. He only had a few minutes left. 

  Right in front of him, Mayura smiled. “Thank you, Lady justice. You have been most helpful.”

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  Adrien held his staff in front of him with both hands. Mayura was holding the box and Lady justice was running towards him. Could he defeat them both at the same time? He didn’t know but he didn’t like his chances. Especially not with the ring ticking away. If his identity was revealed, all would be lost. 

  “ They have the box. You lost. It’s time to leave. ” 

  “No”, he whispered. “One last try.” 

  As Lady justice jumped towards him, a sword in her hand, he threw himself to the side, aiming a punch at Mayura. She deflected it, spun to the side and scoffed at him. 

  “You’re gonna have to try harder than that.” 

  He swung his staff, blocking Lady justice’s sword while Mayura walked away. 

  “We have to stop her!” He shouted slowly backing away as she attacked him. He found an opening and swiftly struck her to the floor, backing away in the process. His ring beeped again. Two minutes left. 

  “Stop her?” Lady justice got back on her feet. “I’m gonna help her. Help her take you down!” She threw her sword at him and when he swung to block it, it transformed into a block of solid metal, knocking him back and pinning him under it. 

  The word spun around him and he could barely breathe. His arms were pinned to his side, there was no way to escape. He had lost. 

  “ Should have ran while you had the chance. ” He didn’t want to listen to the voice but he wasn’t strong enough to silence it. Not when it was right. All was lost and it was his fault. Lady justice walked up and leaned down towards his face. 

  “Are you stuck little kitten?” She smiled. “Want me to help you?”

  Adrien spat in her face. At least he was still strong enough to do that. The punch she gave him in return was worth it. 

  “It’s over”, she said, suddenly serious. “We won.”

  “You don’t have the ring yet.” Just as he said it, it beeped again. 

  “No”, Lady justice smiled. “But in one minute”, we will. 

  “Yes”, a new voice said. “We will.”

  The person speaking was standing behind him and Adrien had no way of seeing him. Still, he could have recognized that voice anywhere. Hawkmoth. 

  He had the box, the earrings and soon he would have the ring. The thing they had fought to prevent for over a year had happened. Hawkmoth had won. It really was over. He closed his eyes and let the exhaustion wash over him. He had done his best. Wasn’t that enough? Didn’t he deserve some rest? Couldn’t he allow himself to just give up? Ladybug had. 

  Was that why she had done it? Because she was so tired of everything? 

  “ Yes ”, the voice said. “ You abandoned her and it broke her. You know it’s true. ” 

  Yes. He did know that. That was his part in everything. He had abandoned her and it broke her. Led her to kill a man. 

  “ You are weak and pathetic ”, the voice said. Adrien didn’t disagree. He wasn’t strong enough to fight the voice. Not anymore. It could say whatever it wanted. It was his own dark thoughts after all. 

  “ But you’re also the only one who can fix this. ”

  Was that also true? The voice had never lied before. Hawkmoth had the box. Hawkmoth had the earrings. But he did not yet have the ring. Could he really fix this? He thought of Plagg, thought of the promise he had made him. He had promised to do better, to deserve the trust placed in him. Could he really just give up? 

  “ You know the answer. ”

  Laying on the floor of a creaking tower, Adrien slowly nodded. He did know. 

  “ Now do it! ”

  The voice spurred him on, his own dark thoughts giving way and turning positive. He could do this. He was enough. He would never give up. 

  Power rushed through his veins, power unlike any he had ever felt before. The beeping of the ring stopped and instinctively, he knew it would never return. He was Chat noir. He was strong. And he would never give up. 

  “Cataclysm!”

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  Lady justice stood next to Chat noir who had closed his eyes. 

  “Any second now”, Hawkmoth said. “Soon, it will all be finished.”

  Lady justice scoffed. Hawkmoth was a fool if he thought he could control the wish. She had used it twice, both times with devastating results. But it wasn’t her place to let him know that. As long as Chat noir was no more, she was happy. 

  Suddenly, his eyes shoot open. Lady justice didn’t know what it was but she could feel something change. Hesitantly, she took a step back, not really knowing why. It made no difference. 

  “Cataclysm!”

  All around her, the tower turned to dust.

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  Hawkmoth coughed and spat out a mouthful of dust. His suit and the pile of dust had protected him from the fall but his body still hurt all over. Next to him, Mayrua was also sitting up.

  “How?!” He shouted, infuriated. “The timer was almost up! He’s never been able to use it twice before.”

  Maurya slowly got up and offered him her hand, pulling him up. “I don’t know.” She looked out over the destruction. “But we still have the box.” She held it in her hands, having kept it with her even in the fall. “He will return.”

  “No.”

  They both turned. Lady justice was standing at the edge of the dust, looking towards Paris. “I will destroy him before he does.”

  “You couldn’t beat him before. What’s changed?” Hawkmoth asked. 

  Lady justice smiled. “That was just a warmup.” She turned and looked at him. “If you want my earrings, don’t try to stop me.” 

  Jumping and swinging her yo-yo, she was soon gone in the city. Hawkmoth looked after her, cursing under his breath. Perhaps akumatizing Ladybug had been more than he could handle. But there was no going back now. 

  He picked up the box from Nathalie. “Let her take him. Even if she loses, we still have to box. We’ve won.” He smiled. “And I have a plan.” 

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Adrien was sitting on a roof with Plagg on his shoulder. Far of in the distance, where he used to be able to see the eifel tower, the sky was clear. The tower was nothing but dust now. It pained him but he knew it was the only way. He also knew that before the fight was over, there would be a lot more damages. 

  They had been sitting there for mutiple hours, waiting for the time to make their next move. Hawkmoth had the box but they hadn’t heard anything from him. The battle was far from over but they had needed this time to rest. Multiple times, they had seen Lady justice jumping from roof to roof, no doubt hunting him. Soon, he would reveal himself. Soon, their final battle would happen. 

  But for now, with Plagg on his shoulder and the sun slowly setting, Adrien could breathe easy. The fight wouldn’t be easy but he wasn’t alone. The darkness within him had finally dissapered and he found himself smiling. For the first time in many months, with darkness looming over Paris and Ladybug akumatized, Adrien was happy. He was ready for what was to come. 

  As the suns last rays dipped below the horizon, he called upon his Kwami. 

  “Plagg! Claws out!”

Chapter Text

Just as the sun set, plunging Paris into darkness, she felt him. It was like a cold shiver, running up her spine and a feeling of dread, shaking her to the bone. He was here and he was mad. Lady justice smiled. 

  “I know you’re there Kitty”, she said. “You think your new trick is enough to beat me?” She turned towards a dark shadow on the roof. She couldn’t see him but she knew that he was there. 

  “You’re losing it.” The voice came from the opposite side of the roof and she quickly spun around but the pesky cat was nowhere to be seen. 

  “Missed me”, came his voice again, this time from the opposite direction. “You needed an akuma to unlock your true powers. I did it on my own.”

  She flicked her yo-yo towards the sound of his voice but it hit nothing. She was almost certain she heard him sigh. 

  “You don’t want to fight me.” The voice was spinning around her, impossible to pin down. She started turning in a circle, watching for any movement. 

  “I don’t want to fight you?” She mocked. “Sounds to me like you’re scared!” 

  “I am scared”, came his reply and she smiled. “Hawkmoth has the box and I can’t beat him on my own. I need Ladybug back.”

  Lady justice laughed at his words. “Ladybug? Ladybug was weak!” She threw her yo-yo out randomly, still hitting nothing. “Now come out here you coward and let’s see who’s really the strongest!”

  This time there was no mistaking his sigh. “I was afraid you were going to say that. If you’re in there, Milady, I apologize.”

  The first blow came out of nowhere, hitting her hard in the side. She stumbled and threw her arms up just as the next one hit her on the other side, then the back, the front and then back again. 

  She kept spinning, trying to block but all around her was only darkness. Each blow reminded her of Portaler. It felt like a lifetime ago but it had only been a few hours. The blows kept coming and she fell to her knees, arms above her head, protecting the earrings. 

  “Give up!” His voice came and she felt his hand trying to pull her arms away. She couldn’t do this. He was too strong and she was still weak. Just like Ladybug. 

  Ladybug. The thought hit her like a wrecking ball. Did she really wish to be nothing more than her? That weak, pathetic creature who needed a partner? She drew a deep breath and felt the anger build up within her. She was Ladybug no more. She was Lady justice and it was time to prove it.

   Light . Where Ladybug had been constrained, Lady justice had infinite power. A single thought was all it took and just like that, the sun rose again. Just like that, he could hide no more. 

  She caught his next punch with one hand and smiled as she stood up. “Game over kitty cat.”

  Before he could do anything more than look shocked, she kicked him in the stomach with all her might, sending him flying through the nearest building and out the other side. She cracked her knuckles. Now the fight could truly begin. 

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He crashed through the side of a building, barely noticing what looked like a living room, before crashing out the other side. The suit took most of the damage but it still hurt when he smashed through the windshield of a car parked below. The sound of a car alarm mixed with the voices of confused people, just waking up and slowly making their way out into the street. 

  “No!” Chat noir yelled. “Stay inside, it’s not safe!”

  He groaned and climbed to his feet and looked over at the hole. There was no sign of her. Not yet at least. 

  He climbed onto the roof of the car and held his staff ready. He let destruction fill his right hand, no longer needing the phrase, and watched the black energy crackle. She might have infinite creation but he had infinite destruction and he didn’t need an akuma to achieve it. 

  Any second now. 

  “Hello kitty.”

  His sense from earlier warned him a split second before the blow struck but it was still too late. He slammed into the side of another car and tumbled to the ground. He jumped up and swung his staff but another blow never came. Instead, Lady justice was smiling. 

  “Wouldn’t want it to end too quickly, now would we?” She chuckled and idly spun her yo-yo through the air. “It was quite clever, you know, waiting until night. Too bad it didn’t last very long.” She focused her eyes, her smile disappearing. “It’s over. Give me the ring and I’ll go easy on you.”

  Chat noir had to remind himself that this was the akuma speaking. All her worst emotions, brought forward and enhanced. This wasn’t Ladybug. It was Lady justice. He lifted his hand high, the energy within barely contained. 

  “You might have infinite creation but I have infinite destruction. Anything you create, I will destroy!”

  Lady justice shrugged. “So no giving up then?” She chuckled again. “To bad. You see creation is much more than you could ever imagine.”

  As she spoke the words, the tingle in his neck, a sixth sense of sorts, warned him again and he threw himself forward, just as the car behind him exploded in a ball of flames. The shockwave was still enough to knock him on his back and blow out every window in the building behind it. 

  His ears were ringing and his vision was spinning. All around them, people were screaming, running for their lives. Lady justice just stood there, amidst all the chaos, a small flame dancing between her fingers. 

  Chat noir stumbled to his feet again. “Is that all you got?!” He yelled. 

  Lady justice smiled again before taking a step back and disappearing. He spun around, watching all around him, but she was nowhere to be seen. 

  “You want to see what I’ve got?” The voice was coming from all around him, impossible to pin down. “Then how about a taste of your own medicine?”

  “Stay back!” He yelled to the people running all around him. “I’ve got this under control!” The lie fell flat to the ground, he didn’t even believe it himself. How could he defeat her when he couldn't find her? How could he possibly expect to win this? 

  “Remember the tower? ”

  This time, the voice wasn’t blaming him. It wasn’t calling him pathetic or weak. He had made peace with that part. At the tower. He had broken through to her, if only for a second. For a brief moment, he had seen the real Ladybug. She was still in there. Perhaps that was how he won this fight. Not with brute force but with words. He just had to get her to listen. 

  The moment he felt the tingle, he reacted without thinking, holding out his right hand, destroying the black and red truck, zooming towards him. Then, still without thinking, he sent the energy to his left hand, destroying the sword that was materializing before jumping as a train went by beneath him, crashing into the street, luckily missing all the buildings. 

  “Come out here and face me you coward!” He yelled. 

  All he got for a reply was a mocking laugh. “Now where have I heard those words before?”

  He grunted and jumped away with his staff before she could send more stuff after him. Landing on a roof, he surveyed the area. Still no sight of her. She had to be teleporting from place to place, creating portals. Was there really no end to her powers?

  “No ”, the voice said. “Just like yours. ”

  Before he had time to think about the words, he reached out his hand and filled it with destruction, this time destroying the fireball he was suddenly in the center of. The heat hit him from all sides but it was gone before it could do any real harm. 

  She really was trying to kill him he realized. 

  “Oh come on!” He heard her voice. “You’re no fun at all!”

  He ignored it, instead focusing on his own voice. No limit to his powers. 

  Before Lady justice had time to do anything else he held up his hand and filled it with more energy than ever before. He didn’t really know how to do it but he knew what he wanted to do. And that was enough. 

  Reaching out his hand, he destroyed the day. 

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For a second, Lady justice froze. For a second, she didn’t know what to do. The day had been her perfect plan. She hadn’t realized, hadn’t thought he could just… 

  She snapped back and looked at the place she had just seen him. Of course he was gone. She snorted, focusing again on creation. If he thought he would get away with this he was sorely…

   “Oh no you don’t.” He slapped her right across the face, scrambling her thoughts. “No more days and no more creation!”

  He slapped her again and again, never giving her a moment to collect her thoughts, always disappearing in the night before she could do anything.

  “Now it’s time for you to listen to me.” 

  Fine! He didn’t want day. She didn’t need day. She needed something simpler, something she could just do.

  “I know you’re still in there. I need…”

  She ignored his voice and just created. 

  The ground beneath them disappeared as they fell through the portal. Suddenly, they were above the clouds, falling quickly towards the lights of Paris, stretching out far below them. 

  “See this!?” She yelled at the top of her lungs. “We need to protect Paris! Why won’t you help me?!”

  “I am protecting Paris!” Chat noir yelled back. “Protecting it from you!”

    She grabbed him and they spun around, falling headfirst towards the ground. Energy crackled in the air besides them as creation and destruction met. Black and red lightning followed them on their way down. 

  “You were the one who left me! Not the other way round! You forced me to do this!”

  He stared into her eyes and she saw something she didn’t want to see. Something that shouldn’t be there, something that was wrong. 

  Regret.

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  Adrien stared into her eyes. They were equal in strength and if this battle continued, Paris would be destroyed. So much had already been damaged. He needed to end this. He needed to get through to her; and there was only one way to do that. Someone had to take the first step. 

  “I know!”, he yelled to be heard over the wind. He fought back most of the tears but some still made it through. He had faced his own regrets and accepted them. Now he had to admit them. “I know what I did and I’m sorry! I was mad and I made a rash decision!”

  He stared into her eyes as he spoke the words, their faces only inches apart, looking for any sign of understanding. He meant them. He truly was sorry for leaving. That was his part in this whole mess and maybe, just maybe, it could be the first step towards fixing it. 

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Lady justice froze in the air. She heard the words, heard them rush through her brain, round and round, until she couldn’t tell the start from the end. He had no right to say that! He had no right to be sorry! She needed to hate him; needed to be able to blame him for everything!

  That didn’t work if he was sorry.

  She screamed, letting out all of her frustrations, before pushing away from him just before they slammed into the ground. 

  The crash sent a shockwave across the already damaged street and left them both laying on the bottom of a crater. The powers of creation instantly healed all her wounds and, without really thinking about it, she let them heal him as well. 

  She stood up, breathing heavily. He stood just across from her, staring right into her eyes, just like before. His beautiful emerald green eyes refused to leave her alone. 

  “You’re not sorry!” She screamed, needing the words to be true. “You blame me for everything!”

  “You’ve done some bad stuff”, he said calmly, “and I won’t take the blame for that. But I’m still sorry. No one should have to protect a city on their own.”

  “No!” She screamed, hiding her face in her hands. “Everything is your fault! You can’t be sorry! It doesn’t work like that! I’m doing the right thing!”

  “Look around you!” He suddenly yelled. “You call this protecting Paris?!”

  She lifted her hands and looked around. And looked some more. 

  They were standing in a crater in the middle of the street. All around them laid broken cars. Just at the edge of the crater laid the scattered wagons of a train. The house right across from them was badly burnt, all its windows broken. Just a block away, there was a building with a cat shaped hole straight through it. 

  But that was not the worst part. 

  In every window and in every door, she could see them. The terrified faces of the Parisians. Children crying. Women staring. Men with shocked faces. All staring. At them. At her. At what she had become. 

  She turned towards a child standing by a broken door. Took a step towards him, holding out her hand. He screamed and rushed to hide behind his mother. 

  She turned towards a man standing in the street. He raised his hand as if to protect himself. From her. 

  Paris was destroyed and it wasn’t because she had been fighting Hawkmoth. It was because she had teamed up with him. 

  Hawkmoth. The akuma. 

  What had she done?

  She could still feel the akuma within her, wriggling around and granting her endless powers. Endless, disgusting powers, she hadn’t earned. Powers that had cost her everything. 

  “ Get out ”, she whispered in her mind, focusing all her power on the power itself, willing it to disappear. The akuma grabbed hold within her, refusing to give way. It felt like she was trying to rip her very soul out. 

  “ GET OUT! ” 

  Fighting something within herself was like nothing she had ever done before. The akuma fought to remain, fought for its very life, but she was stronger. Inch by inch, she felt it give way, slowly losing its grip on her. 

  And the more she fought, the less angry she felt. Had she really blamed everything on Chat noir? Refused to see her own part in all that had happened? She had so much to fix. Was it even possible to mend their broken relationship? 

  The akuma finally lost its grip, fluttering out of her earrings and she fell to her knees, feeling like a giant weight had just dropped from her chest. She could finally see clearly, see without all the anger that had clouded her mind for so long. She knew her name and it was not Lady justice. 

  It was Ladybug. 

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 Adrien saw the akuma leave her earrings and finally let himself relax. It was over. Lady justice was finally gone. 

  Then, before he had any chance to protect himself, it flew towards him, entering his ring. He had tried to push away his anger but he had clearly not done a good enough job. 

  “ Chat noir ”, he heard the disgustingly sweet voice of Hawkmoth. “ I am… ”

  “ Forget it! ”

  Gathering all the anger within him, he pushed and with a single monumental show of strength, he expelled the akuma right back out, catching it with his hand. 

  “Cataclysm!”
  He didn’t need to say the words but it felt right and he smiled as the butterfly turned to ash in his hand. He could practically feel Hawkmoth’s anger at failing to akumatize him. 

  “Not today, Hawkmoth”, he growled. 

  He let out a breath and pushed the exhaustion to the back of his mind. Relaxing would have to wait. Lady justice might be gone but this battle was far from over. 

  Ladybug sat on her knees in front of him, unmoving. She stared in front of her but she didn’t seem to see anything. It seemed like defeating the akuma had finally broken her, leaving her an empty husk. 

  Adrien sighed and walked up to her, reaching out his hand. 

  “Come on. We can’t stay here.”

  She stared up at him, her mouth moving but not forming any words. She slowly shook her head. “No”, she whispered. “No I… I just… I can’t…” 

  Her breath was coming faster and faster and she let out a sob. “Oh god… please no.. I didn’t…” She was shaking her head faster. “I didn’t mean too… please just let me…”

  “Hey!” Adrien bent down and grabbed her shoulders, forcing her to look at him. “There will be time for this but it’s not now! Are you Ladybug or not?!” 

  She calmed a little, her breathing becoming more regular. “Yes… Yes I am but…”

  “Good. Then you’re strong. You’re stronger than this, okay?” 

  She slowly nodded. “Yes… yes…”

  “Then come with me. We can’t stay here.”

  She nodded again, a little more convincingly. "Yes… yeah let’s do that.”

  “Good”, Adrien said. “Then come with me.”

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  They landed on a rooftop, far away from all the destruction. A few confused birds were still singing and in the distance they could hear sirens from emergency vehicles. Other than that, all was silent. 

  Neither of them looked pretty. Both were tired and weary, covered with dust and dirt. The unspoken words hang in the air between them. Too many words to ever express, too much hurt to ever heal. It had only been a few days since they were a team but it felt like a lifetime had passed. They both stood there, staring at each other, quietly. 

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  He stood there before here like he had so many times in the past. Like nothing had changed between them in the past days. Yet everything had changed and Marinette didn’t even know where to begin. “ I’m sorry ” hardly felt like enough yet there were no other words she could say. And she had to start somewhere. 

  “I’m sorry.” She whispered the words, not trusting her voice to hold. As soon as she spoke them, it was like a gate inside her burst open, releasing all her emotions without any control. 

  “I’m sorry”, she cried, not even trying to hide it. “Sorry for everything, sorry for what I’ve done, for Hawkmoth for what happened, sorry for…”

  There was too much and her body was shaking with every word. She now realized just how long she had been needing to say these words, too let him know just how much she truly cared for him. She had just been too stubborn to do it. 

  He opened his mouth but she held up her hand. “No. I need to say this”, she sobbed. “You have no idea how much I need you. How much I have always needed you. And I’m so, so sorry for keeping you in the dark. For not trusting you.” She wiped her tears but new ones kept forming. “You have no idea just how sorry I am.”

  Chat noir opened his mouth again and this time, she let him speak. 

  “I know”, he said. “I know you’re sorry and I’m sorry to.” He turned away so she couldn’t see his face. “My entire body is screaming at me to forgive you for everything but I just…” He slowly shook his head. “I can’t. No yet, not after everything that has…”

  He sighed and Marinette felt a piece of her heart break. How could she ever make this right? Was it even possible? 

  “I know”, she finally said. “I know and it’s okay. I’ll do anything too…”

  He held up a finger and she got quiet. “That’s not what’s important now”, he said. “Hawkmoth has the box and we don’t have time to worry about feelings.” 

  He clenched his fists for a moment before turning around. “I just need to know one thing. Do you finally trust me?”

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  “I know”, he said. “I know you’re sorry and I’m sorry to.”

  He turned away so she wouldn’t see the pain in his face. The pain of not being able to forgive her, despite his entire body screaming at him to embrace her; to kiss her; to let her know that everything would be okay. 

  But everything wouldn't be okay. She had killed a person and no matter how much he wanted to forgive her, there was no coming back from that. Would they ever be able to move forward?

  “My entire body is screaming at me to forgive you for everything but I just…” He slowly shook his head. “I can’t. No yet, not after everything that has…”

  He sighed and let Ladybug speak. 

“I know”, she finally said. “I know and it’s okay. I’ll do anything too…”

He held up a finger and she got quiet. It didn’t matter if she was sorry. It didn’t matter if he forgave her. There was only one thing that still mattered.
  “That’s not what’s important now”, he said. “Hawkmoth has the box and we don’t have time to worry about feelings.” 

  He clenched his fists for a moment, hiding his pain, before turning around. “I just need to know one thing. Do you finally trust me?”

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  Ladybug looked at him. Trust. The thing that was behind everything that had happened. Did she finally trust him like she always said she did? Trust him with everything, trust him like the partner he was? Trust him like he deserved? 

  “I do trust you”, she finally said, fighting to keep her voice from quivering and wiped her cheeks. “More than I could ever express. You brought me back and then you destroyed the very akuma that had infected me. How could I not trust you?”

  “Good”, he said but she could see the doubt in his eyes. And could she really blame him? How many times had she said that she trusted him? 

  Countless.

   And how many times had she meant it? 

  None. 

  The word trust had lost all meaning because she had said it so many times and never meant it. Words were meaningless. There was only one thing that could prove that she truly meant it this time. Two words that would prove without a shadow of a doubt that she really did trust him this time. 

  She looked him straight in the eyes and drew a deep breath. Last chance to back out. 

  “ No ”, her inner voice. “ It’s time. ” She agreed. After everything that had happened he both needed and deserved to know. 

  “Spots off.”

Chapter Text

Adrien's breath froze and his vision was filled with the purple and pink shimmer of a quickly disappearing suit and he closed his eyes to protect them from the light. Was this really happening? After all this time, was he finally about to see who she was beneath the suit? A thousand thoughts ran through his head, coupled with a thousand different emotions. 

  “ Are we really doing this? ” Surprise. 

  “ Am I ready for this? ” Fear.

  And most of all, happiness. “ SHE TRUSTS ME! ”

  The single thought of trust and happiness drowned out everything else and filled him with light. All the times he had worried if she ever really trusted him didn’t matter anymore. This, without a doubt, proved that she finally trusted him. Just like that, he was willing to forgive everything that had happened. Now that she actually trusted him, did it really matter what had happened earlier? 

  “ Yes. It still matters. ”

  Adrien's heart skipped a beat. He had thought the voice gone since it hadn’t appeared since the Eiffel tower. But it didn’t feel quite like before. With another skipped heartbeat, he realized that the darkness was gone. Just like at the Eiffel tower, the voice didn’t berate him. It seemed he had finally defeated that part of himself. 

  “ Yes ”, the voice confirmed. “ But I will always remain. ”

  Adrien smiled. He didn’t mind that actually. Even if it might mean he had gone a bit crazy. 

  “Chat?” Though both shy and quiet, it was undoubtedly the voice of Ladybug. His Lady, the same one he had fought with a thousand times. It reached his ears like a song long gone and he almost fell in love with her all over again. 

  Almost. 

  “ Remember ”, the voice said. “ Remember what happened ”

  Right. Akuma, death and betrayal, all in the last 24 hours. Yes, he was not blameless for what had happened. He had denied it for a long time but he had eventually accepted it. Accepted it and moved on. She still had a long road ahead of her. No matter how much he loved her, he could allow himself to forget that. 

  Keeping the voice inside him close, as some sort of reassurance that he wasn’t throwing away everything he had ever wanted, he pushed down the warmth and love his heart was stubbornly trying to send to his brain. He could not let it succeed. Not this time. 

  “Thank you”, he finally said, still with his eyes closed. “Thank you for finally trusting me.” This time, there was no doubt in his voice. Even if he could not forgive her just yet, he knew in his heart that she trusted him. She was willing to show him who she was under the mask with no requirement that he should do the same. Despite all that had happened, she was throwing herself off a roof, praying that he would catch her. 

  All it had taken was death, betrayal and an akuma. 

  There was nothing he wanted to do more than to open his eyes, to let the light in and finally see who was hiding beneath the mask. 

  Who his anger should really be directed at. 

  So why didn’t he? Why didn’t he open his eyes and give his anger a face? Why was he refusing to find out who was behind everything, who the woman he had fruitlessly loved for so long really was? 

  He didn’t know. 

  Was he afraid? 

  Very. Giving his anger a face would somehow make it more real. As long as the person was just a mask, it didn’t seem like it had really happened, however weird that sounded. It was as if everything that had happened was just a bad dream and removing the mask would somehow make it real. 

  God, he really was going crazy, wasn’t he? 

  “ No”, the voice simply said, something that did not reassure him in the slightest. 

  He finally decided to turn around before opening his eyes. “I’m sorry”, finally said, internally cringing over how worn out the words sounded. They had both been saying them way too much lately. Soon, they would be as meaningless as the words “I trust you”. 

  “I’m glad you trust me, I really am.” His voice shivered a little bit. He tried to pour all his emotions into the words to truly make her feel that he was being serious. Make her feel just how much her trust actually meant to him. Because it meant more than she could ever imagine. 

  The cool night air of Paris washed over him as he continued. His sharpened senses caught a hint of smoke. A horrible reminder that all was not well. 

  “Hawkmoth is still out there”, he continued. “There will be a time and place for this but it is not now. Right now, we need to focus. We can’t allow ourselves any distractions.” He spoke slowly, carefully considering every word before letting it leave his lips. A single misplaced word could send them right back to where they started. 

  “We will talk after this is done. I don’t know if we can ever rebuild our partnership and…” His voice caught and he had to force himself to speak the next words. “...and I don’t know if I can ever forgive you.” He drew a deep breath, blinking away the tears. He didn't have time for that. Not right now. “But right now, we have a job to do.”

  He heard her breathing change and could almost feel her disappointment. How was it possible to be so full of both love and hate, at the same time and directed at the same person? 

  He suppressed an overwhelming urge to turn around and hug her. 

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   When he turned around and refused to watch her, she had to fight back the tears stinging behind her eyes. When he said that he might never forgive her, the tears came whether she wanted them or not. 

  She slowly nodded despite knowing he couldn’t see her. “I… I… understand”, she finally managed to whisper. She pushed down her emotions once more and found some semblance of control. “And I accept your choice. You have every right to make it.” 

  Her control slipped away as quickly as it came and the tears returned. That was when Tikki silently flew up and hugged her chin. She hung there, like a  warm presence, filling her broken body with a love she thought she might never feel again. 

  Tikki, with every reason to hate her, was still there for her when she needed it the most. 

  The only thing she could remember from the last time they had met, up on that roof, was the look of pure hatred Tikki had given her. A look that told her they would never be friends again. Less than that, that they would never speak again. 

  And now, just like that, she was still there, comforting her as if nothing had happened. If she was not already broken before, this was all it took. 

  Legs no longer supporting her, she fell to her knees on the roof and finally let everything that she had stuffed down into her heart, out. In the past 24 hours, she had felt nothing but anger and hatred. Now, with the simple act of the small kwami, all her other emotions were released at once, spilling out into the starlit night. 

  A mix between a scream and a cry rose in her throat and she let it out. The past days were proof of what holding back her emotions could do and now she was done. If it wanted out, she would let it out, no matter who saw or heard. 

  Tikki found her spot on Marinette's chin again and rested there, still not speaking a single word. She didn’t have to. Just like before, simply having her there was enough. That she was still willing to touch her was enough for now. They could speak later. They had all the time in the world. 

  The scream-cry went on for what felt like forever, until it was all that existed, without beginning or end. At some point, Chat joined her. Their screams and their emotions flowed around them and spilled out into the night. The only ones around the hear were the stars. On and on it went until she and Chat was all that remained. The two of them and her thoughts.

  Oh, her thoughts. Everything that had happened, everything that she had said, thought and done now came back with crystal clear clarity. It seemed that the fates were not willing to let her forget a single thing. 

  She didn’t know whether to curse or thank them. Death, misery and betrayal were all bubbling up but she released it with everything else, not giving it time to stick and poison her mind once again. 

  She didn’t care if Chat turned around and saw her like this. Saw her as Marinette and not his lady. She had given herself to him and he had turned her down. She let that pain out too and felt it slip away and be carried off by the winds. 

  It went on until there was nothing left to let out, until she was completely empty. Inside, all was finally quiet. No anger, no pain, no sadness and no guilt. At last, everything was completely gone and silent. At last she could relax. 

  That’s when he spoke again. 

  “Wow, I needed that. "Feeling any better?”

   After letting everything out, she was empty inside. A dark void was all that was left of her emotions. Now, Chat noir, lit a match and brought light to her world. It was like a Big Bang inside her own body. He was back. In his voice she heard it. The old Chat Noir. The loving and carefree one. The one she had maybe, just maybe, loved. Her oldest partner. The only one she knew, without a single doubt, that she could trust. 

  Without seeing his face, she knew that he was smirking. And she loved him all the more for it. 

  “Much”, she said. The sound of her own voice shocked her. She didn’t know what she had expected but it sounded almost… normal. It wasn’t supposed to sound normal. Nothing about this was normal. 

  Yet it still did. Like nothing had ever happened. Once again, she didn’t know whether to hate or love it. She wanted to forget everything she had done. At the same time, she could never allow herself to do that. Forgetting was the same as letting it happen again. 

  “Could you maybe… you know…” 

  She looked up at him. His back was still turned away from her. Then she burst out laughing. 

  The laugh came from a part of her she didn’t even know existed and it slipped from her lips before she had a chance to stop it. 

  Joy, she realized. That was the emotion he had awoken and the feeling that now exploded inside her. The feeling didn’t make sense. Hawkmoth had the miraculous, she had been akumatized and her relationship with Chat Noir could probably never be salvaged. 

  But it didn’t have to make sense. Right now, she was just filled with joy, whether it made sense or not. Joy about being back with Chat Noir, joy over being back as Ladybug and joy over finally being free of the darkness. It felt like a thousand ton block of steel had been lifted from her shoulders. 

  Still laughing, she managed to create the words necessary to once again hide who she was. “Tikki, spots on!” He turned around after hearing the words and she, with great difficulty, managed to stop laughing. 

  “I’m sorry”, she said and then almost laughed again. Those old stupid words again. “I just feel so free, like I’m going to fall into the sky and just fall forever and ever and ever.”

  That awarded her a tiny little smile, barely noticeable. But she noticed. She was never going to miss one of his smiles again. 

  “I know”, he simply said. “It’s how I used to feel everytime I put on the suit.”

  She did not miss the word used .

  She was still on her knees so she had to look up when he stepped forward and reached out his hand. As he did, she saw him flinch before forcing himself to continue. A spark of hurt crashed into her already mangled heart. Still, he left his hand there, reaching it out for her to grab, a look of determination on his face. Simply touching her was a battle he had to overcome. How could their relationship possibly be salvaged? Was it even possible? She let the feeling go, instead of pushing it down. This was a first step. Him reaching out his hand was a sign of his own trust. 

  She took his hand and he spoke three words he probably didn’t know how much she needed hearing. 

  “Welcome back Milady.” 

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  In that moment on the roof, Chat noir could almost forget that everything between them had been broken. In that moment, it felt like nothing at all had changed. When she grabbed his hand, he could feel that old spark, the one he had felt ever since the moment he first laid eyes on her. 

  Almost. 

  A door within him had been closed by his father when he was just a child. Then, with every passing day, Ladybug, Nino, Marinette and all his other friends had been prying it open, bit by bit. 

  Then, in just one night, Ladybug had slammed it shut. Still, he had to put all of that aside for now. Defeating Hawkmoth was far more important than whatever was going on between them. If she could pretend that everything was back to normal then so could he. 

  And just as the thought ran through his mind, the bright glowing billboard across the street switched from showing a beauty commercial to an all too familiar face. 

  Hawkmoth. 

  “Ladybug and Chat noir!” The face was smiling, a sight that chilled Adrien to the bone. Hawkmoth was not supposed to be smiling. He was supposed to be frowning in defeat. This could only mean that everything was wrong. 

  “I have won”, he stated bluntly. “I have all the miraculouses and there is nothing that you can do about it.” “Still”, he said, still smiling, “I am willing to offer you an easy way out.”

  Adrien frowned. He very much doubted that Hawkmoths “easy way out” would be in any way acceptable. 

  “Give me the ring and the earrings and I will give you all the other miraculouses. I only want those two.” He paused for a moment, perhaps for dramatic effect, before continuing. “If you agree, I will leave Paris and never return. Our fight will be done and the great people of this city can go about their lives in peace.” 

  Then, his face darkened. “Fail to comply, however, and I will use these miraculous to destroy you before taking the final two. Either way, I win.” He smiled broadly, showing his perfectly white teeth. “Ladybug and Chat noir. The choice is yours. You have ten minutes.”

Chapter Text

  For a few seconds after the billboard went black, Adrien kept staring at it, willing Hawkmoth to return with a different deal. This was bad. This was really bad. Sure the ring and the earrings were powerful but were they strong enough to defeat all the other miraculouses together? He didn’t know and he really didn’t want to find out. 

  Luckily, he wasn’t alone. By his side, Ladybug took a deep breath. In the corner of his eye, he saw her wipe away a few tears from under the mask. 

  “So”, she said, “what do you wanna do?” 

  Adrien frowned, then turned and looked at her. “You want me to decide?”

  Ladybug shrugged and looked away. “Well lately, my decision making has been a bit…” She was quiet for a few seconds but Adrien didn’t finish her sentence. He wanted to hear what she had to say. “...disastrous.”

  “Well I’m not going to disagree”, Adrien said, “but we are a team.” Then he reached out his hand, grabbed her shoulder and turned her to face him again. His body revolted but he forced himself to not let go. They had to work together to win and that meant being able to touch each other. He had to trust her, just like she trusted him. For now. “And being a team means making decisions together. So what do you wanna do?”

  Ladybug was silent for a moment. Then she seemed to find a semblance of her old self. She stood taller and something in her eyes shifted. 

  “Well we can’t give him our miraculouses”, she said. 

  “Agreed”, Adrien nodded.

  “And we can’t let him use the other miraculouses to defeat us.” 

  “Agreed”, Adrien nodded again. 

  “So we have to fight him”, she finished. “And win.”

  For the third time, Adrien nodded. “Agreed. The question is, how?”

  This time, Ladybug didn’t respond. Instead she sat down on the edge of the roof. “I don’t know”, she said. “He has all the miraculouses. What can we even do?”

  Adrien sat down next to her. He could not allow her to lose hope. Not right now when he needed her. When Paris needed her. No matter how much he wanted to, he could not defeat Hawkmoth alone. 

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  Marinette sat on the roof, her thoughts swirling around her mind but not making any sense. How could they possibly defeat Hawkmoth now? Because of her, he had all the other miraculouses. Was there even any hope left at all? 

  “There is”, a dark voice whispered in the back of her mind. “All it takes is a single word and this could all be over.” She felt a coldness inside. The voice wasn’t wrong. But to do that again, after everything that had happened? She couldn’t do that. Could she? 

  Chat Noir sat down next to her, closer than she could have hoped for. Close enough for her to feel the heat from his body. He was real. He was her best friend, her partner. Could she do that to him? Betray him again? If she did, there was no going back. He would hate her forever. But it might save Paris. 

  “What is his friendship compared to all of Paris? You could be a god. It’s so easy. Just do it.” A god. She tasted the words. Could she really be a god? 

  The realization hit her so hard she almost fell off the roof. A god. That was it! She wasn’t a god but he… She jumped up and clapped her hands. Chat Noir turned his face up towards her. 

  “You figured something out”. It wasn’t a question. She still nodded. “At the tower. You unlocked something.” Chat noir didn’t move but she could see that he heard every word that left her lips. “You did something that I could only do with an akuma. You can just destroy whatever Hawkmoth tries to do, right?”

  Adrien didn’t turn away from her but he looked uncomfortable. “It doesn’t work like that”, he said. “Plagg and I talked about it while waiting for nightfall after the Eiffel Tower.” He stood up, his face slightly above her own. “I’m no longer bound by the normal restrictions but I’m no god either. Plagg would be able to do it if we released him from the ring but I still have limits. In the fight with you, I was able to go beyond them, for example destroying the day, but that is not something I’m normally able to do. Maybe if I’m pushed far enough but it’s not something to count on.” He reached his hand up behind his neck. “Sorry.”

  She shook her head. “No. Don’t say you’re sorry. This is not your fault. It’s…”

  He grabbed her wrist and shook his head. “No. Don’t go down that path. We don’t have time for that right now.” He let go of her. “I’m still stronger than before, a lot stronger. Just not that strong.”

  Marinette nodded and forced a smile on her face. “We can work with that.” 

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  “We can work with that.”

  Adrien could almost see the gears working in her mind, turning to produce a plan that would lead them to victory. It was one of the things he liked most about her. Her uncanny ability to make something out of nothing. No matter how hopeless the situation might seem, she was always able to come up with a plan and make it work. 

  Perhaps that was it. He suddenly saw it clearly. The thing that had always worked for them in the past. No complicated plans. Thinking on their feets, relying on each other and their powers to make something work. Why change a winning concept? He didn’t hear the voice inside him but he could feel it nodding along. He took it as a good sign. 

  He looked at the watch built in his staff. “We have two minutes before Hawkmoth starts destroying us.” He smirked. “Let’s just wait and see what happens. We have always been able to figure out how to defeat him in the past. Let’s do it again.”

  Ladybug nodded slowly. “So we let him come to us?” 

  “Yes”, Adrien agreed. “We choose where this battle takes place.” He looked at his staff again. “One minute.” 

  He looked at her face. There was so much he wanted to say to her and so much he just couldn’t. His body was filled with conflict. One part of him saw her beautiful face and just wanted to kiss her. The other part wanted to strangle her for everything she had put him through these past few days. Would he ever be able to move beyond that side and truly forgive her? Or should he just kiss her now, in case the worst thing happened later that night? 

  He shook his head violently. No. No, no no, he refused to think that way. Even if he wanted to kiss her and managed to get over hating her, he would wait until after the battle. Because they would both make it out alive. There was no other option because no matter how much he hated her, he did not think he could live without her. 

  “So?” he heard Ladybug ask. “Where should we go?” 

  He thought for a second. Was there any place in this town where they would have the advantage, despite Hawkmoth having access to every single miraculous? 

  “Advantage? No. Equal footing? Perhaps.” 

  Adrien smiled. He found himself liking the voice more and more. 

  “We need an open space”, he said, “somewhere where they can’t sneak up on us.” 

  Ladybug gave him one of her telltale smiles, the ones that used to fill his stomach with butterflies. Now, it was a strange mixture of butterflies and pain. “Seems like you have a place in mind”, she said. 

  He nodded, deciding to keep it professional. “I do. There’s a school nearby, with a big, open courtyard. It would be perfect.” Ladybug did not need to know the real reason he had chosen that place. Having gone to school there for the past few years, he knew every nook and cranny of it, almost better than his own home. 

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  Oh no… How did he know? What did he know? Did he know anything? Did he already know who she was under the mask? Was that why he didn’t want her to reveal it? So that he would know and she would not know that he knew? 

  A storm of thoughts and emotions raged within her but outwardly - she kept it cool. Just like always. Cool like a ladybug. Is that even a thing? Eh, if it wasn’t she would just have to make it a thing. “Cool”, she said, showing just how cool she was. Across the street, the billboard flickered to life again. That was absolutely not cool. In fact, it was very uncool. The giant face of Hawkmoth stared down upon them. 

  “Ladybug and Chat noir. Since you are not here, I assume you have made your choice.” He paused for dramatic effect. “Prepare to be destroyed!” The billboard turned black once more. 

  Chat noir stared at the dark screen, then turned towards her. Had his gaze always been that cool? “Let’s go”, he said. “He’s coming for us.” 

  Marinette nodded. “Lead the way.” Chat noir did not need to know just how familiar she was with that school. She knew every nook and cranny of it, almost better than her own home. He had, perhaps unknowingly, chosen the perfect place for her. 

  As they leapt across the rooftops Marinette found herself having a hard time keeping up with her partner. Perhaps his recent victory had given him a confidence boost because he did not even seem to think before leaping between buildings, completely trusting his staff to catch him. Trust. Marinette smirked. They kept coming back to that simple word. Perhaps it too, just like “I’m sorry”, would lose all meaning. Perhaps it already had. “Actions speak louder than words”, she reminded herself. 

  Deep in thought, she didn’t notice when they reached the school and stopped. This time they had to trust each other. With all the miraculouses, Hawkmoth would be nearly unstoppable. The strength of their partnership would determine the future of Paris. “No, scratch that. The future of the world.”

Chapter Text

The air was thick. Part of it was smoke from their earlier battle but most of it was something intangible. Something that was there but at the same time not quite. Like the feeling you had just before a storm hit. The feeling had been building for days and it could barely be contained anymore. Something was about to happen, something big. No matter how this battle ended, the world would never be the same. 

   Chat Noir could feel it in his bones but he pushed the feeling down. He knew what would happen. Worrying about it wouldn’t change anything. Instead, he put all his focus on the task at hand, rushing from classroom to classroom. It was the middle of the night so there shouldn’t be anyone there but they still had to check. If any civilians got caught in the crossfire, they would not be able to save them. 

   He walked into the last classroom of his corridor. Ladybug was handling the other side. A quick scan told him that it was completely empty. Good. He had to talk to someone. 

   “Claws in.”

   “Hey kid.” The small voice filled the world and set his heart ablaze like no one else could. 

   “Hey Plagg.” 

   The small but infinitely powerful being smiled at him. “How much time do we have?” 

   Adrien looked at his watch. “Not enough. Hawkmoth could be here any minute now. I just had to talk to you before. Just in case…”

   “No!” Plagg interrupted him. “Don’t even think the thought, okay?” He fixed Adrians gaze with his emerald green eyes. “You have defeated him a thousand times before. Tonight, you will do it again.”

   Adrien slouched and leaned his head back behind the back of the chair. “But how? He has every other miraculous. He is so much stronger than he’s ever been before!” 

   “So are you!” Plagg hung upside down, still meeting his gaze. “You have grown so much, just in these couple of days. There is this one thing Tikki always says.” He thought for a second before continuing. “In the darkest hour of our darkest night, there’s always been a Ladybug, to stand up and fight.” He smiled brightly. “The same goes for Chat Noir. For over a thousand years, there has never been a threat you couldn’t overcome. The power of a hundred generations is within you. Hawkmoth is alone.” 

   Adrien smiled back at him. “You’re right about that. We are not alone.” 

***********************************************************

   Ladybug finished checking her final classroom and started heading back towards the meeting spot. It was a strange feeling, walking these corridors, not as Marinette but as Ladybug. A hero, not a civilian. But could she even call herself a hero anymore? And if she wasn’t, could she really defeat Hawkmoth? 

   She knew she shouldn't, knew that someone could see her, knew that Hawkmoth could arrive at any moment but she couldn’t help herself. She needed to talk to someone. 

   “Spots of.” 

   She sat down on a bench. Chat noir was on the other side of the school so there shouldn’t be any risk of being discovered. Tikki floated in the air of the empty school. On the wall beside them, a teacher had put up drawings from some of the students. 

   “I have always loved this”, Tikki said. “The simple creations.” She floated over to the next drawing. “I have the power to create anything and everything. I can make it as perfect as I want. But that removes the fun part. The part of not knowing how it will turn out.” She finally turned towards Marinette. “That is why I love you humans. You, more than any other animal on the planet, are creative. You see an impossible problem and yet you are able to create a solution.” She smiled. “That is what I always admired in you, Marinette. Your ability to take an idea and make it a reality. But with infinite power, that part of you disappears. Your creativity is replaced by perfection.”  

   Marinette thought for a second. This wasn’t what she had in mind when she summoned the Kwami. “Tikki, I’m sorry for…" 

   Tikki placed a tiny paw over her mouth. “No, Marinette. For the first time in over a thousand years, I don’t know what will happen. I have infinite powers but not even I can create a perfect solution to this problem. I don’t want what might be our final conversation to be about the past. There will be time for that later, okay?” 

   Marinette nodded. “Okay. I miss that part of me too Tikki. The creativity. It seemed much easier before when the stakes were lower.” 

   “You are still that person Marinette. You have defeated Hawkmoth hundreds of times before, always with a creative solution. Now you have to do it again.”

   “But how? He has all the miracoulouses? He will be unstoppable.” 

   “Yes, he has the miracoulouses. But can he use them all at the same time?”

   Marinette thought for a second. “No. No he can’t. Using even two or three at a time will tire him out.” 

   Tikki nodded. “Exactly.”

   “And when he’s weak we can…”

   Tikki smiled and watched on in silence as Marinettes mind started running faster and faster, filling up with ideas for the upcoming battle. The battle would not be easy. In fact, it would probably be the hardest fight they had ever had to endure. But with the four of them together, there was no doubt in her mind that they could do it. 

*************************************************************

   They met in the courtyard a few minutes later. A black cat and a red ladybug. Determination filled their eyes. The Cat held out his paw and the Ladybug grabbed it. They looked into each other's eyes and got lost. So much was left unsaid. So much had happened and so much had changed. Eventually it would have to come out, lest they explode from all the emotions, but right now, it did not matter. They were together. They had each other. Right now, that would have to be enough. 

   “Are we ready?” It was unclear who had spoken and truly, it did not matter. 

   “Yes”, the other one responded. “There was no one on my side.” “Same here.” They nodded in unison. “Should we call him then?” “Yes. Yes we should. No point in waiting.” 

*************************************************************

   Marinette pondered the word for a second. “I agree. When he arrives, I will use my lucky charm. Depending on what I get, we will have to think on our feet.” 

   Chat noir smiled. “It has worked a thousand times before. It’s going to work again.” A million different doubts flew through Marinettes head. Would it really? Were they really ready? Or would today mark the day when Ladybug and Chat noir finally lost? The day that Hawkmoth won? She didn’t know and she knew that there would be no way of finding out. She simply had to trust that they were enough. 

   As she gathered her power she smiled at the irony. Yet again, it all came down to trust. It seemed like no matter what they did, they could never escape that stupid concept. She felt her power gathering, bubbling just below the surface, ready to be released at a moments notice. 

   “I’m ready. Call him.” 

************************************************************

Adrien opened his staff. They had called each other countless times on their staff and yo-yo but of course, their tools were connected to all the miraculous, not only their own. He pressed the symbol of the butterfly miraculous. As the call connected he felt his pulse rise. This was it. He didn’t know why he knew but he just knew. Tonight was the night. The night when it would all be over. When they would either defeat Hawkmoth once and for all or lose everything trying. No matter how it ended, it would end tonight. 

   The call connected. “So. You have decided to give up?” The ice cold voice sent shivers down his spine. “Not a chance.” The voice was silent. He was certain Hawkmoth was smiling. “I was hoping you’d say that.” 

   “We are at…” Ladybug began but Hawkmoth interrupted her. “No. I’m not stupid enough to come to you. I’m at the former Eiffel Tower. You have five minutes before I start hurting people.” The call ended. 

   For a long second everything was quiet. They both stared at the communicator. Ladybug ended the silence with a harangue containing a lot of words not at all suited for a proper lady. 

   “Hey!” Adrien placed his hand on her shoulder and stopped her pacing. “What do we do now?”

   Ladybug spun around and faced him. “What choice do we have? We have to face him on his own turf. If we stay here, people will get hurt. If we go there, we will lose.” 

   Adrien sighed. “It´s bad. But we've faced worse odds. Right?” 

   “When Chat? When? Tell me!” Her eyes burned with desperation. Tears were beginning to form at the sides. 

   Adrien reached under the mask and dried them off. “I don’t know. Maybe we haven’t. But if we give up now, Paris is doomed.” 

   Ladybug looked up at him before falling into his chest, hugging him so tight it hurt. “How do you do it?”, she murmured, face sussed against his suit. “How are you always so calm?” 

   Adrien shook, a million different emotions filling him. Fear and trauma for what had happened. For what she had done to him. Love. For all that she meant to him. 

   “That wasn’t her. That was Hawkmoth.”

   The voice wasn’t wrong but it wasn’t right either. She had done so much, even before becoming an Akuma. But so had he. Love coursed through his body, burning away everything else, and he hugged her back. It wasn’t forgiveness per se. It was an acknowledgement of everything she meant to him and everything he felt for her. They had a lot to work out after the battle was done but for now, love was enough. Ladybug leaned back slightly. Their eyes met and suddenly, the air was filled with electricity. 

   Afterwards, Adrien didn’t know who had leaned in first. All he could remember was the moment when their lips met in a glorious release of love that had been building from the moment his eyes first met her, all those years ago. The world could have ended then and there and he wouldn’t have noticed. 

   After a moment that could have been a single second or an eternity, he forced himself to lean back even though his entire being screamed at him to stop. “We have to go”, he said.

   She looked down. Her cheeks were red, flustered. “Yes. Yes we do.” She made no attempt to move away. Neither did he. “After the battle. When we’ve won. What will happen?” 

   Adrien was still high on love but not so high that he couldn’t see the truth. He loved her, of that there was no doubt. At the same time, he had not forgiven her and didn’t even know if he ever could. 

   “You need her to be her best. Tell her what she needs to hear.”

   No. Adrien shut the voice down. No more secrets. No more lies. They would face Hawkmoth together as a team and a team was not built on lies. 

   “I don’t know”, he answered truthfully. 

   Ladybug nodded. “I understand.” 

   Adrien reached out and took her hand. “But no matter what happens, you are not alone anymore. I will not leave you again.” 

   Ladybug smiled and squeezed his hand. “Let’s finish this.” 

   Adrien squeezed her hand back. “Yes. Let’s finish this.” 

***********************************************************

As one, they ran out from school, jumped up on the roofs and made their way over towards the place where the Eiffel tower had once stood. It was time to finish this.