A/N: The base idea of this fic is the same one I used in Treachery, but enough things are different (villain, outcomes, tone (much less dark), etc) that I'm posting this here, too. Set in season 1, post-The Puppeteer. Standard disclaimers apply.

"Can't you eat faster?" Adrien pleaded, stopping his pacing of the alley long enough to shoot his kwami an imploring look. It wasn't much use; Plagg was practically inhaling the camembert—it looked like he was swallowing it whole—but even being the glutton he was, Plagg wouldn't put his love of cheese before the fate of Paris.

Or at least, Adrien hoped he wouldn't.

It had been five minutes since he'd used Cataclysm, and even though it had only been one minute (two at a stretch) since he was left watching Plagg stuff his face, it felt too long.

The Ventriloquist wasn't exactly like the Puppeteer; his manipulation of people's bodies was weak at best, so he had to do his own fighting, but he was perfectly capable of controlling what people said and had an uncanny ability of knowing just the right thing to say to get what he wanted.

Ladybug and Chat Noir were faced with a villain who fought chiefly with his words, although he'd made it all too clear that he wasn't above physical violence.

But that wasn't what unnerved Adrien the most.

No, what had him on edge was the message he'd received: Give me Ladybug's Miraculous or I will break her.

He'd been running for cover, looking for a safe place to let his transformation wear off, when a young girl—maybe five or six—had stepped into his path and delivered the message. The voice was clearly her own, but the high, clear tones had carried an unmistakable threat that had sent shivers down his spine.

Seeing the girl shake off the Ventriloquist's influence and stand in awe of one of her heroes hadn't made the situation sit any better with him.

He'd given her a smile, a kiss on the hand, and a quick 'my pleasure, milady', and fled before she'd stopped giggling.

He'd barely made it off the street and into the (thankfully deserted) alley before he found himself rooting through his pockets for some cheese which, despite what Plagg said, did not smell any better than the dumpster on which the kwami was currently sitting.

"Just one more piece," Plagg said as he reached for the last of Adrien's cheese supply.

Adrien knew what that meant. He scooped up the camembert before Plagg had a chance to swallow it. "No time. Plagg, claws out!"

It was unfortunately very easy to find Ladybug and the Ventriloquist. They were not where he had left them; the fight had been taken outside, something Adrien knew Ladybug would have tried to avoid at all costs because it appeared to be easier for the Ventriloquist to control people when he could see them. That made his stomach twist more, as he knew that message had been passed along directly to him, but unfortunately, controlling multiple voices at once did not to weaken the Ventriloquist.

That was what made it easy for him to find them.

He just needed to follow the screams.

Adrien landed lightly on Le Pont des Arts, the love lock bridge. It was clear but for himself, Ladybug, and Hawk Moth's latest victim, but that didn't make him feel any better. There were too many people here, too many eyes.

Too many witnesses to their defeat.

Too many mouths opened in wailing screams.

Ladybug, held right next to the Ventriloquist as his main mouthpiece, was tangled in her own yo-yo, something Adrien had rarely seen after their initial debut. (Her skill had markedly improved with her confidence, and he was more often victim to her weapon than she.) A simple lock, marked in the telltale pattern of all Ladybug's Lucky Charms, told him that time was running out for her anyway. It was open and lying on the other side of the bridge, perhaps a scant five feet from her but an impossible distance from where she stood now nonetheless; most likely, she hadn't been able to use it.

If she had, chances were very good she wouldn't be in this situation.

Of course, chances were very good she wouldn't be in this situation if he'd been there for her.

Without him there to distract the Ventriloquist, it had been easier for the akumatized man to distract Ladybug. He would have used all the voices here in an attempt to keep her from focusing; the screaming to which Adrien had arrived was no doubt the end result of that. Still, it would have taken a familiar voice to cut through the others and make Ladybug jerk at just the wrong time….

As Adrien straightened up, his eyes scanned the crowd on the far side of the bridge, and he found his classmate Alya, who was known to Ladybug as the former Lady WiFi and the infamous Ladyblogger if no one else. She looked terrified, but she wasn't moving, and she had her phone out—hopefully to contact others as much as to catch the end of this fight on video. He wished she weren't recording this, though. He wished no one was, though hers was not the only phone he could see.

Surely the Ventriloquist couldn't be holding them all here?

Except he wouldn't have to. The scene itself might be enough to glue people's feet to the ground when the villain didn't seem to do anything worse than manipulate voices. Especially when there was a chance to learn Ladybug's identity.

"Bring me her Miraculous, Chat Noir," Ladybug said in a steady, confident tone that belied her terrified expression. She looked like she had been crying; he could only imagine what the Ventriloquist had said to her, what he had reasoned out on his own and what Hawk Moth had prompted him to say.

He could understand why Ladybug was Hawk Moth's primary target; she was the one with the ability to cleanse the akuma, to reverse all of this. His power was of limited use without her by his side. He needed her.

But the only way to save her would be to destroy her.

"Go on," Ladybug's voice coaxed. "Come on, kitty. Don't you care enough about me to save me?"

Adrien stiffened, the last of his doubt gone. The Ventriloquist might be the one controlling Ladybug's voice, but the order was coming from Hawk Moth. Ladybug might be oblivious, but Adrien had the horrible feeling that Hawk Moth knew exactly how he felt about her.

Ladybug's earrings beeped, and the second spot vanished as Adrien watched.

Three minutes left.

He had three minutes and no idea what to do.

He didn't know what could be done with Ladybug's Lucky Charm—at least Cataclysm was straightforward—and he'd only seen Ladybug's yo-yo break once. Even if Cataclysm did work on it and free her, Ladybug would be unable to do what she needed to without it. If he just stalled for time, her transformation would wear off and arguably make it even easier for the Ventriloquist to get her Miraculous….

Adrien frowned. Why hadn't the Ventriloquist stolen her Miraculous yet? He was right there, and….

And, now that Adrien moved closer, he could see that the Ventriloquist wasn't just holding Ladybug close to keep her from getting away; he was bound to her by the coils of the yo-yo and unable to move his limbs, just as she was.

Ladybug's eyes widened, misinterpreting his approach. The Ventriloquist must have thought the same, as he allowed her to say, "Chat Noir, please, you don't have to do this."

Adrien hesitated, glancing over at the Lucky Charm lock and memorizing its position. Ladybug was always the one to come up with crazy plans to help him defeat the villain. She'd had to fight him off as well, more than once, although times like these just served to emphasize why neither of them worked alone. "I don't have a choice," he said quietly. Hawk Moth had not given him any instructions regarding what to do with Ladybug's Miraculous once he had it. Perhaps he expected Chat Noir to simply hand her earrings over to the Ventriloquist. More likely, Adrien would then need to fight to keep his own Miraculous safe.

So maybe the best thing to do was to pretend he wasn't going to fight.

He was no stranger to wearing a mask, even when he wasn't Chat Noir.

"He threatened to hurt you, Ladybug," Adrien said, not meeting Ladybug's eye. He couldn't chance that she might discover what he was trying to do; he wasn't sure he'd be able to pull it off if she did. He wasn't sure anyway. But if he could make her believe that he'd betray her, then Hawk Moth was more likely to believe it as well. "I won't lose you, and I'll do anything to keep that from happening."

"I'm not worth Par—"

Adrien looked up as Ladybug's protest cut off abruptly, but for the moment she made no sound. Adrien waited, half expecting the Ventriloquist to speak through him this time. Instead, Ladybug's mouth opened again, saying the words the Ventriloquist had placed there. "Take her Miraculous. Let them know who Ladybug really is." Ladybug choked on the next words, but the Ventriloquist forced them out. "Don't you want to know who's hiding beneath this mask, kitty?"

Adrien finally tucked his baton back into its place on his back; he needed to project an aura of submission, of defeat, or he hadn't a hope of Hawk Moth believing the lie. "I would've been happier if it was the cat who had your tongue, my lady." He gave her an intentionally weak smile; her eyes widened in panic as he stepped closer. "If I could see another way out of this, believe me, I would take it, but this time…."

The Ventriloquist let her have her voice back, perhaps in an attempt to test for a ruse. "We can't let him win, Chat Noir! Listen to yourself! You can't believe that. He's just making you say those things!"

Adrien swallowed and took another step forward. "He's not making me say anything."

Her earrings beeped again.

Two minutes.

He needed to do something.

He reached up a hand to trace her features, to wipe away her tears. "I'm sorry, my lady, but there isn't another way. If I don't do this, he'll destroy you."

"He'll just destroy both of us!"

"Maybe not, if I can make a deal." Chat Noir turned away from Ladybug to address the Ventriloquist, to address Hawk Moth, though he knew any answers received would be through Ladybug. "If I give you her Miraculous," he said, "you must promise not to harm her or anyone associated with her. Is that understood?"

"The cat thinks he can bargain?" Ladybug spat.

"You underestimate me." The words were stolen from his own throat, forced through his lips in a dark hiss. Adrien shuddered but was allowed to retaliate as best he could, saying, "The Ventriloquist is caught like a fly in Ladybug's web. You may learn Ladybug's identity either way, but I am the only way you would get her Miraculous. Otherwise, what's stopping me from simply freeing the Ventriloquist from your influence?"

The truth of the matter was, of course, that he did not know where the akuma was hiding. If Ladybug knew, the Ventriloquist would not let her tell him. All they knew about the Ventriloquist was that he did not want to be ignored anymore—he wanted his voice to be heard, and he was not afraid to use other people to do it—and that the akuma hadn't been hiding in his original ventriloquist figure, which Adrien had destroyed with the first Cataclysm attempt.

Unfortunately, his bluff was called. "You would have done that already if you knew," Ladybug taunted.

"And you won't trade my Miraculous for hers, even if it's willingly given?" Adrien knew the answer to that already, of course, so he was not surprised when his proposal was refused. "Then how about this," Adrien said, spinning on his heels and leaning up close to Ladybug's face. "I'll give you Ladybug's Miraculous." The horror in her eyes nearly choked him up, but years of modelling had taught him how to mimic emotion well. "Just let me team up with you instead. Don't get me wrong," he said as he stepped back and looked at the Ventriloquist. "I still have a soft spot for her, but as her partner? I think I'd work better with you. The power of destruction would work well for you, wouldn't it?"

Ladybug nearly gagged on the words, but they came out of her mouth regardless. "Very well. The girl won't be harmed as long as she isn't wearing a mask." It hardly sounded like Ladybug's voice, though her next words were very much her own. "Chat Noir, don't do this!" It was a scream of desperation that seemed to echo in the silence, and it was only then that Adrien realized it was silent.

None of the spectators were being allowed to make a sound.

All the better to startle him later, at just the wrong moment.

Another warning beep.

One minute.

Adrien took a few more steps back and crouched down. His left hand closed upon the Lucky Charm but he still held up his right, in full view of Ladybug and the Ventriloquist. "Why don't I just start right here?" he asked with a grin. "Cataclysm!" He swept his hand along the bridge deck, and it began to crumble beneath them.

"You fool!" Ladybug shrieked, but Adrien was already moving. He vaulted over the rotting structure, landing nimbly beside them. The power of the Cataclysm was still spreading, the deck of the bridge rusting away to nothing. But he knew how far it would spread, and it would not quite reach the railing on this side. He clipped the Lucky Charm to the cord of Ladybug's yo-yo and locked it into place on the railing even as the deck gave way beneath their feet.

He was left hanging on by his fingertips, one hand outstretched to snag Ladybug's ankle as the fall jerked both her and the Ventriloquist free of her trap. She gripped the Ventriloquist's wrist with one hand and managed to catch her yo-yo as it slid back through the lock, gravity pulling it toward the Seine. By some miracle, all that hit the water was the remnants of the bridge.

"So, does this still count as making a commitment to each other?" Adrien asked.

Ladybug let out a hiss, but he wasn't sure if that was genuinely from her or not. Probably for the best. She began twisting in his grip—hardly a surprise, considering the Ventriloquist was thrashing in hers—but it was only once she managed to begin swinging her yo-yo that he felt confident that the movements were wholly her own.

Ladybug's yo-yo whacked against a lapel pin on the Ventriloquist's suit. It broke open immediately, releasing the akuma. "Drop me!" she yelled, and Adrien immediately obeyed. As Ladybug twisted to snag the akuma, he pulled out his staff, extended it, and pushed himself off the bridge. He wasn't in time to catch the Ventriloquist—or rather, the man who had been the Ventriloquist—before the man hit the water, but he was able to avoid that fate himself and help pull the man up onto his staff to rest until he got his wits about him.

Ladybug hit the water with a cry, and Adrien looked up just long enough to see the little white butterfly flying away before Ladybug's restorative powers took effect and the bridge was overhead again, whole and unharmed.

His ring beeped.

Four minutes.

He had time to wait for Ladybug to surface, but the once-akumatized man beside him was beginning to shiver violently, so Adrien helped him to the bank. He looked back at the Seine in time to see a figure crawling out of the water on the far side, and his heart skipped a beat.

There was no mistaking her, even from this distance.

It was none other than the girl who sat behind him in class.

It was Marinette Dupain-Cheng.