It was two days after the Fan Fact incident. In that time, Marinette was able to stop him in the waking world and catch the Akuma, then made amends with Honoré. Now, she sat in her room having a video chat with Alya.

"So what was the dream about?" she asked.

"In it, I was Ladybug, and Adrien was Cat Noir, and we were in a story written by a guy I met a few days ago."

"Ooh, it must've been a pretty good dream!" Alya winked.

Marinette sighed. "Actually, it was pretty stressful. We had to find all the inconsistencies with reality, then figure out how to escape."

"Oh… Well, I'm glad you told me. I could write it as a fanfiction for the LadyBlog! Without your names, of course. What was the guy's villain name?"

"Fan Fact."

"Perfect! 'Fan Fact, a Ladybug and Cat Noir Fanfiction, written by Alya and Marinette Dupain-Cheng'! Merci beaucoup!"

"Wait, did you just speak French while speaking French?"

"I'm not sure… anywho, see you on the flipside!"

Alya hung up the call. Marinette flopped onto her back and chuckled.

Tikki came out of Marinette's purse. "Are you sure that was a good idea?"

"Her blog has been declining lately. And besides, you heard her; she doesn't suspect a thing!"

The Next Day…

Alya shut her locker and was about to head to lunch, when she was stopped by Chloe.

"What is the meaning of this?" Chloe held out her phone, which was displaying the story on the LadyBlog.

"Oh, that's the story Marinette and I wrote."

"I mean, why does this story portray me as a fun-hating brat?"

"I was only writing the truth!" Alya shot back.

Chloe's face turned red. In one fluid move, she pushed Alya into her open locker and shut it, locking it.

"Chloe! Let me out!"

"Oh, I'll let you out — at the end of lunch. Don't call for help, or my daddy will get your website shut down." With that, Chloe left.

Alya grumbled, then took out her lunch in the cramped space. "Might as well have my lunch while I wait." She took a bite, but nearly inhaled it when she was startled by a scream. Several students left the locker room to see the commotion.

A loud, booming voice exclaimed from a distance, "I am Claw-Chella, and I'll show you all some REAL music!" This was quickly followed by what could only be described as the sound of a hundred electric guitars being slammed against a wall, at about the same volume as a vacuum cleaner warehouse.

Alya groaned, "Oh great, I'm gonna miss a battle!"

She was then interrupted by a glimpse of motion through the slits in the locker. Alya wanted to speak up, but remembered what Chloe would do if she got out early.

The person walked across the room and started talking to somebody else. Alya could see that Marinette was one of them, but she couldn't see the other character, and she couldn't make out their conversation over the "music".

Suddenly, Marinette's voice broke through the sound:

"Tikki, spots on!"

Alya gasped, recognizing the sentence structure. In a brilliant flash of light, Marinette had become Ladybug.

Alya could barely keep from screaming.

Ladybug leapt out the window, allowing Alya to let out her excitement.

"Ohmygosh, Marinette is Ladybug! I knew it! Wait'll I tell Nino!" She tried to open the locker door. "Right, it's still locked."

—

When at last Claw-Chella was defeated, school resumed as normal. Chloe came back to her locker and opened it, setting Alya free.

"Well, have you learned your lesson?" Chloe asked in her snobbish way.

"Yeah, yeah, I should keep in mind who I'm talking to before I say something. Got it."

"And?"

"And I'll edit the story to make you nicer."

Chloe nodded and stepped out of the way. Alya shot up and bolted out of the room, one destination in mind.

—

"Woah, woah, are you telling me," Nino couldn't believe what Alya had pulled him aside to tell him, "that the brave, heroic, and witty Ladybug is actually the shy, clumsy, and awkward Marinette?"

"I would've had my doubts, but I saw her transform with my own eyes!" Alya was still geeking out over the whole ordeal.

Nino thought over it. "Should we tell anyone?"

"Well, I thought, since she's keeping our identities a secret, then the least we could do is keep hers."

"Okay, that makes sense… but then why did you tell me?"

"Because, you're my favorite guy," Alya held his hand, "And I promised not to keep secrets from you."

Nino chuckled. "Fair enough. But should we tell her that we know?"

"Yeah," Alya said, thinking, "and I think I know exactly how to do it."