Most akuma battles seemed to follow a set pattern, with the akuma monologuing, the both of them fighting as they tried to figure out where the possessed butterfly was hiding, Chat Noir taking a hit for Ladybug when needed, and her finishing the battle on her own with the use of her lucky charm.
The latest battle had completely disregarded the routine, throwing the both of them for a loop.
The akuma, a woman going by the name of Aercian who seemed annoyed that her siblings wouldn't listen to her, had started following the routine by monologuing about how now everyone was going to listen to her, but before they could get any farther, she had lifted the slingshot that had been resting by her side and launched what looked like a small black marble straight at Chat Noir. He had been shocked, and with no time for him to dodge or grab his baton, he had simply braced for impact, sure that Ladybug would be able to complete the battle without him if it came down to it.
Apparently, Ladybug had disagreed and before he could process it, she was in front of him taking the hit, the marble exploding into a small cloud of black dust.
"Ladybug!" He shouted, covering his mouth as he stepped forward to make sure she was okay, pausing when Aercian started to laugh.
"Don't bother Chat Noir. She's not exactly your Ladybug anymore." She chuckled, crossing her arms with a smirk once the dust cleared fully. "Ladybug, get Chat Noir's miraculous for me."
When Ladybug turned to face him, he couldn't stop himself from recoiling in horror at the sharp purple hue her eyes had taken on as she stared at him blankly.
"Ladybug?"
"Hand over your miraculous Chat Noir."
Flinching at how calm she sounded, he stepped back, brain scrambling as he tried to think a way out of the situation.
"You know I can't do that, and you know this isn't really you Ladybug."
"Hand over your miraculous or I'll have to use force."
Grimacing, Chat hurriedly pulled his baton from behind his back and extended it, using it to launch himself away from Ladybug and to a nearby rooftop. As soon as he landed, he was running to the next rooftop, pushing himself faster as he heard Ladybug land behind him. Without a plan, there was no way he was going to be able to defeat her, and trying to hold her off without one would just lead to him losing his miraculous.
He was making a jump for the next rooftop when her yo-yo string lashed around his ankle and pulled, sending him crashing back to the roof he had jumped from with a spray of gravel and a groan of pain. As he scrambled to stand, Ladybug pulled the string of her yo-yo from his leg, walking toward him with her weapon spinning quickly in her left hand. With her coming towards him, Chat tried to step backwards, but found himself standing at the very edge of the rooftop, an empty alleyway beneath him.
"Don't do this Ladybug." He pleaded, trying to catch his breath as she continued to advance towards him, "This isn't you!"
"Hand over your miraculous Chat Noir." She repeated, slowing neither her yo-yo or her stride as she continued toward him.
"No! Aercian is controlling you, please snap out of it!"
"Either hand over your miraculous, or actually fight me so I can get it myself." She spoke, the slightest hint of anger coloring her face.
As she continued forward, Chat looked over his shoulder again to see if there was anyway he could get away, but there wasn't enough room left on the edge for him to launch himself away, which left him with either going around Ladybug, or being pushed off the edge of the building and hitting the ground below.
"Stop avoiding me and fight!" She finally yelled, swinging her yo-yo at him as he barely managed to bring his baton up to block.
"No!" He yelled, pushed back even closer to the edge with the force of her swing.
"Why won't you fight me?" She yelled, throwing her yo-yo forward to wrap around his baton and yank, pulling it out of his hands and tossing it behind her.
"Because I love you!" He cried, right arm reaching out to grab her arm as her free hand reached forward to shove him backwards.
Lunging forward, his eyes slipped close as his lips aimed for hers, missing them by mere millimeters as her push sent him slipping off the edge of the roof and crashing to the street below with a gasp of surprise.
Staring straight ahead, Ladybug's eyes faded to their regular soft blue as the crash of Chat Noir hitting the ground echoed through the air. Dropping her weapon, Aercian's power over her faded as tears came to her eyes and she started trembling. One moment she had been trying to protect Chat from whatever Aercian had been planning on doing to him, and the next she could only watch through the possession's fading control as she sent her partner flying off a rooftop and to the ground below, no way for him to stop his fall with his baton laying at her feet.
The tears spilled over her mask and down her cheeks without her noticing, still staring ahead as her thoughts ran rampant.
How injured was Chat Noir? Did he even survive the fall? Had he detransformed or was he still down there in his superhero form? What would she tell his family if he had died? How would she even find his family if he had been killed?
Reigning in the last of her sobs, she wiped her face with one gloved hand, reaching down to pick up his baton and her yo-yo so she could safely lower herself down to check on him, startled when Aercian suddenly appeared beside her. Seemingly ignoring her, the akuma stepped to the edge and looked down, turning to Ladybug with a frown.
"I didn't want this." She spoke softly, reaching behind her neck to unfasten the necklace she was wearing. "Here. The akuma should be in this. I'm so sorry, I swear I didn't want this."
Dropping the necklace into Ladybug's palm, Aercian gave her a slight nod and left, leaving Ladybug to stare down at the necklace. It was an incredibly simple thing, with a circular pendant on a leather string, and small dots carved into the circle. Such a small, simple object and yet it was partially responsible for whatever happened to Chat Noir.
Wrapping the cord around her hand, she used her yo-yo to lower herself down, bracing herself for whatever condition she found Chat in. Unsurprisingly, he was laying on his back, a small pool of blood spreading from beneath his head and spreading through the cracks in the pavement. His arms were splayed beside him and his eyes were closed, turned ever so slightly toward her.
Nearly dropping her yo-yo, she raced forward, kneeling by his side to check if he was still breathing, and choking on a sob when she saw that he was. Fumbling with the necklace, she slammed it to the ground, quickly catching and purifying the butterfly that escaped once the necklace had shattered.
Grabbing Chat's hand with her hand that wasn't holding her yo-yo, she called for the miraculous cure, gaze fixed to her partner as the wave of ladybugs flew over him before taking off elsewhere, taking the pool of blood and Chat's shallow breathing with them.
"Chat?" She whispered, squeezing his hand when she saw his eyelids flicker. "Chat Noir, please open your eyes."
It took a few seconds, but soon Chat's eyes slowly slid open, letting Ladybug finally breathe as his gaze settled on her worried face.
"Ladybug?" He questioned tiredly, watching as her eyes filled with tears. "What's wrong?"
Lunging forward, she pulled him into a hug so tight he felt he couldn't breathe for a moment.
"Don't ever scare me like that again." She whispered, burying her face in the crook of his neck as his arms raised to hug her back.
"I'm sorry." He whispered, closing his eyes as he soaked in the feeling of her held in his arms.
"I love you too."
Freezing, Chat Noir pulled back from the hug to look at Ladybug, watching as the smallest hint of pink peeked out from under her mask.
"What?"
"I said, I love you too." She responded, making eye contact as he felt his face heating up. "You told me earlier that you wouldn't fight me because you love me, and I realized that I need you to know that I love you too."
Smiling, Chat pulled Ladybug into a kiss, ignoring the tears painting his cheeks as she kissed him back, fingers sliding into his hair to pull him closer. When Ladybug's earrings began to beep incessantly, she gave him another quick peck before burying her face back in his shoulder.
"After everything that's happened today, I don't care about secret identities anymore. I almost lost you today, and I don't even know your name under your mask. I'll close my eyes if you want, but I think it's important that you know who I am."
"Adrien." Chat responded, grinning when Ladybug looked up at him. "My name's Adrien Agreste."
Blinking, Ladybug stared at him for another moment before a blinding smile took over her face, causing his own smile to widen.
"Hi Adrien." She whispered, closing her eyes as the pink flash of her transformation wearing off rolled over her.
Opening his eyes, Adrien looked down at the girl in his lap, leaning in to kiss her as soon as he could see properly.
"Hi Marinette."