First of all: I am positively startled – more than 50 follows on the first chapter PLUS 11 comments... I NEVER expected to receive SUCH a strong feedback. You guys are pawesome. You don't know how happy this makes me. ;/^/;
I'm sorry that I kept you waiting this long, but life became pretty hectic for me recently and will become even more hectic during the next weeks. On the bad side that means that I most likely won't be able to update before the end of February. On the good side... well... there is no good side. But you can always check my twitter ( AwesomePolska) for progress, I like to ramble a lot about my writings. XD
I really hope I can live up to your expectations with this chapter. It somehow ended up to be pretty long (blame me for having too much fun at writing fighting scenes) and is heavily seasoned with LadyNoir. For everyone who is or was hoping on cute and awkward Adrinette: Behold, we are almost there, it's just around the next corner! o3ov
Furthermore you'll all need to thank my awesome beta Ju – this chapter felt like editor's endgame for me and I'm endlessly grateful to have someone like her who patiently cleans up the wordy mess I leave behind. Without her this story wouldn't be the same.
(PS: I took account to the english dub, yes, but NOTHING will ever make me use the word de-evilize. Sorry. /D)
He wasn't sure if this was a bad joke or a dream or both. This was her body. His Lady's body. There was no doubt about it, not a single one, and he knew it not only from the warm, lifting magic her Miraculous sent through his utter being. He was painstakingly aware of everything, of every oh so little detail.
The fall and rise of her chest, the light tickle of loose hair on the temples, the flutter of lashes against the mask when he blinked, the feel of the red suit on bare skin. Her skin.
Trying to steer away his mind from this devious thought, his quickly beating heart had already betrayed him and send a gush of scorching blood to his cheeks. The burning heat painted them just as red as the dotted spandex above.
He lowered his gaze, expecting a reprimand for his embarrassment and the all too obvious reason of it. Eyes fixed to the single, black spot on the back of the hand resting on his thigh, he felt the treacherous colour creep even further and so he waited. But no word left the heroine's lips, even after several moments passed. He glanced up again. The green behind the dark mask that interlocked with his now blue eyes looked shaken and shockingly vulnerable. Something told him he should make a witty pun, a reassuring comment, a ridiculous joke, anything for the sake of some normality between them.
He couldn't, he just wasn't able to. His mind was blank, still in the process of grasping what just had happened, and his attention constantly dragged towards the body that was not his own. And at the same time, now his very own.
A sudden demonic cackle of two gleeful voices then reminded them that they were still at the battle scene and their enemies far from defeat.
"Now you are you going to experience at first hand how it is when everybody thinks you are someone else," one of the twins drawled.
"No need to thank us," the other one continued mockingly.
"Don't worry, we didn't mean to," Chat Noir hissed before he sensed a movement beneath him and noticed the shift of night-coloured leather at the outer corner of his eye. He turned his head. Although puzzlement was still written all over her face, Ladybug's expression was stern again and she appeared to be a little more collected than previously. She peered at him and even if the whole situation couldn't have been more odd and surreal, there was one thing that all of Hawk Moth's dark magic would never be able to change. It was easy to read her intentions in that eyes so full of emotion, even when her soul shone from Chat Noir's very own irises right now. This sort of communication between them needed no words, it never had, and so their hands met, offering support to each other when they dragged themselves to their feet again.
"We need to defeat them and clean up this mess." It was strange to hear this command given by own voice when it was undoubtedly Ladybug speaking there. Yet he didn't question it since he was sure her smart mind was processing a new plan already. "With pleasure," he replied and reached for his staff absent-mindedly until he remembered that this was not his weapon of choice in this form. A crooked smile on his lips due to this small lapse, his hand then closed around the yoyo on his hip. Not a beat too slow, he figured quickly, as this was obviously the same moment their enemies decided that they had bathed long enough in the Lucky Duo's misery.
Two colourful balls chased towards the heroes, and as he evaded them with a back-step Chat Noir felt... lighter than usual. Less strong, but slightly more agile and he believed that when he swung up in the air, the wire of his fighting tool could carry him miles. He untied the yoyo, a spur of anticipation flaring through his chest - time to make use of those new abilities.
·
Ladybug groaned.
It had taken Chat Noir exactly ten seconds and one deflected attack to neatly wrap himself in the wire of his weapon and send himself to the ground. That was precisely what they needed right now. Not.
It would require both of them if they dared to hope to stand a chance against their enemies. She was quick to dismiss the idea of launching a simultaneous attack since it had become pretty much obsolete with her partner struggling like that anyways, and so she guided her steps in his direction – just to be stopped almost immediately by a glowing projectile that impacted right beneath her paws.
Gritting her teeth, the heroine directed a scowl at the twins and discarded her current plan as well. Exposing her back to their opponents for even just a second deemed deadly when there was nobody to protect it. Her companion would need to untangle himself alone while she kept their enemies at bay.
Determination let her grip around Chat Noir's baton grow tight, albeit there were traces of uncertainty in the green eyes. She glanced down to the black-clad claws with the argent weapon between it, her resolve wavering for just a second. It wasn't like she held onto this tool for the first time in her life, but little did she know how this weapon worked in detail. Chat Noir always used it with such ease, like a natural extension to his body, that it was easy to forget that there actually was some technology behind it. Five buttons assorted in the shape of a paw were embossed in its surface what meant there were four chances to get the wrong one. Okay then...
A keen dash behind the next lamppost prevented her body – well, basically Chat Noir's, but that was beside the point now – from becoming the designated target area for another salve of gaudy spheres. There was no time for guessing anymore. Trying her luck, she slammed one of the luminescent switches.
The baton's home screen slid open, displaying various functions and apps which waited patiently to be put into use. That... was not quite what she had promised herself from that action – she wasn't planning on calling her partner or searching the internet for "how to defeat your twin enemies in three easy steps".
Ladybug heaved a frustrated sigh while she sprinted away from her cover and circumvented the next set of hostile la'crosse fire, silently asking why that weapon couldn't be more like her yoyo – round and with a string attached to it. She hit another button.
Accompanied by a light jerk, the staff's ends now spread out with rapid speed and without control, nearly impaling her partner close by who was still fighting a hopeless battle against knotted wire. She heard the startled gasp as one end dug into the concrete next to him and glanced at Chat Noir apologetically.
Although he was the one who had roped himself up in a mess of indestructible thread she couldn't say she was doing better. The heroine had to admit that her intuition failed her on this one, she didn't know how to operate the baton properly.
With mild annoyance that was mostly directed at herself, she let the weapon zip back.
Maybe she should put her trust in a part of her companion she knew better, she saw day by day and that didn't need any special knowledge to make things work.
The raw force of the body she was stuck in.
Chat Noir's strength was something she had relied in so many times, something that often had felt like it was becoming temporarily her own whenever their hands linked during a fierce battle.
She eyed her opponents once more.
It was a dangerous jeopardy of perhaps, perhaps not, but if she managed to destroy one of the girls' pitchers with Cataclysm it would not only diminish the twins' advantage and tame down the frequency of the assaults, it would also improve Chat Noir's and her chances to get their hands on at least one of their enemies. And if they then could find the object the Akuma resided in...
It was literally the best card of the lousy hand she was holding and knowing the game master wouldn't be generous and allow her to draw a new one, she staked all they had onto it.
Activating the ancient power, Ladybug started running and released the baton from her hands with a well-aimed toss. The twins deflected the soaring weapon with ease, but the moment of distraction had been enough for the heroine to close some ground between them. Their eyes grew wide with surprise, they obviously hadn't expected such a bold attack.
Ladybug couldn't help the satisfied grin that crept upon her features, imaging just how much more surprised they would be when they realized that the teenager had even bolder things in mind. Claws out, she felt her body picking up speed. Wind brushed through the golden mess of hair, plucked playfully at artificial cat-ears and caressed the masked face. There was a pleasure in just running, in the powerful, drumming song of her heart and the strong muscles that remembered each movement perfectly. It was intoxicating and she pushed herself further, knowing she was still far from the limit that was possible with this energy.
And then Ladybug felt something else.
Each step was measured too wide, a miscalculation on her behalf from not taking Chat Noir's incredibly long limbs into account. She was getting faster by every inch moving forward. Too fast.
The twins were closing in, also too fast.
To avoid an uncontrolled collision which without a doubt would put her into disadvantage, she jumped instinctively. Only to remember the instant later that she didn't have her yoyo with her to swing out of the danger zone.
Damn.
There was a shocked cry from the voice that belonged to her own body. "WATCH OUT!" Chat Noir screamed. Too late.
With little grace she smacked against the next building where Cataclysm hit and destroyed one part of its wall. Rubble and dust engulfed her form as she fell back on the street, blinding her and stealing the air from her lungs.
Bedazzled, the teenager tried to get to her feet, because she knew that she mustn't loose any time, but the moment she tested her arms and legs she found her movement restricted by something heavy, felt a weight pressing down on her.
The heroine forced her eyes open. She had trouble to focus at first, yet as her surrounding's outlines slowly sharpened, one single look was enough to sober every chaos that the collision had caused in her mind. She stared right in the face of the akumatized girl she had fought with earlier.
A malicious grin distorted the youthful lines of her painted features before she turned her head to her sister.
"Look at them. And they call themselves a team. Ridiculous!"
There was another, sinister cackle and then her opponent's attention was back on Ladybug again.
"Now, for that ring of yours. I'll need it, part of the deal."
Ladybug squirmed under the iron grasp, her thoughts going miles per second, trying to come across a desperate plan. She couldn't let her take Chat Noir's Miraculous.
"W-WAIT!"
To the heroine's relief, her captor's hand actually stopped mid-air, hovering over the black-clad claws hesitantly. "What?" the twin snarled. Ladybug didn't answer. Her green eyes darted over the plaza frantically, searching for her partner and any clue that might prove useful.
She found her companion in the almost same place he had come to fall previously and although he had managed to free himself from most of the wire by now, the other twin kept him grounded, foot and pitcher planted on the back of his head and his spine. Rancour roared lowly in Ladybug's chest at this sight, but she knew she couldn't allow herself to be swayed by anger, she…
She stopped in her tracks as something clicked in her mind. Yes, anger was bad. If she were the one swayed by it. The twins on the other hand...
The teenager locked her eyes with the enemy that was occupied with her partner, addressing the twin directly. "Do you really want to leave all the glory to her?"
"What?" the girl asked and frowned.
"When you let her take the Miraculous, who do you think will be Hawk Moth's champion? You or she? Who do you think will receive the greater power of you two? That's what he promised to you, right?"
The girl seemed to contemplate her words for a moment. Then she took a step closer, abandoning Chat Noir. "Sis? Let me take the ring."
There was mistrust in her sister's face and a tangible shift in the energy between the two.
"Don't tell me you believe that garbage."
"Well, you can prove me that you don't by letting me take the ring."
"Why? You can have the earrings."
"Yet we are one and the same, so it doesn't matter who takes what, right?"
"Yes, and that's why I'll ..."
She was cut off harshly by her sibling's voice.
"Let me take the ring."
The other twin replied with a stubborn glare.
"I'll take it."
"LET ME TAKE THE RING!"
There was an abrupt lift of pressure on Ladybug's limbs, the girl wasn't pinning her down any longer but got to her feet. The heroine was clever enough to suppress the jerk of her muscles, a natural reaction to their newfound freedom, and lay still for some seconds more. A smouldering, dangerous emotion hung between the sisters and weapons were brought into place. With the first battle cry and the first clasp of Lacrosse pitchers Ladybug knew that this was not about her any longer, that whatever had caused this quarrel ran far deeper, and she was the last thing on their mind now.
Finding her own feet, she hurried to Chat Noir. His forehead was knit into a heavy frown while he worked himself through the ugly mess of knots around his legs, but when he noticed her approaching, his face lightened up instantly. Together, it was a matter of less than a minute to get him out the tangled wire. Ladybug helped him up and he turned, looking at the fiercely fighting twins.
"Well, that's a cat-fight. And I speak from experience."
Although she was rolling her eyes she couldn't help but feel a small wave of relief washing through her. If he was still able to make such horrible puns maybe not all hope was lost and the situation not as grave as it seemed.
"Watch out that you are not using too many puns while you are stuck in my body. I don't want my mouth to get used to them."
"But why, My Lady? They sound great coming from you."
She sighed. "Just don't, kitty. But we better find a safe place and work out a new plan," she declared, and after Chat Noir agreed with a nod, she reached for his wrist instinctively. Becoming aware of her action when the claws closed around his lower arm, she blinked and looked at the place where their body-parts linked. She hadn't meant to do this, but her partner's body must have grown so accustomed to this move that it had acted on its own. She now felt the fine, delicate shape of the wrist she was holding onto with this big hand. Was this how it felt for him, too, whenever he did this? For a second she wondered what it meant for him, this motion so trusted to him that his muscles remembered it even now. Then she shook her head.
There was no time for thoughts like this, staying here any longer could end fatal.
At her sign they started running.
·
The small alley between the tall buildings was filled with murky twilight and the reek of litter, yet Chat Noir couldn't have cared less for the decency of their momentary shelter. Eyes fixed on his Lady, it was still weird to see his own body act out all the small gestures and mimics that were so much like her. Now that they had time to catch a breath, the full weight of the events started to settle down on him. He could only fathom how strange this all had to be for her as well, recalled the shattered green he had stared into the seconds after the swap. Still, here she was, all strong and confident, while he... if it hadn't been for Ladybug, their Miraculous would long have fallen to the hands of Hawk Moth and ... he didn't finish this thought neither. But he had hated it, this feeling of helplessness, unable to aid the most important person in his life. If he just hadn't been such a disgrace to her bo-...
"Chat Noir? Are you listening to me?"
He had not. Obviously. He almost wanted to scold himself for how he had dared not to listen to her lovely voice before the teenager realized that he would need to raise it by himself to hear it. The emerald irises in front of him described a full circle, a motion so typical for the spotted heroine. He offered a sorry smile in return as there was not much else he could do. She looked at him sternly.
"If we want this to work, you must be the one who does the cleansing part today."
He wondered how she could still be so sure about this after she had seen his poor display of skill with her weapon. He just prayed that those movements were just engraved in her muscles as they were to his inner eye and this combined memory was enough to summon a Lucky Charm and catch a butterfly.
"I'll do my best to cover your back. I suppose the Akuma is in an object somewhere close to their body, a bracelet or necklace maybe, and once I get a hold of them..."
"...I will purify the Akuma," Chat Noir concluded, but not without a strain in his voice. Of course she noticed it. She always did.
"You don't look happy."
"...I won't be able to protect you," he replied flatly and evaded her gaze, hands clenching into fists. Tips of jet-black hair veiled part of his sight as he lowered his head. This whole, tattered construct what called itself a plan felt rather like clinging to a forlorn hope and he didn't like it. Not at all. He knew Ladybug wouldn't chose this way if there was another possibility and this was what scared him. He was scared of failing once more. And even more of losing her due to that.
Chat Noir's eyes shot up again when he felt the weight of clawed fingers upon his shoulder. Her expression was soft like freshly-fallen snow and her smile encouraging like the first ray of sun after a long rain. It didn't befit his face.
"I'm a big girl, I can take care of myself. Protect my body," she explained and nudged him gently, "will you do that for me, kitty?" He couldn't help but mirror the arching of her lips, star-struck by her kindness and wise words like so often. It took so little of her to make him feel strong – it was amazing. She was amazing.
"Pawsitivley yes," he promised before he quickly shoved a hand in front of his mouth, realizing that another pun had escaped him.
Albeit a faint sound of resignation made it past her lungs, she didn't dwell on it this time.
Ladybug pushed herself off the wall, ready to return to the battle scene.
"Be careful with the yoyo this time," the heroine instructed him and below all strength there was a hint of anxiety, revealing that beyond everything she was very well aware of the odds.
Yet he met her gaze with confidence. He was not going disappoint her again.
"Got it."
·
They stopped at the corner of a big building which front was facing the shopping plaza.
Ladybug raised her hand, preaching caution to her partner silently.
She could only guess what would await them out there. In the best case the twins were still going hard on each other, exhausting themselves. In the worst case they had stopped their quarrel as soon as they had noticed that their prey had gotten away. Not that there was much other choice than to take what they were offered in the first place.
Careful not to be seen, she peeked around the edge of the tall house, monitoring their chances.
And there were... none.
Not in the terms of that they wouldn't stand a second against their opponents, but by the very meaning of the word itself. Whatever favours there had or not had been for the Lucky Duo had simply diluted into thin air along with their enemies.
The akumatized girls were nowhere in sight and the plaza stretched lonely and deserted before the heroes' eyes. Ladybug frowned, not quite believing the sight. Was this a trap?
She gestured Chat Noir to follow her with caution. They emerged from the space between the two buildings, keeping themselves close to the walls, but still... nothing. No attack, no mean laughter, just... nothing. The silvery baton laying abandoned on the street and a tear in the pavement along with a destroyed car were the only remainders of the fight that had just occurred here. The silence around them was almost suffocating.
The heroine exchanged a clueless look with her companion before the green irises searched the streets, the houses, the roofs and the sky once more. Still nothing.
A feeling she didn't like started to make itself home in the pit of Ladybug's stomach and with a tinge of fear tugging at her heart, she inclined her head to a nearby park deck. Maybe a change of perspective was helpful.
Having Chat Noir operate the staff, they got up to the top in no time, but except for some cars it was empty, no signs of human or non-human activity anywhere. Only from afar she could hear the bustling sounds of the cars and horns, yet this was nothing more than the usual afternoon traffic slowly thickening. The air was calm and peaceful and the sun was shining.
"They are gone." The words dropped heavy from her lips and a shiver crawled down her spine, a slow-spreading cold that made her shudder.
A serene scenery like that could only mean that the twins had left the area.
"Chat? Can you give me my yoyo? I need to check the news." There was a stutter in the gears of her mind, a wrenching sensation she just couldn't shake, something was not right and not running round. Only in retrospect she noticed how she hadn't called her partner by his full name, her words coming out raw and unfiltered and with an intimacy she never granted to herself under normal circumstances. If Chat Noir had his own thoughts about this, he didn't let them show. He handed her the weapon, face stern, and she lost no time to slide the display open. But as Ladybug started to browse the social media and broadcasts, one word loomed over all her efforts yet again: Nothing. No word of new attacks or sightings of the akumatized girls. It was as if the ground had swallowed them up by whole. Like they never existed in the first place.
And when a well-known beep cut through the silence, she realized that this wasn't the worst.
It came from Chat Noir's ring and with painful clarity the events that had caused the downfall in its magic came back to her. She was already three beams down now, she hadn't even noticed the previous alarms with all the ruckus that had been going on around them.
The chill creeping through her veins now seized her chest as well, snuffing out the comforting fire of her heart all too easily. Ladybug inhaled sharply.
So far, luck had always turned to their favour, always had them succeed before the situation had become gravely peculiar. The perfect balance between Chat Noir's strength and her wit had formed an unity that had been able to tip every scale.
Things just had worked out. It had been like an unspoken rule that had applied to all of their battles. The realization that this might be different this time hit her hard.
"I..." Ladybug said, a shaky, apologetic smile curving her lips as she searched his eyes.
She knew this was her fault, she had activated the power and ignored the consequences in blind trust to their shared fate.
"Maybe we can..." Chat Noir tried, but was interrupted when the Miraculous on his ears reflected the sound of the ring mere seconds before, signalling that their magic was depleting as well.
"Oh no..." she heard Chat Noir utter breathlessly, the expression on his face conflicted.
There was a sudden trouble in breathing for Ladybug, the air in her lungs thick with ice that cold fear had put there. She tried to fight it back, to keep a clear mind, she had to think of a plan to avoid the worst possible outcome – being well aware how hopeless her efforts were.
The cookies to replenish Tikki's energy lay forgotten on the counter of the bakery, so a recovery right on the spot was out of question, and even if they found a bakery in this area, one reflecting surface was enough to make her partner catch sight of her real self somewhere along the way.
And searching for the twins in the bit of time that was left until the transformation wore off was nothing but a suicide commando in their current state.
"I don't mind," Chat Noir said suddenly, giving her the warmest of looks that melted the thwarting sheet of frost that had wrapped around her insides and soul.
"What?" she asked flabbergasted.
"I don't mind if you see who I am," he elaborated, although his eyes were exactly those she made in front of Adrien, unable to keep contact, hiding away shyly. It took Ladybug a moment to process his words.
"Are you sure?" she asked carefully, whereas he slowly nodded.
·
Yet he was lying through his teeth.
He desired nothing more than to know who she truly was, yes, and along with that came the wish that they one far-off day would be able to lead a life beyond and without their masks, he couldn't deny that neither. But this was not how he had wanted it to happen.
Not that forceful and not... not as long as he wasn't sure who her radiant eyes would fall upon when the transformation wore off.
Would she look at him the same after she knew his civil persona? Would she only see Adrien Agreste, the perfect, flawless model everyone in Paris knew or... who he truly and really was?
Would she start to treat him differently, cushion him, pretend to love him because he was... because of who he was outside the suit? Would he be able to let go if he knew that in everything he did she saw Adrien?
Albeit he was conscious of the shallowness of some of his fears that concerned a person that was far from being shallow, Chat Noir couldn't help them, and so he searched her face.
The finely cut features were still his own, but he saw beyond that, saw the worries he had meant to ease with his words. More than once during their partnership he had seen the flashes of fright on her face in moments a reveal had perched close, and today had been the worst.
He couldn't bear it, seeing her like this. It was a smile that belonged to her lips and a gleam brimming in her eyes. Pushing down this timid part that pertained his Adrien side to the darkest part of his mind, the young hero decided to go a step further, well aware that there was no turning back when he ventured that road. He breathed in slowly.
"I can keep my eyes closed until our kwami recharged and we are able to transform again. That way I won't even get a glimpse of how you really look like."
Her face fell flat with surprise, even more than before. In a way it hurt, being closer to her civil self than he could ever have fathomed and still strapped off the chance to learn more about the girl he loved, but Chat Noir knew he was doing the right thing, recognized it in the softening lines of her face.
To his surprise, she then shook his head.
"That's noble, kitty, but..."
She lowered her gaze.
"... that wouldn't be fair."
Her words and tone left no room for interpretation and a positive shock spread through his veins, pulling at the corners of his mouth. "My Lady, just as always."
She denied his words with another shake of her head, her decision not compelled by her righteousness. Not alone at least. And when she spoke up to him, for the first time today he felt like things were going to be okay again.
"We are a team. You are one of my closest friends and my partner. I... trust you."
There was a moment of silence in which Ladybug nervously brushed a blond lock out of her face. "I hope you aren't too disappointed when you see the boring, plain old me..."
Chat Noir frowned and a crooked, doubting smile toiled his lips. He would have loved to know who put stupid thoughts like that in her pretty head. His expression softened.
"You could never be boring, no matter in what form."
"Thanks, but there is really nothing exciting about me."
Protest became loud in him, but before he could utter it, there was an uncharacteristic downfall in the shine of her eyes that threw him off his tracks. "Aren't you scared?" she asked, not sounding like Ladybug at all. Not even sounding like him.
He had to do something. He couldn't let her go on like this, so he grinned.
"Only that you will never wake up again after you have seen my stunning, true face."
"Oh please, not this one again..."
·
She saw another spot on her earrings blink rapidly and vanish.
Marinette had dreaded this moment ever since she became Ladybug.
She hadn't lied when she uttered her belief that her civil self was someone who never could live up to the expectations that everybody had in Ladybug – albeit that was the lesser of her worries. The easier one to concentrate on, to not let the bigger fear of the two dominate her mind.
Even if there had been times she wanted to come clean with all the secrets, she had always refrained from giving in to that longing. Everyone who carried this important piece of information was not only in danger, a possible target for Hawk Moth – but was also a danger themselves. She trusted Chat Noir with her life and although she was sure he could take care of himself – mostly – only one verbal slip up was enough to put everyone she loved in danger. Her Family, her friends and classmates... Adrien...
This was why she had always shied away from her partner's question in this regard and he had learned to respect her wishes. Even more, he had never stopped fighting to protect that secret, up to the point where he now stood in front of her, ready to sacrifice the biggest secret of his own. He was such a stupid cat. In the company of a bug who was probably just as stupid as him.
"Do you want me to stay transformed until your transformation wears off on its own?" he asked when the fourth paw-beam died in green light and sound.
"... no. As I said, we are a team and we are doing this as a team. Together."
His smile was vibrant and she found her own mood lift as well. He sometimes was a little too transparent, but she figured that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. She felt herself relax a little. "You'll need to say: Tikki, spots off," she then explained.
"Understood. And you: Plagg, claws in."
Telling herself that everything would work out somehow, she suddenly saw a set of small palms offered to her. Her gaze rose and he winked, encouragingly. Understanding his intention, she rested one of the black-clad claws on his hands. Together, the sky-blue irises said. She nodded.
"Well then..."
Ladybug closed her eyes.
"Plagg, claws in."
