Adrien found himself standing in a field of gossamer grass. The fine blades tickled at his heels and only upon looking down did he realize that he was dressed as Cat Noir. The air smelled sweet and he closed his eyes as the breeze brushed against the skin of his face. It was only when his eyes were shut that he sensed someone behind him. He turned immediately, eyes flicking open and he was delighted to see Ladybug standing halfway across the field from him. A quick grin found his lips and he wasted no time in dashing towards her with a waving hand held high above his head. Nothing could describe the feeling that he got whenever they were together. And he was always overjoyed to see his partner, even if she did reject every advance that he gave her.

"Ladybug! Good afternoon, m'lady!" Cat Noir greeted enthusiastically as he approached. Ladybug stood waiting, hands folded behind her back in a playful little pose that invited him closer. The black cat stopped a couple of feet away and watched as Ladybug took a couple steps back.
"Hmm... Catch me if you can, Kitty!" She lifted a hand and beckoned Cat Noir with her index finger and promptly turned away from him with a smirk, taking off through the grass at a pace that she knew he could match. With a chortle, he chased after her. There was a certain thrill about a game of cat and mouse. Or cat and ladybug, in this case.

Either way, the pair gallivanted through the silky grass and Cat Noir laughed softly, feeling as though there wasn't a care in the world.
"Just wait until I catch you!" He called to her, purposefully holding off on reaching maximum speed.
"And you'll do what? Flatter me to death with your cliché flirting?" Ladybug shot back over her shoulder with good-natured sass.
"Why don't you stop and find out?" Cat Noir invited loudly and was surprised when Ladybug came to a screeching halt. He had to dig his heels into the dirt to stop before he slammed into her. They were both a little short of breath when Ladybug turned and the duo came face-to-face. They often shared close proximity and joked around, but for some reason, this moment felt different.

Heat was slowly creeping into Cat Noir's cheeks, giving the skin beneath his mask a rosy tint. His heart danced as Ladybug seemed to notice and giggled at him. She quirked a brow.
"Well? I'm waiting."
She had a way of taking the wind out of his sails when it came to banter. More and more, Cat Noir found himself disarmed when they were near. All of his flirting over the years had yet to plant the seed of truth within Ladybug, unfortunately. She still thought he was joking or being a silly womanizer with her. But what she failed to see was that he only had eyes for her and his comments focused only on one lady. His lady. And now her expectant eyes were gazing into his.

He swallowed thickly and dared to lift a hand. For a scary moment, he wasn't even sure what he was going to do with it. They had touched before. Hugged. Fist-bumped. Poked and prodded each other. But for some reason whenever he decided to try and be serious, Ladybug pulled away or he lost his nerve. Cat Noir's hand trembled as it hovered in the air, but this time Ladybug didn't pull away. He was able to place his hand successfully on her shoulder. His lime green eyes flicked to his brave hand and back to her face. She seemed so unimpressed.
"That's it? Not going to woo me?"
"Ladybug..." Cat Noir murmured, trying to start what he wanted to say. His heart began to pound with increasing ferocity.

That was when he heard a rumble in the distance. It snapped him out of his romantic stupor and he glanced up at the sky. Until that very moment, the sun had been shining and the breeze had been warm. Now a chill swept through the field and he found that it bit straight into his skin through the fabric of his costume. Something was coming. The sky was quickly becoming overcast and menacing clouds were rolling in and choking off the sunlight faster than he could fathom. Instead of amorous fluttering, Cat Noir was filled with concern. When he looked back at Ladybug, she was still waiting for him to continue and didn't seem to notice the strange weather at all. Or that he was frowning now.

"What's going on?"
"What do you mean?"
Cat Noir instantly knew something was wrong and removed his hand from Ladybug's shoulder, looking around them. The color was draining from the grass- turning the landscape a cold grey that gave a sense of impending doom.
"Don't you see what's happening?" He asked, looking back to her. Ladybug didn't respond and Cat Noir licked his lips, starting to feel a little desperate for validation.
"I don't like this. I think that we should go." The blond's eyes darted around, expecting something to happen at any second. Now Ladybug was frowning, but for reasons Cat Noir couldn't discern. As he opened his mouth to speak once more, the ground around him heaved and quaked as if disturbed by a great and terrible force. It nearly knocked both of them off their feet and Cat Noir caught Ladybug's wrist as the two stumbled to regain their footing.

"Are you okay?" Cat asked and Ladybug nodded back, seeming troubled finally. Before he could suggest a course of action, the ground shook again and this time, more violently. A few seconds passed and it didn't stop; a few more and large, rectangular stone pillars began to erupt from the dirt all around them. More thunder echoed ominously overhead but it was barely heard above the grinding of stone as the landscape was filled with identical pillars... That greatly resembled the skyscrapers of downtown Paris.
"RUN!" Ladybug yelled before she turned, jerking her hand away from his as she fled the area. Cat Noir was right behind her- and not a moment too soon. The space in which they had stood was overtaken by another rising pillar. It seemed like every step they took was full of peril.

This time, Cat was not shy in matching her speed as they dodged the cement walls that engulfed the world around them. They were helpless and when Cat Noir reached for his staff, he ended up grasping nothing but air. A quick glance confirmed that he was unarmed and all he could to was hurtle forward with Ladybug in hopes of outrunning the invading spires. Somewhere along the way, Ladybug tripped with a yelp and came tumbling down behind him. Cat Noir skidded to a stop and spun around to see Ladybug picking herself up off the ground.
"Lady!" He had only started towards her when flames sprang to life everywhere around them. Cat Noir stopped before the wall of fire that divided them could singe his clothing off. He blinked away from the sudden brightness and shielded his face from the burning heat for a moment.

The fire quickly became too high for him to jump over and the smoke was immediately invasive, causing both heroes to cough and duck down. Around them in a giant circle, the stone city had formed a cage that spelled their certain death. They were trapped together and yet still separated. Ladybug reached down for her yo-yo but as soon as she plucked it from her waist it turned into a white-hot ball in her hand and she cried out in surprise and pain as it scorched her hand. She dropped within seconds and clutched her wounded hand close to her chest, at a loss of what to do next. Cat could barely see her through the dancing flames but he had heard her pain and his heart sank.
"Ladybug! Please! Are you okay!?" He called out again, the roar of that fire somehow impossibly loud.
"Cat!" Ladybug yelled back, sounding desperate and scared. The fire had begun to close in around her and all he could to was watch. Unlike her, the flames seemed to be keeping their distance from him. One look around and he could see that not even the stone was safe; the flames were weaving all the way to the tops of the skyscrapers and despite it being cement, the flames were it eating away and the buildings and sending ashes and debris raining down on them.

"Help!" Ladybug pleaded, snapping Cat Noir's attention back to her. A moment of panic overcame him. The fire had almost reached his precious Ladybug and there was nothing he could do. They were both suffocating from the smoke and the heat was making him sweat his clothes. He didn't even think Lucky Charm or Cataclysm could save them now. He was desperate and his best effort just wasn't good enough! It wasn't long before Ladybug's piercing scream made his ears ring and he flinched at the sound, his heart breaking. Fire had began to climb her outfit, searing her skin and burning up her clothing. Cat did the only think he could think of and plunged his hand into the wall that had blocked him from her. Immediately, the fire destroyed his glove and burned his flesh, leaving nasty blisters where his skin bubbled angrily.

"Take my hand!" Cat Noir howled at her and then grit his teeth. He would endure this pain for her. He would do anything for her.
"Please! Take it!" He cried, biting back tears that brimmed and burned in his eyes. But Ladybug couldn't make it to him. The fire continued to incinerate both her and her clothing. She reached out for him but couldn't reach and Cat had never seen her so scared before. Blue met green as their eyes locked and just as the fire began to dissolve her mask, there was a soft and malicious laughter from a faceless voice that he didn't recognize and Adrien awoke in bed, sweating up a storm and sat bolt upright in the darkness.
"NO!" He shrieked into the silence of his room, startling Plagg awake and panting through his panic. It took him about ten seconds to realize that it had all been a nightmare and he was, in fact, safe in his bed. His heart was racing and he couldn't get that image of Ladybug out of his head as he threw off his covers and got to his feet, eyes wide and mouth dry.

"What's wrong?" Plagg asked sleepily and rubbed at his eyes as he watched Adrien go over to his bedroom window. The blond couldn't bring himself to reply, that terrible scream still echoing in his ears. He clutched at the semi-transparent drapes and peered out into the quiet, moonlit night. Everything was peaceful. Nothing was burning. But the aching of his heart made him want to leave and seek Ladybug out immediately- even though he knew that she wouldn't be up and about at this time of night.
"Kid?" His Kwami persisted, approaching carefully. Plagg's voice was still lost on him as Adrien stared out the window. Frowning, the little cat leaned in to observe the man's troubled face. He saw that Adrien's cheeks were flushed an intense red.
"Adrien?"
Still no reply. Plagg reached out to touch his cheek and found that he was hot to the touch.
"You're burning up!"
"I... It was a dream... Just... A really bad dream." Adrien finally spoke, seeming dazed. Plagg just looked confused and concerned as he withdrew his hand and hovered beside him. The Kwami was so very lost as Adrien gripped the curtains tighter, the silvery light of the moon spilling across his bedroom floor.

Adrien swallowed and licked at his lips.
"Only a dream..." He said again as if trying to convince himself of the fact. Somehow, this self-reassurance didn't do a thing and he was left vowing to himself that he would find Ladybug the next day and confirm that she was still okay. He looked down at his hand, half-expecting to see that his wrist had been burned. But it was unharmed. Of course it was. It seemed so silly to be so worked up about a nightmare, but he had never experienced anything like it before. And he hoped that he never would again.

The next day was Saturday and that meant that school was out. Normally, it was a day for homework or jobs, but Marinette had opted to take the day off. Usually, she would transform into Ladybug and join Cat Noir in patrolling the streets, but today she had a different mission. She would apologize for skipping out on him later, but finding out what Wang Fu had left her was more important than keeping up appearances today. With Tikki safely tucked inside of her bag, she was already en route to the old shop where he had resided. It felt odd going there under the pretense of simply inheriting something from the wise old man. She doubted that anyone else in Fu's life would have known about the Miraculous, and as she quietly entered the humble little store, she smiled awkwardly.
"Hello?"

A woman, but not the representative that Marinette had spoken to on the phone, was waiting for her inside. From her appearance, Marinette couldn't tell whether she had been a part of Wang Fu's removed family or if she was simply from the agency; but she didn't intend to ask.
"You must be Marinette." The woman spoke, and she had a kind, soothing sort of voice.
"Yes. It's good to meet you." She watched as the woman smiled and it eased her nerves a little bit.
"Then you are here to pick up what was left to you." It wasn't so much a question as it was an observation. Marinette nodded all the same and pulled out a slip of paper from her purse.
"I am. And I don't mean to be too forward about it, but what exactly did Mr. Fu leave me?" She questioned, the term 'Mr.' falling foreign on her tongue as she fought to resist the honorific of 'master'.

The lady gave a soft, dismissive wave of her hand to indicate that she didn't think Marinette rude for asking. It was, after all, business.
"Not forward at all." She turned away from Marinette and went to a small cabinet at the far end of the room and for a moment, Marinette's heart skipped a beat. This was it. The moment of truth. She could almost feel Tikki listening from within her purse.
"It's not much, I'm afraid." The woman informed, rifling through a stack of papers until she found the correct document.
"Ah, here it is." She turned back around and crossed the room, offering up the paper to Marinette.
"It seems that Mr. Fu has left you his phone."

Out of all the things that he could have possibly left Marinette- it was his phone? But why? It didn't make any sense. The confusion apparently was plain on her face as she looked down in disbelief at the paper where it was written. The woman before her chuckled and crossed her arms.
"Were you expecting something else?"
"I... No. This is great. Thank you." She put a smile on her face and looked back at the lady as she stepped aside.
"I'll go and collect it for you right now." And with that, she disappeared into the back room, leaving Marinette to ponder over the gift she was about to receive. Her brows were knitted together as she thought hard. Surely there was a reason why he hadn't chose to give her something else...

And that was when she remembered.

The pictures!

Eyes wide, Marinette glanced down at the paper and then back up to the quiet room. Of course! Before the Miraculous Spellbook had been returned to the vault, Wang Fu had taken pictures of it with his phone to keep a record of it without causing problems! That must be the reason why she was being given his phone! Her heart started beating faster at the realization and she dropped her hands to her sides as she waited. Inside the phone, she knew there was going to be more information. And it made sense that he couldn't entrust it to anyone else but her. She made a silent promise right then and there to protect those secrets with her life and do her best to sort through the missing pieces. Marinette could only hope that there would be clues as to why Wang Fu had passed in the first place.

She was waiting with bated breath as the woman returned to the room. But she had a frown on her face now. Oh no.
"I'm sorry, Marinette. I can't seem to find it. I could have sworn it was gathered safely with the rest of his belongings... I thought I saw it just yesterday when I was preparing it to be handed off to you." She reached up to touch the side of her head, feeling as though she had lost her mind. Marinette's stomach dropped. This did not seem like a coincidence.
"I'm going to make a few calls. I'm so sorry to have called you here for nothing. If I would have realized sooner that it was missing, I would have delayed the meeting."
"Oh... That's no problem at all." Marinette fought to keep the disheartened tone out of her voice. This smelled of trouble up and down. Who would do such a thing? And more importantly, who would know enough to steal Wang Fu's phone in the first place? She wondered if she was jumping to too many conclusions but there were a hundred thoughts racing through her head.
"If it turns up, you'll be the first one to know." The woman assured her. Marinette nodded and had the sinking feeling that it was not going to just turn up.

After that, she left, feeling even more confused than before. That whole thing had raised more questions than it had answered. At least she knew what it was that was intended for her and even why he had left it to her. But the phone's disappearance had thrown a wrench into the entire thing. Marinette fretted about it all the way home.

"Where is she?" Cat Noir asked himself as he waited at their usual meeting place underneath the Eiffel Tower. The tourist crowds had mostly cleared out for the evening to go to dinner and other engagements and he was still waiting for Ladybug to show up. Of all days for her to be late or... Missing... It would have to be this day. The blond superhero had done nothing but worry all day. The nightmare that he had during the night still lingered in his mind and had only served to give rise to his impatience. He had arrived earlier than usual and every hour had felt like a year. He kept asking himself the same questions. What if his dream had been an omen? What if Ladybug was hurt? What if he'd never see her again? What if, what if, what if!? It was infuriating. He had never been so utterly driven crazy by the fact that Ladybug wasn't at his side.

At first, Cat had stood leaning casually against the foot of the Eiffel Tower. His patience then had been fresh. As the day drew on towards the noon hour, he had taken to crossing his arms and tapping his foot. Of course, it didn't help that his heroism was generally not required like it used to be and he had nothing to occupy himself than with the horrible notion that something was wrong. When he had grown stiff from standing in the same spot, Cat Noir had begun pacing. With his hands folded behind his back, he paced for a couple hours and no one bothered him since he looked busy and deep in thought. After that and with a growling stomach, he had helped an old lady with a ridiculous sum of groceries that she had bought at a nearby market and she had been kind enough to offer him a packaged sandwich. How one granny could go through all that food baffled him. But she was kind and he still loved helping people.

Unfortunately that job had lasted him all of 15 minutes and after that, he was back to worrying and waiting. It was unlike Ladybug to be late. Finally, Cat Noir sat down, checking the electronic comm hidden within his staff. The screen simply showed the symbol of a cat paw and nothing else. No messages. No calls. Just silence. He checked it several more times as the sun began to set and then stood back up. He knew that he couldn't seek her out because he had no idea where she was, but he didn't see the harm in taking a quick patrol.

Just as he was about to leave, he heard the familiar twang of the string of Ladybug's yo-yo stretching, a soft clink following as it connected with one of the beams of the Eiffel Tower above him. His heart gave a great leap and he looked up, sighing in utter relief as he saw Ladybug swinging into view. And what was better was that she looked unharmed.
"Sorry I'm late!" Ladybug called to him before her feet even touched the ground. She did feel bad- but she would feel even worse if she knew that Cat Noir had done nothing but fret about her all day. Cat righted his posture to look presentable as his partner landed beside him.
"I had something that I really needed to take care of." She explained and then saw the expression on his face. Cat was not hiding his relief as well as he thought and it immediately sent off red flags in her head.

Giving him the eyeball, Ladybug paused.
"Uh... Is everything alright? Is something wrong?"
It was only then that Cat Noir realized that he hadn't said anything and it snapped him back to reality. He made a loose raspberry noise with his lips and rolled his eyes as well as his shoulders.
"What? Pffft. No."
"You looked kinda... Weird." Ladybug admitted, trying to put it nicely. She knew him better than that to be fooled so easily.
"Me? Pffft."
That was one too many raspberries to make, apparently, for Ladybug crossed her arms and quirked a brow. What was he hiding?
"Well it's nice to see you too, Bugaboo." Cat Noir tried to save face with the affectionate little nickname. It successfully threw her off for now.
"It's been a long time since I've heard that one." Ladybug smiled and nudged him with her shoulder.

"I still have my charm." Cat Noir assured his, flashing her what he considered to be a dashing smile; accompanied by a wink. Ladybug's smile grew and she rolled her eyes at him.
"Of course you do, Kitty. Consider me swept off my feet."
"Excellent. Does this mean I finally get a kiss?" Cat wiggled his eyebrows at Ladybug and not-so-secretly hoped she would relent.
"Sure."
Cat Noir was nearly floored and perhaps looked a little too eager as he leaned a little closer.
"Really!?"
Ladybug almost felt bad for the fact that he was gullible. At least with things like that.
"Yeah, in your dreams!"
His shoulders sagged and he bemoaned her answer with a grunt.
"Make me wait all day and then break my heart. I see how it is."
"I said I was sorry." Ladybug giggled softly and reached over to pat his shoulder reassuringly.
"And besides, it's not my fault that you fall for things like that just about every time."
"A man can keep hoping. I'll get that kiss someday, Ladybug."
"Hm. Maybe in one of your nine lives." She laughed. And maybe if my heart didn't already belong to Adrien. She thought.

"So where were you today anyway?" Cat Noir finally asked, feeling a lot better now that they were back to their usual selves. Ladybug paused at the question, not really sure how to answer. She couldn't exactly tell him that Wang Fu had left her something important and it had gone missing. No one else knew about the pictures on that phone and she didn't know how close Cat Noir had been to the old guardian either. Another question began to burn within her- if she had been left something, did that mean that Cat Noir had also been left something? He didn't act like he knew anything about the funeral or inheriting items. Ladybug hated keeping secrets from her dearest friends, but this was one thing she needed to figure out on her own. They searched each other's eyes for a moment.
"Well... You must have heard that Master Fu passed..."
"Oh. Yeah." Cat Noir seemed just as troubled as she had when she had received the news.
"I was there at the funeral." He blurted out without thinking first. Both of them froze.

Ladybug hadn't even considered that her fellow Miraculous holder might be there. She almost thought he was lying because she didn't recall anyone with blond hair being there. But she couldn't just admit that she had been there as well and didn't see him because it could possibly out her as Marinette. The two stared at each other, equally as unsure of what to say. It wasn't that she didn't trust him. It was that more trouble could happen from knowing who was under the masks than anyone could know. Cat regretted letting it slip because he knew that he had put them both in a position.
"So... We can forget I said anything about that. It never happened." Cat Noir chuckled awkwardly, trying to help Ladybug out. He touched the back of his head and hoped that he undid the damage.
"Good idea." Ladybug smiled back. He could only assume that she had been at the funeral too. He was no fool and deep down he wished that he would have gotten out of the limo. If he had saw her there... They might've been having a very different day. And Ladybug vowed not to ever make the same mistake again when the Miraculous were involved. She had been a little careless.

"A-Anyway. There were some things that I had to take care of. And I'm not sure what's going to happen now that he's gone." Ladybug frowned. Cat nodded and glanced behind them as the crowds slowly returned. There were always a lot of people around the Eiffel Tower at sunset. He reached up to touch her shoulder, lowering his voice.
"Maybe we should take this to the rooftops. You never know who could be listening." He murmured. It was Ladybug's turn to nod.
"Let's go."

AN: There's another chapter down! Things are starting to happen and the stress is slowly mounting for our characters. Still lots to go so stay tuned for chapter 3.