Marinette's head was pounding when she woke, and her muscles felt leaden and stiff. The groan was out of her mouth before memory returned and she realized she should have stifled it. It was too late to feign unconsciousness, so she blinked open her eyes.

The light felt blinding, despite the fact that it came from a single flashlight set upright on the ground, illuminating the roughly hewn corridor all around them. Marinette sat on her knees on cold stone, leaning against the wall and breathing slightly musty air that seemed dead and stale. Marinette had never been here before, but she knew exactly where they were. Every Parisian would. Though there was nary a bone in sight, she was down in the old quarry. She was in the catacombs.

She was also, Marinette realized as she tried to move, bound by the wrists and ankles, tied behind her back with a cord strung between to keep her from wriggling too much.

Or straightening.

She wasn't gagged, which she found curious, but not as curious as the fact that she was still Ladybug. She still had her Miraculous. Even though, when she shifted, she could see an unfamiliar figure guarding this little niche in the tunnels—Mirror Image, no doubt, in a new form.

Surely he didn't mean to take her to Hawk Moth directly?

And surely Hawk Moth didn't have his headquarters underground?

Her yo-yo was missing, but that was the least of her worries at the moment. She would never have been able to use it right now anyway. She wasn't even sure she'd be able to walk if she weren't tied up. She'd been out of the river long enough that her hair was damp but no longer wet, and her suit kept her warm enough despite the cooler air, but she had no idea what Mirror Image intended to do, no idea of Hawk Moth himself would be the next person she'd see, and absolutely no idea where her brave, silly cat of a partner was hiding.

Worse yet, he had no way of finding her. Not if her yo-yo was in the bottom of the Seine—or at least there until she untransformed. Would Tikki's magic be able to pull it back to her across that distance? She'd never thought to ask.

She'd never thought she might end up in a situation like this.

"No questions, Ladybug?"

Marinette's eyes flicked toward Mirror Image. His current form was that of a man, perhaps forty judging by the flecks of white in his brown hair that flashed as he strode past the torch to stand in front of her. He was dressed well but simply. It didn't suit the catacombs, but no one would have been able to pick him of the crowd. Far from wet, his clothing wasn't even noticeably wrinkled.

She swallowed. It was disconcerting, thinking that this man was the one who had masqueraded as Chat Noir and tried to drown her earlier. She felt the fool for not realizing the charade until it was too late. "I figured you would make your demands whether I asked to hear them or not."

He smiled at her, but his brown eyes remained cold. "You are hardly in a position where it would suit me to make demands."

"I still have my Miraculous." Marinette wasn't sure why she said it. It was an obvious fact, something Mirror Image already knew, but beneath it screamed the question why. She knew she'd been unconscious. Mirror Image could have taken her earrings at any time.

Yet he hadn't.

His smile grew. "Yes. And I still have my bait."

Bait?

Chat Noir.

Marinette's eyes went wide and she started twisting in her bonds anew, but they were tied tightly—and seemed to grow tighter with each move she made. "This isn't going to work," she spat. Her words were filled with more conviction than she felt, but if Chat Noir hadn't appeared yet….

Stay away, kitty. Chat Noir should be too smart to fall for a trap like this. Unfortunately, she wouldn't put it past him to know it was a trap and charge in anyway. He was brave, ridiculously so, and he could be so stupid when it came to his own safety.

…and that's why she was worried.

Because she knew he would knowingly walk into danger if he thought he had a chance to save her.

Please, please stay away. She didn't want to be rescued by him if he was going to take an unreasonable risk. And with the little they knew about Mirror Image, it was still an unreasonable risk. All Mirror Image had done so far was tie her up. He could still take her Miraculous at any time, but if he wanted to use her as bait, she still had some time to figure this out. Not long, likely. She had until Chat Noir sprang the trap or Mirror Image decided he wasn't going to take the bait.

It would have to be time enough.

Unfortunately, she couldn't even feel a particularly sharp rock that might be useful in beginning to saw away at the rope that bound her.

"Why not just take me straight to Hawk Moth?" Marinette asked. It would make more sense, wouldn't it, to deliver her to Hawk Moth—if not just her Miraculous—and then pretend to be her, just as he had pretended to be Chat Noir? Even if Hawk Moth was worried that someone might believe her when she claimed to be Ladybug and help her, it just seemed wrong that he wouldn't take advantage of having the Miraculous in his grasp.

"No need to be impatient."

It wasn't an answer. All it told her was that he was confident the trap would work—probably meaning that Hawk Moth was confident in it, too, or he'd never let Mirror Image get away with this. Villains who lost focus were punished; she'd seen it before. It had looked like a painful reminder that Hawk Moth was really the one pulling the strings.

Still, there was a chance Hawk Moth was wary of bringing this trap directly to his doorstep. They still didn't know who he was, and the possibility that Chat Noir would free her must be strong enough that he would not want to face them both at once. Mirror Image might be good at trickery, but she doubted he was as good at offense.

But just taking her Miraculous wouldn't pose the same threat.

Of course, Mirror Image wouldn't be able to lure Chat Noir into a trap unless he had her specifically, transformed as she was, or Chat Noir would never believe he had the real Ladybug. But she wasn't convinced it was worth the risk when Mirror Image could pull something similar with Chat Noir as he had with her.

The failsafe was supposed to prevent that, but when Mirror Image hadn't responded to her suggestive tone, she'd taken that as a sign that he was her real partner. And maybe, after Copycat, that was exactly what Hawk Moth had instructed him to do if the situation arose. She shouldn't have been so foolish as to assume he'd fall for the same trick twice.

This was her fault.

She'd let Mirror Image fool her.

She should know Chat Noir better than that. He was her partner. She trusted him with her life.

And when he'd come to her with what had seemed like a helpful tip about one of the most frustrating villains to pin down in a while, she'd assumed some of that frustration and stress had leaked into his actions, tempered his flirting and puns and forced him to focus.

She should have realized Chat Noir would never completely abandon his puns. There had only been, what, one in that entire conversation? It hadn't even been a very original one. She should have seen it.

But she hadn't.

And now her own blindness, her own stupidity, was endangering not just herself and her partner but all of Paris.

I'm sorry, kitty. I failed you.

Mirror Image had left her little alcove and resumed ignoring her, watching to see if they would get company from either side of the corridor. He was expecting Chat Noir. She doubted any other soul would be unfortunate enough to wander through this part of the catacombs at just the wrong moment; they were large enough that that was unlikely to happen, and she had no idea how deep into them Mirror Image had taken her.

Marinette held her breath and strained her ears for a moment, but she couldn't make out the scuffling sounds of someone coming towards them.

Not yet, at least.

She wouldn't gain anything if she ended her transformation now; she'd only give Hawk Moth reason to hunt her as Marinette, too, and she wanted to avoid that if at all possible. She wouldn't be able to revert back and transform again without Mirror Image noticing, either, even if that did hold the possibility of restoring her yo-yo. Then again, with its unbreakable string—at least when not up against a villain with the power to counteract that—that might only serve to give Mirror Image something better with which to bind her. It might be lucky that she'd lost it in the river.

But if she had, how was Mirror Image expecting Chat Noir to find her? Surely he hadn't done something like leave a public ransom on the Ladyblog? Paris would be in an uproar. He'd make himself too many enemies, even if he could blend into the crowd and become anyone he wished. It wouldn't pay for him to draw attention to himself this time.

Which meant her yo-yo might not be at the bottom of the river. Which meant—

A sharp crack carried down the tunnel, almost immediately overwhelmed by booming reverberations of falling rock. The cave-in was near enough to carry dust with it, and a cool wind shot down the corridor, spinning that dust past them and farther in. She coughed and sneezed and kept twisting her hands, trying to free at least one.

It was already too late, of course. She'd run out of time. She knew that, but she had to keep trying anyway. She had no other choice. Her silly partner had come to spring the trap.

The plan was in motion.

Gabriel smiled, adjusting his grip on the cane. He still stood overlooking Paris, but he was gleaning what he could from his connection through the akuma. Mirror Image had fooled Ladybug and taken her captive. While she would not believe Chat Noir would mean her harm, the public would not be so easily convinced. And Ladybug would have reason to doubt him yet.

True, the people of Paris would be quick to forgive their hero and blame the latest villain attacking Paris. Mirror Image had necessarily exposed himself to draw the eye of Ladybug and Chat Noir, and the people would be aware another villain was preying upon their city. But that wouldn't stop them from looking upon their heroes with suspicion when they believed they had cause.

It didn't matter to Gabriel how Adrien learned of Ladybug's capture. He had allowed Mirror Image freedom with the more minor details, within reason, and Mirror Image had yet to disappoint him. All that mattered to Gabriel was that Adrien found Ladybug and made the decision Gabriel knew his son would make: the choice to take her Miraculous.

It was that treacherous act which mattered most, the one upon which his entire plan hinged.

Adrien—Chat Noir—would take Ladybug's Miraculous. Once she knew what he was willing to do, she would not be able to look at him the same way. Chat Noir would lose her trust. Even if he tried, he wouldn't be able to salvage their partnership.

It didn't matter if Mirror Image was able to take Chat Noir's Miraculous at the end of their battle, not really. Gabriel would be able to fetch it easily enough himself. Chat Noir could not defend Paris alone. This situation would prove that to him. And even if Adrien did not grow to hate the Miraculous he held, his guilt over his actions—once taken—would eat away at him.

An inactive Miraculous was simple to remove, and Adrien's moment of weakness would come.

And when it did, Gabriel would have the power he needed.

Adrien didn't have more cheese. It was a funny thing to think of now, too late, when he was lying on cold stone, but it was the truth. He'd fed Plagg the last of his camembert on the rooftop. That meant he didn't have much time, either.

But he never had had much time to begin with, since Ladybug had been captured. Certainly not enough time to stop to purchase a wheel or even a wedge of cheese. Not when she was in danger.

The landing had been rough, the fall greater than he'd anticipated, and it was probably only thanks to Plagg and the magic within his suit that he had survived. He'd had worse since becoming Chat Noir, but he felt like someone had dropped him off a five storey building. (It had happened. He had also been flung off higher buildings, courtesy of the wonderful lady he was going to save. It went with the territory.)

Adrien blinked for a moment, still trying to orient himself, and then climbed to his feet. He spotted the cord of Ladybug's yo-yo stretched out in front of him, purposely pointing farther down the tunnel, and he picked it up and followed it back until he held everything in his hands. With a bit of difficulty, he wrapped it around his waist, making sure it wouldn't catch on his tail or hinder his ability to grab his own weapon. He would fight with Ladybug's yo-yo if he had to, but he'd rather return her weapon and fight alongside her when it came to that.

Adrien walked in the direction he'd been pointed. The destruction he left behind him ruled out all hope of sneaking up and assessing the situation before making his move. Perhaps he had been reckless; perhaps he should have entered another way and run along the tunnels, but even with the advantage of his night vision, he didn't know the catacombs well by any stretch of the imagination.

He thought he was just lucky that this portion was tall enough to stand in comfortably. It was still close quarters for a fight, but he was good at close combat.

And it might not come to fighting anyway.

Adrien strode along with more confidence than he felt, and it wasn't long until he spotted the warm light of a flashlight. His ring beeped once as he hovered just beyond the light's edge, announcing his presence. He tried—unsuccessfully—to swallow down his nervousness before walking up.

He could see the man who must be Mirror Image, true form or not, smirking at the opposite side of the arc of light. He'd expected Adrien to come. But where was—?

"Chat, just leave me and run!"

Ladybug.

He could only afford to glance at her, seeing that she was thoroughly trussed up but apparently unharmed, before returning his attention to Mirror Image. The last thing he felt like doing was smiling, but he did it anyway. Easily. Without it even looking feral.

His modelling skills came in handy.

"I thought about what you said," he began. Ladybug squeaked, and it was hard not to turn to look at her again, hard not to reassure her—even nonverbally—that he had a plan.

A terrible plan, but still a plan.

"And what do you value, Chat Noir?" The smile Mirror Image wore was insufferably smug. He thought he knew exactly what was going to happen.

Adrien had to try to use that and hope Hawk Moth wouldn't interfere.

Adrien shrugged. "I have a bit of a soft spot for her," he admitted. He kept his tone nonchalant, his raging emotions locked away so tightly they couldn't leak through. "But like I was saying, I thought about what you said. What Hawk Moth said, right?" He didn't wait for Mirror Image to confirm that. "He wants Ladybug's Miraculous—and mine, even if hers is more valuable."

"What are you doing?" Ladybug hissed. "Get out of here! This is a trap!"

Adrien did look at her then. "Oh, Ladybug," he said in a tone more aloof and condescending than he'd ever used before, "this isn't a trap. This is a prearranged meeting. You're just the way that Mirror Image was able to get a message to me."

His words stunned her to silence, and he turned away from her. Her betrayed expression was breaking his heart. "I'll get it for you," he said to Mirror Image, "and I'll sweeten the pot if Hawk Moth agrees not to hunt down her or anyone close to her."

"Because you have a soft spot for her." The words were spoken with just enough skepticism that Adrien wasn't sure his bluff was working.

"She's saved my skin a few times. I still owe her."

"Honour has no place alongside treachery."

"Everyone has their own code," Adrien countered as his ring beeped a second warning. He had three minutes left.

He still stood a good three feet from Mirror Image, and even looking the man up and down, he had no idea where the akuma was hiding. Mirror Image could have tricked Ladybug in any number of ways, from taking the form of an innocent and pretending danger to masquerading as Chat Noir himself. But this was the third time Adrien had seen a persona of Mirror Image in person—four if you count the brief moment as Alec Cataldi before he'd shifted in front of them at KIDZ+ and the chase had begun, but three times up close—and he couldn't spot anything consistent.

No piece of clothing consistent across all personas. No pin or other accessory, like the Horrificator or Animan. Not unless Ladybug was right and all they could see was a different aura Mirror Image depicted depending on whoever he became; if that were the case, there wouldn't need to be consistency if he never changed at his heart. They'd need to get him to revert back to whoever he was to begin their guessing game.

But if he was like Animan, only with people's forms instead of those of animals, then Mirror Image himself would be warping with every transformation in order to gain someone's strength or agility or whatever other characteristics necessary to properly fill their shoes. And if that was true, there should be something consistent that was carried through each transformation, just as Ladybug had said.

Mirror Image nodded once. "Then know this: she will not be harmed if she no longer wears a mask and no longer acts against us."

Adrien swallowed; he had seen no sign that Hawk Moth had communicated with Mirror Image, meaning those terms had been decided earlier. Hawk Moth was anticipating him.

Was he anticipating the trap, too?

Adrien nodded and spun on his heels, turning toward Ladybug. She seemed to shrink into the wall as he slowly approached. Her mouth opened, just slightly, and he heard her desperate question escape: "What are you doing, kitty?"

He was saving her.

Whether she wanted saving or not.

Adrien stopped in front of her and looked down, not saying anything. He didn't trust himself to speak. His shadow fell across her face, and she used the reprieve from the light—and Mirror Image's sharp gaze—to look up at him with wide eyes. He was used to seeing trust in them. Now, he saw questions. He saw confusion. And he saw a spark of fear that she couldn't quite squash.

Ladybug mouthed another question. Why? Not what. She'd realized what by now. But she didn't understand why, and he couldn't explain it to her.

He'd long wanted to know her true identity. He'd dreamed up countless scenarios of how he might find out, what might change her mind despite the warning she'd surely received from her kwami as he had from Plagg. (Plagg, while saying he shouldn't tell anyone, hadn't exactly discouraged Adrien when it came to discovering Ladybug's identity—and Adrien hoped that meant she was the one exception to the rule.) Still, he had always hoped that she would decide to tell him the truth.

He'd acknowledged that the discovery might come by accident—a lost battle with the clock, an unknowingly dropped hint, a curious twist of circumstance, even an akuma victim with a knack for uncovering secrets.

He had never imagined that he would force Ladybug to reveal her secret.

He dropped to a crouch and smiled, but he knew this wasn't a friendly smile. The nonchalance of earlier had vanished. This was the feral smile, the one he should have turned on Mirror Image. Instead, he was baring his teeth at Ladybug.

"I always wondered who was hiding beneath your mask." He let his voice take a teasing tone, but the undercurrent of danger would be clear.

Ladybug's lips tightened.

She wouldn't forgive him for this—not easily, if ever. He was about to lose all the trust she'd ever given him. She was still trying to give him the benefit of the doubt now, because he had been her partner for so long, but she couldn't help but feel betrayed. He could see it in her expression—the defiant set of her jaw, the slight frown in her furrowed brow, the narrowing of her eyes that just dared him to act.

It was harder than he'd imagined to reach up to her first ear, lightly gripping the front of her earring and the back. She didn't fight him. It would be futile in the end; tied up as she was, he could easily overpower her.

He unfastened the first earring, cradling it in his hand as he turned her head to reach the second one. "I thought you were my partner," she said quietly. She had tried to keep her voice neutral, but he could hear the hurt in it, and she couldn't hide her tears.

He pulled the back off the second earring and gently tugged it free of her ear. As he did so, the yo-yo melted from his waist and her transformation dissolved. Red swirled away. It spun into the Miraculous, and he held a pair of spotted earrings. There was no sign of Ladybug's kwami, Tikki.

But the flash of red and wane yellow light from behind him did show him someone else, someone he recognized but somehow had never expected to see: Marinette Dupain-Cheng.