Happy new year, guys!


Three days had passed, and Volpina was going crazy.

For the record, it had nothing to do with Manon, Volpina didn't know how or why, but she had grown to love the 'little monkey'. She was energetic, completely different from when she had woken up, and Marinette actually knew how to handle her because she acted almost exactly like the girl from her world. The way she had acted before probably had to do with what Miss Fortune did, but she was a child and had a short-attention span; it didn't take long before she was bouncing and smiling again. (Although sometimes Volpina could hear the girl crying in her sleep at night and calling for her mother.)

Chloé absolutely adored her and tried to spend as much time with her as possible, she was way too happy to dress the girl up in her old clothes from when she was younger. And even though Manon seemed to like Adrien, Volpina and Chloé equally, she still clung to Marinette.

No, the Italian girl's agitation had nothing to do with Manon. It had to do with the fact that it had been awfully quiet, call it fox instinct but it was just too quiet. And she wasn't the only one, Plagg had been sensing it too, and if Adrien wasn't so distracted he would've done the same.

Chat Blanc and Miss Fortune were up to something, she just knew it. They had caused her and Chloé a lot of trouble for doing just minor things, like saving someone; it just didn't make sense that they would go three whole days without a single sound after they saw Ladybug and Chat Noir. Hell, Hawk Moth would've send each and everyone of his Akumatized victims to search for them 24/7!

That was the whole reason she woke Nadie in the middle of the night, transformed, and jumped out the window.

She ran through Paris, sticking to the shadows in case her suspicions were right and they were being watched. The hero clutched her flute tightly in her hand, expecting an attack at any moment. She stealthily made her way to the Eiffel Tower, the place the two villains had last been seen.

She nearly jumped out of her skin when she saw someone already standing there.

Chat Noir smirked, almost lazily twirling his tail around as he leaned against the Tower. If it was up to him, he would've climbed all the way to the top, but Volpina stuck to the ground for some reason and he got curious, so he did the same. "I didn't know foxes were night animals," he teased, green eyes shining.

"You followed me? And I didn't notice?"

He grinned. "Don't be so hard on yourself, Foxy. I'm a cat, a black one at that; it's easy to blend in the shadows."

She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "What are you doing here, Chat?" She ignored the nickname...for now.

"My whiskers were tingling," he joked, shrugging. "Turns out someone was taking their leave in the middle of the night. I'm feline a little hurt though, leaving without telling your friends."

Volpina sighed. "Suddenly I'm feeling a little bad for Ladybug, she has to deal with you all the time."

"Me-ouch!"

She glared.

The humor left his eyes and he straightened up. "No, seriously, what are you doing out here?"

"That doesn't really concern you, does it?"

His eyes narrowed. "Somehow I have a feeling you're lying. Care to tell me why?"

"Fine," she sighed. "Chat Blanc and Miss Fortune have been way too quiet."

He frowned. "Come on, Volpina, it's only been three days-"

"Exactly," she stressed. "You haven't even been here for a week, Chat. You don't know. Those two were constantly on the move, Honeybee and I couldn't go a day without hearing anything from them. Them being so quiet after meeting you and your girlfriend is a little suspicious, don't you think?"

He blushed at the girlfriend comment, not even bothering to correct her because if he was honest; he liked hearing the term. "Okay, you have a point."

She smirked. "Are you blushing?"

His blush darkened. "How did you-"

"Foxes have night vision too," she informed, chuckling at his embarrassed face. "Why did you come here alone?"

"Well, I figured you didn't even want me here to begin with," he shrugged. "So why make it worse by bringing my Lady and Queen B?"

She nodded. "Well, let's go then," she tilted her head, eyes locking on the Eiffel Tower. He got the hint quickly, climbing up and moving like a real cat while doing so. He was a bit surprised when Volpina proved to be much faster than him by reaching the top of the tower earlier than he did, although it made sense somewhere in the back of his mind.

They didn't climb all the way to the top; instead landing on the small terrace where Ladybug had fought Miss Fortune. Chat looked over the railing and winced when he saw the billboard he destroyed, crumbled on the ground and blocking anyone's way. Volpina didn't seem that bothered by the little nature display she caused and just focused on scanning the area.

The blond boy rolled his eyes, she was even worse than Ladybug. At least she could be fun (one of the reasons why he fell for her) but Volpina just had work on her mind.

After five minutes of walking around (Chat had climbed up further to check there but came back down after finding nothing) Volpina got that feeling of it being too quiet again. Her eyes narrowed and she climbed onto the railing, keeping her balance perfectly as she scanned the city with her eyes, her night vision making it easier to see. Paris was as somber and lightless as she remembered.

She stepped back down, not surprised to see the cat themed hero standing next to her. "You know, I'm pawsitive that look doesn't mean anything good. What's up?"

"I-"

Both of them tensed and bristled at the same time, they didn't have any time to react as Chat Blanc jumped from the shadows and tackled Chat to the ground; taking his weapon in the process. Chat hissed and struggled, not liking this at all, it seemed way too similar to the Copycat incident.

Volpina pulled her flute to her lips, but before she could start playing, someone leaned over her and snatched it from her fingers. Miss Fortune twirled in front of her, a smile on her face. "Not so fast, little cub," her red eyes shone as she tossed the flute behind her. Volpina didn't move, sure her blood was boiling, this girl just threw her flute to the bottom of the Eiffel Tower. Even if it couldn't be destroyed, it still pissed her off; but she couldn't show that. The sadistic bitch would just love that.

So instead she caught Miss Fortune off guard by swiping at her legs, immediately moving to kick Blanc off Chat as she hit the ground; taking the hero's weapon back in the process and giving it back to him.

Chat drew his staff, his eyes narrowing as Miss Fortune calmly got up and brushed off her dress. She lifted her arms slightly to inspect her gloves, checking for any damage. When she found none, she leaned against the railing and started playing with her yo-yo, an almost bored expression on her face.

The two heroes only realized why she was so calm when Blanc activated his Catastrophe.

At first Chat thought the only difference between the two attacks were the names (Cataclysm sounded way cooler in his opinion) but Plagg and Nadie had explained the difference between Chat's Cataclysm and Blanc's Catastrophe. Apparently, he couldn't use his Cataclysm on people (he didn't know that) and, while the amount of destruction he could cause was immense, it couldn't compare to Blanc's power. Chat Blanc could destroy much more with his power and actually could use it on people; giving them a quick but painful death.

For example, Chat wouldn't be able to destroy the entire Eiffel Tower in one go, maybe a part of it, but not everything. Blanc on the other hand could do it easily and still have power left to destroy more. Which was exactly what he was about to do.

The villain whistled innocently as he held his hand near one of the metal parts of the old monument, his yellow eyes shining dangerously.

Miss Fortune smirked and pulled back her yo-yo, she walked towards the two frozen heroes, her small heels clicking against the ground. "Now, you two lovelies have two options," she stated calmly. "Option one; you come with us. Option two; you escape and we destroy this old piece of junk. What do you say?" She winked.

Chat growled in annoyance but dropped his weapon anyway, not even having to look at Volpina to see that she was accepting their defeat too. He wasn't panicking or anything- okay, maybe he was a little scared, but that was only for his identity; maybe they'd attack his family if they knew who he really was. Hell, maybe his mother hadn't disappeared in this world!

Other than that...he was just plain angry.

Miss Fortune smiled and ruffled his hair, ignoring the way he hissed. "Good kitty."

Blanc smirked and touched a flower pot standing there for decoration, watching as it turned brown and turned into dust. "Let's go then."

Chat discreetly pulled his weapon towards him with his foot, pressing the green button shaped like a paw with his foot and rolling it over so they wouldn't see Ladybug's icon. He prayed she got his call, right before both he and Volpina got knocked out.


Marinette walked out of the kitchen, drying her hands off with a towel after having baked cookies with Manon. It was a simple but effective way to distract the child, maybe a little too effective. Right now, she was sitting in front of the oven and watching the cookies bake; still covered in flour and icing sugar. She refused to clean herself up because she wanted to watch the baking process. To her, it was like magic.

The teenage girl spotted Chloé sitting on the couch and flipping through a fashion magazine, which made Marinette smile. Some things didn't change, despite being stuck in a different dimension.

Somewhere in the back of her mind a little voice was yelling at her that she and Chat needed to get back as soon as possible, people would notice their absence and ask questions. Not to mention that their friends and family would be worried sick. But she blocked all of that out, this Paris needed them more at the moment than her hometown did.

The honey blonde haired girl looked up and smiled softly, patting the seat next to her.

Marinette took a seat and glanced at the kitchen were Manon was still sitting and a question popped up into her mind. One she had been meaning to ask since Manon's arrival.

"Hey Chloé?"

"Hmm?"

"How come I haven't seen any adults?"

The mayor's daughter tensed and glanced at a framed picture near the window, biting her lip at the sight of her smiling next to her dad. "Bubbler," was all she said, venom in her voice. "He took them, I know they're still alive. They're just...hidden, somewhere." There was determination in her light blue eyes as she uttered the next words. "We'll find them."

Marinette frowned. "Oh, I-"

Tikki flew towards them, a frantic look on her face. Honestly, she looked like she was about to faint.

"Tikki! What's wrong?" Marinette asked, jumping up. Out of instinct, Chloé looked around for Lizzie, relieved when she was sitting on a table, looking unharmed but worried.

"Chat...Plagg...contact-"

The black haired girl sighed. "Tikki, breath."

The red Kwami frowned but followed the advice. "Chat's contacting you, but I can't sense Plagg or Nadie!"

Chloé paled, suddenly realizing something. "Mari...where are Adrien and Volpina?"

Marinette didn't react, instead she transformed (it was the only way she could answer a call from Chat) and grabbed her yo-yo, pressing the green answer button. She frowned, her heartbeat going faster as she was met by a black screen, no sign of Chat or Volpina, not even a sound. "Hello?" She called, still not hearing anything.

"Okay, something isn't right," she muttered, ending the call and pressing a few buttons.

"What are you doing?" Lizzie asked, flying closer.

Ladybug didn't even look back. "Finding out what that silly cat is doing."

A map appeared on the screen and she scrolled through until she found the image of a green paw flickering. She used to fingers to zoom in and frowned. "The signal is coming from the Eiffel Tower, come on, let's go."

"Marinette?" A timid voice asked, just as Chloé transformed.

She froze. Crap, she forgot about that little detail.

Ladybug crouched down in front of her, making a snap decision that would probably end badly. But she didn't have any other choice. "Manon, go put on your shoes. We've got to go."

The child frowned. "You're...Ladybug?"

The teen hero sighed. "Yes..."

"That's really cool!" She beamed, smiling brightly and surprising the two older girls. "I'll go put on my shoes right away!"

The little girl dashed past her, giving Ladybug only seconds to react, but those seconds seemed to be enough. She grabbed the girl's arm and gently pulled her back. "Wait, Manon, listen."

She frowned, never having seen Marinette this serious about something. And just for that reason, she kept her mouth shut and listened, although she could do nothing about her feet bouncing up and down; she was just that excited.

"You have to stay close to me or Chloé, and, if we tell you to run, you run. Whatever happens to us, don't look back. Just run and make sure you get away, got it?" Despite Ladybug trying to keep her voice gentle and warm, there was still a hint of strictness in her voice that she just couldn't hide. It was important that Manon could do this, her life depended on it. Especially if Miss Fortune was going to be there.

Chat didn't just call for no reason, and he especially didn't leave without a trace if it wasn't important. Something told her that he had been following Volpina, and if she knew anything about the fox themed hero, it was that she did everything for a reason. Something was wrong, very very wrong.

Manon looked up at her with big golden brown eyes and nodded.

"If we get separated, you have to make your way back here," Queen B added softly, smiling gently. She was a lot better at keeping her voice soft than Ladybug. "You'll always be able to find it, you can't miss it. A big mansion with shining lights, there's a key hidden in the bushes on the left, just take that and run in. Don't forget to lock the doors," she instructed.

The girl nodded again, running to go put on her shoes and jacket the moment Ladybug let go. The hero prayed with all her heart that nothing would happen to Manon as she went to turn the oven off.

But the bad thing was, something told her she wouldn't be coming back.

Minutes later, the girls walked out of the mansion, Manon clutching Ladybug's hand tightly. She yelped and giggled softly when the bug-themed hero lifted her up in one swift motion. "Hold on tight," the teen told her, touching her nose playfully with a finger.

Manon frowned and opened her mouth to ask why, curiosity leaking through. But when she saw Queen B swing her lasso in circles at top speed and throw it, shooting up in the sky with it; she decided not to ask any questions and wrap her tiny little arms around Ladybug's neck.

Ladybug swung her yo-yo going up with less speed and force than the honey blonde hero had done. She used the same strategy as she did before; sticking to the air. It made it a lot easier to travel quickly while carrying an eight year old child with her.

When they were a few feet away from the house, she stopped and looked down at Manon still clutching on to her for dear life. "What did you need to do again?" She quizzed, loud enough for Queen B to hear and stop.

"Stay close to you and Chloé, but run and hide when you tell me to," she recited almost perfectly.

Ladybug smiled. "Good, and if we get separated?"

"Go to the big mansion with shining lights," she mumbled, not really happy with the idea of not being near Marinette.

"Where's the hidden key?"

"In the bushes on the right...no, left!" She corrected, a cute smile on her face.

Ladybug nodded and kissed the girl's forehead before continuing to go to the Eiffel Tower.

She caught Queen B's eye as she passed her, shooting a fake smile in her direction when she noticed the worried look on the hero's face. She really hoped that her gut feeling was wrong and that everything would turn out fine, but, despite what Chat, the press, the Ladyblog, everyone said, even she had to accept that her luck didn't go that far.