Here's the final chapter!

Back in Villeneuve, Marinette has to deal with Kim to save Tom! What is she going to do, and how will everyone react to the truth? Knowing how this story usually goes, I think you can guess...


Back at the village, an entire crowd was roaring and getting all riled up over Tom's alleged insanity. The men had dragged Tom out of the tavern, with Max and Kim following behind him.

Two large, black horses were coming up to the tavern. They were being driven by the director of the asylum, and they were pulling a carriage that would bring Tom to the facility. One could equate the carriage itself as a prison on wheels, only in wood and it was not the final spot for the inmate.

The crowd was shoving Tom around and they were pushing him to the carriage car.

"Stop this! Tom doesn't need an asylum, he needs a hospital!" Sister Bustier protested. It seemed that she was the only one who advocated for Tom or believed him about anything.

However, no one listened to her as the door to the carriage opened up. Tom was shoved into the carriage and then Kim came to the door, still open.

"So, Tom. Have you ever seen what the inside of the insane asylum is like?" Kim said, before scoffing. He had a very sinister smile on his face. "You wouldn't last an hour."

Tom was still hurt and tired, so he could not physically or verbally protest. He would rather be locked up and be thought a madman than fight an uphill battle. He only glared at Kim.

"All you have to do is let me marry Marinette, and you're free." Kim said, once again telling Tom the ultimatum: if he allows Kim to marry Marinette, then all will be back to normal.

"No." Tom bluntly said.

Frustrated over not getting the answer he wanted again, Kim shut the doors to the carriage and shouted, "Take him away!"

As the driver snapped the reigns, the horses started to leave the tavern. As they were riding, Tom was lying in the carriage. They were about to get a surprise, though.

The carriage and horses made a small distance away from the tavern. They were about to pass by the fountain in the town square, when Marinette rode in on Phillipe. The girl saw what was happening, and then she shouted, "STOP!"

As she blocked the asylum horses' path, the driver stopped them, causing the horses to whinny in surprise. Marinette immediately dismounted Phillipe and ran to the rear of the carriage.

"Ladybug!" Kim said, surprised that Marinette had come to the rescue. However, he was more surprised to see how Marinette looked. She was more beautiful than normal.

"Papa!" Marinette shouted, as she got up on the step to the carriage and held her father's hand through the bars in the window.

"Oh, Marinette! I was so afraid I lost you!" Tom said.

"Let him out! He's injured!" Marinette pleaded of the asylum director.

"Sorry, no-can-do, miss. But he's in good hands." He said.

Marinette got down, looked the director in the eyes, and she sternly said, "My father is perfectly sane! Kim, say something!"

"Ladybug, you know how faithful I am when it comes to you and Tom, but your father has been making some ridiculous allegations." Kim said, crossing his arms before gesturing to Tom with his hand.

"It's true, Marinette," Monsieur Dominick said, as he approached hesitantly. "He's been prattling on about a beast in a castle or something-or-other."

"That's where I've just come from! Papa isn't joking around! There IS a beast there!" Marinette said, standing up for her father.

"I'm inclined to believe you, Marinette, but the truth is that you would say or do anything to save your father. Your word doesn't really hold much water." Kim said, with a shrug and a smirk.

He honestly did not believe anything about the beast at all. In fact, he found it to be complete balderdash. Kim had the whole scenario playing out in his mind. Marinette had come to save her father from being locked up, and if Kim knew Marinette, she would most likely do anything it took to keep her father out of the madhouse. Kim was anticipating the following to happen: Marinette would plead for her father's freedom, and Kim would comply on the grounds that they would get married. Marinette would agree, and Kim would get what he wanted, end of story.

"Oh, so you want evidence, huh?" Marinette said, angrily. She took up the magic mirror, looked into it, and said, "Show me Adrien!"

In a flash of light, Adrien's melancholy profile appeared in the glass. She then showed everyone the image in the mirror, and Kim was in complete shock. He honestly thought that Tom had gone insane, but seeing this, he was completely surprised.

"How's that for evidence?" Marinette asked, confident in her proof.

Kim, completely enraged, took the mirror away from Marinette, saying, "What the...?! Sorcery! Look at this monster..."

He showed the mirror to the crowd, shouting, "LOOK AT HIS FANGS! HIS CLAWS!"

Everyone was scared at the sight, save for Sister Bustier, Rochelle, and Max. They were all scared and frightened at seeing Adrien.

"No! Calm down, please! There's nothing to be scared of!" Marinette pleaded of the villagers. "Yes, he's a dork and tells awful cat puns, but... He's gentle! Kind! A sweetheart!"

Hearing this, Kim grew angry, and as he pointed the mirror at Marinette, he riled up the crowd by saying, "That monster has her under some sort of spell! If I didn't know better, I'd say she even had feelings for him!"

"His name is Adrien! And he's not the monster, Kim! YOU are!" Marinette declared, causing Kim to become shocked and for everyone to clamor. "Adrien wouldn't hurt a fly! He saved me from being maimed by wolves!"

Kim was angry and jealous at being called a monster, and he realized that the beast was the one Marinette loved instead of him. He then shouted, "I've never seen the effect of dark magic first-hand! This monster is a threat to all of us!"

As he was riling up the crowd, Kim then said, "We can't have her running off to warn that thing. Lock her up, too!"

Marinette was scared as the asylum director opened the carriage and threw Marinette inside. She shouted, "You're not going to get away with this, Kim!"

Kim's rage grew, and Max, seeing how irrational this was, held him back by the arm and said, "Kim, with all due respect, I..."

Kim turned to Max, and angrily asked, "You want to be in there, too?!"

Max blanched and then he shook his head to tell Kim "no." Max was getting more and more afraid of his friend as time went on.

Kim, seeing that Max would be loyal to him to the end, darkly said, "Go get my horse."

As the door closed, Kim stepped up onto the carriage's step, held on to the carriage's window bar, and he shouted to the crowd, "THIS BEAST WILL CURSE ALL OF US IF WE LET HIM LIVE!"

Everyone was shouting and clamoring in agreement. The only ones who did not say anything were Sister Bustier and Rochelle. Rochelle herself turned away from the crowd for some reason.

"WELL, I SAY WE KILL THE BEAST!" Kim shouted, and everyone cheered and roared in agreement.

"We're not safe until he's dead!" "He'll come stalking us at night!" Some of the villagers sang.

"Set to sacrifice our children to his monstrous appetite!" Monsieur Dominick sang, as Kim came into the crowd.

"He'll wreak havoc on our village if we let him wander free!" A woman sang.

"So it's time to take some action, boys! It's time to follow me!" Kim sang, as he took a torch, and then he threw it onto a carriage that had a lot of pieces of wood on it. It exploded into flames, and everyone in the village was getting riled up.

"Through the mist, through he woods, through the darkness and the shadows, its a nightmare but it's one excited ride." Kim sang, as he and everyone else in the village were getting ready to go after Adrien and kill him.

People were making weapons, the blacksmith was doing his thing, and everyone with the exceptions of Sister Bustier and Rochelle were working on something.

"Say a prayer and we're there at the drawbridge of a castle, and there's something truly terrible inside." Kim sang, as the asylum keeper locked the carriage and made to leave. Kim stopped him and made sure he stood guard.

"It's a beast! He's got fangs, razor-sharp ones! Massive paws, killer claws for the feast!" Kim sang, as some of the villagers tore down a fixture on a wall. It looked like a boar, and when it was ripped off the wall, it fell down and they decided to use it as a battering ram.

"Hear him roar, see him foam, but we're not coming home till he's dead!" Kim sang, as he mounted his horse and took up the mirror and the torch, and everyone cheered in agreement. "Good and dead! Kill the beast!"

"Light your torch, mount your horse!" The chorus sang, as they all started either walking behind the horses, or riding on horses out of the village. Sister Bustier tried to stop them, but she then ran out of the way to dodge the horses.

"Screw your courage to the sticking place!" Kim sang.

"We're counting on Sir Kim to lead the way!" The chorus sang, as they were all riding after Kim, with him in the lead. Kim was riding up the hill, along the path that Tom had showed him last time.

"Call it war, call it threat! You can bet they all will follow, for in times like this they'll do just as I say!" Kim sang.

Behind him, Max was riding on his horse, and he sang, "There's a beast running wild, there's no question. But I fear the wrong monster's released."

"Sally forth. Tally ho! Grab your sword! Grab your bow! Praise the Lord and here we go!" The chorus sang.

Kim stopped and then he asked the mirror, "Show me the castle."

An image of Adrien's castle soon appeared, and then Kim grew an evil smirk on his face.

Speaking of the castle, the staff were hanging around, having lost hope that Marinette would return.

"The good news is that Adrien's finally learned to love." Nino said, as he and Alya were waltzing for what they felt would be the last time.

"Yeah, but it's pointless if she doesn't feel the same way." Theo said.

"And I was hoping that she would, too..." Mrs. Chamack said, with a sigh.

They heard whinnying from outside, and Manon immediately hopped up to the windowsill.

"Did you hear that, mom? Is it her?! Is she coming back?!" Manon asked, coming to the window. Everyone else followed, hopeful that Manon was right and Marinette had come back.

"I knew it!" Alya said, with a big smile.

However, as Nino looked out the window, he said, "Crap! We've got invaders!"

He saw Kim leading the mob to the castle, and Nino started to rally the team to stop them.

"Intruders!" Mrs. Chamack said, as everyone made to head downstairs to go and stop the crow from getting to Adrien.

"So much for true love..." Theo scoffed, shaking his head. He immediately made to follow his friends.

As everyone ran down into the entrance area, Theo took charge and shouted, "Man the barricade and hold fast!"

Everyone pushed against the door, and the door itself also locked on its own. Ivan shouted, "Stand aside! I'm here to help!"

As he slid down the stairs, and ran to the door, everyone began singing, "Hearts ablaze, banners high, we go marching into battle, unafraid although the danger's just increased!"

Ivan used his weight to hold down the door while everyone else helped hold it back, too. They hoped that their collective weight would be enough to keep the door from opening.

"Raise the flag, sing the song! Here we come, we're fifty strong and fifty Frenchman can't be wrong!" The crowd sang. They had all gotten off of their horses and took some weapons, and they were all ready to break in.

"Let's kill the beast!" They sang, as they used the makeshift battering ram from the village to slam into the door.

At the sheer force of the blow, part of the door broke and flew inside the room. Seeing this, Theo realized that there were going to need some reinforcements and ran upstairs to get backup.

Back at the village, Marinette was still stuck in the carriage. She looked out the barred window and saw that the man in charge of the asylum was still around.

"Man! I have to get out of here and warn Adrien!" Marinette said, as she tried to look around for a way to break out of the prison.

"Wait. Warn him?" Tom asked. "How did you even get away from him, anyway?"

Marinette got down on her knees and looked her father in the eyes. She said, "Adrien set me free. He let me come back to you!"

Tom looked at his daughter with incredulous eyes. He said, "I don't get it."

Marinette took something out of her satchel: the rose pen that she had found when she and Adrien visited Paris through the magical book.

"Where did you...?!" Tom asked, shocked at seeing the pen, and took it into his hand.

"He brought me there," Marinette said, showing her father the pen. Tom looked at his daughter with wide eyes. "I know what Maman's fate was."

Tom sighed, before telling her, "Then you know why I couldn't bring her with us. I had to keep you safe. I've always tried to protect you. Maybe... Maybe it was a bit too much."

"Don't worry... I get it," Marinette said, before taking the pen and kissing it, just like Sabine did before she passed. "Now will you help me get out of here and save Adrien?"

"It isn't safe." Tom said.

"I know that," Marinette said. "I know that it's dangerous."

Marinette and Tom came to an understanding, and Tom had an idea.

"Lock picking. It's only a few springs and gears, after all," Tom said, as he reached his hands out of the window of the carriage and reached for the lock. Marinette was fiddling with her hair. "Now, I just need something like..."

Marinette held out the rose hairpin and gave it to Tom. Tom gave her a smile and then took it.

Back at the castle, Theo had ran up to the top of the tower to see Adrien was sitting there, brooding. Adrien was clearly tuning out all of the noise from the outside. He was so depressed that he was not bothered by all of the clamoring coming from down below.

"Adrien! I'm so sorry to bother you, but..." Theo began, as he approached Adrien.

"She's gone for good... She isn't coming back." Adrien stated, sadly.

He missed Marinette so much, but he knew that he had no right to regret his choice. All he wanted was his humanity back, but he threw that away when he decided that Marinette's happiness was much more important.

"Well, no..." Theo said, but then he got back to the issue at hand. "But there's a huge crowd downstairs and they're breaking down the doors!"

Adrien knew what Theo was trying to do: he wanted Adrien to come down and help fight off the people who dared try to hurt him.

"It's pointless... Let them come." Adrien sadly said. At that point, Adrien would rather be dead than not have Marinette by his side. Once she left, he had lost his reason for living. She made him so happy - happier than he had even been in his whole life.

"Kill the beast! Kill the beast!" Everyone outside sang.

"This is useless!" Mrs. Chamack said, as she and Nino backed off.

"I have an idea!" Nino said, as he took charge for the moment.

"Kill the beast! Kill the beast! Kill the beast!" The mob outside chanted. They were still banging against the door.

The door unlocked itself and after the last shove, everyone tumbled inside the castle. It was completely dark, like no one was inside. Everyone slowly walked inside, being careful of the potential dangers lurking around, including Adrien.

Kim was at the head of the group, still holding the torch and the mirror in his hands.

"Isn't the potential that this place might be haunted freaking you out even a little bit, Kim?" Max asked, as he came closer to Kim.

As Kim looked at the mirror, he said, "Keep it together, Max."

"Does... Is anyone else getting a sense of deja vu? It's like I've been in here before..." Monsieur Dominick said, as he was looking around the castle. Everyone else was looking around the castle.

Max noticed Mrs. Chamack and Manon on a teacart nearby. He walked over to them, and then teased to Manon, "Why, hello. You're the talking teacup, aren't you?"

However, he looked over to Mrs. Chamack, and said, "Then you must be her grandmother, huh?"

Hearing this, Mrs. Chamack broke character with an affronted gasp, and as steam billowed out of her spout, she shouted, "So, I'm an antique to you?! GET EM'!"

Max's eyes went wide as he backed off, Kim was surprised at this sudden occurrence, and then the furniture started to move, the fireplace light up, Nino light his wicks up, and gave everyone a friendly, "Hello!"

The staff were now all fighting back against the crowd. The chairs would trip people over, some of the taller pieces of furniture were beating up some of the villagers. The torches outside were even knocking some of the people out by hitting them on the heads.

Kim was shocked that this was happening, but he held his ground. Max ran over to Kim, and then the hatrack got their attention.

Kim immediately pushed Max to the hat rack, and then it started punching Max in the face like it were a boxing match. Kim was surprised that a furniture piece was wiping the floor with Max.

Once the fight was finished, Kim saw Ivan was looming over them.

"KIM!" Max shouted, as Kim backed off and Ivan fell on top of Max. As Ivan played a few notes as if Max were dying, Max looked up and reached out his hand.

"Kim... Help me..." Max said, weakly.

Kim merely looked down at Max in his sorry state, and merely shook his head.

"Sorry, buddy. It's hero time." Kim said, as he turned away from Max and started walking up the stairs to go and find Adrien. Max was in shock that Kim had abandoned him, and then he passed out.

Ivan snickered and said, "Ouch."

Back in Villeneuve, the asylum keeper noticed that the carriage door was unlocked. He rushed to the door, threw it open, and saw Marinette and Tom were gone.

Once he slammed the door shut, he saw Tom next to the carriage, and said, "Oh, hi. Here, this is yours."

He gave the lock back to the asylum keeper. A whinny of a horse was heard, and then Marinette rushed by, once again on Phillip. Tom waved to his daughter while Marinette gave Tom a smile. She had abandoned the bottom of the skirt of her dress and continued to ride to the castle.

"Haha. She's so stubborn," Tom laughed, before turning to his former captor. "You have kids?"

In the castle, Ivan had gotten off of Max. He sat up, and Alya started hitting him with her feathers. She said, "Hah! No one here to help you now!"

He tried to make a grab for Alya, but he missed, and only stood up.

Kim was climbing up the stairs in the west wing, and then he saw something out int he distance on the top of the tower. Realizing that this was his target, Kim immediately made to go after Adrien.

Back in the fight, Manon was shooting saucers out from underneath her, hitting all of the people who were coming after her and her friends.

"One, two, three, four, five, six, seven..." Manon counted, as she shot one saucer after another, each hitting someone in the face.

"Great going, Manon, girl!" Theo said, from up top. Myléne and a staff member - turned into a table with books on top - arrived. "Nice, the infantry's here!"

He immediately directed the books down into the fight, and then he shouted, "Go school em'!"

The books immediately took flight and started slamming themselves into the people down below, and Theo boasted, "Those are called "books," you second-rate knights!"

John, Dick, and Stanley looked up and then they immediately glared at Theo. Recognizing this, Theo immediately made a run for it and said, "I'm out!"

As the trio of men started running up the stairs with their swords, Theo was backed into a corner. As the men approached, Myléne got in front of him and said, "Come here, little boys!"

She opened her doors and fabrics of all kinds spewed out of her doors, and she was singing happily, while saying, "I put it on, spinning you this way! Hah! Pretty, little boys!"

Once she was finished, the men were all in noblewomen's clothing, all in different colors. John and Stanley screamed and ran downstairs, but Dick only smiled and started walking down the stairs, happy to be in that sort of outfit.

"Go on, be free and happy!" Myléne sang, as she ushered the men off.

Marinette was riding on Phillipe, and they soon came into the snowy woods. Marinette had a very determined look on her face, not at all unnerved by the situation. She only had one goal: save Adrien.

While the fight was still going on, Myléne hoisted Mrs. Chamack onto the chandelier and she started pouring hot water onto the crowd. Those who were hit were screaming in pain, and then people slipped on the water on the floor.

"Like your tea piping hot? Or scalding?" She asked, loudly. However, she and Monsieur Dominick made eye contact, and she smiled. "Mr. Chamack!"

However, She fell from the chandelier and started screaming. Dominick was looking at her in confusion, but just as she was about to fall to the floor and break, Max caught her in his hands.

"Oh, thank you very much!" Nadja said, happy that she did not get smashed to pieces.

However, Max ducked when two men were about to hit them with longer weapons. When he ducked, the men wound up hitting each other. Nadja sprayed hot water in one man's face, and then Max delivered a right hook to the other man's face. Both men were down after that.

"Well done!" Nadja said, giving Max a smile, impressed with his fighting skills.

"I was on Kim's side, but he betrayed me. We're not in the best place right now." Max said, as he resumed chatting with Nadja.

"You deserve better," Nadja said sympathetically, as Max nodded in agreement. "Back to work, then?"

Max nodded, and then the two of them got back to fighting.

Ivan was using his legs to shove people out of the way, pushing them around and knocking them back.

"Haha! Such amazing music!" He sang, as he made ready to shoot his keys at his attackers.

"Silence that harpsichord!" A woman shouted.

"Uh-oh!" Ivan said, as he felt like he was backed into a corner.

"Maestro!" Myléne shouted from upstairs, as she made it to the railing.

"Myléne?! Finally!" Ivan said.

"I'm on my way! This is it!" Myléne said, as she jumped onto the railing. "The fat lady is singing!"

She vocalized as she jumped off the railing and then used her doors to knock one woman off of her feet and down the stairs.

"Bravo!" Ivan cheered, and then he started shooting his keys at everyone in the vicinity. Anyone who was hit was knocked onto the floor.

"Watch your feet, peeps!" Nino shouted. He used his flames to light some gunpowder trails that were on the floor. The explosions of sparks were scaring everyone out of the castle.

Everyone was screaming and leaving the castle, save for Max.

However, one person was unfazed by everything, and just continued to climb the stairs: Rochelle. She seemed to be focused on one thing.

"Have a good trip on your way back to the village!" Nino called.

"And stay out!" Theo shouted. The two of them shared a high-five.

Outside of the castle, Marinette had made it. She was looking up to the castle, ignoring everyone around her. Adrien was in there, potentially in danger, and she knew she had to do something.

Kim had climbed the tower's spiral staircase. Once he made it outside to the top of the tower, he saw his target. Adrien was just standing there, not paying attention to anything.

Now that he found his proxy, Kim threw his torch over the edge of the tower. He held up his rifle right at Adrien, and smirked with an evil glint in the eye.

"Hello, beast," Kim said, refusing to use Adrien's given name. Adrien slowly turned to him, but he did not say a word. "The name's Kim. Ladybug sent me here."

Adrien once again did not answer. He turned away, ignoring Kim. He also was skeptical of Kim's claim, since his name never came up in conversations with Marinette.

"Are you in love with her?" Kim mockingly inquired. "Did you seriously think that she'd want you?"

Adrien once again refused to make a sound. He honestly felt that he and Marinette had a chance, and knew that Kim was lying. He just ignored Kim and his face went from lonely to outright depressed.

However, Kim pulled the trigger and then the bullet shot Adrien in the back. The force of the shot caused Adrien to growl in pain and then he fell off the ledge of the tower.

His cloak fell off, and Adrien immediately caught onto the cone roof of the next tower. He caught his breath and immediately snapped out of his depressed state of mind.

'Crap! Who is this guy?! He claims that Marinette sent him to kill me? I don't believe that for one second!' Adrien thought, as he started to climb the tower roof, but he kept slipping. Even his claws could not get a firm grip on the shillings.

Kim saw that Adrien had survived, and then he took out his crossbow. He reached for his quiver, but he saw it was empty.

When he turned around, he saw Marinette behind him. She was glaring at him and she had his arrows in her hand.

"Ladybug!" Kim said, in surprise.

Marinette broke the arrows over her knee and then threw them away. The crossbow was useless now.

"Where is Adrien?! What did you do to him?!" Marinette demanded, as Kim discarded the crossbow.

Rather than answer her questions, Kim said, "When we get back to the village, you and I will be married."

Marinette saw what was going on. Kim was reaching for his rifle again and she knew he would shoot.

"And that beast's head will be the sign of our union!" Kim said, as he got out the gun.

"Never!" Marinette shouted, as she grabbed for the weapon.

The two of them struggled with each other to get the rifle, but then the ground beneath Kim crumbled. He slipped, the gun flew out of his hands, and then he fell to the ledge underneath.

Kim saw that the rifle had fallen to the ground on a lower ledge on the tower across from him. He made to go after Adrien. Marinette was relieved for a second; she had bought Adrien some time.

"I'm coming for you, beast!" Kim shouted.

Adrien himself kept climbing the rooftops and hoping from one to another to get to solid ground. Marinette chased after Kim to stop him, and then when he crossed a bridge, he slid down the roof and jumped off the round window.

Marinette crossed the same bridge, and she saw it fall apart; she jumped across and landed into another tower. She saw what had happened and she made to catch up to Adrien and get to him before Kim could. She ran to a window and saw Adrien climbing up another roof to higher ground.

Seeing him slip, Marinette shouted, "NO!"

"Marinette?" Adrien said, hearing her voice. He saw her in the distance, and then he swung around to face her, before jumping to another roof. "LADYBUG! You came back!"

"I tried to stop them!" Marinette shouted.

"Stay put! I'm on my way!" Adrien shouted back. This did not go unnoticed by Kim. After everything, Kim was still frustrated that Marinette wanted Adrien instead.

Adrien started hopping from one roof to another to reach Marinette. He leaped to one ledge, slipped, but he managed to climb up onto the ledge. He started to walk, but then some stone from the ledge above him fell on top of him. Kim landed in front of him, grabbed a fixture from the roof nearby to use as a club. Marinette immediately made to try and reach Adrien when she saw this.

Kim slammed the makeshift weapon onto Adrien, and he was slammed into the wall. Kim used the club to knock Adrien onto another crumbling bridge. As Kim approached to deliver the final blow, Adrien was growing weak. That bullet that hit him in the back was no help, either. Kim kicked Adrien further, meanwhile Marinette was running down the stairs outside the tower she had exited.

"KIM! KNOCK IT OFF!" Marinette shouted.

Hearing her voice, Adrien grew angry. He found his reason to fight. Kim was after Marinette, and he was not going to stop until Adrien did something. As Kim was about to hit him with the club again, Adrien turned around and grabbed it with his paw, stopping it. He growled while glaring at Kim. He stood up, knocked the club away, and then he grabbed Kim by the neck.

Adrien held Kim over the edge of the tower. Should Adrien drop him, Kim would fall to his death. Marinette gasped in shock and covered her mouth when she realized what Adrien could very well do. He was very tempted to let this be Kim's fate, but then...

"Please... Don't let me go! Please...!" Kim begged, as he clutched Adrien's paw. He was scared, and was fearful for his life. "Don't hurt me. There's nothing I won't do... Just have mercy, beast..."

Adrien's expression softened. Yes, Kim had barged into the castle to try and do away with him, all because he wanted Marinette. But Adrien knew better. He slowly pulled Kim closer.

"My name... is Adrien. And I am not a beast." He said in a low voice, and then he threw Kim aside onto the ground with a snarl. Kim immediately scrambled up and started to run.

"Go! Leave this place!" Adrien shouted, as he saw Kim make a run for it. Adrien then made eye contact with Marinette, backed up, and got down on all fours.

Marinette knew what he was going to do: Adrien would jump the ledge to reach her.

"No! It's too far!" Marinette begged.

Adrien ignored this warning, ran and then he jumped. He gabbed onto the ledge, and then he climbed up. He stood up and smiled at Marinette. The moment was interrupted, however, when another bang was heard. Adrien roared in pain and fell forward. Kim was on the bridge and he had once again shot Adrien.

Marinette dove to Adrien's side and tried to help him get up. Kim glared and then he made to shoot again. He did not notice the structure of the bridge was crumbling from underneath.

"KIM! Leave him alone!" Marinette shouted, trying her best to get Kim to stop. However, Kim ignored this plea and shot Adrien in the back again, and this time the blast forced Adrien into his room, tumbling.

He was on his back, breathing heavily from the pain.

Marinette ran to his side and laid on top of him. Kim was still dead-set on seeing Adrien dead, but then the bridge completely fell apart beneath him.

He screamed as he fell down from the bridge. Once a dull thud was heard, it was clear that Kim was no more.

Back in the room of the west wing, Marinette was lying over Adrien. She held one of his paws while her other hand was supporting his head.

"Marinette... You've come back to me..." Adrien said, with labored breathing.

"Naturally," Marinette said, happy to see Adrien again, almost moved to tears. "And I'm not leaving again!"

"No... I'm the one who has to leave this time." Adrien said, with a sad smile. He knew that that last bullet got him, and he was about to die.

"We're reunited..." Marinette said in a whisper. "Everything will be okay."

"At least I got to see you... one last time... m'lady..." Adrien said, as he used the last of his strength to caress Marinette's face.

The final petal on the rose detached from the stem and started to fall.

However, once Adrien's hand left Marinette's cheek, his arm fell to his side on the ground, his eyes lost the light in them, grew dull in color, rolled into the back of his head, and then his head hit the floor. He was gone.

"No! Please, no!" Marinette begged, her eyes widened with horror. Tears started to fall and she began to cry. "Come back, please!"

At that moment, the petal hit the pile, turned black, and shriveled up. Marinette laid her face on his chest and started to sob.

Outside the main door, Nino was cheering that they had driven the invaders out.

"Victory's ours, Alya!" Nino said, as he spun Alya around in his arms. However, all he heard was a moan. "Alya? ALYA!"

Nino saw that the feather duster in his arms was completely still. Nino knew what was going on: the final petal fell and they were out of time.

"Oh, mon chéri Alya... No..." Nino said, as he gently laid his beloved in the snow, and was on his hands and knees, standing over her. He was heartbroken, too.

Everyone else was slowing down and getting weak from the curse taking affect.

"Maestro..." Myléne said, as she tried to speak to her boyfriend one last time. "You were the bravest I've ever seen you. Adieu, my love."

She shut her doors, never to open again. Ivan, desperate, shouted, "Amour! No! Stay with me!"

However, his keys stopped playing, and his candles went out. The spell had taken him over, too.

"Manon! Manon! Has anyone seen her?! She took off!" Nadja shouted, as she was rolling on her teacart.

Everyone failed to answer. They did not see Manon, and they were also a little more preoccupied with the fact that the curse was taking over and rendering itself permanent.

"Where is my baby girl?!" Nadja shouted, as her face faded away on the teacup.

"MOM!" Manon shouted, as she started to fall to the ground. However, the hatrack caught her just in time; her saucer shattered, but her face had also faded away. The hatrack put her on the tea rack and then he also stood utterly still.

Seeing their friends had fallen to the spell, Nino and Theo were the last ones remaining. They turned to each other to say their last words.

"Nino... I... Can't... Talk..." Theo began, his speech being inhibited by "ticking" from the spell's effect.

"Don't worry, Theo. You don't have to say anything." Nino said, sadly.

"No... Nino, mon amie... Serving with you... was an honor." Theo said, before he was still, now a permanent clock.

"No... It was MY honor." Nino said, before spinning around, losing his face, and his candles went out.

Everyone was gone. The spell was permanent. They were too late.

Back in Adrien's room, Rochelle had entered and immediately made for the rose for some reason. It was if she knew something.

"Come back! Please don't leave!" Marinette begged, her eyes still wet with tears. She was grieving over the loss, and she was hoping and praying that he would come back. There was no response.

"Je'taime!" Marinette said, admitting her true feelings for her beastly cat.

Rochelle's eyes widened for a second before giving a nod and a warm smile. Marinette kissed Adrien's forehead before crying into her hands. Rochelle lifted her hand near the rose, and the rose started to rebuild itself, almost as if time went in reverse. Rochelle then snapped her fingers, and the bell dome shattered into small lights.

She gently pointed her palm at Adrien, and yellow magic and the rose petals started swirling around him. Rochelle let down her hood to reveal that she had red hair. She revealed herself as the enchantress, and was smiling as she watched the scene unfold.

'He may have been late, but he met the goal. He never deserved any of this, so this is my way of apologizing.' Rochelle thought, as she watched the magic do its work.

Marinette, surprised, stood up, and backed off. Adrien was lifted into the air, and then something began to change.

His paws started to shift. The claws shrunk down, his hair turned into a peach skin tone with a slight tan to it, and his hands went from the paws of a cat to the hands of a human. Marinette watched in awe as the same thing happened to his feet and legs, all the way up.

Rochelle immediately made herself scarce; she knew the lovers would want some alone time.

As soon the transformation was over, Adrien was gently set down on the ground on his feet. He had his back to Marinette, he looked all over his body, and Marinette saw that the man before her was different from the beast she had come to know.

As he started examining himself, he smiled and chortled a bit. He turned around to face Marinette.

Marinette saw the man before her was only about a few inches taller than her, his hair was blonde and well-groomed, and his eyes were emerald green. He was wearing the same clothes as the beast did. He also had a slight tan to his skin tone, too. Marinette recognized him as the boy from the painting in the room, and the pieces of the puzzle were starting to come together.

Marinette slowly approached, and all he did was smile at her. As she gently put her hand to his face, she looked into his eyes. While they were not cat-like anymore, she recognized those green eyes anywhere.

"My lady!" Adrien said. Recognizing his nickname for her, Marinette realized that this was her beastly cat.

"Adrien?" Marinette asked, with a hopeful smile on her face.

Adrien nodded, a huge smile gracing his own face. He immediately gave Marinette a hug and said, "Yes. It's me, Bugaboo. You saved me."

"But how...?" Marinette asked.

She knew that the spell had been broken, but she did not know how it happened. She felt like she was owed an explanation, but Adrien merely shook his head.

"I'll explain later, mon cher," Adrien said, as he once again looked Marinette in her blue eyes. "For now..."

Adrien gently caressed her cheeks with his hands, and then the two of them shared a kiss. One of Adrien's hands moved from Marinette's face to her waist, and he kept kissing her. His eyes were closed and he was reveling in pure bliss. Marinette dug one of her hands into his hair and her other hand was on his cheek. She was kissing back, absolutely ecstatic that Adrien was alive. As they held their kiss, the castle started to rebuild itself, as if the clock was turning back. As the castle restructured itself, the sun rose. The light from the sun not only brightened up the castle, but the more eerie fixtures of the castle turned into something more majestic, more worthy of the palace. The dragons turned into knights and they went from stone to gold fixtures, for example.

The snow evaporated, the trees grew their green leaves, flowers bloomed, and birds started coming back. As the magic was being lifted from the castle, everyone seemed to change back. The first were Myléne and Ivan, who wasted no time in hugging each other and giving each other kisses and laughs. However, Ivan would need to see the dentist later, since many of his teeth had been removed through all the fighting.

The spell immediately reversed on Theo. When he emerged, he was a man with brown hair tied up in a bun, a soul patch, had brown eyes, and a brown skin tone. He saw that he had become a human again and whooped with joy.

In front of him, Nino had changed back. He had brown skin and shorter, brown hair, and hazel eyes. He was also wearing glasses and staff uniform.

"Hey, Nino!" Theo said.

Nino smiled and said, "I told you we'd beat the clock, dude!"

A pile of feathers blew up nearby and Nino immediately recognized it as Alya. He ran over to the feather pile, and a hand reached out. Nino took the outstretched hand, delighted at feeling her human skin against his own for the first time in ages.

"Alya! Oh, mon amour!" Nino said, as he pulled Alya out from the pile. She had brownish-red hair that went slightly past her shoulders with lighter tips, tan skin, hazel-green eyes, and was also wearing glasses.

Nino could not help himself. He dove in for a kiss, which Alya happily shared with him. However, it appeared an ember or two was still on Nino, as smoke started coming out from atop his head.

"Hahaha!" Alya said, as she put the fire out on Nino's head by brushing her hand around his head. "Getting a little fired up from that kiss, aren't we?"

"I'm just happy we're back to normal!" Nino said while ignoring the pun, before kissing Alya once more.

Immediately after, Nadja and Manon changed back. Nadja was wearing a dress, and she smiled. She had short, fuchsia hair, brown eyes, fair skin, stood at medium height, and had pink lips. Manon was shorter than her mom, had tan skin, brown eyes, two front buck teeth, and had brown hair tied back into pigtails.

"Manon! Look at you! You're a little girl again! I knew it would happen!" Nadja said, as she picked up her daughter and spun her around to hug her.

Everyone from the village had came back to the castle. Since the spell had broken, the memories were restored to everyone.

"Sweetheart?" Dominick said, as he approached Nadja and Manon.

"Mr. Chamack!" Nadja said.

"Nadja! Now I remember!" Dominick said, as he shared a group hug and shared kisses with his wife and daughter.

Rochelle watched with a smile. Everything worked out, and her only regret was letting the whole mess happen to begin with. On the other hand, the king would not be able to interfere with anything anymore, so she was forgiven for that, at least.

"Theo?" A girl with short blue hair, brown eyes, and fair skin said, as she approached.

"Mireille?" Theo asked, turning around to address the girl.

"Theo!" She shouted, as she ran and hugged him. "I've missed you so much."

"I've missed you, too." Theo said, as the two of them hugged.

While the happy reunion went on, Alya noticed something, and said, "Look, Nino!"

Adrien and Marinette walked out of the door to the castle. They were holding hands, and then Nino smiled.

"Oh, my prince!" Nino said, delivering a formal bow while Alya did a curtsy.

"Nino, there's no need for formalities! It's great to see you again as a human, buddy!" Adrien said, as he and Nino shared a fist bump, then a hug.

"Girl, you saved our lives!" Alya said, as she bowed to Marinette. She smiled in return.

"Hey, Marinette! It's me, Manon!" Manon said, as she and Marinette shared a hug.

Everyone continued celebrating the end of their curse, and no one was happier than Marinette and Adrien.

A few weeks later, Marinette and Adrien were married. The two of them were so happy that they were certain that nothing but pure bliss awaited them in the future.

"Tale as old as time! Tune as old as song!" Myléne sang, as she and the orchestra were playing a song. "Bittersweet and strange, finding you can change! Learning you were wrong!"

Everyone was dancing in the ballroom, and the couple of the hour were in the center. Marinette was in a red wedding dress that she had sewn herself, and Adrien was in the same suit that he had worn the last time they had danced. Marinette's hair was done in the same way as last time, only there was another rose in her hair.

Everyone else was in white, and they were all dancing with their respective partners. Even Max had joined in.

The tempo slowed a bit as Marinette and Adrien started to dance together again.

Tom was sitting on the sidelines, painting a picture of the scene.

"Winter turns to spring," Nadja sang as the tempo of the music slowed down. Meanwhile, everyone else danced at the same pace, with the happy pair in the center. "Dusk will turn to dawn. Nature points the way, nothing left to say. Coccinelle et Chat Noir."

Tom smiled and nodded. After everything had been resolved, Tom was informed of what happened, all the way from the spell's casting to the moment that the spell broke. After he had come to grips that Prince Adrien was the same person that had given him such grief over picking a rose, he gave their union his blessing.

Seeing her father on the sidelines, Marinette giggled.

"What's the matter, Bugaboo?" Adrien inquired with a cocked eyebrow and a smile.

"How would you feel about growing a mustache?" Marinette asked, giggling.

"No way! I've had enough of having hair on my face." Adrien laughed, and then he gave a teasing growl. He sounded exactly the same as he did when the two of them first met. He immediately kissed her hand and then they went back to waltzing.

"Certain as the sun, bright as any star. Tale as old as time, song as old as rhyme, Coccinelle et Chat Noir." Everyone sang.

Once Max had changed partners, he started waltzing with Dick, and the two of them made eye contact. They smiled and blushed, and then they laughed as they went back to dancing.

As they began traveling, Adrien and Marinette once again got their bodies closer to each other.

"Tale as old as time, song as old as rhyme. Coccinelle et Chat Noir."

Marinette and Adrien once again did a spin together, and then Adrien pulled Marinette close. Marinette's eyes and heart were alight with joy as she found the man of her dreams.

Adrien could not resist. He purred a bit, immediately dipped Marinette down a bit, and gave her a huge kiss on her lips. Marinette hugged Adrien by the neck and popped a leg. Everyone applauded as the newlyweds were enjoying each others' company and had no qualms about public displays of affection.


And that's a wrap! Story is done and I hope you enjoyed the show. If you want more Miraculous Ladybug romance one-shots or stories from me, PM me or let me know in a review.