Chat felt his heart pounding in his chest, though it felt like it was trying to get out, as he passed over Paris. The pulling sensation took he down a route he already knew well, as he passed his school he noticed a yellow figure ahead.
"Sandman!"
Chat couldn't stop a hiss from escaping as he spotted the akuma. The Sandman simply turned to the black cat superhero with a smirk.
"Oh my! If it isn't the prince come to save his princess. Sorry black cat but you're a little too late."
With that the akuma lifts his hand, gripped between his fingers was a set of very familiar earrings. Chat gasped in horror as his eyes widened. The Sandman continued to smirk whilst slowly floating backwards.
"Oh don't worry our prince charming will be joining his sleeping beauty soon enough. Though I must ask black prince, did you know she's only helpless because she protected you?"
Chat's fists clench and he could feel his teeth grind together. The akuma's smile just widened.
"Oh you didn't! Well this is awkward. Really I shouldn't tell a princess's secrets but when you ran away last time I was going to hit you with an arrow. It was meant to make you more and more sleepy until you couldn't wake up, until you couldn't protect your lady. But… guess who jumped in the way as a shield… did you guess yet?"
Chat's eyes flickered towards the earrings, his breathing becoming laboured as he tried to process what was being said.
His Lady had protected him… even after he had turned away from her… when he had been upset and left her behind… No it couldn't be… she wouldn't… he was meant to protect… not her! Never her!
He was brought back out of his thoughts as the Sandman chuckled.
"Yes your precious lady. The princess of our story. Seems this time our princess is the hero and the prince is a few scenes behind. Time to catch up Black knight. The princess needs you."
Chat couldn't control himself as he jumped for the akuma, anger filled him and red clouded his vision. The Sandman simply drifted further back on his cloud of sand and higher into the air, laughing the entire time.
Chat was about to follow, to give chase but pulling sensation came back pulling him in the opposite direction. He knew! He knew he should go after the akuma and get her miraculous back but instead he decided to follow his heart ( as he was sure that was what was directing him) and leapt over the roofs and away from the akuma. Behind him he heard the Sandman call after him.
"Yes the Black knight go to your princess. We'll meet again soon after all I have the true treasure."
Chat clenched his eyes for a minute as to stop himself from turning around and ripping the akuma to shreds. Not long after he finds himself on a familiar balcony.
"Marinette? It couldn't… she couldn't…"
He quickly taps on the trap door and waits. He hears nothing, no movement, not pencil or pen on paper, all there was was the calming and even sound of breathing. As though the person was deep asleep.
He debated for a moment, whether it was worth Marinette's anger (he had seen it a few times, aimed towards Chloe and thankfully not him) to open the trapdoor without her permission. The tugging in his chest became a little stronger as he thought about it.
Slowly reaching down he grips the handle and gentle pulls the hatch open. Looking into Marinette's room he sees the girl in question laying on her bed. This wouldn't set off any warning bells normally but Marinette wasn't lying normally, any normal person would be on their side one hand under their head the other in front of them or on their back with their hands in a random position. No one sleeps with their hands laying over their stomach gently over the top of each other but that was the position Marinette was in.
Gently lowering himself into the room Chat looked at his princess, unsure what the emotion building inside. Reaching over gently he shakes her shoulder.
"Marinette. Wake up."
When nothing happens, he's unsure what to do next. The pulling sensation in his chest had stopped for the moment. As he stares down on the sleeping girl (who's completely oblivious) slowly becoming unsure what to do.
He gently reaches over and shakes her shoulder. Nothing happened, literally nothing happened. Her body moved with the action but her hair, clothes and everything just stayed them, showing no sign of the movement at all… completely, picture perfect.
Suddenly it was like he couldn't breath, his chest felt heavy and vision started to go black round the edges.
Marinette… Marinette was sleep… unable to wake up… a coma?... what of Ladybug?… where was she?… why did his heart drag him here?... when his heart belonged only to his La...
His thoughts stop as his eyes look Marinette over and rest on her earring… or more to point lack of earrings. The dark studs no longer sat between her equally dark strands of hair. He reaches out and gently caresses the empty space.
There's no way!... Marinette… Marinette's Ladybug… Marinette is Ladybug… Ladybug is Marinette… Ladybug's Marinette… Ladybug… Right?
Chat blinks and looks at the girl laying on the bed. His hand had been pulled back whilst he had been lost in his thoughts. As he sat there he was shocked, confused and paralyzed whilst he tried to compare two girls he knew and make them one… His Lady and his Princess… one and the same…
It just didn't seem to stick. Every time the thought seemed real, every time the hero in red and black and the girl in pink and white where one and the same it slipped, like two pieces of a puzzle that needed a third to make them work right… to make the image clear.
Chat found himself engulfed in a familiar green light, it surprised him a little but not as much as Plagg flying out of the ring and around the room.
"Tikki! Tikki I know you're here! Come out NOW! TIKKI!"
Adrien's eyes still hadn't left Marinette's sleeping figure which is why he saw the pillow rustle first. Soon after a small red head emerged with a black spot in the middle of it's forehead. Her (Adrien's guessing Tikki's a she) tired dull blue eyes land on the blond model.
"Plagg please quieten down, you know it takes a lot of energy to transfer the connection. Hello Adrien. I'm Tikki."
Plagg rushes over and engulfs the red kawami in a hug looking like the world suddenly started making sense again. Adrien on the hand felt as though the ground had been ripped from under him. The final piece of the puzzle fell into place.
Marinette and Ladybug, his Lady and his Princess, where one and the same. Two sides of a whole.
