Important AN at the end of the chapter.

The whole crew is in on the secret now and everything is explained to Nino. I don't want with every person finding out that they get everything explained, meet Tikki and Plagg etc. written out. So, Nino knows everything he needs to knows, has met Tikki and Plagg and has processed the news, but offscreen wise.

Enjoy!


The quartet of friends was hanging out in Marinette's room during lunch. They would have to go back to school soon, but right now they were still savoring the free time they had.

"This is so frustrating! I don't understand a thing!" Marinette yelled, closing the book and putting it in Adrien's arms.

For the past days they have been trying to decipher the information from the book they found in the safe in Adrien's house. The Kwamis tried their best, but even they didn't understand the book. The pictures and drawings were the only clue as to what the book said.

"That's because it's written in code. There are some parts that are Chinese, but there is nothing more I can translate," Adrien said calmly.

"What do the parts you do understand say then?" Alya asked.

"Basically that the Miraculous are an ancient Chinese secret. Throughout history people became a 'Chosen' because of their heart. You know, kindness, selflessness, that kind of stuff."

"At least that's something, right?" Nino beamed.

"What I don't understand though is why your little friends can't explain it to you. Where are they anyway?" Alya looked around Marinette's bedroom to search for said Kwamis.

"They're with the 'Great Guardian' as we speak. They couldn't quite translate the code as well, so they wanted us to meet him," Marinette explained.

"They wanted to talk to him alone first, so we'll be without them for a few hours. I really hope nothing will happen in the meantime, otherwise we're doomed," Adrien filled in.

"Hawk Moth has been acting up more recently. It actually really worries me." Marinette rubbed her arms.

"He's probably pretty sick of losing to you guys all the time, so he wants to go hardcore now."

Adrien noticed the half-smile Marinette gave to Nino. Even though his friend meant it as a joke, the last they thing they needed was for Hawk Moth to go 'hardcore'. It was already though enough to balance regular life and superhero life, but it was still doable.

Nino's theory actually made sense. Adrien compared it to his fencing. It was like when you were fighting a guy, but you lose every time. You try over and over again to win, yet you still can't do it. Then you have two choices: either you give up or you try harder and get more aggressive. Hawk Moth was obviously going for the second choice and he showed less mercy every day. The akumatized victims were tougher and harder to defeat.

Adrien put an arm around Marinette and kissed her head. "We'll be fine, Bugaboo. Besides, if an Akuma takes more time we've got Alya and Nino to cover for us."

"But that won't help us with catching Hawk Moth. What if-"

"That's why Plagg and Tikki are talking with that guy. With his help, and that of the book, we'll be able to get rid of Hawk Moth once and for all." He petted her head to calm her down.

She sighed. "I know, I know…"

She wanted to scratch him behind his ear as a thank you for his encouraging words. He flinched though the second she touched it, so she retreated her hand. It was really odd. She knew he liked it when he was being petted or scratched, but every time she wanted to do such a thing he acted uncomfortable. Was he doing that on purpose?

Her thoughts were interrupted by her mother entering the room.

"Marinette, we've got something for you!" Sabine's voice boomed. She entered the room with a plate full of baked goods. "Cookies, croissants, cupcakes and bread. I think you kids will enjoy yourselves."

"Thanks, mom. It looks great!"

They all grabbed something they desired. Nino went for a croissant, but Adrien slapped his hand away and grabbed it for himself.

"Not cool, bro."

"Mine," Adrien responded with a childish voice and fake hiss.

"Easy boys, there is enough for everyone," Sabine tried to soothe.

"Aren't you supposed to be on some sort of super model diet?" Marinette asked.

Adrien stared at her straight in the eyes as he took a big bite.

"That answers how much he cares," Nino laughed.

"Oh, Adrien sweetie. You shouldn't do that if you're not allowed to," Sabine said worried.

Adrien gave the woman a sweet smile. "No, it's fine, Sabine."

"Okay, but I will not give them to you that often then, I don't want to make your father mad."

"What? No!" Adrien whined.

"Don't even try, Miss Cheng. Adrien adores croissants. He'll burn down the whole bakery if you stopped making them," Alya joked.

"I see." Tom's head poked out next to Sabine. "Well, I suppose he'll be coming over lots of times, so I'll be sure to make them for you, kid."

"Papa…" Marinette groaned in embarrassment.

"I'll keep you to that, Tom. Otherwise I'll bring a box of matches next time I'm here," Adrien said, continuing on Alya's joke.

The old man barked out a laugh. "Need to be careful with you then. I beloaf we got ourselves a pyromaniac here."

Marinette rolled her eyes at her father's pun.

"Well, things do always get 'toasty' when I'm around," Adrien quipped back with a smirk.

Marinette looked at Adrien in surprise and slight worry as to what would come. Her father had awakened the pun-beast inside her boyfriend. Nino, Alya and Sabine couldn't stop laughing at the interaction.

"Ah, you're a joker too, huh? Well, I'm the baker here, so scone be hard to defeat me."

"Wheat are you talking about? I loaf puns like these, I could go on for hours."

"I donut doubt that, but the yeast you could do is put more effort in it."

"There is no knead for effort if it goes effortlessly."

"Oh, kill me now," Marinette groaned, but she had to laugh as well.

Her father continued. "Crumb on, those weren't that good. You butter step up your game."

"Oh, I got my bread in the game, dough I think you should worry about if you don't run out of buns."

"I've been baking these jokes before Marinette was even born. I'll never run out of buns."

"I crust you on that, but mine are still butter."

There was a short silence. Tom was obviously thinking of a comeback, but didn't seem to find one. He put up his hand for Adrien.

"Nice job. You're a worthy opponent, Adrien."

Adrien high-fived the man. "Same to you."

"I think it's time we left the children to themselves," Sabine interrupted with a laugh and went down the stairs. Tom followed her and closed the trapdoor.

Alya and Nino were still laughing with tears in their eyes, barely able to eat their food.

Marinette shook her head. "I can't believe you guys. This can't be happening. Having one of you at home or school is one thing, but at the same time?"

"If there is one thing I have in common with my father, it's my competitiveness. No one defeats Adrien Agreste. I'm the pun-master." He put out his chest after taking another bite from his croissant.

"Sadly you are," Marinette grunted. "And since when are you allowed to call my parents by their first name?"

"We had a talk. Not to brag, but they love me." He put his hands under his chin and blinked extra slowly.

"Cause that's not bragging at all," Alya said and took another bite out of her cupcake.

"What kind of talk? Where was I?" Marinette asked, not listening anymore after his first sentence. She towered above him with questioning eyes.

"I don't know, you had to deliver something for them when we wanted to go out. I was waiting for about half an hour before you showed up, so we had to fill up the spare time."

Marinette gasped in disbelief. "I remember that. You said it was only five minutes!"

Adrien put his hand on front of his face, afraid she might hit him.

"What did you talk about?" She poked his hands.

He pushed her hands away softly and scratched his neck. "You. Us. It's not a big deal, really."

"It is to me. I want to know!"

"Nothing wrong with a secret between parents and their future son-in-law," Nino commented with a laugh.

Adrien and Marinette deadpanned, but still secretly blushed.

"You do realize they're only dating for a few weeks now, right?" Alya said with a raised brow.

"Hey, I don't know how many future plans they have."

"We're right here, you know?" Adrien put his hands on his hips.

"Anyways, another secret? What about that one with Alya? You haven't spoken to me about that in days."

"Actually, I wanted to do that today," Adrien confessed.

"Right." Marinette rolled her eyes.

"No, it's the truth. Alya, give Marinette the invitation."

Marinette raised a brow at the the word invitation. Alya pulled said object from her bag and handed it to Marinette.

It was an invitation to some sort of party in the Agreste mansion. It was to celebrate Gabriel's new summer collection. A few designs would be showed as preparation for the real show at the beginning of summer. The invitation was for next month.

"The reason why it was a surprise, was because my father wasn't sure yet if you, Alya and Nino could come and I didn't want to make you all excited for nothing."

She looked at the golden paper with big eyes. "But you did tell Alya."

"And me," Nino added.

Marinette huffed. "Tch, that doesn't seem really fair. I'm the only one who didn't know."

"That's because I know you, and you would want to make your own fancy dress instead of buying one. I didn't want to disappoint you."

Marinette didn't know what to say. She was going to go to a fancy party with probably hundreds of designers! And yes, she was going to make her own dress to impress the people there, duh.

"Oh my gosh, I can't believe it!" She attacked him in a hug and they ended up tangled on the floor. "Thank you, thank you, thank you! This is the best surprise ever!"

"Really now? The best?" Adrien questioned with a smile and a raised brow. "What about, I don't know, me being Chat Noir or something like that? Was that not the biggest shock of your life?"

"Pfft, that's old news."

"I feel offended." Adrien put his hand to his heart, pretending to be stabbed there.

Marinette, still being half on top of him, nuzzled his chest. "I'm just used to it now, but you seriously got me mad, happy and mind blown at the same time."

"Don't I always?" He lifted her by her chin and gave her a few soft kisses she happily returned.

Completely forgetting their other two friends, Marinette was now fully on top of Adrien and he put his arms around her, still locking lips.

"Geez, get a room," Alya laughed.

"You guys are just as bad," Marinette commented in between kisses, not wanting to stop just yet.

"Not in public," Nino shot back.

"This is not in public, this is my room."

"Well, you've got public. And the public can see everything," Alya said. "That means the public can see your hand too, Agreste! You better move that thing into another direction."

Adrien quickly removed the hand that was moving down to Marinette's butt. He smirked and Marinette giggled.

"He's allowed to," Marinette defended, sitting up straight now.

"Not when I'm near. It's my job to protect you," Alya said with crossed arms.

"Even from me?" Adrien asked, getting out of his daze from lying on the floor. He was sitting next to Marinette now.

"You turn into a guy in a leather catsuit who visits her at night. Especially you," Alya responded as she hugged Marinette protectively.

"He sneaks into your room at night?" Nino asked Marinette. "Why? What do you guys do then?" He wiggled his eyebrows.

Both Marinette and Adrien blushed. "Nothing. It's not what you think," Marinette said.

"We should head back to school," Adrien said hastily and he grabbed one last cookie from the plate as he got up from his spot.

The group said their goodbyes to Marinette's parents and headed for school. The couples both walked hand-in-hand. When they were nearing the school grounds, a group of reporters was standing nearby. After seeing the, to them unknown, superhero couple, they ran towards them.

"Miss Dupain-Cheng, do you have a minute? It's about your relationship with Chat Noir!"

"Aren't you already in a relationship with this young man here? Mr. Agreste, right?"

"Does that mean you are having two relationships at the same time?"

"Mr. Agreste, what do you think about all of this?"

"You are her friends, right? Do you know anything about her relationship with Chat Noir?"

It has been weeks since Valentine's Day and they were still on top of the subject. They just kept asking questions, rude questions at that. They didn't respect her privacy at all. If only they would know the truth, then they would leave her alone. But of course she couldn't say that.

The group tried to ignore them and walk inside the school, but the reporters followed them and pretty much blocked their way in.

Marinette politely asked them to go away, but they wouldn't listen. Alya, in a bit more rude way, asked the same thing, but they didn't listen either.

Why was everything so messed up? She thought that now all the secrets were out to each other, everything would be balanced in some way, but it wasn't. News crews couldn't leave her alone, Hawk Moth was more active and, to be honest, their fighting dynamic wasn't the same anymore, something she feared from the beginning if they would ever reveal to each other, even before she knew Chat Noir was Adrien.

She thought their blind trust would disappear, but no, it was even stronger. It was their worry for each other that was different. In the past when something happened to Chat Noir she was of course worried, but it was different. When he would take a hit for her, she would panic, but fight the Akuma further and scold slash thank the cat later.

But now, knowing that Chat Noir wasn't only her classmate, but also her friend, her boyfriend now, she worried about him constantly. After every hit or kick she would ask him a million times if he was okay. She was paying more attention to him not getting hurt than the Akuma itself.

She wondered if he went through the same thing, it didn't seem like it. She didn't tell him about her problem because she thought it was just a phase. They weren't together for that long, of course she would worry more about him, right? She hoped it would wave over soon.

All the stress and problems she had was already a bit for much her to handle, but these journalists not leaving her alone was the last bit that was necessary to put her over the edge.

"Miss Marinette, do you have anything to say abou-"

"NO, I DO NOT! JUST LEAVE ME ALONE, OKAY? I HAVE NOTHING TO COMMENT AND I STAND BY MY POINT. DON'T YOU PEOPLE HAVE SOMETHING BETTER TO DO? JUST GO!"

She bumped against Adrien and hid her face in his neck, afraid she might cry if she would yell any further. He hugged her back to comfort her.

Alya and Nino gave the group of reporters angry and judgmental looks. Nino petted Marinette's head.

"Happy?" Alya said to the reporters with her hands on her hips. "Come on, guys. Let's go."

The group entered the school, leaving the other people outside, awed at what just happened.

Adrien hadn't spoken a word, not to the journalists or his friends. He just held Marinette soothingly until they parted when she went to her seat.

"Man, you okay? You look like you're about to kill someone," Nino pointed out to Adrien.

He had a dark glare and kept staring at nothing in front of him. "I might if they ever do that to her again."

"Dude, she's fine. Look." He pointed to the girls behind them.

Adrien turned his head and saw that Marinette was already smiling, happily chatting with Alya.

"Still. It is my job to protect her in any way I can, so I will."

"You mean your job as a superhero or as her boyfriend?" He laughed.

"Neither. Of course, that counts too, but it's not that. It's… you wouldn't understand."

"I can try."

"I don't feel like talking about it, Nino."

Nino heard the serious tone, so he dropped the subject.

Chloé entered the classroom. Adrien prepared himself for whatever greeting she would give him. She walked to him, so he thought she would be going for an embrace or kiss on the cheek. He wasn't in the mood, but she meant well, so he let her do her thing. Then she walked past him, to his surprise.

He turned around to see Chloé talking to Marinette.

"Are you all right, Marinette? I saw what happened outside."

"Oh, that? I'm fine, Chloé. Thanks for asking though," Marinette answered nervously, but also baffled. She still wasn't used to this new attitude Chloé had towards her.

"Okay, but tell me if I need to call daddy. He'll figure out their names and make sure they're fired."

"That's really not necessary. But again, thanks."

Chloé nodded and walked to her seat. Marinette gave big eyed looks to Adrien, Nino and Alya. They all knew Marinette and Chloé had some sort of truce going on, but seeing Chloé being all nice was… odd.

The rest of the day went by quickly, no Akuma occurred during the day for a change. The last fifteen minutes of class were going in.

"So, remember, pages twenty five till thirty seven. I know it's a lot, but you can be done with it quickly."

The class groaned, but still nodded at Miss Bustier's orders.

"All right, then I have something more exciting for you. The comic book fanatics here might know that next week is superhero week. Normally we as a school don't do anything with it, but since Paris has their own superheroes now, why not celebrate it?"

The class already got excited and cheered.

The teacher shushed them with her hands. "What you're supposed to do is honor our heroes in some way. Doesn't really matter how. It's not for a grade, just for fun. It's still obligatory though. You'll show everyone what you did next Friday."

Since there were only a few minutes left, she let the children chat with each other while she read a book at her desk. The whole class was deciding what to do for next Friday.

Alya nudged Marinette. "You guys should totally cosplay. You'll impress everyone with how real it looks."

"I wonder why," Nino joked.

"I don't know," Adrien said. "Isn't it dangerous? What if it looks too real for someone and they figure it out?"

"They didn't when they saw you fight right in front of their face. Nino and I didn't either."

"Yeah, but now they have someone to compare it with. They would know we're wearing the suits," Marinette pointed out.

"It's risky, but still a rad idea. You should totally consider it," Nino spoke.

One minute. Only one minute and school would be over. They would go to Tikki and Plagg and get everything explained and everything would be fine. But of course, things were never that easy.

An ear deafening scream. It came from the streets. The whole class ran to the windows to see what was happening. A guy was shooting at people with some sort of staff. Whatever the reason was why he was doing it didn't matter. He was akumatized and needed to be stopped. Even without their Kwamis.

Maybe Tikki and Plagg would notice what was going on and come to their aid as fast as they could. But that would still take a while. They had to do something, now.

It was heading for the school. For their window. Their classroom. Before they knew it, the Akuma phased through the walls and inside the classroom, probably attracted by them gazing through the window.

Miss Bustier ordered the class to get home as fast as they could, but that didn't matter. The Akuma used his powers to make the door disappear. There was no way out now.

People were yelling in fear, trying to find a way out and hiding behind their desks. Even though the Akuma didn't do anything to them yet, everyone was terrified.

Adrien and Marinette shared quick glances with each other, not sure of what to do. Should they try to fight this guy, secret identity be darned? It was their job to protect others at all costs, but if there was a slight chance their identities could remain secret they should take it, right?

There was no way for them to transform. Even if Plagg and Tikki were with them. They couldn't leave, they were stuck in this classroom, they couldn't transform without anyone seeing them. They had to find another way to defeat this guy.

They weren't afraid of the Akuma with all of their experience, but they still had to act like they were. They hid behind a desk together.

"What now?" Marinette whispered.

"How am I supposed to know?" Adrien whispered back. "You're Miss Tactic, I mostly just follow you around."

Marinette looked over the desk and saw that the guy was slowly walking through the classroom menacingly. He wasn't attacking anyone, he was just trying to make everyone scared.

She put her finger to her chin thoughtfully. "You wanna go Chat Noir style?"

"Only like all the time," he answered with a smirk.

"Taunt him. Make him angry. If you show you aren't scared he might be distracted. In the meantime I'll see where the Akuma is hiding."

"And that would work why?"

"Just look at him walking around like a big jerk. I sense he has a huge ego, just like you." She narrowed her eyes playfully.

"We'll get back to that later," Adrien said as he stood up from his spot. He whistled at the guy to get his attention, which worked.

This wasn't their best plan. There would be questions. Why would kind Adrien feel the need to be brave and fight the Akuma? And what was up with clumsy Marinette suddenly helping him without fear? It was a very risky plan, but did they have a choice? Their classmates would be safe, that was the only important thing.

The Akuma was surprised, but then smirked at the bravery of the boy. "We got a little hero here, don't we?" He lifted his staff that kind of looked liked a wand. His outfit was like he was some messed up wizard.

"No hero is necessary if there is no actual villain," Adrien responded with a sassy tone. It actually felt really good to let his 'inner Chat Noir' out as himself.

People gasped at Adrien's sudden attitude. Not only was it surprising to see this coming from their kind classmate, but they were also scared it would get him in trouble. People that didn't hide yet did and others just hid more, hoping they would be safe from the blows Adrien was bound to get.

"You think you're really something, don't you?" A blast from his wand.

Adrien dodged it easily and jumped on the desk. "Missed me."

The wizard growled and shot again. And again. Adrien dodged all of the blasts and jumped from desk to desk, whistling like it was a breeze. He eventually got almost hit, so he ended up on the ground. He just slid further and was basically dancing around the Akuma with a smile. He was actually having too much fun with this.

The whole class watched in awe at what he was doing. People knew Adrien was quite athletic, but they never knew he could do this! They were so surprised at the fact that Adrien wasn't afraid of the villain at all.

Marinette had to repress her laugh at his behavior. It was funny to see him like this without his suit. She had to focus though. The villain. The spot where the Akuma would be hiding. She studied him and lingered on his belt. In hung loosely around his robe and was black and glittery. It could be part of his outfit, but she was sure that nothing else looked akumatized so she went for it.

When she moved from her spot, Adrien went to stand behind the teacher's desk so the villain was with his back towards her.

"You know, you never told us your name," Adrien said, trying to distract him from Marinette nearing him.

"My name is Maleficus." Another shot from his wand. Adrien quickly ducked behind the teacher's desk.

"Cool name. What is it, Latin?" Another blast he had to avoid.

"It doesn't matter, because before you will be able to say it out loud, you'll be burned to ashes!" He raised his wand again.

Marinette, slowly and softly, walked to the wizard like Akuma. The class gave her big eyes at what she was doing. She and Adrien were totally acting out of character right now. A lot of explaining would have to be done, but they would deal with that later. First the Akuma.

She was close to him now. Her hand was around his belt. She only had to pull it softly, so it would fall of his waist and then break it.

But he saw her. At least, he felt her. He looked down at the hand and grabbed it immediately. He pulled her in front of him. "So, another person who thinks she's brave? Such foolish people you are."

Panic danced across Adrien's face. Crud. That was the only thing he could be thinking right now.

Unfortunately for them, Maleficus noticed it too. He held his wand to Marinette's throat. "If I can't hit you, she gets it."

"No, please. Let her go."

"Should have thought about that sooner." The wand started to glow, ready to shoot.

"Wait! …What if I gave you Chat Noir's Miraculous?"

"Adrien, no!" Marinette yelled.

"Do I have a choice?" He snapped back.

"Yes, you do! Don't do it."

"But-"

"Silence!" Maleficus yelled. "Where is the Miraculous?"

Adrien looked at Marinette who was shaking her head.

"Adrien, whatever you do, don't-" Maleficus put a hand to her mouth.

"It's not very nice to decide for others what they need to do, young lady."

Adrien growled, feeling something boiling on the inside.

"If I gave you his Miraculous, would you let her go?"

He nodded.

"Fine then."

"Hmph!" Marinette shook her head frantically.

Alya and Nino got up from their hiding spots now too. "Adrien, stop it!" Alya called.

"Don't do it, man."

The rest of the class was confused at the interaction. What was exactly happening?

Adrien was fidgeting with his ring around his finger. If he would hand it over, Marinette would be safe. But the villain would have his Miraculous, his class would know it was him, everything would be lost. But if it would save Marinette it was worth it, right?

"Well?" The wizard spoke again. "What are you waiting for? Get it for me! Hawk Moth would be really pleased."

Adrien sighed angrily at the man's name. Hawk Moth was the cause of all of this. One day he would find him, Miraculous or not, and he would destroy him.

He sighed in defeat. "Here you go." He took off his ring and threw it on the floor in front of him.

Maleficus looked at the ring on the floor and then back at Adrien. "You?"

He nodded without emotion. "Let her go," he said softly.

Maleficus let go of Marinette and dived down to the floor. Adrien ran past him to hug Marinette.

"You okay?" He brushed a few strands of her hair.

She pushed him away. "What have you done, Adrien?" Tears were almost in the corners of her eyes.

Maleficus looked at the ring in his hands. "Looks legit."

"After Hawk Moth gets the ring he'll rids you of your powers. The world would be a disaster and you'll be living in it too!" Marinette said.

"Ha, you think I'm gonna give this to Hawk Moth? No way, he can take my powers away any time he likes. At least I got this ring now!"

He wanted to say something else, but he suddenly got a cramp. "N-no, Hawk Moth. Y-you can say w-whatever you like, but this ring's m-mine." He blasted a hole in the wall, leading outside. "Gotta go, thanks for the ring again!" He laughed evilly and jumped out of the school.

Marinette and Adrien watched him disappear. He was jumping around, but had trouble though, Hawk Moth still trying to get control of him.

Silence. The duo didn't know what to do right now. Adrien's ring was gone and they had no idea where Tikki and Plagg were. There was nothing they could do.

"Adrien? You're Chat Noir?" The first voice who spoke was surprisingly Chloé's.

He turned to his class who had come out of their hiding spots. There was no point in lying anymore. "Was. Not anymore." He sighed.

The class stared at him, not knowing what to say. Was there anything to say? Apparently their classmate has been Chat Noir all this time and right now he lost his ring to an Akuma. That was the situation right now and nothing more could be said about it.

Adrien turned to Marinette who was staring through the big hole, blankly. "Marinette?"

"You're an idiot."

"I know." He dropped his head in shame.

She looked at him. "You should have never given up you're Miraculous so easily like that."

"I just freaked out. There was nothing I could do and it is my job to protect-"

"It's my job too!" She raised her voice. "If I get hit for some reason, so be it. We need to protect others."

She looked away from him. He was still glancing down and clenching fists, like a kid being scolded. She closed her eyes and sighed, remembering something. She calmed down.

"Minou, I'm not mad, just stressed." She walked to him and put a hand on his shoulder. "Let's just kick this Akuma's butt and get your ring back."

He looked up. "I love you, M'Lady."

"I love you more."

"Never."

They hugged, a long hug. The other people in the room stared at the scene. Even though their conversation was hard to follow, it was quite obvious to them now what was really going on.

Miss Bustier, being very proud of her students now that she knew what they did on a daily basis, coughed to get attention. "I suppose we're all a bit baffled by this…" She pointed at the two. "…news, but is there a plan?"

Marinette and Adrien let go of each other. "To get out of here, that's what," Adrien said.

"But how? There is no door and we can't jump through that enormous hole, it's too high!" Alix commented.

Marinette looked around the classroom. She noticed the windows next to where the door was supposed to be. They could break them and they could get to the hallway, but how?

She saw Miss Bustier's office chair. "Bingo." She grabbed it and went for the window.

"Marinette, what are you-"

She rammed the chair against the glass a few times before smashing it through it, shattering the window to pieces.

"Holy!" Nino exclaimed.

A moan could be heard from Miss Bustier. She was not really happy with school property being destroyed, but she also had the logical and rational thoughts that there was probably no other option.

Marinette brushed off her hands. "There. A way out."

"Nice job," Alya said with a laugh. "And I thought you were the calm and collected one."

Marinette put her hands on her hips. "Can't I blow off some steam? I'm super pissed right now, you know?"

"Well, save your anger for the Akuma," Adrien said as he stepped over the mess of glass and into the hallway.

"With pleasure." She smirked and took his hand as he guided her over the shattered pile.

They helped everyone over it and went outside. Marinette and Adrien were scheming a plan while the rest of the group just followed them. At some point they noticed.

The group looked at them with anticipating smiles.

"What?" The duo questioned.

"Is there anything we can do?" Kim asked.

"Yeah, we want to help!" Rose exclaimed.

Marinette gave them a half smile. "Just go home and be safe. We'll handle this."

Juleka protested. "But we can help!"

Others nodded in agreement and held their stance, not considering going home.

"It would only be saver," Adrien argued again.

"Adrien," Chloé said who stepped forward. "You actually think you're going to go to that weird wizard guy without me?"

Adrien smirked back. "I've got experience. Chloé, everyone, just go home."

She folded her arms. "Okay then, but don't hurt your pretty face."

He rolled his eyes and smiled. "Sure."

Marinette looked at the sky and saw two black and red dots flying through the air. "Tikki, Plagg! Over here!"

They zipped down to them.

"Marinette, what's happening?" Tikki asked. "Why is there an Akuma and- your class! Why are they here?! They can see us!"

"Everything is just messed up, okay? They know of us now because of the Akuma, but don't worry, I'll set things right. Time to transform. Spots on!" Marinette rambled quickly before Tikki could respond and transformed into Ladybug.

Marinette looked at her class who was staring at her. No wonder, she just to transformed right in front of them. It had to be quite an experience for them.

"Yeah yeah, so cool, so amazing and wonderful," she spoke sarcastically. "If you have questions, do that later. I've got an Akuma to take care of." With that she grabbed her yoyo and zipped away.

She did notice Chloé's look though. It wasn't only entranced it was also filled with guilt.

"And you?" Plagg spoke. "Don't you need to do your thing?"

"I- I can't…"

Plagg looked confused until Adrien put up both of his hands, showing no ring.

"He's got your ring!?"

"It's fine, Plagg. Marinette will take care of it."

Plagg grumbled something, but then sighed. "Let's go."

"What, where?"

"We're not gonna do nothing, right? Let's follow her! Come on."

Plagg already flew away so Adrien jogged after him to catch up. "And you guys, go home! That means you too, Alya and Nino." He called behind him.

Nino and Alya grumbled in annoyance, but still nodded in agreement. The group went to split up and each person went on their way home.


Ladybug had never dashed over the rooftops of Paris this fast. She was going to get this Akuma and show no mercy. All rational thought that this man was actually still a person and couldn't quite help it, was gone. He had Adrien's ring and he was going to pay for it.

He came in sight, flying high in the sky. He apparently had put on the ring, he had claws, cat ears and a tail, while still wearing his old robe. It was quite weird, since he didn't have Plagg, but maybe it worked differently because he was akumatized. Hawk Moth's hold on him was gone too. He wasn't trembling anymore and he looked powerful, he had full control. It probably didn't work anymore because of the Miraculous.

"Okay, Maleficus was it? Time to stop this nonsense. Give me back Chat Noir's Miraculous."

"No can do, sweetheart. I have a better plan, what if you give me your Miraculous?"

"Sorry, don't think that'll be a good idea. Let me instead show you how much of a sweetheart I can be."

She jumped towards him, but he vanished, like he teleported. He appeared behind her and he aimed his wand at her. She swung away by a street lantern and ended up on a rooftop, right before he could hit her.

He jumped next to her. "You're just like that annoying boy, dodging endlessly. Don't you think it's better if you at least tried to hit me? Or are you scared?"

She growled. "I'm so not scared of you. You want me to hit you? Fine. I'll do anything to protect my city."

"Your city, huh? Let's make it my city then."

Before she could question what he meant, he threw his wand in the air. Purple glitter and dust covered the city, all the people included. She was blinded by the particles flying through the air and the bright light. She closed her eyes.

When she opened them she couldn't believe her eyes. The whole city was different, like it was from the Middle Ages. Castles, people in knight armor and long dresses. Cars were carriages with horses and all technology disappeared.

When she looked down she saw her outfit had changed too. It was still her suit, but altered. She wore ballerina shoes with string going all the way up her bare legs. She was still wearing shorts, but had a long skirt flowing from the back. Her top had a v-neck and her long sleeves were covered in lace. Her mask was tied to the back and also on top of her head, forming a flower crown with red and black roses. Her hair was loose except the top part which was braided between the flower crown.

"Must be the Ladybug outfit from the Middle Ages," she whispered to herself.

Maleficus laughed evilly in the air. "You like the new theme? Paris looks so much better now, don't you think?"

Luckily, her yoyo was still the same. She wrapped it around his ankles and threw him to the ground. She jumped next to him and grabbed his belt. She broke it in half and prepared herself for the Akuma.

Only for the Akuma to never come.

"What?"

Maleficus laughed and wiggled his wand. "You want this?"

Ladybug smacked her self internally in the face. How could she be so stupid? Of course it was his wand, it was his weapon. Not some stupid belt.

Being distracted by her thoughts, she didn't see him teleport behind her. He hit her in the back and she ended up on the concrete. She turned around to see his wand pointed at her face.

"End of the line, Ladybug. Now, give me your earrings!"

A sword was thrown and knocked his wand out of hand. He frantically ran after it. The knight who apparently threw the sword grabbed it and slid it back into its holder. He turned to Ladybug and hoisted her up.

"Ehm, thank you."

He put her hand to his heart and hugged it. "You're welcome, Princess."

A quick confused look before she moved her hand to his face and slid the valve up, showing his eyes.

"Adrien?"

He winked at her.

"Oh my gosh, look at you! Now I know you don't only pull off the catsuit, the knight armor works for you too."

"Hm, good to know. But you, M'Lady, you look amazing! That outfit is just gorgeous."

She spun once. "I know, right? I love it. Wish I could wear this every day."

"Well, if you would do that then I wouldn't be able to keep my eyes off you. Wouldn't be handy with the villains, now would it?" He smirked at her and she blushed in return.

Maleficus interrupted them. "Oh, look at you. So cute."

He shot at them again. They jumped away in time, both the other direction.

"Right," Marinette said. "A villain to take care of."

"Where is the Akuma?" Adrien asked.

"In his wand. We have to get it, now."

"You don't have to tell me," he responded. He went for Maleficus, using his sword. His fencing classes really paid off now.

Adrien lashed his sword at him and Ladybug kept trying to tie him up with her yoyo, to no avail. He either blocked his attacks with his wand or he teleported to another spot. They ended up in the park near the fountain, which was now a bottomless well.

Out of nowhere and much to their surprise, Maleficus took off the ring, returning to his old akumatized self. He held the ring above the well.

"One more step and I'll drop it."

"No!" They both said.

"Let go of your weapons."

They looked at each other before throwing their yoyo and sword on the ground in defeat. Adrien glanced behind Maleficus and a smile appeared on his face.

"You know what? No." He grabbed the sword again. "Give me my ring, now!" His tone was angry and demanding.

"Wrong choice." He dropped the ring.

Ladybug gasped, thinking the ring would be gone forever. That was before something black flew by and grabbed it before it could disappear in the hole. It went to Adrien and dropped the ring in his hands.

"Good job, Plagg." Adrien said and he put the ring around his finger again.

"Hey, I'm a cat, not a dog."

"Who's a good boy? Yes, you are. Yes, you are," Adrien said jokingly and tickled his Kwami. Plagg, much to his dismay, couldn't resist the urge to laugh at the touch.

"No!" Maleficus said. Being confused by what just happened, he dropped his wand.

Ladybug grabbed her yoyo as fast as she could and immediately tied it around the wand. She pulled it towards her and broke it in half.

The Akuma flew out of it and into the sky. Before it could go any further, it was snatched by Ladybug and returned to a white butterfly.

"Bye-bye, little butterfly," Adrien said as it fluttered away.

She eyed him. "Hey, that's my line." Adrien snickered in return and she rolled her eyes.

"Okay, now let's return the city back to normal," he said.

Marinette nodded, but then realized something. "I never used my Lucky Charm. So, I think I can't."

"Can't you use your yoyo?"

"Maybe," she said. She threw it in the air. "Miraculous Ladybug!"

And it worked. Ladybugs and pink glitter erupted from the yoyo and returned Paris back to its original state. Adrien and Ladybug's outfits returned back to normal too.

"Ahw," Adrien whined. "I'm gonna miss your outfit. You looked hot in that."

"Well, if you want me to, I could design something similar myself."

His eyes twinkled. "Yes, please!"

She laughed. "The things I do for you."

"Ladybug!" An all too familiar voice said. It was Chloé. "You saved my Adrien." She embraced him.

"Yes, I did," she said, a bit confused.

"And where have you been, mister?" Chloé said scoldingly. "You could have gotten hurt. You're lucky Ladybug was there."

"But Chloé I-"

He stopped himself and looked at Marinette who glanced at him in return. Did she not remember anything? Was her mind wiped because of the Akuma? Did that mean no one remembered?

"Chloé, have you seen Chat Noir?" Adrien asked.

"No," she answered. "Didn't see him. But who likes that alley cat anyway? Come, let's take a photo." She grabbed Adrien and Ladybug and pushed them close. "Say cheese."

The couple glanced at each other quickly and sighed in relief. She didn't remember. That probably meant nobody remembered. Their secret was still safe.

After the photo they returned to the school. Alya and Nino waited for them there. They confirmed their suspicions. They didn't remember what happened either. So that meant nobody remembers except for Adrien and Marinette. Tikki and Plagg explained that the after effects of the Akuma didn't always work on them because of their Miraculous, it protected them. Not all the time though. It depended on how strong the after effects were.

"So, everything is good now, right?" Nino said after they got explained everything.

"Hopefully," Marinette said.

"Nobody remembers and you got the ring back. Sounds like a happy ending to me," Alya commented.

"Yeah, you're right," Marinette spoke softly.

Adrien heard the unsatisfied tone in her voice. "Mari, I'm so sorry for everything. I should have never given that guy my Miraculous."

"It's okay. I… I understand."

"You do?"

"Yes. If something happens to the person you care about, you'll do anything to protect them. So yeah, I get it."

Adrien smiled at her.

"Also… I have the same thing too. I worry constantly about you. I want to protect you any way I can, but that's hard when you're constantly taking hits for me. That's why I got so angry. I'm sorry, kitty."

"Ahw, Marinette." He grabbed her head and planted a soft kiss on her forehead. "I should have thought about that. Of course, you want to protect me too. That's why we're a team."

Plagg groaned and Tikki gave him a quick slap.

"Behave yourself," Tikki scolded.

"Unnecessary." He rubbed the spot.

"What's with the whiney guy?" Nino questioned.

"Only that he can't stand Marinette and I being all 'kissy kissy' around each other," Adrien explained and rolled his eyes.

"Really?" Marinette said and aimed her gaze at Plagg.

Plagg shrugged and looked the other way. "It just grosses me out."

Marinette slitted her eyes and smiled, knowing what this was really about. "Okay, we'll pay attention to that then."

"But Marinette, if I want to kiss you I can ju-"

Said girl put her hand to her boyfriend's face to shush him. "On one condition…"

Plagg kept looking at her, awaiting her answer.

"You tell him the real reason why you don't want it." She gave him a knowing look and pointed to Adrien.

Plagg gave her a playful smile in return. "Never."

"Okay, I'm missing something here," Adrien said utterly confused.

"I think we all are," Alya said just as confused.

Adrien leaned forward to come closer to his Kwami. "Wait, so there is a another reason why you don't like Marinette and I together?"

"If you don't tell him, I will," Marinette dared.

Plagg grumbled in return.

"Plagg, just say it. I told Marinette and she was very understanding with me." Tikki tried to calm him down.

Plagg wanted to say something, but was obviously embarrassed. He shot away and into Adrien's pocket.

"Plagg? Plagg! Get back here!" Adrien tried to pull him out of his shirt.

"No!"

He eventually gave up. "What's going on? What's up with Plagg? What does he need to tell me? What did you tell Marinette, Tikki? What am I missing?"

Tikki went to sit on Adrien's head. "Calm down, one question at time."

He looked at Marinette. "Explain."

"I don't know how to say it," she admitted.

"Maybe it's better then if you would keep your mouth shut," came from Adrien's inside pocket.

"Oh, Plagg," Tikki said with a sigh and she shook her head. "Always so dramatic yet he has a problem with talking about emotions."

"Emotions?" Nino questioned with a raised brow.

Tikki floated int front of Adrien. "You need to see us Kwamis as some sort of pet. We need attention and care. Of course, we're less dependent than your average pet. We're content with being in your bag or pocket all day until you need us to fight, but we still need the contact."

An annoyed grumble from Adrien's shirt.

Marinette finished Tikki's story. "He's just afraid that, now that we're in a relationship, you'll neglect him."

"What? I would never-"

"Not on purpose," Tikki said. "But you're bond with Marinette is pretty strong, obviously because you're partners. One day, hopefully, Hawk Moth will be gone and Paris will be safe. You won't need us that much anymore. And when you're older and have a family, there are other things on your mind. He'll be the guy who is just in your pocket when you need him."

"Of course, that can be avoided. If you would just tell him that like Tikki did with me," Marinette said to Plagg, still inside Adrien's shirt.

Adrien nodded in understanding. He looked down at his shirt. "Plagg?"

A tiny movement and he came out of his hiding spot, a tiny bit though. You could only see his eyes and ears.

"You really need to tell me more of this kind of stuff, buddy. You know you can tell me everything. Just because I complain about your cheese doesn't mean I'll complain when you've got an actual problem."

Plagg looked down before he nodded. He snuggled back into the shirt.

Adrien smiled. He then yawned. "Woah, I'm tired."

"Me too," Marinette said. "And it's not even dinner time yet. Tikki, do we really need to go see that guy today?"

Tikki considered that. "Hm, I suppose tomorrow would be okay too. You probably are too tired to listen to him ramble about you and your past anyway." She laughed.

"It was a long day," Alya spoke and she put a hand on Marinette's shoulder. "I think we all need the rest."

The group couldn't disagree with that and they parted, all wanting to go to bed as fast as they could.


His room was covered in darkness. It took a lot of effort to make sure no light came in the room, it was only some time passed dinner time after all, but he managed to make it look like it was the middle of the night. He was snuggled up in the blankets and pulled them over his head.

He checked his other pillow, only to see that Plagg wasn't sleeping there.

"Plagg?" Adrien asked softly.

Almost like he summoned him, Plagg casually phased through his window. Adrien sat up straight.

"There you are. Have you been outside?"

"Oh, I thought you were asleep."

"Well, I wasn't. Where were you?"

"Just visiting Tikki."

"What? We could have gone together, I want to see Marinette too."

"We both know that wouldn't be good idea. You know, with-"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know."

Plagg flopped down on the pillow. "Besides, she was asleep anyway. And you're tired too, just get some rest."

"But-"

His door clicked open. Plagg hid under the bed and Adrien dropped down, pretending to be asleep.

His father entered the room. "Adrien?"

Adrien closed his eyes shut. The light of the hallway came in the room and it would burn his eyes if he would open them.

"I know you're awake, I heard sounds."

Adrien sighed and turned around so he could face his father. "What's the matter?"

"How are you feeling?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you're already in bed this early. Are you feeling unwell?"

"I'm fine, father. I'm just tired. Can I go to sleep now?"

Gabriel looked at the ground in thought and consideration before looking back at Adrien again.

"Come with me." He left the room and left the door open.

Adrien was confused, but still got out of bed anyway. "Stay here," he whispered to Plagg and went to the door.

His father was waiting outside the room.

Adrien squeezed his eyes, adjusting to the light. "What's this all about?"

"Just follow me."

"…Okay." He followed his father down the stairs.


Oh, you thought? Hahaha, that's so funny, you actually thought everything was revealed when you were reading this chapter, didn't you? Well sike, keeping that for later. This is just to give you a little taste of the drama, but trust me, I have something planned.

Okay, here it goes. The Volpina episode never happened in my story, hence why the book was still in the safe. As you all know, the Peacock Miraculous wasn't seen by Plagg in the episode (the little idiot), so to make it a bit more believable that Tikki didn't see it either, I have a different plan with it.

The Peacock Miraculous was never in the safe to begin with.

I haven't read any story yet where the writer goes in the direction where I want to go, so it's my job to do that. Don't worry, the Miraculous is 'safely' with someone (can you guess who?)

About Lila, I'm not sure if I'll put her in the story. I do have a plan for her, but I just don't know if I like my plan. You'll just have to wait and see :)

Also, I really like the idea of Alya and Chloé becoming Miraculous wielders, so that will probably be in this story too! (And maybe Nino as the Turtle/Tortoise one? Not sure yet)

Have a miraculous day!