The Final Battle
Marinette and Adrien had quickly transformed back into their superhero personas and were running across the rooftops once more as they made their way to the Eiffel Tower.
"I can't believe he's threatening to drop my parents from the top of the Eiffel Tower!" Ladybug exclaimed. "All of this for two things of jewelry?"
"Should we get the rest of the team on this?" Cat Noir asked, and Ladybug shook her head.
"There isn't enough time to go and get the Miraculouses and then go get all three of them." She said. "We're in this on our own...and this ends today."
They nodded at each other and continued to make their way to the Eiffel Tower. They arrived on the scene, the police had the Eiffel Tower barricaded off and had called an emergency evacuation on the Eiffel Tower, so the only people actually on the tower were Hawk Moth and Marinette's parents. Dozens of reporters and paparazzi were crowded along the barricade, along with Alya who was still live-streaming everything that was happening on the Ladyblog. There were police helicopters in the sky surrounding the tower, along with a news helicopter that was covering the birds eye view of what was happening.
A silence fell upon them all when Ladybug and Cat Noir made their presence known, both heroes stood tall on the roof of a building close to the tower, and Hawk Moth smirked when he saw them.
"Ah! Ladybug, Cat Noir, I'm delighted you could join us!" He called out to them, and both heroes only glared at him, causing him to chuckle evilly. "Come on, what's with the faces?"
"Let my parents go, you bastard!" Ladybug yelled, and Hawk Moth's smirk became even more sinister.
"As you wish, Ladybug." He said, pulling on the rope, thus undoing the knot that had been holding her parents up and causing them to begin to fall.
"No!" Ladybug screamed, and Hawk Moth caught the rope with ease. Her parents stopped falling, and Hawk Moth gave her an evil smirk.
"I'm sorry." He said in mock innocence. "Is that not what you meant?"
Ladybug only glowered at the purple clad villain in reply.
"You're a real sick bastard you know that?" Cat Noir sneered, and Hawk Moth only chuckled.
"So I've been told." He said. "Although I must say, I'm a little sad you didn't bring the rest of your little team with you. What? Don't want them to watch you be defeated?"
"If anyone is going to be defeated today, it's you!" Ladybug yelled.
"That's where you're wrong, Ladybug." Hawk Moth said. "You see, unlike you two, I brought backup."
Hawk Moth stepped aside, and a woman walked up beside him. She adorned a floor length purple dress that fanned out to look like peacock feathers at the bottom.
"Ladybug, Cat Noir, meet Mayura." Hawk Moth introduced his partner.
"She has the peacock Miraculous!" Ladybug said quietly to Cat Noir. "The other Miraculous that Master Fu lost!"
"Greetings, young superheroes." Mayura greeted them in a soft tone. "I must say, it is utterly amusing that you think you can win."
"We don't think we can." Cat Noir growled. "We know we can."
"Your confidence in yourselves is almost impressive." She told them. "I can't wait to watch you meet your demise."
Mayura nodded to Hawk Moth, who smirked menacingly and began to release multiple evilized butterflies. The butterflies fluttered rapidly around the base of the Eiffel Tower and began akumatizing people one by one.
"Maybe we should have gotten the rest of the team after all." Ladybug said to Cat Noir as the two of them watched more and more people become akumatized down in the streets below.
"Well, it's like you said. There's not enough time." He told her.
"Alya!" Ladybug gasped as she saw the akuma heading towards her best friend who was trying to swat it away to the best of her ability. Ladybug swung into action, landed between Alya and the akuma, and captured the purple butterfly in her yoyo, purifying it. She released it back into the sky and turned to face Alya.
"Alya, get out of here! Run!" She exclaimed. "You not getting akumatized is more important than getting your scoop, so please, run!"
"What about you?!" Alya asked.
"I'll be fine!" She assured her. "I'm Ladybug, remember? It's my job to protect you, so please, get out of here!"
Alya looked hesitant for a moment, and then she reached out and wrapped the super heroine in a bone crushing hug, which Ladybug happily returned before quickly forcing them to part.
"Good luck, Marinette." Alya said, and Ladybug nodded. Alya turned and began to run away from the Eiffel Tower.
"Ladybug! I could use some help over here!" She heard Cat Noir call for her. Her head snapped in the direction of his voice, and saw that he was caught in the hands -paws?- of Gorizilla. She leapt into action and swung her yoyo towards the villain. It wrapped around his thumb once more and she pulled hard, causing his fist around her partner to unclench. Cat Noir extended his staff and projected himself out of the akumas grasp. He propelled himself forward and came down to land beside her.
"Did Alya get away safely?" He asked quietly, and she only nodded in reply.
"We can't use our powers." She said. "Not yet at least. There's too many akumas and we can't waste time by leaving to re-charge."
"We've got this, LB." Chat said. "We've already beaten them all twice before. Third times the charm, right?"
"Let's hope so." She said, and they sprung into action. Fighting the akumas and even managing to purify a couple, the victims were then led away by police and taken to a safe place away from the chaos.
"Oh Marinette?" A voice came from behind her, and Ladybug whirled around on her heels to see Electra and Revealer. She froze. "Did you miss us?"
Electra made electricity spark in his palms, and Marinette's heart began to race as she was brought back to that fateful day in the basement. Cat Noir -who was busy fighting off Riposte- looked over and saw her standing there frozen in front of them. Then, he noticed Dark Cupid flying towards her with an arrow ready to shoot.
"Ladybug, behind you!" He called out to her, and she seemed to snap out of whatever trance she was in. She turned just in time to see Dark Cupid shoot at her. She leapt out of the way, and the arrow came into contact with the ground instead of her chest.
Ladybug was about to get back into fighting when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned to see who was behind her and a look of horror came over her face when she saw it was Electra. He grinned darkly at her, and began to electrocute her. Ladybug began to scream as her body convulsed from the electrocution. She cried out and writhed in pain, and black dots began to cloud her vision.
Suddenly, the electricity left her body and she gasped for air as the pain escaped her. She stumbled for a moment, but caught herself before she could fall. She turned to see Cat Noir pinning Electra to the ground with his staff and snarling menacingly at the villain. Ladybug looked and saw Revealer walk up behind him and hold out her left hand.
"Lets find out your true identity, shall we?" She sneered, and Ladybug ran towards her. She jumped between Revealer and Chat just in time to block the blast with her yoyo.
"Marinette, are you okay?" She heard him ask her while he continued to keep Electra pinned down.
"Yeah, I'm fine." She replied. "Let's take care of these guys, shall we?"
"Don't have to tell me twice." He said, and grabbed Electra's bracelet. He smashed it against the pavement and the akuma flew out of it. Ladybug purified it, and Electra turned back into Arthur, who quickly got up and ran away as fast as he could. Ladybug leapt forward and tackled Revealer. She pinned her left wrist down to the ground and Cat Noir slipped the ring off her finger before crushing it in his hand. Ladybug purified the akuma, and told the now de-akumatized Alice to run away, which she did.
"Now that that's done." Ladybug huffed, and the two heroes took off towards the other akumas. They managed to de-akumatize Gorizilla, Gigantitan, Riposte, Princess Fragrance and Dark Cupid. Why their classmates were even at the Eiffel Tower was beyond them, but they chalked it up to them all wanting to see the final battle up close.
"Great, Ice Queen is back." Cat Noir scoffed.
"I told you before, my name is Stormy Weather!" Stormy Weather seethed through clenched teeth and aimed a bolt of lighting at Cat Noir, who easily blocked it with a twirl of his staff. Cat Noir and Stormy Weather started going at it, and Ladybug began fighting with the Pharaoh. She was so enwrapped in fighting him, she didn't even see the Mime coming up behind her until she felt a sharp stinging in her calf.
"Gah!" She cried out, and looked down to see blood flowing from a fresh gash on her leg. She turned to see the Mime holding an invisible sword and smirking at her. She went to charge at him, but was grabbed from behind by the Pharaoh. She trashed in his arms, and managed to land a kick in his gut. He released her, and she grabbed his pendant from around his neck as she fell to the ground. She smashed it against the cement and quickly captured the akuma in her yoyo. She leapt back up to face the Mime and he began shooting at her with an invisible gun. Ladybug dodged the invisible bullets with her yoyo, and charged at him. She leapt above him and grabbed his hat off of his head, tearing the picture inside as she flipped in mid air and landed on her feet. The akuma flew out and she quickly cleansed it, then went to help Cat Noir with Stormy Weather.
Ladybug wrapped her yoyo around Stormy Weather's ankles and began to yank her down out of the sky. She yelped out in surprise, and Cat Noir quickly grabbed her parasol form her hands, snapping it in half. He caught Aurore before she hit the ground while Ladybug purified the darkened butterfly. Animan jumped at them, and Cat Noir whacked him away with his staff.
"Try not to jump into any dinosaurs mouths again, okay, m'lady?" He asked her, and she gagged.
"Please, the first time was enough for me." Was all she said and they ran towards the other akumas. Cat Noir took on Animan while Ladybug went after the Evillustrator. Seriously, they needed to have a talk with their classmates once this was over. Witnessing the final battle up close wasn't worth getting akumatized for crying out loud!
Ladybug took care of Evillustrator with ease and had captured his akuma in her yoyo as Cat Noir had broken Animan's bracelet. She quickly captured that akuma as well and purified them both, releasing the now white butterflies back into the sky. Ladybug looked over to her partner, and felt her heart stop when she saw what akuma was coming up from behind him.
Timebreaker.
"No!" She screamed and ran towards Cat Noir, who looked slightly confused at her outburst. Ladybug jumped over Cat Noir's head and dived for Timebreaker as she held her hand out to touch the leather clad hero. Ladybug pinned Timebreaker's wrists to the pavement and straddled her so she couldn't move.
"No!" She repeated. "You don't get to take him away from me! Not again! Cat Noir, get her rollerblades!"
"On it, m'lady." He said, and grabbed Timebreaker's foot. He snapped the rollerblades in half and the akuma flew out, Ladybug captured it quickly and the two heroes continued on battling every akuma on sight. Mr. Pigeon tried his hardest to get the upper hand on them, but in the end it was no use and he was easily de-akumatized and then sent off to safety. Horrificator and Stoneheart were a little difficult, but in the end, Ivan and Mylène's akumas were purified and the couple ran away from the scene to get to safety and stay out of the way of the superhero duo.
Cat Noir began fighting with Darkblade, meanwhile Ladybug took on Simon Says. Simon Says was easy, but Cat Noir seemed to be having a little trouble with Darkblade so Ladybug jumped in to help him and together they took him down and purified his akuma. The victims made their way to safety and the duo then came face to face with Rogercop and Pixelator. Rogercop blasted at them with the red and blue handcuffs, but the heroes dodged them with ease while making sure not to look into the lens of Pixelator's camera at the same time. Ultimately, both akumas were purified, but more continued to come at them.
"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Cat Noir asked her as he tried to catch his breath, and Ladybug nodded.
"He's trying to tire us out." She said, the cut on her leg throbbing. "If we want even the slightest chance at beating him once and for all, we have to stop all of these akuma villains as fast as possible. You go left and I go right?"
Cat Noir nodded, and the duo leapt into action with a newfound determination. Reflekta was taken down with ease, as well as Silencer. After Dark Owl was taken care of, the heroes worked together to de-akumatize and purify Glaciator, and André quickly gave the heroes his thanks before running away to safety. Reverser and Sandboy were a bit difficult, but in the end both were defeated and their akumas were purified.
The heroes were panting and their chests heaved as they stood up straight to look to Hawk Moth.
"It's over, Hawk Moth!" Ladybug yelled. "We've taken care of your villains, and now we're coming for you!"
"You take one step towards me and your parents will meet their doom." Hawk Moth taunted when Ladybug and Cat Noir moved to run towards the Eiffel Tower. The heroes paused and glared up at the villain, who only smirked menacingly back down at them.
"Follow my lead, okay?" Ladybug whispered to Cat Noir, who winked at her.
"Always, bugaboo." He said, and the two heroes nodded to each other before running towards the tower. Hawk Moth laughed.
"Do you doubt me, Ladybug?" He asked, and released the rope. Her parents began to fall, and they screamed in fear.
"Cat Noir, now!" Ladybug called out, and Cat Noir extended his staff to launch himself into the air. He used his claws to tear the rope and release Marinette's parents. Cat Noir caught Tom while Ladybug leapt up and caught Sabine and they brought them safely back to the ground.
"Marinette!" Her parents gushed upon seeing her and brought her into a hug. Marinette hugged them back, but only for few moments before pulling back.
"As much as I've missed you guys, I have a villain to defeat." She said. "So, I love you, and I'll see you as soon as this is over."
"We love you, too, Marinette." Her father told her. Marinette smiled at them and then grabbed onto Cat Noir. He launched them up with his staff and they landed in front of Hawk Moth and Mayura.
"Ah, the moment has arrived." Hawk Moth said. "It's time for the heroes to meet their demise."
"In your dreams, Hawk Moth." Cat Noir said, getting in a fighting stance. The two heroes and villains charged at each other, with Ladybug fighting Mayura and Cat Noir fighting Hawk Moth. Hawk Moth went to strike Cat Noir with his cane, but the hero easily blocked it with his staff, and in that moment Gabriel slightly regretted making Adrien take fencing classes.
Mayura and Ladybug engaged in hand to hand combat, both dodging and throwing punches and kicks. Ladybug managed to punch Mayura across the face, and the red clad hero couldn't help but smile when she heard the villain cry out in pain. However, Mayura quickly retaliated and managed to kick Ladybug's feet out from under her. The red clad super heroine fell on her back with a loud bang and a yelp of pain. Cat Noir -distracted by her being taken down- got his staff swatted away from him by Hawk Moth. His staff flew over the railing and landed on the ground below with a loud clank.
Hawk Moth grabbed his wrists and twisted the hero's arms behind his back while Mayura straddled Ladybug and pinned her hands down above her head with on hand.
"We'll be taking your Miraculouses now." Mayura said in a calm tone. Both Ladybug and Cat Noir struggled against the villains as their fingers grabbed ahold of their magic jewelry. Hawk Moth smiled evilly as he swiftly slid the ring off of Cat Noir's finger. Green light enveloped him as his transformation was forcefully ripped away.
"No!" Adrien cried out as his Miraculous was taken from him and his identity was revealed to all of Paris. Gasps could be heard from below as the leather clad hero was revealed to be the famous model that everyone knew and loved.
Anger surged through Ladybug and with newfound strength, and banged her head hard against Mayura's as the villain went to undo the clasp of her earrings. The villain cried out and released her wrists, and Ladybug took the open opportunity to elbow Mayura in the face and cause her to topple over. Ladybug leapt to her feet and flung her yoyo towards Hawk Moth. It knocked into Hawk Moth's knuckles and he let out a grunt of pain as Adrien's Miraculous went flying into the air. She quickly caught it while Adrien quickly turned and kicked Hawk Moth in the gut and caused him to stumble backwards.
She handed him his ring and he quickly slid it back on his finger, barely giving Plagg a chance to react to anything before calling on his transformation.
"So much for my secret identity not being revealed." He muttered.
"We'll deal with that later." Ladybug said. "For now, let's focus on taking these guys down once and for all."
Cat Noir only nodded, and went to attack the villains again, except they were nowhere to be seen.
"Where did they go?" She asked, and they looked over the railing to see Hawk Moth and Mayura down on the ground below holding her parents captive once more with blades held to their throats.
"No!" Ladybug cried out, and she and Cat Noir swung down to the ground on her yoyo. "Haven't you hurt them enough? Let them go!"
"I'm giving you a choice, Ladybug." Hawk Moth sneered. "Either your parents lives, or your Miraculouses. Your choice."
Both heroes felt sick. Hawk Moth was willing to go as far as kill two innocent people all because he wanted their Miraculouses. Ladybug and Cat Noir looked to each other with worried expressions, neither of them knowing what to do. If they made a move towards either Hawk Moth or Mayura they would slit her parents throats faster than you could say 'Miraculous', but if they did nothing and gave Hawk Moth their Miraculouses he would wreak havoc on not only Paris but the entire world. As much as Marinette didn't want her parents to die, it was an impossible decision to make, and a lose-lose situation on their part of it all.
So, in a desperate cry, Ladybug threw her yoyo up into the air and yelled, "Lucky Charm!"
The object fell into her hands, "A Miraculous box?" She said in confusion and Hawk Moth cackled mockingly at her.
"How do you plan on using a silly box to defeat me, Ladybug?" He taunted, and Ladybug glared. She opened the box to see if there was anything inside, and had to mask her surprise when she saw two exact replicas of her and Adrien's Miraculouses sitting inside. She quickly closed the box and looked to Cat Noir.
"Trust me, okay?" She whispered to him, and stepped forward. "Fine, Hawk Moth! You win. We'll give you our Miraculouses."
"Marinette, no-" Her mother went to say, but Mayura pressed the blade harder against her throat, thus silencing the woman, and Cat Noir looked at her with wide eyes.
"What are you doing?" He whispered.
"I told you to trust me." She whispered back. "But you need to let my parents go first."
"If you think I'm going to fall for that-" Hawk Moth began to say.
"What's there to fall for?" She interrupted. "I'd rather my parents be alive than be a hero. So, believe me when I say I promise we will give you our Miraculouses if you let my parents go first."
The hero and the villain held eye contact for what seemed like hours when in reality it was mere seconds, and Hawk Moth smiled as he bought her story.
"Very well." He said, taking the blade away from her father's throat and Mayura doing the same with her mother. The villains shoved her parents towards her, but she and Cat Noir caught them as they stumbled so they wouldn't fall over.
Are you sure you'll be able to make this work, Tikki? Marinette thought to her Kwami.
I'm sure, Marinette. Don't worry. Tikki replied, and Marinette let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding. She made her parents stand behind them, and with heavy hearts, the two heroes dropped their transformations.
There stood Marinette Dupain-Cheng and Adrien Agreste. Paris' famous protectors in their most vulnerable state in front of their sworn enemy. Marinette shared a look with Tikki as she reached up and hesitantly removed her earrings, Adrien doing the same with his ring. He handed it to Marinette, who covered her hand with his to let him feel the replica of his ring press against his palm. He easily contained his surprise and quickly slid his hand holding his ring into his pocket when Marinette drew her hand away, acting as if she had taken it from him. Marinette clutched her real earrings in her left hand, and the replicas of their Miraculouses in her right to make it look like she was clenching her fists nervously.
She slowly walked up to the the villains, and Hawk Moth held his hand out to her as she got closer and grinned menacingly at her. Shakily, she raised her right hand and dropped the replicas into the villains hand. His fists closed around the jewelry quickly, and Marinette ran back to Adrien, running straight into his arms and shoving her face into his shoulder to make it appear as though she was upset. Adrien went along with it and hugged her back tightly while petting her hair.
"At last!" Hawk Moth cheered as he and Mayura turned to face the victims beyond the barricade set up by police. "The power of the Ladybug and Black Cat Miraculouses is mine!"
He opened his hand to admire the jewels, and then to his utter shock, they faded away in his hand. "What?!" He shouted.
"Did you seriously think we would give up our Miraculouses that easily?" Hawk Moth and Mayura whirled around to see Marinette and Adrien -now transformed into Ladybug and Cat Noir- grinning at them triumphantly with their weapons held at the ready.
"You tricked me!" Hawk Moth snarled.
"Duh." Ladybug said. "I must say Hawk moth I am really glad that you aren't as smart as I thought you were. It made everything that much easier for me."
Hawk Moth growled, and then he and Mayura began to charge at the young heroes, who were ready for the attack and easily fought them off. Marinette's parents had long since run to safety and watched anxiously with the other bystanders as the two heroes and villains fought each other.
The heroes threw and dodged punches and kicks as the fight continued on, and made themselves look like they were growing tired to Hawk Moth and Mayura would believe they were getting the upper hand on them.
"We've got to get them close to one another if we want the final part of the plan to work." Ladybug muttered to Cat Noir.
"You thinking what I'm thinking?" He asked, and she nodded. They ran towards the villains, and made it easy for the villains to land hard blows on them. The two heroes fell to the ground with grunt of pain as they came into hard contact with the concrete, and Hawk Moth and Mayura stood above them, smirking deviously down at them.
"It's no use." Mayura said. "You can't win."
"Yeah," Ladybug said, and threw her yoyo at them. It wrapped around the two villains -who gasped in surprise- tying their arms down to their sides so they couldn't move. "We can."
Hawk Moth and Mayura collapsed to the ground, and Ladybug and Cat Noir loomed over them.
"Now, if you don't mind." Cat Noir said, reaching down to Hawk Moth. "It will be us who will be taking your Miraculouses."
"No!" Hawk Moth and Mayura screamed simultaneously as the heroes reached down, grabbed their Miraculouses and ripped them from their bodies. Bright lights flashed, and Adrien felt his world come crashing down as the two villains were revealed.
"Father?!" He cried. "Nathalie?"
"Hello, Adrien." His father sneered at him.
"Why?" Adrien asked. "Why were you doing all of this? What was the point?"
"The point was..." Gabriel panted. "Your mother."
"My mother?" Adrien asked angrily, a tear slipping from his eye. "My mother wouldn't have wanted this."
"I was going to bring her back, Adrien!" Gabriel exclaimed. "I was going to use the wish and bring her back to us. To you!"
"Mom is dead, father!" Adrien yelled. "She's dead, and she is never coming back! I know that, and I thought you did too. But I guess not."
The police came rushing over, and Marinette released the villains from her yoyo as they were handcuffed and lead away. She grabbed the Miraculous box that Tikki had made re-appear and tossed it up into the air. Calling for the Miraculous Ladybug cure to undo any damage caused by the many akumas the two heroes had fought. As the swarms of Ladybugs finished repairing any damage, the two teens released their transformations -not seeing the point in running off anymore since both of their identities had been revealed- and huffed tiredly.
"Adrien, are you okay?" Marinette asked after a moment, putting a comforting hand on his shoulder.
"He was all I had left, Marinette." Adrien said. "My mom is dead, and even though he wasn't around most of the time or was cold towards me he...he was all I had left."
"Adrien, I'm so sorry." She said sadly.
"My father was Hawk Moth, Mari." He voice shook. "All this time it was him, and I didn't realize it. I should have realized it, I should have-"
"No." She said softly, bringing him into a warm embrace. Adrien clung to her tightly and began to cry into her shoulder. "Adrien, don't blame yourself. Your father being Hawk Moth isn't anybodies fault but his own. And...he wasn't all you had left. You have me...you've had me for a long time."
Adrien's body continued to wrack with sobs, and Marinette tangled her fingers in his soft, blond hair at the nape of his neck as he clung tighter to him. Wishing with everything in her that she could take his pain away.
"Please, don't ever leave me, Marinette." He whimpered against her, and she felt tears of her own prick her eyes.
"Never." She said softly. "I will never leave you, Adrien. I promise."
He pulled away and looked down into her bright blue eyes, his green eyes glistening with tears. He rested his forehead on hers and they stared into each others eyes.
"I love you..." He whispered, and Marinette's breath hitched in her throat, but she smiled warmly at him.
"I love you, too." She said.
They both slowly leaned in, and their lips met in a bittersweet kiss. Marinette brushed the tears from his face with her thumbs after they pulled apart and smiled at him. He smiled back at her, and his eyes glanced over at something behind her. Marinette turned to see what he was looking at, and was met with the sight of her parents.
"We don't need to have the talk, do we?" Her father asked her. The teens blushed and Marinette giggled and shook her head.
"No, papa." She said. "No talk needed." Her father placed a hand over his heart and let out a huff of relief.
"Oh, thank god." He said. Marinette giggled some more and her parents walked up and embraced her tightly.
"We are so proud of you, Marinette." Her mother told her as she clung to her.
Adrien shifted awkwardly on his feet, feeling as though he was intruding on something. Tom looked up at him and waved him over.
"Come on, son." He said. "Get in here."
"Oh, n-no. It's-I'm fine-" Adrien stammered.
"Nonsense." Sabine said. "You kept our little girl safe all this time. Besides, you're part of the family now, so come on. Get in here."
Reluctantly, Adrien walked over to the trio and Tom immediately wrapped his arms around the boy, bringing him into the group hug. Adrien tensed at first, but then relaxed and reveled in the warmth the hug brought him.
They all pulled apart after a few minutes and smiled at each other.
"Let's go home." Tom said and Sabine nodded. Marinette smiled and began walking with her parents. Adrien hesitated. His father and Nathalie were just arrested. Did he even have a home anymore? He wasn't sure. Marinette noticed him still standing there, and turned to face him. She smiled and held out her hand.
"You coming, kitty?" She asked, and Adrien knew right then that he did have a home. Marinette.
Marinette was his home.
A/N: GUYS! This chapter is over 5,000 words and that's not counting anything in this authors note. That's insane to me.
Anyway, hope the final battle was satisfying. This is NOT the final chapter. There are still about two more chapters coming before the story is over. Stay tuned!
~Charlotte