A/N: Sorry for the long wait. Because of this, you get an extra long chapter. Hopefully that'll tide you over until the next (final) chapter. A lot happens in this one...a lot of things that you probably won't like. So, just a fair warning. And now we begin.

Rena ran along the rooftops, looking for Ladybug and thinking about her experiences over the last few days. Everything had changed when she found the box in her book bag.

Alya was walking to the school late. She had been following Ladybug's movements throughout the week since Ladybug paid her a visit. She knew that Ladybug was going after the bank, but she didn't know why. It unsettled her. She wanted to know what Ladybug was up to since she found out that Ladybug was looking into Marinette's death.

Alya couldn't help looking at what used to be Marinette's house as she thought about her friend. It hadn't taken the city long to tear down what remained of the bakery. Nothing had been built in its place, though. It was just an empty space. Alya stopped walking and turned fully to the non-existent building for a moment.

When she turned to continue into the school, she ran into an elderly man. "Are you alright?" She said worried as he started to fall and her hand shot out, grabbing his wrist and steadying him.

"I'm perfectly fine." He said with a small smile.

"I'm sorry." Alya responded almost robotically.

"It is fine. You should probably get into the school." He said. Alya looked at the building and then back down at the old man. She nodded solemnly.

"Right. Thank you. Sorry for running into you." She said. She started making her way into the school. By chance, she looked back at the older Chinese man to see him stumble. Alya rushed back to him. "Are you sure you're alright, sir?" She asked as she helped him up.

"Yes" He said with a knowing smile. "I will be just fine." He added.

Alya nodded and left him to go into the school at his insistence. She made her way to Miss Bustier's classroom.

As she was pulling out her books, she saw it. The little unassuming box was nestled into her bag. Alya didn't know why she didn't reach for the box, but was thankful later that she didn't. Once she was home, she opened the box curiously.

A bright light made her drop the box to shield her eyes. Then she heard a voice. "Hello, I'm Trixx." Alya looked at the small fox creature in surprise. Trixx went on to explain that Alya had been chosen by the Great Guardian. "You need to stop Ladybug. The Guardian said that his kwami has felt that she's been becoming more unstable recently." Despite this statement, Trixx didn't appear to be too impressed with Alya's methods over the last few days. He often commented that Alya needed to be more careful with her secret identity, but she didn't care. She had one mission.

Rena caught sight of a familiar redhead walking on the street and slowed to follow him. She thought about how Ladybug had saved him and how he'd encountered her before as well. She followed him for a short while, keeping an eye on him. After a few blocks, it became apparent that he was going somewhere specific. From what she knew about Nath, he had no reason to be in this part of town. This was when Rena realized that they were in the same area as they were the other night when she got Nath down from a roof...after he was saved by Ladybug. Her eyes narrowed as she jumped off of the roof and landed swiftly behind him.

"What are you doing?" She asked, startling the boy.

"Rena. You scared me." He said as the heroine's eyes narrowed.

"What are you doing? Are you looking for Ladybug?" She asked.

"What? No! Why would I be looking for Ladybug?" Nath asked.

"You seem to keep bumping into her. And now you're in an area of the city that you normally wouldn't be in. Your home isn't around here and neither is the Louvre. What are you doing here?" Rena asked.

"How do you know where I live?" Nath responded.

"That's not important. What's important is that you seem to have a connection to Ladybug. What is it?" She demanded.

"I swear, I don't know." He said, raising his hands and backing away as Rena moved forward.

"I'm only going to ask one more time. You'd better answer honestly. What are you doing here?" Rena demanded, becoming visibly angry.

"I'm visiting a friend." Nath responded.

"What friend?" Rena asked through clenched teeth, sure that Nath was talking about Ladybug.

"I...she told me not to say. She's in danger." Nath responded.

"Let me guess, her name starts with an L." Rena said angrily.

"No, it's not Ladybug!" Nath said. "She's in trouble and needs to lay low is all." He responded.

"Is it one of your classmates?" Rena asked. The fox was becoming impatient.

"Yes...no...she...it's complicated. She doesn't go to school anymore, but she had been in my class." He said. Rena's eyes narrowed.

"Don't lie to me Nathanaël. I know more about you than you know." Rena responded, trying to think through all of the people who go to her school. She couldn't think of anyone in their class who'd stopped going to school.

"I'm not lying." Nath responded.

"When did she stop going to school then?" Rena asked, hands on her hips.

"During the last school year." Nath responded. Rena's eyes narrowed.

"I know that no one from your class has dropped out in that timeframe." She growled.

"It's true. She's been in hiding." He said.

"You know who did stop coming around about a year ago, though she's not exactly in hiding?" Rena mused her obvious leading question.

"She's not Ladybug!" Nath responded angrily. "I can't tell you who she is." He said.

"And why not?" Rena responded.

"It could put her in danger." Nath said.

"Telling a hero of Paris about your 'friend' would put her in danger? Sounds like she's a criminal." Rena responded.

"She doesn't know who she can trust. She's only confided in Chat and me." He said, trying to back away from Rena as she took a few steps forward until Nath's back was flush against the building behind him.

"You don't think she'd be able to trust me?" Rena asked.

"It's not my choice." Nath said. "She doesn't want anyone to know." He responded.

"What harm could I do?" Rena asked, her eyes narrowed.

"My guess is quite a lot." Nath said, trying and failing to sink into the wall behind him.

"If you don't tell me who she is, I'm going to have to assume it's Ladybug. If you really mean so much to Ladybug, then you'd make great bait." She said.

"I told you, it's not Ladybug." Nath said.

Rena's eyes narrowed for a moment. Nathanaël didn't seem like he was going to crack. Rena reached out and grabbed his wrist before pouncing to the rooftop of the building. "If you won't tell me, I guess I'll just have to keep you here. If I'm right, Ladybug will come for you." Rena said as she set him down on the rooftop before swiftly checking the only roof access to find it locked. She smirked as she sat down to wait.

"I need to go. I really need to." Nath said.

"You know how you can get out of this, Nathanaël." Rena responded.

"I really can't tell you who she is." He said as Rena tried to piece together the information he'd given to her. It didn't add up.

"I could help her. She already has help from one hero of Paris, more would be better." She said.

"You just kidnapped me and are holding me against my will!" Nath said indignantly.

"Oh, you're fine." Rena said, dismissively waving her hand. "It's not like I'm dangling you off of the roof like your little friend would." She said.

"I told you, she's not Ladybug!" Nath said, becoming agitated.

"Then who is she?" Rena asked.

"She told me not to tell anyone. She doesn't want anyone to know. Her parents were killed and she's afraid that someone will kill her too if the news that she's alive gets to the wrong people." Nath replied angrily. Rena stopped, her face falling in shock as the pieces snapped together in her mind.

"Marinette." She breathed and Nathanaël's eyes widened.

"I didn't say…" he started.

"Marinette's alive?" Rena asked in a small voice, not quite focusing on the redhead in front of her.

"That's not what I…"

"Where is she?" Rena asked.

"I didn't say it was Marinette." Nathanaël said.

"No one else in your class isn't there anymore. No one else lost their parents." Rena responded. "Where is Marinette? I can help her." Rena insisted.

"I can't tell you anything. Marinette...died...last year. I wasn't going to see her." He said.

"I won't hurt her, Nath. I know how much you cared for her and how much you want to protect her. I can help." Rena said, her eyes pleading with his.

"It's not…" Nath started.

"Quit lying to me, Nathanaël." Rena said in a strong voice, though her eyes still begged him for the answer.

"Marinette...I'm sorry, but she…" he started as he looked at Rena. "Even if it is Marinette, I can't tell you. I don't know what you'll do." he said. "I don't know who you are or if I could trust you." he finished.

"What can I do to make you trust me?" Rena asked, desperate.

"I...I want to know who you are." Nathanaël said. Rena just tilted her head at him.

"Can't do that, Red." she responded. "What else can I do?" she asked.

"I don't know, Rena. I just don't trust people that I don't know." he said.

"What if I can prove that I know you?" she asked.

"How would you prove that?" he asked. Rena crossed her arms and put a confident smile on her face.

"I know you fairly well when I'm not in mask. Why not ask me a few questions? I'm sure that you'll be pleasantly surprised." Rena said. After their freshman year of high school, Nath had hung out with Nino more frequently in an attempt to get closer to Marinette. However, he'd never managed to ask her out. Still, that closeness allowed Alya to know a lot more about him than she would have otherwise.

Nath sighed. "Fine." he said and thought for a moment. "What religion do I practice?" he asked.

"Come on, Nathanaël, you can make more difficult questions than that." Rena said.

"Answer the question." he responded. Rena rolled her eyes.

"You're Jewish." she said in an almost bored tone.

"Who did I go on my first date with?" he asked.

"Rose. The two of you never went on another one after that." Rena responded.

"Who did I draw on my 13th birthday as a way to attempt to…"

"Marinette" Rena cut him off. "You were trying to ask her out and Chloe ripped the drawing out of your sketchbook and made fun of you for the rest of the day." she added.

"Am I right-handed or left-handed?" he asked.

"Ambidextrous, but you prefer your left hand for drawing with your tablet." Rena said.

"Favorite color?" he asked.

"Green" she responded instantly.

"What did I draw yesterday?" Nath asked.

"You drew Chat Noir and Ladybug fighting. From the other night." Rena responded, having seen the drawing this morning.

"Whoa." Nath responded.

"I told you, I know you very well. Now, do you trust me?" Rena asked. "Do you trust me enough to tell me where Marinette is?" she asked.

"I...promise me...promise me you won't hurt...my friend." he said.

"I promise that I would never hurt Marinette." Rena responded.

Nath regarded her carefully for a moment. "I...you'll need to get me back down to the ground. I can't get to it from here." he said cautiously. Rena nodded, grabbed Nathanaël around the waist and lept from the building. Once back on street level, Nath looked around.

"Don't even think about trying to run. I'm a lot faster than you are." Rena stated.

"Of course." Nath responded.

"I really do want to help her." Rena stated as Nathanaël started to walk in the direction he'd been previously walking.

"And how would you do that?" Nath asked.

"I'll hunt down Ladybug. She has something to do with Marinette's parents' deaths. I just know it." Rena responded.

"You think Ladybug killed them?" Nathanaël asked, surprised as he stopped in his tracks.

"No. I don't think she killed them. But I do think that she's dangerous and that she knows who did it. If I take her down, I not only will make Paris safer, but I'll be able to figure out what she knows." Rena responded. Nath nodded as he started to walk again. As they neared Marinette's apartment building, Nath and Rena saw Chat Noir jump out of a third story window and twist into a barrel roll before vaulting into the night.

"Great. I won't have to deal with that guy now." Nath said.

"So, Chat really does know Marinette." Rena said before looking at the still open window. She and Nath quickly made their way into the building. Rena carefully hid beside the door as Nath knocked. She could hear a soft rustle of movement past the door, but that was all her heightened senses gave her.

"Marinette?" Nath called as he knocked again, resigned to the fact that Rena knew who they were there to see. Rena heard a little more rustling behind the door and then silence. "It doesn't normally take her this long to answer. I...uh...I hope she's alright." he said. He glanced at the door handle. "I'm...I'm sure she's alright." Nath added as if he was trying to convince himself. Rena shook her head and reached forward and gripped the doorknob. To her surprise, the door opened easily. She looked around the abandoned apartment. It was too small for Marinette to be hiding somewhere. "I, uh...guess she's not here." Nath said, looking expectantly between Rena and the door.

"We'll wait. She has to come home sometime." Rena responded. The two entered the apartment and waited impatiently in silence for Marinette to return. When she did, Rena just stared, surprised when Marinette stared back.

"I, uh, I hope you don't mind. The door was unlocked and...well, Rena wants to help you." Nath said from beside Rena on the couch. Rena's reflexes caused her to act faster than Marinette. As Marinette made to launch herself angrily at the red-headed boy, Rena jumped up and pulled her into a hug.

"What part of don't tell anyone did you not understand?" Marinette shrieked, trying to get out of Rena's grasp. Rena held tight, still not quite believing that Marinette was alive. She had guessed that Marinette was alive. Nathanaël had practically confirmed it. However, seeing and feeling Marinette was completely different. It was real.

"You're okay. You're here. You're alive." Rena said. Part of her was upset. A small piece was jealous that Nath and Chat knew that Mari was alive before she did. However, the vast majority of her was just thrilled that the struggling girl in her grasp was there.

"Let go." Marinette said, pushing against Rena with all her might. Rena didn't move. The scene looked much like a small child holding a cat that struggled to get away. "I have a tomato to squash." Marinette added angrily when Rena didn't let go.

"I didn't mean to, Mari. She practically forced it out of me. But she could help you." Nath said, trying to reason with the struggling woman.

"Marinette, if I let go, I need you to promise not to kill Nath." Rena said with a giant smile plastered to her face. Marinette glared at Rena.

"You know I won't kill him." She said through clenched teeth. Rena's smile grew.

"Don't hurt him too badly." She said as she let go of the petite woman. Nath stood from the couch and took a tentative step toward Marinette. Meanwhile, Marinette glared at him.

"I figured that she could help you like Chat's been doing." He said.

"It's my choice who I tell. I don't care who you think can help." She said before taking a quick step toward him to close the gap and raising her hand to slap him. Rena intervened again by stepping in the small space between the two teens.

"Nath, I think it would be best if you left. Give her some time to cool down." Rena said as Marinette glared at the fox-themed superhero.

"O-okay. I'll, uh, see you tomorrow Mari. I really am sorry. But I do think she can help." He said before shifting around the two girls. Marinette glared at him until he shut the door to her apartment. She took a few quick steps away from Rena.

"He's trying to help." Rena said after a moment.

"He was out of line. And where do you get off thinking that you can just show up here? I clearly didn't want people to know!" Marinette said angrily.

"You know, you can be really blind sometimes, Mari. Nathanaël has been trying to help you. Chat has been trying to help you. I would have been trying to help you before now, but you wouldn't let me even know you were alive." Rena responded. Suddenly, her anger bubbled up. "I've thought you were dead for almost a year. A whole year! And you could have let me know at any time! You could have let anyone know! I know dozens of people who would have dropped everything to help you. But what do you do? You hole up in a rundown apartment to, what? Look at bank statements all day?" She said angrily as she grabbed a statement from Marinette's couch. "And you wonder where I get off, girl? I don't think so. You have a lot to answer for." Rena responded.

Marinette regarded the heroine for a moment. She opened her mouth to speak, suddenly ashamed. "I...I couldn't…" she started.

"Bull!" Rena said angrily. Marinette backed away with a flinch.

"Al-I...I…" Marinette couldn't bring herself to speak as she remembered who was under the mask. Rena crossed her arms over her chest and waited. "W-when my parents died I...wasn't there...to help them. I couldn't save them. I've had to live with that while I try to figure out who killed them and why. I c-couldn't…" she paused, feeling tears threaten to form. "I couldn't tell...anyone. I couldn't handle…" she took a shaky breath before continuing "...knowing that people would know...that I didn't save them." She said.

Rena's expression softened as Marinette struggled to keep herself from crying. "Marinette, no one expected you to save your parents." She said calmly as she rested a hand on Marinette's shoulder. "It wasn't your fault." She added. Marinette shook her head.

"You don't understand." She said.

"I know, you snuck out. Nath told me while we were waiting for you to get home." Rena said. Marinette regarded her cautiously for a moment. "It's still not your fault." She said.

"I could have helped them if I had been there." She said, steeling her face.

"There are a lot of people who could have helped them if they'd been there, Girl." Rena responded.

"None of those people are me, Al-Rena." Marinette almost slipped.

"Hindsight is 20/20. There was no way for you to know there would be a fire. You can't protect everyone." Rena said, putting a hand on Marinette's shoulder. "Where did you go anyway?" Rena asked.

"I went out for a walk. When I came back…" Marinette trailed off. She moved away from Rena and sat down on the couch, putting her arms around herself.

"It's okay, Girl. You don't have to tell me." Rena responded. She then hesitated. "Why didn't you tell anyone you were alive? I understand not telling everyone, but you didn't even tell your closest friends." She said.

Marinette regarded the heroine warily for a few moments. "Because I was dead." She said simply. "I had nothing. I was nothing." She added.

"You still had friends who would have backed you up in a heartbeat." Rena replied.

Marinette shook her head. "Not with what I wanted to do. Rena, I've been trying to figure out who had my parents killed for months. Chat's been helping me for the last month. Even he doesn't know what I want to do when I get to the bottom of this." She said.

"You want revenge." Rena said simply and Marinette looked up at her. Both girls had unreadable expressions.

"I guess, yes. That is what I want." Marinette responded. Rena nodded.

"Once I bring down Ladybug, we can find out what she knows." Rena stated.

"Why do you hate Ladybug so much?" Marinette asked.

"She didn't save your parents. I thought she didn't save you. And then she turned her back on the whole city." Rena said. "She's becoming more dangerous. It's only a matter of time before she kills someone if she isn't stopped." Rena added.

Marinette looked down, recalling her actions from the night Nathanaël was mugged. She had tried not to think about her actions since. Truth be told, she was ashamed for how she'd acted. However, there was nothing she could do to change it. "Rena, maybe she just needs help?" Marinette said hesitantly.

"You always were trying to save everyone, Marinette." Rena said, looking on the black-haired woman with admiration. "Sadly, you can't." She added after a moment.

"So you really don't think she can be saved?" Marinette asked. It was a question she'd often asked herself in the months after her parents died. Was she really able to be redeemed?

"No, she can't. We have to face that fact, Marinette." Rena said, sitting beside her old friend. Marinette just nodded, solemnly. The two sat in silence for what felt like hours. "I'm going to need to patrol. You never know when Ladybug will come out." She said, finally breaking the silence. Marinette nodded again.

"When you do find her, please be understanding. We don't know what she's gone through." Marinette said, not looking at her friend.

"I'll try not to hurt her, but I have to keep her from hurting others." Rena said as Marinette nodded.

"Okay. Be careful." She said as Rena exited the apartment through the door. Marinette continued to sit on the couch, stunned before she realized that Tikki still needed to eat.

"Tikki?" She asked hesitantly as she opened her purse. She saw the kwami napping exhaustedly. She scooped the small red being out of the purse and took her over to the bed where to she laid her gently on a pillow before going back into the kitchen to grab cookies.

The raven haired girl laid next to her small companion. She couldn't help feeling lonely. Her best friend was unknowingly hunting her. The man who was supposed to be her partner was also hunting her. And both suddenly knew she was alive and were happy about it. More than ever, Marinette thought about sending Tikki and the earrings back to the great Guardian. However, she still knew that she wouldn't. No, she had other things to do.

"Tikki, I want to get this over with. I want to confront Mayor Bourgeois and his wife tomorrow regardless of whether Chat finds out why they did it. I can't keep dancing around Chat and Alya." She said to her sleeping friend. "So, sleep up." She added before getting under the covers herself.

—-

The next morning was a Saturday morning. Adrien had his visit to Chloe's dad's hotel planned for the last few days. After a quick photo shoot, he quickly got dressed in his regular clothes. The Gorilla drove him across town while Nathalie sat next to him, scrolling through his itinerary. "You'll have approximately one hour with miss Bourgeois before your bodyguard and I will pick you up for lunch with your parents." She said.

"I was hoping for a bit more time." Adrien responded.

"I'm sorry, Adrien. You have a busy day. After lunch you have another photo shoot and then your piano and Chinese lessons." Nathalie responded. "There isn't more time to add." She added. Adrien nodded.

"Okay, thank you, Nathalie." He said as they pulled up to the hotel. Adrien got out of the car only to have a blur of yellow and black jump at him. He managed to catch the flying girl before stumbling slightly. "Hi, Chloe" he said hesitantly.

"Adrikins!" She shouted even though he was well within earshot.

"Ow." He said, putting a hand up to his ear as he teetered slightly, about to lose balance.

"Please tell me you don't want to go into that stuffy file room like last time!" Chloe said in a huff as they started back toward the hotel.

"Actually, I was hoping I might have another peek at it?" Adrien said. "The accounting tutor that my father hired has been trying to help me, but I think I need more practice with actual records. The fake stuff just doesn't seem to cut it." Adrien said with a nervous laugh.

Chloe rounded on him, her eyes narrowed suspiciously as they entered the elevator. Adrien looked away and raised a hand nervously to the back of his neck before Chloe shrieked. "Adrikins! Are you wanting to go in there for time alone? You could have just asked." She said.

"What? No, I...Chloe I don't…" He trailed off as he read her look. "I just really need practice looking at actual financial documents. My tutor has gotten to insurance and I'm struggling with it. I figure your dad probably has a lot of insurance documents." He said.

"You can try to hide the truth all you want, Adrikins, but I'm on to you." Chloe said, growing uncomfortably close to the model who raised his hands in defense.

"O-okay, Chloe." Adrien said as the doors to the elevator opened. Adrien slipped past Chloe. "So, uh, the finance room?" He asked, clearing his throat. Chloe rolled her eyes.

"Fine, come on" She said in an annoyed voice. Once they were in the room, Adrien immediately made his way to the file cabinets where the bank statements were kept.

"Do you know where the insurance statements are?" He asked.

"They're two drawers down, categorized by type. The combined policies are first." Chloe said, bored as she studied her nails. Adrien opened the drawer and started thumbing through the files until he found one from the company Marinette had found.

He discretely pulled out a piece of paper with the policy number written on it. To his surprise, the statement he'd found was the one for the policy he was looking for.

"12 Rue Gottlieb? Wasn't that Marinette's house?" He asked, scanning the statement. It was a combined policy. Chloe started to walk over, slightly interested as Adrien read. "Am I reading this right?" He asked.

Chloe rolled her eyes and snatched the paper from him. "I would think you'd be smart enough to read this, Adrikins. It was a combination policy. The house was insured along with insurance on the bakery and life insurance for Marinette and her parents." Chloe said reading the paper.

"How did your father have a life insurance policy on Marinette and her parents?" He asked.

"Daddy has releases written into all of his leases that gives him the right to insure anything and anyone on the property. It looks like he set each of them at a million euros." Chloe said matter-of-factly as she handed the paper back to Adrien.

Adrien looked over the document again, seeing the different coverages all wrapped up into the policy. "Chloe, why did Ladybug think you would know about the fire?" He asked slowly even though he was already putting the pieces together.

"How should I know?" Chloe asked with a roll of her eyes and a wave of her hand.

"Chloe, did your parents have them killed?" Adrien asked directly.

"That's ridiculous, Adrien. How could you even ask that?" She asked, genuinely angry.

"Look at this, Chloe. Someone thinks that there was foul play and your parents are the ones who were set to gain from the fire." He said, pointing to the document. "Who would be the primary suspect, Chloe? Who would be able to convince the police to not investigate?" He asked, gauging Chloe's reaction. "This looks bad, Chlo." He added, using her nickname as she still looked angry.

"My daddy wouldn't kill anyone." Chloe responded.

"I have to…" Adrien trailed off as Chloe's butler rushed into the room.

"Miss Chloe, you need to hide." He said quickly.

"What do you mean, Jean Francis?" Chloe asked. Adrien could see just a moment of frustration pass on the butler's face before he spoke again.

"Ladybug is here. We need to get you somewhere safe." Jean stated.

"Ladybug is here?" Adrien asked, surprised. Jean nodded. Chloe jumped toward Adrien while shrieking something about protecting her as Adrien dodged her and darted out of the room. Adrien pocketed the insurance statement as he ran. He rushed to the closest open room where he transformed after making sure the coast was clear. Before long, he was rushing through the hotel. "Where is Ladybug?" He asked staff urgently, who just pointed down the hallway. "Thanks" He said and then ran at top speed.

He slid into the room at the end of the hall, seeing Ladybug standing on Mayor Bourgeois's desk with her yoyo wrapped around the mayor and his wife. "You paid someone to kill them, didn't you?" She shouted.

"Chat Noir, help us!" André stared in a higher pitch than he normally spoke in.

"Ladybug, you've got to let them go." Chat stated, holding his staff at the ready.

"They killed my...they killed them, Chat." She said. "I need them to admit it." She snarled, pulling on the yoyo, making the cord tighten around the two wriggling forms.

"You need to let them go, Ladybug." Chat responded. "Even if they did kill the Dupain family, they should be held accountable through the legal system. You can't be judge, jury, and executioner." He said.

"Do you really think they'd be convicted? The police didn't even investigate!" Ladybug said angrily. "I should just toss them out the window. We're high enough that gravity would take care of the problem."

"Stop!" Chat shouted as Ladybug moved toward the window. He extended the staff and brought it down on her arms, making her drop the yoyo. He then hit her so that she would be pushed back away from the Bourgeois's. "Run" He said as the husband and wife untangled themselves from the yoyo while Chat kept Ladybug back.

"What are you doing?" She shrieked as the mayor and his wife rushed from the room. "You're letting them get away!" She exclaimed as she tried to rush forward for her yoyo. Chat held her back, using the staff to push her back to the wall.

"You can't just kill them, Ladybug! What would Marinette and her parents think?" He asked.

"Don't bring them into this. I'm doing all of this for them." She snarled as she attempted to push Chat away from her. With a burst of strength, Ladybug pushed Chat and his staff away from her.

"Take the shot" Chat heard from behind him. It sounded like Mayor Bourgeois's voice. Chat didn't have time to process the comment before he heard a strange clicking noise. Ladybug looked down at her suit for a moment, puzzled before following the wires that were connected to her with her gaze. Chat looked over his shoulder to see Officer Roger holding a taser standing next to Mayor Bourgeois. He looked back at Ladybug in time to see her pull the wires away from herself and drop them on the floor. The electricity had apparently been stopped by her suit. The noise stopped and Chat glanced back to see the two men's faces pale.

Ladybug's eyes narrowed. "Probably best to let me take care of this." Chat said as Ladybug attempted to dive past him for her yoyo. Chat's staff extended and he used it to knock the yoyo away from her before swinging the staff toward her like a baseball bat. As Ladybug slid underneath of the staff, Chat spun and kicked her in the chest.

Ladybug let out a shout as she fell backward due to the force of the kick. She got up quickly, though, in time for Chat to rush at her. He used the staff to form a vertical pole a few feet from the confused villain before swinging around it to kick her in the stomach again. "Chat, stop." She gasped.

"I can't, Ladybug. I can't let you hurt people." Chat responded.

"They can't just get away with what they've done. I can't be patient anymore, Chat. I know they did it, I just don't know why." Ladybug said. She then glanced behind Chat at where he knew her yoyo was.

"Don't do it." He said, but Ladybug didn't listen to him. She tried to dive past him as his staff collapsed and he brought it up from under her, knocking her back. "I said, don't do it." He said before turning his staff and extending it so that it would knock her back against the wall.

"Chat, I know you like Marinette. Let me do this." Ladybug said.

"Marinette wouldn't want this. She would want justice. She wouldn't want you to turn into a murderer." Chat responded.

"Marinette understands that there's no going back for me. I'm too far gone for that, Chaton." Ladybug responded. She stayed back near the wall as Chat stood with his staff at the ready.

"No one is too far gone." He said. "Just...give me your Miraculous and we can go our separate ways." He added.

"You want to let the woman who threatened my and my wife's lives go? What kind of hero are you?" The Mayor said from behind Chat.

"The kind that doesn't want anyone to get hurt." Chat responded without taking his eyes off of Ladybug. "Including you, M'Lady." He added. He stared into Ladybug's eyes for longer than he expected to. She started to raise her hands.

"Nonsense. She should be imprisoned for life for attempted murder." The mayor responded. Ladybug's eyes suddenly looked past Chat. Her eyes narrowed and Chat realized that the moment was gone. He had thought she was going to give him her Miraculous right then and there, however, her hands quickly clenched into fists.

"Out of the way Chaton." She growled as she tried to rush past him. Chat beat her back again, using the staff. He then pushed her struggling form back to the wall.

"You have to stop. I'm not going to let you hurt them." Chat said. He watched as a pained look crossed her face.

"I don't want to hurt you, Chat." She struggled to say.

"You're going to have to if you want to get to them." Chat responded. Ladybug looked conflicted and stopped trying to push him off. She looked at him and tears started streaming down her face.

"I know you wanted to help me, Chaton." She said. "I wish we'd have met sooner." She added. She then shoved Chat away with all of her strength. Chat skidded along the floor before hearing a familiar tune play behind him.

"Mirage" Rena shouted as Ladybug tried to cover her eyes while diving for the yoyo. Chat used his staff to knock it away again. "You're coming in, Ladybug."

"You don't know what you're doing Rena." Ladybug shouted. She looked around as the room appeared to spin and duplicate Chat and Rena images appeared.

"Whoa" Chat said.

"We have to subdue her." Rena said. "Before it wears off." She added. Chat nodded.

"I'll take the right." He said quietly, using his staff to snag the handcuffs from Officer Roger's belt. "You take the left." He added as Ladybug started trying to make her way through the gauntlet of imaginary heroes.

Chat and Rena both made their way toward Ladybug while their images moved around the room. Ladybug didn't know which pair were real. At least she hadn't known until Chat grasped her right wrist from behind and locked a handcuff around it while Rena grabbed her other wrist. Ladybug tried to resist, but the two heroes easily overpowered her strength. The images that Rena had conjured quickly disappeared as her necklace beeped.

"Gotta pounce. You okay to clean up, Chat?" She asked. Chat nodded.

"Stop. Chat, they'll kill me. You have to let me go." Ladybug said as Rena ran away.

"They won't kill you Ladybug." Chat said. "I wish this had gone some other way." He added.

"You don't understand. Chat, you can't let them see me under the mask. You can't!" She said.

"Ladybug, I can't just let you go. I don't even have a key." He said as Officer Roger made his way toward the hero that was restraining the struggling former heroine.

"Don't let him take me, Chat. Please, Chaton." Ladybug tried to pull away from Officer Roger and into Chat Noir as the former reached out and grabbed Ladybug by the elbow.

"You're coming with me, Little Lady." Officer Roger said, before pulling a struggling Ladybug from the room.

Chat turned to the Mayor. "What are you going to do to her?" He asked.

"We're going to lock her up, of course." Mayor Bourgeois said, though for some reason, Chat wasn't comforted by the statement.

"What was she talking about?" He asked.

"That's none of your concern. She's clearly delusional." Mayor Bourgeois responded.

"It was the money, wasn't it? You had insurance policies on the property, business, and the Dupain family." Chat said.

"How do you know that?" He asked.

"It doesn't matter." Chat said.

"I believe it does." He responded.

"You did have them killed, didn't you? You had them killed for money." Chat said hesitantly.

"Even if I did, there's no proof. So, there's no need to discuss it further. You should be proud of yourself, Chat Noir. You got a dangerous criminal off the street tonight." The Mayor responded, clapping his hand on Chat's shoulder, causing the hero to pitch forward slightly. "Now, run along and do whatever you do." He said.

"Did she use her lucky charm?" Chat asked as the mayor pushed him toward the door, even though Chat already knew the answer. He hadn't heard her earrings beeping.

"Oh dear goodness, no." The mayor responded.

Chat nodded as he allowed himself to be pushed out of the room only to come face-to-face with a teary-eyed Mrs. Bourgeois. "M…" Chat didn't even get out a word.

"We did do it." She said before sobbing. "We were struggling financially. The hotel wasn't doing well. It needed renovations and we didn't have the money to renovate. A-André said that he would make sure those poor people weren't there, that the insurance money would be more than enough." She sobbed. "I didn't realize they would be there." She added.

Chat stared at her, not having the heart to be cold toward her. "Come on, we should go to the police. Your statement would help to put things right." Chat said, placing a hand on her back as she started shaking her head.

"I-I can't. No one can know." She said.

"I know. And I have enough proof to force an investigation." Chat said. "It would be better for you to confess." Chat said.

"But André…" she started.

"Don't worry about your husband, Mrs. Bourgeois. I'll make sure he doesn't hurt you." Chat said, seeing the fear in her eyes.

"I...can't. It won't do anyone any good for me to confess now." She responded.

"It will help their surviving family members. And it'll keep this from ever happening again to another family." Chat responded. Mrs. Bourgeois looked from Chat to the closed door behind him.

"He's not a monster. He didn't mean for this to happen." She said.

"Mrs. Bourgeois, I know you love your husband, but you need to do the right thing." He said. Slowly, Mrs. Bourgeois's eyes rested on the feline-themed hero and her head nodded. "Come on, I'll walk with you." He said. The two walked in silence. The police station was only three blocks away, but those blocks seemed to stretch on forever.

When they entered the station, a dispatcher came to the front desk. "Can I help you?" He asked.

"Mrs. Bourgeois witnessed a crime and would like to make a formal statement." Chat said. Before he could say anything else, the dispatcher interrupted him.

"We know about the Ladybug attack." He said.

"This is a different crime. Also, I would like to be able to see Ladybug." Chat said.

"You have to stay outside the cell." The dispatcher stated. "It's back there" He said waving over his shoulder. "Come on Mrs. Bourgeois." He said, graciously leading her to an empty office.

Chat made his way to Ladybug's cell. She was leaning against the far wall of the cell under a small barred window to the outside when he arrived. He was surprised to see that she was still in her suit. "They haven't taken your Miraculous?" He asked, surprised.

Ladybug stared at Chat for a long while. He started to shift uncomfortably from foot to foot under her gaze. "They tried to take my mask off. When it wouldn't come off, they just locked me in here." She said, her voice was different than he'd ever heard it before. It was defeated.

"I really wish this could have gone another way, Ladybug." He said.

Ladybug nodded absently. "I wish I'd told you...so much." She said, her gaze dropping to the floor.

"What did you mean when you said that they would kill you? Why would they do that, Ladybug?" Ladybug looked up at him again.

"Y-you might understand if you could see my face beneath the mask." She said, making her way over the the bars that separated them. Chat didn't know whether to back away or not. "I just...Chaton…" she trailed off, looking into Chat's eyes.

His brow furrowed as he stared back. He didn't know why he felt like he'd betrayed her. "Yes, Ladybug." He said.

"I...I want you to call me by my name." She said.

"I don't know your name, Ladybug." He responded. He couldn't interpret the look that crossed her face. Slowly, she nodded.

"I've been trying to tell you, Chaton. I should have shown you weeks ago. Now...I have to hold this transformation for as long as possible." She said.

"You have nothing to worry about, Ladybug. You're in custody. They can't hurt you, let alone kill you." He responded.

"You don't know that. I didn't think they could kill my...the Dupain family and get away with it." Ladybug stated.

"They're not getting away with it. Mrs. Bourgeois is confessing right now." Chat said. Ladybug stared at him.

"How do you know that?" She asked.

"Because I walked her here myself." He said.

"How do you know that's what she's telling them?" Ladybug asked, suspicious.

"She confessed to me." He said. "I don't think she wants to lie anymore." He added.

Ladybug looked past him briefly. "I don't trust her. I just have a bad feeling about this." She said. "Chat, you need to make sure that you keep yourself safe. Now that you know…" she trailed off, worry showing through her mask.

"I'm touched, Ladybug, that you care so much." Chat said with a smirk, but there wasn't the same twinkle behind his eyes this time.

"Of course I care. Chat, I'm sorry I didn't tell you…" she trailed off as Officer Roger approached.

"Chat Noir, I'm going to have to ask you to step away from the suspect." Roger stated.

"Why?" Chat asked.

"We have reason to believe she murdered the Dupain family." Roger said.

"What?" Both Chat and Ladybug shouted.

"Can't have her talking to anyone before formally interviewing her now." Roger said.

"Wait, why would you think that Ladybug...Mrs. Bourgeois…" Chat started.

"Yes, Mrs. Bourgeois told us all about how Ladybug threatened her and her husband. First attacking their tenants, then going after their daughter and their financials." Roger stated.

"I knew you couldn't trust her." Ladybug mumbled.

"That's not what…" Chat started.

"It's fine, Chat. I'm dead anyway. Even if I did fool myself for a little while." Ladybug said, tears streaming down her cheeks. The statement caught Chat off guard. He didn't understand why it sounded so familiar. "Thank you for…"

"That's enough." Roger stated, stepping between them. Chat still heard Ladybug finish her sentence, though.

"...everything these last few weeks." Roger then pushed him away from the cell. Chat couldn't help going over what she'd said. It sounded so familiar. It irritated him that he couldn't quite figure out where he'd heard it from or why her demeanor suddenly changed around him. As Roger was leading Chat out of the police station, the hero caught sight of Chloe's mother. Roger quickly left the hero on the street to chase down the blonde woman.

"Mrs. Bourgeois." He called out, suddenly full of anger. The woman turned toward him. "Why didn't you tell them the truth?" Chat asked.

"What are you talking about? I told them exactly what happened, how Ladybug has been attacking us." Mrs. Bourgeois said.

"You know what you told me." Chat said, a look of regret passed over Mrs. Bourgeois's face, but it was gone as quickly as it had come.

"Yes, I do know what I told you. Do you remember?" She asked. Chat thought back. 'No one can know.' The memory suddenly came back to him.

"You realized that people were looking into it. You're using Ladybug as a scapegoat." He said.

"You're clever...for a cat." She said before turning and starting to walk back to the hotel. Chat shook his head. He was in shock about how she could so nonchalantly accuse someone of murder when she knew they were innocent. He made his way to an alley and detransformed, knowing the Gorilla would be waiting and that Nathalie wouldn't be happy with him for being late. He checked to make sure he still had the insurance statement in his pocket.

He was already planning to tell Marinette about what he'd found out and dig through the statements again to find the one that showed the insurance payoff. They would take it to the police and demand a formal investigation. Now, though, he had to deal with the rest of his day. He rounded the corner, seeing the car and gulping audibly.

"You're late. Where did you go?" Nathalie asked sternly.

"Nowhere." He said. Nathalie regarded him for a moment.

"You've missed lunch. You're going straight to the photo shoot." Nathalie said shortly. Adrien nodded and hung his head slightly. The day went by quickly because he was so busy. At the end of it, he rushed to the kitchens as had become usual.

"Two coq au vin, ready to go." The chef said as Adrien entered the room. "One of these days, you'll have to tell me who I'm cooking for." The man said. Adrien smiled as he grabbed the bag.

"Thank you so much." Adrien said before he rushed from the room. He made his way to his room. After transforming, he tucked the bag into his belt as usual and vaulted through the city to Marinette's apartment. He was surprised when he had to open the window. "Marinette?" He called as he walked through the small apartment, putting the bag of food down on Marinette's counter.

Marinette, however, didn't appear. Chat sat down on the couch and waited impatiently for a few minutes. He had so much to tell Marinette and, while it was pretty bad that the Bourgeois's weren't going to be punished for their crime, they had confessed and given a reason. Chat even had proof of their motive in his pocket. He took the sheet out of his pocket, unfolded it, and looked at it again. He started to be able to understand what each part meant. He looked at the coverage on Marinette.

"I'm dead anyway. Even if I did fool myself for a little while." Ladybug had said. Suddenly, the words had popped into his head as if trying to tell him something. As if on cue, another piece of conversation came to the forefront of his mind. "But still, this is your safety." He had said. Marinette laughed. "The safety of a dead person. Funny." she replied.

His eyes widened. He thought back to his fight with Ladybug. He realized that she had never attacked him throughout the fight, only pushed him away to try to get around him. One other startling thing he realized was that she had been speaking about Marinette in a present tense. "Marinette understands that there's no going back for me. I'm too far gone for that, Chaton." He has been too focused on what he was doing that he hadn't realized beforehand.

Chat's jaw dropped as he realized another thing that he hadn't before. Ladybug had been calling him by the name Marinette had given him. Marinette was the one who always called him Chaton while Ladybug would call him Kitty.

"I...I want you to call me by my name." She said.

"I don't know your name, Ladybug." He responded.

"I've been trying to tell you, Chaton. I should have shown you weeks ago. Now...I have to hold this transformation for as long as possible." She said.

"I'm so stupid!" Chat shouted as he dropped the insurance statement. He rushed to the window and made his way through the city as quickly as he could. He rushed into the police station. "Is Ladybug still here?" He asked the dispatcher who nodded. "I need to see her." He said.

"Visiting hours are over even for superheroes." The man said.

"Just let me through." Chat responded.

"I can't." The man said. Chat let out a frustrated shout. He then remembered the small window to Ladybug's cell as he stormed out of the building. He rushed around to where he thought her cell would be. There were a row of barred windows high off the ground. He used his staff to peek through the first window.

"Ladybug" He said while tapping on the window. There was no response. He couldn't see anyone in the cell. He quickly moved on to the other windows. Through the fifth one, he finally saw the form of a person laying on the bed. "Ladybug" He said loudly as he tapped on the window. The individual rose from the cot in the room and Chat saw the red suit that fitted her body. She stood and stared up at the window, but made no move to get closer to it. Chat opened his mouth to speak, but found that he couldn't.

Ladybug just stared at him as if she was waiting for him to say something. When he didn't, she nodded, though he didn't know why and sat back down on the cot. She looked down at her hands for a moment. She then started to raise them.

"No, don't take them off." Chat said, hitting the window to get her attention. If she took off the earrings then nothing would be keeping her identity hidden. He doubted that the police would withhold that information from Mayor Bourgeois.

Ladybug stood and, trying to make as little noise as possible, brought the cot toward the window. She stood on it to slide the window pane to the side. "Chat, you know who I am. I can see it on your face. It's over. I don't know what I thought I would accomplish with all of this. I don't even know why I've still been holding on to this transformation all day. It'll be over with soon and then you can get back to your life." She said.

"Why didn't you tell me?" He asked.

"I don't know. But you should take these." She said, a few tears starting to form in the corners of her eyes. "Tikki...Tikki likes cookies. And she'll probably be tired." She said with a sniffle as she took off her earrings. A pink light flooded the room briefly as the Ladybug costume disappeared leaving Marinette in the room. She reached her small hand through the bars, offering the earrings to Chat.

"What was that?" Chat heard a voice in the background.

"Hurry" Marinette said, shaking her hand. Chat's hand extended and she dropped the earrings into it.

"I can get you out. I have proof." He said.

Marinette stared at him with sad eyes for a moment. "I've gotta go." She said, hearing the guard coming closer. She quickly pushed the cot back to where it had been before and got back into it, pulling the blanket over herself. Chat ducked out of view as the guard reached Marinette's cell. After a moment, he peeked through the window again.

"I'll make this right, Mari." He said.

A/N: Again, sorry for the wait. Hopefully the extra-long chapter makes up for it. This is the second to last chapter. I hope to have the last one up soon. It won't be as long as this one, but it will be in Adrien's perspective. To be fair, I have tweaked my plan for the ending. It won't be all-out sad, but it will be very bittersweet.

Rush Alias: She was thinking that, too.

Emmaleewhittaker: The marichat was a bit different in this one. Hopefully, you still enjoyed it.

ScarletRedSouls: Alya just had to intervene…

Mayuralover: To be fair, Nath does actually think that Rena will help Mari. How do you feel about Chat actually catching her?

Ddkeac: I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as the last one.

Guest: I hope you enjoyed the fight in this chapter since you liked the chat and bug chase from the last one.

Kyusta: I hope angry Mari didn't disappoint you.

Duke: That she has. She still views it as her mission to stop Ladybug, but she's less angry toward Ladybug now.

Avenger2003: I really, really wish that I could to longer, more frequent chapters. Sadly, at this point it's not possible for me. I'm in my last semester for my master's program coming up on the end of the year. So, I have papers, projects, and an internship to keep up with on top of normal work and being a mom to a 4 year old. I generally only have time to write on my breaks at work and even then sometimes I don't have time. I am glad that you like the story so far. And don't worry, there won't be any more Nathanaël in this story. I do hope to have the next chapter up soon, but don't know when I'll be finished with it.

DarkBat666: it does tone down Alya's anger a bit. I hope you liked this chapter.