Disclaimer: I don't own Miraculous Ladybug

Chapter 20

Adrien looked up from his place on the ground as glass crunched beneath his body. An unfamiliar weight was present on his chest and he didn't even want to look down and be reminded of what had happened. He didn't say anything because he knew that his voice was higher than it had been only a few minutes ago. Yet, a beep drug him out of his annoyed stupor and he looked down at his ring that was situated on a slender hand. He only had a few minutes left before he detransformed and anyone who was watching could see that Chat Noir would be a female version of Adrien Agreste. Not to mention the trouble he would be in if this didn't get reversed and he was stuck as a female model for the rest of his life. That, that would not be good. He looked around and saw his classmate Saura looking at him exasperatedly as if she was annoyed that this was happening. Which she was. Though she was glad that she wasn't the one transformed into a man, then again. she was sexy as a man too. Foxes are always seductive, it's part of their manipulative nature.

Another beep was heard and Saura kept looking at him and then looked at his ring and sighed. "Really," she said and Adrien didn't know exactly what she was talking about, until she finished her irritation filled sentence. "You already used your Cataclysm?" her arms that were dangling at her side were then crossed in front of her chest as she retained her cool and annoyed demeanor. This only served to frighten the teenaged boy-turned-girl and be on the defensive. More beeps rang out and he knew that he was running out of time before she would know his identity.

"Who are you and how do you know that?" he asked her as he got up and struck a fighting stance in order to defend himself. No normal person knew about the time limit on the suits.

Another exasperated look was received from Saura as she walked towards Adrien to take him somewhere safe to detransform and then get him ready to fight again. It was a limited time before Ladybug came looking for him and she found that he wasn't anywhere in sight. At least that was her intention, but he took his baton out and aimed it at her. An annoyed look spread across her face as the expression on her face portrayed everything that she was feeling at the moment into a readable language. She wasn't going to be able to do anything with him until she at least partially explained herself. "I know because I know things. I'm magical and you should listen to me," she responded to him in a flat tone as her eyes never changed their expression.

"I think you have magical confused with-" she cut him off before he had a chance to finish that statement by tackling him in a smooth motion and grabbing the baton from his hands. They moved out of the way for Ladybug to land exactly where Chat had been standing.

Saura grabbed hold of Chat's arm and hauled him away before the akumatized victim could see her doing it. Chat was making protests against leaving his lady behind to fight alone. "Listen pretty boy, you need cheese for Plagg when you detransform so that you can go back and help in defeating this akuma" she rapidly explained as she dragged him to a different room in time for the beeping to grow frequent enough that he only had a few moments left with his mask on.

Chat looked at Saura incredulously before speaking, "You're not working for Hawkmoth, right?" he asked to be sure that he could in fact trust her.

"If I was, you'd be a girl forever and have already lost your miraculous. I'm one of the good guys, I can't spell it out any clearer than that." She said and watched as the paw print on his ring was beginning to blink into nonexistence. She looked back into his worried green eyes as he realized that she would see him without the mask. "It's a no wonder that you guys haven't figured out each other's secret identities, then again it could be because of the magic of the suits." She pondered as the suit disappeared around Adrien and he stood there with Plagg laying in his hands. The most confused look came over him as she wasn't surprised at all to see him without the mask. "Alright, cinnamon roll, let's go get your lazy friend some cheese so that you can go and kick butt." She said nonchalantly as she led him to the teacher's lounge and hoped that the fridge had someone's cheese within it. Adrien was following her blindly as she pulled him along and the sounds of a battle faded behind them.

They were lucky and someone had a sandwich that had an ample amount of cheese on it, it wasn't camembert, but it would do for now. "Wake up, lazy bones" Saura said as she refused to drop her incessant nicknaming as she addressed the black kwami. She waved the pieces of cheese in front of him for him to take.

Plagg blinked his eyes and took in Saura's visage and gained a glint of recognition as he stared into the aqua eyes that he hadn't seen in decades. "I will only eat camembert," he said and turned away from Saura with a huff.

She narrowed her eyes at the small kwami as Adrien awkwardly held the small creature in his hands, not entirely sure what he was supposed to be doing. "Eat it," she insisted with a flat tone that left no room for argument and Plagg looked back at her in scorn and exhaustion.

"We haven't seen each other in at least-" Plagg began to speak, but Saura didn't want Adrien to know more than he already did. It would be dangerous for anyone to know everything about her, since she didn't know who was watching. She was powerful, but not all knowing. So, instead of allowing him to finish the sentence that would reveal she was in fact not a teenager, she shoved the cheese into Plagg's mouth with the grace and efficiency of a trained assassin. Neither Adrien or the kwami knew what was happening until Plagg had swallowed the cheese and Adrien was holding an overly dramatic kwami. He was rubbing his tongue with his small hands and glowering at Saura, who had a subtle, smug grin on her face.

She looked from the small kwami to Adrien. They had spent too much time away from the fight and it was too early for herself to become a rescuer of Paris. The video that Alya had taken was already enough suspicion and there didn't need to be any more for the time being. She wasn't ready to don her mask just yet. So, Adrien had to go out and fight against this Akuma without her help beyond this point. "It's time to suit up sweetheart," she said and put up her arrogant mask that completely exuded confidence.

Adrien gave her a Chat type of grin and commanded Plagg to transform him. Once he was in his suit, he left the room in search of the fight that his lady was fighting alone. Battle noises could be heard in the gym, then they ventured further and Saura figured that it was safe to come out. This akuma was dangerous to her, unlike the last one. As far as magical power, Saura was more powerful than anyone individually within the school, but that doesn't mean she can't be affected by it. Her true form was hidden by the magic of her kwami so that she would appear as a passable human female. Her natural appearance was much more exotic than the one she currently held, but that was because she's a fox. Being eye-catching is part of their charm and manipulative manner.

She exited the room, only to be greeted by the Akuma herself. Rewriter had a smile on her face as distant sounds of battles were heard in the distance. There were only two options, this was either the original or a copy, but if they shared the same powers of manipulating appearances it didn't matter. "Rosette?" she asked the unmoving akuma in front of her. The unsettling smile that twisted her ruby lips up only grew more so by her eyes that were devoid of any and all emotion. In fact, they were colorless pits of darkness and immediately at looking them, this was simply a copy.

Saura scoffed a moment before the copy decided to speak to her, but the voice that came out of its mouth wasn't Rosette's. The voice was male and deep and dark. It was smooth and sounded like a wonderful trap, one that Saura remembered very well. The voice sent a chill down her spine and struck fear to her very core. She was frozen in front of the copied akuma as the devoid eyes stared at her pale form. Then before anything more than a few utterings of words had transpired, the copy disappeared into pages that turned to purple smoke.

She took a breath and dared to glance at the windows of the gym. The sun was shining again and the sky was once again blue. The words that were uttered haunted Saura's mind as they kept repeating themselves and the eyes that appeared to be a simple void had turned into something else. They turned to eyes that were black as night with a blue fire burning in their center. They were familiar and terrifying, terrifying at how much they still managed to affect her and how the sound of his voice still unnerved her to such an extent. The fight with this akuma was over, but with what had just happened, the next attack would not just include Ladybug and Chat Noir. The next time, Paris would get their new heroes and it was only a matter of time before they needed them.

A rustling by her ear caught her attention as Zorren peeked out from within her hair. "You okay?" he asked his partner in concern that was uncharacteristic of him. Except he knew what that voice meant and there was no point in hiding his worry from it.

Saura glanced down and smiled warmly at her kwami, she knew what he was thinking and why he was worried. Yet, there was nothing she could do to sooth him, unless she were to lie. "Yeah," that was a lie, but they both knew that as she continued on with what she was going to say. "We're here for him anyway." She stated and Zorren opened his mouth to try and say something, but thought against it and closed his mouth. He wasn't supposed to know this soon, but now that it not the case. Their timeline was speeding up and the past was hurling towards them faster than they expected it to.

A/N: Thank you for reading! I hope that you like the story so far and I will post the next chapter as soon as I get it done.