Chapter 25: The Stroke of Midnight

The sound that Antelope heard was quite familiar. He had heard it, maybe a few thousand times. In fact, all the heroes had heard it before. It was a sound that could be described as the sound of acid melting through a steel door, combined with what they imagined would be the sound of metal rusting at an incredible speed would look like. It was the sound of Chat Noir's special attack, which he had named as "Cataclysm", and right then, it was music to anyone's ears.

"L-Looks like Chat is on the case." -Antelope thought to himself.

He had just finished that thought, when in front of his eyes, he saw a hole forming at an incredible speed. In a matter of seconds, his face was caressed by the cool, almost chilling night breeze, and he could see what was going on. Chat Noir was jumping around the place, while using his special attack on Spectrum's giant body.

(Flashback)

In a desperate attempt to take down Spectrum, Chat Noir's brain raced against time to find a way to save his friends and defeat that akuma, so they could call it a night. Every idea that went through his mind seemed either not good enough, or too complicated. The villain was trying to break the energy shield they were in, and though he had not been able to break it, he was afraid Carapace's magic would not be powerful enough to prevent that from happening. Time was running out. And then, it hit him. He figured that if they could not fight the akuma in its current form, then there was only one thing to do.

"What are you saying?" -Carapace asked him, as he tried not to lose his focus on the task of keeping the energy shield up.

"I'm saying that inside that thing is Spectrum… the real Spectrum. This giant behemoth is like an egg; it's a shell that's protecting its content." -Chat Noir told him. –"But if we break the shell…"

"I think I know where you're going." -Carapace said. –"But, how do you plan on breaking this shell?" -he asked the feline hero, using the same metaphor he had before.

"With this." -Chat Noir snapped his fingers, producing a small Cataclysm.

"Your special attack?" -Carapace asked him, as he imagined what his friend was going to do. He knew that his attack was quite powerful, and they had seen him taking down obstacles and even enemies, by reducing them to nothing. But, he wondered, first, if Chat's attack would affect Spectrum as he believed it would, and second, if he still had enough juice in him to attempt such an attack.

"Well, yeah… but, I might need a little upgrade in order for it to work." -Chat Noir said, as he turned his attention to Panda Rouge. –"I know you're exhausted… probably even more than any of us. But please, I need you to…"

"You need me to use my powers once again." -Panda Rouge sighed. Looking at him, you could easily see that he was exhausted. –"No worries…" -he forced a smile. –"What do you need?"

"Well… I don't know exactly." -Chat Noir shrugged his shoulders. He knew what to do, but he had no idea how he was going to do it. –"Maybe turn me into a giant, or draw me a fighting robot?"

"I think I got something a little better." -Panda Rouge said. –"Let's just hope I have enough juice to pull this one out." -he said, as he began to draw. Every second counted.

(End of Flashback)

Though he had not given Chat Noir a giant fighting robot, or turned him into a giant, Panda Rouge had given him something the feline hero could not say would not do the same thing. He had used the last of his strength to give him what could be described as robotic prosthetics for his hands and feet that amplified his special attack, allowing him to go as far as fire Cataclysms against far away targets. Ordering Carapace to open the shield just enough for him to go outside, the turtle hero did as he was told. Just before he went out to teach Spectrum a lesson, he turned around and thanked Panda for the little upgrade, as the redhead gave him a thumbs up.

"Let's do this!" -Chat Noir thought to himself.

Noticing Chat Noir was out of the energy shield, Spectrum could not help but to smile. It was too good of an opportunity to waste. Thinking that he was going to get another Miraculous for his master, Spectrum quickly stopped trying to smash the energy shield, and proceeded to try and grab Chat Noir, by smashing him. The behemoth's giant left hand had not yet descended on the hero, when he fired an attack against it, hitting it in two of its fingers. These rusted in a few seconds, falling off and making the akuma roar in agony.

"Bullseye!" -Chat Noir exclaimed.

"If you think you can defeat me, you are sorely mistaken, little kitten!" -Spectrum's voice boomed over the place, enraged at what had happened. –"I'm going to rip that silly miraculous of yours, after I skin you alive!"

"Feel free to try, mister!" -Chat Noir challenged the akuma, as a grin formed on his face. –"Just remember, that this kitty cat has sharp claws!" -he kept smirking, as he fired another attack; this time hitting the behemoth in his left eye.

Roaring in pain, Spectrum tried to squish Chat Noir, who kept attacking him. Though he had been feeling exhausted, for some reason, attacking Spectrum had given him a rush of adrenaline he needed. And he was not going to waste it. He knew that if he wanted to get his friends back and save the say, he would have to take him down alone. Strike after strike, he tried to weaken the enemy, while also looking for where he could be hiding inside that giant contraption.

"Come on, where are you?! You've got to be somewhere inside that thing!" -Chat Noir thought, as he used his staff to jump into the air, targeting the left shoulder. He believed the place where Spectrum would be hiding was the head, and he was on his way to see if he was right about it.

Looking at their friend, both Panda Rouge and Carapace were cheering for Chat, hoping he would come out victorious. At the same time, inside Spectrum's giant body, the heroes that were still conscient could tell something was happening. They could not see it, but they could feel it. Every time one of Chat's attacks hit Spectrum, they felt it and heard it.

"That sounds like Chat Noir's attack!" -Ladybug said. –"If he's still out there, then… then let's hope he can help us and defeat this creature Please, Adrien, be careful." -she thought to herself, as her heart filled with hope, while also trying not to think about her injuries, which were causing her great pain.

And she was not the only one who recognized the sound. A little below, lodged somewhere the behemoth's left thigh, a certain blonde heroine, who was on the last of her strength, also recognized it. That unmistakable sound gave her the strength to stay awake, and to ignore the pain coming from her right shoulder. She was not sure of it, but she suspected she had broken it, when she was dragged by the tendrils that were now holding her inside that monstrosity of a body.

"T-That was the s-sound of a Cataclysm…" -Flamingo thought to herself.

Continuingly shooting against Spectrum, Chat Noir was able to induce a significant amount of damage to the villain. Soon, his giant body was covered with several holes, and one of his hands was beyond salvation, not to mention his left leg was just a couple of hits from being in the same situation. He reached the head and fired a powerful blast against it. Once the attack hit it, the right side of the head rusted in mere seconds and disintegrated in front of his eyes. Unfortunately, there was nothing inside. Spectrum was not hiding in the head, like he had thought.

"Dang it! He's not in there!" -Chat Noir cursed his luck.

"You can't stop me like that, little kitten!" -Spectrum roared, as several tendrils burst from under his giant body's skin, targeting Chat. –"But feel free to exhaust yourself trying it!" -he scorned, while letting out an evil laugh. .

But, what started as a sort of lightning strike, was quickly reduced to a desperate attempt of survival. The amount of damage inflicted upon Spectrum was quite significant, but it was still insufficient to make him stop. With his lungs burning, the feline hero knew he was running out of time.

"G-Getting weaker… I got to find that guy and fast…" -Chat Noir gasped, trying to gain back his breath, while also slowing down his heart. He was starting to feel the adrenaline in his veins dissipating, and knew that soon, the tiredness would come back, and he would be too exhausted to move, turning him into a sitting duck. –"Well, if you aren't hiding in this thing's head, then, I hope you're hiding in its chest… and please, be there, because I don't know how much longer I can keep up with this." -he thought to himself.

Each time he was hit, Spectrum doubled his efforts to try and capture Chat Noir. He was sure that he would be able to handle one single hero, before going after Carapace and Panda Rouge, who remained still inside the energy shield. But what happened next, happened so fast, that he did not even had time to react. He had just taken his off Chat for a second, to gaze upon the other two heroes, when Chat used his staff to elevate himself above the behemoth's head, and then jumped into the air. Propelling himself upward, once he felt he was high enough, he shot himself downward, targeting the behemoth's chest. Just like before, he hypothesized that if Spectrum was not hiding in the head, he was most likely hidden in another spot, and that spot was the chest. As he propelled himself, he wished with all his strength that he was right about it this time, otherwise, he and the others would be done for.

"If this doesn't work, I'm a dead cat." -Chat Noir thought out loud.

Trying to take that thought from his mind, he held his breath and squinted his eyes, as he approached the target. And he was not the only one who held his breath. Both Carapace and Panda Rouge also held their breath in anticipation after understanding what the feline hero was up to.

"Go get him, Adrien." -both Carapace and Panda Rouge thought to themselves.

Before Spectrum could react, Chat focused all his remaining strength into one final Cataclysm, and fired it against the creature's abdomen, where Spectrum was hiding. And just like it had happened before, as soon as the attack hit the abdomen, the rust caused by the Cataclysm spread like wildfire, opening a hole, large enough for him to see Spectrum. The first thing he noted was that he had several tubes attached to his body. He figured that those tubes were how he managed to control his giant body from that place, and if so, he would have to rip them from his body. Surprised by that attack, the villain did not have the time to react properly. The next thing he knew, Chat Noir was in front of him.

"Got you!" -Chat Noir exclaimed, as he dug his claws into Spectrum, and he had no plans to let go off him.

"Let go of me!" -Spectrum roared, as Chat Noir dug his claws deeper into him, pushing him into the back of that makeshift chamber.

"Sorry, not going to happen, buddy!" –Chat kept smirking, as he punched Spectrum in the face.

"I said… let go of me!" -Spectrum roared, as he tried to get rid of the feline hero.

As he fought the akuma, Chat had the distinct impression that everything around them was moving in slow motion. He knew this was not possible, but it was what it felt like. Still, ignoring it, he made sure to land every single punch, kick and attack on Spectrum. He had one shot to take him down, and he was going to take it. They had taken down other akumas before, but this one was by far, the most powerful one yet. Still, his reign was about to end. As far as Chat was concerned, this was the end of the line for Spectrum. He managed to rip some of the tubes that were attached to the villain's body, which spurted some greenish goo all over the place.

"How about we take this outside, bonehead?" -Chat Noir exclaimed, as he grabbed one of the tubes and threw it at Spectrum's face, blinding for a moment. –"Cataclysm!"

Firing the attack, and then throwing himself over Spectrum, Chat Noir pushed him through the wall. Seeing themselves in the air, Spectrum tried to gain the upper hand by flying, but once more, Chat was not going to let go off him. Digging his left claw on him, he used the other to snatch Spectrum's red globe and smash it on the villain's face, hearing it crack. From inside it, a thick fog wrapped them both, but even that was not enough for Chat to let go of him.

"I'm going to break that ugly mug of yours, buster!" -Chat Noir said, as he kept punching him as hard as his fists allowed him.

At the same time, the giant body Spectrum had built, using parts from the haunted Luna Park, and where he had trapped most of the Miraculous Team, began to slowly shake, only to start breaking apart like a house of cards. Without Spectrum controlling it, it seemed like it had lost its magic. This proved to be both a good thing, as well as a bad thing. The good thing about it was that as the whole thing came apart, the heroes that had been dragged and trapped inside it, were now free. The bad thing was that with all of them either passed out or too exhausted to even move a muscle, it was up to Carapace to save the day. Signalling Panda Rouge that he was going to make the energy shield disappear, so he could focus on catching the others, Panda nodded his head.

"Don't hesitate. Do it." -Panda told him

Doing just that, the energy shield disappeared, and they saw themselves falling. But, not for too long, as Carapace used his tonfas to create smaller separate energy bubbles around them, while also doing the same for the heroes he saw falling.

"Got to catch them all! I can't let any of them fall! I got to catch them all!" -Carapace told himself. Only later did he realize that without wanting, he had quoted the original Pokémon catchphrase.

He quickly spotted Queen Bee, Dragonfly and Grizzly Bear coming down fast, and made energy bubbles around them. Next, he spotted Forest Doe, Antilope, Flamingo, Arachnid and Louve Grise. As he encapsulated them, he kept his eyes open for the three remaining members of the team, Corbeau Noire, Ladybug and Rena Rouge.

"Where are they?! Where are they?!" -Carapace thought. –"Don't tell me I didn't see them and they're getting squashed under the falling debris?!" -he said to himself, already thinking about the worst case scenario.

He was beginning to panic, when he saw Ladybug falling, followed by Corbeau Noire, both unconscious. Not wasting a second, he placed them into energy bubbles, while still looking for Rena Rouge. Time seemed to slow down, as his eyes roamed the sky, looking for the fox heroine. Not spotting her, was making him anxious. When the behemoth's right arm began disintegrating, he finally saw his girlfriend, unconscious, falling, and the anxiety in his chest was replaced with a sense of relieve.

"Don't worry, Alya, I got you, girl!" -Carapace thought to himself, as he summoned another energy bubble, trapping her inside, mere moments before she hit the ground.

While Spectrum's giant body disintegrated into several chunks, some of them quite large, falling on top of the heroes, who were protected by Carapace's energy bubbles, as well as the supernatural creatures that were still roaming around, crushing them, Spectrum himself was being used as a punching bag by Chat Noir, who was wondering where he'd gotten that extra boost of energy, to deal with that akuma. They had been battling on the ground, just the two of them, for maybe twenty seconds, but it felt like they had been doing that for days.

"If you think that I, Spectrum, am going to let you win, you are sorrowfully mistaken!" -Spectrum growled in a theatrical way. Chat Noir had inflicted a pretty good deal of damage on the villain's body, especially on its head, which was now cracked in several points.

"Sorry, man, but the jig is up." -Chat Noir smirked, as he panted heavily. He knew he only had to hit the guy once more on the head to shatter it, so he focused on doing just that. –"It was fun, but I think Paris, as well as us, had enough Halloween for one night. So, what do you say we call it a night?" -he joked about it, mocking him.

"Shut up! Halloween will go on forever, and I will see to it, when I deliver your dead body, and your friends to my master!" -Spectrum growled. The once chivalrous akuma now looked and behaved more like a savage creature, as he charged on Chat, determined to kill him.

Taking advantage of Spectrum's temporary insanity, Chat used his staff to defend himself from his attack, and then performing a summersault in the air, landing on top of the villain. Dropping on his knees, the next thing Spectrum felt was Chat's Cataclysm-powered fist smashing against his face. The sound of broken bones echoed in the air, as his head shattered into dozens of pieces, followed by a powerful explosion, which propelled Chat Noir in the air. Caught off guard, the feline was not expecting for the akuma to blow up, and as such, was forced to make use of his acrobatic prowess to land on his feet.

"Well, they say cats always land on their feet… though, this time I think I just had luck." -Chat Noir thought to himself, as he looked over his shoulder, and noticed that where Spectrum stood a moment before he exploded, there was a crater, where a black butterfly was flapping its wings. Looking at it, the feline hero knew just what to do. -"No more evil-doings for you, you stupid Akuma butterfly!" -he said, as he extended his staff. –"I relinquish you from evil!"

Saying that, the magic in his staff destroyed the akuma butterfly. With that taken care of, he focused on materializing the Ampulla Amulet to restore the city to its usual look; he just hoped it was powerful enough to revert everything Spectrum had done to the city. Usually, it was Ladybug who did that, but, just like everyone else on the team, he had also trained on using it, in case of an emergency. A powerful magical wave swept the area, making every supernatural creature disappear, as it continued to spread out in every direction, restoring Paris to its usual look. It turned the ruined amusement park they were in, into a regular park, filled with trees and beautiful green grass, while doing the same for the rest of the city. Those who had been turned into stone by a gorgon, or caught in the web of a giant spider, were freed, celebrating the heroes' victory. Once more, it was safe to walk in the streets. Holding the amulet in his left hand, he could not help but to smile, on a work well done, just before the last of his strength abandoned him, making him drop on his knees, exhausted. He was so exhausted that even if he wanted to, his muscles would not obey his brain. But, he did not mind. He had done it; he had defeated the akuma, saved his friends and restored the city back to normal. That was all that mattered. Just before passing out, at the distance, he heard the stroke of midnight, announcing the beginning of a new day.

"Nooooooooooooooooooo!" -Hawk Moth's screamed from top of his lungs, his enraged voice echoing through the walls of his hideout.

Hawk Moth was so certain Spectrum would be able to destroy the Miraculous Team, that he did not even ponder the possibility of him failing. So, when he saw what happened to what he had dubbed as his most powerful and diabolical creation ever, he could not believe his own eyes. And while the lair had been filled with a sentiment close to happiness, now it was filled with a sentiment that was the polar opposite of it. Hawk Moth was furious, and as he used his cane to blast everything that surrounded him, both Madame Romani and Reptile knew that he was not going to stop there. He was going to destroy pretty much everything there was around, to release his anger. Fleeing from their master's attacks, they each went into a separate direction, looking for a place to hide.

"He's gone mad!" -Madame Romani thought to herself, as she was nearly vaporized.

"Maybe it's best if we leave him alone… I don't feel like being blasted into Kingdom Come tonight!" -Reptile thought to himself, as he literally slithered away.

This went on for several minutes, until finally Hawk Moth stopped. Still, the anger inside him had not subsided. In fact, it kept growing, running through his veins like a damn poison, not allowing him to calm down. He had not felt like that in centuries. He and his plans had been thwarted countless times before, over his countless reincarnations. But never had he been that close to eliminate the miraculous heroes, once and for all. The closest he had been was 200 years before, when all the heroes thwarted his rise to power. And once again, History was repeating itself.

"I can't believe Spectrum failed me!" -Hawk Moth growled. –"I was this close to defeat those kids… and once more, they managed to get away with it." -he muttered to himself.

He was mad at everything right then, including himself for trusting Spectrum's inflated ego. Had he forced him to kill all the heroes he had caught; the world would be eleven heroes shorter than before. But, instead, all the heroes had survived… they were most likely broken and bruised, but they were alive. And it was all because he trusted too much in one of his creations… that, and Chat Noir's resilience.

"Curse that Chat Noir…" -Hawk Moth screamed, more furious than ever. –"You and your friends might have won this time, but there is always next time, and believe me when I say that I will not make the same mistake again." -he thought to himself. –"Next time we meet, I'll make sure it will be the last time."

"Adrien?! Adrien, wake up! Please, wake up!"

The feline hero did not know how long it had been, since he passed out, after fighting and defeating Spectrum. The only thing he knew, was that that voice, to whomever it belonged to, had awakened him. Sill groggy, he tried to open his eyes, to see who was calling him, but he did not even have the strength to do such a thing. So, instead, he focused on the voice, and while trying to focus on opening his eyes, attempted to recognize who was calling him out.

"Dude! Wake up!" -the voice kept calling him.

At first, he thought it was a male voice. But after listening to it with a little more attention, he knew it was a female voice; a voice he knew. It was Alix's voice, who was calling his name.

"Adrien! Come on, wake up! Don't scare us like that!" -Dragonfly exclaimed as she placed her hand on the blond's chest and shook him gently. She did not know if he had any broken bones and did not want to risk it.

Finally gathering enough strength, he managed to open his eyes, and see his friend looking at him. As for Dragonfly, she sighed out of relief. For a moment, she thought Chat was dead.

"H-H-Hey…" -Chat Noir said with a weakened voice.

"Hey, there! You scared the hell out of us!" -Dragonfly smiled, as she turned her head and looked over her shoulder. –"He's alright!" -she yelled at the others. –"Sorry, if I'm not who you were expecting to wake you up, kitty-cat."

"W-What are you t-talking about?" -Chat Noir asked her. It was hard for him to talk, so, he was choosing the words carefully,

"Oh, come on, it's me you're talking to, Adrien." -Dragonfly smiled. –"Don't tell me you wouldn't rather have a certain ladybug to come and check out if you were okay?" -she joked. Like pretty much everyone else, she knew about his crush on her, and vice-versa. She could go on the rest of the night with the jokes, but she knew her friend was in pain, and would want to know about the rest of the team. –"Don't worry, she's okay. Nino's taking care of her right now. What about you? Are you hurt?"

"M-Maybe a broken rib or t-two… I-I-I d-don't know." -Chat Noir declared, as he tried to get up, but was unable to move.

"Don't worry, if you have anything broken, Nino can fix you up. Let me help you." -Dragonfly said, as she helped him to get up, putting his right arm over her neck. As she did that, Chat noticed she had a couple of scratches on her left cheek, as well as a bruised eye. –"Come on, try to stand on your feet. I'm too tired to fly, so you have to help me, okay?"

"O-Okay." -Chat waved his head, as he began to walk, at a very slow pace.

"Use your staff to help you walk." –Dragonfly told him.

Step by step, the two of them walked the distance that separated them from the place where Carapace was tending the rest of the Miraculous Team, with a little help from Rena Rouge, who was the first one he used his healing powers on. While he healed them, the fox heroine made sure to keep those who were in greater pain talking, to help them distract from the pain. When they arrived, Carapace had just finished healing Panda Rouge and Antelope, and was going to start healing Queen Bee. Seeing his best friend alright, the turtle hero was about to greet him, when Antelope beat him to it.

"Well, if it isn't the great Chat!" -Antelope clapped his hands, as Chat smiled at him. –"Thanks for saving the day, man! We wouldn't be here, if it wasn't for you."

"C-Can't… take all the c-credit for i-i-it. B-But thanks." -Chat smiled.

"Let me just take care of Chloe, and I'll help you out in a minute, bro!" -Carapace waved at him, as he focused on curing Chloe. She had sprained her ankle, just before Spectrum created his gigantic body, and was complaining that it hurt, more than her bruised wrists and her back. –"Okay, Chloe, try not to move…"

"Just get on with it, you idiot!" -Queen Bee spat the words, angrily. She just wanted the pain to stop. –"I'm sorry… I didn't mean that." -she declared. As soon as she called him that name, the bee heroine regretted saying it.

"I know, it's the pain talking. Don't worry. You called me worse before." -Carapace said, as he set her ankle in place, making her scream in agony. –"Okay, I've set it on place… I think."

"You think?!" -Queen Bee screamed at him, again.

"Save your strength, Chloe." -Louve Grise tried to calm down her friend. She had her left arm broken, in at least two places, but did not say a thing. Instead, she acted strong in front of her best friend, to give her courage.

"I'm sorry, it's the pain talking… it's just that… what if you don't heal my injury properly? You don't have a medical degree or anything. And, what if I end up limping for the rest of my life?!" -Queen Bee panicked. Just the thought of her ending up with a limp problem for the rest of her life, was enough to make her skin crawl.

"Don't worry. You're going to be fine, and you're not going to limp for the rest of your life. I may not have a medical degree, but after twisting an ankle, you get to know how to put it back in place again." -Carapace said, as he used his powers on the girl's leg. As soon as the healing energy was applied to the injured area, the pain began to disappear. –"Although, if I were you, I would think about faking an injury, to explain the possible temporary limping." -he suggested.

After healing the bee heroine, he asked Louve if she wanted him to look at her arm, but she insisted he should take care of Chat first, who was in way worst shape than she was. Going to where the feline hero had sat, with a little help from Dragonfly, he smiled to his friend.

"You gave us quite the scare, when you didn't get up, bro." -Carapace told him, as he kneeled in front of the feline hero.

"Y-You know how I am…" -Chat joked about it, trying to hide just in how much pain he was. –"A-Always… Always looking for… a big finish."

"Yeah, I know." -Carapace smiled. –"Now, let's see if you have anything broken… oh, looks like a couple of broken ribs. Don't worry, I'll fix you up in a jiffy."

"H-How's Marinette?" -Chat Noir asked him, worried about her well-being.

"Ayla's over there with her. She's in a worse shape than you are." -the turtle hero pointed to where the scarlet heroine was. She was lying on the ground, with Rena Rouge kneeled by her side, talking to her.

"Then, why didn't you help her?" -Dragonfly, who was sitting by Chat's side, asked him, in protest.

"Because she insisted on getting everyone else healed, stating that she could wait a little longer." -Carapace answered her.

It was a noble act from the leader of the team. But even so, it did not feel right for her to tell Carapace that. Chat Noir nearly told him to go and help her out, but he knew just how persuasive she could be, when she wanted to. As he fixed up Chat, Flamingo and Corbeau Noire were in each other's arms, like they used to do, when one of them was either too tired, or scared of anything.

"Are you sure you're alright?" -Flamingo asked her girlfriend.

"I should be the one asking you that." –Corbeau Noire told her, always smiling. –"You were the one who jumped in front of me, to protect me." -she declared. The two of them were always looking out for one another, but this time, the pink heroine was faster, and prevented Corbeau from even trying to save her.

"I'm fine, don't worry." -Flamingo said, always smiling. –"I only ended up with a few scratches… and maybe, a few bruises around my shoulders and knees."

"And one broken shoulder." -Corbeau Noire reminded her. She would have not broken it, if instead of jumping in front of her, she would have run, leaving her behind, like she ordered her to do.

"Which Nino has already fixed. I'm alright, Juleka." -Flamingo told her, always smiling. She was relieved they were alright, and that everything turned out okay in the end.

"Just checking, Rose." -Corbeau Noire smiled at her. The only thing preventing her from kissing her right there, was the fact that they had promised to keep their relationship a secret from the others, until they saw the time was right to tell them. So, instead, she hugged her, while being careful. She did not want her to scream in pain.

And not far from them were Grizzly Bear and Forest Doe, talking to one another. From the two of them, Doe was the one the injuries were less serious. Apart from a couple of bruises and a headache, she was alright. Grizzly on the other hand had a dislocated shoulder and was trying hard not to show any pain in front of her. As they talked, he remembered about the ring that was in his pocket, and how he was going to ask her to be his girlfriend that night. But, after all they went through, he decided to save it for another occasion. Right then, he just wanted to be with her, and talk to her, like they always did.

Laying on the grass, Ladybug tried her best to ignore the pain she was in. And to do that, she was nearly forcing Rena Rouge to keep talking to her. While talking, her brain would be too busy processing the conversation, to remind her of the pain. Still, with a slightly dislocated shoulder, some broken ribs and a broken leg, it was no easy task to ignore the pain.

"Everyone's alright, girl. Adrien saved us." -Rena Rouge smiled to her friend.

"I know… He did a w-wonderful job." -Ladybug smiled, trying not to think about the pain. –"If it wasn't… f-for him, we would probably not be h-here, talking."

"Marinette, please, don't talk so much. You got to save your strength, until Nino comes here to fix you up." -Rena kept smiling at her. Right then, she wanted to believe that both her voice and her smile could be as good as any painkiller.

"I can't… my leg's killing me!" -Ladybug exclaimed, as she tried to hold her tears. Marinette had never broken any bone, and that kind of pain was completely new for her. That had been their toughest battle yet, and that was one of the results of the outcome.

"You should have let Nino cure you, when you woke up. You're hurt. You look like you were hit by a speeding truck, girl." -the fox heroine declared.

"But so were you." -the scarlet heroine pointed out the fact.

"I had a broken wrist, that's nothing compared to you, or Sabrina, or Kim there, girl." -Rena reminded her. –"I know you want to be a good leader and friend and all, but you got to think about yourself too. Even Master Fu would agree with me on this one. An injured or dead leader is a worthless leader, Marinette." -she said.

When she heard her best friend say those words, the scarlet heroine realized that she was right. And she also realized that maybe, she was unfit to lead the team. A good leader should have seen that last scheme from the akuma coming and should have come up with a quick way to counterattack it. But most of all, a good leader would have never stopped believing they would prevail in the end.

"Don't tell anyone, but… for a moment, I lost all hope. I thought we had lost." Ladybug sighed, once more trying her best to hold her tears. –"I really did… what kind of a leader am I, when I think that there was nothing we could do, Alya?" -she said. One could hear the sadness in her voice, mixed with the pain.

"Girl… you're being too hard on yourself. You're just human, like all of us." -Rena smiled, as she gently squeezed her hand. –"I'll tell you what kind of a leader you are. You are a thoughtful, compassionate and brave leader, who sees the best in everyone, and who's always thinking about the others well-being. You're a great leader… a leader with a great heart, who can be a little clumsy at times, but that's okay. It's part of what makes you so amazing. If we wanted a perfect leader, then we would ask Nathaniel there, to draw us a cyborg." -she joked, tying to make her smile, and manging to do it.

"I don't really deserve you as a friend… I would give you a hug, but…"

"Save it for later, girl. For when you're back on your feet." -the fox heroine said, as she noticed Carapace and the others closing in on them. –"Guess the doctor will see you now." -she joked.

As Carapace healed her, everyone formed a circle around Ladybug. While the healing energy healed her body, she looked at her friends, and saw that they all looked better. The turtle hero had healed them, and apart from a few bruises, aching muscles and exhaustion, they looked alright. Still, they were going to need a couple of days to get their strength back.

"There, I think you're all set." –Carapace smiled. It was only when he finished healing everyone, that he realized just how exhausted he was. –"I think I'm going to sleep for a whole day straight."

"Allow me, milady." -Chat Noir smiled, as he gallantly offered his help.

"Thank you." -Ladybug smiled back, as she grabbed the feline hero's hand, and pulled herself up. Her leg was still hurting, but it was nothing compared to what it hurt when it was still broken. The blue-haired girl believed that in a couple of days that pain would disappear, and she would be good as new.

"Guess that's that." -Forest Doe declared.

"I would say so. The day's been saved, and we did a pretty good job saving it." –Louve Grise said.

"Yeah, but I think there's one of us, who deserves a little bit more credit than the others." -Panda Rouge said, as he looked at Chat Noir.

"Oh, come on, I was just lucky. If you guys had been in my shoes, you would have done the same thing." -Chat Noir smiled, a little embarrassed. –"Plus, I can't take full credit for being the one who saved the day. My bro, Nino, and you, Nathaniel, you also saved the day today, by giving me the tools to make it happen."

"Well, if you only want a third of the credit, I'll take one of the other two thirds. We'll do this like when Miss Bustier assigns us a team project." -Carapace joked, making the others laugh a little.

"Speaking of Miss Bustier, do you think she returned to normal?" -Flamingo asked the others.

"I bet she did. I mean, everything went back to normal, so I guess she's not a statue anymore." –Arachnid declared.

"Imagine if from now on we had a statue as a teacher. That would be ridiculous!" -Queen Bee exclaimed. –"Our parents would flip at the thought of it… well, at least mine would."

When Queen Bee said those last words, an alarm went off inside Ladybug's mind, reminding her of something rather important.

"OH MY GOD! My parents and Manon! I completely forgot about them!" -Ladybug exclaimed in panic. –"I bet they tried to call me, to see if I was alright." –she said, as she grabbed her yo-yo and checked for any calls or text messages. What she saw, almost gave her a heart attack. –"65 missed calls?! My mom's probably thinking that I'm already in the city morgue!"

"Calm down, girl! Just call her back and tell her you're alright." -Rena Rouge said, as she too checked to see if she too had any missed calls or texts. –"22 from my mom. 10 from my dad. And 78 texts from my sister, Nora. Why am I not surprised?"

"I got 30 calls from Nathalie… if she told my dad that I didn't pick up the phone, he's going to ground me, until the next millennium." –Chat sighed, already imagining the probable outcome.

As the others also checked to see how many missed calls and texts they had been sent during all that commotion, Ladybug called her parents to assure them she was alright. With the phone ringing, she wondered what she would say to her parents.

"Hello?" -Ladybug said, at the sound of someone picking up.

"Marinette, is that you?! Are you alright, sweetie?!" -Sabine asked her daughter over the phone. Just by the tone of her voice, one could tell the woman was quite anxious.

"Mom! Yes, I'm alright, don't worry. What about you, dad and Manon? Are you alright?" -the scarlet heroine asked her.

"We're fine, honey. We managed to find a place to stay, while all this happened." -Sabine told her, as she signalled her husband that their daughter was alright. –"I don't know exactly what happened, but something tells me Ladybug and her friends must have had a busy night tonight."

"I know. The akuma that turned the city into Halloween Town showed up in our school." -Ladybug told her mom, but immediately regret doing it.

"The akuma?! In your school?! Are you sure you're really alright? You're not just saying that you're alright, because you don't want me to get worried?!" -Sabine exclaimed, bombarding her daughter with questions.

"No, mom, don't worry, I'm okay, for real. My friends and I managed to find a place to hide. We're alright, and we're beginning to head back home now. I'll see you, dad and Manon there."

"Oh, okay. But remember, be careful." -Sabine said, as she hung up.

Finished with the call, she saw the others also talking to their parents, explaining what had happened, and lying about where they had been. The only thing left to do was calling it a night and go home. But, the last part of that plan was going to be a little tricky. Exhausted, with almost no strength left in them, having to cross half the city was going to take them a lot longer than usual, and that was if no reporters showed up. In fact, she was quite surprised none had showed up yet to interview them. Luckily, she had a plan to get everyone home in a jiffy. She just needed the help of someone, who on that night, had been one of the three team members who had saved the day. Waiting for him to end talking to his parents, she walked to Panda Rouge, to ask him a little favour.

"So, is everything okay with your parents?" -Ladybug asked Panda Rouge, who had just finished talking to them.

"They're both fine. My mom's still a little in shock, because she was almost giant spider food, but she'll be alright." -Panda Rouge smiled. –"What about yours?"

"They're both fine, and so is Manon." -the scarlet heroine said. –"Look… I know that you already did so much this evening, but… could I ask you one last favour? Could you use your drawing skills, and come up with something to take us all home?"

"No problem, Marinette. I still have a little bit of juice in me. And I got just the thing to do that job." -he smiled at her.

Hello everyone! First of all, I apologize for taking so long to update this story. It's almost Halloween again, and it's not finished. Luckily, the next chapter is the epilogue, and I can promise you that it will be finished in a couple of days at best (It could be finished by tomorrow, but with me being a little sick at the moment, it could take me a little longer). Still, I want to thank you all for being this patient with me. This job, alng with a mild depression is sucking both the time and the energy out of me. Don't worry, I already went to the doctor, and I'm going to work this out, while also looking for another job in meantime. And, before anyone asks, yes, I've been receiving terrific ideas and suggestions from some of you. I wrote them all, and if I happen to see a way I can use them in a future story, I will. Hope you enjoyed this chapter. So feel free to tell me what you thought of it..