A/N

There were some calls for a fight scene, but alas, I decided to skip it. I hope there is enough info about the fight in this chapter to satisfy.

I want to thank Mayuralover for helping me with my insecurities and beta reading the story. I really appreciate the time you spent on it.

Chapter 16: Aftermaths

"Miraculous Ladybug!" the rubber ducky flew up in the air and burst into thousands of tiny ladybugs. The bugs flew past The Leaning Tower of Eiffel, straightening it to its original shape. They flew through the Le Grand Paris rebuilding the top three floors. The cars littering Paris's rooftops made it back to their original parking spots, gazed on by their bewildered owners. The bugs fixed up the rubble of the Agreste Mansion, mended Ladybug's split lip, Carapace's broken arm, Rena's bleeding abdomen, and Chloe's cracked skull. The latter already detransformed and lying unconscious in the corner. Rena, fully recovered, went to check on her.

In the middle of the room, lying near each other where the two Agreste men. Gabriel knocked out while Adrien blinking away confusion.

"What happened? How did I get here? Ladybug? Carapace?" his gaze moved around the room. "Father?"

He crawled closer, lifting his father's head to his lap.

"Did Hawkmoth akumatize my father again?"

"No Dude, I think you're forgetting something. What's the last thing you remember?"

Adrien looked up in surprise. "Why can't I remember...Oh!...It was me."

"At least he has the decency to look embarrassed," Carapace said to Ladybug. "I wonder how he would react when he finds out he was transformed at the time."

"What? You know?"

"Dude! Do you have any idea how difficult it is to fight an akumatized Chat Noir? What with Hawkmoth in the mix I was sure we were goners. If you weren't so obsessed with your girlfriend I don't think we could have beaten you."

"Hawkmoth," Adrien sat up. "He was here."

"He still is," Rena called from the side, a beep emanating from her amulet. "I'm going to transform soon and Chloe is waking up."

"Your choice Rena, you too Carapace," Ladybug spoke for the first time. "Everyone else here knows who the other is."

"I'm good to stay with my boy here," Carapace said. "I'm sorry Marinette, I know he's an idiot and I'm not defending him, but he is still my best pal."

"It's okay, I understand," Ladybug smiled at him. "You're a good friend."

"Rena," Carapace turned to the fox, "you don't have to stay. I know you like your secrets."

Rena looked around until her eyes met Chloe's looking up at her.

"You know, Queen Bee and I have become close friends. After her shock at discovering Marinette is her hero, she needs to know who her best friends are. You know Chloe, it's been difficult being around you at school when I know the bitch is just a mask and the real Chloe is the one wearing the mask."

"You also know me at school?" Chloe asked, shocked. "And you're still my friend?"

"Chloe darling," Rena smiled. "Marinette knows how you can be better than anyone, and she still gave you the Miraculous."

Her miraculous gave a loud beep and in a flash of light Alya sat in her place.

"Ridiculous," Chloe said, tears dripping from her eyes. "Utterly ridiculous."

The two girls hugged each other.

"Alya?" Adrien, who was forgotten during the touching exchange, perked up. "And you…"

"Dude, of course it's me. Wayzz, shell off." A detransformed Nino took a bow.

Adrien looked around at his friends, avoiding Ladybug. He looked at his father.

"No!" the anguish in the cry tore at Ladybug's heart. She knew this was coming, from the moment she spoke to Natalie. She was still not ready for it. Her bitterness at what he's done to her was still fresh but her heart still ached to help him. She couldn't abandon him when his life was about to fall apart. She will need to help Adrien the boy and push until later dealing with Adrien the boyfriend.

Ladybug knelt beside him, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Adrien. It is true. It was him all along."

He turned to her, tears building in his eyes. She felt his pain as if it were her own.

"Hawkmoth," he said. "In my own house. How could I have been so stupid?"

"You're not stupid. At least not about that." She couldn't help herself.

"Ah," he's eyes told her he understood. "I...I'm sorry."

"We'll leave that for later," she attempted to soften her tone. "For now we have enough to deal with. I have other news which are both good and not so good."

"I'm not sure how much more I can take."

"This might help deal with the rest of it. You see, your father had good reasons to get our Miraculous. They were not evil as we thought, at least, not in the beginning. I suspect that after years of chasing power, he lost the way."

Adrien simply sat there, unaware he was still holding his father. Ladybug suspected he was no longer unconscious.

"Adrien, your mother is not dead or missing. She's in a coma."

Adrien's reaction was immediate. His eyes cleared, his attention focused on her words. His lips moved with no sound, forming the word 'alive'.

"It is some kind of magical coma caused by the Peacock Miraculous. He believed only the wish of using our Miraculous will heal her."

"How do you know this?"

"Natalie gave me some information and Hawkmoth filled in the gaps it when I confronted him with it. The not so good news is that I don't know if he's wrong. We'll get the kwamis and Master Fu to check her. Please don't get your hopes up too soon. She might remain in a coma."

Adrien looked lost. Too much information at once was tearing him apart.

"And the wish?" he said at last, eyes begging.

"Sorry, Adrien. You know it has a cost. There is always a balance and to heal her the wish will affect someone else."

Adrien looked away, ashamed. "I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking."

"It's your mother. I understand."

"And you?" Adrien was looking at her again.

"What about me?"

"Will only a wish heal what I did to you?"

Once again her heart betrayed her. How did he manage to get her to feel such strong and contradictory emotions? She hated him and loved him. She was mad at him and wanted to hug him. She wanted to hit him and kiss him.

"I don't know," she said honestly. "When you were an akuma all you wanted was to destroy me. Complaining about your bitch of a girlfriend who did not appreciate how much you loved her. You affected half the women in Paris, sending them to beg their partners for forgiveness at any and everything they have ever done, or thought they've done."

"This is so embarrassing. I'm really sorry," Adrien hung his head.

"It helped that the moment Hawkmoth hurt me, you turned on him to defend me. All your rage was directed at him, he didn't know what hit him. You were the one who knocked him unconscious. That was how we won this fight."

"I did some good," Adrien said.

Ladybug watched him in silence. She still loved him, and he definitely loved her. Could she put the past behind them? He's made some huge mistakes. It was a mess.

"The thing is," he continued, "I'm not sure if it is enough to counter all the bad I did."

The bigger question - could he change his jealous ways? Could she trust him?

"Neither am I," Ladybug whispered, "neither am I."

Next Chapter: Epilogue