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No More Masks
He wasn't going to let this happen. He couldn't. He asked her, not trying to hide his fear, his fist pounding on the glass, "M'Lady, what are you doing! You can't trust Hawkmoth, or Blanc! You can't do this! You can't let them use you this way!"
He saw her shoulders stiffen, but she ignored him, even as Blanc turned to him smiling, "Use her? We are giving her a choice, unlike the lot of you holders who flaunted power in her face and refused to acknowledge the power she has. You most of all." He let out an unamused laugh, "Besides, I heard through the grapevine that you have your precious Ladybug now, why do you care about one unvaried who means nothing to you?"
His response was instant, "She's not an unvaried. She's a holder who has the potential to be more powerful than everyone in this room, including me. I've always seen it, and I've never tried to deny the power inside of her that has been fighting to come out." He stared at her, saying it softer, "No matter what is holding her power back, or whether it ever reaches its true state or not, she is the best of all of us. The best of me."
She was holding perfectly still, but he could see the tear falling down her cheek as he smiled at her, "There is no one on this earth, who will ever mean more to me than she does."
"You turned your back on her! You think your false praise means anything?!" Blanc snapped at him angrily. "All you've done is hurt her and I'm not going to stand here and let you anymore!"
Hawkmoth said it hard, "That's enough Blanc. Lady is her own person and can speak for herself."
Blanc's hard glare never left Chat Noir's as Lady said it slowly, "I know what you want Hawkmoth, and I know you are probably the only person who can remove this protection seal. Your offer is, generous, and more than I know I deserve."
Blanc started to smirk again but Chat Noir didn't care. He had picked up on it instantly, a protection seal, not a dormant akuma. He almost wanted to laugh in relief. If it was really just a protection seal, Master Fu would be able to remove it without hurting her. They'd be able to release her power in full, without anything else holding her back.
His Lady kept going after a short pause, turning and walking towards where he was trapped, her eyes holding his, "And you are right, I do know the holders. I know them enough to know how most of them would react to me, and I know that a few of them would immediately trust me given how much time I've spent with them already."
He watched as she looked up at Hawkmoth, saying it defiantly, "And I wouldn't betray their trust for anything. Not for any amount of power in the world! I'll never let you get your hands on any of the Miraculous!"
A smile erupted on his face as his heart swelled in pride. Blanc's face fell in shock as Hawkmoth told her evenly, "Such a waste." He snapped his fingers and manacles appeared at her wrists, connected to a long chain that was now embedded into the floor, pulling her down forcefully to her knees as they shortened suddenly.
"NO!" He screamed, slamming his hand against the cage holding him in.
"It's okay." She whispered, catching his eyes for a second before looking up at Hawkmoth who sighed, "It's such a shame. I was hoping to do this without resorting to such measures but, it can't be helped."
Hawkmoth stepped towards his Lady and he warned him angrily, "Don't you dare touch her!"
Hawkmoth ignored him, holding his hand out towards Lady who grabbed at her shoulder, screaming as she doubled over in pain.
"M'Lady!" He shouted, rising up to his full height on his knees as he pounded his fist into the clear wall.
Hawkmoth lowered his hand and Lady fell forward on her hands, breathing heavily as tears streamed down her face, her entire body trembling.
"What did, you do to me?" She asked shakily, her voice scratchy after screaming that way.
"Reinvigorated the power seal I placed on you ten years ago." Hawkmoth said with a sneer.
Chat Noir's eyes widened as Lady asked, "Ten, ten years ago, but why,"
"You are still as much of a nuisance now as you were as a child, but this time your defiance will cost you dearly. By midnight, whatever power you had building will be sucked into the seal and transferred straight to me. Congratulations, it will be your power that will fuel me, and I'll make sure that not a single holder is left standing by the time I get done," he said it mockingly, "little Ladybug."
Hawkmoth stared at him smiling wickedly, "Enjoy the show Chat Noir, and know that you were helpless to save the Ladybug you were supposed to protect."
Hawkmoth walked out of the room triumphantly, Volpina right at his heels.
Blanc stared at Lady sadly, telling her shaking his head, "You did this to yourself."
He walked out without looking back, and Evillustrator hesitated for the briefest of seconds before following, leaving them alone.
Chat watched shocked as a small hole appeared in the clear wall closest to Lady, just big enough to fit his hand through.
He told Lady instantly, "M'Lady I'm so sorry. I never meant to hurt you, I never would have,"
"I know." She said quickly as she pushed herself up to sit on her ankles, her eyes giving him a soft look, "I'm not upset, I promise."
He frowned, telling her the truth, "You should. Rena said you saw," he hesitated, "That you heard me say,"
"I did." She said, her eyes still looking at him in that soft way, saving him the trouble of trying to get it out.
"Then how can you sit there and still look at me like that?" He asked, wishing that she would yell and scream at him for what he did.
Her eyes seemed to get brighter, making his guilt worse, "It wasn't your fault. You were being controlled by Lady Chance. If Queenie hadn't found me after I left the Audience Chamber and helped me,"
"Bee helped you? As in Queen Bee, the same Queen Bee who has no problem taking her anger out on you, THAT Queen Bee?" He asked quickly in shock, his heart lifting at hearing her small laugh.
"Yes, that Queen Bee. She had seen you with the girl and said that she knew instantly that something was wrong with you. She found me just outside of my room, pulling me in and telling me to get myself together because that wasn't you. That she knew without a doubt something was going on with that girl because she knew that you loved me and would never hurt someone you loved that way."
She stared down at her hands, and he saw the blush on her cheeks just above the mask, telling her softly, "I do."
She looked up and he smiled at her, saying it longingly as he stared into her beautiful eyes, "I do love you m'Lady."
Her eyes glistened as she asked, he could practically hear the smile on her face, "And, that has nothing to do with the fact that Hawkmoth just called me Ladybug?"
He smiled wider, "Not a chance in hell."
She let out a small laugh as the tears in her eyes fell, telling him as she tried to pull herself together, "I love you too Kitty, so much."
He put his hand up to the glass, wishing more than anything that he could have her in his arms and kiss her senseless.
"I really want to kiss you right now." He admitted desperately because he couldn't hold it in.
Her eyes glittered mischievously and he knew she was smiling, pushing back the dark inside of him with her light, "Shouldn't we be trying to find a way out of here?"
"We will." He promised her, smirking, "But that doesn't mean I can't wish to have the girl I love in my arms after hearing that she is feline the same way I do."
Lady rolled her eyes with a small groan, "And there he is. I wondered how long it would take for you to throw a pun in there."
He laughed lightly, "Oh come on m'Lady, I can't pass up that kind of purr-fect chance."
She groaned, wrinkling her nose slightly, but he only smiled more before asking still a little confused, "So, you and Bee came up with a plan," she nodded and he asked trying to understand, "to do what exactly?"
She blushed slightly, "Oh, uh, well, we knew something was wrong, and then there was the issue of the mark on my shoulder," she touched it hesitantly before correcting herself, "the seal. She said she had been thinking about it for a while, and thought that I could probably get close to Hawkmoth without raising suspicion because of the constant attempts of the Akuma to take me. If I could get in, I could at least find where he has been hiding all this time, and we could finally do something about it. She told me to renounce the mask, and to leave my ID. She threw this mask at me," she pointed to the lower half face mask she had on, "and then told me to go home and be upset there."
He simply nodded, not wanting to interrupt. It was a good plan, not that he liked how Bee had basically used his Lady to infiltrate Hawkmoth's lair. Especially given the situation they had found themselves in now.
"She suspected that I would be approached by an Akuma and she was right. Blanc came and tried to convince me to come see Hawkmoth. The second he left, I texted her and she told me not to talk to any of the holders so that I wouldn't give myself away." She smiled shyly to herself, "She told me that being such a goody-goody, I was probably a terrible liar and they would all be able to tell that I was hiding something."
He said it low, "I want to say I can't believe her, but I do."
Lady nodded, "Yeah, but I managed to convince Blanc that I was upset. It wasn't really too hard since I was really upset at first."
"I'm sorry m'Lady." He told her again.
"No," she said quickly, a blush rising to her face, "you don't have to apologize, honest. I should have realized that something was wrong instead of getting upset the way I did." She looked down guilty, "I should have known that you would never hurt me that way, even if your feelings changed after finding your Ladybug."
"They didn't, and won't." He said easily, smiling at her. "Lady Chance didn't affect me the way I thought she would. I was happy, thinking I had found Ladybug, but I didn't feel anything for her. All I could think about was you." He said it somewhat angrily, "Turns out, Lady Chance was actually Volpina who was just controlling me." He told her feeling like he had to explain himself, "Everything I said, I said being controlled."
She told him gently, "You don't have to feel guilty for that Kitty."
"I hurt you." He said simply, staring into her eyes, "and that's something I never, ever, wanted to do."
She bent over suddenly, grabbing at her shoulder with a groan at the sharp twinge of pain that couldn't be ignored.
Chat asked instantly, "M'Lady are you okay?"
She nodded, taking deep breaths to push the pain down, "Yeah, yeah I'm okay."
"We have to find a way to get out of here so we can get you to Master Fu. If all that mark is, is really a power seal, he should be able to break through it." Chat said, "Before it drains your powers completely."
She asked him with a frown, "But why would he want my power? He said he put this seal on me as a child, but why? Why would he have done it?"
He smiled at her, already knowing the truth, "For the same reason he's been after you, because he's afraid of you. He's afraid of the power you really have, and the only reason he would be afraid is because he knows somehow what you keep trying to deny."
She told him instantly, "Because it's impossible Kitty. I can't be,"
"Why not?" He asked her quickly, "Healing powers, fixing the damage done by Akuma's, and a power seal to dampen your powers so that he can use them for his own gain? You are the only one who refuses to see it."
She was already shaking her head, "I can't be. I just can't. Without this mask,"
He watched in shock as she pulled the mask off, staring at him sadly with a very familiar face, "I'm no one special Chat Noir, I'm just, me. Plain and simple, clumsy,"
"Marinette." He whispered, everything finally clicking into place. The reason he was so drawn to the little mouse, why he felt as though it had been too easy to be her friend, why he almost kissed her at that photo shoot. His Lady was Marinette.
Marinette who had loved him as Adrien in high school, and fell in love with him again as Chat Noir.
"You remember now?" She asked worriedly.
He nodded, feeling like an idiot, "Of course it was you. It couldn't have been anyone else." He felt a small manic laugh escape, "I told my Lady I nearly kissed the little Mouse, who turns out to be my Lady who I had been imagining WAS my Lady."
He covered his face in his hands, "Oh god, I was literally sitting next to you at your house, texting you about yourself helping me."
He started shaking his head and realized it, "No wonder you stopped texting me at the ice rink after I suggested you used my name. I was already with you and it would have been awkward given what you had said about your crush on me in," he stopped mid-sentence, realizing that he was ranting out loud and not in his head like he had thought.
Marinette was staring at him in horror, his name slipping out of her in shock, "A-Adrien?"
He stayed silent and she covered her mouth with her hands, her face going red, "Oh my god. Oh my god I, I told you about, WHY DIDN'T YOU SAY SOMETHING BEFORE!"
He flinched, saying it guiltily, "I didn't want you to, be embarrassed."
"Are, are you really," she whispered shakily.
He let out a soft sigh and pulled the mask off, watching her eyes fill with tears.
"Oh my god." She buried her face in her knees, her voice muffled, "Great, just great Marinette. Not only did you finally manage to tell Adrien about your one-sided feelings, but you fell for him all over again like an idiot. God, why is this my life?"
"They aren't one-sided." He told her quickly, "Knowing doesn't change how I feel Marinette. I love you exactly the same, if not more."
She peered up at him with glistening eyes, "You never looked at me twice in high school."
He felt like she punched him in the gut, "I will never be able to apologize to you enough for that. I swear, if I had known you in high school the amazing way you knew me, I wouldn't have been able to help but fall in love with you. You are the only person I have ever met who actually saw past the walls I kept up, past the real mask I wore every day. I don't know how it's possible that you sat behind me all that time, and how I could have never noticed the beautiful, amazingly kind and caring, most hardworking, most passionate girl I've ever met."
He waited until she looked at him again to tell her, "Please believe me m'Lady. I do love you, with every fiber of my being."
He went quiet, giving her the chance to mull things over herself. The last thing he wanted was to pressure her. He did love her, and he hated that he had no idea HOW he couldn't have noticed in her in high school. Between all the contests she had won for his father, on top of sitting directly behind him, how blind could he really have been to NOT notice her?
Something like that, even the world wouldn't be that cruel to him. Fate wouldn't have put her in his path, just to blind him to what he had been looking for his entire life.
He sat back against the clear wall, fiddling with the mask in his lap with a frown on his face.
An idiot.
That's all he was.
A blind idiot who could only destroy everything in his path no matter how precious it was. 'Destruction comes at a price.' It was no wonder Master Fu had given him the phrase when he became the Black Cat. "I'm the destruction, and her love is the price." He muttered to himself.
"Don't think that."
His head snapped up, seeing her kneeling as close to his clear cage as she could. She reached out and touched the cage, her hand just able to make full contact because of the chains. "I, I don't know if I really am Ladybug or not, but I know that falling in love with you, twice," she said blushing as she looked down, "means something. I didn't have the courage to tell you in high school, but," she looked up at him, and he moved over to her, placing his hand over hers on the glass, "I love you, Adrien Agreste, and I'll always love you, no matter what."
He put his hand through the hole and took her hand, linking their fingers as he smiled, "And I, will spend the rest of my life showing you just how much you mean to me."
They smiled at each other lovingly, and he told her regrettably, "We should, probably put the masks back on."
She nodded and once the masks were back in place, he asked curious, "M'lady, if Hawkmoth put that seal on you as a child, surely you remember meeting him?"
She shook her head, "I don't. When I met you the first time, I swear that was the first time I had ever met someone with magic. I would remember meeting Hawkmoth, trust me."
He sighed heavily, "It doesn't make sense. All these big events that apparently happened, and yet there is no recollection of any of it. It's just like me and what happened at," he sat up slightly, "the park. Ten years ago." He blinked twice, it would make sense, "M'Lady what if, what if you were at the park that day I lost control? What if you,"
She caught on instantly, "If I was trying to help you, and my power showed itself the way it does now."
He felt like it was the truth as he said, "And Hawkmoth, he could somehow feel our power in the air. That could have been when he put the seal on you, realizing that your healing powers could be linked to Ladybug."
She pointed out the flaw, "But you said you were alone at the park, right?"
He frowned, "That's what Master Fu told me."
"And you said that the park had been destroyed, so why wouldn't my healing powers have fixed it if I was there?"
They both went silent, both of them hating that there were holes in this story that they couldn't fill.
He ran his hands through his hair frustrated, "UGH! I hate that I can't remember! I swear it's like someone magicked the memories out of me!"
Lady giggled, "Is that even possible?"
He huffed, "Easy, all you need is the right ingredients, or the right power."
They stared at each other with wide eyes, "Do you really think," "someone could have messed with our memories?"
He told her honestly, "I don't know, but the second we get out of here, we are going to Master Fu to find out. He has never been able to access the memories from that day inside of me, but that doesn't mean it will be the same with you."
"That's if I was there," she said quickly, "and if I actually showed power the way Ladybug is supposed to have."
He told her with a small smirk, "You are just going to keep denying it aren't you m'Lady?"
"I'm not Ladybug until after Ceremony, whether I am or not." She said sternly.
He chuckled to himself, "Stubborn bug."
She stiffened for a second before smirking at him, saying it teasing, "I should have just left you here when Bee told me to get out after you got captured."
His smile fell, "Wait, Bee told you I had gotten captured?"
She nodded and he asked her sternly, "You had a chance to get out of here and you didn't, because of me?"
She matched his stern stare, "You didn't think I was really going to leave you here as a prisoner, did you?"
"That's exactly what you should have done!" He said louder than he meant to.
"Would you have left me?" She asked instantly, putting a hand on her hip, her other hand awkwardly pulled to the same side because of the short chain that connected them in the middle.
"That is completely beside the point." He said, "I let myself get captured because I thought YOU were being held prisoner. They had you dangling off of the Eiffel Tower!"
"I didn't want to lose you!" She yelled angrily that the only reason he was in this situation was because of her, before blinking twice as it dawned on her, "Wait, the Eiffel Tower? I was never at the Eiffel Tower. I've been here in Sanctuary for hours. Bee told me that you guys were all going out to take care of a horde of Akuma's, but Blanc stood like a guard outside the room I was in. I was never in danger."
He felt like an idiot, "You, weren't there?"
She shook her head, "I promise I wasn't. Hawkmoth didn't want me out of Sanctuary in case any holders came to try and 'take me away'." She said, putting air quotes around the last part.
She said it slowly, "Chat, is, is that why you let yourself get captured? Because you were trying to save me?"
He nodded slowly, trying to rack his brains to what it could have been. An illusion maybe? But Volpina had been there as Lady Chance, so who could have done it? Had someone else taken over the illusion powers while she was Lady Chance?
"Oh Kitty." Lady said softly.
He felt himself starting to blush, her voice pulling him out of his thoughts as he admitted it, "I just, I didn't want you to lose you either."
They stared at each other before sighing heavily with small smiles, Lady saying it softly, "We really are two of a kind, aren't we?"
He nodded, "More than we realized."
They sighed again before Lady told him, "When Bee sent me the message that you had been captured, she tried to tell me to get out. I told her I wouldn't leave without you, and she said that once I found you that we shouldn't have any problem getting out so it should be okay, as long as I didn't do anything stupid."
He sighed heavily, sitting back on his legs, "Normally we wouldn't have had an issue, but there are two problems. I can't use cataclysm to get out of here because I'm not transformed, and I can't transform because these Akuma are holding Plagg hostage somewhere."
Marinette asked with a frown, "I thought kwami's couldn't be captured?"
"Usually they can't, but the Akuma who was guarding me when I first woke up practically gloated about Hawkmoth giving another Akuma the power to specifically capture a kwami." Chat said with a heavy sigh.
Marinette asked a little worried, "Can't you, call him to you? Since you are wearing the Miraculous?"
"I tried, the second I woke up and realized I wasn't transformed. As many times as Plagg has taken to sleeping somewhere and flat out ignoring my call just to be a pain and give me grief," he started smiling but it fell as he told her, "He has never not come when I really needed him."
"Maybe they really do have him then." Marinette said sadly.
"I didn't even think of that as an option, a kwami getting captured. Hawkmoth has thought things through, I'll say that much." Chat admitted, watching his Lady's shoulder's slump.
"Then, what are we supposed to do?" She asked.
He fiddled with the ring on his finger, the idea coming to him as he stared up at his lady with a wide grin.
She instantly looked suspicious, raising an eyebrow at him, "I don't like that look. What are you thinking?"
He lifted his hand up to show her his ring still holding his grin, "I think, it's time we gave you a Miraculous."
Her face went white, "You have got to be joking."
He said it excitedly, the plan forming quickly, "I'm not! My Miraculous is one of the only two, like yours," he fake coughed, seeing her roll her eyes, "that can be worn by someone else. I'm trapped, but I think Plagg left me enough power in the ring when he realized what was happening, to give me one small shot."
"Shot?" She asked, already sounding like she regretted it.
"A small shot of destruction. Not enough to do major damage, but maybe enough to break the manacles around your wrists so that you can get out. You can find Plagg, transform, and get out of here and back to Campus."
"Wait, wait, wait, you are not seriously thinking this is going to work, are you?" She asked incredulously.
He nodded excitedly, "M'Lady, I know this will work. It isn't going to be pleasant calling destruction out without Plagg there to level it, but I can do it. If you can get back to Campus, you can have Master Fu remove that seal before Hawkmoth can draw on your power. You can lead the others here,"
"And we can stop Hawkmoth for good." She said, understanding his train of thought.
He nodded, watching as she seemed to be racking her brain for something. He knew the instant she realized whatever she had been thinking about, "This, might work. Blanc brought me in, and most of the Akuma are afraid of his power. They may not question me walking around, if Hawkmoth, Volpina, and Blanc haven't said anything just yet."
"Do you think you can do it?" He asked, just wanting to make sure.
She nodded almost instantly, "I can try." She frowned slightly, "Will you be okay, alone here?"
He felt his stomach turn at thought but told her trying to smile, "As long as I know you are okay, I will be."
"Let's do it." She put her hand back out and he took it, telling her seriously, "You may feel a sharp static when I use my power, but,"
"You won't hurt me. I trust you." She said strongly, giving him the confidence he needed. She trusted him, and he would be worthy of that trust.
"Both hands." He told her, "I don't know if it will travel very far and we don't want to waste this shot."
She cradled his hand in both of hers, and he closed his eyes. He had to focus completely on his power only touching her restraints; hopefully, he could break the link holding her to the floor, maybe he could even open the manacles but the power couldn't extend into her body. He flipped his palm over in her hands, stretching his fingers out so that they rested lightly on the chain, praying to the kwami's that this worked. He found that small spark inside of him, letting it build slowly. He directed it to his hand, feeling the familiar pain of destruction move through his arm.
Pain was the true price of his power being used without an active Miraculous. It was a pain he hadn't felt in years, but it reminded him of how powerful his magic was, and of the responsibility he had to bear carrying this kind of power in the palm of his hand.
"There." He whispered to himself, his eyes opening quickly. He tightened his hand around the chain and pulled, the now brittle metal shattering into pieces.
Lady told him smiling brightly, "You did it!" She rubbed her newly freed wrists lightly and he asked instantly worried, "Did I hurt you?"
"No, not at all." She said quickly, "They were just tight." She moved closer as he looked down at his ring, now back to being silver. He took a shaky breath, not having been without this ring in ten years.
He pulled it off before he could change his mind and said it seriously, "I temporarily pass the Black Cat's ring to a new holder until it can be returned to me."
He put his hand through the hole and held it out to her, "I trust you. Tell Plagg I'm sorry?"
She nodded, "I'll tell him." She took the ring and placed it on her middle finger, the ring automatically adjusting to her size.
He smiled slightly, reminding her, "You know the phrase, once you transform, the Black Cat instincts from all of the previous holders will kick in. Don't fight it, and you should be able to get out with no problems. Let Master Fu know what is going on with the power seal on your shoulder, that needs to be your first priority."
She nodded again, removing her mask and promising him, "I will come back for you. You are MY Kitty, understand?"
He let out a soft, happy sigh, "And you are MY Lady."
She squeezed his hand, bending down and kissing his knuckles before reluctantly letting go when he told her, "Go."
She fixed the mask back into place and left the Atrium, the door closing with a soft click behind her.
Now, all he could do was wait.
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Au Revoir for now!
