Chat Noir looked at his baton, hearing Ladybug jumping over the rooftops and collecting the miraculouses again. Well, all the miraculouses except his, her own, and the Butterfly and Peacock miraculouses.
A cold breeze blew past his skin. He shivered as he looked around, half expecting to see Hawkmoth or Mayura watching him from a distance.
They weren't there.
No one was.
He was alone.
Chat Noir looked at the baton in his hand.
"L-Ladybug?"
"Chat Noir, are you okay?" Ladybug asked him though his baton.
"Yes, I just- can I go home?"
"Oh, I, uh- are you sure?"
"Yeah, I'm sure."
There was a few moments silence.
"Can you make it home by yourself?" Ladybug asked, worry evident in her voice.
Chat Noir bit his lip. He used his right arm to help himself stand up, and then tried walking.
"Yeah, I think so."
"If you really want to go home, I won't stop you. Just make sure you keep safe, okay?" Ladybug said.
"I will, thanks, Ladybug." Chat Noir said.
He angled his baton and extended it, holding on as tightly as he could. He breathed in sharply as his stomach pulsed, trying his best to ignore it. He landed on the roof of the bakery and slipped inside through the window he had left open earlier.
He landed silently on the floor, his right hand pressing the towel into the stab wound like Ladybug had told him too. He sat on the sofa and lay down.
"Plagg, Claws In."
Plagg landed on his stomach and looked worriedly at Adrien.
"You okay, kid?" Plagg asked.
"Y-yeah, I'm fine." Adrien said, closing his eyes.
"You don't need to pretend, I know about what happened with... Hawkmoth. I know how he's... your father. And how Nathalie's Mayura."
"They did if for my mother. I just- don't know how to feel." Adrien said.
"You don't need to know how to feel. You just need to make sure that you do feel something." Plagg said.
Adrien nodded, and opened his eyes, smiling at Plagg.
...
"You said you would give him a day!" Nathalie said.
"I can't wait that long." Gabriel said simply, picking up Nathalie's phone.
"He deserves a break from what we've done to him!"
"A break? I was doing this for him! It's his own fault!" Gabriel snapped.
"How is it his fault?"
Gabriel was silent. He turned her phone on and accessed Adrien's contact.
His son's contact.
No.
Adrien wasn't his son.
He accessed Adrien's contact, and started typing.
...
Ladybug ran along the rooftops, the Miracle Box now holding all the miraculouses, other than the Cat, Ladybug, Butterfly and Peacock miraculous. She headed home, knowing Chat Noir was home himself.
She landed on her balcony and detransformed.
Marinette slipped through the trapdoor and landed on her bed. She slid the Miracle Box beneath the bed, seeing Lila sleeping out of the corner of her eye.
"Marinette, I'm just going to- get a cookie!" Tikki said, smiling far too much.
"Uh, okay." Marinette said, seeing Tikki fly through the walls.
Tikki looked around the living room, seeing Plagg and Adrien talking to one another.
"Adrien! Are you okay?" Tikki flew down to him.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Adrien said, smiling tightly at her.
"No, you're not." Tikki said, before she was interrupted by Adrien's phone chiming.
Adrien picked it up, seeing that he had received a message from Nathalie. He was about to block her when his stomach started aching again. He curled up and accidentally dropped his phone.
"She says she can make it stop hurting if you do what she says." Plagg read the message aloud, while Tikki gave the phone to Adrien.
He typed a quick message that consisted of only two letters.
'No!'
Adrien whimpered quietly as the pain in his stomach increased slightly. His finger stretched and blocked the number. He gasped as his stomach started hurting even more, causing his eyes to dampen. He threw his phone to the other side of the room, as if it would somehow make his stomach stop hurting. The pain increased further and Adrien felt like he was going to faint.
"G-g-get it-" Adrien pointed to the phone and the kwamis picked it up and brought it to him.
He unblocked Nathalie, and felt the pain decrease slightly. He typed a message and pressed send.
'What do you want?'
Tikki and Plagg looked at the phone in horror as Nathalie started calling him. Seeing no other option, Adrien pressed 'answer'.
"Adrien." Gabriel's voice said through the phone.
"F-Fath-" Adrien whispered.
"I am not your father, you are not my son. But, you will do as I say." Gabriel said.
"N-no, you wi-" Adrien stopped speaking as the pain heightened in his stomach. He just about managed to squeak out a reply. "F-fine!"
"Good. I want you to go to Lila, and take something from her."
"W-w-what d-do you want?"
"I want the Peacock and Butterfly miraculous."
"She has them?"
"Yes. Now, get them."
"I c-can't-" Adrien whispered.
"Then you deserve this." Gabriel said.
Adrien bit his lip harder as his stomach hurt more. He rolled off the sofa and landed on his left arm, causing him to yelp.
"I-I will!"
"Good." Gabriel replied.
Adrien felt the pain decrease enough for him to stand. he stumbled over to the ladder that led into Marinette's room, and took a risk.
"I have them." Adrien lied.
He doubled over and fell onto the floor as the pain in his stomach doubled, and doubled, and doubled again.
"Do you really have them?" Gabriel said calmly.
"No."
"Exactly. Do not lie to me ever again. Get the miraculouses."
The pain decreased enough for Adrien to be able to stand. His legs wobbled, but he crawled up the ladder and opened the trapdoor. He crawled over to where Lila was sleeping and looked in her pocked, where he could see the faint outline of the miraculouses. He paused, unsure of how to proceed.
"Hurry up, child." Gabriel's voice burst through the phone.
Lila's eyes flickered open, and hardened as she saw Adrien about to reach into her pockets. She kicked him away, causing him to fall back and hit his back on the leg of Marinette's chaise. Lila stood up, and it suddenly clicked in her mind.
Gabriel and Nathalie had been talking about Gabriel's son earlier, and Adrien was Gabriel's son.
"You- you're Chat Noir! What were you doing?" Lila hissed, trying to keep her voice low.
"What's going on?" Marinette asked, waking up.
Lila snatched the phone away from Adrien before he could disconnect the line.
"Adrien, what are you doing?" Marinette said as she slid down the ladder.
"He had just fallen over, didn't you, Adrien?" Lila said smoothly, holding out her hand to Adrien.
Adien took it and allowed her to help him sit on the chaise.
"What is going on, child?" Gabriel's voice came through the phone.
"Adrien, you- you're with him?" Marinette asked, shocked.
"No, no, I'm not" Adrien said, trying his best to take the phone off Lila. But with the pain coming from his stomach, he couldn't reach very far. He heard Gabriel disconnect the line.
"Then what's going on here?" Marinette said, crossing her arms.
"She- Lila- Father- miraculous-" Adrien stuttered, panicking as tears began to form. He shakily pointed a finger to Lila's pocket, where the miraculouses were hidden.
Marinette followed his finger, but didn't see the miraculouses in her pocket.
"Adrien, tell the truth!" Lila said.
"I- I- he made me!" Adrien cried.
"Who?" Marinette asked.
"My Father-"
"Your father? He was on the phone, but you should have said no-" Marinette said.
"He was- m-making it hurt, though-"
"Making what hurt?" Marinette asked.
"M-my stomach." Adien whispered, sniffing.
"And how was he doing that?" Lila scoffed, even though she already knew. She was sure Adrien wouldn't reveal his identity to Marinette.
"I don't know..."
"He's lying." Lila said.
"He might not be." Marinette said. She glanced at Adrien's stomach. "Lie down. I'll call my parents. Do you want painkillers?"
"No, no, please, don't call them..." Adrien begged her.
"At least lie down, then." Marinette said.
Adrien lay down on the chaise, his hand wrapped around his stomach.
"So, what happened? You fell over, sure, but why were you in my room in the first place, and why were you talking to your father? He's Hawkmoth!" Marinette said.
"Because- I- because- wait, how did you know he was Hawkmoth?" Adrien asked, knowing Hawkmoth's identity had only been revealed a while ago.
Lila stood silently, putting the pieces together in her mind. Only the heroes had known about Hawkmoth's identity, so that meant Marinette had to be one of them. But, which one? Lila's eyes wandered to Marinette's ears, where black studs were placed.
Ladybug.
Marinette had to be Ladybug.
But, if Marinette was Ladybug, then Lila was stuck in a room with both Chat Noir and Ladybug, and she probably wouldn't be able to fight her way out. But, she couldn't just leave Adrien in pain like this. If she said there was a little ball inside him that was causing him the pain, they would become suspicous of her. But, if they saw the transformed version of her...
Lila slowly backed up towards the trapdoor on the floor.
"I knew he was Hawkmoth because... I, um, what told, by the police..." Marinette said, trying to come up with a reasonable excuse.
"The police told yo-" Adrien said, before suddenly gasping as his stomach started aching again.
"Adrien, are you okay?" Marinette asked, unsure of how to help him. She jumped as the trapdoor slammed shut behind her. She turned, and didn't see Lila anywhere.
"She- she had the miraculouses. The Butterfly and Peacock miraculouses." Adrien said, breathing heavily.
"What, how did she get them? Oh, no, no, no!" Marinette said.
"Wait, we need- we need to tell Ladybug- call- call Alya-" Adrien said, trying to stand up.
He fell over his own feet and collapsed into Marinette's arms.
"No, you just wait here. I'll call her." Marinette said as she picked up her phone and started texting Alya.
Adrien lay down again, his fingers digging at the stab wound without him knowing. He winced as he felt himself scratch off some of the scabbing that had formed. Marinette looked at him and gasped when she saw a small spot of blood appear on his top.
"Oh, Adrien, don't do that." Marinette said as she left her phone on the table and went over to him again. "I think you've scratched yourself. Do you mind if I take a look?"
"No, no, don't-" Adrien said desperately.
"It's bleeding more, let me at least clean it for you." Marinette said, getting a small hand towel.
Adrien looked up at the ceiling, and saw Plagg nodding to him. Adrien didn't seem to get the message, so Plagg flew down and whispered in his ear.
"Let her, kid, trust me. It'll be okay."
Adrien bit his lip, then nodded subtly to Plagg. Marinette came back, looking awkwardly at him.
"Uh, M-Marinette? C-can you just be g-gentle? It really hurts..." Adrien whispered to her.
Marinette looked at him softly and nodded. She slowly drew his shirt up, and gasped when she saw the partially healed messy stab wound in his stomach. Her mouth moved as she struggled to find her voice.
"A-Adrien... how- were you... stabbed?"
Adrien sunk down into the pillows, tears forming in his eyes. Marinette would probably send him to the hospital, his ring would get taken away and Ladybug would be angry with him and he would be all alone again.
"No, please don't cry. I'm sorry Adrien. Shall I call someone?" Marinette said, reaching for her phone.
"No, no! Please, don't!"
"Adrien! You've just been stabbed, you can't expect me to just- wait, you've just been stabbed... who stabbed you?"
"N-n-no-one-"
"Adrien, if you did this to yourse-"
"No, I didn't, it was just, it was just, uh- I fell over, and fell onto- something..." Adrien said.
"Let me at least call my paren-"
"No! They would probably make me go to the hospital, and I really don't want to go to the hospital."
Marinette frowned, remembering how Chat Noir had acted in a similar way. Then she remembered how Adrien had gone missing the same night Chat Noir was taken, and they had both reappeared at the same time. Marinette looked into Adrien's fearful green eyes, recognising them to be the eyes she had seen on Mister Bug.
"Adrien... are you Chat Noir?" she whispered.
"No, no! I'm not! I'm not! Really, I'm not!" Adrien said, his words quickly mashing together. He stood up, probably to leave the room, when he fell over again. Like last time, Marinette caught him.
"You are Chat Noir, aren't you?" Marinette whispered into his ear.
Adrien hesitated before he spoke.
"Please don't tell Ladybug! She's probably going to be really angry and might take away my miraculous, and-"
"Shh," Marinette said as she gently put a finger on his lips. "She already knows."
"What? How does she- wait, are you- are you Ladybug?"
"Yes, I am."
"And you were right in front of me this whole time? I- I'm so sorry! I never saw y-"
"Don't be sorry, I never would have guessed you were Chat Noir, and yet you were." Marinette paused. "And, I'm guessing you are really upset about Hawkmoth and Mayura's identities."
Adrien looked away and nodded, newly formed tears blurring his vision.
"I'm sorry, kitten. I should have seen how much this was affecting you sooner."
"They- they also know my identity..." Adrien whispered, his hand wrapped around his stomach.
Marinette breathed in sharply. She looked at Adrien's phone and picked it up, seeing that both Gabriel and Nathalie had blocked him.
"We'll find them, don't worry." Marinette said, helping Adrien sit on the chaise. "First things first, we need to deal with your stomach."
"It should be able to heal quickly when he's transformed." Plagg piped up, causing Marinette to jump.
"I don't think that's the problem, though. You said they were it hurt, right? How were they doing that?"
"I- I don't know. When I said I wouldn't do something, it started hurting more, and when I said I would, it stopped hurting as much." Adrien said.
"It's becau-"
"Ahh!" Marinette yelled, jumping again.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." the voice came from Marinette's bed, where a figure was crouched down below the open trapdoor.
Adrien and Marinette shared a glance, recognising the figure to be the one who had stolen the Butterfly and Peacock miraculouses. Marinette stepped in front of Adrien protectively, knowing he wouldn't be able to defend himself well.
"Who are you, and what do you want?" Marinette asked.
"I just want to help. I know how you can make it stop hurting, Adrien. Don't you want it to stop?" Lila jumped onto the floor, landing quietly. "I can help."
"Why should we trust you? For all we know, you're going to kill him!" Marinette said.
"Why would I do that? Let me just tell you how to get rid of the ball, marble, thing, whatever it's called, and then I'll leave. In exchange for something."
"In exchange for what?"
"You two let me keep these two miraculouses."
"No. That's out of the discussion." Marinette said, stepping back closer to Adrien as Lila stepped closer.
"So, you want him to be in pain? You want the bead to be stuck inside him, causing him endless agony until he dies? He will die a lot quicker if you don't let me tell you what to do." Lila said.
Lila didn't really have a plan, but circling the chaise and scaring them seemed to be working. She stepped closer, and Adrien crawled back fearfully on the chaise, one of his arms still clutching his stomach.
They say a chain is only as strong as its weakest link, and Lila had found it. She looked at Adrien, and spoke directly to him.
"Come on, I can make the pain stop. It's this little ball thing they put inside of you. It was on that dagger your father stabbed you with."
Well, that was a sentence Lila never imagined herself saying.
"I'll hurt you as little as possible, and I'll try to be as quick as possible, too. All I need to do is reach in a pull it out of you. I don't think that much flesh would have grown back." Lila continued.
Adrien looked at Marinette. He could feel himself being swayed to Lila's side. After all the pain he had felt recently, a break certainly seemed nice.
"Will you be able to make all of it stop hurting?" he asked.
"Just some of the pain in your stomach. And hopefully it'll only take a minute. I just nee-"
"Why do you need to, and not anyone else?" Marinette interrupted, not keen on Lila doing whatever she planned on doing.
"Because I know where it is."
"And, why can't you just tell me where it is, and let me get it out?" Marinette asked.
"That's fine." Lila said.
Marinette felt a wave of confusion wash over her, followed by confidence. She took a deep breath, and looked at Adrien.
"So, there is a... ball... inside of him, probably inside his stab wound, that is causing him this extra pain?" Marinette asked.
"Yes. All you need to do it pull it out, and hopefully he will be able to heal fully." Lila said. "Shall I-"
"No." Marinette snapped. She made Adrien lie down and pulled his shirt up so she could see the stab wound. "Are you sure you don't want to go to the hospital? They could probably make it hurt way less and would probably make it heal faster, too."
Adrien's heavy breathing told her his answer. She sighed, and told Adrien to take a deep breath. He did so, and Marinette let her fingers plunge into the warm red mess.
...
"What is going on, child?" Gabriel asked impatiently, hearing a lot of background noise.
His eyes widened as he heard other voiced, and he immediately disconnected the line. He blocked Adrien on Nathalie's phone as well as on his phone, then threw the phones out onto the road. He slid off the roof in the opposite direction, grunting as his legs it the floor.
Nathalie looked to where he had thrown the phones. They hit a window, and the light flickered on, revealing Alya looking out of the window, incredibly confused. Alya and Nathalie met eyes for the briefest of moments.
Nathalie ran.
...
Marinette tried her best not to gag as she felt around, trying to feel something that felt similar to what Lila had described. She breathed in when she felt something slippery and round. She grasped her fingers around it, allowing her nails to help her hold it.
Adrien's pained whine reminded her that he could feel what she was doing.
"Sorry, kit- uh, Adrien. I'm going to take it out now. Grab a towel." Marinette said quickly, trying to be as gentle as possible as she pulled the little ball out of him.
Lila picked up the hand towel Marinette had been holding earlier and held it beside Adrien's stomach. Marinette brought her bloodied hand into the towel and dropped the ball into it too.
"I think I got it out, Adrien, don't worry." Marinette said, holding Adrien's hand with her clean one.
Marinette wiped most of the blood off her hand using the towel, and picked up the little ball, holding it up so Adrien could see it.
"That tiny little thing was what made me hurt so much?" Adrien said with disbelief.
"Apparently so. Tiny things can make a big difference." Marinette said, subtly pointing to her earrings.
Adrien gave her a pained smile, and pressed the towel to his stomach to keep pressure on it.
...
Alya and Nino yelped as they heard a sudden clutter on the balcony.
"Do you think it's Ladybug again?" Nino asked.
"It might be." Alya said, grinning, as she opened the window.
Nino walked up to beside her and tried to see, but it was too dark.
"Oh gosh, is that... Nathalie?" Alya said.
Nino followed her gaze, and saw a shadowy figure run away.
"We should call someone, right? Let me get my phone, I'll call Alya. She should be-" Nino started.
"She should be right here standing in front of you."
"Oh, right... shall I call the police?" Nino said awkwardly.
"Yeah. I'm going to update the Ladyblog."
...
Tikki pulled Plagg beneath the chaise. He yelped, and Tikki pressed her paw against him mouth, muffling the sound.
"What was that for?"
"You were being to loud! Look. We can probably grab the Butterfly and Peacock miraculouses without being seen." Tikki said, gesturing to Lila's feet.
"Oh, you're right! Come on!" Plagg exclaimed, flying towards the feet.
"Wait! You can't just rush into everything!"
"But this will be easy!"
Tikki sighed. She flew behind Lila and hovered behind her head, waiting for Plagg to do the same. Plagg flew up, looking worriedly at Adrien, who was still pressing to towel into himself.
"He'll be fine, I'm sure!" Tikki said, optimism shining through her words.
"Yeah..." Plagg said, flying to Lila's chest and pulling at the brooch.
Tikki flew to Marinette's table and dropped a pencil, creating a distraction. The distraction wasn't strong enough, as a few moments later, Lila looked to see Plagg almost unhook the Peacock miraculous.
"No! Get off!" Lila yelled, flapping her fan at Plagg.
"Yeah, that fan is gonna do so much damage against me. You really need to learn more about kwamis." Plagg said calmly, crossing his arms.
"You- you're a kwami? And you look like a cat, so you would be the kwami of the Cat miraculous, right?" Lila said slowly. "And I'm guessing you care very much for your precious little Chat Noir?"
Adrien's eyes widened as Lila pushed Marinette out of the way, then brought Adrien flush against her body, her hand pressing on his stomach.
"I think I was wrong to judge your father for doing this, Adrien. There's certainly a thrill I can get out of having so much power over you!" Lila said, sharply twisting to towel.
Adrien whimpered and panicked. "P-Plagg, C-C-Claws Out!"
"Tikki, Spots On!"
Ladybug lunged at Lila, knocking her to the ground. Chat Noir wriggled out of her grasp and fled to the corner of the room, fiddling with his baton.
Ladybug and Lila rolled over each over, both trying to swipe the miraculouses off the other. Chat Noir took a small tracker out of his baton and held in in his hand. He jumped at Lila and pressed the tracker into her back, making it stick to her suit. He pulled Ladybug back and whispered into her ear.
"Let her go."
Ladybug looked at him, confused, but seemed to realise that he had a plan. She jumped at Lila again, and tackled her to the ground. Lila looked up, and saw the open trapdoor she had come in through. If she just managed to get through it, she would be able to escape.
Lila shoved Ladybug off of her, and jumped up, climbing out onto the balcony. She leapt away, hoping that the darkness was enough of a mask for her to hide behind.
...
"Sir, we need to get away from here. Alya Césaire saw us, and she might alert people." Nathalie said, walking up to Gabriel.
Gabriel looked at her. "What should we do, then?"
"We should, uh-"
"Exactly. We have no idea what to do. No idea where we can go. No idea who we can trust."
"You can trust me." Nathalie said, placing one of her hands above Gabriel's.
"Then I trust you to make a decision that will benefit us." Gabriel snapped, turning around and walking to the other side of the alley.
Nathalie slid down the wall, thinking of what they could do next. They could maybe sneak into Marinette Dupain-Cheng's house... no, Adrien would probably just yell for help. Maybe if they... no, that wouldn't work either.
Nathalie sighed and rested her head on the wall, glancing over at Gabriel.
"Do you hear that?" Gabriel asked quietly.
"Hear what?"
Gabriel stood up, closing his eyes as the faint sound of sirens grew louder.
"Get up. We've got to go-" Gabriel started.
"No! Let's just, uh, make our way onto the rooftops."
"How would we do that, and how would that even help us?"
"They would be looking for us on the ground, not on the rooftops. We can climb up using this pipe." Nathalie explained, climbing steadily up a pipe.
Gabriel raised an eyebrow and followed her up. They looked around once on the roof, and saw someone running along the rooftops in their direction. Nathalie squinted and relaxed as she recognised the person.
"I thought our ideas were to extreme for you, Rossi." Gabriel said, fiddling with his cuffs.
"I may have recently been enlightened on how... empowering it feels... to have control over someone like that." Lila replied. She hadn't meant to bump into them, but she was partially glad she had.
"What do we need to give you, in return for you to return the miraculouses to us?" Nathalie asked, her hands reaching through her pockets, hoping to find something valuable that would appeal to Lila.
...
Ladybug looked up at the trapdoor Lila had just jumped out of.
"I am assuming you have a plan." she said as she sat him on the chaise for what felt like the millionth time.
"Yeah, for once I have a plan instead of you!" Chat Noir said, laughing slightly before he flinched. "I put a tracker on her."
He opened his baton and brought up the map, which showed a small red dot moving quickly.
"Now, we can track her and where she goes!"
Chat Noir beamed, quite proud of himself.
"Until you detransform, because then the tracker would disappear."
"Oh, right." Chat Noir muttered, his face falling.
"Hey, it was a genius idea, kitten!" Ladybug exclaimed, giving him a cuddle. "She might go to Gabriel and Nathalie, and then we'll be able to find them, too."
Chat Noir melted into the cuddle and closed his eyes, so he didn't see the red dot stop near Alya's house. Ladybug did, however. She realised that Lila probably had met up with Gabriel and Nathalie, and this would probably be their chance to get them.
Ladybug thought about the cat in her arms, who was probably still struggling with his emotions. She couldn't force him to fight those people, especially when he was in such a weak state. But, she couldn't just let an opportunity like this pass. And he would never let her go by herself.
"How about you go to sleep, kitten?" Ladybug said, gently lying him down on the chaise.
"Aren't you going to go to sleep?" Chat Noir asked as he looked up at her.
"I was actually going to- no, wait. Yes, I'm going to sleep too." Ladybug said.
She shuffled so that his head lay on her stomach.
"You know, you need to close your eyes to go to sleep."
"How can I close my eyes, when I have someone so purr-fect to look at?"
"You'll see me in your dreams, won't you?"
"I always do, M'lady."
"Exactly." Ladybug said triumphantly.
Chat Noir closed his eyes, getting the feeling that Ladybug was trying to get him to sleep as soon as possible. It was probably just bacause she wanted him to heal painlessly, right? Or, maybe it was because she didn't actually like him, and she was just planning on leaving him as soon as he fell unconscious.
No, she wouldn't do that. Chat Noir tried to think about how she really felt about him.
"I love you, M'lady." Chat Noir said, opening his eyes to see her looking at him.
"I thought you were going to sleep!" Ladybug said a little too abruptly.
Chat Noir crumbled visibly, and tried to say something.
"S-s-sorry, I j-just wanted to- to know how you felt about me..."
Ladybug's surprised gaze softened into a warm smile. She leaned forward, and pressed her lips gently to his for the briefest moment.
"I love you." Ladybug whispered.
She leaned back, and saw that Chat Noir's face now had a deep red blush. Ladybug grinned down at him.
"Now, kitten, go to sleep."
Chat Noir nodded after a few moments, and closed his eyes, subconsciously snuggling closer to her.
Ladybug ran her hands through his hair, smiling at the soft purring that started a few minutes later. She thought about what she had said to him.
"I love you"
Those three words were something she had imaged herself saying to Adrien for years, but she had never had the courage to do so. And yet, she was able to say it on a moment's notice to Chat Noir, and he was the same person! Ladybug couldn't help but admit that when she was with Chat Noir, she felt stronger and a lot more confident.
Was that love, or was it just the deep trust she shared with him as Chat Noir?
Ladybug didn't know, and she soon felt bad for telling him she loved him when she hadn't even thought about it. A part of her was telling her that she had just said she loved him because he was Adrien, while another part of her was telling her she loved both sides of him.
She sat with him sleeping on top of him for a while longer, before she got snapped back into reality by a small clutter. She looked over the side of the chaise and saw Chat Noir's baton rolling on the floor. Ladybug glanced at Chat Noir's right hand, which was dangling limply over the side of the chaise.
Ladybug slid herself out from beneath him and pushed a pillow beneath his head. She picked up his baton and put his hand on the chaise.
"Chat Noir, are you awake?"
He didn't respond, so Ladybug assumed he was asleep. She climbed out onto the balcony with both her yoyo and Chat Noir's baton in hand. She opened his baton and followed the red dot.
Ladybug zipped through the streets on her yoyo, as the sudden realisation struck her that she was alone. She didn't have her partner beside her. But, Lila couldn't be that hard to defeat - she had only had the miraculouses for a few hours, and even if Gabriel and Nathalie taught her things, Ladybug would easily be able to defeat her.
Ladybug approached the red dot and landed behind a chimney. She peered around the chimney and spotted Lila talking to Gabriel and Nathalie, just as she had predicted. Ladybug took her yoyo in her hand and carefully aimed.
She threw it just as Lila was about to take a step back, so Lila got pinned to the chimney. Ladybug took her chance and spun around the chimney. She grabbed the Butterfly miraculous and managed the pull it off. Lila's blue and purple suit flashed into one that was pure purple, illuminating the roof. Her foot swung Beneath Ladybug, and she got knocked onto her back.
Gabriel and Nathalie looked around worriedly as Ladybug picked herself. Nathalie lunged forward and flicked the Peacock miraculous off Lila, and stepped back so the Gabriel could catch it. He did so and the two ran off, leaving Ladybug to deal with Lila, who's miraculous suit had completely disappeared.
"What did you say to them?" Ladybug said, putting the Butterfly miraculous in her yoyo.
"I didn't say anything." Lila replied, crossing her arms.
"Really?" Ladybug asked. "In that case, I think I'll just hand you over to the police. You'll have many crimes on your record. Theft-"
"Fine. We were planning on making a deal."
"A deal? Does it have to do with the miraculouses?"
"Yes, but you have to believe me. They forced me to-"
"Lila, just don't. You lie at every turn. This whole problem is your fault! If you had just let me have the Peacock and Butterfly miraculouses, I wouldn't have to fight them again!" Ladybug gestured to the people who had just run off.
"Then go and catch them! I'm not stopping you!"
"Oh, no. You're not going to get another chance to escape. Come on." Ladybug said as she picked up Lila and brought her to the ground, where police officers were looking for Gabriel and Nathalie.
One of the police officers came over.
"This is Lila Rossi. She had stolen two miraculouses and had refused to hand them over. That's theft. I'll let you deal with her." Ladybug said, nodding to him.
"Thank you, Ladybug. I'll take it from here." the police officer replied.
Ladybug thanked him and jumped onto the roof.
"Ladybug!" someone called.
Ladybug looked around, trying to locate the voice, then noticed Alya's head sticking out of a window.
"Alya! Do you need something?"
"No, I just saw Gabriel Agreste and Nathalie Sancoeur on that roof over there." Alya pointed to the roof Ladybug had been on a few minutes ago.
"Yes, I saw them too. I brought Lila down to the ground an-"
"Wait, Lila was on the roof? Why? Was she taken hostage or something?"
"No. She was the one who had stolen the miraculouses." Ladybug explained.
"No! Lila would never do that!" Alya ran back into her room and said something else that sounded like 'come on beano'.
Ladybug frowned. Alya was probably going to defend Lila, who would probably lie to get herself free. If Ladybug went after Gabriel and Nathalie, Lila might manage to escape, but if Ladybug stayed to make sure justive prevailed, Gabriel and Nathalie would probably get away.
Ladybug quickly decided to stay. People would easily be able to spot Gabriel and Nathalie, and Lila was to dangerous to be allowed to escape. She jumped onto the ground again, and watched as Alya ran out of her house, phone in hand, and Nino close behind.
"No, wait! There's no way Lila would do something like that! She's innocent!" Alya cried, the light from her phone flashing about as she ran to the officer holding Lila.
"Sorry, miss. Ladybug sai-"
"She was mistaken, she has to be!" Alya met Ladybug's gaze and turned away. "Lila's one of my best friends. In fact, she was even staying with one of my other friends. She can prove it."
The officer raised an eyebrow.
"Who can prove it?"
"Her name is Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Adrien can help defend Lila, too!" Alya said. "Let me call her."
Ladybug's eyes widened as she quickly ran and hid. She answered the call on her bug phone.
"Hey, Alya, why are you calling me so late?" Ladybug faked a loud yawn and disconnected the camera, so Alya wouldn't be able to see her face.
"Lila's staying with you, right?"
"She was. I don't know where she is now. It looks like she just disappeared. Wait, the window's open. Maybe she jumped out or something." Ladybug put on a fake tired voice.
"She jumped out? But your bedroom it like three storeys high!"
"I dunno. Maybe she has superpowers or something."
"Miss, I'm sorry, but so far everything points to this girl. She even looks like the miraculous holder," the officer interrupted.
"Sorry, for calling Marinette. I'll see you at school." Alya hung up and looked back to the officer. "Wait, how do you know what she looked like?"
"We have photos sent to us by the public. We only have a few, but we managed to get a fairly good idea of what she looked like."
Nino looked up the recent miraculous holder on his phone and brought up a picture for he and Alya to see.
"You two really look similar, Lila..." Alya muttered. "Please say that's not you."
"It's not me. I'm innocent!" Lila burst.
"No, you're not." Ladybug said. "You ha-"
"I also know some things, don't I, Ladybug?" Lila said quietly, so that only she and Ladybug could hear.
"Do you mind if I speak to her in private?" Ladybug asked.
The officer narrowed his eyes, but nodded. Ladybug pulled Lila away from the others.
"Look, Ladybug. I know you're Marinette, and that Chat Noir is Adrien. Unless you want me to reveal your identities, you're going to let me go free." Lila said.
Ladybug looked at her. Gabriel and Nathalie probably already knew their identites, but having the public know was a completely different concept. People would probably target her, or the people around her, in order to get their hands on miraculouses. Plus, Ladybug was the Guardian, and it was her responsibly to protect her and the other miraculous holder's identities.
"I'll let you go, in exchange for you keeping quiet about our identities."
Lila smiled. "I'm afraid that's not enough."
Ladybug gritted her teeth, wishing there was a way she could go back in time and stop Lila from ever figuring out their identities. Maybe, with the help of Bunnyx...
"I'll get you the Miracle Box." Ladybug lied, jumping on top of the roof. "Bunnyx! Bunnyx, I need you!"
Ladybug looked around, desprerately hoping to see Bunnyx pop her head out of a burrow.
"Minibug? What's the problem?"
Ladybug turned around, the fear in her heart being replaced by confidence.
"Bunnyx, I need you to take me about 20 minutes into the past. I sort of have a plan."
"Identity problem?"
Ladybug nodded, closing her eyes as she stepped into Bunnyx's burrow. She let Bunnyx lead her to another burrow.
"Good luck, Minibug. Do you need Chat Noir's help?"
"No... I don't want him to get hurt.
Bunnyx sighed. "What's the plan?"
"I was just hoping my Lucky Charm would tell me what to do..."
"Well... it's never failed before. Here's the burrow. Call me again when you need to go back to your present."
Ladybug nodded and stepped through the portal. She landed on the roof of the bakery, and saw Lila get inside through the open trapdoor. Ladybug followed her, careful not to make a sound. She slid under the bed, and peeked out, seeing Lila approach them.
Ladybug waited until Marinette had taken the little ball out of Adrien's stomach, then got ready to call on her Lucky Charm.
"Lucky Charm!" Ladybug whispered.
A large potato sack appeared in her hands, and Ladybug looked at Lila, who was now holding Adrien flush against her body, talking about the sick thrill she got from the power. Ladybug pounced, smirking at the confusion that appeared on Lila's face.
Lila quickly looked to Marinette, murmuring something along the lines of 'so you're not her'.
Ladybug wrapped the sack around Lila's eyes, so she didn't see Adrien transform. Ladybug tied the sack tightly around Lila's eyes, and then winked at Chat Noir and Marinette.
"Marinette, Adrien, run downstairs. Chat Noir and I have got this." Ladybug said loudly so Lila could hear through her struggling.
Ladybug then ran downstairs, loudly slamming the trapdoor on the floor. She went outside and looked through the circular window in her bedroom, seeing pretty much the exact same fight happen. She spotted Chat Noir press the tracker into Lila's back, and Lila escape.
The Ladybug from the future shifted her position, so she could see the other Ladybug and Chat Noir lie down on the chaise. Both Ladybug's felt a strong wave of guilt wash over them as the words 'I love you' were spoken, and as the Ladybug from that time pressed a small kiss to Chat Noir's lips.
Ladybug shouldn't have said that. Ladybug shouldn't have done that. She should have just said she needed time to figure out her emotions rather than leading him on like that. She should have-
"Minibug."
"Ahh!" Ladybug yelped.
"Sorry. Have you done what you needed to do?" Bunnyx asked through a burrow.
"Yeah. I was just checking that everything from this point onwards was- is- I don't know... I just wanted to make sure the same stuff happens. You know, to make sure nothing else happens."
"I'm sure it won't. And, even if it does, I'll call you back, or fix it myself. No need to worry, Minibug."
Ladybug nodded to her, and glanced back at the blushing kitten in the other Ladybug's arms. Ladybug swallowed her guilt and stepped through the burrow, heading back into her present.
...
"S-s-sorry, I j-just wanted to- to know how you felt about me..." Chat Noir whispered.
He looked up and met her eyes. He felt his own eyes start to water when she kept silent for a few moments. She didn't love him.
Chat Noir was about to fully break down when Ladybug leaned forward over him and softly pressed her lips to his
"I love you." Ladybug whispered to him.
Chat Noir felt his face heat up quickly as his heart fluttered in his chest. Marinette just kissed him. Ladybug just kissed him. She loved him!
"Now, kitten, go to sleep."
Chat Noir processed the words slowly in his love struck mind. He nodded slowly and closed his eyes, snuggling closer to Ladybug, hearing her heartbeat in his ear. He felt her run her fingers through her hair, soothing him.
...
"We have the Peacock miraculous back, so we should-"
"Let me transform!" Gabriel said, snatching the miraculous.
"Wait! We saw Ladybug there, but we didn't see Chat Noir." Nathalie said.
"So, you're saying we should attack hi-"
"No. I'm saying I should sneak into the Dupain-Cheng bakery and take his miraculous."
"Why you, and not me?" Gabriel asked.
"You might get a bit... distracted... by your son-"
"He's not my son." Gabriel said calmly, as if it were obvious.
"Right, yes, of course. You go to-"
"I'm coming with you, even if it means you have to carry me." Gabriel said firmly.
Nathalie sighed. "Duusu, Spread My Feathers!"
Mayura picked Gabriel up and landed on the Dupain-Cheng bakery roof.
"Stay here. I've got this." Mayura said.
...
"I should have killed you when I had the chance." Gabriel said.
"You- you what?" Chat Noir asked, hoping his ears where deceiving him.
"You heard me right." Gabriel replied, as if he could read Chat Noir's mind. "I should have killed you when I had the chance. Luckily, my chance is now."
Gabriel tranformed into Hawkmoth, and looked at Chat Noir with a glimmer of madness in his eyes. He reached forward and clasped Chat Noir's neck tightly.
"Let's make this hurt, shall we?"
"N-n-no, please d-don't-"
Hawkmoth laughed and squeezed harder as Chat Noir gasped, before dropping him onto the floor. Hawkmoth took a long knife in his hand and walked towards the cat, who was scrambling to get away. Hawkmoth chuckled.
"You still think you can get away! Not very bright, are you?" Hawkmoth placed his foot on Chat Noir's back and scratched sharp red lines along Chat Noir's back. "Do you like your new stripes, kitten?"
Hawkmoth drew the blade over Chat Noir's back over and over, pressing his foot down harder when Chat Noir struggled.
"If you keep doing that, it'll hurt more. You're doing this to yourself. This is your fault. Everything is your fault."
Chat Noir stopped struggling and just lay there, his face pressed into the ground. Ground that soon became wet with silent tears.
"Aww, are you crying? Good. Keep crying. You're a failure. A mistake. And you'll die. Here. All alone." Hawkmoth laughed as he shook the knife and splattered some of the blood on Chat Noir's face.
Hawkmoth slashed at his back so much that almost all the skin was ripped or bleeding. Hawkmoth continued to slash all over Chat Noir's body until he was nothing more than a shaking, bloody mess.
Hawkmoth detransformed and crouched down. Gabriel grabbed Chat Noir's chin and forced them to meet eyes.
"I have done the universe a favour by killing you." Gabriel pulled the ring off of Chat Noir's finger, looking disgustedly at the dying body in front of him.
Gabriel walked away, the Cat miraculous in hand.
"No, Father, please!"
"I am not your father!" Gabriel yelled, kicking Adrien in the face.
Adrien gasped and tried crawling away again. Gabriel sighed.
"You don't get it, do you? Maybe Marinette should come an-"
"No! What have you done to her? Where is she?" Adrien forced himself up, gasping at the pain from the slits on his skin. "Marinette? Marinette?"
"I'm over here." Marinette said, standing beside Gabriel.
"Marinette! Are you- are you hurt?"
"Yes, I am."
"No! What did he do to you?" Adrien yelled he threw a punch at Gabriel, who managed to dodge and throw Adrien back onto the ground.
"Adrien! How could you do that to your own father?" Marinette asked, shocked.
"He hurt you!"
"No, he didn't. You did."
"How- how did I hurt you?" Adrien asked, looking up at her.
"When you revealed yourself. I loved Adrien, but hated Chat Noir. When I realised you were Adrien, I quickly lied to you and said that I loved you, so that I could sneak away. You hurt me by being yourself, Adrien." Marinette said.
"No, no, please say it's not true!"
"So you think I'm lying? How dare you, Adrien Agreste! I thought you loved me!"
"I do, bu-"
"Save it. I was wrong to let you live. I should put you down, I should kill you." Marinette said.
She kicked Adrien in his lower stomach, making him whimper quietly.
"Oh, did that hurt? Let me do it again..." Marinette kicked him again and again, causing more and more tears to flow.
Adrien gagged as his tears dripped into his mouth and nose. He gasped, trying to breath, but the tears clogged his airway and choked him.
"Finally, he's dying! I was wondering how long it would take." Marinette said.
Adrien coughed up his tears, but it didn't help. He suffocated and pawed at his face, desperately trying to breath.
Marinette crouched down and looked into his eyes.
"Too bad you're not perfect, kitten."
Marinette stood back up, aimed, and kicked him right in his chest.
She destroyed his heart.
Adrien looked up at her one final time, before death closed in.
...
"Marinette!"