This is the last chapter of season 1, hope you enjoy. Next season I want to do the Santa Claws episode, but I'm going to wait until we get a little closer to Christmas. I also made some fanart for this chapter, which I'll post sooner or later lol. It'll be on my deviantART and Tumblr (iHateFridays and fridayhater), or you can also see it on the Wattpad and Quotev versions of this story.

The funny thing about my dreams is that I usually don't remember them, unless they're, like, insanely weird. (And yes, I know generally dreams are very weird, but I mean, the ones I remember have to be beyond weird.) The dream I had one night was an exception to this, mainly because I wouldn't call it 'insanely weird', I'd call it 'insanely horrifying'. A nightmare, I daresay.

The dream showed a silhouette of a guy, and it looked like blood was dripping down his face. His eyes were also eerily blank, like he was a walking corpse. His features were hard to pinpoint aside from that. I think he had a sort of similar hairstyle to me? It was hard to tell. Pretty edgy.

The guy walked over to a really tall man dressed in a dark purple dress shirt with a black butterfly-shaped lapel, a butterfly brooch on the center of the collar, and black dress pants. Over the majority of his face and neck, he wore a silver mask. He also had a dark indigo staff wielded in one hand. He looked similar to the Butterfly man. Eerily similar. But I could tell they weren't the same person.

Hawk Moth, my eyes narrowed.

"How did you get here?" Hawk Moth demanded, glaring at the guy with blood on his face. "Leave at once, or I'll take your powers away!"

"Take them away?" the guy taunted, raising a hand. "You idiot, Hawk Moth. I allowed myself to get akumatized. I can control these powers. They don't belong to you anymore."

Hawk Moth scowled. He raised his staff, but the guy didn't budge. Hawk Moth stepped back.

"I can't take your powers away…" he went pale. "What is this?! What have you done?!"

The guy had a really creepy smile on his face. Like, serial killer smile. And that was a dead giveaway about what he was going to do to Hawk Moth.

So of course, that's also when I woke up.

What the Hell was that?! I thought, blinking heavily.

That wasn't like any dream I'd had before. It wasn't insanely weird, it was actually kind of coherent… and terrifying.

I wanted to do some kind of dream psychology research on it, but then of course my mom came in, arms crossed.

"John, for goodness' sake," she scowled. "Do you know how late it is?"

"No," I said, sheepishly. I glanced at my alarm clock. It was nearly 8:00, which meant I was late for school. As you can see, I was slowly becoming an anime protagonist.

Mom sighed. "Well, you can make up for it by doing a shopping run after school."

I made a face. "Do I have to?"

Mom glared at me.

"Fine, fine," I forced myself out of bed. I paused. "By the way, Mom…"

"No excuses, Johnathan," Mom kept glaring at me.

"I'm not looking for excuses," I argued. "I just want to know… do you ever have weird dreams?"

Mom made a face. "Not very often. Why? Are you having trouble sleeping?"

"No," I said. I grabbed my hearing aid. "Look- it doesn't matter. I have to go, anyway."

Mom made a face. "Well, if you say so…"

Blah blah blah, boring school stuff, blah blah blah. So naturally, I went over to Tom & Sabine Boulangerie Patisserie after school finished. To my surprise (and relief), Marinette actually wasn't there. But knowing my good luck… I'd run into her at some point.

And you'll never guess it, but of course I was right.

After I left the bakery, I went for a walk. I was walking through the Place des Vosges, when I saw Marinette sneaking around like a spy. I don't know why she did that so much. She seemed to be spying on Adrien sitting on a park bench, next to some girl I didn't know, as well as a trash can. The girl had olive-green eyes, long, hip-length chestnut brown hair with bangs similar to a horse mane. She wore a red-orange jacket over a dark gray romper that had tiny white spots. Additionally, she wore light gray tights and brown high heel boots.

"Not only did Ladybug save my life, we've become very close friends because we have something very special in common- it's what I wanted to tell you about," the girl told Adrien. "I'm the descendant of a vixen superheroine myself, Volpina."

"Volpina?" Adrien asked.

I made a face. I wasn't sure why, but that sounded kind of fishy. Something about the girl… made me uncomfortable. Also, that little Funko Pop Ladybug figurine was hanging out in the trash can, trying to pull something out. Right in the open. Where everyone could see. Smart times. Meanwhile, Marinette was hiding behind a tree, teeth clenched. She looked like she wanted to punch the girl in the face.

"Wait a minute!" Adrien gasped. "I think I read about her in my book."

The girl put her hand on Adrien's bag. "Of course she's in your book. She's one of the most important superheroes. More powerful and more celebrated than Ladybug."

The little Pop Funko thing managed to pull a book out of the trash can and give to Marinette. Despite that, Marinette wasn't looking any happier. She looked like she wanted to bite through the book.

"Between you and me Ladybug doesn't even make the top ten," the girl continued, smirking at Adrien. She held out a necklace with a charm fox tail. "My grandma gave me this necklace."

Adrien was about to comment, and then he saw me hanging out. So lucky, am I right?

"Oh, hey, John!" he waved at me.

The girl noticed me as well, giving me a friendly wave. "Oh! So you're this John Adrien was telling me about!"

I walked over, hands in pockets. "Uh, hey."

"Nice to meet you," the girl offered a hand, and a sickly sweet smile. "I'm Lila."

I shook her hand. "Nice to meet you too..."

Whether or not it was actually 'nice' was debatable. What really made me nervous was th fact that Marinette had vanished.

"Lila was just telling me about how she's related to Volpina, a vixen themed superhero," Adrien told me.

"Wow, uh, that's pretty cool," I said, finding it hard to even fake smile.

"Thank you," Lila, on the other hand, was full of (fake) smiles. "I've seen you around quite a lot, John. Are you friends with Ladybug too?"

"You're friends with Ladybug?" I asked. I was not answering that question myself. No way in Hell would I ever consider Ladybug my friend.

But of course, before Lila could answer, you'll never guess who showed up.

"Well hey, Lila! How's it going? Long time no see. I saw your interview on the Ladyblog, awesome job." Ladybug parked herself right beside me, arms crossed.

Marinette, are you serious…? I thought, staring at her.

Ladybug put her foot on the bench, separating Adrien and Lila. She leaned down.

"Oh sure!" she laughed. "I remember our instant connection when I saved your life and we've been really good friends ever since! Practically BFF's! Uh actually, when did I save your life again, Lila? I don't recall. Oh yes! Of course, now I remember. Never!" She waved her arms. "And we're not friends either!" She turned to Adrien. "Miss Show-Off here was trying to impress you and everyone around her."

Lila was in tears.

"So I guess you aren't the descendant of a superhero either?" Adrien asked her.

"She's more like a super liar." Ladybug rectified.

"How dare you?!" Lila raged. She got up, running away.

"Wait! Lila!" Adrien called. He turned to Ladybug. "Hey, what was that all about? Uh, I mean, weren't you kinda harsh with her?"

"I… I don't put up with lies, especially when they're about me." Ladybug asserted. She used her yo-yo to zoom off.

"What got into her?" Adrien asked me.

"Not sure, honestly," I admitted.

But I think it's time I find out, I thought. That really was uncalled for, Marinette…

"Maybe you should try and find Lila," I told Adrien, before running off.

Believe it or not, I actually did manage to find Marinette. She was at her bakery, upstairs in her room. Her parents were surprised to see me again, but let me in when I told them I was a friend of Marinette's. (Saying that hurt my soul.)

"Marinette?" I stood underneath her door. Yeah, she lived in an attic.

"John?" Marinette opened the door, looking down at me. "Why are you here?"

"I saw you spying on Lila and Adrien," I said, crossing my arms. "What was all that about?"

Marinette blushed. "Oh, uh… nothing! No reason at all!"

"Jealous of Lila?" I guessed, raising a brow.

Marinette looked down. "Uh… well…"

"Lila's a liar, sure," I told her. "A real, big fat liar. But what goes around comes around. Lila would've got her comeuppance eventually. Adrien would've seen through her in the end. And plus… stalking Adrien is really creepy. Don't do that."

Marinette scowled. "Well, I don't trust Lila! She's manipulating Adrien and everyone else at school! She should be punished immediately!"

"Honestly, it's way more fun to watch a slow and painful unravelling of all her lies," I said. "Because you know she got herself into that trap."

"Ugh!" Marinette crossed her arms, groaning in frustration. "What do you know, John? You don't go to my school. You don't know Adrien. You don't know anything!"

I made a face. "Maybe not, but-"

"Stop acting like you know everything!" Marinette snapped. "You're no better than Lila!"

I trailed off. "I was just trying to help…"

"Well, don't try, next time," Marinette said. She closed the door. "Bye, John."

I stood there in silence for a moment. My fists clenched.

"Fine," I snapped. "I don't care anymore."

I walked out, head hanging low.

I'm done, I decided. I'm done with these stupid, selfish people. I'm done trying to help. I'm done being a hero. I don't care anymore.

I wasn't even mad. I was just tired. Too empty for an akuma. And too tired to be a hero.

So instead, I went home.

I completely ignored my family as I trudged up to my room. I went into my room, shutting the door behind me. I sat on my bed, bowing my head. I couldn't even cry. I just felt… apathy. That overwhelming feeling of 'I can't be asked'.

I thought about the dream I'd had. I imagined my expression was similar to the guy in the dream: the dead, blank eyes.

Then I thought about the Butterfly Man, and how similar he was to Hawk Moth. He obviously wasn't the same person as Hawk Moth, but he seemed to have the same powers. And the same outfit.

Maybe he's Hawk Moth from a different universe or something, I thought. Eh… whatever. He's not important. I don't care about that crap anymore.

I knew that guy wanted me to do something cool, but I had nothing cool to offer. There was no fight in me left.

I heard a knock on my door. It was a familiar knock I'd recognise anywhere.

"John," my mom came in, a frown on her face.

"What." I said, tone void of any emotion.

"What's wrong with you today?" Mom asked, sitting on my bed. "You're acting strange."

"Am I." I deadpanned.

"Johnathan…" She reached out, squeezing my shoulder.

"Stop it," I brushed her off, wrapping myself in my doona.

Mom looked like she was about to chastise me, but then her expression softened.

"You know, when you were little…" she looked away. "You used to have big tantrums. You'd crawl into your room and you'd cry and cry. It took ages for your dad and I to get you to come out." She sighed, laughing softly. "Some things never change."

"Are you trying to push some corny message on me?" I asked, digging my face into my pillow.

"No, honey," my mom itched herself closer to me. "I'm just trying to comfort you. You've always been a private person, you know. You don't want to show people what you have to offer because you're scared they'll judge you. And in saying that… you think you don't have any good to say at all."

I clenched my fists.

"But that's not true, John," Mom smiled. "You have so much to offer the world. You shouldn't be afraid of how people perceive you. You can live your life however you want it. It doesn't matter what other people think."

"But…" I trailed off. "I'm just a stupid nobody in the end. I'm not some hero like Ladybug and Chat Noir."

"Maybe not," Mom tilted her head, "but you have other good qualities, John. You don't have to be a hero to be a good person."

I rolled over, staring her in the eyes. She was smiling at me. For some reason, tears were burning behind my eyes. My breaths were shaky.

Time to get something off my chest.

"I've been holding a dangerous secret for a while," I admitted to her. "I don't want to say what it is, but it could really affect the lives of Ladybug and Chat Noir. What do I do, Mom?"

"A dangerous secret?" Mom made a face.

"It affects the lives of Paris' superheroes," I told her. "Well, honestly, it's not that much of a secret in reality, it's more like common sense, but… I don't know what to do with it."

No one takes me seriously, I groaned internally.

Mom sighed. "Just do what you think is right. I know you can, John. You're smart enough for that."

"Of course you'd say that…" I grunted. But I supposed I'd take her advice. I had to try and do something.

So of course, to make sure I was keeping up with everything, I pulled out my phone. And guess what I saw on the news.

That's Hawk Moth in the city center… I thought, gazing at my screen. And wait, is that…

There was a superhero - or what looked like one, anyway - dressed like a fox girl running around. And of course, I recognised her immediately.

Lila.

The city center was right ahead, the sun shining down on the marble walls. Three superheroes were flying around on the rooftops, one of them being Lila. Chat Noir chased after a retreating Hawk Moth, who seemed to have learned how to teleport. Ladybug was going after him too, but in a different direction. As for Lila herself, she seemed to be standing around and scheming something.

"HEY!" I put myself directly underneath her. "LILA!"

Lila jumped, before looking down. Her brow raised when she saw me. She wore a fox-orange mask. On top of her head, two fake orange ears were attached. A necklace with that fox tail charm from before hanging off of it was worn around her neck. Her outfit was orange with a white section going down the front. Wrapped around her waist was an orange sash that looked like a fox tail. She was holding a flute in one hand.

"It's Volpina," she said, sweetly. "Hello, John. Can't say I'm surprised to see you here."

"You're not Volpina," I crossed my arms. "You're Lila. You're just making up lies again."

Volpina laughed. "Don't be silly, John. I'm the only hero Paris needs!"

"You're no hero," I argued. "You're just a fake. You've been akumatized."

Volpina scowled, bringing her flute to her lips. She played a melody. The Butterfly man appeared before me, right out of nowhere. He was holding a freaking gun, aimed right at my head. I jumped and fell on my ass.

"Don't worry, John," Volpina told me. "I'll save you!"

She leaped down, kicking the Butterfly Man over. He vanished into dust.

"See?" Volpina scoffed. "I'm a real hero!"

"Bullshit," I argued. "That was an illusion. You're just angry because Ladybug exposed your lies. Yeah, it's her fault you got akumatized, but it's your fault for lying in the first place."

Volpina was about to blow into her flute again, but then Ladybug showed up. She put an arm in front of me, yo-yo in her other hand.

"John," she raised her brow at me. "It's dangerous here. You should-"

"I know it's dangerous," I argued. "This is what my life's become. But this is a mess I want to clean up."

Ladybug made a face. "John, you're just a civilian. I don't want you to get hurt. And plus, it's not your fault."

"Technically, it's not," I agreed. "But this is my life, Ma- Ladybug. I choose to fight, for once."

"Enough with this cheesy nonsense," Volpina scoffed. "Do you really think you're any less fake than me, John? Look at yourself. You're convinced you're a hero. But Hawk Moth was right about you. At the end of the day, you're just some useless civilian."

"You're right," I agreed. "I'm no hero. But I'm not going to sit here and let you call me a faker, when you're the biggest faker I've ever seen."

Volpina scowled, putting her flute to her lips.

"I'm not good enough for a Miraculous, but…" I narrowed my eyes. "I can still kick your ass. Stay back, Ladybug."

Volpina played a melody on her flute. Clones of her appeared all around me, swarming me. They all wore the same angered expression.

"John!" Ladybug gasped.

"For crying out loud," I muttered. The clones raced toward me. Like an anime character, I began plowing them down with my fists. They disappeared into puffs of smoke.

More damn illusions, I scowled. Where's the real one hiding?!

"Come on, Volpina," I spat. "Don't hide from me."

I continued plowing them down until there were none left.

"She got away," I cursed.

"There she is!" Ladybug pointed to the rooftops, where Volpina was bouncing around.

"Do me a solid," I turned to Ladybug. "Get me over to her."

Ladybug made a face at me. "John, you know-"

I stared at her, eyes narrowed.

"Alright," Ladybug sighed. She wrapped her arms around my waist; I clung onto her as well. "Hold on!"

We zoomed through the air, like we were on an insane roller coaster. I'll admit, I nearly pissed myself. I forced myself to keep my tears back. Ladybug continued flinging her yo-yo as we chased Volpina. She was fast, but Ladybug was faster.

"Volpina!" I shouted, trying not to squeak.

We managed to corner Volpina against a wall. I tried to look as badass as possible by crossing my arms and scowling.

"This is embarrassing, honestly," Volpina grunted, leaning against the wall.

"Don't talk about yourself so much," I replied, walking over to her.

She disappeared into mist before I could grab her, but I had a feeling she'd pull a move like that.

"Ladybug, use your Lucky Charm," I told Ladybug.

"Uh, sure," she nodded. She waved her hand in the air. "Lucky Charm!" A chocolate popsicle appeared in her hand. "Huh…?"

"Gimme that," I snatched the popsicle from her. "Hmmm…"

Well, I am kind of hungry, but… I narrowed my eyes. I opened the popsicle. The wrapper was really shiny, but I didn't care about that. I wanted to eat the popsicle first.

"John, we don't have time for a snack break," Ladybug chastised.

Snack break… I thought. Hey, I've got it!

"Hey, Volpina," I stood up. "You want to know something true for once?" I smirked. "I know you stole that book from Adrien and threw it in the trash can right beside you."

Volpina appeared from the shadows. "Excuse me?"

"I know a lot of other things, too, but…" I held up the popsicle. "I won't tell you, because I keep my secrets."

I chucked the ice-cream at her face, knocking her back in surprise. As she stumbled, I reached over and grabbed the fox tail necklace.

"Time to de-evilize," I said, stomping the necklace beneath my feet. A butterfly flew out.

"Bye bye, little akuma," Ladybug came in, using her yo-yo to remove the akuma.

"MIRACULOUS LADYBUG!" we both shouted. Well, I kind of deadpanned it, but whatever.

And then everything was back to normal. Paris was safe once again, thanks to the superheroes who badly cosplayed as animals and a loser in a hoodie.

"John!" Ladybug grinned at me. "You did it!"

"Yeah, maybe I did…" I shrugged, casually.

"Ugh…" Lila shook her head, blinking. She was kneeling on the ground. "Ladybug?"

"Lila, I... totally overreacted and... never should've spoken to you like that," Ladybug bowed her head. "I'm sorry."

"Forget it, Ladybug; you were right," Lila put a hand on her heart. "We'll never be friends."

She picked up her necklace and walked away.

"Ouch…" Chat Noir appeared beside us. "What did I miss out on?"

"Not much, honestly," I admitted.

Mom placed her hand on my shoulder. We were walking through the Place des Vosges, Piss trotting ahead of us.

"We used to come here all the time when you were little," Mom told me. "You used to love this place."

"Still do," I shrugged.

Mom laughed. "One day, we'll have a family picnic here. What do you say?"

"Sounds fine, I guess," I nodded. "It's been a while." I made a face. "Anyway, I kind of have to go to the bathroom, so…"

"Of course," Mom tugged on Piss' leash. "I'll be here."

So I walked off, heading to the toilet. On my way there, an old man passed by me. He was fairly short, but had the appearance of a sensei from a Kung Fu movie. For some reason, I got the feeling he was important.

"Good afternoon," he addressed me.

"Uh, good afternoon," I nodded back.

"What you did against that villain was very brave, Mr. Couture," he told me. "You'd make a fine hero."

To my surprise, I laughed. "No. I'm no hero. No interest in being one. I'm just an ordinary guy."

The old man raised his brow, then nodded. "Of course. The hero life is not for everyone."

He walked off, leaving me to continue going to the bathroom.

What the Hell was all that about? I thought. Eh, whatever… life sucks, but not that much. I can deal with a few hiccups.