AN: Reminder again that this was written in 2016 and it must certainly has details that we now know are wrong based on the newer seasons. Its being reuploaded due to very popular demand.

Unmasked

Chapter 10

Adrien didn't know what to do with the sight in front of him. The sweet girl and strong girl that he loved, was replaced was a mirror image of her, but instead she was hostile and frightful. "Mari...nette?" he said out loud.

"Black Beetle," she corrected. She took a step closer to him, and he stumbled back. He looked around or anything he might be able to use to help the situation, but there was nothing. When he glanced back she was charging at him with lightning reflexes. He barely dodged her, and ended up somersaulting away. As he landed he took out his staff for protection.

He did this just in time, as she came at him again. He ended up bringing his staff up in guard himself from her, but then she used the staff to jump up on and leapt into the air, and twisted in mid-air. He shifted around to defend himself. She had at this point taken out a yo-yo. Much smaller than her original one as Ladybug, but she swung it down from above at him. He used his staff to swing it away and threw it aside.

To his surprise, when he threw the yo-yo aside, it crashed into the ground with a crash, breaking and snapping the floor boards. He yelped when he realized that her yo-yo wasn't just a handy little tool any longer, but a very dangerous weapon. He could hear Hawkmoth laughing as he witnessed the scene in front of him. He couldn't fight Marinette. He couldn't even defeat her. She was the one who could do the miraculous cure. He wouldn't be able to do it. There was no way he knew of to free her. Only thing he could think of to free her was to...kill her. And Adrien would rather die and kill any person, let alone his Lady.

"You're weak," she giggled as she landed on her feet just on the other side of the room. "I've always had to carry you. You were never my partner, you were always just a useless little sidekick."

"We both know that isn't true. Who helped you defeat Stormy Weather? Who got us out of that bubble created by the Bubbler? You destroyed Lady Wifi's source of power? All of them! Who did that? It wasn't yo-"

"Shut it kitty!" she screamed, her face twisting in anger.

"It was both of us! We're a team, we always have been, and we always will be," Adrien tried to reason with her.

She threw her yo-yo at him again in rage, and he dodged her attacks again, but only barely. As he landed on all fours, he heard his ring beat. He glanced at it quickly before he looked at Black Beetle, and dodged another attack. He only had one mark left. His cataclysm had used up most of his power. He glanced at the purse Marinette had on her side. The food was in there, he had to get to it, he needed it to recharge. If he was barely defeating Marinette as Chat Noir, he didn't stand a chance as Adrien.

It was almost as if she sensed it, and she giggled. "Oh dear kitty. I got rid of that food. It's not like I have to recharge my powers anymore. And once I give that miraculous of yours to Hawkmoth, you won't need to worry about it."

Adrien held onto his ring protectively and brought his hand into a fist. Plagg was annoying, greedy and spoiled rotten, but he treasured his friend. He wasn't going to let his friend be taken away from him. Even by Marinette. "I won't give up Plagg, ever."

She came out of nowhere and grabbed him by the throat, throwing him into the wall. She held him up by the throat. He tried to claw at her hands to get free, but she didn't react to these actions. Nor did they need to do any action. She giggled. "Being caring will get you nowhere."

'You're wrong,' he screamed in his mind, unable to get the words out as she choked him. 'Caring does so much. You've cared about so many people, and saved them and never once asked for a thanks. You did it because you loved them.'

"Marinette! Please stop this!" Tikki cried out. "You'll kill him!"

Marinette's darkened eyes lit up with laugher. "That's the plan sweet little Tikki."

"B-but you love him!" Tikki cried out.

Hawkmoth, pulled his leather clad fingers over Tikki's mouth to silence her. Marinette replied to Tikki's pleas by raising her fist and readied to punch Chat Noir in the face. Marinette pulled her fist back and threw her fist at Chat Noir's face. It was then that Tikki used the last of her strength to pull her mouth free from Hawkmoth and cried out. "MARINETTE! THAT'S ADRIEN!"

Adrien had closed her eyes as tightly as possible ready to take the blow. It was getting dizzy from the lack of oxygen, but then nothing happened. Then the grip on his neck loosened, and he opened his eyes as he started to gasp for air. In front of him was a fist just centimetres from his face. Behind the fist was a girl with a surprised and equally terrified look on her face. Some of the darkness had left her eyes, and behind were the light blue eyes he loved so much. Instead of being filled with joy though, they were filled with fear. She dropped him, and he slumped down to the ground. He fought for more air, but just as he fell, his power had run out, and left behind was just Adrien. He looked up at Marinette. She looked down at him.

"N-no...I...almost...you..." her words were caught in her mouth, and she fell to her knee's. Her hands fell to both sides of her head and she was shaking. "You...you...him..."

"M-Marinette," Adrien tried to gasp out. "I-it's okay. I'm h-here."

"Black Beetle! Stand up now! Take his miraculous!"

Floating beside Adrien was Plagg, and he was hissing and standing between the two. "You're never going to take my Miraculous!"

Tears began to fall down Marinette's eyes. "He promised me...he said he'd make everyone like me. He promised me Adrien...oh God. What did I nearly do?"

Adrien tried move towards Marinette, and placed an arm around her, and then another, until she was brought close to him in a hug. Adrien glared over to Hawkmoth near them who seemed surprised by the scene before him. "You're going to pay for this," Adrien hissed at his enemy.

Hawkmoth squeezed Tikki tighter making her wince. "Adrien, hand over your Miraculous. You can go back to your normal life. I can bring your mother back! You can have your mother and Marinette."

"Don't you talk about my mother," Adrien snapped. "My mother died two years ago. It hurts every damn day, and I miss her, but you can't use her as a tool. She wouldn't want me to hand over my Miraulous. She'd want me to continue using it to protect my loved ones. You don't get to dictate that."

Hawkmoth seemed surprised by his word, but Adrien looked down at Marinette who was will shaking. "Marinette, you don't need these powers. You're a hero on your own. Turn back, please."

She looked up at him, her body shaking. "I'm scared."

"You don't need to be, I'm here," he tried to comfort her.

Slowly Marinette reached for the purse, and held it up to him. He took one end of it and nodded at her. "Together."

She formed a smile. "Together."

They threw the purse down on the ground at the same time. They snapped the clasp, and out came the cursed butterfly. Adrien hadn't thought about it this far. He had no idea what to do. They couldn't purify Marinette without her Miraculous Cure.

She turned to look at him, and gave him a smile. "We're the heroes, even without the masks."

She stood, which left him confused. She looked up at the Akuma, and glared. "You're not getting away from me little Akuma."

"M-Marinette, what are you doing?"

She bend down for a moment and then leapt into the air, snatching up the Akuma. She clasped it between her two hands. She started to concentrate, and Adrien watched in awe, as a white light began to form around her hands. "Miraculous cure!" She cried out. The room was filled with light and both Hawkmoth and Adrien covered their eyes as they were blinded by the light. When it faded, Marinette in her everyday street clothes floated down to the ground. She opened her hands, and a tiny white butterfly escaped her hands. "Bye, bye little butterfly."

To say that Adrien was stunned was an understatement. He didn't understand, how Marinette was able to cure the Akuma without Tikki. Even Plagg seemed equally stunned. Marinette turned to face Hawkmoth. "I'm not weak. I don't need your powers. I just need my friends by my side! And you will hand Tikki over to me!"

"I am not defeated so easily little Marinette!" Hawkmoth sneered at her. He raised his cane, and the Akuma that had been out in the hallway gathered in that room, and circled up above. "And without your miraculous you are both powerless to stop me. You'd be wise to hand that other Miraculous, if you want to get out of this alive Miss Marinette."

Adrien stood up and walked to Marinette's side. "It's my Miraculous, and we will not give it up. And we're not leaving without Tikki. She is our team mate and friend."

"You will stand down, Adrien!" Hawkmoth yelled at him.

"Never," Adrien shot back.

"So be it then, be with your mother!"

The Akuma began to rain down on them, and they split up, trying to not be hit by their dark magic. Marinette ended up crashing into the ground, and landed by her purse. She glanced over and noticed the toy yo-yo from her childhood. She had forgotten that she had placed it inside her purse when her mother gave it to her the night before. She had used it as a weapon moments earlier. It must have fallen out when they broke her purse to get the Akuma. She grabbed for it and scrambled to her feet. She began to run to one end of the room. She looked around in a panic, and then at Adrien who was quickly being surrounded by the Akuma. While they couldn't possess either of them, Adrien appeared to being sting by them with some sort of magic.

Marinette began to spin the yo-yo around, similar to how she did to protect herself as Ladybug, except this time, she charged towards Adrien and began to swing away at the Akuma. As she hit them, they began to fall to the ground. Marinette heard a voice in the back of her mind who was telling her how she should attack. Similar to when Tikki did so when she was in serious trouble.

Cure the fallen ones!

Marinette slapped the ground surrounding the fallen Akuma. "Miraculous cure!" she called again. Another bright light surrounded them, and the Akuma all began to change from their black purple colour to the pure white shades. As she glanced at Hawkmoth from the corner of her eye, she saw him blocking the light from his eyes. Another voice filled her mind.

The cane!

While still knelt down, she threw her yo-yo one last time, and it wrapped around Hawkmoth's cane. With a yank, the cane flew out of Hawkmoth's hands and Marinette grabbed hold of it. Adrien had been blinded and hadn't witnessed it, so when he saw the cane in her hands he seemed very surprised. Hawkmoth screamed at her. "You wouldn't you pathetic little girl."

She sent him that confident grin she had become famous for. "The name is Marinette Dupain-Cheng, also known as the Miraculous Ladybug. And I would."

She stood up and raised the cane above her knee, and snapped it over her knee, breaking the cane in two. She tossed it aside. Adrien climbed to his feet and stood beside his lady. Both watched as a pink creature was released from the cane. It wasn't an Akuma, but it resembled a Kwami. Plagg jumped in. "We need to seal him! Both of you grab him!"

Both teenagers jumped forward, and easily grabbed the confused Kwami. As soon as he was snatched up, Hawkmoth seemed to wince and he dropped to the ground, and Tikki was released. Tikki moved over to Hawkmoth's chest where she snatched up the butterfly shaped charm that was on his front shirt. She flew over to the two teenagers. "Hold him tightly," she ordered.

Both listened and held onto the now struggling Kwami. "Nooo! Let me go!"

Plagg placed a hand on the struggling Kwami, and began to chant an ancient language either humans understood, and Tikki held the butterfly charm in front of the Kwami. Slowly a white light surrounded the Kwami, and it faded away slowly, and then with a poof, it disappeared. "Whoa," Adrien said. Marinette could only nod. The charm was dropped into Marinette's hands. She lifted it up to look at it.

"Is it over?" she asked Tikki.

With a delightful cheer Tikki nodded. "You did it!"

"You freed Hawkmoth as well," Plagg pointed to the man who was collapsed on the ground.

"He was just a puppet himself," Tikki told them.

Adrien took a step closer to the man, realizing who the man was. It was Gabriel Agreste. Suddenly it made sense. Ever since his mother died, his father had disappeared from his life, becoming distant and cold. The stress of the loss of his dear wife, made him vulnerable and made him possessed by the Kwami. Adrien knelt down to his knees. Understanding why the final battle had taken place in the room that had once been his mother's office. She had been a painter and had her own studio. "He's my dad," Adrien stated, trying to lift the man in front of him.

Marinette gasped and covered her mouth, shocked at the realization. "I-is he alright?"

"He'll be fine," Plagg answered. "Just needs to rest. He'll probably remember everything though, unlike the others. He was possessed by a Kwami not an Akuma. A contract for power was signed more than likely, similar to the agreements we had with you."

Tikki floated over to Adrien and landed on his shoulder. "I could sense the grief, your mother's death was hard on him. Just so you know, everything he did, he did to try and bring her back. He wanted you to be happy too."

Adrien could only nod, but tears were falling down his cheeks. He cradled his father's head in his lap, and tried to comfort the unconscious man. Just like his father use to do for him as a child. Marinette sat beside him and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "He's safe," she told him.

"Thank you Marinette," Adrien said, tears freely flowing now. "You'll never know what this means to me."

She just smiled at him, and then took a seat beside him. "Don't mention it," she said after several minutes of silence. "You saved me how many times this week."

Tikki floated over to Marinette and snuggled into her. Marinette grabbed the Kwami and hugged her. "I'm so sorry Tikki. I can't believe I gave you up."

Tikki shook her head. "It's not the first time it happened, but it was the first time a Ladybug ever got me back. You're amazing, Marinette."

Marinette smiled at her tiny friend, and made a promise to herself to never let anything come between them again. Adrien looked at the tiny Kwami. "Tikki, how could Marinette use the miraculous cure without you?"

Tikki seemed surprised. "Geez, I keep tell you two. I'm the mask, Marinette is the hero. Both Plagg and I choose only those who have the power within them to use us. Ladybugs have always used a yo-yo to capture Akuma's and other evils to purify them. It's safer for them to capture and purify from a distance, but basically every Ladybug had the power within her to do it with her bare hands, but it's not recommended as they need to be in the perfect mindset. Which is why I never told Marinette, it's too risky."

"I heard a voice in my head tell me to do it," she explained. "I felt like someone was guiding me."

"That was the soul of the Miraculous," Plagg explained this time. "Each miraculous was born of a powerful human with a great will. They were able to form their thoughts and powers into the miraculous. Only people matching the mindset of the original humans are able to use the power."

"I don't understand," Adrien replied.

"Basically, Adrien and you, Marinette, are like reincarnations of the original two Ladybug and Chat Noir's. You're the only two in the world right now who can actually transform," Tikki simplified.

The man below them began to stir, and Adrien's attention was drawn back to Gabriel Agreste. His eyes opened, and in a confused state looked up at the two. His eyes went wide when he saw his son. "Adrien!" he jumped up and grabbed his son, pulling him into a warm embrace that Adrien hadn't felt in so long. Adrien felt a warmth fill him that he hadn't felt in so long. A part of him that felt empty for so long, suddenly felt full.

"Father," he said.

"I'm so sorry!" his father cried. "That thing came to me! He offered me power, and the ability to bring Emilie back! I just...I needed...I needed the Miraculous to grant a wish. What would...your mother think...?"

Adrien placed his arms around his father. "It's alright father. You're free, and Marinette and I are fine."

Marinette smiled as she watched the two embracing. Tikki below her made a cute little awe sound, and Plagg made some dramatic gagging sounds, which made Marinette giggle a little. They two drew away, and Gabriel turned to look at Marinette. He bowed his head. "I'm so sorry about everything I have done. You're friend and parents are safe. They are in the basement."

Marinette stood to her feet. "I'll leave you two alone then. I'll go get them."

"W-Wait, Marinette," Adrien called out to her. He helped his father to his feet. "We haven't talked about...well...the identity issue."

"Tonight," she told him. "Spend time with your father. Let's meet at our usual spot, and we'll talk about it. 9pm, sharp. Is that alright, Mr. Agreste?"

He chuckled, and smiled, the same way Adrien smiled. "You two are the super heroes, I don't think I have a say in the matter."

"Alright, I'll see you tonight then, see you later...kitty," she smiled at him.

She turned to the hallway and ran to the first floor. It was there that Marinette began to search around for a basement door. When she reached the kitchen, she heard the soft sound of banging. Tikki helped her search around, and that's when they noticed some tracks that were on the ground. It looked like something had been dragged. That's when Marinette realized that the island in the middle of the room had been moved. She pushed on the island, and pushed it back, revealing what looked like an old fashioned basement door. She pulled open the door and revealed the smiling face of Ayla.

"Marinette!" she jumped out of the trap door and grabbed onto Marinette and hugged her tightly. Marinette hugged her tightly, relief falling over her. Her parents appeared as well and Marinette was reunited with her parents. "You're all safe!" she cried.

"Did you get Hawkmoth?" Ayla cried.

Tikki cheered and danced. "She did! No more Akuma's!"

"You're so amazing!" Ayla cried.

Her parents were both smiling at her proudly. "Let's go home," Marinette stated.

"What about Chat Noir?" Ayla asked looking around for the feline.

"Oh, Adrien's upstairs with his father," Marinette stated. "I'm going to meet up with him la-"

"ADRIEN?!" they screamed in unison.

Marinette began to panic realizing that she had just let the cat out of the bag. "Well...you see...um, he...ahhhh."

"I can't believe he told you!"

"Not so much told...as...power ran out...and scared the hell out of me," Marinette tried to explain. It left the three very confused. "J-Just never mind. Let's go home, cook some dinner...then talk."

Tom knew Marinette must have had a truly difficult fight and only nodded at his daughter. "Let's go home."

The four left the house and headed outside. Not to Marinette's surprise there was a crowd outside. Some of them were fans and some of them were with the media. Marinette took a deep breath, and stepped forward. And like they weren't even there, she lightly pushed them aside, and began to walk in the direction of home. With her best friend and parents in tow. Marinette knew that things would get better from here on out.

8 8 8

Marinette was sitting on top of the observation deck of the Eiffel tower. Often the two heroes met here during patrols. Though this evening she felt little butterflies in her stomach, but she was still looking forward to seeing him. She didn't have to wait long, as he appeared over the side of the tower, landing a few feet away from her. She smiled when she saw him. "Hey," she greeted.

"Hey," he greeted back.

The two stared at each other, and she could tell that perhaps her kitty cat was feeling a little shy too. She knew it had to do with him revealing his identity to her by mistake. She shook her head at him. "I don't care."

"How could you not?"

"Easy," she said.

"But...how?"

She shrugged. "Because you love me. All of me. Marinette and Ladybug."

"I don't love Ladybug and Marinette," he stated. "I love the person in front of me. All of them."

"And that's what is so wonderful to me. Adrien Agreste was always this fantasy of mine. I always pictured him being this great sweet guy, who would protect his loved ones. Then I started to give up on that dream. Then the identity fiasco happened, and all of a sudden, Chat Noir was all of that for me. And it confused me. It hurt because I felt like I was betraying Adrien for the ever flirty Chat Noir. I was so confused. I didn't want to choose."

Chat Noir was in front of her. "You don't have to, Chat Noir and Adrien is who I am."

"When your power wore off, I was so terrified," she told him. "I had almost killed you. I had no control fighting you as Chat Noir. Hawkmoth had filled my head with this sick lie that you were beneath me, using me, that you were a leech using me because we were both freaks and you needed me. My head was just filled with thoughts of how strong I could show Adrien I was. And then, poof, Adrien was in Chat Noir's place, and it was only then that I realized all the sick lies. That Adrien didn't need to see how strong I could be. He knew, he saw it every time we fought beside each other. And then the realization that, he loved me, even as Marinette fell over me. It was what snapped me back to reality."

Chat Noir smiled at her, and reached for her. "I love you no matter what." She smiled at him, but a visible blush covered her cheeks. "My Lady, did I make you blush?"

She grabbed him by the collar and pulled him close. "Not even in your dreams kitty."

He grabbed her by the waist and quickly dipped her. Normally she would have squirmed free, but she didn't this time. "Then this must be heaven."

She rolled her eyes at his corny comments, and sighed. "Still flirty as ever."

"Oh, you love it," he winked at her.

She sent him that grin. "No, I just love you."

Now it was his turn to blush.

He quickly undipped her, and lifted her back up, and he was still blushing in embarrassment. She was glad she was able to get that off her chest. "So, I'm curious, what did you think when you found out that Marinette was Ladybug?"

"Honestly?" he asked.

He leaned against the railings of the Eiffel tower. "I felt like an idiot for not realizing it was the girl who sat behind me in class every day." She laughed with him, and too leaned against the railings. "What about you?"

"I told you, I was terrified that I nearly killed you. That the strange little kitty who had been trying to win my heart the last two years was the actual guy I was pinning for. Kind of comical actually," she laughed.

"So…now what?" he asked.

"Now what, what?" she asked.

"Plagg told me that with that Kwami sealed away, we may never need to use our powers again. That a new enemy may appear, or they may not. That Plagg and Tikki would be with us until the day we die. What does that mean…for us? Do I reveal my identity? Do we never transform again…or what? And what are we?"

"Adrien," she set him a surprised look. "First off, it means that we can be heroes in other ways. We can patrol the city for other criminals if we want, or we can retire completely until more bad shows up, if at all. Second, I don't want you to reveal your identity to anyone. Adrien Agreste is already a super model, I don't want your fans becoming even more obsessed. Besides, you want to enjoy your time with your dad, don't you? It would be easier if no one knew. And thirdly, we are whatever we want to be."

"And what is that?" he seemed actually pretty concerned about this question, and he seemed pretty unconfident. It kind of amused Marinette. She smiled at the blonde boy, and took a step in front of him and grinned at him. She was inches away from him and the blush has creeped back up upon his face.

"We're partners," she stated. "In every sense of the word." She grabbed him by the collar again and pulled him close and placed a soft kiss on his lips. "That alright with you, kitty?"

The stunned hero could only blush more, nod and then smile.

A/N: So yeah, when I wrote this originally I had a theory that Hawkmoth was being used by an evil Kwami...looking back I have no idea why that made sense to me. And also...while using her powers out of her hero form...not possible. It would have been kind of cool, but we will see. In any case, this makes me cringe. I want to completely rewrite this in the future so it would be very different. Still I hope you enjoyed this.