A/N: I posted an animation related to this fanfic! You can find it on my tumblr ihf-arts, or my deviantart iHateFridays.
"My dear civilians…"
All of Paris looked up, following the sound of the booming voice. Standing on top of the Eiffel Tower was a looming figure doused in purple. A dark cape flowed out behind him.
"I bet you're wondering what happened to your dear Ladybug and Chat Noir," the figure chuckled. "They've been AFK for a while, haven't they? Well, it's not a big deal. They couldn't handle Hawk Moth, anyway. But I can. And I did. The old Hawk Moth is gone."
The people gasped.
"And now, I shall look after you," the figure spread his arms. "Well, admittedly, I, too, am Hawk Moth. But I won't fail to protect you unlike those heroes. With me, nothing will ever hurt us again!"
He pointed at the sky. It darkened, matching his expression. And right at that moment, the people of Paris knew they were in for the long haul…
The end of their city had come at last.
At first, the Paris we crashed into didn't look so bad. It looked just the same as the one we were used to, back in our own timeline. The Eiffel Tower was in the distance, I could see the Seine, everything looked normal enough…
"Ahem," Ladybug cleared her throat, addressing all of us as we stood near the Seine. That being me, Chat Noir, Queen Bee, Viperion and Ryuko. Bunnyx was there too, having been the means we used to get to the timeline.
"Now that we're here, all we need to do is find Johnny," Ladybug explained.
"And then what?" I asked. "Kill him?"
"The Butterfly Man will be coming after us too," Chat Noir added.
"Then let's do this as quickly as possible," Ladybug put her fist in her palm. "And no, we won't kill him. That's not what heroes do. We'll de-akumatise him. We'll save him."
Damn right, I grimaced, narrowing my eyes. I gotta get home and finish that damn scarf. Let's get this over with.
"Good luck, you lot," Bunnyx waved, before disappearing into her burrow.
"Alright, everyone," Ladybug narrowed her eyes. "Let's find Johnny."
…
It didn't actually take too long to find Johnny. We simply had to follow all of the crap lying through the streets. People knocked out, corpses, screaming and crying…
If that Johnny guy really is me, he should know better than to screw up my city, I scowled, arms shaking.
"What are the alternate versions of you going to say when they see us?" Viperion asked Ladybug.
"We'll tell them what's going on," Ladybug responded, giving him a thumbs up. "Don't worry. They're used to strange stuff like this."
Unsurprisingly, I groaned.
We were interrupted by a loud thump beneath us.
"Jump!" Ladybug yelled out.
We moved out of the way, Queen Bee grabbing my arm. The ground split open and ejected out a girl, almost like it was spitting her out. I grimaced when I saw her face.
"Lila…" I sighed.
"Stay away from me," Lila hissed, moving backwards. "You can't have your stupid revenge on me!"
Her hair was a mess, a bruise was under her eyes, and her cardigan was patterned with rips and holes. Her figure was slumped over, like a wild animal. Overall, she looked like she'd tried to have a fist fight with a lawn mower.
"Lila, what happened to you?" Ladybug asked.
"What happened to your hair?" Queen Bee cringed.
"He tried to kill me!" Lila growled, pointing at me.
"Apparently, I didn't finish the job," I raised my brow.
"You're insane!" Lila stood up, waving her arms.
"That's rich coming from you…" I grumbled.
"Lila," Ladybug stepped forward. "Tell us everything that happened to you."
Lila crossed her arms. "I don't know. That psycho over there-" she glowered at me, "popped out of nowhere. He said something about me lying - no idea what he's talking about - and then, he waved up his hand, and this huge red dagger came out of the ground, nearly impaling me! Then before anything else could happen, it looped around my foot and dragged me underground. I just managed to escape with my life."
Chat Noir steadied Lila's shoulder. She took in deep breaths of air.
"Why is he still here?" she glared at me. "He's responsible for all of this!"
"I mean…" I shrugged. "She's technically not wrong."
"It's kind of hard to explain, Lila, but…" Ladybug breathed out. "The John with us here is from a different timeline. He's a good guy. We're here to stop the John in this timeline because he's a bad guy."
Lila blinked at her.
"Don't worry about it," Ladybug sighed. "Come on. Let's get you to safety."
As the heroes led Lila away, I kept an eye out for a certain someone. Ryuko stood near me. Cue awkward silence.
"Uh, hey," I greeted her.
"What would cause an alternate version of you to do all of this?" she asked me suddenly, raising a brow.
"He - well, I - probably got sick and tired of everything," I told her. "Y'know… I get how he feels. He's me, after all."
"Are you going to become akumatized like him?" Ryuko asked.
"I don't think so," I replied. "I ain't that bad."
Still, the fear was ticking away inside me. I had the potential to be just as bad as Johnny. I was him, after all.
No, that won't happen, I clenched my fists. We might be the same person, but we're from two different realities. Right?
When I thought about it, I realised Johnny and myself had been through the same shit. But what made him different from me…? What tipped him over the edge?
Ryuko stared at me, long and hard. Her glare was making my skin crawl.
"Let's keep going," Ladybug spoke up, saving me from Ryuko's piercing gaze. "We're getting closer and closer to him."
And so, we continued through the streets of Paris. I dug my hands in my pockets. My heart thumped in my ears.
CRASH
"Come on!" Ladybug raced ahead, Chat Noir right behind her. "We-"
"Hey."
Ladybug stopped dead in her tracks. The Butterfly Man was in front of her. He adjusted his top hat, cape flowing.
"Do you really think I'm gonna let you just waltz in and ruin my past?" he chuckled, darkly.
"You will," I told him, giving him the stink eye.
"You're not strong enough to get past me," he waved his arms. A sea of Akumas fluttered behind him, like a looming shadow.
"Chat Noir, you, Viperion, and Ryuko take care of this guy," Ladybug turned to Chloé and I. "We're going to find Johnny."
"M'lady…" Chat Noir reached out.
"Don't worry," Ladybug grinned at him. "I've got a plan."
"You think you can run from me?" the Butterfly Man hissed, holding out a gun. Before he could aim at us, though, Ryuko charged at him with her sword. He growled, turning on her.
"Come on," Ladybug addressed Queen Bee and myself. We raced ahead, the ground shaking beneath our feet.
"You're a total psycho, John," Queen Bee told me. "Although, that purple cape suits you pretty well. The facial hair is a little tacky, though."
"Speak for yourself," I grunted. "You as Queen Wasp? Absolutely disgusting colour scheme."
"Hey," Queen Bee folded her arms. "It suited my eyes!"
"Guys," Ladybug stopped us at the end of the street. Cracks patterned the road, and some of the buildings. People were sneaking around, gazing nervously at the sky. Dark clouds were starting to creep in.
I faced Ladybug. "Y'know, I thought you wanted to let her go." I pointed at Queen Bee.
"That was… originally the plan, but…" Ladybug placed her hands together. "You and Chloé - uh, Queen Bee - are good friends, right? She could be of great help to us."
"We are not friends," Queen Bee grumbled, folding her arms. "I can't stand him. I'm only here because it's my duty as a hero."
"We get on okay," I put my arm around Queen Bee.
"Knock it off, Jacky," she shoved me away. "You still smell weird."
"You look weird," I retorted.
"Guys," Ladybug waved her hands. "Look."
In the distance, we saw a group of daunting figures. A dangerous, red aura surrounded one of them. The other two were incredibly familiar.
"About time," Queen Bee huffed, arms crossed.
Ladybug led us closer to the figures. We held our breaths. Johnny had his hands deep in his pockets. Alternate Ladybug and Alternate Chat Noir stood in front of him, both mortified.
"John, we're looking for a villain," Alternate Ladybug told Johnny.
"... what's with red on your face?" Alternate Chat Noir asked. "Face paint?"
"A villain, huh?" Johnny chuckled. "Well… I know a few of those. They're standing in front of me, right now."
Alternate Chat Noir looked around. "Wait… what do you mean?"
Ladybug nodded at Queen Bee. "Go!"
"Venom!" Queen Bee jumped out, throwing her spinning top. The weapon punctured Johnny, making him fall over.
"Queen Bee?!" Alternate Ladybug stumbled backwards. "How'd you get your Miraculoous?"
"We have a lot to explain," Ladybug told her, me following behind.
"Another Ladybug?!" Alternate Chat Noir asked, eyes widening. "This is a dream come true!"
More like a nightmare come true, I grumbled internally.
Ladybug spread her arms. "But first, we need to subdue Johnny."
Johnny got up, more blood running down his cheeks.
"What in the Hell…" he eyed all of us. His gaze stayed on me.
"Ladybug, Chat Noir, Queen Bee," Ladybug swung her yo-yo. "Let's go!"
The group of superheroes faced Johnny, weapons in hand. He tilted his head.
"You've come to stop me…?" he asked.
"All the way from another timeline," I told him.
"Wow, I'm so flattered," he chuckled, placing a hand on his chest. "Well, allow me to give you a warm welcome to my world."
He raised his arms. Large, red daggers came bursting out of the ground. The four superheroes leaped up, ready to go. Their weapons were in hand.
But Johnny had his focus on me. I scowled at him, matching his expression.
"I know why you're doing this," I told him. "You're pissed off."
"Well, duh," he lunged towards me. "And unlike you, I'm not waiting around for anyone else to fix my problems."
Chat Noir's staff appeared in front of my face, shielding me from him.
"Pests, all of you," Johnny uttered.
"Listen, man," I waved my hands. "It doesn't have to be like this. I get it… it sucks. But hurting all these people is just stupid and selfish."
"Oh, shut up," Johnny growled, placing his hand around my throat. "When'd you become so cheesy?! You're just like all these stupid heroes."
My lungs cried out for air. A yoyo wrapped around Johnny's arm, pulling him down.
"He's right," Ladybug stood next to me, helping me up. "John, you know… the thing I always admired about you is your resilience. No matter how much drama you get pulled into, you always manage to be yourself and come out on top. And I don't know about you, but… that's pretty miraculous."
She smiled at me. I found myself smiling back.
Johnny gritted his teeth. "Do you think I want to live through this repetitive, horrific nightmare for the rest of my life?! My family died multiple times because of YOU!"
His red tears streamed down his cheeks like a waterfall. He screamed, sharp daggers bursting out from all around him.
"Wow, I didn't know you were such a brat," Queen Bee swung her spinning top. "Just kidding, you've always been a pain."
Johnny defended himself by covering himself with a dagger.
"YOU'RE the brat, Chloé!" he snapped. "You'll die alone in Hell."
His fists were shaking. Ladybug stood back, grabbing onto my shoulder.
"You need to give… you need to give the good a second chance," I told him. "We always come out on top."
"If good always comes out on top, then why is everything so bad for me all the time?!" he growled, pulling his hands through his hair. "It's not FAIR! ALL I EVER WANTED WAS PEACE AND QUIET! IS THAT SO MUCH TO ASK FOR?!"
The ground was cracking around him. More and more daggers were appearing. Red tears streamed down his face.
"Johnny…" I reached out.
And then I understood. I'd felt that pain. That heartache, that rage, that frustration. I'd felt every little bit of it. And I'd been so close to falling over the edge.
But I knew what had saved me. In the end, I'd learned to live with it. There were people who cared for me… and people I cared for as well. I had embraced it all - positives and negatives - as a part of myself. But Johnny… Johnny just couldn't accept it.
"It's not fair…" Johnny gritted his teeth. He chuckled, darkly. "Well… that's why I gotta go out and get that peace myself. Because none of you are good enough to get it for me."
More and more daggers appeared around him, the whole world shaking. Blood red tears pooled onto the ground, splattering on the road.
"There's only one thing to do now," Ladybug held out her hand. "Lucky Charm!"
In her hand landed a knitting needle, and a gingerbread cookie.
"What am I supposed to do with these?" she asked.
My eyes lit up. "Gimme those."
I took the gingerbread cookie in one hand, and the knitting needle in the other. I approached Johnny, slowly.
"Did you ever finish the scarf?" I asked him.
"... the scarf?" he rolled his eyes. "Who has time for a stupid scarf?!"
"Come on, man," I told him. "It's what Dad would've wanted, right?"
I offered him the knitting needle.
"And here, everyone deserves a cookie," I gave him the cookie as well.
He stared at both the items. And then he began to laugh.
"I really didn't finish that stupid scarf," he shook his head. "Oh, thanks for reminding me…"
"You gotta think about other people sometimes," I told him. "You get caught up in your own worries… but it's alright. It's okay. You can learn to live with it and be happy. It'll be much better than all of this." I touched his shoulder. "Accept yourself, John."
Johnny fell to his knees. "I'm... so tired…"
"I know," I told him. "But you've got friends and family here as well. Don't give up so easily. Okay?"
A card fell out of Johnny's pocket. A birthday card. I walked over to it, picking it up. The cover was splattered with over-saturated colours. And the inside?
My dear John,
Happy Birthday, my little baby boy. 16 now… you're growing up so fast! Here's to another year… never stop smiling. You're so strong.
Love, Mama, Avril, the twins, and Pistache.
My throat choked up. Sorry, Mom…
I ripped the card in half. An akuma flew out.
"Gotcha!" Ladybug captured the akuma in her yoyo. "Time to de evilize!"
Queen Bee walked over to me, gazing up at my face. Tears were starting to form in my own eyes.
"Miraculous Ladybug!" Ladybug waved her hand. And all the damage was undone. Johnny turned into himself (me), the daggers vanished, and I…
Johnny turned away, covering his face. I walked over to him, touching his shoulder.
"I'm an idiot," he sighed. "I can't ever get away from this, can I?"
"Well, maybe you can learn to live with it," I told him. "Shit, I mean… I have to do that too. She helps." I gestured at Queen Bee, who stuck her tongue out. "The others as well. We care 'bout each other."
Johnny chuckled. "Maybe… maybe I'll give it one last chance… with these damn heroes…"
A wave of akumas fluttered off in the distance. The Butterfly Man was gone.
"Man, it's great to be back home!"
Chat Noir stretched his arms as the heroes and I regrouped in Paris, back in our own timeline. We stood in front of the Eiffel Tower, Bunnyx waving as she vanished into her burrow once more.
"The Butterfly Man is gone, meaning John is safe," Chat Noir clapped.
"Finally," I grumbled. "Well, that's all now." I turned to Ladybug. "Our time here is done."
Ladybug nodded, shaking my hand. "Of course. It was an honour to have you. Thank you for helping."
"All the honour goes to you, honestly," I chuckled. "And you, Chat Noir."
Chat Noir meowed, tipping his head. "Of course, good sir."
I shook hands with Viperion… and reluctantly with Ryuko… before turning to Queen Bee.
"You're a bitch," I told her.
"Yeah?" she scoffed. "Well, you're smelly and weird."
"I'm gonna miss you," I told her.
"Whatever," she huffed, a small smile appearing on her face.
I paused, gazing at Ladybug and Chat Noir.
"By the way," I said. "You two would make a good couple. I bet your civilian identities would agree."
And so, waving to the befuddled heroes, I walked away, hands in my pockets. I sighed, gazing at the lowering sun.
It's great to be home...
When I got home, I realised I was still smiling.
"John!" Mom came racing towards me as I entered the living room. Her eyes were shaking.
"What's going on?" I asked. I felt my ribs being crushed by her hug… not the most fun thing in the world.
"We heard something was going on," Avril stormed over, arms crossed. "Are you okay, kiddo?"
"Johnny!" the twins raced over, Piss barking behind them.
"Nah, I'm fine," I chuckled, hugging Mom back. "I'm just regular old me."
I patted the twins on the head, and lit Piss lick my face. Avril shook her head, bonking me on the head.
"Don't go running off so much," she chastised. "That's my thing."
"Trust me, there won't be so much of that in the future," I sighed.
"John…" Mom grinned at me. "Did you forget what day it is?"
I nodded. "Your card was great, Mom. I love it. Thank you."
"Oh, John…" Mom sobbed into my shoulder. "You really are the best son I could ask for."
Avril wrapped her arms around us, the twins joining in as well. Piss jumped up, his claws scratching my butt. But for once, I was fine with it. I'd never been so grateful for my family.
Goddamn did my fingers hurt. I continued to weave, the black and white wool meshing together. I leaned back on my messy bed, Pink Floyd blasting out of an old speaker.
"You're a hard worker," Dad appeared at my door frame. "Just like your old man."
"This has literally taken like half a damn year," I grumbled. "I wanted to get it done before my birthday!"
"Well, at least you got there in the end, right?" Dad chuckled.
I grimaced down at my scarf. A smile appeared on my face. At last, the piece of shit was finally finished.
"Yeah," I sighed. "I guess so."
Dad patted my shoulder. "Well, wear it, John. You should be proud!"
And so I did. I put the damn scarf around my neck. And you know what, it didn't look half bad. Almost suited my acne.
"Thanks, Dad," I grinned at him.
He returned the grin. "Of course, my boy."
I leaned back in my bed, closing my eyes. There were a lot of things I wanted to process, but… for that moment, I just wanted a nap. I think I deserved it.
And, well, what do you know. We're at the end. I'm sure you had a great time reading through all of my suffering, but it's time for me to let you go. Did you have fun, you wackos? Eh, who am I kidding… hmm, for some reason I feel like I should leave you off with a moral or something, but… that's not really my thing.
Well. Whoever you are, wherever you are… things may suck now, but who knows? Maybe they'll get better. Don't lose hope so easily. It might not be so willing to give up on you as you for it. I'm not saying be overly positive, but… I guess, at the end of the day, don't become the goddamn Butterfly Man. Seriously.
Okay, that's all. Au reviour, you psychos.
… oh, uh, one last thing. If you ever get a secret identity, make sure no one can fucking recognise your real identity. Cheers.
A/N: And that's it… this is the final chapter. Thanks for reading! I seriously can't believe how popular this story became, I didn't think it would get much attention at all. XD Y'all really blew my expectations out of the water… I'm glad so many of you enjoyed reading about John's suffe- uh, grand adventure. XD
Before I go, I'll answer some questions you might have.
Are you doing season 4 and 5? - No. The reasons are because, 1. The release date of season 4 is a little while away and due to sporadic episode drops, it'll be hard to keep up with new eps coming out. 2. I have other projects I want to work on. I'm honestly moving away from fanfic in general, I'm more invested in my webcomic than any of my fanfics lol. 3. I think it's for the best to keep this story shorter, so we're wrapping it up here.
Are you doing the New York/Shanghai special or any of the other specials? - No. Why? Because I don't want to. That's it lol. There are wayyyy too many specials coming out… and I honestly don't like the New York special that much anyway haha. (Also, again, because I wanna work on other projects lol)
Epilogue? - Nahhh
Sequel? - Nahhh (for the same reasons mentioned above)
Any other Miraculous fanfics? - I might (I emphasize MIGHT) write a one shot about Chloé someday but I won't be writing any more long stories. Also if I do make the one shot, it won't have anything to do with this fanfic lol.
If you have any other questions feel free to leave a comment. Thank you very much for reading and being a great audience, IHF out 👋