Chapter 6

Adrien sat on the steps on the front of his house, having had no idea why Gorilla hadn't shown up yet. He hung up his phone, having tried and failed to contact his father. "It's not like I'm in a hurry anyway."

Plagg asked, "Let me guess; you don't want to be near Marinette right now?"

Plagg might not have been too far off, but Adrien didn't like the way he said it. "I haven't figured everything out yet."

"You're considering it, aren't you? You might just date Marinette, huh?"

"Maybe a little bit," Adrien admitted.

"Then I take it you haven't warmed back up to Ladybug? You were pretty mad at her, but that was when Kagami had you in a bad place. I was wondering if anything had changed now that she's gone."

Adrien said, "Ladybug was wrong to keep her secret from me. She was wrong to do a lot of things. I used to think she was perfect, but that was just because I turned a blind eye to all her flaws. I'll admit that I overreacted. She's not a monster. She's the heroin of Paris and I still respect her. But I don't think I can go back to feeling the way I used to."

"Is it really possible that you might quit the team?" Plagg asked with worry.

"I wish I could say that that's her choice; that she can either give me the respect I've earned or I'm done. But the sad truth is that keeping Paris safe takes the both of us together. And I was never going to let someone else have all the fun of being Cat Noir."

Plagg took the time to think a few things over; like what would make Adrien really happy. "Adrien, as much as I hate talking about stuff like this, you should give Marinette a chance. Maybe that only reason you think she doesn't have what Ladybug does, is because you don't know her well enough."

Adrien pursed his lips in contemplation. He pulled out his phone. "At the very least, I should be in a bit more of a hurry to talk with her."

He dialed Marinette's number, and when she answered, she said, "Hello?"

"Hi, Marinette. I thought I'd never get anyone to pick up their phone. I tried Gorilla, Natalie, and Father, but no one answered."

Marinette took her time in responding. Eventually, she said with disappointment that felt fake, "Oh, too bad. I guess you'll never make it in time. Maybe you should just stay home."

"But there's still time," Adrien said.

Marinette started to sound panicked. "The show starts in just a few minutes."

"A few minutes?" This was news to Adrien. "I was told that it wasn't for another . . . Never mind. I'll be there."

"NO! You'll never make it!"

Adrien thought, "I can if I transform." And he said out loud, "Trust me. I can be fast when I want to be."

"Adrien, listen; don't come! I can't explain it, but there's something going on and it's too . . ." And then she screamed.

"Marinette?! What's going on?!"

"I'm going to have to call you back."

"Wait, wait, wait! Marinette? . . . Marinette? . . . She hung up."

"We are going over there, right?" Plagg asked as if the answer wasn't obvious.

"Of course we are." Adrien got somewhere safe and said, "Plagg, claws out!"

Cat Noir rushed over as quickly as he could and found that there certainly was something going on; there was a giant hole in the wall going on. It was through this hole he made his entrance. He saw a team of four villains. Silence, Kitsune, Mayura, and Hawk Moth were about to take the miraculous from Ladybug's battered body. His mind was exploding, trying to gain a grasp on this concept that was too bad to be true. But there was no time to process. He had to act fast.

There was no way he was going to take them all himself. He leapt over Kitsune's head and landed right next to Ladybug. Their surprise wasn't going to last long, so he had to use it in that moment. He extended his staff and spun it around in a circle, smacking all villains except for Silence. Ladybug croaked, "Uhhh . . . Kitty?" Cat Noir picked Ladybug up and used his staff to spring away, just barely avoiding Silence's jaws.

"They cannot be allowed to escape!" Hawk Moth shouted.

Cat Noir exited through the same hole in the wall. Even while carrying Ladybug, he was faster than any of the villains, except for Kitsune. She ran after him, running up walls and jumped from rooftop to rooftop. She gained on him quickly. Twice, she jumped at him and their weapons clashed in midair. She was ready to try a third time, but Hawk Moth started talking to her through their link. "Kitsune, stop. We need to stay together to ensure our victory."

"But this is our chance."

"When we all find Ladybug, she will still be weak. But Cat Noir has proven he can defeat villains single handedly. I can't risk letting them divide and conquer."

Kitsune begrudgingly stopped and said, "Fine."

Cat Noir landed on the roof of Françoise Dupont. Cat Noir put Ladybug down. "We can rest here until you feel up to another round."

"Good. I've been needing to talk with you," Ladybug said.

"If you want to tell why you can't tell me your . . ."

"NO! I wanted to tell you you're right."

Cat Noir couldn't believe his ears. What he heard then felt like the exact opposite of everything he had always heard before. "What?" he said almost breathlessly.

"You were right. About everything. I didn't trust you like I should have. I've never treated you like an equal. I had no good reason not to tell you my secret. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

Her words struck him. Was this a dream come true or a fantasy to good to be reality?

"Kitty . . . I'm ready to show you who I am."

This was once what he wanted more than anything. But he couldn't bring himself to want her to do it because she felt pressured. "Muh Lady, is this really what you want?"

Ladybug's face brightened up a little. "It's been a while since you called me that. Yes, this is what I want. I would also like to know who you are."

"I wouldn't have it any other way."

Ladybug took a deep breath and released it. "Tikki . . ."

"Plagg . . ."

"spots off."

"claws in."

Light washed over them and it finally happened.

They stood speechless, each thinking the same thing. "It couldn't have been a better person."

Adrien's breath was ripped out of his chest.

Marinette felt so weak she thought her legs would collapse.

Adrien felt the impulse to kiss her, but he had to ask himself, does this really change everything? Sure, she just showed him a lot more trust than she ever had before, but she still had a history of not explaining her plans to him, being dismissive, and not being willing to do for him what he did for her. It was too soon to jump into it. He didn't know how much she'd really changed. Still, knowing she was Marinette was alluring. But he resisted for fear of being hurt again.

It didn't take Marinette long to connect a few dots. She thought, "That girl he talked about. It's me. He was in love with me. But what does he feel now? Did I blow it as Ladybug and now he won't want me as Marinette?"

The dead silence was broken when Plagg said, "Well, Tikki; we kept this from happening for as long as we could."

Tikki said, "I know it sounds weird after all these years of keeping secret identities, but we have to support them as they continue to be heroes despite them knowing the others' secret."

"Why? Because this is the right thing to do?"

"No, because they're not going to stop no matter what we say."

Marinette said, "You just wait and see. Knowing each other's identity is going to make us far more efficient. Besides; Hawk Moth already knows who I am, so it . . ."

"WAIT! WHAT?!" Adrien shouted.

Marinette shrank down and slowly turned her head in Adrien's direction. "Oh. Did I forget to mention?"

Plagg said, "That's some interesting timing. Is this why you felt free to tell Cat Noir?"

"Plagg!" Adrien hissed.

Marinette said with understanding, "No, no. That was a valid question. But I swear I've been wanting to tell you who I was since the night you fought Luka."

"It's true. She told me that night that she was going to tell you," Tikki said.

"You don't have to vouch for her, Tikki. I trust her," Adrien said warmly. Those words set something off. He said them with a smile, but saying them brought a frown. He started shivering and panting as his eyes darted from left to right but stayed down.

"What's wrong?" Marinette asked.

"Why did you suspect that my father was Hawk Moth?"

Marinette swallowed her hesitation, knowing now how much this was going to hurt. "I had suspected him before because he had the book about the miraculouses. We wrote him off because he was akumatized. Back then, I assumed he couldn't detransform and keep an akuma. But on the day we fought Air Cannon, I detransformed and kept a lucky charm and it was a metal butterfly. I took it as a sign that Gabriel could still be Hawk Moth."

"But he was at the fashion show today," Adrien said desperately. "He was with you when the villains arrived."

"That's just it, Adrien. The fashion show was a trap he set for me. That's why he had Gorilla leave you at your house."

It made sense. "No," Adrien breathed, placing a hand over his eyes. He paced back and forth, trying to bare the agony of the truth.

Marinette gently grabbed his arm. "Looked at me." He did as she asked and she continued, "I know it hurts. But it will be okay."

"Why would it ever be okay?"

"Because you have me now. I wasn't there for you when you were hurting before, but I'm here for you now. From this point forward, I will always be there for you. Whatever you need, all you have to do is ask. If you need to talk to someone, I'll listen to every word. If you don't want to be alone, I'll come to you anytime of the day or night. If you need to be reminded how strong you are, I'll tell you all about how you're the strongest person I know."

Adrien still felt horrible, but he was doing slightly better thanks to her. That was all he could ask for at that point. He wrapped his arms around her and cried on her shoulder.

Marinette had held him and let him cry for as long as it took. Eventually, he let go of her and said, "We need to find them."

"You think you're up to this? Because I'm not. It's bad enough that we're outnumbered and one of the people outnumbering us is Hawk Moth. You remember how badly he pulverized us on the Eifel Tower without even using his weapon."

"Just like always, all we need is a crazy enough plan."

Marinette smiled and said, "Alright. Time to get creative."

Ladybug cut a hole in a disco ball and Cat Noir poured some kind of liquid into it.

Cat Noir used his staff to elevate himself to a spot on a wall and cataclysmed it, creating several cracks, but not bringing it down yet. He would have enough time to detransform and recharge.

Ladybug returned to Cat Noir with something in each hand. He asked her, "Do you have them?"

Ladybug replied, "Yep. Hawk Moth might know my identity, but he hasn't found my hiding place." Ladybug showed him two boxes; each containing a miraculous.

Fireworks exploded over Françoise Dupont. Ladybug said to Cat Noir, "That should get their attention."

Soon after the fireworks died down, Silence slithered towards them with the three villains riding on his back. Silence climbed up the building to the roof where the villains jumped to different positions, surrounding Ladybug and Cat Noir. Hawk Moth asked, "You go out of your way to summon us? Your commitment robs you of common sense."

Hawk Moth, Mayura, and Kitsune ran towards them. Ladybug ducked and Cat Noir spun his extended staff in circles, halting Hawk Moth and Mayura who didn't want to get struck with it. Kitsune on the other hand, slid under the spinning staff. At the end of her slide, she got back up and slashed at both of them. Ladybug blocked a slash and Cat Noir dashed to the side. Silence slithered near to Kitsune and guarded her. It hissed at them as a warning. Ladybug thought, "The real Silence doesn't make any noise." She ran at Kitsune while shouting, "It's an illusion!" She charged through the smoke that used to be the fake Silence. Cat Noir jumped high into the air. When Silence uncloaked, it was clear that Cat Noir just barely avoided an attack from him. Ladybug tackled Kistune and they plummeted into the ceiling-less courtyard. Ladybug tried to land on her, but Kitsune slashed at Ladybug, forcing her to let go. They fell separately and both landed on their feet.

Kitsune rushed towards Ladybug. She deflected Kitsune's attack as she passed by. Kitsune turned around tried again. This time, when Ladybug tried deflecting the attack, it turned out to be an illusion and the real Kitsune was only a few steps behind her. Ladybug just barely managed to deflect the real Kitsune's attack again. Kitsune kept running and appeared to slit into a dozen of herself; each one running in a different direction. Ladybug couldn't tell which one was real. When they came at her, Ladybug had to pick her battles and hope she would pick the right one. Two illusions dissipated as they were struck and Ladybug was slashed by the real one. The ten remaining Kitsunes turned to run at her again and Ladybug couldn't keep track of the real one. They rushed at her again with the same result. Ladybug focused hard. As the remaining Kitsunes ran at her, she struck them all until she hit the real one. The real Kitsune stopped in front of her and attacked repeatedly. Three or four times a second, Kitsune's blades clashed with Ladybug's yoyo. Ladybug strained to keep up, flinging her yoyo like nun chucks. Kitsune raised her leg, trying to stab Ladybug with the blade on her knee. Ladybug leaned back, moving her face a few inches away from the blade. She then grabbed Kitsune's leg, spun her around, and threw her through the window to the classroom on a higher level. Using her yoyo, Ladybug swung into the classroom and said to Kitsune, "Ya see that?" Ladybug was pointing to a disco ball that was shined upon by a flashlight taped to the wall. Ladybug said, "With light from that disco ball, I'll be able to tell what's an illusion."

Kitsune was skeptical of Ladybug's logic. She said, "I have no idea if that's going to work. But just in case." Kitsune jumped up and cut the disco ball in have. But there was a surprise inside. Some kind of liquid gushed out and covered Kitsune. When she landed, she took a few sniffs and asked, "Is that . . . Adrien, the fragrance?"

"Hey! That's some pricy perfume you just ruined along with my plan!" Ladybug said.

"Why would you put perfume in the disco ball?" Kitsune asked, befuddled.

"I had to get makeshift, okay."

Kitsune stared at Ladybug, understanding absolutely nothing.

"Just fight me," Ladybug said tiredly.

Cat Noir moved fast, avoiding the attacks of Hawk Moth, Mayura, and Silence. They had never seen him move as quickly as he was then. They couldn't seem to touch him. The only problem was that he wasn't hitting them either. Hawk Moth said, "Silence," and the giant snake turned invisible. Cat Noir had no idea when or where Silence would appear. To be safe, he jumped into the courtyard.

After he landed, Cat noir looked around for Ladybug. He saw her on a walkway, fighting Kitsune. As the other villains pursued him, Cat Noir ran to an area behind a basketball hoop. Unlike the center, this area had a ceiling and plenty of concrete above it.

Hawk Moth looked up while Mayura ran closer to Cat Noir. Hawk Moth noticed that the wall above the area Cat Noir ran to had several cracks in it. He said to Silence, "Cat Noir means to lead us into a trap. Bring it down on him instead."

Silence leapt into the air and crashed into the wall, starting a cave in above Cat Noir. Hawk Moth grabbed Mayura and fled the danger zone, leaving Cat Noir alone under the falling debris. Cat Noir looked up, and the hero that was so fast a moment ago was stunned. It all came crashing down upon him and Ladybug screamed, "KITTY!"

Ladybug landed near the pile of rubble and fell on her knees. "No. No, no, no. Cat Noir," she said mournfully.

Mayura approached with a smug look on her face. Still on her knees, Ladybug turned to face her. "Just take them," Ladybug said as if she didn't care anymore.

Mayura reached for her earrings, slowly, expecting a trap, but finding none. She grabbed the earrings, still finding no resistance and took them off Ladybug's ears. Ladybug detransformed into Marinette while the look of defeat on her face remained the same. Mayura threw the earring to Hawk Moth who held them high with triumph and shouted, "IT'S MINE! I knew this day would come. I have the Ladybug Miraculous and soon, I shall have the Cat Miraculous as well!"

Marinette, still near Mayura, put her face in her hands and said, "Before you use them, I just have one more thing to say."

"And what would that be?" Hawk Moth asked. And yet neither him, nor Mayura took their eyes off the miraculous.

Marinette removed her hands from her face, revealing, not a tear ridden mess, but a devious smile.

As established, Ladybug had gathered two more miraculouses before the villains arrived. Those miraculouses were the Fox Miraculous with the power of illusion and the Bee Miraculous with the power to paralyze. Another interesting thing about the Bee Miraculous; its weapon, the top, functions very similarly to the Ladybug Miraculous's yoyo.

Marinette looked at the unsuspecting Mayura and said, "Venom."

Author's Note: What do you call a cliff hanger where the bad guys are the ones in danger?

Also, if your interested, don't forget to read my other fanfiction, Disney Princesses: Extermination.

(This next part was added in later.)

I have a YouTube Channel now. I review fictional couples, talking about how well their written, how good their chemistry is and the story of how they get together. My first video is –

Spider Man and MJ (Homecoming and Far From Home) - Couple Reviews by MVPKnight

My second video is –

Cortana and Master Chief – Couple Reviews by MVPKnight

And my third video is –

Spider-Man and MJ (2002) – Couple Reviews by MVPKnight

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