Chapter 12: The lady under the mask

"Plagg. What am I going to do?"

"Here we go again. You better have restocked the Camembert supply if you want any help from me."

"I told the chef this morning. It should keep you supplied for a few days."

There were so many thoughts bouncing in Adrien's head he felt for bumps appearing on his face. They arrived back from the photoshoot a short time ago, came straight up to the room and crumpled on the bed. They were both lying supine, arms stretched out to the side. Plagg disappeared into the feather pillow with an audible sigh.

"What are you are sighing about, all you did today was sleep in my pocket? Do you want to go out running to let off some pent-up energy?"

"What?" Plagg cried, aghast. "Go out in the cold when I have these soft, warm feathers, hugging me. I'm not a masochist. You go running around and leave me right here."

Thousands year-old kwami, with the power to level cities, and all he wants is to lie on a feather pillow. Why did he get such a lazy kwami? Adrien was certain that Ladybug's kwami was a little bundle of energy, always on the move, doing, helping, and eating anything but stinky cheese.

"I can't go without you, Plagg. I would climb out the window and plummet down to the ground. That will end up with me in the hospital and bars installed on the windows. Quite a sad end to my superheroing days."

"Sounds like a good plan," Plagg chuckled, "then we can just stay home and eat."

"Do you think of anything else besides food?"

"Sleep."

"I walked into that one," Adrien facepalmed. "You realize you're avoiding my question?"

Plagg was trying hard to appear nonplussed, but Adrien knew his friend, and something was bothering him.

"What question?" Plagg claimed innocence.

"What am I going to do."

"You should go to sleep."

"Plagg! You know what I mean."

"Be more specific. If it isn't about food or sleep, then I don't know what you're talking about."

"About Ladybug. About Marinette. I am so confused I don't know what I'm thinking anymore. Take Ladybug, I don't understand what is going on with her. Then Marinette, I realized I like her more than I thought. Which makes me think of Ladybug again, and that just confuses me even more."

The two lay in silence, studying the ceiling. Adrien was certain he could draw the pattern of his ceiling from memory. He remembered every tile, every chip and blemish. The product of long hours spent home alone, lying in bed staring at the ceiling.

The dark ceiling reminded him of space. That made him ponder aliens and hamsters. Aliens and hamsters gave him a warm, fuzzy feeling he did not quite understand.

"You're saying that Marinette makes you think of Ladybug?" Plagg ventured. "Why?"

"I don't know." Adrien contemplated for a minute. "Maybe because I like her, but I love Ladybug. I feel guilty that I have feelings for someone else besides Ladybug. It's like I am cheating on her, but I'm not, since we're not together. I enjoy kissing her, even when I know she has no feeling behind it. Then I wonder what would it be like to kiss Marinette and if she could grow to have feelings for me. She's almost as much of a mystery as Ladybug."

They were silent while studying the ceiling.

"Plagg," Adrien said after a while. "Do I have a type?"

Plagg snorted. "More than you can imagine."

"What do you mean?" Adrien turned to the side, facing Plagg.

"I've been thinking."

"That's a first."

"Hilarious. What do you think of Ladybug? Has she's changed?"

"Of course she has," Adrien exclaimed. "What do you think I've been complaining about all this time?"

"Yes, yes. But how much has she changed?"

"What do you mean?"

"Is it possible she is not the same Ladybug as before?"

"What!" Adrien sprang to a sitting position. The bounce of the bed toppled Plagg off the pillow, face first into the mattress.

"Hey, I was comfortable," Plagg muttered, floating up to eye level. "I have found out some disturbing information. About Ladybug."

"What information? How did you find it?" Adrien was getting agitated.

"I have my ways, never mind how. My point is that Tikki is no longer with Ladybug's civilian self. Which makes me believe she is no longer Ladybug. That means we have a new Ladybug."

"Wait, wait. I'm not following. Tikki. That's Ladybug's kwami, right?"

"Correct."

"So if Tikki is no longer with Ladybug, or rather she is no longer with whoever is behind Ladybug's mask, then Tikki is with someone else and that someone else is now Ladybug. Does that mean that Ladybug isn't Ladybug? Then who is Ladybug? I'm confused."

"And yet, you were still chosen for the ring."

Adrien stopped and faced Plagg, his eyebrows scrunched together.

"You're mocking me, aren't you?"

"I would never do that to my Chosen."

Adrien picked up the pillow and swatted Plagg out of the bed. Plagg flung a few feet, hovered for a second, then flew back onto the bed. The two silently stared at each other.

"Hey! Wait!" Adrien perked up. "You know who is behind the mask? You know who Ladybug is?"

"So, you got there eventually." Plagg sounded resigned.

"You know! I can't believe it. All this time you knew who she was, and you never told me? Why? Why let me suffer like this when you had the solution right there in your paw?" Adrien jumped off the bed and paced.

"I'm sorry, Adrien," Plagg sounded sincere. It must be an act.

"You're sorry? That is all you have to say for yourself?" Adrien shot back, struggling to keep the volume down. He knew he was overreacting, but now on top of all the troubles, all the stress and difficult situations, to find that Plagg had the answer to the question he's been asking for so long. He had reason to overreact.

"Firstly," Plagg flew up in front of Adrien's face and pointed his paw at him. "Ladybug's secret identity is not my secret to give away. If she did not want to tell you, then it is not for me to do so."

Adrien tried to hold on to his anger, but Plagg was making sense. He had plenty of opportunities to peek at when Ladybug de-transformed when she ran out of time. Instead, he always respected her wishes and stayed away. How could he ask Plagg to betray her trust that way?

"Secondly," Plagg continued, "I can't tell you even when I want. At the moment, with all the issues we are having, I want you to know so you can help me figure out what is going on. But I can't. The magic of the Miraculous stops me from revealing anything about the other Miraculous holders. I cannot even hint at it or tell you anything which will help you find out."

"You can't? Wow, that is quite some magic. Does that mean Tikki can't tell Ladybug who I am?"

"That is a good thing, considering she's a different Ladybug pretending to be the same one."

"I'm not sure, Plagg. She looks the same and acts, well, almost the same."

"The way she looks isn't proof. I could dramatically transform your appearance if I wanted to. It takes a lot more energy, so why bother? I would not say that she acts almost the same. There's been a real big shift in her priorities."

"Why would Tikki do that? Why would they want me to think she is the same Ladybug?"

Plagg did not answer. He flew back to the pillow and sunk back into it.

Adrien paced across his room once more. He couldn't accept it. She's the same Ladybug that he loves. Perhaps more forceful and controlling, and her selfless commitment to helping everyone has been lacking. She must be under a lot of stress and depressed because she had so much hope for her campaign.

Adrien did not see it made much of a difference. He enjoyed kissing Ladybug for the last six months, so he didn't care if it made a difference or not. Lately, she has grown much colder towards him that even her kisses were no longer distracting him from the truth. Ladybug has changed; a lot.

But not the same person? That was too much. He needed advice, and Plagg was no help.

"We need to go see Master Fu. He'll have answers."

"Now that's a good idea." Plagg emerged from his pillow.

"We'll go tomorrow straight after school."

"Oh, no! Do I have to go to school?"

A/N Next Chapter "Mind over instinct"