Miraculous:

Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir

Chapter Twelve: A Boy Without His Ladybug

Adrien POV

Adrien awoke in his own bed, in his father's house, in the real city of Paris for the first time in several months. He and Ladybug returned from the fake realm created by Etain last night as planned and confirmed that no time had passed since Marinette left to retrieve him. She snuck back into her bedroom window and he did the same into his own room. He had school for the first time in forever and while he was eager to see his friends, he almost wanted to play hokey and recenter his focus. He'd lived on his own for so long that he was reluctant to return to his world of constant orders and bodyguards.

He convinced himself that he had to at least get up to go to school for no other reason than he was eager to see Marinette again. Their time in the other world would forever be their little secret, well aside from the fact that they were really super heroes, and he felt closer to her than ever. He got up and stretched, expecting to hear his kwami's usual morning complaints yet nothing was forthcoming.

"Plagg, did yesterday tire you out more than usual? Do you need me to purchase more camembert?" He frowned when he heard nothing and looked to the spot next to his bed…only to find nothing there. "Plagg?" Anxiety rising in his chest, he looked around his room and when he could see no sign of his kwami, he looked down at his finger only to find his ring gone. "What!?"

He reached for his phone on the charger next to the wall, in order to call Marinette and see if anything had happened to Tikki, or at least let her know what was happening, but her name wasn't in his phone. Now completely confused and borderline panicking, he decided to forego getting ready for school altogether, quickly got dressed, and ran out of his room intending on rushing over to Marinette's house. Together, surely they'd be able to figure something out.

When he came out of his room, Adrien felt a cold shiver go down his spine. The house décor was completely different. It was darker, somehow, and it was quieter than normal. "Father?" He crept down the hallway to his father's office where he knocked and waited for his father to say something. Again, nothing. Certain that his father was just ignoring him, like usual, as he was always engrossed in his creative design making, Adrien opened the door and would have fallen over in shock had he not been holding on to the doorknob still.

His father's office was as completely reorganized as the rest of the house and looked like it belonged to a much younger person who was not a fashion designer. He saw his mother's painting still in the same place but everything else looked more like it belonged in Adrien's room. He saw a computer on the desk and walked up to it. Hitting the space key revealed a desktop that had a picture of both of his parents. Normally his wallpaper was only of his mother. He also saw on his desk a picture of his parents set in a black frame.

"Master Adrien, is everything okay?" Nathalie appeared at his door with her usual tablet. "You're scheduled for breakfast in five minutes and you haven't showered yet."

"Nathalie, where's Father? Why does everything look different?" he asked.

Nathalie looked flatly at him but there was something sad in her eyes. "Master Adrien, do you need me to contact your therapist and cancel school for the day?"

"What? No, I don't need a therapist. What is going on today? First Plagg goes missing, Marinette is no longer in my phone, and my Father's office looks like it's mine." He ran a hand through his uncombed hair. "Just what is going on?"

"Master Adrien…this is your office."

"What?"

"A year after your mother passed away, your father committed suicide."

Adrien's heart clenched in his chest and he leaned against the wall. "W-what?" Something was wrong. This was all wrong. Adrien took off and ran past Nathalie even while she called after him. He ran into the foyer and saw even the large portrait that had him and his family was replaced with just a portrait of him. Father can't just be gone…it's all a mistake!

Adrien ran out of his house and into the city. His heart pulled him towards Dupain's Bakery so he headed in that direction and prayed somehow Marinette had an answer to all of this. When he came up to the corner of the street that housed the bakery, he skidded to a halt and couldn't believe his eyes…

In the front window of the bakery was a large picture of Marinette surrounded by flowers and candles. It…it's a memorial. The date showed that she died two years ago. Hie legs threatened to go out from under him. But that's not right. That can't be right. "What is going on!?" he shouted at the sky.

"Adrien?" Alya came up to him and raised an eyebrow. "What are you doing out here? Why aren't you heading to school? Where's your backpack?"

"Why does any of that matter!?" he shouted at her without meaning to. "Where's Marinette!? Where's my Father!? All of this is wrong!"

Alya came up and put her hands on his shoulders. "Okay, now just calm down. I don't know what started this, but losing a parent cannot be easy. I'm never going to tell you you can't feel a certain way, but why ask about Marinette? She was gone before you started going to school."

"She wasn't! I fell in love with her at school. This isn't making any sense at all! This is all a nightmare and all I want to do is just wake up now!" He pulled away from Alya and ran away again, ducking into an alleyway when his side began to cramp. "It's not…it's not true. Something's wrong."

"Adrien!" Bunnyx came out of a portal in the alleyway wall and approached him. "It's not just you. Come on!" Before he could ask her what she meant, she grabbed him by the wrist pulled him into her burrow.

"Bunnyx! Do you know what's going on? I thought I was going crazy. Why do I remember everything and no one else does? My house is all different and Marinette, she…"

"I know, now pay attention, I don't have a lot of time." She walked up to one of her screens where a Cat Noir and Ladybug—different from Adrien and Marinette—were frozen in a tent opposite of…

"Etain!" he recognized.

"Right. See that jewel there? She used it to cast an extremely powerful spell. It re-wrote her fate and by doing so messed with everyone else's," Bunnyx explained. "Here soon, even I will cease to exist because without Ladybug, I'll never receive the rabbit miraculous and never become Bunnyx."

Inside Bunnyx' window:

The moon, stars, and planets all revolved in fast forward, or more accurately, fast reverse, and two particular stars that were meant to combine were pulled apart from each other…

Ladybug and Cat Noir unfroze and looking at each other in disbelief when their powers dissolved and they were left looking at each other.

"Elias?" the girl said in surprised disbelief.

"Margarite?" Elias reached forward to caress her cheek even as her form faded from existence before him.

Etain's laughter filled the tent even as she was finishing off her spell. "Ahahaha! Margarite doesn't exist anymore! Ladybug doesn't exist anymore! They didn't want me to be Ladybug. They chose her instead! So now I'll make it so no Ladybug will ever be together with any Cat Noir ever again!"

Back in Bunnyx Burrow…

"Is that why Marinette is gone? What about my father?"

"I don't have time to explain everything," Bunnyx cut him off. "You have to go into Etain's time and stop her from casting that spell. Take too long and you'll be stuck in that time forever because I won't exist anymore to bring you back."

"But I'm not Cat Noir anymore. I don't have Plagg or my ring."

Bunnyx put her hand on his shoulder. "You have to do this as Adrien. I'd grab you another ring from another time only once Etain cast her spell, the guardians went underground. No one else got miraculous. Your father never acquired the butterfly and peacock miraculous and without any hope, your mother's loss eventually led him to his own death."

Adrien looked into the scene with Etain and knew, on some level, this was his fault. I gave her the stone that allowed her to cast this spell. I have to make this right. But if he went back to when he gave her the stone, , and denied it to her, she wouldn't heal Marinette. Somehow, it's always Marinette that pays the price. "I'll make this right, Bunnyx. I promise."

"You better, kitty." Without warning, Bunnyx re-round the tent scene and pushed him through. He stumbled and looked behind him where the portal immediately closed.

"Adrien? What are you doing here?" He turned back around and saw Etain, the pedestal with the stone set between them. He looked at the stone, then back at her. "Don't even think about it."

He licked his lips and rushed forward, swiping the stone and ducking under her immediate counterattack with her rapier. She followed up with a fireball shot from her hand and screeched when he rolled closer to the tent opening. "I'm sorry," he said before he ran out of the tent and into the forest.

He ran as far and fast as he could and figured if he was successful, that Bunnyx would appear and pull him back into her burrow. It made sense then when she didn't appear that Etain appeared in his path instead in a whirl of wind and leaves.

"You're cute but not that cute," she glared at him. "I will kill you. Give me the stone."

"No, you can't perform your spell. Do so and everything in my time gets destroyed."

"Why do I care? I'm going to get my revenge and you're not stopping me!" she held up her hand. "Give me the stone. Now."

"What good will revenge do you?" he asked instead. "Revenge won't change the people's mind to grant you the miraculous. It won't make you happy making sure future Ladybugs and Cat Noir's live miserable lives."

"Actually, that's exactly what it's going to do," she countered. "I'm not going to ask again." To prove her point, she snapped her fingers and thunder cracked as lightning came down upon him from out of nowhere. He cried out and the jewel went flying from his hands as he went down hard, spasming in pain. Etain came up and casually picked up the jewel from the forest floor and regarded him with the same distain he remembered showing her in the other Paris. "Cute will only get you so far. I have been overlooked, disregarded, and passed over for the last time. I'm going to have my way if I have to tear it away from God himself."

Etain held the stone up to the sky where the moonlight fell full on it and it began to glow. She cast her spell and the stars above spun according to her will. Adrien watched as long as he could, unable to move his body, until darkness consumed all.

When Adrien awoke, he was in another room somewhere, and everything hurt. He groaned and slowly sat up, his body covered in large fur blankets of some sort. The bed he lay on had straw underneath the sheets.

"Please, do not push yourself," a male voice said.

Adrien looked over and saw the boy, Elias, come over with a cup of hot liquid. "Elias?"

"You know my name? I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. You don't exactly look like you're from around here." Elias offered him the tea with a sad smile.

Adrien looked down at his clothes and realized he was wearing fashion from several hundred years in the future. Oops. "Um…yeah, I don't even know where to begin with a believable lie."

"I think I can surmise some of it." Elias sat down next to the bed and folded his hands in his lap, dropping his head to stare at the floor. "You came from the future to stop Etain from casting her spell."

"So, you know? Your mind remembers what it was like before?" Adrien drank the tea and it did help with the pain a little bit.

"I do. Otherwise, if I was left ignorant, it wouldn't be proper revenge, would it?" He smiled sadly. "I came across you encountering Etain right before she struck you with her lightning. I'm sorry I didn't come sooner. I'm sorry…we didn't come sooner."

"You and Margarite?"

Elias nodded. "I can understand Etain's feelings and pain, but I cannot justify the measures she's taken to get her way."

Adrien nodded. He knew the type. "It's affected my timeline, too. Milady, by my side from the beginning, now is recorded dying two years ago. My father's taken his own life. Everything I held dear has been taken away." He looked earnestly at Elias. "Will you tell me your story? Maybe we can still convince her to undo the damage she's done."

Elias closed his eyes. "Etain and I were close when we were younger, but I always felt there was something dangerous about her affections. I met Margarite a couple years ago when we were both being considered as owners for the miraculous of creation and destruction—those of the Ladybug and Black Cat. We bonded and our similar personalities drew us together. The guardians—known collectively as the Society here—chose against considering Etain. They felt, as I do, that her current amount of power was dangerous and shouldn't be added to."

"So, she was upset at not getting more power?" That didn't sound right from what he'd learned of Etain.

Elias shook his head. "No, I don't think power was what she craved. She was an orphan, raised on the outskirts of the village by a local witch. She learned magic and while she's never hurt anyone in the past, I'm certain her methods of using the blood and body parts of animals have stained her soul. I believe she wanted to become Ladybug simply to be with me. When I could not adhere to her request, for I would not go against the Society's wishes, she felt betrayed and swore that she would one day get her revenge on all Ladybugs and Cat Noirs who would think to find happiness when hers was denied. Margarite is sweet and wanted to help when I told her of my problem. Etain, of course, wanted nothing to do with her."

Adrien put his cup down and swung his legs over the bed to stand up. "Well, I'm going to try. As it stands now, I can't go back to my time until this gets fixed. I'm sure Etain can be reasoned with. Does she still live with the witch that took her in? Can you point me in the right direction?"

Elias nodded and stood up as well. "I will go with you. If she cares for me as she claims, maybe she will hear me out as well. The witch she lived with passed away some time ago, so Etain lives alone in the same tent just outside the village."

Just then Adrien's stomach grumbled loudly and he realized with a blush that he'd left so suddenly from his home that he hadn't eaten since the night before. "Um, sorry about that."

Elias, however, laughed. "Think nothing of it. I can make us some food and then we can go to her."

Adrien regarded Elias and realized the two of them were suffering the same pain albeit with different people. He put a hand on Elias' shoulder and gave him an encouraging smile. "Hey, we're going to fix this. We'll bring back both Margarite and Marinette. I promise."

"Marinette? Is that the name of your Ladybug?" Elias asked.

"That's right. Milady is someone I can always depend on. She's my other half. Without her, there is no Cat Noir."

Elias mirrored his smile. "Aye, that's how it is for me as well. Margarite's voice is like a beautiful lark's and her hair is as smooth as silk."

"I look forward to meeting her soon." An idea occurred to Adrien and he snapped his fingers. "Hey, do you have flour, butter, sugar, and some milk?"

"I have most of those ingredients, though I'd have to see if the family cow has milk this morning."

Adrien refrained from making a face but what could be done? He was sometime in the 1400s or around there, and refrigerators weren't invented yet. "Sounds great. I think bringing some food will helps us when it comes to approaching Etain. Let's get to work."

A couple hours later, Adrien had a plate of hot pancakes wrapped in cloth that he carried with him through the forest to where Etain was supposed to live. Syrup hadn't been invented yet, but Elias was able to add fresh berries which would still do the trick…he hoped. When they came upon her house, she obviously sensed them coming because she came out of her tent and crossed her arms, glaring in their direction.

"If you've come to beg for me to undo the spell I'm not going to," she began. "So, you may as well just leave."

"We didn't." Adrien held up the plate of food. "I came to bring you breakfast."

She raised an eyebrow. "Why? Is it poisoned?" When Adrien's face fell, she rolled her eyes and laughed. "Please, you aren't smart enough to attempt that and even if you did or if this was some ploy to attack and kill me, it still wouldn't do you any good. Killing me won't undo the spell either."

"We would never do that!" Elias exclaimed. "We never wished ill harm upon you, Etain!"

Trying to salvage the mood, Adrien uncovered the plate and wafted the wonderful smell in Etain's direction. "It's pancakes…"

Etain looked at the plate and practically drooled. When she tried to take the plate from Adrien, he pulled it out of her reach. "Only if you allow us inside to talk. That's all we want to do."

She rolled her eyes again but stepped aside from the tent opening and allowed them inside. Once they were inside, she quickly took the plate from Adrien and went to the tiny table against the wall with a single chair. The inside of her tent had little in the way of accommodations. She had one area with flaps where Adrien assumed her bed was but everything else was in the one room they current stood in.

This place feels so…lonely. Adrien knew it was spring now (He had to remind himself that the time he lived in the other Paris had been re-round) and there was a slight chill in the air. "So, after everything you've accomplished up until this point…are you happy?"

"Of course. I finally got my revenge," she stated between bites.

"Did Margarite's existence really cause you that much grief that you had to erase her from history?" Elias asked. "Her parents are grieving from the loss of their daughter."

"That's not my problem," Etain huffed. "They should have known the risks when they allowed her to accept the role of Ladybug."

"Do you think the one who cared for you would have been satisfied if you had died while fulfilling the role of Ladybug?" Adrien asked.

"I wouldn't know since she's gone now, would I!?" Etain snapped. "IF I had been Ladybug, then I would have been able to save her from the demon that killed her!"

"When did that happen?" Adrien asked Elias.

"About a year ago. A demon was seen a couple of times in these woods. Margarite and I had already been chosen as Ladybug and Cat Noir, however we hadn't received orders from the Society to go out and exorcise the demon," Elias explained, his eyes full of sadness and he looked over at Etain. "By the time we did…"

"The Society assumed that Lady Ira used dark magic to summon it. They allowed it to remain free because the only one in danger was us because we didn't have the protection of being in the village. They decided to let it attack us and that's when she was killed!" Etain shot to her feet and glared at Elias. "If I had been chosen as Ladybug, I would have been here to protect her! Lady Ira didn't summon the demon. We don't delve into dark magic as they claim. Yes, we use nature, but we understand the sacrifice casting spells requires. The Society is pompous and drunk on power! That is why they fear me so!"

Adrien understood now where Etain was coming from. He walked up to her, unafraid of her outburst, and took one of her hands into his. "You're lonely."

"I am not lonely! I am different and if people want to fear me without knowing me then so be it! If I won't be given what I deserve then I will take it!"

"And what you deserve is fair and equal treatment. To be not judged but held accountable only for what is actually your responsibility." Adrien released her hand. "Thank you, Etain. I think I understand you better now." He turned and began leaving the tent.

"That's it? You aren't going to ask me to undo the spell?" Etain asked.

"What would be the point? You would still be alone and unhappy. That isn't the right solution either. For now, I have to go speak to this Society and hear what they have to say."

Elias' mouth fell open. "The Society are a high-level group of people. They won't allow an outsider to speak to them!"

At this, Adrien smirked. "Then I'll have to give them a reason to see me…"

Back in the village, in the largest building in the village—the church—Adrien was allowed inside a dark room where a group of individuals, hidden in shadow, were arranged around him. "Outsider Adrien Agreste, it has been relayed to us by Elias that you have in your possession the Jewel of Alexandra. We request that you turn it over to us."

"Yeah, I really don't have it. Sorry for the misconception but I had to find a way for you to accept to speak to me," Adrien told them. "The treatment of Etain these last couple of years has been neglectful and shameful, and I've come to ask why this group of powerful people saw fit to allow an innocent girl to lose her caregiver when you had the power to save them."

"We will not allow someone of no standing to question our decisions."

"Leave us!"

"No, because someone has to be able to tell you when you guys are making mistakes! The power of the miraculous are intended to be a tool of salvation for any and all people that darkness targets! It's not up to you to decide who is worthy of saving and who isn't!"

"He knows of the miraculous!"

"He must be a creature of darkness!"
"I'm not! Don't you see where your fear of power has driven you?" Adrien clenched a fist. "The guardian that gave me my miraculous chose me because I have a good heart. That doesn't mean I'm perfect. I make mistakes—lots of them—but my Ladybug never once second guessed if I was worthy of saving! She tried to save even her enemies. Anyone can become a demon; the powers of darkness only allow to grow what's already there. We all have darkness inside us. It's up to us which we decide to let win based on the actions we take."

"The child speaks truth," one of the voices who hadn't spoken before said. "Even our own local priest has been evilized in a moment of weakness when his child succumbed to the Black Plague."

"See? Etain isn't evil and the one who raised her wasn't evil. They were just different, yet you ostracized them, segregated their existence, and now you're reaping the consequences of those decisions. You can make this right. There's still time." He pointed behind him, towards Etain's tent far in the distance, unseen by those gathered here. "Out there is a little girl who's living alone and all she wants is to be a part of a group, a family. She has no one so it's no wonder she's lashing out. Will you punish her or will you prove yourselves worthy, as guardians of the miraculous, and find it in yourselves to save one more innocent child?"

Elias came up and patted Adrien on the back as he came out of the church. "That was amazing! I've never heard anyone speak to the Society like that!"

Adrien shrugged. "All of it was true. In order to get the Jewel of Alexandra, I had to face my akumatized self—that is the transformation I took on as a demon. It came about because of my fears and shortcomings, my guilt and self-esteem issues. I understand loneliness, better than most, and it's why I cling so much to what Ladybug and I share. I am such a better person when she's in my life than when she's gone."

"Do you think Etain will listen?"

"I don't know. All we can do at this point is try." Adrien walked with Elias back to Etain's tent and this time the expression she held for him was not one of distain or hatred, but one of hope. "Hey."

"Don't hey me. What did you do? I bet the Society wouldn't even speak to you, huh? And now you're coming back here to beg me since you're all out of options?" Etain smirked as if she were right.

"No, they saw me. I might've told them I had the Jewel of Alexandra in my possession though." He grinned sheepishly while Etain looked at him with wide eyes.

"You lied? Adrien Agreste, I do think I'm rubbing off on you."

"I did what I had to so they'd see me. I told them they made a mistake and that their fear was what caused them to make that mistake, as well as others."

"You didn't!" Etain gasped.

"I did." Adrien opened his arms. "They've agreed to allow you to live within the village. You won't have to be out here all alone anymore. I told them you wouldn't practice dark magic and that you deserved the same level of protection as everyone else."

Now she frowned. "You think I want to live in there with them? Where they can judge me daily instead of only when they have to pass by here?"

"Etain, people may fear the unknown now, but once they get to know you, I'm certain they'll warm up to you," Elias said.

"No! They're the reason I'm alone in the first place! I'll never forgive them for what they did!"

"I thought you'd say that, so I wanna make a deal," Adrien held up the rabbit miraculous. Etain, recognizing it, gasped with wide eyes. "I'll go back in time and save Lady Ira from the demon. If she's restored to you, and if the Society keeps their word and allows you within the village, will you agree to undo the spell and return the Ladybug and Cat Noir's destinies back on track?"

Etain looked uncertain but the chance of having her loved one back was too great of an opportunity. "Even if you went back in time, you don't have the power of the Ladybug. You wouldn't be able to exorcize it."

"That's why I'm going to be going, too." Elias raised a fist. "I can go and convince the Margarite of that time to move on the demon without the Society's order. Back then, she and I were still new as owners. We didn't want to cross the Society, but I know I can convince them to help us."

Etain looked between the two boys before her and put a fist over her heart. "…Alright. If you succeed in defeating them demon and saving Lady Ira…I will reverse my spell to rewrite the stars."

Adrien held up the rabbit miraculous. When he attached it to his belt, Fluff came out and looked at Adrien. "Are you my new owner?" Then she stopped and sniffed. "No, you're a guardian!"

"Fluff, clockwise!" Fluff entered the miraculous and Adrien acquired the blue and white outfit, complete with ears and tail. "Now I'm the March Hare!" He waved an arm and said, "Burrow!" A white portal opened up and he looked at Etain with a wink. "Remember your promise." Then he and Elias jumped through.

The portal opened up and spat them out back outside the tent, but his senses immediately told him there was evil nearby.

Elias pointed back towards the village. "I'll go get help! Just hold on and protect Lady Ira until I come back!"

"Right!" When Elias as gone, March Hare unhooked the umbrella from his back and wielded it like a sword. "It's different, won't cause a lot of damage, but if Bunnyx can do it, then so can I!"

The demon appeared and to March Hare it looked like a giant troll. It stood over 8 feet tall, had dark green skin, and a nasty skin condition that probably caused it a lot of pain.

March Hare sniffed and practically gagged. "Ew, and what is that smell?"

"What is that!?" A woman came out of the tent. She had long black hair, just like Etain, and she wore beautiful red and black robes.

"Get back inside! It's dangerous for you out here!" March hare opened and closed his umbrella, getting the demon's attention, and carefully maneuvered him so that the demon's back was to the tent. "Over here, big guy!"

"Yummy bunny…" the demon changed targets and went after March Hare instead.

Not wanting to go too far so Cat Noir and Ladybug could find them when the time came, he took the fight to the demon instead. He didn't want to use Burrow too much, as he wasn't sure how long his transformation would last or if he'd even be able to use it again to get back to the other time. He swung with his umbrella and while the demon was annoyed, like March Hare figured, he wasn't causing any real damage.

Like a fly in need of swatting, the demon backhanded March Hare into a tree where he slumped dazed.

"Cataclysm!" Cat Noir knocked down a tree and had it fall on the demon, pinning it to the ground.

"Exorcism!" Ladybug's light filled the demon and in its place was a merchant who looked around confused. Cat Noir lifted the remaining trunk off him while Ladybug pulled him to his feet. "Are you alright?" she asked.

"Yes, but I don't understand. Where am I? The last thing I remember was being afraid that the next village wouldn't want to buy any of my wares. I haven't eaten in two days…"

"We can help you with that," Cat Noir promised. "There's a lot of good people there with lots of crafters. I'm sure you'll find somebody. Besides that, we'll introduce you to Father Abed. He always has food for passerby."

Elias came over after the past Cat Noir and Ladybug walked back to the village and gave a hand to March Hare. "That went surprisingly well."

"Who are you?" Etain appeared behind them and regarded them with a mixture of wonder laced with fear. "Elias, is this a friend of yours?"

Not having seen Cat Noir leave, Etain didn't know that this wasn't the same Elias. Hoping to smooth things over, March Hare came up to her and took one of her hands into his. "Do me a favor, and never lose hope. There's someone out there for you, someone destiny has picked out that will be a perfect match for you. I'm sure of it."

"Okay…" Etain looked unsure but gave him a small smile anyway. "Thank you, stranger."

March Hare laughed nervously and motioned with his head at Elias. "Shall we?" Not wanting to teleport while she was standing there watching, the two boys took off into the forest. When they were once again alone, Elias caught March Hare by the arm. "You sure Etain will keep her word?"

"Honestly, what I'm hoping happens is that when we return, we discover that she never cast the spell to begin with. Without losing Lady Ira, Etain will most likely lose her motivation for revenge." He waved his hand. "Burrow!"

When they returned to Elias' time, there was no outward sign that anything had changed. "Fluff, counter clockwise." Adrien de-transformed and returned the miraculous to Elias. "Make sure the Society gets this back."

"How do you know everything worked?" Elias asked, taking back the watch.

"Because…he's a terrible optimist." Etain came around the corner and gave him a smirk.

Adrien grinned and rubbed the back of his head. "And you knew I couldn't afford to fail."

Etain looked at Elias. "Changes in time always take a while to take effect." She glanced at Adrien. "I'm thinking you realized the difference the following morning, right?"

He nodded, "I did. And it was horrible."

Etain looked back at her house where certain changes were already slowly taking place. Her tent itself was already disappearing. "Simply because the Society said they would allow us into the village, doesn't mean things are going to end up all warm and fuzzy."

Elias came up to her. "I'll make sure they keep their word! Plus, Margarite and I will step up and make sure they don't abuse of their power or sacrifice anyone else again!"

Adrien laughed and said to Etain, "I can see why you were attracted to me. Elias and I are very similar."

Etain smiled genuinely for the first time since he'd known her and she was really beautiful. Then she pulled the Jewel of Alexandra out of her pocket. "I better keep my end of the bargain before I no longer remember making it. While you…"

Just as she said that, a portal opened up behind her and Bunnyx appeared, "Kitty, you did it!" Bunnyx exclaimed.

Adrien shook hands with Elias and gave Etain a friendly hug. "Keep making good decisions and I'm sure you'll shine bright as your own star one day."

"Keep that annoying optimism away from me or else I might catch whatever you have," she teased and pushed him gently away afterwards. "Go on, get out of here. She's waiting for you."

Adrien nodded and stepped through Bunnyx' burrow. "Bunnyx, will I forget what I did too? How do we know if what we did won't have larger negative consequences?"

"We don't. All we can do is hope. As for your memory, you'll be protected from most of the effects because you used the rabbit miraculous for a period of time. Some of the details might change but overall, your consciousness will accept them."

Bunnyx referred him to a particular burrow and he saw his room on the other side. "How do you know this is the right one? Out of all these portals?"

"Who do you think you're talking to, Kitty!?" Bunnyx pushed him through and blew a raspberry at him. "Stay cute and take care of our Mini-bug!"

Adrien laughed, "You got it." The burrow closed and looking around, he saw she'd deposited him back in his room. Looking down at his hand, he breathed a sigh of relief when he saw his ring reappear on his finger. "Plagg? Plagg, are you here?"

"Sure, where else would I be?" The little kwami flew over to float over his shoulder. "Are you feeling okay?"

Adrien pulled him into a hug and knuckled his tiny head with his index finger. "Yep, just perfect!" He saw it was late morning, so if he hurried, he could still get to school on time. He quickly showered, got dressed, and downed a protein shake in replacement of a breakfast. The family portrait in the foyer was back to normal and he saw his father speaking to Nathalie just outside his office.

"Lunch after your meeting this morning, yes?" Nathalie asked. "I can make reservations for noon if you think you'll be done by then."

"Yes, that should be fine," Gabriel agreed.

Adrien smiled to himself. Things were back to normal here it seemed. He let his bodyguard drive him to school and when he got there, he quickly looked around for Marinette.

He spotted her speaking to Alya at one of the benches near the base of the stairs. He tried to play down his excitement, but his steps got faster as he got closer until he was running up to her mid-conversation. He spotted Lila out of the corner of his eye, but she simply seemed the regular amount of moody. Chances were, Etain was no longer communicating with her so they shouldn't be seeing any possessed individuals anytime soon.

"So, this weekend we'll gather everyone together and jump on the eight o'clock train to go to the beach!" Alya explained.

"Sounds like a—Huh!?" Marinette's sentence was cut off when Adrien suddenly wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a tight hug. "A-Adrien? H-Hey, good to see you too…uh…"

Adrien kept holding her, ignoring the looks and gasps from others around him. "Sorry, I'm just…really happy to see you."

Marinette's body relaxed and she rubbed his back. "It's okay. I'm here and everything's gonna be okay."

And just like that Adrien felt his spirit and heart calm down. Marinette pulled away and tapped his nose with her finger. "It's not often I beat you to school. We'd better hurry or we might both be late."

"Right, sounds good." He took her hand and together they walked up the stairs towards homeroom. "So, the beach? Have you picked out a swimsuit for this season or were you planning on making one?"

Marinette stumbled at the top of the stairs in surprise and looked up as Adrien steadied her. "W-what?"

But he just grinned at her. "Either is fine by me. I look forward to it." Their stars were once again united and everything was back to normal. It had taken a while, but he'd made it through. Hopefully, that meant they could enjoy some peace and quiet for a bit.

Unknown POV

Someone watched as Adrien and Marinette interacted. I'm going to go into a sugar coma just by watching these two. The sooner he gets back, the better. The person looked over at Lila and smirked. And she's going to be interesting to play with along the way.