I can't believe how close I am to completing The Unclocker - one of my longest running stories! I've been brainstorming ideas for a new story, and come up with some ideas. I'd love your opinion on what to work on next, so I put a poll up on my profile! Please vote!

Chapter 46: Vanisher, Part 1

Chat Noir and Ladybug met up on the Eiffel Tower as planned, at 3 am the next morning. They sat next to each other on one of the large beams near the top of the tower, where they both got a good look over Paris.

It was early, but the two superheroes had over 24 hours of rest. Sabrina had been akumatized early evening, and it had taken a full school day and a half the first time for them to realize what was happening. They had figured they could take the extra time again.

The burns on Ladybug's face had been minor, thanks to the protection of her miraculous, and healed quickly. Her ankle, on the other hand, hadn't - but she now had a brace to wear in her civilian form and plenty of pain meds. Resting and icing it had helped too.

Chat Noir's allergies had finally calmed down, and an extra dose of allergy medicine should help with any future run-ins with feathers. He also had a brace for his wrist, now, and adequate pain meds.

And both heroes and their kwamis had gotten something they needed: sleep.

But as good as rest and sleep were, there was something else that needed to be done.

Ladybug ran through the mental list of everything they needed to talk about. First and foremost:

"How did you figure it out?"

Chat was silent a moment before speaking.

"It was small things - changes in events. Like when we faced Stormy Weather, the first time, Alya and Mannon were stuck alone, while this time, you were stuck with them. Timebreaker was similar - Marinette escaped, and Ladybug showed up. Marinette didn't escape, and Ladybug didn't show up. Same thing with Gamer."

"Is that all?" Ladybug asked. "Small changes from The Unclocker?"

Chat Noir nodded. "Pretty much."

"Good," Ladybug decided. "That means no one else could have caught those slip ups."

Chat Noir smiled. "Your secret's safe with me. I won't let the cat out of the bag."

Ladybug rolled her eyes. "I know, Chaton. No need to bring out the puns. Besides, we have other things to talk about."

"Vanisher?" Chat Noir guessed.

"And Chloe," Ladybug added. "But first, we need a plan for The Unclocker. What we've been doing isn't going to continue to work."

"We only have a few akumas left," Chat Noir said. "Princess Fragrance, Simon Says, Puppeteer, Volpina, Blasto."

"And Dark Cupid," Ladybug added. "That's six. Plus Vanisher."

"After everything, I think six is easy," Chat Noir commented.

"But they're the six hardest," Ladybug argues. "Four are capable of controlling others. The other two were some of the hardest fights we've ever had. And a day of rest may have helped, but how much? My ankle hasn't healed that much, or your wrist."

"And fighting Blasto without my cataclysm..." Chat Noir shuddered at the thought. "You're right, of course. But what can we do?"

Ladybug tapped her fingers thoughtfully. "Time travel, right? We know we can affect the future, if only a little. The Unclocker had be to akumatized shortly after Blasto. If we could figure out how she was akumatized, maybe we could stop it."

"That's a good plan, except Blasto isn't exactly the akuma to run off on a secret mission."

"Maybe not," Ladybug said. "But if we can't touch her, we have to have some other way of defeating The Unclocker. She won't just let us go after we've finished with the other akumas."

"You're right. But how do we figure that out?"

"I have Alya on a secret project for that," Ladybug said. "Hopefully she'll come through. But if she doesn't-"

"Then we'll have to figure out something for ourselves," Chat Noir finished. "What's her goal?"

"What?" Ladybug looked at him. "Our Miraculous."

"I know," Chat Noir said. "But what about her personal goal? Most akumas have their own goals too."

Ladybug frowned. "That's a good point, Chaton. Has she made a move against anyone else?"

"Not that I've seen," Chat Noir said. "She must have a grudge against us."

Ladybug nodded. "If so, that probably means she was at the scene where we fought Blasto."

"That makes sense," Chat Noir agreed. "Something in that fight affected her somehow. Hawkmoth swooped in with a way to prevent the fight from taking place at all - giving her powers to make us lose in the past. It makes perfect sense."

"So we just have to find her," Ladybug figured. "And keep that from happening. Sounds like a plan."

"So when do we fight Blasto?" Chat Noir asked.

"We should wait and see if Alya can dig up any more information," Ladybug figured. "Which brings up the next point - who do we fight next?"

"If we want to give Alya all the time she needs, we'll have to fight the other five first." Chat Noir made a face. "I'm not looking forward to being controlled by Princess Fragrance or Puppeteer again."

"Hopefully we can avoid that," Ladybug reasoned. "Princess Fragrance - all we need to is stop our noses and keep from smelling her perform. Puppeteer - we can get an early start and destroy Marin - well, my dolls."

"What about Dark Cupid?" Chat Noir asked. "I don't want to fight you."

"We got distracted last time," Ladybug said. "We'll be more alert next time. Then there's Simon Says."

"We know where he's heading," Chat Noir said. "Get there early, maybe trap him with those fancy security measures. And then Volpina - we know she's a liar, right? Just don't believe anything she says."

"I hope it's as easy as it sounds," Ladybug said. "Who do you think will be easiest?"

"Princess Fragrance," Chat Noir suggested. "I made a lot of stupid mistakes - but if I avoid them-"

"Unfortunately, my mistakes would already be made," Ladybug admitted. "I... lost my kwami."

"You what?"

"Lost my kwami. And then she got sick and I-"

"Don't worry," Chat Noir reassured. "I can handle myself."

"Okay, Princess Fragrance next," Ladung agreed. "Then Simon Says?"

"Him?" Chat Noir asked. "Are you sure?"

"We managed to avoid being hit by him last time," Ladybug said. "And your plan to catch him sounded good."

"If you're sure," Chat Noir said. "And then maybe we should get Dark Cupid out of the way."

Ladybug nodded. "Just no taking arrows for me, Chaton. Then it's between Volpina and Puppeteer."

"Volpina," Chat Noir reasoned. "She may be deceptive, but there's only one of her."

"I agree." Ladybug leaned her head against the beam. "Now, all we have to do is face Vanisher. And Chloe."

"Chloe might be able to help us," Chat Noir reasoned.

Ladybug shook her head. "Too dangerous for her, especially with the extra bad luck. She needs to stay out of the way."

"She wants to help," Chat Noir reiterated. "Wait - what if we give her a job to help that won't actually put her in harms way? Satisfy her need and keep her safe."

"That might work. Did you have anything in mind?"

As we've finally gotten to the reveal, I couldn't help but think about when I first published this story, and my roommate was reading it. She made a comment to another friend in the fandom about how Chat Noir kept noticing Marinette in different places and still not figuring out her secret identity, and me grinning to myself because I had already planned the reveal out. Unfortunately, I think she's stopped reading this, but she's been a big idea bouncer throughout the process!