I Do Not Own Miraculous of Avatar.

Chapter Forty: Reunited.

No one was happy. How could they be? Jet was gone. Appa was gone. Cat Noir was gone. They had failed. They left the freedom fighters to mourn their leader, coming out from under Lake Laogai without Appa and Cat. Their hearts were heavy and hope was lost. Long Feng had gotten to them first. They would probably never see their friends again. Finally Aang spoke up, voicing what they were all thinking.

"Appa and Cat are gone. Long Feng beat us." Aang said mournfully. Marinette trembled. She was heartbroken that they hadn't found her partner. She missed him more than she missed her own world.

"No." She said softly, "We can't give up on them. We just can't. Jet died trying to help us find them. We can't give up now because we lost one battle. Then what would his sacrifice be worth?" Team Avatar regarded her with solem expressions. She looked at them and shook her head, trying to hold back her tears.

"They can't be gone." She repeated in an even softer tone, trying hard to convince herself it wasn't true.

"We need to keep moving. Jet might have knocked Long Feng out, but his agents are still crawling all over the place. We have to get out of the city or expose the Dai Li… and fast." Sokka said, taking charge immediately and becoming their voice of reason. Marinette was beyond grateful for Sokka. She didn't have the strength left to reason anymore.

"Yeah, you're right." Toph agreed with a wavering tone. The team turned to leave when suddenly Momo perked up on Aang's shoulder, chattering excitedly.

"What is it Momo?" Aang asked in surprise. The creature was gesturing wildly, flapping his arms excitedly as it chattered quicker than Marinette had ever heard the flying lemur chatter before. Suddenly he launched into the sky, causing the team to turn around and follow him with their eyes. That's when they saw a form take shape in the distance. It was large and furry.

They all, with the exception of a very confused Toph, blinked in surprise. It was Appa! And what was more… there was a familiar figure in black clinging desperately to the bison's back. No. That was impossible. The bison landed and Aang cied out "Appa!" in sheer delight. While everyone was focused on the flying bison, her focus was on someone else. The figure in black climbed off of Appa's back looking rather concerned and deep in thought. It was Cat Noir. He was right there in front of her.

Like with her, he had taken the time to redo his costume. He was now dressed from the neck down in a black ninja gi with buckle up combat boots and a black cloth belt for a tail. He had black gauntlets and slung over his shoulder was a black satchel with the green cat paw print that marked it was Cat Noir's. A hook for his staff was attacked to the satchel. Around his neck was a green ribbon that had his golden bell. His mask and cat ears remained relatively the same. His feline eyes searched the group before him frantically until they settled on her.

"Milady." He breathed softly. The Team froze, with the exception of Aang, who was still happily hugging his pet, they all looked at Cat Noir in surprise.

"Chaton." She said shyly before running to him and wrapping him in a hug. Everything was forgotten as the world melted away and all that remained was her dear partner, who gladly embraced her back, hugging her like she was the most precious thing in the world. They both were silently crying tears of joy for finally being together once again. After eternity, they pulled away.

"Where have you been, stupid cat! I thought I lost you forever!" She scolded, slugging him in the arm.

"You could never lose me, Bugaboo. Our fates are tied together, you know that." Cat Noir said back, brandishing his famous Cat Noir grin.

"I'm serious Cat! Did Long Feng really capture you? How did you escape? Where did you find Appa? How did you know to come here with him?"

"Hold on, My Ladybug. I'll answer all your questions in due time, but for now, could you introduce me to your friends? They are kinda staring." He chuckled. Oh! She'd forgotten Team Avatar completely.

"Yeah, uh. That's Avatar Aang… over there, with the bison. That's Katara. She is a water bender, and her brother Sokka, a non bender. Then there's Toph Bei Fong. She's a blind earthbender. And that's Momo, Aang's other pet." Cat Noir bowed.

"Pleased to make your acquaintances. I'm Cat Noir, Miraculous Wielder of Destruction and Bad Luck." He said, winking. His tail flicked back and forth in delight and his eyes shone with joy, "I was only with Long Feng for like, one day, before my good friend Lee broke me out. He and I stumbled upon the bison. He said that he saw a flyer saying it was the Avatar's and he heard rumors that the Avatar was traveling with someone called Ladybug. The Plagg sensed Tikki nearby… and here we are now."

"Wait… if you were only with Long Feng for a day, how come Hawkmoth…"

"Don't worry about him, Milady. He was bluffing. Before Long Feng got me I was kinda stuck in the Lower Ring with a broken ankle and unable to actually go out of the Upper Rings due to the Dai Li everywhere. Apparently golden hair is not normal around here. I had to wear a hat everywhere, which Lee insisted was stupid until he realized my hair was blonde before insisting I just get a new hat, but then I lost my hat when the Dai Li arrested me, which is annoying because I really liked that hat. Oh! And I got a job… oh dear… the Baker's are probably worried sick about me since I haven't gone back since I went over to Lee's and was arrested. Seems I'm luckier than I thought to have been arrested the day before you decided to break into the Dai Li base. Of course, that could just be your good luck rubbing off on me."

"Wait… you work at a bakery?" She asked.

"Yep! Seng, Talo, and Jeng were nice enough to take this stray cat into their loving home. I'll admit, I was not expecting someone to be so nice, but I liked it. Reminded me of the Dupain-Cheng Bakery back in Paris. You know, the one with all the croissants and macaroons and those chocolate chip cookies that Marinette Dupain-Cheng always gave me when I stopped by. You know Marinette, right? You had me go on a mission with her during the Evillustrator fiasco? The super talented designer girl? Brave and really clever if you'd ask me." Immediately Marinette found herself blushing. Cat was completing her civilian self? Why?

"Uh, yeah. I've met Marinette." Marinette said nervously, "She's cool, I guess. Her parent's make the best food."

"I know right!?" Cat Noir agreed.

"Uh, sorry to interrupt the happy reunion, but we are literally standing right next to a Dai Li base and the Dai Li want us gone. We should probably catch up elsewhere… and mayb figure out a plan of action considering the Dai Li are still very much a threat, Appa and Cat Noir or not." Sokka pointed out.

"Of course plan guy number one!" Marinette said, "I think we should go talk to the Earth King."

"Uh, what?" Cat Noir asked, "This place actually has a King? Does the King know about Long Feng? Should we probably, I don't know… tell him about that?"

"Later, Kitty. Look, if we have Appa and Cat. there nothing Hawkmoth and Long Feng can use against us. There's nothing keeping us from walking up to the palace and straight up telling the King everything." Marinette explained.

"Your right, Rin! We could do that!" Sokka said, perking up, "It's the perfect plan. We will storm the palace, expose Long Feng, talk about the invasion plan, and tell about the war without any interference from Long Feng and Hawkmoth."

"I don't know," Toph said, "I still say we ditch Ba Sing Se. I've had enough of this place. We can take our invasion plans elsewhere where people will actually listen to us."

"But I promised Lee I'd visit him!" Cat Noir objected, "And what invasion plan? What side of the war are you people on?"

"We are against the Fire Nation, Cat Noir. And we are also against the Dai Li." Marinette told him.

"Oh…" He said, before his expression darkened, "Oh…"

"What's wrong Kitty?" Marinette asked.

"Um… it's nothing… I just haven't had much experience in this war at all. I've been in Ba Sing Se this entire time. I only know about the war because Lee told me, only Lee was pretty neutral. I can't say which side he was for. He talked about both as if they both had their flaws. I wasn't exactly sure if the Fire guys were evil or if the earth guys were."

"The Fire Nation is ruthless." Katara said in annoyance, "They killed off all the airbenders looking for the Avatar, killed my mom for no reason, and are destroying the Earth Kingdom because they want to be the dominant power in the world." Cat's eyes were saucers, as if this news was new to him.

"Lee never said much about the war." He said in uncertainty, "Yeah, we should probably tell the King of Ba Sing Se about that."

"Well I'm with Toph." Katara said, "I want out of this terrible city."

"Aang?" Marinette asked the Avatar.

"Sokka, Cat Noir, and Rin are right. We need to tell the Earth King. Besides, I feel good about this." Katara sighed.

"Fine." She gave in. Toph just shrugged.

"Yeah, well, while we are on the topic of exposing Long Feng and Hawkmoth… could we maybe… not get Hawkmoth in trouble." Cat Noir asked. They all gawked at him. What?

"Are you okay Cat Noir?" She asked worriedly, "They didn't brainwash you, did they?"

"Uh… no. Ugh. Look, I'm as ticked as you at the guy. In fact, I'm probably more annoyed than you are with him. The guy did try to kill me after all and left me on crutches for the longest time, but I think he's reformed." He tried to explain.

"What?" Marinette asked. Cat Noir bit his lip.

"Milady, there's something you should have and that I should tell you." He pulled out a brooch, the Moth Miraculous, from his bag.

"He gave this to me." He said, "He came with Lee to get me out of prison. He was distraught though. Apparently, he aligned with Long Feng to gather information. He planned on keeping him far away from you and I. Long Feng is a threat to all Miraculous holders, even him. So, he Akumatized this boy… Jet I think, who I saw get arrested by the Dai Li several weeks ago at Lee's tea shop. But the thing was, Hawkmoth was afraid you'd noticed and told Jet to hide his powers until he needed them. Unfortunately, Jet didn't use his powers until after Long Feng struck him down. When Jet beat Long Feng, according to Hawkmoth, Hawkmoth sensed that Jet wouldn't survive if he removed his powers from Jet. Hawkmoth tried to persuade the guy to keep the powers so he could live on, but Jet didn't let him. Immediately afterwards, he gave up his Miraculous and told me you should have it. It's the real one. I checked." Cat Noir explained. She stared at the brooch, absolutely stunned.

"Did you know who he was?" She asked. Cat Noir wenced.

"That's another confession I should make, Milady… It seems… Hawkmoth was…" His voice broke, becoming unsteady, "My father." Immediately everyone went silent.

"Does he know you are his son?" She asked in concern.

"He knew before I did." Cat Noir said shakely, "I'm sorry. I tried to keep my identity secret like you asked. I should have noticed who it was before he even dared to attack the city of Paris… but my father and I are very distant. He and I rarely spoke in Paris. He barely knows me and I barely know him and I know it isn't any good excuse to be upset but I-"

"Cat! It's okay. There's no possible way you could have known. Your father made his own choices. You a least tried to fix his mistakes as Cat Noir. Besides, Hawkmoth knows who I am too. We ran into each other and he hinted that he knew who my parents were. This isn't your fault."

"I-I know… but I feel like I could have… done something… Maybe be a better son? Be there more? He kept pushing me away, I shouldn't have let him. I should have tried to help him heal…"

"Heal from what?" Aang asked.

"...The death of my mom." Cat Noir explained, "That's why he wanted the Miraculous. He just wanted her back. He was scared to move on. If I'd been a better son…"

"Cat Noir! You stop that. You can't change what happened. All that matters is you know now and Hawkmoth doesn't have his Miraculous, so hopefully he can take time to mourn properly. You can't blame yourself for your father's actions." Marinette scolded. Cat Noir looked down in shame.

"Yes, I know. I'm… just confused. I'm mad, but I don't want to be. He's my father… I'm sad and think maybe I could have done something… but it was his choice. I'm frustrated for not seeing the signs sooner… but there is no possible way I could have seen them, because we simply don't know eachother like a father should know his son. I'm upset because apparently he cared about this Jet guy more than me… and that's terrible because Jet just died, but he tried to kill me, Milady and he knows it too. And I don't know why." Cat Noir explained. She ruffled his hair fondly.

"Don't worry Chaton. I'm here." She said softly. Then a thought occurred to her. She'd promised herself in the swamp that she'd tell Cat Noir who she was.

"Look on the brightside, Kitty, if Hawkmoth is defeated, there is no reason we need to hide our true names and faces from each other." Cat Noir instantly perked up.

"Wait, are you serious? Do you know how long I've wanted that?"

"You've told me a thousand times, Cat Noir. Should I go first, or you?"

"Could you?" He asked.

"Of course." She swallowed her nerves. She didn't want to do this, for fear of rejection, but after the way Cat Noir had praised Marinette only moments before, that fear wasn't as prominent in her at that time.

"Tikki, spots off." She said. Cat Noir's eyes widened in shock before he began to laugh.

"What is it?" She snapped. Panic rose inside her. He quickly sombered up.

"Oh, sorry, it's just, I was literally just talking about you, with you… how weird that must've been… Marinette Dupain-Cheng." He said, "Who knew milady was the girl sitting in front of me in school. The girl I saw my first movie with, even though she was in her pajamas the entire day. The girl was careful to make sure everyone was okay. The girl who gave up her chance to go to New York so that Chloe could be with her mom." Her expression slackened. No way… Katara was never going to let her live this one down.

"Adrien Agreste?" She asked so only he could hear.

"Plagg, Claws off." Adrien said softly. In that instant, they both knew they were the luckiest people in any world.