Man this is a long chapter almost 4000 words… You guys are probably going to hate me again too for where I left off but I couldn't find a better place. Oh well.

DJKatt… Definitely no kissing in this chapter. Maybe next time?

Aneki Okumura... Writing angsties are fun! Here is the next chapter!

Q-A the Authoress... Adrien doesn't know Marinette is Ladybug and the kwami are keeping with their chosen's decision to keep it a secret until she reveals it herself. So basically they are calling Marinette Ladybug even though she is in civilian form. Hopefully that answers your question?

Avatar NIX… If you get hit in the right spot it doesnt take a whole lot to knock a person unconscious. Concussions require a bit more force but i'm keeping with the idea that these guys heal faster than normal people anyways due to magic.

Meowica97… They are in a supply closet. Adrien was remembering what had gone on earlier in the day although I did switch to Ladybugs pov more than once. Sorry if it was confusing.

After a fight with an akuma goes wrong Chat and a knocked out Ladybug hide in a closet to wait for their transformation to recharge.

I own nothing... Except my imagination.

Shattered Iron (Part 5)

Adrien drifted in and out waking fully to talk with the kwamis once more. After reflecting on the past days events Adrien had eventually come to the unhappy conclusion that there was nothing he could have done to change anything. It didn't make him feel any better but it didn't make him feel worse either. After a while sleep was a thing that simply wouldn't come to him although he made sure to stay relaxed so the kwami would at least get some sleep themselves. The only problem with remaining still was that his butt had been slowly going numb. Adrien didn't know how long he had been sitting although his butt was completely numb at this point so it had to have been several hours. Slowly he tried shifting not wanting to wake the kwami up when suddenly Ladybug gave a small groan and one arm stretched up shifting the jacket on her.

"Mmmm warm kitty." She murmured turning slightly accidently causing her hip dug into Adriens gut.

He grunted in pain his arms clenching around her as he tried to stop her from moving any further then froze as he heard her draw a sharp breath. Realizing what he was doing Adrien loosened his arms not wanting to alarm her as she stopped squirming. A hand pressed against his chest and slowly felt its way up hitting Plagg as it reached his shoulder.

"Watch it!" Plagg yowled startled awake and Ladybug yelped trying to scramble back away from the kwami and Adrien not knowing where she was. Twisting her one hand pressed into his chest and Plagg flew off his shoulder as her other hand crashed back into the same spot narrowly missing him as she tried to push herself upright in the small space.

"Ladybug! Hey it's ok! You're safe!" Adrien yelped as a hand smacked against his chin and a knee went into his gut as the other fell to the ground leaving her half straddling his lap.

Ladybug froze and Tiki flew off his other shoulder lightbulb bright launching herself into her chosen's face. "You're awake! We were so worried and Adrien has been freaking out and how are you feeling is your head ok?"

Ladybug giggled cupping her hands and snuggling her kwami as she answered softly "I'm ok Tiki I'm so sorry I worried you but my head is fine I think. It hurts a little but other than that I'm good."

Tikis glow lit up her face as she cuddled into her cheek and Adrien felt his world freeze then shatter into a million pieces.

"Gha… Ma… you…" Adrien managed his jaw working but no sound coming out. Plagg floated next to Marinettes ear his bright green eyes filled with dark mischief.

"Looks like the bugs finally out of the bag. I think you broke him though." Plagg cackled

Marinette froze realizing where she was, who she was on, and her bright blue eyes widened like saucers. "OOPS…" Tiki managed then flew up out of her hand and Marinette reached forward worriedly.

"Adrien are… are you ok?" She asked shifting so her other knee was no longer in his gut and on the floor.

"Marinette?!" He screeched suddenly and Marinette flinched back at his exclamation.

"Um yes?" she answered her tone hesitant.

"You…I… I mean I kinda thought… but…" Adrien stuttered emotions steamrolling through him leaving him incapable of forming a coherent sentence.

"I'm sorry Adrien! I really wanted to tell you but you didn't want to know last time and then we both got sick and there hasn't been any akuma attacks and I just couldn't find the right moment and I'm just a stupid klutzy fool and…" Marinette rambled her hands waving causing Tiki to dodge and fly over to Adriens side. Adrien jerked forward his arms wrapping around her and pulling her tight against him before burying his face into her shoulder for a long moment.

Finally he found his voice lifting his face so he could look her in the eyes "It's you. Thank god it's you. I'm so sorry Marinette, I'm so, so very sorry."

He buried his face into her shoulder again before she could say anything and Marinette wrapped her arms snug around him holding him close as he shuddered against her.

"Shhh kitty its ok. Hey this just means that we can go on dates as civilians or heroes. What's wrong Adrien? Talk to me." Marinette whispered cradling him as best as she could sitting on his lap like she was.

"I could have lost you. Marinette I can't lose you. I…" Adrien started only to freeze midsentence as a crash echoed almost right outside the door.

The door blasted inwards splinters smashing into the boxes as Adrien rolled Marinette to the floor arching over her to protect her as the boxes around them fell inward on top of them. The two kwami huddled in the space between them and Marinette looked stunned from how fast he had moved.

"I think we are out of time. Plagg Claws out!" Adrien hissed

"We are so not done talking. Tiki spots on!" Marinette answered closing her eyes against the matching flash of magic.

"Come out." A metallic voice demanded

Ladybug and Chat Noirs eyes met then nodded as one.

Boxes blasted away as they leapt free taking out the two metal people that were standing where the door had once been.

Chat took the lead since he had brought them in and he used his baton to knock a statue person out of the way as they sprinted down the hall.

"What happened while I was knocked out?" Ladybug demanded as they cleared another two statues ending up in the office cubical area. Three statue people stood near the door preventing an escape out the stairwell and it only took a glance at the windows for them to come to a silent agreement.

"Uh turns out there were two akuma, Shatterglass and his wife who is calling herself Ironclaw. She is the one that knocked you out. While we were fighting Shatterglass she was running around making these statue people although there are way more now than before." Chat replied and together they leapfrogged the cubicles swiftly making their way to the windows.

"Great now we have to watch out for more than one akuma at a time?" Ladybug groaned tossing her yoyo as she landed on stable ground and in one swift movement Ladybug shattered an upper window with the yoyo.

"I don't think so. According to the kwami it takes a lot of energy to do something like this so I don't think this will be a regular thing. If we go a while without attacks we might need to worry." Chat answered lacing his hands together as she finished clearing the glass. Statues came around the corner shuffling towards them and Ladybug took a running leap into his cupped hands before he boosted her up and through the cleared window. With an ironic salute at the shambling statues he followed her a moment later using his baton and they both paused on the high window frame staring out across the city.

"Its quiet. Too quiet." Chat said and Ladybug groaned

"Really Chat? Isn't that a little cliché even for you?"

A grin bloomed across his face and he couldn't help the chuckle that slipped out. "Nothing is too cliché for me My Lady."

"Surrender now." Metallic voices echoed from underneath them bringing them both back to focusing on the task at hand.

The statufied people were collecting under the window reaching up in jerky motions as they pressed tighter together.

Chat shivered suddenly. "Ok that's creepy. Its like they are zombies or something."

Ladybug groaned "Please don't say that…" she paused for a second eyeing the people and jumped slightly as they all started chanting "Surrender now."

"Ugh dammit Chat now that's all I'm going to be able to picture them as." She grumbled

"Well lets get moving before she turns any more people we should clean this mess up quick before it gets dark." Chat chuckled even as he eyed the slowly setting sun. They had a few hours of daylight left and he hated having to fight in the dark mostly because Ladybug couldn't see nearly as well as he could.

"Agreed, lets go to where you saw her last." Ladybug answered.

Together with Chat in the lead they swung and leaped across Paris once more. The statues wandered the streets and once or twice they even ran into a few on the roof. The statue people were easy to knock off the roof and thankfully whatever material covered their bodies protected them from injuries. The first time Ladybug had knocked one off she had freaked thinking she had accidentally killed someone. They had both run to the edge and had been relieved to find them climbing to their feet and wandering off once more.

"Definitely zombies." Chat commented and Ladybug had punched him hard.

Now they were working their way up the streets and plazas keeping within each other's line of sight as they searched for Ironclaw. She hadn't been in the plaza where they fought Shatterglass although her husband still was. He was gold statue with one arm raised pipe still in hand his mouth open in protest.

Chat discovered her first and he swiftly ducked behind a chimney and called Ladybug. "I've got her down in the street." He said and he could see Ladybug change direction swiftly making her way over to him.

She arrived a moment later and the two of them moved to the edge of the building once more staying out of sight as they spied. The woman down below was in a skin tight suit that was a swirl of metallic colors. Her hair was a solid copper and curly so it hung down her back in bouncy ringlets. In one hand she held a blacksmithing hammer while the other was empty. She almost looked like a statue of metal herself except for the fact that she was humming as she bounced down the street swinging the hammer in her hand with ease.

"Here kitty cat and little lucky bug, I want to melt you down and then break you up." Ironclaw sang merrily.

"Wonderful we have another crazy one." Ladybug muttered and Chat couldn't help but chuckle.

"Shall we My Lady?" He asked holding a hand out to her

Ladybug took his hand and nodded "Split and lets see what she's got."

Chat pecked her hand with a grin then released her before she could growl at him. Using his baton to launch himself to the other roof he landed without a sound and they both ran forward in sync. As they came even with Ironclaw they launched themselves off the roof yoyo and baton spinning to slow their decent. Ironclaw spun around her hammer flashing in the sun blinding Chat while throwing sparks and metal shards at Ladybug. Ladybug brought her yoyo around just in time blocking the attack as her feet hit the ground. Chat was closer as he landed blind swinging his baton in an attempt to land a blow. Iron claw bent to the side as the baton flashed past and almost lazily kicked out sweeping Chat off his feet before throwing a second kick into his gut tossing him down the street. It left Ironclaw open and Ladybug caught the leg in her yoyo twisting her so she was off balance. Jerking on the string Ladybug launched herself at Ironclaw her foot connecting with a solid thump into her ribs slamming the akumasized person into the ground a few short feet away.

"OW! Oh wow ow!" Ladybug yelped as she landed hopping on one foot as Chat darted to her side.

"What happened?!" He demanded then scooped her up dodging metallic fragments.

"I kicked her and holy cow is her suit is hard! Actually I think that suit is metal." Ladybug said as Chat dodged behind a car to set her down once more. "Don't look at me like that. I'm fine it's just bruised and the impact shocked me. Besides you were the one nailed in the ribs. Are you ok?"

Chat nodded then glanced through the cars window only to yelp and throw himself over the top of her. Glass exploded and metal shrieked as chunks of stone blasted into the car they were using as cover.

"You will pay for that little sneak attack!" Ironclaw snarled the attack pausing for a few seconds.

Chat rolled off her and jerked a thumb towards the bumper of the car, Ladybug nodded pointing to the front. They ran out at the same time giving Ironclaw two targets to deal with and making her shriek in annoyance before turning her attack on Ladybug. Pounding the ground with her hammer it took on a golden color with a second hit it followed the hammer up off the ground and once in the air a third strike sprayed spikes out towards Ladybugs fleeing form. Her yoyo spun disintegrating the shards on impact but they were still hitting hard enough to knock her back a little each time.

"Why are you doing this?" Ladybug yelled hoping to distract her since she could see Chat moving into position behind her.

"Those artists thugs destroyed our life's best work! We needed that commission to survive and they have destroyed it!" Ironclaw screamed slamming her hammer into the ground and creating another wave of shards.

Feeling Ladybugs confusion Tiki swiftly explained since Plagg had told her everything that had happened while they were eating.

"That's it!" Ladybug cried and dodged the next wave of shards coming to a halt hands raised trying to appear harmless at least for a second. "If you let me purify your akuma I am sure your statue will be fixed by miraculous cleanse. After all it fixes everything related to the akuma even if it wasn't the possessed item."

Ironclaw froze midstrike. "You… think so? Our statue will be fixed?"

Ladybug nodded "I know so. Your statue is called Shattered Iron right? It's going to be shown off at the museum in a week right?"

"Yes but…" Ironclaw whispered then froze a purple mask flashing across her face.

"No! Don't listen to him! Whatever he is promising you isn't the right way to go about this!" Ladybug yelled moving forward several paces.

"Do not patronize me. I am not a child and Hawkmoth is correct. You have already taken my husbands akuma and it didn't fix anything! You are the one who is wrong!" Ironclaw screamed and swept her hammer forward. Metal surged from the puddle on the ground before her and Ladybug flicked her yoyo out trying to pull herself out of the way. Ladybug was too close, moved a second too late, and the liquid metal surged into her knocking her out of the air back down into the ground. Ladybug had expected pain, had expected to feel as if she were burning alive but to her surprise the metal wasn't very hot although it was uncomfortable even through the suit. The liquid tightened around her and then suddenly another voice broke into the fight.

"Cataclysm!" Chats voice roared and Ladybug yanked herself upright as the metal went liquid once more.

Metal slid off her like oil off water and she moved forward as Chat launched himself from the deepening shadows at Ironclaw. Attention instantly broken Ironclaw turned twisting her hammer up to block his claws and it was bad luck that the one she connected the hammer with was the cataclysmed one. His other claws scored shallow groove like scratches across her chest where he could see the outline of a hammer shaped pendant beneath the metal skin. Chat had been aiming for her chest and the pendent beneath with the hopes that he could finish this fight swiftly. That was never his luck though and as the hammer between them dissolved Chat was glad that his attack hadn't gone completely to waist. In the next instant his luck turned worse as Ironclaw shrieked in rage her other hand flying up to catch Chat by the throat.

As the hammer dissolved Chat heard Ladybug yelp "Dammit!" then suddenly a hand closed around his neck. The grip was crushing and he was smashed into the ground a furious pair of burnt orange eyes searing into his left him no doubt as to who had grabbed him.

Fear shivered down his spine as the hand squeezed tighter leaving him unable to breathe and he thrashed under her grip his claws scoring groove after groove with accompanying shrieks of metal being tortured. Ironclaw didn't flinch neither from the sound nor the damage he was doing to her. Although Chat wasn't sure that he was even doing any damage since she wasn't bleeding and the marks were being healed as fast as he could make them. Slowly her other hand rose the tips of her fingers becoming wicked looking claws and Chat couldn't even swallow her grip on his neck was so tight. Chats head hurt his vision turning spotty as Ladybugs voice cried "Let him go!"

A yoyo spun around Ironclaws upraised arm and in the next moment she was yanked off him her hand leaving his throat allowing him to breathe once more. Chat gasped and coughed rolling on to his side his own hand rising to cradle his neck. A foot struck him in the back and Chat twisted onto all fours to see metallic shoes glinting at him. Glancing up only to find a statue leaning down hands ready to grab him Chat decided sitting still was not in his best interest. With a scratchy yelp that left is bruised throat aching he scrambled forward out of the statues grasp. Another statue blocked his way and he hissed throwing himself forward on all fours so he could slide under a car and lose them. He came up on the other side and moved forward staying low already seeing the statues moving towards Ladybug in their creepy zombie like way. Ironclaw was on her feet in the next second lunging at Ladybug with a screech claws slashing in the air. Ladybug ducked and twisted throwing her own punches with a grimace as she dodged flashing claws and tried not to let Ironclaw get behind her. Chat ran at them wondering why Ladybug hadn't moved only to realize as he got closer her feet were trapped in the once liquid metal sealing her in place. It dawned on him suddenly that when he destroyed the hammer it had solidified the metal.

"Oops" Chat muttered then froze as he saw statues moving in to grab Ladybug from behind.

Ladybugs attention was on Ironclaw and rightfully so since she was by far the more dangerous opponent. Ladubugs yoyo moved rapidly flinging out as Ironclaw dodged the weapon and tried to land an attack of her own. Moving swiftly Chat launched himself over the car and slammed feet first into Ironclaw who shrieked even as she slammed into a car hard enough to leave an indentation in the metal. Chat dropped to his butt with a yowl cradling his suddenly throbbing feet.

"I told you it hurt to kick her why did you do that?" Ladybug yelled at him as he scrambled to her side ducking her yoyo as she tied Ironclaw up. Ironclaw grabbed the yoyo string and with a flick of Ladybugs wrist she was sent flying into the wall on the other side of the street.

"I didn't think about it ok? We have statues incoming and you seem soldered into place." Chat answered trying out his claws on the metal that kept Ladybugs feet stuck in place.

Ladybug ignored his pun and twisting around she saw the incoming statues. Tossing her yoyo out she wrapped it around ones waist on the far end and used him like a wrecking ball to knock the others all off their feet out of the way.

"Now I wish I hadn't used cataclysm." Chat grumbled slashing at the ground as he desperately tried to free her feet.

"Look out!" Ladybug yelped as she turned and saw Ironclaw leaping at them once more. Snatching the baton from Chats back she brought it up before them catching her deadly claws on the baton. The claws extended suddenly two of them digging into Ladybugs shoulder making her yelp in surprise and pain.

"I will end you!" Ironclaw snarled and Chat launched himself upwards catching her in the gut and charged forward with her bent over his shoulder.

Her claws dug into him a moment later making him yelp and trip sending them both sprawling on the ground. Chat rolled and dodged backward so that he was off to the side and Ironclaw stood once more looking ragged and scratched up.

"You two took my partner and now I shall take yours!" she hissed as the purple mask lit up her face.

For a moment Chat didn't understand then as he heard the words "Lucky Charm!" he understood all too well. It was a moment of weakness for them however brief when they called upon their special powers. In that moment they couldn't move or use their respective weapons but the time frame was so brief that neither of them had ever considered it a weakness before. Chat moved his body and mind in complete agreement even as Plagg screamed at him. His baton was still in Ladybugs hands but Chat didn't care he couldn't lose Ladybug and he couldn't lose Marinette. Now that he knew they were one and the same his entire being was in total agreement that he under no circumstances could ever let deadly harm come to her. Chat was already closer to Ladybug than Ironclaw but he wasn't close enough to knock her down so he did the next best thing and used his body as a shield. Pain speared through his torso and chest and it was with a touch of horror that he looked down to see the tips of metallic claws poking through his suit. Ladybugs eyes were wide and filled with horror as the lucky charm landed in her numb hands.

"Its in glass pendant." Chat wheezed his body on fire even as his vision started to go dim.

Then he was lifted from his feet and tossed sideways the claws ripping back out of him moments before hitting something hard.

"Stay conscious!" Plagg screeched and from somewhere close he heard Ladybug scream "CHAT!"

It was the last thing he heard before the darkness sucked him down.

Final chapter in three days! *flees into hiding*