A/N: Gonna be gone this weekend, so this chapter's a day early! Enjoy the climactic battle~

Ladybug stepped out into the light with her head high, her shoulders squared and confident. All of her previous uncertainty forgotten for now, replaced with a determined focus. The ups and downs of the past few days still hung heavy in her mind, but like this, she was back in her element. Even without her crew, without her own ship, knowing they were just within her grasp was enough to make even this unfamiliar ship feel like just another extension of herself.

This was where she shined. Everything up to now had been mostly out of her control, driven purely by Chat, with her only along for the ride. Now, though, with a sturdy ship beneath her feet and a clear objective on the horizon, Ladybug could take matters back into her own hands and get back to what she did best.

Even if part of her did secretly wonder what it would be like to raid a ship with a mermaid by her side.

Marching up to the first mate of Natalie's crew, Ladybug nodded to him. "I hear you've spotted my ship." She said, looking out over the waves for a moment, hoping to spot the beloved red. More resolute than the rest of the men, he held his ground without a tremor and caught her gaze.

"Look out there," He pointed in another direction, and Ladybug turned, squinting her eyes against the sparkling water. The high sun was drifting back down in the sky, lighting up the ocean in a ray of blues and greens, and creating an extremely stark contrast with the two warring ships not actually all that far away by this point. It only took a moment of focusing for Ladybug's previous excitement to return, her heart lifting at the sight of what was, unmistakably, her ship. With impressive bright red sails and a body of stark black against the waves, the infamous Lucky Charm was nothing short of beautiful, especially compared to the gaudy purple ship right beside it.

In short, it was a sight for sore eyes, and Ladybug had never been happier to see it than now.

Filled with a giddy sort of energy, an impatience to get back to what was hers and to give Hawkmoth a piece of her mind for the chaotic adventure he's sent her on, Ladybug turned to the first mate with a glimmer in her eyes. "How fast can this ship go?"

"Fast enough to reach them in a few minutes, stopping beside them for boarding at that speed is another question entirely, however." He replied, giving her a sideways glance.

"Oh don't worry about stopping, that won't be a problem."

The sideways glance turned into a full on, incredulous stare. "Please tell me you're not expecting us to ram into them."

"Hmmm…" For a moment, Ladybug tapped her chin and pretended like she was considering it, earning a gaping look of shock from the first mate. Then she chuckled. "No, of course not, I'm just messing with you. Just sail right past Hawkmoth's ship as closely as possible without hitting him and I'll handle the rest, got it?"

For a side character with no development, the first mate had some pretty funny expressions. He heaved a great sigh, clearly more than a little troubled with the problematic pirate, and just shook his head. "Alright, whatever you say. Everyone, to your posts!" The last part was said in a raised voice, catching the attention of the rest of the crew and sending a few scrambling to whatever their usual places were. While Ladybug watched them, the first mate wandered back over to the helm of the ship, spinning the wheel and changing their course to face the waging battle.

Just as usual, Ladybug's luck followed her again. As soon as the ship was turned, the wind was at their back, catching the huge sails above her head and pushing them forward. The water below was becoming a little less than peaceful, and combined with the newfound speed sending them soaring over the surface, the occasional wave managed to crash over the deck of the ship and drench the crew.

Ladybug barely noticed, though.

Weaving between the men and finding her way to the front of the ship, she watched intently as the Lucky Charm and her crew grew ever closer. As they came within clearer sight, it soon became obvious that her crew had tracked down and attacked Hawkmoth themselves, if the hooks and ropes chaining his ship to hers said anything about it.

It wasn't uncommon to end up in skirmishes with him, but she'd never told her men to tie down the other Captain's ship before. He was too dangerous, too slippery. She always preferred to give him an out, an escape, rather than push him into a corner for him to lash out from. It was always better to lose him for another battle another day than risk her crew or even her ship to a man with no escape and nothing to lose.

But she wasn't there right now, and for all they knew, she really was dead this time. Logic and a sense of self preservation probably wasn't that high on their priorities at the moment.

Or, to say it in short, her crew were probably pissed and out for blood.

On the bright side, her luck was still holding steady. Along with the wind, the sun was behind them, hiding Natalie's ship in the glare of it dipping toward the horizon. Not to mention Hawkmoth and his crew were probably plenty distracted already, locked in a vicious battle against the crew of the Lucky Charm, and not in any position to notice the legion ship's approach. Overall, no one had any idea Ladybug was coming, and she'd be able to drop right in on their heads entirely unexpected.

After all, everyone on both of those other ships still thought she was dead.

Another wave crashed over top of them, and Ladybug shivered. The way this battle was looking, the closer they got, this may very well be the last one. Neither side looked at all prepared to back out or retreat, both pushing for a bitter end to a many years long war.

Whatever happened today would be the end of it all. Either Hawkmoth went down, or she did.

Finally, they were practically on top of Hawkmoth's ship, the first mate doing a good job of steering just close enough that it almost looked like they'd graze the side of it. With her tiny window of opportunity rapidly approaching, Ladybug turned back while she still had time, and called out to Natalie's crew.

"Hey!" Multiple faces turned up and around to look at her, curiosity and still distrust coloring all but one. With their attention on her, she gave a warm smile, and a slight wave. "Thank you all for the help. I owe you one."

Distrust turned to shock, and then she was moving. Ladybug's boots hit the railing and then she was flying, soaring over the feet wide gap between the ships as they sailed far too closely past Hawkmoth's.

And then just like that, Natalie's ship and crew were past and gone, and Ladybug harshly rolled to her feet, coming face to face with Hawkmoth himself.

He reacted instantly, driving a sword into the deck where she'd been only a moment earlier. Ladybug pranced backwards, finding her balance, and drawing her own weapon from its place at her side. "Awww, did you miss me?" She taunted, offering him a too-sweet smile.

"I knew you'd be back, Ladybug. You just can't get the hint and stay dead, can you?" Hawkmoth snarled back, rage evident on his face, and chasing forward after her for every step back with a vicious malice. It kept Ladybug on her toes, the pure furious determination making him faster than she was used to. Truly, he was putting everything he had into this fight, wanting her dead now more than ever.

That couldn't keep her from taunting him, though. It was just kind of what she did, and besides, making him angry enough had always made him sloppy.

"Man, I can't imagine being as bad at killing people as you. Can't even squish one little bug. Hasn't that been like, your entire campaign, for how long?" She jumped backward again, narrowly avoiding another strike of his cutlass, and continued talking. "Y'know, not to mention, what did I ever do to you? You wouldn't have to deal with me now if you'd left me alone in the first place."

"You came back!" Hawkmoth growled, lunging for her, and managing to graze her cheek before she could dodge. Pain bloomed in the scratch as blood instantly began to drip out of it, and Ladybug winced, darting around behind the other Captain while he was overextended from the attack. Once she was at a safe distance again, his words caught up with her, and her cocky attitude was erased by confusion.

"I… Huh?"

He spun around and went right after her again, trying to back her into a corner. All she could do was parry his blows as best she could, deflecting the shining blade away from her body. Her heart caught in her throat on one particularly forceful swing, the pirate only managing to keep that sharpened point inches from her nose with her own sword while Hawkmoth pushed forward on it as hard as he could.

Taking that force to her advantage, Ladybug ducked out from under him as quickly as possible, leaving Hawkmoth to crash into the railing sword-first, catching the blade deeply in the wood. While he struggled to free it, she tried to slow her pounding heart, stepping as far from him as she could get.

"What are you talking about?" She tried again. The swirling thoughts from before were creeping back in, her usual raid focus falling away yet again to the endless coincidences that didn't make sense.

"Oh, Ladybug, dear little Ladybug." His voice was pure ice, the wood cracking into jagged splinters as he finally ripped the cutlass free. "Ignorance really is bliss, isn't it?"

What was he talking about?

She kept her guard up, stamping down her nerves. Over the years, she'd gotten confident enough in herself that Hawkmoth wasn't all that scary anymore. Not many could call themselves brave enough to taunt the emotionless Captain, after all, and especially not to purposely annoy him on the regular. At this point, she hadn't felt hopelessly afraid of the man in a very long time.

But now?

That fear, the ice creeping through her veins the first time she ever saw him, was back with a vengeance. The way he turned, his eyes dark and without a shred of humanity, the way his face was contorting from pure rage. It made her feel small, pinned and helpless under his stare alone.

It was like when Chat had gone feral. Except this, this was so much worse.

"If you haven't figured it out by now, you're never going to."

His voice was deep, dark, sending shivers down her spine. He was approaching again, too, his movements haggard and stiff, and Ladybug could slowly feel a distinct kind of terror trying to freeze her in place, something about his words and everything about his demeanor sending thousands of warning bells off in her head.

"Figure out what?" She forced out, her voice deceptively strong, and forced the rest of her to follow in its lead. As he lurched too close for comfort, she ducked out of the way again, forcefully taking control of her limbs back away from the icy terror trying to freeze them.

Either her dodging out of the way again sent him back into a rage, or he came back from whatever daze he'd just been in, but either way his speed came back in the blink of an eye. Ladybug blocked another of his strikes with her sword, only barely reacting in time as he was suddenly right back in her space yet again, and she couldn't help the startled yelp that escaped her.

He didn't answer her question, he didn't say anything. His eyes were still dark, more reminiscent of the deepest depths of the ocean than a human, and he was giving her no escape, no openings. The usual feeling of a sword fight was long gone, the taunting and the flashy dodges she liked to use far from her mind. This wasn't just an everyday thing, this wasn't normal.

Was this what a fight to the death looked like from the losing perspective?

Roughly, Hawkmoth pushed against his cutlass, putting more force behind it than Ladybug could block and sending her off balance backwards. The only thing that stopped her from careening off the edge was the railing, which groaned under her weight from the previous abuse it had endured. While she was down, trying to find her feet and unable to dodge, Hawkmoth raised his sword high, absolutely nothing in his expression.

But he paused, for just a moment. As if confused, or distracted, Ladybug didn't know. She took her chance.

She pushed off of the railing with everything she had, her sword clutched at her chest and the weight of her entire body behind it. In an instant, the tables turned, the other Captain having nowhere to go once he realized what she was doing, and then the tip of her blade hit home.

With a dreadful noise, she collided full body into Hawkmoth's chest, her hands suddenly warm and wet. Jumping back away and out of arm's' reach with a feeling of horror, Ladybug could only stare with wide eyes as she took in the sight before her, of the older man standing upright and dead still with her cutlass plunged all the way through his torso.

For a moment, nothing moved. No one breathed. The world came to a screeching halt, even the sounds of fighting on the decks below had gone to a dead silence as everyone witnessed the end.

And then Hawkmoth's hand rose, gripping onto the handle of Ladybug's sword, and ripped it from his own body. Blood sprayed across the floor and the pirate herself, frozen in place as she was, and she could only watch him raise his head.

"Poor, ignorant Ladybug."

He should be dead.

He should be dead.

Why isn't he dead?

"You just don't get it, do you? I cannot be defeated."

Hawkmoth was laughing, sending more blood pouring from his fatal wound, and Ladybug couldn't move at all. He was getting closer, her own sword drenched in his blood in his hand, and she couldn't move. She couldn't escape. She couldn't do anything.

Ladybug could do nothing but watch as Hawkmoth raised his boot and kicked her square in the chest, hard enough to send her crashing back through the weakened railing and right into the icy water below. The surface closed over her head, her body seized up, fire blooming inside her chest as she dropped like a lead weight.

The wind completely knocked out of her, her lungs were shuddering, instinctively trying to replace her lost air and unable to stop as water flooded in instead. The more they spasmed, trying to recover from the blow, the more water she got and the more desperate her already panicked body became for air. A weakness was setting in already, her limbs unresponsive as she tried desperately to reach for the surface.

It was too familiar. The water pressing in on all sides, the pain, the desperation with nothing to save her, the man responsible safely above the surface. Instead of actual chains and weights this time, the only thing dragging her down was her own body and her inability to move, to save herself. It was like the start of this entire mess, all over again, except this time…

…

… Wait.

Her hazy mind conjured images of pink, of white frills. Of blood pouring out of her, turning the water above red. Of pain, not in her chest, but in her stomach, of intense burning as saltwater poured into an open wound.

Green eyes, desperate and terrified, appeared above her. She reached out, reached for the gentle hands and golden hair, but her fingers found only water where her blurring mind told her he should be.

A name escaped her lips. A name she didn't know.

A name she couldn't remember.

A name he needed to know.

He needed to know

He had to…

Stop…

… Him.