There was nothing.

For how long, she couldn't know.

Then as suddenly as it had gone, air hit her wet face, startling her and forcing coughs out of her throat. Water came with each forceful spasm, her lungs and throat and nose burned, she felt so tired. Everything was still hazy, blurry, unable to keep up with anything. There shouldn't be air, why is there air? She couldn't swim, she's not at the surface, she can't-

There were firm, warm arms wrapped around her, keeping her head above the water even as it lulled from weakness. She shivered, her body unable to decide whether it wanted to be tense or limp, and everything hurt. Her hands found their way to bare shoulders somehow, and finally realizing her eyes were still wrenched shut, the waterlogged pirate forced them open.

The salt water still on her face burned, but the welcoming green that filled her vision was worth it.

They're bright, shining and glowing in the fading evening light. She can see concern, a caring warmth, everything she'd missed. His grip on her was tight but gentle, and she's so incredibly relieved.

"Is this going to become a thing, my Lady? Not that I mind, but I'd rather you not try to drown every time you'd like me around."

His tone was light, teasing, even with the worry clear on his face. There's something else there, too, something new. His demeanor is lighter, warmer, an almost carefree quality to him. Ladybug can't quite place it yet, but she liked it. He looked less sad, less torn. Smiling back at him, tiredly, Ladybug quipped back as well as she could with her scratchy voice. "Thanks, I'll try to find a better method next time."

Chat chuckled, quietly, and Ladybug almost pushed out of his arms when she remembered where she was.

"Chat! Hawkmoth is on that ship." She hissed, all manner of joking gone from her voice. Chat sobered just as quickly, nodding.

"I know. I figured he was here. What happened?"

"I don't know! He didn't die!"

"... Did you stab him hard enough?"

"I'm not kidding!"

She jabbed him in the arm, and he winced.

"Sorry."

Defeated, Ladybug looked away. "... Chat, I don't know what to do." She really doesn't. She's a pirate, an annoying vigilante. What is she supposed to do about someone who apparently can't die? Chat wrestles one hand free, holding her up still with the other, and gently takes hold of her chin to make her face him.

His face is so close, his hand on hers so delicate, and she knows she's gone bright red. Those green eyes are half lidded, their depths filled with such warmth that she's never seen before and yet feels so achingly familiar. She's drawn in, trying to figure out where or how she's seen this before, and doesn't notice he's gotten closer until his forehead bonks into hers.

"Ladybug." He said, cutting through her thoughts, and pulling her focus more into the moment. "Listen, you're not alone, okay? You did a great job standing against him on your own, but you've got people to rely on, too. You can do this, and I'll be right there this time if you need help, okay?"

"I can't rely on you for everything." Ladybug can't stop herself from whispering. She feels defeated, weak, after everything that's happened. She couldn't defeat her enemy on her own, she keeps getting saved like some damsel in distress. If not for Chat, she'd be dead at least twice over by now, and what's a pirate that can't stay alive on their own worth?

"Hey now, don't think like that." The mermaid nudged her where their heads meet, as if trying to physically push the thoughts away. "You've done everything on your own until now, and I know you still can, but I want to help. Besides, if Hawkmoth didn't die, maybe you need something a little more destructive to throw at him?"

He winked at that last line, bringing to mind images of bared fangs and acidic spikes, and slowly Ladybug forced the doubt from her mind. She could deal with her feelings of failure later, for now Hawkmoth was still right in their grasp and her crew was at his mercy. And if he was indeed as eerily indestructible as it had seemed, then she could think of nothing better than a mermaid with an understanding of magic to turn the tide on what would otherwise be an impossible battle.

Finally, she nodded, determined. Chat's eyes lit up at that, filling her gaze with dazzling green. "Okay! Let's do this!"

The pirate hadn't noticed before, but he must have specifically pulled her to the surface directly below Hawkmoth's ship. They were pressed right against the wood just above where it met the water, out of sight of anyone on board, and now Chat only had to turn around and find handholds to start climbing up. Ladybug almost squeaked when he did it without even letting go of her, leaving her to cling to his body and let him carry her up.

While he climbed, she couldn't stop at least one thought from cutting into her tentatively returning focus. "Chat, why did you come back? Why are you helping me?"

He was silent for a moment, focusing on not slipping. Once they were near the top, he paused, and she pulled back enough to look at him. His brows were drawn together, pensive. "Because… Well, it's a long story. But this is how it's supposed to be."

She opened her mouth to protest, that there were so many reasons about this that was wrong. But she couldn't actually bring any to mind, right now, before he touched his nose to hers and effectively shut her up before she'd even started.

"I'll explain everything soon, I promise, but for now you'll just have to trust me. We need to take care of this problem of yours first." He pulled back, and nodded up toward the deck. "Go on, you head up first. I'll be right behind you."

Ladybug firmly nodded, shoving the last of her protests and worries to the back of her mind. With his help, she caught the edge of the deck, and hauled herself back up to the place she'd been kicked from.

The floorboards were still coated in blood, and Hawkmoth had his back to her, staring out over the resumed destruction of the two clashing crews below. He didn't notice her at first, but she was weaponless and neither of their cutlasses were anywhere within reach, and he was turning back to look over his shoulder before she could think of anything else.

"Oh, not you again." He hissed. "You really should just stay where you belong."

From both his back, and his front when he turned to face her, she could see the still bleeding and jagged wound she'd left straight through his body. It gave her a crawling feeling, seeing the gore and the way he acted as if it wasn't even there.

"What are you?" She couldn't stop the words from slipping out, and he laughed. It was a twisted, maniacal sound.

"You would know better than I, if you hadn't… forgotten…"

He trailed off, his eyes drawing past her, and the morbid amusement drained from his face along with all the color. Just like all those years before, in the first moment she ever met him, Hawkmoth's face morphed into shock and absolute recognition. Afraid of what that might mean, Ladybug slowly turned to follow his gaze,and caught sight of Chat halfway up onto the deck with her.

Frozen in place, he held the same expression.

Oh, no.

"You." Chat hissed.

"I see you've finally found your… cat." Hawkmoth spat with just as much distaste. The tension in the air was palpable, and Ladybug almost couldn't believe what she was seeing. She had to be wrong, this couldn't be what she thought it was.

"Chat…"

He answered before she could even ask, his eyes not leaving the other man.

"Yes, Ladybug. This is the same Hawkmoth."

The aforementioned Captain laughed, a wicked, humorless sound. "Oh yes, it's me. How terrible."

Chat's eyes were slits, his head fins pinned down, but he didn't look nearly as vicious as she would have expected when face to face with the same Hawkmoth that had taken everything from him. This was something completely different from when he'd lost control and gone after Natalie, this was a controlled, non-violent aggression.

What had changed since he left?

This man was the one who killed his soulmate, and here he was, standing right in front of Chat all these years later.

And here was Chat, completely in control and yet to make a move.

"How are you still alive?" Shaking it off for now, Ladybug swung back around, facing Hawkmoth and letting her confused frustration leak into her voice. This was like her back and forth with herself earlier, but worse, because now half of it was confirmed and it made even less sense than before. Instead of explaining anything, though, Hawkmoth just gave her a look that made her blood boil. It was as if he was looking at a dull child, who couldn't understand even the simplest of things.

"You're not ever going to figure anything out if you haven't by now."

What was that supposed to mean?

"Enough of this." Hawkmoth brandished the same cutlass from before, hers, the one still covered in his own blood, and pointed it at Chat. "You've got what I want now."

The mermaid bristled, but he didn't react. He was so much calmer than last time, Ladybug almost would have thought she'd somehow ended up with the wrong mermaid. All the same, she stepped in front of him, glaring at Hawkmoth.

"Don't you dare."

"Unarmed and still trying to be the hero. Suit yourself, maybe if he's gone you'll finally stay dead."

It didn't make sense. It didn't make sense. There was something else here. Everything he said, everything he did, everything Chat had said, she was missing something.

Something important.

Something very, very important.

But no matter what she did, what she thought, or how deep she tried to dig, she couldn't find it.

She couldn't see the way Chat's face suddenly lit up with an idea behind her, the way he grinned at Hawkmoth with a cockiness that could rival her own usual demeanor. All she knew was when he put his hands on her waist, and leaned over her shoulder right into her ear. The contact was more familiar than it should have been.

"Hey, Marinette?"

Her skin prickled. Something tugged at the back of her mind.

"My name is Adrien."

It was as if everything tore apart all at once, as if the wood beneath her feet shattered into thousands of pieces of glass. She felt like she was falling and weightless all at once as the world shuddered and cascaded, blurring and bleeding into something she didn't understand.

The water was cool, comforting, as she clung to the side of the ship. Fear and apprehension coursed through her, her heart beating too fast, her every instinct on edge. This was the worst place to be, too dangerous, especially alone.

Her head hurt, pounding as too much happened at once. She couldn't tell which way was up or what gravity was or where she even was, everything was colors and reflections and a clamor of sounds that all garbled together.

She felt warm, comfortable, nestled in amongst the sand. The coral above, hiding the little space, branched across the backdrop of the sky far above the surface. It was lovely, watching the waves ripple so far away, distorting the sun. Though she was even happier once it was replaced with a much better view, the sky blocked out behind blonde locks and shining green peering into her vision.

Slowly, the glass shards of her awareness seemed to be stitching themselves back together, the blurs and the swashes of color beginning to form back into something. Piece by piece, cracks and blank spaces began to fill in, as if they'd never been empty at all.

Pain, pain, like a searing fire, burning through her back. It hurt to move, to breath, every shift of muscle making her want to scream. But the hands on her scales, the soothing voice in her ears, the calming presence that never left her side, was more than enough to make it bearable. Even as he had to make it worse, remove the object so she could heal, that was okay. He was here, she would be fine.

Ladybug watched as, what looked like the world itself, fused broken edges back together from where she hadn't even realized they were bare. As if the lost pieces of a puzzle had suddenly been found, and she could watch, even as her head ached and her blood burned, that it was all fitting back where it should.

Blush as bright as her scales and heart beating out of her chest, she barely knew what to do, how to act. He was so pretty, so lively, bright and shining as the sun as he smiled at her like she was the entire world. "Because to me, you are." He'd say, so many times, and she couldn't help the excited trembling in her hands as he took them in his own. He was beyond her wildest dreams. A soulmate. Her soulmate.

It was jarring, feeling moments flit in and out of her attention as they fell together. One would be there, and then gone, but then there would be more of it, and it made so little sense and yet she understood.

Heated skin, wandering touches, their tails entwined together and the feeling of everything being right. Even if no ever moment was ever as perfect as this one, ever again, she knew she would still be happy just to have this. As she leaned her head back against the sand and listened to the purring, she couldn't help but hope for the rest of their shared lives to be just as perfect. With him, she knew they would.

Flashes of sights and feelings, so familiar and recognizable at first glance and gone in a moment, replaced by more. She didn't need to wonder, didn't need to question. It all clicked together, even as the pieces came out of order.

Watching the sunset from a rock in the middle of the sea, right by him. Diving in and out of the water, laughing and playing like children. Exploring the depths, popping out of dark caves, scaring the other. Late nights, sprawled on beaches, considering the stars above. Watching shadows pass by on the waves overhead, never quite knowing. So many moments best left private, hidden away beneath a forest of coral. The water felt as natural to her as air, swimming as mindless as breathing. The phantom feeling of a tail she didn't have, and the too heavy feeling of her legs. Looking down and seeing frills of white, just as normal as seeing the reflection of her own face.

It all made sense.

Every piece of the puzzle clicked together, forming a seamless lifetime of memories she'd lost for so long, and cherished now more than ever. These were hers, this was her. The lost feeling, the tug always pulling her to the ocean, the feeling of nostalgia or homesickness finally quieted, placed only by the pull of a connection toward the person right behind her.

"I told you not to ever call me by my name! Don't you know the water has ears?" He shouted, voice too loud above the water, making her wince where she hid against the ship. But that was it. That was what she needed. She'd done it now, she knew the answer, knew how to stop the slaughtering of her friends. All she had to do was get back to Adrien, and together they could-

Her tail was caught. Her frills tangled in ropes, snagged on weights, pulling away from the water, leaving her nowhere to hide and no escape.

The last pieces clicked in place, just as they'd happened.

The water above, turning red, too much blood to be diluted into nothing before her eyes. Her tail following her sinking form limply, her hands feeling cold. It burned, it hurt, she felt so weak and dizzy. He appeared before her, tragic horror reflected in the green she so wished could be shining with warmth like it should instead.

"No, no no no!"

Fuzzy, distant. She wanted to reach out to him, hold him close and tell him it would all be okay because they were together. He wasn't supposed to look so sad, she didn't like when he was sad. She wanted to make him happy, forever, to watch him light up brighter than the sun like he always did.

But he needed to know. He could still do it, he could still stop him, he just needed his name. She needed to tell him, why couldn't she tell him? Her body wasn't responding, she couldn't move, she couldn't feel her fingers or her fins anymore, it all felt so cold.

"Please, stay with me. You can't go. I can't do this without you." He must be crying so hard. She couldn't see the tears, but she could imagine. It hurt so much, why did it have to hurt so much? This wasn't how it was supposed to go. This wasn't where she wanted their story to end. They had so much more to look forward to, so many years they'd never have. "Marinette, please. Not like this. Please, please…"

He needed to know. But she couldn't tell him. The only way to stop any more of their kind from being killed, the only knowledge of how to do so, were going to die with her. There was nothing she could do. He was screaming, she thinks, but it's so far away.

Please, I… I wish for this to be right.

Her eyes fluttered shut. The world faded away into the dark and cold, his voice going with it. She was so weak, so tired.

I don't want to give up.

There was nothing more.

As quickly as it had begun, the world rushed back into place. Ladybug felt heavy, weak, her breathing suddenly desperate and her heart racing. Gravity was too heavy, air too thick, the fading light was far too bright and the clamor of battle was too loud. Her legs were trembling and she stumbled, almost crumpling to the floor, and stopped only by the strong and warm presence that felt like an extension of herself.

Turning her head, sluggishly, only made the suffocating blanket of reality thicker. He was there, holding her steady, unwavering as ever. Even as her demise had aged him in ways time could not, he was exactly the same as the day she'd met him and yet so completely different. Weakened before by time, distance, and mourning, the connection she felt tugging toward him had become thick as the ocean itself and refusing to budge ever again, just the same as his expression was telling.

Slowly, she turned back ahead, something burning as she laid eyes on Hawkmoth. Without a doubt, now, he was the same. The same as he was years ago, untouched by time but infected with rage, a wound left to fester for all the time she hadn't known. He was staring at her with caution, distrust, muted fear, a swirling pot of negative emotion so strong even she felt like she could feel it coming off of him in waves.

Before, she might have expected to feel some kind of indignation, or rage, or something. She'd thought Chat's long lost soulmate would be upset at her killer, if she could see him now, or to feel angry at him for taking away what she'd had. And now that she knew that girl was her, she almost expected the same kind of burning hatred to fill her, the feeling of cold discomfort she'd felt the moment she'd met him in this life.

But, in reality?

She felt pity.

Here was a man who, years ago, for some reason was driven to commit crimes against what was once her people. But what had it been, again? He'd wanted something, had a reason for what he'd done, something that made him deem the murders necessary.

And now, years upon years later, he was unchanged. He hadn't aged a day. He was still bleeding from what should have been a fatal wound.

Finally, Ladybug understood.

"Hawkmoth." Her voice was steady, with a ring to it that startled even her. Something mystical, alluring, that brought all attention straight to her. "I understand now."

"You understand nothing, Ladybug." He only spat back, venom in his voice but a tremor in his hands. She pulled from Chat's grip, ignoring the faint whine from him when she did, and approached slowly. The other Captain matched her step for step, backing away just as cautiously as she drew closer. "You'll never understand."

"But I do." She could feel Chat tense more and more as she approached her own murderer, but he didn't stop her, trust holding him back. Fear and concern were coursing through him and into their connection just as strongly as she could see Hawkmoth experiencing, but she was calm. It was as if everything had been a storm, relentless rain and crashing waves, and now she could see the sun on the other side while the other two were still caught in the turmoil. Hawkmoth's back hit the rail, nowhere further for him to back away to. "You had a good reason, didn't you? The world wronged you and you wanted it righted."

He was silent. The sword in his grip lowered, his arm going lax. Chat watched its every movement like a hawk.

"You never meant for it to become like this." She pressed, gently, her hands outstretched placatingly, and watched him eye her suspiciously as if expecting a trick. Slowly, he spoke, his tone low and unnerved.

"You did this to me."

"I didn't." The pirate corrected, instantly. "You killed me, Hawkmoth. It isn't my fault that killing a mermaid granted you immortality instead of a wish."

"I-" His hands shook more, the sword trembled in his grasp. She watched it from the corner of her eye, waiting, hoping for it to clatter to the floor. "You were supposed to bring her back."

"No one can bring back the dead. That was never a wish any of us could have granted you, or anyone else, no matter how much we might have wanted to."

A beat passed in total silence.

No one moved.

Ladybug held her breath, waiting. It felt like she was so close, she knew all the answers now, the end was finally within her grasp-

She was too slow to notice the life flood back into Hawkmoth, or the way he was suddenly moving, his grip on the sword tight enough to make his knuckles turn white. For her, all she saw was stillness, and then a blur, and she couldn't react in time to stop it again.

But Chat could.

Before she could even register what had happened, the sword was gone and there was a snarling mermaid between her and her would-be twice over killer, the previous controlled aggression completely unleashed on the unwitting Captain. Hawkmoth was caught underneath a whirlwind of pent up fury and trapped between the rail and hundreds of pounds of pure mermaid muscle.

Although beyond that, Chat did nothing. There were no claws or teeth buried in flesh, or acid burning the floorboards. Only an immobile wall between the two of them, a growling barrier and a burning glare that advised no further movement. Hawkmoth had no choice but to freeze, unarmed and pinned.

"Say the word and he's gone, Ladybug." The words came out throaty and vicious, Chat no doubt only inches from just offing the Captain anyway. Shaking her head, she kneeled beside the two.

"No, Chat. I'm not sure how well it would work even if you did try."

Hawkmoth hissed, earning a more forceful cautionary push from the mermaid. "Savages, both of you. Debating how to kill me, typical."

"Shut. Up." Chat pushed harder, getting a winded grunt from the pinned Captain. Ladybug laid a hand on his shoulder, urging him to let up the tiniest bit.

"I don't want to kill you, Hawkmoth. But this does need to end." He was watching her, defiance burning in his glare, and she ignored the way it pricked her skin. "Do you really want to continue like this? Chasing after ghosts of the past, alone, for all eternity?"

He was silent, again.

"You made the choice long ago to come after us for a reason. But it's changed nothing, hasn't it? All of this conquest against mermaids has only made it all worse. You know that, don't you?"

Finally, slowly, he spoke again. "I thought you could do anything. That you could fix it."

"But that's not what happened."

Hawkmoth sighed, defeated. "No."

Giving him an almost sympathetic smile, Ladybug tilted her head. "None of this has fixed anything. Don't you think it's time to let it end?"

No response. She pressed harder.

"Unless you want to live forever, unhappy, then you need to work with me now. I'm the only one that can undo your curse, Hawkmoth."

"Curse?" Chat and the Captain both echoed at once, and subsequently glared at each other harder. Ladybug sighed.

"Yes, curse. It makes sense, doesn't it? The punishment for killing a mermaid is never being able to die, though at first immortality may seem like a prize. In the end, it's a curse." It was the best she could understand with what she remembered, backed up by Chat's explanation days ago of why humans would want to kill mermaids. "… The reason you did it was for someone else, wasn't it? Someone you loved?"

Hawkmoth looked away. He said nothing.

Realizing he would never willingly give into her, not after a grudge held so tightly for so long, Ladybug reached out. Both men tensed, Chat for her safety and Hawkmoth for his own, but she only laid a hand on the immortal Captain's shoulder.

Just through that contact, she could feel it. A disconnect, a coldness. Her own curse, her own death, chaining him to this world, while tying him to the next. It was eerie, disconcerting, but she ignored it as best she could and powered on. Besides, she'd felt the other world once already, it was nothing new.

She knew how to end this. She was sure she did.

"Gabriel." The name finally escaped her, finally fell from her voice after she had held it in death for so long. "Please, pass on from this world and find your lost love. Be at peace. I forgive you."

He froze, staring wide eyed at her. Underneath her touch, she felt the cold connection snap, fading away like dust on the wind. Chat felt it too, no doubt, if the way he reeled backward as if burned meant anything.

"I… I don't understand," Hawkmoth breathed, his voice already going wispy and weak, beginning to age right in front of them. Ladybug watched the wrinkles appear in his skin, counted them and the years as they went, and gave him the kindest look she could.

"I forgive you." She reiterated. "You only did what you thought best. Misguided, maybe, but you were following what you thought was right for you."

For the first time, she saw guilt on his face. Never in all her years tormenting him as a pirate had she seen him show remorse, for anything he'd done. But now, finally, presented with forgiveness despite it all, she could see humanity catch up to him along with the time. "I'm sorry." He finally said, and she knew. He meant it.

"It's okay." She'd opened her mouth to say the words, but they came in the form of Chat's voice instead. Both Captains turned to look as the mermaid drew closer and joined them on the floor, his expression also softened in the moment from the aggression it had been previously. "She's right. I would have done the same thing, if I was in your… feet? What's that saying again?"

"Shoes." Hawkmoth corrected, his voice raspy as an old man and weakening just as fast. Chat grinned, and Ladybug felt her heart swell. The dying Captain didn't have to explain that, to correct Chat so simply and without venom, but he did.

Maybe there was hope for the world, after all.

"I would have done the same thing if I was in your shoes, then. I forgive you too." He was nodding as he spoke, and Ladybug found herself watching him. She could forgive the Captain for all he'd done to her, but she never expected Chat to do so as well, at least not so easily.

"You're both fools." Hawkmoth sighed, shaking his head. Ladybug didn't miss the way his skin powdered at the movement, his body beginning to turn to dust before their very eyes.

"Maybe. But I'd rather be a fool than go back to holding onto pain." The mermaid explained, somber. "None of it ever helped us, any of us."

There was a heavy pause, and then, finally, "No. No, it did not." Hawkmoth agreed.

Chat held out a hand. "To the next life. Perhaps we'll meet again, under better circumstances." And to Ladybug's surprise, their shared age-long rival took Chat's hand in his own weakened one.

"To the next life, mermaid."

His time was out. With the last of the magic broken and gone, there was nothing else holding Hawkmoth in the here and now, and he could keep himself there no longer. His body went slack for just a moment, then crumbled to dust to be swept away by the sea air. Ladybug watched it go, what remained of the worst enemy she'd known, peacefully put to rest in the ocean. Beside her, Chat watched the ashes drift from his hand.

For just one moment, one long, wondrous moment, the world was still and at peace.

"Is it…" The mermaid began to ask, watching the dust on the wind. Before he could finish his thought, the wood beneath their feet began to groan and crack, boards shattering out of nowhere and the entire ship swaying harshly.

Adrenaline shot through Ladybug, and she lurched to her feet. The wood protested under her movement, only further fueling her panic as she spun to face the lower decks. "All of you! Hawkmoth's ship is going down, if you want to live you'd best board mine while you still can!" She shouted, using her commanding Captain voice. Her crew didn't need to be told twice, they were already bolting for the side where the two ships were hooked together, but the legion crew looked less sure.

"I'd suggest listening to the Lady unless you'd like to be fish food." Chat appeared beside her, smirking over the rails at the uncertain soldiers. Whether it was his words or the idea of being lost in the water with creatures like him, it worked, and they were soon scrambling after the retreating pirate crew. Turning back to her, the mermaid gave her a mildly concerned look. "You got this?"

"Of course. Go stay in the water until it's safe." She commanded, and aside from a single lingering glance that held more than either could say at the moment, he didn't argue before flipping off the side of the ship and into the water below. They would have time to talk later.

With him gone, Ladybug turned her attention back to the situation at hand. The ship under her feet was crumbling, decaying in an instant and falling prey to the hungry waters below. Most of the deck was unstable, filling with cracks and holes all across its surface, but she wasn't afraid of that. Eying the most sturdy route, the pirate took off, darting down the stairs to the lower deck and taking careful steps around the gaping cracks that led into darkened quarters below.

Soon enough, she had reached the edge and for the second time that day, flung herself over the rails and onto the ship by its side. It wasn't the easier of the two jumps, but she still made it, albeit barely. Crashing chest first right into the railing of her own ship, her first mate was there in an instant to grab hold of her and keep her from falling into the water again.

"Cut the hooks!" Ladybug shouted the instant she made contact, and allowing Alya to cling to her form and haul her aboard. The rest of the crew were already on it, slicing through the ropes tying the Lucky Charm to Hawkmoth's sinking ship, and it went down with nothing else to hold it above water anymore.

And finally, it was over. As the tallest mast of the purple ship disappeared under the waves, Ladybug finally breathed a deep sigh and collapsed against her best friend, the entire past week catching up to her now in an instant. The peace she felt was broken only by one thing.

"Welcome back, Marinette." Alya smirked down at her. "You need to tell me everything."

A/N

There it is.
There it all is.
Hawkmoth is gone, Ladybug remembers who she was, and Chat has found what he lost.
I didn't want this to be a typical violent ending. Canon Ladybug isn't like that, and my pirate Ladybug isn't a bad person either. It didn't feel right to just kill Hawkmoth. He wasn't a villain for the sake of it, just a misguided man who made the wrong decisions and has been stuck with his immortality and his pain for too long. Ladybug and Chat could both see now that they needed to be the change, to end this cycle of murder and pain.
And with this, Ladybug has earned her second chance.

There may be an epilogue to come.