Augusto Vega / Bengal Tiger

He woke up sitting at his desk, his body sore. He stared around his room, his vision a bit blurry, even further disturbed by the random hairs that dropped in front of his eyes. Something felt off, though. "Must've fallen asleep doing homework," he mumbled, bring a hand to his head. If he was being honest, he couldn't remember what he had been doing when he fell asleep.

He remembered warming up a plate of pasta (courtesy of his uncle), keeping Rybbo from eating most of the fridge's contents, and working on his schoolwork. A fairly unproductive day. He guessed that he had decided to do a second round of schoolwork, maybe even get ahead, and fell asleep.

He straightened his back, but then he felt a sort of latex over his skin. His eyes flew open, and he snapped his head downwards, scanning over himself. He was wearing the tiger suit. His tail was straight out in the short second of panic he had experienced. "Rybbo?" he asked, but received no response. He looked around his room again, this time his vision clear and focused. He now realized what made his room feel off. All of the schoolwork, the writings, drawings, and sketches that had accumulated in his room over the months were nowhere to be seen, and the furniture in his room didn't seem so worn. In fact, it seemed brand new.

"Follow me," a voice hissed from behind him. Augusto automatically grabbed for his axe, but found it missing. His eyes widened as he realized that he was unarmed, in his tiger suit, in his room, and somebody else was here with him. But the voice sounded kind of familiar. He looked around for the source of the voice, his enhanced vision lending him aid. His eyes stopped when they saw Thierre leaning in the doorway, his eyes dull and sullen and without the usual gleam of amusement that seemed to usually shine in them.

And then, Thierre whipped around, bolting down the hallway. Augusto chased after him, part of him that had embraced the tiger instinct was simply captivated by the fact that he was chasing after another moving person. But as he chased after his friend's form, he realized that this wasn't the hallway he recognized from his uncle's home.

It had pale yellow wallpaper, and a pure green carpet in the middle of the wooden floor. And faintly, he could hear… crying? Abruptly, Thierre turned right at the end of the hallway, into a white, weathered door. Augusto followed, not seeing his friend anymore. But he wasn't looking for his friend, but was primarily focused on the other person in the room. A girl. She looked about their age, with spectacular, blood red hair tied up in a ponytail. She was in, what Augusto presumed was, her bed.

She had the cover up to her mid-waist, and the blankets were a mess, looking as if her legs had acted like a hurricane. She wore what looked like a soft robe. Augusto felt an overwhelming need to comfort her, and reached out with his hand, almost without thinking. And the second his magic encased finger brushed against her cheek, everything disappeared.

0-0-0

Augusto awoke with a startle. He bolted upright in his bed, panting and coated in cold sweat. "What was that?" he breathed, Rybbo presumably hearing that from somewhere outside his room and zipping in, nothing but an orange blur, before stopping right in front of Augusto's face. For some reason, his mind deemed it appropriate to think that if Rybbo was a human, that stop would've killed him. Augusto then noticed the large rag hanging in between his stubby arms that seemed to be thrice his size.

"You OK, Aug? Heard you muttering about animals and people – I wasn't sure if you were going insane, dreaming about a zoo, or thinking about furries – and was getting a cold washcloth to wake you up," he explained, gesturing with his ears towards the large rag he held, "Fun fact; your search history is the weirdest thing I've seen since Gaius made his favorite horse a senator."

"Rybbo!" Augusto shouted in protest, flopping out of his bed in embarrassment. "Hey, dude, relax. Remember that I get all your memories when you're transformed?" Rybbo grinned mischievously, his tail drifting from side to side. "Never go through my computer again," Augusto grumbled, laying on the floor in a jumbled mess.

He got up, ignoring Rybbo's remark, and changed into his clothes, and turned on the TV, not feeling hungry enough to go and eat breakfast. He was feeling particularly lay on this Saturday, wishing to just stay in the house. Sadly, at this hour, there was nothing good on TV and primarily just a bunch of weird cartoons from the 90s with 80s references that never made sense to Augusto.

He decided to switch to the news, and was instantly greeted by the shouting of an Akuma. It sounded like it was shouting in Japanese. On the feed, it was bouncing around the city, wearing clothed ninja gi and carrying an assortment of weapons that looked lethal. "Shit. Rybbo, hackles rise!" (Had to fix the phrase) he shouted, instantly covered in an orange light. He flexed his hands and legs, feeling the power wash through them. He then ran towards his window, leaping into the air and making himself resemble a human arrow as he smoothly flew out the window frame.

He then turned himself right side up, with his hands stretched outwards to grasp a barber's pole and then swing up onto the roofs. But he messed up, hitting the barber sign at the wrong angle, and his claws scratching glass and sending shards of it down into the street, thankfully not hitting anyone. The crowds below noticed him, though, starting point and shout.

"How embarrassing…" Bengal Tiger murmured, using the way his claws had wedged into the glass to shoot himself upwards, feet first. He missed the roof by about an inch, but managed to flip midair and land on his feet on the tiles, nearly flipping himself backwards. "Don't get too cocky, Augusto," he told himself, turning around and looked at the labyrinth of roofs.

He heard angry shouting in Japanese and loud screaming due to his enhanced hearing, so he quickly followed the sound, jumping across the gaps in between buildings effortlessly. He then reached the source, seeing the same Akuma who was now slicing at people, making them glow yellow and then the light being absorbed into him. "That doesn't look too pleasant," he muttered dryly, stealthily crawling across the rooftop so he could get closer and maybe even leap onto the Akuma on all fours. He dully wondered when he got so used to crawling like this.

"Upon my honor, you shall all understand!" Bengal heard the Akuma shout, his voice breathless but holding a noticeable growl of anger. Augusto froze, coming up with an idea. He cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted, "Understand what? That you're a moron? We don't need any convincing of that!"

The Akuma shouted an incomprehensible string of curses in what Augusto guessed was Japanese. "Who said that!?" the Akuma then yelled, thrashing his head around wildly, trying to pinpoint the sources. "Look up!" Bengal shouted, leaping off the roof, and aiming to land on his fist, right on top of the ninja-like villain. The Akuma took his advice, and its head snapped upwards just in time to see Augusto falling through the air. But it was quicker than the superhero had expected, and it had brought up its blade to deflect the hit.

Augusto's fist clashed against the steel, and sparks flew everywhere. The hit knocked Bengal back, causing him to land on his back, cracking the cement floor. "Embarrassing," he hissed, rubbing his head. A loud shout caused him to look up, seeing the katana's blade whistling through the air, aimed directly at his head. His eyes widened and, for some reason, he mentally imagined a screech like he had seen in the cartoons while he rolled to the side, the blade narrowly missing his left arm as he stopped in a crouch.

"Suritto will skin you alive!" the Akuma yelled, its voice sounding unhinged. "Try me!" Augusto retorted, launching himself at the ninja. It pulled up its blade, though, blocking Bengal's hit yet again.

If the brunette was being honest, he was starting to lose his patience. He leapt back, onto his feet, and then threw a simple punch at the Akuma. After all, you can't go wrong with the classics. Wait, you can. The Akuma caught his fist with its left hand, no hesitation in its movements, and started twisting Augusto's arm.

He hissed in pain, feeling the searing pain leaping and jolting from his arm. "No hurting the animals, Akuma!" a voice shouted, and Bengal felt relieved, if not pain, and saw a flash of red and black twisting itself around the ninja's arm. It looked around wildly, and Augusto saw his chance. He coursed all of his frustration and snapped his arm back into place, stunning the ninja, and then leapt upwards, his leg extended. He felt his ankle connect with its target; the Akuma's groin.

It was a cheap shot, he knew, but he was getting desperate.

It let out something akin to a strangled cry as it sailed through the air, slamming into a wall.

Ladybug landed right beside him, clicking her tongue disapprovingly. "Remember that there's a victimized person underneath all that cloth; so please try not to do any 'lasting' damage," she said, cringing slightly. "Any longer and he would've dislocated my damn arm," grunted Augusto back. Ladybug narrowed her eyes, Bengal could tell, but she never took her eyes off the Akuma.

It fell to the ground, seemingly regaining its strength mid-fall. "Where's the Akuma?" Bengal asked, already having his suspicions. "This one's similar to Riposte, so I'm guessing the sword," Ladybug told him. It confirmed his hunch, but he had to ask, "Why would someone be walking around Paris with a katana?"

"Maybe he was at a museum and was simply holding an artifact katana when the Akuma got him," Ladybug suggested, snorting in laughter at Bengal's question, "But you learn not to wonder."

Augusto decided that his curiosity was not yet satisfied, but they still had to take care of the Akuma that seemed love hacking and slashing at everything that moved. Or had a heartbeat. Or breathed period. Bengal crouched, readying to spring at the now standing ninja and distract him while Ladybug tethered the sword. But before he could become the human equivalent of a slinky dog, Ladybug put an arm in front of him, keeping him from jumping. "What are you doing?" he said quizzically, cocking his head like he had done before on the Eiffel Tower. This time, his ears leaned in tandem with his head. "Don't charge him. Remember what happened last time?" she asked, eying the Akuma who was staying strangely still, just staring off into space with a purple light in front of its face. Augusto winced at the memory, not eager to have his arm nearly dislocated again.

"Alright, what do you suggest?" he got up, dusting off his super suit. "Try sneaking surprising him," Ladybug told him. Augusto silently mulled it over in his head. It might work, but he wasn't exactly sure, since the damn guy's reflexes were so fast that he had managed to block Augusto's fist when he was falling at terminal speed.

He slowly walked over, making sure to keep his ears sagged forwards and tail drooped in between his legs to make him look defeated. "You win," he said, staying at least a couple yards away from the Akuma. It seemed to snap out of the daze it was in, and the purple light disappearing. "I have a message," the Akuma said, hands at its side unthreateningly. Augusto's ears perked up in curiosity. "From who?" he asked, Ladybug walking up to be right next to him, but he already had a hunch as to whose message the Akuma was relaying.

"Hawk Moth."

"Alright… what's the message?" Ladybug asked, keeping her stance close enough to a defensive posture if the Akuma decided to attack, but also close enough to a casual lean for it to look unthreatening.

"Hawk Moth says that he will not fight anymore," the Akuma said mysteriously, then covered itself in black. Ladybug leapt into a defensive stance, and Augusto, for all his bravado, fell back down to all fours and crawled backwards, instinctively unsheathing his claws and hissing. And then, the darkness receded, showing an Asian man wearing what looked like a work outfit. A white butterfly flew off, disappearing in the azure Parisian sky.

Next to the man, though, another form that looked vaguely human appeared. It looked like a shadow, but slowly got more solid. Until they saw numerous butterflies just like the one that had flown off covering the body of a man. Ladybug seemed to have been shocked, because her jaw was slack, her posture was slumped, and her eyes were wide.

Augusto on the other hand, was confused as to what was happening, but that didn't make him any less volatile in terms of power than he already was. The butterflies then all flew off, leaving only a man in a purple suit and grey mask that covered his whole head except for the eyes and the mouth, and holding a cane. Ladybug snapped out of her stupor, though, and grabbed her yoyo, swinging it to form a shield, "Hawk Moth you are under arrest for all you have done to terrorize Paris." The Asian man looked up, gasped fearfully, and crawled away as fast he could, his limbs still wobbly.

Hawk Moth simply looked at her, as if he was unimpressed. His eyes held a curiosity to them, but it was intermixed with sorrow, pain, and anguish. "I will not be arrested," he said simply, leaning on the cane. Ladybug grit her teeth, and Augusto merely walked up to the strange man, knowing that it was a reckless move. Out of the three of them, Ladybug was the shortest, Augusto being somewhere in the middle, and Hawk Moth being a head above them both.

"I am willing to change my ways," he started, staring at Ladybug with determination, and then at Augusto. When he did, the inquisitiveness in his eyes grew, and some surprise registered, but Hawk Moth's face didn't show it. "That does not change the past," Ladybug hissed, clenching her free hands. The man nodded, "No, it does not. But in being Hawk Moth, I have lost sight of what truly matters in my life. My son. I wish to aid you in the coming months, and even if you do not want me to, I will be keeping the Butterfly Miraculous, for self-defense if nothing else."

Augusto hadn't had much experience fighting Akumas; he'd only dealt with one, and this one didn't even count since they hadn't been the one to end it. But… Paris without Akumas? That just felt odd to hear. As if it was simply not possible. The Akumas had started popping up a few months before Augusto had gotten to France, and to Augusto it seemed like a part of Paris had just… disappeared. He wasn't exactly sad to see the Akumas go; he knew that it must be annoying, tedious, and frustrating for the full-time Miraculous holders when they already were in the middle of something and an Akuma pops up, but still.

Paris without Akumas wouldn't be the same. It would be happier.

0-0-0

Marinette Dupain-Cheng / Ladybug

She was seeing red. This… this… this abomination had a son? She could only imagine the pain and suffering that this scum's son endured day in and day out. What type of father could Hawk Moth be like? Abusive? Neglectful?

And from the sound of it, he didn't have a wife either. Go figure. But here he was, standing right in front of them with his cane and purple suit, and asking for a way to redeem himself. She could admire the fact that he had to have some major courage to be like this. "How is the son?" she asked, her teeth gritted and fists tightened. She eyed Bengal Tiger, trying to say 'don't attack' with no words. It seemed to work, as he looked curious yet… sad? Not sad, thoughtful.

Hawk Moth looked at her with an eyebrow quirked, but answered nonetheless. "He is well-cared for, extremely healthy, and has high grades in every course he takes, so I'd say he is excelling," he told her, smiling a little as he said so. And not an evil smirk or even a maniacal grin like Marinette had expected. Just a small smile that spoke of paternal affection. He cleared his throat, the smile gone.

"Why would we need your help if you're going to stop being evil?" Bengal Tiger asked, surprising Ladybug. She had almost forgotten that he was there, since he had been so quiet he just blended into the background. Hawk Moth looked like he was thinking for a moment, and then answered, "I have gotten an alert from a collueage that an old enemy of a group I worked with has become prominent again. That is all I can say out here, if you want details we will have to talk somewhere a little more private."

Ladybug thought it over. Was the enemy Hawk Moth spoke of worse than he had been when he was at Paris's resident super-villain. Was that one of the reasons he had stepped down? Maybe he genuinely wanted their help to get rid of this threat, but would then backstab them in the end after they were done.

She glanced back at Bengal, and he gave her a little nod, nearly impossible to see if it wasn't for her slightly enhanced vision.

She didn't trust Hawk Moth, hell she didn't even like him. But her duty was to Paris and its protection, and if Hawk Moth spoke the truth, Paris could be in danger. She had to keep her feelings aside. "Alright, Hawk Moth," she stuck her hand out, "You can help us, but only if you promise not to backstab us at the end." She could tell that Bengal Tiger was on edge, as his back was hunched now, and he was on his feet again. She held her breath unconsciously, waiting for Hawk Moth's response.

He shook her hand.

AN: What a doozy of a chapter! Anyway, this is where the story really begins! *Evil cackling*

I'm not sure how people will react to Hawk Moth switching to the good side, or Marinette's reaction to it. I think I did the best I could do, since I'm trash at working with canon characters and writing them within their boundaries.

In other news, I got a Tumblr account so you all can ask me questions or submit story ideas :D

Also, if you want to do fanart, just ask me. As long as you make sure people know the characters are mine, I'll usually say yes. (Sorry if that came out wrong, I just don't want any of the legal mimbo jumbo that comes with copyright infringement..)

See ya, Dwemerites! (cringy name, I know)