Okay I just want to give you guys a heads up on a couple of things before I get started on this Chapter. Firstly, if you are participating in the story cover contest the deadline is slowly approaching. If you win, I'll make a FanFiction of your choice, but it'll have to be a one-shot. I actually didn't state the prize other than it being the official cover... ^^;

The other bit of news I have to talk about is that starting from this upcoming Sunday I will be going away on holidays for two weeks to catch up with some family and friends outside my city, I'm not saying this because I won't be able to update this story but because the next Chapter especially might be late so I'm just letting you guys know in advance. ;)

Anything else you wanna ask me about the contest or updates feel free to ask. ^^ Now, on with the chapter! :D

Miraculous Ladybug (C) Thomas Astruc/ Zagtoon

Chapter 30 – Back to Fight

Back at Marinette's house, it was a little after midnight when suddenly Tikki felt vibrations radiating through her body. She saw that Marinette was still sound asleep, but the kwami gasped in astonishment and relief when she realised that Adrien had his miraculous back. Her smile widened with glee before she shook her head back to reality, to the reason why Cat Noir was calling for Ladybug.

Tikki violently shook Marinette to wake her up; Marinette groaned and waved her hand in response, her tiredness overwhelming every motion she made as she turned away from her kwami and faced the wall, tightening her eyes shut in tiredness and frustration.

"Not now Tikki..." She grumbled, her eyes grew heavy as she refused to open them, feeling the relaxation and warmth of her sleep welcoming her back.

Her kwami tugged at the covers, and pulled with all her strength to take them off as her antennae continued to buzz, she was glad Cat Noir had the patience for her, she sincerely hoped he wouldn't give up on calling her, but at the same time if he were to give up calling for Ladybug he could just as easily call Marinette.

"It's Cat Noir, it's Adrien Marinette!" Tikki cried, but as soon as Marinette reacted, the vibrating stopped.

Marinette's upper body flinched upwards, her hands balancing her body weight as her muscles tensed with sudden shock and a wave of relief. A small smile crept across her lips before she realised that Tikki had stopped buzzing, meaning Cat Noir wasn't calling her anymore. She sighed, hanging her head low before her phone started to vibrate, it startled her for a moment, but then she read whose name was on her phone and she smiled with relief and happiness as she swiped her phone to answer it.

"I'm so glad you're okay!" Marinette cried, tears of happiness falling from her eyes.

Tikki rested on Marinette's shoulder as the teen wiped away her tears of relief and overwhelming happiness, she smiled gleefully at her, glad to see that her partner was back in action.

"Marinette I'm sorry, I know I shouldn't have waited for you to come...I should've come straight for you." Cat Noir said apologetically, his free hand rubbing the back of his neck as he looked down with guilt, hating that he was the reason why they were in this mess.

Marinette shook her head as the guilt Adrien had was passed onto her too. "No Adrien, it's my fault. I should've cleansed the akuma from that man the first time we saw him." Marinette explained, feeling her tears turn to sadness as she lowered her head in guilt.

Adrien shook his head, as much as he wanted to admit it was all his fault there was no time for arguing over that, so he pulled his focus back to the main reason why he contacted Ladybug in the first place. "Look Marinette, I need your help. I don't know what Hawkmoth's doing next but it's definitely not good, I have no idea what's happened to the peacock miraculous and I have no idea what's going on with my mother either. Ladybug I need you here with me."

Tikki awed in response to the plead of Adrien's caring words to Marinette. The navy haired teen smiled and cupped her cheeks with delight, feeling the bubbly feeling fizzle in her stomach as Adrien said words to her that meant so much. Then Marinette gently shook her head to remain focused on the topic.

"I'll be there as soon as I can." Marinette replied, preparing to hang up.

"I'm at the mansion, just so you know." He implied, making sure Ladybug knew where to go.

The navy haired girl nodded in reply with a smile of determination. Before her finger tapped the hang up switch, Marinette heard the words she had heard him speak before they knew who each other really were echoed from her phone. "I love you Marinette."

Marinette's heart skipped a beat as her heart began to flutter, she loved Adrien so much. She couldn't imagine being with anyone else except for him. She replied with those same words, knowing that he was smiling on the other side of the line. She hung up the phone sighing romantically as she repeated those words Adrien said to her in her head. She was getting more used to Adrien being her boyfriend now, she collapsed against her bed with a pleasant smile as she gently closed her eyes, only to be tugged by the collar of her pyjama shirt by her kwami.

"Marinette, we need to go!" Tikki exclaimed, prompting the transformation.

The teen shook her head before she nodded with determination, jumping down from the stairs and commanding her kwami to transform her. The darkened room was lit up vibrantly with shades of bright pink before they quick vanished in a flash. Not long later, Ladybug was on the roof, making her way to the Agreste Mansion, knowing exactly where it was and knew that there could just be an epic fight against Hawkmoth right around the corner.

She sincerely hoped it wouldn't turn out like the last two times, she wanted Hawkmoth to give the miraculous back and everyone would be fine. Ladybug hopped from building to building, her heart beat quickening with anxiety but excitement that she was going to see a now safe Adrien, who also had his miraculous back and was back in action. However at the same time, she grew worried and determined at the same time. She hoped that before the sun rose that everything would be back to normal and Hawkmoth will no longer be a problem.

About a minute or so later, Cat Noir was on the roof of the Agreste Mansion, keeping his eyes peeled for danger, if his father knew he'd escape he'd definitely be looking around for him. But then out of the corner of his eyes in the night he spotted a lovely black dotted ladybug girl who happened to be one of the most important people in his life. His lips curled into a smile as he breathed heavenly while following her movements with his eyes until she landed in front of him.

Tears of happiness swept over her before she pulled him in for a tight embrace, Cat Noir returned the hug but in a more gentle tone as he relaxed into the warmth of Ladybug's body. Even though it had only been hours, it felt like eons that they had been apart.

"I thought I lost you..." Ladybug whimpered under her breath.

Chat gently rubbed her back in assurance, so glad to see her again after being taken away from her. "Don't worry my lady, I'm okay." He assured, before pulling out of the hug slightly to look into those sparkling bluebell eyes.

"How did you get out?" She asked in curiosity; remember seeing from a quick glance that the security system was activated.

"Father never put a barricade on the front door; he always assumed that the front gate would be enough." He said in a cocky attitude, before his resentful feelings for his father returned.

A sudden shake of ground beneath them on the roof caused the pair to tumble on top of each other, the balance lost from their feet before they heard a familiar growling sound from below. The pair crawled to the edge of the roof and saw the monster gorilla on all fours stomping around looking for Adrien.

Ladybug wasn't going to let it pass her this time, she decided to go in for it and rid of the gorilla's akuma, but before she could say anything, Chat grabbed her arm, pulling her back slightly in concern.

"I don't think that'll be a great idea."

Ladybug raised an eyebrow, before he continued. "Do you see any sign of Hawkmoth?" He added.

She shook her head after checking back down there once more before her thoughts collected to a final conclusion, the same conclusion Chat was trying to tell her.

"It's bait to lure us in." She stated, smirking slightly.

Chat smiled at his lady, feeling delighted inside that sometimes they thought the exact same way. "Exactly." He replied, before kneeling back down again, keeping his eyes focused on the monster gorilla.

"So what do we do now?" Ladybug asked, hoping Chat would have some idea of what to do.

"We wait."

So with that, the pair sat there and waited. The monster gorilla was sniffing around, almost like he was part dog too, his growls got louder with every sniff he gave, seeming unbeknownst to Ladybug and Cat Noir's location. After a few more minutes of searching around, he decided to make a climb for the mansion to the roof; Ladybug and Cat Noir had exactly the same idea as they looked at each other with a determined nod.

While the monster gorilla angrily climbed up one part of the roof, Ladybug and Chat made their way towards the opposite side, their image being hidden behind the dome-like roof that presented itself as the highest part of the mansion. The two leapt down and quickly hid, feeling that from the growl they just heard from above meant the monster gorilla was getting close.

The two snuck around until they found a window, unfortunately the security system was still on, but Ladybug knew what Chat had to do. Chat nodded in a silent response before summoning his ultimate power. The power of destruction in his hand, he pressed it firmly against the protected window, not long before it deteriorated to reveal what lay inside.

The alarms went off; they knew they weren't going to get in any other way, the door was on the other side of the building and the gorilla was on their tail now. They heard the growling get closer before they heard a giant thud not too far from behind them. They both quickly climbed inside and ran all the way upstairs, wanting to get this over and done with as soon as they could.

"Hopefully we can take him down and this will be the end of it." Chat said as they ran, hints of negativity in tone as he looked over towards Ladybug.

Ladybug nodded in response, before she and Cat Noir reached the highest point they could reach. The alarms still sounding and red lights flashing everywhere, the pair tried all their best to stay hidden from the monster gorilla following them but at the same time find a way to get to where Hawkmoth was. But if they were completely honest they actually weren't absolutely sure he was going to be there but it was a long-shot.

"Over here!" Chat pointed out, pointing to what seemed to be another portrait of his mother.

The duo approach the portrait, Ladybug could see that there was something behind it. She firmly gripped the frame of the portrait before Chat helped her out, pulling at one side before revealing for what seemed to be a combination of buttons, but some more contrasting and apparent than the others, like the large red one for example, as well as a purple one around the same size.

"What is this? What do these buttons do?" Ladybug questioned, examining the buttons as Chat placed the portrait to the side before examining the buttons himself.

Without even saying anything, Chat quickly pressed the purple one, having a feeling that it done something. Ladybug cried out in panic as the button he just pressed might lead to somewhere or something bad. Then, they heard a door from the far left vanish and then it was completely transformed into a small capsule that seemed to go only one way: up.

"That's the way." Chat stated, pointing towards the capsule.

Ladybug and Cat Noir quickly ran over to it, the alarms now silenced but flashing red lights still bouncing from wall to wall as the pair squeezed into the capsule as they saw the monster gorilla following after them. He growled in anger and frustration as the two made their way up the tube.

Eventually, the pair made it to what appeared to be a darkened room; luckily Cat Noir could see in the dark. So Ladybug held onto him with caution as he scanned the room, not long before he saw sharp fan pieces darting towards his direction. He pulled Ladybug down to the ground as the fan pieces smacked against the wall behind them before retracting back to where they came from.

Chat was very hesitant to look up at who had the peacock miraculous and was using it now, but when the lights flickered on and an evil cackle of laughter echoed through the room, he and Ladybug had no choice but to look up at their enemies.

Hawkmoth stood there, crossing his arms with an evil grin as his staff rested in one of his hands, beside him was Nathalie back with her miraculous, but not using it for the intended purpose. Both Ladybug and Chat could see the controlled mind of Nathalie's through her emotion and expression, if she truly were to have her miraculous back she wouldn't be using it like this.

Having his mother use the peacock miraculous after so long made Chat feel excited and yet terrified, knowing this his mother could've been a great fighter wearing the peacock miraculous, so he stayed down with Ladybug to figure out a plan, but unfortunately his father interrupted the duo.

"How does it feel Ladybug...to almost lose the love of your life?" Hawkmoth questioned, raising an eyebrow underneath his mask, hinting at what lurked inside his staff.

Seeing the akuma begging for freedom within the top of Hawkmoth's staff caused Ladybug and Chat to panic in fear of what was going to happen when that akuma was released, but by judging on Hawkmoth's words, the akuma was possibly for one of them, but with their powers they felt immune, could they still outwit an akuma when they had powers against it?

"Nothing compared to how we're going to defeat you tonight!" Ladybug declared with a determined attitude, Chat sharing that same expression.

Hawkmoth growled at the pair, before commanding Nathalie to attack them more. Nathalie spun in the air, causing the individual sections of the two fans to separate and spin out in every direction, prompting the two teens to duck again in defence.

"What are we going to do? My mother's probably really good at being the peacock!" Chat cried in a whisper.

Ladybug glanced up at Nathalie, her individual fans pieces returning, interlacing her fingers as she struck a fighting pose, ready for another attack. "I think she's just here to make us weaker and more prone to losing our miraculous."

And at that moment, Cat Noir's ring started to beep. He was sure glad to have his miraculous back now, but was slightly annoyed that now he had a problem in about four minutes. Hawkmoth smirked as his eyes narrowed at the pair, success was just around the corner, and he could feel it.

Ladybug knew they didn't have much time, feeling the panic rise as her heartbeat quickened. She knew that once Adrien lost his transformation he didn't have much defence, despite what he could still do as just Adrien, it wasn't going to be enough against his own powerful parents.

"You take care of your mother, and then help me when you can to stop Hawkmoth." Ladybug insisted, her head nodding in determination as she looked at Chat before looking back at the villains before them.

"I'll do what I can." Chat replied, before standing up, grabbing his baton out to fight.

He felt extremely hesitant and reluctant to fight his own mother again, but this time she was wearing her old miraculous, so this time it was going to be different as Adrien knew some of the moves and what the peacock miraculous could do already, but he knew that his mother was more than likely more skilled than he was with it, however he did feel slightly relieved that he had a basic idea of what his own mother could do to him.

Meanwhile, Ladybug stood up, her fists clenched as she stared face to face with Hawkmoth. Her face with anger, his with certainty that he was going to win. With her yoyo in hand, she ran towards the evil man at full speed, Hawkmoth doing the same, but smiling as he ran with his staff in hand, preparing to release the akuma in his staff into the air.

Then, he stopped suddenly to raise his staff into the air, Ladybug stopped in her tracks and watched with confusion and curiosity, but then panic as she realised what the man had done. After releasing the akuma, it headed straight for her, Ladybug panicked as she tried to dodge it while at the same time fighting Hawkmoth to get his miraculous off him.

This was all getting too much to handle, Ladybug was trying to avoid an akuma that was doing nothing else but trying to akumatise her. Ladybug didn't even know for sure whether she was protected or unprotected like everyone else. Only time would tell once the akuma touched a part of her.

Okay this chapter is shorter in terms of word count, but I wanted to stretch out my words a little because I was in a slight hurry to get this done, I kinda left it late again tonight...but that's only because I had other things happening (It was my cousin's birthday) and getting ready for the 2 week trip away from home in two days... *sigh* I don't wanna go but at the same time I do if you know what I mean...-.-

But anyways, hope you enjoyed yet another cliffhanger, this story is not actually going the way I planned it to be so I'm actually interested in what write next! :D Okay, so just a reminder that the next chapter might be late so I do apologise in advance if that does happen, so until then stay on your toes! ^^