Marinette stood in the main room of Master Fu's wholistic medicine office. The old man had taken Cat Noir into another room and slid the door shut, and had not come out in fifteen minutes. She longed to de-transform so she could talk to Tikki; standing here alone waiting for Master Fu to return with news of Cat Noir was like torture. For the fifth time since she had transformed into Ladybug, her yo-yo beeped at her. She pulled it from her hip and slid it apart, only to hear Cat Noir's voice.
"Ladybug—I'm in bad trouble—I found out who Hawk Moth is—"
Cat Noir's voice was interrupted by a deep, chilling one.
"Last chance, Cat Noir."
Then the message stopped.
Marinette's heart raced. Hawk Moth? Cat Noir had fought Hawk Moth himself? That must have been why the Red Knight had simply left Ms. Bustier alone—Hawk Moth must have called for backup. That meant that the Red Knight and Hawk Moth were in the same place, most likely, and if she was going to stop the Red Knight, she too would have to fight Hawk Moth. Only...
She wouldn't have Cat Noir at her side.
"Ladybug?"
Marinette nearly jumped out of her suit at the sound of Master Fu's voice. "Master Fu, you startled me. How is Cat Noir?"
"I have stabilized him, but only Miraculous Ladybug can save him. He has too much internal bleeding."
"Then I have to find the Red Knight," Marinette said. She found herself shrinking internally at the thought. "But...Master Fu, listen to this..." She took her yo-yo and played Cat Noir's message.
Master Fu's eyebrows raised. "So Hawk Moth has been discovered."
"But I don't know where he is, or where the Red Knight is."
"Perhaps we have someone who can help us. Plagg? Plagg, you must come out here."
A little black cat-like Kwami swooped into the room. "You know very well I only have to answer to the holder of my Miraculous, Master Fu."
"Yes, and as he is indisposed and quite possibly dying, perhaps you'll see fit to help us save him, you lazy cat."
Plagg's ears drooped. "What do you need?"
"Where is the Red Knight?" Marinette asked. "And who is Hawk Moth?"
"The Red Knight? Oh, we trapped him in the floor of Gabriel Agreste's personal office."
Marinette's heart raced a little faster. "Did the two of you happen to see if Adrien was hurt or not?"
"Uh...well..."
"Master Fu interrupted. "Cat Noir said that you discovered who Hawk Moth is."
"Yeah. About that. It's Gabriel."
"What?" Marinette shouted. "No! No way Gabriel Agreste is Hawk Moth."
"Saw it with my own two eyes, Ladybug," Plagg said, folding his little arms. "Now, my friend is in there slowly dying, so if you could hurry up and 'Ladybug' a way out of this, that would be great."
"He's my friend too, you know," Marinette snapped. "I don't want him to die. I just...I don't know what to do! How can I face Hawk Moth alone?"
"For now, all you must do is defeat the Red Knight and purify the akuma."
Marinette clenched her fists. "You're right, Master Fu. I need to take this one step at a time, just like a physics exam. I can't do it all at once—and I need to problem solve. Once I've saved Cat Noir, we can focus on Hawk Moth." She picked up the Lucky Charm first aid kit she had brought with her and slung it over her shoulder.
With that, she spun on her heel and ran from Master Fu's place, running across the city with all her might toward the Agreste mansion. Something in the back of her mind still nagged her about how familiar Cat Noir's clothes had seemed, but she still didn't have time to think about that or place it. Not when she was going to face Hawk Moth himself. She tried to stay focused on the task at hand.
Cat Noir's life depended on it.
She finally arrived at the mansion, and her palms were tingly and sweaty inside her suit. She flung her yo-yo high and caught one of the gables on the roof, then swung up to the second story window of Gabriel's office and peeked in. Sure enough, the Red Knight was caught in the floor. Gabriel was nowhere to be seen. She slid the window open, finding it just a little suspicious that it was unlocked. All of her instinct clamored that this was a trap, and the trap had been set for her. Slowly, she crept into the room. The Red Knight's back was to her, so he didn't see her. But his sword lay on the floor next to him, just outside his reach.
That must be where his akuma is, Marinette thought. But I'll bet the minute I touch it, Hawk Moth shows up. She backed up slowly until she was at the window again. She flung her yo-yo out to snatch the sword and reeled it back in one smooth motion. The Red Knight let out a roar, but nothing more happened. Quickly, Marinette snapped the sword in two, and a little black butterfly flapped out.
"No more evil-doing for you, little akuma," she said, drawing a line across her yo-yo. The yo-yo split open to reveal the blinding white light inside, and Marinette swung it through the air to capture the fleeing akuma. "I'm freeing you of evil!" Moments later, a white butterfly popped out and flapped away. "Bye-bye, little butterfly," Marinette whispered. "Now...where is your twisted master, hmm?"
"An excellent question," a deep voice thundered through the room. Immediately, all the windows slid shut with solid metal sheets blocking them. A cloud of white butterflies emerged through the doorway, preceding a tall, dark figure.
"Hawk Moth," Marinette said, gritting her teeth. "I knew you'd be close by, Gabriel Agreste."
"So Cat Noir has indeed survived, has he?"
"Long enough to tell me who you are. But thanks to you, he doesn't have a lot of time left."
"Then by all means, please correct the problem." Hawk Moth pointed to the first aid kit on Marinette's shoulder. "If he dies, how will I find his Miraculous?"
Marinette hesitated. It was too easy. "Just what are you playing at? Am I supposed to believe you want Cat Noir to live?"
"I don't expect you to understand anything I want, Ladybug. If you are anything like Cat Noir, then you are foolish and naive. Suffice it to say that I can see no way to obtain Cat Noir's ring unless you bring him back and he comes to your aid." Hawk Moth smiled. "And the oh-so-compassionate Lady will bring her friend back. For once, we are united in our goal."
Marinette narrowed her eyes. She tossed the first aid kit into the air. "Miraculous Ladybug!"
No sooner than the kit had left her hand, Hawk Moth charged. He drew a sword from the long, dome-topped cane he carried at his side, and swung it ferociously at her. Spinning her yo-yo, she deflected the blow.
Even as the pink and red magic swirled around the office, repairing all the damage done, Marinette and Hawk Moth fought. He dodged to the side as her yo-yo flew toward his head. Snarling, he grabbed the string. Marinette smirked and pulled back, yanking him forward and laughing as he tumbled to the ground. He was back on his feet in an instant, slashing with his sword. Marinette couldn't dodge in time; the very tip of the blade slashed through her suit across her shoulder. She let out a yelp.
"Give me your earrings, or I'll cut them off of you!" Hawk Moth snarled.
"Not a chance, Hawk Moth! Why don't you give me your Miraculous instead?" Marinette flipped away to the far corner of Gabriel's office, and launched her yo-yo high into the air above her head. "Lucky Charm!"
Magic swirled through the air and congealed into a spray can that fell into Marinette's waiting hands. "Wait—is this—is this bug spray?"
Hawk Moth laughed. "If you think insect repellent is going to weaken me, then you are very much mistaken, Ladybug."
Marinette scanned the room, thinking quickly. She glanced down at the can, and noticed a warning in bold letters: IRRITANT: KEEP OUT OF EYES. She smirked. "And what if I'm not?" She flung her yo-yo into the light fixture and ran up along the wall, swinging in a circle around Hawk Moth. He slashed his sword, but its blade could not sever the cord of her magical yo-yo. She swung right in front of his face and depressed the top of the insect repellent, spraying it point-blank into his eyes. He let out a roar and dropped his sword, instinctively reaching for his face. Marinette released the yo-yo from the light fixture and dropped to the ground, then flung the yo-yo around Hawk Moth, pinning his arms to his sides. She reached out to take his Miraculous...
He bashed his head forward, his forehead crashing into hers. The blow sent her back, making her eyes water and her vision blur. Hawk Moth landed a high kick on her chest, and sent her flying across the room where the back of her head slammed into a wall. An intense wave of dizziness flew through her.
Before she could even react, Hawk Moth had somehow wormed his way free of her yo-yo. Her heart jumped when she saw that he held it in his hand now.
"I have your yo-yo, Ladybug. You're helpless. Now give me your Miraculous."
Marinette tried to think. Hawk Moth was squinting. That meant he couldn't see very well because of the insect repellent. Of course, she was having trouble seeing straight, too. But as she scanned the room again, she saw a remote lying on the floor—the remote that operated the windows. She broke into a run, diving for it. Hawk Moth swung the yo-yo toward her, but she grabbed it in her open palm and ripped it from his grasp. Her other hand found the remote and deactivated the security system. Hawk Moth snarled, running at her. She leapt aside, but his cane swung into the side of her head so hard that it made stars flash in front of her eyes.
It was time to go. There was no way she could defeat him alone. She smashed her yo-yo down on the dropped can of insect repellent, which exploded in a cloud of fog. Using the fog as a smoke screen, she ran for the window and leapt out through it. She landed on the pavement below with a roll, but the intense dizziness in her head made her throw up.
Gasping, she ran back across the city, feeling dizzier and sleepier every step of the way. By the time she got to Master Fu's place, she could hardly keep her eyes open. She de-transformed nearly the second she stepped inside, and Tikki came spinning out of her earrings.
"Master Fu..." Marinette called. "I—I don't feel good...I think...concussion..."
With that, she fell to the floor, with one thought drifting through her mind.
Those clothes...those clothes Cat Noir wore...they were...they belonged to...
She blacked out, and knew nothing more.