Slowly, Marinette opened her eyes. Her head throbbed with pain. She sat up, taking in her surroundings. She was at Master Fu's place, but she had no memory of having arrived here at any point.

"Oh good, you're awake!" Tikki said, her voice squeaky with delight. "I knew Master Fu's aromatherapy would work. How do you feel?"

"Tikki…how did we get here?"

Tikki's antennae drooped. "You…don't remember?"

"No. The last thing I remember is…well…we were going to try to find the Red Knight."

"You don't remember anything after that?"

Marinette shook her head and immediately regretted it. A wave of dizziness went through her.

"Lie back down and be still," Master Fu said, walking into the room. "You have a fairly severe concussion."

"Concussion? How did that happen?"

"You fought against Hawk Moth himself."

Marinette's jaw fell open. "You're joking."

"No. I would do nothing of the sort. I feared from your aura when you returned that your concussion would be severe enough to damage your memory. Fortunately, it looks as though no more than half an hour or so is missing."

"You…can tell all that from my aura?"

Master Fu nodded. "Oh, yes. I can sense auras very powerfully. When you're as old as I am and as deep in the healing arts, you learn a lot of things."

Marinette lay back down on the floor and closed her eyes. "I can't remember a thing…except maybe…there was a sound on the roof of my bedroom."

"That was Cat Noir," Tikki said. "He was badly, badly hurt. He learned who Hawk Moth was and fought him, then came to your place and asked you to contact Ladybug for him."

"We know who Hawk Moth is?"

"Yes." Master Fu sighed. "He is…I fear you may not like this news, Marinette. He is Gabriel Agreste."

"You're joking!" Marinette sat up again. "Oh, no! What about Adrien? Is he okay?" She clenched her fists. "Some of the villains have hurt Adrien, and Mr. Agreste let that happen? What a terrible father! We have to go save Adrien, now!"

"That would be brash and foolish," Master Fu said. "If you go to the Agreste mansion again, he will surely be waiting for you. You barely survived this time."

"But what about Cat Noir? Is he okay?"

"Cat Noir is fine, thanks to you. He's in the other room sleeping right now."

"Then when he wakes up, we can go rescue Adrien together! Hawk Moth wouldn't stand a chance against both of us."

"The timing is not right. You see…Hawk Moth has also discovered Cat Noir's secret identity."

Marinette gasped. "Oh, no…"

"And so, while you have been resting, Cat Noir and I have decided the best course of action, both to protect him and the Cat Miraculous for the time being."

"What is that?"

"I will let him explain. I will go wake him. In the meantime, you should transform. We must still keep your identities a secret from each other—for the time being."

Marinette nodded. "I understand, Master Fu."

Once Master Fu had left the room, Marinette climbed to her feet. For one unsteady moment, she thought she was going to fall, but then she caught her balance again.

"Okay, Tikki, spots on."

Adrien lay on the mat on the floor, looking sadly at the silver ring on his finger. It meant so much more than the ability to fight evil. It meant freedom. It meant his connection with Ladybug. When it was charged with energy, gleaming with the bright green cat paw print, he felt as though he could do anything. And as annoying as Plagg could be, he had quickly secured a place in Adrien's heart as one of his dearest friends.

Did he really want to go through with this?

The door slid open and Master Fu walked in, a grave expression on his face. "Are you still prepared to make this decision?"

"Yes," Adrien said. "I think it's the only shot I have at reaching my father. I think it's probably the only way for now."

"Very well. It is time for you to transform one last time and go speak to Ladybug."

Adrien closed his eyes. When he opened them, Plagg hovered only a few inches from his face, little shining beads of water in the corner of his bright green eyes.

"I didn't know Kwamis could cry," Adrien said softly.

"I'm not crying," Plagg said defiantly. He sniffed loudly.

"Well…I guess it's time."

"I guess so."

"Plagg, claws out."

In a spin, the ring sucked Plagg in and a wave of green energy engulfed Adrien. Moments later, he found himself in the suit that allowed him to do so many things. One last time, he thought. This will be the hardest thing I've ever done.

"Are you ready?" Master Fu said.

Adrien nodded.

"Then let us go speak with Ladybug." Master Fu slid the partition open, revealing Ladybug waiting in the other room. Adrien drew a breath and walked up to her.

"Cat Noir, I'm so glad you're okay," Ladybug said, offering him a smile. "I forgot what happened because of a concussion, but it sounded like you were in a tight spot."

A wave of anger shot through Adrien. His father had hurt Ladybug. "Yeah, well, thanks to you, I'm all right now."

"How on earth did Hawk Moth find out your identity?"

Adrien hung his head. "It's complicated. I can't really explain. But I know what I have to do. Since Hawk Moth knows who I am, the only way to protect the Cat Miraculous is…is for me to renounce it."

Ladybug's eyes flew wide. "Renounce it? You mean…give it up?"

"That's exactly what I mean."

"But Cat Noir—I can't do this without you! I need you! You're my partner!" Ladybug's eyes began to glisten with moisture. "You're my friend. I don't want a different Cat Noir."

"If everything goes according to plan…I'll take up the Miraculous again at some point."

"At some point? But I need you now! I can't fight Hawk Moth alone."

"I'll still be fighting him," Adrien said. "Just…in a different way. Besides…you can manage to fight the Akumas on your own. I know you can. You're powerful enough for the both of us."

"How will I defeat Hawk Moth without you?"

"Well…there's somebody who might be able to help you. You know Gabriel's son Adrien, right?"

"Of course I do. Gabriel has been a terrible father to him, allowing the Akumas to threaten his son like that."

Adrien's heart sank for a moment, but then he steeled his resolve. "There might be a chance you could get him on your side, and ask him to help you. But the timing has to be perfect. You need to stay away from the Agreste Mansion for a while—Hawk Moth will probably have it on pretty tight lockdown."

"So I do what in the meantime?"

"You fight the Akumas. Keep up the status quo. It's the best we can do."

"But…Cat Noir…"

"I've talked it over with Master Fu. He'll let us know when the timing is right. We'll get this figured out, Bugaboo."

Ladybug ran up to Adrien and threw her arms around him. "You have to promise me you'll come back. I'll miss you, Cat Noir."

"I promise, Milady." Adrien tried to put on what he hoped was a smile. The truth was he didn't know if it was a promise he could keep. But if Ladybug was waiting for him, he would cross earth and heaven to come back to her. Someday, they would defeat Hawk Moth. Someday, everything would be right again.

But for now, this was the way it had to be.

"You should go home now, Ladybug," Master Fu said. "I will give you a healing infusion to keep you steady on the way. Your concussion will be better by morning, but I don't think the memories you lost will come back to you. Come and see me again tomorrow, when you can." He held up a cup of sparkling liquid.

"Yes, Master Fu," Ladybug said, still not letting go of Adrien. After a few more moments, she released him from the embrace. "Come back to me, Cat Noir."

Adrien found he was too choked to do anything but nod.

With that, Ladybug drank the infusion, gave Adrien one last sad look, and left the building.

Several moments passed.

"Are you ready, Adrien?" Master Fu asked.

Adrien closed his eyes. "Plagg, claws in."

In a flash of light, Adrien was himself again.

Plagg floated in the air, sniffing loudly. "I'll miss you, Adrien."

Adrien let out a chuckle. "You'll miss camembert."

"Well, that too."

Adrien slipped the ring off his finger, expecting Plagg to disappear immediately. But the little cat Kwami remained, staring at Adrien sadly. Adrien realized what had to happen. He didn't really want to give up the ring. So he had to say it. He had to say what Master Fu had told him to say. He had to reject Plagg entirely.

Adrien's eyes stung. "Plagg…I…renounce you."

With that, Plagg disappeared into the ring, turning it shiny black with a bright green paw print. Adrien handed the ring to Master Fu.

Well…I guess I'd better go home, then…

Author's note: If you like my style of writing, you might enjoy the original fantasy novel I have published. You can go to my profile bio for more info as well as find a link to read the first chapter of my novel. Please check it out, if you're interested!